There You Go Again

Once again, here we are. A little glowing touchscreen blasting photons at tiring eyes. Why?

The first entry on this blog was written on a big ole' 15" cathode ray tube monitor. The first 'Tonewah' page was written on a Compaq Presario with a tiny processor, probably around 25Mhz. It cost around $700.

The next machine was a 500Mhz no-name home-built box. It cost $500 to build and utilized the same CRT monitor until it got a video capture card. People's minds were blown when they'd see the 32" Sony displaying Windows and internet videos... long before Youtube or even Google Video and way before wide-screen aspect ratio flat panel displays. It was recording live TV like a VCR long before TiVo or any other dedicated DVRs existed.

Digressing...

The Tonewah page was hosted on a local server. It was a lot of fun. FTP programs, dial-up, memory upgrades... Half the time was spent fixing or figuring out. Good times.

Everything is so easy, now. There is software to make your html/CSS. Software to make images... no MS Paint required. Uploads are all done automatically via the web. The local connection, considered slow now and soon to be upgraded to 200, is 100 Megs a second. To say it beats the crap out of the 9600 kbps modem on the Compaq would be like comparing a tricycle to SpaceX. The old external 56k US Robotics modem got a lot more use but would still be a Vespa in comparison.

Maybe that's why it's hard to get excited, anymore. All of the complex, varied, time-consuming techniques and skills you had to learn to make things happen are now obsolete. Anyone can sign up to Wordpress, Blogger or one of the myriad new services and instantly do stuff way more visually stunning than the mid-90s wanna-be webmaster could imagine... and they can do it for free.

So why are we here, again? That may be a question better answered by a psychiatrist. Or a preacher. Or the devil.

Do you know?

Scheduled Visits

Gotta see the doc in the morning. Routine, though; just a scheduled checkup. Nothing new.

Maybe the dozen or so readers of this blog would be interested. Maybe not. Maybe they're annoyed.

Either way, enjoy not having to go to the doctor on a regular basis while you can. 2 years ago a regular schedule of doctor visits would've seemed like a foreign concept. It's still pretty weird.

Curious as to where the dozen or so estimate comes from? Google provides very basic statistics for hosting this blog. Included are number of unique visits, country of origin and what browser/os combination. No IP or other tracking, just basic stats.

Here's what it looks like (click to enlarge):

DAY

WEEK
Not exactly burning up the internet. There are about the same number each day from the same browser/OS combinations for me to guess around a dozen. Purely a guesstimate, though.

No one comments, anymore. There used to be a few regular commenters. One of them indicated that the blogger format made them unable to post comments. Sorry if that's the case. I've never had that issue.

Off to bed for me. Need sleep to look good for the doc. Gotta avoid unnecessary doctor concern. No need for pointless poking and prodding.

Andy Taylor on Due Process

I love this story, too:

I wrote a long discourse to go along with this video, but erased it. Point of it was that if someone heard or knew everything you say or do, with the context removed, it would break their hearts. Especially if they had you put up on some pedestal.

Think of the things you've found out about others that completely changed how you felt about them. That's exactly how people feel when they think they've found out something negative you said or did in confidence. Long story short: That's why we have a right to privacy.

Sagan on Eratosthenes

I love this story:

Traits

Atavistic, anachronistic and iconoclastic. Please accept a most humble apology; it can't be helped. Not that this is something you'd care to understand.

Unless it says, "Da Plane, Da Plane!!!", don't show it off. Nobody really wants to see that. Not an atavistic, anachronistic iconoclast, anyway. That will be the end.

Is it fair to hate before you even know? No, not fair at all. There are, however, signs that say, "Stay Away!" They are often heeded; they should be heeded.

No, collectivists, there is no need for the artifice of adelphotes, et. al. It will be disdained by the iconoclast. The very appearance is vulgar and poltroon.

Gnosis. It can destroy as certainly and absolutely as it creates. That's probably a good thing.

Life, Liberty and the Pursuit

Happy Independence Day, America. Too bad nobody ever actually reads the Declaration. There's good stuff in there.

Close Your Eyes and Remember

Got a few things done, today.  Changed my lawnmower blades, got new wiper blades and fixed the headlights on little red car.  Made arrangements to replace DirecTV.  There was also a party for my sister's birthday.  

One of little red car's headlights went out last week.  The Fonzee method worked for a few days (striking it with a swift punch), but Autozone has new bulbs for $10, so a new one was in order.  Both eyes now shine.

Charter has a new streaming service, so there's no receiver/tuner box.  You can choose the channels you want as well.  Hope it works out.

It was good to see the family at my sister's party.  Glad I was able to make it.  They always lift my mood.

The first task accomplished today wasn't all that was planned with the lawnmower.  Aside from putting new blades on it, the grass needed to be cut.  I just wasn't feeling up to 4 hours on a lawnmower, today.  

Sleep has been a little elusive this week.  Immune systems don't like that.  Sinuses got a little icky.  Things still have to be done, though.  Sometimes a little work helps the body recover.