July 31, 2008

A blast from the past:
Recently, I complained to Kim that I didn't have any cereal for breakfast. She asked "So what kind of cereal do you want?" I responded "Quisp!". She'd never heard of it, and I was obliged to explain. Quisp was my favorite cereal when I was a kid - Quisp was one of two cereals (the other was Quake) produced and sold by Quaker Oats back in the late 60's and early 70's. (It was introduced in 1965).

Quisp was a sugary sweet breakfast treat, that this here kid loved to eat. Those little golden saucer shaped treats - Crunchy and sweet, were made of corn. They filled my bowl each morning before I went off to school. I loved the commercials, and the cereal was a sugary boost to keep me sharp at school. The cartoons were done by Jay Ward of "Rocky and Bullwinkle", and the voices were similar.

In 1970, a contest was held by Quaker Oats to see which of the two cereals (Quisp and Quake) was more popular. In 1972, Quisp won, and Quake was pulled from the shelves. In the late 70's, Quisp was removed from stores due to low sales - Damn! I had to switch to something else. I remember King Vitamin and Captain Crunch, but I'm sure there were others as well.

My cereal challenge was met by Kim. As it turns out, Quisp is available once again. The cereal has been available, through the internet since the mid 90's, and Kim ordered a case of 12 boxes! So, I'll be having Quisp for breakfast - For quite some time. Yeah Quisp!

Phishing for Apple Customers:
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!

Here's one 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). 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. I reported it to the email web hosting providers associated with the phishing attempt. Within an hour and four minutes, the spammer's web site was shut down. How do I know? Because I received a second spam an hour and four minutes later. The same subject, same web site, same sender, etc. I checked the spammers website (using an anonymous proxy), and the web host had put up a banner that declared "This Account Has Been Suspended", "Please contact the billing/support department as soon as possible." Hopefully the spammer is stupid enough to contact the billing/support department. I hope they nab this scammer!
<https://www.robsworld.org/phishing.html>
<https://www.robsworld.org/phishingemail.txt>
<https://www.robsworld.org/phishingimage1.png>
<https://www.robsworld.org/phishingimage2.png>
<https://www.robsworld.org/whybother.html>

Yet another book:
Recently, I purchased another book. I've already got far too many books on my bookshelf, and this addition just increases the number of books waiting to be read. It's another Dune novel. A series that I can't get enough of. Unfortunately, I haven't had time to read any of the recent books. Sandworms of Dune is another book by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson. This novel is based on an outline by Frank Herbert (Author of the original Dune series). Based directly on Frank Herbert's final outline, which lay hidden in safe deposit boxes for a decade. Hunter's of Dune told the first half of the story. Now Sandworms of Dune brings the tale to its conclusion. Here is the chronological grand finale envisioned by Frank Herbert. After purchasing this book, I realized that I was missing 'Hunters of Dune' the first part of this finale.
<https://www.robsworld.org/books.html>

Another batch of iTunes Music:
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.

Starbucks gives away free iTunes Tracks:
Kim and I occasionally visit Starbucks to pick up some java juice. While we're there, we grab the most recent Starbucks Pick of the Week card. Starbucks and iTunes have teamed up to reward loyal customers with these handpicked downloads. Just visit your local Starbucks every Tuesday to pick up the latest free Pick of the Week card. Here are the tracks I downloaded this month.
* Willie Nelson & Wynton Marsalis - Rainy Day Blues: (Single) Jazzy blues by two great entertainers. I like Willie's voice, and who doesn't like the music made by Marsalis?
* My Morning Jacket - I'm Amazed: (Single) Powerful song writing and instrumentals. A slow song melancholy anthem by an alternative band that I need to hear more of.
* Sonya Kitchell - Here to There: (Single) This particular single isn't currently available in the iTunes U.S. store. Rock/pop that doesn't try to clobber you with a wall of sonic vibration. Here's some good old fashioned singing and strummin'.
* Priscilla Ahn - Dream: (Single) Amazing voice in this young musician. The song is full of emotion. Sentimental, thoughtful and evocative. Excellent track, where the instrumentals don't suffocate the outstanding vocals.
* Sia - Day Too Soon: (Video single) The video wasn't very good. Bad lip syncing, amateur feel and overly sappy. The same could be said for the song. Well, not the lip syncing part. This just isn't my cup of tea. She's got a good voice, but I didn't care for the over use of ululation.

