the firefox devs have decided to remove the allegedly buggy and incomplete stylesheet selector gui, in preparation for the 1.0 release.
this is a mistake, folks. i love that utility. i had a post written up, but i lost it in the annals of moronic misclick hell, so i'll be brief: official discussion, two potential replacements.
this was one of those features i could name for people who ask, "why is firefox so much better than internet explorer?" i was hoping to add to that list...
*sob*
2004-08-25
ack! # ramblinated by gemma : 02:32 : : aaaaand she's back
i don't know how i neglected to mention this: last saturday, for the first time in thirty years, my mother performed a recital. the program included a lightweight beethoven duet with yours truly, a brahms viola sonata, and a forsythe irish song. she played wonderfully--big smile throughout, confidence exuding from every pore. it was a great show, and i am very proud. so, dear reader, if you happen to know my mother (and even if you don't), wish her congratulations.
daniel and nolan played, too. they did a good job, too. congratulations, too.
# ramblinated by gemma : 01:08 : :
daniel and nolan played, too. they did a good job, too. congratulations, too.
2004-08-24
the peak of darien
[i have a photolog, see the end of this post for details.]
if you've never read swallows and amazons, you should. (and incidentally, if you happen to know where my copies are, please let me know. i miss them.)
the family jaunted along to darien lake last weekend, a joint outing with the local boy scout troop. (my mother was a den mother for six years, my brother ben is an eagle scout, and my brother daniel is inching in that direction. yes, i am proud.) anible came too. the park was much fun--weather was sunny, but breezy and only middling warm. not the ninety-five-degree corker to which i'm accustomed when slogging around amusement parks. had as much fun there as i've ever had, thanks to anible's presence. we rode the mind eraser in the dark, and saw a great horned owl, and went go karting (i came in third *grin grin*). had much fun scoffing at park food prices, as usual. ($3.00 for a medium soda. i kid you not.) got our caricatures done, something we've been planning for a long time. (i'll post a picture at some point.)
we were hosted by (surprise!) a darien-area scout troop. scout-master was a little on the pompous side--e.g., told me dud to pull over for an oncoming ambulance a few hundred feet away, directed us to an "excellent" little restaurant approximately comparable to stumpy's all-night diner, proclaimed loudly and repeatedly that the park closed at 21:30, half an hour before the actual closing time (i ventured a disagreement on the subject and was promptly rebuked)--but the only time i had to spend with him was at dinner, so it wasn't a major issue. our accommodations, on the other hand...well, heh. he put us up in the backyard of a locked firehall. no running water, single porta-potty as the only "rest facility". no actual campsites, just a medium-sized, open pavilion in the middle of big lawn.
we were not amused.
to make matters worse, mom insisted that i "rough it" the next morning, so instead of taking the van (which, incidentally, was not in use) to the nearest mcdonalds for some decent bathrooms, i walked two miles to a diner and used theirs.
anible was not amused.
logistics aside, of course, it was a fun weekend. it was also a well-documented weekend, so if you want to see pictures, head to picturedilly, my brand-spankin-new photolog.
# ramblinated by gemma : 19:16 : :
if you've never read swallows and amazons, you should. (and incidentally, if you happen to know where my copies are, please let me know. i miss them.)
the family jaunted along to darien lake last weekend, a joint outing with the local boy scout troop. (my mother was a den mother for six years, my brother ben is an eagle scout, and my brother daniel is inching in that direction. yes, i am proud.) anible came too. the park was much fun--weather was sunny, but breezy and only middling warm. not the ninety-five-degree corker to which i'm accustomed when slogging around amusement parks. had as much fun there as i've ever had, thanks to anible's presence. we rode the mind eraser in the dark, and saw a great horned owl, and went go karting (i came in third *grin grin*). had much fun scoffing at park food prices, as usual. ($3.00 for a medium soda. i kid you not.) got our caricatures done, something we've been planning for a long time. (i'll post a picture at some point.)we were hosted by (surprise!) a darien-area scout troop. scout-master was a little on the pompous side--e.g., told me dud to pull over for an oncoming ambulance a few hundred feet away, directed us to an "excellent" little restaurant approximately comparable to stumpy's all-night diner, proclaimed loudly and repeatedly that the park closed at 21:30, half an hour before the actual closing time (i ventured a disagreement on the subject and was promptly rebuked)--but the only time i had to spend with him was at dinner, so it wasn't a major issue. our accommodations, on the other hand...well, heh. he put us up in the backyard of a locked firehall. no running water, single porta-potty as the only "rest facility". no actual campsites, just a medium-sized, open pavilion in the middle of big lawn.we were not amused.
to make matters worse, mom insisted that i "rough it" the next morning, so instead of taking the van (which, incidentally, was not in use) to the nearest mcdonalds for some decent bathrooms, i walked two miles to a diner and used theirs.
anible was not amused.
logistics aside, of course, it was a fun weekend. it was also a well-documented weekend, so if you want to see pictures, head to picturedilly, my brand-spankin-new photolog.
