DamonLedet.com» Writing about technology, daily life, and other things I find interesting http://www.damonledet.com Writing about technology, daily life, and other things I find interesting Sat, 06 Jun 2009 11:52:13 +0000 en hourly 1 Zimbra 6.0 Beta 2 http://www.damonledet.com/blog/2009/06/06/zimbra-60-beta-2/ http://www.damonledet.com/blog/2009/06/06/zimbra-60-beta-2/#comments Sat, 06 Jun 2009 11:46:33 +0000 Damon Ledet http://www.damonledet.com/?p=1137 Just installed Zimbra 6.0 Beta 2 community edition on my mail server. I am using it to run mail for damonledet.com as well as my other domains. So for so go was a very simple upgrade from 5.0.16. Seems solid so far, found one little bug when you create a new spreadsheet under briefcase (I think it should be under documents) it does not same the spreadsheet in your briefcase you can only find it when you goto browse mode in the documents panel, also the spreadsheet does not open with the editor when you click on it, the browser wants to download the .xls.

]]> http://www.damonledet.com/blog/2009/06/06/zimbra-60-beta-2/feed/ 0 Adobe Creative Suite Pillows http://www.damonledet.com/blog/2009/04/29/adobe-creative-suit-pillows/ http://www.damonledet.com/blog/2009/04/29/adobe-creative-suit-pillows/#comments Wed, 29 Apr 2009 20:36:17 +0000 Damon Ledet http://www.damonledet.com/?p=1129 If you cannot get enough of the new Adobe icons, how would you like to see them on your couch? Grab the Adobe Creative Suite Pillows – http://www.mysuitestuff.com/shop.html [via - Gizmodo]

]]> http://www.damonledet.com/blog/2009/04/29/adobe-creative-suit-pillows/feed/ 0 First Week With Dell Mini 9 http://www.damonledet.com/blog/2009/04/28/first-week-with-dell-mini-9/ http://www.damonledet.com/blog/2009/04/28/first-week-with-dell-mini-9/#comments Tue, 28 Apr 2009 20:40:39 +0000 Damon Ledet http://www.damonledet.com/?p=1114 Well after what seemed like forever. I received my Dell Mini 9 last Wednesday (April 22), I ordered it on May 8. First thing I did was install a 2GB sodimm. Dell did a great job with making this netbook very user upgradeable by putting all upgradeable components under one panel. While some people have had success running Mac OS 10.5 on their Mini (http://gizmodo.com) I opted for Ubuntu 9.04 netbook remix initially. I truly feel Ubuntu has a ton to offer (heck dell installs it as an option on the Mini 9) I am not 100% sold it is for me. I am now dual booting my Mini between XP and Ubuntu. I installed Photoshop CS4 mainly to see how it would run and was very pleasantly surprised it runs well. I ran the Photoshop benchmark from Retouch Artists took 3 minutes 18 seconds. I am now considering blowing my Ubuntu away to gain the disk space (I upgraded the SSD but only to 32gb), I want to install some of the other CS4 apps just to see how well they will work. All in all I am very happy with this little guy, I will be taking a trip to San Diego real soon so I will but this guy thought the paces with a little video playback on the flight. Below are some pictures:

Dell Mini 9 Dell Mini 9 underside
]]> http://www.damonledet.com/blog/2009/04/28/first-week-with-dell-mini-9/feed/ 1 Importing GIS Data into Google Earth Pro http://www.damonledet.com/blog/2009/04/21/importing-gis-data-into-google-earth-pro/ http://www.damonledet.com/blog/2009/04/21/importing-gis-data-into-google-earth-pro/#comments Tue, 21 Apr 2009 21:19:09 +0000 Damon Ledet http://www.damonledet.com/?p=1105 I was looking for some free GIS Data to import into Google Earth Pro for a classroom demo. I found this very cool, somewhat free site for GIS Data at http://data.geocomm.com/catalog/

For this demo I downloaded the “Current County and Equivalent Shapefile” at http://data.geocomm.com/catalog/US/61089/group214.html, of course you could download The County Shapefile for any state.

1.    First download and extract the GIS Data you want to use.
2.    Next in Google Earth Pro go to the file menu and choose import

Google Earth Pro Screen Shot of Import

Google Earth Pro Screen Shot of Import

3. Choose GIS .shp file

Pointing to GIS Data File

Pointing to GIS Data File

4. Click “yes” to apply a style template

Importing GIS Data

Importing GIS Data

5. Choose “Create new template” and select ok

Creating GIS Style Template

Creating GIS Style Template

6.Click on the “Color” tab and select “Use Random Color” (Note: You can link field to a range of colors by selecting “Set color from field” also under the “Height” tab you can link a field to affect the height of your areas creating a 3d model)

