Sounds Like A Job For Tech Support Man!

An email from one of my Irvine cousins was waiting when I woke up today. There was a problem.

I have pop up ads, inline text ads and my back up won’t work. I have tried everything to remove this crap but I can’t

Sounds like a job for Tech Support Man!

He’s your cousin, your brother, your co-worker, your neighborly geek, until your computer starts throwing fits. All of a sudden he’s indispensable. He’s Tech Support Man!

No wonder IT guys always have ‘tude!

This problem was mean. Pop-ups. Ad insertions in websites. Linkjacking.

The computer felt digitally unclean. It was. Strangers had usurped some control. Who knows what they were doing that you couldn’t see?

The main miscreant was “SavingsBull.” It’s supposed to bring coupons and deals. It brings ads. Lots. Few would click to install it knowingly.

It is socially engineered onto your system. It comes packaged with something you want, like a nice piece of software. Its presence is hidden in the click agreements most folks speed through.

Someone said “Yes,” to installing it, but without knowing what they were agreeing to.

We Tech Support Men have a secret. We really don’t know how to fix everything. We just know how to find the answer. Usually the solution is laid out, A, B, C, etc.

SavingsBull is a new arrival to the pain-in-the-ass scene based on the dates of tech bulletins about it.

I used a few malware scanners to hunt down the pesky files and zap them away. It’s like fighting cancer. If you don’t get it all they can sometimes replicate itself and spread! The programs look to be fully removed and the patient should recover.

There are loads of good anti-everything programs. They’re ineffective. Most of this crap is carried in by the computer users themselves. We have been conditioned to click and say yes.

Be careful. Tech Support Man, out.

Some Weather Forecasting Inside Baseball

Courtesy: www.coolwx.comA little ‘inside baseball’ on weather forecasting. The graphs on the left (Courtesy: coolwx.com – click the image for a better look) show Wednesday’s weather in New Haven as forecast over time by various computer models.

The ‘ptype’ forecast has been all over the place. What’s it gonna be? The guidance has waffled between snow, sleet and freezing rain.

Even if I got it right on the last forecast, it was little consolation to those who’d watched earlier. That made me very unhappy. Sometimes there’s no choice but to change the forecast. You can’t feel married to it.

I traded tweets with a former co-worker this week who shares my angst. It really made storm nights, hell.

Most people don’t realize the most important part of the forecast is, impact. There are fewer potential impacts than storm parameters.

If the timing is right… if the road hazards/conditions are right… if the school situation is properly handled, then how much snow falls or whether it’s a freezing sleety mix don’t matter as much.

But it killed me every storm. There was never a forecast I was really happy with. Not one.

Ray Dobratz Wake

The casket was surrounded with artifacts from Ray’s life. I saw a pair of fireman turnout boots first. There were work boots too and a fishing rod and photos. A bottle of whiskey and can of beer were at the ready. The moment became deeply poignant.

Marc Robbins and I drove to Old Saybrook for Ray Dobratz wake tonight. There comes a time when you just say to yourself, “God, I’ve been to a lot of these.” I suspect the frequency will rise over time. This is another thing you don’t think about as a kid desperately wanting to be a grownup!

Ray was killed in the Middletown power plant explosion last week. He was sports producer Erik Dobratz’s dad. Knowing Erik got me pretty close to knowing Ray.

What a tribute. The line stretched along the length of the funeral home and around a corner. Most of Old Saybrook High School’s parking lot was filled with mourners. Marc estimates 500 in line. A co-worker I ran into told me she waited nearly an hour and a half. This was as many people as I can ever remember seeing for this kind of thing.

Because we came in the middle of our work day Erik told us how to cut the line. I’m hoping those who waited in the cold don’t feel we were disrespectful to them.

We approached the casket. It was closed as might be expected under the circumstances. The casket was surrounded with artifacts from Ray’s life. I saw a pair of fireman turnout boots first. There were work boots too and a fishing rod and photos. A bottle of whiskey and can of beer were at the ready. The moment was deeply poignant as seemingly random items helped paint a picture.

Erik and his family seemed OK–well composed considering.

I’m not sure what we expect when a family is so suddenly undone. The grief comes in waves. They’ll surely be knocked down again many times over the next few days and weeks.

I hugged everyone and told them how sorry I was for their loss. They hugged back. Ray’s wife, three sons, sister and mother each took a moment with everyone in the long line.

