December 29, 2007

The day after Christmas:
As mentioned earlier, Kim and I would like to take the opportunity to wish all our visitors a 'Happy Holiday' season. We sincerely hope that you and your family have a joyous time during the next few days, and throughout the year to come. Thanks for being our friends and family. We wish we could make a trip out to see all our friends and family, but that's not going to happen this year. Maybe we'll see you in the months to come.

Apparently, I was a good boy this year. As part of my reward, I raked in a couple of nerd toys this holiday season. Two gifts warrant a mention in my 'techno-geek' blog. I picked up a new iPod. I really needed a new one. My 15Gb iPod was purchased back in 2003. It served me well over the last four years, but the battery is suffering greatly at this point. I'm planning to continue using it. I'll repurpose it for the wife. It'll take me some time, but I'm planning to make our iTunes library more accessible. So that both of us can access the entire library. Once I get that done, I can set up the old iPod for her. The new iPod is an iPod classic. One of the 160Gb models. Now I can fit my 10,000+ songs onto a single iPod. With plenty of room for expansion, I seriously doubt I'll run out of room any time soon. The other gift of note is a new GPS navigation unit. This portable unit fits in the palm of your hand, and it comes with a windshield mounting kit. Kim and I plan to use it in both of our vehicles. Made by Garmin, Kim took her time researching the purchase of this Nüvi 350.
<https://www.robsworld.org/iphoto/xmas2007/index.html>
<https://www.robsworld.org/ipod160gb.png>
<https://www.robsworld.org/garmin_nuvi350.png>
<https://www.robsworld.org/christmas2007.pdf>

Software favorites:
One of my favorite pieces of software recently released an update. GraphicConverter moves ever forward. One more steps towards perfection. Another product that's always getting better. This release marks the incremental advance of beta releases. Here's the official 6.0.4b0 release. This beta release contained a handful of bug fixes, but no updated or new features.

GraphicConverter:
The developer of this fantastic application released a new beta version (6.0.4b0), in the past few days. GraphicConverter is an image converter and editor. A fantastic piece of shareware that is well worth the price ($34.95). I use it to convert image formats into web standard formats, to create and edit image maps and other graphics. I've been singing GC's praises for many years now, and I'm not sure I would do without it. The best part about GC is it's author. Thorsten Lemke is completely committed to his customer base. Constantly and Continuously responding to customer recommendations and bug reports. GC is a dynamic, evolving, application. Always on the cutting edge, an absolute must in any web developers tool box. At a fraction of PhotoShop's cost, this photo editor puts a huge wrench in your toolbox.
<http://www.lemkesoft.com/xd/public/content/index._cGlkPTE5Mw_.html>
<https://www.robsworld.org/myfavs.html>

More downloads in December:
Here's a list of some of the music I recently acquired. Where do I get all this stuff? I find a lot of free (actually free) music by visiting several of the new music web sites out there. Artists want you to hear their music - If you like it, you'll buy it. The major labels want you to pay for their product - letting you hear it for free is contrary to their business model. Well, guess what? I won't buy it unless I can listen to it first. The major labels are killing themselves with their restrictive distribution and dissemination policies. If you like new music, you can do a google search to find your favorite artists web site, a new music web site, or an archive of free music. Free music is available - Legally! Don't believe the major labels propaganda - Not all free music is illegal. You can legally download music for free. I download music from websites, newsgroups (when I already own rights to the music), and a couple of commercial sources. Here's a listing of some of the music I legally downloaded.

iTunes free download - plus downloads from artists website:
* The Mary Onettes - The Mary Onettes: (5 songs) I first learned of this band from iTunes. One of the tracks was offered as a free download. Unfortunately, the download they offered had some technical flaws, so I had to use Audio Hijack and Audacity to affect some repairs. After I fixed the iTunes download, I went out and collected a few more tracks from the artists web site. The Mary Onettes are defined primarily by their comparison to other bands. Another band that I would compare to 80's bands that I love/loved - Echo and the Bunnymen, Modern English, Joy Division, Flock of Seagulls. These comparisons aren't necessarily a bad thing. I for one appreciate this resurrection of the 80's. Thankfully their debut is available on eMusic, and I plan to download that album soon.

Artists Website:
* Alejandro Escovedo - Five Hearts Breaking: (Free single) An artist that I first discovered by listening to emusic samplers back in 2005. This time around I was looking for a free track that I could burn for a friend. I wanted to expose that friend to this artists wonderful work. Powerful, somber and all American. Acoustic, alt-country, blues, ballads.

