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{ Category Archives } Rant

lawd amighty, I feel my temperature risin’

The map is not the territory

I want smarter maps. Maps that work like I use them. Surely these use cases must be true for techbros too, even if they are taking the Apple bus [1]. Directions only if there’s traffic: I know where I’m going. I don’t need directions. Just tell me if I should change my route because of […]

Rented

Hertz (German and American division) have weird ideas about what constitutes an “upgrade.” To them, an “upgrade” is bigger. To me, in that context, an upgrade is a bigger pain in the ass to park, less fun to drive, and sucks down more petrol. To me, and Hertz Zurich (mostly), an “upgrade” is nicer, or […]

Gold records and the golden age of broadcast TV

The Voyager Gold Record (now being overcelebrated for its Nth anniversary) attached to a spacecraft is a bit incongruous.  Not because of the somewhat tweeness of it – I think all spacecraft not destined to be crashed into a planet or sun ought to have some artistic/sociological document stuck to the side.  It’s just the […]

Left behind

Has there ever been a more useless convention than “On your left” (or right) when passing a pedestrian or slower bike? Nine times out of ten, the passee just goes in the direction you just hollered. It’s human nature! You hear “left”, you move left. But not always, so you can’t rely on it and […]

Completely unrelated

I’m sure that all my credit cards having to be shut down and replaced in the last month because of fraudulent charges, and my email/webserver getting DDOSed with password change requests have nothing to do with Equifax. Well, probably the latter is true. That’s all probably OPM/Anthem/general asshattery.

New gym music

I don’t mind kids at the gym playing their shitty music. I like new shitty music! I mind kids at the gym playing my old shitty music. Journey. Foreigner. Kenny Loggins. Loggins and Messina. Yacht Rock that is not Steely Dan or the Eagles [1]. Air Supply. Led Zeppelin. Give freakin’ Bob Marley a freakin’ […]

BWare’s law of security breaches

Whatever the first number they tell you is, it’s wrong, and not in the good direction.

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Trash

I just went for a walk at the local mountain bike trailhead. In the full-to-overflow parking lot, there’s one trash can, no toilet, and cars parked down the street for a mile. Behind the first tree on the trail are uncountable fresh human turds, not to mention the inevitable dog and horse shit [1]. Turns […]

Pills

I may not be the strongest guy in the world. However, I just got back from a climbing trip, so I’m not in the worst shape, and I can’t get this prescription pill bottle open without some serious rrrrrr. What the heck is Kaiser thinking? Yeah, it’s safe from kids. Safe from anyone who doesn’t […]

It goes, boys!

To quote my friend LH with regard to something she did a while back. Honnold solos El Cap. Not exactly a surprise, as most everyone expected that it would be done, and he’d be the one to do it, but still, a welcome surprise. Well done, sir! What is also not surprising is the pearl-clutching […]

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Rocket ships and immortality

My private mental ravings put into words, better, by someone else… [A]n important question is how this globalized, unaccountable tech industry sees its goals. What does it want? What will all the profits be invested in? What is the plan? The honest answer is: rocket ships and immortality. I wish I was kidding. — Maciej […]

Just sayin’

I’m not saying this is all because the Cubs won the Series… but it’s because the Cubs won the series.

Perfect

This is perfect. Pasadena Police Department will step up Bike & Pedestrian Safety Enforcement Operations on Monday, May 15, 2017 with focused enforcement on collision causing factors involving motorists, pedestrians and bicyclists. This operation is also in remembrance of [a seven year old kid], who at the age of seven, was struck and killed by […]

40 hours

“A fracture occurred” is how the powerpoint read. Meaning that working alone on a Sunday afternoon, the contractor broke the glass, leading to another check for $500k to the contractor – cost-plus, don’t you know. Proof again, that will be totally ignored, that working more hours doesn’t save you money – it costs you money. […]

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Damn you, Qualcomm!

TIL: The reason I don’t have a cellular radio in my laptop is that Qualcomm bases its supposedly FRAND prices on the cost of the device their radios are put into, not the cost of the chip. Qualcomm get more for an iPhone 7 ($1000) than an iPhone SE ($500), and would get much, much […]