Saturday, June 23, 2012

go figure

i fall in love again and she disappears... i went back to the website called orlandofriends by fluke and found i had not logged in since 2003 or some ancient time and so i logged in and saw messages from 2007 and 2008 and 2009 and i responded and the next day those same messages were from that next day, interesting little script that, changing the date as if i didn't notice the messages the first time... and then, one of the people inspires rhymes and reasons and falling in love and then... poof (yeah, they are all the same link, it's a meaningless complaint, after all)... alas, she may never know or if she did get my message, she may never find me now... true love shattered by the internet, alas...

Friday, June 22, 2012

instagram?

why would anyone give any app this much permission?

from the Google Play Instagram Permissions page:

THIS APPLICATION HAS ACCESS TO THE FOLLOWING:
HARDWARE CONTROLS
TAKE PICTURES AND VIDEOS
Allows the app to take pictures and videos with the camera. This allows the app at any time to collect images the camera is seeing.
any time? so the app can collect images without my knowledge?

YOUR LOCATION
FINE (GPS) LOCATION
Access fine location sources such as the Global Positioning System on the tablet, where available. Malicious apps may use this to determine where you are, and may consume additional battery power. Access fine location sources such as the Global Positioning System on the phone, where available. Malicious apps may use this to determine where you are, and may consume additional battery power.
i can't turn it off when i don't want to use it?

NETWORK COMMUNICATION
FULL INTERNET ACCESS
Allows the app to create network sockets.
why and do what with them?

YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION
READ CONTACT DATA
Allows the app to read all of the contact (address) data stored on your tablet. Malicious apps may use this to send your data to other people. Allows the app to read all of the contact (address) data stored on your phone. Malicious apps may use this to send your data to other people.
why do the makers of this app need my friends information?

STORAGE
MODIFY/DELETE USB STORAGE CONTENTS MODIFY/DELETE SD CARD CONTENTS
Allows the app to write to the USB storage. Allows the app to write to the SD card.
seems almost reasonable

SYSTEM TOOLS
PREVENT TABLET FROM SLEEPING PREVENT PHONE FROM SLEEPING
Allows the app to prevent the tablet from going to sleep. Allows the app to prevent the phone from going to sleep.
sleep is necessary to conserve battery - seems this app wants way too much control

RETRIEVE RUNNING APPS
Allows the app to retrieve information about currently and recently running tasks. Malicious apps may discover private information about other apps.
Hide
this is ridiculous

NETWORK COMMUNICATION
RECEIVE DATA FROM INTERNET
Allows apps to accept cloud to device messages sent by the app's service. Using this service will incur data usage. Malicious apps could cause excess data usage.
this app wants way too much control, can destroy a battery, make the phone useless, cost money in phone data charges, and violates privacy way too much - definitely something fishy about google wanting all this power in every phone they can get...

Thursday, June 21, 2012

so glad the nba is over

i watched less than a quarter of game 4 and about 6 minutes of game 5 before the obvious bias had me changing channels to the ncaa college world series... it is pathetic that such unprofessional officiating could be see at the supposedly highest level of the sport... you could see it in the faces before and during the game... phantom fouls when lebron, wade, or most heat get the ball... no fouls when the thunder get obviously hit... why bother playing... people with money must think most people are just stupid... i miss what professional basketball used to be and won't go out of my way to watch again...

the heat might have won this series without the refs, but we will never know...

Sunday, June 17, 2012

whatever they are called

tv ads, tv pop ups, the bottom third, ad crawlers, bottom screen ads, digital tv, samsung's mistake, whatever, they suck... first, they destroy the stories they interrupt, creative suicide for anyone producing shows for television... then, annoying interruptions do not inspire me to watch the show interrupting the show i want to watch... in fact, the show i pay to watch... i pay to go to the theatre, i would resent a scrolling banner on the scenery advertising anything - it is not part of the show i paid to see... i pay for a ticket to watch a movie in a theatre without commercial interruption... and i pay for cable television... it is reasonable that the free tv networks force advertising down our throats to pay for their shows, but when i pay for a service i do not want advertising...

i mean, why watch regular tv anymore, or even cable... they take commercialism too far, so we find other ways to entertain ourselves... foolish greed has brought so many great nations down, when will they ever learn...

simply, watching movies on tv is a waste of time for me... there is no hollywood magic, no getting into a story... there is a random and even sometimes constant distraction of a network logo or upcoming show advertisement distracting from the movie... sometimes it is an animated pop up totally destroying any mood or ambiance the actors and director and movie crew were trying to create... it's gotten ridiculous... and just one more reason tv falls further and further into the background...