These are just some of the items I added to my music collection during the month of December. Since returning from Japan in 2001, I've been rediscovering my appreciation for music. I really picked it up again in September of 2005. Since then, I've been slowly adding, revising and updating my music collection. With these acquisitions, I've updated my online music listing. In addition to these new tracks, I also added a new paragraph/section to my music page. The new information provides details about where I buy my music. If you have a comment or a question regarding my music collection, please don't hesitate to send me an email.
<https://www.robsworld.org/mymusic/index.html>
<https://www.robsworld.org/music.html>

Oh no! More Snow!
December is turning out to be a big month for precipitation. The snow started coming down during the last few days of December (Night before and day of Christmas). On the 25th of December, we managed to pull in a pretty wicked storm. This low front moved across the rockies and dumped a huge pile of snow on our area of Colorado. Our neighborhood, in south-eastern Aurora, received approximately 10 inches. I spent two hours shoveling the driveway. Unfortunately, mother nature wasn't done yet. On the 27th we got dumped on again. This time it wasn't quite as bad. We accumulated another 4 inches throughout the day. On Friday (28 Dec, 2007), I was out there shoveling the driveway again. Along with this snowfall comes low temperatures. Bone chilling cold. Down in the single digits at night. The days saw little respite. With the temperatures barely rising above freezing during the day.
<https://www.robsworld.org/iphoto/xmas2007/Pages/White_Christmas.html>

December 24, 2007

The Day before Christmas:
It's the day before Christmas, and I have off. I'm a shift worker, but this year I was lucky enough to have Christmas off. Kim and I would like to take the opportunity to wish all our visitors a 'Happy Holiday' season. We sincerely hope that you and your family have a joyous time during the next few days, and throughout the year to come. Thanks for being our friends and family. We wish we could make the trip out to see all our friends and family, but that's not going to happen this year. Maybe we'll see you in the months to come.

Completely Blank Email:
Lately, I've noticed an increase in the number of completely blank emails arriving in my inbox, and I'm not the only one. As a matter of fact, the email I receive regarding completely blank emails has quadrupled this year. Apparently I'm not the only one getting these blank emails. If you'd like to learn more about these 'completely blank emails', you should check out the web page I wrote back in 2005. It's getting more and more hits lately.

<rave>Speaking of completely blank emails, I recently discovered a disturbing change to my favorite spam reporting provider. Earlier this month (Dec 07), Spamcop instituted a change which prevented me from reporting these blank emails as spam. Well, here's the good news. I'm not sure whether they read my posting, got some negative feedback, or fixed something that was broken - but, they've reversed that situation. I am now able to continue reporting these blank messages as spam. About 90% of the blank emails arrive via open proxies. A surefire sign that the email is spam. In either case, I consider these 'unsolicited messages' to be spam. I report them using SpamCop. SpamCop still doesn't allow me to report spam that doesn't have a body, so I add my report to the body of the report (while noting that I added the body). Thank you SpamCop. These blank emails are a form of spam, and I for one am glad that you have restored my ability to report them as such. </rave>

There are a lot of clueless ISPs and system administrators out there. I routinely encounter misdirected spam bounces, undeliverable postmaster addresses, and idiotic security practices. All perpetrated by supposedly knowledgeable experts. Where's my 'Cluestick!' If you ever need any help hunting down a spammer, don't hesitate to ask for my help. I'm willing and eager to help. Just drop me an email. I'd put the email address here, but this email message is also posted online, where spammers could scrape the email off the web page. Damn those spammers!
<https://www.robsworld.org/index2.html#fightingspam>
<https://www.robsworld.org/blankemail.html>

Encryption:
Due to a recent upgrade in my encryption software, I've updated my feedback page. I use GnuPG v1.4.8 for encryption/decryption. If you would like to correspond in secret, please take note of my Public Keys. I use GnuPG with the GPGMail (d50/Leopard build) bundle, in order to encrypt/decrypt my email in Apple's Mail.app 3.1 (914/915) built on Mac OS 10.5.1 (build 9B18). My public keys are available on various keyservers, or you can get them from my website, whichever you prefer. With this recent change in my encryption software, I've updated my feedback page.
<https://www.robsworld.org/feedback.html>

Free Music:
Free music is available - Legally! Don't believe the major labels propaganda - Not all free music is illegal. You can legally download music for free. I download music from websites, newsgroups (when I already own rights to the music), and a couple of commercial sources. Here's a small sample of some of that free music.

eMusic free downloads:
* Daytrotter Sessions - Volume 2: (9 songs) Here's another compilation of alternative/indie tracks. These songs originate with a website called 'Daytrotter.com'. I haven't had a chance to check that out yet, but I have checked out this compilation. It's great - I've definitely identified some artists (White Rabbits and The Boggs) that I'm planning to follow up with, and additional sessions may mark some more music worth purchasing.

