Gliding on the Lamy Safari Fountain Pen

I lost an insanely expensive fountain pen months ago, & have been heartbroken ever since. My efforts to find a suitable replacement proved futile, as stores over here seem to think that there are no other brands in the world except for Parker & Cross.

As time went by, desperation started to set in, and I decided to try my luck online. My Google searches led me to various sites on pens, crafts, GTDs, & lifehacks, until I finally narrowed down my choice to a Lamy Safari. It wasn’t too expensive for me to experience cognitive dissonance, & it wasn’t too cheap as to be mistaken for a disposable. Plus, charcoal gray is my favorite color.

I headed on to Pendemonium (I heard Swisher Pens has pretty good deals, too), and placed my order:

  • 1 Lamy Safari Pen, extra fine nib
  • 1 Lamy Safari Pen, fine nib (because I couldn’t decide on a nib)
  • 2 bottles of Noodler’s Ink (as if I will buy anything else)
  • 2 converters

After a few weeks of waiting for my order (from Pendemonium, to a US delivery address, & finally to the Philippines), I was finally able to hold the glorious pens in my hands. They were perfect.

I was warned the Safaris were too light to hold — they weren’t. The combined weight & diameter of the body was just right. It was very comfortable — not at all tiring on the wrist.

I’m also glad I got both nibs. The fine nib is great for taking down hurried notes, and extra fine was awesome for numbers & math formulas.

The Safari in charcoal has a great finish, but not so much the royal blue — I could already see tiny little scratches on them.

In the next few months, I’ll be adding the Studio & the AL Star to my Lamy collection. There are some brands just worth being loyal to.

Decreasing the size of Firefox’s tabs

Firefox 2.0? Ho-hum. After all, how can such a great browser impress us further? But a spellchecker’s there, & that’s always good; and a feed reader, which unfortunately didn’t live up to the standards of Sage.

The scrolling tabs need some time to get used to. The tabs are also wider. This means that it only takes a few tabs to be open for it to start scrolling — not fun for the multi-tasker in you.

There is a way to decrease the size of the tabs, though:

  1. Enter the following in the address bar:
    about:config

  2. Look for browser.tabs.tabminWidth & doubeclick it.

  • Enter desired size. The default is 100 pixels. You can set it to 80 or 90.

  • Removing horizontal space in mosimage

    When using the mambot {mosimage}, Joomla automatically puts a horizontal space (hspace) around your image. This can destroy a website layout, especially one that is specifically sized up to the last pixel.

    An alternative, of course, is to just use the <img> tags in inserting images. However, this has a weakness: The paths are not dynamic. This means that if you need to move your Joomla installation to a different folder, you will need to find all instances of your tags, & replace them with your new path. This means that the mosimage mambot a distinct advantage.

    To change mosimage’s hspace value to zero:

    1. Open /mambots/content/mosimage.php
    2. In approximately line 175, change

      hspace="6"
      to
      hspace="0"

    Alternatively, you can simply just remove the hspace value all together.

    Line 175 will thus look like this:

    $image .=' alt="'. $attrib[2] .'" title="'. $attrib[2] .'" border="'. $border .'" />';

    Developers say the funniest things

    One of our QA’s job requirements is to make sure that the source code submitted by the programmers is “clean” – meaning, no hidden email addresses, personal copyright information, etc.

    But I’m guessing some things are left overlooked – or simply just too hilarious to remove.

    Computerworld recently published the funniest things they have discovered thru the Google Code Search.

    Our favorites:

    116: int_fast16_t reserved1;
    /* Ask Bill Gates what this is all
    about. */

    47: /*
    Very special greetings go out to Steve Jobs for creating a system
    that doesn’t handle global construction correctly.

    1629: I would like to digress at this point, and state that
    I feel that George Bush is an incompetent fool.
    Thank you.

    5: module REXML
    # God, I hate DTDs. I really do. Why this idiot standard still
    # plagues us is beyond me.

    967: the proper stuff.
    Without this, it will choke
    and try to use the memory handler
    above, and fail miserably. That should
    really be fixed. I beg you —
    if you are reading this comment,
    fix this :) */

    103: * noise but I can’t find a better one within my wage slave
    * cubicle and if I leave to record a good noise my boss might see me.

