Studio Rizzn going OFFLINE!

Okay... I'm going to be offline for a short while, folks. I'm moving my office from my home into the Energy Center near Downtown Tyler. Also, my wife and stepson are moving in with me here at my home in Tyler.

This is going to be a timeconsuming process, and one that will likely take me a second to get back on my feet and get my bearings again.

So apologies while I'm out of commission for a few days. I expect to be back up and running by Sunday, which is to say it'll probably happen no later than Tuesday.

Wish me luck! First time the power down button has been pushed on my seven computers since I moved in!

/rizzn

Trivia, Anyone?

I found a real curious Trivia site this evening: check it out. An interesting site, worth a read - despite the fact that it seems attached to yet another useless web directory, the trivia is actually fairly entertaining and going on my RSS list. About as bizarre a range of topics as you find here on Rizzn.com, so that's a thing. I learned a couple things about Mercury and Venus, Macaroni and Cheese, and Jack-O-Lanterns. I'd mention the Kwanzaa article in that list of new things learned, but alas, I'm already sorely alert to the fact that I've stored that information previously in my brain, and those brain cells can never be used for anything else useful again.

/rizzn

Rizzn's Helpful Tip of the Day

Don't ask ... I was entranced by watching Weblog.com's scroller of newly updated blogs, and I found this gem:

http://www29.compaq.com/falco/detail.asp?FAQnum=FAQ2859

Compaq FAQ: Where do I find the "Any" key on my keyboard? (FAQ2859)

The term "any key" does not refer to a particular key on the keyboard. It simply means to strike any one of the keys on your keyboard or handheld screen.

Created: 10/8/2001 2:13:42 AM
Modified: 10/25/2002 11:07:05 AM
Author: Mevans

There you go. Another mystery solved.

/rizzn

Quote of the Entry: "Millions saw the apple fall, but Newton was the one who asked why."
- Bernard Baruch

God and Taxes

I'm very busy today, so I give you this story in lieu of meaningful content:

A little boy wanted $100.00 very badly and prayed for weeks, but nothing happened. Then he decided to write God a letter requesting the $100.00.

When the postal authorities received the letter to God , USA, they decided to send it to the President. The president was so amused that he instructed his secretary to send the little boy a $5.00 bill. The president thought this would appear to be a lot of money to a little boy.

The little boy was delighted with the $5.00 bill and sat down to write a thank-you note to God, which read:

Dear God: Thank you very much for sending the money. However, I noticed that for some reason you sent it through Washington, DC., and those assholes deducted $95.00 in taxes.

/rizzn

Quote of the Entry: "If Beethoven had been killed in a plane crash at the age of 22, it would have changed the history of music... and of aviation."
- Tom Stoppard

An Update from the Middle East

I recieved the following not from a fellow Ronnie knows out in Iraq. He's in some form of Army special forces, as I understand it. I found it entertaining and insightful.

NOTICE: The views and expressions in NO WAY reflect those of the United States Military, its Government, or its affiliates. This rant is the opinion of ME and ME alone. If you are easily offended by strong language then I advise you to skip this bulletin and don't look back. If you read on....you have been warned.

Are you fu*king kidding me?? Who in the blue hell do these candy-assed reporters think they are?? I sit every now and again and try to choke back the vomit that is trying to find itself on the floor from watching CNN and FOX and Friends.

First of all, anyone that works at FOX News has no friends!! Especially that rat fu*k Geraldo. I really didn't believe in abortion until I had the fateful chance of meeting this ass head. He is a cluster-fu*k that should be locked in a protable toilet and have it set on fire.

I was at a bomb making facility takeing care of would-be IED's when this shithead with a camera decided it would be nice to take pictures of yours truly. Political correctness is not one of my strongholds and I proceded to ask who the fuck he was and why was he taking my picture?

He proudly showed me his press badge and told me he was here to report the 'real news' over here. Now look, I have no problem with real news being reported but leave my face and name out of it. Most of you know what I do over here and the last thing I need is one of these sand ninjas getting my face and name so he can find a way to send a bomb to my house, compliments of the internet and CNN.

I told him he had 2 options.
Option A: erase my pictures off his stupid camera, or

Option B: I fill his camera full of bullet holes and it doesn't matter if he is holding it or not.

Guess what his first option was.....Option B!!!

His premise was freedom of the press and it was his duty to report the news for you all to see. A real American hero taking care of a bomb. Well, a drawn 9mm pointed at his chest (where his camera was by the way) he reluctantly chose Option B. Who give these assholes so much power? They think freedom of the press means they have the freedom to interfere with your freedom.

