Fluid App Icons for Mint and Pivotal Tracker
Date: November 23rd, 2008 Category: Things Tags: fluid app, icons, mint, pivotal tracker [ 9 ]
Fluid App is a Mac OS X application which creates “site specific browsers” for your most frequently used web sites. SSBs keep those sites separate from your normal browser windows/tabs and act just like a native OS X application. They live on the dock, can be hidden, and won’t crash if your browser goes down. I personally use Fluid App for Mint (financial software) and Pivotal Tracker (work management software).
Since these SSB apps reside on the dock I wanted nice looking icons for them. When I checked out the Fluid Icon Group on Flickr they didn’t have anything I liked for either of the sites I was looking for. So, I mashed up some other peoples stuff to create something I did like.
Click the PNG images above to zoom. If you like them, feel free to download and use them. They’re 256×256 pixel PNG images with transparent backgrounds.
Guitar Boat Hero (Music Video)
Date: November 18th, 2008 Category: People, Things Tags: funny, guitar, music, video [ 2 ]
After work today I was checking out what’s new on YouTube and I ran across a music video for a song titled “Make You Happy” by Josh Pyke. I have no idea who he is and, if you want my opinion, the song was just sort of OK (at best). BUT!! The music video was funny so I thought I would share.
There’s just something about giant guitar boats and mediocre pop songs that instantly brighten my day…
Playing Guitar
Date: November 7th, 2008 Category: People, Things Tags: guitar, music [ 5 ]
I’ve had a few friends and family members ask me why I started playing guitar and how I got started. I’m hoping this post will quickly answer those questions and maybe help a few guitar noobs just starting out waste less time on the really basic stuff and spend more time on actually playing.
I’ve always loved music. More so than the average person I must say. But, for some reason I didn’t pick up the guitar, my favorite instrument, until my late 20s. So, about a year and a half ago I decided to finally give it a try. I had no knowledge of the guitar itself or how to play it so I went online and researched the shit out of everything. Guitars, strings, picks, amps, instructional books, you name it. I spent all that time researching because I simply wanted a decent “start-up guitar” that wouldn’t cost me a ton but wouldn’t suck either.
I also didn’t know if I should start with an acoustic or an electric. Some people say electric guitars are a bit easier to start with since it takes less pressure to fret notes on the neck and for a couple of other various reasons. But, acoustic guitars are less hassle and easier to pick up and practice with whenever which is good. I personally chose to start with an acoustic guitar. I love the natural sound of it and figured it was the least expensive way to start playing. No added crap to buy like wires, amps, etc…
Once I knew I was buying an acoustic I started learning about what makes a good sounding guitar, well, sound good. There’s the type of wood used in the construction of your guitar, if it has a solid top or not, the shape of the guitar, and a 100 other points that factor in to making a great sounding instrument. But, I found that the basic items that differentiate good/decent from crap are as follows:
- Type of wood used in the neck, body (back, sides, and top), and fret board
- If the guitar has a solid top or not
- Quality hardware (bridge pins, tuners, etc.)
- The manufacturer
If you can afford a solid top guitar of a decent brand you’ll be all set starting out. If you can’t there are options in the less than $200 range. I used these guides on about.com and justinguitar.com to figure out what I should get while staying within my budget.
I originally bought an Ibanez JamPack IJV50 Quickstart Dreadnought Acoustic Guitar Pack for $100. I quickly tore off the strings and replaced them with decent ones and never touched the rest of the garbage that came in the box with the guitar. Later I also bought a cheap black and white Yamaha Pacifica electric and a small practice amp to mess around with.
Both were inexpensive and made noise. But, that was about it – they sound/feel horrible – don’t buy them. The moral of the story is that if you can spend a bit more cash on something mid-range out of the gate you’ll not only sound better but you’ll be able to learn how to play quicker as well. A crap sounding/poorly constructed instrument stunts learning by:
- Making it harder to fret notes (fingers hurt more than they should) so you physically can’t practice as long
- Making you sound a lot worse than you should because the instrument itself produces “bad sound”
- Making it hard to keep it in tune due to poor quality tuners
Again, if you can, spend a little extra money when starting out and you’ll be better off. Also, always deal with a reputable store or dealer. Guitar Center is decent or any local mom and pop music store should do. Don’t waste your money at pawn shops.
I’ve of course gotten rid of the equipment mentioned above (about 6 months into playing) and now have a Seagull Original S6 acoustic and an Epiphone Les Paul Plain-Top electric in heritage cherry sunburst (pictured below).
Both of these are decent mid-range instruments. Quality craftsmanship at a decent price and they of course sound great. Something like the above guitars would be more than enough for a person starting out.
Again, just check out the guides mentioned above for more detailed professional help. They’ll help you buy something decent and point you in the right direction in regards to getting help learning how to play. Other than that, just practice a ton! You’ll eventually get it like I did.
Presidents Through Time
Date: November 7th, 2008 Category: People, Places Tags: america, history, president [ 0 ]
My fiancée posted this pic via twitter a couple of days ago and I thought I would share it. Pretty cool illustration and really shows the gravity of how things have changed in America over time.
Thank You America
Date: November 5th, 2008 Category: People, Things Tags: america, election, obama [ 2 ]
America,
I just wanted to say thank you for doing the right thing yesterday by making Barack Obama the next President of the United States of America. It was inspiring to see so many people get out and volunteer, vote, and work for change. Great work everyone…
Finally, here are a few pics I thought were cool of Obama from the past year or so.
Get Out and Vote Today!
Date: November 4th, 2008 Category: People Tags: america, election, president, vote [ 0 ]
Today is of course election day in America. If you haven’t already voted please get out and vote! If you don’t know where your polling place is located, click here to locate it.
Today is a historic day for America. Everyone’s vote counts. Don’t waste this opportunity to influence change.
Custom iPhone Theme “Night Sky”
Date: November 2nd, 2008 Category: Things Tags: apple, iphone, iphone themes, winterboard [ 2 ]
I have a 16GB black Apple iPhone 3G. I love it. What would make this awesome device even better? The ability to change the theme of the phone including wallpaper, lock screen, icons, etc… Currently this is not possible with a vanilla iPhone 3G and iTunes.
So, one day I was bored and I decided to “jailbreak” my iPhone so I could add custom/non-approved applications onto the phone. One of the apps I added was Winterboard. This app gives you the ability to upload custom springboard (aka. desktop) themes to the phone and replace the default look of your device. But, the majority of the pre-made themes available sucked or I just didn’t like them. So I decided to make my own.
I present my custom iPhone theme for Winterboard – “Night Sky”
What do you need to run this theme?
- Jailbroken iPhone (up to date version)
- Cydia App (kind of like installer app but way better)
- Winterboard App (install via cydia)
- Categories App (allows the use of folders on springboard)
- My theme “Night Sky” (download below)
What doe this theme include?
- Custom springboard wallpaper
- Custom lock screen
- Custom battery screen
- Custom app icons
This theme was cobbled together from bits of other freely available themes. I added the custom wallpapers and did some other photoshop touch-ups. All in all a good looking theme. Enjoy…