It's time to boycott Sony

Mark Russinovich, a Windows expert, of Sysinternals Freeware, wrote Sony, Rootkits and Digital Rights Management Gone Too Far - a look at the DRM software from First 4 Internet that Sony is using to cripple its music CDs. This software was designed to only allow 3 copies of a cd, and forces one to use the player software on the CD itself. The software is poorly written, infiltrates the PC, and attempts to conceal itself, just like trojans and other malware. It's also written so that if your malware scanner finds it, and deletes its files, it can crash your system. Also, if the software malfunctions, preventing you from booting into Windows, you won't be able to boot into Safe Mode either - it's there as well.
Overall, it's a buggy piece of software that takes too much control over your whole system, tries to hide itself, and offers no uninstall option. This is just the latest reason to teach Sony a lesson by boycotting it. From forcing Memory Sticks onto the consumer, to using ATRACs for compression instead of MP3, for crippling most of their equipment by forcing it not to work with other manufacturers' equipment - when will people wake up and see Sony as the marketing juggernaut it really is? Sony products are NOT superior, their customer service is terrible (personal experiences), they DO NOT stand behind their product whatsoever. They may have a good design team, but it's time people started looking at function as well as form.

I hereby wow to NEVER AGAIN purchase another Sony product:

• no more Sony CDs,
• no more Sony/Columbia/MGM dvds,
• no more Sony TVs, DVD players, VCRs,
• no more Sony audio equipment,
• no more Sony car audio products (their Xtreme line was crap to begin with),
• no more Sony blank media,
• no more Sony CD/DVD burners,
• no more Sony satellite equipment,
• no more VAIO PCs or monitors,
• no more Sony Ericsson cell phones,
• no more Walkmans/Discmans/MD/Network Walkmans/Walkman phones.

Just say no to Bravia, Qualia, Trinitron, XBR, VAIO, etc.

It's time we all said good bye to Sony - I've had enough, when will you?

Money

Money, the long green,
cash, stash, rhino, jack
or just plain dough.

Chock it up, fork it over,
shell it out. Watch it
burn holes through pockets.

To be made of it! To have it
to burn! Greenbacks, double eagles,
megabucks and Ginnie Maes.

It greases the palm, feathers a nest,
holds heads above water,
makes both ends meet.

Money breeds money.
Gathering interest, compounding daily.
Always in circulation

Money. You don't know where it's been,
but you put it where your mouth is.
And it talks.

-Dana Gioia

WDCD - What Did the Conmen Do?

Cenk Uygur is co-host of The Young Turks, the first liberal radio show to air nationwide. The Young Turks began as Sirius Satellite Radio’s first original program, and, while still on Sirius, is now nationally syndicated and available on itunes and online at www.youngturk.com and www.radiopower.org. He wrote a scathing, well-written, dead on post on the Huffington Post blog. The post - "If You're a Christian, Muslim or Jew - You are Wrong" - is a look at the fallacy of religion, and all the damage the three major religions have caused over the last 6000 years, by inciting wars, crusades, and causing men to behave badly in general. Behavior that would be grounds for imprisonment today was cause for martyrdom in the olden days. Rules that made little sense back then, are even more senseless today.

As you can perhaps tell, I tend to agree with Cenk's views. The opinions put forth in the post's comments by religious believers only tend to reenforce his views. In these days of presidents issuing world-changing decisions because their god told them to, and the ability to tell the truth in countries praised for freedom of speech, people need to know the cold hard truth.

