Friday, December 5, 2008
Fixed Java problem? *crosses fingers*
I believe I might have solved the problem I was having with Java on my computer. I seemed to have had two versions of Java fighting to work, and the one that was working while I was having problems was icedtea; I had typed "java -version" in the terminal and got told it was using icedtea even though I had uninstalled icedtea a while ago. Turns out, when I went to the package manager, I had missed a couple packages which weren't actually called icedtea, but were the complete environment for it. The main package was openjdk-6-re, as well as another one called openjdk-6-re-headless. There was another one too but I cannot remember the name, but it was directly below the first two in the package manager. I tested this by opening Pogo and loading Casino Island Blackjack (a game I was previously having trouble with) and it worked! Yay!
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Pidgin is a bitch
I have no idea why, but Pidgin is being a stupid cunt and won't keep me logged into MSN. It will log in, and within a minute will say it has disconnected. It won't do it on a constant basis either, it only does it on certain occasions. Maybe I will change instant message clients tonight or something. But first, food.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Ubuntu update
As I have said before, I am happily using Ubuntu as my primary operating system on my desktop computer. It took me a while to get here, but I did after several difficult issues getting it installed on my other crappy computer. There were the issues of use as well, considering I was installing it not knowing the least bit how to use it. So, I guess you could say I taught myself the basics of Ubuntu. Aren't I awesome?
Either way, as most experiments encounter, I have had my share of problems. A lot of them had to do with sound. For a while I could only get temporary sound, and each time I had to reinstall the ALSA sound base. Fortunately, the update to 8.10 (from 8.04) fixed that, and allowed me to use OSS, which completely solved the problem. The only other problem is that I cannot get sound in flash videos. It's really annoying, I can't use YouTube.
Another problem I had was with my monitor. I got a 22 inch Samsung monitor for my birthday and for the life of me could not get it to recognize the fact that it was a 22 inch and not a 21 inch. Also the fact I had to adjust the resolution every time I turned on the computer, which got really old really fast. Fortunately, it was another problem solved by updating to 8.10. Let's just say I was very glad for 8.10.
Something I am noticing, and I am pretty sure it's the websites and not my computer, but any website I go to where I need to do some kind of online transaction (eg. banking, paying bills etc.) the page will not load. It's really fucking annoying because I can only pay my cell phone bill online, and I can only do certain bank transactions online. I went on my laptop earlier (it's a shitty old Mac) and I could get on my cell phone company website on there, which is balls. But I am pretty sure it's something to do with the website being a piece of shit, because my bank site has been intermittently working (generally it doesn't work when I need it most), so I know it is possible for it to work.
The Bluetooth not working has been an ongoing problem to the point where I have given up caring. It's not even that significant, but the annoying thing is that I can't use my wireless keyboard and mouse. It's a bitch because the mouse I use sucks. But it's one of the minor problems.
Overall, though, I am extremely satisfied with Ubuntu. I will never willingly return to Windows. You can do so much more with Ubuntu, and people make the software for it because they care about the software (since it's all open source). Proprietary stuff is complete bullshit if you ask me, since this is a much more effective way to do things. It also leaves people more satisfied.
Either way, as most experiments encounter, I have had my share of problems. A lot of them had to do with sound. For a while I could only get temporary sound, and each time I had to reinstall the ALSA sound base. Fortunately, the update to 8.10 (from 8.04) fixed that, and allowed me to use OSS, which completely solved the problem. The only other problem is that I cannot get sound in flash videos. It's really annoying, I can't use YouTube.
Another problem I had was with my monitor. I got a 22 inch Samsung monitor for my birthday and for the life of me could not get it to recognize the fact that it was a 22 inch and not a 21 inch. Also the fact I had to adjust the resolution every time I turned on the computer, which got really old really fast. Fortunately, it was another problem solved by updating to 8.10. Let's just say I was very glad for 8.10.
Something I am noticing, and I am pretty sure it's the websites and not my computer, but any website I go to where I need to do some kind of online transaction (eg. banking, paying bills etc.) the page will not load. It's really fucking annoying because I can only pay my cell phone bill online, and I can only do certain bank transactions online. I went on my laptop earlier (it's a shitty old Mac) and I could get on my cell phone company website on there, which is balls. But I am pretty sure it's something to do with the website being a piece of shit, because my bank site has been intermittently working (generally it doesn't work when I need it most), so I know it is possible for it to work.
The Bluetooth not working has been an ongoing problem to the point where I have given up caring. It's not even that significant, but the annoying thing is that I can't use my wireless keyboard and mouse. It's a bitch because the mouse I use sucks. But it's one of the minor problems.
Overall, though, I am extremely satisfied with Ubuntu. I will never willingly return to Windows. You can do so much more with Ubuntu, and people make the software for it because they care about the software (since it's all open source). Proprietary stuff is complete bullshit if you ask me, since this is a much more effective way to do things. It also leaves people more satisfied.
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Canada's Sex Offender Registry a National Embarassment
[link]
I was doing some research for an essay I have to write for class (yes another essay...) and came across the above article. I am shocked and appalled at this, for many reasons. One of the main reasons is that it's so, so simple to implement! It's a database! We're living in the information age, and even when we weren't, there were still tools available to create a database like this, even a secure one! Fucking political red tape is the worst kind. For something that's supposed to make things happen, it's pretty good and preventing things that should happen. I'm sure if I took a course or two I could make up a fucking database like that. And every police officer in Canada would have access to it (with discretion of course; no editing allowed except by certain individuals, considering the stories in the above article about cops being offenders themselves).
Why can't we have something like the US has? If the US has anything right, it's their justice system. If you're going to commit a crime of such an abhorrent sexual nature, you deserve to be strung out to dry, and have people vandalizing your house and sending you death threats every day. You deserve to live with the consequences of your actions, just like everybody else in the world. It's your problem that you decided to do what people consider depraved. I think every sex offender in the world should have their personal details published on the internet for everyone to see. But that's just me.
I was doing some research for an essay I have to write for class (yes another essay...) and came across the above article. I am shocked and appalled at this, for many reasons. One of the main reasons is that it's so, so simple to implement! It's a database! We're living in the information age, and even when we weren't, there were still tools available to create a database like this, even a secure one! Fucking political red tape is the worst kind. For something that's supposed to make things happen, it's pretty good and preventing things that should happen. I'm sure if I took a course or two I could make up a fucking database like that. And every police officer in Canada would have access to it (with discretion of course; no editing allowed except by certain individuals, considering the stories in the above article about cops being offenders themselves).
Why can't we have something like the US has? If the US has anything right, it's their justice system. If you're going to commit a crime of such an abhorrent sexual nature, you deserve to be strung out to dry, and have people vandalizing your house and sending you death threats every day. You deserve to live with the consequences of your actions, just like everybody else in the world. It's your problem that you decided to do what people consider depraved. I think every sex offender in the world should have their personal details published on the internet for everyone to see. But that's just me.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
ugh responsibility
How annoying is it when I have to do studying but all I really want to do is play my Xbox? I bought two games a couple weeks ago, Lego Batman and Civilization Revolution. Right now, I am currently fixed on Lego Batman, and have a friend who is officially addicted as well, and now loves playing co-op mode. I haven't dedicated enough time to Civ Rev (one thing at a time), but from what I've played it definitely seems damn cool. I have started an Aztec civilization and am trying to conquer by having the best technology.
If anyone has played Lego Indiana Jones, (I have 1000/1000 gamerpoints from it), Lego Batman is quite similar in some ways. You collect studs to buy things, which are characters, special extras, and in the case of Batman, vehicles. You also go through levels collecting certain items that add up to make a bigger item, and that's part of the objective of the game. The point is, there are several objectives, which I love. My favourite thing is Free Play mode. You use the characters you purchased to go through the levels and access things you couldn't access with the normal characters (each character has special abilities). I think the Lego games are super fabulous. Next, I will be getting Lego Star Wars!
If anyone has played Lego Indiana Jones, (I have 1000/1000 gamerpoints from it), Lego Batman is quite similar in some ways. You collect studs to buy things, which are characters, special extras, and in the case of Batman, vehicles. You also go through levels collecting certain items that add up to make a bigger item, and that's part of the objective of the game. The point is, there are several objectives, which I love. My favourite thing is Free Play mode. You use the characters you purchased to go through the levels and access things you couldn't access with the normal characters (each character has special abilities). I think the Lego games are super fabulous. Next, I will be getting Lego Star Wars!
Friday, October 17, 2008
MobileScrobbler and Apple's stupidity
This is copy pasted from a journal entry I posted on Last.fm :
So, I figure I will try and update to 2.0.2 or whatever the most recent version is, and see how that goes. I'll then try and download this "official Last.fm app" shit, and see where that takes me. It looks like I'm going to have to go into Windows to do it too... If everything was open source and accessible, I would not have half the computer related problems that I do.
I use an iPod touch, and I am currently still using firmware 1.1.1 which is just fine with me; I don't need Apple's craptacular innovations on my hardware. I also use MobileScrobbler to scrobble my iPod tracks, which is something everyone should be able to do. As of a couple days ago, my iPod randomly stopped scrobbling. It's not a problem with MobileScrobbler, since it's doing everything it's supposed to do, but a problem with Last.fm, as it is not accepting the tracks from MobileScrobbler. I have been looking around online, and apparently I am not nearly the only one having this problem. Apparently everyone with firmware 1.1.1 had this problem. It has been concluded that Last.fm is in cahoots with Apple, and are collectively trying to force people to use that bull shit "App Store" thing that Apple is pushing. This is one very small and annoying step in that attempt. Why should we be forced to update our firmware? I was perfectly happy with 1.1.1... but I should be able to answer my own question: it's because Apple wants us to spend money in the fucking "App Store". Fuck Apple. I'm not giving them one cent to scrobble my iPod, which better be free.
So, I figure I will try and update to 2.0.2 or whatever the most recent version is, and see how that goes. I'll then try and download this "official Last.fm app" shit, and see where that takes me. It looks like I'm going to have to go into Windows to do it too... If everything was open source and accessible, I would not have half the computer related problems that I do.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
All moved in
As of last Sunday, I am all moved in to my new place. I ended up rooming with a friend of my girlfriend's. It has proven to be rewarding. I am closer to everyone and everything that is important to me (not including family though unfortunately). One of the major advantages is now I have a permanent wired connection and can therefore use Ubuntu almost exclusively. I had to go get a new wired keyboard, and still can't use my Bluetooth mouse, but I'm thinking of selling them anyway. They've been nothing but trouble, and I can always invest in wireless that is not Bluetooth. I find Bluetooth, for something simple like peripherals, is quite pointless. No data is exchanged and therefore, Bluetooth is overkill. The only problem is that I want to keep the dongle for my computer (to keep it's Bluetooth compatibility) but might have a hard time selling the keyboard and mouse without it. But we'll see. I will check eBay next.
Another problem is that the internet connection is kind of shaky for the Xbox. I got dropped from a Halo 3 game lastnight. I have never dropped before. I've also been having some major connectivity problems with Lost Planet Colonies. I go to search for games, and most of the time it has told me "no matches found". This has happened to me once at home. That was a result of server problems on the end of the game server. I seriously hope my NAT is closed or something so I can fix it and be on my merry way again. I am going to be severely depressed if I can't play Lost Planet.
Another thing that's odd for me is that I have to turn off my technology when I go to bed. I am used to just leaving it on all the time. But since I will actually be paying for power, I have to be conscious of this. But I can still leave it on the majority of the days on the weekends. Just when I know I won't be using it.
I've also been stressed more. Since everything around me has changed, and I have been presented with a whole new set of expectations, I have kind of been slow on the upkeep. I will continue to be stressed until I can really establish a regular and beneficial routine. But even then it might be a long, long time before I am comfortable, due to some interpersonal problems. I've even been stressed since before school even started. Getting in wasn't a pretty picture, and neither was the whole last minute change. I thought I was going to one school up until a week before classes start. The place I wanted to go (where I am now) accepted me extremely last minute, and my stress level increased exponentially. I had to do in a week what most people had months to do, in order to prepare for classes and such. After that, of course, was trying to find a place to live. Most of the places I saw were complete shitholes. The one place I wanted got snatched out from under me a couple hours before I was going to potentially take the place. It was kind of chaotic. And now school begins, as does a whole new set of problems. Yippe skippie.
