Aug 31, 2011

New eMusic Radio/Player:
<rave>Recently (30 Aug, 2011), eMusic announced it's new 'eMusic Radio'. The web based application is in beta now so, if you're an eMusic member you can give it a try. It's designed to provide a fuller more expansive music discovery experience to the eMusic consumer. It's a free feature for all U.S. eMusic members. This new player allows eMusic members to listen to up to 10 hours of streaming music (per 30 day cycle). The Player/Radio is designed/uses Adobe Flash, so it doesn't work on an iPhone or iPad. According to the eMusic FAQ/Help page, they're working on a version compatible with those devices. The new player launches with 40+ curated 'Radio' stations. The player/streaming conforms with DMCA restrictions, so there's limits on how many tracks you can skip, how many songs by any specific band, artist and or album, and other restrictions.

I've tried the new player/radio stations and it/they work quite well on my desktop Mac (using Safari Version 5.1 (6534.50)). It's still in beta, and I've already noticed a few issues, but it certainly looks promising. Along with the the player and 'Radio' channels (which could have clearer descriptions/categories), eMusic announced that they'll have cloud services (on multiple devices/by the end of the year) for all the eMusic tracks that members have purchased. Awesome! I don't think I'll unsubscribe from my MOG service just yet. As I generally listen to more than 10 hours of new music per month, but this new service will certainly help me discover more new music. I like it!</rave>
<http://www.emusic.com/info/help/emusic-radio/#ixzz1XI1WZmIm>
<http://www.emusic.com/info/help/emusic-radio/>
<http://www.emusic.com/listen/#/radio/>

D&D updates:
Our meeting on the 6th of August was a continuation of the party's battle to destroy the evil werewolf holding Deepwood in thrall. Be sure to read all about this final battle. The 20th of August saw a game changing session. Everyone was here, and we had a good time. Michael, despite his recent injury, is back at the table. Todd and Lee got to introduce their new characters, and Mark and I switched roles again. I've returned to the DM's podium, and Mark is playing Solmar once again. The meeting on the 20th of August started out quite slow as the party was basically waiting for transportation to arrive. The villagers debated the situation regarding wolf men living among them, and the party did it's best to stay out of trouble. The H.A.L.L.O.W.ed Knights have completed their most recent quest, and they're on their way back to Whillip. In search of glory, fame, and justice, they seek to right the wrongs of this land. To defend the weak, enslaved and oppressed. Striking out at evil and taint; this group of characters vow to make their mark upon the land. Let H.A.L.L.O.W.ed Knights be a name both feared by evil and revered by the good citizens of these realms.

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 The H.A.L.L.O.W.ed Knights, a group of adventurers who set forth from Whillip, seeking fame, fortune and the defeat of evil in these lands.

Two more journal entries from Robert, playing Solmar the Warforged Paladin - After playing Solmar for more than two years now I think I've got the hang of it. Now it's time to turn Solmar back over to Mark. I've tried my best to keep my style of play consistent with that established by Mark (it is his character), but their were certainly some differences in our style of play, and those differences came out in my journal entries. The journal entry from the 6th of August was an adventure ending combat session, where the party finally defeated the evil werewolf holding the town of Deepwood in Thrall.

In the entry for the 20th of August, I've tried to get back to the Solmar style Mark established. Read on to learn what happened as the party finally completes the final mystery of Deepwood. Sharpen your blades and hitch up your horses - Adventure calls and danger beckons!

These final journal entries mean we're caught up (from a vacation in June, which set me back in web postings). If someone else (one of the players) provides a journal entry for our session on the 20th, I'll post it as soon as I get the time. Hopefully - moving forward, we'll see some journal entries from the other players.
<https://www.robsworld.org/ajournal08.html#aug06_2011>
<https://www.robsworld.org/ajournal08.html#aug20_2011>

Who's Who?:
I updated the "Who's Who?" page to add some new characters. The meeting on the 20th of August introduced two new characters - Allurean Ji-Axiom (Todd's newest character) and Anton Mortimer Helsing (Lee's new character). I also updated the entry for Kyrin's new animal companion. The "Who's Who?" page is a listing of characters, both player characters and non-player characters.
<https://www.robsworld.org/3ewhoswho.html>

