BrandonMoeller.com

It’s the weekly obligatory linkpost. Yeah, you know you want it.

Here's a shot I snapped of Westheimer at Dunlavy, during a recent visit with my pal David.

RECREATIONAL READING
Another great post from Betty Martin’s blog : http://bettymartin.wordpress.com/2009/08/05/another-anti-war-blog/

GEEK + TECH
Houston design firm makes unmatchedstyle.com : http://www.unmatchedstyle.com/gallery/poplabscom.php

For IE6, gif it, don’t png it. : http://www.pewpewlaser.com/articles/png-into-gif

“The over-extended class” : http://www.gapingvoid.com/Moveable_Type/archives/005073.html

What WebMonkey wants to throw in a black hole, featuring #99ff33 : http://www.webmonkey.com/blog/8_Things_on_the_Web_We_d_Like_to_Throw_Down_a_Black_Hole

Nobody cares about your website : http://newsweaver.ie/gerrymcgovern/e_article001512755.cfm

New tools for Google Services for Websites : http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/08/new-tools-for-google-services-for.html

The crash-happy Firefox 3.5 : http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/08/08/i-want-to-love-firefox-35-but-it-keeps-crashing-on-me/

16 ways to share large files : http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/08/08/16-apps-that-make-sharing-large-files-a-snap/

Does Microsoft’s investment in Facebook net them “below-the-fold” search results when one searches Facebook? : http://www.allfacebook.com/2009/08/facebook-search-bing/

Advanced CSS tips and tricks : http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/08/10/mastering-css-advanced-techniques-and-tools/

“… A website is more like a storefront … you need to advertise to attract trade.” : http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/08/09/10-harsh-truths-about-corporate-blogging/

As it broke - Facebook acquires FriendFeed : http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/08/10/facebook-acquires-friendfeed/

Blackberry vs. iPhone : http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2009/08/great-geek-debates-iphone-vs-blackberry/

Forgetting is healthy : http://blogs.chron.com/sciguy/archives/2009/08/in_a_webbed_world_do_we_remember_too_much.html

You can’t delete Flash “cookies” : http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2009/08/you-deleted-your-cookies-think-again/

Android has some cool apps : http://lifehacker.com/5331710/ten-more-neat-and-productive-android-apps/gallery/

How to create a line art silhouette : http://www.layersmagazine.com/silhouettes.html

How to create line art from a photo : http://www.graphic-design-employment.com/live-trace.html

Colorizing line art : http://www.peachpit.com/articles/article.aspx?p=30229&seqNum=8

“New Photoshop Line Art Trick” : http://www.tomrichmond.com/blog/2008/06/06/new-photoshop-line-art-trick/

HYPER-LOCAL
Maybe carp is not crap : http://www.texasobserver.org/index.php?/botb/one-mans-trash-fish

More on the Schulenburg dance hall : http://www.texasobserver.org/index.php?/critics-notebook/destination_dance_hall

WiFi coming to Rosenberg : http://www.fbherald.com/articles/2009/08/06/news/doc4a7b0c05465f7459130225.txt

Sunflower swiping in the Montrose? : http://blogs.houstonpress.com/hairballs/2009/08/some_old_ahole_is_swiping_the.php

I can’t believe there wasn’t any water at Summer Fest. My God. : http://www.29-95.com/music/story/29-thoughts-summerfest

Prescriptions just got cheaper in Fort Bend County : http://www.fbherald.com/articles/2009/08/10/news/doc4a8082d5e8e8f365451104.txt

MEDIA
On media layoffs, and the wrong assumption of “I’m a lot better than that doofus, so I must be safe.” (the comments are as good as the post) : http://johnemcintyre.blogspot.com/2009/08/patron-and-protege.html

The term is “programmer/journalist” : http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2009/08/how-computer-assisted-reporters-evolved-into-programmerjournalists219.html

NEWS
How to refute the birthers : http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2009/08/05/birther_faq/index.html

