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”
Category Archives: Grumpy Old Man
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”
It Writes Itself
Lotus is making an electric SUV. My mother will probably crack up when (if) she reads that. Ars Technica is kind of excited about it, but man. You know how the Ford Pinto was really well known for exploding when it got rear-ended? So, what if, on the heels of that, Ford was all, “Okay,Continue reading “It Writes Itself”
Maybe…Don’t?
Today’s newspapers offer a feast of anxiety. A quick overview: Russia/Ukraine war – many, many countries are proposing to stop purchasing petroleum exports from Russia. The US is proposing to start buying oil from Venezuela to replace the Russian oil they’d been buying, to try to avoid an energy price shock. The bits of tiresContinue reading “Maybe…Don’t?”
Really? You Have Opinions?
“I see that you are wearing a garment decorated with shapes that are obviously linked to a widely-appreciated cultural artifact. I assume, therefore, that you would like to have a conversation about that with me, a stranger on the street, rather than go about your business in the shops, one of which I just witnessedContinue reading “Really? You Have Opinions?”
Speed Is Relative
When Apple announced their custom CPU machines, part of the hype was how fast they are. I saw a bit of buzz like, “Oh man, my compile times are so amazingly fast,” from people who went ahead and got the Mac Mini with the M1 chip. I waited for the 16″ MacBook Pro, and IContinue reading “Speed Is Relative”
Tabloids, All The Way Down
So, in “The Avengers,” there’s a scene where Tony Stark and Pepper Potts are having 12% of a moment when they’re interrupted by Agent Phil Coulson. Pepper addresses him as, “Phil,” and Tony says, “…His first name is ‘Agent’.” This is funny because that’s not his name, and it points out how narcissistic Tony is,Continue reading “Tabloids, All The Way Down”
Do They Even Use These?
So, the new 16″ MacBook Pro has a notch. The choice is always there. You could, of course, not include a camera at the top of the screen. Nowadays that’s pretty much a non-starter, what with video conferencing being the way so much happens. So then, if you put a camera up there, do youContinue reading “Do They Even Use These?”