Category Archives: Rant
Many offices feature “casual Friday” in acknowledgement that today our attention begins to shift towards the weekend. (When I started with TC in 1980, ties were required. When I retired this year, “business casual” was the norm. I wore jeans and polo shirts the last half-dozen years or so.)
In the same way, today the focus here shifts from the tough and chewy Sideband material to something softer and easier to digest. I have what amounts to a bit of a rant, but a mild-mannered one of minor import. It’s just one of those little things that’s annoyed me in a small way for a long time. (But it turns out that it’s one of those things that actually have good reason!)
It’S aBoUt ThIs ThInG cAlLeD cAsE-sEnSiTiViTy!
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Leave a comment | tags: A.A. Milne, alphabet, case-sensitive, characters, computer language, humor, letter case, letters, lowercase, programming languages, source code, text, UPPERCASE, Winnie the Pooh | posted in Computers, Life, Rant, The Interweb, Writing
Having penned a perplexing pair of Python posts and planning a putative pair of POV-Ray posts for the pending week, I feel the pressure to pause and ponder some other puzzle for a period. Like words that start with “P”, for instance. Or something more profound, like peas in our time. (And pass the potatoes.) Perhaps something personal would please?
I can’t write of cabbages or kings. I don’t care much for the former (except in egg rolls), and I wrote about chess yesterday, which is almost about kings. Nor can I write of sealing ships or sailing wax. (Wait… how did that go?)
But it is Science Fiction Saturday again!
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12 Comments | tags: Captain Kirk, Frankenstein, Fred Saberhagen, J.J.Abrams, Richard Matheson, Star Trek, Star Wars, the center cannot hold, the widening gyre | posted in Books, Rant, Sci-Fi Saturday, TV
Today I’m deep in some POV-Ray project work and waiting to see how the Los Angeles Dodgers do tonight at the St. Louis Cardinals. The Dodgers have a tough boat to row; I think the Cards will have to stumble, and the Dodgers will have to be excellent. For two games. I’d like to see it, but dot, dot, dot. The Detroit Tigers are in similar straits with the Boston Red Sox. It’s looking like the World Series will be red against red.
But due to something that came up in a conversation from yesterday’s article, I’m interrupting my previously scheduled day to bring you this special announcement:
I’m only going to say this once: Global climate change is real.
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1 Comment | tags: Bad Astronomer, Big Blatant Lie, climate change, climate change deniers, Federal Executive Orders, global warming, Phil Plait, President Obama | posted in Rant, Science
I would say that I’ve been watching the goings on in Congress with growing horror, but my horror-level with regard to politics these days is largely tapped out. I’d also like to say that Great Evil must be at work here, because no one could possibly be as stupid as to participate in — or as to allow — this horror show. Unfortunately, there seems no limit to human stupidity, and perhaps Hanlon’s Razor* applies: “Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.”
I’d already been pondering the spectrum that leads from discontent through activism and ultimately to terrorism. In the USA, we saw extreme activism with regard to civil rights. And we’ve certainly seen terrorism throughout the world, including on our own shores.
Lately, I think you can view the Republicans as having become home-grown terrorists!
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15 Comments | tags: asshats, Congress, Democrat, GOP, government, Republican, Republican Party, stupidity, terrorism | posted in Politics, Rant
I was catching up on last week’s shows (a word about that in a moment), and it happened again, twice. It’s gotten to the point of almost becoming another “countdown game.” How long will it be until I hear it again? It might also make a drinking game for people who don’t like to drink all that much, because — while very common — it usually only appears once per story. (Still, multiple sightings have been documented.)
Being common yet infrequent, it wouldn’t normally stand out at all, but it struck me as such an odd thing to say (even the first time I heard it), that I’ve noticed it ever since. I suppose my love of LEO stories brings it my way more frequently. The most common context where you’ll hear it is from a suspect or person of interest being interviewed by cops.
It’s the line, “You gotta believe me!”
