August 31, 2008

Movie Purchases:
It's been quite a while since I bought any movies, but this month I've raked in quite a catch. I purchased three movies during the month of August (purchased from DeepDiscount.com and Wal-Mart). The movies from Wal-Mart were a few of those $1.00 movies. Can't really go wrong with those, so I took a chance. All but one of the others were purchases from my 'Must Buy' list. So what are the new movies? Two foreign films and four American movies. Below is a short synopsis of some of the movies I bought. If you'd like some full reviews, see my movie reviews index page.

American movies:
* CQ: ($8.05) The distorted fantasy, reality bending, slightly out of focus aspects of this film are complemented by it's 'film within a film' ethic.
* The Fast and the Furious: ($1) I'll bet you didn't know that the 2001 movie starring Vin Diesel was a remake! I bought this primarily because the story was penned (and directed?) by Roger Corman - King of Shlock, Shock, and late night B-Movie stock. Haven't seen it yet. I'll let you know as soon as I get a chance to watch this late night forgotten flick.
* Kiss Daddy Goodnight: ($1) I'm probably going to regret it, but hey - it was only a buck! This one stars Uma Thurman in her first starring role, and Steve Buscemi in a very early roll. I bought it because of Steve Buscemi - an excellent actor. O.k. I'm secretly hoping to see Uma show some skin. I'll give you the review later.
* Death Valley - The Revenge of Bloody Bill: ($1) A silly zombie flick. I'm hoping to get a laugh out of this one. Who know's maybe there will be some topless, teen starlets, screaming there heads off. Haven't see it yet, but I'll probably regret it.
* One Eyed Jacks: ($1) This one has promise. NetFlix predicts 4 out of 5. Directed by, and starring Marlon Brando, I'm looking forward to this western.

With these new purchases, I updated the main movies page, my 'must buy' list, the listing of my movie collection, the reviews page, and an alphabetical index (see the ' angry critic' entry above) that I'm working on.
<https://www.robsworld.org/movies.html>

D&D updates:
We played a D&D session on the 23rd of August, and a slew of journal updates have hit the plate. In addition to the journal updates, I also managed to put this heaping batch of campaign updates. Our meeting on the 23rd was a session of healing, debriefings and reincarnation. Yes, reincarnation! During a brief 'Speak With Dead' session, Grenco made it known that he wanted back. He wasn't about to give up his share of treasure so easily. And besides, who would the party use as a Scout if not Grenco? Thanks to Ysoac, Grenco is back.

Previously, the party had defeated Madreus, Nigel (Tanar's lost father), and a group of monstrous minions. After the battle the party refocused the 'Vast Gate', ending this threat of taint from the Far Realms. Despite their successes, the party was still forced to flee the mountain in a desperate race back to a mountain fortress - The Monastery of the Hallowed Doctrine in these Nether Mountains. They were in danger from the taint they'd accumulated in this recent battle. If it wasn't removed soon, it would become permanent, and that 'taint' a good thing! In their departure from the mountain, they opted to travel on foot, back through the tunnels that led to the inner sanctum. Traveling on foot, they encountered a large dharculus (brain eater). An earlier encounter with this creature ended rather quickly, not so this time. In their battle (which you can read about soon), Zeddishous was slain! Yes another dead character, this adventure has certainly taken it's toll on our party of brave adventurers. Be sure to read the journal entry (from the 9th of August) for the gory details!

* Two entries from Solmar - One for the session on the 14th of June, and another for the session held on the 26th of July.
* An entry from the pen of Thalidimar - This journal entry (from the 9 August session) adds another glimpse into the soul of the groups most devout member.
* Finally, a rare submission from Khurshel. Yet another voice from the adventure ending session on the 26th of July.
* Another dual entry - Solmar and Dynnera - The heroic duo, back in the journal again. Here's a double decker entry for our session on the 23rd of August.

Be sure to read about the party's adventures within the home of corruption - The dark and deadly Firestorm Peak.
<https://www.robsworld.org/ajournal07.html#aug09_2008>
<https://www.robsworld.org/ajournal07.html#jul26_2008>
<https://www.robsworld.org/ajournal07.html#jun14_2008>
<https://www.robsworld.org/ajournal07.html#aug23_2008>

House Rules:
Like any other D&D campaign (outside of tournament play), the campaign that I manage makes use of various house rules. You can pick up a new copy of these House Rules online. The House Rules are published in pdf format, and they define the 'flavor' of our campaign. Every good DM has his own list of House Rules. Recently, I've updated one of the house rules documents used in our campaign. Here are the new/updated house rules:

* Time required to change a spell: A tradition in my campaign. A sound accompanying the use of teleport magic. The distinctive sonic signature - 'Bamf' - is now an official part of the campaign.
* Once Per Day effects: Spells, magic items, spell like effects and other magical effects are sometimes described (from pre 3.0 rules sources) as being 'At will'. This description is now given definition as an effect executed under the 'Immediate Action' category. This update includes an expanded clarification regarding this rules intent and application.

