Comments for Sweet Cucumber http://www.sweetcucumber.com Just Talking Trash. Sat, 17 May 2008 03:21:31 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5 Comment on Uncanny Valley. by Dan http://www.sweetcucumber.com/uncanny-valley_176/#comment-1996 Dan Wed, 14 May 2008 13:41:23 +0000 http://www.sweetcucumber.com/uncanny-valley_176/#comment-1996 Whoah! Whoah!

]]> Comment on MAMP & CSSEdit by Dan http://www.sweetcucumber.com/mamp-cssedit_197/#comment-1995 Dan Wed, 14 May 2008 13:36:20 +0000 http://www.sweetcucumber.com/?p=197#comment-1995 MAMP rocks! I've been trying to find something simlar for Windoze - there are dozens of AMP packages out there, but I'm sure it won't surprise you to hear that all the ones I've tried so far are a pig to set up, and I've not managed to get any of them working fully on my PC. MAMP rocks! I’ve been trying to find something simlar for Windoze - there are dozens of AMP packages out there, but I’m sure it won’t surprise you to hear that all the ones I’ve tried so far are a pig to set up, and I’ve not managed to get any of them working fully on my PC.

]]> Comment on Say nO to H2O by Dan http://www.sweetcucumber.com/say-no-to-h2o_200/#comment-1994 Dan Wed, 14 May 2008 13:33:54 +0000 http://www.sweetcucumber.com/?p=200#comment-1994 Yeah, that water claim was based on some research from the 50s or thereabouts which said that the human body needs 2 litres of water per day to function properly. A lot of people extrapolated from this that people need to <i>drink</i> 2 litres of <i>pure</i> water per day, but in fact the research never claimed that - in fact, the 2 litres includes water from other drinks and even from foods (most of which are around 80% water anyway). As for other food fads: I've been through too many of these while trying to sort out my stomach, and 99.9% are utter bunkum, but the more I've looked into this the more I become convinced the paleolithic diet (which is, I think, about 40% meat) has a lot going for it. The only problem being, like Tommickx says, there's far too many people on earth for us to all adapt such a diet (after all, it was neolithic settlement and the invention of farming which started the current population explosion). Yeah, that water claim was based on some research from the 50s or thereabouts which said that the human body needs 2 litres of water per day to function properly. A lot of people extrapolated from this that people need to drink 2 litres of pure water per day, but in fact the research never claimed that - in fact, the 2 litres includes water from other drinks and even from foods (most of which are around 80% water anyway).

As for other food fads: I’ve been through too many of these while trying to sort out my stomach, and 99.9% are utter bunkum, but the more I’ve looked into this the more I become convinced the paleolithic diet (which is, I think, about 40% meat) has a lot going for it. The only problem being, like Tommickx says, there’s far too many people on earth for us to all adapt such a diet (after all, it was neolithic settlement and the invention of farming which started the current population explosion).

]]> Comment on Fourteen Days ! by guy http://www.sweetcucumber.com/fourteen-days_209/#comment-1958 guy Sun, 27 Apr 2008 13:50:47 +0000 http://www.sweetcucumber.com/?p=209#comment-1958 17 days ! :-) Mmm... ages... dunno... lemme guess, clockwise from TL: 18 - 22 23 - 25 32 - 45 or thereabouts. 17 days ! :-)

Mmm… ages… dunno… lemme guess, clockwise from TL:

18 - 22
23 - 25
32 - 45

or thereabouts.

]]> Comment on Fourteen Days ! by Fraze http://www.sweetcucumber.com/fourteen-days_209/#comment-1957 Fraze Sun, 27 Apr 2008 13:10:50 +0000 http://www.sweetcucumber.com/?p=209#comment-1957 Stop counting and start thinking about yourself as a non-smoker. Care to put an age against the pics,16-46? Fraze. Stop counting and start thinking about yourself as a non-smoker.
Care to put an age against the pics,16-46?

Fraze.

