fiddle2: Something completely different, since 1998.

2009-02-24 08:56

When the gateway IP at work got listed in DroneBL, I couldn't access FreeNode. After unblocking the IP, I decided to drop in to #dronebl and lurk for a while, and immediately had a chuckle:

from(ChanServ) [#dronebl] If you came here looking to be unbanned, We cannot unban you from any service you are trying to access. Please follow the instructions on our site and wait a few hours, we suggest running anti-virus software while you are waiting.

Smart asses.

2009-02-13 18:00

I love Netflix. I have the Roku Netflix player, and there was a movie that wasn't playing properly. I figured it would get fixed after a while, but after several weeks, the audio was still all messed up. I wasn't really dying to see the movie, but I was kind of curious about the issue, so I decided to contact tech support.

1. I figured I'd just send an e-mail, since I wasn't really interested in waiting on hold, but I found that they don't even bother with anything other than phone support, and the hold time was less than a minute.
2. After my short wait, the call was answered by a delightful, articulate, American girl.
3. I explain that "I have the Roku set-top player, and there's this one movie, Welcome to the Dollhouse, that won't play properly...." She interrupted me to say (!) "Oh, yeah. I tried to watch that the other night—I have the Roku player, too. That's actually a known issue... the file was loaded incorrectly. Oh, I show that the issue has been removed. I'll re-submit the error. If you really want to watch the movie, what I can do is send out the disc as a courtesy. Have you ever seen it? It's a really funny movie. I love the scene where...."

I don't recall the last time I enjoyed a support call as much. I almost didn't want to hang up--I wanted to talk about movies with her. A customer support rep.! Who knew?

2009-01-23 08:55

Is me, or is Dreamweaver totally broken once you have more than one person in your company?

Case in point:
It shouldn't matter how or by whom the template changes—if Dreamweaver ever notices that the template is different, it should realize that any resource based on that template could potentially be stale, and offer an opportunity to update them.

(more...)

2009-01-01 00:03

Best. New Year. Ever. =)

2008-12-22 00:46

America Will Soon Owe More Than It’s Citizens Are Worth

Given more recent developments, it’s clear that America now owes more than its citizens are worth. Passing this shocking milestone highlights the need for President-elect Obama and the next Congress not only to turn the economy around and boost consumer confidence, but to put a process in place that will lead to tough choices getting made to strengthen the government’s financial condition once the economy begins growing again.

Toldja so.

2008-10-06 15:10

"...the answer is because had we not done anything, people like the folks behind me would be a lot worse off."

Step 1: Let the banks fail.
Step 2: ???
Step 3: Armageddon!

Nobody has satisfactorily connected the dots for me yet. For that matter, I'm still pretty unconvinced that a corollary exists of:
Step 1: Buy a bunch of worthless debt.
Step 2: ???
Step 3: Crisis averted!

We were almost certainly screwed before. With the passage of this legislation, we've arrived sliding into full-on screwed.

2008-09-23 10:41

Oh. My. God. Yes.

2008-09-21 09:54

Ambient awareness
This should be required reading prior to signing up for a micro-blogging service. Easily the best article I've ever read about social software/media.

2008-09-17 08:13

I'm not a huge Toyota fan, but the FT-HS looks awesome. I would totally drive one of these.

2008-09-13 23:30

I just watched Harvey on Netflix Instant View, and this is easily one of the best movies I've seen in a long time.

"...better to be pleasant than smart."

Often useful advice.