Various non-news, non-link musings follow
How other people see the ‘Net
So there I was last night, all set to prep a links post for today. And — boom! — down went Firefox, taking with it all my tabs.
Maybe the Intertubz is trying to tell me something, eh?
Firefox started going wobbly about a month ago — very unusual for anything on Linux — but I was always able to recover. Sometimes I needed to reboot or wipe out the session. Once I had to reinstall the browser. But I was always good to go. Not yesterday evening. Opening Firefox and closing it became one continuous operation. Open — boom! Open — boom!
I finally reinstalled again and this time the new Firefox allowed me to start by “refreshing” — that is, wiping away all my settings and all add-ons. No NoScript. No ad blocker. No pop-up blocker. No deleter of flash cookies. No anti-tracking devices.
Also no crashes, which was good. But I glimpsed how Other People see the ‘Net and eeeeek I did not like it.
How does anybody stand video ads and “news” clips that start up by themselves the instant a tab is loaded? How does anybody even think (or not think) to allow sites to control their Internet experience so obtrusively?
I lasted about 30 seconds before slapping NoScript back on and restoring sanity. So far so good. One of my add-ons was probably the culprit, but thank heaven it wasn’t NoScript.
Another blessing. Although Firefox took away all the news tabs I’d planned to use and reset all my privacy settings, it managed to keep my history, bookmarks, and the few passwords I allow it to save.
Back in business!
If you have to have a war …
This is the way to do it. With whiskey.
Alas, I’m sure there are countries that could start a real war if they didn’t approve of the brands of whiskey. But these two nations are — as nations go — so civilized.
(I said Firefox wiped all my news tabs, but that one was sitting quietly over on my alternative browser. Thought you’d enjoy it. Not exactly news, is it?)
That Joel
He did it again.
You may remember that I first noticed Joel online when he consistently said everything I was going to say. Only quicker. And with more wit.
So this weekend I was mentally composing a post on the theme of “just start — even if you’re not sure how you’ll get there, make a start.” Naturally, Joel wrote freakin’ prose-poetry on the same topic. Or at least on the topic of how he did it. And by damn, did he ever do it.
I’m proud to know you, Joel, even if you still, after all these years, have that annoying habit of being both quicker to post and better than I.
Maybe I’ll still take up the topic later. My approach was much more humble than Joel’s and in fact was going to start with me cleaning junk out of the back room for the next phase of The Great House Project. But the truth is the same: even if you can’t see the turnings in the path, head out — and unexpected ways will open.
Speaking of The Great house Project …
The official name of Ye Olde Wreck is now (thanks to the Commentariat) … [drumroll] … Mo Saoirse.
Pronounced mo seer-sha. Suggested by Pat. Meaning “my freedom” in Irish Gaelic.
Unofficial names (sort of like calling your dog Jake or Dimwit when his real name is Sir Galahad’s Flowering Knighthood of Whitherington) will be Dripping Cedars (inspired by Kent McManigal) and Mo Daoirse (“my bondage” (and other equally unpleasant conditions) suggested by Dana and generally pronounced in English: “*&^%$#@!ing house!”).
There were so many wonderful, evocative (and sometimes hilarious) suggestions, it was hard to choose. I loved “Solana,” “Nestledown,” “Shadowleaf,” “Chrysalis,” and a number of others. If any of you Backwoods Homians reading this are into house naming, I hope the original contributors won’t mind if you put some of those other names to good use.
“One of my add-ons was probably the culprit, but thank heaven it wasn’t NoScript.”
It may have been the ad-blocker, if it was Ad-Blocker Plus, they’ve added some nasty little [advertising] gems. I recently had trouble with mine, and took it off; now having no problem, and NoScript is doing well by itself.
Glad Mo Saoirse works for you, Claire. Freedom and the Irish do ring true together.
That’s a good possibility, Pat. I’m not even sure I need an ad blocker with NoScript installed (Forbes, for one, still won’t allow me to enter its site because it thinks I have an ad blocker on even when it’s only NoScript forbidding a few advertising and tracking scripts from running). And no videos are blasting.
Thanks for the cottage name. It was a favorite from the moment you suggested it. Even though it got some great competition later, I kept being pulled back to it.
Oh, and BTW, I will eventually get a plaque made. There’s a woman in town who does nice hand-painted ones for just $15 or $20. Or maybe I’ll get ambitious and craft one myself.
I still want to read your version, Claire. 🙂
Try installing Ad Blocker Latitude. It’s a fork of Ad Blocker that doesn’t use the obnoxious “Acceptable Ads” feature. It’s specifically written for Pale Moon (a fork of Firefox, that rejected Firefox’s Google-pushed Chrome-like interface), but it might work in Firefox.
(I still liked Home Sweet Fortified Position.)
Well, off-topic, but R.I.P. Ziggy Stardust.
David Bowie – Ziggy Stardust
That Joel … really does have the “gift” doesn’t he?
And he makes it look so effortless.
It really is amazing.
Maybe its the desert.
I live alone without even one dog so it’s not the solitude. I cannot let a dog run free Here so it would be unfair to the wolf within.
