waxing techcomm

a nice note

2008-06-30T23:19:00.003-04:00

I received the following note from Netflix this evening: It's nice to know that there are still companies out there who listen to customer and public feedback, and even nicer to know that some will actually respond to those who were outspoken. Granted this is a form letter, but it was an unexpected surprise; I thought it a good gesture.

Oh, wait... nevermind... (Netflix)

2008-06-30T17:54:00.004-04:00

Behold the power of the intertoobz! Netflix has had a change of heart and will be keeping the account profiles around. The decision to remove the account profiles was made in order to simplify the web interface. Silly Netflix, usability doesn't come from a lack of functionality! It comes from smart design! And by the number of people who left you comments on your community blog ("I had no idea

Netflix is doing away with Account Profiles

2008-06-23T17:00:00.004-04:00

I really should pay more attention to my e-mail. Last week when I received a message from Netflix saying my profiles were going to be deleted and to follow a link for more info, I chalked it up to possible phishing and deleted the e-mail. Now I see it's real. Yes, Netflix is doing away with the one truly useful feature they offer: account profiles. I have three profiles that I manage under my

Couldn't get to Philly?

2008-06-02T11:29:00.003-04:00

If you couldn't attend this year's STC conference, you can still keep up with what's happening. There's a Tweme being used by several attendees, and Char James-Tanny has set up a FriendFeed as well as a ScribbleLive blog. I'll be updating this blog post as I find more sources. Feel free to add links to other resources in the comments.

I have a new(er) road now

2008-05-28T12:35:00.003-04:00

The road crew is out today resurfacing my street. It's been fairly ripped up after the odd winter of abnormal freezing and thawing. The machines they're using are much bigger than I'd imagine they'd be using on a road of this size (all residential, no more than a half-mile long). There are two machines out there. One is heating the existing asphault and likely baking away any foreign substances

Tagged for a drinking meme...

2008-05-26T10:09:00.002-04:00

Beer, wine, liquor, mixed drinks. Rank 'em.1. Beer 2. mixed drinks 3. liquor 4. wine How often do you drink?Depends on the occasion, but I'll have a beer or two at the end of an evening a few times a week. Favorite Scotch?Not a scotch fan. Favorite Bourbon?Wild Turkey 101 Favorite tequila?Any that's 100% agave.Favorite Gin?CitadelleFavorite Vodka?As long as it doesn't come from a plastic jug,

If there was ever a party in need of a positive brand campaign...

2008-05-09T14:14:00.003-04:00

...it'd be Satan. Brilliant.

Foreclosures abound

2008-05-09T13:46:00.004-04:00

My buddy Angelos has been blogging about foreclosures and the housing market off and on for a while now, and for kicks I decided to see just how close to home the foreclosure wave is splashing. Wow. All I can say is that I'm extremely happy I decided to buy well within my means using a common sense approach. That is, buy a house I can realistically afford, put money down, take out a fixed rate

Speed Racer

2008-05-05T23:57:00.003-04:00

My buddy Angelos was fortunate enough to score some tickets to the sneak preview of Speed Racer tonight, and invited me and our friend Dave along. His review is spot on. It was an amazing ride of a movie. The color, the visuals, the story, and the acting were all excellent. This movie exceeded any expectations I had walking in. The Wachowski Brothers did a great job of bringing a surreal comic

A tasty surprise

2008-04-26T14:25:00.003-04:00

After doing a bit of yard work today I thought I'd take a break and enjoy a cold homebrew. I had moved some of my dwindling reserve from the basement up to the fridge, and thought I grabbed one of the pumpkin ales that I brewed last fall. I was wrong. It was a porter that I brewed either back in late 2006 or in January 2007. I was a bit apprehensive about trying it since it was older, the porter

I think this might actually be Grammy-worthy

2008-04-18T14:55:00.003-04:00

Just follow the link to the most annoying song ever. It's like the world's ugliest dog... So bad you gotta love it! And I'm serious when I say that I am truly amazed at just how spectacularly annoying this song is. It's a true work of art. And yes, kiddies... The linked song is an MP3. Perfect for your iPod, perhaps as your morning alarm tone. Accordions, pipe organs, off-key kids, holiday

Best productivity tip I've seen yet

2008-04-18T14:42:00.002-04:00

Eric Burke offers excellent email productivity advice. I'll go one step further: Start > Shutdown

I think I'm going to be sick

2008-04-16T17:14:00.002-04:00

Just what the world needs, a book that explains plastic surgery to kids. And not in the "Mommy was in a very bad car accident and the doctors are going to do what they can to make her look like herself again" way. But in the "Mommy has a poor self image, and you don't need a new bike anyway" kind of way. OK, maybe that remark was a bit harsh... And then again, maybe not. Just look at the

