Ottawa Boy
(url here)
BEIJING - The state-controlled body for China's noncommunist groups on Saturday endorsed a proposed law authorizing military action to block Taiwan from pursuing formal independence, saying it would help to ensure regional peace.
Umm... yeah ... ok ... we just made up a law that says we are going to war with you if you don't comply with our demands, and this is designed to avoid war ... a ha ... logic must not be a chinese strong suit.
The measure, due to be enacted Monday by the National People's Congress, enshrines in law threats to invade if Taiwan, split from China since 1949, tries to make its independence permanent.
I don't thik these guys like you much anymore, I mean it has been 50 years and all. And to be perfectly frank , if the performance of the russian communistic economy is any indication as to how well the chinsese communicstic economy is performing, the Capitalistic Tiawanese Chinese will probly kick youre A$$$$ into next wednesday if you try it.
Not to be too picky about it. :)
I had a friend in the Canadian Military (now retired). He described the chinese as an army in running shoes. Lots of soldiers on the ground. But no way to move them about. Not much in the way of vehicals. Quantity may have a Quality All It's Own , in chairman Mao's words, but only if you can actually move that quantity to where you plan on holding the battle. And since the chinese don't have the shipping to move any real troops across the straight , and they aint gonna nuke taiwan (the radiation would flow back all over china, it's on their own door step for pete's sake ! ) , in the end it is really a meaningless move.
I mean propaganda exercise.
And the only one that's gonna get hurt by it are the mainland chinese who are trying to modernize, alienating the very people who are most likely to help them in this regard.
But on the positive side, they hate bill gates and are linux bound, so they can't all be bad ! :)
Saturday, March 12, 2005
DRM (Digital Rights Management)
Ottawa Boy
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/10/07/ballmer_doesnt_get_it/page2.html
Apple's iPods have DRM, but you don't really have to notice it, because it's 'good enough DRM', enough to keep the music business in check (Apple now being a major force in online sales helps here as well) but not unspeakable enough to conform to that industry's crazed desires, and not strong enough to be a significant negative for iPod and Apple Music Store purchasers. It's like handsets, except with Apple it's headsets - the company's objective is to sell its own stuff, not to police the music industry's stuff, and it keeps that objective in mind.
I gotta admit, I never thought of this. And yeah , I agree, it probably is going to kill the microsoft
version of the DRM. I mean ...
I want to go out and "buy" a cd. Phandom of the Opera. Why ? Because I like having the real cd on hand
in case my computer system goes south. Computers do that. Hard drives die (lost two so far) and you
lose everything on them. Nothing like having the an actual music CD on hand.
Do I want to pay AGAIN to rip it into mp3 format so I can play it on my computer ? No ! I already paid for it , I aint paying twice for the same songs ! I should be able to play those songs on any device
I like (as long as it's just me and my wife and maybe my family listening to them).
A weak DRM that seriously limits the aspirations of the music industry is probably going to be the way to go. I gotta agree with that.
Of course maybe that's just my "Microsoft should not be allowed to own everything everywhere in the whole wide world" attitude, but thats life.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/10/07/ballmer_doesnt_get_it/page2.html
Apple's iPods have DRM, but you don't really have to notice it, because it's 'good enough DRM', enough to keep the music business in check (Apple now being a major force in online sales helps here as well) but not unspeakable enough to conform to that industry's crazed desires, and not strong enough to be a significant negative for iPod and Apple Music Store purchasers. It's like handsets, except with Apple it's headsets - the company's objective is to sell its own stuff, not to police the music industry's stuff, and it keeps that objective in mind.
I gotta admit, I never thought of this. And yeah , I agree, it probably is going to kill the microsoft
version of the DRM. I mean ...
I want to go out and "buy" a cd. Phandom of the Opera. Why ? Because I like having the real cd on hand
in case my computer system goes south. Computers do that. Hard drives die (lost two so far) and you
lose everything on them. Nothing like having the an actual music CD on hand.
Do I want to pay AGAIN to rip it into mp3 format so I can play it on my computer ? No ! I already paid for it , I aint paying twice for the same songs ! I should be able to play those songs on any device
I like (as long as it's just me and my wife and maybe my family listening to them).
A weak DRM that seriously limits the aspirations of the music industry is probably going to be the way to go. I gotta agree with that.
Of course maybe that's just my "Microsoft should not be allowed to own everything everywhere in the whole wide world" attitude, but thats life.
Wednesday, March 09, 2005
This is my Brother Bob
Ottawa Boy
This is my brother Bob McCabe.
He is six feet tall. He works in farming. Yes, he owns his own business, his
farm in fact, now that you ask. His intersts are quilting and news. He was
born January 1st , 1980, and oddly enough , has the same phone number,
address , and postal code as me.
However, his mothers middle name is Daphne, and his fathers middle name
is Roger.
Why is this important ?
Bob is not a real person. I'm afraid he's a bit of an imposter. A cyber-shadow,
if you please.
So what good is a cyber-shadow ?
Have you ever tried to buy a computer monitor, or any piece of equipment,
even paying cash , and they want you to fill out all these forms ? Have you
ever worried about identity theft ? Why the does this company , that you
are giving money to, you're not asking for credit , you're paying cash up
front , why the heck do they need to know anything about you ?
This is where Bob comes in. The advantage of a well thought out
cybe-shadow is simply that if they demand any kind of secret question, or
ask for your mothers middle name or some such , you know the answer.
And if someone knocks on the door asking for Bob , stating that bob
applied for ten credit cards and racked them up and hit the road, well ,
I'm afraid I never heard of him. Sorry about that. It's the company's own
darn fault for taking information they shouldn't have had in the first place
and then getting it stolen. Better they steal Bob than my real identity,
that way I'm not on the hook for all sorts of stuff in my name.
This is my brother Bob. I'm sure you'll get to like him if you think about it
long enough.
