Flotsam & Jetsam

Cookie Tour

Zeke — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 12:57:47 +0000

Who’d like to do a Chocolate Chip Cookie tour when I get back? This list and description made my mouth water from 6000 miles away.

http://newyork.seriouseats.com/2009/12/the-ultimate-chocolate-chip-cookie-tour-best-new-york-nyc-manhattan-brooklyn-bakery-picture-slideshow.html#show-65023

Installing Ruby

Zeke — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 17:26:01 +0000

Ruby and Ruby on Rails is all the rage these days. As a dev environment, it’s one of the most simple I’ve ever worked with.

Ruby –
Install latest Ruby one-click installer for Windows from http://rubyforge.org/projects/rubyinstaller/
Include Ruby Gems.
Up to you on installing the editor.
Once you’ve installed Ruby, type this at the command line
ruby -vyou should see the latest version returned. Mine is ruby 1.8.6 .

If you see “Command not found”, make sure that you reload the command (close & open new) window after the install.
Update gems. Type this at the command line
gem update –system
If you encounter a HTTP Error 403 trying to install Gems, here’s a workaround:download the latest gems from http://rubyforge.org/frs/?group_id=126 (I used 1.3.1)
unzip / untar the file
cd rubygems-1.3.1
ruby setup.rb

Then do at the command line to bring it up to date:
gem update –system
Now, install Rails. Type at the command line:
gem install rails –include-dependencies
Install a database. For learning and dev work, sqllite is a good choice. You can upgrade to MySQL later if you wish.
Get the latest version from here: http://www.sqlite.org/download.html.
You’ll need the command line application zip and the DLL zip.
Download, extract and install to your Ruby bin directory.To test that everything is working well type at the command line:
sqlite3

You should see a response that says something like: “SQLite version 3.6.16? and give you a prompt. Type ctrl-c or ctrl-break to exit.
Install the sqlite3 gem. Type at the command line:
gem install sqlite3-ruby

Voila! Done. Now you can start coding in Ruby using your favorite text editor.

gem install rails --include-dependencies

Ahh, that’s why my cellphone bill doesn’t make sense

Zeke — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 23:15:52 +0000

The NY Times has done a piece on why the US cellphone market is the way it is. Not too surprising actually, but interesting read on the details.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/15/business/15price.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Reboot your Palm 650

Zeke — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 23:14:47 +0000

I don’t know about you, but I still have my old Palm 650. It’s a little big, and doesn’t have a wireless account anymore, but it’s great alarm clock and an easy way to take notes, so I keep it around. And, if I ever need a GSM phone, I just need to swap out the SIM card and we’re good to go. Color me surprised when I read that someone had ported Android to the Palm 650. Supposedly it doesn’t run very quickly (Android really pushes the limits on what the Palm can do), but if you’re in the mood to tinker, go for it and let me know how it goes:

http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/palm-treo-650-boots-into-android-lives-a-fulfilling-life-video/

20 Tricks Every Bittorrent user should know

Zeke — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 20:15:07 +0000

Heard about Bittorrent, but don’t know how to use it? Know what it is, but not a master? Read this guide. It’s very informative.

http://www.maximumpc.com/article/features/20_essential_tricks_and_skills_every_bittorrent_user_should_know?page=0%2C0

Check out their Firefox tweaks and tips article too:
http://www.maximumpc.com/article/features/20_essential_tweaks_every_firefox_user_should_know

Free Shell Accounts

Zeke — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 20:11:22 +0000

Back in the day, everyone had access to a UNIX shell account at their internet service provider. With it, you could run batch files, scripts and access services that were only available from the command line. Unfortunately, shell access also allowed (some) people to hack and cause issues. Now-a-days with tons of Linux distros and more servers running windows, it’s rare to find a service provider that will give you access to a shell account, much less has one. But, still, there are times when you need one. When you do, search this list and find one that works:

http://www.red-pill.eu/freeunix.shtml

Need to send a message and keep it private?

