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Google Books Ngram Viewer: Peking v. Beijing
Google Books Ngram Viewer is an interesting application for looking up the frequency of phrases in books over time. For example, I recently ran a search from 1800-2000 for the different spellings of 北京: Peking, Beijing, Peiping and Beiping. As expected, Peking is the dominant English name for 北京. Peiping appeared at some point in…
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Nikon D7000 Autofocus Problem
Two months ago, I had ordered the Nikon D7000 shortly after it was announced. After a long wait, it finally arrived today, but only for a short visit. I was upgrading from a Nikon D50, so I was already familiar with Nikon DSLRs. The D7000 felt comfortable in my hands, much like the soon-to-be-retired Nikon…
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Paparazzi! Full Page Screenshots
I’ve been using Paparazzi! for quite some time to take full page screenshots on a MacBook Pro. However, I recently started to encounter some problems with Paparazzi!. Specifically, Paparazzi! was no longer able to capture flash embedded on a webpage. After much grumbling, I even tested Web Snapper but experienced the same problem. Eventually, I…
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Mount Diablo State Park
Mount Diablo State Park (CA State Parks, Mount Diablo Interpretive Association, Reserve America) is located in Contra Costa County near the communities of Alamo, Danville and San Ramon. A visitor center is located at the summit of Mount Diablo where you can absorb a 360° view of the surrounding region. I could see the Golden…
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Friends, Romans, Countrymen, Lend Me Your Knives
Having a knife sharpener is the most impractical of practical kitchen appliances. You cannot prepare food without a sharp knife. From mincing to chopping to slicing to dicing, having a sharp knife makes these essential kitchen tasks an absolute joy. So, after unboxing the Chef’s Choice 1520 AngleSelect Diamond Home Electric Knife Sharpener, I proceeded…
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Chef’s Choice 1520 AngleSelect Diamond Hone Electric Knife Sharpener
I recently purchased a Chef’s Choice 1520 AngleSelect Diamond Hone Electric Knife Sharpener because some kitchen knives were flunking the ripe tomato test. Basically, if a knife could not cleanly slice through a ripe tomato, which presents the dual challenge of a moderately tough skin with a mushy interior, then it flunks the ripe tomato…
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iPad Coloring Apps
Young children love to color. Sometimes, they inappropriately express their creativity by coloring on walls. Not good. So, as parents or teachers, we have to provide them with a proper outlet for channel their passion: coloring books. However, on a road trip, bringing along a set of crayons and coloring books can be cumbersome. So,…
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China Hotel Internet Access
First, the good news. When I visited China, all the hotels i stayed in had in-room broadband internet access. Now, the bad news. Unfortunately, only the hotel in Nanjing had in-room wireless internet access. For the rest, online access came in the form of an ethernet cable. If I was lugging around a MacBook Pro,…
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iPhone Video Panorama App
The Video Panorama application for the iPhone offers a simple method for generating panoramic photos. First, use the app to take a video across a panorama. The app then generates a panoramic photo presumably by stitching together still images from the video. When Video Panorama works, it generates a decent panoramic photo, such as the…
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Bose QuietComfort 15 Noise-Canceling Headphones
Before the iPod and iPhone came along, I never carried around my own set of headphones, especially on a plane ride. I just used the airline-provided set of headphones to listen to the airline-provided entertainment options. However, the first time I brought an MP3 player aboard a plane, I discovered that I couldn’t hear the…