St. Thomas: A Visitor's Top 10

 I've got a friend coming to visit and they asked me what are the things they should do when the get here. This is actually a very common questions that I get maybe once every 2 years 😂. I'm kidding! I only answered this question like once in Yahoo! Answers. Answers went away last year. Too bad. I used to be the top Answerer for the Virgin Islands.  I digress. Here's my top 10 list of things you have to do when you're in St. Thomas for the first time:

View of the St. Thomas Waterfront

1. Coral World

Coral World Ocean Park is the closest thing we have to a zoo here. There's a lot going on there too. In the old days there weren't so many options. You just paid admission, walked around, checked out the exhibits and maybe have a bite to eat in the cafe. Now they've got tours, encounters and experiences. Just running around on your own is cool though. While you're there, hang out at Coki Point Beach right next door. Word of advice: It's not a very big beach and if you're there on a Sunday, there's gonna be a party. All. Day. Long. Heard you can get some pretty good local food there too. During the week though, it's pretty chill.

2. Magens Bay Beach

Magens Bay Beach is often regarded as one of the top 10 beaches in the world (in my opinion it doesn't beat Trunk Bay in St. John but more on that later). The beach is so nice we have a whole authority set up to manage it. I only linked the website for reference though. You don't need to plan anything, rent anything or check in with anyone. Just go! There's a small fee to enter, but it helps to keep the beach clean and maintained. If you get the munchies, pick a spot close to the concession though.

3. The Paradise Point Skyride

The Tramway is a scenic experience that isn't to be missed. You may have seen pictures of the view but nothing beats seeing it live and experiencing it for yourself. There are some shops at the top and a pretty nice lookout. Have one of their famous Bailey's Bushwackers while you're there (you'll find those at taste). Paradise Point is also home to one of the most premeire restaurants on the island, Prime. You're gonna want to make a reservation if you're going there. They've got tomahawk steaks!

4. Mountain Top

Mountain Top is a bit of a tourist trap but it's a tourist trap with an AWESOME view. In the old days it was a pretty happening spot. These days you can find some inexpensive souveniers to bring back for your friends. You can still get their World Famouse Banana Daiquiris though! I think it's still worth checking out.

5. Historic Downtown Charlotte Amalie

Downtown is where all the shopping is, but it's also where most of the history is too. I'm gonna cheat and give you this link that lists most of the historic locations you'd want to visit. Up until 1917, this was actually part of the Danish Virgin Islands and you can really see it in the architecture and even the street names that we still use to this day. You can see a lot just walking from end to end (I'd start at Fort Christian if I were you). There used to be a walking tour available but it may not have survived COVID. A map will do just as well. You can find them in the lobbies of most hotels and ports. There's also so great hidden gems in the form of restaurants downtown. I'd suggest one of our oldest, if you like Italian: Virgilio's. One very popular spot is The Greenhouse right in the middle of the Watefront. I don't really hang out downtown very often so there are places even I'm not familiar with. Oh, definitely check out Market Square if you're there during the daytime. There's lots of local crafts and locally grown fruits and vegetables for sale.

6. Havensight

If you came for the Tramway, you can stay for the rest of the area. Havensight is home to one of two cruise ship docks on the island and for a while it was the only one. The Havensight Mall is open for shopping (so long as there's a ship in port...some stores open regardless). The Havensight area is great for bar hopping and restaurants. There's a lot to explore and I'd be hard pressed to cite examples of places you'd like to visit. Looking for videogames and maybe some bowling?  Check out Chicken 'n Bowling. Want to drink so island made beers? Tap and Still or Leatherback Brewing is what you're looking for. Want some sushi? Enkai, Beni Iguana's and China King got you covered. Maybe just wanna bar hop? Check out Doghouse Pub, Smooking Rooster, Rum Hut and The Box Bar. Oh and special shout out to Twistt340 for Caribbean food with a....well, twist.

7. Frenchtown

Frenchtown has a small but lively entertainment district mostly consisting of bars and restaurants. I hate to just rattle them off because I know I might miss a few but you've got places like Hook, Line and Sinker, Sea La Vie, Bella Blu, The Pie Whole (brick oven pizza!), French Quarter Bistro, Twisted Cork and Oceana. If you get a chance to be there during the daytime you can stroll through the French Heritage Museum. Frenchtown is also home to Frenchtown Brewing Company. They're open a few times a week for beer tasting and growler fill-ups (you might want to call ahead to find out what time). You can also enjoy their brews at a number of places around the island.

8. Red Hook/East End

Red Hook is party central. No one here will dispute that. In a fairly small area you've got a ton of bars and restaurants and even a bit of shopping. Of course every Friday night there's karaoke with yours truly at Caribbean Saloon. There's stuff going on everywhere though. Places you'll want to check out include Duffy's Love Shack, Bernie's, Hook'd, the very unique Agave/Raw/Pesce combo, Sunny Days Ice Cream Shop, The Easterly, One Pub, Island Time Pub and Senor Pizza. If you're feeling spicy, Red Hook is also home to the island's only Gentleman's Club, Tootsy's. Red Hook is also where you can catch a ferry to visit nearby St. John. This leads me to....

9. St. John

If you thought Red Hook was crazy, Cruz Bay is an ecosystem all its own. I can't say a lot about St. John these days as I rarely visit but there's a lot going on. Some places I can name offhand though include The Beach Bar, Morgan's Mango, Woody's Seafood Saloon, High Tide Bar & Grill, The Tap Room (also home to St. John Brewers locally made beer), Quiet Mon Pub and The Lime Inn. This is just Cruz Bay though. St. John is mostly National Park so you'll definitely want to check that out. That includes Trunk Bay and its famous underwater snorkel trail.Check out the Petroglyphs too. 

10. Lindquist Beach

Think Magens Bay Beach, but like the not so famous sister of it. Lindquist is sort of a hidden gem (even though it's run by an authority much like Magens...well actually the same authority). On a busy cruise ship day when you know Magens is going to slammed, this is an awesome second choice. It doesn't have all the amenities of Magens but it's just as good or better.

Honorable Mentions:

• Crown Bay Marina/Crown Bay Center

Those are two different places side by side. Lemme break it down. Crown Bay Marina mostly serves as a dock for yachts and pleasure crafts. It's notable in that one of the island's oldest restaurants is right by the water, Tickle's Dockside Pub. They're pretty famous for their Open Mic Night. If you're there during daylight hours you might be interested in a coffee or gelato from Scoops and Brew. Here is where you can also take a ferry ride to Water Island (see second Honorable Mention). 

Now the Crown Bay Center is our newest cruise ship dock and features amenities that seek to compete with the Havensight Dock. It started out pretty sleepy but in recent years activity has picked up here. It's very lively when a cruise ship is docked but there are things going on there during the nighttime as well.

• Water Island

Water Island is a short ferry ride from the Crown Bay Marina. We refer to Water Island as "The 4th Virgin" seeing as it's sparsely populated. The main attraction is Honeymoon Beach. There are other beaches as well. The island has 2 restaurants: Dinghy's Beach Bar and Heidi's Honeymoon Grill. If your in the mood for some light hiking, there are plantation and military ruins on the island.

Well, what do you think of my list? Hopefully I pointed out all the interesting stuff to check out. Just one final note: This list isn't ranked. I just listed things as they popped into my mind. So don't go thinking one's better or less than the others. Leave me feedback on what you think of my list. Until next time!

