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    Blackbaud Merchant Services: No Sandbox Account

    A word to anyone doing an eTapestry API integration for a client who uses Blackbaud Merchant Services: you may have an eTapestry sandbox, but you don’t (and can’t) get a BMS sandbox account. So how do developers test their API interactions? According to the BMS account rep I spoke to, they do it on the live system. With live credit cards. From the get-go.

  • On Life and Love

    Weekly Linkage: Harlem Shake

    This is what happens when Greg asks, “What’s the Harlem Shake?” I just about feel off the couch. Especially when I realized at about 2:40 that that’s a DVD in his belt, not a buckle. Greg may never ask me another dancing-related question ever again. A few other nuggets: Three Word Phrase, by Ryan Pequin – I’ll confess, I started watching Hoarders recently. Just entered Season 3. I’m not sure how I feel about myself anymore. In my defense Season 3 fired off with enough drama that I’ve skipped episodes. Autumnal equinox – It’s almost time to break out the sunlamp. Capital One Says ING Direct Deal Will Create Jobs…

  • On Life and Love

    d20 3.5 SRD Spell Lists: First Beta

    So I’m in a D&D 3.5 campaign now. And I’m playing a Druid, which is kinda exciting–it’s the first time I’ve played a Druid at a high enough level that I can shapeshift, and I just tipped 5th level on Sunday. (Campaigns always fizzle out early…) Anyway, the campaign is a hodgepodge of standard D&D and Sandstorm, and summoning restrictions by the GM mean that my spell list involves a fair bit of swapping out that’s a little annoying to manage. For instance, I’m using Sandstorm’s “Desiccate” instead of “Summon Nature’s Ally II”, since I can’t summon. Since Druids are the type to prepare a few spells per day from…

  • On Life and Love

    Weekly Linkage: Planets, EDs, and Blood Donations

    This past week(…s)’s internet surfin’: A Newbie’s Guide to Publishing: What’s Wrong With Sex? – Sex in a book doesn’t make it erotica. Hyperbole and a Half: This is Why I’ll Never be an Adult – As always, I love Allie’s art and humor, and her point here is so well taken. I know very few people who don’t do this. Twitter / @violetblue: They made me wait a long t … – This is definitely a WTF. Also a “what in the world do you do?” Do you make a kerfluffle about being able to see your stuff when you’re about to be patted down? Do you just wait…

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    One on One Meetings: How We Do at Big Corp

    One-on-ones. Damn, how do they work? (I swear, that video has provided me with endless amusement.) Go read or re-read the earlier post. Shoo. Several things make one-on-ones rather different here at Big Corp than they were at Skookum: I’m a contractor The “long-term view” is ultimately a question of “How long do we need you?” and “Will I stay that long?” It’s all very amicable and such, but I don’t get things like: company-paid conferences, to attend internal bigwig visits, paid lunches, to meet my boss’s boss, or much internal mobility beyond what I carve out for myself. (Big Corp is very paranoid about contractors thinking they’re employees.) Instead,…