CircleCount helps you better understand Google+

2013-05-23 01:27:04 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

Fashion mag from UChicago students. My daughter Allie shot the cover and a photo spread inside. Best of all, it's actually printed! Enjoy!

2013-05-22 23:17:14 (5 comments, 0 reshares, 5 +1s)

OK, people, 2 more things you can stop posting:
1. The Federal Deficit Is Actually Shrinking : NPR
-- OK, we get it.

2. Your frickin' Nexus 4 homescreens.
-- No one cares.

2013-05-22 22:42:16 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Is anyone else seeing people cards from their hangout list pop up over the notification drop down? Like the mouseover is bleeding through? It's super-annoying.

2013-05-22 20:35:19 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

Pan-Mass Challenge fundraising for 2013 passes $5 million!

I'm proud to be riding this year -- you can learn more on my blog: http://pmc.titus.bz

#pmc2013   #panmasschallenge   #dfci  

2013-05-22 16:10:17 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 4 +1s)

My daughter Allie shot the cover for this UChicago fashion magazine. Can't wait to see it!

2013-05-22 15:29:07 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Is anyone out there using Honeywell "Prestige" thermostats with the RedLink system? Thinking of getting a few for my house.

2013-05-22 00:10:41 (9 comments, 0 reshares, 8 +1s)

Enough with the cat made out of espresso foam, people.

#ILDL  

2013-05-21 14:34:34 (6 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

1 Terabyte of Image Storage

I've been snapping digital pictures for 10 years. Starting with a 3.2 MP Canon Powershot, moving to a 6MP Nikon D70s, then a 8MP Nikon Coolpix, and now a Nikon P300 (12MP) plus a Nikon D5100 (16MP).

Right now on my home server, I have 55GB of digital photos, made up of some 20,000 files, dating back to May 2003. Everything gets backed up nightly to Amazon Glacier.

1TB is almost 20X the photo storage I'm using now.

So now for the first time ever, I can put all of my digital photos into the cloud, for "free." And, have what appears to be a lifetime of capacity left over. 

This feels like a milestone, but I have to say, I'm not sure what it really portends.

image: Felipe Massa at the F1 GP in Austin

#flickr   #yahoo  

2013-05-21 12:13:23 (2 comments, 2 reshares, 4 +1s)

How to fix the (Windows) desktop display of Roboto

It's actually really easy, and should have been explained by Google in the first place. Here's all you need to do.

1. Go to this link and download the hinted font files from Google:
https://dl-ssl.google.com/android/design/Roboto_Hinted_20111129.zip

2. Unzip and install the fonts in your Windows font folder

3. Enjoy.

Image shows a comparison of the following:
1. Original font (still used in Gmail)
2. Faux italic
3. Hinted italic from installed fonts

2013-05-21 04:31:53 (1 comments, 3 reshares, 3 +1s)

How to fix the (Windows) desktop display of Roboto

It's actually really easy, and should have been explained by Google in the first place. Here's all you need to do.

1. Go to this link and download the hinted font files from Google:
https://dl-ssl.google.com/android/design/Roboto_Hinted_20111129.zip

2. Unzip and install the fonts in your Windows font folder

3. Enjoy.

Image shows a comparison of the following:
1. Original font (still used in Gmail)
2. Faux italic
3. Hinted italic from installed fonts

2013-05-21 03:33:02 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

How can you not love the Gregory Brothers? I could probably listen to this for... 5 years?

2013-05-20 23:36:10 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

Wow, Ms. Mayer had a busy day today. First Tumblr, now Flickr. 

2013-05-20 21:12:07 (4 comments, 10 reshares, 8 +1s)

How to fix the (Windows) desktop display of Roboto

It's actually really easy, and should have been explained by Google in the first place. Here's all you need to do.

