26 Miles

Mac-ify Your Desktop With ShellEnhancer For Windows

// June 22nd, 2007 // No Comments » // Technology

Recently on LifeHacker, the featured windows download was a tool called ShellEnhancer.

Paraphrasing:
[...]
“ShellEnhancer is an application designed to enhance the default shell of Windows and to make your life easier. ShellEnhancer allows you to make your own tasks. Tasks consist of a number of commands which get executed one after the other. Available commands include: insert text, send keystroke, manipulate windows, run program, start screensaver, lock workstation and many others. Tasks can be executed with hotkeys, mouse gestures or screen corners. This can also be automated with the Auto Managed Windows feature.”
[...]

It also lets you make windows transparent, a nice feature and the one of the things I miss most about my Mac.

Domains Bot – A Better Domain Search

// June 21st, 2007 // No Comments » // Online Marketing, Technology

SEO Scoop had an article recently on what they tout as the best domain name finder ever called Domains Bot.

While I haven’t spent much time researching this space, on first glance I’d have to give them the benefit of the doubt.

After you go through the quick registration process, you can search for a concept and return a gigantic list of domains based on the concept and a broad list of synonyms, rendered in a format that makes it easy to quickly identify and buy the ones that most appeal to you. You can also choose to show or hide TLD’s as well as whether the domain is registered or for sale or expiring. If the domain is for sale, you can quickly make an offer.

Though I don’t see it, hopefully they’ll soon add the ability to save searches and create alerts as new domains expire.

Flight of the Conchords

// June 20th, 2007 // No Comments » // Life

Recently I heard an NPR interview with Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement, the pair who compose the folk/pop/comedy duo called “Flight of the Conchords“.

At first it reminded me of the guys who were always singing the Greek chorus narrative bridges in There’s Something About Mary. But as I listened I realized this was much, much funnier.

They have a show on HBO which recently premiered.

If you play the NPR interview, at least listen until you hear the “What’s The Matter With This World” song. Hilarious.

More on their Unofficial Conchords Fan Site.

Google’s AdWords Position Placement Reports

// June 19th, 2007 // No Comments » // Online Marketing

Aaron Wall has an article discussing Google’s phased rollout of their Position Placement Reports.

These reports show what sites your AdSense ads are syndicated to and the performance of those ads. As he points out, this data provides several new opportunities to increase your AdSense ROAS.

As one of the commenters said, this could be a gold-mine for arbitragers.

Portrait of the Modern Terrorist as an Idiot

// June 18th, 2007 // No Comments » // Business & Politics, Security & Privacy

Bruce Schneier has an excellent article that aligns exactly with how I feel every time I hear news of a new “terrorist plot” that has been disrupted. Inevitably, the story that follows paints a picture of a marginalized, incompetent set of characters who had little chance of carrying out a mass-casualty attack, and who often hadn’t progressed beyond the “yelling-at-the-TV” phase of their so-called “plot”.

I’m sure there is real investigation going on and real plots are being uncovered and disrupted. But the ones that seem to get the most attention are the ones that revolve around sensational targets or the potential, however remote, of mass-casualties, regardless of the actors’ operational capacity.

As he says in his article: “[...] in this country, while you have to be competent to pull off a terrorist attack, you don’t have to be competent to cause terror.”

Perhaps these stories are the security equivalent of an opiate for the masses. The appearance that the security folks are “on the job” and “getting things done”. The reality sometimes seems so different.

There are real terrorists out there that pose a real threat to us. Too often, the ones you see getting arrested on TV or simmering in their cages at Gitmo aren’t the ones we should worry about.