The new "iGuido" from Apple. It's kind of like the iPhone, you gotta problem with that?
Taken from my hotel room in Rome.
Friday, May 14, 2010
The new "iGuido" from Apple
The new "iGuido" from Apple. It's kind of like the iPhone, you gotta problem with that?
Taken from my hotel room in Rome.
Less than a week before my FB gets whacked
In less than I week, if all goes well, I'll be deleting my Facebook page. Why wait? First, I want to make sure I have contact information for the people I need to keep in touch with. Second, I'm in Europe right now and I have some sort of weird feeling that if I'm at home, I'll be able to fix something if it goes wrong. Not sure what that's all about, but anyhoo. . .
I've told people over and over that the people behind Facebook are not concerned with your privacy and you should basically consider EVERYTHING to be public as if it were plastered on a billboard over your house, no matter what your privacy settings are.
For example, those pictures of you drinking underage? Do you want a future employer to see those? Companies admit that they do simple Google/Facebook/Myspace searches for your name to look for stuff like that before hiring people. Even if it was many years ago, consider yourself to be pre-judged!
If you are simply staying with Facebook because you are addicted to Farmville or another Zynga game, you may be in luck. Zynga makes a ton of money off of people like you and Facebook is levying a huge tax on them. Zynga currently pays about 33% and FB says that they need to pay closer to 50%. Technically, Zynga can afford it, but the smaller game developers can not.
Facebook is the AOL of the decade. They both run/ran a "walled garden" trying to keep people inside of their network. Eventually, people figured out that the Internet was a lot more interesting without AOL's private network, hopefully Facebook will suffer the same fate. Am I bitter? Maybe a little. There is a need for social sites like FB, but not at the expense of privacy.
I've told people over and over that the people behind Facebook are not concerned with your privacy and you should basically consider EVERYTHING to be public as if it were plastered on a billboard over your house, no matter what your privacy settings are.
For example, those pictures of you drinking underage? Do you want a future employer to see those? Companies admit that they do simple Google/Facebook/Myspace searches for your name to look for stuff like that before hiring people. Even if it was many years ago, consider yourself to be pre-judged!
If you are simply staying with Facebook because you are addicted to Farmville or another Zynga game, you may be in luck. Zynga makes a ton of money off of people like you and Facebook is levying a huge tax on them. Zynga currently pays about 33% and FB says that they need to pay closer to 50%. Technically, Zynga can afford it, but the smaller game developers can not.
Facebook is the AOL of the decade. They both run/ran a "walled garden" trying to keep people inside of their network. Eventually, people figured out that the Internet was a lot more interesting without AOL's private network, hopefully Facebook will suffer the same fate. Am I bitter? Maybe a little. There is a need for social sites like FB, but not at the expense of privacy.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
First post from Italy
This is just a teaser of some of the great pics I've taken so far. It's some of the ruins at Pompeii. Stay tuned for a full (probably boring) pictorial of my trip. . .
Saturday, May 08, 2010
Le Mew
This reminds me of Pepe Le Pew (the female cat in the cartoon would say "Le Mew". Most people don't think about it, but Pepe was a stalker and should have had a restraining order placed on him.
Last Day in Germany
Well, it's Saturday. I'm in Germany, and planning on going to Italy tomorrow. Hopefully the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajokull (not sure how to pronounce that? go here) will not disrupt my flight. Several airports in Spain, Portugal, United Kingdom, and Ireland have been closed.
I did manage to go out for a couple of runs during the last week and a half I've spent over here. I would have gone out more, but it was very cold and rainy for about 5 days. While out, I had to take a pic of this bus. They really know how to paint their buses, don't they?
When I did go out, the runs were pretty good. A couple of bridges and hills sucked the energy out of me.
While here, I was all too aware of the presence of Americans in the form of military, civilians, and contractors. How could I spot them? First, just look for a McDonalds. Second, look around for the pickup trucks with oversized tires and glass-pack mufflers or a Dale Earnhardt edition Monte Carlo. Dead giveaways. Third, the noisy jerks in the hotel going out to the clubs at midnight and coming back at 5 a.m. They have no appreciation for the fact that they aren't the only people here in the hotel and just keep talking, laughing, screaming, clomping around in their dress shoes, etc. Annoying, to say the least.
