I wanted to love Up because it was a Pixar film. Pixar has produced some excellent films, the only disappointment to me was Cars. First, I liked Up, but I didn't love it. I couldn't figure out why and I was thinking about it while waiting for lunch and on the drive home. Then, it hit me.
If Up were a live action film, it would have been very average. I'd have been bored off my ass. The animation saved it, but that meant it wasn't a good movie. (The Incredibles, for instance, would have been just as good as a live-action film or as a hand-drawn animated film.)
First, in defence of Up, the first ten minutes were brilliant. Absolutely phenomenal and entirely lost on kids. The rest was just okay, a summer popcorn film. It wasn't a work of art. Wall*E was much better, I can tell you that.
Edward Asner (as Carl) has always been a favourite actor of mine, so I expected good things from his character and mostly got them. But Jordan Nagai (as Russell, the kid) damn near stole the movie -- as real as any human kid. Villains, always the hallmark of any good animated film, are important and Christopher Plummer just was weak, which is surprising because he's very good at being bad. John Ratzenberger had his standard Pixar cameo -- very brief. I also liked Dug the Dog only he had very little screen time.
I certainly recommend this film to kids. I think most adults will like it because as a Pixar film it's very lavish and well done, but I'm just not feeling the love.
Afterwards, we had lunch at Cracker Barrel, simply out of convenience. Too bad because it was more below par than usual. The service was good though.
My ride home was delayed due to an overturned boat in the SunPass lane so everyone had to drive around through the paid-toll lanes and it was pretty backed up.
5-31-09: BTW, a retro post was made today for those who are fans of the ECHL Matadors -- hockey fans take note. Of absolutely no interest to anyone else :)
6-2-09 Edit: Fixed title to make SuzieQ happy.
6-2-09: My company is now on Facebook at this URL: if you've got an account, please become a fan :)
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Good Customer Service: AT&T and Staples
You may remember a previous post about AT&T U-verse service. In the comments, I praised Nancy the tech who called to try and help. She ultimately failed but took notes on some of the things I discovered.
Turns out, one of the theories that the problem lies between BellSouth and AT&T (actually being run by Yahoo) and the authentication process. Why? I connect to the BellSouth server, it shows 94 groups there to update, then it gives an authentication error regardless of whether or not you use the BellSouth or AT&T passwords. Nancy even (on the first call) unblocked all ports for my IP to try and make it work. Same problem.
She promised she'd kick up to some top-line techs and get back to me. I had all but given up, and last night she called me. She agrees it should be made to work -- their website clearly advertises it works and gives operating instructions. However they can't get it to work. She agrees (and so do her techs) that I am absolutely correct in my analysis of the situation but nobody knows what to do, so she'll try and escalate it. I actually believe she may call me back one day. The real issue is very few people use NNTP anymore (fake NNTP is available on GoogleGroups but there are a number of issues involving completeness of groups, available groups, and everyone knows what you're looking at. Not that I care since I gave AT&T the list of groups I care about. But it's the principle, mind you.)
I think AT&T should give me a credit of $14.95 a month so I can sign up for NewsRazor until they fix it -- this way I can post to alt.fan.dave_barry again :)
Also, special kudos to Staples for their customer support. Although it took them longer than it should have, Karen did call me back with the answer and follow through in a stellar fashion when my sales rep dropped the ball and nobody in any of their stores had a clue. A+ to her as well.
Both of those companies deserve special recognition for actually trying to make a customer happy. That's rare.
Also kudos to Virgin Atlantic because they definitely care about their customers trying hard on every contact to do things right.
I burnt my tongue on my hot beverage. I got some Keurig K-cups with decaf Earl Grey tea by Twinings. It is apparent that tea can't be made well in this machine. It's not quite right, though I can't possibly tell you why. I invite all friends over for a sample k-cup in a wide variety of flavours. Some of the coffees are great, there are a number of teas, and also hot chocolate which -- as JohhnyB's parents warned me -- is way too thin.
I also changed my FaceBook profile picture for the first time since I got it. My new novel isn't moving forward at a very good rate of speed. And my right big toe is still swollen though it's no longer bleeding. Yay.
Turns out, one of the theories that the problem lies between BellSouth and AT&T (actually being run by Yahoo) and the authentication process. Why? I connect to the BellSouth server, it shows 94 groups there to update, then it gives an authentication error regardless of whether or not you use the BellSouth or AT&T passwords. Nancy even (on the first call) unblocked all ports for my IP to try and make it work. Same problem.
She promised she'd kick up to some top-line techs and get back to me. I had all but given up, and last night she called me. She agrees it should be made to work -- their website clearly advertises it works and gives operating instructions. However they can't get it to work. She agrees (and so do her techs) that I am absolutely correct in my analysis of the situation but nobody knows what to do, so she'll try and escalate it. I actually believe she may call me back one day. The real issue is very few people use NNTP anymore (fake NNTP is available on GoogleGroups but there are a number of issues involving completeness of groups, available groups, and everyone knows what you're looking at. Not that I care since I gave AT&T the list of groups I care about. But it's the principle, mind you.)
I think AT&T should give me a credit of $14.95 a month so I can sign up for NewsRazor until they fix it -- this way I can post to alt.fan.dave_barry again :)
Also, special kudos to Staples for their customer support. Although it took them longer than it should have, Karen did call me back with the answer and follow through in a stellar fashion when my sales rep dropped the ball and nobody in any of their stores had a clue. A+ to her as well.
Both of those companies deserve special recognition for actually trying to make a customer happy. That's rare.
Also kudos to Virgin Atlantic because they definitely care about their customers trying hard on every contact to do things right.
I burnt my tongue on my hot beverage. I got some Keurig K-cups with decaf Earl Grey tea by Twinings. It is apparent that tea can't be made well in this machine. It's not quite right, though I can't possibly tell you why. I invite all friends over for a sample k-cup in a wide variety of flavours. Some of the coffees are great, there are a number of teas, and also hot chocolate which -- as JohhnyB's parents warned me -- is way too thin.
I also changed my FaceBook profile picture for the first time since I got it. My new novel isn't moving forward at a very good rate of speed. And my right big toe is still swollen though it's no longer bleeding. Yay.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Gallup Poll Of Interest + London House Shopping
The below image is from the Gallup Poll organization. Someone emailed this to me and I don't remember who did. First, thanks to whomever that is :)
First, my views:
Divorce: Acceptable
Gambling: Acceptable
Death Penalty: Wrong
Stem Cells: Acceptable
Unmarried Sex: Acceptable
Medical testing on Animals: Acceptable, for medical purposes only. I keep changing my mind on this. I understand it's needed but there has to be a more humane way of doing it. (I am opposed to cosmetic testing on animals. Use people. It's all for vanity anyway.)
Baby Outside of Marriage: Acceptable
Fur: Wrong (except for indigenous peoples for whom I find it acceptable)
Doctor Assisted Suicide: Acceptable
Homosexual Relations: Acceptable
Abortion: Acceptable (with consent of both parents where possible -- two people made it happen so two people should agree)
Cloning Animals: Wrong
Suicide: Acceptable
Cloning Humans: Acceptable
Polygamy: Wrong (I'm willing to be convinced otherwise -- but my objection is not with the act itself but with the fact usually you end up with a bunch of people forced into it against their wills.)
Affairs: Wrong -- the most wrong thing on this list.
There's all sorts of interesting stuff here. The original post (click on the image to go to the article on Gallup's website) is about homosexual relationships but that's not what fascinates me about this survey. I have obviously identified myself as a raging liberal because of my opinions above. That should surprise nobody.
What does surprise me is that 30% of people find divorce morally wrong. And 32% of people find gambling morally wrong. I challenge all of them to a debate -- meet me in Las Vegas to discuss it this November. I also find it amazing that 7% of the people think having an affair is okay. If you're married, you've made a commitment. Get a divorce if you can't live up to it. A promise is a promise. I was shocked at the out-of-wedlock baby numbers. I thought it'd be further down the list.
To me, the whole list shows a very conflicted populace who just doesn't get what matters and what doesn't.
Shout out to Erin who has a new cast on her leg. Shout out to Evan for this post on his FaceBook account: proving he's a decent human and that I pick some good people for friends.
I've found three properties in London that I'd like to buy. I cannot afford any of them. However, I thought I'd share with you. If you'd like to buy one of them for me, I'd be ever so grateful.
Property One: The cheapest of the lot at £1,950,000 or $3,120,000. It's 2517 square feet and is comparable to what I have now. I would be happy to live here and it's in a decent neighbourhood, has a good floor plan, and is near West Brompton tube. It's in the Royal Borough of Chelsea.
Property Two: This one's a bit further afield from my normal stomping grounds but at 3576 square feet and an annual council tax of just £1376, it's a bargain. It's priced at a measly £4,995,000 or US7,992,000 and gives me everything I want in a home except central air-conditioning. London didn't used to need AC but it does now. It's in the City of Westminster which is why, I suspect, the council taxes are so much lower. The sole minus is it's further from a tube stop than any other place, triangulated by Paddington, Lancaster Gate, and Marble Arch. On the plus side, there's full access to a plethora of tube lines as well as National Rail.
Property Three: This one is out of my league and is in Ovington Square in Knightsbridge. Priced at £12,000,000 pounds or US$19,200,000 for 4700 square feet of spectacularity. I actually know where this is. It's a short walk to Harrods and is in one of my favourite neighbourhoods. I will never live here because it's way out of my league. If I won PowerBall, I couldn't afford it. That's how pricey this is. (I included this because it was too nice not to.)
These homes are shown so you can see how bad it really is. I looked at an 800 square foot flat way out in Canary Wharf on the Isle of Dogs at this same website and it was nearly £400,000 or $640,000. Nice view but little else to recommend it. If I would be willing to live in Shoreditch (as if) prices drop considerably, but having been in that neighbourhood, let me tell you, not going to happen.
Finally, my tickets for my annual Europe trip are now in hand. The trip in the middle isn't planned, but once again have used miles so the flight was free save for taxes. I will be leaving a little earlier this year and coming back a little later, so the trip will be longer. If anyone wants to meet up with Karen and I for part of the trip, it could be fun for you. Details on private request.
