I just love stuff like this

The PocketMod is a little eight-page booklet for you to customize, print and fold. I just made one for my up-coming San Antonio trip that includes my emergency contact information, flight schedules, hotel name and number, plus a couple of lined pages for taking notes, a couple of pages of check book register to keep track of my finances, and a sudoku game. The software isn't without its glitches just yet; the text I entered into the blank custom page showed up on screen but didn't print and I had to use a work-around. Still, I'm going to keep a close eye on it; it's useful as can be. I'd recommend using CutePDF to print to a file so you can double check your print-out before wasting paper.

By way of LifeHacker.

Maplets

I recieved a nice little map book from the Department of Transportation in the mail today. It is a booklet of national scenic byways and "All-American Roads" and it contains small maps and descriptions of beautiful and/or interesting roadways in nearly every state of the union. They are available free of charge at Byways.org and are just the right size for a glove box.

Jotting Notes

Well, the ice storm didn't pan out at all. All my neighborhood got was loads of cold rain, which was enough to make me stay home today. I futzed around the apartment all day, occupying myself with reading, laundry, cleaning and making a kick-ass pot of cranberry bean and tomatillo soup.

I also signed up with Jott.com today and spent some time learning how to use it. I'm quite taken with it so far. I call the Jott number from my cell phone and from there I can send myself reminders (it texts a message back fifteen minutes before the due time), send events to Google Calendar and send to-do list items to Remember the Milk. I can also send a message to Blogger and Jott will transcribe and post it. The voice recognition seems to work really well. I can't figure out why this is a free service, but I'm not complaining.

Night Lights

I have never been able to sleep throughout the night; I'm usually up and prowling around at least once, more often twice during a typical sleep cycle. Because of this I have three night lights placed in strategic locations. The one in the bathroom up and died recently, so I purchased a light sensitive LED plug-in unit to replace it. I quite like its bluish, icy glow. I also ordered some LED replacement bulbs for the rest of the night lights. I think that leaves me with just one light bulb I've not converted to CFL or LED. The last hold out is a bare bulb, suspended by an ancient cord, that lights the pantry. I've not changed that bulb in the six years I've lived here; I'm just wondering how long it will last at this point.

The weather forecast is calling for an ice storm and other assorted nasty weather tonight. The city is going to be trying out a beet juice formula on the icy roads tonight. Sadly, it's not going to turn the roads bright pink in the process.

I may take a snow day tomorrow, depending on the conditions of the not-pink roads and my overall mood. I've put some cranberry beans on to soak overnight - bean soup is on the menu for dinner tomorrow. I almost always make my bean soup with tomatoes; I'm going to try using tomatillos instead this time and see what the results are like. I'll report back.

Finally, Jim Butcher will be posting the first four chapters of Small Favors, Book 10 in the Dresden Files series, which is due out in April. Chapter One is up now, with a new chapter to be released over the next three Tuesdays.

Giving away what?

I boxed up a bunch of books to send to my sister today and took them to the post office. When it was my turn at the counter, I told the clerk I wanted to send the box via media mail, which is the cheap rate for books and other printed matter. She gave me the price and told me that media mail was subject to inspection and if the material inside wasn't media it would be returned. I said the box contained all the Harry Potter books and she looked absolutely crestfallen. "You're giving away all your Harry Potter books?" I quickly explained that I'd bought myself a nifty new boxed set and I was giving my old books to my niece and nephew, then she brightened right up again. We were quite chummy by the time I'd completed my transaction.

In other news, I'd really like to get my hands on one of these cheese making kits.

Finally, here's something really useful; how to stop that annoying "unused icons" balloon from popping up on your Windows PC.

Ninja Shirt Folding

This is so cool. I can't wait to try it out on my laundry this weekend:



If you head over to the fold-your-shirt website, they have step by step directions available. Or you could search YouTube for "Japanese Shirt Folding" and find a laundry basket full of other videos that slow down the action.

Hot Chile Hands

I was watching an episode of Good Eats today when Alton mentioned a remedy for hot chile hand syndrome (see my earlier post on the subject.) According to Alton, and backed up by Soup Song, you can also neutralize the fiery effects of capsicum on the tender flesh of your fingers by occasionally dipping them in a one to five mixture of bleach and water. Here is what Soup Song has to say on the matter:

IF YOU'RE TOO STUBBORN TO WEAR RUBBER GLOVES WHEN YOU'RE CUTTING CHILES AND THEN JUSTIFIABLY WORRY ABOUT RUBBING YOUR EYES OR PERFORMING OTHER BODILY FUNCTIONS. And this goes double for people who wear contact lenses and have to take them out at some point. WELL, there really IS a bonafide solution here--and I do mean solution. Just get yourself a little bowl of clorox (bleach), diluted 5 parts water to 1 part bleach, and so long as you dip your fingers in from time to time you've got the problem licked. Why? Capsaicin compound is not soluble in water, but chlorine or ammonia turns it into a salt, which IS soluble in water. Please be advised, though, you should never soak your hands in this solution--that will compound the problem and cause burns. Just dip the fingers quickly. Alternatively, one reader advises that you can also protect your hands by coating them lightly with vegetable oil as a barrier--not as good as rubber gloves, but the same principle.

I just want to add here that Soup Song is one of my favorite web sites. Of course, I adore soup and generally make a pot of soup (or stew) once a week or so. Soup Song feels the same way I do about soup. They tackle everything soup related, from recipes to history to folklore and song.

Googling shrews

In an otherwise uneventful day, I learned today that the little tree shrew has the highest brain to body mass ratio of any animal; greater than that of humans, dolphins or whales. I couldn't even begin to speculate as to why and none of the articles I read on the subject offered any explanation other than the fact that tree shrews have very tiny bodies.

I came by this tidbit of information via an interesting article in Scientific American which speculates whether whales are smarter than humans.

I also learned about Google's free 411 service - 1-800-GOOG-411. Now that's going to come in handy on the road.

Map My Run

I've been playing around with a website I stumbled upon and it's fun. MapMyRun is a tool mostly for runners, but it's quite useful for dog walkers and hikers as well. Bascially, you pull up a map of the location you want to chart, put in your markers and the site calculates the distance. Pretty cool, eh?

I've included a map I whipped up (in about three minutes) of Eden Park. I'm not sure if the distance takes into account elevation or if it is "as the crow flies." To the FAQmobile, Robin!

Origami - practical applications

Today I learned how to close a chip bag without a clip or rubber band. Now that's useful.







But what is with that music?