That's it for house rule updates. As a player, you are under no obligation to download or print this information. You can make notes during the game, you can print out these documents, you can memorize the info, request to review it, or have it repeated to you each time you come across specific situations. These house rule changes and additions primarily represent flavor updates, and do not have a significant impact on our campaign or the framework of 'official' rules.
<https://www.robsworld.org/3ehsrls.pdf>

Character Traits and Flaws:
Occassionaly, we encounter situations which reveal problems with the rules (our house rules or the 'official rules'). I'm always trying to make our campaign better, and part of that effort comes from player feedback, suggestions and recommendations. If you're a player in our campaign, I urge you to make recommendations and suggestions. I value your constructive criticism and feedback. Without it, I'd have a really hard time finding and correcting all the things that might go wrong in our game. Recently, numerous questions were raised regarding the adjudication of some 'Flaws'. As a result of some email discussions, I have made a few changes to all the Phobia flaws in our campaign. The phobia Flaws were originally submitted by a player in my 3e campaign (Mark Gipe). See Unearthed Arcana pg’s 91-92 for rules regarding Character Flaws. Since then I've added to and revised the Flaws. This time around it was necessary to make some broad changes to all the Flaws. If your character is suffereing from one of these Flaws, you should definitely check out the latest changes. Check out the latest changes to our 'feats' document.

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>

As the clock ticks forward:
Lee (a player in our campaign) has been updating/maintaining a graphic timeline of our party's adventure. Since the party has completed the adventure. They defeated Madreus and his minions during our meeting on the 26th of July. There's little danger that the party will be locked out of the mountain before they can complete there quest. Or is there? After resting and debriefing in the Monastery of the Hallowed Doctrine, the party has decided to go back into the mountain! Back into Firestorm Peak to deliver a promised reward to the Myconid colony that gave them shelter and succor during their deadly stay inside that accursed mountain. Surely no difficulties lie in store inside the now defeated home of taint... They've got 13 days left - before the mountain seals it's doors for another hundred years - or was it a thousand?
<https://www.robsworld.org/timeline.png>

The campaign is rapidly approaching the end of a paragraph in the saga of our heroes. The current adventure is rapidly approaching an end, and the party is ready to lick it's wounds, rest, recuperate and train for the next adventure. In the meantime, you can keep up to date by continuing to visit "Rob's World!" for all the latest campaign info. If you're enjoying the story of our adventurer's, I encourage you to write me and let us know. Perhaps you've got an idea you'd like to share, some criticism or praise. Either way, it'll be earnestly appreciated.
<https://www.robsworld.org/3ecampaign.html>

We have hijacked your baby!
Recently (on the 26th of August, 2008) I received a series of email messages (five copies of the same message, five different From: addresses) with a rather unusual subject and body. Humorous to say the least.

Subj: We have hijacked your baby
Body: Hey We have hijacked your baby but you must pay once to us $50 000. The details we will send later... We has attached photo of your fume

Unfortunately, this spam wasn't just a funny email. It was a virus. Attached to the email was a .zip compressed document. Opening it could expose your computer to any number of worms, trojan's, probes and virii designed to make your computer into a zombie for spammers, child pornographers, and who knows who else. Please don't open attachments unless you know exactly what's in the attachment. Knowing who it's from isn't always a guarantee of safety. Just ask my PC owning friends. How to prevent the spammers from 'Hijacking Your Baby'? Run a good anti-virus application, which scans all the incoming data (downloads and email) on your computer. If you own a Windows PC, or run Windows on your Mac you need some anti-virus software. Another way to keep your computer secure - Stay up to date with the latest software updates. This is true for Windows and Mac operating systems.
<http://developer.apple.com/security/>
<http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1222>
<http://images.apple.com/macosx/pdf/MacOSX_Leopard_Security_TB.pdf>

Sugar Grove:
A favorite among visitors is my NSGA (Now NIOC) Sugar Grove page. It contains some information about an assignment to one of the remotest tours in CONUS (the Continental U.S.) I occasionally get questions regarding the base, the community, and what it's like to live and work at the little station known as 'the Grove'. I recently updated the web page to update a broken link to the Navy's official Sugar Grove web site. The Navy has a tendency to keep moving this web page around, and I can only imagine that it must irritate those who receive orders to 'the Grove'.
<https://www.robsworld.org/sugargrove.html>

August 19, 2008

Another round of digital 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.

Web site downloads:
I download music from plenty of websites (not counting commercial websites). The websites of the artists, the artists label, music festival websites, music review sites, etc, etc. Their are gobs of places where you can find free music. We're in a whole new era now. Gone are the monopolistic controls of the music industry. Music is becoming free - Free to anyone who takes the time to look for it. If you can't find free, legal, music - you're not looking very hard.
* Skelliconnection - Chad VanGaalen: (2 songs) A 3hive.com rediscovery. Combining blips and beeps with beefy drums and rockin' guitar riffs, Chad VanGaalen lays down some reverberating vocals. Unfortunately, he's still not available on emusic.com.
* Ice Water - Gentleman Caller: (12 songs) A Musical Family Tree download. The lead singer of this band is Kenny Childers; a talented vocalist, song writer, guitarist. I enjoy the sound of this folk, country, rock band. Excellent lyrics and instrumentals. A slow drive through a sonic landscape.
* Mascara Lines - Gentleman Caller: (10 songs) Another Musical Family Tree download. The lead singer of this band is Kenny Childers; a talented vocalist, song writer, guitarist. I enjoy the sound of this folk, country, rock band. Excellent lyrics and instrumentals.
* Horus - The Impossible Shapes: (2 songs) A Musical Family Tree discovery. With quirky crazy lyrics and a sound instrumental backing. This band has the kind of sound that's both simple and subtle. Iridescent instrumentals that pulse with a life of their own. The vocals are filled with venom and vigor, making for a mix that's a refreshing cocktail of chaos.
* Bless the Headless - The Impossible Shapes: (2 songs) Another offering from Musical Family Tree. Here's a sounding very much like Richard Hawley. Very melodic, moody, instrumentals sliding ever so lightly across the lyrical tales of sad summer sounds of the Impossible Shapes.

