Category: Modern problems

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Chores of the day…

Poo Patrol!

Thank you Saint Mike Rowe you are an inspiration to me each and every time I have to dig out that little shit shovel!

A97180 g119 7 poop scooping

Weedwacker

Weed whacking.

This activity always results in my bleeding. Today it was a busted knuckle… There’s a lot of small rocks and in some places little bits of melted metal and fused glass. I always start the weed whacking process with a walk over the ground to pick up anything loose or sharp. I always miss something and whatever I miss always ends up being flung at a high velocity toward whatever exposed skin is closest. Today it was my left knuckle… Last week it was the back of my right hand.

Technology issues.

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Last night I flip on the satellite box in the living room and my TV image was a lovely shade of pink. And that lovely shade was on all channels. I’m thinking it’s something with the satellite box, reset, power down, reset and for just an instant everything is good then PINK! After many hours and substituting cables, moving things around and generally messing around. I come to the conclusion that if I remove the surround sound system (Which all HDMI is routed through) the problem goes away. I call the manufacturer and they’re very nice they tell me I’m out of warranty but that for a flat (and inexpensive) rate they’ll make necessary repairs then return the unit to me with a 1 year warranty. Nice! Service with a smile. They even apologized for the repair possibly taking up to two weeks. Really? That’s nothing… I’ve rerouted all the HDMI cabling to use the TVs internal systems so it’s no big deal. I did however choose not to connect the XBox directly to the TV. Not that I couldn’t it would just require getting behind a credenza and working in a very narrow space which I would have to undo when the surround system gets back. As it stands, Satellite, Apple TV, and DVD are all online I can live without the XBox for a while. If I really need an XBox fix… I can always make the connections.


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I’m Hooked!

I’m totally hooked on my new Domain host provider.

These folks rock!

There’s a steep learning curve to any new venture and so far I’m impressed with the way things are going. While I haven’t been living on their phones I can say that they’re there 24/7 and It’s really nice to know that.

For example, I’ve been bringing things online just by poking around in their menus. My new blog is an example of “Oh Yeah… I want that blog here…” Then installing the appropriate stuff.

I was thinking “OH Shit!… I really don’t want to have to transfer each item one by one” Then I noticed  simple little application that said it could grab my entire Blogger blog and move it.

I was dubious… But figured hat the hell? I have direct control over the files and If necessary I can blow em all away and recreate the new blog site.

Guess what? The little application worked just as advertised. These folks also handle moving your Apple web pages seamlessly and can take the data right from your existing iweb application.

So here’s my recommendation Click on the animated link below, It’ll take you to their site and they’ll get you started right away.

As I progress I’ll occasionally post updates about my experiences.

Thus far… I’m seriously impressed. If a moron like me can make heads or tails out of the way they set things up… ANYBODY CAN!

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Been a fast – slow week….

It’s been one of those weeks where the days fly by but I don’t feel like I’ve gotten anything accomplished.

On the plus side, I’ve gotten all the FexEx, UPS, & USPS shipments that I was expecting.

So now i’m good to go for the next shooting competition. I’m looking forward to it.

One of the other shipments was the new Apple TV 1080P I really like the machine a lot. There are a couple minor warts on it…

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Apple TV

On the Plus side, I like the new AirPlay feature. Even though I’m not using Lion I can realize some of the benefits.

The Netflix interface is one hell of a lot nicer than the Netflix interface in my DVD player. With the player, I have to answer 3 questions and wait for it to figure out that the network cable plugged into the back of the machine is live and that the network is really there and that netflix is really there… On & on.

With the Apple TV, selecting Netflix just displays a menu and you’re off & running. It’s very nice.

The only real annoyance I have with the Apple TV is at least in part, not apples fault. The problem is this; If you’re on a DSL connection trying to stream HD content from the Apple Cloud is really slow.

For example, It’s not at all uncommon for me to see wait times of 2 hours before the movie I want to watch is going to be playable.

If Verizon in their infinite mercy would put FIOS in the town, or if one of the cable companies would supply internet up here, this would probably not be an issue.  I’m still trying to figure out what kind of idol and religious ceremonies or animal sacrifices are necessary to get decent service out of Verizon. If anyone has suggestions leave them in the comments. 

