The Tech Curmudgeon

Good to have such kind of security. It would work ...

2010-06-04T05:30:01.319-05:00

Good to have such kind of security. It would work as antivirus for the system.

Thanks for sharing this info post.

2009-07-08T04:30:26.998-05:00

Thanks for sharing this info post.

"Guys and Snowballs" (There were better possibili...

2008-12-15T14:57:00.000-05:00

"Guys and Snowballs" (There were better possibilities, but they're too suggestive.)

What's playin' at the Roxy?I'll tell ya what's pla...

2008-12-15T14:49:00.000-05:00

What's playin' at the Roxy?
I'll tell ya what's playin' at the Roxy---
A film about a bunch o' kids who used to make snowballs by hand,
But now they use a scoop made of epoxy
That's what's playin' at the Roxy....

Yes, the automatic updates are scarey. But even w...

2008-11-21T15:35:00.000-05:00

Yes, the automatic updates are scarey. But even with this feature turned off, you get these annoying warnings on both Mac and Windows.

I can understand that certain updates affect the operating system directly, and would require a reboot. But iPhoto?

Um, actually I really don't much like automatic up...

2008-11-21T15:09:00.000-05:00

Um, actually I really don't much like automatic update (though I have it enabled on my PC) -- I feel the system is doing things behind my back. Somehow it always seems to be doing it when I'm in the middle of something. You can, usually, tell it you don't want to reboot -- on windows anyway.

I don't do development on either windows or mac so I couldn't tell you which awful systems tables these pieces of software are touching, but there probably are some.

Yes, I think it was Einstein who said: Every day, ...

2008-11-18T10:27:00.000-05:00

Yes, I think it was Einstein who said: Every day, man is making bigger and better fool-proof things, and every day, nature is making bigger and better fools. So far, I think nature is winning.

So it's important to know when DNA evidence is reliable, and when it's not. But that's how science has always worked. We advance our knowledge a little bit, and that raises new questions and doubts.

Thanks,
-pd

DNA as evidence has worried me ever since I heard ...

2008-11-18T00:41:00.000-05:00

DNA as evidence has worried me ever since I heard about chimeras.
A chimera could be found guilty when innocent (mother accused of welfare fraud since her children couldn't possibly be hers, because of DNA evidence, but later it's found she IS their birth mother and is a chimera, which explains the DNA difference) and a chimera could be found innocent when actually guilty. DNA isn't foolproof.
Is there a way around this?

Thanks. I'm glad you did.

2008-10-29T07:04:00.000-05:00

Thanks. I'm glad you did.

People should read this.

2008-10-28T20:05:00.000-05:00

People should read this.

Interesting comment, but your analogy between acad...

2008-10-18T07:40:00.000-05:00

Interesting comment, but your analogy between academic performance and wealth doesn't hold up for several reasons:

1) People aren't born with high GPAs.

2) People don't die or suffer lifelong disabilities as a direct result of low grades in school. (Indirectly, maybe, but not directly.)

3) GPA is designed to be a measure of academic performance. It has no other purpose.

4) In your example, GPAs range from 2.0 to 4.0. Individual wealth, on the other hand, has ratios like almost 0 to $60 billion. The earnings of many corporate CEOs are hundreds or thousands of times what many of their employees earn. It's not even close.

No one is suggesting an equal redistribution. That's not what progressive taxation is about. All I've suggested was undoing some of the REgressive taxation of the Bush era.

COLLEGE students:"Spread the Grades" (think abou...

2008-10-18T00:49:00.000-05:00

COLLEGE students:

"Spread the Grades" (think about it)

If you have a 3.5-4.0 GPA = 3.0
If you have a 3.0-3.40 GPA = 2.8
If you have a 2.8-2.99 GPA = 2.6
If you have a 2.6-2.7+ GPA = 2.4
If you have a 2.0 - 2.5 GPA = 2.2
If you are failing GPA = 2.0

We will use the GPA credits we collected from the fortunate students
to raise the GPAs of the less fortunate students. This will insure that those students that have lower grades will have the same success that those who have good grades have had. We feel that this will insure a fair distribution of grades AND make
it more FAIR in the job market after our students leave college.
We feel that this will attract more highly qualified students to our
institution and increase the academic standards as well. Those
students who cannot make good grades will not be at a disadvantage
when thay look for a job. It will also insure that any student can
take any course and pass. Our institution will produce the best and
brightest people who will lead the world!
We will also implement this same "spread the grade" program for our engineering, technical, medical and dental schools as well!!!! Think of the professionals we can graduate!!!! We will also be eliminating all entrance requirments so as to open more opportunities to all students.
This is only fair, as this type of program may soon be implemented in the real world.
We want to stay abreast of the real world so as to better prepare our students for life after collage!
Remember...study hard for good grades ...or not, someone else will
carry you through.
IF YOU DON"T SUPPORT ACADEMIN WELFARE>>>DON'T SUPPORT GOVERNMENTAL WELFARE!
think about it!!!!

