And, of course, now my server’s down!

I’ve built the first version of my combo text expander and url shortener. Now in private alpha at uri.is. Watch for public beta coming soon!

Trying to finish weekend project. Switched from Javascript to PHP and moving full speed ahead. http://tinyurl.com/ntp6vg

I carry way too many gadgets around, so I’ve always liked clothes with tons of pockets to keep them in. In particular, I’ve spent more money than I want to think about on threads from ScotteVest, since they somehow manage to stuff dozens of pockets into everything from hats to hoodies, without making you look like John Goodman in Lebowski. But Scott may have met his match. I recently picked up a Tactical 5.11 VIP Blazer on eBay, and it’s amazing. This is the kind of thing Secret Service guys wear to carry their walkie talkies, weapons, protein bars and whatever else they stash when they’re on duty. All without adding bulk. It seems to have been discontinued, which may explain why I was able to get it for $40 on eBay, rather than its $169.99 list price. Of course, I won’t be wearing it until the fall, so until then, I may just continue shopping with Scott. After all, where else can I find a plain white tee with three zippered security pockets?

This is a proof-of-concept based on a recent blog post I wrote in wihch I posited that an easy way to create long posts for Twitter would be to combine the data:URI format with a URL-shortening service. This form basically does that. All you have to do is type or paste your text into the form below, click “Shorten” and you’ll be presented with a TinyURL that contains your encoded text. Copy and paste that URL into a Twitter form, and you’re done. The form itself is based on The Data:uri Kitchen, and I’ve chosen TinyURL as the shortener because it has a dead simple API.

Next up: Combine this with the Twitter API, so that you can automatically enter the shortened URL into a tweet.

Note: This works with recent versions of almost all major browsers, including Firefox, Chrome, Safari, Opera and Konqueror. The one exception is Internet Explorer. So, if you’re planning on sharing your long tweets with folks who are still using IE, you’ll have to go elsewhere. And by that I mean go elsewhere and download another browser!

Update: TinyURL seems to have suddenly taken to choking on data URIs, So, it may be back to the drawing board this weekend!

(Photo: kopp0441)

Seesmic Desktop is starting to grow on me … though I’m willing to give Tweetdeck another chance once they add multiple account support!

RT @consumersunion: CU is in DC with 34 activists working for health care reform. Stay tuned all day for updates! #HealthAction

It’s dawned on me that, because I make certain parts of my life off-limits for social nets … http://tinypaste.com/pre.php?id=c6e8c

Darn you, IE! It appears there’s no way to make this work with you. So much for my plans to free Twitterdom! http://tinyurl.com/ntp6vg

RT @wrtribune: Happening now: Chat live with Consumer Reports’ Greg Daugherty: http://tinyurl.com/nankmx