This is still a bit surreal for me ..

.. every time I stick one of these on my polo.

Are you a ‘fake’ mayor?

I’m not! I hope you aren’t. I’m watching you .. let’s move on.

Are you a Foursquare fan?

I am, and if you’re my friend on Facebook, please don’t take offense to my frequent location postings (you can block them in FB, you know).

For those new to all this stuff, Foursquare is sort of a location-based Twitter .. folks check in to locations, have the option to Tweet or update their FB status and advise anyone who cares where they are. They can even ‘shout’ about what they’re doing (shouting only occurs after the first cup of coffee -or- the first drink, of course). The system tabulates the results and keeps track of where everyone is, and was. Oh: it even assigns mayors to those who visit locations often .. that is, more than anyone else in the past two months.

:: whew ::

To give you an idea of how important this is, FrankArr and I are in an epic battle over the hizzoner-ness of Kirkland Parkplace (you’ll find my east side 24 Hour Fitness and the Kirkland Parkplace Starbucks in the vicinity, so I’m in the neighborhood a lot .. he just has the gall to live close by).

Do you see the drama?

Okay. There’s no drama. It’s just a fun location-based-services thing to do with a mobile device and folks who consider themselves among  my friends (happy to have you, by the way).

Yes: I find it fun.

Ahem: Let me proclaim: I am not a fake mayor. I interact, transact and impact folk in the various venues in which I check in. Do they remember me? Probably .. I’m the guy buying a triple-tall, vanilla soy latte, telling the raucous story or using the restroom. Twice.

So .. what do you get for being mayor? It’s cereal, baby: nut-tin honey (‘nothing honey’ for the late-80s TV-deficient).

That said .. it seems that there is value in certain markets (into none of which I’ve been able to worm my way). Check out ReadWriteWeb for “Foursquare Lays Down the Law on Fake Mayors” .. there are hot spots that give preferential treatment to those of us who keep their staff entertained.

For the rest of us, it’s an LBS-thing to do. I do it with my spiffy Android phone client (I carry the HTC Aria from AT&T). As it’s GPS-enabled, it tends to keeps all of us honest when checking in.

Protect your mayorships .. I will see you soon.

Google Buzz: Sued, “Lost”, Responds

Actually (silly me): I wasn’t even aware of the suit. Until I received the email. Imagine my surprise!

That said, Google was kind enough to send a message to my GMail account (this is the one I use for Google Latitude .. but nothing else) to say .. something. My phone Buzzed (pun intended). I looked, and I’m wondering why.

So: my thanks to TechCrunch, for clearing it all up for me. They posted: “Google Emails All U.S. Gmail Users About The Buzz Settlement – And To Say They’re Not Getting A Dime” (initial caps theirs; you know what a crazy grammarian I can be).

This is like getting a ‘free’ car rental in Seattle .. in June or July .. then finding out free rentals are disallowed.

It’s a gift you cannot get any other way .. but you also cannot use it. Nice.

Buy a Friend a Starbucks .. Remotely (on Facebook)

Funny how this launched on my birthday, and I missed it. I guess was pretty heads-down on this project.

Still pretty heads-down (Microsoft PDC is less than a week), actually. Even though, I could not resist posting about this: think E-Coffee, at it’s finest.

You can learn more on the Starbucks Card Page on Facebook. It lets you manage your Starbucks card or add value to a friend’s.

You can find more details on the idea on the My Starbucks Idea blog: “Launching Today – Buy a Friend a Drink Remotely”.

Starcraft II: Workaround for the “48%” Error During Installation

I’m a huge fan of the original Starcraft game and couldn’t wait until Starcraft II. Even though I got to the party (years) late the first time around, it is an absolute gem. I still play it, when I can (haven’t finished the last mission in the Brood War expansion scenario). Thumbs-up to the whole gang at Blizzard.

Quite busy writing these days, so you imagine the bit of frustration I felt this weekend when I set aside time to install the game and learn about the new units. It started all right; insert the DVD, run the installer but no dice. My symptoms:

• Installation halted at 48%.
• When halted, I could no longer browse the DVD.
• Windows Explorer (not IE) locks solid.

Bollocks. I wanted to play, NOT another project this weekend.

:: mutter :: fret :: fume ::

All that said, I sorted it. So you don’t waste your time, here’s what I tried:

• Copy the files to a local directory structure. Nope. The main installation content file is hidden; a size check shows you’re missing something..
• Un-hide the files (change settings in Windows Explorer: Tools, Folder Options, View Tab, Show hidden files and folders). Try copying the folder structure again. Nope. The copy fails.
• Go into a command prompt (running as Administrator). Attrib the directory and you’ll see the hidden files therein. XCOPY with –h (-h includes the hidden files). Nope. The copy fails. Without notification (annoying).
• Ditto, ditto and ditto with removable media, btw. I even get sizing errors .. even with a 16GB drive. Bleh.

My solution: create an image of the DVD, mount the image as a virtual DVD and install. Worked like a charm and was very fast .. even when including the prep time. If you already use a CD/DVD image maker, you can sort this.

If you don’t, here are the steps (for Windows):

• Download MagicDisc. Be sure to scan the .exe file with your virus scanner (always better to be safe than sorry).
• Install. As above, watch an installation carefully and make sure you’re not agreeing to anything untoward. If you acquire the installation files from a third party, you’re at the risk of toolbars and other naughty bits and pieces.
• Create an image of the DVD (run MagicDisc and click ‘Make CD/DVD Image’ on the shortcut menu).
• Once you’ve created the image, use MagicDisc to mount the newly-created image (it’s under ‘Virtual CD/DVD-ROM’ on the shortcut menu).

Once mounted, Auto play should kick in; if it doesn’t, explore to the DVD and start the installation. It should now run with better results.

Always happy to tinker. Please write if I may assist.

I’ve had this itch ..

.. and I definitely need it scratched!

You notice a new theme and format, and a bunch of content that no longer exists. You’ll also notice that after nearly six months, I am posting to this blog again (note that I didn’t say ‘writing’ .. I’ve been doing TONS of writing .. just not here).

Let’s catch up:

• This blog is now hosted with my good friends on WordPress .. while .Text served me for five years, I don’t want to maintain the server any longer .. a hosted solution is the right thing for me to do.
• Old OpsanBlog content is still available (for now). Note that internal link references may break until I re-address them .. working on that over the coming weekend.
• I am no longer the “Microsoft Pragmatic Evangelist”. I am simply the “Pragmatic Evangelist”. This lets me comment with or without a Microsoft spin; I’ve had a lot of fun testing new devices and programs.
• I am no longer the “Microsoft” anything .. we parted ways back in April. I’ve had a nice summer (semi-) off.
• I do not expect to contain my wicked sense of humor.

I am still tinkering with the WordPress themes .. looking for the right bits to complete the brand. Don’t be surprised if icons, colors or content bounce about.

As always, thanks for reading .. I look forward to reconnecting.