Observations - 13th March 2019

Amused that Visa, Mastercard & JCB charge a certain merchant 4% but American Express only does 1.5%

Apparently River Valley high made students who were dating break up
(Friend from RV: "I don't know about "make" but I heard during my time the disciplinary mistress had called up the parents of two of my ex-classmates
(I was in a different sec 3 class by then) who were dating, to check if the parents knew and approved of their relationship. And both sides were aware and ok with it so no further action was taken, I believe.
my memory is fuzzy and it could be that the disciplinary mistress did try to break them up but ended up with calling parents to rally support for ending the relationship)"

"Star Wars and Star Trek universes collide and stormtroopers are facing a bunch of red shirts. They start firing at each other immmediately, and as usual stormtroopers can't hit anything, but the red shirts collapse and die anyway."

Intrigued by a virtue ethics argument against animal cruelty (that animal cruelty is not wrong because of animal suffering but because cruelty makes you a bad person). But then that would also apply to violent video games and BDSM

"Dad reports that CNY songs are a Northern thing as he doesn't recall any Hokkien, Teochew, Cantonese, Hainanese, or Hakka songs from his childhood in the 30s and 40s."

If child porn makes people abuse children, do snuff films make people murder?

"Telling someone they can't be sad because others have it worse is like saying someone can't be happy because others have it better."

"When I was in school I came across an old science textbook from the 80s. I read in it that the scientific consensus was we were going to run out of oil by the year 2000. Lol."

I thought the UK's conditions to retain permanent residence were lax - visiting the country every 2 years. But New Zealand's PR never expires even if you haven't visited the country in forever

"The more you try to justify yourself to people like that, the more it acknowledges that they have the right to question you. It shows you think they get to be your inquisitor, and once you grant someone that sort of power over you, they just push more and more." - Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality / Eliezer Yudkowsky

"I think a loss of 'neighborliness' is mostly a good thing. Having a society with excessive cohesion is repressive."
Ahh libertarians. Then again, this explains a lot about their fetish for market fundamentalism

Ironic that Adaware, which is supposed to be "the Internet's security and privacy leader", hijacks my browser and makes itself my default search engine and changes my new tab page - just like malware


How do you distinguish a genuine call for discussion or explanation from an invitation to virtue signal?

"Their favourite thing to do is post images of people holding tiki torches at Charlottesville, not actually doing anything wrong, while saying Antifa is justified."

"The message sent by recalling someone for one too lenient sentence while no judges ever get recalled for handing out 30 year sentences like Halloween candy is apparently something California voters refused to consider" - @notwokieleaks on Twitter on the Aaron Persky (Brock Turner judge) recall

Why were so many people were so upset about Trump's "Gag Order" on the EPA when many other democracies don't allow government employees to communicate directly with the public about their work? (Ireland, Australia, Canada)

"I like the annoy feminists by saying I make it a point not to explain anything to women just in case kenna mansplaining
Reality can explain things to them better when shit goes wrong"
"There was a meme going around, where a feminist asked a guy to explain what is mansplaining"

Windows Update from the Command Line

For reference:

run window update from command line? - Windows 7 Help Forums

"yes, you can run it from the command line

%windir%\system32\wuapp.exe startmenu

works but it brings up the gui"

(I find it only works when I remove "startmenu")

This works when adding Windows Update as a Custom item/custom link in Classic Start Menu (Classic Shell) to check for updates, and presumably also in Run.

On paying for software vs blocking ads on websites/in software

Me: I gifted a US$1.49 game to the guy who never pays for anything he can pirate
459 ratings, 5 stars
king of dragon pass
gotta e good
my note was "this may just possibly be the first digitally available game that you own that has had money paid for it"

Someone: ask your... friend
if he thinks software developers are subhuman and do not deserve to be paid for their work

Me: I think it's similar to your "my bandwidth, my rules" rule for blocking ads

Someone: ha
ads are not quite the same as stuff being made and sold directly by the same person

Me: eh
you think there's a direct link between the developer and the purchase meh
developer is paid by game company
game company is paid by publisher
publisher is paid by store/online platform
website is paid by ad company
ad company is paid by advertisers depending on views/clicks
so the link is shorter for ads even

Someone: when it comes to apps
developers paid directly by google
and do you honestly think writing an app for users is the same as advertising
i'm all of blocking ads in apps
there's a difference between providing a service
and brainwashing

Me: how are ads brainwashing
ads are an alternative way of supporting a product/service
it's the same as a list price. just a different model

