I heard that Google released a version of Chrome for OS X, as I have firmly been using Safari since it was first available I thought that maybe I could try something new (I just never liked Firefox).

There are some really neat features in Chrome however the current release is just not good enough.

First things that I like over Safari:

• Themes. I like being able to have an overall darker look to the browser compared to the grey of Safari.
• Pages do feel like they are loading faster.
• It uses less memory on my laptop, this is an issue when handling large files in Matlab.
• The status bar only appears when the mouse is hovering over a link.
• Zooming in using Cmd + is handy and functions better then Safari.

Parts that are not good enough:

• I cannot set bookmark folders to open all the contents when clicked.
• When loading 18 new tabs simultaneously some fail to load.
• Chrome does not open PDF’s nor does it support Java well.
• While watching a flash video in full screen the mouse cursor is constantly moving up and down by one pixel.
• Difficulty logging into sites such as slashdot.org and getting Chrome to remember the login.
• Terrible history menu. Instead of getting my history I get Most Visited and Recently Closed, not where I have been.
• Cannot drag URL’s from the URL bar into the bookmark bar.
• Accessing the system Keychain works sometimes and rarely remembers choices.
• There is no obvious way to change themes once one is set.
• Once a file is downloaded the download bar remains until the window is closed.

I also thought that it would be easy to sync bookmarks between OS X and Windows 7 via Dropbox with Chrome but I have not gotten it to work (not saying it cannot be done, just that it is not obvious). I have not done this with Safari but I know it can be done with Firefox.

I wanted to like Chrome but it just disappoints and falls short of a pleasurable web browsing experience.

Maybe in a few releases it might be worth coming back.

I love to write. Writing has so many uses and applications, it is truly an amazing thing. I find that I write for several different reasons that, in a way, add up to a image of myself.

First there is Walk the Grass. This is mainly where I stand on a given soapbox (sometimes shoebox) and talk about what I want to say on a particular subject (like writing) or when I desire to share information (reviews or help). It is not the greatest writing or even great content, however it is an outlet for a particular type of writing. Unless I wanted to start a newsletter.

Second there are social networks such as Facebook. In this small details of my life are recorded. Things like what interesting thing I did (donate blood followed by five hours of physics homework), how I am feeling or maybe an interesting link. It also has a profile (sadly not up to date) where I try to define myself in list form, what do my favorite books say about me?

Third are personal communications such as e-mails, instant messages, texts and Facebook comments. Some of these I save such as e-mails and IMs, others are temporary and fleeting words. These may end up on a server somewhere but nowhere I could quickly access them.

Fourth is a weekly e-mail I write. Ever since I started college I wrote an e-mail every week to my family and family friends about what I have been up too. Things like how classes are doing, special things I have done, my general well being and general statements about things like parties. In a way it is a replacement for calling home. These I have saved from the beginning in several places.

Fifth are a host of journals both physical and electronic. I have a few personal journals in compound notebooks and journal notebooks, a couple travelogues and a dream journal (short lived) all in paper form. Recently I transitioned over to an electronic journal under a password where I write without reservation. I tend to write this as a form of catharsis and I average about one entry about every two months. I don’t know who I am writing too but writing for an unknown future audience lets me write whatever I want.

When all five of these are combined together I would like to think that they give an idea of who I am at the time of writing. I can already look back at my weekly e-mails (they have been around the longest) and see how I have changed since I was a college freshman. While what I write may not be interesting now, or in five years I may find that chat logs from IM conversations are fascinating when I am seventy.

Everyone writes for their own reasons, hopefully something interesting will come of my personal writings.

A level of class I may never achieve.

This has been the longest I have gone without a new post (3 days) and from it I have discovered two correlation.

First, the longer it has been since I have taken photo the less inclined I am towards posting.

Second, a post a day schedule is not what brings people to this site (all 40 of them a day).

I am guessing that I won’t start posting in earnest again until the quarter ends and perhaps after the holidays. This quarter has taken a lot time when combined with my RA position.

I still think a smaller camera would encourage me to take more photos out and about.

“]There is a cutest dog competition out there and my roommate has entered his dog Darwin (pictured above) into the contest.

Everyone should go to the website and vote for Darwin.

If we win we are going spend a significant amount of the winnings on scotch and postage to send out the winning Darwin Hallmark cards.

Nothing like a handful of coinage.

Same days, some weeks, inspire a desire for travel.

Today the weather felt just like November in Paris when I was there a few years ago. Cold, crisp and sunny.

At least as far as I could tell from my office window.

Is it still holy if it is in a museum?

Since coming to Seattle and meeting people from Portland I have heard nothing by praise for Voodoo Donuts, in particular the bacon maple bar. I will admit that this sounds like a wonderful idea but the hype surrounding this mythical donut and bakery was getting to be a bit much.

Today another first year came back from Portland for Thanksgiving and brought a box of Voodoo donuts with him. He sent out an e-mail to all the grad students saying free donuts. After braving the stampede and pushing a few people down the stairs I got one of the fabled bacon maple bar.

It was good. It was not legendary or life changing, it was good. I am now told that part of it is the Voodoo Donut Experience.

I will stick with freshly made donuts from street carts as my donuts of choice.

That store is ripe for a hooligan to change the P to a B.

Ever since I struggled to write a paper for a physics lab class and my friend introduced it me I have been a fan of LaTeX. Since that moment I have written everything that needed any sort of typesetting in TexShop for OS X.

Recently I needed to organize several papers for their references, I conveniently found in installation of BibDesk. This was a wonderful find. BibDesk was able to create my BibTeX file for my references as well as organize all of the PDFs for papers. With it I am able to now start a centralized organization for academic papers, something that will hopefully help me in the long run.

Furthermore it has helped me write my papers. I was able to load in a dozen papers related to my topic (Ganymede) and systematically read through the papers adding more information to my paper. The simple addition of a read checkbox to BibDesk makes the whole thing just work perfectly.

Of course after talking to a Windows using roommate about this I was only able to recommend LaTeX and BibTeX and not any neat front ends.

Be thankful you don't live here.

Hooray for Thanksgiving!