my surrogate brain

Flickr: downloading video and images in batch

2008-05-20T19:19:00.001-04:00

I was very excited to see that Flickr has added the ability to upload and share "long pictures" (video). However, it took me a long time to figure out, how as the owner of said video I could download the original file.

From the Flickr Help Forum, here's how:

"Click the Embed link above your video, the download link is on that page."
(At the very bottom)

Interested in downloading files from your Flickr account in a batch? Apparently Flishr did that for a while. (Not sure if it still does.)

Juan Pablo has a interesting sounding solution involving Firefox and some extensions.

From his blog:

It involves:
- firefox
- greasemonkey extension installed
- DownThemAll! extension installed
- Flickr - Link Original Image script for greasemonkey
- and of course, a flickr account

So, go to a page in flickr for where you want to download the photos, the best is a set page photo or a tag one, where all the photos are displayed.

In the page, right click and select DownThemAll!..., and then in the links tab select "Images" in the Inclusive Filters section.

Then, click Start and wait for the downloads. That's all.

Thanks Juan!

Watercone - An Ingenious Way To Turn Salt Water Into Fresh Water

2007-10-16T19:30:00.000-04:00

Watercone - An Ingenious Way To Turn Salt Water Into Fresh Water via Neatorama

How to Fold a Shirt FAST!

2007-10-16T18:07:00.000-04:00

How to Fold a Shirt FAST! via Neatorama

Help out your kids' teachers

2007-09-01T10:48:00.000-04:00

Read Back to School Thoughts for Parents from a Former Teacher via Ask Moxie

How to fold a shirt FAST

2007-08-04T10:32:00.000-04:00

via Neatorama

101 uses for everyday things

2007-07-17T18:38:00.000-04:00

101 uses for everyday things

Kids books recommended by Tricia Mumby et al

2007-06-30T16:25:00.000-04:00

at the post Reading to your small people

cloth clothing labels

2007-06-26T09:22:00.000-04:00

http://www.namemaker.com/productcart/pc/viewCategories.asp?idCategory=25

pencil test program - Monkey Jam

2007-06-20T09:23:00.000-04:00

Recommended in the comments section of one of Uncle Eddie's Theory Corner posts

http://www.giantscreamingrobotmonkeys.com/monkeyjam/about.html

Mangled javascript in Blogger

2007-05-13T15:39:00.000-04:00

I was having issues getting some Javascript to work in my Blogger template. It appears I'm not the only one.

There's a great post here that explains the solution to my problem.

Beta Blogger doesn't like " for literal strings in JavaScript so I replaced them with ' and also \" with plain " and it now works fine.

The same fix worked for me too! Thanks jacquie for taking the time to post the solution!

When An Infant or Child is Accidentally Locked in A Car With The Keys

2007-05-12T15:33:00.000-04:00

Read the orignal post Break Out: When An Infant or Child is Accidentally Locked in A Car With The Keys

Summary:
#1- DO NOT PANIC.
#2- NOTE THE TIME.
#3- CALL 911.
#4- COVER THE WINDOWS WITH BLANKETS OR TARPS AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE
#5- REMEMBER YOU CAN BREAK A WINDOW- BUT DO IT ONLY WITH PLANNING AND EXTREME CAUTION. #6- ONCE YOUR CHILDREN ARE OUT OF THE CAR- REHYDRATE AND GRADUALLY COOL THEM.
#7- MAKE SURE YOU'RE OKAY BEFORE YOU DRIVE.
#8- LEARN WHAT YOU CAN, ADAPT FOR THE FUTURE, AND FORGIVE YOURSELF.

BE PROACTIVE:
-Stash a spare key on your car.
-Stash a spare key in your wallet.
-Hook the keys to your person.
-Load a couple useful items into your car in case this happens to someone near you.

The original article is worth your time, go read it!

Break Out: When An Infant or Child is Accidentally Locked in A Car With The Keys

Wake up, me!

2007-04-29T18:42:00.000-04:00

Wake Up, Me! by Marni McGee (Author), Sam Williams (Illustrator)

Love this book with the charming storyline of a family's start to their day. Beautifully illustrated!

