Thu - November 22, 2007
If you're reading this...
My web paged has moved to here! (http://www.brucecordell.com)
If you're reading this via RSS syndication, and this is the first update you've seen since I said I was moving my web page, then I lied when I said my feed you previously subscribed to would automatically update to the new site. I've made several posts at my new site, but it looks like LJ and a few other places are stuck on this old feed, and I can't figure out how to forward it, from my end, to the new feed.
Anyhow, as just noted, I was wrong when I said the old feed would still serve you. If you want to keep reading my blog at its new site via RSS (as opposed to just going there every so often to check it), you'll have to subscribe via this link:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/brucercordell
If you're reading this via RSS syndication, and this is the first update you've seen since I said I was moving my web page, then I lied when I said my feed you previously subscribed to would automatically update to the new site. I've made several posts at my new site, but it looks like LJ and a few other places are stuck on this old feed, and I can't figure out how to forward it, from my end, to the new feed.
Anyhow, as just noted, I was wrong when I said the old feed would still serve you. If you want to keep reading my blog at its new site via RSS (as opposed to just going there every so often to check it), you'll have to subscribe via this link:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/brucercordell
Posted at 11:57 PM
Wed - November 14, 2007
My Web Page is Moving!
My web page has moved to here! (http://www.brucecordell.com)
Yes, it's true, I'm moving my web page and blog to a new site, one that I can more easily update, regardless of what computer I find myself sitting at. The url should look familiar . . . brucecordell.com!
If you read my blog via a feedburner subscription, don't worry, I've already redirected the feed to the new site--you need do nothing.
However, if you're reading this at all, that means you might have my old bookmark in your browser (something like homepage.mac.com/macbruceetc.), or you are subscribed to my old, non-feeburner feed.
To get to my new blog, change your bookmark to brucecordell.com or type in brucecordell.com into the navigation window, or subscribe to this feed.
See you on the other side! You'll find it looks a lot like this side...
Yes, it's true, I'm moving my web page and blog to a new site, one that I can more easily update, regardless of what computer I find myself sitting at. The url should look familiar . . . brucecordell.com!
If you read my blog via a feedburner subscription, don't worry, I've already redirected the feed to the new site--you need do nothing.
However, if you're reading this at all, that means you might have my old bookmark in your browser (something like homepage.mac.com/macbruceetc.), or you are subscribed to my old, non-feeburner feed.
To get to my new blog, change your bookmark to brucecordell.com or type in brucecordell.com into the navigation window, or subscribe to this feed.
See you on the other side! You'll find it looks a lot like this side...
Posted at 07:07 PM
Fri - November 2, 2007
Buyer Beware, or, Apple Done Me Wrong (UPDATED: Apple Done Me Right)
UPDATED
(see bottom of post)
I have an iPod nano, 4 gigs (Red). I got it in January of this year. About 6 months in, it stopped working. The Tukwila, Southcenter Apple Store here in Washington replaced it under warranty. Great!
Today, the replacement stopped working. The unit was still under the original iPod's year warranty. No problem I thought. But as I learned at the Apple Store today from Josh the manager, the warranty doesn't cover 'corrosion.' He pointed at the slot in the bottom of the iPod and said, "You must have got it wet--see, corrosion. We don't cover it."
Since Josh the manager was the 2nd guy up the chain I talked to at the store, I realized I was out of luck.
I've never dunked the iPod in water, nor do I use it around liquid; I carry this thing around in my jeans pants pocket day in and day out. If it's corroded, it is through normal usage. The fact that the warranty conveniently doesn't cover the issue mostly likely to be the culprit in causing this model to go on the fritz strikes me as slimy business.
Apple, you've let me down. This after I've been such a loyal customer, buying your computers, your web service, and your iPods. I had even been toying with getting an iPhone. Well, f___ that. I'll wait for the gPhone now. I'll pull my old 3rd generation hard-drive based iPod out of storage and replace it's battery.
What I won't do is buy another piece of corrosion-prone crap from you.
