“The Flash Plugin has Crashed”

Posted on January 24, 2013 by The Old Wolf

It’s a common enough scenario. You experience a problem on the computer. You call the hardware vendor, who blames the software. You call the software vendor, who blames the hardware. In each case, you’re dealing with a chaiwallah in India who has nothing to go on but a script targeted for the least-competent computer user in the universe, and you waste precious time in order to get no answers. Which explains this XKCD comic. “Dammit” is right.

My problem: Flash 11.5.502.146 and Firefox 18.0.1 (both the latest versions) are incompatible, and the flash plugin crashes every ten minutes, with a cute little “submit a crash report” link. I’d be curious to know where those reports go, and if anyone cares, because the problem has been going on for a long time. For me, the problem began with Firefox 16 and have continued to date. Mozilla blames Adobe’s Flash 11.3 update, and the fora appear to bear out the fact that there are problems in Flash that Mozilla can do nothing about, and Adobe appears to be unwilling to fix, given the current version numbers.

Today I chatted with Adobe’s customer support, and you can see the result below:

Thank you for choosing Adobe. A representative will be with you shortly. Your estimated wait time is 2 minute(s) and 30 second(s) or longer as there are 1 customer(s) in line ahead of you.

You are now chatting with Vikas.

Vikas: Hello. Welcome to Adobe Technical Support. How may I assist you?

Me: I would like to know when Adobe will resolve its issues with Mozilla. This has been going on for over a year now. I’m using Flash – 11.5.502.146 and Firefox – 18.0.1, and the flash plugin crashes constantly. I have visited every online forum I can find, and everything points to the fact that the problem lies with Adobe’s refusal to fix certain bugs, and nothing to do with Firefox. It’s depressing, and I want it fixed.

Vikas: I can understand your concern. There could be multiple reasons for this error, we need to look into the issue and fix it. However,if you need our assistance then you need to purchase a support contract for $39. As the support for flash player or any other free software is paid.

Me: I don’t want to pay a fee, and I don’t want support to take me through a whole lot of idiot-checks only to find out in the end that the problem is the same one everyone knows about. I simply want the product fixed. Can you give me assurances that the problem is being addressed by Adobe, and a date when the fix will be implemented?

Vikas: I really apologize Chris. If you dont wish to pay I can escalate your feedback to our engineering team so that they can look into the issue. However, cannot assure you the time frame.

Me: Is Adobe aware of the issue, and are they working on it?

Vikas: We work on every feedback provided to us by the customers. We are currently working on the issue. As explained that cannot assure you the time frame.

Me: Thank you for your time. I appreciate your being there to answer questions.

I do my best to be polite to phone agents because they’re just trying to make a buck like me, but you can see that the corporate script they have to work with is hqiz. Even if I had paid the $39.00 fee (an insult!), the result is fore-ordained: “Is your computer plugged in? Have you rebooted? I suggest you re-install Windows 7…”

What bothers me the most is the insouciance. When companies get so large that their budgets move into the billions of dollars, some problems are deemed not worth fixing, and users are nothing more than dollar signs, some of which can be sacrificed as collateral damage in the pursuit of even greater profits elsewhere. It can be downright depressing.

I’m getting close to my only real solution at this point – ditching Mozilla altogether. I have it configured just the way I like it – no ads, no trackers, and a number of very useful add-ons, which are the main factors which keep me hanging around. Chrome has no such problems, and my patience is almost at an end. I’m surprised the Mozilla community has been unable to bring any pressure to bear on Adobe, Mogg knows they’re big enough.

The Old Wolf has whined enough for now.

I have seen The Picard

Posted on January 23, 2013 by The Old Wolf

A friend of mine posted a link on FB to the “Civil Rights” speech of Jean-Luc Picard found in “The Drumhead.” The words quoted were:

“You know, there are some words I’ve known since I was a schoolboy: ‘With the first link, the chain is forged. The first speech censured…the first thought forbidden…the first freedom denied–chains us all irrevocably.’ Those words were uttered by Judge Aaron Satie, as wisdom…and warning. The first time any man’s freedom is trodden on, we’re all damaged.”

