A short survey

I’m writing a paper for a class I’m taking and thought it would be fun to augment it with some up-to-the-minute thoughts from regular people.

I’ve created a short, anonymous survey about how people feel about copying digital media. Please take it. Thanks.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=QxBtQRbHjsTbA0MLGWK5mg_3d_3d

Not-so-extreme home makeover 2009

Every summer, we try to do one large home improvement project. Some years this is a smaller do-it-yourself thing, some years it is a little bigger. And this year’s was a lot bigger – getting the exterior painted.

We’ve lived in our house almost 10 years. Far longer, by the way, than we’ve lived anywhere else. We bought it new, but it was definitely time for a paint job.

The Before picture
 
Of course, this is two minivans, and several megapixels, ago when we were just moving in. You can still see the “sold” sign in the window.
We picked the colors and went with a sort of green-grey for the main color and an off white for the trim and kind of a darker off-green door. You can see we opted for the then-fashionable fake shutters on the upper story.

The Process
We live in a development with a homeowner’s association and so we had to go through an approval process to pick the color. This meant talking to the Architecture Review Committee (over email), getting forms, knocking on a bunch of neighbors’ doors to get their signatures and show them our colors. Good times.
Before that, and even more onerous than that, we (and by that I mean, my wife) needed to pick the colors. This consisted of two parts looking at paint chips at the store and one part driving around and looking for colors we liked. At one point, Lynnae even ran up to a house to compare the chips we had to their color to find one just like it. (several times, btw)

Between the rain, wind, and sun, our exterior takes a beating. Getting a house painted is a pretty major ordeal so we wanted good paint. We selected Benjamin Moore Moorlife, with it’s lifetime guarantee. We went with Char Brown for the main body color, Black Satin for the door, and a pure white trim.

We met with probably a half-dozen painters who ranged for estimates. Some seemed very uninterested in doing much of anything. Some told us they would not paint the house until August. Some tried to talk us out of the paint we wanted. Some gave quotes so low you have to wonder what the result would be.

Finally, we narrowed it down to Absolute Quality Painting. Jim Mason was absolutely stellar from the first time we met him for an estimate until the last drop of paint was applied. Jim and his assistant painted our house like they were painting their own masterpiece on canvas. The meticulousness and attention to detail reflect a pride in their craft you don’t often see.

At about the same time, a neighbor a couple houses down was having their house painted. A crowd of workers showed up and it was basically done in 2 days, including prep. Jim took a little longer, more like a week. While our neighbor’s house also looks good, you can see the result of that extra bit of care in Jim’s work on our house. The last day and a half, they basically circled every level of the house dozens of times, checking every piece of trim, every nook and cranny and touching up and cleaning up as needed.

One night, we’d left some folding camp chairs our around our fire pit in the back and Jim came to our door very apologetic the next day because he was up on the second story doing some trim touch up and the wind had blown a few drops of paint onto the chairs. Now, one, we take these chairs camping; two, if we cared about them that much, we would have put them away; and three, these drops of paint were microscopic – there’s no way we would notice them if he hadn’t called it out. that is the degree of care and professionalism we are talking about here.

So if you are in the Seattle area and need some painting done, by all means, call Jim Mason at Absolute Quality Painting. It’s an easy choice to complete a the chore of making your house look like new. It might take a few more days than other guys, but for something that is going to last another 10 years, that’s no big deal really.

From the business side, we’d come to agreement on a great price and, knowing contractors, I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop. You know the “well THAT wasn’t included in our quote so it will be an extra $$$$$” (you know, like KPMG jobs). But it NEVER happened. Easy to work with. Man of his word. Just got-er-done kind of stuff.

The After picture
OK, I know, I’m keeping you in suspense. Here’s the finished result…
Unfortunately, a picture can’t really capture the true richness and depth of the brown, but you get the idea.

And again, if you need painting done, call Jim. You won’t be sorry.

Take the wraps off Natal

For the past while, I’ve had the opportunity to be involved with a very cool “secret project” on Xbox 360. Today it was unveiled for the first time publicly at E3 in Los Angeles.

Project Natal is a whole new approach to interacting with your entertainment options. Playing games, watching movies, interacting with your friends online. Don’t settle for a motion controller when you can just have motion.

Take a look at this intro video…

In PC World’s coverage after the announcement today, they had this to say:

Like a nerdy gladiator swaggering onstage to do battle with breathlessly expectant fans and naysayers alike, Microsoft utterly wowed with "Project Natal." I mean really wowed. Yeah, it's kind of a dumb name, but it may turn out to be the most impressive show item any company's crowed about in years.

I’ve been at Microsoft a long time and I honestly don’t recall the press saying something like that about any Microsoft product.

Not to be out-gushed, Time Magazine said:

Today at E3, Microsoft announced a new technology that, like the Wii, uses motion-sensing to control video games. But it may just be better than the Wii. In fact it may just kill the Wii.

