TNSFF

Tech, music, sports, and other stuff.

05 Feb 2014

Don't Look a Gift Gazelle in the Mouth

The iPhone 5S came out at the perfect time, as I had recently dropped my 4S and cracked the screen. I was well past my upgrade date, so the upgrade would be reasonably inexpensive (as iPhones go). And, to top it off, Gazelle had given me an estimate of $80 for my iPhone 4S with a cracked screen.

I went and bought my 5S, got my little Gazelle box in the mail, and, as instructed (really, it’s right in the instructions …), I dropped the box off at the nearest post box. It’s right at the end of my street—pretty convenient.

And that was the last that was ever seen or heard from my iPhone.

After a couple of weeks had gone by, I contacted Gazelle support to ask if they had any news. They pointed me to my local post office. My local post office had no record of ever receiving the package, so they told me to wait a while longer, then file an insurance claim (since Gazelle’s packages are insured!).

So I did that. I’ve talked to Gazelle, and the national USPS, and my local USPS, and round and round.

Yesterday, I found out my insurance claim was rejected by the government.
Today, I found out Gazelle can’t help me because there’s no record of the tracking.

Well, shit.

At this point, I don’t care. The insurance claim was $50, and honestly, I’ve spent more time than its worth trying to get my $50 to prove a point.

I give up, you win, forces of corporate and government inertia. And you win, especially you, dishonest postal service employee who stole my broken phone. [1]

What are the lessons here?

  • Gazelle shouldn’t make their boxes conspicuous. Had the box not been so clearly a Gazelle shipping container, it probably gets ignored.
  • Gazelle absolutely shouldn’t tell you to drop your package in a post box, when the insurance won’t really apply until it’s tracked by the USPS. Go hand it to the postal service agent by hand.
  • I’ll defend the USPS in most cases, but jesus, it’s incredibly obvious what happened and they just don’t seem to give a shit.

In the end, I’m not sure if I’ll use Gazelle again. Maybe I will, but I feel like I got a bit of the run around in this process. They must have dealt with a lost or stolen package before, in this scenario. And the USPS, well, I like my local USPS, but I’ll be handing them things and double-checking tracking from now on, because there’s a scoundrel in their midst.

I do like my new iPhone 5S, though …

  1. Because that’s clearly what happened. I dropped it in the post box. The next day, some postal employee picks it up, see it’s from Gazelle, and just pockets the box. That’s it. That, or it is still sitting there, at the bottom of the post box.

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03 Feb 2014

(Un)Mistaken Identity

As the computer dork in the house, I was given the case of “I just bought this book on Amazon, but it’s not showing up in my Kindle app” by Katie. I grabbed her computer and poked around in her account. Even though she had purchased previous books, those weren’t showing up in her order history. Her new book was in her account, but would not show up on her Kindle.

So, I did what any self-respecting dork would do. I logged out and logged back in.

Lo! and behold, the new book happily downloaded to the Kindle.

But the old books were now gone.

If you’re smarter than me, you might have figured out what’s going on by now [1]. But I was still stumped. So I chatted Amazon support. After a couple of minutes with two helpful chat agents, we figured out what it was.

Somehow, Katie had two Amazon accounts with the same email address, that differed only by password.

Well, hell. With some help from the Amazon folks, we got the books all onto one account and got that setup and everything was normal.

But, dear god, in what world would you let the same email address have multiple accounts. How much bad stuff can happen because of that? For one, the one we just talked about, getting content split across multiple accounts.

What happens if I want to change my password, which account does it change? Accounts on Amazon seem to be unique by email plus password, which is such a weird thing. Turns out, this is a pretty common problem.

From a technical/product perspective, this becomes one of those interesting questions: “at what point is the small number of users taking advantage of this feature offset by the customer confusion it causes”. My guess is that there cannot be enough people who intentionally rely on this feature to be worth the negative impact it causes.

Same email, different accounts, poor use of email as identity.

