tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35195332009-06-11T12:15:40.420-04:00/* blogging in style */ .intelligent_discourse {display: none;}Rocknoreply@blogger.comBlogger114125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3519533.post-51277609280280134962009-06-07T15:07:00.002-04:002009-06-07T15:17:17.145-04:00

I've got about a half-dozen blog posts in the Draft drawer, but every time I get halfway through a thought, Real Life and the Job™ get in the way and steal away all of my attention. Plus, lately, I've been stuck in the majority of my waking hours in front of a recalcitrant (at best) Windows machine with so many security restrictions in place, I'm surprised it takes my password AT ALL.I've also

Rocknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3519533.post-82537726293339321472009-03-30T10:22:00.006-04:002009-06-07T15:26:08.934-04:00

Some may have noted that I was tinkering with setting up a Squarespace account. I'd noticed their ads in several places, and once they started getting airtime on MacBreak Weekly, I figured it was time to give them a second look. Having the no-obligation two week trial finally got me to at least sign up and kick the tires to see what I was missing.The good news in favor of Ss (that's what I'll

Rocknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3519533.post-72302863267839736292009-03-07T17:13:00.005-05:002009-03-07T18:06:47.996-05:00

I'm not going to add much to the following, save for how amazed I am that my wife can remember all of this and in such detail. We have over 2,000 photos from the trip to cull through before posting to Flickr, so be on the lookout for those. A few small notes to assist the reading, "soi" is Thai for "street," Baan Ananda is the apartment complex Brent lives in, Brent is Robin's brother, Patra is

Rocknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3519533.post-52696533036702581862009-02-25T09:31:00.006-05:002009-02-25T10:01:15.154-05:00

Okay, yeah, it's been like a long time since I last posted. I mentioned this before, but it's a real tricky situation to handle a blog post where you're safe enough in your statement not to lose you friends, to become an enemy of the state or generally screw up some n-degree of separation connection I didn't foresee that prevents my employment or some such. But today, I have a post we can all

Rocknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3519533.post-37069754358596046292008-03-13T10:27:00.002-04:002008-03-13T10:47:50.022-04:00

Recently, someone did a study that my wife was telling me about, how the "gut instinct" can be trusted, and my immediate reply has been that my gut has been right far more often than my head. Yet, I couldn't explain why that was. I didn't read the article, but I did start some self-examination of why I would think that, and I think I've come to a rudimentary explanation for why the gut feeling

Rocknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3519533.post-18334174749519037192008-02-27T10:24:00.005-05:002008-02-27T12:12:25.368-05:00

If any of you haven't heard me crow in utter admiration and evangelical urging about Apple's iWork component Keynote, you a.) haven't been paying attention or b.) haven't been within 20 feet of me lately. Seriously, Keynote is that perfect storm of an app: highly compatible with file formats coming in AND going out, simple to use, stable, powerful, starts off with a sense of taste and style that

Rocknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3519533.post-67348721588636995602008-02-17T15:43:00.001-05:002008-02-17T15:52:34.365-05:00

Dirty little secret #4,512: Adobe wants you to have Bridge. In fact, they want you to have it so much, they are giving it away. They just forget to tell you.First, a little backstory: before Macworld, I needed Dreamweaver CS3 installed on our family MacBook Pro for the two-day Power Tools Training Session (can't wait for it to be posted on MacworldEncore.com, for free. Yes, there's some sarcasm

Rocknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3519533.post-44917871425900457482008-02-14T19:18:00.001-05:002008-02-14T19:18:24.672-05:00

Okay, I was cruising the RSS feeds earlier today, and noticed that Merlin Mann had just posted a new video to 43folders.com... of his Macworld session.Now normally, I'd be happy to just watch away, gleaning any free knowledge he decided to bestow, and I figured this must be some supplement to what he actually said at the session. You know, a "value-added feature," as the kids (who dream of being

Rocknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3519533.post-49021413060521992182008-02-03T11:51:00.001-05:002008-02-03T11:51:05.079-05:00

The Macworld wrap-up keeps, um, wrapping, and today boasts a crazy schedule where I have something occupying my time and/or attention every minute. But suffice it to say, it's coming.

Rocknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3519533.post-74413648485207178782008-01-29T14:18:00.001-05:002008-01-29T14:30:51.115-05:00

Okay, for the record, I am planning to post my full Macworld wrap-up in the coming day or two, but for the uninitiated, I've been caught in the grip of a nasty bug picked up somewhere in California. At first, I assumed it was the dreaded annual Macworld plague, but in the past few days, as my wife has shown no symptoms, we are beginning to think she picked up the bug while sightseeing in San Fran

Rocknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3519533.post-21157172774738818082008-01-17T18:51:00.000-05:002008-01-17T18:53:24.265-05:00

Well, almost. And I am suddenly late for a session. Gotta scoot.p.s. Macbook Air is THE blogger's/conventioneer's best friend. Period. Or, well, it will be.p.p.s. Got my picture taken with both Merlin Mann AND Cabel Sasser. Rock. On..

Rocknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3519533.post-83091458668878009902008-01-16T17:48:00.000-05:002008-01-16T18:01:22.601-05:00

Today's sessions have an energy that wasn't present in the Power Tools Sessions. Methinks it's just a poor size-of-room-to-group ratio. When the rooms are packed tight, the emotions and response from the crowd come out quicker, tighter and louder, and encourage participation through flat-out crowd anonymity (see also: any internet forum).Just got out of the Presentation Magic seminar, which ran

Rocknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3519533.post-39462944324654233432008-01-16T13:35:00.000-05:002008-01-16T13:38:29.167-05:00

Currently resting on my tired, tired laurels in South Moscone, set up in the Microsoft Blogger lounge. One the good side, it's a beautiful modern living room set-up, complete with AC power (YES!). On the downside, you must give them a blog URL upon entry or else they release the monkeys. Probably should hunt down some food soon, then onto the Users Conference sessions. Plenty of photos int he

Rocknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3519533.post-26289435779698911642008-01-15T16:30:00.000-05:002008-01-15T16:37:43.665-05:00

Hey folks, been a while, but I've been busy working out my Macworld virginity, and let's just say I've learned a few lessons for the next Macworld. Having been to a few conferences, and been a security guard for a convention center ages ago (late teens), I can attribute most blame to an IDGExpo and Moscone staff that had NO idea what to do with a.) an enormous crowd over last year and b.) a

Rocknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3519533.post-22987665384828067532008-01-08T16:38:00.000-05:002008-01-08T16:47:13.130-05:00

That title's gonna make more sense to those who grew up on old-timey/fun-timey movies and Looney Tunes, like I did. Anyway...Just wanted ot let you all know that, thanks to Greg Keene, I have fixed the iCal calendars below to reflect Pacific Time (rather than the Eastern Standard they were entered under). This will shift all events earlier by three hours, so when you arrive in San Fran, make sure

Rocknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3519533.post-68690820562117112582007-12-08T14:41:00.000-05:002007-12-09T13:59:19.816-05:00

I've resorted to using Firefox to post this update, since it'll give me a few more browser in-line tools for this very special post.Since I'm finally making a long-overdue pilgrimage to Macworld San Francisco this January, and also since the IDG Event crew has managed to make one of the more inflexible large event websites I have ever tried to use, I set about the thankless, unenviable task of

Rocknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3519533.post-56915859963287031452007-12-02T11:10:00.000-05:002007-12-02T11:33:36.986-05:00

So some people have been asking me what I have been doing, keeping myself busy while not at work these days. I wish I could say "I've had projects out the proverbial wazoo," but such is not the case. Instead, having spent the majority of October visiting family, friends, and then updating my portfolio and resume for job prospects, I spent most of November getting normal life under control, while

Rocknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3519533.post-41041699631796528682007-11-30T17:10:00.000-05:002007-12-01T14:18:44.075-05:00

Glad to see the response to the blog post has been good. I was kinda nervous jumping back on the horse, after months/years of neglect, but the previous post was just way too long for a Facebook note.By the way, for those who are wondering, this is a Blogger.com supplied template and as such:a.) they are the folks responsible for totally borking up the styling info for the "recent posts" in the

Rocknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3519533.post-61038093917669068542007-11-29T17:34:00.001-05:002007-12-06T20:59:51.673-05:00

This has the ability to be a voluminous post, but it's an important one, so here it goes. This story starts in one direction, then changes on you at the end, so if you're not exactly in love with vacuum talk, let it evolve into a talk about computers and just general worth. You may be surprised by the results.So, in the past five years or so, my wife and I have done a lot of moving about. One of

Rocknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3519533.post-9024849627930880932007-06-16T09:43:00.000-04:002007-06-16T09:55:18.306-04:00

okay, there are a few things that i like about the apple.com redesign, but i keep trying to figure out if i like it because it's GOOD, or just because it's different. case in point, those buttons across the top... the faux depth of the gradient and the "inner shadow" pressed state when you click just feel like, well, a photoshop "make a button action" or something. they work WAY better on the

Rocknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3519533.post-57523212040389841182007-05-27T22:27:00.000-04:002007-05-27T22:28:13.694-04:00

Jesus rhymes with cheeses. There's gotta be a song lyric in there somewhere.

Rocknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3519533.post-52111575432293485572007-05-24T16:12:00.000-04:002007-05-24T16:14:47.280-04:00

you ever have someone tell you a joke, and they laugh uproariously at one part of it, and you sit there thinking "um, actually, the funny part is the person who DID what you just described, and you're pretty much a mirror image of them." and then you realize how utterly out of touch they are with their own outwardly perception.something similar happened to me. hoo-boy. awkward.

Rocknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3519533.post-26576577542355616022007-05-24T14:32:00.000-04:002007-05-24T14:35:45.993-04:00

I want too know how this has slipped through the cracks for the last decade. There is no EASY way to paste WITHOUT formatting. And if you say that making a special trip to the "Paste Special..." command, and clicking a toggle button every time you paste, OR that an obtrusive icon button appearing out of nowhere every time you paste, OR making your own macro in Word's VB Script editor and then

Rocknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3519533.post-11812207734455039272007-05-18T14:32:00.000-04:002007-05-18T14:34:16.517-04:00

finally figured out what I was doing wrong and have access to my old blogger account again (hence the update). basically, around the time google/blogger decided to start updating their service, and they asked me to do so, i upgraded with an e-mail address i had forgotten i even HAD.of course, now that i'm online, i don't have terribly much to say. oh well.

Rocknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3519533.post-1165933270603435292006-12-12T09:20:00.000-05:002006-12-12T09:21:10.610-05:00

when it tries to solve a problem you didn't have.case in point, i have been looking around for the functional equivalent of "shutdown items" from mac os 9 under mac os x. so i started googling around, and while some people had posted questions just this simply, people would counter, rather than with answers, with questioning "why would you want to do that? explain what you are trying to

Rocknoreply@blogger.com