Anyone know of a good file-syncing program?

My directory structure on the home and work computers are the same, & I use a 4GB thumbdrive for the in-between.

I do it manually now, but would love to have files I update on one computer automatically sync with the thumbdrive, and then on the other computer when I plug it in.

Any suggestions? Prefer free, but wouldn't be opposed to shelling out a few bucks for something if it worked well.

Minimalist "Word Processors"

WebWorker Daily has published a list of free minimalist word processors.

A few of the commenters were nostalgic about the good ole' DOS days, while others preferred the simplicity of Microsoft's standard Notepad.

As a collector of this type of software, the article was interesting to me because of the number of online choices (which frankly I think are a real pain). I also found myself agreeing with one of the commenters who said that a couple of the apps were a stretch to call a "word processor." These are properly text editors, in most cases. (There is a previous WebWorker article on favourite word processor, but even that thread includes some text editors.)

I'll probably return to this topic at some point in the future, but for now, I'll say this:
1. RoughDraft is by far my favorite of the bunch. I use it daily. Someday I'll get around to posting about how great it is.
2. Abiword is so overrated. I don't know why, but I just don't like it. So much for "everyone's favorite..."
3. If you are looking for a fullscreen text editor geared toward writing, try Q-10. It's got a timer, word and page counts, and dozens of other features that I don't have time to mention now. I've been toying with it in my "spare time," but it beats all the fullscreen choices mentioned here. Windows only.

Free Fries at Hardees

Hardees is offering free fries, Friday August 24th. The add I saw on Yahoo says "just show up."

I hope Cent has Cent's kids have some for me, since we don't have Hardees anywhere close.

Desperately in need of some practical advice

Son #4, who is 3, has taken to playing in the sink. Filling it up and putting cars and other toys in it. Unfortunately, the playing has now spilled over (pardon the pun) into the toilet.

We would like to extinguish this behavior as quickly as possible, for numerous (and hopefully fairly obvious) reasons. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Advice For Mattel

The Wall Street Journal Law Blog offers some advice for Mattel on their toy imbroglio from an interview they did with Victor Schwartz, the head of the public policy practice at Shook Hardy & Bacon in Washington.

Though I'm not a lawyer, I am a parent, and I've got some free advice for Mattel, too:

STOP MANUFACTURING TOYS IN CHINA!

You may think it's gonna cost you more in labor, but you're betting against the parents who decide Chinese toys just aren't worth the risk. You'll have to determine which risk is greater in the long run--and particularly whether you want your reputation to be one of safe quality playthings or just cheap Chinese toys.

Mountain Dew Game Fuel

One word: hideous.

Tastes like a carbonated version of Tweety toothpaste.


Update: here's a picture of this mongrel, so that you can better identify and avoid it.

Lucky Number 13

To my beautiful and loving wife: Happy 13th Anniversary!

Weeping with those who weep

Great post by John Piper on the tragedy in Minneapolis.

Here's just a single paragraph from it.

The meaning of the collapse of this bridge is that John Piper is a sinner and should repent or forfeit his life forever. That means I should turn from the silly preoccupations of my life and focus my mind’s attention and my heart’s affection on God and embrace Jesus Christ as my only hope for the forgiveness of my sins and for the hope of eternal life. That is God’s message in the collapse of this bridge. That is his most merciful message: there is still time to turn from sin and unbelief and destruction for those of us who live. If we could see the eternal calamity from which he is offering escape we would hear this as the most precious message in the world.

HT: Challies.

Update: Phil @ Team Pyro has an outstanding post on God's Divine Providence in Disaster, which apparently has been labeled as "too God-centered" in some parts of the blogosphere. Yeah, right. That ranks right up there with preaching that's too Bible-centered, and or a Gospel that's too Christ-centered.

God is the God of big things, and little things, too.

Concert Update

Based on his response to the previous post, Dan Phillips obviously doubts the genuineness of my free offer of the concert. What a dilemma!

The concert was great. They actually had to cut their planned set short because the venue (2nd Presbyterian Church) wanted things wrapped up by 10pm. Had you seen the average age of the attendees, you would think twice before laughing. Let's just say we weren't the only ones out way past our bedtime.

The good news/bad news scenario is that most of the band is moving to Nashville. Good, because they'll most likely be discovered, make lots of money, and more people will be able to hear their songs, including hearing about Jesus. The bad news is (on a purely selfish level) they won't be around here locally to go see anymore.