So I read some filler/fluff article about Windows 8. Run of the mill, one sided article hyping the upcoming Windows8. I feel that, like every other Win8 article, this one really over looked the one edge that Windows8 MIGHT have. I have the feeling that this edge will also be overlooked by Microsoft, after all they are the ones who failed to push the Zune market to Xbox and Facebook(facebook partnered with Spotify even though MS has invested with Facebook already- who let that slip by? Eh, Balmer is not a good Tech CEO is it really all falls on him.

Here is the article Win8 article that dose little more than fulfill's someone's due date




And here is a term that will probably become more popular after it is too late for Windows:

chameleon experience/ Computing = having a small, portable computer device that offers limited functionality that may be expanded by hooking it up / tethering it to a device with addition CPU / GPU / hoarse power while to the user

------My Comment(that will probably go ignored)------

Meh, totally a fluff piece. Why is it anything that comes pro-windows at this point reads like a North Korean state-run news paper? Many good ideas that come from Richmond are, in my opinion, watered down due to their management-first, technology-second business model. The only way this Windows8 idea will do any better than Windows Phone 7 is if they really take the "chameleon experience" (a term I just coined which will probably be as important as "cloud computing" in the nearish future) the full 9 yards. I think the next big thing, and the only thing to really launch non-iPads is to have a product line where a small computer unit, probably a smart phone or iTouch-like unit will be the users computer. They they want to be productive, the just slide in in, or set it near a computer shell which will have a big monitor, additional processing unit, etc and then the user's account info, preferences will be there waiting. Set it near your gaming system and once again, your account, games, etc will be use the gaming system as a host and infact the only thing the game system is providing is the additional GPUs necessary to play a game like MW3 or something.
In conclusion, Windows8 will only be a big deal if they really perfect the idea where it is a tablet on the go, and then a computer at home. In order to do this they will need a very tight control over hardware. They will need to take the Nokia partnership to the most intimate level- infact they should treat all others like a redheaded step child after thought. They REALLY need to get in to bed with Nokia for Windows8 and have the type of software/hardware marriage that only Apple has been able to pull off.
Yeah, anything else in this articular is just fluff that the writer probably found necessary to write about as to appease the MS gods and to be kept "in the loop" for tech reporting. Happens all the time, but when you're good, I mean REALLY good, you don't need to pressure journalists to be your cheerleaders, they will do it outta love.

12-22-11 / On the Subject of Web-Social Privacy

This is a slice of a Google+ comment thread that I "weighed in on".  It originated from an article complaining about services such as Last.FM and other content streaming services that are all-too-happy to post what your watching/listening to on Facebook and social utilities as such.  I was a little long-winded in my response, but that's because for too long the conversation on the subject has been 99% one-sided.  I seem to hear the same thing over and over again
 "I like Z.  But it freaks me out to know that everybody else can easily see that I listen to Z, despite that fact that I have a Z bumper sticker on my car.  And also, sometimes this service will stream Y even though I don't even like like Y!  It takes me forever to delete every post related to me listening to Y.  If someone were to find out I listen to Z on the net, or that Y was ever, EVER streamed to my computer... well, it'd be the end of the world!!!"

Here is the article that was posted on G+: The trouble with scrobbles (scobbles?)


I believe that I make a valid point here and even if you don't agree with me, it's a point of view that should be at least acknowledged.  So here is one of my responses (yes, this was one big, long winded response from me defending my position) to the conversation:  


I guess what I'm trying to say is my stance on online privacy is that of Eric Schmidt- "If you don't want people knowing what you're doing online, than don't do it"  It wasn't so long ago that we didn't have services like Last.FM and the world still turned.  It's a luxury that isn't necessary, so if you don't like how it works, don't use it. 
Sometimes I get yelled at for taking a picture of someone drinking at the bar or something like that, whether it be because of family or that could prohibit them from getting an unforeseen job in the future.  To me, these people simply want to keep secrets weather it be of doing something very normal such as drinking at a bar or something very unusual like listening to classical music.


