Justyn Smith | Blog

Import Google Contacts to iCloud easily

Justyn — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 22:43:58 +0000

Since updating to iOS 5 I figured I would give the whole iCould thing a go for my contacts, calendar and mail. The only problem here was that exporting my Google Contacts and importing the into iCloud was that everything I read said I need to use iCal / Address Book to get them across. I ended up using Sunbird to transfer the Calendar across, and came across these simple instructions in MacRumors forum.

Requirements are Gmail Account and a valid iCloud account (Apple ID)

1. Go to your Google Contacts

2. Click the More > Export

3. Choose the group or all of your contacts you wish to export, whichever you prefer.

4. Choose vCard format and click the Export button.

5. You will now have a contacts.vcf which has been downloaded to your computer. Put it on your desktop if you prefer.

6. Rename contacts.vcf to yournamehere.vcf (example: justyn.vcf)

7. Log in to iCloud.

8. Click Contacts
Important Note: Make sure there are no contacts listed here before importing or this may not work. The page needs to be blank.

9. Drag the .vcf file into the window under All Contacts.
The page will highlight with a blue rectangle when you drag the .vcf onto it. Wait a little bit. (It took about 8 seconds for mine to import. I only have 136 contacts though.)

On your iPhone, go to Settings > iCloud and make sure Contacts is listed as ON.

My Firefox addons

Justyn — Sun, 01 May 2011 06:50:43 +0000

My web browser of choice is Firefox. I have been using it for years and since the upgrade to 4.0 losing the status bar, I thought I might create a post with my Firefox Addons.

Adblock Plus – Homepage
This addon is self explanatory. It allows you to block ads based on filters that you can subscribe to.
Status-4-Evar – Homepage
Since Firefox 4, the status bar has been hidden. This addon enables the statusbar that we’ve all grown to love.
Download Statusbar – Homepage
This will allow your downloads to show on the statusbar instead of opening a new window.
IE Tab 2 – Homepage
Allows you to have pages load in an IE tab, rendering them in IE7, IE8 or IE9 compatability.
StumbleUpon – Homepage
Addon bar for StumbleUpon users.
Greasemonkey – Homepage
Allows you to change webpages via bits of Javascript, can get scripts from UserScripts.
Image Zoom – Homepage
Allows zoom and rotation of images.

The Holstee Manifesto

Justyn — Sun, 03 Apr 2011 07:51:37 +0000

I came across this manifesto from Holstee who create sustainable designs such as recycled t-shirts, wallets and more. I thought this manifesto was worth the read. Enjoy.

The Holstee Manifesto

Unusual (and fun) date ideas

Justyn — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 09:53:35 +0000

Hey guys and girls. I was stumbling around the internet the other day and happen to come across this which I thought was quite good. I hope you enjoy it.

Go on a search for as many good climbing trees as possible, climb as high as you both can in all of them. Compile photo evidence.
Go to a major chain bookstore and leave notes to future readers in copies of your favourite books.
Have her dressed up as a ghost and you dress up as Pacman. Walk around downtown holding hands. Whenever anyone sees you two pretend to be embarrassed and run off screaming “wocka wocka wocka”.
Create photo evidence suggesting that you went on an adventure that didn’t really happen.
Dress up as superheroes and stop at least one petty crime. i.e. jaywalking or littering e.t.c.
Build forts out of furniture and blankets then wage war with paper airplanes.
Try and visit as many people as you can in one night. Turn as many things inside their apartment upside down as you can, without them noticing.
Go to the airport and get the cheapest, soonest departing flight anywhere. When you show up stay there for a weekend.
Write a piece of fiction together, outside at a café. Ask strangers for help when you get stuck.
Dress to the nines, pretend to be married and test drive very expensive vehicles at an auto dealership.
Do the lamest tourist thing in your area that you have both secretly wanted to do forever. Have an unabashed good time!
In the middle of the night drive to the beach so you arrive just as the sun is rising. Have a breakfast picnic, then fall asleep together. Bring a sun umbrella.
Drive somewhere unknown and have dinner in a city you’ve never been to, with fake names.
Go to a minor league baseball game under the stars. Tell each other stories about how bad you are at athletics. Randomly cheer for both teams. Eat lots of Cracker Jacks.
Go around the city with sidewalk chalk and draw hearts with equations inside on random things.
Walk around a city and perform short silent plays in front of security cameras.
With a camera and a pair of boots, make a photolog of a day in the life of the invisible man.
Walk around the city all night and find a place to eat breakfast at dawn.
Go to a restaurant and convince the cook to create something completely new for you.
Rent a movie you’ve never seen before. Set it on mute and improvise the dialogue.