Oh yeah, and I'll tell everyone about my experience with your so called 'one year warranty.'
UPDATE: So, I went home, got out a can of pressurized air, and blew out the connection slot on the bottom of my iPod. All the 'corrosion' immediately dispersed; it was pocket lint! Like I said, this thing lives in my pocket. Unlike my old 3rd generation iPod, the slot is on the top, and apparently acts like a collection bowl for stray lint.
So I went back to the Tukwila Apple store, hoping there was not some sort of 'lint exclusion' in the warranty.
Jake, the original tech, and Josh the manager weren't on premises anymore. So I related my story to a new Apple employee. He was taken aback, but didn't have time to check it right then. So I made an appointment for the following morning (this morning). I showed up, and a new tech, Mark, checked out my iPod. He immediately ordered me a new one, paid for by my warranty.
So, I've learned that it wasn't the faceless Apple the corporation that did me wrong. I apologize, Apple, for being so quick to anger.
It was Jake and Josh who did me wrong.
Of course, Jake and Josh are still you're employees, so you're not completely off the hook, Apple, but I'm mollified. Thankfully I decided not to take their refusal as my final answer, and to investigate the 'corrosion' claim on my own. And, thanks to Mark for following through and honoring the warranty my $200 purchase was due.
I have an iPod nano, 4 gigs (Red). I got it in January of this year. About 6 months in, it stopped working. The Tukwila, Southcenter Apple Store here in Washington replaced it under warranty. Great!
Today, the replacement stopped working. The unit was still under the original iPod's year warranty. No problem I thought. But as I learned at the Apple Store today from Josh the manager, the warranty doesn't cover 'corrosion.' He pointed at the slot in the bottom of the iPod and said, "You must have got it wet--see, corrosion. We don't cover it."
Since Josh the manager was the 2nd guy up the chain I talked to at the store, I realized I was out of luck.
I've never dunked the iPod in water, nor do I use it around liquid; I carry this thing around in my jeans pants pocket day in and day out. If it's corroded, it is through normal usage. The fact that the warranty conveniently doesn't cover the issue mostly likely to be the culprit in causing this model to go on the fritz strikes me as slimy business.
Apple, you've let me down. This after I've been such a loyal customer, buying your computers, your web service, and your iPods. I had even been toying with getting an iPhone. Well, f___ that. I'll wait for the gPhone now. I'll pull my old 3rd generation hard-drive based iPod out of storage and replace it's battery.
What I won't do is buy another piece of corrosion-prone crap from you.
Oh yeah, and I'll tell everyone about my experience with your so called 'one year warranty.'
UPDATE: So, I went home, got out a can of pressurized air, and blew out the connection slot on the bottom of my iPod. All the 'corrosion' immediately dispersed; it was pocket lint! Like I said, this thing lives in my pocket. Unlike my old 3rd generation iPod, the slot is on the top, and apparently acts like a collection bowl for stray lint.
So I went back to the Tukwila Apple store, hoping there was not some sort of 'lint exclusion' in the warranty.
Jake, the original tech, and Josh the manager weren't on premises anymore. So I related my story to a new Apple employee. He was taken aback, but didn't have time to check it right then. So I made an appointment for the following morning (this morning). I showed up, and a new tech, Mark, checked out my iPod. He immediately ordered me a new one, paid for by my warranty.
So, I've learned that it wasn't the faceless Apple the corporation that did me wrong. I apologize, Apple, for being so quick to anger.
It was Jake and Josh who did me wrong.
Of course, Jake and Josh are still you're employees, so you're not completely off the hook, Apple, but I'm mollified. Thankfully I decided not to take their refusal as my final answer, and to investigate the 'corrosion' claim on my own. And, thanks to Mark for following through and honoring the warranty my $200 purchase was due.
Posted at 12:24 PM
Wed - September 5, 2007
Elves
I wrote a Design and Development piece for DDi
that just went live on Wizards site here (log in
required).
