What I See

This is it, stay tuned to the fall

2005-09-10T05:41:00.000-07:00

In the interim since my last post, Hurricane Katrina has struck the Gulf coast, and chaos is the word of the day in New Orleans. The high winds and water have exposed the truth about the Bush administration, that they are inept at doing the one thing they claim to be good for - providing security. It's not a failure far off in a Middle Eastern country, where they're also failing, but at home in the streets of one of America's oldest cities. Let's recap - the Federal Emergency Management Agency head (nominated by the President) is an ex-horse breeder, and is doing as well as expected with his vast credentials. He's fallen on his sword, and been removed from overseeing the disaster. Police and the military are beginning to forcibly remove residents who have decided to stay in the city, even though there is no constitutional power to do so. Maybe they'll treat the residents with the same kindness they've extended to reporters and photographers. The administration has tried to prevent the press coverage of dead bodies. They keep telling the public that there are enough soldiers at home to provide, but Blackwater (a guns-for-hire "military contractor" - read mercenaries) is also in the streets, carrying automatic rifles, while citizens with constitutional rights to firearms are having theirs confiscated. The Red Cross is not allowed into New Orleans, but hired guns are? This points to the bold truth that the Bush administration believes that security comes out of the barrel of a gun and silencing the press - even at home when not attacked by terrorist, when medical supplies, food and sound planning would have been the best solution.

Did you get your tickets...to the gun show!

2005-08-24T11:57:00.000-07:00

On Saturday I went to the annual gun show at the arena in town, and it was quite the experience. Basically it's a bunch of basement gun dealers selling and trading guns. There were tables covered with guns and ammo, and people milling around checking out the wares. Politically (funny how I always come back to that isn't it?) it was very conservative (as in Alliance). There was a table at the door with two petitions, one to abolish gun control for long guns, and the second to lift a ban on using lead fishing tackle because there is no conclusive proof that it causes poisoning in fish or waterfoul. I can't believe people would try to lift that ban...even if it did no harm to the fish/birds, there are lots of people who have to work making the molten lead, and breathing the toxins in the process. Utterly selfish...and the sport fishing industry has not suffered because of the ban, as lure makers simply switched to different metals instead. Regression is our representative's main accomplishment, making issues out of non-issues (as above, and accusing liberals of wanting to ban the bible) and making anti-homosexual slurs in Parliament. Backwater at it's best.

printer manufacturers and the disposable printer - environmental responsibility

2005-08-18T11:00:00.000-07:00

Here in Canada we have a government program linked to the Kyoto agreement that challenges each Canadian to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions by one tonne. (link) I fully support this initiative, and have another idea for an environmental cause, one that I feel would not only reduce consumption and waste. One of the most wasteful office or home office products is the color printer (I should know, I sell them at my job) Not only do you have the paper (which is less avoidable in a printer) but you also have the ink cartridges, which last for at most a few hundred pages. The manufacturer inks cost more than a generic ink, and often with the pricing structure of printers and consumables, it is more economical to buy a new printer than a full set of replacement inks. This begs the question why manufacturers do this, since they know that the printer will likely be thrown out, or passed on to some unlucky secondary buyer who didn't do their research. There is also an immense amount of plastic in an inkjet printer, which consumes petroleum, only to be thrown out. Colour laser printers are beginning to adopt a similar pricing model. (link) As a salesperson in an electronics store, I'd say the great majority of customers justify buying colour printers for their children in school, and the remaining purchasers use them for printing digital photography at home. A wonderful initiative for an environmental group (which I will forward as a suggestion to a few) would be approaching school boards and asking them to adopt a policy for all assignments to be handed in black and white only with a reasoned explanation behind such a policy. With widespread adoption, this would decrease the market for inkjet printers, as more consumers would wisely choose a monotone laser printer, with more economical costs per page, and a much longer duty cycle and lifespan. A second approach to this campaign would be an educational component regarding the true costs of printing colour photos at home, and how they far outweigh the costs of a professional developing lab. If it was plainly evident that it's cheaper, more environmentally friendly, and it won't make a difference to your kids' marks if you print in laser black and white, most rational consumers would choose the better option. This type of consumer education would encourage companies to sell products that aren't priced to encourage waste, or at least reduce the market to those who truely feel they need and are willing to pay for the convenience of colour printing at home. Too much of our focus is on making corporations change their actions for environmental causes, when we as consumers are often the engine behind the suspect production. It is time for consumer groups to push consumer education, because we are competing against advertising with much deeper pockets.

OPEN YOUR EYES!

2005-08-16T18:50:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the caps in the title, but I'm getting a bit angry with the discussion I can hear clearly in the living room below my bedroom. Sound travels really well in this house. My father is meeting with his flyfishing club, and I guess they got a bit off track, because somehow they are discussing global warming, and one of them (not my Dad, I'll quickly point out) is arguing that global warming as caused by humans doesn't exist. I don't know what he does for a living, but he likely doesn't read, or follow any research developments, but all the G-8 nations have accepted that global warming is largely attributable to human cause. I really think it is high time that we (as in all of us, civilization) dismiss people who are holding us back from making progress in making concrete steps towards possible solutions and greenhouse gas reductions as tragic fools. Let's put them in the same category of people who argue that HIV doesn't lead to AIDS, and Holocaust deniers. At least if the majority of us who do accept that we may have something to do with climate change are wrong, we won't all die. I don't want to gamble on the lunatic fringe, and I think the game theory approach probably the best argument to counter someone who disputes the widely accepted scientific evidence.