So what - a third of the kids who graduate college were likely pushed there by rich parents and thus have no debt. For the rest, the median debt was about $20K : http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/12/education/12college.html

ART
Why so serious? : http://www.drawger.com/drewfriedman/?section=articles&article_id=8462

Marmaduke explained : http://www.29-95.com/time-suck/story/marmaduke-explained-08-10-09

MUSIC
Elton John + Alice in Chains = Black Gives Way to Blue : http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2009/08/11/elton-john-joins-alice-in-chains-new-album-to-honor-layne-staley/

.CMX : http://www.crunchgear.com/2009/08/11/in-a-move-im-calling-too-little-too-late-too-proprietary-major-labels-are-introducing-their-own-file-format/

TELEVISION
Mad Men written predominately by mad women : http://www.salon.com/mwt/broadsheet/feature/2009/08/08/mad_women_writers/index.html

GARDENING
Tomato blight is partly the fault of the renewed interest in gardening, Dan Barber claims : http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/09/opinion/09barber.html?_r=2&scp=1&sq=late%20blight&st=cse

Coreopsis - one you don’t hardly have to water : http://blogs.chron.com/lazygardener/2009/08/ol_reliable_heat_bloomer_coreo.html

HYPER-LOCAL
Respect for Craig Washington : http://harriscountycriminaljustice.blogspot.com/2009/07/craig-washington.html

“When the spindletop stops” : http://swamplot.com/when-the-spindletop-stops/2009-07-20/

HPD to driver: Lemme look at your weiner : http://blogs.houstonpress.com/hairballs/2009/07/weinermobile_cops_houston.php

Hand it over: Texas Watchdog wins fight for Houston open records : http://www.texaswatchdog.org/2009/07/texas-watchdog-wins-another-open-records-battle-with-the-city-of-houston/

Tony Diaz vs. Houston Press, concerning “Ask a Mexican” : http://blogs.houstonpress.com/hairballs/2009/07/ask_a_mexican_column.php

I’m so glad we have lawyers, the be-all, end-all solution to any problem : http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/casey/6540583.html

Downtown Rosenberg photo planned : http://www.fbherald.com/articles/2009/07/22/news/doc4a67849c12e81383824996.txt

Texas Watchdog reviews what happened to bill in the Texas Lege that they had an interest in : http://www.texaswatchdog.org/2009/07/confidential-sources-beer-ethics-forms-heres-a-wrap-on-how-the-bills-texas-watchdog-highlighted-fared-in-the-legislature/

Food not bombs and the Houston Public Library : http://blogs.houstonpress.com/hairballs/2009/07/food_not_bombs.php

Grapes on the Brazos returns : http://www.fbherald.com/articles/2009/07/18/news/doc4a60b8d29a7df005288327.txt

MEDIA
Google to newspapers: “Don’t want us to index your work? Fine. It’s easy. Here’s how.” : http://www.internetevolution.com/author.asp?section_id=697&doc_id=179357

Why Wikipedia photos suck : http://tech.slashdot.org/story/09/07/20/0044240/Why-the-Photos-On-Wikipedia-Are-So-Bad

A cable TV employee trolls and tells Jeff Jarvis he is “not a VIP … (or) a good customer” and that he should “wait for (his) turn to get help like everyone else.” : http://www.buzzmachine.com/2009/07/19/cablevision-sucks-2/#comment-398310

Leaving journalism is healthy : http://www.johntemple.net/2009/07/pulitzers-lost-what-cost-third-in.html

Evan Smith to leave Texas Monthly : http://uhjournalism.wordpress.com/2009/07/18/a-texas-version-of-politico/

MUSIC
Free MP3 “Say Please” - Monsters of Folk : http://monstersoffolk.com/

Animal Collective samples The Grateful Dead : http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2009/07/animal-collective-1.html

Kings of Convenience MP3 : http://stereogum.com/archives/mp3/new-kings-of-convenience-mrs-cold_079891.html

