Don't Back Down

The Great Charlotte Gas Shortage of 2008

Chad Everett — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 17:06:48 -0500

It's times like this that I wished that I had some better way of displaying headlines. I don't know what, exactly. Maybe a big flashing sign. Or perhaps a rotating banner. Just something, because a story like this just begs for something more than text. I could always go retro and bring in the good old blink element, but that would just be annoying. So I suppose that means I'll just tell the story.

For those of you who don't live in Charlotte, or in the general area, we're low on gas. Really low. It's not because of the weather - at least not the weather that we have here. When Hurricane Ike hit what seems like months ago, apparently they shut off our gas pipelines or something. Because for the last week or so, stations all around town have gradually been shuttering their pumps, and now we're down to almost nothing. Gas-wise, I mean. Lots of lines, and plenty of horns. Even one arrest (maybe more, that's just all I've heard about).

What I find really interesting is just how bad it is. According to some reports, we're receiving normal shipments - but demand is so high, it isn't making a dent in the shortage. Some counts (from AAA, I think) just last week say that only a few gas stations are out, but as I drive about, almost no pumps are in operation. The few that come on have seem to have monstrous lines. What's really funny is watching people get in these huge lines to wait for gas. The paper even talks about people waiting hours in hopes that trucks will show up - even people following tankers around to see where they will stop.

Thus far, we've filled up three times in the last week, and waited a grand total of 20 minutes for all three. That's combined, folks. I'm not saying we're blessed (though we surely are), it must just be a matter of being in the right place at the right time and not stopping at the first massive line you see. I'm also lucky to not have to go into work. I mean if I had to, I could sit at my desk all day and not leave the house (much). One night, I went out because I wanted to see what was happening.

Out of probably fifteen stations, only two were pumping, and that at a massively reduced rate to lengthy lines of cars. It's ridiculous, and I'm left wondering if Charlotte is either the victim of a new form of terrorism or the pilot program to encourage people to try out mass transit, because the world as we know it seems like it's just about to collapse if this goes on much longer. It's really pretty interesting to watch. Almost as good as a hurricane - only no one really gets hurt in the process (there may be a few fights here and there, and the potential for lost jobs, but not the massive property damage and whatnot).

I've heard tell of slight gas problems in the surrounding areas, but nothing like what we're seeing here in Charlotte, with only one out of ten stations or so pumping. What are you seeing where you live?

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To Update (Firmware) or Not to Update

Chad Everett — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 17:48:14 -0500

Over the last few weeks, I've had the distinct (dis)pleasure of working on not one, not two, but three NAS (networked attached storage) devices. One of these is my own Infrant ReadyNAS NV+, one is a similar device from a client and the third is a smaller device, a ReadyNAS Duo, for another client.

While there were certainly a variety of issues to be had, in the end the problems all arose from one factor: The firmware hadn't been updated since installation of the devices. And when I say issues, I really just mean that what we were trying to do was made much easier once the firmware was installed. It's not like the devices stopped working or anything.

While there are some instances that I wouldn't update firmware under any circumstances, the ReadyNAS line is an area that I would not hesitate to do so again.

For starters, they have an active forum, and by active I mean not only with users but employees. The firmware appears to undergo a solid amount of testing before being released - but I could certainly be snowed here. Where some firmware is simply a bump from a prior version due to some obscure bug fix, the ReadyNAS firmware actually introduces new features with some regularity, which is nice (I'd imagine there are obscure bug fixes as well). A part of that could be that the device itself is a bit more robust than most other devices that you might update (say, a router).

Finally, the interface itself makes it dead easy to update. Just go to the update tab and check to see if there is an update. If there is, it will download the new image and apply it, right there in the browser. It doesn't get much simpler. No downloading and uploading and applying of ROMs or anything of the sort.

You can even be notified by email when important updates are available. Of course, this assumes you don't ignore the email and just let it sit in your inbox, as I did. But that's scarcely the fault of the company.

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Pick a Feed and Stick to It

Chad Everett — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 17:37:48 -0500

If you're like most people, your blog has an RSS feed. Chances are, you don't even know what RSS stands for, but you likely have one (if you're wondering, it most often stands for really simple syndication, but that isn't important).

Unfortunately, you may have more than one, which means if you want to know how many subscribers you have to your feed, you have a problem. At best, you have to add up each of the subscriber counts and get a total. At worst, you have potential eyeballs who want to see your latest and greatest, but they're looking at outdated content. Isn't it time you fixed this?

Depending on the platform you use, it's something that you might be able to fix easily, and best of all, you might be able to save some money in the process.

In 2004, a service named FeedBurner was launched that provided publishers a way to offload the processing of their site's feed. Today, none other than Google owns the service, but it is still free to use.

That means you can let FeedBurner pick up your RSS feed and then distribute it to everyone else - but you still have to make sure that everyone gets to the right place. If you have two, three or even more feeds on your site, then the FeedBurner counts like those you have seen in chicklets all over the web (or even in your own control panel) won't be accurate. So make sure you get people to the right place.

As a side benefit, FeedBurner can also deliver your feed - no matter the format - in any format required by any other aggregator. So you no longer have to publish in a variety of competing specifications just to keep various software packages happy. But even if you don't use FeedBurner, that makes little difference, because almost every aggregator out there can read all of the common formats anyway.

The important part is that if you have multiple formats out there, you likely have different readers on each one of them, and if you only look at a subscriber count on one, you are likely under-reporting your count. Perhaps by a large number. You might also want to look at your error logs to see if visitors are hitting common pages in the hopes of hitting a feed.

In either case, simply redirecting the common misses, misspellings and consolidating all your feeds into one, will very likely increase the feed count by a large margin. I worked on one site that saw their subscriber count go from around 1000 to nearly 7000 in just a day, simply by installing some redirects. Not bad.

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Update Your Movable Type Spam Filters (Please)

Chad Everett — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 08:13:49 -0500

Movable Type version 3.2, released in April of 2007, included a plugin known as SpamLookup. This plugin was able to submit comments to a lookup service (hence the name of the plugin) to one of a number of blacklist services, which in turn would determine if the IP address used for the comment submission is suspicious, allowing you to better judge if you had encountered a spam comment.

However, way back in May of 2007, Six Apart released a guide on updating your spam filters for the plugin. Without the change, your comment-posting process will be horribly slow, because the process has to timeout before it will continue. Also, the default for the other service probably isn't the best (though that isn't mentioned). Want to know more? Read on!

While I'm sure there are people who will blame it on Six Apart, it was in fact due to the Blitzed service shutting down. Just removing the entry from your settings will take care of the issue, and this will speed up your comment posting tremendously.

But the default that Six Apart mentions as a replacement - the zen.spamhaus.org service - may not be the best one to use, because it combines all the lists on the www.spamhaus.org service. That in itself sounds like a good idea, but the issue is that it also contains the PBL list. This is a list of dynamic addresses - potentially every dynamic address available. That means that anyone using a dynamic address (which is most home users) won't be able to comment without being marked as spam!

There used to be a list named sbl-xbl.spamhaus.org, they have sinced discontinued this list. While the list seems to still work, they suggest that you don't use it and instead use the zen list. My suggestion is that you use the sbl.spamhaus.org and xbl.spamhaus.org lists separately, so that you don't include those dynamic addresses and exclude potential visitors to your site. Unless that is your goal. In that case, by all means include the zen list. Just be aware of what you are doing.

The other option you have is to use something like Akismet or TypePad AntiSpam, in which case you may want to turn off the lookup function of SpamLookup entirely. You could also use them together.

Just make sure you know what it's doing, and not wasting cycles that may ultimately scare away your visitors!

Note: Newer versions of SpamLookup (for MT4) do have different defaults, you still need to check the servers being used. On a fresh install, you'll only have one - bsb.spamlookup.net. But an upgrade won't get rid of the old ones you had set.

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All the Slow-Turners are in the South

Chad Everett — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 04:00:00 -0500

Maybe I'm just getting old. If I am, I hope that it doesn't involve the need to signal that I'm going to turn a mile down the road - and then come to a complete stop before starting up again to actually make the turn.