Maple Syrup Festivals

2007-03-10T09:26:00.000-05:00

Where we went this year:
http://www.maplesyrupfestival.com/local_amenities.cfm (Warkworth)

Others:

http://www.mississauga.ca/portal/home/homecalendar?paf_gear_id=12700032&itemId=33500023
Mississauga's maple syrup festival! Come witness the magical process of turning sunshine into sweet maple syrup. Daily historical demonstrations, horse drawn wagon rides and more all at the Bradley Museum

http://www.ontariomaple.com/festivals2001.html

Here are my hands

2007-02-24T19:43:00.000-05:00

tHere Are My Hands by Bill Martin (Author), John Archambault (Author), Ted Rand (Illustrator)

"Here are my hands for catching and throwing..."

Beautifully illustrated rhyme for teaching body parts.

NTS: Full text can be found here. Additional images commented out by HTML.

Here's the world for ya

2007-02-16T08:55:00.000-05:00

By The Payola$.

Here's the world
I can only help you go so far
Try to teach you wrong from right
How to take each day like a brand new day

Don't worry 'bout me
'Cause who could ever ask for more?
Listen to these words that I write
They'll be no tears in my eyes tonight

Don't let them fool you
Don't let them tell you that you'll never go far

Here's the world for ya
Here's the world for ya
Go tell them who you are

Here's the world for ya
Here's the world for ya
Go be a shining star

Take all my love
Carry it inside of you
Know that I will always be there
Know that I will always care

Don't let them fool you
Don't let them tell you that you'll never go far

Here's the world for ya
Here's the world for ya
Go tell them who you are

Here's the world for ya
Here's the world for ya
Go tell them who you are
[Go tell them who you are]

Here's the world for ya
Here's the world for ya
Go be a shining star

And if I ever did wrong
Please forgive me now
Before I am gone

And if I ever did right
Tell me with a smile
That will light up this night
Light up this night

Here's the world for ya
Here's the world for ya
Go tell them who you are

Here's the world for ya
Here's the world for ya
Go be a shining star

Reach out and 'ping' someone

2007-02-14T18:08:00.000-05:00

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20070209.CAPING09/TPStory/?query=reach+out+and+ping+someone

Reach out and 'ping' someone
Keeping in touch with clients or prospects is an essential part of working life. JIM GRAY offers some tips on how to do it right
JIM GRAY

Sheep Out to Eat

2007-02-10T19:40:00.000-05:00

Sheep Out to Eat by Nancy E. Shaw (Author), Margot Apple (Illustrator)

"Five sheep stop at a small teashop..."

Fun rhymes describing the misadventures of sheep in a tea shop!

Create your own motivational poster

2007-02-04T08:35:00.000-05:00

http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/motivator.php
as seen here: http://www.quietfish.com/notebook/?p=729

CRA: eServices for Small Businesses

2007-01-31T19:36:00.000-05:00

http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/eservices/

Filing a return or making a remittance
Registering a business
Payroll deductions
Getting information
Refunds and payments

Indoor carnival

2007-01-30T09:27:00.000-05:00

from this post:
http://dontletsstart.blogspot.com/2006/05/no-we-didnt-have-baby-but-we-did-have.html

Ticket booth (Big roll of tickets, striped paper bags to carry prizes -- which meant I didn't have to prepare loot bags in advance -- and a CD playing circus calliope music Greg downloaded for free. Each attraction/activity was 1 ticket, but we gave them out liberally. Mostly it was just for effect.)Bounce house (minimal living room furniture, high ceilings and a small bounce house the kids got for Christmas a while back made this possible)

Face paintingClown photo board (the only real "project" involved, made from leftover gift wrap and balloons; the pictures of kids will be sent out with the thank-you cards)
http://static.flickr.com/55/142410203_330750f2d3.jpg?v=0

Balloon stand, hot dog/popcorn stand

Bean bag tossPrize walk (like a cake walk, only with bulk toy prizes, with music from Laurie Berkner, kids' music superstar)