Another problem is that the internet connection is kind of shaky for the Xbox. I got dropped from a Halo 3 game lastnight. I have never dropped before. I've also been having some major connectivity problems with Lost Planet Colonies. I go to search for games, and most of the time it has told me "no matches found". This has happened to me once at home. That was a result of server problems on the end of the game server. I seriously hope my NAT is closed or something so I can fix it and be on my merry way again. I am going to be severely depressed if I can't play Lost Planet.
Another thing that's odd for me is that I have to turn off my technology when I go to bed. I am used to just leaving it on all the time. But since I will actually be paying for power, I have to be conscious of this. But I can still leave it on the majority of the days on the weekends. Just when I know I won't be using it.
I've also been stressed more. Since everything around me has changed, and I have been presented with a whole new set of expectations, I have kind of been slow on the upkeep. I will continue to be stressed until I can really establish a regular and beneficial routine. But even then it might be a long, long time before I am comfortable, due to some interpersonal problems. I've even been stressed since before school even started. Getting in wasn't a pretty picture, and neither was the whole last minute change. I thought I was going to one school up until a week before classes start. The place I wanted to go (where I am now) accepted me extremely last minute, and my stress level increased exponentially. I had to do in a week what most people had months to do, in order to prepare for classes and such. After that, of course, was trying to find a place to live. Most of the places I saw were complete shitholes. The one place I wanted got snatched out from under me a couple hours before I was going to potentially take the place. It was kind of chaotic. And now school begins, as does a whole new set of problems. Yippe skippie.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
The craptacular new Facebook layout
I'm going to cut straight to the chase: who the fuck designed the new Facebook layout? It clearly has to be someone with the design skills and intelligence of a chimpanzee with a lobotomy. It's the most counterintuitive piece of shit I have used in a long time, and I hated Last.fm's recent redesign.
The wall is now all clustered together. Kind of like what would happen if you took your shoes, cutlery, pencils, pens, markers, dishes, bathroom items, other assorted household items, and threw them all into one big huge pile with all of your neighbourhood's items as well. Now find one of your spoons, and you have the annoyance I experience when using the new Facebook.
I can't look at all of my information on one page, no no, that would be too simple. I have to have minimum three fucking pages on my profile. None of the apps are on the main pages either; those are completely separate. So if, for example, you wished for someone to see one of your apps (which is generally why people install apps in the first place), they will not see it unless they make a point of visiting your "Boxes" page. What a fucking stupid name...it took me like ten minutes to figure out where the fuck all of my apps went because this title is completely irrelevant to the actual purpose of the page. How about calling it something like, oh, "Apps"?
The wall comments (even though this fits in with the first point of contention, it still deserves it's own mention) are lumped in with all other events. I don't know when the fuck people have commented on my page, because it's squished right in there between the other crap. The only way I really know is if the comment is at the top, or I happen to check my email. How is that a fucking Wall? The Wall is a place for comments only goddammit.
I could go on and on about how I fucking hate new Facebook (e.g. why does the status have to be so big in "The Wall", why does it show all comments for posted items in the news feed, why the hell did they change the right hand navigation, etc.) But I think I've made my point. I am far from the only one. I've looked around and seen that at least 75% of people whose comments I've seen have said they hate the new layout as well. How hard is it to give us a fucking option to pick which layout we want to use? Why is that such a huge deal? But apparently Mark Zuckerberg has his head so far up his ass that he doesn't realize that what he did to Facebook is absolutely retarded. The best part is, they ask for feedback on the new layout, but completely ignore when people say they don't like it. Everything short of saying "too fucking bad".
So, someone please tell me, why the fuck are they forcing this change when there's no reason to do so? Does it not matter anymore what users think? What was wrong with the original Facebook layout? I found it to be perfectly usable and pleasant.
The wall is now all clustered together. Kind of like what would happen if you took your shoes, cutlery, pencils, pens, markers, dishes, bathroom items, other assorted household items, and threw them all into one big huge pile with all of your neighbourhood's items as well. Now find one of your spoons, and you have the annoyance I experience when using the new Facebook.
I can't look at all of my information on one page, no no, that would be too simple. I have to have minimum three fucking pages on my profile. None of the apps are on the main pages either; those are completely separate. So if, for example, you wished for someone to see one of your apps (which is generally why people install apps in the first place), they will not see it unless they make a point of visiting your "Boxes" page. What a fucking stupid name...it took me like ten minutes to figure out where the fuck all of my apps went because this title is completely irrelevant to the actual purpose of the page. How about calling it something like, oh, "Apps"?
The wall comments (even though this fits in with the first point of contention, it still deserves it's own mention) are lumped in with all other events. I don't know when the fuck people have commented on my page, because it's squished right in there between the other crap. The only way I really know is if the comment is at the top, or I happen to check my email. How is that a fucking Wall? The Wall is a place for comments only goddammit.
I could go on and on about how I fucking hate new Facebook (e.g. why does the status have to be so big in "The Wall", why does it show all comments for posted items in the news feed, why the hell did they change the right hand navigation, etc.) But I think I've made my point. I am far from the only one. I've looked around and seen that at least 75% of people whose comments I've seen have said they hate the new layout as well. How hard is it to give us a fucking option to pick which layout we want to use? Why is that such a huge deal? But apparently Mark Zuckerberg has his head so far up his ass that he doesn't realize that what he did to Facebook is absolutely retarded. The best part is, they ask for feedback on the new layout, but completely ignore when people say they don't like it. Everything short of saying "too fucking bad".
So, someone please tell me, why the fuck are they forcing this change when there's no reason to do so? Does it not matter anymore what users think? What was wrong with the original Facebook layout? I found it to be perfectly usable and pleasant.
Friday, September 5, 2008
My browser speed
That is how fast my browser is. Note the right hand column, and how the different browsers compare to each other. Not surprisingly, Internet Exploder is like a special Olympics athlete running against non-special Olympians (oh, I'm horrible, I know). It looks like I'll be downloading Google Chrome soon, well, when I feel like going back to Windows.
Want to know what your browser speed is? Click here and it will tell you (you have to take a screen shot if you want to record it).
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Ubuntu after a long time
My brother has gone back to school for the fall, and that means I get my wire back. Since I cannot get Ubuntu to work on wireless, I can only use it when I have the wire. I decided five months was too long and that I had to use Ubuntu again. But with that comes having to update everything, and possibly taking another crack at the wireless and Bluetooth problems. It took about 45 minutes to install all of the updates available. It's been almost an hour and my music collection still isn't updated. I'm pretty sure more problems will come. Considering I still cannot print. Unfortunately getting rid of Windows is not an option yet. But we knew that five months ago.
So, as I said in my previous post, kick back, relax and wait for the stress to set in. If my cortisol levels aren't through the roof, I don't want to know how it feels when they are.
So, as I said in my previous post, kick back, relax and wait for the stress to set in. If my cortisol levels aren't through the roof, I don't want to know how it feels when they are.
Friday, August 29, 2008
Moving sometime soon, Win XP SP 3
I have concluded as to where I am going for school this year, and therefore am moving sometime in the near future (hopefully next week, when I decide on a place). So, if I seem more frustrated, jaded and pessimistic than usual, you know why it probably is. And with the beginning of school goes my free time, and therefore less updates. Not that I update very often as it is; most people update every day. But the less I update, the longer my entries tend to be. So, it's up to you whether that is a good thing.
Anyway, I am looking at a couple places, one of them I saw yesterday. It was a basement room with nice new hardwood floors and new walls. It's a townhouse I would be sharing with another girl, and it's definitely reasonably sized, although my room wouldn't be huge. I could fit a TV and a bed in there, and I'm almost sure my gargantuous desk would fit in there as well. The only problem would be fitting a couch. I am not playing videogames on my bed. The place is definitely a possibilty. I would be paying like $400.
Another place I am looking at is the basement of a bungalow made into a separate unit. It definitely sounds nice, and the guy who owns the place sounds nice too. I would also absolutely love to not have to share a space, considering how much of a picky person I am. But I also wish for my significant other to move in sometime at a later date.
I got an email from someone today about a 1 bedroom and a 2 bedroom he/she has available, and the possibility of subletting the 2 bedroom, possibly to my significant other. I emailed them back pressing for some details, but haven't received a reply quite yet. I hope whoever it is didn't go away for holidays or anything. That would be annoying, since I want to get this crap done.
There were one or two other places I emailed people about, but I haven't received a response yet, which kind of indicates to me that these people don't really want to sell it. Besides, they aren't the most appealing sounding anyway. One of them, I'm not even sure why I considered it, it's like 5 people in one little house. Fuck that shit.
On another note, why the fuck did Microshaft design the update system the way they did? You cannot dismiss the restart notification if you are opting not to restart, which absolutely infuriates me. I can't type a fucking blog post without getting interrupted by this fucking notification that I need to restart. I am fucking aware that I have to restart! I do not want to restart since I just restarted ten minutes before this update was installed because of another fucking update! Seriously, get your shit together and co-ordinate this crap! I don't want to have to restart every goddamn half hour because Microshaft is too goddamn stupid to do something sensible like maybe sending all the updates at once, or just plain forgoing the useless crap they send.
Service Pack 3 was the second update involved in the above rant. I look online for details of this thing, and cannot find a detailed breakdown of what I am inflicting on my computer by installing this Microshaft update. That seriously pisses me off, why can't I have a changelog? Am I not allowed to know what new bullshit Microshaft is raping my computer with? It's a very common problem with everything but the most l33t software, that I can't find out what's being changed. How am I supposed to enjoy (or possibly hate) the new features if I don't know what they are? Unless it's a security update.
Anyway, I have been interrupted twice in about ten minutes from the window that tells me to restart my computer. I am getting quite sick of it so I am going to stop before I kill something.
Anyway, I am looking at a couple places, one of them I saw yesterday. It was a basement room with nice new hardwood floors and new walls. It's a townhouse I would be sharing with another girl, and it's definitely reasonably sized, although my room wouldn't be huge. I could fit a TV and a bed in there, and I'm almost sure my gargantuous desk would fit in there as well. The only problem would be fitting a couch. I am not playing videogames on my bed. The place is definitely a possibilty. I would be paying like $400.
Another place I am looking at is the basement of a bungalow made into a separate unit. It definitely sounds nice, and the guy who owns the place sounds nice too. I would also absolutely love to not have to share a space, considering how much of a picky person I am. But I also wish for my significant other to move in sometime at a later date.
I got an email from someone today about a 1 bedroom and a 2 bedroom he/she has available, and the possibility of subletting the 2 bedroom, possibly to my significant other. I emailed them back pressing for some details, but haven't received a reply quite yet. I hope whoever it is didn't go away for holidays or anything. That would be annoying, since I want to get this crap done.
There were one or two other places I emailed people about, but I haven't received a response yet, which kind of indicates to me that these people don't really want to sell it. Besides, they aren't the most appealing sounding anyway. One of them, I'm not even sure why I considered it, it's like 5 people in one little house. Fuck that shit.
On another note, why the fuck did Microshaft design the update system the way they did? You cannot dismiss the restart notification if you are opting not to restart, which absolutely infuriates me. I can't type a fucking blog post without getting interrupted by this fucking notification that I need to restart. I am fucking aware that I have to restart! I do not want to restart since I just restarted ten minutes before this update was installed because of another fucking update! Seriously, get your shit together and co-ordinate this crap! I don't want to have to restart every goddamn half hour because Microshaft is too goddamn stupid to do something sensible like maybe sending all the updates at once, or just plain forgoing the useless crap they send.