In a few days, I will spout vitriol at Siemens who runs our fire alarm, burglar alarm, and fire-sprinkler systems. A bunch of idiots who all blame the other department. Look for it.
First, my views:
Divorce: Acceptable
Gambling: Acceptable
Death Penalty: Wrong
Stem Cells: Acceptable
Unmarried Sex: Acceptable
Medical testing on Animals: Acceptable, for medical purposes only. I keep changing my mind on this. I understand it's needed but there has to be a more humane way of doing it. (I am opposed to cosmetic testing on animals. Use people. It's all for vanity anyway.)
Baby Outside of Marriage: Acceptable
Fur: Wrong (except for indigenous peoples for whom I find it acceptable)
Doctor Assisted Suicide: Acceptable
Homosexual Relations: Acceptable
Abortion: Acceptable (with consent of both parents where possible -- two people made it happen so two people should agree)
Cloning Animals: Wrong
Suicide: Acceptable
Cloning Humans: Acceptable
Polygamy: Wrong (I'm willing to be convinced otherwise -- but my objection is not with the act itself but with the fact usually you end up with a bunch of people forced into it against their wills.)
Affairs: Wrong -- the most wrong thing on this list.
There's all sorts of interesting stuff here. The original post (click on the image to go to the article on Gallup's website) is about homosexual relationships but that's not what fascinates me about this survey. I have obviously identified myself as a raging liberal because of my opinions above. That should surprise nobody.
What does surprise me is that 30% of people find divorce morally wrong. And 32% of people find gambling morally wrong. I challenge all of them to a debate -- meet me in Las Vegas to discuss it this November. I also find it amazing that 7% of the people think having an affair is okay. If you're married, you've made a commitment. Get a divorce if you can't live up to it. A promise is a promise. I was shocked at the out-of-wedlock baby numbers. I thought it'd be further down the list.
To me, the whole list shows a very conflicted populace who just doesn't get what matters and what doesn't.
Shout out to Erin who has a new cast on her leg. Shout out to Evan for this post on his FaceBook account: proving he's a decent human and that I pick some good people for friends.
I've found three properties in London that I'd like to buy. I cannot afford any of them. However, I thought I'd share with you. If you'd like to buy one of them for me, I'd be ever so grateful.
Property One: The cheapest of the lot at £1,950,000 or $3,120,000. It's 2517 square feet and is comparable to what I have now. I would be happy to live here and it's in a decent neighbourhood, has a good floor plan, and is near West Brompton tube. It's in the Royal Borough of Chelsea.
Property Two: This one's a bit further afield from my normal stomping grounds but at 3576 square feet and an annual council tax of just £1376, it's a bargain. It's priced at a measly £4,995,000 or US7,992,000 and gives me everything I want in a home except central air-conditioning. London didn't used to need AC but it does now. It's in the City of Westminster which is why, I suspect, the council taxes are so much lower. The sole minus is it's further from a tube stop than any other place, triangulated by Paddington, Lancaster Gate, and Marble Arch. On the plus side, there's full access to a plethora of tube lines as well as National Rail.
Property Three: This one is out of my league and is in Ovington Square in Knightsbridge. Priced at £12,000,000 pounds or US$19,200,000 for 4700 square feet of spectacularity. I actually know where this is. It's a short walk to Harrods and is in one of my favourite neighbourhoods. I will never live here because it's way out of my league. If I won PowerBall, I couldn't afford it. That's how pricey this is. (I included this because it was too nice not to.)
These homes are shown so you can see how bad it really is. I looked at an 800 square foot flat way out in Canary Wharf on the Isle of Dogs at this same website and it was nearly £400,000 or $640,000. Nice view but little else to recommend it. If I would be willing to live in Shoreditch (as if) prices drop considerably, but having been in that neighbourhood, let me tell you, not going to happen.
Finally, my tickets for my annual Europe trip are now in hand. The trip in the middle isn't planned, but once again have used miles so the flight was free save for taxes. I will be leaving a little earlier this year and coming back a little later, so the trip will be longer. If anyone wants to meet up with Karen and I for part of the trip, it could be fun for you. Details on private request.
In a few days, I will spout vitriol at Siemens who runs our fire alarm, burglar alarm, and fire-sprinkler systems. A bunch of idiots who all blame the other department. Look for it.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Night At The Museum: Smithsonian (Review)
Well it was going to be a big day out: Erin, Evan, Brenda, their two kids, The Higgi (4), and Tara (3), Karen, and Steve (2), plus me. Karen cancelled due to mother issues, Tara didn't show for reasons unknown, and Erin had ambulatory issues (though she did join us after).
I wasn't expecting a good movie. I was expecting entertaining. There's a difference and it seems many people who review movies don't get that. This was a movie that wasn't designed to be good but was designed to be fun.
So, I arrived at 1020, earlier than I had planned. Steve was next. The Berner clan followed. Then the Higgi. We waited for Tara until quarter to 11, then went in. After 30+ minutes of previews including a great one for the new Potter film, it finally started. There were about ten minutes of really slow, boring stuff at the beginning before it got good. But unlike the first one, this stayed fun right from one end to the other. I liked it better. I had fun. This movie will win no acting awards, that's for sure. Stiller clearly was on auto-pilot but I didn't care. I had fun.
I beat up The Berner kids which is always fun. After the movie, we all went to Lucille's except for Steve and Evelyn who went off to do errands. Erin joined as for lunch. After that, I took her home, went to Sawgrass Mills, bought new shoes, and came home. I am currently doing laundry. And charging my cel phone battery which seems to randomly lose its charge. I may have to replace the battery. It hung up on Jose today.
Josh called me yesterday but I missed his call. That was exciting -- so I hope we can actually speak again. Been a very, very long time.
Yesterday I visited Erin and brought her breakfast (Bagels and cream cheese and milk). I visited her and we watched the Catherine Tate Show (Series One DVD) which was a riot (mostly).
I wasn't expecting a good movie. I was expecting entertaining. There's a difference and it seems many people who review movies don't get that. This was a movie that wasn't designed to be good but was designed to be fun.
So, I arrived at 1020, earlier than I had planned. Steve was next. The Berner clan followed. Then the Higgi. We waited for Tara until quarter to 11, then went in. After 30+ minutes of previews including a great one for the new Potter film, it finally started. There were about ten minutes of really slow, boring stuff at the beginning before it got good. But unlike the first one, this stayed fun right from one end to the other. I liked it better. I had fun. This movie will win no acting awards, that's for sure. Stiller clearly was on auto-pilot but I didn't care. I had fun.
I beat up The Berner kids which is always fun. After the movie, we all went to Lucille's except for Steve and Evelyn who went off to do errands. Erin joined as for lunch. After that, I took her home, went to Sawgrass Mills, bought new shoes, and came home. I am currently doing laundry. And charging my cel phone battery which seems to randomly lose its charge. I may have to replace the battery. It hung up on Jose today.
Josh called me yesterday but I missed his call. That was exciting -- so I hope we can actually speak again. Been a very, very long time.
Yesterday I visited Erin and brought her breakfast (Bagels and cream cheese and milk). I visited her and we watched the Catherine Tate Show (Series One DVD) which was a riot (mostly).
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Why I want to own a Casino 3.0 + Queen + Keurig
Okay, it's time for my third annual "Why I want to own a Casino" post. We're going to pick Las Vegas Sands (Venetian LV/Macau, Sands Macau and coming soon Singapore) for fun this time. Sometimes talking about mind boggling numbers is fun. These numbers come right from the 10K so it's just a matter of interpreting what you read.
The revenue for The Sands Casinos is primarily Las Vegas (US$1,335,032,000) and the Macau properties (US$2.9 billion dollars) so you can see all the press is true. Macau is dusting Las Vegas. Despite all this the Sands company lost $163 million dollars -- but it's not as bad as it sounds because they had a half BILLION dollars in interest expense related to the Macau construction and Palazzo in Vegas plus another half BILLION dollars in depreciation expense. This company isn't on the ropes by any standards.
Casino revenue: $3.1 billion dollars against expenses of $2.2 billion dollars. That means people lost nearly a BILLION dollars gambling. An average return of about 33% -- that's a hell of a vig. Rooms were $767 million aginst expenses of 154 million. Dining was $369 million against $186 million. There's some minor stuff too, but you're looking at insanely profitable operations. And these figures are all UP for the year 2008 over 2007. They don't disclose comp expenses directly but we can extrapolate them at about $12.7 million dollars and they have a "doubtful accounts provision" of $41 million which is nearly double 2007. Still $41 million is nothing against the revenue figures.
So, yeah, I want in this business. The barriers to entry are phenomenal and I don't see it happening. But CMOT Casino Group would be awesome. I'd name parts of the casinos after all my investors, so if you can get me about two billion dollars, I can return your investment quickly and almost guaranteed. You all know me and know I'd run a great casino. Honestly, I think I could finance one with about half of that in hand. Only a fool wouldn't throw their money my way. We're talking CMOT Towers in Macau, CMOT Palace in Vegas, and one day expansion to England when they approve them (CMOT Mews) and perhaps Atlantic City (CMOT Shores) but I don't see that as a good market. I'd cater to the mid-level crowd (the group that goes to the MGM, Paris, NY/NY) and not the high-end (Bellagio, Venetian, Wynn) or low end (Circus-Circus, and whatnot).
In other news, a special shout-out to Evan for being a better friend than I'd have ever imagined. Thanks to him. He got major, enormous brownie points today. Also, Evan, you can get that Mickey Mouse silverware at Disney Village. Seriously. I can't imagine you didn't guess that.
And I got to meet John's parents today at breakfast. I think they appreciated my biting wit and weren't too scared. The service at Bistro555 really sucks bad. At least it's cheap and the food is good. After we (Evan, Liz, John, and me) went skating. Skating was okay but it was very foggy due to failure of dehumidifiers. Liz posted a photo on her Facebook page.
I got a Keurig K-Cup system from Hermina and today I bought some random items for it. The coffee is good but the hot chocolate is weak. Next up, I must try the tea. I highly recommend this. I cannot wait to let my friends try the stuff.
