The Story of Stuff

My wife pointed me to this site:



It's a 20-minute video that talks about why we have so much stuff -- why there's so much to buy, why we buy it, and what it really costs us.

You should check it out. It's worth the time.

The Whole Nine Years

Well, yesterday was Tara and my nine-year wedding anniversary. We didn't really celebrate it -- life has been consistently getting in the way. There are just too many things that we need to do to allow us to do the things we want to do.

We did take the kids out for some games and munchies at Lucky Strike, but that wasn't really an anniversary celebration. In fact, we weren't even thinking about our anniversary much. It was more of a consistently-appearing epiphany, a *DING* "it's your anniversary, stupid!" kind of moment, jumping up at odd times during the day.

So, to honor this momentous occasion, albeit a day late, I present to you the vows we made to each other on that day in June, nine years ago, standing outside the carriage house in Ann Arbor.

Tara Marie, I choose you
to be my companion, my partner, my lover.
I choose you to be my wife.

And to you, I make this vow:
I promise to love you.
I will be a pillar of strength in your times of sadness and trouble.
I will remember the love you hold for me when I feel anger or fear.

To you, I make this vow:
I promise to honor you.
I will hold you in the highest esteem in all situations.
I will support you in all your endeavors.

To you, I make this vow:
I promise to cherish you.
I will keep you in my heart at all times, whether we are together or apart.
I will let no other displace you in the vault of my heart.

Tara Marie, to you I make these vows.


Douglas Mitchell, I choose you
to be my companion, my partner, my lover.
I choose you to be my husband.

And to you, I make this vow:
I promise to love you.
I will be a pillar of strength in your times of sadness and trouble.
I will remember the love you hold for me when I feel anger or fear.

To you, I make this vow:
I promise to honor you.
I will hold you in the highest esteem in all situations.
I will support you in all your endeavors.

To you, I make this vow:
I promise to cherish you.
I will keep you in my heart at all times, whether we are together or apart.
I will let no other displace you in the vault of my heart.

Douglas Mitchell, to you I make these vows.

I love you.

Let the Paladin Be Avenged!

Yesterday (June 26), a freak, crazy storm passed through Plymouth while I was upstairs on the phone, working. Our power flickered and my call dropped, but she called me back on my cell phone.

While still chatting, I heard a huge gust of wind and a smattering of sudden rain, and with a *WHOOSH* it was gone.

I looked out the window at my neighbor's roof and saw some leaves on there and could just make out the rain hitting the shingles. I remarked on the rain, and my wife mentioned that the car windows were down.

Boom, we run downstairs and I go close the car windows, but by then, my wife had found it: the remains of our gazebo. The canvas top that goes over the wire frame was caught in the wind, came partway off, and was used to pull the poor thing over.

Here are the photos:




I may be able to resurrect it, but we'll just have to see after I have some time to examine and disassemble it.

And that's the end of the story. The mighty gazebo has finally fallen.

SmartFTP ... SmartWTF?

I just went to help my wife with SmartFTP, the program I've been lauding for several years. It's free, it works very well, and, well, its free. Heck, even LifeHacker promotes it as a great program.

They have this 72-day rolling upgrade schedule. If your install is over 72 days old, they want you to download the latest one with all the bugfixes. I've used this for many years, and I've updated it many times. Of course, now that I'm on the Mac, I use a different program, but for the PCs, it's been SmartFTP all the way.

So I went to help her with it, and it asked us to install the latest version. Cool. I did it. And then: Bing!



So they've converted to a pay version -- now you have to BUY it or it will STOP WORKING.

And they did this with no notice. It's another case of screwing the customer. I mean, I don't care if they want to convert to a pay version. It was a good program, they should make money at it. But to offer it for free for several years and then start charging with no notice, without giving folks an opportunity to just keep using the version they have? WTF?

Way to alienate your customer base, SmartFTP. Good job.

At least they responded in an apologetic, supportive way to customer concerns about it, and then provided alternatives to their long-time customers.

Oh wait. They didn't. They response was essentially, "F you."

... and then they closed the forum thread so no one else could express their anger.

I think this bloke sums it all up quite well:

The only thing worse than shareware is freeware that changes its mind and becomes shareware. ... Wonder how long smartftp will remain the most popular ftp client now? Not bloody long I would guess."

I am so angry.

Well, he recommends FileZilla, which I've seen before. I guess we'll try that. And not because SmartFTP is no longer free, but rather because their focus has changed from producing an excellent program to screwing the customer for a buck.

Satan's Long Reach

So I've been moving away from this whole spiritual thing and more into reality and understanding the world as it really is. But every now and then some of the old superstitions pop back up as though they were natural, and not learned behaviors.

For instance, today my 8-year-old daughter was cleaning her room and listening to some Disney CD she received as a gift -- you know, the kind with a bunch of pretty people groomed by professionals, doing covers of successful songs as though they were real artist, pushed on kids as part of the Disney exploitation machine -- when I heard a decidedly un-Disney-like song coming from her room: Runnin' with the Devil.