These are just some of the items I added to my music collection during the month of August. 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 listings. 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/iphonemusiccollection/index.html>
<https://www.robsworld.org/music.html>

D&D updates:
We played a D&D session on the 9th of August, and here's the latest batch of campaign updates. Our meeting on the 9th was a season ender session. Previously, the party had defeated Madreus, Nigel (Tanar's lost father), and a group of monstrous minions. After the battle the party refocused the 'Vast Gate', ending this threat of taint from the Far Realms. Despite their successes, the party was still forced to flee the mountain in a desperate race back to a mountain fortress - The Monastery of the Hallowed Doctrine in these Nether Mountains. They were in danger from the taint they'd accumulated in this recent battle. If it wasn't removed soon, it would become permanent, and that 'taint' a good thing! In their departure from the mountain, they opted to travel on foot, back through the tunnels that led to the inner sanctum. Traveling on foot, they encountered a large dharculus (brain eater). An earlier encounter with this creature ended rather quickly, not so this time. In their battle (which you can read about soon), Zeddishous was slain! Yes another dead character, this adventure has certainly taken it's toll on our party of brave adventurers. Be sure to read the journal entry for the gory details!

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 update adds another entry from Dynnera. Be sure to read about the party's departure from Firestorm Peak.
<https://www.robsworld.org/ajournal07.html#aug09_2008>

House Rules:
Like any other D&D campaign (outside of tournament play), the campaign that I manage makes use of various house rules. You can pick up a new copy of these House Rules online. The House Rules are published in pdf format, and they define the 'flavor' of our campaign. Every good DM has his own list of House Rules. Recently, I've updated one of the house rules documents used in our campaign. Here are the new/updated house rules:

• Teleport 'Bamf': A tradition in my campaign. A sound accompanying the use of teleport magic. The distinctive sonic signature - 'Bamf' - is now an official part of the campaign.
• At-Will effects: Spells, magic items, spell like effects and other magical effects are sometimes described (from pre 3.0 rules sources) as being 'At will'. This description is now given definition as an effect executed under the 'Immediate Action' category. This update includes an expanded clarification regarding this rules intent and application.
• New Character Magic Items: A chart describing the magical gear granted to new player characters (when introduced after the initial campaign opening adventure). This rule has been updated to officially 'cap' the number of items awarded to characters beyond 8th level.
• Anauroch - Empire of Shade: Added another new rule book to our inventory of available campaign resources. This adventure is my only 3e adventure, I bought it for a couple of reasons. Eventually, I hope to run/DM the adventure, but I also bought it for some of the campaign enhancing materials found in the books appendix. This book was also added to my list of D&D books.

That's it for house rule updates. As a player, you are under no obligation to download or print this information. You can make notes during the game, you can print out these documents, you can memorize the info, request to review it, or have it repeated to you each time you come across specific situations. These house rule changes and additions primarily represent flavor updates, and do not have a significant impact on our campaign or the framework of 'official' rules.
<https://www.robsworld.org/3ehsrls.pdf>

The campaign is rapidly approaching the end of a paragraph in the saga of our heroes. The current adventure is rapidly approaching an end, and the party is ready to lick it's wounds, rest, recuperate and train for the next adventure. In the meantime, you can keep up to date by continuing to visit "Rob's World!" for all the latest campaign info. If you're enjoying the story of our adventurer's, I encourage you to write me and let us know. Perhaps you've got an idea you'd like to share, some criticism or praise. Either way, it'll be earnestly appreciated.
<https://www.robsworld.org/3ecampaign.html>

Cold and Rainy in August?
If you were taking a nap and woke up on Saturday (16 Aug 08), you might have thought you'd slept straight through to the end of fall. This weekend, Colorado saw an unusual amount of cold and dreary weather. Starting on Friday, and carrying through until Monday afternoon, we suffered through an extended period of rainy, dreary, dank and dark days. The temperatures were down in the 50's and 60's, even dipping down into the high 30's at night. Accompanying this storm front was plenty of thunder, lighting, clouds and rain. Lots of rain. Despite the fact that it was a bit out of character for Colorado, we needed it badly, and I'm glad we got all that rain.

Netflix does the right thing:
<rave>Recently (12 - 14 Aug, 2008) NetFlix experienced an extensive outage in their shipping department. As a result of this problem, they weren't processing any movie shipments (in or out). For a period of more than 72 hours they were completely unable to process movies by mail. NetFlix was unable to ship movies to any of it's customers. That's a bit disappointing, but it wasn't the end of the world. I'm not sure what kind of issue caused their system outage, and I wonder whether it was related to a similar outage experienced in March of this year. On Friday (15 August, 2008) they finally got things back on track and started shipping movies.

The good news? As in March, not only did Netflix apologize for the delay, they even issued a discount! A 15% reduction in my monthly bill. This compensation is in line with their earlier 5% compensation when they had an 11 hour outage. 5% per day (or portion thereof) seems adequate.

This is customer service. When there's an outage, customers want to know about the delay. NetFlix did that. Not only did they keep their customers informed, they also compensated the customer. They acknowledged the outage, and issued a credit to every NetFlix subscriber!