  1. If you guessed “they’re on two separate accounts”, you win. Bonus points if you realized it was two accounts with the same email address.

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19 Jan 2014

The Wonder of Netflix Streaming (and How Television Watching Will Be Forever Changed)

This isn’t a groundbreaking opinion, but we’re in the waning days of the television “season”. It may not be for fie or ten years, but the end is nearing. There’s a bunch of reasons why, and many of them are obvious. As technology has advanced, folks don’t want to be tethered to their couches to watch TV—they want to watch a couple of episodes while waiting at the airport, or half an episode waiting in line, or maybe an episode on the laptop at lunch to take a break from the day. Nor, does your average television watcher want to go a year (or often longer) waiting to catch up on the seasons for a show that they missed.

These are all things that are slowly changing with Netflix (and Hulu and each network having its own apps and a million other media that will eventually shake out to a few). Smart networks make sure back episodes and seasons are available for folks who want to catch up. Netflix and Hulu (and cable providers) stream TV and movies to your phone. Much like the early days of MP3s and iPods, the technology is there and, shortly, the networks and content producers will adapt or die.

But, for me, and I think for the television industry, the big change is the ability to make sure that enough episodes, enough content is there for a viewer to get a true feel for the show. Rather than an episode (or two, if you’re lucky), you can put out 6 or 7 (or 13…) episodes and viewers can binge on a few to really decide if they like a show.

The reason that this comes to mind is the show “Chuck”, a show about a nerd who gets a computer stuck in his head and becomes a spy. It was a great show, pretty well reviewed, and ended up lasting five seasons (though mostly because it was on NBC, and it nearly got cancelled every year). Why does this show make me think these changes are imminent and are good for the television industry?

My fiancee.

Had I described “Chuck” to her, I don’t think she would have agreed to watch it. Or, at a minimum, it would have been a struggle. And every week, waiting for another episode, while the show figures itself out, would have increased the chance of her giving up on it.

However, with Netflix, she’s been mainlining “Chuck”. Being able to watch a few episodes in a row, to get the characters and humor, to more easily get the in-jokes and references, it’s a massive difference from when I was watching it live. She adores the show. There are many other shows that have died early, low-rated deaths that I think would have excelled in a Netflix world[1].

At first, networks will struggle. They’ll have to adjust from the shotgun approach to pilots. Instead, picking a few episodes, committing to a half-season, and airing it all at once, or uninterrupted over a few weeks (with episodes online immediately) will allow networks/studios to generate more interest. Of course, this is already happening, at least in part.

When all is said and done, Netflix probably won’t be there. Networks and studios seem to always be behind the times, and they’ll start locking their content down to their own portals (they already are) rather than entirely embracing the new distribution models. But, in the end, television seasons will be much more like the recent “House of Cards” seasons on Netflix than the way “Chuck” was presented on NBC.

  1. The best example, “Community”. If NBC/Sony/whomever weren’t idiots, they’d have the entire series on Netflix and each week, they’d be doing episode footnotes online/twitter/facebook/wherever. “Go watch the second episode of season 2, and you’ll find tonight’s easter eggs.” Or something that’s far more engaging than that, but you get the picture.

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06 Jan 2014

2014 Goals

I’m not a big “New Year’s resolutions” guy, but I do think it’s worth setting a few goals for the year. Mine are pretty simple:

  1. Dressing slightly better
  2. Get back into shape
  3. Manage my time better

Dressing Slightly Better

This one should be easy. I’m a big fan of dressing comfortably and in a way that doesn’t betray who you are. That makes it hard(er) for me to dress nicely, because that means jeans and a hoodie or t-shirt for me (with beat up sneakers). But, I’ve been working on trying to dress somewhat nicer; comfortable button down shirts, sweaters, and maybe nicer jeans. It’s easier in the winter, where layers are more than styles, they’re necessary to survive teh cold. Come summer, I’m going to need to find a balance.

