tayker

I received this interesting piece today:

Hello!

Attention! The wire sent to Maksim Zverev, Moscow, Russia has been blocked by our security service.

Your credit card issuing bank has halted the transaction by the demand of the Federal Criminal Investigation Service (case No. 39852 since the recipient has been undergoing the international retrieval by the InterPol.

Please contact the closest Western Union office and make sure you have your ID card, the credit card that was used for making the payment, and the invoice file with you.

(The invoice file is attached to this message; please print it out and hand it to our agent.)

You can find the address of the closest Western Union agent on our website at http://www.westernunion.com

Thank you!

The Basement After many things came to a head, from online interaction to offline personal stuff, I decided to shut down The Basement. On the wah wah hurt side, I feel like no one deserves an explanation after what I feel was some unnecessary commentary, especially after I clarified what I meant time-and-time again. On the calm and collected side, I do think I owe as best of an explanation as I feel like I can give to the people who enjoyed The Basement as much as I have. So, yes, the back-and-forth was a catalyst, but it wasn't the reason. I've already mentioned Kate's upcoming hysterectomy. It's taken a long goddam time to get to the point where we're at with that, which has taxed me financially and emotionally.

I took the medicine I have recommended to others and had pulled back. However, I also felt I had a responsibility to at least check in from time-to-time. Unfortunately those times validated a growing concern that I wasn't giving it the attention it needed - the gallery is an example of that feeling.

Like I have said many times before, I have nothing to hide. However, there are some things that I just won't volunteer unless I'm forced in a position to do so. One thing I've never hidden was the fact that I contemplated shutting down The Basement many times. Was it a knee jerk reaction? Probably. I know my wife thinks my decision was hasty, especially after the times she's been dragged in from wrongful implications to online sexual harassment. (Some jackasses might think I'm being extreme by the latter, but I do believe that character and personal interaction drive what people can and can't get away with from other people. I believe that if a person who has a "bone to pick with me" doesn't keep his focus on the prize then they are a coward for having to involve other people.) Which leads me back to the point that I've never hid from things that spin me up. Like I said on Fredtalk, people who know me, even just from reading the boards, will know what will set me off. To me, a friend won't cross that line. The Basement has helped me create a buffer, so there have been times I've been able to let comments pass without a peep from me, but if people are as smart and as observant as they claim they are, they should know that my threshold has been more than reached, it's been ripped to shreds.

So, contrary to what people's signatures, comments, or forums might imply, I think that The Basement being around as long as it was has more than shown that I mean what I say. I won't deny that I have a threshold like everyone else - which is evident by people's reactions to my comments. I think I've explained myself more than enough, and all I can offer is an apology. After all the hoopla, which continues today, and the lack of understanding, especially the lack of background chatter by people who I thought were friends, I don't feel like the sincerity is there.

To say I'm not saddened that The Basement is gone would be a lie. One of the things I got from my interaction on there was facing aspects of my personality that I was ashamed to admit I had, including the feeling that I wasn't being as involved as I should have been in running it.

Lastly, I want to apologize to my wife. I could have kept my mouth shut, as people have stated, but then The Basement wouldn't have been what it was if I had censored myself. Unfortunately, as an innocent in all of this and someone who was smart enough to stay out of it all, you had to get dragged in. I'm sorry, sweetie.

/drama queen out

Before I get into why I don't use Apple's over-hyped browser, I want to know what the proper term is for a small article that's part of a group of small articles which make up a complete article. For example, Macworld's "Mac OS X Hints" article has little articles called "Control the New iTunes Visualizers," "Easily Create New Tabs in Safari," and "Tricks of the Media Browser." I would like to call "... Hints" a section, but it's in the "Help Desk" section of the magazine. I think I will call them sub-articles until I educate myself. (For some reason I wanted to call them "sub-atomic-(p)articles," but I can't without cringing.)

What set me off today was the sub-article "Easily Create New Tabs in Safari" that I previously mentioned, which is in the August 2008 edition of Macworld magazine. How do I put this delicately? Why the fuck do I want to hit Command+T to open a new tab when other browsers have a "New Tab" button?