2004-08-20
obligatory olympic post
so has anyone else been frustrated with the announcers at this 28th olympiad? particularly in the gymnastic events?
the enthusiast used-car salesman on paul hamm's comeback): that was the greatest thing i've ever seen in the history of sports! (that, chris, is because you're in gymnastics.)
the "i don't know anything about gymanstics" deep voice on a stellar beam routine: that looked pretty good, was that good?
same guy on patterson and the russian model winning gold and silver, respectively, in the women's gymnastics individual all-around: these two women, separated by half a world... (well, actually, bob, they're separated by a whole world. half a world would put one or the other of them in the core...)
the woman isn't half as bad as either of the men <insert feminist statement here>--she spends most of her comments disagreeing with the judges.
and the a whole other issue, right there. what is the deal with these judges? the announcers let slip at one point that they started one gymnast with a maximum score of 9.5 (out of 10--scores generally range between 9.4 and 9.8), and subtracted points from there. he ended up with a 9.1, much lower than he should have had. now, i'm not a gymnast, so tell me, dear gymnast reader: is that normal? are judges really final arbiters of gymnastic potential, as well as ability? how does that constitute impartial evaluation?
the women's judging is much the same--it's very like figure skating. political. was so nice that nbc played a few swimming events after gymnastics. now there is a sport measured in cold, hard science, instead of "well, patterson really should win this one, so i'll mark down the chinese girl just a bit...." and it was fun to watch michael phelps do his thing.
# ramblinated by gemma : 07:23 : :
the enthusiast used-car salesman on paul hamm's comeback): that was the greatest thing i've ever seen in the history of sports! (that, chris, is because you're in gymnastics.)
the "i don't know anything about gymanstics" deep voice on a stellar beam routine: that looked pretty good, was that good?
same guy on patterson and the russian model winning gold and silver, respectively, in the women's gymnastics individual all-around: these two women, separated by half a world... (well, actually, bob, they're separated by a whole world. half a world would put one or the other of them in the core...)
the woman isn't half as bad as either of the men <insert feminist statement here>--she spends most of her comments disagreeing with the judges.
and the a whole other issue, right there. what is the deal with these judges? the announcers let slip at one point that they started one gymnast with a maximum score of 9.5 (out of 10--scores generally range between 9.4 and 9.8), and subtracted points from there. he ended up with a 9.1, much lower than he should have had. now, i'm not a gymnast, so tell me, dear gymnast reader: is that normal? are judges really final arbiters of gymnastic potential, as well as ability? how does that constitute impartial evaluation?
the women's judging is much the same--it's very like figure skating. political. was so nice that nbc played a few swimming events after gymnastics. now there is a sport measured in cold, hard science, instead of "well, patterson really should win this one, so i'll mark down the chinese girl just a bit...." and it was fun to watch michael phelps do his thing.2004-08-18
wanton killing of pigeons
my brothers told me yesterday that during world war two, missiles could be guided by pigeons. the birds would be trained, using a reward/punishment system, to tap the correct pattern on a touch screen. when their training was complete, they'd be loaded into a special compartment in the missile head, where they'd direct the missile to its assigned target.
*tap tap tap* ok, all set. where's my treat?
i did end up getting myself a car. 1991 honda accord dx (that's the bones standard, flesh optional version). 2.2-liter four cylinder engine, 5-speed manual transmission. more guts than i'm used to in a small car, much fun uphill. it's got bit of rust over the rear wheel wells, but mom and i are planning a de-rusting partay--she'll do her van and i'll do my car--so it should be fixed before i get back to school.
had quite the adventure a few days after i bought it. was driving back from the mall with anible and noticed this *clink shift clank shift scribble* noise coming from under the rear seat. "what do you think that noise is?" "o, probably just the exhaust system shifting around, they do that." dropped anible off and continued driving for ten minutes or so, crossed several of the potholes that make this city famous, noticed the *clink* was considerably louder and a good bit more consistent. "o that really doesn't sound good." pulled over and parked, got out for an underbelly inspection. sure enough, the exhaust system was only attached to the car at the ends. its middle was sagging to the pavement. "great. well, that's just fantastic." (do keep in mind, i wasn't able to get this car inspected before i purchased it because it had no license plates. the test-drive consisted of a few turns around the owner's cul-de-sac.) "now what?" called dad, the family mechanic, who suggested i drop the car at a local mechanic's and walk home. (up elm street. in the dark, on a friday night. mom agreed to pick me up when i protested.) so i drove to the tire shop, nice and slow, flashers on. forgot about the railroad tracks, a few hundred feet from the mechanic. muffler fell off completely. i had to run into the middle of the road and grab it, while patrons of the supper club across the street giggled. obnoxiously.
