Snow-blogging

Seems to be the thing to do so why not join. My experience was "be smart enough and lucky enough to get the hell out of the way before the mess settles in."

To be specific, I got a call saying that K's school was closing early - noon-thirty - and I'd need to be home to receive him. Pygment's job has some kerfluffle about her being "essential personnel" (despite being a contractor, yeah right) so she wasn't leaving. Fortunately, half my office is down in NY for the company holiday do anyway, so I irc'ed to my boss that I was leaving early and he said no problem.

(This AM I hear on the radio that over 1000 Boston schoolkids were stranded in schools as late as 9PM until enough buses could manage to get them all out. Kudos to the drivers who kept going that late and to the principals and teachers who stayed with the kids to make sure they were cared for, warm, and fed. But geezus guys it's not like Boston doesn't get snow; how do you screw up something as basic as getting kids home in a storm? Listening to Menino huff and puff trying to avoid responsibility for how badly the city had arsed this up was almost comical.)

So I went home and had a minor panic when K didn't show up on schedule. (Details not of interest to anyone but me - I'll do things slightly differently next time.) Eventually I got him and went to collect L; filled the tank on the way home, just in case. Called Pygment about half a dozen times, urging her to leave work NOW and not at the proposed 3:30.

Got home and shoveled the first 3 or so inches of powder off the driveway in hopes Pygment could also park there. It took her a couple hours to get home so she had to shovel again anyway. Then we just sat at home and ignored it. This AM we had to shovel another mass of snow plus the usual plow-in.

All in all not nearly as bad as it could have been. The proposed weekend nor'easter could be worse if it really does dump the forecasted couple inches of icy crap on top of this mess.

Snow-blogging

Seems to be the thing to do so why not join. My experience was "be smart enough and lucky enough to get the hell out of the way before the mess settles in."

To be specific, I got a call saying that K's school was closing early - noon-thirty - and I'd need to be home to receive him. Pygment's job has some kerfluffle about her being "essential personnel" (despite being a contractor, yeah right) so she wasn't leaving. Fortunately, half my office is down in NY for the company holiday do anyway, so I irc'ed to my boss that I was leaving early and he said no problem.

(This AM I hear on the radio that over 1000 Boston schoolkids were stranded in schools as late as 9PM until enough buses could manage to get them all out. Kudos to the drivers who kept going that late and to the principals and teachers who stayed with the kids to make sure they were cared for, warm, and fed. But geezus guys it's not like Boston doesn't get snow; how do you screw up something as basic as getting kids home in a storm? Listening to Menino huff and puff trying to avoid responsibility for how badly the city had arsed this up was almost comical.)

So I went home and had a minor panic when K didn't show up on schedule. (Details not of interest to anyone but me - I'll do things slightly differently next time.) Eventually I got him and went to collect L; filled the tank on the way home, just in case. Called Pygment about half a dozen times, urging her to leave work NOW and not at the proposed 3:30.

Got home and shoveled the first 3 or so inches of powder off the driveway in hopes Pygment could also park there. It took her a couple hours to get home so she had to shovel again anyway. Then we just sat at home and ignored it. This AM we had to shovel another mass of snow plus the usual plow-in.

All in all not nearly as bad as it could have been. The proposed weekend nor'easter could be worse if it really does dump the forecasted couple inches of icy crap on top of this mess.

Open rant on PC software updating

Dear Arrogant Bastard Software Vendors

I will decide when I want to reboot my PC. Not you. And certainly not some automated process created by your lazy and cretinous programmers.

I do not f'ing care if you've installed an update, if you think your update is critical, or if you're concerned that your software won't work right unless I reboot my computer. Suck it up and DEAL. Do NOT be flashing stupid warnings at me with obnoxious bonging bells every few minutes. Do NOT be putting up a window that insists on being on top of every other window in my workspace, as if I was a forgetful child who would otherwise forget that this PoS excuse for an operating system can't manage to wipe its own smelly bottom without a reboot first.

I hereby sentence to you go beg humbly at the doorstep of the Firefox developers who will teach you polite and sensible ways to do updates ("oh, don't want to restart now? No problem, I'll just wait patiently and handle this the next time you restart Firefox. have a nice day.") Learn well and don't darken my disk drive again until you have.

No love,
Lord John Whorfin

(the preciding rant brought to you by McAfee virus scan, Microsoft Windows Update, and Apple Quicktime. But they're just the most recent culprits. Seriously, what's so f'ing hard about doing it the right way.)