John, it's certainly true that there are times whe...

2008-08-23T16:09:00.000-05:00

John, it's certainly true that there are times when I want to be stepping in the author's footsteps. When trying to follow a complicated argument, or understand an algorithm, for instance, I'd want to follow as closely as possible. That's not always the case, though, and when I'm reading non-fiction, I often feel constrained by the path chosen by the particular author.

Peter, you mentioned, "reading someone else's writ...

2008-08-23T15:58:00.000-05:00

Peter, you mentioned, "reading someone else's writing is like having to step in their footprints in the snow." Coincidentally, I've been reading Edmund Hillary's book about climbing Everest. That was a huge complicated mission that pushed those teams of people to the edge of their endurance. They climbed in stages, and established camps at each stage -- survival depended on having a camp available for famished, exhausted or freezing climbers. In each of these stages, it was because the climbers and Sherpas were able to step in the footprints of the team that established the trail that they were able to continue on, carrying food and equipment. That's how they reached the summit of Everest.

It's good to hear affirmation for my choice to sta...

2008-08-23T10:59:00.000-05:00

It's good to hear affirmation for my choice to stay with a PC (it'd be really, really expensive to switch at this point), but I have to say I was captivated by the recent point on the illo list about a Mac surviving a fall down the stairs.
And the idea of one lasting 8 years. My PCs last 8 years, sure. But they get so slow and cumbersome, I can't wait to upgrade after 4 years.
I guess what I dislike most about computers is planned obsolescence.

Maybe it's like looking under the cushions of othe...

2008-08-07T13:00:00.000-05:00

Maybe it's like looking under the cushions of other people's couches.

Peter, isn't this the story of Sisyphus? You'll ne...

2008-07-18T08:46:00.000-05:00

Peter, isn't this the story of Sisyphus? You'll never get that boulder to the top! That's part of being human.

In your last entry, you mentioned the mute button being subverted by TV programmers. I've noticed that software people tend to want a LOT of control over their environments and gadgetry, if not TOTAL control. And they're unhappy, and they struggle, when they don't have this control.

Of course, this compulsion is what makes them software people to begin with.

So this is your boulder.

Ok, maybe it's narcissistic to comment on my own b...

2008-07-01T21:55:00.000-05:00

Ok, maybe it's narcissistic to comment on my own blog, but I thought of number 6 ...

On Windows, the Alt-Tab combo lets you cycle through all the open windows, to select exactly which one you want. On the Mac, Alt-Tab cycles through open applications, but if an app has multiple windows open, you can only get to the top one this way. Then you have to use the app's Window menu to get to a specific window, which my be hidden behind another and thus not mouse-able.

Thanks. I wasn't sure if I missed a few other art...

2008-07-01T15:21:00.000-05:00

Thanks. I wasn't sure if I missed a few other artists in the hubbub of people leaving the theater.

Anyway, it was a great and, I hope, influential film. I was just amused by the tinge of hypocrisy.

Well, congratulations, on all the world wide web y...

2008-07-01T14:49:00.000-05:00

Well, congratulations, on all the world wide web you seem to be the only blogger who actually recognized the Seurat, Van Gogh and JMW Turner allusions (or rather, facsimiles) on the screen. So for the most part perhaps the boasting fell on blind eyes. Perhaps the art history profs from Columbia don't want to admit they've been to see the film.

Yes, environmentalism is big business. The cap and trade system, for example, is a bonanza for snake oil salesmen of all types, and the ethanol boom, sold as green, is a burgeoning environmental disaster. By contrast, the Wall-E marketing machine is small potatoes. In any case, I suspect some of the film's anti-consumer message will register and affect attitudes, just as Al Gore's film did.

Good for you for thinking different(ly) and switch...

2007-06-21T18:42:00.000-05:00

Good for you for thinking different(ly) and switching to the Mac!

1. For online backup I use my .Mac account, but you can find a lot more bang for your buck elsewhere.

2. You probably already know most of the Mac keyboard shortcuts (here's a good list of them), but you can also get things like keyboard-accessible menus; more info here, here and here.

Hi, thanks for the tips on cargo pants Mr. Curmudg...

2007-01-13T16:48:00.000-05:00

Hi, thanks for the tips on cargo pants Mr. Curmudgeon. I'll keep it in mind next time I go to Kohl"s. Especially for me with my cell phone(not yet up to date yet with the treo) wallet,and house keys. Thanks Again!

You know why we don't see nearly as many malfuncti...

2006-11-25T17:21:00.000-05:00

You know why we don't see nearly as many malfunctioning computers in movies and in TV today?

Because the sponsors who provide the hardware and software for production do not want their "merchandise" to be shown in a negative light.

(i.e. no bluescreens, no computer viruses, no spam problem, etc.)