Of course in Cuppertino where EVERYONE has access to blazing fast internet, it isn’t an issue.  I’m sure that the Apple Engineers or Apple Software Quality Assurance never saw any problems and probably never even considered the issue.

Ethernet Cable

However In the REAL world…  High speed internet DOES not exist everywhere.

Thats the part of the problem that is NOT Apples fault.

The part of the problem that is Apples fault is this;

If I have content that I’ve purchased, stored  on a Network attached storage device like Apples Time Capsule or another network hard drive from another manufacturer I can’t directly access that content with the Apple TV.

Yep, I can’t access that data that I own the rights to play unless I have a computer running iTunes turned on and pointed at the network storage device. (In this situation, computer can be an Apple Computer, iPhone, or iPad, or PC running iTunes).

So even if I have told my computer to download the video and stored it on my local network which my AppleTV has access to… I can’t just tell the Apple TV to play the movie. I have to leave my computer or some secondary device running…

My Xbox 360 doesn’t have a problem doing this… but It can’t play the Apple video data because of the damn DRM.

SO… Hey Apple! You’re not being very green! Why do I have to have a device that I’m not USING… turned on so that I can use another of your devices that I am using?

In point of fact… in this arrangement I might as well just plug my computer into my TV and use IT to watch the movies, and shows that I’ve rented, or purchased, and I can stream Netflix too.

After all… The HDMI connection works either way.

This little bug a boo is Seriously annoying to me. In fact, I consider it to be a MAJOR flaw in an otherwise very slick machine.

The Apple TV is a network device, it has full internet capability and it is obviously capable of checking the DRM status of any file it is asked to play. You can watch it do the check when you try to access a film or show from the cloud. So it shouldn’t be any big deal for the Apple Software engineers to add the feature.

I like the Apple TV enough that I’m not going to return it. When it’s out of warranty I’m going to hack the hell out of the bitch! Especially if Apple hasn’t figured out that Access to NAS devices is critical to the success of the device if they’re planning to capture the video market. I’m absolutely sure that some really smart folks are working on a modification even as I type this…

But First… I’m going to write a nice letter to Apple and explain why I think it would be best for them to add the function.

Given Apples attitude toward such suggestions I’m absolutely sure that they will promptly ignore and then lock the Apple TV up even further. But I can dream right?

Cloud Storage

Cloud

Having a slow internet connection from a single source in my town is one of the reasons that I’m not terribly interested in internet cloud storage that everyone and their brother is all excited about. iCloud, Amazon Cloud, dropbox, whatever…

For small files… sure it would probably work ok. For big files…. Like movies, music, or for large encrypted files… cloud storage is next to useless to me. Actually, cloud storage is beyond useless because I don’t have the patience or desire to wait for uploads or downloads.

It’s cheaper for me to throw another NAS device on my network than pay the yearly fees for increased storage that I may or may not be able to access depending on the vagaries of my internet provider.

This is why I have 5 TB of local network attached drive storage, and an additional 5 TB of portable USB dives.

I’m also not really sure that I want my stuff stored on the internet. We’ve already seen that banks and even the government can’t protect our personal data. Why should I think that cloud storage is going to be any different?

Maybe I’m being un-necessarily paranoid, but honestly there is stuff on my computer… well lets just say I don’t think I’d want it broadcast across the world wide web…

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CISPA Ahhh a rose by any other name, Is still a stinking pile…

First it was SOPA, and PIPA.

Now it’s CISPA.

People, this is classic government Bull Shit! One of the thnigs that you must remember about our governement is that the idiots running it are… well idiots! 

Having worked however briefly with the government, I can tell you one true thing. Projects, AKA Bad Ideas never die. They’re just recycled.

Politicians are inherently lazy. They’re not going to create anything new or original they’re going to pick up the tattered remains of some discarded bill. They’ll read about 10 lines of the summary, then they’ll put a new name on it, dress it up with some fancy new benefit and have it on the Senate floor again in a year.

“One Bill” Gill Cedillo is a great example of this. Except in his case he kept presenting the same bill over and over again in the House. He thought it was a good idea for illegal immigrants to have drivers licenses. Every year for 4 or 6 years he’d dust off this stupid bill and present it to the House.

