Archive Posts (Page 46)

My proposed congressional bill. Whereas incessant honking outside my window induces unhealthy rage which is potentially harmful to the people of these United States, the following shall take effect immediately: If any vehicle is sold in the United States with the capacity to honk repeatedly against the wishes of its operator, the CEO of the vehicle manufacturer shall be subjected to 300 consecutive hours, in a standing position, of a loud looping recording of Sara Palin being sassy. Read more…

Mamie kicks off the Rock and Roll half marathon in Phoenix. Read more…

My little budding artist… Glass bottles (for a school project). Study of a dragon (just for fun). Detail of a dragon’s head (just for fun). Read more…

She’s ready for Quidditch practice… Sophie and her broom. Read more…

Jupiter through Sophia’s Celestrong FirstScope telescope taken with my iPhone through thin clouds and central Phoenix’s terrible light pollution. Moons were barely visible through the eyepiece but my iPhone didn’t pick them up. I assume Steve Jobs is working on this. I fully expect to see this featured on the Bad Astronomy blog soon. Jupiter, I guess. Read more…

I saw this article in Google Reader tonight: http://www.cultofmac.com/did-picasso-influence-the-mac-finder-icon/75608 The association itself is neat because it seems crazy to me that nobody noticed this before. But I have to put on my old-mac-user-pedant hat for a second.The article says: But did the concept for this graphic originate in Cupertino in the 1980s, or much earlier on another continent? The blue Mac OS logo definitely did not originate in the 1980s. I remember clearly when this logo was introduced, first in the press and then in the Mac OS startup splash screen. Read more…

Pardon me while I indulge in the cuteness of my little 9 year old. Sophie’s letter. Transcription: JK Rowling: I love the book Harry Potter. They are my favorite books in the world. The books are way better than the movies. I did a report on you in school. I learned what JK stands for. It stands for Joanne Kathleen. I learned other stuff too. I want to meet you Miss Rowling. Read more…

This is not how we did it in my day. Isabel with their model Kiwi bird and egg. Read more…

I do this thing where I ask non-native-English speakers who is the “Shakespeare” of their language. They can interpret this any way they want, and it is a great source of new things for me to read. When I asked my friend Ines—who is German—this question, she suggested Stefan Zweig on the grounds that he is someone every school-aged German reads. To my surprise, Ines gave me a collection of Zweig’s short stories over Thanksgiving. Read more…

I’ve had these wooden toy blocks since I was a little boy. They still get the job done. Sophie with our masterpiece. Read more…

This may be the most tedious thing I’ve ever done. Peeled blanched almods. Read more…

But she wouldn’t keep it… Mamie likes to shave her head, but she’s not sure about the mohawk. Read more…

Chris told me it couldn’t be done. Eat your heart out. The Phoenix snowman, complete with Arizona flag, ASU cap, gold-nugget eyes, chili-pepper nose, and cotton boll buttons. Read more…

I see a lot of ads these days for special kitchen torches for things like Crème Brûlée. In my humble opinion the best kitchen torch is just a regular hardware store torch. They’re cheap, hot, and (for kitchen use) last forever. I light mine by turning it on and aiming it at the stove burner. My preferred “kitchen” torch. Read more…

Super-kid. Isabel carries groceries, Sophie carries a cat, and the floor carries both of them. Read more…

I get so amped up when the Thanksgiving cooking starts. Step one for me is a quadruple-batch of ginger-pear cranberry sauce. Read more…

The kids are ready for halloween… Isabel (left) with their friend Cody dressed as Arwen and Legolas from Lord of the Rings. (Grandma Schultz made Isabel’s costume.) Sophia dressed as her (current) favorite artist, Frida Kahlo. Read more…

Found this strange beauty at the wonderful Desert Botanical Gardens here in Phoenix. I’d never heard of a Boojum Tree before. I love this thing so much. Read more…

The kids carved pumpkins at Grandma and Grandpa Coffey’s house this week. A sad girl with her sad pumpkin. Read more…

Isabel practiced sewing and Grandma Coffey’s house by making Christmas presents for family members. Isabel with their hand-made quilted drink coasters. Read more…

I find these Google suggestions funny. How do I get out of FaceBook?! Read more…

This is obviously a break from tradition but he’s Canadian so he doesn’t know any better. Vince loves this pie so I make it every time he visits. Read more…

I laughed at myself. This is precisely how the video froze when my chat disconnected. Read more…

Oh boy. Called out. Help wanted. Read more…

So sweet and lovely. And the pie is good too ;) Isabel with their slice of pie from LGO. Read more…

The latest issue of Cook’s Illustrated included this recipe for banana bread that squeezes six bananas in one loaf. To manage moisture they extract liquid from five of them (by cooking and straining), then reduce that liquid and put it back in the batter. (The final banana is sliced for a decorative top). This bread was great. Really intense flavor, moise-but-not-too, nice crisp edges. Six bananas! One loaf! (My banana stripes are a little off-kliter. Read more…

Love the presentation of this option on Ping. I’ve always made the same distinction. You choose: Artists or People. Read more…

FileMaker 11 added just one new object trigger, and it is a strange little dude: OnObjectValidate. This trigger fires after you edit a field, before it is validated. If you thought FileMaker already had enough after-you-change-a-field triggers, you were mistaken. In this article, I explain how the various field triggers fit together and why OnObjectValidate exits. You then get a simple example of how it can be used. And as a special bonus, I show you how to extend the technique so it can easily be reused over and over again. Read more…

