Blog #2 ... woo-hoo
- Yesterday while cooking a burger at the townhouse, I set off the smoke alarm. Oh man, that is the loudest, most piercing, annoying, make your brain explode sound I have ever heard in my life. And the only way to stop it is to let the smoke dissipate and air out with time. Of course, I didn't figure out this fact until after I spent a good 10 minutes of eardrum-throbbing fun, trying to push the one button there on the detector (which I guess is only for you to test if it works, not to shut it off). Finally, Jason (one of my roommates) opened all the windows and fanned the detector until it stopped. But my ears were still ringing for a couple hours afterwards. Also, the episode prevented me from working out. >:-O
- I've been reading some interesting articles about spam. It seems there is a battle going on between spammers and anti-spammers, with each one trying to outdo the other in creativity. Some of the methods are kind of amusing (at least to me). For example, most spammers rely on hijacking other people's unprotected email servers to send out mass mailings, so they can hide their own address. Well, now there is an anti-spam campaign to flood the internet with "honeypots", which are basically fake unprotected email servers that fool spammers into thinking their mass mailings are sent, when they actually go nowhere. The hope is that spammers will realize they are wasting their time, give up and find a real job. (It's similar to record companies flooding Kazaa with fake songs to frustrate users into just buying the CD)
Then there is this "challenge-response" idea that some ISPs are adopting. It blocks all emails from being sent to your inbox, making the sender first prove that they are human by clicking on a link and typing the answer to a simple question like "What is the 2nd month of the year?" or something. So this would deter spammers because it's impractical to have to do something like that for every message you send out in mass. I thought this idea was guaranteed to be effective, but I guess many experts don't. Apparently, it will clog up server space with all these challenge-response emails bouncing back and forth, while also blocking some legitimate messages, like auto-generated receipts from ordering off Amazon.com for example. Also, they say spammers will be able to find ways around the system, and then the whole thing will be even worse because they can make their emails look like these challenge response emails. Then when you click on the link to prove you're human, it takes you to their porn site instead. When I read that, I was like wow, they are so clever. If only they used their ingenuity for a good cause.
It amazes me how much effort is being put into this spam war on both sides. There must be a lot of money at stake here. Personally, I think the best way to stop spam is if everybody would just decide to never click on any of the ads under any circumstances. But obviously, some stupid people still are, and that is why spammers still do what they do. So I guess the only way to stop them now is to hunt down each spammer, go to his house and kick him in the nuts.
- The White Sox are quietly having one of the most underachieving years ever, making me a very miserable fan. Our division is probably the weakest in baseball, yet we are sitting in 3rd place with a record under .500. We got supposedly two ace pitchers on our staff in Buerhle and Colon, but they are both being outperformed by our #3 pitcher. And even despite the huge gift from heaven that was Esteban Loaiza, our team is a joke. I looked at the hitting stats a couple days ago and I don't think anyone in the lineup is batting over .280. Instead we have Konerko flirting with .200, Valentin, Crede not much better. Magglio is way below All-Star level production, to say the least, and Frank Thomas had to go on a "hot streak" to get the decent stats he has. >:-O
- I just read the latest Sports Guy column on ESPN Page 2, and he pointed out that Simon from the Real World looks like Keith Van Horn. That had me laughing at my desk for a long time, can't believe I didn't pick up on that one earlier.
Thursday, June 19, 2003
Education Fair
Coming next week to our site here in NG-Rolling Meadows will be an "Education Fair", where a bunch of local schools will show up with information on their graduate programs. Places like Purdue, Northwestern, DePaul, and IIT are gonna be there to talk to us about opportunities for continuing education.
For the past 3 or 4 years, I've gone to nothing but job fairs, looking for a place to start my career. I've gotten used to handing out resumes and trying to explain to HR reps or interviewers what I have to offer to their company and why they should hire me. Now, I'm less than a year into career life, and already I'm being pointed back to school. A weird feeling.
I think I'm gonna pass on this education fair thing for now, but maybe next year I'll go. It might be nice for once to be the one asking the question: "What do you have to offer me?". "Why should I choose your program?"