Weak democrats...fighting the wrong battles.

2005-07-27T19:28:00.000-07:00

I've been following the recent uproar regarding the Grand Theft Auto San Andreas (PC version) scandal. For those of you who haven't, basically there's a patch that someone created for the game to add explicit sex scenes to the game, which is adult rated, and cannot be bought unless you are at least 17. Well, leave it to Hillary Clinton to get angry and start an inquiry into the game.
I'll admit, the GTA series is fairly violent, but a governmental inquiry? The US is at this moment engaged in brutal urban conflict on a flimsy mandate (and that's being generous) and all the most promising democrat can busy herself with is a videogame? Dissolve yourself Democrats, and let someone else step into the ring. For a great take on the videogame situation, read this.

On another note, I just finished watching another great documentary series, called "The Power of Nightmares" done by the BBC. It outlines a well reasoned case that the threat of terrorism is grossly overstated for the benefit of the rulers in the West. I recommend it to anyone interested in understanding the stakes of the 'War on Terrorism'. See this link here for a dialogue with the writer, and here for the CBC's site for the series.

Interesting times in US politics

2005-07-24T20:11:00.000-07:00

The next few months in US politics will be telling. If Karl Rove survives his CIA agent outing fiasco, I'll have lost the last shred of hope in the defacto global ruling power, and the passive and docile press. Here's a link to a fairly balanced overview of the events [factcheck.org]. I've also been playing with some graphics applications, thinking about having some stickers or t-shirt made. Below is an example. What do you think?

Overdue update

2005-07-03T07:33:00.000-07:00

It's been forever since my last post. I often think to myself about something cool to post, but by the time I'm back at my PC, I've forgotten. Such as life.

My birthday just passed, and I got Sony DRX-800UL external DVD writer. It's pretty cool, and considering the amount of downloading I do, it was about time. I've recently gone on a spree of downloading documentaries (yeah, I know, I'm a 50 yr old trapped in a 24 year old's body) mainly purtaining to the war in Iraq, or some more general political topic. Some gems I've recently watched are from CBC's Correspondent series, called 'Meet the Stans' that followed a reporter on his travels through the lesser known former Soviet republics Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. It's an eye opening look at a region that not many people know much about, that will likely play an important political role in coming years. Check them out if you can.

It's pretty sad that the internet seems to be the best way to find quality programming. TBS will rerun the same crappy multimillion dollar blockbuster 3 times in a row, but a groundbreaking documentary gets a brief unheralded airing on a channel like PBS (a previously politically unaffiliated channel that may go down the tubes now being headed by a Republican campaign guru) and then fades into relative obscurity. Thankfully there are people who think it's important to distribute them online.

Score...score...and score.

2005-05-07T09:32:00.000-07:00

So I now have two computer systems up and running on my desktop courtesy of some wasteful university students moving out of town. Over the span of a week, I inherited a Dell Optiplex GX100 Celeron 566, and a 14" monitor (which flickers once every few minutes, but it was free) and best of all, a HP Laserjet 1012 in perfect working condition. I'm typing this entry on it right now. All it took to get it up and running was a good dusting with a can of compressed air, a mouse and keyboard, and a Ethernet line from my aforementioned WRT54G. I installed ubuntu Linux which went over without a hitch, and now I can play around with Linux without threatening my primary computer. I hope to eventually use this machine as a fileserver and downloading machine, freeing up my laptop and putting less stress on it's hardware.

So, this is my public thanks to the 3 university students who couldn't be bothered to carry out their hardware on moveout day. It has benefited me greatly. If you are considering throwing out your hardware, be careful to wipe your hard drive. The desktop I inherited had a complete windows 2000 desktop on it, and aside from a cursory peek at the contents after which I wiped the drive, I didn't do anything. However, a more malicious person could have possibly garnered enough info for identity theft, or at least went to town with locally stored passwords. To prevent something like that happening to you, I highly recommend using Derrick's Boot and Nuke (DBAN) which as securely as possible (beyond physically grinding down your hard drive platters). Do it before you give away of sell any PC. And it's free (and easy to use!).

WRT-54G, I like you more now...

2005-04-16T18:14:00.000-07:00

At work the other day, our tenuous internet connection cut out for no apparent reason. It had happened before and with an hour or two of fiddling with internet sharing settings, experimentally swapping switches, and numerous explicatives we got it working again. The connection in our back room consisted of a desktop picking up a public wireless signal, and then sharing it via ethernet adapter and a switch with two other connections, to use with computers on our desk for repair.