Service Pack 3 was the second update involved in the above rant. I look online for details of this thing, and cannot find a detailed breakdown of what I am inflicting on my computer by installing this Microshaft update. That seriously pisses me off, why can't I have a changelog? Am I not allowed to know what new bullshit Microshaft is raping my computer with? It's a very common problem with everything but the most l33t software, that I can't find out what's being changed. How am I supposed to enjoy (or possibly hate) the new features if I don't know what they are? Unless it's a security update.
Anyway, I have been interrupted twice in about ten minutes from the window that tells me to restart my computer. I am getting quite sick of it so I am going to stop before I kill something.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Zoo photo inclusion
So, two summers ago, I went to the Toronto Zoo with a couple friends, and took some pictures. I submitted them to my Flickr, and they were just sitting there. I randomly get an email from someone involved in the production of Schmap Guides saying they want to use one of my pictures in one of their guides. So, I let them and now it's been published. This is the picture:
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
80s and 90s music
Lately I have been on an extreme "retro" music kick (retro for me at least, in my miniscule twenty something years on this earth). Instead of going through headache and irritation trying to download this stuff (some of it is extremely hard to find because the artists have fallen off the planet), I've just been simply looking up these songs on YouTube. In doing so, I have made two playlists, one for the 80s and one for the 90s. Some of the quality of the sound on these songs is pretty shitty, but some of it is really good.
If you would like to visit my YouTube channel (I specialize in ripped biology videos), click here
I always have active sharing on, I always am open to receiving messages and crap, it's fun.
Anyway, here are my playlists so far (I will update slowly). Some of the songs are from the late 70s, but it's close enough:
80s Music
1. Snow - Informer
2. Genesis - That's All
3. Eurythmics - Here Comes The Rain Again
4. Madonna - Material Girl
5. Madonna - Papa Don't Preach
6. Depeche Mode - Personal Jesus
7. Bananarama - Cruel Summer
8. Fleetwood Mac - Big Love
9. Duran Duran - The Chauffeur
10. Billy Ocean - Caribbean Queen
11. Peter Gabriel - Sledgehammer
12. Cyndi Lauper - Time After Time
13. Madonna - Into The Groove
14. Police - Message In a Bottle
15. Police - Roxanne
16. Queen - Another One Bites The Dust
17. Sade - Smooth Operator
18. Soft Cell - Tainted Love
19. Donna Summer - Hot Stuff
20. Tears For Fears - Shout
21. Yes - Owner Of A Lonely Heart
22. Depeche Mode - Policy of Truth
23. Michael Jackson - Beat It
24. Michael Jackson - Smooth Criminal
25. Michael Jackson - Dirty Diana
90s Music
1. Ace of Base - All That She Wants
2. Ce Ce Peniston - Finally
3. Savage Garden - Break Me Shake Me
4. Savage Garden - To The Moon And Back
5. La Bouche - Be My Lover
6. Mr. President - Coco Jambo
7. Livin' Joy - Dreamer
8. Gloria Estefan - Turn The Beat Around
9. Madonna - Secret
10. Reel 2 Real - I Like To Move It
11. Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit
12. Green Day - Longview
13. Smashing Pumpkins - Bullet With Butterfly Wings
14. Sublime - Date Rape
15. Depeche Mode - Enjoy the Silence
16. Jennifer Lopez - Let's Get Loud
17. Le Click - Tonight Is The Night
18. Fugees - Killing Me Softly
19. Lauren Hill - Doo Wop (That Thing)
20. Ace of Base - Young and Proud (demo version)
21. Ace of Base - Young and Proud (live) - I cannot seem to find the regular album version
22. Savage Garden - Carry On Dancing
23. Rockell - I Fell In Love - the video is kind of crap, but it's one of those rare ones
24. First Base - Can You Keep A Secret - okay, about this one, I couldn't find it on YouTube, so it's not technically in the playlist. But it's definitely an important song in my past, so it belongs here, no matter what form it's in
As you can probably tell, Ace of Base was a fundamental staple in my growing-up diet of pop music. I will freely admit that I still like them a lot. I don't care what anyone thinks. If you agree, all the power to you.
I will not be noting editions when I update this list because that would take way too much space. It would also be extremely annoying for me considering compiling the list after the fact was enough work.
EDIT: Go me. Soon after composing this list, I discovered that you can embed playlists in HTML. Why the hell do I figure these things out after I compose this shit? Well, I'm not erasing my lists. I worked hard on them so enjoy, godammit.
EDIT of an EDIT: Okay well the writing out of the songs is good because they are in order, allowing anyone to know what order the songs are in. Kind of like the track listing on a CD insert, heh
If you would like to visit my YouTube channel (I specialize in ripped biology videos), click here
I always have active sharing on, I always am open to receiving messages and crap, it's fun.
Anyway, here are my playlists so far (I will update slowly). Some of the songs are from the late 70s, but it's close enough:
80s Music
1. Snow - Informer
2. Genesis - That's All
3. Eurythmics - Here Comes The Rain Again
4. Madonna - Material Girl
5. Madonna - Papa Don't Preach
6. Depeche Mode - Personal Jesus
7. Bananarama - Cruel Summer
8. Fleetwood Mac - Big Love
9. Duran Duran - The Chauffeur
10. Billy Ocean - Caribbean Queen
11. Peter Gabriel - Sledgehammer
12. Cyndi Lauper - Time After Time
13. Madonna - Into The Groove
14. Police - Message In a Bottle
15. Police - Roxanne
16. Queen - Another One Bites The Dust
17. Sade - Smooth Operator
18. Soft Cell - Tainted Love
19. Donna Summer - Hot Stuff
20. Tears For Fears - Shout
21. Yes - Owner Of A Lonely Heart
22. Depeche Mode - Policy of Truth
23. Michael Jackson - Beat It
24. Michael Jackson - Smooth Criminal
25. Michael Jackson - Dirty Diana
90s Music
1. Ace of Base - All That She Wants
2. Ce Ce Peniston - Finally
3. Savage Garden - Break Me Shake Me
4. Savage Garden - To The Moon And Back
5. La Bouche - Be My Lover
6. Mr. President - Coco Jambo
7. Livin' Joy - Dreamer
8. Gloria Estefan - Turn The Beat Around
9. Madonna - Secret
10. Reel 2 Real - I Like To Move It
11. Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit
12. Green Day - Longview
13. Smashing Pumpkins - Bullet With Butterfly Wings
14. Sublime - Date Rape
15. Depeche Mode - Enjoy the Silence
16. Jennifer Lopez - Let's Get Loud
17. Le Click - Tonight Is The Night
18. Fugees - Killing Me Softly
19. Lauren Hill - Doo Wop (That Thing)
20. Ace of Base - Young and Proud (demo version)
21. Ace of Base - Young and Proud (live) - I cannot seem to find the regular album version
22. Savage Garden - Carry On Dancing
23. Rockell - I Fell In Love - the video is kind of crap, but it's one of those rare ones
24. First Base - Can You Keep A Secret - okay, about this one, I couldn't find it on YouTube, so it's not technically in the playlist. But it's definitely an important song in my past, so it belongs here, no matter what form it's in
As you can probably tell, Ace of Base was a fundamental staple in my growing-up diet of pop music. I will freely admit that I still like them a lot. I don't care what anyone thinks. If you agree, all the power to you.
I will not be noting editions when I update this list because that would take way too much space. It would also be extremely annoying for me considering compiling the list after the fact was enough work.
EDIT: Go me. Soon after composing this list, I discovered that you can embed playlists in HTML. Why the hell do I figure these things out after I compose this shit? Well, I'm not erasing my lists. I worked hard on them so enjoy, godammit.
EDIT of an EDIT: Okay well the writing out of the songs is good because they are in order, allowing anyone to know what order the songs are in. Kind of like the track listing on a CD insert, heh
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Updates; good or bad?
Here is a list of some programs I use regularly and my opinion of their update frequency. This post was inspired by the incessant and severely annoying updates I receive from Apple about the piece of shit iTunes. I swear to god if they updated anymore it would be a fucking code blog.
- Winamp - updated too often... not much is done each time either. I haven't noticed a difference between the last three or four updates.
- Firefox - not updated enough. You don't need to revamp the entire thing each time.
- iTunes - fuck off Apple! (In other words, updated waaay too often... it almost feels like it's updated every day)
- Soulseek - not often enough! When it is updated, it's way too big of an update and leads to having to completely migrate accounts to new servers
- Windows Live Mail - not enough, and it's a Microshaft product so it inevitably needs improvement
- mIRC - not nearly enough... but considering the guy who makes it expects payment for this thing, the common sense just isn't there
- Adobe Creative Suite - never updated... this is an absolutely terrible example of post-purchase support. Even Microshaft is better...they at least allow you some post-purchase updates. I have not received a single update from Adobe for any of their paid products, and I've had this version of the creative suite for a couple years now.
- BOINC Manager - not nearly enough. I realize there is not much here to have to improve, but still, can we at least have some cosmetic improvements? Or perhaps less jargony menus?
- Miranda IM - JUST RIGHT... although that might be partly because this is a fully customizable application and updating mainly has to do with plugins.
- Winamp - updated too often... not much is done each time either. I haven't noticed a difference between the last three or four updates.
- Firefox - not updated enough. You don't need to revamp the entire thing each time.
- iTunes - fuck off Apple! (In other words, updated waaay too often... it almost feels like it's updated every day)
- Soulseek - not often enough! When it is updated, it's way too big of an update and leads to having to completely migrate accounts to new servers
- Windows Live Mail - not enough, and it's a Microshaft product so it inevitably needs improvement
- mIRC - not nearly enough... but considering the guy who makes it expects payment for this thing, the common sense just isn't there
- Adobe Creative Suite - never updated... this is an absolutely terrible example of post-purchase support. Even Microshaft is better...they at least allow you some post-purchase updates. I have not received a single update from Adobe for any of their paid products, and I've had this version of the creative suite for a couple years now.
- BOINC Manager - not nearly enough. I realize there is not much here to have to improve, but still, can we at least have some cosmetic improvements? Or perhaps less jargony menus?
- Miranda IM - JUST RIGHT... although that might be partly because this is a fully customizable application and updating mainly has to do with plugins.
Monday, August 11, 2008
My final phone decision
Okay, so I got a new cell phone today. About time right? Well, it pretty much came down to completely ignoring everything I have posted so far about phone companies and shit, because I didn't go with any of the aforementioned companies. I went with Virgin Mobile. Believe it or not, there is a cell phone company not out there to fill their greedy pockets! I got all of the features I want and don't have to pay any stupid system access crap or anything! Either way, look at the website if you want to know more. I got the myCrew dealy (you get unlimited talk and text with your favourite 5 contacts). $25 is the cheapest, but if you go $35 they make it so you can talk and text nationwide with your contacts. The part that sold me (because other companies offer this) is that if you present a student card, you get 10 contacts. So, $35 a month, plus $10 for voicemail and call display (which are essentials to me) and I get $45 a month. That is $5 less than what Telus was offering. Although Telus offered web browsing, they also still have the $6.95 and 75 cent fees every month. Which means $56.95 a month, plus any running over I might do. And if you do run over with Telus, it's 35 cents a minute (double that for long distance), and only 30 cents for Virgin. Plus, I also really wanted the LG Rumour. Telus offered the LG Keybo, which also cost $50 even with the 3 year plan. I got the Rumour for nothing. So, overall, I'd pay more at Telus. But it was a close second. Rogers, Fido, Bell, and Solo didn't even place within my ranks.
Well, enough rambling about my new cell phone stuff. Let's just say I will continue to be pessimistic about large companies and their motives for doing things. I will never understand though. Why are the largest companies the most money hungry? Don't they have enough goddamn money, or do they have to take more from people who may not have as much? Why do companies like Microshaft who, all over the world, process billions of dollars in primary sales have to go on and rip off their customers? I mean in some cases (eg. video game consoles) they truly are the superior one, but in other cases (eg. operating systems and software) they suck hairy balls. So, why keep trying with the crappy software? Why don't they listen to their customers? You cannot expect me to believe that their (trillions of) loyal Office users asked for the atrocious monstrosity that is Office 2007. It is an absolute piece of garbage. The beginning product was by no means a masterpiece either, but Office 2007 takes the shit cake.
