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Friday, January 23, 2004
KUUUUUUUUUUUUUUNG!
Kung-Tunes is driving me batty.
At some point in the last few months, over the course of normal incremental version upgrades, it has had some "features" added that are incredibly annoying. Like, if you want it to run automatically without having to be started and stopped by hand, it *forces* itunes to NOT ONLY start up on its own, but to START PLAYING whatever track is first in your library. So every time I restart my computer (which isn't often, actually), I get serenaded by "Me and Giuliani" by !!!.
AND, if you pause a song, Kung-Tunes just stops running. You have to go back into the program and re-activate it. Just because you paused a song for a second!
AND, if you quit Kung-Tunes for whatever reason, it *automatically quits iTunes, too*.
Look, I just want something that will run inobtrusively in the background, uploading iTunes track info to this website whenever iTunes happens to be running. I don't want to have to think about it, I don't want to have to worry about whether or not it's actually doing what I think it's doing.
I have Synergy (and before that, PTHiTunesNotifier) and iChatStatus running happily 24 hours a day. Why can't Kung-Tunes do the same anymore? Is there another program that has the same feature set (and is free) so I can get rid of this monkey?
(This dorky Macintosh rant has been brought to you by The Phone Isn't Ringing At Work Day.)
March 19, 2004 Update: Hey! I fixed it. I edited the faceless AppleScript version of Kung-Tunes (which is basically an old, outdated version of the program that for whatever reason still works with the latest version of the OS and iTunes even though the GUI ones might not), saved it as an application bundle, modified the NSUIElement in the Info.plist to make it not appear in the dock, and added it to my startup items. Voila: transparent updating of the sidebar when iTunes is playing, without intrusive starts and stops. Now maybe I'll blog again. At some point. Go read Glitter for Brains instead; he's funny.
March 19, 2004 Update Part II: I spoketh too soon. The script is currently sucking down 72% of my CPU and isn't updating diddly squat. Oh well.
Posted at 02:57 PM | Comments (6)
"She's a no-baloney gal," Lynch enthused. "A fantastic Hollywood gal."
In other tap dancing news, watch this video of Tilly & the Wall covering "Hey Ya" with a tap dancer for percussion.
And to end this tap related post, I must admit that I tap-danced my way to the bathroom a few days ago after watching "Top Hat" (infuriating plot, but I loved how the streets of Venice were shiny black lacquer) and nearly killed a cat in the process. Luckily my boy was sleeping and the cat's not threatening to sue.
Posted at 01:43 PM | Comments (2)
Friday, January 16, 2004
Whores love Macs
We were watching Firefly last night -- episode 3, "Shindig," where Mal insults the honor of a man on Persephone who had purchased Inara's services -- when I noticed a funny little detail.
The comm screen in Inara's shuttle was a Powerbook screen turned upside-down.
I am only moderately embarassed that I can recognize Apple hardware just from a bezel and latch mechanism, even when swathed in the luxurious fabric that covers a hooker's space shuttle.
Posted at 12:33 PM | Comments (3)
NYPL WiFi
Shifted Librarian notes that 53 branches of the NY Public Library have just rolled out free WiFi! Nifty.
Sadly, it will be censored through shitty, Federally mandated filters.
And their Information Page says that all Macs need the MacTCP control panel to access the service. MacTCP was last updated in 1995 and was abandoned when Apple rolled TCP/IP access into their computers ONE POINT TWO BAJILLION YEARS AGO, WHEN PEOPLE STARTED USING THE INTERWEB. Sigh. Who hires the people who write this shit?
Also, my boyfriend got into law school. Wh00t. I just realized that he actually paid for his own celebratory chinese food dinner, though. Well, at least I signed *my* name on the credit card receipt. Hmm. That counts for something, right?
Posted at 10:25 AM | Comments (1)
Tuesday, January 06, 2004
Howdy neighbor!
So today at lunch I'm reading a ratty old copy of Rolling Stone from about a month ago.
The bartender says to me "Hey, look at the address label on that magazine!"
Isn't New York weird? Maybe I'll give the duke a ringy-dingy in July 2006 and let him know his subscription is about to run out.
Posted at 07:55 PM | Comments (2)
Thursday, January 01, 2004
French 76
Fill a Collins glass with ice. Stir in a jigger of Irish whiskey and a jigger of sour mix. Fill glass with champagne; garnish with an orange twist. Sour mix: 2 cups lemon juice, 2 cups water, half a cup of sugar, two egg whites (stringy bits removed with a strainer), well-shaken together. Toast the New Year. Repeat ad nauseum. No really: ad nauseum. (This was my variation last night on the French 75, which uses cognac rather than whiskey. You can also sub gin to make a Champagne Collins. Which we did. Several times.)
