(or wev the correct phrase is)
My comments have experienced a hostile takeover.
I'm trying to correct the problem, but my code is malformed. I hate it when that happens.
This has not been the best tech week in my life, that's for sure.
ETA: Aaaand, we're back to Blogger comments. My suggestion to all of you (and I know it's too late for you Dusty) is to AVOID THE INTENSE DEBATE COMMENTING PLATFORM AT ALL COSTS!!!
Showing posts with label mea culpa. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mea culpa. Show all posts
06 March 2009
05 March 2009
Re: Can't Get Flash Working
Okay everybody, go ahead and point and laugh. Just go ahead and do it.
Oh, you want to know why?
Okay. Well. Ummm. /sigh/
Here's the thing. I installed Linux from the live CD, and all that. And the default browser was something called Konqueror. Which, although it seemed a friendly little browser, wasn't Firefox. So I downloaded and installed (after figuring out how) Firefox. Yay! Happy dance!
Wait. Not so much. Videos don't work!?!? Noooooooo!
And so the three day search to figure things out began. Tried this and that and the other, and determined that Flash Player 10 (for Linux, even) was installed, but Just. Wouldn't. Work.
Searched, tried, pouted, cursed, etc....
Tried Flewellyn's link from my previous post about this (btw, thanks Flewellyn!!) and nothing, repeat nothing could get me videos in Firefox. Oh, they showed up just fine in Konqueror.
I tried another browser (Opera... meh) to see if there was video, and Lo, there was. Now it's getting really frustrating.
Konqueror was too plain, and Opera, well, see above, and dangit, I really like Firefox! Anyway, I did a Google search of "linux browsers" and came to a site that listed eight or ten of them, including Firefox, and -- well, here, let me just show you what it said (emphasis mine):
Yes, Dear Reader, the pre-installed Firefox works just fine. But not knowing it was already there, I installed another copy of it. But the system didn't point to the one I was opening, so none of my attempts were directed where I wanted them to be.
Now I need to figure out which iteration of FF is the one I don't need, and get rid of it.
As it says in my URL, I am such a Phydeauxp. Point and laugh.
Oh, you want to know why?
Okay. Well. Ummm. /sigh/
Here's the thing. I installed Linux from the live CD, and all that. And the default browser was something called Konqueror. Which, although it seemed a friendly little browser, wasn't Firefox. So I downloaded and installed (after figuring out how) Firefox. Yay! Happy dance!
Wait. Not so much. Videos don't work!?!? Noooooooo!
And so the three day search to figure things out began. Tried this and that and the other, and determined that Flash Player 10 (for Linux, even) was installed, but Just. Wouldn't. Work.
Searched, tried, pouted, cursed, etc....
Tried Flewellyn's link from my previous post about this (btw, thanks Flewellyn!!) and nothing, repeat nothing could get me videos in Firefox. Oh, they showed up just fine in Konqueror.
I tried another browser (Opera... meh) to see if there was video, and Lo, there was. Now it's getting really frustrating.
Konqueror was too plain, and Opera, well, see above, and dangit, I really like Firefox! Anyway, I did a Google search of "linux browsers" and came to a site that listed eight or ten of them, including Firefox, and -- well, here, let me just show you what it said (emphasis mine):
Firefox [Free]
The most popular open source web browser. Available for all major operating systems and included in all major Linux distributions. Numerous extensions are available..
Yes, Dear Reader, the pre-installed Firefox works just fine. But not knowing it was already there, I installed another copy of it. But the system didn't point to the one I was opening, so none of my attempts were directed where I wanted them to be.
Now I need to figure out which iteration of FF is the one I don't need, and get rid of it.
As it says in my URL, I am such a Phydeauxp. Point and laugh.
26 September 2007
"Go Fuck Yourself!" - or, More Than You Ever Wanted To Know About Me
Sorry, there's no contortionist porn involved in this post. Nor is it about Dick Cheney or any other well known idiot. The idiot I'm going to talk about is myself. If you don't care to read about how dumb I am, just click yourself on outta here - I won't be offended.
As I have said, here and other places, I have a total lack of respect for money. I think it is one of the - if not the very - worst things that has ever happened to this planet, and all creatures (great and small, bright and beautiful...) that reside upon it. Religion and "Mine!" are also up there, and it's kind of a tossup as to which is actually the worst, but be that as it may....
In my hatred of money, I have well and truly fucked myself. Because in this society, one must have some, at least. Even if you live off the grid, on a self-sustaining farm (neither condition, unfortunately, describes my situation - as much as I wish they did), you still have to pay taxes, have car insurance, etc.