9 deadly words used by a woman

Justyn — Sat, 19 Mar 2011 00:07:14 +0000

I stumbled across this little gem today, and thought it was a good read. Maybe this will help all of us guys out there a bit. I hope you enjoy it.

Fine
This is the word women use to end an argument when they are right and you need to shut up.
Five Minutes
If she is getting dressed, this means a half hour. Five minutes is only five minutes if you have just been given five more minutes to watch the game before helping around the house.
Nothing
This is the calm before the storm. This means something, and you should be on your toes. Arguments that begin with nothing usually end fine.
Go Ahead
This is a dare, not permission. Don’t do it!
Loud Sigh
This is actually a word, but is a non-verbal statement often misunderstood by men. A loud sigh means she thinks you are an idiot and wonders why she is wasting her time standing here and arguing with you about nothing. (Refer back to #3 for the meaning of nothing).
That’s Okay
This is one of the most dangerous statements a woman can make to a man. That’s okay means she wants to think long and hard before deciding how and when you will pay for your mistake.
Thanks
A woman is thanking you, do not question, or faint. Just say you’re welcome. (I want to add in a clause here; This is true, unless she says “Thanks a lot”, which is PURE sarcasm and she is not thanking you at all. DO NOT say “You’re welcome”. That will bring on a “Whatever”).
Whatever
Is a woman’s way of saying “F*** YOU!”
Don’t worry about it, I got it
Another dangerous statement, meaning this is something that a woman has told a man to do several times, but is now doing it herself. This will later result in a man asking “What’s wrong?”. For the woman’s response refer to #3.

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Microsoft launches IE6 Countdown

Justyn — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 22:18:17 +0000

Microsoft is monitoring the worlds usage of Internet Explorer 6 by launching a website, IE6 Countdown. Their aim is to try and get the global usage under 1% so more websites can drop Internet Explorer 6 support which will save web developers a lot of work trying to support a web browser that is 10 years old.

At this point in time 12% of the world is using IE6 which is down 9% from last year. China has the highest users of IE6 coming in at 34.5% where Norway and Finland come it at just 0.7%. Australia is only at 3.2% while the US comes in just under at 2.9%.

If you have a website and would like to join the cause you can add a banner to your website asking the user to upgrade to a newer version of Internet Explorer.

10 things couples do to screw up their marriage

Justyn — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 22:03:50 +0000

I’ve been reading up on relationships and how to deal with them, marriages and break ups. I’ve been trying to work out what it is that I need to do to change the way I am thinking and acting. I happen to come across this article about 10 things that couples do to screw up their marriage and I am not going to lie, I am guilty of some of them as I’m sure 99% of the population is too.

That loving feeling
A loving relationship requires attention and nurturing to make it last. Couples often don’t realise how they are hurting their marriage until significant damage is done. As the Righteous Brothers sang, “You’ve lost that lovin’ feeling…Now it’s gone…gone…gone.”

Here are the most common things that people do to lose that loving feeling.

1. Attack Each Other
Many people don’t know how to resolve their differences. They often resort to character assassination and yelling when they disagree.

2. Withdraw
On the other hand, some people withdraw from conflict and quit talking. Then the ice storm sets in and communication shuts down.

3. Fight about money
Couples frequently disagree about how to spend their money. Many times people have different interests and priorities. If they are not able to resolve this, it can become a source of strife.