Honestly though … both of you have that gift and we your readers are appreciative.
stay safe
I’ve been despising Firefox for quite a while. Don’t know what I’ll do if SeaMonkey ever gets “new interface” disease. Chrome? Fuggedabowdit!
It’s sad that so many content providers have abandonded the simple expedient of sending friggin’ text to the browser. It’s becoming more common that if I want to see what’s on the page, I have to turn off CSS. A pox on all this nonsense, I say! I don’t see how the “chasing the ad revenue” model works if your page views plummet. Too bad it hasn’t (AFAICT) hurt the NYT yet.
I had Linux for a long time, am now using Windows 7. Eh, it works. Next laptop will be built from scratch and run Linux.
And now, a question for those who know more than me. That means all of you. Would you rather you kid just bought whatever car you told him to buy or would you prefer him to do his own research and draw his own conclusions, and make up his own mind, even if when he bought a Ford, it would make the Dodge lover in you crazy?
Why do I ask such a thing? This is not a real question but an analogy. The real question is, Who is being more intellectually honest, the, gag, liberal who actually studies issues, investigates candidates and their records, and then votes their conscience. Or the conservative who can’t be bothered to really look into the candidates running, or can’t even read the constitution for themselves, but just makes up their mind based upon an attitude of 2nd amendment is king, or Cruz or bust.
Don’t mistake my meaning here. I agree that the 2nd amendment is indeed the key to protecting our rights and the freedoms set forth in the other 9 amendments of the bill of rights. But I think someone is being intellectually dishonest to not at least try to understand the reason for the Bill of Rights, not to mention the disagreements that came about when they were considered.
The point of this is to really get opinions about which is a preferable way of approaching freedom. Intellectually, I wish everyone would learn for themselves what they believe and why, while I know that it is best to take our support no matter whether it is informed support or just blind obedience.
Is this a simple no brainer question? Or am I just a simple no brainer kind of guy?
I’m with Jed. More text less BS.
My approach to analytical overpressure FWIW:
There is a saying in science “first principles.” Some things require less active substantiation than others because of first principles. Don’t mess with gravity or you’ll land on your butt. Other more subtle questions take considerable investigation. Since time is finite (first principle) use your time wisely. Don’t fuss over questions that obfuscate a necessary action.
The 2d amendment criterion is just a useful hack…I’m a constitutional lawyer, but I find that any politician who is soft on the 2d is likely being dishonest in his claimed support for the rest of the Constitution, and most likely a Big Government type. We don’t need any more of those….
Well said, R.L. Wurdack. Life is finite. It is not possible to investigate or understand every detail. First principles make a good foundation.
I agree with you RL on both of your points and with you ML in your underlining of the “First Principles” methodology.
I am sincerely flummoxed at the number of people who Claim to “believe in the Constitution” and Yet have not even read the document itself.
It was purposefully written in the “high school” level American English of the day so that Everyman would be able to read and understand it for themselves.
The Constitution was written in such a way as to attempt to restrict the overreach of tyrannical government BUT ONLY IF the People themselves were going to be involved in its operation and actions.
“A Republic Madame IF we can keep it.” B. Franklin
That unfortunately stopped happening before the turn of the century in the year 1800 that is.
Folks relaxed and “Let the other guy do it.” So the greedy in our population took the helm and steered us to Their concept of the best course. (For them.)
While I am idealogically more on the less than less government side of the equation I still hold out the hope that the People will eventually awaken to the kidnapping of our Republic and the insertion of a democracy in its place.
Trivia question for the history buffs out there:
How many times does the word “democracy” actually appear in the Declaration of Independence or in the Constitution?
goosehackcougheggahem
If one doesn’t do anything else to thwart the actions of the leftist liberals one should Read The Constitution so as to be able to accurately discuss it in debates. Otherwise how will you be able to correct your child when they come home from school with the propaganda pouring out of their mouths?
stay safe
thanks for the input. I asked this because I have a cousin who is a Bernie Sanders nut. I have tried to debate her on some of the problems facing not only his candidacy, but all the candidates on both sides.
I run into problems as we discuss this on FB. She has a lot of liberal retards, I mean, friends, who like to jump in and say what they think, which is not much.
As the saying goes, there is no one blinder than one who just won’t see.
“Democracy”
Not in the Declaration, U.S. Constitution or its Amendments, the Magna Carta, or the Rights of Man.
As far as researching candidates, it doesn’t take any time at all to determine that none of the current presidential crop are worth getting excited about. Neither of my U.S. Senators are up for reelection, and my Representative is unopposed. My State Representative is unopposed in the Republican primary, which will decide the election. That leaves my State Senator, who retired. So I’ll have a choice among five Republicans, and for the first time in 15 years a live Democrat.
Not a lot of homework.
At least “Hans Island” is appropriate. Or am I the only one who thinks it looks like the Millennium Falcon?
To help fill the void ;):
A worthwhile essay on idleness (as opposed to that evil shite known as “busywork”
http://www.ribbonfarm.com/2011/02/10/waiting-versus-idleness/