aprigliano.org

This is why we left Comcast...

2012-05-17T16:03:00.000-04:00

Going through some old docs... I captured this chat for reference. The lesson: Comcast support has the ability to be obtuse over the phone AND over chat.

TiVo Premiere Black Digital Video Recorder - TCD746500

user John_ has entered room
john(Sat May 29 2010 21:11:27 GMT-0400 (EST))>Just order expanded digital channel lineup and it still is not working. I have CableCard and Tivo HD box
analyst Noreen has entered room
Noreen(Sat May 29 2010 21:28:53 GMT-0400 (EST))>Hello John_, Thank you for contacting Comcast Live Chat Support. My name is Noreen. Please give me one moment to review your information.
John_(Sat May 29 2010 21:29:11 GMT-0400 (EST))>Hello.
Noreen(Sat May 29 2010 21:29:11 GMT-0400 (EST))>Please wait, while the problem is escalated to another analyst
analyst Chris has entered room
Chris(Sat May 29 2010 21:29:29 GMT-0400 (EST))>It is a pleasure to have you on chat! First of all, I apologize for whatever inconvenience the issue has caused you but I'll be more than happy to resolve it for you. I hope you haven't waited so long to be assisted. How's your day so far?
analyst Noreen has left room
John_(Sat May 29 2010 21:31:51 GMT-0400 (EST))>Day OK... but this has been going on since 1:pm. For some reason my Tivo HD and CableCard have not been able to get the expanded linup that we have ordered. I have just disconnected all other lines (modem, etc..) so we have only one line comming into the house directly into the box.
Chris(Sat May 29 2010 21:31:49 GMT-0400 (EST))>Are you there?
John_(Sat May 29 2010 21:32:18 GMT-0400 (EST))>Yes I'm here.
Chris(Sat May 29 2010 21:32:59 GMT-0400 (EST))>I see, you are having issue with your cable service, am I correct?
John_(Sat May 29 2010 21:33:34 GMT-0400 (EST))>yes, we currently are only geting 2-29 and local HD in the 800s.
Chris(Sat May 29 2010 21:34:07 GMT-0400 (EST))>Can I have your account number please?
John_(Sat May 29 2010 21:34:17 GMT-0400 (EST))>One moment...
Chris(Sat May 29 2010 21:34:24 GMT-0400 (EST))>Thank you
John_(Sat May 29 2010 21:34:42 GMT-0400 (EST))>XXXXXXXXXXX
Chris(Sat May 29 2010 21:34:57 GMT-0400 (EST))>Thank you, I do apologize if this has been an inconvenience, but I am with phone and internet support, I will be connecting you to our cable specialist, okay?
John_(Sat May 29 2010 21:35:13 GMT-0400 (EST))>OK
Chris(Sat May 29 2010 21:35:41 GMT-0400 (EST))>John, can you please double check on the account number? and give it back to me?
Chris(Sat May 29 2010 21:35:53 GMT-0400 (EST))>So that I can connect you to the right department
John_(Sat May 29 2010 21:36:14 GMT-0400 (EST))>if you want my ph# XXX-XXX-XXXX
Chris(Sat May 29 2010 21:37:00 GMT-0400 (EST))>Thanks
Chris(Sat May 29 2010 21:37:02 GMT-0400 (EST))>Please hold
Chris(Sat May 29 2010 21:37:50 GMT-0400 (EST))>Please wait, while the problem is escalated to another analyst
analyst Chris has left room
analyst Gerly has entered room
Gerly(Sat May 29 2010 21:38:50 GMT-0400 (EST))>Hi, John. I am glad to assist you today. How is this day so far?
John_(Sat May 29 2010 21:39:05 GMT-0400 (EST))>OK thank you. You?
Gerly(Sat May 29 2010 21:40:15 GMT-0400 (EST))>So far so good, John. Thank you for asking.
Gerly(Sat May 29 2010 21:40:40 GMT-0400 (EST))>To ensure that I get your issue correctly, can you please elaborate it for me?
John_(Sat May 29 2010 21:43:21 GMT-0400 (EST))>I have a TIVO HD and CableCard - Wanted to expand the line up to extended basic - they have theoriticaly sent the line up to the card, possibly twice already.Still, the channels are not showing. I have disconnected all other dives so it is a direct line into the house to the tivo. And I guess we need to try again.
