So long blogger. I'm here now.
Here's your chance to escape (or, if you prefer, you can update your links)
This blog will be sticking around, for sentimental reasons.
2006-10-31
2006-10-29
test
Blogger is not letting me publish, and it looks like it's doing the same to lots of people. So I don't know if you'll ever see this post...
This may be the final straw.
This may be the final straw.
2006-10-27
bwogger say i sowwy
The fans in the stands urge him to switch to the other side. The wider world buzzes with the news of unreliability and network wonkiness. But he stands firm in his loyalty (foolishness?).
Meanwhile, the software guys apologize, and apologize.
Here's my thing, though. The Blogger people, when they apologize, always sound so cavalier:
A little bit? Try "a fair amount." It's free, I know but despite that fact, there exists an expectation among users, one propagated by the blogger organization itself, that the service will work.
Oh, I doubt that.
Look guys and gals, my blog buddies are telling me to quit you. I don't want to, but you make it hard to stick around. Shouldn't it be the opposite? And forget about switching to the beta version, there's still too many holes in it to make it worth the headache.
For now, apology accepted, but you really must do something about this guys.
Meanwhile, the software guys apologize, and apologize.
...our apologies. We really regret these outages, which were a nuisance (or worse) to you. The past week’s performance was not representative of the kind of service we want to provide for you.
Here's my thing, though. The Blogger people, when they apologize, always sound so cavalier:
It was a dark and stormy night. The air was quiet. Too quiet. Yet stormy. Suddenly, a beep rang out from a bedside pager. The engineer woke up, grabbing a soda to sharpen his senses. Blogger was down. He needed to bring it back up.
When I get the chance to write my pulp story of a gritty Blogger engineer struggling to keep the site alive, I may look back on this past week as a prime source of choice dramatic fodder. Until then, I, like many of you, will look upon this past week with irritation, disappointment, and maybe even a bit of anger.
A little bit? Try "a fair amount." It's free, I know but despite that fact, there exists an expectation among users, one propagated by the blogger organization itself, that the service will work.
It’s been a Murphyesque cavalcade of power failures, fileserver trouble, and wonky network hardware, and I hope you’ll believe me when I say that the Blogger staff is even more sick of it than you are.
Oh, I doubt that.
Look guys and gals, my blog buddies are telling me to quit you. I don't want to, but you make it hard to stick around. Shouldn't it be the opposite? And forget about switching to the beta version, there's still too many holes in it to make it worth the headache.
For now, apology accepted, but you really must do something about this guys.
2006-10-26
this is your brain on snow
This is what my pal Gwynne is seeing right now, probably...
Hang in there, Gwynne. Feed the pig and all that.
Hang in there, Gwynne. Feed the pig and all that.
back at ya, music nazis
Good news from the electronic frontier today as the RIAA gets handed its hat, and a countersuit as well. The Music Nazis fouled up their motion to dismiss in the case of Tallie Stubbs and apparently Tallie's counsel picked up on the error.
I understand very little legalese, but here's the relevant quote from ARS Technica...
and, so Stubbs filed for dismissal with prejudice...
Which is cool. Read the full article at Ars Technica.
Go get 'em Tallie!
I understand very little legalese, but here's the relevant quote from ARS Technica...
After "further investigation," according to a plaintiff's court filing, the record labels decided to dismiss the case. However, they requested that the case be dismissed without prejudice and with prejudice. Likely due to a typographical error, the distinction is important. Dismissal without prejudice means that the action can be brought again in the future. If a case is dismissed with prejudice, it cannot be refiled and the defendant may be named the "prevailing party" and be eligible for attorney's fees and court costs from the plaintiffs, which is what happened in the case of Capitol Records v. Foster.
and, so Stubbs filed for dismissal with prejudice...
If Tallie Stubbs wins her motion for dismissal with prejudice, then she, too, will be considered the prevailing party and will be eligible for attorney's fees and other court costs from the RIAA. More importantly, it would put the RIAA in the position of having lost one of their file-sharing-related copyright infringement case—none of which have yet gone to trial.
Which is cool. Read the full article at Ars Technica.
Go get 'em Tallie!
20 year old teen not so good driver, oh, and another blogger outage
So apparently 20 year olds are now classified as teens. And looks like this particular 20 year old teen didn't do so hot on her driving test. "Oopsie, I just crashed into the license bureau lobby."
Is it of any Loony Toons-ish significance that her Taurus was maroon?
And, of course, blogger will be down at 2pm PDT again today. Whoopee! Did anyone notice that blogger was out of commission for about an hour or so last night, in addition to yesterday's scheduled 2pm PDT outage. Ah, blooggler.
