America's Transsexual Sweetheart
Writing
Writing by Calpernia.
TTFN: Fix or Disable OpenDNS Search Redirection in Firefox and Other Browsers
08 months ago
Ok kids, this is another of my Tech Tips for Nerds posts. If you follow my entertainment career, this may not be of any interest to you. In addition to being an entertainer, I’m a techie and I put these posts up for other people in need if I’ve had to spend a lot of time searching around the web for the answer to some problem.
I use OpenDNS at home, which is a service that can speed up your web surfing by caching/serving DNS lookups to your computer, and make you safer by blocking harmful sites. It’s ever so slightly esoteric for the novice web user, but for anyone with a little savvy, it’s easy to set up and has some benefits.
One major thing OpenDNS gets wrong is the instrusive, “Father knows best” way that it redirects your searches from the browser URL bar in Firefox and Internet Explorer to their own proprietary search page that uses Yahoo search results. They offer no way to correct this hijacking of your preferences and still use the full service. Increasing my discontent, they are evasive about the issue and the one solution offered in this thread did not change the behavior in my browser.
They are indeed offering a valuable service, which seems to be funded to some great extent by the ads on their proprietary/mandatory url-bar search landing page. I understand that their business does not run without money. I receive a microscopic income on this very blog from my AdSense account. But at the same time, if you block the ads on my blog you can still use (read) it. I am a bit of a control freak and a superuser when it comes to my digital life. Being told that my carefully tweaked user experience MUST happen their way and that I MUST use their (inferior and ugly) search page gets my wheels to turning toward finding a way to give control back to myself. After several sessions of research and failed attempts, here are some steps I’ve found that completely shut down the OpenDNS hijacking of your search experience:
COMPLETE RAGE OVERKILL METHOD: (Doing #1 and then any one of the three following will probably work)
1. Add these lines to your HOSTS file (Which will result in a blank/error page if you somehow land on their forced search page, which I prefer to being told what to do):
127.0.0.1 guide.opendns.com #Disable Mandatory Search Landing Page 64.233.183.104 www.google.com #Ensure Googling Goes to Google
2. Go to your OpenDNS settings (which you must have a free account to access), click on your home network’s IP (set up a network if you haven’t already), and under Advanced Settings disable all boxes under Domain Typos and Network Shortcuts. Click Apply. This will also disable your ability to block porn sites, but who are we kidding, that doesn’t matter to you.
3. In Firefox, type about:config into the URL bar and tell the page that yes, you know what you’re doing. Lie if you have to. In the about:config page’s Search box, type keyword.enabled. If the keyword.enabled preference is not already set to true or default (which is true), double-click the keyword.enabled preference to set its value to true. Now type keyword.URL into the about:config search box. Double-click the entry in the Value column and enter https://www.google.com/search?q=
4. Install the Firefox InstantFox extension, and under settings enable Standard Search Without Shortcuts.
Jer Ber Jones has a NEW ALBUM of covers!!!
012 months ago
GIRLS AND BOYS! Cal-Pal Jer Ber Jones has a NEW ALBUM of cover songs, with a limited time donwload link! Here’s her press release:
It’s a tight, well mixed, weird new album with New Wave/Punk/Club Kid royalty cameos and co-production. Not to mention my fresh weird trip pop electro reverb lush gorgeousness. Videos and costumes with Zaldy & mazing filmmakers coming up!xo Robbie/Jerilyn
I’ll also be headlining at the amazing lesbian honkytonk/restaurant in San Francisco June 1st. Full concert. As well as Mustache Mondays in June: Grand opening of the genius new Slipper Room victorian cabaret in NYC in July/August.
