PDF Files

Been playing around with PDF files this week. Mainly because I have this internet fax service that will fax out only files that are in PDF format. I have no problems with creating text documents and then saving them as PDF files because OpenOffice, that wonderful free software that emulates Microsoft Office, can convert or export text files to PDF with one click. The problem I had was with graphics. When I scanned a page as PDF to retain all the layout and positioning of the orginal graphics the resultant file was enormous... as big as 4 meg. Now, my Internet fax service will not allow me to fax out PDF documents that large, so I had a problem.


The software I used to scan and save graphics as a PDF file was software that came with my Epson which I bought several years ago. Rather than search for newer or updated versions of the software, what I did was to save the graphics as a JPG and then import into a OpenOffice document and save it as a PDF file which was very much smaller than the one created directly from the scanner. This I could fax out.


While researching on the Internet some solutions that other users employed, I chanced upon several interesting free online services that others were using to convert to PDF or from PDF to editable text. Many users were doing the latter because unlike DOC files or TXT files PDF files cannot be edited nor can one incorporate portions of it into text files.


If you are converting text files to PDF files or vice versa there is a free online service at http://www.pdfonline.com/convert-pdf/ which I tried with success. When converting text files to PDF the online software converts and emails you the link to your converted file. Fast and reliable. When converting PDF files to text (RTF) files the conversion is done online and there is no email for you to open. Why the procedures differ I cannot tell.

Another useful site is http://www.pdftoword.com/. This has an online service to convert PDF files to editable text files as well as a download for converting text to PDF files. I tried this and found it easy to use, reliable and fast.

The third service I tried was youconvertit.com. (http://youconvertit.com/convertfiles.aspx) Which claims to be able to do a variety of conversions -- from one format to another but I seem to have very little success with this one. For some reason or other it was fraught with error messages. Perhaps it is the configuration of my browsers or my computer that is the problem because there seem to be many testimonials extolling its virtues.

The last service I tried the one provided by http://www.zamzar.com/. This seemed to be a very popular site judging from the many mentions of it on forums. It worked OK for me but it sure took a long time for the files to be converted. Perhaps because it is popular, demand for its services is high and thus the delay.

Adam's Sin

A friend once commented that God was unfair to Adam because He did not fully explain to Adam the consequences of disobeying His command not to eat the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge. My friend's point was that if Adam knew what terrible consequences would follow his act of disobedience, he would not have done it. Adam was at a disadvantage because he did not have full knowledge.

I pondered over this and came to the conclusion that knowledge of consequences and fear of consequences should not be the basis of good or bad behaviour. Most animals behave in an "approved" way because they fear the consequences. Man should obey his God because He is God. Man should obey God out of love for his Creator and not because his Creator wields a big stick.

I wondered if Adam's sin was a grave sin and came to the conclusion that it was. Adam was enticed by the idea of being as knowledgeable as God. He wanted to be a god and so his was a sin of pride. So just as Lucifer fell, do did Adam. But Adam was the lucky one because he was given redemption and entry into Heaven through the Sacrifice of the Son.

Lesson from the Book of Job

Just finished browsing sections of the Book of Job which is an epic poem on the meaning of and and explanation for suffering under a just and good God. Read some commentary on it which makes the meaning of the Book clearer. I have concluded that one needs to be an optimist in the face of all the suffering that human beings are subject to. And one of the things that can make one an eternal optimist is Faith.

But being an optimist is not as easy. I mean, how can one possibly believe in a good and just supreme being who has our welfare as his priority? How can he be so mean and helpless? Mean because he is allowing us to suffer so immensely -- wars, famine, disease, natural disasters. Helpless because he is not using his powers to punish the wicked or prevent the natural phenomena from being so destructive. But the Book of Job tells me something about the nature of the God. He is so wise, so powerful, so great that our limited understanding cannot cope with a complete understanding of Him. I mean, if He were to allow us to see more that what our limited logic and understanding can bear ...our minds would be blown. And Job's challenge to God to explain Himself, gets the retort from the Almighty..."Who are you?".

Yes, who are we? Sure we have education, sure we have rights, and sure we have a right to know what what our earthly governments and agencies are doing and sure we can demand answers from them. And these institutions must give us answers because they exist for our welfare. In fact, we have created these governments and these agencies, and we have given them power or mandate and so they are answerable to us. But God? Is he answerable to us? Did he not create us? So we give him explanations for our actions and not the other way around.

We cannot and will never be able to comprehend God's plan and the way his creation (this universe) works. Still one needs to hold fast to the believe that ultimately the good and the innocent will be rewarded in the life ever after. If we are rewarded in this life, it is an "bonus" that God has allowed us to enjoy. But beware of this "bonus" because it can make us complacent, soft, callous, inconsiderate and proud and forgetful of the One responsible for this good fortune.