Every month I download 90 tracks from eMusic.com. I bought in when the price was right - $19.99 for 90 DRM free songs a month. At less than $.25 a track, that's a awesome value. iTunes eat your heart out. You can't get that deal anymore, but eMusic still offers more music for your money, and the variable bit rate recordings make for exceptionally high quality. In addition to all these great reasons, the free compilations (like the one above) are just one more reason to give eMusic a try. If you have a comment or a question regarding my music collection, please don't hesitate to send me an email.
<https://www.robsworld.org/mymusic/index.html>
<https://www.robsworld.org/music.html>

December 20, 2007

Fighting Spam:
<rave>Recently (11 Dec 2007) I received an email message from Anthony Edwards, a system administrator for a few different domains (Easynet UK, Sky Broadband, and others?). The email I received from Mr. Edwards, was sent in response to spam that I reported through SpamCop. Anthony wrote to inform me that the spammers account has been suspended, and to thank me for reporting the spam sent through his network. This isn't the first time I've received an actual positive response from a spam report, but I report more than a thousand spam messages per month, and I almost never receive thanks, email, or any sort of reply from the ISPs where the spam originated. Kudos to Anthony Edwards and the companies he works for. Thanks for helping to fight spam. This isn't the first time that I've received an actual response from Anthony Edwards, and it's apparent that he's taken the time to send a personal response (because of the way the SpamCop reporting system works). System administrators like Anthony are our front line in the war against spam. If every ISP employed someone with Anthony's attitude, we'd have a lot less spam to sift through in the morning.</rave>
<https://www.robsworld.org/index2.html#fightingspam>

D&D updates:
We played D&D on the 15th of December, and I've completed a few updates from that meeting. Our meeting on the 15th marked Eric's first meeting. Lars had to leave our group to attend college in California. With his departure I sought out a new player to fill his spot. Someone who could play one our two 'playerless' characters (Zeddishous and Belt). Prior to his departure, Lars had recommended a friend. I contacted Eric, and everything seems solid. He showed up on the 15th and everything seemed to work out well. For now, he's playing Belt.

Having spent themselves on futile battles with mindless creatures and evil denizens, the party recently discovered an entrance into the Duergar complex of Firestorm Peak. Bluffing their way into an underground town, the party sought clues and supplies. They went there seeking information and supplies. Unfortunately, their stay in that town was cut very short when they were recognized from their fierce assault at the entrance to Firestorm Peak, and they were asked to leave. Escorted out of the inhabited section of the caverns, the party has returned through trickery (the Blink Dog carried them directly into the Duergar town). Bypassing guards and wards, the party engaged Wellfast (leader of the Duergar of Firestorm Peak) in heated battle. In our meeting on the 15th, they successfully concluded that battle, and found one of the Crystal Shards! You can learn more about this meeting as soon as I post the journal entry. Look for it in the days to come. As the clock ticks forward, the gates wait for no one, and the party has yet to find any of the crystal rods. Does the leader of the Duergar hold one of the rods? Will the party have enough time to find and vanquish the source of evil within this mountain? What of Nigel, Tanar's father? Stay tuned for danger, stay tuned for mystery, stay tuned for adventure!

Who's Who?
As a result of our last meeting, I updated the entry for a Belt, one of the members of our adventuring group. I updated Belt's description and added a background for this devout Monk. I also updated the entry for Wellfast Brightblade. Unfortunately for Wellfast, his reign over the Duergar of Firestorm Peak has come to a bloody end at the bottom of the party's portable hole. The "Who's Who?" page is a listing of characters, both player characters and non-player characters.
<https://www.robsworld.org/3ewhoswho.html>

Players in our campaign:
Players update. At a recent meeting (17 Nov 07) Lars announced that he would be moving to California for six months or so. He would no longer attend our meetings. We'll miss Lars, and hope to see him return after he returns to Colorado. Lars' departure left us short by one player, but that opening didn't last long. Lars had recommended an addition to our group, and we're glad to have Eric join us at the table. With these changes to our player roster, I took a new group photo and posted it on our players page. I also made some other minor changes to the Players page.
<https://www.robsworld.org/players.html>

3rd Edition Campaign:
I updated the next game date (03 Nov 2007) on the campaign page. This is the first stop for information on the campaign that I'm currently running. Here you'll find information regarding our next meeting, some notes, and an index of web pages and documents that are important to our campaign. In addition to updating the next game date, I also posted some changes to player information and another new group photo!
<https://www.robsworld.org/3ecampaign.html>

Here there be Heroes:
With all the character updates recently, I took the time to update the "Hero's Gallery". I updated the entries for Belt, Zeddishous and Tanar. The Hero's Gallery is a list of characters from my campaign. Past and present, the characters listed represent a fraction of those who have called Rob's World! home. Some of the players are long forgotten, but many of the characters live long in our memory. Who can forget their heroic feats, the daring deeds, and tragic endings? Let's heft our mugs, sing their praises, and salute those hero's of lore!
<https://www.robsworld.org/gallery.html>

