Drivel?

My previous post was made while logged into LJ from the Ubuntu partition of the VAIO. Curiosity regarding an off-line compose/edit capability (along the lines of Semagic in Windows) led me to the 'drivel' download page, which led me to the Synaptic Package Manager, and so on.

This editor seems fairly straightforward, but I really must get to sleep

Cheers...

Venting...

1. I do not like programs that presume to preempt whatever you're doing to suddenly pop up a window demanding action, and apparently interpreting anything other than an explicit "no" (such as miscellaneous keystrokes) as an assent to do whatever important, earth-shattering, and typically unwanted thing the window was popped up for.

2. I wish to goodness that upgrades to products that play music, display graphics, etc. would have a "keep doing what you were doing" setting instead of (a) simply assuming that you want the program to take over handling various formats from all the other programs you've got installed, or (b) providing an extensive list of "configuration options" that'd test the patience of any normal person.

(On a related note, I don't particularly like programs whose popup dialog boxes include a choice along the lines of "Don't bother me with this again," the affirmative answer to which is ignored unless you answer the main question the way the application wants you to.)

3. I am annoyed by programs whose DRM scheme is so "brittle," that it's better than even money you can't get the application to work at all. One of the corollaries to Murphy's Law states that invariably, such programs also cost an arm and a leg. (Here I have in mind the OED, which I bought a couple of years ago and which will not install on my eMachines laptop running Windows 98; to their credit, OED has agreed to send me a new set of disks, but I don't know what that'll do for me.)

My work output today has been dismal. My brain has been racing all day.

Cheers...

The weather is not cooperating...

A few days ago, it was positively cold up here at altitude. On Friday, for example, I wore only a shirt while biking to the ham breakfast, and I got thoroughly chilled going down the first series of hills from the house.

The past couple of days, it's been pretty warm, and opening windows just lets in hordes of flies (as I found out to my horror yesterday when I tried to cool the place off with some cross ventilation before Mike and Karen arrived).

Most of the time, I've been biking to the store via the shortest possible route: up Meadows, right onto highway 160, and left at the intersection with Pagosa Boulevard. The only "troublesome" section is the stretch along 160, which is a gradual uphill heading toward the store, but which is becoming easier to navigate as my fitness improves.

A couple of days ago, I ventured to the store via what I think of as "Route 2," hanging a right at Dichoso instead of proceeding straight up Meadows toward 160. The run between Meadows and South Pagosa on Dichoso is a gradual and gradually increasing uphill that, up until a couple of days ago, I could not complete without getting off the bike to walk the last several tens of yards. On Friday afternoon, I managed to bike all the way to the store without getting off the bike. Go me!

In other news, I forgot to take my meds last night but managed to register 130/70 this morning before taking my BP meds. Now, if only my weight would come down some, I'd really believe things are turning the corner.

Cheers...