Burning Man fascinates me. Years ago SO and I talked about going. We never made it, but it’s still intriguing. And all the supposed mystical, weird, drugged out “hippy shit” aside, I would just love to go and watch. Yeah, I’m that curious. If you don’t know what Burning Man is, I don’t really know either except vicariously. A write-up here to explain it a little more and one which I’ve saved for the last three years.
I have much more to say about Burning Man, but it won’t be on this blog.
I listen to music in iTunes and own a few iPods, but I’m careful about how I handle what I buy there or Amazon mp3, etc., and for good reason.
Who inherits your iTunes library?
Why your digital books and music may go to the grave
Many of us will accumulate vast libraries of digital books and music over the course of our lifetimes. But when we die, our collections of words and music may expire with us.
Someone who owned 10,000 hardcover books and the same number of vinyl records could bequeath them to descendants, but legal experts say passing on iTunes and Kindle libraries would be much more complicated.
read the rest here
So much for the music industry being ripped off.
No, I’m not on an Apple rant this week, or maybe I am.
And nope, not even going to discuss my Kindle.
Certainly the decision in the Apple vs. Samsung suit is a win for Apple and its shareholders. But the sort of strong arming Apple has been doing with patents could inhibit innovation and may make the market ripe for Apple almost completely controlling smartphone sales for several years. Last time I checked, when a company is the only game in town or darn near, it’s not good for the consumer’s pocketbook. Sadly, Apple is doing what others, namely IBM and Microsoft, have done. And if you don’t know, those two companies got some all encompassing anti-trust actions slapped on them. Factor in Apple’s anti-trust situation with the ebook market, and they are begging for more of the same. Unfortunately, anti-trust actions can drag on for years and years. IBM’s lasted for 14 years, Microsoft’s lasted for 16 years.
But something happened in the Apple vs. Samsung verdict that may have made all of that irrelevant. The jury handed the Samsung counsel a great appeal. Oh sure, Samsung and Apple were both prepared for appeal before this thing really got rolling, yet I doubt either was expecting something like the jury provided. This screams for appeal. If you don’t want to read the link, just know that the jury reached their verdict too quickly and bungled some things in the process. You can also Google it since this morning there are plenty of articles. Of course no one really knows the outcome of court cases, appeals included, as this case makes so abundantly clear.
Whatever happens, Apple has already lost, and in a way that no court case can win back for them. They have now screwed themselves with a significant portion of the programming community, and the programming community has been a key to their success. Have you ever wondered why Macs seemed impervious to viruses? Have you ever wondered why Apple products just haven’t seemed beleaguered with the software issues that PC based products experienced for years? Very simple answer, and it’s not that Apple has made such a superior product impregnable by hackers. The hacker part of the programming community has more or less left them alone. And why? Because the majority of the programming community didn’t see Apple as a bully and were busy taking down other bullies such as IBM and Microsoft. Guess who’s the bully now?
Have you noticed how viruses have started creeping into Apple products? Well expect more of that. A large number in the programming community are seething at how Apple is flexing their proprietary muscle to crush the little guy, and programmers love the little guy because they still think of themselves as a collection of the little guys. Apple went so far as to claim it was patent infringement for other companies to make a rectangular phone with rounded edges and they won. Not a little guy anymore. And now they will have to keep one step ahead of the little guys who will make it a goal to bring them down.
Of course I could be wrong about all of this. If nothing else, it will be interesting to watch.
Have you heard about the possible Internet outage for a chunk of folks come Monday morning? You haven’t? Well, it seems the FBI busted some hackers for creating rogue DNS servers, and they have been allowing the servers to run so that a large number of people who are affected could clean up their systems. For the uninitiated, DNS servers are the machines that allow you to access the Internet, and your system may be pointing to a rogue server instead of your ISP’s server, which means on Monday when the rogue servers are gone, your access to the Internet could be gone. Hopefully that’s as technical as I’m going to get since I want you awake for the rest of the post.
So you’re thinking, “I don’t want to be without Internet service on Monday. What do I do? What do I do? What DO I do?!” I’m so glad you asked because I’m going to tell you, and maybe this will get a wee bit more technical. But first, relax. The problem doesn’t affect as many people as the news bulletins imply. There now you can read the rest of this without panic.
The group working with the FBI to provide technical assistance has created help pages. Instructions for checking your system are here. Please note the dns-ok.us page is not always reliable. It’s better to check your server addresses manually. Scroll down on the link to find instructions for your particular operating system. And as far as fixing the problem if you have it? The same group has provided some resources. My advice? Use Kaspersky. I’ve used all the other software companies for general coverage and specific fixes, and they’re not nearly as good. I’m being kind here. If I were really going to tell you what I think, I would say, “DON’T ever use Norton or McAfee for anything ’cause they suck, and if you already use them, uh, you’re not that protected. Do you know how many systems I’ve worked on that were messed up by a false sense of security about those softwares?!! And also be leery of MSE (Microsoft Security Essentials) simply because Microsoft shouldn’t have that much power.” But I’m being nice, so I won’t say that. I’ll only say that I’ve tried all of the others and found Kaspersky to be the most consistent in protection. And if you’ve ever had a system infected, you know what a pain in the ass it is, and you usually have to come to someone like me who messes with it and hopefully puts it back to normal for a fee more than the Kaspersky software costs. Note: back up your files before you start any of this. I shouldn’t have to say this, but it’s surprising how many people don’t do it as a matter of routine.
