Here I go blowing it on the not blogging thing again. I coulda swore I had a reminder pasted around here somewhere to prevent it–unless Lacey ate it when I wasn’t looking. Speaking of Lacey, and we were, goddammit, she’s fitting in just fine over here. Had to reinforce a bit of basic training with her yesterday after a pretty significant pup distraction issue, but other than that, she’s coming along quite nicely. My attempt at college, though, isn’t doing quite so well–but that gets an entry on its own, possibly after I’ve had sleep. Or caffeine. Other things that’ll get brought up may or may not include vague references to pornstars. And a moving type thing–yes, again, but this time, we’ve found the place of awesome. Also my tweeting habbits have changed. Well okay, not the habbit–just the method. There’s reasons. They’ll be an entry. Oh, and because it’s not WTN without mockery, and since I love mocking folks who abuse the DMCA–there’s a mockery thinggy incoming. Namely, one aimed at me. But that’s also going to get an entry of its own. So why this one? Because, hey, I’ve gotten as many as 30 visitors to this thing just by writing nothing. Let’s see what this does.
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This unholy mess brought to you by odd hours, and where the hell’s my caffeine?
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The basics of what Twitter ate, and how to work around it.
I still live on Twitter, even if they occasionally go and break their API without warning. Which is kind of what happened yesterday. Users of a few different clients ran into an issue where they could receive tweets, mentions and DM’s all the day long. Posting? Different story. Twitter threw back a 411 error–which, just for the record, does not mean what Twitter would like to think it means. I’ll let you know what that is when Twitter lets me know. No one has any idea just yet how to fix it. But like that’s stopped me. So late-ish last night, I put together a vaguely quick attempt at fixing the issue. It involves an entirely different–and yes, supremely simple to use–program and, for those who need it, support files for the screenreader I use. You can download the zip archive of both the program and the scripts for JAWS for Windows from over here. Instructions on how to use the program from the perspective of a visually impaired person are right this way. If there’s a question that isn’t answered here, feel free to come find me, and I’ll see what I can do. In the meantime, happy breaky day!
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Did Lacey really do it?
So everyone by now should be aware of the fact that there’s a cute adorable puppy named Lacey here right? Wrong.
That horrible person over here named James does not know how to write about the important people in his life you see. So lets take care of that now. Stop, change the page and go right over here and read about what James fails to tell you about.
Not to mention I’m just so much better.
Ok, back to business.
So a couple of days ago James discovers a wet spot on the floor and you know what that means?
Yep, that Lacey struck again, *growls*
But wait, was it really Lacey? Some people say James really did it and blamed the poor dog that was currently sleeping in her crate.
Then to make matters worse he tried to kill me. That horrible beast! He sprayed loads of air freshener to try and cover the smell and me me have to close the room door and bury my head under my pillow and blanket. *sighs*. I mean he knows I have chemical sensitivities. What was he thinking?
Wait, never mind don’t answer that. James thinking, hell would freeze over!
So, what is your vote? Did Lacey pee on the floor or was it James?
May, James better half
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Hey random guy I don’t know, want some chocolate? … Hey wait–come back!
I get some of the strangest people when I decide to actually go somewhere. There’s the old guys at the Mcdonalds, with an opinion on just about everything–and a few things that didn’t even exist yet. There’s the random old lady on the bus, absolutely convinced that May was about ready to walk off the said bus with my guide dog. Come to think of it, this morning’s fun I was with May as well–hmm, maybe it’s her and not me? Things to ponder.
So I go to meet May at the college, seeing as we had things to do. We get off the bus to go do said things, and this older lady follows us. More appropriately, actually, this older lady catches up to us and matches pace with me. So May and I stop, and this lady stops right next to me. Casually as you please, she says, almost exactly, “I have chocolate for you. Would you like some?”
