Weblog 132
August 17, 2008~ 12:00am
Good things in life so often become spoiled after a while. A fine example of this is Google, which at one time was the best search engine on the web- better than its biggest competitors at that time, Dogpile and AltaVista. I used to tell people about Google and they'd look at me clueless- (yes, I have been at this that long)- and I'd wax poetic about how intuitive and comprehensive and fast Google was. And I watched as it gained popularity....I watched as the word 'google' became a verb, and part of common parlance. I watched and watched, and the thing grew and grew.
But the Ads became more invasive-- the platforms bigger-- the acquisition of other entities continued to make Google MONOLITHIC and ultimately, the one thing in the world people should avoid at all cost- because Google has turned into a nasty, behemoth BIG BROTHER and keeps records on every single search you've made....
and then it markets to you. Annoying as that is, of greater concern is the fact that they keep the information and can turn over records if ordered to do so-- and what you thought was your privacy, is not at all. They've got the goods on everyone, and they've gotten filthy rich doing it.
That's right. When you search through Google, or enter a page that has Google AdSense ads, you become part of the cultural and political garbage dump of this new century, and Google provides very effective and selective search tools to pick you right out of the trash heap in milliseconds, so DO WHAT THE GRAPHIC SAYS...for heaven sake, at least turn OFF your damn javascript. That helps, but even better....never, never, never make Google your homepage- do NOT subscribe to itstoolspybar, and do NOT USE GMAIL NOTIFIER, which needs to be logged into without https ('S'- being the security part)- or the damn thing will not function.
I've found an alternative. I've found GOOGLE WITHOUT THE JUNK, without the spying and cookie retention. Make SCROOGLE SCRAPER your search engine, your home page- and support it. I've already made a donation. I can't think of anything more important that the freedom from surveillance in this day and age.
Why should you fund a lot of junk out there, and get your interests catalogued to make you a target of spam- or even Uncle Sam, if he's in a J. Edgar Hoover frame of mind? This is a graphic I've redone, but its source is an original in the New York Times a while back....
Don't let the computer world prey on you... use you.... and spy on you simply to get rich. It's an unsafe way to search.
Information is power.
KEEP YOURS UNDER YOUR OWN CONTROL.
August 17, 2008~ 1:00pm
I watched "Fractured" last night, lured to the film by the starring role of Antony Hopkins, playing yet another diabolical and brilliant criminal. He's very good in these roles- and this is no exception, but sadly the plot was more of an extended TV show episode than a tour de force for his Lecter-like Machiavellianism.
The biggest flaw in this film is the wildly inappropriate choice of Ryan Gosling as the razor-sharp, young hotshot attorney pitting his skills against Hopkins as his opponent....I just never believed that the green and cockey yokel was anything more than a mouthy captain of a cocksure highschool football team. He simply didn't fit the shoes he was thrust into, and the film suffered as a result. It wraps up too tidily at the end, and the chemistry of Hopkins and the lovely actress cast as his wife was 'off' as well. Hopkins was too cool, their ages difference MUCH too wide- we are given basically nothing in terms of what their relationship might have been before Hopkins shoots her for her infidelity.
I found that lack of passion a bit like someone simply taking out the trash-- my thoughts were- "why not just divorce her? Surely a man that bright, known for planning every move would have gotten himself a pre-nuptial agreement when marrying a younger woman?"-- so his impulse to KILL her never rang true. Even for the joy of outwitting the system, it seemed preposterous to accept that as his motivation. So much of this film was 'off'-- but nothing as obvious as its unfortunate casting-- and a better-written script would have certainly helped,
And when-- oh when did Antony Hopkins' face turn into one of those dried apple folks? My God! - that man has more furrows and creases than an unmade bed. All the money and fancy cars in the world would not tempt even one single attractive woman into his cool, work-obsessed world. None of it rang true, and a disappointment to be sure. He shouldn't waste himself on 'movie of the week', Lecter-wannabes like this one. Too bad. I had higher hopes for last evening's viewing.
August 17, 2008~ 8:45pm
Do you like the Art Deco style? Are you simply carried off by the beauty of that graceful, arts and crafts/geometric modern look of the early 20th century? I've always been. It reminds me of old Hollywood movies and platinum blonds in close-fitting caps and flapper dresses-- it's Bugsby Berkley musicals and glamour. It's the Empire State and the Chrysler Buildings-- it's gorgeous.