I'll admit that it's been a while since I've lived anywhere other than the South (approaching twenty years now), and when I did it was - gasp - California. But the people in North and South Carolina are really bad at turning.

We've already established that there appear to be more bus stops in Charlotte than, well, just about anywhere.

I know that the DMV lines can be bad, but that's not unique to Charlotte (or the South) - that happens everywhere I've ever lived.

There may certainly be a correlation between Charlotte drivers and the issue they have with divided highways and understanding when to stop for a school bus - but frankly, based on my observation, they seem to come to a stop for just about anything other than a yellow light, and it's not just unique to Charlotte. It seems to be the entire South. So I'm not sure what it is.

The Problem

This is actually a two-pronged issue.

Most commonly, you're moving along and all of a sudden the speed drops. If the speed limit is 45, you find yourself traveling at perhaps 20. No school bus in sight, no people, rain, snow, dogs, or any other potential problems can be found. It just seems like there might be an issue. Usually this happens at the most inopportune time - like when a garbage truck pulls alongside, or a lengthy line of cars in a funeral procession starts moving by in the next lane, so you have no chance of passing. But it's a fairly common happening.

At some point in the next 5 miles, you notice that this person starts looking all about - at first they seem lost, but then you realize that they are just looking around because they feel like it and have no concern for the fact that they are causing such inconvenience to the entire world. Eventually, they glide into the turn lane and you can finally be on your way. Unless they are turning into a driveway, or some other turn that approaches 90°. If that's the case, they will come to a complete stop, at which point they will start moving only after reaching a state of zero momentum (and just about causing you to impale yourself on the rear of their car). Then they will pull into the driveway at approximately 5 miles per hour, where you can then be on your way. Assuming someone else doesn't need to turn.

The next possibility is someone who may actually be traveling at a reasonable speed, but because they have recently turned, they have forgotten to turn their signal off. Since you just experienced this nightmare, you expect that they will drop their speed in half at any given moment. Usually this is actually not the case - instead, they will turn in the other direction - if the left signal is on, they turn right, if the left one is on, they turn left. Just enough to annoy you and completely disrupt traffic.

Why these jokers cannot realize that they do not have to coast for a few miles before turning, I do not know.

There is one other type of driver you might run into, and this is the person who doesn't know how to use the turning lane. They will invariably wait until both lanes are clear on both sides of the road and then pull out. Or perhaps they will even pull their car perpendicular to the turning lane, blocking it and at least one of the travel lanes on each side of the turning lane. Nice.

The Solution

Move. Either move their car (unlikely, but the most relevant solution to the problem) or move somewhere that the problem doesn't exist, or that it doesn't bother you. Perhaps somewhere that you expect people to drive in this manner. I suggest Amish Country.

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How is the Lynx Blue Line Doing?

Chad Everett — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 04:00:00 -0500

Something like nine months ago (in November of 2007), the Lynx Blue Line opened to great fanfare - and not a few Bronx Cheers. Those who thought that the entire mass transit system of Charlotte would be paid for - not to mention built - by that time had a few shocks in store, as the budget kept going up and up ,while the delivered goods kept going down and down.

The sleek cars were definitely nice and all, but ultimately there was a certain disappointment. Original plans had called for trains that could handle three cars. Scaled-back plans had many trains running with two cars, and some sporting only a single. Parking lots along the farthest reaches had been trimmed as well, because with citizens screaming for another referendum, it seemed like the only way to make ends meet was to trim the fat. That was done, and now things have been up and running for the better part of a year. To make things even more interesting, gas has gone up with no apparent end in sight. What does it all mean?

The Good

First, there have been no major outages. Though there were some problems with the automated ticket vending machines in the early days, those are pretty well gone at this point. I'm sure that there have been some, but none that have really been newsworthy since the trains started rolling near the end of last year. That is very likely a good thing - it could also mean that no one is buying tickets, so they don't actually know that they are broken.

Second, the crowds are actually a lot higher than expected. Original projections were for just over 9000 weekday trips. We've seen more than 13000. That's a nice start by most any stretch of the imagination. Unfortunately, it leads directly to some of the problems that are bound to crop up.

The Bad

Most important of all is the under-building of the project. It's not a secret that I was never really for the line, because I didn't think it would help much. I'm actually surprised that we've seen so many weekday trips, but that's a good thing. What is unfortunate is that the trains were trimmed from three cars to two.

If you need an example of this, take a look at the long-abandoned City Hall Station in the New York Subway system. Intended to be the crown jewel in the system, this showpiece never really made it, because the trains quickly outgrew the shortened platform, and as a result, the station was closed and abandoned. Whoops. It looks like the same thing is going to happen in Charlotte.

The platforms along the Blue Line, all built to handle two-car trains, are very rapidly going to need to handle three-car trains. While some, such as the South terminus, may be able to be expanded fairly easily, I'm not sure how that's practical on the bridge stations, at least without great cost. This is one of those situations where a little forethought, along with a look at history, would have saved a good deal of money.

Hand-in-hand with this is the parking issue. Even now, with the one- and two-car train plan, the Southernmost lots fill up early, meaning the lots are already too small. So again, a lack of planning (or adequate foresight) means that more money needs to be spent, at inflated prices, to make things work. Surely someone could have recognized that the I-485 lot would be the most popular? That's just common sense.

To Be Determined

No one yet knows where the next lines will run. There are those who think that a line to the West (to the airport) makes sense. While this makes some sense, I'm not sure if there is development in this direction. It certainly would seem like it would be nice for those coming to Charlotte through the airport, but let's face it - Charlotte-Douglas isn't really a destination airport. Most travelers there are passing through, not coming in. Perhaps a busway along Wilkinson would be better for now (and a whole lot cheaper). The people in the North think that Commuter Rail would work, but they don't want to pay for it (who does?). Frankly, I've ridden commuter rail, and I don't think it would work in Charotte. There isn't the density to support it at this point, and a ton of money is going to be spent on not very many people. The reason that the Blue Line is as successful as it is can be attributed to development. Commuter doesn't give you that.

That leaves us the Northeast (UNCC and University City) and the Southeast (Independence and Matthews), both of which have a lot more development and certainly the traffic. Personally I'm a fan of seeing something to the Southeast, simply because that's where I am, but let's look at it objectively. There is a lot of land to the Northeast that is ripe for redevelopment - not unlike the South. The area around University City is being redeveloped now, with Ikea set to open soon. Sending more development this way would just cause this area to explode, and the Tryon Street corridor could really use it. Independence could certainly use something, but pumping money into the freeway project would probably help more than rail. I'd rather see the streetcar project down Central, which would allow better development around the Eastland Mall area.

Putting the dollars into the North and West just makes less sense.

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Displaying Related Entries on your Movable Type Site

Chad Everett — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 04:00:00 -0500

From time to time, I am asked how to display related entries on a Movable Type-powered site (and I frequently have to look it up myself), so I figured that I'd document it here.

While there are plugins that do the work, they typically depend on another value (usually categories, keywords or tags - sometimes a combination of those), and the problem with those is that they depend on humans to first enter that value. If you forget to do so, then it means the related entries won't work until you go back and enter it. If you enter the wrong value, you get the wrong results. There has to be a better way. Luckily, there is.

Some time ago (actually, it was nearly six years ago), Adam Kalsey wrote about his Related Entries plugin. It used keywords and categories for providing results. The maintenance on the plugin has since been taken over by Tim Appnel, but not too long after penning this entry, Adam put together another, even better way of providing results. It outlined a solution that let something else do the work: MySQL.

In Related Entries Revisited (relatively new - just a hair under five years old!), we find a much better way of doing related entries. Since all of our data is stored in a MySQL database, we'll just let MySQL perform the really heavy lifting, and do the indexing of the data. While there is still a need for a plugin, it's only to get the data out in a format that we can use it. The actual indexing part is handled for us.