Here there be Heroes:
With the introduction of two new characters - Allurean Ji-Axiom (Todd's newest character) and Anton Mortimer Helsing (Lee's new character), I took the time to update the "Hero's Gallery". The Hero's Gallery is a list of characters from my campaign. Past and present, the characters listed represent a fraction of those who have called Rob's World! home. Some of the players are long forgotten, but many of the characters live long in our memory. Who can forget their heroic feats, the daring deeds, and tragic endings? Let's heft our mugs, sing their praises, and salute those hero's of lore!
<https://www.robsworld.org/gallery.html>

These updates follow our meetings on 6th and 20th of August, 2011. You can keep up to date with our adventures 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>

Aug 28, 2011

More Memory for my Mac:
I recently decided to upgrade my computer to the latest Mac OS, and I'm almost ready for that transition. Apple updated the Mac OS from Snow Leopard to Lion (OS 10.7) in July of 2011, and I've been planning on my upgrade for several months now. I've decided to run a dual-boot system until I've had time to fully switch over from Snow Leopard to Lion. The new OS doesn't include a component called 'Rosetta', an emulator that allows you to run PowerPC compiled code on an Intel machine. My computer (A Mac Pro (early 2009)) is an Intel Xeon architecture, but I rely on the Rosetta emulator to run a few venerable old apps such as AppleWorks. Since I've got a lot of files and other applications which still rely on Rosetta, the dual-boot solution will allow me more time to convert documents and find replacement applications for software like Dundjinni, AppleWorks and The Logo Creator.

Working up to my transition has been a bit of a process. In addition to converting some documents and searching for replacement apps, I've also been adding some hardware necessary to support the dual-boot solution that I'm planning to implement. I've already added additional storage, and now I've added more RAM/memory to make my Mac a bit more responsive with the new OS. My dual quad-core machine carries 8 memory slots, and I had RAM in six of them - With this latest upgrade, I move up from 12GB of RAM to 20GB. It's not maxed out yet, but I think this is as far as I'll go in this machine. The 20GB of additional RAM provides for a snappier system (I've already noticed it under my 10.6/Snow leopard configuration), and it extends the life of this machine. I've been watching RAM prices, and this looked like a good time to purchase the upgrade (2x4GB), so I stopped over at Crucial.com and picked up an upgrade kit. 20GB of RAM should take this machine into the next two years with considerable zip. I typically upgrade my hardware every 4-5 years, and now is just about the right time to upgrade the RAM. With two-three years left in the life of the hardware, I don't want to wait too long, or the RAM prices will start to go up.

With this update, I've completed another phase in my upgrade plan. I've got a backup plan in place, and increased my computer's RAM. All that's left now is getting my blogs up to date. It's almost time to install the Lion OS. I'm looking forward to all those improvements and new features. Who knows, maybe I'll forget all about those PPC applications. As a result of this recent upgrade, the following pages have been updated. myfavs.html and mycomputer.html.
<https://www.robsworld.org/mycomputer.html>
<https://www.robsworld.org/computerheadquarters.html>
<http://www.apple.com/macosx/>
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosetta_(software)>
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mac_OS_X_Snow_Leopard>
<http://www.crucial.com>

Steve Jobs steps down!
You knew it was bound to happen, and now it finally has. It's no secret that Steve Jobs has had/has health problems, and his ability to command Apple as CEO has been impacted by his health. He even admitted (openly) that if/when he could no longer effectively function as CEO, he'd let the board of directors know. Well, that day has come. On the 24th of Aug, 2011. Steve Jobs/Apple Inc. released announcements officially ending the second coming of Jobs. Steve Jobs helmed Apple Inc. twice. First as a cocreator of the company, manager and CEO in it's early days. Ousted by the board in 1985, Steve came back 12 years in order to straighten things out. Apple was failing, floundering, making multiple mistakes in management and product development. With his second term as CEO, Steve turned everything around and brought Apple around. Recovering from obscurity and near bankruptcy (according to Steve Jobs, the company was 90 days away from bankruptcy when he came back) this small personal computer corporation rose to become 'The single most valuable company in the entire world!' Yes, that's right, Apple's value was recently (August of 2011) rated as the most valuable in the world. Surpassing oil and banking giants like Exxon-Mobile and Goldman Sachs. Apple is now a successful, powerful and profitable company. Thanks in part (in large part) to the leadership of Steve Jobs. I saw the potential back in the early 90s when Steve returned and Apple decided to switch it's OS to a Unix based foundation. If only I'd had enough money to invest back then...

