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April 2006 Archive
Sunday, April 30, 2006
[Comments: 0] 1:21 AM - unnatural-disasters
Ray's mom was visiting us with her cousin this weekend and they were taking care of doing some of Ray's laundry. After a large number of consecutive loads, it seems that something inside the dryer lint trap caught fire, leaving us with a burnt plastic smell and the decision that we probably shouldn't try to use the dryer again until we had it looked at.
Then, this morning, they tried to run one last load through the washer which they'd planned to finish outside in the laundry room dryer, but they stepped out for a few minutes and they returned to a minor flood. Apparently whatever burned up inside the dryer also screwed up the washer controls and there was nothing that could be done to get the thing to stop filling aside from shutting it off.
Now it's the weekend, so we're going to have to summon maintenance on Monday and have them look at the unit, though I suspect they'll have to replace it entirely, as both the top and the bottom halves are malfunctioning.
Hopefully we'll get it all worked out before I need to run a load of laundry again. :)
Friday, April 28, 2006
[Comments: 1] 6:38 AM - people-who-should-be-fired
Nintendo would like to introduce Wii. Meanwhile, wii all say "WTF?"
So far I've heard from about 10 to 15 people as well as a couple webcomics on this new name for Nintendo's next system, previously codenamed Revolution. So far no one has had anything especially positive to say on the matter, and I don't really think I can find anything either.
Wii is supposed to symbolize a half-dozen different things all at once apparently, but the people who came up with the idea seem to clearly have been on some kind of drugs, because it is perhaps the cheeziest naming of a video game system that currently comes to mind. It seems they wanted the name to inspire people, but I think all they're going to get is people pointing and laughing for a while.
I'm still worried about the idea of a remote-control shaped controller. I have enough problems handling the TiVo remote properly. I don't see how this controller could possibly work well for any sort of high-speed action game. I guess I'll have to wait till I get my hands on one to know for sure.
[Comments: 1] 2:38 AM - rolling-characters
Andrew convinced me to re-roll my character in World of Warcraft so that we could move onto a less populated server, and while we were at it, switch from a PvE server to a PvP server. I was reluctant to do so because I didn't want to lose all the progress I had made in getting my existing Human Paladin, Daril, up to level 45.
However, after playing for a few weeks on the lesser populated, PvP server, I have to say I'm really enjoying it, and I'm getting to rediscover what made me like the Pally class so much. My character is basically exactly the same... same name, same general configuration, except I decided to choose a different face and hair color. I'm already up to nearly level 27, so I'm not really that far back from where I was before. I'd say a couple months and I might be nearly caught up, based on the amount of time I usually have to play....
The PvP aspect is fun, but I have realized that I am pathetically bad at actually killing other people. Hopefully with practice I will be able to be more effective. I'm so used to fighting computer-controlled characters most of the time, that I never really bothered to learn how to more effectively use some other special skills of my character to make fighting another person easier.
For now, I have up on the board more recorded deaths than kills in PvP, but hopefully I can turn that number around. Unfortunately the PvP ranking system seems to require so much PvP to gain any rank, that I don't think I'll ever play enough in a single week to reach even Scout.
On an unrelated note, I started and finished Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. I was startled by the way the last few chapters of that book ran. My mom and sister promised that someone important would die in each book, but the death and some of what lead up to it took me a bit by surprise. I thank my sister for holding her tongue so long and not giving away what happens, but now they can finally talk about it, without I first having to leave the room. :)
I am now eager to get to book 7, but since it has carefully failed to exist thus far, I have no way to do so.... I have some other books I could read, including Wicked, so I might start on that sometime soon. Time will tell....
Saturday, April 22, 2006
[Comments: 0] 7:52 AM - valued-feedback
Linksys emailed me the standard survey that most companies send along after a technical support incident to gauge your happiness with the support experience. I decided I ought to take mine and I poured my dislike of scripted know-nothing technicians into the comments field.
I rated carefully to make it clear the problem was entirely with the technician. I rated the product, the phone system, the web site support documentation, and anything that wasn't the technician very highly. Nothing involving the technician got anything higher than "Fair" and my comments placed all the blame for the poor support experience on the poor decision of Linksys to hire people that don't know how to use computers or Linksys products.
I doubt I'll have much of an impact, but I tried very hard to make it abundantly clear that the support I received was almost entirely useless because the technician knew general computing and even the product being supported with far less confidence than I do.
