DSLR Stills into a Timelapse Video

This is kind of cool. I don't use Quicktime, but I may have to play with Picasa or something and see if there's a way to do this there.

How to Combine DSLR Stills into a Timelapse Video

Could be interesting, especially if combined with a Docs Slideshow or something.

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Saw this on Slickdeals.net

Not sure if this is the best way, so if anyone else has any additional advice, go ahead and let us know.

Link to the Actual Thread

Web Hosting, Domain Name, Branded Email, and Collaborative Web Apps w/NO MANDATORY ADVERTS - $10/year (the price of domain name registration)

I’ve decided to compile some resources and tips that will allow you to get a domain name, web hosting, a basic CMS, web apps and branded email for about $10/yr. Most people overpay for their hosting needs and use very little of the features they overpaid for.

I think that with a little work and compromise, this combination will be more than suitable for over 70% of people/organizations who want a basic website with standard functions. If you require a shopping cart, FTP access or any detailed custom development, move on… this is not for you. This is for small business owners who traditionally operate in the brick & mortar realm who just want a web presence, groups and individuals who just want a simple website with online collaboration, and anyone else who wants fairly robust layout options, self-publishing capability + an easy to use webmail program (gmail) all while getting a custom domain and (50) email addresses of yourname@yourdomain.com.

The formula goes like this:

1) Free Google Blogger [blogger.com]account (you already have one if you have a Gmail email)

2) + $10 domain purchase (through blogger dashboard via GoDaddy)

3) + Free DropBox [dropbox.com] account (for 2GB of file hosting) or other hotlinkable file host

4) + Free Google Domain Apps Standard Edition [google.com] (when you purchase your domain through Blogger dashboard)

5) + A few CSS tricks to “de-brand” your blog as a Blogger blog.

This is the cheapest feature to price ratio I’ve come across for anyone who wants to build a simple professional looking custom branded website with NO compulsory advertisements (you can actually "monetize" your blog and make money off this with enough traffic... you own the blog and advertisements in this setup).

First sign up and activate your Blogger blog. You can choose any available Prefix so your initial setup blog will look like www.yourdomain.blogspot.com. Blogger is the easiest when it comes to CMS publishing (in my humble opinion… I’ve used several, albeit not as robust as other CMS solutions).

Then go to your dashboard and under Settings, go to Publishing and look for “Need a Domain? Buy One now!”

This will take you to a Google Checkout page (after you choose your available domain). Since you went through Google Checkout, your domain automatically gets a Google Apps for Domains account (Standard Edition) for the domain you just bought. This includes branded email addresses (up to 50 users). These users also get a web based word processor, spreadsheet, drawing app, sharable group calendar and live chat... basically a lot of Google group services. Since you went through the dashboard, all DNS records will automatically be set up to point to your blogspot blog. Easy.

After DNS propagates your changes, your setup blog will now be accessible from www.yourdomain.com.

The Blogger admin allows you to upload images and text for content, but if you want to host the occasional PDF file or other type of file, you need to use another storage option that allows for a hotlink. I like DropBox because they give you 2GB for free and allow about 10GB transfer per file per day (plenty for most scenarios). You can use any other file host that allows hotlinking, like SugarSync or even Google Sites (which you now have access to with your Google Apps for Domains account).

You'll probably now want to “un-bloggify” you blog by removing all the Blogger branding that happens on the page by default. From your dashboard go to Design, then Edit HTML. 

Copy and paste this CSS override stuff in the page header and it will remove the persistent Blogger navigation panel from the top of the page and the Blogger favicon from the address bar.

************************************************** *******

#navbar-iframe {

height:0px;

visibility:hidden;

display:none

}

************************************************** *******

At this point you should now have a "de-branded" website at www.yourdomain.com with a Blogger back-end and a Google Apps super-user (bloggeradmin@yourdomain.com) that you can log in with to create additional email addresses like youruser@yourdomain.com.

* NOTE * When I went through these steps I never had a chance to setup a Google Apps account. It automatically created "bloggeradmin@yourdomain.com". I then navigated to the Control Panel (below) and chose "forgot your admin password". It then sent a reset email to the secondary email on file (which was the original gmail email used to create the Blog).

