The PolyBlog

3×30: Day 19 of 30 days of change – Websites, TV watching, and Minecraft

September 19 2021

Sunday, a time for light reflection and spending time with your PC. I mean, family. But when your son would like to kick you to the curb in favour of Minecraft servers, well, you roll with it for the day.

Item 19.1 was a bit more tweaking of my website. There are two things that annoy me a little with my setup and plugins. The first is really small…when I post a new article/post, my site sends an email copy out immediately as a newsletter to subscribers. For this site, there are only a couple of people; for PolyWogg, it barely cracks double digits. Most people get their fix either through FB or Twitter or other feeds. But the option is there. Except, because of the way the software works, if I use too many special “blocks” in the article, the formatting may or may not go a bit wonky for the person receiving the newsletter. Since I can’t control how the plugin reacts to non-standard formatting, there’s a simple solution to that problem — don’t send the whole post. In fact, that is also a best practice — just forward the excerpt, thus encouraging them to click to the site to read the article rather than just in email. Click-through conversions, yay me (no, I don’t really care about that, not as relevant if I’m not monetizing the site). Anyway, that’s all well and good, but I used to send the post to myself so I would have an email backup of the post. Now that it’s only the excerpt, it’s not quite the same. Until it occurred to me, why not just create a second newsletter that ONLY goes to a smaller distribution list (population: ME!), and which sends the whole post? Sweet. So I set it up on this blog and completely forgot to do it for PolyWogg too. Oops.

The other bugaboo is sharing automatically to FaceBook. If I copy and paste the link to FB, the pasting will take my image settings for either the featured image or the first large image. The SEO for it is a bit finicky, and sometimes doesn’t seem to hold for every featured image. I bypassed the problem with a plugin that auto-posts for me, but it wasn’t sharing the image. I read their online setup, the PRO version DOES force it to share a specific image source, so I upgraded. Easy peasy lemon squeezy, installed, posted, annnnnnnnd, same deal. It was NOT sharing the right image on FB. Don’t get me wrong, it was sharing an image from the post, just not the right one by default. Dang it. I was about to open a ticket, after all I just paid a decent sum for a lifetime membership, and it wasn’t working. But as I worked through the help files, I discovered that it was NOT a problem with the plugin NOR my site. It’s a setting in FB. In essence, I need to verify my website with FB. In the past, you had to create your own FB mini-app to link the two, and getting those set up if you weren’t a paying business was a pain in the patootie. If you were Joe Schmo, personal user, the company wasn’t even TAKING applications for a really long time. I blew through 3 other plugins trying to crack that nut, looking for ANY solution to sharing properly. Nada. But I found info on how to do it on the site for the new plugin, and it looked like it was active again. Actually, it’s a different way to do things, but I followed the examples, and dang if it didn’t work. I tested two posts, first one didn’t work, second one did. So I ran a test later with a real post from PolyWogg and it worked PERFECTLY. Woohoo! They’re small tweaks, but I’m really happy with them.

Item 19.2 was about TV watching for the fall. I treat premieres almost like fantasy football, picking winners and predicting losers. I managed to work my way through the plans for 47 new shows from Entertainment Weekly’s coverage, and while it isn’t everything, it’s a start. I even blogged about it. https://polywogg.ca/early-thoughts-on-the-2021-2022-tv-premieres/

Item 19.3 was about helping Jacob with his Minecraft setup. He plays Minecraft with a bunch of his friends online, and they are sometimes a bit clique-y for who can play or not. Most of the time they let Jacob in because he’s nice and doesn’t cause anyone any problems, but other times they’re fighting lags on the free servers of two of the other kids playing. And it was frustrating them to no end. So they were all trying to figure out a way to download it and run it from their own computers, hoping that would solve the lag problem (it generally wouldn’t, but they didn’t know that). Anyway, mostly the problem was the low quality of free public servers, so I checked the price to run your own personal server for Minecraft. About $5 a month. Jacob and his friends found a server they liked, it was popular and had good settings, and I set it up for him late this afternoon. They all logged in, there was no lag, everyone’s happy for now. I admit I have a bit of a Machiavellian side to my decision too…if he’s the one running the server, it’s not like they can kick him out if they’re trying to manage numbers. A small cost for his major hobby.

