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FlipBook HD is now available, and it's pretty sweet. If you own an iPad, check it out for sure.

Here's a cool animation, for example. Great for kids or adults who like to sketch and doodle.

Two versions, same theme. I think I like the second one better (first one courtesy of Zero Drop).

The second, well, it's on the wall here.

It's quite nice. 😀

You can grab it for $99 or so. Here's a video:

Medicus 5 Simple Keys from GolfshopCentral on Vimeo.

If you want to get better at golf, buy this DVD today!

Here's a bit more on the DVDs themselves and a forum thread discussing the 5 Simple Keys® themselves.

Michael Tsai shares the tip that holding down shift and option can control the volume level and brightness to a finer degree. Four extra steps, to be precise.

I decided to go with my "stopgap Mac" plan. I'll pick up a refurbished Mac Pro to tide me over until the new ones ship. Current rates are 15% off, which isn't terrible (nor is it great).

I'll just move the hard drives over (and possibly the lower SuperDrive, as my current Mac Pro has two), and that'll be that. I'll probably pick up a display while I'm at it. I'll always be able to use it.

The current Mac Pro and display? I'll find a use for it. I'm not sure what that is, but the "use" might be to put it downtown. I could trade out the Mac Mini there and give that to the kiddo or something. We'll see.

P.S. Or I'll just use an Apple employee discount and get a new Mac for the same cost as a refurbished one. 🙂

Via Kottke and with more information here.

Uhm, okay.

Well, that didn't take long. True to form, once I began investigating water softeners, I spent a LOT of time researching, obsessing, and becoming as knowledgeable as I could.

In the end, after speaking with Bill Cook at CAI Technologies, I have decided to buy a water softener myself and have it installed by a local plumber.

I went with the Fleck 5000SXT valve with a 32,000 grain resin tank. I'm told that in my use it should re-generate every 7-8 days.

Fleck valves seem to be well known and highly regarded, and the salt tanks are just tanks - some people literally use plastic garbage cans. Aside from working with the plumber to perhaps deliver non-softened water to an external spigot or two, I'm pretty much set and feel I've made a good decision.

Installation should be around $300.

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For years our dishes have been slowly getting cloudy, our shower heads have been getting deposits on them, and we haven't gotten a good lather from shampoos or soaps.

Suffice to say we're looking into a water softener.

Going rates seem to be about $2200 installed, and $15 every two months or so for salts. Does that sound about right?

We've had a Culligan guy out, and a RainSoft guy is coming soon ((I'm not letting him put on a three-hour show - he's got 30 minutes, tops.)). The Culligan guy recommended a "Gold Series" model. It seems okay.

I think what I should do next is call a plumber or two and see what they recommend.

We'll be here for awhile, so we're not considering renting.

Anyone with any experience?

I wonder if you could find an online Terry Tate to sack people remotely. That sounds like a good business model: "Send-a-Sack". You can remotely "send a sack" to a deserving individual for $29.95, or send up to five per month with a monthly subscription cost of $99.95. Maybe even a "Super Sacker" plan: one sack a day for $599.95. You'd make millions!

#leaveyourlegacy from Hooded Trees on Vimeo.

New plan: Buy a Mac Pro that's Mountain Lion compatible, run it for a year or so, and see what the "new" Mac Pros are like.

After all, I like my current setup just fine, and since I am not sure which way to go, I'll just defer.

It's a bit of money to spend on a stopgap, but it beats spending even more on 408-day-old iMac or getting an underpowered laptop that can't hold very much data.

If you have an old(er) Mac Pro capable of running Mountain Lion ((I can buy RAM, and I don't need any hard disks.)) that you're looking to sell, let me know. Thanks.

I currently have four 3 TB drives.

1. Peter contains my OS, home folder, etc. It is 1.1 TB currently.
2. Harvey contains my Aperture vault, iMovie Events/Projects, and my Video folder (ripped DVDs and old home movies). It takes up 1.7 TB.
3. Mimzy is my Time Machine drive, so it's basically full.
4. Roger is a clone of Peter, so 1.07 TB.

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I want to first thank everyone who has offered their help and guidance. I really, really appreciate your time and patience, and the sharing of opinions. It probably isn't fun for you, so I'm really glad that you take time out to help me.

I'm still trying to decide whether to get a MacBook Pro or an iMac to replace my 2006 Mac Pro. Last night I was almost dead set on getting a MacBook Pro, but today the iMac is making a comeback.

The iMac has a few things going for it. First, it's less expensive. It includes the display. I can get it with a 2 TB internal drive (I could replace it with one of my 3 TB drives, too). It comes with up to a 3.4 GHz i7 while the MBPR comes with only a 2.7 GHz i7. It can take up to 32 GB of RAM instead of 16.

But the iMac is also 406 days old and I hate buying "old" tech.

With the MBPR, I'll spend a bit more money, but everyone in the house gets an updated computer and I'll have just one to use all the time - no more switching stuff around. My music library would fit comfortably, but it's 280 GB largely due to the movies (almost all free ones) that I've downloaded, which take up space. I could delete them. Nothing says I have to keep them inside of the iTunes library. My home drive is 1.07 TB currently, but my Pictures folder (Aperture Libraries, iPhoto Library) is 360 GB of that.

More in the rest of the entry…

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