This just keeps getting sadder.

I finally did hear back from Mark Casem (who posted a comment on my earlier entry “I hate Comcast”) and was told that he would look into the problem with my local Comcast guys. They did finally send someone out who determined that something was wrong with my line, and they sent a maintenance crew over to apparently fix it.

I say apparently because, well, have a look at my latest numbers (allow me to remind you that I am paying for 16 Mbps Business Class connection) for January 5 - 20:

I know that the use of a logo from the Weyland-Yutani corporation from the “Alien” franchise in this first episode of Firefly is old news, but on examining it again earlier today I noticed that the gun designation in the upper left corner of the HUD in this screen grab shows UA 571-D Ground Sentry. The name sounded familiar to me.

Thanks to the speedtest.net iphone app, I have been monitoring my Comcast Business Class internet speeds and have been mighty upset with the results.

I had originally wanted DSL again, having had it for quite a few years and being quite happy with the performance and speed at the time. Unfortunately, upon moving into my new home I found that DSL couldn’t get past 1.5 Mbps tops for me. So my only other option was to go with Comcast.

David Zucker remembers Leslie Nielsen in such a wonderful way. From The Hollywood Reporter:

Arguably the best role was that of Dr. Rumack, played by the guy no one wanted or ever suspected would be funny, much less go on to have a second career starring in feature films as a goofball comic. Leslie was great in the role because he never “winked” – let on that he knew he was in a comedy. This was essential to the style, and Leslie had a natural instinct for it.

I recently became the new owner of a iPhone 4 after beating my old 3G phone to within inches of its life (not on purpose, just the normal wear and tear sort of life-beating). I had originally dropped my phone last week from my night table, and it left the display looking like it was super-saturated with mega-brightness. I fiddled with the brightness settings and smacked it around a bit, but all to no avail. I figured a broken phone was as good a reason as any to upgrade. Of course, in a bout of madness I decided to try one last thing before I gave it up as a lost cause, and opened my phone up where I found that the LCD connection ribbon had jostled loose: all it took to cure the phones problems was to re-seat the connector.

I have recently completed the major stages of renovation for a Florida room in my home. All the old paint and wall surfaces were torn down and built back up to what we wanted as a finish, and we were staring at a fully primed, and waiting for paint, empty room. The only problem was, we hadn’t really decided on a color scheme yet!

I needed a quick way to visualize what general types of colors we thought we’d like to use, so I came up with a way using my camera and GIMP. I will outline the steps I used below, with some example photos taken from Flickr. The nice thing about this approach is that you can visualize just about any room with new paint even if the room is not empty, and even if there are different lighting conditions across walls (sun shining in a window, while another wall might be in shadow for instance).

I’ve really wanted to experiment with different lighting techniques and to start incorporating flashes off camera for some shots. I just haven’t gotten around to purchasing any flashes or triggers yet (though it is on my wish list). As such, I have to be a little more creative when coming up with ideas for lighting some pictures.

I have been devouring (hehe) Robert Kirkmans The Walking Dead comic for months now, and he has absolutely kept me always rabidly wanting more. If you haven’t had a chance to pick it up, it would easily top my list of recommendations for a new read. The Walking Dead Compendium Vol. 1 is a great way to get into this story, and compiles the first 48 issues together in a single book.

The story basically follows the main protagonist Frank Grimes, a small town cop who awakens in the hospital from a short coma after being shot on duty, and a small band of survivors he meets up with as they try to find a way to survive in the aftermath of a zombie outbreak. Though that synopsis may sound clichéd, it is Robert Kirkmans relentless and sometime brutal storytelling that really drives the plot along.

You might as well make it interesting!

I came across gizmodos Photoshop BP PR photos contest a little late, but thought I should make my own little contribution anyway. So here are the brave BP pilots making a trench run!

Large version here, careful, the big one clocks in at over 7MB.

I have had my iPad for a couple of months now, and the device is never far from me. It really is the ultimate casual media consumption device for me, and nicely fills a niche that was previously being fulfilled by my iPhone: ubiquitous and instant access to information. I have even on a few occasions brought the device to work with me, and it has proved extremely useful to access information on my internal work network when in meetings or a coworkers office (tightvnc running on my main machine allows me to quickly and easily remote in to get at other information).