These are just some of the items I added to my music collection during the month of July. 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 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>
<http://www.starbucks.com/aboutus/pressdesc.asp?id=857>

July 25, 2008

Kim's Birthday:
Happy Birthday to Kim! Kim celebrated another birthday on the 25th of July. Don't worry Kim, I won't tell anyone how 'old' you are. :-) Besides, you'll always be younger than me. We both had the day off so we did a little bit of celebrating. In the morning, Kim went to the spa and enjoyed some girl stuff. A facial and whatnot - I don't know much beyond 'It cost a lot'. I stayed home and computed. After she got home I got off the computer for the day (well most of it anyway). Around noon we had take-out from Ted's Montanna Grill. We each had a big bison burger and frenchy fries! Who would have thought that a couple of burgers and fries could possibly come to $26.35? Afterwards we took a little nap, then went out for a movie. We went and saw Batman - The Dark Knight (you can read my review after I write and post it). We saw it at the Southlands Cinema 16, about a mile away from our house. After the movie we were planning to go to the Arapahoe County Fair. It's running 23-27 July this year, and it's about a mile from our house. We were both kind of tired, and the weather was crappy. Wind from the East, and rain showers sweeping through. That really put a damper on our plans. We were planning to walk - Seriously, about a mile from our house, but we decided to stay at home and watch the fireworks from the comfort of a lawn chair. I called in another take out order for the evening; sushi from Mt. Fuji Sushi and Hibachi in the Southlands Mall. The sushi is always fresh, the rice is firm and slightly sticky, and all the food is excellent. Yeah, susi costs more than burgers and fries. We ate way too much - $60.00 worth of sushi! Afterwards we cleaned up, gathered some lawn chairs from the garage, and staked out a good spot for the fireworks - Unfortunately, the county fair let us down. They were supposed to have fireworks, but we sat there for thirty minutes directing lost tourists back to 'Gun Club' road. No fireworks! What a bummer. Oh well, all in all it was a pretty good day. Happy Birthday Kim!

Software favorites:
I recently updated two of my software favorites. The developers of X11 for Mac OS X have released another major update to that windowing system, and Apple released a slew of updates to their creativity and productivity software recently. These updates were precipitated by changes to their online services - .Mac transitioning to MobileMe, and some general compatibility and stability issues.

iWeb:
iWeb is Apple's entry into the HTML authoring/editing arena. It's powerful, easy to use and well polished. I've been using it more and more in order to create web pages for specific purposes. I don't use it exclusively, but I am starting to use it more and more. As a matter of fact, I'm using it exclusively on one particular web site that I manage. The best parts of iWeb are the integration with other Apple applications, the WYSIWYG interface, and the highly professional appearance of the web page outputs. The drawbacks are lack of control in web page export/output, and there's no way to view or edit the HTML code from within the application. The most recent release 7.1.4 addresses compatibility, stability and other minor issues.
<http://www.apple.com/ilife/iweb/>
<http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=61798>

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.
<https://www.robsworld.org/myfavs.html>

D&D updates:
We played a D&D session on the 12th of July, and below are the updates from that meeting. Our meeting on the 12th was a mixed session. It began with a battle, and ended with the party delving deeper into the ancient recesses of Firestorm Peak. During that battle, Grenco the Scout died! Long live Grenco! After the battle the party did a bit of exploring and we left the session with the party on the verge of a rather large encounter and battle. They've found the 'Vast Gate'! The party now possess two of the three crystal keys required to refocus the Vast Gate, but they've decided to enter the chamber ahead. Possibly encountering Madreus and his entourage before they have all the necessary crystal keys. Nearing the end of their quest, all that stands between them and the taint of Firestorm Peak is a single crystal shard and the Alienist Madreus. 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. The crystal gates of Firestorm Peak will only stay open for 28 days, and they've already used 12 days. The gates wait for no one, and the party still has to find one more crystal rod. Who or what, holds the remaining shard? Will the party have enough time to find and vanquish the source of evil within this mountain?
<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 another entry from Dynnera's personal journal, a brief entry by Belt, and glimpse of grief and rage from Thalidimar. Be sure to read about the party's journey into Firestorm Peak.
<https://www.robsworld.org/ajournal07.html#jul12_2008>

