Sunday, 17 August 2008
Today’s phischbits
Death Star over San Francisco // Current
“Imperial Fleet Week SF.” Pretty nifty video splicing, especially of the scenes with the Death Star just hanging in the sky.
Tags: fun, star wars, video
Wednesday, 06 August 2008
Today’s phischbits
BustedTees - Schematics of the Death Star Poster
Made me laugh out loud. I’m open to someone gifting this to me…
Tags: poster, star wars, wishlist
Tuesday, 05 August 2008
Today’s phischbits
iChat’s contact list goes on an iChat Pro diet
A just-in-case link, should I decide to switch from Adium back to iChat. (Easy, built-in chat transcript viewing is what keeps me on Adium. I use it at once a week…)
Tags: adium, ichat, im, instant message
Friday, 01 August 2008
ATPM 14.08
The August issue of About This Particular Macintosh is now available for your reading pleasure.
Angus gets us started this month with a look at Microsoft’s latest attempts to market its way out of its Vista doldrums, while he’s very impressed with Microsoft Office: Office 2007 for Windows, that is, and notably the suite’s OneNote slice of software. If you’re wondering what this has to do with the Mac, read the whole column.
Mike goes a bit Billy Shakes on us as he recounts his tale of iPhone 3G acquisition, while storage is on Mark’s mind. As we go through the Great Room Reshuffle of 2008™ here in our home, storage is on my mind as well, but Mark’s thinking in terms of data storage. For Photoshop geeks, Mark also notes how to get the Pxl SmartScale plug-in working on an Intel Mac.
Gedeon Maheux, of the Iconfactory, twittered a couple of months back how he wanted a native to-do list app for his iPhone. He suspected that once the iPhone SDK was available, we’d see a “dev to-do list Thunderdome” of productivity apps. Judging from Ed’s roundup of Getting Things Done (GTD) applications for the iPhone, it looks like Ged’s prediction come true. Lee takes a break from the normal tutorials in this month’s Photoshop for the Curious to talk about when and when not to actually use some of the tips and processes he’s been teaching us on our photos.
This month’s desktop pictures are courtesy of Julie Ritterskamp, and features that sleepy little West Coast burb of San Francisco. Also, s the villianous legion regroups and remembers, the shocking truth about Cortland is finally revealed!
Linus has some fun running his photos through Comic Life Magiq, while Eric throws Knapsack over his shoulder for some trip planning. Finally, Lee thoroughly runs SmartMask 2.0, a plug-in for Photoshop and Photoshop Elements, through its paces.
As always, ATPM if available in a variety of formats to suit your preferred reading habits.
The release of last month’s issue marked a personal milestone I failed to notice at the time of publication. I’ve now completed my 10th year of working on About This Particular Macintosh, and I’ve worn a variety of hats during that time. I have to thank Michael Tsai, our Publisher and Editor-in-Chief, for giving me the chance ten years ago to be a part of something I believe to be very special. In addition to being the boss, Michael has become a valued friend.
ATPM is a second family of sorts. While staff members come and go, it is amazing how entrenched in one another’s lives we become. We have seen one another through a wedding, the birth of children, a reality television game show, Macworld Expo meet-ups, even one of our own getting out in public to sing the National Anthem at a ball game. Rob’s family, and quite a few of my own, is still amazed that Michael and I showed up for his marriage to Sandy; it was first time any of us had ever met in person. ATPM has delivered my best friend in the online world. Rarely does a day go by that Lee and I are not in touch, mostly by instant message.
Working on the publication has been an honor and a treat, and I extend my thanks to all of the staff members, past and present, for the privilege of working alongside you.
Eight
So today marks the eighth year I’ve done the blogging thing. I won’t go in to any great recap, as I did two years ago. (And I completely failed to note the seventh blogoversary last year.) Needless to say, some things have remained the same, and some things have changed quite a bit.
For one, I’m blogging less, mostly because of Twitter, and if you want to know what I’m up to, or what I’m thinking, in short snippets, you should definitely follow my Twitter account. For another, I’m paying slightly less attention to politics, which used to constitute a good amount of posts. Finally, some days, I just don’t feel like I have much to say in a blog form, so why bother with some drivel to the blog that’s better suited for the 140-character limitation of Twitter, or not for public consumption at all?
Still, I have hopes for more thoughtful posts. I just don’t know when those might begin appearing, though I can guarantee it will be some time in the next eight years… 8^)
Thursday, 31 July 2008
Today’s phischbits
MyFox Atlanta | ‘Cheesus?’: Woman Finds Jesus In Bag of Cheetos
Two things I found telling from the article:
“The pastor of Kirkwood United Methodist Church does not see anything theologically special about the Cheeto, but thinks some good could come from it. Pastor David Bennett says, ‘If people can find Jesus, somehow, in each of us like she’s found in this object, that would be a wonderful thing.’
“Kelly doesn’t plan to sell the Cheeto and will keep it in a safe deposit box.”
The pastor calls it. And if I were Kelly, I’d have eaten it. Photographed it, sure. Shared the photo with my friends, posted it to Flickr, whatever. But I’d have eaten “Cheesus”. It’s just a Cheeto. And Cheetos are yummy…
Tags: cheeto, food, jesus
Neuromarketing » Please Your Guests by Fooling Them
The gist: more expensive wine isn’t necessarily better. Unlike, say, a real drink like scotch…
Tags: wine
The 10 Best Kitchen Implements For Fighting Off a Ninja
I think I’d go with the cutting board and the frying pan. Those just seem the best way to go all melee on that sneaky little ninja’s hide.
