Reducing the Net down and simmering....

Here are a number of links I've been sitting on for a while.

Firefox Add-on Pick

Uppity - This Firefox Add-on (weaning myself off calling them "extensions" now) will allow you to browse up the HTML tree in your Mozilla browser. So if you frequently find yourself on a deep-linked webpage and want to quickly browse up to a higher point (say going from "http://blogs.chron.com/ techblog/archives/2006/11/ data_rescue_can_be_easier_than_you_think.html" to "http://chron.com/") but you don't want to be back-space/deleting in the address-bar, this is a great little tool. Some pages it offers aren't valid links, but it is a quick an useful way to explore the site tree of web-pages. --via Lifehacker

Tech

Dough Mahugh "Office 2007 Technical Evangelist" drops a number of Microsoft Office Blog links. It you are into all things Office, then you may want to set your RSS feed to some of these blogs to keep up with the latest in Office developments.

The SANS-ISC handler's diary has had a number of good and interesting posts lately: Hacking Tor, the anonymity onion routing network, Malware with new features, and Microsoft Patching Observations (NEW).

Here's a neat tool: Fiddler (free) Quoting from the developer's page, "Fiddler is a HTTP Debugging Proxy which logs all HTTP traffic between your computer and the Internet. Fiddler allows you to inspect all HTTP Traffic, set breakpoints, and "fiddle" with incoming or outgoing data. Fiddler is designed to be much simpler than using NetMon or Achilles, and includes a simple but powerful JScript.NET event-based scripting subsystem."

Got a Sony laptop/notebook? Repair4Laptop has a fantastic collection of links outlining How to Upgrade, Repair, Disassemble a Sony Laptop or Notebook Repairs are a lot easier when you can see the ground others have covered first.

Looking to add some plugins into your Photoshop application? Check out The Plugin Site's Free Photoshop-compatible Plugins. Nicely organized, you might find some useful treats in here.

Images and Art

Speaking of images, Dwight Silverman points us to the flickr Wallpapers page. Wow! These are a pool of images at screen resolutions of at least 1024x768. If you are looking for striking photographic images for your desktop, this is a great place to find some really original work!

Bob Kessel is an artist who primarily uses vibrant, geometrical shaped elements, and strong lines. His works, both original and as inspired by others, present a bold usage of color and force. These are paintings that don't just attract your attention, they mug you! Wowzers.

Want a custom emblem/badge for your vehicle? Head over to BadgeMakerDeluxe. There you can select from some ready-made emblems or have a badge made-to-order. They look really nice and might be able to set your vehicle apart from the pack with some retro-bling. --via RetroThing.

Video Delights!

Some time ago, Dwight also blogged about Random encounters of the video kind. He tips us to a really fascinating website (Serendipitous Chat) that pulls random live video-cam feeds from the social networking site, Stickam. There is something compulsive about watching strangers chatter on with each other. I don't know why it is addicting, but it is. If loading a single Stickam user at a time is not meeting your hunger, try Kismetchat, which loads 12 random screens of Stickham users.

Despite reports to the contrary, it seems that YouTube retains a ton of Japanese anime clips. For anime fans, there is an Air video montage, a music video of "Love Hina" set to "Pretty Girl (The Way)" by Sugarcult (very slickly done!), and then, there is the incredible music video of "Love Hina" set to "Barbie Girl" by Aqua. Great stuff here on YouTube with a little searching.

Dream Wheels

If I could have just one car given to me, I would almost certainly ask for it to be a classic Aston Martin Vantage V8. It captures the toughness of the American muscle-car era, but retains a certain British "refinement". I recently found the Aston Workshop online. It is a wish-list of all things Aston Martin. They handle sales, restorations and parts. I may never have the opportunity to either drive, let alone own one, but it sure is fun looking! Their Downloads page also contains a number of quality photos, screensavers, and even sound-clips. Nice.

Extreme Blending!

Finally for just, all out WTF video madness, head on over to the Will it Blend? site. Here's the recipe: Take a commercial blender on steroids, look around the office, and ask yourself..."Will it Blend?" Two categories: "Don't Try This at Home" and "Try This at Home".

It's hard leaving you with a favorite, but it probably has got to be "The Movie": blending popcorn, a drink, and a movie.

I've got to get me one of these things!

Brilliant!

--Claus