Queen has lost their new frontman. Paul Rodgers who replaced the irreplaceable Freddie Mercury has returned to Bad Company. That leaves Queen in search of a new lead singer. As you know they were on American Idol a few days ago for the season finale. They are considering the runner up (Adam Lambert who should have won and did a bang up job performing with Queen) according many news reports. I think it would be awesome.
The revenue for The Sands Casinos is primarily Las Vegas (US$1,335,032,000) and the Macau properties (US$2.9 billion dollars) so you can see all the press is true. Macau is dusting Las Vegas. Despite all this the Sands company lost $163 million dollars -- but it's not as bad as it sounds because they had a half BILLION dollars in interest expense related to the Macau construction and Palazzo in Vegas plus another half BILLION dollars in depreciation expense. This company isn't on the ropes by any standards.
Casino revenue: $3.1 billion dollars against expenses of $2.2 billion dollars. That means people lost nearly a BILLION dollars gambling. An average return of about 33% -- that's a hell of a vig. Rooms were $767 million aginst expenses of 154 million. Dining was $369 million against $186 million. There's some minor stuff too, but you're looking at insanely profitable operations. And these figures are all UP for the year 2008 over 2007. They don't disclose comp expenses directly but we can extrapolate them at about $12.7 million dollars and they have a "doubtful accounts provision" of $41 million which is nearly double 2007. Still $41 million is nothing against the revenue figures.
So, yeah, I want in this business. The barriers to entry are phenomenal and I don't see it happening. But CMOT Casino Group would be awesome. I'd name parts of the casinos after all my investors, so if you can get me about two billion dollars, I can return your investment quickly and almost guaranteed. You all know me and know I'd run a great casino. Honestly, I think I could finance one with about half of that in hand. Only a fool wouldn't throw their money my way. We're talking CMOT Towers in Macau, CMOT Palace in Vegas, and one day expansion to England when they approve them (CMOT Mews) and perhaps Atlantic City (CMOT Shores) but I don't see that as a good market. I'd cater to the mid-level crowd (the group that goes to the MGM, Paris, NY/NY) and not the high-end (Bellagio, Venetian, Wynn) or low end (Circus-Circus, and whatnot).
In other news, a special shout-out to Evan for being a better friend than I'd have ever imagined. Thanks to him. He got major, enormous brownie points today. Also, Evan, you can get that Mickey Mouse silverware at Disney Village. Seriously. I can't imagine you didn't guess that.
And I got to meet John's parents today at breakfast. I think they appreciated my biting wit and weren't too scared. The service at Bistro555 really sucks bad. At least it's cheap and the food is good. After we (Evan, Liz, John, and me) went skating. Skating was okay but it was very foggy due to failure of dehumidifiers. Liz posted a photo on her Facebook page.
I got a Keurig K-Cup system from Hermina and today I bought some random items for it. The coffee is good but the hot chocolate is weak. Next up, I must try the tea. I highly recommend this. I cannot wait to let my friends try the stuff.
Queen has lost their new frontman. Paul Rodgers who replaced the irreplaceable Freddie Mercury has returned to Bad Company. That leaves Queen in search of a new lead singer. As you know they were on American Idol a few days ago for the season finale. They are considering the runner up (Adam Lambert who should have won and did a bang up job performing with Queen) according many news reports. I think it would be awesome.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Spud: A Book Review
I finished Spud, a book by John van de Ruit, earlier this evening. This is not the sort of book I'd pick out but a number of people who liked the legendary Youth In Revolt also liked this book. So I gave it a shot.
This book actually has some similarities to Youth In Revolt. It's sort of pointless, which you might think is a bad thing, but it's not. What is it? Funny. Absolutely hysterical. Not as funny as YIR, but not much is that funny.
As funny as it is -- and I liked it so much I ordered the recently released sequel -- I can't recommend this to everyone. It's set in South Africa which means there is racial commentary, though all the backwards ideas are definitely subjugated and/or mocked in some form. But that's not why I am hesitant to recommend it either. It's definitely written for an audience that is familiar with British customs as it's set in a boarding school. I'm not sure if all of my readers here can handle the slang. The slang didn't bother me, but I'm sure I lost some of the humour in the boarding school escapades.
The book is sexually charged, which is to be expected from a group of main characters that are teenagers in a boarding school environment. The fun begins, of course, when there's a play and girls enter the picture. I won't put spoilers here, but if you've got some time and want a laugh out loud funny book, this may fill the spot. I'd recommend this for anyone about 14/15 or older.
In other news, the Michael Yormark post (yesterday's) is generating some serious traffic and I still encourage other disenfranchised Panther fans to share a link to that. Remember, this is a rare opportunity for change.
Shout out to Erin: Good luck with your operation tomorrow.
This book actually has some similarities to Youth In Revolt. It's sort of pointless, which you might think is a bad thing, but it's not. What is it? Funny. Absolutely hysterical. Not as funny as YIR, but not much is that funny.
As funny as it is -- and I liked it so much I ordered the recently released sequel -- I can't recommend this to everyone. It's set in South Africa which means there is racial commentary, though all the backwards ideas are definitely subjugated and/or mocked in some form. But that's not why I am hesitant to recommend it either. It's definitely written for an audience that is familiar with British customs as it's set in a boarding school. I'm not sure if all of my readers here can handle the slang. The slang didn't bother me, but I'm sure I lost some of the humour in the boarding school escapades.
The book is sexually charged, which is to be expected from a group of main characters that are teenagers in a boarding school environment. The fun begins, of course, when there's a play and girls enter the picture. I won't put spoilers here, but if you've got some time and want a laugh out loud funny book, this may fill the spot. I'd recommend this for anyone about 14/15 or older.
In other news, the Michael Yormark post (yesterday's) is generating some serious traffic and I still encourage other disenfranchised Panther fans to share a link to that. Remember, this is a rare opportunity for change.
Shout out to Erin: Good luck with your operation tomorrow.
Monday, May 18, 2009
A Meeting with Michael Yormark
I had the long awaited and thrice postponed meeting with Michael Yormark, COO at the Panthers. I had all sorts of expectations about who he was and how he might act based on my previous interactions with him, what I've read, and what I've heard about him.
This morning I got a call at the office asking if I could make the meeting at 5pm instead of 530pm due to his 'stop' being moved back a half hour. Although horribly inconvenient, I agreed because I wasn't letting this go any longer than necessary. I bailed work at 4pm and drove like a bat out of Hell, arriving at The Billboard (aka BAC) at 441pm. I walked in, took the elevator to the suite level where the regular offices are. There was no receptionist, just a yellow paper telling you to dial your party. I was about to dial Yormark's office when an intern came out of the offices and called up for me. They told me to have a seat and someone would be right with me. (Their system isn't great because a complete list of all extension is right next to the phone. Numbers such as the coach, GM, owners, and so forth. Somebody's going to steal that and do damage with it one day. I should mention that to them, I suppose.)
Meanwhile, I met a few people while waiting. Everyone was very friendly and they offered me refreshments and so forth. I remember my first time -- when we first moved into the building and H. Wayne was running the show -- when they had people running the elevators, they had seats in them so you could sit, and handing you candy while you rode to your stop. The economy's got everyone. This isn't a complaint at all. Just an observation on how things have changed.
I ran into Kathy D and we had a nice chat and she got me to rejoin the Booster Club. $15 if you join before 6-15-09. Tell her I sent you.
About 10 after five, Yormark's assistant came down and got me -- very nice and friendly lady. Yormark's offices are on the next level where all the executive offices are. I've been there before when I used to visit Cogen and company from time to time. They asked me to wait just a moment, and directed me to sit in the waiting area. I had a nice view right into Stanley's office -- which like all offices has his real name on the cubicle door. I won't share that information, but am sorry I didn't get to meet him. At about 520, I heard "put him in the office" in a familiar voice, and I was ushered into Yormark's conference room. I've not been in this room before, but it's next door to Jacques Martin's office. A few moments later, again refreshments were offered, he came in and said hello. No handshake. I notice these things.
He's very energetic and very intense, almost hyper. I'll give him that and it's a good thing not a bad thing. He makes eye contact and he definitely believes in what he's saying. That is, like it or not, a good sign. He started off saying he didn't usually meet with fans and gave me a disclaimer about all sorts of stuff before we started: how he hated rude people, reminding me that the ads aren't going away, and so on. That's a bit off-putting if you want to know the truth, but hey I can accept it. Again, I'm not meeting with him to be his friend or his enemy but to tell him things have gone horribly wrong somewhere. A thought a lot of people share. As you all know, I talk to fans in all categories in the arena: Lower Bowl, Upper Bowl, Club, Suite, and ADT areas. I'm a hockey fan and I will socialize with all hockey fans because it's a great way to talk to people.
I did let him know he does have some great people in his organization who care, and that I realize they do have to turn a profit to keep going. I gave him a 30 second "meet Eric" speech and started right in. All the fans I talked to telll me the one thing that really crossed the line -- according to every single person I talked to was those effing urinal cakes. Everyone was mad, none more than myself and the legendary Murph.
Yormark refuses to accept that it was a mistake. His answer is that it's not our logo but a sponsor's mark. He said there are logos on everything and why is it different than a doormat or trash can. I'll skip the rest of this except to say he and I will never, ever see eye to eye on this. I told him he owes the entire fan base an apology. Don't hold your breath. Why am I telling you this? Because if you know me, you know I want to present the whole picture. I didn't have much hope for the meeting after this point, because this sort of intransigence doesn't bode well. He's like me: stubborn. But I'll admit I'm wrong. Not sure if he will, and he is unequivocally wrong. Perception is reality on this.
I am happy to report once we got past that things were much easier. I was expecting it to go downhill from there and it didn't. I came very prepared. I knew I didn't have much time and I wanted to be ready. I came in with forty (40) bullet points. They were divided into two groups. The first group were REVENUE items and the second group were ARENA items.
The revenue items are things he can do to generate advertising dollars while making the arena more like a hockey arena. I put a lot of thought into this and came up with a nice list of ideas. As someone who runs a multi-million dollar business concern, I know a lot about what will and won't work in a large scale business. Our company has actually done -- and still does -- business with SSE to a limited extent, so I have a bit of insight as to what they will and won't be receptive to. My goal was to show him how he could fix some of the stuff that fans hate yet still maintain or increase ad revenue. I also showed him some flaws in his system that were letting already-earned revenue escape and he totally agreed with it and will fix that: I think I got brownie points there. He shared with me a few things they're doing for next season, but I will keep those secret as a courtesy. I do not wish to steal his thunder.