Someone: using an app without paying for it and blocking ads is different

Me: when you write an app for users you either sell it and get $1 upfront from user X
or you make it adware and get $0.01 a month (assumption) from user X

Someone: yes,
and i think adware is scum

Me: then dont use it

Someone: i don't
but we aren't talking about this
why do yuo keep changing
i am saying
your friend who doesn't pay for his ads
er
apps

Me: well I was talking about downloading games

Someone: does he think the people who writes them don't need to be paid for their work

Me: it's all the same
ars technica wrote something on this
I'm sure you know

Someone: ads
is not the same
as writing a program
good god
if yuo honestly think it's the same
then let's just agree to disagree
i'm not trying to sell you someone else's product when i write an application
i don't try to change your perception of anything
when i offer you my service as an app developer

Me: no they're not the same
ads <- way to get paid writing an app <- service ads are to the price of an app as writing an app is to maintaining a website err. like that when I talk to you about this issue I'm also trying to change your perception of the issue Someone: yes, but it's a two way discussion

Me: you seem to view advertising as coercive

Someone: advertising is coercive
????

Me: no it's persuasive
there's a difference

Someone: a very fine one
and if you let htem have their way
it would be coercive
so don't
compare my living
with advertising

Me: anyway if you don't like apps with ads, don't use them
if you don't like websites with ads, don't visit them

Someone: we aren't talking about whether i like apps
or use htem
if they're supported by ads
for the last time
we are talking about your friend
paying app developers
for their apps

Me: and I am using the same principle in a different context

that's like saying it's not ok for A to kill B with a chainsaw
but it's ok for C to kill D with an axe

Someone: but we aren't discussing that context

i am saying
that writing an app and putting it on sale
is not the same as writing an article on the net and showing it with ads
do you hoenstly not see the difference

Me: nope

Someone: the second one involves the premise that your content is freely accessible
it's like giving out newspapers
the app itself is not accessible without paying for it unless you pirate
or if it's ad supported
it's a all or nothing thing
if you want the app you buy it
and at no point in this process do i say, hey, i think you need to buy these products from some 3rd party
it's just, do you want this app?
yes? give me some money
and you can use it
there are apps that are ad supported
by all means block those ads

Me: ad-supported websites are like places which require an admission fee to enter
but there's no ticket control, just a box for you to deposit your admission fee

Someone: no, yuo don't need to deposit any admission fee...
sigh
when you enter
someone gives you a flyer that says
buy this shit
at no point in this do you give anyone any money
also they take your photograph and fingerprints
enough for lousy analogy yet?

Me: well in that case it's wrong to kill someone with a chainsaw because it's motorised
but an axe is okay because it's human powered

Someone: your latter analogy i completely do not understand whatsoever
how is killing people got anything to with this

Me: if you don't want to get the flyer or be photographed or get fingerprinted, don't go in
dont break in

Someone: it's not breaking in
no one loses anything
digital media
is not the same as traditional media

Me: if you break in without breaking locks, doors etc no one loses anything either

it's an opportunity cost in both senses
killing people <-> paying people for their work
axe <-> paying for apps
chainsaw <-> ads

Someone: there are different penalties for theft and murder...
haiya ok i want to play game
but you should think about this a bit more

Me: yes it's different for new media
so it's ok to pirate apps also
I have thought about this
that's why months (years?) after you told me you block ads I'm talking about it

Someone: no it's not, the fundamental difference is
i don't try to sell you
someone else's product
and i don't give you my app for free
blocking ads is not because
i'm opposed to giving websites my money

Me: yes so as I've said if you philosophically disagree with the funding model just dont use the product
instead of using the product without paying
while condemning those who use products without paying in other instances

Someone: i honestly can't believe you think advertising and revenue sharing from appstore are the same
i think you are far mroe intelligent than that
and you are being contrary for hte sake of being contrary

Me: the issue is not whether they are the same
the issue is whether pirating paid apps is the same as blocking ads on ad-supported websites
it may be faster to kill someone with a chainsaw than an axe
but in both cases the person ends up dead

Someone: and i'ts not
sigh
yeah okay look
we clearly fundamentally disagre about this

Me: yes
just go play your game
just accept that intelligent people can disagree over issues without being contrary for the sake of being contrary

Someone: i do

Me: well you just claimed that I was being contrary for the sake of being contrary
I suspect people think I;m trolling when I say I support incest

Someone: but you haven't rebutted my point about selling someone else's product either

it's not the same, is it?
we're talking about different things
you're talking about how the website is being killed
i'm talking about differnet kinds of revenue streams
but somehow
you have conflated both topics
i'm only interested in the appstore

Me: so dont use ad supported websites/apps

Someone: yesw
yes i agree w
don't use them w

Me: so why do you have an ad blocker?

