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Rye Bread

May 9, 2014 by Leave a Comment

Two guys, one 80 and one 87, were sitting on a park bench one
morning. The 87-year-old had just finished his morning jog and wasn’t
even short of breath. The 80-year-old was amazed at the older guy’s stamina and asked him what he did to have so much energy.

The 87-year-old said, “Well, I eat rye bread every day. It keeps your
energy level high and you’ll have great stamina with the ladies.”

So, on the way home the 80-year-old stopped at the bakery. As he was
looking around, the saleslady asked if he needed any help.
He said, “Do you have any rye bread?”

She said, “Yes, there’s a whole shelf of it. Would you like some?”

He said, “I want five loaves.”

She said, “My goodness, five loaves! By the time you get to the 3rd
loaf, it’ll be hard.”

He replied, “I can’t believe everybody knows about this stuff but me.”

Filed Under: Age, Email Joke Graveyard, Sex

How To Send An Email Link To A Web Page in Safari (OSX Mavericks / El Capitan / Sierra)

May 7, 2014 by 23 Comments

UPDATE: have confirmed that below works identically in OSX Yosemite, Mavericks, El Capitan and Sierra.

You’ve probably noticed that in the last couple of OSX updates, some pretty standard things in Safari have changed. One that has annoyed the hell out of me is the “removal” of the ‘Email Link to this Page’ option in Safari. So here’s to to send an email link to a web page.

It turns out the option isn’t removed, just buried. To get the option, you still go to the File > Share menu in Safari, where you’ll see the ‘Email This Page’ selection. Just hold down the shift key and it’ll change in front of you:
Share_and_File`

I’d be interested to hear from you: do you more often want to email a link to a page rather than the whole damn page? It seems to me Apple have it backwards in that you should hold down shift to email the whole page, with the link option the default. What do you think?

Filed Under: General Tech, How-To Tagged With: , ,

Relay for Life in Second Life 2014

May 4, 2014 by Leave a Comment

Events_ListThe Relay for Life event in Second Life has always been a highlight for me and it looks like this year’s is no different.

I’m always extremely impressed with the commitment that goes into organising this even each year and aside from all the great fundraising it does, it also challenges the stereotype of virtual worlds being ephemeral things without substance.

Here’s the latest info I’ve received from the organisers:

 

REGISTER TODAY AND BE PART OF HISTORY-MAKING!

Want to be a part of the largest fundraising movement on the grid?

There’s still time to form a team and join Relay For Life of Second Life as we Relay across the grid raising funds in support of the American Cancer Society.

You may register at www.relayforlifeofsecondlife.org by clicking the orange register button and following the on screen instructions. Won’t you come Relay with us?

We began with the 2014 Kick Off Party on March 8. Teams continue to fundraise through July by holding fun-filled events. The Relay For Life of Second Life finishes with the official overnight Relay on July 19-20. During that weekend, team members gather at their Team Campsites, walk the

Relay Track, enjoy live music, participate in fun events, and explore the many Relay Sims as the event runs overnight and into the next morning.

In 2013, there were 200 RFL of SL Teams which participated in the largest virtual fundraising walk in the world and together raised $393,000 US dollars. For more information about registering a team, or assistance forming a team, please contact Gem Sunkiller at gemsunkiller@gmail.com.

Relay For Life of Second Life is an annual activity that takes place in Second Life in July each year. Volunteers form or join teams to have fun while fundraising and raising awareness from March through mid-July. In July, teams build campsites and walk a track, just like in a real world Relay.

Over the last nine years, Relay For Life of Second Life has raised more than $2 million for cancer research and is the largest charity event in the virtual worlds. Several thousand volunteers from more than 80 countries participate each year, truly making it a global event.

The Relay For Life of Second Life wiki details the history of Relay For Life of Second Life. Relay For Life is the signature fundraising event of the American Cancer Society.

There are many ways to get involved in Relay For Life of Second Life and another way to show your support is through sponsorships. Relay For Life of Second Life is proud to have the following as premier sponsors: RGF Estates, Roses & Thorns Skins Inc., Wild Kajaera and United Realms of the Archipelago. Other sponsorships are available; please contact the PR/Outreach Division more details.