    23: Though this is hardly GnomePixmap anymore :)
    If you use this API in new applications, you will be strangled to death,
    please use GtkImage, it’s much nicer and cooler and this just uses it anyway

    /* The following functions are for internal use only! If you call them
    directly, you will die a horrible, miserable, and painful death! */

    48: ;;; I need to document the rest of these, but we just invaded Iraq
    ;;; so I’m going home. (Westy)

    Links:
    Oh, the things you’ll find in source code!

    Disable PDF viewing in Firefox

    You’re happily surfing, and you realized too late that one of the URLs you’ve clicked was actually a PDF document. You hate it. It takes a long time to load, makes your browser hang, or confuses so much with the toolbars that you unknowingly close your browser.

    There is a way for you to disable in-browser viewing of PDF files. Instead of automatically opening the PDF document in your browser, you will be asked if you want to save the document in your computer instead. Definitely a much better alternative.

    1. In Firefox, open the Options window by going to Tools > Options from the menu.
    2. Select Download.

    3. Click the View & Edit Actions button. The Download Actions window will appear. In here, you will see a list of file extensions, and the “action” associated with it — meaning, for each of the file extension listed, there is a corresponding browser plug-in which will run the file extension.
    4. Select PDF, then click on the Change Action button.
    5. Then select Save them on my computer.
    6. Click OK.

    Coming soon: MoneySense

    MoneySense is an upcoming magazine which focuses on personal finance, which is something my generation in particular is very interested in. (Ahhh, what to do with all my wealth ;-))

    Plus, Heinz Bulos is one of the people behind it — a very good friend, my partner-in-crime (he was Batman, and I was Robin), and definitely one of the best writers/editors I’ve ever worked with. (Heinz, free issue naman dyan … )

    Get your name in print in these small easy steps :) Here’s a call for submission:

    We’re soon launching the country’s first personal finance magazine called MoneySense. One of our features is on cost-cutting tips. Hope you can share your tips and secrets on how to save money or cut costs. Choose from these categories: Home, Utilities, Food, Health, Transportation, Clothing, Kids, Entertainment, and Travel.

    And if your tip is published, we will give you a free copy of the first issue!

    This is what you need to include:

    Full Name
    Occupation
    City/Province
    Tip Category (Home, Utilities, Food, Health, Transportation, Clothing, Kids, Entertainment, or Travel)
    Your Tip
    Amount Saved

    Please be as detailed as possible, including how much you were able to save. If you have these tried-and-tested tipid tips, send them to hbulos@moneysense.com.ph or moneysensemag@gmail.com. Remember, if yours get picked, you get to help and share with other people. Plus, we’ll give you a copy of the premiere issue for free!

    Heinz

    The Mama & Papa Guide on Using the Scary Computer

    Over the course of my life, there are only a few things which can outshine this achievement: Teaching my parents how to use a computer.

    Although I would personally guide them as they struggle (and scream) in front of the computer, they would often ask me to write up quick reference guides on doing certain tasks.

    Let me share with you the first installment of the Mama & Papa Guide on Using the Scary Computer. I hope that, like me, you too would find a deep sense of accomplishment in introducing technology to your loved ones.

    Download:

    Sending file attachments thru Yahoo mail

    PayPal now offered to Philippine residents

    It wasn’t just a rumor after all.

    A quick visit to PayPal confirmed that we Philippine residents could stop using the accounts of our U.S.-based relatives, and finally open a PayPal account of our own. After creating a personal & a business account (in a span of 10 minutes, mind you), there was a feeling of euphoria, quickly stifled by dread. We are all aware, after all, of PayPal horror stories.

    FYI, there is no withdrawal functionality yet for Philippine residents. To quote:

    PayPal accounts opened in this country or region currently cannot withdraw funds. We regret any inconvenience this may cause you.

    But beggars can’t be choosers, and as an online shopping addict, I am definitely one helluva beggar. So eBay, here I come.

    So what did you get on your W.O.M.B.A.T.?

    J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter books, has finally released the results of the latest Wizard’s Ordinary Magic & Basic Aptitude Test (W.O.M.B.A.T.). To check how you did on the test, logon to www.jkrowling.com and click on the W.O.M.B.A.T. card on the top of the page.

