I was looking around on the web for a simple way of displaying a modal dialogue box over a web page. There are lots of options, but none of them seemed to work the way I wanted, so I wrote my own.
Click here to download a demo of DialoguePane.js as a ZIP file. API documentation is included.
Showing posts with label computers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label computers. Show all posts
27 May 2012
Uncooking cooked electronic gadgets using cooking
Wheat bags are useful things. They're a natural, drug-free way to soothe headaches and other throbbing pains, and they double as a dry alternative to a hot water bottle. They're also very easy to make.
As if that weren't enough, it turns out that you can use them to fix electronics as well.
As if that weren't enough, it turns out that you can use them to fix electronics as well.
19 February 2010
Big Brother is sending you email
Following on from my participation in the Great Australian Internet Blackout, I received a charming letter from Senator Stephen Conroy. OK, it's just a form letter, and he already had my email address from the protest letter I wrote to him. I just wanted to sound important.
Senator Conroy's pitch was simple: to defend the proposed mandatory internet filter. Really, it's the same old claptrap, with plenty of mentions of the children to disguise the hypocrisy. It also fails to address the same questions that we've been raising for years.
01 November 2009
Adelaide Greenies on Google Calendar
Having found it very easy to lose track of all of the different events that Adelaide's environmental movement has organised, I have started a Google Calendar to remind me. It's called the Adelaide Greenies calendar, and it's an agglomeration of an array of different mailing lists that carry events that might interest fellow environmentalists. There's a little gadget (in list form) on the side of my blog that shows you what is there.
At the moment, all of this should be considered a bit of an experiment. There will be information missing because not everyone knows the length of time that their events will last. I'm also making a policy that private addresses won't be included with events without the explicit permission of the people at that address; I realise that such a policy might make it a little more difficult to advertise permablitzes, but I do want to show a bit of respect for people's privacy.
For the moment, I am treating this as a stop-gap solution. It's quite a chore to enter all of this data for everyone, even so far, and not everyone will use this to stay abreast of what's happening around South Australia. However, I'm going to have a go at keeping it up to date for a month or two and see what happens. What I hope for people to do is to start their own calendars for their own groups, so that people can subscribe to what interests them or what is going on in their local area. Besides, any calendar program worth its salt - including the HTML widget on the side of this page - can combine several calendars of events onto a single timeline.
The calendar is available in a number of different formats, so that you should be able to read it from anywhere. At the moment, I'm the only person who can edit anything (I hope). I will list the ways you can subscribe to the calendar below.
UPDATE 2009-11-02: You can indeed use the XML version (Atom/RSS) of a calendar in the RSS widget in WordPress, but the formatting isn't ideal. I found this tutorial on Helen's Nerdy Blog for customising RSS feeds, and I've since created a more refined version of the XML feed for WordPress users. To incorporate this into WordPress, add an RSS widget for this link on feed43.com. There's an example of this on the Permaculture Education Zone blog (which I also set up).
Thanks to everyone for their input so far. There may be another update later to address the most important questions.
At the moment, all of this should be considered a bit of an experiment. There will be information missing because not everyone knows the length of time that their events will last. I'm also making a policy that private addresses won't be included with events without the explicit permission of the people at that address; I realise that such a policy might make it a little more difficult to advertise permablitzes, but I do want to show a bit of respect for people's privacy.
For the moment, I am treating this as a stop-gap solution. It's quite a chore to enter all of this data for everyone, even so far, and not everyone will use this to stay abreast of what's happening around South Australia. However, I'm going to have a go at keeping it up to date for a month or two and see what happens. What I hope for people to do is to start their own calendars for their own groups, so that people can subscribe to what interests them or what is going on in their local area. Besides, any calendar program worth its salt - including the HTML widget on the side of this page - can combine several calendars of events onto a single timeline.
The calendar is available in a number of different formats, so that you should be able to read it from anywhere. At the moment, I'm the only person who can edit anything (I hope). I will list the ways you can subscribe to the calendar below.