John_(Sat May 29 2010 21:43:37 GMT-0400 (EST))>Is there any thing special I need to be doing on this end?
Gerly(Sat May 29 2010 21:45:38 GMT-0400 (EST))>Thank you for clarifying, John. I thank you for giving us the opportunity to resolve this issue and I am happy to help you with it.
Gerly(Sat May 29 2010 21:45:39 GMT-0400 (EST))>As your service representative today, I want you to know that your satisfaction is of my topmost priority and I assure you that we can resolve this issue together on this chat.
Gerly(Sat May 29 2010 21:45:48 GMT-0400 (EST))>Please allow me to pull up your account first so I can check on this for you.
Gerly(Sat May 29 2010 21:45:48 GMT-0400 (EST))>To ensure the integrity of your account information. Can I please have the account number, account holder's name and the complete service address of the account?
John_(Sat May 29 2010 21:46:14 GMT-0400 (EST))>XXXXXXXXX
John_(Sat May 29 2010 21:46:20 GMT-0400 (EST))>John Aprigliano
John_(Sat May 29 2010 21:46:36 GMT-0400 (EST))>XXXXXX
John_(Sat May 29 2010 21:46:41 GMT-0400 (EST))>XXXXXXXXX
John_(Sat May 29 2010 21:46:49 GMT-0400 (EST))>XXX XXX XXX
Gerly(Sat May 29 2010 21:47:40 GMT-0400 (EST))>Thank you.
Gerly(Sat May 29 2010 21:47:45 GMT-0400 (EST))>While waiting for your account to pull up, I will share with you a feature of Comcast that you can truly benefit. Are you aware that Comcast is introducing XFINITY?
John_(Sat May 29 2010 21:48:51 GMT-0400 (EST))>not necessary thank you
Gerly(Sat May 29 2010 21:49:09 GMT-0400 (EST))>I see.That is alright.
Gerly(Sat May 29 2010 21:49:19 GMT-0400 (EST))>May I ask how many cable box you have, John?
John_(Sat May 29 2010 21:50:03 GMT-0400 (EST))>none - I only have the TIVO HD and the modem (which is now not connected)
Gerly(Sat May 29 2010 21:50:47 GMT-0400 (EST))>I see.
Gerly(Sat May 29 2010 21:50:54 GMT-0400 (EST))>First, we would need to power cycle the affected cable box. This is to ensure that the box will be refreshed. Would that be fine with you?
John_(Sat May 29 2010 21:51:40 GMT-0400 (EST))>It takes about 5 minutes to restart a tivo if that is what you want.
John_(Sat May 29 2010 21:53:01 GMT-0400 (EST))>I gave you the wrong account number...
John_(Sat May 29 2010 21:53:03 GMT-0400 (EST))>XXXXXXXXXXXX
John_(Sat May 29 2010 21:53:50 GMT-0400 (EST))>The other one was the one assigned when I first moved to atlanta.
Gerly(Sat May 29 2010 21:54:01 GMT-0400 (EST))>I see.
Gerly(Sat May 29 2010 21:54:06 GMT-0400 (EST))>Thank you for the information.
John_(Sat May 29 2010 21:54:26 GMT-0400 (EST))>The 2nd one was the one that is what I ger when I sign in.
Gerly(Sat May 29 2010 21:54:41 GMT-0400 (EST))>I see.
Gerly(Sat May 29 2010 21:55:34 GMT-0400 (EST))>John, can you please verify when did you order expanded basic?
John_(Sat May 29 2010 21:56:02 GMT-0400 (EST))>a week and a half ago via phone.
John_(Sat May 29 2010 21:57:18 GMT-0400 (EST))>I'm rebooting the TIVO now...
Gerly(Sat May 29 2010 21:57:27 GMT-0400 (EST))>Alright.
John_(Sat May 29 2010 21:59:09 GMT-0400 (EST))>Should I worry about the account number thing?
Gerly(Sat May 29 2010 21:59:17 GMT-0400 (EST))>No, John.
Gerly(Sat May 29 2010 21:59:34 GMT-0400 (EST))>By the way, I have checked your account again and I am seeing that this upgrade has just been completed in our system today.
Gerly(Sat May 29 2010 22:00:16 GMT-0400 (EST))>Thus, your channels should be in your TV. However, since you are using Tivo, it would take after 24 hours before the channels will be in your TV.
