In Which Apple Declares War On Its Customer Base

These last  few years, I've noticed my Mac Mini (Intel CPU, purchased late 2020) has been running hotter and hotter with every OS upgrade.  Sleep the machine at night, and then it's almost too hot to touch by the morning.  Digging around, it seems that Apple has installed some media-scanning software that runs in the background, categorizing faces, places, songs, etc.  I've spent a couple of hours trying to turn this stuff off and keep it off – it automatically turns back on within minutes – and digging for solutions.  It seems that there were work-arounds for all of this, but Apple reads the various relevant forums and has been diligently thwarting these efforts.  About the only thing left that seems to work is to launch your own search-and-kill job that wakes up every minute or so to hunt down the offending daemons and zap them.  You can read about how to do this here (search down to the large font "If you are on Big Sur (11) or newer, forget about all*the above solutions, none will work!" for how to deal).  I'll get around to doing just this later today, and I am reasonably sure that Apple will come up with a lock-out even for this in the next round of sidegrades.

Linux man, it's looking better by the day.  I don't need another hobby though.

ps, a few hours later: All seems to be working fine, with the computer's temp down to something reasonable.  The three minute cron cycle seems to be working well on my Mac.  Also, don't forget to make the script in the above link executable; you can see how to do this in item #3 at this link.  Which, by the way, contains some excellent general info on cron which makes it worth reading to both give you some confidence when running crontab and for your own knowledge base.

pps: Apple, fix this business ASAP.  If it's ticking off a die-hard like me, imagine what it's doing to more casual users.

Two New Tasks

 We've all heard of "Herculean task" and "Sisyphean task," but today I found two new terms:

• Icarian task: When you have a task that you know you're going to fail at anyway, so you decide to have some fun with it before the tenuous wax of ideas holding it together melts and the whole mess crashes back to  Earth.
• Cassandrean task: When you have to deal with people who you know won't listen to you, despite your having accurate information on and/or extensive experience in the matter, and then having to watch them fumble around after you told them the solution from the start.

Huh.  Useful terms.

Weird of the Week

Two weird things crossed my path this week:

• Wild Apples: The 12 weirdest and rarest Macs ever made at ArsTechnica.  I've seen several of these in person, and while they were sort of interesting (some with unique features of dubious utility), they were seldom worth the asking price.  Mostly these are associated with the early-to-mid-1990's flailing seen prior to Jobs' 1998 re-entry at Apple.
• The Frenzy about the weirdest continent that never existed, Lemuria, at Atlas Obscura.  Sometimes name-checked on late night radio, but seldom actually explained.

So there they are, things that may have crossed your consciousness without explanation sometime in the vague past, now well explained.  Onward.

What the hell were they thinking?

Book Mention: An Atlas of Extinct Countries

Sometimes countries just don't work out.  Sometimes countries weren't good ideas to begin with.  This breezy little book  explores some of these wrong turns of history.  It's divided into four main sections, corresponding to the four main ways these countries were founded: Chancers & Crackpots / Mistakes & Micronations / Lies & Lost Kingdoms / Puppets & Political Footballs.  You have to admit, the names of these sections pretty well sum up the reasoning and mechanisms by which most nations, extinct or existent, were founded.

Here are a few illustrative examples from the book:

• The Ottawa Civic Hospital Maternity Ward, created so that a Dutch princess could have a baby in Canada during WWII without causing a constitutional crisis (on the off chance that the Allies would win the war and The Netherlands be restored)
• Libertalia, a pirate haven on the northern tip of Madagascar, which was not in reality nearly as cool as that sounds
• Dahomey, which had a real existence, somewhat fictionalized in a recent film
• German Democratic Republic, and good riddance to both it and the Cold War

Of course my personal favorites are The State of Muskogee and The Republic of West Florida, living as I do sandwiched in the wilds separating the two.  There are plenty more countries, each accompanied by a map; some extremely brief header material giving the population, language, cause of death, disposition today, and some curious locator keywords; and finally a one to three page history.

As with this week's earlier mentioned The Conspiracy Book, the Atlas of Extinct Countries is comprised of short chapters detailing each each of its subjects in more or less sequential order.  This makes for good bedtime or "five minutes to kill" reading material.  Also, most new nations begin as little more than a conspiracy, so there's that commonality as well.

All in all, this book is fun reading to peck at in odd moments over a couple of months.  As the intro chapter concludes, ALL HAIL NEUTRAL MORESNET.