]]> Comment on Smokefree for 10 days now. by Fraze http://www.sweetcucumber.com/smokefree-for-10-days-now_207/#comment-1948 Fraze Thu, 24 Apr 2008 08:45:42 +0000 http://www.sweetcucumber.com/?p=207#comment-1948 “It really helps to go through OS X’s help menus at least once, Fraze ! ” I know, I know…I know. It was a kinda impulse buy when I was out looking for a pc laptop. I thought ‘how different can an os be’? not as if were going back to CLI stuff is it? Sadly, with hindsight, I should have just stuck to original plan. Ho-hum, live and learn. No wonder there are all these little ‘workshops’ set up in Apple stores. I’m only glad I didn’t change my main machine on a similar whim! So, I’m left with two real choices, either I get my ass into gear and make a concerted effort to learn osX or just take a hit on what I paid for it and flog it on ebay with a view to getting a new pc lappy. Jeez!...it’s almost enough to make me start smoking again! ;) Cheers for the info mate. Fraze “It really helps to go through OS X’s help menus at least once, Fraze ! ”

I know, I know…I know.
It was a kinda impulse buy when I was out looking for a pc laptop.
I thought ‘how different can an os be’? not as if were going back to CLI stuff is it?
Sadly, with hindsight, I should have just stuck to original plan. Ho-hum, live and learn.
No wonder there are all these little ‘workshops’ set up in Apple stores. I’m only glad I didn’t change my main machine on a similar whim!
So, I’m left with two real choices, either I get my ass into gear and make a concerted effort to learn osX or just take a hit on what I paid for it and flog it on ebay with a view to getting a new pc lappy.

Jeez!…it’s almost enough to make me start smoking again! ;)
Cheers for the info mate.

Fraze

]]> Comment on Smokefree for 10 days now. by guy http://www.sweetcucumber.com/smokefree-for-10-days-now_207/#comment-1946 guy Thu, 24 Apr 2008 00:19:41 +0000 http://www.sweetcucumber.com/?p=207#comment-1946 Fraze, OS X has a built-in dictionary/spelling-checker/thesaurus, which is/are available system-wide. Indeed, in contrast to WinOS, OS X will not auto-correct your spelling mistakes (unless it is set that way in specific programs), however it will let you correct a possible mistake in a very simple way: right-click (or ctlr-click) on the miss-spelled word, and a contextual menu will pop up, giving you access to either the correct version of that word (or several close-by suggestions), plus it will allow you to look up the word in the OS X Dictionary, *and* it will allow you to look up the word in Google and/or Spotlight. Not only that, the menu will also give you access to other word spelling related programs and items in the OS... It really helps to go through OS X's help menus at least once, Fraze ! :-) It'll advance you to the next step of using OS X, which is: "wow, I didn't know it could do this !?", and also "sheesh, it's *that* simple?!" As for the music and photo stuff, I dunno... I've been doing this (on Macs) for a very, very, very long time, and it always worked for me. Not because I've been doing it for a very, very, very long time, but because these machines and their accompanying software are simply made to do this. Maybe you should give it a bit more time and exercise to get the most out of it ? As for Pro Tools... well, what can I say ? I didn't know you use that, and now I feel sorry for you. ;-) I'm not really for proprietary software which ties you to the manufacturer's hardware (although Apple does the same thing, more or less). In this case Avid is to blame, and not Native Instruments. Just buy Logic Studio and get it over with. You'll never look back. -g Fraze,

OS X has a built-in dictionary/spelling-checker/thesaurus, which is/are available system-wide.
Indeed, in contrast to WinOS, OS X will not auto-correct your spelling mistakes (unless it is set that way in specific programs), however it will let you correct a possible mistake in a very simple way: right-click (or ctlr-click) on the miss-spelled word, and a contextual menu will pop up, giving you access to either the correct version of that word (or several close-by suggestions), plus it will allow you to look up the word in the OS X Dictionary, *and* it will allow you to look up the word in Google and/or Spotlight. Not only that, the menu will also give you access to other word spelling related programs and items in the OS…

It really helps to go through OS X’s help menus at least once, Fraze ! :-)
It’ll advance you to the next step of using OS X, which is: “wow, I didn’t know it could do this !?”, and also “sheesh, it’s *that* simple?!”

As for the music and photo stuff, I dunno… I’ve been doing this (on Macs) for a very, very, very long time, and it always worked for me. Not because I’ve been doing it for a very, very, very long time, but because these machines and their accompanying software are simply made to do this. Maybe you should give it a bit more time and exercise to get the most out of it ?