Friday, April 21, 2006
[Comments: 1] 5:10 AM - special-delivery
I didn't expect it, but my mom bought and had shipped directly to me the sixth Harry Potter book right when I told her I'd finished reading book 5. I'm a little afraid to start reading 6, because it's shorter than book 5 and if I do finish it, that's all I'll get until book 7 comes out, and the ETA on that is unclear. I'll probably start it sometime in the next few days nevertheless.
I am excited to note that come May 1st, we are intending to hire a new technician who will be taking over the night shift from me. I will probably be moving to cover afternoon and evenings, from about 12 PM to 8 PM. I'm not exactly sure how the weekends will be mapped into the schedule quite yet, but it means I'll cease the 6 AM (or later) bedtimes, and trade them for 2 or 3 AM bedtimes, with the intent to get up at 10 or 11 AM for work. We're working on acquiring office space near our datacenter, which will mean that I'll actually have an "office job," and a hefty four block commute on a daily basis. If traffic is ever bad on the way to work, I'm suing the city. ;)
Being in the office during my work hours should be nice, partly because it will mean that I should have to put a lot less focus on work when I'm not at the office, and also because when I am at the office, I should be able to put a lot more focus on work.
We're also setting up a fancy VoIP phone system which includes our own personal extensions, the ability to talk on the phone via a computer headset, and a menu system for customers to access. Our good friend Ben is doing the voice recordings in his best radio voice. It should be nice.
The only thing that worries me is that 12 to 8 is the window where I most commonly can play WoW right now. It may make it more difficult to arrange times to play, perhaps aside from weekends. However, hopefully I can work something out, and it will definitely be nice to be able to relax, or read, or code or goof off without having to remember to keep a constant eye on support while I'm doing so.
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
[Comments: 0] 11:47 PM - broken-connection
Our router crapped out today for no obvious reason. It's a WRT54G Linksys wireless router, hardware version 2. It was working beautifully for a long while, but today it suddenly failed and ever since the power light has been blinking continuously while the router pretends not to exist.
It also seems to be passing traffic through directly to the DSL modem, because Karl had actually obtained an external IP address from the DSL service, when he should have gotten one from the internal network. The wireless, of course, is also down, though an unaware neighbor has been gracious enough to not secure their wireless router at all, so we've been borrowing their connection until we can get things squared away. We're not doing anything evil or overloading their connection at all, so I doubt they'll notice or care. If I ever figure out who it is though, I'm going to teach them how to change their router password. :)
I tried all the Linksys support stuff to try to get the firmware reloaded on the router, but it doesn't appear to even show up in any sense. Oddly, it did suddenly start working for a few seconds earlier, but stopped again as soon as Karl moved the device slightly, so it seems fairly clear that it's unrecoverable.
Gotta see about picking up a replacement at Best Buy tomorrow so we can get ourselves back to normal.
Now here's a rant. Technical support staff with no actual technical experience should all be fired. If you get confused because the customer knows your products and the related technology better than you and you can't keep up with them, your job is worthless. This is the companies' fault. They should hire fewer better paid technicians that really know the products and understand how they work, not outsource to scripted idiots overseas. Then they should reduce stupid customer support issues by refusing to allow them to ask to be talked through something that's already provided step-by-step on a large colorful piece of paper included with the product. That would save money and time and actually be useful.
Plus, I'd rather wait 30 minutes or more on hold if it meant I'd talk to someone that had a clue what product they were giving support for, than get an instant answer from someone who can barely follow their own script.
Monday, April 17, 2006
[Comments: 1] 1:52 PM - sleeplessness
I started Harry Potter book 5 a week or so ago, after I finally finished up reading book 4. I'd gotten through about the first 250 pages up until last night. Upon attempting to resume, to my dismay I realized that I was completely unable to stop. I read approximately 600 pages in the hours that followed, finishing the book in two or three sittings.
The story has certainly grown quite a bit darker, and while the first 250 pages seemed willing to allow for stopping and sleeping, I reached a point last night where I simply could not settle my curiousity about how the story would play out. I kept looking at the clock and giving myself an extra half-hour, then when I'd try to put down the book, I'd realize I didn't want to wait until the following night to resume.... so I read for roughly 9 hours straight. I don't really regret it except that I consequently got no hours of sleep, which I'll have to make up somewhere....
I'm stuck now waiting till the middle of May when I go back home and can retrieve book 6 from my mom. Until then, I don't know what I'll read. I don't want to stick something else in the middle that's not Potter, and I am curious to see how he did on his O.W.L. exams. :)
Saturday, April 8, 2006
[Comments: 1] 8:17 PM - random-people-search
I just had a brief and very weird conversation with someone I don't know that IMed me out of the blue. For clarification, "idk" is supposed to be shorthand for "I don't know." If you think the conversation would be funnier, feel free to pretend it means "I'm Donkey Kong." Here it is:
Person: soo what is up
Me: hi, who is this?