Peter Molyneaux, of Microsoft’s Lionhead Studio, the creator of Fable, unveiled an amazing project called Milo. This is so cool.

So there it is. That’s my latest secret project. Way more interesting than the past ones I’ve been involved with. :-)

So what else was there to see in the Xbox 360 E3 presentation? Well, not much. Just…

• Joyride – looks like a blast!
• Rockband: The Beatles
• Forza 3 for this Fall. My youngest daughter is looking forward to both of these racers.
• A double dose of Halo. ODST for this year and Reach for 2010.
• Alan Wake. Looked very cool. Dark and eerie. Amazing lighting.
• Modern Warfare 2. I’ve seen enough. Sign me up!
• Last.FM service.
• Facebook and Twitter
• Left 4 Dead 2
• Splinter Cell: Conviction
• And, oh yeah, Final Fantasy XIII and Metal Gear Solid on the Xbox. Sony…please…man up. I can hear you crying from here.
• Video parties so you and your friends in different places can watch movies MST3000 style.

I think Gamasutra said it best:

“What can Sony do now?”

Still don’t have a 360? Stop punishing yourself and go out and get one!!! You’re missing all the good stuff and, frankly, people are starting to talk about you behind your back.

An unexpectedly good movie…

No, it isn’t Terminator Salvation (opened this weekend, can’t wait to see it).

It’s…

This movie is really enjoyable. I know that sounds crazy. I mean it is a movie about a guy trying to get the world record score on Donkey Kong! It’s a documentary with the real folks and the real events.

I’d heard of this movie when it came out in 2007, but around that same time my wife told me about some older lady that she goes to a weekly class with mentioned that her son was in a movie about Donkey Kong. As soon as she told me that I knew she was talking about this, but I never got around to watching it until last night.
Everyone else in the family was in the living room watching “So you think you can dance” and I was watching this on Netflix streaming in the den.

Here’s what makes it so funny. The hardcore video gamers in this movie have NO idea how ridiculous they are. The old record holder, Billy Mitchell (no not the great general) thinks he is oh so suave with his Members Only jacket and feathered semi-mullet. He is surrounded by an army of adult/nerd/boy/men who he somehow holds some sway over and who do his mind-game bidding like so many zombified fire ants.
Along comes Steve Wiebe (that’s “wee-bee”). Steve is a normal guy from Redmond.  A once laid off Boeing employee turned science teacher. A never-was grunge musician. A washed up baseball player whose untimely injury cost him the spotlight. And someone whose mother says she thinks “he’s a little autistic”. Steve has had a hard time coming to grips with the idea that he just isn’t going to end up famous and special after all.

And Steve is the only normal person in that competitive gaming universe.

Please. Make a couple hours for King of Kong. It’s not like you had anything planned anyway. Just do it. Where else can you here the child of a guy trying to break a world’s record screaming to have his bum wiped!

Steve Wiebe…you’re all right.
Billy Mitchell (no the other one)…you’re a moron.

Update: I just discovered that Maxim magazine (Dec 2007) named Billy Mitchell “Dweebus Maximus Dorkus of both the 20th and 21st centuries”. His parents must be very proud.

Countdown to E3

E3 - the Electronic Entertainment Expo - is coming!

So jot down 10:30AM Pacific, June 1st on your calendars for the Microsoft E3 Press Briefing.
You can watch it live on G4 TV.

Any guesses on big announcements you'd like to see? Crimson Skies 2? Alan Wake? APB?

Hey Microsoft…I’ve got a “critical” update for you!

You may not be aware of this, but just a little while ago, my home network health slipped into a “critical” state. Suddenly all those snide comments and verbal jabs my network has been making made sense!

Dutifully, because I always do what my computer tells me to do, I opened up my Home Server Console or Command Center or Missile Launch Pad or whatever and saw that there were important updates that needed to be installed. So I said, “Oh yeah baby. You know what I need. Hook me up with some of that sweet Windows Update action.” (or words to that effect)

Long update process ensues...
Updates to the .Net managed framework…OK.
Some security fixes…dandy.
Massive two part critical update containing Internet Explorer 8…WHAT THE…

Look, I work at Microsoft. I like it there. I definitely don’t consider it the nexus of evil. (if it were, it would be a lot more fun)
And I don’t even mind IE8. I’ve been using it for some time at work and have no gripes about it.

I LOVE my Home Server. It happily keeps my machines backed up. Shares media all over the place. And is a cute little shiny box with  flashing lights. What’s not to love?

But, guys, seriously. IE8 as a critical update for Home Server? No one ever even starts the browser. This monster of a download has been running for almost 2 hours on my weak sauce 1.5Mbps DSL connection.