The Seven Totems of St. Thomas

One thing that always stuck with me was that one episode of Season 2 of You where Love's friends tell Joe about the Seven Totems of Los Angeles. According to them, if you saw those 7 things it's a sign that you're a true denizen of LA and can NEVER leave. It turns out to be bullshit though because by the end of the season Joe isn't in LA anymore. I'm not considering that a spoiler. Season 3 is out and if you don't know he didn't settle down in LA you're way behind.

To recap, here were the 7 Totems of LA:

1. A Rollerblader in booty shorts
2. A police helicopter
3. A pack of coyotes
4. A palm tree on fire
5. Two starlets wearing the same dress
6. A dog in a stroller
7. An off-brand superhero

Then I was reminded of an episode of How I Met Your Mother where the gang talks about all the things you have to do or have happened to be considered a New Yorker.  Here's that list:

1. Spotting Woody Allen
2. Spotting Maury Povich
3. Stealing a cab from someone who needs it more than you
4. Crying on the subway and not caring what others think
5. Killing a cockroach with your bare hands

Important to note that the first 2 items were more implied than stated but I count them anyway since they were established in the episode.

Photo courtesy of Duffy's Love Shack Facebook Page. If you're in town you should check them out. It's a unique experience. I just wanted something totem-like to give this entry some color. Back to the task at hand...

I don't know why but this got in my head today and I wondered what would be the totems of St. Thomas.  I thought about it and came up with 7 Totems (one for each flag that has flown over the USVI). Here's my proposed list:

1. A lone person playing a steel pan or steel drum

It's not uncommon to see huge groups of people playing the steel pans and drums. In fact, the Rising Stars Steel Orchestra is very popular and well known. You could go years though and never see a soloist running around. 

2. A bar in an obscure or weird location

Most bars are in regular, well known, well traveled locations. They're their own building or part of a mall. Occassionally though you're going to find on in an obscure or weird location. There's quite a few here that fit the bill. You just have to be willing to do a little exploration. Notable examples include Percy's Bus Stop, West Zanzibar, Brooks Bar and The Rum Hut.

3. A mongoose and an iguana in the same location

We've got 'em both, but good luck seeing them in the same spot or within a few moments of each other. It's surprisingly not a common sight.

4. A WAPA lineman working the pole

We lose power. A LOT. But you'd still need to spend time here to even catch a lineman on a pole. It's a common sight but not common enough that you'd see it every day...or even ever week for that matter.

5. A non-traditional boat

Boats, yachts and ships are a dime a dozen around the island. Good luck spotting one that's...different. One that you would see uncommonly is the Kon Tiki. You won't see it every day though.

6. A mocko jumbie outside of the Carnival season

Like the steel pan/drum, this is mostly Carnival fare. There are rare occasions though where you can see on outside of the Carnival season. Most people that live here have.

7. A tourist driving in the wrong lane

There are actually a few great spots to see this happen, but this is an uncommon event...and tourism season is only so long. I last saw this happen about 2 months ago.

What do you think of my list? Is it worthy? Is it missing something? Lemme know. 

This Dream Seemed Important

I just wanted to get this all down before I forget it because it seemed important. Here I was leaving the scene of a completely unrelated dream arc. I was living in a big city and I wanted to find new areas particularly in the shopping district. It was Charlottesville, NC (Not a real place but somehow I always seem to confuse Charlotte with Charlottesville...go figure). I stumble unto an area I haven't seen before and I was delighted until I got over the stairs that separated it to find a area I was very familiar with. It was a University campus from a previous dream. Oh and for some strange reason I was looking for pants, hence the shopping. I sat on a marble bench when a familiar face appeared. I told him what I was doing since I left University and he seemed a little disappointed in me. "It doesn't work like that." he says. He says he knows that I wanted to be a dorm master(?) and said something to the effect of not basing my whole life around that. He notices my lack of pants and told me to follow him all the while lecturing me. I lost him when he quickly got by a couple walking slowly and stealing kisses. The woman in the couple was someone I knew and not a person I expected to appear in my dream. As I trailed behind the couple I noticed I was walking towards a boutique store. It sold women's clothes but there were some cool swim trunks hanging on the wall outside so I guessed they had men's clothes to. They didn't. An old, bored white guy was in charge. Seemed like he was napping. My friend then reappeared asking where'd I run off to and lead me towards the Campus Store. Before I even had a chance to buy anything he presents me with my phone and points out he added his number. I hear the ringtone Asha put on Todd's phone in Outsourced. I noticed his name was Shana and then I woke up. Got anything for me guys?

The Streaming Boom and My Viewing Habits

Welcome to 2021. We're still in a global pandemic and so more than every people are looking for things to do at home. Streaming services have been literal saviors during this time. Staying at home would have been pretty boring in  say the early 2000s when we were still marking the video store hoping a new release would be available to rent (or buy) soon.

The streaming market was already changing but it had to become something more in 2020. They stepped up. Market leader Netflix has been pumping out tons of original content and were even able to justify a fee increase as a result. DC Universe shuttered their streaming service, incorporated it into HBO Max and then stunned movie studios by announcing that all their 2021 new releases would be released simultaneously with brick and mortar movie houses and HBO Max. CBS started closing the door on All Access and it consolidating that into Paramount+.  NBC launced their Peacock streaming service. Disney+ launced several big releases on their streaming platform including the live action Mulan and the hit musical Hamilton. And this is just the stuff I was aware of.

Now that everyone wants a piece of the streaming pie though, it leads to some hard decision making in what you're willing to invest in and my viewing habits have changed as a direct result. They were already changing but because the streaming market is changing at such a face pace it's been a bit of a struggle to keep up.

1. The 2021 TV season is noticably deminished  

It couldn't be helped. Remember the writer's strike? We lost a ton of TV shows because there was either no writers or the studios tried to fake it with whoever they had lying around. 2020 was like that except there was a literal pandemic. The new Fall season has fewer episodes of everything and most were forced to feature aspects of the pandemic to stay relevant. New content has been difficult to produce during the pandemic. Even the streaming services are feeling it. Their saving grace was having lots of seasons of other new content to fill the void.

2. Can't Be Everywhere All At Once

This was it. The year that EVERYONE has a streaming service. All the broadcast networks have individual apps. Fortunately Hulu is still acting as an aggregate for ABC, NBC and FOX. CBS has always been the holdout and while I enjoyed having CBS All Access for a while it proved to be to finicky. I finally cancelled the service when it looked like they region locked me and wouldn't respond to my requests for support. Almost every Cable network also have individual apps (again, hooray for Hulu) including the premium services. In all the shuffle, I can't follow all the things I used to. Remember when I talked about AMC earlier in my blog and how difficult the app made it to keep up with The Walking Dead? I'm officially like 4 seasons behind now and I haven't picked up on any other AMC shows since. There's such a thing as being TOO exclusive.

3. I Can't AFFORD To Be Everywhere All At Once

Mo' apps means mo' money. Once you've got the Big 3 (Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime) things start to really add up. $13.99 for Netflix, $11.99 for Hulu (I like the no commercials options, okay?!) and $12.99 for Amazon (this is the only service I prepay for for an entire year). My bonus streams: Disney+ and HBO Max clocking in at $14.99 and $6.99 respectively. Technically $60 a month! It's still less than Cable but the thought of picking up any more services is cringe right now.

4. I No Longer Have Time To Even Try To Be Everywhere All At Once

In the early days of the pandemic I got a lot of television in. That didn't last very long though. I'm a sorta essential worker so after brief downtime I was back out there risking it all for the paycheck. That was when the FOMO kicked in. Everyone's ahead of me! It's only recently since more things have opened that things have evened out.

