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I’m so sick and tired of receiving email with random words in it! Above is a sample that I just got.

Do people still reply to this stuff? They must, I suppose, or it would cease to be profitable for the spammers.

All it does for me is piss me off. Want to guarantee that I will never, ever do business with you? Send me piece of spam with enough random words that it bypasses the filters I have in place. Let’s see, now you’ve spammed me. And you made it past the junk filter by lying. Oh, yeah, sign me up for your great products so I can “Take A Step Into The Future And Join The Millions Of People Already Using Rx Meds Online.” That’s exactly what I need. Thanks.

They are creatures of pure malevolence.

Like cats.

The dangers of code reuse illustrated, from Intelligent Enterprise: Eager to demonstrate their flying skills for some visiting American pilots, the hotshot Aussies ‘buzzed’ the virtual kangaroos in low flight during a simulation. The kangaroos scattered, as predicted, and the visiting Americans nodded appreciatively … then did a double-take as the kangaroos reappeared from behind a hill and launched a barrage of Stinger missiles at the hapless helicopter.

At tonight’s lesson, I worked on “It Happens All The Time” with my guitar teacher. And it struck me how much my life has changed since writing that song.

I wrote it in 1997, during my days with Anonymous Joe. I was working at Hans Herr Elementary School as a computer aide and the recess guy (best job I ever had, by the way). I was driving my 1996 Geo Tracker (shut up, Dave) and renting a renovated firehouse. I got home every day around 3:30, while Jen didn’t get home until around six, which left me lots of time to practice the guitar and write music (I can’t write songs if anyone else is in the house; it’s a weird thing I have; I have to be able to get through the preliminary horrible versions without fear of humiliation). I would stay up late into the night, watching David Letterman, playing video games, and working on new lyrics.

These days, I’m lucky to get home by six. Jen’s already there; in fact, she’s been there all day. I live in my own home with my wife, my daughter, and my dog. I drive a Saturn VUE, which seems so much more grown-up than the Tracker. I work as a Technology Specialist at Etown, which, sorry to say, is not the best job I ever had. When I get home, instead of having time to play music, I quickly check my email for tech support requests about Frequency, then sit down to dinner with Jen and Gracie. Then, after some reading or maybe watching a Disney movie, we put Grace to bed. Then I spend an hour or so writing code instead of writing songs. I’m rarely alone in the house, so I don’t get to write much music these days (although I did have a few hours to myself on Sunday, during which I worked on a new song called “Break Me”). Plus, I can’t play too loud while Grace and Jen are sleeping. That wouldn’t be cool at all. And I’m no longer in a band.

Don’t think that I’m complaing about my life; I am not. I wouldn’t trade Gracie for the world, and while my job at Etown isn’t the greatest job I’ve ever had, it more than pays the bills, and at least I get to work with some very cool people. And I’m very fond of the VUE, mature as it may be.

But yeah, some days I miss being the guy in the band, when what I did during the day was just my day job, when Jen would get home and I’d say, “Listen to this song I just finished,” when our biggest worry was what out next gig was going to be.

One of our district office secretaries just came in and delivered a 12-pack of Diet Rite. This was for restoring one file from a backup.

The attached note said: “Thank you for SAVING MY LIFE!”

She’s a sweetie.

Reminds of my first year or two here, before my department became hopelessly swamped and overworked, back when we were often able to go the extra mile for someone. We were often rewarded with candy, donuts, or other treats.

Small wonder that I had to go on a diet shortly thereafter.

Now, this would have been worth TiVO-ing: At a recent Indiana Pacers-Washington Wizards game, a woman’s reaction to a man’s marriage proposal stuns an expectant crowd… The man appeared from the bank mascot’s costume, grabbed a microphone and then got down on one knee. As he began to speak to the woman, she paused and grabbed her face in shock. Then, as the crowd expected the man to pop question, the woman turned away from the man, and sprinted full speed across the basketball court.

Oh, man. This is one of those Do-You-Laugh-Or-Do-You-Cry moments. I can’t imagine his next proposal, likely posited to another woman, will go smoothly.

Especially if she was at the game.

Marc Canter writes: One of the things that has befuddled me – is why TiVO hasn’t taken off more? I mean – it totally changed my life. Why haven’t mroe people picked on it – faster?

Robert Scoble replies: It hasn’t taken off because the acquisition and implementation cost are too high for most people. Look at the rats nest of wires behind most AV systems and you’ll see just what I mean. Also, most people are scared of technology. Seriously. You really gotta get on planes and talk to average users to really understand this one.

Dave Winer writes (about his parents): I couldn’t understand why they don’t get a TiVO. I offered to install it. But I don’t think they understood what it does, or why they would want it. The idea is foreign… TiVO hasn’t reached the masses yet. It surely will. The technology is just too rational for it not to.

Surprisingly, Dave Mancuso has yet to write anything about his TiVO.

TiVO, to me, is almost like a solution searching for a problem. An answer yearning for a question. A response looking for… you get the idea.

If anything, we watch way too much TV these days. Why invest in a device that
a) Makes it easy peasy to watch even more mind-rotting garbage
b) Is usually accompanied by a recurring fee of some sort

I just don’t get it. The technology makes sense to me, and I guess if I were still 22, just out of college, working as a substitute and playing in a band, I’d like the convenience that TiVO offers. Of course, I wouldn’t be able to afford it, because unless my memory is going bad, we couldn’t even afford the Weather Channel back then.