Another way to get involved is through rezzing Relay For Life event boards at your establishment or land. Contact Serina Juran for details.

Keep up with the news on Relay For Life of Second Life through it’s website, Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and Tumblr pages:
http://relayforlifeofsecondlife.org/
https://twitter.com/RelayForLife_SL
http://facebook.com/rflofsl
http://www.tumblr.com/blog/relayforlife-sl

Also for those interested, here’s the proposed schedule for the real itself:

Saturday, July 13, 2013
10:00 AM Opening Ceremony
11:00 AM Survivor/Caregiver – CELEBRATE
12:30 PM Teams Lap
2:00 PM Round Up Western
3:00 PM Walking with our Breedable Friends
4:00 PM Fabulous Fifties
5:00 PM Purple Passion
6:00 PM Beach Party
7:00 PM Musicians For Relay
8:00 PM Bald is Beautiful!
9:00 PM Luminaria Ceremony – REMEMBER
10:00 PM Silly Shoes
11:00 PM Sci Fi
MIDNIGHT PJ Party

Sunday, July 14, 2013
1:00 AM Holiday Splendor
2:00 AM Fantasy and Fairy Tales
3:00 AM Crazy Hats
4:00 AM Movie and Cartoon Magic
5:00 AM Heroes
6:00 AM FIGHT BACK
7:00 AM International Lap
8:00 AM Coffee and Donuts – Breakfast Time!
9:00 AM Formal Hour
10:00 AM Closing Ceremonies
11:00 AM Victory Lap! – Walk the track and meet the Relay Committee.
Celebrate YOUR Relay. Take THAT, Cancer!
12:30 PM RAFFLE Draw!
1:00 PM SILENT AUCTION Closes!
2:00 PM Enjoy Walking the Track and Visiting the Builds

Filed Under: General News, Non-Profit, Virtual Worlds Tagged With:

3rd Annual Mental Health Symposium in Second Life

April 19, 2014 by 1 Comment

Second_LifeVirtual Ability have another great event planned for late next week – here’s the full press release:

Virtual World Conference Supports Quality of Life in Mental Health

Virtual Ability, Inc. announces the third annual Mental Health Symposium to be held Saturday, April 26th, 7:00 am PDT/SLT to 5:00 pm PDT/SLT in Second Life®. The theme of this year’s conference is “Quality of Life.”

The World Health Organization defines quality of life as an individual’s “perception of their position in life in the context of the culture and value systems in which they live and in relation to their goals, standards and concerns.”

Quality of life is important to us all, but may be more difficult to attain for those with mental health issues. Overall quality of life is affected by psychological state, physical health, level of independence, social relationships, personal values and beliefs, and the relationship of all of these to the person’s environment.

Symposium presentations include (in alphabetical order):
• Hillary Bogner, MD, University of Pennsylvania, Perelman School of Medicine, will offer insights from her research on depression among older adults.
• Colleen Crary, Executive Director of Fearless Nation, Inc., will share lessons from adversity for creating a vibrant life.
• Dick Dillon, CEO of Innovaision, LLC, shares surprising information about why some recovering addicts become “weller than well.”
• Teresa Goddard, Senior Consultant with the Job Accommodation Network, will inform us about attaining employment equality through accommodation and self-advocacy.
• Dr. Christine Karper and Michelle Stone, members of the American Counseling Association’s Cyber Task Force, will talk about the role of counseling and virtual service delivery.
• Dr. Jacquelyn Ford Morie, University of Southern California, will describe the use of virtual worlds as healing spaces for veterans.
• Dr. Nicolas Rüsch, of the University of Ulm, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany, will explain the results of his research on well-being among persons at risk of psychosis, focusing particularly on shame and stigma.

Alice Krueger, president of Virtual Ability, Inc., stated: “I am pleased to see an increasing focus on quality of life in mental health care in recent years, since many persons with mental health diagnoses struggle with these issues. The Symposium’s international presenters are acknowledged experts in their fields. I will be interested to hear what they have to say on these important topics. Please join us on April 26 to learn more from a variety of exciting speakers!”