So this time, no matter what we did, we couldn't get the two lines after the switch to pick up an IP address. My intern had a great idea, of using a router (the aformentionned Linksys WRT54g) with some non-vendor firmware, to allow it to run in client mode (or act like a wireless bridge). After a few minor hangups, we got it working.
The Linksys WRT54g is a very versatile piece of networking hardware, and I recommend it to anyone...and having a cheap wireless bridge is the first step in making sharing your internet easy. Think about this scenario...you live in an appartment building, and while you like the convenience offered by the internet, all you really use it for is the occasional email and to post to a blog once in a while. You don't use high bandwith applications like BitTorrent, and while you like the idea of how fast broadband is worth, it costs quite a bit considering that you could probably get by with dialup at a quarter of the cost (if that). If you get along well with your neighbors, why not share the connection? With a wireless bridge you can, and you don't need to worry about putting your PC with a wireless card near the signal source, you can put the bridge there, and run that to a router, and then bounce the signal around your place wherever you need it. For more info on the WRT54g, check out wrt54g.com. I like mine, and I'm debating another, because of how flexible it is with different firmwares.

*always encrypt your wireless connection, unless you want everyone to have access. Also, check with your ISP rules regarding sharing of connections.

Sony NW-E105 Mini Review

2005-04-03T18:59:00.000-07:00

Today I jumped and bought a MP3 player. I've convinced myself that it'll help motivate me to get in shape this spring, getting me out and running. I've been looking at flash based players because I don't have the need to carry my entire music library with me (none of the iPods are big enough anyways) and I like the size, battery life, and lack of moving parts advantages offered by flash based units. For a while I was convinced I wanted to get the iPod Shuffle, but I went into a Sony Store the other day and saw the Sony NW-E105, a 512 MB flash based player, that claims to get 70 hours playback from one AAA battery. While I doubt it goes that long, having an easily switchable battery and a small screen are considerable advantages over the Shuffle. While the Sony SonicStage software is fairly intuitive, it would be nice if it supported Windows Explorer drag-and-drop MP3 loading. It does however allow regular data storage via Explorer.

The headphones that came with it are not very good quality, but my girlfriend gave me her iPod earbuds because they don't fit her, so I use them with it, and the sound quality is quite good. The controls are very easy to use, and at $139.99 (CDN, before tax) was a good deal. The Shuffle 512 MB compares at $129.99, with an internal battery and no screen.

Hallelujah!!

2005-03-23T15:53:00.000-08:00

I got an email from a professor in response to a request for an academic reference letter, and she said she'd be glad to write me one. I can't begin to describe how happy that makes me. My job has been feeling slightly dead-end, and it's good to know that I may have an out, and a chance at a nicer future. That may seem overly grim, but I miss academia and school life so much, and am grossly underpaid where I am now.
So that's good news...I also booked a rental car for the drive home this weekend. Saves me about 4 hours each way, and I don't have to worry about getting stuck next to someone who talks to themself or has hygene issues on the bus. And I can stop whenever I want! All in all, a good day.

Treating the symptom, not the cause

2005-03-15T14:01:00.000-08:00

At the store where I work, I get some interesting customers sometimes. Like the lady who wanted to know if our voice recorders could pick up conversations through a jacket so she could catch her husband saying bad things in the process of a messy divorce. Or the well dressed guy in the sea captain's hat who keeps coming back often to ask about large format printers to add to his expensive array at home.
One conversation with a customer has stuck with me for a few weeks, and just now I was in front of the computer when I remembered it. He wanted to know if there was a way to lock his PC so his kid couldn't use the computer while he was away at work. Apparently the kid had been skipping school and instead playing games at home. He told me he'd tried hiding mice and keyboards, but invariably the kid found them, and the father suspected that the son would buy his own if he took them to work. I suggested a BIOS password, but the kid sounded like he was good with computers, and could find a workaround. I was at a loss, and I think he was too.
Computers are such a huge part of everyday life that if I had suggested selling it a friend and going without one (which on it's own wouldn't be a totally absurd suggestion) he would have thought I was nuts. If it was an alcohol addiction, I'm sure he'd pour out all the booze in the house. But computer dependency in day to day life has reached the point where the line is becoming blurred with addiction. It's spooky, and tragic picturing a kid skipping out of class and sacrificing his future for a few more hours of Everquest (or whatever the kids are playing these days).

New Shredder

2005-03-13T08:29:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I went to RadioShack and bought a shredder, one that I think makes sense for even the most limited of budgets, and has some cool features that the more expensive ones at office supply stores often don't. It's hand crank operated, but a little exercise never hurts, there's no motor to burn out, and for the limited amounts of shedding I need to do, it's fine. It also does crosscut shredding, which makes smaller pieces and thus more secure. One of it's coolest features is how it shreds CDs. It only cuts them into 3 pieces, but I'm not that paranoid that someone would go to the lengths required to assemble the data again. It has a credit card sized slot for shredding credit cards, but I haven't tried that one out yet. Overall, it's the perfect size for sitting on your lap in front of the TV and shredding during downtime. Probably one of the best $30 I've ever spent.

EDIT

Here's a picture of the shredder I picked up the other day. It's pretty handy, and it was even featured on Engadget, a cool gadget blog I visit once in a while.