While everybody is screaming Big Brother, I prefer to take an optimistic view.  What if more and more people began to say "Yes, that was me listening to Wagner, mom.  I don't even like Wagner but it just came on.  Please stop calling me about stuff like this, I'll see you on Thanksgiving".  Or maybe people start asking themselves 'Gee, this company might have a problem with me drinking at a bar on New Years... wait, what sort of company is this?  What I do after work has nothing to do with my skills at being a computer programmer (or whatever)"  It'd be great if instead us all trying to burrow down deeper in order to hide ourselves, what if -WHAT IF- we used this to make the profiles stalkers more accepting with who people actually are?
"Smith!  What's the deal with this candidate?  Look, I found a picture of him 6 years ago at Mardi Gras and LOOK- there is a topless woman near him!"
"Well boss, he has more than 10 years experience in the field and the only other person that is as qualified is a guy who only has 3 pictures of himself playing with puppies on Facebook... kinda weird, right?... and also that's you in the background giving beads to that young lady"
"Oh yeah!  Ha, I forgot that Mardi Gras is awesome and that I go every year myself"

Sun-Ra on Wheels

You can make certain assumptions about people based what sort of car they have.  General assumptions, like if they have a BMW without any rust or dents then they probably are not broke.  It's not so much a car thing, it's more of a vehicular thing.  How a person gets around in indicative of what type of things they are getting around to.  A guy riding a tractor, for example, is probably a farmer, or at lest works on a farm... or at lest is a tweeker, steeling chemicals to make meth from a farm and is slowly getting away.  

Many different people ride bikes, in cosmopolitan areas, anyhow.  If you see someone on a bike in a rural area, odds are they have some sort of personal fitness goal they wish to meet or maintain.  The the city, you could use it simply because it is easier to find parking at the shops around town, the exercise, maybe even strictly out of necessity.  

Amongst all the cyclists in the city, you can tell who the crazies are.  Not just the ones who can't afford a car or caught a DUI,  not just the one's living out of shelters, but the crazy hobos.  That's not to say that if you are a hobo that you are crazy, or even that'd you'd have to be crazy to ride your bike in unfavorable weather conditions.  But there are those who slowly ride by you in a hail storm.  Their bike only movies marginally quicker than walking speed but the rider is peddling feverishly.  Not only is he forever stuck in a low gear but also his knees jut out and are never extended totally strait because the seat is also way too low.  Many time's this guy will shout things at traffic, either real or imagined.  Sometimes he will carry a simply carting a sign that reads "SATURN or BUST".

Out these guys, the fraction of these crazy hobos that are like the top 1% craziest of the crazies, are the ones that I pick up in my truck.  Most the time I'm not heading all the way to Saturn, but I'm willing to help them get that much closer. 

12-12-11

So, I guess Blogger can now be linked up to your G+ profile and Blogger posts will automatically be posted to G+... a feature I have wanted sense G+ first came out.  COOL!  This is just a test to see if it works OK

Plan B (not from outer space)

Feminism is a tricky word to get around.  If there is something that is exclusive to the female anatomy and/or condition and you are not 100% for the woman to have 100% control over said thing than you are anti-feminist, even if gender roles play no part in your opinion making.

Case-in-point: Plan B.  As a staunch Catholic, the only "Plans" I agree with are those that come from outer space and are of 9 or higher (because it involves the resurrection of the end... and His kingdom will have no end).  Plan B is counter to all this because 1) it is not numerical and B)it dose not bring life from the dead but actually quite the opposite.

I understand things like abortions exist, I understand the string of logic that feminists fallow to conclude that things like abortion are somehow a good thing.  To me, it dose't matter if abortion is legal or illegal, it's just something that you shouldn't do, kinda like the death penalty.