All sessions, done in voice and text simultaneously, will take place at The Sojourner Auditorium on Virtual Ability Island within Second Life®:
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Virtual%20Ability/53/172/23

The full schedule of presentations is posted at http://www.virtualability.org/conferences/mh-symposium/mh-symposium-2014/.

About Virtual Ability, Inc.
Virtual Ability, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation based in Denver, Colorado, dedicated to enabling people with a wide range of disabilities by providing a supporting environment for them to enter and thrive in on-line virtual worlds like Second Life®.

For more information on Virtual Ability, Inc., including the benefits of virtual worlds for people with disabilities, please see www.VirtualAbility.org.

For further information, please contact:
Alice Krueger, President
Virtual Ability, Inc.
Office: (303) 400-3306
akrueger@VirtualAbility.org

If you have any interest in mental health issues, this should be a great day.

Filed Under: General News, Non-Profit, Virtual Worlds Tagged With: ,

Dropbox Opens Sydney Office: Jobs Available

April 15, 2014 by Leave a Comment

sydney-headerEven as a rabid mac user, I love Dropbox to bits and use it heavily. So I was interested to hear today that the Dropbox team have announced they have a Sydney office. If you’re interested in working for them, they have some jobs on offer as well.

The full press release:

Dropbox Establishes Office in Sydney

SYDNEY, Australia – April 15, 2014 – Dropbox, a service that lets you bring your documents, photos and videos everywhere and share them easily, announced today that it is establishing an office in Sydney, Australia. Sydney represents the company’s first office in the region and will enable Dropbox to better provide support and service to the hundreds of millions of people across the world who use Dropbox to simplify their personal and work lives.

“Sydney is quickly building a reputation as the hub for many of the world’s most advanced and innovative companies, illustrated by the arrival of another top US company like Dropbox,” said Andrew Stoner, deputy premier and minister for trade and investment, New South Wales. “Sydney is a natural home for Dropbox and our talented workforce will play a major part in the expanding Dropbox story as the company continues to build its international presence.”

The company’s new office will be positioned to provide the people and businesses that use Dropbox with top service and support in a more geolocated manner. With over 275 million users in 200 countries, including

International Dropbox for Business customers like BCBG, National Geographic, and Under Armour, Dropbox’s new office opening comes at an ideal time to support the company’s growth and expansion.

“Today we’re delighted to establish our new home in Australia,” said Dennis Woodside, chief operating officer at Dropbox. “By opening our first APAC office in Sydney we gain access to Australia’s great pool of talent, and can serve more local users and businesses as we continue to grow.”

The initial goal of Dropbox’s Sydney office is to hire for a variety of positions particularly in customer-facing roles like sales and user operations. The Sydney team will provide targeted support to the millions of Dropbox users in APAC and allow Dropbox to be even more accessible to the Australian businesses who have widely adopted the service, like Macquarie Group, Mirvac, and Atlassian.

“Given Atlassian’s fast-paced environment, and with our team distributed across three continents, it’s important that we can move quickly while staying on the same page. Dropbox for Business lets our designers have real-time access to files so we can work together more efficiently and get business done faster,” said Jurgen Spangl, head of design at Atlassian. “In terms of workflow, the team just knows that the most up-to-date files live in Dropbox. We’re pleased to have Dropbox as neighbours here in Sydney!”

For Sydney office openings, please visit https://www.dropbox.com/sydney

 

 

Filed Under: General Tech Tagged With:

Signs of The Times

April 15, 2014 by Leave a Comment

Sign over a Gynaecologist’s Office: 
“Dr. Jones, at your cervix.” 

************************** 
In a Podiatrist’s office: 
“Time wounds all heels.” 

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On a Septic Tank Truck: 
Yesterday’s Meals on Wheels 

************************** 
On a Plumber’s  truck: 
“We repair what your husband fixed.” 

************************** 
On another Plumber’s truck: 
“Don’t sleep with a drip. Call your plumber.” 

************************** 
On a Church’s Bill board: 
“7 days without God makes one weak.” 

************************** 
At a Tyre Store 
“Invite us to your next blowout.” 

************************** 
On an Electrician’s truck: 
“Let us remove your shorts.” 

************************** 
In a Non-smoking Area: 
“If we see smoke, we will assume you are on fire and take appropriate action.” 
************************** 
On a Maternity Room door: 
“Push. Push. Push.” 

