Rotating header image
Here are some instructions on adding a rotating image to your pebble site. Start with the default pebble theme and make the following changes.
Add images to your theme folder; name them header0.jpg, header1.jpg, header2.jpg.
Add the following div just below the blogDescription.
<div id="rotateButton">
<a href="javascript: var x = document.getElementById('header').style.backgroundImage='url(themes/user-default/header'+Math.floor(Math.random()*3)+'.jpg)';">
<img src="themes/user-default/rotate.gif" border="0">
</a>
</div>
Add the following style just below the #header style.
#rotateButton {
bottom: 2px;
right: 2px;
position:absolute;
}
The math going on with random and floor make more sense with some examples.
Below is a div with an id of sample. Click on the button just above it and you should see the text change to contain a random number, that same number times 3 and the floor of the same number times 3.
The random function generates a number that is less than 1. The floor function strips the fractional part of the number.
If you take one of the numbers from the smaller end of that spectrum, say 0.1, multiply it by 3 you get 0.3. Floor that and you get 0.
If you take one of the numbers higher up, say 0.4, multiply it by 3 you get 1.2. Floor that and you get 1.
If you take one of the numbers higher up, say 0.7, multiply it by 3 you get 2.1. Floor that and you get 2.
The numbers will never reach 3 because the number I'm multiplying by will always be less than 1. If you had 8 pictures, change the number from a 3 to an 8.
Check out waruiyatsu, the author has rotating images too but does it slightly differently.
Motorola Phone Tools V4
I think it's kinda weird that Motorola trys to sell the software that allows you to synchronize your phone with your PC. Don't they make enough money on the phones themselves? Thank goodness for benevolent sites like torrentspy.
One thousand cranes: one wish
Yatai! Here are links and interviews with the cast from Heroes. Did you know that Peter (Milo Ventimiglia) was on Gilmore Girls and is starring in the new Rocky movie?
This fan has dedicated a whole blog to the show. He even has scripts written up.
You can watch the last episode on the
nbc website.
Myspace has
profiles
for the characters in the show.
Masi Oka and Milo Ventimiglia on the Today show 2006-11-20.
Masi Oka and Milo Ventimiglia on the view 2006-11-10.
Nokia 6255i
Last Tuesday I discovered that my phone, a Nokia 6255i had died. It worked Monday, but Tuesday, when I tried charging it, I couldn’t get it to turn back on. I was going to buy a new $40 battery from RadioShack but when I called MetroPCS, they said I should bring it in and have one of their techs look at it since it was still under warranty. They originally tried replacing it with this really junky looking phone but I talked them into giving me a nicer looking one. I thanked them profusely and was so pleased with the service, I even asked to talk to the manager. I'm used to the San Leandro store where they make you wait in line for what seems like an eternity before treating you like crap.
When I'm back on the road, I try to make a phone call and the phone reboots. I return to the store, explain my problem and they hand me another phone. I take off again and again the phone reboots. I think about heading back to the phone but decide I need to tackle the problem again later when I have more time. I'm decide sitting on this phone for 24 hours might improve my chances of getting it to work; and, since the people in the store don't really know what's going on, I can try researching it myself. The problem actually seems familiar and a I seem to recall having the exact same problem when I first bought the phone. As I recall, I returned it and they handed me a phone that works.
I discover, from my surfing through some discussion forums that this is actually a very common problem. There are even other people who have blogged about it. It has to do with a bug in the firmware. I also discover all kinds of cool "hidden" codes for the phone that allow me to do things like view the firmware version and change "hidden" network settings. I call the Nokia people up and they convince me that even if I sent it to them, that they wouldn’t fix it. They would send the phone back to me untouched. Remember, I have a manufacturer warranty on this phone! Nokia tells me that three weeks ago, MetroPCS decided they wanted to service the phones so Nokia is no longer servicing regardless of whether I have a warranty. They also tell me that since I traded my broken phone for another one, the new phone, being a reconditioned phone, is no longer under warranty.