- To view the calendar in your browser, just follow this link to the HTML version, or add it to your Bookmarks or Favourites.
- To view the calendar as an Atom or RSS feed, add this link to the XML version to your feed subscriptions. In many browsers, you should just be able to click on the link and go from there. Otherwise, look for this logo in your browser:
- To add the calendar using software such as iCal, Outlook 2007 or Mozilla Sunbird, add this link to the iCal version to your subscriptions or accounts. To add the calendar to Outlook 2003 or earlier, download the file from that link and import it manually. (Note that the older versions won't update iCal files automatically, so every so often, you'll have to delete the calendar and import it again.)
- If you like the widget I've got in the blog, let me know. Google Calendar does have a tool that lets you customise this widget, but only if you have private access to the calendar - that is, only if you're me. I know WordPress doesn't like the widget I'm using (it doesn't like iframe HTML tags), but you should be able to add the RSS feed above in the meantime; I haven't looked into this yet.
UPDATE 2009-11-02: You can indeed use the XML version (Atom/RSS) of a calendar in the RSS widget in WordPress, but the formatting isn't ideal. I found this tutorial on Helen's Nerdy Blog for customising RSS feeds, and I've since created a more refined version of the XML feed for WordPress users. To incorporate this into WordPress, add an RSS widget for this link on feed43.com. There's an example of this on the Permaculture Education Zone blog (which I also set up).
Thanks to everyone for their input so far. There may be another update later to address the most important questions.
02 March 2008
Next
I have finally finished my project. We handed it over on Thursday morning and I think it went over reasonably well.
Personally, I'm still in the same lucid state I've been in for the past couple of weeks, the sense of relief not yet compensating for the sense of fatigue. The weekend is nigh, though, and with any luck, things will return to normal within the next few days. Until I start thinking about the next project, I've been doing a bit of housekeeping on my work computer in the meantime.
How To Torment Your Cat - starring Cleo is up. I'll post a separate entry for that. Apparently, you can set it up so that new YouTube videos are linked straight to your blog. I'll try that out for next time.
I will have another video to upload very soon. I shot some video clips of the Adelaide 36ers' last game of the season - which was, coincidentally, Lanard Copeland's last home game in the NBL. Really, it was just an excuse to play with my digital camera and to learn the new version of iMovie, which I've only just installed. I can't say I'm unimpressed: it's really quick and easy to make a rough-cut film sequence, which can then be imported into Final Cut if you want something with a bit more grunt. (It's not actually documented anywhere, it would seem, that Final Cut Express 3.5.1 supports the Final Cut XML format, but you can drag-and-drop said XML files into your project and they will just appear as a sequence.) This Sixers footage will be entirely in iMovie, though.
I rang the club to see what would be required to publish the footage that I took. It seems that you need permission from the holder of the broadcast rights, and even then, you can't publish more than a couple of minutes of video. That's fine for me - this little project is more an experiment than anything else - but I thought I'd share that with anyone who had considered publishing footage of NBL games on YouTube, particularly of games broadcast by Fox Sports or (half your luck) one of the free-to-air networks.
The search for a new iPod continues. It seems that the microphone attachments almost work with the current generation of iPods, although not all settings are available. I haven't found any news about whether a microphone will ever appear for the iPod Touch - and I mean officially, since the homebrewers seem to be on the cusp of just such a thing. I suspect that the idea of turning the Touch into a wireless internet phone might just annoy a few of Apple's strategic partners.
To be frank, though, this likely won't be an issue for me until at least the start of the next NBL season. I don't have any projects lined up that would require me to carry a roving microphone, and I'm not likely to start one. Besides, I could always buy myself a separate voice recorder for less than $100. Then again, perhaps that's just what I want to tell myself, as an excuse to consider the 32-gigabyte Touch. Yum.
It seems like a lot of money to outlay for what it is, since my current iPod would still be perfectly fine if it played video. I suppose that the idea of selling the old one will make up for that. I can add it to the list of things I want to sell. My old Toshiba laptop is ready to sell. I've got a leaflet to put up at the local university campus, in case anyone's looking for something on the cheap. I've got a bunch of old games that I don't play any more as well.