Something to do July 31 : http://www.fortbendnow.com/2009/07/23/39155

Elaine Greer at Sugar Hill : http://indiehouston.org/houston-music-concerts/elaine-greer-and-the-tontons-on-sugar-hill-live/

Neko on LexGo : http://www.kentucky.com/lexgo/music/story/866961.html

Goodbye, DRM : http://torrentfreak.com/drm-is-dead-riaa-says-090719/

ART
Is art still art if it’s broken into several pieces : http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ent/arts/theater/6534250.html

GEEK + TECH
More CSS tricks : http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/07/20/50-new-css-techniques-for-your-next-web-design/

A List Apart: The Inclusion Principle : http://www.alistapart.com/articles/the-inclusion-principle/

Web Accessibility in Mind’s Quick Reference guide : http://webaim.org/resources/quickref/

What’s not to like about liking : http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/07/20/people-are-using-google-reader-likes-but-some-hate-it-and-its-flawed/

Can’t use the web? Could it be your phone? : http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/how_usable_is_the_mobile_web.php

Dear Digg: if the ad looks like the content, people will stop coming back to look for the content : http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/07/20/digg-user-voted-ads-in-the-wild-mmmmm-ihop/

Free alternatives to Photoshop : http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/free_alternatives_to_photoshop_with_all_the_bells.php

Web standards open curriculum : http://interact.webstandards.org/

Yahoo can now serve as a basic site aggregator : http://lifehacker.com/5319388/yahoo-tweaks-its-homepage-allows-content-from-all-over-the-web

The latest Google Wave hype : http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/07/21/google-wave-begins-to-swell-with-developers-wider-release-this-september/

R.I.P. iPod? : http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/07/21/the-ipod-as-we-know-it-is-dying/

Unless Google buys this, it will never catch on : http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/this_message_will_self-destruct_new_tool_makes_online_postings_vanish.php

Blog eye candy : http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/07/22/50-new-beautiful-blog-designs/

The Facebookization of Yahoo! : http://www.allfacebook.com/2009/07/facebookization-of-yahoo/

Upload photos to Facebook via e-mail : http://lifehacker.com/5321149/quickly-upload-photos-and-video-to-facebook-via-email

Remember the Task is an AdobeAIR ware for Remember The Milk : http://www.jashsayani.com/my-softwares/remember-the-task/

RECREATIONAL READING
Help this dude collect One. Million. Giraffes. : http://olahelland.net/giraffes/

The mystery of grave 449 : http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2009/07/21/arlington_secrets/index.html

Just because the Baptists do not believe the same as I do doesn’t mean they should be condemned; Christ warned about such stone throwing in Scripture. : http://trueslant.com/loucarlozo/2009/07/21/jimmy-carter-leaving-the-southern-baptists-yes-and-this-ones-for-the-ladies/

Sacha Baron Cohen is Sarah : http://www.salon.com/comics/boll/2009/07/23/boll/index.html

“Many companies miss the garbled, unpunctuated non-English market segment …” : http://thedailywtf.com/Articles/Support-Should-Never-Be-Necessary.aspx

Finally! A cat lady documentary : http://laughingsquid.com/cat-ladies-a-documentary-that-explores-the-real-story-behind-crazy-cat-ladies/

BuckyBalls! : http://laughingsquid.com/zoomdoggle-buckyballs-a-highly-addictive-toy-made-of-super-magnetic-tiny-metal-balls/

Resentment (and vodka) : http://locacrazywriter.blogspot.com/2009/07/part-1-vodka-is-only-thing-that-gets.html

GARDENING
Attract hummingbirds : http://www.chron.com/commons/persona.html?newspaperUserId=plantwoman&plckPersonaPage=BlogViewPost&plckUserId=plantwoman&plckPostId=Blog%3aplantwomanPost%3a63fa497e-e6d9-4a00-bf93-a1327130d2c4&plckController=PersonaBlog&plckScript=personaScript&plckElementId=personaDest

GWI Annual Honor Roll : http://martagon.blogspot.com/2009/07/annuals-gwi-honor-roll.html