Apparently my decison has pissed off a few of the "higher-ups". I was told we are here to win the hearts and minds of the local population. My question is "What about the hearts and minds of mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers that get to attend their loved one's memorial service??" To hell with reporters, to hell with CNN (communist news network), to hell with protestors against this war, and to hell with you if what I have to say offends you! If you support our troops, thank you from the bottem of all our hearts.

If you are one of those assholes that have one of those stupid magnetic yellow ribbons on your car or truck that says "Support our troops" and you have it to make you look patrotic and like you give a rats ass, then simply Fuck off! We don't need your false support!

I have known a few people that have those yellow ribbons that take time out of their busy day to discuss how we should pull our troops out of Iraq and Afganistan; and they support OUR troops? Until they lace up our boots and walk throughout our day, they should keep opinions like that to themselves, or at least around me. After all this is my opinion......I have been wrong.

/GOLDBERG

Political Science for Dummies

DEMOCRATIC
You have two cows
Your neighbor has none
You feel guilty for being successful
Barbara Streisand sings for you

REPUBLICANISM
You have two cows
Your neighbor has none
So?

SOCIALIST
You have two cows
The government takes one and gives it to your neighbor
You form a cooperative to tell him how to manage his cow

COMMUNIST
You have two cows
The government seizes both and provides you with milk
You wait in line for hours to get it
It is expensive and sour

CAPITALISM, AMERICAN STYLE
You have two cows
You sell one, buy a bull, and build a herd of cows

BUREAUCRACY, AMERICAN STYLE
You have two cows
Under the new farm program the government pays you to shoot one, milk the other, and then pours the milk down the drain

AMERICAN CORPORATION
You have two cows
You sell one, lease it back to yourself and do an IPO on the 2nd one
You force the two cows to produce the milk of four cows.
You are surprised when one cow drops dead.
You spin an announcement to the analysts stating you have downsized and are reducing expenses
Your stock goes up

FRENCH CORPORATION
You have two cows
You go on strike because you want three cows
You go to lunch and drink wine
Life is good

JAPANESE CORPORATION
You have two cows
You redesign them so they are one-tenth the size of an ordinary cow and produce twenty times the milk
They learn to travel on unbelievably crowded trains
Most are at the top of their class at cow school

GERMAN CORPORATION
You have two cows
You engineer them so they are all blond, drink lots of beer, give excellent quality milk, and run a hundred miles an hour
Unfortunately they also demand 13 weeks of vacation per year

ITALIAN CORPORATION
You have two cows but you don't know where they are
While ambling around, you see a beautiful woman
You break for lunch
Life is good

RUSSIAN CORPORATION
You have two cows
You have some vodka
You count them and learn you have five cows
You have some more vodka
You count them again and learn you have 42 cows
The Mafia shows up and takes over however many cows you really have

TALIBAN CORPORATION
You have all the cows in Jalalabad, which are two
You don't milk them because you cannot touch any creature's private parts
You get a $40 million grant from the government to find alternatives to milk production but use the money to buy weapons

IRAQI CORPORATION
You have two cows
They go into hiding
They send radio tapes of their mooing

POLISH CORPORATION
You have two bulls
Employees are regularly maimed and killed attempting to milk them

BELGIAN CORPORATION
You have one cow
The cow is schizophrenic
Sometimes the cow thinks he's French, other times he's Flemish
The Flemish cow won't share with the French cow
The French cow wants control of the Flemish cow's milk
The cow asks permission to be cut in half
The cow dies happy

FLORIDA CORPORATION
You have a black cow and a brown cow
Everyone votes for the best looking one
Some of the people who actually like the brown one best accidentally vote for the black one
Some people vote for both
Some people vote for neither
Some people can't figure out how to vote at all
Finally, a bunch of guys from out-of-state tell you which one you think is the best-looking cow

CALIFORNIA CORPORATION
You have millions of cows
They make real cheese
Only five speak English Most are illegals
Everyone likes the ones with the big udders

Mannequin Fetish

I really don't have a lot to add to this article. I mean, no real biting social commentary, or interesting insight on this type of thing - I just thought this was funny as heck.

FERNDALE, Mich. — Ronald A. Dotson, 39, was arrested and jailed Oct. 9 after breaking a window at a cleaning-supply company to get at a mannequin in a black and white French maid's uniform, police said.

"Mr. Dotson went to prison and they haven't helped him," said his lawyer, Edward Cohn. "He got out of prison and he was right back out there. It's pretty bizarre."

