Forgot to turn on my vaporizer last night so woke up with that sinus pain that will probably play hit and run with me all summer.
Trying to read "The Diving Bell and The Butterfly" which for obvious reasons isn't 200 pages and has huge borders on top of that. Not that I mind, he paints a picture about his Locked In Syndrome which is the intention. I think the movie made have taken some liberties but that is also expected seeing as if they shot the book page for page I see it as being a 45 minute movie.
Looked at Medium Format Cameras online today, even though I have a Bronica that shoots 6x4.5 now I think I could really use something that shoots 6x6. Retail therapy more than likely. I won't buy one but it is still fun to look at all these systems, Mamiya, Pentax, Kowa 6 I don't even bother looking at Hassies.
Switched off to looking at flatbed scanners which I would like to get sometime for reals seeing that I'm shooting all this film lately and have no way of placing them online because of lack of scanner. Have to wait and see how the money things works out in the next couple of months.
I keep reminding myself that every dollar I spend now is one I can't spend in Brazil when I get back down to my Ana. I'd rather spend money on us than on more toys to make myself feel better.
Monday, March 8, 2010
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Mr Fix It
I finally got Sams Microsoft Vista Home Edition computer to talk to his Microsoft Zune yesterday after about a week of tinkering around. I cannot remember the reasons we gave up on fixing it last time I was over at his house, maybe he had to go into work or something. The problem was something called a Code 37, the computer wasn't recognizing the driver for whatever reason even if you followed all the instructions on the Microsoft Help site or had someone read those same instructions over the phone after calling Microsoft help. I have to say that Sam and I were both pissed about the fact that it is a Microsoft MP3 player they couldn't talk to a Microsoft Operating System. I mean, what the hell, they are both products of the same corporation surely they are compatible.
So we went through several websites after exhausting the official Microsoft page on the matter which was basically 3 lines on how to fix the problem that did not work no matter how many times we tried it. I finally found a forum were someone gave us something to do in DOS I guess using two command prompts. Five minutes later it was fixed and Sam finally got to use his 120GB Zune for really the first time since October.
Obviously the Zune is a big piece of shit compared to the iPod the difference being you pay out the ass for the iPod. Although Sam has sent the Zune to get repairs done at least 3 times and of course he lost all his music each time because I don't think they attempt to repair them, they just send a new one in its place. I'm sure that Sam's other two Zunes have been sold on the internet as completely refurbished machines by now which means someone wiped them and resold them.
I am not a big fan of Windows really, the first computer I got was a Windows 95 machine which worked but this was back in the 90's when a machine would be obsolete as soon as you put it in your trunk at Best Buy. My second Machine was an iMac which I have to say was probably the best computer that I have ever owned more or less. It lasted me for about 5 years before I had to get a pc for school work. Macs are really the BMW of computers and I have never had that many crazy problems like with windows.
So we went through several websites after exhausting the official Microsoft page on the matter which was basically 3 lines on how to fix the problem that did not work no matter how many times we tried it. I finally found a forum were someone gave us something to do in DOS I guess using two command prompts. Five minutes later it was fixed and Sam finally got to use his 120GB Zune for really the first time since October.
Obviously the Zune is a big piece of shit compared to the iPod the difference being you pay out the ass for the iPod. Although Sam has sent the Zune to get repairs done at least 3 times and of course he lost all his music each time because I don't think they attempt to repair them, they just send a new one in its place. I'm sure that Sam's other two Zunes have been sold on the internet as completely refurbished machines by now which means someone wiped them and resold them.
