Don't Back Down

Just three years after it happened, we finally know what brought down American Airlines flight 587 in New York. Strangely enough, we've known this for three years: The tail fell off of the plane. But now, the issue is who is at fault. American says it's Airbus. Airbus says it's American.

No surprise. Everyone wants to blame someone else. But let me ask the question they ought to ask: If you were to build an airplane, and by simply using the controls, even improper use of the controls, the tail can fall off, who do you think is at fault? Here's a hint: No amount of training is going to change the fact that the tail broke off the plane.

If the pilot goes the wrong way and crashes into a mountain, I can see it being pilot error. If there is an explosion of some sort and the plane breaks apart, I'm okay with it being a design problem or perhaps even terrorism.

But come on - he's operating the controls and the plane falls apart? Even if he wasn't trained right, the plane shouldn't do that. In a nod to my wife's profession, perhaps it wasn't in the requirements. I can understand some organizations using that as an excuse, so let me be clear: If your vehicle can be operated in such a way that it can fall apart, you ought to spend some more time in the design phase.

I've just released an update to the Bloglines Toolkit. Mostly because a new nightly build of Firefox broke my installation to some degree, so I figured it was time to let it loose.

Read "Bloglines Toolkit 1.5.0" »

The latest nightly build of Firefox adds a cool new feature. I've become somewhat addicted to tabbed browsing, despite my earlier comments, and I hate it when I click a link in an email or something and a whole new window opens up. For starters, it's slower. Beyond that, it's an extra window and a pain.

With the latest release, the default behavior is to open in the currently selected tab in the most recent window, which I don't particularly like because I may have been on a page I wanted to keep. Luckily, you can also make it open a completely new tab in the most recent window (my favorite) or even open an entirely new window like it did previously. I know it's small. But it's sweet.

I had already decided that I want to do something, so I'm starting with a redesign of the site. It's rather minimalistic. I don't even know if that's a word, but it means that it's back to the basics. Simple, concise and to-the-point. Well, I am still writing it - how concise and to-the-point can it be?

Still, I've started the redesign. I don't think that too many things will break. I don't really think that anything will break. But if you visit the site (as opposed to reading through RSS), you might notice that things look a little different. I'm only changing a couple of pages for the moment, and leaving the detailed archives as they are. Mostly because I don't have the time to get to them yet and I want to see how I like this look before putting in a ton of effort.

I've also added a new category for the Bloglines Toolkit so that it doesn't feel left out because all the other software each gets their own. That means you can subscribe to the feed and keep track of updates to the toolkit and not have to wade through my ramblings on other Mozilla topics.

If you visit the site, you'll also notice a somewhat prominently-placed blurb on the latest and greatest Dropcash campaign. I think I'm going to leave it there for a while. May even put it into my feed so people can keep up on the progress.

I think that's it. Feedback is, of course, welcome.

Update: If you want to see the old index page for comparison, go here.

Update: Since I was messing around with it, I made the original index page available too. It isn't exactly what it used to look like - probably lost a style here or there - but it's close.

If for any reason you prefer those indexes, feel free to continue using them, as I'll keep them updated with new entries and such. However, other pages and sidebars and the like probably won't be updated, so they'll get more outdated as time passes.

Okay, at least eight more days. If it's like the last time, we might be in for weeks more - but at least the advertising bonanza ought to be over in eight more days. I'm sure they will start up again in the next year or so, as then we'll only have three more years to make our next decision, but any break is a welcome one.

I have to say that I agree with Les - something I do from time to time, but not always. In this case, I couldn't agree more: Just get it over with already. The mailbox is full of advertisements. Even the regular commercials on TV are worth watching simply because they are not political advertisements.

However, I have no idea who - or even which party - is doing more of the advertising because I don't pay attention to the stuff in the mail (it goes straight to the recycle bin). I don't pay (much) attention to the stuff on TV. I do watch for entertainment from time to time.

For instance, Beverly Perdue is running for vice governor or assistant governor or lieutenant governor or something like that. Why don't politicians vote themselves better titles? Anyway. Ms. Perdue plays on her name and has people dancing around like chickens. I have absolutely no idea what issue that represents, if she is in any way related to the Perdue organization or why I'd vote for her because of it, but it's pretty funny. Maybe it will just help with name recognition.

