apple, education, gaming, geek, genius

Obfuscation Rules

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It took days of failed attempts, but I’m now reliving my childhood. I figured out how to write Apple II disk images to those big 5.25 floppies. Sure there are emulators out there. Sure it is a whole lot easier to just download the disk image and play on a new iMac. It just isn’t the same. There is something truly satisfying about hearing those big drives click away. Here is what it took.

  • Mac OS 10.5 on an Intel iMac to download the disk images and drop them in a shared folder to go to…
  • Mac OS 10.4.9 on a PPC iMac that has support for…
  • Mac OS 9.2.2 which can run Bernie II the Rescue, an Apple IIgs emulator that can manipulate the files, which can then be transfered via 3.5 floppy to…
  • Mac OS 7.0.1 on a Macintosh Classic which can write to ProDOS disks, which are compatible with…
  • Apple GSOS 6.0.1 which runs on an Apple IIgs.

What is the end product for all this hassle? Number Munchers, Odell Lake, Battleship, and Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy are just the beginning. Oregon Trail… I’ve got my eyes on you next.

schadenfreude

FedUp With FedEx Part IV

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A new letter sent to FedEx Public Relations reads as follows.

Attn: FedEx Public Relations

I use the following sentence in the purest sense that I scoured the entire English lexicon to adequately describe my feelings toward your services. So without further ado…

Shove these worthless savings certificates ***********************.

(Edit: Changed to “You Suck.” in the actual letter.)

Now that all pretenses have been so academically put forth, let me explain my position. I received three $20 savings certificates from FedEx in response to a letter in which I out-lined the egregious failings of your shipping service. The impassioned letter I received along with the certificates did little to quell my displeasure with your service. Nonetheless I still felt as though I had the right to use FedEx services until the certificates were used and thusly terminate my patronage thereafter.

But oh woe falleth unto this savvy consumer. No one knows at thy local FedExKinkos how to process said savings certificate. It took nothing short of an hour of waiting to get the first set of packages out the door after I presented the first certificate, as the clerk and manager had no idea how to enter the certificate into the system. Phone support apparently was no help either.

The second time I entered FedExKinkos nearly two months later I found out that they were still waiting from FedEx how to process the first savings certificate. After waiting a good length of time I finally opted to pay cash for the transaction, rather than grind my teeth into a bloody slurry of enamel chunks.

It is with mounted displeasure that I return to you two of the three savings certificates. Enclosed along with the certificates is the business card of a poor FedExKinkos employee whose store took a loss, as she is unable to process the first worthless savings certificate I used. I have also enclosed the receipts for the original transaction that I used with that original certificate in the hopes that one day you get around to honoring your own promises. The receipt where I opted to use cash instead of your infernal savings certificates in order to save myself time is also enclosed.

Somehow your company missed the point of trying to win back my business. I hope that by returning these two $20 certificates prior to their expiration date is indicative of my displeasure. Using these certificates has been an experience that has only further entrenched me in my hatred of all things FedEx. The next time I receive a FedEx package I may not even take the item out of the box before I burn it in effigy.

If you have read this letter and feel as though I am some nut-job with an unwarranted vendetta, please refer to the following links for a valuable history lesson.:

https://kenfager.com/wordpress/index.php/archives/283
https://kenfager.com/wordpress/index.php/archives/294
https://kenfager.com/wordpress/index.php/archives/308

Included Documents:
1 – FedExKinkos employee business card
2 – $20 FedEx Savings Certificates which no one knows how to use
2 – Customer Shipping Record forms
2 – Original receipts for all transactions

Filled to the brim with apoplectic rage,
Ken Fager

FedEx, you truly have earned my disdain.

genius, internet, politics

Bravo Trent

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Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor had an interesting post on his website today.

Hello everyone. I’ve waited a LONG time to be able to make the
following announcement: as of right now Nine Inch Nails is a totally
free agent, free of any recording contract with any label. I have
been under recording contracts for 18 years and have watched the
business radically mutate from one thing to something inherently very
different and it gives me great pleasure to be able to finally have a
direct relationship with the audience as I see fit and appropriate.
Look for some announcements in the near future regarding 2008.
Exciting times, indeed.