What bothered me the most over the news of the Plan B trying to get over-the-counter status isn't so much the life-preventing moral dilemma- the Plan B pill is simply abhorish- but it's the fact that this is simply a way for big pharmacy to make more money.

Whatever reasoning there is behind creating the Plan B pill, this reason is not extended by having it over-the-counter.  Pills that go over-the-counter sell more.  The reason behind the makers of this pill wanting it to be over-the-counter is the same reasoning why, to an extent, stores put candy bars at the check out isle- sales.

Giving 15 year-old girls an option to terminate a fetus with a pill that is readily available to girls 17 and older dose not empower that 15 year old girl any more, on a practical level.  At 15 I was able to obtain alcohol, and I didn't even "need it", I'm sure is more than possible for a girl to get the Plan B pill- heaven forbid she should have to ask her mom or sister or friend for help obtaining it.  If you're under 15 than and need a Plan B pill than you either made a series of bad decisions or having to drive to the CVS on the other side of town so you older friend can buy you one is the LEST of your problems.

Hearing talking points by feminists of why it should be over-the-counter ("what if the pharmacy is closed?" Oh, well you have 3 days to use it, I'm so terribly sorry that if you loose legs should cause you a second inconvenient trip to the store the next day) lead me to believe the feminism, much like any other subculture, can be co-opted by big business and molded for their own purposes- money, not women's rights.

Feminists that support Plan B being over-the-counter, not only do you have the right to abortions but you also, almost completely, have access to the Plan B pill.  If you should always choose to take an absolutist view on these things... than you are no better than the evangelicals that you loath.  And just as the republican party exploits them, big pharmacy exploits you on this issue.

11-23-11

It seems like the past tense of glow should be glew.... just sayin is all...

Flowers in North Korea

Walking into downtown from my house there are a few empty lots.  One lot used to be a car lot- altho I don't ever remember it being in business.  I don't know what used to be in the lot next to it but they are both bare to the ground- no pavement or anything, just a wide, long flat of dirt and gravel.


Today it's cloudy.  There is one omnipresent cloud that hangs over the city.  It is like a huge warship that's slowly floating by and there's nothing you can do to stop it or hurry it up.  It spans over the downtown skyline, my side of town, the south side of town, everywhere.  Walking under it I feel confident that it won't rain, just as I am confident that it will not shine sun.  I wish it was sunny today, but at least it's raining.  The cloud might block the sun, but at least it's keeping the storm clouds from the other side of Lake Michigan out.


Today is Sunday.  Things are slow and I rarely see a car pass by on one of the many streets that surround the vacant lots.  It's quiet too, if I stop I can only hear the sound of machinery being used very far away.  When I walk I can only hear my feet move the lot's gravel under me.


Things are slow today, most of the store fronts downtown will be closed.  The skyline is high and impressive looking from a distance, standing in a wide-open lot.  It's also very drag looking, surrounded by the grey cloud.


Most of sidewalk around the lots is broken with large cracks.  The sidewalk is only marginally more stable then the gravel.  I stop and listen again.  It's some kinda of machinery,  I don't know what, but it's a motor of some sort.


I feel like I'm in North Korea.  I'm heading downtown, already full aware that most the shops will be closed and that, aside for some hobos collecting cans, it will be a ghost town.  I am Winston Smith, a secret dissident.  The dark, powerful looking showcase skyline is just a hallow concrete shell, and yet I knowingly walk towards it anyway just so I can secretly write my thoughts down on paper somewhere.  An M80 fire ant crawling under the vast machine-cloud apparatus.


In North Korea, at lest they have flowers.  They know full well how grey and dull it is, so they use flowers alot to make up for the fact.


There's a guy about a block away that is riding an old rickity bicycle, hauling a bag of cans.  Dose he know that I am a thought criminal?  He would turn me in at the drop of a hat to collect his reward of an extra soup ration.

There might not be many flowers, but at lest the weather will change soon.