3rd Edition Campaign:
I updated the next game date (26 Jul 2008) on the campaign page and changed some of the illustration annotation information (under the photo in the upper left hand corner). 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>

Players in our campaign:
Players update. With the departure of one player (Dino), and the loss of a character (Grenco) I had to make some changes to the "players" page. I updated some info regarding Dino, and changed the character info for Todd. With Dino's departure (hopefully a temporary measure), Todd will be playing Ysoac on a permanent basis. In another player development, Lars has returned from school in California. He joked that we would probably still be playing 'Taint Mountain' by the time he finished his semester... What the, is he some kind of psychic? With his return he's indicated that he will pick up right where he left off - Fighting the Taint of Firestorm Peak with Belt's fists of fury! I'll take a new picture soon.
<https://www.robsworld.org/players.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 in an ambush. An ignoble end for a freewheeling scout who only wanted his own fair share - Even if it was nailed down! Here then is Grenco's memorial page.
<https://www.robsworld.org/grenco.html>

Character update:
During our meeting on the 12th of July, Grenco died! As a result of that big change, I've had to update the characters listing on our "Who's Who?" page. I also made some changes to player/character related info for Ysoac (previously played by Dino), Zeddishous and Belt. The "Who's Who?" page is a listing of characters, both player characters and non-player characters.
<https://www.robsworld.org/3ewhoswho.html>

Monsters encountered:
As a result of the meeting on the 12th of July, I added two new monster to the listing. The Dharculus and Silver Tongue are alien creatures from the Far Realm. The Dharculus is the creature which ambushed and killed Grenco. A vile nasty monster, with long, pointy, sharp, teeth! The Silver Tongue is some strange form of plant life that they party was able to communicate with. The monsters page is a listing of monsters that the party has encountered, read about or heard of.
<https://www.robsworld.org/monsters.html>

In addition to these updates, I also corrected numerous link problems discovered while updating links to Grenco. Due to a vacation taken during May and June, our meetings were delayed a bit, but we're back on track now. Now that I'm caught up (well, sort of caught up), I updated 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. Stay tuned for more adventure; there will be lots of thrills and excitement in the months to come.
<https://www.robsworld.org/3ecampaign.html>

Summer is Hot:
Recently I've noticed that it's hot in Colorado. Yes, Summer is here, and we've been experiencing those dreadful high temps. We've been up in the 90+ territory several times this month (96 on the 16th of July). The thermometer on the South side of the house is just about ready to give up the ghost. It's usually in the 100+ range. As a matter of fact, the other day it read 128 degrees! I'm living on the sun. I sure hope the air conditioner doesn't go out!

Robert the Handy Man?
Who would've thunk it? I'm not really mechanically inclined, but when I'm pushed to the limit, I take it to the limit! It'll take a while, but eventually I'll become a top notch handy man. Owning a new home brings all kinds of new responsibilities to the first time home owner, and I'm no exception. This Tuesday (21 July '08) I tackled a critical job. No sooner did I remark on this summer's heat, when the unthinkable happened - Our air conditioner stopped working!

It's summer, it's Hot! and the house is stifling. I take a look at the thermostat - 83 degrees. Man it seems a lot hotter. Check the indoor/outdoor thermometer - 86 degrees. O.k. That's about right, and the computer room is probably a bit warmer. It's south facing, and there's a heat producing mega-machine right between my legs - Calm down ladies. I'm talking about the computer. Anyway, that's to hot. I set the thermostat for 80 degrees, and press the hold button. I go back to work. A few minutes later, I realize that the air conditioner isn't running. I go back out to the living room and check the thermostat. What the? It's actually getting hotter?! Now it's 85 degrees. I reset the thermostat for 80 degrees, and I wait. Nothing - The air conditioner hasn't kicked in. Frantically, I mashed the buttons repeatedly. It still doesn't work. Eventually, I become frustrated - Thinking that I'm doing something wrong, I strip off my shirt and work in the heat.

