iBook, iMac, iBlog...

[August 30, 2001]

Too Skinny?

In the space of less than two minutes, two different people in the office stopped by my desk with the express purpose of giving me some dessert (a brownie and a chocolate chip cookie. Both quite tasty, BTW.). I'm not sure what the message I am supposed to be receiving is.

Maybe a couple more chocolate treats will help me figure it out...

[August 27, 2001]

Linkage...

A List Apart continues to run last week's issue featuring my article on Practical CSS Tips, Tricks and Techniques. And the good folks at WebReference.com have noticed! Their article on Advanced CSS contains a link to my article. thanks guys!

[August 23, 2001]

PSA

If you are waiting at a bus stop (ostensibly for a bus), don't be surprised when the bus actually arrives at the stop, and make everyone wait while you dig around in your purse or pocket for your pass, or correct change. Have your fare ready when you board the bus.

We'll all be happier that way...

This has been a public service announcement from this blog and your public transportation system.

[August 21, 2001]

So don't bother watching...

Says Steve Jobs: "My keynote will focus on Mac OS X v10.1, the super-fast new version of Mac OS X, and our revolutionary new iDVD 2 software. This has been an incredible new product year for Apple, so we don't plan to launch any new hardware products in Paris this year."

Wireless Networks in Big Trouble

I have such a network in the house. Part of me says keep it wide open. Part of me says to shut it up tight. We don't really do anything top secret, so I am not worried about trade secrets being lost. At the same time I do access servers at work and elsewhere, whose security I don't want to compromise. And the wireless networks set up at work don't reach outside of the building due to all the metal duct work, etc. that is found throughout. It is still interesting to consider...

[August 20, 2001]

Grack!

John Farr pays a visit to our fair city, and, as only he can, finds an allegory about the MS way within a story about how we create housing developments out here (with pictures)...

So how was your weekend?

Two birthday celebrations, a great magic show and four hours enjoying the artificial waves and slides at a water park made for a great weekend for our family...

[August 17, 2001]

Happy Birthday Sweetheart!

2 years old today. I love you!

--Daddy...

[August 16, 2001]

Practical CSS Layout Tips, Tricks and Techniques

It's after midnight in New York, and Friday's A List Apart has gone live. This week's issue features an article by yours truly that was born out of the handout I created for the CSS Panel I am moderating at Web2001 next month. Read it and then check out the discussion

I'll whoop you with my lolli!

If this is what a rave is like, I'm glad I've never been to one... [via davezilla]

I survived a Killer Bee attack...

...and I didn't even get a lousy T-shirt.

It's not the first time mother nature has unleashed her wrath and fury on me. Maybe I should switch cologne - maybe I should start wearing cologne. On two separate occasions a bird has swooped down, screeching at me, once even hitting my back pack.

And now yesterday, on the way home from the bus stop, my peripheral vision picked up some motion above my head, and my ears confirmed that a buzzing insect had found its way into the curls of my hair. I brushed my hand across my head, but the buzzing only intensified. Seconds later, after what I can only assume was a rather amusing display for anyone who happened to be watching, my fears were confirmed by a burning sensation. Right in the middle of my forehead. And the buzzing finally stopped.

At this point I was a bit concerned. In this part of the world they don't even check to see if the bees are africanized. They all are. It's just a fact of life that we have learned to live with. These so called killer bees are very aggressive when they think their hive is being threatened. When they sting they release a pheromone that draws other, "suicide stingers" to fend off the threat. So, just to be safe, I jogged the rest of the way home.

The stinger was still under my skin, and the pain was beginning to spread. My wife got the stinger out, and I took some Advil®. Life got back to normal then, and there is no swelling this morning.

I'm just glad I'm not allergic...

[August 15, 2001]

Has it been three years already?

Send a birthday email to Apple telling them how the iMac has changed your life and you might get published on their site.

And a happy birthday to my nephew Kaeden, who turns one today, and has the distinct honor of sharing his birthday with a computer.

At least it's a cool computer...

[August 14, 2001]

Percussion

The word itself is onomatopoetic. You can hear the toms in the "PER" and the "KUH," and the crash of a cymbal that is then dampened in the "SHHHUN." Drumming is universal to music and cultures around the world. And it's no wonder. The raw, pounding rhythms resonate in the listener. Even deaf people can appreciate it, feeling the sound in their bones. It is at once both primitive and haute culture - which explains the popularity of Stomp and Blue Man Group, among others.

We revere those percussionists who leave us in awe of their ability. Some are more well known. Others less so, but are no less talented. They have been called visual timekeepers, and certainly hold together a band, whether the other instruments in the group include electric guitars and synthesizers, violins and violas, or tubas and piccolos.

I write this because the university, on whose campus my office resides, starts fall classes next week. The marching band started practice yesterday. The percussion section was working out their rhythms underneath the stadium. Where it echoes wonderfully. And is loud. Where you can feel the beat, and it mixes with the inner beating of your heart, and you have a strangely visceral response, causing you to make a pseudo-philosophical post to your weblog. Even though you know next to nothing about percussion. Except that you like it.

Especially when you feel it in your bones...

[August 13, 2001]

I'd hate to see how crowded the city is...

The description is promising:

Welcome to breathtaking Tokyo Water Park where you can wash away the pressure and stress of the overcrowded city and relax with your friends in the soothing enjoyment of sun, fun and splashing.

And the reality?

[August 8, 2001]

Stress reliever, internet found art, or ?

Whatever it is, The Shredder shatters the illusion that web sites are solid pages, and somehow permanent. It answers the question, "what if these instructions [HTML code] are interpreted differently than intended? Perhaps radically differently?"

Shred iBlog...

[August 7, 2001]

I can't believe we're losing to these guys!

Some interesting food for thought regarding Microsoft...

Microsoft Must Die (So SHOOT already!)

John Farr's latest Grack! article makes a compelling case for ridding your Mac of all Microsoft software.

Government should block XP release

Dan Gillmore makes a compelling case for the DOJ to block Microsoft's upcoming Windows update.

The Death of TCP/IP

Robert Cringley paints a scary picture of a Microsoft Internet future.

Allchin: No plans to change anything in XP

Jim Allchin, group vice president of Microsoft's platform group, takes time out to discuss many of the issues surrounding the launch - I'm dizzy from the spin...

Dance, Monkey Boy!

Can we really trust a company whose CEO does this? [3MB mpeg]

[August 6, 2001]

Because I could...

My parents took us up to Mount Lemmon for breakfast and a ride on the ski lift. And my digital camcorder made the trip as well. On the way down the mountain I used iMovie on the TiBook to edit the video.

Take a look... [11MB of QuickTime]