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4 Comments | tags: bad script writing, Castle, CBS, Comcast, fast forward, NCIS, OnDemand, Rizzoli & Isles, script writing, stories, storytelling, things I don't get, things people say, TNT | posted in Brain Bubble, Movies, Rant, TV
I am not a happy camper right now. In fact, I’m fucking pissed! I was working on something I’ll be showing here later, and I needed a certain font (or at least to identify the font). I found exactly what I needed, and it was a “free” download. You gotta love the interweb!
Except that upon downloading, I got a bunch of unwanted software that installed itself unasked… and no font! I ended up with AVG’s free anti-virus suite, some sort of “register (i.e. pay) to actually use” backup software, and a bunch of new toolbars for my browsers. None of it asked for or wanted. You gotta hate the interweb.
So, this is a hategram to the fucks at AVG and anyone else that pulls this fucked up bullshit.
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13 Comments | tags: DIE AVG, DIE SONY, DIE VAIO, Hate AVG, Hate Sony, Not Thrilled with Best Buy | posted in Rant
I bought a new toaster oven the other day. My old one caught fire a little bit and afterwards it didn’t make very good toast. The lower elements fried, so it only heated from above. Broiled toast is strange and sad. I had to toast one side and then flip my bread to toast the other.
It was interesting looking over at the toaster that one morning and wondering why bright yellow, kinda flickery, light was coming out of the toaster. A dull orange glow, that’s expected, but bright yellow? What’s up with that?
Oh! Fire! Damn, my toasted is burned! Literally.
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23 Comments | tags: bagels, bake, bread, broil, food, humor, oven, toast | posted in Life, Rant
I gotta be honest: the retired life is wonderful! It’s interesting to see how my mood has changed. It’s not quite a winter to summer change, but there are definitely fewer clouds in my skies these days. I’ve found that some things that always got under my skin don’t have the same power to piss me off they once did.
I noticed that first with regard to fans situated behind announcers mugging the camera. It bugged me producers would set up such distracting circumstances, and it bugged me the damn fans were distracting me from the announcers. The other day I found myself grinning due to a young man aping for the camera from his seat behind the sportscasters.
But that doesn’t mean some things still don’t piss me off or bum me out!
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9 Comments | tags: booing fans, Chris Rose, Jerry Seinfeld, Kevin Millar, Mitch Williams, MLB Intentional Talk, MLB Now, MLM, retirement, Seth MacFarlane, Ted | posted in Brain Bubble, Rant
Not this Perkins!
A local chain of (what used to be called) coffee shops was running a commercial touting their inventive use of fresh strawberries in their various breakfast combos. I say “used to be called” because now a “coffee shop” is one of those specialized places that sells a mind-numbing variety of coffee concoctions. The places I’m talking about now call themselves “family restaurants,” which means they serve families, and you can parse that any way you like (“It’s a cookbook!”).
I have absolutely nothing against the commercial, fresh strawberries (love them, especially in champagne) or pancakes (although I prefer waffles). I’m not sure I buy into the idea there are new ways to use strawberries in breakfast dishes, but such is the commercial’s claim. (Hmmm (and Mmmm), perhaps an evidence-gathering field trip is required!)
What does amuse me about the commercial, though, is the misfired mother.
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8 Comments | tags: commercials, conflict, Harry Nilsson, Mother Earth, Mother of Invention, Perkins, strawberries | posted in Brain Bubble, Rant, TV
It’s been an interesting few days. Not bad; there’s no tale of woe to tell. It’s more that things that have been churning in my mind are starting to bubble to the surface. And there have been some interesting events going on (the Minnesota Twins are fun to watch again, for instance).
Also, yesterday I (electronically) submitted the “paperwork” to officially kick off the retirement process. My last day of work will be June 28, (2π Day and my mom’s birthday!) There’s a hell of a pay cut coming up due to this early retirement, but that won’t be a real issue for a while. It’s not something I’ll need to consider until at least next year.
I warn you now: I have no idea what this post is going to be about!
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28 Comments | tags: Adria Richards, bullying, mental tar pit, Monty Python, people, Python, sexism, stupidity | posted in Life, Rant
Logos con carne 