What's New

December 30, 2008

Post Christmas Wrap-up:
Kim and I would like to take the opportunity to wish all our visitors a Happy Holiday Season, a Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year. We sincerely hope that you and your family had a joyous time during the last few days. We wish you prosperity and health throughout the year to come. Thanks for being our friends and family. We wish we could have made a trip out to see all our friends and family for the holidays, but we couldn't arrange it this year. Maybe we'll see you in 2009.

This year will always be remembered as a sad one, since Robert's dad passed away in June of this year. Thankfully, the loving thoughts and words of our family and friends helped turn our pain to comfort as we realize that Dad is in a better place now.

Turning to happier thoughts, we didn't splurge too much on gifts for ourselves, as I'll be upgrading my computer in June of '09. Most of our gifts went to friends and family, but there were a couple of items that warrant a mention in my 'techno-geek' blog. Apparently, Kim was a good girl this year, as she raked in her very own computer! She scored a very nice MacBook Pro with 15.4 inch widescreen display, a pair of Dual 2.4GHz Intel processors, 2GB of memory (which we'll likely expand in the coming year), a 200GB hard drive, an NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT video card and built in iSight camera. We spent the last few days configuring the new Intel MacBook, and she's very happy with this new addition to our growing network of wired gadgets. It's running on Ethernet right now, but we'll be adding wi-fi in June when I upgrade the desktop. The other device doesn't have such a happy ending... yet.

Getting tired of the poor reception, quality and functionality of FM transmitters, I've been looking for an iPod integration solution for my vehicle. I drive a 2004 XC90, and unfortunately it entered production a bit late for the iPod integration craze. With a fiber-optic stereo system, it doesn't allow for easy input from auxiliary devices. The fiber-optic system is a bit of a closed loop, but there are a few devices that let you hack into loop. One of those is the Dension GW500. I purchased mine from Enfig car stereo. This device will allow me to control my iPod Classic through my car stereo. I shopped around for someone who could do the installation. Car Toys wanted appx $200.00 for the job (which should take appx an hour).. Yeah, that's kind of high, so I checked with BestBuy's GeekSquad. They quoted appx $85.00 - That's more like it! Unfortunately, they botched the installation. After working on my car for appx 6 hours, they called to admit defeat. They couldn't get it to work. Of course they blamed it on the device. Claiming (according to their 'tech-support') that it's not compatible with my vehicle. I don't accept that excuse. I did extensive research before purchasing the GW500, and this baby works on my stereo system. All the online documentation shows this unit compatible with the stereo setup in my vehicle, and there are plenty of forum posts that show it working in the XC90. I'm pretty sure they had the fiber-optic connections hooked up incorrectly.

I could probably do the install myself, but I don't have the tools, or any experience with car stereos. So now I've got to find someone to help me, or some other shop that can do the install. Hopefully it won't take me too long to get this thing up and running. I'm not ready to write off this $560.00 purchase just yet.
<https://www.robsworld.org/christmas2008.pdf>
<https://www.robsworld.org/christmas2008.png>
<https://www.robsworld.org/kimslaptop.jpg>
<https://www.robsworld.org/densiongw500.jpg>

December's 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.

iTunes purchases:
Sometimes I purchase music from iTunes, and sometimes I take advantage of their free downloads (check it out on Tuesdays). iTunes is the King of the Hill when it comes to the bigger names, so sometimes I find that I have to pay the higher prices. These iTunes purchases came courtesy of Christmas - An iTunes gift card makes an awesome stocking stuffer. Most of these groups are unavailable on eMusic, so I find iTunes useful for those bands that demand the outlet of a bigger store. Once again, I must assume that it's the record labels and media outlets that insist (through financially/legally restrictive policies/contracts) on the restrictive policies of release.
* Off With Their Heads - Kaiser Chiefs: (12 songs) Here's a favorite band of mine. I originally discovered this band through the iTunes New Music Tuesday podcast (and an accompanying free single) back in April of '05. This album represents their third album. The sound has become more mature, more certain, more exacting. I enjoyed it.
* Consolers of the Lonely - The Raconteurs: (14 songs) The second album from the band that we thought was a one man, one time, show. I first heard the Raconteurs back in May of '06. Another discovery through the iTunes New Music Tuesday podcast (plus a free single). The former frontman from the White Stripes has found a sound that I appreciate.
* Civilian - Boy Kill Boy: (11 songs) Yet another band discovered through an iTunes New Music Tuesday podcast (and free single) With the release of their single (Suzie - From the Boy Kill Boy EP) back in 2006, this full length followed that year, but I've been busy. A British band featuring powerful driving rhythms combined with tragically thoughtful lyrics.
* Cabin Ghosts EP - Cory Chisel and the Wandering Sons: (6 + 1 songs) Discovered through an iTunes/Starbucks free single. I first heard this band back in Oct of '08. Admittedly, I didn't think Cory Chisel could actually be a good singer. I was convinced that this name was one of those no talent country singers churned out every year by the major record labels. Something designed to appeal to the mass market target audience. I was a bit surprised when I found a voice reminiscent of Alejandro Escovedo and the Great Lakes Myth Society. A wonderful voice, magnificent lyrics and well crafted instrumental accompaniment. A magnificent blend of Americana, Folk, Rock and Country. This EP represent 6 tracks (I had one from the Starbucks free offering) plus a single released outside the EP. This EP clearly demonstrates that this man is a talent worth watching - More importantly, worth listening to.

