Year: 2008

I hate software

I’ve been working on a couple of items about last weekend in New York that will have numerous images. But the browse feature for the upload function within WordPress when using Firefox stopped working. It worked in IE 7, but then I ran into a different problem with that. So I went back to Firefox, determined to figure out what happened. Eventually, I remembered that I’d taken an update to Abode Flash recently and, sure enough, when I disabled it as a Firefox add-on, the browse button re-appeared.

Ya know, I’m really, really tired of this sort of [insert anagram of the word “this” here]. Why the [insert word that rhymes with luck here] should Flash interfere with this function within an editor? It’s [word that rhymes with clap] like this that makes me say I’m glad I figured out what the [rhymes with bell] was wrong, but it’s late and I give up for now so I can go to bed and go the dentist in the morning. Eventually I’ll get to publish what I’ve been trying to get to for the past three days, but haven’t been able to due to illness and technical inanity/insanity.

Ah. Here we go. Wish I’d found this an hour ago. Big problem, and in the release version of Flash 10, too.

http://wordpress.org/support/topic/177127

DON’T USE FLASH 10 WITH FIREFOX! Did I mention I’m really tired of this sort of stuff?

P.S. I downdated to Flash 9 and browsing to upload media files is working again.

Let GM Suffer

OK, I know I said GM should be allowed to fail, but that was my immediate reflexive reaction. They should be allowed to suffer, the executives and the unions alike, but something will have to be done.

I abhor the idea that a corporation is “too big to be allowed to fail,” because it means companies are motivated to grow by any and all means — past the point of economies of scale and into inefficient bureaucracy — as sort of an insurance policy. But seeing 100,000 jobs disappear overnight, rather than maybe 25-30,000 as would be needed for a reorganization, is unacceptable.

I like an idea I heard on NPR while I was sick in bed. Let Exxon-Mobil loan the auto makers the $25 billion. Why should it be the taxpayers floating Detroit? Washington should strong-arm the oil companies. Get tough and threaten to put the CEO’s in front of a Senate panel, under oath. Start asking about price gouging, and don’t let the dramatic drop in gas and heating oil prices soften the questions about windfall profits. Why not?

And if the loan ends up coming from Washington, there better be a lot of strings attached, take it or leave it. No compromise on new mileage standards, for example.

Sibley on Mickey’s Birthday

This morning on the BBC World Service I heard (while writhing in agony from my ailment) our blogging friend Brian Sibley talking about Mickey Mouse’s 80th birthday. There’s audio of Brian talking about Mickey, that’s a bit different from what I heard this morning, at this link. And over at this link, Brian has an essay about the significance of the mouse, all these years later.

Joe Sinnott depicted first black President in 1964

Various news services, including NPR’s website last February, picked up the story that in 1964 there was a comic book that predicted/depicted the first black candidate for American President. In January, this video about the comic book series was posted on YouTube. (Turn down the sound if you don’t like “Switched-On Bach”!)

[flv:http://www.dograt.com/Video/2008/NOV/TreasureChest.flv 448 335]

The man who illustrated those comic books is Joe Sinnott. I took this picture of Joe with his son Mark in New York on Saturday. Dennis provided the comics.

Joe and Mark Sinnott with Treasure Chest comics

Down and out in New York

I’m back home from my New York visit with Denro. Friday and Saturday were good, but I fell ill about 4 am on Sunday. I don’t know how I survived the Amtrak train ride back to suburban Boston, especially because Dennis and I had to stand for the first half hour due to overbooking. Eventually they opened the business class car.

Driving home from the train station I nearly passed out twice and swerved off the road, but I made it. Fell into bed fully clothed at 8:30 pm, not bothering to even brush my teeth, and didn’t wake up until nearly 10 in the morning, except for a bathroom visit in the middle of the night. Carol suspects food poisoning. I haven’t eaten in 42 hours and I still haven’t fully recovered, so it’ll be a while before I post more.