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March 14, 2010

Here is me not liking confrontation ()

by fluffy at 3:23 PM
Here is me wishing that I weren't put into confrontational situations by merit of being one of the owners of this building, when the commercial space's tenant's son is belligerent about whether it's okay for him to wash his car in our driveway or not (spoiler alert: it isn't, but he's been doing it for 18 years and he feels entitled).

I love this neighborhood but holy cow do I hate this particular building sometimes.

March 12, 2010

Yahoo adds wish-it-were-two-factor authentication (, )

by fluffy at 5:23 PM
You'd think an Internet company like Yahoo would know better than to do this crap. I tried logging in today and it prompted me to set two password-recovery questions. Its advice on the question and answer is:
Make sure your answer is private, memorable and does not change over time.
And yet, none of the questions allow that!

February 3, 2010

UPS is made of stupid (, )

by fluffy at 11:15 AM
UPS FUCKING SUCKS
I ordered a bunch of music gear. It came in two shipments, both shipped on the same day, and both actually made it to San Francisco on the same day. The same name was on both of them. The same street address was on both of them. Presumably either the same company name or the same floor number were on both of them. AND YET, UPS knew what to do with one package (that arrived this morning) but the other one (which was as far as I can tell in the same truck with the same driver) was rejected because of an "incorrect suite number."

My office doesn't have a suite number, just a street address and "4th floor." Usually, shippers can figure this out. But every now and then, UPS, in its infinite wisdom, decides they need a suite number to continue. And so my stuff gets delayed.

Unfortunately, a lot of merchants don't seem to realize that both company name AND floor number are necessary for packages to get to me, but in this case UPS should have been able to figure it out anyway, simply because there was another package for me in the same batch of packages which actually made it to me.

And of course, whenever I call UPS under situations like this, they claim that they need to hear from the shipper, not from the recipient, because nothing makes things go faster than extra, unnecessary layers of bureaucracy and buck-passing.

January 14, 2010

How not to have a corporate Twitter presence (, )

by fluffy at 9:55 AM
  • fluffy: Yay, my Nexus One is out for delivery! Only a few hours before the crushing disappointment of not having an immediate state of bliss.
  • fluffy: My Nexus One has been out for delivery for THREE HOURS where IS it COME ON FEDEX
  • FedexAl: @fluffy This is FedexAl. Would you like for me to track your package.
  • FedexDolores: @fluffy Hello this is FedexDolores would you like for me to check on your Nexus One for you?
  • fluffy: .@FedexDolores Yes, I totally need a spammy bot to walk me through continuing to reload the tracking page on a package that I already got.
  • FedexDolores: @fluffy Please call 1-877-339-2774 this is our technical assistance number. Our representatives will be glad to assist you.
  • fluffy: @FedexDolores I don't think you understand a single thing I said. I have no problems with FedEx, but fuck off if you're going to spam me.
Anyway, yeah, it looks like FedEx is trying their hand at Twitter by having a number of customer service representative idiots who do nothing but search for FedEx and try to improve customer satisfaction by responding to every single message they see about FedEx in a way that only comes across as disingenuous at best and spam at worst. My first assumption was that it was a couple of bots that were trying to get my package tracking numbers so they could divert the delivery. That could still be the case; I would certainly hope they're not legitimate FedEx representatives because if they are, it's pretty damn damaging to them in my mind.

Sure, out of context I guess my second tweet could have been seen as a complaint about FedEx, but why would two separate CSRs decide that they need to immediately make sure that I'm happy with FedEx service when clearly I know how to track a package and am just being impatient? Maybe they have real customers who demand to know where their package is down to the street level, or don't understand that delivery takes several hours. But I was just joking at my own expense, which anyone who knows me (from actually being a legitimate follower on Twitter — meaning, someone who saw something I had to say and decided I was worth reading for some strange reason) would have understood.

Twitter is a communication tool, which I happen to use to keep in touch with friends and random Internet acquaintances. To me, it is not a B2B marketing tool or a customer service tool or a way to generate revenue or eyeballs or whatever, and every time some business decides they need to monetize the community assets in order to generate customer-facing goodwill or whatever other bullshit leads to these ridiculous decisions, they only serve to ruin yet another thing that people just do for fun.

Bill Hicks had the right idea.

