There are three quirks that I am known for.<\/p>\n
First, I have an unhealthy obsession with the use of commas and semi-colons. Commas are not to be trifled with. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n
Two, I’m an Internet power-user; I browse with Opera<\/a>, and see no reason to change.<\/p>\n Finally, I use a trackball, not a mouse.<\/p>\n My love of commas began at an early age, and has never abated. Every comma is sacred. When it doubt, use a comma. When you mean<\/i> it, use a semi-colon.<\/p>\n I discovered Opera about ten years ago (version 3, I think it was), began using it regularly with version 5, and exclusively with version 7. I’m now on bleeding edge code; this post is being written with the Opera 10 Alpha.<\/p>\n And the trackball? Who can forget classic video games of the 1980s that were played with trackballs? There’s something about being able to spin the ball really<\/i> fast. I’ve used trackballs for over a decade; I’ve used cheap trackballs (when I started working for EB Games, they sold a really<\/i> cheap three-button trackball), I’ve used expensive trackballs.<\/p>\n Alas, my current trackball, a Logitech Optical TrackMan, is no more.<\/p>\n The surface had been worn smooth. The ball had been removed so many times to clean the bearings inside. But the buttons themselves had worn out; they had become unresponsive.<\/p>\n I had a mouse as a back-up, but it was a cheap mouse, and it would cut out from time to time.<\/p>\n I’ve been searching for trackballs. I cannot find trackballs. Does no one use trackballs any longer?<\/p>\n Suffice it to say, I now have an inexpensive optical mouse driving my man-machine interface.<\/p>\n My Logitech TrackMan? It deserves a Viking’s funeral. It has been my companion through many adventures — and many battles. When my armies bled on a snowy island waste? The TrackMan was there. When I laid siege to a medieval castle and fought for every square inch of ground for six hours<\/i> because I wanted a Relic victory? The TrackMan was there. When I wrote “Make-Believe” and “The Spindle of Necessity” and those prank letters? The TrackMan was there.<\/p>\n Farewell, my friend! Farewell, my Trackman!<\/p>\n My computer is a sadder thing tonight.<\/p>\n The TrackMan is no more.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" There are three quirks that I am known for. First, I have an unhealthy obsession with the use of commas and semi-colons. Commas are not to be trifled with. \ud83d\ude42 Two, I’m an Internet power-user; I browse with Opera, and see no reason to change. Finally, I use a trackball, not a mouse. My loveContinue reading “On the Passing of an Age”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2120","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.allyngibson.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2120","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.allyngibson.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.allyngibson.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.allyngibson.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.allyngibson.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2120"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.allyngibson.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2120\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.allyngibson.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2120"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.allyngibson.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2120"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.allyngibson.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2120"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}