Messages

176

Living Room / Re: Tweenbots: A Social Experiment with Human-dependent Robots

« on: April 13, 2009, 01:52 AM »

How long before we're robot-dependent humans??
(Can I have mine now? I could use some help...)

177

Living Room / Re: The horror that is my kitchen upgrade project

« on: April 06, 2009, 06:11 PM »

One more thing: is that fibro sheeting? and does it contain asbestos? Better watch out if it does, I don't know what its like in US, but over here its a big worry, and there's a lot of it.... deadly stuff..

-Fred Nerd (April 06, 2009, 08:18 AM)

No, I've been told that the regulations for using asbestos are extremely tight here in the U.S.
Apparently, it was so easy to replace with newer materials that it's not much of an issue, anymore.

178

The Getting Organized Experiment of 2009 / Re: David Allen criticizes GTD: Says it's for left brain thinkers

« on: April 04, 2009, 11:34 PM »

Hi Paul,

Since the topic of systems had not come up in the GOE 2009 thread, and you didn't specify that you were referring to systems in your comment, I assumed you were talking about heavily criticizing participants' failed attempts at becoming more organized. People are kind of putting themselves out there for all the world to see, so I'm sure you understand my concern a little more clearly now, as I understand what you were referring to, originally. 

179

The Getting Organized Experiment of 2009 / Re: The Getting Organized Experiment of 2009 - Preliminary Planning

« on: April 02, 2009, 08:13 PM »

If we do go with this.. then it may make sense to try to get one person willing to volunteer to read all of the threads and post occasional summaries of people's different methods, and encourage everyone participating, etc.

-mouser (April 02, 2009, 06:10 PM)

The summary part I can also do if no one minds me being heavily critical though I can just keep that part of the post to myself.

-Paul Keith (April 02, 2009, 06:18 PM)

Any particular reason to be heavily critical? Don't you think you might scare some potential participants away?

180

The Getting Organized Experiment of 2009 / Re: The Getting Organized Experiment of 2009 - Preliminary Planning

« on: April 02, 2009, 05:19 PM »

I vote for that one.

181

General Software Discussion / Re: Top 3 programs you use

« on: April 02, 2009, 05:14 PM »

1. Outlook (see #3 for one reason why)
2. Quicken
3. InfoSelect (only flaws:poor handling of all things in HTML, and no linking capabilities like DoOrganizer)
Other than that, I love that program.

  If there were a #4, DoOrganizer would be it, (sorry!). 

182

The Getting Organized Experiment of 2009 / Re: The Getting Organized Experiment of 2009 - Preliminary Planning

« on: April 02, 2009, 02:03 AM »

It seems that the general consensus is that systems don't work as they are; yet at least a few of us have learned from those systems what does (or doesn't) work for us and why.  I presume that the participants would be sharing these ideas with others, along with their own ideas?

I looked at the 2007 GOE, but honestly, I didn't see that it was really "led" by anyone - it was how mouser described it: really unstructured.
I haven't yet taken a look at 2006, but I will.

So my question is, do you really need leaders? Perhaps the participants could add the kind of structure needed to really make it a great GOE.
All mouser would have to do is create simple goals and set deadlines, like a teacher, and the participants could work together, like students doing a group project. This way, everybody contributes either a skill they excel in, or something  they enjoy, and everyone gets to learn something too. And, as participants, they have a little more responsibility - being self-governing, but accountable - to make it more challenging and more fun - something in between '06 and '07.

I guess what I've seen so far is just too fuzzy for me to understand. I, for one, certainly have the time and inclination to participate, but as a leader I wouldn't have a clue as to what my duties would be.

Anybody else feel the same way?

 

183

Living Room / Re: Digital Scrapbooking

« on: April 02, 2009, 12:29 AM »

...found a neat little site for those of you who are interested in scrapbooking but don't want to deal with the expense and having to acquire tons of material.

-siouxdax (April 01, 2009, 07:26 PM)

What? No more expensive, 2 hour trips to the hobby store?
No more picking up a living room that looks like it's been ransacked? No more misplaced crafting tools?
Where's the fun in that? 

I don't scrapbook myself, but I have other hobbies that require similar materials & tools, & the cost can get out of hand very quickly.
For me, it took a weekend job to meet those kinds of expenses.
It's so nice when software can allow people to be creative & have fun, even if they don't have money to burn.
With the recession / depression upon us, this is a very timely post!   

