Folks,
I’m hopefully getting the iPad issue solved with the help of the good folks who make the mobile site plug-in, so please bear with me a bit longer. To top things off, I hurt my back almost two weeks ago and am using what little time I can spend sitting at my computer taking care of must-do’s. Luckily I had some time open up so I hope to have a solution later today, though it may end up being tomorrow.
That said, I’m trying to solve a number of issues and no, I am not in control of the ads.
Consider this an open thread. I have to go to a financial institution that’s 30 minutes each way to hand-deliver a form, so I won’t be back until mid-late afternoon, depending on how I feel and whether I rest.
Added at 18:18: folks who have issues with the iPad or other tablet view of the mobile site, go to the bottom of the page and tap the Desktop link to view the desktop site. You can switch back when the issue is fixed. I did take a rest and am done fiddling for the day.
different-church-lady
Here, let me add to your burden with something I’ve been meaning to report for a while: when using Firefox on an old Mac, I’ve noticed the page-loading indicator never stops spinning, even though the page seems to be fully there. This has been the case for at least a year or two now.
But now that I have some modern Apple devices in my life, I notice that Safari (both iPad and Mac) frequently gives the “this page was reloaded because it was using significant energy” error. I have a feeling these two things are related. (This is on the desktop site — I never use the mobile even on the iPad)
Miss Bianca
Be well, Alain! Remember, take care of yourself first! We can wait! : )
rikyrah
Get better, Alain.
Heal up. The site will still be here once you are all well.
Yarrow
Take care of yourself, Alain. Thank you for all your work keeping the place going.
Mike J
@different-church-lady: In firefox you can hit F12 and switch to the network tab to see what is making requests and how long they take. With ublock origin adblocker on, the page loads for me in 2 seconds and transfers ~300k of data. With the adblocker off it was still running after 2 minutes and had transferred 25MB.
FlipYrWhig
@different-church-lady: Yup, I have this at the top of my page RIGHT NOW cutting across your very comment. “This webpage is using significant energy. Closing it may improve the responsiveness of your Mac.”
Major Major Major Major
@different-church-lady: @Mike J: yep, this is an ad thing. (I use safari with the free AdGuard and Ghostery plugins personally, and the AdGuard app on my iPhone.)
Thanks for all you do Alain!
burnspbesq
Thanks, Alain.
Nicole
Thanks, Alain and I second (third? fourth?) the take-care-of-yourself-first wishes.
Also, the ads are fine. Annoying, sure. But advertisements are the price we pay for entertainment. Has always been thus and shall always be. It’s okay. To answer the question posed in Gladiator, YES I AM ENTERTAINED. THANK YOU, JACKALS.
williamC
Thanks! I thought it was just my iPad Pro! I haven’t had time to check it out because it was only happening on Safari and only for BJ. Yay! One problem on its way to being solved…if only Pussygrabber was so easy a situation…
p.a.
Only iPad issue I see (Air, wifi only, Safari) is the lack of buttons for comment text. Annoyance factor: moderate, except for annoyance factor: infinity for inserting links.
Good luck.
Try rolling around on a tennis ball (on a padded floor) for back issues. Don’t try (voice of experience here) a lacrosse ball. Although I must say the new pains it brought on did send the back pain to the… background.
Ruckus
@different-church-lady:
Safari did that for but the last update fixed it.
It’s not really using too much memory in any case it was a warning that was set too low.
Aardvark Cheeselog
Speaking of mobile issues: Maybe you already know about this, but using Chrome on an Android device, I get constant interference with music play apps by BJ. Not every page, but most posts, will cause music play to pause. I suspect it’s some kind of autoplay media ad.
Also too, there’s a video ad container that appears at the bottom right of many posts that is an absoute PITA to dismiss. Yesterday I unintentionally clicked on it 4 or 5 times trying to dismiss it. Possibly this is a manifestation of the same issue.
Mai Naem mobile
Your back is more important than Apple fanboys. Just saying.
J R in WV
I had back trouble off and on for years. First time my legs went numb while kayaking New River 40 years ago…!
The last time it really got me down was quite a long while ago, because that time I got great physical therapy, where they taught me over and over and over how to pick up stuff, how to get down low by squatting rather than bending over, etc.
I have been back for other issues since, very professional therapists following professional guidelines closely. Associated with a teaching hospital in town.
Strongly recommend finding such a PT shop and staying with them… a doctor with experience in the area sent me to them, the surgeon that did my shoulder replacements also recommended them.
Short term, hot tub action helps a lot, lying on my back stretching out my back by pulling my knees, raising my legs, other recommended exercises… Don’t do any exercises not recommended by your PT staff.
Also, that ad seems to be extremely badly behaved, will install another ad-blocker as my current install seems to have suddenly failed to deal with it. Ads are one thing, any software that fucks up your network to the tune of megabytes is not the same thing, it’s as bad as a virus. It IS a virus, really.
Best of luck, Alain!
ETA add details…
pluky
Thanks for the update! And to join the chorus, take care of your back. I work as an insurance company pricing actuary. The #1 reason for long term disability claims are back problems.
WhatsMyNym
Alain, Hope you feel better soon.
Mel
Alain, your health is more important than anything. You already do so much here; things will hold for a while while you do the important job of taking care of your body. Stress can exacerbate pain and inflammation, so no worrying about small stuff for a while, okay?
JR in WV’s assessments above re: truly skilled physical therapists are spot on. Supportive PT often can help immensely when it’s the right team of therapists.
ruemara
Thanks, Alain. We appreciate your hard work! You sure you should be working with your back so bad? Do they know why it’s hurting?
Duane
@Aardvark Cheeselog: That sideways autoplay PITA ad from hell did the same to me.(chrome android mobile) Ad block browser has fixed it.
Mnemosyne
@Aardvark Cheeselog:
I had the same music play issue on my iPhone and Safari. I don’t know if it’s still happening because I stopped trying to surf B-J and listen to music at the same time.
I was kind of okay with the pop-up ad until someone (the advertiser?) decided to tweak how far it comes out so now it’s almost impossible to hit the white X to close it because the white X only shows halfway.
satby
Joining in the thanks and take care of yourself first!
Then just a mention that it’s not just IPads having these issues, Kindles using the Silk browser are too. Hopefully the same tweaks fix both at once.
Mary G
Feel better soon, Alain.
different-church-lady
@Mike J: I’ll try the F12 trick when I get home, but I can say that I don’t have ad-blockers (or other add-ons of that variety) running on the iPad.
@Mai Naem mobile:
Well, I agree, despite your ill-informed perspective.
Just to be clear, this is not a demand for a fix, just some feedback he might like to have.
Barry
Thanks for the update. Good luck!
“Treat Your Own Back” by Robin McKenzie (an M.D.) shows a number of stretches I’ve found to be excellent First Aid and restorative work. Hope you feel better soon.
Aleta
Alan,
Same as what @Mel: already said so well.
frosty
Alain — as a fellow sufferers of back pain I can’t recommend this book too highly. The author navigated and researched the back pain industry for 6 years and ended up with several different approaches to posture and exercise. It’s McGill’s Big 3 for me.
https://www.amazon.com/Crooked-Outwitting-Industry-Getting-Recovery/dp/0062641786
Ten Bears
I have alway go to the bottom of the page and switch to Desktop view. No bigger deal than just opening a post.