This is my brother Bob McCabe.
He is six feet tall. He works in farming. Yes, he owns his own business, his
farm in fact, now that you ask. His intersts are quilting and news. He was
born January 1st , 1980, and oddly enough , has the same phone number,
address , and postal code as me.
However, his mothers middle name is Daphne, and his fathers middle name
is Roger.
Why is this important ?
Bob is not a real person. I'm afraid he's a bit of an imposter. A cyber-shadow,
if you please.
So what good is a cyber-shadow ?
Have you ever tried to buy a computer monitor, or any piece of equipment,
even paying cash , and they want you to fill out all these forms ? Have you
ever worried about identity theft ? Why the does this company , that you
are giving money to, you're not asking for credit , you're paying cash up
front , why the heck do they need to know anything about you ?
This is where Bob comes in. The advantage of a well thought out
cybe-shadow is simply that if they demand any kind of secret question, or
ask for your mothers middle name or some such , you know the answer.
And if someone knocks on the door asking for Bob , stating that bob
applied for ten credit cards and racked them up and hit the road, well ,
I'm afraid I never heard of him. Sorry about that. It's the company's own
darn fault for taking information they shouldn't have had in the first place
and then getting it stolen. Better they steal Bob than my real identity,
that way I'm not on the hook for all sorts of stuff in my name.
This is my brother Bob. I'm sure you'll get to like him if you think about it
long enough.
Friday, March 04, 2005
For Sale .. Black Slaves ...
Ottawa Boy
Whilst I was at work today , a friend of mine of chinese heretige pointed out to me a new website , a chinese one , where we could look up all those cool chinese martial artist chicks. I also found some regular news articles of dubious ... veracity , shall we say ...
At Dartmouth College, white girl students auctioned off black slaves in fund-raising activities.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-03/03/content_2643237.htm
Buried Way deep down in that news article is that statement... how odd...
It took half an hour to find it the alleged incident.
http://www.dartreview.com/archives/2004/01/05/mohos_nohos_and_uh_ohs.php
The relevant quote is ...
When Saturday afternoon rolled around, the four of us piled into Harry’s Tahoe, with hearts full of anticipation and a bottle of Jack Daniels in tow. As we got underway, Harry and Alston laid down the one ground rule for the night’s reporting: Michael and I must arrive in a state other than sober. Finding promises of beer and wine at the date auction unreliable, we accepted this editorial directive.
Arriving an hour early, we headed immediately to the student center to scope the scene. All eyes were glued on us as we entered, most Holyoke students having not seen this many men in months. Noticing our beauty—or perhaps gender—three Smith Republicans immediately picked us out as date auction-bound. Alston tried to bribe the two Smithies (Girls at Mt. Holyoke, by the way, refer to themselves as MoHos.) who were the evening’s emcees to overhype him during bidding, but to no avail.
The crowd was sparse when we finally made our way to the auditorium where the auction would be held. It turned out that twenty-five people would be auctioned off to an audience of only fifty. Harry proposed that we leave immediately, a suggestion we should have followed, but mingling had started, and we began spreading equal doses of wit, charm, and Jack Daniels as we moved about the room.
In other words, it was a bunch of guys selling themselves off to girls . Maybe one of them was black. Maybe not.
Interesting how the chinese state news point of view is just a little ... off ...
(we will now pause for hysterical laughter)
:)
Whilst I was at work today , a friend of mine of chinese heretige pointed out to me a new website , a chinese one , where we could look up all those cool chinese martial artist chicks. I also found some regular news articles of dubious ... veracity , shall we say ...
At Dartmouth College, white girl students auctioned off black slaves in fund-raising activities.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-03/03/content_2643237.htm
Buried Way deep down in that news article is that statement... how odd...
It took half an hour to find it the alleged incident.
http://www.dartreview.com/archives/2004/01/05/mohos_nohos_and_uh_ohs.php
The relevant quote is ...
When Saturday afternoon rolled around, the four of us piled into Harry’s Tahoe, with hearts full of anticipation and a bottle of Jack Daniels in tow. As we got underway, Harry and Alston laid down the one ground rule for the night’s reporting: Michael and I must arrive in a state other than sober. Finding promises of beer and wine at the date auction unreliable, we accepted this editorial directive.
Arriving an hour early, we headed immediately to the student center to scope the scene. All eyes were glued on us as we entered, most Holyoke students having not seen this many men in months. Noticing our beauty—or perhaps gender—three Smith Republicans immediately picked us out as date auction-bound. Alston tried to bribe the two Smithies (Girls at Mt. Holyoke, by the way, refer to themselves as MoHos.) who were the evening’s emcees to overhype him during bidding, but to no avail.
The crowd was sparse when we finally made our way to the auditorium where the auction would be held. It turned out that twenty-five people would be auctioned off to an audience of only fifty. Harry proposed that we leave immediately, a suggestion we should have followed, but mingling had started, and we began spreading equal doses of wit, charm, and Jack Daniels as we moved about the room.
In other words, it was a bunch of guys selling themselves off to girls . Maybe one of them was black. Maybe not.
Interesting how the chinese state news point of view is just a little ... off ...
(we will now pause for hysterical laughter)
:)
Thursday, March 03, 2005
Just Killing Time and Taking Up Space...
Ottawa Boy
Shamelessly gloomed from Kitten With A Whip
1.) Favorite Childhood Toy
Yarn Doll. My solder sister showed me how to take a ball of wool , wrap it around a pack of cigerettes, and with a bit of colored thread and a needle you can make a doll of yarn. I had
fun making about 10 of them that day.
Actually play with them ? Gave them away to my little sister.
2.) Earliest memory-
Walking down the street , hand in hand with my mother. Being introduced to some strange lady that I'm told is my mothers sister. Don't remember what she looked like. Never saw her again.
