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How not to look like a Tourist

by Aziz on Thursday, June 28, 2007
How to avoid being singled outAfraid of being singled out as a mark, a nerd (or maybe just an out-of-towner) in a foreign place?

  1. Don't block pavement traffic folding and unfolding maps.
  2. Keep your jaw shut as you admire those jaw-dropping buildings locals pass without a glance.
  3. Multi-pocketed urban pants may be practical, but overstuffed they make you look like a blimp on tour.
  4. Remember: Shouting doesn't make English easier to understand.
  5. Don't parade your hometown T-shirt or cap.
  6. Why would anyone even wear something called a bumbag?
  7. Enjoy yourself. Most people like tourists.
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Make light work to decorate your home

by Aziz on Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Make light work to decorate your drawing room, living room, bedroom, bathroom, restroom, toilet.When decorating your home, consider these illuminating tips on creative lighting, from lamp-magnate Christopher Wray:

  • Use lighting to define an area -- table and floor lamps can mark zones in a large room where, for instance, one end is for eating and the other for dining.
  • Place several floor lamps that beam light upwards to guid the eye along a particular route, or set them behind a plant or sofa to create a soft glow.
  • With floor-standing (pedestal) lamps, fitting sockets in the floor will reduce the length of flex wire.
  • If you fancy a chandelier, remember it was origially meant to hold candles, so use very low-watt light bulbs.
  • Fit dimmer switches to everything -- varying light levels will help set the mood for each part of the day.
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Women swoon for hi-tech woo

by Aziz on Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Gift hi-tech technology gadgets like mobile cell phones, portable laptop or notebook computers, pda or ipod to woo women and further romance.Men looking to further their romance with flowers may want to think tech instead. A small Amazon.co.uk study at the University of Hertfordshire, UK, measured women's reactions to gifts: They showed most arousal when imagining getting electronic gadgets. In addition, a study of 1000 people found six in ten women said their love lives suffered if they had no mobile phone or hand-held computer with them. » Continue reading

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How to get upgraded on a flight?

by Aziz on Tuesday, June 26, 2007
How to get a free flight upgrade to a business or first class?It's always nice to get something for nothing. When it's an upgrade to business or first class air travel, you can do your bit to help it happen, advises Keith Burton of the Association of British Travel Agents:

Join a frequent flyer program. Airlines only upgrade because they have to (they over-book, calculating that some people won't turn up). They will always choose their most valued customers first.

Ask if the flight is full when you check in. Say that if they're looking to upgrade, you'd like to be considered. Don't be pushy.

Dress smartly. The airline won't want to upset (fare-paying) first lass passengers by seating them next to a scruffy backpacker.

Travel alone. You'll be easier to seat than a couple or group.

Don't be first at the gate. Staff won't want to hold up the queue and won't know yet which seats are free. » Continue reading

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Excluding the first post from Expandable Post Summaries hack for Blogger

by Aziz on Monday, June 25, 2007
In continuation of my earlier post Excluding the first post from a Peek-a-boo style post body contents-hack for Blogger let me show you how to implement this same trick for the Expandable Post Summaries hack for Blogger.

Just like the Peek-a-boo exclusion trick we will use the getElementsByClassName function to fetch the full contents of the first post and make it visible. But before you proceed further you need to have the Expandable Post Summaries Hack already implemented on your blog.


Once you have done that:

  1. Copy and paste the getElementsByClassName JavaScript function between the <head></head> tags.
  2. Then search for the posts loop. It should look somewhat like this:
    <b:loop values='data:posts' var='post'>
      <b:if cond='data:post.dateHeader'>
        <h2 class='date-header'><data:post.dateHeader/></h2>
      </b:if>
      <b:include data='post' name='post'/>
      <b:if cond='data:blog.pageType == "item"'>
        <b:include data='post' name='comments'/>
      </b:if>
    </b:loop>

    Now add the following lines of JavaScript code immediately after that.
    <script type='text/Javascript'>
    &lt;!--
    getElementsByClassName("fullpost")[0].className = "";
    getElementsByClassName("contreadlink")[0].style.display = "none";
    -->
    </script>

  3. Finally add a class to the Continue Reading link so that we can hide the link for the first post.

    Search for this tag:
    <b:if cond='data:post.url'> » <a expr:href='data:post.url' title='Permanent Link'>Continue reading</a></b:if>

    and replace it with
    <b:if cond='data:post.url'><span class="contreadlink"> » <a expr:href='data:post.url' title='Permanent Link'>Continue reading</a></span></b:if>


Thats it, you're done!

