gizmo's freeware

This is an excellent site containing reviews of best freeware in many categories.


Some notable reviews:

• http://www.techsupportalert.com/best-free-anti-virus-software.htm
• http://www.techsupportalert.com/content/top-freeware-picks-category-editors.htm
• http://www.techsupportalert.com/best-free-firewall.htm
• http://www.techsupportalert.com/best-free-cd-dvd-burning-software.htm
• http://www.techsupportalert.com/best-free-pdf-writer.htm
• http://www.techsupportalert.com/best-free-disk-de-fragmenter.htm
• http://www.techsupportalert.com/best-free-drive-imaging-program.htm
• http://www.techsupportalert.com/best-free-portable-programs.htm
• http://www.techsupportalert.com/best-free-non-adobe-pdf-reader.htm

www.softwarepatch.com

This is a great website for getting at direct downloads of notable HW/SW patches, service packs, security updates, DirectX, etc.

  http://www.softwarepatch.com

Totes "Doorman/Gentleman" umbrella

I recently broke my favourite umbrella, the Totes classic black "Doorman" or "Gentleman" stick umbrella, and had a hard time finding a place to buy a replacement from.

Naturally, Totes online has it, but they don't ship to Canada, and their Canadian store is only going to come online next year.  Amazon.com does not ship to Canada.  Sigh.

Finally, success!  Someone that has it AND ships to Canada:
  http://www.beltoutlet.com
It can be found here:
  http://www.beltoutlet.com/meaustumbto.html

Now let's see how fast they can get it here.

hunting for dock for Nexus S

Best deal on the "lean back" models is here:
  http://shop.brando.com/google-nexus-s-usb-cradle_p05659c1265d106.html
  http://shop.brando.com/google-nexus-s-2nd-battery-usb-cradle_p05660c1265d106.html

Interestingly, you can hack the dock by adding resistors, to get different results:
  http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=12160799&postcount=40
  http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=820275

dead pixel finder, online version

http://www.gdargaud.net/Hack/DeadPixels.html

setting up googlecl in Windows

Some instructions here:
http://publicint.blogspot.com/2010/06/setup-googlecl-on-winxp.html

However, it seems newest versions of the googlecl tool come pre-built. The only issue was I was missing MSVCRT71.dll file.  This can be obtained for Windows 7 here:
http://www.addictivetips.com/windows-tips/fix-msvcp71-dll-and-msvcr71-dll-missing-error-in-windows-7/

favourite wallpaper sites

These are my favourite wallpaper sites, ranked by preference:

• http://nik.bot.nu/browse.fu
• http://wallbase.net/
• http://4walled.org/
• http://www.reddit.com/r/wallpapers

places to get Lamy nibs / sections

• swisher store : sells stand-alone nibs, converters (if link doesn't work, select "Lamy" button, then "Safari collection)
• Lamy USA : sells Safari sections, although they don't have orange!
• The Writing Desk : sells nibs

link: A Simple Guide to Keeping Your Counters Clutter-free

http://zenhabits.net/2009/06/a-simple-guide-to-keeping-your-counters-clutter-free/

OmniOutliner annoying binding

When I try to use Meta-Ctrl-< in Emacs while there is some text selected, OmniOutliner pops up and tries to insert the text as a "Default Clipping", which is terribly annoying, to say the least. After some looking around it seems to be a "Service" that can be turned off:

You need to remove the OmniOutliner Professional.service file from ~/Library/Services If you want to use OmniOutliner, you can changed the clipping shortcut through the OS X keyboard prefs or using some other app that will modify service shortcuts for you.

and also

Yes, I did restart after deleting the .service file. I did however find a .plist file (as your colleague suggested) related to OmniOutliner somewhere and once that was gone I am now rid of error messages as well.

Links:

• http://forums.omnigroup.com/archive/index.php/t-9800.html
• http://www.mactech.com/articles/mactech/Vol.20/20.12/OSXServices/index.html

fountain pens

Went on a "fountain pen bender" this past weekend. Found tons of interesting things. Here is a bag of them:

• http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=8175 : index of pen reviews
• http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=39354 : index of ink reviews
• http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=58316 : fade test of inks
• http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=11808 : Fountain Pen Network FAQ
• http://www.richardspens.com/ : Richard Binder's fountain pen site
• http://www.richardspens.com/?page=ref/anatomy-vac.htm : Anatomy of a Vac.

Lamy Safari pics:

• http://www.flickr.com/photos/36829683@N04/3452679206/ : orange
• http://www.flickr.com/photos/animalsoup/2045291870/in/set-72157610232874613/ : white
• http://www.flickr.com/photos/dowdyism/3019460841/ : lime green

interesting vid: open-mindedness

http://www.dailymotion.com/user/totocacapouet/video/x8uei4_openmindedness_tech

lawnmower trouble

Ran into lawnmower trouble today. After priming the engine and firing it up, it runs for 2-5 seconds and dies. It sounds like carburator trouble. Some links I checked out in the process, which are worth saving:

• http://en.allexperts.com/q/Small-Engines-Lawn-1746/mower-starts-stops.htm
• http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/85019

proper exercise technique

Bryan pointed out this interesting link:
http://www.crossfit.com/cf-info/excercise.html

flu & fever

I found the following links interesting when I investigated my fever/flu:

• http://www.fluwikie.com/pmwiki.php?n=Consequences.Fever
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Influenza
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fever
• http://www.cdc.gov/flu/

my site for collecting quotes

http://sites.google.com/site/mkalisiak/quotes

Anatomy of a Stump Speech

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/graphic/2008/02/26/GR2008022600417.html

high-altitude ballooning in near-space

http://natrium42.com/halo/flight2/

High altitude ballooning is an emerging hobby, since price of GPS and communications equipment has gotten quite low. It is an excellent hobby for people fascinated by space flight and telerobotics and has many learning aspects — from systems design to electronics design to software engineering. There is also an exciting risk factor, namely, that you could lose your precious electronics if something malfunctions. In this project, many of my interest and knowledge areas came together. Also, I have verified that the Earth is indeed round and that space is black. — Alexei Karpenko

(Windows) file managers

Comparisons

• http://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=176343
• http://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=117653
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_file_managers

File Managers

• Total Commander
• Total Commander PowerPack
• Total Commande Ultima Prime
• xplorer²
• xyplorer
• FreeCommander
• UltraExplorer
• PowerDesk Pro
• Magellan Explorer

bash scripting docs

• Bash Reference Manual
• Advanced Bash-Scripting Guide
• Advanced Bash-Scripting HOWTO
• BASH Programming - Introduction HOW-TO