John_(Sat May 29 2010 22:02:30 GMT-0400 (EST))>I have heard so many different time frames. Is the channel list sent multiple times or does the TIVO have one chance to catch it. I would hope you would not tell me bogus time frames.
John_(Sat May 29 2010 22:02:52 GMT-0400 (EST))>TIVO still rebooting,
Gerly(Sat May 29 2010 22:02:50 GMT-0400 (EST))>I really do apologize about that, John.
Gerly(Sat May 29 2010 22:03:03 GMT-0400 (EST))>However, checking on the system, the service order has just been completed today.
Gerly(Sat May 29 2010 22:03:19 GMT-0400 (EST))>It will just be in a few hours that you will get the channels again.
Gerly(Sat May 29 2010 22:04:28 GMT-0400 (EST))>Are you still there?
John_(Sat May 29 2010 22:04:47 GMT-0400 (EST))>Yes, the tivo is starting up.
Gerly(Sat May 29 2010 22:05:11 GMT-0400 (EST))>Alright.
John_(Sat May 29 2010 22:05:42 GMT-0400 (EST))>Can you force send the signal like now?
Gerly(Sat May 29 2010 22:05:55 GMT-0400 (EST))>Yes, I can certainly do that as well, John.
Gerly(Sat May 29 2010 22:06:03 GMT-0400 (EST))>I will send a manual signal to your Tivo.
Gerly(Sat May 29 2010 22:06:08 GMT-0400 (EST))>One moment.
Gerly(Sat May 29 2010 22:06:18 GMT-0400 (EST))>Great! The signals went through!
Gerly(Sat May 29 2010 22:06:22 GMT-0400 (EST))>The channel signals will take about 30 to 45 minutes for the box to download and fully process. After that time, the box will refresh and reconfigure.
Gerly(Sat May 29 2010 22:06:22 GMT-0400 (EST))>This will allow it to receive all the channels and features that you are supposed to be enjoying. Until the configutation time is over, please make sure the box stays ON.
John_(Sat May 29 2010 22:06:52 GMT-0400 (EST))>Let me look at my cable card diagnotics...
Gerly(Sat May 29 2010 22:09:05 GMT-0400 (EST))>May I ask how is it now?
John_(Sat May 29 2010 22:10:22 GMT-0400 (EST))>The same. When we first had the tech come out the first time it took no time at all for the channels to appear.
Gerly(Sat May 29 2010 22:13:33 GMT-0400 (EST))>I see. John, I have sent the signals already. So it will be the signal that will remotely refresh your Tivo in order to get the new channels added to your account.
John_(Sat May 29 2010 22:14:31 GMT-0400 (EST))>Just to verify - these include the channels above 29 to something like 78 or so right?
Gerly(Sat May 29 2010 22:14:44 GMT-0400 (EST))>Yes.
John_(Sat May 29 2010 22:16:50 GMT-0400 (EST))>OK - since this is the 3rd time I have went thought this process today - what would need to happen next if they do not come in.
Gerly(Sat May 29 2010 22:20:04 GMT-0400 (EST))>Is that alright with you?
John_(Sat May 29 2010 22:21:01 GMT-0400 (EST))>Sorry that was a question... what would need to happen next if they (the cahnnels) do not come in?
John_(Sat May 29 2010 22:21:06 GMT-0400 (EST))>channels
Gerly(Sat May 29 2010 22:22:49 GMT-0400 (EST))>I see.Is your Tivo box from Comcast.
John_(Sat May 29 2010 22:25:13 GMT-0400 (EST))>No - And it worked fine upon initial installation - we were told the channels that we had during that initial installation of the CableCard were removed because of an error. So you can remove channels.
Gerly(Sat May 29 2010 22:27:53 GMT-0400 (EST))>I see. John, I would need to send you another technician again to check your cable card and to fix this.
Gerly(Sat May 29 2010 22:27:58 GMT-0400 (EST))>Are you okay with that?
John_(Sat May 29 2010 22:29:49 GMT-0400 (EST))>Not really, but it is not your fault. I am just going to wait. Remember I have been waiting for about 10 hours now. And still nothing. I am going to go.