I also came to the realization that as annoying as that stupid "small world" song at Disney World is, the world is apparently smaller than I had originally though. I went onto Ramstein Air Force Base to go to the Commissary (grocery store) to get a sammich and ran into the wife of a friend of mine that I worked with in South Korea more than 20 years ago. I hadn't seen or heard from him since I left there in 1990. He's retired and working as a civilian for the Army over here. He lives about two miles from my hotel. We had dinner a couple of times, but that's about it.
Not much more I can say about my stay here other than working ten 11 hour days kind of sucks. Tomorrow is going to be a long day flying to Roma and Napoli. Hopefully I'll have some sort of Internet access and I'll be able to share some pictures of the trip. Otherwise, you'll just have to wait.
I did manage to go out for a couple of runs during the last week and a half I've spent over here. I would have gone out more, but it was very cold and rainy for about 5 days. While out, I had to take a pic of this bus. They really know how to paint their buses, don't they?
When I did go out, the runs were pretty good. A couple of bridges and hills sucked the energy out of me.
While here, I was all too aware of the presence of Americans in the form of military, civilians, and contractors. How could I spot them? First, just look for a McDonalds. Second, look around for the pickup trucks with oversized tires and glass-pack mufflers or a Dale Earnhardt edition Monte Carlo. Dead giveaways. Third, the noisy jerks in the hotel going out to the clubs at midnight and coming back at 5 a.m. They have no appreciation for the fact that they aren't the only people here in the hotel and just keep talking, laughing, screaming, clomping around in their dress shoes, etc. Annoying, to say the least.
I also came to the realization that as annoying as that stupid "small world" song at Disney World is, the world is apparently smaller than I had originally though. I went onto Ramstein Air Force Base to go to the Commissary (grocery store) to get a sammich and ran into the wife of a friend of mine that I worked with in South Korea more than 20 years ago. I hadn't seen or heard from him since I left there in 1990. He's retired and working as a civilian for the Army over here. He lives about two miles from my hotel. We had dinner a couple of times, but that's about it.
Not much more I can say about my stay here other than working ten 11 hour days kind of sucks. Tomorrow is going to be a long day flying to Roma and Napoli. Hopefully I'll have some sort of Internet access and I'll be able to share some pictures of the trip. Otherwise, you'll just have to wait.
I Just Ran
7.1 Miles in 63 minutes
http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3708531
Ramstein-Miesenback and Landstuhl
http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3708531
Ramstein-Miesenback and Landstuhl
Friday, May 07, 2010
TSA Agent and Airport Cop Caught Stealing Food and Assaulting Clerk
So when are we going to admit that the TSA is overflowing with incompetent idiots and get rid of them? They serve no other purpose than to waste taxpayer money and inconvenience us. What other corporate industry does the government provide security for? The airports and airlines should be providing the security. That way if we don't like the way things are going at one airport, we can go to another one.
From the article:
An airport cop and TSA worker both showed up at a Hartland Township, MI gas station to buy some booze in order to continue their buzz (which means they drove there drunk already). The two paid for the booze, then Renee Zima, the TSA officer, is accused of stealing two pieces of pizza, and leaving the store.
When the store clerk approached them demanding payment for the items, Zima flashed her TSA badge, claiming she was with Homeland Security. When the clerk tried to get their plate number, these two idiots bent the plate, then stood in front of it, blocking his view. When the clerk went back outside, Zima’s partner in crime (and off duty airport police officer) Richard Frederick punched him in the face.
From the article:
An airport cop and TSA worker both showed up at a Hartland Township, MI gas station to buy some booze in order to continue their buzz (which means they drove there drunk already). The two paid for the booze, then Renee Zima, the TSA officer, is accused of stealing two pieces of pizza, and leaving the store.