4. Have an affair
An affair, whether emotional or physical, can be one of the most devastating events for a marriage. Recovering from an affair is a process that takes a lot of forgiveness, work, commitment, and time.

5. Quit dating their mate
Early in a relationship, most couples want to spend every waking moment together. They make time to romance each other. The flame burns hot.

However, over time they get caught up with their careers and children. It becomes easy to forget about romance and the flame burns out.

6. Anger and Resentment
Have you ever been hurt by something your spouse said or did? Of course you have! However, if you don’t forgive your mate, then the hurt can turn into anger and resentment. This creates a wall of division.

7. Ignore the relationship
Many relationships end because couples stop investing themselves in the relationship. Over time, they stop having anything in common and drift apart.

8. Start taking each other for granted
People stop treating each other special and eventually their marriage loses that special quality.

9. Couples don’t “leave and cleave”
A number of couples never break the ties to their families. Therefore, they never learn rely on each other. This becomes evident during difficult times when they tend to run back home instead of to their mate.

10. Manipulation and control
Some people try to manipulate their partner with ultimatums, guilt, and tantrums to get their way. This might be effective short-term, but it erodes the foundation of the relationship and leads to resentment.

Don’t let the love slip away
A loving relationship is one of the most precious gifts in life. These are 10 things that you can avoid to help protect that bond. “We had a love…you don’t find every day, so don’t let it slip away.” (Righteous Brothers)

Exposé switching on Microsoft Windows

Justyn — Sat, 12 Feb 2011 07:30:24 +0000

One of the things I like about OS X is the exposé styled window switching and I found that was lacking on Windows. I do like how Microsoft have made the alt+tab nicer in Windows 7, but I wanted more. I wanted that OS X style, which can be achieved with a nice utility called Switcher.

I have Switcher set to alt+tab and gives the feel of exposé. I have also installed another small utility called SmallWindows which can set a “hotspot” for your mouse which will activate the exposé style switching too. I have mine set to the top-right corner.

What happens to your body if you stop smoking right now?

Justyn — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 22:27:16 +0000

So Chell and I have drastically cut back on smoking and are going to quit shortly, partly due to health reasons, partly due to finances (who needs to waste money on smoking, right?). I found this quick facts on what happens to your body if you stop smoking right now and some of them are quite amazing.

In 20 minutes your blood pressure will drop back down to normal.
In 8 hours the carbon monoxide (a toxic gas) levels in your blood stream will drop by half, and oxygen levels will return to normal.
In 48 hours your chance of having a heart attack will have decreased. All nicotine will have left your body. Your sense of taste and smell will return to a normal level.
In 72 hours your bronchial tubes will relax, and your energy levels will increase.
In 2 weeks your circulation will increase, and it will continue to improve for the next 10 weeks.
In three to nine months coughs, wheezing and breathing problems will dissipate as your lung capacity improves by 10%.
In 1 year your risk of having a heart attack will have dropped by half.
In 5 years your risk of having a stroke returns to that of a non-smoker.
In 10 years your risk of lung cancer will have returned to that of a non-smoker.
In 15 years your risk of heart attack will have returned to that of a non-smoker.

So as you can see there is some immediate things to look forward to when quitting smoking, not just the long term. So what are you waiting for? You can quit now.

A sad short story

Justyn — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 07:43:21 +0000

I saw this floating around Facebook in regards to child abuse awhile ago. It’s something that touched a nerve and thought I would share. Any form of child abuse is wrong, and those guilty should be punished for it.

I have changed the wording to Australian English instead of American English to suit.

A child says to his Mum “Mummy I coloured your sheets with lipstick”, with anger she starts to hit her child until he was unconscious. Then she regrets what she had done, and crying says to her child, “please open your eyes”, but it was to late. His tiny heart stopped beating. When she walked in to her bedroom, the sheet said “I LOVE YOU MUMMY”.

You can also check out the Prevent Child Abuse website for more information on how you can stop child abuse.