The ARENA items are things that need to be fixed in the building. These are things that are just not acceptable that have been happening for months or years. Stuff that it appears, nobody cares about. These were not in the scope of his job or this meeting, but I figured since I had the opportunity to hand him a list, I'd get these things in too. I asked he deliver them to the right people. He said he would. I made sure it was easy and gave him three complete copies of the list.
All told, my letter to him was six full pages, single spaced with 0.5" margins on all sides. Everything was organized and explained in terms anyone could understand. Say what you want, but Yormark is a very smart guy: look where he is and how he got there. I wanted to make sure he understood that I was bringing something of value that cost him zero. I hope he got my point that perception is reality. By that I mean, it doesn't matter if he thinks he's doing something good, if the fan base doesn't agree, he's wrong: even if he's right. I'm really not sure he got that part.
He's off to New York tomorrow. He promised he would read my entire list in detail on the flight (he did glance it over while we talked), he would review it, discuss it was his staff, and then follow up with me. I'm hopeful he does follow up with me, but I am also sceptical. I'm writing this knowing full well he's going to read my words. I closed with a reminder that I really do want to help, and I will help him for free if he'll let me.
After I said that, he asked me to commit to something: He asked if I would post the following on both the official and my boards.So I'm going to do it. It's done. (He gave me the idea of what he wanted, but the words are mine.) Mr Yormark really does want ideas from the fans on how to improve things. But he wants constructive ideas that are well thought out. So, if you have ideas you think are good, you can e-mail them to him. I'll also take it upon myself to tell you that if you send them to me instead, I'll collect them and make sure they're delivered. (If you send them to me, I'll also point out any flaws in your ideas or tell you if it was already on my list.) Please feel free to share this post's URL with all current and previous season-ticket holders.
He ended up giving me a little over a half hour including an interruption by a famous person. I was greatly amused by Yormark's exasperated reaction at the person who has obviously called many times before. He declined the call because he was talking to me. That was sort of cool. (Stroke ego here).
Why am I not posting the 40 points here? Because I told him quite clearly I'm not in this to get credit for the ideas or glory or anything. I just want this stuff fixed and corrected. He can have all the credit for all I care. My sole goal is to make The Billboard back into a hockey arena again.
GO PANTHERS!
This morning I got a call at the office asking if I could make the meeting at 5pm instead of 530pm due to his 'stop' being moved back a half hour. Although horribly inconvenient, I agreed because I wasn't letting this go any longer than necessary. I bailed work at 4pm and drove like a bat out of Hell, arriving at The Billboard (aka BAC) at 441pm. I walked in, took the elevator to the suite level where the regular offices are. There was no receptionist, just a yellow paper telling you to dial your party. I was about to dial Yormark's office when an intern came out of the offices and called up for me. They told me to have a seat and someone would be right with me. (Their system isn't great because a complete list of all extension is right next to the phone. Numbers such as the coach, GM, owners, and so forth. Somebody's going to steal that and do damage with it one day. I should mention that to them, I suppose.)
Meanwhile, I met a few people while waiting. Everyone was very friendly and they offered me refreshments and so forth. I remember my first time -- when we first moved into the building and H. Wayne was running the show -- when they had people running the elevators, they had seats in them so you could sit, and handing you candy while you rode to your stop. The economy's got everyone. This isn't a complaint at all. Just an observation on how things have changed.
I ran into Kathy D and we had a nice chat and she got me to rejoin the Booster Club. $15 if you join before 6-15-09. Tell her I sent you.
About 10 after five, Yormark's assistant came down and got me -- very nice and friendly lady. Yormark's offices are on the next level where all the executive offices are. I've been there before when I used to visit Cogen and company from time to time. They asked me to wait just a moment, and directed me to sit in the waiting area. I had a nice view right into Stanley's office -- which like all offices has his real name on the cubicle door. I won't share that information, but am sorry I didn't get to meet him. At about 520, I heard "put him in the office" in a familiar voice, and I was ushered into Yormark's conference room. I've not been in this room before, but it's next door to Jacques Martin's office. A few moments later, again refreshments were offered, he came in and said hello. No handshake. I notice these things.
He's very energetic and very intense, almost hyper. I'll give him that and it's a good thing not a bad thing. He makes eye contact and he definitely believes in what he's saying. That is, like it or not, a good sign. He started off saying he didn't usually meet with fans and gave me a disclaimer about all sorts of stuff before we started: how he hated rude people, reminding me that the ads aren't going away, and so on. That's a bit off-putting if you want to know the truth, but hey I can accept it. Again, I'm not meeting with him to be his friend or his enemy but to tell him things have gone horribly wrong somewhere. A thought a lot of people share. As you all know, I talk to fans in all categories in the arena: Lower Bowl, Upper Bowl, Club, Suite, and ADT areas. I'm a hockey fan and I will socialize with all hockey fans because it's a great way to talk to people.
I did let him know he does have some great people in his organization who care, and that I realize they do have to turn a profit to keep going. I gave him a 30 second "meet Eric" speech and started right in. All the fans I talked to telll me the one thing that really crossed the line -- according to every single person I talked to was those effing urinal cakes. Everyone was mad, none more than myself and the legendary Murph.
Yormark refuses to accept that it was a mistake. His answer is that it's not our logo but a sponsor's mark. He said there are logos on everything and why is it different than a doormat or trash can. I'll skip the rest of this except to say he and I will never, ever see eye to eye on this. I told him he owes the entire fan base an apology. Don't hold your breath. Why am I telling you this? Because if you know me, you know I want to present the whole picture. I didn't have much hope for the meeting after this point, because this sort of intransigence doesn't bode well. He's like me: stubborn. But I'll admit I'm wrong. Not sure if he will, and he is unequivocally wrong. Perception is reality on this.
I am happy to report once we got past that things were much easier. I was expecting it to go downhill from there and it didn't. I came very prepared. I knew I didn't have much time and I wanted to be ready. I came in with forty (40) bullet points. They were divided into two groups. The first group were REVENUE items and the second group were ARENA items.
The revenue items are things he can do to generate advertising dollars while making the arena more like a hockey arena. I put a lot of thought into this and came up with a nice list of ideas. As someone who runs a multi-million dollar business concern, I know a lot about what will and won't work in a large scale business. Our company has actually done -- and still does -- business with SSE to a limited extent, so I have a bit of insight as to what they will and won't be receptive to. My goal was to show him how he could fix some of the stuff that fans hate yet still maintain or increase ad revenue. I also showed him some flaws in his system that were letting already-earned revenue escape and he totally agreed with it and will fix that: I think I got brownie points there. He shared with me a few things they're doing for next season, but I will keep those secret as a courtesy. I do not wish to steal his thunder.
The ARENA items are things that need to be fixed in the building. These are things that are just not acceptable that have been happening for months or years. Stuff that it appears, nobody cares about. These were not in the scope of his job or this meeting, but I figured since I had the opportunity to hand him a list, I'd get these things in too. I asked he deliver them to the right people. He said he would. I made sure it was easy and gave him three complete copies of the list.
All told, my letter to him was six full pages, single spaced with 0.5" margins on all sides. Everything was organized and explained in terms anyone could understand. Say what you want, but Yormark is a very smart guy: look where he is and how he got there. I wanted to make sure he understood that I was bringing something of value that cost him zero. I hope he got my point that perception is reality. By that I mean, it doesn't matter if he thinks he's doing something good, if the fan base doesn't agree, he's wrong: even if he's right. I'm really not sure he got that part.
He's off to New York tomorrow. He promised he would read my entire list in detail on the flight (he did glance it over while we talked), he would review it, discuss it was his staff, and then follow up with me. I'm hopeful he does follow up with me, but I am also sceptical. I'm writing this knowing full well he's going to read my words. I closed with a reminder that I really do want to help, and I will help him for free if he'll let me.
After I said that, he asked me to commit to something: He asked if I would post the following on both the official and my boards.
He ended up giving me a little over a half hour including an interruption by a famous person. I was greatly amused by Yormark's exasperated reaction at the person who has obviously called many times before. He declined the call because he was talking to me. That was sort of cool. (Stroke ego here).
Why am I not posting the 40 points here? Because I told him quite clearly I'm not in this to get credit for the ideas or glory or anything. I just want this stuff fixed and corrected. He can have all the credit for all I care. My sole goal is to make The Billboard back into a hockey arena again.
GO PANTHERS!
Saturday, May 16, 2009
A Visit Avec Mom
Flew up CO and we boarded on time, sat on the tarmac for twenty for an engine check, and were off after that. Arrived twenty late due to late departure, but we had an unusual flight path right near Disney so had a nice view of everything. Pilot was like twelve years old and that was disconcerting: mostly realizing he was old enough to be a pilot and I thought he was twelve.
The visit itself was fine. Straight to Mom's to unload, then to TooJay's for breakfast. Followed that with visit to BestBuy for surge protector, then to mall for a walk and peek into Barnes & Nobles. After which she showed me her new office. Back to her house wherein I removed old surge protector, tagged all plugs, and installed it. Hung bracket for her. Removed some crap from her computer (logitech camera crap). Watched some TV and then off to Haagen-Dazs then to the airport.
Checked in AA and took a little walk around before going through Orlando's glacial security lines. Got to terminal and found the AC was borked. Sweaty 1hr wait. I called Maury to say hi and she asked what all the noise was. I told her it was someone's ill-behaved sprog. Eventually said Sprog vanished and I went back to my book -- a review when done: the book that should have been done before I made it home. (Foreshadowing).
Plane boards, I get an upgrade to the front due to full plane. I am thrilled. Then, to my dismay some very loud people sit across the aisle from me. Talk too loud. Using phone. They have two grandkids. One is sent to the back to sit with the parents. One (4 y/o?) stays up front with the grandparents. Kid is being loud and unruly all during ground time and am unable to read. He finally shuts up. I begin to read my book and the plane is enroute.