Where Now:
With the recent updates to Belt's character, I added a few new locations to this page. The new places come from Belt's background. I added new entries for Five Corners and Icewind Dale. "Where Now?" is a listing of various places the party has visited or researched.
<https://www.robsworld.org/wherenow.html>

Say What?!
Back in 2003, I added the 'Say What?' page. It's a collection of some memorable sayings from players in my D&D game. Recently (15 Dec, 2007), I added another new quote to the web page. Something heard during the latest D&D session:

Solmar the Paladin: If we kill him he's only dead!
What was the Paladin trying to say? We should keep him alive so we could torture him? Paladins say the funniest things sometimes.

Our next gaming date is 12 January, 2008 (Not until next year). Stay tuned for more adventure; there will be lots of thrills and excitement in the months to come. In this quest there is a time limit that the party must be cognizant of. If they spend too much time fighting beasties, they just might find that they've run out of time to unravel the mysteries of Firestorm Peak. Be sure to follow our adventurers as they search for Tanar's father, and seek out the source of taint inside Firestorm Peak. I hope to complete additional updates (including an updated journal entry) prior to our next meeting.
<https://www.robsworld.org/3ecampaign.html>

Apple Security Update 2007-09:
Another security update released by Apple This update addresses a slew of security concerns. 41 different patches, as a matter of fact. A new version of the operating system often brings a large batch of bugs, and Apple's OS X is no exception to that rule. No matter how many people you've got QC'ing your work, a general release will always find more flaws. Thankfully, Apple's software update makes it easy to find out about, and implement these security updates. If you own a Mac, you can rest assured that any potential security concerns will be addressed in a timely and thorough manner. You can read more about the update at Apple's website. Keeping my Mac safe from malicious hackers and such.
<http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/security/>

December 14, 2007

Neighborhood Watch:
Civic duty? Recently (Oct of 2007), I decided that I wanted to do more to help my community. With shift work, finding something that I can do to help has been a bit difficult. When I started wondering what I could do that wouldn't necessarily require a specific 9-5 schedule, I realized that my odd-ball schedule would actually work in my favor if I were up at odd hours of the day. I decided to volunteer with our local neighborhood watch. Like many of the people in my community. I own some nice things, and I want to keep it that way. Volunteering for the neighborhood watch doesn't require a lot of dedication, but it does require some attention to detail and a keen sense of your surroundings.

<rant>Recently (Dec 5, '07), we held our first public Neighborhood Watch meeting. Due to some unexplained reason, our HOA's community representative decided to move our meeting to the basement of our clubhouse. Apparently, our communities builder gets priority over the actual residents of our community. We had the meeting room booked before them, but we got pushed down into a tiny room in the basement of the building. What a load of 'you know what'! We told her that we'd have way more than 50 people, but she didn't seem to care. When it came time to have our meeting, we started turning people away. We had about thirty people (including the Aurora Chief of Police) crammed into our basement, before something helpful happened.</rant>

Someone went upstairs and asked the D.R. Horton representative, whether they would mind switching places with us. They had about twelve people in the upstairs meeting room, and we had 30 plus downstairs. They agreed to move, and we were able to accommodate most of the crowd that showed up. We estimate a crowd somewhere around a hundred. Even in the larger meeting room, we still had people standing in the foyer outside the room, and some people left when we ran out of seating.

So, by numbers alone, it was a huge success. Aurora’s Chief of police (Daniel J. Oates) showed up, and answered several questions from residents. After we wore out the Chief, Sgt Mike Yorchak (who lives in the area) was called in for back-up. He handled several more questions related to issues in our community. In addition to the police presence, we were also pleased to have Helen Verizzi (the head of Aurora’s Neighborhood Watch program) present at our meeting.

Despite all the celebrities present at our first public meeting, the people who really made it a success were You! A fantastic turn-out by our community made this meeting one of the biggest turnouts ever seen (for Aurora Neighborhood Watch). Thanks for showing up, asking questions, and caring about the safety and security of our community.

If you are a resident of 'Tollgate Crossing' in Aurora, Colorado, you might want to check out the new website. If you're a fan of "Rob's World!" you'll want to check out the web page, just to see what can be done with Apple's iWeb software. The web page turned out very nicely, and I hope it serves our community well. After the meeting, I updated the Neighborhood Watch page. I made some format changes, updated the events and welcome pages, and created two new pages: Community Information and the Alert Me List.

