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- Politics 2005
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2004
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2003
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2002
- December - November - TidBITS - Apple - Macintouch laptop battery report - Apple - Tinderbox Community Forum (not official) - WhatIsMyIP - Wherever you are, there you are... - TinyURL - Turn big ugly URLs into cute little ones... - rob at whiterabbits.com - rmchuff - Eudora - Fire - BBEdit - Mozilla - Internet Explorer - Transmit - iTunes - VNCthing - Terminal
MNJ RSS
MNJ Politics RSS Here is a collection of link to sites maintained by people who have mentioned that they read MNJ:
- Dan Hon - An imaginary place in a reactionary time - dws
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A quick response to Dave Winer Thanks, Dave, for pointing out my post about your new OPML Editor. I am very aware of the benefits of using an outliner to get and stay organized. After all, I use Tinderbox - which is like an outliner on steriods, to run this Web site, and I remain a huge fan and user of OmniOutliner as well. Both are full functioned and provide lots of bells and whistles to help me stay organized. I use Tinderbox to keep news clippings related to my work - which are fully searchable and which could be exported to Web pages, text files, or nearly any other format. In addition, Tinderbox is the core piece of my Web site management for every site I run, except for the portions of the City of Tacoma site that I maintain. Meanwhile, I use OmniOutliner to manage some of my major projects like writing books. I kept an outline and tracking system running in OmniOutliner while writing Birding Washington, and since it worked so well for that, I am doing the same thing while writing Washington Disasters and Heroic Rescues, my newest book project. My question with the OPML Editor is how and whether I will find a niche for it in my pantheon of outliners. |
A Mac version of Dave Winer's new OPML Editor I have been geeking a little today, digging around with the new Mac version of Dave Winer's latest creation - an OPML Editor. So far it looks interesting, although I need to find out how I would make use of it in my work, or whether it is something I don't have a real use for right now. As always, the learning curve may hold me back from jumping on this new bandwagon - especially when I am buried in my work for the city, writing a history book, serving as president of the local Audubon chapter and organizing an art auction.
On fighting the urge to spend This week has been so busy that I have felt drawn into one of those moods where I need to buy something, and my wants range from the inexpensive - a new pair of good sunglasses or a new pair of Birkenstocks - to the more expensive, like a new Palm LifeDrive PDA or one of the new 14-inch iBooks. So far I am fighting the urge with purchasing real needs. Yesterday I bought a new pair of running shoes that I will use in the coming months as I train for a local 10K run, and I also purchased a new digital watch, to help time my runs. The urge to buy something more still remains...
More fun with digital cameras 
I took this funky reflection shot using my Canon 20D and a 75-300 image stabilized zoom lens about a week ago in downtown Tacoma. The shot shows one of the tallest buildings in town - the Wells Fargo building - reflecting in the windows of another building, as seen from the main thoroughfare in town, Pacific Avenue. I took the photo while taking a midday walk. Like many of my recent reflection shots, this one looks even better in more detail, as can be seen in the cropped image below: 
Apple speed bumps iBook G4s and enhances Mac mini Apple updates iBook with faster processor - Apple on Tuesday updated its consumer-level iBook line of notebook computers adding a faster processor and more memory across the line. The iBooks also include a scrolling TrackPad and the Sudden Motion Sensor, two technologies first introduced in the PowerBook. [MacCentral] MacCentral also writes about the memory and communications improvements that are now standard with the Mac mini... There are a lot of funny links buzzing around the Net today about Microsoft Earth - Redmond's answer to Google Maps - and how out of date the satellite imagery is on the Microsoft offering. The images are so old that Apple's headquarters in Cupertino don't show up on the map, and that according to Microsoft the World Trade Center towers are still standing in New York. Does anyone at Microsoft actually think about this stuff before rolling out their Next Great Thing? Apparently, being timely and accurate is not on the must-do list... Boing Boing has side-by-side pictures from the two map offerings.
An interesting iPod sighting on the Tour de France coverage today At the end of the Tour de France today it was interesting to see someone holding an iPod up in front of Lance Armstrong with a Belkin microphone accessory to record the interview. Yet more proof that I am one of the last people around who hasn't given in to the iPod fad.
Using rsync for backups under Tiger Automated Backups on Tiger Using rsync - Previously on Mac DevCenter, the rsync command was discussed in Intro to Tiger Terminal, Part 2. One of the uses for this command is to compare the files on your internal drive to those on your backup drive, and only archive the files that have changed. Richard Hough explains. [O'Reilly MacDevCenter.com]
Windows Vista - you can almost see a real OS from here If the latest rumors about the name of the long-delayed Windows update are correct, the brains at Microsoft have gone a bit soft. Windows Vista - It's not a real operating system, but you can see one from there. Let the jokes begin!
