This has been cracking me up all damn day:
The SLD (Suspicious Looking Device) from JunkFunnel Labs.
It doesn’t do anything. The only purpose of all of it’s flashing lights, bells, whistles, displays, timers and such is to look suspicious. that’s it. I love it. Something tells me the gub’ment won’t find this nearly as funny as I do, and for heaven’s ake don’t take one into Boston!
Now Listening: The Late Show With David Letterman on TV
There is hope on the horizon for us die-hard smokers who are only quitting because we have to, not because we want to:
The eCigarette! I would so buy this right now if it were available here, to at least try it!
* side note: For those of you who look forward to the lung cancer years but want a more considerate way to smoke, there is the Smoking Jacket. Which I am not enamored of.
Now Listening: The Astronaut’s Wife on the DVD
Tags: ecigarette, quit smoking, cigarette, smoking jacket, secondhand smoke, lung cancer
Check out The Vader Project by clicking here.
If this passes, and I hope it does, I can almost forgive NH for even considering banning smoking in public places this year. Almost. Because the libertarian in me doesn’t think personal choice should be legislatable. Making high end smoke eaters and perfect ventilation a requirement would make more sense. But I digress…
NH To Take Sides Against National “Real ID” Article Here.
Now Listening: The The Mind Bomb
Tags: National ID act, Real ID, NH, ME, Against, Vote No On Real ID, Ron Paul
It’s the Friday before a long weekend, and it has that lazy, sluggish, relaxed, summertime “why am I working” feeling in the air. Even those of us who work out of a home office are feeling the cabin fever after months of snow, rain, ice, wind and (if you are me) accident recovery. i have an appointment with the allergist next week to get my asthma back under control (it’s as if the accident knocked it out of whack. Haven’t been this wheezy and uncomfortable since before I was diagnosed and receiving treatment.). After that I can actually go play outside with my friends!
/begin shameless plug
If you have a Mac, check out my contest over here.
/end shameless plug
Also, I spent my evening last night making a friend a present. You can see her shiny new blog look and location here.
So what are your plans for the long weekend? Camping? Rafting? Gorging yourself on hot dogs, steak, burgers and beer like the rest of us? Let me know in the comments.
Our plans are up in the air. We’ve been invited to several barbecues. If I can get my allergyfst under control with OTC stuff, I want to go to most of them. Other than that honey will be mowing the grass and patching the roof, and I will be writing, writing, writing.
Now Listening: See My Mog
A while back I blogged about Kathy Sierra and the way she was taunted online, even threatened. I am not even going to link to the original post, because it was a knee-jerk “poor thing” response. I took her side in the original controversy, but as time passes, I find myself more and more on the opposite side of the argument (click here for the better way to look at the Kathy Sierra controversy, written by Cyndy). What has happened is that bloggers everywhere are using the Kathy Sierra controversy as a springboard for such asinine ideas as a Bloggers Code of Conduct (censorship, plain and simple, and curtailing of free speech. I won’t be signing that any time this century). Other bloggers are forgetting the basic unwritten rules of personal blogging because of the Kathy Sierra brouhaha, and thinking it’s no big deal to ignore the rules then to get bent out of shape when they catch flak for it.
What are the basic rules of personal blogging?
Don’t give out personal information online, especially about your friends, loved ones, and children. Make up a nickname for the people you know in real life and stick to it, so that trolls and other malcontents can’t find them in real life and do them harm. It’s why I call my honey “honey” and remain vague on the names of family members and close friends – keeping it to first name or nickname only.
The more you share, the easier to make into a target you are. Just because you think you are hard to find (“I only list my county name, not my town.” “I just described my son or daughter’s school, I didn’t give the name.” “How can people find out about me and where I live by my telling the name of my doctor online?” etc) doesn’t mean you are hard to find.
Ignore the trolls, and make sure your friends ignore the trolls. If you can’t keep your friends under control, and they put you in danger, there isn’t much you can do but ride it out and lose the so-called friend who was so willing (or so stupid) to put you and your children in danger.
Make sure your online photos and videos don’t have identifiers in them (your house number, street signs, school frontage, your license plate number, etc). This includes not blogging about your commute with photos and other identifying information that could lead the bad guys direct to your door.
