Cafe Arcane

[ALPHA] Hiding Google Chat in Google Plus

Mystech — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 20:14:56 +0000

Sure, the whole “unity” thing has some fans, but personally I don’t use the web-based chat client for Google (I use a standalone client called Pidgin, but that’s a topic for another post). Many of my friends prefer to access their Google chat on other pages and find the duplication frustrating. Sure, you can sign ...

Unpaid Internships and the Fair Labor Standards Act

Mystech — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 13:52:03 +0000

I can’t count how many listings for ENTERPRISE web development, design and production projects that include such things as “seeking intern” or “interns welcome”. Any number of hastily compiled eBooks on “how to take your great idea to the web” are also not shy about recommending “rounding up some interns” to do work for free. ...

Decatur Sky Timelapse

Mystech — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 15:53:39 +0000

Just a test of timelapse on Saturday, March 17 2012. Brightness and contrast overwhelmed the camera sensor at a few points. In the future, I may use a physical filter, adjust camera settings or correct in post-processing. Typically I would put these all together with Quicktime Pro, but surprise, surprise, it is acting up again. ...

Android App Pick – InstaCamera

Mystech — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 14:24:50 +0000

This is a relatively simple app that addresses a pretty common problem… sometimes opening your camera app, waiting, hoping it is ready and then snapping your picture is plenty long enough for the photo opportunity to have passed. InstaCamera offers a one-touch icon that automatically opens the camera and snaps a picture with no additional ...

Rambling Reflections on the Pursuit of Happiness and Social Validation

Mystech — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 14:57:48 +0000

At first glance, a lot of what we do in this life seems to be for ourselves. We claim to follow our dreams, wishes and desires. We say we make goals that are about our happiness and fulfillment, but at the end of the day why is that so many of those things seem to ...

The Age of Wood… or When Lignin Ruled the Earth

Mystech — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 19:34:41 +0000

The other day a friend on Google+ posted on how cool it would be if we could grow carbon fiber stuff out of the atmosphere “since we have all of this additional carbon (dioxide) in the atmosphere”. I jokingly replied “We used to have an elementary form of this, it was called wood” another friend ...

Free DropBox Space for Photos and Video

Mystech — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 17:15:12 +0000

If you take a lot of pictures and video on your Android device, DropBox is giving away a nice chunk of space for those willing to install and use their Beta client. Here’s how it works: Install the beta client on your Android device and take a picture. You’ll get a free 500mb of additional ...

Site Issues

Mystech — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 14:38:37 +0000

Looks like my choice of permalinks settings (those prettified urls structures) is causing some issues with older articles. I am aware of the situation and will find a resolution as soon as possible. Apologies for any difficulties you may have accessing older articles on the site in the short term. UPDATE: With some minor adjustments ...

Wallpaper for Android Tablets

Mystech — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 13:35:37 +0000

While you can theoretically make almost any image on your Android tablet into wallpaper for your device, obviously resolution, original quality and aspect ratio is going to affect just how good (or bad) it looks. The following is a quick summary of the best practices for Android Tablet wallpaper, with specific emphasis on devices like ...

Virtual Bike Update…. Nashville Bound

Mystech — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 13:32:52 +0000

The virtual cycling exercise program has been updated to include all mileage up until last night. It has been one month and my nightly mileage has reached 15 miles. This isn’t a particularly large number but I am restricting myself to 30 minutes. After a week at this rate, I’ll probably have to increase the ...