Well, 70% is not too bad.

2012-05-02T13:44:00.000-04:00

I was going through some old google docs while trying out the new Google Drive service and I found a list of topics I wanted to cover on this blog. And, as the title says, well, 70% is not too bad.

Possible aprigliano.org topics...

Outlook was built on Corporate Paranoia.
TRASHCAN ZERO - w/ footer-link page "24 Hour cycle of sublimation and denial".
Impressive Uses for Parallels.
Top 5 GTD feet-wetters
Try GTD Ultra-lite.
NGTD Video
Top 10 things I hate about the Internet.
An antenna Tivo HD wrap-up - "The difference between having and not having cable is the crap that is on is on fewer channels."
Why you should hook up a computer (old or new) to your TV (HD or Standard).
This old iPod
What these Media boxes are missing...

Vudu - P2P "torrent-ish" - http://www.vudulabs.com/ - $399
MovieBeam - http://www.moviebeam.com/ - $149

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MovieBeam

http://www.dotcast.com/
http://dotcast.com/pdf/dNTSC_tutorial.pdf
Requires Landline Phone
Owned by #2 Brick and Moreter rental company Movie Gallery.

http://www.apple.com/appletv/ - $299 40gig/ $399 160gig

Ad blocking software in browsers
Kitchen Tech

Magic bullet
Senseo w/ eco-pods
Convection Oven
Yogurt Maker

I need a Screen Saver?
Shows I will miss off of cable.
Joost does not use overlay.
Why I am not the greatest blogger on earth.
Why the Microsoft .Net framework sucks.
SIP Clients

Goodbye Derek.

2011-05-11T09:22:00.001-04:00

We will miss you. Thank you for the theme song, words and humor.

Christel and I had the pleasure of interviewing Derek K. Miller back in January of 2006 for the DiabeticFeed podcast. He was affable, interesting and touched upon being a Type I, his life and his music. This was well before he was diagnosed with cancer. He really added to the zeitgeist of my online life and I will sorely miss his ongoing contributions.

Listen to the show here.

It's a girl!!!

2011-05-01T01:19:00.002-04:00

I am going to be a dad in 60 days!!!

2011-03-16T22:11:00.000-04:00

Just had to say it.

Links for 2011-09-20 [del.icio.us]

2011-09-21T00:00:00-07:00

EETimes.com
EEtimes - Online Magazine covering technology, electronics, and engineering in depth.
One Man's Quest to Digitize and Publicize Rare Records | Listening Post from Wired.com
Thousands of recordings that had been largely consigned to the realm of prehistory in the digital age have gained a new life, thanks to the tireless efforts of one man.
AddThis - #1 Social Bookmarking Sharing Button - Del.icio.us Digg Facebook Widget
FOOD | TORO MAGAZINE | What Men Need to Know about Sex, Style, Drinks, Cars, Sports, Music & Video
Toro's Chef Steve Ricci - looks easy.
The Netflix Player by Roku | Netflix Instantly on your TV
The Netflix Player makes it easy to instantly watch movies and TV episodes over the Internet on your living room TV, or anywhere you have a TV and an Internet connection.

Links for 2011-09-18 [del.icio.us]

2011-09-19T00:00:00-07:00

EETimes.com
EEtimes - Online Magazine covering technology, electronics, and engineering in depth.
AddThis - #1 Social Bookmarking Sharing Button - Del.icio.us Digg Facebook Widget
FOOD | TORO MAGAZINE | What Men Need to Know about Sex, Style, Drinks, Cars, Sports, Music & Video
Toro's Chef Steve Ricci - looks easy.
One Man's Quest to Digitize and Publicize Rare Records | Listening Post from Wired.com
Thousands of recordings that had been largely consigned to the realm of prehistory in the digital age have gained a new life, thanks to the tireless efforts of one man.
The Netflix Player by Roku | Netflix Instantly on your TV
The Netflix Player makes it easy to instantly watch movies and TV episodes over the Internet on your living room TV, or anywhere you have a TV and an Internet connection.

Google To Shut Down Gizmo5 On April 3

2011-03-05T04:53:00.000-05:00

It was fun while it lasted...

Google To Shut Down Gizmo5 On April 3

But there is hope...

Make Your Own Free Phone Service by Combining Google Voice with Other VOIP Services.

Unfortunately, as of this posting, though, Sipgate does not have any free phone numbers right now.

The Mac App Store

2011-01-08T15:00:00.001-05:00

It would be so easy to sit here and write snarky remarks about how "Finally, Macintosh users finally have a way to put software on there computers" or "It was so hard dragging a single icon into the applications folder - so much work." But, that would be under-cutting the brilliance of what the Mac App Store brings to the whole Macintosh experience.

Being an Ubuntu Linux user, an iPhone user, food shopper and purchaser of fine thrift shop merchandise, I understand the value of discovery. "Oh," one thinks, "I have never thought of working this [thing, food, or application] into my life. And..." one continues, "if I were not [standing, looking or smelling here] I would not have found [the aforementioned stuff]." And there it is - the brilliance of consumer discovery.

