Handy online postage calculator
If you know the weight of your package this online form will tell you the postage needed.
How NOT to handle an HTTP 404 error
What a fiasco. This morning I opened my Watchmen Movie Pack that I picked up at Best Buy. Inside was a card with a code and instructions to visit this website which immediately asked me for my credit card number! What? Is this a scam? It sure looked like it. There was no reason they needed my credit card number and no indication what this site was. I was pissed. Why did the packaging at Best Buy not warn me I would need to provide a credit card number? I was so mad I called the manager at the Best Buy store and I also spoke to XBOX Live support (the movie pack was a cross promotion for XBOX Live). I actually even filed a complaint with the FTC. I thought I was doing my part being a good citizen.
As it turned out, I spelled the url wrong ..\watchman instead of ..\watchmen.
The website was directing the request to the unexisting page to their home page. First, who puts a request for a credit card on their home page with NO explanation? That’s their first mistake. And obviously, handling an HTTP 404 response by redirecting to a page that asks for a credit card number is their obvious mistake. Surely, I’m not the first person to make this innocent mistake.
Tinyurl
Google docs is great but what is up with the long URL’s? A link to a form I created looks something like this:
http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?hl=en&formkey=ceeHhmbjk5Qkp1OF9hQ1pCVUlsNmhrYmcee6MA..
(don’t use it, I made it up). Not very user friendly. So I remembered the TinyUrl site and used it to reduce it to something like this (again, don’t use it, I made it up):
http://tinyurl.com/aqkfca
Why did I leave TypePad?
Here is what I provided to Six Apart during the survey I filled out explaining why I left:
It was too easy to setup WordPress on my personal hosted domain at no extra charge. WordPress has features that I felt should have been included with my TypePad Plus account at no extra charge. For example, the ability to syndicate each category feed. When I read what was necessary to get this to work if I DID have a Pro account I couldn’t believe how unfriendly it was. In addition, I prefer that my blog live on my site. I don’t feel comfortable having it on the TypePad site. TypePad’s support for backup and archival are unacceptible in my opinion. Ironically, it was the announcement email from Six Apart informing me I could pull my posts into Facebook, that started me down the path of cancellation. I could not specify the single category feed which I wanted to pull into Facebook. Finally, when I contacted TypePad about my dissatisfaction with the service, the response I got was not satisfying. It’s been great. Good Luck, it was time for me to move on.
Other things I like about WordPress:
- I like how WordPress displays Quoted text
- When logged in as admin my weblog displays an edit label below each post that I can click to start editing that post!
Other things I found out I didn’t like about TypePad:
- An improved editor generated this html when uploading images:
<a style=”DISPLAY: inline” href=”http://kleymeyer.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83455ac0969e200e553d1bd918833-pi”><img class=”at-xid-6a00d83455ac0969e200e553d1bd918833 ” title=”Gow” src=”http://kleymeyer.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83455ac0969e200e553d1bd918833-800wi” border=”0″ alt=”Gow” /></a>
Are Air Soft Guns Safe? Part 2
I just received this email from a friend of my sister’s. I’ll let the friend’s emails speak for themselves:
From: Kathy
Sent: Thursday, February 05, 2009 3:03 PM
Subject: Air Soft WarsHello friends,
I am sending this email as a sort of wake up call to all of us who have allowed our sons to play air soft wars. As some of you know, Jack’s eye was severely damaged from an air soft pellet on Monday evening at our house, right outside our back door. Constant reminders of “make sure you wear your protective eye gear” and “don’t shoot at each other when you’re that close” obviously did not sink in, leaving me to believe that our boys are just not mature enough to be playing air soft war. Additionally, some of the air soft guns are high powered and are probably meant for targets, not bodies.
Jack may never fully regain his vision–we won’t know for a few more weeks if he will require surgery on the hole in his retina. As of now, he has a torn iris, enlarged cornea, and a “traumatic macular hole” in his retina all from the force of one tiny air soft pellet.
