Month: March 2006

GrabPERF: New York PubSub #1 Online

I want to welcome a new measurement agent to the GrabPERF family: New York PubSub #1. This location came online yesterday, and has been delivering data consistently since about 21:00 EST (02:00 GMT) last night.

The world is a very small place. Turns out that my primary technical contact on the PubSub is someone who used to work at my current employer. Always good to stay in contact with folks.

Many thanks to Bob Wyman for making this happen.

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And people seem surprised when I say I won’t move back to the Valley

Silicon valley has some very mystical appeal in our geek culture.

But it comes with a very severe cost, as Niall Kennedy points out in this post.

How bad is the Bay Area/Silicon Valley? Well, with a lousy school system and decrepit infrastructure added into the mix of a generally higher cost of living, I would require a 75% – 100% increase in base salary to even CONSIDER the Bay Area again.

It’s the INTERNET people! You can work ANYWHERE!

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Flying into…well, anywhere in the US really…

Rick Segal has a great post this morning about the unique nature of the Canada-US border. [here]

Rick hits it on the head: US Customs and Immigration Agents are some of the most unpleasant people I have ever had the pleasure of dealing with.

When Samantha goes home with the boys next month, what does she fear the most?

Re-entering the US on a valid visa.

Why should people who have valid visas fear coming back into the US?

Oh yeah, the US hates immigrants. Or at least that’s how the rest of the world interprets their attitude, policies, and actions toward those who are not privileged enough to hold US citizenship.

UPDATE: Looks like Matt Mullenweg enjoyed the pleasure of what happens going INTO Canada without a passport! [here]

UPDATE: GOOD LORD! Is it weird immigration story day or what? David Weinberger recounts his encounter with a US Immigration Agent in Montreal last night. Gives me some inkling of hope.

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Shiny new passport & your web performance needs

I have a shiny new Canadian passport that I want to fill with stamps.
Anyone in London need a Web performance analysis from an expert in the field? A detailed examination of your site and a comparison with other national, regional and internationl competitors, complete with a rockin’ statistical breakdown of key metrics?
Daddy needs some airline miles…
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World of Warcraft: My soldiers! We must defeat this evil…when we can login again!

Netcraft reported that World of Warcraft was having a wee bit o’ performance hell. [here]

Guess a few wizards are going through withdrawal right now.

World of Warcraft -- Mar 26 2006

Looks like Joi Ito, a serious World of Warcraft fiend, might have to mount up his troops for an all out assault on this one!

PS: Looks like it just staggered to life! Watch the onhoing saga here!

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Ok…we are 17 again

While moving files to Samantha’s new machine, I came across a treasure trove of MP3s I had assumed lost years ago.
So, Samantha is preparing trays for the Nursery School Spaghetti Dinner and I am doing to some work as Depeche Mode Blasphemous blasts at ELEVEN (yes, ELEPHEN!).
Growing old doesn’t mean growing up.
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Dell: So close…but you just missed

Dell:

You just missed on a chance to over-deliver to me.

I got my brand-new Dimension E310 on Monday — ok, it’s Samantha’s computer and it has been sitting in a box all week because I have been in San Francisco.

I get home, fire it up, throw in the wireless card and works like a charm.

Except for one VERY annoying thing: the ATI TV tuner card doesn’t work. And this is the whole reason I chose an XP Media Edition machine. Media Edition doesn’t even detect the card; it simply doesn’t exist.

And no, I will not call support, because the machine should not have left the factory without being tested. And Dell knows that its support is not world-class. I will just yank the TV tuner out — and write a blog post about it.

Dell, you ALMOST had me sold that you could get it right.

This is the last Dell I buy.

UPDATE (Mar 26 2006): Ok, I sent an e-mail to Dell support, and THEY CAME THROUGH! They are going to send out a technician to replace the TV Tuner card. This should be interesting…

UPDATE (Mar 28 2006): Dell Tech came out and replaced the TV tuner card. No luck. Dell’s helpful response to the tech: re-install the operating system.

No. I don’t think so.

DELL: Replace the machine…NOW!

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The Hierarchy of Assumed Privilege

I have been sitting at Gate 86 at SFO watching a little drama that gets played out thousands of times a day around the world. I call it the Hierarchy of Assumed Privilege.
The direct flight from SFO to Boston (the one I am not on) was full; nay, bursting.
Yet there were executive-types who were ANGRY at the counter staff when they couldn’t get their upgrades. The ones that they assume they are entitled to.
This is a completely asinine view of the world. Yes you support one airline and fly it a lot, and spend a lot of money with them. But unless you originally BOUGHT the (business|first)-class ticket in the first place, and those seats are gone, why are you venting your unnecessary frustration onto the one person who might be able to help you.
I have to laugh at people who use the anger card to try and get what they want. It shows that they don’t have anything left in their arsenal, and they don’t know that graciously accepting that they won’t get the upgrade may see them get treated in a more positive way, getting some upgrade of whatever kind is available.
Humans have to understand that we are all the same. We are all norn, and we all die. And thinking that what you do entitles you to be better than the rest means that you have failed as a human.
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At SFO…

At Gate 80, Terminal 3, SFO. Likely I will be in and around this area for a while, as my flight leaves at 23:20 PST (It’s currently 17:20 PST).

Drop by if you’re in the area…Heh!

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