Geek Stuff category archive
Geeking Out 0
The Fluxbox window manager with the looksClearblue theme on Ubuntu MATE on my Zareason mediabox. The background is from my library.
Customer Care 0
I got a call from the “business development” arm of my hosting provider yesterday to inquire as to what needs I might have. They call about once a quarter.
After introductory pleasantries, I informed the caller that my site is not a business site, but a hobbyist site (unsaid was, “So whatever you’re selling, I ain’t buying”). He asked, “By the way, what’s the hobby?”
I said, “Running a website.”
That’s when he started laughing . . . .
(By the by, I am quite happy with my hosting provider, particularly with the tech support, which has proven extremely competent. It’s the calibre of the tech support that keeps me with them. I don’t need tech support often, because I generally know what I’m doing, but, when I do need it, I need it bad.)
Geeking Out 0
Ubuntu MATE with the Plasma Desktop. The wallpaper is from my library. Swisswatch and the GKrellM system monitor are on the right:
Make TWUUG Your LUG 0
Learn about the wonderful world of free and open source. Use computers to do what you want, not what someone else wants you to do. Learn how to use GNU/Linux and its plethora of free and open source software to get stuff done with computers.
It’s not hard; it’s just different.
When: Monthly TWUUG meeting at 7:30 p. m. on the first Thursday of the month (August 1, 2019). Pre-meeting dinner at Chicago Uno, JANAF shopping center, 6:00 p. m. (map)
Who: Everyone in TideWater/Hampton Roads with interest in any/all flavors of Unix/Linux. There are no dues or signup requirements. All are welcome.
Where: Lake Taylor Transitional Care Hospital in Norfolk Training Room (map). (Wireless and wired internet connection available.) Turn right upon entering, then left at the last corridor and look for the open meeting room.
Geeking Out 0
Windows 8 in a VirtualBox virtual machine on Ubuntu MATE with the Plasma Desktop.
Afterthought:
Yes, I know the Windows taskbar is at the bottom of the screen by default. Did you know that you can reposition it? I find putting the taskbar (or, in Linux-speak, the panel) at the top fits my workflow.
Geeking Out 0
The Plasma Desktop with the Glowglass theme on Ubuntu MATE. The wallpaper is from my library.
Geeking Out 0
The UPS that I had my modem and router plugged into died tonight.
The first symptom was that I could not load a webpage. I tried pinging google.com and 8.8.8.8. Nada, zilch, nothing.
Following the dictum, always check the hardware first, I saw that the router and modem were powered off. I unplugged them from the UPS and plugged them into the wall outlet, and lights started flashing and everything is working again.
I can’t complain. I’ve certainly gotten my money’s worth from that device, as it’s eight or nine years old, and stuff wears out.
As my old car mechanic in New Jersey would have said, that thing didn’t owe me a dime.
I’ll pick up a new one next week.
Geeking Out 0
The Fluxbox window manager on Ubuntu MATE.
I could easily see this wallpaper as being from The Lord of the Rings, even though there’s no specific scene into which I could fit it.
Internet of Things Easy Marks
0
Why the hell does a light bulb need to connect to the internet in the first place?
Words fail me.
Via Le Show.
Meta: Phillies RSS Feed 0
I updated the widget for the Philadelphia Phillies RSS feed, over there —-> on the sidebar. The xml for the feed had changed in February and I finally got around to noticing.
The Phils certainly had a rough month in June.
Geeking Out 0
Ubuntu MATE with the default MATE desktop.
Aside:
MATE is pronounced “mah-tay.” It refers to a tea served in South America.
It’s fork of Gnome 2 for persons (and I’m one) who loathe Gnome 3.
Make TWUUG Your LUG 0
Learn about the wonderful world of free and open source. Use computers to do what you want, not what someone else wants you to do. Learn how to use GNU/Linux and its plethora of free and open source software to get stuff done with computers.
It’s not hard; it’s just different.
