Pariah's Ponderings

Most people that use Windows tend to just use Windows Explorer as their file manager. A vast number of people likely don't even realize that there are other options.  Windows Explorer is painfully limited in features, especially lacking the tabs that 95% of file managers utilize.  In my line of work, I have to compare, browse, edit, move, delete and rename vast numbers of files.  Windows Explorer just can't handle the task. I ended up using FreeCommander file manager, which had all the features I was looking for with extensive customization options for the user interface and a built in viewer that could be used inside the window I was working on.  That was actually the most difficult feature to find as I discovered later. After a while though, I became very frustrated with FreeCommander's 32 bit free version.  It became slow and often froze.  So I decided to comparison shop, so to speak.  My requirements were few but necessary: I had to be able to customize every aspect

It's been an unsettling week as once again, some post high school dropout with a chip on his soldier and a too-easily acquired gun decides to end lives.  This time, some loser douche decided to invade a church and kill several people who weren't pale enough for him.  This has led, most unfortunately to a whole lot of sheeple deciding to blame everything in the world, except for this young guy. What some people just can't seem to wrap around their heads is that sometimes people are just born wrong.  This guy probably has instances as far back as early childhood of things that should have alerted someone to the fact that he's cracked in the head.  But the sheeple persist. So, now we have this movement going on called #takedowntheflag, where civil authorities are being besieged by people in droves demanding that Confederate flags from the Civil War be taken down from government buildings. Apparently, that was what set the guy off.  A flag.  No, that's just what he chos

On my Windows 7 computer, the one I work from, I need a good, fast reliable browser as part of my workflow.  I recently got rid of one that I really loved for a while, called Torch Browser .  Torch has a lot of great extras, such as music and video players, torrent downloader, facelift for facebook; basically it's great for play.  Don't get me wrong, it was great but my focus on this computer is productivity and I need a web browser to match.  I like using Chrome based browsers as well as Firefox, but I hate having Google involved in everything (like this blog *grumble*) so I go for alternative browsers based on Chrome, minus the Google.  (Sorry, Google dear, but you brought this on yourself)  I was a rabid fan of Opera prior to what I like to call the Operocalypse, where Opera gave up everything that made it stand out from the rest (and made it the best) to yet another Chrome clone.  I have it, out of habit, but only use it on my most secure sites; it sits idle 90% of the time

As noted in my other blog, Thoughts From The Outside , I went on a all-natural mission to detoxify my life.  In part this change came about due to my dad's bout with cancer, but also it was something I have wanted to do for a long time and that was just my extra boost.  I started reading first about the 'no-poo' movement, which involves all natural alternatives to washing one's hair without using commercial shampoos, which are laden with cancer causing ingredients.  After several tries of various things, all of which are chronicled in my other blog, Thoughts From The Outside , I settled on one company for all of my all natural needs. I discovered a wonderful, family owned company during my lengthy search for quality, effective all natural products.  They are called Chagrin Valley Soap and Salve Company , located in Cleveland Ohio.  They sell lots of amazing, all natural products like (obviously) soap and salve, also shampoo bars, deodorant, lotions and lip balms.  Whe

Everyone has something they are good at; I'm a writer.  I have been hired as a freelance writer on multiple occasions, to the benefit of both parties.  I have written many different types of custom writing for various clients, depending on their needs and my knowledge of the subject they need written about.  Sometimes, though, after a long while of not doing much on the writing front, my skills can get somewhat rusty.  Enter every writers nightmare: writer's block.  Sometimes inspiration can be difficult to come by so it's necessary to have several sources at hand to give a boost when needed.  If ever I get stuck on a particularly technical piece or with a subject I know little about, I can always get a professional to write my essay .  I can always turn to writers with advanced postgraduate degrees and professional business experience to help me get a paper that I can use as a source for my work.  It's nice to know that I don't have to worry about anyone else havi

For those random people having random issues with logins lately..it may not be your Linux distro.  Apparently a nasty bug has creeped into ext4, which is causing all kinds of mayhem.  Make sure when installing a new distro, you mount your /home directory as something besides ext4 in order to keep your data safe.  See this link , scroll down to the Section entitled Tips and Tricks (by Robert Storey) to see more of what's going on, in case you are affected.  Not a lot of people are at this point, supposedly just randomly.  The chief maintainer of ext4 is working on a solution now.