Coming next week to our site here in NG-Rolling Meadows will be an "Education Fair", where a bunch of local schools will show up with information on their graduate programs. Places like Purdue, Northwestern, DePaul, and IIT are gonna be there to talk to us about opportunities for continuing education.
For the past 3 or 4 years, I've gone to nothing but job fairs, looking for a place to start my career. I've gotten used to handing out resumes and trying to explain to HR reps or interviewers what I have to offer to their company and why they should hire me. Now, I'm less than a year into career life, and already I'm being pointed back to school. A weird feeling.
I think I'm gonna pass on this education fair thing for now, but maybe next year I'll go. It might be nice for once to be the one asking the question: "What do you have to offer me?". "Why should I choose your program?"
Wednesday, June 18, 2003
Blogorrhea
- It's been a while since I watched a movie, the last one was Matrix Reloaded I think. People have told me that Bruce Almighty, Finding Nemo, Italian Job, and 2 Fast 2 Furious are all good, and I haven't seen any of them. Also, the Hulk is coming out this weekend, but I was never really a fan so it doesn't excite me. So, either I will go on a movie-watching spree in the next couple weeks, or I could just wait and in a few months I will be able to have a movie-renting spree. Sometimes it's good to "invest" by not watching movies in the theater when they come out, so that I'll have something to rent in the future.
- I think I could watch any of the Austin Powers movies over and over without getting sick of them. Although I have only seen the 3rd one once, I'm sure I wouldn't mind seeing it many times, especially since Britney is in it. The original AP is my favorite though. "My name is Richie Cunningham and this is my wife, Oprah"... hahahha. Too bad I think only a few people I know of (other than myself) truly enjoy parts like those.
- I don't really use cash anymore, other than at fast food restaurants. It's a good thing in that I don't have to deal with coins and stuff as much, and I can track my spending on my credit card bill and bank statement. But the downside is that I never get to use "benjamins" or "c-notes". Which sucks, because I'm trying to talk and be more ghetto. I mean, what's cooler, writing a check for $500, or pulling out a wad of bills and counting out the money yourself? You ever hear rappers talk about "swiping my debit card at Jewel"? Doubt it.
- I've been trying to figure out a cheap, easy way to play DVDs from my computer to my TV. I thought it would just be a cable with a VGA connector on one end and S-Video on the other. But after looking and asking around, I don't think it's that simple. I think I would need a converter thing, and those all cost around a hundred bucks from what I've seen online. Which is stupid, because in that case I might as well just spend the benjamin on a cheap DVD player anyways. And I think that is what I will do.
- This is an exciting year, because it is the year in which 2Pac is supposed to return. If you don't know what I'm talking about, look up "2Pac" and "7 year theory" on Google and you will probably find some very convincing explanations. Me and Chras have been believers since freshman year of college.
- I played one game of craft yesterday, and for the first time in a long time, felt like I was awesome. A 3v3 with randoms, the other team was a clan, one of my partners left for no reason in the first 5 minutes, and the other partner sucked. So I took over and dominated. Maybe it's cause I was playing at around 5pm and only high school kids play at that time after school, but still, I was proud of myself.
- One thing that sucks about work is that I have to remember too many passwords, and then they make you change them every month or two. I always used the same password for everything, but now I have to be creative and sheezy, because you can't repeat any of your passwords in the past 5 cycles or something. Then, I end up forgetting what it was, and I gotta go through all this trouble just to reconfigure my login.
- I like the Michelle Branch song "Are You Happy Now", maybe so much that I will leave a comment on her Xanga site. The only thing is, her voice reminds me a little too much of Alanis Morrissette. It's more noticeable in the song "All You Wanted", but sometimes I swear she must be related to Alanis or something.
- Puff Daddy is getting creative with his sampling. It seems to me that the Bad Boy/Nelly song they are playing right now blatantly rips off its beat from the "Tomahawk Chop". You know, the one Atlanta Braves fans used to do at games, with the ax motion and everything. "OHHH-OH-OH-OHHHHH..... OHHHH-OH-OH-OHHHHHH...."
