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	<title>Symbolcraft</title>
	<link>http://www.symbolcraft.com</link>
	<description>Software, synthesis, and sibilance</description>
	<pubDate>Wed, 30 Apr 2008 02:04:22 +0000</pubDate>
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  <title>Symbolcraft</title>
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		<item>
		<title>The Rainier Ruler</title>
		<link>http://www.symbolcraft.com/blog/the_rainier_ruler/36/</link>
		<comments>http://www.symbolcraft.com/blog/the_rainier_ruler/36/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 30 Apr 2008 02:01:19 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>pjl</dc:creator>
		
		<category>Life Hacks</category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.symbolcraft.com/blog/the_rainier_ruler/36/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Mount Rainier can often be seen from many places in Seattle, and the two locations are about about 100 kilometers apart. This makes it a nice measuring stick to help Seattleites envision relative distances.








For example, if you could enlarge a one-centimeter-long ant so that its gaster (tail) extended over downtown Seattle and its antennae hung [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.symbolcraft.com/blog/the_rainier_ruler/36/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Book Review: The Algebraist</title>
		<link>http://www.symbolcraft.com/blog/book_review_the_algebraist/35/</link>
		<comments>http://www.symbolcraft.com/blog/book_review_the_algebraist/35/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 16 Apr 2008 01:59:19 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>pjl</dc:creator>
		
		<category>Book Reviews</category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.symbolcraft.com/blog/book_review_the_algebraist/35/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
Published in 2004, this fun, fast-paced modern space opera is vast in scope. It tells the story of how a single human, Fassin Taak, begins to change an ancient balance of power between two galactic civilizations. The multi-billion-year-old galaxy-wide post-civilization of long-lived gas giant dwellers is rumored to own a secret vast network of wormholes, [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.symbolcraft.com/blog/book_review_the_algebraist/35/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Announcing NaFiMaBa 2008 (National Find Matt Baldwin 2008)</title>
		<link>http://www.symbolcraft.com/blog/nafimaba2008/33/</link>
		<comments>http://www.symbolcraft.com/blog/nafimaba2008/33/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 07 Apr 2008 00:35:28 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>pjl</dc:creator>
		
		<category>Humor</category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.symbolcraft.com/blog/nafimaba2008/33/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[As part of my contribution to the interweb&#8217;s effort at locating Matt, who hasn&#8217;t posted a topic on Defective Yeti for an alarming nineteen days, I&#8217;m setting up a user-aided search tool similar to the one that unfortunately failed to find Steve Fossett. Instead of searching satellite photos of the desert, we&#8217;ll be searching through [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.symbolcraft.com/blog/nafimaba2008/33/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Book Review: Cold Mountain</title>
		<link>http://www.symbolcraft.com/blog/book_review_cold_mountain/32/</link>
		<comments>http://www.symbolcraft.com/blog/book_review_cold_mountain/32/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 14 Mar 2008 02:41:47 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>pjl</dc:creator>
		
		<category>Book Reviews</category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.symbolcraft.com/blog/book_review_cold_mountain/32/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[

Many people recommended this book to me as a &#8220;lovingly crafted classic.&#8221; At over four hundred pages, the author immerses you in the pain and suffering that arises from war as one of the protagonists tries to makes his way home from the civil war. I agree with the recommendations, but I have this to [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.symbolcraft.com/blog/book_review_cold_mountain/32/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Seattle Winter Haiku</title>
		<link>http://www.symbolcraft.com/blog/seattle_winter_haiku/31/</link>
		<comments>http://www.symbolcraft.com/blog/seattle_winter_haiku/31/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 11 Jan 2008 01:23:32 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>pjl</dc:creator>
		
		<category>Poetry</category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.symbolcraft.com/blog/seattle_winter_haiku/31/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Crows on gray branches
Eye each other from afar
Trash dumpster detente

]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.symbolcraft.com/blog/seattle_winter_haiku/31/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Step on a Crack, Get Eaten</title>
		<link>http://www.symbolcraft.com/blog/step_on_a_crack_get_eaten/30/</link>
		<comments>http://www.symbolcraft.com/blog/step_on_a_crack_get_eaten/30/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 27 Sep 2007 05:40:25 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>pjl</dc:creator>
		
		<category>Theories</category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.symbolcraft.com/blog/step_on_a_crack_get_eaten/30/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Everybody knows the old children&#8217;s rhyme &#8220;step on a crack, break your mother&#8217;s back.&#8221;
I haven&#8217;t met anyone who didn&#8217;t play that game as a child. Some people with OCD are unfortunately even driven to play that game continuously. So where does this desire come from?