When Kim gets home, I explain the problem. Pleading for help, I'm hoping that it's me. Maybe I'm simply dumb or confused. Surely it's something simple that I missed. After Kim fiddles with the thermostat for a few minutes, she concedes my worst fears - It's broken! She calls the service shop and schedules an appointment for Tuesday. We go to bed. Opening the windows, and bringing a fan up from the basement helps, but the house is way too hot. It takes several hours for the house to cool down, but the temps got down in the 60's that night, so eventually I get to sleep.

In the morning I start working on the computer before the sun is up, but I'm not down yet. After the sun comes up, I take a walk outside. Thinking to myself, "What the hell am I gonna do? Is there gonna be a sign that says 'To fix - press button'?" Not likely. Undaunted, I take a look at the 'unit'. Hey - What the? The fan blades fell off! The three bladed assembly is lying inside the A/C unit on it's side. That's weird. I wonder how that happened? Now what? Could it be so simple? I'm starting to think, what if I simply screw it back into place? I go and tell Kim what I found. Then I run an errand that needs to get done this morning.

When I return I've got socket set and other tools on hand. I pry off the cover, and extract the blades. There's some minor denting, but there doesn't appear to be any damage. Umm, maybe I should turn the power off - Good idea Kim. I spend an hour or so examining the blades, the assembly, and the motor rod where the blades were attached. It looks like the thing just worked itself loose. No signs of sheering, bending or breaking. I'm gonna give it a try. After straightening out some dents - Yup, that Leatherman is a handy tool. I head inside looking for some manuals. I find the paper one; that's no good. No pictures, and nothing about the blades. After an hour online, I'm still stumped. Can't find anything decent in the way of tutorials or manuals for this sort of work. I know, I'll go take a look at the neighbors A/C unit.

Ten minutes later I'm ready to give it a go. I've looked at his A/C unit. It's the same make and model. And I now know which way the blades should be oriented. With wrench in hand, I reattach the blades to the motor shaft. After a few false starts, I figure out the proper position on the shaft. With Kim's help, we fire it up. It takes three or four attempts. Removing the blades, reorienting the position of the blades, reconnecting the blades. Eventually I get it figured out. Power on, set the thermostat, and voilà! It's working. Blowing heat up and away from the unit as the condenser works to cool the air by passing it through a freon exchange - Or something like that. Like I said, I'm not the best at this handy man stuff.

After it's been up and running for a bit, Kim calls the service shop and cancels our appointment - What gives? they wanna know - We figured it out; is the answer Kim replies. Yay! that saved us a considerable chunk of change! The wife is beginning to believe me when I say "I can handle it" Hooray for Me!
<https://www.robsworld.org/ourhouse.html>

July 24, 2008

Reunion Spammers:
Lately I've been vexed by a particular type of spammer. I've begun receiving Alumni related spam of late, and the only place that has my mac.com email address published (that I know of), is the West De Pere High alumni web site/web pages. There has been a recent increase in the amount of Alumni related spam lately (I've received six such messages since May of '08). The email messages claim to be offering reunion services to members of the West De Pere alumni. They try to get you to 'sign-up', provide your personal details, credit card information, etc.

While some of these services/web sites may be legitimate, their methods (method of soliciting your business) are illegal. Their email messages (for the most part) are deceptive, inappropriate, unsolicited examples of phishing spam. Others lead to web sites which contain scripts intended to exploit vulnerabilities in your web browser/operating system. This recent development in spamming doesn't represent anything new or particularly dangerous, but I felt that you might want to know that spammers are scraping email addresses off alumni pages. If you've posted your email address on your High School's alumni page, you/your Alma Mater may be exposing you to unsolicited spam and phishing attempts.

Below is one example of the alumni/reunion spam I've received. (p.s. I have never contracted services with, or been a member of 'Alumnigraduate' or 'usareunited').

From: alumni@mychallenge.com
Subject: West De Pere High School Alumni Reminder
Date: July 15, 2008 10:38:17 MDT
To: nonexistentuser@example.org
The feedback on the new site for West De Pere High School Alumni has been so good that I am reminding you to register. In addition to free registration, they are also offering a Lifetime Membership for Premium Members if you sign up in the next few weeks. I suggest that you have a look at this site at http://www.usareunited.com.