I am not a big fan of Windows really, the first computer I got was a Windows 95 machine which worked but this was back in the 90's when a machine would be obsolete as soon as you put it in your trunk at Best Buy. My second Machine was an iMac which I have to say was probably the best computer that I have ever owned more or less. It lasted me for about 5 years before I had to get a pc for school work. Macs are really the BMW of computers and I have never had that many crazy problems like with windows.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
The Greatest Job in the World
I was trying to watch the Health Care Summit today on TV which kind of sucks because I don't have CSPAN-3 so I had to rely on Cable News. I went to MSNBC to watch it and after a few minutes, Andrea Mitchell and her nose comes on and start blabbering on about nothing. You know how these talking heads always are, This is MSNBC and we are covering the Health Care Summit and we are't going to let you watch actual ELECTED officials talk about their differences cause we have to explain what is being said. So I went to my second choice the always abominable CNN and I will be kicked in the nuts if fucking Wolf Blitzer wasn't interrupting the exact same time as MSNBC was to bring on Sanjay Gupta to talk about the Summit. I mean, I don't give a shit what that quack thinks about Health Care Reform I want to hear ELECTED OFFICIALS opinions and arguments are for or against the bill.
Here is my point though, they had fucking Ben Stein on stating arguing why Republicans don't want Health Care Reform and it got me to thinking how long does a person have to be out of politics these days just to disappear. I mean, Ben Stein was Richard Nixon's Speech writer! Nixon has been out of office since 1974 so 36 years later his Speech Writer is still appearing on TV talking about what Republicans like of dislike. Pat Buchanan was Nixon's Chief of Staff and he is on MSNBC all the time jabbering with Chris Matthews cause no one else wants him on their show. Newt Gingrich was in the news over something else today, he hasn't held elected office in over 14 years and that was when he was impeaching Clinton for getting blown in the Oval Office meanwhile Newt was fucking his staffer and leaving his wife who was bedridden with cancer.
I'm thinking if you get into National Politics you basically have a job for life. I imagine this might actually be the last job in America in which you can assume that you will be getting a steady paycheck from one way or another until you die.
My other complaint though is CNN and MSNBC, just let people watch the proceedings. You don't have to have these over paid douche bags sitting around desks jabbering every five minutes explaining to people what they just saw all the meanwhile cutting out other parts of the very important discussion. I remember when I was a kid and one summer all they had on was the Iran Contra trail, I don't remember CBS cutting to Dan Rather every ten minutes so he could pull his ego out and stroke it in front of the nation. These people seriously need to learn to shut the fuck up sometimes. These people are elected to office by voters, if they cannot speak plain English then they never would have gotten elected.
Here is my point though, they had fucking Ben Stein on stating arguing why Republicans don't want Health Care Reform and it got me to thinking how long does a person have to be out of politics these days just to disappear. I mean, Ben Stein was Richard Nixon's Speech writer! Nixon has been out of office since 1974 so 36 years later his Speech Writer is still appearing on TV talking about what Republicans like of dislike. Pat Buchanan was Nixon's Chief of Staff and he is on MSNBC all the time jabbering with Chris Matthews cause no one else wants him on their show. Newt Gingrich was in the news over something else today, he hasn't held elected office in over 14 years and that was when he was impeaching Clinton for getting blown in the Oval Office meanwhile Newt was fucking his staffer and leaving his wife who was bedridden with cancer.
I'm thinking if you get into National Politics you basically have a job for life. I imagine this might actually be the last job in America in which you can assume that you will be getting a steady paycheck from one way or another until you die.
My other complaint though is CNN and MSNBC, just let people watch the proceedings. You don't have to have these over paid douche bags sitting around desks jabbering every five minutes explaining to people what they just saw all the meanwhile cutting out other parts of the very important discussion. I remember when I was a kid and one summer all they had on was the Iran Contra trail, I don't remember CBS cutting to Dan Rather every ten minutes so he could pull his ego out and stroke it in front of the nation. These people seriously need to learn to shut the fuck up sometimes. These people are elected to office by voters, if they cannot speak plain English then they never would have gotten elected.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Sarah Palin and The Tea Klux Klan
"How is that Hopey Changey stuff working out fer ya?" - Sarah Palin
I have to say that in the last few months a lot of things have come to light about the current state of the American Political landscape. I guess after years of history and civics classes being smashed into my head as a child I was always under the impression that to get to a higher office be it Governor which is the Highest in State Government or President of the United States you had to have a certain degree of knowledge, exceptional-ism and charisma. The American Way, you work hard, study harder, learn and understand knowledge and then you make it to higher things than shoveling shit in Louisiana.
