Firefox for Macintosh

Click the little bar at the very top right of your browser window:

And voila! You instantly get back some precious vertical pixels:

Firefox for Windows

There is a similar function for PC—simply press the F11 key, provided it’s not bound to another action, and you will see something like:

On the PC version, your Firefox window will automatically maximize, which I’m honestly not crazy about. However, it does take minimalism one step further than the Mac version by only showing your tabs when you hover over the very top of the window.

Either way, it’s a handy little tip to have in your arsenal.

We decided that aside from Food Network, there wasn’t a great deal of television content that we tune in to regularly. By and large, we could access most of the programs we enjoy online. With that in mind, Jason began the search for media center software we could run from a PC and connect to our TV. The idea was to have a server for our personal media files and use a program to access them and play them on the television in addition to streaming online video content. He found Boxee, which was designed to do just that. While it shows a lot of promise, it also behaves a little wonky on my Windows XP machine.

The fatal flaw in our plan (and the reason we eventually gave in) relates to how we use television. While we don’t tune in to many shows regularly, we do a lot of passive viewing. Until cable was gone, we didn’t realize how often we found things to watch just by channel surfing. With only the basic local channels, there is a lot less to surf. We also tend to use the television as background noise.

Our passive viewing style was in direct opposition to what a program like Boxee requires. Streaming television over the internet is very purposeful: you actively pick and choose the shows you want to watch. It’s great when you missed last week’s episode of Scrubs. Not so great when you just want to chill out on the couch and watch some random television. You are also at the mercy of your connection speed when your main source of television content is streaming over the internet. And if your internet connection is down, then your television options are limited too.

After one too many choppy streams of The Daily Show and finding nothing on our local channels, we threw in the towel. We didn’t get anything fancy—no HD, DVR, or On Demand. Though it changes our budget, I’m looking forward to once again watching Barefoot Contessa on Saturdays and going to bed with The Daily Show on weekdays. This time, Comcast, you win. This time.

And here is the original:

I was going for a “hyper color” type of look (unrelated: does anyone remember those t-shirts from back in the day that changed color with heat? I always wanted one of those). My first task was to sharpen up the subject with the Sharpen filter. After sharpening, I noticed that a lot of noise had been introduced, so I used the Despeckle filter.

I don’t know exactly what I did to achieve the final look–it involved a lot of trial and error with Hue & Saturation, Color Balance, Brightness & Contrast, and Vibrance. I finished off by adding a lens flare.

And here’s the original.

The original had great depth of field so I didn’t want to do anything that would take away from the soft focus in the background. I decided to try out a spot color type effect and liked it, but felt like a black & white background just didn’t work. I used a warming filter to make it more of a sepia tone.

The recipe is great as-is, but I do have a few notes on how we do them in the amuhlou kitchen.

1. We are currently using a pre-made chipotle mayo because I couldn’t find chipotles in adobo the last time I needed them. If you can find it, it’s a pretty good swap (time-wise at least, not sure about cost).
2. If you are making the mayonnaise from scratch and have never used chipotles before, start out with 1/2 of one chipotle rather than the two chipotles the recipe suggests! Then taste and adjust. I used exactly what the recipe suggested the first time and ended up adding a lot of extra mayo.
3. I would strongly recommend that you do not cook these in a frying pan if at all possible. The amount of fat that can come off them is pretty high and quite frankly disturbing. We use a George Foreman grill and it works really well. I do think the 20% fat in the 80/20 ground beef does lend to the flavor though, so I wouldn’t switch.
4. Resist the urge to “doll up” your patties with other ingredients besides salt and pepper. I am known to put Worcestershire sauce in just about anything with beef, but these little guys really, really don’t need it. I promise!
5. Dent the middle of each patty with your thumb to prevent burger bulge. Also, season just the dented side with salt and pepper.
6. I have never, ever found what the recipe calls “mini burger buns.” We use dinner rolls and they work just as well–we just have to cut them in half ourselves.
7. I like my cheese a little melted, so I just add it to a couple sliders right when they come off the grill.

As you can see, in addition to making the sliders, I stopped to snap some pictures of the process. I’m finding that indoor photography is hard without proper lighting. It’s also hard because it increases the time it takes for the food to get into my belly! If you want to check out a slideshow of the photos from this recipe, I have them posted on my flickr photostream under the tag “sliders.”

If you like miniature burgers, you should definitely give these a try!

And here is my “fix.”

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That gave me an idea for a blog post, as a kind of professional development for wannabe websmiths. The internet is now so huge, that just working in the “web” is too broad a definition. At some point, you’ll want to specialize.

Below is a list that I think represents a breakdown of the Web in 2010. These are people I run into on a day-to-day basis. If you are not directly in one of these positions, then maybe you manage one of them. Although they all share foundational HTML/CSS knowledge, each of them use unique tools, and require different skills. It would be difficult for a full-time Database Administrator to answer a detailed question about a library that Front-End developers use frequently, or for a Front-End Developer to find time to attend daily meetings with clients, generate project reports, and assign tasks.

Here is the list (with description and salary info) of the jobs I see most often:

• Front-End Developer

(Note: Front-End Developers are often worded as “Web Designers” even though their skillset may include advanced Javascripting, Actionscripting, XSL, and more.)

