Friday, April 25, 2003


Maybe I should give one a black cloak?

Think that might settle the debate? ;-) Now that Palpy-called-Sid has a twin, one can come out of the box while one stays in. And here I NEVER buy duplicates! :-D
posted @ 9:14 PM  |   0 comments  |  

Wednesday, April 23, 2003


Two wrongs do not make a right...

Heard something on the radio this morning- here's an article, and another, and a third...and here's the gist:

Prior to the release of Madonna's new album, her label's company (Warner Brothers) flooded some P2P (that's mp3 file-swapping to you) places with bogus mp3's of her entire album. Instead of a song, they got a looped recording that said "What the fuck do you think you're doing?"

Then in retaliation, some IDIOT hacked into her official site Madonna.com and posted a message saying "This is what the fuck we're doing" along with the real mp3's of her entire album.

This gives both groups a bad rep and doesn't help with the debates much. So to both Warner Brothers and the idiot hacker: "WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU'VE DONE?!"
posted @ 7:31 AM  |   0 comments  |  

Sunday, April 20, 2003


Happy Easter Everyone!

And God Bless!
posted @ 12:07 PM  |   0 comments  |  

Saturday, April 19, 2003


I missed stuff!

I missed 2 important dates while still trying to update the computer: I missed the Titanic anniversary and Ian McDiarmid's birthday!!!

Happy Belated B-Day to Ian and RIP to those who died.

...no I did not miss tax day, altho I'm pretty sure no tax payer would if it were gone.
posted @ 4:53 PM  |   0 comments  |  


The MP3 Dilemma

Okay I've both ambiguous, confused, confounded, and frustated both ways on this for quite some time, sometimes it weighs on me and sometimes it's like "whatever", but after seeing a scroll on CNN today I've finally made up my mind: someone's an idiot because something just does not make sense. So is the idiot me or them?

First off, it's illegal to charge people (public, and please define "public" cuz the entertainment industry can get SO picky about that) to hear music being broadcast if it isn't yours. That's why you don't pay for your radio stations to play stuff (just your own radio)...and yet some internet radio and this new XFM things do come with price tags and I don't mean hardware/software. Sometimes it's ads (which means they're making money off of it) and sometimes it's a monthly fee. I know they gotta maintain the equippment and all, but it's still charging people to hear the music. So is that illegal?

Next, we have something called the record button. It's on just about every single radio, vcr, digital cable box, and software known to man. You can record stuff from your radio, your tv, your cable/satellite, and your cds (and other stuff if you have the right cables) into/onto your vhs, dvd, cassettes, and cdrs. You can record everything from the nightly news to your favorite movie to a song to a football game. No one screams and hollers about that so long as no one pays to distribute it. In fact, the vast majority keeps these recordings to themselves. As for those who don't: when it comes to bootlegging, someone pays cash for the copy; when it comes to trading, you send someone some blank media in return. It's not money and oftentimes the blank media you send them is the same tape you get back, just with stuff on it. There's no money involved and if you want that second vcr, it comes out of your own pocket. Many people record songs from their radio too and sometimes they make a tape to give to their friends. Note I said "give". Anything morally ambiguous there? If there were, we'd have to gouge out every single record button on the face of the public earth. So is the record button illegal?

Speaking of songs on the radio, the song single is becoming a dead art- hardly anyone releases singles in the stores anymore so stuff's getting harder to find. Nowadays, you have to buy the whole album even if it's for just one song. If the rest of the album's crap, you can't do anything about it. Now you've paid $20 for *one song*. Stop releasing singles and fewer fans get happy about that. So what're ya gonna do? You can't record your one fav song and then return the album can you? Probably not, cuz someone would get upset. Then you moan and groan about your $20 and they tell you to live with it cuz you did buy it after all and if you don't like it, that's your problem. No matter what they say, someone's gonna feel like they've been ripped off. So is releasing a crappy album illegal? Is hating all but one song on an album illegal? Is it wrong to buy the album, tape the one thing you like, and then return it- is that illegal?

