Attaboy Media

Loose Tweets Sink Fleets

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 19:56:40 -0400

John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 11:43:00 -0400

Forgotten historical figure of the day: John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir, who wrote spy-thriller novels like The Thirty-Nine Steps and, in his spare time, was the Governor General of Canada from 1935–1940. Ahead of his time 1935 quote: “It is the glory of our empire to embrace within its confines many races and traditions. It is in its variety that its strength lies.”

Happy Canada Day.

iPhone: Troubleshooting Internet tethering

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 10:37:16 -0400

iPhone: Troubleshooting Internet tethering:

Apple’s iPhone tethering troubleshooting didn’t solve my problem this morning: I accidentally deleted the network location on my computer that included the “Bluetooth PAN” connection, and even though my computer would still connect to the iPhone, and the iPhone said tethering was active, the connection didn’t work.

The solution was simple in hindsight, but not at all obvious: in Network Preferences, click the + button, and re-add a Bluetooth PAN connection to the list.

Slow-motion video shot at 1000 frames per second

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 08:21:00 -0400

Slow-motion video shot at 1000 frames per second:

I remember reading James Cameron say that the digital video evolution would make high frame-rate video a reality and this, not HD, would be what knocks everyone’s socks off. (Via Daring Fireball)

iPhone 3.0 Software Walkthrough | The iPhone Blog

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 19:00:07 -0400

iPhone 3.0 Software Walkthrough | The iPhone Blog:

Potentially the biggest and most exciting development for iPhone 3.0, if not the iPhone in general, is the ability of developers to make apps that directly communicate with accessories/peripherals via the USB dock connector or Bluetooth radio.

This means your iPhone could potentially be a PlayStation 3 controller or a WiiMote!

How to copy contact information into a text message on the iPhone

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 18:51:00 -0400

iPhone 3.0 features copy and paste. Hurrah! But at first glance, it still seems like there’s no way to easily send someone a text message (SMS) with information inserted from your contacts. In a world where not everyone has an iPhone or even a smart phone, the ability to text a phone number to someone (“Here’s Luke’s number: 647…”) is useful. My ancient Nokia dumbphone had this feature, but somehow it escaped Apple’s purview.

There is a way to do this with iPhone 3.0 though. It’s somewhat cumbersome, but it works.

Open a contact in your address book.
Tap Edit.
Tap the info you want to copy.
Double tap on the text to start the copy feature, and adjust the beginning/end doohickies as needed.
Tap Copy.
Press the home button, and tap Messages.
Start your message.
Double tap on the edit box, and choose Paste.
Tell your friends! Phone number -> text message in only 8 — count ‘em — 8 steps.

jQuery UI bug with fixed position scroll offsets in Safari 4

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 20:25:10 -0400

jQuery UI bug with fixed position scroll offsets in Safari 4:

jQuery UI has a bug with Safari 4 that causes incorrect scroll offset values to be used for fixed position elements. This interferes with drag and drop behaviours (and probably other things) if the window has been scrolled at all.

I’ve filed a bug, but the fix is fairly simple — they were already using a workaround for Safari because Safari 3 didn’t treat scroll offsets correctly, so the fix is to check the WebKit version number before using the workaround. Safari 4 starts at WebKit version 526.

The Beatles: Rock Band

Sat, 13 Jun 2009 10:06:18 -0400

The Beatles: Rock Band: This actually looks pretty amazing.

Anonymous Pro

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 12:34:53 -0400

Anonymous Pro: Mark Simonson has released a new version of his free, fixed-width font: Anonymous Pro. It might not tempt me away from Consolas, but it’s lovely none the less.

John Stackhouse named new editor-in-chief of The Globe and Mail

Tue, 26 May 2009 11:00:54 -0400

John Stackhouse named new editor-in-chief of The Globe and Mail: This is a promising decision. Stackhouse is a top-rate journalist and it can only mean that the Globe is committed to top-rate journalism.

"New media, old rules"

Fri, 22 May 2009 12:14:33 -0400

"New media, old rules": Matt Hartley at The Globe and Mail offers a refreshingly balanced look at Canadian copyright law

In other news, for a small fee, scribes will write your words onto permanent, everlasting scrolls!

Fri, 22 May 2009 02:34:37 -0400

In other news, for a small fee, scribes will write your words onto permanent, everlasting scrolls!

Paul Wells explains, indirectly, why Carole James and the NDP lost the 2009 BC election

Fri, 22 May 2009 00:46:40 -0400

Paul Wells explains, indirectly, why Carole James and the NDP lost the 2009 BC election

It's getting wetter and warmer in Vancouver

Thu, 21 May 2009 15:35:49 -0400

It's getting wetter and warmer in Vancouver

The Globe and Mail has redesigned

Thu, 21 May 2009 12:05:00 -0400

The Globe and Mail has redesigned:

As usual, editor in chief Edward Greenspon spends too much time crowing about the paper, but the redesign is an improvement at first glance. I’m glad to see some original, new design elements like the “above the fold” photos on article pages, and the elegant pull quotes.

They also seem to be mixing video right into stories, which helps move the site away from just being a printed newspaper on the web.

Universal Internet Explorer 6 CSS

Thu, 21 May 2009 11:31:18 -0400

Universal Internet Explorer 6 CSS:

Every other web designer is linking to this, so I might as well do it too.

For the record, we aren’t supporting IE6 on Dshbrd because doing so isn’t worth our time given the target audience. But the sad truth is that a significant number of people still use this slow, broken browser.

Advanced Cat Yodeling

Thu, 21 May 2009 10:42:25 -0400

Advanced Cat Yodeling

Arthur Erickson

Thu, 21 May 2009 10:33:06 -0400

Arthur Erickson:

Arthur Erickson, who died yesterday, was perhaps Canada’s pre-eminent architect in his time, though his buildings can be found across the world. This photo essay from 2006 shows off his often controversial work. My personal favourite is the Museum of Anthropology in Vancouver. I also spent a year at Simon Fraser University and found the endless grey concrete under endless grey clouds… well, endlessly depressing. But it was and still is considered an achievement by many. (It is attractive and unusual enough to have been used for several locations on Caprica for Battle Star Galactica.)

Erickson’s work is immediately recognizable without being outlandish, and that was perhaps his biggest achievement.

Security update to Safari 4 beta has been released

Wed, 13 May 2009 15:13:00 -0400

Security update to Safari 4 beta has been released

How to safely earn 5% interest on your savings

Wed, 13 May 2009 11:03:17 -0400

How to safely earn 5% interest on your savings