If you're a resident of Tollgate Crossing, and you're concerned about the safety and security of our community, you might want to join or mailing list to receive periodic alerts, updates and information. For additional information see the Neighborhood Watch web page.
<http://www.auroragov.org/AuroraGov/Departments/Police/Neighborhood_Watch/index.htm>
<http://www.tollgatecrossing.org/index.html>

Completely Blank Email:
Lately, I've noticed an increase in the number of completely blank emails arriving in my inbox, and I'm not the only one. As a matter of fact, the email I receive regarding completely blank emails has quadrupled this year. Apparently I'm not the only one getting these blank emails. If you'd like to learn more about these 'completely blank emails', you should check out the web page I wrote back in 2005. It's getting more and more hits lately.

<rant>Speaking of completely blank emails, I've discovered a disturbing change to my favorite spam reporting provider. Lately, Spamcop has instituted a change which prevents me from reporting these blank emails as spam. A practice I had been following. About 90% of the blank emails arrive via open proxies. A surefire sign that the email is spam. In either case, I consider these 'unsolicited messages' to be spam (maybe SpamCop doesn't agree with me). I used to report them using SpamCop. In the past, SpamCop wouldn't allow me to report spam that didn't have a body, so I would add my report to the body of the report (while noting that I added the body). Now, SpamCop won't let me submit spam that doesn't have a From: line? What the? A From: line? 99% of the spam that people receive includes a 'Forged' from line so what difference does that make? I can't believe I have to call out SpamCop for being 'spam friendly'. It's disgusting. I can only imagine that their legal department pressured them to make the change. I've found a way around their ridiculous restriction, but I'm going to stop reporting these blank emails through SpamCop. I wouldn't want them to think that I was abusing their spam reporting mechanism. In the meantime, I'm still being abused by these blank emails. Does SpamCop think they're legitimate - as in 'not spam'? I doubt it.</rant>

There are a lot of clueless ISPs and system administrators out there. I routinely encounter misdirected spam bounces, undeliverable postmaster addresses, and idiotic security practices. All perpetrated by supposedly knowledgeable experts. Where's my 'Cluestick!' If you ever need any help hunting down a spammer, don't hesitate to ask for my help. I'm willing and eager to help. Just drop me an email. I'd put the email address here, but this email message is also posted online, where spammers could scrape the email off the web page. Damn those spammers!
<https://www.robsworld.org/index2.html#fightingspam>
<https://www.robsworld.org/blankemail.html>

The density of my dental provider:
O.k. I retired from the military back in January of 2005, and my dental provider used to be Dentrust Dental (of Aurora, Colorado). Now that I've retired from the military, I'm on my second dental provider. The first one didn't treat us right. Thankfully, when you're a civilian, you can switch providers. When you're in the military, you don't have such an option. Well, apparently Dentrust Dental didn't think I had that option. <rant>On the 3rd of Dec, 2007. Someone from Dentrust Dental called me at work. They were calling to try and set me up with a check up. Apparently, it's been six months since I was last seen. I assured the person on the phone that they were mistaken, informed them that I was no longer a patient of theirs, and told them that I was no longer in the military.

The phone call bothered me all day, so I called them back on the 5th. I wanted to make sure someone wasn't pretending to be me, and receiving dental care under my name. I certainly hadn't seen anyone at Dentrust Dental within the last six months, and identity theft is something I don't want to deal with. I called them back, and spent fifteen minutes trying to cut through the crappy red tape.

At first they didn't believe that I wasn't in the military. Then they didn't believe that I was me. That's when things started getting heated. I explained to them that I was concerned that someone might be pretending to be me; based on the 'your last appointment was six months ago' line that I got when they called me at work. I also explained to them that I wasn't their customer, that they weren't my dental provider, and that I hadn't been in the military for two years. They confirmed the date of my last visit in 2004!, and that's when I told them that I wanted them to remove me, and all my personal information from their system. They tried to argue that only the military could do that. They said I'd have to talk to 'The Military'. I said fine, let me talk to this 'Military'. They put me on hold for about five minutes. When they got back on the phone, they said that all my information would be removed from their system. What a relief!</rant>

Software favorites:
A couple of my favorite software applications were recently updated. Transmit and GraphicConverter have both released new versions this month. The latest batch of releases address Leopard compatibility. With the recent release of Apple's newest OS comes a slew of software upgrades, updates and patches.