Google Apps URLs of interest where "yourdomain.com" is the domain you just bought:

Control Panel (for bloggeradmin@yourdomain.com): http://www.google.com/a/yourdomain.com

Google Docs (for all users): http://docs.google.com/a/yourdomain.com

Calendar (for all users): http://calendar.google.com/a/yourdomain.com

Mail (for all users): http://mail.google.com/a/yourdomain.com

Sites (for all users): http://sites.google.com/a/yourdomain.com

Now it's just a matter of using the free-form HTML gadgets or other blogger “gadgets” to design and build your pages. These gadgets provide some pretty cool functionality like additional static pages, link lists, polling, video, slide shows, text, followers, feeds, etc. You can actually create some very nice looking websites that don’t even resemble a blog using a Blogger account (I opted to stick with the basic blog template for my music/tech blog [ageofthewheel.com] while customizing a few things). Some even do all their layouts in Photoshop and just host big images with hotspots as their entire site.

Feel free to add any other tips to squeeze the most value out of this setup.

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Got Android?

Got Android and you want to root but think it may be too difficult?

Root Nearly Any Android Device With One Click

Now, there's another option. I haven't tried it out yet on my G1 but I'm thinking I might. Have any of you tried it, yet?

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Watched "Grown Ups" the Other Night

I watched the movie Grown Ups the other other night after Turkey Day Dinner.  I didn't have high hopes for the movie as it's Adam Sandler and his usual suspects, but was pleasantly surprised.  The movie was actually funny and as all "family" or "holiday" movies usually try to do, there was no 3rd act conflict.  It was just a movie about old friends and their families getting along.  And it was funny.  I would recommend it if you like funny movies.

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Google Sets -- Isn't That Cool?

Has anyone used this?

Google Sets

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Did You Vote Tea Bagger?

Seems even smarter-than-your-average Republicans are wondering where their party is going.

GOP Moving Towards Anti-Science Stance

Science, provable facts, research and proof are no longer justification for decisions within the Republican party.  I guess if your goal was to make the United States into a Third World country, this would be the way to do so.  What was once a shining beacon of hope to peoples across the globe is self-electing itself into a primitive theocracy.

If voters don't get smarter I think by 2100 we'll be the United Statesistan.

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Windstalks instead of Wind Turbines

This is pretty cool.

Windstalk concept is a wind farm without the turbines

A little bit green and a little bit Pandora.

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Google TV Network Workaround

In the past I've just plugged the computer's HDMI out into the TV, but hey, if that's not an option...

Lauren Weinstein's Blog: How to *Bypass* the Blocking of Google TV by Hulu and Other Networks

Let me know if this works for you.

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Thanksgiving, an Truly American Holiday

Thanksgiving, also known as Turkey day, is a truly unique American holiday, celebrating the gratitude our predecessors felt towards virtual strangers who showed them kindness and support during their struggling first winters in the New World.

TSA abuse news roundup, Thanksgiving edition | Liberty Coalition

Unfortunately, the TSA's policy of invasive fondling isn't a truly American idea. We're following in the footsteps of such despotic countries as those Communist regimes, those radical religious regimes, those totalitarian governments and, well, Israel. Pretty much anywhere freedom is repressed. Yay America!

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For Turkey Day

BAD Parrot

A  young man named John received a parrot as a gift. The
parrot had a bad attitude and an even worse  vocabulary.

Every word out of the bird's mouth was rude, obnoxious
and laced with profanity. John tried and tried to
change the bird's attitude by consistently saying only
polite words, playing soft music and anything else he could
think of to 'clean up' the bird's vocabulary.

Finally, John was fed up and he yelled at the parrot.
The parrot yelled back. John shook the parrot and the
parrot got angrier and even more rude. John, in desperation,
threw up his hand, grabbed the bird and put him in the
freezer. For a few minutes the parrot squawked and kicked
and screamed.
Then suddenly there was total quiet. Not a peep was heard
for over a minute.

Fearing that he'd hurt the parrot, John quickly opened
the door to the freezer. The parrot calmly stepped out
onto John's outstretched arms and said "I believe I
may have offended you with my rude language and
actions. I'm sincerely remorseful for my
inappropriate transgressions and I fully intend to do
everything I can to correct my rude and unforgivable behavior."

John was stunned at the change in the bird's attitude.

As he was about to ask the parrot what had made such a
dramatic change in his behavior, the bird spoke-up, very
softly, "May I ask what the turkey did?"


