http://www.joelevi.com/blog Bringing technology, quality of life, geek humor, tech politics, self-defense, and environmental stewardship together. Sat, 05 Jul 2008 06:59:59 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en @fuelfrog 504.9 3.889 11.003 # http://www.joelevi.com/blog/index.php/2008/07/04/twitter-updates-for-2008-07-04/ Bid now at: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=190234347713 This phone served me well for about 8 months (when I upgraded to an AT&T Tilt). It saved our butts when my boss and I were on a business trip in Texas and we got lost -- this little beaut not only found us, ... http://www.joelevi.com/blog/index.php/2008/07/03/for-sale-mio-a701-windows-mobile-gsm-smartphone-with-gps/ it's official: Lifetime Products is outsourcing Helpdesk to China... it's still our company and only after hours... but... # @overheard "how are we going to deal with the 'one more thing' syndrome?" # @overheard "if the end user is not really a human person..." # http://www.joelevi.com/blog/index.php/2008/07/02/twitter-updates-for-2008-07-02/ CSS Box Model Let’s face it, if you’re not familiar with the CSS Box Model, you’re probably not a web developer (or, if you are a Developer, you need some remedial education). The CSS Box Model is one of the most misunderstood patterns in CSS. According ... http://www.joelevi.com/blog/index.php/2008/07/01/css-box-model-tips-and-trick/ I’m a fan of using ASP.NET’s web.sitemap feature, but I’m less impressed with the level of control that you have (rather, you DON’T have) over the menu controls that consume the web.sitemap datasource (http://www.BuyLifetime.com uses three menu controls that consume the same sitemap from MS Commerce Server 2007, which ... http://www.joelevi.com/blog/index.php/2008/06/27/better-control-over-the-aspnet-sitemap-ui/ new helpdesk policy: call the end-user with the status of their ticket once per week... 44 tickets times 5 mins per update: 1/2 day/week los # @overheard why is that line fuzzy? because it's not a line, it's a collection of pixels arranged in a line-like fashion in an image.... # http://www.joelevi.com/blog/index.php/2008/06/24/twitter-updates-for-2008-06-24/ Windows Media Center is an application that started life in Windows XP Media Center Edition (MCE) and now comes standard in Windows Vista Home Premium and above (excluding Business and Enterprise). Basically, you throw a big hard drive (RAID5, anyone?) and a TV-Tuner or two (I have 2 digital ... http://www.joelevi.com/blog/index.php/2008/06/24/irony-extender-for-windows-media-center-experience/ Today I braved the storm and downloaded Firefox 3 (final) as part of the World Record attempt. After a few hours of trying I was finally able to pull the 7.14MB W32/EN-US version from Mozilla’s ftp site. The install was very fast with one firewall prompt for access. ... http://www.joelevi.com/blog/index.php/2008/06/20/firefox-3-first-impressions/ @mikedopp The cat was white, it was snowing, it ran out in front of me, I hit it, pulled over and cried while it died in my arms... # http://www.joelevi.com/blog/index.php/2008/06/19/twitter-updates-for-2008-06-19/ Are you a business owner? Why not post this sign at your entrances to show your customers that they aren’t a sitting duck while they’re doing business with you? http://www.joelevi.com/blog/index.php/2008/06/19/are-you-a-business-owner/ If you haven't done so already, go get Firefox 3!! Right now. Don't wait! http://getfirefox.com # @overheard @mikedopp "Water will be shut off in this building from 11am to 12am." 13 hours without toilet facilities? Oh, you meant 12 "PM" # @odetocode Ouch! I had mine out when I was 15... not ... http://www.joelevi.com/blog/index.php/2008/06/18/twitter-updates-for-2008-06-18/ Today I got an Apple Software Update notification telling me that new software was available from Apple… this is the box: It is? Where? Is it hiding behind the box with nothing in it? del.icio.us Tags: technology,apple,software,updates,humor,screenshot http://www.joelevi.com/blog/index.php/2008/06/18/new-software-is-available-from-apple/ @typegirl REALLY?! Why're the Feds talking to you? Maybe I shouldn't ask, then they'll want to be... too late, I asked... do tell!! :) # @typegirl and massive memory use (if multiple tabs are open); FF3 should "fix this" and we should be able to download it tomorrow (6/17/08) # http://www.joelevi.com/blog/index.php/2008/06/17/twitter-updates-for-2008-06-17/ Firefox 3 (final) is now available for download from the Mozilla ftp site. Be patient, servers are getting hammered! ftp://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/firefox/releases/3.0/ http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/?from=getfirefox still linking to FF2 ... http://www.joelevi.com/blog/index.php/2008/06/17/firefox-3-final-now-available/ @mikedopp yes, we just started the meeting. # http://www.joelevi.com/blog/index.php/2008/06/16/twitter-updates-for-2008-06-16/ Every once in a while I run a bunch of links that are related by some thread. Today the links don’t have any particular theme, other than they’re of interest to me. That said, maybe one is of interest to you! :) ... http://www.joelevi.com/blog/index.php/2008/06/16/todays-links/ The corporate photographer just came over to my cube and took about 20 pics of me for our corp blog... I feel violated. # http://www.joelevi.com/blog/index.php/2008/06/12/twitter-updates-for-2008-06-12/ I decided to hop on to the Zune Marketplace today and buy a couple albums, namely Leaves’ Eyes, and noticed something interesting: a pink triangle with a white “no” symbol in the bottom-right corner of some album covers… Digging deeper I found this means that ... http://www.joelevi.com/blog/index.php/2008/06/12/zune-marketplace-look-at-all-the-stuff-we-dont-have/ I’m a web geek, I rarely see the sun, I’m not what you’d call HWP… I’m not terribly large, but I could stand to swap some lard for muscle. Yesterday I got a disturbing email: Joe, we’d like to come and take your picture for ... http://www.joelevi.com/blog/index.php/2008/06/12/i-dont-like-having-my-picture-taken/ @cboyack Whew! They'll find a way to blame you anyway: "How come there wasn't more data validation/error handling/magic pixie dust?" # @simonster I once drove 5 hours to a launch event only to find the corporate laptop I'd checked out had all of 15 minutes of battery power. # @simonster ... http://www.joelevi.com/blog/index.php/2008/06/11/twitter-updates-for-2008-06-11/ First I want to mention that this is NOT a paid advertisement for any product, brand, service, company, or anything. I’m writing this because I’m impressed and wanted to share my experiences with you. X10, The Beginning Years back I fell in love with the idea of home ... http://www.joelevi.com/blog/index.php/2008/06/11/home-automation-tips-and-tricks/ I love Windows Live Writer, it takes the slowness and spelling errors, and linking, and inserting pictures/objects so much easier. After all, shouldn’t a blog be about the content, not about how to get the content into the blog’s CMS? Windows Live Writer does that. It’s a desktop application ... http://www.joelevi.com/blog/index.php/2008/06/11/things-i-wish-windows-live-writer-would-have/ It’s my opinion that anyone who thinks there is a remote possibility that they will have a web presence “some day” they should involve a web developer early on to make sure they’ll be able to do what they want when that time comes – without forking out a lot ... http://www.joelevi.com/blog/index.php/2008/06/11/an-ounce-of-prevention-as-applied-to-a-web-developers-life/ Say you buy something (a CFL light bulb, an electric shaver, a microwave oven, Henway, Updog, etc.) and it fails under normal use (you didn’t do anything beyond what it was designed to do). What do you do? It’s probably been more than 30 days and the store you ... http://www.joelevi.com/blog/index.php/2008/06/11/customer-service-trained-monkeys-vs-the-head-honcho/ @cboyack Do you have a wind turbine generating electricity for you on those windy days? # @meganjb that's what they invented alcohol for... not advocating, just sayin... ;) # @mikedopp