Like-minded outcasts

One of the best things about interacting with new techies is that you get to see the toys that they're using.

So, Binkley introduced me to Mouse Gestures, a Mozilla plugin that lets you use your mouse for all sorts of functions, like opening new tabs, switching tabs, navigating back and forth, without mousing to the appropriate icon. This is a huge leap forward in UI for me. Check it out.

Mr. ThirdWorld pointed me at Off-the-Record Messaging, which is an extremely convenient encryption layer between the popular chat clients (gaim, trillian, AOL IM, even iChat) by means of proxy server. (except for the geniuses over at Adium, who have implemented it directly into their client)

By the same token, you should be using Google Talk. It is the best-designed single-service UI yet. Yes, it's better than Adium. But no, it can't interop with AIM, ICQ, or qq. But it has VoIP!

If your use of Wikipedia has increased tenfold in the last year, like mine has, consider donating to them during their 21 day pledge drive. If you are looking for something pithy to write in your comment, try "Fiat Lux." If you are feeling particularly cheeky, you can add "Stanford Sux."

Does anyone not have an online savings account yet? I will pay you (well, my bank will pay you) $25 to open an interest-bearing (3.3%) account. You must do it by referral, though. If you use a referral from me, you can also have the $10 they will give me for referring you. Because if you read this blog, i care about you just that much.

Does anyone not have Paypal yet? You should. Every time you write a check, a tree somewhere is crying.