3.) Childhood crush-
"Dorthy."
Saw her on the street the other day. Married to some other guy. With kids. Oops... better erase her last name ...
4.) Worst punishment ever-
THEY TOOK AWAY MY COMPUTER !!!
5.) Era of Music when you were 5-10 -
The 70's ... Disco Duck !
6.) Fashion at that time?
Bell Bottom Jeans and Side Burns !
7.) Moment you felt on top of the world-
Finished writing my first non-trivial program. Just stood back and watched it go ...
8.) Best sexual experience-
My first one , of course.
9.) Worst sexual experience-
Five minutes later .. discovering that these stories about doing it over and over just aint so ...
10.) Things that make you go hmmmmmm?
People who know that advertisements lie to them, but happily believe the next one to come along because it looks cool...
11.) Most embarrassing moment-
Blew a simple math question in class. In front of everyone. Moron of the class corrected me.
12.) Something that took your breath away-
Christmas tree's ! all done up proper of course. So many people make blah blah ones. I am an expert at decorating christmas tree's.
13.) Biggest source of love in your life-
My computer !
14.) Saddest moment of your life-
My mothers death.
15. Something from your past that you would change-
Umm.... what wouldn't I like to change ... not much !
16.) Are you happy now?
Yes !
17.) Who is your closest friend?
His name is george. I've known him since high school.
18.) Who is your biggest enemy?
5 minute time out. Tried for five minutes to think of any enemey but could only come up with smart alek remarks. I'll go with "so much beer, so little constitution !"
19.) What is your best quality as a person?
I do not know how to hate.
20.) Who will answer these questions first?
Since I blew number 18 with a meaningless answer, probably not me !
Shamelessly gloomed from Kitten With A Whip
1.) Favorite Childhood Toy
Yarn Doll. My solder sister showed me how to take a ball of wool , wrap it around a pack of cigerettes, and with a bit of colored thread and a needle you can make a doll of yarn. I had
fun making about 10 of them that day.
Actually play with them ? Gave them away to my little sister.
2.) Earliest memory-
Walking down the street , hand in hand with my mother. Being introduced to some strange lady that I'm told is my mothers sister. Don't remember what she looked like. Never saw her again.
3.) Childhood crush-
"Dorthy."
Saw her on the street the other day. Married to some other guy. With kids. Oops... better erase her last name ...
4.) Worst punishment ever-
THEY TOOK AWAY MY COMPUTER !!!
5.) Era of Music when you were 5-10 -
The 70's ... Disco Duck !
6.) Fashion at that time?
Bell Bottom Jeans and Side Burns !
7.) Moment you felt on top of the world-
Finished writing my first non-trivial program. Just stood back and watched it go ...
8.) Best sexual experience-
My first one , of course.
9.) Worst sexual experience-
Five minutes later .. discovering that these stories about doing it over and over just aint so ...
10.) Things that make you go hmmmmmm?
People who know that advertisements lie to them, but happily believe the next one to come along because it looks cool...
11.) Most embarrassing moment-
Blew a simple math question in class. In front of everyone. Moron of the class corrected me.
12.) Something that took your breath away-
Christmas tree's ! all done up proper of course. So many people make blah blah ones. I am an expert at decorating christmas tree's.
13.) Biggest source of love in your life-
My computer !
14.) Saddest moment of your life-
My mothers death.
15. Something from your past that you would change-
Umm.... what wouldn't I like to change ... not much !
16.) Are you happy now?
Yes !
17.) Who is your closest friend?
His name is george. I've known him since high school.
18.) Who is your biggest enemy?
5 minute time out. Tried for five minutes to think of any enemey but could only come up with smart alek remarks. I'll go with "so much beer, so little constitution !"
19.) What is your best quality as a person?
I do not know how to hate.
20.) Who will answer these questions first?
Since I blew number 18 with a meaningless answer, probably not me !
Shipping Mad Cows to the USA
Ottawa Boy
BILLINGS, Mont. (Reuters) - A federal judge, worried about the risk of mad cow disease, ordered a temporary halt on Wednesday to Bush administration plans to allow imports of young Canadian cattle to resume next week.
Good !
What are we ? The disease capital of the world ? Trying to legally force people to buy these animals ? What are these canadian jokers thinking ? And I'm a Canadian on top of it all !
I don't even want to eat the stuff and I'm a loyal canadian , what are they doing shipping it somewhere else ? Is the all mighty green back more important than people getting sick and dying ?
Apparently some candians think it is. I have nothing but contempt for them. Close the border. No one should buy our beef if the cows are sick. The problem needs to be fixed in a "medical" fashion, not a "political" fashion. These people are idiots if they think otherwise.
BILLINGS, Mont. (Reuters) - A federal judge, worried about the risk of mad cow disease, ordered a temporary halt on Wednesday to Bush administration plans to allow imports of young Canadian cattle to resume next week.
Good !
What are we ? The disease capital of the world ? Trying to legally force people to buy these animals ? What are these canadian jokers thinking ? And I'm a Canadian on top of it all !
I don't even want to eat the stuff and I'm a loyal canadian , what are they doing shipping it somewhere else ? Is the all mighty green back more important than people getting sick and dying ?
Apparently some candians think it is. I have nothing but contempt for them. Close the border. No one should buy our beef if the cows are sick. The problem needs to be fixed in a "medical" fashion, not a "political" fashion. These people are idiots if they think otherwise.
Tuesday, March 01, 2005
Ottawa Boy
Ottawa Boy
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/nm/20050228/od_nm/aids_beauty_dc
GABORONE (Reuters) - There is a catwalk banquet, hordes of journalists, traditional dancing and time-consuming hair styling -- but at Botswana's beauty pageant every competitor must be HIV positive.
Ummm...yeah....
