I stumbled across a very cool plugin for Mail.app today. WideMail is a plugin that brings the more familiar, and arguably more productive, vertical layout to Mail.app. I'm using the plugin with OS X 10.6.2 and have had no major problems thus far even though the plugin is still in beta. The plugin is free, however I encourage you to join me in using the PayPal link to donate something to the developer...because frankly, I would hate to see him give up on this project. The first screenshot shows the default view in Mail.app followed by Mail.app using the WideMail plugin.

I was surprised with this handmade humidor today from a guy at the cigar lounge. The inscription is of my choosing and says "High Priming". Primings are the rows of leaves on a tobacco plant...the higher the priming, the stronger the tobacco. I don't actually have any cigars to fill it with at present (three of the four shown are Christmas gifts for my Father-In-Law), but nobody needs to know what's on the inside! Note: the pics were taken with my iPhone so please excuse the low quality.

I use the same image for my login and my desktop. Lately I've been using one from Samuel Adams. I wasn't impressed by the original and decided to play around with desaturation. I thought it might be cool to desaturate the entire image for the login and use the partially desaturated image for the desktop. You will need the following:

My Dad wrote this for the advent season at his church, and I really like it...

“And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS , AND LORD OF LORDS.” Rev. 19:16 KJV

The only time when there was no King or Queen in Britain was when the country was a republic between 1649 and 1660. In 1649 King Charles I was executed and Britain became a Republic for eleven years. The monarchy was restored in 1660. So it was a challenge for us as a new nation to create a new system of government.

When our country revolted and broke away from Britain the question was what form of government would we create. Much debate ensued. Several plans were suggested. In fact Alexander Hamilton suggested a system much like Britain's system which would have a lower house and upper house as well as an executive whose title would be Governor and whose term would be for life! Of course it was decided that our government would have three branches. One of those branches would be the executive branch, but the question arose as to what title would be chosen to describe the executive. Should we call him King, Governor, or President?

The important factor that we need to remember this advent season is that regardless of what title the leader of any nation my have that individual will bow before the KING OF KINGS one day. Scripture says:

“Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else. I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow , every tongue shall swear” Isa 45:22-23 KJV

People are getting more and more concerned with Google's ever present fingers meddling with their data. Fear not, "Google CEO Eric Schmidt told reporter Maria Bartiromo, 'If you have something that you don't want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn't be doing it in the first place.'" Source: Slashdot Let me just say, Wow.

• DVD Library -- I have way too many DVD's and quite a few VHS tapes around the house, but when you find Tommy Boy and Black Sheep as a double feature for $5 it's hard to pass up.
• Netflix -- I recently downgraded our Netflix account to one DVD at a time for $9 a month. With all the other content we use it just didn't make sense to keep paying more.
• Roku -- Sure, a lot of the content is not "cutting edge" or "hip", but there is a lot of it, and we dig it.
• iTunes -- I admit it, sometimes I rent a movie through iTunes because I don't have the patience to wait on the DVD in the mail, and I don't want to leave the house.
• Redbox -- When I do leave the house for media, it is usually to visit the Redbox. New Releases for $1 is hard to beat, but where is the iPhone app? Please!
• Roku -- TWiT Netcast Network: all of Leo Laporte's tech content streaming in my living room...awesome!
• Roku -- Revision3: all of Revision3's tech content streaming in my living room...awesome!
• Roku -- Pandora: endless free music streaming in my living room.
• Roku -- Mediafly: the options here are incredible...sign up for Mediafly on the Internet, create all the podcast and video content channels you want and watch them on your TV. I haven't gone through to set up content for the family yet, but I use it for Mark Driscoll's sermons and to get a bunch of CNET's tech content streaming in my living room...awesome!
• Hulu -- There are only a few shows I really like on TV, Sanctuary and V come to mind. I get an email each time a new episode is available, and I watch it on my computer with limited commercials...very nice indeed.
• iTunes -- I use iTunes to download several podcasts. Some of the same tech materail on the Roku is duplicated on my Mac because sometimes I want to watch or listen on my iPhone or Mac instead of the TV.

Notice anything wrong with this picture?

Sent from my iPhone...

ASTRO PILGRIMS 
Hi my name is Josh captain of the prime oss1. Me and a coupel others are bord of earth the rools,money,and crimanels eratate me. Me,Caleb,Carlos,and Cony are going to outer space to discover a new world to live on. 3 2 1 BLAST OFF FOOOSH we were out of the aptinesphere. Carlos set the ship on hiper drive. Caleb set the course North. Cony set it to auto pilet then everybody lets go play new super Mario bros.wii. 6 HOURS LATER. Z Z Z beep! beep! BEEP! Ah aleins! Caleb to the lazer turents. SPEW SPEW SPEW! There dead. Lets land on that planet. FOOSH! We landed on a grassy planet with trees to cut down to make houses. One rool we will keep is no steeling.       THE-END

I just read a fantastic article by Paul Graham that outlines some of the reasons Apple is getting such bad press with developers lately. Interestingly, I posted a tweet a couple days ago about the irony of Apple's 1984 add (although admittedly from a different perspective). Here are a few of my favorite excerpts, but you can read the entire essay here.

...How would Apple like it if when they discovered a serious bug in OS X, instead of releasing a software update immediately, they had to submit their code to an intermediary who sat on it for a month and then rejected it because it contained an icon they didn't like?...

...I just bought a new 27" iMac a couple days ago. It's fabulous. The screen's too shiny, and the disk is surprisingly loud, but it's so beautiful that you can't make yourself care...So I bought it, but I bought it, for the first time, with misgivings...In the past when I bought things from Apple it was an unalloyed pleasure...This time it felt like a Faustian bargain. They make such great stuff, but they're such assholes...

...When you look at the famous 1984 ad now, it's easier to imagine Apple as the dictator on the screen than the woman with the hammer. In fact, if you read the dictator's speech it sounds uncannily like a prophecy of the App Store...

Sent from my iPhone