mcgees.org

I got a new, cheap 7.1 megapixel camera, which I think will pay for itself in increased eBay sales.  Here is one of my first pictures, when Sebastian offered to help test the “Macro” mode:

I can wholeheartedly recommend Bolthouse Farms’s 100% Clementine Juice.  Available only once a year, this tangerine juice is even better than Tangerine Scream.  And God, Bob Mike, and I know how much I love Tangerine Scream!

I successfully slept in the master bedroom, in what was our bed, for the first full night last night, 15 days after Jenn walked out.  Until now, I’ve been sleeping in the guest room or on the couch.

If you had asked me whether I thought this would be a big deal, sleeping in that bed, I would have told you “No”.  But it was.

The PowerSquid, one of the most clever products in history, is now available with a <1 nanosecond response-time, 540 joule surge suppressor.  List price is $34.95; the store Affordable Home Electronics has^* it for $9.44 and low shipping.

^* Happy, Dave?  I arranged the sentence so that I could use a singular verb.

GoogSpy is pretty cool.

OK, I’m going to start cracking down on charities that, as discussed, do things like print your name and address in a blue “handwriting font” to make a machine-addressed envelope look hand-addressed, and buy your info from questionable sources.  The causes may be legitimate.  They may not.  But the practices are reprehensible.

Feel free to post.

Would the Gregory Spath (formerly gspath@homeip.net) who maintains (used to maintain?) the envelope script for Linux please email me at joshua@mcgees.org?

I discussed Tabasco brand Smoked Chipotle Sauce previously.

Before I first tried it, reader and longtime friend Bob Mike was over for a “special” tea party and horror movie night (he’s a great friend, taking public transportation for about 100km to keep me company during the divorce).  He saw the bottle on the counter, which I had picked up out of curiosity, and exclaimed something to the effect of “Isn’t that stuff great?!”  I didn’t know, I had never had it before.

I’ve had it now.

It is amazing.  It’s not a hot sauce, really, just a flavoring sauce.  It’s no hotter than A1 Bold & Spicy.  You can pour it over anything and everything savory: rice, beans, tortillas, soup, hot dogs, hamburgers, steaks, whatever.  They hit this one out of the park.  It’s a major keeper.

The Coupon Clippers have a coupon right now for $0.75 off any flavor Tabasco, which you can probably get doubled.  Do it quickly.  I’m not posting a direct link because the current coupon expires on 2 March 2008, but there may be one coming to replace it.  The Coupon Clippers is a great site that charges a small processing fee to clip and mail you manufacturers’ coupons.  For this coupon, the fee is $0.10.  I’ve become a devotée of the site, and I think you will, too: go try it out through this affiliate link.

I had contended for years that I so loved the flavors of my favorite alcoholic beverages that, were they available non-alcoholically (or Star Trek syntheholically), I would actually drink much, much more, and that I actually don’t enjoy inebriation.  Only one person called me a liar to my face, but I’m not sure anyone else really believed me.

Well, Ariel non-alcoholic vintage Cabs have made a truth-teller out of me.  I love the stuff.  It doesn’t taste fake, it doesn’t taste like juice, it just tastes like wine with a little less body.  The flavor is exquisite.  It’s less caloric than wine, less caloric than juice or soda, and probably is still full of antioxidants.  When I have it around, I drink a whole bottle in one go, usually Vedder-style, straight from the bottle.  The only thing limiting my intake is price, and that’s only about six bucks per bottle.  Otherwise it would probably be the only thing I’d ever drink.  Try it if you haven’t.

I’m going to be very suspicious of anyone other than “regulars” posting about other non-alcoholic wines they like, as I know this is a fierce marketplace and there are likely to be plants.  But if you are one of Ariel’s competitors, feel free to advertise: I’ll accept a case of dealcoholized product, postpaid, for 30 months’ placement with all the bells and whistles.  Email me for my shipping address.  If you win my palate, you win my heart, and if you win my heart, you win my wallet — and you’d get a nice recommendation from me, on your wine, on this site (even if I didn’t like your wine, I’d praise your wise investment.) 

OK, so, Amazon, yeah?  As discussed previously, Amazon apparently have some sweetheart (but non-exclusive) deal with UPS.  I verified this with the franchise owner of “my” UPS Store, who seems to know what he’s talking about.  What kind of deal?

Well, I’m an Amazon Prime member.  I went in for a “free trial”.  I gave them a credit card number, but they promised they would contact me for permission before converting me to a paid member.  They didn’t.  Flat out, they didn’t.  They lied about it.  They went ahead and charged my credit card for a year in advance.  It’s something like $80 per year.

Sneaky.  But, best deal out there.  It gives you free two-day shipping on practically everything Amazon carry, and the option to upgrade to overnight shipping for US$3.99 per item.  $3.99!  Let’s do some research:

I ordered a three-pound item today through Amazon, in the afternoon.  It will be here tomorrow, by “Next Day Air Saver”, which differs from “Next Day Air” by giving the driver an extra five hours to get you the package, for which I paid the aforementioned $3.99.  They shipped it from their location in Sparks, Nevada.