First off, bravo Trent. You get a golf clap. In a bold move Trent Reznor has taken his band away from the influence of the malicious RIAA and his stifling record label. This separation was not unnexpected. For a long time now Reznor has been vocal about his fans having access to his music. By releasing the tracks online in a mix-ready format, by leaving USB drives at concerts loaded with tracks, and by encouraging fans to download his music Reznor has undercut everything the RIAA so desperately has been fighting by taking music lovers to court. Rather than persecute his fans Reznor has adapted to the new music distribution model.

The technology savvy Reznor has proven that he no longer needs the support of the label or the RIAA to be successful. Any user of a new computer has access to the same multimedia suites Reznor does. It is entirely possible for Johnny Noname to produce a studio quality album without the need for expensive equipment. Reznor also recognizes the implications of the more pervasive iPod and the views that current generation hold in regards to media. The costs of downloading untethered media for free are infinitely more attractive than paying for tracks that limit you to a certain device, number of times you can burn, etcetera. The key is to provide quality content that people will ultimately decide, “Hey, this song really rocks. I’m going to buy the album/DVD. Then I’m going to go buy tickets to the concert.”

I look forward to doing just that the next time you roll into Milwaukee or Madison Trent. The last time I saw you in concert led to an album and DVD sale. It is dichotomously infuriating and funny to encounter the effects the RIAA has had on the industry. They sue their fans and yet complain that physical CD sales are on a perpetual slump. They implement invasive DRM that makes media incompatible with players and then get lose the following lawsuit. Reznor has jumped ship and I can’t wait until the iPod generation is at the helm to deal a deathblow the RIAA’s dying business model.

deutsch, geek

Marburger Brauerei

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Everyday when I rode into the sleepy little town of Marburg on my way to the university I passed a decaying building called the Marburger Brauerei. I first noticed the building upon my arrival and was immediately tempted to explore it. The only problem was that the structure was overlooked by a fairly populated residential area and I intended not to get kicked out of Germany. The last week of my stay I made my way into the building and was not disappointed. Most of the photos I took were nowhere near as dramatic as the ones from the Hessia Fabrik, but there are a few gems. For some reason I just forgot to publish them.

I should also note that my infiltration of the building was incredibly stupid. There was glass everywhere, holes that dropped three stories, and asbestos all over. On top of that I went alone.

schadenfreude

FedUp with FedEx – Part III

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You may recall reading a while back about my struggles with FedEx and their response to my distaste from ever utilizing their services. Somehow I knew that this issue was not laid to rest.

FedEx sent me 3 certificates valued at $20 each for my shipping needs to quell my displeasure with them destroying my medication. I’m willing to wager their public relations people did this to somehow win over my affections and forgive their company for their egregious error. Perhaps, in some way, in using these certificates they would be able to prove that they are an able shipping company worthy of my future business dollars. A means of gaining trust and, perhaps, even forgiveness.
No.

Everytime I go a licensed FedEx drop point I’m met with hassle. The first place I went to in Oshkosh literally told me, “you need to go to the FedExKinkos on the other side of town to use these.” Then when I get to FedExKinkos the drone working the counter doesn’t know what to do with the certificate. The support number the drone calls also doesn’t have an answer. Well over a half an hour later the staff finally figures out what to do.

Hello FedEx. I’m going to use your damn certificates because I legitimately have that money coming to me. But why must you insist on making their usage so infuriating? Is not the point of these certificates to satiate me to the point where I no longer tell people not to use FedEx? If so, you’ve spectacularly failed.
If you have an item that needs to be shipped, consider you options with DHL, UPS, or even the US Postal Service.

education, internet

Historic Recommendation

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There are few podcasts out there with production values worthy of subscription. There are those rare few, who with little or no modification to the source material, are truly great. Learn Out Loud.com’s “Great Speeches in History” would be one of those podcasts. After a brief advertisement, the famous speech of a selected individual is presented in its raw and unedited format. It is a pleasant suprise to receive a moving speech in my podcast directory every now and then. The best part is that it is free. Do yourself a favor and check it out.

I would also highly recommend downloading President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s fairwell address. This speech warns the US of the broadening military-industrial complex, squandering the wealth of today at the cost of future generations, and the tenuous balance of sustaining democracy. The current administration could learn a thing or two.