That's all I got for now.  Good to be back. Encourage me to post stuff more often. Later.

Netflix: Roll For Initiative

The 20 sided die of Netflix

Roll to determine what you watch

20 - Any movie you love that you could watch 1000 times over

19 - Any TV series that you love that you could watch 1000 times over

18 - Poll your friends for a movie. Top vote getter in 30 minutes wins

17 - Poll your friends for a tv series. Top vote getter in 30 minutes wins

16. Choose any movie from the Netflix Top 10.

15. Choose any TV series from the Netflix Top 10.

14. If you started a movie and didn't finish it you now have to.

13. If you started a TV series and haven't gotten to the finale you have to watch an episode.

12. Choose any stand up comedy special

11. You must watch an episode of an anime.

10. You must choose a foreign language movie

9. You must watch an episode of a foreign language TV show

8. Watch the first movie Netflix recommends 

7. Reroll. 7s are lucky :)

6. Watch the first episode of the first show Netflix recommends.

5. Watch the first thing that's Trending Now

4. You have to watch something from your list that you haven't watched. If your list is empty reroll.

3. Scroll to the Categories section. Roll again. Whatever you roll scroll right that many times. Watch the first thing recommended or listed in that option.

2. Watch the last thing in the Netflix Top 10

1. Download Tubi and watch Velocipastor 😂

If you don't have a 20 sided die, just Google "roll d20". ;)

Let's Talk About Captain Marvel

The big buzz these days is the theatrical release of Captain Marvel. I don't really want to talk about how the movie did (Saw it, liked it.  Not great, but not bad either). I want to talk about how Captain Marvel represents a turning point in the comic book superhero movie genre. It's something that kinda got left behind in all the controversy.

Think back to all the comic book superhero movies you can think of (I know, there's been a lot). What was the first movie all about? This is a no brainer: It's the origin story.  It's been done to death.  Even the X-Men origin movies, where the characters got their powers by BEING BORN THAT WAY do an origin.

This is where Captain Marvel kinda breaks away from the pack.  Y'see her origin story...is kinda blah.  That's not her fault.  Most origin stories are kinda blah.  I mean you can only have so many radioactive spiders, gamma bomb explosions or super soldier serums.  Her origin is so blah they even changed it for the movie.  It's all about how this story is told.  The big origin is mostly kept a secret until near the end of the movie because it's instrumental to the "twist".  If you've seen it, you know it but I'm not going to spoil it here.  I'll just say it's not very interesting and not fully explained (unless you were paying attention).  So instead of building up that origin we get a functional character codenamed Vers fighting along side her fellow Kree until a mission gone wrong lands her back on Earth and chasing her own identity as a result.

Personally, I liked this direction.  Let's face it, the slow build up to the introduction of powers was getting old.  Then we get a whole second act of learning to use said powers and finally a third act where the powers get to shine.  Captain Marvel pretty much changed up the first two acts.  The character has power from the beginning and is actually more powerful that the other Kree, but we soon come to realize that her time with the Kree is really all she knows.

Will this method of storytelling make it into future movies? Probably not.  Despite breaking a box office record the movie was still badly to moderately reviewed.  A lot of  hype was that this was a prelude to Avengers: Endgame, a movie every MCU fan is practically foaming at the mouth for. We all know Captain Marvel will play a huge role in it and we watched this movie to get filled in.  I feel that alone cast a long shadow on this movie.  Unlike Black Panther, this movie wasn't made to stand on its own. Even Spider-Man: Homecoming escaped this because even though it was tied to the MCU and even featured another Avenger the story didn't affect the overall Avengers plot line. Doing double duty as introducing this new character and providing the bridge to Endgame was too much. That doesn't mean a lot of MCU fans weren't hyped for this movie based on its own merits though. The film has some great and inspiring messages.  It even has that one scene where the main character rises above all odds and gives us that tingly feeling.  Overall, the movie is a C+. Not bad, but also not great.

Did you see Captain Marvel?  What did you think?

Outsourced vs. Outsourced

I think everyone on my Facebook feed knows that one of my favorite movies is Outsourced. For at least a couple years it's been a mainstay on my Netflix "Watch It Again".  I think I'd be embarrassed if there was a way to actually see how many times I've watched this movie.  Yes, it is my favorite romantic comedy of all time and I'm a sucker for a good romantic comedy.

Turns out they made a TV series based on this movie and I didn't know until I recommended the movie to my Facebook friends.  It wasn't until Netflix pulled Outsourced (September 2, 2018) (PLEASE COME BACK SOMEDAY!!! 😭).  It was only then I turned to Amazon Firestick's search feature and that's when it happened: I found the series on it was on Hulu.

So here I stand, having finished the one and only season of Outsourced and ready to compare.  Let's get to it!

 

VS 

1. The Plot

There are some slight differences in the movie and series plot.  In the movie, Todd Anderson is the top salesman for Mid America Novelties and one day he report to work and he's the only one there except for his boss.  His boss explains that they've outsourced his department to India and they want him to go set it up and train the guy who'll eventually replace him.  Naturally Todd protests but his boss dangles his stock options and a bad job market over him so Todd relents.  From here the storyline focuses on Todd trying to get the call center MPI (minutes per incident) down to 6 minutes. 

In the series, Todd (Dempsy in this version) just finished management training and learns that the job he trained for has been outsourced to India.  He's told if he wants to keep that job he has to go there and manage the call center.  In the series, this is the job.  There's no coming back unless he gets transferred.  The plot of the series centers around helping the call center employees get familiar with American culture while learning a few things about Indian culture.

2. The Characters

In the movie, there were only a few stand out characters but even fewer got regular roles in the series. Besides Todd, only Asha and Manmeet made the cut.  Puro in the movie is replace by Rajiv and they're polar opposites.  While Puro was attentive and eager to learn, Rajiv was manipulative, overbearing and constantly plotting to oust Todd despite actually needing his teaching.  Asha doesn't hold the same authority as she does in the movie and Manmeet quickly assumes the best friend role...until Todd meets Charlie.  He operates another call center.  I believe his character was based on Bob in the movie (he only showed up for a brief scene where Todd thought he could get a cheeseburger).  New characters include Gupta, Tonya and Madhuri.  It was pretty cool that they could make the show diverse but still feel wholly Indian.

3. The Verdict

I like both.  The series is not nearly as complex as the movie but it makes for good comedy.  I'm actually sorry the show didn't survive to a second season but I think the whole Todd/Asha dynamic would have been hard to maintain.  So it's definitely worth checking out but I don't feel like it has the same re-watch factor as the movie.

Virgin Islands Information and Communications Technology: What We Need

Yesterday morning I woke up to a question in Messenger.  When I saw it I immediately responded that I would need some time to think about it.  The question was what kind of support is local and federal government not giving to the Virgin Islands Information and Communications Technology community?  It's an odd question for me to think about because I've been technically out of the IT game for the last 8 years.  I still do some IT-ish things but it's not a specific job role.  I do however keep up and I'm still very observant. Okay so let's brainstorm!

FEDERAL

Well we've got viNGN. I consider that a win even if it's an underused resource.  It's availability has proven valuable after Hurricanes Irma and Maria.  The literacy programs from viNGN are also handy. And from what I hear there's a huge amount of funds coming to help repair and expand our telecom networks.  Hopefully that comes with stringent federal oversight.  I can't anything else on this end.  I think most of our issues lie with how we approach ICT locally.

