altivo

It has been dripping all day. Just dripping. Forecast called for a 90% chance of thunderstorms and accumulated rainfall of 3/4 to 1 inch. Nope. Enough raindrops to make it unpleasant being outdoors, but not enough to even register in our rain gauge. In general, that means it was less than 1/8 inch. Nothing predicted now for the whole week ahead. Back to drought mode.

Barnes & Noble/Nook has me just about angry enough to declare a boycott against them henceforth forever. I've had an online account with them for a long time. This year I started buying an occasional ebook. You can read their epub files with Adobe Digital Editions on either Windows or Mac (or Linux, with WINE or VirtualBox.) They also work, or at least usually do, on a Kobo reader as long as you use Adobe Digital Editions to load them to the reader device.

The first three books I bought worked just fine on both Adobe and the Kobo. Two weeks ago I bought a fourth title. Downloaded as usual, but Adobe Digital Editions says "licensed to another account" and refuses to open it. Note that nothing has changed in either my Adobe setup or my online account. The first three books I had bought still download and display without difficulty, but no matter what I try, the fourth one continues to be rejected as "licensed to another account." I've gone in circles repeatedly with Nook "help" without getting anywhere. They think I'm too stupid to follow their instructions, and I say they are too stupid to actually read my explanation of the problem. And there it sits. Sorry, Barnes & Noble, I'm very, very unimpressed with your support staff at this point. I'm also unimpressed with your download setup. My public library account and the Kobobooks website have no issues with licensing because they use Adobe's ACSM format to trigger a download. That apparently passes some sort of key to Adobe Digital Editions that allows use of the book regardless of whether the ADE identifier is the same as the one used to purchase the book. And this makes sense. After all, why should I have to tell the bookseller what the ID and password is to my ADE software? But that seems to be what B&N demands. Though they don't explain it very well at all, as if they are afraid someone will find a way around their "security."

I'm sure there's a way to strip the security off an Adobe DRM'ed epub file, but I'm also sure it's more trouble than it's worth. DRM stinks, folks. It doesn't stop criminals, it just gets in the way of your legitimate users. Guess I'll stick with Smashwords in the future. They don't use DRM at all.

Current Mood: aggravated
Current Location: Home in the oak grove

This is a response to an e-mail from Reed Hastings at Netflix, in which he "apologizes" for poor handling of pricing changes for their services. He declares that they will now "fix" this error by splitting into two completely separate services, with different names and websites. This effectively isolates streaming from DVD mailing so that queues and viewing records will no longer be merged for those who use both services.

Mr. Hastings:

This change only compounds the error. While I never had any interest in streaming, and in fact can't use it where I live, it is obvious that separating the two services completely will make both of them less useful to many people.

With respect to the pricing change, I was actually pleased. You raised my monthly charge because streaming was being offered, even though I couldn't use it and never had used it. That was what I found most irritating. When you split the charges for the two services, I was able to reduce my cost by dropping all access to streaming. This was an actual improvement, and much more honest in my opinion.

Now, in your attempt to save face, you are just messing up your business image even more, and will alienate those who use both services by complicating the entire process. Get a clue, Reed. Customers don't like unnecessary changes. This is an unnecessary change.

I also find it extremely irritating that you hide all contact information, making it difficult to provide the feedback you really need in order to run your business correctly. Directing me to a "blog" page that requires me to join Facebook in order to respond is inappropriate and only increases my lack of respect for you. Just as you have failed to realize that not everyone can use streaming or wants to do so, you have failed to realize that not everyone uses Facebook. I repeat, get a clue, Reed.

By the way, rejecting replies to your e-mail and directing me back to the faceless and useless "customer service" website that doesn't accept specific questions or feedback does nothing to improve your image either. Sure, Netflix is big. Apparently, like the phone company, they don't care about customer service or opinions because they don't have to. Again, get a clue, Reed.

