Wash, Watch, Waste
10/08/07 07:29 AM
| PermalinkBetween hand washing the car on Saturday, watching a bunch of the DVR recorded shows from the previous week, the Nascar Race on Sunday and The Colts/Bucs and Bears/Packers contests I wasted too much time to do a reasonable post this last weekend. I did manage to bring the Mention Meter up to the "Chase" phase for public consumption, which is no mean feat I might add, and will be showing the finals in a few days. I think this last quarter may be the last Mention Meter. I have gotten sloppy and infrequent with my posting, and other factors have kept me off the circuit and out of the stream most main, from which the biggest 'ho fish' are to be reeled in, and tossed back. My limited exposure to my constituency in turn limits their exposure on the meter.
Chuck
Timely, out of date pratices
07/11/07 07:36 AM
| PermalinkCan someone explain publishing to me? Here is an industry on the cusp of technologies edge. Decades ago, when there was not so much digital in the world that we couldn't just put a finger on it the publishing of periodicals was a difficult endeavor. Imagine that you have to start pulling together your December issue in August because it has to be painstakingly printed and ready to distribute through a slower infrastructure. Type has to be set, plates made for the images. Four color separations extracted from color transparencies so that multiple plates can be made for those. Aligning. Registration. Distribution. Merchandising. Those were far more time consuming "back in the day." Now we are in a global, immediate, satellite instantaneous, digital media, computerized typesetting and printing, multiple output regional printing concern age. What happens today in Urmeyville Indiana can be on the shelves in Adelaide Australia by Thursday evening. Quicker if its downloaded instead of spot printed. So if this is the case, why can't we buy a July magazine in July? Why, on July 5th as I was enjoying a well deserved day off reading a Road and Track at Discount Tire in Greenwood Indiana (while surprising my missus with new wheels and tires on the truck), could I not find that same issue at three different outlets for my own consumption or to share with the same missus? The August issue is out, they are out of the July issue, and I can not buy the current month's issue on the 5th day of the current month. This could easily turn into a rant on time again as you can see. But really, why observe publishing morays designed for the 1920's in this want it now get it now age? Sure I can go to carandriver.com and download the articles and receive bonus material as well if I were so inclined. But I decline. I might want to recline with my car mag, not sit at a Liquid Crystal Display, absorbing it. Is that so wrong in an age where I can hear about Paris' next pimple outburst automatically on my cell if I so desire?
Chuck Pace © 2007
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its final
05/16/07 07:12 AM
| PermalinkThe first quarter mention meter is now calculated and is final. I will leave it up until this weekend, then I will have to throw-up the second qtr, already in progress.
Chuck Pace © 2007
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It Occurs
04/22/07 12:38 PM
| PermalinkI was thinking last week, after the failures of Comcast and their ways that perhaps I should only post when I have something important, or witty or at the least interesting to say. But then who is to be the judge? Would I ever need (I don't need now) crack wise again on the web of world wideness? Would the absence be bearable or barely noticed. Being without internet access for roughly 7 days at the palatial World Headquarters left a far smaller hole in the whole of my existence than one (and all) might think. I didn't get more interesting or less so (well maybe less so to my faithful readers), taller or better looking, richer or better as a bowler. I didn't matter any more than before, which wasn't much to begin with, or any less. Schools still failed to teach humanity, civility and morality. Psychos and politicians still killed, kidnapped, coerced and corrupted society at all levels. Religious ideology and zealotry still called for the exterminations or assimilation of differing viewpoints. Love went on triumphing and failing, hearts were mended and broken. Nature took her course and paltry man was blamed for weather wether appropriate or not.
All in all a known inhabited planet rotated around a G class star in a spiral arm of a galaxy, in another spiral arm of a universe in a vast cosmos, and I should be getting a 6 day credit from the cable company for the lack of access to web mail and the ability to see the tide reports in Sri Lanka if I so desire.
So nothing has changed. I have failed no-one, championed no causes or caused no champions.
Square One.
Chuck Pace © 2007
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Two For One Frustration Illusion
01/23/07 11:24 PM
| PermalinkIt is clear to me that I have no control over how the computer is going to treat me. I need to report a failure in the latest version of my web authoring software, as it crashes a lot when it it supposed to be up-loading to my server. This has happened to me three times in as many attempts, the last two mornings I have been able to save my thoughts before attempting an upload, (which has unexpectedly quit) but the most recent offering, done a mere hour before this one crashed while saving, similar occurrences I've had the distinct pleasure of reporting to Apple about twice this month also. Apple did not create the software that is giving me these moments of joyous glee, but the do work with software developers and report the problems that Mac users have with their software, so I send a report occasionally.
When I got home Jenni was heating left-overs, Meredith was wanting to watch a DVD and I was eager to crash the program again. I started the up-load process on the saved attempts which takes a good bit of time (usually 40 minutes to an hour) and usually crashes when it is already too late to re-attempt a re-load before I go in to work. The eating portion of the evening came and went with the portions, and the upload process was in process of uploading. Meredith then decided it was a good time to accept that which had been offered. Rich had offered her the use of one of his two vehicles, since like me on the night that my jacket was stolen, he can't possibly drive two cars at once. So Meredith and I made an excursion (there was not really an Excursion-- a Ford product about the size of Rhode Island on wheels --involved), to the Culy plantation and she borrowed the Grad Prix. Upon arriving home it was show-time, so I didn't even check the main-frame in the World HQ for the expected "unexpectedly quit dialog box" until after the movie. Since I was expecting the dialog box, it was not there. the site was global and I decide to start the next one for a shortcut for tomorrow.

I finished it and tried to save it, that's when the unexpected happened (again as expected) and it crashed while saving, effectively rendering an hour and a half of my time moot. This time I am copying the whole thing into the buffer (which can then be loaded into word and imported back into Rapid-Weaver upon re-launch) just in case it crashes again, and saving periodically. It has already saved my bacon once since the re-write began. So what was the movie you might ask (I know you would if you could, so in humoring you I am allowing you to humor me, so here goes). The Movie we watched, since you asked was "The Illusionist" a beautifully filmed cinematic achievement, which I only found out after watching was indeed nominated for an Oscar the very day I saw it. I will be adding this to my recommendations pages as soon as I can (barring and/or expecting crashes). Wow, am I brilliant and psychic or what! So here is the second, completely different bitch, er, I mean post about the posting process, and now I can go to bed.
Chuck Pace © 2007
Chuck Pace © 2007
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Yes I did that twice on purpose, unlike the posting twice to get one up once.