In response, another individual posted the video below, a compilation of some of the most awesome things that Patrick Stewart was given to say over the course of the show:

It’s hard to find sufficient words to express how much I love that collection of quotes – it admirably illustrates why I still love ST:TNG with all my heart.

(Returning to reality for a minute, a large hat tip is owed to the writers who put those words into Patrick Stewart’s mouth; you can’t come up with ideas like that unless they are part of your own psyche, so my thanks to the awesome men and women who crafted these episodes and gave Sir Patrick such stirring lines to say. Now back to your regularly-scheduled fantasy.)

Now let it be said that Patrick Stewart is not Jean-Luc Picard – despite his massive popularity in that rôle, he’s an accomplished Shakespearean actor, a knight of the realm, and has a wicked and irreverent sense of humor. But he’s also a pretty awesome human being.

Speaking of his experiences as a child, Stewart said,

“Our house was small, and when you grow up with domestic violence in a confined space you learn to gauge, very precisely, the temperature of situations. I knew exactly when the shouting was done and a hand was about to be raised – I also knew exactly when to insert a small body between the fist and her face, a skill no child should ever have to learn. Curiously, I never felt fear for myself and he never struck me, an odd moral imposition that would not allow him to strike a child. The situation was barely tolerable: I witnessed terrible things, which I knew were wrong, but there was nowhere to go for help. Worse, there were those who condoned the abuse. I heard police or ambulancemen, standing in our house, say, “She must have provoked him,” or, “Mrs Stewart, it takes two to make a fight.” They had no idea. The truth is my mother did nothing to deserve the violence she endured. She did not provoke my father, and even if she had, violence is an unacceptable way of dealing with conflict. Violence is a choice a man makes and he alone is responsible for it.”

So on stage and off, in character or not, the following expresses how I feel, allowing the character to stand for the man:

The Old Wolf has spoken.

Tight times, 5 years later

Posted on January 23, 2013 by The Old Wolf

Posted this over at Livejournal on 11/22/2008, but things haven’t changed, so it’s worth a rerun.

Lor’ lumme, times is tough all over. People are actually starting to seriously use the “D” word for the first time since WWII. Today’s “Overboard” was funny, but also caused a cord in my heart to be plucked, because in some ways it’s not funny at all.

I remember reading this book to my kids when they were little, and it made me cry. Today, more folks than I care to count are really struggling, and I even feel the cold breath of economic terror from behind the door on occasion.

I’m hoping and praying that whoever is able to pull the economic strings in our country over the next four years can keep us from total meltdown, because folks, we’re only a couple of degrees away from an economic China Syndrome.

The Old Wolf has spoken.

The Meaning of Liff

Posted on January 23, 2013 by The Old Wolf

I first saw this gem in hardback in a shop in Oslo, and figured it would be online.

The Meaning of Liff by Douglas Adams and John Lloyd.

Not only the words are delightful, but the fact that they are so in touch with all these little scraps of life that hardly anyone ever talks about… There’s an expanded version also, but it doesn’t appear to have made it online yet.

A few examples:

LINDISFARNE (adj.)
Descriptive of the pleasant smell of an empty biscuit tin.

MALIBU (n.)
The height by which the top of a wave exceeds the height to which you have rolled up your trousers.

YEPPOON (n.)
One of the hat-hanging corks which Australians wear for making Qantas commercials.

The Old Wolf has spoken.

My favorite farewell speech.