The other reason this is a goal for me is that I hate spending money on clothing. It feels wasteful. So, I often go years with the same shirts, jeans, and definitely the same shoes. The goal here is to dress slightly nicer while a) not spending a ton of money, and b) not being wasteful. The second part is going to mean lots of donations to goodwill or charity; I’ve been (trying) to live by the “one-in, one-out” rule [1].

Get Back Into Shape

Another easy objective. Well, not the actual getting in shape part, but the “what do I do” part. Run more, which means cutting back on my work hours a bit (win-win, right?). Eat better, which means eating less free stuff at work (just need some will power). And, finally, walk more. I do this a lot during Celtics season, (I walk a couple of miles back and forth to the T), but less otherwise. I’d like to add some walking to my daily activities. When I worked in Kendall Square, that was pretty simple: just go to work. But working in Burlington means a car ride to a place where there’s not really anything in walking distance. Adding more walking will be a bit of a challenge, but it’ll just mean looking for chances to walk rather than drive.

Manage My Time Better

I’m pretty good at this one today. I live in Omnifocus, but I still find myself spending too much time at the office, which leaves less time for getting in shape and less time for making healthy meals. My day often goes like this:

  • Wake up
  • Triage and respond to email
  • Shower
  • Drive to work
  • Work, meetings, work, meetings, work, meetings
  • Try to clear out as much of my inbox as possible
  • Go home
  • Eat dinner
  • Watch some TV to relax
  • Go to bed

Those two parts of the day where I manage my inbox end up sucking up a lot of time. At least one of them is where I could be working out (and the other probably making a healthier dinner). I need to find how to gain back some of that time. Omnifocus will help—I need to get better at pushing emails off to handle in the future—but it won’t solve everything. Part of this just has to be the decision to do less stuff that doesn’t help me get healthier. I’d like to take advantage of better email filtering (automate processing some emails so I don’t have to manage them). I think that little change might help me gain back some time with just a little bit of effort.

  1. “One-in, one-out” means getting rid of an article clothing for every one you get. For me, that generally means a goodwill donation.

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31 Dec 2013

Top 10 Songs of 2013: #1 Typhoon - Young Fathers

Typhoon - “Young Fathers”

If you’ve been paying attention at all this year, you probably already figured this out. White Lighter was my favorite album of the year from the moment it came out, and nothing was able to top it. “Young Fathers” was my favorite song from the moment I heard it, and nothing topped it.

Other songs came close—many of them other songs off of White Lighter, which is why I have my “one song per album” rule— but none surpassed “Young Fathers”. I’ve been trying to think about why this album, and this song, have been so resonant with me. I’ve narrowed it down to a couple of things:

  • I’m a sucker for horns, strings, multiple drummers, and harmonies.
  • The themes of this album are pretty much aimed straight at me. Adulthood, parenthood, mortality.

In my mind, “Young Fathers” captures what is so great about this album. Here’s a song about growing up, dealing with becoming an adult, and getting to the age that your parents were when they became parents. Should you have kids? What type of world are you bringing them into? Everything about that feels like it should be a dirge, a slow mournful song. [1]

But just listen to it. From the opening “oohs” and the staccato guitar chords dropping as if a record was scratching, this isn’t a sad song. When Kyle Morton’s vocals come in, they’re melancholy, but echoed by shouts, and some harmonies. This isn’t a sad song. About midway through the song, that becomes even more clear. The beat picks up, with the drums pushing the pace along. It all builds until there’s about one minute left.

And then you get it. The horns and strings come in, the drums echo, the chorale comes in.

This isn’t a sad song. It’s catharsis. It’s redemption.

I’ve probably listened to this song 25 or 30 times (at least). I’ve never not smiled by the end.

That’s why it’s number one.

  1. In a nutshell, that’s White Lighter. Every song feels like it should be much sadder than the song actually is. And every song has some remarkable lyrics. There were days where I could have put five or six songs from the album on my top 10 list. You owe it to yourself to check it out. And listen to it when you can focus on it. If “Morton’s Fork” doesn’t get to you, or “Hunger and Thirst”, I seriously wonder if you have a pulse.