Person: umm dk
Me: ?
Person: y
Person: who is this
Me: Kevin
Me: who am I supposed to be?
Person: i just told you i dont know
Person: well who are you
Me: I'm confused how you came to IM me if you don't have any idea who I am
Person: what are you talking about
Me: you just messaged me
Me: if you have no idea who I am, what did you message me for?
Me: and more interestingly, how did you stumble upon my screen name
Person: idk
Person: i just got your sn
Person: well i went to google and i went to images then i typed in buddie list then i saw yours and then i added it
Me: why?
Me: that doesn't even make sense
Person: get it now
Person: yes it dose
Me: why would you google for buddy list and then add random people you find to your list?
Person: idk
Person: i just was bored
Person: and no one was online
Person: and i needed someone to talk to
Person: get it now
Person: ok then
Me: I guess....
Me: it just seems odd to me
Unable to send message: Not logged in
I have hidden the person's screen name so that random people don't send messages to them. Not that it wouldn't be fitting punishment. :P
Wednesday, April 5, 2006
[Comments: 0] 6:28 PM - hidden-motor-vehicle-offices
I had to go all the way out to western Chicago to register my car in Illinois and transfer the title over from my mom to myself. This trip was made more fun by the fact that while I printed Google directions, I forgot to take them from the printer before leaving.
Getting to the exit was easy enough. I could remember exit 24A on I-290, but after I got off, I wasn't sure if I should go left or right. I went left, which was wrong, and that (part of the) road was a one-way street, so I followed it to another intersection and drove around in loops until I worked my way back to the right place.
Upon arriving, everything was fairly straightforward and only cost me about $180. I got nice shiny new metal license plates, which are now on my car, and I should finally be all set to take care of transferring the insurance into my name.
Hopefully I can get that ball rolling by early next week.
Tuesday, April 4, 2006
[Comments: 0] 6:49 AM - do-it-yourself
I got tired of being stuck with a poorly written, limiting RSS addon for Coranto that was stuck at version 0.91. I used some tips I found on the Coranto forum and managed to hack a standard news template up to generate an RSS 2.0 feed with a little more detail and increase the number of items in the feed to 20. With the transition to RSS 2.0, my posts can actually have dates attached to them!
I also added a feed for the ChangeLog in case someone is crazy enough to want to use it somewhere. :)
Just as a point of commentary on Coranto... I am amazed that they're still calling the project's site "The Unofficial Site." Coranto is an abandoned project that was almost completely rewritten by a new team of developers after the original developer vanished completely, without a trace. It has been the unofficial site for around 5 years, and I assume they are still expecting Elvii (the creator) to suddenly reappear and want to work on the software again. I honestly think it's safe for them to start considering themselves official developers on the project and assume Elvii has no interest in ever returning.
Sunday, April 2, 2006
[Comments: 1] 12:13 AM - clock-rotation
Please remember to rotate your clock 30 degrees to the right at 2 AM! Today begins the annoying practice of being offset from reality by 1 hour for no good reason.
[Comments: 0] 12:10 AM - better-browsing
Apparently, Microsoft refreshed their Internet Explorer 7 beta 2 preview with some updates following some kind of convention. The latest build of IE 7 has impressed me. I'm not going to switch back, either way (partly because I'm using Linux as my primary operating system), but I am having a great deal of trouble producing obvious and annoying rendering bugs.
Steadfast Networks' web site had several major rendering problems, particularly with short pages using the last incarnation of beta 2. It now works perfectly (minus a few CSS 3 features that it does not support (and for which I cannot fault it), that do not adversely affect the site's function).
The overall feature set in IE 7, combined with the many rendering improvements leads me to believe that IE 7 may actually be a decent, reasonable product, which won't be a pain for standards-compliant web sites to deal with anymore. Congratulations to Microsoft for doing something right. I approve.
Only problem now is that I have to reevaluate my reasons for recommending people switch to Firefox. I still want to ensure a diverse browser market to keep all browser vendors from becoming complacent, as Microsoft did in recent years.
Saturday, April 1, 2006
[Comments: 0] 2:52 AM - double-foolishness
Have fun trying to pin down the menu today. :)
(Sorry IE users, I don't have the patience to make things work for you.)
[Comments: 0] 1:14 AM - foolishness
According to my Futurama calendar, today is Valentine's day. So, Happy Valentine's Day everyone!
