My MacWorld article got noticed in the blogosphere.
The blog referenced is “Deck Chairs on the Titanic,” a title which has a place in my heart because it’s the name of a song friend Roger wrote wrote way back (10 years ago?) when we made the “Underwear of the Gods” tape – recordings of friends and friends of friends playing their own songs – not necessarily all good, but important for sake of posterity. Hmmm… maybe I should MP3 that before the ferrous oxide flakes off…
Your Brain Is Defective
Take a look at this checkerboard and tell me, which of the squares A and B is the lighter, which the darker? If you don’t believe they’re identical, use a color checker like OS X’s Digital Colorimeter to verify.
Saddam
Out of curiosity, why is Saddam Hussein the only world leader who is routinely referred to in the mainstream press by his first name alone, rather than last? Saddam this, Saddam that. Nobody refers to our prez as “George” except when being diminutive. Oh. Just answered my own question.
Big-Ass Spanish Boat
This story in the Seattle Times snagged my attention not just for the incredible journalistic blunder it involves, but because I grew up in Morro Bay.
It read in part: "On Oct. 18, 1857, the first Filipinos landed on the shores of Morro Bay, California, on a Spanish galleon called the Nuestra Senora de Buena Esperanza, which translates to ‘The Big Ass Spanish Boat.’ " The correct translation is “Our Lady of Good Hope.”
Heads will roll.
Forward Command Post
Want to get an early start on your Christmas shopping for all the war-hungry kids on your list? “It’s the “Forward Command Post,” a new toy for kids as young as 5.”
Shrub’s recent speech analyzed point by point – scathing, incisive.
HTML Email Not So Bad?
After living (barely) through some very intense and extended threads on a private mailing list I’m on, I have to confess that my rabid stance against HTML email is beginning to soften. The arguments I make on the page still stand, but you know, there are more important things in life to worry about. When it comes down to it, HTML is a standard, and a decent viewing client can strip the HTML while viewing. Don’t get me wrong – I still think HTML in email is a bad idea. But I’m not so sure I still think of it as one of the evils of the world. At least not that one that matters.
Got the message below today. I’m not sure, but think that the guy is asking for elucidation on HTML email avoidance.
please advise to what is the most important info to keep from these pages incase once again the html appears & then again to switch it back, & or additional info needed ,
thanks,
jb
MacWorld Article Published
The article I wrote for MacWorld a few months ago on setting up OS X for MySQL/PHP web development, “Serve It Up,” was published in the November issue. There are actually two versions of the article – one on Jaguar, which is in print only, and another on 10.1.x, which is the one they ran online. Enough stuff changed between 10.1 and 10.2 that the online version won’t quite work under Jaguar…
The topic is more technical than the typical MacWorld audience, so producing the piece turned out to be a real editing challenge. In fact, I probably did more round-robins with my editor than for anything I’ve ever written… a process that bordered on becoming a genuine pain in the ass but that was worth it in the end, even if some of it doesn’t quite sound like me.
Zap PRAM To No Avail
First day back at work after taking two weeks off to be with Amy and Miles. So strange to leave them this morning, and odd to be back at work. Had to shift gears from google-eyed dad back to multimedia / web dude. Back in the saddle. Everyone at work so full of questions, excited to meet Miles when the time is right.
Discovered on return that my work G4 would not boot – hangs on the startup screen. Zapping PRAM doesn’t help. Can’t start from CD. There was some water leakage before I left on paternity, and it appears to have affected the machine. Off it went to TSW for repair, throwing me back on Windows and Eudora… so another form of gear shifting.
Existentialist Animation
Seen the libertarian candidate who turned himself blue? According to CNN, “Stan Jones,a 63-year-old business consultant and part-time college instructor, said he started taking colloidal silver in 1999 for fear that Y2K disruptions might lead to a shortage of antibiotics.” And that, my friends, is what too much doomsday / conspiracy thinking will get you.
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Scratching my head, I turn to these amazing existentialist animations for solace, and find none. Perhaps answers are buried in this real-time WebCollage.
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It appears the web is becoming more clairvoyant – this site can accurately guess pert near any dictator or sitcom character you can think of by playing 20 questions with you. 10 Qs to guess that I was Maya from Just Shoot Me. Niles Crane from Frasier was much harder – about 25 Qs, with some absurd detours. The power of public/collaborative database building coupled with a slick AI engine — this is how Amazon et al can “recommend 10 other books you might like” and amaze you with how well it “knows” you — same basic principle.
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Think surveillance might be getting a bit out of hand? As Mike says, “I think this is what people mean when they talk about “slippery slopes”:
“There are now video cameras in the remote part of a national forest for the stated purpose of catching people growing marijuana. There are at least 2,397 surveillance cameras on the streets of Manhattan.”
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Sure Microsoft cares about security! They care so much they’re going to start making you pay for it.
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Very cool bookmarklet for web developers – open this as a URL, then drag the bookmark icon to your toolbar. Now you can toggle CSS on/off for any page, any browser:
javascript:i=0;if(document.styleSheets.length>0){cs=!document.styleSheets[0].disabled;for(i=0;i<document.styleSheets.length;i++)document.styleSheets[i].disabled=cs;};void(cs=true);
Hexed by Halitosis
So apparently, researchers have unearthed the world’s funniest joke. Found it interesting how people of different nationalities find different kinds of things funny, and that Americans tend to favor humor that makes other people look stupid.
Actually, I’m not sure this one isn’t funnier (but then, I’m a sucker for deliciously bad jokes):
Mahatma Gandhi, as you know, walked barefoot most of the time, which
produced an impressive set of calluses on his feet. He also ate very little,
which made him rather frail and with his odd diet, he suffered from bad
breath.
This made him ….what?
A super calloused fragile mystic hexed by halitosis.
Thanks xian for that – I owe you a groaner.