RE: wakawaka, I thought you said twitter was RUN by muppets! That would have explained a lot... whales being lifted by birds... ... http://www.joelevi.com/blog/index.php/2008/06/10/twitter-updates-for-2008-06-10/ With the price of unleaded pushing $4.009 per gallon (can't forget the 9 tenths of a cent), it seems everyone is writing about how to get spend less money on gas. Here are my tips, in no particular order: Don't drive: No, seriously. If you ... http://www.joelevi.com/blog/index.php/2008/06/10/7-ways-to-get-better-fuel-efficiency-without-a-buying-hybrid/ What some were calling a UFO has been “officially” deemed a “Daytime Fireball” (a very rare phenomena) over the mountains between Salt Lake City and Tooele: A meteor big enough and close enough to be spotted when the sun's still out. KSL (a local news agency) ... http://www.joelevi.com/blog/index.php/2008/06/09/daytime-fireball-seen-over-utah/ Geeks have known about over-clocking their hardware since there’s been hardware that could be overclocked. For those of you non-geeks other there, overclocking is the process of running something faster than its designed to go. According to Wikipedia, “Overclocking is the process of forcing a computer component to run ... http://www.joelevi.com/blog/index.php/2008/06/09/is-your-job-making-you-run-over-clocked/ at McDonalds for breakfast # watched a couple come in mcdonalds, order, stand around waiting, pick up their order, walk out, get in their car - & remove handicapped ID # didn't know you could get a handicapped plate/hanger for being stupid. handicapped in the brain, maybe? # anyone want to critique a ... http://www.joelevi.com/blog/index.php/2008/06/07/twitter-updates-for-2008-06-07/ @overheard was Internet 2 invented by Al Gore, too? # Waiting for a meeting to start that was supposted to start 15 minutes ago. # http://www.joelevi.com/blog/index.php/2008/06/06/twitter-updates-for-2008-06-06-2/ @mikedopp you bailed on me? alone with Jen and Katie and Jason... aka The Wolves # http://www.joelevi.com/blog/index.php/2008/06/05/twitter-updates-for-2008-06-05/ Have a project due to go into test tonite, already a week late; my data HDD decides to die with just an hr of dev time left. Lost 5 hrs. # @mikedopp thanks for trying to help recover my HDD... # http://www.joelevi.com/blog/index.php/2008/06/04/twitter-updates-for-2008-06-04/ File this under "we're not making this up!" A man wearing a T-shirt depicting a cartoon character holding a gun was stopped from boarding a flight by the security at Heathrow's Terminal 5.(http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/7431640.stm) Okay, I can see being suspicious about someone if they have ... http://www.joelevi.com/blog/index.php/2008/06/03/shirt-with-gun-printed-on-it-posed-security-threat/ in yet another example of why a camera should be rolling ANY time there is police activity, an Albuquerque, NM police officer who refused to identify himself or give his badge number to a reporter assaults the reporter and nearly destroy's his $50K news camera -- while the cameraman was ... http://www.joelevi.com/blog/index.php/2008/06/02/police-assault-a-photographer/ A guy from work sent me this... Geek Gang Signs... 1337! http://www.joelevi.com/blog/index.php/2008/06/02/geek-gang-signs/ My employer is looking for a Web Designer: This is a fun, fast-paced design position working with other creative professionals. The ideal designer will be proficient in Flash and Actionscript, Dreamweaver, After Effects, Premier, Encore, Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, plus additional skills in HTML, ... http://www.joelevi.com/blog/index.php/2008/06/02/for-hire-web-designer/ I'm getting more than a little disgusted with Comcast.net... their content filtering (that they deny... or not, depending on the day), and their rolling over to RIAA/MPAA information requests without requiring a warrant, and being lax about security ... http://www.joelevi.com/blog/index.php/2008/05/30/request-for-input-digisnet/ I just opened up 4 new advertising slots on my site (three over on the side