March 8th, 2009
Delta and Northwest Airline admits their online checkin doesn’t work on a Mac. Pathetic.
> From: Delta.OnlineSupport@delta.com
> Subject: Re: Web_Feedback – Current and Future…
> Date: 8 March, 2009 12:31:07 AM CST
> …
>
> Dear Mr. Steeves,
>
> Thank you for contacting us concerning your difficulty with our online
check-in option. At this time, the problem with printing your boarding
card appears to be directly related to the Mac platform.
>
> Currently, delta.com is designed and constructed to be best viewed by a
Windows-based, PC platform using Internet Explorer 6.0 (and higher), as
well as Netscape 7.2 (and higher) browsers. This was established based
on the dominant type of users throughout the industry. We regret that we
cannot guarantee service on every computer platform. However, we will
regularly review the Mac population of users and respond accordingly.
>
> We recommend that you take advantage of our airport kiosk location to
avoid the ticket counter lines.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Jessica Tribbey
> Online Customer Support Desk
> http://www.delta.com
Posted in none | 1 Comment »
December 19th, 2008
I’m not perplexed about this one. Here’s an email response I just wrote.
> Dear Bud Grant, Minnesota Vikings, and Minnesota Momentum:
>
> I’ve been a Vikings supporter and a fan of the NFL for almost my entire 40 years. I appreciate the benefits the team brings to the people, the state, and the businesses of its community. However, I also firmly believe that government has almost no appropriate role to play in financing or otherwise supporting the construction of a gathering place so specifically designed for one private enterprise. I’m annoyed by the actions taken to date for the Wild, Twins, and Gophers. I see it as a major public failing that we’ve built a new Gopher stadium and not a new **football** stadium to suit both the Gophers and Vikings.
>
> I’m aware that acting in accordance with my view may likely lead directly to a decision by the Vikings to move the franchise someplace where the local governments are willing to offer incentives. So be it. The fact is that the Twin Cities cannot support all their pro franchises indefinitely at a competitive dollar level when the supply of teams is in controlled scarcity by profitable league monopolies and other governments are willing to lure them away. To compete now for the Vikings simply means we’ll be called to compete again and again.
>
> I’m sure that my MN representative, Steve Simon, whom I’ve cc’d on this note, understands that fundamentally the Vikings are NOT an appropriate financing priority for scarce public funds. He also understands that many of his constituents will wrongly oust him from his seat if and when the Vikings move. In 2009, I have no choice but to let him know my thoughts, trust his judgement, and hope that he votes & lobbies for zero or minimal government support of yet another new pro sports stadium that the people of Minnesota don’t **need**.
>
In response to this.
> Dear Dan:
>
> As the Vikings push toward an NFC North title and the NFL playoffs, we are asking you to join our team to help secure a new home for Vikings football.
>
> While the State of Minnesota steps up to face current economic challenges, the Vikings stadium project will deliver thousands of jobs when an economic boost is desperately needed.
>
> It is our expectation that the Vikings will move forward in 2009 with a discussion at the State Legislature about resolving the stadium issue. With only 30 home games left until the Metrodome lease expires in 2011, we need to rally Vikings fans and supporters to ensure that our voices are heard as state leaders tackle this important issue.
>
> Please click here to join our team and be part of the stadium solution. Being part of Minnesota Momentum will keep you updated on important stadium developments and let you know how you can help resolve this issue.
>
> Please visit MinnesotaMomentum.com to find out more. Thank you for your time and consideration, and thank you for joining our team.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Bud Grant
> Vikings Hall of Fame Coach
> Co-Chair, Minnesota Momentum
>
> Larry Spooner
> Vikings Fan
> Co-Chair, Minnesota Momentum
>
Tags: bud grant, gophers, professional sports, stadium, steve simon, twins, vikings, wild
Posted in politics, world | 2 Comments »
December 7th, 2008
The Senate, led by the current MN delegation of Coleman & Klobuchar, should accept whatever recount result the state submits, decide unanimously that the result is a tie based on any reasonable estimate of margin of error despite the best possible methods, and flip a coin.
Signaling this intent to the State, and twisting the arms of both campaigns, will allow us
Tags: coleman, franken, politics
Posted in none | 1 Comment »
October 18th, 2008
_UPDATE, 28 Oct: This isn’t working right now and is very frustrating. I can sync a new database from either device but can’t get the iPhone to take the latest from the MacBook._
Tonight I upgraded from OmniFocus 1.0 to 1.5 sneakypeek, purchased OmniFocus for iPhone, and set up free WebDAV sync using sharemation.
Downloading and installing the OmniFocus upgrade was easy, as was purchasing OmniFocus for iPhone from the app store. The first time I ran the upgrade it converted my database which took a minute.
Creating a free account at sharemation was easy. I did not create any folders there. To connect to the highest level folder using WebDAV from Finder, connect to “https://sharemation.com/username”.
Next I set up sync for OmniFocus on the Mac. Knowing the URL, username & password that worked in Finder was all I needed. The first sync took a couple minutes.