In my religion we don’t have wakes, but I think I understand a lot of what they accomplish. With every hug you’re assuming… offloading if you will… a little piece of the family’s grief. No, you don’t take it all away–not even tonight’s massive showing can do that.

The grief we have is directly proportional to the love we have. There was too much love for all this grief to ever go away.

When A Parent Loses A Child

The voice I heard was emotionally spent. This was a conversation he’d had too many times over the last 24 hours.

A few days ago a friend of mine lost a child. His grown son, himself with a wife and three sons of his own, passed out on the family room floor and died.

No warning. He was alive… and then he was dead.

I called my friend this afternoon to offer Helaine and my condolences. It was a tough call to make. This friend has been in my life over 25 years.

He was a co-worker when I arrived in Connecticut. He’s a competitor now. He was the first person to visit us in the hospital when Steffie was born. He is someone I’ve always looked up to.

He answered the phone. The voice I heard was emotionally spent. This was a conversation he’d had too many times over the last 24 hours. I worried I was keeping him in his pain by calling.

Maybe not talking is best? How can you know? Is there anything really appropriate at a time like this?

They say a child dying before his parents is the cruelest fate you can be handed. I told him there was no way I could understand what he was going through but any time a friend is hurt Helaine and I are hurt too.

My friend and his wife are people of great religious faith. As I wrote when my friend Kevin passed away, the ability to trust there is a larger purpose we can’t see or understand must provide some comfort. I envy the faithful for the emotional cover it provides them.

The wake is Sunday. We will be there.

Understanding More About New Media By Using It

A few years ago I had a conversation with a co-worker about the implications of Internet in cars. “Another distraction,” she said, thinking of the Internet only in the ways we’d already seen it used. She doesn’t feel that way anymore.

Thumbnail image for apple-iphone-3g.jpg“This American Life” the hard-to-describe (their description) NPR show is playing as I type this entry. It’s not on the radio. It’s not from a podcast. It’s playing on my iPhone.

Because the iPhone is part phone/part computer I can use the computer part to swoop onto the Internet and stream the show. And now the Internet is in my pocket, not just my house or where I work. This show–any show can follow me anywhere!

This is a concept I’d long understood. It didn’t have the impact it does when you’re holding a working example in your hand!

A few years ago I had a conversation with a co-worker about the implications of Internet in cars. “Another distraction,” she said, thinking of the Internet only in the ways we’d already seen it used. She doesn’t feel that way anymore.

The Internet will soon be everywhere we are. Think atmosphere. The Internet will be as ubiquitous as the atmosphere.

On my way to work I listen to NPR’s “Talk of the Nation.” It’s on a network of low powered stations none of which provides a dependable signal on my route. I have two buttons set so I can switch frequencies as one or the other gets ratty.

Starting later today I will try replacing those stations with what I expect to be crystal clear reception via my phone.

Is this technology the end of terrestrial radio as we know it? Commercial AM and FM are already in sad shape. How much more will it take to bankrupt the heavily leveraged companies that dominate station ownership today?

It’s not just radio. I’ve got bad news for me. I watched a fantasy football TV show produced by Yahoo! before making my roster moves today, The quality was excellent on my iPhone.

Will we compete with or embrace this technology? Is the inherent business structure of a TV station capable of even playing in this game? Who knows? It’s early.

The iPhone is such a game changer the real impact is difficult to grasp. And the iPhone is just the gateway drug–a proof of concept, if you will.

There are quantum leaps to come with fatter pipes and more robust devices for consumers. Eleven years ago there was no Google. What will there be eleven years from now?

Radio was worried it would be killed off by TV. Movies too. They thought TV was their death knell. They survived. In fact until recently they both thrived.

Will today’s media shift be similar, allowing older providers to adapt while adding new outlets, or is this new technology so radically different and more powerful that old school outfits just don’t stand a chance?

J’Accuse–Some Of You Probably Know My Evil Stalker

The Internet isn’t anonymous. In order for data to be sent to a computer the server must know its IP address. So, when this person spewed on my website it was in my logs.

Someone doesn’t like me. OK–that’s an understatement. Of those who don’t like me someone is being pretty mean about it sending me a stream of vile emails and blog comments. It’s been going on for a while.

Not only have I been the target, so has a co-worker and some other people (more on them later).

I know who it is. It’s pretty obvious. I just don’t know why–what I ever did to this person to deserve his wrath?

