I’ve been trying out Google Plus, aka Google+, aka G+, for some time now, and am still optimistic that it will provide a much improved alternative to the dreaded Facepalm, which I’m growing weary of. Not the people, just the general venue.
This is a widget that I will probably incorporate into the website proper. You can have it with or without the live feed of recent posts. It’s available at http://www.widgetsplus.com/
UPDATE – Forget this whole thing and just install “Better Face Book” plugin for Firefox.
http://betterfacebook.net/
How to HIDE the new Facebook “Questions” feature from your News Feed (EASY version)
[update: forgot to say, here’s the original article I based this on]
Facebook “Questions” can soon dominate the “information” in your “News” Feed, so I went looking for a way to be able to Hide these posts. As a native Facebook feature, it can’t be hidden via the little X button the way you would hide posts from, say, Farmville. Do people still play that? Dunno.
The solution I found was fairly geeky, so I thought I would try to make it simpler. It’s the same solution, I’m just going to break it down a little. The original article was a bit daunting…
You need:
–Greasemonkey Add-on to Firefox
–FFixer script for Greasemonkey
The first three steps are to install these three things, in that order, using the links above.
1. Install Firefox as your browser, if you haven’t already. Actually, if you haven’t, you’ll probably say screw it at this point. Up to you. B-)
2. Install Greasemonkey. Nothing to it, just hit the install link.
Greasemonkey alone does exactly nothing, it is just an environment into which you can install any number of user scripts that do any number of things to the way a browser displays certain pages. There’s a whack of them for Flickr, as many of you know…
3. Install FFixer. Again, nothing to it, just hit the install link.
FFixer is a Greasemonkey script which will provide a somewhat modified Facebook viewing experience. I found the defaults were pretty good, and didn’t really mess with them too much. You can experiment with the settings. I actually abandoned an earlier solution for eliminating the Facebook clutter in favour of this one.
4. Configure FFixer. You’ll find the link for this on your now-modified Facebook page under the “Account” menu at top right.
5. Click on “Advanced” when the Configure window opens.
6. Look for the first big empty text box titled “Custom Feed Modification” about halfway down the “Advanced” page.
7. In that box enter these two NEGATIVE numbers:
-338
-280
Just like that, hitting enter for a line feed after the first one.
8. Click “Save Custom Feed Modification” button under the text box you just typed the numbers into.
9. Close the Configure window, and you’re done!
10. You can still view and participate in the “Questions” feature by clicking the “Questions” link in the left-side navigation on your News Feed page.
I’m not hating on “Questions” so if you love it, don’t hate on ME. As the kids say.
Hope this helps.
I was just having some fun with the Tone Matrix music generator at this site:
http://lab.andre-michelle.com/tonematrix
I could play with that thing for hours… (sounds dirty but isn’t)
(YouTube movie: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9p0iFpE8Ns)
Twitter is like Star Trek
More specifically, Twitter is like episode 15 of the original Star Trek series.
In this episode, entitled Shore Leave, the crew encounters strange goings-on on a planet in the Omicron Delta system. They encounter a large white rabbit in a great hurry, an old classmate, a medieval knight, and a katana-wielding samurai.
Turns out the planet is a giant amusement park which creates its attractions on-the-fly, based on the thoughts and memories and expectations of its visitors.
McCoy was thinking about Alice in Wonderland (paging Dr. Freud), Sulu was still mentally weilding a foil from epidode 4 The Naked Time, and tight-ass Kirk just can’t let go of schoolyard rivalries.
They all got back what was in their own minds and hearts.
Twitter is like that. Sort of.
If you think Twitter is going to suck, then most assuredly it will suck.
If you think Twitter is an exciting opportunity to be ignored by celebrities, then you will be excited. And ignored.
If you think Twitter can provide an easy-to-use platform for a network of like-minded individuals to casually share tips, links, and other of-the-moment factoids, then that is how you will perceive it, and that is how you will use it.
The genius of Twitter is that it’s only as interesting as you make it.
Kinda like life.
Presented for your amusement, and/or for you to poop on, the complete collection (to date) of “Signed, the dog” tweets… hehe… I said “dog tweets”… by which of course I refer to all the Twitter posts made from the perspective of an idealized amalgam of our various dogs… (the dates link to the original Twitter entry)
Why yes, I AM ignoring you. I just didn’t think “Farty McPiss-Bag” was a name I should respond to. –signed, the dog.
Sat Jan 02 16:53
Thanks, but I don’t need the whole bed, just the part where your legs are… –signed, the dog.