One year is was about Safety, then Next years he said the illegals would get insurance, the next year he made the case that California would see increased registration fees, and so on. In every case his bill was voted DOWN because the people raised hell and in a loud voice told Sacramento HELL NO! 

The people saw that giving Drivers Licenses to illegal immigrants would make being here illegally seem more legitimate. 

The problem with politicians is that they keep presenting the same shit in a different Sunday Hat over and over again. After a while, we’ve all heard about some astoundingly bad idea and voted it down enough times that we think it’s a dead issue. When we turn our attention elsewhere… that’s when one of these moronic ideas gets through the House and Senate and becomes Law.

So it is with this new stupidity.

CISPA Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act

First of all there are only a few organizations within our Government that have the technology and / or brain power to begin to worry about cybernetic data. They ALREADY share information and have since shortly after 911.

The real concern with this Act is much the same the same as it was with SOPA and PIPA OUR privacy. Unless you’re ready for an Orwellian future we all need to pay close attention to the erosion of our privacy.

The primary opposition for this incarnation of a Gee we’re the government you can trust us to spy on you act is that the controls for who is spyed on, where, when, and why are so weak. By WEAK I mean without warrant, or even probable cause.

Even President Obama who in my opinion has serious socialist leanings is against this particular act. He’s already stated publicly that he will not sign this into law. (Hey, even a broken clock is right 2 minutes a day.)

So for those who missed it the first time…

365 Orwell1984

CISPA Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act

Allows for the routine monitoring of any corporation, or individual who the government may find of interest. This monitoring will be done with no warrants, and no judicial oversight.

Couple this with the concept that all it takes for you to BE a terrorist is for the President to SAY you are a terrorist.

The implication is obvious. If someone in the government were to decide that you were a bit too much of an activist or you were exposing criminal wrongdoing via a blog, email, YouTube, or other electronic means. (Think about the secret service scandal. )

The electronic evidence could and would be turned over to government representatives simply because they asked Google, AT&T or whoever. BOOM, suddenly you’re arrested for being a terrorist insurgent trying to undermine the United States. Oh and by the way,  the government would have all the evidence they needed to try, and convict you in a military court. Hope you like GITMO during hurricane season.

This act if passed would also circumvent the Wiretap act and Electronic Privacy act. Both of these acts were passed specifically to prevent this kind of abuse.

So get on the phone, get on email, post your opposition to your blogs, LIGHT UP THE CONGRESSIONAL SWITCHBOARD Demand to be heard.

Demand that your representative answer why suddenly they’re willing to undermine our freedoms? Why haven’t they repealed the Wiretap act and Electronic Privacy act if they now think that CISPA is the proper way to go?

Take control, make your representatives REPRESENT YOU!

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What I do when I’m really bored…

I’ve been signed onto the National Do Not Call list for a while now.

Telephone ch

in general I dislike people and am a disagreeable person so I’m doing telemarketers a favor!

I honestly can’t see that being on that list has done me any good at all.

I think that having the phone number unlisted was a far more effective solution. But like an idiot I believed that the do not call list would be all that I needed and therefore stopped paying Verzion the additional fees to keep the phone number unlisted.

Once the phone number was listed… there was no going back.

As a rather strange aside…

When I told the Verizon representative that I wanted to make the change allowing my phone number to be listed… They were obligated to tell me that my number wouldn’t appear in the phone book until the next printing. I clearly remember processing what the representative said… then my brain rebooted!

It was one of those moments when you wonder just how stupid people are. For Verizons script to have included this bit of nonsense they must have had people calling them asking why their phone number hadn’t magically appeared in the printed phone book!

I digress. I feel like I’m channeling Andy Rooney… Hey Ghost Hunters, exorcism on aisle 8…

Since registering on the Do Not Call system, I’ve seen absolutely no change in the volume of junk phone calls. What I have noticed is that most of the calls originate in India. There is even one persistent caller that is calling from a cell phone registered in India. Really? A Cell phone?

When I’m slightly bored I’ll go to the trouble of doing a reverse look up of these phone numbers…

(Hey, you can only masturbate just so many times in a day before it gets boring… Ok, THAT never gets boring… there’s always another melon or mango to violate…)

On the reverse lookup lists you find that a lot of people have very nasty things to say about the people calling from these phone numbers. Even more often people have nastier things to say about each other in addition to commenting on the marital status of the parents of the person making the call in the first place.

