Interesting Links for January 2009.

• Blurry Background Effect – Cool and simple trick for creating a blurry background for parts of a Web page. On CSS-Tricks.com.
• Squashed Philosophers – Want to read the works of famous philosophers but just don’t have the time to consume thousands of pages of text? Squashed Philosophers condenses their best works into 30-minute reads.
• 10 Usability Tips for Web Designers – Straightforward article with basic tips for making Web sites more usable. Although most REAL web designers should know all this stuff, it’s a must-read for Web design newbies. On Webdesigner Depot.
• 10 Quick Ways To Print Your Own Calendars Online – Links to sites that enable you to create and print custom calendars. On MakeUseOf.com.
• 21 Settings, Techniques and Rules All New Camera Owners Should Know – Some really basic information for anyone interested in getting the most of their camera and taking good photos. On DigitalPhotographySchool.com.
• TUAW Macworld 2009 Keynote Predictions – What the folks at The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) think might happen at next week’s Macworld Expo keynote.
• Uncle Jay Explains: Year-end! 12-22-08 – Excellent musical tribute to the year in news. On YouTube.
• Apple market share tops 10%, Windows share lowest since tracking began – Interesting stats about computer platform distribution among users. On The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW).
• Watching the Growth of Walmart Across America – A movie that graphically shows the growth of Wal-Mart in the United States. Thanks to @jen4web for tweeting this.
• Using the DMCA Takedown Notice to Battle Copyright Infringement – Great article with information about using DMCA takedown notices to fight copyright infringement. Includes sample letter. Geared toward photographers but appropriate for any original content creator. On Naturescapes.net.
• 10 Resources for When You Need Help with CSS – A list of resources, with screenshots and links, for CSS information. Great for beginners. On Vandelay Website Design.
• 10 Killer WordPress Hacks – Excellent list with instructions and reference links to WordPress hacks for self-hosted WordPress users. On Smashing Magazine.
• Sensor Dust Is Evil. Here’s How to Banish It. – How-to piece with information about cleaning camera CCD sensors. On Photojojo. Thanks to @shepherdfx for the link in a tweet.
• FOLLOW FAIL: The Top 10 Reasons I Will Not Follow You in Return on Twitter – If you follow me in Twitter but I don’t follow you back, it could be for one of these reasons. On Mashable.com.
• How not to build a website – finding a website developer – Extremely good advice here. Thanks to @Jen4Web on Twitter for sharing the link. On WomenEntrepreneur.com.
• Macworld 2009 keynote liveblog – Mike T. Rose treats us to a live blog of the Keynote. Here’s the final list of updates. Thanks tons, @MikeTRose! On The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW).
• 35 Basic Tutorials to Get You Started with Photoshop – A list of even more Photoshop Tutorials. On Six Revisions.
• tiltshiftmaker.com – Transform your photos into tilt-shift miniatures – A Web site you can use to automatically convert your photos into fak tilt-shift miniatures.
• The Twitter Applications Database – ANOTHER compilation of Twitter applications.
• 2009: Products I Can’t Live Without – Interesting discussion of technology products, including online services and software, that writer Michael Arrington of Tech Crunch can’t live without. You might find some good new tools here.
• 60 Most Wanted Photoshop Tutorials, Brushes, .PSDs and Resources – A list of links to literally hundreds of resources for Photoshop users. On Noupe.com.
• Apple Introduces Revolutionary New Laptop With No Keyboard – Even some Mac users have to admit that this is pretty funny. On The Onion.
• Letter from Apple CEO Steve Jobs – The rumors of his impending death are greatly exaggerated. Again. On Apple.com.
• Twitter Yourself a Job – Tips from the Wall Street Journal for using Twitter as part of a job hunt strategy.
• Twitter be Nimble, Twitter be Quick, if you don’t know Jack, try these Twitter Tricks – A great introduction to Twitter for new users and power user wannbes. On TwiTip.com.
