inteligint Desine

Check out Helen Breeze's blog inteligint Desine at http://burmesepython.blogspot.com/index.html She's got some great photos from overseas (i.e. Barcelona) and she had some kind words to say about a lecture I gave at her film school (South Seas Film & TV School, my old stomping ground)

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iClip 4

If you're a Mac user and you work with text a lot (maybe you're a web developer like me, a programmer, or a writer) you may well have found it frustrating that you can only copy one item to the clipboard (well, it's called the Pasteboard on the Mac) at a time. Maybe you've copied a great URL while browsing and then inadvertently lost it because you just copied a great chunk of text from somewhere else.
iClip from Inventive (http://inventive.us/) let's you store multiple items in your clipboard, using a nifty little sidebar that stays out of the way until you need it. You can store copied content into "bins" and then recall it easily into your documents at a later date. It's one of those Mac utilities that's well worth the purchase.
Grab a copy of iClip 4 from the maker's website for $29US, or if you're a MacZOT user, get it cheaper today only at http://www.maczot.com/

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Warning: Reading can be Habit Forming and Contagious

Warning: Reading can be Habit Forming and Contagious

LOS ANGELES, CA, February 5, 2007 - Research shows that reading is one of the most important and contagious habits a parent can encourage. Author, Michael Holm hopes to perpetuate the wonderful cycle with his unique approach to self-publishing.

Much like a cold is passed on from one family member to another, so is reading. From parents reading to their children to older siblings demonstrating their desire to read, children love to imitate their older brothers and sisters.

Parents must entice their children to read. Reading promotes language development in children, a higher level of thinking, creativity, confidence, and also nurtures the skills and habits necessary to succeed in school and in life.

It only takes one good book like Harry Potter for the habit to take off. A U.S. consumer research survey reports that “over half of all children between the ages 6 and 17 have read at least one Harry Potter book,” prompting a revived interest in reading.

Confucius say: “No matter how busy you may think you are, you must find time for reading, or surrender yourself to self-chosen ignorance.”

Author Michael Holm is offering parents a unique way to pique their children’s interest in reading with his new novel “Wish Seekers,” by allowing them to have a loving and personalized message in the back of his self-published book in a special acknowledgement section. “Could you imagine how wonderful it would have been to have a message for your child in the back of the first Harry Potter book?” Michael asks.

“Reading should be fun, that’s what will make reading contagious and a habit for life,” says Michael. “Please look for my website wishseekers.com and join me in this adventure!”

Michael’s novel has been a labor of love for almost ten years, from the time his nephews inspired the storyline, to script, to manuscript. His manuscript has been described by one Hollywood insider as “decidedly cinematic, a fun ride that should definitely translate into a successful novel and feature film.”

Contact Information:
Michael R. Holm
818 887-4123
E-mail: michael@wishseekers.com
Website: wishseekers.com

Monopoly

Hasbro, the toy company, are running a website that allows you to vote for what landmarks will appear in the next version of the Monopoly boardgame - the Here and Now New Zealand edition. Each region has three landmarks, and you can vote once per day in each region until the 10th of February. Have your say at http://www.nzmonopoly.co.nz (Flash required)

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Gilmourish

If you're a Pink Floyd fan you may be aware that Roger Waters is playing in New Zealand this month (performing the complete Dark Side of the Moon album). But if you're a guitarist, you might want to check out Gilmourish, the website dedicated to David Gilmour and his guitars. The site lists many of the effects and presets he uses for his songs, and how to get your guitar to sound the same (some playing ability is required, however!). Check it out at http://www.gilmourish.com/

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Waterfalls!

Waterfalls! If the spider gallery was too much for you, check out the waterfall photo gallery at http://digital-photography-school.com/blog/waterfall-digital-photography/ - it's much more relaxing.

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Spiders!

Spiders! This site is an arachnophobe's nightmare - a collection of amazing and terrifying spider photos, sent in by the public. You'll either love it or end up in a fit of screaming heebie-jeebies! Check out http://www.spiderzrule.com/closeup.htm

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Packet Garden

Packet Garden captures information about how you use the internet and uses this stored information to grow a private world you can later explore. To do this, Packet Garden takes note of all the servers you visit, their geographical location and the kinds of data you access. Uploads make hills and downloads valleys, their location determined by numbers taken from internet address itself. The size of each hill or valley is based on how much data is sent or received. Plants are also grown for each protocol detected by the software; if you visit a website, an 'HTTP plant' is grown. If you share some files via eMule, a 'Peer to Peer plant' is grown, and so on. Check it out at http://packetgarden.com/

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The Unofficial Smiley Dictionary

Understanding net-speak is bad enough without having to try and decode the meaning of smileys like :-F (buck-toothed vampire with one tooth missing). The unofficial smiley dictionary at http://www.cds.caltech.edu/~wgm/smiley.html is a collection of popular and rare smileys and their descriptions.

