TWiT and the TWiT Forums - FAIL

I've been a big fan of Leo Laporte for many years, first on TechTV and since 2005, on his podcast/netcast - TWiT (This Week in Tech). When I was commuting to New Jersey each week, I would listen to TWiT during the early morning drive - first to keep me awake and then to stimulate my brain. At the time that Leo started TWiT (initially called "Revenge of The Screen Savers" - since it brought together many of the former cast members of that late, great show - until the G4 network threatened to sue), he labeled it a hobby - something he did once a week, between the radio show gig and the trips to Canada to shoot "Call For Help". As the months progressed, and podcasting went mainstream with the inclusion of the medium on iTunes, TWiT spawned several other podcasts - MacBreak Weekly, FLOSS Weekly, Windows Weekly - and somehow the weekly get-together with old friends became a nascent Internet media empire.

In early 2006, Leo created a user forum for his fans, also known as the "TWiT Army." There was a small barrier to entry - a one time donation - even as low as $2.00, which would keep out the spammers, trolls and flamebaiters out, but as Leo had such an intensely loyal following, the stream of donations quickly became a source of income that helped pay for the ever increasing technological needs of the TWiT network.

I signed on to the TWiT user forums on the very first day, and I am very proud that my user number is a mere 35. I've been an active participant in the forums (okay, more properly fora), the third most frequent visitor (or maybe it's poster) and the second most frequent discussion starter. I've got a lot of time invested in these forums. I've made some good friends, and have had some truely excellent conversations and the TWiT forums have been a place to exercise my intellectual muscles.

Earlier this year, around March or April, a hacker broke into the TWiT forum and trashed all of the posts. Since Leo had not recently backed up the database (although he had done so for a forum site for the Munchcast podcast), 15 months worth of posts were wiped out (although I feel that Leo should have restore what was actually backed up). And the forum continued on - the reset actually made things a little better...some of the trollish personalities dropped off and all of the nasty "I hate Guest X" threads were gone (and there were, unfortunately, a lot of them).

Beyond the shared interest in the TWiTcasts, the forums had become a real community, and I was horrified to learn that the entire TWiT site, from the show posting pages, to Leoville, to the TWiT Army microblog, to the Forums themselves, were gone. Totally and irrevocably gone. The RAID 5 controller, which Leo has admitted he knew was bad, died. What's worse is that he hadn't backed up anything recently. I certainly could understand not wanting to pay the exhorbitant rates the hosting company was charging for a backup drive, but to completely fail to implement a regular off-site syncing script is simply criminal.

I am so angry I am considering cancelling my monthly donation. Leo's done the mea culpa on air, but that just isn't cutting it. One time is acceptable - but to know that your data's at risk and to do NOTHING is unconscionable.

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Argh!

Happy International Talk Like a Pirate Day!

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Remember

Try to remember the kind of September
When life was slow and oh, so mellow.
Try to remember the kind of September
When grass was green and grain was yellow.
Try to remember the kind of September
When you were a tender and callow fellow.
Try to remember, and if you remember,
Then follow.


September 11, 2001

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A Ray of Sunshine in What Has Been a Lousy Week of News

Week? How about decade?

I don't know if I'm feeling grim from the steady stream of bad news (although the Mets won and the Phillies lost), the bad dream the other night, or the season. The news; however, out of my favorite cultural institution is apparently very good. The Metropolitan Museum of Art is going to be in good hands.

Per today's New York Times, a successor to Phillippe de Montebello has been named, and he's not a professional fundraiser but a true museum professional. Thomas Campbell has been a curator with the Met for over a dozen years, specializing in medieval and Renaissance tapestries. To quote the Times:

"In selecting Mr. Campbell, the Met seems to have opted for intellectual heft as well as continuity. A graduate of the Courtauld Institute in London, he arrived at the museum in 1995 and made his reputation through much-praised scholarly catalogs and ambitious shows involving complex logistics and diplomacy."

How rare it is to hear that scholarship and technical ability are the prized factors in the selection of an influential position. Since the turn of the century (at least in America), people are appointed to positions of power not for their ability to do the job, but for the ability to raise funds for the people in power ("Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job!")

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Recurring Dreams

So, I have two types of recurring dreams. One has been with me since early adulthood, but the other one is fairly new.

The old one is a pretty typical "naked" dream - I'm somewhere outside and I'm either naked from the waist up or the waist down, but no one seems to notice. I usually have these dreams during times of stress or at the cusp of a major life change. One consistent aspect of this dream is that I've either lost my car, or it's been stolen.

The new one is pretty odd, and usually quite vivid and realistic. It's the lost pocketbook dream. I'm generally in New York city and I lose my pocketbook, or just the contents. What makes this dream disturbing is that I do something to cause the loss. I'll usually just put my bag down someplace, walk away and come back later expecting it to be there. Then, I can't get home. I have no money, no phone, no keys.

Last night's edition was a doozy - and more vivid than usual. I'm in a used bookstore in the city, and for some awful, unknown reason, I'm carrying a pale blue suede monstrosity that's a cross between a Hobo and a Berkin. I put it on a shelf in the crowded store and walk over to the manager and strike up a conversation. I go back, and my bag's there, intact. I leave it and go back to my conversation. When I go back to my bag on the shelf, it's empty. My iPod, iPhone, keys, wallet, hairbrush, pens and card case are gone. I'm left with an empty bag.

At this point in my dream, I'm stressed over two things - I won't be able to get the subsized price for a replacement iPhone, and I don't remember where I've parked my car (which is usually part of a "naked" dream), because the claim ticket was in my wallet. The store manager actually lends me money to get on a bus to get to my car (I think it's in a lot in the upper West Side, but I'm just hoping to recognize the structure). I get on a bus, but the bus is going to Queens, and it's getting dark. The driver doesn't stick to the route, but takes me to the home of a really nice Jewish family. They give me clothes and food, but they seem to be in the auto repair business and extremely observant - which just doesn't seem to go together.

I woke up at this point - and I've felt at a loss all day long. It was so vivid that I've been checking the contents of my handbag and it's location all day long.

Bizarre.

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It's just been one of those days, one that calls for the best line in a movie, EVER

"You fool! You fell victim to one of the classic blunders! The most famous is never get involved in a land war in Asia, but only slightly less well-known is this: never go in against a Sicilian when death is on the line!"

The Princess Bride - Vizzini to the Man in Black

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Apparently, I'm pretty conflicted

You Are a Black and White Cookie

You're often conflicted in life, and you feel pulled in two opposite directions. When you're good, you're sweet as sugar. And when you're bad, you're wicked!

What Kind of Cookie Are You?

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