He will not be able to finish out the basketball season, may not get to play Lacrosse or Flag Football in the Spring, and will always be required to wear protective goggles during sports for the rest of his life–once an eye sustains an injury like this, it is always easier to injure it again.
I am not sending this note to cause panic or create drama. I simply felt that everyone should know the risk their boys are taking when they play this game.
Sincerely,
Kathy
UPDATE:
From: Kathy
Subject: RE: Air Soft Wars
Date: Thursday, February 12, 2009, 1:13 PMThere is a 50% success rate for improved vision in kids that undergo this surgery. He currently has 20/300 vision.
Hello again, I promised each of you an update on Jack once we heard something of consequence. I am sorry that I am sending this in an email, but I just can’t muster the emotional energy to speak with everyone in person–please accept my apology.
The tear in Jack’s retina has, unfortunately, torn further due to swelling into a full blown hole. He will have surgery next Tuesday and will be out of school for 2 weeks. The recovery is going to be our biggest challenge, as he has to remain face down for the full 2 week recovery(50 minutes of each hour the first week & 30 min. of each hour the 2nd week). This is to keep the gas bubble that will be inserted into his eye in the correct position.
I’m moving my Blog from TypePad to WordPress
After almost 6 years I am looking at moving my blog over to WordPress from TypePad.com. I feel TypePad is always a little behind the curve in functionality. It took them a while before they supported Pages. They do not support category/label feeds unless you have a Pro account and you have to jump through some hoops to make it work even then.
I’ve been using FaceBook lately and was excited to learn that I could get FaceBook to automatically pull in as notes, my blog posts. I really only want to pull in general posts and not my geeky programming posts which is why I really want to be able to specify a category feed. I think this is something TypePad should include in my Plus account which I pay $71.60 per year. Other services offer it for free and you don’t have to do anything, the feeds are just there!
The last straw was when I contacted TypePad support to share my views on this and got a less than satisfactory response. Their support has always been pretty good though the answers were often unsatisfactory (we don’t support that, maybe one day). I stated I felt the category feeds should be a basic feature and they replied they would be happy to pass my note on to their engineers for suggestions on future improvements. This isn’t an improvement, it is a sales/marketing issue. Yeah, I’m just starting to feel like a number with them and feeling I can actually get a better product with an opensource solution!
My hosting service LunarPages, which I love, offers to install WordPress for free which I did and I was able to import my TypePad blog without issue. I’m not done yet, and I still have a bit of work to do but I think I’m going to be happy with the switch. I never did set the domain mapping in TypePad so I have more work to fix all the links and links to images.
TypePad doesn’t offer FTP publishing which Blogger offers. I don’t feel like I truly have control of my own content, until now!
Here are some useful links:
Las Mananitas
We went to a Mexican Restaurant that just opened up near us for Jane’s birthday. The waiter offered to sing Happy Birthday in spanish! Great, I thought. That would be impressive. I was wrong. What we got was “Feliz cumpleanos, a ti, Feliz compleanos a ti…” how cheesy! What I was expecting and looking forward to was a rendition of the song Las mananitas. My Mom and sisters would sometimes call me on the phone on my Birthday and sing it to me. It’s a beautiful Mexican song whose lyrics read like love poems. Here is more about the song which I found at About.com:
Las Mañanitas is a traditional Mexican song that is sung on birthdays and other important holidays. It is often sung as an early morning serenade to wake up a loved one. At birthday parties it is sung before the cake is cut.
One with which to greet you and the other to wish you goodbye
As a traditional song with a long history, there are variations of Las Mañanitas, with many different verses. At most Mexican parties only the first two verses are sung, but I have included some additional verses that are occasionally sung, particularly when it’s sung by mariachis or in a formal setting.
Estas son las mañanitas, que cantaba el Rey David,
Hoy por ser día de tu santo, te las cantamos a ti,
Despierta, mi bien, despierta, mira que ya amaneció,
Ya los pajarillos cantan, la luna ya se metió.
