tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-302059862024-03-05T17:22:58.679-06:00Justify Your ExistenceEfforts to understand, improve, or do less harm to the world around me.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger699125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30205986.post-51393755505125901862019-01-09T15:41:00.001-06:002019-01-09T15:41:44.592-06:00Site closed<div dir="ltr"><div>For the moment, this site is no longer seeing updates. I am moving away from Google tools and services for a long list of reasons, including privacy, concerns about monopoly status, politics, security, and their tendency to just close down useful tools/projects with little warning and no alternative.<br></div><div><br></div><div>I am (slowly) searching for an alternative and will post here if I find something.<br></div></div> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30205986.post-52085223184727349742018-08-21T12:06:00.000-05:002018-08-21T12:07:06.306-05:00Dystopia<div dir="ltr">An image series that I was really impressed by: <a href="https://imgur.com/gallery/2QDMQvc">A Very Boring Dystopia</a><br></div> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30205986.post-70715120556715440192018-08-18T22:37:00.001-05:002018-08-18T22:37:44.127-05:00Windows drive space<div dir="ltr">A look at various free tools to <a href="http://a4apphack.com/featured/13-portable-visual-disk-space-analyzers-compared">visualize disk usage</a> on your machine. This is also a great introduction for data analysis / data visualization as a concept. Also an excellent (unfortunately Windows 7-centric) guide to <a href="http://www.howtogeek.com/125923/7-ways-to-free-up-hard-disk-space-on-windows/">cleaning up disk space</a> on Windows.<br></div> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30205986.post-58835241368361119412018-08-04T11:43:00.001-05:002018-08-04T11:43:53.688-05:00Privacy fingerprinting<div dir="ltr">An excellent look at how privacy violations can still happen from <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jul/13/anonymous-browsing-data-medical-records-identity-privacy">"anonymized" data dumps</a>. If you have the ability to turn off tracking, data collection, and anything else, you should do so.<br></div> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30205986.post-65466568059956516012018-02-14T12:41:00.001-06:002018-02-14T12:41:58.377-06:00Great flash game<div dir="ltr"><div>This blog hasn't seen a lot of updates as I've been getting hit from all sides in the last few months but my one source of relaxation is an excellent tower defense game:<br><br></div><div><a href="https://www.miniclip.com/games/kingdom-rush-frontiers/en/">Kingdom Rush: Frontiers </a><br></div><div><br></div>The game is also up on Steam for a few bucks in case you don't want to use Flash or want to more easily save your progress (I have a program that deletes Flash cookies).<br></div> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30205986.post-86993857611011724432017-11-09T09:43:00.000-06:002017-11-09T09:44:02.121-06:00Disable Facebook connections<div dir="ltr"><div>Since I haven't read one good thing about using Facebook in what seems like a year now (increasingly disturbing privacy concerns, negative influence from other nations, getting money from oppressive governments, sucking up to China, etc.), I thought I'd point out this Firefox add-on I'm enjoying: <a href="https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/user/cluclead2/?src=api">Disconnect for Facebook</a> to help avoid any connection with their tracking services.</div></div> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30205986.post-71538579996195584292017-10-22T10:13:00.001-05:002017-10-22T10:13:24.243-05:00What is a "Coal Gaffe"?<div dir="ltr"><div>At first blush, it looks like another "double standards in politics article" but in my struggle to understand what's wrong with political reporting, this is an <span id="goog_326671425"></span><a href="/">excellent article<span id="goog_326671426"></span></a> on how backwards it's become.<br><br><div style="margin-left:40px">Rule 1: Things that aren't controversial aren't real. <br>Rule 2: Things that are incomplete/false are normal because it satisfies rule 1.<br>Rule 3: Everyone -- including participants -- should know that this is how it works.<br></div></div></div> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30205986.post-73994816485577266172017-10-03T09:38:00.001-05:002017-10-03T09:38:39.934-05:00Changing minds<div dir="ltr"><div><a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/ct-country-guitarist-vegas-shooting-gun-control-20171002-story.html">Country Guitarist changes mind on gun control</a><br><br></div></div> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30205986.post-1240951057346664982017-10-03T09:25:00.001-05:002017-10-03T09:25:59.947-05:00Guns again<div dir="ltr">In wake of the latest and so far worst mass shooting, some interesting notes about the <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2017/10/02/las-vegas-shootings-nra-guns-243394">NRA's lack of response</a> and stats on <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/10/03/americas/us-gun-statistics/index.html">gun ownership in the US</a>.<br></div> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30205986.post-5314458675103332192017-09-25T16:36:00.001-05:002017-09-25T16:36:40.795-05:00Lock him up?<div dir="ltr"><div>In one of those moments that makes up a gaping chasm of a double-standard, a top official used a <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/kushner-used-private-email-account-for-some-white-house-business/2017/09/24/917d9b6e-a161-11e7-b14f-f41773cd5a14_story.html?utm_term=.a8d9aa2587a9">private email server</a>. Some really astonishing hypocrisy and/or stupidity right here.<br><br></div>Does this mean we start calling the guy "Crooked Jared"?<br></div> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30205986.post-28411109015914791692017-09-05T12:10:00.000-05:002017-09-10T10:14:59.590-05:00Oracle UPK users<div dir="ltr">
