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Window Seat

A friend passed along this really nice display of photos, called "Window Seat." They're photos taken from - you guessed it - the window seat of airplanes. Some of them are quite amazing.

In this day and age I sometimes feel odd about taking out my camera on a plane - particularly during takeoff and landing - but being somewhat bold can result in some amazing images.

Marlboro Race Car

A nifty article that boils down to necessity being the mother of invention: a race car had a bar code decal applied in places where cigarette advertising (sponsorship) is banned.

Frankly, I don't get the ban on cigarette advertising. How many people take up cigarettes because of a logo on a race car? Seriously? And if they're that easily swayed, isn't their eventual premature death a great application of natural selection? ๐Ÿ˜›

(The previous paragraph is primarily tongue in cheek. I know smokers increase the health care costs for everyone else, blah blah blah.)

New Money

I'll pass on this:

$100

But I don't really like this design either (also seen here). Heck, I like the official version more than this redesign.

Free Copy for Beta Testing

{democracy:71}

Share your thoughts, explanations, and/or examples in the comments below.

Forum for PGA/PGM Members

I haven't looked very much, but I've not seen a forum or a site that caters to people that are currently enrolling - or thinking about enrolling - in the PGA's apprentice or PGM programs.

I'm considering starting one myself… I know I'd benefit and I don't doubt others would as well.

/System/Library/Extensions

Somehow, my /System/Library/Extensions folder has grown to 214 items. Just curious - how many do you have on your computer? How in the world do I know if I need to load all of these? Can you clean some out? Why would you need or want to?

FWIW, /Library/Extensions is empty.

Again, how many do you have? The full entry contains my list for the Mac Pro on which I'm typing this (10.6.3).

Gutter Repair/Replacement Costs

Following up on yesterday's post, the estimates are:

$80 to repair the gutter. The guy who came explained that this was basically a minimum charge.

$96 to replace the one bad gutter.

$442 (includes $50 coupon) to replace all of the gutters on the entire house.

$1590 for a thing that's written up as "LEAF-FREE". It's still the same idea as LeafGuard but I'm fairly certain it's not LeafGuard™ with the ™ if you know what I mean.

Gutter Replacement, Repair, LeafGuard

One of the gutters on my house has started to pull away from the house itself. Winter is tough on gutters, and this one's been bad for awhile now. All of the clips that hold the far side of the gutter to the near side are broken, so water just collects in the middle and then pours over the side.

I'm considering the LeafGuard system of aluminum gutters. They look fine, but I've read some good and bad things about them. I have no doubt that they'll keep larger debris out of the gutter, but the small stuff - including spring-time buds and the small gravel-like pieces that come from the roof shingles - will still be able to get in. And then how do you clean them? They say you don't have to, but that's just because they'll come clean them for you.

There are all sorts of screens and filters, but frankly it's not that hard to clean my first-floor gutters. The second floor, sure, but we haven't had any issues with those gutters (knock on wood).

Perhaps we can just have the gutter repaired. Re-attach it, replace the clips, and go.

Video Project Full Steam Ahead

We've chosen a developer. We've chosen an icon artist. The process is full steam ahead at this point.

It feels somewhat odd not writing code or doing mockups in Interface Builder for the application (I've still done plenty of mocking up, but it's been in Photoshop). Normally I'm involved at that level, but for this project, which I'll simply call "A," I'm involved at a higher level. I have a partner who's serving as the bankroll and I'm serving as the "technical know-how" guy, basically.

The icon is going to be a struggle. We don't yet have an awesome "WOW" idea. We haven't hit on "the one" yet. We'll get there, and worst case, we'll have a good but not great icon. Hey, you can always change those out pretty easily, you know…

The application will come in two versions - a "lighter" one and a more powerful one - but I don't want to give any more details than that. Heck, I don't even want to tell you who we've chosen for the project (but will when we launch) out of what must surely be an irrational fear that someone else will hire them in the meantime. ๐Ÿ™‚

Suffice to say they're doing awesome work so far, though.

HDR Course Now at DSLRU

We've posted a new - and free - course at DSLRU covering the hot topic of High Dynamic Range (HDR) photography.

The course is available at http://dslru.com/courses/D1004 along with ten other courses, all priced free or inexpensively.

Don't forget, too, that you can enter DSLRU's launch contest to win free software from Nik. Registration at DSLRU is FREE.

Wish List Item: Casio’s EX-FH25

With Casio's EX-F1 jumping $300 to $999, the EX-FH25 is looking pretty enticing.

The stat that matters most to me is 240 FPS recording at 448 x 336 and 120 FPS at 640 x 480 are some nice numbers, particularly when you consider the fact that you can set the shutter speed to 1/2000 second manually for recording a golf swing.

I think Dave will pick one up for Golf Evolution. They seem to go for about $329. Maybe I'll pick one up for myself using my free shipping option with Amazon…

Rouse

Jesper wrote this in 2008 regarding OmniWeb. Things haven't changed much since then, and OmniWeb 6 is vaporware, so Jesper's taking things into his own hands with "Rouse."

Rouse is an attempt to create a new Mac OS X web browser that steals the best bits from OmniWeb for its user interface, adds some well-needed hooks to the interior to customize rendering and loading, and otherwise stays away from scope creep as far as possible. It is an open source project doing the sort of thing that open source projects have proven to be enormously successful at.

I wish Jesper the best, and I hope he continues to ping me on AIM when he's thinking of something so that I can continue to brainstorm with him. In fact, though he's clearly been considering doing Rouse for a long time, I think me telling him to do it may have served as the final straw in his decision to start the project.

Ikea – Yes or No?

Ikea: yes or no?

I've heard conflicting things. The nearest store is a two-hour drive (with the upside that we can eat at Monte Cello's on the way home).

P.S. For a seven-year-old's room.

Bought an HP Officejet Pro 8000 Wireless Printer

A few months ago I was looking for a Color Laser Printer. Due to a strong recommendation (and an incredibly cheap price of $119), I've ended up with an HP OfficeJet Pro 8000. It prints via WiFi and I've already printed some sheets, so I'm happy so far.

Reviews on Amazon.com are middling. The average of the reviews is about 3.5 stars (of five), so that's good. I haven't had any of the "wait times" some people have claimed, and I don't need borderless printing. I don't know about the ink levels - I was told they came with the full 940 ink cartridges, so if they've lied to me they're going to have an angry customer shortly.

I purchased on a bit of a whim. I'd told Dave at the Academy that he should look into buying a color laser printer because the inkjets he has drive him nuts, but he was convinced to buy this printer too.

I visited the store an hour later and decided that for $119 it was worth a flier. It has been so far.

Beginning Amazon Prime Trial

Today I begin a free one-month Amazon Prime trial. I'm still not sure it's worth $79 - but it's worth a free one-month trial to get the electric razor I just ordered in two days.

I've set a reminder in BusyCal to prompt me in 25 days to cancel (or keep) Amazon Prime.

P.S. Philips Arcitec 1050 Kit with the self-cleaning thing. The whole bundle cost $1 less than the razor alone at Target…