While looking for a way to archive the journal, I fell into the classic trap: when you start tidying up and throwing out old things — the main thing is not to start browsing through them))) It was so interesting to look back at my old posts and see the comments — would you believe it! Real, live people were reading me (and even replying!!!!). Thank you, friends) I recognize you even in anonymous comments, by the words and the warmth I feel from those words) This sandcastle will stand a little longer — just in case some old friend still has an RSS client running — and then it will finally make room for something new. I’m not a fan of marking my thoughts and significant events in social networks, and lately I haven’t been writing in blogs either. But if anyone does want to catch up on my news — you’re more likely to find it on the blog at http://disfinder.com & http://p.disfinder.com than on Facebook. So long, everyone, and until we meet again. Thanks for not changing the channel)

Dear readers, and also those who follow my other blog — the one that isn’t about life but is supposed to be somewhat technical. I moved it from the Tumblr platform to Blogger, and discovered that the RSS links on these two platforms are different. So, dear geeks who read via feed readers and other aggregators — if you want to keep following, please drop by and resubscribe. Sorry for the inconvenience; in return I’ll try to write some interesting things about XBMC. Thanks in advance for your attention.

LiveJournal has pulled this trick on me more than once: I’m browsing subscriptions in Google Reader, and the posts I like and want to read in more detail I open with a middle-click in a new tab. And often instead of the page I get a prompt to log in to LJ. What’s more, if I notice it right away and open the address again — it loads correctly. But if I scroll further through the reader and switch to that tab a few minutes later — instead of an interesting article, there’s that… unwelcome login screen. So damn annoying!

Today, following a recipe I saw from ibigdan, I put together a passive air humidifier. Let’s watch the results — too bad I don’t have a hygrometer. The humidifier design is very simple, like this:

Source.

You wandered too long in the dark And you thought that the night was the day You saw hundreds of desecrated bodies But were too lazy to lay them to rest You’re not a traitor, you’re simply a fool And there are millions like you all around Poor Christ would have torn off his crown Had he guessed what was yet to come… …answer me What kept you from seeing the truth? What ever became of the dream To make heaven on earth for all?

Do you know, dear subscribers, what happens to you when you move the SIM card of the carrier “MechanoTractorStation” into a different phone? I am currently living through the consequences of exactly that, and I would like to share them with you.

First of all, an annoying service gets activated on your device — SILENT notifications that pop up even on the locked screen. Those notifications have two options, “YES” and “NO”, and their purpose is to subscribe you to extra services, pictures, and ringtones at cosmic prices of 5–10 hryvnias per item. The notifications appear spontaneously and are noticeable only visually — no sound, no vibration. It is very easy to accidentally tap one of them while navigating the phone and end up paying extra. So don’t be surprised when a few messages follow, along the lines of “Sports Forecast” or “Horoscope”, as happened to me — you will never be able to prove to the carrier that you did not order them, since you might have tapped something by accident. The only way out is to pay, and then try to disable all this “happiness”. By the way, those silent notifications are called “CLICK” by the carrier, and supposedly can be instantly disabled through the SIM card menu. But if you are as naive as I am and believe these liars, let me disappoint you — it does not actually turn off through the menu (even though it says “Disabled”). In my case it only stopped after the second consecutive call to a live support agent — apparently the first time around the command was to NOT disable it.

The Americans have freedom, The Germans — beer and bacon, The French have haute couture, The English — the finest stadium.

But your average Ukrainian Excels at something else instead. He has a long and elastic Patience, like none you’ve seen.

Say those up top get a whim To slap a tax on trousers — The Ukrainian’s patience won’t snap, Pull it for three hundred years.

Or the gang leads him astray: Invites him to a bank — it’s a brothel. The Ukrainian will fetch his patience, Sigh — and step on the rake again…

Written on 2011-11-11 11:11:11. Spotted at a very respected BSD guy’s. (Thanks to him, and also — to the Earth’s rotation for the time zone difference) Such a parade of ones won’t repeat for another hundred years, though next time there will be one extra unit.

Radio Rocks was so great when it first appeared — pure music, no shows or ads. Just music. 24 hours a day of proper rock. Can you imagine?

But little by little ads started showing up — taxi companies at first, then more and more, and now it’s simply impossible to listen to: wall-to-wall vodka, hangover cures, and other needs of the average rocker. That got me thinking about the alternative Radio Rocks — the original one, from before it went nationwide and bought a local FM frequency. It now calls itself “Radio Klassik” and broadcasts only on the internet at http://hosting.express.net.ua:13000/listen.pls I only found that address buried in the settings of an old radio-player app; internet searches turned up nothing. And the quality leaves something to be desired — mono and quiet at that. Here’s hoping that’s temporary.

I’m cycling to work! Hooray :) Since half the route goes through Khortytsia, the exhaust fume problem is cut in half — almost no cars there. On top of that, leaving home at roughly the same time, I arrive at work 20–40 minutes earlier than I would by minibus: no waiting time, no pauses at every stop, no kilometer-long walk, and the cycling route is also a bit shorter — about four kilometers less. True, this advantage is somewhat offset by the need to change into office clothes, which eats up a noticeable chunk of time. However, I’ve run into two other difficulties: 1. My back under the backpack sweats very actively compared to the rest of my body. Practically, it’s the only part that does. 2. There’s no way to listen to audiobooks on the way.