Microsoft, AMD, and PR firm Edelman give out Ferrari laptops with Vista to bloggers!?

For those of you who have been in a hole or entirely too busy to read about this latest "scandal"...well here it is in essence. Microsoft, AMD, and PR firm Edelman give out Ferrari laptops with Windows Vista to bloggers...dur...read the title :P In a bid to get bloggers to write about one of several versions of the Ferrari laptop and Windows Vista...Microsoft, AMD, and Edelman sent out these laptops so these bloggers can evaluate Windows Vista and also get a look into the performance of the Acer Ferrari laptop(s). All of the bloggers got a machine with Windows Vista, but not all got the top of the line Ferrari...some got the 4000 while others got the 5000 and I have read of a few1000's being sent out. From visiting the Acer site...all models of the Ferrari seemed to have been covered in the distribution.

Now the part that gets funny is whether or not this mailing of laptops was a "bribe" for good reviews or just an honest means of getting these bloggers a machine to do some honest testing and reviews with. So many of the bloggers that I know about have taken a lot of crap over accepting the laptop and accused of being biased. Some have been forthright in receiving the laptop and their intentions for using the laptop, others have gone as far as selling the laptop on Ebay and donating the procedes to the EFF, and finally there is one blogger I have read about that pretty much did not disclose receipt of the laptop and made it sound as if he had upgraded...before being called out and finally coming out with the truth of the matter. Needless to say...blog readers have ranged from supporting of these bloggers to being jilted somehow by all this and quite angry. I think the anger stems more from the "what about me" factor than the integrity of those who run these blogs. Me for one...would give a shit what anyone thought of me if one of these laptops was sent to me...sure I would keep it or possibly give it away on my site, but you could be damn sure...I would have me a laptop:P I am also very confident that most of these people bitchin' about what these bloggers received would be in the same mind set as myself and thus their comments on these sites in an angry tirade...are full of shit and wouldn't be whining so damn bad if they received one of these units that were sent out.

Anyhow...this has totally been blown out of proportion by most...and in the end who really gives a crap about who received these machines and their review of the laptop and the O/S. I for one will visit certain sites on a daily basis looking for reviews and such...but I do not base my opinion on one sites analysis of such things. I will go and visit many sites that review such things...I will even go as far as finally going to those online retailers of said hardware or software and read the consumer reviews of these items...these generally prove to be the most valuable as these people have touched and used the item without bias of having anything sent for testing or having to write a review of said item in detail. "IT WORKS GREAT!" is sufficient enough a description for me to add a notch of confidence in something, if more than a few people said the same thing about it :P

Anyhow...let these people be...and hope for the day you to will get a freebie...we all love the freebies!

What is Neocon Rule? Anyone? Help!

I need some help and I am sure I will go crazy if I can't find the meaning of Neocon Rule. I know part of my problem is that I am thick headed and slow, but for the life of me all that I have found regarding Neoconian, Neocon, and Neocon Rule have left me still not really knowing what it means. My "best guess" at this point is that it is a group that will mislead a group of people to gain control and keep that control. It will subvert any standards or policies to achieve it's goals. Now as I have said...this is what I took from several sources that I "Google(d)", as there are no real set definitions that I could find...yes, I even tried to look it up on the Merriam-Webster site. Hell, it might just be more than I can comprehend, so if you know the definition...dumb it down for me so I can write about it :P

My search for the meaning of this word came from some comments about an article I was reading about Gerald Ford, R.I.P., and an interview he had given for a future book deal. This interview was only to be used/published for this future project or after his death. Well...unfortunately the latter came first and...Bob Woodward at WashingtonPost.com wrote a great article, "Ford Disagreed With Bush About Invading Iraq", about these 2004 - 2005 interviews for this future project. In reading the article I was amazed to read about the views that Gerald Ford had regarding the war in Iraq and Bush's Administration...along with some of the decisions made. It was a great article that I hope you all will read! I love what Gerald Ford had to say about freedom:

"Well, I can understand the theory of wanting to free people," Ford said, referring to Bush's assertion that the United States has a "duty to free people." But the former president said he was skeptical "whether you can detach that from the obligation number one, of what's in our national interest." He added: "And I just don't think we should go hellfire damnation around the globe freeing people, unless it is directly related to our own national security."

I couldn't agree more with this...unfortunately I wish President Ford's thoughts were more public rather than held back til after his death.

Anyhow...in the comments on this article..."Neocon Rule" was mentioned and my search began...I will post some of the sites I found referring to "Neocon Rule" and you all can add your thoughts or definitions. Enjoy for now!