LOCAL

1. There's no real strategy for linking every VI Government agency under the banner of the Bureau of Information Technology.  Sure there's one in the legislation that creates the office but given the myriad of duties the office needs to perform it is underfunded.  What's more, since the office is directly under the Office of the Governor, BIT tends to end up directing most of their resources there.

The history of BIT is why the problem has ballooned.  I like to tell the anecdote of how St. Thomas ended up flooded with cars and ultimately traffic.  Way back when the bus company was privately owned and was notorious for shrinking their fleet due to maintenance issues.  As a result, public transportation was erratic and this affected people's ability to get to work and make a living.  The car dealerships swooped in to fill the void of shoddy public transportation.  By the time the VI Government implemented a public transportation system it was too late.  Now imagine BIT as the privately owned bus company and everyone with their own cars and the government offices that couldn't rely on BIT so they went and got their own.

The few agencies that have their own IT staff loves that they have qualified people ready to assist their agency and their agency alone.  The agencies today that don't have IT staff have to put in a request with BIT and wait in the queue for services.

2. I don't know if there is a natural disaster emergency plan for the US Virgin Islands but I can guess if it does exist it's probably outdated and doesn't address ICT needs.  In the aftermath of Irma and Maria, we were lucky enough that WSTA was able to stay on the air but what would have happened if we lost them?  During the recovery I heard a lot of top officials claiming you can't plan for 2 Category 5 hurricanes.  To that I say bullshit.  You can ALWAYS plan for the worse case scenario.  We lost power (expected), landlines, cell service, pretty much EVERYTHING and the only thing we had in terms of communication is people delivering information BY HAND to the only working radio station.

3. While there are some education opportunities related to ICT and use of computers, there aren't a lot of them and VI Gov. employees aren't really encouraged to attend these trainings and seminars. Way back I used to be part of a Train The Trainer program when tech savvy individuals from different departments would learn advanced productivity software and bring the knowledge and training materials back to their home agencies.  They seemed to really have trouble recruiting trainers and the trainers in turn had trouble getting their fellow employees to attend a training session.  This problem still exists today.  Even for a time when I was formerly working in IT I tried organizing simple training sessions.  They were so poorly attended after a while I stopped having them.

That's all I have for now but if anything else springs to mind, I'll be sure to add it to the list.  As usual, if you have any feedback for me be sure to leave a comment.

Cutting The Cord: Disaster Edition Follow-Up - The Battle of the Cable Replacements

So since my last post I've embarked upon a mission to see what these Cable TV replacements could offer.  Here were the contenders:

PlayStation Vue wasn't even worth my time.  I tried to get on on their free preview weekend and it consistently didn't work.  A brief search showed that I wasn't the only one that had that problem.  Sony has some really wonky hangups depending on which Internet provider you have.  Even the PSN gives me issues a couple times a year.  I'm struggling to even call this a contender because frankly, this didn't even show up to play.  DISQUALIFIED!

Hulu Live was my first choice because I'm already a Hulu subscriber and it would be simple to add the Live TV option.  It would have been cost efficient since I'm not adding a new service; just expanding it (I'd be jumping from $12 to $40 but I'd get to try it for a week free).  It would have been convenient because Hulu is supported on pretty much every device I own.  But alas it was not meant to be.  Although the option for the upgrade was available I ran into my first hurdle: setting a default location.  This should have been foreshadowing for me but I remained hopeful. I managed to do it via the PC but it STILL didn't work.  So after a brief back and forth with customer support I got the news that it's not supported in the Virgin Islands.  DISQUALIFIED!

YouTube TV was my next stop.  I figured hey, they're developing a series as a sequel to the Karate Kid movies so I was looking to jump on YouTube Red anyway.  Like all these services they offer a one week trial.  It's $35 a month for their full package with isn't all that bad.  Well it's not YouTube Red but I did find out they shared a similar problem.  It's not available in the Virgin Islands.  DISQUALIFIED! (at least the app had the decency to tell me before I even tried to sign up)

Gotta give it to Sling TV, they gave me no issues signing up whatsoever.  I actually like Sling.  It has a decent selection of live channels, you can choose one of two packages (Sling Orange for $20 and Sling Blue for $25), you can combine both and save $5, and they have Add-On packages of extra stations. Keep in mind the more you add, the more it costs.  But if you get everything I think the price is $60. I'm currently on the 7 day trial and it has not been a bad experience.  Sling does have a couple issues though.  One of the biggies is that there's no CBS affiliate for them to use (they rely on what's local to get them).  It's really odd but if you want to add ABC you have to get the Broadcast Extra.  The premium channels cost about as much as their solo services (no need for me to drop HBO Now).  The Chromecast option is ATROCIOUS (as in it doesn't even work; not a biggie if you already have a device).  The search is okay but I can see it being a problem for people who aren't used to streaming services.  There's a learning curve there.  However, despite all of this I'm preemptively declaring Sling the WINNAH AND CHAMPEEEEEN!  The final contender, while not yet disqualified...y'know what?  I'll just get to it.

*sobbing* YOU WERE THE CHOSEN ONE!  YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BRING BALANCE TO THIS FIGHT NOT LEAVE IT IN DARKNESS!

Okay, being serious again.  I had high hopes for DirecTV Now and it could have won because I know for a fact that the local AT&T is pushing this plan here.  So I get the app and start signing up.  Seems straightforward....until I get to billing.  It wouldn't take any of my credit cards and it won't take PayPal.  I keep getting a common error that a number of people online have complained about.  So I contact DirecTV Now Support on Twitter and I'm pretty sure I've been talking to a bot because the answers are sooo damn unhelpful.  However I did try signing in on a PC only to get that oh so familiar notice that the service isn't available here.  I'm looking for more info on it but for now I'm declaring DirecTV Now the grand LOSER of this competition.

There you have it, folks.  Have you had similar experiences?  Or maybe you know of a service I've missed?  Let me know in the comments.  Peace!

Cutting The Cord: 2017 Post-Disaster Edition

"So Hector, when I get my power back what am I going to do for TV?"

I've gotten this question more than I care to admit.  Considering the recent devastation of Hurricane's Irma and Maria, out one Cable TV/Phone Company fared about as well as our electrical grid.  Electricity is on track to be back for everyone by Christmas but Viya (that's the phone/cable company) has a much longer road to go in restoring services.  Fortunately, they do have a 4G LTE network for wireless phone and Internet...but I'll get back to that.  In this entry I'm going to go over what your options are now for entertainment in the wake of no Cable TV.

1. Live Theater

Bet you didn't expect me to go low-tech on my first option.  Yes folks, there is live theater available so check it out while they've still got performances going.  I'm not sure where you can go in St. John or St. Croix (if you know, leave a comment) but Pistarckle Theater survived the storm and they've got a showtime this weekend.

2.  Broadcast Antennae

Slowly building up to the higher tech.  Have you tried just regular broadcast TV?  I know I haven't but it's worth a shot.  Chances are you're only going to get a few stations in Puerto Rico (consider yourself lucky if you can somehow get English closed captioning).  WTJX was our local public broadcasting station but I don't think they're up and running just yet.

3. Satellite TV

Dish and DirectTV are both available here and if you already had either chances are you'll be ready to go when your power comes back (provided you stowed your dish somewhere safe for the storms).  I hear you can get a digital DirectTV plan at the local AT&T store.  Again, if you have details let me know in the comments.