How to grow tomatoes : http://planetgreen.discovery.com/home-garden/comprehensive-guide-growing-tomatoes.html

Fight leaf spot and mildew on my zinnias, already : http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/organic/msg0505002713722.html

Compost made easy : http://www.motherearthnews.com/Organic-Gardening/2006-10-01/Compost-Made-Easy.aspx

Herb organizer/herb garden, my frog would love this : http://lifehacker.com/5311492/turn-a-shoe-organizer-into-a-vertical-herb-garden

NEWS
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Police Report : http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2009/0723092gates1.html

It’s Friday, and it’s been a long week, and so here’s a collection of random links I’ve found this week that  you might find interesting. This week, I’ve the courtesy to break ‘em up into subject areas.

"Them Navasota troopers ran me down / Escorted me right out of town / For cherry pickin squirrels and feedin dogs / And dreamin of Jamaica in a fog" -from "Cracklins," by The Gourds

GEEK + TECH

• Fear the SSN algorithm : http://www.internetevolution.com/author.asp?section_id=679&doc_id=178957
• Digg vs. IE6 : http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/07/10/can-you-digg-it-maybe-not-if-youre-stuck-on-ie6/
• “… as obsessions go, battling the Borg is waaay overrated” : http://fakesteve.blogspot.com/2009/07/lets-all-take-deep-breath-and-get-some.html
• RSS is too slow : http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/07/09/speeding-up-rss/
• Check it : http://malwarebytes.org/
• FTP vs SFTP : http://it.slashdot.org/story/09/07/13/142210/RIP-FTP
• Font potential : http://craigmod.com/journal/font-face/
• Zeldman gets interesting : http://www.zeldman.com/2009/07/14/pain-is-my-alarm-clock/
• lifehacks for designers : http://www.designer-daily.com/25-amazing-lifehacks-for-designers-2579
• Unlock the potential of WordPress widgets : http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/07/14/5-useful-and-creative-ways-to-use-wordpress-widgets/
• Everything you’ve ever wanted to know about Google Analytics : http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/07/16/a-guide-to-google-analytics-and-useful-tools/

ART

• Photos of larval fish from Belize : http://www.flickr.com/photos/smithsonian/sets/72157607254072541/
• Polaroid me : http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/07/13/rollip-brings-back-distant-memories-of-discolored-polaroid-photos/
• New Right Hand Pointing : http://www.righthandpointing.com/

GARDENING

• If only my plants could water themselves : http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/07/irrigatingplant/
• Squirrel vs. Dog - squirrel wins : http://www.chron.com/commons/persona.html?newspaperUserId=vansli&plckPersonaPage=BlogViewPost&plckUserId=vansli&plckPostId=Blog%3avansliPost%3ab9ea79fe-db93-474b-90c6-a3525c874fdc&plckController=PersonaBlog&plckScript=personaScript&plckElementId=personaDest
• Gardening can kill you : http://www.gardenrant.com/my_weblog/2009/07/thanks-for-all-the-memories.html

HYPER-LOCAL

• Betty Martin recalls the time daddy wouldn’t let her swim : http://bettymartin.wordpress.com/2009/07/11/the-backstroke/
• New theme park in Tomball : http://swamplot.com/grand-texas-theme-park-in-tomball-bringing-some-of-that-texas-frontier-spirit-to-texas/2009-07-09/
• The history of Rosenberg : http://www.fbherald.com/articles/2009/07/14/news/doc4a5cb19b3cddd157802480.txt
• Work (for free) for Swamplot : http://swamplot.com/wanted-swamplot-neighborhood-correspondents/2009-07-15/
• Hey Annise! It only really works if you use it : http://blogs.houstonpress.com/hairballs/2009/07/wanted_social_media_consultant.php

MUSIC

• Paste interviews Todd “I’m Always on Tour” Snider. He says, “I swear, it’s the truth, I’m not as into music as I am into chicks who will shave their heads and fucking whack a car with an umbrella.” Seriously. : http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2009/07/catching-up-with-todd-snider.html
• Not enough Snider? The previous link links here - the (mostly) true story behind Greencastle Blues : http://www.knoxville.com/news/2009/may/22/life-lessons/