Amazon.com downloads:
A new comer in the digital download arena. Amazon started offering their MP3 downloads to U.S. consumers in Sep of '07. In Jan of '08 they went international, and this month marks my first delve into their realm. The tracks are touted as DRM free, but I don't like the ID3 tagging which clearly represents a form of 'DRM' by applying a unique identifier to each track you purchase. I also dislike their Terms Of Service, which specifically state that you may not 'Share' the music. What? Does that mean I can't let anyone else hear this music? Would turning up the volume violate their TOS? In my opinion, the wording is legally questionable, and a clear restriction in excess of current copyright laws (FYI - I'm not a lawyer, and I don't play one on TV, so if you've got a beef with my 'Opinion' - take it elsewhere). The other thing I didn't like? In order to get the good deals (other than per track pricing), I had to use their 'album downloader'. Now they've got some software on my machine... I think I'll delete it in a couple days. Who knows what it's doing when I'm not using it? I downloaded these tracks from Amazon for two reasons. One - I wanted to know what it was like. I wanted the experience. Secondly, I got a gift card for Christmas so these downloads represent a gift from my sister - Thanks Eileen! The labels/bands below represent my efforts to get the most for my buck. I looked around for other artists, but it's rather apparent that they 'Really Big' labels threw a bone to Amazon in these offerings. Each album ran $5.00, so these bands (in my opinion) represent the contractual benefits inherent when the studios/labels want there to be some healthy competition to Apple's iTunes store.
* Modern Guilt - Beck: (10 songs) I first started listening to Beck back in 2006 (When I bought Guero). I really enjoy the subdued, folk, blues, pop-rock of this artist. He's produced a plethora of material, yet this album represents my second purchase from his portfolio. It's some really good stuff, I may have to get more.
* A Hundred Million Suns - Snow Patrol: (11 songs) I've heard this British alt/rock band before. First heard them back in 2005. Always wanted to pick up one of their albums, but they haven't been available on eMusic, and iTunes pricing is a bit too high for my tastes. Here, Amazon has made a big name affordable for download. Slow, contemplative, yet soaring at times. Excellent compositions, well crafted lyrics and instrumentals.
* One Kind Favor - B.B. King: (12 songs) Who can deny the amazing talent that is B.B. King? Like the blues? You'll love B.B. King. It's the real thing. The instrumentals are fantastic. The voice incomparable, the lyrics labors of love. Guitar work that makes you weep. Thankfully, eMusic has plenty of B.B. King. I'll likely head there for more.
* Accelerate - R.E.M.: (11 songs) R.E.M.'s latest release. Time has taken it's toll (witness 'Living Well Is The Best Revenge') on lead singer Michael Stipe, but the lyrics are still carefully crafted to elicit that signature sound of this seminal Alt/Rock post-punk band. I first started listening to this band back in the early 80's. As the 80's turned into the 90's, their sound began to morph into something more mainstream than I care for, and I stopped listening around '92 (Automatic For The People), but I still appreciate and respect the talent that they are. Way to big for eMusic.
* Narrow Stairs - Death Cab For Cutie: (13 songs) I've heard this British alt/rock band before. I have no idea when I first heard them, but they've been around since the late 90's. Always considered the purchase of one of their albums, but they aren't available on eMusic, and iTunes pricing is a bit too high for my tastes. Here, Amazon has made a big name affordable for download. Rock/pop alternative, dark, compelling, great instrumentals.

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

D&D updates:
We played a D&D session on the 27th of Dec, 2008, it was the last meeting of the day and it wasn't without some excitement. As our previous session saw the party battling an Elder Taint Elemental, this session was a continuation of that effort. Not willing to allow a powerful opponent recovering or plotting nearby, the party sent out a scout to see if they could find the foul source of evil. Grenco set out in an effort to spot the Elemental, but he found a fight. With Grenco and Solmar pitted against the Elder Taint Elemental, things turned ugly. Laying dead on the field of battle - Grenco. Once again this brave scout has taken the brunt of a hidden enemies attack. Solmar's condition? Tune in next year to read the journal entries. The party's trip home hasn't been as easy as some might have thought. This journey takes them away from Firestorm Peak, out of the valley, and back to Whillip. Will this journey be any less dangerous than their previous forays into the accursed mountain? Stay tuned for danger, stay tuned for mystery, stay tuned for adventure!

3rd Edition Campaign:
I updated the next game date (10 Jan 2009) and some character annotations on the campaign page. It's been a long, tough adventure, and after more than two years of gaming, I'm certain that the current adventure will end in 2009! (The players may take me up on this one). Hopefully, the party can make it back to Whillip without any further losses! 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 27th of December, Grenco died! As a result of that big change, I've had to update the character listing on our "Who's Who?" page. I also made some changes to the order of the player characters listed near the top of the page. The "Who's Who?" page is a listing of characters, both player characters and non-player characters.
<https://www.robsworld.org/3ewhoswho.html>

Long Live Grenco:
When characters leave the party, I usually create a separate page for them. Sometimes they leave the party under their own will, sometimes it's the result of dire consequences - deadly fate, or sinister plans. This case is no different. Grenco was struck down by evil incarnate - An Elder Taint Elemental. One of the most deadly creatures the party has ever faced. An honorable departure for our spirited and unpredictable scout. This isn't the first dismissal from the mortal coil for our favorite scout, and the question now looms, will Grenco be back - again?!
<https://www.robsworld.org/grenco.html>

Players in our campaign:
Players update. With the recent loss of two player characters, I made a few changes to our "players" page. I had to update the player information pertinent to Todd and Sean. In the near future, a former player will be rejoining our campaign. Watch the journals, and check the campaign pages for the changes to come. I'll take another new photo, and post additional updates in January.
<https://www.robsworld.org/players.html>

Monsters encountered:
As a result of the meeting on the 27th of December, I once again updated the entry for one of the most powerful monsters ever encountered by our party. An Elder Taint Elemental is a huge monster composed entirely of coagulated corruption. Foul, powerful and mean, it's one bad monster. The monsters page is a listing of monsters that the party has encountered, read about or heard of. In this particular encounter, Grenco was slain in combat with the foul abomination, but the party did him justice by ultimately disposing of this font of evil and corruption.
<https://www.robsworld.org/monsters.html>

In addition to these updates, I also corrected numerous links (517 noted) associated with Grenco. 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 adventurers, 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>

December 23, 2008

Frigid 'Fall' out:
Yes, it's had to believe, but Winter didn't start until the 21st of Dec, at 0504AM. You wouldn't know it though, considering the weather we've been having. Yet again we're getting a wicked winter storm during the 'Fall' (Autumn if you prefer) season. On the 18th of December, another snow storm started. This one was a fast mover. Once again we experienced the treat of a 'Thundersnow' storm. It's a bit of an odd phenomenon. It's a rare thunderstorm with snow falling as the primary precipitation instead of rain. What causes it? Well, in a somewhat simple explanation, it's when cold air meets warm air. As those two air masses interact, it causes friction, or a convection (up- and-down movement of air), which if violent enough, can cause lightning and thunder. If the surface temperatures are cold enough, the precipitation freezes before it hits the ground - Thus "Thundersnow". It's quite rare, especially for landlocked areas, but Colorado's front range creates some unique weather phenomenon, and this just one of those odd weather effects that we experience throughout the year.

In the dark of night, the storm came at us quite unexpected. Thunder - quite muffled by the falling snow - lightning rips the sky, in a colorful display - and white fluffy stuff drifting down from on high. What an odd sight I saw today. It's the second time I've experienced this strange weather effect in the span of a single year. The last time we had thundersnow was Feb of this year. The flakes generated by this fast moving storm were quite large, but thankfully we didn't accumulate much snow. The storm only lasted four or so hours, and the thundersnow two of those hours. Precipitation only accumulated to approximately one inch where we live. I wish I'd gotten a picture...
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winter>
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thunder_snow>
<http://www.theweatherprediction.com/habyhints/334/>
<http://www.thedenverchannel.com/weather/15182551/detail.html>
<http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/feb/02/extra-february-2/>

Yet another spammer pretending to be me:
Occasionally I receive bounce messages from email I didn't send. It's evidence that the spammers still hate me. As I continue to report them, they find out that someone cares. I do my best to report the spam that I receive. Some of it reaches ISPs that care, and they shut down the spammer. Sometimes it heads right back to the spammer. They either control the mail server directly, or they're friendly with the service provider. The bounce messages I receive are proof that spammers use my email address(es) in the From: line of spam they send. Most of these bounce messages are a cost of 'doing business'. Some spammers take offense when I try to get them shut down, and I do that a lot. They break the law, don't respect privacy, and use deceptive measures to conceal their true identity. 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.