- It's been a while since I watched a movie, the last one was Matrix Reloaded I think. People have told me that Bruce Almighty, Finding Nemo, Italian Job, and 2 Fast 2 Furious are all good, and I haven't seen any of them. Also, the Hulk is coming out this weekend, but I was never really a fan so it doesn't excite me. So, either I will go on a movie-watching spree in the next couple weeks, or I could just wait and in a few months I will be able to have a movie-renting spree. Sometimes it's good to "invest" by not watching movies in the theater when they come out, so that I'll have something to rent in the future.
- I think I could watch any of the Austin Powers movies over and over without getting sick of them. Although I have only seen the 3rd one once, I'm sure I wouldn't mind seeing it many times, especially since Britney is in it. The original AP is my favorite though. "My name is Richie Cunningham and this is my wife, Oprah"... hahahha. Too bad I think only a few people I know of (other than myself) truly enjoy parts like those.
- I don't really use cash anymore, other than at fast food restaurants. It's a good thing in that I don't have to deal with coins and stuff as much, and I can track my spending on my credit card bill and bank statement. But the downside is that I never get to use "benjamins" or "c-notes". Which sucks, because I'm trying to talk and be more ghetto. I mean, what's cooler, writing a check for $500, or pulling out a wad of bills and counting out the money yourself? You ever hear rappers talk about "swiping my debit card at Jewel"? Doubt it.
- I've been trying to figure out a cheap, easy way to play DVDs from my computer to my TV. I thought it would just be a cable with a VGA connector on one end and S-Video on the other. But after looking and asking around, I don't think it's that simple. I think I would need a converter thing, and those all cost around a hundred bucks from what I've seen online. Which is stupid, because in that case I might as well just spend the benjamin on a cheap DVD player anyways. And I think that is what I will do.
- This is an exciting year, because it is the year in which 2Pac is supposed to return. If you don't know what I'm talking about, look up "2Pac" and "7 year theory" on Google and you will probably find some very convincing explanations. Me and Chras have been believers since freshman year of college.
- I played one game of craft yesterday, and for the first time in a long time, felt like I was awesome. A 3v3 with randoms, the other team was a clan, one of my partners left for no reason in the first 5 minutes, and the other partner sucked. So I took over and dominated. Maybe it's cause I was playing at around 5pm and only high school kids play at that time after school, but still, I was proud of myself.
- One thing that sucks about work is that I have to remember too many passwords, and then they make you change them every month or two. I always used the same password for everything, but now I have to be creative and sheezy, because you can't repeat any of your passwords in the past 5 cycles or something. Then, I end up forgetting what it was, and I gotta go through all this trouble just to reconfigure my login.
- I like the Michelle Branch song "Are You Happy Now", maybe so much that I will leave a comment on her Xanga site. The only thing is, her voice reminds me a little too much of Alanis Morrissette. It's more noticeable in the song "All You Wanted", but sometimes I swear she must be related to Alanis or something.
- Puff Daddy is getting creative with his sampling. It seems to me that the Bad Boy/Nelly song they are playing right now blatantly rips off its beat from the "Tomahawk Chop". You know, the one Atlanta Braves fans used to do at games, with the ax motion and everything. "OHHH-OH-OH-OHHHHH..... OHHHH-OH-OH-OHHHHHH...."
Tuesday, June 17, 2003
Stagga Lee
Based on Dan's recommendation, I downloaded the song "Roll With MVP" by Stagga Lee. It's a pretty good song actually, good beat and rap. Plus, the distinguishing feature of the song is the girl in the background going "lalalalala... lalalalala". It reminds me of this Visa NFL commercial from a couple years ago, where the guy in charge of music at the football stadium cant buy a "Jock Jams" CD or whatever with a check, and the fans and Jerome Bettis end up having to listen to this flamish song "looooo--ving you is easy cause you're beautiful... lalalalala.... lalalalala.... aaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhh". Chras does it better in person.
Anyways, since I was curious to see who this Stagga Lee character is, so I looked him up on Google. It asked me "Did you mean: stagger lee?", but still linked me to the official site run by his record company. Boy, was I surprised to see what he looked like. I thought he was on the St. Lunatics, but I think I was thinking of Murphy Lee. But yeah, if anyone has a few minutes, I highly recommend you read through his bio on the official site:
http://stagga-lee.com/whosstaggalee.html
I found it to be very, VERY entertaining. It reminds me of the articles P writes about Stork, kind of the same style. Except the people writing this article are serious, so it ends up being what Sports Guy would call "Unintentional Comedy". Either way, it made me laugh pretty hard to read it. My favorite part was when he was talking about changing "forget the bullsh*t" in his lyrics to "forget the bull, kid".