I don't mind workarounds, and I like to tinker under the hood to enhance my computing experience. So I decided that since I never use the "New Bookmark" button, which resembles a "New Tab" button on other browsers, I will use Xcode and reconfigure the button to open a new tab. The down-side to this is when Apple has to update the browser, which always jacks up my efforts.

I'm not complaining about the updates because I think they're necessary to keep the OS secure and feature laden. What I don't like is having to re-do those steps for a feature that should already be built into the browser. To put it into a better light, I'm not an Apple fanboi who willingly swallows the bitter jiz of Apple stupidity and changes my habits to accommodate what Apple thinks is a better way ... unless the new way makes sense, like using 2 fingers on the trackpad to scroll. This instance, however, doesn't make sense because I like to use the fucking mouse more than I do my keyboard, from clicking on links to bookmarking a site. So what sense does it make to disrupt my flow to hit a couple unnecessary keys? If I want to hear a song I like, why must dragging my nails across a chalkboard be a way to turn up the volume?

Regardless of my temperament, I can acknowledge that Apple has made some spiffy things. However, Apple is NOT the pinnacle of perfection and design - no company, IMO, holds that honor. I do think that the Apple borg needs to realize that there are in fact ways of doing things that are better that what they come up with. What's the problem in giving users more options, or researching to see what's common practice and initially incorporate that process in the development?

I don't get paid like Jobs, but I do feel like I can run Apple better.

I was looking at the “Curvaceous” plug-in for Movable Type, and one thing that really annoys me is when I feel like I've wasted my time - which might be a recurring theme in my rants. Here's a disclaimer for any tard that happens upon this post: I'm not talking about the plug-in.

What I am talking about are screenshots. Whether I venture to Softpedia, BetaNews, MajorGeeks, Snapfiles, et al, one of the first things I look at is the screenshot associated with the program I'm interested in. I hate to break it to developers, but being on a site filled with other apps that does the same thing as yours isn't enough for me to download, try, and possibly ruin my computer. I like pretty things. When I use a program, I like something that gently strokes the eyeballs and welcomes me into whatever endeavor I happen to decide upon. If an app is useable and clunky, that centerfold allure is what keeps me around. So the question is, “How does someone market their product to everyone, especially people who are hesitant to download software?” The answer? A screenshot.

Now let's take this a step further ... let's say I come across 5 programs that I'm interested in, and they all have screenshots. What then? To me, the next logical step is making sure people are able to see whatever is in the screenshot(s). If you have a screenshot the size of a fly's penis then you've successfully wasted my time and I shitcan any desire of using your program - which knocks three-quarters, or more, of the programs out of the running. Not to digress, but what are some of those people thinking? Granted, there are some people that are stupid enough to try something based off of a picture no bigger than a thumbnail, but would you want someone with that type of intellect representing your product? Every day, whether in a business or personal capacity, approximately 10 people ask me for my input on computer products. Right now I'm batting at 90 percent who actually heed my recommendations. All I want is a decent-sized picture that allows me to legibly read the text of the user interface (UI) and is a clear representation of the product that I possibly might use.

Which leads me to another point about screenshots: make sure the shot is of your current product. Too many times I've seen screenshots that were of a preference pane, a result of using the program, or something that isn't what I'm using. If that screenshot isn't what I'm going to see within the first 5 seconds of using the program then, again, my time was wasted, and I'll wish physical harm on everyone associated with your product. I don't want to see how good your product used to look or how it will look when it comes out of beta in 5 years; I want to know how it will look at the time I will be using it.

With the world the way it is now, everyone's time is valuable, and every step taken to save that person some time will only benefit your product. There are a lot of sites out there for someone to upload their programs to. Remember when I mentioned above about my input on things? Here's an unsolicited example: SnapFiles is the only freeware/shareware site I've come across that consistently has decent screenshots of products, and I mainly use it as a source for other files to try. The ONLY time I use another site is when I'm looking for a product that I've used and liked but isn't being developed anymore and is still applicable to the OS and task at hand. For Macs I have to use VersionTracker and MacUpdate, but I do use iUseThis to help me filter. However, having to swap between tabs or windows is a pain in the ass and even makes me loyal to the apps that might cause me pain because the pain for finding others can be greater at times.