Host your own blog on a web server, using either a free platform like WordPress or a paid one like MovableType. That’s how you can gain the ability to ban trolls and control IP addresses and spam in a way that hosted sites like Blogger can’t do. If you have a low budget and need cheap hosting, I recommend my web host. They rock, and are less than $4 bucks a month for unlimited bandwidth and server space. Click here for HostDepartment.
Don’t include personal information on your domain registration (real home address, real name, real phone number, etc.). The only thing that has to be real on the domain registration is your email.
Don’t blog about work. If you do blog about work, you may get fired. If that happens, you will just have to suck it up. There is no labor law recourse for “blogging about the job” or using company time “blogging on the job”.
Make Flickr photos of your children part of your private photo collection that only your Flickr friends and family can see.
If you use social networking for business and for personal friend finding, and you have kids or engage in non-businesslike behavior, you may want to open a separate account for your business Id that isn’t linked to your personal one. Especially if you lead a double life as a binge-drinking, coke snorting, pot toking, nekkid cam whore or something. You know, in case it looks bad for business.
Don’t engage in flame wars in the comments on other blogs. This is part of ignoring the trolls mentioned above, but I felt the need to spell it out for the Sofa Kings out there. Newsflash for the internet noobs: changing your name in the comments, signing up under different names on sites like Digg to leave comments, etc? Doesn’t work. The internet tracks you by IP address, dumbass. If you use the same computer, house, router, etc? They know that all of these “mystery” commenters are you. And if someone you are friends with has broken the rules of blogging on their blog, the internet baddies can then find that person by searching for you, the commenting Sofa King. Don’t put your friends in that kind of dangerous position by being that kind of hotheaded asshole.
Use GIMP, Seashore or Photoshop to blur identifying information out of pictures, like license plates, ultrasound names, house numbers, etc.
Don’t allow anonymous commenters. Ever. Require a name and valid email. It’s for your own protection. If you lose a few commenters because of this policy, too bad. Write more and get new ones.
Don’t engage in personal attacks on other bloggers. If they engage you… ignore them. What? I’ve said that already? Tough. That one is well worth repeating over and over again.
Long story short, don’t be a Sofa King about the way you handle the internet. Following a few simple rules can help keep you and your children safe online, and keep your business businesslike. You don’t need a silly “blogger code of conduct” to tell you how to act or censor your words and the words of others! You just need common sense. You can still blog like you have diarrhea of the mouth if you want to, just keep the personal stuff vague and in check, and curb your hot-headed friends and blogfriends – their tempers can get you in trouble just like too much info can get you in trouble.
Do I break some of these rules? One, mainly – I link everything. I’m a freelancer, and I’ve been freelancing long enough that my clients are already aware of my political views, religious views, etc, so they also know I am professional when it comes to work. I’ve built a rapport over many years with them. Before I freelanced full time, I worked in an office and tended bar, and this blog was hosted on Blogger and much, much tamer and less blatant about my viewpoints.
/rant off
On a side note, someone took one of my favorite 80s songs by The The, Armageddon Days, and set it to images of current events. Awesome. Hard to believe an 80s song applies so well today. Enjoy!
Now Listening: Check My Mog – iTunes is Running today
Tags: the the, armageddon days, blogger code of conduct, kathy sierra, rules of personal blogging
Technorati Tags: the the, armageddon days, blogger code of conduct, kathy sierra, rules of personal blogging
This little gem flitted across my feed reader a moment ago and made me completely speechless. I don’t even know what to say. I know how the mainstream media missed it – they miss quite a bit these days, being so busy puckering up for the Presidential Ass. I must say I’m surprised it hasn’t been burning up more of the blogosphere and “citizen journalist” sites. What is this news item that has me so floored? A sneaky little thing that just passed, the National Security and Homeland Security Presidential Directive.
In this directive, Bush declares that in the event of a “Catastrophic Emergency” the President will be entrusted with leading the activities to ensure constitutional government. The language in this directive would in effect make the President a dictator in the case of such an emergency.
I would comment further on this, but my head hurts just thinking about it. What do you think? Let me know in the comments.
Now Listening: HBO Boxing on TV
I’ve been out and about traveling the past few days, doing various activities with various clients, relatives and potential clients. I had a conversation about a book I recently put on my Amazon wish list (Go ahead, buy me a present interwebs. I want an Oompa Loompa.). That book is Christopher Hitchin’s new work “God is Not Great: How Religion Ruins Everything“.