184

Living Room / Re: Who else is sick of difficult word verifications on the web?

« on: April 01, 2009, 11:42 PM »

What I want to know is, what happened to the "read it aloud" feature? I haven't seen it lately. Now they're really discriminating against people with impaired vision.

And now, companies are using it for all kinds of things - I had to do one to submit a tech support form last night.
Now really, what spammer is going to select required answers for 10 drop-down fields, anyway? Stupid.

185

General Software Discussion / Re: Is there a way to have user-level control on sorting Outlook 2007 GAL?

« on: April 01, 2009, 10:33 PM »

Hi Aram,
I looked here and unfortunately, it says only the administrator can change the name format. Unless you make your own folder with your own settings. I don't know if this would work with Exchange; I've never used it. 

Another way to get around this might be to put the first and last name in the First Name field, so that no one has a last name, forcing Outlook to go by first name.    This has always worked for me, but again, the GAL is foreign to me.

I think the easiest is to just type "Crystal". When you hit 'Send' it will ask you if you mean Crystal Lee or another Crystal, if there is one. If there isn't another Crystal, it will automatically find her address & send your email.

I am so sorry for you; last time I was that frustrated I threw my laptop on the ground as hard as I could, thus breaking it  into many pieces. I hated that thing.


Best of Luck!

Edit: By using the last suggestion, you won't actually see auto complete working as you know it...it looks like it won't work, I think because we associate auto complete to mean "will get sent to the intended recipient".  But it happens half a second before it sends.

186

General Software Discussion / Re: GemX - missing in action

« on: March 28, 2009, 04:08 PM »

Thank you but I meant the question as a way to ask about the 'bug'. I did check the 'show reminder...' and added Jan.1st, so after Jan.1st I got notices that said overdue... and I am still getting it when Feb.28th has passed (of course I haven't 'completed' the task).

-rgdot (March 28, 2009, 03:36 PM)

I think you answered your own question here 

In general, when setting up an alarm with a start and end date when should one get 'overdues'?

-rgdot (March 28, 2009, 03:36 PM)

There are no end dates on alarms.
If you mean, "When setting up a task with a start & a due date, when should one get overdue task notifications,"
the answer is, as soon as the task is overdue.

and how should the number of days overdue be calculated?

-rgdot (March 28, 2009, 03:36 PM)

Days overdue is calculated from the date your task was due, but was not marked as 'done'.
If you're saying you cannot see it, add that column to your Tasks view.

I think we're getting way off topic here, so if you have any more questions about how to use DoOrganizer, please PM me and I will be happy to help you out. 

187

General Software Discussion / Re: GemX - missing in action

« on: March 28, 2009, 03:15 PM »

Do you think that the people involved with GemX now are the same as before?

-Dormouse (March 28, 2009, 05:00 AM)

Well, the moderator is the same, but the tech support doesn't appear to be the same...who knows?

188

General Software Discussion / Re: GemX - missing in action

« on: March 28, 2009, 02:07 PM »

What is the proper way to calculate due or overdue and show in popups?

-rgdot (March 28, 2009, 12:00 PM)

189

General Software Discussion / Re: What is the difference between a program & an application?

« on: March 28, 2009, 02:03 AM »

i.e. all applications are programs, but the tiniest of programs probably wouldnt be called "applications".

-mouser (March 28, 2009, 01:49 AM)

But, what are mobile apps compared to say, Excel or Access? Small & tiny, no?

190

General Software Discussion / Re: What is the difference between a program & an application?

« on: March 28, 2009, 01:41 AM »

Thanks, Mouser. Straight from the horse's mouth. 
Here's where I started to pull my hair out, in case you're interested.

191

General Software Discussion / What is the difference between a program & an application?

« on: March 28, 2009, 12:57 AM »

Please don't tell me to Google this; I did, & am more confused now than ever.
Besides, I'd rather have it explained to me by DCers.

Thanks!

192

General Software Discussion / Re: GemX - missing in action

« on: March 27, 2009, 11:11 PM »

Forum tends to get responses, but isn't very active.

-Dormouse (March 27, 2009, 02:05 PM)

No, it's not very active, not at all. It's not very welcoming, IMHO. Read the Rules.