Dotson had been out of prison for less than a week when he was caught. His erotic pursuit of mannequins over the past 13 years has led to at least six convictions for breaking and entering and a stint in prison, police said.

"He told his parole officer he was going to buy a mannequin so he didn't have to do these break-ins anymore," said Detective Brendan Moore said. "Apparently that didn't work out."

I wonder if he knows that they sell these things - I mean pick one up at a garage sale - they aren't that expensive. Perhaps what he really has is a breaking and entering fetish.

/rizzn

Letters to our Government: Part I

I've been writing a lot of letters to our government officials lately, as well as the local media. I've been getting a fair amount of response, as well, albeit not very personalized response.

Since I'm doing all this writing and no one is seeing it but some underpaid interns at the Federal level, I figured I'd repost my letters here to my blog in a series I'm calling "Letters to our Government." As my responses come in, I'll post them here as well.

An open letter to Senator John Cornyn (R-TX), Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX), Representative Louie Gohmert (R-TX 1st), East Texas Review, KETK (NBC-56), KFXK (Fox 51), KLTV (ABC-2), and the Tyler Morning Telegraph:

I want candidates to talk about Fiscal Issues: Cutting Taxes, Reducing Growth of Government. These are the issues that matter. Cutting taxes (dramatically or altogether) is the only thing that will encourage unfettered growth in American economy.

Likewise, reducing growth of government is similarly important. To me, this means ending the government's over site of a great many things. Too often, lately, in the name of Terrorism Management, the government has grown new agencies, laws and responsibilities (often of questionable constitutional nature) to oversee various aspects of American daily life.

We don't want a 'nanny state' - in fact, we don't need it. I understand that within the American populace there is a strong contingent of people who need someone to pamper them to ensure they continue to live. These are the people we continually see in the news because they spill coffee on themselves, or are being arrested on Cops, or are in the news because they got busted for robbing a convenience store for the twentieth time.

Just because these types of stories dominate our news cycles does not indicate that the majority of the populace is incapable of handling themselves, it is simply indicative that the minority of the populace makes for good entertainment and news-fodder. Please do not legislate the majority of us out of freedom because of a few screwballs.

/mark "rizzn" hopkins

Update - formula response from Louie Gohmert
October 18 in the Year of our Lord 2006

Mr. Mark Hopkins
517 W. Houston St.
Tyler, TX 75702-8055

Dear Mr. Hopkins,

Thank you for contacting me regarding your concerns with the current tax system. I appreciate having the benefit of your views on this issue.

I agree with you that the current federal tax system is unworkable and needs to be reformed. American citizens are over-taxed, not only measured in the amount of taxes that they pay, but also in the amount of time they spend complying with the tax code.

Over the years, the federal tax code has grown far too complex and open to abuse. The overwhelming majority of Americans want to pay their fair share toward the costs of government; however, this spirit has been undermined by decades of wasteful spending in Washington and a tax code that rewards creative avoidance of taxes. America has a growing, dynamic, and changing economy - but our tax code has not kept up with the times. The current tax code is full of special interest loopholes that cause America's taxpayers to spend more than six billion hours ! and billions of dollars every year on paperwork and other headaches. I believe our future economic prosperity demands a simpler, fairer, and most importantly, lower tax system. I look forward to working with the President to carry out his pledge of leading a bipartisan effort to reform and simplify the tax code.

With the President's leadership we will certainly make some timely changes that will benefit the taxpayers. We expect to get a vote before Congress by next year to reform our tax system. Please know that I will always have the interest of the taxpayer in mind.

Once again, thank you for contacting my office. I appreciate having the opportunity to serve you in the United States House of Representatives.

With kindest regards, I am

Very Truly Yours, Hon. Louie Gohmert

Do You Download Porn?

I was reading about the government and industries crackdown on Child Pornographers today. There's some real scary stuff in here, if you ever pay for pornography!

This from the USA Today:

As pedophiles swarm the Internet, an unprecedented war against child pornography is intensifying.

Internet service providers such as America Online are using sophisticated technology to identify porn sites. Credit card companies are tracking purchases. More police detectives are posing as minors online.

"We have hit the tipping point," says Michelle Collins, director of the child exploitation unit at the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. She says high-profile cases such as that of John Mark Karr, the former suspect in the JonBenét Ramsey slaying, have made the public realize that pornographic pictures of children are crime-scene photos. Karr was freed from a California jail this month after 5-year-old charges of possessing child porn were thrown out when police said that evidence had disappeared.

