feedster search plugin for Mozilla Firebird

If you use Moz Firebird you'd probably agree that one of the coolest small features it has is the search box that is at the top-right. Built-in, that search box supports Google and a mozilla search engine of some sort that I've never used. Its workings are a bit opaque, but once you've got a handle on it it's not bad.

That box is in fact an easily extensible mechanism. Since I find myself depending on weblogs to find stuff that I want (and google is returning weblog results all over the place anyway) I spent a bit of time this morning creating a plugin for feedster search. So here it goes!

Steps to install:

• First, download the plugin ZIP file, which contains two tiny files, the plugin spec file (.src) and an icon that I cooked up since I couldn't find a feedster icon on the site (not that I spent too much time looking...)
• Then, go to the directory on which you've installed Firebird. In there you should find a subdirectory "searchplugins" uncompress the content of the ZIP file into there. You'll notice that the other options are also found with .src and .gif files for the icons in that directory.
• Restart Firebird.

And it's done! Now you can simply choose it by clicking (one left-click) on the icon of the search box. That pulls up a list of options, in which feedster should be one now. Choose it, and then search away!

PS: This is actually a format that Mozilla (the original) uses for search plugins--it might work on Mozilla too. Haven't tried it though. If anyone does try it, let me know the results.

MT spam killer

In the comments to the entry on Sunday where I was talking about comment-spam, mal posted a link (thanks!) to this solution for movable type. Looks pretty good---essentially equivalent to what Yahoo! and Hotmail and other do to ensure that accounts are not being registered by a bot. I've downloaded it but not yet installed it, since I'd have to rebuild all of the static pages with the comments section included. Something to do over the weekend...

no thought was put into this

Zapp Brannigan: "Captain's journal. Stardate 3000.3."

Kif: "Who are you talking to sir?"

Zapp: "You! Aren't you getting this? [Kif sighs and scurries to a typing machine. Zapp dictates.] We have detected a vessel attempting to brek the security cordon around Vergon 6. I'm anticipating an all-out tactical dogfight, followed by a light dinner. Ravioli, ham, sundae bar."

Such is Futurama's take on the Star Trek "log entries". Kinda like a weblog wasn't it? In concept at least. It wasn't really personal, and then the entries seemed to be logged at random dates. Plus by the time Kirk or Picard or whoever finished noting the date I was already lost (and why exactly would you need to say the date out loud if you're dictating into a computer!?).

I kinda feel like I should write something of the sort to account for the last few days. "Victory once again after our random encounter with the Borg in the Pentium Galaxy"... or something. Sheesh. So derivative. No-go on that one.

The other (was there a first?) thing I was wondering about this morning was where, exactly, did the week go. I mean, it's Thursday for crying out loud. There's a weird blur in my head, an IM-less, IRC-less, blog-less, or, in essence, Internet-less void that can't be easily explained. Well, okay, it can be explained... but the explanation is irrelevant.

What's this?

Information overload, is what this is. Compartimentalization doesn't help blogging. As it probably doesn't help anything. Except if you work for a three-letter agency or something. But hey, wait, I got a new complaint (was there an old complaint?): I analyze every second I exist. Why's that?

Our problem, it seems to me, is that we want answers when the questions where invalid in the first place. That ever-present streak of Western Philosophy can have its downsides.

Okay. Enough with the stream-of-consciousness thing---We now return to our regularly schedule programming. (guaranteed!)

PS: the person who can identify the three songs (two from the same band) referenced in this entry gets a free URL to a JPEG of Zapp Brannigan (guaranteed!)

PS2: [fine-print-type-low voice] (warning--nothing guaranteed).