Thoughts of an Instantaneous Sort

It's a thought, and it's intantaneous.

2009-10-21T00:19:00.000-07:00

Have people forgotten how to freaking read?

When Preview Program members start receiving the Xbox 360 system update next week, one of the changes is that unauthorized Memory Units will no longer work with the Xbox 360. If you’ve moved your profile or saved games onto one to “back it up,” you’d better move it back onto an authorized Xbox 360 storage device prior to taking the update. If you continue to use an unauthorized Memory Unit after the update, you will not be able to access your stored profile or saved games.

If you need help identifying officially licensed Xbox 360 storage devices or accessories you can read more about the licensed accessories program on Xbox.com

I followed a link in that to a Microsoft page giving a summary of the licensed accessories program. This is what I found.

Licensed for Xbox 360

Third-party products bearing the Licensed for Xbox 360™ stamp have been tested extensively with the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system. Such products, like headsets or controllers, will also support Xbox LIVE play.

I don't know about you, but all the third-party memory units I've seen sold at GameStop or Wal-Mart, or any other LEGITIMATE game-selling store has that little logo on its packaging.

Quit whining because you actually have to pay for a legit memory card. You don't have to pay Microsoft's crazy prices for them either. There ARE legit licensed third-party cards, and they won't be bricked when the update hits. Go down to GameStop or something and actually honestly spend your freaking money.

Sheesh.

IE8: Get the Facts (a rebuttal)

2009-06-22T16:10:00.000-07:00

Microsoft recently released a new component of its IE8 campaign, called "IE8: Get the Facts". Unfortunately, as evidenced by the website, Microsoft is not actually interested in the facts. What follows will be a point-by-point rebuttal to the claims made by Microsoft.

When navigating to the "Get the Facts" campaign, visitors are greeted with the Reasons to Install page. This page lists some of the more notable improvements in IE8, and conveys itself as more of a "Reasons to upgrade from IE6 or IE7" list, and in that regard is truthful, so I shall skip it.

The second page is the Browser Comparison page (see above image). This is where things start to get sketchy. Firstly, Microsoft pits IE8 against Firefox 3.0 and Google Chrome 2.0, completely ignoring Safari and Opera (the other major competitors). The omission of the latter two is unjustified, as they each hold a market share close to that of Google Chrome. This, however, can be considered mere oversight, so I will respond to each of the categories with information on all the browsers.

I am unable to find information about anything similar to these features in Opera.

Security ("Internet Explorer 8 takes the cake with better phishing and malware protection, as well as protection from emerging threats.")
IE8	Automatic blocking (with notification to users) of some attacks such as Cross Site Scripting and Click-Jacking, and full screen warnings to users who visit sites on a Microsoft-maintained list of known "unsafe" sites. Site identity information displayed via address bar color (when available).
Firefox 3.0	Automatic detection of Cross Site Scripting and Click-Jacking methods, with warnings to users. Full-screen warnings to users visiting sites on a Google-maintained list of known "unsafe" sites. Site identity information displayed intuitively next to the address bar (when available).
Chrome 2.0	Full-screen warnings to users visiting sites on a Google-maintained list of known "unsafe" sites.
Safari 4.0	Full-screen warnings to users visiting sites on a Google-maintained list of known "unsafe" sites. Site identity information displayed if available (in a bizarre location in OS X).
Opera 9.64	Full-screen warnings to users visiting sites on a list of known "unsafe" sites (provided by TrustWatch and PhishTank). Site identity information displayed when Fraud Protection feature is enabled.
All these browsers provide some method of showing site identity information, and warning the user before displaying a known "unsafe" site. Firefox and Internet Explorer also provide some protection against certain types of attacks, although the technology can currently show false positives and ignore legitimate attacks due to a lack of a standards for sites to identify authorized behavior.

