Kids: Don't try this at home.
On the up-side, I get to delete iTunes from my PC!
Showing posts with label Grumblings. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Grumblings. Show all posts
Thursday, 11 July 2013
Bye bye iPod Shuffle
Accidentally put my iPod Shuffle through the washing machine. It's dead. "Bereft of life it rests in peace..."
Kids: Don't try this at home.
On the up-side, I get to delete iTunes from my PC!
Kids: Don't try this at home.
On the up-side, I get to delete iTunes from my PC!
Wednesday, 19 June 2013
Sky TV miffed over football loss
Sky TV has had the rug pulled from under it by an upstart company Coliseum Sport Media Management (CSM). CSM has successfully out-bid SKY for three years' worth of the Premier League Football coverage.
Hu-Rah!
I'm a Sky subscriber - and I'm not a happy one. You see I have to subscribe to the basic digital package ($46.92) then add the basic Sports package ($26.45 - total $73.37) in order to watch _some_ live tennis (TVNZ has the rights to Wimbledon this year).
Now I'm irked that I have to spend so much in order to watch so little. In our home we watch very little TV at all. If we could, we would be happy to subscribe to just the stuff we wish to watch. To be honest we seriously considered dumping Sky completely and going TV free. In the end we felt we would miss the tennis too much.
The news that CSM has upped the ante and proven that digital distribution can work is a god-send to aggrieved Sky subscribers like me. I can't wait until the major tennis competitions offer an online subscription to the live TV feed. I'd be much happier paying Wimbledon.com (or whatever) $120 for the two weeks coverage than paying Sky anything for the rubbish they offer on most of their channels.
"Sky: your happy place" - yeah right!
Story on Stuff: here.
Hu-Rah!
I'm a Sky subscriber - and I'm not a happy one. You see I have to subscribe to the basic digital package ($46.92) then add the basic Sports package ($26.45 - total $73.37) in order to watch _some_ live tennis (TVNZ has the rights to Wimbledon this year).
Now I'm irked that I have to spend so much in order to watch so little. In our home we watch very little TV at all. If we could, we would be happy to subscribe to just the stuff we wish to watch. To be honest we seriously considered dumping Sky completely and going TV free. In the end we felt we would miss the tennis too much.
The news that CSM has upped the ante and proven that digital distribution can work is a god-send to aggrieved Sky subscribers like me. I can't wait until the major tennis competitions offer an online subscription to the live TV feed. I'd be much happier paying Wimbledon.com (or whatever) $120 for the two weeks coverage than paying Sky anything for the rubbish they offer on most of their channels.
"Sky: your happy place" - yeah right!
Story on Stuff: here.
Monday, 15 April 2013
RSA sandpit closed - get over it
Stuff reports the RSA (Returned Services Association) being annoyed that repairs to the Bridge of Remembrance will take longer than originally estimated.
That's a shame, but you see we here in Christchurch are suffering following a series of MASSIVE EARTHQUAKES which have damaged much of the city's infrastructure. Important structures like peoples houses, water, sewerage pipes, roads and schools have taken a hammering.
In other words - GET OVER IT you miserable old sods. We need to fix the important stuff first.
The RSA is miffed that their sandpit won't be fixed for the 100 year commemorations to mark the start of WWI. Sorry guys, but you get to stand in line to have your non-essential, pedestrian-only bridge repaired at a cost of at least $3.2 million.
I've got an idea! WHY DON'T THE RSA PAY FOR IT?
Or better still: go to Gallipoli and do your strutting there.
As you can tell I'm not an RSA supporter. I'm tired of them telling me how noble they once were. The second World War had been finished for two decades by the time I was born. This makes it ancient history as far as I'm concerned. Like Ghengis Kahn and the Roman empire.
The real turning point in my attitude to the RSA was when this bunch of old farts decried the planting of cherry blossoms along Christchurch's Memorial avenue because (get this) "They are synonymous with the Japanese".