*hrmph*
needless to say, my little honda has a shiny new exhaust system now. my little honda...my last car *sigh* had two names: "the gutless wonder" (descriptive) and "georgie b" (in honor of a friend's cat). still haven't been inspired--actually, i once found that first name in a kurt vonnegut novel. p'raps i should go imbibe some vonnegut.
(incidentally, flicker also got herself a car. go congratulate her.)
# ramblinated by gemma : 13:03 : :
*tap tap tap* ok, all set. where's my treat?
i did end up getting myself a car. 1991 honda accord dx (that's the bones standard, flesh optional version). 2.2-liter four cylinder engine, 5-speed manual transmission. more guts than i'm used to in a small car, much fun uphill. it's got bit of rust over the rear wheel wells, but mom and i are planning a de-rusting partay--she'll do her van and i'll do my car--so it should be fixed before i get back to school.
had quite the adventure a few days after i bought it. was driving back from the mall with anible and noticed this *clink shift clank shift scribble* noise coming from under the rear seat. "what do you think that noise is?" "o, probably just the exhaust system shifting around, they do that." dropped anible off and continued driving for ten minutes or so, crossed several of the potholes that make this city famous, noticed the *clink* was considerably louder and a good bit more consistent. "o that really doesn't sound good." pulled over and parked, got out for an underbelly inspection. sure enough, the exhaust system was only attached to the car at the ends. its middle was sagging to the pavement. "great. well, that's just fantastic." (do keep in mind, i wasn't able to get this car inspected before i purchased it because it had no license plates. the test-drive consisted of a few turns around the owner's cul-de-sac.) "now what?" called dad, the family mechanic, who suggested i drop the car at a local mechanic's and walk home. (up elm street. in the dark, on a friday night. mom agreed to pick me up when i protested.) so i drove to the tire shop, nice and slow, flashers on. forgot about the railroad tracks, a few hundred feet from the mechanic. muffler fell off completely. i had to run into the middle of the road and grab it, while patrons of the supper club across the street giggled. obnoxiously.
*hrmph*
needless to say, my little honda has a shiny new exhaust system now. my little honda...my last car *sigh* had two names: "the gutless wonder" (descriptive) and "georgie b" (in honor of a friend's cat). still haven't been inspired--actually, i once found that first name in a kurt vonnegut novel. p'raps i should go imbibe some vonnegut.
(incidentally, flicker also got herself a car. go congratulate her.)
2004-08-06
wedding and miscellaneous
we've got a date!
that's right, folks, anible and i have a solid date. and a location, for that matter.
speaking of snapshots, i asked lindsay (good friend from school, former roommate, etc.) to do our photography. she'll be getting back to me this weekend. can just see her, working the crowd, teasing the good shots out of people--i've seen her in photography mode, it's a wonder to behold. she takes fantastic shots. what i'd really like to do is buy her a really nice manual digital (or not digital, whatever she wants) and give it to her as payment, because she has no awesome camera and she needs one.
me brother already mentioned this, but a bit o' extended family was up for a visit last week. we had a good time, usual relational stress excepted. (mum's side of the family is composed of control freaks. dud's side is full of loud engineers, who make life stressful for different reasons.) i went up taughannock with my uncle reid and his family, which i haven't done in a few years. so much water--the riverbed was actually full, in places. lots of fun hangin' (and hanging on) with morgan, whose thirteenth birthday we celebrated (on the left in that picture--the other gorgeous babe is my gorgeous mother), and evan, her older brother. very cool cousins, i like my family.
that weekend we hit chris caldwell's wedding. frightening thought, really. he was in my youth group, a century ago. now he's 27-ish, married to his best friend's sister. (sound familiar, anyone?) i got to see his sister. my best friend, before we left that church and moved away. ah well. was 3good to see her again. also got to see my old sunday school teacher, the ever-youthful lynne sypher. she's in her forties (shh!), just gave birth to her third son. they both look fantastic. (is that something people inherit?) anyway, was mahvelous to see her, as well. we really did leave a family when we left that church.
o and if anyone has missed it, the mozilla foundation has released security upgrades for firefox and thunderbird. (betcha didn't even know there were vulnerabilities, didja? ha, yeah, that's right.) go get 'em.