Privacy ("InPrivate Browsing and InPrivate Filtering help Internet Explorer 8 claim privacy victory.")
IE8	InPrivate Browsing deletes all information used by the browser during a private session (History, Cookies, Saved form data, etc.) InPrivate Filtering attempts to prevent tracking content from appearing during browsing.
Firefox 3.0	Has a tool to clear out private data. Types of data deleted by this tool are chosen by the user. The AdBlock Plus extension allows for filtering similar to InPrivate Filtering. (The upcoming Firefox 3.5 has a Private Browsing mode).
Chrome 2.0	Incognito Mode has the same behavior as InPrivate Browsing and FF3.5's Private Browsing mode.
Safari 4.0	Yet again another Private Browsing mode.
Opera 9.64	Opera has a tool to delete private data. Unlike Firefox, it removes all private data, without the option to exclude certain types.
This feature is largely misleading. Private browsing modes have no legitimate use beyond public shared computers such as at an internet café or library, where the user does not have control over which browser is installed anyway. On office or home computers, this feature is only useful for illicit use, earning the common nickname "Porn Mode" across many tech blogs. Don't take this into consideration when downloading for personal use, unless you have habits you don't want others discovering.

Ease of Use ("Features like Accelerators, Web Slices and Visual Search Suggestions make Internet Explorer 8 easiest to use.")
IE8	Accelerators allow for certain tasks to be integrated into a shell menu. Web Slices allow users to bookmark portions of pages, if the author of those pages has included IE-specific markup (code). Visual Search Suggestions includes snippets of top results in the suggestions provided when using the search box built into the browser (with select partner search engines).
Firefox 3.0	No such functionality is built in by default, but many extensions provide features similar to Accelerators, and extensions are available to emulate Web Slices.
Chrome 2.0	No similar features
Safari 4.0	No similar features
Opera 9.64	Fast Forward and Rewind feature simplifies navigation of paginated content on many common sites.
This grants a dubious win to IE8. Accelerators are useful and with the exception of Firefox extensions, exclusive to IE8. Web Clips, however, rely on developers to use IE8-only markup to provide such content. Since the majority of non-Microsoft sites strive to provide an identical user experience no matter which browser is used, this is not a true advantage. Similarly, the Visual Search Suggestions feature relies on search engines to work with their proprietary system, which only a limited few currently do.

Web Standards ("Firefox and Chrome have more support for emerging standards like HTML5 and CSS3, but Internet Explorer 8 invested heavily in having world-class, consistent support for the entire CSS2.1 specification.")
IE8	Has support for most of CSS2.1 and HTML4. Behavior is not standards compliant in several areas.
Firefox 3.0	Has support for most of CSS2.1 and HTML4, as well as portions of CSS3 and HTML5 that are nearly complete. Behavior is standards compliant in almost all areas, with a few scattered exceptions.
Chrome 2.0	I do not have enough info regarding Chrome at this time.
Safari 4.0	Has full support for CSS2.1 and HTML4, as well as portions of CSS3 and HTML5 that are nearly complete. Behavior is fully standards compliant (where standards have been ratified).
Opera 9.64	I do not have enough info regarding Opera at this time.
For the most part, IE8 is caught up to other major browsers in supporting the current finalized standards of CSS2.1 and HTML4. It does not, however, support any but the most fundamental of standards of the upcoming CSS3 and HTML5. The features that are supported by any browsers are (almost entirely) standards that themselves have been finalized, even if the overall set is still being worked on. (This is similar to how Draft-N wireless routers are available, even though the 802.11n specification has not been finalized.)

Developer Tools ("Internet Explorer 8 has the most comprehensive developer tools built in, including HTML, CSS and JavaScript editing, but also JavaScript profiling; other browsers have developer tools available, but either require you to download them separately, or aren't as complete.")
IE8	IE8 includes developer tools in all installations.
Firefox 3.0	FireBug is available as a Firefox extension, and is critically acclaimed as one of the best sets of in-browser developer tools available. It is itself extensible, to allow developers to customize it to their own development needs. Several such sub-extensions are available.
Chrome 2.0	I have no knowledge of any development tools available for Chrome.
Safari 4.0	Safari also has a powerful suite of development tools available in every installation.
Opera 9.64	I have no knowledge of any development tools available for Opera.
IE8 is certainly not the only browser with development tools available, and theirs do not rival the tools in FireBug or Safari's development tools. The argument that not including them in every installation is somehow inferior is dubious at best. The majority of users will not need development tools, and developers will not have any issues installing an addon/extension.