Now that I can afford it, I prefer to spend my time on other pursuits, like spending time with my wife and daughter, reading, playing and listen to music, writing software. You know, healthy, mentally stimulating things. The only time I watch TV anymore is when I’m sick in bed and unable to get to my computer. And even then, in my typical semi-lucid state, I marvel at the craptacularity (look it up) of the crap on the screen.

Now, I used to watch a lot of TV. I mean, a lot. Our evening schedule every night was determined by what was on. Thursday was the NBC sitcoms followed by ER. Tuesday was Frasier and… something else. I don’t really remember anymore. When Grace was born, I pretty much stopped watching TV recreationally, except for Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which I gave up on shortly thereafter for unrelated reasons.

The only TV I watch these days is the Weather Channel (which I can now afford), Disney Channel, and PBS Kids. And every now and then, if Grace goes to bed early enough, we’ll watch some HGTV.

So, there you go. I understand, comprehend, get, dig TiVO. I just have no justification for it. Maybe there’s more people out there like that than everyone thinks.

Maybe that’s why TiVO hasn’t caught on.

Because in the end, all you’re really going to record is a bunch of crap anyway.

That’s all you have to pick from.

The good news is that Frequency 2.0b2 is running on Windows.

The better news is that Mike’s surgery went well.

The bad news is that I still feel like crap.

My head weighs about 90 pounds right now, 65 pounds of which is entirely comprised of a substance suspiciously like Elmer’s Wood Glue. That’s the thick, yellow stuff that real men use to stick wood to wood, not the thin, runny, white stuff little kids use in school.

But the good news is that Frequency 2.0b2 is running on Windows. All features check out OK so far. Once I hit b3, I’ll let my Windows testers take a crack at it. I’m sure there will be much to fix. Dave found a few minor issues with b1 last night, but I was able to wrap them pretty quickly.

On another bright note, I’ve discovered the joys of remote debugging with REALbasic 5.5. It’s amazing. Makes life so much easier than it used to be.

Well, I’m off to bed. If I feel again tomorrow like I did today, I’ll likely stay home (I did go in today).

Ack.

Sore throat.

Stuffy head.

Lots of drippage and related nastiness.

So I stayed home from work today and plugged away on Frequency 2.0. I’m happy to say that, due to possibly the most productive sick day I’ve ever taken, Frequency 2 has reached beta status, at least on OS X. I still need to test the Windows build, but being sick and all, I was way too lazy to get out the XP laptop.

It has real support for multiple weblogs. Right next the file menu, there’s a Weblogs menu that lists everything you’ve set up. The first nine can be accessed with command or control and the corresponding number. Pretty nice. And you can switch weblogs in the middle of writing a post or doing whatever. Drafts are shared between all weblogs. Each weblog also has its own preview font.

I’ve also added FTP file transfers. Each weblog has its own set of FTP settings. You can this to copy single files or folders of files up to your server without ever leaving Frequency. It’s all just drag and drop once it’s configured.

No Atom support yet. Atom’s only at 0.3. I’m waiting until at least 0.8 or 0.9 before release anything based on it.

Based on the new features, the price will be going up. $19 for new users. $9 for registered users of Frequency 1.x.

On my desk, slightly to my left, sits Hempfield School District’s 2004-2005 Kindergarten Handbook.

Gracie will be a Kindergartener this fall.

I can’t believe it.

How am I even old enough to be a dad, let alone the parent of a Kindergartener?

When did this happen?

I’m not ready for this.

Fortunately, I think Grace is. She’s very bright, if I do say so myself, and enjoys reading and writing. Her biggest weakness going into school would have to be her social skills, but she gets that honestly, from her anti-social father. She’ll adjust faster than I will, I’m sure.

She’s worried about making friends, though. Nobody in her preschool will be at her elementary school. There is a set of twin girls around the corner from our house who would have been in her class, but we learned today that they’re moving. Grace was very disappointed to hear that. And frankly, so was I.

She’ll do fine.

Well, here it is. Our first full GarageBand creation. This is a re-recording of an old Anonymous Joe song called “It Happens All The Time”, which first appeared on our self-produced album, Strange Days, in 1997, and was later re-recorded for WJTL’s Unite CD in 1998. I did the vocals and acoustic guitar, Jen did the bass. All the rest is loops and samples. I hope you enjoy listening to it. I’d appreciate any feedback you’d like to provide.

Click here to listen to “It Happens All The Time” in MP3 format. It’s a 4.5 MB download, so if you’re on dial-up, please be patient.

It Happens All The Time

Somebody asked me once,
“How do you know that everything is gonna turn out fine?”
I told him I don’t know
I just believe and it happens all the time
And it’s just like I told a friend of mine
It happens all the time

Someone said I was wrong
He said, “Do you want you want to do but leave me out”
I looked him in the eye
And said, “You don’t even know what I’m about”
And it’s just like I told a friend of mine
It happens all the time

It happens all the time
I say everything but they just don’t see
They don’t know what’s on my mind
But they don’t see me on my knees
And it’s just like I told a friend of mine
It happens all the time

One day I shut my mouth
And kept it shut and everybody looked at me and said
“He finally gave it up.”
But I can’t have that on my head

It happens all the time
I say everything but they just don’t see
They don’t know what’s on my mind
But they don’t see me on my knees
And it’s just like I told a friend of mine
It happens all the time
It happens all the time