And frankly, I just like Eugene Kaspersky. It’s my infernal gut dictating this. Yes, I admit it. I like the guy, and Euguene, you should keep the long hair!
[click for his Twitter profile]
Are you a working “girl”? Then this blog I’m highlighting below may be of interest. And Katie, the author, is not only a Richard Armitage fan, but she’s smart and savvy and fast becoming one of my favorite bloggers. :D
Life Lessons from a Hobbit and a Dwarf Part 1
Posted on June 3, 2012What on middle earth possessed Martin Freeman and Richard Armitage to audition for The Hobbit?!
Martin Freeman, perhaps a little better known, has some movie experience albeit with smaller roles in Hot Fuzz (hilarious!) and Love Actually. And we mustn’t forget the TV hits The Office and Sherlock (fantastic!).
Richard Armitage’s only other foray into international movie stardom was a brief appearance as a baddie in Captain America.
Leading roles in The Hobbit are a significant step up, CV wise, for both actors.
But clearly both felt they had a chance, even if just a small one, and the ability to do the job. They were both also willing to fail in their quest.
Their example provides us with some valuable life lessons, or more specifically, career lessons.
the rest here
A crisis of conscience is crashing over my head. Have I really been in this Richard Armitage frenzy for over four years and blogging about it for over two?! What?!!
It’s the zombie apocalypse. This is how it looks. Just sayin’. In case you wondered. So don’t be frightened. It’s good for now, but sometimes dinner burns. And it beats the hell out of chewing off someone’s face (nope, not even going to put up a link. vomit). No wonder I’ve immersed myself in this!! Okay, I think I’m all better.
Now go buy some gold for the coming economic disaster. Not gold certificates but the real stuff. And then come back and watch ‘North and South with a bunch of us.
Screencap courtesy of RichardArmitageNet.Com
edit: for those who found some of my comments cryptic, just know that zombie apocalypse, which was already a big meme, is now being applied to the incidents involving a drug referred to as “bath salts.” Supposedly the drug turns people into cannibals. There are now at least two recorded and verified instances of this in the U.S. Sickening and definitely makes me want to immerse myself in something that feels good. I actually had a nightmare about this. Mostly thinking of my girls who live in NYC and hoping they look out for themselves and for friends (some of them RA fans) who live in Florida.
Oh my gosh don’t look! It’s shocking! There are women who choose to breastfeed three year old children! What will people do next?!!
Never mind the crisis in Greece.
And if you haven’t seen this yet, I’m wondering what rock you’re under.
My unvarnished opinion: this is a lame attempt to have something titillating on the cover. Talk about manipulation. But hey, it’s got a significant portion of the country’s attention. Time’s one up on digital media. Hope they enjoy the moment.
I have not been able to access my Gmail account for several hours (Temporary Error 500 with code 93, which means it’s a Google server error). Very frustrating — especially considering I have some information stored there for my next post. Given that I’ve been thwarted, I’m reverting to my back up account, which is the same address as my main account but with a 1 on the end of the name. So yeah, that means it’s RAFrenzy1ATgmailDOTcom. My only real problem is I do not have any contacts and email created in the last few weeks. I usually back up once a month but wasn’t due yet hence the need to come with this post. And yes, this is a bit of a vent. LOL!
That aside, I hope everyone is having a good day. I am in spite of this; I think.
This sort of sums up where I’m at:
Screencap courtesy of RichardArmitageCentral
Or The Grid Comes to the the Common Man:
Phew! My mind is running wild with the possibilities for this thing — good and bad. :D
Read more here
March 30, 2012
Update at the bottom.
Oh yeah, it’s a tangent.
The other day my eleven year old and I were out for what she calls “a Big Day.” This involves special things and special places like hiking up one of our favorite trails or going to the zoo, or going to a movie or any number of things that allow us to spend some quality time together doing something we love. Whatever we do, it almost always means a trip to Starbucks. She loves the Strawberries and Creme Frappucino, and I just like strong coffee. But when we sat down to enjoy our drinks, a strong strawberry smell wafted into my nostrils, and I commented to her how much more strawberry it smelled than ever before and maybe the baristas treated her to some extra “juice”? Now I’m wondering exactly what made it so pungent.
Starbucks, in an attempt to please their customers who desire that all of their ingredients come from natural sources, has changed from a synthetic red dye for some of their items to cochineal which is made up of ground insects by the same name. This was irritating to learn. I had already salved my conscience with the thought my daughter consumes synthetic red dye only on occasion, and now I had to learn about this bug! I went in search of information on the cochineal. Ohmygosh, who knew so much was written about it?! And really, I could have gone the rest of my life not knowing, but since I do, well, I’m just curious as hell about everything that comes into my path, so now I’m following this blog.
The Culprit
But my concerns are piddly compared to the vegans. They are up in arms about the approximately 70,000 cochineal that are sacrificed for one pound of dye. Horrors! I have no idea if this is true, and I don’t care, but you can see the supposed statistic here. Which makes me wonder, “What do these people do all day that they have time to ponder this crap?!”
Psst: I would hate for feminist to find out that these are female cochineal.
Do you think Richard Armitage might be a vegan? NOoooooo, he likes food too much, and he did mention the turkey. :D
Update: So Starbucks caved to the vegan pressure, and in so doing hurt the economy in some parts of Africa. See Bug Girl’s post.
RAFrenzy 