This blog can and probably will contain items of a semi-adult nature. While I don't post graphic images or porn, I do talk about issues relating to being in the LGBT community, as well as frank discussions about my views on life. I also talk about subjects that offend the religious right - such as tolerance, understanding, atheism, and being true to yourself.
If you are under age 18 in the USA, then you probably shouldn't be here. The laws vary from country to country, but as a good rule of thumb, if you are not considered a consenting adult in your country, then you are probably too young to be here. A nice alternative would be Scarleteen, a highly recommended site for teens dealing with sex education
Saturday, January 16. 2010
My eyes! It burns!
Found this today on the FSTDT Twitter page.
WARNING: DO NOT VIEW IF YOU ARE EPILEPTIC OR VALUE YOUR EYESIGHT
What is it with the Jesus freaks and website design? Are they all this inept?
Thursday, January 14. 2010
DRM Crazy
Companies are all buzzing about DRM and how it 'protects' their intellectual property, programs, etc. Sometimes, DRM is warranted - take for example, a program like Photoshop - perhaps the most widely used and powerful photo editing program in the world. It's a ripe target for piracy. Other times, DRM is absolutely pointless given what the program does. Take these two examples:
* A program that is used to program and control a specific brand of sewing machine (complete with its own touch screen LCD panel and stylus), to add patterns, styles, etc. The program not only requires a 15k computerized sewing machine, but a rather expensive software package complete with hardware USB dongle to 'authorize' the software to actually install/run. If you lose the dongle, its 1k to replace. One has to ask, how many people in the world would actually have one of these computerized sewing machines, let alone the need for the software package? Unless I missed something and there's a 0day granny hacking group out there pirating this, why oh why would anyone even have the desire to try the program? Are the hackers making doilies on Friday nights now to impress one another?
* A $125 add-on for AutoCAD that embeds spredsheet cells in drawings that requires a licensing server for as little as 2 copies. Not only is the licensing server very unstable and crashes often, but it can't run on a headless machine through RDP. "No problem!" says the company, "run it on one of the workstations!" Ahhh, no. They seemed shocked that we actually had servers with no monitor on them - they've obviously never seen how real companies setup a server room. Meanwhile, no licensing server, no add-on goodness. Half a dozen support incidents later involving replacing the licensing server with a 'custom made' one just for us that supposedly fixed the RDP problems, they opted to give us individual copies that don't require a licensing server. Boom, problem solved, no more whiny CAD people.
In the first example, the obsecurity of the program makes it absolutely useless to anyone who didn't buy the expensive sewing machine, let alone what any self respecing software pirate might downoad (not to mention the bullshit 1k cost to replace the USB dongle). In the second program, not only is the program very specalized and not likely to be used by anyone other then people doing building design, but its not that expensive to begin with and is absolutely useless without AutoCAD.
How many copies of their software do these companies sell each year? I can't imagine they would come anywhere close to Windows 7, Photoshop, or even the current popular computer games. Are they really losing any sales at all to pirates? Seriously.
Monday, January 4. 2010
A request to those who oppose health care for all
I'd like to make a request to the republicans, birthers, religious fundamentalists, and all the others who oppose the health care bills being put forth by President Obama...
Please be sure that when you are the age at which you can begin collecting social security benefits, or if you become disabled and are eligible to collect SSD, that you reject the monthly checks, medicare/medicaid, and any other benefits you are entitled to from the govt.
It would be very hypocritical to do so otherwise. Even at 90 years old, you shouldn't need the help of the govt to survive - you have those multi-million dollar pensions, investment accounts, etc. Even if they are bled dry, you can tough it out, right?
Wednesday, December 16. 2009
Hearing voices, and talking to one's self
Over the years, I've resisted many attempts by people to convert me to their religion. This is a quote of mine from long ago that pissed off quite a few people, but is perhaps one of my most favorite lines of all times:
QUOTE:
There's only two places in this world where talking to yourself and hearing voices in your head is normal and accepted way of life - church and a psych ward. I should know, considering I've survived both.
Saturday, November 7. 2009
Comparing the effects of praying to doing
I was sifting through links and sites online, and noticed something - people spend alot of time praying, but not alot of time doing. So, lets compare what happens when you pray vs doing something.
Plane is flying dangerously close to a mountain. if the pilot:
Prays, 100+ people die as plane slams into side of a mountain. Pilot is labeled as a fool.
Acts, pilot pulls up on his controls and 100+ people survive. Pilot is rewarded for his quick thinking and skills.
Man is hit by bus crossing the street. If the 'good samaritan':
Prays, man dies on the street after several minutes of losing blood. Person is painted as a fool by the media for failing to act.
Acts, calls 911, then uses what he learned in school as a kid, and stops blood loss. Person is considered a hero and respected.
Child needs medical attention and surgery/therapy for cancer. If the parent:
Prays, child continues to get worse, and eventually die. Parents go to jail for neglect and sibblings go to foster homes.
Acts, child goes to hospital and clinics to get life saving procedures. Child grows up and lives a full life.
Homelessness is on the rise, and volunteers are needed for handing out foot, clothing, etc. If the churchgoer:
Prays, help does not arrive for homeless people in the city, and charity has problems finding enough help.
Acts, the homeless are able to eat a warm meal, put on a heavy jacket, and find a dry place to sleep.
In other words, praying accomplishes nothing. Yes, magical things may happen when you pray, and good things may happen - but that's only because someone else decided to act instead of you.
In other words, you were lazy.
Fun/Useful Links For The Week
Some fun/useful links I think people might enjoy...
1) Your Religion Is False - Ten Stupid Things Smart Christians Believe
I particularly like the part about the mythical man in the sky watching you shower
2) Friendly Atheist - Fingerprints are the Mark of the Beast, Says Kindergarten Teacher
This is why we should require people who influence children to undergo a psych evaluation
3) m:IQ - online backup of contacts, call logs, photos, etc for free. Sorta like Blackberry Enterprise Server.
4) Live Sync - As much as I don't like supporting Microsoft's laughable attempts at competing with others, they did come up with Live Sync (well, bought it from someone else) which is quite useful for keeping documents/folders/etc in sync across multiple machines. Available for both Mac and Windows.
