Digital rights online? Now there's a joke.

If you own or use a computer (hint: you do, hey, you're here!) stop reading this post and go read the article that will be in the July 2005 issue of PCWorld. That's right, just click on the link PCWorld. It's short, to the point and has information you need. Close the page when through reading and you'll be back here.

Now you understand why running just ONE type of spyware protection won't work. Right? The greasy, grimey, slimey at Claria and WhenU are people that are sneaking stuff on your computer. Claria is the "company" that created Gator, Weatherbug or whatever they call it today, Precision Time, some POS calendar and other such goodies. WhenU is no better. Claria spends a lot of time and money trying to suppress small people like this blog from telling the truth about their invasive crap. Weenies, yes weenies.

Love Lavasoft's Ad-aware. But it won't do the job alone. They gave in to the desist thangy these jerks are doing. Ad-aware will not remove all spyware or malware or dungware. Call it whatever you want. You have to update and run Spybot Search & Destroy, JavaCoolSoftware's Spywareblaster, etc., in order to filter out all this trash. One of the problems is a sleaze "company" like Claria strong arming all these anti-spyware companies and then they roll over like a wimpyass dog and take it. The people that sneak or force stuff on your PC without making it clear are GOONS!

Next time you decide to Yahoo please remember that Claria has bragged about 31% of their profits come from the idiots at Yahoo. Now I must go take my medication. That is all, for now.

"He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it."
-Martin Luther King, Jr.

New version of a GREAT Anti-Spyware tool available for FREE!

There is a new version of Ad-aware. Version 1.06 has some enhancements that will give you more protection and it has been out since May 27, 2005. You can click on the Ad-aware button/link on this page or find it at MajorGeeks, which is also in the links list. BE SURE and click the Critical and Negligible Tabs after the scan and check ALL those boxes. Please read about things reporting into Microsoft under the Negligible Tab. After opening the log and viewing this in detail, it is apparent Microsoft is interested in my invoicing, my personal papers that I am writing about childhood events, what I've been doing in Paint, what music I've played recently, etc. Can we say, "This is none of your damned business Bill Gates?"

If someone knows exactly what Adblock does in Firefox, would you share? It is all over any page that has ads, popups, popunders, but when you click on the box that pops up (really NOT a good indicator of 'killer' software) it just sits there and then you have to click the box to close it. This is not much of an extension, IMHO. Has anyone found a tool, utility, extension, etc., that will eradicate these most annoying intrusions from Firefox?

Know this -> the evil trash has NOT invaded KDE's Konqueror browser. Both FreeBSD and Linux will run the KDE interface with no problems. Linux SuSE 9.2 is actually easier to install than any flavor of Windows. Haven't seen the latest version of FreeBSD, but Ashby says it's pretty awesome. Let's see, add another SCSI drive, install Linux and make it boot as the default operating system? Sounds like a plan to me. May eventually do that with FreeBSD, who knows?

My one time defense of Mr. Gates and the Microsmooze people is dwindling. After installing and using several different spyware prevention tools it has been found that the ability to watch what is "reporting in" when you are online is downright flabbergasting. CoolWWWSearch is bad, but Microsoft is the worst! Having trouble installing or setting up the newest version of Ad-aware? Email me!

"All folks involved in the spyware business have to look up in order to see their head snake crawl by..."
-Billy Wobblynife
Russell Purist Sci-Fi Report: According to the Internet Movie Database Star Wars Episode III, Revenge of the Sith has kicked everybody's butt over the weekend once again with two 'blockbusters' making their debut. Pretty good stats for what Russell calls "not good science fiction."

People in the spyware business are jerks - ALL of them!

Okay, I had a nice post written. In the process of killing an advertisement for a 'free bracelet' in Firefox while researching stuff for the post, it decided to close all my browser windows and the post can't be recovered. If I ever meet any sonuvabitch or whore working in the spyware industry I will most certainly go to jail and they will have a longer stay in the hospital! A damn pox on the whole bunch!

