CodeJacked.com: Productivity Tips for Windows & Linux

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codejacked.com, a website loaded with productivity tips for anyone who uses Windows or Linux. We have 100's of tips so far and the library is growing by 10-20 tips per week. So, please come visit. If you find a tip that helps you, please post a comment to say so. If you need a question answered, or you have a suggestion for a new tip, let me know (tips@codejacked.com). Also, PLEASE, PLEASE help spread the word. Tell your technical support department. Tell your friends. Tell your boss. And if you have a blog of your own, tell your readers.

Pocket PC PDA up for Grabs

Family & Freinds, I have a Pocket PC PDA that I don't need anymore. (My new cell phone does it all.) If you have a use for it, let me know before April 2; otherwise, I'll auction it off on eBay.

Las Vegas Trip Report

Last week I took a mini vacation to Las Vegas. I was originally planning on going in March, but all of the package deals to be had expired in February -- March and April being heavy convention months. My usual cohorts all being unavailable, this was a solo trip for once. I figured, what the heck? Las Vegas is a friendly town, and I'll make new friends when I get there, which I did. So, I loaded up my iPod with enough podcasts for the 9-hour round trip, and hit the road.

• The deal I got was at the Golden Nugget: a low rate for two nights with a third night free, plus a thick coupon book when I got there. The bad news for me was that half the coupons were two-for-one deals, yet there was only one of me, and they were strict about the wording. So, I gave those coupons away -- which made me even more friends, woo hoo! (By the way, it used to be that if you had a coupon for breakfast or lunch you could use it for dinner if you pay the difference, but they are strict about that now as well.)
• One price I paid for coming in the off-season was that I had to put up with quite a bit of construction that was going on at the Golden Nugget: between the parking garage in the hotel, and in the pool area. I must say that when the pool construction is finished it is going to be fabulous. There is now a huge fish aquarium alongside the pool which is now surrounded by table games, a bar, and hundreds of luxurious lounge chairs. There is also a new, two-story high enclosed-tube water slide that runs right through the middle of the aquarium. Kids of all ages are going to love it.
• Scanning through one of the guidebooks that I picked up at the registration counter, I actually found a free attraction that I realized I had never experienced before -- the street performers in St. Mark's Square at the Venetian. The troupe that I saw at the two o'clock show included four jugglers (one on stilts), six singers, and four musicians, all dressed in splendid renaissance attire. I thoroughly enjoyed the show, but here is a tip for you: the amplified piano and voices overpower the acoustic flute and lutes, so be sure to pick a spot to stand that's near the musicians in order to hear them better. Apparently, the show changes during the day, so at other times you might catch a puppet show, or a magician, or the like.
• There is a newly renovated hotel/casino called Santa Fe Station, that is 15 minutes northwest of Downtown. I made the mistake of trying to get there during rush hour while the 95 is all torn up with a widening project. Even so, it was well worth the sidetrip. The elegant casino has an airy, vaulted ceiling and is surrounded by wonderful amenities (which are especially family-friendly, by the way). There is a huge modern movie theater, a bowling alley, and something called Kids Quest. I ate at a Mexican restaurant called Cabo (a chain apparently), where I had the "fajitas for one" which at any other restaurant would be called fajitas for two. As I was raving about the fajitas in the poker room, the other poker players raved about the hamburgers at the Turf Grill, and the specials at the café. I don't know what the rooms are like, but I will definitely consider staying there next time, if a good deal is to be had. This has me wondering if the old, rundown Palace Station (just northwest of the Strip) has a much-needed facelift in store.
• My biggest disappointment of the trip was Zumanity, the risqué Cirque du Soleil production at New York, New York. I had experienced three other Cirque du Soleil shows in the past (Mystere at Treasure Island, and two of the traveling shows), and they were all fantastic. So, my expectation going in was that Zumanity would be the best of both worlds: a Folies Bergère show done up with Cirque du Soleil flair. Instead, I found it to be merely recycled cirque minus the costumes. There was not a single acrobatic act that I had not seen before, albeit with different props, and the comedy acts were funny but not sidesplitting. Also, the venue is extremely dark inside. It's all done up in black and red, which is obviously meant to be romantic, but for me it was actually sleep-inducing. I literally nodded off during two of the particularly ho-hum acts. I wish I had listened to my friends who recommended "O" as a worthy Cirque du Soleil offering.
• The Golden Nugget buffet moved upstairs since the last time I visited. Unfortunately, the fabulous food quality got left behind. (I knew I was in trouble when I got there at the peak of lunch hour, and there was no line.) That great self-serve beverage bar with the huge variety of drinks also got left behind, so you now have to ask the server for beverages, like at all the other buffets in town. Much better food is to be had in the 24-hour café, downstairs in the south wing.
• The poker room at the Imperial Palace that I liked so much moved downstairs a year ago, and now I don't like it at all. It's extremely noisy right next to the slot machines (management has been promising to put up plexiglass dividers for six months apparently), and they took away the finger sandwiches (although they still have self-serve coffee and cookies). At least, they still comp two dollars an hour.
• So, the poker room at the Golden Nugget is my new favorite. The room is a little crowded, but it's quiet and the staff is super friendly. For comps, if you've been sitting at a table for three or four hours you can ask the floor manager to comp you a meal. That will be in the form of a $10 voucher that's good at either the buffet or the café, to be used that day. (As noted above, the café is where you'll want to use it.)

