NONOBADBLOG!
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Saturday, January 24, 2004 Today I am feeling: Mod 
Books I am reading: Games I am playing: Anticipating Sims 2 but realizing my computer sucks too much to play it I have been once again afflicted with the Slashdot Moderator Status Virus ... ok, not really a "virus" but they must have a very odd "random" generator indeed because I can go months or even years without getting moderator points but then once I do get them I tend to get them multiple times in a very short period ... for example, I have had them 3 separate times in the past week, and 2 of those 3 times were on consecutive days. Odd ... very, very odd. And frustrating, I spend vast moments of my life trying to find posts that are not only worthy of moderation but which haven't already been moderated to their limit. And then, after feeling the subtle glow of a job well done, I am again subjected to the torture ... it's like a bad sci-fi movie or a twisted vision of Hell. Of course, I could just ignore the points I suppose but then the Almighty God of Random Numbers might smite me and never again grant me the l33+ moderator status on Slashdot again. Yeah, ok ... uhm ... lemme see what else ... we might actually get some "rain" today which really means to anyone not in California we might get some heavy drizzle. I love "rain" in whatever form it comes. Cat is doing ok, I have yet again re-arranged my furniture in a near-futile attempt to get all my junk to not only fit in my one small room but to also be usable ... for instance, I have to make sure I can see my TV not only while lying in bed, but also while I am using the computer or eating dinner or studying. Quite a feat I can tell you! I also have to make sure there is no tall furniture near places where the cat could use said furniture to her advantage to climb up to areas where she is not allowed, specifically the catnip farm atop my bookcase. I also have to make sure I preserve adequate hidey holes and peeky spots, as well as the obligatory nap areas. I also have to make sure I have a place to study. And make sure all my numerous electronic devices have adequate outlets, which they don't, but at least I can get it so I can unplug/plug as necessary. Unfortunately I was not able to arrange things so that the ghastly glare from sunlight through my window doesn't cast it's nastiness on the screen of my TV, but it was either the TV or the computer and well, that was an easy choice. I could, I suppose, get some curtains or something, but then the cat would climb them. I do have mini-blinds but she takes great joy in attempting to liberate each slat from its bondage as it is, I'd hate to think what she'd do to curtains. And besides, I don't really like curtains anyway. Break is almost over, I have just under 47 hours until I must again sit in stuffy classrooms for hours on end, paying my academic dues. So, I will likely be quite cranky next week because taking the bus to school means getting up early, and if I drive instead it means enduring the insanity of too little parking. Either way, it involves getting up early and dealing with other humans. Bah. Uhm ... grocery strike is still going on <yawn> no end in sight, although the mob, erm Union has threatened to use more strong-arm tactics to force its will on the people by going nationwide. Good, that'll just piss off more consumers and make them wanna shop at Jumbo Size Wal*Mart, where everyone gets paid the same (minimum wage.) I'm not sure which I hate more, the UFCW or Wal*Mart, they're both selfish and greedy and borderline evil in my opinion but there are no picketers are Wal*Mart so I guess I hate them less, even if I feel a little dirty shopping their knowing they're exploiting not only their own employees but also child labor around the world. That's about it ... oh, today is the 20th anniversary of the Macintosh computer, I better go check the Apple website to make sure they aren't selling some super dooper overpriced "Anniversary" edition of a Mac that is ugly beyond and belief. Always plenty of laughs from Apple.
[ 10:11:00 AM ]
Posted at the speed of blight by NONOBADKITTY!