Someone: because i can't get away from ads
can i?
it's not as easy as don't use them
do you see the difference?
i try my best
not to use ad supported software
and websites
and i pay for those that i do
btu i can't
stop
myself
from seeing ads
even then
again
my use of an adblocker
is not because i'm opposed to giving websites my money

Me: so in that case it's more of a practical issue than a philosophical one
like a vegetarian will eat meat if the alternative is death

Someone: and what about the sites that have no alternatives?
facebook doesn't let me pay to get rid of ads
that's pretty lousy, isn't it?

Me: ok. so the we have found the root of the disagreement

EULA Lies

"Es gilt die folgende Vereinbarung zwischen Dir und dem Autor der Software, die du gerade herunterladen bzw. installieren willst:

- Diese Software ist kostenlos sowohl für den privaten als auch gewerblichen Einsatz.

- Die Software ist urheberrechtlich geschützt. Das deutsche Urheberrecht ist Gegenstand dieser Lizenzvereinbarung. Ein Verändern, Dekompilieren oder ähnliches der Software ist nicht gestattet...

Yes, I have read the licence agreement and accept it"


"If you accept the terms of the agreement, click I Agree to continue. You must accept the agreement to install AmoK Exif Sorter 2.5.6."

Amusing bits of the Windows 8 EULA

"Misunderstandings and neglect create more confusion in this world than trickery and malice. At any rate, the last two are certainly much less frequent." - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

***

"Please read this so you know what you're agreeing to...

The Additional Terms contain a binding arbitration clause and class action waiver. If you live in the United States, these affect your rights to resolve a dispute with Microsoft, and you should read them carefully...

You and Microsoft will attempt to resolve any dispute through informal negotiation within 60 days from the date the Notice of Dispute is sent. After 60 days, you or Microsoft may commence arbitration...

If you and Microsoft do not resolve any dispute by informal negotiation or in small claims court, any other effort to resolve the dispute will be conducted exclusively by binding arbitration. You are giving up the right to litigate (or participate in as a party or class member) all disputes in court before a judge or jury. Instead, all disputes will be resolved before a neutral arbitrator, whose decision will be final except for a limited right of appeal under the Federal Arbitration Act. Any court with jurisdiction over the parties may enforce the arbitrator’s award...

Any proceedings to resolve or litigate any dispute in any forum will be conducted solely on an individual basis. Neither you nor Microsoft will seek to have any dispute heard as a class action, private attorney general action, or in any other proceeding in which either party acts or proposes to act in a representative capacity. No arbitration or proceeding will be combined with another without the prior written consent of all parties to all affected arbitrations or proceedings...

Microsoft excludes all implied warranties, including those of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement"


Apparently the "no class action suit" clause began with Xbox 360 in late 2011. I'd have thought they'd have tried to add it in earlier.

I'm assuming the implied warranty clause is to guard against their own marketing.

Conversations - 27th October 2012

"The trouble with our times is that the future is not what it used to be." - Paul Valery

***

Ken: i feel like selling off my iphone 4
but then
i wouldnt have a device to jailbreak then
i have a ipod touch 2g...but tt's pretty useless besides using it as a
music player

Me: why not jailbreak the new iphone

Ken: nope
the one used for live use i wun jailbreak

Me: ...

Ken: security concerns
unless i fully reverse engineer the jailbroken tool and knows exactly
what every line of code does to the kernel
but for the ipone4 its ok since its "decomissioned"

Me: what if apple put a rootkit inside your iPhone 5

Ken: i'm assuming tt wun happen

Me: when you assume you make an ass...

Ken: of coz u buy product from them u gotta trust em
otherwise its as good as saying what if microsoft owns us all

Me: what about carrier iq in iphone4

Ken: mebbe they have a hidden proprietery protocol tt allow
them to RDP into any MS OS in the world

Me: yeah why dont you go and use linux
the source code is open to all
no chance of hidden code

Ken: haha
i do use linux too

Me: use it as your primary OS

Ken: tt's a good idea
mebbe i shld


Someone on chasing a guy: do u think im devaluing myself :(

Me: zzz
if you value yourself you will see yourself as a subject with agency
and free will

Someone: HAHAHA
i love that answer

Me: yeah. don't objectify yourself


Ken: Serving Up Malicious PDFs Through SQL Injection - Dark Reading
Morale of the story: make sure u use a virtual machine to open embedded pdf files using web browser

Me: BBC News - US 'foils new underwear bomb plot' by al-Qaeda in Yemen
moral of the story: they should ban us from wearing underwear onto planes

Observations - 2nd July 2012

Some people keep tweeting that they don't care about their "haters". The frequency gives the lie to the claim.