Onward…

Early thoughts on the 2021-2022 TV premieres

September 19 2021

COVID has decimated entire industries, and for awhile, it looked like TV was going to be one of them. Sports coverage was non-existent, series were on hold for filming, pilots were at a dead stop. But eventually they figured out how to film stuff anyway, and shows returned. Some shows worked the premise into the script; others chose to ignore it. Some had a lot of interaction between a few key players but didn’t mix “bubbles” within the show, some did a lot of distant talking across rooms.

But one big element for the new year is the semi-return of the premieres of new shows. Let’s see what’s out there.

Chicago Party Aunt…an animated show on Netflix about a drunk 40yo woman partying in Chicago. Wait, isn’t there a show about a 40yo pretending to be 20-something in New York? Pass but I predict it will make it to at least season 2.

NCIS: Hawaii premieres this week on CBS, another outing for the series that started way back with JAG a loooooong time ago. I generally like the premise of the different series, but I don’t watch all of them each week. One is enough for me. I’m happy to see what this one is like — a bit like Hawaii Five-O, I imagine, but I’m not sold on the main actress, Vanessa Lachey. The only thing besides the trailer that I’ve seen her in was a small part in the Fantastic Four, which isn’t making up for a terrible trailer. I’ll give it a maybe for watching, yet vote for likely renewal.

The Big Leap on CBS is a show about making a dance reality show where they select contestants to star in Swan Lake. I know, I wasn’t looking for a fictional reality show either. But it’s basically Glee, or maybe Fame, for adults. I am curious enough to see an episode or two, mostly because I like the woman playing the main character (a large black woman who thinks she’s too big to be the star), but it also has some others like Piper Perabo who I like. I am not a giant fan of Scott Foley, and as they up the angst factor, everything I hate about reality shows is likely to turn me off. Teri Polo plays a housewife who drinks too much and has no support from her family for her interest in being part of the show, and well, that’s the cringe factor for me. So yes to Ep 1, but I’m predicting no renewal if only as there is no place for it to go without dumping all the characters you love and recasting next year. I know, I know, it doesn’t stop reality shows from thriving. But I’m still saying 1 season and done.

Ordinary Joe on NBC has a This Is Us feel to it, crossed with the movie Sliding Doors. The basic premise is a guy named Joe who has to make a choice the night of his graduation as to what he’s going to do next and he has three choices in front of him…ask out a pretty girl he just met, go with his best gal pal to the beach as she has something important to tell him, or go for dinner with his parents and family. The story then branches and shows what would happen if he picks each of the three choices, with some of the characters and events crossing back and forth between the storylines. The story lives and dies by the main character, played by James Wolk, and he has an awesome presence. I’ll give it a go and I predict renewal.

The Wonder Years is back on ABC, and exciting news, he’s black! It likely makes no difference to the relatively vanilla storylines, but only time will tell. I see nothing compelling in the promo, the trailer or the cast. Pass and I predict non-renewal after the season.

The Foundation starts on Apple TV+, a sci-fi series ruled by a clone not happy about a mathematician predicting darker times ahead. I am in like Flynn, and if it was on regular TV, I’d say cancellation; on Apple, I’m predicting renewal to Season 2.

BMF stands for Black Mafia Family on Starz, and I ain’t even going to dignify it with a comment. Pass.

La Brea on NBC premieres next week, and I would love to make fun of it. I mean, after all, there’s a lot of material to work with…a tar pit that collapses into a sink hole in LA? That transports people into another dimension? Really? I have to say cancellation on that basis alone. It isn’t LOST, and it ain’t even Manifest. But here’s the thing. The main star is Natalie Zea. OMG. I loved her on Justified, she is just knock down gorgeous to watch doing anything. On Unicorn, he was getting a girlfriend, and I thought, “meh”, until I saw it was her. Then I was like, “Yes! She has presence!”. The fact that I loved her all the way back to Dirty Sexy Money is not relevant to the conversation, is it? Okay, maybe it is, but I’m also excited to see Eoin Macken who I used to really enjoy on Merlin (oddly, I just binged it again recently). I expect cancellation, but I’ll be watching anyway.