When the store clerk approached them demanding payment for the items, Zima flashed her TSA badge, claiming she was with Homeland Security. When the clerk tried to get their plate number, these two idiots bent the plate, then stood in front of it, blocking his view. When the clerk went back outside, Zima’s partner in crime (and off duty airport police officer) Richard Frederick punched him in the face.
8 Things People Steal from Walgreens
From the article:
All of the toothpaste was locked up behind those protective plastic security shields. We had to push a button to get an employee to come unlock it for us, which is never not demoralizing.
Considering how common, cheap, and unsexy toothpaste is, we were perplexed.
The employee explained to us that before Walgreens started locking up the Colgate, shoplifters would practically clean the shelves out. The problem got so bad, they could barely keep it in stock. Which made us feel awful for those folks in the neighborhood so desperate for an oral refresh that they'd steal a $3 tube of toothpaste from the local 'greens. But also got us thinking -- what else are people stealing around here?
Here's what we found. . .
Read on to see just what people in the lower Haight district in San Fran steal
All of the toothpaste was locked up behind those protective plastic security shields. We had to push a button to get an employee to come unlock it for us, which is never not demoralizing.
Considering how common, cheap, and unsexy toothpaste is, we were perplexed.
The employee explained to us that before Walgreens started locking up the Colgate, shoplifters would practically clean the shelves out. The problem got so bad, they could barely keep it in stock. Which made us feel awful for those folks in the neighborhood so desperate for an oral refresh that they'd steal a $3 tube of toothpaste from the local 'greens. But also got us thinking -- what else are people stealing around here?
Here's what we found. . .
Read on to see just what people in the lower Haight district in San Fran steal
White Couple Has A Black Baby Because Of A 3D Movie
I guess the old "I found the baby on the doorstep" lie wasn't working any more. . .
From the article:
The wife of a US Army Soldier, Jennifer Stweart, claims she got pregnant by watching a 3D adult film while visiting friends in New York.
38-year-old Jennifer Stweart used the bizarre claims to explain to her husband why their child was black, despite the lovers being very much white skinned.
From the article:
The wife of a US Army Soldier, Jennifer Stweart, claims she got pregnant by watching a 3D adult film while visiting friends in New York.
38-year-old Jennifer Stweart used the bizarre claims to explain to her husband why their child was black, despite the lovers being very much white skinned.
Thursday, May 06, 2010
Russian special forces storm oil tanker, free ship
I don't have a problem with this happening more often, along with a few more pirate casualties:
Russian special forces rappelled onto a disabled oil tanker taken over by Somali pirates and freed 23 Russian sailors early Thursday, the commander of the EU Naval Force said. Ten pirates were arrested and one was killed.
...
The special forces had been aboard the Russian anti-submarine destroyer Marshal Shaposhnikov, which rushed to the scene after Wednesday's seajacking. A helicopter was dispatched to investigate and was fired on by the pirates, EU Naval Force said. The Russian warship returned fire on the pirates, it said.
Wednesday, May 05, 2010
Christian right leader George Rekers takes vacation with "rent boy"
I hate that people are still surprised when these anti-gay retards is outed. The Miami Times reports:
He's one of those people that thinks that homosexuality is a mental illness and can be "cured". Too bad hypocrisy and neo-conservatism can't be cured. They are more of a mental illness than most things.
On April 13, the "rent boy" (whom we'll call Lucien) arrived at Miami International Airport on Iberian Airlines Flight 6123, after a ten-day, fully subsidized trip to Europe. He was soon followed out of customs by an old man with an atavistic mustache and a desperate blond comb-over, pushing an overburdened baggage cart.
That man was George Alan Rekers, of North Miami — the callboy's client and, as it happens, one of America's most prominent anti-gay activists. Rekers, a Baptist minister who is a leading scholar for the Christian right, left the terminal with his gay escort, looking a bit discomfited when a picture of the two was snapped with a hot-pink digital camera.
. . .