    The online test gave even the most die-hard Harry Potter fans an insecurity complex. They were a bunch of mind-boggling questions concerning inferis, hags, vampires, werewolves, & house-elves. Most interesting was the question on the 3 most indispensable items in case of trouble. My choices? The invisibility cloak, Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder, and the broomstick (although now I’m wishing I chose the Hand of Glory instead of the former).

    I was resigned to getting a Troll, but surprisingly got an Exceeds Expectations. Ah, nothing like high marks to get you going.

    Smart Bro and the not-so-technical activity

    I have been a Smart Bro subscriber for about 10 months now. However, I’m not one of the "noisy" subscribers. I’m actually quite contented with it, thank you very much — enough to even recruit a couple of other subscribers. It’s a lot more stable than my previous account with PLDT MyDSL, and it is a relief not to be put on hold for an hour before finally getting to talk with a live human being.

    I do have complaints, however. No, it’s not bandwidth stability (although the bandwidth does leave much to be desired). It’s not even the fact that they:

    • blocked popular P2P ports
    • made a mess out of Skype file transfers
    • won’t allow me to use my own SMTP
    • or that they accidentally disconnected my account for 4 days

    My complaints are on how customer service is being handled.

    That damn "technical activity"

    Every time the internet connection is down (and they actually know it), the customer support representative will rattle off these famous words:

    "Ma’am, may technical activity po sa site nyo."

    They will not give any further details. Nor will they, at the very least, give an estimated time of completion. They actually believe that "technical activity" is an oh-so-soothing excuse, to be taken with wide-eyed delight & acceptance.

    I know some people in Smart, and they’re composed of a very intelligent lot, so I’ll keep the advice short:

    Customers do need to know why & when; otherwise, it builds resentment & frustration. These are basics of stakeholder communications. The customer service department, among anyone else, should be aware of this.

    "Technical activity? Akala ko kasi merong song-and-dance activity kaya di ako maka-connect. Salamat, ha?"

     

    Troubleshooting process

    Much worse, however, is The Unknown Problem: When the rep will insist that there is nothing wrong with them, & all the problems in the planet has something to do with your computer.

    Try going around this — try to convince your rep otherwise, and claim with conviction & vehemence:

    • that you actually know how to release & renew your IP address,
    • have tried connecting using 2 other laptops with no success,
    • have a degree in Computer Science,
    • a 7-year experience in the IT industry,
    • and that you are Bill Gates in disguise.

    Nothing — I repeat, nothing — will sway them.

    You see, before they will further investigate what is wrong on their end, you have to go thru their "troubleshooting process."

    Try going around this one more time. Rattle of the steps you probably already know by heart, and assure them you have already gone thru those steps on your own.

    ‘Di valid yun, dude. Apparently, it has to be done while the rep is on the phone. Para believable. Gets mo?

    "Short lang po," they assured you.

    But oh no, gracious no. It will not take a few moments of your time. The average troubleshooting process actually takes 45 minutes to 1 hour, depending on how slow your rep spells "ipconfig," "ping," "release," and the rest of the commands in DOS history.

    The trouble shooting process is their customized specialized high-tech mind-boggling brain-racking procedure, where the rep will make you do the following repeatedly:

    • reboot your computer,
    • release & renew your IP address,
    • set your network properties,
    • delete all your cookies,
    • clear your browser’s history,
    • refresh your desktop,
    • and set your browser’s default homepage to www.yahoo.com.

    I kid you not.

    And finally, a miracle happens: A moment of silence, a stutter, maybe even some scratching of the head. The rep admits defeat.

    They will then inform you that they will "elevate" your concern to the "higher technical group," who is supposed to call you back within 24 hours.

    On the rare occasion that you are called back, hold your horses, go back to your seat, take a deep breath, and grab a San Mig Light: Because you will be asked to go thru this troubleshooting process. Again.

    Cheers.

    ————————————————————
    About the author

    This author was very happy that she could use Smart Bro during the Milenyo storm . But it was too good to last. About an hour after the storm left the Metro Manila, when the rest of the ISPs on the finally went online, Smart Bro decided to go down.

    The author has already undergone 2 troubleshooting processes ever since, and yet her internet connection is still down.

    She still loves her Smart Bro account. But can they please make it frickin’ work already?