O'Reilly has compiled an excellent list of freeware and shareware applications for Mac OS X. If you're on a tight budget, then it'd be well worth your time checking out some of these excellent apps. [xlab : a mac os x weblog]
Turns out that you can seriously boost your Titanium Powerbook WiFi performance by massaging your battery compartment.
LinkDiscuss
I was next instructed to eject the battery and look at the right side wall of the battery compartment where I was supposed to find an approximately 5 cm long plastic strip. (My particular powerbook doesn't have this visible -- instead, there is a plate with the serial number, etc...) Still, he told me to firmly press the side wall of the powerbook against the frame, just slowly and firmly pressing along its length several times for about 10 seconds. Next, he told me to replace the battery and start her back up.
I can't believe it, but my Airport's range is now like my iBook's!! I never could have done this from out here by the pool before, but here I am.
The reason for this as he explained it is, where I was told to press is where the antenna runs alongside the framework of the Powerbook. Sometimes it isn't situated just right, or gets out of whack from having been shipped or something. Pressing it puts it back into proper contact with whatever needs to be touching. Now it works like a dream!
(via A Whole Lotta Nothin) [Boing Boing]
Ben and Mena Trott of Movable Type, are announcing the upcoming launch of a new weblog personal publishing service called TypePad. Very exciting news...can't wait to see the new product!
I stopped drinking coffee almost a year ago because it was making my stomach act all funky. I wasn't a heavy coffee drinker by any means either. One cup about four times a week. And I always had that one cup first thing in the morning at work. I'd either make the coffee myself or go buy a latté. I loved the ritual of morning coffee: the aroma, reading the newspaper, meeting friends in the morning. Occasionally, depending on the situation (like having to get up at 4 a.m.), I have treated myself to a cup of coffee. But nowadays, all I drink is tea. I'm currently on a green tea binge. I also love jasmine tea because of its fragrance. I drink my tea strong and plain, no cream or sugar or honey. This morning I read this report in the paper. According to researchers, as a tea drinker, I have boosted my immune system, perhaps helping fight off or blunt the effect of infections. Who knew?
I've got a major case of spring fever. The weather here has been teasing us lately. Beautiful and sunny, then downpours later on in the day. The warm weather makes me not want to work!
I rented six movies over the weekend: Far From Heaven, The Fast Runner, Maid in Manhattan, Personal Velocity, Roger Dodger, and The Weight of Water. Far From Heaven was overhyped though I still liked it. I couldn't get into The Fast Runner. I didn't finish it. I can 't stand watchign movies that are filmed on videotape. Maid in Manhattan was a Latin Pretty Woman. Personal Velocity was great. I especially like the still photos that were incorporated into the footage. It was completely done in DV, but didn't look llike video (see comments for Fast Runner). Great stories by Rebecca Miller (Arthur's daughter and Daniel Day-Lewis' wife). Roger Dodger had its moments. The Weight of Water was good because I had read the book. Some parts of teh story were changed, but I still liked it.
Through the Woods, en Route to Broadway A friend's boyfriend wrote and directed this movie, "Camp." There are a couple of special screenings of it in NYC this weekend. That means it won't come out here for a while yet.
I don't eat a ton of junk food, but my absolute favorite junk food would be potato chips. I love potato chips! The salty, crunchy goodness is so addicting. My favorite brands would be plain Wavy Lay's, then regular Lay's. I also have a fondness for sour cream and onion and barbecue. I don't really like all those fancy flavors too much, though I'll most likely eat them anyway. Sometimes I like a nice ranch dip as an accompaniment too.
Thanks to Andy, I can't stop watching, listening, and winching at the NOLA.com Karaoke cam.
Thanks to Andy, I can't stop watching, listening, and winching at the NOLA.com Karaoke cam.
It's only 5pm in New Orleans right now, but there have been enough drunken singers to make it worth keeping open in a background window for the past hour or so. It's also great fun to IM with friends occasionally that also happen to be listening ("dude, check out the wifebeater singing dead or alive!"). The site would be great if they offered live chat with others watching it, and maybe a "rate this singer" hot-or-not system integrated.
It's a million times worse than American Idol, but lots of fun to watch. And remember: when you can't sing the right notes, just sing them as loud as possible.
[A Whole Lotta Nothing]IndyJunior Flash Mapping Module IndyJunior is a fully customizable map which you can use to easily display your geographic location. All you have to do is feed IndyJunior some latitude and longitude coordinates and you'll be plotting your course in no time. Here's my sample page... [via kottke]
Just over this last weekend, the temperature shifted drastically. On Saturday, it was hovering above or about 70 degrees. The sun was shining and it was beautiful. And even though it cooled down in the evening, going into my second floor apartment, I felt all the warm air that had accumulated from earlier in the afternoon. Sunday was almost as nice, then slowly got gray during late afternoon. Then there were rain showers through the night and the sidewalks were wet again Monday morning.