A snippet:
A snippet:
A thousand birdsongs resound through the cool depths of the primeval forest. These ancient, virgin, and primary woodlands have never felt the metallic sting of axe or the unnatural heat of fire stoked so hot it burns more than detritus and undergrowth. Living, bark-wrapped pillars hold aloft layers upon layers of mounting canopy that filter the high sunlight through more hues of emerald and gold than could ever be imagined.
The secrets of the deep, old woods are closely guarded, and few know of the many wild things that walk amid the shadowed boles: Silver stags, wise hares, unicorns, butterflies the size of hawks, and tree owls who’ve survived a hundred winters sheltering within the forgiving branches of a grandfather pine.
Few indeed, but for the elves.
Posted at 03:30 PM
Tue - July 24, 2007
Ringworld and The Colbert Report
I was just watching the Colbert Report, likely a
rerun from yesterday if not earlier. Stephen Colbert was interviewing an art
expert. I don't recall what prompted the comment, but Colbert made a
non-sequiter along the lines of, " . . . like sunflowers that reflect the sun's
rays and burn you."
The guest and audience made no sound, apparently at a loss over Colbert's reference. And then, on with the interview.
Being the Larry Niven fan I am, and knowing Colbert's reputation as someone steeped in science fiction, D&D, and similar esoterica, I immediately wondered if he was referring to the sunflowers of Niven's Ringworld, which act just as Colbert describes, but in numbers so vast that they scorch continents at a time. That would be quite an obscure reference, if true. And also quite cool.
So, Stephen, if you're reading this, is that what you were thinking of when you talked about sunflowers that burn? :-)
The guest and audience made no sound, apparently at a loss over Colbert's reference. And then, on with the interview.
Being the Larry Niven fan I am, and knowing Colbert's reputation as someone steeped in science fiction, D&D, and similar esoterica, I immediately wondered if he was referring to the sunflowers of Niven's Ringworld, which act just as Colbert describes, but in numbers so vast that they scorch continents at a time. That would be quite an obscure reference, if true. And also quite cool.
So, Stephen, if you're reading this, is that what you were thinking of when you talked about sunflowers that burn? :-)
Posted at 09:35 PM
Tue - July 17, 2007
Bloop
Earth has fallen around its star ten times since
R'lyeh began to wake, heralding its revival with a sound
unidentified to this day.
Posted at 02:27 PM
Thu - July 5, 2007
July 5th
Last night the neighborhood where I live
discharged enough explosive to launch a small rocket into orbit over the period
of about 5 hours. I heard the last boom at about 1:30 AM. Our front yard has
become a firework graveyard of cardboard shrapnel and blackened tissue paper.
Among the litter are strewn the corpses of hundreds of spent bottle-rockets,
firecrackers, snakes, helicopters, and other
explosively shattered shapes.
Posted at 09:09 AM
Thu - June 21, 2007
Science Fiction Hall of Fame
Of all the many things I'd like to do but have let fall through the cracks, going to the
Science Fiction
Museum here in Seattle is one. I mean, I love science fiction, I read
it every day; in some ways, it is the medium I feel most defines
me.
Yet, other than to attend a few lectures in the outer hall (which I wouldn't have known about except for Monte clueing me in), I've never entered the Science Fiction Museum despite it being only 20 miles away, tops. Which also means I'm not up to date on the activities and lectures that presumably still go on there. Why is that? What's my damage?
Anyhow, forget that for now. Something cool just happened there: Gene Roddenberry was inducted to the museum's Hall of Fame. Wil Wheaton describes the event.
Yet, other than to attend a few lectures in the outer hall (which I wouldn't have known about except for Monte clueing me in), I've never entered the Science Fiction Museum despite it being only 20 miles away, tops. Which also means I'm not up to date on the activities and lectures that presumably still go on there. Why is that? What's my damage?
Anyhow, forget that for now. Something cool just happened there: Gene Roddenberry was inducted to the museum's Hall of Fame. Wil Wheaton describes the event.