• WordPress Discussion Management: Enable or Disable Comments and Pingbacks via SQL – Great post that explains how to use MySQL commands to enable or disable comments and pingbacks. Also explains how you can periodically turn off comments and pingbacks on all posts based on date.
• Amazon.com: Playmobil Security Check Point: Toys & Games – Okay, this is apparently real. But what’s worth linking to is the reviews. They are hysterically funny. Thanks tons to @jenniferwhitley on Twitter for linking to this.
• ‘Atlas Shrugged’: From Fiction to Fact in 52 Years – From the article: “Many of us who know Rand’s work have noticed that with each passing week, and with each successive bailout plan and economic-stimulus scheme out of Washington, our current politicians are committing the very acts of economic lunacy that “Atlas Shrugged” parodied in 1957, when this 1,000-page novel was first published and became an instant hit.” Read it and weep. On WSJ.com.
• Separating Pings from Comments in WordPress 2.7 – Great tutorial for WordPress 2.7 users, explaining how to separate pingbacks/trackbacks and comments in the comments area of a blog post. On Sivel.net.
• Introducing Tweetbacks Plugin for WordPress – Excellent! A Tweetback plugin for WordPress users. This post includes a link to the plugin with complete instructions for WordPress 2.7 and earlier versions. On Smashing Magazine.
• CSS tips that every beginning developer should know – Great beginning CSS tutorial. On Arbenting.
• Revealed: the environmental impact of Google searches – This article discusses how much energy is used by Internet giants such as Google. Not sure if they’re suggesting we shut down the Internet, though. What is the solution? On (London) Times Online.
• Photo Attorney: Facebook Can Use Your Content for Promotional Purposes – Why you shouldn’t post photos you care about to Facebook. On Photo Attorney. Thanks to @JeffCarlson on Twitter for sharing this link.
• Tweetbacks, Copyright and Scraping – Another way of looking at Tweetbacks — one I never thought of. By Jonathan Bailey of Plagiarism Today, in the Blog Herald.
• Apple IQ Test – My score was dismal. I knew everything about Macs before 1995, but failed miserable on most questions dealing with facts after that. Could that indicate that I actually DO have a life? If you think you know Macs, try this test. On Infoworld.com. Thanks to @shepherdfx on Twitter for sharing the link.
• Seth’s Blog: How to send a personal email – Want your e-mail to matter? Read this. My favorite point: “Just because you have someone’s email address doesn’t mean you have the right to email them.” On Seth’s Blog.
• Work on Stuff that Matters: First Principles – Excellent post by Tim O’Reilly that explains why you should work on stuff that matters — and what that stuff is. On O’Reilly Radar.
• Self Investment: your # 1 intention in a down economy – Good article about promoting yourself and preparing for the future while the economy is down. On TheArtistsCenter.com. Thanks to @PattyHankins for sharing the link on Twitter.
• Sad Shutdown on Wall Street – My sister’s favorite after-work gathering place on Wall Street has closed. CNN did this video segment about it. If my sister hadn’t come to visit me for Christmas, she probably would have been part of the Christmas Eve final gathering there.
• Harvard Physicist Sets Record Straight on Internet Carbon Study – More clarification on the London Times story about a Google search’s energy use. Apparently, facts had little to do with what they reported. Again,thanks to @MikeTRose on Twitter for sharing this. In TechNewsWorld.com.
• Powering a Google search – The truth about powering a Google search — it’s not as bad as the London Times thinks.Thanks to @MikeTRose on Twitter for this link. On the Official Google Blog.
• 12 Common Photoshop Mistakes, Misuses and Abuses – A good article, especially for Photoshop beginners, that warns against the most common mistakes. On The Design Cubicle.
• ‘Bulldoggers’ in wild and woolly roundup – @Miraz on Twitter thought I’d be interested in yet another use for helicopters. My opinion: the folks downunder are crazy. New Zealand rural news on Stuff.co.nz.
• what is the difference between a patent, trademark and a copyright? – Excellent article covering the differences between patents, copyrights, and trademarks. On PHOSITA®. Thanks to @PattyHankins for tweeting this link.
