Lightly Toasted

Firefox 3.5 is out!

2009-07-01T15:42:49Z

Go get your copy, Firefox 3.5 is out. And if you have a couple extra minutes have a quick view of Mike Beltzner’s preview of what’s new and exciting in Firefox 3.5.

First noticeable difference for me has been its speed. It rocks — blazing fast.

The bag of goodies for Web Developers is surely going to take Firefox 3.5 another leap into the future. However, to be fair to Safari I must point out that Safari had passed Acid Test 2 ages back. Its good to see GrApple Yummy(theme for Firefox that makes it look like Safari) working on the new release of Firefox 3.5. Go get your copy !

Blueberry Friands

2009-06-25T11:21:13Z

I love Friands! I simply L-O-V-E friands. You get the idea. Friands are those magic things that make your afternoons easy, it makes a cup of tea even more satiable and a worrying mind more at peace. It must be comfort-food for it does release a lot of endorphins for me. A café across from where I work sells Friands and while they are OK, $3.50 for a rather average Friand leaves a lot to be desired. I still indulge in the ocassional binge.

A couple of days back we had this brilliant idea of trying to bake it at home. And honesty I’ve never baked Friands before. Its super easy to bake and really cheap on the pocket. Most of all they DO taste yummy and fresh and for $3.50 you’d almost have a tray of 6 fresh moist friands if not more. Receipe to follow on sydneybites.com soon

Have you made Friands before?

Scanning down the memory lane

fixoutlook.org – have your say

2009-06-24T23:20:45Z

Its not much of an original post when you copy paste information, but sometimes you *have to* remind giants that sleep at the wheels inconveniencing and killing healthy competition and growth in the IT industry. Yes you guessed it I’m talking about Microsoft. Minutes ago I got an email from Campaign Monitor and The Email Standards Project. And soon I post the message you’ll know what I mean. I quote:

Microsoft have just confirmed they plan on using the crippled Word rendering engine to display HTML emails in Outlook 2010.

This means for the next 5 years your email designs will need tables for layout, have no support for CSS like float and position and no background images. Not to mention the long list of bugs and quirks that break the simplest of layouts.

Outlook 2010 is still in beta and Microsoft have confirmed they want to hear your feedback on this decision. It’s time for the email marketing and design community to rally together and encourage Microsoft to embrace web standards before it’s too late.

What’s the best way to do that? Twitter of course.

Visit fixoutlook.org to see how you can help and what the community is saying right now.

If you think fixoutlook.org is a good idea, why not forward this to your friends.

Steel Magnolias

2009-06-25T12:55:14Z

The lovely D had bought tickets to watch Steel Magnolias at the Seymour Centre. What a heart-rendering story it is. Even though you know the outcome, it just engulfs you in a ball of emotions. The joy and elation of life, the comfort and warmth of true friends and sisterhood juxtaposed in the lives of these amazingly simple and loving women bring about a transformation of tears and laughter all at the same time — its hard not to love this play! Even having watched the movie I’ve to say ‘the play’ brings forth the ‘elixir’ of this trememdous sisterhood in the cast. Ana Maria Belo, Marian Frizelle, Jennifer Hagan, Debra Lawrance, Geraldine Turner & Jacki Weaver bring this to light with impeccable perfection and consistently. I couldn’t but stop and think of my time in North Carolina and the hospitality I was offered by almost every single person I’d met during my sojourn. They say: Southern hospitality is an amazing thing. It is something that a lot of people talk about and hear of. I’ve been so blest to have been able to experience it first hand and it sure surfaced in my mind while watching this gorgeous play.

Very beautifully executed. What a masterpiece.