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 this spammer hasn't sent many messages. While I only received one 'bounce' message, the odds are very good that the spammer sent many more messages where my email address was included as the From: address. 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.

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>
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SpamCop>

Tollgate Crossing:
My odd-ball schedule actually works in my favor for some things. One of those are the community support activities which I enjoy - I'm a volunteer with our local neighborhood watch, and I've recently started supporting our community in a more direct role. What started out as a website focused on our Neighborhood Watch has grown to encompass the whole of our community. Here are a few changes I made at our community website in the last few days.

Earlier this month (On the 18th of December, 2008), I posted some notes from a recent Metro District meeting. We had a Metro District meeting on the 16th of Dec, and the notes I posted came from that meeting. I posted the notes online - at our 'Events' page. Unfortunately, I somehow screwed up the paragraph formatting on that posting. All the text ended up squashed together into a very small paragraph. I must have spent two hours total (over the last four days) trying to figure out what went wrong. Eventually I figured it out. I had changed the 'line spacing' from 'Single' to 'At Least'. iWeb produces some great looking web pages, but it isn't always the easiest thing to use. I noticed the problem, trouble-shot the issue, and corrected it before anyone managed to send me a "What's up with the notes?" email. I corrected two sections of posted notes. In addition to the notes update, I also added another upcoming event to our Welcome, and Events pages.

If you are a resident of 'Tollgate Crossing' in Aurora, Colorado, you might want to check out the new website. If you're interested in our Neighborhood Watch group (Serving Tollgate Crossing, Sorrel Ranch, The Wheatlands, Beacon Point, Southshore and Tallyn’s Reach), you should check out the Neighborhood Watch section. 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. 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 our mailing lists to receive periodic alerts, updates and information.
<http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=iWeb/2.0/en/11886.html>
<http://www.tollgatecrossing.org/Welcome.html>
<http://www.tollgatecrossing.org/Events.html>

December 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.
* Heirloom - Wintermitts: (4 songs) Another 3hive.com discovery. A band from Vancouver, British Colombia - That's Canada with a Capital 'C'. Great lyrics, a pop alt ethic, and a fantastic array of instruments keeping it fresh. Unfortunately, they're not available on eMusic - yet... Found some downloads at 3hive, found more at the bands website. Help yourself..
* American Lo Fi - Ox: (4 songs) Another 3hive.com discovery. Another band for Vancouver, BC. This one has an Americana sound (but they're from Canada?). A sad, melancholy, harmonica that sounds like a wailing locomotive making that last run to the cascades. Great narrative lyrics and simple instrumental tracks.
* Dust Bowl Revival - Ox: (4 songs) More music from the band with the very short, odd name.. I wonder where that comes from? They've got a fantastic alt-country, folk, country sound. Reminds me a lot of Wilco, Neil Young, and a few other alt-country/folk talents.

D&D updates:
We played a D&D session on the 29th of Nov, and this posting represents another set of updates from that meeting. Here are the journal entries I was hoping for. With the busy holiday season, it took Lee some time to complete these journal entries. With these submissions we add Dynnera's thoughts and actions to our ongoing story. Dynnera's journal entries reveal some inner thoughts and questions regarding her personal development as well as the future of the party. In addition to these inner thoughts, we also gain additional descriptions of the recent battle at Fharlanghn's shrine and the demise of Thalidimar. The party's trip home hasn't been as easy as some might have thought. This journey takes them away from Firestorm Peak, out of the valley, and back to Whillip. Will this journey be any less dangerous than their previous forays into the accursed mountain? 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 and adventures. Victory, defeat, desire and glory. Here is the tale of the 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 two entries from Dynnera to our online journal. Be sure to read about the party's journey back to Whillip, and Thalidimar's demise - Yes that's right, you read it right. Thalidimar is dead! That battle we conducted didn't go as easily as the party had hoped. Slain by an Elder Taint Element, Thalidimar lays dead on the field of battle. Be sure to read the journal entry for the gory details!
<https://www.robsworld.org/ajournal07.html#nov29_2008>

Where Now?:
I added another new location to this page - Fharlanghn's Shrine - At Silverymoon: An important location in the party's history. Here is a cursed shrine, inhabited by an Elder Taint Elemental. Here is the place where Thalidimar the priest was slain. "Where Now?" is a listing of various places the party has visited or researched.
<https://www.robsworld.org/wherenow.html>

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 adventurers, 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>

December 18, 2008

Sub-Zero Slammer:
Over the last few days (13-15 Dec, 2008), Colorado got slammed by an super-cold arctic cold front. This sub-zero slammer started on the 13th of Dec, bringing snow and low temps. The snow started rolling in on the 13th of Dec, and the cold temps followed. The snow accumulated over the 13th and 14th, bringing a total of 2.5 inches to my front porch, and much more in the mountains. Following this blanket of frozen precip was a wave of bitter cold temps. While we saw -10 degrees Fahrenheit on the 14th, the temps would soon drop even lower. On the 14th we saw temps around -14, but the cold didn't end there. On the 15th the mercury dropped even lower. Record breaking readings of -19 degrees made this winter storm one of the coldest ever recorded (for this day, this city). With the wind chill our effective temperature dropped all the way to -32 degrees. Now that's cold! Luckily, we've got a garage - So our cars started - and we winterized our outdoor water lines (the spigots and the water sprinklers), so we didn't have to deal with any burst pipes. Unfortunately, our neighbors weren't so lucky, and I heard many sad tales over the last few days.

Mac OS 10.5.6 update:
Apple is hard at work, making sure that Leopard is running on all cylinders. Finding security flaws, patching annoying bugs, improving the user experience. This particular update includes recent security updates, as well as updates and bug fixes to the following applications and services: Address Book, AirPort (wireless networking), Client Management, iChat, Graphics, eMail, MobileMe (subscription service), Networking, Printing, Parental Controls, Safari, and others. You can read all about these upgrades, bug fixes, security updates, and more by following the links I've provided below. I upgraded to Leopard during Oct of 2007, and I have to say, it's been the best version of Mac OS yet.