• 11 Great Hidden Things Google Can Do That You Should Know – Excellent post listing things you can do with Google that you probably didn’t know Google could do. My favorite: math. Thanks to @jimhobart for this great link. On SmashingApps.com.
• Pretty Loaded – a preloader museum curated by Big Spaceship – A “museum” of preloader videos — those are the videos you watch while a Flash video is loading. Some of them are pretty good. Thanks to @jimhobart on Twitter for sharing the link. Site maintained by Big Spaceship.
• Worst Apartment Rental Ad Ever – Personally, I don’t believe this is real. Even BACs can’t be THIS bad. But who knows? In this crazy world, anything is possible. On The Consumerist.com. Thanks to @panpainter on Twitter for the link.
• U.S. Airways Crash Rescue Picture: Citizen Journalism, Twitter At Work – Incredible photos of today’s crash taken moments afterward. So glad this one had a happy ending. On AlleyInsider.com.
• Choosing Not To Choose: One Man Embraces Indecision and Leaves All His Decisions Up to Others – This guy has the right idea. I’m also sick of making decisions. On washingtonpost.com. Thanks to @beagooddad for sharing the link.
• Hate the Player It’s Not a Game – Jeremy Tanner tells it like it is Re: Twitter spammers who call themselves gurus, mavens, etc.
• Teach Me, Don’t Sell Me – Tired of being marketed to? Tired of your time being wasted by sales pitches instead of promised information of value? You’re not the only one. On Beyond the Art Fair.
• Could you get out after an emergency landing? – Anyone who flies on airlines with any kind of regularity should read this. On Helicopter Pilot, will travel.
• Twitter Support – Twitter help is now centralized in one place. Thanks to @mdy on Twitter for pointing this out.
• 2008 U.S. Foreclosure Heat Map – Fascinating (and scary) color-coded map of mortgage foreclosures in the US. And yes, I’m in one of the top counties for foreclosures. (Glad I didn’t bite off more than I could chew.) On the Big Picture.
• 7 Ways to Be Worth Following on Twitter – I really wish everyone who used Twitter would read this article and follow its advice. There would be a lot less noise online. On Twitip.com.
• Mac Automation: Creating Watch Me Do workflows – Good how-to piece for Automator users. On The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW).
• Font Picker – finding the right font for the job – Unusual online tool that reads all the fonts available in your system and displays sample text you type in each typeface you have installed. You can then narrow down your choices to find the best design. Also available as an Air application.
• Photo laboratory (Photl.com) – Free Stock Photo / photl.com – Free stock photography. Might be helpful for bloggers looking for some key images to spice up otherwise unillustrated blog posts. We’ll see, I guess.
• Inaugural Words – 1789 to the Present – Word clouds of key words used in inauguration addresses from 1789 to today. On NYTimes.com.
• Welcome to the White House – Change has come to America — and the Whitehouse.gov Web site.
• On Moving Day for 2 First Families, a Bit of Magic by 93 Pairs of Hands – Neat article about moving day a the White House. Thanks to @jeffcarlson for the link in a tweet.
• 5 Stupid Copyright Questions That Aren’t – Excellent copyright basics, on PlagiarismToday.
• Barack Obama is a Ninja with a Lightsaber – Worth seeing, for a chuckle. On Boing Boing. Thanks to @BWJones on Twitter for sharing this link.
• GeoEye › Gallery – Holy cow. A satellite image of the inauguration. On GeoEye. Thanks to @Oblivion on Twitter for sharing the link.
• Uranium Ore: Electronics – Another Amazon.com item with hysterically funny reviews. Thanks to @jmoriarty for tweeting this link. I’m going to have to start collecting these pages.
• Security is an illusion. Freedom is real. – Good post about losing jobs and turning to freelance careers. On Wise Bread. Thanks to @aprilmains for the tweeted link.
• A Portrait of Change – In First Family, a Nation’s Many Faces – The Obama family is a melting pot. Gotta love it. On the NYTimes. Thanks to @MikeTRose for tweeting this one.