I suspect some of you reading this know who it is too. You connect the dots.

This weekend he sent comments to my blog from a McDonalds on Mansfield Avenue in Norton, MA. That’s right by I-495. Today it was from a Barnes and Noble in Farmington, CT. That’s what you’d expect if someone in Maine was coming here for a visit or vacation.

Most of the time his stuff has come from the Bangor area of Maine.

How do I know? The Internet isn’t anonymous. In order for data to be sent to a computer the server must know its IP address. So, when this person spewed on my website it was in my logs.

Facebook is a little more problematic. Well, it was until I found out the originating IP address in Facebook mail is hashed within the message and it can be pulled out. With that little tidbit I found a mean and nasty email sent to a co-worker via Facebook came from a RoadRunner account serviced from Warren, ME, between Portland and Bangor.

Earlier web comments came from another Maine RoadRunner account and from a business account serviced by MidMaine.net

Our miscreant has a variety of pen names he uses, creating and discarding Gmail accounts at will. The most interesting to me are: Fishers4, Dick Fishamajig and JackHammer1968.

Fishers4 and Fishamajig would imply this is someone who knows something about fishing. The 1968 might be his birth year.

One of these pseudonyms appears on a bulletin board sending the same “good wishes” to a former KC-101, Country 92, disk jockey. Maybe our boy has a radio connection?

I know who this is. I have all the pieces except why. I’d rather not go to the police and lodge a case for harassment, but I’m getting to the point where I have no choice.

As I said in the beginning–some of you know this person. Maybe it’s time to put a hand across his shoulder and give him some wise advice. You’ve been caught. Stop.

Working

The 20th Century, it can be argued, was the worker’s shining moment. Not so the 21st! Our notions about hard work and a good life have disconnected.

I worry about the economy. Will our lost jobs come back? Probably not.

The bad economy is one reason jobs have left–but it’s not the only reason. There just aren’t as many reasons to employ people when you can get machines or even the customer himself to do the work for you.

Look at all the jobs that used to exist but no longer do. There are the obvious customer service agents replaced by voice prompts and recognition. Checkouts at the supermarket and hardware store now self serve. The gas station too. Monday, my co-worker Ann Nyberg showed me a photo of a ‘helpless’ Dunkin’ Donuts inside a grocery store.

No one wants employees if they can avoid them us. We are a pain in the ass. We are expensive, temperamental and prone to break down. We form unions. We kvetch. We need to be managed.

Businesses like Google where the cashflow overwhelms the staffing requirements are the goal.

When was the last time you heard an entrepreneur with a business model that was labor intensive? It’s been a long time.

What was a department store is now Wal*Mart, Target or BJs. There’s a fraction of the staff. And we’re only seeing the front of the store. Every economy of scale is a reason for fewer people.

The 20th Century might have been the century of the employee, a time when the worker did well. The 20th Century, it can be argued, was the worker’s shining moment.

Not so the 21st! Our notions about hard work and a good life have disconnected.

In the past as labor saving devices came on line workers and their bosses benefited. Now only companies benefit from increased productivity. And, the job market is so unbalanced there is no leverage for most workers. It’s tough to see the playing field evened for a long time to come.

What’s Frustrating About The Web

I’d done all my dev work on Firefox where the site was perfect. Google’s Chrome browser also showed the site as designed. Internet Explorer…. grrrrrrrrrr.

I know a few of you who read this blog do some coding and web development. Me too–though usually only as a favor to friends who will then have to suffer through my partial knowledge of what makes the web tick. A case in point today with my friend Farrell’s website&#185.

Farrell gave me my first job in TV and we’ve been friends ever since. I’m not sure how the guy who gave me my first job is younger than me, but he actually is. It seems unfair.

I worked on Farrell’s site with his input modifying a WordPress theme until it did what it was told and Farrell was happy. WordPress is blogging software, but it’s also great to build non-blog sites.

You know what? The site looks pretty damned good. We patted each other on the back and got set to let it fly in the ‘real world.’

At work I wanted to show what I’d done to a co-worker whose site I’d also helped. I opened up Internet Explorer, called the site and…. OMFG it was broken! It looked awful. It was the first time I’d used IE with the site and there was obviously a big problem.

I’d done all my dev work on Firefox where the site was perfect. Google’s Chrome browser also showed the site as designed. Internet Explorer…. grrrrrrrrrr.