Tags: kitchen, utensils, ninja
Wednesday, 30 July 2008
The End Times
Tony Woodlief never fails to amuse me in some fashion:
[T]his is what we have come to: a grown man, grooming his eyebrows in traffic, using his rear-view mirror. In Wichita.
Saturday, 26 July 2008
Today’s phischbits
Number of Men In the United States Who Will Die In 2008 As A Result Of…
Interesting graphic.
Tags: death, graphic, men
Monday, 21 July 2008
Today’s phischbits
Leopard savaging a crocodile caught on camera - Telegraph
Wow.
Tags: animal, crocodile, leopard, photo, photography
Tor.com / After the Coup by John Scalzi
Short story set in the Old Man’s War universe. My favorite part: “Jazz hands.”
Tags: fiction, science fiction, sf, short story, writing
Friday, 18 July 2008
Today’s phischbits
Audiko
“audiko is a simple service which helps you to make a ringtone of your favorite song!” Plus there’s quite the selection of ringtones there already, in MP3 format, as well as m4r for your iPhone. Totally free. (Until the RIAA overlords come crashing down upon it, that is…)
Tags: iphone, music, ringtone
Thursday, 17 July 2008
Today’s phischbits
Billy Graham on technology, faith and suffering | Video on TED.com
“Speaking at TED in 1998, Rev. Billy Graham marvels at technology’s power to improve lives and change the world — but says the end of evil, suffering and death will come only after the world accepts Christ.” Set aside half an hour of your time and watch this.
Tags: bible, billy graham, god, technology, ted, video
An Enduring Measure of Fitness: The Simple Push-Up - New York Times
“The push-up is the ultimate barometer of fitness. It tests the whole body, engaging muscle groups in the arms, chest, abdomen, hips and legs. It requires the body to be taut like a plank with toes and palms on the floor. The act of lifting and lowering one’s entire weight is taxing even for the very fit.”
Tags: exercise, fitness, push-up
Practical tips from a long time cafe warrior
My friend Michael has some advice for those who call coffee shops their office.
Tags: business, gtd, tips
Editorial Observer - Losing Private Dwyer, War Hero - Editorial - NYTimes.com
“Pfc. Joseph Dwyer was a model of the strength and selflessness of the American soldier fighting in Iraq. But it was post-traumatic stress disorder and addiction that eventually killed him.” Please, please, please, servicemen and women: seek help if you need to. You’ve certainly earned it.
Tags: illness, iraq, military, ptsd, soldier, war
Wednesday, 16 July 2008
“It is at least excellent.”
Jeff Jacoby, in “The brilliance of the Electoral College”, on the latest attempts to abolish or skirt the Electoral College:
Actually, in no more than four of the nation’s 54 presidential elections since 1789 has the electoral vote winner not been the candidate who won the popular vote…
[…]
Such concerns didn’t trouble the framers of the Constitution, who did not believe that political contests should be decided by majority rule. They rejected “pure democracy,” as James Madison explained in Federalist No. 10. They knew that with “nothing to check the inducements to sacrifice the weaker party, or an obnoxious individual,” blind majoritarianism can become as great a menace to liberty as any king or dictator. The term “tyranny of the majority” was coined for good reason.
That is why the framers went to such lengths to prevent popular majorities from too easily getting their way. They didn’t concentrate unlimited power in any single institution, or in the hands of voters.
[…]
The Electoral College (like the Senate) was designed to preserve the role of the states in governing a nation whose name - the United States of America - reflects its fundamental federal nature. We are a nation of states, not of autonomous citizens, and those states have distinct identities and interests, which the framers were at pains to protect. Too many Americans today forget - or never learned - that the states created the central government; it wasn’t the other way around.
[Bold emphasis added. —R]
I encourage you to read the whole thing.
Monday, 14 July 2008
Today’s phischbits
Hey Raena » Dear journalists
Gal pal Raena A., from Down Under, offers some helpful tips to journalists covering the goings-on of the Internet. Heed, Columbia J. school grads…
Tags: internet, journalism, writing
Friday, 11 July 2008
Today’s phischbits
On The Edge 2-Stroke Gas-Powered Party Blender, Model# 900108 | Party Blenders | Northern Tool + Equipment
“The On The Edge 2-Stroke Gas-Powered Party Blender brings power to your festivities. Crank the handlebar throttle to create delicious blender beverages.”
Now that’s a blender…
Tags: appliance blender
Wednesday, 09 July 2008
Today’s phischbits
Zombie Outbreak
What might a zombie outbreak look like via Twitter? Perhaps something like this…
Tags: twitter, zombie
Metro-Rednexual Results | TonyMorganLive.com
“You might be a metro-rednexual if…”
For the record, I think #8 is the funniest of the bunch.
Tags: fun, humor, metrosexual, redneck
Monday, 07 July 2008
Today’s phischbits
List of Online Archives for Free Unabridged Books Online
“Want to go to the library without stepping out of your house? Here’s where you can go to get free unabridged reference books, novels, audio books and other texts online.”
Tags: books