************************** 
At an Optometrist’s Office: 
“If you don’t see what you’re looking for, you’ve come to the right place.” 

************************** 
On a Taxidermist’s window: 
“We really know our stuff.” 

************************** 
On a Fence: 
“Salesmen welcome! Dog food is expensive!” 

************************** 
At a Car Dealership: 
“The best way to get back on your feet – miss a car payment.” 

************************** 
Outside a Car Exhaust Store: 
“No appointment necessary. We hear you coming.” 

************************** 
In a Vets waiting room: 
“Be back in 5 minutes. Sit! Stay!” 

************************** 
In a Restaurant window: 
“Don’t stand there and be hungry; come on in and get fed up.” 

************************** 
In the front yard of a Funeral Home: 
“Drive carefully. We’ll wait.”

**************************
And don’t forget the sign at a 
RADIATOR SHOP: 
“Best place in town to take a leak.” 

********************** 
Sign on the back of yet another
Septic Tank Truck: 
“Caution – This Truck is full of Political Promises”

Filed Under: Email Joke Graveyard, General humor

How to back up your iPhoto library to Flickr

April 5, 2014 by 5 Comments

If you’re an iPhoto user like me, you may have wondered how to back up your iPhoto library to Flickr without using iPhoto itself. Up until today, I’ve been using iPhoto’s built in option to share albums with Flickr, but I’ve found it nothing short of unreliable.

So after a bit of a search, I found an app on the Mac App Store called Backup to Flick For iPhoto that works like a dream. It costs AU $2.49 to buy the app, then when you launch it you just need to authorise it with Flickr, using your Flick login and password.

Once you’ve done that, you have a bunch of options to choose from (note that some require a further purchase although none of them were deal breakers for me so I didn’t need them):

Backup_to_Flickr_for_iPhotoOnce the app has finished scanning Flickr for any pics you’ve already uploaded, it starts the upload process for your photos:

Backup_to_Flickr_for_iPhoto 2

That’s all there is to it – as you can see from the second pic, I have over 2000 photos to upload (my library is over 12,000 but most had been already uploaded via iPhoto previously). It has worked flawlessly – my only request would be for the ability to be able to pause uploading, but beyond that it has everything I’ve needed. It’s definitely the best $2.49 I’ve spent on the app store. And Apple: take a good look at yourself for offering a sub-standard option as far as cloud backup for iPhoto.

Grab it for yourself here.

 

 

 

Filed Under: General Tech, How-To Tagged With: , ,

Mike Oldfield Man on the Rocks Review

March 29, 2014 by 6 Comments
IMG_2864

I’m so superficial: I love the blue vinyl

First a disclaimer: I’m an enormous Mike Oldfield fan, who in conjunction with my wife had an excerpt from Tattoo on Tubular Bells II as our bridal march.

Like the majority of Oldfield fans, I was drawn to him through his instrumental work. That said, I’ve always really liked his rock work – Discovery and Islands are two favourites. So it was with a fan-based, but open mind in regard to genre that I’ve come to review Man on the Rocks.

This is an album from a man who has nothing to prove artistically – his reputation has been established for decades and if you’ve listened to many interviews, Oldfield will regularly emphasise it’s about creating the music he feels he needs to. That’s exactly what he’s delivered here – eleven songs that are infused with his current living situation (The Bahamas) and his semi-recent personal life (divorce).

If you’ve heard or seen much about this album, it’s hard to escape the Bahamas imagery. Combined with Sailing as the opener, it creates the strong perception of a relaxed / AOR approach, and I think it does the album a disservice. There’s a range of themes on here, but it takes a couple of listens to put the whole album into context.

