My kind of fun: fixing a broken project. Even if I’m the one that broke it. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not stumbling from disaster to disaster. When the chance comes to “perform an upgrade” on something, my mind is hard wired to apply things, willy nilly. After all, I can usually revert to the last working revision.
posted in computing | Comments Off on Break it just to fix it | 261 words
Now that I sit on the other side of the table, I realize that getting a job is as much jumping through hoops as anything else. I was lucky; rarely had to sit for interviews during my thirty-plus years of proving my employability. This new “role”, where I’m helping with the staffing of local tourist sites, means giving a quick read of a stranger. Does this person have the “right stuff”? I really should reread the novel with the same title.
posted in computing | Comments Off on Scrambled radio | 251 words
A special shout out to all those teachers who hint that learning goes on for a lifetime, not a semester. You’re right. Yesterday, I learned that those tiny spacer washer are not supposed to stay in place for the summer. Creates a wobble (in the wheel world). Now I know. Today, I learned how to paginate a large book. Good to know if you’re involved in any home brew publishing efforts. It’s pretty simple, actually. My software has a button labelled “add page numbers” and that exactly (all) it does. Doesn’t skip digits unless you request the option (as it creates a wobble in the publishing world).
posted in computing, pets | Comments Off on Avoiding a wobble | 273 words
After a quick find and fix, this afternoon, I realize that my work skills are still relevant. How else (and who else) will my family call when they can’t get their email?
posted in computing | Comments Off on Solve for all unknown variables | 285 words
Had to happen, eventually. Using DNA to solve a crime. But a sample from someone else? They didn’t use that plot twist in the TV version. In California, a mass murderer has been tracked down and arrested, after the police went into the archives of a genealogy firm that collects and analyzes your spit for “who you have as a cousin” (it’s a thing, OK).
posted in computing, genealogy | Comments Off on Deadline stress | 256 words
When dealing with computers, assume nothing. Let me rephrase that; when dealing with computer users, assume nothing. There. We can go forward.
posted in computing | Comments Off on The non-licensed license | 279 words
There. I finally rolled the table uphill, and now I won’t have to think about it again until the end of the summer. May that be a long and glorious period. The BBQ has a new tank of C3H8 (a throwback to my periods in senior chemistry). Not much else to do, except to find some steaks and start the sacrificial meals.
posted in computing, environment, history, humour | Comments Off on Roll it uphill | 267 words
When you find multiple identification guides available, take it as a sign that you are not alone. The object before you has confused others. Be it tiny bird hanging around the feeder, or a drawer with a collection of single-board computers, the need to be sure is the same.
posted in computing | Comments Off on A pile of Pi(s) | 286 words
Over the years, I’ve spent a lot of time waiting for data to be backed up. Go all the way back to punch cards, when copying a single card took a measurable amount of time to be threaded through the teeth of the card reader. Move forward, through the cassette, to the floppy. Follow that with more tape, and the 1X CD burner. Keep on going.
posted in computing | Comments Off on Waiting to back up | 268 words
Today I worked on my retail list. In a big city, the specialty stores are there just for people like me: the occasional random shopper.
posted in computing, technology | Comments Off on Stopped in a stuff store | 270 words
