New version of Puppy
A new version of the Puppy Linux live CD has been released. I’ve been playing with Puppy since December and it’s definitely the best live Linux distro out there.
Better than Knoppix? It’s horses for courses, but I can’t see much sense in running a fully featured distro from a CD for everyday use.
It needs to be small enough to run from RAM, which rules out all the big distros. There are some nice-looking smaller distros like Slax and its derivatives, but you need geek skills to add software and save the configuration. I haven’t figured that out with Slax yet. Read more
Tiddly Wiki
Just when I thought the internet wouldn’t surprise me any more, I discovered Tiddly Wiki. I’m a gadget man and can’t be accused of living under a rock for the past year, but how this one escaped me escapes me.
Tiddly Wiki is “a reusable non-linear personal web notebook”. It’s an HTML file with java script that can be almost anything you want it to be.
The most obvious purpose is as a personal note taker. It can save information online if you upload it to a server, or offline on your computer. Read more
Jacket discovery
I got motivated yesterday to sort through some old clothes for despatch to the op shop. They were from my "big man" days when I weighed 14-15 stone. I’ve been under 13 stone for more than a year now, so it seemed safe to dispose of them and clear some space in the wardrobe.
Among the pile I discovered a nifty sports jacket from my youthful pre-big man days. It’s the first dress coat I ever owned and I think I bought it 17 years ago while working as a journalist at the Gippsland Times.
The picture above shows me (right) wearing the jacket, aged 21, interviewing then Defence Minister Kim Beazley at RAAF East Sale in 1988.
The jacket has gone to the dry cleaners, with a view to being recommissioned.
10 tricks for handling telemarketers
This is doing the email rounds …
10. When they ask “How are you today?” Tell them: “I’m so glad you asked because no one seems to care, and I have all these problems; my arthritis is acting up, I’ve been really constipated …” - see how long they stay on the phone!
9. If they say they’re John Doe from XYZ Company, ask them to spell their name. Then ask them to spell the company name. Then ask where it is located. Continue asking them personal questions about their company for as long as necessary.
8. Cry out in surprise “Judy! Is that you? Oh my God!, how have you been?” Hopefully this will give Judy a few brief moments of pause as she tries to figure out where the hell she could know you from. Read more
Using Illustrator to make web pages
I’ve created many web banners and buttons with Adobe Illustrator, but this week was the first time I’ve used the program to create a complete web page.
The client, Grevillea Gardens, provides self-contained accommodation in Bright. Clearly there was no need for a content management system and most standard templates are too dull to consider.
Using Illustrator we worked together to adjust fonts, pictures and colors to the client’s taste. Once complete, it’s a simple option to "save for web". The program creates an HTML page and images of all space, text, photos and artwork.
The only HTML editing I had to do was the background color, links, title and meta tags.
Illustrator probably isn’t ideal for dynamic sites, but in the tourism industry for a static brochure page it’s a good option.
Here’s another example, in which a poster was converted to a web page.
Breakthrough for open source
Beta News reports that the State of Massachusetts plans to eliminate Microsoft Office as an option for creating new documents.
If the policy is implemented all documents will have to be saved in open source XML or Adobe’s universally recognised PDF.
This is a potential blow for Microsoft and the company has understandably protested vigorously. More governments and agencies are looking at open source options to reduce their massive licensing costs. The biggest obstacle in the past has been compatability issues.
The growing acceptance of PDF and the development of XML have reduced some of these barriers. I don’t fully understand the technology of XML, but the implications of its mainstream acceptance appear obvious.
In my own work environment we aim to convert all public documents to PDF for security, reduced size and portability.
Although not all open source, PDF readers are free and cross-platform.
Flag for Roos and Swans
I’m so pleased the Swans won the premiership. My family has South Melbourne connections, with my Auntie Margaret being a passionate fan.
Personally, I’m delighted for Paul Roos, who was my favorite player when he was at Fitzroy. He’s a wonderful man and he deserves success.
Roos admitted it was the Lions’ first premiership win in 2001 and watching his long-time Fitzroy teammate Alastair Lynch finally get a premiership medal after 13 years in the game that day that inspired him to stay involved in the game through coaching after his own 356 game career (the equal seventh most in history) ended without a flag.
“This is unquestionably the greatest moment in my football career,” he said.
“The only reason you are in the game is to win premierships and I know I have done a lot of hard work to get here.”
MCNLive on a stick
It’s remarkable that you can store a computer operating system on a USB stick and boot from it. I’ve known this for a while, but only tried it for the first time today and I’m impressed.
The distro I’m using is MCNLive, codename Jordaan. It’s based on Mandriva and comes from The Netherlands. The download was 197MB, so it’s a comfortable size. There are many other options out there, and I’ll probably try Puppy from USB when the new version is released.
MCNLive has an easy USB install through the main menu. I had no problems with it on a 256MB device. Read more
Magpie swooping season
Magpie swooping season here in North East Victoria generally runs from grand final weekend (late September) to the Melbourne Cup (early November).
I haven’t been swooped yet this year, but I’ve seen people walking with sticks held above their heads, which is normally a good indicator to be wary.
There are some common myths about magpies. These include: Read more
Lunch at the Big Shed
Juliet and I like to go out for lunch every fortnight or so in autumn and spring. We sit outdoors, which is safe for the toddlers and the amenities they explore.
One of our favorites is the Riverdeck Cafe in Bright. Sometimes we ride the bikes there. Sometimes we go further afield to Beechworth or Milawa.
Today we revisted the Big Shed Cafe at Smoko for the first time since March. I cycled the 18km out there, while Juliet took Kathleen, James and Margaret in the car. Snow on Hotham and Feathertop gave a magnificent backdrop.
It’s the first time I’d ridden in that direction, so it was interesting to see Freeburgh from the saddle. It’s always a different perspective compared with driving.
I had potato croquettes for lunch with green salad and sweet chilli sauce, washed down with a “zinger” (apple, carrot and tomato juice with ginger). Juliet had deep-fried camembert.
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