Posted on December 13, 2008 by PD

Thanks, Sean!

Yesterday when I got home from work, I found a large, unexpected package on my doorstep. Upon opening it, I discovered my missing Sand Wedge – it must have slipped into my good friend Sean Hancock’s golf bag when he visited this past summer.

As a thank you for the pleasant surprise, I recorded this little track. It might be an inside joke, but I think it holds its own. It’s only thrity seconds, anyway. Listen to it.

 

Also, I think the “Megaphone” effect in GarageBand could easily help recreate the voice of the Dalek.

Posted on December 12, 2008 by PD

Five and Change: Seven Dirty Words

 

Today is December 12, 2008, and this is Five and Change.

Today’s episode is a bit different; this isn’t so much a current event.  This year, 2008, a great performer passed away.  His name was George Carlin.  He’s best known for one of his comic routines, known as the Seven Words.

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Posted on December 8, 2008 by admin

Interpreting CSS, part 1

Hey folks!

I’ve been seeing on the web lately that a lot of people are still having a hard time “getting” CSS. It’s not really code, in that it doesn’t execute, so it doesn’t really look right to programmers. Yet, it a kind of language, in that it has a syntax and a grammar, that is very terse, and not exactly straightforward – tough on the graphic design folks I know.

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Posted on December 3, 2008 by PD

RestauRant: Graydon’s Crossing

I love Graydon’s Crossing. I’m just going to say that up front.

Graydon’s Crossing is an authentic English Pub on the northeast side of Grand Rapids. They serve quite a few beers (including casked ales – awesome) and they have breakfast, brunch, and lunch / dinner foods, all with at least an English spin if not a full out true English meal.

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Posted on December 1, 2008 by PD

Violating Web TOS Makes You A Criminal

Have you ever violated the Terms of Service on a web site? For that matter, have you ever read the Terms of Service for any of the websites you use on a daily basis? Here’s the links to a few of my favorites:

If you’ve ever broken the TOS on any of these sites, you are now a criminal under the Computer Fraud & Abuse Act according to precedent set by this ruling (Groklaw).

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Posted on November 28, 2008 by PD

Turkey Day Break

Hello, all!

As you may have guess by no Five and Change on Wednesday, I’m taking a Thanksgiving break. Just wanted to say thanks to all four of you that read regularly.

I am thankful for my family and friends, and I hope you have all had as nice a Thanksgiving as I have.

Peace and Prosperity –

PD

Posted on November 25, 2008 by admin

WordPress, I really love you.

Have I mentioned that WordPress is awesome lately? Today I needed to dynamically create an XSPF playlist for a website mp3 player. There’s a great XSPF player available over at Sourceforge that my client wanted to use. XSPF is just an XML dialect, so it shouldn’t be too tough to output from WordPress, right?

My plan was to make a special category of links in WordPress. Call it something special (how’s about “Playlist”) and add a bunch of links to .mp3 files posted out on the ol’ internet.

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Posted on November 24, 2008 by PD

New Upcoming Podcast: “Book Report”

Today I’m going to announce another new podcast to join Five and Change and Paul and Tina’s Videos on botl. For now, I’m calling it “Book Report,” simply because it’s a simple title that tells you exactly what it is.

Here’s the format. I’ll pick a book, split it into three (as it makes sense), and present one 10 minute report each week on a new part of the book. I’m going to share the story with you, and I’ll also do a little basic analysis. It’s likely I’ll do classics for a while, but I’m considering branching a few podcasts out of this format, each divided by genre. We’ll see.

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Posted on November 19, 2008 by PD

Five and Change: Cap and Trade

 

Today is November 19, 2008, and this is Five and Change.

Today I have the opportunity to combine the two topics I’ve primarily talked about so far on this podcast. There will be other topics, including Net Neutrality and Public Access Television, but because this news is so recent, I want to capitalize on this event.

Barrack Obama has talked about environmental issues throughout his campaign, and into the Lame Duck session. Yesterday, he released a video on Change.gov about his energy policy.

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Posted on November 13, 2008 by PD

Joe Joe!

Everybody’s favorite forever puppy!