panel, and a banner on the bottom). I'm very affordable... and one of only a handful of sites that writes about self-defense and firearms. If you're interested in running an ad on ... http://www.joelevi.com/blog/index.php/2008/05/29/would-you-like-to-advertise-on-joelevicom/ @shanselman Jury duty is a Right and a Duty, something to be glad you get to do. # @shanselman Make sure u're Fully Informed Juror so u know what power u wield, read the Juror's Handbook at http://www.fija.org/ # playing with LINQ in C# .NET... wow... goodbye SubSonic. # Storefront.net/LaGarde (one of our ... http://www.joelevi.com/blog/index.php/2008/05/28/twitter-updates-for-2008-05-28/ I just got a call from Auto Services trying to sell me an extended warranty on my new (used) vehicle. I didn't note the number they were calling from, but I did obtain the following information: Initially an automated call comes in (which is a violation ... http://www.joelevi.com/blog/index.php/2008/05/27/telemarketing-call-from-auto-services/ I have gone out of my way to get my burgers from Central Park. They're an independent franchise, make good burgers and even better fries, and I've never had a problem with them... well, not initially anyway. Years and years ago (a decade or more) the Central Park by ... http://www.joelevi.com/blog/index.php/2008/05/27/farewell-central-park/ Late last week I installed Service Pack 3 on my Windows XP virtual machine.  My host machine is Vista 32 Enterprise, not that it should matter. I committed the changes to the VHD (which takes far to long, I might add) then shut down my host machine (which said it ... http://www.joelevi.com/blog/index.php/2008/05/27/irony-windows-xp-sp3-causes-vista-boot-loop/ @mikedopp which trick is that? # @mikedopp we didn't get to ride nemo... always broken or 2+ hour lines.... next time... # @mikedopp 18.5 hrs since @mikedopp wrote last... should I be worried that he was eaten by cannibals on the jungle cruise? # http://www.joelevi.com/blog/index.php/2008/05/26/twitter-updates-for-2008-05-26/ @shanselman I've been through that with 2 of my kids... I feel for you! # one of @mikedopp and my co-workers has an impresive tower of soda cans in his cube... or should I saw HAD an impressive wall... # anyone else think @mikedopp is a little confusing at times? ;) ... http://www.joelevi.com/blog/index.php/2008/05/22/twitter-updates-for-2008-05-22/ going to lunch at Little Caesar's pizza with @mikdopp ... if they'll wait on us... last time no service. # http://www.joelevi.com/blog/index.php/2008/05/21/twitter-updates-for-2008-05-21/ work said NO to Heros Happen Here in SLC because others haven't been timely delivering for my current project... scheduled off months ago. # bought some music videos on Zune marketplace last night; none sync'd with my Zune. Why is there no "New items" menu on the portable player? # Anyone need ... http://www.joelevi.com/blog/index.php/2008/05/20/twitter-updates-for-2008-05-20/ We, the people have the right to information, in any format and by any means of distribution. We have the right to produce, to publish, to advertise, and to consume it without restrictions of format, content, time, manner, or place. No government, employer, or person shall make a law, ... http://www.joelevi.com/blog/index.php/2008/05/20/proposed-information-bill-of-rights/ Kid's Soccer: The Red Lightning Fire Dragon Snakes Church Basketball: The Chinese Water-Chesnuts Rockband (auto-generated): The Fire Monkey's http://www.joelevi.com/blog/index.php/2008/05/19/best-team-names-ever/ uhaul won't accept a state-issued concealed firearm permit, tribal id, student id, or employer id as valid 2nsd id. ::sigh:: # http://www.joelevi.com/blog/index.php/2008/05/16/twitter-updates-for-2008-05-16/ Earth 2 is a short-lived science fiction television series which aired on NBC from November 6, 1994 to June 4, 1995. The show was canceled after one season of 22 episodes. (Wikipedia) When I was a kid I loved this show... I only got to watch a few episodes ... http://www.joelevi.com/blog/index.php/2008/05/16/reliving-earth-2/