December 24, 2009

How does this even happen? ()

by fluffy at 8:29 PM
Some time today I appear to have lost a filling. I have no idea when, where, or how. This time it's a rather large one, and there seems to be a bit of tooth rot underneath (which probably partially explains the "how" at least). So of course I've left a message on my dentist's "dental emergency" line. It would of course be completely unsurprising if I can't get it taken care of tomorrow, although he's normally open on Saturday so hopefully that will work.

November 23, 2009

An open letter to Sir Paul McCartney (, , )

by fluffy at 8:42 AM
Dear Sir McCartney:

While you think you may be speaking in your own interest, anyone who has wanted to download pirated versions of the Beatles catalog has likely already done so, as there are many avenues by which to do that which don't involve an official EMI release. All you are doing by insisting that EMI recompense you for any pirated "leaks" of an official EMI downloadable version is preventing the people who want to buy them legally from doing so.

Love,
A fan

November 17, 2009

A problem with the eBay/PayPal linkup (, )

by fluffy at 7:30 AM
So, about a month ago I ordered a game from eBay, which is the first eBay purchase I'd made in over a year. I never received the game. I went back to the eBay transaction, and noticed to my horror that they had provided an old shipping address to the seller. I had long ago updated my PayPal shipping address, but eBay had also overridden my (newer) PayPal address with the (much older) eBay address on the PayPal transaction as well, and in my haste I didn't notice this.

So, it's pretty unlikely I'll ever get the item. I guess I could try calling the apartment building and see if the package was left with the front desk or something. (Of course it's possible whoever is at that apartment now may have just opened the package instead, but being a Beatmania import I doubt they'd have any use for it.)

Still, screw you, eBay.

October 13, 2009

Current Logic 9 issue-ish thing (, , )

by fluffy at 11:32 PM
So, ever since the Logic 9.0.1 update went out, it's been wonderfully solid. Thanks, Apple!

However, there is still one issue with it which has been bothering me since version 7 at least (and maybe even earlier): it would be really nice if it were smarter about prefetching upcoming audio files, so that if I've, say, had a project open and idle for a few hours, it doesn't give me an "audio engine overload" error every single time the playhead touches a new uncached file for the first time.

The easy workaround is to just do an offline bounce but that's silly, and only partially solves it for extremely complex projects. Most of the time Logic is sitting there with an empty HD load indicator, so I know it could be better about actively prefetching assets. It's not like playhead motion is a Turing-complete problem or whatever (it only moves in one direction and usually doesn't even change speed that much).

Obviously, freeze tracks aren't the answer, since it just replaces a bunch of small un-cached files with a bunch of large uncached files.

Maybe there's a buried setting. It's not like Logic is short on obscure preference panes after 20 years of accretion...

September 6, 2009

Logic 9 weirdness (, )

by fluffy at 4:45 PM
So I upgraded to Logic 9, and have finally had a chance to use it for a new project from scratch. I like how keyboard focus is now finally indicated on the screen, so I don't have to click on the element I want to manipulate every time just to be sure it's going to go to the right thing (which was a major problem with 8 and negated much of the point to keyboard shortcuts to begin with), but on the minus side they completely screwed up the way comps work.

August 14, 2009

Posted without comment ()

by fluffy at 11:26 PM
A collection of instant messages I've found waiting for me on my idle IM client when I get home from work every day:

June 22, 2009

Base-10 file sizes (, )

by fluffy at 11:30 AM
So, Mac OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard) will be using base-10 file sizes. There has been a lot of nerd outcry over this, but frankly, I think it's about freaking time.

There is absolutely no reason to use base-2 file sizes. Yes, computers deal with things in terms of base 2, but nobody else does. When you look at a file that is 104768926 bytes big, you think, "oh, 105 megabytes," not "100 megabytes." As files get bigger and bigger, the disparity between MB and MiB gets worse and worse.

People have long accused hard drive manufacturers of "inflating" drive sizes by using base-10 instead of base-2, but really it's been the fault of OS makers for deflating it, based on some really ridiculous legacy which dates back to the 70s, namely that it was a lot easier for OSes to just say how many 1K clusters were available, or divide the bytes available by >>10 instead of /1024, or whatever.

The practice of 1024-as-K has also led to all sorts of weirdness, like 1.44MB disks (which were 1440KiB, i.e. 1474560 bytes - neither 1.44MB nor 1.44MiB).

