One of Those Days Where I’d Like to Tell Everyone to Piss Off Gordon Ramsay Style

This content is rated R for redonkulous.

Today was a rough day. It started out with good intentions, but after getting a late start with work, it quickly submerged into a pile of crap.  I managed to get some things written when I rediscovered Post Formats in WordPress.

When I think about how there hasn’t been any improvement to Post Formats for at least two years and the poor user experience it offers, it’s upsetting. They’re a half-baked feature at best and if the core team is going to let it rot for eternity, it’s best to just get rid of it and move it into a plugin. This way, it might get a few volunteer contributors. Hell, it might even get forked and reworked into something more like Content Blocks. Think about the headline on that story “Post Formats Rises From The Ashes To Be Something Useful”.

Then, there is the discussion around the Happiness Bar name which apparently pissed some people off due to its ridiculous nature. I think it’s worth considering, but them being pissed off pissed me off and had me looking for a Happiness Bar in Colorado if you get my drift.

Last but not least, I read the news about Flickr allowing its users to choose CC0 and Public Domain license designations. While it’s a great thing in general, it’s maddening how their search sucks so bad, you’ll spend more time looking for an image that meets those license requirements than using them. Why can’t they have a facet available to where I can search only for images with those licenses, not just CC licenses in general. Doesn’t anyone who develops Flickr use their own product?

It’s a lot of useless frustration and anger today that I hope doesn’t bleed into tomorrow. With tomorrow being April Fool’s day, I’ll probably want to tell everyone to fuck off with their stupid jokes and pranks.

Playing Multiplayer SNES Games With People Hundreds of Miles Away

Jeff Matson figured out how to play multiplayer SNES games using Retroarch. Although it was laggy at first, we’ve made a few adjustments and now it plays smoothly with little lag. It’s a joy to be able to play SNES games with people hundreds of miles away.

I’ve ordered a retro SNES controller from Amazon because playing games with the keyboard absolutely sucks.  Once it arrives later this week, I’ll let you know how it is as I’ve read some reviews commenting on the quality of the D-Pad and sticky buttons.

Although it took a few games, I managed to beat Matson fair and square with Stockton and Malone from the Utah Jazz in NBA Jam TE. NBA Jam is an excellent game because there is a small learning curve and it’s anything goes basketball. It’s one of my favorite games from the 90s and one I didn’t realize was on the SNES. I thought it was only available on the Sega Genesis.

I win!

I win!

He’s Removed The Friction

I was recently told something by a friend that continues to make me think about things. It’s not an exact quote, but close enough. 

He’s removed most, if not all the friction so you can focus on what you do best. He’s removed any excuse for you not to succeed. 

Take full advantage of this opportunity and learn to enjoy it instead of fighting it. 

Easier said then done my friend, but thanks for the advice and yet another reality check. 

The Best Thing I’ve Done Yet

As a distributed worker, it’s been tough to figure out a proper work day. After nearly two years of working remotely, I’ve decided on an output level that I’m satisfied with. When you’re working remotely, it’s important to realize when you’ve had a good day.

In my business, it’s easy to write post after post because the news cycle never ends. However, after a year and a half of working this way, I’ve finally laid my feet down and have specified two published posts per day as a good work day.

This is a goal I can accomplish every day which is very important to me. If I gave myself goals I couldn’t accomplish, I’d probably end up going crazy, which is something I was doing as of late. So far, publishing two posts a day has not only decreased my stress level, but it’s increased the time I spend with my wife.

This is a win-win in my book and something I should strive towards. Once I can accomplish this goal on a routine basis, I’ll look into increasing my output.

The Tech That Generated The Video Game Cartridge Revolution

A long, long, read on the history of tech that predates the NES, my beloved 8-bit video game system. I enjoyed reading about the innovations that lead to the beginning of the video game cartridge era. It’s unfortunate that the true innovators didn’t make out as they’re trumped by Atari, but a great read none the less.

Also read the comments to learn how video game piracy took place in the 70s.

The company where I worked had a PDP (something) and all the engineers and programmers had access to the system and storage. Being an engineer it didn’t take long for them to take apart the cartridge and realize what was or was not inside. With in a short time a small circuit board with a E-Prom programming socket was produced. When a new game came out the first purchaser would buy the game and bring it in to work.

