Coverflow!

Things I learned today.

The Coverflow alt-tab behavior in Linux Mint even works when you’re playing a Windows game through WINE. I realize that is absolutely cryptic as mud, but I thought it was cool.

Linux Mint Debian Edition screenshot, showing a small window of Age of Empires II.

By “alt-tab,” I mean using Alt-Tab on the keyboard to switch between open applications on your computer. I used to use this in Windows all the time. I’d have Excel and Word open at the same time, I was working with documents in both, and I’d used Alt-Tab to go back and forth without resorting to the mouse.

I remember a time where I was showing someone how to do something at Diamond with one of the Microsoft Office programs, probably Word, and I was all keyboard, and the person had no idea that one could do anything like that from the keyboard. I keep thinking about learning Emacs, but its keyboard shortcuts are famously completely, wildly non-standard.

But, we learn by doing, the journey of a thousand miles begins with the smallest step, yadda yadda yadda.

Anyway, I thought the Alt-Tab coverflow with Age of Empires II looked pretty cool and wanted to share. The fun thing was watching the lumberjacks chop wood while I held the Alt-Tab keys down.


In my Facebook memories today was a post I made three years ago today about something I had picked up at a Harrisburg Senators game a few days earlier — a plaque dedicated to the late PA announcer, Chris Andree.

Box of the Chris Andree plaque sitting on my desk at Diamond

It was a good post, and I’m not sure why I didn’t post it here to the blog, so I retroactively added it to the archives. (I went through a period where WordPress and the Vivaldi browser were not playing nicely together, so it may have been then.) It’s worth checking out.

This plaque was the first thing I brought home from the office, even before I started packing things up. With the bankruptcy, I was concerned that we would shut down operations immediately — I’d come in one day and find the key card deactivated and the office chained shut — and if there were anything I would take it would be that.

I can’t really articulate why. I didn’t know Andree, and the tone of his voice is fading from memory as the years pass. I deemed it the most important thing in the office, and that was all that mattered.


My cardiologist appointment was postponed again. I’m not terribly worried. I saw the write-up of my echo in June, and my blood pressure tracking has been good.

Hopefully I’ll have a new job by then and less stress and worry in my life.

Published by Allyn Gibson

A writer, editor, journalist, sometimes coder, occasional historian, and all-around scholar, Allyn Gibson is the writer for Diamond Comic Distributors' monthly PREVIEWS catalog, used by comic book shops and throughout the comics industry, and the editor for its monthly order forms. In his over fifteen years in the industry, Allyn has interviewed comics creators and pop culture celebrities, covered conventions, analyzed industry revenue trends, and written copy for comics, toys, and other pop culture merchandise. Allyn is also known for his short fiction (including the Star Trek story "Make-Believe,"the Doctor Who short story "The Spindle of Necessity," and the ReDeus story "The Ginger Kid"). Allyn has been blogging regularly with WordPress since 2004.

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