I just got back from Hawaii. I'm still pretty jet lagged, but it was a very good trip. I was there to visit my daughter and her fiancee; he’s in the Navy and is temporarily stationed in Honolulu.
While I was there, I got an email from Brian Livingston asking me for a one-off column for the Windows Secrets newsletter, newly merged with Support Alert. He said my column should be about what I’ve been doing since I stopped writing for WS. Hmmm, ok. I banged that out on my daughter’s coffee table, and sent it off. It’s in the Jy 24th issue: http://windowssecrets.com/
That column has a back-link here, so: Welcome to all the new visitors today!
I have some Hawaii-related stories to tell you over the next few days, including sea turtles, crater hikes, a whole roast pig, and how I may have offended some Japanese businessmen with a souvenir Kamikaze headband.
My trip ended on a high note: American Airlines had badly oversold the long, overnight Honolulu-Chicago leg of my flight, and after finding volunteers to give up their seats for free travel vouchers, still needed an extra seat in coach. They did a search of passenger to upgrade, and my "Million Miler" status popped up (it’s a remnant of my days in magazine publishing, when I wore a groove in the sky between New York and Silicon Valley).
So I got a free first class upgrade on the redeye. Nice bourbon, a good steak dinner, and an almost-fully reclining 8-way electrically adjustable seat (with a duvet, no less) to snooze in. Very pleasant way to fly, when you don't have to pay for it. (In fact, the airfare for my whole trip was on Frequent Flier miles; finally burning the last of them with this trip. Airline stocks should rebound soon!)
Anyway, my jet-lagged brain is still mush, and I have some after-trip tasks to attend to. Thanks for stopping by. Now, and especially as plans develop over the next few months, I’ll try to make it worth your while.
Best,
Fred
"in the Jy 24th issue: http://windowssecrets.com/"
ReplyDeleteJy?
Regardless, I couldn't find your piece there. It must be in the paid section.
It's supposed to be today's issue July 24th, but it's not up yet. Either they're having trouble, or they're posting it on Pacific time (GMT-8). It will appear eventually. Sorry!
ReplyDeleteHi Fred,
ReplyDeleteGlad to see you back online. I was a long time subscriber to Langalist and followed you to Windows Secrets. I was disappointed but understood your decision to retire. I've missed your humor in the newsletter as well as all the info you provided.
Anyway, I've signed up for the RSS feed to your blog and am sending it to friends. Oh man, this sounds like a fan letter; but it's not. Just wanted to welcome you back.
John
Hi Fred
ReplyDeleteI very much enjoyed [and learned much from] subscribing to LangaList. Also enjoy following what's going on in your world on the blog.
As for Brian's comments covering your piece in Windows Secrets...
"But he's earned the right to take it easy and smell the roses now."
...well, not too sure about that bit :)
Best
Glynn.
How nice to find you again (from the Windows Secret Newsletter) - hope this next phase in your life is everything you want it to be!
ReplyDeleteBest wishes!
Greetings and Hallucinations, King Frederick, sir,
ReplyDeleteI'm a long time reader of first, "Fred's Window$ Foolishness" or whatever it was called, and now am a regular reader of "Windoze Secrets".
One of these days I'll overcome my native cheapness and subscribe, perhaps.
Anyway, I saw that little video of the gal with the bicycle. Not bad. But take a gander at this! It a page from my Site which I just finished (the Page that is, not the Site - that will never be done it's still a mere 32 Gigs!)
It's on the subject of "Ballet from the Orient." Take a gander at the first one, "Guangdong." Proof that China will rule!
So HTML tags work here do they? We shall see.
Guangdong
Since I don't have DSL, living in a small city in Bulgaria (Canadian Citizen, but I met her on the 'Net!) we're luck to have the 'Net, let alone fancy stuff like DSL! Thus the Buffer Button. That sticks the video file in Cache, as you likely know, so it will play smoothly without that annoying stop-start. My videos are all FLV, by the way. Basically, an FLV should play OK at a rate of about 50 KB/s, but my old girl with the ADSL is lucky to hit 40! Guangdong is about 15 MG, so you can see how long it will take by watching the rate up in the address bar, provided you're smart enough to be using Opera that is! :yes: FF is OK, but IE? I used it once. When I got my first 'Net capability back in the Glory Days of Windoze 95, which almost worked, I used IE to go get Netscape 4 or whatever. Then I happened upon Opera, and have used it ever since. I just wish Somebody would come up with a major version of TweakUI or UITweak or whatever it is, that would remove such wastes of disk space as IE, WMP, Virus Express, etc. Wouldn't that be great?
Maybe if Micro$oft would concentrate on the Operating System and leave all this other stuff to 3rd parties who make a better job of it, we'd all be better off.