I call MetroPCS back and explain the firmware bug. They tell me they don't know how to update the firmware but that I can pick up a cable at Fry's that will allow me to do it. I'm thinking: I had just come back from Fry's, there's no way I'm going back there, and even if I did I sure as hell don't want to figure out all the ins and outs of fixing this damn phone. Besides, I don't want to buy a proprietary cable, that’s the reason I insisted on getting a $250 Bluetooth phone in the first place. When I push the issue, Edwin tells me that they absolutely cannot loan me a cable. He doesn’t seem to be hearing me properly so I ask to talk to the manager, Jason, the guy I thanked the day before.
Jason tries to convince me to go to Fry's and when I push him he insists that he can't loan me a cable. Again, they seem to be missing the plot. Jason mentions that he can replace my phone with a razor but insists that I don't want a razor because my phone has so many more features. I can't help but laugh. I mean, my phone doesn’t work, all they have is back rev phones, they don't know how to flash the phones and he's trying to tell me that the new sexy razor that doesn’t reboot randomly is not as good as the phone I have. Maybe it was a ploy. I raced home Wednesday, skipping out on a much needed night at the photo lab. I'm trying to make it to the store before it closes. I get stuck in traffic, call Jason and plea with him to keep the store open. He tells me he could lose his job if he does.
Thursday is thanksgiving and I'm stuck with my randomly rebooting phone. It can't even play my cool new ring tone without rebooting.
I head to the store Friday. Jason, without even putting up a fight, hands me my new razor. I'm thrilled. Good riddance to that piece of crap and the lousy company behind it. Fuck you Nokia!
Here are some of those magic codes in case anyone is curious. BTW, I couldn't get the proxy trick to work.
Press *#BROWSER# to activate a secret menu for setting the server for the mobile browser. No need to use Verizon's pay-money version, right? I use wap.oa.yahoo.com (Yahoo! Mobile) as my primary gateway. Another option is wap.google.com, but I find that less useful.
Press *#MMS# to activate a secret menu for multimedia message settings.
Press *#0000# to see the model name.
Press *#837# to see the phone version information.
Press *3001#12345# for the service menu. This includes NAM settings, the field test menu, etc. I would not play with this. One item people have done in other Nokia phones is use the service menu to change the "alpha tag". Ordinarily this would replace the phrase "Verizon Wireless" with whatever you'd like, but it doesn't work on the 6256i. Don't mess around in this area unless you'd like to buy a new phone.
Press *#SLOT1# for slot cycle 1 and *#SLOT2# for slot cycle 2.
Press *#2820# for Bluetooth device information.
Press *#743# to get the System ID.
Press *#3872# to set EVRC settings.
Virus detection
Did you know that you can run a virus scan straight from the symantec web site? Here's how.
- Open symantec security check
- Install the control if required.
- Click on Virus Detection "START"
- Accept license
- Decline Privacy
- Install the 2 requested definitions.
Lonely hearts
I totally wasted my childhood. THIS is what I should have been spending my time doing! Two kids organize a casting call for girls in bikikis.
Save the cheerleader, save the world
I am so addicted to the NBC series Heroes.
Wikipedia has a boat load of pages on the series; complete write-ups on all the characters. There's even a site based on the comic in the show and a series of graphic novels. I've wanted to watch the show since I saw the ads for it on TV but since that's my usual photo lab night, I've never had a chance to see it. Since I had a couple days off for the holidays, I've been catching up with the episodes
online. For some strange reason though, there seem to be edited version of the episodes. In the episode 1 I saw on youtube, for example, Suresh compares God to a cockroach (2:47). Also, Niki's striptease includes a scene with her kneeling over doggie style (6:47). I'm not sure which audience that was intended for and why they included it in one run but pulled it out of another. The strange thing is that there's apparently a lawsuit going on with Emerson Electric Company over a garbage disposal scene but that scene was left in the episode that I saw that had the cockroach/doggy-style scenes cut.
The NBC site, which I'm linking last, is difficult to navigate. They want to charge for back episodes and I couldn't even find links to the trailers.
Timeline editing
This movie uses timeline editing to simulate playing the drums and piano. Well, playing them well anyway.