Feel free to forward this mail to everyone in your address book to spread the word.

Regards
Chase Stevens

You are receiving this mail because you have previously been a member of Alumnigraduate. To unsubscribe, simply click here.

After noting this new spam development, I emailed the website administrator at my Alma Mater. I filled them in on the particulars of this threat, and asked them to remove my email address from their Alumni web page. While they didn't email me back, I have noticed that they took down 'all' their alumni pages. That's a prudent reaction. It will protect all the other Alumni members, and hopefully they can come up with a solution (I recommended one such method) which will allow them to put the pages back up in the near future.

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/feedback.html>

Jumbo sized Neighborhood Watch update:
My odd-ball schedule actually works in my favor for some things. One of those is a community support activity which I enjoy - I'm a volunteer with our local neighborhood watch. Like many of the people in my community. I own some nice things, and I want to keep it that way. Volunteering for the neighborhood watch doesn't require a lot of dedication, but it does require some attention to detail and a keen sense of your surroundings. Here's a list of all the recent updates I made to our Neighborhood Watch website.

* Thanks to some info from one of our Block Captains, I updated some information regarding our PAR (Police Area Representative). The contact information was out of date.
* Thanks to some information from our Metro District manager, I added some contact info for our communities landscapers to the Info page.
* Thanks to some information from our Metro District manager, I added some information about the Metro District meetings to our Info page.
* I added some information regarding our Neighborhood Watch meetings to the Info page. Upcoming dates weren't on the info page.
* I added the time for our next Neighborhood Watch meeting to our Welcome page. Previously the time was only listed on the Events page.
* I changed the order of the 'News Flash' banners on our Welcome page. Somehow they got out of order. They are now ordered by date of occurrence.
* After reading the HOA newsletter, I updated some HOA contact data on our Info page. As of 1 Aug, Jan Rider will be our new community manager.
* After receiving some feedback from the Metro District management, I was able to post an update regarding the Metro District's office hours to our Info page.
* After receiving an email from an Aurora Public Relations Coordinator, I was able to add links and information regarding the Access Aurora services/program to our Info page.
* Aurora's Household Chemical Roundup is coming up in Sept, and I added a banner, sent an email, and made an entry on our Events page to hilight this valuable service.

If you are a resident of 'Tollgate Crossing' in Aurora, Colorado, you might want to check out the new website. If you're a fan of "Rob's World!" you'll want to check out the web page, just to see what can be done with Apple's iWeb software. The web page turned out very nicely, and I hope it serves our community well. 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 list to receive periodic alerts, updates and information. For additional information see the Neighborhood Watch web page.
<http://www.tollgatecrossing.org/Welcome.html>
<http://www.tollgatecrossing.org/Events.html>
<http://www.tollgatecrossing.org/Info.html>

July's Juke-Box:
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.

Free eMusic sampler downloads:
Here's some more free music I downloaded recently. eMusic provides plenty of free tracks (to it's members) throughout the year, and I certainly take advantage of the free stuff:
* Ba Da Bing Records Superfantastic Oh Boy Fun For Free Sampler: (10 songs) A label sampler. Various artists, various genres - Folk, alternative, acoustic and some you can't define. I may not keep all of them, but I'm sure that some of them will lead me to download (and pay) some new band I wouldn't have heard of otherwise. Unfortunately, one of the tracks was corrupt - I left some feedback on the site. Maybe they'll fix it. Maybe not - It was free.
* Chemikal Underground - Label Sampler: (6 songs) A better label sampler. I have to say that I recognize and enjoy this label's talent. Despite the fact that there's only six cuts on this offering, I've already added two artists (Malcolm Middleton and Mother and the Addicts) to my download list. I'll pay for two albums after listening to this sampler.
* Kaleidoscope Room 3: (12 songs) When I download these compilations, I find it convenient that emusic groups them by genre. This set of songs falls in the jazz/pop, category.