Reliability ("Only Internet Explorer 8 has both tab isolation and crash recovery features; Firefox and Chrome have one or the other.")
IE8	Individual tabs run separately, so if an issue in an individual tab causes a crash, it will affect that tab alone. If there is an issue that causes the entire browser to crash, IE8 can attempt to restore the browser to a state immediately prior to the crash.
Firefox 3.0	Firefox has crash recovery that inspired IE8's behavior.
Chrome 2.0	Chrome has tab isolation that appears similar to IE8 (although the underlying behavior is markedly different).
Safari 4.0	I am unable to find information about anything similar to these features in Safari.
Opera 9.64
In almost all cases, issues that would cause a browser crash can be prevented with tab isolation. In those rare circumstances that the browser crashes fully, effective crash recovery can help prevent loss of work or information. In the case of Chrome and Firefox, their solutions are just as effective as IE8's, although Chrome lacks the ultimate failsafe of crash recovery and Firefox lacks the convenience of tab isolation (but mostly makes up for it with an extremely speedy crash recovery system).

Customizability (sic) ("Sure, Firefox may win in sheer number of add-ons, but many of the customizations you'd want to download for Firefox are already a part of Internet Explorer 8 – right out of the box.")
IE8	Has features like Accelerators, Web Slices, and Developer's Tools built into every installation, but lacks an open system for others to create their own addons/extensions, and thus is not honestly customizable.
Firefox 3.0	Provides an extremely hardy framework for others to create extensions, and has a massive number of extensions available on its web site.
Chrome 2.0	Does not have an addon/extension system.
Safari 4.0	Does not have an addon/extension system.
Opera 9.64	Apart from interface skins, does not have an addon/extension system.
Firefox is, to date, the only major browser with that is truly customizable in the sense that Microsoft is referring to. All browsers, however, have a limited ability to reorganize the layout of toolbars and buttons.

Compatibility ("Internet Explorer 8 is more compatible with more sites on the Internet than any other browser.")
Browser compatibility is dependent upon the developer creating the page, since there are distinct differences in the way different browsers render code. Unfortunately, most of the issues stem from the fact that previous versions of IE have had miserable standards compliance, and myriad workarounds had to be developed to fix IE's behavior. Additionally, the number is skewed by the fact that many large companies have historically used IE, since it is pre-installed on all Windows computers. As such, many internal applications were developed for IE alone. Any user who is not required to use IE by their company is unlikely to come across a site that does not work in all major browsers.

Manageability ("Neither Firefox nor Chrome provide guidance or enterprise tools.")
This may be true, but as far as I'm concerned, neither does IE8. A thorough search of the website produced no information about what this section is alluding to. As such, I cannot confirm or deny whether Microsoft is just inventing new ways to refer to features nobody uses or needs.

Performance ("Knowing the top speed of a car doesn't tell you how fast you can drive in rush hour. To actually see the difference in page loads between all three browsers, you need slow-motion video. This one’s also a tie.")
Contrary to this statement, slow-motion video is completely unnecessary. This isn't about knowing the top speed of a car, it's about getting more cars on the freeway without causing a jam... increasing the capacity of the browsers to interact with more complicated web interfaces while keeping performance as high as an application installed on your computer. With more and more rich internet applications such as Facebook, Gmail (or any major webmail portal), and countless others becoming part of everyday use, performance is a major issue. Faster Javascript and page rendering are vital to the effectiveness of these applications.

Finally, Microsoft delves into what they call "Mythbusting". The "busting" process, however, leaves something to be desired ("honesty", mostly).

Myth #1: Internet Explorer is much slower than Firefox and Chrome.
Microsoft Sez:

In tests, Internet Explorer 8 performs as well or better than Firefox and Chrome.

Browser speed can be measured in a number of ways, but what matters most is how quickly you're able to get things done while navigating the Web. After all, 80% of online activities are based around navigation.

That's why our Accelerator, Web Slice, Smart Address Bar, and Visual Search features make it faster, safer, and easier than ever for you to do what you need to do on the Web, giving you an overall better experience. Check out this document to see for yourself.

A lot of Firefox and Chrome advocates like to cling to micro-benchmarking page load claims to measure browser speed. But in most cases, these differences can only be viewed by slow-motion video captures, and they just don't represent real world examples. If you're still hung up on millisecond page load times to gauge performance, watch this video for a head-to-head comparison.