I guess it's just a question of letting go. It was hard enough coming to terms to being finished with work that has been so much of a hassle for the past two months. That probably explains why I haven't done more, and sooner, to sell the things that I have actually liked. Still, the time is right to move on.
Personally, I'm still in the same lucid state I've been in for the past couple of weeks, the sense of relief not yet compensating for the sense of fatigue. The weekend is nigh, though, and with any luck, things will return to normal within the next few days. Until I start thinking about the next project, I've been doing a bit of housekeeping on my work computer in the meantime.
* * * * * *
How To Torment Your Cat - starring Cleo is up. I'll post a separate entry for that. Apparently, you can set it up so that new YouTube videos are linked straight to your blog. I'll try that out for next time.
I will have another video to upload very soon. I shot some video clips of the Adelaide 36ers' last game of the season - which was, coincidentally, Lanard Copeland's last home game in the NBL. Really, it was just an excuse to play with my digital camera and to learn the new version of iMovie, which I've only just installed. I can't say I'm unimpressed: it's really quick and easy to make a rough-cut film sequence, which can then be imported into Final Cut if you want something with a bit more grunt. (It's not actually documented anywhere, it would seem, that Final Cut Express 3.5.1 supports the Final Cut XML format, but you can drag-and-drop said XML files into your project and they will just appear as a sequence.) This Sixers footage will be entirely in iMovie, though.
I rang the club to see what would be required to publish the footage that I took. It seems that you need permission from the holder of the broadcast rights, and even then, you can't publish more than a couple of minutes of video. That's fine for me - this little project is more an experiment than anything else - but I thought I'd share that with anyone who had considered publishing footage of NBL games on YouTube, particularly of games broadcast by Fox Sports or (half your luck) one of the free-to-air networks.
* * * * * *
The search for a new iPod continues. It seems that the microphone attachments almost work with the current generation of iPods, although not all settings are available. I haven't found any news about whether a microphone will ever appear for the iPod Touch - and I mean officially, since the homebrewers seem to be on the cusp of just such a thing. I suspect that the idea of turning the Touch into a wireless internet phone might just annoy a few of Apple's strategic partners.
To be frank, though, this likely won't be an issue for me until at least the start of the next NBL season. I don't have any projects lined up that would require me to carry a roving microphone, and I'm not likely to start one. Besides, I could always buy myself a separate voice recorder for less than $100. Then again, perhaps that's just what I want to tell myself, as an excuse to consider the 32-gigabyte Touch. Yum.
It seems like a lot of money to outlay for what it is, since my current iPod would still be perfectly fine if it played video. I suppose that the idea of selling the old one will make up for that. I can add it to the list of things I want to sell. My old Toshiba laptop is ready to sell. I've got a leaflet to put up at the local university campus, in case anyone's looking for something on the cheap. I've got a bunch of old games that I don't play any more as well.
I guess it's just a question of letting go. It was hard enough coming to terms to being finished with work that has been so much of a hassle for the past two months. That probably explains why I haven't done more, and sooner, to sell the things that I have actually liked. Still, the time is right to move on.
10 February 2008
Catching up
I didn't have time to write an entry last week. In fact, there are so many things happening, I've barely got time to write one today. I've still managed to find time for some Oxfam fair trade chocolate, though.
I went to the Mawson Lakes Environmental Expo last Thursday. I was hoping to make contact with a few like-minded individuals and organisations, and it's amazing how much it gets you thinking when you do. I caught up with a fellow "peaknik" (that is, someone concerned enough about peak oil that they are actually doing something about it) and had a chat with him, since I didn't arrive early enough to attend his lecture. He and I are both a bit worried that these sorts of lectures tend to preach to the choir, which has gotten me thinking about how to reach people who are a bit more cynical - such as just about everyone I know.