Apple should have more customers

2005-02-27T12:17:00.000-08:00

Working in the tech department for a major PC retailer makes me wonder everyday why Macs aren't more popular. I'd say 90% of the computers I see are spyware or virus riddled, and the users have little or no knowledge of how to prevent it from reoccurring. Another frustration is that our pricing structure doesn't have a complete prevention option, where spyware gets removed, and then we make sure software is installed and patched so it doesn't happen again. For instance, I did a complete reinstall of XP on a desktop the other day, and it was clean going out the door. The next day, it came back with popups and since we have a 30 day guarantee on our services, we provide service free again. So, I'll likely throw on a MS AntiSpyware Beta, and a free copy of ZoneAlarm set to lock everything down, and XP service pack 2. All these things are services that we are supposed to charge for, but I don't want an angry (however illinformed) customer coming back yet again. And people don't understand (and then reflect their anger at us tech folks) that computers aren't necessarily secure out of the box. Be nice to your tech person. If they're family, feed them or give them a case of beer. Or consider getting a Mac if you are not willing to put in the [significant] effort in running a somewhat secure Windows machine. It will make things simpler for both of us.

Television needs to rethink itself

2005-02-24T13:33:00.000-08:00

TV as it is now is dying, and I couldn't be happier. In the next living arrangement I find myself in, roommates permitting, I am seriously considering not getting TV service. I'll keep my TV with the xbox hooked up, and a dvd player, but I want to go without cable or satellite. For one, it will be a huge time saver. I don't even want to begin to think about how much time I'd save not lying on the couch. Then there's the money. When all is said and done, in our house of 5 people, we spend about $60 a month on cable, or yearly a little over $700. And this is to watch canned shows, with a 30% ad content. When you stop and think about it, it's actually pretty rediculous that TV occupies such a central spot in our lives.
I've written about how great BitTorrent is, and another great thing about it is how you can download almost any show after it airs on TV, without ads. If this natural market shift was to be allowed to continue, television production would need to change it's source of revenue from advertising dollars to something along the lines of audience subscription. New shows would involve a certain amount of risk, but investors could back projects much like they do in the movie industry hoping for returns. But until then, I'll take my free tv, ad free.

Overdue update. I'm a techie now

2005-02-17T15:43:00.000-08:00

I've been busy at work, and neglecting to update this page. I'm taking over the tech service desk, which is daunting, but flattering considering how new I am at the company. I've been collecting data recovery tools and utilities, as well as every flavour of boot disk to make my life easier. I'll post a good list of my essentials when I have the chance to play around a bit more with them. Knoppix 3.7 is definitely there - that and a 2.5" notebook harddrive enclosure for hooking up laptop HDs when the laptop won't start. Mine arrives by UPS any day now.

For those of you with xboxes, go here and get a free replacement xbox. Could save yourself from a housefire, and why not get Microsoft to courier you something on their dime?

Tip of the day: if you want better service in retail, brush your teeth.

Great night at Charity Ball

2005-02-06T18:22:00.000-08:00

Last night's Charity Ball was a fun time. Katie looked gorgeous in her dress, and I think I did OK in my new suit. I'm hoping I get some copies of the many photos that were taken, and then I'll post a few.

del.icio.us

2005-02-01T18:42:00.000-08:00

del.icio.us

Try this out when you're bored...from what I can tell, it's a repository of people's favorite websites, and is updated all the time...so news stories and cool new websites get listed quickly. It seems pretty cool.

Another life step

2005-02-01T17:18:00.000-08:00

I bought a suit today...hopefully that will help motivate me to figure out what I'm doing with my life.

Get your baseball bats ready...

2005-01-29T15:01:00.000-08:00

I'm all for consumer freedom. I like that people can choose products that suit their needs (I'll get to why I italicized that in a moment) and in whatever colour they want. It's the people who think they ought to be able to buy whatever they want that I have a problem with. Minor extravagances like luxury cars and extra trim - sure, throw your money away.
But as soon as you want to buy something that in no way do you need, and has the real effect of harming other people or the environment, I get angry. I applaud those who will fight the introduction of the newest 'hip' vehicle, the International CXT. Apparently Ashton Kutcher has one (cementing his status as worlds biggest douchebag). So anyone who cares about the environment or is scared for their life because they don't do their morning commute in a tank (I guess you're out Ashton), pick up a baseball bat and do some cosmetic damage to one (but leave a note explainig why), or if you prefer the less fun but more civil route, write your local MP or MPP (congressperson for Yanks) and ask politely that these vehicles be banned.

UPDATE: While I haven't written my MP yet, I did submit this comment [link to screenshot] to International. I hope they have a snarky answer coming for me.

There was a purpose to that...

2005-01-26T10:18:00.000-08:00

Everytime I get sick, usually lying on my back in bed, staring at the wall or ceiling I invariably promise myself that I'll appreciate times of good health more. But then slowly I forget, or everyday life seems to become more routine, and my promise to myself is forgotten. Now I've written it down, and maybe looking back on posts once in a while will remind me of how great first day of feeling better after illness feels.

I hate you chicken...