How will this affect Apple moving forward? There's been much speculation on the future of Apple, but I for one can't imagine they'll make many radical changes moving forward. With Jobs creating a culture of excellence, performance, and dedication, it'll take considerable effort to tarnish the shiny standard that is 'Apple Inc.' Steve Jobs left at the company's pinnacle. Massive accomplishments, outstanding products and a solid footing promise great days ahead, even if they aren't led by the man. Tim Cook will now move up to CEO position and Steve Jobs will serve as the Chairman of the Board, along with Elvis, Frank Sinatra and other legendary figures. :-)
<http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-08-09/apple-rises-from-near-bankruptcy-to-become-most-valuable-company.html>
<http://blogs.wsj.com/deals/2011/08/24/steve-jobs-resigns-as-apple-ceo/>
<http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2011/08/24Letter-from-Steve-Jobs.html>
<http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2011/08/24Steve-Jobs-Resigns-as-CEO-of-Apple.html>

Software favorites:
More updates to some of my favorite software applications. GraphicConverter moves ever forward. As usual, developer has been busy updating this application. Here's two (or more) updates for the product that's always getting better. All the updates are free for those who own a license (for the most recent version). If you need a powerhouse converter, editor and browser for your graphics, grab a copy of GraphicConverter - You won't be disappointed. In addition to the GC update, there were also updates to my favorite cataloging applications.

GraphicConverter:
Thorsten Lemke (of Lemkesoft) completed work on at least eight additional updates over the past week. I recently saw/downloaded the following update: 7.3.2 (b269). GraphicConverter is an image converter and editor. A fantastic piece of shareware that is well worth the price (~$40.00). 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/content/162/new-functions-and-versions.html>

DVDPedia:
DVDPedia is a great little application for cataloging and displaying your movie collection, and I'm running version 4.6.8. 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 and movie reviews. Below are links to some of the pages I created using this software.
<https://www.robsworld.org/iphonemoviecollection/index.html>
<https://www.robsworld.org/mymovies/index.html>
<https://www.robsworld.org/reviews.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 4.6.8. 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/>

Bookpedia:
Bookpedia is a great little application for cataloging and displaying your book collection(s), and I'm running version 4.6.8. 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 author, book, or isbn number. You can scan the barcode (using your iSight camera or a barcode reader) right off the book cover (the application searches the internet, and displays choices). 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 an HTML listing of my favorite books.
<https://www.robsworld.org/books.html>
<http://www.bruji.com/bookpedia/>

Most of these updates are releases designed to improve compatibility with Apple's latest Mac OS - Lion (Mac OS 10.7). With Apple's release of OS 10.7, everyone is working hard to release new versions of their software, or improve their compatibility with Lion. 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. It's a listing of applications that I find useful in publishing my web pages.
<https://www.robsworld.org/myfavs.html>

Malware Explosion in August 2011:
It's a Trojan/Malware explosion! Over the last 28 days (the month's not quite over yet), I've seen a massive increase in the number of trojan/malware emails sent to me by anonymous users/compromised bot-driven open relays. email is the vector of choice for spammers, scammers and nefarious operators of bot-nets. Attached to that email is an attachment with a .zip extension. Don't open it! It's a lie, a scam, a schemed designed to take control of your computer. If you're lucky that's all it'll do.

This month alone (and it's not quite over yet), I've logged a 680% increase in the number of trojan/malware email messages I've received. August alone now accounts for appx 75% of the year to date malware messages received! This huge onslaught saw email arriving with numerous different subject lines; all designed to make me think the email contains an attachment or information that I need:

I examined/scanned some of the attachments, and they appear to be various forms of 'boot' level malware. Sometimes disguised as Word or pdf documents, all the attachments contained worms/malware designed to infect a Windows computer at boot/startup, making it more difficult to remove and detect. A few of the attachements were malformed malware/code that wouldn't execute on a Windows machine.

Make no mistake, you're computer is under attack. There are people out there attempting to gain access to your computer, your personal information, your credit card numbers, your private information. If you click on every link, download every file, open every attachment without thinking...

If you haven't got some type of virus/trojan protection, you should seriously invest in one today. Just be careful what you download, and where you get it from. A favorite tactic (now aimed at Mac users) of the scammer is the fake anti-malware application. It looks legit (at first glance), but it's actually designed to infect your computer or falsely report infection. For that matter, most ISPs will give you anti-malware software for free. ISPs don't want their users, customers, or network infected with and responsible for the spread of trojans and malware.

