27th
March
2020
My first world dilemma
posted in computing, media | Comments Off on My first world dilemma | 301 words
TubaOrNotTuba
My first world dilemma
5th
March
2020
Beat the break
Earlier this week, I happened to find some donationware that does something useful (for me). The package tests the hard drive(s) in your computer, including the S.M.A.R.T. parameters, and awards your drive(s) a score. That is: good, caution or fail (I think). One of my drives is now flagged as caution, after more than 56,000 hours of spin time. That alone is a statistic that surprised me, although it shouldn’t. This is not a new laptop, at all.
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28th
February
2020
Coming soon: an extra day
Today should be the end of the month, except for a bit of mathematical magic. Like most of my class, I mastered a long poem that helped to recall the number of days associated with each month. Eleven of them are predictable, but February is special.
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30th
December
2019
With some technical support, I can do this
Using online client tech is not really difficult; me and my various banks have got this figured out, and we have for several years now. In sharp contrast, our federal government has a system that seems to be a study in user frustration. It’s all about jumping through the hoops to prove your identity; as if someone wants to impersonate me and pay my tax bill. I get it, their programmers need a challenge or two, and when you have a postal system, and walk-in centres and modems, stirring madly will create a system for the eons. If you fail to use the system regularly, you can test the model all over again.
Read the rest of this entry »posted in computing, economy, technology | Comments Off on With some technical support, I can do this | 281 words
15th
December
2019
Playbook play? Perhaps
Part of my work list includes documenting my local climate. No deep details, but when I look back, years from now, I want to go beyond supposition. Today, we reached above 10C; double digits in December, and not that bothersome scale that falls below freezing. I didn’t lay out in the sun (I could have), but I can still wear shorts and not fear frostbite.
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12th
December
2019
My latest plate of Pi
Good, there’s music available while I wait. I’m busy configuring my latest serving of Pi, and the OS requires a certain amount of patch activity. How much? Hard to be sure, but I’ve been watching the activity indicator for the last twenty minutes or so. Not stuck, just a bit more like “cold molasses” than I would have expected, given the level of hype about this newest iteration.
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12th
November
2019
While in the maze of twisty, etc.
Who has the time to read all the different install notes that come with software, particularly open source? Let me rephrase that. Who should read all the different, etc. etc. Well, that would be me, before I nonchalantly erase a program that I find useful.
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21st
September
2019
Packing for transfer
Had my first peek inside of a malfunctioning Mac this evening. A newish one, with a tiny SSD drive and an interface that was completely unlike any other gear I have in the house. Beyond my ken. All I could do was to seal the drive into an antistatic bag, close up shop and hope that a better equipped repair shop can move things to the next level.
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6th
September
2019
The music has returned
Several months back, the music stopped. Seems much longer, in retrospect. You see, I have really grown attached to a small Internet radio receiver based on one of my Raspberry Pi boards. The system worked very well, until an update came along and caused a cascade of problems. I tried going “back”, but never managed to succeed. And so, in the blink of an eye, my access to good retro music vanished.
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1st
September
2019
Underscore of the text
Two nights ago, we hosted a curtain alteration party. Not many invited, but very efficient at turning some base models from Ikea into what was needed for a new apartment. Today, we received photographic proof that the effort was worthwhile. Chalk one up for she who can run a sewing machine.
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