Scott Grizzard – Personal Website

Here’s one in the “say what?” category…

I am proud to say that I have been Windows-free (booting directly on hardware for use as desktop for something other than using “one app”) for a year now , and off Windows as my primary system for two… first to Mac and then to Linux (I still use Mac on the laptop). I’ve come around to the position that largest barrier to Linux on the desktop is not usability, but Killer Apps that are not available for Linux, and lately, I have been thinking about the Windows applications that force me to pull up my VM or run Wine.

Of course there is World of Warcraft, Microsoft Office (just checking to make sure the export worked), iTunes (remember I have a Mac laptop), and Internet Explorer to check my sites. But, the application I run in Wine the most is an Open Source text editor, Notepad++. I’m not the only one; there are even instructions for running Notepad++ in Linux on the project’s FAQ’s.

Linux if full of great text editors, but none really “fill the shoes” of Notepad++. It is in that niche of text editors that go beyond “basic”, but don’t have all the bloat and complexity of a full integrated development environment. On Linux, there is Kate, Gedit, Geany, and a whole bunch of others in that same category, but none of them quite match up.

Granted, much of this is the fact that I am “just used to” Notepad++ – I have been using it since… 2004 I think…, and I have loved it since then. But more than familiarity, there are some things it does that no one text editor for Linux does, and that is why I Wine it.

• Advanced Find & Replace that includes regular expressions, line endings, and can search entire directories for strings in files.
• Macros Macros Macros. It lets you record Macros for repetitive tasks.
• Good “Large-File” handling – some editors choke when you give it a 25meg xml file.
• Spell checker (it’s a plugin).
• Plugin support in general.
• Easy to set up custom syntax highlighting.
• Support for Windows line endings.
• Support for Windows Batch Files (yes, some of us have to write .bat files for Windows clients).
• Color code printing – the syntax highlighting prints.
• TextFX – think of all those annoying Search&Replaces you are always doing, like inserting back slashes in front of quote marks – that’s what TextFX does, on steroids. All the things that you do in Tidy, plus a little more, right on the menu bar.
• Block comment/uncomment in several languages.
• Tabs
• Auto-complete

Geany comes closest, and it does several things (like version control system interaction – I really love that) that Notepad++ doesn’t do. It’s not that one is better than the other, in fact, I think they are at about the same level, but they’re different. I find myself using Geany more and more, and Notepad++ in Wine less and less, as I get used to Geany, but for those few things it won’t do…

I don’t think a port to Linux is necessary – the stuff that Geany won’t do, Notepad++ will do in Wine. Notepad++’s strongest feature is it’s fast run speed in Windows, and that is something that won’t translate as well to a new OS. The rest of the items could be added as plug-ins to Geany.

I’m not advocating anything, and I really don’t have a point; I’m just saying the application I launch in Wine the most often is an Open Source Text Editor, and I thought it was a little odd.

In Tampa, we have this new (about two years now) Greenwise Publix.  It is full of organic food, and is a bit more expensive than other stores.  People that know me know that I am one of the last people to be advocating a “Green” lifestyle, and they ask me why I shop there.  When I say, “it is more convenient”, they don’t believe me, and point to the organic cat food I bought (since they also sell regular, non organic cat food) as evidence that I have gone whacked.  So, to put these questions to an end, I am going to explain myself.

1. My cat throws up anything with the common cat food additives, the organic stuff is cheaper than the “sensitive stomach” stuff he won’t throw up, and he likes the organic better than the “sensitive stomach” food to boot.  It took me a while to figure this out, but he can’t eat anything with canned fish (even canned tuna for humans), any of the paté cat foods, any of the “mixed” canned cat foods like “Turkey and Cheese”, or most regular dry cat food.  He will sometimes throw up the shredded canned chicken and steak, but he can usually eat it.  He never throws up fresh chicken and fresh steak.  So yes, I buy the organic cat food.
2. Other organic food I eat (will pay money to buy the organic over the regular).
   • Organic Milk – I am of the opinion (and other people agree with me) that organic milk tastes better.  To me, it tastes like you are getting “one grade up” when you buy it – i.e., skim tastes like 1%, 2% tastes like whole, and whole tastes like half & half.  It may be that the “skimming” process is simply less effective, and that is why it tastes better, but I like the illusion that I am eating something healthier. To review: I think it tastes better.
   • Organic Ketchup – I think the Greenwise (and only Greenwise) generic organic ketchup tastes better than all of the others. I think it is a little sweeter, and it costs the same as Heinz, which is the only other ketchup I like (but not as much). I think the agave ketchup tastes horrible, and I will eat my fries straight if that agave stuff is the only thing on the table. The only organic ketchup I buy is the Greenwise brand; to review: I think it tastes better (and is the same price).
   • Organic Whey Protien – I don’t remember the brand, but it is the only whey protein that Greenwise sells in packs, and I like the taste of that one. I tried a big can of some other brands, but I didn’t like the way they tasted. To review: I think it tastes better.

   That’s it, end of list. If you see me buy anything else that’s organic, it is either (a) on sale, or (b) the only one on the shelf at Greenwise.

3. Greenwise has covered parking. What a great idea! In Florida, where it thunderstorms every afternoon in the summer, have a covered parking garage above the store, so customers don’t get rained on/struck by lightning.
4. The service is better. Greenwise has a higher associate to customer ratio, so you can usually find someone to help you, and you don’t have to wait as long in line to checkout. However, you are paying for that extra service.
5. It is down the street from The Dubliner, which makes it a destination on its own.

I don’t buy all of my food at Greenwise, but when it’s raining, I run in there for stuff on my way home. While I am there, I buy the stuff I always get there: organic cat food, organic ketchup, and organic milk. I have not gone “pinko-green” (talk about a mixed metaphor), so those of you that bring up my Greenwise shopping habits, now you know why.

I believe in the free market to provide great goods and services, and the organic foods and the Greenwise stores are a great example why: we shouldn’t force people to adopt our attitudes about food (like the Europeans do), but the market will produce a variety of products for a variety of tastes. Some people can be religious and buy only organic food, some people can be thrifty and only shop at big-box stores for the cheapest products, and some people can be like me – balancing cost and taste to purchase the product bundle that gives us the most satisfaction.

PS: Organic beer (beer marketed as “organic”) tastes like (insert “more colorful metaphor” here).

PPS: Now I’m hungry; and it’s raining – I am heading to Greenwise.