I'm voting for Obama, which I know isn't a surprise to people who know me. However, my path to support his candidacy has been a rough journey to say the least. To be honest, he was on the fringe of my radar until the Don Imus comment controversy. I'm not a fan of Imus, but I have enough intelligence to know what Imus' show is about. Here's what Obama said about the situation during an ABC interview:

"Insults, humor that degrades women, humor that is based in racism and racial stereotypes isn't fun," the senator told the network.

"And the notion that somehow it's cute or amusing, or a useful diversion, I think, is something that all of us have to recognize is just not the case. We all have First Amendment rights. And I am a constitutional lawyer and strongly believe in free speech, but as a culture, we really have to do some soul-searching to think about what kind of toxic information are we feeding our kids," he concluded.

Even though, like most of the people who speak negatively against it, I've never caught a complete Imus show, I do know that it isn't a show for straight societal commentary. However, I think Obama's point has merit because there are a lot of ignorant people out there who will use Imus' show as a foundation for their belief. Regardless of Obama's comments, I'm more concerned about recent bills passed under Bush and Congress than I am about what Obama has said, but it was enough to get me to originally pull for Giuliani.

At the beginning of the campaign season, the 2 candidates that caught my interest were Democrat Gravel and Republican Giuliani. Although I liked Gravel's tenacity and how he carried himself in the debates, his age was the determining factor for me - I don't want someone in office who could die and make things worse because a poorly-chosen vice president has taken the presidential reins.

My support for Giuliani parallels with Obama because he too did something I wasn't happy about; Giuliani caught a lot of national press during his time as mayor of a major metropolis, but it was his responses to art exhibits that I had issues with. There have been times when I wasn't happy with the presentation of a subject or exhibits, but I believe artistic expression falls under the freedom of speech argument. With the judicial and legislative branches of our government to deal with, I don't see him eroding some of our rights either, and I think his professional record spoke for itself.

I had to revisit my thoughts and concerns again after Giuliani dropped out after his Florida campaign failure. After discussions with people who were for other candidates and doing my own research, Obama seemed the better of the candidates to me. There were a few things that finally won me over: his consistency in the debates and speeches, and how his policies involve people more than government.

In the face of a conservative movement to push a perception that Obama supporters have some unrealistic illusion that things will either change from day one, or that failed conservative policies will cease to exist as soon as he sits in the Oval office, I'm here to say that I think most supporters are realistic enough to know that things won't change quickly for any newly elected president. Intellectually I believe it's a given and that discussions shouldn't be prefaced with that disclaimer. Unfortunately, in discussions with non-Obama supporters, you either have to dumb down and preface to even have some sort of a civil discussion, or you're dismissed as a kool-aid drinking loon. The hypocrisy is evident because most of these discussions are started by Obama haters who caught the latest conservative “Spam of the Day.” It's discussions like these that give Obama's Imus commentary weight. I have now accepted the beliefs that the common American is dumb as a stump and that we need to fix our education system to eradicate the stupidity that's consuming our country, and have decided to stay out of the intellectually insulting discussions that seem to be plaguing the Internet.

I acknowledge that my opinions are limiting and are intellectually on par with some of the McCain supporters. However, my ability to look inward allows me to capitalize on my shortcomings and see that when Obama speaks about Americans, he consistently speaks of them equally. The common reply I get to that is a reference to his San Francisco sound bite about bitter people clinging to guns and religion. One thing I learned early on is that a sound bite is great for creating intellectual wedges. Regardless of the fact that some Democrats attend church and own guns, they have an anti-gun and religion stigma. So, Obama's comment during a campaign fundraising dinner about why people have little faith in politicians and use smaller issues to make decisions gets shortened to make him sound elitist and anti-gun and religion. After that debacle, and the radical Muslim and madrassa educated e-mails, his speeches continue to be geared to one audience - Americans.