Did you know, the definition of beauty is the showing of a HEALTHY person (male or female). So ... if this is going to work, why not hold a contest on the most beautiful leper ? The Most Beautiful Ms Missing One Arm and One Foot, non - disabled need not apply , The most beautiful Ms Missing Your Nose ?
I have nothing but sympathy for these unfortunates, but the notion of a line up of diseased females that if you even touch you'r gonna catch something long, painful and fatal ... I just shiver thinking about it.
Beautiful ?
Why don't we just go straight for Ms Leprosy and be done with it ?
Just an opinion, just an opinion.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/nm/20050228/od_nm/aids_beauty_dc
GABORONE (Reuters) - There is a catwalk banquet, hordes of journalists, traditional dancing and time-consuming hair styling -- but at Botswana's beauty pageant every competitor must be HIV positive.
Ummm...yeah....
Did you know, the definition of beauty is the showing of a HEALTHY person (male or female). So ... if this is going to work, why not hold a contest on the most beautiful leper ? The Most Beautiful Ms Missing One Arm and One Foot, non - disabled need not apply , The most beautiful Ms Missing Your Nose ?
I have nothing but sympathy for these unfortunates, but the notion of a line up of diseased females that if you even touch you'r gonna catch something long, painful and fatal ... I just shiver thinking about it.
Beautiful ?
Why don't we just go straight for Ms Leprosy and be done with it ?
Just an opinion, just an opinion.
Thursday, February 24, 2005
World of Warcraft
Ottawa Boy
Got a copy of World of Warcraft (finally) and have been playing it. That's why I havn't been blogging for a few months.
It's not as hot as I thought. All the quests in it seem to be a formulaistic "go forth and slay x number of this monster". On the other hand , it did keep me amused for two months ...
I don't know. I'll give it another month , it's only about 20$ canadian a month, but I think maybe it's time is done for me.
Matrix Online comes out in November (and they're usually late ! with these estimates). Oh well , the latest Star Wars game is out so thats' good for a while.
Guess Warcraft gets until the end of march before I cancel to see if things pick up.
Got a copy of World of Warcraft (finally) and have been playing it. That's why I havn't been blogging for a few months.
It's not as hot as I thought. All the quests in it seem to be a formulaistic "go forth and slay x number of this monster". On the other hand , it did keep me amused for two months ...
I don't know. I'll give it another month , it's only about 20$ canadian a month, but I think maybe it's time is done for me.
Matrix Online comes out in November (and they're usually late ! with these estimates). Oh well , the latest Star Wars game is out so thats' good for a while.
Guess Warcraft gets until the end of march before I cancel to see if things pick up.
Yet Another Microsoft Rant
Ottawa Boy
work in tech support for a major ISP. I take
calls all day long from customers. There are
several issues that are very common.
These problems are made worse by me reading
various news articles on "How to protect
yourself from spyware/virus/ phishing scams"
and then saying to myself "that is total B***
S*** !"
Let me address the points I find most contentious
in order.
Keep your windows patched.
-------------------------
The lastest big huge 90 meg patch they recently
had to fix a flurry of security issues did little
for security , but did cause lots of peoples
network cards, video cards , etc , to suddenly
stop working. We got a wack of calls about that.
Microsoft is actually quite famous for this.
Issue a patch , patch makes all competing
products stop working. Things like that. As
for security ? It was openly stated that if
you had an up to date fire wall and anti
virus program the patch really did nothing for
you (except make microsofts competitors miserable)
So .. did they enhance your security ? Not really ,
no.
Did they forward Microsofts goals of making
the competitor's miserable ? yes.
This impacts you when you go to the store and
try to buy , say a network card, and discover
the "microsoft certified" cards cost triple
what the non certified ones do. And it really
impacts you when you realize the "certified"
ones are cheap scuzzy cards and the good
cards are all non-certified.
Get a decent anti-v / keep it updated
--------------------------------------
I have no anti virus on my computer, and
an old 8 yearout of date fire wall.
How many virus's have I had in the last
year ?
Zero.
How many trojens, mal ware, spy ware,
and other pieces of "hostile software" ?
Zero.
How do I do this ?
I stay off the Internet Explorer.
Huh ?
The Internet Explorer is a "Browser", you
"surf" the internet with it, look at web
pages, do your e-bay or shopping or what
not with it.
But it is not the only one in the world to do
this job. The alternatives are Mozilla Firefox
and the ever popular Opera (my fave).
I've been using Opera for six months, and Mozilla
for another six months. In this whole time I have
caught precisely ZERO virii, ZERO trojens, ZERO
mal war, ZERO parasites ... you get the idea.
Hmmm... stop using Internet Explorer , all the
mal ware stops. You don't think that IE is just
a fly trap for attracting things, do you ?
You don't think the entire anti virus industry
is souly dependant on the Internet Explorer for
survival , do you ?, that if we stopped using it
they'd all be out of business ?
What is exactly the benifit to keeping your
antivirus updated ?
Norton and McAfee make a ton of money.
What exactly is the penalty for running without an
anti virus package and staying away from the
Internet Explorer ?
Diddly Squat.
Hmmm.....
Disable Active X on the Internet Explorer
-----------------------------------------
This is the usual advice you get.
But when you actually do it, you get this annoying
pop up saying that Active X has been disabled so
This page might not display correctly ON EVERY SINGLE
STUPID PAGE YOU GO TO ANYWHERE ON THE INTERNET !!!!
It's worse than the parasites.
It was this particular "feature" of the internet
explorer that first clued me into the fact that
maybe microsoft wasn't entirely on the up and up
about this whole "security is job one" thingy.
I mean lets face it. Active-x is a copy righted
technology , if anyone else makes an active x
"interperter" Microsoft can and will sue their
pants off.
So what is active x used for ?
Silly online games , like bingo.
Advertising.
virus's, parasites, trojens, mal ware ...