Home Sweet Home

Science WITH the Gobbledygook

A fifteen minute video over at Sabine Hossenfelder's blog, turning the usual "without" to "with."  I'm just putting up a link; any more would be redundant.  Both funny and worrisome, it's very much worth your time.

Considering how things are going these days...

... this seems about right for the times.  Ramones live in '78.  Probably works better if you embiggen it

WWL and Football Have Officially Jumped the Shark

Outside of Saints football season, WWL has at noon on Sundays in the past broadcast audio from one of the old school mainstream news-panel shows (Faze the Nation or Press the Meet, something like that).  So I tuned in, hoping for perhaps a different viewpoint, perhaps a few insights, or to maybe to pick up something I'd missed during this past chaotic week.

Not today.  Today... a Classic pre-game football commentary show from 2010.

I get it, people are hurting, wishing for some kind of return to normalcy, wanting their old seasonal routines, their old football back.  Still, WWL needs to rise above this.  Present something new, even if it is only speculation about the next football season.  Honestly, I think they can't, because they're having the same problems as a lot of people.

It's terrible to suffer from mental problems.  It's even worse when you broadcast them regionally at 50,000 watts.

Sticky Wicket: A New Podcast

Here's a new podcast four-part mini series, centering on several Louisiana politicians and the news media of their time, improbably named Sticky Wicket:

download page |  all about 

To date only the first episode, centering on Huey P. Long has been published, and so far it's really good.  Recommended listening for people of all political stripe.

Hat tip to The Darling Daughter for pointing this one out.

It Only Rains on Weekends, Part 2

Deer season ends on Wednesday, so guess what the forecast is for next weekend.

Uh-huh.

Of course anything can and will change between now and then.  Will just have to be ready to ride the trails as gaps appear in the weather on Saturday or Sunday, and have the bike all tuned up before then.

Somehow This Keeps Happening

Show me an exception and we can discuss how that exception proves the rule.

Now There's a Ringing Endorsement

Bill Gates switches to Android phone  Story over at the BBC.

My Poor Sister

And what she had to put up with.  From Foxtrot, a couple of days ago.

Truth is, things haven't improved any with age.  I just get paid to do this stuff now.

Innovation vs. Regulation & Outdated Management

NPR ponders the question "Why didn't Silicon Valley happen in New Jersey?" and actually stumbles across some of the answers.  But they quickly pick themselves up and hurry on as if nothing had happened.

Silca Bike Pumps - the news is mixed

After a long weekend of errand-running and off-road cycling, it is time to resume blogging.  So, Saturday I had a small bike gear maintenance task before me: While inflating road bike tires, the handle on my 13 year old Silca floor pump would ride back up if I didn't keep pressure on things.  It was easy to guess that it was the check valve, and it was simple to diagnose and repair.  There's an obvious bolt screwed into the bottom brass body of the pump, and as things should go with any quality tool, the bolt came out easily enough and there on the end of the check valve

, right on top of the o-ring, was a fleck of brass left over from when the pump was manufactured.  It is a rare thing when fixing an older piece of equipment that the problem is so up front and obvious.  After removing the fleck, adding a light coat of synthetic grease on the o-ring, and bolting things back together, the pump's as good as new.  All's good, right?  Maybe.

Out of curiosity I looked on line for Silca's current status.  They're still around, and what's more they've moved to America!  So, let's look at the line-up... hmm, some "trophy" pumps for $450, some artist's signature pumps for $800, hmm, where is the main line-up?  None.  Bottom line is that there isn't a line of reasonably priced pumps anymore.  Silca's gone all artisanal on the cycling world.

Now, on one hand I do appreciate finely crafted tools.  A good pump that will last decades but initially cost 2-4x as much as a cheap-but-functional plastic pump is a bargain, and a joy to use. But... we're talking $100, maybe $150 maximum here.  $450 is way out of line.  A $450 pump simply does not rattle around in the toolbox.  You don't loan it to a buddy a the trailhead and say "toss it in the back of the truck when you're done, nobody's gonna mess with it."  Your kids don't take it down the street to fix a friend's flat.  It's no longer a pump, it's ... a status symbol?  Art?  Whatever it is, it's not something that a grad student skimps for a month to buy.  It's not something that your favorite bike shop leaves by the front door for customers' use. It's not something that a young up-and-coming racer can afford.  Effectively, the affordable quality tool that was a Silca pump has been removed new production.  What a shame.

