Four-THs

[100] ... [General] Phew!, that's how Wordle reacts when you manage to guess the cleverly set TRAIN in the sixth and last attempt, when BRAIN, DRAIN and GRAIN failed. It feels the same way on reaching the 100th post. I am not used to setting new year resolutions that never work for the likes of us. When I discovered Listed.to blogging built into Standard Notes, I just jumped in, with nothing to lose. On coming to know of #100 Days of writing, it was the same instinct after a few minutes of c...

[099] ... [General] Poetry is one form of fine expression, to be slowly savoured like chocolate, enjoying and digging into the content word by word, marveling at the thoughts and appreciate the way ensembled that convey the joys, sorrow, pain, philosophy -- a way of looking at the world, both in nature and the man-made. Some have an inborne bent towards the medium to just read or even write, may be some develop it later. Somehow I never got into that circle to be involved or look up to it, bu...

[098] ... [Technology] There was this old joke about a father explaining the greatness and powers of God to do just about anything to his little son. A bit confused at that age to grasp, the son innocently asked "Can he put back half the tube of toothpaste I just squeezed out?". It happened to me once when trying to move an extracted setup folder with huge contents nestled under multiple subfolders to an external drive. Midway the operation stopped saying some system files in use can't be mo...

[097] ... [Technology] Saw something on teddit.net (reflected of course from Reddit), don't recall the exact heading, but ran like "Things Only Internet veteran can remember". Though not a veteran in the true sense (having started with Win98 when XP was already launched) to have been through since the early days of BBS, ARPAnet and such that we have only heard about, did come across the many things others have mentioned, both in hard and software front. Floppy of course, rather Floppies sinc...

[096] ... [General] All is well that ends well. Wish the phrase stood applicable to all aspects. There are things that leave a feel of parting when ended. Like the OS versions that you were so used to, liking some aspects and having got adapted to as second nature, only to say it good bye to move over to the new after a few years. Some realize it in relationships, some feeling the pinch even with their favorite dress, or the pet laptop that may seem trivial to others, but carries much signif...

[095] ... [General] The way we see things invariably differs from many others. When people across the world don't accept God in one form, it's natural on differences even in the mundane. Logical viewpoints even if from the other side needs consideration than mere arguments for the sake from those who share your opinion without the basic analysis. Something similar surfaced during a renewal recently. The agency wanted to verify certain documents, though already done last year. Since I had car...

[094] ... [General] Found an old hand-written bill that has been marking a page in an old book. No doubt the date and prices were nostalgic. Wonder if the shop still exists or continues in a new get-up. But what interested was the little phrase at the bottom-right. E&OE, supposedly "Errors & Omissions Excepted", a disclaimer used in an attempt to reduce legal liability for potentially incorrect or incomplete information supplied in a contractually related document such as a quotation ...

[093] ... [General] Autosuggest. If correct, this was first seen in .chm format help files that tried narrowing down your search when you preferred to look for terms & phrases than wading through the long list of ready links. Picking up from the readily indexed, they showed the available topics for your query. Later this feature got into the browser, linked to the online index, perhaps with added popularly searched keywords apart from what's already scooped from various sources, to guess ...

[092] ... [General] I don't know if such a custom exists elsewhere, down here a day is marked to honor the aids that support your trade or profession. Machinery, tools, gadgets, instruments, and the like that makes your line of work possible. Factories, offices, workshops of all sorts, follow it giving them a day's rest. For individuals at home, a scissor, knife, screwdriver or anything you wish including pen and pencil substitute, and of course the vehicles they own, that keeps them on the ...

[091] ... [General] ... and they lived happily thereafter. All fables end that way on a positive note. Thereafter or for ever after shouldn't be the concern fully knowing the characters being mortals, allowing some poetic justice. Wish things were that simple with all things concerned. Like he got a job and lived happily thereafter, unless it's a government service entitled to pension. No layoffs, pink slips, no hurdles as in other streams. Or he installed the OS and did the same. No hassles...

[090] ... [General] More and less are often expressed in conjunction, though being the opposites. "Less is more" said the late architect Mies van Der Rohe and applied the dictum in his works, stripped off the unnecessary and ostentatious features, so the basic structure stood in its minimalistic elegance. But Less is bore quipped some who saw the role of seemingly unnecessary, that was necessary to bring semblance and human aspects than be machine-like. Some put in more work though getting p...

[089] ... [General] More than "To be, or not to be", "To do, or not to do" is something we all face more often. Small or big the task, it's a required decision. From taking a backup on phone or computer to doing your laundry, to declassify or press the nuke button, fish or egg, decisions vary with the ones concerned, placed accordingly. Long ago, having finished the hardbound collection of Holmes, it was time to move on. There are authors of yesteryears whose finesse remains unknown unless e...

[088] ... [General] Every day carries some importance in general for all or in particular to some. Earlier a selected few like the Independence day, Republic day, Thanksgiving day or the Memorial day, Labor day and such governmental or federal holidays came in and were easy to remember. Don't know if they existed before or keep getting added to signify something we are not aware of, since a decade, or perhaps ever since social media took control, every now and then we are told of that day bei...

[087] ... [General] Once upon a time, is how most fairy tales begin, and as children we imagined people and places stretching our imagination, though the King and queen always were taken to be what we had seen pictured elsewhere. Pictures that represent something to convey as a symbol stays with us throughout. Like the Desktop icon in old Windows 95 that showed the top of a traditional office desk in green felt secured on the four corners, with the paraphernalia needed to work. Now of course ...

[086] ... [General] It's difficult to do anything with constant distraction that crops up just then. Specially writing, that too without anything in particular to start with. You are into an online transaction on the phone and a call that could have waited a bit does its duty methodically, sometimes even cutting off data connection thinking the caller is more important. In the middle of some work on the computer, the firewall pops out an alert, or a program comes up with a notification, when ...

