"Right sided rant!" written by Tinypliny on estrip.org

Category: whine

11/27/08 09:36 - 37ºF - ID#46859

Right sided rant!

I am so sick of around 70% of the web and so many pieces of software having left-sided menus and left-sided access. I am right-handed, dammit. If you are so concerned about accessibility, make it ergonomic for right-handed users as well.

Prominent examples which annoy me on a daily/hourly basis:

Gmail: Left sided menu. They implemented the right-sided chat and labels as lab features - but they conveniently forgot to include right-sided menus in the mix! As a result, the lab features don't serve any purpose and merely shrink screen estate for actually viewing the emails.

Windoze: It ships with the start button on the bottom left corner - the most inefficient corner for right-handed users. Agreed, you can move the taskbar to the right to make the start button be at the right-top corner (the most efficient for me). But moving it also makes the titles of the programs that are open, hard to see without expanding the taskbar and making it all incredibly ugly. Mac ships with a top right corner menu with the whole "taskbar" at the top. This makes me think the Mac GUI department has more right-handed programmers than Microsoft.

Plone (as supplied by NCI): I hate this NCI version which is so stripped down and bland that no customizations are possible. Its ugly AND has a left-sided menu! Its got light greyish blue text on a light blue background - that's the peak of non-contrasting colours. I guess they are trying to make me and all the PIs blind or something. Yuck. I hate you NCI-modded-Plone!

/Rant over

One of the many reasons I love (e:strip). Thank you (e:Paul) for right-sided menus. :)

Permalink: Right_sided_rant_.html
Words: 280
Location: Buffalo, NY

Category: music

11/25/08 10:17 - 37ºF - ID#46837

Adios Nonino

I break out in tears every time I hear this song, even without the accompanying video. If you need to flush out those lachrymal glands, Astor Piazzola is the man for the job. :)

PS: That is Princess Maxima of Netherlands.

She strangely looks a lot my advisor in Rochester...

Permalink: Adios_Nonino.html
Words: 67
Location: Buffalo, NY

Category: tools

11/23/08 01:01 - 31ºF - ID#46805

What's THAT word?: Trumping Word-Blocks!

You are writing furiously and suddenly you come up against the dreaded WORD BLOCK! In my opinion, this is far worse than the writer's block. In contrast to the much-maligned writer's block, the word block doesn't deal with that murky uncertain ghost of your writing-future. It makes what you already wrote look like rot. The word block casts an unsatisfactory dirty shroud on the ghost of your writing-present.

To me, this is unacceptable. Thus, I declared war against word-blocks this morning. I then realized that I was poorly armed with just a Roget's Thesaurus. What I needed was a weapon to put my thoughts into pithy words. For every time I wondered, "what IS THAT word????" and for every time some miserable word dangled from the tip of my tongue but didn't quite make it to the brain, I needed a sort of white book for reverse look-up of thoughts. And lo and behold, the unknown angel of word-block rescue exists! It's called the one look reverse dictionary.

I realize it might be a bit rash to declare victory against word-blocks already, (for all I know, the word-block camp may have hidden WMDs headed for my document) but the ghost of my writing-present is nodding pretty appreciatively.

Do (e:strip) peeps have any other hidden writing-block-busters? As we all know, stockpiling is half the victory (besides being extremely handy for threatening, manipulation and such other nifty uses). :)

Permalink: What_s_THAT_word_Trumping_Word_Blocks_.html
Words: 246
Location: Buffalo, NY

Category: the odes

11/20/08 12:33 - 33ºF - ID#46771

Gmail Theme Mania

I am so in love with the Gmail theme changing thing! I have been changing my theme once every hour for the past 6 hours. Is that excessive?

I hope not. Because I have 24 more themes to go through.

WHOOOOOOOPPPPPPPPPPEEEEEEEEE, GMAIL THEME MANIA! :)

PS: I am just a Rahmbonics theme away from attaining complete self-destruction (distraction?). Thank goodness they don't have political-obsession themes... YET.

PPS: Maybe I should *design* a Rahmbonics theme! HEHEHEHE.

PPPS: Maybe I should just quit working on this ridiculous PhD and start stalking political celebrities full-time.

PPPPS: Um. Yeah. Scratch all those bad ideas,. TINY. GET BACK TO WORK!

PPPPPS: It's a sign of pure and unadulterated insanity that I am addressing myself as TINY (besides writing recursive post-scripts to myself). Ugh.

