Color Changing Bookmarklets for Your Browser

(cc) photo credit: lepiaf.geo

These days, the vast majority of computer documents and web pages are displayed in dark text on a light background.  As a result the majority of your computer screen ends up being white space.

Since your display is most likely back-lit, using the computer is a bit like staring into a light bulb.  So if you’ve ever stared at a computer screen all day, or every day as the case may be, you may have caught a case of CVS (Computer Vision Syndrome).  Symptoms are generally mild and may include eye fatigue, difficulty focusing, blurry vision and headache.

To alleviate CVS you could quit your job and go outside or spend a chunk of change on some fancy pants computer glasses infused with all sorts of made-up technology.  But before you run off in a panic, allow me to present some more reasonable solutions to the problem.

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Chrome 3 is better, less ugly than before

photo credit: michperu

Chrome is quickly becoming a very good browser. As of Sept 15 version 3 of Chrome is officially stable. This release come with notable improvements in speed and stability as well as the addition of themes.

Now those of us not using the default Windows XP theme can finally shed those obnoxious blue colors from our desktop. I’m personally finding the “Greyscale” theme to be much more harmonious with the rest of my desktop.  To get themes navigate from the wrench icon > options > personal stuff > “Get Themes.”

In other good news, extensions are are just around the corner. The development release is already extendable.

The end of Pela :(

Pela, an indie rock band from Brooklyn who were on the verge of releasing a new album, seemed poised to do big things but as of Friday they’ve called it quits. Check out my post on Music Vixen for more details including new unreleased songs.

Photo credit: Whatthefunk

Madame Tutli-Putli

Two Canadian men locked themselves in a dark room with puppets for two painstaking years, sacrificing their own sanity so that you could watch this phenomenal 15 minute stop motion film in it’s entirety on youTube.

Madame Tutli-Putli boards the night train, weighed down with all her earthly possessions and the ghosts of her past.

She travels alone, facing both the kindness and menace of strangers. As day descends into dark, she finds herself caught up in a desperate metaphysical adventure. Adrift between real and imagined worlds, Madame Tutli-Putli confronts her demons and is drawn into an undertow of mystery and suspense.

The National Film Board of Canada presents a stunning, stop-motion animated film that takes the viewer on an exhilarating existential journey. The film introduces groundbreaking visual techniques and is supported by a haunting and original score. Painstaking care and craftsmanship in form and detail bring to life a fully imagined, tactile world unlike any you have seen.

Part 1

Part 2

Animating Madame Tutli-Putli

Elbow – One Day Like This

This song came up on my iPod while on shuffle this morning and I really enjoyed it.  I also love this video so I’m declaring it my personal pick of the day.  Silly Polydor / UMG not allowing their videos to be embedded.  What control freaks.  I’m embedding it anyway, in protest, even though it won’t play.  (You can just click through)

Can’t connect for an unknown reason

photo credit: Chris!!!!!

In the case of Windows Mobile, with great power comes great… failure.  My Windows Mobile phone can do some powerful things like watching youTube, remote desktop to my PC or acting as a wifi router but lately every other time I want to do one of those things it “cannot connect for an unknown reason.”

With all the different software configurations I’ve tried on this phone, something always seems to go wrong sooner or later.  After a year of ownership and countless hours of tinkering, I’m not sure if there’s going to be anyway around it.  I can’t help but wonder if Windows Mobile is simply a flawed OS.  Since I don’t want to lock in with AT&T, I’ll be looking to the generation of Android phones to step up.

By the way, the picure above was the 2nd result for my Flickr search “HTC Diamond”… what does that tell you?

the Notwist & Andromeda Mega Express Orchestra

The Notwist are touring with Andromeda Mega Express Orchestra.  Unfortunately for those of us in the states, it doesn’t look like they’ll be coming here.  However, the group has released a couple of live videos on youTube in very high quality!  Hopefully a live CD or DVD will be in the works.

Upcoming tour dates:

Notwist, only
02.10.2009 PT Fundão – A Moagem-Cidade do Engenho e das Artes

Notwist and the Andromeda Mega Express Orchestra
09.12.2009 DE Berlin – Astra Kulturhaus
10.12.2009 DE Dortmund – FZW
11.12.2009 BE Brussels – AB Hall
12.12.2009 UK London – Union Chapel

Google Sports Team Calendars

photo credit: Eric Kilby

There’s a link at the top of Google Calender today called “New: Sports calendars”. The new feature allows you to subscribe to your favorite professional sports team(s) calendars and see the game schedules. This is a great way for Google Calendar users to keep up with their favorite teams and a timely addition for new NFL season which starts this week.