[085] ... [General] Once at the museum, it was interesting to see a wide variety of weapons, ranging from knives of all sizes & pattern, matchets, swords, spears to cannon balls from various periods. Those didn't seem to be for hunting. Don't know if we were supposed to appreciate the craftsmanship or the clever design aspect understanding the materials available then, or merely wonder if people down the ages had no other notion on mind than being preoccupied with violence and killing one...

[084] ... [General] In a way this should have been part of the last post, but came to mind later. Rather than updating the previous, and also to avoid being too jokey, with another joke on numbered references, is treated separately. A large prison's inmates spent their time by sharing jokes. The first thing they tried was to extract more jokes whenever a new mate joined. After a while they realised on having heard them all. Instead of someone repeating a known joke and others waiting to lau...

[083] ... [General] Roll no 32 Present Sir Roll no 33 ... This used to be a school teacher's way of taking attendance, preferring their serial number than call out their names. May be he even identified us through the associated number at other times. Some people have their own approach and find easy. Reminds of a joke: A maths professor was travelling by train, that was slowing down over a bridge when nearing a village station. He saw a herd of sheep grazing, spread across underneath. When...

[082] ... [General] Dip, dip, dip Add the sugar And the milk And it's ready to sip Some how, this jingle from what I remember the late nineties of a TV Ad on tea bags when they were first introduced, has remained in mind. Could be because they were often repeated or may be since being simple with a catchy tune. I have been trying to recollect a few lines of the poem Casablanca, without a hint, but this kind of day to day stuff have no such restrictions in staying along. But the Dip which br...

[081] ... [General] Most of us like catching up with news from various sources. Starting with the morning newspaper when you are at home with TV counting if staying longer or back from work. Otherwise mostly on the Net when on the move. Newsoholics have their RSS feeds set to constantly check every few minutes, never to be left behind from the things just in. Local, regional, national and international form the areas of interest in general for all, in addition to technology, science, entertai...

[080] ... [General] At one point of time you are likely to look back at the state of changed times in view of something similar encountered before. Even a decade shows up much difference. Such a thought came when visiting a big market after years. It used to be the main hub long ago, and still is in a way, though numerous shopping malls have taken away a large section from the stench and overflowing crowd. Though technically it referred to one large building, the whole area that spreads may b...

[079] ... [General] Some how getting the government related works done appear scary for the number of processes involved that often become a tool to curtail the smooth flow in the hands of some. So, when I had such a work yesterday and returned sooner than expected with no hindrance, it was almost dream-like. Not sure if the right ones who do their job sincerely were in charge or all things in order from my side aided it, it was memorable compared to the hassles my friend is still experiencin...

[078] ... [General], [Technology] Some people take home security seriously. Double locks, surveillance CCTV, burglar alarm and may be something else that they know better. Depends on where you live - - more remote, more the care. But despite all the care, if someone else has a duplicate key, or the webcam occasionally or regularly transmits the content secretly elsewhere, it obviously defeats the intention. The similarity came to mind when reading Chrome & Edge Enhanced Spellcheck Featur...

[077] ... [General] Online activities, particularly involving payments are convenient so long as everything goes smooth. Both your bank and the receiver's servers should be running without glitches so you are sure it went through at the end. Last week there was a little problem. Though the bank deducted the amount instantly, the other end went back to the homepage than acknowledge the payment to enable print the proof. I kept checking the transaction status, after allowing a day for possibl...

[076] ... [General] Yesterday's post reached the three-fourth way. Like Robert Frost said "There are miles to go..." I am not into poetry, but remember Frost from the Poem collection we had during school as a part of English: "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening". The memories remain strengthened through a short film on him at the American embassy. Somehow as observed even in others, many things from the early days always remain etched. Though we studied these fine compositions, the mere ...

[075] ... [General] The relation between Action and Reaction in nature was observed, made eloquently clear and postulated as a law long ago. The two are not restricted just to the physical objects in motion, but even in human nature as we all know through daily experiences, triggered verbally whether spoken or written. You don't need to be subscribed to social media platforms to know the trend of opinions and the volley of support and onslaught to remain updated on many issues. Most of it be...

[074] ... [Technology] Another day, another topic. It's easier said than done to find a thing to write about. The mind goes blank and not very encouraging to stare at the blank screen, though the keyboard with twenty six alphabets offers countless possibilities. But I realized even blankness has something to offer when just fiddling around the browser bookmarks without a purpose or looking out for something in particular. One such turned out to be Blank page that lay hidden, and I don't reca...

[073] ... [General] One of my friends never picks calls from unknown numbers as a rule. He finds it convenient, considering anyone not in his contacts list to be necessarily a spam caller. A few days back he received one such and was about to cancel, and I suggested to answer and block it later if matching his criteria. The caller turned out to be his friend from abroad and here for a holiday, with whom he had stayed a few years back, and was trying to get in touch to drop in before returning...

[072] ... [Technology] Sudden alert on the computer: Anti-virus did not find any malware activity. Your device was scanned X number of times. When the notification area suddenly gets populated calling your attention, you wonder if something is wrong. You stop midway from whatever onto, only to find that you are safe. Would be better if those toasts really pop up in the crucial moments than bother you all the time. Sounds like the old sentry on the watchtower in those days, shrieking Two o' Cl...

[071] ... [Technology] In online activities, everything is fine so long as the browser loads the page to start with. Today I had problems when a government portal that required a visit to renew wasn't going further in Opera browser, and got repeated even on MS Edge. Wondering why, the only reason I could guess was on both being Chromium engine based, obviously what doesn't in one, repeats in the other. There wasn't even a pre-requisite mentioned on the preferred browser type. Finally I though...