Posted on January 23, 2013 by The Old Wolf

“I am leaving soon and you’ll forgive me if I speak bluntly. The universe grows smaller every day and the threat of aggression by any group anywhere can no longer be tolerated. There must be security for all or no one is secure. Now this does not mean giving up any freedom, except the freedom to act irresponsibly. Your ancestors knew this when they made laws to govern themselves and hired policemen to enforce them. We, of the other planets, have long accepted this principle. We have an organization for the mutual protection of all planets and for the complete elimination of aggression. The test of any such higher authority is, of course, the police force that supports it. For our policemen we created a race of robots. Their function is to patrol the planets in spaceships like this one and preserve the peace. In matters of aggression we have given them absolute power over us. This power cannot be revoked. A t the first signs of violence they act automatically against the aggressor. The penalty for provoking their action is too terrible to risk. The result is we live in peace without arms or armies, secure in the knowledge that we are free from aggression and war, free to pursue more profitable enterprises. Now, we do not pretend to have achieved perfection, but we do have a system, and it works. I came here to give you these facts. It is no concern of ours how you run your own planet, but if you threaten to extend your violence, this Earth of yours will be reduced to a burned-out cinder. Your choice is simple: join us and live in peace, or pursue your present course and face obliteration. We shall be waiting for your answer. The decision rests with you.”

-Klaatu, “The Day the Earth Stood Still”

When the earth moves

Posted on January 23, 2013 by The Old Wolf

We expect the ground under our feet to stay in one place. We like terra firma – and as Larry Fine said, “the more firma, the less terra.”

Earthquakes and landslides defy that expectation, and as a result can be some of the most disturbing experiences.

On February 15, 2010, after a long period of heavy rains, a hillside in Maierato, Calabria, Italy simply let go, and gracefully slid into the valley below. It looked more like a river than a solid land mass.

The Italian news outlet had this to say about the event:

“A mass evacuation took place in Maierato, a village of 2300 inhabitants in the province of Vibo Valentia, on Monday where an entire mountainside near the center of town collapsed, endangering houses. The first 300 people were evacuated from their homes as early as Monday evening and Tuesday morning the evacuation of the entire surrounding area was begun. More than 200 people have been placed in the police school of Vibo. Another ninety people will be placed in the sports hall of Vibo. Others will be brought into the sports hall of Monte Poro which can accommodate 400 to 500 people, but many of the evacuees have already found refuge in the homes of relatives and friends.

Tons of earth now cover what until recently was a valley. The ridge has brushed dozens of dwellings, putting at risk the buildings that are located at the top which may slip down if the landslide continues to move. This is a significant risk, as it has started to rain with some insistence. The landslide has a front a couple of miles wide, and has swept away roads and water lines, so that the region is completely deprived of water.”

Il vecchio lupo ha parlato.

New York, 1931 – and many more

Posted on January 22, 2013 by The Old Wolf

New York, New York! Historic Photos From the NYC Municipal Archives

28th Street Looking east from Second Avenue, on April 4, 1931. (Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives)

More images here.

The Old Wolf, a native Noo Yawker, has spoken.

His Master’s Voice Silenced

Posted on January 22, 2013 by The Old Wolf

On January 15, HMV plc entered receivership, and the hmv.com website displayed a simple legal notice. Stores in Ireland were shuttered.

Several views of His Master’s Voice/HMV in Oxford Street, London, in the 1960’s.

The Wikipedia entry on HMV

Found at Glaserei

The original painting of Nipper by Francis Barraud; the trademark used by Victor (later RCA Victor) and HMV substituted a disc gramophone for the wax-cylinder machine.

The Old Wolf has spoken.

Rocky Homes

Posted on January 21, 2013 by The Old Wolf

“The tiny Brittany town of Plougrescant’s claim to fame is a puzzling little house situated between two granite rocks by the sea.

The residence, Castel Meur, was built in 1861 with a specific goal in mind — to ward off the destructive heavy winds and storms the area is often troubled by.

After a postcard of the property created to boost local tourism caused such a stir with tourists that the private residence suffered damage, visitors can now only admire its unique form from a distance.”

(Found at CNN)