When was the last time your cable company admitted they had an outage? Much less, issued a discount to your bill? Come on, get real. The cable company never has an outage. It's always your problem. You must have a faulty television... They can't help it if the cosmic, gamma rain is interfering with reception in your house. You're the only one complaining so it must be all in your head.

Thank you NetFlix, and keep up the good work!<rave>
<http://www.hackingnetflix.com/2008/08/netflix-shipp-1.html>

Finally - The Settlement is Finalized:
Back in Sept of 2004, a class action lawsuit (Frank Chavez v. Netflix, Inc., et al.,) was filed in Superior Court for the city and county San Francisco. The class representatives (I was a member of the class action law suit) alleged that since April of 2004 he had been a NetFlix subscriber, and in the sale and marketing of its DVD-rental service, NetFlix falsely and misleadingly promised that he and other subscribers would receive “unlimited” DVD rentals for a flat monthly fee and that DVDs would be transmitted to him via “one-day delivery.” Class Representative further alleged that Defendant did not perform in accordance with those promises. Class Representative claimed that through its actions, NetFlix had breached its contract with him and other subscribers; had engaged in fraud, deceit and misrepresentation; had committed false advertising and unfair trade practices. Class representative sought restitution, damages, punitive damages, and injunctive relief

NetFlix denied all the allegations and claims. On and before January 15, 2005, NetFlix modified its advertising and Terms of Use to more accurately and adequately describe the process by which the Netflix service works, including the method by which Netflix allocates, delivers and accepts returns of DVDs to and from its subscribers. NetFlix acknowledged that the litigation was a contributing factor in the modification to the Terms of Use.

The case never actually went to court, as the lawyers did what they do so well, avoid the courts at all costs. As is typical in this country, the lawyers and a overburdened justice system conspired to solve this problem without involving the actual legal system. It took quite some time for the gears of justice to turn, but eventually they did. In August of 2005, the parties engaged in arms-length mediation with a retired U.S. Magistrate Judge. As a result of that mediation, NetFlix concluded after investigation that it was in its best interests to settle the Litigation. As usual the Defendant denies any wrongdoing, and the settlement implies no wrongdoing.

Fast forward, after numerous negotiations, motions for extensions, and interminable delays - to April of 2008. Finally, we have a settlement. Oh so swiftly, the system does us justice when those who have been wronged are represented. Nearly four years for some semblance of justice. So who got what? Well, the lawyers got $2,528,000 in attorneys’ fees and expenses. I'm not sure what Frank Chavez got. What did I get? An upgrade from my 5 out at a time plan, to 6 out at a time. Considering the fact that NetFlix is throttling my viewing (that's what the case was about), the extra movie out is still subject to the throttling process used to control the number of movies that any subscriber is able to watch.

Now for the inevitable - My disclaimer. I'm not a lawyer, I'm not NetFlix, and the views and opinions expressed in the post above (see articled titled 'Finally - The Settlement is Finalized') are only that. Personal opinions. Under no circumstances (even if I'm right), do I make any claims that what I've written is factual, close to fact, or true in any way shape or form. As a matter of fact, you may consider it entirely fictitious if it so pleases you. I do not assert, claim, or represent that anyone (including NetFlix, Frank Chavez, myself, any of the class members, any members of the legal teams or persons involved in the arbitration) did, asserted, or said anything. Hopefully, that's sufficient to prevent me from getting sued. If you want to know anything regarding the actual case (if in fact there was a case), or the facts associated with it, I suggest you do some research - Go to Google.com and type 'Chavez v. NetFlix, Inc.

You may now return to your regularly scheduled activities.
<http://www.netflix.com/Settlement>
<http://www.hackingnetflix.com/2008/08/netflix-settlem.html>
<http://cdn.nflximg.com/us/corporate/settlement/amended_settlement_agreement.pdf>

Apple, taking a cue from NetFlix?
Back in July of 2008, Apple re-branded it's .Mac online services. Re-launching them under the auspices of 'Mobile' computing; aka Cloud computing. This new endeavor seems aimed at exposing non Mac using customers to the Mac design ethic and operating system through emulation (in the form of web-based apps). MobileMe is a suite of online, web based applications accessible from anywhere, from any computing device; be it iPhone, laptop, or Desktop. The MobileMe suite of applications is available to subscribers (annual cost is $99.00), be they Mac or Windows wielding. Integrated into the new MobileMe 'desktop' are Mail, Contacts, Calendar, Gallery and iDisk. The applications are accessed via web browser, and the data resides 'in the cloud'. Apple has beefed up the online storage capacity - the Cloud, by increasing storage allotments to 20GB of disk space. A fair amount of room for the growing digital library of most consumers. These new applications all bear an uncanny resemblance to Mac desktop applications, and there may be some hope that exposure to these web based applications will entice Windows users to investigate the native applications in the Mac OS. The desktop aside, this migration to MobileMe also brings about a full commitment to 'push' technology - Whereby you 'push' your data from one device (i.e. your iPhone) up to the 'cloud', which then 'pushes' the data back down to all your other computing devices. That way, when you get home, the appointment you scheduled while out an about, is already visible on your desktops calendar. Nice!

