Off By One

Nothing political, just something that any mac users reading this might like: EarthDesk.

Actually, on reading, it’s a Windows app, too, so all of you can use it

I’m not usually a fan of the pointless graphical doodads, but this one is pretty nice; It displays a live-updating view of the earth as your desktop, with accurate sun- and moon-light mappings, and (given an internet connection) up-to-date cloud cover.

Pretty slick.

I don’t know how long I’ll be using my copy, but since I got it for free (and legally, too!) it might last for a bit.

It’s a peculiar thing for me, given my generally materialistic bent, to be in a position where I simply don’t want anything material — not actively, at any rate.

Over the course of the last year, I’ve been given two gifts that, between them, have transformed my life from one of material desire to one where I now have a hard time thinking of what I could ask that anyone ever give me as a gift.

One was the iPod that dad bought me for christmas, and this is a big one. Since getting it, I have listened to more music (in 8 months) than the five years previous all together. It’s brought me back to a mental place where I can appreciate music at my leisure, and a place where I both seek new bands and appreciate old ones that I had let fall by the wayside. For example, right now I’m listening to Rammstein. Hard to go wrong with silly-ass techno-influenced german heavy metal

The other, though, is a bit smaller and would seem to be a really simple, small thing: This coffee maker has become indispensable in the week and a half since it came into our house. Imagine the joy of having fresh-ground, fresh-brewed coffee waiting for you every morning. It’s so nice, I don’t know what else to say, other than it’s just that nice.

Yes, I’m gushing over a coffee maker. Deal with it.

This stuff makes me happy, and leaves me only coveting books and skydiving. And computer parts, but those are a whole other category unto themselves. C’est etrange, non?

Although it will no doubt come as a surprise to some (all?) of my readers, I haven’t been giving too much thought to my upcoming birthday, and all that goes with that. Meaning, of course, the greedy part of it — gifts.

Yes, yes, i know… Putting a post about it up on the blog certainly doesn’t strengthen my claim, does it?

Well, bugger that. It so happens that, this year, I am more or less at a loss as to what I even want for a gift. The fact of the matter is, ever since Dad got me one of these for Christmas, well, i literally haven’t wanted any gadgetry. Oh, sure, I want to upgrade my computer, but the day that stops, it’s time to bury me. But, other than that I haven’t wanted toys. It’s kind of weird. And, as a result, I’ve been less focused on my materialistic side as I’ve simply reveled in the pleasure of carrying 1900 songs with me wherever I go.

But, since I’ve been pounding away at a few things here as programming projects of my own, I’ve come to realize that there are a few, slightly oddball (as in, they get buried in the Amazon wishlist) items i’d like. And, as usual, they’re all books.

If you are thinking of getting me a book for the b-day, read the extended entry for it. O’Reilly’s JavaServer Pages or alternately, Manning publishing’s Web Development with JavaServer Pages

Core J2EE Patterns: Best Practices and Design Strategies

There are no doubt more like these, but these ones really appeal to me. And they’re right up the alley of the project i’m going to work on this summer in my spare time. Which I’ll talk about in another posting.