Tralfaz

Category: blog

  • Props to Microsoft

    Props to Microsoft

    It almost pains me to admit it, but Microsoft has gone a long way to restoring my trust in them as a brand and a company to do business with. From the bullshit around Internet Explorer 6 (that I still have to deal with on my websites), to the piss poor security model of pre SP2 Windows XP, they had a pretty big deficit to overcome. How did they do it (in my case at least?)

    Yesterday, I got a message that someone suspicious had control of my live.com account. I happen to have a couple, so it took me a while to realize that it was the one that is my Xbox Live account (and uses my gmail address). I haven’t actually logged into the account in a couple of years, and it was really just used to coordinate my activities on my xbox. No email, no other “goodies“, so low risk. Or so I thought.

    Sigh, so I go “reclaim” my account. Not too hard as the asshat who scammed the credentials hadn’t done anything to change the main security features. Phew. Fortunately, I have a pretty long history with Microsoft commercially, and I will admit that their business/billing systems are pretty good to work with. No real complaints, clearly they have a good grasp on dealing with the masses (unlike Google, cough. cough) when there are issues.

    As has become the custom, I turned on 2 factor authentication. Really annoying to do this for a lightweight use, but c’est la vie. There is an “app” that you can setup to provide the code (or you can just go with the SMS message to your phone”.

    Yep, Microsoft uses the Google Authenticator application. Kick ass.

    Who would have thought that MSFT would use the Google tool?

    Oh, and they acknowledge that a few people do want to use iPhones for their services, so there are really good setup instructions for Apple gear.

    Trust not completely restored, but well on the path. Credit where credit is due.

  • Living with Arthritis

    Alas, getting old sucks. A lot of things begin to degrade, and just stop working. Mid last year my left thumb started to become painful. At first, I assumed it was just a physical damage like I jammed my thumb. When after a month or so, it didn’t get better, so off to a doctor I went.

    Long story short, the prognosis was osteo arthritis. The usual treatments were tried, spica brace (OTS and custom made), NSAIDs, and finally a cortisone shot into the joint.

    I also tried the alternative solutions. Glucosamine and MSM. Alas, they seemed to be a big heaping pile of placebo, even in high dosages, for several months, no noticeable relief.

    All that happened was a temporary respite. The only thing that helped was massive doses of NSAIDs. 800 mg Ibuprofen 2x a day did a pretty good job of keeping the sharp pain at bay. But that is not good, as I also take statins, beta blockers, ace inhibitors, and anti coagulants (don’t ask), adding 800mg of Vitamin I made me bleed in interesting areas. So I am off the NSAIDs.

    There is surgery, but it is not a good option, as mobility will be greatly curtailed. The hand specialist told me that they don’t do that surgery in people my age (too young). Gulp.

    Now, I am in a constant low grade pain. I can’t play guitar. I can hold on to a bicycle, but not sure for how much longer.

    Getting old sucks. I fear that from now until the long goodnight, it is just a series of disappointments as I have more and more things I can’t do.

    Sigh.

  • Classic TV – The Rockford Files

    Classic TV – The Rockford Files

    With the recent passing of the legendary James Garner I have once again tossed the hit TV series “The Rockford Files” onto my Netflix streaming list. I had gone through the series a few years ago, reminiscing about my childhood, but this time it was to honor the memory of James.

    It is astounding how well the stories hold up to time. Written and filmed in the mid 1970’s, the stories are timeless, and entertaining today. Yes, technology is better, and a lot of the tricks of the trade employed by the main character wouldn’t fly today, in all it still makes for amazingly entertaining watching.

    One fixture in the show, is Rockford’s trailer, parked on the beach. Unassuming from the outside, and remarkably spacious on the inside, it is a comforting prop to the show.

    Of course, now that I am looking for a house here in California, and I might slip down into “manufactured home” territory (thanks to my shitty relocation company) I look on Rockford’s trailer with envy. Great location, and boy, how spacious is it inside.

    Answer: far more spacious than it really is. Alas, the interior filming was done on a sound stage, the main reason why the trailer shots aren’t cramped.

    Still, a man can dream.

    If you have Netflix streaming, I highly recommend tossing this on your list, and watching a few episodes. You will be sucked in and enjoy the time spent.

  • Competitive Panhandling

    Competitive Panhandling

    Unless you just arrived from Mars, odds are high that you have see the panhandlers working the off-ramps. It is a pretty simple scam. Look scruffy, carry a sign with a sob story, and make eye contact with the drivers waiting at the light. While there might be some seriously needy people, the vast majority of them are completely a scam.

    Oh, yeah, some will have heartbreaking stories, but take note of how many of the pan handlers look pretty well nourished. Hmmmm.

    Of course, "good" corners are popular, and that can lead to panhandler fights. Yesterday, on my way home, there were two groups of beggars arguing rather loudly, and threatening each other with knives.

    I guess there is competition in all human endeavors.

    (for the record, your donations are far better given to one of the organizations who help the homeless.)

  • More Comcast Love

    I felt a little bad in my last post ragging on Comcast. Apart from their tech whiffing on connecting the cable last Friday, and the snafu’s until their technician was here on Tuesday, it really wasn’t their fault.

    Today, I have more awesomeness to report.

    We had far too much stuff in our small apartment, so until Thursday, I hadn’t even unpacked our Plasma TV. Naturally, I hadn’t been ready for the Cable TV install.

    No big deal.

    Of course, I assumed that in our hall closet (that is deep, and our movers piled with boxes) our AV cables were. BZZT, thanks for playing. I did have cables for the XBox 360, so Friday I hooked us up to Netflix streaming (friggin kick ass), but my wife wanted the cable hooked up to watch the Tour de France.

