8:27am EST (5:27am PST) I go to pull up some music, and perhaps tame my increasingly sour mood this morning, and:

Our apologies,
RHAPSODY is currently down for scheduled maintenance and upgrades.


This maintenance period will be over at approximately
5am PST, Wednesday Nov 30th


We apologize for any inconvenience. Please check back soon.

That can be added to the list of:

• My building and the unannounced, unexplained, unfriendly mess that our front door has become
• Dig Dug: Digging Strike and the complete lack of a "delete profile" or "start new game" option
• Getting a lecture, with your lunch, about the correct way to request toppings for your sandwich
  

But I certainly expect more things to crop up.

And, in the time it took me to rant, Rhapsody is back up...

Update: added to the list

Some colleagues work better or feel more comfortable with a task if they can actually talk about it, and it's unwise to force them into an electronic exchange.

[ CareerJournal | Is Emailing Nearby Colleagues A Sign of Office Dysfunction? ]

And some of us appreciate email and IM for what they are, and don't want to be forced into a verbal exchange. Verbal communications are synchronous, and achieving synchronized in the office can be a complete waste of time. 9 times out of 10, IMHO, when I hear "wouldn't this be easier to talk it out" I believe what is really being said is "my time is more valuable than yours, so I want to monopolize you as a resource and force you to synchronize with me".

The worst offenders of this seem to be sales folks. If I send an email to inquire about your product, don't send me an email requesting my phone number to call me because "it would be easier". If it was easier for me, I would have called you. And since it is potentially my money, I would expect the courtesy of choice of method to communicate would be left to me.

Props to Joe G

[PSP OS 2.6] supports WMA (though it doesn’t support PlaysForSure, WMA9 Professional, and WMA9 Lossless, d’oh!), RSS (we hear that includes enclosures, i.e. podcast time on your PSP!), and some other incremental developments.

[ Engadget Gaming ]

And if you have an old laptop gathering dust in your closet, you might be able to get a real good deal on that PSP.

I'm a fanboy, but now an online one:

This is your view into the pulse of Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. The games, the players, the scores, highlights… it's all here.

[ Nintendo WiFi ]

Headed out the door on vacation, so you don't see my scores posted yet, but soon. I'm not sure if it lists it under my DS name "Kearns" or my Nintendo profile name "NADKDC" but if you are playing worldwide Mario Cart DS, keep checking your rear view mirror, 'cause I'm already there...

Nintendo finally adds RSS to their site.

I guess there is a whole redesign that they did along with this addition of RSS feed, but since they didn't have RSS I didn't go there so often.

Yes, Henri, there was an Internet Bubble...

In April of 2000 while on a business trip I received a near-frantic email from someone with an unusual request. It seems that she represented a fellow with a company in Seattle (no, NOT Microsoft). Turns out that last September this guy was hired, and in his contract of employment it stipulated that he wanted a desk made out of LEGO.

[ The Desk -- LEGO ]

If so, check this out:

How to enable shortcut keys?

This is done by enabling the VSS Plugin action set. Enable it for each perspective under Window -> Customize Perspective -> Other -> VSS Plugin menu and shortcut keys

The action is invoked on the current active editor or the current selection if there is no active editor. Perfect with code browsing for a fast check out/check in for a small change.

There is also a known problem with the menu on startup before any editor activation/deactivation or before any of the menu actions have been invoked the disablement of some menu options do not work, which might lead to unexpeted faults.

The currently supported keys are:
   Ctrl+Alt+U -> Undo Check Out
   Ctrl+Alt+I -> Check In
   Ctrl+Alt+O -> Check Out
   Ctrl+Alt+R -> Refresh
   Ctrl+Alt+A -> Add

[ VSS Plugin version 1.6.1 for Eclipse 3.1 ]

If not? Then you are probably in the majority. I expect this is only helpful to 2 visitors out of my normal 10 per week...

Drinking coffee in them!

[ Nintendo Japan: Animal Crossing DS ]

Props to Nick and Zigg

However, type away:

Enjoy a drink while you work—this keyboard is designed to withstand an accidental spill.

[ Microsoft Hardware ]

So, the way I read it, a few double neat scotches are fine, and if you get so drunk that you fall on the keyboard, Microsoft has your back...

But listed on Dice now:

We have an open working environment with a casual atmosphere. We value personal skill development and team camaraderie. Competitive salary and benefits offered, including 401(K), health coverage, and dental plan.

[ Dice - Position wspos173078 ]

Many ISVs have questions about their MSDN subscriptions. All in all this is not surprising. Where there was one product before, there is now several.

Basically it all boils down to two very simple questions:

1. If I have MSDN Universal subscriptions now, what am I entitled to in terms of Visual Studio Team System SKU’s?
2. What Visual Studio Team System SKU is right for me?

[ W^3 ]

And, once I read it, I'm sure I will have a better feel for which way our subscriptions need to go.

107 page paper on generics in C#

[ VS Data Team's WebLog : Four part paper on generics in VS 2005 (by yag) ]

I didn't even know one was coming. I'm still expecting to migrate off of mine onto a Windows Mobile device soon, but since when that happens Yaty will get my Sidekick, it's good to know that they are continuing to improve. Best feature added?

Support for JavaScript on Web pages

[ T-Mobile Sidekick Help ]

Yes, you read that right. Up until now the Sidekick didn't do JavaScript. They've added tons of little short cuts too, and finally support for transferring contacts back and forth from your SIM. Still missing? Ability to use WAV files attached to emails as ringers...

the official motivation behind shelving Ghost for the GameCube. "In order to provide the game envisioned by the console team, a set and readily available online solution was needed," said the moderator. "Unfortunately the GameCube has no online service and since so much work is going in to the online portion, it would be additional work to release only part of the intended game."

Correct me if I'm wrong, but Playstation has no online service either, just the ability to connect online, which the GameCube also has. If the connectivity for the PS2 is via battle.net, and so is the GameCube, where's the issue?

Or, perhaps, Blizzard will eventually drop support for XBox and PS2 as well, and let the game disappear into the world of Duke Nuke'm...

The Fiqh Council of North America, after consultation with Muslim astronomical consultants who evaluated credible moon sighting reports, declared Thursday, November 3 as the first day of Shawwal and Eid al Fitr.

[ ISNA ]

We're looking for a few good coders at my day job:

At Doceus our Developers architect and deliver solutions for small to midsize businesses, associations, and non-profit organizations. Duties include writing specifications and coding web based applications, generally database driven; and maintaining said applications, over their life cycle, for our clients.

[ doceus :: accelerate success ]

If you, or anyone you know, is interested, you, or the person you know, can apply on our site, or via Monster.

[ L.L.Bean - Outdoor Specialties since 1912 ]