Based on Dan's recommendation, I downloaded the song "Roll With MVP" by Stagga Lee. It's a pretty good song actually, good beat and rap. Plus, the distinguishing feature of the song is the girl in the background going "lalalalala... lalalalala". It reminds me of this Visa NFL commercial from a couple years ago, where the guy in charge of music at the football stadium cant buy a "Jock Jams" CD or whatever with a check, and the fans and Jerome Bettis end up having to listen to this flamish song "looooo--ving you is easy cause you're beautiful... lalalalala.... lalalalala.... aaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhh". Chras does it better in person.
Anyways, since I was curious to see who this Stagga Lee character is, so I looked him up on Google. It asked me "Did you mean: stagger lee?", but still linked me to the official site run by his record company. Boy, was I surprised to see what he looked like. I thought he was on the St. Lunatics, but I think I was thinking of Murphy Lee. But yeah, if anyone has a few minutes, I highly recommend you read through his bio on the official site:
http://stagga-lee.com/whosstaggalee.html
I found it to be very, VERY entertaining. It reminds me of the articles P writes about Stork, kind of the same style. Except the people writing this article are serious, so it ends up being what Sports Guy would call "Unintentional Comedy". Either way, it made me laugh pretty hard to read it. My favorite part was when he was talking about changing "forget the bullsh*t" in his lyrics to "forget the bull, kid".
Traitors
So Jason Kidd loses in the NBA Finals to the Spurs, and now everyone expects him to leave New Jersey and sign with the Spurs so he can win a championship next season. Nothing personal against Jason Kidd, and I know he hasn't left yet, but it bothers me that this kind of thing happens so much in the sports world today, and seems like it's widely accepted.
Karl Malone might do the same thing this year. Charles Barkley did it twice in his career, first from Philly to Phoenix (where he failed haha), then from Phoenix to Houston. Jason Giambi, Mike Mussina, Roger Clemens, and many others have bolted for the Yankees in recent years. Ray Bourque got traded to the Avalanche a few years back from Boston, just so he could win a Stanley Cup. A good story, but big deal. Every season, Deion Sanders wants to sign with any team that looks like it will win the Superbowl. Phil Jackson refused to coach once the Bulls were broken up, until he got a team with Shaq and Kobe, almost a guaranteed championship.
What's so special about ditching your teammates so you can win a championship with a team that's already good? I don't respect that, and it cheapens the value of a "championship" too. Jordan and the Bulls sucked for many years in the 80s, but they got progressively better as a team. Eventually, they won 6 NBA titles as one of the greatest sports dynasties ever. That's the way it should be done.
So Jason Kidd loses in the NBA Finals to the Spurs, and now everyone expects him to leave New Jersey and sign with the Spurs so he can win a championship next season. Nothing personal against Jason Kidd, and I know he hasn't left yet, but it bothers me that this kind of thing happens so much in the sports world today, and seems like it's widely accepted.
Karl Malone might do the same thing this year. Charles Barkley did it twice in his career, first from Philly to Phoenix (where he failed haha), then from Phoenix to Houston. Jason Giambi, Mike Mussina, Roger Clemens, and many others have bolted for the Yankees in recent years. Ray Bourque got traded to the Avalanche a few years back from Boston, just so he could win a Stanley Cup. A good story, but big deal. Every season, Deion Sanders wants to sign with any team that looks like it will win the Superbowl. Phil Jackson refused to coach once the Bulls were broken up, until he got a team with Shaq and Kobe, almost a guaranteed championship.
What's so special about ditching your teammates so you can win a championship with a team that's already good? I don't respect that, and it cheapens the value of a "championship" too. Jordan and the Bulls sucked for many years in the 80s, but they got progressively better as a team. Eventually, they won 6 NBA titles as one of the greatest sports dynasties ever. That's the way it should be done.
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