The quintessential story of friendship, Steel Magnolias serves up a slice of life in Louisiana that’s as warm and comforting as sweet potato pie. In the haven of Truvy’s beauty salon, six very different women come together to share their secrets and bare their souls, facing their lives with grace, determination, and perfectly coifed hair. When tragedy strikes, it is in the familiar comfort of Truvy’s salon where they seek the solace and support that carries them through.

iPhone OS 3.0 software update

2009-06-24T12:49:40Z

The iPhone OS 3.0 software update is here. While I must admit I havent played around to check every little update feature yet, the Spotlight search in itself is a big time saver. Cut, Copy & Paste alone save a lot of retyping and mulling over dreaded typos. That is a mega saver, add to that the fact you can type in Landscape which implies lesser typos. Voice Memos – brilliant idea, Internet Tethering will be another hidden gem when you want to get connected easily.

Updating the new software for iPhone was absolutely pain-free and it was over in a couple of minutes. Apps seem a lot more responsive and start and close quicker. The only downside some apps in the App store are still not OS 3.0 ready but thats just a matter of time. Go get your update, its worth it.

My only concern was if Flight Control didn’t work — but it DOES just fine! Just between you, me and the gatepost my score last night was 87!

The free iPhone OS 3.0 Software Update includes some great new features, as well as all the features from previous updates. iPhone OS 3.0 also lets you run the next generation of iPhone apps, like peer-to-peer games¹ and more. If you’ve never updated before, now is the perfect time.

1: Peer-to-peer connectivity requires compatible applications, which can be downloaded from the App Store when available.

Amazing iPhone

2009-06-24T03:00:26Z

At long last I’m a proud iPhone owner and like the rest who has tapped into the power of iPhone I am in sheer, awe, delight and joy of this marvel of technology!

Think I’ve done well to fight the temptation for a whole year since they were available in Australia around July 2008. Over the years I’ve had quite a range of mobile handsets but nothing has ever come close to the goodness of what apple brings in an iPhone. Really nothing comes close or is comparable to the iPhone! It is a masterpiece. A marriage of technology and superb interface. It is a love story of epic proportions if such a phrase could be used to describe a ‘gadget’. it just is! I’m truly floored by the design, the finish, the response, the crazy addictive App Store where thousands of people across the globe write jaw dropping Apps. It has considerably cut down my time in front of the computer! And dare I say I’m loving every bit of iPhone juice I can have.

When I didn’t have an iPhone and saw others going gaga over this little device, I wrote it off as a typical Generation Y behaviour. But honestly, I stand corrected. You have to play around with one for a few days to know the power it unleashes in your hands. If you’re considering a mobile/cell go get an iPhone. I’ll write about some of my Apps soon.

Sommersturm

2009-05-28T06:03:41Z

The lovely people at Toga Hospitality had offered D tickets to watch movies of our choice at the German film Festival that ended in Sydney a couple of weeks back. We had chosen Sommersturm (German for Summer Storm). This has been screened in Sydney on many occasions during the Mardi Gras Film Festivals and by popular demands seems to come back over and over. Its one of those feel good movies that leave you wanting more and is at the same time very realistic.

Tobi played by Robert Stadlober was among the audience and gave a short speech about the movie and also answered questions from the audience at the end of the movie. Seemed like quite a sorted down-to-earth person.

This story ‘Sommersturm‘ is about the lives of 2 best friends Tobi played by Robert Stadlober & Achim played by Kostja Ullman who go in for a regatta in the German countryside having won many local rowing cups in partnership. But this camping trip to the coutryside in summer has more than Rowing on the agenda. It also is the time they discover their sexuality.

I really liked the movies, there are some funny little snippets and over all it conveys the bigger message of homophobia in a very sweet way. At the end of the movie, there was a dialogue between the audience and Robert. Someone in the audience had pointed out how Summerstorm as a movie was way more tasteful and suble and yet carried the message of homophobia, and it made ‘Brokeback Mountain‘ look crass. Sorry Heath and Jake, this is true!

Life happens without warning indeed!

Safari 4 beta and refresh button

2009-06-01T23:07:29Z

For a good few months, probably a year or more I had been using Firefox as my main browser. But since the update of Safari 4 Beta I turned by head back to Safari. i dont dislike Safari 4, its just that Firefox’s add-ons and Greasemonkey scripts are a huge timesaver. While most things remain just as excellent with Safari the one that really annoys me is not having the stop/refresh button. Grrrrrr! It is now right next to the RSS icon. God forbid you want stop loading a page and you click the RSS icon instead of the Stop/Refresh icon.