Creating GIS Style Template

Creating GIS Style Template

7. Hit “ok” save your template hit the check box for the new place under “Temporary Places” to turn on the visibility for your new data (Note: you can drag the view from your  “Temporary Places” if you want to keep it available the next time you run Google Earth)

Georgia County Map in Google Earth Pro

Georgia County Map in Google Earth Pro

Final Image:

Georgia County Map from Google Earth Pro

Georgia County Map from Google Earth Pro

]]> http://www.damonledet.com/blog/2009/04/21/importing-gis-data-into-google-earth-pro/feed/ 0 Author Page in Wordpress http://www.damonledet.com/blog/2009/03/31/author-page-in-wordpress/ http://www.damonledet.com/blog/2009/03/31/author-page-in-wordpress/#comments Tue, 31 Mar 2009 21:45:32 +0000 Damon Ledet http://www.damonledet.com/?p=1026 I was working on a site and wanted to create author pages for all registered wordpress user on the site. After looking at the documatation at http://codex.wordpress.org/Author_Templates. I came up with this code. It will show the author info as well as last 5 post and last 5 comments. You can see the code in action at my author page.

]]> http://www.damonledet.com/blog/2009/03/31/author-page-in-wordpress/feed/ 10 Using Google SketchUp models in After Effects CS4 http://www.damonledet.com/blog/2009/03/26/using-google-sketchup-models-in-after-effects-cs4/ http://www.damonledet.com/blog/2009/03/26/using-google-sketchup-models-in-after-effects-cs4/#comments Thu, 26 Mar 2009 15:54:26 +0000 Damon Ledet http://www.damonledet.com/?p=1016 A really cool new feature in After Effects CS4 is the ability to now take advantage of Photoshop CS4’s new 3d capabilities. Another new feature of Photoshop CS4 is the ability to open .kmz or .3ds files. If we take a look at the extensive free models we have on Google’s 3d warehouse we find a ton of models to choose from. If you can find the model you want on the 3d warehouse as a kmz you are in luck. Open the kmz in Photoshop CS4 and save it as a psd. Import that psd into After Effects CS4 as a composition (making sure to check the box that says “Live Photoshop 3D”). Now you have a new composition in After Effects with a 3D model as well as a null to control it and a camera to pan around it. If you can only find a skp of the model you want on the 3d warehouse, you will need Google Sketchup Pro to export that model out as a 3ds or kmz. Open the 3ds or kmz in photoshop save it as a psd, import that psd in After Effects and you are set.

]]> http://www.damonledet.com/blog/2009/03/26/using-google-sketchup-models-in-after-effects-cs4/feed/ 2 Timecode Calculator for the mac http://www.damonledet.com/blog/2009/03/20/timecode-calculator-for-the-mac/ http://www.damonledet.com/blog/2009/03/20/timecode-calculator-for-the-mac/#comments Sat, 21 Mar 2009 02:06:24 +0000 Damon Ledet http://www.damonledet.com/?p=931 About 5 or 6 years ago I found a get timecode calculator for the mac called TC Cal. It was a free utility and great for adding and subtracting timecode as well as converting timecode to frames and vice versa. I was very sad when the author took down his website. Recently I was in need of a timecode calculator and was not at my personal computer. I found a new timecode calculator on apple’s website called Timecode Calculator.

]]> http://www.damonledet.com/blog/2009/03/20/timecode-calculator-for-the-mac/feed/ 0 Where I’ve Been Wordpress Plugin http://www.damonledet.com/blog/2009/03/19/where-i%e2%80%99ve-been-wordpress-plugin/ http://www.damonledet.com/blog/2009/03/19/where-i%e2%80%99ve-been-wordpress-plugin/#comments Thu, 19 Mar 2009 09:15:47 +0000 Damon Ledet http://www.damonledet.com/?p=939 I was on my wordpress dashboard this morning and under recently updated plugins was a plugin called Where I’ve Been. It is a neat little plugin that will allow you to display a flash map on any post or page of the places you have been, livied, or wqould like to visit. It requires that you setup a free account at http://www.whereivebeen.com/. Check out my map at my homepage.

]]> http://www.damonledet.com/blog/2009/03/19/where-i%e2%80%99ve-been-wordpress-plugin/feed/ 0 Yoast Breadcrumbs http://www.damonledet.com/blog/2009/03/18/yoast-breadcrumbs/ http://www.damonledet.com/blog/2009/03/18/yoast-breadcrumbs/#comments Wed, 18 Mar 2009 22:07:05 +0000 Damon Ledet http://www.damonledet.com/?p=871 After Sterling turned me on to Yoast, I added breadcrumbs to my site. Notice the new navigation nest to the page titles. I used Yoast Breadcrumbs to do this. I also added Search Suggest to my search results page and Sociable for social bookmarking. Mainly because I like the look of this on better then the social bookmarking plugin I was using.

