People who do lots of recording and mixing at the computer generally find that the less mousing they do, the easier the job. That's why it's a good idea to learn your application's shortcut keys. It improves your workflow and reduces wrist strain. A number of "hidden" OS X keyboard commands also exist that can make powering your machine up and down a simple task.

To power off an OS X machine: Control-Option-Command-Eject.

This shuts the machine down and skips the "Are you sure you want to shut down?" dialog box.

To restart: Control-Command-Eject.

This is especially useful if you encounter mouse problems.

To put your Mac to sleep: Command-Option-Eject.

To pull up the Sleep/Restart/Shutdown dialog box: Control-Eject.

With this dialog box open, you can use the following keys to activate the pertinent commands:

S puts the machine to sleep

R restarts the machine

The Shut Down option is highlighted by default. Hitting return will send the shut down command.

Finally, the Universal Access "Seeing" option of "Switch to Black On White" turns your screen into a reverse black and white view. If you should want that the key command is: Control-Option-Command-* (Numeric pad asterisk).