More fun than Hair for Hope: Maidenhead for Malaria, Foreskin for Fibromyalgia.

Genuine Leather attracts Genuine Fungus

Surprised the Japanese used prisoners of war for meat during the war.

From their annual report, it seems one of NEA's KPIs is hawker rental. Now you know why they keep renovating hawker centres and why the prices keep going up.

Friend in government : "there's a lot of embezzling in the religious sector"

Identity politics, by emphasising the difference of women, ethnic minorities and sexual minorities, is just entrenching the normality of maleness, whiteness and straightness and reducing the degree to which people can identify with a group other than that they belong to or the default of the white, straight male.

Why do gay clubs all have steam rooms?
Suggested answer: "they like hot sex"


I told a telemarketer I had too many cards already and I kept losing them, and she gave up. I was almost disappointed.

It was suggested that I pretend to be skydiving when telemarketers call.
Someone else: "if its a girl, you should try moaning."


Just as I really needed you, you... went on leave

No one cares about the 80-20 rule when the 80% of the work's not done by them.


It would be hilarious if the collagen women love in food products turned to cellulite

Maybe Singaporean girls are always cold because they're frigid.

Is it not customary for Singaporean women to change their profile photos to a wedding shot, typically of them looking demurely downwards with an enigmatic smile on their faces?

I saw a made-up woman in the lift who had her blouse unbuttoned until it was below the level of her bra, and one of the heel straps of her heels were off. Maybe she'd just met someone from the SCDF.


RT @RaptorPHD: If kong hee embezzled $24 million to fund sun ho's music career how come she's still a nobody ? #Philosoraptor

RT @t_blom: “Most startups aren’t competing with other startups; they’re competing with no one giving a shit.” - Unknown

RT @Kelvin___: A screwdriver is all it takes to rob a nsmen of his rifle. The Army - protecting Singapore since 1957.

"The people you can say heretical things to without getting jumped on are also the most interesting to know"

RT: @_Leila: Two phrases that cause loss of critical thinking skills: Help the Poor and For the Children. You might wish it, but that doesn't make it so.

"Saying that Java is nice because it works on every OS is like saying that anal sex is nice because it works on every gender"

"Is the expression "Bugger off" homophobic?"
"Only if 'F*** Off' is derogatory to those who have sex or 'P*** Off' is an insult to those who urinate..."

"More Americans have died from squirrel and raccoon attacks than have died from terrorism since 9/11"

RT @8_Semesters: When I see your face, there's not a thing that I would change except the direction I'm walking in.


"You know what they always say, the bride is prettiest on her wedding day. (sadly it suggests that it all goes downhill from there)"

RT: @liangkaixin: qotd: Most adult women multitask and barely have time to do breast self-examination.

RT @WhennBoys Real boyfriend = calls you for NOTHING, texts you all the time, wants to see you, gets jealous, over protective & LOVES YOU.
My comment: Stalker = real boyfriend

Observations - 27th June 2011

"I have not lost my mind - it's backed up on disk somewhere." - Unknown

***

One of my fantasies: will $1 to lots of people so they will come to my will reading and be pissed off.

It takes two hands to clap but only one to slap.

At a wedding I was at recently I swear one of the women doing the readings mentioned St Paul's letter to the Philippines.



News stories that reference stories readily available online but which don't provide links are very irritating.

Trying to find the origin of something on tumblr is like looking for Prestor John


I suspect a main reason people hate Windows is enterprise software. So it's not really Windows's fault.

A centralised system also means a centralised point of failure


It is ironic that Singaporeans despise PRCs for reasons similar to why Singaporeans are disliked in developed countries

I wonder why we need screen doors on all our MRT lines, but they don't in Paris, London, New York, Tokyo and many other cities.

Entrepreneurship in Singapore is about taxi driving and private education.


Seen: "In terms of appearance: I do love long hair. The longer the better, in fact. This is not mandatory, I’m just sayin' (Wow, this bitch is even ranting about the hard-hitting issue of male hair length, but...) If you did have long hair and you think cutting it somehow made you more of a 'grown-up' or as part of some ridiculous pressure from this sexist double-standard, please proceed to stick head in meat grinder. I have seen the most horrific bleached, dyed, split end straw mess on female heads, but if it's anything less than perfect on a guy one often hears inanely horrified commentary that somehow maturity and hygiene levels are inversely proportional to how long your hair is if you are in possession of a penis."