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Pimp your Firefox

Now that Firefox 2.0 is out, you might want to consider installing some extensions to enhance the functionality of this hugely popular (and free) browser. Extension Hunter (http://www.extensionhunter.com/) boasts a huge list of Firefox 2.0 compatible extensions with descriptions and user ratings

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Toast Printer

Here's a great Christmas gift idea - a printer that prints images on toast! Check out http://www.neatorama.com/2006/11/30/toast-printer/

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Hot Fuzz

Simon Pegg (the same guy who brought you Shaun of the Dead) is Nicholas Angel, a cop who was so good, they reassigned him. To the sleepy little village of Sanford, where the day's biggest drama is an escaped swan. Check out the hilarious trailer for Hot Fuzz at http://www.workingtitlefilms.com/trailers/hotfuzz_trailer_xlarge.php

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The Long Horse

Photos from around the turn of the century have been discovered which reveal the existence of a now-extinct breed of horse - the long horse. Long horses had very long backs and were able to carry up to four men. However, because of overwork, the horses tended to die young and eventually became extinct. A substantial collection of long horse photos, curated by Hardy Burmeier, is on display at http://www.digital-art.org/D/Portraits/Burmeier/BurmeierFrames.html Real or fake? You decide...

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The Stuntman

Ever wanted to be a Hollywood stuntman? Now you can get a feel of what it might be like with the interactive stuntman game at http://www.thestuntman.la/ You can pick the poor guy up with your mouse and throw him through windows, at walls and in front of vehicles. Even if you're not the stuntman type, it'll help reduce the pre-Christmas tension!

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BlockCAD

BlockCAD is a free program for building virtual models with Lego-like bricks. You can save your models, save pictures of them, or reuse a complete model as a part in another model.Everything can be controlled with the mouse, but it's also possible to use the keyboard for most of the commands, making 'routine building' more effective, and there is a minimum of text involved, to make it easier for children. Download BlockCAD for free from http://web.telia.com/~u16122508/proglego.htm

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Podcasts

If you havent heard of podcasts, then you're missing out on a huge range of news and entertainment available for free online. A podcast is like a radio show - usually recorded by amateurs in home studios (but in many cases they sound like professional shows) and made available for free. The difference between downloading a normal audio file and a podcast, is that you can subscribe to podcasts - this means that when a new "episode" of a podcast is released, your podcast software will detect and download it for you automatically. So if you like to catch up on the day's news, listen to comedy, political opinion, fan's thoughts on current tv shows, sports and so on, get into podcasts! The easiest way to get started is to download Apple's free iTunes software from http://www.apple.com/itunes/ It's available for Mac and PC. Once you have the software installed, you can browse to the iTunes store within the program to search through popular podcasts on a wide variety of subjects. Podcasts can be synchronised with your iPod too, meaning you can listen to your favourite show while you travel to work. And if you're feeling adventurous, there are dozens of online tutorials that teach you how to create and distribute your own podcasts.

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MacAppADay

If you're a Mac user, then this December, MacAppADay is your free source for apps for your mac. Throughout December, each and every day, the website http://macappaday.com/ will give away 5000 copies of a popular mac application. All you have to do is remember to visit the site each day from the 1st December. And there’s a bonus on New Years Eve!

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Find that show!

Looking for a TV show? Check out the list at http://www.findthatshow.com/ which includes links to watch episodes from each show on sites like YouTube.com

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Music Theory for Songwriters

Music Theory for Songwriters is a website aimed at songwriters and covers the basics of music theory such as chords, notes, scales and so on. If you've ever thought about writing music, check this site out at http://chordmaps.com/

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Internet Slang Dictionary & Translator

So u think u need sum hlp translating txt speak so u can be a l33t h4x0r? The Internet Slang Dictionary & Translator at http://www.noslang.com/ will help you translate "those weird acronyms your kids use; things like lol, idk, rotflmfao, bbiab, and those stupid alternate spellings like kewl, dood, ur, and thanx. We hate those, and have made it our life's goal to educate people about proper grammar." Check it out.

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News at Seven - Automated News

News at Seven is a completely automatic news system that uses the digital character "Alyx" from the computer game Half-Life 2 to read news stories to you. These stories are gathered from news feeds across the web, and the system also finds related video, images and blogs. All of the presentations use text-to-speech technology, so the episodes are completely automatic and no humans are involved. While the system is rough around the edges at the moment, the future for the idea looks promising. Check it out at http://www.newsatseven.com/

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