Ubuntu's software library attempts to categorize packages for ease of use, but I have never found myself installing software on Ubuntu that I absolutely did not need for a specific purpose. Ubuntu, for me, is all about precognition. But, I am constantly fiddling with new apps on my iPhone, and now Macbook, just to dip my toe in the water and see what is out there. It is fun. It is entertainment. It may prove to be useful (though, often is not).

So, go ahead, do a software update on your Mac and take the Mac App Store for a spin - you will not be able to miss the new blue circle with the "A" icon in your toolbar and you have nothing to lose but time. And money.

One cheapskate's stupid guide to making a DVD (Windows)

2010-12-08T21:00:00.003-05:00

You have video. Maybe you got this off the web, off a video camera or off your Tivo. And you have have total and complete ownership of this video because you would not want to break any copyright laws. You want to make a DVD, but you don't want to spend the money on DVD burning software and all the brain damage that comes along with learning this expensive software. Can this be done and remain cheap and easy? Yes.

Download DVDFlick

DVDFlick is a genius bit of open source software that works, works well and does all of the heavy lifting for you. You to not have to know the dimensions of the video, the type of codecs you need or even the first thing about the annoying minutia of DVDs. The program knows, so you don't have to. And is free and open source.

Take video and drop it on Program.
Set the preferences.
Hit "burn disk."

See? Easy. Now you can give grandma DVDs of all those AVI files you have of the kids.

Friends for Jennifer

2010-08-20T11:06:00.000-04:00

This is a new blog from a former co-worker of mine who was recently diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's Disease. Please subscribe to the RSS. http://friendsforjennifer.com/

Pano of Buckhead, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

2009-06-27T00:14:00.007-04:00

Made from 10 separate images taken with the iPhone.

The ViewSonic WAPBR-100 - Revisited.

2009-06-15T22:34:00.008-04:00

This post is a response to a post I put up a year and some months ago about the The ViewSonic WAPBR-100 along with the discussion that has occurred over time in the post's comments. I think it is interesting as to the Google juice and the conversation this little lark has created. And if it were not for the conversation, I would not have instantly had a solution to... oh, first a story.

I have a server. Not the most powerful, but it has real RAID and a 64 bit Linux and heaps of memory and half a terabyte of storage. My baby is strong and has good bones. My baby is also loud and hot - so much for 24/7 operation. Then it hit me, I could plug my baby monster into a wi-fi access point and run it in the basement where it is cool and dry and I would not have to worry about the noise. So I did. And in doing so I brought my ViewSonic WAPBR-100 out of mothballs to hook the server into the network remotely.

But WPA2 encryption did not work in bridge mode with the replacement Linksys firmware. This was an odd little quirk because it had WPA2 available in other modes. Time to pull the trigger on the discussion about DD-WRT that was happening on my old post.

My friends, lets not quibble here anymore - just load DD-WRT. It works. It works well. It is beautiful. And adds yet more functionality to the once annoying paper weight that Viewsonic brought to the world.

Get it here (I'm using the "dd-wrt.v24_micro_generic.bin") - http://www.dd-wrt.com/dd-wrtv3/dd-wrt/downloads.html

Good Day, Sir. Harrumph.

Are we done being called "idiots" and "dummies" yet?

2009-05-21T23:06:00.001-04:00

North Miami Autostitch Panoramic

2009-05-20T18:39:00.002-04:00

One cheapskate's stupid guide to getting programs off your Tivo (Macintosh)

2009-04-19T17:04:00.021-04:00

Too often the world just passes me by while my head is somewhere in the sand. I did not know until recently that there exists two programs for the Macintosh that stuffs all the brilliance of $26 Tivo-To-Go program into two programs that, to my mind, are more stable and MORE feature rich than Tivo's own product.

You have held you breath long enough, iTivo and Pytiovox are just two of the most beautiful free apps I have seen - simple, kind of pretty, and self explanatory. Both programs were wonderfly cobbled together by Yoav Yerushalmi and, frankly, I love this guy!

iTivo is THE app for getting programs off your Tivo Series 2, Series 3 or Tivo HD and re-encoding them for another device or backup. Amazingly, the list of the types of re-encoding it will do is long and comprehensive. And, as a bonus, this program has some commercial skip smarts that will remove the ads during the re-encode.

The only bits of information you need for this is the ip address of your Tivo and your MAK number - both of which I tell you how to get to easily.

