Plea

Among tens of thousands of shaved heads
I am also one, pleading to god
To take ‘that’ off my mind, and my life.
Should I say I want him to ignore the plea?

Internet Explorer woes

I wrote sometime back that I was trying out IE8 Beta .  Well, I've paid the price of doing such a stupid thing, I guess.  I have some adware installed on my machine which does a lot of things, including promoting some Yoog search engine.  Like a sane Windoze user, now I am saying adios again to IE in favour of sexy Chrome :)

Firefox Customizaton

Like most users of current time, I spend most of my time on Firefox, my web browser.  Though I have a number of complaints about Firefox and waiting for the day Chrome is released for Linux, I must say that I love the customizability of Firefox.  In this post I am going to show how I have set up my Firefox.

Extensions
I have installed the following extensions that make my life easy:

• Chickenfoot: for automating some really boring tasks (e.g. logging into my Citibank account)
• Context Search: I can search any text found in a web page using any of my search engines with a few mouse clicks.
• DownThemAll: A nice download manager for Firefox.
• Firebug: The awesome JavaScript debugger/developer tool for Firefox.
• Flashblock: Flash is almost always a pain.  It slows down Firefox if it doesn't crash the browser.  With Flashblock, I can choose to run only those Flash movies that I trust/need.
• Google Gears: For using Google products offline, including Gmail and Docs.
• Google Toolbar: For easy access to Google Search, Google Bookmarks, etc.
• Konquefox: This extension provides a "Clear Addressbar" button that makes typing new addresses easier in Firefox for Linux.
• No Squint: After installing this extension, my life is much better.  If you would increase the font size when you read text from web pages, this is a must-try for you.
• NumExt: Provides easy access to tabs by shortcut keys.
• Stylish: Use custom style sheets for web sites.  If not for anything else, I use it to change Gmail's ugly Arial to Verdana, which is easier on my eyes.
• Tab Mix Plus: Way too many customization options with Firefox tabs.  One of the essentials for me, can't live without it :)
• URL Link: Just too lazy to copy-paste URLs and don't like auto-linking.

Toolbar Organization
I have rearranged all the buttons and other controls I'd need in only two rows.  Here is a screenshot of my typical toolbar arrangement (click on the image to see it in original size).

This may not be one of the best or easy-to-use arrangement.  All the controls are crammed into the available space and I know this may not be suitable for many people.  But this works for me, so I like it this way :)

I hate it

I was madly in love with you.
My friends called me mad.
I hated it then.

Later, I eloped with you.
Everyone called me crazy.
I hated it then.

Now I'm here all alone.
No one is calling me anything.
I hate it now, too.

How to walk with an elbow crutch?

When you have to use an elbow crutch, ideally a physiotherapist should teach you how to use it.  However, sometimes you may have to learn it yourself (like I did now).  Since there isn't much information available online, I thought I'd post a HowTo.  Remember that I am in no way authorized to write about this; I am writing whatever I learned by myself.

Hold the crutch on the hand opposite to the weak/broken leg.  I have a fracture in my left leg, so I am holding the crutch with my right hand.  (Ensure that the crutch is of the right height; you should be able adjust its height to suit you.)  Move the crutch and your weak leg forward.  Applying pressure on your weak leg and the crutch, move the other leg forward.  That's pretty much it.

I made two mistakes.  I walked too fast.  My knee started hurting after some time; so now I'm taking it easy and slow.  I kept looking down as I walked.  For some strange reason I don't understand, looking straight makes walking easier.  Hope this helps.  Wish you a speedy rehabilitation :)

Update (Feb 9, 2009): I learned a couple more things today.  Breathing smoothly makes the walk less tiring.  Holding onto objects (like tables, etc.) for support is very good, but not if it would take away your confidence when you have to leave them behind.  Look carefully if your mind says "oh my god" when you leave such a supporting object.  Confidence is very important than anything else.

Unfair

Atmosphere gives me oxygen,
I give it back carbon-dioxide.

Earth gives me food,
I give it back shit.

I shower my love on you,
I won't cry for what I get back.