Archive for the ‘Bay Area’ Category
Wednesday, August 16th, 2006
This tip is just for locals. I live south of market (soma) here in San Francisco. My auto registration was due for renewal, and I needed to get a smog test. Most testing centers in the area charge $60-$80 for the test. But, there is an auto repair place on Russ St., called T-H Auto that does it for less. Their base price is $39.95. There’s also an $8.25 certificate charge, and $3 electronic filing charge, bringing the total up to $51.20… but you’ll still end up at less than the other guys.
Posted in Bay Area | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, August 9th, 2006
Photo credit: cc Scott Beale (Laughing Squid)
This past saturday I had the pleasure of attending WordCamp, an all-day Wordpress conference. It was really great. I met a lot of cool people, and got some really great information.
My favorite session was presented by Mark Jaquith. It was about using Wordpress as a CMS (Content Management System). He gave some really great tips. The best, single bit of advice Mark gave, is don’t get hung up on language. Wordpress uses names like post, comment, page, category, etc…, but that doesn’t mean that you have to use them that way. In the end, they are just different levels of organization. Mark showed some great examples (listed below) of non-blog websites using Wordpress as a CMS. Some of them actually use ‘comments’ as content.
I actually want to give a special thanks to Mark Jaquith, Matt Mullenweg, and Barry Abrahamson. Not just for putting on WordCamp, and making a great product, but for giving me some of their time at the conference, and allowing me to pick their brains a little on the recent trouble I had with the site. Thanks guys! You rock!
Oh, and if you’re ever in the need of some professional help with your Wordpress blog (or CMS), you should contact Mark Jaquith. He offers some great services, and he’s extremely knowledgeable.
Wordpress as a CMS, examples (from Mark’s CMS session):
Twin Towers Alliance
ADOTAS
mindshare interactive campaigns
WordPress Hooks Database
University of Florida News
Brad Sucks
Technorati Tags: Wordpress, WordCamp
Posted in Bay Area, Software, Tips & Tricks | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, August 8th, 2006
This morning, I came across this story over at Engadget, about the Green WiFi project. I think this is awesome! It’s just a prototype for now, but a couple of guys from Sun Microsystems have built a self-contained, solar powered wifi hotspot using off the shelf components. It costs less than $200 to make. They are currently testing the device right here in San Francisco, on the rooftop of one of the developers.
This technology could be used anywhere, but the initial objective is to bring internet access to developing countries where reliable electricity isn’t available.
Posted in Bay Area, Technology | No Comments »
Wednesday, August 2nd, 2006
Here’s some pictures I took of the Banner hanging over at the Moscone Center for the WWDC, 2006. It went up today. We’ll have to wait until Monday, for the conference to start, before we find out about all the new goodies, but I think this banner may provide some clues.
There are definitely some icons that I don’t recognize, but I also noticed that the iPod is strangely missing from the banner. They have a black, and white iPod nano, but no full-size iPod. Could this mean that we’ll be seeing a new one? Or, does the banner represent things that will be changing, so we’ll be seeing a new nano.
They also have some large banners hanging from the ceiling, but they are covered. Could these be the new iChat Mobile? The anticipation is killing me.
UPDATE: a video of the iChat Mobile has surfaced on YouTube. You be the judge on how real it looks.
UPDATE #2: Holy Crap! When I posted this picture, I thought it would be popular, but I didn’t think it would totally bring my site to it’s knees! The image was picked up by digg, engadget, gizmado, cult of mac, TUAW, AppleInsider, and a ton of other sites. It was a little too much for my host to handle… they pulled the plug, and I was none to happy about it… but that’s a story for another post. The site is back up now (obviously), and I’ve moved the original image (and added 2 more) over to flickr.
UPDATE #3: Aaron, of mcmacsite.com, asked if I could go ahead and post everything I have, so… I did. There are 5 new images in the Flickr set. Although, they don’t really show anything new. I was hoping to head over there this afternoon and see if anything new has gone up. Happy speculating.
UPDATE #4: I just walked by Moscone. They’ve put up the finishing touches on the interior, but there is nothing new to see. I think these are all the clues we’ll be getting until announcements are made Monday morning.
Posted in Apple, Bay Area | 35 Comments »
Wednesday, August 2nd, 2006
Apple’s World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2006 starts on Monday, and Apple has officially begun to take over Moscone Center. This afternoon saw the beginnings of the logo being applied to the building, along with a bunch of cool banners inside.
What do you think will be announced? Will it be larger capacity iPod nanos, Wide-screen iPods, Mac Pro desktop systems, or the ever sought after iPhone? Like always, the rumors are running rampant.
Posted in Apple, Bay Area | 1 Comment »
Thursday, July 27th, 2006
Last night I had dinner at my local McDonald’s, at 6th and Bryant. While I was eating I happened to glance down at my receipt, and noticed that they have an “Eat In” tax. WTF! I have to pay $.55 extra for sitting in their crappy plastic chairs? Next time I’ll order it to go, and then eat it there… that will show those capitalist bastards.
Is this a San Francisco thing, or do they do this everywhere?
UPDATE (8.01.06): I went to the same McDonald’s yesterday and ordered my food to go… sure enough, there was a “Take Out Tax”, using the same percentage. Why they just don’t call it “Tax” is beyond me, but I guess the mystery is solved.
Posted in Bay Area, General | 39 Comments »
Monday, July 10th, 2006
If you’re a fan of Wordpress (the best blogging system ever), and you live in the Bay Area, mark your calendar for August 5th, 2006… It’s WordCamp, a 1-day conference for WordPress users and developers. WordCamp will be held in San Francisco, but the exact location is yet to be determined. You can sign up on the site to receive updates. Oh, and did I mention, it’s FREE!
Posted in Bay Area, Software | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, June 28th, 2006
If you live in The Bay Area, and you like indie/folk/rock music, tonight is your lucky night. One of my favorite bands, The Chapin Sisters, is playing tonight at the Hemlock Tavern. The show starts at 9:30pm, and costs $6. The girls are playing with Dame Satan, and Willow Willow. I’m not sure who’s going on first.
I’m going to do my best to make it over there tonight, but I’m not sure our new puppy is quite ready to be left home alone. If I make it, and you do too, maybe we’ll have a beer.
If you can’t make it to tonight’s show, than tomorrow (29th) is your lucky day as well. You won’t get to see the sisters, but you will get to see one of my other favorite bands, Judith and Holofernes. They are a local Bay Area band that I really like a lot. They’re playing at Hotel Utah, with Michael Zapruder’s Rain of Frogs, Golden Birds, and Leyna Noel. The show starts at 8:00pm and costs $6.
Posted in Bay Area, Music, Art, & Design | No Comments »