The only weirdness I found with this program is on OS X, version 10.4.11, the program complained that it needed Growl but besides that - runs like a champ.

PyTivoX is ultimately a simple way to serve up video files to your Tivo. And it just plain works. Though it did not work on OS X 10.4.11 for me, it is still quite a brilliant little program for the latest OS X version. All you do is pick your video directories to share and hit apply. Then, on your Tivo, go to the 'Now playing' menu and pull in the video. There is also a 'StreamBaby' streaming function that works well for 4:3 content on Series 3 or HD Tivos, just browse 'Music, Photos, Showcases.'

One cheapskate's stupid guide to getting programs off your Tivo (Windows)

One cheapskate's stupid guide to getting programs off your Tivo (Macintosh)

Shots of Spring.

2009-04-12T14:17:00.004-04:00

No heavy content here... just pretty pictures.

One cheapskate's stupid guide to getting programs off your Tivo (Windows)

2009-04-02T15:31:00.027-04:00

I have never been satisfied with the quality of video that $26 and the hours of re-compression that TiVo Desktop brings to me. The video is small, crunchy, and frankly, the automation features have not worked very well, at least for me, since version 2.7 came out.

Can one just pull the programs off the box on to a computer and watch it? For free? Without the crunchiness - just dot for dot what is on the damn box. And simply? Yes.

Here is the list of things that you are going to need for the task:

A network connected Tivo and a Windows computer connected to the same network;
The ip number of your box (write it down) - in your Tivo menu Messages & Settings -> Settings -> Phone & Network -> IP addr: < your ip address>;
Your media access key (write it down) - Messages & Settings -> Account & System Information -> Media Access Key ;
A copy of Tivo Decoder GUI ;
A copy of VLC for playback.

Ready? Good. In a browser, type in the address box 'https://<yourip address> . You are going to have to manually add the security certificate to your browser. Don't worry, it is OK.

The page will ask you for a user name and password -
User Name: tivo
Password: <your media access key>

If your browser asks you to remember the login say "yes" - it will make life easier.

You should now see a neat little list of all the programs currently on your Tivo - on the right are the download links - click on the program you want to download. Downloading will take a while because you are tying to move a few or more gigs of data - be patient.

After it is downloaded you have an encrypted '.tivo' file that is mostly unplayable on your computer unless you paid the bucks for TiVo Desktop. And that is why you downloaded Tivo Decoder GUI.

Tivo Decoder GUI has a pretty simple interface. To add files click "Add Files." To set your Output path, where the decoded files will be written, click "Locate" and choose a directory. Simple so far.

And the key to all this working for you is, well, the Media Access Key. Click on 'Preferences' and put your Media Access Key in the field. You will only have to do this the first time you use the program. I also select "Delete Original Tivo Files After Converting" because I have no use for the file after the process is finished.

Click 'OK' - then click 'Decode.'

There you have it - you now have every last drop of program data that was on your Tivo and these files can be easily played in VLC.

Addendum: These files can be easily further processed with HandBrake - the most easy to use, free transcoder. In HandBrake, Click 'Source' and select the file you just created, select your appropriate preset in the right pane, select a destination then click 'Start.' Wait awhile for the video to process. Simple, eh?

One cheapskate's stupid guide to getting programs off your Tivo (Windows)

One cheapskate's stupid guide to getting programs off your Tivo (Macintosh)

YouTube Geniuses

2009-03-07T11:33:00.004-05:00

I realize that I have already started out with an unlikely title. "YouTube Geniuses? Really?" you ask. As the last 4 or so years have droned on along with acquisition by Google, YouTube has slowly become the place to find low quality video of teenagers staring into a camera, teenage boys being kicked in the privates, and a great place for teenagers to pirate commercial video clips. And then I saw the following videos and the YouTube world suddenly became a place where young and upcoming talent put forth some interesting ideas and hard work. I mean really hard work. You don't just wake up one day and decide "I am going to be an animator." What I am seeing in these videos is years of honing skills - I hope you do as well.

The following two videos are from YouTube user HarryPartridge. Considering that the following were made for fun by and individual and you clearly see a love and understanding of the content (Watchmen) as well as the work involved in bringing something like this to life, I am, and you should be, in awe.

I have had my own copy of Akira for about 15 years now in one form or another, so the idea of an Americanized live action version coming in 2011 bothers me. The following is in HarryPartridge's response to this notion - absolute genius.

