Posted September 3rd, 2007 @ 11:52am by Erik J. Barzeski
The final round of the Deutsche Bank Championship (a PGA Tour event) is being played today. Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson play in the penultimate group and NBC is providing coverage at 2pm… except on WPXI out of Pittsburgh. Yesterday, a chiron ticker informed viewers that they should check channels 3, 11, 14, or 21 on Comcast for coverage of the golf tournament as WPXI would be showing the Jerry Lewis Telethon instead.
What DirecTV viewers are supposed to do is beyond me. We don't get channels 3, 14, or 21 - we get only channel 11 (both in high-def and standard). Perhaps they'll show golf on the high-def channel and the telethon on the standard channel.
I tried calling WPXI but was only able to get someone's voicemail. DirecTV can't send the generic NBCE feed to me (channel 82) because I don't have a waiver (because I've really got no need for one and can receive local programming just fine). So… 😛
Update: It's going to be shown on WBGN, apparently, which I don't get.
P.S. See, others weren't happy either.
Posted in Technology | 2 Comments »
Posted September 1st, 2007 @ 07:10pm by Erik J. Barzeski
NBC, in their counter-counter-press-release on the $4.99 iTunes videos, has again alleged that most content on iPods is stolen (("…since it is estimated that the typical iPod contains a significant amount of illegally downloaded material" they say.)). It's an offensive claim first made, I believe, by Microsoft. None of the content on my iPods is stolen. None. So, here's the question to you all:
{democracy:21}
Incidentally, NBC, good luck selling your wares elsewhere. iTunes isn't just the dominant player in the marketplace, iTunes is the marketplace.
Posted in Miscellaneous | 6 Comments »
Posted September 1st, 2007 @ 03:17pm by Erik J. Barzeski
IIRC, two iPhone software unlocks were supposed to be available today (and I'm not counting that UniquePhones.com one). iPhoneSIMFree.com was one, but they've yet to release anything. The other was likely a hoax and/or virus.
I'm getting bored here, people! I can only look at Mac 128k manuals for so long.
Posted in Technology | 4 Comments »
Posted August 31st, 2007 @ 02:11pm by Erik J. Barzeski
1) The Help Menu
2) Preview in Order
Preview finally opens images in the proper order. No longer will "image04.jpg" be shown after "image21.jpg."
3) Screenshot Coordinates
When you press shift-cmd-4, the crosshairs appear with screenshot coordinates. If you just want to quickly approximate the size of an image or take a properly sized screenshot, this is a great help.
Posted in Apple | 5 Comments »
Posted August 30th, 2007 @ 09:43am by Erik J. Barzeski
I wasn't brought up to necessarily be "courteous" to people. Manners weren't beat into my head or anything; they were simply expected. Awareness and thoughtfulness weren't mandates, but rather part of "standard operating procedure."
I used to think the lack of common courtesy and manners was a younger generation issue, but lately I'm not so sure. Holding doors for people entering a store, hugging the left side of a lane at an intersection so someone can make a right turn on red, walking a bit more quickly when crossing from a store to the parking lot while a car waits… those sorts of things.
No, the people not doing these things are my peers, so it's not a generational thing as I thought before. People simply seem to be less thoughtful now than they were 20 years ago… less aware of their surroundings and their literal place in the world and its impact on those immediately around them.
I admit to not knowing the most proper way to send a thank you letter (is scented paper wise or just tacky?), but I try to be aware of people around me. I hold doors, I don't cut people off in traffic, I don't jump to the new open line at the supermarket if I'm fourth in my current line, etc.
</vent>
Posted in Miscellaneous | 5 Comments »
Posted August 29th, 2007 @ 09:37am by Erik J. Barzeski
The megamatch at Whispering Woods (McDowell's home course) is coming up soon. It's going to be tough. I figure the over-under on average score is about 90 and the average number of lost balls per golfer is probably 3.1.
I'll take the over. Good luck, guys.
Posted in Miscellaneous | No Comments »
Posted August 28th, 2007 @ 08:21pm by Erik J. Barzeski
Remember a long time ago, in the early days of Mac OS X, when people went so far as to hold contests to see what people thought was written on the TextEdit icon?
Well, I guess we will be guessing no longer:
Now everyone will simply wonder: who's Kate?
Posted in Apple | 37 Comments »
Posted August 27th, 2007 @ 09:24am by Erik J. Barzeski
Can't say much about this except, uhm, wow?
P.S. This is a good response.
