Among a great many other things, I work on computers for people. Something that has always bothered me is that the client has to give me his password(s) for the computer before I can work on it. That’s a security violation. The rule [not that we “do” rules, here, of Read more…
This one will be short(-ish). It’s just a thought that occurs to me every time I’m on a cell phone call and the call drops, or every time some one leaves me a voice message and it takes 3 days to show up on my phone, or a text message Read more…
There is a logo, flash, picture, etc. that all real estate advertising in America includes. It is detailed in a document published at hud.gov which has much to say about “fair housing.” What is meant in this document by fair housing is that one can not discriminate against people on Read more…
It seems strange to me when I get to the end of an interminable checkout process on someone’s website (the bigger the company, the longer the checkout process, ever notice that?) to then see a statement about “how much money I saved today.” I am stunned that — apparently — Read more…
I cringe every time I see an ad for “high-speed” this-or-that cabling, such as USB(1) cables. I cringe because undoubtedly many people now believe that “speed” has something to do with the cabling. Trust me: it’s a piece of wire with some plastic wrapped around it. Properly crafted(2)(3) it has Read more…
No slur on the Japanese, here; none at all. They are good, creative, hard working people, with a rich national identity and great sense of Business all over the World. However… I was looking through eBay for some World War II model sets: ships, planes, whatever. After a while it Read more…
This is taken from Frank Herbert’s magnificent Dune series, specifically The Children of Dune [the third of six books]. The story and the series have never yet been done properly in video, perhaps never will be. Frankly, the work is too broad, too deep and too all encompassing as a commentary on Read more…
So there I am in the middle of some work on the computer and Bang! an ad pops up offering me the secret to get rid of unwanted ads. Apparently the irony here never occurred to Those Who Create Stupid Ads. That *is* an unwanted ad. Hello! Duh!! For me, Read more…
Just a couple thoughts for movie reviewers. One, when I see (words to the effect of) “just like blah-blah meets blah-blah” as in a collision of two other movies and neither one is a title I recognize, I instantly know this isn’t my type of movie. Or rather, I assume it Read more…
I don’t normally spend a lot of time deeply analyzing 30+ year old movies, but I was sitting some place the other day where the Schwarzenegger movie Total Recall (1) was playing and a few things struck me. Been a while since I’d seen it, so I was looking with Read more…
Dear Wall Street Journal: A friend of mine tried to share an article of yours with me. Sent me the link. I clicked on the link and got about two sentences with the rest held hostage against my subscribing to your otherwise decent publication. I don’t subscribe under threats or Read more…
On the subject of climate change, I get a little irritated (to put it mildly) at folks who still insist it doesn’t exist or that it’s a “liberal conspiracy” or some other silliness. I’ve been watching it happen all my life. Any one who looks out the window now and Read more…
I was helping a friend with her computer the other day and she went into Microsoft Word to show me something. Across the top of the screen was a message in dark red on light red background saying (more or less) “your version of Word is no longer supported. You Read more…
Advertisers: stop it. You talk yourselves out of a sale, every time you try to coerce instead of convince. I never yield to emotional-based, irritation-based(1), slogan-based or razzle-dazzle-based advertising. If you can’t convince them with logic, baffle them with bull-shit. I became (mostly) immune to such stuff shortly after 8 Read more…
I just came across the term “deep tech.” Apparently It’s meant to describe really, really great tech application / engineering. Such as why the new Space Programs are working so well. I find the term misleading. It’s saying that “the heavy, conscientious, thorough application of technology” is unusual. (Unfortunately, it Read more…
So I was on the internet the other day and came across this ad for Banking services. What the heck is “Cha-Ching” ??? The expression is “Ka-Ching!” Hello? It’s spelled like it sounds(1), dude? Are you trying to tell me that 1) banks — professional, money handler banks Read more…
So I ordered a something (computer parts, in this case) and it came in a United States Postal Service (USPS) Priority box. Normal enough. I open it up and there’s another USPS priority box inside, close to the size of the actual item being shipped, and this is also wrapped Read more…
If you’ve been reading any of these posts you might be able to guess my reaction when ever I see some product in a store with the label on it “As Seen On TV,” as if that’s a selling point. In case it isn’t obvious, what’s my reaction? I Read more…
Friend of mine was telling me a story about his insurance company(1). He took out an insurance policy for his car. Over the first year his rates kept going up. He called them to ask why: no tickets, no claims, no nothing, why are the rates going up? The agent Read more…
I see many books, lots of debate societies and lots of disinformation / misinformation about Capitalism, what it is, whether it’s Good or Bad, and so on. It’s really very simple. Start with merchants, tradesmen, farmers and ranchers who have goods and services to offer. People can simply swap goods Read more…