Now, I don't know this song, and it kind of caught me off guard. I mean, running with the devil ... you know, Satan, Lucifer ... that guy. I realize the song is pretty much harmless, but the whole devil thing struck a chord. I mean, she shouldn't be listening to songs about the devil, should she?

But then again, why not?

Not too long ago, I was watching the second season of the new Doctor Who. One duo of episodes was "The Impossible Planet" and "The Satan Pit." The episodes are about a crew on a planet that's orbiting a black hole. They're drilling to center of the world, but there's supposed to be an ancient evil down there.

And the Doctor finds it. It's a remarkably Satan-like demon-thing that looks like this:



My daughter was watching the show with me when they found some occultish writing, and when the doctor found the Satan-like dude. And it made me really uncomfortable. I thought -- this is wrong. She shouldn't see this, this ... demon-stuff ... it's ... eeeviiil.

But I realized that, since the devil wasn't real, it didn't really matter. I expressed this to my wife, who said, yeah, if it had been a giant robot, I wouldn't have given it a second thought. And my daughter was moved less by this CG monstrosity than she was by the evil woman in "Madeline: Lost in Paris" (coincidentally a Disney production).

It's weird how the prejudices and superstitions of our upbringing sneak in to our daily lives, jumping out of the shadows to remind us that they're still there. It seems we are the products of our upbringing, striving always to assert our individuality.

Big Brother Google

So there I was checking directions using Google Maps, and boom! I found that my house was hit by Street View:



Yep. That's my car. It was last summer, but there it is.

Couple this with the fact that I just applied for my passport and there's no denying it:

The Man. The Man has my number.

When I got my driver's license at age 18, I felt like I'd given away my freedom to the government. From then on out, they had all my info -- my name, number, height, weight, address, etc. etc.

I feel kinda like Big Brother has his hand on my shoulder.

Bwahahahaha! Firefox 3 Is Mine! MINE, I Tell You!

Okay, so my wife doesn't understand this whole "download Firefox 3" thing I'm doing. She doesn't understand why I'm so excited about it. She supports me, but I think it perplexes her.

Maybe she doesn't understand just how utterly useful Firefox really is. (I mean, she might, but it's not that big a deal to her -- she's been using it for over a year and you only miss the ones you love when they're gone, so if she lost it, boy would she miss it.)

Firefox is:

• The fastest browser
  
• Uses the least amount of memory
  
• The most extensible (and handles add-ons the best)
  
• Is open source software
  
• Works on all three major OSs
  
• Is considered the best browser on the market
  

Maybe she doesn't understand that little Firefox has gained ground since its release in 2004, capturing18%-39% of the browser market, depending on how you measure it.

Maybe she doesn't understand that Firefox began based on Netscape Navigator, the browser from the company Microsoft tried to kill with their "bundling" of Internet explorer that ended in an antitrust lawsuit.

Maybe she doesn't understand that Firefox represents the hard work of a fleet of
developers that are building the browser as open source software, pushing the envelope of performance, and creating true competition for Microsoft whose browser is successful not because it's better, but because it comes with Windows.

In any case, I now have Firefox 3 running on my MacBook Pro, and I am happy.

*SIGH*

Firefox 3 ... soon ...

So I realized that todays the day that Firefox 3 is being released, but when, in my excited state, I clicked on the links to get to the download as fast as I could, I found that nothing had changed since yesterday: FF3 is not yet available.

So what gives? Why can't I jump in and contribute to setting a World record for the most software downloads in a 24-hour period, and get the best browser on the market at the same time?

Apparently, they're not releasing it until 10:00 AM PDT -- 1:00 PM my time. And I'll be at a meeting then, so I'll have to wait even longer.

Ugh. I don't even like the way they've "integrated" it's look with the OS X theme -- I prefer Qute.

Oh, well. I'll have to wait until Qute's 'ported to FF3, and I'll have to wait until later today to get my copy of Firefox 3 itself.

An-ti-ci-pation is making me wait.

Father's Day SMASH!

Well, it's Father's Day. I'm not one for holidays, even those that are supposed to celebrate people like me, a father.

I will say, however, that it was a fine one. Three grandparents came out and we went and saw my daughter's gymnastics exhibition, which was great. It wasn't too long, it was nearby, and it included a lot of explanation of what the kids have been studying. Good stuff.

We then came back and got some BBQ ribs and chicken from the pizza joint at the end of my street. We have lived here for over 9 years and bought literally hundreds of pizzas from this locally-owned and run business, but we have never partaken of their ribs or chicken. Boy, have we been missing out. They were delicious! We had some cole slaw, garlic bread sticks, and french fries with them, along with some homemade noodle salad and some potato salad and stuff my brother's wife brought over. All in all, a great meal. I was, and am, highly satisfied.

Then, to top the day off, my brother and I went to see The Incredible Hulk tonight. Here's the review in a nutshell: Marvel studios is two for two. Iron Man rocked, and so did the Hulk. The movie was an excellent balance of homage to the previous movie, the TV show, and the comics. It was better than I expected it to be, which always makes a movie good.

So now I can relax and let the day end, and be content.