HAPPY THANKSGIVING
 

Came to me via email -- I'm not sure who wrote it originally

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Death by Sword

I'm sure there's a Shakespearian reference here somewhere, wherein a young man (damn, am I that old that I think 31 is young?) hacks his mother to death using a sword.

Ugly Betty actor charged with sword murder - CNN.com

You just don't see "Hacked to death by broadsword" on too many police reports these days, do you?

But, it could have been worse, I suppose: there might've been someone in the pantry with a candle-stick.

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Hot Young Thang

So, I met this hot young woman today walking my dog.  She was very excited when I asked for her number.  Either this working out thing is paying off or I'm much prettier than the guy she's dating.  I asked her... she said I was prettier. :D  I knew it!  I'm friggin adorable!

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Now We Are Playing With Power

For those of you paying attention, you know that my truck has had some recent electrical problems.  Fine.  I deal with it, I mean, my truck is 14 years old so a little problem now and again is to be expected.

At first I thought the alternator (which is just over a year old) wasn't charging the battery, but it was putting out the right amperage to get the job done.  Then I thought it was the cable between the alternator and the battery and after a quick nip and splice it seemed to be working fine.  Until it wasn't.  Then, dead set on just buying a new $30 cable from GM, an electrician friend of mine said he'd properly splice it together (read: solder) with a proper end-piece.  Which seemed to work fine, until it didn't.  Then this weekend my truck just stopped working.  No lights, no beeeeeeeeeeeeep when the key's in the ignition, no power windows or locks.  So, I take the battery down to the auto parts store for a charge and 10 minutes in the battery fails.  The technician restarts the test and sure enough it fails again.  Bad battery.

So, I call Ed Bozarth Chevrolet whom I've always had good luck with and they tell me my battery is still under warranty.  Woo Hoo!  I don't have to buy a new battery.  Well, not a whole one at least as I think it's pro-rated.

Anywho, maybe this will get my heat working again.  Denver in the winter without heat in your vehicle sucks. :D

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Meth Lab

From Stuff

Know what's good for you.

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Best Desk Ever!

Anything Star Wars is cool, but this is awesome!

Best Desk Ever!

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Part 1 -- HDR Shooting

Does anyone shoot HDR?

Setting Up Your Digital Camera For HDR Shooting

There are times where the HDR technique can be a boon, such as in high-contrast areas, but it seems to me a lot of photographers are using it to cover-up their lack of photography skills.

Part 2: getting the images from the camera to your computer

I guess, if one lacks actual camera know-how, one could learn to use post-processing software.

and Part 3

But this is just my opinion. I started with film and still think about things like light and exposure, ISO and composition when I shoot. Most of the post-processing I do is something simple, something Picasa can do quickly.

Like I said, HDR has it's place but I've been seeing it all over the place with people using it in just about every situation to make their "pictures better" without actually working on their photography technique.

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Really, Congress? You Have Nothing Else to Do?

Let's see: this bill would put control of our food supply into the hands of giant agricultural corporations, take away the basic right of every living creature on this planet to grow their own food and make you a terrorist (why is Homeland Security and not the Department of Agriculture in charge of this anyway?) for using one of those topsy-turvey tomato grower things.

Senate Bill S 510 Food Safety Modernization Act vote imminent: Would outlaw gardening and saving seeds

I'm seriously trying to figure out how this law helps people; how does it help the small farmer or the person with their own vegetable garden? How does this bill support capitalism, entrepreneurship or the rights of people to control their own lives and live an organic lifestyle?

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Where are these people?

Seriously, where are these people? I have a (imaginary) bridge and some beach front property in Nevada I'd like to sell them.

16 of the Dumbest Things Americans Believe -- And the Right-Wing Lies Behind Them | | AlterNet

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Postcards

I'm thinking, instead of email barrages against groups that promote ignorance and intolerance, I think we should, moving forward, send postcards, instead.

'Boobies' bracelet ban tested in lawsuit - MSBNBC.com

I mean, loading up their email boxes is one thing, but congesting their mailboxes with Breast Cancer Awareness or "Save the Tata's" postcards is something else.

Easton Middle School, PA

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As Seen in Pennsylvania

This picture was taken from the passenger seat of a friend's car whilst out driving last weekend.  Having never been a racist myself, it's hard for me to understand this sentiment as anything other than ignorant hate-spewing.  This person has to be a Tea Bagger, I think.