10-29-11

Here's to the cute arab-ish looking girl who served me coffee this morning. Everyday's a gift.

Fun with spam mail

On Fri, Oct 28, 2011 at 5:02 PM, ezekiel alston wrote:
I wonder how old are you? It is difficult recognize from the photo. You want to know, how I look for shure.

U can name me Whoopi.

Long hair, shiny skin, cute. My sister gave me your photos and e-mail. Funny, is not it?

Email me some information about you, please.

On Fri, Oct 28, 2011 at 6:32 PM, David Ex <-ex@gmail.com> wrote:
I am 72 years old..... waaaiiit Whoopi? Are you serious? That is the name you're gonna go with, Whoopi?! BwHahAhahahahah!!! oh.... Whoopi

I feel no pain, pay no insurance

A few months ago I got a new bike. My other bike was stolen so I had no choice but to find another. This bike I got isn't actually new, but it's like new. A Cannondale made in the 1990's, made in America, it's a nice bike. When it was new it sold for an outragous amount but I got it for a good price. The owner died years ago and his son just kept in the garage until I bought it. Basically, I got a bargain, like buying a Cadillac for the price of an old used one but with the mileage of a brand new one.

It's got special treads on the tires, front and rear shocks, very quick and light with cowhorn handles (when you put your hands on these your body can't help but to go ultra fast). The only problem is it's technically 2 inches too short for me- not a big deal but it dose affect things like taking a sharp corner, I have learned.

Yesterday I took a fast, tight turn and forgot to position the peddle on the side I was turning on to the "up" position. Because the tires allow me to lean the bike at uncanny angles, I do, but because it's a lil short for me the peddles will touch the pavement before the bike's turnability will fail. A fact I was reminded of while turning on to Rose from Kalamazoo ave.

When a bike accident is in the process of happening the rider has enuff time to realize it. The accident flag went off in my head- in this brief moment your mind says "Alright, remember this feeling of a pain free body, cause your ass is about to be hurting". I was ready, ready for the problem ahead of me. A painful, gravel burning problem just moments away. I knew what I was in for because I ride bikes often... What I didn't realize was that this old guy had also outfitted the bike with peddles that cost more than my rent. They are the kind that you can clip your special bike-racing shoes into, if you should decide. A lesser bike would not have made that turn period. A lesser peddle would have broken to bits which would have caused me to fall to my road rash doom.

This bike? I was slightly removed from my seat as if I had came to a hard stop... well, I guess I did come to a hard stop. I held my position with my eyes squinted. It took me a few moments to realize that nothing happened. I slowly looked down to the hit peddle to evaluate weather or not there was enuff peddle left to peddle to the bike store. Amazingly, the metal peddle was unscathed. There wasn't even a scratch on the painted-on company name "LOOK". Actually, the peddle somehow looked better- I think the damn bike appreciated in value after that lil accident.

My point is cars are gay. You get in a car accident- even a minor one- and that just ruins your day. You have insurance to think about and fixing whatever may have been broke. You get in a bike accident and you have a bruise and astory to tell... a cast at most! The worse part of this accident was that I perhaps looked foolish in front of the cars passing by, but I'm used to that anyway... besides car owners are gay.

And also with you

Father Ted: So, before you all go today I need to remind you all that... there are a few people that have been pocketing the Host. Please don't pocket the Host."
I have this very real feeling that the church, together as one heart, has no idea what was just said. "Don't pocket the Host" It sounds like words set next to one another, like "Don't moose that ski-doo".
Father Ted: Yes... yes... We have been finding the Host in the parking lot, in the near by water foutain... in wedge in to the spokes of children bicycles to make that flapping noise when they ride. Yeah, sooo, please, let the priest see you eat the Host and don't pocket the Host.
Some people arn't Christians. And even among the Christians some don't believe in things like the Holy Goast. But At that moment There was a true connection being made- with out words- and it was crystal clear. The priest saying "Soooo, this is kinda stupid I should even have to say this. Do I really have to explain anything here?" and everyone else looking amogst them selves as if to say "no, no... yeah, kinda weird. Sorry, don't know what to tell ya"
Father Ted: Also, please wash your hands. For the love of God.

