Mike's Blog

Friday, June 9, 2017

iCloud Woes

I’m getting pretty annoyed with iCloud.

For several months beginning about September last year and ending a couple months ago, I had intermittent issues with iCloud being unable to authenticate on devices. I spoke to Apple Support, and they were seemingly unable to help me. Then, suddenly, everything seemed to be working okay once more.

A few days ago, I began having issues with iCloud Notes not syncing across devices. Now I can’t even delete two (empty) folders; if I try, they just come back on whatever device I tried to delete them from (including the web app).

I spoke to Apple Support again yesterday, and they said my iCloud Drive is “extensive”. Well… I do have about 225 GB of photos / videos, which I’ve accumulated over the last few years – mostly taken with iPhones. I’ve also got about 4 GB in iOS backups. But 230 GB is less than 1/8th of my total 2 TB of storage. If Apple offers and sells me that storage, and using less than 13% of said storage causes problems, then what is my motivation for storing my stuff on iCloud?

Also… this can’t possibly be good, can it:

screenshot

Tuesday, April 11, 2017

Continuity on “The Flash”

You could say I’m a bit of a stickler for continuity in the shows I watch. The Flash is no exception. Generally the writers have been okay at keeping their story straight, but there are exceptions.

One scene that has always bugged me occurs in 01×09 (“The Man in the Yellow Suit”). In summary: the team at STAR Labs is able to trap Reverse-Flash inside a containment field by baiting him with a tachyon device that he’s after for some nefarious schemes. But somehow, the containment field momentarily fails, and he’s able to drag Dr. Wells inside. He then proceeds to beat Wells to a bloody pulp. To save Wells, Joe smashes the field’s control panel, which shuts it down and allows Reverse-Flash to escape with the tachyon device he’s after.

I love how smashing the control panel always works.

Barry grabs Reverse-Flash (who is now threatening Joe after taking out an entire police squad without skipping a beat), and the two begin to fight, bursting through the skylight at super-speed and landing in the parking lot outside.

With all that property damage, how does STAR Labs even stay funded?

Just when it looks like Reverse-Flash is about to win the fight, Firestorm shows up and blasts him with fire, knocking him to the ground. Reverse-Flash escapes, Firestorm flies off, and our heroes are left to tend to their wounded.

In an episode later in the season, 01×15 (“Out of Time”), Cisco tries to work out how the containment field failed, and how the Reverse-Flash was able to get to Wells. After monkeying around a bit, he discovers a hidden hologram of the Reverse-Flash, acting out the same scene that happened in 01×09.

“You’re my only hope, Obi-Wan Kenobi!”

Dr. Harrison Wells walks into the room, and reveals his true identity as Eobard Thawne, AKA the Reverse-Flash. Cisco asks how he could have been in two places at once, and Thawne demonstrates how he can move fast enough to create a “speed mirage”, or an illusory double of himself.

Cisco’s seeing double.

Now here’s the problem: the hologram of Reverse-Flash was a fake, while the real Reverse-Flash (Wells / Thawne) jumped from his wheelchair into super-speed mode to make it look like Reverse-Flash grabbed Wells and dragged him into the containment field. After a bit, Reverse-Flash super-speeds away with Barry as they fight. But what about “Wells”? Presumably either A) there’s a hologram of an injured Wells lying on the platform in the lab, or B) Reverse-Flash is in fact still using super-speed to create an illusory double. Only… the latter can’t be true, because how can he be doing that while getting his butt kicked by Firestorm?

Firestorm heats things up for Reverse-Flash.

Caitlin and Cisco are shown to be outside at this point, but what about Joe and Eddie? Both men are still inside, totally conscious. Did… did both of these trained and experienced detectives actually not help the freshly beaten, wheelchair-bound Wells up?