Rain

Today coincides with the release of a new page! You'll notice in the navigation bar there is now a shiny new tab, entitled 'Recommended Stuff", next to "Downloads". Contained therein will be great stuff I think you guys should read/listen to/see/experience/have along with a handy link to them. Good, eh? 


At some point in the dim and distant past, I promised a post about Rainmeter. I realise I'm probably about six years behind when it comes to this bit of software, but it is rather cool nonetheless. For those who aren't familiar with it, it is a desktop customisation tool, that puts everything from CPU and RAM monitors to notepads and search engines at your fingertips, all on your desktop. For example, here's a shot of my desktop:

I can explain the 'Uptime' timer (Bottom right, bottom of the list). I use 'Hibernate' instead of 'Shut Down', so the program doesn't technically terminate, as it is saved to the hard drive at the end of every session. When I fire my laptop back up, the program starts where it left off, carrying on the timer instead of resetting it. My record is something like 22 days, 14 hours and 3 minutes.

It has weather, date, time, down/upload monitor, a map, Google search, monitors for two of the four cores of my laptop, a RAM monitor, a Recycle Bin monitor, a notepad, and enough graphs to keep me occupied for hours. 


The map is a genius bit of kit. It uses a website ("Find my IP", or somesuch), and converts the latitude and longitude from there into co-ordinates for the map. 


Rainmeter, however, requires an intimate knowledge of coding to make it work. Luckily for us laymans out there, people have put their creations up on the web for us to borrow. Mine is a combination of the GalaxySuite, Serenity and Technologic packs (here, here and here, respectively). You'll notice my wallpaper also came from the GalaxySuite, too.


I think I only really use it because it makes my desktop look cooler. 


Until next time.

My Fountain Pen Can Upgrade Assault Rifles

I'd like to say that my long hiatus from posting here was due to me coming up with something utterly fantastic to write. Sadly, it wasn't. My head hasn't been in the right place for writing recently, as my woeful progress on my book illustrates quite nicely. Enough of the excuses, however!


So yesterday I went into town to get some shopping done. I find whenever I go in with people I end up sitting in the food court eating a KFC, rather than buying what I actually went in for. 


As is my wont, I spent hours in Waterstones. Yes, I can get books cheaper on my Kindle, or on the Interblag, but it's not the same. There's something about being stood in a bookshop, surrounded by shelves upon shelves of books that I'm mildly addicted to, resulting in me spending inordinate amounts of money there. 


I've been after a leather notebook and posh pen for a while, so seeing both in WHS was good. They only set me back £30, and I got two pens! I'm like a kid in a sweetshop when it comes to posh stationary. Anyway, the fountain pen has an iridium nib (to fans of the Mass Effect series, the title of the post has suddenly become clear) for no reason that I can see, other than the manufacturers cashing in on the sexiness of exotic metals. It's the same with tungsten and titanium. 


I'm planning on joining forces with this leather bound notebook and defeating my writers block once and for all.


Until next time.