As for Pro Tools… well, what can I say ? I didn’t know you use that, and now I feel sorry for you. ;-) I’m not really for proprietary software which ties you to the manufacturer’s hardware (although Apple does the same thing, more or less). In this case Avid is to blame, and not Native Instruments. Just buy Logic Studio and get it over with. You’ll never look back.

-g

]]> Comment on Smokefree for 10 days now. by Fraze http://www.sweetcucumber.com/smokefree-for-10-days-now_207/#comment-1944 Fraze Wed, 23 Apr 2008 16:51:25 +0000 http://www.sweetcucumber.com/?p=207#comment-1944 Hi Guy, I actually like my macbook but it doesn’t like me. Probably just me expecting it to behave in certain ways that windows does and it doesn’t! As I would type (say a reply on here) it would let me know there was a spelling error with the little red dotted line under the word in question. Windows does the same and either auto-corrects or you can right click for spelling options. On my mac it just does nuthin until you type in the correct spelling yourself. I know its all simple stuff but I just want it to work! Grrrr… I’ve been nice to it and gave it the 4gb full ram upgrade and a new 250gb HD and it still hates me! The main reason I got the thing was for photos and music and I’ve not had much bloody success with either as of yet. The native instruments guitar interface I bought didn’t work and a search soon brought up this kinda stuff. “Important notice regarding Pro Tools compatibility under Mac OS X 10.5 Native Instruments has identified a major compatibility issue with its products in Pro Tools hosts under Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard. This issue can result in intermittent freezes when running RTAS versions of NI instruments or effects with Pro Tools under the latest Macintosh operating system. Native Instruments is working closely with Digidesign to resolve these compatibility issues and will release RTAS updates for its products as soon as possible. In the meantime, Native Instruments does not recommend using the RTAS versions of its products under Mac OS X 10.5 in conjunction with Pro Tools.” The patches offered were also a pain in the ass to install and didn’t work either. Damn! Hey!, good news on the Camera side though! I got a full version of Capture NX when I bought my Nikon D300 (yeah, never as good as CS but great for free.) but there was an issue (again) with Leopard. But!.. I have just discovered this new update on the Nikon site so I’m gonna give it a whirl tonight! “Mac OS X version 10.3.9 - 10.4.11. The software corrects an important data corruption issue when using Mac OS X 10.5 however is has not passed as fully compatible with this operating system.” Apart from that everything’s great. Stay off those ciggies now ;0) Fraze. Hi Guy,
I actually like my macbook but it doesn’t like me. Probably just me expecting it to behave in certain ways that windows does and it doesn’t!
As I would type (say a reply on here) it would let me know there was a spelling error with the little red dotted line under the word in question. Windows does the same and either auto-corrects or you can right click for spelling options. On my mac it just does nuthin until you type in the correct spelling yourself.
I know its all simple stuff but I just want it to work! Grrrr…
I’ve been nice to it and gave it the 4gb full ram upgrade and a new 250gb HD and it still hates me!
The main reason I got the thing was for photos and music and I’ve not had much bloody success with either as of yet.
The native instruments guitar interface I bought didn’t work and a search soon brought up this kinda stuff.
“Important notice regarding Pro Tools compatibility under Mac OS X 10.5
Native Instruments has identified a major compatibility issue with its products in Pro Tools hosts under Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard. This issue can result in intermittent freezes when running RTAS versions of NI instruments or effects with Pro Tools under the latest Macintosh operating system.

Native Instruments is working closely with Digidesign to resolve these compatibility issues and will release RTAS updates for its products as soon as possible. In the meantime, Native Instruments does not recommend using the RTAS versions of its products under Mac OS X 10.5 in conjunction with Pro Tools.”

The patches offered were also a pain in the ass to install and didn’t work either.
Damn!

Hey!, good news on the Camera side though!
I got a full version of Capture NX when I bought my Nikon D300 (yeah, never as good as CS but great for free.) but there was an issue (again) with Leopard. But!.. I have just discovered this new update on the Nikon site so I’m gonna give it a whirl tonight!