Open rant on PC software updating

Dear Arrogant Bastard Software Vendors

I will decide when I want to reboot my PC. Not you. And certainly not some automated process created by your lazy and cretinous programmers.

I do not f'ing care if you've installed an update, if you think your update is critical, or if you're concerned that your software won't work right unless I reboot my computer. Suck it up and DEAL. Do NOT be flashing stupid warnings at me with obnoxious bonging bells every few minutes. Do NOT be putting up a window that insists on being on top of every other window in my workspace, as if I was a forgetful child who would otherwise forget that this PoS excuse for an operating system can't manage to wipe its own smelly bottom without a reboot first.

I hereby sentence to you go beg humbly at the doorstep of the Firefox developers who will teach you polite and sensible ways to do updates ("oh, don't want to restart now? No problem, I'll just wait patiently and handle this the next time you restart Firefox. have a nice day.") Learn well and don't darken my disk drive again until you have.

No love,
Lord John Whorfin

(the preciding rant brought to you by McAfee virus scan, Microsoft Windows Update, and Apple Quicktime. But they're just the most recent culprits. Seriously, what's so f'ing hard about doing it the right way.)

Random bits from yesterday

In the snowstorm, I stopped to pick up a hitchhiker. I used to hitch a bit myself here and there so I am more likely to pick someone. When it's a blizzard, doubly so. Turns out he was unable to get his ancient PoS Chevy moving on the snow so he was walking into town center in hopes that the mechanic had finished working on his pickup truck and he could drive that in the snow. Nice guy; I probably saved him a good half hour of wet trudging, and cost myself less than one extra minute.

Of course, I did almost get rear-ended by the jagoff who was tailgating me (yes, in the blizzard, don't ask, they have the word "masshole" for a reason you know) and who honked long and loud when I had the temerity to offer aid to a fellow human. Even though I used my turn signal AND hazards. I think the masshole was too close to my bumper to see the signals.

L has decided to be EXTRA cute of late. When driving with him in the car he keeps insisting that I have to turn the music up louder. Particularly when it's VNV Nation. (hrm, might be my child after all.)

My parents both assert that while growing up my brother and I were known as "Yeahbut" and "Whatif" because we would respond to any dictat from our parents with "Yeah, but..." or "What if..." Except neither of my parents can remember which of my brother/myself was yeahbut and which was whatif. I'm now convinced that I was Whatif, because K is so much doing that himself. My brother was yeahbut, and so is L. Totally.

Last night L decided to conduct part of a conversation with us while standing outside the computer room door with his arms outstretched, head flopped back so he could stare at the ceiling, spinning around.
Me: What are you doing?
L: I'm a portal.
Me: A portal? To what?
L: *thinks* The kitchen!

Random bits from yesterday

In the snowstorm, I stopped to pick up a hitchhiker. I used to hitch a bit myself here and there so I am more likely to pick someone. When it's a blizzard, doubly so. Turns out he was unable to get his ancient PoS Chevy moving on the snow so he was walking into town center in hopes that the mechanic had finished working on his pickup truck and he could drive that in the snow. Nice guy; I probably saved him a good half hour of wet trudging, and cost myself less than one extra minute.

Of course, I did almost get rear-ended by the jagoff who was tailgating me (yes, in the blizzard, don't ask, they have the word "masshole" for a reason you know) and who honked long and loud when I had the temerity to offer aid to a fellow human. Even though I used my turn signal AND hazards. I think the masshole was too close to my bumper to see the signals.

L has decided to be EXTRA cute of late. When driving with him in the car he keeps insisting that I have to turn the music up louder. Particularly when it's VNV Nation. (hrm, might be my child after all.)

My parents both assert that while growing up my brother and I were known as "Yeahbut" and "Whatif" because we would respond to any dictat from our parents with "Yeah, but..." or "What if..." Except neither of my parents can remember which of my brother/myself was yeahbut and which was whatif. I'm now convinced that I was Whatif, because K is so much doing that himself. My brother was yeahbut, and so is L. Totally.

Last night L decided to conduct part of a conversation with us while standing outside the computer room door with his arms outstretched, head flopped back so he could stare at the ceiling, spinning around.
Me: What are you doing?
L: I'm a portal.
Me: A portal? To what?
L: *thinks* The kitchen!