<rant>I recommend you avoid the 'privacy protection' software. It generally requires that you enter all your private/confidential information into the program so that it can scan the internet looking for unauthorized use of that information. Call me crazy, but putting all my confidential information into a single place (the program) seems a bit risky; and then it's connected to the internet, and you no longer control it! It's kind of like giving your wallet to someone else, then asking them to 'take care of it for me'. Sorry, but I'm not going to intentionally expose all my confidential information to the internet. Imagine what would happen if that company got hacked! Not only would you risk the disclosure of one credit card, or one email address, or one bank account number... You'd lose all your private information. All your financial information in one place? That's insane - Don't do it!</rant>
<http://www.securityweek.com/researchers-report-massive-increase-boot-time-malware>
<http://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2011/08/25/scan-from-a-xerox-workcentre-trojan-attack-spammed-out-widely/>
<http://blog.commtouch.com/cafe/malware/a-wild-malware-rollercoaster-–-over-500-increase/>
<http://iwebguyblog.wordpress.com/2011/08/17/brace-for-email-attachment-malware-spree/>

Aug 21, 2011

Software favorites:
Another update for my favorite software application. Another beta update for my favorite Graphics editor. GraphicConverter moves ever forward. As usual, developer has been busy updating this application. Here's another update for a product that's always getting better. All the updates are free for those who own a license (for the most recent version). If you need a powerhouse converter, editor and browser for your graphics, grab a copy of GraphicConverter - You won't be disappointed.

GraphicConverter:
Thorsten Lemke (of Lemkesoft) completed work on one update over the past week. I recently saw/downloaded the following update: 7.3.1 (b261). GraphicConverter is an image converter and editor. A fantastic piece of shareware that is well worth the price (~$40.00). 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/content/162/new-functions-and-versions.html>

With this software update, 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. It's a listing of applications that I find useful in publishing my web pages.
<https://www.robsworld.org/myfavs.html>

Netflix announces the 'Just for Kids' experience:
This week (Aug 16, 2011), Netflix announced another change to their website, another new feature that's sure to please parents and kids alike. They've added a 'Just for Kids' tab to the front page of the website. The addition of this tab/category on the front page makes it easier for kids and families to find a large number of family friendly movies and shows. The tab takes you straight to a watch instantly selection specifically culled for children 12 and under. Headed by character icons, kids can instantly recognize their favorites, and parents can relax when they realize that this selection was assembled using reviews from 'Common Sense Media', a leading non-profit organization dedicated to helping parents make media choices for their family.

Since kids are one of the biggest media consumers in the Netflix audience, it's about time Netflix gave them a more tailored experience. The categories are easy to understand genres like Adventures, Friends, Talking Animals and From Books. According to Netflix, nearly half their 25 million U.S. members have accessed two or more watch instantly shows made for kids in the last 90 days. So click on that new 'Just for Kids' tab (if you're using a web browser), and fire up family movie night. This new feature is currently limited to the Netflix website, but it's coming to other devices next year.
<http://netflix.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=403>
<http://www.netflix.com>

D&D updates:
Our meeting on the 11th of June saw a session with Micheal on the sidelines. He injured his foot a few weeks ago. Despite the fact that he hasn't been able to do much travelling, he was still able to play via video conference. Lee and Todd are still without characters (A nasty monster killed their characters a few sessions back). Our meeting on the 11th of June was all combat as we continued our fight against an extremely powerful prince of darkness. After releasing a vampire from it's underground crypt, the party made a mad dash towards the dungeon's entrance in order to prevent this undead creature from escaping. They caught up with the vampire and found it ready for their attack. The battle is on, but far from over, so be sure to read the journal entry I just posted. You wouldn't want to miss the conclusion!

Our meeting on the 25th of June saw a session with Micheal unable to make it to the alternate meeting location. Kim and Robert were on vacation, so the group had to meet at an alternate location. Sean B's basement made a comfortable dungeon for this session. Although Lee and Todd are still without their own characters, they were quite busy playing other characters. The party concluded it's battle with the vampire, and dealt with the aftermath; only to be confronted with yet another mystery upon their return to Deepwood.

Our meeting on the 9th of July saw Micheal return to our table. Despite the fact that he was sporting a nasty cast, he managed to make it to the meeting. Obviously in some amount of pain, he nonetheless toughed it out for the full session. Todd and Lee are still missing their own characters, and they did their best to help Mark with NPC duties. With the vampire vanquished, the party found itself consumed with yet another mystery. This time it's 'Wolf Men'. Monstrous beasts the size of a horse seem to be plaguing the unfortunate residents of this cursed village.