Maid is coming to Netflix, and maybe it needs a cleaning, but a mother/daughter fix that includes real-life mother/daughter actresses is not on my list. Throw in Andie MacDowell, and I’m looking for an exit. And yet the trailer focuses on the daughter, Margaret Qualley, and she has serious presence. If she ever shows up in something that is not so depressing (homeless single mother focusing on what to do now with no support system), I might watch. Pass.

CSI: Vegas is back on CBS and it’s easy to predict renewal and I won’t be watching. I don’t mind the show, but it’s not compelling to watch except in binge mode.

Ghosts on CBS is a comedy and I am brutal on comedies. Very rarely do I see one land that I want to watch. Rose McIver is the wife and Utkarsh Ambudkar is the husband who inherit a haunted house. Let the laughter ensue? Umm, I don’t know either one well enough to judge. Let’s cue the video tape trailer! Ohhhhh, it’s Beetlejuice. Well, there are worse premises. Rebecca Winsocky plays one of the ghosts, and I liked her in Picard, Bull, SWAT, and Castle, but she was more fun on The Mentalist. There’s a large cast of other ghosts, and presumably room for guest stars too, but hard to tell which ones will be relevant from week to week. Oh, did I mention that the wife can see them after she hits her head? Riiight. So there’s that. I’ll give it a go. But I’m expecting the show won’t get renewed, alas.

Dopesick on Hulu traces the history of Oxycontin. Yawn. Pass.

Queens on ABC is a musical drama about four has-been singers reuniting to get the band back together. Yawn. Pass, predict cancellation.

Invasion on Apple TV is about an alien invasion, but seems like it is more about how one woman copes, trying to keep her two kids and herself safe, since the father is useless. But I can’t be sure as the description going around looks like “family-during-crisis” while the trailer looks like “monsters-are-here”. Pass, predict cancellation.

Colin in Black and White on Netflix about Colin Kaepernick becoming an activist. Yawn. Pass.

Dexter: New Blood is back on Showtime and I’m going to predict renewal. But I haven’t binged all of the original, nor finished all of the books, so I’ll wait.

Best Shape of My Life on YouTube about Will Smith getting into shape. I love WS in shows, not so crazy about him in real life. I feel like he’s always “on”, i.e., “Will Smith playing Will Smith”. Pass.

Ragdoll on AMC has a detective trying to catch a serial killer who is sewing victims into one large doll. Yuck. Pass.

The Shrink Next Door on Apple TV deals with a patient who gives control of his life and bank account over to his shrink. A dark comedy, maybe; watchable? I don’t think so. Pass, and predict cancellation.

Yellowjackets on Showtime has a past-is-creepy feel to it. Four women on a soccer team as teens survived a plane crash and have to reconnect later in life as things start to get creepy. I don’t know HOW creepy, so not sure if I’ll watch it or not. Or if it’s worth renewing. But it has Christina Ricci which isn’t favorable for me; Melanie Lynskey who I haven’t seen in anything since 2007’s Drive with Nathan Fillion; Juliette Lewis who I haven’t seen since From Dusk Til Dawn; and Tawny Cypress who I have seen in tons of stuff (Heroes, Blue Bloods, Unforgettable, Supergirl, Blacklist and Bull) but have little sense if her inclusion is good or not. My impression was always “functional”. The trailer has a strong “what really happened” vibe, and I’ll give it a go. But I am going to predict cancellation.

Mayor of Kingstown on Paramount is about a powerful family in Michigan in the law business, and where right and wrong are not so important as power. I’ll give an episode a try, as it has Jeremy Renner and Kyle Chandler. I’m not thrilled however about Dianne West as her voice and delivery have become pretty grating over the years. I’ll predict renewal based on the trailer.

