Open – Page 3 – Boy in the Bands

More on FOSS for transit

I put my last post on free and open source software for transit systems out as a lifeboat, thinking it would bob on the waves of the Internet until someone — far from now — might read the post and wonder. I didn’t think I’d get a reply so quickly. So I’ve looked further for… Continue reading More on FOSS for transit

Help needed: FOSS for public transportation systems

Do you know of free and open source software (FOSS) for managing public transit (public transportation) systems? Especially small, bus-based systems. Perhaps I don’t know the lingo well enough, but all I can find are expensive, proprietary systems. You would think there was a need. As in earlier requests, pointers to good association or government… Continue reading Help needed: FOSS for public transportation systems

Helping Lower Walnut: office suite

It’s no secret I love OpenOffice.org. It’s no secret that there’s a new 2.4 release and a beta for the 3.0 release out. Perhaps less well known is that you can run Windows and use OpenOffice.org. (The 3.0 version, with full release due in September, should benefit long-suffering Mac users.) The Rev. Angela Mather knew… Continue reading Helping Lower Walnut: office suite

Epiphany browser fix

I love the Firefox browser — in theory. It’s free and open-source. It’s got tons of extensions . . . and that’s part of the problem. My former favorite browser is a terrible memory hog, at least on the (ahem) low-end machines that I can’t get enough of. Better to use the browser developed for,… Continue reading Epiphany browser fix

What common distributed work would work for UUs?

Two givens. My Day Job includes lots of interaction with software developers. My hobby — effectively — is learning more about my three computers, each with its own variant of Ubuntu Linux. Ubuntu Linux, like other free and open source software projects, have a open yet ordered and participatory style of development. There are days… Continue reading What common distributed work would work for UUs?

DIY letterhead in OpenOffice.org

Because sometimes you need a letterhead, here are directions using a popular free and open source office suite. I’ve used OpenOffice.org for years and recommend it; also, it has recently come out in a new version. (Hat tip.)

The Church’s questions about copyright

I really enjoy religious education professor Mary Hess’s Tensegrities blog. Yesterday she promoted a new World Council of Churches publication Love to Share, of which she herself is a contributor. You may download it here as a PDF and it is licensed in such a way that you may share copies. Get past the typically… Continue reading The Church’s questions about copyright

Folk Mass Hero

Friday was a noteworthy day at Day Job and included — among other things — a lunchtime round of Guitar Hero. (Don’t ask.) I was very kindly asked to participate but the music associated with the game is very much what I call Straight Boy Rock, and I don’t care for it. (Had there been… Continue reading Folk Mass Hero

Tiny church administration: making booklets

OK gang: I’m going to show you how to do something useful. Making booklets. It takes essentially the same effort to make a four page order of service (folded over from a piece of letter paper/A4) as a 36 page booklet, and the uses shouldn’t be hard to imagine. Including a meditation guide or church… Continue reading Tiny church administration: making booklets

Tiny Firefox diet hack

You could use the Calorie King toolbar to look up the nutritional information of food — I record everything I eat — but I think that takes up too much monitor space. Instead, I added Calorie King as a search engine in the pull-down search engine bar at the upper right hand side of my… Continue reading Tiny Firefox diet hack