I posted this last year. It could be posted every year.
When you look into the eyes of someone close to you and say “Happy New Yearâ€, just remember that their happiness is almost entirely in your hands. So if you do say it, be sure to not just mean it but carry it through too. Best not to start the year with a lie ….
Create a new folder. Fill that folder with all the shortcuts I want. Let Launchy index that folder only. Job done.
Earlier this year I linked to and commented on the ridiculous linking policy of Evrsoft. I think I just found it’s equal.
I happened across Gizmodo. It’s a blog/site/whatever that I do not read and from there I found myself on vnunet.com. Now I would link to that but I absolutely do not agree with their pathetic and frankly stupid linking policy. Selected highlights:
(a) You must act in accordance with the terms and conditions of use of VNU’s Website (“Terms and conditions of use”) which will continue to apply to You.
So by linking I have to still agree to their T&C’s for their site? So it’s a very large link policy then isn’t it?
(b) If You do not accept these Linking Terms and Conditions You must not Link to VNU’s Website.
So if I do link and I disagree, you do what exactly?
(c) You may only use the names VNU or VNUNet and any VNU logo on Your Website in conjunction with the Link to VNU’s Website.
So saying VNUNET is wrong, as is vnunet…..
(g) You must include an acknowledgement on Your Website that the Link is to VNU’s Website.
So I make a link and then I say “This is a link to….”? How many times do you want your name on someone’s site?
(l) VNU reserves the right to review Your use of the names VNU or VNUNet, the Link or any VNU logo on Your Site and You agree to provide VNU with access to Your Site to enable VNU to review Your use of such names, the Link or any VNU logo.
Well I’m using it, so what other access do you want? ftp? ssh? cpanel? login here?
(m) VNU may, at any time, at its sole discretion, require You to discontinue Your use of the names VNU or VNUNet, the Link or any VNU logo on Your Site.
So I say no and you do what? How much grief is a href worth to you?
(n) You agree that Your Website shall not be operated in violation of any applicable law, rule or regulation.
Good grief…..
(q) VNU reserves the right in its sole discretion to amend these Linking Terms and Conditions by providing you with prior written notice thereof.
You need my address then?
(u) These Linking Terms and Conditions shall be governed by the laws of England and the parties hereby submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts.
Hey, I live in England too. But what if I didn’t. These would be even more useless wouldn’t they?
Imagine every blogger said this. Imagine every blogger and website saying that they too had and operated a restrictive link policy. Where did vnunet lose sight of the inter part of the WWW ? Why have they decided to be so damn precious and yet lost their grip on web reality? Since when do they think anyone would allow ANY access to a site for them to check? If I had a password protected site I wouldn’t let you in – what would you get? A warrant?
Why do these people insist on link policies in the first place? These vnunet people cannot be alone….
So I decide a couple of days ago to resubscribe to RAB and UPB. Zen (my ISP) used to do a pretty good job of filtering spam and it seems that either spammers have got better or they have given up. I see heaps of the damn stuff. And I also see the person on the planet who deserves to be taken away from everyone and also the internet. He needs to be permitted no access to any form of communication with anyone. Anywhere. How in hell does anyone in the state of Philadelphia consider that man safe around children? I find it amazing that the education system there will employ someone who posts so much bile into Usenet. I’ll have to Google a few references (not difficult), find a whole host of email addresses across the state and send them in the vain hope that someone somewhere who actually cares about the safety and education of children reads it and investigates. I could only hope to have said it as well as yttrx (you may find some language in there a bit strong. But if you knew what the target was like you would realise that it is actually right for him/it).
Apparently it will be filmed.
Will you watch?
I had a mouse-shaped pain in my hand the other day so it makes sense to learn some more shortcuts. These I use daily. I don’t need a boss key or a print key. I also use ctrl-alt-del to keep an eye on processes sometimes.
ctrl-a
ctrl-c
ctrl-v
ctrl-z
ctrl-x
ctrl-s
alt+tab
ctrl+tab
I need to get Launchy more tuned somehow (maybe I should RTFM?). Any other useful ones I should be looking at?
One of the reasons I hate GMail is the loading. I have a good connection and a quick machine but from when I click to get there to being able to see the email not only takes many seconds but there is a 1-2 second patch where Firefox is unusable. It locks my browser. It’s as if all this js that must be pouring in creates a load too great for FF to cope with so all scrolling and typing must cease. Because I don’t have a window open to GMail all the time this means I actually have to take time out to use it. I have to wait to use a service that is meant to help. Google Reader is just as bad. Even with the power of Google it is slow slow slow. Maybe if they lost the cute logos between events and just had “LOADING . . . ” people would get more annoyed.
Last.fm is cool, the winamp plugin is also cool. But music tastes change and leaving the plugin installed on other machines means that I end up looking as if I really do listen to Amy Winehouse, Hilary Duff and Vanessa Carlton (and they are the ones that made it – there are equally shameful entries on the site). Faithless is a large entry as is Moby but I associate them strongly with the last house we lived in and certain events. Magic Numbers? I have no idea but I know it was me.
The Orb? Hmm….. DJ Vader – it was 1 track (Southern Sun remix) (again same house/time). I don’t look at the plugin and dwell but the site and that together make connections for me. Music does for everyone and while I’m not severing the past I’m wondering just how things will compare in 12 months or so. Fatboy Slim will be there, the CunninLynguists will be there, others? I have no idea.
So I have reset all my information at last.fm (it says 24 hours for it to be done) so I can start with a clean sheet. Actually their reset can take up to 24 hours (maybe they do it manually? After all, it’s only a db table surely) and it was using my old name so I have re-registered as markr_ – much quicker and less chance of a collision with the girls’ dodgy music tastes.
If what is above is some sort of map of my year then as of now I am standing at a signpost on a flat plain of sand. There are lots of directions to artists and tracks. Should be interesting listening.
Somewhere I have a kb shortcut (I think) that is restarting windows. I’ve not made it, I’ve not had it installed by anything but as I’m typing apps will suddenly start closing and then it restarts. Very very odd. It’s not a malware issue and xp is other performing well but I cannot find what is doing it. Maybe it’s just random – the one this morning I have just typed a line into xchat and the machine decided to reboot. The event logs show nothing. Weird.
There is almost an exodus from the north when looking at the M1. The occasional car going north but it looks like several rush hours at once going the other way. By far the busiest I’ve seen it. Tomorrow is just a regular day then.
This “day off work” stuff is good though. I’ve got quite a few things done here, on freshlypressed and on wp.com. I should have more time away. I had my eye on a laptop too and hoped it would drop in the sales but alas it did not…. D completed her “Let’s get the laptop to be mine” mission a little while ago and as a mark of her success it now has The Sims installed. All of them. That sets in stone the change of ownership…..