Nattyware: Pixie

This is a tool every blogger should have...a small (62Kb), free program that is perfect for webpage design. Its a colour picker that includes a mouse tracker. Run it, simply point to a colour and it will tell you the hex, RGB, HTML, CMYK and HSV values of that colour. You can then use these values to reproduce the selected colour in your favorite programs. Pixie will also show the current x y position of your mouse pointer.

Here's the link.

Villian Supply: For all your evil needs

This joke website is a pretty fun place to poke around. It has an online store where you can buy uniforms for your henchmen or weapons fit to put serious dents in the plans of the good guys. They even have good deals on evil lairs such as Skull Island. According to the opening page, "In the battle between good and evil...evil will always win...because we cheat."
Here's the link.

Richard Simmons cited for assault

This is hilarious. CNN is reporting that exercise guru Richard Simmons was cited for misdemeanor assault in Phoenix for allegedly slapping a man who joked about his videos.

The man apparently recognized Richard Simmons and said "'Hey, everybody. It's Richard Simmons. Let's drop our bags and rock to the '50s". Richard Simmons then, according to witnesses, walked over and slapped the man. Here's the link.

Bypass Compulsory Web Registration

I don't like websites that force me to register for free. The information that I fork over in my registration is obviously being used for something, and I would be happier if that personal information remained personal. My solution until a few weeks ago had been to create dummy accounts at each of these sites. However, I found a much easier way to get around this problem. Much easier than remembering all of the different account names and passwords. The service is called Bug-Me-Not and it acts as an online storage place for dummy accounts. The best part is that you don't have to do the legwork. Simply enter the url of the site you want to visit and chances are really good that someone has already stored a dummy account at Bug-Me-Not for that site. Want to get on the NY Times site? Your account is "cypherp" and your password is "cypherp". Voila. Here's the link.

The Most Annoying Phrases

The english language is littered with thousands of irritating phrases. As the Plain English Campaign publishes a list of the language's most annoying phrases, Mark Oliver wonders what might have happened had one of history's great orators used them. Funny stuff. Here's the link. Pulled from Guardian Unlimited.

Trip to the Bookstore

One of the most exciting (and potentially expensive) events of my week happened today. That's right, I went to the bookstore. I'm consistently amazed by how many books there are to read. I feel like I could spend the rest of my life reading and not get through half the things I want to read. But, I managed to narrow my wishlist to just a few. So I've added a Literary Wishlist to my sidebar and also started a wishlist at Chapters.ca. I love books.
Read anything good lately? Why not tell me about it.
I'm currently reading "The Curse of Chalion" by Louis McMaster Bujold. It's a really fun, easy story with a lot of adventure and a smattering of theology. Here's the link.

Check Your Blind Spot

This left me with a slight headache and some blurry spots, but I still encourage you to try it.

Not bad. Here's the link.

No-go on the trackback

It seems I am unable to explore the wild and fascinating world of trackback links. Due to the very free nature of my blog I have no way to permanently link to any post I make. I have archives, but they are different. So, no trackbacks for me and I'll remove them. Just thought you'd all be dying to know the smallest details about my blog...

HaloScan

This is the service that allows me to have comments and trackbacks for every entry.
Pros:
Free,
Easy to set-up,
Comments and trackback capabilities,
More control for me to manage comments (I can erase things that are mean and nasty),
Good troubleshooting help (including a forum for discussions)
Cons:
Confirms suspicions that no one actually reads my site or cares what I write.
Here's the link to HaloScan...there's also a button on the bottom of the page.

New Layout

This is the new layout I'm going to try out. I am morbidly attracted to the colour scheme because this combination of greens has no right to be anything but disgusting yet somehow manages to reach a level somewhere between not bad and tolerable. I'm also off and running with a new comment service provider that will allow me to experiment with trackbacks. All the links are still active and I'm still in the process of fine-tuning the google search. For now it is good to go for searching the web, but my site remains a mystery.
So, leave me your comments. Tell me what you think of my new colour scheme and offer any advice you have.

