Author Archives: Atlanta B.A.

Why?

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This will never be a political blog.

I will not go into who I’m voting for in November.

I will not express my opinion on the Joe Paterno statue.

I will not debate the validity of the 2nd Amendment in a day where the chances for indians or wild animals attacking my home are quite low.

Tonight, I will just say this…

It’s wrong in every conceivable way that some kid can finally work up the nerve to ask his dream girl out on a date, take her to the “big summer movie”, worry about when to “make his move” and suddenly take a bullet to the head because some total lunatic who thinks of himself as the Joker happens to be in the same room.

I can understand death. Death and it’s inevitability is the thing that keeps all of us paying attention to today. Tomorrow isn’t guaranteed, so never leave an “I love you” or an “I forgive you” unsaid.

I was able to come to grips with 9/11… some people hate us and attacked the symbols of American business and the military.

I understand that accidents happen… a rubber tube snaps at the wrong time and a van crashes, killing ten kids on a field trip. Randomness is built into the equation when you get up in the morning.

But the idea that people died sitting in a movie theater because somebody with mental problems decided to kill them… that is NOT the randomness that comes with daily life.

That is evil. Senseless, remorseless, evil.

I uninstalled DC Universe Online this weekend. I used to enjoy the game, but I just can’t see myself ever being able to play a character in that “world” again. I used to love the Joker as a character and I thought that Heath Ledger was brilliant in the role… but now all I can think of when I see that painted face is… why?

My thoughts are with the families of the victim They’ll never be able to get past this because there will never be an answer to the most important question…. why?

Freemium

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First, check out this article: http://gigaom.com/2012/07/21/freemium-has-run-its-course/

Finished?

OK, I’ve got a problem with this. I’m an avid WoW player (told you I was a geek) and  I know that the MMO world is split between two models.

The first is “subscription”- where you pay a monthly fee and you get everything. Well, almost everything. There are some micro-transactions like buying vanity pets, but nothing that effects play.

The other is “free to play”. In here, you can sign up for free and play most of the game at no cost… up to a point. However, if you want to reach the upper levels, play the end game, get the best gear, use in-game email or any of bajillion other features then reach for your wallet.

Every game wants to be subscription based. Currently, there are three that I know of that are actually able to do it. There is WoW, Rift and Sta Wars-TOR. They all offer to let you pay for free for the first 15-20 levels (with a lot of functionality turned off) and to go beyond that you need to whip out the credit card.

Problem is that both Rift and SW-TOR are having problems staying above water and there are constant rumors that they will be “going free-to-play” in the near future, like Conan and several other formerly subscription based  games did. Why make the change? Because it makes the company MORE MONEY than staying subscription.

So… if the “freemium” model is dead then why is the online gaming world completely the reverse? Wizard 101, Eve Online, LotR Online… all of these are making money by using the same “freemium” model that they say is dead.

Just a random thought…

-Jay

Deadliest Catch

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I’m about to admit that I am a HUGE geek… my favorite channel is the Discovery Channel.  There, I said it.

One of my favorite shows on there is “Deadliest Catch” which, for any of you that don’t know, follows several crab boat crews in the Bering Sea during the King and Opillio seasons. The guys are dealing with almost hurricane-force winds, ice, thirty hour work days and the ever-present danger of falling overboard where you’ll be dead in less than two minutes.

It REALLY makes me appreciate my nice, warm, safe desk job.

Couple of things have always bothered me though…

  1. Why don’t they use some sort of “fish finder” sonar? They just chug up to a site, say “I guess they’ll be here” and start dumping traps (called “pots”). Half the time, when they reel them up 24-48 hours later they are “blanks”, meaning empty. According to the show, crabs move in what is basically an underwater herd called a “bio-mass”,  There has to be some sort of radar or sonar that can see this massive clump of crab on the floor. Hell, how about an underwater camera? This entire “pot and pray” technique such seems so 19th century.
  2. The number one enemy of the boats is ice. It gets so cold that sea spray immediately sticks to the boats and freezes solid. Within a couple of hours you have an extra couple of hundred TONS of ice on the ship and the crews have to go out with sledge hammers and shovels to spend 8 hours knocking the ice off the boat before it becomes too heavy and rolls over. Every time I see this I think “There must be some way of keeping ice off the boat.” Maybe coating the metal in Teflon so it doesn’t stick. Maybe some sort of electrical current that the captain can flip a switch and send a jolt of current down the rails. There HAS to be something that can be done.

Anyway… I’m a geek and I spend too much time thinking “How could you do that better?”

– Jay

This has nothing to do with UI, but I couldn’t help myself.

This charming fellow is a street preacher that stands outside my local Starbucks.

preacher

He has a guitar, a portable megaphone and stands there screaming at us about being “slaves to the devil coffee”. Locals know not to make eye contact or he’ll follow you, offering to “bless” you.

Life in the big city…

– Jay

iPhone App Review

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Just installed the iPhone app for WordPress and I’m doing this post using it.

First issue is that when entering the title the keyboard does not rotate. It does for the body, but not for the title. This seems to be a bug.

20120719-235631.jpg

Trying to add a photo and it’s a little clunky. Had to close the keyboard to get to the function. Then the commands were a bit confusing.

I’m assuming the app will be easier to use with practice, but it could easily be improved.

Not exactly kid’s play…

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My kid has Wizards 101 installed and plays it quite a bit. So I installed it and started a character… two months ago. Naturally, I don’t remember anything. User name, password… nothing.

So I try to use the “I’m an idiot” button (a/k/a the “I Forgot My User Name” link) and get this:

So… lemme get this straight… in order to get my User Name I have to tell you my email address… and my User Name???

Anybody else see a problem here?

Demanding much?

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This isn’t the post that I was intending to make today, but I have to now.

I was just trying to cancel my membership with Audible.com and was going through the process. They did the standard begging me to stay routine, which is fine.
Then I got down to the bottom and found this…
The “Select a Reason” field is REQUIRED. This is rather presumptuous of them, don’t you think? If I want to give you a reason, fine. But don’t DEMAND that I give you one. It’s like breaking up with your significant other- sometimes it’s just over.
Don’t make me lie to you as to why.
– Jay

New Glasses- The Follow-Up

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As promised in my previous post this is the follow-up.

I received my new glasses via Fed Ex yesterday, well within the stated time frame. The frames are nice and don’t feel “cheap” and the lenses seem to be correct per my prescription.  They came packaged in a hard shell glasses case and included a very clever little screwdriver which I may end up doing a post about soon if I get stuck for a topic.

All in all, a satisfactory experience.

Now if they could just add a few more images to their “Try On View” they’d be all set.

Optically yours,

– Jay