Then I happened to catch the Q&A at the Republican Retreat two weeks ago with Obama and the House Republicans and that theory was basically turned on its head. I have to say, Obama really was Kung Fu Fighting just about any question thrown at him about a whole range of topics. Well by range I mean the usual Republican Topics, tax cuts, corporate tax cuts, the deficit and health care reform. It was pitiful to say the least, it was like seeing a Kids Karate Class take on Steven Segal. I mean you are going up against the POTUS who is basically Muhammad Ali of debate and here is your chance at the Heavy Weight Champion of the world are you going to train hard, now the facts and try and get in some good body shots or are you going to be lazy and just use Talking Points. I have no doubt that there might be some smart people in the Republican Party and I think that the one Representative that had is Health Care Bill in hand might be one of those people if he could just get out from behind the bullshit that are talking points.
Now we can talk about the Tea Party Convention that was held in Nashville, TN last weekend and who's keynote speaker Sarah Palin had crib notes written on here hand. You also have Tom Tancredo talking about something that sounds similar to Jim Crow Laws in the south making people take a "literacy test" to be able to vote. It must have been an easy assertion to make seeing that he was talking to a crowd of white people. I can understand their unease, the Democratic Party is more of a home to minorities and the other side is pretty much as white as a KKK Sheet.
Finally we have Sarah Palin, the so called key note speaker who has bullet points written on her hands after making fun of POTUS for using a teleprompter. She got softball questions from the audience and knocked them all out of the ballpark if the ballpark was a 10x14 basement room. I realized after watching her sit down interview with Chris Wallace on FOX News just really how bad she is, I mean. She's an idiot even with someone basically holding her hand through the interview. I think she is just a harpie sticking around to scratch out as much money as she can possibly make from being a VP Nominee. There is no way that she runs in 2012 because the first Republican Debate that is held she gets eviscerated on National TV. You think Huckabee and Mitt Romney are going to beat around the bush about her quitting as Governor midway through her first term? You think that not giving interviews is going to save your ass in the primaries? She couldn't even handle Katie Couric or Charlie Gibson these are not attack journalist. I think she has an inability to think on her feet which is kind of crucial when you are Commander and Chief or we have another massive terrorist attack.
As for the Tea Party which is now forever going to be known as the Tea Klux Klan, they are for the most part just angry Republicans. They are made that "their voices aren't heard" even though they just had 8 years in control of the nation more or less. They are just a huge group of sore losers who somehow think they are cheated by minorities and a smiling black man in the Oval Office.
I have to say that in the last few months a lot of things have come to light about the current state of the American Political landscape. I guess after years of history and civics classes being smashed into my head as a child I was always under the impression that to get to a higher office be it Governor which is the Highest in State Government or President of the United States you had to have a certain degree of knowledge, exceptional-ism and charisma. The American Way, you work hard, study harder, learn and understand knowledge and then you make it to higher things than shoveling shit in Louisiana.
Then I happened to catch the Q&A at the Republican Retreat two weeks ago with Obama and the House Republicans and that theory was basically turned on its head. I have to say, Obama really was Kung Fu Fighting just about any question thrown at him about a whole range of topics. Well by range I mean the usual Republican Topics, tax cuts, corporate tax cuts, the deficit and health care reform. It was pitiful to say the least, it was like seeing a Kids Karate Class take on Steven Segal. I mean you are going up against the POTUS who is basically Muhammad Ali of debate and here is your chance at the Heavy Weight Champion of the world are you going to train hard, now the facts and try and get in some good body shots or are you going to be lazy and just use Talking Points. I have no doubt that there might be some smart people in the Republican Party and I think that the one Representative that had is Health Care Bill in hand might be one of those people if he could just get out from behind the bullshit that are talking points.
Now we can talk about the Tea Party Convention that was held in Nashville, TN last weekend and who's keynote speaker Sarah Palin had crib notes written on here hand. You also have Tom Tancredo talking about something that sounds similar to Jim Crow Laws in the south making people take a "literacy test" to be able to vote. It must have been an easy assertion to make seeing that he was talking to a crowd of white people. I can understand their unease, the Democratic Party is more of a home to minorities and the other side is pretty much as white as a KKK Sheet.
