I just upgraded to the latest version of WordPress. I am getting used to the changes and the looks of the Dashboard and such. The WordPress team has changed things such as a larger font when writing a post and added the ability to upload files when writing a post, instead of having to switch tabs to upload a file.

Gigaparts Question of the Dec 31, 2005
——————————————————————————————————————Question: Pin two of the TS-480 microphone jack is for .
Answer: 8 VDC——————————————————————————————————————

Although some may like Dashboard in 10.4, I never really use it and I find it a waste of resources. Here is how to turn it off.
Launch Terminal and enter these two commands
defaults write com.apple.dashboard mcx-disabled -boolean YES
killall Dock

To turn Dashboard back on enter these into terminal
defaults write com.apple.dashboard mcx-disabled -boolean NO
killall Dock

I knew about invisible files from past experience with unix. An invisible file in unix typically starts with a “dot” and I thought this was the case for OS X, but I was wrong. While you can hide file in OS X by starting the file name with a “dot”, it is not the ONLY way. There are three ways to create a hidden file in OS X. One way is to use the “dot” prefix for a file name as previously stated. Another is to enter the file name into the “.hidden” file in the root directory (This file is not created in version 10.4 installation but it is still supported). The final way to create hidden files is to activate the “invisible bit” for the file. This can be done in a Terminal window with the help of XCode’s developer tool “SetFile”. I learned all of this after copying my fiance’s songs off of her iPod and realized they are hidden files. I used the SetFile command to turn off the invisible bit. Here is how I did it:

Launch Terminal and enter defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles Yes (Shows all hidden files)
Open the /Developer/Tools folder in the Finder. Locate SetFile and drag its icon to the terminal window. The Directory path for SetFile (/Developer/Tools/SetFile) should appear in the Unix command line prompt.
Type: -a V . Leave a space after the upper case V.
Locate the file that you want to make invisible. Drag its icon to the Terminal window. Its path should now be added to the same command line prompt.

You should now see something like
/Developer/Tools/SetFile -a v /Users/homedirectoryname/Desktop/MyDoc
To reverse the process you use the same command but use “V” instead of “v”

Finally relaunch Finder by entering the command killall Finder into Terminal

A more complete guide to hidden files in OS X

As many of you already know, I purchased a home back in June of this year. The person that lived here was old and had the washer and dryer on the first floor because walking up and down the stairs to the basement was not feasable for her age. The washer and dryer was installed in the kitchen/dining room and was very awkward. So about a month ago I called up my dad and he came over to help me move the two appliances to the basement. He then helped me run the 220 that was needed to power the dryer and the 110 to power the washer. I then ran the water to the washer with copper pipes. This is where I taught myself how to solder copper pipes. The first try turned out to be my practice session. I then had to heat the pipes back up to pull them apart and I ran new ones which turned out to not leak and was much easier to do given the practice that I already had. Lets just say the two tips I learned were: Use lots of flux and Clean the pipe ends thoroughly.

I recently purchased “The Art of Intrusion” by Kevin Mitnick, about a week ago and wanted an electronic version of the book. Searching through the internet for my new book I found an interesting article in the fcc database. The article is in reference to Mitnicks renewal of his General Class Amateur Radio License in 2001 and whether the fcc should revoke his license based on his criminal behavior. I looked his callsign, N6NHG up on QRZ and noticed I am not the only one to look him up as there have been 8,480 lookups done on this call sign. I guess I am always the last to find out about something like this. Here are the pdf files of both of Mitnick’s books. In his keynote speeches he also talks about ham radio and some humorous pranks he has done that sound strangely familiar.

The Art Of Deception 5.2 mb
The Art of Intrusion 3.1 mb
Kevin Mitnick’s Keynote Speeches 12.1 mb