Sailing is the lead song of the album and its obvious why – it’s upbeat and has a hook that’s hard to move on from. Moonshine and title track Man on the Rocks build the momentum nicely. Castaway is a slow burner that delivers a punch in Oldfield’s guitar solo toward the end. Minutes is a four to the floor soft rock classic as good as anything Oldfield has delivered previously. Nuclear and Chariots are the two most introspective songs, and it only takes one listen to work out it’s not a happy look inwards – Chariots instrumentally seems to be one from the vault. Following the Angels made little impression on me, but Irene is a nice rocker with some brass swagger added. I Give Myself Away is the final track and the only one not penned by Oldfield. It’s a mellow finish to the album and one that sits nicely.

Is Man on the Rocks one of Mike Oldfield’s better albums? It’s too early to tell, but it certainly can sit proud amongst his other rock albums. As far as replayability goes, I can see Sailing, Minutes, Irene and Castaway being on regular rotation, with the others pleasant surprises as they come up on a playlist.

The best compliment I can give this album is that it’s honest – and that honesty delivers a number of high points that will keep me coming back for a long time to come.

Oh and Mike: please tour Australia sometime – we’re just like The Bahamas but with even more flora and fauna.

Filed Under: General Tech, Music Tagged With: ,

Marriage Jokes

March 28, 2014 by Leave a Comment

MARRIAGE (PART I)
Typical macho man married typical good-looking lady, and after the wedding, he laid down the following rules: “I’ll be home when I want, if I want and at what time I want – and I don’t expect any hassle from you! I expect a great dinner to be on the table unless I tell you that I won’t be home for dinner. I’ll go hunting, fishing, boozing, and card-playing when I want with my old buddies, and don’t you give me a hard time about it. Those are my rules. Any comments?” His new bride said “No, that’s fine with me. Just understand that there will be sex here at seven o’clock every night… whether you’re here or not”.

MARRIAGE (PART II)
Husband and wife had a bitter quarrel on the day of their 40th wedding anniversary! The husband yells “When you die, I’m getting you a headstone that reads ‘Here Lies My Wife – Cold As Ever’!” “Yeah?” she replies “When you die, I’m getting you a headstone that reads, ‘Here Lies My Husband – Stiff At Last’!”

MARRIAGE (PART III)
Husband (a doctor) and his wife are having a fight at the breakfast table. Husband gets up in a rage and says “And you are no good in bed either” and storms out of the house. After some time he realises he was nasty and decides to make amends and rings her up. She comes to the phone after many rings, and the irritated husband says “What took you so long to answer to the phone?” She says “I was in bed”. “In bed this early, doing what?” “Getting a second opinion!”

MARRIAGE (PART IV)
A man has six children and is very proud of his achievement. He is so proud of himself, that he starts calling his wife ‘Mother of Six’ in spite of her objections. One night, they go to a party. The man decides that it is time to go home and wants to find out if his wife is ready to leave as well. He shouts at the top of his voice “Shall we go home Mother of Six?” His wife, irritated by her husband’s lack of discretion shouts right back “Any time you’re ready, Father of Four”.

MARRIAGE (PART V)
A man and his wife were having some problems at home and were giving each other the silent treatment. Suddenly the man realised that the next day he would need his wife to wake him at 5am for an early business flight. Not wanting to be the first to break the silence (and LOSE), he wrote on a piece of paper ‘Please wake me at 5am’. He left it where he knew she would find it. The next morning the man woke up, only to discover it was 9am and he had missed his flight. Furious, he was about to go to see why his wife hadn’t wakened him when he noticed a piece of paper by the bed. The paper said ‘It is 5:00am. Wake up’.

MARRIAGE (PART VI)
There are two times when a man doesn’t understand a woman – before marriage and after marriage.

MARRIAGE (PART VII)
A married couple goes to a marriage counsellor to work out some problems. The counsellor sits them on the couch and says “Let’s start by talking about what you both have in common”. The husband says “Well for starters, neither one of us sucks dick…”

MARRIAGE (PART VIII)
A husband and wife were at a party chatting with some friends when the subject of marriage counselling came up. “Oh we’ll never need that. My husband and I have a great relationship” the wife explained. “He was a communications major in college and I majored in theatre arts. He communicates real well and I just act like I’m listening”.