With the conclusion of our 8 August, 2009 meeting, the players have moved into an entirely new phase of the game. Gone are the S.C.R.E.W.O.F.F.S. - Existing now as a group of non-player characters. The player characters are now members of an entirely new group. The H.A.L.L.O.W.ed Knights. This new group of adventurers have struck out from Whillip. In search of glory, fame, and justice. They seek to right the wrongs of this land. To defend the weak, enslaved and oppressed. Striking out at evil and taint; this group of characters vow to make their mark upon the land. Let H.A.L.L.O.W.ed Knights be a name both feared by evil and revered by the good citizens of these realms.

3rd Edition Campaign:
I updated the date of our next meeting - Our next meeting is 17 September, 2011. Kim and I missed a meeting on the 25th of June (See the journal entry from Todd), and we skipped a meeting on the 23rd of July while Mark was away on vacation. We had another meeting on the 20th of August (I'll post that journal as soon as I get around to it), but we'll be missing another one on the 3rd of September. This page (The "3eCampaign" page) 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. You can also check out the latest group photo.
<https://www.robsworld.org/3ecampaign.html>

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 The H.A.L.L.O.W.ed Knights, a group of adventurers who set forth from Whillip, seeking fame, fortune and the defeat of evil in these lands.

Here is my fifth journal entry as Solmar the Warforged Paladin - I've been playing Solmar for more than two years now and I think I'm starting to get the hang of it. I've tried my best to keep my style of play consistent with that established by Mark (it is his character), but their are bound to be some differences in our style of play, and those differences may come out in this journal entry. Read on to learn what happened in our encounter with the Vampire of Deepwood. Sharpen your blades and hitch up your horses - Adventure calls and danger beckons!

The next journal entry comes from Todd. Written from Skif's point of view, this particular journal entry offers an alternate voice to the journal entries. It's been a while since we had a journal entry from one of the other players/characters, and this one's quite entertaining and interesting. Be sure to read all about the continuing mysteries and dilemmas plaguing the isolated village of Deepwood.

Another journal entry from Robert, playing Solmar the Warforged Paladin - After playing Solmar for more than two years now I think I've got the hang of it. I've tried my best to keep my style of play consistent with that established by Mark (it is his character), but their are bound to be some differences in our style of play, and those differences may come out in this journal entry. Read on to learn what happened as the party attempts to unravel the latest mystery of Deepwood. Sharpen your blades and hitch up your horses - Adventure calls and danger beckons!

I still have two more journal entries to post (6 & 20 August) before we're caught up. I'll do my best to get those posted as soon as possible, but life sometimes has a tendency to get in the way of things like journal entries. If any of the players would like to help... I could use some help transcribing my notes into electronic format for posting. My handwriting isn't that bad.
<https://www.robsworld.org/ajournal08.html#jun11_2011>
<https://www.robsworld.org/ajournal08.html#jun25_2011>
<https://www.robsworld.org/ajournal08.html#jul09_2011>

Monsters encountered:
From subterranean aqueduct to a hillside lair and a hidden tomb - As the party enters new environs they will surely encounter some new creatures. Some of those creatures will attempt to eat or injure the party - These creatures we call 'Monsters'! During some of our most recent gaming sessions, the party fought a powerful vampire. After defeating that menace, the party turned their attention to another threat. Now they're investigating a pack of 'Wolf Men'. As a result, I updated the party's "Monster's Known" listings. The monsters page is a listing of monsters that the party has encountered, read about, or heard of.
<https://www.robsworld.org/monsters.html>

Who's Who?:
I updated the "Who's Who?" page to reflect some new information about Armon Bistle - the mysterious, wealthy, patron of the small village of Deepwood. What secret is Armon protecting? According to Crucifer: “Armon is the Dragon luring adventurers here to build his treasure hoard!” Later, Skif opined (in a journal entry): "there’s something about this guy that I simply just don’t like. Crucifer was wrong about Bistle actually being the Dragon and luring adventurers here to kill them and take their loot, but I think he was right to suspect him of being crooked". I also moved Armon Bistle from the 'allies' category to a different one... Finally, I updated some links to the Kassera (aka Mutt) and Crucifer pages. The "Who's Who?" page is a listing of characters, both player characters and non-player characters.
<https://www.robsworld.org/3ewhoswho.html>
<https://www.robsworld.org/kassera.html>
<https://www.robsworld.org/crucifer.html>

Where Now?:
With the party engaged in an adventure, they're travelling about, gathering information, meeting new characters and hearing tales of distant places. Over the last couple of sessions, the party has spent a considerable amount of time in the small village of Deepwood. Roughly hewn from the forest which surrounds it, this small village is a mysterious and secluded place. The perfect place to hide a... "Where Now?" is a listing of various places the party has visited or researched.
<https://www.robsworld.org/wherenow.html>