I played with UPS’s online tool.  I said I was located in 89431, was shipping to a commercial address in 91107, that I had a daily UPS pickup, and that I would give my package to the driver.  I was using my own packaging, and I low-balled the dimensions as 10″×6″×4″.  It’s almost certainly bigger than that, in reality.  And the retail cost, for mere mortal companies?  Want to guess?  Here take a moment.

… When in the course of human events it are you ready? …

$43.57.  $43.57!  For one package, one time!  Surely Amazon Prime subscribers aren’t paying $80 per year and just not using it, right?  How is this remotely profitable for Amazon?  If I were a shareholder, I’d be throwing a fit until I got some numbers.  Are they getting an 80% discount from UPS?  I can’t see how that would be possible, and nothing else would seem to make the numbers line up.

Someone at UPS or Amazon, please post anonymously and give the answer.  How much are Amazon paying for this?

Check out the product page for GURPS Conan: Moon of Blood.  Kind of a crummy picture, isn’t it?  That’s my fault.  The book is so old that Steve Jackson Games didn’t have a copy, so I sent them a copy of the image I’m using to sell one on eBay.  So while I will, it is to be hoped, not be in possession of the volume a week from now (instead having a hundred bucks in my pocket or something), my copy will live on in perpetuity — or at least until another fan with a nicer copy and an altruistic or flagrant demeanor comes along.

Check this out.  The item was sent UPS 3-Day Select last Thursday.  It got to the location from which the delivery trucks are deployed last Friday, after two drives, three flights, and another drive.  Since they only count business days, they are not obligated to deliver it until Tuesday — which, it seems, is what they’re doing.  Did they just not put it on the truck or something?  Was there not room (it’s a small box), or did they not want to give an extra day of free service to their customers?  I don’t get it.

Everything that made Ask.com special is now seemingly being done better by 800 lb. Google.  See features you might not know exist.

I’ve scheduled 22 GURPS books to go up tonight on eBay (see my items), re-listed one more, and bulk-uploaded 94 CDs on Half.com (see my items).

I’m feeling very successful, and I am, in fact, fishing for praise, I think.

If you get an error like this when using FileExchange in Half.com:

Error - Could not find a matching product for the given input. Please provide valid values.|UPC|74646963425||Warning - The value <74646963425> of type does not exist in our Catalog.|74646963425|UPC|

It is because your ProductIDValue column is set to type “Number”, and the leading zeros are being stripped off.  Click on the column header, select “Format Cells”, and change data type to “Text”.

If this was helpful, please post.

I think my next car is going to be a pickup truck.  They are just so bloody useful.

I really hate insomnia, but never more than when it promises to decrease the joy I can have with my son the next day.  Er, later this day.  In about two hours.

Short sleep last night, no nap, a couple glasses of wine — I thought I was sitting pretty for a long winter’s nap.  But I have barely blinked.

If anyone has been calling me, by the way, I can’t answer it.  My phone was lost, then disabled as a security precaution, a replacement was ordered, the passive voice was used, and then the missing phone was discovered — which now belongs to the insurance company.  I’m wondering exactly how many days I should wait before someone miraculously “returns my missing phone” to me, to send it to the insurance company, so I won’t look like a total wanker.

I’m not hurting too badly right now.  I can probably take some more ibuprofen for the mild discomfort.  But I really wish I could just lie down and become unconscious.  Restfully, REMmingly, unconscious.  I’m writing train-of-thought right now, and hoping it will tire me so that I can go and collapse into bed.  I’m not actually alert enough to do anything really thought-intensive, like code or write cogently, just alert enough to stay awake.

Thanks to everyone for your support of late.  It’s much needed, and much appreciated.  So much so, that you can consider this a personal letter to you.

I’ll even sign it,

- Joshua

I’ve got a car
I’ve got some gas
Let’s get out of here
Get out of here fast

You don’t have to pack your things
We’ll make it up as we go along
I want to go, but I don’t want
To go
Alone

For Firefox power users, Bookmark Toolbar space (the row under your address entry where you can visit sites with one click) is at a minimum.  Wouldn’t it be nice if there were just little icons for everything, as long as you knew what was what?

Favicon Picker to the rescue, replacing the works-only-occasionally functionality to add icons to your Bookmarks Toolbar.

If you are a superpowered user, you can get by on just icons.  So far, I need a little text prod, both as a reminder and as a slightly larger mouseover target.

Here’s mine, for now.  Hope you are inspired.

(A muffin to the person who figures out the largest number of the URLs corresponding to the cryptic icons and tags in my toolbar!)

Ooh, burn!  The Post Office claims overnight Express Mail service to “most areas”.  I could understand it not being available from small town to small town, but not between two major U.S. city ZIP Codes, 99775 and 96815!  They’re even both in the high 90,000s!  Sure, you can drop off your package at the origin until 7:00 p.m., but it won’t end up at the destination until 10:00 a.m., two whole days later!