Democrats are also seen as socialist minded people. A perfect example that helps push that belief is Hillary's healthcare agenda where she mandates that everyone subscribe to her policy. In contrast, Obama's healthcare policy allows us a choice of going to his, staying on what we currently have, or none at all - with the exception of children. Children aren't able to protect for themselves, so I think his mandate for children is a no-brainer.

He also has an idea for a college assistance plan that's comparable to one of the programs that the military has. The only stipulation is that whoever uses it has to give back some of their time, which makes sense to me. Being similar to the military's, I don't see how his plan could be viewed as being bad. So given his stances on healthcare and college assistance, I don't see how his policies make the government into a dictating force, but rather another option for people.

My issues with McCain are many. I obviously don't know him on a personal level, so I can't say if he's a bad person or not. However, like Gravel, I'm not happy with him being up in age for the same reasons, but in reverse or doubled. Call it age-ism if you want, which is pulling a page from the Liberal handbook, but, to me, he doesn't look the same as he did on the 2000 campaign trail. Now he looks weathered and that bump on his left cheek looks more pronounced.

I'm also not happy with his temper. There's a common perception that Conservatives are the self-appointed moral police, so if you're going to call your wife a “cunt” whilst conversing about makeup, then you don't exemplify the standards used to support other agendas. Like the conservative view that Ahmadinejad would launch a nuke at Israel if given the chance, I can see McCain pressing “the button” in a fit of rage over a failed diplomatic attempt.

On one hand, I think the “4 more years of Bush” may be a tad overzealous. On the other, his experience does lend credence to that view. Being a “maverick” senator, I can totally see him using force to cowboy diplomacy, like Bush did with Iraq. Bush consulted oil companies on environmental policies, and, during times of record profits in oil futures, McCain wants to rescind the bans on drilling for finite oil resources instead of making America the leader in newer and cleaner alternatives.

The flip-flops, inconsistencies, and forced politicking are driving me ape-shit. At one point he says we could be in Iraq for a 100 years and it would be alright with him. Then he insults our intelligence by comparing it to our presences in Korea and Okinawa. It's insulting because we aren't in a combat capacity there. And when all that isn't working, he goes against his point about not setting a date and sets a date.

If anyone has listened to or read the transcripts of any Obama speech, they have heard him praise McCain for his heroism in the military as well as his time as a senator, before discussing the differences in their policies. Contrast that to McCain trying to make a terrorist link by commenting about Hamas liking Obama, copying Obama's web site design, and co-opting Obama's message for change. I don't know what's worse, McCain being caught in an interview talking about how he would talk with Hamas, or validating an opponent by plagiarizing their campaign.

Picked up the latest album by The Offspring titled "Rise & Fall, Rage & Grace." Bottom line, it's my favorite album by them. I have a few thoughts after listening to it. First off, this is the album "Splinter" should have been. Don't get me wrong, I like "Splinter," however, it seems out of place when I look at their album progression.

I am surprised to see Bob Rock's name on the album because I don't equate his name to quality music. He made The Cult sound more rock on their "Sonic Temple" album, and don't get me started on my Metallica rant. All I can say is this still sounds like the Offspring I'm familiar with, and I'm happy that Dexter isn't crooning like a pansy, a la Metallica.

There aren't any classic Offspring signature tracks this time around, i.e. extremely long tracks containing bonus songs, a hilarious ska song, or funny fillers. Lyrically it seems to have a serious tone overall, but I did find a chuckle here and there ("I'm telling you shit is fucked up"). Musically it's classic Offspring because it seems to keep that serious vibe from overtaking the entire album, and fuck if I'll take an anti-depressant just to enjoy my entertainment.

Since I'm an Offspring fanboi, I will look over some things. Even though the music, to me, is true to their sound, I do hear what I would call "influences." What I'm trying to say is, this album will be liked by Offspring fans and typical music listeners. If you're the type that thinks regurgitating pentatonic scales are "progressive," and you use that as the foundation of your 1337 musical knowledge, then you shouldn't even be listening to music in the first place.