1. Go to this link and download the hinted font files from Google:
https://dl-ssl.google.com/android/design/Roboto_Hinted_20111129.zip

2. Unzip and install the fonts in your Windows font folder

3. Enjoy.

Image shows a comparison of the following:
1. Original font (still used in Gmail)
2. Faux italic
3. Hinted italic from installed fonts

2013-05-20 19:28:42 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

Pan-Mass Challenge progress update

This August 3 and 4, I'll be riding in the Pan-Mass Challenge, an 2-day ride across MA that raises money every year for Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. My wife, her sister, and I will ride together and we have committed to raising $15,000 for 2013. The goal for all of PMC this year is $38 million.

You can read more about our story and our training rides here: http://pmc.titus.bz

Since many here on Google+ have made generous donations, I wanted to update you on our current status:

$2,980 raised
244.7 miles ridden
16,939 feet climbed
11 training rides

Thanks again for your support; if you would like to donate, you can do so at this link: bit.ly/pmc_brian

#pmc2013   #panmasschallenge   #dfci  

2013-05-20 19:14:37 (8 comments, 0 reshares, 4 +1s)

Comparison between old rendering of italic and new rendering of italic. Is this the one on the right how everyone is seeing it now? Does anyone actually prefer this italic over the old one?

2013-05-20 18:53:18 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

Dear Google,

If Roboto is a font you're already using elsewhere (like, in Android), why is it that the italic version you've put into desktop Google+ does not match the italic version in Android?

In case you've stopped using Chrome on the desktop altogether, allow me to let you in on a little secret: YOUR FONT LOOKS TERRIBLE. PARAGRAPHS IN ITALIC ARE VIRTUALLY UNREADABLE. Please fix.

Best,

Me

2013-05-20 18:24:41 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 4 +1s)

Thought I would create a Pinterest version of my Bucks County bicycling photos, in case anyone would rather see them that way. Enjoy!

http://pinterest.com/btitus/bucks-county-pa/

2013-05-20 15:59:45 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

New Google+ Android App Released

We spotted it early and now it's here: +Bradley Horowitz has just announced a new version of the Google+ +Android App that brings many of the features announced for desktop at I/O last week. From photos to location, here's what the new app has in store: http://goo.gl/OxNXc

------------------
#googleplusupdate   #googleplusphotos   #googleplusdaily  

2013-05-20 15:18:53 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 1 +1s)

Pan-Mass Challenge progress update

This August 3 and 4, I'll be riding in the Pan-Mass Challenge, an 2-day ride across MA that raises money every year for Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. My wife, her sister, and I will ride together and we have committed to raising $15,000 for 2013. The goal for all of PMC this year is $38 million.

You can read more about our story and our training rides here: http://pmc.titus.bz

Since many here on Google+ have made generous donations, I wanted to update you on our current status:

$2,980 raised
244.7 miles ridden
16,939 feet climbed
11 training rides

Thanks again for your support; if you would like to donate, you can do so at this link: bit.ly/pmc_brian

#pmc2013   #panmasschallenge   #dfci  

2013-05-20 14:44:29 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

Note:

Posts in the notification drop-down that's attached to Gmail render in the old font. So that ridiculous italic doesn't have to jab you in the eye. Yay for (lack of) consistency.

2013-05-20 14:42:21 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Android JB Bookmark Questions:

1. Why do I have two widgets called "Bookmark" on my Bionic? Is one of them a Verizon/Moto thing? They seem to act differently. (Note: I'm not referring to "bookmark" vs. "bookmarks". I've got two singular "bookmark" widgets.)

2. Why do I no longer get favicons for bookmarks I place on homescreens? Way back in Android 2.x days, website bookmarks showed up with icons on my homescreens. Now they are generic.

2013-05-20 11:14:59 (9 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

New Google Maps people:

Where did "My Places" go? They are available from the "gear" dropdown at upper right, but they're being shown in the old interface. Are they not in the new interface yet?