For decades, George Alan Rekers has been a general in the culture wars, though his work has often been behind the scenes. In 1983, he and James Dobson, America's best-known homophobe, formed the Family Research Council, a D.C.-based, rabidly Christian, and vehemently anti-gay lobbying group that has become a standard-bearer of the nation's extreme right wing.
He's one of those people that thinks that homosexuality is a mental illness and can be "cured". Too bad hypocrisy and neo-conservatism can't be cured. They are more of a mental illness than most things.
Tuesday, May 04, 2010
Home Stretch
I've been sans mobile phone for more than a week now (traveling in Germany). I don't really talk on the phone that often, but I've been using an Android device (first the G1, then the Sprint Hero) for nearly two years and I'm just so used to being able to pull up a map, translate a word, jot down or research an idea, and of course, text message and check e-mail, all at a moment's notice. Now I get back to the hotel and I have 20+ e-mails to respond to every 12 hours or so. Oh well, it'll be over soon. I'll be back in 3G goodness in a week and a half. I think I'll survive.
Trent Reznor's New Post-NIN project
Hear Trent Reznor's first post-Nine Inch Nails music: How to Destroy Angels' "A Drowning"
http://pitchfork.com/news/38686-how-to-destroy-angels-a-drowning/
It's not NIN, but it's not bad. There are some definite hints of Trent's musical stylings, but that's about as close as you get. His wife, the singer, has a very soft and soothing voice that goes well with the music. Try it, you might like it.
http://pitchfork.com/news/38686-how-to-destroy-angels-a-drowning/
It's not NIN, but it's not bad. There are some definite hints of Trent's musical stylings, but that's about as close as you get. His wife, the singer, has a very soft and soothing voice that goes well with the music. Try it, you might like it.
Leaving Facebook Soon
Too much bad privacy joo joo coming from Facebook. Leaving it soon. . .more later.
Monday, December 21, 2009
2009
The end of the year is nigh. I started tweeting and stopped. I started grad school and stopped (UCF Computer Science still sucks ass). I started dating someone and stopped. I'm starting to notice a trend here. I guess I'm living proof of how dangerous knowing what "futility" means.
I'm on vacation now. Two weeks off and then back to my routine of working, running, eating, sleeping.
Wednesday, December 02, 2009
The Entertainment Industry Still Doesn't Get It
In this rant, Reid Rosefelt offers a good description of the state of "new media" offerings versus what the "old media" wants.
When will they realize that things like Hulu, or even their own web sites (nbc.com, fox.com, etc.) can be "go-to" spots to watch TV shows while still remaining profitable without using the 1-minute-of-ads-to-two-minutes-of-programming ratio we all hate?
P.S. Thanks Techdirt for finding this.
When will they realize that things like Hulu, or even their own web sites (nbc.com, fox.com, etc.) can be "go-to" spots to watch TV shows while still remaining profitable without using the 1-minute-of-ads-to-two-minutes-of-programming ratio we all hate?
P.S. Thanks Techdirt for finding this.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Relay
Ok, it's been a long time since I posted anything, but that's ok. Because I'm good enough, smart enough, and doggonit, people like me.
I've been posting a lot on twitter and Facebook and ignoring this "old school" blog (sorry blogspot.com), but right now I wanted to talk about something I did this past weekend. Along with 7 other people, I ran a relay race across the state of Florida. 180 miles from Jensen Beach to Ft. Myers. It took us 27 hours 48 minutes to finish.
We were all understandably exhausted, but we still had fun. We got lost a couple of times, but fatigue was probably the culprit there.
Check out http://www.sunrise2sunsetrelay.com
I've been posting a lot on twitter and Facebook and ignoring this "old school" blog (sorry blogspot.com), but right now I wanted to talk about something I did this past weekend. Along with 7 other people, I ran a relay race across the state of Florida. 180 miles from Jensen Beach to Ft. Myers. It took us 27 hours 48 minutes to finish.
We were all understandably exhausted, but we still had fun. We got lost a couple of times, but fatigue was probably the culprit there.
Check out http://www.sunrise2sunsetrelay.com
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