Anyway, maybe some day I will find something besides companies to blog about. But they do really irritate me. Maybe someday I should make my own money whore company and take over the internet or something. Then the fuckers who own and operate Rogers, Microshaft, iTunes, etc. can drain their bank accounts into my pockets.
Well, enough rambling about my new cell phone stuff. Let's just say I will continue to be pessimistic about large companies and their motives for doing things. I will never understand though. Why are the largest companies the most money hungry? Don't they have enough goddamn money, or do they have to take more from people who may not have as much? Why do companies like Microshaft who, all over the world, process billions of dollars in primary sales have to go on and rip off their customers? I mean in some cases (eg. video game consoles) they truly are the superior one, but in other cases (eg. operating systems and software) they suck hairy balls. So, why keep trying with the crappy software? Why don't they listen to their customers? You cannot expect me to believe that their (trillions of) loyal Office users asked for the atrocious monstrosity that is Office 2007. It is an absolute piece of garbage. The beginning product was by no means a masterpiece either, but Office 2007 takes the shit cake.
Anyway, maybe some day I will find something besides companies to blog about. But they do really irritate me. Maybe someday I should make my own money whore company and take over the internet or something. Then the fuckers who own and operate Rogers, Microshaft, iTunes, etc. can drain their bank accounts into my pockets.
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Bureaucratic phone services
In the age of technology, innovation and progression, how can our governing body continue to be so retarded?
...that is what is being drilled into my head every 30 seconds or so. I bet you anything they have only one or two operators working the phones. Just like they had a huge ass line at the Ministry of Transportation, yet only two service desks were open. Not only does "instantaneous" services take forever, heaven forbid you should need something sent away. That will take a minimum six weeks. Or at least they say it will. Realistically, it will take about two months. Have they not learned to employ technology to their advantage? Do they send anything digitally?
The conclusion of the above story is that I was told to fax the form in (because someone couldn't have told me that in the first place) and they will review it. Unfortunately for me, I need this issue concluded by September 2nd, and it slowly looks like that will not happen. This is what I get for being honest on this form. Now I am thinking that I should have just lied and made things simple for myself.
The good thing about this is that faxes are almost instantaneous like email. The bad part is that fax machines are so archaic that I don't even know how to use one. I'm sure it's easy to figure out, but the last thing I need is to accidentally send this (sensitive) form to somewhere Joe's Auto Shop, which has one digit different in their fax number than the Ministry of Transportation. But I've never actually had occasion to use a fax machine. Which is fucking weird.
So, off to try and fax this shit. Wish me luck and hope that I don't fail.
"All our analysts are still unavailable, your call is important to us, someone will be with you as soon as possible."
...that is what is being drilled into my head every 30 seconds or so. I bet you anything they have only one or two operators working the phones. Just like they had a huge ass line at the Ministry of Transportation, yet only two service desks were open. Not only does "instantaneous" services take forever, heaven forbid you should need something sent away. That will take a minimum six weeks. Or at least they say it will. Realistically, it will take about two months. Have they not learned to employ technology to their advantage? Do they send anything digitally?
The conclusion of the above story is that I was told to fax the form in (because someone couldn't have told me that in the first place) and they will review it. Unfortunately for me, I need this issue concluded by September 2nd, and it slowly looks like that will not happen. This is what I get for being honest on this form. Now I am thinking that I should have just lied and made things simple for myself.
The good thing about this is that faxes are almost instantaneous like email. The bad part is that fax machines are so archaic that I don't even know how to use one. I'm sure it's easy to figure out, but the last thing I need is to accidentally send this (sensitive) form to somewhere Joe's Auto Shop, which has one digit different in their fax number than the Ministry of Transportation. But I've never actually had occasion to use a fax machine. Which is fucking weird.
So, off to try and fax this shit. Wish me luck and hope that I don't fail.
Sunday, August 3, 2008
My future phone?
Come September, I will be moving for school. And with moving comes a new area code. Which means the possibility of a new phone (I am hoping since I am sick of Rogers' systematic ripping off). I have done some research, and have discovered that owning a smartphone is premature. Prices for data are still astoundingly retarded, and there's no way I can get anything approaching reasonable. So, I have opted for the text message heavy option, which includes a phone with a full QWERTY keyboard (essential). The only cell phone company in this area that has a QWERTY phone that can be obtained without subscribing to a data plan, or selling your children is Bell (which includes Solo Mobile as well). The phone is the LG Rumour (see it here, except obviously remove the Sprint slant to this page). The plan I am looking at is $20 a month, which gives me 50 minutes plus 1000 evenings and weekends, which is more than enough for me. I am also including the "Smartphone" feature pack thing, which is another $15 a month. But you get 2500 text messages, call display, and voicemail, which are all the features that are essential to me. So, all 911 and system access fees plus my charges, I would be paying $44.70. Although it might be better to go with the whole smartphone idea with Fido, because I calculated that I could be paying only $40 a month for all of those things Bell provides, plus unlimited email, browser and 1000 picture/video messages. But that is assuming that that price will be the same when I am ready to get a new phone.
I just wish prices and availability did not change all the fucking time. I could actually be capable of making a decision if everything would stop changing under my nose. Some things change too fast, and some things don't change fast enough. The deals and cheap prices are the things that change way too fast, and you can't decide on it until it is too late. On the other hand, data plan prices, and the prices for the iPhone cannot change fast enough.
I just wish prices and availability did not change all the fucking time. I could actually be capable of making a decision if everything would stop changing under my nose. Some things change too fast, and some things don't change fast enough. The deals and cheap prices are the things that change way too fast, and you can't decide on it until it is too late. On the other hand, data plan prices, and the prices for the iPhone cannot change fast enough.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
iPhone excitement turned annoyance
Upon further research into the iPhone, I am dismayed to learn that Canadians are getting seriously ripped off by the plans offered for the iPhone. The cheapest plan is $60 a month, which is a complete gip in itself, not to mention the fact that you only get 150 minutes, only 75 text messages (which is appalling) and no unlimited data. Fuck you very much Rogers. In the US, they pay around the same prices for their different packages. But they get more for their money. They get unlimited data, and at a certain level of plan, get unlimited calling. The most minutes you can get in Canada are 800. I know people who would blow through that in a week. So, I take fact my favourable comments in my last post and strongly warn everyone to stay away from the iPhone until Rogers stops being a bunch of cocksuckers and actually understands the concept of customer appreciation.
In the meantime, I think the most plausable option is a PDA made by someone other than Apple. Even Blackberries are kind of expensive still (fucking brand costs). I've been looking at the Samsung Jack or Samsung Ace (although the Ace is kind of tacky looking) or the Motorola Q. They are on various carriers, and go for various prices, but they change so often there's no point in quoting prices and stuff. But Fido had the best data prices last time I checked. I also noticed the more you pay for the handset up front, the less you pay a month, and therefore the less you pay period.
Anyway, I'm not going to rush into anything or sign my life away to some money hungry corporation like Rogers. This is just a simple run down.
In the meantime, I think the most plausable option is a PDA made by someone other than Apple. Even Blackberries are kind of expensive still (fucking brand costs). I've been looking at the Samsung Jack or Samsung Ace (although the Ace is kind of tacky looking) or the Motorola Q. They are on various carriers, and go for various prices, but they change so often there's no point in quoting prices and stuff. But Fido had the best data prices last time I checked. I also noticed the more you pay for the handset up front, the less you pay a month, and therefore the less you pay period.
Anyway, I'm not going to rush into anything or sign my life away to some money hungry corporation like Rogers. This is just a simple run down.
Saturday, June 28, 2008
iPhone excitement
I have decided that when the iPhone comes to Canada, I absolutely must have it. It appears that Apple has gotten the message and realized no one will buy their product if it costs upwards of $700. So, according to the website, the iPhone will go for $200. I am not sure whether or not that is with a data/phone plan or not.
When the iPhone comes to Canada, it will be carried by Rogers and Fido, considering Rogers is the Canadian equivalent of AT&T. Unfortunately this means exponential rates for both voice and data plans; Rogers has a huge case of money lusting syndrome and do not give their customers any breaks (I am a Rogers customer for the record). Fido seems to have the right idea with, first of all, showing anything about the iPhone on their website (I had to dig for like five minutes before I found anything mentioning the iPhone on the Rogers website). Second of all, having information on voice and data plans combined, considering only an idiot would purchase an iPhone for either voice or data, but not both. Plans start at $60 a month, which is a moderate price for any plan, and would also be the most likely plan for me (considering I don't talk very much and would be using it mostly for data and text messages). It's weird that this information is on the Fido website but not the Rogers website, considering they're the same company. The fact that Fido's rates are actually reasonable is odd as well. They also seem to have a wider variety of phones available. I am not sure why this could be, or if I could possibly be imagining things.
Either way, it seems like people are learning and that the price of owning an iPhone is finally coming down. It's unlikely I will be able to afford one anytime soon, considering I'm still on shitty contract with Rogers with my Motorola RAZR. The RAZR sucks and is flimsy...but that's another argument for another day. Maybe by the time I am able to get an iPhone the price will be half of what it is...that would make it super affordable, considering I'm a pennypinching student.
When the iPhone comes to Canada, it will be carried by Rogers and Fido, considering Rogers is the Canadian equivalent of AT&T. Unfortunately this means exponential rates for both voice and data plans; Rogers has a huge case of money lusting syndrome and do not give their customers any breaks (I am a Rogers customer for the record). Fido seems to have the right idea with, first of all, showing anything about the iPhone on their website (I had to dig for like five minutes before I found anything mentioning the iPhone on the Rogers website). Second of all, having information on voice and data plans combined, considering only an idiot would purchase an iPhone for either voice or data, but not both. Plans start at $60 a month, which is a moderate price for any plan, and would also be the most likely plan for me (considering I don't talk very much and would be using it mostly for data and text messages). It's weird that this information is on the Fido website but not the Rogers website, considering they're the same company. The fact that Fido's rates are actually reasonable is odd as well. They also seem to have a wider variety of phones available. I am not sure why this could be, or if I could possibly be imagining things.
Either way, it seems like people are learning and that the price of owning an iPhone is finally coming down. It's unlikely I will be able to afford one anytime soon, considering I'm still on shitty contract with Rogers with my Motorola RAZR. The RAZR sucks and is flimsy...but that's another argument for another day. Maybe by the time I am able to get an iPhone the price will be half of what it is...that would make it super affordable, considering I'm a pennypinching student.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Facebook Applications
Since we're all social network whores these days (there is absolutely no escaping it, no matter how l33t/cool/independant/original you think you are) I decided to fully come out of the closet with my annoying Facebook habit by describing some popular(?) apps people use on their Facebook profiles (because no one uses MySpace anymore...right?)
I just went on my Facebook profile today and realized how many useless applications I have on my profile. I removed at least six apps, and I still have approximately 18 more that I deem "neccessary" even though none of them are neccessary. I removed some of the game apps that just keep spamming my email and that are getting on my fucking nerves. Like the Triumph application. It seemed pretty cool at first, and you got a lot of money and supplies to start. But after a while, it would email me every time I got attacked. Sure you get an additional $100,000 when you get attacked, but sometimes the link in the email would not work, or if you clicked them out of sequence, they wouldn't work at all. And the sheer volume of times I got attacked was ridiculous. I could run out of soliders after three days because some fucking moron would attack me five times in a row and there's absolutely nothing stopping them from doing so if they happen to be stronger than I am. So, if you cannot afford to be attacking people on a constant basis, every single day on Triumph, it gets really annoying really fast.
Another application I never liked right from the beginning was "Attack!". No matter what I fucking do, I never win any goddamn battles unless the odds are stacked very heavily in my favour (eg. the ratio of my armies to theirs is something like 3:1). Needless to say losing everything got really old realy fast. I do not think I, at any point, owned a single card within the six or seven games I played while I had the app.