Car insurance. Verily, that is the problem du jour. To drive a car, one must have insurance. To have insurance, one must pay money. To have money, one must work.
Well, over the past couple of months, I have worked very little. But I, and the cats, must eat. So, what little money I have earned has gone to purchase food for myself (and the kitties). I knew an insurance payment was due... then past due... then no longer due because the policy was cancelled (due to non-payment).
I don't know. I guess I thought I could sneak myself up the road and to work (when there was work to be had) without being caught, until I could afford to get a new policy.
I was wrong. (Yeah, I know, "no shit, Sherlock")
My luck ran out this morning. I wasn't in an accident, or anything like that. But I did happen upon a license check, and helpfully went ahead and pulled over to the side of the road (since I knew I would have to anyway). The highway patrolman was very nice, even letting me drive the two miles back home (with escort - to make sure I was really just driving home).
Now I've got to surrender my license plate for 30 (thirty) days, pay a fine, and - oh, yeah - get some insurance before I can get a new plate. So, somehow, I have to figure out how to get to work (almost 30 miles away), so I can earn money not only to pay said fine, etc, but buy food for the human and feline residents of the Secret Lair (aka '73 Winnebago)... without a car.
The worst part of it all is that this is not the first time I've done this to myself - or the second, or the third. I keep making the same stupid decisions over and over. Hell, with a record like that, I could be President of the United States! Thank FSM my mistakes don't cause thousands (millions?) of people to die, like the mistakes of some people.
I know I can't keep this up forever, working just enough to sustain myself, but I can't seem to make myself give a shit. When I do work, it is in the construction sector, for two reasons. I enjoy the work, and it's not monotonous. I've had "real" jobs in the past - even earned really good money at times - but those "real" jobs were soul-sucking. I can't stand doing the same thing, day after day, just for money.
The irony is that in my home life, I do the same thing, day after day. Wake up, start the coffee maker, turn on the computer (read email and blogs), try - lately without any success - to work on the novel I've been writing for the last four years, eat, play computer games, putter around the Secret Lair (aka '73 Winnebago) and work on the neighbor's yard (since he won't let me pay him for living in his woods - and plugging into his electricity - I do the yard work and whatever else he needs done maintenance-wise around his house). That routine doesn't bother me. It's only when I have to do it (and the earning of money is involved) that it gets me down.
I am a seriously screwed up individual, no? (I also over-use parentheses, but that's a different topic altogether (isn't it?))
The only paying, regular, job I've ever had that didn't make want to run screaming into the night was doing theatre (both onstage and backstage), but since I have no desire to live in (or anywhere near) a big city where paid theatre gigs can be found on a regular basis, that's pretty much out.
Anyway, I'll keep y'all updated, pardon this extended ramble, and... does anybody know a way to make money online?
As I have said, here and other places, I have a total lack of respect for money. I think it is one of the - if not the very - worst things that has ever happened to this planet, and all creatures (great and small, bright and beautiful...) that reside upon it. Religion and "Mine!" are also up there, and it's kind of a tossup as to which is actually the worst, but be that as it may....
In my hatred of money, I have well and truly fucked myself. Because in this society, one must have some, at least. Even if you live off the grid, on a self-sustaining farm (neither condition, unfortunately, describes my situation - as much as I wish they did), you still have to pay taxes, have car insurance, etc.
Car insurance. Verily, that is the problem du jour. To drive a car, one must have insurance. To have insurance, one must pay money. To have money, one must work.
Well, over the past couple of months, I have worked very little. But I, and the cats, must eat. So, what little money I have earned has gone to purchase food for myself (and the kitties). I knew an insurance payment was due... then past due... then no longer due because the policy was cancelled (due to non-payment).
I don't know. I guess I thought I could sneak myself up the road and to work (when there was work to be had) without being caught, until I could afford to get a new policy.
I was wrong. (Yeah, I know, "no shit, Sherlock")
My luck ran out this morning. I wasn't in an accident, or anything like that. But I did happen upon a license check, and helpfully went ahead and pulled over to the side of the road (since I knew I would have to anyway). The highway patrolman was very nice, even letting me drive the two miles back home (with escort - to make sure I was really just driving home).
Now I've got to surrender my license plate for 30 (thirty) days, pay a fine, and - oh, yeah - get some insurance before I can get a new plate. So, somehow, I have to figure out how to get to work (almost 30 miles away), so I can earn money not only to pay said fine, etc, but buy food for the human and feline residents of the Secret Lair (aka '73 Winnebago)... without a car.
The worst part of it all is that this is not the first time I've done this to myself - or the second, or the third. I keep making the same stupid decisions over and over. Hell, with a record like that, I could be President of the United States! Thank FSM my mistakes don't cause thousands (millions?) of people to die, like the mistakes of some people.
