A great new magazine hit newsstands recently. O’Reilly, the same publisher that produces many computer and technology books (the “Hacks” line of books), has launched a quarterly magazine for the DIY geek. Make: The first magazine devoted to digital projects, hardware hacks, and D.I.Y. inspiration. The first issue touches on topics such as how to build a video camera stabilizer (steadicam), How to hack the dog, and Building a Magnetic Stripe reader. There is an article about soldering and desoldering and other interesting hacks and projects. This looks like a beautifly produced magazine, all 224 pages of the premire issue are printed on heavy stock paper. And, unlike other publishers, there seems to me to be a very high content to advertisment ratio. Which is reflected in the $15.00 price tag.

Ok another plug…I picked up Vol.2 the other day. It’s a very well done product. It’s the size of an over-sized Readers Digest, with semi- gloss finish on the pages. I think I counted 10 ads in the whole magazine. Vol.2 has articles entailing rebuilding an Atari2600 chassis into a Linux PC runing game emulator, or PVR software. Once you’ve taken the guts out of your 2600, there’s an article about how to turn it into a portable handheld unit. Plus loads of other cool stuff, lots of pictures, and lots of ideas.

Use this link to Get Make Magazine at 32% off the cover price

MakeZine.com: Current Issue

Finally a useable iPod plug-in for Winamp. I installed it last night and we were off to the races. I haven’t used all the features yet, but it at least allows one to easily move songs onto, and more importantly, if you’ve purchased music from iTMS, off of the iPod and onto the computer. I really love the iPod, I think it’s the best portable MP3 player around. It’s a shame that iTunes is such a resource hog of a program. I had relegated iTunes to just one of my 8 computers, just so I could load up the iPod, but it seems there is no longer a need if I can use Winamp instead. Nice work guys. ml_iPod  Your iPod Just Became Useful

The Tipping Point by Malcom Gladwell I know I’m not the first one to read this book, but I have found it very interesting reading. Social Epidemiology. It has become sort of a concept book for bloggers.

“How to Win Friends & Influence People” for the new millennium.

Title Insurance and Homebuilders – An Unholy Alliance?

A little off topic for this site, I realize. Do you know what reinsurance is? I didn’t. Now I do.
I bought a house last year, and thought I understood all the numbers, and line items, and papers involved in the closing. For the most part I had it right, it’s what happened to my money after I left. It appears the builder of my home was "in bed" with the title company. It should have been obvious, after all the "design center" and title company shared a building, it was all too easy.
Take a look at the atricle referenced above. Believe it or not, I got my part of the $24 million First American Title is voluntarily returning to customers in some states. It’s obviously a move to side step litigation.
Well I learned something.