MacOS Sonoma has a new feature that groups items in grocery lists by aisle, to make navigating the supermarket more efficient. Itʼs an interesting idea that needs a bit of help.
Based on what it put under “Beverages,” I think my computer is trying to kill me.
Appleʼs iTunes software has a habit of upgrading the music in a person's computer every once in a while, without telling them.
But if you're the sort of person who occasionally looks through one's file system, you see it in action, because anomalies arise when automation is allowed to make changes to something as arbitrary as music.
In the screenshot above, you can see the directory that stores a copy of the Tori Amos album American Doll Posse.
Of note is the song “Fat Slut,” which has been upgraded to “Fat S__t.”
The music isn't different. Mrs. Amos still shrieks, “Fat Slut!” into the microphone. But Apple has thoughtfully sanitized the song's file name to protect the sensitive circuits in its modern computers that might become offended by the term.
Nobody tell Fat Agnus.
Going to the deli makes me sad. It reminds me that I used to always bring home a slab of turkey as a special treat for Henri. He knew when I came through the door with grocery bags that it was special treat time, and heʼd hop up on the kitchen counter and dig through the bags looking for it. He was never a patient creature.
Rest in peace, little friend.
It took me a while, but I finally managed to buy each of the original cartridges released with the Atari 2600 in 1977.
The sticking point was Star Ship. It took almost a year for one to show up on fleaBay for under $50.00. My budget was $5.00. So when one finally appeared, I was all over that Buy It Now button.
To mark the occasion, I put them in a stack on the dining room table, and took photos which I then turned into i-device wallpapers. They look pretty good on my iPhone. I haven't tried them on an iPad yet, but I made them with plenty of space around so that they'll work in both portrait and landscape on an iPad.
You may notice that the screenshot with the cartridges arranged in a helix has squiggles where the time should be. This is because on weekends, I don't want to know what time it is, and iOS doesn't allow one to remove the clock, so changing it to a language I can't read is almost as good.
It's also not possible to remove the date bar, but I can replace it with the weather, which is less awful than seeing the cold, bony hand of time scratching across the top of the screen.
The original wallpaper files I created are here:
I have one of the Imitation of Life CDs that was sent to radio stations in early 2001 just before R.E.M. released the album. Today I noticed that the leaflet inside states:
Published by Temporary Music, administered in this and all worlds, inclusive, by Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp.
I'm so glad that music industry lawyers are getting addressing the problem of Martian music bootleggers.
I always feel bad when a new company tries to make a big splash on the internet, and then has a hard time of it. I know how it is trying to do ambitious things with a small team and little funding.
In this case, it's a scrappy little startup called “Google,” and its product is called “Google Analytics.” As you can see, the web site is a disaster. Hopefully it gets some money and people to work things out.
Iʼm starting to think that my doctor is completely untrained in what to do when someone puts the lime in the coconut and drinks it all up.
The phrase “Itʼs five oʼclock somewhere!” is very useful for convincing oneself to consume alcohol. Itʼs less useful for convincing your boss to let you go home early.
Remember when police cars had just one, single rotating red light on their roofs?
This Harris County constable truck has over 50 flashing lights on it. Is a truck with 50 flashing lights more safe than one with 49 flashing lights? If more flashing lights is better, why not a hundred flashing lights?
I tried a new coffee joint today. Itʼs called La La Land.
The person who told me to try it said that itʼs a chain out of Los Angeles that hires mentally challenged people to give them a better life. None of that is true.
La La Landʼs web site doesnʼt say where itʼs from, but most of its outposts are in the Dallas area, with a sprinkling in the Houston area, and one in Santa Monica. So, Iʼm going with “It's from the Metroplex.”
Also, the workers are just normal cafe workers. The La La Land web site contains a lot of puffery about “giving back” and “being seen” and a lot of other trendy yet meaningless buzzphrases, but never says exactly how it achieves any of that, and certainly never goes anywhere near stating that it hires disabled people. So, no, itʼs all just a bunch of hooey.
The coffee, though, is pretty good.
I had a Cookies ʼn Dream Latte. Even though it has Oreo cookies and honey, it doesnʼt overpower with sweetness. It also contains “la la cloud,” which is think is Dumbass for “steamed milk.”
The decor is unusual, but fun. It reminds me a bit of the Woody Allen film Sleeper, but with a lot more yellow. Itʼs kind of retro-futuristic, in a 2001: A Space Odyssey-meets-Benjamin Moore Golden Orchards #329 way.
I thought it was bright, and lively, and cute. To my slight surprise and complete dismay, the people at the next table couldnʼt grok it. The aging Millennials with the tired vocal fries complained, “Whatʼs with all the… yell-o?” Sorry youʼre too cool for school. Maybe youʼd be more comfortable at Starbucks, or perhaps suckling at your Keurig.
Do you want to get people to disable emergency alerts on their cell phones? Because this is how you get people to disable emergency alerts on their cell phones.
But at least the police destroyed some innocent guyʼs entire house with a tank making the arrest.
This Microsoft Azure web page promoting Redmondʼs acumen tells me two things:
Have you ever wondered what it looks like when a hotelʼs 100-year-old cast iron laundry wastewater pipe breaks, raining suds down on the street below?
Todayʼs your lucky day.
Hereʼs another example of how Microsoft no longer understand Macs.
When trying to attach a file to a message in Microsoft Outlook, it gives the option to Browse this Mac. Thereʼs a reason that real Mac-native apps donʼt use that language. They just use “Browse.”
This is because the resulting file dialog allows me to browse not only “this” Mac, but also other Macs, as well as file servers, other locations on the internet, or even a P.A.N.
Microsoft used to have a very thorough and competent group called the Mac Business Unit. The Mac was where Microsoft tested new Office features before rolling them out on Windows. I guess all of that has been value-engineered into oblivion.
