June 9, 2009 at 1:36 pm
by dreuters (Uncategorized)
Apple totally pulled a bait and switch on me. I’ve been a Firefox user for a few years now. I switched over to it pretty early on. It was also shortly after I got a Mac. Since I had both a Mac and a PC, I liked the idea of having the same browser (and email) on both platforms, so I became a full-time Mozilla user. Plus, I never really like Safari. For one thing, it’s ugly and for another, it doesn’t seem to be as compatible.
Recently, a friend introduced me to Safari 4 Beta and the wonders of “tabs on top”. I liked it so much that I converted all of my machines (five) from Firefox to Safari 4 Beta. It definitely had some issues with compatibility. Some websites did not render properly.. or at all. But I figured, “hey, it’s a beta, they’ll figure it out.”
So today I was happy to see that Safari 4 was finally released. I downloaded it and installed. Guess what? No more “tabs on top”. Not even and option.
How can Apple do this to users? I know they got a lot of flack for it from the people who hated it, and I respect that. It’s definitely a personal preference. And I could even concede that it would be a good idea to change the default back to “tabs on bottom”. But to remove it completely from the interface with no option to turn it back on even through a hidden pref? And to do it only in the final release after having it available through the entire beta? C’mon, that’s ridiculous.
So here I am, writing this post with “tabs on bottom”. The difference is that is says Firefox in the corner of my screen.
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May 18, 2009 at 3:13 am
by dreuters (Uncategorized)
I went to see Star Trek with some coworkers on the Friday it opened (yeah, I know it opened at 7pm on Thursday). We saw it on a regular movie screen and thought it looked pretty good. I enjoyed the movie but wasn’t necessarily planning to see it again. However, as I thought about it, I decided I’d really like to see it in IMAX. It seemed like a lot of the movie would be really cool on a huge screen. So, I made plans to see it in IMAX at a local AMC theater that I regularly go to in Santa Clara.
At the time I was making the plans, I thought that it was pretty cool that the AMC had installed a HUGE IMAX theater. I wondered how they were able to fit it in the building, but I figured they must have found a way. Obviously, I didn’t think too hard about it or I would have known it wasn’t reasonably possible. But I didn’t think that hard… I just wanted to see Star Trek in IMAX.
When we got to the theater I learned that the tickets had a $5 surcharge ($15 per ticket). I thought, “that’s kinda ridiculous but it’s going to be REALLY COOL!” So we paid the $15 and went in.
What we found was a slightly larger than normal screen. It was NOT what most people have come to know as IMAX and was certainly not worth an extra $5. Sure, we could have just left, but we were there and wanted to see the movie (the other two guys hadn’t seen it yet) so we just stayed.
Apparently, other people are having the same issue with these “fake” IMAX screens. It really seems like it would have been good for IMAX or AMC to inform people ahead of time about what they were getting for their extra $5.
Click here to read a blog post by comedian Aziz Ansari on the topic.
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May 14, 2009 at 9:32 am
by dreuters (Uncategorized)
In the SF Bay Area, the HOV, or “carpool”, lanes require two or more occupants on weekdays from 5:00a to 9:00a and from 3:00p to 7:00p.
I plan my morning commute specifically with HOV lanes in mind. I commute from San Jose to Menlo Park on highways 280, 85, and 101. On 280, the HOV lane starts right where I get on the highway and it continues all the way to where I exit the highway. I drop my kid off at daycare in the morning about a third of the way to work.
Given that, my basic plan is usually to leave my house at about 8:50a so that I can take advantage of the HOV lane while I have the kid in the car. If I leave at that time, I arrive at daycare at just about 9:00a. This is particularly convenient since the HOV lanes are open to regular traffic as I’m leaving daycare by myself.
Here’s what I want to know: Why do some assholes think they can drive in the HOV lane at 8:56a? Do they think they are exempt? I know it’s not because they don’t know what time it is… everyone has a cell phone with network time on it. What makes people think that they are more privileged than all the other people on the freeway? I’m sure they’re the same assholes that use onramp merge lanes as passing lanes and who insist on not letting any cars merge in between them and the car in front no matter how slow the traffic is going.
Ah, the joys of commuting. Speaking of which, it’s 5:00… I’m outta here.
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May 6, 2009 at 8:49 am
by dreuters (Uncategorized)
Ok, so I understand that different people are different ages and have, therefore, more or less experience pissing at a target such as a toilet. I also understand that some people have various conditions that cause them to shake or otherwise move in some uncontrollable fashion that may adversely affect their ability to aim successfully.
But c’mon people — is it really that hard to NOT piss all over the seat and floor?
Don’t get me wrong. I understand that there are certain situations and locations where pissing on the floor is just part of the experience. For instance, I don’t expect that the bathroom in a bar on Friday night is going to be particularly clean. Many of the people using the restroom are drunk and therefore their ability to aim may be impaired. I can accept that.
But at work? There isn’t anyone using the restrooms at my office other than people working here. Please people, either aim more carefully or sit down. And if you have an accident, clean it up.
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June 29, 2007 at 1:50 pm
by dreuters (Uncategorized)
Overall, I have a pretty good commute. It’s about 17 miles. With no traffic, it takes about 20 minutes, and with heavy traffic it takes maybe 35-45 minutes. Usually, it’s about 30 minutes, which I don’t consider to be that bad.
What is bad is the way people drive in this area, particularly with regard to merging. There are a number of places on my way home where I have to either merge or be merged into. They are, in order:
- Getting on to US 101
- Getting on to Highway 87
- When Airport Pkwy merges on to Highway 87
- When the right land ends
- Getting on to Interstate 280
There are various other merges on the way, but I’m generally able to avoid those by staying in another lane.
Here’s what I don’t understand: When the traffic is going 5 MPH and the lanes are both full and merging, why must certain assholes ride the bumper of the car in front of them so that the person trying to merge can’t get in? Bad drivers are one thing, but this is just plain ol’ assholery. Most of the time, the drivers will speed up to make sure they close the gap before the car next to them can merge. Is being one more car ahead in a 5 MPH line of traffic really going to make your life that much better? WTF? Have you ever seen a zipper? That’s how it’s supposed to work, dipshit. It’s called efficiency. Let me demonstrate:
Do you see how each side takes turns and, as a result, everyone keeps moving at the same speed? This is really not a hard concept to understand.
I need a vacation.
Credit: Zipper image used under the GNU Free Documentation License and acquired from Wikimedia Commons.
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