Granddad asks flight attendant if he can bring the other grandkid (maybe 2?) to sit in the other empty seat. Flight attendant tells them no, it's not allowed. Grandad argues that it's a short flight and nobody will mind. Flight attendant says no. Flight attendant resumes duties. Grandparents argue with each other (loudly of course) that they should have done it without asking. Sprog mysteriously appears. Flight attendant has words with them but they do nothing and finally flight attendant caves. Kids aren't quiet. Another flight attendant takes pity on me because I am getting an earful, and pats me on the shoulder: we share an eye roll. Concentrating on book is difficult.
Ten minutes before landing they make the "all electronics off" announcement. The older kid starts throwing a temper tantrum like you haven't seen and heard. It was impressive. The grandfather starts screaming at the kid to "shut up" and the sprog gets louder. The grandmother asks one flight attendant to tell the kid "that he can't use his iPhone now so just be quiet" because apparently they don't want to do their job as (grand)parents. She refuses. Another flight attendant caves because there is about to be murder in the cabin.
Horrible flight. Not the fault of AA and I comment the flight attendants for putting up with it. If it was me, I'd have pushed the lot right out the fucking door. A reminder as to why I never, ever, no matter what, want kids. (Evan's kids are some of the best behaved I've met in their age range, and even that's a strain on me -- but I love them to death so don't take that as a knock.)
The flight arrived on time, and in a fit of spite, I blocked them in their row on landing and let the entire first class cabin off in front of me. I help everyone with their luggage and then pointedly leave the grandparents to fend for themselves. It served no purpose but to make me feel good. I feel bad for the people who were continuing on to Saint Louis with them.
The visit itself was fine. Straight to Mom's to unload, then to TooJay's for breakfast. Followed that with visit to BestBuy for surge protector, then to mall for a walk and peek into Barnes & Nobles. After which she showed me her new office. Back to her house wherein I removed old surge protector, tagged all plugs, and installed it. Hung bracket for her. Removed some crap from her computer (logitech camera crap). Watched some TV and then off to Haagen-Dazs then to the airport.
Checked in AA and took a little walk around before going through Orlando's glacial security lines. Got to terminal and found the AC was borked. Sweaty 1hr wait. I called Maury to say hi and she asked what all the noise was. I told her it was someone's ill-behaved sprog. Eventually said Sprog vanished and I went back to my book -- a review when done: the book that should have been done before I made it home. (Foreshadowing).
Plane boards, I get an upgrade to the front due to full plane. I am thrilled. Then, to my dismay some very loud people sit across the aisle from me. Talk too loud. Using phone. They have two grandkids. One is sent to the back to sit with the parents. One (4 y/o?) stays up front with the grandparents. Kid is being loud and unruly all during ground time and am unable to read. He finally shuts up. I begin to read my book and the plane is enroute.
Granddad asks flight attendant if he can bring the other grandkid (maybe 2?) to sit in the other empty seat. Flight attendant tells them no, it's not allowed. Grandad argues that it's a short flight and nobody will mind. Flight attendant says no. Flight attendant resumes duties. Grandparents argue with each other (loudly of course) that they should have done it without asking. Sprog mysteriously appears. Flight attendant has words with them but they do nothing and finally flight attendant caves. Kids aren't quiet. Another flight attendant takes pity on me because I am getting an earful, and pats me on the shoulder: we share an eye roll. Concentrating on book is difficult.
Ten minutes before landing they make the "all electronics off" announcement. The older kid starts throwing a temper tantrum like you haven't seen and heard. It was impressive. The grandfather starts screaming at the kid to "shut up" and the sprog gets louder. The grandmother asks one flight attendant to tell the kid "that he can't use his iPhone now so just be quiet" because apparently they don't want to do their job as (grand)parents. She refuses. Another flight attendant caves because there is about to be murder in the cabin.
Horrible flight. Not the fault of AA and I comment the flight attendants for putting up with it. If it was me, I'd have pushed the lot right out the fucking door. A reminder as to why I never, ever, no matter what, want kids. (Evan's kids are some of the best behaved I've met in their age range, and even that's a strain on me -- but I love them to death so don't take that as a knock.)
The flight arrived on time, and in a fit of spite, I blocked them in their row on landing and let the entire first class cabin off in front of me. I help everyone with their luggage and then pointedly leave the grandparents to fend for themselves. It served no purpose but to make me feel good. I feel bad for the people who were continuing on to Saint Louis with them.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Lost, Friends, Stuff
1. ITEM ONE INCLUDES SPOILERS! I watched the season finale of Lost last night -- three hours worth. The recap filled in some holes, though it bothers me that the holes are big enough to require filling in. If Ben decided that he needed to kill Locke after just saving him only to change his mind upon hearing Faraday's name (link has a serious spoiler), then make sure we know why from the show and not the recap. I do like how Lost uses names like "Faraday" (look it up) for its characters because they mean something related to the show. Ditto for Locke and others. Jacob confused me: he was introduced and killed in the episode. It was great to see Rose and Bernard again, living with Vincent though their indifference in the face of certain doom was not so believable. Goodbye to Juliet. Sawyer and Hurley are really good characters though Kate and Jack irritate me more than anything. I'm sure Charlie's guitar (you DID get that, right?) is going to be important. My one nagging question is: Which Locke conned Ben into killing Jacob. I don't think that's 2007 Locke (dead in the chest) but perhaps 1977 Locke brought forward. I think he co-exists in two times like Richard. Maybe. END OF SPOILERS
2. Around 1015 last night, I experienced something very eerie. I was coming into my room and I saw Scooter coming around the corner out of my bathroom. As you may recollect, Scooter is no longer among the living. It was her. Absolutely, positively no doubt in my mind at all. She came out, passed my Ottoman and then vanished. I got a shudder and the chills but not in a bad way. It wasn't a full vision, but more of a moving shadow in her shape. I just knew right away by the movements and the trail taken. Very specific to her.
3. Technorati sucks balls. Really. They're off-line, on-line but broken, and so on. Now my blog has vanished from my 'claimed blog' list. It really doesn't matter because I got signed off a few days ago while they were performing maintenance and now I can't sign back on and my favourites lists is all blank. I just thought I'd mention how I hate them.
4. Google-Ad Sense. I've repositioned my banners in the hopes more people click on them. I think will all the stuff here, they just sort of drifted out of people's minds and ability to see them. If you have feedback on where I've put them, let me know. I don't want them to be obtrusive, but it'd be nice if I could actually get revenue from them. Since my traffic is way down (thanks again Technorati) more clicks are more important. Been a long time since I got a check from Google. And Google's been acting flaky all day, which is unusual for them.
5. Link Exchange. I want to increase my blog's profile. If you have a blog and want it mentioned in an article here, I'll do it if you do the same in your blog. Just send me your blog's URL and what it's about (and why anyone would be interested). If you've got a blogroll, please add this blog there. Help spread the love. Hell, if you post on the 'net, be sure and mention this blog somewhere if you can. (Don't spam -- be relevant.)
6. I added a new "SHARE" button and removed buttons for all the individual stuff. I removed the massive tag list because it was becoming unwieldy. I hope the new looks is better. I'll keep toying with it. Suggestions welcome.
7. Saturday is 'visit with mom' day. Good luck to Bryce on his test. Good luck to Erin with her reconstruction. Good luck to Tara on several fronts. Sunday is skating and I'm looking forward to that. Monday I have a secret event: details later if I can. Quite a few movies I want to see and nobody to see them with. I need more friends. I've been eating like shit the past few days and have hit a record high new weight. I will resume my diet and exercise plan on Monday. Sorry I've not been blogging regularly, but I've been writing again -- working on a new novel. And I'm still looking for an agent. *whine*
2. Around 1015 last night, I experienced something very eerie. I was coming into my room and I saw Scooter coming around the corner out of my bathroom. As you may recollect, Scooter is no longer among the living. It was her. Absolutely, positively no doubt in my mind at all. She came out, passed my Ottoman and then vanished. I got a shudder and the chills but not in a bad way. It wasn't a full vision, but more of a moving shadow in her shape. I just knew right away by the movements and the trail taken. Very specific to her.
3. Technorati sucks balls. Really. They're off-line, on-line but broken, and so on. Now my blog has vanished from my 'claimed blog' list. It really doesn't matter because I got signed off a few days ago while they were performing maintenance and now I can't sign back on and my favourites lists is all blank. I just thought I'd mention how I hate them.
4. Google-Ad Sense. I've repositioned my banners in the hopes more people click on them. I think will all the stuff here, they just sort of drifted out of people's minds and ability to see them. If you have feedback on where I've put them, let me know. I don't want them to be obtrusive, but it'd be nice if I could actually get revenue from them. Since my traffic is way down (thanks again Technorati) more clicks are more important. Been a long time since I got a check from Google. And Google's been acting flaky all day, which is unusual for them.
5. Link Exchange. I want to increase my blog's profile. If you have a blog and want it mentioned in an article here, I'll do it if you do the same in your blog. Just send me your blog's URL and what it's about (and why anyone would be interested). If you've got a blogroll, please add this blog there. Help spread the love. Hell, if you post on the 'net, be sure and mention this blog somewhere if you can. (Don't spam -- be relevant.)
6. I added a new "SHARE" button and removed buttons for all the individual stuff. I removed the massive tag list because it was becoming unwieldy. I hope the new looks is better. I'll keep toying with it. Suggestions welcome.
7. Saturday is 'visit with mom' day. Good luck to Bryce on his test. Good luck to Erin with her reconstruction. Good luck to Tara on several fronts. Sunday is skating and I'm looking forward to that. Monday I have a secret event: details later if I can. Quite a few movies I want to see and nobody to see them with. I need more friends. I've been eating like shit the past few days and have hit a record high new weight. I will resume my diet and exercise plan on Monday. Sorry I've not been blogging regularly, but I've been writing again -- working on a new novel. And I'm still looking for an agent. *whine*
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Star Trek The Review (Spoilers)
I wasn't going to see the new Star Trek. But Jace said it was good and I trust his movie opinions so I went. I saw it and we're still friends.
As far as movies go, it was an entertaining film though it definitely had some Lost-ish stuff mixed in. And I am so fucking sick of time travel as a plot device, I'm going to scream.