MARRIAGE (PART IX)
Newlyweds are into their second week of marriage when the wife says to the husband… “I want to set the rules down about sex. When my hair is nice and perfect – I definitely don’t want to have sex! If my hair is a little messed up and not that perfect – maybe I do, maybe I don’t want to have sex. But when my hair is messed up… I definitely want to have sex”.

MARRIAGE (PART X)
Husband says… “Okay but I have my rules about sex also… every night when I come home from work I will have one can of beer. When I have one can of beer I definitely don’t want to have sex. When I have a couple of beers – maybe I do, maybe I don’t want to have sex. When I have a six pack or a case of beer – I don’t give a toss about your hair!

MARRIAGE (PART XI)
At All Saints Lutheran Church they have a weekly husband’s marriage seminar. At the session last week, the Pastor asked Ole, who was approaching his 50th wedding anniversary, to take a few minutes and share some insight into how he had managed to stay married to the same woman all these years.

“Well” Ole replied to the assembled husbands “I’ve tried to treat her nice, spend money on her, but best of all I took her to Norway for the 20th anniversary!” The Pastor responded “Ole, you are an amazing inspiration to all the husbands here! Please tell us what you are planning for your wife for your 50th anniversary”. Ole proudly replied: “I’m a-gonna go get her!”

MARRIAGE (PART XII)

I met a man who had been married for 66 years. “Amazing. 66 years!” I said. “What’s the secret to such a long, happy marriage?” “Well” he replied “It’s like this. The man makes all the big decisions… and the woman just makes the little decisions”. “Really?” I responded. “Does that really work? “Oh yes” he said proudly. “66 years, and so far, not one big decision!”

 

Filed Under: Email Joke Graveyard, Sex, The Gender Wars

Facebook Buys Oculus: What’s The Downside?

March 26, 2014 by 1 Comment
There's one hell of a ride ahead for virtual reality

There’s one hell of a ride ahead for virtual reality

The news that Facebook have paid $2.2 billion dollars in cash and Facebook shares to buy Oculus, is far from surprising. The Oculus team have a huge profile and one of the behemoths were always going to buy them out.

What I’m interested in is the potential downsides of the takeover and its implications for the technology. Here’s a couple I can see:

1. Accentuating the Generalist

Although gaming is the primary focus for the Oculus Rift VR headset, there’s a lot of emphasis on other applications for it as well. Personally, I intend on using it for some clinical simulation research for my PhD. This takeover won’t stop that as far as I can tell, and it could actually speed up access to the retail units, but I worry that Facebook may dull some of the sharper edges the Oculus team have. Games are where the money is, so hopefully there’s still some support for other areas of R&D to keep a wider but smaller audience in the loop. On the encouraging side, the Oculus team seem to think it’s not just about games:

As we talked more, we discovered the two teams shared an even deeper vision of creating a new platform for interaction that allows billions of people to connect in a way never before possible.

That said, there’s always lots of starry-eyed optimism during a honeymoon period – it’s the long term commtment that will count.

2. The Facebookisation Risk

As bizarre as this sounds, I worry that Facebook will try to put too strong an imprimatur on the Oculus technology, making it appear more a niche product than it deserves to be. Yes, Facebook has huge user saturation, but it’s also starting to suffer from the perception of its size and age. If the Oculus Rift is seen as being grafted to the Facebook brand, it could actually suffer. If its first outing in Facebook land is perceived as a novelty, then that risk increases further.

On the extreme side of the equation from my concerns, here’s what the Oculus team have to say:

This partnership is one of the most important moments for virtual reality: it gives us the best shot at truly changing the world. It opens doors to new opportunities and partnerships, reduces risk on the manufacturing and work capital side, allows us to publish more made-for-VR content, and lets us focus on what we do best: solving hard engineering challenges and delivering the future of VR.

There’s no doubt there’ll be more funding, though I find it hard to believe it’s been too hard a struggle raising money given the profile the Oculus tech has. If Facebook operate at arms length, with some reasonable requirements for integration with Facebook, it may work very nicely. It’s just finding that balance.

Oculus founder Palmer Luckey is very upbeat in his blog post about the buy-out, but he has to be to some extent. How upbeat do you feel about it?

 

Filed Under: General Tech, Virtuality Tagged With: ,

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