Blast. Triple letter on the Q and triple word, too… Read more…

That’s my girl! Sophia (left) and her dear friend Zha-zha. Read more…

I say no. Isabel found a mud puddle. Read more…

I just noticed this. Pretty neat. OS X spellchecker trying to guess at the language of each line. Read more…

I was trying to do a rails deployment on a Mac OS X Server 10.5 machine tonight and hit a gem error I’ve never seen before: sh-3.2# gem install [whatever] ERROR: While executing gem … (Gem::RemoteSourceException) HTTP Response 302 fetching http://gems.rubyforge.org/yaml No problem, says I. Just need a quick gem system update: sh-3.2# gem update –system ERROR: While executing gem … (Gem::RemoteSourceException) HTTP Response 302 fetching http://gems.rubyforge.org/yaml Blast. Google was no help. Read more…

Let me start by saying: “Ouch.” It has been far, far, far too long since our last article. Someone much wiser than me once said something like this: “My only comfort is that I tried. My only regret is that I failed.” I’ll leave it at that. In short order, I’ll be posting our first new article in over 18 months. But first I thought I’d share a little news. For those who are here for great FileMaker info, feel free to skip ahead. Read more…

We start our return to semi-regular writing with a small-but-awesome custom function: Pop. If you grew up in the American mid-west like me you might think I’m talking about [ soda | soda pop | coke | soft drinks ]. But I’m actually talking about stacks. In the computer science world, pop means to take something off the top of a list, and it is exceptionally handy to add this to your FileMaker scripting toolkit. Read more…

This was a fun conference outing. Thanks, FileMaker! Jesse (right), Chris and I attended the USS Midway tour + dinner at FM DevCon. Read more…

I’m enjoying this gorgeous weather and fiddling with my presentation for FM DevCon. Our harbor view in San Diego at FM DevCon. Read more…

Int. Apple Store, in alternate universe where the iPhone 4 is available in two models with two antenna designs. SALES REP: “Welcome to the Apple Store. Do you need any help today?” CUSTOMER 1: “I’m thinking of getting the iPhone 4.” SALES REP: “Awesome, let me show them to you. This is Model A. As you can see, it is exceptionally thin and beautifully constructed. Here, try it out.” CUSTOMER 1: “Wow, this feels great. Read more…

I’ve come to the realization that all children’s literature can be classified quite neatly into just a few simple categories. My proposed system of classification follows. Type 1: The Outcast Hero An adolescent human, or sometimes anthropomorphized animal or (rarely) toaster who is an outcast in their family, community, or peer group discovers, through an unexpected adventure, something fantastic about him- or herself or the world, often providing aid to others in the process. Read more…

Sandra Day O’Connor read this poem during her retirement speech. I got a kick out of it. There is No Indispensable Man Sometime when you’re feeling important Sometime when your ego’s in bloom Sometime when you take it for granted You’re the best qualified in the room Sometime when you feel that your going Would leave an unfillable hole Just follow these simple instructions And see how they humble your soul Read more…

My 8-year-old laptop backpack finally met its end last week, so I’m looking for a new one. I prefer a backpack style since I walk a lot with my laptop. I also really like the kind with a single across-the-chest strap because I find it hard to get both my ape-like arms out of a normal backpack without hurting my shoulders. Vince has a great SwissGear backpack that I’ve always admired. Read more…

Kathleen Sheeder Bonanno is new to me. I heard her interviewed on Diane Rehm today. I just ordered her book, Slamming Open the Door. Read more…

I’m reading Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts on the recommendation of my dad. Still working on the book but I do really like the opening lines: “It took me a long time and most of the world to learn what I know about love and fate and the choices we make…”

FileMaker Pro is a big product, and its easy to get caught up in all the new features, power techniques, and advanced scripting mojo. But new users shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that FileMaker is designed to be as easy as it is powerful. Like anything new, there’s a learning curve, but an untrained user can be more productive more quickly in FileMaker than in any other database program around. Read more…

FileMaker Pro 10 introduced an assortment of exciting new features but the king of the hill, so to speak, is Script Triggers. You could argue that this is the biggest new feature to hit FileMaker since version 7 back in the late Cretaceous period. Alas, it is also one of the most complex features you’ll encounter as a budding FileMaker developer. But that doesn’t mean less advanced developers should ignore these triggers all together. Read more…

FileMaker 10’s new Script Triggers feature just keeps delivering. You might, at first, think triggers are limited to layouts and fields, but it turns out your triggers can fire with all kinds of objects. In this article we’ll show you how to run scripts when users switch tabs on your tab controls. In the end, we’ll also revisit a common FileMaker problem: tabs switch when you switch layouts. We’ll show you how to solve this problem quickly and easily using script triggers. Read more…

FileMaker 10’s most visible new feature is the completely redesigned Status toolbar (formerly called the Status area). Perhaps because of its prominent position, or because it is such a striking departure from a 20-year FileMaker mainstay, this change has been met with its fair share of controversy. In this article we’ll show you why you don’t need to worry, and how you can make the new Status toolbar work for you. Read more…

For years, FileMaker developers have been devising various filter techniques. The idea is that you type all or part of a name, part number, description, etc… and a list of results filters down to show relevant matches. As handy as these techniques are, they always stop just short of perfect because, before FileMaker 10, you had to exit the field before the filter would take effect. Using FileMaker 10’s powerful Script Triggers, you can make the impact of your filtering more immediate. Read more…