Now that I have shit on a couple apps, there are a few that I do enjoy quite a bit that deserve mention. One of them is the My Heros Ability application. I don't know if I'm a rare breed, being a nerdy kid who had daydreams about having a superpower, but this app, on a small scale, makes me affectionately remember positive aspects of childhood. Don't tell anyone, but I still wish I had superpowers. This application is fun and requires little maintenance, but there is enough to do if you wish to play with it more than a little. MHA is pretty much set up in the RPG style (you can even customize your name) where you have stats and levels. At the beginning you are randomly assigned a power from several available (they're adding more too). If you are not satisfied with your power (if for some reason you have a real problem with psionics) you can reroll your power. But it resets your stats. So no cheating. You can have multiple powers which you "learn" with ability points (acquired upon levelling up), including Advanced abilites and upcoming Demi-God abilities). For example, I got the ability of Flight upon adding the application. I saved up enough ability points to learn the Spontaneous Regeneration ability (which kind of sucks unless you're going into battle with one or more other people... it's a healing power). You can join a group, which allows you to share XP in battle, and you can fight NPCs and you can also enter PvP areas. Just check it out; I can spend an entire blog post on this app. The best part is it's regularily updated. It's not one of those shit apps that gets made and then the creator doesn't pay any attention to it.
Something I would be looking for in terms of Facebook applications is something for Neopets. I think it would be cool to show my information on my Facebook page. It's like what happened with Xbox Live, I might find people who use it too on Facebook. I found three of my friends on Xbox Live through Facebook.
Alright it is time to conclude this post, considering it has taken me about an hour to compose it (due to getting distracted by things such as Facebook and MySpace). It is time to go play on Neopets.
I just went on my Facebook profile today and realized how many useless applications I have on my profile. I removed at least six apps, and I still have approximately 18 more that I deem "neccessary" even though none of them are neccessary. I removed some of the game apps that just keep spamming my email and that are getting on my fucking nerves. Like the Triumph application. It seemed pretty cool at first, and you got a lot of money and supplies to start. But after a while, it would email me every time I got attacked. Sure you get an additional $100,000 when you get attacked, but sometimes the link in the email would not work, or if you clicked them out of sequence, they wouldn't work at all. And the sheer volume of times I got attacked was ridiculous. I could run out of soliders after three days because some fucking moron would attack me five times in a row and there's absolutely nothing stopping them from doing so if they happen to be stronger than I am. So, if you cannot afford to be attacking people on a constant basis, every single day on Triumph, it gets really annoying really fast.
Another application I never liked right from the beginning was "Attack!". No matter what I fucking do, I never win any goddamn battles unless the odds are stacked very heavily in my favour (eg. the ratio of my armies to theirs is something like 3:1). Needless to say losing everything got really old realy fast. I do not think I, at any point, owned a single card within the six or seven games I played while I had the app.
Now that I have shit on a couple apps, there are a few that I do enjoy quite a bit that deserve mention. One of them is the My Heros Ability application. I don't know if I'm a rare breed, being a nerdy kid who had daydreams about having a superpower, but this app, on a small scale, makes me affectionately remember positive aspects of childhood. Don't tell anyone, but I still wish I had superpowers. This application is fun and requires little maintenance, but there is enough to do if you wish to play with it more than a little. MHA is pretty much set up in the RPG style (you can even customize your name) where you have stats and levels. At the beginning you are randomly assigned a power from several available (they're adding more too). If you are not satisfied with your power (if for some reason you have a real problem with psionics) you can reroll your power. But it resets your stats. So no cheating. You can have multiple powers which you "learn" with ability points (acquired upon levelling up), including Advanced abilites and upcoming Demi-God abilities). For example, I got the ability of Flight upon adding the application. I saved up enough ability points to learn the Spontaneous Regeneration ability (which kind of sucks unless you're going into battle with one or more other people... it's a healing power). You can join a group, which allows you to share XP in battle, and you can fight NPCs and you can also enter PvP areas. Just check it out; I can spend an entire blog post on this app. The best part is it's regularily updated. It's not one of those shit apps that gets made and then the creator doesn't pay any attention to it.
Something I would be looking for in terms of Facebook applications is something for Neopets. I think it would be cool to show my information on my Facebook page. It's like what happened with Xbox Live, I might find people who use it too on Facebook. I found three of my friends on Xbox Live through Facebook.
Alright it is time to conclude this post, considering it has taken me about an hour to compose it (due to getting distracted by things such as Facebook and MySpace). It is time to go play on Neopets.
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Nerd Test
If I ever think I am nerdy, I can come online and get proven wrong. The internet is full of nerds and geeks, and how wonderful it is. Finally, a place where the nerd/geek can dominate.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
my Google group!!
I have been browsing the Usenet boards as of recent. You can kind of tell that the old timers are the ones who post there. There's almost no l33t speak, and the English language is remarkably intact. It's quite refreshing, actually.
My Google Group is a group for people who like funny pictures. For those of us who appreciate graphical humour. If you like graphical humour, I wish for you to join.
Maybe my next goal will be to go spam Facebook. I hate Facebook, I have to use my real name on it, so spamming isn't quite as much fun.
My Google Group is a group for people who like funny pictures. For those of us who appreciate graphical humour. If you like graphical humour, I wish for you to join.
Maybe my next goal will be to go spam Facebook. I hate Facebook, I have to use my real name on it, so spamming isn't quite as much fun.
Friday, May 23, 2008
(social) network updates
Well, since there's so much stuff on this internet of ours, I have a zillion accounts of various types throughout the web. Most of them I probably have forgotten about. <deleted> The only problem I have with Mugshot is that it is not very inclusive. There is only an extremely limited amount of websites which are included. They have the idea right, though. Another contention I have is the erratic updating of the "Stacker" (the Mugshot equivalent of a feed). Also, the kinds of updates. I don't know if anyone really cares that I have a new message on Facebook. I think they would more care about my status changes and other such things. Also, with Last.fm, it tries to update every song. This is in absolutely no way practical with the extreme slowness of the updates, considering most people listen to a huge amount of songs at a time. It should just mass update every hour, saying " listened to <#> songs" or something like that.
Sorry, I am going off on a tangent. Anyway, here is a list of several sites I am a member of. For the most part, these are sites I participate in quite regularly. Except for Amazon, that was one of those random things that Mugshot asked for for some reason. Anyway, here you go:
Sorry, I am going off on a tangent. Anyway, here is a list of several sites I am a member of. For the most part, these are sites I participate in quite regularly. Except for Amazon, that was one of those random things that Mugshot asked for for some reason. Anyway, here you go:
<deleted>
The thing I use the most is my Xbox Live gamertag. I play games much more than I use these other sites. Except Facebook, which isn't up there, because I can't link directly to it. Not that I would link strangers to my Facebook profile. I like my internet anonymity, thank you very much.
Friday, May 16, 2008
Axe marketing campaign stupidity
Someone seriously needs to shoot/kick/throat punch/lynch the Axe marketing team. I just saw the newest "cottage" ad for Axe and they're getting stupider and stupider. I think they're paying monkeys to come up with and design marketing campaigns. What makes it worse is that Axe is an absolutely vile, overpriced product. You can buy five of the competitor's product for the price of one bottle of Axe, and the competitor's product actually works. It should be marketed as an emetic medication. More evidence this world is going to hell in a handbasket. Fuck capitalism.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
iCoke; what the fuck?
What the fuck is our world coming to? Apparently the existing words in the English language are changing. I always thought the word "free" meant that you could receive something without paying for it. Below is an excerpt from the iCoke website:
The gist of iCoke is that you can collect PIN numbers under caps of Coke. Each PIN gives you like 500 points (no matter what the size of the bottle, which is another point of contention for me, but that's another argument). You can collect points and redeem them for things. Most of the prizes is shit I will never want or need, but the only reason I collect is because one of the prizes is movie tickets (although they pretty much never have them in stock, which is yet another annoyance from Coke).
Coke, in one of their streaks of wisdom, decided to implement the above promotion. When I saw it I thought "hey, something else I might find useful for once". So, I entered my PIN numbers (I generally get quite a few at a time because my significant other and me both collect and share PINS, because we use the movie tickets together) and got up to 10 PIN numbers pretty quickly. I then got the following message:
What the fuck? So, if I take the offer, the points I just entered were pretty much a waste of time and effort? (10 x 500 = 5000, nullifying the addition to my points balance) I got lied to once again? I thought that when I entered 10 PINS Coke would grace me with a small blessing of their thanks by giving me a free Coke (after consuming 10 of them to get the fucking points). But no, that's far too much to ask for. "Here is a free Coke... that will be 5000 points please". Does anyone else see this as being as stupid as I do?
"FREE Coke with every 10th PIN!
Starting May 1st, every 10th PIN you enter gets you an offer for a FREE Coke. However, if you choose not to accept the offer when prompted, the opportunity won't come again until you've entered another 10 more PINs."
The gist of iCoke is that you can collect PIN numbers under caps of Coke. Each PIN gives you like 500 points (no matter what the size of the bottle, which is another point of contention for me, but that's another argument). You can collect points and redeem them for things. Most of the prizes is shit I will never want or need, but the only reason I collect is because one of the prizes is movie tickets (although they pretty much never have them in stock, which is yet another annoyance from Coke).
Coke, in one of their streaks of wisdom, decided to implement the above promotion. When I saw it I thought "hey, something else I might find useful for once". So, I entered my PIN numbers (I generally get quite a few at a time because my significant other and me both collect and share PINS, because we use the movie tickets together) and got up to 10 PIN numbers pretty quickly. I then got the following message:
"You have received this exclusive offer because you've entered 10 iCoke PINS*. All you have to do is redeem 5,000 iCoke Coins and you'll receive a coupon† for a FREE Coke. Be careful, if you close this page the offer will be gone for good!"
What the fuck? So, if I take the offer, the points I just entered were pretty much a waste of time and effort? (10 x 500 = 5000, nullifying the addition to my points balance) I got lied to once again? I thought that when I entered 10 PINS Coke would grace me with a small blessing of their thanks by giving me a free Coke (after consuming 10 of them to get the fucking points). But no, that's far too much to ask for. "Here is a free Coke... that will be 5000 points please". Does anyone else see this as being as stupid as I do?
Sunday, May 4, 2008
stupid wireless in Ubuntu, plus Hardy Heron
As I have said before, I have been having problems with wireless in Ubuntu. I gave up with my old crappy SMC thing, and went on eBay and bought a D-Link DWL-G122 wireless adapter ($30, you can't go wrong). It's pretty much just a USB dongle, so it's about one quarter the size of my old one. It also doesn't have the connectivity problems (in Windows) that the old one had. With the SMC, every couple hours or so it would randomly disconnect for no apparent reason. It would just lose sight of our wireless network, even though the wireless network is always on. The only time it's ever gone off is during a power outage, or if I reset the router. Anyway, I've been suggested a few links to instructions on how to install this thing. I know it's compatible because it says so on the official Ubuntu site. But I got stuck at one part because the computer needed an internet connection (which I do not have without either wireless or a huge ass ethernet cable, and obviously wireless is not an option). I plugged the computer in to the ethernet cable, and a few updates pop up, including the distribution update (new version, Hardy Heron). So I am installing that, and it says now it's going to take like an hour or so. So, we're on a break from the wireless installation. The funny thing about this is that my brother has been using the ethernet cable for his internet, and right now I am borrowing it. When I borrowed it, I told him I would be about 10 minutes.
I have not used Hardy yet, obviously, but I am definitely looking forward to doing so. There are many new features it seems. Some of the changes listed include Firefox 3 Beta 4, which could be interesting. I've noticed that Firefox doesn't seem to get updated very often, but Mozilla favours Linux users... which is good. There is also things like a new BitTorrent client, and a CD burning program that looks pretty good. I'm also quite intrigued by the new feature that allows the display of different times for different time zones. I can easily keep track of what time it is where gaming opponents might be (eg. Japan, England). Please note that the link above is to the Hardy Heron Beta page. I am sure there have been more things added even since then. Since the point of beta is to test and change things. See this link for information on the alpha release.
There is also an important sound driver update that's coming out. Maybe it will fix my sound problems! Maybe it will fix the sound in Pidgin. I won't know until I get Hardy Heron (8.04) installed.