# ramblinated by gemma : 09:28 : :
that's right, folks, anible and i have a solid date. and a location, for that matter.
9 july 2005
fontainebleau inn, alpine, ny
speaking of snapshots, i asked lindsay (good friend from school, former roommate, etc.) to do our photography. she'll be getting back to me this weekend. can just see her, working the crowd, teasing the good shots out of people--i've seen her in photography mode, it's a wonder to behold. she takes fantastic shots. what i'd really like to do is buy her a really nice manual digital (or not digital, whatever she wants) and give it to her as payment, because she has no awesome camera and she needs one.
me brother already mentioned this, but a bit o' extended family was up for a visit last week. we had a good time, usual relational stress excepted. (mum's side of the family is composed of control freaks. dud's side is full of loud engineers, who make life stressful for different reasons.) i went up taughannock with my uncle reid and his family, which i haven't done in a few years. so much water--the riverbed was actually full, in places. lots of fun hangin' (and hanging on) with morgan, whose thirteenth birthday we celebrated (on the left in that picture--the other gorgeous babe is my gorgeous mother), and evan, her older brother. very cool cousins, i like my family.that weekend we hit chris caldwell's wedding. frightening thought, really. he was in my youth group, a century ago. now he's 27-ish, married to his best friend's sister. (sound familiar, anyone?) i got to see his sister. my best friend, before we left that church and moved away. ah well. was 3good to see her again. also got to see my old sunday school teacher, the ever-youthful lynne sypher. she's in her forties (shh!), just gave birth to her third son. they both look fantastic. (is that something people inherit?) anyway, was mahvelous to see her, as well. we really did leave a family when we left that church.
o and if anyone has missed it, the mozilla foundation has released security upgrades for firefox and thunderbird. (betcha didn't even know there were vulnerabilities, didja? ha, yeah, that's right.) go get 'em.
2004-08-05
CTRL+D
note to the grammar nazis: i'm going to start using british notation for quotes. because american notation is counter-intuitive and illogical. deal with it.
come one, come all, for the latest crop of Stuff Gemma Saw Online and Thought 'Hey, I Should Blog That'. compiled over the past few weeks and distributed here for your browsing pleasure:
# ramblinated by gemma : 14:37 : :
come one, come all, for the latest crop of Stuff Gemma Saw Online and Thought 'Hey, I Should Blog That'. compiled over the past few weeks and distributed here for your browsing pleasure:
- a repository of funny microsoft knowledge base articles. gems like 'powerpoint centimeters different from actual centimeters', and 'calculator does not reliably subtract two numbers in windows'.
- jeff mesnil has developed a bookmarklet to split a browser window in two. nifty.
- funny trekkie t-shirt from thinkgeek
- a breakdown of how apple releases new products from misterbg. (so is that pronounced "mister bee jee", or "mister beej"?)
- i'm sure you've all heard this one already: how google went down with mydoom.
- kevin rose published the results from his gmail load test. interesting theories at the end.
- lance armstrong won the tour de france. wear yellow.
- neat concept for avatar-ed blog commenting: globally recognized avatars. probably won't implement it unless i start using blogger's comments, but it's an interesting idea.
- article on cms caching from phpeverywhere. please notice, e107, designed by jalist of old-timey litestepping fame, has the highest performance marks. w00t.
- a Really Cool (TM) graphical representation of the most-used 86,800 words in the english language.
- i'll include this one just for grins: japha, an "expandable implementation of java in php". *funeral music*
- a well-thunk article on why the main firefox website badly needs a redesign.
- death star proved to be real.
- good blog put together by a broccoli-loving girl and her milk-shy geek. this one'll probably go in my linkage bar.
- googlematic: the im bot that google searches without a browser. an insanely cool concept, unfortunately offline.
- personalized music profiles etc. from audioscrobbler, now integrated with last.fm. privacy be damned!
- a tool i'll probably make ample use of this coming semester: webnote, a bit of python+dhtml+javascript+magic fu put together into an incredibly versatile note-taking system. this has got to be one of the neatest web applications i've ever seen.
- for fun: what the news would look like if it were scribbled on the back of your high school notebook.
- full texts of classical philosophy literature.
- new theme in the works for sunbird, mozilla's stand-alone calendar application.
- and finally, the first review of rio's carbon hard-drive mp3 player, aimed directly at the ipod mini market. sounds like a nice little player, hope it gives the mini a sound (heh, heh) trouncing.