<rant>If only it had worked as well as advertised. Immediately after it's release customers were plagued by amazingly long delays between the initial push, and subsequent updates. The synchronizing capabilities failed so miserably, that Apple is no longer promoting MobileMe as 'Exchange for the rest of us'. Gone is the term 'Push', replaced with the subtly lower expectation of 'automatic sync' - Automatic? What exactly is automatic? Certainly not the sync capability. Not only was the 'sync' not working as expected, the web applications were buggy, slow and sometimes completely inaccessible. The worse problems were access to email. Many users were completely unable to obtain email. For some, that affected their livelihood. eMail is a tool used by millions of people, thousands of businesses. We all rely on it, and some live or die by it. Being without email could be enough to cause the loss of considerable amounts of money.

It was a struggle to get these things working the way Apple wanted them to work. The hype, the press, the expectation was an 'Exchange-like' 'Push' experience, with near instantaneous updates - I saw the Keynote address. That demonstration and reality were pretty far apart. Apple really dropped the ball on this one. The worst part of this fiasco? It primarily affected current Mac OS users. People who were already subscribed to the .Mac service were automatically converted over to the MobileMe platform. They were forced to endure excruciatingly slow update times, web pages and 'cloud' applications that were unreachable, didn't update when they should, and didn't behave the way an OS X user expected them to behave. Apple's core audience saw this shiny new dream turn into a dull grey reality.</rant>

<rave>So, what did Apple do about it? Well, aside from assurances and a lot of mea culpas, Apple has decided to placate the masses with some extended service. Originally, they gave everyone a 30 day extension to their MobileMe subscription (free of charge).

O.k. A 30 day extension on the MobileMe subscription was a start, it was something, it was better than nothing. More importantly though, they managed to resolve most/all the email problems. They even managed to recover email that many thought was lost forever. The initial extension was nice. They admitted that they screwed up. They kept us up to date with a specifically devoted blog, and then; seemingly taking a cue from the NetFlix fiasco of late (see above), they dolled out an additional extension to the MobileMe subscriptions. Every mobile me will be receiving an additional 60 day extension, on top of the 30 day extension already applied. They're taking considerable measures towards reassuring their base and compensating those who've been affected. Congratulations Apple, you handled this properly, but let's try not to have it happen again. FYI: Personally, I've had very few problems with the new service. The problems I have had, all seem to stem from the learning curve. Not knowing what was syncing, what wasn't, and how to enable or re-start the syncing process.</rave>
<http://www.apple.com/mobileme/>
<http://www.apple.com/mobileme/features/>
<http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2408>
<http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2826>

August 14, 2008

Another bunch of August 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.

Web site downloads:
I download music from plenty of websites (not counting commercial websites). The websites of the artists, the artists label, music festival websites, music review sites, etc, etc. Their are gobs of places where you can find free music. We're in a whole new era now. Gone are the monopolistic controls of the music industry. Music is becoming free - Free to anyone who takes the time to look for it. If you can't find free, legal, music - you're not looking very hard.
* Pum Pum - Lee "Scratch" Perry: (single) A 3hive.com download. Lee Perry is a legendary Jamaican musician/producer. Influential in the creation of reggae's waka-waka sound, dub, and 'scratch'. Here's a naughty, inexplicable track from his upcoming latest album.
* David England - Almost Time: (4 songs) Downloaded from the MusicalFamilyTree website. Soulful, folk, country, with great vocals and lyrics. Reminds me of Elvis Costello and Aztec Camera. Excellent instrumentals as well. The tracks feature great arrangements that don't overwhelm the vocals.
* 806 Main Street - Various recordings: (14 songs) Another selection downloaded from MusicalFamilyTree. This band has since changed it's name to 'The Broderick'. They never released anything under the name '806 Main Street', but they did record a bunch of tracks. Here they are before they made it big! It's an Indie, folk, experimental sound. Gravelly, uncultured vocals, authentic lyrics that decry the hypocrisy of society. Excellent foundational instrumentals.
* The Elms - The Chess Hotel: (13 songs) One more selection from MusicalFamilyTree. Here is a rockin' group with an anthem rock ethic. It's heavy duty rock and roll. They remind me a bit of the Alarm, but they're pushing it to the limit with this raucous release. The Chess Hotel (2006) is their debut album. "Who put's Rock & Roll in your blood!?" The Elms rock!

These are just some of the items I added to my music collection during the month of August. 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 listings. 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/iphonemusiccollection/index.html>
<https://www.robsworld.org/music.html>

Software favorites:
Yet another update to one of my software favorites. GraphicConverter moves ever forward. It's another full release for the product that's always getting better. It's another free upgrade for those who own a license.

GraphicConverter:
Thorsten Lemke (of Lemkesoft) released a new full release version (6.2b0). GraphicConverter is an image converter and editor. A fantastic piece of shareware that is well worth the price ($35.00). 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>

August 9, 2008

D&D updates:
We played a D&D session on the 26th of July, and below are the updates from that meeting. Our meeting on the 26th was an adventure climax. It began with a battle, and ended with the party in full retreat from Firestorm Peak. During that battle, the party defeated Madreus, Nigel (Tanar's lost father), and a group of monstrous minions. After the battle the party refocused the 'Vast Gate', ending this threat of taint from the Far Realms. Despite these successes, the party is still forced to flee the mountain in a desperate race back to a mountain fortress - The Monastery of the Hallowed Doctrine in these Nether Mountains. Will they reach their destination in time to save themselves? Be sure to read the journal entry for the gory details!