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Top 10 Tips for Better Writing

Need some help? Here's 10 tips for better writing.

Top 10 Tips for Better Writing

What's the old adage? To be a better writer you have to write? That's true. My writing is always better when I write more.

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Okay, that's weird, too: Chrome

I am currently logged into my Google Account and went to the Chrome==>Options==>Personal Stuff==>Sync to set up syncing between my two laptops.  Well, when trying to log into syncing with my username and password it's telling me my u-name and password are not compatible.  Highly odd since I am currently logged in using that u-name and password combination.

Odd.

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Chrome, Google, WTF?

Something really weird happened yesterday: Chrome was working fine, I shut the laptop down and went out to run a few errands, came home and fired up the laptop and I lost everything in Chrome.  My extensions are all gone, my theme is gone, my "recently visited" is gone.  WTF?  How did this happen?

Has anyone had this happen to them?

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Sugary Sweetness

Soda is bad for you? Say it ain't so!

Soda is Bad for You -- Yes, Seriously.

Dammit, I just bought a bunch of Pepsi, but since the article demonstrates Coke, I should be safe, right? ;)

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Conclusion

I've come to the conclusion that I'm going to have to open Blogger and blog from the actual website more often rather than using the Blog This! tool on my Chrome browser.  While I like the simplicity of Blog This! it doesn't seem to pull in images and videos as well (or at all) as I'd like.

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Stereotypes by Geography

Sure to upset a liberal or a social worker somewhere. :D  But funny none-the-less.  I particularly like Hobbits and Arkansas with a Beach.

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Universal Scale!

Just slide the little square left and right to scale the universe in and out. Really puts in into perspective.

Scale of Universe - Interactive Scale of the Universe Tool

Cool, right? Well, nerdy cool. :D

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Disasters around the Globe

This is really cool. It's a map (Google, no less) of disaster areas around the globe.

RSOE EDIS - Emergency and Disaster Information Service

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For Shame, Florida!

Cops are asshats and so are the Attorney's General who protect them.

Toke of the Town - Deputy Who Killed Man For Bag Of Pot Won't Face Any Charges

Nice to see Florida sheriff's departments are bloated with panicky rednecks with guns.

I hope this AG knows he just allowed cops in Florida to shoot whomever they'd like as long as they claim they felt threatened. No penalties for abuse of force? Especially when in combination with a death (murder)?

Why would anyone ever want to go to Florida? I'm from there and I hate the idea of returning. Hicks, rednecks and now cops. Ruining a perfectly good state.

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Obama Gives in To GOP Pressure?

Come on, Mr. President, one of the reasons those to the right and leaning right don't respect democrats is because democrats don't stand up to the GOP; stand up to their ideals or stand up to their rhetoric.

White House Gives In On Bush Tax Cuts

Yes, sometimes that means a deadlock, but in the end they are forced to respect your position. All they've learned, time and time again, is that a little pressure on a DEM will get them the results they want, they just have to have the patience to wait a little longer.

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4G versus 4G, the Hand Set Test

I went down to the TMo store today and held a myTouch4G alongside a G2. The myTouch4G feels more plasticky than the solid feeling G2 however all the Galaxy S phones as well as the Droid X and the newest Palm's feel plasticky to me as well, so I won't complain about that too much.

According to the sales guy there at the store, the innards (yes, I said "innards" and am not getting a misspelling notice which makes me wonder) are pretty much the same between the two devices. Both have 1ghz proessors, however the G2's is de-clocked (underclocked?) on purpose to allow for greater battery life. From what he said, there's also a secondary 3D graphics processor in the G2 which helps it maintain those lightning fast speeds. I'm not sure if that's true or not.

The mTouch4G does not have the Snapdragon (Scorpion) proc but it is at 1ghz instead of the 800mhz of the G2 and comes with a front-facing camera for video-chat. I'm not sure if that's a selling point right now with the processing output of the Scorpion.

Both were fast, much faster than my G1 and using the benchmark testing App from the Market, the myTouch4G ranked higher than just about any Android out there, but to be fair, it was not compared to the G2 in the results.

The only real drawbacks I can determine at this point are the UIs. The myTouch4G has the HTC layer while the G2 is bare bones Android. I like the idea of bare bones versus someone telling me what's good for me. That might go over well with mine or your mom who doesn't have a clue about "smart" PDA phones, but not so well with me. Is there an easy root for the myTouch4G yet? I read yesterday they finally hacked the G2 with a permanent root.