etc.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE;
For a limited time anyone & everyone can download the new, full length, Jer Ber Jones cover songs album, entitled ‘MASKED‘ for free. http://www.sendspace.com/file/xgurfu There’s a new youtube video for Jer Ber’s electronic homage to the italo-disco hit SELF CONTROL (Laura Branigan) here- http://youtu.be/8skbjd7rm8o Jer Ber is not your average drag queen, or “tranimal” (wikipedia). Jer Ber Jones is a drag icon who produces her own amazing music and sings!- “Quite a wicked little voice!” -Blackbook Magazine. The new album MASKED is 11 gorgeous new electronic based cover songs. Jer Ber’s favorite thing is to take over-played A-side songs and twist them up, giving them new life, new meaning, new freak-on. In a way only a Mormon, ex-polygamist Tranny can do. MASKED is 3 years worth of cover songs. A handful of them were originally produced for Jerilyn’s elaborate stage productions and cabaret shows. The other handful were created in Jer Ber’s music studio in Hollywood California, Malibu and Salt Lake City, Utah. Including collaborations with music legendaries such as - Kristian Hoffman (Klaus Nomi, Rufus Wainright, Ann Magnuson) – Jer Ber and Kristian re-create the Boy George/Culture club classic “Do You Really Want to Hurt Me?” in the most haunted, electro-alien, “HULK” Lou Ferrigno kinda way (you got to hear it to understand.) Paul Roessler (Nina Hagen‘s longtime producer and collaborator, original member of the punk band The Screamers, 45 Grave) - Paul co-produced and played music on “Private Dancer” (yes, the Tina Turner song) and created a dreamy guitar version of Eurythmics ”Love is a Stranger” on the album, sung by Jer Ber’s ex-husband ‘Mike’. (Robbie Daniels, ). Jeremy Mikush - who is Alaska Thunderfuck‘s accompanist and long time Jer Ber collaborator. There’s a very dark & twisted dance version of Back to Black (Amy Winehouse), Jer Ber’s personal favorite Self Control (Laura Branigan)… A tribal/percussion tribute to fellow Los Angeles blonde Belinda (Berlinda) Carlisle and the Go-Go’s with We Got the Beat… and you’ve never really heard Cher until you hear Jer Ber do a cover version of Believe. And many more! -There’s even a bonus album for sale, which includes even more cover songs, and remixes + piano ballad versions of Believe and Do You Really Want to Hurt Me available exclusively on Jer Ber’s website WWW.ROBBIED.COM Please help support independent music! Tranny music! (It’s rare you find a gal this talented!) It’s easy, breezy, cover songs! FREE! Until the album goes up on iTunes this Summer! http://www.sendspace.com/file/xgurfu (Sendspace.com is a trusted, virus free file transfer site. Trusted by millions of musicians and computer experts.) JER BER JONES LIVE IN CONCERT JUNE 1ST in San Francisco. Headlining at the amazing honkytonk lesbian bar/restaurant- Thee Parkside. If you would like any more press photos, high resolution music or photos, CDs, or an interview with Jer Ber Jones Please contact us! Robbie Daniels, Trophy Child Records, Los Angeles, Ca. Official websites- http://robbied.com https://www.facebook.com/jerberjones The Official Jer Ber Fan Page https://www.facebook.com/theberdachelook Jer Ber Jones Youtube http://youtube.com/user/JERBERJONES Photo of Jer Ber by Austin Young. Painting of Jer Ber by Piepke & Kenny Scharf Jer Ber Mask, CD art by Jim Winters.
TTFN: Fixing Finder Window File Sorting in OS X Lion
01 year ago
A note: Ok, as always, a reminder to my usual friends, fans and followers: Tech Tips for Nerds posts are posts that I make when I overcome some frustrating technical obstacle in my side career as a programmer/web designer/editor/etc. I put these here because I had to Google several times to find this info, so I’m making it easier for the next person to find.
Fixing OSX Lion’s Annoying (but useful) Finder File Sorting Toolbar Or “Why can’t I sort files by date, type, modified, name, etc by clicking on the headings at the top of the Finder window?”Ok, so I upgraded to OS X Lion on my mac to get access to iCloud features and keep up with the times. There are a lot of improvements (folder merging!), but several REALLY frustrating changes. Since Apple typically doesn’t include any sort of instructions beyond a condescending single page white card with most of their products, you basically just have to figure things out on your own.
One thing that inspired an immediate urge to rage-quit was being confronted with this:
Um, why can’t I click these headings to sort the files anymore? Why can’t I drag the partitions to reveal longer filenames?