I know I can't keep this up forever, working just enough to sustain myself, but I can't seem to make myself give a shit. When I do work, it is in the construction sector, for two reasons. I enjoy the work, and it's not monotonous. I've had "real" jobs in the past - even earned really good money at times - but those "real" jobs were soul-sucking. I can't stand doing the same thing, day after day, just for money.
The irony is that in my home life, I do the same thing, day after day. Wake up, start the coffee maker, turn on the computer (read email and blogs), try - lately without any success - to work on the novel I've been writing for the last four years, eat, play computer games, putter around the Secret Lair (aka '73 Winnebago) and work on the neighbor's yard (since he won't let me pay him for living in his woods - and plugging into his electricity - I do the yard work and whatever else he needs done maintenance-wise around his house). That routine doesn't bother me. It's only when I have to do it (and the earning of money is involved) that it gets me down.
I am a seriously screwed up individual, no? (I also over-use parentheses, but that's a different topic altogether (isn't it?))
The only paying, regular, job I've ever had that didn't make want to run screaming into the night was doing theatre (both onstage and backstage), but since I have no desire to live in (or anywhere near) a big city where paid theatre gigs can be found on a regular basis, that's pretty much out.
Anyway, I'll keep y'all updated, pardon this extended ramble, and... does anybody know a way to make money online?
13 April 2007
We should All be Outraged
I have just finished reading an excellent post over at PoliTits, To Have A Say.
The post is a response to this Daily Kos post from Wednesday 11 April 2007. Or, more specifically, in response to the part of the post where the author refers to this post, by tech blogger Kathy Sierra. I'm relatively certain that all who read this will already be familiar with the situation (for those of you who are not, take the time to read the linked posts - I'll still be here when you get back).
In his climax of belittling Sierra's statements, Kos states the following: "If they can't handle a little heat in their email inbox, then really, they should try another line of work." Well, sir, I say to you: If you cannot understand that women have to take the heat (threats) seriously, because they are often, despite what you believe, carried out, then perhaps you have no right to comment on them.
I read the post in question at Daily Kos because I was following a link thread about the proposed "Blogger Code of Ethics". I agreed with him that it's a pointless endeavor, but then I got to the part where he disparages and dismisses Kathy Sierra. It was at that point that I decided to stop 'listening' to what he had to say.
As I said in my comment at PoliTits (if I may be so bold as to quote myself):
When I read the Kos post, I should have added my voice to those who derided the author for his narrow (and incorrect) viewpoint. Instead, I decided that I just wouldn't read him anymore. That was wrong, and I apologize to to Kathy Sierra, and all the other women who have been threatened or worse, for whom I have not spoken up.
The post is a response to this Daily Kos post from Wednesday 11 April 2007. Or, more specifically, in response to the part of the post where the author refers to this post, by tech blogger Kathy Sierra. I'm relatively certain that all who read this will already be familiar with the situation (for those of you who are not, take the time to read the linked posts - I'll still be here when you get back).
In his climax of belittling Sierra's statements, Kos states the following: "If they can't handle a little heat in their email inbox, then really, they should try another line of work." Well, sir, I say to you: If you cannot understand that women have to take the heat (threats) seriously, because they are often, despite what you believe, carried out, then perhaps you have no right to comment on them.
I read the post in question at Daily Kos because I was following a link thread about the proposed "Blogger Code of Ethics". I agreed with him that it's a pointless endeavor, but then I got to the part where he disparages and dismisses Kathy Sierra. It was at that point that I decided to stop 'listening' to what he had to say.
As I said in my comment at PoliTits (if I may be so bold as to quote myself):
I am hesitant to enter into discussions on these topics, being a man myself, because of the narrow-mindedness and latent (or even blatant) sexist attitudes that male posters and commenters often display. I prefer not to be associated with such... morons. I am not suggesting that I would be blindly, or blithely, lumped in with the Neanderthal (no offense, Geico dude!) ravings, but, rather, that anything I, as a man, say about these topics, should rightfully be taken with a grain of salt.DCup pointed out, however, "[r]ead them and comment and engage them." She was referring to feminist bloggers, but I believe that what she says should apply to all bloggers. Only by engaging - in a civil manner - can we hope to eliminate the barriers that society, and each of us individually, create.
When I read the Kos post, I should have added my voice to those who derided the author for his narrow (and incorrect) viewpoint. Instead, I decided that I just wouldn't read him anymore. That was wrong, and I apologize to to Kathy Sierra, and all the other women who have been threatened or worse, for whom I have not spoken up.
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