by steelie -

steelie twidbits…

Some twitter bits from yesterday…

  • 09:54 can’t wait to be able to use the washroom alone again… without children feeling like they need to hang out with you…
  • 10:32 discovered that just soaking sheets/shirts right away is enough to get rid blood stains… Ah, rugged little-boy play…
  • 15:31 wishing that both of his boys would nap… preferably at the same time… would take nything right about now…

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by steelie -

Apple Releases Safari 3.1…

Picture 5
Picture 5

Apple released Safari 3.1 today. While it’s not completely VOX compatible, it appears to be 95% there. As far as I can tell, the only things that don’t seem to work are the “Decrease & Increase Text Size” buttons in the compose window. Otherwise, at first glance, it appears to be mightly VOX-o-riffic.

If you plan on downloading it, the install will require a restart so, plan accordingly. ;^)
—
steelie

[UPDATE]
Well, in an older “Ask Team Vox” post, I was part of the ongoing threaded conversation trying to figure out some of Safari’s incompatibility issues and exploring alternatives.

An ongoing issue with VOX’s QotD formatting (that I wasn’t previously aware of… clearly I don’t use it enough) was brought up by Rube Burrow:

Still not able to answer the QotD in Safari – the text stays in the “quoted" style of the initial question. No idea why this is the case – even with Safari 3.1 on Mac or Windows. Any movement on this?


Now, see… I have this problem where I can’t help trying to trouble-shoot things that, more often than not, are way over my head. Luckily, every once in a while, things fall into place…

I figured out a little work-around for the QotD issue… on the Mac version of Safari at least anyway — unable to test it on a PC. Right after you click on the Qotd “Post your Answer” button, in the “Compose” window, give yourself a Return then click the “Begin Blockquote” button then the “End Blockquote” button. This will remove the “quoted” formatting and restore the indent to what it would have originally been before the “quoted style was added.

Additionally, as mentioned above, the other big (only?) shortfall I can find, so far, is in VOX’s “Compose” window where the “Decrease Text Size” and “Increase Text Size” buttons don’t work properly. My pseudo little work-around for this one is to select the text you wish to format and Control+Click (or Right-Click) to bring up the system’s Contextual Menu and select “Font > Show Fonts”. You can change the text’s size as well as most other formatting options.

Hope this helps.
—
steelie

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by steelie -

Mac OS X + Twidget + Twitter + LoudTwitter/TwitterSync + Vox/Facebook = Ultra-Efficient/Lazy…

For those of you who are tired of seeing the daily Twitter-update posts from a number of your VOX friends and neighbours, I apologize in advance.


Why?

Because for all the VOX/Twitter/Facebook users out there who also happen to be Mac users, I have figured out the most efficient / laziest one-stop solution to bring all three together by updating your Twitter status using the Twidget Dashboard Widget.

Here is what you will need:

Okay, once you’ve run out and purchased your Mac and installed Twidget, and signed up for all the lovely little account listed above, you’ll need to do some configuring…


First, let’s set up VOX to be able to receive these posts from Loudtwitter. Make sure you’re logged into VOX, then click on  “Account” at the very top. On the “Account” page, click the “Mobile Settings” tab on the left. You can either use your main Mobile Posting address with LoudTwitter or you can create an “Additional Posting Email”. I would suggest the latter as you can custom tag it (twitter, loudtwitter…).

VOX set-up: done.

Next, copy the email that VOX generated for you, and hop on over and log-into to Loudtwitter. Your home page will have all your setting options right there. Click on “Email posting setup”, then enter the VOX-generated email address and click “OK”. Then be sure to change the “Change the twitter followed” setting to your twitter username. You can tweak the “Change post time, formatting, etc” settings to your liking once everything else is set up.

LoudTwitter set-up: done.

Next, let’s set up Facebook. Log into your account and do a search for TwitterSync. Add the application. Now, in the settings for TwitterSync, the only setting you really have to enter is the “Twitter Name” you want it to follow and the password for you account if your tweets are protected. Click “Save Changes”.

Facebook set-up: done.

Last but not least, let’s set up the Twidget Dashboard Widget. Enter your Twitter user name and password into the fields provided on Twidget and click “Done”.

Twidget set-up: done.

Now you should be able to just hit F12 no matter what you’re working on and instantly update your Twitter and Facebook status, simultaneously. At the end of the day (specific time can be updated in your LoudTwitter preferences) LoudTwitter will compile your tweets for the day and post an entry to VOX detailing your adventures from the previous day.

For PC users, I understand that there a number of Twitter plug-ins for Firefox that will essentially serve the same purpose as Twidget. All other steps in the set-up should be exactly the same.

I’m pretty sure that covers everything… if anyone has any problems setting this up, let me know and I’ll figure it out and update the instructions accordingly.
—
steelie

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by steelie -

The Vinyl Cafe…

I know have a favourite thing to do on my way into work Mondays morning’s… listening to the most recent podcast from CBC’s Vinyl Cafe as read by Stuart McLean. “The Vinyl Cafe stories are about Dave… Dave's wife, Morley, their two children, Sam and Stephanie, and assorted friends and neighbours.”


I used to listen to this show on CBC radio all the time. The way that Stuart McLean reads these stories are as charming and as much a part of the experience as the stories themselves. You can’t help but feel like you’ve known the characters your whole life.

With the TV/radio programming virtually always set to appease the wee lads, it’s been a long time (probably years) since I’ve been able to tune in. Hooray for the podcasts!

Here’s one of my recent favourites, it’s from last week, simply titled “Wally”.

CBC Vinyl Cafe - Wally (2008-03-08)
CBC Vinyl Cafe – Wally (2008-03-08)
CBC Radio: Vinyl Cafe Stories

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by steelie -

steelie twidbits…

Some twitter bits from yesterday…

  • 08:34 Sitting at work while Mommy takes baby boy to the hospital… he’s thrown-up in his crib two nights in a row… little worried.
  • 09:31 Baby X has a viral flu and has to stay home from day-care today. Hopefully he and Mommy will get some much needed rest…
  • 10:15 A free coffee is always a great way to start off the day… Thanks, Mr. Miko!

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