If you were a member of the original forum, and you read the long list of every conceivable offense that could occur on any forum, you'll know that many, if not most of these offenses never even occurred on the old forum. So, why list them? It's condescending. Exactly what is considered inappropriate behavior? Most of us know. Or rather, we think we know. I never thought criticism of a mod was unacceptable, if conveyed in the manner described below:

Someone just got treated very rudely - in all caps - by a mod, and it specifically states in the DON'Ts to not write in all caps...no "Welcome to the forum, but...", no gentle prodding in the right direction, just a straight-up rude response. Now, if I point that out publicly in the (poor) user's defense, (and I do that from time to time and with great sincerity), no matter how gently or tactfully it's done, I still may get kicked off the forum, as stated in the Rules.

Public complaints (and I assume that includes criticisms) about the moderation of the forum are not allowed, and the moderator states:
"Don't break the rules so we have to deal with you and that resulting in your membership account being deleted permenantly without any email sent to you explaining why. If your post is gone, obviously, you violated the forum rules."

Thanks, but no thanks...after all of my participation on the original forum, not to mention all of the interaction I've had with the GemX team themselves from early 2004 until the close of their first forum, I don't think I'd handle getting kicked off their new forum - with no written explanation - and my post deleted - very graciously.

193

JGPaiva's GridMove and Ahk Tools / Re: Split monitor in four

« on: March 26, 2009, 07:53 PM »

In the mean time, you could try this.
It's what I use, it's free, too.

194

General Software Discussion / Re: Your most used SPECIAL programs

« on: March 24, 2009, 11:44 PM »

The camera guy from the TV-series Bones doesn't like 'Tempie' all that much. She is a rather nice looking woman, but in a lot of shots throughout the first seasons they made her jawbone look like a "glass jaw".

I couldn't help note that...was also a major turn-off for me. The female boss of the whole forensic team of Bones, now that is a very nice example of a good looking woman  

-Shades (March 24, 2009, 09:03 PM)

What does "glass jaw" mean in this context? Just curious. Her jaw is quite prominent...

195

Living Room / Re: Scenes of the Recession from around the world

« on: March 20, 2009, 06:12 AM »

In times like these it's especially important to find ways of reaching out a helping hand to one's neighbours wherever and whenever possible.
A little kindness here and there might afford someone the only bright spot in an otherwise miserable, demoralizing day.

-cranioscopical (March 19, 2009, 04:44 AM)

This is so true. People here in the Silicon Valley are becoming unbelievably rude and aggressive, especially on the road & in retail stores. Sometimes I get the feeling that I'm the first person on a cashier's shift to smile or say "thank you". They're usually surprised, and they're getting very appreciative of even the smallest nicety.

196

Living Room / Re: How to *really* test if your HD has bad sectors or not...

« on: March 14, 2009, 03:02 AM »

Here you can download some serious harddisk checking software. Seriously, I recommend MHDD. It comes on CD or floppy, boot from it, choose the drive you want to check and let it run. The possibilities of this program are very interesting, but possibly very destructive as well.

-Shades (March 12, 2009, 09:13 PM)

Shades, I followed the link and looked in the usual places, but can't find anything in English.
Is there anything written in English on that site? If so, can you post a link to it? Something is really wrong with my computer. Thanks 

197

Living Room / Re: Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras 09

« on: March 09, 2009, 01:23 AM »

San Francisco could sure take a lesson from this parade! Great costumes - and well-organized, considering it's a marti-gras parade.
I wish I was having so much fun!! Ugghh SF lacks all the glitz and all the spirit this parade had. So ugly here. Too bad.

198

Living Room / Re: Tall tale or true?

« on: March 09, 2009, 01:06 AM »

Reading the comments is almost more fun than reading the blog post! A whole lot of "Stepford" fans there.

-J-Mac (March 07, 2009, 11:37 PM)

Frankly, I'm a little disappointed in tonight's episode-but then I guess the school teacher shenanigan was a tough act to follow.
Maybe next time.

199

Living Room / Re: Extreme Change

« on: March 09, 2009, 12:53 AM »

I like it. I think you look GREAT.
 
In the first photo you really look like you're hiding.
Now you look unambiguous, confident, and fresh.
Huge difference.

200

Living Room / Re: What's your favorite food snack?

« on: March 09, 2009, 12:41 AM »