Setting up the Fulltext Index

This is the tricky part. Actually, it's the first part of the tricky part. Whatever you plan to index must be in the index. Not so confusing, is it? In the original entry, this index was keywords, title and excerpt. There's only one problem for me - I don't use keywords or excerpt. So that means the index is built on the entry title, which is a bit lame. Instead, I built mine on the entry title (likely the most useful part, after all), the entry text and the extended entry. In other words, the entry_title, entry_text and entry_text_more fields. You can always delete it and start over, but if you get it right the first time, you don't need to do so. Just remember that whatever you put in this index will be used later - so make sure you know what's in there! You'll then run a command to create the index:

ALTER TABLE mt_entry ADD FULLTEXT ( entry_title, entry_text, entry_text_more );

Keeping in mind that you'll want to use the name of the fields you use inside the last part of the command. Make sense?

Get the Lastest Version of the SQL Plugin

While the original version of the SQL plugin may work, if you'r eusing an old version of Movable Type, chances are you'll want the new version of SQL instead, because it's compatible with MT4. It also has an interface (accessible through the configuration panel) where you can access additional databases, meaning you could potentially use this process to access information in other applications!

Add the Template Tags

The last step is to insert the template tags. This is somewhat similar to setting up standard entries - you just need to set up a container for MTSQLEntries to get the data from the database instead, and give it a query to run. That's the hard part.

The query needs to be run with the fields you specified earlier, in the same order you provided them. It should look something like this:

That looks intimidating, but it really isn't bad. Just take it slow.

First off, you may be able to copy it just like it is (if you use the same fields I do). If you don't, you'll need to change the field names - entry title, entry text and entry more. However, you'll need to be careful here, because you're talking about Movable Type template tags and database field names. For instance, MTEntryMore and entry_text_more represent the same field. Just make sure you get the correct values. You can almost always ignore the encode_php values - I use them because I use PHP code in my pages. But if you don't, it won't hurt you. Finally, look at the LIMIT near the end. I like to see 6 entries. This is important.

When this command runs, it will pull out a number of entries from your database. MySQL is going to rank every entry in the database, from most relevant to least. So you'll want to put something here. I like six entries. You might want one, ten or fifty. But keep in mind you can use a thousand. It will just look a little strange, because the further you get down the list, the less relevant your entries will get to the content on display. You might want to start with a larger number, and adjust it down to see how relevant things are to your content. Everyone is different, and it might be that you can display fifty entries per page without losing relevance. Play with it to see what happens.

Once you decide what to get on the page, insert your entry code just like normal - permalinks, titles, what-have-you. This might be a list, this could be full-blown entries. But when you are done, do not forget to close the MTSQLEntries look with one more tag: </MTSQLEntries> (with the slash). That closes the block, and then you are done. That is all you need, and you can now see related entries on the page.

This will not work on dynamic pages, because the SQL plugin isn't dynamic. You can probably do some MySQL magic with PHP to make it work, but this won't do that. If you need any help, let me know how I can help.

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Windjammer Dumped Us in Costa Rica

Chad Everett — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 04:00:00 -0500

For just about as long as I can remember, I wanted to take a Windjammer cruise, which was odd because I really don't care for cruises in general. I think the thing that I dislike about cruises - that they are on these big, impersonal boats - was what I liked about the Windjammer.

You are on smaller, more interesting boats, you get to have a more personal experience with whatever country (or countries) you are in, it just makes for more of an adventure. And now that I put it that way, I guess really can't argue with it. So if you're after adventure, you may want to go Windjammer. But if you're interested in a cruise with Windjammer, you might want to stay away.

You see, it was with this in mind that Denise and I booked a (somewhat) last minute cruise in Costa Rica last year. Almost exactly a year ago, in fact. We were pretty excited about it. We scored a decent rate for the cruise, we managed to get a good rate on airfare, and we were going to a country where we hadn't been before. All things considered, it was looking to be a nice vacation.

Unfortunately, it didn't quite start off that way. We boarded the bus to head to the boat, and that wasn't bad, because it was a nice touring bus, not the rickety kind you might expect. The bad news was that as we arrived to the other side of the country, we found that the staff hadn't been paid in some time. As in months. Luckily for us, it was night and it was raining, so they let us stay. Otherwise we would have been somewhat stranded. So we all had dinner and a few drinks, and spent the night.

The next morning, Denise and I were up early - really early - and we noticed a number of the higher-ranking (not sure if that's the correct term, but these are the port-based people, not the ones who actually serve on the boat) were leaving. We talked with them and decided it would be best if we took off too. So we secured a seat in their van and went back to Alajuela, to the Trapp Family Country Inn, where we had spent our first night in Costa Rica. They were actually a bit surprised to see us, since we were supposed to be on a cruise for a week, but they were very helpful nonetheless and helped get us situated again. Though they are just about 1km from the airport, and right in the middle of the city, they are really a nice oasis. Check them out.

Ultimately we decided that we'd rent a car and tour the country. We traveled to the Arenal area, then to Monte Verde and Manuel Antonio, and eventually back to Alajuela, where we stayed at the Pura Vida Hotel, managing to make a trip to the Plaza Ferias for a shopping trip and a wonderful dinner cooked by Chef Nhi that night. Ultimately it was a great trip - but it was because we were flexible and made it great, not because of Windjammer.

Both of the places we stayed in Alajuela were nice - the Trapp Country Inn had better facilities, while the Pura Vida Hotel had better food. The scenery of our trip was definitely a good one. While we were out, we were able to keep abreast of what was happening on board the boat. Apparently the company kept making promises that they would be there with cash, and eventually they made it later in the week, and the few who were there had to stay on board, and would from time to time take a cab to a nearby beach. Our trip was better (no offense to them).

When we returned home, we promptly challenged the charge on our credit card, which we could do since we had only just purchased it, and had no problems whatsoever with it. I feel really bad for people who had paid for their trip a year or more in advance, because they were stuck with it. After a while, we received vouchers in the mail for a free trip to replace the one we missed out on, as well as another one in return for the discomfort we experienced. But I think that it's safe to say we won't be going Windjammer anytime soon. Can you blame us?

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Charlotte, City of the Bus Stop

Chad Everett — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 04:00:00 -0500

There are people who will try to tell you that Charlotte is the Queen City. Don't believe them. Charlotte is Bus Stop City.

I've never been a huge rider of the bus. Even when I was in school I didn't ride the bus that much. I won't say that there weren't school buses back then, I just don't recall them being all over like they are now. But whenever I did ride the bus, I remember having to walk a good bit to get on the bus. Not the case in Charlotte. For whatever reason, Charlotte has to have the closest bus stops I have ever seen. There are some places in Charlotte (Idlewild Road North and Milton Road being two of them, but I'm sure that there are others) where the bus stops are perhaps a hundred feet apart.

I'm not making this up. And while I haven't measured it, so the stops could be a bit farther apart, they could also be closer. Whatever the case, this is far too close. By the time the bus gets moving, it has to stop again.

There is just no way that these stops should be so close together. I'm not saying that they need to be miles apart or anything, but let's get real. There's no harm in making them a half mile apart. Or a mile. Heck, I don't know how far the standard is for this sort of thing. Maybe there is no standard. Maybe there shouldn't be a standard. I'm just thinking that whatever the case, this is just a little bit too close together.

It isn't that I'm trying to make life more diffcult for people on the bus or anything like that. It's just that for all the whining about how much the public transportation costs in public money, even if they hike the fare every year, and how much gas there is, this seems like an awfully simple way to help out. If like any vehicle, starts and stops are a big part of the cost of running, then surely making fewer, more efficient stops would make a whole lot of sense, wouldn't it? How hard could it be? If nothing else, it would make traffic move along more smoothly, without as many stops behind all those buses.

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A Disney Rewards Card (With Free Bambi DVD)!

Chad Everett — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 04:00:00 -0500

I don't get a lot of junk mail. I have the warning message on my credit report, I've used as many pre-screenings as possible, and I'll opt out as often as I can. I've even tried to get out of the Valassis list (they are the ones who put the newspaper-like ads in your mailbox). I'm stll working on that one. Though they say that it will take 6-8 weeks to get off their list, and it will last for five years, I've yet to get out.

Anyway, because of all this, I get very little junk mail, and even fewer of those pre-approved credit offers. So I was a little surprised when I received a Disney Rewards card (Visa, I think). It might have been from when we went to Disney a few years ago - as long as you've done business with them, they can send you something, and they might consider staying in their hotel "doing business". But what really gets me is that if you sign up for it, you get a free Bambi DVD!

