Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Gawker Screws Up Website Again

I like to read Lifehacker & Gizmodo. But a few months ago the geniuses that run those sites eliminated Blog View which allows you to scroll down the page to read articles. Instead you have access only to 3 or 4 articles. Now why would you do that?

Firefox has an add-on called Gawker Blog View that resolves the issue. Or at least did until recently. Now I can't get blog view. I still don't see why Top Stories is better. It only gives you access to a few stories. the rest are listed on the right & you have to click on them one at a time. This is an improvement?

I seriously believe webmasters get bored & feel they have to change sites just to justify their jobs. This exists in every company. Not just websites, but there is always one jerk who will purposely ruin something just so he can come in & "fix it". I call these people "losers".

There is really no justification for changing the coding of a site that works just so you can screw around with Firefox extension users. Go work on IE9/10/11 whatever. I just want to read. And if I can't, I will find another site that lets me.

Monday, December 26, 2011

Why My Printer Wasn't Working

My printer stopped printing a couple of weeks ago. I wasn't sure why, but I wondered if the ink level was that low. It had been telling me that for a while, but I don't use it that much.

Now ink is expensive, & my printer is a color one. So a double cartridge is $32 at Target. but I broke down & bought one today. And low & behold, it works now! Fortunately I don't print much. I have this computer a year & a half, & the printer probably a year, so buying ink once a year isn't too bad.

Now I could have gone to Costco & simply had the cartridge refilled, but I just don't want to deal with that mess right now. Once the holidays are over I'll go back to Costco, but not right now.

Sunday, December 18, 2011

Christmas Songs On YouTube

They play Christmas songs at work. But they are on a tape, & this year they're only playing a single tape over & over again. Last year was different. You would hear Bing & Frank & U2 & others. This year it's Mariah, Britney (yeah, ug) & Swifty, as I call her.LOL. At least they play Run Rudolph Run by Chuck Berry.

So what to do? Answer: You Tube. Go on there, & type in the name of any song you can think of, & a video or 3 will show up.
I just spent about an hour on there. Here's what I heard:
HappyXmas (War is Over)/John Lennon(my favorite Christmas song)
Do they know it's Christmas/Band Aid. This was the original all-star charity single. George Michael, Boy George, Sting, Bono, Phil Collins (some of them look weird like Bono with a mullet. Hey it was 1984)
Santa Baby/Eartha Kitt. At work I have to listen to Madonna's godawful version or Taylor Swift. Kitt's is brilliant.
White Christmas/The Drifters. A cool doo wop version
Have yourself a merry little Christmas/Judy Garland (The video is from Meet me in St. Louis)

For laughs I also recommend 12 days of Christmas by Alan Sherman (early 60's) & for the win-Santa Claus & his old lady by Cheech & Chong. maybe the funniest thing I have ever heard. I listen to this at least once every year (for the last 30), & bust up .

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

My New Headphones

A month ago my less than two year old Sony headphones went kaput. Well, at least the left one did. No matter what I did, i couldn't get it to work. So I went back to my Apple buds. Not great. So I decided to get new ones. but this time I would get over the ear headphones.

So I headed to Best Buy & got Sennheiser HD 419's. Well, it will take me some time to get used to the feel, but they sound great. One thing about full sized headphones is that you really feel like you are inside what you are listening to.

I'm interested what music sounds like, but right now I'm listening to an audio book from Audible. I had finished the Steve Jobs biography while using the Apple ear buds, but now I'm using these new ones to listen to "The girl with the dragon tattoo" by Stieg Larrsen. This is a well known & very popular swedish crime novel (1st of 3) by an author who died before any were published. All 3 have been made into swedish language films, & the one I'm reading is about to be released as a Hollywood film with Daniel Craig.

Using these headphones really makes you part of the story. no outside interference. Except for having to get used to the weight, & figuring out how to wear them so they are at least not uncomfortable, they are an improvement. When I get back into music I will give a review. but I just downloaded a history book which I will listen to after this is done.

Sunday, December 11, 2011

Why Don't Headphones Last?

I listen to my iPod through headphones, just like most people. I hate the Apple earbuds that don't fit in my ears because of the shape. So I bought Sony buds that fit in the ear & had superior sound.

But they stopped working a couple of months ago. Why? I have no clue. they didn't even last 2 years. No sound out of the left ear.  So I have started researching again. And while reading reviews, what do I find? That even the most expensive seem to have the same issue. 

So what is the problem? Why do they suddenly stop working, or as in my case, one side goes dead. Apparently the technology isn't as perfect as in other tech products. Cords that get tangled up, wires that detach, whatever. i can't even find a reason why mine stopped. No frayed wire or cord. The buds themselves look fine. Just no sound. So I'm back to using the white Apple buds that refuse to fit properly in my ear. 

So tomorrow I hit Best Buy. The price on Amazon doesn't seem that much cheaper than just going to the store to buy a new pair. I just hate having to pay another $50 after only 2 years.

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Bay Area News Group Cuts Monday Delivery

In one of the stupidest, most arrogant decisions by a newspaper company, Denver based Media News has announced they will stop Monday delivery of 3 east bay papers, including the venerable Oakland Tribune.

The paper will still be printed, but you will have to go to a store to buy a copy. So Raider fans won't be able to read about the game the next day, no first of the week news articles, etc.

I'm not that surprised. When this company bought the San Jose Mercury, the first stories out were about what a bad company this was. A month ago, they were going to count all the issues bought of all the different papers as Mercury News sales.

Three other papers won't be published at all. the company is calling it "Digital Monday". Meaning you want the paper, go online. Well, not everyone has access to a computer at home or at work. It's just an arrogant decision that disregards the customers desire for information. I'm sure the Republican Party backs the decision, but it is not something a democracy should be embracing.

Sunday, December 4, 2011

Did Technology Kill KGO's Ratings?

For over 30 years KGO was the highest rated, most listened to radio station in the San Francisco Bay Area. It was a hybrid station, with a 4 hour block of all news from 5-9AM, an hour at noon, & another 3 hour block from 4-7PM. The rest of the time it was a talk station.

This was not talk ala the right wing screamers who don't allow alternate positions. No bashing the President, calling him names & lying about his positions or his politics. Since it was a news station, it had to be accurate. The talkers were moderate, & allowed differing opinions.

But Friday it was announced that all but one talk show would be cancelled. All hosts were fired, & it will now be solid news from 2PM-Midnight. The ratings have gone down, with only listeners over 60 staying with the station.

It would be speculation, but one has to assume the younger listeners, now used to the vitriol now on most talk stations have decided that the more moderate tone employed by KGO is not for them.

Plus the web is out there. Meaning those that would participate have an easier chance to do that on computer message boards, whether the boards accept both sides of an argument, or rather the more aggressive stance that wouldn't be acceptable by this venerable station.

People want to vent nowadays. As for news, a second all news station will probably not work. If LA can't support 2, why would the smaller SF market be able to? It is also assumed that satellite radio has had an effect, with a wider range of views & hosts to choose from. KGO was a rarity in that the talk shows were local, not syndicated shows from LA or NY. This is what will most be lost. The news web sites are national or international, meaning what is being lost is local interest. This is not a good thing.