Top of the Desk

Set an alarm using Kuku Klok's simple web interface, and you can be woken up to a variety of sounds, regardless of whether or not you are connected to the Internet when it's time for the alarm to go off.

http://kukuklok.com/

Via Dumb Little Man.

Ever since I started my blog last year, it has gone by the name Top of the Desk. But because I just recently migrated from Tumblr to Posterous, I thought I'd give an explanation of that name. The decision was based on two factors: originality, and available Tumblr subdomains. Top of the Desk fulfilled both criteria. The name itself came from the fact that the top of my physical desk is often used as a landing place for everything I receive, and is often cluttered with random items. I wanted the blog Top of the Desk to be a home for all of the interesting things I find during my journey through the information jungle that is the Internet. And, since the blog had been going strong for a while, I decided to keep the name after the move to Posterous. So, there you have it.

Yep, it's so much cheaper.

Via Digg.

No longer do Twitterers have to rely on a third-party website to search through the massive amounts of tweets constantly being thrown out into the public timeline. Twitter has acquired Summize, the "head honcho" of the Twitter search services. Both basic keyword and advanced searches are now available directly through Twitter, at http://search.twitter.com. And, as an added bonus, you can add Twitter Search to your browser's search bar. Cool beans!

Summer homework is never something I look forward to with joy and enthusiasm. But alas, that time has come, and part of my assignment is to read and annotate Letters from an American Farmer, a collection of real letters written during the late 18th century by J. Hector St. John De Crèvecoeur. After visiting the author in America, a friend returned to Europe wanting to know more about the American lifestyle. So, he petitioned Crèvecoeur to write to him about his thoughts on life across the pond. So far, the content of the book has been anecdotal stories about the daily life of a simple farmer. While interesting, this is definetly not a book that you just can't put down. And it's not supposed to be, either: because it was published just after the Revolutionary War, it is said by some to be the first real work of American literature. It is popular mainly for this reason, not because of gripping storylines or plot twists. But, if you're looking for an intriguing peek into early America, you should give Letters a try. It can be read for free online, thanks to sources such as Yale Law School's Avalon Project.

So I finally gave in to the hype and purchased a pair of Crocs. Having been touted as "the most comfortable shoe ever," I just had to give them a try. Let me tell you, they do not disappoint. They are well-ventilated, resilient and, most of all, make you feel like you are walking on air. Great for traveling long distances or just for wearing around the house.

         

There are so many ways to interface with Twitter besides using the actual website, that I though I'd give a little summation of those I've tried and what is (surprisingly) my favorite way to tweet.

• Iconfactory's Twitterific is probably the favorite client of most Mac users. It boasts a slick design and is fairly unobtrusive, waiting patiently in the menu bar until it is called up (or until someone you follow posts a new tweet). For some reason, I kept getting an error message saying that I was sending too many requests to Twitter, but I have a feeling this was due to one of those rough patches in uptime that the site has been having recently. Overall, this is the most functional and nice-looking client I have used.
• Ben Ward's micro-app, Twitgit, lives on the Mac Dashboard. It is even easier to use than the actual Twitter website; all it allows for is seeing your friends' most recent tweets and posting your own. For a small and super-simple client, it is definitely the way to go.
• Finally, Hans Engel's TwitKit Firefox extension provides for easy Twittering from everyone's favorite web browser. TwitKit opens a sidebar which looks like a condensed version of your Twitter homepage, complete with "@ replies" and the public timeline. In terms of browser-based Twittering, TwitKit is the ticket.

But what is my absolute favorite way to Twitter? Why, it's the regular web interface. I find that after using client after client, I just keep coming back to the website. It has something to do with having every available feature presented to you all at once, without going through a third party. I just really like the good old homepage.

Many thanks to the Posterous team for making Top of the Desk a featured blog on the Posterous home page! Since I started with Posterous I have had nothing but positive experiences. It is not only the innovative features that set Posterous apart from other blogging tools, but the fantastic customer service. Before Posterous I couldn't have imagined sending in a feature request and getting a response from a member of the product team literally within minutes. And nowhere else have I had team members comment on my posts, give me feedback and thank me for using their service! So, thanks very much to Posterous, and I am happy to be a featured blog.

Finding free, high-quality games for the Mac has always been somewhat of a challenge. So it comes as a surprise that some of the best free Mac games feature the two-tone mascot of another operating system. Tux the Linux Penguin is the star of what I believe to be some of the best cross-platform freeware games available. From SuperTuxKart to Extreme Tux Racer and my personal favorite, SuperTux, the beloved Arctic creature has made his way into many games since his inception as the Linux representative. So look no further than the Tux game franchies for free and well-made Mac games. A full list of the Tux games can be found in the penguin's Wikipedia article.