Now, there are two silver linings in this dark cloud.  First, reasonably priced repair parts are still available from this new Silca company.  Secondly, vintage Silca pumps are available on eBay in the $40-$80 range.  They may be a little scratched up, but they do last decades.  The older of my two pumps is fast approaching the 30 year mark.  And as just pointed out, any required parts are available.

Here's a list of relevant links:
the new Silca site
eBay Silca pumps
NPR asks What makes a bike pump worth $450?
Wired takes on the $450 pump too
finally, leave it to Popular Mechanics to give this a proper blue-collar sendup.

Look, I don't begrudge an over-the-top ultralux gizmo for a high-end professional's 50th birthday gift.  It is kind of cool.  But really, the world needs good quality workman's tools.  A pump that you can use, without having to rush in with furniture wax and touch-up paint afterward.

Final thought, it is sad to think that I have probably bought my last new Silca pump, ever.  While I do have two and will probably never use up either one, if some tragedy strikes, a lesser pump – or maybe one of those eBay beauties – will take its place.  I won't be giving a $450 pump as a gift.  Who wants a white elephant to feed and guard?  Again, the only remaining silver lining is that repair parts are available, and these things were built for hard use and easy repairs.

Your Moment of Foolishness for Today

And a quick post it is, just a link: Serpessence, 100% genuine simulated snake oil.  You be the judge.

One for the Job Hunters

No, really, don't do it this way:

Unless you are totally, completely sure that the interviewer is a giant nerd.  Then go for it, it'll probably get you the job.  Even then, only if you can get all the quotes exactly right.

From xkcd.

The Trouble with the Four Cylinder Mustang

Commentary and links over at Liberty magazine.

The six is respectable.  The eight is a thing of majesty.  The four, with its "enhanced sound" is shameful.  Drop the fake sounds, Ford, and the four may have a place.  Perhaps in the export market, but still, a place.  Just not in my driveway.

Black Friday Special: Eulogy for RadioShack

Here's an inside view of RadioShack and its misdeeds, from a former employee.  Main quote from the article:

This is a consumer technology business that is built to work perfectly in the year 1975.   ....   This company needed to become something radically different a decade ago. I just don't think it knows how to be anything else.

Wow, what a monumental multi-decade screw-up.  Here's a brief history of the corporation and its attempts at restructuring into profitability over at Wikipedia.  Talk about mis-management and buzzword bingo, it's as if they did every business school dance while carefully avoiding the main issue of selling profitable items that customers want.  And while they've often skirted with financial problems, this really is looking like TheEnd for RadioShack.

RadioShack has always had a slightly greezy feel to it, but on the whole it has always been there when I needed a roll of solder or some cable connector. Granted, these days there's a better selection of better quality parts on the internet, but that implies a shipping delay.  When I'm in mid-project, it's been nice to know that the RadioShack around the corner likely would have that one little part I needed to wrap the job up the same day.  I'm going to miss them.

Look on the bright side: maybe a company that knows decent management can pick up the bones of RadioShack for little to nothing, then re-build the company into something useful and profitable again.  The current crop of management sure hasn't done the job.  In the meantime, I'll be watching to scoop up some gear for cheap at the Terminal Sale.  (cue the circling vultures)

Roar.

Here.

Tomorrow's payday, and I've already ripped through the two week's check paying bills this evening.  Meh, it's good to have the fiscal underbrush cleared out.

Then tomorrow I've got to find the local DMV to renew my driver's license.  Look online?  Hah, three different commercial sites point toward three different locations, one of which I know is closed.  Official state site information?  Double Hah: 404 Page Not Found.

I'll just start at the County tax office building (one of the on-line purported sites) and work it from there.

Roar.

----
postscript: After a mis-step of trying the County tax office I was re-directed to The Kiln, where... the whole thing took maybe 15 minutes, even counting sorting out a decades-old snag in record keeping.  The genuinely friendly and efficient clerk worked through the problem, kept a smile on her face, and even wished me a happy birthday when all was done.  Wow, are those "worse than the DMV" jokes out of date.  Plus, I'm good to go for the next eight years on this DL.  It was a small thing, but it was a good way to start the day.

Bungee without the bounce?

Hard to tell exactly what's going on here, but it looks like bungee jumping with some kind of pulley system to damp the jumper's KE toward the end.

Presented as a courtesy to our readers, with only one editorial comment.  No, this doesn't rate an 'inner coyote' label.  It's too eurofratbro and not tech enough.  Does get a 'facepalm' rating though.