Windows 10 and other observations

Deciding to take a long weekend, I've been noticing my PC has been trying to complete the latest Windows 10 update, an actual upgrade to the much-maligned "anniversary" version.

Windows 10 doesn't let one completely stop updates, alas. So I let it run. For hours.

In truth, it started earlier this week, botched out, and then restarted last night. It completed an hour and a half ago and then took another hour to install all the new crap and then finally boot up.

So far, so good, but I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop.

And really tired of these ginormous updates from Microsoft.

I get enough of that every time I boot up my Ubuntu box.

---

Had a biergarten lunch in honor of the Oktoberfest season and autumn. The only other people around were parents looking to chat and have a pint while their kids ran around like maniacs.

Of course a pair of rugrats had to play a few feet from me. The kids were weirdly-fascinated by me while simultaneously being a bit shy (which is fine with me). Kids make me nervous. I hate the piercing sound of a child's crying, so I'm always a bit on-edge when kids are around. Inevitably, one will fall and get a little scrape or bump and then the banshee wail will cut right through my nice buzz from my beer and damage my calm.

So when I see kids doing dumb things, sometimes I'll say something. The mothers of the kids were paying some heed, but also distracted by the rare opportunity for grown-up conversation. One mother called out for the kids to stop climbing on rocks near me. The kids ignored her. After a moment, I noticed one rugrat was making headway on an unstable climb, so I called out that the kid should stop. Wide-eyed, the wee bairn stopped, stepped down and exchanged an uneasy glance with the other anklebiter. The mother, a bit bemused, thanked me and noted that the kids will probably listen as I said something.

Perhaps I look properly scary. That thought pleases me.

I'm burning through "The World of Ice & Fire" by George R.R. Martin. A gorgeously-illustrated history of Westeros, it's proven to be entertaining reading. Martin is a prolific madman, I'll grant him that. Just wish he'd finish up the damn series...