If you have a better way to achieve the end result, do let us know.
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Some tips to keep your CDs and DVDs clean and your players healthy

by Aziz on Sunday, June 24, 2007
Recovering / Recovery of Damaged / Destroyed / Scratched CDs and DVDs.Be it the Beatles CD you play in the car, the precious Spiderman 3 DVD you got for your birthday or the CD-ROM with the snaps from your last holiday, chances are you have no idea what to do if the toddler in your life leaves her mark on any of them, let alone how to care for a disc at the best of times. Some tips from the Optical Storage Technology Association:
  1. Always hold CDs and DVDs by the outside edge or the centre hole.
  2. Store discs in plastic cases in a box, drawer or cabinet away from light, heat, dust and humidity.
  3. Blow off any dust that settles on discs to keep it out of your player.
  4. Clean discs using a soft, dry, lint-free cloth or camera lens tissue. Gently wipe from the centre to the outer edege in a straight line; do not rub in circles or around the disc.


CD cleaning fluids may help to remove sticky fingerprints. » Continue reading

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Excluding the first post from a Peek-a-boo style post body contents-hack for Blogger

by Aziz on Saturday, June 23, 2007
I had earlier written a post on Peek-a-boo post body contents-hack for New Blogger in response to which many asked for a way to exclude the first post from the hack. That is displaying the full contents of the first post alone.

Here I will show you a hack to implement this using JavaScript. If you have not already implemented the hack as given in the previous post, do so first.

Then insert the following lines of JavaScript code anywhere between the <head></head> tags. Preferably add them after the expandcollapse function between the same script tags.
<script type='text/Javascript'>
&lt;!--
function getElementsByClassName(clsName) {
  var retVal = new Array();
  var elements = document.getElementsByTagName("*");
  for(var i = 0;i &lt; elements.length;i++){
    if(elements[i].className.indexOf(" ") >= 0){
      var classes = elements[i].className.split(" ");
      for(var j = 0;j &lt; classes.length;j++){
        if(classes[j] == clsName)
          retVal.push(elements[i]);
      }
    }
    else if(elements[i].className == clsName)
    retVal.push(elements[i]);
  }
  return retVal;
}
-->
</script>


Then search for the posts loop. It should look somewhat like this:

<b:loop values='data:posts' var='post'>
  <b:if cond='data:post.dateHeader'>
    <h2 class='date-header'><data:post.dateHeader/></h2>
  </b:if>
  <b:include data='post' name='post'/>
  <b:if cond='data:blog.pageType == "item"'>
    <b:include data='post' name='comments'/>
  </b:if>
</b:loop>


Now add the following lines of JavaScript code immediately after that.

<script type='text/Javascript'>
&lt;!--
getElementsByClassName("posthidden")[0].className = "postshown";
getElementsByClassName("showhidelink")[0].innerHTML = "";
-->
</script>


And finally we have to make a slight modification to the peek-a-boo hack by adding a showhidelink class to the [+/-] show/hide this post anchor tag.

Search for this tag:
<a expr:href='"javascript:expandcollapse(\"" + data:post.id + "\")"'>


and replace it with
<a class='showhidelink' expr:href='"javascript:expandcollapse(\"" + data:post.id + "\")"'>


Thats it, you're done!

However, for this trick to work, scripting needs to be enabled else the visitor will see the first post hidden just like the previous hack.

This trick can be similarly applied to the Expandable post summaries hack. I shall write about implementing this trick with that hack sometime soon.

I believe a lot can be improved upon this hack too! May be there is a better way to do it. This was just what I came up with. If you have a better solution do hash out! » Continue reading

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