When: Regular meetings are monthly TWUUG meeting at 7:30 p. m. on the first Thursday of the month.
Because of the Fourth of July holiday, this month’s meeting will be on a Wednesday, July 3, 2019.
Pre-meeting dinner at Chicago Uno, JANAF shopping center, 6:00 p. m. (map)
Who: Everyone in TideWater/Hampton Roads with interest in any/all flavors of Unix/Linux. There are no dues or signup requirements. All are welcome.
Where: Lake Taylor Transitional Care Hospital in Norfolk Training Room (map). (Wireless and wired internet connection available.) Turn right upon entering, then left at the last corridor and look for the open meeting room.
Scoot, Scooters! 0
The current epidemic of rental electric scooters is not a public service.
It’s a get-rich scheme by tech bros who are swooping into cities to drop scooters so they can rent them out, even as they and their customers ignore local laws and public safety. It’s one more example of Silicon Valley’s doing something just because they can get away with it, and it’s causing problems here and in other cities. And, according to a trauma doctor who writes at The Seattle Times, it’s hazardous to your health and the health of others. Here’s an excerpt from his piece:
In scooter-filled cities, kids and adults alike are riding them in the street, on sidewalks, pedestrian trails … everywhere. The rules of e-scooter riding are clear, but they are not followed. Riders ignore age requirements. Most do not wear helmets. They double-up and ride in areas not conducive to scooters or public safety. Even if rules are followed, riders are crashing due to user error, device malfunction or simply the nature of scooter design.
The city of Austin and the CDC published a study describing injury patterns and rates for e-scooter users. This study, and another in California, clearly show the incidence of head injuries as alarming; nearly half of injured scooter riders sustained serious head trauma.
Aside:
Indeed, I think I wrote in these electrons about being buzzed by two scootering bros weaving amongst pedestrians while at the beach front last summer.
Manufacturing Memories 0
In Psychology Today, Matthew Hutson examines the mechanics of manipulating memory, specifically in the context of what we see on the inner webs. It ain’t pretty, folks.
An excerpt:
Half the time, people said they remembered the false event happening, and in most of those cases they said they actually remembered seeing it on the news. They recalled being “torn” upon seeing it, or having “mixed emotions,” or “cring[ing].” Perhaps some people were lying about their recollections, but when told one of the events hadn’t happened, readers guessed the wrong one 37 percent of the time. For them, the fake event was not only real but more real than some of the actual events.
Aside:
I read this article in the print magazine, to which I have been a long-time survivor (it was helpful in my days as a trainer and instructional designer). Selected articles from each issue are available on the website when the next issue has been, well, issued. I made a note to come back to this one because it is a must read, especially in these days of Fox News and their dupes, symps, and fellow travelers.
The Myth of Multitasking 0
David’s guest explains why “multitasking” is not a real thing, and why, indeed, attempting to “multitask” can be counterproductive.
It’s All about the Algorithm 0
David questions how Youtube’s algorithm works.
Aside:
I pay no attention to Youtube’s “recommendations” and routinely turn off “autoplay.” The recommendations are always wrong and autoplay is evil.
Make TWUUG Your LUG 0
Learn about the wonderful world of free and open source. Use computers to do what you want, not what someone else wants you to do. Learn how to use GNU/Linux and its plethora of free and open source software to get stuff done with computers.
It’s not hard; it’s just different.
When: Monthly TWUUG meeting at 7:30 p. m. on the first Thursday of the month (Junwe 6, 2019). Pre-meeting dinner at Chicago Uno, JANAF shopping center, 6:00 p. m. (map)
Who: Everyone in TideWater/Hampton Roads with interest in any/all flavors of Unix/Linux. There are no dues or signup requirements. All are welcome.
Where: Lake Taylor Transitional Care Hospital in Norfolk Training Room (map). (Wireless and wired internet connection available.) Turn right upon entering, then left at the last corridor and look for the open meeting room.