You know that accursed window that comes up whenever you stick a DVD or CD in a drive, and makes you say naughty words and then hit "Cancel"? Well, TweakUI will get rid of it. It's worth the D/L just for that alone. The Good Guys win a round! Yea!
(Why won't this page load all the way?)
Now if I could just find a way to get Wordpad, which is the best thing that Microswift ever wrote, to come up Full Screen all the time, I'd be off to the races. I created my entire 8000+ page Site in Wordpad, and it has really been a bit of a bother!
I may be back to yap again. On the other hand, the way things are going right now, with the
Gremlins of the Net at full howl, I may not be here this time!
Who is this, Frooggle or somebody? Why don't these guys stop and think that, although it's a fine idea to have Pages like this come up in the local tongue, which this one has, namely Bulgarian, there are folks in all countries pretty well, such as travellers at Internet Cafes, who don't speak the lingo? ALL sites like this should have a flag or flags to bring up the Site in at least English. I don't speak much BG, and my lady doesn't speak much EN. So we speak Russian. Obviously. "Елки палки!" See? (Don't ask!) And right now she's at work, being young and spry, whereas I'm at home playing on this infernal hunk of semi-obediant silicon, worn out from guarding our camp for so long from the T-Rexes. I'll send this later when she's here to tell me what to put in the various fields so I can sign up wth Frooggle. (Are Froogles better than Yahoos? I know a lot of Yahoos! In fact, there are a bunch in the White House!)
I see that Dr Livingstone, I presume, and his minions at Window$ Secrets are worried that you'll become a lay-about like me. I have some ideas. You're obviously sick of writing stuff, which is sort of an intellectual persuite. (pursiute?) (purse suit?) (per soot?) Damn! I'll have to bop that up in Incredimail and see how to spell it. "Pursuit," for crying out loud. I knew that! So here's a list:
1. Motorcycle Mechanic. Then you could get to serve the needs of your fellow hoods.
2. Stevedore. Then you could help unload Opium from Afghanistan from the ships.
3. Join Fox News. You don't need to know anything there. All you need is a big yap.
4. Join a Political Party. (See item 3.)
5. Become a Hangman. The work is easy, and you get lots of time off.
6. Learn to do circumcisions. Lots of tips, and the occasional chance to get a head.
7. Learn Latin. I don't know why, but it seems like a good idea.
8. Volunteer to be the American Ambassador to Iran. That would be a good go! No work, but lots of chance to yap at Fox!
9. Learn JavaScript. There's no thought there. It's just dumb luck!
10. Hold a Lecture Tour on Theory-M. It would be fun telling The Great Unwashed about how the Big Bang was caused by two parallel galaxies colliding in the 11th dimension. So what if nobody believes you? Nobody believes da Pres either!
So there you go, Your Majesty! I saw my duty, and I did it!
You Faithful Servant,
Sir James, Thane of Bulgaria.
I still want to write "Howdy, Neighbor"....a throwback to yesteryear, when I was toiling in Vermont and we were, pretty much, neighbors!
ReplyDeleteIn Texas now...family medical issues to tend to, but hope to get back to enjoy New England whenever the good Lord sees fit.
Just a note to say "Thanks" for the millions of computer related tips and tricks I've learned over the years from my primary source for all things "techie". I still have the entire LangaList files archived on two puters and refer to them whenever the need arises.
All the best, my friend....
Dell Hill
Allen, Texas
Hi Fred,
ReplyDeleteIt's nice to see you at WS newsletter again. It's been sometime, that I (perhaps, many of us) thought that you've retired from WS writing and totally left it. I gather that you're enjoying the freedom from publication deadlines and sort of things now that you've "retired". But no one really "retires".. it's only counting the years and not really retiring from the fun that life offers...
Welcome back, and please do drop by at WS once in a while.
God bless.
Jimmy
(a long time LL ~ WS subscriber from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia)
Hi Fred!
ReplyDeleteJust dropping in to your blog after reading your story in Windows Secrets ... very much miss the Langa List ... take care and enjoy your retirement. Thanks for sharing your experiences on your blog. Nice to see your writing style again.
Best Regards
Steve Warner
Canada
Fred,
ReplyDeleteIt was great seeing your article in Windows Secrets. I was a long time plus subscriber to the LangaList and think it was much better than the current offering from Windows Secrets. JMHO. At any rate I read the article, visited your blog, read the Snake River post on Adventur Rider, and as a fellow Goldwing rider wanted to say it's great to see you in print again. Keep the bike upright and enjoy your retirement.
Must be a senior moment day, I can not find the RSS feed. Where is it
ReplyDelete