LEARN CHINESE IN 5 MINUTES

1) Thats not right....................................... Sum Ting Wong

2) Are you harboring a fugitive................... Hu Yu Hai Ding

3) See me ASAP................. Kum Hia Nao

4) Stupid Man.................... Dum Fuk

5) Small horse................ Tai Ni Po Ni

6) Did you go to the beach?....................... Wai Yu So Tan

7) I bumped in to a coffee table................. Ai Bang Mai Fa Kin Ni

8) I think you need a face lift...................... Chin Tu Fat

9) It's very dark in here.............................. Wao So Dim

10) I thought you were on a diet............... Wai Yu Mun Ching

11) This is a tow away zone....................... No Pah King

12) staying out of sight.............................. Lei Ying Lo

13) He's cleaning his automobile................ Wa Shing Ka

14) Your body odor is offensive.................. Yu Stin Ki Pu

15)Great.................................................... Fa Kin Su Pah

Google has a Sense of Humor

Founded in 1998 by Sergey Brin and Larry Page, Google is named after a term that is represented by the number 1 and followed by 100 zeros, which spells out googol.

Google is a wonderful search engine; it can return anything from locations, directions, to simple definitions. All you have to do is type your word or phrase into the search box, and click “Google Search” and within seconds you will be bombarded by hundreds of websites pertaining to your word or phrase. This is not uncommon, many search engines work this same way, but Google has something special. Right next to “Google Search” there is another button labeled “I’m Feeling Lucky.” This special button will return the first page that Google finds that pertains to your search word. This is where the real fun begins.

While the wonderful people at Webster’s Dictionary define failure as “lack of success,” Google seems to return something quite different. I am not sure whether this is on purpose or perhaps just a mere coincident, but when anyone types in failure into Google’s search box and hits “I’m Feeling Lucky” it brings up George W. Bush’s autobiography from whitehouse.gov.

Just like so many, I too have heard of the saying, “when you look up ‘idiot’ in the dictionary it has your picture next to it” I just never imagined it to be true.

As much as I love Google, this time I have to disagree with them. I’m sorry, but I do not believe George W. Bush should be associated with the term failure, if anything I think his name should me synonymous with success. Can you name anyone else who:

• was addicted to alcohol
• did crack
• avoided being drafted to Vietnam
• skipped out on the National Guard - without having to suffer any consequences
• graduated from Yale with a C average - and is damn proud of it
  
• doesn’t have a clue what “tribal sovereignty” is
• got arrested for a DUI at the age of 30
  
• ran every one of his businesses into the ground, including a first-world nation
  
• and still finds time to be elected to two terms of presidency.

That is the definition of success if I ever heard one.

W.G.D. ♥ G.B.C. blog

I'm in love with a new blog - Gadget Blog Corrections Blog. Ever read the gadget blogs (check out my blogroll for examples) - and go "What the F?" Do some of the posts seem just a tad dubious? Well, get on over to the G.B.C.B. (that would make a cool T-shirt logo), and join them in catching the tech writers red-handed. They leave no stone unturned in their quest to call "bullshit" and plenty of [sic] on articles from Engadget, Gizmodo, The Register, and their ilk. Right on!

You know you are from Southern Cali when....

I'm not sure if these observations about us SoCalians are all that flattering, but here you go.
For anyone who's never been to Southern California, I've added comments.

• Your monthly house payments exceed your annual income.
• Home prices have tripled in the last ten years.
  
• You drive next to a Rolls Royce and don't notice.
• Exotic cars are dime-a-dozen in SoCal. Getting hit by one, however, is a one-in-a-million shot - unless you've got Danny Bonaduce driving one. Then again, poor Danny can't afford much more than a 350z convertible.
  
• You don't know anyone's phone number unless you check your cell phone.
• You speak Spanish, but you're not Mexican or are Mexican but don't speak Spanish at all.
• Spanish is the almost official second language in SoCal, since technically this was Mexico not too long ago, and more than half of the population is Hispanic.
  
• You begin to "lie" to your friends about how close you are when you know damn well that it'll take you at least an hour to get there (see below).
• Getting anywhere from point A to point B, no matter what the distance, takes about "twenty minutes".
• SoCal is criss-crossed by a network of highways, with downtown Los Angeles being a major highway hub. Most people live ten to fifteen minutes away from one. Once you get on a highway, all bets are off.
  
