OS X Leopard, 16 Great Small Touches

Mac OS X Leopard has been running on my primary computer for a week now and I’ve had a chance to put it to the test in my daily activities. Much has been written by others about the some of the larger new features so I won’t bother boring you with more of that. However, Apple has done a wonderful job, as usual, with their attention to some of the little things.

So here are just a few of the smaller OS X Leopard features that stood out to me. I don’t claim they are undiscovered new things. In fact, some are well-documented. But they are nice touches that I’ve found particularly useful. Continue reading OS X Leopard, 16 Great Small Touches

Grocery Store Offers Free Old Rotten Food

My local grocery store featured these paper bags for only a few days. I’m sure it seemed like a good idea at the time to promote “It’s Fresh or it’s Free,” but let’s think about the message taken to its full conclusion.

Fresh or Free Grocery Bag

I’m sure they wanted to communicate that they only carry fresh products, but the real message is that they have old rotten food available. If you get some, well sorry, we don’t guarantee freshness. But your reward is that you can have it at no charge instead of us tossing it in the dumpster! Bon Appétit.

WordPress Upgrade Preflight Plugin Version 1.1

I just finished a minor update to my WordPress Upgrade Preflight Plugin. Here are the changes:

  • Additional checks for plugins knowing about the new tag system so they don’t get flagged as incompatible. i.e., Sitemap Generator 3.0.
  • Internationalization of text. The .po file is included. If you do a translation send the files over and I’ll be happy to post them on the download page.
  • Miscellaneous clean up.
  • Added GPL license text.

Get it on the Upgrade Preflight Plugin page. (My apologies for this not being on the WordPress Extend plugins directory yet. I’ve applied for access but they apparently have quite a backlog in approving new plugins.)

X10 Mini Controller Repair

Here’s another post bringing back some of my old site content. It was originally submitted as an HTI Home Toys tips contest entry and was the October 1998 winner. The Mini Controller design has changed little over the years so the information should still be relevant.


I have X10 home automation Mini Controllers all over my house. They’re a cheap and easy way to control X10 equipment and provide input to my system. Now and then one would quit working Continue reading X10 Mini Controller Repair

Mostly Cats Dumpster

This dumpster was in the back of a local shopping center in Loves Park, IL. The label immediately caught my attention as being funny (sorry cat lovers). This was the only dumpster in a row of several with a name label, so it stands out among the others. I later found out that it was owned by Mostly Cats Veterinary Clinic, which had their office in the building.

Update: This is a repost of some of my older site content. The veterinary clinic has since moved to a new location. I’m happy to report that they took their dumpster with them and it still has the label.