30 July 2006

Michael Dell Is A Media Whore

“In its annual shareholder meeting last Friday, Dell CEO Michael Dell took a few swipes at Apple, according to a new report. The CEO said that it has turned to MTV to help tackle Apple on the digital music front, but that Apple is not really a competitor in the PC market ...”

Actually I don't know if he is, according to the strict meaning of the term, but doesn't it sound right. On this one little journal alone, I can cite Michael Dell, who will clearly Say Anything, saying anything: c.f. Michael trashing the iPod and then, but a few months later—goddammit, where is that link—I don't remember three-fourths of the stuff I write, hey, when it's done, it's done—Michael, the sport, did generously offered something to Apple—but what? Surely it wasn't Expertise.

I have to start tagging, that's all there is to it. Tagging in the Technorati sense, which I have resisted, quite naturally, until I at last see the value: so I can find my own crap! My del.icio.us tags page represents a loop back to the categories here.

I tagged to amuse myself, and amuse myself I did. But who, without knowing this is the exact phrase you need, is going to search on the tag brainsinpants. You see the problem. Or sexistpigs, clueless (I also made my own groups) and that really big favorite, testicles. (Will Technorati accept faintly nasty tags?)

You see my point. Please explain it to me. Oh, yes: the reason I am going to actually follow a procedure determined by someone other than myself. (I'll just have to close my eyes and not think of Niall.)

You can also see, I hope, that I my health is a bit better. Poking fun at them what deserves it, beg for it—always a sure sign of health for. It looked like a permanent nose-dive there, a short time back, but aren't drugs just the bees knees. I found I can poke and also work on readying my book for publication. At the same time!

And don't forget, I ain't really blogging—this really is a writer's online journal. That the WWW happens to be an outlet for well-tuned snark only makes me feel at home. And when the snark misses its aim, even a little, just know I am feeling a bit poorly, but not to worry. I discovered I've had this genetic condition all my life. (Yeah, being me. That ain't going away any time soon.)

Jeez, I may actually do a thing that draws readers? I mean, links? No, I mean readers. Links I invariably forget about. The mark of a born writer: having nothing to sell.

I don't know about all this Monetizing (now there's a loathesome word) of blogs. You know where Monetizing leads to, don'tcha: a brain like Michael Dell's. Ca-ching! Ca-ching! Only, apparently Michael's ca-chings are falling off:

... the comments follow an earnings warning issued by the company after it said that it faces earnings shortfall of nearly 33 percent for the second quarter ...


Quit now, while you can still shake them little Wal-mart monkeys off your back.

27 July 2006

Just One or Two More Things

Dealmac Forums:
“Re: How do i access netgear router? What is the IP address?”

Posted by: zo219
The default page—meaning, the page where you configure your router, and, it is to be hoped, put some constraints on incoming traffic&8212;is accessed, for Linksys and Netgear, at 192.168.1.1; DLink by typing in the address 192.168.0.1; Belkin 192.168.21 ... and if you've some other brand, go GTFW. [corrected]

Most of the time, when an address cannot be reached, a simple process can't be completed—when you know it's supposed to work—the solution lies in such simple fixes as, Trash all related preferences and Restart. Repair permissions, (download MainMenu, free) and perhaps run a Deep Clean of your all your caches (see MM) as well ... and Restart.

Another choice: download Applejack (also free, though a donation would be nice) and when you do Restart, hold down the Command (Apple) Key and the S key (also known as a Safe Boot) ... and when the command line comes up, type in applejack (no caps) and let it run through all of these steps for you. Takes longer than MM, but it's automatic and will restart when it's done, if you ask nicely.

It just seems too bad to go through the more technical steps when you haven't cleaned your machine.

Just one more thing: I've had complicated network problems vanish by using a new account. Always create two Admin-level accounts on your machine, and have the second waiting in your menubar, via Fast User Switching (which is in Accounts/System Preferences, as are way too many other things). Face it, some things can go wrong, in a Unix-based system, which builds itself anew each time, that no one is ever going to find.