Windows BBS

This link used to reside in my sidebar under Daily Reads, but then I stopped reading it daily. I didn't want it to get lost though, so here's my post about WindowsBBS.
WindowsBBS is an online bulletin board system that allows users to post and reply online. It's the same as a forum where all posts are saved and categorized. WindowsBBS is a way to get free information about almost anything computer related. It is run by folks affiliated with Microsoft, so most of it is Microsoft specific, but since most of us run Windows anyways, it's kind of a moot point. The people at WindowsBBS are very smart (they are basically even more well-informed and geeky than anyone at your local computer store) and I can generally get a reply within a few hours or a few days. Rather than start a new thread do a search to see of someone already asked your question.
Here's the link

This will change the world

Found on BoingBoing today:
A Nigerian man has won himself a truckload of money for inventing a refrigerator that runs without electricity. His invention is a pot-in-pot system that uses evaporating water to keep food cool. Much like your Mom used to put a wet cloth on your forehead to combat a fever, this refrigerator is kept cool by water evaporating out of wet sand that fills the gap between two differently-sized pots placed one inside the other. Foods that would only last days normally can now last weeks. This has profound consequences. Women who had to go to the market every single day to buy and sell food can now attend school. This will change the world.
Here's the link to the article at Hinterlands.cc

Anti-Piracy Spoof

Going to a theatre to watch a movie has a special charm. You get to sit in front of a big screen in a comfy chair while teeny-boppers shout into their cell phones and drown out all the important dialogue. You get to shell out $10-$15 for a ticket and the same price again to get a ticket for the woman you're out to woo. You have the priviledge of waiting your turn to hand over $8 for a bag of popcorn and a small Sprite. Then, as you look up at the silver screen in excitement, ready to be entertained, some guy you've never met comes on and starts calling you a theif. "Piracy is wrong", he whines, "don't steal movies". Then, just as you begin to feel a little bad for the guy, the movie starts and you realize that all the money, time and frustration was really not worth it at all. So you go home and do your best to pirate movies.
Rick Mercer's Sunday Report on CBC offers a send-up of the "Respect Copyright" ads.
Real Stream Link
Culled from BoingBoing

The Cottars

On the recommendation of my friend Laura I took some time to check out this group from Canada's Cape Breton. The group is four members strong...but none of the members are older than 17. Ciaran and Fiona MacGillivray and Roseanne and Jimmy Mackenzie form The Cottars. Their website is kind of lacking at this point, but the music is wonderful. "Ballinderry" and "The Briar and the Rose" are especially fantastic.

A Minority Shareholder

12.5 %

My weblog owns 12.5 % of me.
Does your weblog own you?
Culled from the pages of Sabrina Faire.

My Google Search Bar

In a fit of "Hey, I think I can do that..." I put this search bar on my page. Unfortunately I can't make it work. It searches the web with no problem, but I can't make it find things on my blog. Anyone have any ideas? View my source code and tell me what you think.
Thanks.
Here's the link.

Icecream Boy and the Monk

This is a story written by my friend Tim Hildred. Tim's an interesting guy who is currently on an odyssey in Britain and he sends me things he writes to make me feel jealous of his talent...I think. Anyways, I thought I'd post it because it's a good read. Here it is...

looking up towards the top of the mountain lost in the coulds above him, the ice cream boy couldn't help but wonder if maybe someone was pulling his leg. the boys had told him about a monestary where he could make a mint, if he could just get there. as the ice cream boy was saving for a new bike, he'd jumped at the opportunity, and hadn't stopped to consider the mechanics of transporting frozen desserts up thousands of meters to monks on a mountain. but a hot tip was a hot tip, and if there was a mint to be made at altitude, he knew what he had to do. so he got on his bike, and started peddaling, his cargo bouncing ahead of him. he could see already that he was in for a long day. so the young man peddaled on, methodically, and after a while, began to look around him. it was a bright clear mountain morning, the pale sun shone through clouds like a zit through a pre-pubescent beard. sparrows whistled as he went by, and squirels shot shamelessly across his path now and again. a cool breeze touched the sweat on the boys brow, and reminded him that he was pedalling a bike with a small refrigerator attached to the front of it up a mountain, and would at some point he would need a break.
so the boy hopped off his entrepenurial mode of transportation, dipped into his livelyhood, and helped himself to a jumbo freezie. having cycled to a decent height, the boy looked out over the world, amazed at what he could see. off to his left, there was a small village, its people to small to be seen from this height, that none the less, buzzed with life. there was smoke from chimenies, carriages coming and going, tiny dots in the fields. off to the right wove a river, no more than a ribbon from where he was sitting, but from its shores a mighty flow. he could see it wink and sparkle from his pearch, flashing as it wove off into the distance. just then, the boy felt a sharp pain through his head and chest, and it seemed for a moment like he about to explode. a mental note was made that frozen juice should not be consumed while pondering lest brain freeze should set in, and the boy was on his way.