We now return you to your regularly scheduled Rush Limbaugh's Idiot Hour, already in progress.
H/T: Obscure Store.
(It was) like a big boom; the building shook a little bit," Stover said. "My reaction was 'Oh my God!'
Williams said everyone was so stunned by the crash that they neglected to call 911.
"Everybody was on their cell phones, but nobody called 911. I came back in and called 911," Williams said.
Is it of any Loony Toons-ish significance that her Taurus was maroon?
And, of course, blogger will be down at 2pm PDT again today. Whoopee! Did anyone notice that blogger was out of commission for about an hour or so last night, in addition to yesterday's scheduled 2pm PDT outage. Ah, blooggler.
We now return you to your regularly scheduled Rush Limbaugh's Idiot Hour, already in progress.
H/T: Obscure Store.
agree and disagree
Despite certain left leaning tendencies that I have, I have a few rightward prejudices too. I'm mixed up, but not as far as this goes.
I do not like the idea of stem cell research one little bit. Hey, watch Gattaca. You want to live in that kind of world? We can argue later about the supposed medical benefits and such. Really? I'm skeptical. The promise of this stuff is a long, long way off... if it ever comes. But the sad reality of genetic selection, that is knocking at our door even today.
On the other hand I have personally been acquainted with three people who have Parkinson's disease. And Michael J. Fox's on camera movements in that ad look exactly like those of all three of the people I have known. Exactly. If it was an act, it's certainly a good one, and he does have the disease after all. So how would one know?
Well, Rush knows. Like other idiots with media access, Rush knows everything. I've long thought that Rush Limbaugh was a moron. Now I know he's a moron as well as a jerk. I don't care what your politics are, Rush's histrionics are strictly low brow.
Hey R-dude, don't take it back, don't apologize, just shut the hell up! You are making me sick. Go join your friend Pat on planet stupid.
I do not like the idea of stem cell research one little bit. Hey, watch Gattaca. You want to live in that kind of world? We can argue later about the supposed medical benefits and such. Really? I'm skeptical. The promise of this stuff is a long, long way off... if it ever comes. But the sad reality of genetic selection, that is knocking at our door even today.
On the other hand I have personally been acquainted with three people who have Parkinson's disease. And Michael J. Fox's on camera movements in that ad look exactly like those of all three of the people I have known. Exactly. If it was an act, it's certainly a good one, and he does have the disease after all. So how would one know?
Well, Rush knows. Like other idiots with media access, Rush knows everything. I've long thought that Rush Limbaugh was a moron. Now I know he's a moron as well as a jerk. I don't care what your politics are, Rush's histrionics are strictly low brow.
Hey R-dude, don't take it back, don't apologize, just shut the hell up! You are making me sick. Go join your friend Pat on planet stupid.
2006-10-25
a rather ineffective euphemism
Tonight I went with my family to the incredibly lame halloween parade our town trots out every year. There is a lot to like about Pottstown, this is not one of those things.
After the parade my wife said, "It was better than last year," which may be the scariest thing I've heard this Halloween season.
The height of badness occurred about two thirds of the way through when one of three septic services companies drove their float by. The company was called A Honeydipper Septic Services. The float featured a guy dressed up as a bee, waving.
Skip ahead a few minutes. I'm talking with my friend Sissy and she tells me a story of a relative of hers who lived in Alaska for some years. They had a septic system throughout the town and referred to the truck that occasionally came to suck it out as a honeytruck. Euuggh. I never heard of such a thing, but after a few seconds with google, I now know that this is a common misnomer for a septic truck, as well as some other things too.
Yuck, okay. Just, just.... yuck. Honey Dipper is just way too close to honey dripper, and here I assume I need not go into the attendant imagery this similarity calls to mind. Man, we do come up with some whack vernacular in this language.
Okay, so back to the float. There was this guy on it dressed as a bee. I guess this would have to be a King Bee (because no woman in her right mind would agree to be Queen in this particular situation). He must have been the King because, as the truck passed by, I saw that he was seated on a... ummmm... throne.
So, you know, Happy Halloween or whatever.
everything is new, just in time for a blogger outage
Of course it worked out like this. My car was supposed to be finished yesterday, I have a ton of freelance stuff to tackle (a good problem, but still a problem at this point), I took my wife to work because of the car issue and ran back to the house to wait for a package. So obviously the post office had to call... at 9:20 am.
Fortunately for me, they only wanted me to deliver the short route and they had an LLV for me; in other words, they made me an offer I couldn't refuse.
