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O, Various Day!
Sep. 20th, 2010 11:35 pmLooking at weird, puzzling WTF-grade pornography is always more fun when there's a sudden click of recognition, and you realize that one of your friends drew it :)
*****
Is anyone else annoyed by Google's sudden insistence that their 'Suggestions' function must now be used?
I used to really be a fan of Google, but anymore they seem dedicated to forcing everyone to use the service the exact same way. You MUST use Buzz, you MUST have a background picture, and you MUST use autocomplete. They've become almost the exact opposite of what they started out to be. They've still got the best search algorithm, which is all that really keeps me coming back. If anyone came up with a credible alternative, I'd abandon Google in a minute.
In the meantime, adding clients1.google.com (where the 'suggestions' come from, at least for the present) to your loopbacks in HOSTS will stop it completely. A less satisfactory alternative method is to use http://www.google.com/webhp?complete=0&hl=en for your Google URL.
Google 'suggest' now has the honour of joining 'snapshots' as one of the only two services ever to get their own named section in my HOSTS file:
# fuck you, snapshots
127.0.0.1 shots.snap.com
127.0.0.1 spa.snap.com
127.0.0.1 snap.com
127.0.0.1 ixnp.com
127.0.0.1 direct.shots.snap.com
# fuck you, google suggest
127.0.0.1 clients1.google.com
*****
Flaster can see the red dot from his laser perfectly well, but I'm not too sure that he can see the reflected light from the dot. I can have the dot hidden just out of sight behind something, and reflected light just lighting up the entire area, and he seems not to have a clue where the dot is.
*****
So, tonight I went to Easton. It's been far too long since I have. When Babs lived here, we used to go to movies there pretty frequently, but that's been years ago, and I'm much less social than I was back then. Easton's lovely, the full equal of anything Los Angeles has. Polaris is bigger, and the one that actually draws tourists, but Easton is a perfect little gem, and the favourite of the locals.
I ate at the California Pizza Kitchen - I had a sort of bacon, lettuce, tomato, egg and blue cheese salad. It was plain but perfect, absolutely fresh and masterfully prepared and served. It's hard to fail with such ingredients.
Afterward I saw Alpha & Omega. I didn't expect a lot, so I wasn't disappointed. It's enjoyable. It's very, very pretty, and the animation is first class. The story's trite and predictable, but earnestly told, which is a saving grace for that sort of tale. Two of the minor characters are extremely annoying, but solve a plot need. On the whole, it's worth seeing.
What really stood out for me was the 3D process, 'Real3D'. It's way, way better than any 3D I've seen before. I flinched defensively three times when stuff came toward the audience - it's that good.
Voyage of the Dawntreader and Owls of Ga'hoole are both being released in Real3D. I'd planned on seeing them anyway, but the 3D adds a level of interest. I have a reason now to see stuff in the (costly) first run theatre, instead of waiting for it to hit the dollar places, or come out on video.
*****
Is anyone else annoyed by Google's sudden insistence that their 'Suggestions' function must now be used?
I used to really be a fan of Google, but anymore they seem dedicated to forcing everyone to use the service the exact same way. You MUST use Buzz, you MUST have a background picture, and you MUST use autocomplete. They've become almost the exact opposite of what they started out to be. They've still got the best search algorithm, which is all that really keeps me coming back. If anyone came up with a credible alternative, I'd abandon Google in a minute.
In the meantime, adding clients1.google.com (where the 'suggestions' come from, at least for the present) to your loopbacks in HOSTS will stop it completely. A less satisfactory alternative method is to use http://www.google.com/webhp?complete=0&hl=en for your Google URL.
Google 'suggest' now has the honour of joining 'snapshots' as one of the only two services ever to get their own named section in my HOSTS file:
# fuck you, snapshots
127.0.0.1 shots.snap.com
127.0.0.1 spa.snap.com
127.0.0.1 snap.com
127.0.0.1 ixnp.com
127.0.0.1 direct.shots.snap.com
# fuck you, google suggest
127.0.0.1 clients1.google.com
*****
Flaster can see the red dot from his laser perfectly well, but I'm not too sure that he can see the reflected light from the dot. I can have the dot hidden just out of sight behind something, and reflected light just lighting up the entire area, and he seems not to have a clue where the dot is.
*****
So, tonight I went to Easton. It's been far too long since I have. When Babs lived here, we used to go to movies there pretty frequently, but that's been years ago, and I'm much less social than I was back then. Easton's lovely, the full equal of anything Los Angeles has. Polaris is bigger, and the one that actually draws tourists, but Easton is a perfect little gem, and the favourite of the locals.
I ate at the California Pizza Kitchen - I had a sort of bacon, lettuce, tomato, egg and blue cheese salad. It was plain but perfect, absolutely fresh and masterfully prepared and served. It's hard to fail with such ingredients.
Afterward I saw Alpha & Omega. I didn't expect a lot, so I wasn't disappointed. It's enjoyable. It's very, very pretty, and the animation is first class. The story's trite and predictable, but earnestly told, which is a saving grace for that sort of tale. Two of the minor characters are extremely annoying, but solve a plot need. On the whole, it's worth seeing.
What really stood out for me was the 3D process, 'Real3D'. It's way, way better than any 3D I've seen before. I flinched defensively three times when stuff came toward the audience - it's that good.
Voyage of the Dawntreader and Owls of Ga'hoole are both being released in Real3D. I'd planned on seeing them anyway, but the 3D adds a level of interest. I have a reason now to see stuff in the (costly) first run theatre, instead of waiting for it to hit the dollar places, or come out on video.