Fri Jan 01 16:38
“Walk this way”? If I could walk THAT way I wouldn’t NEED the other two legs. –signed, the dog.
Thu Dec 31 17:08:
What d’ya mean “if you were a font, you’d be Dingbat”? What a thing to say. I resemble that remark. –signed, the dog.
Tue Dec 29 21:14
Rabbit poop? I don’t know… tastes a little like chicken… –signed, the dog
Thu Dec 17 21:42
It’s called “Making Flippy Floppy”, not “Give Your Head a Shake” –signed, the dog, a Talking Heads fan apparently. http://tinysong.com/8Is2
Thu Nov 12 21
Okay, can I kill him AFTER he’s finished installing new outlets in the garage? –signed, the dog
Thu Nov 12 15:59
I don’t care if there’s downstairs water… I’m thirsty for UPSTAIRS water. –signed, the dog.
Wed Nov 11 23:23
Stay for how long, exactly? The trouble with “stay” is there’s very little wiggle room. I’m all about the wiggle room. –signed, the dog.
Mon Nov 09 15:31
What, I should not do that now, too? I thought you meant I should not do that, just at that moment… –signed, the dog.
Mon Nov 09 05:33
Hey, it’s MY tennis ball hanging from the garage ceiling: my first thought was not “parking aid”, it was “YAY, NEW GAME” –signed, the dog.
Thu Nov 05 23:01
Dude, just open the door. You can stay here. I’ll take mySELF for a walk. No big deal. –signed, the dog. (umm, no)
Wed Nov 04 03:11
Who you callin’ a son-of-a-bitch? Oh yeah. Never mind. –signed, the dog.
Wed Oct 28 18:47
Thanks for putting down that freshly laundered rug… for me to poop on! –signed, the dog (who thinks he’s “Triumph the Insult Comic Dog”)
Mon Oct 26 01:43
Where’s the Smell Key on this thing? Trust a human to design a keyboard with no Smell Key. How do I type smells? Jeez… –signed, the dog.
Sun Oct 25 03:08
Come ON, let me post something, I promise it won’t be about you, kibble boy. Trust me, you’re not that interesting. –signed, the dog.
Sun Oct 25 02:19
My Indian name is Buttsniffer. –signed, the dog.
Tue Oct 20 12:51
PLEASE don’t pave the gravel zone! There’s a reason they call it PEE gravel. They don’t call it “pee cement” now do they? –signed, the dog.
Tue Oct 20 01:51
I’m licking your elbow ’cause I can’t reach your face… now get down here and gimme a big kiss! –signed, the dog. [um, no, but thanks]
Mon Oct 19 18:21
How do I know? I just KNOW, that’s how I know. It’s noon, so make with the lunch already! –signed, the dog.
Mon Oct 19 15:46
I vant to leeek your face. Leeek. Leeek. –signed, the dog, in his best Boris Karloff voice.
Mon Oct 19 00:45
Because nice things are boring. THAT’S why I wreck everything. –signed, the dog.
Sun Oct 18 21:27
Ruth, Ruth, Ruth Ruth. –signed, the dog.
Sat Oct 17 22:11:
Boundaries? Personal space? Sorry, not familiar. –signed, the dog.
Fri Oct 16 16:24
As a matter of fact, I DID enjoy my dinner. Life’s too short to slow down for CHEWING, is all. –signed, the dog.
Thu Oct 15 22:46
I got chunks of guys like you in my STOOL. –signed, the dog. (Also Phil Hartman as Frank Sinatra on SNL)
Wed Oct 14 05:07
Er, no, I don’t think I WOULD like it if I stepped in YOUR poop for once… but thanks for asking. –signed, the dog.
Tue Oct 13 03:47
No, I do NOT find it ironic that I’m standing guard while sitting in a chair. –signed, the dog
Fri Oct 09 21:19
Stop me if you’ve heard this one: I’m not deaf, I’m ignoring you. –signed, the dog.
Thu Oct 01 17:14
Don’t even TRY to figure me out… I poop, therefore I am. –signed, the dog.
Wed Sep 30 19:00
Strange people poking and prodding, shining lights at you… today I got my eyeball swabbed. I love going to the vet. — signed, the dog.
Tue Sep 29 19:41
If I could “walk that way” I wouldn’t _need_ the extra two legs… badda-boom… signed, the dog (who thinks he’s a comedian).
Tue Sep 29 15:56
I’m NOT afraid of thunder! I’m playing the “stick to your leg” game.Wait, don’t leave!! –signed, the dog.
Tue Sep 29 01:42
She rang the doorbell!! Kill her! Kill her! Kill her! Kill her! — signed, the dog.