Posted at 09:23 AM
Mon - May 21, 2007
Noise Cancelling Headphones
I favorably reviewed a product that is working
for me in the aftermath of another, similar product that stopped working for me;
I figure I might as well put that review on my blog, too. In truth, the review
is at least as much a condemnation of the former as a plaudit of the
latter.
I work in an environment where I write about 1,500 words a day, give or take. Writing requires some amount of concentration. However, the realities of the cube-garden work space being what they are, casual conversations carry. Enthusiastic, game-related conversations carry even farther. Conversations developers are having about a product you designed are like audio-beacons, destined to pull your attention from whatever you're currently working on.
So, a few years ago I went looking for some noise-cancelling headphones. I ended up with a set of Bose Quietcomfort2 headphones. I ended up using them until just a few weeks ago, which was a span of about 2 years.
They did the job, and for that I initially loved them. I only stopped using them because they disintegrated. Yes, it's true; at the end, no amount of cobbling could any longer salvage their usability. Even within a few months of purchasing them, the plastic arms began crumbling, until each sidearm of the set was thickly wrapped in electrician's tape to keep them rigid enough to clamp over my ears.
Last week, one headphone cup broke off, and after trying one last valiant effort with tape and a brace, I had to call it quits.
I've never traveled with these, I use them only at my desk, I've never dropped them.
Even with such care, the plastic slowly crumbled away.
Is this planned obsolescence? For something that cost me $350 dollars, I'm very upset.
So, I ordered a set of Audio-Technica noise-cancelling headphones (for half the price of the Bose!).
So far, the Audio-Technicas cancel noise slightly better than the Bose, and in fact allow me to go to a lower volume on music while I'm working at my desk, or even no music at all. Best of all, the Audio-Technicas cacnel out voices better, which is really what I'm looking for.
I guess to really compare to the Bose, I'll have to give the new headphones a little time and see if they begin crumbling away after just 6 months as the Quietcomfort2 did. So, if that happens, I'll give another review. But for now, I'm happy.
I work in an environment where I write about 1,500 words a day, give or take. Writing requires some amount of concentration. However, the realities of the cube-garden work space being what they are, casual conversations carry. Enthusiastic, game-related conversations carry even farther. Conversations developers are having about a product you designed are like audio-beacons, destined to pull your attention from whatever you're currently working on.
So, a few years ago I went looking for some noise-cancelling headphones. I ended up with a set of Bose Quietcomfort2 headphones. I ended up using them until just a few weeks ago, which was a span of about 2 years.
They did the job, and for that I initially loved them. I only stopped using them because they disintegrated. Yes, it's true; at the end, no amount of cobbling could any longer salvage their usability. Even within a few months of purchasing them, the plastic arms began crumbling, until each sidearm of the set was thickly wrapped in electrician's tape to keep them rigid enough to clamp over my ears.
Last week, one headphone cup broke off, and after trying one last valiant effort with tape and a brace, I had to call it quits.
I've never traveled with these, I use them only at my desk, I've never dropped them.
Even with such care, the plastic slowly crumbled away.
Is this planned obsolescence? For something that cost me $350 dollars, I'm very upset.
So, I ordered a set of Audio-Technica noise-cancelling headphones (for half the price of the Bose!).
So far, the Audio-Technicas cancel noise slightly better than the Bose, and in fact allow me to go to a lower volume on music while I'm working at my desk, or even no music at all. Best of all, the Audio-Technicas cacnel out voices better, which is really what I'm looking for.
I guess to really compare to the Bose, I'll have to give the new headphones a little time and see if they begin crumbling away after just 6 months as the Quietcomfort2 did. So, if that happens, I'll give another review. But for now, I'm happy.
Posted at 01:23 PM
Fri - May 18, 2007
Tagged
I have been tagged by Liberty's
Yarn.
Here are the rules: Each person tagged blogs 7 random facts about themselves, as well as the rules of the game. You need to tag seven others and list their names on your blog. You have to leave those you plan on tagging a note in their comments so they know that they have been tagged and to read your blog.
