Wiggle the mouse/cursor every now and then to prevent the screen saver from activating

mouse_wiggle.sh

#!/usr/bin/env bash
#
# 1. Install 'xdotool' - http://www.semicomplete.com/projects/xdotool/
#   sudo apt-get install xdotool
# 2. Open a screen session:
#   screen -S mouse_wiggle
# 3. Exec this script
# 4. Background the session with Ctrl+A+D
#

# Not sure why we need this,
# but it complains if this
# variable isn't set
export DISPLAY=':0.0'

# Format:
#   Number + (s|m|h|d)
sleep_period=2m

while true; do
  echo "Twitching mouse at: "
  date
  echo "---"
  xdotool mousemove 0 100
  xdotool mousemove 0 50
  sleep ${sleep_period}
done