iTunes purchase:
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.
* Radio 4 - Enemies Like This: (10 songs) If the Clash or Black Flag had done dub, dance or techno it would sound like this. Post Punk party band with a killer beat. This is my 4th download from this band. Unfortunately, eMusic isn't picking up any of the newer stuff from this band. Grrr! These record label distribution deals piss me off.
* Gang of Four - Return the Gift: (14 songs) Speaking of Gang Of Four. Here (2005 release) the band has re-recorded several tracks from their original 1979-1982 recordings. They've definitely corrected the drum work, and these re-recordings cover some of their best material. Gang of Four does a tribute album to Gang of Four. iTunes carries two versions of this album. One of the releases contains the new and old recordings, while the one I downloaded just contains the new recordings.

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.
* BigBigCar - Limestone Throne/Kid Fight: (10 songs) Downloaded from the MusicalFamilyTree website. Cowbell! keyboard, whompin' good bass and a distinctive vocalist.
* Brown Betty - Thriller: (11 songs) Another selection downloaded fromMusicalFamilyTree. Straightforward rock with a punk edge. Fast, tight, solid with snappy vocals infused with plenty of feeling.

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

.Mac becomes MobileMe:
In an effort to bring the Mac desktop environment to a whole new audience, Apple has 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 worked as well as advertised. Since it's release, customers have been plagued by amazingly long delays between the initial push, and subsequent updates. The synchronizing capabilities have 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 is the 'sync' not working as expected, the web applications are buggy, slow and sometimes completely inaccessible. It's been 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 this reality are pretty far apart. Apple really dropped the ball on this one.

The worst part of this fiasco? It primarily affects current Mac OS users. People who were already subscribed to the .Mac service were automatically converted over to the MobileMe platform. Now they're enduring excruciatingly slow update times, web pages and 'cloud' applications that are unreachable, don't update when they should, and don't behave the way an OS X user expects them to behave. It's the core audience that's seeing this shiny new dream turn into a dull grey reality.</rant>

<rave>So, what is Apple doing about it? Well, aside from assurances and a lot of mea culpas, Apple has decided to placate the masses with some extended service. Here's an excerpt from the email they sent me.

We want to apologize to our loyal customers and express our appreciation for their patience by giving all current subscribers an automatic 30-day extension to their MobileMe subscription free of charge. Your extension will be reflected in your account settings within the next few weeks.

O.k. A 30 day extension on my MobileMe subscription is a start, it's something, it's better than nothing. An extension is nice. At least they're admitting that things are screwed up. That they screwed up. Here they're taking some measures towards reassuring their base and compensating those who've been affected. Let's hope this is only the first step in fixing this problem. 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>

July 12, 2008

Jammin' out in July:
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.
* Josh Ritter - Hello Starling (Limited Edition): (11 & 4 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. I will buy more of his material. Discovered through eMusic recommendations.
* The Alarm - Strength [1985 - 1986] Remastered: (17 songs) A Welsh punk/acoustic band that sounded far too much like U2. Belting out punk inspired anthems, this band was a pretty good contender for the coveted pop arena. This album is a compilation of the best of their 80's tunes. Back in January of '07, I digitized all my cassettes, and I had this album in my collection, but the quality was so poor that I had to get a new copy. Here, the remastered collection sounds better than the original ever did. Fantastic arena rock!
* The Original Brothers And Sisters Of Love - H.O.M.E.S., Vol. 1: (12 songs) aka TOBASOL, this band became the Great Lakes Myth Society, and that's how I discovered them - By working backwards. Digging for the roots of an amazing folk, acoustic, americana band. Outstanding lyrics and instrumentals mark these mythical ballads with a distinctive American touch. Folk has never popped the way these songs pop. FYI: Despite the vocal similarities to the Waterboys and bands of their ilk, this band does not hail from England, Ireland or Scotland. Listen to the lyrics.
* The Young Knives - Are Dead and Some: (10 songs) A talent recommended by my friend Troy. This post-punk/new wave revivalist group brings the sound of early 80's alternative back to the scene. British boys, the sound is unmistakable, full of energy, angst, and pent up rage. I just wish eMusic had more of this band.
* Bauhaus - 1979-1983 Volume One : (14 songs) Another favorite from the 80's. Here's a band that helped forge the fires of goth rock. Electro-eclectic, dark, moody and powerful. Simultaneously soaring and subducting the soul of the listener. This compilation is the first half of a two part offering. Despite the fact that Bauhaus lasted less than ten years in it's original incarnation, a recent reunion tour (in '98) and album (in '08) brings hope to the hearts of thousands of goth guy and girls.
* Adult. - Gimme Trouble: (12 songs) Note the "." after the artist name.. Reminiscent of many punk bands I loved from the 80's. Here's a great eclectic organ grinding ecstasy of pure joy. Poping electronic instruments, combined with a shrieking - Siouxsie like vocalist. Carving a soundscape with sub-sonic noises; this one's got enough spunk to satisfy the induction circuits in my cranial unit. Cross Siouxsie and the Banshees with P.I.L. Throw in a heavy dose of discordant electronic fuzic and you've got Adult. music. Thanks for the recommendation Troy. I loved 'Why Bother', but this is even better!
* Sparks - Hello Young Lovers: (11 songs) Electronic, pulse pounding pop - L.A. roots with a Euro flavor. New wave beat and pacing. Reminds me of O.M.D. and Ultravox. Upbeat, danceable, able to adapt yet keeping it's pop roots. Sparks have been rocking out since the early 70's, and they haven't given up yet. A favorite from the 80's.

