Vacuuming the Lungs

Yesterday's link to 43 Folders led me to Vacuuming the Lungs, or "How to breathe deeply when you're nervous". The timing on this is nice because Tom and I will be on Inside Mac radio tomorrow (Saturday). And despite what that site says, we'll actually be on live from 1-3 pm PST, so give us a call at 800-490-0058 to put us on the spot.

iGlasses

On October 5, I said:

For only $8, Ecamm Network's iGlasses is pretty cool. It's software that controls iSight video settings. If I used my iSight more, I'd probably get it. Or, if they had something that swapped the picture right/left, I'd buy it in a hot second instead of just considering it. That, I really need.

Today brings news of a new version, including:

Upside Down or Mirror Image:
With iGlasses, you can turn your image upside down. This is useful for situations where the iSight is mounted upside down. This feature is only available from within iChat AV. Mirror image is also available.

I wonder if my "I'd buy it in a hot second" was read by anyone at Ecamm? If so, they now know that I wasn't bluffing.

Why do I care? Have you ever tried to convince someone that they need to rent an Elmo so that you can show a PDA or cell phone for 30 seconds during a presentation? For $8, iGlasses gives me darn near everything I want from the Elmo, at a tiny fraction of the price.

Hack your way out of writer's block

From 43 Folders: Hack your way out of writer's block. Lots of useful tips. While it's geared towards fiction, many of them would apply to non-fiction as well.

DVD Deals

I got a lot of "thanks" messages after I posted that Amazon deal on Fox DVDs a few weeks ago, so here's another goodie: Warner Bros. DVDs for $7.99 each. Our faves: Blade Runner (The Director's Cut) and Excalibur (okay, I admit it, I'm a sucker for cheesy Arthuriana).

And don't forget, if you stop and make a quick search at A9.com before clicking on the above links, Amazon will give you another 1.57% off your order, so you'll save even more.

Ask Dave Taylor

A new (to me) and useful resource: Ask Dave Taylor! He's written books about everything from HTML to Unix on OS X, so he's got plenty of info in his head, and he's willing to share. You can read any of the many questions he's already answered, or just ask him one yourself.

Given the number of questions I answer daily on mailing lists, personal email, and blogs, I'm wondering if maybe I should start a site like this myself...

On Her Knees for the President

Regarding the elevation of Condi Rice to Secretary of State, Wonkette said it best:

Rice: Just Waiting for the Opportunity to Ask 'How High?'

Reputable sources report that Bush has selected Condoleezza Rice to follow Colin Powell as secretary of state. Yes, well. . . Dissent is overrated, anyway. Are we the only ones who think that Bush's ideal cabinet would actually be made up of the Iraqi leadership council? You know: hand-picked, obedient, unfamiliar with the U.S. Constitution. . .

So here's the penalty for incompetence in the Bush administration: You get promoted.

Rice was arguably the most feckless, ineffectual, and powerless National Security Advisor in modern history. Under her watch, America suffered the worst terrorist attack in our history. Did she work to find out why, root out the problem, and make sure that it never happened again? She did not. Under her watch, America went to war under false pretenses, costing more than $200 billion of our national treasure and wasting almost 1,500 American lives to date, with 10,000 more horribly wounded. Did Rice object during the run-up to this war, or object to the incompetent way it has been run? She did not. When the 9/11 Commission was investigating her inexcusable failure to help prevent that tragedy, did she go up to Capitol Hill and face the American people with courage, proudly making her case? She did not. Instead, she cowered behind the skirts of executive privilege for weeks, and her bosses only pushed her out into the sunlight to be the sacrificial lamb when public outcry became too much for the GOP to bear. Her testimony, when it finally came, was a sickening, malodorous stew of excuses, ass-covering, and finger-pointing, spiced by a pungent whiff of outright lies. As she spoke, you could all but see Bush's (or more likely Cheney's) hand up her ass, making her lips move. We all know the racism that permeates the GOP, yet is hidden under the velvet glove. Rice is the perfect example of Republican-style affirmative action. She's "So well-spoken." She's "So well-respected." She's "So under our thumb."

This simpering apparatchik is who will now represent the United States of America to the world. This living embodiment of the Peter Principle will be the face that will try to whip other countries in line with Bush's messianic fever-dreams of the New American Empire. She has now failed upward yet again, and will become, no doubt, the most embarassing, craven Secretary of State in the modern era. Ah, it's another proud day to be an American.

Marathon RePorter

Here's a handy solution to a common problem: the RePorter Port Replicator from Marathon Computer. Two USB 2.0 ports, 1 FireWire 400 port, 1 FireWire 800 port, and one each audio-in and audio-out minijacks. Perfect for when you have a computer with all its inputs stuck in the back, but you don't want to keep having to reach around to plug and unplug peripherals.

I don't need one, but I bet some of you do.

Rate My Teachers

I'm not sure how I ended up here, but this link's for Sean: RateMyTeachers.com - Teacher Ratings for Healdsburg High School. It's really darn tempting to put my two cents in on their "Parent" section, but I think I'll wait until after Sean graduates.

A gift for Red Staters

Comment spam goes weird

We haven't had much if any problems with comment spam since upgrading to Movable Type 3 + MT-Blacklist (yay!), but I have to note that comment spam has gone from incredibly annoying to just plain weird.

Example 1: Liz Lawley has someone trying to get her in trouble (my guess: a disgruntled ex-student).

Example 2 is from a couple of attempts today to spam this blog:

IP Address: 217.132.105.89
Name: IE Team
Email Address: explorer@microsoft.com
URL: http://blogs.msdn.com/ie/

Comment: Explorer will always be the best browser. Don"t you
dare install Firefox or we will sue you.

IE Team