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Friday, April 30
Orkut you too!
Have you heard of Friendster? It's a good idea. Create an account, describe yourself in great detail (including your favorite films & TV shows, which is the definitive way to size someone up), find old & new friends and build up your "Social Network" (by finding other people who also list "The princess bride" as a favorite film).
On it's surface, these "social networks" make sense. Computers are becoming an extension of ourselves, with IMing, forums, & blogs as a new way to communicate with each other. But is Friendster nothing more than the equivalent of collecting pokemon cards? (Am I dating myself already?) How many Friendster friends do you have? 18? 66? Have you collected them all? As much as I like Friendster, that’s all it seems to be good for. Bookmarking your friends online (too bad you can’t rank friends, with them all vying for the top spot. Hmmmm. I choose you Pikachu).
Now I'm not a very "social" person to begin with. I like the cold companionship of a 21 inch monitor rather than exposing myself to the sun. So trying to create a "social network" by using the computer more, is like a homeless person shopping for furniture.
But sometimes, the only way to keep in touch is by using the computer. Hell, we BBS’ers found each other again through this site. And with all the endless urban sprawl, it’s even harder to find new people. We box ourselves into little homes ignoring our neighbors, and spending our free time watching inexpensive crappy DVDs (and reading blogs).
You might be wondering at this point, what exactly I’m getting at. I’m not sure myself, except that I just got an account at Orkut. What is Orkut you ask? It’s a lot like Friendster, except with a lot more ways to describe yourself. It also has communities, which is like little forums. It has a unique set up, with many ways to interface your profile, friends, etc. It's run by Google, so a little inventiveness can be expected. (It’s only been a day since I joined, so I don’t have much to say about it yet).
But unlike Friendster, which allows anyone to join, you have to be invited to Orkut. They say it’s so the community can grow slowly, but it seems a little cliquey to me. But I can tell you, there’s at least a quarter of a million people who are members. So it’s not exactly exclusive, but according to the demographics page, only 46% are from the United States (it’s big in Japan). As soon as I get some time, I’ll try and yak about it some more. If you’re really interested, I can invite you. Just email me.
posted by: Zung @ 11:04 PM
Thursday, April 29
It's what a.m.?
The Move is now a constant thing. Every blog, every lj post, every conversation, and even every thought I'm having now centers around The Move - what I've packed, what is left to pack, what can be thrown away, when the movers are arriving, which bit of furniture will go where.
It is The Move. It has become an entity in its own right.
People said this is what would happen with our wedding. Bah. I can handle a big ole party.
This is moving.
posted by: Bliss @ 1:03 AM
Monday, April 26
Rainy days and sunny hearts
Only 3 to 4 short days left until we're in the new house.
But I'm not counting, oooohhh noooo... ; )
So, this week, and likely the weekend will be hectic. You may not see me around much. I'm going to be busy with things like finishing up the packing and moving things, and then the unpacking.
After that Zung and I are going to prolly get together and see about some revises to the Kingdom and even make a PDF flyer for your guyzos to print and toss around where ever you are!
TKOP is and will always be a grassroots organization.
Some big changes coming up in the world of your sysop... Please hold me in your thoughts. I'll confess more later.
And for now, here's hoping everyone has the greatest week.
posted by: Skeeve @ 12:48 PM
Friday, April 23
I want my RTA
I was intending to yak on and on about my road trip to DC this weekend, and go into some liberal political rant about the March for Choice that I'm going to attend. But then I got a Gmail account yesterday.
For those of you who don't know, Google is in the final stages of developing an incredible email system, called Gmail. It's still in the "beta" testing and not widely available to the public yet. So how did I get it? Google just acquired Blogger, and they're randomly offering long time Blogger users a chance to sign up for a Gmail account. Yesterday was my lucky day.
So what’s so great about Gmail? For starters, it’s a free web based email. But unlike the others, Gmail offers a gigabyte of storage space (Hotmail offers a measly 2 megabytes). There's also no ad banners or image heavy content. It's very simple and very quick. Gmail doesn't have folders, it has labels (and a single email can have multiple labels). You can even do a google-like search through all your email, instead of poking around folders. You can delete things, but even better, your can "archive" your email and find it through searches or labels later. It has it's own spam filter features. Oh, and did I mention the spell-checker that kicks ass? No? It has a spell-checker that kicks ass.
But the best feature (OK, besides the gigabyte of space) is what’s causing the all the controversy. Software that reads my email to show me relevant text ads. Privacy groups and even the European Union are up in arms about this. Is anyone reading the fine print? "No humans read your email to target the ads, and no email content or other personally identifiable information is ever provided to advertisers" (from the official site). Want my 4 year old cousin to explain it to you? The ads don't even show up most of the time.
Did anyone think to ask if we might want that? Frankly, I'm sick of ads for viagra, diet pills, dating services, penis enlargers, and debt solutions. I want ads that are not only unoffensive, but for something I might actually be interested in. Yesterday, I got a text ad in Gmail for Puppets. Puppets for christ's sake! I broke with tradition, and I actually clicked on the ad! What’s the world coming to? I don't know... but I'm starting to like it. Maybe the internet can still be a place for innovation and new ideas, and hasn't been completely lost to the corporate whorehouse.