Equalizer shirt
This cool shirt has an equalizer that reacts to noise. It's being sold at a couple places for about $40. In case you're wondering, I'm guessing I take a medium.
Ben Underwood
A Sacramento kid, Ben Underwood, uses echo-location to make up for his lost sight. In this CBS news Video he is interviewed by John Blackstone. His mom, Aquanetta taught him that he can do just about anything. Well, this is definitely something.
Convert an image into ascii art with this
Fake furniture
If you've bought leather furniture from Cost Plus, you might want to check if its REAL. ABC7 news did a report and found consumers might not be getting what they expect. You can read the article or watch the video
video.
World Market told GMA that — without the company's knowledge — about a quarter of its Taylor chairs had been made of a synthetic material. The chain says it has now pulled them out of stores and will provide genuine-leather replacements to any customers who contact the company.
Love hate t-shirt
This designer
has found a way to print images that say one thing when you look at it straight on, and the complete opposite when you look at the reflection in the mirror. So far apparently they're only selling love/hate.
Secret Policeman's Ball
You might have seen this video before but
this version has Natalie Imbruglia on stage doing the David Armand's shtick with him, it was taken from the Secret Policeman's Ball.
The guy in
Rocky Balboa
The new
Rocky movie comes out next month. Some people are bagging on Stallone for making another rocky movie at his age. Not only do I think it’s a good idea, but I think it’s the perfect time for it. I think the role we expect seniors to play in our society is a hot topic. With so many people being pushed into retirement at a time in their lives when they feel perfectly able to perform their job, the movie is more than an attempt for Stallone to get back in the spotlight, its about the role that people are allowed to play in our country.
I watched a documentary on Oct 27 2006 that discussed the very issue of seniors and our society. Doing a search on old TV listings proved impossible but I it might have been called The Open Road America Looks at Aging. In the documentary they dispelled many of the common stereotypes about people over 65. It makes you wonder why we force so many people out of a job when they're the most competent people to do it. It makes you want to take the uncle toms who drag the image of seniors in the mud and kick them on their hips.
Sites powered by Pebble
Here is a list of sites that are powered by Pebble.
- Abey's Blog
- Amnesty International in the Middle East
- brendonmatheson.com
- Cooley Reasons
- GuillermoCastro.com
- frentix news
- The Insignificant Pebble
- JavaBlog.com
- JavaGeek.org
- John's Blog
- Marco Stötzel
- SonicWeblog
Here is a list of Japanese sites that are powered by Pebble.
I got these from Simon's site and omitted the ones that were down. You can view source to see the ones that have been hidden.
- alexwinston.com
- Andrew's weblog
- bailey's boring 'blog
- Being FFUB (running via dial-up DDNS and a WLAN!)
- Blogdigger Development Blog
- blog.devep.net 开发专家blog (*)
- Brian Foster's Blog
- blogs.bytecode.com.au (*)
- buffered streams
- C10FX
- Chris Lattimer [dot] com
- CKNY's weblog
- ClientJava.com
- dan's weblog
- Daniel e Wanessa
- David Rupp's Weblog
- D'sblog
- Derek Burt's Weblog
- Design Awareness
- Dirk's Blog
- e-random
- El Cubo de Rubik
- Eric Heimerman's weblog
- Erik Isaksson's Weblog
- evolutionNext WebLog
- Expert Craft Blog
- geeksploitation
- Giorgio's Weblog
- Greg Duffy's Personal homepage and weblog
- heart of gold - zaphod's news and thoughts aggregator
- Henry McEuen
- hexius - common thoughts
- HP Dev Resource Central Blogs (*)
- hyungra.com (*)
- import java.*; Sam Dalton's Blog (*)
- It's a Wonderful RIFE
- j2biz:blog (*)
- Jason's Blog
- JavaRanch Radio
- JavaRanch Staff Channels (*)
- JCranky - Rainy days and Java always get me down
- JFox
- :::KazuLog:::
- KillerSite Blog
- Labase Weblog - Laboratório de Automação de Sistemas de Engenharia (*)
- Laust M. Ladefogeds Blog
- lekkimworld
- Liang Fang's Weblog
- Life of Brian
- Lincoln Community Wireless Network (*)
- MEP's Musings
- oros
- Phil's Place
- RAMBLE Project Blog
- Revising SCBCD
- Ryan's Scraps
- SCNet's Weblog
- Simon Brown's weblog (*)
- Spikes of Nothingness
- 誣告の誹りを止め給え - studiomaestro blog
- subRes
- the spider's web - Book reviews, software development, nerdy stuff
- SystemExxception()
- Tanalog (*)
- thoughts at ccombs.net
- tm blog
- Today@Arcosanti
- Tony's Blog
- Trip Reports from Imaginary Places
- Unruly Rambling
- waruiyatsu.com
- Weiqi Gao's Weblog
- Welcome to Hermanland (*)
- Whobillion.Blog
- why not?