Just because I think you would look better with a boob job doesn't mean you should be forced to get one, or you should be happy if some mad plastic surgeon drugs you and you wake up with one.


I am annoyed by false dichotomies. No one advocates expulsing ALL foreigners from Singapore, or ratcheting up government spending to 200% of GDP.

From a seditious article: "There is no defamation suit because in court the correct details of the incident will come out" I wonder if the author(s) will be sued for defamation...

The office of MP is not a lifetime achievement award (@struthious yeah I would vote for [my sweeper] over LKY)


I swear Pearl necklaces are as popular an accessory now as hoop earrings were in 2004.

"Round, warm, silky smooth, soft, bouncy" - Sounds like good fishballs.


Seen on anti-smoking material: "Be inspired by the brave stories of those who have quit smoking". This is the feebleness of 21st century "Bravery".

An inspirational quote I saw: "Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadows." (Helen Keller) How can she be credible saying that? Do people even undertand the drivel that they repeat?!


RT @MrAniki: #Singapore, you have to step up your game. There is a long way to go http://t.co/fWKqDhW #fail

RT: @leraine: Don't complain about how guys just look at you as a pair of tits and a vagina if you're like "I've got tits and a cunt, where's my Gucci?"

RT @sebastien_mc: On ne dit pas « Sodomiser ses copains » mais « Elargir le cercle de ses amis » !

RT @joshlim If you take out all the vowels from female, you get FML.

RT: @markleggett: Whatever doesn't kill us makes us stronger but more likely it will make us much weaker and horribly disfigured and bitter and fearful.

iTunes bugs which piss me off

"Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some hire public relations officers." - Daniel J. Boorstin

***

The bugs in iTunes really piss me off. But most people like frills so the developers will focus on adding those.

Bugs off the top of my head:

1) When I sync my iPod, podcasts I've watched are not marked as watched
2) When I check podcast description (information) the information disappears when podcasts are updating (when they're not it's fine)
3) When I deleted podcasts and choose "move to recycle bin" sometimes they aren't moved and yet are marked as deleted. So disk space is taken up by these phantom files
4) Some videos won't transfer to iPod for god knows what reason
5) Can't copy podcast feed URLs in information box
6) Phantom podcasts show up in the podcasts playlist, and marked as missing but they're not in the main podcasts list - only recently learnt how to delete them (shift-del)
7) Some podcasts won't be copied over on the first sync - I need to resync
8) Seek bar is very imprecise for very long tracks because it's a fixed length


Addendum: I finally found out how to delete phantom podcasts in iTunes: Shift+Backspace. Grr.

While on Encyclopedia Dramatica I made the mistake of clicking on a link that took me back to the late 90s.

It did this by doing something I didn't think was possible on modern browsers: opening millions of windows at once (luckily I managed to terminate my browser and email client processes in Task Manager).

The URL in question:

http://www.internetisseriousbusiness.on.nimp.org/
(NSFW, do not click unless you want to crash the browser; I'm even leaving out the hyperlink)

I'm using Firefox 3.5.3.

A friend on a 1-2 week-old build of Chrome was not affected. Nor was one on the iPhone.

One on Safari 4.0.3 was not spared, though.

Someone suggested disabling Flash, since it was using Flash to generate the popups. When I did so in IE 7, there was no issue (except for my window jumping about for a few seconds). But then again the person on Chrome had Flash enabled, so.


A: I was also getting some js errors so the page may be trying multiple ways to generate the popups

B: wah shit
it detected a trojan

my AV detected
now my nod32 keeps popping
though the window closed long ago

C: if you want the html just wget the page

i think it uses irc protocol
to do something weird

not sure


Also, thanks to Encyclopedia Dramatica I have FINALLY seen something more disgusting than Breast Rash Larvae.

A popular strip:



Dilbert: As you can clearly see in slide 397...

Wally and Alice: *Z*

Unknown co-worker: GAAAAH!

Wally: "Powerpoint" poisoning.

The joys of ÜberTwitter:

"Speak the truth, but leave immediately after." - Slovenian Proverb

***

Someone's suggestion as to why women go to the toilet so much: to fart (corroborating evidence)

"Gauche", "awkward", "adroit" and "dexterity" all have etymologies which disparage left-handers - clear evidence of linguistic bigotry. Lucky there's no left-handed lobby around.

I saw a trailer for Cicakman 2: Planet Hitam. God. The special effects were of a standard belonging to the early 90s.

Van Houten's new trick: 'Coca Butter Equivalent Vegetable Fat'. Bastards.