I know I am kind of rambling, but I am waiting for Hardy to install, which is another 1 hour and 8 minutes apparently. I guess I can leave and play Xbox or something...
I have not used Hardy yet, obviously, but I am definitely looking forward to doing so. There are many new features it seems. Some of the changes listed include Firefox 3 Beta 4, which could be interesting. I've noticed that Firefox doesn't seem to get updated very often, but Mozilla favours Linux users... which is good. There is also things like a new BitTorrent client, and a CD burning program that looks pretty good. I'm also quite intrigued by the new feature that allows the display of different times for different time zones. I can easily keep track of what time it is where gaming opponents might be (eg. Japan, England). Please note that the link above is to the Hardy Heron Beta page. I am sure there have been more things added even since then. Since the point of beta is to test and change things. See this link for information on the alpha release.
There is also an important sound driver update that's coming out. Maybe it will fix my sound problems! Maybe it will fix the sound in Pidgin. I won't know until I get Hardy Heron (8.04) installed.
I know I am kind of rambling, but I am waiting for Hardy to install, which is another 1 hour and 8 minutes apparently. I guess I can leave and play Xbox or something...
Monday, April 21, 2008
Ubuntu wireless problem
After all kinds of messing around with my wireless adapter in Ubuntu, I have given up. It seems, the right answer being the most simple, that my wireless adapter simply is not compatible with Ubuntu. I should have known, I have a hard enough time finding drivers for the thing for Windows, nevermind Linux. It's also a very old piece of hardware (well, in computer years it is). It also wasn't very popular. So, here is what I did (taken from a post I made on The Linux Forums):
This will hopefully work, and hopefully I can install the new adapter properly. Another bonus is that this adapter is also compatible with my router (it's the same series of products, as well as same company obviously).
The next problem for me to tackle after this will be the Bluetooth. This crappy cordless mouse I am using now isn't going to cut it permanently, and I like my keyboard. No one seems to know how to solve my Bluetooth problem though. We'll see...
"I decided to go on eBay and buy a wireless adapter I know is compatible with Ubuntu (I checked on the Ubuntu site). I got a D-Link DWL-G122 wireless adapter. It has not come in the mail yet, but I am hoping it will be here this week. I paid only $21.14 CAD for it, which includes shipping and handling and all that."
This will hopefully work, and hopefully I can install the new adapter properly. Another bonus is that this adapter is also compatible with my router (it's the same series of products, as well as same company obviously).
The next problem for me to tackle after this will be the Bluetooth. This crappy cordless mouse I am using now isn't going to cut it permanently, and I like my keyboard. No one seems to know how to solve my Bluetooth problem though. We'll see...
Sunday, April 20, 2008
slashdot.org = breeding ground for trolls, idiots, etc.
There was an article on Slashdot called "Internet Sites Biased Towards Supporting Suicide". Someone decided the following comment would be funny and informative to fellow readers (taken verbatim from the site):
"KILL YOURSELF FAGGOT!!! (Score:5, Funny)
by Anonymous Coward on Saturday April 12, @05:22PM (#23049194)
KILL YOURSELF FAGGOT!!!"
Note the score of 5 for how hilariously funny this comment is. Scores assigned to comments are ranged from -5 to +5. Apparently this comment is so perfect in it's composition that every other comment made on the internet in the future should contain the soulful intellect and literary prowess of this comment. The main kicker about this comment is that these "ratings" are given by people who have had moderating power bestowed upon them by the people who run this site. Therefore, this comment is a direct reflection of the site itself. That one comment, quite frankly, makes me never want to comment or read anything on that site ever again. Another chunk of stupidity courtesy of Slashdot is the fact that I make comments in reply to articles, and they were more sensible comments than "kill yourself faggot" (keeping in mind that pretty much anyone who passed kindergarten can make a more sensible comment than that). What ratings did my comments get? My comments got 1's. All of them. More proof that people are fucking idiots.
"KILL YOURSELF FAGGOT!!! (Score:5, Funny)
by Anonymous Coward on Saturday April 12, @05:22PM (#23049194)
KILL YOURSELF FAGGOT!!!"
Note the score of 5 for how hilariously funny this comment is. Scores assigned to comments are ranged from -5 to +5. Apparently this comment is so perfect in it's composition that every other comment made on the internet in the future should contain the soulful intellect and literary prowess of this comment. The main kicker about this comment is that these "ratings" are given by people who have had moderating power bestowed upon them by the people who run this site. Therefore, this comment is a direct reflection of the site itself. That one comment, quite frankly, makes me never want to comment or read anything on that site ever again. Another chunk of stupidity courtesy of Slashdot is the fact that I make comments in reply to articles, and they were more sensible comments than "kill yourself faggot" (keeping in mind that pretty much anyone who passed kindergarten can make a more sensible comment than that). What ratings did my comments get? My comments got 1's. All of them. More proof that people are fucking idiots.
Monday, April 7, 2008
holy crap.. my bigger Ubuntu plunge
So, I randomly decided on Friday that I would install Ubuntu on here (my main computer). Installing it went without a hitch (unlike when I tried to install it on my other computer). Now that I have it running, I simply love it. But, on the other hand, I am having some major problems:
- I seem to be completely incompetent when it comes to the terminal
- it will not recognize my Bluetooth mouse (it knows its there, it just won't connect)
- my wireless card is not recognized at all
- my printer is absolutely fucked (although that was going on pre-Ubuntu I think)
- Ubuntu will only output sound sporadically... even though this seems common, I cannot find a solution
- Pidgin will not play sounds, even though I have configured it to
- I haven't figured out how to get XChat to recognize my mIRC commands yet
- BOINC will not load on startup
A couple of those are very minor problems. The major problems are the wireless and the Bluetooth (in that order). The sound thing is severely annoying (both output and Pidgin), and the printer thing will become more significant as time goes on. Especially when I'm asked what happened to my barely-a-year-old PostScript printer.
It's going to take me a long, long time to get completely used to this. Especially considering you have to configure everything (and yes, I mean everything). That's one of the downsides. The upside, though, is that there is much more you can do... there are pretty much no limits as to how you customize Linux! But, just in case, this is still a dual-boot system, with a fully serviceable install of Microshaft Windows on it, you know, just in case I fuck something up....which I tend to do sometimes.
- I seem to be completely incompetent when it comes to the terminal
- it will not recognize my Bluetooth mouse (it knows its there, it just won't connect)
- my wireless card is not recognized at all
- my printer is absolutely fucked (although that was going on pre-Ubuntu I think)
- Ubuntu will only output sound sporadically... even though this seems common, I cannot find a solution
- Pidgin will not play sounds, even though I have configured it to
- I haven't figured out how to get XChat to recognize my mIRC commands yet
- BOINC will not load on startup
A couple of those are very minor problems. The major problems are the wireless and the Bluetooth (in that order). The sound thing is severely annoying (both output and Pidgin), and the printer thing will become more significant as time goes on. Especially when I'm asked what happened to my barely-a-year-old PostScript printer.
It's going to take me a long, long time to get completely used to this. Especially considering you have to configure everything (and yes, I mean everything). That's one of the downsides. The upside, though, is that there is much more you can do... there are pretty much no limits as to how you customize Linux! But, just in case, this is still a dual-boot system, with a fully serviceable install of Microshaft Windows on it, you know, just in case I fuck something up....which I tend to do sometimes.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Friday, March 14, 2008
Mugshot, PMOG bitching, and Linux
Yesterday, I signed up for a Mugshot account. I had one before, but for whatever reason stopped using it. Unfortunately, I don't think they've added any sites to the list of accounts you can add. For those who don't know, the jist of Mugshot is that it is supposed to be a central feed for your various accounts throughout the internet. You can add your Digg, Last.fm, Facebook, del.icio.us accounts, and others. I can think of many other accounts that you should be able to add:
- Xbox Live
- Pogo
- BookMooch
- Flixster
- Wikipedia (although I don't have a Wiki account)
- BOINC ()
- Joost
- PMOG (when the alpha comes out)
- anything else
But oh well, it's an interesting service. It's maintained by the Red Hat Team so there should be very few glitches and bugs.
I've been playing PMOG. I don't know if I mentioned the fact that I finally found an invite, but I did, and have been playing for about a week now. They weren't kidding when they said it was a beta. Lack of features, super bugginess and other things plague it. My association has been greatly inconsistent. Like in an RPG game, you have a "class", or in this case, "association". This association is chosen for you based on your behaviour, for example, what kind of objects you use, or what missions you take. If you take a mission by, for example, a Seer, that will slightly skew your association towards being a Seer. The problem is I've used all of my mines (a Destroyer trait), and taken 7 or 8 Destroyer missions. Why the hell am I a Pathmaker? I should even maybe be a Seer. Definitely not a Pathmaker. It makes no sense.
Another thing that is buggy about PMOG are the missions. I have like 10 missions I couldn't finish because the mission instruction box would not show up on pages. I have no idea why, and there's no rhyme or reason to it. So, as it stands, I can expect to not complete 2 out of 3 missions. It's also been mentioned in the forums many times.
Yesterday, I decided to remedy the connection problems on my "toy" computer. My toy computer is an old computer that is not good for anything else except to test things on and play with. I guess you could call it a software Frankenstein. So, one day, I decided to install Linux because I have been told that Linux is better than Windows (which is no surprise). It is, in fact, better than Windows. After much trouble, I finally got Xubuntu 7.10 on there. After a while, it stopped recognizing the internet connection. Since there was nothing on that computer except the OS, I decided to reinstall. But this time I installed Ubuntu. I got that one and decided I wanted Fedora instead. So, I prepared the Live CD and it gets about halfway through the booting process and doesn't work. I can't recall what exactly the numbers were, but when the computer admits to you it's frozen, then it must be frozen. Ubuntu is okay for now. My overall goal someday is to completely switch over to Linux and get Microshaft out of my life for good. But that might not happen for a while considering I unfortunately need Microshaft programs (for compatibility reasons) for the time being.
- Xbox Live
- Pogo
- BookMooch
- Flixster
- Wikipedia (although I don't have a Wiki account)
- BOINC ()
- Joost
- PMOG (when the alpha comes out)
- anything else
But oh well, it's an interesting service. It's maintained by the Red Hat Team so there should be very few glitches and bugs.
I've been playing PMOG. I don't know if I mentioned the fact that I finally found an invite, but I did, and have been playing for about a week now. They weren't kidding when they said it was a beta. Lack of features, super bugginess and other things plague it. My association has been greatly inconsistent. Like in an RPG game, you have a "class", or in this case, "association". This association is chosen for you based on your behaviour, for example, what kind of objects you use, or what missions you take. If you take a mission by, for example, a Seer, that will slightly skew your association towards being a Seer. The problem is I've used all of my mines (a Destroyer trait), and taken 7 or 8 Destroyer missions. Why the hell am I a Pathmaker? I should even maybe be a Seer. Definitely not a Pathmaker. It makes no sense.
Another thing that is buggy about PMOG are the missions. I have like 10 missions I couldn't finish because the mission instruction box would not show up on pages. I have no idea why, and there's no rhyme or reason to it. So, as it stands, I can expect to not complete 2 out of 3 missions. It's also been mentioned in the forums many times.
Yesterday, I decided to remedy the connection problems on my "toy" computer. My toy computer is an old computer that is not good for anything else except to test things on and play with. I guess you could call it a software Frankenstein. So, one day, I decided to install Linux because I have been told that Linux is better than Windows (which is no surprise). It is, in fact, better than Windows. After much trouble, I finally got Xubuntu 7.10 on there. After a while, it stopped recognizing the internet connection. Since there was nothing on that computer except the OS, I decided to reinstall. But this time I installed Ubuntu. I got that one and decided I wanted Fedora instead. So, I prepared the Live CD and it gets about halfway through the booting process and doesn't work. I can't recall what exactly the numbers were, but when the computer admits to you it's frozen, then it must be frozen. Ubuntu is okay for now. My overall goal someday is to completely switch over to Linux and get Microshaft out of my life for good. But that might not happen for a while considering I unfortunately need Microshaft programs (for compatibility reasons) for the time being.
