• ThinkGeek :: No, I will not fix your computer tee-shirt
  (tags: shirts thinkgeek)
• ThinkGeek :: Go away…
  I laughed.
  (tags: thinkgeek sticker)

• “Alias,” AKA Canceled – Nov 23, 2005 – E! Online News
  Color me surprised.
  (tags: alias tv)
• mozdev.org – tabrotate: index
  (tags: firefox extension tabs rotate)
• Welcome to the Hobby Boards Online Store : Hobby Boards : Complete 1wire Solutions
  (tags: 1wire sensor hvac)

Vacation planning: I’m probably going to be taking off from 12/21 through the rest of the year. The first day back is January 3rd, which coincidentally is my birthday. It’s also a Tuesday. Do I take it off as well (since my employer doesn’t give it to me,) or return to work as expected?

On the plus side, I don’t think the first day back after two weeks of vacation would be that hard, and we could take a long lunch or leave early for a happy hour. But it’s still work. (Although nothing’s saying we couldn’t do that on the fourth.) If I take it off, what should I do with the time? Anyone up for doing something with me? Odds are I’m up in NW Indiana for New Years.

Quick poll: What do you think I should do?

• TravelWorm.com Las Vegas Hotels and Discount Hotel Reservations Vacation Packages Las Vegas Reno Primm Laughlin San Diego Orlando Anaheim New Orleans Hawaii

• Weblog Usability: The Top Ten Design Mistakes (Jakob Nielsen’s Alertbox)
  (tags: blog blogging design usability)
• The 2005 UCSB International Capture The Flag
  A different type of CTF
  (tags: security ctf)
• Synergy
  One keyboard for multiple systems/OSes and displays
  (tags: kvm tools software)

I inked (tablet term for writing on the screen with the pen in normal handwriting,) “vcal/ical files” on the tablet in Onenote. Onenote displays the handwriting, but also stores its script-to-text copy to allow for searching. Later, when I searched for “files” it brought up that particular note, but it thought I wrote “vaginal files”.

Oops.

Anyone else interested in going to CES 2006 in Vegas January 5th-8th? I’ve got family nearby, so I think we might be able to lodge free/cheaply. The airfare is relatively cheap (I would be willing to go right after New Years up until 7th or 8th.) Any leads on getting cheap CES passes?

The newer versions of Windows (Vista) and Office (12) all tout better XML and RSS capabilities. I long for the day when I can point my calendar software (Outlook) to an RSS feed of events and have those magically appear/update in my calendar. The technology isn’t there yet, and there’s no RSS feed for the sports schedules I’m following anyway. Yet.

For now there’s still some manual entry. So I wouldn’t have to input the Illini men’s baseketball schedule game by game, I wrote a program that made an iCal/vCal format file that could be imported into Outlook. The import worked well enough for me, so I thought I’d share it here.

Illini men’s basketball schedule in iCal/vCal format
Illini women’s basketball home schedule in iCal/vCal format

[ Edit 11/29/05: I added the women's home games as well, in the hopes I can make it to a few. I could have done the full season, but women's games aren't televised so it's not worth me putting them on my calendar. ]

Aaron sent me this. Click the picture for a bigger copy.

I don’t entirely disagree with the concepts behind integrating book vendors (bricks and clicks) and libraries, but this reader clearly doesn’t understand the models and fundamental purposes behind libraries (and big business.)

Pantagraph 11/12/05 Letters to the Editor: For-profit bookstores should be our libraries