Permalink: Gmail_Theme_Mania.html
Words: 128
Location: Buffalo, NY

Category: {dodo}

11/19/08 01:14 - ID#46751

Rahm Emanuel - Positively Aware {Or Not}

Due to the enormous amount of pubmed whoring I do on a daily basis, I have a search engine plugin for Pubmed in my Firefox quick search bar. I accidentally searched for today's quota of Rahmbonics in Pubmed. Lo and Behold, he has an indexed publication!!!

Emanuel R. Politics and HIV: statement from Representative Rahm Emanuel (IL-5). Posit Aware. 2006 Jul-Aug;17(4):49.

Of course, I simply had to go and hunt the full-text version down.

I learned about some new Rahmbonics for my D.iary O.f D.aily O.bsession, {DODO}.

Did you know that:
-- Rahmbo supports the Ryan White CARE act that funds treatment for AIDS patients when no other resources are available. (Among 402 others in the Congress).

-- He voted for the AIDS assistance bill (H.R. 1298, the U.S. Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Act)

Critical Note: Though the global funding aspect is great, the Anti-Prostitution pledge in this bill is despicable and counter-productive. As a medical professional, I think this sort of a reactionary approach to AIDS prevention and control will get us NOWHERE in our fight against HIV. In my dictionary, people who drafted this pledge are prime examples of what the terms "moronic" and "insular" actually mean. Two thumbs down to Bush and other crazies who heads are firmly under six feet of religious fanatic hard-packed dirt on this issue. Emanuel talks about the funding aspect of this bill in the Posit. Aware publication but not about the anti-prostitution pledge. I am dissatisfied over this glaring omission.

-- He voted to pass H.Con.Res.30, a bill supporting the goals and ideals of National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day.

-- Co-sponsored:
H.R. 3859, the Early Treatment for HIV Act (ETHA),
H.R. 4792, the New United States Global HIV Prevention Strategy to Address the Needs of Women and Girls Act of 2004
H.R. 1409, the Assistance for Orphans and Other Vulnerable Children in Developing Countries Act of 2005
H.R. 1413, the Women and Children in Crisis and Conflict Protection Act of 2005.

On the whole, that's an excellent record against HIV except for the one major blemish-by-association -- the Anti-Prostitution pledge. I wish I knew how Rahmbonics stand on this issue. Till then, I can't believe the title of this blog without reserve.

Permalink: Rahm_Emanuel_Positively_Aware_Or_Not_.html
Words: 392
Location: Buffalo, NY

Category: {dodo}

11/17/08 11:00 - 27ºF - ID#46728

While Rome burned...

YES. I am obsessed with this bloke. Apologies to all you 3 readers. You are unfortunately going to get a disproportionate amount of Emanuel on this channel, now that I have this insane urge to news-stalk for Rahmbonics. Consider yourself warned. :)

Permalink: While_Rome_burned_.html
Words: 43
Location: Buffalo, NY

Category: {dodo}

11/14/08 07:05 - 57ºF - ID#46693

Rahm Emanuel {His finger, to be precise}

I admit it. This man is immensely entertaining!

He once said {on the subject of losing his right middle finger}:

Of all the fingers to lose! I could not express myself for months. I had to learn to talk with my left hand.

Stephen Colbert latched on to this missing finger and what follows is a hysterical blackmail begging for a position at the White House.

::Download Flash Video::

Oh, and that finger is not just Colbert's favourite. Obama takes a jab at it as well... among a handful of other Rahmbonics.

Has he ever flashed that stubby little thing at you? It's appalling

Permalink: Rahm_Emanuel_His_finger_to_be_precise_.html
Words: 115
Location: Buffalo, NY

Category: e:strip

11/14/08 11:01 - 56ºF - ID#46684

Where do lost comments go?

Cue spooky ambience music...

::DOWNLOAD SOUND::

Have you ever wondered why..,
- Your comment # is more than the total number of comments on the home page?

- Some comments you make mysteriously vanish into the night?

- Some comments get lost and never see the light of the day?

- As you look down the new comment column, the ghost of your comment still taunts you from the netherworld??

- Is there a secret comment graveyard on (e:strip)?

- Is that where unruly comments go to die?

The answer lies with...

(e:paul)!!!!!!!*

PS: (e:paul) just posted in the chatter: tiny when you are posting a comment, make sure it says the right user and comment id at the top of the add comment window e.g. Post a comment to imk2's journal #46680

PPS: Thanks for that information. I will be sure to check in the future but how about the comments which have been posted without verifying this detail - is there any way to recover them?

PPPS: I am so addicted to this font-sizing thing. :)

jason writes at 02:01:43 11/14/08 - Comment #42119: My previous problems with it occurred when I would start the comment, then move over to another Firefox tab and then submit the comment.