As a result of this recent OS update, the following pages have been updated. myfavs.html, feedback.html and mycomputer.html.
<https://support.apple.com/kb/HT3194>

I posted notes from a recent Metro District meeting. We had a Metro District meeting on the 16th of Dec (the meeting ran from 1830-2300!), and I just completed the transcription of those notes. I posted the notes online - at our 'Events' page. I also emailed the notes to subscribers on our Neighborhood Watch and CrossTalk mailing lists. In the future these notes (from Metro District meetings) will only be forwarded to the 'CrossTalk' mailing lit. These notes primarily concern residents of the Tollgate Crossing community, and not our Neighborhood Watch (as it encompasses many communities). I updated the 'eMail lists' page, adding some additional links for potential subscribers. I also updated the 'Welcome' page to update the posted 'Community News Flashes'. Finally, I updated the 'Volunteer' page, where I posted some volunteer opportunities for members 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 interested in our Neighborhood Watch group (Serving Tollgate Crossing, Sorrel Ranch, The Wheatlands, Beacon Point, Southshore and Tallyn’s Reach), you should check out the Neighborhood Watch section. 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. 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 our mailing lists to receive periodic alerts, updates and information.
<http://www.tollgatecrossing.org/Welcome.html>
<http://www.tollgatecrossing.org/Events.html>
<http://www.tollgatecrossing.org/eMail_lists.html>
<http://www.tollgatecrossing.org/Volunteer.html>

Encryption:
Due to a recent upgrade in my operating system (see above), I've updated my encryption/privacy software. A recent upgrade to the Leopard operating system broke some of the software that I used/use for encryption, authentication and privacy. As a result, I had to wait a bit for the developers to catch up with this latest software update. It took some time, but I'm back on schedule now. People concerned with security and privacy are typically quite focused and goal oriented. They didn't take long to get their software compatible with Leopard. 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 (d55/Leopard build) bundle, in order to encrypt/decrypt my email in Apple's Mail.app 3.5 (930.3) built on Mac OS 10.5.5 (build 9G55). 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, computer page, and my public encryption key listing.
<https://www.robsworld.org/feedback.html>
<https://www.robsworld.org/mycomputer.html>
<https://www.robsworld.org/encryption.html>

Rob's World! Deleted!
OMG, Disaster Strikes! During some recent maintenance, my web host inadvertently deleted my entire web site! Eeegads! The web site was deleted on the 16th of Dec, some time around 1900MDT. After the site was deleted, my web host (Dale) sent me a couple of frantic emails regarding the mistake, and asking if I had back-ups. Thankfully, I had back-ups of everything except web-stats. Those were stored in the account folder on his server. He assumed that the hosting company (CI Host) was keeping back-ups, as they claim they are on their website, in their server level agreements. Well, guess what?! No back-ups from CI Host! I'm not surprised. They're routinely rated as one of the worst webhosts out there. So, I no longer have any web stats. Thankfully, I was keeping track of some of the web stats in a spreadsheet, but I didn't have December's stats (the month wasn't over). Now I'll never have accurate stats for December.

In order to fix the problem, I had to upload all the Rob's World! files to my web host. That took approximately six hours. I'm only human, and I had to deal with FTP timeouts. Next time I'll connect via SSH and copy the files over that way. Did anyone notice? Well, as a matter of fact, someone at work commented to Kim that there 'must be something wrong with the site, because some of the pages were missing'. He must have caught the site while I was updating it.
<https://www.robsworld.org/index.html>

Deluge of Spam:
Over the last couple of days (15-17 Dec, 2008), my Inbox was flooded with a spam blast. Hundreds of spam messages hit my Inbox over the last few days, accounting for a temporary increase of the nasty stuff. I would estimate that the volume was up by approximately 150%. That's gonna jack up my monthly spam stats. So much spam in fact, that I wasn't able to report it. I was working on the days that it happened, and I didn't have the time to deal with it. This particular outbreak was marked by excessive use of "ALL CAPS" names in the address field. The names in the From: field appeared to be randomly generated first/last name pairings. A majority of these names were marked in uppercase letters.

My Favorite Mouse:
<rave>It's new, but it's old. It's my favorite mouse. Recently my trusty old mouse has been giving me problems. The sensors under the click tabs have been wearing out. I've had it for over five years, and it's finally wearing out. So, I went over to my local BestBuy (Their prices are too high!), and picked up a new one. Why would I buy another copy of the same mouse? Because they're awesome. The thumb-ball/track-ball (right handed only), is a fantastic fit. The mouse is an ergonomic dream. If you're prone to carpal tunnel, this mouse relieves much of the stress you might suffer when using a standard mouse. I've programmed the click wheel so that the click is a 'Copy' command. Using the Mac OS, I can use the click wheel and contextual menus to execute a copy paste without touching the keyboard. That's awesome. There's no need to lift the mouse when you run out of mouse pad - You never run out of mouse pad, because you never have to move the mouse. You can position it anywhere you want on any surface, without fear of impaired functionality.

I use traditional mice at work, but after using this gem for more than five years, I will never go back. It's so much easier to use. There are two fully programmable mouse buttons and the scroll wheel clicks as well, so that's a total of three fully programmable mouse buttons. It took a few days for my thumb to get used to the mouse, but once you're acclimated to the thumb-ball, you'll find that it's much less stressful than a traditional trackball or an ordinary mouse. You can position the cursor with great accuracy and the click-and-drag action is dreamy. Get one with a cord and you'll never have to worry about poor connectivity, batteries running out, or interference from other devices. The best mouse ever!</rave>
<http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/mice_pointers/trackballs/devices/166&cl=us,en>

D&D updates:
We played a D&D session on the 29th of Nov, and this posting represents a couple of updates from that meeting. I only received one journal submission, so I posted Solmar's new journal entry, and I'm kind of hoping we might see some more. Solmar's entry is quite brief as our meeting on the 29th of November was a continuation of a battle that the party had entered into at the end of our meeting on the 15th of Nov, 2008. The party's trip home hasn't been as easy as some might have thought. This journey takes them away from Firestorm Peak, out of the valley, and back to Whillip. Will this journey be any less dangerous than their previous forays into the accursed mountain? 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 and adventures. Victory, defeat, desire and glory. Here is the tale of the 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 Solmar to our online journal. Be sure to read about the party's journey back to Whillip, and Thalidimar's demise - Yes that's right, you read it right. Thalidimar is dead! That battle we conducted didn't go as easily as the party had hoped. Slain by an Elder Taint Element, Thalidimar lays dead on the field of battle. Be sure to read the journal entry for the gory details!
<https://www.robsworld.org/ajournal07.html#nov29_2008>

Long Live Thalidimar:
When characters leave the party, I usually create a separate page for them. Sometimes they leave the party under their own will, sometimes it's the result of dire consequences - deadly fate, or sinister plans. This case is no different. Thalidimar was struck down by evil incarnate - An Elder Taint Elemental. One of the most deadly creatures the party has ever faced. An honorable departure for our brave and spirited Cleric. Thalidimar will be missed and mourned by all the brave heroes of our campaign. Here is a memorial for Thalidimar of Tymora.
<https://www.robsworld.org/thalidimar.html>