The entry above is to an apartment building in Galveston, Texas. You can find remnants of the Art Deco style in every major city in the United States-- indeed, all over the world. If you want an enjoyable perusal of the Deco style in architecture, visit this wonderful site DecoPix. It's a glimpse back in time with class galore. Slick back your hair and put on your spats, and enjoy the trip.
August 19, 2008~ 9:30pm
We all get a ton of spam mail-- most of it irritating, safely partitioned off by a good filter, but every now and then something just makes me howl-- and these things come in waves that flood your mailbox.
In the past couple of weeks the latest crop seems to be a rash of bogus- "CNN: NEWS ALERT", and more recently a load of "MSNBC: LATEST HEADLINES" --(cooked up no doubt, by the Russian mob- or some such spam-lords.) However the headlines- unopened, just as they are- often make me laugh. Today's funniest headlines:
Angelina Jolie's Lips Explode
and the second? Angry Britney To Divorce Vagina
LOL!! Now....I don't know if it's the loss in translation by non-English speaking spam churners, or just a really whacked sense of what the Western world is riveted on.....but you know what? I don't think they're far off.
August 21, 2008~ 5:20pm
Hah! Captured! A picture of my CROWS. There are four altogether who visit my yard, but I caught two of 'em here, chowing down on peanuts....
Too bad I couldn't catch that 'scaredy-cat' backwards leap they do after they've captured a nut. It makes me laugh. Oh, and say.......did you know your keyboard could be transformed into a one-octave piano? You can also get a broader range of notes by using your mouse, but I like to plink the keys. It sounds nutty, but it's true.
Just click the graphic, and let a simple, fast-loading flash program show you how. I LOVE IT! I can't actually play the piano, I mean I have these little monkey paws for hands, with stubby little fingers, but I can peck out a fair rendition of "My Country Tis Of Thee", "On Top Of Old Smokey", "Love Is Blue", "Taps" and "You Are My Sunshine", just fine. LOL!!! Relaxes me. Anything that does that, is worth the fiddlin' around. Have fun. Better than a crossword puzzle.
***
(Return To Weekly Archives)
Good things in life so often become spoiled after a while. A fine example of this is Google, which at one time was the best search engine on the web- better than its biggest competitors at that time, Dogpile and AltaVista. I used to tell people about Google and they'd look at me clueless- (yes, I have been at this that long)- and I'd wax poetic about how intuitive and comprehensive and fast Google was. And I watched as it gained popularity....I watched as the word 'google' became a verb, and part of common parlance. I watched and watched, and the thing grew and grew.
But the Ads became more invasive-- the platforms bigger-- the acquisition of other entities continued to make Google MONOLITHIC and ultimately, the one thing in the world people should avoid at all cost- because Google has turned into a nasty, behemoth BIG BROTHER and keeps records on every single search you've made....
and then it markets to you. Annoying as that is, of greater concern is the fact that they keep the information and can turn over records if ordered to do so-- and what you thought was your privacy, is not at all. They've got the goods on everyone, and they've gotten filthy rich doing it.
That's right. When you search through Google, or enter a page that has Google AdSense ads, you become part of the cultural and political garbage dump of this new century, and Google provides very effective and selective search tools to pick you right out of the trash heap in milliseconds, so DO WHAT THE GRAPHIC SAYS...for heaven sake, at least turn OFF your damn javascript. That helps, but even better....never, never, never make Google your homepage- do NOT subscribe to its
I've found an alternative. I've found GOOGLE WITHOUT THE JUNK, without the spying and cookie retention. Make SCROOGLE SCRAPER your search engine, your home page- and support it. I've already made a donation. I can't think of anything more important that the freedom from surveillance in this day and age.
Why should you fund a lot of junk out there, and get your interests catalogued to make you a target of spam- or even Uncle Sam, if he's in a J. Edgar Hoover frame of mind? This is a graphic I've redone, but its source is an original in the New York Times a while back....
Don't let the computer world prey on you... use you.... and spy on you simply to get rich. It's an unsafe way to search.
KEEP YOURS UNDER YOUR OWN CONTROL.
August 17, 2008~ 1:00pm
I watched "Fractured" last night, lured to the film by the starring role of Antony Hopkins, playing yet another diabolical and brilliant criminal. He's very good in these roles- and this is no exception, but sadly the plot was more of an extended TV show episode than a tour de force for his Lecter-like Machiavellianism.
