Since I switched to a Mac last May I've been constantly on the lookout for good, free software. One site has helped me more than any other. They're always posting descriptions of programs that are useful, fun or both. I've been meaning to post about FreeMacWare.com for a while so my fellow Mac converts will know where to look. The contest they're having now convinced me to get it done.

I want to highlight 5 apps that I've discovered through the site. These may not be my favorites. I heard about Firefox, Quicksilver, Cyberduck, etc, from other places. But here are five programs that I heard of first from FreeMacWare.com.

DoubleCommand - One thing that's made the switch a bit more tricky is the fact that OS X uses Home and End keyboard keys a bit differently than Windows. In Windows, hitting the End key moves the text cursor to the end of the line. On OS X it goes to the end of the document. DoubleCommand is a little application that let's you remap keys. In some cases you can make it more like Windows. I enabled the "PC style home and end keys". You can also make the control key on the Mac act like the command key, which is another area where I still slip up sometimes.

Disk Inventory X - Before I got my new external hard drive, video projects were hard because I was always running out of space. This program scans your drive and makes a graphical representation of the whole drive so you can see where the space is going. It's been very useful for me.

Sizzling Keys - I like listening to iTunes while I use the computer. This app gives you keyboard shortcuts for controling you music even when iTunes isn't the active window. So, right now while I'm typing, I could hit Command + Option + Space and pause iTunes without ever taking my hands off the keyboard or leaving the Firefox window. It also includes a little info window that pops up to show you the meta data and album art when a new song comes on.

Handbrake Lite - Handbrake is a program for converting DVDs into compressed video files. Handbrake Lite is a simplified version that mainly converts into a format that can play on my iPod. What used to take several steps and some trial and error is now done with a few clicks.

MacOSaiX - This is the app I used to make the photo mosaic of the brendoman.com logo. It's dead simple to use. Choose your main image. Then enter some search terms and it hits up Google Images for images to compose with. The more search terms you give it and the longer you let it run, the better the result is.

If you have a Mac, I recommend that you bookmark FreeMacWare.com or subscribe to their RSS feed.

So with a title like that one might think that this is a politically charged post, but it isn't. Really, I am just kind of being stupid, but with that being said, I am kind of giving up on politics. I believe in less governmental control, and I believe in equal opportunity not equal outcome, and maybe a few more things.

Anyways, I now have Netflix, I can now catch up on my movie watching. I really want people over at my apartment, it would be a lot of fun, and bring cookies.

I can't sit still and it is starting to bug me.

I have decided to finally stop being scared of people. I mean they don't bite, well most of them atleast and if they do the I will stay away from them.

I really love teaching children. They are the greatest people ever. I mean, even better than grown ups and if you don't believe me, you suck.

I went to the Fez Ballroom, it was fun. I don't know how to dance, but neither did anyone else there.

Listen to the Editors. Munich is a great song.

People tend not to care a lot about what I feel, but that is ok I don't care how they feel either. Just shut up and do something about it. I care more about how much you know, that knowing how much you care.

I look so good.

On that note, I will stir my macaroni. I am back now, did you miss me? I guess not because I didn't even break the paragraph.

Do you think I have a short attention span?

I love watching March Madness, even though my bracket is getting busted my Georgetown as I watch. With that being said, I love watching teams like UNC lose.

When in doubt, drink coffee or dew.

Special people to me are smart. I hate it when people feel like they have to act stupid in order to not look a certain way. I like people who aren't afraid to be intelligent.

You suck if you don't know my middle initial. Just kidding, but if you know it, you also know the title of my favorite song. Which I am not sure what it means, but I know what I feel about it and that is OK because I feel postmodern right now. But if you know the words to the song, there are people I feel that way about. I wish I was still in contact with those people on a daily, or near daily basis.

Stop the car, I am getting out, I can't take it, somebodys coming there is nothing you can do about that. The killer awoke before dawn, he put his boots on, he took a face from the ancient gallery, and he walked on down the hallway baby. I love The Doors.

If a band can't write a good song that lasts more than 8 minutes, then they are not great, or The Ramones.