These updates follow our meetings on the 11th of June, the 25th of June, and the 9th of July, 2011. You can keep up to date with our adventures 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>

Apple's 'iStores' can't PayPal:
<rant>Recently (see July 16th and July 31st blog postings), I encountered some serious iTunes problems. My entire iTunes library (Music, Videos, much of the Artwork, all the PDFs and digital books) had to be rebuilt/restored. After that nightmare, I encountered another iTunes problem. This time the 'problem' affected the iTunes store and the Mac App Store. Apple's application based digital media stores allow you to purchase software (for the computer), Apps (for your iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad), Music, Videos, Digital Books, Audio Books and more. These application/software based stores allow you to make purchases using Credit Cards, Gift Cards/Certificates, PayPal or 'none' (just in case you don't plan on buying anything through the online stores). If you've got PayPal, it makes for a convenient way to authorize electronic payments. You can charge up your PayPal account with funds, and authorize the iStore (The iTunes Store, Mac App Store and AppleTV all share the same account settings) to access your PayPal funds. Using the PayPal option allows you to exercise a little more control over your financial information, limit your spending to cash on hand (no interest payments) and limits the number of websites and applications that have your credit card numbers to reduce the risk of credit card fraud.

Unfortunately, Apple's iStores (the Mac App store the iTunes store and rentals on the AppleTV) experienced an outage of sorts... Or was it just me? Starting on the 13th of August, 2011, I couldn't switch my iStore account to PayPal funding. I spent several hours trying to switch the funding source from a credit card to PayPal. Unfortunately, no matter what I tried, I couldn't get it to work. When attempting to change the payment source I was redirected (by iTunes) to the PayPal site. Once there, I successfully set up the payment authorization for iTunes payments. However, when I returned to the iTunes store, I found the settings still configured for credit card funding. I tried numerous times in the iTunes store and the App Store. No matter what I did, I couldn't get the iStores to recognize the change of funding source. I tried quitting iTunes, restarted the application, restarted my browser; I even restarted my computer. No matter what I did, I couldn't get the iStore to recognize the change. Eventually, I went back to PayPal and revoked all the authorizations I had just created. I ended up creating something like ten payment authorizations during my troubleshooting.

I did some research online and found others with similar problems, but nothing conclusive. The most relevant reports were those related to users who'd upgraded their OS from Snow Leopard (OS 10.6) to Lion (OS 10.7). Apparently some users were charged multiple times for their purchase of Lion. This 'outage/problem' may have been caused by Apple or PayPal updating some transaction code in the iStore infrastructure. On the 14th of August, I tried once again to switch my iStore payments from credit card to PayPal. This time it worked perfectly! Now I'm back on the PayPal standard. I don't think we'll ever know the true cause of this 'outage/problem'. If Apple or PayPal were updating some code or patching some security holes, they might not disclose the fact for fear of liability.<rant>
<http://www.apple.com/itunes/>

Aug 12, 2011

Software favorites:
More updates for my favorite software applications. A bunch of beta updates for my favorite Graphics editor. GraphicConverter moves ever forward. As usual, developer has been busy updating this application. Here's one of several updates for a product that's always getting better. All the updates are free for those who own a license (for the most recent version). If you need a powerhouse converter, editor and browser for your graphics, grab a copy of GraphicConverter - You won't be disappointed.

GraphicConverter:
Thorsten Lemke (of Lemkesoft) completed work on at least nine additional updates over the past week. I recently saw/downloaded the following updates: 7.3.1 (b260). GraphicConverter is an image converter and editor. A fantastic piece of shareware that is well worth the price (~$40.00). 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/content/162/new-functions-and-versions.html>

With this software update, 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. It's a listing of applications that I find useful in publishing my web pages.
<https://www.robsworld.org/myfavs.html>

Massive updates to the Tollgate Crossing website:
I participate in some community focused events, but haven't found the time to serve on any boards, so I do what I can to help the people who live in my neighborhood. Volunteering with our local neighborhood watch, and supporting our community by maintaining the Tollgate Crossing website and mailing lists. The Tollgate Crossing website is focused on the Tollgate Crossing community, with a few links to the Neighborhood Watch website. Over the last couple of weeks, I made a few updates to the community website:

