Pomodoro Timer
Written by: James Climer (http://www.climers.com)

• Pomodoro.exe (Recommended)
• Source code
• Promodoro Worksheet (Excel .xls spreadsheet that I use as a template)

I've decided to start using the Pomodoro technique in hopes of making better use of my time.  After trying it out for a couple of days I've found it actually helps quite a bit in getting stuff done.  I decided to make a little timer for windows because I couldn't find a simple one to download (at least not from a site that I trust).

The Pomodoro Technique™ was developed by Francesco Cirillo and can be found online at http://www.pomodorotechnique.com/.  The Pomodoro Timer is a Microsoft Windows Application written in .NET (3.0 Framework) to be used with the Pomodoro technique as a tool to help track time.  It is a very simple application but serves its purpose well.  The time and audio can be configured via the Promodoro.exe.config file included with the application.  The config file also includes instructions in the comments to help make these modifications. 

I hope you enjoy this tool and that it helps you make better use of your time.

-James

We've lived in our house about two months at the time of this blog entry.  About three weeks ago, as I walked out in the garage I heard a rustling at the bottom of a shelf where we keep the dog food.  I stood watching the area, waiting to see what it was, when a cute little rat poked his head around the corner.  In a panic it quickly turned 180 degrees revealing the length of it's body and tale (about a mid-sized rat I would say) and disappeared between the wall and the shelves.

Grossed out, and a little concerned for any food we might be storing, I went to the store and bought a traditional rat trap.  Like the instructions suggested, I baited it with peanut butter.  For about two and a half weeks there was no sign of the rat.  The bait was left untouched.  I assumed that perhaps we had left the garage door open and the rat came in for only a night.

And then the dog food ran out.  I had all but forgotten about the rat when in the middle of the night my wife wakes me to go into the kitchen to investigate a noise.  There was the sound of scratching and tearing away of wood from behind the cabinets in the wall.  I took everything out of the cabinets to see if a hole was being made, but saw no evidence of the rat.  The sound continued; I thought I could pinpoint right where sharp little teeth would soon break through.  But we must have spooked it and it left.

I went out in the garage where I left the trap.  The peanut butter bait was gone.

I set the trap again.  The next night I went to inspect the trap; it was sprung with no trace of the rat--the peanut butter was licked clean.

I set the trap yet again and had the same results. About five times I did this and the rat just stole the bait.

So today I created what I lovingly named, the Rat Guantlet:

Rather than relying on one method of ridding ourselves of this pest, I've employed four quite diverse and yet equally deadly (to rats) solutions.  This is what the rat might see if it was standing behind the fourth obstacle:

Now to see if it works!  Stay tuned...

<click to enlarge>

I worked out in Stuttgart, AR for a week.  Having passed this field everyday, I decided to bring my camera and take a picture.  There are any number of reasons how a corn plant could have ended up in the middle of a bean field (I'm guessing these are beans) considering the nearby cornfields, but it just.. well... stood out; so I had to take a picture.