Well I like the Japanese. I like cherry blossoms too. So stop living in the past and telling me what I should and should not do.
That's a shame, but you see we here in Christchurch are suffering following a series of MASSIVE EARTHQUAKES which have damaged much of the city's infrastructure. Important structures like peoples houses, water, sewerage pipes, roads and schools have taken a hammering.
In other words - GET OVER IT you miserable old sods. We need to fix the important stuff first.
The RSA is miffed that their sandpit won't be fixed for the 100 year commemorations to mark the start of WWI. Sorry guys, but you get to stand in line to have your non-essential, pedestrian-only bridge repaired at a cost of at least $3.2 million.
I've got an idea! WHY DON'T THE RSA PAY FOR IT?
Or better still: go to Gallipoli and do your strutting there.
As you can tell I'm not an RSA supporter. I'm tired of them telling me how noble they once were. The second World War had been finished for two decades by the time I was born. This makes it ancient history as far as I'm concerned. Like Ghengis Kahn and the Roman empire.
The real turning point in my attitude to the RSA was when this bunch of old farts decried the planting of cherry blossoms along Christchurch's Memorial avenue because (get this) "They are synonymous with the Japanese".
Well I like the Japanese. I like cherry blossoms too. So stop living in the past and telling me what I should and should not do.
Sunday, 10 March 2013
Poor Sportsmanship on the Rangiora Fun Run
I ran the
Rangiora to Kaiapoi Fun Run for the fourth time on Sunday 10th
March.
I trained hard for this annual event and posted a new personal best time of just under 44 minutes The 10.5km route differed slightly from last year with more shingle track running and less sealed road.
As usual,
this wonderful event was well supported and staffed by numerous helpful and
friendly marshals. I would like to
thank each of them and the organizers for bringing us this excellent fun run.
As a top 20
finisher (12th overall) I was appalled to see a runner just ahead of me deliberately blocking
another runner who was attempting to pass him. The victim and I had passed each other a couple of times previously in the race, so we were very closely matched. As we had passed each other we exchanged a few words of encouragement and wished each other well. It was my turn to play catch-up as Romeo (he looked like the character on "Home and Away") was feeling strong and had eased past me at the 7.5km mark.
Romeo was up into 12th place and challenging for 11th. I was slightly behind in 13th. I had an excellent view from 6 metres back as to what was about to unfold.
The runner in 11th place deliberately moved across in front of Romeo in order to stop him overtaking. This was on a 4WD track with ample room for four runners abreast. It happened again and again.
These dastardly maneuvers continued for approximately a kilometer until I loudly
suggested Romeo foot trip the offender.
On hearing this, the offender stopped running and allowed us both to continue unobstructed. As I passed I told the offender of
my displeasure with his activities.
Had the offender tried a similar tactic with me I would have foot tripped him without a second thought. If you run in front of me expect consequences. A face full of dirt might teach you some manners.
This event
is a local fundraiser not an Olympic trial.
Leave that nasty stuff out and enjoy the event for what it is – a FUN
run. If someone is faster than you,
train harder and have another go next year.
Deliberately trying to limit another runner’s race is incredibly poor
sportsmanship.
Monday, 4 March 2013
I am NOT "New Zealand European"
Census time.
Our New Zealand government wants to create it's own Doomsday Book. Except it's not called that. It's called the 2013 Census. Boring title eh? I think DOOMsday Book is much cooler.
The bit that really irks me about these forms is how they pigeon-hole us. Yes, yes we get some options to specify some bits and pieces, but no real attempt has been made with the forms to allow us to describe ourselves.
Take Ethnicity.
I'm not Polynesian, Australian, Dutch or English. I'm a Kiwi. Proudly so.
Unfortunately, "New Zealander" is not one of the ethnicity options. You have to wonder why this is so. The closest the forms allow is "New Zealand European".
I'm not, and have never considered myself a "New Zealand European". I have no affiliation with Europe. I am at least a third generation Kiwi. Tomato sauce, jandals, Marmite, beer and rugby, you know - a Kiwi. Born here just like my parents.