Friday, March 7, 2008
killwithme.com - Untraceable Web Game
I recently saw the movie Untraceable in theatres, and I quite enjoyed it. It was a really good thriller, especially considering that horror/thriller movies these days tend to be completely horrible.
Anyway, out of pure curiosity, I went to see if the website killwithme.com actually existed. Apparently it does. Not surprisingly, it belongs to the maker of the movie. When you enter, it asks you for your name and such, and it enters you into a game. The object of the game is to solve puzzles so you can get clues to the login and password for the killer's server. It also times you while you're doing this. These puzzles are not hard at all, I am generally terrible at puzzles, especially while being timed, and I managed to solve these. But I won't ruin it for you. After it's all done, it takes you to a very interesting screen. Below, I will include a picture of the screen. I would love to know what it's supposed to mean.
Anyway, out of pure curiosity, I went to see if the website killwithme.com actually existed. Apparently it does. Not surprisingly, it belongs to the maker of the movie. When you enter, it asks you for your name and such, and it enters you into a game. The object of the game is to solve puzzles so you can get clues to the login and password for the killer's server. It also times you while you're doing this. These puzzles are not hard at all, I am generally terrible at puzzles, especially while being timed, and I managed to solve these. But I won't ruin it for you. After it's all done, it takes you to a very interesting screen. Below, I will include a picture of the screen. I would love to know what it's supposed to mean.
Edit: I Googled the phrase "BHO the Illuminati" and got this YouTube video.
I also looked up "Illuminati" and found the following definition on Wikipedia:"Illuminati is a name that refers to several groups, both real and fictitious. Historically, it refers specifically to the Bavarian Illuminati, an Enlightenment era secret society founded in the late eighteenth century. However, in modern times it refers to a purported conspiratorial organization which acts as a shadowy power behind the throne, allegedly controlling world affairs through present day governments and corporations, usually as a modern incarnation or continuation of the Bavarian Illuminati. In this context, Illuminati is often used in reference to a New World Order (NWO). Many conspiracy theorists believe the Illuminati, or the "Illuminated ones", are the masterminds behind events that will lead to the establishment of such a New World Order. Confusing the issue further is the fact that there are also several modern fraternal groups which include the word "Illuminati" in their names.
In rarer cases, the Illuminati refers to an elite set of enlightened individuals who may not cooperate but are uniquely empowered by their enlightenment, much like the intelligentsia classes of today are empowered by their education and intelligence. These are people who have become illuminated and have achieved a higher mystical understanding of the universe. Many secret societies and mystical traditions are concerned with this kind of illumination or enlightenment, such as the Rosicrucian Societies, the Martinists and the original Bavarian Illuminati."
It makes sense if you think about it. But I still don't know who or what BHO is. That could be anyone/anything, considering acronyms are not particularly specific. But judging from that YouTube video (too specific to be a coincidence, I think), BHO = Barack Hussein Obama, aka one of the democratic party candidates for the upcoming US election. Apparently the creators of the Untraceable site have a political agenda? But it was suggested on one site I looked at that the leaderboards were possibly hacked.
Thursday, March 6, 2008
PMOG has been entered
I managed to find myself an invite code. PMOG is a very fun game. My only complaint is the fact that it takes a long ass time to level up. I'm still a level 1, and I've visited about 200 (unique) pages (unique meaning any parent directory counts as one hit). The help section is also painfully sparse. I wanted to know what gives me datapoints, and I can't seem to find that information. Do people taking my mission give me datapoints? Does someone tripping my mine give me datapoints? I'm not sure, but it's highly addictive. I like the fact that it's passive. No 30 hours a week on some game like World of Warcraft or something. But, unfortunately, I only have 3 mines left....
Sunday, March 2, 2008
PMOG
You are on PMOG
PMOG is the Passively Multiplayer Online Game. To play, you’ll need to Get Firefox and Add Our Extension. This unconventional massively multiplayer online game merges your web life with an alternate, hidden reality. The mundane takes on a layer of fantastic achievement. Player behavior generates characters and alliances, triggers interactions in the environment and earns the player points to spend online beefing up their inventory. Suddenly the Internet is not a series of untouchable exhibits, but rather a hackable, rewarding environment!
How severely annoying. I am on this site, and it sounds absolutely awesome. I found out about this type of game through Wired magazine. It sounds absolutely super awesome, an internet and game whore's dream. The problem? You can only sign up if you have a fucking beta key. Why is the site live if people can't even sign up for it? Sure you can enter your email address for a beta key. But the problem with that is the fact that the beta key never comes. I had the same problem with Gmail when it was first brought out. I had to plead with someone to give me an invite. It makes me seethe when people try and gain publicity by denying people. Isn't the object of beta testing to get as many people as possible to test? That way you can find the maximum amount of problems. Beta testers are warned and aware of the potential problems them and their computers may endure while testing, and they are aware that they are risking this.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
PersonalDNA
I love personality analysis. Here is a really good one that touches on many different aspects of the personality. I think it was quite accurate indeed. It uses sliders and such to present answers to the questions of the test, as opposed to those stupid radio button things, which are way too vague for me. I think it hit me really hard on the openness and trust. My one complaint about this test is that it uses the word "people" a lot. This makes me refer to the general population, and I only trust people who are close to me. It also presents me as of "Average Femininity" and I tend to think of myself as more masculine. How can I be of "Average Femininity" as well as "Average Masculinity"? Aren't they opposites, and you cannot be both at the same time? Anydangway, here are my graphical results:
Another presentation of my results:
Another presentation of my results:
Free Stuff for Canadians
I have found a new addiction. It's a form for sharing links to free stuff throughout the internet, such as free samples and promotions. I've sent away for so much stuff already. I have no idea why it's so addicting, considering I haven't even gotten anything from it yet. The only severely irritating thing is for some of the offers you have to enter your phone number. I personally don't want some random company knowing my phone number. But I found this offer to be a part of a nicotine replacement study. Basically, they give you free nicotine replacement therapy (eg. patches, gum, whatever is right for you). It's all verified by a pharmacist, so it's legit. They won't give you the stuff unless you consult with a pharmacist first. I will pick mine up maybe next week when I get time off.
I know it's silly, but I love free stuff. I am also a packrat, which can be a severely irritating combination for those around me. But some of it will actually be useful, for example, the t shirts. I always need new clothing because I hate buying clothes. Now, if only I could find one that gives out free pants.
Click Here!
I know it's silly, but I love free stuff. I am also a packrat, which can be a severely irritating combination for those around me. But some of it will actually be useful, for example, the t shirts. I always need new clothing because I hate buying clothes. Now, if only I could find one that gives out free pants.
Click Here!
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
*crash*.. Navizon, MobileScrobbler, #G7 again, and Second Life
Today, #G7 is being a cockface. It's not letting me log in. I was testing out a new server connection to the EFnet network, and connected and reconnected. Obviously, it logged me out. Now the fucking message bot won't accept my login info. It's not doing anything.
On another depressing note, I updated some of the software on my iPod touch. Two programs that were updated were Navizon GPS and MobileScrobbler. Navizon has decided to be a bunch of fucking tools and has decided to charge from now on for use of this program ($29.99 or something stupid). Which is bullshit. I fucking hate when companies revert to charging for previously free software. It's so fucking lame. Oh well, I guess I will just have to figure out how to downgrade.
The other program, MobileScrobbler, is very important to me. It is the whole reason I jailbroke my iPod. Last I tried, it was not working. It was not loading my information. But, I tried it just now and it's working. I really hate the changes they've made though. I was miffed at the last version that I couldn't see what songs are in the queue. Now I can't even see how many songs are in the queue! Hell, I can't even edit my information! Edit: Apparently I wasn't looking hard enough. The settings for MobileScrobbler are in the iPod's general settings
I also found something called Second Life today, courtesy of Wired Magazine. As far as I can tell, its an avatar chat thing. It takes place in a virtual world which is seemingly complex and strange. I haven't even skimmed the surface yet. But, I have changed my character's appearence (he's a male furry with bright magenta hot pants, a tight black shirt, and garter style fishnet stockings). I can't for the life of me figure out how to get back to Orientation Island and get the fucking guide window back up. It's extremely annoying. I will figure it out when I have spare time. I've already spent way too much time dicking around here on the computer.
By the way, here is the link to the story which enlightened me about Second Life: LINK
On another depressing note, I updated some of the software on my iPod touch. Two programs that were updated were Navizon GPS and MobileScrobbler. Navizon has decided to be a bunch of fucking tools and has decided to charge from now on for use of this program ($29.99 or something stupid). Which is bullshit. I fucking hate when companies revert to charging for previously free software. It's so fucking lame. Oh well, I guess I will just have to figure out how to downgrade.
The other program, MobileScrobbler, is very important to me. It is the whole reason I jailbroke my iPod. Last I tried, it was not working. It was not loading my information. But, I tried it just now and it's working. I really hate the changes they've made though. I was miffed at the last version that I couldn't see what songs are in the queue. Now I can't even see how many songs are in the queue! Hell, I can't even edit my information! Edit: Apparently I wasn't looking hard enough. The settings for MobileScrobbler are in the iPod's general settings
I also found something called Second Life today, courtesy of Wired Magazine. As far as I can tell, its an avatar chat thing. It takes place in a virtual world which is seemingly complex and strange. I haven't even skimmed the surface yet. But, I have changed my character's appearence (he's a male furry with bright magenta hot pants, a tight black shirt, and garter style fishnet stockings). I can't for the life of me figure out how to get back to Orientation Island and get the fucking guide window back up. It's extremely annoying. I will figure it out when I have spare time. I've already spent way too much time dicking around here on the computer.
By the way, here is the link to the story which enlightened me about Second Life: LINK
Monday, February 11, 2008
#G7 Idle RPG
So I found this thing on IRC called an idle RPG. It's based on the structure of a normal RPG (eg. levelling, items, quests etc.) except the main difference is the way you gain levels. The way to gain levels is to idle in the room as long as possible. You get penalized for logging out, quitting, getting kicked, sending messages in the room, or otherwise being active. It's a really silly concept, but so awesome at the same time. I figured since I idle enough anyway, what a great way to make it semi-productive. Finally, something where it pays off to do nothing.
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Apps for the Touch update
As I was saying in my last post, I believed the applications Apple was "providing" to touch users (aka charging way too much for) were something I wished to have. I was also not prepared to pay $20 for them. But, through wondrous searching, I have found these applications through AppSnapp. All I had to do was add an additional source to the Installer.app source list. Voila, they were there. So, I now have Google Maps and Weather on my iPod touch. I didn't feel I needed Stocks or Mail, considering I only use web based mail, and don't really keep up with the stock market. I have also turned my touch into a GPS node via a service called <a href=http://www.navizon.com>Navizon</a>. My iPod touch has officially been turned into my PDA, bwahaha.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
iPod touch 1.1.3 jailbroken
Free iPod Touch - Your FREE iTouch resource for tutorials, t... The iPod Touch 1.1.3 firmware has been jailbreaked or jailbroken or hacked, whichever term you prefer! Unfortunately the jailbreak will NOT come out until February, when the official SDK comes out. Here are details on the jailbreak: - It does require opening up your iPod Touch and playing with the hardware - The hacking teams claim that they discovered the code "LittleBear" when they decrypted the firmware - An Official SDK will be released sometime in February - A lot of applications still won't be able to work in the jailbreak - Springboard.app may not work, and Customize.app may not work either Unfortunately this Jailbreak does have a lot of downsides. Fortunately the SDK for the iPod Touch or iPhone is coming out next month, so we can look forward to that. With the new SDK, the hacking community will be able to solve a lot of problems like adding flash to the iPod Touch, adding line rider to iPod Touch, and more. I think that's ridiculous. This is becoming a really stupid battle between Apple and the hackers. Now, Apple has the nerve to charge $20 fucking dollars for five applications that should be included for free in the new update anyway (applications being Mail, Google Maps, Weather, Notes and Stocks). Or, preferably without the update, considering updating makes the jailbreak useless, as far as I'm concerned. I'm not about to open up my iPod and start fucking around with the innards. Apple needs to get a fucking life and come to terms with the fact that no amount of updating is going to stop hackers from getting what they want from their technology (yes, the technology that they dished out the money for). At this time, I am currently looking for a weather and notes application for my jailbroken (1.1.1) iPod touch. The huge downside to the Installer.app is the fact that you cannot search for applications. It would be so unbelievably easy if I could just enter "weather" into a search box, and have all relevant applications come up. I would then be able to choose which one suits my needs best. The moral of the story: I wish Apple would just give up trying (and failing) to stop the installation of 3rd party applications. If they did, everyone's life would be easier.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
D&D Character Test
I think this is too cool. I love long, detailed quizes like this. I especially like personality analysis. I also enjoy D&D. So it's a very nice quiz in my books. The detailed results are most excellent. This was based on 156 questions, I believe.