Then you get this MP3 stuff. If it were 100% illegal, then no one would be allowed to make the software in the first place (just like you'd never have that record button on your vcr either). Heck, the .mp3 format probably wouldn't even exist. Now, I've only tried this trading thing sparingly (I never let anyone into my coputer to get stuff for security reasons) and even then I went into with a feeling of impending doom cuz I still wasn't sure what to make of it. All I knew was that one of my Dad's collegues had it. I remember when Napster got into trouble and later Nutella or whatever that name was, which has now been replaced by KaZaA and other stuff. But there are also binary newsgroups as well. You can get mp3's from all of these places. So what's the problem...?

This: not everyone plays nicely with what they've got. Some people sell the stuff (which *is* illegal, no doubt about that), and others trade with ad banners and then claim they make no money off of this stuff. Riiiiight, so why is the banner an *ad* banner then? Those types of people should *definately* get canned.

But some people do play nice: Some people download songs to know whether or not the like the artist enough to buy the album (and many do including me- I've bought at least 3). Some people like to make those 'personal favs' cassettes and cds that they used to be able to make with their radios so they can take it in the car with them when they're not able to cart around 20 different albums. Some people stick 'em into their computer so they can listen while they work, some do it to experiment with sound, and some people just prefer a box of bits to a box of dials. What are they supposed to do? Is everyone to get punished because a minority decided to be greedy by selling stuff? You didn't get any cash from it but they did- why punish both?

I heard somewhere that the recording industry or whatever was gonna put together and online mp3 trading thing but slap a membership with fee on top of it. That sounds like a very sensible way to go about it, but you still can't stop that minority. So if it happens again, will it be shut down too? What about the bands to deliberately let people trade their mp3's because they gain more exposure? I think these bands are smart because they can relate to the fans better, and pissed off fans don't buy tickets or albums. Look what happened to the Dixie Chicks recently.

So what *ARE* you gonna do? Do away with the record button altogether? Do away with the mp3 format altogether? Arrest a few million people because they made a tape for themselves for the car? What oh what do you do? The coda all these years has been "it's not illegal unless you sell it." And if you keep 'em for yourself and no one else, does that make you as guilty as someone who did? What oh what oh what...?


...therein lies the heart of the problem and the point of the whole dilemma. As for me, my own answer is this: I probably shouldn't have started but now that I did, I'm stopping. Goodbye and good riddance. <boots KaZaA out the door> Shall we talk about deep linking next?
posted @ 3:29 PM  |   0 comments  |  


Xnay the Azaakay

I'm getting rid of Kazaa. I've been struggling with the notions for awhile (see next post) and I really don't use it all that much anyway. So long sucker!

...so much for Sailor Moon music too. <:-(
posted @ 2:58 PM  |   0 comments  |  

Sunday, April 13, 2003


Can you read me now? Good!

Since I've started using bold text in my posts more and more, it's been harder and harder for me to tell where the titles are. And considering what happened over at JDMCblog in regards to the title headers, I decided just to make the font bigger. Wanna know how many hours that took to do the whole blog that way? Please say 'no'.
What I don't get is why the automatic code over on the archives page is still screwy. :-P Oh well. I also fixed DG's blog link since it moved and also put up the Matrix link since I'd forgotten it for some reason.
Now on to other blog maintainence on other blogs...
posted @ 4:31 PM  |   0 comments  |  


eXPect eXPerience eXPlosion eXPosure

problem #1: XP does not read or recognize 90% of all cdrs that were created using either EasyCDCreator or Direct CD. I'm screwed.

problem #2: my ISP does not use the old cdroms that we got when we originally signed up with them in the mid-90s. I can get online by configuring the modem/dialup manually, but as for everything else on the cdrom (like Eudora) forget it. NT yes, XP no. I've got 3 options left on that one: unspported section, try again to make a cdrw (supposedly that one does and should work) that my old computer doesn't eat, or hook the 2 boxes together via network card.

