If you don't know what that means, you probably shouldn't be using a d.i.y. host like nearlyfreespeech.

And now it works!

Almost. SexyBookmarks's images aren't loading when I use the new code, so I went back to the old version. It slows the page load down anyway, so I may take it off entirely.

And the rest of the bililite site is still at the old host, and some of the sample code (in /blog/blogfiles) uses that, so for now I have a line in my .htaccess to refer it back: RedirectMatch /blog/blogfiles(.*) http://bililite.com/blog/blogfiles$1.

I briefly pulled my hair out, then Googled Binged "ipod calendar 1 hour off" and it turns out there are two settings for the time zone: the one under General->Date & Time for the iPod's clock and Settings->Mail, Contacts, Calendars->Time Zone Support->Time Zone for the time to display for events. Setting both to "St. Louis" fixed the problem.

This makes no sense to me; how often would anyone want to see appointments in something other than their local time? And why would it show up only after my return trip? But at least the problem was quickly solved.

And on an almost completely unrelated note, Bing doesn't lend itself to being used a verb the way Google does. Binged sounds like I drowned my computer problems in a fifth of Scotch. Bing'd? Bing-ed? BingisnotGoogled?]]> http://bililite.nfshost.com/blog/2011/04/29/time-zone-insanity-and-ios/feed/ 0 http://bililite.nfshost.com/blog/2010/03/12/the-quicken-the-dead/ http://bililite.nfshost.com/blog/2010/03/12/the-quicken-the-dead/#comments Fri, 12 Mar 2010 10:35:40 +0000 Danny http://bililite.nfshost.com/blog/?p=1162 I've been using Quicken for years, since Quicken 97 on Window then Quicken 5 on the Mac and then Quicken 2001 when I got my iMac. The problems is that Intuit doesn't upgrade Quicken, it replaces it each year with a version that has more frilly bells and whistles and less real utility (especially on the Mac; just look at the "Using a prior version of Quicken Mac?"). And the datafile is often different from the old file, so stuff gets lost with each "upgrade".

So I've kept my current Mac (a blue & white G3, the "Mickey Mouse" one) just to be able to run Quicken 2001 under Classic. I can't upgrade to an Intel Mac, since Classic won't work. And I want to balance my checkbook while talking to my wife, not only downstairs in my basement office. So I wanted something I could run on my dual-boot (XP and Ubuntu) laptop.

I've been looking at alternatives to Quicken for 5+ years, but with 20 years of data I was too scared. Until now. I've been using gnuCash for just a week now, but it seems to everything I need it to, including importing all my data, even from multiple investment accounts, from Quicken's exported QIF file. I haven't done any complicated investment things, so I don't know how well that side of it works.

Strong points

• It Just Works. Does what I expect it to do, in the way I expect it to. Of course, I'm a geek who understands double-entry bookkeeping, so that may not be surprising.
• I can control-S and save the file; I always felt out of control with Quicken since you couldn't force it to save.
• Open source. I will probably never have the time to tinker, but it's nice knowing that I could

Weak points

• Keyboard shortcuts. I miss being able to assign my own keystrokes; I hate going back to the trackpad to do anything. But see Open Source above; I can probably fix that.
• I'm going to have to learn Scheme to create custom reports. Not sure if that's a bug or a feature.

The biggest advantage is the feeling of freedom of not being tied to Intuit anymore. I'll see how it works out, but I'm not going back.

And someone who knew what kosher meant brought in Cheezits (my main vice). But it's sukkot, so I couldn't eat those in the office either.

In all seriousness, I'm never offended when someone offers me nonkosher food like this, and I try to discourage people from trying too hard. It's a lot easier to politely decline something clearly nonkosher, than responding to someone who worked really hard at getting it right but missed one detail. "Here—you can eat this!" always elicits a cringe.

For those who don't see the irony in thanking an Orthodox Jew with ham and cheese, see wikipedia.