Current Mood: curmudgeonly
Current Location: Home in the oak grove

First there was a lot of stupidity on FA because of a page banner that makes a rather backhanded joke about FA and the "My Little Pony" craze. Site users who dislike the ponies and their fans (self-styled "bronies") are furious that MLP art should be displayed in the banner for a week. This is the ultimate in absurdity, because MLP fandom is by its very definition a form of furry fandom. It is no weirder than any of the other furry obsessions, and a lot less kinky than some. While I have no interest in "My Little Pony" or any other commercial television programming, I find it far less offensive than a good percentage of the stuff that appears on FA without question. Grow up, furries, and get over yourselves if you want to be respected as real people.

Then on this evening's news there's an item about talk show host Mehmet Oz, who has announced to the world in general that his "research" found "too much" arsenic in packaged apple juice sold in the US. This is pure drama of the worst kind, similar to the false "research" that has caused parents to stop vaccinating their children against childhood diseases in the false belief that the vaccines cause autism. Oz's "research" results do not distinguish between organic and inorganic arsenicals. Organic arsenic is present in trace amounts in many fruits and vegetables because it is present in the soil on which they grow, and they incorporate it into their tissue. Exposure to such traces of arsenic, selenium, cyanide, and other toxics has been part of human life for millions of years. Obviously, we're adapted to it or we wouldn't be able to eat food. Inorganic arsenic compounds were used in pesticides at one time, but are now banned in the US. The inorganic forms are certainly more dangerous, but again, if they are present the levels are tiny. Now there are politicians demanding an "investigation" into the presence of arsenic in apple juice, and no doubt parents who are going to mistakenly deny apple juice to their children.

Guess what, folks. Ordinary table salt is toxic too. So are a lot of the cooking ingredients found in your kitchen cabinets. No one in their right mind would eat the contents of two or three containers of nutmeg at one sitting, for instance. (I guarantee they'd get a very upset tummy.) However, nutmeg is "toxic" in the sense that enough of it has negative effects on your health and neural function. So likewise with salt, which causes hypertension, dehydration, and other dangerous effects. Not only that, but it usually contains iodine, a known poison, which is deliberately added to the product.

I swear, ignorance makes people so absurdly silly and panic-prone that it's just plain funny. Let's just ban all forms of "food" to keep anyone from accidentally ingesting anything poisonous. Jeez.

Current Mood: aggravated
Current Location: Rainy oak grove

We've had problems with a kid who has clearly figured out how to evade the controls on public computers in the library. He manages to stay logged in way past the time when his session should be cut off, manages to log in at times when the machines are supposedly disabled, and evades rules about signing a log showing his time on and off. His privileges were suspended for a couple of months this summer after I caught him unplugging a computer to force it to reboot.

The terms of the suspension required him to re-register with his mother present to co-sign the new registration form. Apparently they appeared on Monday night to do this, 25 minutes before the library closing time and thus only ten minutes before public computers automatically close down. He kept fidgeting during the formalities and was finally told that he wouldn't have time to use a computer that evening. He insisted that he would, and made a dash for the machine at the earliest possible moment, almost exactly as things were closing down. Normally this logs everyone off who is still connected, and locks up the screens, but sure enough, he sat down and was still logged in (to facebook, naturally, which he apparently can't use from home) five minutes after everything else was shut down. He quickly logged off as a librarian approached, and left.

I was asked how he could have done this, and as on previous occasions, I said "He probably knows the admin password for the entire system, or at least the one that lets you extend a session past the time quota." I actually think he knows both, and a good deal about how the administration system operates.

Others insisted that there was no way he could know these things, even though I'm sure they've performed admin operations and even discussed them within his earshot. He was a volunteer who helped straighten shelves and dust books for quite a long time. The software vendor's manuals are accessible on the web, without any special identification required in order to read them. (I don't blame the vendor for this, though. Read on...)

Tonight I tested both my guesses at how he did the trick on Monday. Both work equally well. If you manage to get logged in even just a few seconds before shutdown, you can activate the sequence to extend the session, supply the password, and add as much time to your session as you like. It does not log you out or shut the computer down until you voluntarily log out.

And, worse, if you know the admin password and how to bring up a prompt for it (a simultaneous triple keypress) you can even get past the "System disabled because it is closing time" screen. Worse, when you activate an admin session, web accesses are not filtered, no time limits are applied, and of course you can reboot or otherwise mess with the hardware and software.