Seven random factoids...
1. I just returned from bottling beer BWJ and some other friends and I brewed.
2. I like to smoke the occasional cigar. And drink a beer while smoking said cigar. How convenient...
3. I am a humanist.
4. I am currently rereading (for the... 4th? 5th time?) David Brin's uplift saga. Yes, I like to reread books.
5. I don't own a digital camera. Or a cell phone. One day, that will change, but it's working for me now.
6. It's my goal to get off the grid within 5 years, hopefully less.
7. My mom just told me that my distant cousin, Sarah Daly, is in a band called the Scanners. Upon downloading their album, Violence is Golden from iTunes, I've decided the band rocks. I may be biased.
Tag forward...
JD
Monte
Jeff
Paul
Susan
Wolfgang
CmdrSue
Here are the rules: Each person tagged blogs 7 random facts about themselves, as well as the rules of the game. You need to tag seven others and list their names on your blog. You have to leave those you plan on tagging a note in their comments so they know that they have been tagged and to read your blog.
Seven random factoids...
1. I just returned from bottling beer BWJ and some other friends and I brewed.
2. I like to smoke the occasional cigar. And drink a beer while smoking said cigar. How convenient...
3. I am a humanist.
4. I am currently rereading (for the... 4th? 5th time?) David Brin's uplift saga. Yes, I like to reread books.
5. I don't own a digital camera. Or a cell phone. One day, that will change, but it's working for me now.
6. It's my goal to get off the grid within 5 years, hopefully less.
7. My mom just told me that my distant cousin, Sarah Daly, is in a band called the Scanners. Upon downloading their album, Violence is Golden from iTunes, I've decided the band rocks. I may be biased.
Tag forward...
JD
Monte
Jeff
Paul
Susan
Wolfgang
CmdrSue
Posted at 11:33 AM
Tue - May 15, 2007
Firefox, Adblock Plus, and Amazon
I've been trying (again) to switch to Firefox as
my primary web browser because of all the cool addons available for it. A few
hiccups ensued, one of which was until just a few minutes ago, I couldn't figure
out why all the amazon squares on the right side of my page that revealed novels
and games I've written were not showing
up.
Turns out that Firefox has already installed, or as an addon I installed, something called Adblock Plus. And, one of the things Adblock Plus filters out is assoc-amazon advertisements.
Yes, I guess these are advertisements, but they are also a handy way for me to display what I've published lately.
Bad Adblock Plus!
If you're using Firefox and Addblock Plus, but are curious to see what should be inside those blank sections on the right side of this page, you can selectively disable the Adblock amazon filter.
However, if you're happy not seeing what's noted there, you're good to go.
Turns out that Firefox has already installed, or as an addon I installed, something called Adblock Plus. And, one of the things Adblock Plus filters out is assoc-amazon advertisements.
Yes, I guess these are advertisements, but they are also a handy way for me to display what I've published lately.
Bad Adblock Plus!
If you're using Firefox and Addblock Plus, but are curious to see what should be inside those blank sections on the right side of this page, you can selectively disable the Adblock amazon filter.
However, if you're happy not seeing what's noted there, you're good to go.
Posted at 09:53 AM
Mon - April 30, 2007
Living In Modern Society
With all the demands on my time and attention, it
seems I perform a constant juggling act to determine which action items will
receive priority, and through benign inattention, which will fall through the
cracks.
Sometimes those things that fall through the cracks, unfortunately, can come back and bite a person later.
What's fallen to the bottom of your to-do list that perhaps you should consider putting back on top, at least for this week?
Have you backed-up your hard-drive lately? Gone by to visit an old friend? Checked your finances? Or are you wasting time writing an entry in your blog, like me?
Sometimes those things that fall through the cracks, unfortunately, can come back and bite a person later.
What's fallen to the bottom of your to-do list that perhaps you should consider putting back on top, at least for this week?
