Steve’s Blog

Not a bad idea…

DIY site Instructables shows you how to turn nearly any plastic bottle into a tripod (make that monopod) for your camera.

All you need is a screw-on bottle cap and a couple of dirt-cheap nuts and bolts, and you can assemble one of these in about five minutes. When you find yourself in need of a tripod, just screw the cap into your camera and onto a full water or pop bottle. Presto!

We’ve covered DIY tripods before, but this one scores extra points for being cheap, easy and clever. Toss one in your pocket or bag and you’re good to go. — Rick Broida

Quick, cheap, and easy tripod [Instructables]

Stephen :: Dec.18.2006 :: Interesting :: No Comments »

We can imagine that almost everyone has been guilty of trying to balance their morning commute between a cellphone, traffic, and their favorite morning radio show. We know it’s even more dangerous to drive with one knee, both hands on your BlackBerry, while you send your boss a message saying you are going to be late for the morning meeting. A Seattle man knows exactly what we are talking about as he caused a four car pile-up that involved 28 passengers on I-5 while playing around with his ’berry while in the express lanes. Thankfully, no one was hurt — and let’s face it, the guy could’ve picked worse places to do this.

From Engadget Mobile

Stephen :: Dec.18.2006 :: Funny Stuff :: No Comments »

Planning a vacation anytime soon? Get seasoned travel perspectives from VirtualTourist.com, an online travel community that shares travel tips, stories, reviews, and much more.

You can use VirtualTourist as a real-life travel guide written by people who have already "been there, done that" - and can tell you what to see (and what to avoid). They’ve also got some pretty active forums where you can post questions about your destination ahead of time, share deals you might’ve found, and get an insider view on various hotspots. Definitely worth a looksee if you’re intending to get away from it all. — Wendy Boswell

VirtualTourist

From Lifehacker

Stephen :: Dec.16.2006 :: Websites :: No Comments »

Compare 8 different online mapping services with Flash Earth.

Included here are maps from Google, Yahoo, Ask, MSN, NASA, and OpenLayers. The well-designed interface allows you to easily switch between services; you can sample each one’s particular representation of satellite and aerial imagery and see if it works for you. This is a great way to compare maps quickly. — Wendy Boswell

Flash Earth

From Lifehacker

Stephen :: Dec.16.2006 :: Google Earth, Websites :: No Comments »

2006 was another wild and wacky year in software and web development. While Google launched or acquired a new product every week, Intel Macs made the unholy marriage of Windows and OS X possible, Joe Schmoe’s became the self-made video stars of the web on YouTube, Internet Explorer got tabs and Microsoft finally ponied up the new version of Windows they’ve been promising (well, kinda.)

Here it is December and you know what that means: time for a best-of-the-year list. After the jump, check out my picks for best new software and web applications that rocked our world in 2006.

Some highlights (in graphical form because who want to read)

From Lifehacker

Stephen :: Dec.15.2006 :: Computer Related, Software, Websites :: No Comments »

I won’t even ask…

Here’s one you won’t see on Wrecked Exotics. We should probably just turn this into a photo caption-a-thon, as we have nothing good to add. - Jonny Lieberman

Related:
The Retrun of Schadenfriday! The Bad, The Worst and The Hideous… [Internal]

From Jalopnik

Stephen :: Dec.15.2006 :: Funny Stuff :: No Comments »

Pictures of Maho Beach on the Dutch Antilles island of St Maarten have been cropping up on the net for years - usually with people claiming them to be the result of a photoshopping competition.

You see, the island is so small that the main runway is right next to Maho beach and jumbo jets have to fly in very low over the beach to make sure they can stop before the end. This results in holidaymakers having huge airliners just metres over their sunbathing - here’s a bunch of such pictures, none of which are photoshopped.

A lot of plane buffs also hang out on the beach and there’s good videos on YouTube of many planes landing and the beach being blown away as a plane takes off.

View in Google Maps | More photos at Airliners.net

Stephen :: Dec.14.2006 :: Google Earth :: No Comments »

I just stumbled on this website and they have some handy little programs (all for free):

DonationCoder.com is..

• .. the official home for tons of exclusive professional-quality freeware/donationware programs.
• .. the source of the most comprehensive reviews in the shareware industry.
• .. the best place to get the biggest discounts on the world’s best programs.
• .. one of the most active forums on the internet for software connoisseurs.
• .. one of only a handfull of microdonation-enabled sites in the world, where you can request custom-made software.
• .. all funded by voluntary user donations.

Check it out: DonationCoder.com

Stephen :: Dec.12.2006 :: Computer Related, Software :: No Comments »

A promising way to run Windows software on an Intel Mac right along side native Mac programs.

A few months ago, I detailed how to switch between the Windows and Mac operating systems on an Intel Mac using Parallels. I didn’t think things could get much better than that - until the release of the latest Parallels beta, that is.

The Parallels beta includes a new feature, called Coherence, that hides the Windows desktop and allows you to run Windows apps in their own windows on your Mac desktop. The result is that you can intermingle all your Mac and Windows apps on the same desktop. I know what you’re thinking: Disgusting! Unnatural!

Trust me people, I felt weird about it, too, but after setting it up, I can tell you this much: Sometimes something that sounds so wrong can feel so right. Today I’ll show you how to set up Coherence in Parallels and how to launch Windows apps directly from your Mac.

Original article (with videos and more): Hack Attack: How to run Windows and Mac apps side-by-side with Parallels

Stephen :: Dec.12.2006 :: Computer Related, Interesting, Software :: No Comments »

I was poking (heh) around the interweb this morning looking for the next tasty discount to serve you via another Dealbolt! post, good readers, when I stumbled across this item…

Get it for less: order it used.

Or better yet, have one to sell?

Of course this is just a marketing blunder, but what kind of person would I be if I didn’t try to perpetuate and share it? (And don’t say, “a good one” because no one cares. Well except for the good ones. They care, but they’ve clicked on through or back long before this point in the post…)

Link to actual product page (pops)
Healthbolt » How NOT to: Contracept

Stephen :: Dec.12.2006 :: Funny Stuff :: No Comments »