Ommwriter – First impressions

So this post is written in Ommwriter.  A minimalistic word processor that is meant to free up the writers creativity by removing the distractions that clutter the screen of a regular word processor.  I’m going to use it now to write my first impressions.

I do like how the screen is taken over by the software.  If you leave your mouse alone (and really you should, you’re here to type, not wriggle around the screen)  the menu bar, and options around the text area fade away leaving nothing but a blank canvas for your words.  Even the borders of the sizable text section fade out, giving no visual limits to your typing space.  In addition, the software prevents you from accessing other windows, masking the taskbar and hiding away the minimize and exit options in the fade-awaymenu and sidebar.  I found this kept me focused on the task in hand (writing this piffle) but did mean I had to scout a bit furtehr to find my screen and research quandries like how much the paid version costs.

Ommwriter with options visible - Screenshot added in WordPress NOT Ommwriter

The cursor is a blinking subscript underscore ( _ ) rather than the more normal flashing pipe ( | ), and it turns out that the software writers did this to remove the wall formed by the vertical cursor.  Not sure how much I’ve been stymied by a cursor before but we’ll see.

Now I am using the free version of the software, and it isavailable for both Mac OSx and Windows.  There is a paid for version which includes a few more themes and schemes, but functionally the two versions are identical. The paid version costs a non-threatening $4.11 with the potential to add a larger donation if you so wish, and a request that you end your price with a 1 to bring good fortune.

Oddly this is a word processor that makes noises all of its own, and the free version only has three themes for background music, and three typing sounds.  The typing sounds can be best described as:
1. A faint electric chirp.
2. Soft electric water droplets.
3. A hard clack sound, electric maracas?

The background music breaks down to:
1. Ambient chimes and plucks with a galloping coconut shell horse in the distance.
2. Classical chimes, with more than a passing nod to a temple bell.
3. Deeper and almost discordant electronic organ sounds.  This is sometimes a bit menacing, but then lifts itself out again.

With all the music the variations seem random, which some may find pleasant and I can think of a few musical friends it will drive crazy.  The good news is that both can be turned on or off easily, and I found myself rapidly switching off the typing sounds as I use a plastic Dell keyboard which makes plenty of clatter on its own. When using a near silent membrane keyboard I found the sounds were a reassuring confirmation of a keystrike, but since i find typing on a membrane keyboard a slow affair due to the wobbly nature of the keys and unpredictable pressure requirements I settled for turning off key sounds and enjoying the regular plastic chatter muted by my headphones. If you want the typing sound, definitely use headphones, otherwise the music works well through your usual speakers if your work environment is quiet.

All good things come in threes apparently, and the same is true of the background themes,
1. A gentle shade of grey with wintery trees in a snow scene at the footer.
2. Bright white, which is just a tad hard on the eyes (and also makes me sneeze with my current cold.)
3. A middling grey, which is probably ideal for working later in the evening; the type appears like eInk on a Nook or Kindle screen.

Overall I think I can see myself using Ommwriter every once in a while to jot down ideas in an uncluttered fashion.  It doesn’t have the formattingand publishing options of Microsoft Word or the like, but it does offer a simple space to work and a relatively small footprint.  The lack of spell check seems odd in this modern world, but also gives me the freedom to make mistakes, which is nice in its own right.  You can save your text to their OMM format (it’s a plain text file with a pretty extension), or to TXT.  You can also output directly to PDF but there is no “print” option to go directly to a printer

So if you want to write with something that feels a little more like a typewriter than a desktop publishing behmoth then give it a try.  With a price of FREE where can you go wrong?

Ommwriter can be found at http://www.ommwriter.com

Monterey Bay Fish Grotto, Tysons Corner – Review

Last night we went with friends for dinner to the Monterey Bay Fish Grotto in Tysons Corner, VA.  We’d been looking at this restaurant for a while, since every time we visit Tysons Galleria the blue glass overhang which houses part of the restaurant seating area has glowed above us enticingly.

The Ferravo

I was sat at the traffic lights in January and saw something so funny I almost fell out my car laughing.  Can you spot it?

Just in case your 10x magnification vision isn’t working, here is the source of my mirth.

Adding a Ferrari badge does magically make it "Not a Volvo"!

Yes, if you squint carefully you might just spot that that is a Ferrari logo, in luminous Ferrari yellow stuck just behind the front wheel arch of a black Volvo V40.

It does make you wonder what went through the owners mind:

You know what, my reliable lump of Swedish metal just isn’t sporty enough… If I stick these Ferrari logo stickers on it everybody will be impressed by my stylish, sporty ride!

Idiots!

