Okay, so, Mastodon. Yay, there’s a web interface! Great, but…do you know anyone who wants to interact with, say, Twitter, via the web interface and not some app that makes it easier to deal with? Right. Enter Mastonaut, except it got started before SwiftUI was really a thing for macOS, so it’s all AppKit andContinue reading “Oh, Xcode”
Category Archives: Grumpy Old Man
Conflict
I am gonna surprise precisely no-one by saying, I do not like conflict. I’m conflict-avoidant. I don’t like having to confront someone and tell them they’re wrong, or that I don’t like what they’re doing, or anything even close to that. That means, of course, that when I’ve finally got the determination to enter conflict,Continue reading “Conflict”
Thug History
I’ve been listening to a lot of history books, courses, and podcasts and here’s what I have learned about the Roman state, both republic and empire: it was run purely on the basis of raw power. That’s a nice family you have there — yeah, I’ll take it. Whatever I can do is what isContinue reading “Thug History”
Never Ending Commerce
Is it ever not cinnamon scented pine cone season? Asking for every grocery store in Northern California.
Effort “humps”
You know what makes me hate processing the mail and paying bills? Calling a billing phone number only to get a robot voice tree that starts out telling me the business hours … when I am calling during those business hours. Then, making me jump through a bunch of hoops to pay a goddamn bill.Continue reading “Effort “humps””
Put a Computer In It, Part…A Jillion
Got an email just now, from the marketing department of a company that makes some server software that I occasionally use. The notification of new email popped up on my screen, with a snippet of the body saying that cyberattacks are increasing in sophistication and volume, so I should…presumably, the rest of the email wasContinue reading “Put a Computer In It, Part…A Jillion”
Bill Processing
It’s bill-pay day, so of course I’m confronted once more with several payment portals that have security theater. What do I mean by that? I mean, stuff that looks like it’s some kind of security (preventing theft of personal information, verifying that the actor is the right person, etc.) but which doesn’t actually provide anyContinue reading “Bill Processing”
Capture *This*
You know what’s dumb? Putting a “Prove you aren’t a robot” widget on your invoice payment flow. Imagine for a moment that you’re a service provider and you’ve done some work for someone. You send them an invoice, and now they want to pay you some money. With me on this hypothetical journey? Good. Now.Continue reading “Capture *This*”
I’m Still Doing It Wrong
Let’s talk about Docker.
I Must Be Doing It Wrong
I’ve started this post several times, and still can’t figure out a clear path. I feel frustrated with the situation, and I don’t know enough to be able to make progress. Sometimes, writing a blog post helps me organize my thoughts so that I can see a way forward. So far, no luck. Once more,Continue reading “I Must Be Doing It Wrong”