<div>
<div>
I was surprised by the lack of information available for the very mature Oracle UPK software package. I may dig into this more in the future but a few quick tips about that program:</div>
<ol>
<li>I strongly recommend exploring the PowerPoint export and edit function. There are a number of oddities with this program, but it drastically sped up minor changes to the UPK file edit process. If your company has not enabled this feature, make a BIG fuss about making it available. This can save a huge amount of time both editing and re-recording UPK sequences.</li>
<li>There were a few places where <a href="https://www.libreoffice.org/discover/impress/">LibreOffice Impress</a> was able to do some things that Microsoft PowerPoint couldn't, especially around creating precise, full screen presentations to import individual frames into. Having that program handy can compliment PowerPoint in a few areas.</li>
<li>If you haven't checked it out yet, definitely look into the excellent <a href="https://atomisystems.com/">ActivePresenter</a> program, which has quite a bit of overlap with the Oracle program. Additionally, there may be areas where the two are compatible by using ActivePresenter export to PowerPoint and then importing to Oracle. This is especially useful if your version of the program was as slow and problematic as ours.</li>
</ol>
</div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30205986.post-26695497090638705062017-08-27T14:15:00.000-05:002017-09-10T10:05:36.405-05:00Why I went to Auschwitz<div dir="ltr">
I really enjoyed this: a short, <a href="https://www.theplayerstribune.com/ray-allen-why-i-went-to-auschwitz/">very clear article</a> that made me feel a lot better about the world around me.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30205986.post-1748252226102032422017-08-17T14:34:00.001-05:002017-09-10T10:06:07.056-05:00Printer tracking dots<div dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20170607-why-printers-add-secret-tracking-dots">http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20170607-why-printers-add-secret-tracking-dots</a><br><br>I've always wondered about tracking dots - here's a really cool breakdown. Always thought they'd be on the edge of the paper, but turns out they're in the middle.<br><br></div> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30205986.post-54302309211842107062017-08-16T08:35:00.001-05:002017-09-10T10:05:26.325-05:00Recent places (Win7 trick)<div dir="ltr">This is an old trick that I'm sure has been highlighted elsewhere at length, but to me felt like a new discovery. There's a place on your computer where the machine automatically saves things you've been doing. It works like a browser history and is helpful if you just can't find what you were working on yesterday.<br><br>On Win7, you can find this here:<br><br>C:\Users\<i>USERNAME</i>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Recent\<br><br>If I remember correctly, this had a standard presence on your start menu back on Win2k and before, but somehow got pushed out, and I had a hard time finding it. Right now I'm working day to day on any one of a hundred different files on my machine so this has become increasingly important.<br><br>Note that unlike browser history, if you want additional privacy, just clearing this folder is <b>not </b>the answer. Definitely look into disk encryption and programs like CCleaner and BleachBit.<br></div> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30205986.post-5655073437355915012017-08-14T12:11:00.000-05:002017-09-10T10:04:52.408-05:00John Oliver on Charlotte<div dir="ltr">I was really disappointed by the US President's response to the violence this weekend. I struggled with some kind of response to that and didn't want to stare blankly at ugly events in my country. I'm still at a loss but meanwhile, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXszx68uhsY">someone else</a> was <i>very </i>disappointed.<br></div> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30205986.post-84974086021576937132017-07-26T21:51:00.001-05:002017-09-10T10:04:52.423-05:00Fear at the heart of the American experience<div dir="ltr">It's an admittedly left-leaning analysis but I think many of the concepts of an ongoing national paranoia are hard to ignore. More than anything it helps underline that fear is undoubtedly a kind of commodity.<br></div> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30205986.post-647103753424447522017-07-21T20:24:00.001-05:002017-09-10T10:06:48.914-05:00Decoding the warning signs<div dir="ltr">
<div>