Character update:
During our meeting on the 29th of November, Thalidimar died! As a result of that big change, I've had to update the character listing on our "Who's Who?" page. I also made some changes to the order of the player characters listed near the top of the page. The "Who's Who?" page is a listing of characters, both player characters and non-player characters.
<https://www.robsworld.org/3ewhoswho.html>

In addition to these updates, I also corrected numerous links associated with Thalidimar. 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 adventurers, 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>

December 14, 2008

I posted notes from an HOA meeting. We had an HOA meeting on the 9th of Dec, and I just completed the transcription of those notes. I posted the notes online - at our 'Events' page. I also emailed the notes to subscribers on our Neighborhood Watch and CrossTalk mailing lists. In the future these notes (from HOA meeting) will only be forwarded to the 'CrossTalk' mailing lit. These notes primarily concern residents of the Tollgate Crossing community, and not our Neighborhood Watch (as it encompasses many communities). I also updated the 'Welcome' page to update the posted 'Community News Flashes'. Finally, I updated the 'Events' page. I posted an agenda for our upcoming Metro District meeting.

If you are a resident of 'Tollgate Crossing' in Aurora, Colorado, you might want to check out the new website. If you're interested in our Neighborhood Watch group (Serving Tollgate Crossing, Sorrel Ranch, The Wheatlands, Beacon Point, Southshore and Tallyn’s Reach), you should check out the Neighborhood Watch section. 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. 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 our mailing lists to receive periodic alerts, updates and information.
<http://www.tollgatecrossing.org/Welcome.html>
<http://www.tollgatecrossing.org/Events.html>
<http://www.tollgatecrossing.org/eMail_lists.html>

More Musical acquisitions:
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.
* A Hundred Things Keep Me Up at Night - Love Is All: (2 songs) Discovered through 3hive.com, here's a Swedish band (they've got a sound I like) with an 80s sound. Reminds me of the female vocalists from those early punk bands. Reminds me of Romeo Void, Altered Images, The Slits and others. Bursting with imagery and catchy pop lyrics. I liked it so much that I added their album to my eMusic queue.
* Nine Times That Same Song - Love Is All: (3 songs) Discovered through 3hive.com. Here are three songs. One of them came from the artists label, the others from 3hive.com. Unfortunately, this particular album isn't available via eMusic.com, but I added one of their other albums to my queue.
* First Taste EP - The Sweet Serenades: (3 songs) Another 3hive.com discovery. I downloaded the songs from a few different places. Another Swedish band. Brimming with energy. Added to my eMusic queue.

Park Meadows Mall:
Kim and I had to do some shopping on the 11th of Dec. On this particular day, our shopping took us to one of the largest malls in Colorado. It's more like a small city than a mall. It's not a consolidated indoor mall, most of the stores are separate from the 'main' mall area. Unfortunately, we didn't have a very good time.

<rant>The traffic flow at this mall sucks! This mall is huge is a sprawling mess, with numerous entrances and exits, it's nearly impossible to get around (by car). There are many main thoroughways disecting the area, and the congestion (on a Friday) was incredibly bad. The traffic problems at this mall were anticipated. Even though severe traffic congestion was forecast prior to ground-breaking, local politicians approved the project without insisting on fixes by the developers. The parking situation is terrible.

We wanted to go to a restaurant across the street from our location (Car Toys), little did we know what an adventure we were in for. We tried to back up. Cars coming in prevented that for a moment. We went to exit the parking lot, and found a large traffic artery with non-stop vehicle traffic. Then we had to pull into the far left lane, another delay. Thankfully, someone slowed down long enough for me to jam my vehicle into the flow. Then I had to make a left hand turn, just before an intersection; none of this occured at controlled intersections. Unfortunately, I couldn't park, as the parking to the right was 'valet' parking. It was blocked off so you couldn't get in to it. So, we circled the parking lot. We ended up eight rows away before we decided to try the other side of the building. Navigating back into the main arteries was a bit difficult. More uncontrolled intersections. Right turn only. Oncoming doesn't stop. It's a miracle I wasn't crushed by the flow. As we tried to get around the building, we made the first right. Sorry, those parking spots are valet and delivery only. A 'safety' patrol vehicle backed up directly in front of us. Nearly causing an accident. So, we circled around to the left looking for a spot. After another six rows of blocked off spots (90% empty), reserved for the $7.00 valet service. We finally found a spot ten rows away from the restaurant. A restaurant that started out 'just across the street'. Yeah, the parking and traffic sucks. It's not just the fact that it was crowded. It's the design. The traffic flow is very poorly laid out/designed. More roads than they need, and they're laid out so poorly that they cause interference with each other. I'm not surprised in the least by the two traffic accidents we noted while navigating in and out of this highly congested shopping mall. My advice - Stay away if you're driving. Go in the early morning, on a weekday.</rant>
<http://www.parkmeadows.com/html/index4.asp>

Out to eat with the iPhone:
Back in July of '08, I download a bunch of applications for my iPhone (through Apple's iPhone App store). One of those applications was something called the 'Urbanspoon'. It's a little piece of software that helps you find restaurant's in your local area. On Friday (12 Dec, 08), Kim and I had to do some Christmas shopping, we ended up at the Park Meadows Mall in Lone Tree, Colorado. It's approximately thirty minutes from our house and the shopping left us a bit stressed out, so we decided to eat out. Sitting in one of the mall's parking lots, I gave this my iPhone a 'Shake' - Literally. Shaking the iPhone causes three virtual tumblers to spin. The result is a 'location' - 'cuisine' - and 'price' combination. After the iPhone figured out where I was, I locked in the 'Lone Tree' setting, and gave the app a shake. The result was a restaurant called Brio Tuscan Grill - Wow, check that out, it's just across the street. No need to use the built in directions or call the place. All I have to do is pull across the street and walk through the doors... (Easier said than done (see rant above))

The Grill serves traditional Italian dishes with a Tuscan tilt. We started out with some home made lemonade. Full of little pieces of pulp, seeds, and sugar coated rims. I was really thirsty and the berry flavoring was awesome. For an appetizer, we chose their 'Calamari Frito Misto' - Golden brown fried Calamari, the added touch of tiny grilled peperocinis contributed to the flavor and appearance. For entrees Kim chose a 'Penne Mediterranean' - Mushrooms, spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, caramelized onions, Feta cheese, pine nuts and olive oil. It looked really good, I should have tried it. She said it was really good. I'd had enough starch lately, and couldn't imagine anything heavy, so I chose a 'Wood-Grilled Salmon Salad' - Roma tomatoes, asparagus, Feta cheese, crispy shoestring potatoes and balsamic vinaigrette. Wow! That was good. The ingredients were all fresh and the wood-grilled salmon was fantastic. Too bad it was so pricey. Lunch for two cost us $43.57, without the tip. We'd definitely visit again, but next time we'll pick a different time/day.
<http://www.urbanspoon.com/blog/27/Urbanspoon-on-the-iPhone.html>
<http://www.parkmeadows.com/html/index4.asp>
<http://www.brioitalian.com>