The person commenting is upset that I would want to read such a book, claiming that just by reading a “book like that” I’m denying God’s existence. Without getting into personal religious beliefs, let me say that I emphatically disagree. I believe that if you believe in God, you believe in using the gifts God gave you. These gifts include your brain. Your belief should be able to withstand logical thought, and considering the opinions of others. You didn’t get the capacity to think about alternative viewpoints without the expectation that you would use the ability.
Why do people get so frightened of an alternative thought? Why does having friends with opposing views seem so scary to some? I’ve never understood that. I don’t agree with many of my friends on religion or politics, but I can listen to their viewpoint, even debate it, without fear of my personal beliefs being shaken or losing the friendship. That freaks some people out, and I don’t understand why. Shoot, take a look at former child actor Kirk Cameron. He’s become nutty as a fruitcake, and uses his brain for some wacky nonsense now, but he got in a debate with some atheists recently and is proof positive that you can argue your point without losing your faith, if you are so inclined. (Perhaps a poor example, what with the banana argument and the crocoduck and all, but still – he held onto his faith no matter how bizarre.)
So, I read books like this one that make me think, because I believe thinking is key to forming my own beliefs and ideologies about a variety of things. I think you can’t be well-informed without being all-informed. You can’t argue your point without ammunition. You can’t even formulate the thought behind your point without a basis for it. So don’t be afraid to read outside your world view. I promise reading about other religions, ideologies, and viewpoints won’t get you kicked out of heaven if you believe in God. It might just make you more effective at convincing people of your point of view as well – a common side effect of expanding your knowledge.
As to what I believe, that’s fodder for another post, but suffice it to say I fall into the Spiritual Humanist category, and leave it at that.
Now Listening: ZZ Top Greatest Hits
Tags: Atheist, God, Spiritual, Humanist, Religion, Debate, Hitchins, Education, Kirk Cameron, ABC
Technorati Tags: Atheist, God, Spiritual, Humanist, Religion, Debate, Hitchins, Education, Kirk Cameron, ABC
I don’t normally play in the memes playground, but I was tagged by an old real life friend, Meleah, who was tagged by Greg (love his list), and she is one of my favorite people, so I’ll bite. Today’s meme is the 10 Things Make You Happy (It’s a Wonderful Life) meme. It seems I have to put aside the politics and punk rock ‘tude for a minute and think Mary Poppins thoughts. It will be tough, but I’ll bite.
In no particular order, here are my ten things that make me happy:
10. Duckies! Especially the Ze kind.
9. LOLCats (the first step is admitting you have a problem…)
8. Hot Topic goths tripping over their platform shoes and falling down at the Mall
7. The fact that someone actually vanity published this children’s book. And they really, really, really meant it.
6. Paris Hilton Goes To Jail
7. People who do stupid things in the vicinity of a camcorder so we can all watch them later on YouTube and pass their moment of weakness around teh interwebs
6. Giving the horrible, slobbering, ranting drunk asshole from the bar a ride home, only to drop he / she off in front of the wrong house and drive off
5. Southern Comfort on the rocks. And a Vitamin G (Guinness)
4. People who are too stupid even for crime
3. All things geeky and computer-y.
2. Sending people who send me stupid chain emails and other email forwards without checking them for accuracy (or bothering to wonder if I am as into <religionthemilitarychildrenglittergraphics
gaspricesdyingkidswhoarenow35yearsoldthemeailissooutdatedetc> as they are) links to Snopes and to this little rant.
1. Spreading the weirdness by tagging other unsuspecting, usualy “cool” people like myself for happy little Pollyanna memes they wouldn’t normally do. So Amy, Pippa and tesco – consider yourself tagged. Gotta spread the forced cheer around.
Now Listening: Never Mind The Bollocks… It’s The Sex Pistols
Tags: Meme, It’s a Wonderful Life, PUnk Duck, Southern Comfort, Guinness, Mentos, diet Coke, Vomit, Humor
Technorati Tags: Meme, It’s a Wonderful Life, PUnk Duck, Southern Comfort, Guinness, Mentos, diet Coke, Vomit, Humor