First, the acting:
Kirk: Chris Pine was very good. I didn't find him irritating which is an endorsement
Spock: Zachary Quinto sucked. Really. He can't act. This was Sylar (from Heroes) with pointy ears. He has the acting range of a daffodil. His performance was as animated as a two by four. He had some good moments, such as when he was fighting and such. But mostly I am displeased. I did like the kid who played Very Young Spock. He could act.
Chekov: Anton Yelchin was fantastic. My second favourite of the lot. I never heard of this guy, but he's good. And I was reminded vaguely of original Checkov.
Sulu: John Cho was fine except he was miscast. I kept thinking he was going to set course for White Castle. I couldn't get him out of my head and that sort of coloured my view of this role.
Scotty: Simon Pegg stole the show. He channelled Montgomery Scott the whole way without any problem.
Bones: I actually liked Karl Urban in this role and I didn't think I would.
Uhura: Zoe Saldana gives Uhura a real WOW factor. She's hot and her and Spock have some thang going. It almost disturbs me but that's the Sylar factor.
Second, let me pick. They definitely took liberties with the original canon. Bones came from "Sawbones" the old name for an old west doctor. They changed it entirely in the film. I may be the only person that bugs but it changes the core of the character.
Third, I like that they had several nods to the original series throughout. It kept it real. Leonard Nimoy also appears as Spock. Believably old, and still a comfortable fit in the role. A Kirk cameo was sorely missed.
So I was entertained. I cannot emphasize how bad Spock's acting was and it dragged the film down considerably. I'm sad to report that, but it is what it is. Still enjoyable.
I'm sorry Liz and Erin didn't show up. However, I did find a new place for breakfast.
As far as movies go, it was an entertaining film though it definitely had some Lost-ish stuff mixed in. And I am so fucking sick of time travel as a plot device, I'm going to scream.
First, the acting:
Kirk: Chris Pine was very good. I didn't find him irritating which is an endorsement
Spock: Zachary Quinto sucked. Really. He can't act. This was Sylar (from Heroes) with pointy ears. He has the acting range of a daffodil. His performance was as animated as a two by four. He had some good moments, such as when he was fighting and such. But mostly I am displeased. I did like the kid who played Very Young Spock. He could act.
Chekov: Anton Yelchin was fantastic. My second favourite of the lot. I never heard of this guy, but he's good. And I was reminded vaguely of original Checkov.
Sulu: John Cho was fine except he was miscast. I kept thinking he was going to set course for White Castle. I couldn't get him out of my head and that sort of coloured my view of this role.
Scotty: Simon Pegg stole the show. He channelled Montgomery Scott the whole way without any problem.
Bones: I actually liked Karl Urban in this role and I didn't think I would.
Uhura: Zoe Saldana gives Uhura a real WOW factor. She's hot and her and Spock have some thang going. It almost disturbs me but that's the Sylar factor.
Second, let me pick. They definitely took liberties with the original canon. Bones came from "Sawbones" the old name for an old west doctor. They changed it entirely in the film. I may be the only person that bugs but it changes the core of the character.
Third, I like that they had several nods to the original series throughout. It kept it real. Leonard Nimoy also appears as Spock. Believably old, and still a comfortable fit in the role. A Kirk cameo was sorely missed.
So I was entertained. I cannot emphasize how bad Spock's acting was and it dragged the film down considerably. I'm sad to report that, but it is what it is. Still enjoyable.
I'm sorry Liz and Erin didn't show up. However, I did find a new place for breakfast.
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Jimmy Buffett, Awkward and Incestuous with a Fortune Cookie Chaser
First, the Head Parrothead (Jimmy Buffett) has just had Dolphin Stadium renamed to Landshark Stadium (I like the name) after his beer, Landshark Beer in exchange for no money. They get personal appearances, etc, by his parrotness. He also re-did his famous song Fins with Dolphin lyrics. Thanks to Razzie for the URL to the video:
Jimmy is a big fan of the Fins so this is a great fit. It's only a one year deal. Still, it's cool. Maybe we'll get Jimmy doing the national anthem. He did it once at a Heat game before his play "Don't Stop The Carnival" at it was really awesome.
Also up is the most awkward family photo ever:
The below quote and above picture are from my Facebook post Thursday. If you don't have FaceBook, here's the post.
Eric A. Seiden was at work and found a spare fortune cookie on the communal food table. I decided I'd eat it. The fortune said "Your wish is about to come true." I turned bright red. God, I hope so :) A deserted tropical island with some hot babes and unlimited funds perhaps?
On the back is a set of lottery numbers and the "learn Chinese" phrase. The word is "Summer" 夏天 (Xià Tian) That "a" in Tian should have a bar over it, but I don't know how to do that on my Mac. The ã isn't close enough. (If you don't have Chinese characters installed some of this paragraph will not display on your screen.)
Only a fool puts his hope in a fortune cookie's prophecy, but I can tell you I certainly am that fool. We'll see if this will be the best summer of my life or not.
Anyway, I had to blog all this randomness.
Jimmy is a big fan of the Fins so this is a great fit. It's only a one year deal. Still, it's cool. Maybe we'll get Jimmy doing the national anthem. He did it once at a Heat game before his play "Don't Stop The Carnival" at it was really awesome.
Also up is the most awkward family photo ever:
I almost didn't post this because it was actually embarrassing but the bottom line was I couldn't stop laughing at the absurdity. The levels on which this is disturbing know NO bounds. I am sharing it because I do not want to be alone in having this image in my mind. Also it provides segue for this next story. Yes, that picture actually has the Power of Segue. Hard to believe.
Today was skating: just John, Liz, and me. So Liz and I are chatting and she is talking about her Telenovelas (soap operas). She is telling me about this Romeo and Juliet plot-line wherein the two characters are really brother and sister but don't know it. We were discussing the ick factor of incest and John comes up. I said "Don't bother us: we're discussing incest." He skated away not to be seen for nearly an hour. I never scared anyone off like that so easily. It was pretty funny. In retrospect maybe I shouldn't have said it so loudly but Liz was laughing really hard. I have mentioned this before but Liz and John are really awesome. I am so glad I know them. And good luck with the house!
Today was skating: just John, Liz, and me. So Liz and I are chatting and she is talking about her Telenovelas (soap operas). She is telling me about this Romeo and Juliet plot-line wherein the two characters are really brother and sister but don't know it. We were discussing the ick factor of incest and John comes up. I said "Don't bother us: we're discussing incest." He skated away not to be seen for nearly an hour. I never scared anyone off like that so easily. It was pretty funny. In retrospect maybe I shouldn't have said it so loudly but Liz was laughing really hard. I have mentioned this before but Liz and John are really awesome. I am so glad I know them. And good luck with the house!
The below quote and above picture are from my Facebook post Thursday. If you don't have FaceBook, here's the post.
Eric A. Seiden was at work and found a spare fortune cookie on the communal food table. I decided I'd eat it. The fortune said "Your wish is about to come true." I turned bright red. God, I hope so :) A deserted tropical island with some hot babes and unlimited funds perhaps?
On the back is a set of lottery numbers and the "learn Chinese" phrase. The word is "Summer" 夏天 (Xià Tian) That "a" in Tian should have a bar over it, but I don't know how to do that on my Mac. The ã isn't close enough. (If you don't have Chinese characters installed some of this paragraph will not display on your screen.)
Only a fool puts his hope in a fortune cookie's prophecy, but I can tell you I certainly am that fool. We'll see if this will be the best summer of my life or not.
Anyway, I had to blog all this randomness.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Phoenix Coyotes to Hamilton or thereabouts in Canada?
Jim Balsillie, the CEO of RIM (the makers of the legendary CrackBerry BlackBerry), has made a formal tender off to purchase the NHL's Phoenix Coyotes (formerly the Winnipeg Jets) from majority owner Jerry Moyes conditioned on relocation to Southern Ontario. This surprised no-one as Balsille has several times tried to purchase NHL teams only to be thwarted by the NHL (Penguins) and a flaky owner (Predators).
There are tons of news articles, and some commentary on my message boards. Here's my analysis in case anyone cares:
1. The NHL is opposed to the move and the bankruptcy because it violates the league's bylaws. (This is not a statement of legality, just their position. This is a business matter that is secondary to the bankruptcy case. A legal dispute between two businesses is always secondary to a federal case. Bankruptcy is a federal case.)
2. Please remember that United States law applies to this because the company (team for our purposes) is based and operated wholly within the United States. The NHL is a US based league with operations in two countries (USA and Canada) but that is irrelevant for this matter because this is a matter between two USA companies.
3. The NHL's position is that the majority owner of the Phoenix Coyotes who filed (or actually signed off on -- one assumes his crack legal team did the work) the bankruptcy did not have the legal authority to file the bankruptcy. (This IS a legal position. This is interesting. I am not sure of the NHL's angle because, in theory, the majority owner of an enterprise has the absolute legal authority to file for bankruptcy if all conditions are met, and you cannot subjugate that right easily -- unless, for instance, the documents with the league require him to offer the team to the league before filing.) There isn't a lot of doubt from media reports over the past few years that Phoenix is ailing and bleeding money at an extraordinary rate.
4. The NHL believe this bankruptcy was not legitimate and used SOLELY to get the RIM deal through. (This is a legal claim of fraud and one of the few things they can do to get a judge to reject the bankruptcy filing) However, according numberous reports, the NHL recently paid off a debt to keep the team running, that will make it hard for them to prove the team was solvent if they had to step in to cover a debt I do not feel that this argument is going to hold water.
5. RIM -- whether one likes the Blackberry or not -- is a financially stable and viable company that proposes to move the team to a far better market for attendance and TV than Phoenix provides. There is a lot of talk about TV market size but that's absolute bullshit because, quite honestly, our local Miami market is a huge TV market but the percentage that watches hockey is minuscule. In absolute numbers the Canadian market is better by any measure in a non-traditional market. This argument works well in the hockey belt of the USA but is worthless south of the Mason-Dixon line. (For example would you rather have 20% of a million people or 1% of three million? That's approximate numbers there and here for the TV market for comparison.)
