Recent articles (page 22 of 31)

1. Apr 11, 2006 Working at Home

   I worked from my bedroom for nearly a year while awaiting the visa that would allow me to move to Australia in 2002. Though the prospect of the two-second commute certainly has its appeal, being 10 hours out of sync with my coworkers and having little reason to get dressed in the morning does not make for the most productive work environment, no matter how cosy and quiet your home office is. After nearly four years of open plan office living, I'm now working from home two days a week again, due to the accoustic requirements of producing video tutorials (a.k.a. screencasts). Thankfully, my home office is now in a separate room (ka-ching -- tax deduction!). Nevertheless, staying productive is proving to be a struggle at times.

2. Mar 30, 2006 System Tray Audio Device Switcher

   I actively use both a Bluetooth headset (a Logitech® Mobile Pro™) and a Rode NT1 microphone on my computer. The headset I use for making and taking Skype calls and listening to podcasts at home, while the microphone I use for narrating video tutorials and recording podcasts. The problem is, switching between these audio sources is a minor pain (which becomes a major pain through repitition), requiring a trip to the Control Panel every time. Thankfully, I've found this free utility called, in various places, System Tray Audio Device Switcher, SysADS, SADS, and System Tray Audio Device Manager. It lives in my Windows system tray and allows me to select my playback and recording device with just a couple of clicks. The program hasn't been updated since its release in 2003, but it works on Windows XP SP2 just fine (I'm not holding my breath that it'll work quite so well in Vista, however).

3. Mar 27, 2006 Spam Subject Line #84

   Actual spam subject line:

   A $1000 iPod and 80 pounds of fat? Yes.

4. Mar 23, 2006 Stupid Travel Mistake #62

   A little travel tip, just between you and me: when flying to a wedding, make sure you know what city it's in before you book your plane ticket. My good friend Amy is getting married in June. As one of the, oh, two people I know in Sydney, I just assumed it was being held there. I'm sure she told me it was in Brisbane more than once, but do I ever listen? No. I do not. Needless to say my blood ran a bit cold when I found out I was stuck with two return tickets to Sydney of the "changes will cost you one limb apiece" variety, and no particular reason to be there. Don't get me wrong: Sydney's a perfectly nice place, but with Amy away getting married in Brisbane and all, Jess and I were headed for a rather awkward visit with my only other friend in town. Thankfully, the nice man at Qantas was willing to waive the amputation fee because I had "fouled up so completely" (his words) in my attempt at booking a flight online. I couldn't convince him to let me cancel the booking completely, however, which is a shame because Virgin Blue's prices to Brisbane are a lot cheaper at the moment, and wouldn't have forced us to leave Brisbane at 6:50AM the day after the reception. Photo by Joel Barhamand.

5. Mar 22, 2006 3D Cutaway Illustration

   This makes me want to go on a cruise. (via Boing Boing)