4.  Streaming Services

Ahh, now for the fun stuff.  If you've got a decent wireless plan (wireless is all we've got now) you can sign up with one of a multitude of streaming services.  Heck, you can get all of them if you like. The big guns are Hulu, Netflix and Amazon Prime.  I'd recommend Hulu if you're into current TV.  Hulu's also good if you want to bundle in HBO and Showtime (of course this option was available well after I signed up for HBONow). Netflix gets them eventually so you Netflix is more for binging.  There's also free streaming services and network TV services.  Some (like CBS) are paid, some get new episodes the week after they air but give you access to all the previous episodes, etc.  You'll have to poke around a bit to find what you like.

Here's the kicker though: You're going to need either a Smart TV or a streaming devices to get to this stuff.  Playstion 3/4 and XBox users have access to most of this stuff but if you needs smaller (more inexpensive) devices you'll want to go with Roku, AppleTV, Amazon Firestick, or Chromecast.  Be careful with AppleTV and Amazon.  AppleTV is a direct competitor of Amazon so you can't play Amazon Prime on it.  And of course you can't rent AppleTV movies on any other device.  Don't want the hassle?  Well if your laptop has an HDMI port you can just plug that into the TV and use these services from a browser or app.  Take a look at this link for a roundup of streaming devices.

5. Cable Replacement Services

This is uncharted territory for me but there are some services that act just like regular Cable TV except it streams over the Internet. I've never tried them as they cost a bit more and the entire reason I have the streaming services is so I can watch when I want to.  However, this may just be the CableTV replacement you've been looking for.  Some examples are SlingTV, DIRECTV NOW (again, check with the local AT&T office for bundles),  YouTube TV, PlayStation Vue (I'm not sure this works here), and even Hulu (live TV is one of the available add-ons).

You can find a number of reviews for these services online, but check this one.  I used this heavily in writing this.

UPDATE 11/24/17
I attempted to upgrade to Hulu Live and found out it's not supported in the Virgin Islands. :(

Moving Forward in the VI

Hey Internets!  It's been a while, huh?  Well for the most part I just really haven't had much to say and the rest we've been recovering from being hit by 2 Category 5 hurricanes...like within 2 weeks of each other.  First Irma and then Maria. Imagine a petulant child spying an anthill and then just stomping the ever lovin' crap out of it.  That's pretty much what nature did with us. Wanna see a few pics?  I took these a few days (maybe a week) after Irma.  This was just a stroll through my neighborhood.

Yep, collapsed canopies, buildings torn in twain, massive trees toppled: this is just a taste of the destruction.  I'd post more but we're not doing so great Internet-wise.  This is actually where this post is going.

Our lives here in the USVI have changed for quite a while.  The question we need to ask ourselves is are we going to be working towards what we used to have or are we going to work for something better.  While we figure out where we plan to go we're all kinda getting used to the new normal.

Currently (This pun is intentional) St. Thomas is projected to be 90% powered by December.  I'd say right now that number is about 58% but that's just me guessing.  Restoration of power though opens to door all the creature comforts we used to have but now have to do without.  We were very fortunate some business were back on their feet within a couple weeks, but there are quite a few who need more time to get back on their feet and even those who have decided getting back in the race isn't worth it.

The most significant impact these storms had on us was destabilizing our communications systems.  Take as an example the local phone and cable company.  So many downed lines means rebuilding those connections starting with the landline phones.  It seems at the moment we're going with the tried and true lines on the poles (BTW many thanks to our linemen and the visiting linemen.  If not for them we've probably be about only half as restored as we are now).  In response to the lack of landlines, our local phone company has gone hard on wireless communications.  This response also includes Internet service.  Before the storm their service came through the same lines as phone and Cable TV.  With the estimation that Cable TV won't be back until late next year you can guess what that means for their other services.  I have a couple predictions for the future here.  Movie theaters would be a great boon here...except for the fact that the only theater on St. Thomas was damaged and is in need of major renovation.  I was even inspired to attempt to open my own small movie theater to fill the void.  It's not something I've quite let go yet; still rattling around the old brain cage.  I do expect that Internet service (and I mean QUALITY Internet service) will become the hottest thing to acquire.  Why?  Netflix.  Hulu.  Amazon. Heck, even Crackle.  People who can't go the satellite dish way or can't make it economically feasible will look to streaming services to fill the entertainment void as well as keep them in the loop on their favorite TV shows.  Streaming rental services will boom too.  It's sort of what PPV is for Cable.

The most significant impact these storms have had on the territory is the hit we're taking to tourism which is our #1 economy.  Many of the huge chain resorts have been forced to close for renovation.  Even the Marriott Frenchman's Reef, a mainstay on St. Thomas for many years and survivor of previous hurricanes that ravaged the territory, succumbed.  They're looking at over $400 million to repair and a downtime of a year and a half.  That means a lot of job losses around the territory.  We can get the cruise industry traffic back up as quickly as we can restore power but hotels were a major source of revenue.

The reality of our situation is although help is on the way, we still need time to prop back up the infrastructure.  Now more than ever we're going to need to get creative on revenue generators and job creators.  In a time when we need to hear these ideas all I've been hearing is more of the same.  Getting us back to where we were isn't going to be enough.  We're going to have to try something new.

As for me, I was very fortunate.  I escaped both storms without major loss, I have power and something that passes for Internet service, I'm still employed and now I have karaoke.  Like everyone else, I keep looking for ways to contribute and make things just a little better for everyone.

If you're reading this and want to know how YOU can help with the recovery, just let me know.  I can put you in touch with people running distribution centers or I can simply distribute myself.  There's also a number of very popular Facebook groups that will put you in direct contact with people living in and recovering the territory.  Leave me a comment and I'll point you in the right direction.

DCUO: The Game Has Changed

If you've ever checked out my blog, you'll know that the one game I've been loyal to and have played for years is DC Universe Online.  I've been a player for 4 of the game's 5 year existence and I still have fun playing it.  I've played through tons of changes, added content, various leagues, etc.  Well this month, to quote the Joker, DCUO decided to "shake things up a little".

Introducing the stats revamp and let me tell you, it have changed the way people play this game SIGNIFICANTLY.  Check this out:

Now I've only had a chance to play with my main toon (as I usually do) and I've gone through the whole new stat redistribution so I'm going to try to take this piece by piece.

New Player Stats

The biggie here is the removal of the Combat Rating Differential.  How the game used to work is that your gear (and subsequently the CR you obtain by getting better gear) greatly affected how powerful your character was.  Gear is still important now, but with the CR Differential removed it's not as important as it used to be.  You need the higher CR to access the newer chapters of the game, but while you might qualify to enter content based on your CR you may find you might not quite be ready to actually play it.  More on that later.

New Skill Tree

THIS is where it gets really interesting.  In the previous iteration of the game your skill tree was tied directly to the weapons tree.  You used to put skill points into weapons just to unlock power buffs. Well that's gone now.  The weapons tree and the skills tree is now separate.  So that means you don't have to invest skill points into weapons you have no intention of using (you will have to though if you're focused on collecting styles for different weapons).  The skill tree now gives you a bit of focus and it's now a bit simpler.  It pretty much guides you to invest in skill trees based on your role.  It's simplified mostly for healers, controllers and tanks.  With DPS though it takes a bit of thought.  You have the options of focusing on your weapon, your superpowers or forming a balance between them. My healer has a DPS build and I chose a weapon focus (because controllers are really struggling now with their new role).  What I've found is while my DPS was pretty weak with the specs I had before the revamp, my new guy is kinda badass.  Of course, this all means that skill points are where it's at right now and the best players will be the ones with the most skill points.  Skill points were important before but now they're pretty much EVERYTHING.  I think the game has moved toward making sure people really go after those feats.  One of the first things I did when I saw my skill points needed to be reassigned was go after two race feats that I haven't attempted in years.  I actually got them!  LOL!

