Category: Uncategorized

I was disappointed to see that Picassa doesn’t support subfolders – all folders are shown as a long list. But guess what, here is an undocumented trick direct from a Google employee: the “My Pictures/Picassa” folder is special. Any folders placed inside it will display in a hierarchy. Voila!”

Need a 1GB online drive? Get this shell extension for Gmail.

I was reading an article on Firefox, when I saw an ad for a “free download.” The ad took me a prompt for a $37.95 “subscription” and a $10 “desktop pack.” For the gullible, Firefox can be obtained for free here.

Update: Wondering who actually funds Firefox development? Click.

Steve Fossett is starting a bid for the first round the world solo flight. Bon voyage!

President Bush a “devotee” of Ayn Rand? News to me.

There have been a number of massive and violent riots in China by workers in Western-owned factories demanding more working hours. The companies set maximum limits on hours works in response to Western labor activists. In related news, Wal-Mart workers in Colorado voted against unionization in an overwhelming 17-1 vote against it. Question: exactly who’s welfare are labor activists concerned about?

I have a new entry to add to my list of essential software: Google’s Picasa2, an image management tool for all your digital photos. Google’s innovations in online services and software have always impressed me in the past, and their latest release is no exception.

Picasa doesn’t introduce any revolutionary new features, but it does combine them all in a slick and very useful package. It will automatically find and organize all your existing images, and monitor your computer for new ones. Once in Picasa, you can edit and optimize your images with the built-in tools, including the amazingly useful “I’m feeling lucky” button, which automatically optimize the color balance and contrast of your photos.

The amazing thing is that Picasa does not make any changes to the underlying photos, but records all your modifications in its database, so you retain the originals and can easily undo any changes you make. A slight downside to this feature is the lack of an easy means to make those changes permanent, but you can easily export your photos to disk, online photo service, or web gallery. The only other complaint I have is that photos are sorted by only two levels of hierarchy – date and folder. For a free download, the features are unbeatable.

While I am on the subject, here is a list of free software essential for any Windows computer user.

Michael Lewis of Bloomberg writes on why Hollywood hates to show how money is made. …Unfortunately, he doesn’t provide any answers.

I’ve put on over 1200 miles in the last 5 days. I did a photo shoot for a Bat-Mitzvah in San Antonio, caught a fever in New Braunfels, ran out of gas near Katy, fried two fuses charging my laptop near Splendora, and got into a five car highway pileup (or rather my boss’ truck did) in downtown Houston. I spent much of Valentines Day in a semi-conscious feverish daze, so I better take my meds and get some rest.

I am starting an online discussion forum on Austrian economics. The forum will facilitate discussion on Austrian economics, with sections for anyone interested in economics as well as academics. I am looking for moderators and anyone else who wants to help me launch it.

If you’re interested, contact me and/or sign up at www.austrianforum.com