That's just a little over the line.

Those of you who have been reading for a while will remember that we paid off our house a while back. We also paid off our cars (before the house, actually). We don't keep a balance on our credit cards (though we do have them, because we believe it's better to let someone else pay the money up-front). So we don't really have much use for credit.

And we get the idea of credit card offers - it's not that we don't understand it. It's just a little underhanded to put Disney on the card, and send you a free Bambi DVD along with it. That's almost as bad as all the toys they show during Saturday morning cartoons. But it's just so much lower.

How many kids do you think are going to notice that one in the mail and say "mommy, daddy, I want Bambi!" and then the parents are going to get roped into another card so that they can get their kid another DVD that they don't need, all because of that?

It's just wrong.

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What's Up With the Department of Motor Vehicles?

Chad Everett — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 04:00:00 -0500

The laughingstock of nearly every state, the DMV is the place where just about everything goes to die. Your morning is wasted. Don't even think about a lunch hour. Try and go in the afternoon and you'll be lucky to get home before the evening news.

Reports in North Carolina have recently said that our DMV lines could be expected to double in the Charlotte area - from 45 minutes to as long as 90 - because of increased federal requirements. This makes no sense. While most things are faster in the computer age, this relic of antiquity languishes.

It is true that you can at least renew your vehicle tags online, and that's a good thing. But if you need to get a new tag or tag a test, beware of the great black hole.

The increased delays are actually for driver's licenses, not for vehicles, but it's not like the lines are any better. What I don't get is just why these things are so bad.

I don't think I've taken a test - driving or written - since I originally received my license - some twenty years and two states ago. Assuming that most people are in the same boat (judging by the age of people in the line), it shouldn't take too long to go up, get a picture and a new license and move out. Yet it takes forever.

Try and register your vehicle, or make a change to your registration, and it's just as bad. Why? I have no idea. Mostly it's people shuffling along, either from seat to seat or a few inches at a time.

When we live in a world where anyone can get a picture on their page via webcam (or digital camera), you'd think that there would be a way - any way - to speed up the process and make it more efficient.

At least in Charlotte, the vehicle registrations are handled by a franchisee. Maybe the answer is to get more of them in the business. It shouldn't be like McDonald's where you have a protected franchise area - put one on every corner like the drug stores you see all over the place, and make it convenient so that we don't have to stand in such insane lines.

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Windows was Unable to Save All the Data for the File

Chad Everett — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 04:00:00 -0500

Anyone who has been reading for any length of time knows that I'm a bit of a stickler when it comes to keeping track of data, so a message like The Data has Been Lost is a killer. Some people might even call this behavior anal, but it is what it is. So when the message comes up - repeatedly - telling me that the Delayed Write Failed and that the data has been lost, it ate at me. Really. I didn't know what to do. I think most people might take issue with it, but hey. What can I do?

Now it's not as if I'm talking government secrets here. I'm just doing a typical backup of data across a pretty simple home network (and a wired one at that). If it was on the wireless portion of the network, I could perhaps consider that maybe the neighbor's signal got in the way. But why it decided to start happening - and happening all the time - was driving me absolutely nuts.

To make matters worse, this was the backup that I run to make sure that all my goodies are, well, backed up. Now my original copy was fine. But this meant that I didn't have a backup of the data, so if something were to happen to my primary PC, I'd be a bit out of luck, and as paranoid as I am, that just wouldn't do. So I started scouring everything to try and figure out the problem.

Unfortunately, absolutely nothing seemed to help. As is typically the case, there were all sorts of seemingly helpful people out there, but none of them appeared to have the same problem, and perhaps most importantly, none of them made the problem go away, which is what I was really after.

Of course I rebooted, applied updates, checked caching, installed drivers, looked for device errors, you name it. There was nothing. Until one day I came upon an obscure reference to taking the network adapter out of auto-negotiate mode.

In other words, rather than letting the adapter determine the speed of the network, tell it what speed to use. As you can imagine, at this point I was out of ideas, and while I didn't figure it had any bearing on the problem, it's an easy enough fix. I simply went into the properties (this process may vary a bit, depending on your adapter), changed auto-negotiate to 100Mbps and full duplex, and guess what? The problem completely disappeared. I haven't seen it since.

So apparently something in the auto-negotiation code had a problem, and by setting it manually, it fixed itself. Absolutely unbelievable. I have no idea if this will help anyone else, but if it does, have at it. I have unfortunately misplaced the link to the person who helped me, but wherever you are, thank you. Thank you thank you thank you.

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My Quest for the Perfect Mouse

Chad Everett — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 04:00:00 -0500

For some time now, I've been trying to find the perfect mouse. Please realize that I know it's not going to be completely perfect for everyone. It's more like the one that's just right for me. If you're busy and just want to get to the result, I'll tell you now: I'm still looking.

If you have any ideas, I'm all ears. I just can't seem to find the one that does what I want. I've gone through a wide variety of them over the years, and I just can't seem to find the one that's right for me. So I continue my quest. Maybe one day I'll find what I'm after. In the meantime, let me tell you what I have found.

First Came the Wheel

In the beginning, I used an old corded Microsoft mouse. I can't tell you the model number, because I don't think that it had one. I'm sure that it had some model number, but it was probably only known to a few uber-geeks who are even more introverted than myself (and that's saying something). This really wasn't a bad mouse. It did the job, because it was about all we knew. It had a somewhat gummy gray scroll wheel on it that didn't turn very well.

And yes, I realize that means that it means it wasn't really "in the beginning". What it means is that it's when I really started to notice how things could be better. The problem is that little gray wheel worked okay sometimes and not okay others. Some days it would turn and others it would lock up like it had never turned a day in its life. Or maybe someone was screwing with me.

At least it was a wheel. I worked with people who didn't even know how to use the wheel, but I rapidly determined that life was better with the wheel than without it.

Losing the Tail

Actually, prior to the wheel, I had used a trackball, and I still long for it sometimes, because I really hate having to move the mouse. It's just so un-natural. But because there aren't that many trackballs out there, I've learned to compromise by moving to a wireless mouse. At least that way I don't have to deal with that stupid cord. When I get to the end of the mouse pad, I can simply reposition, and not have to worry about getting all tangled up.

I realize that there are people who don't like the cordless variety, and that's okay. I really don't mind, because I'm not a heavy mouse user. If I used it for gaming, I might complain. But I don't. I've tried those that have a little anchor that gives you slack in the cord, but they don't work. So now I just go wireless.

As a slight aside, I can't deal with a wireless keyboard, because I invariably get caught typing ahead of myself and the keyboard can't keep up. I imagine that this is much the same as what people feel about their wireless mouse experience. I just don't have it, so it doesn't bother me.

Those Alluring Buttons

I'll admit it. I love buttons. When I see a package that tells me about seven, eight or even ten buttons, I'm all but hooked. But these days, I've determined that I really just need four - left, right, back and forward.

Logitech... or Microsoft

I tried the Logitech MX Revolution. I really liked that I could set the side scroll wheel to change the volume (or click to mute). I liked the search button. But the thing I liked best was the free-scrolling wheel. That is sweet. I'm undecided about whether I like the charging stand. On one hand, it's nice because it doesn't use up other batteries. On the other hand, if I forget to charge it, I can't use my mouse.

Unfortunately, the rubberized grip started giving way after a short while of using it. It's not bad, and the mouse is still usable. So I decided to go back to my trusty Microsoft Wireless Optical Mouse 5000. It's nice because it's a lot cheaper than the Logitech, and I can pop in a couple of batteries if I need to do so. But I don't have the fancy buttons (I think I've decided that I really don't care about that). What I miss is that wonderful Logitech scroll wheel, and I also miss the laser tracking system. The optical isn't bad, but it's just not quite as good. I could live with it if I had that scroll wheel back.

Now What?

I'll admit it - I'd leave Logitech at the altar if Microsoft could drop the Logitech scroll wheel into the next iteration of their product. But thus far, they haven't. I guess I'll just keep looking. Unless you have any suggestions.