"Kill 'em all! Let God sort it out!!"
-Duke Nukem 3D

The 500, and 80 lbs

Into racing? Keep your eyes on cars number 51 and 83 during the Indy 500 tomorrow. These Toyota/Dallara beasts are using technology from CISCO that helps monitor both cars and drivers Alex Barron and Patrick Carpentier. Kewl!

Wow, FoodTV is showing all barbeque related shows starting this afternoon. Seems all the great cooks are onboard with their grillin' tips. This is one of the best channels on the tube. You can look at my fatass and understand that I endorse it! Emeril, Rachel, Alton, Paula, Bobby n the rest of the gang will be on hand to supply great recipes and techniques.

Just bought 80 pounds of charcoal and am ready to roast some beasts! The beach house also grills veggies. Even breakfast has been done on the grill! Also doing the shrimp boil thing one day this long weekend with the taters, onions, sausage, tiger shrimp, corn n creole spices. Love that stuff. No low carbing during this meal!

Stay casual.

"Never eat more than you can lift."
-Miss Piggy

Attack of the smelly cats

Something has to be done about the local Wisteria Wars, Revenge of the Possum. Arnold, opossumus germanicus austriabodicus, has been busy defending the realm against the feral cats he ran off back a few months ago. Apparently they are tired of living in the trees and have plotted some type of counterstrike. Almost every night there's a hissy fight going on beneath the oak tree in the front yard. The noise does wake one, but the cats are not using the yard as a litter box anymore. They never have time due to the possum patrol.

There's a tortoise shell cat, a huge calico, a yellow catzilla lookin' monster, and a white cat with some black patches that I think is the leader of the pack. After each trying to regain territory on their own they have combined efforts and still can't make headway. Lately, other cats have been spotted. Wonder if these crazy felines know that Arnold is in cahoots with the Italian Possums, opossumus clamsaucesicus berettamus, that almost turned that Ford Escort over? Arnold is definitely their field marshall.

Arnold is such a fighter it has brought a shocking question to mind; is it possible that Arnold is an Arnetta? Yep, could be he is a she! Those fighting skills are scary. A gender search? Nah! Fear will stop me from getting close enough to find out. . .

"Of all the things I've lost, I miss my mind the most."
-Mark Twain

Power and food

Please take notice of two new banners. Extreme Racing Engines and West End Market & Deli are patronized by the beach house. They have my highest recommendation.

Steve n crew build some of the hottest engines around. Talking to Betuglia the other night and he said that he did 336,000 miles using an Extreme Racing Engine 350 V-8 build in his 1947 Chevy Pickup with only a one time minor overhaul of the heads. That is just about awesome. The camino beast that is driven here has an Extreme 350 V-8 and I think there's a group from Huntsville or the Cape that are trying to steal it. Sorry guys, it burns gasoline not JP5. No booster rockets allowed, although I am thinking about the optional photon torpedo kit.

Bruce and Jack have a variety of things out at the Lee/Pontotoc County line on Highway 6. The West End Market & Deli folks have the best gasoline prices around, a beer cave that is just too kewl and the vittles are so good that if Jethro Bodine ever shows up they'll have to drag him off kicking and screaming at closing time. I am here to testify the food is fab-buu-lous! Be sure and try the ribs! The desserts are wonderful, plate lunches are great and these guys give you enough to eat! Their coffee is even exceptional. Red, white and blue all the way! Try it, you'll like it!

Speaking of coffee, it is time for another cup and morning meds. Yes, bondoelvis, Hamboni will show up soon. Have a great day unless you are in the spyware business in which case I hope you get terminal VD.

"I was irrevocably betrothed to laughter, the sound of which has always seemed to me to be the most civilized music in the world."
-Peter Ustinov

RPSF Report

Firefox is the preferred Windows Web Browser at the beach house. On occasion Internet Explorer 6 is still used, but the popups, etc., and constant hammering by the cretins that use spyware to invade my privacy are most annoying. Well, these creeps are quickly migrating to Firefox. There is an extension called Adblock that is supposed to help, but exactly what it is doing is vague at best. Can anyone enlighten me?
Russell Purist Sci-Fi Report: Star Wars Episode III, Revenge of the Sith continues to smash all box office records. The Chicage Tribune has an informative article. Don't know about the RPSF Report? You didn't read Saturday's or Sunday's posts!