Friday, June 15, 2012

dey was robbed

okc, that is... too many times the prima donnas on miami get away with fouls that effect the score and it is a shame that the favoritism and bias toward superstars is so blatant... with two points down and 12 seconds to go labron james hacks kevin durant so obviously a blind person would have heard it and called the foul, but three refs miss it and the shot does not go in and instead of shooting two foul shots with a chance to tie at home, the game is over and miami is given a gift...

OKC 1 MIAMI 0 REFs 1

it doesn't matter that miami appeared to dominate the game, that okc was shooting poorly and miami was on fire and had huge leads all game... there were 12 seconds left and it was a 2 point game and one player clearly fouled another player who was going to tie the game... so the serious is still 1-0 in my book with the refs taking one game... the game gets cheaper and more meaningless with every critical last 30 second blown call... and i don't want to hear how challenging it is to be a ref, hire more if three are not enough to get the calls right - with the price of tickets and the millions in tv revenue, they can surely afford enough officials to get the calls right, especially at the end of close games... so is it a deliberate attempt to influence who wins by the nba front office or are the refs corrupt or just incompetent?... either way, it is irresponsible to let bad calls decide championship games...

yeah, i know this is meaningless compared to the stupidity of the injustice and oppressive society explored in the previous entry, but still, these are meaningless complaints after all...

UPDATED 6/18/12
Labron elbowed Harden three times in the last 30 seconds, obvious offensive fouls, and the ref called a foul on Harden giving Miami game three... don't just take my word for it... that makes it:

OKC 1 MIAMI 0 REFs 2

Sunday, June 10, 2012

perhaps we consider prisons

and what prisons mean in a society... and what putting people in prisons mean to a culture... i mean, what kind of people want to put a lot of people in prison (not to mention spending a fortune keeping people behind bars... surely not any people who believe in freedom, equality, justice, and giving all people the opportunity for success like the american dreams says, right?)... considering that a prison is the best place for a person to get an education in how to be a criminal, prisons are pretty much universities for advanced degrees in crime... so who wants a lot of people in prison?...

Iceland, Finland, and Pakistan (yes, Pakistan) all have 60 or less people in prisons per 100,000 people which are some of the lowest rates in the world... we can expect low prison rates from highly evolved, enlightened, peaceful cultures that focus on human rights and freedom and family and high ideals and creating a positive opportunity for all of it's citizens to choose healthy and productive and non-criminal activities, right?... Japan, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland each have less than 80 per 100,000 in prison... Germany, Netherlands, France, Belgium, South Korea, Ireland, have less than 100 per 100,000... Iraq has 101 per 100,000 people in prison... China has 120 per 100,000... Vietnam 122... wait a minute, highly evolved, enlightened, peaceful, free, human rights, family, high ideals, equal opportunities, what?... lots of other countries fall in on the list that are not mentioned here, but the point is taking a look at how the USA compares with the world in putting people in prison... Iran is at 222 per 100,000 people in prison... and don't the leaders of the USA tell us we need to teach Iraq and Iran (not to mention China and lots of others) about human rights and freedom and how to take care of their people properly?... how about the communist and former communist countries?...

Kazakhstan has 400 per 100,000 and Georgia has 531 per 100,00 while Cuba has 537 per 100,000 people in prison... now that's expected, surely, because communism is corrupt and oppresses people creating a criminal culture and little opportunity for the poor to find a healthy way out, naturally... the US Virgin Islands have 561 people in prison per 100,000 people (oh wait, they are not communist, are they?... was that sarcastic?)...

ok, seriously...

Russia has 582 people in prison for each 100,000 people, so that sure shows how little respect for human rights and how poorly Russia still takes care of their society to this day - focusing on spending a fortune keeping people in jails rather than education and rehab and providing alternatives to prison which essential is the best place to get a serious education in criminology from the criminal's perspective...

the USA has 743 people in prison per 100,000 people... nobody higher...

what?