2005-01-25T15:58:00.000-08:00

So I managed to give myself a mean case of food poisoning...or at least that's what I think it is. I spent the night before last barfing repeatedly, and my stomach has been reminding me of how much of a dumbass I was to have trusted the microwave with chicken meatballs. I'm feeling significantly better now, but I'm still weak, and have weird muscle aches. Almost enough to make a vegitarian out of me. Almost.

iPod shuffle

2005-01-17T05:46:00.000-08:00

I'm at home until Wednesday, and things are fairly quiet. I spent this afternoon with my parents chopping wood and stacking it in the bush. I'm beginning to realize how much I miss high speed internet. It sounds pathetic, but I have trouble without it. I helped my parents with some scanner drivers, which were a 55 mb download, which took 5 hours. As soon as something other than satellite is available out here, I'm going to make sure they sign up.

The new iPod Shuffle looks really cool. I just might have to get one. I'll go through my thought process for you. I've always liked the iPod products, but have had a hard time justifying the expense of a device I'd have to protect while doing anything physical. I also would never need to listen to all the songs on a standard iPod in one sitting, and could live with 12 albums to choose between at a time on a shuffle. Another interesting idea for filling the shuffle came from a forum I read, regarding using smart playlists.

"a way to make a good, random mix every time: it involves using 3 smart
playlists feeding into a 4th. Here's the breakdown for a 512MB iPod,
double the MB counts for a 1GB player....

#1 350 megs of the most-played music
(these are your favorite tracks)

#2 125 megs of tracks NOT played in the last 2 days, NOT from list 1
OR 3, selected by most often played
(these are tracks you know you like, but haven't heard in a few days,
to keep things fresh)

#3 40 megs of never before played tracks
(this is new stuff, for fun)

#4 all tracks from 1, 2, 3
(this is the final mix you listen to, or set the iPod to autofill
from, with a little extra space for files or must-have tracks)"

Intriguing...

Cellular telcos and Palm can go to hell...my next handheld is going to be Windows CE based

2005-01-04T07:28:00.000-08:00

A new hack for the Treo 650 has just proved that Palm cripples it's hardware for cellular companies afraid of losing out to unregulated VoIP using WiFi. I found something similar when I got a new cell phone from Bell, a nokia 6585, that is (uncrippled) capable of downloading ringtones and java applications over an irda connection, but actually can't, since Bell wants to make some more money selling their crappy tones and programs. It makes me really angry when companies make screwing customers part of their business model.

So for my next handheld (which I can't justify now) I'll get a Pocket PC device, with WiFi, and use Skype for VoIP, while waving my middle finger at both Bell and Palm.

To read more about this, check out this Slashdot thread.

Kevin Sites Blog

2004-12-31T23:46:00.000-08:00

Kevin Sites Blog

All I have to say is...why isn't this guy more of a household name? Crazy read. I wish news were more often covered like this...people might pay a little more attention.

Southeast Asia, my thoughts are with you...

2004-12-27T14:18:00.000-08:00

Anything I saw will seem trite given the magnatude of the disaster, so I'll just say I hope we in the West pay attention and send significant help...we've failed too many times before.

On a lighter note, I found a cool website with mixtapes made by a fellow Canadian with some good taste in chilled hiphop stuff...great to study by or just have going in the background. And best of all, available for download. Make sure you check 'em out...

http://www.thetastates.com/

Boxing Day Madness!

2004-12-26T15:30:00.000-08:00

I don't understand the Boxing Day phenomenon, especially at the GAP...why do so many people come out? It's not like we're going to change the prices back up again...if I had any choice I'd have stayed at home, where it's peaceful, rather than braving the throngs of shoppers at the mall. And get this...apparently the owners of the mall wanted to open stores on Christmas day. Fucking greedy bastards...

Merry Christmas...again

2004-12-25T17:27:00.000-08:00

Remember how yesterday I was mentioning resisting the urge to get an iPod? Well, it'll be a whole lot harder now...Katie (my girlfriend) and my roommate JP both got them for Christmas today. Maybe playing with theirs will scratch my consumer impulse...I'm bad like that. I'm convinced I got that trait of a taste for expensive toys from my dad (and maybe that Y chromosome we share). It doesn't seem to harm my dad very much, but on the other hand, he has disposable income that I lack.

Aside from the isolation, Christmas was good to me...I opened my gifts that my folks Purolated to me while on the phone with them. I recieved a Lonely Planet guide book to Europe on a budget, a lava lamp (Dad said it was a joke gift, but I didn't get it since I've always sort of wanted one), a GAP gift certificate, and $500 for a ticket to Europe. I've got other stuff waiting at home, and I'll get that when I go home sometime soon.

I've decided that I'm going to try and sell my snowboard rig...while it is a great setup which I'd use tomorrow if I had the chance, I don't get to go boarding often, and I spoiled myself with the conditions during my trip out west with Evan a few years back. So if you know anyone in the market for a board and bindings, I'm asking $500 (cdn). Here are some pics if you want to check it out...it's pretty mint. Oh to live in Fernie...

Pic 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Katie called me from home this afternoon, which was really sweet of her, and a nice surprise. For Christmas alone, it wasn't bad at all!

Merry Christmas

2004-12-24T17:59:00.000-08:00

I'm in London alone for the holidays...it's pretty quiet, and I'm hoping to catch up on some sleep and do some cleaning. I'm resisting the urge to buy an MP3 player...I have to keep reminding myself of my plan to go to Europe. Damnit.

