Banal Minutiae

Look, I’m sure you all know that Firefox is the web browser of choice, right?

It’s not due to the security holes in IE, or the interface. It’s a single, simpler point that makes firefox better: extensions. I saw this site this morning, and got to thinking about how many extensions I use.

What are extensions, you’re probably wondering (at least if you don’t use Firefox)? In a nutshell, they’re simple little add-in programs that change the way the browser behaves. This is a lot more powerful than you might at first think. While some extensions are simple, such as Session Manager, which remembers all your open tabs if you close the browser, some, like Tab Mix Plus for example, change the way elements of the browser work and appear (tabs, in this case). Still others are stand alone programs, like Performancing (a Blogging tool), or Sage (an RSS reader).

My favorite extension by a mile is Adblock. Basically, install it, and the Adlock Filterset.G Updater, and all those pesky text ads are going to vanish. Amazing. You’ll look at Yahoo! and similar sites in a brand new light, I promise you.

There is one other category of extension that I must mention, because it’s a close one whether or not this category is as good as adblock. That category is extensions that modify pages on the fly. There are basically three extensions you need: Greasemonkey, Stylish, and Platypus. Greasemonkey will run specific scripts on any given webpage. Stylish lets you change the style (CSS-wise) of anything. And Platypus lets you actually do a WYSISYG re-arranging and alteration of any page. All of these are simply amazing. Once you start using them, you’ll wonder how you lived without them.

It’s been a long time since I’ve written anything here, and I thought it was time to change that.

I really don’t have an excuse, other than not a lot has been going on in my life. I just haven’t been inspired to write anything new lately. You know how it goes.

The weather here has finally taken a turn for the better, and I’m pretty excited about it. Personally, I love being outside doing stuff, even if it’s just the usual yard work. Speaking of yard work, I finally cleaned off my deck for this year. Took well over an hour to pick up all the crap, most of which is from trees that overhang my deck. I’ve cut back a few limbs so the problem shouldn’t be as bad next year, but we’ll see. I’ve also put down some fertilizer and week killer on my lawn. I still need to mow for the first time, but maybe soon.

I’m heading up to see my brother and my parents this weekend. Should be a good time. I just wish the drive wasn’t so long.