It occurred to me today that it&#8217;s probably a survival instinct. [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.symbolcraft.com/blog/step_on_a_crack_get_eaten/30/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>How to Internationalize Your WordPress Plugin</title>
		<link>http://www.symbolcraft.com/blog/how_to_i18n_your_wordpress_plugin/29/</link>
		<comments>http://www.symbolcraft.com/blog/how_to_i18n_your_wordpress_plugin/29/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 01 Sep 2007 03:47:06 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>pjl</dc:creator>
		
		<category>WordPress</category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.symbolcraft.com/blog/how_to_i18n_your_wordpress_plugin/29/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[If you&#8217;re a WordPress plugin author, you can reach a wider audience by providing translations of your plugin in languages other than English. For step-by-step instructions on how to do that, read on.








Definitions
First, some definitions: Internationalization (or for short, &#8220;I18n&#8221;) is the process of modifying software so that it can be used in other cultures. [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.symbolcraft.com/blog/how_to_i18n_your_wordpress_plugin/29/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>The Quick Hang-Up Mystery</title>
		<link>http://www.symbolcraft.com/blog/the_quick_hang-up_mystery/28/</link>
		<comments>http://www.symbolcraft.com/blog/the_quick_hang-up_mystery/28/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 01 Aug 2007 03:11:11 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>pjl</dc:creator>
		
		<category>Puzzles</category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.symbolcraft.com/blog/the_quick_hang-up_mystery/28/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Do you speak a language other than English? If so, you might be able to solve a mystery. Read on to find out more.







I got tired of tele-marketers calling me at home while I was having dinner, and although the National Do Not Call Registry helped, I still got unwanted calls. I decided to escalate [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.symbolcraft.com/blog/the_quick_hang-up_mystery/28/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
<enclosure url='http://www.symbolcraft.com/downloads/Quick_Hang-Up_Mystery.mp3' length='166928' type='audio/mpeg'/>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>16 Reasons to Meditate Every Day</title>
		<link>http://www.symbolcraft.com/blog/reasons_to_meditate_every_day/27/</link>
		<comments>http://www.symbolcraft.com/blog/reasons_to_meditate_every_day/27/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 26 Jun 2007 03:48:55 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>pjl</dc:creator>
		
		<category>Life Hacks</category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.symbolcraft.com/blog/reasons_to_meditate_every_day/27/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Anyone who has spent more than five minutes on the Web knows that it provides access to a huge amount of information, some of which is even accurate. However, despite the fact that you can learn much by reading, there are still some things that you can only grok through experience. After reading yet another [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.symbolcraft.com/blog/reasons_to_meditate_every_day/27/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>The Game: No More Secrets</title>
		<link>http://www.symbolcraft.com/blog/no_more_secrets/25/</link>
		<comments>http://www.symbolcraft.com/blog/no_more_secrets/25/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 26 May 2007 23:26:12 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>pjl</dc:creator>
		
		<category>Puzzles</category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.symbolcraft.com/blog/no_more_secrets/25/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[A World War II bomber flies overhead. &#8220;Cool,&#8221; I think to myself. &#8220;That must be a clue.&#8221; I get out my digital camera in anticipation of another, and am shortly rewarded with a nice photo of a low-flying vintage bomber.


Five minutes later another one flies directly above the teams assembling below in a sunny park [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.symbolcraft.com/blog/no_more_secrets/25/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Version 1.1 of the Copyright Plugin for WordPress</title>
		<link>http://www.symbolcraft.com/blog/copyright_plugin_1_1_for_wordpress/20/</link>
		<comments>http://www.symbolcraft.com/blog/copyright_plugin_1_1_for_wordpress/20/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 14 May 2007 00:47:53 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>pjl</dc:creator>
		
		<category>WordPress</category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.symbolcraft.com/blog/copyright_plugin_1_1_for_wordpress/20/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I&#8217;m pleased to announce Version 1.1 of the Copyright Plugin for WordPress. If you want to insure that your copyright notices automatically display the correct dates in WordPress, then you need this plugin.