Deep Sea Treasure Diving Adventure (last-minute brilliant idea using our pop-up playhut with a tunnel, some plastic balls and toy prizes, and snorkeling equipment)

Soccer in the park

2007-01-30T09:25:00.001-05:00

from this post: http://thestar.blogs.com/parenting/2006/05/prepare_to_get_.html

Soccer in the park: (or baseball or Capture the Flag or whatever your kid is into). Bring drinks and freezies in a cooler and big bags of junk food (they never eat real food at birthday parties anyway) and birthday cupcakes. Play. And play. Then eat. And play some more. If some kids get fed up, have contests like soccer shoot-outs or races or just go on the playground equipment. Who ever gets tired of the monkey bars anyway? Don't forget to pray it doesn't rain.

Soccer in the park

2007-01-30T09:25:00.000-05:00

from this post: http://thestar.blogs.com/parenting/2006/05/prepare_to_get_.html

Soccer in the park: (or baseball or Capture the Flag or whatever your kid is into). Bring drinks and freezies in a cooler and big bags of junk food (they never eat real food at birthday parties anyway) and birthday cupcakes. Play. And play. Then eat. And play some more. If some kids get fed up, have contests like soccer shoot-outs or races or just go on the playground equipment. Who ever gets tired of the monkey bars anyway? Don't forget to pray it doesn't rain.

Space Party

2007-01-30T09:24:00.000-05:00

from this post: http://thestar.blogs.com/parenting/2006/05/prepare_to_get_.html

The space party: You get a couple of mega-cardboard cartons from an appliance store. Ask the guests to bring a bike helmet. When they arrive, you adorn their helmets with foil. Then they build a rocket and cut out some windows. They decorate it with sparkles and streamers and markers and stickers. Then they put on their "space helmets" and you count down to blast off about 500 times and they go in and out and and in and out. This will keep them amused for
many minutes. Trust me. And after that you can play pin the astronaut on the moon and have an asteroid hunt (for silver Hershey kisses) and play statues by "moon-walking" to the theme from 2001 A Space Odyssey. If all goes well, you'll barely have time for cake.

Pass the parcel

2007-01-29T17:40:00.001-05:00

from the comments on this post: http://momm-eh.blogspot.com/2007/01/party-game-ideas-for-3-year-olds.html

http://www.haloscan.com/comments/mothership/549656828874246682/#234888

Sit in a circle, pass around a parcel loosely wrapped in layers of paper. When the music stops, the kid holding the parcel takes off a layer of paper - the 2 year olds and 3 year olds probably need adult help so they don't unwrap the whole thing. You could use gift bags and fabric bags and boxes for some of the layers. In the middle you should have treats or mini toys for all to share.

http://www.haloscan.com/comments/mothership/549656828874246682/#234890

with the additional twist I saw done once where the child who unwraps gets a task to do -- you have a list of tasks and give the right one to each child. Things like, "sing ABC" or "twirl around" or "make a funny face." You control the music to make sure each child gets one turn. Birthday child gets a second turn at the end and opens the box of treats and hands them out.

Treasure hunt

2007-01-29T17:34:00.000-05:00

from the comments on this post: http://momm-eh.blogspot.com/2007/01/party-game-ideas-for-3-year-olds.html

http://www.haloscan.com/comments/mothership/549656828874246682/#234871
We did a treasure hunt with Tommy and his friend. I took pictures of lots of things in our house and then taped those pictures around the house for them to navigate. So, for example, they started with a picture of the kitchen chairs. When they went to the chairs, they found a picture of the fridge. When they got to the fridge, they found a picture of the couch, etc. Eventually they got to a pile of stuffed animals marked with an X-marks-the-spot. They dug through the animals until they found two treasure chests filled with Mardi Gras beads and fake gold coins.

You could probably have the kids follow the course in small groups if you have too many kids to do it all at once. I'm pretty sure you could do it all in one room if you used small pictures on small items (or people) throughout the room. It doesn't matter if they can see where the final X is. Following the path seemed to be the fun part.