I want my relevant text ads dammit!
posted by: Zung @ 8:12 AM
Wednesday, April 21
Ah, spring; when a young chicken's mind turns to Satan.
I do not understand the fast foost obsession with white meat nuggets.
I'm sure you've seen the commercials, ads, bilboards, flyers, and various other advertising paraphrenalia - I know I've been bombarded with it. Everybody is so proud of their little greasy selves because the fried meat chunks they're offering up happen to be from the paler muscles of the slaughtered fowl.
So what?
What about those of us who liked the darker meat in the nugget? Personally, I find darker meat to be juicier and retain more flavor, especially when deepfried. I was never polled as to whether I wanted my nugget meat changed. I haven't come across anybody who has. As far as I can tell, it's an industry-wide marketing ploy wherein they claim to be giving us what we want when we never asked for it, and as usual with such ploys it's only serving to make me oddly testy.
Follow in my tracks. Arby's has a great salad. They call it their Martha's Vineyard salad: two kinds of lettuce, shredded cheddar, half-dried cranberries, chunks of apple and of grilled chicken (of varying shades of chicken-color), Almond slices, and a raspberry vinagrette dressing.
posted by: Bliss @ 10:51 AM
Monday, April 19
I can't wait to have a yard.
Moving sucks all the life out of you.
It's been a long couple of weeks. I have to tell you. It's getting close now, so perhaps soon things will simmer down in the home life and I'll be able to focus on changes made here at TKOP.
The place is going to be a great place to get started at having a family and enjoying the whole "American Dream" (Not applicable to everyone, check your local and federal mandates... Dream void where prohibited)
It's been a hectic few weeks. We're trying to get things set up, as well as work is gearing up for some big changes. And yet, I keep bumping into longtime friends. People I have known forever but haven't had time to spend with them. It's been awesom. I've missed all of the old familliar people and places. Perhaps this is a merging of those friends from long ago and the new friends and life portions. I think I'd like that.
So, I'm going to go pack some boxes and anyone whos up for helping Bliss and I move some of the boxes please give a shout. I think we're going to be doing a bulk move this week around Thursday/Friday.
*hugs*
posted by: Skeeve @ 6:51 PM
Friday, April 16
Death and Taxes
Yesterday was the last day to mail in your dreaded tax returns. The yearly struggle over your wallet with the government. Some say theres too much taxes, and your hard earned money goes into the pocket of that crack head on the corner in some way or another. Thats one perspective. Of course you could be an optimist and think, that crack head has a small supplemental income, and a place to sleep tonight because of my taxes. So he's less likely to rob me right now.
Somehow it balances out. Even though the middle class pays proportionately more than the rich, while the poor still get poorer. It's not perfect, but it's better than a system of feudal serfdom.
Curiously enough, the date of April 15th has some deathly historical significance. It's the day President Lincoln died, hours after he was shot in ford's theater. It's also the day the Titanic sank. But it wasn't always the 15th of this month. Before the 1950's, it was March 15th. The day Ceaser was assasinated.
Brings new meaning to "Beware the eyes of March"
Especially since I have no idea what that means in the first place.
posted by: Zung @ 9:28 AM
Thursday, April 15
Wuv - TWOO wuv...
I'm finding that love does not always enable one to overcome all personal quirks and insecurities. This is currently manifesting itself in the form of my inexplicable inability to pick up the telephone and call the minister who is to perform our ceremony in order to set up a few "counselling" sessions between now and then.
Part of this stems from the fact that I really don't like talking on the phone; but part is also, I think from resentment of the implication that I need some sort of premarital counselling. I don't have to be counselled before I have children; why should I have to engage in counselling in order to proclaim my commitment to someone for the rest of our lives together? I'd think that going through all the crap one deals with just to have a wedding should be proof enough that a pair of people are patient and careful enough to lead productive lives together.
Although, what bearing does choosing the flowers and the favors have to do with name changes, number of children, or obtaining a mortgage? Bloody little.
But then, nobody's demanding that they counsel me to get loans, either.
posted by: Bliss @ 3:52 PM
Monday, April 12
Blood and Oil
My heart goes out to the men and women of the Coalition forces in Iraq today. The last two weeks have been the bloodiest since the war was "declared" a victory. 70 Coalition troops have been killed in action since April 1st, 3 Japanese Soliders and 7 Chinese Soldiers are being held hostage, and a total of 672 American Soldiers have died serving our country's intrests in the middle east since the war began.
All we can do is support their hard efforts, and make damn sure they come home as soon as possible.
You might have a friend or relative serving in the military, and if you do, I'm sure you're very concerned for not only their lives, but that their lives aren't sacrificed for the wrong reasons.
I have a cousin and a good friend in South Korea, a Cousin-in-law who has been rotating in and out of the middle east, and a cousin in the national guard who was in afghanistan for too long, and could be called up again anytime.
Their safety is important in my vote this November.
I hope it is for you too.
On a lighter note, I found this. Enjoy.