The REAL "Real Deal": As stated previously in the "Performance" section of the table, speed does matter. Tools like Web Slices and Visual Search do not affect navigation speed, and rely on technology that doesn't exist throughout most of the Internet. The Smart Address Bar however, does... and also exists in equally compelling forms in Firefox, Chrome, Safari, and to some extent, Opera. Accelerators are a unique feature, in that they do speed up certain tasks, but not ones common enough to have a significant effect on browsing speed, and in all cases the tasks can be just as quickly accomplished in any of the major browsers via keyboard shortcuts.

Myth #2: Internet Explorer is less secure than Firefox.
Microsoft Sez:

Research proves that Internet Explorer 8 catches almost twice as much malware than the competition. That's "less secure?"

Internet Explorer was the first browser to integrate features that protect you against phishing and malware, and the first to embed domain highlighting, Cross-Site scripting protection, InPrivate filtering—the list goes on and on. It involves a lot of technical jargon, but the point is, Internet Explorer 8 is the only browser to offer this level of security right out of the box.

Since the Beta 2 release last spring, SmartScreen filter has blocked over 8 million malware and phishing scams, and projections show that it's on target for over 1 million blocks per day. Research shows that Internet Explorer 8 catches almost twice as much malware as its closest competition. And with a Security Response Center and 24/7 phone support, Internet Explorer 8 has the ability to respond faster than any other browser when a new attack is released into the wild. What other browser can say that?

To see all of the nitty-gritty details, read this security whitepaper or check out this NSS Labs study.

The REAL "Real Deal": Statistics can say anything. Specifically, by omitting the fact that the NSS study was paid for by Microsoft, and covered a subset list of 492 URLs from the original test of 150,000 URLs, and that browsers were awarded extra points based on the speed of captures... Microsoft can say they scored twice as high as their nearest competitor. All this truly means though, is that they found a set of URLs that their browser performed specifically well upon, even though their competitors managed to capture approximately the same percentage of attacks.
It's a disturbing example of corporate dishonesty.

Myth #3: Firefox is a richer, more adaptable browser than Internet Explorer.
Microsoft Sez:

Internet Explorer 8 has much more functionality than other browsers, built in from the minute you open it.

Internet Explorer 8 has much more functionality than other browsers, and its functionality is there from the moment you open the browser. Internet Explorer 8 offers almost all of the features the most popular add-ons in Firefox have, and you're able to personalize your browser in a way that saves you time and research.

Did you know that there are more than 1,700 Internet Explorer 8 add-ons available at the Add-ons Gallery, with more being added every day? Partners all over the world are building Accelerators, Web slices, and Visual Search plug-ins for your browser, including Facebook, Amazon, eBay, and much more.

The REAL "Real Deal": IE8 has these same several previously mentioned features packaged in. Firefox lets the user choose what they want in their browser, and doesn't shoehorn in extra functionality that most users will not want. The addons available are almost exclusively (apart from toolbars), extra Accelerators, which as I've stated previously, can be accomplished via equally simple alternate means in other browsers without installing anything. Many more Firefox extensions are available that extend functionality to include anything from IRC and FTP clients to Web Development tools, music player controllers, and ad blockers.

Myth #4: Internet Explorer doesn't play well with Web standards.
Microsoft Sez:

Internet Explorer 8 passes more of the World Wide Web Consortium's test cases than any other browser.

Microsoft made a big commitment to standards with Internet Explorer 8. In addition to passing more of the official CSS 2.1 test suites than any other browser, Microsoft got really hands-on in the overall testing process by developing and contributing thousands of new tests for the consortium.

But what does that really mean? It means that developers will be able to spend more time designing cool new features for their site, and less time tweaking code for specific browsers. Microsoft put significant effort into make sure sites still work, even if they're designed for older versions of Internet Explorer, by giving users a Compatibility View button.

At the end of the day, Internet Explorer 8 truly is more reliable than ever.

The REAL "Real Deal": Yes, IE8 has made significant leaps and bounds forward in standards compliance. Saying that it passes more tests than any other browser however, is an outright fabrication, since it still falls behind at least Firefox and Safari (I don't have data on Chrome or Opera).

Debate

2008-09-03T13:49:00.000-07:00

Once again, I added "atheism" and "Christianity" to the topics on my StumbleUpon account. I know I shouldn't. I know it only frustrates me to see so many people ignorant of my belief, but every once in a while I read a particularly interesting exchange, and the intellectual delight I gain from analyzing it is extremely invigorating.