the morning had begun to turn into afternoon, and while the afternoon is usually the icecream boys time to shine, this ice cream boy was still without sale. onwards and upwards the dirt trail ran, so onwards and upwards the hopeful boy rode. soon enough it was mid afternoon, and the boy was tired again. he was about to hope off his bike when he hit a sitting, bald, robe-clad man. the boy hopped off his bike, terrified that he'd killed the poor fellow, his insurance didn't cover negligent driving. maybe they'd call this an act of god? it turned out though, that the monk was quite alright, just a little dazed. having no idea what else to do, the young and now quite worried man offered the monk an ice cream bar, one of the refreshing ones with vanilla in the middle and crunchy chocolate on the outside. the monk ate in contemplative silence, studying his food, relishing each bite. the boy, having just hit the poor man, could think of nothing to say, and just sat and watched. the monk finished, licked his lips, and thanked the boy. the boy, having had just been thanked for a head on collision, was humbled by the monks grace, and could only nod his head. the monk told him he, nor his monkly friends had anymoney to buy icecream from the boy.for this he was deeply sorry, but instead, the monk said, he could teach him a lesson. the boy was both dubious and disappointed, having probably just set a world record for greatest altitude achieved by an icecream salesperson, but being a well raised young man, agreed. the monk asked him to sit down, and try to clear his mind. so the boy sat, crossed his legs, and tried to think of nothing. the monk asked the boy to breath with him, in slowly, out slowly, repeat. soon the boy was relaxed, peaceful, sat between a monk and an icecream cart midway up a mountain. as he breathed, this seemed less and less unnatural to the boy. now that the boy was relaxed, the priest asked him to think of something happy, something he truly enjoyed. one might think that an icecream boy would get tired of icecream, but this was hardly the case. the first thing that lept into the young man's mind was chocolate icecream. the richness of it, the sweetness of it, the coolness of it, in the boys mind it was the closest thing on earth to perfection. he figured if God ever cut loose and had dessert, chances were it was chocolate ice cream.

the monk looked on the boy, his face lit up with a smile, his body relaxed and serene. he asked the boy to concentrate on this thought, and tell him what he was thinking of. the monk was a little confused, he'd been thinking that an icecream boy would be sick of icecream. silently, the monk stood up, and as only monks can, went over to the cart, and found the object of the boys happiness. good heavens, this is overpriced, no wonder its so special to the young man. seems like swiss icecream can be priced like swiss watches and people still buy it! silently he sat back down, opened the ice cream, and waited. he asked the boy to open his mouth. the boy looked a little worried, but decided he could probably trust this bald little fat man, and slightly parted his lips. the monk spooned the tiniest taste onto the boys awaiting tongue. the boys eyes stayed closed, but his whole face was the picture of pure delight. the monk asked the boy to open his eyes and listen. he told the boy that this feeling of bliss, this joy was not coming from the ice cream, but rather through the icecream from something deeper. the boys young eyes seemed to understand. the monk continued. this joy could be found in all things, in all people. one simply had to become better tuned to finding it. the boy nodded, and the smile stayed on his face. he took the spoon from the monks hand, filled it with slightly melty chocolate, and filled the priests shocked but smiling mouth. the boy thanked the priest, and the priest thanked the boy. they parted ways, the priest back up towards his mountain solace now cool and refreshed, the boy back to his valley home now thoughtful and happy. the boy shook his head, not quite sure what to make of his day. he'd not earned a penny for all that hard work, but even so didn't feel really let down. the sun was setting, and the landscape was glazed over with a warm, hazy blur, the colours all running a little bit. the boy, now armed with the knowledge that life was beautiful, couldn't help but feel like he was in a painting.

FrogPad

This Bluetooth enabled widget rams a fully functional 101-key standard keyboard into 20 keys. It was introduced at Macworld and CES a little while ago and recieved a fair bit of attention. The company intends to sell the first 1000 models and then introduce new colours in a wearable model. This means that users can have a fully functional keyboard wirelessly connected to their PDA and type on the go. Pretty sweet. The FrogPad seems like something out of Cory Doctorow's newest novel "Eastern Standard Tribe".