The only new feature of this updated version of the Copyright Plugin is that it has been internationalized to make it easy to [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.symbolcraft.com/blog/copyright_plugin_1_1_for_wordpress/20/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>How to Perspire Like a Genius</title>
		<link>http://www.symbolcraft.com/blog/how_to_perspire_like_a_genius/16/</link>
		<comments>http://www.symbolcraft.com/blog/how_to_perspire_like_a_genius/16/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 13 Apr 2007 03:12:04 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>pjl</dc:creator>
		
		<category>Life Hacks</category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.symbolcraft.com/blog/how_to_perspire_like_a_genius/16/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration.Thomas Alva Edison
If you&#8217;re reading this then you&#8217;re probably avoiding doing something else more important. Most of us have over-full lives; we divide our time among family, work, friends, neighbors, clubs, hobbies, recreation, exercise, and on and on. Every day is a challenge to fulfill all of [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.symbolcraft.com/blog/how_to_perspire_like_a_genius/16/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Version 1.0 of the Copyright Plugin for WordPress</title>
		<link>http://www.symbolcraft.com/blog/copyright_plugin_10_for_wordpress/15/</link>
		<comments>http://www.symbolcraft.com/blog/copyright_plugin_10_for_wordpress/15/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 03 Apr 2007 01:55:52 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>pjl</dc:creator>
		
		<category>WordPress</category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.symbolcraft.com/blog/copyright_plugin_10_for_wordpress/15/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I&#8217;m pleased to announce Version 1.0 of the Copyright Plugin for WordPress. If you want to insure that your copyright notices automatically display the correct dates in WordPress, then you need this plugin.








After a month of public beta testing, the Copyright Plugin for Wordpress has received positive feedback, and no bugs have been reported. Therefore [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.symbolcraft.com/blog/copyright_plugin_10_for_wordpress/15/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>8 Essential WordPress Plugins</title>
		<link>http://www.symbolcraft.com/blog/essential_wordpress_plugins/14/</link>
		<comments>http://www.symbolcraft.com/blog/essential_wordpress_plugins/14/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 18 Mar 2007 23:54:36 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>pjl</dc:creator>
		
		<category>WordPress</category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.symbolcraft.com/blog/essential_wordpress_plugins/14/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[One of the wonderful things about WordPress is its extensibility&#8211;hundreds of free plugins for WordPress are available. Now that I&#8217;ve used WordPress for a few months I have settled on a set of plugins that allow WordPress to function well according to my needs. Of those, there are a core set of plugins that I [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.symbolcraft.com/blog/essential_wordpress_plugins/14/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>How to Fix your WordPress Comment Feed Name</title>
		<link>http://www.symbolcraft.com/blog/fix_your_wordpress_comment_feed_name/12/</link>
		<comments>http://www.symbolcraft.com/blog/fix_your_wordpress_comment_feed_name/12/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 10 Mar 2007 17:55:13 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>pjl</dc:creator>
		
		<category>WordPress</category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.symbolcraft.com/blog/fix_your_wordpress_comment_feed_name/12/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Many RSS feed aggregators (like Bloglines, for example) alphabetize the feed names that you&#8217;re subscribed to. If you set up WordPress and test your RSS feeds in such a news reader, you&#8217;ll notice that your main feed and your comments feed are probably not listed next to each other. To make it easier for your [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.symbolcraft.com/blog/fix_your_wordpress_comment_feed_name/12/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Announcing the Copyright Plugin for WordPress</title>
		<link>http://www.symbolcraft.com/blog/copyright_plugin_for_wordpress/13/</link>
		<comments>http://www.symbolcraft.com/blog/copyright_plugin_for_wordpress/13/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 03 Mar 2007 20:32:03 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>pjl</dc:creator>
		
		<category>WordPress</category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.symbolcraft.com/blog/copyright_plugin_for_wordpress/13/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I&#8217;m pleased to announce the Copyright Plugin version 0.9 (beta) for WordPress. If you want to insure that your copyright notices display the correct dates in WordPress, then you may find this little plugin useful.








In the United States (and possibly other countries) a copyright notice should include the range of dates that the copyright covers. [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.symbolcraft.com/blog/copyright_plugin_for_wordpress/13/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Be Nice to Your Eyes in Emacs</title>
		<link>http://www.symbolcraft.com/blog/be_nice_to_your_eyes_in_emacs/11/</link>
		<comments>http://www.symbolcraft.com/blog/be_nice_to_your_eyes_in_emacs/11/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 24 Feb 2007 07:47:06 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>pjl</dc:creator>
		
		<category>Programming</category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.symbolcraft.com/blog/be_nice_to_your_eyes_in_emacs/11/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[If you&#8217;re one of the many right-minded geeks who uses Emacs, you have an advantage over those who use less-flexible text editors. Anyone staring at code all day long will soon suffer from tired eyes. If you use Emacs, though, you can use a macro that I wrote that may help alleviate the problem.