"My theory of evolution is that Darwin was adopted."
-Steven Wright

Due Measure; it's all in the balance

It's so nice to eat lunch and not be harassed. This midday ritual seems to make the afternoon and evening work flow smoothly. It's tomato sandwich season and the secret to this superb delicacy is Blue Plate Mayonnaise. Wonderful fattening stuff that is required at the beach house. Back to work flow. That early evening nap helps too, lol. If you don't understand stay alive and get a bit older.

Working on several machines that have various problems. Pace is so important in doing battle with hardware or software. Burnout can overtake you when hammering on some problems and utilizing common sense is a trait geeks tend to overlook at times. After several hours on the bench a 15 minute cup of coffee can work wonders.

Hope everyone has installed the updates or upgrades mentioned yesterday. If you are scheduled to download automatically with AVG you may not have noticed a recent major upgrade. Several megs came down which is really a revision of the software. What a great program. Please cross yourself and pray if someone endorses McAfee. IMHO, they are possessed by demons and should be lit on fire.

"The brain is a wonderful organ. It starts working when you get up in the morning, and doesn't stop until you get to the office."
-Robert Frost

Updates are available!

Updates are available for Spybot Search & Destroy, Ad-aware Personal, and Spywareblaster. Each program has its own updating tool. The Spywareblaster update is actually an upgrade. Follow the directions. If you have trouble doing these extremely important updates, please email me and I will gladly help you bring your protection software up to date and functional. Remember to scan! Again, remember to scan. If you are NOT using these three important tools, well, get with it! You need all three. Down with spyware and all those that work in that horrible industry! Did I mention that you need to scan? All three utilities can be downloaded at MajorGeeks. Look under Spyware Tools.

"Remember, today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday."
-Dale Carnegie

Rock music today and a long time ago in a society far, far away

It was mentioned over a month ago that Sammy Hagar and the Waboritas would be rebroadcast on Trio TV today. As best I can tell it's at 5:00pm this afternoon. Trio listings, this morning, are non-existent and my favorite cable company in the whole world, VistaIIIMedia, has dropped their "what's on now" type listings. After much research it has been discovered that the DirectTV Satellite service offers a "now playing" grid where info is listed. TV Guide wants you to subscribe. I did; as Mofat Nugent, who resides on Camel's Butt Lane, Tupelo, MS., using a yahoo mail address. Let 'em spam away. Mofat enjoys that. Hope Yahoo does too. TV Guide does not have the complete local listings. Couldn't find Trio TV anywhere on their page.

Ahhh the old days...when dinosaurs walked the internet and we didn't have to worry about spyware and spam, virus infections were practically non-existent and a person could chat on IRC without be suspect of dealing in warez or piracy. As society has become more rude so goes the internet. The internet really trashed up in a short amount of time, only a few years. Modern society seemed to start falling apart during the 60s, the Kennedy/Johnson years that brought us psychedelic drugs, Vietnam, goofy liberalism, etc. On a positive note, some awesome music came from this era. Do yourself a favor and listen to the Beatles, or maybe Clapton or Hendrix or the Temps or Smokey or Sam n Dave or Aretha or Gerry and the Pacemakers...well, you get the idea.

"In every dawn when light floats, there is the possibility of magic."
-Douglas Adams, Life, the Universe, and Everything

Returning to casual

The rant yesterday stems from someone endorsing a writer, H.G. Wells, that was an atheist, believed in free love, had the morals of a rabid alley cat and also endorsed was his most depressing, negative work, War of the Worlds. Then this cub reporter proceeded to put down a work of art that he'd not even seen. Mr. Lucas has often said he has tried to embrace all forms of religion with his Star Wars mystery called "the Force." Wells was negative. Lucas is positive. Now, this is not saying that Wells didn't write some interesting stuff. His Outline of History is a real trip, bordering on science fiction almost as much as some of his other works. Lucas, the son of a Presbyterian minister, has given us a saga that endorses doing the right thing and embracing that which is good.

