NSLog();

I'd like to access some Web content via a proxy (for testing some things). Does anyone know of a free or inexpensive proxy that I might use? The proxy should have a password and should let me view content via HTTP (web pages, etc.). Ideally, the proxy will report the visitor IP to the site as something other than my own.

It's practically unbelievable how much I despise Microsoft Word. The simplest things - no idea how to do 'em.

I click in one section and look at the ruler. I click somewhere else and the ruler completely changes. The numbers are closer together, etc. On the same page!!!

Who freakin' knows anymore.

I don't mind full-screen games. Sometimes I even play them. But today when I launched the free Holiday Express (courtesy of .Mac), it immediately zapped into full-screen mode. I immediately looked for options and the ability to turn off full-screen mode. It was there and I did, so all seemed well. Until the game crashed a few seconds later, and I found that all of my windows had been scrunched into an 800 x 600 area in the top left corner of my screen.

I spent two minutes carefully rearranging the windows of my open applications. I relaunched Holiday Express and, lo and behold, the preferences don't save immediately. The game was full-screen again. Fortunately I also quit many of my other applications, fearing the worst from Holiday Express.

If you're going to have a full-screen game with the option to go "in a window," ask me the first time I launch the damn game.

Kelly ain't no Bill, that's for damn sure.

Question: What's your favorite comic strip?

My Answer: Dilbert. I also subscribe to Wizard of Id and B.C. feeds in PulpFiction. Today's Wizard of Id was particularly funny, especially given Carey's recent "adventures" in teaching.

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

Question: Do you have porn in your iPhoto Library?

My Answer: No. My porn is carefully catalogued elsehwere. 🙂

I'm prompted to ask this question by Playboy, who has now begun offering iPod Porn (they're calling it iBod). Basically, well, here:

Now you can view individual images or entire slide shows on the go. Playboy has harnessed the digital photo revolution to put our sexiest girls next door in the palm of your hand. Simply download any of the image galleries below to your desktop and upload them to your iPod Photo handheld device.

The galleries, of which there are three currently (Playmates, Blondes, and Voluptuous Vixens) are .zipped directories of JPEGs measuring 440 x 352. I do not have an iPod photo, so I need not these "iBod"s.

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

I've concluded my search, and I've found nothing. I went looking for a class that could behave similarly to Photoshop's toolbar buttons. The critical characteristics include:

1. Looks like a square button.
2. Able to have a submenu and, also, to not.
3. Able to display that menu after a given time period, not when clicking only on a very small arrow.
4. Able to respond to keystrokes like "w" or "i".
5. Able to be used within an NSMatrix.
6. Able to act as a radio button, "unchoosing" any other tools. This could be done in the controller, too.

If anyone knows of some code somewhere that does this - or even a Cocoa application with something like Photoshop's toolbar buttons - please let me know.

Question: Do you have any special holiday drinks?

My Answer: My parents make some kind of red slush stuff with cherry vodka and some other ingredients. It's very good, but I haven't had any in a looooong time. Pre-turning-21, I think. PA doesn't allow you to buy beer in grocery stores and/or gas stations, so it's been quite awhile since I've bought alcohol.

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

When I was a kid, my sister listened to "Cabbage Patch Christmas" about fifty times per year, concentrated of course in the month of December. Cabbage Patch kids singing is one step above The Chipmunks, and to say the darn record grated on my nerves is putting it mildly. Especially when you consider that "when I was a kid" extends to until the age of 18.

And so I hope it shall not be with Wiggly Wiggly Christmas, which I've just purchased. The Wiggles are something - I hope - that she will outgrow by the age of six or seven. Cabbage Patch Christmas, as of this writing, is not available in the iTMS.

Question: Should colleges and universities place as much emphasis on liberal arts as they do?

My Answer: Click the link there for the post that prompted this question. Like the first commenter, I too would have loved to focus more of my time on a topic of my choosing. I was a medicinal chemistry major with minors in CS and French - perhaps one or both of those could have become majors had I not been forced to take classes like Philosophy 101 (with a professor named Beanblossom who gave As to stupid but pretty girls and Bs [at most] to any guy), Religion 101 (where my 32-page paper received the same "A" as my roommate's 10-page paper (14-point Chicago, triple spaced).

I do see value in having core LA classes. What killed me most of the time was the lame attendance policies. Why did all of my LA classes have attendance policies, yet 400-level CS and chemistry classes did not? If I can earn an A in English 110 without going to class more than once a week, why force me to go every day?

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

EA has signed a five-year agreement with the NFL for exclusive rights to use NFL players, teams, and stadiums.

HOLY FREAKIN' SHIT, MAN!!!

Sega's NFL2K5 series is much, much, much better, costs $19, and has ESPN behind it. And yet EA has managed to completely destroy any chance they had of eking their way into the Madden stronghold with this move. I say again:

HOLY FREAKIN' SHIT, MAN!!!

Bye bye, Sega (et al). 🙁

P.S. Yes, I realize that my title is not as funny as I thought it was at first.

This certainly looks interesting. The tape deck in my car is acting funny, so I may have to switch to something that works soon. I'm not particularly interested in FM transmitters… And my car can't really do line-in.

"Gee, PulpFiction sure looks a lot like Mail!" Obviously, this was a goal of ours in the creation of PulpFiction. The downside to using Mail's familiar UI is that sometimes people say "PulpFiction treats your feeds like email."

Y'see, that's not exactly true. PulpFiction has an interface like Mail - a drawer with folders and accounts, a table with columns of data, and bottom view with "message" content. It's got a search field and a progress window. It's got similar menus, buttons, and keyboard shortcuts. The Mail model (and let's be clear here: "Mail" is an app, "email" is a technology) offers a few other features which we realized we could leverage in a syndicated content aggregator:

1. Each article is an independent entity.
2. Articles stick around until you say otherwise: they're under your control the instant they "arrive" on your computer.
3. Folder hierarchies can be created to organize the articles at a fine level.
4. Easy searching of titles, articles, authors, etc.
5. Ability to apply filters to "incoming" articles.

PulpFiction moves away from Mail's UI where it makes sense: you can't "reply" to anything in PulpFiction, though we have an "Email Article" button. PulpFiction includes a powerful subscriptions manager, for which Mail has no need. Many of the differences stem from the fact that email is a two-way medium while syndicated content remains largely one-way.

NSLog(@"Finish Reading %d Words", 643); »

Question: Would you buy colored car tires?

My Answer: Yeah, if they worked just as well. Brown tires would leave true-to-life "skid marks" all over the place, yellow tires could paint new lines, and fluorescent tires would sure turn heads. How about glow-in-the-dark tires? Hmmm… Okay, so, maybe they would work as well, but are illegal…

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

I just spent ten minutes watching the guy plow the driveway in front of my townhouse. He had a pickup truck, and not one of those über-pickups, with a plow. Three cars were parked on the left, none on the right (my car remains at the Firestone place for the day). It's a wonder he didn't hit any - he accelerated very quickly and came very close: I wonder if I'll make it through an entire winter unscathed.

The guy, I must say, has probably been doing this for awhile though. He would roar back in reverse, slam on the brakes, skid, and stop only a foot from the car before slamming forward. He seemed in control, yet still dangerously close to the "doing a few thousand dollars in damage" line.