problem #3: XP is so damn slow when opening certain things or loading them because XP wants to "look nice" rather than "work fast". Majorly pisses me off and like right now while blogging, it takes forever for it to acknowledge that I'm typing single or double quotations. If you see a letter i in the previous post that looks like it has 2 dots over it- that's supposed to be a single quote, but derned if XP agrees. You have to type teh thing twice and then delete the first letter and the second typing in order for it to work.

problem #4: This should actually be problem #1- XP does not split up your hard drive into different partitions, you need 3rd party software in order to do that. Took me days to install my programs because I usually put the OS on one partition, the programs on another, and all the millions of files I create on the third one. Why? Because way back in Windows 95 I had them all squised together on one single partition (and one drive) and things could not be moved around lest they stop working or get lost. I ain't going thru that again.

problem #5: Don't use the keyboard and mouse that came with the new computer because it's hard to type with and the scroll button don't like the OS. I'm still using my old Gateway keyboard and recent Micro$oft mouse.

problem #6: Which should REALLY be problem #3- the modem we got was faulty, it was in the wrong slot, and didn't have the right drivers or settings originally. Had to take it back and stand up for 90+ minutes while 2 guys butted heads with my comp to try and fix this problem. Thankfully they didn't charge for it, but I took it to them right after taking the comp home from the guy who partitioned my drive and then found out the modem was dead. Needless to say, that was an aggrivating day.

problem #7: Which should be problem #4- The helpless Help section is shit.

problem #8: Which should be problem #5- there are these super-annoying popup bubbles that like to appear over the mini icons by the clock whenever something XP-related goes active. They take up too much room and they pop up 90% of the time. Apparently there's a 3rd party fix thingy to this. Why oh why must there always be a 3rd party involved to fix something that Micro$oft deliberately fucked-up?!

problem #9: There's no manual and a crappy tour for XP. If you want a manual you have to goto a book store, pay ~$30 for a VERY fat book...and even then it doesn't answer everything.

problem #10: Technically XP is supposed to be more stable than NT and still have all the stuff...BUT! My Dad, the OS guru of the family, has akined XP to "[sic] someone taking the town hall, the hospital, the library and everything else, switched it all around and then changed the street names" to which I added "and then they gave you the wrong map". Is this someone's idea of a sick joke?

problem #11: The system icons (if they aren't displayed as list or details) are WAY too darn big. You're wasting space.

problem #12: Solitaire doesn't allow the mouse to move as fast as I would like it to. You're really trying my patience here...

problem #13: Too many settings and options in the side panel for things like Search for files and stuff. Why can't it just be the plain ol' box?

problem #14: The default sounds are lame- haven't quite figured out how to change them yet.

problem #15: IE 6's icons at the top are too small and are slightly re-arranged. How am I supposed to click this stuff again?

If there are any more (and there will be certainly) that I can remember, I'll certainly post them.
posted @ 12:27 PM  |   0 comments  |  

Saturday, April 12, 2003


Baq to Iraq

There are about a dozen or so blogposts I would have loved to make about the war during the week and a half I've been offline but then again I'm glad I kept my mouth shut cuz I REALLY don't feel like spewing about the war too much online or anywhere else. So here's the long (oh alright just the short) of it:

War in general: I hate war. I hate it when people kill each other. But when murders kill too many people and even if you put him in a cell for the rest of his life, he'll still try to kill the guard. I hate the death penalty and I hate the war not because of what they are necessarily, but because they *are* necessary...IN SOME CASES. (note the emphasis on "some cases" there cuz I don't wanna fight with anyone on any of that.

This war: Saddam won't leave. Saddam kills people. Saddam's a tyrant and forces all of his people to lick his ass and kiss his boots cuz he'll kill them if they don't. They can't get rid of him and everyone else who is able to would rather talk it out for another 12-30 years. Fuck that, we've been there, done that, and while everyone's been dickering about, Saddam's killed more people. In short "It's a damn dirty job but somebody's gotta do it."

