Brendan Gates

If you have more than one computer at your desk, then you need a free (open-source) piece of software called Synergy. It’s basically a keyboard and mouse server, so you can use the same keyboard and mouse on multiple computers, so long as the computers each have their own displays.

I have three computers across my desk, and I almost ponied up for a hardware KVM switch before I stumbled across this gem. To switch between computer control you just move your mouse to the edge of the screen and it will appear on the edge of the screen next to it, almost as if you had multiple monitors attached to one box. It works like a charm.

You can get it here:
http://synergy2.sourceforge.net/

Did I mention that it was free? It’s even cross platform, as it can run on an Windows, Unix/Linux, or Mac box.

I’ll be making some major changes to the website over the next month.

The first piece is to transfer domain registration to a new host. I know when I’ll be submitting the transfer request, but it’s up to the domains to play nice with eachother on the handoff. So that could be a few days, and it could be a few weeks. I already have an account hosting at the new host, so hopefully the transition will mean little to no downtime.

A preview of the new site can be had here:
http://www.brendangates.org/

(That link is just a preview – don’t bookmark it. When the new site goes live it will be at the same brendangates.com address you already know. My .org site is just my sandbox to play around in.)

I’m also taking steps to make sure that my feedburner feed will continue to work, even though I’ll be switching from blogger to self-hosted wordpress. So if you’re subscribed through feedburner you should be fine. If you’re subscribed directly to my feed address, that may end up breaking on you.

The second piece to the redesign will be my aplastic anemia site. I had a working mockup of a redesign a few months ago, but I think I’d rather start over again and try a different route. Not sure what I really want out of that site, but I’m in no hurry to figure that out either.

On Tuesday I had a car accident. I was rear-ended while waiting to make a left turn on my street. My headache from the accident is gone now, but close to $3000 in damage lingers on the back end of my Prius. The other insurance company is picking up the tab, so that’s good, but it was certainly a startling way to end a lunch break.

On Wednesday Liverpool beat higher-ranked Tottenham 2-0 to move up one spot to 6th in the EPL standings. It was a badly needed win for a team racked by injuries and struggling to meet high pre-season expectations.

Thursday morning the Supreme Court overturned limits on political spending by corporations, essentially declaring that spending to be a form of protected free speech. I don’t think this ruling will massively transform campaign finance, since we’re pretty firmly entrenched already in the cash fueled orgy that is corporate political influence. But it certainly won’t help things, and it’s just another nail in the coffin of the average American’s ability to determine the direction of their own country.
(I was a little surprised, actually, at how I found myself almost sad when I read the news of the ruling. And since nobody I know has any interest in reading about or discussing this sort of thing, on the blog it goes!)

Friday was a major milestone at work. I delivered the first of several working mockups for a website re-design we’re doing. I only really started learning this line of work a few months ago, and what I produced for Friday was the culmination of two online classes, three reference books, and many, many hours of trial and error. It is only the beginning; I have much more to do. But this small accomplishment went a long way to boosting my confidence, and it feels good.

This weekend is when my mother and her sisters will move Grandma into a home. My Grandma doesn’t want to go, expectedly, and the daughters aren’t all on the same page about the best way to proceed. It’s been a source of conflict for the last six months. I only hope that this weekend is a step in the right direction, after which healing can begin for everybody.

And today, the Colts won. Time to start planning a super bowl party.