ejp626

I didn't say I didn't know how to use external I/O. What I don't like is the not-so-subtle push away from physical media and towards the Cloud and/or Apple's various subscription services. But that is also the way Windows is moving, so I'm feeling extremely upset at the moment. I've just found out that Windows 8 has removed all games and some other stuff. Now there are a fair number of decent apps (even free ones) at the Windows "store," but for every single one of them you have to sign up with an email account (that is actually a Windows email account) and to run the apps you have to be signed on and allow MS to track your activity. This is total BS. But a whole generation have gotten so used to putting all kinds of crazy tracking apps on their phones, so it goes on pretty much unremarked. I hate it and I hate the way this is going, both with Apple and MS.

I started on Macs and used them for many years, but then I had many very complex programs at work that had to be run via Windows. At the time Windows for Macs was not acceptable. It's probably closer now, though I'm still not sure if it is for SPSS when processing a few million records for example. I guess the difference is that my work laptop can handle the really detailed, complex programs, but I still need to shuttle reports and presentations and such between home and work. So Open Office is at least theoretically possible, as is Linux. I just don't like the direction Apple is going with almost no optical drives on its machines, as I think it reflects a fetishizing of form over substance that I think far too many Apple designers fall into.

I am sure it is fine for tablets, but what genius forced this system down the throats of us remaining desktop/laptop users? Everyone clearly has said this was a terrible mistake (to only have a single operating system across incompatible devices), but they went forward with it anyway. I have generally stayed on the sidelines of the Mac/PC war (with only some Microsoft-specific grumbling) but this set of changes is so offensive to me that I am going to break away from Office and not look back. In fact, I am so upset, I'll have to investigate whether I really could go over to Linux or if it is just too much of a headache, given what I still need to do in my work life.

I think this is the one that was withdrawn from the box set, perhaps due to rights, but it still is in circulation here and there. I did manage to score a copy just like the one above and slipped it into the big box. Quite nice (for a completest).

I had a full post just eaten. Don't feel like retyping. (Kind of sick of the O board software at the moment.) Saw Amici Chamber Ensemble with special guests, esp. Kim Kashkashian on viola. Programme here: http://amiciensemble.com/event/kim-kashkashian-in-remembrance/

I'm slowly restoring it to something like functionality but there really isn't anything I would count as an improvement and a lot of downsides to this new system. Definitely not a happy camper.

RIP and thanks for facilitating all that music... I've been meaning to pull out the Riverside Monk set for some time, so I have done so, but perhaps even more importantly, I finally tracked down Clark Terry's Serenade to a Bus Seat (the spine is just slightly different from other Riversides) so I will give that a spin now.

It's been coming for a long time now. Many programs are subscription based. I expect a lot of push-back but the problem is too many people like me, that just grabbed the software without really looking and thus already gave them our money. It is going to take a significant uprising to change anything. After all, there were legions of IT folk who steered their mid-sized companies away from Office when this new email verification thing came on board, but it hasn't made Microsoft blink. Still, trying to put this pinch on individuals may be one step too far. I hope so, but I do plan to find a better solution come next March.

It is tempting though the main office is not switching over, so I'll have to be very sure whatever I do is fully compatible with *.docx and *.xlsx files. I've got a year to research it. Who knows -- I might even have a different job in a year.

I guess I knew this day was coming, but it doesn't make it any easier. I had a catastrophic failure on my computer (the battery on the motherboard completely died, the bios is shot, etc., etc.). After a certain point it just isn't worth it. I needed something immediately, so I got a cheap Acer. Well, first there is no way to escape Windows 8.1, which I loathe. Second, I still use Office for a large number of applications, since I move stuff back and forth from work. Well, you no longer can buy a less invasive Office product. You must supply an email account to activate (so the number of fake MSucks email accounts has proliferated) and to top it off, you are only renting the software for a year. So I will transition my files to Open Office or Office Libre and then be done with it. I'm going to be stewing over this for a very long time.

I've been reading some relatively contemporary short stories -- Chabon's A Model World and Somerville's The Universe in Miniature in Miniature.