GraphicConverter:
The developer of this fantastic application released two new versions (6.0.3 and 6.0.4b0), in the past few days. GraphicConverter is an image converter and editor. A fantastic piece of shareware that is well worth the price ($34.95). I use it to convert image formats into web standard formats, to create and edit image maps and other graphics. I've been singing GC's praises for many years now, and I'm not sure I would do without it. The best part about GC is it's author. Thorsten Lemke is completely committed to his customer base. Constantly and Continuously responding to customer recommendations and bug reports. GC is a dynamic, evolving, application. Always on the cutting edge, an absolute must in any web developers tool box. At a fraction of PhotoShop's cost, this photo editor puts a huge wrench in your toolbox.
<http://www.lemkesoft.com/xd/public/content/index._cGlkPTE5Mw_.html>
<https://www.robsworld.org/myfavs.html>

Transmit:
An FTP tool that does it all. Anyone who publishes web pages eventually needs a way to upload their pages to a web site. I've found that stand alone FTP tools are the best for this task. Transmit has a clean and easy to use interface, and some really nifty features, like the ability to resume a transfer that's been interrupted, site synchronization capabilities, iDisk integration (It's way faster than the finder!), drag-to-dock sending, column views, a built in text editor, and secure ftp transfer (in various different flavors) capability. The most recent update moves this software up to version 3.6.3.
<http://www.panic.com/transmit/index.html>

December's Music Downloads:
Here's a list of some of the music I recently acquired. Where do I get all this stuff? I find a lot of free (actually free) music by visiting several of the new music web sites out there. Artists want you to hear their music - If you like it, you'll buy it. The major labels want you to pay for their product - letting you hear it for free is contrary to their business model. Well, guess what? I won't buy it unless I can listen to it first. The major labels are killing themselves with their restrictive distribution and dissemination policies. If you like new music, you can do a google search to find your favorite artists web site, a new music web site, or an archive of free music. Free music is available - Legally! Don't believe the major labels propaganda - Not all free music is illegal. You can legally download music for free. I download music from websites, newsgroups (when I already own rights to the music), and a couple of commercial sources. Here's a listing of some of the music I legally downloaded.

eMusic monthly downloads:
Every month I download 90 tracks from eMusic.com. I bought in when the price was right - $19.99 for 90 DRM free songs a month. At less than $.25 a track, that's a awesome value. iTunes eat your heart out. You can't get that deal anymore, but eMusic still offers more music for your money, and the variable bit rate recordings make for exceptionally high quality.
* Bishop Allen - The Broken String: (10+2 songs) A 3hive.com discovery. An up and coming group (4 members) from Brooklyn/Boston. Great instruments, a genuine homespun DIY indie ethic, and great lyrics. Excellent melodies, and some splendid story-telling put to music. You'll be hearing this band on the radio and tv.
* A. A. Bondy - American Hearts: (9+3 songs) Another 3hive.com discovery. Folk, blues, alt-country - Americana. Well crafted debut effort. Not overloaded with overbearing instrumentals. Acoustic expression in the key of authentic Americana.
* Shawn Lee's Ping Pong Orchestra - Hits the Hits: (14 songs) I was first exposed to this artist through an eMusic newsletter. High flying, uplifting, electrifying, funkadelic soul. Power-pop for the super-ego. These splendid covers create a life all their own. If I didn't know better, I'd guess they were all originals.
* Gary Numan - Hybrid CD #1: (9 songs) One of my favorite artists from the 80's. Here the artist remixes many of his originals for a new century. Released in 2006, here he's tuned up his classics to turn out a more gothic groove. Dark and moody, super synthetic stylings. The master deftly inhabits the industrial dance niche quite nicely. Spanning a career that reaches all the way back to the 70's, is it possible that his voice still sounds the same? I'll be back for Disc 2 in a few weeks.
* Richard Hawley - Low Edges: (11 songs) With a silky smooth voice, and some simply astonishing guitar work, Richard Hawley is a crooner in the classic sense. Belting out ballads with rich instrumentals and solid sincerity. A favorite artist, discovered using Pandora.com.
* Immaculate Machine - Ones and Zeros: (13 songs) While listening to this band, I'm whisked back to the 'New Wave' of the 80's. I would draw vocal comparisons (with the female lead vocalist) to Martha Johnson (of Martha and the Muffins), and the bands sound to that of 'X'. Excellent guitar work, harmony, and lyrics. This band has a crispy alt-country blues feel, that I found very easy to tap my foot to. Discovered through an iTunes free download.
* Elk City - New Believers: (11 songs) Discovered by listening to 3hive.com. Here's a hard working band from New York. They've been around for about ten years, but I just found out about them. The female vocalist has a really good voice, and the band manages to mix electronic synth and traditional rock in an uncompromising vaporous cloud of emotionally charged music.
* Colin Hay - Man @ Work: (13 songs) Here's an old favorite from the 80's. Former lead of Men At Work, it's been a while since I heard this man's voice. It's worn a bit by the many years that have passed, but he's still got great command of range, and the sentiment and evocative pictures he paints are incomparable. Here are some of the old favorites from the 80's; Reworked with more acoustic emphasis and matured like fine wine.

Website downloads:
* Plastic Passion - Before the Album: (5 songs) Here are five downloads from an artists website. Discovered using 3hive.com, here's a band with plenty of promise. While drawing comparisons to the Cure, Joy Division, and Public Image Ltd. I can't help but love their infectious lyrics and loopy instrumentals. There's plenty of conviction in the lead singer's voice, and I for one appreciated this slightly darker reflection of the 80's. I certainly hope their first album is available via eMusic.com.