Oxymoronic Drivers

I'm thinking of adding "turn signal" to my collected oxymora. Drivers (here in California, at least) invariably only ever use them if it's already obvious which way they're headed, yet fail to use them when it would actually help. Take lunchtime yesterday, for example. I was waiting to turn right out of a parking lot, but there were 7 cars approaching from my left. I sat there watching as every single one of those drivers slowed down and pulled into the parking lot before they got to me. Thus, had I known, I could have exited at any time. Did any of those drivers signal to let me know that? No! Not a one.

My Fibonacci Joke

An infinite number of mathemeticians walk into a bar. The first mathemetician says, "I'll have one beer, please." The second mathemetician says, "I'll have one beer, please." The Nth mathemetician points to N-2 and N-1 and says, "I'll have what those two are having."

Trashy Entertainment

I sure get good value for my city taxes. Not only do they haul away my garbage, but the entertainment of watching them do it with those robot-armed trucks is bonus material.

Rockin' with The Antix

I had some time to kill at Disneyland tonight, so I wandered over to Innoventions to see the Asimo robot do his tricks. Unfortunately, I missed his last performance (hourly from noon to 6), but I got a great consolation prize -- for just then, The Antics hit the stage at the Tomorrowland Terrace, singing one great rock 'n roll cover after another: Billy Idol, The Cars, Wild Cherry, Stevie Wonder. The first set was so good, I waited for them return after their break and then enjoyed the second set as well.

I don't see on The Antix web site where they tell you where you might catch an upcoming performance, but you can always hire them for a private gig (seriously, for weddings and corporate events, etc.). Check out their video clips online. And you can always look for them at Disneyland. Apparently they're regulars there.

Update: Scheduled dates can be found at http://www.myspace.com/brookewilkes and http://www.myspace.com/antixband

Stupid Procrastination Advice

And the award for the most inane utterance heard this week goes to the psychologist on NBC's Today Show yesterday morning for her advice on curbing procrastination. Her biggest tip? "Set priorities."

How stupid is that? Doesn't the term “procrastinate” pretty much imply that the items not being done are important? I mean, when was the last time you heard a guy apologize for not getting all of his TV watching done?

The Blank Page Syndrome
My personal procrastination demons are usually of the fuzzy-goal species. It's hard for me to get things done when I'm not even sure what "done" looks like. Whenever I realize that that is what's happening, I use a trick that they teach to budding novelists. “Write the ending first,” the professionals say. "Then, go back to the beginning and write to that end, changing it, if necessary, when you get there."

This trick works for all kinds of tasks. For example, in software maintenance I usually have to document the changes I make, explaining to the end-user what each bug fix or enhancement means to them and how to take advantage of it. I find that when I start with writing that documentation, pretending that I've already implemented the change, it really helps to clarify in my mind the specifics of the end result that I'm trying to achieve. Then, as I do the work for real, it gives me an acid test to know if I'm on the right track. In other words, does the software now work as advertised? A side benefit of this end-first exercise is that it often reveals latent issues and questions for which I have no answers. It also helps me to enumerate any assumptions that I've been making, which perhaps ought to be validated.

A Man Walks Into a Bar...

One of my clients is a connoisseur of "A man walks into a bar..." jokes. I made this one up for him, and he thought it was funny enough to share:

A cartoon character named Sam bellies up to the bar and orders a yard of beer.

The barkeep asks him, "Are you sure you want a whole yard now? It'll get warm before you finish."

Sam replies, "Yes, I'm sure. I've got a 2-dimensional gullet, so this beer will disappear in nothing, flat."