Lately I've been hearing how the Internet is making people ignorant. Nothing to support that statement, just that it's making everyone stupid. If anything, I think the Internet empowers us because it puts a lot of information resources at our fingertips. I think the choices that people are making online are what's killing their brain cells.

If I wanted to find out about the Amazon's average rainfall for 2007, a fix for what's causing the thumping sound in a car, or a software program that will remove a specific virus on a computer, I can find it via the Internet. In addition, I can read about and learn from various related experiences just in case the original solutions didn't help.

With the good, however, comes the bad. Even with all the enlightening data at our fingertips that can better our lives and broaden our knowledge, people choose to get involved in the latest "American Idol" selections, find out about upcoming episodes of "Big Brother," share lost teenage experiences with the foul-mouthed youth of Myspace, or read about the latest celebrity whoopsie shots on TMZ.

So, I don't think the Internet is making people more stupid, it's the choices those people make while online that's doing it. If someone would rather see Brittany Spears' vagina on Perez Hilton's site and share spam e-mails about what Obama believes in instead of educating themselves then they're the perpetrators of their ignorance.

On a side note, I've never understood illogical statements like this. Why blame things and not the people committing the acts? I have yet to see a gun load itself and shoot some random child in the face, the Internet open a skull to perform some back alley lobotomy, throngs of satanists birthed from speakers blaring Ozzy Osbourne songs, or video game zombies fighting over mystical armor in the Shenendoahs. What I have seen are people who are in dire need of mental help or parental skills.

Going to the movies was a great experience when I was growing up. Whether it was going with my teenage brother, or going as a family unit, the outcome was always the same: discussing our expectations on the way to the movie, getting the sacred refreshments, actually watching the movie, and the post-movie discussion.

I don’t know what’s happened since then, but I would rather fall into a pit of HIV-infected inmates who haven’t even breathed the scent of a woman in over 25 years than go to the theater today. Ironically, it’s now just a social gathering of immature minds swimming in jackassery, mixed with poor theater monitoring, which negatively affects the enjoyment of others. Why would I want to go to the theater today when I can get the same experience on Myspace?

I remember on a few occasions when I came close to acting like that during my childhood, but my brother or mother put me in check way before the movie even started. The funny thing about it all is I still had a good time. Now you have to deal with teenagers with poor social skills, the grown-up wannabe hip hopper with the pseudo chip on his shoulder who constantly answers his cell phone as if he’s someone important, the staff that does nothing because they don’t want to piss off their friends, and the rednecks fueled up by shitty beer who talk loud and throw shit - that’s just a quick list off the top of my head. To alleviate most of these frustrations the choices we have are: 1. getting up at the crack of dawn and catch an extremely early matinee, 2. wait for the DVD to be released in 6 months, or 3. pirate the movie off of the internet.

The problem with getting up early is the fact that I’m getting the fuck up on a day when I can finally sleep in. Seriously, after a week of putting in 40+ hours, and maybe a celebratory after work function, who wants to get up early to see a 9:30 showing? On the one hand, I totally appreciate a theater opening that early to give people that option, and I’m happy teenagers don’t leave their crypts before noon. I know I like having the feeling that I still have a near complete day before me to do stuff. However, my energy levels are usually down after watching a movie, which makes putting it at the end of a day more sensible to me.

I invested in a nice HDTV and decent sound system to watch movies and play video games on. Some of the video game benefits are not having to wait from 6 months to over a year to get it after it has been released, and movie related game releases coincide with the movie release. But who wants to be a “Johnny Come Lately” and rehash discussions that already took place? It would be great if a DVD release could hit when a movie debuts. Hell, I don’t mind if the price is double the standard price while the movie is in theaters and then drops to normal prices after the theater cycle. I would even wager that movie profits would go up if this happened.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, we’re a societal creature. Because of that fact there are some people who don’t want to endure the crap theater experience or wait forever to see it on DVD. Sprinkle the social emphasis on everything from shopping to online activity to cell phones, and pirating seems to become more palatable - it allows us to remain in the social game. I don’t partake in pirating movies, or condone it, but it would be ludicrous to deny some of the underlying reasons that primarily drive the practice.