I swear Häagen-Dazs used to have an ad which went: "the most fun you can have in a tub: with your clothes on". However, I can't find it online, and as everyone knows, if you cant find something online it means it doesn't exist; a friend of mine who worked there in 2005 remembers it, so maybe both of us are delusional. [Someone: i only remember the "three words a woman loves to hear the most: another scoop, miss?"]

Mayor Quimby sounds like JFK.

Back Bacon was 1.69/100g and streaky 1.79/100g at Giant. There is something wrong with this world.

Someone said that the RGS 10 year reunion in 2007 was very interesting because it was very bitchy. The girls had been working for 2 years, and many were engaged, married or had kids. And there were boasts like "my surgeon boyfriend got me this". In contrast, the RI 10 year reunion was alright because everyone had just started working.


"I'm aware that there are "biblical issues", otherwise known as obfuscation and tautology."

"Your account has been violated !!!‏" - From a phishing scam. They need to try harder.

"Every cloud has a bolt of lightning" - My take on silver linings

"NUS in general takes a very 'Singaporean' or 'Chinese' approach to learning. Lots of mugging, staring at charts and formulae, etc. I have a friend who went to Oxford for undergrad studies. He did his Master's degree in NUS, and he was not used to the heavy workload." - Hurr hurr

"I once had a conversation with someone who used to work for the government in Singapore. They said that true emigration was running (a few years ago) at about 40,000 people per year - or about 1% of the population of native born Singaporeans leaving per year. That is huge. It implies that a majority of Singaporeans would leave in the course of their lifetimes. This is a country that faces a future without a core of natives. (That is the figure I remember her telling me...she was speaking of a time when the populatio was lower than now (fewer imports yet) so that 1% is about right.) If her comment is remotely near the truth then Singapore has a very real problem with keeping its people." - Hurr hurr x2


The Middle East seems to be the only place in the (semi-)developed world where specifying what gender/nationality you want for a job is acceptable.

Science and engineering graduates do not need a work permit to work in the UK, and are exempt from the "Europeans first" employment policy HURR HURR (it seems to be a EU-wide rule; presumably there's a loophole where science and engineering graduates can clean toilets)


Pressing "Ctrl + C" in Windows message boxes that don't seem to let you to select the text inside is supposed to work in copying their contents to the clipboard. It doesn't work for me

Ctrl + Shift + X - the hotkey I've recently discovered which screws my text into Bi-Di every now and then (it liquefies in Photoshop).

Someone with a Macbook commented that the Macbook was very bad at getting onto wireless networks, and when he installed Windows it was okay - so it was a software issue.

"Humor can be dissected as a frog can, but the thing dies in the process and the innards are discouraging to any but the pure scientific mind." - E. B. White

***

ImageMagick is image manipulation software using the command line. It must've started as a sick joke.

One of the nasty things about the HIV virus is that it messes with your testosterone level, so when you first get infected and are the most infectious, you'll be the most horny and thus more likely to transmit it.

Occasionally you will see in Singapore a car with a pseudo-EU license plate (examples). I saw one which was a FAIL - the letters representing the EU country were "GER". Presumably they wanted a German one, hurr hurr.

Someone translated "黄河风情" as "Amorous Feelings for the Yellow River". Sounds like a bad Google Translate job to me. I'd plump for "Feelings Invoked by the Yellow River" (a less literal translation would be "Yellow River Fantasy").

To apply for Web-Fax.com, which lets you send faxes online, you need to fax them an application. DUH

I got called Miss - by a mover with a ponytail. HAHA. Maybe it was because his hair wasn't as nice as mine.

I saw a girl pushing a wheelchair and an old woman walking beside her. On the wheelchair was shopping. Gah.

I saw a CHIJ girl whose nametag read 'Angel'. If I had the opportunity to name a kid, I'd choose some funky name like 'Cherubim'.

If you have Muslims on a winning F1 team (or indeed any event which involves Champagne), what happens? Sparkling grape juice?

Quickbites's Japanese ice milk tea tastes like teh peng. Ugh.

I'm told some tudung-ed women can stick their phones inside their veils and talk hands-free. That's a very useful trick.

"If there's one thing having been in RGS didn't teach me, it's that it's perfectly ok not to win an argument and to let others have the last word." (Hurr hurr)

I'm very sad that the US Presidential Election is over, since we won't hear conservatives making accusations of sexism (half) as often as liberals anymore.


HWMNBN, who's worked under women bosses for the first 5 years of his career, said all men and women he'd asked said they'd rather work with and under men than women.

