Adobe
02:47 Saturday, 16 August 2014
Words: 536
I have Adobe Flash installed on my Macs, because there are still some web sites that require it to view video.
I still hate it.
I haven't bitched about it in a while, but I just updated Flash (again), and it reminded me how much I hate Flash, and by extension, its developer.
In what I can only conclude is some passive-aggressive jab at Mac users, Adobe has a preference pane for Flash that appears in System Preferences.
Within that preference pane is a radio button that says "Allow Adobe to install updates (recommended)". I have that radio button selected. I would like Adobe to please install the updates, so I don't have to.
But, it doesn't really do anything.
Instead, seemingly every other day, when I happen upon a page that has some Flash that I can't force to HTML 5 video, I get an alert that I need to update Flash. And given how Flash is another security vulnerability, I dutifully install it.
Installing the update means going to Adobe's web page and downloading an installer, which then downloads the actual update, runs and demands that I quit Safari and System Preferences so it can install.
Then I have to give it permission.
Then it launches Safari after it's done and takes me to Adobe's page, which I otherwise would never have occasion to visit. Would have been nice if it had simply launched Safari and restored my previous session. Bastards.
Plus!
This time, since Apple has announced it's abandoning development of Aperture, and since so many people apparently think it's going to stop working or something, and are talking about migrating to Lightroom, well Adobe added a little opportunity to download a free trial of Lightroom along with my Flash update.
So it's like getting some spam with my security update! So cool.
But that's not all.
There's a radio button in the Storage tab of the Preference Pane that gives me the option to have web sites "Ask me before allowing new sites to save information on this computer". That's the option I have selected.
Whenever I view a video in Flash, I almost always have to watch a commercial first, but both the commercial and the actual video I really wanted to watch have little pop-ups that inform me that some web site wants to store some data on my computer. I always click "deny." The little pop-up always ignores my click, and simply persists. If I click "deny" enough, sometimes it will eventually go away. But if it does, if I move the cursor using the mouse or the trackpad, it reappears!
As if to say, "Oh! You're still here? Did you change your mind? Can I store some data? Hunh? Can I? Hunh?"
I've just now selected "Block all sites from storing information on this computer". We'll see if that breaks anything.
I won't go into how impossible it was to update the "free" version of Adobe Acrobat Professional that came with my Fujitsu ScanSnap automatic document scanner. It simply was impossible to install any updates. Ever.
I hate Adobe. I'll never use Lightroom as my primary photo management app. I wish Flash would just die.
About Power and Choice
04:15 Saturday, 16 August 2014
Words: 31
Someone wrote a blog post about Robin Williams' suicide being a result of a choice, not a consequence of the disease of depression. He's gotten a lot of criticism and pushback.
Unforgotten
17:31 Wednesday, 16 August 2023
Current Wx: Temp: 78.04°F Pressure: 1010hPa Humidity: 90% Wind: 6.91mph
Words: 520
While the writers and actors are striking, and I hope they get everything they want, Mitzi and I have been watching "new to us" past series, especially British programs.
We've just finished season 2 of Unforgotten on Prime and it's outstanding.
Where Lancaster, er, I mean Halifax had several examples of cringe-worthy dialog in every single episode ("I'm still your commanding officer!"), Unforgotten has some of the best dialog I've ever heard in a police procedural.
The title of the series is a double entendre, that snuck up on me about two-thirds of the way through the first season. At first I thought it was about the victim being unforgotten with the discovery of the crime. But it's really about the explosive damage the act of "unforgetting" the past delivers to the present. It made me think of UXB, if you've ever heard of that. It's not an especially novel idea, but it's extremely well done here.
Mitzi and her daughter Sherri love Law and Order, in all its many manifestations. I mean, really love it. I liked the characters in the original series, but I don't care for any of the others. A six-episode season of Unforgotten is like the first half of a single episode of Law and Order, which is a vastly different dynamic. There is no "trial" portion. The case is solved and we're offered some idea of what the future might hold for everyone, but there are no courtroom theatrics.
It's a slow boil as the detectives work hard to identify a victim who's been dead for over 30 years. That's the forensic piece that's always been fascinating to me since I read Thomas Harris' Red Dragon, back in 1984. So far, there's been no "profiler," which is a tired saw as far as I'm concerned. It's just gumshoe detective work, aided by some bits of fairly interesting forensic science. As these cases are so old, there's no "blood spatter" analysis, which is refreshing.
The on-screen violence is largely confined to bits of stylized flashbacks of recalled memories. There's no man-handling of suspects, no car chases, no SWAT teams. But the tension is still palpable as the noose grows inexorably tighter and you try to figure out which of the ensemble of possible killers did it, and why.
There's no snarky banter from the detectives to the suspects. No bravado, no threats. "I know what you did, and you're going down for it!"
Nicola Walker is a marvelous actor. She's in a lot of these British shows, and Mitzi liked her in Last Tango in Halifax (no relation to Lancaster, er, I mean Halifax.), but that was a rather soapy affair with everyone always yelling or in tears all the time. Not my "cuppa." But I think she offers a remarkable performance as DCI Cassi Stuart. All the cast give credible, understated performances.
As much as I've enjoyed Luther, this is like the exact opposite and, really, much better and far more enjoyable.
Kudos to Chris Lang, the writer and creator. This is great TV and deserves a wide audience.