-->A Look Back and Ahead In An Age of Neocon Rule by Stephen Lendman at OpEdNews.com
-->The Neocon Imperial Militarists are NOT PEOPLE (And Bush's Final Question) by Wah at kuro5hin.org
-->My Google Search
-->The Shame of the Nation: A Collective Perversion by Stephen Lendman at ThePeoplesVoice.org

Here is another link...nothing to do with "Neocon Rule", but more to do with a view of Bush's term thus far by former CIA Analyst Ray McGovern at John Marshall Law School, Chicago. Click "HERE" to view!!

What makes ya better...makes me sick!

Yeah...like the title? Well the title is a twist on medicine(s) and how the whole medical industry is twisted...makes most people ill when they read some of the information that is out there. I will start by saying this article at BMJ that I linked to from Slashdot about intellectual property and medical research is a great read and gets one thinking...wanting to know more. The article in essence, at least what I got from it, was about how the intellectual property claim(s) that the pharmaceutical companies are making seem to really make the availability of said drugs to poorer populations impossible and that it also makes innovation of drugs and cures impossible or harder to develop...because these companies are hiding their cards in essence, which is stifling advancements in all areas (i.e. Cancer research, AIDS medicines, and so on...). Most would think that sharing of knowledge is a good thing that would stimulate research and eventually lead to new medicines or cures. However, that is not profitable to one corporation for their "name brand" version of a given medicine. ICK...just read it...makes me ill...or at least that "The Man" is giving it to me again :P I would suggest the BMJ article and then read some of the Slashdot comments...good stuff.

Some of the comments at Slashdot were so good I ended up at OpenSecrets looking at how much in contributions the different sectors of the medical field has made to the political parties and even individual senators...that just puts me over the edge. Read on for yourselves as I might start getting nasty. I will say it goes to prove that we the U.S. seem more than ever to be a government for the corporation and less about the people...since of course...money talks volumes in Washington.

I have to quote Ed Halley(Speare) and his comment on Slashdot:

If there's one area where I think Eminent Domain applies, it is to this sort of "property." If the pharmaceutacals "own" a cancer drug, an AIDS drug, a heart valve palsy drug, then fucking TAKE it from them and give it to the world. If they have to be compensated under eminent domain laws, then give them a twenty year extension on their stupid penis pills, their fat-buster pills, or their toenail fungus cures. If they can do it with your house to make a bypass, then they should be able to do it with something that will really benefit society.

I couldn't agree more...I have hot linked the stories in the article...but I am also linking them below:
Slashdot "Nobel Laureate Attacks Medical Intellectual Property"
BMJ "Scrooge and Intellectual Property Rights"
OpenSecrets "Long-Term Contribution Trends from Pharmaceuticals/Health Products" (browse the site for more information)
OpenSecrets "Top 20 Recipients Of These Contributions"

OMG!!! This sux...REALLY look at the ATM!!! From now on anyway.

First off...MERRY CHRISTMAS to all who celebrate it!

Now on to paranoia boys newest find, that would be me, and let me tell ya...it sucks that people put so much effort into stealing from honest people. I hope this will be able to help out some people if they run across one of these situations at an ATM. All I have to say is...REALLY look at that dude to see if anything looks any different than normal. I guess that also means...pay attention to what the actual working "good" ATM looks like in order to have something to judge by. Now on with the links:

This one is the worst(Italian ATM):
Thrilling Wonder

This one seems more obvious:
University Of Texas

Now don't take this any further than just being aware of things...this is not meant to be a means to send people into hysteria and never use an ATM again. Just go to your bank's website and look over their ATM Security policies and just be aware...thanks!

Need a phone number? NICE...got one for ya!

I love this service that craigsnumber has...it will let ya create a phone number that will last for an hour, a day, or a week at a time. This is great if you are listing something, going out but don't want to be bothered with a call and don't want to be so snotty as to not give one out a number at all, or if you just want to keep your phone number anonymous to some folks. It is a free and easy service that you need to check out and/or try at least once.

You know...something like this would probably make a good service to pay for...if you want your real number hidden for longer periods than listed above or indefinitely. Hrmmmmm?

-->craigsnumber

Default Passwords...change them!

Get ready for a fun ride...a little information that would seem to be obvious to me...but then again...I am paranoid and a little suspicious of "THE MAN", so that is my excuse for changing the password on anything that comes with a default password. However, it seems that more users that aren't in the know...seem to be too busy to make such changes and when they end up with problems or such when others get access to their hardware or software that have a default password...well...the world comes apart and then changing the default password doesn't seem to be such a bad idea. Especially when you have sites like this, Phenoelit, putting that stuff out there.

