Old Joke Becomes Even Less Funny

Much to the chagrin of possibly dozens of teenagers, Amazon is now listing a real Playstation 3 on their Japanese website. In a bold move, Sony will proceed as planned and refuses to skip a version number in honor of the infamous misinformer's PS3 Sneak Preview article. One insider at Sony of America, on the condition of anonimity, agreed to disclose the lack of some long-awaited features.

"The first thing you notice, right off the bat... no Clapper."

In an effort to shave licensing costs, Sony decided against the Clapper in a last minute decision, replacing it with acoustic ceiling tiles. He also said that we can kiss our Pac-Man Game goodbye. More license disputes with Namco ended in a grisly compromise that resulted in the bundling of a limited version of Mappy Land.

But most disappointing is the decision to stop supporting SyQuest. It's another controversial decision that may cripple the PS3's appeal to younger gamers who rely upon SyQuest for groundbreaking new technology.

In a world where few game companies fight to be king, will Sony's gamble pay off?

... and I Just Want to Dance, Dance, Dance

Who's watching Kilborn's last show tonight?

"Friends of the show" planning to drop by tonight include Will Ferrell, Marlee Matlin, Martin Mull and Adam West, along with Wayne Newton via satellite from Las Vegas.

I would say that it's sad to see him go, but I can't claim fanhood in this instance. This has long been a show that's on my "to watch list," but I never had the chance to actually be a fanatic. I still prefer Craig to Jon Stewart on The Daily Show. It's probably because I don't care for political humor, and Kilborn's TDS had more of the odd stories that had me rolling. I also enjoy Craig's delivery. It's fun to watch him work.

I'm going to be planted firmly in front of my TV, tonight: CBS, 12:35 a.m. ET/PT.

Last Post Linking

I admit it, I've been "keeping up" with Last Comic Standing, this season. I like very little about reality shows, but I love stand up. So, this was just another way to saturate myself with that. I had to put in some overtime at first, because I missed the first 5 or so episodes.

When I saw that Pablo Francisco was on the show in the beginning, I was rooting for him. He didn't make it past the semi-finals, but that's OK. By then, I had discovered Dan Naturman. I thought he was hilarious, also. He never made it into the house, though (which was BS, but whatever). I found out that I also enjoy Tom Cotter and his "Comedy Central Presents" show. He also never made it into the house.

Now, that it's down to the results of the final 3 comedians. I can say that John Heffron has been my pick of the house since before he was in there. I thought he was the only one that didn't irritate the crap out of me. Looking towards the minutes before the big reveal show, I hope that Heffron wins. Gary's funny, and I laugh out loud at some of his jokes, but he doesn't have the same charisma and energy that John does. Alonzo never really did it for me. He's funny, but his delivery is kind of awkward. I think Kathleen would have been a better pick for the final 3.

Other comedians I like? Brian Regan, Jim Gaffigan, and Dane Cook to name just a few.

Oh, and speaking of things I like, Seinfeld seasons 1-3 are coming to DVD (also available as 1-2 and 3). Don't forget about Space Ghost Vol. 2, Aqua Teen Vol. 3, and Looney Tunes Golden Collection Vol. 2.

A Short Bathroom Break

At work, I walked into the bathroom while my lunch was heating up and saw that since the one adult-sized urinal was occupied, I would have to use the little-person urinal. That's fine. Though, I usually prefer to stand with the top of the thing at least above my waist, but what am I gonna do? So, I step up and realize that the shaven-head guy using the normal porcelain is a whole foot shorter than me! Why would a ~5 foot person use the big boy toilet? He probably has to arc his stream to hit the right angle, anyway.

I think I saw him on his tippy toes. I ran and told the teacher on him.

Supporting the Short Bus

Has anybody heard of Bookmarks Synchronizer? It's a handy little gadget that allows you to keep, say, your work Firefox bookmarks synced with your home Firefox bookmarks. Great. Wonderful. How's it work? It automatically uploads and downloads your bookmarks from a central server. Okay.

What if your work doesn't allow you to use FTP? Well, they came out with a version of the Synchronizer that uses HTTP or HTTPS. Excellent.

What if you couldn't find any way at all to connect to your online storage space via HTTP? What would you do? Contact tech support, right? Of course!

What if your tech support couldn't support their way out of a paper bag?

Sean > Thank you for contacting Comcast. My name is Sean. May I have
your name please?
welgin > Hi, my name is Wayne
Sean > What can I do for you today?
welgin > I'm trying to use my online storage folder for synchronizing
my bookmarks with Mozilla Firefox, and the synchronizer that I'm using
asks me for either an HTTP, or HTTPS host so that I can upload my
bookmarks file to it. What is a host address that I can use for
Comcast with my userid and password?
welgin > I have already tried using upload.comcast.net, but that isn't
working. I also tried home.comcast.net and webauth.comcast.net.
Sean > The address you need in order to upload your files using ftp
is: ftp://upload.comcast.net
welgin > I cannot use FTP from work because we have firewall. Is there
an address I can use for HTTP or HTTPS?
Sean > Well that http uploader.
Sean > Login to the www.comcast.net website,
*** somehow, my cursor focus moves over to the End Session button
before I can stop his idiotic answer and we get disconnected ***
Sean > Because you've left the chat room, I will now close this chat
session. Thank you for contacting Comcast.
Sean > Analyst has closed chat and left the room

*** I connect to Live Chat Support again ***

Anna > Thank you for contacting Comcast. My name is Anna. How may I help you?
welgin > Hi Anna, I was just talking with Sean and my cursor focus
somehow changed and accidentally ended our session...
Anna > Hello, am I chatting with Wayne?
welgin > Yes
Anna > Unfortunately, we do not have the ability to transfer chat
sessions, so I will be unable to reconnect you with that agent. How
can I assist you?
welgin > I am looking for a way to upload files into online storage
via HTTP or HTTPS. I cannot use FTP because of a work firewall issue.
I am trying to automate the file transfer, similar to how FTP can be
automated, but using HTTP only. I do not wish to use the HTTP file
loader because it doesn't allow me to automate the transfers using a
userid and password.
Anna > You can upload files to your webspace by using Internet
Explorer. Type ftp://upload.comcast.net into the address bar. You
will then be prompted to enter your username and password. Once
you've signed in, you can simply drag and drop the files into that
window.
welgin > Unfortunately, even that method uses FTP to upload files.
And, as I mentioned, the entire FTP protocol is being blocked by my
work's firewall.
Anna > Unfortunately, I'm not aware of any other method of
transferring files to your webspace without using FTP. If you're
unable or resticted from using FTP at work, contact your company's IT
department or wait until you're home to upload files.
welgin > Ok, thanks for your time.
Anna > Thank you for contacting Comcast. Have a nice evening.

Argh! Am I the only decent tech support left on this entire planet?