Update: Ultimately, I gave into the pure awesomeness of the Logitech scroll wheel. It's just too sweet. Though I had to do something about the peeling rubber grip, so I took a fine grain sandpaper and got rid of it. I don't know if it looks any better, but at least it's not peeling off any longer.

Unfortunately, I ran into another problem - the Logitech SetPoint software. Version 4.7 has an issue with an error message. So if you see one that says: VC8 library was not installed correctly, please restart the machine and reinstall, then you found what I did - Logitech sucks sometimes. While there are multiple solutions (that I tried), I eventually just reinstalled 4.6, which downloaded 4.7 itself. Problem solved.

The nice thing is that the scroll wheel is now even better, because they added an auto-detect option, so you don't have to click-to-scroll. If you're scrolling through long documents, it will automatically flip into the free-scroll mode. Love it.

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North Carolina Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) Boards

Chad Everett — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 04:00:00 -0500

Back in 1937, the North Carolina General Assembly created a system of control for "spirituous liquor" in the state. This act allowed voters in each county to determine whether or not liquor would be sold at retail, and if it would be sold, their vote would create an ABC board in that county, which in turn would be able to run one - yes, one - retail ABC store. Some seventy years later, there are 156 separate ABC systems in North Carolina and 392 retail stores.

Obviously something has changed, since there should be a one-to-one correlation with those numbers, and that is obviously not the case. I can personally say that there are nineteen in Charlotte, according to the search tool on the site. I haven't been to each of them. According to a recent article in the Charlotte Observer, while two-thirds of the boards run only one store, as was originally intended, there are actually nine boards in Brunswick Country operating ten stores. So I don't know how it works, I just know that it's a really odd setup.

I'm sure that the original intention was for the local population (that is, the county) to have control over their own store, and thus the establishment of the local board. But this is just crazy.

Each of these boards creates needless redundancy in operations that have to cross over each other. Perhaps seventy years ago there weren't many places where they could see this overlap - chances are that they may not have even known each other existed. But today it makes an enormous amount of sense to combine those operations. Just combining the ordering process alone would have the potential to save the state a great deal of money. Whether they choose to pass it along to consumers or not is entirely up to them.

Combine that with the ability to save on uniform decision-making processes such as design and hours, as well as administration tasks, making such a move now makes for the best decision by a long shot. If there are differences between counties where some things might not be available for sale, that could easily be handled by simple computer software - quite possible even off-the-shelf or Open Source software, meaning that each board and store wouldn't be on their own in this regard either.

The main argument against making such a move is that a number of people may be put out of a job, and that's certainly understandable. With 156 boards condensed into 1, there will certainly be some job losses. But where a smaller board can be run by a couple of people, a larger board can't. So it's not a direct comparison. If 600 jobs are eliminated from boards that no longer exist, a decent number of those will be created in a statewide board that didn't exist previously. What's more, the state will need to have some form of distribution, and perhaps a regional warehouse facility as well. So while there is some loss, it's not going to be complete. Using a more efficient method of operation may even produce jobs in the long run, rather than allowing a stagnant and outdated system to continue operating - and more importantly, wasting resources.

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Do We Really Need All This Enhancement?

Chad Everett — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 04:00:00 -0500

Throughout the course of my life, I find that I read different parts of the paper. When I first started, I think I probably only read the comics (they were probably called the "funny papers" back then). One day I started reading the sports section, because there was something or other that I found interesting. Then I found myself wandering into the business pages, even though I have no business aptitude. I find it interesting.

These days, I typically browse through most of the paper, typically still on my way to the business section or the sports, with a stop at the comics now and again. But what really gets me is why there is just about always an ad in the sports section for an enhancement of some kind or another. If it's not for the best sex that I've ever had, it's for the guy who ate plankton and cured his cancer. Now it's not that I'm not happy for the guy or anything, but come on!

I actually stopped and read that one the other day, and down there in the middle of the article, it says that they (I'm not sure who they are, but it sounds important) tell him that their marine phytoplankton is 100% natural and just "loaded with all kinds of good, nutritional stuff from the ocean and is of the highest quality plankton available today". Huh. I guess it was worth reading, because I was getting ready to head out to the store and buy some of the cheapo plankton instead of this high-grade stuff.

Lest you miss one of these enhancement options, you might find an ad for someplace you'd like to use one of the things, such as the Uptown Cabaret or the Alpine Health Club in Salisbury. Now don't get me wrong - I'm not a prude, but can't we just have some good, old fashioned sports in the sports pages?

If they have to sell these ads, put them somewhere else so I don't have to deal with them, and fill up the vacant pages with some real sports, like Demolition Derbies, Lawn Mower Racing and Strongman Competitions, not this trash.

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Charlotte Drivers, Divided Highways and School Buses

Chad Everett — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 04:00:00 -0500

After careful consideration, I have determined that the drivers in and around the Charlotte area have no idea how to use divided highways. They might not even know how to drive. But the divided highway baffles them like absolutely nothing else that I have seen.

In most parts of the United States, it is common for it to be unlawful to pass a stopped school bus (at least one with red lights flashing). The exception to this rule is on the divided highway, where that special division allows for special privilege. It's like the school bus is on an entirely different road, meaning you can pass at will, and safely ignore the fact that they are stopped, red lights or no. The first problem is that drivers in Charlotte seem to have no idea what constitutes a divided highway, so they just don't know when they should stop. That is a problem.

Defining the Divided Highway

Most people will agree that the divided highway is a physical barrier that separates the two directions of traffic, and even in Charlotte this isn't typicaly a problem. What is a problem is that Charlotte doesn't have too many of your typical divided highways.

Sure, you have Independence Boulevard and the Brookshire, but other than that, there just aren't a lot. Most of the rest are just large roads with concrete barriers down the middle. Is this a divided highway? By the strictest definition, YES. It's a physical barrier that separates the traffic flow. That means it's a divided highway. It doesn't matter that it's concrete and not grass, so it means that you can keep going! What is a bit tricker is when those concrete barriers go away - for instance if there is a turning lane going into a neighborhood, and that's where the school bus has decided to stop. That's actually quite difficult.

Because the definition states that there must be a physical barrier separating the traffic, my personal interpretation is that that section would not be a divided highway. But I'm not a lawyer, so if you see it otherwise, let me know what you think about the subject. And if the bus is on the other side of a concrete median? By all means floor it - just remember that there could be kids flying out of the bus doors and headed for your lane somewhere (though hopefully some idiot didn't plan a stop where that might happen).

What If There is No Barrier

If there is no barrier, you're out of luck.

I'm sure you've seen it if you've lived in Charlotte for any length of time. There are people who try and make it past school buses with yellow flashing lights just like they try and make it past yellow lights at intersections. And many of them don't, just like they don't make it through the red light.

There are even people who don't pretend it's yellow, and go past a school bus with red lights flashing and the stop sign out, even without a barrier. Charlotte, even though it's in the South, can be one of the rudest cities you've ever seen for driving. I think it's because of all the poorly planned parking lots. Spend a little time in them and you'll see what I mean. Spend a bit of time behind some public transit buses that stop every hundred feet and you might start to understand why. Charlotte isn't a well-planned city on any level as far as buses go. These buses shouldn't be stopping on major roads, but they do, and lots of people go past at or above the speed limit. But that doesn't make it right, because there is no barrier for miles.

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Goodbye WS_FTP, Hello WinSCP!

Chad Everett — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 04:00:00 -0500

It's been a long time coming, but I've finally decided to give up on WS_FTP. It started when I kept running into the Failed to Load OpenPGP Keys from Keyrings message last year. It isn't a bad message, it's just one of those things that really irritates me. It came up every time I started the software and I couldn't get rid of it. Then it went away and I forgot about it, but I would remember it every time I went to start up again. I would dread starting the application. It's a shame, really, because I had been using the software for a really long time.

Even though I found a solution to the problem, it had become time to move on. I had just grown up from the simplistic software that had carried me for so long, and it was time to find a new utility for my FTP needs. More importantly than the message that had dogged me for months and months was the fact that FTP was born of a time when I didn't really care - or really think - about security, and now I tend to think about it all the time. So I wanted to approach it from that angle instead.