Just as I was on my way out the door, there was a knock. He's my competition, but I was glad to see this UPS guy.
Once I got done with the mail and picked up my wife from work and picked up the car and paid $60 more dollars for it than I was supposed to, I began the big migration. It is now finished. Yay!
This new notebook is pretty nice. Very fast, sleek looking, and the screen is a staggering achievement. I'm sure you technoids know all about these things, and probably have a name for them as well, but this screen combines the thin sleekness of a flat screen with the clarity and sharpness of a good CRT.
My daughters are happy campers now as well. They've already started to make my old notebook their own.
Oh, and did I mention the Centrino dual core? And courtesy of Mozilla, Firefox 2.0. Life is good.
So now I have to find a way to stop playing with it! Blogger is all about helping me with that; they have an outage scheduled for 2pm PDT today.
Fortunately for me, they only wanted me to deliver the short route and they had an LLV for me; in other words, they made me an offer I couldn't refuse.
Just as I was on my way out the door, there was a knock. He's my competition, but I was glad to see this UPS guy.
Once I got done with the mail and picked up my wife from work and picked up the car and paid $60 more dollars for it than I was supposed to, I began the big migration. It is now finished. Yay!
This new notebook is pretty nice. Very fast, sleek looking, and the screen is a staggering achievement. I'm sure you technoids know all about these things, and probably have a name for them as well, but this screen combines the thin sleekness of a flat screen with the clarity and sharpness of a good CRT.
My daughters are happy campers now as well. They've already started to make my old notebook their own.
Oh, and did I mention the Centrino dual core? And courtesy of Mozilla, Firefox 2.0. Life is good.
So now I have to find a way to stop playing with it! Blogger is all about helping me with that; they have an outage scheduled for 2pm PDT today.
2006-10-23
jumping the gun
People have been linking to the new firefox build all day. But I decided to wait until tomorrow, which is the official release day.
And I just now read this by preed of Mozilla.org and am glad I chose the way I did.
It's got a lot of language I don't quite get, but the message is crystal clear:
So, tomorrow, I'm gonna get me some new Firefox. But not before.
And I just now read this by preed of Mozilla.org and am glad I chose the way I did.
It's got a lot of language I don't quite get, but the message is crystal clear:
"Preed the Release Engineer says: friends don't let friends download Firefox before it's released."
So, tomorrow, I'm gonna get me some new Firefox. But not before.
...so i'll just steal stuff from real people
Jeff just posted this so I thought I'd steal it.
1. FIRST NAME? Jim
2. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? Dad.
3. WHEN DID YOU LAST CRY? Yesterday during worship when everyone stood to sing and put their hearts into it for a change. It was cool.
4. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? No and neither does anyone else.
5. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCHMEAT? Liverwurst, which gives you an idea of how much I like lunchmeat in general.
6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? What?
7. DO YOU HAVE A JOURNAL? Yep. It's called serotoninrain and you're reading it.
8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? No, they were removed when I was 4 or 5.
9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? No.
10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Grape Nuts. Always and forever.
11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? Sometimes, when I don't feel like being a maverick.
12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? Physically? Not espeically. But I'm stronger than I look.
13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR? Chocolate, especially if it has chocolate chips in it. Especially especially if it has chocolate sauce on it. Especially especially especially if it's in a chocolate dipped waffle cone.
14. SHOE SIZE? Not telling. Big! Okay?
15. RED OR PINK? Pink. What's it to ya?
16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? My big feet.
17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? Scott Schwinkendorf but I'm not saying any more.
18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? No, but they can do it themselves if they want.
19. WHAT COLOR PANTS, SHIRT AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? Blue jeans a yellow J Peterman vinatage tee and brown leather shoes.
20. LAST THING YOU ATE? Bagel breakfast sandwich with egg cheese and bacon plus coffee. Always coffee.
21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? I don't know but it's not very good. I think it's Natalie Merchant.
22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Raw Umber... how the heck should I know?
23. FAVORITE SMELL? Napalm in the morning... no, just kidding... Spring.
24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? The guy who's working on my car. He told me that the parts won't be in today after all and so I'll have to beg the post office not to call me again tomorrow. I'm feeling just great right now, too, thanks for asking.
25. THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE YOU ARE ATTRACTED TO? Face. And sometimes, but only rarely, callipygousness.
26. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? Well, Jeff didn't actually send it to me, I sort of appropriated it, you know? Furthermore, I don't really know Jeff so I can't comment on whether I like him or not, but he sure has a nice blog and he seems like a swell guy, virtually speaking of course. I'm sure he's way nicer than me.