Now...some folks will go overboard on what they put passwords on and that just seems like a waste of time...as there are some manufacturers out there that think that some items need a backdoor password. A backdoor password is a password that is used to bypass any other password used for a protected item. One such item is the BIOS Password...the password you can set to boot up with and/or access the bios with. The bios password is just annoying for the mere fact that it does have a backdoor...so what is the use. Site(s) like these,Tech Faq - UTK Support - 1n73r and my site now too I guess, make setting a bios password useless to use. However, I don't how many manufacturers have kept this policy of including a backdoor password, as none of the ones listed worked on my Motherboard. This practice sucks, but it is in fact handy if I am working on someone else's PC...and need to get in...plus builds brownie points and confidence from the person I am doing work for :P

Now don't assume that just your machine has backdoor passwords or default passwords. These default password can also be in Routers, Switches, and many other components that connect one computer to another and on down the line. In just the last four months there have been stories reported of people hacking X companies routers to monitor the traffic. Now of course the media said it was a hack or that they were hacked into...no...it was a dumbass admin that didn't take the time to change the default password on his router(s) to prevent such things.

In the end...the thing you wnat to do is change any default passwords...you will be the safer for it and leave any blame of fault on your own shoulders for any problems. Thanks...and good night!

If you feel disenfanchised...please stand up!

I have never been a big conspiracy theorist or one to say "THE MAN" is bringing me down...but...THE MAN IS BRINGING ME DOWN! :P Some times you read or watch some of these conspiracy theorists and at first you think...hmm....they might be on to something...then as you continue to watch...and hear the rest of the theory you are like...whoa...Freako here! This is generally my response anyhow, but when it comes to voting and so on...I have to admit that I have always been a bit suspicious and I can't say I don't agree with some of the things I have found. So go ahead and follow the links...and by all means...freako me!

Guerilla Funk 20 Amazing Facts About Voting In The United States
Google Video - PBS Show "NOW" Votes for sale?
YouTube - HBO Documentary Hacking America (be sure to watch all three parts!)

In-Game Advertising

OK...I have not been a supporter of In-Game Ads. These are those ads that are strategically placed throughout todays games for both PC and Console. The reason for my lack of support stems from the point that if you have bought the game...why should you be subject to ads in this game. We all know how annoying some of these ads can get, but why should we be a means for game developers to cash in on your gameplay after they have already pocketed funds from you buying their product. I think another question to the effectiveness of ads is how much do gamers really pay attention to them. I think they are more concerned about getting knocked off or knocking someone off rather than stopping to take in these ads.

Well , enough of my rant...over at 2old2play, they have an article that addresses this issue and even goes on to report the findings that Bunnyfoot has done on in-game advertising. Pretty interesting...even if you have no takes on the subject.

Badass Windows Update Site/Tool

Ok peeps...this should be posted under "cool tools", but then I don't have the type of focus to organize this blog page...nor do I have that kind of anal attitude in the real world :P Anyway...there is a cool site called, WindizUpdate, which for those Mozillites out there it will allow you to keep your Windows system up to date. This little gem is not only for Mozilla Firefox/Firebird, but for Netscape/Opera/K-Meleon as well.

You install the plugin for your browser of choice then you go through the Windows Update Sequence as if you were using IE on the actual Windows Update site. So, it is pretty cool and handy.

By all means check out this awesome site at http://windowsupdate.62nds.com/ and you be the judge.

Hell...now that I think of it...I might be the late comer...if that is the case...then why didn't anyone let me know. If not....how come you didn't know about this:P Rock on peeps...gotta go!

Lots of reading

I ended up spending alot of my day...well all of my day reading. I don't really know how much useable information I read, but it was a whole days worth. There weren't any novels, poems, or short stories. Just surfing the web and reading some articles...some of which were quite interesting. They ranged from the solar storm that was heading our way to the top 100 list of things we didn't know this time last year. Like I said...most of this was not too interesting to most I am sure. Although there were good fillers in between those two examples I gave.

One of the cool stories was about a Vista crack that some Dr. Chang made. The story was over at the Raymond.cc blog. From what I understand pics don't do much to prove anything...they have a download at the bottom of the page, but I still don't put much faith in it. This lack of faith comes from Microsoft's mention that they will be releasing a "Frankenpatch" soon just for vista to counter some of the cracks out now. No word on what they are going to do about the KMS Server activation method peeps are using.

I hit up another geek story about a Alternative theory of gravity explains large structure formation -- without dark matter which was cool. This article tries to dispell the theory of dark matter with the theory that our formula of gravity or what we know about gravity has been wrong. Pretty interesting read.