New Power Tree

More big changes here.  Playing the game from level 1 to level 30 no longer earns you power points which were necessary to assign powers for your character.  That's been replaces with a power tree that unlocks based on game progression.  Iconic powers used to cost one of those precious power points but now they're all in the skill tree.  Daybreak has been doing a lot of tweaking with the 1-30 mechanics before the revamp because they were trying to give new players a more rewarding intro to the game.  Hopefully this does it.  I'm kinda bummed that the weapon mastery got nerfed a bit though.

New NPC Stats

Another biggie.  It pretty much means that NPC progression is on par with your own.  As a direct result, NPCs from earlier content are no longer wimps to higher level character.  I get the feeling that the game devs looked at how the population of high level characters affected gameplay for lower level characters and decided that they really needed to limit the number of people getting "carried". I know up until now a lot lower level players have gotten undeserved feats as a result of this.  That said, here is where the recommended CR might not mean you're at the right level to complete the content.  If you were a player relying mostly on gear to get ahead you're going to have to go back to basics because as I said before, skill points are now everything.  This became obvious when I queued up for a raid I could easily do alone in 3 minutes before the revamp and it took the group a half hour (and that was with me doing more than 3 times the damage of the next best DPS in the raid).

Ability Balance & New Foundation

I wanna chalk this one up to minor issues and fixes.  Simply changing the powers to better mesh with the new revamp.

So are you playing?  What do YOU think of the stats revamp?  Let me know in the comments.

The Fallen: Shows I Liked That Didn't Make The Cut

Heeeeey, it's my birthday!  So I thought I'd be a super buzzkill to myself and go over the shows I'm really sad to see go this year.  Sadly every season not every show makes it and I'm the poor dumb schlub that manages to fall in love with at least a few of them.  So here we go:

1. Son of Zorn (FOX)

I had the highest of hopes for this show.  It started slow, but how can you NOT get into a hybrid animated/live action show?  It was like a fantasy Roger Rabbit!  News that this was cancelled hit me hard because I thought for sure this show was going to make it.  Looking at the ratings though, I can see why it got dropped.  It opened strong but dipped to less than half of the viewership of the premiere episode before finally bottoming out.

2.  APB (FOX)

Another show I thought was going to make it. Imagine if instead of building the Iron Man suit, Tony Stark poured all that funding into the police force.  THIS was that show...and I was loving it. Unfortunately it followed the same trend as Zorn.  It did better in the ratings but staying consistent of half of its premiere viewership apparently wasn't enough to save this show.

3.  Imaginary Mary (ABC)

Yes, I can feel your judgey eyes on my blog all now.  Look when I saw this pop up in my Hulu notifications I thought it was going to suck for sure.  But hey, I thought why not give it a shot.  I ended up liking it.  Unfortunately it wasn't for the cute animated character or even the main character. Where this show shined was with the kids and how they related to their dad's new relationship.  That was where the real fun was.

4. Time After Time (ABC)

It's never fun when a show you like gets pulled early.  This show was yanked from under me after just 5 episodes.  There's 3 episodes in the can that will probably never see the light of day.  I was surprised to see how low the ratings was for this show.  It didn't even crack the level of the shows I've already mentioned.

5.  Powerless (NBC)

Dear sweet baby Zeus who art in Olypmus, WHY did we let NBC get its grubby mitts on another DC TV show?!  WHY!?!?!  Thanks to NBC our beloved Constantine is floating in the wind and our only hope for him is hopefully another guest spot on one of the CW shows next season.  But Powerless was a superhero show that didn't really focus too much on superheroes and maybe that was the problem.  Name dropping works pretty well on the Netflix hero shows but a hero is still the focus of the show.

So, just to break this down this show follows the mishaps of a Wayne Security R&D with their new director in the fictional Charm City. What threw me was that I kept tabs on the buzz around this show and the concept had changed dramatically.  Originally the show was about insurance adjusters who priced out damages cause by hero/villain activity.  I liked the original concept better.  To date, there are three unaired episodes.  Guess I should be glad it had a longer shelf life than Time After Time.

6. No Tomorrow (CW)

This was my token romantic comedy show this season and in typical fashion, canceled.  The story follows a woman looking for adventure and finds it in a free-spirit.  The only problem: The free-spirit is only a free-spirit because he believes that's a planet killing asteroid is on course to hit the Earth and he's making the best of the time he has left.  I liked the dynamic of the show where Evie (main character) kinda discovers herself, learns to go after what she wants and accepts Xavier (other main character) even though he believes they only have a limited time to live. The supporting characters actually have pretty good stories too.  The ratings were catastrophically low so I guess I can't be too surprised.

7. Man Seeking Woman (FX)

Sooo I don't have access to FX shows until after they hit Hulu.  I've watched and enjoyed the first two seasons of this show and while looking forward to watching the third, I didn't know this was canceled.  I can't really have an opinion based on this current season but sad to see it go.

Honorable Mention:  Bones

Bones concluded this season after 12 seasons and honestly, they could have stopped at 10.  Yep, this on isn't on the list because it was a welcome exit.  Oh I still watched every episode.  The problem was a villain named Pelant.  He was a REALLY good villain. So good in fact that the show felt wanting with a Big Bad.  After Pelant (not gonna spoil it), I feel the series was going downhill.  Oh and the exit of Sweets (movie project) and the intro of Aubrey (never liked him, never will) was kind of a big blow to the fans.  I think it was after this point that the supporting characters started to be more interesting than the main ones and that's always a recipe for cancellation.

Any of your shows kick the bucket this season?  Lemme know.

The Traffic In St. Thomas

What you're looking at right here is just one of the many impossible traffic problems you're going to run into at some point if you live on St. Thomas.  This particular clusterfuck was cause by a pretty bad accident on the Waterfront stretch (apparently a car FLIPPED OVER).  I'm not even sure how people pull off these amazing feats of carelessness with such tiny roads, limited speeds and more potholes than you can play Whack-A-Mole with.

Somebody posted today just how terrible the situation is especially in the Waterfront vicinity.  We just finished Carnival so there were times where it was downright painful.  Now I'm not going to address Carnival traffic.  That's a special animal that the VI Carnival Committee has never seen fit to address (seriously guys, park and ride shuttling using open parking areas could have dropped that traffic to a third of what it was).  Let's take a look at the everyday problems that contribute to our bad traffic situation.

The Problems

1.  Lack of a Reliable Public Transit System

This problem starts way back when a private bus company named Mannassah was the lone mass transit system around.  Yes, PRIVATE.  People will tell you it's a good thing when private entities compete with governmental functions.  Normally that's true.  The problem here is THERE WAS NO GOVERNMENTAL FUNCTION related to public transit.  At some point Mannassah folded and VITRAN came into being.  Unfortunately everyone was too used to the inconsistent and often non-functioning bus system and decided it would be best to invest in personal transportation.  People did so in droves (pun intended).  A few years ago public transit was re-branded and overhauled but the problem remains and is actually getting worse.

2.  Too Many Bottlenecks

I can sum this up in two words: right turns.  Going East to West from the spot in the pic above, there are 4 places you can make a right turn.  Only 1 has its own "waiting lane".  The other 3 require oncoming traffic to stop and allow you to make that turn.  While 2 of those lights have right turn lights they're pretty much useless.  You still have to stop traffic in your lane and you have to hope there's space to turn in the oncoming lane.