As the clock ticks forward:
Lee (a player in our campaign) has been updating/maintaining a graphic timeline of our party's adventure. As the current 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.
<https://www.robsworld.org/timeline.png>

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 update adds additional entries from Dynnera and Thalidimar. Be sure to read about the party's journey into Firestorm Peak.
<https://www.robsworld.org/ajournal07.html#jul26_2008>

3rd Edition Campaign:
I updated the next game date (09 Aug 2008) on the campaign page and updated the description of the 3e new feats document. It's not just feats any more. This document contains Some Dragon Magazine feats, modifications to official PHB feats, original feats concocted by players in my campaign, expanded skills rules, character traits, flaws, and spells researched by characters in our campaign. 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.
<https://www.robsworld.org/3ecampaign.html>

Character update:
During our meeting on the 26th of July, the party defeated some NPCs (Non Player Character's) that opposed the group. Laying slain in the Vast Gate chamber are Madreus the mad alienest and his apprentice Nigel Stormcloud - Tanar's father! As a result of these deaths, I've had to update the characters listing on our "Who's Who?" page. I also made some changes to player/character related illustrations for Ysoac, Enola and Khurshel. The "Who's Who?" page is a listing of characters, both player characters and non-player characters.
<https://www.robsworld.org/3ewhoswho.html>

New Spells:
One of the documents used as a house rules supplement in our campaign. This document contains Some Dragon Magazine feats, modifications to official PHB feats, original feats concocted by players in my campaign, expanded skills rules, character traits, flaws, and spells researched by characters in our campaign. As characters in our campaign research new/unique spells, I will be adding them to this document. This update introduces another batch of character researched spells. Lee has completed research for four new spells on behalf of Dynnera. These new spells come about as an exercise in a new house rule which permits 'retroactive' spell research. The new spells are: Dynnera's Arrows of Strength Sapping, Dynnera's Enhance Shape Shifting, Dynnera's Obscure Undead Senses and Dynnera's Reflective Field. In addition to Dynnera's new spells, I also update all the spells to follow a format that is consistent with the 'Spell Compendium', and ordered the spells so that they appear alphabetically in our campaign document. This document 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.
<https://www.robsworld.org/3enewfeats.pdf>

The party started this quest as a search for Tanar's father; but things have changed. Oh, how they have changed! Tanar was incinerated in battle with an unholy minion of the dark, and his father was found assisting Madreus the Alienest. (An evil mage responsible for infecting this region of the Realms with a contagious stream of taint). In the climactic battle, the party defeated Madreus, his minions and Nigel the apprentice. After defeating Madreus, all those under his control were released from his corrupting influence. Despite the fact that party members were highly infected with corruption, they took the time to complete the most crucial task. They refocused the Vast Gate - an interdimensional portal which acted as a conduit to the Far Realm. It is this Vast Gate which gave taint access to our Realms. While Madreus labored towards some unknown nefarious goal, the party took heroic measure in stopping him and his mad plans. Staunched is the flow of taint, restored is the balance of good and evil, and here ends the damnable story of Madreus the alienest. The inhabitants gathered about Firestorm Peak can now live in relative safety. Surely some pockets of corruption remain, but the Disciples at the Nether Mountains Monastery will have little problem dealing with that which remains. Thanks to our brave adventurers, Firestorm Peak no longer represents evil, corruption and malignant growth to the people's of the Nether Mountains. All that remains is a cleansing trip to the pools of purity - a consecrated holy font which removes the corruption of taint. If the party delays their trip for too long, the taint may become permanent - A condition that none should suffer. Godspeed good warriors - Here's to the journey! Stay tuned for danger, stay tuned for mystery, stay tuned for adventure!

Our next meeting is tonight, the 9th of August, 2008. It will likely be the last meeting for this adventure. I'll probably start a new page in the campaign journal with the session on the 23rd of August. Watch for changes on our campaign page. It's 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. Who knows where the party will travel to in the days and weeks to come? They'll likely return to Whillip in the interim, but their next adventure will surely take them to some exotic location in these Realms. To a place where evil reigns, a place where the hearts of men are heavy with adversity, to a place where heroes are needed. to Stay tuned for more adventure; there will be lots of thrills and excitement in the months to come.
<https://www.robsworld.org/3ecampaign.html>

Rolling Thunder:
It's the middle of summer, and the afternoon thunderstorms can be a bit severe on Colorado's Front Range. Over the last couple of days, we've seen temperatures soar during the day, only to plummet in the afternoon. As the low pressure cold fronts roll in from the north west, they collide with warm, moist air from tropical storm remnants from the gulf of Mexico. The results are some rather impressive weather patterns right around the Denver/Aurora area. On the 5th of August (in the afternoon) we had one such storm front. With wicked winds from the South, this summer storm brought torrential rains and a short period of hail. This particular storm lasted no more than three hours, but it rained on and off for a day preceding and following this storm. Along with these wicked summer storms come aches and pains. My joints and muscles are particularly sensitive to low pressure. I can usually feel these storms coming 12 or more hours out.
<https://www.robsworld.org/barometer.html>

Spammer Attacks "Rob's World!":
A repeat of the dreaded 'Joe Job' by another spammer. Another development in the never ending battle - Death to Spammers! - If you think that this motto is extreme, you're either a spammer, or you're not receiving your fair share. Here's a synopsis on one of the more egregious spam related problems that have been vexing me of late.

Header forgery:
During the first week of Aug 2008 (6 May '08), I received another round of bounce messages. On this day alone I received 218 bounce messages (bounces, auto-replies, confirmation requests, etc). A spammer has once again forged my email address as part of a From:, Reply-To: or Return-Path: header line. Most header data can be (and is) forged by spammers. It's very easy to do, and spammers do it routinely. They forge portions of the header in order to confuse, deceive and deflect. Unfortunately, there are still some ISPs out there that blindly trust that much of the header data is authentic. This leads to plenty of cases where an ISP will send a bounce message to an innocent victim, route spam to unwilling recipients, mis-deliver legitimate email, and all sorts of other shenanigans.

