Monthly Archive for February, 2002

Two more exceptional Mac OS X shareware tools

Published
by
Benjy
on Thursday February 28, 2002
in Hack, Interface, Mac OS X, Software and Spend
. 6 Comments

In the last two days I came across two incredibly useful Mac OS X shareware apps. The first, brought to you by the same wonderful folks behind WindowShade X, is FruitMenu, which turns the horribly static OS X Apple Menu into a fully customizable menu like the classic Apple Menu. In fact, I'd say FruitMenu actually offers more features than the classic Apple Menu.

On top of that, FruitMenu lets you assign arbitrary key bindings to items in the menu (including, but not limited to the Fkeys), so if you're already using an app to handle Fkey launching, FruitMenu can replace it and give you so much more.

At $7, FruitMenu is a steal. And what's better, if you (for some crazy reason) haven't bought WindowShade X yet, you can buy both FruitMenu and WindowShade X for $13 and save $1.

The second (and much much cooler) app is LaunchBar. This thing is just really incredible. Basically, you configure some directories for it to know about (for example, mine knows about my Applications folders, my Documents folder, my Terminal Sessions folder, my Bookmarks, and my Music folder (among others). It then scans these directories when it starts up and indexes the contents. Then, I just command-space (the shortcut is of course configurable), type a bit of the document I want to open, or the app I want to launch, or the song want to listen to, and it off and does it.

Here are a few examples of what I type and what I get as a result (By the way, it's not case sensitive, so I'm just writing them in caps because that's how it echos your input):

  • HOBU - Pulls up the file "Home Budget.xls"
  • LS - Pulls up my Linkstew bookmark.
  • IT - Pulls up iTunes.
  • G - Pulls up Gimli.term, a saved Terminal session, which will open a huge wide window and ssh to my web server.
  • DATIM - Pulls up the song "Lovers in a Dangerous Time" the first time, but then I can scroll through the list with the arrow key and select DateAndTime.prefPane instead, and -- this is where it gets really cool -- the next time I type DATIM, the Date & Time preferences will be the first thing it pulls up.

Basically, it's all cool and adaptive. It's $20, but just putting my Terminal sessions in there will probably save me five minutes every day, let alone all the other savings that are just going to pile up. In just a few hours of use, I can tell that it's already going to significantly going to change the way I use my Mac. And it has other handy drag and drop features that just make it that much more useful.

LaunchBar is really an incredible interface, and I'm already having trouble imagining doing work without it. It's that cool.

Like a cherry bomb flushed down a toilet.

Published
by
Benjy
on Thursday February 28, 2002
in Astronomy and Quotes
. 1 Comment

I really like my Astronomy TA this semester. Today he offered up the following gem:

    "Nuclear missiles don't have aftershocks... Unless you set one off near a whole bunch of other nuclear missiles."
    -- My Astronomy TA, on one way seismologists distinguish underground nuclear testing from an earthquake.

Another Giant year for TMBG?

Published
by
Benjy
on Thursday February 28, 2002
in Awards, Music, Television and They Might Be Giants
. 1 Comment

Wow, They Might Be Giants just won a Grammy in the category of Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media, for Boss of Me, the Malcolm in the Middle theme song.

When Religious Zealots turn out to be on your side.

Published
by
Benjy
on Tuesday February 26, 2002
in Government, Privacy and Religion
. Closed

On the one hand, this story about implanting ID chips in people gives me the willies and makes me want to run for the hills.

On the other hand, these two paragraphs had me dying laughing:

    Theologian and author Terry Cook said he worries the identification chip could be the "mark of the beast," an identifying mark that all people will be forced to wear just before the end times, according to the Bible.

    Applied Digital has consulted theologians and appeared on the religious television program the "700 Club" to assure viewers the chip didn't fit the biblical description of the mark because it is under the skin and hidden from view.

You know you're in trouble when Religious Zealots turn out to be on your side. And be sure to check out the article, it's definitely something to be aware of.

Spring Break Plans

Published
by
Benjy
on Monday February 25, 2002
in Snowboarding, Spend, Travel and Vacation
. 2 Comments

And the other reason I can't afford that bundle are my spring break plans (which have developed in the last 2 hours).