• Web Producer
• Webmaster
• Database Administrator
• Graphic Designer
• Web Programmer
• IT Consultant
• Network Administrator
• Server Administrator
• Social Media Consultant
• UI Designer/Information Architect
• Photographer
• Web Content Writer
• Search Engine Marketer
• Computer Systems Repair

The web is now a great place to work! As long as you are not averse to computing, or learning new skills, there is a place for just about every personality type.

I have recently taken a dive into the world of Flex for a project at work. More specifically, I’ve been using the Flex IDE called Flex Builder 3. While doing lots of research, I found an open-source component that looked really promising so I grabbed the code only to find that it wasn’t working in Flex Builder 3.

I’m pretty sure it was mentioned somewhere in the documentation for the component, but I missed where it said that it required Flex 4. I didn’t really know anything about Flex 4 (also called “Gumbo”) so I researched and found that it was a pretty sizable overhaul (for someone like me who is just starting to learn Flex at version 3) and that the new IDE for it was still in beta, potentially going to be released soon. So I thought what the heck, I’ll get the beta. Then the trouble began.

I fired up the Mac installer. I clicked through all the things you normally click through without paying much attention but I got stopped at a message saying I needed to close all browsers. Ok, no problem, I thought. I quit Firefox and Safari, and even Thunderbird just for good measure.

No dice. The message popped up again immediately. I thought maybe I had gotten a corrupt download, so I tried to get the file again. Mounted it, and still had the problem. I did some searches to see if anyone else was having issues and came up with nothing similar.

“Ok,” I thought, “I’ll just reboot in case leftover processes or anything are causing trouble.” This would have to fix it, right? Wrong. After rebooting and not starting any programs, it STILL wouldn’t install. By this time, I was not a very happy camper, having sunk a sizable chunk of time into getting this program running.

I finally decided to check my startup items in System Preferences > Accounts > Login items. I saw that my Xmarks for Safari plugin was running at startup. Aha! Not wanting to take any chances, I removed it completely instead of just un-checking the box for it. I rebooted one more time and Voila! It FINALLY installed.

So kids, the moral of the story is: check those startup items! Even a seemingly innocuous thing like a browser plugin can prevent you from installing programs.

And here’s my version:

Photoshop was my tool of choice. I wanted the snowman to appear sort of “magical”, so I started by isolating it and giving it an inner glow, outer glow, and color overlay. I then isolated the girl from the background and applied an inner and outer glow for her as well. I then used the Vibrance adjustment to make her face a lot more saturated in color.

The hardest part was developing the texture for the background. I was going for a whimsical/wintry look. I ended up using the Clouds and Fiber rendering effects.

so, uncluttering, huh?

I’ve never been a super neat and tidy person, but I have grown to appreciate tidiness in my home, and having just moved into a smaller apartment, my uncluttering urge has kicked into high gear. The process is still very new to me, but I thought it would be worthwhile to post the steps I’ve been following to achieve a more uncluttered lifestyle.

1) Detect clutter

I have found that clutter in my home falls into three categories:

1. Clutter that is junk
2. Clutter from things we don’t need/use anymore
3. Clutter from things we need that just don’t have a place

2) Plan and execute an strategy for dealing with the clutter

For “junk” clutter, my course of action was to throw it out or recycle it. I had a much more difficult time with clutter from items we don’t need/use. I had been hanging on to a lot of stuff from my time as a college student, so there were some memories attached. I had to be brutally honest with myself and decide if I’d ever use it. My course of action for this stuff was to donate it to Goodwill.

I found that my clutter problem was mostly that items had no place to live.We have books but no bookshelf. Shoes in the entryway but no shoe rack. Et cetera, et cetera. I blame myself for this state of affairs. Until recently, I couldn’t really convince myself that a shelf or other piece of furniture was a worthwhile purchase. Let’s just say I have seen the light and it looks like a ladder-style shelf in my favorite dark wood color!

Though the thought of buying things makes me wince, I do have some future purchases planned to help me with the organizing. A baker’s rack will help store cookbooks and other kitchen items that we use a lot. The next priority is a basic desk for my computer and laptop, but I am currently very disheartened with the search for one having found nothing that is quite what I want and priced reasonably.

3) Repeat As Needed

It’s worthwhile to mention that I didn’t get rid of everything in one fell swoop. It has been and continues to be a process. The first time I went through my clothing I found a lot of donations. A couple months later I went through again and found some more. Then Jason and I went through other things and ended up with a trunk load. Now that we’ve moved we have yet another, smaller, pile building up.

If you are unsure whether you should keep an item, it may help to put it on a list of potential clutter. Then, in a month or two, revisit the list. If you haven’t used the item (and it’s not a seasonal item like a winter coat in July), then it’s probably safe to eliminate it.

Looking Ahead

You may be wondering how to maintain your clutter-free environment after the initial uncluttering is complete. A common method I have seen is the “one in, one out” rule. Basically, if you bring a new object into your home, something else must go to make room. I think my kitchen will be a prime candidate for this method. You can also modify it to “one in, two out” and so on if you need to accelerate the uncluttering.

To some degree, you also need to be committed to keeping your home clutter free. It may take a little longer to put something back in its proper place, but the payoff is a more comfortable environment.

How do you manage/eliminate clutter in your life?