With a world of fanatical muslim terrorists, left wing liberal democrats that are hell bent on giving away our freedom, news media that hasn't a clue about morality, it is refreshing to see anything positive. Completing a tale about the struggle of good versus evil in which good wins refreshes me and apparently millions of other people. Star Wars Episode III, Revenge of the Sith, is smashing all box office records and the reviews are very positive. So when someone puts down something I love by overloading a 10 cent mouth with their nickel ass, it's hard to sit by and let it slide. May the Force be with you.

"The height of stupidity is most clearly demonstrated by the individual who ridicules something he knows nothing about."
-Albert Einstein

Weaselboy

The Tupelo Daily Journal, a local newspaper, has a resident 'rocket scientist' who professes that Star Wars is not good science fiction. Marty Russell decided to take a swipe at the Star Wars saga on the 18th of May, one day before the newest film in the series was made available for public viewing. Possibly a tattoo on his forehead that says FOOL is on order? It won't be legible because of space limitation. He probably doesn't consider The Night Land, by William Hope Hodgson, The Well at World's End by William Morris, or A Voyage to Arcturus by David Lindsay good science fiction. Wonder if he knows about Frank Herbert? Or Isaac Asimov? Maybe Arthur C. Clarke? How about Robert Heinlein? You grok weaselboy?

This varmint wants to be Lewis Grizzard it seems. Sorry Farty Marty, you are just not qualified. He claims to be a "purist" sci-fi person and blatantly committed review suicide before even seeing the film! What a jerk! One nice thing comes from this lunacy. My use of the Tupelo Daily Urinal, oops I meant Journal, will remain almost nil (wish I hadn't read THIS garbage). Star Wars Episode III, Revenge of the Sith is producing all time box office records and rodentdude says it's not good science fiction? Let's hope this vermin doesn't develop further illusions of grandeur and make the trip to the Cape in July for the shuttle launch. They have enough problems without his 'rocket science' expertise.

There's a can of Chewbacca whupass for idiots on the beach house steps. Care to guess whose name is on it?

"Most fools think they are only ignorant."
-Benjamin Franklin

Not Googling? Come out of that cave!

Here's a tip for those people that are sadly using the evil Yahoo or the boring Microsoft homepages. Try the brand spanking new Google personalized homepage. Very easy to use and has just the right categories to brighten up web surfing starts. Nice to see my current 5 gmails, local weather, local movie schedule, news, and quote of the day all on the same page as the best search engine on the planet - BAR NONE! Gmail you ask? Only the best email service around; let me know if you need an invitation. It's free.

"The people I distrust most are those who want to improve our lives but have only one course of action."
-Frank Herbert

The Force is STRONG with this one...

At 7:30pm we arrived at the theater to see the 9:30pm viewing of Star Wars Episode III, Revenge of the Sith. A pleasant visit with Beagle and Mudslingr ensued and we laughed and caught up on current events all the while playing with 'spoon sabers' provided by Mudslingr. Rascal showed up around 8:30pm just before the rest of the geeks arrived to stand in line for the movie. They let me be the first in the theater. Thank you. We took our usual seats and were entertained tremendously.

Running on very little sleep and having doubts about overall continuity of this transitional episode quickly vanished as the movie started with superior action and special effects. Glued to the screen with an occasional outburst of applause and cheering was the attitude of the whole audience during the night. Everyone was polite and enjoyed this wonderful eye feast.

It has worried me all along if the transition could be made from the first two movies to the last three. Mr. Lucas has delivered a masterpiece. This is great film making. Wow! It's very busy and extremely pretty. Eye candy. As predicted it is darker than the other movies out of necessity. But the punch packs a wallop. Some interesting twists and turns were wonderful suprises throughout the evening. Waiting for the video? If you are even a mild Star Wars buff do yourself a favor and see this stunning piece of work in the theater.