Finally we have Sarah Palin, the so called key note speaker who has bullet points written on her hands after making fun of POTUS for using a teleprompter. She got softball questions from the audience and knocked them all out of the ballpark if the ballpark was a 10x14 basement room. I realized after watching her sit down interview with Chris Wallace on FOX News just really how bad she is, I mean. She's an idiot even with someone basically holding her hand through the interview. I think she is just a harpie sticking around to scratch out as much money as she can possibly make from being a VP Nominee. There is no way that she runs in 2012 because the first Republican Debate that is held she gets eviscerated on National TV. You think Huckabee and Mitt Romney are going to beat around the bush about her quitting as Governor midway through her first term? You think that not giving interviews is going to save your ass in the primaries? She couldn't even handle Katie Couric or Charlie Gibson these are not attack journalist. I think she has an inability to think on her feet which is kind of crucial when you are Commander and Chief or we have another massive terrorist attack.
As for the Tea Party which is now forever going to be known as the Tea Klux Klan, they are for the most part just angry Republicans. They are made that "their voices aren't heard" even though they just had 8 years in control of the nation more or less. They are just a huge group of sore losers who somehow think they are cheated by minorities and a smiling black man in the Oval Office.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Avatar is Crapatar
I'm so tired of hearing about how Avatar is the greatest movie ever made just because of the money it has made since its release. First off, when you open a movie in just about every screen in the world you would think it is going to be number one through sure force of will. My gf lives in a town called Santos, Brazil and the 10 screen theater nearby had Avatar playing on three screens. So they have that going for them plus the fact that it is basically only good on Imax or 3d screens which means instead of making say $8 a ticket they are making $18.
I'm not saying it wasn't a good movie but that is just it, it was good not great. It was beautiful to look at but the story we have all seen many times before. It was like they moved Native Americans and Fern Gully to another planet and then mated both to smurfs.
I guess I'm getting old. Wouldn't it be amazing if they took this wonderful gift that is CGI and showed us something truly alien and amazing. I keep hearing how this crap is going to improve and show us new worlds but it always ends up being the same thing, humans with skin conditions. Either that have horns on their heads, webbed hands or fur but is always something vaguely human. Where are the new worlds and new civilizations? I guess they can't go totally crazy or else they would alienate (good choice of words) the audience. The only really crazy alien thing that I can think of off the top of my head is probably on an episode of Star Trek:Enterprise when they picked up what looked like a dryer sheet and bubble gum. That was good for a show that basically stuck to horn heads and face-paint.
From what I can tell, all CGI has done is remove the guy from inside the rubber suit and kept the actors from having to travel to locations now that everything is green screen behind them. I imagine that in 5 or 6 years they won't even have to do location shots, they will just send in a team to photograph a place and then throw it all up in post production. It could save studios millions I would think and God knows they need the money.
I'm not saying it wasn't a good movie but that is just it, it was good not great. It was beautiful to look at but the story we have all seen many times before. It was like they moved Native Americans and Fern Gully to another planet and then mated both to smurfs.
I guess I'm getting old. Wouldn't it be amazing if they took this wonderful gift that is CGI and showed us something truly alien and amazing. I keep hearing how this crap is going to improve and show us new worlds but it always ends up being the same thing, humans with skin conditions. Either that have horns on their heads, webbed hands or fur but is always something vaguely human. Where are the new worlds and new civilizations? I guess they can't go totally crazy or else they would alienate (good choice of words) the audience. The only really crazy alien thing that I can think of off the top of my head is probably on an episode of Star Trek:Enterprise when they picked up what looked like a dryer sheet and bubble gum. That was good for a show that basically stuck to horn heads and face-paint.