A very well written, sad, and <a href="https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/07/15/business/lawyers-addiction-mental-health.html">beautiful story</a> from the NYT about addition and loss.</div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30205986.post-11440855395995204982017-07-02T11:58:00.001-05:002017-09-10T10:06:57.453-05:00How wolves change rivers<div dir="ltr"><div>I've heard several stories around how ecosystems work and how interconnected they are. I never had a clear understanding until I saw how wolves impacted their world. A <a href="https://imgur.com/gallery/O4EjR">short version</a> and a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysa5OBhXz-Q">longer</a> (video) one.<br></div></div> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30205986.post-64499226088324915272017-07-02T11:54:00.000-05:002017-09-10T10:04:52.416-05:00Politics near and far<div dir="ltr"><div>One trying to explain the last several months: <a href="http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/06/22/trump-doesnt-want-to-be-president-215292">Trump wants to be communications director, not the president</a> and one big picture: <a href="http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/06/22/trump-doesnt-want-to-be-president-215292">what happens when a political party abandons their ideas</a>.<br><br></div>Related articles: Analysis of the rather strange <a href="http://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2017/3/20/14915076/7-psychological-concepts-explain-trump-politics">psychology</a> of a very strange situation. Also, someone may just not be having <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2017/03/donald_trump_is_not_having_fun.html">fun</a>.</div> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30205986.post-90695449906425122842017-06-18T19:46:00.003-05:002017-09-10T10:09:00.021-05:00How to be sick (part 2)<b>Part 1</b>: <a href="https://justify-your-existence.blogspot.com/2009/01/how-to-get-over-flu.html">How to get over the flu</a><br />
<ul>
<li><b>Listen to your body</b>. Certainly this isn't everyone but for me, if I'm not doing well, I've got to remember to take the hint.</li>
<li><b>Immediately get warm</b>. Turn on the heater, put on a jacket or extra layers even if you're not cold. Early moves in this can save hours of misery.<b> </b></li>
<li><b>Don’t trust a mild cold</b> - too often I’ve had something that looked very temporary that turned into a bunch of unpleasant symptoms on day 2. Take time off, lay down, and watch movies. Turn up the heat and wrap yourself in blankets. Take no chances. Speaking from a moment where I didn’t do that, it really didn’t end well.<b> </b></li>
<li><b>Real drugs. </b>If you have any medication to knock you out, make sure you drink a lot of water. As always, whatever you take, make sure you take half first.</li>
</ul>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30205986.post-22308897133689111982017-06-18T19:23:00.000-05:002017-09-10T10:07:32.867-05:00Emotionally stunted<div dir="ltr">
This is something a lot of my friends who are girls run into even a decade outside of high school when that kind of behavior should have died. Summed up by the first comment: "<a href="http://imgur.com/gallery/zLogeCn">I'm a nice guy ... you bitch</a>."</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30205986.post-64017721307542110572017-06-18T18:43:00.001-05:002017-09-10T10:14:39.580-05:00How to submit a bug to Microsoft<div dir="ltr">An amusing take on how to try and notify a billion dollar corporation that their <a href="http://www.schveiguy.com/blog/2017/05/how-to-report-a-bug-to-microsoft/ ">software is buggy</a>.<br></div> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30205986.post-55874038828291480862017-06-18T18:37:00.001-05:002017-09-10T10:10:17.158-05:00Approaching it differently<div dir="ltr"> Some videos today:<br><div><ul><li>This is <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y28jsNUhi58">kind of wonderful</a>. I can't quite figure out how to preface it.</li><li>Some David Mitchell videos -- a somehow more pleasant way to think <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2q-Csk-ktc">about taxes</a> and a grumpy analysis of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_AvWJjuU-E">extraneous disclaimers</a></li><li>The supremely weird and kind of fantastic <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8EEJXKhtZAw">"nut spoon" bit</a> on Conan.</li><li>A generally fluffy youtube personality gets <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LaZOSBQrRh0">weirdly deep</a>. Notable in places for getting surprisingly close to a lot of serious philosophical and existentialist thinking.</li></ul><p>And if none of that works, an awesome time-lapse look at a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXN1UAv1anQ">windmill being built</a>.<br></p> <p style="margin-bottom:0in;font-weight:normal;line-height:100%"> <br></p> </div></div> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30205986.post-50325615728693810292017-05-29T20:33:00.001-05:002017-09-10T10:06:17.161-05:00Get your loved ones off Facebook<div dir="ltr">An important <a href="http://www.salimvirani.com//facebook/">analysis of harm done</a> by a "free" service like Facebook and how it's just going to get worse.<br></div> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30205986.post-56828555654863026892017-05-14T16:33:00.001-05:002017-09-10T10:06:07.062-05:00Encrypted email tools<div dir="ltr">It's a little out of date, but here's a <a href="http://arstechnica.com/security/2013/06/encrypted-e-mail-how-much-annoyance-will-you-tolerate-to-keep-the-nsa-away/ ">very good overview</a> of the encrypted email situation, even with NSA leaks and OpenSSL vulnerabilities.<br><br>It's roughly the same as it was ten years ago: GPG / PGP is annoying and nobody wants to use it (I've even traded emails with GPG devs that don't actively encrypt their mail). Similarly, S/MIME has been around forever but nobody uses it. Even though both Enigmail for Thunderbird and gpg4usb radically simplify the process, there's been little impact.<br></div> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0