"Quality is not expensive; it's priceless!"
Billy Wobblynife

Juggling Jedi Striker

Struggling along as an independent tech requires self-discipline and the ability to fold space and time. Some folks seem to think that mindreading and forecasting the future are also on the agenda for us geeks. I'll leave that department for Hamboni to nourish and nurture. It also helps if you have the patience of Job, the ability to sleep at a moment's notice, a big ole handful of money (for parts, gasoline, caffeine, etc.), a geekmobile that gets at least 35-40 mpg, are in great physical shape, know how to diet and have the voodoo to teleport on a moment's notice. The wringing of hands, pulling of hair, cursing in vain, etc., have to be done in private and ice should flow through your veins while in the workplace.

Have a server down. It is NT4 technology. This unit is critical to the operation of a local business and needs immediate attention today. Thank God most clients are human and understand the anxiety we develop when such a catastrophe occurs. All calls for today are being rescheduled and tomorrow is not looking super positive either. Consulted Hamboni and he is now forecasting work for the whole weekend. Back to the subject at hand: This person knows recovery procedures and will help in any way. That's a big plus. So unlike the control freak that couldn't wait 17 minutes for me to return a call back a few weeks ago. Gee, wish I had a video of my fat butt coming down off that scaffold to return that call. 30 feet in the air inspires my acrophobia to fearful heights and dropping another cell phone from that altitude is not gonna' happen again. Wait, I ramble.

Even though the dark side of the force is testing me, tonight I will attend Star Wars III, Revenge of the Sith. May the force be with the network that needs attention. Peace out!

"The easiest job in the world has to be coroner. Surgery on dead people. What's the worst thing that could happen? If everything went wrong, maybe you'd get a pulse."
-Dennis Miller

What are you doing Thursday?

Beagle sent this link about how people will skip work this Thursday to get their Star Wars fix -> Washington Times. BEWARE: Users of Internet Explorer should know that there are popups on this page. Firefox people, don't worry about it. Well, you can do what you want, but I don't think my work schedule will suffer at 9:30pm-12:00am Thursday night. The cell phone will be in silent mode. Don't try prank calls, I DO have caller ID. I've also located the on/off switch on this device. My fat butt will be popcorning, drinking a refreshing beverage and doin' some Star Wars big time! Am practicing my booing and hissing for the part where Anakin turns to the dark side and becomes Darth Vader. Will be there to cheer Obiwan Kenobe as he opens a can of whupass on Anakin. Hope the wait in line is fun.

It's lunchtime and I'm outta' here!

"He reminded me a little of Walt Disney's version of a mad scientist."
-Steven Spielberg (on Star Wars Director George Lucas)

Had a nice trip and visit yesterday. Mother was in a great mood and we spent time looking around the NW Mississippi area. You know, there's no cookin' like Mom's. Departed early evening and immediately went to traffic hell on Goodman Road. There must be some law in the Horn Lake, Southaven, Olive Branch, Memphis area that demands people doing 20mph under the speed limit must bear to the left and not move over to the right lane under ANY circumstances. Hate to drive an ambulance or a fire truck in that area. The new speed capabilities of the "leadsled" came in handy when avoiding these fools. Didn't have to worry about speed traps, radar, etc., because all the local PDs were busy with wrecks, most of which probably occurred in the left lane. After reaching Hwy 78, the return trip was a pleasure. The beach house looked good at sundown.

Sometimes living is more important than work. Today may blow up as Mondays do on occasion, but yesterday was spent with someone I love. Title block? From my favorite Jimmy Buffett song, One Particular Harbor.

"You moon the wrong person at an office party and suddenly you're not 'professional' any more."
-Jeff Foxworthy

Passing gear is VERY functional

It's early Sunday morning and travel is in the very near future, actually in the next hour or so. The PDA, an old Palm V that just takes a lickin' n keeps on tickin', is in the cradle being charged. It represents a large part of my stored knowledge (max capacity 2megs, lol) and has become an almost cybernetic necessity. The camino still has no functional radio so the Zen Xtra MP3 player is charging. This device is really awesome. Usually put the play on random and then just click through tunes until something plays that I really want to hear. The new ear buds have 'passthru' sound so you can hear everything going on around you. And I do like listening to the new warp drive 350 V-8 that Red Dragon installed.