My fondness for 1Password has never been a secret; I’ve been using it for approximately 2 years, and it’s the only thing Mac related that has put me into the fanboi territory … well, maybe Sapiens too, but more on that later. If you use a Macintosh and have never heard of 1Password, then let me tell you, it’s the best password management application, period. Not only does it integrate with all the popular Mac Internet browsers (except Opera), it also stores your personal and credit card information for easy online purchases. Now that last part might make some squeak, but the information is encrypted and password protected; I like being able to fill redundant information with just a few clicks of the mouse.

I recently came across a shiny new app called RiftVault while perusing all my RSS feeds via Vienna and decided to download and try it out. Aesthetically speaking, RiftVault makes 1Password look dated. The downside to the prettiness is the dark design horks my eyes after 15 minutes, much like HardOCP’s website. The good thing I see is that 1Password lacks in the graphics department it makes up in functionality, from iPhone and browser integration to generating passwords.

Another thing that keeps me using 1Password is the support from the developers; they do interact with users via their forum. With a good interactive environment established, I decided to inquire about a 1Password GUI update. Through that I found out that they will be rolling out a graphical update during the following months, and they encouraged me to submit any ideas I had. So, I told you all of that to tell you this: I submitted an updated GUI idea for their password generator. Here’s a screenshot of RiftVault, here’s what the current 1Password password generator looks like, and here’s my submitted idea. Being the pessimist that I am, I’m not holding on to the idea that they will even consider what I submitted; I’m just happy that I didn’t let my emo side keep me from submitting my idea.

I have a lot of interests. When I say I have a lot, I don’t mean a smattering that will keep me busy when I retire; I mean I have so many that I feel like a dog constantly chasing his tail, and the agony of frustration doesn’t even end there because it seems like I constantly find something new and exciting that catches my interest.

To combat my frustration, I’ve been toning down the deluge of exciting new interests and refocusing on the interests I’ve had for years by joining Internet forums, subscribing to video podcasts (audio podcasts are retarded now that everything plays video), and taking more classes. In addition to all that, I have a lukewarm desire to be sociable and join related user groups. That lukewarm desire stems from: 1. I hate people outside the scope of my family and a few friends, 2. lack of focus, and 3. personality issues.

To say I hate everyone is a melodramatic overstatement because I can generally get along with anyone. Hell, I’ve started vanpooling 2 weeks ago, and, as far as I know, no one wants to kill me yet. The main problems I have with socializing stem from my passionate personality and dealing with conceited jackasses. I know I can come across as an arrogant person at times, so I can understand the whole pot-kettle thing. However, even when I feel like I’m right on some things, I initially try not to dismiss the other person. It’s during moments where I feel like I’m being ridiculed for my beliefs that my passionate personality kicks in and my jackassery comes out.

The lack of focus is evident from the non-related discussions to the lecture type atmosphere. I expect tangents to arise due to the mix of people, and I can understand showcasing new techniques and products. What I don’t understand is when that tangent takes over and affects the common ground everyone had, and lectures remove the social purpose groups are to have. I think a good flow for a 1 hour meeting would be to have someone from the group (which should be rotated among members) show off something new and related for the first 15 minutes, then facilitate a follow-on discussion - which can easily kill 20-30 minutes. After that, the meeting should shift to time for coffee and donuts so people can socialize, which provides a great opportunity for people who didn’t get in on the discussion to talk one-on-one with people who did.

Regardless of how I feel about a person, I won’t stop interacting with them on a common interest level. Some people do, however, which mucks up the atmosphere of the group. Why would anyone join a group that will eventually splinter and then dissolve because people forgot why they were there in the first place?

For these reasons alone I’ve canned recent interest in groups, although I’ve found myself thinking about starting groups in hopes to finally plug in to a good social atmosphere that could grow. Part of me thinks I can do it, but then my pitiful self-doubt kicks in and I become a little girl who feels like she can’t beat her Bratz game.