Ah, Father's Day.

BTW, here's a picture of me with the Hulk:


"Yeah? You wanna mess with me? Meet my bodyguard. heh heh"

Giving You the Business

At the end of April I ended six months of unemployment by going back to work for a friend of mine who owns his own high performance computer company.

I was designated, "Director of Operations." I've been charged with wearing many hats, one of which is marketing. This includes designing the new company logo. A couple of years ago, I had spent some time on the company's logo, coming up with several designs. But we never finalized it, and I was soon drawn into another job.

This time, with the fast expansion of the company's business, we didn't have time to waste. We sat down, discussed the company, went through my designs and picked one. I then took it to a graphic designer to get it set up and "graphic-ized." We were pretty happy with the result.

I took the resulting files and imported them into VectorDesigner, a program I got through MacHeist for my new laptop. With that, I built our business cards and had them printed up. Here's mine:



I am very excited at this fantastic opportunity to work at a company that possesses integrity and entrepreneurship, and that affords me the chance to exercise many of my mental muscles.

A Pain in the ... Heel

Well, it's not gout.

I've been having pain in my left heel for a few days now ... about a week or so. When I wake up, it's excruciating. If I stretch out my calf, it goes down, but it comes back if I'm inactive for any length of time.

My wife's stepfather had a strange issue that was similar. He had pains in the bottom of his foot, but when he saw the doctor, they x-rayed and found that he had several broken bones in the top of his foot. I didn't think that this was my issue, but I started to have concerns as it continued day after day.

The other day I had a bit much to drink, and the next morning it was the worst of all. I began to think it might be gout, as I understand alcohol exacerbates the issue. I started thinking that perhaps having a broken foot wouldn't be so bad -- I'd rather have a cast or whatever for a short time over having a lifetime of gout pain.

Well, I thought I might just need to see a doctor to find out, but I don't really have one, so my wife emailed a friend of ours that is a doctor to get a referral. My wife described my issue and here's the response:

Classic plantar fasciitis. Pain starts on back of heel or under heel on bottom of foot. Usually it is classified by bottom of foot anterior portion of heel bone, stiffens up overnight and once he starts walking on it it naturally stretches out. I had that for awhile, mine was from shoeware, (lack of good arch supports). There are many causes including heel spur. If that is all it is tell him to try antiinflam for a week round the clock. Stretch three times a day and look at the shoes he has been wearing. May need new pair or pair with better arch supports.

Well. This is exactly my issue.

She rounded out the message with this comment:

(Tell him I am not really impressed. I thought it was something a little trickier. HAHA)

I am excited to have such a mundane and easily treatable issue over the alternatives. *WHEW*

By the way, I did tell her that the pain only comes when I'm walking in a Westerly direction while whistling the theme to West Side Story.

When you're a Jet, you're a Jet.

There you go.

A Final Walk through Shadow

Way back in 1990 or so, my friend Ronn and I went to a game convention at a local university. We saw a speech on diceless roleplaying by a game designer that was releasing a new game. We'd seen some of the games that he'd written before, but they never piqued our interest. His speech, however, left an indelible impression in my mind.

This was Erick Wujcik, and the game he discussed was Amber Diceless Roleplaying. He had with him a copy of the book yet to be published, in loose-leave format without even a cover. He was so proud of it. His seminar covered some very interesting aspects of creating and running roleplaying games, and some insights about game design that were new to me.

Specifically, he explained how the game should reflect the source material, rather than starting with a game (such as GURPS) and then shoehorning the source material into the system.

This led me to think about one of my favorite movies in this light, and then to design and create what I consider my most complete and successful RPG design, Highlander Roleplaying, based on the Christopher Lambert movie.

Erick's game, Amber Diceless, also had a profound impact on me. I have read and re-read that game countless times. I have said of it that it is essential reading for anyone who runs or plays roleplaying games. It has directed and influenced all the games I have game mastered and played in since I first read it. It has expanded my thoughts and perceptions, and changed the way I experience my hobby in the most positive way. I cannot give it more compliment than that.

On Saturday, June 7, 2008, Erick Wujcik passed away at age 57 from pancreatic cancer. You can read more about this and all his accomplishments at his website, ErickWujcik.com.

I, for one, am saddened at the world's loss.

Stupid IPOWER.

Ugh. This whole thing is frustrating.

It started with an email from IPOWER, the company that I registered my domains through. They had a special going for web hosting. It was about half what I was paying before the owners of my previous host took the money and ran, leaving all their subscribers high and dry.

I've never had a problem with the company and Ronn used to use them. So I signed up and set up my family website, like I had before.

Then I remembered that my family pretty much never used the site in the past. But what the heck. It would be there if I could convince anyone to be interested.

And then I thought I'd move my blog over there. So I went to set up WordPress in my subdomain, doug.parkspages.com. But it wouldn't go. So I contacted customer support. ONE AND A HALF HOURS LATER, and it still won't work.

I'm a bit frustrated by the whole thing, but there's not much I can do. I'm trying to manually install the crap that I want to work, but the outlook's not good.

Ah, well.