These are just some of the items I added to my music collection during the month of December. Since returning from Japan in 2001, I've been rediscovering my appreciation for music. I really picked it up again in September of 2005. Since then, I've been slowly adding, revising and updating my music collection. With these acquisitions, I've updated my online music listing. If you have a comment or a question regarding my music collection, please don't hesitate to send me an email.
<https://www.robsworld.org/mymusic/index.html>
<https://www.robsworld.org/music.html>

Vexed by my Vision Provider:
Lately, I've been vexed by my health care providers have been giving me fits. First it's my Dental providers, now it's my Vision providers. <rant>So, what's the deal this time? They refuse to provide me with service. On the 9th of December, I tried to set up my annual eye exam. They would not allow me to schedule a routine eye care appointment with my doctor (an Ophthalmologist). The whole reason I chose that office (Centennial Eye Associates), was because they had an Ophthalmologist (MD) on staff. Back in Sep of 1997, I sustained some eye injuries, while white water rafting on the New River (in West Virginia). As a result of those injuries, I underwent some facial reconstructive surgery (to repair a fracture to my orbit). After the surgery, my doctor (at Bethesda Naval Medical Center), recommended that I see an Ophthalmologist annually. Due to the injury and reconstructive surgery, I'm at a higher risk for certain eye related diseases/ailments.

So, now that we're done with the background, back to the present. I tried to make a routine eye appointment with Dr. Burrell, the Ophthalmologist who works with Centennial Eye Associates. Unfortunately, they would not allow me to make that appointment. According to the receptionist, Dr. Burrell's schedule is full, and all her non-medical patients (i.e. those with a medical condition) are being referred to optometrists. Dr. Burrell is no longer doing routine eye exams 'at this time'. I took an appointment with one of their Optometrists. Now folks, there is a difference between an Optometrist and an Ophthalmologist The difference is Medical School. Dr. Burrell is a medically trained physician (medical school), who has attended/specializes in Ophthalmology. An Optometrist? Well, they may be qualified to exam my vision, but I need someone capable of spotting the onset of any eye related ailments (see above regarding eye injuries).

After I made the appointment with the Optometrist, I called my insurance provider. They assured me that Dr. Burrell is participating in their program. Under that agreement, she must see patients for routine and medical appointments. i.e. She can't 'not' see patients for 'routine' eye care. I called the clinic back. This time, I was transferred to the management (I spoke with a 'Steve' - Some sort of upper level bureaucrat). I explained to Steve that I wanted to be seen by an Ophthalmologist, that I specifically chose Centennial Eye Associates because they had an Ophthalmologist, that I had been seen by Dr. Burrell in the past (without any 'Medical' conditions), that I was at an increased risk for... The conversation went on for a good twenty minutes before I finally dragged it out of Steve. I would not be able to make a 'routine' eye care appointment with Dr. Burrell. Not now, not in the future. She is only seeing patients who currently have a medical condition. She is not doing any 'routine' eye exams.

I was forced to switch providers. If I am not permitted to see an Ophthalmologist by that office (despite their agreement with the insurance company), I'll have to take my business elsewhere. What crap. I informed my insurance provider that I was refused care. Hopefully, they can deal with this care provider more effectively.</rant>

Snow and Cold in December:
Holy snow drifts Batman! Over the last week (7-14 December, 2007) we've been hit by consecutive waves of biting cold and snow. It all started on the evening of 7 Dec. Overnight and into the 8th we managed to accumulate an inch of snow, and the temperatures were down in the teens. On the 9th of December, we accumulated another inch of snow, but the temps remained low. On the 10th it stopped snowing and we got some melting going on, as the temps rose up into the high 30's. Then the temps dropped again, and we got some more snow on the evening of the 11th. The snow carried through to the next day, and by the 12th we'd accumulated another two inches. On the 13th we didn't get any snow, and we actually had a little melting. Then the temps dropped, and it started snowing - again! This is an unusual amount of precipitation for our area, but we need it - badly. It snowed most of the day on the 14th of December, 2007. We picked up another two inches, but the temps were extremely low. Last night (14/15 December) the temps dipped down into the single digits. So today (15th of December), it looks like we're going to get some melting temps and no snow! Unfortunately, I'm going to have to get out there and shovel. Our North facing exposure just doesn't get enough sunshine to melt those drifts.