"But computer parts are sold in terms of 1024 units!" is also crap. The only part that has ever been sold on that basis is RAM, which actually makes sense for various technological reasons not worth getting into. CPU speed is base-10. Network adapters are base-10. Bus speed is base-10. And hard drives are sold based on base-10, but reported based on base-2.

Okay, so RAM sizes will be somewhat disparate from hard disk sizes, but really, why does that matter? RAM sizes only matter to programmers, and as a ballpark figure for users for having "enough" memory. Just because a file on disk takes 1200KB doesn't mean it will take 1200KB of RAM; chances are it will take much more. (Granted, there are a lot of spots where it makes sense for code to use power-of-2 sizes, for things like memory allocation and caches and the like, but that doesn't need to be reported to the user.)

The only place where hard disk size really has any base-2 issue is because file systems tend to allocate things in base-2-sized chunks (usually 512 or 1024 bytes), but that's not counting overhead of the filesystem itself, and anyway the vast majority of files (the ones which take enough space for hard drive availability to be an issue) are so large that the cluster size essentially just amounts to rounding error anyway. Okay, so the "real" storage space taken by a 123456789-byte file is actually 123457536 bytes, but that's still a lot closer to 123.4MB than it is to 117.7MB!

In short: Apple is doing a good thing by finally freeing us of some ridiculous legacy which has no bearing on reality.

Okay, so it does mean there will be a mismatch between file sizes reported on OSX 10.6 vs. any other OS, but when does that actually matter?

June 17, 2009

More cellphone/iPhone ranting (, )

by fluffy at 3:34 PM
So, I wasn't expecting my iPhone to get bricked, but I was pretty much expecting A2DP to not be supported on it anyway, even though Apple's OS 3.0 page says nothing about which models it's supported on. The lack of A2DP on the EDGE iPhone is, of course, a bit silly.

byePhone (, )

by fluffy at 2:32 PM
So, I tried installing the iPhone 3.0 OS today. The activation server failed to work, but I'd read you could get around that by disconnecting from the network, getting the OS installed, and then letting it retry activation until it could get through. So I tried that.

So iTunes tried installing OS 3.0, and before it even completed and tried to activate for reals, it complained that "an unknown error occurred (1611)" and had to restore from the backup. Which also failed with the same error. So I tried 'restore iPhone' which apparently could ONLY restore to the latest (3.0) software, which of course continues to fail, and so basically my iPhone is now a brick.

June 10, 2009

Netflix inadequacy (, , )

by fluffy at 11:33 AM
I really like Netflix for movie rentals and streaming old TV series and so on. One of the best things is the discovery aspect. So when I noticed they provided RSS feeds, including some personalized ones (notably a recommendation feed), I subscribed right away.

May 3, 2009

Any ideas for my parking space? ()

by fluffy at 5:01 PM
My condo has a parking space as part of the property. The parking space is in a shared garage, which only building tenants are supposed to have access to. Every now and then I'll go down to the garage (such as to take out the trash) to find that someone has parked in my space. I don't mind other people using my space, as long as they have the decency to ask first, but it's my property. On a couple of occasions, I've promised my space to a friend or family member who needs to park there for a bit only to find someone else has taken it without my knowledge or permission. It's very annoying.

At the very least I should put up a sign in my space, like, "Please call [my phone number] for permission to park here; violators may be towed." I'd put up a fare collection box but that's a bit intrusive and is just another thing for people to scoff at, and it would also give the parkers a justifiable reason to stick around.

What I have to wonder is how these people are even getting into the garage to begin with. I have a feeling that one of my neighbors is letting them in and saying, "Oh, just park in #7, that spot's never in use." I guess it's time to send another bitchy message to the other HOA members.