6. The league has, for years, done everything in its power to keep teams out of bankruptcy (ch 7, 11, or 13) because the bankruptcy court can impose its will and there is nothing the league can do. A federal judge wins over a private company all the time. Appealing to the Supreme Court is costly and likely will do no good because there a prededents: If you want to ask if the team can move without league approval, I refer you to the NFL teams that have done it. The NFL sued and lost. If the NFL can't win, the NHL can't win. And a court always looks at these precedents to see what has happened before. The NHL will lose and RIM knows it.
My opinion is that, yes, the bankruptcy was sped up to help the RIM deal along because it had some operational cash along with the tender offer. That is suspicious. The fact that RIM is already offering up websites to sway public opinion before the league has had a chance to review it is also unusual. I also think a lot of the NHL's objections are because they were not kept in the loop and are (as they indeed stated) surprised by this unexpected development.
There are tons of news articles, and some commentary on my message boards. Here's my analysis in case anyone cares:
1. The NHL is opposed to the move and the bankruptcy because it violates the league's bylaws. (This is not a statement of legality, just their position. This is a business matter that is secondary to the bankruptcy case. A legal dispute between two businesses is always secondary to a federal case. Bankruptcy is a federal case.)
2. Please remember that United States law applies to this because the company (team for our purposes) is based and operated wholly within the United States. The NHL is a US based league with operations in two countries (USA and Canada) but that is irrelevant for this matter because this is a matter between two USA companies.
3. The NHL's position is that the majority owner of the Phoenix Coyotes who filed (or actually signed off on -- one assumes his crack legal team did the work) the bankruptcy did not have the legal authority to file the bankruptcy. (This IS a legal position. This is interesting. I am not sure of the NHL's angle because, in theory, the majority owner of an enterprise has the absolute legal authority to file for bankruptcy if all conditions are met, and you cannot subjugate that right easily -- unless, for instance, the documents with the league require him to offer the team to the league before filing.) There isn't a lot of doubt from media reports over the past few years that Phoenix is ailing and bleeding money at an extraordinary rate.
4. The NHL believe this bankruptcy was not legitimate and used SOLELY to get the RIM deal through. (This is a legal claim of fraud and one of the few things they can do to get a judge to reject the bankruptcy filing) However, according numberous reports, the NHL recently paid off a debt to keep the team running, that will make it hard for them to prove the team was solvent if they had to step in to cover a debt I do not feel that this argument is going to hold water.
5. RIM -- whether one likes the Blackberry or not -- is a financially stable and viable company that proposes to move the team to a far better market for attendance and TV than Phoenix provides. There is a lot of talk about TV market size but that's absolute bullshit because, quite honestly, our local Miami market is a huge TV market but the percentage that watches hockey is minuscule. In absolute numbers the Canadian market is better by any measure in a non-traditional market. This argument works well in the hockey belt of the USA but is worthless south of the Mason-Dixon line. (For example would you rather have 20% of a million people or 1% of three million? That's approximate numbers there and here for the TV market for comparison.)
6. The league has, for years, done everything in its power to keep teams out of bankruptcy (ch 7, 11, or 13) because the bankruptcy court can impose its will and there is nothing the league can do. A federal judge wins over a private company all the time. Appealing to the Supreme Court is costly and likely will do no good because there a prededents: If you want to ask if the team can move without league approval, I refer you to the NFL teams that have done it. The NFL sued and lost. If the NFL can't win, the NHL can't win. And a court always looks at these precedents to see what has happened before. The NHL will lose and RIM knows it.
My opinion is that, yes, the bankruptcy was sped up to help the RIM deal along because it had some operational cash along with the tender offer. That is suspicious. The fact that RIM is already offering up websites to sway public opinion before the league has had a chance to review it is also unusual. I also think a lot of the NHL's objections are because they were not kept in the loop and are (as they indeed stated) surprised by this unexpected development.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
AT&T's U-Verse Service
A number of my friends have this and seem to be pleased. U-verse is vDSL -- even though when I ordered it they told me it was FibreOptic -- and has speeds up to 18MBPS. It's not been available in my neighbourhood until this month, though the product itself is a few years old. Normally they sell it as a package including TV, DVR, VOD, etc. They do offer an Internet Only variety, which is what I got. I won't give up my DirecTV.
Today was installation day. From 8am to 10am window. The first tech showed up at 815 and told me to remove the DSL router. I did. He disconnected my existing aDSL and connected the vDSL and as he was finishing the second crew of two arrived to do the install. They were pleased to see it was Internet only because it shouldn't take long. How wrong they were.
I asked if we could use my existing router (N wireless) with their modem (G wireless) and they said yes. So they did their voodoo magic and got signal to my computer room (yay) and it was strong too: maxing out at just over 14MBPS during trials. We hooked up my router, disabled the wireless on theirs, and.... NOTHING. No connection. Every attempt to make my router and theirs play nice failed.
That left the arduous task of reprogramming every connection in the house to the new network. That's a PS3, Wii, DirecTV DVR, Guest Room computer, work laptop, and my PC. Sounds easy but with a G signal we were having range issues. It all works except the Wii which probably works but we never tested it.
They prepared to leave and I said to wait, let's make sure e-mail works. Fail. We can receive e-mail but not send it. First error: the instructions on the u-verse page for the Mac have a serious typo. They have the SMTP and POP instructions reversed. We caught this after a little while (doh!) ourselves. It just wouldn't work. The tech called into support and was transferred all over hell and back (India, Texas, and so on). They subject their own employees to this crap: not a good sign.
Finally we got a good tech who was able (after over ONE HOUR) figure out what the problem was. But first, I wish to point out that the tech could NOT understand that I was using my server (darsys.net) to receive and theirs to send. This was over his head. Seriously. Anyway, neither here nor there. Finally he figured it out. The instructions on their website (the faulty ones) are for AT&T/BellSouth addresses only. Seriously. If you have another address, you have to use their webpanel, authorize that individual address you want to send from, enter a key into the webpanel in an email they send, and then you can send using totally different instructions. That was a long, long process. This isn't the optimal solution, but at least I'm not isolated.
I then ask how to make NNTP work (Usenet). This issue never resolved. All settings are correct and it even connects to their server. It shows "95 new messages" and then says 'authentication failed' -- so there's a problem. The thing is NNTP is simple. There's not a lot to change unlike email. We even created a new NNTP account and started over. Same result. If anyone has a Mac, Entourage, and can get NNTP to work over U-verse, tell me how. My U-verse friends are welcome to help me out here or anyone wise in the ways of NNTP. Hint, hint, nudge, nudge. I hate to have to pay for a service that I get, but can't access.
Update: I have read-only NNTP access through a server. I am now happily reading rec.humor.funny and uk.transport.london again. I cannot post from this free server, but it does offer free read-only access for NON BINARY groups (ie: no photos and such) -- no attachments of any kind to any posts.
Worse, I have found out my DirecTV VideoOnDemand feature no longer works. I didn't even think about that. I'll try that tomorrow. ATT Uverse sucks more and more. They really need to survey their customers, get a list of equipment you expect to use and then make sure they're prepared to handle it.
The bottom line is the speeds are zippy but I would never wish this process on anyone. Ever. No matter what. I got to work well after 1pm.
(After they left, I re-did their router and changed it to match my old settings and then re-set my wireless points and all is well again albeit at G speeds instead of N speeds. Amazing Firefox conveniently remembered the password they used to access the internal router screens. Fancy that.)
Special kudos to Billy Elliot, the Broadway remake of the legendary West End show. It scored FIFTEEN Tony nominations. It's one of my favourite plays of all time, perhaps my favourite. While I haven't seen the New York version, I'm sure it's almost as brilliant as London. (Though looking at pictures of the cast, the kids don't look very much like Billy....)
Today was installation day. From 8am to 10am window. The first tech showed up at 815 and told me to remove the DSL router. I did. He disconnected my existing aDSL and connected the vDSL and as he was finishing the second crew of two arrived to do the install. They were pleased to see it was Internet only because it shouldn't take long. How wrong they were.
I asked if we could use my existing router (N wireless) with their modem (G wireless) and they said yes. So they did their voodoo magic and got signal to my computer room (yay) and it was strong too: maxing out at just over 14MBPS during trials. We hooked up my router, disabled the wireless on theirs, and.... NOTHING. No connection. Every attempt to make my router and theirs play nice failed.
That left the arduous task of reprogramming every connection in the house to the new network. That's a PS3, Wii, DirecTV DVR, Guest Room computer, work laptop, and my PC. Sounds easy but with a G signal we were having range issues. It all works except the Wii which probably works but we never tested it.
They prepared to leave and I said to wait, let's make sure e-mail works. Fail. We can receive e-mail but not send it. First error: the instructions on the u-verse page for the Mac have a serious typo. They have the SMTP and POP instructions reversed. We caught this after a little while (doh!) ourselves. It just wouldn't work. The tech called into support and was transferred all over hell and back (India, Texas, and so on). They subject their own employees to this crap: not a good sign.
Finally we got a good tech who was able (after over ONE HOUR) figure out what the problem was. But first, I wish to point out that the tech could NOT understand that I was using my server (darsys.net) to receive and theirs to send. This was over his head. Seriously. Anyway, neither here nor there. Finally he figured it out. The instructions on their website (the faulty ones) are for AT&T/BellSouth addresses only. Seriously. If you have another address, you have to use their webpanel, authorize that individual address you want to send from, enter a key into the webpanel in an email they send, and then you can send using totally different instructions. That was a long, long process. This isn't the optimal solution, but at least I'm not isolated.
I then ask how to make NNTP work (Usenet). This issue never resolved. All settings are correct and it even connects to their server. It shows "95 new messages" and then says 'authentication failed' -- so there's a problem. The thing is NNTP is simple. There's not a lot to change unlike email. We even created a new NNTP account and started over. Same result. If anyone has a Mac, Entourage, and can get NNTP to work over U-verse, tell me how. My U-verse friends are welcome to help me out here or anyone wise in the ways of NNTP. Hint, hint, nudge, nudge. I hate to have to pay for a service that I get, but can't access.
Update: I have read-only NNTP access through a server. I am now happily reading rec.humor.funny and uk.transport.london again. I cannot post from this free server, but it does offer free read-only access for NON BINARY groups (ie: no photos and such) -- no attachments of any kind to any posts.
