It was 12 degrees and sunny with 40 mph wind gusts and a wind chill of -5 to -15 when I took Colin out at 8am. We had at least 4 inches maybe 5 by the time the snow moved out of here late yesterday afternoon.
Thursday January 18, 2018
39 Comments and discussion on "Thursday January 18, 2018"
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Wow, that’s cold!
30F here with yesterday’s snow and ice still on the ground. I never ever thought I’d be salting my front walk in HOUSTON, but there it is. Thank goodness for Globull Warmening, or it would be like this every year.
n
My best for you and Bob, Barbara.
Get better Mr. OFD.
10 bucks it’s Montgomery County or DC.
https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2018/01/amazon-names-20-finalist-cities-in-its-new-headquarters-beauty-pageant/
“10 bucks it’s Montgomery County or DC.”
Pyongyang, surely? Uncontested bandwidth 😉
Barbara needs to keep an eye on Colin, otherwise..
http://metro.co.uk/2017/11/03/sheepdog-puppy-herds-entire-flock-into-owners-kitchen-7051497/
10 bucks it’s Montgomery County or DC.
I’d still guess Miami/Fort Lauderdale.
I’m praying it isn’t Austin.
DC area for sure. They’re going to have to lobby extensively, and that’s the only way to get it done right. Remember – internet sales tax is still a thing.
Jerry Pournelle used to point out that Microsoft didn’t have DC office until they were found to be a monopoly. Then that changed fast, quick, and in a hurry.
And how has MS done since then? sucking on the .gov teat is not a high growth industry.
I’d say that, from a skilled user/hobbyist standpoint, MS hasn’t done anything right since then. Nokia? Surface? win10 abomination? live360?
I’m a gamer (used to be anyway) and I can’t find any reason to get an xbox one. can’t even find time to play with the 360 anymore. NO compelling game with the launch. Even 4K leaves me going “Meh, probably still see tiling and pattern repetition, just in higher rez.”
n
Yes, but MS still exists. If they had not gone to DC, would they have survived this long?
I’m not a big fan of MS, but I do believe that Windows has made today possible. A (relatively) easy to use interface to PCs makes it possible for Aunt Minnie to check her email, and Uncle Charlie to order parts for the mower. Regardless of how many seem to feel about MS, I believe it’s a good thing. They don’t have to innovate anymore (as far as I’m concerned.) They do have to maintain the user base.
Amazon will go to DC. They’ll be the biggest fish in the river for a while. Then they’ll fade and somebody else will fill a niche. But they always either go to DC or go away.
MS hasn’t done anything right since then. Nokia? Surface?
I would say that MS got the Surface right. Dell and others have had to emulate the form factor. I owned a Surface Pro and thought it was a great machine. Then it suddenly quit. Out of warranty. MS would have replaced for about the third of a cost of a new machine. I instead chose the Surface Laptop as most of the time on the Surface Pro I had the keyboard connected.
Using the Surface Dock I can easily attach two additional monitors and three external USB devices, typically an 500 Gig SSD to store additional files. Dock also provides power, network and sound. One more USB device can be connected to the machine.
I think MS got it right with that product.
Windows has made today possible.
Indeed. Microsoft brought computing to the mainstream. Prior to Windows DOS was confusing with command lines, CP/M was just bizarre as when copying the destination came first using PIP. Linux, seriously? Who wants to compile the kernel or use commands designed by a coder whose only goal is to minimize keystrokes? The ability to multitask, copy and paste between programs, program ICONS, etc. It all brought computing to many who would not otherwise be able to use a computer. CLI is not for everyone.
Want to see what a total financial collapse looks like ? “Venezuela’s Oil Production Is Collapsing”
https://www.wsj.com/articles/venezuelas-oil-industry-takes-a-fall-1516271401
This is what the dumbocrats and Obola want for the USA.
Hat tip to:
http://drudgereport.com/
“Worst-case global warming scenarios not credible: study”
https://www.afp.com/en/news/2265/worst-case-global-warming-scenarios-not-credible-study-doc-wx0de1
“Earth’s surface will almost certainly not warm up four or five degrees Celsius by 2100, according to a study released Wednesday which, if correct, voids worst-case UN climate change predictions.”