I Am A: True Neutral Human Druid/Wizard (2nd/2nd Level)
Ability Scores:
Strength-13
Dexterity-11
Constitution-13
Intelligence-12
Wisdom-11
Charisma-10
Alignment:
True Neutral A true neutral character does what seems to be a good idea. He doesn't feel strongly one way or the other when it comes to good vs. evil or law vs. chaos. Most true neutral characters exhibit a lack of conviction or bias rather than a commitment to neutrality. Such a character thinks of good as better than evil after all, he would rather have good neighbors and rulers than evil ones. Still, he's not personally committed to upholding good in any abstract or universal way. Some true neutral characters, on the other hand, commit themselves philosophically to neutrality. They see good, evil, law, and chaos as prejudices and dangerous extremes. They advocate the middle way of neutrality as the best, most balanced road in the long run. True neutral is the best alignment you can be because it means you act naturally, without prejudice or compulsion. However, true neutral can be a dangerous alignment because it represents apathy, indifference, and a lack of conviction.
Race:
Humans are the most adaptable of the common races. Short generations and a penchant for migration and conquest have made them physically diverse as well. Humans are often unorthodox in their dress, sporting unusual hairstyles, fanciful clothes, tattoos, and the like.
Primary Class:
Druids gain power not by ruling nature but by being at one with it. They hate the unnatural, including aberrations or undead, and destroy them where possible. Druids receive divine spells from nature, not the gods, and can gain an array of powers as they gain experience, including the ability to take the shapes of animals. The weapons and armor of a druid are restricted by their traditional oaths, not simply training. A druid's Wisdom score should be high, as this determines the maximum spell level that they can cast.
Secondary Class:
Wizards are arcane spellcasters who depend on intensive study to create their magic. To wizards, magic is not a talent but a difficult, rewarding art. When they are prepared for battle, wizards can use their spells to devastating effect. When caught by surprise, they are vulnerable. The wizard's strength is her spells, everything else is secondary. She learns new spells as she experiments and grows in experience, and she can also learn them from other wizards. In addition, over time a wizard learns to manipulate her spells so they go farther, work better, or are improved in some other way. A wizard can call a familiar- a small, magical, animal companion that serves her. With a high Intelligence, wizards are capable of casting very high levels of spells.
Find out What Kind of Dungeons and Dragons Character Would You Be?, courtesy of Easydamus (e-mail)
I Am A: True Neutral Human Druid/Wizard (2nd/2nd Level)
Ability Scores:
Strength-13
Dexterity-11
Constitution-13
Intelligence-12
Wisdom-11
Charisma-10
Alignment:
True Neutral A true neutral character does what seems to be a good idea. He doesn't feel strongly one way or the other when it comes to good vs. evil or law vs. chaos. Most true neutral characters exhibit a lack of conviction or bias rather than a commitment to neutrality. Such a character thinks of good as better than evil after all, he would rather have good neighbors and rulers than evil ones. Still, he's not personally committed to upholding good in any abstract or universal way. Some true neutral characters, on the other hand, commit themselves philosophically to neutrality. They see good, evil, law, and chaos as prejudices and dangerous extremes. They advocate the middle way of neutrality as the best, most balanced road in the long run. True neutral is the best alignment you can be because it means you act naturally, without prejudice or compulsion. However, true neutral can be a dangerous alignment because it represents apathy, indifference, and a lack of conviction.
Race:
Humans are the most adaptable of the common races. Short generations and a penchant for migration and conquest have made them physically diverse as well. Humans are often unorthodox in their dress, sporting unusual hairstyles, fanciful clothes, tattoos, and the like.
Primary Class:
Druids gain power not by ruling nature but by being at one with it. They hate the unnatural, including aberrations or undead, and destroy them where possible. Druids receive divine spells from nature, not the gods, and can gain an array of powers as they gain experience, including the ability to take the shapes of animals. The weapons and armor of a druid are restricted by their traditional oaths, not simply training. A druid's Wisdom score should be high, as this determines the maximum spell level that they can cast.
Secondary Class:
Wizards are arcane spellcasters who depend on intensive study to create their magic. To wizards, magic is not a talent but a difficult, rewarding art. When they are prepared for battle, wizards can use their spells to devastating effect. When caught by surprise, they are vulnerable. The wizard's strength is her spells, everything else is secondary. She learns new spells as she experiments and grows in experience, and she can also learn them from other wizards. In addition, over time a wizard learns to manipulate her spells so they go farther, work better, or are improved in some other way. A wizard can call a familiar- a small, magical, animal companion that serves her. With a high Intelligence, wizards are capable of casting very high levels of spells.
Find out What Kind of Dungeons and Dragons Character Would You Be?, courtesy of Easydamus (e-mail)
Alignment:
Lawful Good ----- XXXXXXXXXXXXXX (14)
Neutral Good ---- XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX (15)
Chaotic Good ---- XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX (15)
Lawful Neutral -- XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX (16)
True Neutral ---- XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX (17)
Chaotic Neutral - XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX (17)
Lawful Evil ----- XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX (15)
Neutral Evil ---- XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX (16)
Chaotic Evil ---- XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX (16)
Law & Chaos:
Law ----- XXXXXXXX (8)
Neutral - XXXXXXXXX (9)
Chaos --- XXXXXXXXX (9)
Good & Evil:
Good ---- XXXXXX (6)
Neutral - XXXXXXXX (8)
Evil ---- XXXXXXX (7)
Race:
Human ---- XXXXXXXXXXXXX (13)
Dwarf ---- XXXXXXXXXX (10)
Elf ------ XXXXXXXX (8)
Gnome ---- XXXX (4)
Halfling - XXXXXX (6)
Half-Elf - XXXXXXXXXX (10)
Half-Orc - XXXXXXXX (8)
Class:
Barbarian - (-4)
Bard ------ XXXX (4)
Cleric ---- (-4)
Druid ----- XXXXXX (6)
Fighter --- XX (2)
Monk ------ (-23)
Paladin --- (-23)
Ranger ---- (-2)
Rogue ----- (-8)
Sorcerer -- XXXX (4)
Wizard ---- XXXXXX (6)
Friday, January 11, 2008
Logitech Setpoint is a really bad piece of software
I use the Logitech MX5000 mouse and keyboard set. This includes connection using Bluetooth. I've been having a really annoying problem with the crappy software that comes with it. Even though this software has been updated about three times since I got this thing, the problem still remains. Here is a post I submitted to the Logitech support forums:
"I can't exactly recall when this started happening. I know it's caused by Setpoint because it stops when I exit Setpoint. I would simply not use Setpoint, but I lose functionality of my keyboard when Setpoint isn't open. The problem is: when I have Setpoint running, the top window I am using switches from active to inactive at approximately one second intervals, and keeps repeating that cycle. So, if I try and type something, I can't type it properly because the window will go inactive while I'm typing. I exited Setpoint just now, or else this post would take about five hours to write. I updated to the new version of Setpoint, including the firmware upgrade. I thought it might fix it, but it didn't. I'm using the MX 5000 Bluetooth keyboard and mouse. I hope someone can help, because this is getting severely annoying. Thanks."
It's really dumb and really annoying. So, unless I have Setpoint open (which I do not because of this problem), I can't use the media keys on my keyboard. I think that's completely shitty, and wish this shit would get fixed. I wish I could figure out how to use the Microsoft Bluetooth stack (yes, I know, ironic that in this case I would prefer a Microshaft product).
Logitech is seemingly infamous for crappy software. It makes it worse that it's them, because they're a peripheral company, and peripherals rely heavily on software to function with the rest of the computer. Not to mention the fact that you need peripherals to use a damn computer...
"I can't exactly recall when this started happening. I know it's caused by Setpoint because it stops when I exit Setpoint. I would simply not use Setpoint, but I lose functionality of my keyboard when Setpoint isn't open. The problem is: when I have Setpoint running, the top window I am using switches from active to inactive at approximately one second intervals, and keeps repeating that cycle. So, if I try and type something, I can't type it properly because the window will go inactive while I'm typing. I exited Setpoint just now, or else this post would take about five hours to write. I updated to the new version of Setpoint, including the firmware upgrade. I thought it might fix it, but it didn't. I'm using the MX 5000 Bluetooth keyboard and mouse. I hope someone can help, because this is getting severely annoying. Thanks."
It's really dumb and really annoying. So, unless I have Setpoint open (which I do not because of this problem), I can't use the media keys on my keyboard. I think that's completely shitty, and wish this shit would get fixed. I wish I could figure out how to use the Microsoft Bluetooth stack (yes, I know, ironic that in this case I would prefer a Microshaft product).
Logitech is seemingly infamous for crappy software. It makes it worse that it's them, because they're a peripheral company, and peripherals rely heavily on software to function with the rest of the computer. Not to mention the fact that you need peripherals to use a damn computer...
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
iPod touch + Last.fm = success!
I figured out how to jailbreak my iPod touch! I was right, version 1.1.2 has patched the TIFF exploit, and therefore caused AppSnapp not to work. So, I downgraded. Since there's not such a large difference between 1.1.1 and 1.1.2, it's not a big deal. After that, it was smooth sailing. I have successfully gotten MobileScrobbler on my iPod touch, yay!
Monday, January 7, 2008
iPod touch + Last.fm = hate
As I have said, I got an iPod touch for Christmas. I figured since past iPods were so successful, they would keep the same basic configuration for everything. Unfortunately, that was not the case. I was happily scrobbling my tracks (see definition of "scrobbling" below, taken from www.UrbanDictionary.com ) on my old iPod nano with a simple parsing of the iTunesDB. Since said file is such an integral part of the whole iTunes dealy, I thought they would never get rid of it. I was very wrong. So, now I am scrambling to look for something that can scrobble my music. But not before the whole album art fiasco. Why the hell can't there be a centralized album art server, kind of like www.musicbrainz.org is for song tags? People can just query the database whenever they need album art. But I digress. I found a program called MobileScrobbler that is an application that is directly on the iPod touch (it also works for iPhone). Unfortunately, you need to install an application that will allow you to put applications on your iPod touch/iPhone. Silly, eh? So, I tried this. The program that allows for applications, called AppSnapp, would not install on my iPod. The FAQ of the program site says that it's because I have run the AppSnapp installer too many times, and I need to restore. A little drastic, but I oblige and do so. I try again and get the same thing. Now I'm fucking annoyed. I tried posting on the Last.fm group for the program, but that was only a couple minutes ago. I'm afraid of what it might be though. This program supposedly exploits a TIFF glitch in the iPod/iPhone. The sites for AppSnapp and MobileScrobbler both make reference to firmware version 1.1.1, although the most recent version is 1.1.2. This might mean that Apple has since updated the software to fix this glitch, and therefore rendered both programs unusable. That would be really fucking lame, especially for such a benevolent program like this. Almost as lame as the fact that they changed the entire system around, so the iTunesDB is no more. I hate large companies.
1. Scrobble
260 up, 19 down |
When Last.fm automatically sends the name of each song played by audio player, they call this "scrobbling."
The application will scrobble your playlist.
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