• You drive to your neighborhood block party.
• In the "winter", you can go to the beach and ski at Big Bear on the sameday.
• When the temperature hits 60 F, we bring out the ski jackets to go out for coffee. Surfers, however, hit the beach in wetsuits. Big Bear is a ski resort in San Bernardino county, about 8000 feet high up, that's 2 hours away from Los Angeles. You can easily drive up in the morning, ski half a day, come back, and still have time to go to Malibu Colony Plaza for some Siberian Java ice blended.
  
• You eat a different ethnic food for every meal.
• Even though NYC is the boiling pot, SoCal is home to various Asian, Hispanic, and European populations, and the restaurant diversity reflects that. Unlike NYC, SoCal is full of inexpensive, casual places where you can actually park, grab a bite, and not have to dress up.
  
• If your destination is more than 5 minutes away on foot, you're definitely driving.
• Ok, I get it, "nobody walks in LA". Since our public transportation is nothing to be proud of, and it's kinda hot throughout the year, cars are a need, not a luxury. Thus, parking is plentiful, inexpensive, and the roads are actually designed for driving. Then again, most of SoCal wasn't built until the 20th century, so cars were part of the design plan. At one point, before the 60s, Los Angeles had a great network of electric trams - until General Motors, bless their little shareholder-value-consumed brains, bought the trams, and got rid of them in one fell swoop. Thanks, GM putzes, for getting rid of something useful and historic.
  
• Calling your neighbors requires knowing their area code.
• In the US, unlike Europe, calling a mobile phone is no different from calling a landline. This is due to the fact that phone numbers for VOIP lines, landlines, and mobile phones are allocated from the same pool of numbers. Some neighborhoods, due to many homes having multiple landline and cellphone numbers, ran out of numbers and had to get an area code "overlay". In these "overlay" areas, neighbors have to dial the area code to call their neighbors. Most places, however, you can just dial the number without the area code.
  
• You know what "In 'N Out" is and feel bad for all the other states because they don't have any.
• In 'N Out is the best fast food hamburger place. It's family owned, with outlets throughout SoCal, Nevada, and Arizona. Their patties are never frozen, just refrigerated, they are always packed, so the meat doesn't have time to spoil, and they have a small menu. The shakes are made with real ice cream. Some of the packaging has little religious symbols discreetly printed on it, but it's not too in-your-face. Also, some off-the-menu items include "Animal Style" burgers - extra sauce, "Animal Style" fries - fries covered with melted cheese, fried onions, and sauce.
  
• You don't stop at a STOP sign; you do a California Roll.
• A California Roll is both a type of sushi roll (imitation crab meat and cucumber), and the act of not completely stopping the car at stop signs and left turns. In SoCal, cars must stop completely for 2 seconds at stops and turns, but most people either don't stop for the 2 seconds needed, or just slow down, and then speed up, never actually stopping completely.
  
• You really can never be too rich or too thin or too tan.
• You've partied in Tijuana at least 3 times.
• Tijuana, Mexico is only 2 hours away from Los Angeles, and only 15 minutes away from San Diego. With a $50 purchase of Mexican car insurance, it's an easy day trip.
  
• You don't remember at least 1 of them.
• What happens in TJ, stays in TJ.
  
• You go to a tanning salon before going to the beach.
• Tanning salons are safer.
  
• You eat pineapple on pizza.
• Technically, that would be a Hawaiian pizza.
  
• Your cell phone has left a permanent impression on the side of yourhead.
• At least we aren't forced to wear headsets like the other coast.
  
• You think that Venice is a beach.
• The waitress asks if you'd like "carbs" in your meal.
• A result of the Dr. Atkins' diet craze of 2004, which proselityzed that carbs in food are terrible for the body, and that a diet rich in protein, and low in carbs is a quick and easy way to lose weight. Eventually the Atkins' movement lost steam, almost taking out such beloved institutions as In 'N Out (who had to introduce the "carb burger" - lettuce instead of bun), and Krispy Kreme (great cream-filled donuts).
  