May 1, 2009

Ubuntu 9.04 Jaunty xfce gripes (, )

by fluffy at 9:57 AM
So, on both my netbook and my work system I've updated to Ubuntu 9.04 as of a few days ago, and I have a few gripes about some of the changed packages. Actually, I think all of my gripes are about the current version of xfce:
  • I really don't like the new window menu. The old one was nice and tiny and concise, with one- and two-word options like "stick" and "shade" and "send to." The new one is very wordy and verbose with a HUGE list of options, and the aforementioned ones have become "always on visible workspace" and "roll window up" and "move to another workspace." Who the hell thought this was a good idea, and more importantly, is there any way to change it back?
  • Why do new windows always pop up underneath existing windows? I always end up having to look at my taskbar to see if something actually happened as a result of my action (like opening the settings manager) and then click on it there to make it visible. Apparently the devs have a hard time understanding the issue, too.
  • Why can't it be consistent about new windows getting focus? If I press ^N in Thunderbird, the new message window pops up right under my cursor but the window isn't focused, and my typing still goes to the main Thunderbird window (which, by the way, does not handle random typing very well, since apparently every unmodified key is a shortcut in it). If I do ^X-5-f in Xemacs to open a file in a new window, the new window gets focused (and of course pops up beneath everything else). Basically, between the focus behavior and the window layering, I get a very inconsistent and annoying experience.
  • The xfce-panel notification area only allows square (in the "1:1 aspect" sense, not the "non-curved" sense) icons. Workrave uses a rectangular "icon" for its timer. So it breaks badly.
  • Of course I gave Gnome another shot but I still don't like it.

April 20, 2009

More reasons I hate Windows (, )

by fluffy at 10:10 PM
  • Every time I boot into Windows to play a quick game of TF2, I end up having to install a bunch of reboot-required service packs RIGHT AWAY or else the world will end, apparently
  • Most of the time I have my laptop running in "clamshell mode," i.e. just using an external screen and keyboard and mouse. Windows will boot just fine, but then once it notices that the lid is closed, it goes to sleep. So I have to barely prop the lid open just enough to defeat the sensor.
  • The fan runs constantly at the highest speed
  • It takes forever to detect my external mouse and keyboard
  • Even though my laptop is on WiFi and is connected just fine thanks it feels it necessary to remind me every 10 seconds to check my Ethernet cable (and mind you, I normally do have Ethernet plugged in with a direct connection to my file server, but that also makes Windows crap itself because NO WAY can there be TWO active Internet connections with different routing tables!!!)
  • Why do I need to boot into Windows just to play games, again? Oh right, because every new Steam and TF2 client update makes it run even worse under Crossover. Meh.
  • and by the time I finally get everything sorted and in a state where I can play, everyone's disconnected from my favorite server. cripes
  • And then when I finally get that taken care of I have another update to install! I literally spend more time updating Windows than using Windows on this computer.

April 15, 2009

Platypus facts, for furry artists: (, , )

by fluffy at 8:37 AM
Dear furry artists who insist on drawing platypi:

  • They are not birds. The "duck" bill is an example of convergent evolution. They do not have feathers. They are not in any way "avian."
  • Their eggs are soft-shelled and leathery like a snake's, not hard like a chicken's.
  • The tail is shaped somewhat like a beaver's, but it's not actually a beaver tail (to start with, it's furred); it's a rudder and a fat reserve, not a piece of construction equipment. This also does not mean that they are in any other way like a beaver. In particular they don't have buckteeth, or in fact teeth at all. Moreover, this means that their tails are not like that of the following species:
    • Fox
    • Wolf
    • Squirrel
    • Dinosaur
    • Whatever the hell it is has long flowing locks of hair instead of a tail
  • They do not have breasts or nipples. They secrete milk directly through the skin. I suppose you could take some artistic license and make them a bit curvy but they still shouldn't have gigantic nipples with areolae.
  • Being monotremes (which literally means "one hole"), they have a cloaca, which the penis or vagina is hidden in. A hermaphroditic platypus would probably look just like a male platypus. They would not let it all "hang out."
  • Also, if you really must insist on drawing one in a state of arousal, the penis has four heads on it.

March 27, 2009

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March 5, 2009

I think it's time to cut my losses (, )

by fluffy at 9:58 AM
So, a week ago my bike got a flat in the front. I couldn't find anything embedded in the tire, so I decided to replace the tube. Performance was out of Schraeder-valve tubes in my bike's size so I went ahead and replaced the rear one too so I'd have both Presta (which I like better than Schraeder anyway). And then the front went flat again with the same slow leak.

So yesterday I took it to Performance, and the tech found the shard of glass in the tire that was causing the flat, and he removed it, replaced the tube, and charged $15. And then I got the same goddamn flat.

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