27. FAVORITE DRINK? Hello? I guess that's not obvious enough. Who writes this stuff?
28. FAVORITE SPORT? None.
29. EYE COLOR? Brown
30. HAT SIZE? 7 1/2
31. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? No contacts no glasses. can read the side of a ceral box from eight feet away.
32. FAVORITE FOOD? Steak. Medium rare.
33. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? Both.
35. SUMMER OR WINTER? Tough choice, but I'll say summer.
36. HUGS OR KISSES? Kisses from my wife, though she can hug me as much as she wants. Hugs from most other people. Polite handshakes for the rest of you until we know each other better.
37. FAVORITE DESSERT? Tiramisu. Oh yeah!
38. WHO IS MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? I'm not asking for a response, but I'm betting on Gwynne. Just to make it more interesting, I'm not going to link her either. Though it isn't the middle of the night so she's probably not reading blogs right now. Are you Gwynne?
39. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Jeff, since he already did this.
40. WHAT BOOKS ARE YOU READING? Garbage Land by Elizabeth Royte and a book of short stories by Tobais Wolff called In the Garden of the North American Martyrs.
42. WHAT DID YOU WATCH LAST NIGHT ON TV? Nothing.
43. FAVORITE SOUNDS? The sounds Phil Keaggy makes when he picks up a guitar.
44. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? Rolling who?
45. THE FURTHEST YOU'VE BEEN FROM HOME? Thousands of miles... France.
46. WHAT'S YOUR SPECIAL TALENT? I don't have one.
47. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Trenton, NJ (pronounced Trettin by those who live there).
48. WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? Well, Jeff didn't send it but he posted it and since I was lamenting the fact that I don't really exist and therefore can't post anything of my own, I stole his. Make sense? Me neither.
Alright, back to unreality.
1. FIRST NAME? Jim
2. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? Dad.
3. WHEN DID YOU LAST CRY? Yesterday during worship when everyone stood to sing and put their hearts into it for a change. It was cool.
4. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? No and neither does anyone else.
5. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCHMEAT? Liverwurst, which gives you an idea of how much I like lunchmeat in general.
6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? What?
7. DO YOU HAVE A JOURNAL? Yep. It's called serotoninrain and you're reading it.
8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? No, they were removed when I was 4 or 5.
9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? No.
10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Grape Nuts. Always and forever.
11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? Sometimes, when I don't feel like being a maverick.
12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? Physically? Not espeically. But I'm stronger than I look.
13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR? Chocolate, especially if it has chocolate chips in it. Especially especially if it has chocolate sauce on it. Especially especially especially if it's in a chocolate dipped waffle cone.
14. SHOE SIZE? Not telling. Big! Okay?
15. RED OR PINK? Pink. What's it to ya?
16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? My big feet.
17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? Scott Schwinkendorf but I'm not saying any more.
18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? No, but they can do it themselves if they want.
19. WHAT COLOR PANTS, SHIRT AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? Blue jeans a yellow J Peterman vinatage tee and brown leather shoes.
20. LAST THING YOU ATE? Bagel breakfast sandwich with egg cheese and bacon plus coffee. Always coffee.
21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? I don't know but it's not very good. I think it's Natalie Merchant.
22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Raw Umber... how the heck should I know?
23. FAVORITE SMELL? Napalm in the morning... no, just kidding... Spring.
24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? The guy who's working on my car. He told me that the parts won't be in today after all and so I'll have to beg the post office not to call me again tomorrow. I'm feeling just great right now, too, thanks for asking.
25. THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE YOU ARE ATTRACTED TO? Face. And sometimes, but only rarely, callipygousness.
26. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? Well, Jeff didn't actually send it to me, I sort of appropriated it, you know? Furthermore, I don't really know Jeff so I can't comment on whether I like him or not, but he sure has a nice blog and he seems like a swell guy, virtually speaking of course. I'm sure he's way nicer than me.
27. FAVORITE DRINK? Hello? I guess that's not obvious enough. Who writes this stuff?
28. FAVORITE SPORT? None.
29. EYE COLOR? Brown
30. HAT SIZE? 7 1/2
31. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? No contacts no glasses. can read the side of a ceral box from eight feet away.
32. FAVORITE FOOD? Steak. Medium rare.
33. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? Both.
35. SUMMER OR WINTER? Tough choice, but I'll say summer.
36. HUGS OR KISSES? Kisses from my wife, though she can hug me as much as she wants. Hugs from most other people. Polite handshakes for the rest of you until we know each other better.