Mon Sep 28 14:25
No, it’s not a political statement, I’m just clearing my throat: barack…barack… –signed, the dog.
Mon Sep 28 00:22
I’m not drooling, I’m dribbling… there IS a difference you know… –signed, the dog.
Sun Sep 27 21:21
I lean against you, you shift over, I slide down to the warm spot where your butt just was… works every time! –signed, the dog.
Sun Sep 27 17:02:
Okay, maybe I DON’T know my ass from your elbow… that’s why I need to lick them BOTH… signed, the dog.
Sun Sep 27 00:58
Well maybe your knee SHOULD bend that way. Anyway, it’s not MY fault you have a low pain threshold. –signed, the dog.
Fri Sep 25 16:12
Look, MY job is to push the couch cushions onto the floor, and YOUR job is to put them back. I’ve done MY part. –signed, the dog.
Fri Sep 25 04:43
But WHY can’t I put my butt on your pillow? It’s so COMFY! — signed the dog.
Thu Sep 24 03:47
I just want to smell your face. No tongue, I promise. I’m not lying this time. — signed, the dog.
Wed Sep 23 17:41
That’s a nice carpet. For me to poop on. — signed, the dog.
Tue Sep 22 18:59
I didn’t say I wanted to go out for a pee. I just said I wanted to go out. I’ll pee next time. — signed, the dog.
Tue Sep 22 05:47
You were outside without me? What were you doing? I’m gonna need to smell your shoes and your butt. –signed, the dog.
Sun Sep 20 01:17
Just give me the damn treat already and stop asking me who’s a good dog! — signed, the dog.
Fri Sep 18 02:14
I suppose it bears mentioning here, that since my “Open Letter to my Tweeps” post of less than a week ago, forswearing all things Twitter, I’ve done a terrible job of living up to my own pronouncements. I think the longest I went was two days.
I admit defeat.
Twitter, I don’t know how to quit you. You complete me.
I’m going to try to keep the blog going though, I do enjoy speaking in complete sentences and exploring larger than tweet-sized ideas…
Not that I have any right now, mind you.
I know how I said I was quitting Twitter and everything. How above it I’ve become. How more enlightened I am for my tweetlessness. How the days are now just FILLED with real rewarding, productive activities.
Ya. Kinda. Or not.
Anyway, even in the throes of my Twitter withdrawl, I would still find myself back there, from time to time. Just, you know, checking on my account. Dust off my avatar. Maybe read some of the collected wisdom of the hive mind. Follow some links to some WordPress themes, or whatever.
Two days ago, while the ink was still wet on my leaving-Twitter manifesto, I tweeted something. I had to. It was too good. Or too perfect for the “Sounds Dirty But Isn’t” (#sdbi) mini-meme. It went something like this:
Sounds Dirty But Isn’t: “Nudibranch” #sdbi http://bit.ly/eW4ch (Sorry, I’m not really back, just couldn’t resist that one) B-)
Complete with its own apology no less. Will this be my final “official” tweet? (I’m not counting the blog post auto-tweets.) Will my resolve to say everything with much longer sentences hold steady against the urge to quip and run?
Today I almost fell off the wagon again… My friend Mary (@MDuette) was having some fun with the #chickenfilms meme: “Cluck Fiction” — “Lay It Forward” — “The Empire Quacks Back” (that last one was actually #duckfilms).
Ooh, Ooh, Mr. Kotter, Mr. Kotter, I thought to myself, my figurative arm waving in the air to get the imaginary Gabe Kaplan’s attention. I have one! It’s perfect! And entirely original! So I almost tweeted:
A Cluckwork Orange #chickenfilms
Not bad, right? I stand by it, such as it is. And while it may have been original, something made me do a Twitter search, just in case some other genius also thought of it. And sure enough, there were a couple of tweets from just an hour earlier, as well as MANY more from about a week ago, as part of the #oneletteroffmovies meme.
So what have we learned. I dunno. Maybe nothing. But that’s my story of how I didn’t tweet “A Cluckwork Orange”, mostly because I was chicken…
Sorry for the chaos… just dumped my old Movable Type blog and installed a WordPress blog.
Because Movable Type sucks, and WordPress not so much.
Things COULD get ugly… I already broke the whole server, but I think THAT’s fixed… until I turn back on the thing that maybe broke it, and so break it again…. which I’m about to maybe do now… wish me luck…
Update: OK I think eveything is stable. By the way, if you subscribe by RSS you will need to RE-SUBSCRIBE – the old feed URL is no longer valid. Thanks!