February 2007

How To Hollow Out A Book

How to make a hollowed out book safe. I actually did this back when I was in high school, although it wasn't as clean, and saved my tip money and extra cash in it. (via)

Posted on February 28, 2007 6:16 PM | link to this entry

Panosaurus

I ordered the Panosaurus panoramic tripod head via Paypal this morning. It's (from what I can tell) the most affordable panoramic tripod head available on the market, and it's got some pretty good reviews. When it arrives, I'll write up a review and post the results here to see—I might be doing a lot of panoramic photography in the near future.

Posted on February 28, 2007 9:18 AM | link to this entry

Parallels Desktop update available

Parallels released an update for Parallels Desktop today, which is great news. I hope the update is more stable than the beta I've been running (I get one good crash per session, usually), but overall I have nothing but good things to say about the app. As of 3:30EST, the server is not responding—they must be getting hammered.

Posted on February 27, 2007 3:38 PM | link to this entry

Article on icon design

Oh, jeebus, does this article on icon design ring true. I've spent more time than I care to explaining the reasons it takes more work than just creating one icon and sizing it down: usually this is when I've got the smallest size of the icon on the screen and I'm cleaning it up pixel by pixel.

Posted on February 23, 2007 11:45 AM | link to this entry

iPod repair links

Also on the radar: fixing Jen's old 1st generation iPod for a reliable backup drive. This is the first link a google search brings up: about $110 for a new battery and a FireWire repair. Here's an illustrated disassembly guide.

Further: How to run OSX off your iPod. This seems to shorten the life of the iPod's hard drive, however. I think I'll just stick with using it as a backup drive.

Posted on February 22, 2007 6:23 PM | link to this entry

Kodak DC3400 Legacy Support

This is a link to Kodak's legacy support page for the DC3400. At some point, I'd like to hook this up to an old iMac and set it up to take time-lapse photos with Boinx iStopmotion.

Posted on February 20, 2007 1:46 PM | link to this entry

Pitchfork Review of new La's Live Disc

Wow. Apparently, somehow, an album of vintage live La's recordings was just released. Pitchfork gives it an 8.1, comparing it (unfairly, probably) to their '90 studio release. The band's chief songwriter is brilliant, perfectionist, reclusive, and unstable, so this is a nice surprise. More information, via Wikipedia.

Posted on February 20, 2007 10:58 AM | link to this entry

The Disease of Design.

The Disease of Design. I am ashamed to admit I suffer from this affliction. (The link made me snort my coffee through my nose.)

Posted on February 19, 2007 8:16 AM | link to this entry

Blink-Free photos

Here's a mathematically proven formula for taking blink-free group photos. "For groups smaller than 20, divide the number of people by three if there’s good light and two if the light’s bad". Who says math isn't fun? (via)

Posted on February 16, 2007 11:56 AM | link to this entry

When a Mac portable won't start up

Apple technote 50959:When a portable Mac won't start up. Resetting the PRAM; How to identify iBook models. (I have a client with an iBook that appears to be taking a dirt nap.)

Posted on February 15, 2007 9:41 AM | link to this entry

Reasons Not To Buy An HP Printer.

From The Consumerist, 14 Secrets from a former HP Employee. As if I didn't already have enough reasons not to buy an HP printer. Number One illustrates perfectly the amount of contempt and corporate malice that the company projects.

Posted on February 14, 2007 1:08 PM | link to this entry

Window Sash Pulleys

I stumbled on this old link about window sash balances, which are spring-loaded pulleys that replace counterweights so that the weight pocket can be filled and insulated for winter weather. Our windows are drafty, and I believe that once they are properly insulated we would save a ton of money in heating bills. Now, to weigh one of our windows and order...

Posted on February 14, 2007 12:55 AM | link to this entry

Housecleaning: Comments

Due to an unexplainable error, I wasn't getting email updates when comments were posted here. After cleaning up and rebuilding some templates, resetting some preferences, and turning off HTML in the comments, I'm hoping I can catch more of the spam before it shows up.

Also, I'm trying out the addition of dates over here on the left. But because IE/PC is a sucktastic piece of shit, it's not looking right there when it looks good everywhere else.

Posted on February 13, 2007 1:16 PM | link to this entry

Google Map Hack: Baltimore Homicides

This made the rounds a week or two ago: a Google map hack of DC/Baltimore homicides. 2007, 2006, and 2005. Sobering.

Posted on February 13, 2007 1:13 PM | link to this entry

Tax Tips for the Self-Employed

via kottke, here are a dozen tax-saving tips for the self-employed. We're meeting with our tax pro this week, and some of these questions were already on our list.

Posted on February 12, 2007 8:52 PM | link to this entry

Senator Theatre in Foreclosure.

Sad news from Mobtown: Historic Senator Theatre to be sold at auction. "Tom Kiefaber, the Senator's owner, acknowledged yesterday that he is $90,000 in arrears on a $1.2 million mortgage he took out on the 900-seat theater five years ago."

I'm as guilty as anyone else for not having seen a movie up there in years. This is awful news.