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  • Office 2007 Beta 2

    Office 2007 Beta 2 has been out for awhile, and I must say, I’m impressed.  I really like the new layout in instead of the old file, edit, view, etc menu.  It took awhile to get used to, but I think I’ve found where everything is now.  I’m also digging the new, and probably temporary, default font, Calibri.  Granted, any one using Office 2003 and earlier can’t see the font.  The built in RSS feeds in Outlook and the To-Do bar is a nice addition too.  Oh, and don’t forget the preview on the fly for things like color, font, and style changes.  Very slick.

    However, there are a few things I don’t like.  I really don’t like how Outlook doesn’t use the same layout as word, excel, etc.  If they’re going to change it one place, they really need to change it everywhere.  It’s not like Outlook’s toolbars are that much radically different than Word’s either.  Also, while the RSS feeds in outlook are nice, there are some serious downsides.  The biggest of which is the inability to edit anything about the feeds, particularly the refresh time after you’ve added it.  Plus, by default, when you add a feed, the update limit is taken from the publisher’s recommendation.  Most sites, however, don’t publish this data so the feed will never update.  So, when you add a feed, be sure to click the advanced button and uncheck the ‘Update Limit’ checkbox unless the provider has actually set the limit.

    Speaking of which, I should probably look into how to do that with my RSS feed.

  • VMWare Infrastructure 3

    Today was the official announcement of VI3, VMWare’s next release of ESX and Virtual Center.  After watching the webcast this morning, I’m more than a little bit stoked.

    Some of the things I’m looking forward to are

    • NAS support
    • USB support
    • Drag and drop in virtual center
    • New, more performant VMFS 3
    • 4-way SMP and 16 GB of RAM support for virtual machines
    • DRS
    • High Availibility features
    • Support for Solaris
    • Ability to run non-VMWare machines
    • Removal of the web interface

    I can’t wait to get the final bits loaded on my machine.  I’ve actually been debating installing beta 2 on my home machine for awhile, but haven’t because of time constraints.  However, I’ll have to put a few things on hold to install the final version.

    There are also a few new whitepapers on VI3 already on VMWare’s website, so you can get a head start before it’s actually released.

  • Walking to Work

    Today is one of the reasons I walk to work when it’s nice out.  62 degrees out, mostly sunny, cool breeze coming from Lake Michigan.  How can you not want to be outside?  Actually, I walk to work even when it’s not so perfect.  Basically, anything above 45 degrees and I’m hiking it.  Granted, it is only a thirty minute walk.

  • Framing

    I’d feel guilty not doing anything with all the pictures that I’ve taken and printed these last 7 weeks, so I’ve been trying to get information about framing.  For what I’m wanting to do (a whole wall of framed pictures), custom framing is out of the question, but at the same point, I’d like something that looks half way professional.

    So, tonight I’ve been looking at how exactly you go about framing yourself and different frames.  So far, it doesn’t look too bad.  The hardest part is apparently the mat board, but from what I’ve read, it doesn’t look that hard.  And I figure it’d be a good skill to have if I keep taking pictures.  It be good for gift giving too!

    I’m basically looking for a nice, modern, black frame that’s on the cheap.  I’ve found a few, but it’s so hard to really get an idea of how they look on the web, and I know I most likely won’t get as cheap of a price here in town.  Oh, and then there’s the glass, many of the websites don’t send the glass, for obvious reasons.

    Unfortunately, there are a few things I’d have to buy, and the above website only really talks about how to create the mat board.  What about mounting and the like?  This may require a trip to the library or an Amazon purchase, but I definitely think this is the way to go, especially with the number of prints I, already, have.

  • Photography Classes

    Well, next week is my last week for Photo I Digital up at the Chicago Photography Center.  However, classes for the next session actually start up next week too (week of June 5th).  That’s right kids, if you want to learn how to take better pictures, or just how to use your SLR camera more effectively, you too can take classes.  Heck, if you’re interested, I can even get you 10% off, just contact me for details. 

    The real delimma for me is to take Photo II or not.  I think I’m going to, but the wallet is already feeling the hurt from the first one, plus the camera, plus the supplies.  However, I definitely feel like I’ve improved over the 8 weeks, and I know I’ve learned a lot.  Way more than I would’ve had I just bought a book and tried to do it on my own.

  • Links 5/30

    • 8 Teens in Nissan Sentra Fall 200’

      Eight kids out for a Mulholland drive are lucky to be alive today, after the Nissan Sentra they were traveling in rolled 250’ down a cliff at 2:20am on Friday in Los Angeles, California. You read that correctly, eight teens-two of which had stuffed themselves in the trunk.

    • VW Will Drop Diesels for ‘07

      VW will drop the diesel versions of its Jetta, Golf and Beetle models for the 2007 model year, which begins this fall. The new U.S. limits for nitrogen oxide emissions are among the most stringent in the world.

    • Biodiesel Cleans—Well, duh.
    • Fiji Timeshare

      The goal: to build a sustainable eco-community and keep at bay developers with dreams of massive hotel complexes.

    • Chicago Antique Market

      An indoor and outdoor European-style urban antique market located along the historic and distinctive Randolph Street Market District.

  • Summer is Here

    Summer is most definitely here, and on the correct weekend no less!  As I type this, it is 81 degrees outside with 55% humidity.  Welcome to the midwest.

    To kick off summer right, Erin and I went for a bike ride.  It wasn’t that hard to convince her to go, especially since she just got her new bike.  We started out in Lemont at Waterfall Glen, and then headed down to Lockport and did the I & M Canal trail between Lockport and Joliet.  Grand total, probably ~20 miles.  Not bad, especially since we put in ~20 miles earlier in the week.

    So, I had never taken the I & M Canal trail that far South out of Lockport, which means I had never seen the old steel mill ruins (steel mill closed in the 1930’s) that are down near Joliet either.  Talk about awesome.  I definitely need to get my camera down there.  Certain parts looked like a bombed out town, and the old locks that are still in the old part of the canal are awesome too.  It’s interesting to see what it used to look like through various photographs, because it sure doesn’t look that way now.

    Oh, and for all you Prison Break fans (Aaron), the trail goes right by the old Joliet state prison, which is the one in the show.  Definitely need to get pictures of that too.

  • Links 5/26

    Sorry that some of these are kinda old, but I’ve been busy the last week, and haven’t been able to keep up with news.  Granted, that’s probably not a bad thing, eh?

  • Crappy Day

    I really hope that yesterday isn’t as awful as yesterday.  It wasn’t even like I was that busy, it’s just the things that I was tasked with took about 5 hours too long for various reasons (piss-poor documentation, machine slowness from misc crap installed [production mind you], etc)

    I was getting so angry that I actually had to go out for a walk to blow off steam before 2 late afternoon meetings.

  • Links 5/22