Strangely, though there are lots of FTP programs that try to make things easier and prettier for your average user, security isn't high on the list. You have plenty of companies who are trying to wrap up a nice package, but they don't consider what's behind it all. You get explorer interfaces and drag and drop and who knows what all is in there, but if the transfer isn't secure and your credentials are exposed, who really cares about it all? Unfortunately it meant that stayed with WS_FTP for far longer than I needed.

Eventually, however, I found WinSCP. This lovely little piece of - free - software clocks in at just under 2.5MB, while the last release of WS_FTP I have, from 2007, was well over 10MB! Now I get that 10MB isn't that big these days, but we're talking about file transfer program, people! It's a simple function. I don't need a massive program here, I just need to transfer some files and I don't need all the bells and whistles. Just get the job done!

One of the reasons for the lower size is undoubtedly because WinSCP depends on the uber-reliable PuTTY (and Pageant) for SSH and authentication purposes - something that I already have. In fact, since I already have a key set up on my account, I just had to point WinSCP at it, and I'm logged in - no passwords sent at all. Take that, WS_FTP!

Is WinSCP as full-featured as WS_FTP? Probably not. But you know, it has the option of using a single- or dual-window configuration, I can keep multiple sessions active at any one time, and I can drag-and-drop to my heart's content. Since I can make the majority of my connections via a secure connection (where allowed), something I was having all sorts of trouble with previously), that's really all I need. For those few connections where I need a regular FTP connection, WinSCP will do it. Consider me a satisfied customer.

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Charlotte-Mecklenburg Animal Control Insanity

Chad Everett — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 04:00:00 -0500

Because of events that recently transpired, we were able to come face-to-face with some of the staff of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Animal Control team, and came away less than impressed (to say the least). You're probably not surprised, as I've been talking about them for years - I think that the first post on the subject was way back in 2004.

To start things off, if we're talking about the strict letter of the law, Tigger never bit our son. Scratched yes, bit no. That means that he should never have been quarantined or even reported to Animal Control. But because we consider ourselves responsible parents and citizens, we explained what happened, and also to be absolutely sure that there was no cause for alarm (and because it was here at our house), allowed Tigger to be quarantined. What we really didn't like was the way in which it happened. There are so many blunders that it's just sad.

To begin, Animal Control showed up at our door sometime after midnight on that first night, as if we were reporting that we had been attacked. When we informed them just what we going on, they acted like they were going to leave, and come back later that day. Come on, people - get us out of bed after what by any measure is a stressful day, and you might as well follow through! After checking and making sure that all the records were in order, and that Tigger was indeed entitled to stay at home because he was up-to-date on his shots, the officer thanked us for our time, apologized for coming in the middle of the night, and left. Like we could get any sleep at that point.

Two days later, another officer showed up on a Saturday afternoon, glanced in the sunroom window, asked if it was the correct animal, and proceeded to walk away. Nothing in the way of identification, no paperwork, nothing. It was the proverbial pulling of teeth to get him to stay long enough to answer a few basc questions - obvoiusly he had other things to do and didn't want to be there, but you think he could show a bit of assistance. After a few minutes of this, he left, and we found out that we had ten days of quarantine, after which Tigger would be cleared to return to life as normal (provided he didn't show any sign of rabies).

The next day, the only helpful officer of the whole process showed up. Her name was Jacky. If you ever encounter Jacky, tell her that we said hello. She's a sweetheart, and she deserves better than to work with these morons. She came by because apparently the idiot from the day before did have to fill something out, and he didn't. So she came by and spent at least half an hour talking to us about the whole process, and helping us to figure out just what we were going to do. Though I think we knew it, it was during that time that we really decided that we'd put Tigger to sleep at the end of the quarantine even if he was healthy. His mental health had been in decline and the fact that it had resulted in this situation was just too much.

At the halfway point, we had another visit from another officer, who looked in to see if Tigger was doing fine, and other than being cooped up in his crate for five days, he was just great. That's when I took him out to play ball with him, and found that he was pretty well gone - there was none of the old Tigger left, because when he used to play ball, he would just play and play and play. On this day, he took off down the street, even though the ball was right there. That's probably what really cemented it, and I hated to see it.

By day ten, someone else showed up, popped their head in the window, said that Tigger was fine, and we were done. All in all it was an uneventful week and a half. But it was pretty stupid that it had to happen at all. We knew that Tigger didn't have rabies, and that he didn't go after our son. He just got spooked. The fact that they wasted who knows how much money on this whole process is unbelievable. Then they try and talk to us about licenses every time they are here, because Tigger didn't have one. Sorry people, deal with it. We pay for all the vet visits and shots and other things - that's bad enough.

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Reading an Exchange Mailbox from GMail

Chad Everett — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 04:00:00 -0500

So the other day, I'm trying to figure out how to read an Exchange mailbox from GMail and it's really starting to get to me because I just can't get the stupid thing to work. It shouldn't be that hard, because it's possible to use an IMAP or POP3 connection to Exchange, after all, but I just can't get the GMail connection to work. To make matters worse, if you search for it (my usual method of solving such a problem), you end up with results, but not of the correct variety. You get pages that tell you how to forward from GMail to Exchange, and pages that tell you how to use GMail as a business platform - but not what I really want, which is simply to have GMail do the checking with Exchange being a regular POP3 account. So I had to keep digging.

I'll tell you first that it is possible. Secondly, you do need to have POP3 configured (you should probably have guessed that one). Finally, it's really not hard - you just have to be willing to play around and guess a few times in order to figure out the answer. After that, it works like a champ.

Just like any other POP3 account, log into your GMail account, click on Settings and then Accounts. Scroll down to where it says Get mail from other accounts. Add your email address and clck Next Step. This is where it gets tricky.

The POP Server is just what you'd expect it to be - and you can even use SSL here, which is pretty cool. Just like other POP3 accounts, you can leave the mail on the server if you want, which comes in handy if you're traveling and don't want to remove the mail from your server for some reason (or even if you're at home and just want to use GMail for whatever reason). As with other accounts, you can add a label to the account. But there's just one little trick you need to know in order to make it work. Up at the top, where it asks you for your username, make sure you specify the correct format.

All you Windows types, who are used to including this in domain\user format, make sure you're paying attention and enter it as domain/user instead. That's it. Use a forward slash instead of a backslash. And don't even try and use the email address, because while it will work in some places (like Outlook Web Access), it doesn't work in POP3 - at least not via GMail. I'm not even sure that a fully qualified domain name works here. Use the NETBIOS name instead, becuse it seems to work every time. And don't forget to use a forward slash!

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When Does Exaggeration Become Outright Lying?

Chad Everett — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 04:00:00 -0500

The other day as I was listening to the radio - I don't recall which station, though I could probably guess if I really had to put my mind to it - I heard an advertisement about an upcoming show. During this ad, they mentioned something about the "biggest bands" and how they were coming to town and naturally, that piqued my interest.

When you think of the biggest bands, what do you think? I'm figuring it has to be one of the bands that is on a perpetual farewell tour. Someone like The Eagles or Kiss or someone. Maybe even someone who hasn't been around for a while, like AC/DC or Def Leppard. Now I know that the they aren't everyone's cup of tea, and that's okay - they sold a lot of records.

There are, quite simply, a number of choices you can make to decide who might be in such a lineup. But when it got to the point where they delivered the bands, I was left trying to figure out just what it was I heard. Maybe I blacked out for a bit or something (not unheard of, but it was the middle of the day).

I was left wishing that there was a TiVo for the car radio, because I frankly couldn't believe what I had just heard.

Anyway - the biggest band? It was Three Doors Down. Now nothing against the band - they have a few songs that I like and all. I did find one link showing that they had sold some 150 thousand copies of their debut CD, but that was on some guys blog, so I have no idea if it's accurate or not.

Let's assume that it is. There are many, many bands who have sold more than that. Heck, William Hung (the goofy guy from American Idol sold thirty to forty thousand in the first week or so. Selling just a few times that? Not so great any more if it is true.

I won't go so far as to say that the band is responsible for the ad, because I can't even say that I heard it correctly. I'm just saying that it's a bit of a stretch is all. Did anyone else hear this ad played?