How long do I have to be here until I'm considered part of this land? Imagine if Maori were forced to entitle themselves "Polynesian"? (Latest evidence is that Maori are from Polynesian origin). Imagine the outcry!
So here's my solution to the Census dilemma:
I tick OTHER in the Ethnicity field in the form. Then I specify New Zealander in the additional box.
Just like last time....
Our New Zealand government wants to create it's own Doomsday Book. Except it's not called that. It's called the 2013 Census. Boring title eh? I think DOOMsday Book is much cooler.
The bit that really irks me about these forms is how they pigeon-hole us. Yes, yes we get some options to specify some bits and pieces, but no real attempt has been made with the forms to allow us to describe ourselves.
Take Ethnicity.
I'm not Polynesian, Australian, Dutch or English. I'm a Kiwi. Proudly so.
Unfortunately, "New Zealander" is not one of the ethnicity options. You have to wonder why this is so. The closest the forms allow is "New Zealand European".
I'm not, and have never considered myself a "New Zealand European". I have no affiliation with Europe. I am at least a third generation Kiwi. Tomato sauce, jandals, Marmite, beer and rugby, you know - a Kiwi. Born here just like my parents.
How long do I have to be here until I'm considered part of this land? Imagine if Maori were forced to entitle themselves "Polynesian"? (Latest evidence is that Maori are from Polynesian origin). Imagine the outcry!
So here's my solution to the Census dilemma:
I tick OTHER in the Ethnicity field in the form. Then I specify New Zealander in the additional box.
Just like last time....
Sunday, 3 March 2013
St John and the Whale.
I'm not much of a blogger - as this occasional blog will attest. My brother John is a blogger. He crafts interesting and intriguing blog posts numerous times a day. I don't always agree with him but read his words daily. You too can read his fine blog here: http://conzervative.wordpress.com/
John is a nice guy. No really. He is. I'm not just saying that because we share the same parents. He is genuinely interested in people and their views. So it's a bit of a surprise to me that blogger Cameron Slater aka (beached) Whaleoil has taken such a dislike to him.
Over the last couple of days a flame war has erupted with Cameron doing the mud flinging and John playing the part of the reasoned debater. You can find the tail end of this flame war here: Vileness in the blogosphere a re-post
Cameron lambastes the CoNZervative blog as being "tumbleweed" and mocks John for having fewer page hits per day. All grown up eh?
The difference between the two blogs can be explained like this:
CoNZervative posts stuff like a BBC documentary narrated by Sir David Attenborough. What you get is researched, well presented, articulate and interesting.
WhaleOil posts stuff like a reality TV show. With cooking, renovating, innuendo and profanity. It's cheap, mass produced trash for people who can't think for themselves and want a quick thrill.
If you're looking for rubbish to fill your blank mind between episodes of "The Block" or "American Idol" do feel free to go read Cameron Slater's diatribes.
If you want something educational and intelligent, use the link at the top of this post and get switched on to the CoNZervative blog.
It's time to bury the beached Whale. He's already starting to stink.
John is a nice guy. No really. He is. I'm not just saying that because we share the same parents. He is genuinely interested in people and their views. So it's a bit of a surprise to me that blogger Cameron Slater aka (beached) Whaleoil has taken such a dislike to him.
Over the last couple of days a flame war has erupted with Cameron doing the mud flinging and John playing the part of the reasoned debater. You can find the tail end of this flame war here: Vileness in the blogosphere a re-post
Cameron lambastes the CoNZervative blog as being "tumbleweed" and mocks John for having fewer page hits per day. All grown up eh?
The difference between the two blogs can be explained like this:
CoNZervative posts stuff like a BBC documentary narrated by Sir David Attenborough. What you get is researched, well presented, articulate and interesting.
WhaleOil posts stuff like a reality TV show. With cooking, renovating, innuendo and profanity. It's cheap, mass produced trash for people who can't think for themselves and want a quick thrill.