Work has gone from being OK to disastrous to excellent in the space of 24 hours. I had long since hit a wall, which I finally got over on Thursday afternoon, only to hit another far more minor one - but it was too late in the day not to get aggravated about it. My boss spent some time with me on Friday morning, which couldn't have been timed any better, and things are moving in the right direction again.
What else have I done? I've sent what I hope to be a final draft of the video I shot of my friend's cat, but I haven't heard back. (It needs my signature anyway, and I haven't fired up LiveType for it yet.) I went to a pan-Asian restaurant called Vietnam to celebrate Chinese New Year with some friends. I've been to see Cloverfield, although I didn't see what has been alleged to happen at the end, and none of the videos I've seen on YouTube have helped me spot it. I'm still chipping away at Super Mario Galaxy, I'm still shopping for a new iPod, and I'm still waiting for the Adelaide 36ers season to end.
The iPod thing is weird. I'm thinking about replacing the old Photo with a more modern one that can play video. The problem is that I also use it to take notes when I'm writing basketball match reports, and it seems that none of the voice recorder attachments work with the current generation of iPods, particularly the iPod Touch. Of course, if there aren't any more matches here this season, this won't be an issue for seven or eight months. Personally, I'm leaning towards the models with flash memory rather than a hard disk, to keep the weight down, just in case I actually pull my finger out and stop driving to work.
I have three goals for this week. Firstly, I have a steadily-increasing queue of movies and documentaries to diminish. Secondly, I want to get my old laptop ready to sell and have a flier ready to put up next weekend. (I talked to a friend of mine today about putting one up at the local university campus.) Thirdly, I have a few things to post, but I'm not likely to get to a post office before Saturday morning. Given that I have a deadline at work this same Friday, for which I'm really going to be racing, I'm going to be completely spent by the end of it, I reckon.
I went to the Mawson Lakes Environmental Expo last Thursday. I was hoping to make contact with a few like-minded individuals and organisations, and it's amazing how much it gets you thinking when you do. I caught up with a fellow "peaknik" (that is, someone concerned enough about peak oil that they are actually doing something about it) and had a chat with him, since I didn't arrive early enough to attend his lecture. He and I are both a bit worried that these sorts of lectures tend to preach to the choir, which has gotten me thinking about how to reach people who are a bit more cynical - such as just about everyone I know.
Work has gone from being OK to disastrous to excellent in the space of 24 hours. I had long since hit a wall, which I finally got over on Thursday afternoon, only to hit another far more minor one - but it was too late in the day not to get aggravated about it. My boss spent some time with me on Friday morning, which couldn't have been timed any better, and things are moving in the right direction again.
What else have I done? I've sent what I hope to be a final draft of the video I shot of my friend's cat, but I haven't heard back. (It needs my signature anyway, and I haven't fired up LiveType for it yet.) I went to a pan-Asian restaurant called Vietnam to celebrate Chinese New Year with some friends. I've been to see Cloverfield, although I didn't see what has been alleged to happen at the end, and none of the videos I've seen on YouTube have helped me spot it. I'm still chipping away at Super Mario Galaxy, I'm still shopping for a new iPod, and I'm still waiting for the Adelaide 36ers season to end.
The iPod thing is weird. I'm thinking about replacing the old Photo with a more modern one that can play video. The problem is that I also use it to take notes when I'm writing basketball match reports, and it seems that none of the voice recorder attachments work with the current generation of iPods, particularly the iPod Touch. Of course, if there aren't any more matches here this season, this won't be an issue for seven or eight months. Personally, I'm leaning towards the models with flash memory rather than a hard disk, to keep the weight down, just in case I actually pull my finger out and stop driving to work.
I have three goals for this week. Firstly, I have a steadily-increasing queue of movies and documentaries to diminish. Secondly, I want to get my old laptop ready to sell and have a flier ready to put up next weekend. (I talked to a friend of mine today about putting one up at the local university campus.) Thirdly, I have a few things to post, but I'm not likely to get to a post office before Saturday morning. Given that I have a deadline at work this same Friday, for which I'm really going to be racing, I'm going to be completely spent by the end of it, I reckon.
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