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Sunday, October 29, 2017

Quite a Three-pipe Problem


When faced with a problem and a paucity of evidence or clues, Sherlock Holmes would compose himself in thought and ask not to be interrupted.  In Conan Doyle's story, The Red-headed League, the excellent Sidney Paget portrayed him thus:


In my previous post, I described a puzzle confined to my own computer which required considerable ratiocination. Things returned to normal, mainly, until Wednesday --I got a header message where my GFC gadget should be:
I checked my repairs, discards and uninstallments of the 22nd and found all ok then  went to Google Forum and found others reporting the same "502 Error" from all parts of the world. Had I broken the Internet (on a Sunday)?Here is a short excerpt from the forum:
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Oct 25
Add a reply
I have problem with Followers gadget. I have this gadget at my website more than two years. Everything was perfect. But at now it is show me Error 502 since morning.  Many peoples have this error, please solve it :) How can I fix it?
Collapsed


I said:

Problem is back! Are we having some further difficulties?
Collapsed

Ivana Mihalić said:

Still not working... Does anybody even care? I knew I should've chose Wordpress over this.

Collapsed
; I took this snippet from my own email, to which I had the discussion transferred mid-week. In that version, the word "Collapsed" meant something else besides syncope --at least in my case. Still, it might be prudent to find a trusted observer and, after typing a complaint to Google, asking if you are or are not conscious. Norma was often undecided --but mostly said I was (one or the other, I forget). Here is the whole forum text thus far, clickable.
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So, I have emerged from my own nicotinic meditations --curled up in my chair in the pumphouse (Norma is not so tolerant as Watson) with several observations from the Doyle canon which approximate my own:
               "These are in deep waters...deep and rather dirty."
               "There is nothing more deceptive than the obvious fact."
               "The only important thing that has happened in the past 
                   three days is nothing has happened."

The conclusion is inescapable. This is the work of the Napoleon of Crime: Moriarty has returned!  



32 comments:

  1. “Dullards would have you believe that once you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth... but to a mathematical mind, the impossible is simply a theorem yet to be solved. We must not eliminate the impossible, we must conquer it, suborn it to our purpose.”
    ― Kim Newman, Professor Moriarty: The Hound of the D'Urbervilles

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    1. I will accept that quote as axiomatic, dear Emma. Similarly, I have long enjoyed the double-entendre phrase, "Never strike a happy medium", which I attribute to either Sybil Leek or Louise Huebner as memory inaccurately serves. Happy Halloween!

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  2. "Does anybody even care?" I'm afraid if I ever have big Blogger issues, I'll be shouting this out my open windows!! I dread the day that just leaving the computer alone for a day or three doesn't fix my problems . . .

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    1. O_Jenny, I have learned, this week, many people care --myself included. I seldom get additional visitors except through an "email subscription" widget added years ago, but I don't know who they are --not like GFC. I have reopened anonymous comment access, just in case. One correspondent in Greece has suggested the problem coincides --from 10/25-- with the "Bad Rabbit" ransomeware virus that has immobilized airlines in Russia, Ukraine and is spreading.

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  3. In my long and extremely bumpy association with Google I've encountered things that would have perplexed Sherlock - - but I've never (yet) encountered that unappealing (not to mention unnerving) Error Thing.
    Is it a Halloween joke? Or merely another offspring in the long line of Google glitches?

    Whatever it is, I hope a solution will be found soon. Which, of course, isn't likely.

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    1. Dear Jon, I share your hope, but experience reminds of one of my favorite work partners when I went outdoors to garden public places for a living. His name was King Yee. We'd find an irrigation controller fried in its steel box and I'd say, "Let's call it in to maintenance and they'll have it fixed this week." He'd answer,"Or next year, Geo." Then I'd say, "Oh Yee of little faith!" Unfortunately, King was usually right.

      Anecdote aside, Jon, I hope you're not having the same GFC problem.

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  4. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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    1. You're welcome, piseth --I guess, even though I don't know how ตารางบอล, which is Thai for "ball table", might advance the subject under discussion, or how a ball table (or perhaps schedule) might resolve problems at Google but suggest you submit your idea to them. Might speed them up.

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  5. I have always depended upon reason and logic to see me through the difficult situations in life. However, when it comes to the digital age, there is no using these tools and my brain turns off. Apparently, in this case, Google has done the same.

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    1. Excellent method for navigating life, Arleen. I try, but sometimes my brain shuts off too. When that happens I do my best to at least LOOK thoughtful --Holmes did too, but I think he was better at it than I.

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  6. I discovered this discombobulation on my blog a few days ago, as well. After diddling it for awhile I just removed the Followers link. I haven't checked lately to see if it has fixed itself.