• You know who the tinsel underwear dude in Venice Beach is.
• You classify new people you meet by their Area Code. An "818" would never date a "562" and anyone from "323" or "213" is ghetto/second class. Best area code: "949." Nobody likes anyone from the "909" because it stinks there.
• 818 - the "Valley" - covers "over the hill", from Pasadena on one side, to Ventura county on the other.
• 562 - ?
• 213 - Old Los Angeles area code, still covers downtown Los Angeles and downtown adjacents
• 323 - New Los Angeles area code, covers an area from Beverly Hills to East Los Angeles
• 949 - Orange County, including Newport Beach, Laguna Beach, etc.
• 909 - Riverside County, where you can smell the fertilizer used on farms everywhere.
• 310 - Covers the area from Beverly Hills all the way west to the ocean (Santa Monica), and almost all the way down to Orange County.
  
• You call 911 and they put you on hold.
• Second largest population in the nation - things can get a little busy.
  
• You have a gym membership because it's mandatory.
• The gym is packed at 3pm...on a workday.
• SoCal is full of WAMs (WaitressActressModel), who are waiting for auditions, soccer moms whose husbands are working and whose kids are in school, and trustafarians who don't really do much besides work out and party.
  
• You think you are better than the people who live "Over the Hill". It doesn't matter which side of the hill you are currently residing, you are just better than them, for whatever reason.
• SoCal is full of mountain ranges, and as they say - the grass is always greener on the other side. Angelenos hate the Valleyites, Pasadena is not a big fan of Glendale, and so forth.
  
• You know that if you drive two miles in any direction you will find a McDonald's or a Starbucks.
• This is very true. You can often find a McD's or a Strbx close to you, or within another business. Several Home Depots have the Mac inside, and you can often find Strbx inside large laundromats, supermarkets, etc.
  
• You know what "sigalert", "PCH", and "the five" mean.
• SIGAlert is a traffic alert
• PCH is Pacific Coast Highway, a.k.a. Highway CA-1, that goes along the coast, with ocean views along most of the drive. It's a small two-lane highway, but very scenic. By the way, I've seen smaller high-speed highways in Europe, but PCH is all about enjoying the drive, not getting there quickly. Also, exotic cars and motorcycles on PCH, especially in the Malibu/Zuma Beach/Ventura area are more common than small cars on European roads.
• "the five" is the US-5 freeway, which is old and jammed, but that cuts through most of SoCal.
  
• You can't remember . . . is pot illegal?
• California allows the use of pot for medicinal purposes, with a doctor's prescription. Unfortunately, federal law prohibits any use of pot, and while one may not get busted by the California authorities, the DEA does not share their views.
  
• It's barely sprinkling rain and there's a report on every news station: "STORM WATCH".
• What can I say - we live in the desert, people. It doesn't rain that often here - but when it does, all havoc breaks loose. Not sure why, but too many people forget how to drive as soon as a drop of water hits their windshield - whether it's the rain, or the guy in front who has his windshield washer aimed to shoot not his windshield, but that of the car behind him.
  
• The Terminator is your governor.
• Yes, it's true - Arnold "I'll Be Buk" Schwarzenegger, the man who butchered so many lines in so many movies, is the governor of this state. He can often be seen with his wife, the Skeletor, and his kids, on parade in his fleet of Hummers. Since he became governor, however, he has a personal SWAT team of security following him around, and blocking traffic when he chooses to "flip bitches" (u-turn) on PCH during rush hour.
  
• You actually get these jokes and pass them on to other friends from California.
• And I'm passing them on to you, my dear readers, for your amusement, guffaws, and outrage. So remember - when in SoCal, do as the SoCalians do - and take it easy :)