While I am sure that I will never become a huge figure in the argument

(Let's be honest with ourselves... the vast majority of people involved are just bickering, not politely discussing or debating)

, I'd like to take a moment to address the topic of "precious effort".

Very frequently, when StumbleUpon takes me to a Christian or atheist website, some Christian has come back with something along the lines of:
You must believe... otherwise, why would you waste your precious time writing this?

This quote made me both laugh and cry (Spacing corrected for readability, spelling and capitalization unchanged): "If you don't believe in the diety of christ or in fact the inerrant Word of God why do you spend so much time bashing it.

I find it so interesting that people spend so much time abusing christian ethic. If its false leave us alone, if not find your final destination in the Word."

Also puzzling: "Congratulations you've created the greatest irony of all! You've shown me that you believe in God by refusing to believe. You wouldn't care about this if you didn't wonder. Your not an atheist, your a fool creating your own selfish world internally. Anyway live and die, and then you will know. Then the ultimate reality will begin eternally. You will then have your precious proof."

Source

First thought:
Why exactly do you think non-belief is proof of belief? They're kinda antonyms.

Second thought:
Look, you irritate me. I can't even walk to the grocery store without being accosted by someone "witnessing"

(honestly, I'm not sure what this is called by the general population, but I've only heard it referred to as "witnessing", so I'm gonna go with that)

on the street, asking me if I've "accepted the Lord Jesus Christ into (my) life". Every once in a while I get people knocking on my door, refusing to accept my disbelief, and testing my resolve to remain polite and not simply shut the door in their faces (this usually sets my day back a couple of hours... I really should just start shutting the door, but I happen to have a set of morals that conflicts with being rude like that). It's a massive waste of my time, it stretches the limits of how long I can remain calm and polite as my frustration grows and my schedule is further delayed, and I feel like I have to spend time reading up on the bible just so I can debate on their terms (because we all know they are NOT going to debate on mine).

Dealing with THAT is a waste of my time and effort. I have no desire to ever deal with it again, and I am willing to go to lengths to avoid it. Writing this has taken me something along the lines of thirty minutes, and it was a very relaxing, therapeutic thirty minutes. I was able to vent a lot of the frustration that I feel, and now I feel much better, and I think I'm going to go play some World of Warcraft with my lovely fiancée. That's why I put the effort into this: it's an outlet for me. It's a way for me to respond to the arguments that frustrate me, and eliminate stress.

Quicktest

2008-07-01T13:45:00.000-07:00

Aside:

Insignificant drivel.

O Hai

2008-06-30T13:21:00.000-07:00

The TV calls me. It points out that there is a nonstop Bond marathon today. I must break away. I must resist. (Spoileralert: I won't)

Jackie arrives for the next week today. This excites me. She's finally going to go to the Lights on the Lake at Tahoe with me! I can't wait till she really moves in so we can do this kind of thing on a regular basis :)

Speaking of rare occurrences, I'm headed to Denver for two weeks in August.
Twill be awesome

Never did I think...

2008-03-05T04:02:00.000-08:00

Well, there's a lot of things I never thought I'd do.. so maybe that wasn't the best title. Ehh, whatever. The main thing is, often times when you're talking with someone, a phrase will be spoken which (in afterthought) is completely off-the-wall and bizarre. While it may have made perfect sense at the moment, within five seconds you find yourself thinking "what?!" and *facepalm*ing.

Usually, I am the person who stands by as these things happen, but recently I've become the person who stated them. I refuse to repeat most of them (except "I don't piss for pleasure" because apparently a bunch of my friends have already heard about that one..). It just seems weird to me. In the past I've been the guy who sits on the sidelines and is mostly ignored, so finding myself even in the position to put my foot in my mouth like that is kind of an unusual thing.

Can't say I'm complaining though. I happen to like being noticed for once.

Memories

2008-02-26T18:19:00.001-08:00

The times we shared
Where have they gone
I see all the good
Where did it go wrong?

I sit here numb
I can't think anymore
Staring at this photo
Of you on the floor

Aside:

This was brought on as I was clearing out my Photobucket account. I came across several pictures from when Jackie and I started dating. It was hard to look at any of them.. but this one in particular hurt the most. She was cleaning her room and we were joking about the mess...