What did Congress say? I still don't know but I remember saying quite often aloud "isn't Congress the only government entity that can declare war?" I remember being taught that at school but according to my parents, that's not totally accurate. I'm SO confused now. All I know is that Congress passed something this past fall and I think that was being used a pre-declaration of war. Whatever, I still haven't heard anything. >:-P

===
Is Saddam dead? I really hate to say this but I really to hope he is. And if he isn't, I hope an Iraqi whom he's tortured is the one to behead him.

Is bin Laden dead? Ditto for Saddam only I don't care who kills him just so long as he's dead. Actually, if you could get Saddam and bin Laden into the same place, you could gas Saddam to death in one room Regime-style and then strap bin Laden to a fully-loaded jet plane and fly him into the same building 9/11-style.

Is Iraq offended? Some gal was on the news recently saying how "oh she's so offended by ___ because the Arab world sees it as offensive". Then they showed a picture of a VERY jubilant Iraqi crowd. They didn't look the least bit offended to me.

Down with the monolith: I did indeed see this live on tv. The whole ~2 hours of it. Even if I had muted the tv, there was no doubt that Iraq was happy to see that statue come down. It was kinda like being at a football game in that there was cheering in the house of "bring it down! bring it down!" I don't care what your nationality or religion is, seeing that thing come down should be a VERY happy thing! One less dictator in the world.

Why were there no women? Probably something to do with Islam or something. I dunno. BUT (and you knew there was a "but" coming) there were indeed women in the street with some children watching the men bring it down. I made a point of looking and I did indeed see some.

Why was the crowd so small? Some of them still think that Saddam is alive and if they were caught celebrating, they'd be killed. Just because they've been liberated doesn't mean they aren't still scared. Fear doesn't disappear overnight, and I don't blame them in the least.

The American flag? A BIG MISTAKE. Even I was booing to get it down. Notice that they did indeed take it down swiftly and that the same soldier put up the pre-Gulf War Iraqi flag in its place.

Pre-Gulf War Iraqi Flag: YOU GO IRAQIS!!! WOOHOO!!! That's the PERFECT flag for such a moment! I'm certain the reason they took it down was so that when the statue came down, the flag wouldn't go with it.

Dancing on the statue: They've more than earned it and more than well deserve it. Too bad we couldn't really hear the screaming and cheering on tv. I really wanted to hear that.

The shoes: Took the media (ignorant idiots) FOREVER to explain the significance of the shoes. In the middle-east, it is considered highly offensive to show someone the sole (bottom) of your shoe. It's like giving the finger only worse. So when people throw their shoes at something, that's really damning it (altho I don't think they'd use that word) pretty bad. When they POUND something with the sole of the shoe- that's even moreso.

Why the Marines? Because a tattered rope and a single sledgehammer can't do it. Some reporter said that the whole thing was quite symbolic (which it was and I was quite moved watching it) in that the Iraqis tried but needed help in order to accomplish it. And as I recall, the Iraqis solicited the Marine tank for help in this case.

Died with his boots off: One funny thing about that statue- military folk talk about soliders 'dying with their boots on'. The statue in Bagdad on the other hand, broke off at a point in the mid-calf where the top of a large combat boot would have been. Waiting for the other shoe to drop? More like waiting for many more shoes to fly thru the air at it (or what's left of it which I hope there isn't).

Heading downtown: They beheaded the statue and dragged it thru the streets of Bagdad while slapping it with shoe soles the whole way. VERY befitting! :-)

===
Shock and Awe: If you really wanna be "shocked and awed" for entertainment value or to hear yourself speak on tv to millions of people, go rent a movie. If you wanna explain and really impress on said millions of people that this is for real, that people are dying, and that Bagdad is ONLY *ONE* OF MANY cities in Iraq getting this treatment, you need to do a hell of a lot better job that that!