From what I can tell, all CGI has done is remove the guy from inside the rubber suit and kept the actors from having to travel to locations now that everything is green screen behind them. I imagine that in 5 or 6 years they won't even have to do location shots, they will just send in a team to photograph a place and then throw it all up in post production. It could save studios millions I would think and God knows they need the money.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Morons, With Their Guns A Blazing
So the Democrats handed Ted Kennedy's old seat to a Republican last night in I would think is going to be a major upset for the Health Care Reform Bill that has been stalled. It has been stalled for that nefarious bi-partisanship that Republicans never seemed to use in the years that they were forcing massive tax cuts for the rich through or spending days on Terry Schiavo or basically passing the Patriot Act without anyone reading it.
I'm pretty torn this morning because I have two teams to pick from, one is just fucking evil but has the best teamwork and solidarity around. The other team has the better ideas but just sucks at keeping everyone on the same page. This is really making it hard for me to care because one team is full of evil fucks and the other team doesn't stand a chance cause they suck. It is like an Evil Caucasian Globetrotters vs Washington Generals. Come on, he is fucking spinning the ball on his finger right in front of you for fucksakes! I didn't follow the Senate Race in Massachusetts and from the looks of things the Democratic Candidate didn't either. I mean how the hell do you lose Ted Kennedy's old seat to a Republican that posed nude in a Cosmopolitan Magazine in the 1980's.
I wish I could say I don't know how this could happen, how can people have forgotten Bush so soon especially DICK Cheney still on TV every other week. Maybe if things had started to change for average people in a significant way then they wouldn't have forgot but really what has changed in the last year. The Banks got saved but people still lost their jobs and homes. There is something obscene about bankers getting bigger bonuses this year than the previous year and people are losing jobs left and right. The fault doesn't lie all with Obama, a lot has to do with the Senate Democrats that have sat on their ass and mumbled around with Health Care Reform all year long while Rome burned down to the ground.
Case in point, Harry Reid hasn't done shit really to push anything through the Senate and the mere fact that they are still catering to Joe Lieberman, a man who campaigned against Obama shows how weak the party really is. The didn't even slap him on the wrist, he was out there stumping for the opposition party, he gave a speech at the Republican National Party and yet he still has his chairmanship over Homeland Security. That sends a signal, weakness.
I'm pretty torn this morning because I have two teams to pick from, one is just fucking evil but has the best teamwork and solidarity around. The other team has the better ideas but just sucks at keeping everyone on the same page. This is really making it hard for me to care because one team is full of evil fucks and the other team doesn't stand a chance cause they suck. It is like an Evil Caucasian Globetrotters vs Washington Generals. Come on, he is fucking spinning the ball on his finger right in front of you for fucksakes! I didn't follow the Senate Race in Massachusetts and from the looks of things the Democratic Candidate didn't either. I mean how the hell do you lose Ted Kennedy's old seat to a Republican that posed nude in a Cosmopolitan Magazine in the 1980's.
I wish I could say I don't know how this could happen, how can people have forgotten Bush so soon especially DICK Cheney still on TV every other week. Maybe if things had started to change for average people in a significant way then they wouldn't have forgot but really what has changed in the last year. The Banks got saved but people still lost their jobs and homes. There is something obscene about bankers getting bigger bonuses this year than the previous year and people are losing jobs left and right. The fault doesn't lie all with Obama, a lot has to do with the Senate Democrats that have sat on their ass and mumbled around with Health Care Reform all year long while Rome burned down to the ground.
Case in point, Harry Reid hasn't done shit really to push anything through the Senate and the mere fact that they are still catering to Joe Lieberman, a man who campaigned against Obama shows how weak the party really is. The didn't even slap him on the wrist, he was out there stumping for the opposition party, he gave a speech at the Republican National Party and yet he still has his chairmanship over Homeland Security. That sends a signal, weakness.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
A Brief History in Bullshit
Every time I'm talking to my friend Brandon and I run on for more than two seconds I get the "I didn't ask for a brief history in bullshit" line from God knows where. So that is what this blog shall be about, bullshit.
I really don't know what I will write on this blog, I guess it will be different than my other blog which will probably be more about my photography and traveling more than, you know, bullshit. I guess here will be more politics, movies and other things in general.
I really don't know what I will write on this blog, I guess it will be different than my other blog which will probably be more about my photography and traveling more than, you know, bullshit. I guess here will be more politics, movies and other things in general.
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