The Famous WordPress Five Minute Install is a thing of beauty ... if your server is already perfectly configured to run WordPress. Otherwise it is the opening movement to a symphony of pain.
That's really all I want to say about this debacle for now.
A few minutes ago I got an email notification from LJ "1 user(s) likes this - http://netcurmudgeon.livejournal.com/293667.html". So, for the first time in a million years I looked at LiveJournal. Then - expecting tumbleweeds - I clicked on "Friends." Can I say that I'm delighted that people I know and love are still blogging here? 'Cause I am. Delighted. Totally.
On August 27th I ordered some LEGO parts on eBay. One of the items consisted of two lots of LEGO Technic pins. The seller was in Rochester, NY. They shipped on August 29th and the parts arrived today. You might wonder how can it take a first class item 8 days to get from Rochester to Glastonbury? Read'em and weep:
8/29/2014
17:37 PM
Picked up by Request
Rochester
NY
14612
8/29/2014
18:28 PM
Departed Post Office
Rochester
NY
14612
8/29/2014
22:26 PM
Arrived at USPS Origin Facility
Rochester
NY
14606
8/30/2014
06:31 AM
Departed USPS Facility
Rochester
NY
14606
9/2/2014
11:04 AM
Arrived at Post Office
Falls Village
CT
06031
9/2/2014
11:05 AM
Arrived at USPS Facility
Falls Village
CT
06031
9/2/2014
11:05 AM
Forwarded
Falls Village
CT
6031
9/2/2014
22:22 PM
Arrived at USPS Facility
Springfield
MA
01152
9/3/2014
04:11 AM
Departed USPS Facility
Springfield
MA
01152
9/4/2014
22:35 PM
Arrived at USPS Facility
Elk Grove Village
IL
60007
9/5/2014
00:13 AM
Departed USPS Facility
Elk Grove Village
IL
60007
9/6/2014
08:34 AM
Arrival at Unit
Glastonbury
CT
06033
9/6/2014
08:38 AM
Delivered
South Glastonbury
CT
06073
Interestingly, the Postal staff in Falls Village and Elk Grove Village knew what to do with the errant item -- and did it quickly to boot. It's the staff at the Rochester, NY and Springfield, MA sorting centers who got this all wrong.
The moral of this story? If you want something done right, get a townie to do it. Those big city folks don't know their asses from their elbows! ;-)
I noticed a few months ago that the time to open Word or Excel files started getting a lot longer. This change happened at the same time on all of the systems I use. I also noticed a few months ago that something called "Microsoft Office file validation add-in" had arrived via Windows Update.
Yesterday, while doing some routine housekeeping on my laptop I removed it. Oh. My. God. It's like running a fresh install of office on a freshly installed PC! Instant file opens ... like it used to be. I'm sure that I am forsaking some element of security, but I just got a couple minutes of my life back every single day.
A couple of weeks ago ashacat took the Tot-loks off of the kitchen cabinets. I'm still reaching for the magnetic key on the fridge, stopping, and telling myself "you don't need the key anymore" every time I go to open a cabinet.
In the past couple of years Dell made sealed keyboards standard on the Latitude line. This makes them very spill resistant, as I discovered last night when I bobbled a glass of milk and got it everywhere. Including the open and running laptop that I am using to type this post.
Each time I setup to mow the Rt. 17 medians I do a "FOD Walk" after setting out my traffic cones.
There is always something to pick up. Usually it's food or cigarette packaging, sometimes bottles and cans, occasionally footwear or a glove, and random debris. This collection, however, takes the cake. All found on the medians two mowings ago, all within 50 yards of each other. It kind of encompasses life for a lot of folks: eat, screw, smoke, pray.
From left to right: a disposable e-cig, prophylactic device (used) and book of prayer on paper plate.