- Wombat Attack!
- 日不落格 ZBlog
- Zdot
TextbookX service
There are good examples of online merchants, then there are places like
textbookx.com. That place spends more time working on their online purchasing system then they do on customer service. It's ironic really. They probably see their online site as this efficient cool toy that’s going to improve their business.
On October 2, 2006 I purchased some books from textbookx.com, some of these books were sold under their Marketplace. The Marketplace is where they broker sales of used books by other sellers. It has been over 40 days and I still have not received a refund. I was bummed that someone tried to sell me something they didn’t have but I thought it would be an easy problem for the broker to resolve. That is what they're there for after all. Textbookx.com kept assuring me that the money would be refunded to my account but I kept checking on it and it never has. I guess they thought I wouldn’t check, or that I'd forget about it. I suspect this is how they expect most of these transactions to end.
They finally told me I should call and talk to a rep. Again they assured me that I would receive a refund. The conversation was in the same tone as their emails. I tried to understand why I had to call to have this item resolved but the rep kept repeating the same lines over and over again, a description of their process. What I wanted to know was why this process was so bumpy; why I had to call when it seemed so clear that I should received a refund. All I got was a repeat of their "process". I'll write it down when I call him again. I have no doubt that I'll have to. This company, when it comes to customer service, rates well below average. Unfortunately their prices are hard to beat.
I've included a copy of my dialog with them below. On 2006-11-22 the $6.90 was finally credited back to my account. The order was placed on 2006-09-29. That means it took nearly two months to correct a mistake that should have been a slam dunk.
-----Original Message-----
From: TextBookX Customer Service [mailto:tbxinfo@akademos.com]
Sent: Wednesday, November 22, 2006 8:46 AM
To: Patrick Melo
Subject: RE: Regarding order # xxxxxx
Dear Patrick,
Thank you for contacting TextbookX.com.
We value your business and appreciate your patronage.
This is with reference to order # xxxxxx for the book titled "ANSEL ADAMS GDE.: BASIC TECH.PHOTO.BK.I".
I am glad to inform you that the refund for the order was initiated on 2006-11-21. It usually takes 3-7 business days for that amount to reflect into your account. The refund was initiated to your credit card which you used while placing an order. The same should reflect into your account within 3-7 business days. If you do not receive it, you may go ahead and contact your bank with the reference code: VUGA0C851F08. I am sure that they would be able to help you.
I apologize for the delay.
Please feel free to contact us for further assistance. The TextbookX team is available and would be glad to assist you.
Regards,
Shawn Jones
TextbookX.com Customer Service
-----Original Message-----
From: Patrick Melo [mailto:patrick@qantel.com]
Sent: Wednesday, November 22, 2006 12:03 AM
To: TextBookX Customer Service
Subject: RE: Regarding order # xxxxxx
Dear Steven,
I called as you requested and spoke with a Sean. He assured me that the trouble I was having obtaining a refund was unusual and that the funds would be credited back to my account. This was a week ago and I still have not received a refund. Please advise me as to what I should do as I am considering more drastic measures.
Sincerely,
Patrick Melo
-----Original Message-----
From: TextBookX Customer Service[mailto:tbxinfo@akademos.com]
Sent: Tuesday, November 14, 2006 6:26 AM
To: Patrick Melo
Subject: RE: Regarding order # xxxxxx
Dear Patrick,
Thank you for contacting TextbookX.com.