Interesting - How to get more mileage from your hybrid car WorldChanging has an interesting piece today about learning to drive a hybrid car to maximize gas mileage:
The original article is on the Cascadia Scorecard Weblog.
Another reason not to pay for lame .Mac service As if paying $99 a year for the current lame .Mac offerings were not enough, now Apple is putting transfer limits on your accounts. Hey, I know a way to save at least $99 a year!
What can you expect from tech support? I have to tell a story about the tech support call I made to Palm today. First, the setup. Last Friday the AC adapter for my Palm Zire 72 died for the second time in a month. This replacement adapter burned out just like the other one - suddenly it just stopped working. And so today I called tech support. The explanation for why I was having a problem: The tech support dude said that the AC adapter has very sensitive circuitry and that I need to unplug the adapter after I charge up my Palm each time, because leaving it plugged in will break it. I let this brainiac know that was completely beyond my experience and that regardless, I am sure that the adapter should work longer than 30 days, regardless of his advice. Eventually he relented and agreed to send me a new adapter, but he closed the call by advising that I pay heed to his advice and pull the plug when I am not charging my Palm. On the one hand, I can save some power from this vampire of an adapter, since, like all of these adapters, they do continue to draw electricity whether you are using them to recharge something or not. But the point remains that this tech guru must have thought I was the biggest moron on the planet with the line of crap he was trying to sell me. Oh, it also cost me $25 to even talk to the guy, as is Palm's standard policy for calling tech support. No wonder Palm is always going out of business... Notes and Tips: AirPort 4.2 Security Details - Apple released further details on AirPort 4.2, describing a security vulnerability that the update addresses. [MacInTouch]
More evidence of the popularity of Digital SLRs The Digital Photography Weblog notes today that Konica, Minolta and Sony have announced that they will team up to create a new digital SLR. Details are sketchy, but given the recent news about the growing number of D-SLRs being sold these days, it should be no surprise that these companies want to grasp the opportunity while it is hot. It should be interesting to see what they come up with when compared to the more established players in the market such as Nikon and Canon. Sometimes a fresh look and approach can lead to real innovations...
A great comment from an MNJ reader Geoff Taylor gets down to the heart of the matter when commenting on Apple's switch from PowerPC to Intel:
I imagine you are right, Geoff...
Another switch to Mac OS X Steve Rubel writes: Dear Microsoft, I am dumping you As much as Microsoft apologists try to make excuses for the sorry state of their operating system, more and more people are seeing the benefits of a virtually spyware and virus free Mac OS X. Evidence for the growing uselessness of Windows PCs can be found in a New York Times article today: Corrupted PC's find new home in the dumpster. Yep, that is a really good solution to spyware and adware. It does wonders for the environment...
More Tinderbox goodness coming! Mark Bernstein teases future additions to Tinderbox, the tool I have used for the last 3216 posts on Mac Net Journal, in a piece called Building your next weblog. I look forward to seeing the tools, maybe at the Tinderbox day in Seattle in November!
Digging Automator I haven't had much time or need to dig into Automator since stepping up to Tiger a few months ago, but Giles Turnbull has had the time. He offered links to a few of his favorite Automator actions in a recent piece on the MacDevCenter: Automator actions I like the look of
iPhoto update fixes the aforementioned bug Good for Apple! If you use iPhoto, the new update is reported to fix the color issues that have plagued so many people.
Mac OS X 10.4.2 misses at least one big bug Mac OS X 10.4.2 Fails to Fix iPhoto 5 Color Profile Problem - iPhoto 5's irritating color profile switcher-roo is not fixed in the 10.4.2 update. Long live the Generic RGB profile... [O'Reilly MacDevCenter.com]
Apple releases Mac OS X 10.4.2 Macintouch and many other sites note that Apple has released Mac OS X 10.4.2 today. The update appears to deliver a number of security and reliability enhancements. I will be downloading it later tonight...