• Welcome: The website's opener. A page containing an introduction to our community website. Here you'll find all the latest news and announcements. I rearranged the banners a bit - It's something I do to indicate a change in the content.
  • I removed a banner for the Arapahoe County Fair (held 20-24 July, 2011). Maybe I'll make it to the Fair next year.
  • I removed badging and a banner for a D.R. Horton bbq. Free to all residents and guests, D.R. Horton held a bbq to promote new home sales. Everyone living in Tollgate benefits when new residents join our community, plus the free food was an awesome idea. Kim and I went, we checked out all the models and had a bite to eat.
  • I updated the banner for the next Metro District meeting (23 Aug). I've missed a few lately. As soon as my work schedule cools down, I'll be back.
• Events: A detailed listing of upcoming and recurring events in and around Tollgate Crossing. Here is more detailed information regarding some of the events you may have read about on the 'Welcome' page. It's also a place to look for long term/recurring events.
  • I updated the information regarding our next Metro District and HOA meetings. The next MD meeting will be 23 Aug, the next HOA meeting is 9 Aug.

If you are a resident of 'Tollgate Crossing' (in Aurora, Colorado), you might want to check out the website. It's loaded with information about our community and you can even sign up for some of the email mailing lists that serve our community.
<http://www.tollgatecrossing.org/Welcome.html>

aBunch aMusic in August:
Here's a list of some of the music I recently acquired. Where do I get all this stuff? Well, I used to find/discover a lot of free (actually free) music by visiting several of the new music web sites (Pandora, 3hive.com, musicalfamilytree.org) and several other music blogs (Analog Giant, Brooklyn Vegan, Fluxblog, Gorilla vs. Bear, etc) out there, and listening to a few different music podcasts. Used to... Now? Now (As of Oct of 2010) I subscribe to a service called MOG. MOG is an online music service, a blog network, and a social networking website where users can listen to, read about, and discover music. Music + Blog = MOG. It's been around since 2005, in September of 2009 it started offering streaming music subscriptions. With full-play access to more than 9 million tracks, at only $4.99 a month, it's a fantastic way to discover music. I still use a few of the other methods, but MOG has become my primary music discovery source.

Artists want you to hear their music - If you like it, you'll buy it, or maybe you'll buy some concert tickets. 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 web 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 (eMusic and iTunes). Here's a listing of some of the music I legally downloaded - and in most cases - paid for!

eMusic monthly downloads:
Every month I download ~50 tracks from eMusic.com. This month (August of 2011) I managed to download 87 tracks (if you include the free tracks) for $23.14 (and I'm paying a $19.99 monthly fee, so that makes the tracks even cheaper (~$0.23 / track). Unlike some music outlets, eMusic doesn't have any DRM and they don't insert unique track id's into the ID3 tags. Their terms of service are consumer friendly; eMusic allows you to burn as many CDs as you like and copy downloads to an unlimited number of your computers and portable MP3 players. At less than $.50 a track (I'm currently paying $19.99 for $22.99 worth of downloads per month). eMusic offers a really good value for your download dollar. iTunes and Amazon still charge more. eMusic offers more music for your money, and the variable bit rate recordings make for exceptionally high quality recordings.
* Free In The Streets - A.R.E. Weapons: (12 songs) Discovered by listening to some new releases on MOG. Here's a noise-rock band from NY City. The hardcore electro-rock got my blood pumpin' and I liked the raw edges they cranked out.
* You Gotta Problem With Me - Julian Cope: (13 songs) Born from the original Liverpool punk explosion (late 70's), Julian was a member of that founding group that went on to create a sound that influenced countless bands. Corporate greed and celebrities trip his trigger in this album. It's a protest against all the hypocrits and extremists in modern society. This album isn't a commercially sucessful production, but it is a deep look inside the man named Julian Cope.
* The Edge Of The World - Mekons: (13 songs) I was introduced to this band by a friend (Thanks Troy). Proto-punkers, evolved from the primordial ooze of English rockers in the late 70s. Here's a release reminiscent of the Jam. Mixing the manic power of punk with the melodic instrumentals of country and folk music, the Mekons are a force to be reckoned with.
* Freedom Of Speech - The Phantom Band: (10 songs) Belting out a bunch of jazz-influenced covers, This 'Phantom Band' isn't the same one as the Glasgow, Scottland based group that released it's debut in 2009, but they're still quite good. Accidentaly discovered through MOG music service.

