California (and other states) residents, no need to pay for an expensive service to Protect your Identity and Credit score You also do not need to pay anything for a credit report, and be aware freecreditreport.com is a scam which tricks you into paying monthly fees for a service you do not need. The only legit links to free credit reports are here.
Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS)
Eye strain is a BIG problem for computer users. If you are using any flavor of Linux and a graphical desktop like Gnome , KDE or your other favorite, you can use the simple script below to remind you to look up and focus on a distant object for a few seconds every 15 minutes. This practice is one recommendation to help alleviate Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS) [not Concurrent Versioning System]. NOTE: Even th ough 15 minutes is recommended, I changed it to once an hour as it was proving too annoying.
# USE AT OWN RISK!!!
##############################################################
#!/bin/bash
# To prevent the script from running when not in an X session
# Uncomment the line below if you start your X session via the command startx
#ps auxwww | grep startx | grep -v grep 2>&1 >> /dev/null
# Else uncomment the line below if you boot your system into runlevel 5
#/sbin/runlevel | awk '{print $2}' | grep 5 2>&1 >> /dev/null
if [ $? -eq 0 ]
then
ps auxwww | grep zenity | grep -v grep 2>&1 >> /dev/null
if [ $? -ne 0 ]
then
zenity --info --text "Look up now!" --display=0:0 &
fi
fi
##############################################################
Copy and paste the script between the ### lines and save it to somewhere in your home directory. Set the perms chmod 700 and then add it to your personal crontab.
chmod 700 lookup.sh
crontab -e
2 * * * * /fullPathTo/lookup.sh
EZ Popup Reminders on Linux
If you are like me, you prefer a slimmed down system and use textual based interfaces whenever possible, such as mutt for your email client. Unfortunately, many others use Microsoft Outlook to set up meetings, etc., which means you have to figure out a method to remember times and dates for meetings. You could use a pencil and paper, of fire up some stupid GUI app just for this purpose, however here is an easy alternative. Use the (at) command and a simple shell script to create reminders which will pop up on your screen.
Let's say you have a meeting at 1:30pm on January 2, 2010, and want a reminder 1/2 hour early, here's how to create the reminder.
]$ at 1300 Jan 24 2010
#################### START Meeting Reminder Script #################
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at> echo "'Meeting in someones office' '1330'" | xargs /path/to/meeting-reminder.sh
at>
#!/bin/bash
kdialog --display 0:0 --title "Meeting Reminder" --passivepopup "$1 at $2" 3600
#################### END Meeting Reminder Script #################
Check out Greg Grasmehr's 1968 Plymouth Barracuda Convertible in 360 degree Quicktime VR.
