So I've learned that the extremely generous grandparents will put a Nintendo Wii under our tree this year. I have no idea what comes in the box, how many controllers there are, how many you need, all that kind of thing. I've also heard tell of certain... enhancements you can apply to your Wii to expand its horizons a bit. So what are the things... more

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• games
• wii
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I saw a pointer to this a week or so ago, but just now sat down to step through it. A really enjoyable, up-to-date overview of what you can do with typography on the web from Jeff Croft. I recommend watching it fullscreen.

• typography
• design
• blog
• accessibility
• Public

I listen to a lot of audiobooks and podcasts on my iPod. Probably more than music, in fact. I love being able to learn something or get into a good story when I'm commuting. If you have books on CD and want to listen to them on your iPod, you of course have to first rip them to MP3 or AAC. Previously, iTunes had no idea that these were audiobooks... more

• mac
• itunes
• ipod
• tips
• blog
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I've always thought that getting a case for my iPod or cell phone was similar to getting plastic to cover your furniture. Sure it keeps it looking nice, but what's the point if it's at the expense of its basic utility? With that preamble, my question is: is the design of the iPhone/iPod Touch such that it needs protection? Is it too slippery to... more

• ipod touch
• iphone
• advice
• blog
• Public

Amazon.ca I think most parents feel like their kids just don't listen sometimes, or just aren't cooperative. It gets frustrating really quickly when you find yourself repeating the same thing over and over again. This book shows some simple skills and techniques that help you to communicate better with your kids. The results can be dramatic:... more

• kids
• parenting
• blog
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When she was younger, my cat Musashi used to fetch little paper balls. I just found this video I shot almost seven years ago that shows her in action. And now, I post it here for you to enjoy: (Musashi agreed to the release of this video)

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Based on Techcrunch's stats, it looks like Chrome is pulling users away from IE, instead of Firefox. As Michael Arrington points out: "If they hadn’t switched away from IE after four years of Firefox being around, it seems odd that they would jump ship now." - http://www.techcr... more

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We finally got home in time to see some Morning Glory flowers in full bloom. So we set up the tripod and took a picture every minute (or so) until it was fully closed:

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I saw a pointer to MovieStorm on podcastingnews.com. It's an app that lets you arrange a set, add characters, cameras, and props, and then have the characters act out a scene with dialogue you record. They do simple actions like walk to a certain point, use an object, gesture, and other things. The potential for weird-but-funny stuff is pretty... more

• kids
• movies
• blog
• Public

I hadn't seen the raccoons for a few weeks, and was beginning to think they'd found a more attractive back yard and just weren't coming back. But this evening, taking the garbage out - there they were. It looks like it's the four young ones I saw before, but this time without the mother. So four, undeniably cute, juvenile delinquent raccoons with... more

• wildlife
• raccoons
• Raccoon Attacks

I started using Evernote a few weeks ago, and I love it for many reasons. It has a desktop and web-based component, which is always nice. It works on Windows and Mac. It syncs your notes between different computers. And, it's a nice and fast, well done piece of software. (Also, they apparently intend to store your data for you forever, which is an... more

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• tips
• mac
• windows
• productivity
• blog
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Simon just sent this to me and I had to post it on my Learning Japanese page. The nice thing about it from the student of Japanese's point of view is that it uses pretty simple vocabularly, and is spoken slowly and clearly. You can really follow along. Also, it's laugh-out-loud funny. ;)

• japanese
• blog
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Continuing lesson 25 from Japanese for Beginners. Further work on the gerund - "I am (currently) doing something." わたしはいまほんをよんでいます。 ほんを -> object + を よんで　-> てーけ　form of the verb. います Literally: I now book read am. (I'm now reading a book). Q: いま、なにをしていますか。What are you doing now? A: ほんをよんでいます。Reading a book. Also: かいぎをします。-> Having... more

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It was perfect - all that snow we had on Friday night, only -3 degrees, beautiful sun - what more could you ask for? We rode a few of the more difficult trails today, including moving over onto the Skyline side. Nothing black diamond yet, but I think we'll be onto those by next year. It's been incredible all season - so much snow!!! Hopefully... more

• snowboarding
• kids
• fun
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Everyone likes Twitter. Well, not everyone, but once you start using it a bit, follow some people and get some followers, then you can really see the value of it. It lets you know what people are doing, and makes you a participant (and observer) in a larger community of people you likely wouldn't otherwise know. Sixent's status updates are... more

• sixent
• dev
• usability
• status
• Public