Some people answer these calls with air horns, whistles, screaming tirades, obscenities, or there’s one guy in MN that answers with the recorded sounds of sex.

Uhh… Somehow I don’t think that would make the calls less frequent. I rather think that the calls couldn’t come in because the switching station couldn’t handle the volume.

“We’re sorry, all circuits are busy please try your call again later“.

The guy in MN does get to have an uninterrupted nap, at least until the circuits clear.

My solution is a fax machine. Coincidentally that’s how I know who’s called and what I use to look up their phone numbers when the fruit drawer in my fridge is empty.

The calls start at 7:30 AM and continue until about 9:00 PM

These fall into a few general catergories.

Telemarketing

Scams

and

Bill Collectors.

The bill collectors are really funny.  Sometimes when I’m really bored I’ll answer the phone. Their first question aggressively stated is “WHO ARE YOU?” My response is “Dude, you called me? don’t you know who you were trying to reach?” Inevitably they demand my social security number, I demand their credit card number.

“You’ve called StudMuffins R US This is Adam and you’l be billed $9.95 for the first 5 minutes of our sex chat. We’ll bill you $6.95 every 3 minutes thereafter. So what are you wearing?“

This usually messes the caller up. They try to recover but they’re a lot more contrite about it.

During one of these calls I discovered that a young lady in San Diego was scamming a ton of stores. She’d open credit cards max them out and then move on to the next store or cell phone company. She apparently pulled a phone number out of the air for all of the applications… that number was mine. To further complicate matters, her name is similar to mine. With those two data points, a lot of collection agencies call me thinking I know the bitch. I don’t… but I do know another bitch that really deserves to be hounded, and I’m sorely tempted to give the collection agencies her number.

Nationwide,  bad debt is being sold to all kinds of low life, scum bag collection agencies. So about every 3 months a whole new flood of phone calls hits my poor fax machine because these collection agencies are trying to collect on debts that are deader than Tutankhamen.

Sterile latex surgical gloves

Most of these agencies are in India and I honestly think that they’ve been scammed.

I’d like to shake the hand of the Scum bag bill collector that thought to sell un-collectable debt to India. I’d of course wear a glove while shaking his hand… I mean you really don’t want to get any of that kind of scum on you!

Think about it, American debt collectors have a pile of un-collectable bad debt. They in turn sell it to an Indian collection agency for a couple grand and then the Indians try to recoup their investment. It’s elegant and turns bad accounts into cash… Unless you’re the company in India. Go Capitalism!

Which brings us to the scammers and they are inexorably linked to the Telemarketers.

“Hello I’m calling on behalf of the one legged, limp wristed blond African fund, our records show that you donated to our worthy cause last year and we wanted to know if you were interested in contributing this year.”

“What? You didn’t want to donate money to the one legged, limp wristed blond African fund? Oh you meant to donate to the Republican party? Certainly I can correct this problem for you. I’m so sorry for the inconvenience. I just need the credit card number that you originally used. OF course I’ll wait. Ok now let me enter the number… Ooops, I’m sorry that card number isn’t on file perhaps you used another card? Of course I’ll wait, you take your time.“

These folks are beyond scum. They prey on little old ladies from Pasadena. You just DON’T rip off old people… I’ve made the suggestion that a very special place hell be created for people that do. Tele-evangelists are included in this group.

Satan is running a focus group right now… (There were a bunch of engineers who were very bad people. They’re sitting in with the focus group… Hey it’s a twofer for Satan, and Hell for the engineers!)

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If I’m unlucky enough to get a call from one of these people and figure ’em out early enough, I’ll start having imaginary sex and talk dirty to my imaginary partner or melon whichever is handier…

About the time I’m saying “Ohh baby, lick the head, SUCK IT yeah, yeah, let me see your hole, you like that? Daddys got more for you. I’m gonna rip you open and eat you up, Ohhh baby you’re a little cold, this will warm you up!”

The caller has become either so embarrassed that they’ve hung up or they’ve become a total pervert.

Either way… I win!

I’m not bored for a while and have a new project in the kitchen…

Fruit salad anyone?