Hit Monkey on Hulu is an animated story about a macaque who helps a wounded assassin but is unable to save him. So he takes over the assassin’s revenge plot. WTH? Pass.

Cowboy Bebop might be a cult classic in anime for space bounty-hunters, but a live-action version? Again, WTH? It’s high-budget and on Netflix, so who knows. I’ll take a crack at Ep 1 and I’ll suggest renewal to S2.

The Wheel of Time is coming to Amazon, and I am in like Flynn for every last episode. Bring it on. I’ll even predict renewal.

Hawkeye on Disney is another Marvel outing, and I’ll be in for that too. The addition of an extra Hawkeye to train will be fun. I’ll predict renewal for it, given it’s built-in audience.

True Story on Netflix stars Kevin Hart playing a pseudo-character like himself, and well, pass.

The Witcher is back on Netflix and just in time for the Christmas season. Can’t wait.

3×30: Day 18 of 30 days of change – Websites, workouts and apps

September 19 2021

Saturday dawned seemingly early this morning. I was hoping to sleep in longer, but alas, that was not to be.

Item 18.1 was a bit about tweaking my website graphics. I was doing a posting about something, tweaked my sidebar, and realized that one of the images was not showing quite right. I checked in another place, and it too showed it slightly cropped. Odd. I had fixed ALL of that about 18-20 months ago. I resized ALL of the images to a specific size, they should be all showing perfectly. Weird. So I checked it out in WordPress. I thought it was 150×150 px to match the default thumbnail size for theme layouts. Nope, it was 150×164. Umm, that’s not right. I rescaled it down at the same ratio to 136×150. Still showing cropped. Dang it. I played with WP settings for awhile, asked a Q on my favourite help site, and then decided to do it “properly”. I pulled up 37 images that were just slightly off-size, a side effect of exporting from PowerPoint apparently that I didn’t catch previously. Anyway, I opened them all in GIMP, resized so the largest size (w or h) was 150, and then resized the canvas behind it to 150×150, leaving any extra area as transparent, recentred them horizontally and top align vertically, exported them, uploaded them to replace the existing images, and voila. Problem solved. A bit annoying, but not problematic. While I was already in the site, I took the time to tweak a newsletter setup that was bothering me too. Oh, and I tweaked my sidebar layout (look to the right!).

Item 18.2 was about being organized for my workout routine, with handout versions for the stretching and BowFlex routines. Jacob joined me today for a full workout, and we went for a walk afterwards too. I blogged about it earlier. (Changing my body – Stretching, workouts and walking)

Item 18.3 was a bit more research around walking, with a deeper dive than I had hoped on MapMyWalk. My account is kind of futzed at the moment, so I’m hoping Under Armour can reset it for me. But it was a start at least.

Onward…

Changing my body – Stretching, workouts and walking

September 19 2021

So I went a bit overboard today on my planning function for my workouts. For Stretching, I took the 16 low-difficulty exercises, figured out which order to do them in that makes sense, and prepared a simple 4×4 table in Word that shows the pretty pics and names of the exercises. And then I used it today for the first time. It worked perfectly.

I wasn’t surprised I liked the layout, I had pretty much already done the same thing for the Bowflex routine (9 exercises in the 20 minute full body workout).

I used it for the second time today, and it also worked well. I have both sets of exercises on my phone so I can log the activities in my exercise app.

Annnnnnd then I went down a rabbithole for figuring out how far I’m going to start walking. When I went to the MapMyWalk website, I found out that I have apparently used MapMyWalk on three prior occasions.

First, back in 2008, I did some initial routes around my old house. I set up three or four routes, did a couple of them, but mostly I was laying them out as potential routes to see how far they were.

Second, I did a bunch in 2014, and that time I think I was expecting to be a bit more ambitious, as I set up some really long ones.

Finally, in 2016, I did a couple of ones around the neighbourhood that I had walked, and then mapped them afterwards to see how far I had gone. I can’t believe I ever did them, as the thought of doing them now fills me with dread. They are SO much farther than I am capable of right now, by a factor of ten at least.