Whoa ! Wait a min ! Where did that come from ?
Active - X is what the anti-virus people like to
call "Arbitrary Code" , that is to say , a program
that can do anything it feels like. Like erase your
hard drive. Or be a virus. Or spam you with pop ups.
Or log your key strokes hunting for passwords and
credit card numbers ...
Hmmmm... Active X is the problem giving everyone
greif,
but only the internet explorer is ALLOWED to use it...
Hmmm....Active X is the problem , but microsoft is
fighting tooth and nail to prevent you from turning it
off , making you buy antivirus stuff when you really
don't need it ...
Install This Plug In Now !
--------------------------
Another Internet Explorer Quirk.
After you've reinstalled windows, you go to a web
site,
and then every other page you visit demands you
install
some component , typically Flash , over and over and
over until you just give up and say yes.
This is called "Harrassment". It is considered a
hostile activity. The Internet explorer is trying
to make you install some program whether you want to
or not simply by endlessly bothering you about it.
Oddly enough , only certain browser add in's , like
flash , does it bother you about. Anything else you
only get asked once. Almost as if someone was paying
microsoft to harrass you ...
Doesn't happen on any other browser.
Delete Reply Forward Spam Move...
Previous | Next | Back to Messages
work in tech support for a major ISP. I take
calls all day long from customers. There are
several issues that are very common.
These problems are made worse by me reading
various news articles on "How to protect
yourself from spyware/virus/ phishing scams"
and then saying to myself "that is total B***
S*** !"
Let me address the points I find most contentious
in order.
Keep your windows patched.
-------------------------
The lastest big huge 90 meg patch they recently
had to fix a flurry of security issues did little
for security , but did cause lots of peoples
network cards, video cards , etc , to suddenly
stop working. We got a wack of calls about that.
Microsoft is actually quite famous for this.
Issue a patch , patch makes all competing
products stop working. Things like that. As
for security ? It was openly stated that if
you had an up to date fire wall and anti
virus program the patch really did nothing for
you (except make microsofts competitors miserable)
So .. did they enhance your security ? Not really ,
no.
Did they forward Microsofts goals of making
the competitor's miserable ? yes.
This impacts you when you go to the store and
try to buy , say a network card, and discover
the "microsoft certified" cards cost triple
what the non certified ones do. And it really
impacts you when you realize the "certified"
ones are cheap scuzzy cards and the good
cards are all non-certified.
Get a decent anti-v / keep it updated
--------------------------------------
I have no anti virus on my computer, and
an old 8 yearout of date fire wall.
How many virus's have I had in the last
year ?
Zero.
How many trojens, mal ware, spy ware,
and other pieces of "hostile software" ?
Zero.
How do I do this ?
I stay off the Internet Explorer.
Huh ?
The Internet Explorer is a "Browser", you
"surf" the internet with it, look at web
pages, do your e-bay or shopping or what
not with it.
But it is not the only one in the world to do
this job. The alternatives are Mozilla Firefox
and the ever popular Opera (my fave).
I've been using Opera for six months, and Mozilla
for another six months. In this whole time I have
caught precisely ZERO virii, ZERO trojens, ZERO
mal war, ZERO parasites ... you get the idea.
Hmmm... stop using Internet Explorer , all the
mal ware stops. You don't think that IE is just
a fly trap for attracting things, do you ?
You don't think the entire anti virus industry
is souly dependant on the Internet Explorer for
survival , do you ?, that if we stopped using it
they'd all be out of business ?
What is exactly the benifit to keeping your
antivirus updated ?
Norton and McAfee make a ton of money.
What exactly is the penalty for running without an
anti virus package and staying away from the
Internet Explorer ?
Diddly Squat.
Hmmm.....
Disable Active X on the Internet Explorer
-----------------------------------------
This is the usual advice you get.
But when you actually do it, you get this annoying
pop up saying that Active X has been disabled so
This page might not display correctly ON EVERY SINGLE
STUPID PAGE YOU GO TO ANYWHERE ON THE INTERNET !!!!
It's worse than the parasites.
It was this particular "feature" of the internet
explorer that first clued me into the fact that
maybe microsoft wasn't entirely on the up and up
about this whole "security is job one" thingy.
I mean lets face it. Active-x is a copy righted
technology , if anyone else makes an active x
"interperter" Microsoft can and will sue their
pants off.
So what is active x used for ?
Silly online games , like bingo.
Advertising.
virus's, parasites, trojens, mal ware ...
Whoa ! Wait a min ! Where did that come from ?
Active - X is what the anti-virus people like to
call "Arbitrary Code" , that is to say , a program
that can do anything it feels like. Like erase your
hard drive. Or be a virus. Or spam you with pop ups.
Or log your key strokes hunting for passwords and
credit card numbers ...
Hmmmm... Active X is the problem giving everyone
greif,
but only the internet explorer is ALLOWED to use it...
Hmmm....Active X is the problem , but microsoft is
fighting tooth and nail to prevent you from turning it
off , making you buy antivirus stuff when you really
don't need it ...
Install This Plug In Now !
--------------------------
Another Internet Explorer Quirk.
After you've reinstalled windows, you go to a web
site,
and then every other page you visit demands you
install
some component , typically Flash , over and over and
over until you just give up and say yes.
This is called "Harrassment". It is considered a
hostile activity. The Internet explorer is trying
to make you install some program whether you want to
or not simply by endlessly bothering you about it.
Oddly enough , only certain browser add in's , like
flash , does it bother you about. Anything else you
only get asked once. Almost as if someone was paying
microsoft to harrass you ...
Doesn't happen on any other browser.
Delete Reply Forward Spam Move...
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Wednesday, December 15, 2004
(bulk email): Congratulations on becoming a powerseller
Welcome to a community of sellers that have achieved exceptional level of success and positive feedback on eBay!
