1 comment on "Bitching about Windows 10: Photos @Microsoft"

I am so frustrated. All I want is a simple photo viewer that allows me to arrow/space bar through my pictures. But of course Windows 10 dropped that capability. Because why would someone want to look through their photos quickly?

That’s dumb. We all want to open big apps and spend hours trying to get the bundled Photos program to recognize various folders. That’s what people love: wasting time.

Because that’s what time is there for, to be wasted. Because we’re all going to live forever and there’s nothing else we want to do than to wait for some bloated program to open, decide that it won’t see any other pictures in a folder–or even recognize the folder at all–and frustration is like medicine. Or poison. One of those.

Ugh. I’m very set in my ways and I hate change.

So having to reset Windows 10 the other day, which resulted in the loss of a bunch of stuff, is already an experience I wish I could have avoided. But it is what it is.

Change is inevitable.

But does it have to be so fucking frustrating, Microsoft? Really? Do you have to make everything some giant uphill struggle so that the thought of switching to Linux or some kind of Windows-alternative starts seeming like a version of heaven?

Because really, all I need is Scrivener, OpenOffice or LibreOffice, Semagic, and some way to view and edit photos and I’ll be satisfied. And unfortunately, 4 out of 5 is not acceptable for all of my years of loyalty to Windows software.

And all the ways you’ve invaded my privacy in recent years, Microsoft? Your insistence on access to my private data so you can send it to your HQ for some inane reason? Fuck you very much.

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I’m just so tired of fighting Windows all the time.

I’m tired of not being able to do the things I want with my own computer.

I’m tired of the weird programs turning on and doing things in the background at the behest of Microsoft.

I’m tired of having to go through after every update and check that my Privacy settings haven’t been reset to “Share everything with Microsoft”, because honestly, I don’t want to share squat with Microsoft.

I want to turn on my computer, edit documents, and watch YouTube videos of cats frolicking.

I don’t want my screen to keep freezing and my data to be lost. I don’t want my computer to shut itself off and turn itself on without letting me know what’s going on or giving me a warning to save my stuff. I don’t want to suddenly have everything S-L-O-W way down as some hidden Windows process begins doing something I can’t track or figure out why it’s happening.

I want my computer back!

Mike's Harder Lemonade: Deadpool version God, now I want a drink. So, thanks for that Microsoft. If I turn into an alcoholic, I’ll know who to blame:

Deadpool.

Let's Make Dumplings at Amazon
0 comments on "The Kid brought home the plague"

The Kid brought home the plague. That’s the only explanation.

Everyone’s been sick, so it should be no surprise that I finally succumbed to the coughing, running nose, fever, chills, and general misery of whatever the Kid brought home from school.

I’m hopeful though, that I’ll throw it off before Monday. My immune system is healthy and this cold doesn’t seem too strong.

Still, my head feels like it’s full of mashed potatoes. Ugh.

An Elderly Lady is Up to No Good at Amazon
0 comments on "I’m considering bee keeping"

I’m thinking about buying a beehive.

I want honey bees, but my brother is leaning more toward bumble bees. Either way, I’m hoping to help out my tomatoes and other vegetables.

Plus taking care of a hive of native bees helps with conservation*.

Because bees have really taken a pounding of late. There’s a real concern that we’ll be looking at the extinction of several species.

“We’ve had several end-of-hive events take place recently. And there’s quite a lot of reason to be concerned” – is the mildest way I can describe it.

Really, we’re looking at a potential environmental catastrophe.

1. Without the bees, there’s going to be a lot more biting insects. (There’s a niche for most everything. And if an opening is created, something is always willing to move in and fill it.)

2. With the depletion of a hive’s numbers, they are left vulnerable to predatory insects. (Hornets, yellow jackets, all kinds of things can get inside a weakened hive, kill the queen, and use the bees as a food for their young.)

3. Without bees to do the work, gardeners will have to seek other means of pollinating their crops. (Remember my zucchini plants that didn’t zucchini?)

4. Without bees there won’t be any honey. (And that would be a real tragedy, because who in their right mind doesn’t love the taste of honey? Sweetness that can be cultivated super easily.)

5. Without bees you won’t see a bumbling buzzing body bobbing and weaving from flower to flower, making the world bloom. (The sight of a fat bumble bee with its small wings busily flapping as it dances over a patch of clover is a nostalgic memory.)

Bees are an essential part of the world.

It would be a real tragedy if we wiped them out. The world would definitely be a lesser place without them.

* I might have to switch to buying a bunch of mason bees. I’m pretty sure they’re what’s local, as I saw them being sold at the Little Valley Nursery back in the spring.

Witch King at Amazon
0 comments on "Zika virus still not being handled #pandemic-in-progress"

I love how much the Senate cares about North America and the human race:

Cracked: photoplasty of Senate defeating a much-needed Zika bill

It gives me all kinds of warm and fuzzies to think that members of our esteemed Senate would add unacceptable clauses to bills we desperately need passed IMMEDIATELY. And then would be too proud to back down and be REASONABLE.

This is a fucking zombie apocalypse/Black Death/End of the World scenario in the making.

Think about it: mosquitoes live EVERYWHERE. They breed with each other. They hide in our imported fruits and vegetables.

And they can infect people with all kinds of freaky shit. Things like Zika and even worse.

So look, Senate/Congress/Corporations/Committees/Illuminati/Illuminutty/Masters of Hip-Hop: Present the bill as it’s supposed to be, with no secret riders or underhanded tactics.

We need to get a handle on this Zika situation stat, and we need to consider what’s supposed to be done with the mosquito situation. Which means we need to get the framework in place and the funding to the scientists and labs.

And when the time comes where we need the research they have gathered to find the Cure!HailMary, there will be records and equipment already in place. (Just play Plague Inc. You’ll totally appreciate the idea of starting your medical research early if you want to stop a pandemic.)

Quart: "If Zika spreads in the US, blame the politicians, not the mosquitoes

There needs to be a continent-spanning consensus on what methods are safe to use to handle mosquitoes as well.

Otherwise people handle things themselves and mistakes get made:

Quarts: "The world's most popular pesticide probably killed England's wild bees"

Mother Jones: ""The EPA Finally Admitted That the World's Most Popular Pesticide Kills Bees--20 Years Too Late"

And our already at-risk bee population faces needless danger due to bad decisions.

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Zika is a serious health emergency, and people need to start looking at it that way. Not just because of people dying or fetuses being damaged, but because of what it shows about our ability to head-off a major pandemic.

Policy needs to be in place, and our officials need to start doing the jobs they’re being overpaid for.