Culled from the pages of Gizmodo.
Here's the link.

TerraServer

From the TerraServer page: TerraServer contains 3.3 tera-bytes of high resolution USGS aerial imagery and USGS topographic maps.
It is a massive database of information that allows you to look at anyplace in the world. I had trouble writing this post because I kept wanting to play.
The main server has links to famous landmarks like the Grand Canyon, but you can do a search by city. This link will take you to the International TerraServer, which seems to want a subscription. I recommend you waste a few hours here.

The Swiss Army of the 21st Century

Being someone who owns all components of this piece of devilish wizardry, my knee jerk reaction was "cool". While this knife was obviously not built to be a knife, it is a really neat idea.

Read more about the knife here.
In a related piece of humour, I read somewhere about a bra underwire firewire set-up. No picture, sorry.

Sometimes it would be fun being American

April 1, 2004 has been declared National "I'm Embarassed by my President" day by the Democracy Means You web site. The site is encouraging everyone across the country to wear a brown ribbon to protest the "arrogance, greed, shortsightedness, selfishness, and outright lies told by George W. Bush".
We as Canadians have it pretty easy. We are able to get in there (where? well, cyberspace, TV, radio, newspapers, coffee shops, etc) and really criticize the Bush administration AND we don't share any of the blame for voting for him. Of course, neither do more than 50% of American voters. However, it is rather ironic that our own government is caught in scandal after scandal wasting and mis-spending millions of our dollars yet still enjoy very high approval ratings. Maybe we should remove the plank in our own collective eye before pointing out the speck in the eye of the body politic of others. Just a thought.

Calvary vs. Cavalry

A list of the 100 Most Often Mispronounced Words.
Some of my favourites on this list include:
duck tape - should be duct tape...it's for ducts after all, not mallards.
'erbs - should always be herbs...the site will explain why.
jewlery - should be jewelry.

This site also explains that pronouncing words properly will often help when you are trying to spell them properly. I found this list on Catch.

Simplified CD and DVD Labelling

This is culled from the pages of Boing Boing.
A new technology, due out in the next six months, will enable DVDs and CDs to be labelled right in the burner. No ink is involved, rather the disk itself is given a special coating that can be activated by the burner's laser.

Read the PC World article here.

The Name Game

I think this is really cool. I found the link on Catch.com. Basically, you're given a picture of a person and you try to guess that person's name. An interesting experience.
Guess My Name.

Do you take too many online quizzes?

This online quiz will tell you if you do. A total waste of time, but you're here aren't you?

How News Travels on the Internet

This visual guide was put together and posted on stephenvandyke.com. It is one man's take on the way information travels on the internet. Pretty interesting to peruse and also to think about how the flow of information is more cyclic than trickle-down.

Here's the link. This was also posted on Fark.

So, you like dogs?

I seem to be on a pet kick today. It was unintentional I assure you. Anyways, here's a pretty funny link to a list of rules for the dog.

Sample:

Rule 5 - The dog is never allowed on the furniture.
Rule 6 - Well, the dog can get on the old furniture but not the new furniture.
Rule 7 - BUT, the dog never sleeps on the bed. Period.
Rule 8 - Maybe he might catch cold...okay, the dog can sleep at the foot of the bed.
Rule 9 - Okay, the dog can sleep alongside you, but he's not allowed under the covers.

To see the whole list visit this link.

So, you like cats?

Look what I found on Cellar Image of the Day. 'Tis a large housecat.

Deals on a memory card...

Memory cards for digital devices are now available in formats so large as to be silly. In fact, if you are willing to shell out close to $500.00, you can get ahold of the new IBM Microdrive that stores 4GB. Alternatively, a flash memory card this large will cost you over $1000.00. But, there's a much cheaper way to get your hands on this new card.

As seen on The Screensavers, Creative is shipping a new mp3 player with 4GB of storage for $200.00. Simply remove the back cover, unscrew the memory card (conveniently, the new IBM microdrive) and presto, you have a 4GB memory card for half-price. Plus, you have a semi-usable mp3 player.

Check out the how-to steps here.