How did he get the passwords? I had guessed he watched someone type them, which is possible. However I found both of them clearly written down, with instructions for using them, on sticky tabs stuck to the phone directory holder at the circulation desk. They were clearly readable to anyone standing there if they chose to do so. It always amazes me how many people will assume that something cannot be read upside down. I know it can, because I can read upside down text nearly as fast as I can proper, rightside up text...

All those passwords are getting changed tomorrow, even if it takes two weeks to get the new ones out to people. Anyone caught writing sensitive passwords down and sticking them to a desk, monitor, or other visible place will, from now on, be hung in a printer cable, then boiled in screen cleaning fluid, after which they will be drawn and quartered using a broken floppy disk casing as a knife.

Current Mood: pissed off
Current Location: Home in the oak grove

First, thanks to everyone who has sent well-wishes to Tess. She has a very slight limp this evening, but is doing fine otherwise. I predict she'll be back to completely normal within two or three days. Six months ago, after a hoof "adjustment" she was really limping, and holding that foot up pitifully, but had forgotten about it in two days time. This doesn't look nearly as traumatic, thank goodness. She let us examine her foot and medicate it tonight, without any fuss, and then went right back to eating her dinner.

Now, the topic of the day is the sheer inconsistency and boot-licking cowardice of California's supreme court justices. However, everyone else has already been ranting about that. I'll just say that they've created inconsistencies so huge that even the US Supreme Court will be hard pressed to find a way to let things stand in California as they are. Approximately 18,000 same sex couples remain "married" under the law, and that cannot be nullified or rescinded, yet new marriages will not be recognized. In essence, they have said that in California, the majority is allowed to do whatever it wants to the minority, and there is no way to stop it. That cannot stand.

California, you are about to be shown just how incredibly brainless your voters are, that they believed the pure hate BS that was being shoved at them by the religious right. When states like Iowa and New Jersey can recognize gay marriages without a big fuss, yet California (which probably has the largest gay population of any state in the union) somehow can't get it's act together to say no to the bigots, just who looks like a fool? Even Colorado's courts rejected efforts by their state's right wing to abridge the human rights of gays by popular vote years ago. Yet California's justices are so lily-livered that they can't stand up for what is right.

Current Mood: irritated
Current Location: Home in the oak grove

Well, I spent some time today taking blurry photos of where the foxes were just before I pressed the shutter. No actual foxes appear in any of them, though I myself was treated to several fine views of mom and baby. They are still hanging around that old pile of logs in the woodlot.

Also was treated to a fine demonstration of stupidity in action. There is road work going on at a bridge over the Kishwaukee River just north of Marengo on route 23. This is the third time in four years that they've torn that bridge up, so something is very wrong with the way the repairs are being managed, but that's another issue. Both lanes of traffic are presently diverted onto one shoulder, with a work zone speed limit posted, no passing, double yellow striping, etc. On the approach to that spot, a kid in a maroon mustang started tailgating me. No doubt he didn't like the fact that I was observing the posted speed limit of 50 mph. Just as I entered the work zone, which is posted at 45 mph, he went roaring around me, violating the speed limit, the work zone regulation, the double yellow line, and the no passing signs so he could take off at about 70 mph.

Half a mile farther north is the intersection with River Rd., which is one of the county's most dangerous corners with many deaths blamed on it. There's a visibility issue, caused by a steep and high hill north of the intersection; and that's compounded with the tendency for people to travel at 65 mph or more on 23, even though the posted limits there are 50 and the intersection is marked by flashing yellow lights. Traffic on 23 is not required to stop, and usually doesn't even slow down. Cars coming south at high speed will crest that hill and suddenly see that the intersection is blocked for whatever reason, but they can't stop in time.