I finally figured out that to restore the old functionality you have to go to VIEW > ARRANGE BY > and select NONE. It’s a folder-by-folder setting, and OSX Lion seemed to have set my basic /User, /Pictures, /Music etc folders to the new “Arrange By” behavior so I had to change each one.
Select NONE to get the old clickable sorting column headers in OS X Lion's Finder windows.
Once you’ve selected NONE, you get the old functionality back, which is much easier than clicking the flyout “Sort By” and “Arrange By” buttons at the top of the Finder window, and also restores your ability to drag column widths if you have longer file names.
Fixed!
“Arranging by” and “Sorting by” are useful new features, but having them enabled by default with no explanation leaves power users like me with unclickable column headers and no explanation, which equals frustration. Read this article for more explanation on how to use the new behaviors: http://inner.geek.nz/archives/2011/08/10/howto-fix-file-sorting-in-finders-column-view-on-mac-os-x-lion/
Calpernia Recommends: Peggy Lee’s Haunting Album “Mirrors”
01 year ago
A Little White Ship - Peggy Lee Sings Leiber & Stoller,
I don’t do recommendations of music often, which is strange because I am a music fanatic who vigorously writes, curates, studies and follows music. My tastes vary from good to so-bad-it’s-good, classic to current, experimental to by-the-rules. I especially love rare music, weird music and groundbreaking music. As someone with a lifelong blue streak, I also adore music that is richly, sweetly sad and introspective. Peggy Lee’s singing of Leiber & Stoller’s music on “Mirrors” is just that.
Many people who know rare music know “Is That All There Is?” as a hidden gem of seen-it-all shoulder shrugging and a “let’s party anyway” attitude. I sing it in my act, and there’s a video of Peggy singing it at the bottom of this post… LOVE that song. It inspired me to seek out the album, “Mirrors”, which is surprisingly rare and hard to find. To me, the writing and performance on “Mirrors” is a masterwork giving a haunting and beautiful peek inside the mind and soul of a woman who has “been through it”. She sings about things that are sad or awful, sometimes wistfully, sometimes with an aurally arched eyebrow, sometimes with a smile and sometimes she just sounds like she’s drugged and deep inside her own head. So incredible.
The CD’s available on Amazon are rare and expensive, but I’m sure you can find these songs on YouTube or elsewhere used to add them to your collection!
My interpretation on the songs (my faves in bold). Look them up on YouTube, she’s fantastic:
- “Is That All There Is?” – Hilarious shrug at some of the worst moments of life while raising a drink and dancing.
- “Ready to Begin Again” – She talks about putting on her wig, putting her teeth back in and getting ready to face the world, ha ha.
- “Some Cats Know” – She talks about how some guys just know how to “do” life.
- “I’ve Got Them Feelin’ Too Good Today Blues” – Depressives will identify with this song. She thinks there’s something wrong if she feels too good.
- “A Little White Ship” – INCREDIBLE, beautiful song about how her bed is like a little white ship she sails away on. Dreamy, drugged sounding.
- “Tango” – A straight tango, followed by a spoken word poem, followed by a song that seemed to be about a failing romance to me at first. It turns out that this song references the murder of actor Ramón Novarro!
- “Professor Hauptmann`s Performing Dogs” – A silly circus-themed song about performing dogs. I don’t know if it means anything beyond that, but it’s fun and Peggy delivers something this frothy with surprising power.
- “The Case of M.J.” – This seems to be about a little girl who was abused somehow.
- “I Remember” – BEAUTIFUL, slow, drugged, sad, wistful remembrance: “I… remember… when… you… loved… me…”
- “Say It” – A fraught, tense piano and voice meditation begging her imperfect lover to say he loves her.
- “Longings for a Simpler Time” – She wistfully remembers “the good old days”.
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01 year ago
Our unofficial lo-res mascot!
Hey kids! I just wanted to make a quick post because I realized that our forum for women in and beyond transition at http://www.genderlife.com/forum is celebrating TEN YEARS online in 2012!!!
If you know any women in transition, or someone who has completed transition and may like to share some of her wisdom, check it out. The forum is free, it has a DECADE of information and discussion on any transition related topic imaginable, and it’s maintained with love by me, Andrea James and a small group of wonderful mods.
http://www.genderlife.com/forum