It hurts so much to know it's over..

Your smile so wide
You wore it so much
But lately it's gone
And I miss your touch

What happened to us?
The smiles have gone
Our words are so angry
Our actions withdrawn

We once loved so strong
But it's gone these days
Like a leaden sack
Now my heart weighs

I wish I knew why
Our love walked away
I want it to come back
Day after day...

But right now I see
That as it stands
I have to go
My head in my hands

Predictable

2008-02-23T10:53:00.000-08:00

It's gone. The whole feeling.
I am a new person in the morning. I always am. Not a better person.. just a new try at fixing the same person.

Like Groundhog Day, except time moves forward.

What draws me here so powerfully?

2008-02-21T22:42:00.000-08:00

Here I sit, propped back in an old Lay-Z-Boy... alone and confused, suffering from a delirium provided by my own mind, looking for help — someone to talk to, to speak candidly to... to forget all pretenses, break down, and be a pansy-assed little baby in front of — and turning to nobody. Do I call a friend? No, too afraid they'll laugh. Too afraid they'll think less of me. Why do I call them friends then? Because it's one hell of a lot easier than accepting the fact that only one person ever calls back, and most of the time I'm too frustrated to even speak to her. But aren't I in love with her? I did ask her to marry me, after all. I just can't see it anymore though. Any time I am alone, I hate myself. I let it all out and honestly feel. The moment I enter the presence of another though, my mask comes up. I am nothing but a fake, a lie. Nobody knows me, and it's because I have never been me to anyone else. Why do I continue this pain and torment? Am I some sort of masochistic freak? I certainly don't feel like I derive any sort of pleasure from it. I hate every waking moment, but I can't keep my focus long enough to change. It's too hard. It's too much effort, and I see only failure so I give up. I wake up late, so instead of trying to make it to work late, I lie in bed and my mind yells at me while the day passes and I don't go to class. I miss a large assignment so I fall into a funk and miss class for two weeks, further digging my hole. I keep telling myself to change, I keep pushing myself to change, I keep forcing myself to change.... but when it comes time to start the race, I'm the same damn person I was before. I do naught but fail, I am broke, and At this rate, I will be discovered emaciated, lying in some ditch, clinging onto the hope that someday I'll fix myself. Hoping against all hope that I'll change, that my mind won't just reset every night when I go to sleep, and leave the person of the next day alone and unable to comprehend why all the drive and motivation he'd built up over the previous day was just gone... that somehow one day I'll wake up and be the same person I was the night before.

Who am I kidding though, right? I'm just a stupid melodramatic boy with a problem with authority figures. If I live a happy life, they were right about me and can do their little superiority dance, if I wind up dead in the gutter and an utter failure they can talk about what a promising young man I was and do their little superiority dance. I'm nothing to them. I'm nothing to me. I'm nothing to anyone except the shadow of fingers that once touched a keyboard. The sad hollow remainder of a mind that held so much hope, but could not make it come true. The one truth in a life of lies, deceit and pain.

But then, who exactly do I think I am talking to now? Am I going to get any reality from this vast inhuman grid we call the internet? There is not a single person who will read this who has a clue who I am. To anyone around, I am merely a faceless thought that will fade with the passing of time. So why do I seek solace here? Why do I look for the assistance of others where there are none? I should seek to find a person nearby, a random stranger on the street who should aspire to nothing more than to sit and talk to a stranger who is hurt, alone, and so far from what they once believed to be truth. In the end, however... it will not pass. I will turn off my computer, go to sleep, and in the morning be blissfully unaware that my mind had turned to these thoughts. I will wake up and go about my day, and nothing will change. I will continue on stumbling through this half-life/half-death experience until death should finally decide to swallow me up and erase my memory upon this earth.

To those who thought they knew me, I am sorry for the loss of the person you thought you knew. His death tonight was unfortunate and unexpected. Rest assured however, that he will be well once again tomorrow and the person whose words you read will replace him in eternal rest, having only left a few short words to stand as proof of his short existence.

The Hacker Manifesto

2008-02-18T20:36:00.000-08:00

by
+++The Mentor+++
Written January 8, 1986

Another one got caught today, it's all over the papers. "Teenager Arrested in Computer Crime Scandal", "Hacker Arrested after Bank Tampering"...