The maroon mustang, if he was involved, was merely a cause and not directly affected. But when I reached the corner, a black mustang was nose first into the ditch with smoke coming out from under the hood. People who had stopped on the shoulder were helping another teen or twenty something kid to stand since he obviously had a sprained or broken ankle. Another vehicle was sitting in the middle of the intersection with major damage to its front end. Both damaged cars were pointing north by then, so the exact details were unclear. Since there were many people there (no police had yet arrived) and I wasn't a witness, I turned onto River Rd. and continued on my way home. I'm willing to bet, though, that the black mustang was also travelling at excessive speed and lost control trying to avoid a collision. Oh, and said black mustang was still on temporary plates, which means less than 30 days since purchase.

The roads in this rural area are not built for this sort of behavior. They have no shoulders, and are very narrow. They curve a lot, and we have a fair number of hills that obstruct visibility. In spite of all that, many drivers persist in ignoring speed limits, no passing zones, and just plain common sense in order to drive as fast as they like. We live close enough to that bad intersection that we regularly see the medical evacuation helicopters passing overhead carrying yet another victim away.

It's a wonder that humans have managed to survive so long. I can only put it up to incredible lack of self control when it comes to reproduction, so that there are always plenty more where the ultimate casualties came from.

Current Mood: irritated
Current Location: Home in the oak grove

OK, I think I'm cooled off enough to write about the stupidity of SixApart's behavior without blowing a gasket. If you don't want to hear it, skip over this.

This incident was nothing less than a witch hunt. Witch hunts NEVER reflect well on those who perpetrate them. They are ALWAYS judged badly when viewed from a historical perspective. It is made that much worse when the inspiration for the hunt was the accusations of an obvious lunatic fringe group that is dedicated to hating EVERYONE who is different from themselves. Not just possible or potential pedophiles, but everyone. Like gays, blacks, immigrants, women, non-Christians, ethnic minorities, and, no doubt, anyone who doesn't vote straight right wing candidates.

As with witch hunts everywhere and in every century, the utterly innocent were dragged into the pit along with the guilty or possibly guilty, merely because of association, vague resemblances, or semantic misinterpretation. SixApart acted like fools and assholes. There's no other way to put this, folks. They followed the hue and cry raised by a shill, and like a wild mob, started the lynch party rather than due process and fair evaluation.

You cannot condemn people for taking an interest in, discussing, or being curious about anything. I don't care what it is. Will you put the author of a murder mystery in jail? Yes, murder is illegal in our society. Will you put everyone who likes to read murder mysteries in jail as well? What if the author writes a novel in which the murderer gets away with the crime? What about a suspense novel in which an unpunished rape takes place? Furthermore, you can't assume, as SixApart did, that everyone who writes about or discusses murder is a murderer.

Whether it is 14th century Spain, 17th century England or Massachusetts, or 20th century Germany, the witch hunt is always, inevitably, and irrevocably wrong. It incriminates and punishes the innocent, and is manipulated to the personal glory and power of the perpetrator. Joseph McCarthy was just as wrong as Adolf Hitler, and Franklin Roosevelt committed equal atrocity when he allowed the Japanese Internment. The Bush administration is engaged in secret persecution and probably torture of innocent or only vaguely guilty people right now, simply because they speak the wrong language, are of the wrong religion, and happened to be in the wrong place at a bad time. SixApart is no better than these great criminals of past human history, and their apologies and promise to do better have no more value than those offered in the past by such people.

In a society that is supposedly dedicated to freedom of speech, religion, race, and culture, we seem still to be extremely narrow minded and quick to jump to potentially wrong conclusions. Worse yet, unlike chat rooms and other more notorious internet venues, LiveJournal is hardly a suitable forum for a genuine pedophile to use in attracting and injuring the innocent. Believe me, people who are up to such acts know how to choose their methods much more effectively than that.

Who will you go after next, SixApart? Homosexuals? Communists? Drug users? Illegal immigrants? Furries? Anyone who speaks a disparaging word about the current administration in Washington?

Frankly, this is an incident that calls for more than just empty words of apology. Those who decided to take this unilateral action and overreacted so extremely should resign their positions in the organization. It would be ludicrous, except that they are messing with people's lives and reputations here, and appointing themselves as a secret inquisition without appeal.

Current Mood: angry
Current Location: Home in the oak grove