Imagine if the telephone companies had blocked the internet...

2004-12-19T19:19:00.000-08:00

...because that is very similar to what the RIAA and MPAA (recording and movie trade groups) are pulling. Because they were caught offguard by a totally new and inexpensive distribution method for music and movies via the internet. And we're letting them do it. They lobby hard for laws that restrict consumer rights to the media they purchase, leading to talk of self destructing movie rentals, and software and music incapable of being backed up. Their clout allows them to stave off the effects of technology on the flow in information - namely how it should follow that it gets cheaper, and easier to distribute. Hell, with mp3, who needs a record company? Music could flow from studio straight to iTunes and their ilk, cutting out the middle man. That's progress...but lawyers will try their best to impede. Music piracy is the result of the industry failing to use the internet and new formats to their full potential, and sell the product at a cost representative of the most efficient methods of distribution. Movies are going along the same route...the movie industry wants to have it's cake and eat it too. In the last 20 years, there has been a big shift towards home theatres, and technology is beginning to rival the cinematic experience in the comfort of a room at home, without the kicked chairbacks, sticky floors, or annoying audience members. It's gone even further with encoding algorithms that allow full movies to be downloaded quickly, at little cost. Yet the movie industry hasn't gone anywhere near an online distribution model, which has the potential to be quite lucrative, with lowered costs (no physical media, just bandwidth) and a huge audience base. But instead, the movie industry only markets on the internet and sticks to its path towards obsolescence.

Fuck em. They just shut down suprnova.org and TorrentBits, the most popular BitTorrent linkdumps. But the cycle continues regardless of whether or not they care to look.

WIStv.com Columbia, SC: President's daughter to teach in DC; Barney cam returns for Christmas

2004-12-15T18:53:00.000-08:00

WIStv.com Columbia, SC: President's daughter to teach in DC; Barney cam returns for Christmas

Glad to see the president of the most powerful nation in the world who (I would argue largely singlehandedly) fucked up foreign policy for years to come has the time to shoot cheezy videos of his dog (or waste payroll on having someone do it for him). I'm sure any Republicans would quickly counter that Clinton did a similar thing with his video he released, but at least there were people acting, and it was a one-time deal, not a three part saga of 'cutesy' family pet videos. The lowest common denominator coming from the first family...here's an idea, up-armor some humvees for the cost of hiring PR people and editors for the video.

Coulter: Canada is "lucky we allow them to exis ... [Media Matters for America]

2004-12-09T19:56:00.000-08:00

Coulter: Canada is "lucky we allow them to exis ... [Media Matters for America]

Read this article. A buddy of mine send me this link. Coulter's is a voice that is getting a fair amount of play in the US, and it's getting scary. Ann Coulter, I want to aquaint you with Canada. I have never been on a dogsled, nor do I speak French, although I wish I did.

If the republicans were to have a closet swastika waving Nazi fanclub, my money would be all in on her as president.

EDIT: I took out the word transvestite, as it is highly offensive to transvestites to be equated with Coulter. I'm sorry. Nazis on the other hand, tough shit.

XMas list: Canon SD300, I have my eye on you

2004-12-08T17:41:00.000-08:00

Working at Staples in the business machines department, I get to handle and compare digital cameras all day...and one has really caught my eye. I want the Canon SD300. It's tiny, like a deck of cards, or maybe slightly smaller. This addresses my main complaint about my current camera, an Olympus D550, which is a few generations older, and larger. It works fine, but it's hard to take out to social events (aka the bar) without a bag, and I don't want to be that guy. It also doesn't use the xD cards that my Olympus does, which I don't want to invest in a higher capacity of.

I can't believe how hot digital cameras are this Christmas...there are going to be plenty of happy shutterbugs and photolabs this winter.

I also am liking the Logitech Z-2300 2.1 computer speakers...one can dream.

Update

2004-12-08T14:58:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since my last post, and quite a bit has happened. I have a girlfriend! Katie, who I worked with in rez and has been a close friend for over a year, and I are now dating. I'm not going to post details, but I'm really happy and excited, and I think she is too.

Stockwell Day is an assclown

2004-11-22T22:33:00.000-08:00

Leave it to wonderboy off the SeaDoo to pull something like this...spreading rumours that the late Arafat died of AIDS. First, you just don't do that unless you have concrete proof beyond tight-lipped medical professionals to anyone, let alone a figurehead like Arafat. He means different things to different people, but political mudslinging about any dead man is cowardly since he clearly cannot retort, and plain stupid because it is likely a false accusation easy to expose. And of all the people to parrot...David Frum? No further comment.

Article.

I'm back, sort of

2004-11-16T09:45:00.000-08:00

I finished Halo 2 with my roommate the other day...awesome game, albeit short in the campaign mode. Multiplayer modes are still incredible. The Goodfoot show at the Wits End on Friday was hopping, and there was a really good turnout. They got an invite to come back again and play on January 1st.

Not too much else new...saw The Incredibles on Sunday, which was a great movie. Saw it in good company too, which definitely helps. Other than that, I'm working fairly regularly which will help with the bills. Yeah...exciting post.

