Three Ways Firefox is Better Than IE

Or, Things That Are Probably User-Configurable in IE, But I Can't Be Bothered to Check

1. When you create a new tab in Firefox, the address bar is empty, and has the focus. With a few simple keystrokes (CTRL-C, CTRL-T, CTRL-V, ENTER), you can copy a string, open a new tab, paste the string into the address bar, and go to that address. IE populates the new tab's address bar with the URL for the homepage, requiring time-consuming and tedious mouse-clicks to point it to a new page.
   
2. The "/" key in Firefox invokes the search function. And it comes up fast. And it searches as you type. Waaay better than IE's "CTRL+F", which lags, and which doesn't search until you press ENTER. The Firefox method is doubly awsome if you also like using the vi text editor, which uses the same search mode invocation character.
3. Remember that time when Han Solo was cruising the corridors of Bespin Cloud City with his main man Lando Calrissian and the smoking hot Princess Leia Organa? He'd just had a hot bath, and was wearing sweet new clothes. A fine dinner was about to be served. Things were looking good. Then the door opens, and there's Darth Vader. Does Han hesitate? Does he dive for cover or shriek like a little girl? No! Of course not! His response is immediate and definitive: Darth Vader = laser in the face. No questions, no recriminations, nothing. Just lasers. In the face.

Okay, that last one isn't really a reason why Firefox is better than IE. But it had to be said.

Also, it's not really Han's fault that Darth Vader is invincible to lasers. He still did the right thing.

Control Issues

I Has Them

I have control issues. Not that there's anything wrong with that. I'm not judging. I'm just saying. I'm not OCD. I'm not a neat freak. I don't insist on doing the same thing the same way every time. I just like feeling in control.

And okay, I do insist on doing some things the same way every time. The covers on the bed, for example. I like to start the night with the sheets and covers all lined up square with the bed. Mrs. C., on the other hand... Let's just say that when it comes to bedclothes, she projects an Aura of Discombobulation. You know Apple CEO Steve Jobs' Reality Distortion Field? Yeah. It's like that, only with bedclothes.

Anyway. I had a minor Life Event the other day, that required certain responses from me. I'd been thinking lately about my control issues, so I happened to notice what I did in that regard, in response to this event.

Controlling a Life Event: Day 1
Control the situation by deferring all necessary actions until the following day.

Controlling a Life Event: Day 2
Control the situation by taking all necessary action promptly. Well, try to. Get all anxious and distressed when other people aren't around to take my calls and do their part to complete the process. I mean, I'm ready. Why aren't they?

Not that there's anything wrong with that. It was interesting to notice, and I think it's worth filing away for future reference.

Okay, so question...

Or, Enquiring Minds Want to Know

A bill for comprehensive health reform was first introduced by John Dingell Sr. in 1943. Sixty-five years later, his son continues to introduce that same bill at the beginning of each session.
(Barack Obama, "Remarks by the President to a Joint Session of Congress on Health Care", Sep. 9, 2009)

Okay, so question: If Dingell's bill is all that, why not just pass it and sign it already? Pow! Problem solved! Right?

And if Dingell's bill isn't all that, what does that say about Dingell (and what does that say about the dude--and by "dude" I mean "President of the United States"--who got up in front of Congress and drew it to our attention)?

Some Things

Or, A list of things because apparently lists help to overcome blogging inertia (especially on Mondays, but this happens to be a Tuesday)

1. I have to come up with a third fake company name. Hasturcom is my current employer; LENG Engineering is my previous employer. Now that I'm being seriously considered for a position with yet a third employer, I need to come up with a third name.

2. "LENG" is short for "LENG ENGineering". It's recursive!

3. My company names are based on the works of H. P. Lovecraft. So I dunno... "NyarlathoTech", maybe?

4. I prefer to put punctuation outside of quotation marks, unless they're part of the quote. Since I've left the school environment, I figured it didn't matter too much, and formed a pretty strong habit of this. Then I re-entered the school environment. Turns out the rules of punctuation haven't changed while I was gone. Now, for the first time in ten years, it matters. Argh.

5. I still owe you all a definition of "Gibson". To me, a Gibson is a sign that the future is upon us. The rapidly-approaching widespread use of cell phones to do banking is a Gibson (or will be, when it hits). The advent of steam-powered ironclads with guns mounted in turrets was a Gibson from a previous period of history. The quintessential Gibson is the H3: a smaller version of the Hummer that appeared in William Gibson's novel Pattern Recognition a year before Hummer unveiled the real thing.

6. Driving through the Cental Valley this weekend, I saw an old small-town water tower adorned with cellular network antennas. That's another kind of "Gibson": the future stuck onto the past.

7. Information Promiscuity: Mrs. C. posts our weekend vacation schedule and itinerary on Facebook. Me? I say no to Facebook apps that request access to my profile.

8. I plan to post my thoughts on the battle of Gettysburg, Real Soon Now.

9. Movies I plan to put in my Netflix queue, that have "9" in the title: 9 and District 9.