Those are just a few...but you get the idea. I kind of wonder how many peeps do as I have done today...just read and surf...all day. hrm?

Day of Amazement

My first amazing realization of the day comes in the form of prescribed medication. I find it amazing that a 1000mg of Vicoden packs less of a punch than a 10mg muscle relaxer. I am a lightweight with meds...but that little 10mg dude puts me down...knocks me the hell out. I don't get much in the area of effects from Vicoden...I am personally convinced that it is a placebo made by the medical "MAN" to phsyc us into believing it is going to do something...I am thinking this dude is just aspirin. Someone made a comment to chug some whisky with it...well...I think if I chugged some whiskey with the Vicoden...I would be drunk with whiskey...so again I still think the Vicoden is a placebo.

Anyhow...on with amazement...the second thing that suprised me was that Adobe Photoshop CS3 BETA has been out all of a day and it is already hacked...well made so there is no expiration on the trial period. By renaming a file for Windows and by a hexedit or file rename on a MAC. Goes to prove...for every security measure there is a counter...and usually pretty quick.

The next amazement is more scary than anything...I was reading this article at United Press International about how in a Nuclear Warhead dismantilling site in Texas...they ALMOST blew up a nuclear warhead by applying to much pressure trying to dismantle the head. They ALMOST unleashed the power of a bomb that is estimated to be "100 times more powerful than the bomb dropped in Hiroshima". Luckily a nuclear watchdog group fined them last month for this mishap that happened in 2005. Kind of leaves you wondering what some of these people are doing without our knowledge..and in the end...do we really want to know.

That will do it for today...I am about to eat some chilli...WOOHOOO!

What is your commitment level to visiting a religious landmark?

I am sure most of you have seen this already, as it has been floating around for sometime now. You have got to be nuts or totally devoted to your religion to complete this route to get to a temple...if you weren't devout prior to going...you probably will be when you arrive...as one you have used said deity's name for protection several times during this trip. No worries...no reason to go to the temple with soiled pants...there is a set of outhouses setup at the end...but don't lean to much into the seat.

For the record this is Xian (Mt.Huashan)and it is located near the Great Wall of China. It is better known as Suan-kun ("The Hanging Temple") Monastery

With that...check the pics (Click on each image for larger version):






Source: Weblinks

Source: Weblinks

Source: Weblinks

Source: Weblinks

Source: Weblinks

Source: Weblinks







Source: Weblinks

Source: Thrilling Wonder

Source: Weblinks

Source: Thrilling Wonder

This is what happens when you get to thinking on muscle relaxers

Here is a story I wrote about what I was thinking with all the airborn data out there...well here we are...the edge of technology...and on this burgeoning horizon we have found a trend...get rid of the wires. Seems as though everything is going wireless...networks are now transmitting 100+Mbs of information, various other wireless networks of varying speeds are popping up all over the place...from the home to the office. They are everywhere...cellular phones are putting in there bit of air born technology, GPS systems, Navistar, 2.4ghz land line phone units, and satellite signals are all bashing around in the air around us. I imagine our bodies are being barraged continually with all of this digital info...and in thinking of this assault on us...I wonder, when will all of this "data" start to effect us physically?

Will it be when we reach the 1gb threshold in routers? Imagine you are walking down the street and you stumble into the data stream of XYZ,s corporate network. Suddenly, you see images of financial figures whizzing by in your minds eye...you hear the voices of people conducting business calls on the VoIP system that was setup at XYZ...you freak out at first...but with the next step all is normal. As you stand beside the massive iron made piece of artwork...you wonder..."what the hell?"

Am I losing my freakin' mind? Or did I just have some kind of digital flashback? Being the curious beings that we, the people of earth, you jump back to your previous position...away from your iron protector. WHAM! You body stiffens as you take in the new bits of data that are whizzing through your receptive brain. More spreadsheets, well worded documents, the voices of the interoffice couple involved in the baby talk of a doomed relationship, and the blast of a bold black font "NOT AUTHORIZED" from what appears to be a web browser that has reached a website that an employee shouldn't be at.

The bold black letters make you lose your footing...and you fall back behind your metal protector. Laying there...you feel the tickle of sweat rolling down your cheek...and the parting of your lips as you smile...as if you have discovered something. "Wow!" you think..."I must be a superhero or something!" Not content with what you have seen thus far you rise to your feet...squat slightly and prepare to jump back into the stream and see what else this river of information has for you. Like a place jumper you spring into the air and land dead center of where the stream is. BAM! Again the information is drenching every fiber of your mind..."New updates found..." pops in first...the tale tale sign that another M$ hole has been found...again! You pick up the header of a transfer..."The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King" and you realize almost instantly that someone has setup a Kaaza share on the network. "Probably an admin?!" you think as the invisible force of the data stream continues...unrelenting. Reports, pictures, voices, calculations, bank transfers...it is all too much...you begin to fade...you feel your body sway in the overwhelming current of the stream....you feel yourself falling...you sense yourself falling from the stream as if you are pulling your head out of the water. As your backside hits the hard pavement...then your back...you are stunned in the dark silence of your mind...and suddenly "N 36.17504� W -86.773917�" pops in your head and you realize, thanks to GPS, you are where you should be...Nashville!