2013-05-19 23:36:49 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 10 +1s)

A drizzly day here in Bucks County, so no bike ride. However, we did take a car ride out to the Van Sant Airport, a grass field in Erwinna, PA. Turns out they were having an event that was supposed to involve a jazz band on the ground and biplanes in the air, but the weather had cancelled the flying part. Still, we were able to walk around and look at the planes. They had 2 or 3 PT17s (Boeing-Stearman Model 75) there; this one was manufactured in 1943. Would have loved to have seen it flying!

We will probably take a bike ride out to the airfield next weekend -- there is some great scenery along the way, along with some nasty climbs...

2013-05-19 03:48:41 (8 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

OK, is it just me, or did they make a change to the way text is being displayed?

I'm seeing posts in the stream that have every line displayed next to posts with 3 lines displayed. What's going on here?

2013-05-19 01:53:15 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

Protip: Incorporating Google+ photos into your Blogger blog posts

I've been blogging more regularly lately and since most of my current photos are in the Google+/Picasa system now, I've been looking for ways to more easily add them to my blog posts. 

As you probably know, you can insert photos from the Compose window, but I find that the choices they give you for widths aren't as flexible as I'd like. The alternative is to work in the HTML window, but as you're writing your blog post, it can get confusing and messy, and you have to remember to put <br />'s in everywhere to space things out properly.

So here's what I do instead:

First, I write my blog post in the Compose window. Wherever I plan to put a photo, I just write 'insert photo here' and I put spaces around that notation using the... more »

2013-05-18 21:35:28 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 3 +1s)

Protip: Incorporating Google+ photos into your Blogger blog posts

I've been blogging more regularly lately and since most of my current photos are in the Google+/Picasa system now, I've been looking for ways to more easily add them to my blog posts. 

As you probably know, you can insert photos from the Compose window, but I find that the choices they give you for widths aren't as flexible as I'd like. The alternative is to work in the HTML window, but as you're writing your blog post, it can get confusing and messy, and you have to remember to put <br />'s in everywhere to space things out properly.

So here's what I do instead:

First, I write my blog post in the Compose window. Wherever I plan to put a photo, I just write 'insert photo here' and I put spaces around that notation using the... more »

2013-05-18 20:46:27 (2 comments, 1 reshares, 8 +1s)

2013-05-18 19:02:15 (9 comments, 0 reshares, 6 +1s)

Since the Blogger share puts such a tiny photo up, I'm resharing this one. You know, just in case you want to actually see it.

http://pmc.titus.bz for more.

2013-05-18 18:55:11 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

Overcast day, so not great for pictures, but nice and cool for riding. We did a 19.9 mile loop and I must say it felt pretty good. 

A couple of photos at the blog, including this old stone barn. If I win Powerball tonight, I promise to buy this and restore it to its former glory.

#pmc2013   #panmasschallenge   #buckscounty  

Donate now: bit.ly/pmc_brian

2013-05-18 15:16:25 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 10 +1s)

A trip to the farmer's market yielded some fresh catnip. Mel may have overindulged...

#caturday #mel #ned

2013-05-17 22:05:43 (4 comments, 1 reshares, 8 +1s)

2013-05-17 21:16:08 (5 comments, 0 reshares, 9 +1s)

Trying out a little harness for #Ned -- he has been so focused on the outdoors lately. He's constantly trying to squeeze out the back door and run into the yard. Maybe we can get him used to being outside so it's not such an obsession.

2013-05-17 12:59:44 (4 comments, 1 reshares, 5 +1s)

Bucks County, PA.

More here: http://pmc.titus.bz

2013-05-17 12:38:05 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

SRSLY?

What is with this hideous fake italic Google? Do you not want us to use it anymore?

2013-05-17 11:53:14 (21 comments, 1 reshares, 6 +1s)

Probably one of the most thoughtful essays I've read about the real issues that Glass will surface.

