View PDF files on the iPhone without installing a reader


Recently, I’ve built the necessity to read and study more text on the go. Until I can afford a kindle or perhaps a decent laptop, I thought I might give the iPhone a shot as a viable e-book reader. Sounded simple enough so I transfered my documents over to my phone only to quickly realize, I had no pdf viewer. Or so I thought. Now I’m not much for the app store and I couldn’t seem to find a decent free app in the trusted repositories from cydia so I did some research and found that safari can actually read pdf documents. However, the problem with this method was that everyone seemed to suggest that one should email the document to themselves and open it from the web with safari. Quite inefficient and will only work if you have some form of Internet access. If you currently have a jailbroken iPhone, There is a much simpler way to access your pdf files in safari and should work with or without Internet access. Read the full article…

Create a simple and useful BASH clipboard


Do you ever find yourself in a virtual terminal only to keep switching back and forth between windows for the same information over and over? Why not create a script that will display this information in your bash prompt when needed, and display nothing when not in need. While we’re at it, why not allow it to execute the contents of the clipboard as well. Read the full article…

Get updated road conditions in conky


For many, road conditions can be as crucial as anything else the day might throw your way, especially for those that live in inclement areas. You have undoubtedly seen many scripts for getting the weather in your conky setup so to compliment your already fabulous .conkyrc file, here is an easy way to grab the current road conditions for your city, and display them into conky as well.
Read the full tutorial…

Add updated weather to your BASH prompt


This post was inspired by a friend of mine. A complete weather junkie who is constantly checking the weather online. I once asked him if he would pay for a digital picture frame that only displayed live Doppler all day and he undoubtedly replied, “absolutely”. That project may be a ways off however, I’ve been reading up on how to get more out of your bash prompt so I thought, for a start, why not put the weather in your prompt. Not sure of its practicality but I can honestly say I know folks crazy enough to enjoy this. Read the full tutorial…

Create a web-based retro-gaming system you can play from anywhere on just about anything


Wouldn’t it be great if you could play your old dos games from just about anywhere on just about any device. Accessible only by you, available anywhere you have Internet access, and all on glorious port:80. With JPC, a Java x86 emulator, this can be a simple task. We can easily create a disk image that will contain your greatest hits of abandonware, and then run them from your browser through the power of the JPC applet. Read the full tutorial…

Matching “Real-Life” Interior Paint Colors for use in Google Sketchup


As a first time home buyer, one of the first things my wife and I needed to do was decide on paint colors. I was having trouble getting “real-life” colors to match up so I came up with a simple solution that is detailed step-by-step below. Of course there is no perfect way to achieve this as everyones monitor is set to different color, brightness and contrast levels, however we can get real close. Read the full tutorial…

Renegade BBS in Ubuntu LINUX (Telnet|Multi-Node) – Tutorial


A while ago I began thinking back about the the good old days when a dial-up BBS was the only thing even remotely resembling a basic website. Back when kids would unplug their parents phones over night and run their underground boards participating in a brilliant scene of hackers and phreakers that was decades ahead of its time. Since most young hackers typically had little to no money, the free and legendary Renegade BBS always seemed to be at the heart of this scene. Dispensing tens, perhaps even hundreds of megabytes of underground information and warez to all who would dial-in and participate in her communities. Now days I pretty much only use Windows for games and recording so I wanted to find a way to run a multi-node Renegade BBS under my Ubuntu system that you could telnet to. Read on to find out how I achieved this. Read the full tutorial….

Carry your keys in your multitool – DIY


The minute I finished reading about the “Swiss Army Keys” project I found earlier, I immediately had to start fashioning my own. I documented my experience and have posted an Instructable on making something similar. Read on for a brief tutorial on how I made it.

Read full tutorial…

Who is the guy on the Incubus album covers?


Today I came across one of my long lost and most prized albums of all time. Incubus’s S.C.I.E.N.C.E LP. And inevitably there is one question that pops in my mind every time I see the cover. Who the hell is the dude with the mustache? The picture, for some reason, has always struck me as somewhat intriguing and mysterious which only ads to the conundrum of this remarkable album. After years of wonderment, I finally took the time to do a little research on just who is Chuck, and found this page which still, unfortunately, leaves question however, it does shed some light on the subject.

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