TekREDI bothched the installation of cat5 cabling in my home - Round Two:
<rant>My home was wired with the TekREDI 'Standard Home System' sometime in 2004/2005 (I bought the home in early 2005). On Thursday (the 28th of August) I tried to use the pre-wired cat5 connections (installed by TekREDI of Denver, Colorado) to set up a wired ethernet network in my home. It's more than three years later, but the wiring should still work. Unfortunately, the wiring did not work. After spending approximately six hours trying to set up my network (I was connecting a video streaming device in my living room), I was able to determine that the cat5 cabling in my home was not functioning properly... You can read all about the incident on the 28th of August on some other day. Today, I'm going to relate another reason why TekREDI sucks. This month (Dec 08), I decided that I was going to get my ethernet cabling ready for the addition of a new laptop. I knew about the problems caused by TekREDI, so I planned to spend some considerable time on the project.

The first step of the project was figuring out whether I had ethernet in the room where I wanted service. Well, since the cables weren't connected to the junction box or any visible faceplates, I had to physically follow the cable lines to figure out where they went. After several hours of spelunking, running up and down the stairs, staring at the cieling (in the basement), pulling back the insulation along the walls, and pulling on the cables, I was finally able to figure out where these disconnected cables were run. One went to the attic! What? The attic? Why would someone run ethernet to their attic? Why would that be one of the four lines in my home? The other one runs outside, to a telephone/cable connection box. A box I'm locked out of. Why would I want to provide ethernet to some greedy phone or cable company? Of the four lines laid in my house, none were connected, and the other two went to places I can't imagine using. What garbage. So, once again I'm stuck with a crappy ethernet installation - Thanks to TekREDI.

On the 8th of Dec, I bought all the supplies I thought I'd need for this latest project. One Ethernet connector (for the wall outlet) $4.96. One length of cat5e cable (15' patch w/connectors) $6.98. One faceplate (for the wall outlet) $1.67. One length of cat5e cable (20' w/out connectors) $5.40. Total cost (w/tax) $20.55. Cost if TekREDI had properly connected the cat5 in my house? appx $7.00 (for the 15' patch cable).

On the 12th of Dec, I finally go about connecting, correcting and configuring the ethernet for my needs. First I need Kim's help pulling the bed away from the wall in our bedroom. That beast is heavy! After Kim has gone to work, I finish the installation. I have to connect the ethernet at the junction box, wire up the connector for the face plate, remove a face plate, run cable down to the basement (that was way more difficult than I anticipated), splice a new cat5e cable into an existing run (the one that leads outside), conceal the new cable run (behind insulation). Back upstairs I have to disconnect the telephone connector (It was the wrong size for the new face plate, so no phone connection in the bedroom for now), connect the ethernet connector to the new faceplate and reattach the face plate upstairs. After checking the connections (using my Roku Player), I reconnect the face plate, conceal the new cable run (behind insulation), and route the cat5e patch cable beneath the bed. Moving the bed back into place is quite a chore. Six inches at a time, one post at a time. All in all, I spent three hours on the installation. That's three hours of labor at my wages. Three hours of work I wouldn't have suffered through, if TekREDI had done the job properly the first time - or the second time...

When I called TekREDI after the first incident, they didn't offer to fix any existing problems, or compensate me in any way for my inconvenience. All the problems (except for my miscalculation on the type of faceplate to buy (which I wouldn't have bought if TekREDI had properly installed the cat5 in the first place) I encountered were due to the faulty wiring job by TekREDI. All this extra work pissed me off. Did I write or contact the company? No - My first contact with them resulted in zero satisfaction. They made it perfectly clear that they didn't care about 'my problems'. Did I contact the builder? No - I'm well out of warranty (1 year home owners warranty) on this cabling, and I'm not in the habit of wasting my time (with a call to the builder), when I already know the answer. My home builder (D.R. Horton) has already made it known (to me and others in my community) that they have a one year warranty, and one year means one year. I don't blame them for this faulty wiring, and I don't expect them to fix some crappy contractor work. I checked the paperwork provided by TekREDI. No mention of a warranty at all. No information regarding their policy in this regard. Nowhere on the paperwork did it say anything resembling "We stand behind our work".

Once again, TekREDI's faulty installation has cost me valuable time to correct. I estimate that it took me (not an electrician/network engineer) one hour to trouble shoot the problem, and three hours to affect repairs. Three hours of my time is an expensive commodity. This company (TekREDI) does NOT stand behind their work. They pass the buck, they make excuses, and they left me holding the loose end of a faulty cat5 cable job. Hopefully someone will read this and save themselves some time. If tekREDI installed your home network, check it out now! It's probably installed improperly. If you wait until the builder's warranty expires you'll be sorely disappointed by the manner in which TekREDI responds to their mistakes. All I got were excuses and appologizes.</rant>
<http://www.tekredi.com/>

Christmas Party:
The first Christmas party we've been to in a few years. Kim and missed the last few due to work and family obligations. This year we were both off work on the right date, and we decided to attend the 'anti-establishment' Christmas party thrown by shift workers in my company. There's a bit of history behind this particular party, as it's an alternate party - An alternative to the 'Formal' corporate Christmas party. This one has no dress code, there's no big speech by the boss. There's no award ceremony or receiving line. Attended by workers and some management, the atmosphere was decidedly casual. Most of the crowd dressed down - Jeans, sweaters, even a few Hawaiian shirts. The party was held at McCabe's Bistro & Pub in the Southlands Mall (about a mile from our house). The price was $20.00 a person, and we donated $25.00 towards the open bar. The food was standard fare. Nothing spectacular. The potatoes were good, the Turkey was good - if you stuck to the dark meat. The beef was gristly and fatty. The green beans were good, as was the rice pilaf. The asparagus was fresh, but it wasn't cooked through. The chicken was o.k. This food wasn't the standard fare of McCabe's. I believe it may have been catered by someone else?