Thursday, January 22, 2004 Today I am feeling: Bitten 
Books I am reading: Games I am playing: I was bored today so I went to the computer store (CompUSA) to take a look at the Apple computers in hopes of quelling my lust for an iBook. It worked. What a cheap piece of crap those things look like in the stores. The only one I'd have any hope of being able to afford would be the 12" iBook and well ... lemme just say the store had portable DVD players that looked better and cost about 20% of the price. They are small, which I guess if ya need a laptop for a 3 year old would be great, but I wasn't at all impressed with the quality of either the workmanship or the display ... you'd figure if you're spending more than $1000 on a computer it oughta at least look like it'll last more than 2 weeks. The higher end Power Books weren't much better, they also looked kind of cheap, although they were made of aluminum instead of cheapass plastic, and the display on the 17" was pretty nice but damn that is one huge hunk of machinery for a "laptop". Might as well just get a small form factor desktop, it would probably weigh about the same. I also had to laugh at the current iMacs ... I'd seen pictures but never actually seen one in person, and the little "lamp base" was quite a bit larger than I had imagined which made the thing look all the more atrocious. I did somewhat like the little eMacs though, or should I say the big puffy eMacs. They look like the old "fruity" iMacs but larger and with a much nicer screen which is covered with a sheet of plastic or something (which is what they shoulda done with those new iMacs, the monitors have a clear plastic thingie along the edge, but only the edge, it woulda been nice if they'd just extended the piece of plastic over the whole damn thing, it woulda looked nicer and it woulda protected the fragile LCD screen from finger and pawprints.) The eMacs have that cheesy cheap plastic iMac look though, but considering the price and the decent specs, they're not all that bad for a Mac ... of course they're not expandable except RAM and wireless card (well not without voiding your warranty anyway) so you gotta buy one with the specs ya need, which can add quite a bit to the purchase price if you're not careful. The AppleCare program is fairly reasonable for them too though, which is nice. Anyway, I've quelled my lust for all Apples except perhaps the eMac and, given that the price of PCs is pretty good (the store I went to had a decent one for $499 that included a 2.8ghz AMD (not a P4 hyper-threaded model though) and 512 megs of RAM and a 160 gig HD, with both a DVD drive and a CD-RW plus front ports for USB2.0 and firewire) I should probably just stick with a PC. I was almost tempted but I didn't have a credit card with me. But since my new computer budget is about $1500 (assuming all goes well with my FA app.) I could get both an eMac and a cheap PC and be way better off than I am now, and I wouldn't be forced into a Mac switch, and if the Mac thing didn't work out, their resale value isn't bad either. Unfortunately the store I went to didn't have any iPods in stock (WTF is up with that?) so I didn't get to mock those too. I'm probably one of the few people on the planet who's never seen one too. Oh well, maybe once the minis come out I'll take a trip to the Apple Store and check them out in the presence of Mac Geeks, and get more bang to my buck for the mocking ... or get beat up ....
[ 1:50:00 PM ]
Posted at the speed of blight by NONOBADKITTY!
Wednesday, January 21, 2004 Today I am feeling: Shocked and Appalled 
Books I am reading: Games I am playing: "Interpret the Constitution" Last evening the President of the United States gave his State of the Union Address, and well, lemme just say his NONO rating dropped yet again. I think it's at about 3 now out of a possible 100. Who the *#^$*#@ does he think he is? I am beginning to believe the Democrats who claim Georgie thinks he was appointed King rather than elected President. Makes me almost wanna vote Democratic in November ... uhm ... well maybe not, given the sorry lot they've got in contention. Anyway, last night I had trouble sleeping (which is a very rare thing, sleep is something I usually don't get enough of, so I cherish it when I have the time to get enough) so I got up at 6am and wrote a letter to the President: "Dear Mr. President, I watched your State of the Union Address on January 20, 2004, and I was shocked and appalled by some of the statements you made, most particularly those that referred to a constitutional amendment defining marriage, and amnesty to illegal aliens. First, as I hope you are aware, there is something called the Constitution, which allegedly protects the rights of the citizens of the United States, but which over the years has been eroded to reflect the views of those who think God dictates the law. To pass an amendment defining marriage as only between a man and a woman, "by the will of the people", would violate the first amendment which says "Congress shall make no law respecting establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; ..." since the only "valid" arguments against same sex marriages are religious, and religion cannot dictate federal law in this country. It would also ignore the rights of those citizens of the country who have a Constitutional right to practice their religion which allows same sex unions. Just because the people vote for something, does not make it legal or "right". As an example, if the citizens of this country were to vote that presidents can only be elected by popular vote, rather than by the electoral college method currently used, that would not make it "right", because it would violate the rights of the majority of the voters in this country to have their vote be counted equal to all other votes. Please reconsider you position by considering the rights of ALL citizens of the United States, not just those whom are in agreement with your own moral beliefs. Secondly, as a President who claims to be fighting a "War on Terror", yet then turns around and considers granting amnesty to those who have violated Federal law by coming into this country illegally, is essentially opening the borders and handing the keys to the nation over to terrorists. This country has laws in place that allow those who are willing to follow those laws to immigrate legally into this country, please do not undermine those laws, they are here to protect the security and economic balance of the nation. Please reconsider your position and protect the rights of legal citizens of the United States before those of illegal non-citizens. As this is an election year, I hope you are willing to hear the views of those who, while not necessarily agreeing with your views, support the fact that you are the leader of this great nation. Please do not forget that you represent all Americans, not just those who support your agendas. Thank you for your time." Yes, it probably sounds like I'm drunk, lack of sleep can do that to you, and yes it's true I didn't even touch on the whole evil, rights-eroding "Patriot Act" thing, but hell, at least I did something, instead of just sitting around whining about how the president sucks and how he's like Hitler and waah waah waaah. As Albert Einstein said, "The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing." Hint, hint. So, since little Georgie seems so determined to allow "the will of the people" to dictate law, get out there and let him know what you think.
[ 6:22:00 AM ]
Posted at the speed of blight by NONOBADKITTY!
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