The Hopp Stop

Thanks to Gaelen for this–it's awesome! It furthers my appreciation of Vin Diesel.

This free app lets you create site-specific browsers–basically, you can turn any web page (such as Gmail or Remember the Milk) into a stand-alone app with all the configurable properties of an app. I've been using this for a few weeks on my Macs to access Gmail, Remember the Milk and Google Calendar. Other suggestions include Pandora. Very slick.

Note that Google's Chrome browser also offers this functionality, although that of course is a Windows-only offering for now.

LOL.

Fresh, one of my two preferred video converters for OS X (HandBrake being the other) was set to die after the owner pulled the plug. But now it will live on as an open-source app, FilmRedux.

Following up on my earlier Delicious bookmark, here's a Wired.com interview with Bamford. This covers similar ground as the NPR podcast.

The MGoBlogger has ready parries for the RichRod haters coming out of the woodwork now that Michigan is 2-4. My thoughts? Michigan's talent level is way down (thanks to Lloyd for letting recruiting run dry and retiring a year too late) and RichRod has a history of success everywhere he has been. We need to grit our teeth this year and come back in 2009 with expectations.

Sweet, a guy installed OS X on his Dell Inspiron mini netbook. Must be slow as molasses, however.

John Gruber weighs in on Apple's slot in the marketplace, in response to analyst calls that the company reduce its price points due to economic woes.

Link to the 10/14 podcast. Lengthy interview with author James Bamford, who seems to be the expert on the NSA. He has a new book out on the NSA, his third. (I've got the second one, "Body of Secrets," but haven't had a chance to read it yet.) Unsettling and disturbing interview. You can easily see where technology and enhanced surveillance tools can take us in a decade. Big Brother is not so far away.

I've tried out both of these online financial services. As the review states, they are more financial monitoring services than financial management services. Biggest difference is that Quicken lets you enter in transactions prior to them showing up in your bank or credit card account. However, I like the Mint interface better, and Quicken had a problem creating duplicate transactions for one of my accounts. Tough to call a winner right now–neither are that useful to me beyond checking on account balances.

Good read on the rise of quirk in popular culture–Wes Anderson, Ira Glass, Flight of the Conchords, etc. I guess a lot of my faves fall in the quirk category.

I never get tired of reading criticisms of inane sports commentary.

Another voice of doom. I missed that Sequoia Capital distributed a Powerpoint presentation last week to its portfolio CEOs telling them to get ready for a long downturn. This link is to an analysis of the Valley situation from the head man at Ars Technica.

Fun read for NBA fans.

Good read. You may not agree with the choices, though.

Punta Arenas is the city at issue. That was one of the stops on my tour of Chile with Chris. We're both pretty paranoid about sunburns, so I hope we were ok.