Just as bilateral or multilateral trade pacts can result in trade diversion instead of trade creation (instead of trading with third parties, they trade with each other), I'm wondering if the EU labour market results in job diversion instead of job creation, since it's easier to hire someone from within the EU than a non-EU national/resident.

A concept I didn't know how to describe adequately for search engines:

"Final Cut Pro: Create a single frame to put in your Timeline

You similarly can create a "freeze frame" for the Timeline that will display as a still image that lasts for several seconds in your movie.

To do this, select a clip in the Browser or the Timeline to display it in the Viewer, and then move the playhead to the single frame you want for your movie.

In the menu at the top, select:

Modify...Make Freeze Frame

Click on the frame in the Viewer and drag it to the point you want it to appear in the Timeline.

You then can grab the edge of the single-frame image to shorten or lengthen the duration of the image in your movie."


Mac: it just works:

"Process: Final Cut Pro [246]
Path: /Applications/Final Cut Pro.app/Contents/MacOS/Final Cut Pro
Identifier: com.apple.FinalCutPro
Version: 6.0.3 (6.0.3)
Build Info: FCPApp-803260105~29
Code Type: PPC (Native)
Parent Process: launchd [86]

Date/Time: 2008-08-01 13:06:03.483 +0800
OS Version: Mac OS X 10.5.3 (9D34)
Report Version: 6

Exception Type: EXC_BAD_ACCESS (SIGBUS)
Exception Codes: KERN_PROTECTION_FAILURE at 0x0000000000000004
Crashed Thread: 0"


And the wonderful autosave doesn't automatically open the recovered file when the application is restarted. For the average user, this makes autosave undiscoverable.

Apple: Podcasting Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

"How do I copy a podcast URL and send it to a friend?

Just select the podcast and drag it to your desktop to create a file that ends with a .pcast extension. Email this file to your friend and then have him or her drag the file into iTunes to subscribe to that podcast.

In iTunes, you can view a podcast URL by clicking on the "i" to the right of the description, but you can't copy or edit this text. If you typed a podcast URL incorrectly, delete the podcast and subscribe to it again."


Gee, thanks for another attempt at lock-in.

Or maybe most iTunes users are incapable of cutting and pasting a podcast feed URL (which would explain why manual subscription to one is under the "Advanced" menu).

"America is a large, friendly dog in a very small room. Every time it wags its tail, it knocks over a chair." - Arnold Toynbee

***

Funny GNOME bug report Bug 472370 – crash in Movie Player: starting new mpeg (ignore the security certificate warning):

"What were you doing when the application crashed?
starting new mpeg

...

----------- .xsession-errors (843 sec old) ---------------------
xterm -e mplayer /home/tom/Video/aroma milk lactating preg porn.movstarting
xterm -e mplayer $URL$
xterm -e mplayer /home/tom/Video/aroma milk lactating preg porn.movstarting
xterm -e mplayer $URL$
xterm -e mplayer /home/tom/Video/Paola Rey - Little Miss Innocent.mpgstarting
xterm -e mplayer $URL$
xterm -e mplayer /home/tom/Video/Cum slut helps 16 strangers make 18 yo blonde
pregnant - xxx adult porn sex fucking creampie gangbang babymaker tits oral
felatio bj blowjob.mpgstarting xterm -e mpla
xterm -e mplayer /home/tom/Video/Girl in Yellow Lab Studios Tanning Bed Busted
and Forced to Fuck and Suck Janitor Gag Gang Rape, Anal Pain, Worldtaker Pro.
SeXiuN.mpgstarting xterm -e mplayer $URL$
xterm -e mplayer /home/tom/Video/Jhene-D.O.G.mpgstarting xterm -e mplayer
$URL$
xterm -e mplayer /home/tom/Video/Exploited Moms Housewife.mpgstarting xterm -e
mplayer $URL$
xterm -e mplayer /home/tom/Video/private farm video - extremely perverted
animal sex porno!!!!!!!!.mpegstarting xterm -e mplayer $URL$
xterm -e mplayer /home/tom/Video/Cum slut helps 16 strangers make 18 yo blonde
pregnant - xxx adult porn sex fucking creampie gangbang babymaker tits oral
felatio bj blowjob.mpgstarting xterm -e mpla
xterm -e mplayer /home/tom/Video/Paola Rey - Little Miss Innocent.mpgstarting
xterm -e mplayer $URL$
xterm -e mplayer /home/tom/Video/A Sharks.Tale. (Excellant
Quality).mpgstarting xterm -e mplayer $URL$
xterm -e mplayer /home/tom/Video/aroma milk lactating preg porn.movstarting
xterm -e mplayer $URL$
xterm -e mplayer /home/tom/Video/private farm video - extremely perverted
animal sex porno!!!!!!!!.mpegDOUBLE-CLICK: 400 --> -1 THRESHOLD: 8 --> -1 xiTK
received SIGSEGV signal, RIP.
Window manager warning: Invalid WM_TRANSIENT_FOR window 0x4000040 specified for
0x4000490 (Shutting d).
Window manager warning: Invalid WM_TRANSIENT_FOR window 0x4000040 specified for
0x4000490 (Shutting d).

