The Tips - Mac Kung Fu - page 135

The number used after -INT specifies the nature of the background effect.
Typing 1 sets the default blur, 2 makes the background black and white but
not blurry, while 3 makes it both black and white as well as blurry. For
example, the following command makes the background both black and white
as well as blurry:
DEFAULTS WRITE COM.APPLE.DOCK SPRINGBOARD-BACKGROUND-FILTER -INT 3;KILLALL
DOCK
To revert to the default settings, just type the following:
DEFAULTS DELETE COM.APPLE.DOCK SPRINGBOARD-BACKGROUND-FILTER;KILLALL DOCK
Altering the Background Blurring
You can also alter the degree to which the background blurs, provided you
haven't used the previous commands to switch to a nonblur background.
Adjusting the blur can create a more subtle effect than the default. To do so,
open a Terminal window, and type the following, this time replacing X after
the -INT part of the line with any number between 0 and 255 (0 is no blur,
while 255 is maximum blur):
DEFAULTS WRITE COM.APPLE.DOCK SPRINGBOARD-BLUR-RADIUS -INT X;KILLALL DOCK
Experiment a little with different settings. Generally speaking, values between
1 and 10 produce the most subtle effects, while something like 150 will turn
the background into a colorful haze where it's impossible to see detail. To
revert to the default degree of blur at any point, open a Finder window and
type the following:
DEFAULTS DELETE COM.APPLE.DOCK SPRINGBOARD-BLUR-RADIUS;KILLALL DOCK
Tip 125
Create “Crazy” Emails
Here's a fun trick that can be used to send entertaining emails to people on
special occasions, such as birthdays.
Open a Finder window, hit SHIFT + COMMAND + G , and then type /LIBRARY/SCRIPTS/MAIL
SCRIPTS/CRAZY MESSAGE TEXT.SCPT . Double-click the file that's highlighted in the
Finder window. This will open AppleScript Editor, but you can ignore it and
simply press the Run button on the AppleScript Editor toolbar. Then follow