Actually, that’s really frakking amazing, when you look it up.  Wow.

(What, the government-kinda?  Really, they can do that?  I’ll let you in on a little GAO secret: the USPS’s biggest contractor is FedEx.  No kidding.  FedEx planes fly Express Mail.)

(USPS Web Apps: Express Mail Commitments)

Ballpark.  Long-haul, UPS (ground transport, not delivery), cargo container, whatever.  Owned rigs, companies, whatever.  What kind of range are we talking about?  The range has gotta be huge, right?

Actual exchange from the last time I bought a suit (which will probably be the last for some time):

Salesman:  How much were you planning on spending today?
Joshua:  Oh, I don’t know, maybe $300?
Salesman:  (Rueful chuckle:) No.  But maybe $400.
Joshua:  OK.  I was thinking something with a European cut.
Salesman:  (Rueful chuckle:) No.  You’re not built for a European cut.  Here’s a nice suit for $400.
Joshua:  Um, I was hoping that would include a shirt and tie…
Salesman:  (Rueful chuckle:) No.  (etc.)

Kinda reminiscent of Dave Barry trying to make an offer on the real estate agent’s office, no?

At the end of the ass-rape, I thanked him.  Can you believe that?  Sick, sick!  Holding onto his picture, dressing up (in that suit!) every day…

Hello, where am I?  Sorry.

When you place a bid on eBay, and it’s the high bid, the screen says “Hope you win!”

No they don’t!  They hope someone comes along and bids $500,000, and then another guy ups that.  “Hope you win!”  Gawd.

It’s that whole mentality of making computers seem more like people, like when Tellme says, in a concerned and slightly embarrassed voice, “Hm, I’m sorry, I didn’t get that” instead of “Please repeat”.  Or when — I am not making this up — my bank added the sound of keyboard keys clicking in the background to the recorded voice telling you they are looking up your account information.

Or — and this drives me up the wall — when charities use script fonts and blue ink on their solicitations, so it looks like someone personally wrote it with a ballpoint.  I can always tell, because there is not a single person on the planet who writes the two es at the end of my name exactly the same.  One is a transition letter, one is a closing letter, and they shouldn’t be perfect matches.  The next logical step would be to commission fonts that have n (five to ten) slightly differing letterforms for each glyph, all of which connect, and the software to randomly choose which one to render.  That might fool me.  Until then, if you send me a fake hand-written letter, you are not getting money.  Period.

Can someone with Flash 9 look at Strange Little Office Beings (promoted by Office Depot) and tell me if they’re cute enough to find a computer with the player?

There might be music or other noise, I don’t know, so maybe not at work, unless you have headphones.

I refilled my ten-day pain med prescription today, exactly (almost to the minute) ten days after my last one.  For ten days I get 120 pills.  I finished my course with one pill left.  This may seem like nothing, but to me, it’s a Big Deal^®.

I also gave in and bought an adjustable cane.  My sciatica⁄pride ratio reached the tipping point.  Between that and the retro cap I wear (which looks vintage, and covers my hair color), I look like a (huge) old man.

mcgees.org is not a children’s website.  137 people (and counting) have made one post, “My Hamster Died”, a children’s post.

There is adult language and adult content on the site, as you know.  I tried to set up another site to take all the hammie comments, but that didn’t work.  People still post.  So, I have written code to special-case the hamster post, hard-coding a nice non-random tagline and adding a warning note to parents.  Please visit and tell me what else you think might need to be done.

The best free visual geographical traceroute application that works on Linux (lots of restrictions, I know) is here at YouGetSignal.com.  Even if traceroute is blocked by your ISP, this will allow you to bypass this by starting the search from DreamHost’s servers.

If you don’t know much about traceroute, read about it.  It’s a tool that needs to be in your arsenal, for everything from satisfying curiosity to diagnosing network failures to tracking down spammers.  You don’t need to be a poweruser to make use of it.

On M$ Windows, for historical (8.3) reasons, it’s called tracert, apparently, or maybe pathping.

I gave you the StumbleUpon “wrapper” page.  As discussed in 2006, it’s a system worth using.

No watchers, no bids, less than 24 hours to go.  Los Angeles Galaxy handkerchief football/soccer MLS.  Really surprising.

High-quality Pigment Ink Stamp Pads, $3 each + reasonable shipping, while they last.  (No commercial interest in this recommendation.)

<rant>

Shit.  I just heard Obama say in a stump speech that we need a “common sense” government.  SHIT.

This has to be shoved down his throat by an advisor, right?  Right?  I hope.  God, I hope!

The man is smart enough to know that we need uncommon sense in government.  I want my President to be smarter than I.  That’s OK.  That’s right.  If “common sense” were good enough, we wouldn’t be having the problems with George Bush — common sense says that the ends justify the means, that we should do things as we’ve always done them, that “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it.”  Fuck that.  Things need fixing.  Fuck common sense.

</rant>