“Mac OS X version 10.3.9 - 10.4.11.
The software corrects an important data corruption issue when using Mac OS X 10.5 however is has not passed as fully compatible with this operating system.”

Apart from that everything’s great.

Stay off those ciggies now ;0)

Fraze.

]]> Comment on Smokefree for 10 days now. by guy http://www.sweetcucumber.com/smokefree-for-10-days-now_207/#comment-1940 guy Tue, 22 Apr 2008 22:14:35 +0000 http://www.sweetcucumber.com/?p=207#comment-1940 Hey Fraze ! Yea, I stopped dead cold turkey last week, 'cuz I was getting too much hindrance of it. I must say it has been going relatively easy so far -- expected much much worse. I'm a bit nervous, and I have the tendency to stick stuff in my mouth (sweet sticks, salty sticks, etc... but mostly healthy stuff), and even worse: I now talk out loud to myself (luckily I sit alone in my office all day), and curse myself for having picked up smoking about 30 years ago... but in general, I'm doing well, I think. I am fully aware of the fact that the craving will last for a very very long time (most probably beyond my grave), but I'm quite happy right now that I'm already feeling serious benefits even after only less than two weeks. It's the generally-feeling-better thing that keeps me going (erm, stopping). Since I smoked 3 packs a day on average, at €4.50/pack, my savings so far are indeed substantial. As for your Leopard shit... weird. I'm having virtually no problems whatsoever with anything. My Native Instrument softs work just fine, my Canon (!) software works properly, etc... Don't understand why the spelling auto-correct doesn't work. Where ? When ? Hey Fraze !
Yea, I stopped dead cold turkey last week, ‘cuz I was getting too much hindrance of it.
I must say it has been going relatively easy so far — expected much much worse. I’m a bit nervous, and I have the tendency to stick stuff in my mouth (sweet sticks, salty sticks, etc… but mostly healthy stuff), and even worse: I now talk out loud to myself (luckily I sit alone in my office all day), and curse myself for having picked up smoking about 30 years ago… but in general, I’m doing well, I think.

I am fully aware of the fact that the craving will last for a very very long time (most probably beyond my grave), but I’m quite happy right now that I’m already feeling serious benefits even after only less than two weeks. It’s the generally-feeling-better thing that keeps me going (erm, stopping).

Since I smoked 3 packs a day on average, at €4.50/pack, my savings so far are indeed substantial.

As for your Leopard shit… weird. I’m having virtually no problems whatsoever with anything. My Native Instrument softs work just fine, my Canon (!) software works properly, etc… Don’t understand why the spelling auto-correct doesn’t work. Where ? When ?

]]> Comment on Smokefree for 10 days now. by Fraze http://www.sweetcucumber.com/smokefree-for-10-days-now_207/#comment-1939 Fraze Tue, 22 Apr 2008 21:35:24 +0000 http://www.sweetcucumber.com/?p=207#comment-1939 Jeez Guy, well done! I remember biting the desk, steering wheel and head off of anyone who asked how I was getting on with 'stopping' around the 10 day mark! It ain't bloody easy and you'll wait for the rest of your existence for any health benefits you think you might get for your present torture. After four years of being nicotine free there are still times I could murder a fag! (please don't fear my American gay friends, not quite what you think over here.) Damn! I wish you well. Hey, you will notice the BIG increase in cash in your hip though! Typing this on my bloody macbook and it still won't auto correct my speeling (sic)! Getting a bit more used to Leopard being shit though, native instruments guitar interface problems, Nikon software problems etc, sigh. Fraze Jeez Guy, well done!
I remember biting the desk, steering wheel and head off of anyone who asked how I was getting on with ’stopping’ around the 10 day mark!
It ain’t bloody easy and you’ll wait for the rest of your existence for any health benefits you think you might get for your present torture.
After four years of being nicotine free there are still times I could murder a fag! (please don’t fear my American gay friends, not quite what you think over here.)
Damn! I wish you well.
Hey, you will notice the BIG increase in cash in your hip though!
Typing this on my bloody macbook and it still won’t auto correct my speeling (sic)! Getting a bit more used to Leopard being shit though, native instruments guitar interface problems, Nikon software problems etc, sigh.

Fraze

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