Um.. never used eBay. Sorry.
Um.. never used eBay. Sorry.
We invite you to join us as a PowerSeller
If you agree with this rank please register by accesing your account within 24 hours
Um...why does that link go to www.recipieforsuccess.com/suckerspleaseclickhere ?Very Important !
The registration is active only once.
Why become a PowerSeller?
PowerSellers are eBay top sellers who have sustained a consistent high volume of monthly sales and a high level of total feedback with 98% positive or better.
Hmmm, I've enver actually gotten any feed back , positive or negative. But then again , I've never bought or sold anything on ebay either. Hmmmm... very powerful seller am I ..
When I go to the indicated link, it takes me to a page that looks just like ebay. Hmmm.... phising scam I see....
woah, the real ebay site has live chat , I think maybe I'll ask them about this ....
Wound up forwarding the email to spoof@ebay.com after a chat session and letting them
worry about it. Tried to copy and paste the chat session , but it wouldn't copy :( bummer.
Question and Answer Time
Swiped this from The Pink One:
(and I swiped it from Kitten With A Whip)
First, recommend to me:
A.) A Movie
B.) A Book
C.) A song, CD , Musician..etc.
Next: Ask me three questions...anything you want..anything,go ahead..... just ask away!
Go to your blog, If you be a blogger, copy and paste this and see what turns up!
Sunday, December 12, 2004
Israeli's Hero's of the Muslim's
You hear a lot about it on the news. Muslims hate the Israeli's. Suicide bombers attack Isreali's, ,etc etc.
I have a freind at work, an Arab , I won't give his name he still has family back home. Someone got into a discussion with him about this, and then he explained the whole situation to us.
The Middle East is run by dicatorships. Dictatorships don't actually ask their populations what they think about anything. They tell you. Then they tell you to get out and shout the correct slogans for the western media , etc etc. If you fail, they shoot you . Similarily , every western reporter is followed around by Minders, something I recall them complaining about at the beginning of the Iraq invasion. (Reporters woke up one day , where did all the minders go ?)
What the arab population really thinks is that the Israeli's are their hero's. Enemey of their enemey and all that. The Dictators hate them so they have to be the good guys some hows.
Well , if you're a dictator you're not going to win many friends are you ? And long simmering hatred's that you push tend to boomerrang , don't they ?
Who would of thunk it ? Israeli's are the hero's of the common muslims.
Just don't ask them about it when you have three minders tagging along behind you , thats all.
:)
I have a freind at work, an Arab , I won't give his name he still has family back home. Someone got into a discussion with him about this, and then he explained the whole situation to us.
The Middle East is run by dicatorships. Dictatorships don't actually ask their populations what they think about anything. They tell you. Then they tell you to get out and shout the correct slogans for the western media , etc etc. If you fail, they shoot you . Similarily , every western reporter is followed around by Minders, something I recall them complaining about at the beginning of the Iraq invasion. (Reporters woke up one day , where did all the minders go ?)
What the arab population really thinks is that the Israeli's are their hero's. Enemey of their enemey and all that. The Dictators hate them so they have to be the good guys some hows.
Well , if you're a dictator you're not going to win many friends are you ? And long simmering hatred's that you push tend to boomerrang , don't they ?
Who would of thunk it ? Israeli's are the hero's of the common muslims.
Just don't ask them about it when you have three minders tagging along behind you , thats all.
:)
Saturday, December 11, 2004
From the Bulk Folder : bowling ball 94 ballerinas
Ummm .. ok ... yeah ... bowling balls and ballerina's.
???
???
nzhwngu
V1@gra is the #1 med to struggle with mens' erectile
dysfunction. Like one jokes sais, it is strong enough
for a man, but made for a woman ;-)
Ok. I think you're trying to sell me some viagra.
Why I'm going to trust someone can't spell to save
their own lives I have no idea. And the grammer
sucks too.
Ordering V1@gra online is a very convinient, fast and
secure way! Millions of people do it daily to save
their privacy and money 0rder here... (link deleted)
Anyone who clicks on that link deserves ...
a) .. the virii you are almost certainly guarenteed
to receive from it
b).. the endless spam after demonstrating to these
illiterates you would actually give money to a
fly by night operation like this.
Oh , don't actually expect to ever see that viagra
either. You think a legit biz is gonna do something
like this ?
0pt-0ut (linke removed)
Don't expect the opt out link to do anything more
than put your email on a spammers list and bury
you in junk mail.
Tuesday, December 07, 2004
Writing a Novel
I've decided to write a novel.
No scratch that. I've always been writing something , somewhere, since I was 10. I've decided to put it online for all to see. Actually writing it is something I can't stop.
Check it out. Bottom right of the blog is a link to it. Tell me what you think.
No scratch that. I've always been writing something , somewhere, since I was 10. I've decided to put it online for all to see. Actually writing it is something I can't stop.
Check it out. Bottom right of the blog is a link to it. Tell me what you think.
Monday, December 06, 2004
Idiots Try out for Terrorism
http://ottawa.cbc.ca/regionalnews/caches/ott-bomb-hydro-041206.html
MONTREAL - A mysterious group known by the initials IRI is claiming responsibility in a communiqué for damaging a Hydro-Québec tower in the Eastern Townships. The tower near Coaticook is part of a line that carries James Bay power to the Boston area. Police say it appears the tower was damaged by an explosive charge. The group says it set the charge at the base of the St-Hermenegilde tower to denounce the ''pillaging'' of Quebec's resources by the United States.
Well why the heck not ? Every other wacko across the ocean is getting lots of attention , even compromises just by planting a few bombs here and there, why shouldn't our home grown wacko's be any different ?
This is what happens when you negotiate with terrorists. Everyone with an agenda decides they want to try their hand at it. Next thing you know they'll be bombing schools that teach evolution because it violates their biblical beliefs or some nonsense like that.