This is with reference to order # xxxxxx for the book titled "ANSEL ADAMS GDE.: BASIC TECH.PHOTO.BK.I".
Regarding your query, it would be highly appreciated if you would contact our Customer Service team at the following toll free number 1-800-221-8480 from Monday to Friday between 9 am to 5 pm EST. Our Customer service representatives would be glad to assist you with your question.
Please feel free to contact us for further assistance. The TextbookX team is available and would be glad to assist you.
Regards,
Steven Hall
TextbookX.com Customer Service
-----Original Message-----
From: Patrick Melo
Sent: Monday, November 13, 2006 8:09 AM
To: 'TextBookX Customer Service'
Subject: RE: Regarding order # xxxxxx
It has been over 40 days since this fraudulent order was taken and I still have not received a refund. Can I get an estimated date for when I should expect my money back?
-----Original Message-----
From: TextBookX Customer Service [mailto:tbxinfo@akademos.com]
Sent: Saturday, November 04, 2006 3:18 PM
To: Patrick Melo
Subject: RE: Regarding order # xxxxxx
Dear Patrick,
Thank you for contacting TextbookX.com.
We value your business and appreciate your patronage.
This is with reference to order # xxxxxx for the book titled "ANSEL ADAMS GDE.: BASIC TECH.PHOTO.BK.I".
I am sorry for the delay in initiating your refund.
However, as the seller cancelled your order, I assure you that it would be initiated shortly.
I apologize for any inconvenience caused to you in this regard.
Please feel free to contact us for further assistance. The TextbookX team is available and would be glad to assist you.
Regards,
Jack Anderson
TextbookX.com Customer Service
-----Original Message-----
From: TextBookX Customer Service [mailto:tbxinfo@akademos.com]
Sent: Thursday, October 26, 2006 5:13 PM
To: Patrick Melo
Subject: Regarding order # xxxxxx
Dear Valued Customer,
Thank you for contacting TextbookX.com.
We value your business and appreciate your patronage.
This is with reference to order # xxxxxx for the book titled "ANSEL ADAMS GDE.: BASIC TECH.PHOTO.BK.I".
This is to inform you that the seller of the above titled book has contacted us stating that he do not have the book in stock to ship to you and have confirmed the order by error. Please note that the seller would not ship the book to you and the refund for the order would be initiated shortly. Once the refund is initiated, it would take 3-7 business days to reflect into your credit card.
I apologize for the inconvenience caused to you in this regard.
Please feel free to contact us for further assistance. The TextbookX team is available and would be glad to assist you.
Regards,
John Matthew
TextbookX.com Customer Service
!DSPAM:454b7ef170451646212847!
-----Original Message-----
From: Patrick Melo [mailto:patrick@qantel.com]
Sent: Friday, November 03, 2006 11:10 PM
To: TextBookX Customer Service
Subject: RE: Regarding order # xxxxxx
It has been 7 business days since this letter was sent and the funds still have not been reinstated. Can you update me on the status of this issue?
-----Original Message-----
From: TextBookX Customer Service [mailto:tbxinfo@akademos.com]
Sent: Thursday, October 26, 2006 5:13 PM
To: Patrick Melo
Subject: Regarding order # xxxxxx
Dear Valued Customer,
Thank you for contacting TextbookX.com.
We value your business and appreciate your patronage.
This is with reference to order # xxxxxx for the book titled "ANSEL ADAMS GDE.: BASIC TECH.PHOTO.BK.I".
This is to inform you that the seller of the above titled book has contacted us stating that he do not have the book in stock to ship to you and have confirmed the order by error. Please note that the seller would not ship the book to you and the refund for the order would be initiated shortly. Once the refund is initiated, it would take 3-7 business days to reflect into your credit card.
I apologize for the inconvenience caused to you in this regard.
Please feel free to contact us for further assistance. The TextbookX team is available and would be glad to assist you.