]]> http://www.damonledet.com/blog/2009/03/18/yoast-breadcrumbs/feed/ 0 St Maarten Helmet Dive http://www.damonledet.com/blog/2009/03/18/st-maarten-helmet-dive/ http://www.damonledet.com/blog/2009/03/18/st-maarten-helmet-dive/#comments Wed, 18 Mar 2009 21:48:15 +0000 Damon Ledet http://www.damonledet.com/?p=842 One of our highlight excursions was a SeaTrek Helmet dive in St Maarten. It was a great experience. Basically you put this 75LB helmet on you head (it does not feel very heavy underwater) climb down the ladder and explore. We were 20 feet below, and we did not need any scuba certification. You have a constant supply of air, the helmet does not seal against you body in anyway, it rest comfortable on your shoulders. The concept is pretty simple once the lady explains it to you, it is the same as turning a cup upside down in water, the helmet creates an air pocket that your head is in. We were able to spend about 20-25 minutes underwater and we really enjoyed ourselves as you can see from the pictures below.

The pictures where taken with a Canon S70 and a Canon WP-DC40 Underwater Housing Kit:

Feeding Fish Sunken Submarine Feeding Fish Sea Urchin
spider crab Helmet on 1 Helmet on 2
]]> http://www.damonledet.com/blog/2009/03/18/st-maarten-helmet-dive/feed/ 1 Acrobat 9.1 update http://www.damonledet.com/blog/2009/03/18/acrobat-91-update/ http://www.damonledet.com/blog/2009/03/18/acrobat-91-update/#comments Wed, 18 Mar 2009 19:28:43 +0000 Damon Ledet http://www.damonledet.com/?p=897 Adobe released a critical update for Acrobat 9. It address a critical vulnerability that could potentially allow an attacker to take control of the affected system. Check out the press release here.

]]> http://www.damonledet.com/blog/2009/03/18/acrobat-91-update/feed/ 0 Caribbean Curise Panorama http://www.damonledet.com/blog/2009/03/16/caribbean-curise-panorama/ http://www.damonledet.com/blog/2009/03/16/caribbean-curise-panorama/#comments Mon, 16 Mar 2009 23:15:11 +0000 Damon Ledet http://www.damonledet.com/?p=820 Just got back for my Caribbean Cruise last week. Here are a few panoramas shot with my Canon s70 and stitched together in Photoshop CS4.

Miami Skyline Panorama

Miami Skyline Panorama

Panorama of St. Thomas, USVI

Panorama of St. Thomas, USVI

Panorama of St. Thomas, USVI

Panorama of St. Thomas, USVI

St. Maarten Panorama

St. Maarten Panorama

]]> http://www.damonledet.com/blog/2009/03/16/caribbean-curise-panorama/feed/ 0 What does one TRILLION dollars look like? http://www.damonledet.com/blog/2009/03/06/what-does-one-trillion-dollars-look-like/ http://www.damonledet.com/blog/2009/03/06/what-does-one-trillion-dollars-look-like/#comments Fri, 06 Mar 2009 16:12:27 +0000 Damon Ledet http://www.damonledet.com/?p=812 Seeing as all the news lately is about how much debt our country will be in. Check out how much one trillion dollars looks like. http://www.pagetutor.com/trillion/index.html

]]> http://www.damonledet.com/blog/2009/03/06/what-does-one-trillion-dollars-look-like/feed/ 0 Move to wordpress complete http://www.damonledet.com/blog/2009/03/04/move-to-wordpress-complete/ http://www.damonledet.com/blog/2009/03/04/move-to-wordpress-complete/#comments Wed, 04 Mar 2009 23:58:42 +0000 Damon Ledet http://www.damonledet.com/?p=802 I have completed my move to wordpress. I completed the move of my blog last night with the help of Sean’s little utility, blogcfc2wordpress. I had to install wamp on my windows coldfusion box, I also had to download an old version of wordpress (2.1) as somewhere along the lines the database names were changed and blogcfc2wordpress has not been updated. I then downloaded WordPress Export, exported my data and imported it into my new blog. I fixed the post that I used blogcfc’s more and code tags on. All in all a pretty easy migration with a little data massage.

]]> http://www.damonledet.com/blog/2009/03/04/move-to-wordpress-complete/feed/ 2 Tutorials moved to pages in wordpress http://www.damonledet.com/blog/2009/03/01/tutorials-moved-to-pages-in-wordpress/ http://www.damonledet.com/blog/2009/03/01/tutorials-moved-to-pages-in-wordpress/#comments Sun, 01 Mar 2009 10:10:07 +0000 Damon Ledet http://new.damonledet.com/?p=467 I finished moving all the tutorials from my old site over to wordpress. I found a couple very useful plugins along the way. The first plugin is great if you do not want pages to appear in the navigation hierarchy – Exclude Pages from Navigation. The other great wordpress plugin that I installed is Slayer’s Custom Widgets it also helps with what widgets are displayed on which pages.

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