The useless and useful

So i’m picky with things sometimes. For instance, on my desktop I like having little widgets. However, I can never seem to find exactly what I want. It’s easy to find something that gives me the weather. It’s impossible to find something that gives it in fahrenheit and celsius, not to mention in multiple locations at once.

It’s easy to find a little applet that shows that I have a wireless signal. It’s not so easy to find something that displays current IP addresses.

So when I ran into GeekTool, a application made to put plain text on your desktop it clicked for me. I’ll write my own. It’s generally the only way I get what I want, anyway.

Now I have good old fashioned plain text displaying the stuff I want on my desktop, and I can continue on from here if I think of other ideas.

Behold.

Man, it’s SXSW time already? How time flies. I’ll sure not be busy.

It’s been a whole year already since I hadn’t gone to SXSW 2006 and it’s time again for me to not go to SXSW 2007. I don’t have my hotel all booked and my flights are not ready to go. I won’t be arriving in Austin tonight.

I’m really pumped about the panels that are scheduled, I can’t wait to not see them.

Did you see the lineups of the bands? It’s going to not be like my own personal woodstock, i’m pumped. I’ll probably not meet up with Robert Scoble tonight after no drinks with Mark Cuban to discuss no business ventures. I’d tell you the details, but there are none.

Anyone else excited about the keynote by Pete Townshend? The Pete Townshend? I am! I won’t be there with bells on. I might even not live blog it.

Phil Terrone is doing a Keynote on the 11th. Phil did the first podcast I ever heard, and is possibly the reason I listened to the second. It’s quite symbolic for me to not get a chance to meet him.

So ladies and gentlemen, welcome to South by Southwest 2007. I hope you enjoy it as much as i’m not going to.

My new slogan

If you can’t use usenet, you shouldn’t use the net. Stop the web. It’s not too late.

wtf

Seriously. Should had stayed in bed today.

Day went fine until I decided to go home from work and Metra decided to stop all trains from leaving Chicago on my train line.

So a few hours later (We’re talking after 9pm finally) Metra decides I can finally go home and I do. Too bad the train station wasn’t shoveled or plowed when I got off the train.

My car isn’t anywhere near where you get off the train, it’s quite the long treck. And it it’s even longer when it’s in feet of snow. I was exhausted by the time I got home. I was ready to crash.

But the amount of snow waiting for me in the driveway was crazy, I couldn’t even park my car legally. So I spent another 45min or so shoveling and trying to beat off the cramps that keep popping up due to my lack of physical ability.

So here I am finally able to go to bed and I can’t, i’m just too worked up. That and my ear ache.

So I cancelled cable

Or so I tried. I called anyway. The people at Comcast hooked me up with a new “deal” that I just couldn’t pass up, or something. I have a feeling once I get the bill it won’t be such a deal anymore. They find ways to add on tons of stupid charges. Add on all the other taxes and we’ll see how much better off I am.

I got pissed at Comcast once and for all. My plan was to cancel cable and just download shows through the new Amazon Unbox + TiVo setup or through the Apple TV + iTunes Store setup. I spent to much on my new TiVo that I figured it would work great as a media download appliance, but Amazon doesn’t have much of selection compared to iTunes.

I’m just trying to find ways to free myself from the companies telling me how I should be spending my money. I don’t have enough money as it is, so it really bothers me when it goes somewhere when i’m not convinced it’s what I want to be spending it on. Lifetime, Oxygen, Hallmark Channel, Golf TV, ESPN, all things I don’t want my money to go to.

So i’ll give this new deal a shot for a month, but i’ll probably cancel it still. I’m willing to go without TV completely just to not have to deal with them and be a part of the empire. I’ll pay my $2 a week to watch LOST, another $2 for South Park, etc.

($2 * # of Shows) * 4 weeks in a month < What i’m paying comcast.

And freedom is priceless.