Crusin' with the windows open, drinking a good coffee, listening to good tunes will make the trip fun. The drive from Tupelo to Walls is not too bad during off peak traffic hours. Highway 78, which the road department started rebuilding back in the 1600s or so, is divided and the exits are spaced just about right. The rough part of the trip is dancing across Goodman road which is a main feeder that transports people to the casinos. Many starts and stops, too much variety in speed limit and those folks around Memphis drive like people in Tupelo. It's akin to riding bumper cars at the fair. God willing, the trip will be good and my tired butt will return this evening.

Local weather is awesome. Take a Sunday afternoon ride. Crusin', it does a spirit good.

"Half our life is spent trying to find something to do with the time we have rushed through life trying to save."
-Will Rogers

Freedom is NOT just another word for nothing left to lose

If you have visited here before then it will not be any astounding revelation that the beach house is pro Windows. I don't know Bill Gates, he's not someone that I'd especially like to meet (sitting and talking to Bill just doesn't seem that appealing), but I do admire his perserverance and drive to create a better computing atmosphere planet wide. As has been often said, left to Darth Jobs over at Apple we'd still be using garage technology and paying thru the nose for it. Gates stopped that. But, Microsoft has gone too far. Please visit Thought Thieves. Here is the entry form. You must have Acrobat Reader or some such .pdf reader to view this little ditty.

This is a contest/campaign in the UK about people and intellectual property ownership. The 14-17 year old age group are being encouraged to "rat" on others. This is about as low as it goes. Let's see, the Nazis encouraged children to tell on parents that were not sympathetic to the party. Many of those folks were put to death. George Orwell wrote a book about this titled, "1984." Gee, that was required reading in high school. Guess nowadays it's more important to study the "works of art" like 'the evolution of mass profanity in rap music' than to read a classic of literature that swayed world opinion about Totalitarianism and brainwashing.

Our world is sadly becoming a place where privacy and individualism are headed towards extinction. Just the other day a bill was passed in Congress that will make our state drivers license a national ID. Read about it at CNet News. This will be law in 3 years and it's downright sneaky how they included this on the tail end of a military appropriations bill. People, you are sitting on your dead asses and giving away your freedom. Stop this! Contact your Congresspeople. The ability to publish this for others to read is an extremely precious thing. Our founding fathers may be rolling in their graves.

Answers? Mr. Gates, write better code. Don't punish the consuming public because your people are sloppy. Congress, don't take away states rights. We had a civil war because of this federalistic approach and don't need another...

"How many legs does a dog have if you call the tail a leg? Four. Calling a tail a leg doesn't make it a leg."
-Abraham Lincoln

Memphis VA sucks and Mr. Lucas has a hit on his hands

A little late in the day to post, but one of the blood pressure meds I take was refilled yesterday after a short time of being without it and my wimpy butt is weak. Always that way for a day or so, but then feel much better. If you are a veteran and want something done DON'T contact the Memphis VA. They have a bunch of dumbasses answering the phone that have no concept of the English language. The nice Mississippi folks in Jackson are 180 degrees. To hell with the Memphis VA and their rude, crude people that answer the phone and put you on hold for eternity. This is what I get for spending two years in Viet damn nam. Okay, okay, the whine/cuss fest is over.

We have tickets!!!! Less than a week away one of my lifetime love affairs with the movies will get an uber boost. Star Wars III, Revenge of the Sith will be at the theater and so will part of our normal group. Some folks have moved off and we'll have a small group, but it'll make for easier seating. Plans are to be several hours early to get in front of the line. Here's a well written article that reflects the fervor created by this epic outerspace fantasy, Now THIS is the way to see Episode III. Recently watched Episodes IV,V, & VI and now plan to see I & II before Thursday night. Wow, I am ready to clap, cheer, hiss, boo, spill popcorn, and all that goes with the experience of seeing a great flick. Pumped, I tell ya! Pumped!

"Try not. Do. Or do not. There is no try."
-Master Yoda