It looks like I'm going to be going to Whistler to Snowboard. And if I'm going to be doing that, I'm going to buy gear. And between travel, lodging, food, and gear, that's going to be about $1000.

And that makes me feel much better about not buying that computer. (Nevermind the fact that I probably wouldn't use it much even if I bought it.)

An incredible deal I can’t afford.

Published
by
Benjy
on Monday February 25, 2002
in Apple, Hardware, Macintosh and Spend
. 2 Comments

A fantastic deal came across my desk this afternoon: A bundle containing a new PowerMac G4 733 (with a 40 GB HD, a GeForce2, and CD-RW) and a 17" Apple Studio Display (flat panel) for just $1269. Total.

It's an absolutely fantastic deal, but I can't really afford it right now. Well, I actually have about that much money, but it's my operating surplus, and I don't want to blow it all on this.

I suppose I could (attempt to) collect from the people who owe me money (OA), or sell my extra computer to my brother, or ask for money for my upcoming birthday, or all of the above...

Blah, so conflicted.

Moby Jupiter?

Published
by
Benjy
on Thursday February 21, 2002
in Astronomy, School, Synchronicity and Television
. Closed

Tonight, while doing my Astronomy homework, I was also watching Space Ghost: Coast to Coast. One of Space Ghost's guests was Moby (who Space Ghost kind of ate later in the episode... but anyway), who asked Space Ghost if there was anything interesting going on in space. When Space Ghost ignored the question, Moby brought up the recent (at the time... silly reruns) impact of the Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 with Jupiter (Which Space Ghost of course also ignored)...

Anyway, I mention this, because in Astronomy this week, we heard about SL9, and one of my homework questions asked what the Roche Limit is and how it explains why SL9 broke up into smaller pieces when it approached Jupiter.

And it turns out that I'm actually enjoying my Astronomy class a lot more than I expected I would. It's still very basic, and the homework is just ridiculously easy, but it's a nice high-level sketch... For an introductory course, it's doing a good job of presenting lots of information and making me curious for more.

Game Boy Advance White Noise

Published
by
Benjy
on Thursday February 21, 2002
in Anticipation, Japan, Nintendo: Game Boy and Releases
. Closed

Oh, most excellent: Castlevania: White Night Concerto has been announced as coming out for the Game Boy Advance on June 6 in Japan, which means it'll probably follow here in the states within about 2-4 months.

Castlevania: Circle of the Moon was one of the first games I enjoyed on the Game Boy Advance when I got it, and the prospect of a follow-up is really exciting. If they just make the graphics a little brighter than CotM's while maintaining the Catlevania ambiance, they can't really go wrong with a new story built on the same basic engine.

Internal Game Boy Advance lighting?

Published
by
Benjy
on Thursday February 21, 2002
in Hack, Hardware, Nintendo: Game Boy and Spend
. 6 Comments

Okay, I've said it before, but I really do love my Game Boy Advance. On the one hand, the recent GBA price drop is a pretty sweet deal for you folks who don't have a GBA yet. On the other hand, for folks like me who already have a GBA (Or my roommate, who has two... (Don't ask.)), it's irritating for a number of reasons.

For one, it means that if I'd waited I could have paid less for my system. And for another, the rumor that Nintendo may come out with an internally lit GBA sometime soon irritates me even more, because frankly, an internal light in my GBA would fix my one major gripe about it. Basically, I wouldn't be able to resist buying a backlit GBA as soon as it came out, probably for another $90-$100 bucks. Blahh...

But wait! For y'all who already have a GBA and just want some nice backlighting without buying a whole new system, there (will soon be) Portable Monopoly! They claim that, starting hopefully in March, they'll be selling kits self-install backlighting kits for the Game Boy Advance.

One look at those pictures of a backlit GBA are enough to make me want to void my warranty and go buy the soldering iron and other tools I need to make this modification right here and now. Boy do I hope that this one doesn't turn out to be a hoax...

And with 2 minutes to spare!

Published
by
Benjy
on Wednesday February 20, 2002
in Family
. 1 Comment

And oh yeah, it was also my dad's Birthday today! Of course, I called him earlier this evening (well, I was calling him all day, but he had left his phone at home this morning), but I thought I'd say Happy Birthday here, too. Happy Birthday dad!