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    1. That method was recommended on the help forum but I didn't try it.

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  7. Aha! Apparently it has as my Followers are back!

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    1. By golly my Followers are also back. Thanks! --a global enigma solved! I hope you send Google a hefty bill.

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  8. Since I could have been of absolutely NO use at all other than to offer my condolences over yet another enigmatic Google glitch, I'm especially glad to hear the problem has healed itself.

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    1. Condolences well-received, Susan. I was also encouraged by the many pleasant comments to the tech-rep on the forum. People are pretty nice.

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  9. Geo...did you try unplugging it and plugging back in? That's all I got.

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    1. Indeed, in router/modem reactivation --and in other areas of life-- I have found that method most efficacious.

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  10. This was great. Love the humor. And, of course, you know I love anything to do with Sherlock Holmes. Glad the problem worked out, because I wouldn't have had a CLUE about how to solve it. :-)

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    1. Thanks, Elizabeth. I thought of you when I posted this --part of us is stalking the fog-bound gas lit streets of London and it's always 1895. Best wishes to you and Rajan.

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  11. I'm not even good at sitting in a chair! I have a stand up desk, and faced with technical apparitions simply go outside - today I caught three oak leaves, a good result.

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    1. Three oak leaves beats my all-time record of catching none. You have my admiration --well, you had it anyway. But I am pretty good at curling up in a chair, which is equally useful in fixing the internet.

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  12. Hi, Geo! When I started to ease back into blogging on Sunday, I discovered that I had no followers. It was a bit of a shock! But a little later, they had all returned. Whew! Just a little Google hiccup!

    I've enjoyed your last few posts. Eggplant makes me cry too. I liked your little bird's advice. I am quite happy to share my roof, deck, yard, plants, and underground with birds, bunnies, bees, and deer. I dearly love birds, but many of them in our area have left for the winter in the south.

    I've seen your vortex a few times in my past! It usually portends something unpleasant, not a conversation with Gaia. I'm intrigued by the Gaia hypothesis. It makes sense to me on many levels. I had the opportunity to listen to Lynn Margulis a couple of times, but she was discussing the evolution of cells with nuclei rather than her support for the Gaia hypothesis.

    I hope that you and Norma have a good rest of the week. I always enjoy her photos and your sketches. My brother and his wife are visiting Portugal right now ~ spending two weeks in Porto. Lucky them ~ It looks wonderful. It immediately reminded me that you had Portuguese origins. I'm off to Calgary for the weekend, heading into cold and snow to celebrate a sister's retirement ~ hope I don't see a vortex! Take care!

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    1. Dear Louise, So glad you got your GFC widget back. It had disappeared for about a week all over the planet --quite a hiccup! Glad also your communications with Gaia are not just one-sided as she teaches nature to us. I always imagined Porto as a great coastal metropolis --like San Francisco-- when I was little. My people all came from the islands, the Azores, which extend six or seven hundred miles off the coast. I still hear their gentle voices in my mind. Have a good time with your sister in Alberta --and stay away from vortices.

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  13. Oh, Sherlock, how I love you. I don't care what actor presented you, I just love you.
    Oh, how I hate computers when I have to do battle with them. So insidious, so evil at times.

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    1. Susan, I believe you've nailed it. Holmes is more than a fiction. With all his flaws, he is still a psychic construct of what keen observation, reason and logic can do in pursuit of what is good. Arthur Conan Doyle's creation teaches the world need not be so baffling after all.

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  14. It seems computer, application or web problems can virtually eviscerate ambitions, projects and intentions. Further, seeking help can lead to a kind of hopelessness. AI is not always so kind.

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    1. Dear Tom, you raise an issue that is still in a nebulous stage. I have a somewhat addictive personality --used to be called "creature of habit" maybe now, slightly OCD-- that causes me to wonder if overmuch formulaic computer use in education is doing our young people any favors. There is, however, the positive result of Norma being able to consult our grandson on the mysteries of her iPad.

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  15. What a delightful read and well versed. Thanks for sharing and greetings.

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    1. Greetings reciprocated, Blogoratti. Thanks for the encouragement!

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  16. The title of your always-excellent post made me wonder if three pipes is related to the 7% solution........
    6" new snow on the ground, still coming down and 20f. It's here, and I've seen the last of the lawn until April.

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  17. Thanks, Mike. Holmes's vices are well-documented --cocaine, I believe, from "The Sign Of Four", but I hold to my theory that Dr. Watson covertly diluted the stuff under 7% and finally titrated Holmes off the drug. Wow, Snow! Yes, I know it's a euphemism for cocaine, but real snow drifting down from clouds is far more picturesque. Enjoy the season, Mike.

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