My first run-in with this sort of header forgery dates back to 2002. Like then, this instance is an attack on my domain. Based on the number of bounce/auto-reply messages that I've received, it's fairly evident that the spammer has sent tens of thousands of messages. On the first day of the attack (6 Aug 2008), I received 218 bounce/auto-reply messages. The spammer is pretending to be me. Intentionally targeting me/my domain. The blow-back from his spam run is damaging to my domain and name. I can only hope that no-one will assume that I actually am the spammer. That's what the spammer is hoping for. He/She is hoping that my ISP(s) or email provider(s) will make the same mistake.

This isn't the first - or last time I've been attacked in this way. Spammers don't like it when people get them in trouble, and lacking sufficient legal funding, the only thing I can really do is become a nuisance to them. A thorn in their side. Getting one gateway shut down here, an IP blacklisted there, a domain blocked there. By reporting theses spammers, my efforts, and those of many other spam fighters help keep spammers at bay, keep blacklists up to date, keep filters current. As a result (of fighting the spammers), I suffer their ire, these consequences and the never ending battle continues.

If you ever need any help figuring out a problem involving unsolicited email, or 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/forgery.html>

Tiny baby Gecko:
It's the first one I've seen - In my house - In Colorado - In my sink!. The other day (8 Aug 08), kim was loading the dishwasher when she came across something rather interesting. Clinging to one of the plates in our sink was a gecko. A baby gecko, a tiny gecko, a tiny baby gecko. It must have been a whole inch long, sandy brown in color, with some slight banding. At first we thought it might be dead, but as I moved the plate about the little lizard swiveled it's head in order to keep it's eyes on me. I took the plate outside, touched the gecko, and he jumped off onto my lawn. He must have hitched a ride on someone's shoe in order to get in the house. I guess I'm not too surprised to find this little fella in our neighborhood. Usually Colorado's climate is a bit too dry for these animals, but Aurora has a pretty wet climate - What with all the suburbs, and sprinklers running constantly. Earlier this year, I found a dehydrated (i.e. dead) lizard in one of our window wells. I wonder if we'll see any more this year?

August 5, 2008

Do you trust your Mechanic?
Recently Kim and I switched garages. We stopped taking our 2001.5 Volkswagen Passat to the dealership. After racking a big pile of bills (and minimal resolution), I was able to convince her that we needed a change. So we gave a new shop a chance. A few friends recommended the shop to us, so we figured why not give it a try? We took our car to the Jim Paris car care center off S. Tower Rd. in Aurora. After spending nearly $600.00 on some diagnostic work and repairs, Jim Paris warranted his work for a year, and indicated that they wouldn't charge for diagnostic if the same problem recurred within the next few weeks. That's somewhat comforting. Considering the fact that any additional problems will likely results in an even bigger bill.

Not long after these initial repairs, we started to experience repeated 'Engine Trouble' alerts. Jim Parish dealt with each one in turn. Not charging us, giving us some recommended courses of action, and ensuring us that they would do whatever was necessary to correct this problem. After three diagnostic readings, they still weren't sure what was causing the problems. After ruling out a few possibilities, we were starting to suspect the gas cap. Every time Kim would remove, then re-seal the gas cap, the warning indicator would go away. This seems to make sense, as some of the diagnostics indicated a possible pollution control problem. Well, this week, Kim took the Passat in for an oil change, and we decided to replace the gas cap - after another round of warning lights was dismissed by re-tightening the gas cap.

<rave>Kudos to Jim Parish auto repair. They hooked the Passat up, ran the diagnostics, reset the computer, and put our Passat back on the road in short order (appx 3 hrs). Once again a reading which indicated a fault in the emissions control system. They ran the diagnostics and reset the code - For Free! They replaced our gas cap - For Free! and they changed our oil. They did all this for the price of an oil change. $56.09 (using synthetic oil). That's quite a bargain (we even got a 10% discount for having AAA). Way less than the dealership would have charged us. I estimate our saving to be approximately $100.00 or more. We were willing to replace the gas cap at our own expense, but Jim Paris insisted on paying for it. We initially brought our car to them because of the check engine light, and they haven't given up on the work they've done to correct that problem. They're standing behind their warranty.</rave>

It sucks when your car breaks down, and Kim and I have lived through quite a few vehicle breakdowns. When we start looking to replace the Passat (in 2010 or so), reliability will be a top priority on our list. That and gas mileage! I've had excellent performance and low maintenance requirements on my 2004 XC90. Due to high gas prices, we're currently considering a Honda Civic Hybrid as a replacement to our 2001.5 Passat. The Honda Civic has an excellent track record when it comes to reliability, and the Hybrid gets awesome mileage.

Apple Security Update 2008-005:
Another security update released by Apple. This update addresses a dozen security concerns. Patches address problems with the following OS components: Open Scripting Architecture, BIND, CarbonCore, 2 different CoreGraphics problems, Data Detectors Engine, Disk Utility, OpenLDAP, OpenSSL, PHP, QuickLook and rsync. 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/>

Phishing attack targets Switchers:
I don't like spam. I receive a lot of it, and I despise it. I see it as theft. My bandwidth and time are being used without my permission. Spammers steal bandwidth and internet access in order to deliver their crap to my inbox. I don't want it and I don't like it. I report spam to ISP's, upstream providers, the FTC, and any reporting agency that I feel is appropriate, based on the content of the spam. Spam will not go away by processing it with the delete key! You have to fight it!