St. Al, say it is not so !
Hat tip to:
http://drudgereport.com/
I think alot of the navel gazing and missteps at MS wouldn’t have happened if they were somehow broken up. They are WAY too fat and insular.
The MS windows style guide may have brought order to the UI, but it also killed development and stagnated the entire field. We’re stuck with a “desktop” metaphor and a “filing cabinet” organizing principle. Why haven’t we moved to 3d UI, with a halls, doors, rooms, buildings metaphor? Why do we still have a freaking MOUSE? Why is the idea of TABs in the UI still relatively new?
MS has killed innovation and real progress in every aspect they’ve dominated (and thru their standard old tactic of FUD, in aspects they never even entered.)
Where are programs like Pack Rat, that could track your billable time and integrate your contacts with every aspect of your workday? Or a whole related category, PIMs. Where’s the easy to use database like Q&A? Freaking excel gets abused as a database FAR too much. You still can’t easily insert a single address into a word doc from your contacts or print just one envelope. Those things were one right click away in my old PIM (DeskTop Set)
Or OUTLOOK? Still doesn’t handle timezones well, since it is from before LAPTOPS were common (and purchased by MS from outside, like VISIO too.) Anyone here EVER use the stationary function in Outlook? No? Even though business is BUILT around forms, everyone just types an email and hits send. And when someone on the team leaves the company or changes offices, every single email they’ve exchanged on a project VANISHES from the team’s ken….
Gah,
n
Linux UI suffered no stagnation. They have had 3D UIs for decades. However, since users are familiar with the ancient Windows UI paradigm, it’s hard to convince them to try something new. MS brought order but also brought a security-last mindset that is still with us today.
The fact that you don’t like the standards has little (or no) effect on the fact that they are standards. I don’t particularly care for some of them myself.
Perhaps a lack of MS dominance would have been better. Perhaps worse. But its effect on the market is marked and profound. The fact that I can hire nearly anybody off the street, park him in front of a PC, and be unsurprised that he can send an email, print a document, and order a part off eBay is fairly profound. I know what I’m going to get in most cases.
Yes, there are OFDs and other Linux evangelizers out there. When I want them, I can find them with a little searching. But Windows users are everywhere. I don’t have to look. I know what to expect. That’s valuable to me.
Or OUTLOOK? Still doesn’t handle timezones well, since it is from before LAPTOPS were common (and purchased by MS from outside, like VISIO too.) Anyone here EVER use the stationary function in Outlook? No? Even though business is BUILT around forms, everyone just types an email and hits send. And when someone on the team leaves the company or changes offices, every single email they’ve exchanged on a project VANISHES from the team’s ken….
We use Thunderbird on Windows 7 x64. I abhor Outlook since it uses a single PST file that cannot be backed up while the software is open. Just about everyone that I know has had a corrupted PST file at one point. BTW, I have over 30 GB of email in my Thunderbird profile now.
I’m using outlook with IMAP. I back up the .pst file occasionally, but I don’t really worry about it. The really important things aren’t stored there.
But it is a good mail client, contact manager, and calendar app. It just works. Given that I have to use it at my day job, it’s fairly easy to go back & forth without worrying about a different UI every time I change locations.
When .pst files go belly up, I either pull a backup & resync or I wipe it out & start fresh. Both methods work fairly well.
I abhor Outlook since it uses a single PST file that cannot be backed up while the software is open
I actually prefer a single file as that is all that I have to backup. My PST file is easily backed up while the program is open using a backup program. I have never had a PST corruption that could not be easily fixed by running SCANPST to resolve the issue. I don’t like that using IMAP Outlook requires a separate file for each IMAP email address.
However, since users are familiar with the ancient Windows UI paradigm
And thus that would be a standard with which users are familiar. May not be perfect but it works and gets the job accomplished.
Why do we still have a freaking MOUSE?