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Remembering the Life of Tiggerius Rex

Chad Everett — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 04:00:00 -0500

The first dog I ever had was named Sheri. She was actually a family dog, and we had to put her to sleep when I was pretty young - needless to say, that was quite a few years ago. Then, a few years later, we were lucky enough to get another dog, Ruf-ce-Tuf. That tale is recounted elsewhere, but for those of you who don't know, Ruf was my first real dog. Even though Sheri was my first, I helped choose Ruf (of course, he helped choose me), I helped name Ruf (though I've since learned that names come to them, and they aren't truly given), and my mom probalby took more care of thim than I did. But he was still my first.

Then there was Tigger. One day as I worked - this was probably close to seven years ago now - a co-worker asked me if I could help him out, because he had a dog that needed help. I'm sure this was because I'm just a big softie, but I said that I wasn't home enough to help. When I found out that he had a hundred-pound stray, I wanted to help, but I really couldn't. Naturally, I told him that I'd like to be of assistance, but between the size of the dog and the fact that I wasn't ever home and didn't even have a fenced yard, I just couldn't. Then I met him. The poor guy was all cramped up in a crate that was about two sizes too small for him - think of the Grinch's heart if you need a visual. Yet he wasn't worried. That was just his nature. And that's all it took. Tigger had found a home.

As it turned out, Tigger was lucky that I lived by myself and wasn't home much, because it meant that he had the house to himself. He could do whatever he liked, and that meant that he could sprawl out on the mattress with his stuffed animals, he could collapse on the couch, or he could simply take over the kitchen. It didn't really matter all that much - the house was his as much as it was mine. And yes, it was probably his even more than it was mine, but that's okay. That's just the way it was.

Denise even approved of Tigger. In fact, she met him just after I did, because she wanted to make sure that he would be okay with her young boys - since they were so young, it wouldn't do to have a rampaging beast on the loose. What she found was that he was scarcely that. Instead, she was able to play catch with him, and put her hand almost down his throat to retrieve the tennis ball that would barely leave his side - and only then when it was so chewed to not be recognizable. Luckily, she was able to teach him how to play catch with a frisbee instead, and it held up a bit better than the tennis balls that he loved to chew so much. We never did figure out why he liked the tennis balls so much.

The boys enjoyed Tigger too - in fact it was they who led to his full name - Tiggerius Rex. Tigger was so big and so regal that a name like Tigger just didn't fit, and when they asked about this discrepancy, they needed something more, and it just came spilling out. I don't know if this is when I realized that names are always there, waiting for you to realize that they need to be recognized, but that is definitely what happened here. In Tigger's case, it was a longer name - but it can go the other way too - such as what happened with Ray. He was a gentle soul, and Ray just fit.

Unfortunately, Tigger didn't come to us as a puppy, and like most larger dogs, he wasn't likely to live a long life. We knew this, but we took him in anyway. Not too long after we did, we noticed that his eyes were different colors, and then the vet determined that it was because one of his eyes actually had a shadow in it - it was a tumor in the eye. So we discussed it, and determined that he was strong, and likely to be able to live for a while still, and had the eye removed. Tigger did just fine. The only bad side-effect was that the doctor used the largest prosthetic eye that he had, and it was still too small, so the empty eye looked a little odd thereafter - but Tigger was still Tigger - he just couldn't catch quite as well as he used to catch.

That, and the thunderstorms that had always bothered him seemed to still do so, but perhaps a little worse. Then one day, he panicked a little more than he had before, and caught our youngest against the fence, resulting in a lot of scratches (to our youngest, not to Tigger).

We knew that Tigger didn't mean any harm - he was just scared. But that meant that the government got involved, and Tigger was under quarantine for ten days. During that time, we had to decide what we would do. Unlike Ray, Tigger was generally pretty good - Ray had been in declining health, where Tigger was typically doing very well - he just seemed to mentally have some issues. That's a tough decision. I've never had to make the call, but I'd imagine that it's not unlike caring for an aging parent, where they are suffering from a mental disease and their body is fine.

Ultimately we figured that when he had these attacks and could barely be controlled, even by me, it put everyone in harm's way, and that was a bad thing. We didn't want him to hurt anyone - including himself - and we didn't want him to have to suffer at the hands of someone who didn't know him, or have to undergo some of the more severe testing that repeat offenders might. So ultimately we decided that it was time. It was tough - tougher even than putting Ray to sleep earlier this year was, because we knew he was suffering, while Tigger seemed healthy, but we knew it was right.

What was really hard was waiting on those ten days, because the animal control people showed up over and over again to show us how badly they can mangle the process. I'll tell you about that soon. For now, I'll hold off.

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Carolina Speed Season Finale

Chad Everett — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 04:00:00 -0500

I've seen a few Arena Football games in my time. Truth be known, I've probably seen more Arena Football games than I have seen NFL games (in person, anyway). The first that I recall was the Los Angeles Cobras, who played (someone). I don't even remember the game much, except for the Pauus. You see, the Cobras had a player named Yepi Pauu on their team, and he was Samoan if I remember correctly (sources online say he may have been Tongan). At intermission, his family would come out and lead the cobra dance - unfortunately for the team, the Family Pauu was about the best part of their performance. They folded after one season, 1988. If you search Google for Yepi Pauu, you'll be prompted to change it to Yeti Pauu. Go figure.

It so happens that I also caught at least one game of the Charlotte Rage. While the Rage lasted a whopping five seasons - from 1992 to 1996 - it was during 1996 that I saw the game. So at this point that I'm thinking I'm the death knell for Arena Football teams. And yes, there were others in there. These are just for dramatic effect, because I saw both teams during their final (or only) season. The Rage didn't have the Pauus, so I can't say what brought about their downfall, other than me. But I decided to attend my first indoor football game since that fateful night when I brought down the Rage in 1996. It was to catch the Carolina Speed on Saturday night. The Speed played their first season in 2007, which means we'll have to see if 2008 is their last, now that I've seen a game.

It is probably worth noting at this point that this is not Arena Football. It's not even Arena Football 2. This is the American Indoor Football Association. The differences actually aren't a big deal, so unless you pay attention, you probably won't even notice as far as the rules go.

If AF2 is the minor league of Arena Football, I don't know what to call the AIFA. You probably won't ever see these people unless you go to an AIFA game. The arena, such as it is, is small. The crowds are small - though ours was propped up a bit because it seems like just about everyone got in on a free pass - and the quality of the game is pretty poor. So why go? Well, the aforementioned free pass helped, though we didn't know that we would have one until we pulled into the parking lot and got out of the car and a friendly person next to us offered said pass. Mostly it was because we hadn't been. And there wasn't anything else to do.

The prices are a bit high - even the cheapest seats in the arena are $10, with the mid-priced seats going for $15 and the highest ones for $25. That's just a bit high, don't you think? Most people would rather buy cheap seats for just about anything at $25 than the most expensive seats for the AIFA at $25 each. The difference in seats in the Cabarrus Arena - as nice as it is - for $25. I mean you're talking a few feet of elevation here. It's not like Bank of America Stadium, where that $15 gets you a seriously different view. At most, the price difference should be a dollar or two. Not $15.

As to the game - unfortunately, the Carolina Speed was completely outclassed by the Florence Phantoms. I won't say that the Phantoms were that great, but they were outstanding against the Speed. Let's face it - even their name and web site is better - it has actually been updated with the results of the game, while the Speed has yet to update theirs. But their play was just a ton better than the Speed on Saturday night. Take a look at the web site - if that is the field where the Phantoms play, they can just about fit more people in that small section of the bleachers than will fit in the entire Cabarrus Arena. That's shameful.

There was one bright spot in the game - #19, Laroche Jackson (at least, that's how he is listed on the roster) returned a kick way down the field, giving the Speed great position. Unfortunately, they couldn't capitalize. Later, the Speed had the ball at the 2 yard line with first down. First down, I tell you! They still couldn't score. Later, Jackson returned another kick to roughly the 15, and his pounding managed to weaken the defense until the ball popped loose, and the Speed fell on it in the end zone. Sure, he shouldn't have fumbled, but hey - we needed all the help we could get. Finally, he scored one on a great catch late in the game. It wasn't much, and the Speed lost by 20 points. But it would have been a lot worse if he wasn't on the field.

