mm-mm-mm

[Chompsky]

In a departure from my usual content, and belatedly inspired by Humbug's foray into politics, I hereby publicly subscribe to this sentiment:

J K Rowling must die

How can a peacenik like me



betray his very nature, you may ask if you haven't clicked. (I find that many people are content with headlines and resist the lure of hypertext.)

Call me a fan of the First Amendment. There's a lot of good stuff in there, but I refer of course to freedom of speech. Who wants to be



the monkey on the right in this enablers triptych?

Even if it means putting up with poison like this and this,


SOCIAL MEDIA: ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK

it's imperative that even filthy memes like this,

Spoiler

[close]

questionable justifications from baddies like this, and hysterical screeching such as to be found in the hellish cesspit of Mumsnet be allowed an airing so that we may better engage our brains in the outlandish act of thinking for ourselves, without fear or favour of all-powerful gatekeepers.

J K must die not just because that is the fate of all creatures great and small, but because Lord Frith demands an Icarus every now and then. Ours is very much to reason why. Meanwhile, turn it up

[Humbug]

Cor luv-a-duck Chompsky, yer got me inter a right can ov old wurms ere mate.

Are yer sure it wos me pollytickals wot inspired yer an not too much ov that posh hay?

The P.A. as finerly cum out as a 'This woman is complete scum', as yer probly kno, but I wos rarver plannin ter sit on the fence fer a bit innit, bein a rab.

Natcherally, as a fan ov Ursula K. Le Guin, who as got nuffing ter do wiv it, I can only say that this is wot tends ter appen if yer write popperlist ficyions based on patriarchal broomsticks.

[Chompsky]

I'm glad to live in interesting times* and that you contribute to them.

Without wishing to get completely tangled in the briar patch of Ms Moneybags, whose fiction I have never nibbled, ensuring that all but the most obvious HP references fly over my head, I am sufficiently impressed by her commendable actions and utterances to forgive deplorable ones. Unless she oversees a torture pit I'm unaware of. That would definitely be a dealbreaker.



* That a bunny should have need of asterisks is highly unlikely, though there is quite a long list to choose from. More to the point, all times must be interesting.

[Chompsky]

Little did we know...

[Humbug]

A Humbug geek guide fer peeps - lots ov answers yer just can't find on the interweb

 
Why is My Computer so Bollox?   
Humbug - the radical rabbit

Ter answer this question, first ov all I will av ter write the glossary ov technical terms innit becos contrary ter yer expectorations this will actcherly make fings easier.

Also I can use sum acronyms wot are nifty names an shorter ter boot.

BIO - Built in Obsolescence
OS  - Hoperatin System
HD  - Ard Drive
usb - Easier drive
hardware - ardware
software - pretty pattens fer yer ardware
drivers - ardware codes, mostly armless
RAM - random anxious memory
VGA - video gubbins actcherly
ISP - Interweb Stuff Procurer
Linux Grub - a fing like a libertarian wiggly wurm
PC - Internashianal Business Machine
syspart - where yer boots go


Wot generally hoppens wiv yer computer is first ov all it won't do wot yer want.
Then when yer fink yer got it all sorted it goes on the blink.

Please remember ter back up yer dater becos if yer don't then yer could end up up the syspart wivout a loader innit.

After that yer could do one ov three fings - get a new one, get annuvver old one, or 'fix' it. But if yer ain't got a spare computer it will not be easy ter fix it becos 'Easy PC troubleshootin' an 'MS-DOS Explained' an 'The Debian Gnu/Linux 3.1 Bible' will not help yer wiv the modern computer. Yer mite av ter nobble it instead. Then even if yer can get on the interweb that will probly tell yer eivver too much or not enuff.
Gettin yer head round this aspec ov the BIO is a career in itself innit.

In the olden days a solution ter the BIO wos ter get a Mac, wot had the Mac OS wiv the testy matched hardware, but it wos more expensive an yer got the 32 char filenames limit ov doom. Now it is still more expensive wiv the longer filenames but it ain't got the oles fer all yer cables wot is yet annuvver aspec ov the dredded BIO.


Yer mite fink 'Sod this fer a game ov nobblers I will download the Linux Grub!', an good luck ter yer mate!

Owever if yer (usb) stick wiv the PC then yer got ter choose between the vintage (Ahem) OS or the updatered OS. The vintage OS will do wot it is told sumtimes an it will probly work yer old hardware but it will be a pig in a poke on the interweb.
The updatered OS will do wot it likes wevver yer like it or not an yer will become a minion ov the matrix. Owever yer can get a massive HD an trillions ov RAM an morgidge yer brain fer all the new software again! But, deep down, yer will feel like a pillock.

If yer decide ter get a vintage (Ahem) PC yer can be a geek like me, which is nice,
but it will take weeks ter find sum drivers fer yer VGA an then they will keep poppin out ov wack for evermore, an yer will still feel like a pillock.

But it is not yer fault! It is the jobbies an gatefolds ov tech innit.


Finerly, please beware ov the ISPs becos they will get off ov yer cloud when yer callin a font fer yer web fingy an yer winders will ang toterly wonky.

[Chompsky]

I don't know anything about ISPs other than that there was a lot of grumbling about ours because thanks to Eunice (RIP if you're a fan of storms I guess – if we were on Jupiter she might have lived for hundreds of years*) we didn't have home broadband for a while, and they were useless until the principal Nextflix consumer asked for help on what turned out to be an influential forum. We've since switched to an obscure but highly regarded provider. Regular service has resumed. Actually better than regular, so again, thanks Eunice.


Snarky • Feels Like Wasted Time • Next!

As for The Adam Project, my thumbnail review is: reasonably fun but grew annoying in a myriad of ways, not least because of the mouthy kid (there's another highlighted here).


Everyone's a critic

* I'm playing a little fast and lose with the science here, but don't imagine anyone will call me out on it.

[Chompsky]

Only we don't all know how to use it.

This is terrible! But you get the idea. It's the very first time I ever tried to add sound effects, other than music provided by YouTube.

[Ernestine]

Chompsky, your feats (and indeed feets) are admirable. I was, alas, a kid before mouthy became fashionable.

Well congratulations on your new ISP. This transfer has been 'on my to do list' for a couple of years now. I still have a pulse dialling telephone and intend to keep it, and will need to get another line connected to avoid the perils of voip, so I'm still saving up. Or I might simply retire.

[Chompsky]

I could dial one of those if they didn't keep trimming my nails.

[Housemate]

Came across this charming children's book about a cat and a rabbit. "Every word of Marshmallow is true, even to the drawing of them wrapped in each other's arms. I know people find this hard to believe, but the bunny was so little and was so convinced that Oliver was his mother, what could Oliver do but be his mother the best way he could?"



We're not big fans of cats. Cartoon cats are OK.