Que linda está la mañana en que vengo a saludarte,
Venimos todos con gusto y placer a felicitarte,
Ya viene amaneciendo, ya la luz del día nos dio,
Levántate de mañana, mira que ya amaneció.
Translation:
This is the morning song that King David sang
Because today is your saint’s day we’re singing it for you
Wake up, my dear, wake up, look it is already dawn
The birds are already singing and the moon has set
How lovely is the morning in which I come to greet you
We all came with joy and pleasure to congratulate you
The morning is coming now, the sun is giving us its light
Get up in the morning, look it is already dawn
Additional verses:
El día en que tu naciste nacieron todas las flores
En la pila del bautismo, cantaron los ruiseñores
The day you were born all the flowers were born
On the baptismal font the nightingales sang
Quisiera ser solecito para entrar por tu ventana
y darte los buenos días acostadita en tu cama
I would like to be the sunshine to enter through your window
to wish you good morning while you’re lying in your bed
Quisiera ser un San Juan, quisiera ser un San Pedro
Para venirte a cantar con la música del cielo
I would like to be a Saint John I would like to be a Saint Peter
To sing to you with the music of heaven
De las estrellas del cielo tengo que bajarte dos
una para saludarte y otra para decirte adiós
One with which to greet you and the other to wish you goodbye
Go here to read more about what I used to embed the song above.
Puzzle Games
Here are some fantastic puzzle games for kids (probably 8 and above) or adults. Highly recommended. They are in order of my favorites.
light-Bot (Online, free)
World of Goo (PC or Mac, great demo available)
Fantastic Contraptions (Online, free)
Blox Forever (Online, demo)
Line Rider (Online, free)
Bloxorz (Online, free)
Advice Columns
Who is your favorite advice columnist?
I like Carolyn Hax who appears in the Austin American Statement. She is quick witted, no nonsense and thought provoking. I feel her columns tend to be long winded however, as if she is trying to fill space.
Easily, my favorite who stands head and shoulders above all others is Slate's Dear Prudence. The author hasn't always been the same but the questions have always been interesting and the answers funny and right on target. I have it delivered to my inbox.
Programming a Universal Remote
I have an inexpensive RCA universal remote we use with an old Magnavox TV. It stopped working for some reason so I needed to try reprogramming it. Searching on the Internet I found this advice:
- Remove the battery cover on the back of the remote and look for the model number ("RCR6124609P" for instance)
- Consult list of TV codes for your model via: search online
Sure enough, on the back of the battery cover I found the code RCR311B. Searching online I found these instructions which worked for the remote:
1. Manually turn on the TV
2. Press and hold the TV button The illuminated ON•OFF key turns on and remains on.
3. While holding the component key down, press and hold the ON•OFF key. The illuminated ON•OFF key turns off.
4. After holding down both keys for three seconds, the illuminated ON•OFF key turns back on.
5. Release both keys. The illuminated ON•OFF key remains on. TIP:
Throughout the programming of each key, be sure to keep the remote
pointed at the IR sensor of the component you are currently programming
the remote to control.
6. Press and release the ON•OFF key
repeatedly until your component turns off. Each time you press the
ON•OFF key, the illuminated ON•OFF key blinks, and the next
code
in the list is sent. This process continues until all of the codes in
the Code Lists have been searched. If your component turns off, you
have found the correct code.
TIP: Because there are so many codes, you may have to press the ON•OFF key many times-possibly up to 200 times.
7. Once you have found the correct code, you must save the new code by
pressing and releasing the STOP key. The illuminated ON•OFF key turns
off. You must press the STOP key to save the code or the correct code
will not be stored!
8. To confirm that the component key is
programmed with the correct code for maximum functionality, test the
component. Attempt to control a variety of the component's functions
with the remote. If some of the features of your components do not
work, try programming the remote with a different code in the list
until you find the code that allows the remote to control the majority
of your component's functions. Different codes can provide different
levels of functionality.