Have you backed-up your hard-drive lately? Gone by to visit an old friend? Checked your finances? Or are you wasting time writing an entry in your blog, like me?
Posted at 05:13 PM
Fri - December 15, 2006
A Million Without Power, Including Me
The winds blew again last night, this time worse
than a few days ago, with some extreme gusts over a hundred miles per hour, but
the average between 45-60 miles per hour. Power is out across Seattle, partially
closing it down, with trees bringing down power lines, including ours, as well
as our phone service. Traffic lights are out, so traffic is awful today, but we
made it down to my work because we thought power was still on in the valley, but
nope, closed. We finally found a Starbucks whose incredibly long lines were
short enough, seemingly, to get in the door, and more importantly, to plug in my
computer and get on line. All this so I could blog!!! Well, no, not really,
mainly we need the coffee and my wife needs to get online for her work. She's
standing in the line to get the coffee right now.
I say this way too much without doing anything about it, but I really need to look into getting a hybrid wind/solar/battery system. These sorts of power outages seem to be getting more common.
I say this way too much without doing anything about it, but I really need to look into getting a hybrid wind/solar/battery system. These sorts of power outages seem to be getting more common.
Posted at 10:52 AM
Wed - November 29, 2006
Antikythera Mechanism an Eclipse Calculator?
The mysterious Antikythera mechanism is over
2,000 years old. It was discovered in a shipwreck off a Greek island. It is more
complex than a modern wrist-watch, and more complex than any other machine known
to have existed for another 1,000 years. Not unexpectedly, its function and even
existence has always puzzled everyone. Recent industrial CT scans lead some to
believe the relic was used to calculate eclipses. Even if that turns out to be
true, it remains a marvel of engineering in a period not normally ascribed such
mechanical aptitude.
-http://www.newscientisttech.com/article/dn10680-enigmatic-relic-was-an-eclipse-calculator.html
-http://www.newscientisttech.com/article/dn10680-enigmatic-relic-was-an-eclipse-calculator.html
Posted at 01:52 PM
Fri - November 10, 2006
I drink pop, not soda
Apparently, I have an "Inland North" accent. That
is very near the region I grew up, so there you go.
| What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Inland North You may think you speak "Standard English straight out of the dictionary" but when you step away from the Great Lakes you get asked annoying questions like "Are you from Wisconsin?" or "Are you from Chicago?" Chances are you call carbonated drinks "pop." | |
| The Midland | |
| The Northeast | |
| Philadelphia | |
| North Central | |
| The South | |
| The West | |
| Boston | |
| What American accent do you have? Take More Quizzes | |
Posted at 04:41 PM
Quick Links
Bruce Cordell's Old Site
My web site has moved to here! (http://www.brucecordell.com)
Unless you clicked to 'learn more about bruce," you might be perusing my old site and not realize it. If the book mark in your browser is something like homepage.mac.com/macbruceetc, or you are subscribed to a non-feeburner feed, you are at my old web page.
To get to my new web page and blog, change your bookmark to brucecordell.com or type in brucecordell.com into the navigation window, or subscribe to my blog by clicking on this link.
See you on the other side! You'll find it looks a lot like this side...
To get to my new web page and blog, change your bookmark to brucecordell.com or type in brucecordell.com into the navigation window, or subscribe to my blog by clicking on this link.
See you on the other side! You'll find it looks a lot like this side...
Search Brucecordell.com
Novels
I contributed a short story to this anthology.
T. H. Lain is the house name
I used to write Oath of Nerull.
Links
GAMES
Psionics
Adoption Videos
I make a new animal adoption video every so often to help the Humane Society for Seattle / King County. If interested in any animal you see here, visit seattlehumane.org
XBOX 360 Gamertag
What Does It Cost?
Cost of the War in Iraq
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Total entries in this category: 31
Published On: Dec 01, 2007 04:59 PM
Total entries in this category: 31
Published On: Dec 01, 2007 04:59 PM