Review – Burn Notice

I’m watching Burn Notice on USA Network.

The funny thing is that USA uses the tag line “Characters Welcome” but unfortunately in the case of this show we’re also looking for “Actors Wanted” and “Writers Wanted”.

We’ve all been there before where the show is so painfully bad that it is “good”.  This show is several steps beyond that point, passing straight through “Bad is Good” and back into WTF again.  I’ve never seen a show that contained so many completely unbelievable action set pieces with so little plot holding them together.

If you find you can’t wrestle your eyes and ears away from the networked car crash that is the show then you’ll find yourself looking on in shocked amazement as the romance between lead characters is displayed to you in 10 second soundbites written by someone who has possibly never spoken to another living person.

Pros

• The hilariously bad, occasionally dangerous, and just down right silly “Do It Yourself” guides to the action.  In this show alone, the lead male has lovingly talked us through:
  • Destroying a car’s engine block with thermite and a coffee can.
  • How to blow the lock on a fire-escape to make an entrance.
  • The importance of cloning cars properly.
  • How to armor plate a car with phone-books!

Cons

• The plots appear to have been written by a committee of Action B-movie fans via TXT message.
• The dialogue seems to have been written by the least efficient TXT messages from the committee.
• The unbelievable situations… just watch for a few minutes and you’ll see what I mean…
• The teasers for future episodes that occur in the frequent commercial breaks contain as much plot as the show itself, so watch them and save yourself the time!

Overall, I’ll be generous and give it 2/10 because the stunt work is well performed even if it isn’t well scripted.  If you’re a Brit and remember the occaisional flights of fancy (almost every week) in Ultimate Force, this is several million times worse.  I know it is drama, but this is ridiculous!

Kooza!

I’m running away to join the circus!

Laura and I are just back from experiencing an early Christmas present.  Laura had treated me to Tapis Rouge tickets to see the last performance of Kooza by Cirque du Soleil at the National Harbor.  The show was spectacular, and this production in a real “big top” temporary structure was just incredible.

Kooza under canvas at the National Harbor

The Tapis Rouge tickets meant that we had VIP parking, and with the National Harbor just 20 minutes away from our home in nortehrn Virginia it couldn’t have been easier to get to the venue.  Once there we entered the VIP lounge and enjoyed our complimentary glasses of wine and champagne as we toured the gift shop and nibbled at the selection of food available.  If only all theatre performances were as well catered.  Having grown up used to the scrum at the bar during the interval of RSC productions to be offered complimentary drinks before the show and during the interval, and having space to enjoy them was a huge surprise.

Then the show itself, the story of “the innocent” and his exploration of the world.  From a historical standpoint one can easily draw lines between this production and more classical Commedia dell’arte.  The King was the “vecchio” (the wize elder), his two clowns were the zanni (eccentric servants).  The Trickster was the controlling, puck-ish character, manipulating all of the others with his magical powers, and the Innocent was the everyman character, pulling us in to this magical world through his experiences.  There was even a “comic dog” role that would have fitted in well on the Elizabethan stage!

Even before the show had begun one of the clowns had managed to shower those of us in the front row with popcorn, and then played havoc with the mess with a leafblower!  The effect had us in stitches of laughter as he attempted to straighten our hair and dust us off with the leaf blower.

My favourite act was the contortionists, I cannot do justice to the beauty of their act here in words.  Just go and see the show!  Watching them was seeing the human form as liquid as they bent, flexed and lifted each other in ways that made your brain wonder how a body could bend so many different ways.  I would love to see the performance under x-rays to see how they can bend and move as they do without falling apart, or snapping their spines.  Magical, and definitely the highlight of an amazing first half.

Also in this half we saw a large display of clowning acrobatics, some brilliant trapeze work, and the finished off with some brilliant highwire work, culminating in two gentlement riding bicycles on the highest wire, some 30 feet above the stage, whilst carry ing a bar on their shoulders on which was balanced a chair supporting a 3rd gentleman standing precariously some 40 feet above the stage!

In the second half, the “Wheel of Death” was dropped from the top of the tent and two brilliant gymnasts worked the wheels.  If you’ve never seen this act performed get yourself to a Cirque show and see it, it is an awe inspiring sight.  This was the last performance of the run in D.C. and I think the excitement and enjoyment of the moment had got to the cast as during this act there were two moments when the man on the outside of the wheel slipped or stumbled from a trick and had to grab on.  Truely amazing to behold. As were the unicycle duo, who managed more dancing on one wheel than I can manage on 2 feet.

What a brilliant Christmas present, and what an absolutely marvelous show.  Thanks Laura :*