The e-prom/rom would be read and stored on the PDP system then each programmer/engineer who wanted to use the new game/software would burn a prom and use it on the adapter board. It didn’t take long before the higher ups realized what was going on and they forbid the storage and use of the PDP from any more games. So the Programmers encrypted the files and hid them in side another file. One needed a decryption key and knowledge of where and what was stored inside this archive. The file would be transferred to tape and hidden in the company safe. So much for security.

Sick of Being Sick

It’s been a tough few weeks for me physically. Ever since I returned from my trip to Phoenix, AZ in late January, I’ve been dealing with some sort of illness. A day after I returned home, I had aches and numbness throughout my body. I spent the night trying to stay warm under heavy blankets, eventually sweating it out.

The body aches were replaced with a nasty cough, congestion, and a sore throat. It took about a week and a half to start feeling better. However, a few days after that, I got sick again. This time, it was a sore throat, bad congestion, and a continuation of the nasty cough.

The congestion has started to break up and I’m feeling a bit better. However, I still have an issue with my throat where it hurts when I swallow. It’s probably swollen lymph nodes or something. To top things off, I’ve been battling swimmer’s ear. I have no idea how this happened other than from taking a shower.

I normally don’t have a reason to visit the doctor, but I’m out of options at this point. I have to get this ear problem fixed and I also need to figure out the throat issue. It would be nice to get rid of this nasty cough as well.

So the first thing on my priority list today is to make an appointment and see the doctor, something I haven’t done in more than a decade.

Testing The WP For iOS Visual Editor

I have the WordPress for iOS app open and I’m checking out how the visual editor works. Im not sure what happened to the previous editor, but this is a much better writing experience than the previous version.

There’s even a toggle to switch between visual and HTML modes like the desktop version of WordPress.

salad for lunch

Salad for lunch

This was a yummy salad. Adding an image is a smooth process, but when it’s inserted, it takes up the entire editing window. It took a few tries but I was able to get underneath the image, past the caption point.

This is me testing the block quote feature.

Block quotes are infuriating because I can’t seem to block quote specific text and continue normal writing. It’s as if I’m stuck in this block quote and the only way out is to unblock quote all of the text.

It looks like adding block quotes has to be done after the post is written. At the very least, users will need to learn this quirk to block quote effectively.

  1. Testing numbered lists
  2. Two
  3. Three

That worked well, now bulleted lists.

  • One
  • Two
  • Three

That worked well. Now to add a link to my site, jeffc.me. Adding a link was easy. Outside of the block quote madness, this is pretty nice.

Living in a Land of Confusion

The other day, I heard Land of Confusion by Genesis for the first time. I thought Disturbed was the original author behind the music until I heard this rendition.

Genesis Version

Disturbed Version

I was pleasantly surprised when I heard the Genesis version. The vocals are spot on and it’s got a neat beat to the song. However, the video is trippy and hard to grasp. On the other hand, the Disturbed video is easier to grasp with a super hero to take out The Man.

With that out-of-the-way, the lyrics themselves are timeless. Unfortunately, I think they’ll continue to be relevant for years to come. Here are the lyrics from AZLyrics.com.

“Land Of Confusion”

I must’ve dreamed a thousand dreams
Been haunted by a million screams
But I can hear the marching feet
They’re moving into the street.

Now did you read the news today
They say the danger’s gone away
But I can see the fire’s still alight
There burning into the night.

There’s too many men
Too many people
Making too many problems
And not much love to go round
Can’t you see
This is a land of confusion.

This is the world we live in
And these are the hands we’re given
Use them and let’s start trying
To make it a place worth living in.

Ooh Superman where are you now
When everything’s gone wrong somehow
The men of steel, the men of power
Are losing control by the hour.

This is the time
This is the place
So we look for the future
But there’s not much love to go round
Tell me why, this is a land of confusion.

This is the world we live in
And these are the hands we’re given
Use them and let’s start trying
To make it a place worth living in.

I remember long ago –
Ooh when the sun was shining
Yes and the stars were bright
All through the night
And the sound of your laughter
As I held you tight
So long ago –

I won’t be coming home tonight
My generation will put it right
We’re not just making promises
That we know, we’ll never keep.

Too many men
There’s too many people
Making too many problems
And not much love to go round
Can’t you see
This is a land of confusion.

Now this is the world we live in
And these are the hands we’re given
Use them and let’s start trying
To make it a place worth fighting for.

This is the world we live in
And these are the names we’re given
Stand up and let’s start showing
Just where our lives are going to.