MONTREAL - A mysterious group known by the initials IRI is claiming responsibility in a communiqué for damaging a Hydro-Québec tower in the Eastern Townships. The tower near Coaticook is part of a line that carries James Bay power to the Boston area. Police say it appears the tower was damaged by an explosive charge. The group says it set the charge at the base of the St-Hermenegilde tower to denounce the ''pillaging'' of Quebec's resources by the United States.
Well why the heck not ? Every other wacko across the ocean is getting lots of attention , even compromises just by planting a few bombs here and there, why shouldn't our home grown wacko's be any different ?
This is what happens when you negotiate with terrorists. Everyone with an agenda decides they want to try their hand at it. Next thing you know they'll be bombing schools that teach evolution because it violates their biblical beliefs or some nonsense like that.
Deserters Paradise
http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2004/12/06/deserter-refugee041206.html
TORONTO - A soldier who deserted the U.S. army and now calls Toronto home will make his case to remain in Canada as he appears in front of an Immigration and Refugee board on Monday.
So. When did Canada become a haven for cowards and traiters ?
Lets be frank here. The terrorists hit your country , killed three thousand people. Rather than fight them , you decide to run away and tell everyone you don't want to fight. So , either you think that killing americans is a good thing (ie: traiter to your own country) or you're a coward who doesn't want to fight anymore.
When did we become a haven for this ?
And what would Canadians do if americans started taking in canadian military deserters on the grounds that the canadians decided they didn't want to be shipped out to afghanistan ?
TORONTO - A soldier who deserted the U.S. army and now calls Toronto home will make his case to remain in Canada as he appears in front of an Immigration and Refugee board on Monday.
So. When did Canada become a haven for cowards and traiters ?
Lets be frank here. The terrorists hit your country , killed three thousand people. Rather than fight them , you decide to run away and tell everyone you don't want to fight. So , either you think that killing americans is a good thing (ie: traiter to your own country) or you're a coward who doesn't want to fight anymore.
When did we become a haven for this ?
And what would Canadians do if americans started taking in canadian military deserters on the grounds that the canadians decided they didn't want to be shipped out to afghanistan ?
Sunday, December 05, 2004
The Husband Abuse Continues
http://story.canadastandard.com/p.x/ct/9/id/508f31a797386a83/cid/71df8d33cd2a30df/
>Canadian parents who fail to pay child support could face up to six months
>in jail under a proposed bill in the Ontario legislature.
>Sandra Pupatello, the provincial community and social services minister,
>said the current three-month maximum jail sentence, isn't enough of a
>deterrent, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported Saturday.
Thats just beautiful. Throw dad in jail because the support payements are too high. Now he loses his job because he's not around for six months and has to go on welfare. So now the support payments just stop entirely. They are based on income, and your income just dropped to zero.
A friend of mine went through the whole wife / kid / divorce thing. Basically she kept complaining , and got a free lawyer, and he had to pay for his , and even though the complaints had no basis he faced bankruptcy just from having to pay his lawyer over and over and over.
It was really messy and he decided she wasn't getting a dime. He deliberately got himself fired and went straight to welfare. Then he didn't have to pay because he had nothing.
This law just automates that process. Six months in a minimum security jail (you didn't actually hit anyone right ? Just a little short on cash, they aint gonna put you in with the gangsters) and then straight to welfare because you have no dough ...
The intention of this law is to make life easier on the wife who supports the kid. The result is to enrich the lawyers while putting both wife and husband on welfare. Stupid stupid stupid.
>Canadian parents who fail to pay child support could face up to six months
>in jail under a proposed bill in the Ontario legislature.
>Sandra Pupatello, the provincial community and social services minister,
>said the current three-month maximum jail sentence, isn't enough of a
>deterrent, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported Saturday.
Thats just beautiful. Throw dad in jail because the support payements are too high. Now he loses his job because he's not around for six months and has to go on welfare. So now the support payments just stop entirely. They are based on income, and your income just dropped to zero.
A friend of mine went through the whole wife / kid / divorce thing. Basically she kept complaining , and got a free lawyer, and he had to pay for his , and even though the complaints had no basis he faced bankruptcy just from having to pay his lawyer over and over and over.
It was really messy and he decided she wasn't getting a dime. He deliberately got himself fired and went straight to welfare. Then he didn't have to pay because he had nothing.
This law just automates that process. Six months in a minimum security jail (you didn't actually hit anyone right ? Just a little short on cash, they aint gonna put you in with the gangsters) and then straight to welfare because you have no dough ...
The intention of this law is to make life easier on the wife who supports the kid. The result is to enrich the lawyers while putting both wife and husband on welfare. Stupid stupid stupid.
Friday, December 03, 2004
Movie Time : Spider Man 2
Man this movie sucked !
After a while, and a fair amount of beer, I managed to plow through it ,especially the beginning , with the soul intentionof writing this report on it. Otherwise I would have tossed it.
Spider Man is a super hero with super powers. A piece of fiction. You watch movies about him mainly because your every day life is boring and you want to escape. This is in fact the main reason you watch any move. To escape into some kind of fantasy land for a while.
The makers of this movie forgot that.
It's a two hour movie. And they spend an hour and a half *WALLOWING* in not just how ordinary Spiderman's alter ego is, but making sure everything goes wrong for our boy. He's fired from two jobs, he almost flunks out of school ...
I don't mind drama. I watched the Core and loved it , a movie filled with ordinary people and no super powers by anyone . But the drama in this movie was so ridiculous, so unbelievable, as to be not worth the time. You made a two hour action film, spent an hour and a half on story ,and the story sucked ! It doesn't justify ten minutes of time, never mind over an hour.
Plus there's the fact that people come to the movie to escape their humdrum life. Not wallow in it. We all know that if you're constantly late for work , you get fired. Don't show up for class , you flunk. You don't need to rub our noses into this for an extended period of time.