===
David Bloom: I MISS HIM!!!!!!! He's always had a VERY familliar face and voice to me for the longest time and never made the connection as to why until they did that Sunday (same day of his death) eulogy and mentioned that he was the one who did the reporting for Hurricane Andrew. I have a 2-hour program that's nothing but realtime news and interviews and stuff from then and David Bloom was the #1 reporter on that thing. I must've seen that tape a billion times (being the natural disasters freak that I am) and never made that connection until after he died. That's the second time I've ever seen Tom Brokaw cry and inside I was crying too. :.-(

Peter Arnet and Geraldo Rivera: YOU IDIOTS!!!!!!!!! <Artie the Rainbow Trout MAJORLY body slams then in a NOT so loving way> <everybody else forms the *MAJOR* MAJOR DUH posse and wonders which stick they should whack them with: typo, ping-pong paddle, canesaber, sledgehammer, or all of the above>

===
Peaceful Assembly? Not if you're blocking traffic it isn't. Sheesh! I think people should study the Bill of Rights before they start throwing it around.

France: before the war, they hated us. Now that we've almost won, they like us again. Anyone else wanna chant the words "french fried hypocritical chicken" with me?

"The Axis of Envy": LOL! Sometimes the press does come up with a few shiners every now and then (well duh, I mean hey, it's their job to make headlines out of headlines). But really, what're France, Germany, and Russia gonna do? Have a big bitchfest or what?

The Dixie Chicks: Why do I SO not give a damn about this?

===
SARS: It's not a "mystery illness" if it has a name and you know what it does. It also doesn't need a name cuz it already has one and it's called SARS. Sheesh you press people, grow a brain- not everyone wants to read long sentences on that scroll. Nor are as so thick that we need everything repeated to us several different ways in a single story (ok so that's mainly directed towards some of the online British articles I read, but CNN still counts y'know).

The Matrix Reloaded trailer: COOLNESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Watched the original again tonight: gets cooler every time, altho those flashing lights are beginning to bother me more and more.

Yellow snow: AKA pollen- "tis the season to be sneezin!" ...and for the cars to say "WASH ME!"

Stomach bug: BARF!

Windows XP: conversion sux

Being offline for almost 2 weeks: sux more- I miss everybody!

===
31 Days of Oscar: I never taped so many movies in 4 weeks in all my life!

===
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand, I think that's it. I'll put up my Windows XP rant tomorrow.
posted @ 11:54 PM  |   0 comments  |  


I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!

Miss me? :-)

Alright, I'll have to split this into 3 posts cuz, well, I should. So first, here's this one:

I'M BACK! <waves to everyone>
posted @ 11:03 PM  |   0 comments  |  

Friday, April 04, 2003


Wear Your Poodle Hat U2!

#1- WEIRD AL'S NEW ALBUM IS NAMED POODLE HAT AND WILL BE OUT ON MAY 20TH!

#2- I knew I liked U2 but I bought both of their "greatest hits" albums last week and I've been LOVING them!!!

U2 and Weird Al ROCK!!!!

Can I get anyone else here to help me sing "Green Eggs and Ham" or at least "Cavity Search (Numb Me, Drill Me, Floss Me, Bill Me)"? ;-D
posted @ 5:49 PM  |   0 comments  |  


Stupid Norton X-P

Some thanks and no thanks to the money-milking cretins over at Norton Anti-Virus, the house has to upgrade to Windows XP just so we can run the new Anti-Virus since they aren't making it for NT. That means shelling out money. Shit.

At the same time, it also means that by some weird twist of whatever, we bought me a new computer! This old bucket's going to the room-that's-not-an-office for the rest of the family to play with and the new comp should be here on Monday. It's a budget comp so it's WAY cheaper but it's no rip-off either (altho it certainly will rip, burn, and play). I'll be SO happy to have working speakers again and a MUCH faster modem, but uninstalling XP, installing NT, and then reinstalling XP over it will be the major headache.

Been backing up stuff since last night so technically I shouldn't even be here right now. I'll probably move this box tomorrow so I'll be without acess to the realm of the digital for a couple days. See y'all then!!! <waves to everyone>
posted @ 5:46 PM  |   0 comments  |