Another Pivot post - Biologists Helping Bookstores + More.

OK I figure if I don't start moving some content over to my other site I'll never do it.

So here we go - Gadgets.

At some stage I'll cut over more and more content . . .

Visio is one of my all time favourite Microsoft (they actually bought the app back in 2000 from Visio Corp) applications - now you can play at being a CSI and draw crime-scenes using specialised specialised templates.

So next time you're drawing up your network diagram be sure to drop in a blood spot or a few footprints :-)

As per Dave Bishops post - "He's baaaaaack!"

Utopia was a great episode. Looking forward to the final two in the series . . .

Fascinating - Running the numbers. Statistical imagery representing facets of the USA - see how many handguns are out there, how many painkillers are used, how many brown paper bags are used, see a painting made up of cans etc etc

If you fancy yourself as an artiste take a look at The Structure of Man - a blog with video to help you learn to sketch the human form.

if you're a fan of maps and geography check out the Strange Maps blog. Theres a wonderful explanation of how the left/right hand drive systems evolved in different parts of the world.

Useful services you can trust from friends & colleagues - almost all of them are based in the UK but theres a few NZ ones in the list:

* IT Consultation & Help in Cambridge, UK - Cambridge Helpdesk

* Scientific & Technical, Design Documentation & Help Authoring in Cambridge, UK - ScriboScience

* MacVector - Mac DNA/Protein Sequencing - recently spun-off from Accelrys

* Internet Security & Consulting - Liverton - Web/Mail Marshal & SEEMail specialists among other things

* Web Design, Development & Hosting - Face

* Handyman Services - MrLex

These are all firms either started by people I know or who have a key part to play in the services they offer.

So be sure to support small business :-)

Some interesting Kiwi artists -

* Michael McCormack - you get a wonderful feel for a variety of Wellington locations from this Island Bay artist.

* Michael Riley - definitely a nice slice of Kiwiana in his photorealistic Weatherboard paintings. You gain a whole new appreciation for weatherboards once you have to strip and repaint them.

Theres some cool stuff available via Affordable Art too.

A couple of really interesting data visualisation blogs -

* Infosthetics - look for the Information Cocktail which mixes a drink based on events (in this case a Netherlands/Germany soccer match).

* Datamining - interesting charts based on publicly available data - check the GIS section for some 3d mapping comparisons between Google Earth, Microsoft Virtual Earth, Yahoo Maps etc

Charles Stross points out a very scary (and not previously mentioned) tidbit concerning the recent death of ex Russian agent Litvinenko -

If something as difficult to acquire and produce as Polonium is being used to bump someone off in central London (a city where Big Brother is definitely watching) then what's to say something infinitely nastier isn't floating around ready to use on the city - A dirty question ?

Try the Political Compass.

I come down kind of in the middle of Left/Libertarian. On the same side as Nelson Mandela & The Dalai Lama.

Nice to see I'm in good company :-)

I'm sure I've pointed to these guys before but it took me two days of googling before I found them again (even on my own site) - shows the importance of metadata and keywords.

So if you're after a tiny (small) cabin (cottage, house, home) then the Tumbleweed Tiny House Company have plans for some wonderful ones.

A couple of useful tools and tips -

Useful to prevent people getting carried away with permissions - Remove the security tab using group policy

A simple script to locate files which arent work related. Useful to discover where all your precious disk space has gone.

Nifty free tool from Stardock - Bootskin lets you customise the Windows XP boot 'animation'. Handy if you decide to add some extra branding to your corporate hardware (esp. laptops which seem to get nicked with frightening regularity).

One of the few times ArsTechnica has given out a 'X' - check out their review of the new Blutooth enabled Mindstorm from Lego (retails for $400NZ - I need to start a Paypal donation fund ;-)

Certainly come a long way since I played with my first set back in the 70's - I think it might have been either Set 460 Rescue Unit or Set 360 Lunar Lander.

Updated my head.html with an extra sidebar for friends sites.