A general noticed one of his soldiers behaving oddly. The soldier would pick up any piece of paper he found, frown and say: “That's not it” and put it down again.
This went on for some time, until the general arranged to have the soldier psychologically tested.
The psychologist concluded that the soldier was deranged, and wrote out his discharge from the army.
The soldier picked it up, smiled and said: “That's it.”
posted by: Zung @ 11:58 AM
Saturday, April 10
It's that time of year again...
It's the time of year when the last minute people send in thier taxes...
Taxes are taxing and ar full of strange syntax.
I did my Federal taxes months ago. I got a tasty refund and we used it for bills and other stuff... And now doing my state taxes I find that I owe them alot more than I thought I would. To the tune of over $200. Stoopid state!
And this is the lowest level of excemptions I can think of! I mean I set my exepmtions to 0 so that I pay all the taxes in my checks, and usually don't have to deal with crap like this at tax time. I was expecting to have to pay something... (As you always have to pay NY taxes... I think I got a refund once... When I was in college or something.) But not over $200. And this is just after I got my car fixed and had to clean myself out to afford that, and we have a move coming up.
Arrrgh.
Money sucks.
So, the golden rule here, kids, is:
Don't go out and get more experiance to get a better job so you can earn more money so you can then be poorer.
Esh. Stoopid state...
posted by: Skeeve @ 1:04 PM
Wednesday, April 7
Move 'em out, rawhide! *whipcrack*
There's something about preparing to move that can really futz with your sense of place and self. Packing up every thing in your mansion/apartment/shack/house (Hey, remember that game MASH!?) Into little white boxes, contents only revealed by a sharpie scrawl, can really rock your mind. I own just this much stuff? Wait... I own THAT many books? When did I get all these dishes? How the hell am I going to move this without breaking it? Man... I don't really need, THOSE, I'll just thrown them away.
A good friend once told me that, in terms of "stuff turnover", three moves equals one housefire. Looking at this, my third or fourth move in about four years, I'm seeing how right he is. Not much is left among my current possessions that I owned in high school.
Books notwithstanding, of course.
posted by: Bliss @ 10:37 AM
Monday, April 5
Cold air and the moon
It looks as if Winter is going for one last hurrah. It got down below freezing the last couple of nights, and there was a dusting of snow this morning. (Better than what they predicted... I was told the possibility of 3 inches of snow...)
This week is going to be a long one. And not just because of the weather.
So, tonight the moon was out in all her radient glory. It was awesome. It's a good sign, and I saw no less than two moondogs encircling it... And that's never bad.
So, sorry about the brevity of this rant, but I'm exhausted and heading to bed. Have a good week, guys and keep up the good posts!
posted by: Skeeve @ 11:20 PM
Friday, April 2
I need a plummer for my mind
There are times where ideas pour out of my head like a river through a broken dam. Those times are usually when I'm in the middle of something where I can't stop to write them down. Like a busy day at work, while I'm in the car, or when I'm stuck at a dinner with my future inlaws.
I think you might see where I'm going with this, and be able to finish my thought at this point, which I might actually need you to do. You see, there are times, times which I'm sure you're quite familiar with yourself, when there are hours to kill, and not a damn thought, not even a bare sentance structure can come out of the mind. Like this morning for instance. My mind is now a slow dripping faucet, and I can't even manage to catch the drops of thought creeping out of the faucet, er... I mean my mind.
When faced with this dilemma in a social situation, one can pull many things out of their personal bag of tricks to survive. Like "See any good movies lately?" or "Some weather we're having huh?" and when desperate, "My doctor says I might have narcolepsy" (Then fall over, fake a light snore, and don't move until they've left).
But authoring something is quite different, you see i gnt r w Nee
dmn iT, my kybrd is brKen. k, srry.
ave a ood eekend.
posted by: Zung @ 11:45 AM
Thursday, April 1
Ok, but seriously...
April fool.
TKOP isn't going anywhere... Not to mention it's fully paid up for a year.
So, uh... Yeah.
posted by: Skeeve @ 10:26 PM
The second end of TKOP...
With great regret I find I have to pull the plug on TKOP... With the upcoming move, and other financial difficulties, I am not going to be able to keep TKOP running. I wanted to install it on my own webserver, but alas, I cannot get mySQL up and running on it.
We'll continue till the end of the week, until the host shuts us down.
posted by: Skeeve @ 4:15 PM
A Whole New You.
I joined a gym.
No, seriously, I did.
...
Done chuckling?
Okay, so I went and joined a gym this week. Knowning myself for the lazy butt that I am, I joined one that's right on the road where I work, so I'll be able to urge myself to ge before and/or after work, as well as on my days off. I'm shooting for 4 days a week, though I'll probably end up getting 3, but hey... as long as I'm going, it'll be good.
Big things I liked about the place: Not evercrowded. Not a fashion show. Not too expensive. Small areas set apart for women only/men only, if I feel the need. Free trainer help. Free nutritional guidance.
There were no big things that I didn't like about the place. Although.... do all trainers look like they've built their muscles to the part where they could, given an insectoid mask, play a part in Revenge of the Wasp-men?
posted by: Bliss @ 8:51 AM
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