After about 2 seconds of both May and I collectively WTFing, then figuring out–or rather, confirming–whether she was talking to me, or May, I just as casually tell her no. And just like that, as though this random lady didn’t just chase us from the bus stop just to randomly offer me, or us, chocolate, she turns and walks back the way she came. Of course, May and I beat it the hell outa there before she up and changed her mind. But I have to ask. I’ve gotten off at that stop several times, at several different times of day–and a couple times of night. Is she always just hanging out there with chocolate for random people? Has she done it elsewhere? Did she recently escape from a possible mental facility nearby? I mean, I don’t *think* there are many of those near by, if any, but I also didn’t think I’d grow a chocolate stalker on the way for my morning coffee. So inquiring minds–or maybe paranoid minds–need to know. In the meantime, remember those times growing up your parents prieched at you not to accept candy from strangers? Yeah? I think this lady was the class of stranger they were talking about. She was if nothing else, that class of strange. I think I need a new coffee place. Or a bodyguard. That likes coffee. And will occasionally buy me one. Hey this could work. Thanks, stalker lady.
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Have bluetooth, will keyboard. Again.
Folks who’ve been following me a while will remember me writing about this device. For those that haven’t and don’t, a short summary. Thinkgeek goes bluetooth keyboard, and I almost buy an iPhone just for that–until I realise I’m flat freakin’ broke. Well, among other reasons but that’s the primary. So I later bought me an iPhone anyway. And a bit later after that, bought me one of those there keyboards. And inside of a month and a half, it became an incredible waste of $60. Fun times, except no not really. So fast forward to July of that year–well, June really, but who’s counting? Jessica came up for what would be one of her last times, and had with her a non-thinkgeek keyboard for my using pleasure. And use it I did–until it went sideways after less than 3 months. Needless to say… I have not so good luck with keyboards for iPhones. So when Steve over there mentioned he was getting his hands on this one for his own battle of the phone, I thought hey, what the hell why not. Then I cringed. Then I clicked. Then I kicked myself in the face. then I hemmed and hawed and tossed the link at May. Then I bought two of the suckers. And now, after over a year of no keyboard tied to this phone, I have to get used to the damn style again. I’ll say this for these keyboard, though. The way Thinkgeek makes them now, I wasn’t as apt to reflexively pitch it across the room on site–the keyboard slides out, as opposed to flips out, from the back of the phone. Which makes it significantly less likely it’ll get jammed and run the risk of breaking–which is what happened way too often with the previous model from Thinkgeek. At first, I thought the keyboard didn’t actually fully come out for some reason–it looked like part of it was still stuck under the phone. But no, that’s just me expecting too much. A random feature neither of my previous keyboards had–and just one more goddamn thing to get used to. But, things of note. I can somewhat type on the phone again now. Yes, touch typing was getting there, but now? Yeah, screw that. Also, in list form, because list form rules.
- In ways, this keyboard is similar to my last one–no, not to Thinkgeek’s first model, thank christ–so getting used to it is taking less time than I expected.
- I have WordPress on the phone already, from my last attempt at mobile blogging. Of course, it’s been acting up a bit more recently–so I may actually end up tossing it until it behaves. Paging the wordPress devs…
- If keyboard and app cooperate, there will be mobile random again. And hey, I think I still have a category for that.
- Sadly it won’t be by email. I’m still trying to beat that into submission.
It’s way too overdue, but it happened. Have bluetooth, will keyboard. Again. Until my track record proves itself.
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In which Twitter gets just a little tiny bit too helpful.
Twitter has its uses. Obviously, since I use it–right side of the screen, near the bottom. Yeah, that thing. It has its irritating little qwerks as well. and it just recently added a new one. The service now sends you a weekly email of people it thinks you might know, based on for example how many of your friends follow them. Facebook has done the same thing for a while–a thinggy I find more than a little irritating even though I don’t actually *use* facebook unless I have to. But I’m almost always on Twitter. Which means chances are pretty good that I’ll have already seen someone pop up that I might know from elsewhere. with or without that email. All Twitter’s doing with this is, well, not entirely all that much. Just adding another layer to the info that can already be accessed in about 5 seconds, if you really want to see it. Hey, Twitter? It’s not broke. Please stop trying to fix it. Oh, yeah–and if you suggest that I may know and want to follow my ex, I may just have to fire you off a cliff. Just putting that out there.
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the ford brothers are a step closer to ruining toronto. And it isn’t even because of their policies.