D&D updates:
We played D&D on the 1st of December, and I've completed a few updates from that meeting. Our meeting on the 1st marked Lars' last meeting for a six month period. He's moving to California to attend a school. With his departure I sought out a new player to fill his spot. Someone who could play one our two 'playerless' characters (Zeddishous and Belt). Prior to his departure, Lars had recommended a friend. I contacted Eric, and everything seems solid. He's looking forward to joining our group. He's agreed to play Belt for the time being, and he should make his first appearance at our next meeting.

Having spent themselves on futile battles with mindless creatures and evil denizens, the party recently discovered an entrance into the Duergar complex of Firestorm Peak. Bluffing their way into an underground town, the party sought clues and supplies. They went there seeking information and supplies. Unfortunately, their stay in that town was cut very short when they were recognized from their fierce assault at the entrance to Firestorm Peak, and they were asked to leave. Escorted out of the inhabited section of the caverns, the party has returned through trickery (the Blink Dog carried them directly into the Duergar town). Bypassing guards and wards, the party has engaged Wellfast (leader of the Duergar of Firestorm Peak) in heated battle. As the clock ticks forward, the gates wait for no one, and the party has yet to find any of the crystal rods. Does the leader of the Duergar hold one of the rods? Will the party have enough time to find and vanquish the source of evil within this mountain? What of Nigel, Tanar's father? Stay tuned for danger, stay tuned for mystery, stay tuned for adventure!

The Adventurers journal:
The tale of our adventurers. A series of journal entries from various party members. This document contains details of their encounters. Victory, defeat, desire and glory. Here is the tale of S.C.R.E.W.O.F.F.S., a group of adventurers who set forth from Whillip, seeking fame, fortune and the defeat of evil in these lands. This weeks entry is Triple-Play journal. With submissions from Mark, Lee and the star of the show! You won't want to miss the insightful entries penned in our journal. Be sure to read about the party's journey into Firestorm Peak.
<https://www.robsworld.org/ajournal07.html#dec01_2007>

Who's Who?
As a result of our last meeting, I updated the entry for a Wellsfast - Leader of the Duergar community inside FireStorm peak. The party knew that he was a member of Nigel's adventuring group, but they'd forgotten that nugget of information. The "Who's Who?" page is a listing of characters, both player characters and non-player characters.
<https://www.robsworld.org/3ewhoswho.html>

Combat with Wellfast:
Wellfast Brightblade is the leader of a Duergar community inside Firestorm Peak. Six hundred and forty years ago, this surface Dwarf overthrew the Duergar leadership and installed himself as the ruler of this clan. Apparently infected with the corruption of taint, Wellfast may be the guardian of a crystal shard (which the party needs). On the other hand, he may just be a mad Dwarve bent on destroying the party. When we last left the party (at the end of the 1 Dec '07 meeting), they were engaged in combat with this warrior.
<https://www.robsworld.org/wellfastmap.png>

As the clock ticks forward:
Recently, Lee decided to create a timeline of our party's adventure. As this adventure is timed, the party needs to pay particular attention to the amount of time they've expended, the time remaining, and how far they progressed in achieving their goal. The crystal gates of Firestorm Peak will only stay open for 28 days, and they've already used 5 days. The gates wait for no one, and the party has yet to find any of the crystal rods. Does the leader of the Duergar hold one of the rods? Will the party have enough time to find and vanquish the source of evil within this mountain? What of Nigel, Tanar's father? Lee has indicated that he will continue to update this timeline, if people find it useful. Well, as the DM, I can definitely say - It's helpful to me.
<https://www.robsworld.org/timeline.png>

New feats:
I added seven new flaws to our campaign feats document. The credit for all but one of these new feats goes to a player in our campaign (Mark), who saw an opportunity to enhance our game play. These flaws help players create characters with more flavor, and they also result in a reward of one feat per flaw taken. Is your character afraid of water, swamps, giants? Maybe you should check out these (and more) new flaws. The feats document contains campaign tailored skills, feats, traits and flaws. The feats listing is available for download by the members of our D&D campaign. It's a password protected pdf, so you'll need the password in order to read it. I encrypted the document because some of the materials are taken in whole directly from copyrighted game materials. It's not my stuff, and I don't have explicit permission to re-distribute it. Thanks to Apple for making my computer powerful and versatile. Without OS10, I'd have to pay really big bucks to make password protected pdf files.
<https://www.robsworld.org/3enewfeats.pdf>

Our next gaming date is 15 December, 2007 (Tonight!). Stay tuned for more adventure; there will be lots of thrills and excitement in the months to come. In this quest there is a time limit that the party must be cognizant of. If they spend too much time fighting beasties, they just might find that they've run out of time to unravel the mysteries of Firestorm Peak. Be sure to follow our adventurers as they search for Tanar's father, and seek out the source of taint inside Firestorm Peak. I hope to complete additional updates (including an updated journal entry) prior to our next meeting.
<https://www.robsworld.org/3ecampaign.html>

December 6, 2007