Zeke — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 21:27:29 +0000

Cool little service. Allows you to post a private, secure web page that has a question / answer challenge.

https://norbt.com/

Can’t decide where to eat?

Zeke — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 21:24:17 +0000

New York restaurantsUrbanspoon

New York restaurants on Urbanspoon

Easy build Multimedia box for your TV

Zeke — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 20:33:57 +0000

We’ve been using an MVIX box for the past couple of years to watch downloaded movies and TV shows. The biggest problem with it is how stuff gets transfered to the box. It has a wireless connection, but it’s slow and requires a proprietary app to xfer software to it via wireless. Instead, we connected an external HD and just copy stuff onto the drive, then reconnect it downstairs. Simple enough, but a still a bit of a pain.

Over the past couple of years, the XMBC project has come a long way. One of these days I think I’m going to build a new XMBC box for the TV and see how it works:

http://lifehacker.com/5391308/build-a-silent-standalone-xbmc-media-center-on-the-cheap

If you build one, let me know how it goes.

Wildlife Pics

Zeke — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 19:12:31 +0000

Searching about for tips on how to take better photos, I came across Moose Peterson’s site and was blown away by his pictures. If I ever have the time and money, I’d love to attend one of his seminars.

http://moosepeterson.com/blog/

To Do List

Zeke — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 06:11:07 +0000

I’ve been looking for a good, online to do list for ages. Tried writing one a while back, but got side-tracked and never got back to it. This list has a couple good ones that I’m going to check out.

http://designm.ag/resources/online-to-do-lists/

How was that built?

Zeke — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 06:10:19 +0000

Ever wonder what technology a particular site uses? Go here, type in the URL and the site will give you a good breakdown of all technologies utilized that it can mine.

http://builtwith.com/

Twitter Tools

Zeke — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 06:09:16 +0000

Are you a twitter fanatic? Looking for that perfect tool to increase your twittering addiction?

Here ya go – the ultimate list of Twitter Tools
http://www.brandsamongmany.com/2009/03/09/the-ultimate-list-of-twitter-tools/

Quanitifying our Healthcare System

Zeke — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 06:07:34 +0000

Surprise, you can actually apply metrics to our healthcare system and see whether it’s effective or not. This blog entry at Harvard attempts to break out the numbers and explain why our system could use some work.

http://blogs.harvardbusiness.org/haque/2009/08/how_effective_is_american_heal.html?cm_mmc=npv-_-DAILY_ALERT-_-AWEBER-_-DATE

Academic Lectures

Zeke — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 06:06:17 +0000

Another attempt to catalog and put online good lectures from top Universities. Some of these aren’t too bad. Hopefully they’ll succeed where others failed.

http://www.academicearth.org/

Social Interface Design

Zeke — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 06:04:33 +0000

Ran across this site a couple days ago and have been very impressed with the resources and data he supplies. If you’re ever going to design a site that people are expected to sign up and use, I highly recommend reading through his stuff.

http://bokardo.com/

This deck in particular was VERY good:
http://bokardo.com/archives/designing-for-social-traction-slide-deck/

Tips from small business bloggers

Zeke — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 06:02:05 +0000

101 tips from small business bloggers:
http://www.openforum.com/idea-hub/topics/money/article/101-tips-from-50-small-business-bloggers-gregory-go

Social Media and Food

Zeke — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 05:59:17 +0000

Top 15 Social Media resources for food and foodies alike.

http://mashable.com/2009/07/30/social-media-foodies/

Ghetto Gourmet

Zeke — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 05:58:19 +0000

Niki and I went to a couple of their dinners a couple years back when they were touring the country throwing parties. Food, ambiance, people and experience were great. I’m glad to see they’ve expanded the program. Check it out:

http://www.theghet.com/

Pizza Oven

Zeke — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 05:56:24 +0000

You have a smoker and you have a grill. What you need now is a wood fired pizza oven. This site: http://www.fornobravo.com/ has free plans for building your very own pizza oven!!

If I had room in the backyard, I’d be all over this. Alas, our small Queens yard is currently full with the above smoker and grill. Next house, for sure!