I'm actually having more trouble following the action, as quite a few of the characters seem to be "feeble-minded" not just one as in The Sound and the Fury. I'm not enjoying it as I have nothing but contempt for the father and his stupid quest. I'll probably get around (some day) to reading most of Faulkner twice, but I think I'll pass on this one. I can't exactly explain why I am so angry about this novel, other than perhaps the stupid, stubborn and often lazy characters that Faulkner is portraying (with a higher percentage here than in many other of his novels) did not fade away but actually have taken charge of U.S. politics. I was going to write more, but it would just take me further off tangent. Not sure if you picked up on the humor of the story. Definitely swathed in Gothic humor. As for the characters, they would have been (be) considered "poor white trash," but that is what Faulkner wants us to perceive, then he goes deep into their minds and spirits, humanizes and elevates them to nearly epic proportions. That may be what he is selling, but I'm not buying it. I don't see any nobility in their stiff-neckedness or getting bent out of shape when a neighbor won't lend them another set of mules for them to kill trying to cross the river in a pointless endeavor. I'm basically with Cora who presumably was expecting and perhaps hoping that Anse would drown in the first river crossing. To me, the balance is off and I can handle one of these characters like Sartoris or Ab Snopes, but when the entire book is populated with characters that I don't like and have no sympathy for at all, then I don't plan on returning.

So sad to hear this. RIP. Spock was definitely my favorite character on classic Star Trek (to say nothing of the movies).

I'm actually having more trouble following the action, as quite a few of the characters seem to be "feeble-minded" not just one as in The Sound and the Fury. I'm not enjoying it as I have nothing but contempt for the father and his stupid quest. I'll probably get around (some day) to reading most of Faulkner twice, but I think I'll pass on this one. I can't exactly explain why I am so angry about this novel, other than perhaps the stupid, stubborn and often lazy characters that Faulkner is portraying (with a higher percentage here than in many other of his novels) did not fade away but actually have taken charge of U.S. politics. I was going to write more, but it would just take me further off tangent.

Faulkner As I Lay Dying In the on-deck circle, Julian Barnes's A History of the World in 10½ Chapters and Djuna Barnes Nightwood.

I have very mixed feelings about D. Rose, but it is very clear that his body is not going to go along with his style of play. He has probably already hit his peak and will have good streaks and bad streaks but will never really be an MVP-level player again. It's a damn shame, but at this point the Bulls absolutely need to start planning for Life After Rose.

Uh oh .... So whenever the better half of any of you starts complaining about all them records taking up all that wall space then go ahead and show them the above statement as well as the page linked initially - just to prove once and for all you "could be doing much, much worse and much, much more obsessively!" I'm sure I would hear back that I could have a whole house for records if I wanted to live by myself...

You didn't get the memo? -- It's actually Larry Young Mimes in Paris. Sadly (?) the video was lost.

I haven't read everything but have a few of his novels and most of his short stories. I'd say he is even better in his short stories than novels, so you might want to check some of those out. I'm nearly done with Taylor's A Game of Hide and Seek. It is well written, but I find the main character (Harriet) to be fairly insipid and yet her love interest not particularly worthy of her attention.

I saw two plays today at 2 pm and 8 pm. I haven't doubled up like that in a while (probably two summers ago at Stratford). Anyway, at 2 was The Dining Room by A.R. Gurney, which is this somewhat kaleidoscopic view of different generations coming together around a dining room table, with the time shifting back and forth. It's amusing/interesting, though there isn't what you would call a narrative through-line. And I am just back from this one-man show called The Object Lesson. It's very hard to describe, particularly without spoiling anything, but it basically is about how we imbue certain objects from our past with a great deal of meaning, though other things are just tossed out left and right. It wasn't really what I expected (more absurdist, less "serious") but it was very entertaining. I have a few other shows coming up, with the one I am most excited about is Angela Lansberry in Blithe Spirit in about a week and a half.

I haven't read that, but I did read The Hungry Tide. I thought it was great.

We watched for a long, long time. but last year was the last season for us. I just no longer found enough of interest to keep watching. Now if they find a way to resurrect Futurama (again) I am so there (right in front of the tube)!

Congrats, that is quite an accomplishment. I have to admit this was not even on my radar, but you have piqued my curiosity. I don't intend to add it to my reading list at any point in the near future, but perhaps someday... Did you start with Pamela? That seems more my speed, and if I make it through that ok, I might eventually consider Clarissa...

I ended up not liking this very much. I did like the first "The Present" section but that was about it. It's hard to pinpoint exactly the problem, but really much ado about a fairly pedestrian affair and a number of high-strung characters that didn't seem particularly believable. Anyway, I am starting Elizabeth Taylor's A Game of Hide and Seek today.

Ah, memories... This was one of the first big purchases I made from my first job out of college. Essential if one is a fan of Monk.