Today is a day for nerds to rejoice...

2004-11-09T09:34:00.000-08:00

Halo 2 is amazing...the lines last night were ridiculous! A tip for Electronics Boutique next time: don't mix the prepaid customers with the trade-ins...make a line for the full pre-paid to make it faster. Got out of the mall at 3 am...but it was fun. Had some company for the wait, and I know I wouldn't have stayed if they weren't there.

Also, Firefox 1.0 is out today. In case you haven't heard, it's a new browser that is open-source and is challenging (and to me beating) IE as king shit of browsers. It's well on it's way to being the standard, and hopefully it dethrones IE. Get yours here if you have BitTorrent, or click the nifty button I plan on adding to the sidebar if you need to get it the standard way.

Halo 2 Drops tonight at 12:01am

2004-11-08T06:32:00.000-08:00

One of the most highly anticipated videogame releases of the year comes out tonight (officially, it's been pirated and some copies sold on Ebay). 1.5 million preorders sold by earlier last week....The local EB is open at midnight to sell preorders, and I'll be there. The reviews have been decent for the single player campaign, but I'm buying it for the multiplayer, which should be amazing. I'm going to pick up a years Xbox Live sub, and a network cable to connect to the router, and it's off to the races...

Here's a good thread [/.] covering Halo 2.

Come out next Friday....

2004-11-07T04:57:00.000-08:00

I'm shamelessly plugging my roommate's band 'Goodfoot' that has a gig next Friday (12th) at the Wits End here in London. If you can come out, please do...it'll be a good time, and hopefully it will become a regular thing for them.

I have a few days off, which in a way is nice because I can get stuff sorted out for grad school applications, and do more mundane things like cleaning my room and laundry. On the otherhand, hard to earn hourly wages when you aren't at work...there's always a tradeoff.

If you're a fan of metal music, make sure you give Unearth a listen...best band around right now in my opinion.

The Grudge

2004-11-04T20:37:00.000-08:00

I just got back from watching 'The Grudge'. I was a bit sceptical that a PG-13 movie would be scary, especially when 'Saw' was also playing, but I had faith in a few reviews I had read. I've never had goosebumps while watching a movie before, and this one did it...the sound and crescendos leading up to scary moments are done really well. Here's hoping I don't have any bad dreams...

In the balance

2004-11-02T18:02:00.000-08:00

EDIT: Bush won. He and his administration lied, tortured, is in bed with Haliburton and the Carlyle Group, skipped out on his military duties...and the majority of the US approves. It's a sad day.

I'm writing this article in front of the TV, watching the pie charts slowly creep on CNN for the presidential candidates. I've followed elections before, and I tend to get a bit tense, but I get the sensation that this election is the most crucial I've ever followed. I'm going to preface what I say by pointing out that I am sympathetic for the families and victims of terrorism, as I am also sympathetic to the citizens of Iraq. In political theory, democratic government is rule by the people; by casting votes for a favorite candidate you are giving consent for them to act on your behalf. While obviously the end result of an election is the desire of the majority, and those voting for unsuccessful candidates are carried along. I will also be sympathetic towards Democrat voters in the US should Bush win, and if Kerry wins, I hope that one day the unsuccessful republicans realize how lucky they are. One glaring issue that recieves little coverage in US media which other nations would describe as obvious, is the dangerous foreign policy direction that the Bush administration has pursued. The preemptive attack on Iraq (irrespective of the false premises of threat provided) is a drastic and dangerous shift in global politics. Imagine if this approach had been used during the Cold War...both sides were clearly threatening one another, with actual (not imaginary) WMDs pointed at one another. Using a preemptive doctrine, both sides would have been entirely justified attacking the other, and the result would have been total annihilation for both.

It is arrogance to apply a preemptive strike policy and not expect or allow other nations to do the same. To do otherwise would be essentially declaring a special status for the US, and as powerful as the US military may be, the difficulties it faces in Iraq show that the US is incapable of global dominance. Don't forget, the US attacked Iraq after 12 years of Iraqi hardship under UN sanctions. The US would be hard pressed to find a weaker target. By forwarding a preemtive posture, the US threatens all countries. After all, if it could happen to Iraq, why not another country?

The end result of the occupation of Iraq is that the terms of the war on terrorism have been defined by the US...by equating the insurgency in Iraq with the kind of terrorist threat that struck New York on 9/11, it would appear that the US has taken some positive steps in addressing the threat. However, I argue that this is not the case. Bin Laden has evaded capture, and has been able to communicate several times. The US has not concocted a strategy to fight terrorism itself...which is largely ideologically driven, and that violent responses tends to futher.

Anyways, the point I was trying to make is that if Bush is elected and doesn't steal the White House this time, the majority of Americans will deserve the next four years.

one down...

2004-10-30T16:45:00.000-07:00

So I did it, I finally convocated. The ceremony was pretty good, albeit long, and Alumni Hall was warm in those robes. It was cool to see some (4) people from highschool graduating at the same time. I also saw GiNO walking on campus twice, and hopefully he'll post the photo he took to his blog. It feels weird to be done...I didn't think it would, since all my classes have been done for several months. It made me miss school. Hopefully this will motivate me to get my act together with grad school applications.