If you're looking for rubbish to fill your blank mind between episodes of "The Block" or "American Idol" do feel free to go read Cameron Slater's diatribes.
If you want something educational and intelligent, use the link at the top of this post and get switched on to the CoNZervative blog.
It's time to bury the beached Whale. He's already starting to stink.
Monday, 4 February 2013
Talking rubbish – pronunciation guide for the clueless
Today we’re going to learn a simple set of rules concerning pronunciation of words.
The Australian Open (tennis – not golf) has just finished. While I was watching coverage I was appalled at the poor pronunciation of some of the player’s names by these so called professional commentators. WTA player Dominika Cibulkova and ATP player Alexandr Dolgopolov were two that really suffered at the hands of commentators. The mangling of these surnames was truly breathtaking to hear. It should be inexcusable for a professional commentator to mispronounce a player’s name as each player profile contains a guide to pronunciation.
It’s not Ci-bulk-ova it’s Ci-bul-ko-va. There are four separate vowels, so there are four separate syllables. It’s as easy as that. I discovered these rules when I began teaching myself Latin and have found them remarkably robust.
To my surprise these rules work for many, many languages. Latin, English, Maori and even the impressively vowelled surnames of Sri Lankan cricketers! Here’s a sampling of longish words and a guide to their syllable breakdown.
Dolgopolov (Alexandr – Urkanian tennis player). Dol-go-po-lov (not Dol-gop-o-lov)
Waimakariri (Maori). Wai-ma-ka-ri-ri (not Wai-mak-a-ri-ri). Yes it’s got six vowels, but the first pair is a diphthong and therefore treated as a single unit. This first syllable is pronounced why with a soft h.
Tyrannosaurus (a dinosaur). ty-ran-no-sau-rus (not ty-rann-o-saur-us)
Octavusdecimus (Latin, eighteenth). oc-ta-vus-de-ci-mus (not oct-a-vus-dec-i-mus)
Methylergonovine (a drug). met-hy-ler-go-no-vi-ne. See how the “y” is treated as a vowel? In this case it can be argued that the “th” should be sounded as a unit rather than splitting it across syllables, roughly the same way as a pair of vowels form a diphthong. So we can accept me-thy-ler-go-no-vi-ne which still has the correct number of syllables, just a slightly different emphasis due to the transplanted “t”.
I love the shape and sounds of the names of the Sri Lankan cricketers in particular. To be absolutely fair, most cricket commentators make an excellent job of pronouncing these names.
Jayawardene (Denagamage Praboth Mahela de Silva Jayawardene, known as Mahela, is captain of the Sri Lankan cricket team). Ja-ya-war-de-ne.
Kulasekara (Mudiyanselage Dinesh Nuwan Kulasekara is a Sri Lankan cricketer). Ku-la-se-ka-ra.
Muttiah Muralitharan (former Sri Lankan test cricketer & extraordinary spin bowler). Mut-tiah Mu-ra-li-tha-ran.
So the next time you’re presented with a name or word you are unsure of, apply these simple rules and you’ll be better-than-most when you come to speak it.
The Australian Open (tennis – not golf) has just finished. While I was watching coverage I was appalled at the poor pronunciation of some of the player’s names by these so called professional commentators. WTA player Dominika Cibulkova and ATP player Alexandr Dolgopolov were two that really suffered at the hands of commentators. The mangling of these surnames was truly breathtaking to hear. It should be inexcusable for a professional commentator to mispronounce a player’s name as each player profile contains a guide to pronunciation.
It’s not Ci-bulk-ova it’s Ci-bul-ko-va. There are four separate vowels, so there are four separate syllables. It’s as easy as that. I discovered these rules when I began teaching myself Latin and have found them remarkably robust.
1. A separate vowel, or vowel pair (a diphthong) creates a syllable with the preceding consonant (if there is one). Note: Y is regarded as a vowel if sandwiched between consonants.