iTunes purchase:
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. Here's one of those free downloads from the iTunes store. Thanks Apple!:
* Blind Pilot - Go On, Say It: (1 song) An acoustic, folk, minimalist duo with instrumentals that evoke the soul of the indie sound. Vocals that speak of sincerity and heartfelt ambition. An excellent opening act. Too bad they're not available on eMusic.

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.
* Chromeo - Fancy Footwork (Deluxe Edition): (10 songs) Not all these songs come from the Deluxe Edition, but one entry will have to suffice. I first discovered this talent through 3hive.com, but I liked it so much I had to go looking for more. I found the rest at their MySpace place. This band defines Electro-Funk with these devilishly, delicious dance tunes. It's electronic ecstasy with an urban hip-hop ethic. Not my usual cup of tea, but decidedly good. I'll grab the full release on my next emusic download.

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

Neighborhood Watch:
My odd-ball schedule actually works in my favor for some things. One of those is a community support activity which I enjoy - I'm a volunteer with our local neighborhood watch. Like many of the people in my community. I own some nice things, and I want to keep it that way. Volunteering for the neighborhood watch doesn't require a lot of dedication, but it does require some attention to detail and a keen sense of your surroundings.

Thanks to some information from our HOA community manager, I was able to post updates to our Welcome, Events and Info pages recently. I updated contact information for our HOA management personnel, updated the HOA meeting dates (The second Tuesday of every month). I also updated some information regarding our communities upcoming garage sale, and some information regarding the upcoming National Night Out celebration in Aurora, Colorado. Quite a few updates this time around.

In addition to all these web updates, I also sent out a transcription of my notes from a recent HOA meeting. The notes aren't exactly Neighborhood Watch related, but many of the residents appreciate my notes, and I'm glad that I can be of service to the residents in my community.

If you are a resident of 'Tollgate Crossing' in Aurora, Colorado, you might want to check out the new website. If you're a fan of "Rob's World!" you'll want to check out the web page, just to see what can be done with Apple's iWeb software. The web page turned out very nicely, and I hope it serves our community well. If you're a resident of Tollgate Crossing, and you're concerned about the safety and security of our community, you might want to join or mailing list to receive periodic alerts, updates and information. For additional information see the Neighborhood Watch web page.
<http://www.tollgatecrossing.org/Welcome.html>
<http://www.tollgatecrossing.org/Events.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 (6.1.2). 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>

July 7, 2008

Software favorites:
I recently updated three of my software favorites. GraphicConverter moves ever forward. Two more steps towards perfection. Another product that's always getting better. It's another free upgrade for those who own a license. In addition to the GC update, 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.

GraphicConverter:
Thorsten Lemke (of Lemkesoft) released a new full release version (6.1.1), followed soon afterwards by yet another beta release (6.1.2b0). 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>