Recently, I've logged a second instance of spammers targeting Apple customers. Another example of how spammers are attempting to steal your identity and money. Not long after (on the 30th of July, 2008) Apple introduced/launched their new MobileMe service (an updated version of it's .Mac services), I started receiving some rather sophisticated phishing emails from a spammer. I received the first at appx 0722AM (MDT), and the second message arrived at appx 0830AM. At first, I thought that it might be a valid email from Apple. It was addressed to my mac.com email address (which doesn't get much spam), and it didn't contain the usual slew of grammar and spelling errors. Still, the email contained some subtle hints that it might not be legitimate. So, I examined the source of the email message before clicking on any links or loading any images. Yes indeed, it was spam. A phishing attempt which I reported to the appropriate service providers.

While Apple is experience a surge of new users, many of those users are young and inexperienced with the Apple brand. They may be teenagers, or first time computer users. Perhaps they're unfamiliar with the way an Apple email should look. Perhaps they're not that experienced when it comes to phishing scams. After all, spammers, scammers, and phishers typically avoid the Apple brand. Apple is very aggressive in the protection of it's image/brand, and this sort of email will likely come to the attention of Apple's stable of lawyers. Watch out spammer! Apple might come after you with a vengeance (personally, I hope they do). If they don't it will only embolden other spammers and their ilk.

As I mentioned earlier, I reported this spam (and the earlier occurrence). Hopefully the appropriate officials (the police) will nab this scammer!
<https://www.robsworld.org/phishing.html>
<https://www.robsworld.org/whybother.html>

A bunch of August 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.
* Transcendental Highway - Colin Hay: (12 songs) Colin is a favorite of mine from the 80's, when he fronted for the Men At Work. I lost track of him when the band split up. Thanks to eMusic, I rediscovered him in May of '07. Since then I've acquired four of his solo albums, and I'm planning on more. An unforgettable voice and wonderful songwriting.
* Countrysides - Cracker: (9 songs) Thanks to eMusic for introducing me to this alt-country act. I heard one of their songs on a free sampler, and it caught my attention. Here's the kind of country I like. It's not those warbly, goofy, twanging lyrics and worn out old instrumentals. It's original, fresh and captures that workers ethic like a country band should. This album is full of fantastic covers, capped off with a great original - "Ain't Gonna Suck Itself". I'll have to get more of this band.
* Into the Woods - Malcolm Middleton: (12 songs) Lyrical, acoustic, wonderful UK songsmith that doesn't disappoint. Another discovery that comes thanks to free samplers from eMusic. Full of introverted soul searching and some outstanding instrumentals.
* Something's Wrong - Violent Femmes: (22 songs) One of my favorite bands from the 80's/90's. Here's a rare selection. This album is only available on eMusic. It contains a bunch of previously released tracks, some covers, and then there's the original stuff. Songs that aren't available elsewhere. If you're a fan of the Femmes, this is a must have.
* The Animal Years - Josh Ritter: (11 songs) An amazing acoustic/folk discovery. Fantastic lyrics, splendid, harmonic vocals, excellent acoustic ethic. Uplifting and life affirming - Josh Ritter is a talent of outstanding proportions. Here's my second download. A very spiritual journey which asks why way? Discovered through eMusic recommendations.
* Bend Sinister - The Fall: (12 songs) The Fall is a favorite from the 80's. I never owned any of their music until Nov of '06. Thanks to Troy, I've rediscovered this band. Here's another one of those immortal English bands. Born in the 70's, this is another band that just won't quit. Razor sharp, dark, and surprisingly smart rock with a touch of pop.
* Universal - The Waterboys: (12 songs) A band that I enjoyed in the late 80's and early 90's. This album is one from the reformation. The band broke up in the early 90's and reformed in 2001. Since then they've put out three albums. eMusic carries just this one offering. It's acoustic, inspirational, spiritual, uplifting and full of promise.

These are just some of the items I added to my music collection during the month of August. 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>

House Rules:
Like any other D&D campaign (outside of tournament play), the campaign that I manage makes use of various house rules. You can pick up a new copy of these House Rules online. The House Rules are published in pdf format, and they define the 'flavor' of our campaign. Every good DM has his own list of House Rules. Recently, I've updated one of the house rules documents used in our campaign. This update includes a notable change in format. Previously, I drafted, edited and published our house rules using the venerable Mac application - AppleWorks. As of this update, I am now using Pages to do the work. I've found that it is more than up to the task, and AppleWorks is on it's way out. Aside from this publication/format change, here are the new/updated house rules:

So, the latest copy of our house rules may look a bit different to those who've seen the old version, but they're still the same rules (not counting the changes noted above). In addition to the new format, you will also find that the new Table of Contents is more extensive, and the hyperlinks actually work. As a player, you are under no obligation to download or print this information. You can make notes during the game, you can print out these documents, you can memorize the info, request to review it, or have it repeated to you each time you come across specific situations. Note however, that these house rules do constitute significant changes to the base D&D rules, and as such they supercede any contrary 'official' rule.
<https://www.robsworld.org/3enewfeats.pdf>
<https://www.robsworld.org/3ecampaign.html>