Not that I cannot simply go back online to obtain this information again, but I figured it would be easier to post it here and maybe also help a few people.

Most, if not all ceiling fans have a switch which changes the direction in which they spin. Due to the tilt of the blades this obviously affects how the warmer air is distributed about the room.

During the summer the fan should move clockwise, while in the winter it should rotate counter-clockwise. Um, never mind. Read the comments below for more.

Apparently I am not the only one who was displeased with the new Google redesign. Joseph W. Dombroski has coded a bookmarlet to reverse the changes of the redesign by modifying the Google cookie. It worked immediately when I installed it. Check it out.

Unrelated: Khaaaaaaaan!

I mentioned back on 13 April I was going to be replacing the current Gallery software (powered by a packaged with the same name) with a SourceForge project called Coppermine. I selected this software from the various free gallery products available for its clean default appearance, straight forward navigation, multitude of uploading options and its file structure. I had many issues with Gallery that made me more and more displeased with it. Coppermine was installed successfully back on the 13th and has been working since, but I delayed an announcement until now as I had not uploaded all my pictures yet. I do still have to finish customising the skin to match the rest of Mount Sutro and add captions to many of the pictures, but the content as a whole is there and fully organised into main categories (cities for the most part) and the subcategories ("albums") of particular days or events.

The picture cropped and used as this article's header is one I have been meaning to comment on since it was taken. When Erik (pictured to the left) and I came into possession of cigars from Key West we were excited to finally try something we had discussed doing since we were of age to purchase tobacco products, but at the same time hesitant. The exact and proper methods eluded us and we did not wish to screw our first time up. We were cigar virgins indeed and properly intoxicated, a fact which probably was not in our favour.

I remembered a photograph taken when Ernie and company visited Orlando for Gay Days 2003. It was taken not on one of the occasions I spent time with Ernie, Mike and Don but during an evening they visited with ex-Orlando blogger Dan Benjamin and web-standards aficionado. Supplementary to publishing this photograph depicting Ernie and Dan with cigars at Pleasure Island, Dan included a very thorough instruction guide called "Regarding Cigars." Erik and I used this guide to successfully enjoy our first and to date, only cigars. I had Erik's brother Steven take this picture and I modified it in Photoshop to best match the one that had drawn me to the document that proved so ever helpful. Via telephone several months ago Ernie asked if I had ever shown Dan this tribute picture and I had not. Therefore, Dan: Thank you very much for your wonderful guide and my continued enjoyment of Hivelogic and Automatic Labs.

* the original version of this photograph lives in my Gallery but Dan's edited version is only a broken link these days.

ADDENDUM: Previous links to the Gallery and photographs contained therein should mostly redirect to the album index of the new Gallery. It took some time setting the .htaccess file correctly as it is so I am likely to just let it go. As I doubt no one has bookmarked a picture this should likely pertain mostly to visitors arriving via image search engines

If you do not have the technical expertise (or the brains to find someone who does) to configure your web server so that it is not necessary to type a "www" prefix when going to a domain name, you should not have a website. Period.

Even more amazing are the number of Fortune 500 companies that constantly neglect these few lines of code and possibly deter customers or at least make asses of themselves. For example, several years ago I notified the so-called webmaster of the Crown Royal Whiskey Company that their print advertising displayed their domain name sans the old school prefix and was, in fact, inaccessible that way. I never received a reply to my generous observation but the problem was corrected rather swiftly.

Oh and Flash-only websites suck. Forcing your end-users (read: moneymakers) to comply to your strict requirements is illogical. Flash is an interesting technology with many practical applications but at least give me the option to skip the annoying animated buttons, splash screens, introduction pages and noisy transition effects by suppling an HTML version as well. No, actually do not even bother. Your site probably contains nothing useful anyway.

I have been meaning to write out several stories based on current events that I think may be amusing to the general public but I have been rather lackadaisical with it. They will be coming soon however. In the meantime here are some items I just wanted to briefly mention.

• Gas Prices
  What the hell is going on at the gas pump? I dumped nearly $20.00 today to fill my just-shy-of twelve gallon tank. Luckily for me my 1994 Honda Civic EX will take that tank of regular unleaded fuel to around 350 miles, but still the prices around here are getting ridiculous. The average as far as I have been able to ascertain from driving around the Orlando metropolitan and surrounding areas must be somewhere around $1.71 per US Gallon. I would be very curious to hear comments from those around the country (and world for that matter) with regard to your local gasoline prices, so please reply with those.
• ATM for Books
  Whilst dropping off some friends at the Orlando International Airport so they could embark on a vacation to outside Denver, Colorado, we happened upon an invention we had yet to lay eyes upon: an automated book-dispenser. The touch-screen interface allows the end-user to browse through or search a limited selection of best selling fiction and non-fiction paperback and mass market books and make purchases using cash or a credit/debit card. Upon payment the machine spits out the book much like a snack or beverage vending machine. If you find yourself at the Orlando International Airport, take a walk past the W. H. Smith Books Company store and find this machine outside of it.
• Free Online PDF Conversion
  If you wish to create professional documents in the ever popular Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) but do not wish to shell out the money for a conversion utility I recommend an online product that does the job quite well and is free of charge. BLC Technologies' free conversion tools allow you to submit files to be converted to PDF or HTML formats and also decode PDF into more usable Microsoft Word, HTML, plain text and image formats. After submitting your documents you will receive an e-mail with the resulting file attached. The conversion was perfect for the Word files I made into PDF's and they arrived at my mail box quickly. Check it out: http://www.gobcl.com
• A Word from Our Sponsor
  Though I am still redeveloping my business website, I am currently in the process of starting a local advertising campaign for my services: professional yet inexpensive web hosting, domain name registration/management/renewals, on-site support/training and consultation. I will be specifically targeting small local businesses, artists, musicians, bars, pubs, cafes, art galleries and similar organisations. It is my belief that after being involved with the local downtown community for many years I can best support these artists and businesses by providing necessary services at a cost that is more than manageable. I have already received support from a local small business and an artist who are now going to be developing their online presences with me. I will be producing some fliers and hope to make a name for myself in the community. If you would like more information on my services or would like to get some business cards and fliers for your business or gallery, please let me know. Thank you.

I had forgotten about this up until I received the following letter and a check for $13.86.

CD MAP Antitrust Litigation
P.O. Box 1650
Faribault, MN 55021-1650

IMPORTANT: SETTLEMENT MATERIALS ENCLOSED

February, 2004

Dear Florida Music Purchaser:

As Attorney General for the State of Florida, I am pleased to enclose payment for your claim in the settlement of the Compact Disc Minimum Advertised Price Antitrust Litigation. This lawsuit was brought by the Attorneys General of 43 states and three territories and by counsel for Private Class Plaintiffs on behalf of purchasers of music CDs. In accordance with the terms of the court-approved settlement, payment is being made to music purchasers who filed a valid and timely claim.

Whether you filed your claim online at the settlement web site, www.MusicCDSettlement.com, or by mail, the attached payment represents full payment of your portion of the Settlement. Please not that the attached payment instrument must be cashed by May 20, 2004.

It is a pleasure to bring this matter to a satisfactory conclusion and to return value to consumers who purchased CDs while the challenged pricing policies were in effect.

Charlie Crist
Attorney General of Florida