All you have to do is highlight the one you want to use, select “copy” and then paste it into your next Twitter post.  Simple, yet effective.  You can check out their official blog for more information on the project.  I like it, but wonder how the other status services like MySpace, Facebook and the like will take to these “purdy” characters?

First Step?  Get Paint.NET!

First step was to pickup Paint.NET.  This is an awesome free image editor with all the bells and whistles of your hundred-dollar programs.

Paint.NET is free image and photo editing software for computers that run Windows. It  features an intuitive and innovative user interface with support for layers, unlimited undo, special effects, and a wide variety of useful and powerful tools. An active and growing online community provides friendly help,  tutorials, and plugins.

Grab the Paint.NET ICO Plugin

Well worth having, just as a backup image editor if nothing else.  Since Paint.net does not have .ico support built in by default, I picked up this page:

http://paintdotnet.forumer.com/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=1152

To use it, all you need to do is unzip and then put it in the “FileTypes” folder in the Paint.NET directory.

Startup Paint.NET and try dragging and dropping an .ico icon onto the canvas.  Thanks to this neat plugin, it will open just as any other image would open.  With saving as an .ico, I had a few errors at times but doing it again or changing the name of the file seems to have helped.

So there is a totally free way to edit and create custom desktop icons for your next design project or desktop redecoration.

To use, all you need to do is copy any text you have into the pastebin and then hit the submit button.  In return, you’ll be given a URL to get easy access to that text.  Think of it as TinyURL for just about anything text-based.  As if that wasn’t enough to love – they also have a Firefox extension too.

Attack of the Web 2.0 Clones!

• Del.icio.us Clone? Scuttle
• Digg Clone? Pligg
• MySpace Clone? PHPfox *
• Facebook Clone? Kootali Facebook *
• PopURLS Clone? ezUrls *
• TinyURLs Clone? lilURL
• YouTube Clone? PHPmotion
• Twitter Clone? Folkstr *
• Wikipedia Clone? MediaWiki **
• Reddit Clone? Drupaligg
• Rapidshare Clone? UploadScript
• HotScripts.com Clone? MS Directory Script *

* = need to pay for it
** = not really a clone, is the software used to run Wikipedia

See, even you can run your own Web 2.0 masterpiece! All you need is a little time, a solid hosting account and your own origional take, version or spin on the already popular idea.

Well I am happy to say that changed when I got my Panasonic DMRES35VS VCR/DVD Recorder.

Here’s a little official copy about the device:

It doesn’t get a whole lot easier than this. Keep a stack of DVDs, and you’ll never miss another program. One touch recording can be set to keep from recording over your favorites, and you can even watch one program while recording another with Time Slip. The Direct Navigator shows you thumbnails of every program on the disc as you browse through your burgeoning collection. You’re on your own, however, to figure out where to find the time to see what’s been recorded.

What is the major pro for getting this device? Well for me I have boxes and boxes filled with old VHS wrestling tapes that will probably never be released to DVD. I had been copying them from the VCR to the computer, and then burning them – but that just takes time I do not have. With my new toy here I can just start it up and let Panasonic do the rest of the work.

So if that is the pro, where is the con? Well the only bad thing I can say about it is it takes a college degree to figure out how to work all the features that come bundled in with it. I have learned the basics of copying a VHS tape to DVD – but the fancy stuff I will have to leave for another day.

All in all I am very happy with it though, and if you find yourself in the same boat I would highly recommend it.