Xmonad is a tiling window manager that wastes neither time nor screen real estate. It does away with decorations, giving windows the space they need, but no more. The learning curve is a steep eight commands or so.

This tutorial should get you up to speed quickly with Xmonad on Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala.

You will be changing your window manager, which is a major part of your graphical user interface, where it’s far easier to get yourself into a mess than get yourself out. If that scares you or loosing all your data doesn’t sound like fun, then this may not be for you.

You may want to download the config files and read through the entire tutorial first. If you lack the luxury of two computers, I recommend printing this page out. Remember Ctrl-Alt-F1 through F6 are your terminal friends.

Get Xmonad 0.9

$ sudo add-apt-repository ppa:justinbogner/ppa
$ sudo apt-get update
$ sudo apt-get install xmonad libghc6-xmonad-dev libghc6-xmonad-contrib-dev dwm-tools feh

Set the Gnome window manager

Set to xmonad after printing the old windowmanager:
$ gconftool-2 -g /desktop/gnome/session/required_components/windowmanager
$ gconftool-2 -s /desktop/gnome/session/required_components/windowmanager xmonad --type string

Karmic Koala comes preinstalled with a /usr/share/applications/xmonad.desktop file that should work just fine, though Haskellwiki recommends that X-GNOME-Autostart-Notify is set to false (I’ve noticed no difference either way).

Xmonad.start

You will have to change a single line of a different xmonad.desktop file. The Exec in /usr/share/xsessions/xmonad.desktop must be xmonad.start rather than just xmonad. Download this file or make the Exec change manually.

Download /usr/local/bin/xmonad.start and make sure it is executable.
$ sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/xmonad.start

Xmonad config header

Download and by all means customize ~/.xmonad/xmonad.hs . I changed the mod key from Left-Alt to the Left-Win key (mod4Mask).

Be sure to compile/link the header with:
$ ghci ~/.xmonad/xmonad.hs

If all runs OK, you can quit with a preceding colon:
Prelude Main> :quit

Xmobar

Download the optional ~/.xmobarrc for Xmobar (a text based quick launcher with other candy).

Finishing touches

I killed the default Ubuntu bottom panel (right click ‘Delete this panel’) because Xmonad has it’s own workspaces, makes the taskbar redundant, and makes cleaning the desktop unnecessary. Further I hide the top panel (right click “Properties” autohide) so that full screen lives up to the name.

You may get away with logging into a Gnome session, otherwise, set Session to XMonad (under the login prompt). Though the latter is probably optimal, it does require you to set your background image again, if you so desire. Just uncomment and modify the “feh --bg-scale” line of /usr/local/bin/xmonad.start.

Necessary reading

The configuration above is a mix and match from these four pages and my own seasonings.

I highly recommend this short tutorial (note that my configuration uses the Left-Win mod key rather than Alt mod key). Ten minutes later, you can check out the tiny manual.

These are photos from Nuuk between mid January and mid February, 2010. They are not in chronological order; Rather, they are generally set from north to south, and morning to evening — roughly my walk to the office (when I’ve remembered to take my camera) — where I hope to work, if I ever get a visa.

Click on any image for the original high res. The theme is sortta ‘color’. Sans green. Sans Loulou. Sans icebergs, Sermitsiaq, people, mutilated sea food, northern lights, architecture, winter laundry, sans lots of things.

This is the entrance to the cemetery on the north side of Nuuk. It has a gorgeous view into the fjord and out toward Sermitsiaq (about half of all my pictures are of this handsome mountain – I’ve managed to cut him out of this collection). Facing south. The University is to the left.

Of all the flags of the world, I think Greenland has the coolest. Erfalasorput, as it is known, represents the setting (or rising) sun reflected on the sea (or ice). To me, it also represents the year, half in darkness, half in light. Or the sun and moon just skimming along the horizon as it does further south, like here in Nuuk. The flag is something of a compromise between the colonial power’s Dannebrog (a white on red cross) and a new direction (a circle). Perhaps it is a nation divided between Denmark and independence. Despite the Bohemian similarities, I doubt Japan, Monaco, or Poland influenced the design. (first day in Nuuk, 9/1)

This is just before midday 10 January. It was taken from the little hill across the street from where I take Loulou to watch the northern lights and stare at the stars or into the fjord. Behind me is Sermitsiaq and the cemetery in the photo above. There is a ski trail passing through the cemetery and continues around this hill to the right. (next day, 10/1)

North of Nuuk during my first iceberg hunt. (three weeks later, 30/1)

North of Nuuk, facing northeast into the fjord. (same day, 30/1)

North end of Nuuk, afternoon in the University parking lot. Facing north. The cemetery is to the left. (few days later, 1/2)

Odd cloud over Sermitsiaq, facing north. The cemetery is behind the hill and University is ahead to the right. My house is behind and to the right. The ski trail is to the left. (few days earlier, 27/1)

Ski trail in the neighborhood. There is a tunnel behind me. (week earlier, 20/1)

Morning colours. Next morning, a bit earlier. (next day, 21/1)

Just off the ski trail. The tunnel is to the right. (minutes later, 21/1)

Another tunnel ahead to the west, though I’ve never been through it. Our morning commute continues to the left. (minutes later, 21/1)

Taken above 400m-vej toward Stor Malene. Morning, facing east. (week later, 1/2)

The view on my morning walk with Loulou, about 2/3 the way to the office. (two weeks earlier, 15/1)