Does this both you to no end as well? And why is making a dasboard widget out of the Safari’s toolbar area more important that having a stop/refresh button?

Glad to know I’m not the only one

Autumn Leaf Wallpaper

2009-05-27T22:47:13Z

You’d remember my walk along Dalleys Road. Well, what better way to post May midweek photos than with an Australian autumn soaked maple leaf. You could even turn it into your wallpaper. The background seems a little bright but I still like it.

Download the zip file here. (size: 1.55 MB)

Caching tutorial for web authors and webmasters [del.icio.us]

2009-05-27T06:51:32-07:00

Cheap Women’s Weekly Cookbooks

2009-05-19T02:43:06Z

Chances are if you like cooking you’d already know Cookbooks are a dime a dozen. Well not quite. They usually cost a bit — the good ones anyway. You can get cookbooks for under $5 too but often those recipes are inedible and lack oomph or presentation. The thing to remember is — its worth spending that extra $$ to cook better and use a tried and tested recipe that doesn’t leave you in-satiated. D & I both love cooking and get into it often. Its a nice way to relax and know what you are offering your body. Dare I admit we’re both foodies and relish anything to do with our ‘inner man’.

Well, if you have gone hunting down good cookbooks you’d know they cost a bit. From Nigella Lawson to Neil Perry, Donna Hay to Bill Grainger, to mention just a few. They don’t come cheap but if you are equally in love with Women’s Weekly Cookbooks – which in my opinion are very practical and good too, I’m going to tell you where you can source them for half to 1/3^rd the price.

If you’re in Sydney, drive down to Moore Park Supacenta. On level 2 halfway between the floor there is a lady who sells CookBooks real cheap. Some almost 1/3^rd the price. I’m not sure this happens on weekdays too. We picked up some yummy Women’s Weekly Cookbooks there last weekend. . Go feast your inner man!

Bite the bullet and give us full text

The definitive guide to higher rankings for your blog [del.icio.us]

2009-05-11T18:44:50-07:00

An excellent list of things to do on your WordPress blog to make it more Search Engine compatible

Whats coming in Firefox 3.5 [del.icio.us]

2009-04-21T23:54:01-07:00

Firefox 3.5 will introduce a number of new features.

13 Premium-like free Wordpress Themes [del.icio.us]

2009-01-28T05:23:38-08:00

These are great free WordPress themes, give them a whirl.

Sydney Bites [del.icio.us]

2009-01-26T05:00:23-08:00

Your online good food guide to Sydney.

The Power of Less [del.icio.us]

2008-12-18T07:06:54-08:00

Do less and get more done and live life.

AVA7 Patterns [del.icio.us]

2008-11-25T10:56:07-08:00

Free seamless background patterns

36 hours in Paris [del.icio.us]

2008-11-10T04:03:41-08:00

Great find, thx D. So wish we're back there again.

Dubai Architectures [del.icio.us]

2008-09-29T18:52:34-07:00

changes over the years makes for a good comparison

Netdisaster [del.icio.us]

2008-08-14T20:21:06-07:00

Destroy the web! Addictive! Go on, live a little

A woman from inside out [del.icio.us]

2008-07-16T23:29:47-07:00

Probably take about 5 minutes to watch this sketch but well worth it.

Creative photos by Chema Madoz [del.icio.us]

2008-07-16T03:55:41-07:00

These photos will bring a smile or two :) Utterly simple yet very clever

New Approach to Treating AIDS [del.icio.us]

2008-07-10T18:08:43-07:00

German scientists have succeeded in snipping the virus that causes AIDS

Worldwide Telescope [del.icio.us]

2008-05-12T22:51:19-07:00

Turns your computer into a mini-planetarium displaying millions of stars, planets & other celestial bodies.

Dinner in the sky [del.icio.us]

2008-04-10T00:02:54-07:00

Oh I can feel the adrenaline rush, probably not the best thing for vertigo people :)