Because not everyone gives a royal anything about what goes on in toronto, you probably missed–or likely didn’t notice– that mayor Rob and councillor doug ford have been on a somewhat ridiculous anti-media bent since, oh, about 3 months after the former was elected. It’s largely been the fords versus the toronto Star, but lately they’ve been expanding. Now, if you ask Doug ford, pretty much anyone in media is a prick. Which, yes, okay, most of them probably can be–especially if they work for the toronto Star and your name happens to be Rob Ford. But, uh, guys? You’re supposed to be, you know, preventing the city of toronto from running full tilt off a fiscal cliff. That does not mean take the wheel instead and run it off a PR cliff. especially if you, oh I dunno, want that self same media to actually cut you a break when you do run something unpopular but still decently inteligent up the flag pole. Oh, and just for reference, if you didn’t mean to offend the self same media you’re eventually going to actually need to find a use for, maybe give not offending them a try. See how that works for ya. In the meantime, nix the public speaking, boys. Or hell, borrow Obama’s teleprompter if resistance is futile. You’ll thank yourselves. Well, okay, maybe not. But I will.
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Good things–like gobs of money–come in threes.
Some folks have all the luck. Hege Jeanette Oksnes has that, and the dollars–well, crowns–to go with it. the 29-year-old good luck charm won Norway’s national lottory. So did her father. And so did her brother, just a few weeks ago. The timing? For all 3 wins, Oksnes was just about to give birth–she won hers, literally, the day before. all told, that entire family’s living quite well as of now. And now, the age old question has been answered. Just who do you have to sleep with to make some decent money around here?
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And Canada’s government ups the creap factor. thanks, gov.
email is awesome. I practically live on email. that and RSS–which is where I find most of the mockery. So if someone from the government of canada wanted to give me an idea what their department was up to, and decided to do it through email, I wouldn’t complain. In fact, I’d be pleasantly surprised–mostly because most government officials who happen across this thing tend to rethink communicating with me, lest they wind up part of my collection. However, if they decided to talk to me through email about something because a thinggy in a database I don’t recall adding myself to says I’m interested, I’d get a little tiny bit concerned. Most especially if the person in question is immigration minister Jason Kenny and he’s sending me an email about what they’re doing to help gays and lesbians in another country and I just so happen to actually be gay. I have a lot of respect for what Jason Kenny’s doing. Hell, he’s done more with the immigration file than anyone has in the last several governments–both liberal and conservative–before him. But, um, what? How the hell is this anything but absolutely creapy and crawly and yarf inducing and just WTFOMG no. Seriously, who told anyone remotely close to Jason Kenny that this was a brilliant idea? Better yet, why was that person not promptly fired for such a blatantly not so brilliant idea? Really, you guys. You’re doing a lot of decent things with this country and most of it, for a change, at least doesn’t smell like fluff. Then you go and pull something like this and just… what? I have no idea. I seriously cannot brain on this subject. Guys, you ended up with a majority for at least sounding less crazed than the opposition. Not that it’s stopped the opposition from branding you a bunch of crazed rednecks hell bent on setting Canada on fire or some other damn thing anyway. this upping of the creap factor for no real good reason? Not helping. Knock it off already. We’re kind of running out of somewhat credible alternatives, and with that much nationalist support in Quebec I’d really rather the next election not default to the NDP. Can ya help with that by maybe dropping the creapy? That’d be awesome. Thanks, gov. Appreciated.
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Hey Apple? Stop shrinking the SIM already.
Apple has this thing about not playing well with others. It started with the software, then slowly graduated to the hardware. Now, they’ve gone and shrunk the SIM. Again. They invented the micro-SIM. that thing made aranging to make use of phone service, you know, outside of my carrier, a little fun. and now with the iPhone 5–yet another reason not to upgrade to the iPhone 5 just yet, they’ve gone nano-SIM. which means, you guessed it, if you want to even keep the SIM from your old iPhone, you’ll need to do some trimming. And grabbing a SIM from another carrier if you’re, oh we’ll say, hiding out in the states for a few weeks? Yeah, no. Some carriers may not even get the nano-SIM for a few months–especially if they don’t actually sell the iPhone. I get it, Apple–you don’t like to play nice. But really. Enough with the SIM shrinkage. Damn thing’s hard enough not to lose when half awake at half past dark.