Or do an Archive and (Re)Install, which is rather the opposite: first your User Account is isolated, and then a whole new system is installed. Of course, then you gotta run Software Update and not all at once and you better be on broadband and repair permissions between significant applied downloads and ... crikies, see (me) for the rest of this post ...



In this bit of advice, I've stuck to two maintenance utilities that I've used long enough to trust they won't get you into trouble.

Okay, MainMenu requires you know a little something—enough to not use every choice every time ... Doesn't anybody RTFM anymore? Oops, my bad, we are Mac owners, we do not R TFM; it comes with the product and stacks up on your bookshelf, but who knows, someday, some little bit of info on page 436 of eye-watering boredom will turn out to be the very thing you need.

Or, get real, it's way more interesting to STFW—more properly known as, GTFW. At least, the journey is infinitely more interesting, and I do mean infinite. From the most amazing Springsteen solo, to del.icio.us popular (way more interesting than Digg: you cannot will these things into being; the net is full of such truths) ... it can be a while til we arrive at the sought-after info. Providing we remember what it was (thanking you once again, lord, for tabbed browsing.)

Is Sir Tim an INFP? Does anybody know? And what is his Enneagram Number? (Though he may well be a Four, if he is an INFP, or at least have Fourish Wings. Don't you think?)

Does he wear black? Always? Wait a minute, this would indicate that His Steveness is very likely a Four. I happened upon something streaming where he appeared before the Cupertino City Council, applying (yeah, right) for a permit for the new Mac campus; he seemed like a nice man. Really. There were about three people there, the council members were respectful but not about to be kissy-ass, which is, on the other hand, being kissy-ass, in that this is exactly the way Steve would want it. He seemed very relaxed; this man does not think of himself as a star—and this brings me to my point. No, not the one you might think. I finished with that one ages ago.

The hot news burning up the wires tonight: WWDC Bingo. A dangerous game if ever I heard one. Thought up by, who else, Siracusa. Yeah, him again. Oh that Ars. (I don't think they keep him very busy over there.)

Dangerous and gutsy: you may not play unless you are willing, should you make Bingo, to yell Bingo, loud enough to be A, heard on the Keynote video by those of us not in attendance, and B—and this is where the real balls comes in, as I have no doubt A will automatically beget B—cause The Steve to stop, and to turn upon you The Glare. (See web mentions too numerous to cite.) I mean, what if you must cry out just as he starts to draw the next shrunken surprise out of his watchpocket? Oooh, the little hairs on my arms are standing up, just thinking about it.

Here is the card. I adore this kind of thing. Oops, sorry Windows users, note at bottom says: “Evidently this doesn't work with IE on Windows, because they didn't really bother to implement the DOM. I can't be arsed to fix it, either.”

Unbelievably, the poor old Guardian, dropping a brick or a penny or whatever the hell it is they drop over there, claims to have thought of the whole Keynote-bingo thing first. Thought of what? The words bingo and Keynote alone doth not a whole, amusing gestalt create. How proudly they link to their little effort, and I expect we are supposed to be kind.

Fuck that noise.

16 July 2006

Dear Mr. Fantasy

Doug's Darkworld writes: “Israeli militants have decided the time has come to destroy their enemies in Syria and Iran. In a desire to create a fantasy world where no Israelis can ever come to harm. Why is this a fantasy world? Because it is also a world where Israel is free to kill and maim their Arab neighbors any time they please.”

Sounds like my marriage.

All this war crap. Nothing but male umbrage, out of control.

Nothing more important to it than that.

Poor sods/stupid fucks. Take your pick.

11 July 2006

Whatever Neil Says

NeilGo. Listen.



rangernomad001
Neil Young said, ‘I waited and waited for the young rebels, to say these things it never came, so I had to do it myself. Where are the dissidents of today?’ Neil, they're too busy being cool, too busy thinking that being a SK'8'er or wearing baggy pants is being a rebel. Too busy thinking gansta rap is cool and rebeluous. It ain't.

katmann2000
awesome! Neil and all the great artists of the 60's and 70's played a large role in getting America out of Vietnam.. very few of todays ‘artists’ are that dedicated..it's a shame ..America has seen it's best days I fear... noone will stand up for what is right


All is not lost. Among the yout. Of America today.

 
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