All for an app that will NEVER even be run.
(don’t write me hate mail that various components of IE are used for the Console or whatever…I get that, but all that already worked fine)

Dad and Car Stories

First of all, I had an awesome dad.
He dropped out of school when he was 16, joined the Air Force and became a jet engine mechanic, a flight engineer, and a flight engineer instructor.

 Here’s a picture of dad in Vietnam, about 1972(?).
I’m sure he had an engine on his mind.
Or maybe 4 of them at this point – attached to the wings.

After more than 20 years in the military, he was a small businessman doing all sorts of things. Some very successful, some modestly so, some not so great (this one in particular, go ahead and zoom in).
In any case, he was a genius, pure and simple.
My dad knew everything there was to know about cars. In fact, he once designed a hydraulic engine for a car. Replacing an engine was something he’d do for a couple hours of entertainment.
Before my time, when he was a younger man, he used to race motorcycles. And we used to go to stock car races. Not as those poor saps in the stands – always in the pits or in the middle of the track with the emergency vehicles.
One thing I recall from when he was driving a car was that the car numbers were handed out by whomever is in charge of that set of races. His number was “141”. He was one of the premier class of flight engineers for the Lockheed C-141 Starlifter – so he was happy to have that number.

Anywhoo, I digress, boy, how I wish I’d paid attention to that car stuff!

Dumb Thing #1
A few weeks ago, the car my middle daughter drives, a 1994 Nissan, blew an engine in a pretty spectacular fashion.

I bit the bullet and had a shop replace it with a low mileage rebuilt engine*. My rationale was that she needed a car and that was cheaper than buying a new one. Right? Right?

* Oh what the heck do I know about what they put in there. Could be a hamster cage from 1921 for all I know. That repair guy is laughing now but wait until they get a RROD. Who’ll be laughing then, Mr Funny Pants?

Dumb Thing #2
Last Friday afternoon, the same car just wouldn’t start. We were actually just getting back into town that night. I ended up spending the whole Saturday trying to get it to start with the help of a friend who apparently DID pay attention to his dad. We seemed to have success.
We had the battery tested. Fine.
We (meaning the other guy – who HAD paid attention to his dad) removed the starter and we had it tested. Fine. <grrrr>
We reverently undertook that old broken car sacrament – cleaning the battery terminals. They needed it, but it didn’t help.
We (meaning the other guy) put everything back and it just worked.
Thanks again KH!

Not So Dumb Thing #1
In the past week, I’ve helped my oldest daughter find a car to use in the summer and take back to college with her. (Despite my aggressive promotion of public transit for students, she is addicted to being behind the wheel.)
We ended up finding and buying what seems like (we just got it) a really nice loaded 1993 Camry for $1285.
Lo, what did I find? There are not a few but MANY cars I could have bought for less than I paid for that engine replacement. STOOPID STOOPID STOOPID!!! Why didn’t I look at this at the time?!?!
Granted, finding this car did involve visiting people who seemed frightened that someone looked at their Craigslist ad and had surely come to kill them.

drum roll please

Dumb Thing #3
The Nissan is now stalled out again about 20 miles from home in a parking lot. It had started fine, but I stopped for a Slurpee. Curse my gluttony!
ARRRGHHHHHH!
First the economy and having to hear about other people losing their jobs. Then all this annoying TV coverage of Swine Flu. And now THIS?
Why does everything bad have to happen to me?!?

Not So Dumb Thing #2 (hopefully)
Enter the tool my dad didn’t have at his disposal – the internet.
I couldn’t sleep, due to the weight of my troubles, Googled I mean “Live Searched” and found what seems to be the cause of this and it might not be so bad. Looks like it is the infamous Nissan Inhibitor Relay problem.
I plan to attack the car with wiring diagrams, some taps of the hammer, some jumper wire, and a few other tricks to deal with that pesky relay.
Based on the many things I’ve read about the symptoms of this, I’m very hopeful. In fact, it is 2:45am and I’m restraining myself from driving out there and attacking it right now.

So I’m not a genius, but I can work a search engine. The “wisdom of crowds” and all that.
Somehow this seems appropriate…

Update: OK I struggled with this car all day on Saturday. I tapped on the relay. I tapped on the starter. I removed the relay and stuck in a jumper wire. Nothing. In the evening, KH came and helped me again and replaced the starter with a new one. Nothing. Connected the old starter to power while it was on the ground. WHIZZZZ. It worked fine. I subconsciously attempt suicide with a small cut on my finger that bleeds all over my shirt.
We narrow this down again. It MUST be the relay. I pull the relay. Stick in the jumper wire again. Car roars to life. #$%^&*!~`>%
A whole day shot.
On the plus side, KH is getting really fast at changing Sentra starters.
Oh, and until I replace the jumper wire with a new relay, you can now start the car when it is in gear. Hopefully the driver remembers this and doesn’t drive into a wall.