On a side note: I also got the play with a Galaxy Tablet. In short: it's what the iPad is to the iPhone: that is, it's the same thing only bigger. For the most part. There are some minor differences, but not many. Do you really need to go from 4" to 7"? Well, your girlfriend might say yes, but unless you're using it for work and for some reason don't have a laptop or netbook, then you probably don't need a Galaxy Tablet if you already have an Android phone. I'm just sayin'.

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Money Buying Legislation

I love reading the behind-the-scenes stories of legislation like this. It should be a constant reminder that there is rarely legislation that is moral or just when businesses are writing it.

Private Prisons Behind New AZ Law

And the sad part is the people of AZ jumped on the bandwagon decrying their racism to the world and trying to convince the rest of us this legislation was needed to make the cities and counties safer.

This is just proof what a good PR machine can do for an otherwise ridiculously blatant slap in the face to the Declaration of Independenc's line: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

Unless, of course, you're in Arizona and you want to build a prison.

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The Father of Modern Conservatism

"The beginning of the Declaration of Independence says, ‘All men are created equal.’ I take those words literally. There’s no [clause stating] ‘unless you’re gay.’ I don’t see the purpose in denying people access to a right that most of us take for granted. I don’t see it as very American to carve out exceptions to our Constitution for a certain class of people." - Ronald Reagan

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Dating Etiquette for Women

Remember the good ole' days?

How A Woman Should Behave On A Date

Take notes, ladies. If you must wear a brassier, wear one -- no one likes it when your boobies scrape your belly-button. :D

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Sex. It's on just about everyone's mind.

So, here's some maps. Enjoy!

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4GWars?

This is the first I've heard of it, but it was bound to happen. Everyone seems to want to be the "first" in their particular industry no matter if it's true or not.

Mytouch 4g | TmoNews - Unofficial T-Mobile Blog - News, Videos, Articles and more

I say good for TMo for advertising their network (like Sprint does) and not just the latest and greatest phone that happens to be in their stable.

A cool phone is great, but a cool phone one a crappy network is like putting a Camry engine in the body of a Ferrari. Sure it runs, but you really wanted that Ferrari power, didn't you?

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Gum Wall in Seattle

Interesting, but if I see it, I may actually throw up.

Gum Wall in Seattle

Yuck. I'll take the Blarney Stone over chewed gum any day of the week.

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Wild Mustangs, Shot on Site

These jackasses are the kind of people who piss me off.

Nevada men who used wild horses for target practice receive 6-month prison sentences | L.A. Unleashed | Los Angeles Times

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Proof

To science we always say "prove it."  To religion most people don't demand proof.  Why?

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Failed Presidency?

I guess it's a shame when you have accomplishments.

What the fuck has Obama done so far?

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Failure to Communicate?

For those of you paying attention I've been fulfilling a contract on a local AF base with the Family Readiness Center.  I was asked by the NOC in the office to call a list of family members of deployed soldiers and airmen whom the center did not have email addresses for and invite them to a Deployed Family Event this Friday and if possible to get their email addresses as well.

Okay.

As it turns out, the deployed family event is NOT open to all.  Many of the contacts I have are for the parents of deployed service members and therefore do not have dependent ID cards and the deployed family event is making no arrangements to have them sponsored on post for the dinner.

I was kind of dumbfounded at this lack of pre-planning especially after I called and either left messages for or spoke with about 20 people who may come.  And then the NCO explained how he was not sending out an email RSVP confirmation to the registered family members  who have already said they would show confirming the date, time and location of the event as well as ID card requirements.

And why are they hosting an event for family members of deployed service members on post knowing some might be able to attend due to these requirements?

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The Walking Dead

I just watched The Walking Dead on DVR.  It was really good.  I was impressed.  Can't wait for next week.

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Optimus Prime

When choosing someone to worship how do you vett the candidates?

LOL god: Optimus Prime vs Jesus Christ

You make a side-by-side list, of course.  Enjoy!

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Single-tasking

"Never worry about numbers. 
Help one person at a time,
and always start with 
the person nearest you."
- Mother Teresa

This is how I tackle items: one at a time giving each one my full attention and yet I have been criticized for not being a better multi-tasker even though my job performance was never in question.

Amazing isn't it?

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