I could make a large pile of computers, that's certain. I'm not sure how much of my stuff qualifies as vacation gadgetery though. Maybe I'll try this after the weekend.

Thanks, Liese! I'll have to play with that!

Argh. So my computer is being seriously freaky and requiring restarts and reinstalls and so on and so forth. And now, of all weird things, Safari is not letting me close tabs unless I quit the entire program. WTF?

I'm seriously worried about the longevity of this computer, though--which given that it's only just over 2 years old is not good at all.

Compress files online with Krunch

Web site Krunch is an online file compression tool that lets you “Krunch” (i.e. compress/uncompress) files over the internet.

With Krunch, you can upload and compress your files, upload and uncompress already compressed files, uncompress and view/download compressed web files, and finally, grab files from the internet, compress them, and then download them.

Might be usefull if you're on dialup and, say, need to download some huge text file....

So, I hate Word with a firey passion, but I must use it for work.

You know the function within Word where the endnote/footnote/reference numbers in the text are linked to the actual list of endnotes/footnotes/references? So that if you delete one, they all re-number themselves?

HOW DO I TURN THAT FUNCTION OFF?!?

Why would you want to do that? I mean, with numbers, isn't it easier to find the footnotes that correspond to the stuff it's footnoting?

Note that I'm not an editor, I just work for a publisher... in the IT department, so my usage of fancy Word features is confined to the occasional table or inserted picture.

When I do endnotes/footnotes, I don't actually use that function. I just type my stuff, add the numbers, and then superscript the numbers (format>font>superscript) after I'm done. Then I add the footnotes/endnotes where I want them with the numbers I want. It might be easier to do it the "right" way, but I'm philosophically opposed.

I don't know if that's helpful or not, but I hope it is.

HOW DO I TURN THAT FUNCTION OFF?!?

Insert > Reference > Footnote > Custom Mark

Bah. My stupid modem problem continues, regardless of unplugging stuff and whatnot. So I called the cable company and they were basically unhelpful. (My favorite part: "Who am I speaking with?" "Jesse." "OK, can I call you Betsy?" Um....If you really want to?) They said I could go get a different modem, or place a service call, which of course would be next week, which of course is my first week at the new job.

So, here's the question for people who potentially know more than the stupid cable company people: Is this likely to be a hardware problem? Is it worth my going in and getting a new modem?

We've had problems that were fixed by getting a new modem. If nothing else, it'll probably get you a newer model.