✍️ Reply by email!This Morning's Bird
21:55 Wednesday, 16 August 2023
Current Wx: Temp: 84.34°F Pressure: 1011hPa Humidity: 80% Wind: 5.75mphWords: 27
Didn't see much this morning. A green heron, but it was a little too far away. Shot it anyway. But the bluebirds are always nice to see.
✍️ Reply by emailUnderway
Current Wx: Temp: 82.94°F Pressure: 1016hPa Humidity: 78% Wind: 11.5mphWords: 534
Skipped the walk this morning and took the kayak down to the river. Coming off high tide, so we had plenty of water. The Tolomato is pretty much a tidal river, current depends on the tide. Temperature and humidity were much improved over yesterday.
Beautiful morning. I took the little Olympus Tough TG-6 with me, because I didn't know how much water would get in the kayak. Turns out it's not a lot, but I'll probably still have to do something to keep a bigger camera dry.
We paddled north a little bit, and into some grasses. Didn't want to go too far into them, because I was afraid they'd turn into a maze and we'd have trouble finding our way back out. Boat handled pretty well. I don't have a lot of experience to compare it with, but it felt no different than any other kayak I'd been in. Mitzi liked it.
We decided to head back after about 20 minutes paddling around. We weren't necessarily planning on getting out, but we wanted to be nearer to where we put in. We were pretty close to the shore and the grass, and I'd just pointed out some foam on the bank near the launch point when I heard a loud splash to my right and turned in time to see a large hump of water heading for the kayak.
It moved incredibly fast and went right under the kayak and lifted us as it did so. My first thought was a gator, but it didn't turn around. It surprised the hell out of us, and we decided that was just about enough excitement for our first time.
After we'd landed, we met an older gent named Tom who was unfolding an Oru kayak, getting ready to get on the water. I described what had happened and he said we'd startled a manatee, which made a lot of sense. The sound I heard was the slap of the tail. I didn't know they could move that fast, and Tom assured me they could.
Learned a little bit about inflating the boat. I think I'll get one of those gardener's knee pads and throw that in the bag. Bending at the waste to use the electric pump was hard on my back. The electric pump won't put out enough pressure to get the two cells of the hull to the proper inflation, so I finished using the foot pump.
I realized I'd read the little transparent ruler inflation gauge incorrectly when I test inflated it in the garage; and rather than over-inflating it, I'd under-inflated it. Today it was correctly inflated, and it's pretty rigid.
The seats are very comfortable, though I think I may have put the forward seat too far back. My legs were pretty tight. If I go by myself, it'll be fine.
We'll keep an eye on the tide next week and try it again. Weekends are too busy on the river, too much traffic going too fast. So far, I think it's a winner. I'm thinking about buying another one and leaving it up in New York so we can go out on a lake. We'll see.
✍️ Reply by emailHow Now Brown Cow?
19:43 Saturday, 16 August 2025
Current Wx: Temp: 78.66°F Pressure: 1016hPa Humidity: 66% Wind: 5.61mphWords: 520
Achilles felt pretty good this morning, so I thought I'd take a walk. I kind of told myself not to overdo it this time, and I went left instead of right at the bottom of the driveway. Well, one step leads to another and I wondered how much elevation gain I'd get if I walked to the top of the hill?
278 feet, as it turns out. Which is only sixty-some feet less than walking to the bottom of the hill and back up again from our house.
And of course I overdid it. Achilles is stiff and sore and occasionally burning and stinging. Awesome.
Took the camera along, got a couple of nice shots, but most of them were clinkers.
We met up with our Florida friends this evening and saw their lot up at Keuka Lake. It's all just trees now, but they're starting to take some down to bring in the equipment for building the foundation. They expect the shell of their log cabin home will be finished by the end of September. We're not even sure if our Florida house will be sold by then.
We had dinner together and caught up on all the things. I'm looking forward to having them up here on a more frequent basis starting next spring.
In other news, we did make some significant progress in organizing the garage yesterday, and I spent some time in there this morning doing some additional re-arranging and labeling. It's still not *chef's kiss* , but I'm pretty confident I can find what I need without moving and lifting a bunch of boxes.
We also hung up a hummingbird feeder Mitzi's daughter gave to her, and it has been visited! "Pix or it didn't happen," right? Well, they seem to have a sixth sense about me and my camera. I'd be shooting through a screen anyway. But every time I picked up the OM-1 with the 100-400mm zoom on it, they flew away. They taunt me, too. Flying right up to the window and hovering there, looking in. As soon as I move... Zoom!
I give up.
Cows are a lot easier.
Before I go, I should say that it seems pretty clear to me that if you have to go about your job wearing a mask, dark glasses and no identification, you're either a superhero or ashamed of whatever it is you're doing.
They're cowards, as all bullies are cowards. These are people who have lost their way. It's a shame, really. We have so many opportunities to make meaning in our lives by helping others, serving others. They are hollowing out their existence by hurting others, and they can tell bystanders to "Shut the fuck up," all they want, but what do they tell the still, small voice that gnaws at them in the wee hours of the night? A voice that will haunt them for the rest of their days, and which will compel an endless recitation of justification and rationalization.
I was just doing my job! I was only following orders!
Cowards and bullies.
Men without honor.
✍️ Reply by emailFriday Night 8-14-26
Current Wx: Temp: 63.21°F Pressure: 1018hPa Humidity: 87% Wind: 5.93mphWords: 58
This time next year, I shouldn't have to contend with the power lines.
Brad and Derrick are up on the house today, building the bucks for the windows so that when they start stacking blocks, they can just keep going. Helps them get into a rhythm and flow.
The beat that can be counted is not the beat...
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