What is up with the what about me factor

It is freakin' rediculous how all of a sudden, maybe not suddenly...but freshly noticed by me, we are hearing about all these religious zealots that are suing everyone because they feel their religion isn't represented in different Christmas displays. One such story involved a Rabbi in Seattle who sued or threatened to sue a Seattle Airport that had put up Christmas trees throughout, because he didn't feel that the Jewish holiday wasn't fairly represented. The Seattle airport responded by taking all the decorations down...that had been used continuously for 15 years. How about the Catholic church that threatened lawsuit on a public park that had put up Christmas lights and the like...along with some Jewish decorations...but apparently did not have a nativity setup. So again, the town decided to take down all the decorations...but that wasn't enough...the Catholic church is continuing with a lawsuit for said nativity to be setup.

I guess my real question is...when does it stop. Are people in private residences that put up the elaborate displays gonna be sued because someone feels that their religion is not represented. I hope in the end that when it comes to private displays at residences and so on...that the courts will realize that these private citizens have the right to display those decorations according to their beliefs and do not have to satisfy a frivolous lawsuit.

The other side of this is...what is considered a Christian display that sets off these other religions to want their religion represented? Is a decorated tree representative of Christian? A wreath? a nutcracker? Santa Claus? Will every church or religious building/grounds have to represent all religions in their setups? It's a tough one...where does it end and why does it seem to be a more recent thing or more common?

Related stories:
-->Seattle Rabbi
-->American Daily
-->Catholic League
-->Journal News

Getting called out

Well peeps...it looks like no one is safe if you drive a gas hog, park like an asshole, or suffer from road rage. The web now has resources where you can take a picture and upload it in order to call out those jackass' that take up two spots for their Miata. Not only that, but you can also print off a complaint to leave on said persons' window, so they can visit the site to see what an crappy parker they are. Then we have a site that you can post the license plate and complaint of those people that drive like a selfish bastard with no regard for anyone elses' safety or consideration. This site is really cool in that other people that have witnessed this disregard of traffic laws by the culprit can drop a comment as well. Finally we have a site that you can call out these people who drive the monster SUV's...namely the H2...take a pic of you flicking off or giving the bird to one of these bricks on wheels and upload it. Mostly this is all in fun...and to call out some of these drivers that tend to make everyone a little angry at their actions. So check out these and a few other sites below:
-->Speed Trap
-->Platewire
-->You Park Like An Asshole
-->FUH2

Time for a good bitchin' again...about the Digg-Wii stories

All praise the Wii from Nintendo, but good lord...I for one have heard enough. I am sure that this unit is amazing not only in its graphics, but in its gameplay as well. It does sound like an amazing unit that physically draws its players into the game. However, how many stories does there have to be on this subject. Sure if I owned one I would want to hear about defective straps that might make me hurl my joystick/gamepad (whatever they call it!) through my tv, into the wall, or cause bodily harm to someone else in the room. That is awesome...get that information out there and how to replace the units. What I personally don't need is so many sites talking about how great it is...over and over and over and over again. The number of stories alone leaves one to be suspicious if most of these stories aren't being planted by the minions at Nintendo. I myself wonder if Digg isn't on the payroll of Nintendo just by the shear number of stories that seem to populate its page(s). I did an unscientific search of stories submitted in the last 24 hours of news on Digg and well there were a total of 8 1/2 pages or 127 stories in just the last 24 hours. The TOTAL number of stories regarding Wii in the last 7 days was 720. The TOTAL number of stories regarding Wii on Digg for all time was 9915. WTF...is there something more compelling, informative, or useful that could have filled those spots...haha.

Here comes the consiracy theory...and I don't blame Digg for this blatent Wii attack, or should I :P There is one of two things happening here...either in a bid to take over the world of gaming news Nintendo has paid off someone to just submit stories to Digg OR Digg has become bed partners with Nintendo to promote this gaming console. HRMMMMMMMMMMMM? You call it!

Either way...enough is enough...STOP ALL THE DAMN "IT'S THE GREATEST.." WII POSTS!!