About the best news is that at least it's not the NIFL.

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What Makes People Into Collectors?

Chad Everett — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 04:00:00 -0500

When we were kids, we all collected things. Baseball cards and comic books and action figures. But it wasn't collecting. It was just stuff. Okay, maybe we didn't all collect things. Maybe it was just us boys. Frankly, I think that girls collected things too, it was just different. Being that I wasn't one of them, I don't know what it was. I'd be likely to say dolls and ponies and shoes or something. If you knew the right kind of girls - or perhaps the wrong kinds of girls - then they would have collected boys.

But the point is, at the time, we had those things because we enjoyed them (especially those girls I was talking about). At some point along the line, it all changed. Rather than just having things that we liked to have around so we could use them, take them out and play with them - and at this point I'm going to stop talking about those girls - we became collectors. At least some of us did. Here, I'll also probably need to stop including myself in the analogy, because I don't really consider myself a collector of things. This point is where those treasures became objects that we thought might be worth something to people other than ourselves, and that is when our lives became just a little more jaded.

There was even an episode of Amazing Stories that starred Mark Hamill that dealt with collecting. It was called Gather Ye Acorns and dealt with the very issue. Young Jonathan Quick (Hamill) was enamored with his comic books, and of course his parents didn't want him to be quite so interested in them. I remember seeing it long ago. Perhaps when it first aired (yes, it was 1986 - I am really that old!).

But Jonathan, on the advice of a troll, had decided that he would continue collecting - not just his comics, but everything. Unfortunately it made him rather miserable. Until some years later, when he is filling the gas tank on his classic car. A woman notices a mug that he has and offers to buy it from him. Since it has been a very long time since he has seen the troll, and he's just about to throw it all in, he decides that he will part with one of his precious treasures. Only then does he find out that she didn't want to give him a few dollars. She wanted to give him a few thousand dollars.

So he takes his car, his comics, everything, into town, and finds that he is indeed rich beyond his wildest dreams - he has the first appearance of every major comic-book character, and a number of collectibles beyond comics. Of course the car itself is some sort of antique that is worth a gazillion dollars. But at what cost? He gave up his entire life to get to this point. After forty years of wandering in the dessert (and he looked the part), he finally came into the riches - and it's only a decent amount of luck that what he happened to still have in his car was worth anything.

Had he decided to collect something worthless, then those decades that he spent a hermit and collecting things that no one else was interested in would have ended very badly indeed. The other day we went to the coin show, and there were tables upon tables of people who collect coins. I'm left to wonder if they are trying to be Jonathan Quick - did they start to collect coins at a young age, only to find out that they were left with the remnants of a life that they didn't want? Very few of them seemed to really enjoy it. Only a couple really get into the life. Most seem to just sit there and watch you pass by, hoping to collect a few dollars for some coin or another, and as closing time comes, they pack up their stuff.

What is the point? I really don't know. I just have to wonder about it all - we start with toys that we all love, most of us aren't lucky enough to have trolls as advisers, and lots of us end up collecting things, but for most of us it seems to end pretty badly. Surely there are a few that may get a Honus Wagner or something, but for the rest there are boxes upon boxes of items that no one else really wants. So is all the collecting really worth it?

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Integrating Your Movable Type Site with Plurk

Chad Everett — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 04:00:00 -0500

If you've been reading the blog for the last little while, you know that I've been hanging out on Plurk recently. Naturally, that means that I have been playing with Plurk as well, and trying to integrate it into my daily routine. When I used Twitter, it meant that I used Twitterfeed to create Tweets from the entries that I posted here. The problem is that Plurk has no such interface, as it doesn't have an API, so no such solution exists.

Luckily, Plurk power-user Ryan Lim came to the rescue. Not long ago, he released RLPlurkAPI, a PHP-based API into Plurk. It's not an official API, but it's good enough to allow outside services to access Plurk from the outside. It isn't Twitterfeed either, but what it did was allow people such as myself to see that it's possible to access the system from the outside. Unfortunately, I still couldn't do it, and I needed some more help.

Getting the Perl API to Work

Enter Andy Armstrong, Perl Monger extraordinaire. Within a very short period of time, he had announced the release of WWW::Plurk, a Perl-based module for accessing Plurk from the outside. Now we're talking - this means that Movable Type users are getting closer to getting in on the action - and more importantly, it means that my own efforts to make the connection, which had hit a wall, now had some help on making things work!

I continued to look at both Andy and Ryan's work, and before long I had made my own inroads on accessing Plurk from the outside. I was able to pull out friend data - using a slightly different method than either of the others were using - and I also was able to send a plurk into the system (using roughly the same methods that they used). However, I decided that I would stop there, because frankly I didn't need the ability to approve friend requests or pull out plurks. There is a widget for the plurks, and I just wanted to be able to get at certain pieces of the system.

Here Comes MT-Plurk

After a bit of tweaking, such as eliminating duplicates from updating more than once by writing a record into the PluginData table, and adding some logic to help create better plurks due to the 140-character limit, MT-Plurk was born, and it seems to be working well. After downloading, just unzip it to the Plurk directory under the MT plugins directory, and you're ready to begin.

You will need to visit the settings screen, where you specify your Plurk username. If you don't care about sending plurks into the system, you're actually done at this point. The only thing needed to retrieve friend information is the username (this is the area that differs from Andy and Ryan's work). In fact, because of this, I might change the plugin in the future where you can retrieve anyone's friend information, but at the moment it's only for a single user. Anyway, if you'd like to send plurks based on new entries, you'll also need to include your Plurk password, the language code to use (defaults to en) and the qualifier to use (defaults to shares). Be careful with the language code and qualifier - if you use invalid values, then the plurk will not post correctly!

The final piece of the puzzle is a simple checkbox that tells the system to post when new entries are saved. If unchecked, entries will not post. If checked, entries will post. It's as simple as that. Also, if you don't include your username or password, entries will not post.

How MT-Plurk Does It's Work

When an entry is saved, a small routine checks the entry before posting to make sure it will fit into the 140-character space. If the permalink is longer than 134 characters, then the link itself is used as the entire plurk (I may implement support for URL-shortening services in the future, but they aren't there right now). If the permalink is between 121 and 134 characters, then the permalink is used, and the text (link) is added. It won't look pretty, but it won't break, either. If the permalink is shorter than 121 characters, then the title is appended and the entire string is checked to see if it is 140 characters or longer. If it is too long, then it is trimmed to fit. This might mean you lose a few characters, but at least your plurk looks okay!

There is also another option with MT-Plurk, and that is pulling data from Plurk - namely, if you want to display friend information. You can create a simple construct to show you friends, and some basic information about them.

Using the <MTPlurkFriends> container tag, you are able to loop over all the friends in your account (this uses the username specified in the settings, which is why that is required). Within the container tag, you have several template tags to display content:

<$MTPlurkFriendsDisplayName$> - display name
<$MTPlurkFriendsDisplayName$> - full name
<$MTPlurkFriendsNickName$> - username
<$MTPlurkFriendsGender$> - gender
<$MTPlurkFriendsKarma$> - karma (to two decimal places)
<$MTPlurkFriendsLocationName$> - location
<$MTPlurkFriendsUserID$> - user ID

You can do something like this to display a list of your friends and their karma ratings:

<MTPlurkFriends>
    <$MTPlurkFriendsNickName$> <$MTPlurkFriendsKarma$>
</MTPlurkFriends>

Obviously you can make this a lot more complex too - that's all up to you! Get MT-Plurk now and you're ready to go after a quick configuration process. Everything you need should be included with the package. The only modules not included are HTTP::Cookies and LWP::UserAgent, but those are fairly common with most Perl installations. MT-Plurk is compatible with MT 3.36, and should work fine with MT4 as well. The Net::Plurk module that it comes with is written in such a way that you should be able to use it with other applications if you are so inclined.

More About Accessing Plurk

These aren't the only ways to access Plurk. Luis Gustavo announced his C# Plurk API and there is a web-based Plurk API in fairly constant development, so things are definitely moving. If you don't see what you want, keep your eyes open. If you haven't checked out Plurk yet, you should do so!

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