    (more…)

  • The Drive

    Over the 4th weekend, I took a couple of days off (Thursday and Monday) to drive my dogs from Tucson, where they were staying at a pet lounge, to our new home in San Jose, California.

    The drive was fine, we rented a big Dodge Grand Caravan, as we wanted there to be enough room for the boys, and all the crap they need (beds, food, water, our bags, etc). Although Barbara was worried that it would not have enough room, it was surprisingly cozy in the back, with well partitioned areas for the boys.

    Chillin' in their rented van. This is the life
    Chillin’ in their rented van. This is the life

    We settled in to an easy lope across Arizona. Starting later than I had hoped (surprised? Ha, you don’t know Barbara very well, do ya?) we made pretty good time. A stop at the junction of Gila Bend to top up the tank (we had been driving the van around all week) and to potty the boys, grab some Subway sandwiches, and off we went.

    Smooth sailing until we hit Quartzite. One of those famous Arizona monsoon pattern dumps, we ended up parking in a Chevron lot for 20 minutes until the deluge passed. I will miss that.

    Barb takes over driving, and we head to California. As we were approaching Palm Springs, and it was already 6:30 PM, it seemed like a good time to find a place to stay. So I pulled up my trusty iPhone, searched for dog friendly hotels, and the top recommendation was the Best Western Date Tree Inn. Setup the navigation, and we are 20 minutes out. Cool.

    (more…)

  • Nightmare: Computer edition

    At work, we are being split into two companies. A week ago, my computer was supposed to be migrated to the new domain. So I followed the directions to the letter, and naturally it failed.

    That night, I had a nightmare. That instead of just switching domains, that my laptop automagagically upgraded to Windows 8. Metro interface and all.

    <shudder>

    Fortunately, when I woke up, I found that I was still running Win 7 Pro. Phew.

  • Relocation Saga, Part 97

    Our timing was impeccable. All through the last year, the housing market in Phoenix was literally on fire. Values were rising, houses were flying off the shelf, and we saw that our home had some serious appreciation.

    Then we put it on the market. SLAM that door shut. Suddenly inventory went from less than 4 weeks to more than 6 months, and it turned from a seller’s market to a buyer’s market. Almost over night.

    So, even though we priced it to sell, and we were aggressive up front, and being in a good neighborhood with great schools, and desirable location, our house has languished for almost 3 months now.

    We took the plunge and moved, hoping that being unoccupied and clean would help traction, but alas, no, so we are in temporary housing, and have a little more than 3 months until our company will buy our house for market value.

    A bad place to be.

    Options are bleak:

    1. Stay in temporary housing and keep our household goods in storage. It is tight, being in a 1 bedroom apartment, and it is in a good location, about 4 miles from the office, and a counter commute, so that is a positive. But the bad news is that after July 15th, I have to start paying out of pocket. At $159 a day (minus fees and taxes). Gulp. That is nearly $5500 a month for “rent”. Add in the almost $1,000 a month to store my household goods, we are quickly approaching $7K a month in out of pocket expenses (not counting our mortgage, and utilities we need to keep up on the house in Phoenix). Groan.
    2. Rent a temporary place. Find a pet friendly place, and rent. Seems easy, but we do have two greyhounds, large (yet calm) dogs makes this difficult. Rent will be much less than the cost of the temporary housing, and we can get our “stuff” back. So that is cool. But we have to sign a lease for a year.

    Not really a choice. Burning through our savings at $7K a month will wipe out our down payment before my company “buys” my house in October. Then we won’t be able to afford a down payment. So we rent.

    Found a complex that is “pet friendly” and a reasonable price. We will sign the lease shortly, and hope to move in in the next couple of weeks.

    The irony: the management company asked if we had a rental history. Uh, no, we have owned for almost 16 years in total…

  • Comcast Sucks

    When we first moved to Arizona, I splurged and bought a Tivo. It was an old one, and it was wonderful. Worked great, super intuitive interface, great integration. Back then it had to call Tivo every day to get the latest listings.

    In 2006 or so, we went HD, and upgraded to a Series 2 HD, with the cable cards. With the exception of a failed HD in 2012, replaced via Weaknees, it has been wonderful.

    At both our places in Arizona, we had Cox cable. It was reliable, reasonable, and it gave us absolutely awesome internet speeds.

    Fast forward. We have moved to the San Jose area. Our stuff is still in storage, and we are in temporary housing. The apartment we are in has Comcast Xfinity service. Internet, TV, and telephone.

    I guess I should be happy that it has a DVR, but the UI is so fucking primitive, it is painful to use. It is slow, non responsive, and the search function truly sucks ass. Yes, there are lots of channels, but unless you search precisely right, it will not return anything, and then you get to go back to square one.

    I can only hope that we have a choice wherever we end up, but I suspect that we will have the choice between Comcast and AT&T U-Verse.

    I guess I will once again go back to Tivo.

  • Another day in Paradise

    What a shock. Where I USED to live, it will be 106F today. Here (Santa Clara) it will be 79. The local people will bitch about it being HOT.

    I have a lot of DMV stuff to do, alas, California is nowhere near as efficient as Arizona is/was. When I first relocated to AZ back in 2003, I walked into the local MVD office in Tucson at about 11:00AM, took a number, and before I could sit down, I was called. I re-registered my car, got my driver’s license, transferred the title on my motorcycles, and was out of there in less than 20 minutes, plates and driver’s license in hand.

    Not likely to be replicated in California. Hoops up the wazoo, probably 3 trips (hopefully with appointments) and a lot of money out of pocket. Sigh.

    Drivers

    Both states have their share of asshole drivers. But they are different in their bad practices. I need to recalibrate to account for the beemer drivers who seem to like to pass on the margins here. Without signals. Far over the posted speed limit.

    Life is good. If only we could sell out damn house in Chandler…