This last video is from OtaKing77077. I have been watching Doctor Who in one form or another for the last 25 years or so, so, when I see something like this and realize that it was made by an individual with extreme levels of talent and skill, I want to spend the hard cash to buy this video - only the video does not exist. Just beautiful work.

If you have some notions of some other works of genius, pass them along in the comments and I will update the article - but you have to make a good case because, after all we are talking about "genius" here.

Is it Windows 7 or KDE 4?

2009-02-06T12:59:00.004-05:00

Just proof that our monkey brains release endorphins when confronted with something new and novel.

What to do with a Comcast DMCA takedown notice (especially when you are innocent)

2009-01-01T12:04:00.014-05:00

Last Monday, waiting in my snail mail box for me was an unassuming letter from your favorite cable provider, and mine, Comcast. Contained in this letter was information pertaining to an alleged torrent download called "Cadillac Records." I have come to learn that "Cadillac Records" is a movie with Adrien Brody and that their marketing for this movie must have really sucked because with what ever thousands or millions of dollars they used to promote this movie, I have never heard of it - even once. Maybe my head is in the sand. Maybe I spent too much time at work and not watching Oprah. But, whatever the case, Adrian and his film were lost on me.

Now we cheat and cut to the end - after 4 phone calls, three separate employees, and about 1 hour of total hold time, the conclusion was ascertained that the individual(s) who are in possession of my old cable modem, one that was replaced when we move to our current abode, belonged to the offending parties with a love of Adrian Brody, and not our household.

Here is the break down of the calls (paraphrased because writing about mouth breathing tech support with 5 minutes between each sentence is not compelling writing.)...

Call 1...

Tech 1: "After leaving you on hold for 20 minutes, I have discovered that you are the offending party and no mater how much you protest, I want to get off the phone with you because I can't do my job technically.

Call 2...

aprigliano: "What was the MAC address of the offending cable modem?"

Tech 2: "OO:BE:..."

aprigliano: "Hold on! That is not my current MAC address. I have had this cable modem, and IP number, since the end of October."

Tech 2: "IP numbers change."

aprigliano: "MAC addresses don't change."

Tech 2: "Yeah. Um. They don't. Please hold."

10 minutes later...
Tech 2: "I need to look into this further. Can I call you back?"

I then received a message on Grand Central: "This is 'Tech 2' with Comcast Security give me a call back at '###-###-####' regarding your DMCA issue."

Call 3 - I call back ...

aprigliano: "I am returning a call regarding Case number ###########. There were some developments."

Tech 3 (Texas accent): "Nope I am seeing nothing here. All I can tell you that the copyright holder has no information on you and you should not be downloading illegal files"

aprigliano: "But I am RETURNING a call, let me play you the message I received..."

Tech 3: CLICK...

Call 4 - I call back again...

Tech 1: "Oh, I remember you."

aprigliano: "I don't remember you. I received a message from 'Tech 2.' Can you put me through to him? "

Tech 2: "Yes, it seems that there are 2 cable modems (MAC addresses) registered in your name."

aprigliano: "Well I am only paying for one service, not two, so there should only be ONE cable modem under my account."

Tech 2: "(Laughs) That right."

aprigliano: "What can we do about this. Is it possible from where you are to disable the other Cable modem."

Tech 2: "Yes."

aprigliano: "Would you."

Tech 2: "Yes."

aprigliano: "Thank you. I could not ask for anything more."

Lesson: though I have had the same IP number since October, this is not a defense (at least in their minds, because IP addresses change) against you infringing copyright. Your ONLY defense is your MAC address not being in the wrong place at the wrong time. If you did actually did something wrong, take the hit, but NEVER ADMIT IT! EVER! This is along the lines of self-incrimination, you are never compelled to do so, even in a court of law. BUT if the MAC address is wrong, and this could be your only defense, YOU DID NOT DO IT. You could not have.

And where the 'Techs' may not take this seriously, you NEED to, regardless of how many phone calls it takes. This can come back to bite you in the ass.

What are people reading 'round here...

2008-12-18T13:17:00.004-05:00

Honestly, dear reader, I have been lax in putting new posts on this site. I break all the rules about being consistent in getting good content on a blog. Yet, for some reason, the quantity of readers has been on a steady increase for the last 4 months - so say the numbers at Google Analytics. I also got a boost in the amount of time people hang around when I took all the ads off about a year ago. The lesson for me with that was "don't annoy the crap out of readers with ads."

In an effort to demonstrate the extreme levels of geek that are on display, here are the top 5 posts that people hit 'round here.