3.  Governmental Scheduling

Public schools open at 7:30am and let out at 2:30pm.  Government offices are open from 8am to 5pm. Know this: There will be traffic from 7:30am to 9:00am and from 2:00pm to around 7pm.  Around the midpoint of those times are the worst.  This is assuming that there are no accidents, emergencies or breakdowns that limit mobility.  Alternate routes are few and far between.  By the time you're stuck in traffic it's too late to escape.

4.  Taxis and Tourism

Most cruise ship stays match the government schedule with some deviation of 30 minutes to an hour. And when cruise ships are here taxis are in full swing.  The operations at the docks are pretty smooth (I'm exaggerating since the traffic is kinda kept localized there).  It's when they hit the open roads that things start slowing down.  They tend to stop in irregular places so their riders can take pictures or crowd the attractions creating more bottlenecks.  They're biggest sin though is cruising Main Street and Waterfront looking for tourists to take back to the ship.  Taxis have tons of designated parking spaces they never seem to use because they're always trolling.

The Solutions?

1.  Step Up Public Transit

So we got a few new buses.  It's not enough.  Dollar safaris still need to operate to fill the gap and your chances of catching one of them are much greater than catching an actual bus.  I spent a week relying on public transportation when my car was in for repairs and I can tell you that catching a bus was near impossible.  They rarely show up and when they do they aren't going where you need to go (not that we'd ever know since there's no published bus route or schedule) or they pass you straight (I think there's like some kind of special dance you have to do to make them stop ;) ).

2.  Traffic Enforcement

Things that happen here on a regular basis: People run red lights...a lot, people don't stop at STOP signs, there's no order at all at 4 way intersections, Left Lane MUST Turn Left is taken as a suggestion, people turn left on red even if there's no sign allowing for left turns on red.  It's CHAOS. The cops pretty much don't care unless there's an accident.  I think if the police made an effort to patrol some of the spots that really hold up traffic it would go a long way to fixing the problem.

3.  Flex Time For Government Workers

So the VI Government has an Employee Handbook that hasn't been updated since 1994 and for the most part contains suggestions.  Here's what it says about work hours:

The standard workweek is five days. The standard workday is 8 hours. The standard work hours are from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. with one (1) hour for lunch, usually from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 P.M. Employees who are entitled to a break each morning and afternoon under law will be advised at what time the breaks are scheduled. 

Riveting.  Notice the only thing that's actually a legal mandate is the morning and afternoon breaks. For over 20 years now, these hours were pretty much set in stone.  I've seen versions of flex time come and go but there always comes a point where a manager or a director or a commissioner decides to end the policy for various reasons.  Sometimes it's actual abuse and others it's just plain old good old fashioned spite.

My point here is that the times that traffic is at its worst is between 7:30am and 8:30am  and subsequently between 5pm and 6pm.  But what if the option to not travel at those times was available.  I'd imagine some people would definitely want to take advantage just to avoid the traffic.

4.  Invest In Fixing Known Bottlenecks

You can't take care of the moving bottlenecks as much (maybe with traffic enforcement), but there are several places around the island that are known to cause a slowdown in traffic.  Sometimes they're as simple as the timing on a traffic light and other times it's right turn that simply cannot be made smoothly.  It would help if the Department of Public Works had a direct line of communication with the drivers to identify problem areas.  Maybe a town hall or a suggestion box.

Got any ideas of your own?  Let me know what you think in the comments.

Overpowered

My star player is overpowered.
As far as gear goes, he has close to the best.
As far as stats go, he's got plenty of skill points.
Gold in the bank?  It's plenty.
He could splurge it all on a super rare item, but he saves it for a rainy day.

My star player is overpowered.
Open world?  Sure, but there's nothing left there for me.
Take me on a duo and you'll get that timed feat.
On an alert I'll save the team time and time again.
And though I seem awkward in a raid, I get the job done.

My star player is overpowered.
There were times he could advance in leaps and bounds.
Now he advances in inches and feet.
He looks to the game developers and ask if there's anything more.
They say sure, but you need people as overpowered as you to play it.

My star player is overpowered.  And he is bored as fuck.

Free Software (and Where To Find Them)

I'm actually surprised I've never addressed this in my blog.  Today I'm going to show you the world of free software.  If it's one thing you learn running IT without a budget it's that sometimes you gotta work extra hard with the tools that are available even though the money grubbers in Accounting won't drop a little spare change for nicer (and usually easier to use) software.  Let's get started on the list.

1.  Don't have Microsoft Office?  Try OpenOffice!

Microsoft Office is a lot cheaper these days than it used to be, but the full suite can still cost you up to $200.  Microsoft Office is the gold standard when it comes to office productivity but you'll probably never need all the bells and whistles that come with it.  Enter OpenOffice.  It does pretty much everything that MS Office does and costs you nothing.

OpenOffice isn't the only free alternative.  If you're feeling inclined, check out LibreOffice.  Also free; also does everything that MS Office does.

Oh, I should mention that both suites have downloads available for MacOS and Linux as well.

2.  Computer didn't come with DVD software?  Get VLC Media Player!

This one is a biggie because Microsoft killed native DVD playing in their Media Player in Windows 10.  Who needs it?!  VLC plays everything, runs on all platforms and is completely free!

3.  Need Photoshop? Try GIMP!

No, not that guy in black leather from Pulp Fiction.  GIMP is a free Image Manipulator.  It takes some getting used to.  It's not as simple to use as Photoshop but it can be just as powerful, especially with all the open source scripts and plugins available.

If you want something a bit lighter, try Paint.NET.  Unfortunately unlike GIMP, it's only available for Windows.

4.  No Adobe Acrobat?  Give pdf995 a shot!

Full disclaimer: There's really no more powerful PDF suite than Acrobat.  Seriously, Adobe INVENTED the portable document format.  You can get pretty close with Pdf995.  It's actually a suite of 3 separate programs but the bulk of the work is done in PdfEdit995. The one drawback: no in-file text editing.  That's a money feature.

5.  Not feeling Internet Explorer or the new Edge Browser?  You've got options!

There's a ton of them available and a quick search for "free web browser" will present them but I'm going to focus on just two here. Each browser boasts its own set of pluses as opposed to the native browser.

Mozilla Firefox is up first.  It's barebones with lots of plugin capability.  Second would be Google Chrome.  It's lightweight and features tight integration with online Google apps.  Try 'em both and see which one you like.

6.  Don't want to shell out for McAffee or Norton?  You've got options there too!

Yep, there are a bunch of choices here too.  More than I'd care to go over all at once.  You can get a pretty good list of them here.

7.  Have you seen how much QuickBooks costs?  Try PostBooks.

I'm wading in some uncharted territory here.  Accounting is not in my wheelhouse at all.  I do, however, know that QuickBooks does NOT come cheap.  Try this free alternative for your books.

8.  No WinZip or WinRAR?  Use 7zip!

It's not surprising that the you don't really need to have compression programs installed, but it's nice to have options.  Plus you never know when you're going to run across that one program that uses a compression algorithm you've never seen before (there was a time I didn't know what the .rar extension meant).

9. Project to small to warrant buying a full fledged audio editor?  Check out Audacity!

Whether it's editing out blips in mp3 files or recording audio directly from the sound card, Audacity gets it done.  I've used this for a variety of audio projects and it sure beats paying $500+ for major sound editors.  Ever wondered what the reverse audio in certain songs say?  There's even a preset to reverse audio.

Hope you enjoyed my list.  What free and open source programs do you prefer?  I'm sure I missed a ton on my list.  Tell me what you think in the comments.