• How Not to be a Key Online Influencer – An example of how a self-labeled “key online influencer” can easily get cut down by the same social networking services he’s trying to promote — by the company he’s trying to promote them to. A lesson for anyone who blogs or tweets: when you say something publicly, ANYONE can read it. By David Henderson. Thanks to @SonoranDragon on Twitter for retweeting this link.
• US Democracy Server: Patch Day – They’ve finally applied a bug fix for democracy in the U.S. Let’s see if it holds. On Chrome Cow. Thanks to @desertlibrarian for tweeting this ink.
• Grading Obama’s Web Openness – This article on PlagiarismToday grades the various components of the new WhiteHouse.gov Web site put into place by the Obama administration. Good analysis.
• YouTube – Inside the Transition: Technology, Innovation and Government – Is our government FINALLY embracing computer technology? Looks like it is. That’s change we all need. On YouTube.

li>Obama Refuses to Answer Questions About Size of His Package – I love writing like this. On the Borowitz Report.

• The Obameter: Tracking Barack Obama’s Campaign Promises – A scorecard for Obama’s campaign promises. On PolitiFact.com.
• 1951 Article Promises ‘Helicopters for Everybody’ (So Long As You’re Male) – Interesting “future” article from Popular Mechanics makes all men helicopter pilots. Heaven help us. On Gizmodo.com.
• Why people procrastinate – Brief but interesting article about procrastination — one of my biggest problems. In The Economist.
• 22 Most Used Free Fonts By Professional Designers – Free fonts good enough for designers. On instantShift.
• Recovery.Gov – I think this is the U.S., but I could be wrong. There’s too much transparency for me to comprehend these days. It’s almost as if our President WANTS us to know what he’s up to. Here’s yet another site we can use to keep tabs on our government.
• Macintosh 25th Anniversary Reunion: Where Did Time Go? – Guy Kawasaki’s tribute to the Mac’s 25th birthday. Includes the complete introduction of the Mac, as well as the famous 1984 commercial. (Did you know that only appeared on TV as a commercial twice?) Thanks to @LeVitus for tweeting this one.
• Who needs skills? We have software! – This article is a must-read for folks who buy software to help them be creative. Thanks to @aprilmains for tweeting this link. On JustCreativeDesign.com.
• The Biggest Secret of Photography – In this post Marc Silber shares his #1 tip for improving your photography. On Digital-Photography-School.com.
• No Shortcuts to the Artist’s Life – Excellent advice for folks who want to make it as artists, photographers, writers, etc. On Beyond the Art Fair.
• The Bacon Explosion – Take Bacon. Add Sausage. Blog. – Looks like a recipe Mike needs to try in the smoker. Thanks to @JeffCarlson for tweeting this link on the New York Times Web site.
• The Impossible Project – This company wants to bring Polaroid film back to life. Thanks to @jeanevogel on Twitter for sharing this link. I wish them well!
• Babies Know – A Little Dirt Is Good for You – There are so many people I wish would have read this article for so many reasons. Got a kid. READ THIS. On the NYTimes.com. Thanks to @MikeTRose for tweeting this.
• The Death of Honest Review Scores – Interesting thoughts on reviews and how scores don’t always match review text. On Inelegant Solutions. Thanks to @plagiarismtoday on Twitter for sharing this link.
• I am popular on Twitter. Here’s why this means nothing. – And I thought I was the only one laughing at people bragging about their Twitter popularity stats. On ZDNet.com.
• The 100 Most Popular Twitter applications – The title says it all. On blending the mix.
• Pictureframes.com – Source for do-it-yourself framing. Reasonable prices on custom precut mats.
• The Unforeseen Consequences of the Social Web – Sound advice for people who use Twitter, Facebook, and other social networking services: what you put online might stay there for a very, very long time. On ReadWriteWeb. Thanks to @jodene on Twitter (where else?) for tweeting this link. Good reading.
• Ma.gnolia Suffers Major Data Loss, Site Taken Offline – Another reason why cloud computing is not the solution. On Wired.com.