2. Orphan consonants are appended to the end of the preceding syllable.
To my surprise these rules work for many, many languages. Latin, English, Maori and even the impressively vowelled surnames of Sri Lankan cricketers! Here’s a sampling of longish words and a guide to their syllable breakdown.
Dolgopolov (Alexandr – Urkanian tennis player). Dol-go-po-lov (not Dol-gop-o-lov)
Waimakariri (Maori). Wai-ma-ka-ri-ri (not Wai-mak-a-ri-ri). Yes it’s got six vowels, but the first pair is a diphthong and therefore treated as a single unit. This first syllable is pronounced why with a soft h.
Tyrannosaurus (a dinosaur). ty-ran-no-sau-rus (not ty-rann-o-saur-us)
Octavusdecimus (Latin, eighteenth). oc-ta-vus-de-ci-mus (not oct-a-vus-dec-i-mus)
Methylergonovine (a drug). met-hy-ler-go-no-vi-ne. See how the “y” is treated as a vowel? In this case it can be argued that the “th” should be sounded as a unit rather than splitting it across syllables, roughly the same way as a pair of vowels form a diphthong. So we can accept me-thy-ler-go-no-vi-ne which still has the correct number of syllables, just a slightly different emphasis due to the transplanted “t”.
I love the shape and sounds of the names of the Sri Lankan cricketers in particular. To be absolutely fair, most cricket commentators make an excellent job of pronouncing these names.
Jayawardene (Denagamage Praboth Mahela de Silva Jayawardene, known as Mahela, is captain of the Sri Lankan cricket team). Ja-ya-war-de-ne.
Kulasekara (Mudiyanselage Dinesh Nuwan Kulasekara is a Sri Lankan cricketer). Ku-la-se-ka-ra.
Muttiah Muralitharan (former Sri Lankan test cricketer & extraordinary spin bowler). Mut-tiah Mu-ra-li-tha-ran.
So the next time you’re presented with a name or word you are unsure of, apply these simple rules and you’ll be better-than-most when you come to speak it.
Friday, 1 February 2013
Stop Supporting Old Browsers!
As
of today I’m making a symbolic stand. This week I’ve stopped
supporting legacy web browsers in my code. No more shims, polyfills or
hacks to make my HTML or CSS code run.
Why am I taking this stand? In the name of PROGRESS.
You see in the old days roads were travelled by foot, carriage or horseback. Now we use cars. We call this progress.
The transition from vinyl to cassette to CD to MP3 is another example of progress.
In
a couple of months we’re having analogue TV closed down. We’ll be
required to buy a new TV or install a set top box in order to decipher a
digital signal. Progress again.
In
the name of progress I no longer support old browsers. Any of them. I
make no apologies for this. Websites I create may not display
perfectly or at all in your old browser. This is not my fault or my
problem – this situation entirely YOUR fault and YOU are to blame.
By
refusing to update your old browser you’re lagging behind. Dragging
the chain. Watching VHS videotapes. Playing records on your
gramophone. What can you do? You can update your browser to the most
current version, in any flavor of OS for free – so what are you waiting
for?
If IE7 doesn’t display a page I created or does something strange
with links don’t whine and moan to me – just update the thing, or
be left behind. Either solution is fine by me.
My
tipping point in taking this stand is quite simple. Browsers that do
not support the HTML5 semantic elements get left behind. In CSS I use
Media Queries to transform the layout (responsive design) depending on
the width of the viewport, so support for Media Queries is also
critical.
Here's how the support for CSS Media Queries stacks up. The good news is that media queries are almost exactly as well supported as the HTML5 elements with 83.72%* coverage.
If your browser doesn’t cut the mustard – it’s time to replace it. Did I mention it’s free to do so? Good.
* source www.caniuse.com
Tuesday, 15 May 2012
Money for nothing (and your chicks for free)
I’m regularly asked to help people out with PC issues or websites. That’s cool, it’s what I do. I’m good at it and
I charge for my expertise. That’s right, I’m not a charity despite numerous recent inquiries from people who obviously
think I am.