Build Your Own HDTV Antenna and its sister article How NOT to Build Your Own HDTV Antenna have proven to be the ultimate Google bait for me. And the reason is obvious with the digital transition coming in America on February 17th. I LOVE that people are looking for ways to get free TV and I LOVE that they are willing to do it with coat hangers.

Oh Holy Night From Studio 60 - when NBC put the 'Oh Holy Night' song from the TV show 'Studio 60' as a free MP3 on the web site, they were magnanimous. When they canceled the show and removed the song, they were asses. I found the song and have links.

Inane Bug 2 and a Fix Viewsonic WAPBR - there are times when bad technology leaves you cold, alone, and angry. The Viewsonic WAPBR out of the box was a piece of s**t. I cobbled together some instructions with the help of some info I found on some forums on how to replace the firmware. This post alone has helped a couple hundred people from putting the WAPBR in the landfill.

There is No Oscar the Grouch for OS-X - Sad but true - OS X does not allow the finagling of the trash bin that OS 9 and earlier versions allowed.

On the Generals Orders - Wong Fei Hung Theme -Not one of my finer moments. I take and midi file, dump it in Garage Band, and re-work the song. On the virtue of the rarity of the song I get hits. Again, I am not proud because this is really second rate "Look what I can do mom!" content.

Plus One - Senator Stevens vs The Ninja - Net Neutrality - it is really an inside joke but this one really made ME laugh out loud for a week. I am going to really miss Ted Stevens.

After these links, I hope you have a look around and find something that makes you smile, think, or helps you because that is all I'm really try to accomplish around here.

The Sega 32x

2008-12-08T16:21:00.003-05:00

Granted, I have never played any Sega 32x game, though in me lies a nostalgic streak for old video games and systems. I was working in the electronics department of a Wal-Mart and I remember these coming in and collecting dust next to that other brilliant system with all the tech of a ViewMaster, the Nintendo Virtual Boy - which was so awesome that 10 minutes of constant play on this "3D" system, you have a most colossal headache.

I only bring the Sega 32x up because of the following video by the "Angry Video Game Nerd." The presentation is perfect but the language is coarse, so do not hit play if you are easily offended.

Foot

2008-09-25T07:55:00.002-04:00

The girl who put together your iPhone

2008-09-01T12:32:00.004-04:00

You get her image free with AT&T contract (about $1000 + $199 for the phone)...

The Archive

2008-08-31T14:25:00.003-04:00

I saw this featured on Rocketboom last week - being a former "collector" of music that now owns an iPod (ok, two iPods), one does not have to think to hard as to why this guy can't sell his $50 million archives for $3 million. Kind of sad.

The Archive from Sean Dunne on Vimeo.

Megan!

2008-08-15T12:20:00.004-04:00

She is adorable, no? And I get to be the Godfather. And I'm Italian, so it all kind of fits.

Links for 2008-08-13 [del.icio.us]

2008-08-14T00:00:00-07:00

FOOD | TORO MAGAZINE | What Men Need to Know about Sex, Style, Drinks, Cars, Sports, Music & Video
Toro's Chef Steve Ricci - looks easy.
One Man's Quest to Digitize and Publicize Rare Records | Listening Post from Wired.com
Thousands of recordings that had been largely consigned to the realm of prehistory in the digital age have gained a new life, thanks to the tireless efforts of one man.

Links for 2008-08-04 [del.icio.us]

2008-08-05T00:00:00-07:00

AddThis - #1 Social Bookmarking Sharing Button - Del.icio.us Digg Facebook Widget

Links for 2008-07-20 [del.icio.us]

2008-07-21T00:00:00-07:00

The Netflix Player by Roku | Netflix Instantly on your TV
The Netflix Player makes it easy to instantly watch movies and TV episodes over the Internet on your living room TV, or anywhere you have a TV and an Internet connection.

Links for 2008-07-18 [del.icio.us]

2008-07-19T00:00:00-07:00

TechCult’s Top 100 Web Celebrities
As the web goes mainstream, a brand new group of celebrities is emerging. The 100 people you will find below are shaping the future of the Internet (most for the better, some for the worse…), and as a consequence they are right under the spot light.
EETimes.com
EEtimes - Online Magazine covering technology, electronics, and engineering in depth.

Links for 2008-07-17 [del.icio.us]

2008-07-18T00:00:00-07:00

WNYC - Radiolab
Radio Lab is heard around the country on over 150 stations.