Designers know IE is an awful, standards non-compliant browser. The fact that it’s on virtually EVERY computer makes that academic. You have to design for IE–period. That I hadn’t run the site through IE was a big mistake on my part–inexcusable really.

I’ve been working through the problem little-by-little examining the site with diagnostic tools now built into IE and added-on to Firefox. Tonight I found the problem. It was “–!>” placed a few characters from where it should have been. That combination of characters “–!>” tells the browser it’s come to the end of a disregarded area (like comments or, in this case, old code I didn’t want to use and was afraid to delete).

I know Farrell wanted the site last week. It was frustrating to be so close and yet so far and unable to find this teeny little problem. Now it’s good to go.

I suspect most devs have similar stories.

&#185 – It can take 24-48 hours for the website’s DNS listing to float through the Internet. If you get some sort of ‘not found’ error, try later.

A Scrape, A Scratch, A Grand

I brought the estimate to the co-worker who bruised my door and said she’d better call her insurance company. This wasn’t going to be an out-of-pocket repair.

I guess I should have known this, but the price for a little dent and scrape on my car’s door is nearly $1,000!

I brought the estimate to the co-worker who bruised my door and said she’d better call her insurance company. This wasn’t going to be an out-of-pocket repair. She was crestfallen–which I totally understand.

For ten years I’ve been tooling around in my little roller skate with nary a scratch. It’s a shame this had to happen. I told her “life goes on.”

I’m Merely Nearly Sick

“See the doctor,” said my mom. “Do you think you should call the doctor,” asked Helaine? What would I tell him? My symptoms are so non-specific.

I’m not feeling right. That’s obvious to me. What’s wrong is less obvious.

It started Saturday night or Sunday. Since then I’ve been lethargic. It’s 95% of what’s wrong–lethargy. I’ve also been a little queasy from time-to-time, but not enough to stop eating. My thought processes don’t seem totally sharp either. That’s awfully tough to quantify.

Helaine and I walked Sleeping Giant Sunday morning. I made it, but our time was slower than usual and I was sweating like crazy by the time we reached the top. My legs were never too tired, but my body just didn’t have the kick it’s had recently.

I took a two hour nap between shows tonight. I still feel like I only got four hours of sleep last night

“See the doctor,” said my mom. “Do you think you should call the doctor,” asked Helaine? What would I tell him? My symptoms are so non-specific.

“Are you sure you don’t have Lyme disease,” asked a co-worker? Great. I was hoping for something new to worry about.

Here’s how this whole episode ends. I wake up tomorrow, or Wednesday, and everything’s fine. Whatever is dragging me down will have disappeared without a trace. That’s what always happens and what will happen this time too.

Come On Down

I have taken the day off from work. Instead, I’ll be heading to Foxwoods Casino with my co-worker, Matt Scott.

Poker? Nope, though we both play. We’re going to see the live theater version of “The Price Is Right.”

Matt is a game show freak. There’s no other way to describe him. I’m sure he’s seen this presentation before.

All I know is, they choose their contestants from those attending and they havee Plinko.

If they choose me, I’m sunk. How can you play pricing games when you never go into stores?

I’ll let you know more tomorrow.

iPhone Hit Or Miss?

I can’t remember the last time a piece of high tech equipment got this kind of hype. Of course, I’m talking about Apple’s iPhone which goes on sale within the hour.

It’s pretty neat. As is normally the case with Apple, the software is elegantly simple and intuitive. The TV commercials are tantalizing. I haven’t seen it yet, but there’s surely one where it’s slicing bread!

Unfortunately, the iPhone also suffers from some designed-in weaknesses.

It seems pretty odd the phone won’t use AT&T’s fast G3 network and instead sticks with an older implementation. That’s huge, if web surfing is going to be a large part of the iPhone experience.

The iPhone also doesn’t record video nor will it operate properly with corporate email servers. That’s not good and there’s more. Its battery is not replaceable and its SIM card isn’t removable.

There’s also the question whether a non-tactile keyboard is a good idea. I’ve never seen a successful one before.

I have been considering a ‘smartphone.’ It probably won’t be an iPhone.

Right now the (as yet unreleased) Motorola Q9 looks likely. I’m not 100% it will be sold by AT&T, my cell carrier.

The Q9 operates on the higher speed G3 network, takes video, uses Windows Mobile 6 and has a real QWERTY keyboard. It looks like an updated, better performing “Q,”. A co-worker has that phone, which I like.

