http://www.rulecam.net/ted/

The Japanese make beautiful manholes

The Japanese make beautiful manholes: "

That's a cool idea, nice designed manhole covers. From Japan.

"

RSS reader Bloxor integrates with your browser

RSS reader Bloxor integrates with your browser: "

Bloxor (aka Blox0r) uses XUL to create an RSS reader and aggregator for Firefox.

You can either use Bloxor at Bloxor.com, where you can register with a user name and password, or, as Bloxor has just gone open source, you can install it on your own web server - I believe all you need is to have PHP installed on your server.

If you liked yesterday's implementation of XUL to create an Amazon browswer in Firefox, you might want to give Bloxor a try - especially if you prefer the look and feel of a standalone RSS reader to services like Bloglines.

Bloxor

 
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Geek to Live: Train others how to use email

Geek to Live: Train others how to use email: "

by Gina Trapani

"It may be the year 2006, but most people still don't know how to use email correctly. Irrelevant subject lines, top-posting, excessive cc'ing, rambling, mixing topics in single threads - the list of prolific bad email habits goes on. Instead of being the tiresome know-it-all who slaps correspondents across the wrist for terrible netiquette, use more subtle methods of teaching better email habits to those with whom you write.

The key is to teach by example. Here are a few ways to wrangle spaghetti email messages from the clueless into more effective communication AND to gently nudge them toward better habits in the future.

Edit the subject line.
The message from your co-worker's subject is "hi," and inside he inquires about how your vacation was, and whether or not you can update the web site link to the archive page on the Smith story and widen the graphic just a bit. When you respond, change the subject line to something more obvious, ie, "Re: Smith story updates (was: hi)" so that the rest of the thread is easily identified, sorted and searched.

Facilitate complete responses.
If you send a message with multiple parts that each require a response, format the message with breaks or asterisks to make it obvious and easy. That is, instead of:

Hi Jane,

Got your message about Tuesday, thanks! What's
the conference room number? Turns out I'm going
to drive instead of take the train. Will I need
a parking pass? Also, I have the Powerpoint
presentation on my laptop. Is there a projector
available I can hook it up to, or should I bring my
own?
Go with this:

Hi Jane,

I'm all set for Tuesday. A couple of questions for you:

* What is the conference room number?
* If I drive, who should I talk to for
a parking pass?
* Is there a projector available that I can
connect my laptop to?
When Jane sends you a message with a gaggle of questions, break up her response by part and respond inline to each yourself.

Set From: to the best address.
I get tons of Lifehacker-related email to my personal email address, but I want to keep those inboxes separate. So whenever someone sends me a message to my personal box, I hit reply but change the From: field to my editor at lifehacker.com address. This means the rest of the thread goes into my Lifehacker inbox, and recipients update their entry for my Lifehacker personality in their address books.

Respond after a few hours.
Email was never meant for instant, real time communication. Even if you are checking your email real time (and you shouldn't be unless you don't get anything else done), don't respond to non-emergency messages right away, especially from co-workers. It sets an impossible expectation for the future. My goal is to respond to unsolicited email from clients and readers after a few hours, but within 24 to 48 hours.

Set action expectations.
When an email message contains a request that will take more than just a few minutes, respond asking what the deadline is, any other details you need to get started, about how long it will take you to complete and about how busy you are at the moment. A quick response will please the requester but also show him or her that your time is a commodity. These types of questions will often head off and kill unimportant requests and help you schedule necessary ones.

Get outside the inbox.
Although it's often people's default mode of communication, email is not a panacea. Some discussions are better had in person or over the phone. If you receive a message that's unclear, rambling, flamey, too long or confusing cut it off at the pass. Simply respond, "Let's discuss over the phone. What's your number and when's a good time to call?" It's amazing how much more quickly complex decisions and discussions can be made and had outside the inbox - not to mention the change in tone and reduction of misunderstandings about sensitive subjects.

Gently (but firmly) teach the basics of email lists.
I can't count the number of times I've watched newbies on a mailing list reply to the whole list with messages meant for one or two people. If you're the list admin or even just a participant, gently remind these folks to double-check the addresses to which they are sending messages, and to only send messages relevant to the ENTIRE list to the list address. Do this off the list. No one likes a public spanking.

Got any tips for teaching others how to make the most of email? Any ticks or troubles you have with the inbox? Let us know in the comments or at tips at lifehacker.com.

Special thanks to reader Grant Barrett for inspiring this article with this insightful comment which made me go, "Hey! I do that too!"

Gina Trapani, the editor of Lifehacker, dreams of a world where email is used effectively. Her bi-weekly feature, Geek to Live, appears every Wednesday and Friday on Lifehacker. Subscribe to the Geek to Live feed to get new installments in your newsreader.

Pictures perfect

Pictures perfect: "

This week Power Downloader tackles his enormous folder of holiday pictures. Find out what happens in the continuing adventures of Power Downloader!

"

test of the Marshall blogging system and a small smile

Tim Allen, the comedian, had this to say about Martha Stewart:
"Boy, I feel safer now that she's behind bars. O.J. and Kobe are walking
around; Osama Bin Laden, too. But they take the one woman in America willing
to cook and clean and work in the yard and haul her butt off to jail."
http://www.backwoodshome.com/humor/jokes92.html