Kim and I had a good time. The meal was served buffet style. We ate well, and we each drank our fill. Kim had a couple drinks early, then stopped drinking for the rest of the evening. I think I had four beers total. We showed up around 5pm, and the food was served at 6pm. By 9pm the party had pretty much ended. The staff opened the room to the general public. Yes there were plenty of people that we knew, but there were also plenty of people we didn't know. Northrop Grumman is a big company, and I'm still relatively new to them. As the evening progressed, we found ourselves engaging in conversation with a group of my co-workers. We had a good time. No stress. No mess and no fuss. Merry Christmas!
<http://www.mccabesbistroandpub.com/modules/wfchannel/>
<http://shopsouthlands.com/index.asp>
<https://www.robsworld.org/ourhouse.html>

December 9, 2008

December's eMusic acquisitions:
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.
* Under the Apple Tree - The Rosebloods: (18 songs) A band from Indianapolis, Indiana - Mid to late 80s, early 90s. Now defunct. Playing garage/psychedelic rock, with a touch of folk. This album is the better of two I found on the fantastic website 'MusicalFamilyTree.org'.
* Dragon in the Field - The Rosebloods: (16 songs) This Indiana band, now disbanded, made some excellent music (in my opinion) while they were together. Now you can download a couple of their albums from 'MusicalFamilyTree.org'.
* Go Slow - The Saturdays: (4 songs) Three songs from the bands 2006 release. This is another Indiana band, not the British all girl band of late. Slow, melodic, carefully crafted, finely tuned slow core. Country, pop and folk. So good that I decided to add the album to my eMusic queue. Downloaded these tracks from MFT and the bands label page.

Dish Network Sucks!
<rant>And I'm not the only one who thinks so. Check it out. Do a search on 'Dish Network Sucks', you'll find many links to like minded people. It's so bad in fact that someone has even gone so far as to register the domain name: dishnetworksucks.com My experience with dish network started when I decided to provide some satellite TV for my mother. She lives out in the woods, and there's no cable provider in range of her home. So, I thought I'd be a good son and sign her up for some satellite TV. Well, answering an add in the newspaper, I ended up getting a completely different package than the one that I thought I was getting. The reseller (Enjoy Better TV) made it sound good in the newspaper, but the reality was really something else. I didn't get the number of channels I thought I was getting. I didn't realize I was dealing with a reseller until later (when I noticed that things weren't what I expected). I didn't realize all the 'Hidden' conditions, fees, and restrictions until after they installed the DVRs at my mom's place.

The tech didn't show on the day they were originally scheduled. They installed more equipment than I originally contracted for, and they didn't complete the hook up appropriately. They left some cables hanging on the outside of mom's house, and they didn't connect phone lines to the receivers/equipment. After dealing with initial billing problems. i.e. Sorry about that, but you were dealing with the reseller, and we don't know what they told you. This is the package you get, and these are the features... Not what I bargained for. Months later I realize that Dish is still charging me for a 'Programming Access Fee'. Supposedly, they charge me extra because their equipment is hooked up by phone. So we schedule a technician to go out to mom's and correct the problem. He showed up, fixed the dangling cable, and the phone line problem. Or so I thought. A month later I'm still getting charged for this 'Programming Access Fee'.

So, I call Dish (we won't even discuss their abysmal telephone support menu/service at this point), and they tell me that the one of the devices was activated today.. What? How could it be activated today? Shouldn't it have been activated back in September? Apparently the technician connected the phone line but didn't activate the phone connection. How convenient - for Dish! So, after I complained, Dish activated the thing remotely. If they could do that now, why didn't they do that earlier? Let me guess, they wanted to continue billing me for the 'Programming Access Fee'. "So is that it? Are you going to stop charging me the 'Programming Access Fee'?" Oh, no. Sorry, but you have two devices that need to be connected, and only one is hooked up. Wait a minute, the technician that went out to my mom's house was supposed to do that back in September! More apologies follow.

I call mom. After some difficulty - it's never easy giving instructions like these to my mom - mom is actually able to connect the phone line to the Dish receiver, but it still fails the tests. She calls Dish, they try to get the thing working. It still won't work. They schedule another technician visit (at no cost). In the meantime, I continue to get the bill - appx $5.00 a month because their equipment isn't hooked up by phone. What garbage. I am 'This Close' to canceling the service completely. Unfortunately, that would leave my mom with TV.

Oh how I hate Dish Network!</rant>
<http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/0/330/RipOff0330885.htm>
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dish_Network>

My joints are aching; a.k.a It's gonna snow:
On the afternoon of 7 Dec, 08, I found myself laying on the couch watching a movie. Unfortunately, my joints were killing me. The joints on my hands and my feet were aching. In addition, I was also experiencing a dull ache in my calves. After massaging my knuckles and cracking my knuckles and toes for some indeterminate amount of time, I finally took some pain killers. Aleve works best for this type of pain (in my experience). The pain I was feeling is usually a forecast of sorts. I've found that this dull ache in my joints and the muscles around them, signals a drop in barometric pressure. The pain always accompanies a drop in atmospheric pressure, that much I've established. When the barometric pressure drops, conditions are right for precipitation. Give the current season (winter), odds are any precipitation would likely come in the form of snow.

On the evening of the 8th, the snow started falling. Hours before I went to bed, I noted the snow fall beginning. By the time I went to bed, a snow storm was underway. That snow kept falling through the night, and didn't end until noon on Tuesday (9 Dec, 08). By the time the snow stopped falling, we'd accumulated appx 4 inches of snow. When I went out to shovel (around 11:00 on the 9th, 2008), I found the snow a bit heavy for the shovel. So much so, that I dreaded the chore ahead. Sparing my back the pain of this task, I pulled the snow blower out and fired it up. I am so glad I've got an electric starter (driven by a power cord plugged into an AC outlet). It took a considerable amount of time to get the thing started. Old fuel from last years snow season was still in the blower, so I knew it wouldn't be easy. Once the beast was up and running, I got to work. After 50 minutes, the driveway and sidewalks were clear.

I put away the snow blower, hung up the shovel, and trudged back into the house. A couple of hot cups of tea went down well, and I'm glad it's over with. Now it's time to wait for the next snow storm.
<https://www.robsworld.org/barometer.html>

Bullet Proof Host gets it's plug pulled:
On the 11th of Nov, 2008, a hosting company known as 'McColo Corp.' recently had it's internet connection severed by it's (primary) upstream providers (Global Crossing and Hurricane Electric). The shut down was precipitated by a report compiled by various Internet Experts. Not one report mind you, but a series of reports, culminating in a comprehensive report linked at the bottom of this entry. This 'McColo corp.' was responsible (according to/documented in the referenced report) for a large portion of spam. They provided hosting services (using computers in the U.S.) to various spammers and scammers. Just after this companies internet connection was shut down, those monitoring the ebb and flow of spam reported a 65-75% drop in the levels of spam.