MEDIA

• “ So now you want to put a price on a so-so online product that heretofore has been free and can largely be duplicated elsewhere? Good luck with that.” : http://recoveringjournalist.typepad.com/recovering_journalist/2009/07/you-cant-charge-for-something-that-doesnt-provide-value.html
• Screw the Ethicist, tailgaters deserve worse : http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/19/magazine/19FOB-ethicist-t.html
• Subsidize this : http://uhjournalism.wordpress.com/2009/07/16/subsidizing-journalism/

RANDOM

• I’ll do this … tomorrow : http://lifehacker.com/5309174/banish-clutter-by-evaluating-your-collections

Archive photo from July 22, 2007 : Today, when I picked Corina up for dinner, she asked if we were going to go get pizza, in that kind, not-really-asking tone. Why the hell not?

Here’s a bunch of links I’ve found interesting this week.

• Check out the comments for me heckling the Outlaw Designer about his spelling : http://www.outlawdesignblog.com/2009/talking-shop-episode-getting-published/#comment-8132
• Rules to live by : http://www.zeldman.com/2009/07/02/better-design-through-project-management/
• Because 8 GB (the current capacity of my MP3 player) just ain’t big enuff :http://lifehacker.com/5302056/mp3-quality-modifier-packs-more-music-on-mp3-players
• JQuery Awesomeness :http://flowplayer.org/tools/index.html : Found via new Mozilla’s Open Web Tools Directory : http://tools.mozilla.com/ : And, don’t forget : http://jquery.com/
• Free … as a book : http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/free_it_works_it_cries_it_bites.php : Free is free : http://www.longtail.com/the_long_tail/2009/07/the-priceless-rollout-continues-google-books.html
• Narcissism, anyone? : http://www.buzzmachine.com/2009/07/04/journalistic-narcissism/
• “Everyday baby, when the sun goes down, I get with the fellows I begin to clown, I don’t care what the people are thinking, I ain’t drunk, I’m just drinking!” : http://blog.kir.com/archives/2009/07/albert_collins.asp
• Vanity Fair on Palin : http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2009/08/sarah-palin200908
• Oh, no she didn’t! That peanut! : http://blogs.chron.com/babysteps/2009/07/a_rock_and_other_things_i_wanted_to_crawl_under.html
• How to do what people are doing : http://www.outlawdesignblog.com/2009/2009-web-design-trends-and-how-tos/
• The Internet Is Everything. : http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/07/08/google-chrome-redefining-the-operating-system/
• All in all, eMusic still ain’t a bad deal : http://www.internetevolution.com/author.asp?section_id=697&doc_id=178927 : Or, you can just listen to the music for a lot cheaper - $36 a year :  http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/05/19/pandora-gives-the-freemium-model-a-thumbs-up-with-pandora-one/ : Or, free is still pretty cheap : http://www.slacker.com/
• We are the war(ld) : http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2009/07/satellite-uncovers-pirate-weapons-haul/
• Conor Oberst + The Mystic Valley Band present “Spoiled” on Letterman, for when “you get everything you’ve ever wanted and you still feel down” : http://stereogum.com/archives/video/conor-oberst-brings-spoiled-to-letterman_078142.html
• Why I don’t want to be famous or “burned out and directionless” : http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/25/magazine/25internet-t.html
• Free typographic XHTML/CSS layouts  : http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/07/08/free-typographic-xhtmlcss-layouts-for-your-designs/
• Download Giant Princess : http://indiehouston.org/houston-music-concerts/houston-music-artists-giant-princess/
• Something to do Saturday : http://www.houstonpress.com/2009-07-09/music/wild-moccasins-buxton-ghost-mountain
• Carefree Rose = Katy Road Pink :http://blogs.chron.com/diggingin/2009/07/rose_ratings.html