Somehow I stayed thin.

Eating is wonderful.

Please don't hate my pure random awesomeness. I hate complete thoughts.

Lucas and I went to the Jenny Lewis concert last Friday. Opening bands were Whispertown 2000 and Willy Mason, both of whom we've seen open before. The concert was held at the Bluebird theater in Denver, which we have learned used to be an adult movie house. Now used as a concert venue, the Bluebird stays true to its roots by being located in a gritty neighborhood home to prostitutes and seedy adult shops. We didn't actually seen any prostitutes, but so we've been told...


We weren't sure how long it would take us to find the theater, so we left early and ended up getting to the show about 30 minutes before the 1st opening band started to play. The good thing was we got a really good place to stand. The theater has 3 low tiers, each tier seperated by 2 steps and a railing. We were on the 2nd tier, right behind the railing. That is good for me, because that way no one was in front of me blocking my view from 5'2" above the ground. The area right in front of our railing was being used by the bands to store their equipment and instrument cases, so we got up close and personal views of most of the performers as they put their instruments away.


Whispertown 2000 performed first. They were really excited about their first CD that they just recorded, so they put on a good show and looked like they were having fun. We bought their CD after the show, from them, actually, as they were working the merch booth. Willy Mason was next. His style is very county, and he did some covers of Hank Williams. Jenny


Lewis performed with the Watson twins, Jonathan Rice, some of the members of Rilo Kiley, and a guy she called Farmer Dave. The show opened with the girls singing acapella as they walked onto the stage. Everyone was dressed in black, and Jenny's dress had bright red flowers on it. They stuck mostly to the songs from Rabbit Fur Coat, but threw in a few new ones. During Rabbit Fur Coat, the band left the stage, and Jenny performed solo. Jack Killed Mom was probably the most fun new song--it was fast paced and featured the piano instead of guitar. They ended the show (pre-encore) with Born Secular. As the song drew to a close, they each started walking one-by-one off the stage, beginning with Jenny, until it was just the drummer, who closed with a drum solo. They came back and performed 3 more songs, ending with a cover of Cold Jordan, which seemed to me to be a gospel song...


Lucas and I are always impressed by the quality of Jenny Lewis' live voice. The Watson twin's also had great live voices. It was a great show. If you get the chance to see them, or Rilo Kiley, go.


score: 5 out of 5 stars/2 thumbs up/etc.


~Kelly

Now that we've made it past the one month marker, I guess it's time for another update. Here goes:

Stephanie just got word that she was offered a promotion at the Pasadena Public Library for which she had applied. She did so well that they gave her the choice of which open position she wanted. Her application essay was apparently the best one they have ever read (no surprise). Everyone at the central branch where she has been working were very excited to know that she decided to stay. The promotion means fewer hours, but the higher pay rate means she will still end up making more money. If you ask me, that's the way you should always do it. Her new job as a Staff Assistant III in the Reference department will begin in a few weeks.

I have a new niece. Nastasia is the newest addition to my brother's family, and she is very healthy. I am told that the responsibility of bearing sons now falls on me. Congratulations to Sam and Renee, and we hope to see you guys sometime soon.

Danny, Sara, and Emma were here for a week recently. You can see a few pictures of their visit on Danny's Blog, and I will also be putting some new pictures in my gallery (perhaps they're already there as you're reading this). We had a great time while they were here, even though I caught a cold and missed a couple days of work. We went to Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure, thanks to Brendan's kindness in getting us in for free. We also played a bunch of games over the course of the week, even having a game night early on that Dave was able to come to.

A couple of weeks ago, Stephanie and I finally took our Fifth Anniversary / Valentine's Day / Sixth Anniversary trip up to a bed and breakfast in a small town along California's Central Coast. We went to Hearst Castle one day and got some nice pictures (which I will post very soon, of course). Overall, our first bed and breakfast experience was very nice.

That's all for now. We just recently got DSL, since our free Fuller dial-up service suffered a "catastrophic hardware failure," as they said. It's much faster, of course, but is no longer free. The really good news is that with these kinds of speeds, I'll now be able to ignore this blog faster than ever before.