Comment #2 from Dirk Sohler (points: 2)
2007-09-05 19:50 UTC [reply]
I'm sorry for your bug, pal... But WTF is "extremely perverted animal sex porno"? If you do a bugreport next time, reproduce it with a fresh instance and cleared cache :)

Comment #3 from Philip Withnall (totem developer, points: 22)
2007-09-05 22:04 UTC [reply]
(In reply to comment #2)

Our concern is not what the bug reporter is watching; we just want to fix the bug. Please stay on topic, and don't comment if you don't have something useful to add. ;-)

(Sorry for bugspam about bugspam.)

Comment #4 from nixaan (points: 0)
2007-09-06 20:13 UTC [reply]
these movies play without issue on my installation

Comment #5 from Olav Vitters (developer, points: 22)
2007-09-06 20:20 UTC [reply]
Changed reporter from original to bugmaster@gnome.org as to prevent harassment.

(In reply to comment #5)
> these movies play without issue on my installation

This is useless without totem version, gstreamer version. Further, I doubt you are being honest.

"I know not, sir, whether Bacon wrote the works of Shakespeare, but if he did not it seems to me that he missed the opportunity of his life." - James M. Barrie

***

Apple is evil.

They keep trying to push Safari to me with their "Software Update" (which is supposed to be used only to push security updates to me, and which thus can be described as a trojan horse).

It's bad enough that they force me to install Quicktime, but this is preposterous.

To disable Apple's Software Update, it's not enough to tweak msconfig; you need to play with Scheduled Tasks.

Or better yet, just dump all Apple shit.

"As you journey through life take a minute every now and then to give a thought for the other fellow. He could be plotting something." - Hagar the Horrible

***

"Name: Update for Windows Vista (KB940510)
Type: Important

INTRODUCTION
This update enables Windows Vista to detect activation exploits that bypass product activation and that interfere with usual Windows operation. An exploit is a form of software that replaces or modifies authentic Windows components. When exploits are present on a system, it indicates that a software or hardware vendor may have tampered with genuine Windows to enable the sale of counterfeit software. Therefore, the security and the privacy of the computer are put at risk. After this update is installed, you will know if exploits are present on the system.

... Note Installing this update does not affect the functionality of your operating system.

MORE INFORMATION
This update for Windows Vista detects exploits that may be present on a system. An exploit bypasses licensing and activation. This behavior allows for counterfeit copies of Windows Vista to run without ever having to be activated. Activation exploits make alterations to key Windows system files. These exploits affect both system stability and security.

When the update is installed, no functionality of your operating system will be affected. If no exploits are detected, the update silently exits. If exploits are detected, you will be provided a link to a Web site that describes how you can remove the exploits. When the exploits are removed, you may be asked to use a valid product key to activate your copy of Windows. If you do not want to remove the exploits, Windows may disable the exploits and then ask you to use a valid product key to activate Windows."


Nice try.

Though I suppose "does not affect the functionality of your operating system" is technically correct, now that they've removed the Vista kill switch.


[Addendum:

ZDNet reports that the update only runs once, and just notifies you if your system has been 'prey' to a Vista activiation exploit. "Even after detecting a bypass hack, Windows still reports itself as a genuine, activated copy" - it really doesn't change anything after you get rid of the dialog box informing you that you may be using counterfeit software.

My Digital Life has more information on activation hacks this update doesn't fix, and the names of the 2 it does.]

Changing Volume Balance in Windows XP:

1. Double click on the volume icon in the system tray to open "Master Volume" window
2. Use slidebar to easily change volume balance, or do it for various devices individually


Changing Volume Balance in Windows Vista:

1. Right click on the volume icon in the system tray
2. In the menu that pops up, click "Playback Devices"
3. Double click on your Speakers in the "Playback" tab of the "Sound" window
4. Click on the "Levels" tab in "Speaker Properties"
5. Click on the "Balance" button under "Speakers"
6. Use slidebars to individually control left and right channels