Here is a quick tip on how to configure additional Gmail accounts for Thunderbird.  First you have to click the button at the top right of Thunderbird's window to get to settings, then select "Options > Account Settings".  From there, go to the bottom and look for the "Account Actions" button, and click it...and select...wait for it..."Add Mail Account"!  That will pop up yet another window where you can enter your Gmail account info and it will figure out the rest - you do need to decide if you want to use IMAP or POP3, though I suggest IMAP if you have a mobile device that you also want to pull the same mail from in addition to using Thunderbird on your PC.

Now there is one tricky on the weird, and that is if you have opted for Google's 2 step verification.  If you have, it means your password will not work in Thunderbird...but all is not lost.  From some poking around in my Gmail settings (you will need to log into Gmail in a browser to find them), I found the workaround - Google will give you a super special password for apps like Thunderbird which don't play with all that 2 step shuffle stuff.

To obtain the magical key, you first must log into Gmail and click your email address in the top right corner, then "Account", that will open a new window/tab.  Now go to the "Security" item in the left side, and that will open those options.  At the bottom of the Security settings page look for "Connected applications and sites" with a "Manage Access" button - did you find it?  Cool now do what comes naturally and click it - and then log in again because Google says so!  Here is where you can find the key to make Thunderbird work with Gmail.  You will see a item called "Application-specific passwords" where you can generate a special password that Thunderbird can use.  Just put a name in the box (may I suggest "ThunderChicken") and then click "Generate Password".  Now it will spit out the magic password which you can go back and put in as your Gmail password in Thunderbird.

Thanks to the great idea factory that is Microsoft, I am trying to get away from using Hotmail (now called Outlook and hideously decked out in an 8 bit color scheme).  Like many folks though, I don't want to give up my email address so I am going to use Thunderbird to check my web email accounts.  The upside is that I can move all my accounts into one client and flip the bird to Microsoft who won't get my eyes on their ads since I won't have to use the web email.

First I went here:
https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/thunderbird/

I installed it, and entered my hotmail account and password info.  It automagically found the settings for hotmail.  Then it started downloading my years of saved hotmail emails, putting me on the path to ditching the "new" Outlook and it's ads.

A more detailed set of instructions are here - though they are not really necessary since after install it will find the settings for hotmail:
https://support.mozillamessaging.com/en-US/kb/thunderbird-and-hotmail

Today I woke up to check my email and found some shitty looking impersonator called Outlook where my Hotmail used to be.  I knew this day would come though, having been force fed Outlook briefly over a month ago and quickly switched back.  And there were the warnings that Microsoft would drag their Hotmail users over to Outlook kicking and screaming if they had to.  I had half hoped Microsoft would come to it's senses and realize that it was going to piss quite a few people off with this major change to the interface, but then that has not stopped them before.  Is it too much to ask to just have the OPTION of using the old interface?  Maybe they think people would love them if they just HAD to spend more time getting to know Outlook webmail, à la the Stockholm syndrome?  Whats not to love after all, it has all the charisma of a box of paper napkins (store brand) - not that hotmail was all that snazzy either, but at least it's flair was more than just a primary color.  Maybe it is just me though, maybe I am just a luddite who hates new things (probably true, I don't like new flu viruses every year).  Oh wait, it sounds like Sandra has a problem with it too, so that makes at least 2 people who hate this like the spawn of the pits of Mordor.  Whats that Microsoft? - we can't switch back now, but if we have issues we can let you know?  Well thank you for the concern.  To you Microsoft, I say "Nee!" and "NEE!" again - now bring me a shrubbery, a nice one (and PLEASE gimme the old Hotmail back)!

I bought a mechanical watch winder since I have a couple Seiko automatic watches and one with an ETA 2824-2 movement.  The winder will keep them running even when I am not wearing them.  I am pretty impressed with the winder so far, it was shipped triple boxed and has a locking cover with space for three additional watches below the winder.  It can also run on two D-cell batteries, but it does not have quite enough torque for two larger watches.  The full specs are here.  Typically winders will crap out after a year at most, so I will be very impressed if this lasts longer than that - though the quality does seem really good as far as the fit and finish.  For the price though, this is about third more than an Ebay special, time will tell if it was worth the premium.

Update 5/11/2013 (two months later) - I found that the winder had stopped today, my watches were wound down.  I cycled it and it began to move slowly so I turned it off again and let it stay off for a few minutes and turned it back on, and it seemed to work... now I am waiting for it to stop running.

Updated 5/24/2013 - It must have been some monkey in the wrench, it has been working OK since that glitch a few weeks ago.  I will keep an eye on it and write a review in another month or two.

Update 8/23/2013 - Well the winder did stop running around the end of June.  However AceTimer stands behind the winder with a 1 year warranty, and were great about fixing the problem.  Generally speaking, a winder won't last for years, but buying from a company which actually supports their product is the best I feel a consumer can do.  I have the winder back now (actual turn around time for the repair was about 2 weeks), and it is back to keeping my Seiko running on time.