dots and loops

For years now I've been using and managing my Linux server over a SSH connection. Indeed, this entire website was coded up using vim over SSH. In the beginning Unix machines were primarily accessed via teletypewriter (tty's) and CRT terminals connected through a serial connection, and this tradition lives on in the plethora of terminal/console applications for *nix systems (unlike Windows systems, which are virtually impossible to administer from a console alone). So, I've been managing my Debian and Ubuntu systems for years now without ever firing up an X server, happily reading my mail with the proud but austere mutt, seeking tech advice on freenode using the ever clever irssi, haunting the occasional programming news group via the enigmatic but flexible slrn, and more recently downloading *nix ISO's over bittorrent with rTorrent. All managed with the indispensable terminal multiplexer screen, which is essentially a window manager for terminals, with the added goodness of letting you disconnect and reconnect to sessions.
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This is apparently one of the best console (ncurses) bittorrent clients for *nix systems. I've been meaning to switch over to a *nix/console bittorrent client for a while now, so I don't have to leave my Windows machine running all night when downloading torrents. uTorrent is such a sophisticated and easy to use client that I've been reluctant to change, but I think with this client I will finally make the switch.

Now, if only it was possible to detach and reattach XDMCP sessions (like you can RDP sessions), then maybe I'd go with a graphical client. Something clumsily approximating remote desktop's "resummability" can be accomplished in VNC, but I'm just not convinced.

• RTorrentUserGuide - The libTorrent and rTorrent Project - Trac
  The indispensable rTorrent user guide.
• polishlinux.org » rTorrent — console P2P!
  Here are a couple of nice screen shots explaining rTorrent's window.
• Howto: Use rtorrent like a pro « Motho ke motho ka botho
• wTorrent - Trac
  You can even use it with a web front end.

MP3ext is a nifty freeware shell extension that adds all sorts of useful info to the Explorer properties page for mp3 files, including ID3 tags, bitrate, and other cool beans. No more having to start up winamp simply to determine the bitrate or artist for an mp3 file.

I was sitting hunched and spindly at my computer tonight pondering font clash, tracking and kerning, when something suddenly occurred to me… I am seriously deranged when it comes to fonts.

Simply put, I spend entirely too much time thinking about fonts. I can't tell you the number of times I've changed the title font on this site, and the body font. About the only thing I've been happy with is the beautiful but strong, perfectly smooth and solid curves of the Frutiger font that is used in my banner (now changed). Now there's a font for you.
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