NSLog();

I recently tried to subscribe to the RSS feeds at thelongtail.com only to find out that despite listing the feeds in the source (right where you'd expect them) and providing multiple formats, they all simply redirect to an Atom feed.

Don't advertise a feed as RSS 2.0 or RSS 1.0, then secretly scuttle users to an Atom feed. It just ain't cool.

I've had a problem with the way Adium manages its log files for a long time, and I'm hoping that perhaps there's a solution. Essentially, despite the "aliases" offered by Adium, it still logs many of my conversations under the username.

For example, I have a buddy named "Ron" with both an AIM and a Google Talk chat identity. Both are united under the alias "Ron." The AIM logs show up under "Ron" in Adium's log viewer, while I must look under "ronsusername@gmail.com" for the conversations which take place on Google Talk. This happens despite the fact that the Google Talk ID (and buddy icon) appear beneath the "Ron" alias in the log viewer, right beneath the AIM ID.

I have a few contacts with only one account, and yet the same account is listed separately with conversations. It doesn't always happen, in other words, to aliases with multiple associated accounts.

What gives? Why can't Adium's log viewer properly categorize these conversations?

After installing a new garage door opener, I received a call from Ron asking if I'd like to go to Presque Isle to take pictures. Sure, I said! And we ventured forth. I shot most of the day in aperture priority at f/5.6. I didn't notice that my ISO was set to 400 (I'd have chosen 100), but did remark a few times that 1/4000 even at +1 exposure compensation did seem awfully fast. Derrr. All shots done with the Rebel XTi and the EF 28-135 IS/USM. Only some levels, white balance, and cropping done in post-processing.

There weren't nearly as many ice fishermen as I would have thought:

NSLog(@"Finish Reading %d Words", 450); »

To shoot fireworks, a generalized setup is:

1. Use a tripod or something else stationary.
2. ISO 100-200 is fine. You want longer exposures and a dark(er) sky.
3. Use "bulb mode" on your camera.
4. Focus on infinity at whatever focal length frames the fireworks.
5. Experiment until you get the timing down, but starting at about 30 seconds is good.

Only six more months or so until I can try this out! 😀

I'd like to thank the guys who helped to dislodge the Aztek from its "stuck in the snow" position earlier this afternoon at the Millcreek 6 Cinema. Thank you. Your kindness and willingness to help has done a good bit to bolster my faith in humanity.

Of course, the car got there because I thought it would be fun to drive through a deeper section of snow. In other words, I didn't deserve the help, which only deepens my gratitude. That was before the movie, and we didn't receive the help until after the movie (The Departed). Live and learn.

Yeah, we have a lot of snow. We've probably gotten the normal amount of snow, but the main problem is that almost none of it has melted since it started coming down in early January.

This is my "driveway neighbor"'s house.

If you're looking to get a gravatar, you can now do so. Gravatar.com has re-launched and is now a "version 2.0" product. Some of you may have noticed your gravatars appearing next to comments here on my site, and it's true: they do.

So, go ahead and get yerself a gravatar. It's (still) free. I hope you have an easier time choosing one than I did.

The original, more in-depth post is here, but I thought I'd post it here on my blog, too: I need to find a Windows developer to port Scorecard to Windows. Our first developer got so tied up in moving to a new home he forgot to email us for about 45 days straight. 😛

I'd like to find someone or some company capable of making thin metal discs with shapes cut from the middle. Both the circumference and the shape - which must be centered - would need to be sized within reasonable limits (one to two millimeters). These discs could be made of something like aluminum and really don't need to be thick - the thickness of a credit card or so would be fine. The thickness of an aluminum can is too thin - some level of rigidity is a must.

Many of the shapes might be from things like a wingdings or symbols type font, and could be exported in a variety of formats. Though that may not matter, as I don't suspect a CNC machine cares much about TIFF, PDF, PNG, or an EPS or Adobe Illustrator file. 😉

I've looked a bit locally, and I'm certain it's possibly very easy to do, but may require a little imagination on the part of the operator. Do you know how I might find something capable of doing this?

A friend sent me a link to an article titled "This is your Mac on drugs." My initial response to him was that Safari was using ICC profiles, which was a good thing, and simply specifying gamma - brighter or darker - really doesn't matter. In fact, I prefer 1.8 because the color curves are more like what I'd like to see:

After all, I've done Web work, my colors have matched, and I've done just fine using Safari, Photoshop, and CSS to match colors. For as long as I can remember, it's been a non-issue. In looking at my Photoshop CS3 (beta) color settings, I see that I'm actually set for "North America General Purpose 2." I could switch to "Monitor Color" or "North America Web/Internet," but it's not been an issue at all, so I won't.

P.S. Roll over the gamma image to toggle between the same JPEG saved with and without a profile.

Garages are for storing cars, shielding them from the elements.

Today I watched, off and on, my neighbors spend more than one hour shoveling around the cars they parked in their driveway. I cleared my entire driveway and the sidewalks around my house in one third the time. Not only that, but my cars - in the garage - are accessible 24/7 with slippers and sweatclothes.

I understand not keeping your car inside garages in Florida. The worst thing that could happen there (hurricanes and falling trees aside) was that you'd get wet if it was raining. But in PA during the winter?

Your cars belong in your garage, not a bunch of boxes and things you can't fit in the basement you converted into extra living space.

Two entries in my crontab look a little funny to some people:

0    7    *    *    *    /Users/iacas/.script-morning.app
0    23   *    *    *    /Users/iacas/.script-night.app

.script-night.app

tell application "System Events"
    if exists (process "ScreenSaverEngine") then
        tell application "System Events" to set volume with output muted
    end if
end tell

.script-morning.app

tell application "System Events" to set volume without output muted

In other words, one script mutes my computer so that my email application doesn't make noise when I'm trying to sleep. Sometimes I work until 2am, and this setup allows me to do so. When I go to bed I simply try to remember to mute.

I've not yet seen anything about Mike Tomlin that disappoints. Here's his full interview with KDKA.

I am, in no particular order, a geek, a Mac user, a husband, a (step)father, a golfer, a pool player, a TV viewer (with a few favorite shows), and a photographer (kinda). I play pool, I work for myself and do a variety of tasks, and I live in Erie, PA but have lived elsewhere, too.

Gravatar is re-launching in two days, and though I'd like to choose a gravatar for myself, I'm simply unable to. I can't think of the one thing I'd like to choose to universally represent myself. I don't have my own logo (perhaps I should), and none of my interests or any of the "hats" I wear define me to such a great extent that one thing dwarfs the other aspects of my life, let alone has a graphical representation that accurately portrays itself in 80 pixels square!

Yes, I think about these kinds of things. Internally, for weeks at a time, I agonize over whether I should change my buddy icon. I have no idea what I'll use as my gravatar.