I'll be the Dean Koontz of asking general questions int restaurants

The thing about learning a foreign language is that you get exposed to alot of really bad dialog. I mean, this stuff can make porno look like Shakespeare sometimes. Take this great little skit for example, if you pay attention you will notice it really doesnt make any sense :


Mary: Hello, Julia!
Julia: Hello, Mary! You seem very pleased.
Mary: Yes, I'm very happy. Tonight I'm going out with Marcos.
Julia: That's great!
Mary: I thought he liked Anna.
Julia: But Anna has a boyfriend, doesn't she?
Mary: Yes, Marcos and Anna are just friends.
Julia: The thing is, you're very jealous…

Well the characters are wooden a the plot falls apart around the 3rd act. If Julia is already going out with Marcos then obviously she has either already figured Anna was not with him OR she's a trifling bitch that is trying to steal Marcos, in which case she probably would avoid talking about it.

I think I found my new nitch market to pander to- foreign language dialog. That's how I will make my fortune. Well, that and being a script writter for dumb children's school plays... think about it, someone has to actually sit down and write those things.

another night at the circle K

The Circle K on Oakland is open 24 hours aday. Even on a slow Sunday night it is the place still open to sell a beer for sure, unlike the Munchie Mart that closes around eleven. For many it is the last recharge of carnal decadence until at lest Monday night. For me, it's on the way home after catching a movie.

I wasn't expecting a conversation we she first said something to me while standing in the checkout line. Between me being unsuspecting and her words sluring a bit, I had to ask her to repeat herself.

"Do you think I look like a total dike?" she asks. I knew what she meant, she was wearing clets, knee high socks and baseball shirt that read "beer exchange".

"Um... I suppose" I replied.

"Do I?"

"Well if I was in that frame of mind, I suppose I would say so"

"And what's that then?"

"The type of mindset to judge strangers sexuality on the street. I'd probably say you were a dike then."

"Did you see how those guys looked at me when I walked in?" she rolled her eye down and up to show that they scanned her "but I don't care. It's not my fault that my work has a softball legue. But I'm not a dike."

"It's OK, I wouldn't care if you were"

"People keep looking at me like I'm a dike but you know what? It's like I don't care. It just so happens that I work for a bar that has softball"

"Yeah, typically lesbians are in softball, I get it. Well, did you win?" It was my turn in line and she moved up beside me like were were together. I tried to split polite eye contact and attention between her and the cashier.

"...I don't care. Look, look at these socks. So many lesbians in softball but I don't care"

"Yeah, I live with a girl who plays in roller derby so I know all about that"

"Oh, roller derby? Yeah, they are like ALL dikes"

"Well, not all of them, believe me I know"

"Well, no, not all of them but... as far as categories of gay go..."

"yeah it's far to the gay, you got to at lest be really comfortable with lesbianism to play roller derby"

"This girl that I used to work with, she used to be all about roller derby but then like someone pissed her off and so she hates them all now"

"Yeah... women are caty. The only reason why they don't destroy each other is because then they wouldn't have anyone to be popular amongst"

"That is true... well, except for me"

"Present party excluded, ofcource"

'

"It's always in the last place you look..."
"Well, yeah. Why would you keep looking after you found it?"

This if nothing else

Sometimes I'll be walking down the street and I'll see a pretty girl walking by. Sometimes they smile at me and I'll smile back. Over time I have had the the chance to talk to some of these girls, sometimes become friends with them and then sometimes even more.
Before I would most automatically strike up a conversation if I could find anything to say but now by default I keep walking. It's an unfortunate thing to think about but experience has taught me that the most they could ever do for me is smile... and still I'm glad I get at lest that.