More bacon than the pan can handle

2008-04-15T22:51:00.005-04:00

I caught the Mike Doughty show at Revolution Hall in Troy NY this past Saturday with my friends Angelos and Erica. I was coming back into town after a full day in western MA with my kids, parents, and my friend Asher. We'd hit the outlet mall in Lee, then over for some excellent food and beer at the Barrington Brewery and Restaurant. With a full belly, I made the drive back to Troy. I got in

Sam Adams Voluntary Recall

2008-04-13T17:31:00.003-04:00

Just a quick note to get the word out. Sam Adams is recalling select bottles due to glass fragments in the beer. From their recall notice: During a routine bottle inspection at one of our breweries, we detected possible defects in a small percentage of bottles resulting in the random presence of bits of glass, most the size of grains of sand, but some small slivers in some bottles as well.Also:

Oh man! The beer!!!

2008-04-12T00:42:00.003-04:00

Gutter may be a tool, but I'm right there with him. I forgot the beer (blog)! Fortunately I don't have Connecticut state blue laws working against me. This past Monday Angelos and I fired up the burners and brewed another couple batches. I went into the brew store with nothing particular in mind, again. I really need to start planning ahead. But it worked to my advantage since THEY WERE NEARLY

How lazy do you have to be...

2008-04-11T14:04:00.002-04:00

to see this as a alluringly attractive product offering? Hard Boiled Peeled Eggs in a sealed bag Mmmm... Doesn't that sound delicious? Fortunately I know how to boil water.

I don't get it

2008-04-09T23:34:00.003-04:00

If you are bound to a wheelchair, are you capable of making any use of this? I'm scratching my head on this one.

Cool new game - Crayon Physics Deluxe

2008-03-20T14:52:00.003-04:00

As if it wasn't bad enough that I bought both Guitar Hero III and Rock Band, my friend Steve pointed me at this. I've always enjoyed free form puzzle games, and this one just blows my mind. I could see myself sinking hours into this game each night, not just playing it but testing the physics out with various shapes and doodles. And finally, a game that actually makes good, logical use of a

Flaming Blaze

2008-03-20T10:08:00.005-04:00

Well, it's been a few days since its formal announcement... Blaze is available from MadCap Software. While the product adds yet another capability to the MadCap arsenal of techcomm products, the commentary from the target market (technical writers) has been rather negative. I think this may be in part due to it being referred to as "the FrameMaker killer". Among the complaints: Blaze is a print

Nine Inch Nails the latest band to offer their music for free

2008-03-04T20:58:00.005-05:00

I just read that Nine Inch Nails is offering the first of four label-independent albums for free via BitTorrent. I hope more bands employ this model, though admittedly some can afford to make the stand more than others (ahem, how about you, Metallica?). Radiohead went this route back in August 2007, and many indie bands are foregoing the label route in favor of self-producing and web distribution

Sad news in the RPG arena

2008-03-04T14:45:00.003-05:00

Gary Gygax, co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons, passed away this morning at age 69. Though I haven't touched a D&D game in over 20 years, I still remember the hours and solid weekends of gaming with friends back in my middle school years. He truly was instrumental in creating an entertainment empire. Just look at the wide variety of such games and their online equivalents, including the likes of

Finally some proof that audiophilia has its limits

2008-03-03T15:46:00.003-05:00

Angelos shared this link with me. I thought it amusing enough to share. Yes folks, you too can purchase "coathanger quality" component cables for hundreds of dollars! I'll say that ultra-cheap (no-name or bargain bin) cables are a poor choice, but Monster Cables or even higher end cables are simply not worth the money. What really made my jaw drop was hearing about Pear Cables last year. Can you

iPod Shuffle drops in price

2008-02-19T14:07:00.003-05:00

Today Apple dropped the price of the iPod Shuffle to $49. Though I'm very happy with the Shuffle I received for Christmas, I'm a bit disappointed that the gifter ended up spending a bit more than what they're now going for. This drop in price is likely in answer to many of the Apple-like (or similar quality) players that are emerging at lower prices, and aimed at hooking more people into the

The Future of User Assistance

2008-02-12T12:36:00.000-05:00

Today's post by Gordon McLean on One Man Writes really provokes thought into content delivery to end users and the mind shift required on our parts as writers and UA engineers to make it happen. Web 2.0 might be the fad/buzzword of the decade, but it has teeth in the form of social networking and information exchange (right now, by reading this blog, you're soaking in it). Given all of the