Astroblahhh.Com

RSS Subscribers: I'm moving this blog's RSS feed - please resubscribe

Thu, 14 Jun 2012 18:39:53 +0000

RSS Subscribers: I'm moving this blog's RSS feed - please resubscribe
Thursday, June 14th, 2012
18:39:53 GMT
Site Update

I finally decided to ditch FeedBurner and serve my blog's RSS feed directly from Astroblahhh.Com.

I just think it's better not to be dependent on an outside website to handle something like that, since if FeedBurner ever got shut down, poof, suddenly I'd have no way to reach my RSS subscribers.

This great essay I found on LinuxMafia.com points out a lot of reasons why using "Web 2.0" services like FeedBurner is a bad idea.

So, my estimated 4 or 5 RSS subscribers, please subscribe to this RSS feed address instead:

http://astroblahhh.com/blog/rss.xml

If it doesn't work yet, please try again later. I hope I will be able to get it to work within minutes of me posting this post. If not, I'll update this post.

I highly recommend DiscountNewAgeBooks.com!

Thu, 07 Jun 2012 09:21:30 +0000

I highly recommend DiscountNewAgeBooks.com!
Thursday, June 7th, 2012
09:21:30 GMT
Books

I realize links to a commercial website might annoy some people, so, first, here's a link to something amusing and free. :-)

OK, now on to the main topic. Today, in the Astrology, Self-Help, and Activism sections of this site, I put links to my favorite bookseller:

DiscountNewAgeBooks.com

I highly recommend them. Their prices are amazing. They sell more than just new age books. (See the left column of their front page for an overview). For example: self-help books, books on saving the environment, politics/world affairs, cookbooks, fiction, and much more.

They also sell things other than books, like jewelry, CDs, DVDs, Tarot decks, incense, candles, etc.

I don't make money from having those links up - they're not paid ads or affiliate links or anything like that. I'm just a happy, grateful customer who wants to send one of my favorite businesses a lot more customers, and also help out my website readers by pointing out a great place to buy stuff.

6/7/2012

Thu, 07 Jun 2012 04:30:17 +0000

6/7/2012
Thursday, June 7th, 2012
04:30:17 GMT
Journal

Hello, world. I guess I'm finally going to start updating this site more often. (Which won't be hard to do - I just have to update more frequently than once every 5 months. But hopefully I'll do even better than that.)

As for what has been going on with me - well, this is as autobiographical as I wish to get. ;-)

Things are far from perfect, but on the bright side, some aspects of my life are in some ways better than they've been in years (or ever). Lots more time and energy now, and a bit more inspiration, among other improvements.

So, I'm much more likely to post useful and/or entertaining updates from time to time.

I hope everyone is doing well and sorry for neglecting this site so much. Thanks for visiting, and thanks to the few who have sent donations, that cheered me up a lot. :-)

June 5th/6th, 2012: Last time Venus will transit directly in front of sun until 2117

Tue, 05 Jun 2012 14:48:23 +0000

June 5th/6th, 2012: Last time Venus will transit directly in front of sun until 2117
Tuesday, June 5th, 2012
14:48:23 GMT
Astronomy

Just a quick note to point out that a rare astronomical event is soon taking place (or maybe is in progress already, I'm unclear on the details).

Venus is or will be moving directly in front of the sun for the last time until 2117.

Here are some links about it:

Venus Transit: A Planet's Day in the Sun
VenusTransit.Nasa.Gov/TransitOfVenus
TransitOfVenus.org

AHK Script: Show Date/Time of Boot and Elapsed Time Since Boot

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 18:14:50 +0000

AHK Script: Show Date/Time of Boot and Elapsed Time Since Boot
Thursday, January 5th, 2012
18:14:50 GMT
Site Update

To the Windows section, I added Show_Date_Time_of_Boot_and_Elapsed_Time_Since_Boot.ahk - a simple script that displays a message box showing the approximate date/time your computer booted and how many hours, minutes and seconds have elapsed since then. The elapsed time doesn't update.

Thanks to "closed" at the AHK forum for the FormatSeconds function, which I slightly modified.

If you want a clock that shows the elapsed time since boot and which updates in real time, you might prefer boottime.zip by AHK forum member "closed", which is available at this AHK forum thread: Elapsed Time Since Boot - Displayer

Firefox Add-Ons page update: Apollia's Favorite Stylish Style v1.0; and a link to Memory Fox

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 05:45:06 +0000

Firefox Add-Ons page update: Apollia's Favorite Stylish Style v1.0; and a link to Memory Fox
Thursday, December 15th, 2011
05:45:06 GMT
Site Update

I updated the Firefox Add-Ons page with:

A link to the useful Memory Fox add-on, which can control not only Firefox's memory usage, but also the memory usage of all other programs on your computer.
Apollia's Favorite Stylish Style v1.0 - my Stylish style for rescuing my eyes from the annoying brightness of way too many web pages.

If anyone out there would like to send me donations or microdonations, thanks. If I weren't under so much financial stress, I might be more likely to update this website more often.

Lunar Phases Animation

Thu, 17 Nov 2011 12:33:45 +0000

Lunar Phases Animation
Thursday, November 17th, 2011
12:33:45 GMT
Astrology

Here's a cool public domain animation I found in Wikipedia yesterday in the Lunar phase article:

Large Version - 2.46 MB and 450x451 pixels

There's a similar picture with an informative caption at:

Wikipedia: Picture of the day - November 10, 2005

Updated Windows section; added AHK script

Tue, 04 Oct 2011 21:03:47 +0000

Updated Windows section; added AHK script
Tuesday, October 4th, 2011
21:03:47 GMT
Site Update

I updated the Windows section a bit, adding links and info about AutoHotkey and Perl.

I also added an AutoHotkey (AHK) script - Cover_Taskbar_Borders_and_Side_Panel_Borders-Script_for_use_with_a_Windows_classic_theme.ahk

I didn't make that from scratch - it's a heavily-modified derivative of Skrommel's DimScreen (source code).

Cover_Taskbar_Borders_and_Side_Panel_Borders-Script_for_use_with_a_Windows_classic_theme.ahk simply removes some (but unfortunately, not all) minor annoyances with the dark high-contrast Windows Classic themes - the white borders at the top and bottom of the taskbar, and the borders at the left and right of the screen when windows are maximized, or if you have some pop-up side panels set up.

More details are available on the Windows page and in the script's source code.

Tons of Skrommel's awesome software, including DimScreen, is available at:

1 Hour Software by Skrommel on DonationCoder.com

I highly recommend those links. Tons of useful programs there. (Skrommel's page will also help give you an idea of the incredible range of things AHK is capable of.)

You can get the AHK source code of Skrommel's programs by clicking the AutoHotkey logo (a box featuring a white H on a green background) in the description of each program.

Added a list of Firefox add-ons I use

Tue, 27 Sep 2011 17:34:21 +0000

Added a list of Firefox add-ons I use
Tuesday, September 27th, 2011
17:34:21 GMT
Site Update

In the Firefox Add-Ons section, there is now a list of Firefox add-ons I use. It has various tips and comments.

All or Nothing At All

Sun, 04 Sep 2011 11:39:24 +0000

All or Nothing At All
Sunday, September 4th, 2011
11:39:24 GMT
Music - Video

I love finding little-known gems on YouTube. :-)

This video currently has only 1,135 views:

ALL OR NOTHING AT ALL - BIG BAND 31

It's the most entertaining rendition of All or Nothing At All I've ever seen or heard.