A few months back there was the ‘adult’ products company who wanted me to investigate why they weren’t getting any sales from their website. OK, I’m an adult and nothing on the site was illegal, so I gave them an idea of how I could help them, including an estimate of the hours involved.
Silence ensued.
Funny how these people were keen to tell me how they spent thousands of dollars setting up the site, but wouldn’t spend a few hundred bucks making it work properly.
I lost another client because their free host died. The fact that they hadn’t paid a cent for the hosting was somehow my responsibility because I had charged them for designing their site.
Another client asked me to add another page to their site so they could start selling stuff. Of course they didn’t want to pay any extra for the work. Apparently this was part of the deal (which I gave them at a very reasonable rate because they were a start-up I chose to support). Sigh.
You get what you pay for in this world and I’m sick of the Takers in this world trying it on.
Yes I do some free work for organizations I support. I also often charge reduced rates for genuine charities. Sometimes this is just not enough for some people.
So to all you Takers: Take your business elsewhere, the answer is NO.
A few months back there was the ‘adult’ products company who wanted me to investigate why they weren’t getting any sales from their website. OK, I’m an adult and nothing on the site was illegal, so I gave them an idea of how I could help them, including an estimate of the hours involved.
Silence ensued.
Funny how these people were keen to tell me how they spent thousands of dollars setting up the site, but wouldn’t spend a few hundred bucks making it work properly.
I lost another client because their free host died. The fact that they hadn’t paid a cent for the hosting was somehow my responsibility because I had charged them for designing their site.
Another client asked me to add another page to their site so they could start selling stuff. Of course they didn’t want to pay any extra for the work. Apparently this was part of the deal (which I gave them at a very reasonable rate because they were a start-up I chose to support). Sigh.
You get what you pay for in this world and I’m sick of the Takers in this world trying it on.
Yes I do some free work for organizations I support. I also often charge reduced rates for genuine charities. Sometimes this is just not enough for some people.
So to all you Takers: Take your business elsewhere, the answer is NO.
 |
| Free Chicken! |
Goodbye Thingamablog
I've set up my own IIS server under Win7 and have both MySQL and PHP running on it.
I've also been designing websites and writing C# software for a few years now, so I like to think I'm not all that dim. Yet I tried to configure Thingamablog for more than six hours before I finally gave up.
Nice idea, but I found it just too much trouble to get it to work. Goodbye Thingamablog!
What am I going to do about a blog now?
I've seriously thought about using Wordpress. Even have it installed on my localhost. The trouble is that the Scriptus Web Design website (http://www.scriptus.co.nz) is a static one (no PHP or MySQL). This means that Wordpress is not going to play nicely with the site host. Damn.
I like to call myself a web designer. Surely I can code this myself? What I'll do is write it up in HTML5 and CSS and FTP it to my website host (I was going to have to FTP the blog to the web site anyway using Thingamablog). Now I have ultimate control of how my blog looks and works. If you're reading this then I've been successful publishing it.
Or so I thought.....,
I've also been designing websites and writing C# software for a few years now, so I like to think I'm not all that dim. Yet I tried to configure Thingamablog for more than six hours before I finally gave up.
Nice idea, but I found it just too much trouble to get it to work. Goodbye Thingamablog!
What am I going to do about a blog now?
I've seriously thought about using Wordpress. Even have it installed on my localhost. The trouble is that the Scriptus Web Design website (http://www.scriptus.co.nz) is a static one (no PHP or MySQL). This means that Wordpress is not going to play nicely with the site host. Damn.
I like to call myself a web designer. Surely I can code this myself? What I'll do is write it up in HTML5 and CSS and FTP it to my website host (I was going to have to FTP the blog to the web site anyway using Thingamablog). Now I have ultimate control of how my blog looks and works. If you're reading this then I've been successful publishing it.
Or so I thought.....,
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