2004 September

You'd better pray that one of your Web resources doesn't show up here. Perhaps too much knowledge is dangerous?

It's officially official: Yahoo! is this year's leading sponsor for Gnomedex. I could be seen dancing around the apartment for the better part of a half hour this morning. They join Microsoft, Google, VIA, and… you?

Read more on Yahoo! Woo hoo!…

On our way into Ralph's yesterday, we were approached by a local food bank. They handed us a list of items that were most needed by members of our community. Peanut butter, diapers, canned goods – nothing out of the ordinary. While I'm not going to boast about what Ponzi and I donated to them, may this entry serve as a reminder to you. I'd certainly appreciate the gesture were I sitting on the flip side of the coin. Wouldn't you?

Read more on Love Buggy…

Even with a gigabyte of RAM installed, there are very few programs running on my system at any given moment. CursorXP, FastCache, and CachemanXP always make the cut. I have shell extensions like ShellToys XP, DQSD, and ChangeExt that (for the most part) take up little-to-no CPU overhead until needed. I'm starting to wonder if I could let loose my reins a little and load a few more cool tools…

Read more on Start | Run | Cool…

I've been trying to get away from Quickbooks for a long time; it's really not designed for online businesses and content providers. After the developer's conference in New Orleans, we decided to starting using PayPal for most of our credit card transactions. I blame them for the success of my chest, as the payment form was supremely simple to set up. Ponz has been using their Outlook plugin for digital invoicing lately, although accountants-at-large don't seem to understand that a PayPal account is no longer required to use all of their services. We're gonna try these folks to see if their product can move us one step closer to the Intuit-free square.

Read more on eCommerce in 2004…

I was hoping that Pixie's bows would stay in her puppy fur long enough for me to take a picture (for posterity). Unfortunately, play time was more important than dress-up after their afternoon at the groomers. Mommy and Daddy have discovered that too many Charlie Bear dog treats spoil appetites for Nutro, too.

Read more on Ruffelations…

They say you are what you eat, so I guess that makes me chopped chili? If you have three minutes (and ten seconds) to waste, you can watch me develop indigestion right before your very eyes!

Read more on The Munchies…

Okay, when Dad called me last week asking for my old superhero costumes, I thought he wanted to use them for Halloween. How wrong I was to assume that.

The fair was fair; it reminded me of home in many ways. Yes, as much as I may hate to admit it publicly, I do miss certain elements of Iowa – like the Mark and Gary chop. We searched for pork “on a stick” all day yesterday, and only found it on our way out. So here's a full list of the crap we ate: vanilla and strawbetrry Dippin' Dots, a Funnel Cake (just Ponzi), one of Pink's chili dogs, a medocre pork dinner, a jumbo dog that offered a strong metallic aftertaste, and a very medocre pork chop on a stick. No rides were ridden, but our pedomeders turned over three times before the day was through.

Read more on Fairly Fun…

Here's something that slipped under my radar the other day… a new PowerToy?

For many years, I swore by Nvidia cards – but then ATI finally pulled their heads into the game and started releasing stable drivers. I hadn't had too many complaints with my 9800 XT in the 2D Windows environment, but their new Catalyst Control Center leaves something to be desired. I love the real-time settings previews, but the default look and feel seems completely unpolished to me (including the skins). Third-party fanatics are doing a better job developing software / tweaks for the cards than the manufacturer itself. My concerns didn't push me to the edge until I noticed a few refresh issues atop Word 2003. Considering that Office 2003 is a dog, I'm not too surprised – but I am a little disappointed. Mark my words: 2D acceleration will take a front seat before the next version of Windows is unleashed.

Read more on Nvidia vs. ATI…

Perhaps after scanning 'Cooking For Engineers,' Ponzi will have a better idea as to how my brain works. I seem to overanalyze the very things I shouldn't care about, and abandon reason on the more crucial stepping stones. Low blood sugar? I'll let the chef decide.

Read more on Free Lunch…