NSLog();

I underwent a personality test today as part of a job interview. The questions looked about like this:

M   L
_   _    Reliable, Dependable
_   _    Easy-Going, Good-Natured
_   _    Driven, Motivated
_   _    Persuasive, Convincing

40 or so of these questions existed, and in each case you have to mark two Xs - one in the "M" column for "most like me" and one in the "L" column for "least like me."

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I dropped by Lowe's again today on "my lunch break" to have a look at some of the washers and dryers. It boils down to the $1800 set of one of three brands: Bosch, Whirlpool, and Maytag. If you're not shopping for a washer or dryer, no doubt this entry will be rather boring. I don't really care - I'm just looking to consolidate my research in one place, so, this post more than others is for me (and Carey).

First, some links (first two columns) and prices:

Name         Washer               Dryer (Elec)      Total $ (Disc)
----         ----------------     ------------      --------------
Bosch          $997, 3.7 ft^3     $747, 6.2 ft^3    $1,744 ($1570)
Maytag       $1,099, 3.8 ft^3     $799, 7.3 ft^3    $1,898 ($1708)
Whirlpool    $1,097, 3.8 ft^3     $847, 7.0 ft^3    $1,944 ($1750)

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Apparently, you can "thank George Lucas" for his work on Star Wars at thankyougeorge.com (via Aaron White).

I'm not gonna sign my name to say thanks, but I will sign my name at "donotwritethedialogyourselfgeorge.com" if it ever comes online. 😛

I took advantage of this offer: 30 free iTunes songs with the purchase of an AirPort Express. Since I'm moving to a new house soon - and one with a much bigger area - it'll be nice to have "extended coverage" just by plugging something into the wall. Carey and I will be able to work in the yard, wirelessly, or the kitchen, or the garage, or wherever.

It may take me a year to use the 30 songs (I've been on a "free song of the week and nothing more" binge for the past five months), but I was going to buy an AirPort Express sooner or later anyway.

Question: Are you using any Automator scripts or actions yet?

My Answer: No. I think Automator will be much like AppleScript - utilized heavily by some, under-utilized by the vast majority (most of whom won't even know it's there).

You are encouraged to answer the Question of the Day for yourself in the comments or on your blog.

Preview offers a "Reduce File Size" option in the save panel when I choose "PDF" as the file type. When I choose it and attempt to save the file, Preview promptly quits without so much as a standard crash dialog and the file fails to appear.

Suffice to say, this feature appears to be borked. Does this happen for others? I'd like to verify before I file a bug.

The other options, including "Sepia Tone," "Gray Tone," "Blue Tone," and "Lightness Decrease" seem to work properly, but "Reduce File Size" crashes every time.

If ever there was a TV station that makes you want to do something with wood, HGTV is it. Since Carey and I found the home we chose to buy, I've been watching entirely too much HGTV. Design on a Dime, I Want That, Design Remix, Designer Finals, Curb Appeal, Decorating Cents, Designed to Sell, Divine Design, House Hunters, House Detective, Kitchen Trends, and reDesign top the list.

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I added a "days since/until" countdown area beneath my picture on the main page only today. Relatively simple:

<?
function figger($thingy)
{
     $calc = intval(strtotime($thingy)) - todays_strtotime();
    if($calc > 0)
    {
        echo days_until($thingy);
    }
    else
        echo days_since($thingy);
}

function days_until($target)
{
    $string = intval((strtotime($target) - todays_strtotime()) / (60 * 60 * 24));
    $string .= " days until";
    return "<strong>$string</strong>";
}

function days_since($target)
{
    $string = intval((todays_strtotime() - strtotime($target)) / (60 * 60 * 24));
    $string .= " days since";
    return "<strong>$string</strong>";
}

function todays_strtotime()
{
    return strtotime(date("Y-m-d"));
}
?>

Then for each date, I simply have a code like this:

<?=figger('2004-10-12');?> moving back to PA.

Question: Do you use your dishwasher to store dishes after they've been washed, or do you put them away every time?

My Answer: I tend to wash dishes and unload as necessary. Dirty dishes are washed into the sink (or more often than not, left sitting in my office or on the coffee table, a habit I need to break) and left until the next washing. Sometimes, a plate or a cup might go through two to three washes before it's used. This, I realize, is one thing I must change soon. It works well if you're a bachelor. It doesn't work well when you have others to deal with. Particularly if they also leave dishes sitting around the house!

You are encouraged to answer the Question of the Day for yourself in the comments or on your blog.

Y'know, dashboardwidgets.com is really gonna have to get rid of this crap if they hope to be of any use to anyone…

phpBB : Critical Error
Could not connect to the database

Eight times out of ten the site seems to be down.

I don't think rsync is gonna cut it as a nightly backup tool. The thing crashes every time I try to run it:

About 500 lines of this came out before rsync quit:

sync(1556) malloc: *** error: can't allocate region
rsync(1556) malloc: *** set a breakpoint in szone_error to debug
rsync(1556) malloc: *** vm_allocate(size=1069056) failed (error code=3)

Perhaps one of the GUI solutions is required. 😛

Carey and I are looking for a good washer and dryer. Something that will last awhile. Front-loaders (for the washer and dryer) were recommended by the lady at Lowe's, and they range anywhere from $500 to $1500. We've got some good coupons, and we like to invest in quality stuff, so don't hesitate to list some more expensive washers and dryers. So long as the total ain't above $2500, that is. 🙂

With Safari 1.x, I could download files left and right without many problems. After Apple fixed some of the bigger holes (i.e. the whole auto-mounting of disk images that launched applications), I thought things were fine.

Then, I downloaded a few .dmgs and .tar.gz files with Safari 2.0. Every freaking time I download an application, Safari feels the need to ask me whether I think it's safe.

I don't want to disable "open safe files after downloading." I want Safari to trust that I'm gonna click "Yes" every darn time I download an application. It's not like these applications auto-launch - they're just included on the darn disk image or in the gzip archive.

I'm off to file a bug.

Question: Of the available widgets (Apple's or otherwise), which do you like most? Please provide links if they're not default.

My Answer: The weather, calculator, and conversion widgets are my favorites, all Apple-supplied. I've yet to find any other widgets worth keeping. I did download a Hula Girl widget, didn't like it, and deleted the .wdgt file. Now I can't get rid of it within the "Widget Bar" (what I'd previously called the "dash"). Searching Mac Help for "Remove a Widget" offered no suggestions. 😛

You are encouraged to answer the Question of the Day for yourself in the comments or on your blog.

In less than a day working with Tiger, I've noticed one annoying thing: I sure as heck have to put my Keychain password in a lot more frequently. Safari, PulpFiction, Adium, and Entourage seem to ask for my password every time I ask them to do something. Perhaps this will quiet down in the next few days, but I'm keeping an eye on things.

Oops, there went Safari again, asking me for my password for seemingly no reason. I've also got a mysterious "login_renamed1" keychain that seemingly contains nothing, can't be unlocked, and despite a few attempts, can't even be located.