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:
* eMusic 2011 PitchFork Music Festival Free Sampler - Various Artists: (29 songs) A free download (for subscribers) from eMusic.com. This one features twentynine tracks from brave new artists spotlighted during the most recent Pitchfork Music Festival in Texas. I'll spend some time listening to the tracks on this download, and who knows? Maybe I'll find something I like.
* NPR Free July Sampler - Various Artists: (10 songs) NPR (Yes 'National Public Radio') features a lot of great music. Showcasing new talent, amazing songs, and long established classics. Here's a 'Mix Tape' of music featured on NPR programs during the month of July. Listening to someone elses mix tape is an experience in discovery, a way to find something new, something you just might like.

iTunes New Music Tuesday download:
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 a few of those free downloads from the iTunes store.
* Still Life - The Horrors: (single) Reminds me of the big Arena Rock bands (The Alarm, Simple Minds, Psychadelic Furs, R.E.M.) of the late 80s. Large lyrics, soaring vocals, plenty of reverb and a little bit of distortion. I'm digging this single, I think I'll check out more of their stuff using MOG.
* El Secreto - Señor Flavio: (single) Wow! This one really surprised me. Despite the fact that I don't speak Spanish, I know good music when I hear it. Here is a Latin inspired summer slammer. A surfabilly reggae tune with an excellent ska beat. Skate, Surf, Soak up the tunes and respect the Flavio! Excellent free download.

These are some of the items I added to my music collection during this month. Since revamping my music collection back in September of 2005, I've been slowly adding, revising and updating the collection. If you have a comment, question or correction regarding my music collection, please don't hesitate to send me an email. Please keep in mind that my collection isn't for sale, and I'm not interested in giving you any copyrighted materials. I'd rather not go to jail for music piracy. :-)
<https://www.robsworld.org/music.html>

Stacking up for Backing up:
Recently (4 Aug 2011), I received another hard drive in the mail. This additional hard drive is part of my backup strategy. With the recent release of Apple's OS 10.7 (Lion), I've been confronted with a bit of a dilema. I've got several files and applications that will not open/run under OS 10.7. The new OS doesn't include any code for execution of PPC applications (such as AppleWorks 6, MacLinkPlus, my Epson Scanner software, Dundjinni, The Logo Creator v5, and others). The 'Rosetta' code interpretor is gone. Unfortunately for me, I haven't found suitable replacements for all these apps, or converted all the affected documents to some other format. As a result, I'm planning to run two Operating Systems. I'll install Lion over my Snow Leopard primary drive, and continue to run Snow Leopard from a secondary boot drive. I'll maintain this dual boot solution until I can convert all my documents to a Lion compatible format, and find suitable replacements for the PPC applications that I'm currently using.

While I'm converting documents and looking for replacement apps, I plan to keep system level clones of each boot drive. These clones will act as backups - Just in case I have a drive failure or some other data disaster - It happens! In order to create the clones, I needed additional storage space. Thankfully, storage space is very cheap. Cheap enough that I could easily afford to spend $76.32 on a Western Digital Caviar Black 1.5TB SATA drive (I currently consider Caviar Black to be the best hard drive solution for any home use/my purposes). This internal drive has a 3 Gb/s transfer rate at 7200 RPM and a 64 MB Cache; combine that with dual processors (for transfer calculations/operations) and a 5 year warranty! It's an excellent choice for any purpose. I've diveded the drive into two 640GB partitions. I'll use the partitions to create the clones I mentioned earlier. Installed in my Mac Pro's fourth drive bay, my tower system now has a total of 4.28TB of storage space (That should be enough for my 'home use'). The clones are just one piece of my overall backup strategy: I also backup some files to my MobileMe iDisk (soon to go away), maintain my media library on a 4TB RAID array, redundantly backup most of my media on a 500GB drive, and finally keep my Time Machine running day and night (on a 1.5TB drive) - to recover previous versions of user documents (It works very well at document level recovery - Haven't tried to use it for system level recovery). Various system level and hard drive failures have stung me over the years. Thankfully; due to my obsession with backup, I was able to recover from every disaster I've ever encountered (since implementing backup strategies). What's your backup strategy?

Now that I've got my backup plan in place, it's time to install the Lion OS. I'm looking forward to all those improvements and new features. Who knows, maybe I'll forget all about those PPC applications. As a result of these recent updates, the following pages have been updated. myfavs.html, feedback.html, and mycomputer.html.
<http://www.apple.com/macosx/>
<http://roaringapps.com/apps:table>
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosetta_(software)>
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mac_OS_X_Snow_Leopard>
<http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.aspx?id=100>
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IDisk>
<http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1427>