What would you use instead? Your finger? Already been done. I find the mouse much easier to use than a finger oriented interface such as IOS. Other option is the CLI which is truly old school. CLI may be faster for many operations but for the majority of users it sucks. One misplaced token, one mistyped token and you can kiss your system goodbye. That is never good. Another choice is a 3D interface where you wave your arms in the air. That has never caught on in spite of CSI TV shows.
Other option is the CLI which is truly old school.
And programmable via bash or PowerShell.
Recording and playing back a sequence of mouse clicks isn’t programming.
I recall when the Macintosh came out laughing at the idea of a mouse. Sure it might be halfway decent for graphics but it would be useless in a text editor I thought. We can’t always predict the future.
I abhor Outlook since it uses a single PST file that cannot be backed up while the software is open
I actually prefer a single file as that is all that I have to backup. My PST file is easily backed up while the program is open using a backup program. I have never had a PST corruption that could not be easily fixed by running SCANPST to resolve the issue. I don’t like that using IMAP Outlook requires a separate file for each IMAP email address.
Try backing up a PST file across a peer to peer LAN like we have here.
Well, waddaya know. I just used the recycle bin. First time in probably 10 years.
Was moving a folder and selected ‘delete’ instead of ‘cut’.
Hah.
n
Try backing up a PST file across a peer to peer LAN like we have here.
I did it on a domain based network using backup for workgroups. I could also backup my open SQL databases without issue. I suspect it was using shadow copy.
On my home system I use Acronis without difficulty. I also use Norton Backup. A simple copy command will not work.
On my home system I use Acronis without difficulty. I also use Norton Backup. A simple copy command will not work.
I have had several horrible problems with backup software on the PC. So now, I just use robocopy across the LAN and produce “mirror” images.
I have no problem using Acronis.
I got 99 problems but Acronis ain’t one.
“There are 3.6M ‘DREAMers’ — a number far greater than commonly known”
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2018/01/18/there-3-5-m-dreamers-and-most-may-face-nightmare/1042134001/
“That number of people whose lives risk being uprooted is not widely known, in large part because so much public attention has been focused recently on 800,000 mostly young DREAMers accepted into the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.”
Oh my.
Anyone still believe the 30 million estimate for total illegals?????
not me!
n
Anyone still believe the 30 million estimate for total illegals?????
not me!
Low or high ? I thought the “official” estimate of total illegals is around 12 million.
low. like the number of guns in America, they’ve been using the same number for years without taking continual increase into account. I’ve been saying the number is more likely 1 in 10, and now I think it is higher if there are that many dreamers alone….
n
I stopped buying Acronis years ago when they only offered one month’s support and forced upgrades for every file system change and new version of Windows.
I’ve been told that Macrium Reflect has a free version and is good.
I hear the Democrats are going to shut down the government unless the Dreamers are allowed to stay. They can both FROAD.
Excuse me if I seem to be from another planet, but who or what is OFD?
News of RBT’s condition is not encouraging I’m afraid.
OFD, or Dave Hardy, is a frequent commenter here. He went into the hospital several months ago and has been silent for a month.
OFD = Dave Hardy, a long-time, prolific commenter on this blog who’s currently in rehab recovering from back surgery and a subsequent attack of Guillain-Barre syndrome. He’s been incommunicado for a worryingly long time.
Frequent enough, and on point enough, that RBT gave him access to do his own posts if he liked. We’ve hit him up with snail mail, email, and previously by phone, but he’s gone silent.
It sucks getting old, but the alternative isn’t very attractive either.
nick
low. like the number of guns in America, they’ve been using the same number for years without taking continual increase into account. I’ve been saying the number is more likely 1 in 10, and now I think it is higher if there are that many dreamers alone….
What was Trump’s margin in Texas? 800,000? That’s the only number that really matters when the Dems negotiate amnesty over the last decade.
The high numbers are an opening position. Turning Texas is the goal like it was in CA 30 years ago.
They would destroy it to save it….
n
What was Trump’s margin in Texas? 800,000? That’s the only number that really matters when the Dems negotiate amnesty over the last decade.
Shoot, we’ve got that many so-called dreamers in Texas alone. Send them home.