Worse, I have found out my DirecTV VideoOnDemand feature no longer works. I didn't even think about that. I'll try that tomorrow. ATT Uverse sucks more and more. They really need to survey their customers, get a list of equipment you expect to use and then make sure they're prepared to handle it.
The bottom line is the speeds are zippy but I would never wish this process on anyone. Ever. No matter what. I got to work well after 1pm.
(After they left, I re-did their router and changed it to match my old settings and then re-set my wireless points and all is well again albeit at G speeds instead of N speeds. Amazing Firefox conveniently remembered the password they used to access the internal router screens. Fancy that.)
Special kudos to Billy Elliot, the Broadway remake of the legendary West End show. It scored FIFTEEN Tony nominations. It's one of my favourite plays of all time, perhaps my favourite. While I haven't seen the New York version, I'm sure it's almost as brilliant as London. (Though looking at pictures of the cast, the kids don't look very much like Billy....)
Friday, May 1, 2009
It was 20 years ago today.... BeatleMania Now Review
Last night at the HardRock Paradise Live, Karen and I saw BeatleMania Now -- formerly of Broadway fame. Anything Beatles has got to be good, right? RIGHT?
We (Karen and I) showed up, and ate at Renegade after trying to decide if we wanted Tatu or not. The waitress saw us and booted our waiter so she could take care of us. I like her. She's a sassy gal and fun. We each got something different: she the prime-rib sandwich special of the day and me the native plate. Tasty as always though mine was a bit greasy on the rib part. Still it was fun and we shared the sides. I didn't overeat for a change.
We then went to the Casino in which I lost $80 in short order instead of quitting whilst I was ahead $40. But that's not the end of the world. I had to play about a little and at least I got the 'good' machine. I refuse to play their blackjack which has the nefarious "dealer must hit on all 17s" rule -- the bane of any legitimate player. That and the auto-reshufflers at all the low-limit tables.
We got to the show and it was suspiciously deserted. Turns out they told us only 41 tickets were sold. Ended up being about 50, I'd say. Four cocktail-waitresses, three security guards, three ushers, two bartenders, and two ticket sellers. Plus three stagehands (board, lighting, and someone to stand and look useless), plus the four actors, plus whomever was behind the stage. That isn't a money making show. At least not on a Thursday night.
But what's not to love about a Beatles show, right? RIGHT?
So, when we walked in I saw the set list. That was very promising. We had two out of four actors replaced by alternates. Not so promising. But hey, it's the Beatles, how bad can it be, right? RIGHT? We sat down, ordered a bottle of water.
They started with a little film and it came on and off in the background behind the stage. It was a little fuzzy and worn but it might have been the venue. And it had a great backing track, so we were cool with that. Then they played the legendary Ed Sullivan clip. And then the Fab Four came out and began to sing. I looked up sing in the dictionary, and it's still the right word. Technically.
Karen and I were quiety mocking the show to each other and had more fun with that than the actual play. A few of the songs were edited for brevity. They do let you sing along, which I did as did most of the people. Some of the ladies got up and danced. Afterwards, the cast all go outside and meet you and autograph anything you care to buy. We passed and went to Ben and Jerry's instead.
I am 0 for 2 at HRC so far. Damn. Bob Seger had a great show there, but the large venue was a true bust (see previous post).
Tonight is bowling with my Panthers rep and I'm taking JohnnyB. He's cool. I'm glad I met him. Most of my friends are cooler than I am, and he's no exception. I definitely lack cool.
DreamHost ate all three of my sites yesterday: www.darsys.net, www.darsys.com. and www.panthershockey.net because, quite frankly, they've been screwing up a lot lately.
My site uses the HTACCESS file to force all HTML pages to parse as PHP because I use PHP includes to build the sidebars, headers, and footers on all pages as well as provide date and time services. It makes the actual page itself much shorter because all that repeated code is stored externally. I've been doing this for a long time. I knew this part of the problem because the error message generated said it was trying to download the file as streaming PHP instead of parsing it as it should.
I wrote DreamHost, and explained this in my first ticket. They replied that it was indeed my HTACCESS file and they went and changed my live site. Really. Just changed it. Made it even more broken that it was. That is an inexcusable thing to do since the change was made because the person on the case didn't understand the real cause of problem. I wrote back again and then he understood the problem and gave me an answer I totally didn't understand -- I won't blame his wording but that was part of it. (In the meantime the SQL server running my message board broke and I had to create a ticket for that as well. This after they moved me to a new server after I complained that the last one never worked right -- indeed they agreed and did so at no charge.)
I wrote a very, very unhappy letter to DreamHost and sent in a second complaint to them. Someone wrote back and they DID fix it. The bottom line was they changed php4 to php5 and only needed to change a tiny sentence in my sites HTACCESS to be compliant. But it took four support tickets and seven emails to fix this and my site's been down for two days. On the plus side, the guy who fixed it "Craig" was very apologetic. Not that it makes me feel better.
I've written my friend Randy who's the CEO at Photon.net and as soon as I can figure out how to migrate my phpBB message board over, I'm going to leave DreamHost after 6+ years. I highly recommend photon.net and they are Interstate's hosting company and we're thrilled. I never moved my personal sites over because it was too aggravating, but this event proves I need to be aggravated now instead of later.
Shout out to JohnnyB for coming to the bowling event even though he didn't seem to have so much fun :(
We (Karen and I) showed up, and ate at Renegade after trying to decide if we wanted Tatu or not. The waitress saw us and booted our waiter so she could take care of us. I like her. She's a sassy gal and fun. We each got something different: she the prime-rib sandwich special of the day and me the native plate. Tasty as always though mine was a bit greasy on the rib part. Still it was fun and we shared the sides. I didn't overeat for a change.
We then went to the Casino in which I lost $80 in short order instead of quitting whilst I was ahead $40. But that's not the end of the world. I had to play about a little and at least I got the 'good' machine. I refuse to play their blackjack which has the nefarious "dealer must hit on all 17s" rule -- the bane of any legitimate player. That and the auto-reshufflers at all the low-limit tables.
We got to the show and it was suspiciously deserted. Turns out they told us only 41 tickets were sold. Ended up being about 50, I'd say. Four cocktail-waitresses, three security guards, three ushers, two bartenders, and two ticket sellers. Plus three stagehands (board, lighting, and someone to stand and look useless), plus the four actors, plus whomever was behind the stage. That isn't a money making show. At least not on a Thursday night.
But what's not to love about a Beatles show, right? RIGHT?
So, when we walked in I saw the set list. That was very promising. We had two out of four actors replaced by alternates. Not so promising. But hey, it's the Beatles, how bad can it be, right? RIGHT? We sat down, ordered a bottle of water.
They started with a little film and it came on and off in the background behind the stage. It was a little fuzzy and worn but it might have been the venue. And it had a great backing track, so we were cool with that. Then they played the legendary Ed Sullivan clip. And then the Fab Four came out and began to sing. I looked up sing in the dictionary, and it's still the right word. Technically.
- Paul was okay on everything except Yesterday. To blow the most recorded song in the history of the planet, is a major failing. He couldn't hit the notes. On the rockers he was really good though. He was too old but faked the look okay. And he had the facial expressions down great.
- Ringo was a very good singer. And a good drummer. He had the music down. But he's Ringo so he doesn't get much time. It was a little irritating having to look at his grimace. We think he had one hell of a hemorrhoid to cause such a grimace. Or maybe it was a smirk?
- John was a little short and little overweight but as he 'aged' through the show he looked more and more like John. He also sang the only solo Beatle song Imagine and did a serviceable job. It's my favourite song, period so that's a compliment for me. He had a great voice it just wasn't suited for the songs he had to song.
- George was a dead ringer. For Keith Richards. George looked younger than this when he died. The guy could play okay, he could song okay. But he was just really average. Sorry, dude, if you read this.
Karen and I were quiety mocking the show to each other and had more fun with that than the actual play. A few of the songs were edited for brevity. They do let you sing along, which I did as did most of the people. Some of the ladies got up and danced. Afterwards, the cast all go outside and meet you and autograph anything you care to buy. We passed and went to Ben and Jerry's instead.
I am 0 for 2 at HRC so far. Damn. Bob Seger had a great show there, but the large venue was a true bust (see previous post).
Tonight is bowling with my Panthers rep and I'm taking JohnnyB. He's cool. I'm glad I met him. Most of my friends are cooler than I am, and he's no exception. I definitely lack cool.
DreamHost ate all three of my sites yesterday: www.darsys.net, www.darsys.com. and www.panthershockey.net because, quite frankly, they've been screwing up a lot lately.
My site uses the HTACCESS file to force all HTML pages to parse as PHP because I use PHP includes to build the sidebars, headers, and footers on all pages as well as provide date and time services. It makes the actual page itself much shorter because all that repeated code is stored externally. I've been doing this for a long time. I knew this part of the problem because the error message generated said it was trying to download the file as streaming PHP instead of parsing it as it should.
I wrote DreamHost, and explained this in my first ticket. They replied that it was indeed my HTACCESS file and they went and changed my live site. Really. Just changed it. Made it even more broken that it was. That is an inexcusable thing to do since the change was made because the person on the case didn't understand the real cause of problem. I wrote back again and then he understood the problem and gave me an answer I totally didn't understand -- I won't blame his wording but that was part of it. (In the meantime the SQL server running my message board broke and I had to create a ticket for that as well. This after they moved me to a new server after I complained that the last one never worked right -- indeed they agreed and did so at no charge.)
I wrote a very, very unhappy letter to DreamHost and sent in a second complaint to them. Someone wrote back and they DID fix it. The bottom line was they changed php4 to php5 and only needed to change a tiny sentence in my sites HTACCESS to be compliant. But it took four support tickets and seven emails to fix this and my site's been down for two days. On the plus side, the guy who fixed it "Craig" was very apologetic. Not that it makes me feel better.
I've written my friend Randy who's the CEO at Photon.net and as soon as I can figure out how to migrate my phpBB message board over, I'm going to leave DreamHost after 6+ years. I highly recommend photon.net and they are Interstate's hosting company and we're thrilled. I never moved my personal sites over because it was too aggravating, but this event proves I need to be aggravated now instead of later.
Shout out to JohnnyB for coming to the bowling event even though he didn't seem to have so much fun :(
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