Author: Elaine

Snow

Snow
We seem to have about eight to twelve inches so far, but with the drifting it is hard to tell. I knew we were supposed to get a significant amount, but I wasn’t expecting a mini-blizzard.

I hope my mother is happy.

The Browser, Reloaded

I have been rebuilding my desktop after a clean install of Linux using Fedora Core 3 Release Candidate 5, which gives me my twice a year opportunity to revisit what software I use on a regular basis. This time, I am trying to see if I can forego using Privoxy. Privoxy is a proxy for web browsing, which means it puts itself between your browser and the Internet. Proxies can be used for several purposes: Privoxy screens out advertisements (including popup boxes) before the content is passed to the browser. Privoxy works extremely well, and is not all that difficult to set up, but of course setting up any proxy is beyond the comfort level of 98% of Internet users. (Privoxy is not just for Linux users: there are versions for Windows and other operating systems as well.)

However, since Firefox 1.0 is now included as a standard with RC5, I decided to see if I forego using Privoxy since Firefox has a lot of options to block annoying ads and popups. In other words, could I train Firefox quickly enough before the ads drive me crazy. (I am always appalled when I use other people’s browsers, and I am assaulted from all side by things flashing and rotating on the edges of the screen. Do I have less innate tolerance for such things, or is it simply that I have not learned to screen them out?)

So far, I am cautiously hopeful that I won’t have to install Privoxy. A few Right-Clicks to block ads got rid of the most annoying ads. I chose the option to eliminate popups, so those are gone as well. (Firefox allows you to make exceptions for sites that use popups to present content.)

In a weak moment, I downloaded and installed the Macromedia Flash plugin. (This takes an extra step or two in Linux, since the security features make it a little harder to install software.) Now I am wondering why I bothered. Is Flash used for anything but annoying ads?

Guests

Guests
We had guests for dinner last night: my mother, and two family friends from West Virginia whom I remember from earliest childhood. They own an apple orchard, and every autumn deliver crates of apples to people around the eastern half of the USA. Since they had already planned to visit Kansas City, they extended their trip to Colorado Springs to see my mother. (Driving across the length of Kansas is a true proof of friendship.)

I cleverly planned the dinner around lasagna, which meant that Jack did most of the cooking since he is the lasagna expert. I didn’t have to do anything but clean and fix the salad. As a bit of nostalgia, I found pineapple upside down cake (something my mother used to make a lot) for dessert. We had a great time listening to my mother and her friend reminisce about high school, including the time they ended up in a parade while driving my grandfather’s Model T.