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30 Dec 2013

Top 10 Songs of 2013: #2 Neko Case - Nearly Midnight, Honolulu

Neko Case - “Nearly Midnight, Honolulu”

Jesus.

Let’s set aside the song, for a moment. Neko Case’s voice is powerful enough on its own. Here, a capella, backed only by her own vocals overdubbed to harmonize, it’s clearly one of music’s most wonderful instruments.

But when you put her voice on this song (which might be better classified as a poem or short story), it’s chilling and it’s heartbreaking. And more heartbreaking, since it’s so detailed that it’s clearly based on a real event [1]. And, I’m sure, it’s something that everyone can relate to in some way.

The thing is, as dark, as sad, as much of a gut punch as this song is, it ends with a silver lining. When Neko ends the song with “’cause I’ll still love you, even if I don’t see you again”, it’s such a simple, beautiful statement that you can’t help but feel a little bit of hope for the world.

  1. It is.

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29 Dec 2013

Top 10 Songs of 2013: #3 Vampire Weekend - Unbelievers

Vampire Weekend - “Unbelievers”

In a year where both Vampire Weekend and Arcade Fire put out albums that took their sound in new directions, in my mind, it’s Vampire Weekend’s expansion of their sound that wins out over Arcade Fire’s messy (but often very good) attempt to try damn near every genre [1].

Every song on Modern Vampires of the City is unmistakably a Vampire Weekend song, but is also so much more mature and grand than anything off of Contra. As they’ve moved past the pure afro-pop sound, Vampire Weekend has figured out how to keep the textures and beats of that genre, but meld them into their own sound. It’s no longer a band doing their best to approximate a modern day Paul Simon and Ladysmith Black Mambazo. It’s Vampire Weekend, with all of their influences brought together into a beautiful and buoyant, yet often melancholy, album.

“Unbelievers” is my favorite, because it feels so un-Vampire Weekend-like (how’s that for hyphenation?) yet is so very Vampire Weekend. Lyrically, it’s clearly a Vampire Weekend album. It’s got their trademark hook; incredibly catchy, yet still smart. It’s a song about the gap between the religious and non, and it echoes that religious with its church organ, hand claps, and drums that push the song along like you’re at a revival. “Unbelievers” is, maybe, one of the most straightforward songs Vampire Weekend’s ever made musically. But that’s all it needs to be.

  1. More on that Arcade Fire album at some point. I’m still not sure how I feel about it.

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28 Dec 2013

Top 10 Songs of 2013: #4 Haim - Falling

Haim - “Falling”

At this point, pretty much everybody and their mothers (<christrager>literally</christrager>) has heard of Haim. They’re the sister act that sounds like a cross between a 70s rock band and a mid–90s pop/R&B (usually Fleetwood Mac by way of Wilson Phillips). They’ve been on Saturday Night Live making the infamous bass face. They’re a minor cultural phenomenon …

who just happened to have put out one of the best albums of 2013. An old-school album where half of the songs have been, will be, or should be hit singles. All written and performed by the band themselves.

“Falling” is a perfect example of a Haim song, maybe the perfect example. The quiet open that highlights the vocals before opening up into a full on 90s synth pop song. As the song builds, so do the harmonies, and the really powerful low end—the bass and drums pack a punch while not ever overpowering the song. (Though, I'll admit: one morning, I drove into work with the volume a little louder than normal and, damn, that bass line and low end drums seriously shook the car. Just listen to the first 30 seconds in a good pair of headphones.) And then you hop in the Haim time machine again, as you get a very out of the 80s guitar solo.

It’s just a really great radio single. A really smart music blog said that if this were released by Beyonce, it would have been the top song of the year. I think that's spot on, though I think maybe Gaga would have been a more appropriate proxy artist.