The truth that suffering can be and often is evidence of God's love may be too bitter a pill to swallow for many. It is inconsistent with the human understanding of a good and caring god. For such people, faith is non-existent and their belief in God is based on human logic and evidence -- God rewards the good and punishes the wicked here on earth.

He does not.

....

Which free map for my Garmin StreetPilot?

I recently switched from Malsingmaps (http://www.malsingmaps.com/portal/) to Malfreemaps (http://www.malfreemaps.com/) because I reckon that I can get the most up to date maps from Malfreemaps. Malsingmaps unlocked versions are few and far in between. Also, with the Malfreemaps I find that I can use the Address feature of my StreetPilot. The free Malsingmap did not allow me to do so.

Malsingmap's locked versions are up to date but one has to be a contributor to get these. Of course I would like to contribute to Malsingmaps but I find the instructions on how to make edits of maps very difficult to follow. Perhaps I need a one to one tutor to go through with me the steps of installing Mapsource etc. and using it to make contributions. It seems to be that this kind of "requirement" puts people who have little expertise with the software at a distinct disadvantage.

I downloaded patch.img ( http://www.malsingmaps.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=64&sid=3a0f358ec8bde7bab9de679d4ebc3aac) and managed to stitch (combine) some free Australian maps to create a gmapsupp.img for a section of Australia - I did this just to see if I could use patch.img. This is as far as my expertise goes. I understand that Mapsource installed one can see maps on the PC and do editing but I haven't got that far yet.

If you are thinking of doing some simple things with maps you have to register at malsingmaps.com and malfreemaps.com to get access to advice and downloads.

Free MP3 Joiner

Found an excellent audio joiner in this programme MediaJoin 2.0 see (http://www.tucows.com/preview/396569#MoreInfo for more information). It is free and so far has joined several mp3s flawlessly for me for use in making long slide show movies with Picasa. I tried other free audio joiners but none came up to expectations. For example mp3joinsplit http://www.softpedia.com/get/Multimedia/Audio/Other-AUDIO-Tools/MP3-Splitter-Joiner-SH.shtml came with some problems of very significant noise during playback of the joined mp3s. Another program was Direct MP3 Joiner but this turned out to be free for only a limited period.

Why does one need to join mp3?

For one, it is necessary for slideshow producers like Picasa3 where there are limited audio options to go with the slideshows that run more than 3 minutes. Picasa3 only allows for 1 audio track per slideshow -- or movie as they term it-- and there is no audio looping; so if your slideshow is long the music stops before the sequence of slides ends.

Of course one can use Picture Story 3 -- also freeware -- from Microsoft but this has limitations as it is only "pan and zoom" for all slideshow movies. But it does allow you to add audio tracks anywhere along your slideshow movie and this is good is you have slideshows with different segments and you want each segment to have distinct music accompaniment. A good feature of Picture Story 3 is that the audio fades when it is truncated and thus the changeover from one song to the other is not abrupt.

Mighty Minds Digital Map for Nokia 6120

Got the MightyMinds CD when I bought the print version of the Street Directory. Had great difficulty installing and running the digital map. I really don't know why things need to be so difficult. Can't vendors design simple installation programmes? In the case of MightyMinds, one has to install into the SD card of the phone the correct symbian installation programme. Three (3) are provided and one has to identify which of the 3 is the correct one for the particular phone model. Then one has to decide where to install the files -- SD card or phone memory. No suggestions are given -- which is preferable? no clues at all. I decided on the SD card.

But wait, before all this one has to install Microsoft .NET Framework into the computer before the installation of the MightyMinds files can be successful. One has to install the MightyMinds CD files into the PC and then from the PC select the correct symbian file for the particular model of the Nokia phone. To do this I used the Nokia Suite. If you do not have the Nokia Suite then you might have a problem....or maybe not...I don't know what needs to be done if there is no Nokia Suite.

Even with the installation of the correct file the thing will not work because the main file MMMap.bin will not be installed automatically during the installation process. Why? Beats me...

This MMMap.bin file must be separately copied onto the SD card before the thing works. Where on the SD card? Any particular folder or subdirectory? No clues. So I put it in the root directory of the SD card.

Now the thing works.

Canon Printerheads have expiry dates?

I just had to junk my Canon ip1000 because it would not print. The message was "faulty printer head" . Nothing to do with the cartridge or other parts...just the printhead. I contacted Canon and got an email asking me to take the printhead for a check and if faulty to buy a new one. Too much trouble for a 6 year old printer that cost about $100 when I bought it. I wish that Canon would make products that can last as long as my HP 930C workhorse that has been giving me sterling service for nearly 10 years.