Disclaimer: If [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.symbolcraft.com/blog/be_nice_to_your_eyes_in_emacs/11/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>How to Fix Post Previews in WordPress</title>
		<link>http://www.symbolcraft.com/blog/fix_wordpress_post_preview/8/</link>
		<comments>http://www.symbolcraft.com/blog/fix_wordpress_post_preview/8/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 17 Feb 2007 20:56:10 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>pjl</dc:creator>
		
		<category>WordPress</category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.symbolcraft.com/blog/fix_wordpress_post_preview/8/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I&#8217;ve used WordPress for a couple of months now, and so far I really like it. It&#8217;s free, it&#8217;s pretty easy to set up, it&#8217;s extensible, and the WordPress user community has created a huge number of really great WordPress themes and plug-ins. In all, WordPress does a really good job of helping you publish [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.symbolcraft.com/blog/fix_wordpress_post_preview/8/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>How to Migrate Your Static Pages to WordPress</title>
		<link>http://www.symbolcraft.com/blog/migrate_static_pages_to_wordpress/10/</link>
		<comments>http://www.symbolcraft.com/blog/migrate_static_pages_to_wordpress/10/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 09 Feb 2007 17:36:18 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>pjl</dc:creator>
		
		<category>WordPress</category>

		<category>Web Development</category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.symbolcraft.com/blog/migrate_static_pages_to_wordpress/10/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[If you have an existing web site and you&#8217;re adding WordPress to it, then you probably have a set of static pre-WordPress web pages that look completely different from your blog. Here&#8217;s a quick guide that shows you how to migrate those static web pages so that they use your currently selected WordPress template.







The basic [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.symbolcraft.com/blog/migrate_static_pages_to_wordpress/10/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Eliminate &#8220;Click to Activate&#8221;</title>
		<link>http://www.symbolcraft.com/blog/eliminate_click_to_activate/6/</link>
		<comments>http://www.symbolcraft.com/blog/eliminate_click_to_activate/6/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 04 Feb 2007 01:27:52 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>pjl</dc:creator>
		
		<category>Web Development</category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.symbolcraft.com/blog/eliminate_click_to_activate/6/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I recently updated the web pages for my Java applets so that you don&#8217;t need to click to activate an applet before using it. You can go here to read the gory details about why most browsers now force you to click to activate controls and applets. I knew that it was possible to work [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.symbolcraft.com/blog/eliminate_click_to_activate/6/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Sharing the Mandelbrot Set</title>
		<link>http://www.symbolcraft.com/blog/sharing-the-mandelbrot-set/7/</link>
		<comments>http://www.symbolcraft.com/blog/sharing-the-mandelbrot-set/7/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 25 Jan 2007 18:31:04 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>pjl</dc:creator>
		
		<category>Computer Graphics</category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.symbolcraft.com/blog/sharing-the-mandelbrot-set/7/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I believe the human mind is tuned to appreciate fractals. Many natural phenomena exhibit well-defined fractal dimensions, so it seems reasonable that we should evolve neural circuitry that feels at ease when exposed to fractal scenes in views of clouds, mountains, or forests.








In addition, research shows us that Jackson Pollock&#8217;s paintings have well-defined fractal dimensions. [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.symbolcraft.com/blog/sharing-the-mandelbrot-set/7/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>First Poem</title>
		<link>http://www.symbolcraft.com/blog/first-poem/4/</link>
		<comments>http://www.symbolcraft.com/blog/first-poem/4/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 24 Dec 2006 05:19:01 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>pjl</dc:creator>
		
		<category>Poetry</category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.symbolcraft.com/blog/2006/12/23/first-poem/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
&#8220;First post!&#8221; it cried
For immortality it tried
Wasting bits and thought
Expended all for naught
Though playfulness is there
and joy of being square;
small drip among the stream
of culture we all dream
When someday they are dead,
forgetting it was read,
will change have been in you
creating good and new?

]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.symbolcraft.com/blog/first-poem/4/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
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