The next thing I did was send my settings over. This did not go so well. I kept getting trapped in a loop of selecting between the local & server databases, or re-entering my sync username & password. I finally got out of this by syncing the local database from the iPhone to make a successful sync from there. Then on the next sync from my Mac I had to tell it to use its local database, not the blank one I’d just synced from the phone. On the next sync from the phone I got the right database down, I think because I didn’t have to enter credentials again.
So there was a bit of hassle, but with some perseverance it seems to be working. And free. If I was doing it again I would back up my database, then sync blank or starting databases to get sync going, then restore the backup & sync it to the phone.
Posted in none | No Comments »
October 17th, 2008
I feel pretty responsible for Craig’s relationship with this Kona Dew Deluxe, as I helped him select & purchase it a couple years ago. The result was good for both of us, as he likes the bike and we ride together.
Last year I helped his wife select the Titec H-Bar as a birthday present. This week I finally got around to properly setting up the brake/shifter pods for the new bar. Craig has a smaller Dew, which came with a 70mm stem. When he simply put the h-bar on a year ago, he had to leave the brake/shifter pods way out on the tips of the bar ends because the cables were too short.
Well, I finally got this bike into my garage for a few days. I found a longer 110mm stem in a local shop used bin, and bought some cable stuff. I had a hard time deciding between this setup and the pods on the extension side of the bars which was better for braking. But the shifting was just too awkward out there, so here it is. I like the “jaunty” Rivendell look of the long-ish cables. I maybe could have taken an inch or two off them but there you go.
Posted in none | No Comments »
October 13th, 2008
My xtracycle is now a functional single-speed bicycle, fun to ride, and my new preferred way to transport children. It also makes a great conversation starter with not-bike people. This new rig is built up with bits from every bicycle I’ve had in the last 8 years. Makes a good advert for not aggressively purging the parts bin.
Tags: bike
Posted in none | No Comments »
September 10th, 2008
Lance went & got a fixed gear just like mine!
I think Lance must have gotten word that Darcie is a big fan. I see that he went out & got Trek to build him a fixed gear that looks just about exactly like mine, down to the sweet mustache bars.
I saw this pic in an [article](http://www.sahtel.ee/?p=635#more-635) on the Mash SF crew.
Tags: bike
Posted in bike | No Comments »
August 2nd, 2008
Me & the BoSS went to Theo Wirth yesterday. Same old story, except
* Hadn’t been there since last July or August,
* New platform pedals no clip/cage, and
* I’m out of shape for off-road singlespeed heart rate intervals.
But wow, riding that bike off-road **is so fun!** I’ve been miserably jetlagged and stressed out about work for 3 days. And after the ride I felt just plain happy.
The platform pedals worked out ok. I need a move for curb/log obstacles. With clipless I wheelie over then hop the rear wheel up/over by pulling up with my legs. On the platforms I was terrified of pinch-flatting the rear every time.
The BoSS was “rode hard & put away wet” when I visited in Feb. The chain is damn near rusted, whole bike is dirty as hell & signs of the road salt I didn’t wash off. The brake setup is almost dangerous… She’ll spend time at One-On-One when I go back to London next week.
Tags: bike
Posted in bike | No Comments »
June 29th, 2008
Elliot and I took a whirlwind one-day tour of Paris yesterday. Here are the highlights.
* 7:15am Eurostar train to Paris.
* Glimpse of Sacre Coeur from the train.
* Taxi to Eiffel tower held up by a parade of children dressed up as flowers.
* Elliot’s smile as he posed below the tower.
* Delight when we found the grumpy old men in Musee d’Orsay, after touring half the museum looking for them *and* calling Mom for help.
* Elliot devouring quiche for lunch and flirting with our table-neighbors. Quiche’ll probably never happen again and was only due to incredible hunger after eating nothing all morning but some cereal at home and a large pink milk on the train.
* Elliot took a great picture of me on Pont Neuf overlooking the Seine.
* The toy department, dome ceiling, and chilling out in the bar at Galleries Lafayette. (Elliot was fascinated that a store would have a bar in it.)
* Dinner. No, **dinner**! Chartier made me so happy, and Elliot is such a restaurant champ. No kids menu but he happily ate grown-up salad, trout muniere almandine, and dame blanche. The restaurant was oozing traditional Parisian style, the food was cheap, yummy and French. And we had a great time.
* Elliot falling asleep on the Eurostar home, despite every intention not to.
* Talking with Mom about the day for 30 minutes before going to bed even though it was 11pm.
* Sleeping until 9am, which Elliot and I *never* do, and waking up to find Mom and Quinton already awake, which *never* happens.
It was difficult a couple times. Exhausting as the day went on and we realized we’d walked too much. But wonderful.
Posted in family, travel | No Comments »
June 14th, 2008
Sometimes I put things here just to increase their Google page rank in the hopes that lots of others will start to take notice.
> A simple cure is to draw all districts with the shortest splitline algorithm involving approximately-bisecting a state’s population with the shortest eligible splitting line, and then continuing recursively on the resulting hemi-states.
[Link](http://www.rangevoting.org/GerryExec.html)
Read about it at [Jon Taplin](http://jtaplin.wordpress.com)
Posted in politics | 1 Comment »