What the government couldn't do, the business community did. The report was put together and published by a group of 'responsible' ISP operators. They saw a problem, tracked it down to it's source, issued a report and thankfully someone in a position of responsibility did the right thing. The community policed itself. The IP addresses in question were used for a variety of illegal activities. Child porn, hosting malware, sending spam, hosting spam and fake pharm websites, infected computers used in botnets. The operators of the IP addresses all received their internet connections - their life blood - from McColo Corp. This takedown is a major strike against spammers, scammers and a large circle of criminals. Shutting down their internet connection shouldn't be the end of this story. I certainly hope that the case has been turned over to the FBI. Let's put these evildoers behind bars!
<http://hostexploit.com/downloads/Hostexploit%20Cyber%20Crime%20USA%20v%202.0%201108.pdf>

December 4, 2008

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.
* Chelsea - Chelsea: (14 songs) Chelsea is a proto-punk rock group from Chelsea, England. Listening to the Sex Pistols, Ramones and the Clash, you can clearly hear their influence on the Punk-Rock genre. The rock is fresh, hard, raucous. A favorite from my memories of the 80's.
* A Testimonial Dinner - The Songs Of XTC - Various artists: (11 songs) XTC is one of my favorite bands, unfortunately they haven't produced anything since 2000. Fortunately, I found this great compilation of covers. The artists on this tribute album are a who's who of some of my favorites. Crash Test Dummies, They Might Be Giants, Joe Jackson, and others. If you can't get XTC get a trip down memory lane.
* The Age Of The Understatement - The Last Shadow Puppets: (12 songs) A new band, a collaboration, a side project? A couple of great voice talents back by an orchestra playing pop. The sound is luscious, layered, rich and driving. Excellent revival of 60's orchestral pop.
* Heart Breaker - Ryan Adams: (15 songs) Not to be confused with Bryan Adams. Ryan Adams sings a completely different tune. Here is alt-country, folk-rock with an electric guitar. They lyrics are sad, sad, sad - ballads to the hound dog sitting on your front porch. Touching, heartfelt, soaring, ballads that tear you up, lift you up, and give it back.
* All the While - Frances: (11 songs) A new band, a discovery through eMusic. A recommendation based on previous selections. Pop music, reminiscent of XTC, David Bowie and Jimmy Eat World. Lushly instrumental, orchestral, uplifting. A great debut album.
* Tulips - Bloc Party: (2 songs) A two version single by a great electronic act. Bloc Party definitely sits in a special niche of my favorites. The drum work on this song is awesome. I sure wish eMusic could get the rest of their work.
* Midnight Boom - The Kills: (12 songs) Apparently this is my first download by this band, but I'm sure I've heard their stuff before. I just can't remember where. This duo does it right. Blues, punk, and rock, wrapped up in an electronic overcoat of pulsing, minimalist, power-pop. Excellent composition, vocals, timing and production.
* So Who's Paranoid? - The Damned: (13 songs) The Damned was a prolific band that emerged from the proto-punk scene of England's late 70's scene. They're survivors, innovators and entertainers. This is a new release. That's right, this favorite from the 80's is still rockin' it!

Software favorites:
There's been a few updates to my favorite applications in the last few days. The hardest working application in my Mac inventory - GraphicConverter, moved up twice this week. First it went to 6.3b0, then the full release - 6.3 came out a couple of days later. I also updated two apps that are indispensable in today's era of digital media. DVDPedia and CDPedia - by Bruji.com are used to catalog my growing media collection. These two apps produce web formatted output, so I can share my collections with others.

DVDPedia:
DVDPedia is a great little application for cataloging and displaying your movie collection, and I'm running version 4.4.1. It's list of features is impressive, and it keeps getting better with every update. The database is capable of generating statistics, you can keep track of multiple collections, you can easily add titles by typing the name of the movie or you can scan the barcode (using your iSight camera or a barcode reader) right off the movie box (it then searches the internet, and displays choices). It has customizable HTML export capabilities, a borrowed feature with address book integration, the ability to play movie in full screen mode, and many more features which make an awesome addition to your software library. I use it to generate HTML listings of my movies. Below are links to some of the pages I created using this software.
<https://www.robsworld.org/mymovies/index.html>
<https://www.robsworld.org/iphonemoviecollection/index.html>
<http://www.bruji.com/dvdpedia/>

CDPedia:
CDPedia is a great little application for cataloging and displaying your music collection, and I'm running version 4.4.1. It's list of features is impressive, and it keeps getting better with every update. The database is capable of generating statistics, you can keep track of multiple collections, you can easily add titles by typing the name of the artist, album, or track. You can scan the barcode (using your iSight camera or a barcode reader) right off a jewel case (it then searches the internet, and displays choices), or you can import lists of music from iTunes. It has customizable HTML export capabilities, a borrowed feature with address book integration, and many more features which make an awesome addition to your software library. I use it to generate HTML listings of my music. Below are links to some of the pages I created using this software.
<https://www.robsworld.org/mymusic/index.html>
<https://www.robsworld.org/iphonemusiccollection/index.html>
<http://www.bruji.com/cdpedia/>

GraphicConverter:
Thorsten Lemke (of Lemkesoft) released a new full release version (6.3b0). 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>

With these software updates, I've updated my Software Favorites page. It's primarily dedicated to web publishing for the Mac user. Not meant for the professional, It's my hope that home users and hobbyists will find it useful. If you know of a web publishing application that might be useful to me, I'd appreciate your email.
<https://www.robsworld.org/myfavs.html>

During a recent Metro District meeting, I proposed the creation of a new mailing list. A more generic list for our entire community (Tollgate Crossing). The new list won't focus on the Neighborhood Watch. Instead, it will be used for more mundane matters of the community. It's a way for every resident to communicate on any matter affecting the community. If you're a resident of Tollgate Crossing, I encourage you to check out the new mailing list (which you can read about on a new page at the web site). You may want to sign up for that mailing list as well. This week, I added a 'New' banner to the welcome page - Officially announcing the creation of 'CrossTalk', the new Tollgate Crossing mailing list. I also added some additional contact info to our Info page. Finally, thanks to our Metro District management company, I added a little description which illustrates the differences between our HOA and the Metro District.

If you are a resident of 'Tollgate Crossing' in Aurora, Colorado, you might want to check out the new website. If you're interested in our Neighborhood Watch group (Serving Tollgate Crossing, Sorrel Ranch, The Wheatlands, Beacon Point, Southshore and Tallyn’s Reach), you should check out the Neighborhood Watch section. 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. 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 our mailing lists to receive periodic alerts, updates and information.
<http://www.tollgatecrossing.org/Welcome.html>
<http://www.tollgatecrossing.org/Neighborhood_Watch.html>

First Snowstorm of December:
Yesterday (3 Dec, 08) it was gloomy, cold and downright depressing. My joints were aching, but we never got any snow. Today it's much the same, but the snow is here. It's been snowing since I woke up (around 0530), and it doesn't look like it's going to end any time soon. According to the forecast, we're supposed to get snow all day long. With temps below freezing and virtually no wind, I can see that happening easily. Thankfully it's light fluffy snow, and it won't take much effort to clear it out. For now I sit and wait. I'm not planning to shovel until much later.