How to install intrepid ibex theme in hardy heron

This is a short guide to help you install the latest alpha build theme from intrepid ibex within hardy heron. this will not install the full intrepid ibex alpha on your machine. (instructions on how to set up the cube effect pictured can be found here)

To do this, we need to update your apt sources.list file. this can be done two ways, thru terminal or thru the gui.

Terminal install instructions:

cut and paste each line in terminal:

sudo gedit /etc/apt/sources.list 

scroll to the bottom of the file and add these two lines, each on their own line:

deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/kwwii/ubuntu hardy main
deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/kwwii/ubuntu hardy main

Now type within terminal:

sudo apt-get update

You will be prompted to download the theme files. restart the machine, and enjoy the intrepid ibex theme.

Gui install instructions:

Start the software sources app by clicking from your System>Administration>Software Sources menu. Select the third party software tab (pictured).
Click 'Add'. Then paste:

deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/kwwii/ubuntu hardy main

Click 'Add Source'. Click 'Add' again and paste:

deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/kwwii/ubuntu hardy main

Click 'Add Source'. Click 'Close'.

You will be prompted that your software packages are out of date. Just click thru the prompts to accept the update. Restart your machine. Enjoy your new theme.


For some reason the New human skin does not automatically start, even though your colors will have been modified. You can change it by clicking System>Preferences>Appearance (pictured) Select the 'custom' theme (it should automatically be selected). Click Customize. Select the window border tab. Select 'NewHuman' (pictured) Close and accept all windows. Enjoy.

(the background I used can be downloaded here.

WorldWide Telescope

Microsoft research just released a beta of its WorldWide Telescope program. Its absolutely amazing if you're at all interested in astronomy. It reminds me of Star trek, where they have an "astrometrics lab" which they could use to view various parts of the galaxy, the holy grail of astronomers everywhere. Once you download the program to your computer, and with a fast enough computer and connection, you can view the solar system in a way that feels very fluid, quick, and natural. So many other programs, while informative, feel unnatural when you use them. They don't feel like you're gazing out into the heavens, they feel like you're staring at a poster thru a needle. When viewing objects within solar system, it gives an exact place of the object in the sky, and it even has subtle shakes, which make it feel as though you're really looking thru a real telescope. I especially like the ability to right click an object to gain more astrological data on the object's position, and if you click "research", follow the menus deep enough, you can view that object's wikipedia entry. Its that sort of integration that make tools like this truly useful. You can configure the view to reflect your position on the earth, and even integrate with an external telescope. The menu system seems to borrow from MS Word 2008's ribbon menu system, which can be non-intuitive to people who are used to normal menu systems. I think that it is more intuitive to non-experienced users. I suggest trying the option to view the panoramics from various moons and planets, i especially like the guided tours function, which feels like your own personal planetarium show. You can download the WorldWide Telescope program by clicking here. Its very similar to google's recent addition of sky to its Earth program. WorldWide Telescope is a beta, and I've seen a few programing flaws in just the little time I've used it, but its still interesting and worth the time to try. Unfortunately, it runs on windows only, being a Microsoft program. I look forward to seeing this out of beta, and on a projection screen and gesture-based interface, this has the potential to become that coveted "astrometrics lab".

Baby bird nest in the front yard

Theres a baby bird nest in my front yard, in a hanging plant below the deck. Here are a few pictures and a video of them a few minutes ago. They are 2 days old. There are 3 of them, and Im not sure if the extra egg in the nest is unhatched, or just a large chunk of egg the parents haven't removed yet. In the video, i accidentally bumped the plant hanger with the camera, and you can see one of the birds open wide, hoping for a meal. Ill try and update this post with video and pictures of their progress.
Edit: The forth egg hatched.