37. FAVORITE DESSERT? Tiramisu. Oh yeah!
38. WHO IS MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? I'm not asking for a response, but I'm betting on Gwynne. Just to make it more interesting, I'm not going to link her either. Though it isn't the middle of the night so she's probably not reading blogs right now. Are you Gwynne?
39. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Jeff, since he already did this.
40. WHAT BOOKS ARE YOU READING? Garbage Land by Elizabeth Royte and a book of short stories by Tobais Wolff called In the Garden of the North American Martyrs.
42. WHAT DID YOU WATCH LAST NIGHT ON TV? Nothing.
43. FAVORITE SOUNDS? The sounds Phil Keaggy makes when he picks up a guitar.
44. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? Rolling who?
45. THE FURTHEST YOU'VE BEEN FROM HOME? Thousands of miles... France.
46. WHAT'S YOUR SPECIAL TALENT? I don't have one.
47. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Trenton, NJ (pronounced Trettin by those who live there).
48. WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? Well, Jeff didn't send it but he posted it and since I was lamenting the fact that I don't really exist and therefore can't post anything of my own, I stole his. Make sense? Me neither.
Alright, back to unreality.
ghost blog
Officially, I don't exist.
I knew I had no life, I just didn't think it was that serious. Well, I'll be seein ya... or maybe not.
H/T Randy. At least my friends aren't imaginary, just virtual.
I knew I had no life, I just didn't think it was that serious. Well, I'll be seein ya... or maybe not.
H/T Randy. At least my friends aren't imaginary, just virtual.
2006-10-22
red letter day
aaaarrrggghh!
And that's not because I missed Talk Like a Pirate Day by more than a month.
Before noon today the desktop computer in our little home "office" crashed and our Passat (my mail delivery vehicle) came home leaking oil; so much oil that it left a trail!
This is not good. I've managed (with significant help from a very nice Dell customer service man from India who, once he slowed down his speech, talked me through the process) to fix the corrupted boot sector. Then I was on my own for getting the ATI Radeon 9800 card inside to get out of its "inifinite loop."
Then the car guy called (a shop that's open on Sunday... I'm not sure whether to laugh or cry about that) and told me there was so much oil slopping around on the engine that he couldn't tell where the leak was coming from... and, by the way, my tires are bad and I have a coolant leak too. The tires aren't as bad as he says and I don't know how I could have a coolant leak without the coolant level getting lower but there you go. Things aren't looking too good here just now.
Hope your Sunday is going better than mine.
Update:
Is it still an update if you haven't actually published the post? As I was typing that last sentence above, the car guy called back. They isolated the leaks (notice, it's pluaral) and they vary in severity from 'must get fixed right away' to 'can wait five or six months.' By dinner time tomorrow I'll have my car back and be about 5 or 6 hundred dollars poorer.
At least the computer repair didn't cost me anything.
Genuine Post-publishing update:
The car guy called back again. When you factor in the labor and materials used for finding the leak, I'm looking at close to 7 bills. Ugh. This day just keeps getting better. Now I've got to call the post office early in the am and try to convince them not to call me tomorrow.
And that's not because I missed Talk Like a Pirate Day by more than a month.
Before noon today the desktop computer in our little home "office" crashed and our Passat (my mail delivery vehicle) came home leaking oil; so much oil that it left a trail!
This is not good. I've managed (with significant help from a very nice Dell customer service man from India who, once he slowed down his speech, talked me through the process) to fix the corrupted boot sector. Then I was on my own for getting the ATI Radeon 9800 card inside to get out of its "inifinite loop."
Then the car guy called (a shop that's open on Sunday... I'm not sure whether to laugh or cry about that) and told me there was so much oil slopping around on the engine that he couldn't tell where the leak was coming from... and, by the way, my tires are bad and I have a coolant leak too. The tires aren't as bad as he says and I don't know how I could have a coolant leak without the coolant level getting lower but there you go. Things aren't looking too good here just now.
Hope your Sunday is going better than mine.
Update:
Is it still an update if you haven't actually published the post? As I was typing that last sentence above, the car guy called back. They isolated the leaks (notice, it's pluaral) and they vary in severity from 'must get fixed right away' to 'can wait five or six months.' By dinner time tomorrow I'll have my car back and be about 5 or 6 hundred dollars poorer.
At least the computer repair didn't cost me anything.
Genuine Post-publishing update:
The car guy called back again. When you factor in the labor and materials used for finding the leak, I'm looking at close to 7 bills. Ugh. This day just keeps getting better. Now I've got to call the post office early in the am and try to convince them not to call me tomorrow.
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