Damn kids. They're all alike.

But did you, in your three-piece psychology and 1950's technobrain, ever take a look behind the eyes of the hacker? Did you ever wonder what made him tick, what forces shaped him, what may have molded him?

I am a hacker, enter my world...

Mine is a world that begins with school... I'm smarter than most of the other kids, this crap they teach us bores me...

Damn underachiever. They're all alike.

I'm in junior high or high school. I've listened to teachers explain for the fifteenth time how to reduce a fraction. I understand it. "No, Ms. Smith, I didn't show my work. I did it in my head..."

Damn kid. Probably copied it. They're all alike.

I made a discovery today. I found a computer. Wait a second, this is cool. It does what I want it to. If it makes a mistake, it's because I screwed it up. Not because it doesn't like me... Or feels threatened by me.. Or thinks I'm a smart ass.. Or doesn't like teaching and shouldn't be here...

Damn kid. All he does is play games. They're all alike.

And then it happened... a door opened to a world... rushing through the phone line like heroin through an addict's veins, an electronic pulse is sent out, a refuge from the day-to-day incompetencies is sought... a board is found. "This is it... this is where I belong..." I know everyone here... even if I've never met them, never talked to them, may never hear from them again... I know you all...

Damn kid. Tying up the phone line again. They're all alike...

You bet your ass we're all alike... we've been spoon-fed baby food at school when we hungered for steak... the bits of meat that you did let slip through were pre-chewed and tasteless. We've been dominated by sadists, or ignored by the apathetic. The few that had something to teach found us willing pupils, but those few are like drops of water in the desert.

This is our world now... the world of the electron and the switch, the beauty of the baud. We make use of a service already existing without paying for what could be dirt-cheap if it wasn't run by profiteering gluttons, and you call us criminals. We explore... and you call us criminals. We seek after knowledge... and you call us criminals. We exist without skin color, without nationality, without religious bias... and you call us criminals. You build atomic bombs, you wage wars, you murder, cheat, and lie to us and try to make us believe it's for our own good, yet we're the criminals.

Yes, I am a criminal. My crime is that of curiosity. My crime is that of judging people by what they say and think, not what they look like. My crime is that of outsmarting you, something that you will never forgive me for.

I am a hacker, and this is my manifesto. You may stop this individual, but you can't stop us all... after all, we're all alike.

One more time to make sure it's clear:
I did not write this. I am not entirely sure who the original author was, but the point rings true for me as well, so I figured I would merely post it in its entirety, unchanged.

On Permanence and Annoyances

2008-02-09T04:20:00.000-08:00

There are times... okay, a lot of times where I hate myself.

I don't mean physically (I'm not one to complain about that). I mean my uncontrollable state of consciousness. Here I sit once again, in bed and unable to fall asleep. Why can't I shut myself off? I just sit up thinking about meaningless junk that will likely never have any real significance in my life. So far tonight my mind has ranged over the complete workings of Pascal's Wager (which is utter crap), the full story of "Misfile", how screwed I am when I don't wake up on time in the morning, and my many self-doubts that I can't dispose of.

The most pressing and worrisome of these is my doubt that I "could do it all again" in a real relationship. This is my first relationship, and I've already committed my life to it. Don't get me wrong, I love Jackie to death... but I frequently find my mind wandering to whether or not I could attract another girl, or what another girl would be like. It's a musing that scares me, because I tend to not have the best control when it comes to big things, and I know I will always desire that knowledge.

I don't know if I'll be able to handle it!

Super Tuesday

2008-02-05T21:23:00.000-08:00

Well, the results are slowly trickling in, and right now it's looking like McCain has a solid lead on the Republicans... with Clinton and Obama running pretty close on the Democrats' side. I personally voted for Obama. I really believe he's got what it takes. Granted, I do have personal fears about how ready the country (as a whole) is for an African-American President, but I can't bring myself to vote for a worse candidate on that fear. It would just be wrong.

That said, I hope that whatever the end result is, that this election goes smoothly, and without any of the Florida madness from before. I don't want to go another four years with the same "I didn't vote for the winner! It was that problem in [insert state here], and they only won because the system is moronic" bullshit being spouted from everyone who couldn't figure out how to mark a damn ballot. I'm not talking about Florida alone. There were problems everywhere... Florida just had the bad luck of being the last state that could serve as a scapegoat.