There's an updated version of the toolkit waiting in the wings, but there's a bit of testing to undergo, and with the apparently imminent release of Firefox, I think I'm going to hold off for a few days to make sure I get the version numbers right and the like. Hang in there.

Today's quote is courtesy of none other than Jake Delhomme, quarterback for the Carolina Panthers. While not surprising that he references his religion - many players pause to pray after games, providing at least a glimpse of their beliefs - it is unusual that he so openly mentions it in a mainstream newspaper. You may see it during an interview from time to time, but this may be the first time I've noticed it in print.

There's only one person that was perfect and everybody knows what they did to him.

Bravo, Jake.

I'm realistic. I know that asking for money isn't likely to bring much in the way of results, especially when I'm not really delivering anything directly (like a particular feature). I know that whether I can answer your OS X questions or not isn't really a big deal to you in the scheme of things. But I figured I'd try.

If the folks at Spread Firefox can gather nearly 5500 donations (at last count), at a minimum of $10 each, I figured what the heck. If each of those 5500 people - or even 5500 different people - donated $0.50 to my campaign, I'd be over the top. Something completely unexpected.

If they each donated only $0.10, I'd be able to get a middling Mac, which is really all I'd like to do. 10 cents each - holy cow! That's nothing. That's a cup of ice at some restaurants. How many of you Mac users out there drop 3 or 4 dollars on a coffee drink at least once a day? Now imagine donating just one cup each to this campaign. I'd be there in no time!

This time it isn't a feature ransom. Several of you know that I can't do much when someone asks for help with OS X. Mostly because I've told you so. Or I've bugged you for some input on what things look like under OS X. Many of these requests have to do with uninstalling. Some have to do with screen positioning.

Anyway, to better serve my clientele (that means those of you with Macs), I'm open to getting a Mac and adding it to my testing process. The only problem? I don't have the money. So I am introducing my second Dropcash campaign. I've called this campaign the Firefox Extension Mac Fund. This one I'm dubbing a platform ransom, as I hope to use it to better address another platform. Maybe I'll even turn into a Mac convert.

The goal is purposely set high. I want one of those 17" Powerbooks. But I'm realistic, and realize that I'll probably get nowhere near enough to buy one, even one that is heavily used and headed for the dumpster. I just want to have the room to go that high if it should happen. If money only trickles in, then I'll have to make do with a lesser machine. If it goes about like I expect, then I may have to buy a book on OS X instead. It's all up to you.

I quietly released MT-Notifier version 2.3.0 about a month ago.

This was in response to the feature ransom that I introduced, and those who contributed to the ransom have been running this version since that time. This serves as an introduction to everyone else.

Read "MT-Notifier 2.3.0" »

So Teresa Heinz Kerry (is that hyphenated?) has apologized publicly for her comment about Laura Bush.

Yippee.

Read "Bitch Slap for President" »

Glenn Shaw just died. I never called him Glenn, or even Mr. Shaw. Instead, I always referred to him as Uncle Chubby. Even though he wasn't technically my uncle. I think the correct term is that he was my uncle first removed (he is my mom's uncle). But he was still Uncle Chubby to me. To a lot of folks, actually. Though some did call him Glenn, many in our family just called him Chub. Or Chubby. Not just us kids, either.

I used to spend some time with Uncle Chubby each summer. Sometimes it was shared, in a beach house we would get for family reunions. Sometimes it was more direct, perhaps staying with him for a few days or a week. I'll never forget those times. One summer he taught me to shake hands. Firm, but not too firm. Let them know you mean it, but it's not about hurting the other person. Just let them know you're there and that you mean business.

Over the years, Uncle Chub would teach me much, much more. When his wife had a stroke in church a few years ago, I went to visit them, and he showed me the true meaning of devotion. Over the years, that devotion never waned. He was as strong as ever. Perhaps stronger, as you consider his physical challenges. He still took care of his wife every day, to show that he meant business. I've never thought of it, but if he wasn't the inspiration for the name of my blog, he ought to be. Don't Back Down describes Uncle Chub more accurately than I ever would have thought.

In the last few weeks, his condition deteriorated significantly. Apparently the chemotherapy had severely damaged his lungs, and he needed constant oxygen just to approach anything like a normal breath. He went home to his daughter's house on Monday, and we knew that he only had days to live when he did. I'm just glad he had the opportunity to go home. I'm just glad I had the opportunity to know him. To learn from him.

Goodbye Uncle Chub. We all love you. We'll all miss you.