Fall 2016: The Wishlist

Fall TV is ready to get started soon so I just wanted to go over a few things I'm hoping to happen this season.

...before I do though I realize I haven't written anything in a while.  Sorry guys, lotta stuff in the way these days.  Unfortunately since I'm not as connected to the IT game as I used to be I find very little material to actually write about.  I'm working on that though. Let's get started.

Oh, one more thing:  There are A LOT of new shows coming this season and not all of them are even premiering in the fall.  For a full list follow this link.

1.  The Tick

Yep, there is totally a Tick reboot out there.  Only the pilot is available though and by the looks of it it's gonna get picked up since it's vastly outscoring the other two pilots.

Of course this means I'll become an Amazon Prime subscriber.  Yes in addition to Netflix, Hulu Plus and HBO Now I'll be adding yet another streaming service to my roster.  But hey, at least Amazon Prime has additional benefits.

2. Luke Cage

Speaking of streaming services, I can't even tell you how excited I am for Marvel's Luke Cage.  We got a taste of the character in Marvel Jessica Jones but while he's integral to her character he wasn't really to resolve her storyline.

3.  Designated Survivor

I'm about to piss off a lot of people here but I've never seen 24.  I heard it was good; great even.  I just never got into it like at all.  I am looking forward to the story for Designated Survivor though.  Keifer Sutherland is place into the role of a low ranking Cabinet member who becomes POTUS when everyone rank above him is killed when the Capitol explodes.  ABC sure does love presidential dramas.

4.  Powerless

I feel the need to kinda explain myself on this one.  I'm not watching for Vanessa Hudgins.  I'm watching for Alan Tudyk and Danny Pudi.  Oh and I'm also watching because this is based on a DC comic book (I know.  They did Constantine dirty.  By all rights they should never haven another DC show ever).  What I'm not certain of though is if this takes place in the DC Cinematic Universe, the Arrowverse or is doing it's own thing kinda like how Supergirl was doing before she got connected to the Arrowverse.  Either way, I'll be watching.

5. CBS stops messing around and finally joins forces with Hulu

Haha!  Didn't see that coming did ya?  My biggest wish is that CBS will abandon their streaming service and hook up with Hulu.  Alas, I don't think that's happening.  Last season the only CBS show I was watching was Supergirl.  Not a problem this season.  CBS does have an ace in the hole though.  They've got a Star Trek series and they're planning to make it available exclusively on their streaming services.  Hmm, another $6 a month?  That pilot better be PHENOMENAL.

It seems like a short list, but I'm a simple guy with simple needs.  Plus I'm looking forward to all my favorite shows that made the cut last season so when you add the 4 more shows it's still a lot of TV.

Windows 10 WTF?!

I'm here to tell you the only thing really great about Windows 10 is Ninja Cat.

Seriously, just look at that majestic bastard!

Having been forced to use it for going on about 4 or 5 months, it pales in comparison to Windows 7.  See, it used to be that every other version of Windows was The One.  Windows 95: Perfect.  Windows 98: Crap.  Windows 2000: Beautiful!  Windows ME: Who phoned in THIS turd?  Windows XP: We just can't quit it.  Like really, we can't.  Windows Vista: THIS is what you follow XP with?  Windows 7: Yes, all the good stuff from Vista with all the crap cut out!  Windows 8:  Tablets?  You think the future of a DESKTOP OS is in TABLETS?!

This is why I had such high hopes for Windows 10.  Historically, Windows 10 was supposed to be AWESOME.  Spoiler alert: It isn't.  In fact, it's so horrendous I can give you 10 reasons why you should just stick with Windows 7.

1.  It's bloated

Believe it or not, Windows 7 and Windows 10 actually have the same system requirements.  Actually using it though you pick up on just how poorly Windows 10 performs by comparison.  The biggest change I had to make in my routine was switching browsers.  For the record, the Edge browser is not poised to take the browser crown.  It barely works properly.  I used to be an avid Mozilla Firefox user.  It worked great on 7 but on 10 it lagged horribly.  I was forced to switch to Chrome.  Some will argue that I should have switched a long time ago but hey old habits die hard and I still prefer Firefox.  Even Chrome starts to suffer once you open more that 3 tabs.

2.  They shuffled their menus again

Every version of Windows presents a new version of Peek-A-Boo with where they put stuff.  It takes a while to figure out where everything is but with Windows 10 they went to new depths to hide stuff.  The one item I used the most is now the hardest thing to get to: Control Panel.  The Options menu item on the new version of the Task Bar doesn't lead to it.  It's not listed anywhere on the Apps menu. In fact, the one method I've tried that gets me there more often than not is...

3.  The Search Bar works when it wants to

The Search Bar is the easiest way to find all the stuff Microsoft has stashed in the back but it only works half of the time.  Also, they designed it to be both a system search and a web search.  But WHY?!?  If I want to search the web I know where the browser is dammit!  Sometimes I attempt to use the Search Bar and it develops a hiccup where it won't search for anything.

4.  The Windows Store is STILL crap

It didn't work properly on Windows 8 and it doesn't work properly on 10.  Besides, apps are for tablets.  On a desktop they're fluff.

5.  Windows 10 often registers phantom movements

One quirk that really irritates me is that Edge will often spontaneously close.  It's not a crash, it closes.  (Keep in mind I have to use Edge because that's the only way I can work with the database I use on a daily basis).  I know it closes because I found a way around it.  I just open two tabs and when Edge gets the kill order I get notified if I want to close all tabs.  This is just one quirk though. Several programs don't play nice with 10 and that includes Office.  Like that one time I had a document irreversibly squash all my images because I tried to put a caption on one.  I had to ditch the version I was working on and go to a backup.  Another time it started rapidly shifting between two programs for no reason.

6.  It essentially tricks you into an upgrade

The nag screens, the notices, and that damn Task Bar icon that won't go away no matter how many times I say no.  My personal laptop is still running Windows 7 and I aim to keep it that way but Windows 10 is very aggressive.  If anyone finds a way to make that thing go away for good clue me in.

7.  DVD playback is gone

Once natively supported you're going to have to install a third party program to play DVDs now.  I recommend VLC for DVDs.

8. Privacy

The first time I installed Windows 10, the first thing I noticed was my pc cam was on.  I started looking for the cam settings and fiddling with them but it never turned off.  No option I messed with turned it off so I just unplugged it.  Granted it was an old Logitech cam but it was enough to make me nervous about what else is magically turned on by default. Heck, they even changed their update distribution to include peer-to-peer and it's turned on in Windows 10 by default.

9.  It comes with a rollback countdown

Microsoft really really REALLY wants you to try Windows 10 so if you were tricked into upgrading you still have an out.  You have 30 days to roll it back to whatever you upgraded from.  It is possible to do it after the 30 day limit but the process is more difficult.

10.  The free upgrade doesn't stay free

Okay, I admit this point is kinda nit picky considering than I'm bashing Windows 10 but you have to face the fact that this is the future of the Windows OS.  At this point you either get on board or cling to your dearly held previous version.  The problem with holding on to old operating systems is that a) support for software and hardware on older operating systems wanes and eventually ends and b) the older an operating system is the less secure it gets...especially if you're connected to the Internet.

The point is that at some point you'll have no choice but to upgrade.  Unfortunately, Microsoft is only giving  you a year to make your decision and the free update offer goes bye-bye in July.  Windows 10 does indeed suck, but at least it didn't cost you anything.

Personally, I'm sticking with Windows 7 as long as I can.