On another note, there's a neat article about the debate "back bulge" debacle from the presidential debates at salon.com. I didn't link it, because it's a pay site...you can try to get on like I did by watching an ad for a minute before getting full access to the site. But anyways, a NASA image analyst has staked his career on his claim that Bush wore a wire to the debates. I don't doubt it for a second.

Public Service Announcement for friends at bars

2004-10-26T20:13:00.000-07:00

I've come to the conclusion that I have a problem, which I've known I have, but I'm only publicly admitting to now: I have a tendency to bolt from bars if left alone for a significant amount of time. I don't really know why - well that's not right, I do...but it never seems rational after the fact. I don't know the root Freudian cause, but I get really self conscious and generally anxious if I'm alone in a bar. I don't know if it's that I don't want to be that guy in a bar alone. Large loud social situations have never been a favorite place for me, and perhaps combined with the juxtaposition of being in the midst of a whole bunch of people having fun, yet being alone there gets me uncomfortable. I've done it maybe three times this year, and it's not like people intend to walk off, it can even be for like a 10 minute smoke break, and I up and take off...often confusing/pissing off friends.
So, to any of you reading this (and I don't think anyone reading this has witnessed it, but maybe) I don't mean anything by it. It's something I need to work on.

More than meets the eye...the Ashlee Simpson SNL slip-up

2004-10-25T11:45:00.000-07:00

On Saturday Night Live, Ashlee Simpson screwed up during her second performance, and was quite clear there was an audio track playing she lip synched to. In a fair world, this would be a career ending moment. If I were a fan, I might be a little angry or disappointed, but that would be misdirected emotion. It is part of a growing trend of the acceptance of overproduced and undertalented performers being pushed in the recording industry's chase for dollars. Is anyone really surprised that she lip-syncs? Surely I'm not the only one who suspects Britney does the same? I think it's borderline fraud to have these 'artists' representing themselves as live performers, charging clueless tweens weeks of allowance for concert tickets and CDs. Why don't they just be honest and call their shows music accompanied dance numbers...
I feel bad for the artists with much more talent, but who didn't have the right look, or the right sister. Ultimately though, we only have ourselves as consumers to blame...for feeding an industry that sells lies to fans, and turns around and sues 12 year olds for being big enough fans to download their songs.

Fahrenheit 9/11

2004-10-23T14:18:00.000-07:00

I just watched the movie for the 2nd time, and it makes me so angry and more than a little sad that many projections are predicting a victory for Bush in the coming election, despite all the horrible lies the world is told everyday. I know talking politics is a bit of a touchy topic for some people, and many people have a deeply personal attachment to their political views, but I think that is all the more reason for making it public discourse.
During the movie, Moore at one point says "America is a great country, at which point someone else watching with me said "Do you really think he loves America?" That got me thinking...of course he does, but the prevailing view today especially in the US seems to be that to question political decisions or be opposed to the direction being taken is seen as un-American. I'd argue that the very people who are willing to stand up and have their voices of opposition heard are the true lovers of their country, and American history is laden with true patriots who were willing to do so.
If Bush wins the election, reason will have lost out to weakness and fear. The US is in trouble regardless of who wins the election, but maybe something can be salvaged if the right choice is made. Iraq will not be won (if any war can) by the standards the US public attaches to the concept of victory, and the threat of terrorism has been exponentially increased. The likely reason there have been no new attacks on US soil is that Iraq is a far more convenient theatre for enemies of the US, having failed to secure borders, and angering much of the region with indiscriminate killings of civilians, torture, and failed promises. If the US forces return home, the threat will come home too. They cannot stay at current troop levels, having already implemented stop loss programs, and using large numbers of reserve troops. The idea of the draft has been raised during the presidential campaign, and although it has been denied as an option by the Republicans, I would be uncomfortable in my age demographic living in the US, especially with the Bush track record on lies. The next four years will be interesting times... and I hope history gets it right and places Bush as the beginning of the death of American empire.

Here's a nice little summary of some of Bush's follies, courtesy of 'The Nation'.

Surprise! I've moved!

2004-10-22T18:35:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my new blog location...xanga wasn't working out. It was nice that I was listed when I searched Google with my real name, but it didn't do much good because people have to have a xanga account to read stuff there. There are other reasons for moving too. Looking at random sites on xanga I found a disproportionate number of posters that would write like this: "NIKKI...im so sorrie i cudnt go to oakton hc wif yu todayy." Now, I understand the sorry state of educational institutions today thanks to neo-conservate public spending...but give me a break. If I ever type a line like that, I hope my laptop blows up and maims me badly enough to prevent it from happening again.

It's a scary world...my roommate who's teaching in a highschool for his teacher's college degree brought home some marking the other day, and one of his students misspelt 'teeth'. The way things are going, that kid is going to be the next leader of the free world.

I had a realization the other day that I'm going to be the crankiest old man ever, for proof, read the above. I'm 23 now...

So update your bookmarks and follow the development of an old coot. Chart it on graph paper if you're a nerd like that.