Peter's Useful Crap

Windows 7 has a lot of good features and is a massive improvement over Windows Vista. Windows 7 comes with a lot of user experience changes that were likely designed to increase user efficiency. However, one of the so-called improvements that I had a lot of trouble getting used to is the new Start Menu behavior. I really liked the auto-expanding “Programs” menus that dated all the way back to Windows 95. The Windows 7 Start Menu forces you to click to expand each level and encourages you to type to search for non-frequently used programs (that aren’t pinned to the taskbar or bookmarked on the Start Menu).

At some point in the future I will probably adapt to the new Start Menu behavior, but in the meantime…

Classic Shell is a free plugin for Windows that enables you to bring back some of the “classic” features that Windows 7 no longer lets you revert to.

In addition to providing many “classic” Start Menu options, you can also tweak many other aspects of Windows Explorer and file task interfaces:

Warning: Some people who notice that you are using Classic Shell might comment that you shouldn’t use Windows 7 in the first place!

Adobe Acrobat (not the reader) is the standard PDF editor and manipulator, enabling you to create PDFs, edit text and other elements in PDFs, delete, extract, and merge pages, grayscale PDFs, and much more. Unfortunately, it’s far from free, costing a few hundred dollars.

There are a lot of free programs that can create PDFs. For me, other than creating PDFs, the PDF task I need to do most often is to concatenate them: adding appendices and other attachments to PDFs generated from other programs. One of the free PDF “printers”, PrimoPDF, can also concatenate PDFs.

To append something to another PDF using PrimoPDF, first initiate a create action as per normal, then when prompted to choose a file or filename, browse to the file to which you want to append (as if you are saving over it). It will then give you a choice to override or append.

Since PrimoPDF only appends, but cannot prepend or insert before or after a specific page, you have to get a bit creative if you have more sophisticated needs by “PDFing” existing PDFs, or creating PDFs multiple times according to the specific page ordering required. However, you could also look for free or cheaper-than-Abobe alternatives, such as the appropriately-named PDF Split and Merge and the fully-featured NitroPDF, from the makers of PrimoPDF.

And as for editing PDFs, check out the free tools Nitro PDF to Word, Nitro PDF to Excel, and the OpenOffice.org PDF import extension.

Up until January 31, 2011, BC small businesses can apply for up to $5,000 of funding for employee training. This is part of what is called the Workplace Training for Innovation Program, established by British Columbia’s Ministry of Advanced Education and Labour Market Development. Full details and regulations, as well as the application form and frequently asked questions, are available on the website below:

http://www.aved.gov.bc.ca/workplace_training_program

A few notes, although be sure to consult the website above for the official details:

• The training must take place before March 31, 2011.
• Eligible businesses / organizations must have 50 or fewer employees.
• There is a maximum funding amount of $1,500 per employee.
• Unfortunately, owners are generally not eligible.
• There is no official list of approved trainers or courses. If the training(s) meets the program’s goals (mostly around increased productivity and competitiveness), and you wouldn’t have enrolled in the training if not for the funding, I would encourage you to apply!

When you have a cold or allergy, the suffering is made worse when you have snot stuck up your nasal cavity and/or allergens such as grass, pollen, and dust particles. Particularly for me, residual snot when I have a cold gives an annoying dry cough that worsens at night.

Prevention is of course the best solution, but that’s for another discussion.

As a relief alternative, I’ve never really liked medicated nasal spray — I get a gross-tasting drip down the back of my throat and an odd feeling in the nose itself. Plus, sometimes I’d rather suffer moderately than take medication.

In my opinion, a more palatable alternative is nasal irrigation (basically, rinsing out your nose). The main downside compared to a medicated nasal spray is that nasal irrigation doesn’t do anything to reduce the negative effect of the irritants (or snot, in general) when they return. However, nasal irrigation is mostly natural and harmless, and can certainly provide relief. I first tried this by snorting salt water, but it was uncomfortable and provided little relief. Actually, I first tried this by snorting just water, which is a terrible idea and it burns. Then I discovered NeilMed Sinus Rinse:

The concept is simple: first, you gently blow your nose. Then, you squeeze a bottle of solution up one nostril, into your nasal cavity and out the other nostril, thus cleaning out your sinuses and the general inside of your nose. Then you gently blow your nose again and repeat the process up the other nostril. (A similar but lower-pressure technique is to use a neti pot.) When I’m suffering, I perform this rinse about twice a day.

NeilMed provides single-use packets of a salt and sodium bicarbonate mixture, as well as a squeeze bottle. It is very easy to use, feels good even during the process, and provides instant (albeit temporary) relief.

The price of the NeilMed Sinus Rinse will vary depending on the particular combination of the number of bottles and mixture packets that are included in the package. It’s about $25 or less for either a bottle and 50 packets, or 100 packets.

I would certainly recommend trying it out. In my experience, the relief it provides has no negative side effects, can improve my sleep, and also alleviates suffering during the day.

Although I use and enjoy NeilMed Sinus Rinse, I do not think that it is a completely necessary product. The mixtures come in single-use packets, it’s packaged and shipped from relatively far away (although not from overseas), and its costs could add up. It is convenient, but someone could probably replicate it at home. If you’re going to try nasal rinsing, or are already doing so with NeilMed Sinus Rinse or a similar product, consider the following:

• The squeeze bottle works well because there is a marked fill line and you can easily shoot the solution up your nose. NeilMed recommends that you replace the bottle every couple of months, of course with the branded bottle. Perhaps you could find a similar and more long-lasting bottle.
• The solution mixture is just salt and baking soda, so you could technically measure and pour out similar amounts yourself. It would just take some work to arrive at the proper amounts and combination.

You can become a living organ donor, but if that’s not for you, you can also choose to allow your organs to be donated after death. Hopefully you will live a long and healthy life, but when you die, your organs could still be of use for others.

In less than 5 minutes now, you can register at transplant.bc.ca for BC’s Organ Donor Registry. The registration process is quick and easy.

When you register, you can choose to not allow certain organs to be donated, or to only allow them to contribute to research or only to be used for transplants.

You don’t have to worry something like: “What if they don’t keep me alive because they find out I’m an organ donor?” — the registry is only checked after you are declared dead.