Posted in Silly | 6 Comments »
Posted August 26th, 2007 @ 12:42pm by Erik J. Barzeski
I'm working on an upload script for WordPress and MarsEdit (which I imagine will work pretty smoothly with ecto once I'm done). It's coming along pretty well, but since I can make assumptions about my blog(s) that I can't make about others, I don't know how functional it will be for everyone. I will release it publicly, though, soon.
Update: Here you go.
Posted in Blogging | No Comments »
Posted August 25th, 2007 @ 08:08pm by Erik J. Barzeski
Only in Pittsburgh:
But in Pittsburgh, he has achieved celebrity status. When movie star Will Smith accompanied Tomlin to dinner at a local restaurant, fans mobbed their table  to meet Tomlin. According to Hammons, Smith told Tomlin it was the first time in 20 years he had eaten in a restaurant and hadn't been asked for his autograph.
"The irony is, Mike had been to the restaurant once before but couldn't enjoy it because fans kept interrupting him," Hammons says. "He figured if he took Will Smith, he'd have a peaceful meal."
From USA Today.
Posted in Recreation | No Comments »
Posted August 24th, 2007 @ 11:59am by Erik J. Barzeski
Hardy Har…
British woman goes for weeks without showering, skincare products as an experiment. When asked how she felt, she replied "Je me sens très bien. Un peu graisseux, mais rien trop mauvais."
I'm going to spend some time today playing with iUI. Ideally, some of the plugins which show a different theme for even WordPress blogs would work well with the cache software, but they don't. If someone happens to request a Wii version of my blog, that version is cached and regular Web surfers see that version too.
Posted in Software Development | 6 Comments »
Posted August 23rd, 2007 @ 10:33pm by Erik J. Barzeski
I haven't heard anything more on the AT&T buyout of Cellular One. Back in June, it was said the buyout would be completed around December or January.
Our last contract (of the three phones we have with CellOne) ends in mid-November, so the timing works out nicely if so. Ideally, I could begin using my iPhone, my wife could perhaps get one for herself, and her parents could simply get a new phone.
Local Cellular One employees don't seem to know anything, and various Web searches haven't turned up anything either. So, are there updates, and if so, where might I find them, dangit?!?!
Posted in Technology | 22 Comments »
Posted August 22nd, 2007 @ 01:56pm by Erik J. Barzeski
Last night was the first night of the Erie Otters adult hockey camp at the Tullio arena. I'm playing winter hockey this year and was excited to get on the ice.
I came away a bit disappointed, though, with the first session. With four more to go, I'm not sure how much I'm going to get out of this experience.
I learned to ice skate when I was 16, played roller hockey in college, and haven't done much in the six years since. I've certainly never played ice hockey nor worn anywhere near as much equipment as ice hockey requires, so I knew that adjusting to the weight and bulk of my equipment was going to be difficult enough on its own. I used to be able to skate backwards pretty well, I used to be able to slide stop (though only two-footed and really only on my "good" foot), but am out of practice.
I was hoping to be able to work on all of those kinds of things: getting used to the equipment, working on the fundamentals, etc. Unfortunately, that's not how the session went.
NSLog(@"Finish Reading %d Words", 544); »
Posted in Recreation | No Comments »
Posted August 22nd, 2007 @ 10:56am by Erik J. Barzeski
For whatever reason, I cannot set up GMail or Yahoo! mail on the iPhone. GMail fails rather quickly and Yahoo! takes much longer but likewise also fails.
Do these services - like YouTube - require actual activation?
Posted in Technology | 5 Comments »
Posted August 21st, 2007 @ 07:39pm by Erik J. Barzeski
My 8GB iPhone arrived today. Here's a re-telling of how things went.
11:22: iPhone arrives.
12:18: Finally have time to unpack iPhone. Admire little pull tab that separates iPhone from accessories.
12:19: Begin using iActivator.
12:31: Activate iPhone. Turns out I had to turn it off between steps or I got a funny error.
12:32: Begin playing with all the settings.
12:45: View first web page (nslog.com) on iPhone.
13:00: Sync iPhone with iTunes to get contacts, pictures, and some music on there.
13:20: Synch finishes. Begin playing with videos, etc.
14:00: Bored. Back to work.
I wouldn't say I'm underwhelmed, but… eh. My typing speed was fine, and the "finger slide for punctuation" tip is quite helpful. I've since downloaded iUI and will begin messing with that soon.
Posted in Technology | 2 Comments »