As often is the case, when I do a reload, I end up finding some new, neat utilities to load onto my computer.  I wanted to point out a couple that I recently discovered.

I’m a big fan of using spaces, even with having a multiple monitor setup.  I like tossing programs that I don’t need to look at all of the time off to other spaces, allowing me to switch to them w/o having to dig through the windows piled up on my desktop.  TotalSpaces make managing OSX spaces even easier, and has lot of nice features that aren’t stock.  My favorite is the grid view, being able to see all of the spaces and programs at once, and even be able to drag programs between spaces quickly and easily.

The other is Bartender.  I rather like iStat Menus for monitoring my system, but those monitors do take up space on the menubar, and that along with the other various programs using the menubar, it makes for a lot of clutter.  Bartender allows me to have a sub-menubar, so I can toss most of the items into the sub-menubar, cleaning up the looks of the main menubar, but allowing me to access the programs rather quickly.  Very nice.

I’ve been using it quite a while, but I think one of the best overall OSX utilities is still Hazel.  Perfect for creating rules for managing files automatically, and also has a nice app cleaner built in.  It’s like a 2 for 1 utility.

 

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It’s time to start the winter beard, but for something different this year, I decided to start from a clean shave.  Feels sort of strange, and I’ve gotten tons of comments on the facebook photo I posted.  For many people, it’s the first time they’ve seen me clean shaven (and perhaps now understand why I keep my face hidden).  It’s probably been 10 years since I’ve totally shaved.

But, it won’t last for long.  I’ll easily have a full beard in a few weeks, and by the end of the month, the clean shaven face will be a thing of the past once again.

The start of Mowvemnber

The Jeep LJ came with a soft top, and Marty and I did a took the top down as soon as the weather was suitable, to make sure we had the process down pat, and that everything was kosher with the top.  No major issues, but the top had seen a few trips thru the weather cycles of Michigan, and were starting to show it’s age.  A couple of seams were starting to come close to opening, and the zippers had seen better days.

I had been doing research on replacement tops since I had got the jeep in the fall.  Most were replacements for the OEM top, using the same hardware.  There were some other options also, but most didn’t work on the LJ.  Then I heard some rumors that Rampage was going to be releasing a LJ version of their Frameless Top in the spring.  As I saved my pennies for the new top, I kept my eyes open for new information.

Well come May, they released the top.  I had the money soon after, and shopped around for the best price.  Between the two main jeep product vendors, one had better pricing with high shipping, and the other had lower pricing with high shipping.  I was able to get the first vendor, 4wd.com to match the price with the same shipping.

Of course, as soon as I got the top, the temps dropped, and it was too cool to attempt to swap out the top (They recommend putting the top on the first time that it be at least 70 out, so that the top will stretch out nicely)  But, early the next week, the temps went back up, and I swapped out the top after work.

Taking the old top and hardware off, and installing the new top, took me a little over a hour.  The two nice features about the top are that you lose the support hardware of the OEM top, and it’s very easy to remove the back and sides.  The top isn’t designed to completely come off or fold down, but you remove the back and sides and convert it to a Bimini type top.  The top extends from the windshield to the point where the roll bar starts to bend down toward the body in back.  The windshield rail and boor surrounds keep the front in line, and the back straps down to the rear seat belt brackets.  Sides and back zip in under the top, and seal with velcro.  There is a pocket between the inside and outside of the top, and you can stop the sides and back in a pocket when not in use.

We’ve been quite happy with the new top, and can remove/install the back/sides in 10-15 minutes.  I hope that I will continue to be as happy with the top as time goes on.  Rampage seems to have a good rep with their products (at least the TJ versions of the same top) so I hope my experience is the same.