Today we assume that our conversations and our image is not by default recorded by other people in proximity. Not having a persistent record allows us to present a nuanced identity to different people, or groups of people, provides with the space to experiment with what we could be. The risk that what we say will be broadcast, narrowcasted to people we don’t know, or may underpin someone’s future business fundamentally changes what we want to talk about. The challenge for Glass is that the costs of ownership falls on people in proximity of the wearer, and that its benefits have yet to be proven out.

Aside: although Medium seems promising, they really need to implement search. I read this article the other day, and then almost could not find it again.

2013-05-16 22:06:47 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 4 +1s)

Here it is, our (possibly) final ride of Staycation2013! Well, we may do a short ride tomorrow if we're up to it, but who knows, this could be our final adventure with sis-in-law Carol until we hit the PMC together in August.

Much, much warmer than our previous rides, it felt pretty much like a regular summer ride. See the post for more photos and details. I promise to back off the Picasa filters in the future. (yeah, right!).

Thanks for reading, hope you've enjoyed our week off as much as we have!
  
#panmasschallenge   #pmc2013      #buckscounty   #lumberville  

Donate now: bit.ly/pmc_brian

2013-05-16 21:07:10 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 6 +1s)

Staycation V ride preview -- 40 miles: to Lumberville and back again.

Blog post coming soon, until then, enjoy this lovely house of Lumberville, PA.

#buckscounty   #lumberville  

2013-05-16 14:25:53 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 6 +1s)

The one place where multi-column, pinterest style display makes great sense is in search results. Because that's just where I do want to have posts competing for my attention.

2013-05-16 14:22:00 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 4 +1s)

Is there a way we could tag-bomb all #throughglass  posts so they automatically receive #peacock  as a tag too? That would be fun.

2013-05-16 12:44:56 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

This animated compose box is the dumbest thing I've ever seen. You click inside a text box, but surprise, it's not a text box! The whole thing is just a button that launches an animation that brings you the actual text box! Auto-awesome!

Required photo: bacon

2013-05-16 11:47:14 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 4 +1s)

So the people who named the "auto-awesome" feature have a highly developed sense of irony, right?

Note: required photo has nothing to do with this post.

2013-05-16 11:06:42 (6 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

So they combined Talk and Hangouts apparently. 

I use(d) Talk to chat with family only, from phone to tablet to PC. So, I limited who appeared in Talk by using a special circle. Now that talk and hangout are combined, I've lost that organization. 

I've done one, maybe two hangouts in my whole G+ career. The person who I did that hangout with is now at the top of the hangout list. Perfect.

2013-05-16 00:15:37 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

I have a feeling this new interface is going to absolutely kill my Atom-powered Netbook. That's a minus.

2013-05-15 23:34:12 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Yikers. Single column = useless on big monitor.

2013-05-15 23:29:59 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

Since the share directly from Blogger just made a small image, I thought I'd reshare this on its own. Maybe it will hog up your whole monitor!

Blog post here:
pmc.titus.bz

2013-05-15 23:18:39 (5 comments, 0 reshares, 5 +1s)

Warning -- remember that bug where you would be typing a giant comment in the notification drop down and it would roll-up on you and swallow your comment? Yeah, it's back.

2013-05-15 23:05:58 (5 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

OK, so they've added the ability to add photos from "Your Google+ photos" to posts. But when you do that, it wants you to create and name another album?? Wha...?

2013-05-15 23:00:11 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 6 +1s)

Pretty sure this will get lost in the new clutter of G+, but here's a blog post about our "rest day." A visit to the Barnes Foundation in downtown Philly. Back in the saddle tomorrow for a 40-miler!

#pmc   #panmasschallenge   #philadelphia   #barnesfoundation  

Donate now: bit.ly/pmc_brian

2013-05-15 21:32:23 (12 comments, 1 reshares, 5 +1s)

Yikers. Single column = useless on big monitor.

2013-05-15 21:07:03 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 8 +1s)

Welcome to Pinterest.