The biggest flaw in this film is the wildly inappropriate choice of Ryan Gosling as the razor-sharp, young hotshot attorney pitting his skills against Hopkins as his opponent....I just never believed that the green and cockey yokel was anything more than a mouthy captain of a cocksure highschool football team. He simply didn't fit the shoes he was thrust into, and the film suffered as a result. It wraps up too tidily at the end, and the chemistry of Hopkins and the lovely actress cast as his wife was 'off' as well. Hopkins was too cool, their ages difference MUCH too wide- we are given basically nothing in terms of what their relationship might have been before Hopkins shoots her for her infidelity.
I found that lack of passion a bit like someone simply taking out the trash-- my thoughts were- "why not just divorce her? Surely a man that bright, known for planning every move would have gotten himself a pre-nuptial agreement when marrying a younger woman?"-- so his impulse to KILL her never rang true. Even for the joy of outwitting the system, it seemed preposterous to accept that as his motivation. So much of this film was 'off'-- but nothing as obvious as its unfortunate casting-- and a better-written script would have certainly helped,
And when-- oh when did Antony Hopkins' face turn into one of those dried apple folks? My God! - that man has more furrows and creases than an unmade bed. All the money and fancy cars in the world would not tempt even one single attractive woman into his cool, work-obsessed world. None of it rang true, and a disappointment to be sure. He shouldn't waste himself on 'movie of the week', Lecter-wannabes like this one. Too bad. I had higher hopes for last evening's viewing.
August 17, 2008~ 8:45pm
Do you like the Art Deco style? Are you simply carried off by the beauty of that graceful, arts and crafts/geometric modern look of the early 20th century? I've always been. It reminds me of old Hollywood movies and platinum blonds in close-fitting caps and flapper dresses-- it's Bugsby Berkley musicals and glamour. It's the Empire State and the Chrysler Buildings-- it's gorgeous.
The entry above is to an apartment building in Galveston, Texas. You can find remnants of the Art Deco style in every major city in the United States-- indeed, all over the world. If you want an enjoyable perusal of the Deco style in architecture, visit this wonderful site DecoPix. It's a glimpse back in time with class galore. Slick back your hair and put on your spats, and enjoy the trip.
August 19, 2008~ 9:30pm
We all get a ton of spam mail-- most of it irritating, safely partitioned off by a good filter, but every now and then something just makes me howl-- and these things come in waves that flood your mailbox.
In the past couple of weeks the latest crop seems to be a rash of bogus- "CNN: NEWS ALERT", and more recently a load of "MSNBC: LATEST HEADLINES" --(cooked up no doubt, by the Russian mob- or some such spam-lords.) However the headlines- unopened, just as they are- often make me laugh. Today's funniest headlines:
Angelina Jolie's Lips Explode
and the second? Angry Britney To Divorce Vagina
LOL!! Now....I don't know if it's the loss in translation by non-English speaking spam churners, or just a really whacked sense of what the Western world is riveted on.....but you know what? I don't think they're far off.
August 21, 2008~ 5:20pm
Hah! Captured! A picture of my CROWS. There are four altogether who visit my yard, but I caught two of 'em here, chowing down on peanuts....
Too bad I couldn't catch that 'scaredy-cat' backwards leap they do after they've captured a nut. It makes me laugh. Oh, and say.......did you know your keyboard could be transformed into a one-octave piano? You can also get a broader range of notes by using your mouse, but I like to plink the keys. It sounds nutty, but it's true.
Just click the graphic, and let a simple, fast-loading flash program show you how. I LOVE IT! I can't actually play the piano, I mean I have these little monkey paws for hands, with stubby little fingers, but I can peck out a fair rendition of "My Country Tis Of Thee", "On Top Of Old Smokey", "Love Is Blue", "Taps" and "You Are My Sunshine", just fine. LOL!!! Relaxes me. Anything that does that, is worth the fiddlin' around. Have fun. Better than a crossword puzzle.
(Return To Weekly Archives)
...
. or pay a visit to my Audio site to hear things
I've written- 
Some are just 'jotters', thoughts as they fly- going
nowhere but where they are. If you stop and read a few~ or post a
few~ thanks for
the perusal. Last of all, if you've a hankering for rants and raging,
try making a stop at my other blog- 