Goodbye Mac? A new article on ArsTechnica tonight (Inside the big switch: the iPod and the future of Apple Computer) spells out one possible reason for Apple's switch to Intel chips, along with the utterance of a simple sentence that should strike fear into the heart of long-time Mac users:
Why is this an issue for long-time Mac users? Simple. If true, Apple abandoning the computer space to become just another entertainment device vendor could mean a serious lack of choice for the creative people who flock to the Mac today. It may make business sense for Apple, but taken to an extreme it could be a serious blow to those who actually do useful things with their computers - like create things rather than simply listen to tunes or watch videos on a miniscule screen. I should offer the caveat that I don't own an iPod - although Natalie has an iPod Shuffle that she uses now and then. And I make my living creating things with the best computing tools I can find, which is why I have been a Mac user since roughly 1987. If Apple decides to become "all iPod, all the time" and to ignore improving or innovating its computers - something it has been doing for a year or more in the PowerBook line - then the company will become less and less relevant to the creative class that has kept it in business. I will hold out some hope that Apple can find a way to be an entertainment vendor for the masses while still offering relevant machines that help creative people create the entertainment for those same masses. |
Experimenting with RAW format photos Yesterday I branched out while taking photos at the end of the Great Race, a cross-country vintage car race that ended in downtown Tacoma. Ever since buying our Canon 20D digital SLR camera earlier this year I have shot photos using the highest resolution JPEG format. Yesterday I shot RAW images in addition to lower-quality JPEGs. So far the experiment has been interesting in the way that it is so much more time intensive to work with the RAW images. And of course the RAW files are much larger than the highest quality JPEGs - an average 8 MB file versus an average 3 MB file. I will have to do more playing around with the images to see if the advantages of shooting RAW outweigh the major downsides of file size and the sheer amount of time that would be required to edit RAW files. So far, I doubt it would be worth the trouble unless I bought a much more high-powered Mac than this aging 12-inch PowerBook G4... |
On archiving digital images Macworld has a pair of articles posted last week that are useful for anyone using a Mac to work with digital images. Make your images last deals with archiving strategies, while Prepare your photos offers some iPhoto tricks for dealing with your digital images. Although I don't use iPhoto, I still found the latter article useful...
Condolences to the people of London My hopes and prayers go to those touched by today's bombings in London. Horrendous...
On ways to be sensitive to the environment while travelling How to Save the World writes about how to minimize the environmental effects of travelling. There are some good points in here...
Canon's digital SLR beginner site If you have a new digital SLR, whether it is from Canon or not, this site mentioned on DPReview may be useful...
A tall ships sunset 
After enjoying an excellent dinner and two great wines - a French pinot noir and a French cabarnet that was so smooth that it was well worth the $14 a glass - at the Pour at Four restaurant in Tacoma's Proctor District, Natalie and I drove down to the waterfront to view the tall ships. We found 10 of the smaller tall ships mixing it up in Commencement Bay - including two that were engaged in a mock battle and firing cannons at each other. It was a great way end the day, with a tall ships sunset.
Continued shortcomings of online news So tonight I opened my computer and noticed that CNN includes a story about the partial collapse of the lava dome that has been building inside Mt. St. Helens. Part of the new dome collapsed this morning, sending a small plume above the crater rim and registering as a magnitude 3.1 earthquake. After seeing the CNN story, I then clicked over to the Northwest Cable News Web site to see if they had more details. Of course not. There was nothing about the story at all on that site. I then checked the KOMOTV.com site from one of our local TV stations. They have the same story as CNN, buried on the page. Of course, this is the weekend. But this story shows just how far online news sites for mainstream media have to come. I can get better local news coverage from CNN than from the supposed 24/7 news Web sites in my own state.
Choices, choices...which Tinderbox session to pick? It looks like I will finally be able to take part in a Tinderbox session with Mark Bernstein and his team from Eastgate in November. I will go to the one-day Seattle session, but the weekend session in San Francisco is tempting as well. Mark writes about the West Coast Tinderbox get-togethers on his site...
Tall Ships visit Tacoma through July 5 
Tall Ships Tacoma 2005 kicked off yesterday with the Parade of Sail, which surprisingly drew at least 125,000 people to the shores of Commencement Bay on a Thursday afternoon. In order to get the photos I wanted for the City of Tacoma home page and the City's Online Newsroom page, I spent four hours walking along the Tacoma waterfront. My pedometer said I had walked 13,000 steps during the day - roughly 5.5 miles of walking in the sun to get 175 photos. The photo above was taken from Ruston Way, about a mile from my house. It shows the Mexican and Russian tall ships as they make their turn into the wind near Point Defiance Park. Great news for the day is that the new Canon 75-300 mm image stabilized lens that I bought earlier this week proved its worth yesterday. I took all of my photos without using a tripod, and most of them look very sharp. It looks like it was a good addition to the digital photography arsenal. |
Tinderbox 2.5 arrives Mark Bernstein's site is full of news about the release of Tinderbox 2.5, as well as a Fourth of July weekend special for buyers of the most useful piece of software I have on my PowerBook. This is on my must download and upgrade list for the weekend! |
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