That being said, after you get beyond the first half of the movie it actually gets interesting. Spider man shows up and starts in on the heroics, there's a bad boy out there ("Doc Oc") in need of some serious attention , they have a grand old time.
I rate this movie two out of five on the "Ottawa boy" meter, because only the second half would I watch again. The first I would certainly fast forward over.
After a while, and a fair amount of beer, I managed to plow through it ,especially the beginning , with the soul intentionof writing this report on it. Otherwise I would have tossed it.
Spider Man is a super hero with super powers. A piece of fiction. You watch movies about him mainly because your every day life is boring and you want to escape. This is in fact the main reason you watch any move. To escape into some kind of fantasy land for a while.
The makers of this movie forgot that.
It's a two hour movie. And they spend an hour and a half *WALLOWING* in not just how ordinary Spiderman's alter ego is, but making sure everything goes wrong for our boy. He's fired from two jobs, he almost flunks out of school ...
I don't mind drama. I watched the Core and loved it , a movie filled with ordinary people and no super powers by anyone . But the drama in this movie was so ridiculous, so unbelievable, as to be not worth the time. You made a two hour action film, spent an hour and a half on story ,and the story sucked ! It doesn't justify ten minutes of time, never mind over an hour.
Plus there's the fact that people come to the movie to escape their humdrum life. Not wallow in it. We all know that if you're constantly late for work , you get fired. Don't show up for class , you flunk. You don't need to rub our noses into this for an extended period of time.
That being said, after you get beyond the first half of the movie it actually gets interesting. Spider man shows up and starts in on the heroics, there's a bad boy out there ("Doc Oc") in need of some serious attention , they have a grand old time.
I rate this movie two out of five on the "Ottawa boy" meter, because only the second half would I watch again. The first I would certainly fast forward over.
Wednesday, December 01, 2004
Wowless in Ottawa
Was reading on the blizzard forums for a game I want to get, World of Warcraft (wow for short). They were having serious problems with the servers being overloaded, you know, play for ten minutes, then get disconnected, wait in line for an hour before you get back in.
Seems this problem is fixed. If you go to a low population server, you can get in with no line up at all. It's all those people who made charactars on the high population ones who dont' want to abandon their work and start over that are waiting in the long lines.
Call up my local computer store.
No more copies of wow will be sold until the new year. Blizzard has already announced it.
AAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGg !!!!!
I am an adult. I will not freak out over a stupid game. That would be immature .
AAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGG !!!
Ok. I'm freaking out now.
Seems this problem is fixed. If you go to a low population server, you can get in with no line up at all. It's all those people who made charactars on the high population ones who dont' want to abandon their work and start over that are waiting in the long lines.
Call up my local computer store.
No more copies of wow will be sold until the new year. Blizzard has already announced it.
AAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGg !!!!!
I am an adult. I will not freak out over a stupid game. That would be immature .
AAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGG !!!
Ok. I'm freaking out now.
Winter's First Strike
http://ca.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/koconnor100/detail?.dir=ff98&.dnm=56dc.jpg&.src=ph
Got my digital camera out, the cheap 69$ one, fiddled with the batteries for a while, snapped a few shots and uploaded them to my yahoo site. I thought I'd share with you the joy of an Ottawa Dec 1 , for all those people in southern and equatorial climes. :)
Bush is in town visiting the Prime Minster. He's not going to address Parliment because even though our mouthy Bush hating MP (member of parliment) got booted from the cabinet, they can't take her seat away. And so she still gets to be in parliment when he arrives, and you gotta know she's gonna heckle him if he tries it.
The newspapers are getting goofy around here. I mean come on ! Bush is running a war in Iraq and Afghanistan ! You could be complaining he's a war criminal ! You could be complaining he's a war hero , the terrorists did list Canada as being on the list of nations they want to hit after all , you could be printing all sorts of stuff !
What do they print ?
Bush is gonna cause traffic snarls.
Security is gonna be tight, so the poor little reporters are gonna have trouble reaching parliment hill and are probably gonna have to suffer getting searched for weapons before they get close to him.
Thats it ? That's all you can say about this controversial figure visiting our fair city ?
Someone is just not paying attention !
Oh , and I saw the news about the protesters. All of them imported from elsewhere and bussed in. Just like when the World Trade Organization came to town. Big fights and everything. But it was all out of towners vs out of towners. Someone's just running smear campaigns everywhere, I guess.
Got my digital camera out, the cheap 69$ one, fiddled with the batteries for a while, snapped a few shots and uploaded them to my yahoo site. I thought I'd share with you the joy of an Ottawa Dec 1 , for all those people in southern and equatorial climes. :)
Bush is in town visiting the Prime Minster. He's not going to address Parliment because even though our mouthy Bush hating MP (member of parliment) got booted from the cabinet, they can't take her seat away. And so she still gets to be in parliment when he arrives, and you gotta know she's gonna heckle him if he tries it.
The newspapers are getting goofy around here. I mean come on ! Bush is running a war in Iraq and Afghanistan ! You could be complaining he's a war criminal ! You could be complaining he's a war hero , the terrorists did list Canada as being on the list of nations they want to hit after all , you could be printing all sorts of stuff !
What do they print ?
Bush is gonna cause traffic snarls.
Security is gonna be tight, so the poor little reporters are gonna have trouble reaching parliment hill and are probably gonna have to suffer getting searched for weapons before they get close to him.
Thats it ? That's all you can say about this controversial figure visiting our fair city ?
Someone is just not paying attention !
Oh , and I saw the news about the protesters. All of them imported from elsewhere and bussed in. Just like when the World Trade Organization came to town. Big fights and everything. But it was all out of towners vs out of towners. Someone's just running smear campaigns everywhere, I guess.
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