Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Usual oatmeal breakfast. Websteering organizing. Change password help for one student. Responded to multiple students who all reported the same problem: that Windows was incorrectly reporting that Sophos was out of date. I noticed this at home yesterday on the 2 Windows installations we have at home. I responded individually to the students who mailed me directly, then sent an urgent notice to all our students that they can safely ignore (for now) the Windows Security Center warning saying that Sophos was out of date. Indeed, the Sophos tray icon appeared normal in all cases. I reported the problem to OAAIS and received a response from Sarah indicating that they knew about the problem and confirmed everything I had suspected—it was a problem with Sophos but there was nothing to worry about; it would be fixed when the new version is released no later than May 31. I sent her the following reply: "Thanks for this message—it is very informative, and I understand the issue. But will there be a general announcement to the campus regarding this new, unexpected, and confusing behavior? To be aware of the issue without making an announcement creates an unnecessary support burden for those who support students, and it reduces student productivity because they are confused and are taking actions when none are needed (e.g., one asked what login and password she needed for Sophos to autoupdate). Earlier today, I sent the following urgent message to our students. I can send a followup message based on your message, but would you prefer to create the message yourself and send it out more broadly (to the entire campus community)? The message I send would be only to PharmD students and my unit because that's all I'm responsible for. Even though there is no risk, I consider this an urgent issue because most of our students use Windows and because there *appears* to be an element of risk. Your timely communication to clarify the issue would be most appreciated. [Included message begins] All students—If you have a Windows computer and if you are using the free, campus site-licensed version of Sophos Anti-Virus software ( http://tinyurl.com/62elg5 ), please read this message. Since the evening of Sunday, April 6, I have received many reports from students that Windows detects that the campus site-licensed version of Sophos Anti-Virus software is out of date. Windows Security Center reports this as a problem that requires immediate attention. This is likely a problem on the server. I have reported the problem to the system administrator and will let you know what I hear. No action on your part is required at this time despite the Security Center warning. [Included message ends]" Within 7 minutes I received word from Sarah that a public message was forthcoming—a wise decision. Downloaded and installed Flip4Mac Studio Pro which took us about 6 months to receive after placing my order in November due to an unresponsive vendor and accounting bureaucracy. More Sophos problem followup. Helped student CM resolve problems with Outlook 2007: "Cannot start Microsoft Office Outlook. Cannot open the Outlook window. The set of folders cannot be opened. The file C:\ Documents and Settings\ [username]\ Local Settings\ Application Data\ Microsoft\ Outlook\ Outlook.ost cannot be accessed. You must connect to Microsoft Exchange at least once before you can use your offline folder file." My response: "I'm sorry to hear about the problem you encountered opening your mail in Outlook 2007. The problem you described is caused by corruption in the Outlook data files, and that has a number of potential causes. Common causes of corruption are if Outlook failed to close properly, if Windows crashed, if you have a lot of messages and/or attachments (very large OST or PST files), or if your computer is infected with viruses or malware. To resolve the problem, you need to either repair the corruption or create a new profile in Outlook. The following URLs describe these steps: Repair: http://tinyurl.com/3cb7re. Create a new profile: http://tinyurl.com/khkcx. More info on Google: http://tinyurl.com/5hpln5. If you get stuck or are unable to resolve the problem, please let me know. Good luck!" Eric mocked up our homepage with some new Flash animation as requested by the dean. It's only serving as throwaway imagery—nothing terribly functional, so it's not as bad as one might think. Made live the new admissions calendar for students entering in 2009. Jon J mentioned the Boston University website homepage as interesting after a recent homepage redesign review with admins and faculty, and I took a look and even though it uses Flash it does a lot of things well. Using Flash still breaks the Back button and prevents people from sending a direct link to one of the items in the Flash content, and it's still not fully accessible even though they made somewhat of an attempt at accessibility to non-Javascript user agents. Lunch: leftovers. Dinner with Patrick at California Pizza Kitchen. It was our first time dining at this CPK. I had dined at a CPK once in L.A. a long time ago—I think with Don Don. Our server was Bo Waverly though we couldn't tell for certain if that was his entire name or just his first name—his nametag said BOWAVERLY. Service was very good, and the food was very good. We shared a half bbq chicken salad and a shrimp scampi normal (non-neo) pizza with the honey wheat crust option. Dessert: chocolate banana cake—delicious. Afterwards we went to A Conversation with Amy Richards and Dan Savage at Herbst Theatre—thanks to tickets Joel gave me for my birthday. I've never heard Dan Savage speak before, and he's funnier in person than in print because you get his facial expressions and body language in reaction to other people in addition to his witty, snappy, and yet wisely informed and wisely informative dialogue. We both very much enjoyed the evening, and if you get a chance to hear Dan Savage speak I highly recommend it—a fun time guaranteed. He's pretty to look at, too—a bonus. Neither Patrick nor I were previously acquainted with Amy Richards, and we found her equally insightful and entertaining. They talked about how they got into the advice-giving business, what kinds of questions did they get; did they ever make up any questions; handling difficult questions or questions that stumped you; what was too risky to publish; grandmothers and horny parakeets; the dismal current state of sex education in America; Juno and Knocked Up; growing up in a multigenerational family household; what the difference is among a blowjob, cocksucking, and fellatio—and how this related to Dan Savage's mom; Hillary or Barack?; and more. Home. Wrapped gifts. I think there is some kind of natural law in San Francisco that ensures that (a) if it is nighttime, and (b) you are downtown, and (c) you are jaywalking—if all 3 of these are true—then somehow you happen to be or magically become clothed entirely or almost entirely in black. It's become kind of a twisted and fun driving game to see during a nighttime drive across town how many all-black-wearing people jaywalk in front of us. We encounter some black-wearing jaywalkers outside of downtown, but it's not as common as in downtown. Or they might be wearing all black, but they're in a crosswalk crossing legally and therefore it doesn't really count. Fortunately, somehow, these people don't seem to be getting hit very frequently, as I have never seen a public safety or health education campaign reminding people to wear bright colors—or lights even—while walking at night. Use banks instead of check cashing window services—yes. Spanish-speaking women who live in a house exist—yes. Get tested for hepatitis—yes (tho I can never remember if it's A, B, C or some other letter). Beware of people who try to help illegal immigrants—yes. Share the road with bicycles—yes. Don't make your kids fat—yes. Don't use crystal meth—yes. Don't be a whore—yes. Always carry a towel—yes. Wear lights or bright colors when walking at night?—no! And a public awareness campaign that's missing is the global economic emergency of the slowing ribbon manufacturing industry. I for one like to show my support of the ribbon manufacturing industry by wearing a brightly colored silicone wristband. Late meal: chunky soup.