So, it’s 2021, and I thought I would clean up some of the old routes and plot some new ones. Start small, keep some of the old ones for future inspiration. Ditch the ones where I was just trying to figure out how far it was, such as walking all the way to or from work, as I would never plan to actually do that route. It was just for info.

But I went to my profile settings and nada. It wouldn’t load that part. Umm, okay. So I went to the past routes, there they all are, great. Scroll down to one I don’t want, over to the right is an option for COPY / EDIT / DELETE. So I try deleting it, it asks me if I want to delete it on a pop-up, I say yes, and then it just sits and whirs at me endlessly. It doesn’t delete it and it doesn’t “end”. Eventually, I have to reload the page. I tried clearing caches, resetting passwords, logging out completely, etc. And no dice. The app on my phone shows me the same data, but you can’t actually delete from the phone, just the website, so that doesn’t help. I have a sneaking suspicion that my account is somehow dormant or something, or it’s confused with some old ones I had, but in the end, I had to email Under Armour and hope they’ll reset my account next week. If they want to erase the account and start over, I’m okay with that.

Mostly what I was surprised about was how many times I’ve done the same thing before. Started a new “habit”, set up some routes with the same tool, and then when life intervened, stopped using the app. Ultimately, I have no interest in the app for tracking, as I already KNOW the routes in advance. I have a separate workout logger where I’ll put in the distances for example, and then when I do the route, I just do the route. I don’t need a phone or FitBit to tell me my progress or distance, the pre-programmed route is already “known”.

When MapMyWalk crapped out, I went looking for a replacement app, and I found one (which also uses a website), but it is a lot more basic. If Under Armour can get me going this week, that’s probably the easiest option.

What is different about this round is that I know what I’m planning to do. For each of those previous occasions, it was more like I was trying the app out then actually tying it into my workout plans. This time, I already have some ideas of how I can set progressively longer walking goals too. And some of the old ones reminded me of some possible routes that would be really good to work up to over the next year. So far, my immediate routes are pretty embarrassing for distance. It doesn’t take much for my left hip / lower back to start screaming at me, regardless of the stretching in advance. I could put BioFreeze on it, and go further, but for now, I’ll stick to the short distances.

In the meantime, I at least have stretching and weights figured out; walking routes are pending; and then it will be on to the exercise bike setup!

3×30: Day 16 and 17 of 30 days of change – Transport, stretching, and pizza

September 17 2021

Hey, look! It’s Friday! Wait, what happened to Thursday? Oh, right, I was too tired to blog again last night. 🙂

Item 16.1 was helping Jacob a little bit. He was feeling a bit overwhelmed for the week and so I gave him a ride to school in the morning. He also needs to plan a bit better coming home. He’s struggling to walk the full distance from the bus stop without his AFOs, which are pending replacement, and he didn’t pull his backpack all the way up and he just left his mask on all the way from the stop to the house. By the time he got to the house, he was practicall overheating. 🙁

Item 16.2 was a bit more research on stretching in anticipation of a post today.

Item 16.3 was going to bed early. Andrea’s away for a few days, so I’m on full parental duty for mornings too. And with no car, it means Jacob HAS to make his bus in the morning as I have no backup option to take him in the car. It’s rare that I’m in bed before 11:00, but I was last night.

Item 17.1 today was just having breakfast with Jacob. Through the week, I usually let Andrea and Jacob have that time and I don’t intrude, which is not as much about altruism as it is about not enjoying a lot of buzzing around first thing in the a.m. before I’m completely awake.

Item 17.2 was finding time to look at my exercise research and then publishing my plans for stretching and cardio (Changing my body – Stretching and cardio).

Item 17.3 tonight was an irregular Friday night routine with Jacob — pizza night! We noshed on Pizza Hut pizza that we both enjoy, along with the garlic bread, some pasta for later in the weekend, and mini Cinnabons for dessert.

Onward…