View from 400m-vej, which is a strange name because it’s more like 4km long and not quite 400m high. Facing southeast. This was taken roughly the same time of day as the photo above, but one week later. Day light is growing quickly. (week later, 21/1)

View from 400m-vej facing east. There is a sunken ship just below the cliff, but I’ve never gotten the shot right. (seconds later, 21/1)

I’m not sure which is the real sun and which is the dog. The office is below the ‘right sun’ and to the left and behind the plume of smoke. In February, I bump into the same guy on these steps each morning. (week earlier, 15/1)

Taken near the office on a long and steep staircase leading to the old harbour. There’s an old dude who sits higher up on the steps each morning, smoking a cigarette, perhaps contemplating whether to take the boat out that day. (day before, 14/1)

After a rain storm. I’ve been told rain is unusual in January – as were the snow storms in Denmark. (two weeks later, 28/1)

View of the docks after rain. (moments later, 28/1)

Halfway between the stairs (left) and the office (right). (two weeks earlier, 15/1)

This iceberg reminds me of Tashi. Doesn’t it look like a terrier swimming away from us? Saturday at noon from Kolonihavn, south side of town facing SE. (week later, 23/1)

Afternoon walk by the office, near a shooting range facing south. (few days later, 25/1)

Some contrast next day roughly the same place as above. (next day, 26/1)

Sunset by the office. Different patterns in the sky in all directions (week later, 4/2)

Sunset by the office (moments later, 4/2)

(same evening, 4/2)

(same evening, 4/2)

View from Lille Malene, facing southwest. (few days later, 7/2)

Morning near the shooting range. Facing southeast. (next day, 8/2)

The shooting range (above photo) is that furthest little peninsula on the right, this side of the fjord. (evening, same day, 8/2)

Down the left from where the above photo was taken. Facing south. (minutes later, 8/2)

View to the left (east). This is where I like to sit and breathe. (same day, 8/2)

(minutes later, 8/2)

This is my meditation spot, while Loulou wanders around. (week later, 15/2)

Once upon a time, long long ago, a fluffy snow flake fell gracefully from the heavens and landed softly somewhere on the ice sheet of Greenland.

Inevitably, more snow fell on top of him. And more snow, and more snow. He was happy to have so many friends. It was crowded but cozy. And day after day, year by year, millennium upon millennium, more snowy friends piled on top in suffocating layers of love.

So great was their bond, under their three kilometer deep weight, that they fused into dense crystals of ice. Together they oozed slowly toward the ocean for thousands of years over hundreds of kilometers, until one day.

Crack! A chunk of ice the size of a house crashed into the sea. Then began their majestic journey as a fresh water iceberg drifting along wind and current through the fjord.

This glorious sapphire of pure frozen water danced and mingled among other icebergs. Occasionally she scraped the sea floor or was bashed into unforgiving cliffs.

One day, when she landed upon some rocks and the tide receded she was met by an unsympathetic and disrespectful Antimetheus.

He tipped her and kicked her and smashed her into pieces. He stuffed her heart, 40 kilos of ancient transparent blood, into his backpack.

And with his dog, he carried her core to his home where he boiled her and steeped her with tea.

For he believed no better tea has been tasted, but that which comes from the Pleistocene.

[ These images are heavily cropped, click any above to view the full high res version. ] [ The fridge is filled with glass jars and plastic bottles, the freezer has a nice chunk, and a slightly iridescent but otherwise perfectly transparent ice cube is perpetually bobbing in a cauldron on the stove. ]

It’s often handy to use Windows Explorer to find a directory, but then launch a shell to do real work. Here’s a script to add an “Open Cygwin Bash here” menu item to Explorer. This feature works when right-clicking on directory links, background, and drives, for dos cmd, cygwin bash, and powershell:

Download the following file (open_shell_here.reg). Open it with Notepad. Modify the paths such as “d:\\cygwin\\bin\\bash.exe” and “C:\\Windows\\system32\\WindowsPowerShell\\v1.0\\powershell.exe”. When the paths and command strings are as you like, save and exit. Run it with ‘Registry Editor’.

Verified on Windows 7 only. Thanks to André Burgaud and Joel Spadin

Halfdan Rasmussen – Stilheden

Jeg er stilheden. Jer er den lyttende grav.
Den talende død, som tålmodigt og uden krav
byder dit øre at lytte, dit øje at se.
Jeg er stilheden. Jeg er det lydløse tog
af tøvende ord, som tegn i et renere sprog
end det dine læber har talt. Jeg er ordenes sne.

Jeg er en tåge af vigende tegn i det blik
som ydmyg bevæger dit hjerte og lader musik
tone i det som er fjernt og alligevel nær.
Jeg er den ordløse fabel lagt ind i et tegn:
Spirende frøkorn. En stjerne. Syrener i regn.
Alt hvad du bare kan dele med en du har kær.
Træernes løv er min mund når det drivende rum
ånder i fuglenes vinger og havenes skum.
Gravenes stilnede hjerte blev stilhed i mit.
Blind er jeg født. Men jeg ser med hvert øje der ser.
Døv var jeg altid. Men lydhør når skumringen sner
over de usagte ord og de tøvende skridt.

Søger du mig så du søge mig nænsomt og tyst
nær ved den vuggende ild i menneskets bryst.
Jager du mig går du vild i de vejløse skove.
Ingen har strejfet mit hjerte med skygger af ord.
Kun døden har kendt mig. Og trygt skal de hjemfaldne sove. Ingen
har fulgt mig herud hvor det tidløse bor.