The online consensus is, I can buy a ‘smartphone’ like the Q9 or the Samsung Blackjack and a $19.99/month data plan from AT&T and be done with it. I’m not sure this is AT&T’s preferred combo, but people are consistently doing it and I sense AT&T isn’t sending their money away.

My guess is, the iPhone will not be the unmitigated success this level of hype implies. It’s possible. I’m not a mobile computing analyst with lots of background info and insight. This is a seat-of-the-pants call. There are just so many strikes against it.

Working against my prediction is Steve Jobs, who has a Svengali-like ability to mobilize the Apple faithful.

What the iPhone does do is increase the profile of mobile computing and the competition between carriers and between hardware manufacturers. I don’t see a downside to that… at least I don’t yet.

Closer To What?

There’s a story about a man who’s out-of-shape. He goes to his doctor, who recommends running.

“Run three miles a day, and call me back in a week,” the doctor says.

So, the man does and at the end of the week, he picks up the phone and calls the doctor.

“How are you doing,” asks the doc?

“Great – but I’m 21 miles from home!”

It is that sense of futility that I take into my new found desire to be a little more fit. My diet is now close to a month old. The easy pounds came off first and my clothes fit a lot better. The loss has slowed down.

I’m still a middle aged guy and everything that implies. I look like someone who leads a well catered, sedentary life.

A few days ago my co-worker Gil (the Marine) came by. We took a nice brisk walk. This was charity on Gil’s part (Unless… maybe he’s trying to kill me? Hmmmm) because he could surely do what we did walking on his hands. As I’ve been told – you never stop being a Marine.

There was a sense of accomplishment in that walk, so today I set out to pick up the pace. It’s been a long time since I ran. It was something I never did well.

Those who’ve seen me walk know I do it with an odd gait, my toes hitting the ground long before my heels.

I immediately felt the additional weight my body has put on over the years. It was totally obvious as my feet hit the pavement. All these years and that memory was strong.

I made it to the end of my street and turned up a small incline (I’d never noticed it was an incline before). I was huffing and puffing.

Our neighborhood is quiet in the early afternoon. I slowed down. I didn’t want to collapse and then wait hours for the corpse to be found.

Sweat was beading on my forehead. My shirt had a dark spot where it clung to my perspiring chest. I slowed to a walk, my hands on my hips in that ‘futile runner’ position you see elite athletes assume right after they finish the marathon.

Damn you elite runners!

I continued along my route, alternating between running and walking. I didn’t stop. I pressed forward.

At one point I got behind our mailman’s truck. Every time I’d approach, Rudy would flick the ignition, shift into gear and rumble ahead. I was now living the life of a spaniel.

It wasn’t until Rudy delivered a package (positioning his wheel chock behind the read tire, on a flat piece of pavement&#185) that I passed him. Would he notice me as I moved silently along the left side of his van, or would he just pull out and – thwack?

A good mailman wouldn’t do that. Too much paperwork!

Meanwhile, I was feeling closer-and-closer to death. Luckily, I made it home where a fresh bottle of very cold water (and two aspirin) waited.

By writing about this very simple first step, I’m hoping to guilt myself into continuing. Exercise is good I guess… well, except for Jim Fixx. It’s just so damned inconvenient. Everything else is more fun. Everything!

&#185 – The Post Office mandates this ‘wheel chock behind the tire – 100%’ policy so we can continue to make them the world’s easiest target for inefficiency.

Will I End The Night Taste Free?

Ann Nyberg, my co-worker, put the squeeze on me a few weeks ago. She asked if I’d help judge a charity chili cooking contest in Madison.

And so, Helaine and I are sitting in our family room, just about ready to leave.

The more I’ve thought about this, the more I wonder if I’ve bit off more than I can chew? Isn’t the idea of a chili contest to make the hottest, spiciest concoction you can?

I won’t be able to taste anything for a month!

I’ll report back later and let you know if I still have all five senses.

Anna Nicole – An Observation

Anna Nicole Smith died this afternoon. Death, especially early death, is tragic. I don’t wish to make light of that.

When I heard the news I had two immediate reactions.

  • Wow – what a surprise
  • I’m not surprised

Is it possible to be surprised and not surprised at the same time? I spoke with a co-worker over the phone and when I mentioned it, he said he had the very same reaction.

In any case, a tragic end to a tragic life.