Blog abuse

2008-02-01T00:49:00.000-08:00

Is it bad if one cannot sleep at night?

Hmm.
Well, most likely this post will be gone by midday tomorrow, so I guess it doesn't matter.
I start another class tomorrow. Speaking of which, I'm going to use this awake time for reading. Byebye now.

Compliments

2008-01-29T11:18:00.000-08:00

I have heard my words described as "divine".
Well, actually I read it.

Still, I must say it feels good to be appreciated. Makes me think, though. All the time I hear/see compliments that are obviously B.S. High school was especially bad about this, but contrary to my prior beliefs, college has not been much better. What is it about people that they feel they need to butter up their peers for approval?
Aside:

Before I get any further, I must clarify that this does not in any way reference the person who called my words "divine". The context of that statement was such that I know she meant it.

These days, I hear and see so much false appreciation that I sometimes doubt any form of approval directed at me. From fanboys fawning over the guy who runs their forum (even if he's a total jerk) to Chris Crocker drooling over Britney Spears... what exactly do these people think they're accomplishing? What they really get is a little brown on their nose, for everyone to see.

Ugh, it's frustrating as I'll get out.

Note: Starting with this post, I will start putting my more irrelevant comments in "Asides". If you wish to read these asides (often they will be important, but not along the same thought process as the main blog) just place your cursor on the word "Aside:" and the text will appear. Additionally, if you click the word "Aside:", the text will not disappear when you move your cursor away.

Personality can be everything... but the fact is: it just isn't

2008-01-27T16:30:00.000-08:00

You may notice that I don't have a defined "voice", or maybe that my posts will seem very disjointed and random. That, I suppose is the ugly beauty of blogging casually. I honestly don't have a specific reason to write these. Mostly, I just feel like tossing some words onto the internet because others will likely take issue with them and argue with me. I like arguing. On the internet.

Why? Well you could ask me, or you could ask the millions of other people out there who share in my pastime. It's a function of the perceived anonymity online. Yes, I can pop on MySpace, and pretty much nobody knows who I am from looking at my profile, but that's because I do not put things on there that lead people to me! It amazes me how many people think MySpace is secure enough to post their cellphone numbers, email addresses, and even HOME ADDRESSES (I was incredulous when I saw that one... and no I won't post a link, that only worsens the situation) on their profiles. A cell number or email by itself usually says nothing about a person... but if you look further, you can actually find out exactly who that person is, where they live, what they do............ you can become their best friend, and they'll never know.

And people think it's safe.

But back to my original topic. Perceived anonymity. If I think that nobody knows who I am, I can have a lot of fun taking my frustration out on them. Why? Because I don't feel guilt for making this random person I may or may not have ever met feel wrong for their opinions on subjects I have no knowledge about. <-- run-on sentence
Well, sort-of. To save face, I should clarify that I don't start these arguments, I just don't attempt to stop them, and very much relish in my (perceived) superiority over whoever it is that is attacking me.
Yes, that still qualifies me as a jerk, but oh well. I like doing it. Can't stop, won't stop.

But I am not a gangster, despite my use of obscure references to Monster: The Autobiography of an L.A. Gang Member.

Edit: Just discovered they made a movie out of that book. Can't Stop Won't Stop. I think I'll go try to rent it somewhere. The book was amazing.

About?

2008-01-24T23:45:00.000-08:00

I suppose it is rude to have a blog with no reason. But then again, what is a blog but a journal. Unless I expect people to read it, why should I worry about being rude? And why would I want people to read my journal anyway?

I've decided I don't care. If you read this, I appreciate your interest in what I have to say, no matter how long- or short-lived it may be. I don't have a story to tell. I don't have a business to promote. I'm just an average guy who plays videogames, goes to college, has a job (well, of sorts... but I'll get to that later), and has way too much time to screw around on the internet. I'm kind of solitary, and I don't do well in big groups. I don't drink, smoke, or do drugs. I'm a really one-on-one kind of guy. If you're looking for some crazy stories and wild partying, I suggest you head elsewhere. I don't yet know what I will write about, but it won't be that. Maybe later I'll get a general theme, but right now everything will be pretty random and disjointed.

I guess that's why I chose the title...
Thoughts of an Instantaneous Sort