Regards,
John Matthew
TextbookX.com Customer Service
Ultrafineonline service
Isn't it funny how the sites with excellent customer service always seem to have any place to rave about their customer service? Take
ultrafineonline.com for example. That place never messes up my orders and ships them out in a reasonable time. Their prices are excellent and when I call, they talk my ear off with things I want to hear; I actually take notes! When I place an order with them, they always send me an email asking me to review them and I always reply with a positive response. This store, in my opinion, rates well above average.
Set TARGET to _blank
This little javascript sample will set the target of all foreign links to _blank.
<script type="text/javascript">
function target() {
if(!document.getElementsByTagName) {
return;
}
var anchors = document.getElementsByTagName("a");
var e = document.getElementsByTagName("base");
var base = null;
if( e.length ) {
base = e[0].href;
base = base.substring(0,base.indexOf(":", 5));
}
if (base==null) {
return;
}
for( var loop = 0; loop < anchors.length; loop++ ) {
var anchor = anchors[loop];
href = anchor.getAttribute("href");
if( href && href.indexOf(base)<0) {
alert( "["+href + "][" + base+ "]")
anchor.target = "_blank";
}
}
}
</script>
Notepad status bar
The notepad that comes with windows XP has a status bar that will tell you what line your on. You can view the status bar by selecting "Status bar" from the "View" menu. Sometimes that menu item is disabled. This is a bug. The following
reg file will fix that bug. It clears the key in the registry responsible for this bug. You need to close notepad BEFORE you run the script; otherwise, notepad re-saves the registry key when it exits.
Line rider
Check out this cool game called
Line rider. You can read about it in
Time magazine. I can't believe these shitty news writers failed to include any background information on the programmer, sorry.
People have made their own movies and added music to it. There are some on the site and some on youtube. This one has the theme from cowboy beebop.
Photos on Flickr
Just about everyone has picture they want to share. Sending out an email full of pictures that are all several megabyes each can incur the wrath of the system admin on the receiving end of the email. Instead people opt to use one of many photo hosting sites available on the net.
Flickr is one of these sites. Like most of these sites it uses custom programs to help upload the pictures onto the site. Flickr actually uses a standalone program to upload pictures instead of the usual plugin to the web browser. The biggest problem with this site is that you can only upload 20MB worth of photos with the free account. That's a really foolish business move in my opinion. The program resizes the picture before they're sent to the site. Even at the smaller size of 1280 pixels (suitable for small prints) this doesn't allow for very many images. At 100K per image, that amounts to about 200 images.
UPDATE: I just received the following message on ther Flickr website. This makes the site, in my opinion, completely unusable for photo sharing. You can find out more on their FAQ page.
You've run into one of the limits of a free account. Your free account will only display the most recent 200 photos you've uploaded. All of your photos beyond 200 will remain hidden from view until you either delete newer photos, or upgrade to a Pro account.
Speed bandits in Denmark
The Danes have figured out a way to solve their speeding problem. A group of activists called the
Biki Bandits
have take on the problem by standing at the side of the road topless. I hope this catches on in the states.
Fuck (the documentary)
They're making a
Electric sheep
Blade Runner
is one of the best movies ever made. It is based on
Phillip Dick's
book titled
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. Now there's a
documentary out on the making of the movie.
See how people vote at neighboroo.com
This site lets you see a geographical topography of how people vote.
It also shows geographical topography for lifestyle (whether people are married/single/college students), crime, elementary school ranking, air quality, home price, apartment rent, cost of living, commute time, household income, tax rates, unemployment, population density, and ethnic population density for white, Hispanic, African American, Asian and American Indian
Bear Flag Music
Dora Flood is playing at the Rickshaw Stop in San Francisco. They're on at 10PM. You can download their music from the net.
Gobelins
This is a cool little short video called Burning Safari. The site it comes from has some other cool animations as well.
Frappr
This is a cool little tool to create maps. People who visit your site can add themselves and you can get an idea of where your visitors are coming from. I, of course, have zarro :( You can vitit the site and create your own.
Hayward camera show at Centennial Hall
It looks like they changed the Hayward camera show from the last Sunday of the month to the first Sunday of the month. You can find more information on my website.
They had a posting on craigslist.Camera Show Sunday Nov. 5th - BUY-SELL-TRADE in Ha