Paul, thanks for the tool. I've been meaning to read something (e:DCoffee) had posted a while back.

tinypliny writes at 01:27:13 11/14/08 - Comment #42112: The test is working now. :) It's the murphy's law. I will keep a hawk's eyeout for the next time I get signs of a lost comment. The comment that got lost today was the first one I made after being inactive for around 7 hours.

paul writes at 01:19:51 11/14/08 - Comment #42110: Test it and see what happens.

tinypliny writes at 01:18:29 11/14/08 - Comment #42109: If I think back to my comments in the graveyard, I think they do have a definite pattern. (E:strip) reuses pop-up windows. If you click on the comment bubble to comment on someone's blog, the earlier pop-up from (e:strip) is replaced by the comment form pop-up. I am guessing lost comments mostly happen when you have a log-out event between 2 pop-up sessions. When you login again and initiate a pop-up from (e:strip), the replacement pop-up comment goes to the graveyard.

tinypliny writes at 12:20:21 11/14/08 - Comment #42102: THAT IS SO COOL!!! THANK YOU!!

Now we can all go rescue out lost and bewildered comments!!! GO COMMENT RESCUE!!! Dig them out of those coffins!!!

paul writes at 12:10:15 11/14/08 - Comment #42100: Okay, its there is a comment graveyard now :::link::: where you can get to the list of all 40/40,000 comments with no home

You can also get there by clicking on the graveyard link on the more comments page. They are in reverse chronological order. If you know which ones they belong on, click the report link at the bottom of any comment.

Also, in the more list itself, it a comment is ever not associated with a journal, there is a "report this" link instead of a >>more link so that you can easily report it.

paul writes at 11:18:30 11/14/08 - Comment #42098: Yes, they are all alive and well. I am just holding them hostage No the truth is there are ~40 out of 40,333 comments that have no journal associated with them. They are still in the database. I have the author, the comments, the timestamp and the ip but somehow those ones never passed the journal id. I cannot figure out the exact combination of problem that causes it. Everytime I try it it works.

That is why I added that line at the top that says what journal id and user you are posting to. If that ever says nothing, that is an indicator that there is a problem and I would really like to know under what condition that happens.

I should just make a lost comment graveyard where you can go to claim them. This problem won't happen in the new system as it works very differently. Unfortunately, I have been very busy with work and other things and it keeps delaying the new version. If only this was my paid job.

Permalink: Where_do_lost_comments_go_.html
Words: 185
Location: Buffalo, NY

Category: music

11/10/08 09:45 - 37ºF - ID#46637

Milva... the extraordinary.

The last post reminded me of how much I love this awesome Goddess of voice and passion.

So instead of just listening to me jabbering on and on, I strongly recommend that you take the time machine back to the 60s for 10 golden minutes. :)

From 1968:

From 1966:

This is more recent, but showcases her incredible range and the life she brings to Piazzolla's works. This time, in French!
J'Oublie (Oblivion) (Piazzolla/McNeal)

Permalink: Milva_the_extraordinary_.html
Words: 102
Location: Buffalo, NY

Category: music

11/10/08 08:15 - 36ºF - ID#46635

Astor Piazzolla - Maria de Buenos Aires

I got to my department today morning and someone had left this on the general "help-yourself" table at the entrance.

I still can't believe it. Someone actually gave away one of the coolest tango-operas! And not just any tango-opera. A LIVE production* of the oratorio penned in 1968 by none other than the divinity of tango - Astor Piazzolla!

To give you an idea of what Piazzola's operatic works sound like, here's a very dramatic piece "Preludio para el año 3001 - Rinasceró" sung by the awesome Milva. The drama and emotion is sometimes so intense, that even not getting a word of Spanish, I find myself getting the story. That is the brilliance and magic of Piazzolla.

::DOWNLOAD SOUND::

(Orchestra: Astor Quartet, Per Arne Glorvigen (Bandoneon), Gidon Kremer (Violin), Milva (Voice), Vadim Sakharov (Piano), Alois Posch (Double Bass))

Needless to say, I snatched it away in one wild spasmodic movement before anyone could say, Piazzolla. It's now playing full blast and I am virtually dancing on the streets of Buenos Aires.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, dear mysterious benefactor! :D

Okay, Okay, the Gidon Kremer version of this Opera is more mind-blowing, if only for the technical precision of his playing as well as the orchestra's. However, as far as live productions go, this one is spot on with all the passion, if not the precision and sound.