Credit card firms representing 87% of the U.S. market have formed a coalition to let police and the National Center know about porn sites their customers use. The aim: End the profit by 2008 by making arrests and closing pornographers' accounts.

Whoah. Okay. I understand we gotta get the bad men who touch the little ones in the bad spots. I'm a dad now, and I understand wantint to protect my children. Why does my internet purchase history need to be tracked by a government entity to make this happen?

Okay. Say you are an average joe most of your life. As an average joe, you've probably purchased a pr0n subscription or two because you got tired of looking at the stupid thumbnail galleries at some point or another, or you never discovered you can get full access to most pr0n sites by joining the webmaster program.

And then one day, down the road, you discover you want to run for political office! In today's day and age, we know it's still not kosher to have certain types of sexual proclivities, even if they're perfectly legal, if you're in government office (i.e. Foley). Suddenly, you remember, you once bought an all access subscription to MegaLoPr0nMart, a site that had your favorite big busty mature lesbian pr0n, but also had a shemale section.

Your record kept by the 'Center' is going to reflect that you had access to Barely Legal Teens, Busty Grannies, and Shemale Implosion or whatever. Try running for office now, sucker. The incumbent candidate is going to have a field day with his opposition research on you.

Five Internet service providers, criticized by such lawmakers as Democratic Rep. Bart Stupak of Michigan for not doing enough, announced they will build a database. The companies — AOL, Yahoo, Microsoft, Earthlink and United Online — will give each picture a signature and then scan their sites for matches.

As if you didn't have enough reason not to use these companies... further reason.

/mark

A Message from T. Evan Fisher

From T. Evan Fisher:

My opponent, Rep. Dan Branch has withdrawn from our debate six days beforehand and prevented the voters of our district from having a single chance to see their two candidates side by side, discussing the important issues that face Texas.

For information on how you can help, check out my latest blog entry.

Also, I am working with some supporters on an initiative to distribute fliers. Anyone interested in donating an hour or two fo their time will be reimbursed with heartfelt thanks and possibly lunch.

With the help of just a few people, we can make sure that this cowardly act does not go unnoticed by the media
and the voters of District 108! Respond and let me know that you are on my side and willing to help today!

I really can't add to this...

I understand that election time is when all the polemics and rhetoric are at their height, but really, is this all that necessary? This comes from Democratic Florida candidate for House Frank J. Gonzales:

People,

This is no longer the United States of America as we used to know it. This is NOT the "home of the free". Do not be surprised when government thugs abuse their authority. After all, once government abuse is authorized, as Bush has seen fit to do by eliminating Habeas Corpus, which dates back to 1215 in the Magna Carta, and which was codified in the Bill of Rights, they're not abusing authority anymore. They're just abusing you, and NO ONE will be there to help you.

This is what every apathetic American richly deserves, and what every partisan apparatchik has visited on our heads. This is a direct result of the "us vs. them" idiocy of the 2-party system, and much the reason why the founders of this country rejected political parties. They knew it would lead to the dumbing down and ridiculous oversimplification of economics, history and other important issues in exchange for "fast-food" mentalities of lazy people fed to them by opportunist politicians.

In Florida's District 21, the choice before you is clear: help me to win this race in District 21 to take the battle for our civil liberties to a shrill climax on Capitol Hill, or prepare for the irreversible downward spiral of this once great nation.

America has not lost it's writ of habeus corpus. If you're a terrorist, or a foreign national, you have. But then, if you were a terrorist or criminal foreign national, you never had American civil rights in the first place.

Granted, I don't agree with this policy, but I think it's counter-productive to hollar at the wind like this about it. Ever heard the story of the boy who cried wolf?

'Nuff said.

/rizzn

Senator John McCain Grows a Spine

I've never seen the Senator so angry! He took a stand! Check it out!

In a surprise attack, Sen. John McCain told Sen. Hillary Clinton yesterday it was her husband's fault - not the fault of President Bush - that North Korea may now have a nuclear bomb.

The blast from McCain may be the first shot between the two likely presidential contenders.

McCain (R-Ariz.) issued his statement yesterday after Sen. Clinton (D-N.Y.) noted that six years ago North Korea's Kim Jong Il had no nukes and called Bush's policies on North Korea a "failure." She said it "raises questions, serious questions about the Bush foreign policy."

"I would remind Sen. Clinton," McCain said, "that the framework agreement [with North Korea] of the Clinton administration was a failure."

Now THAT's newsworthy!

/rizzn

Stressed out!

I'm being pulled on from all angles this week. I'm going to be hard to get a hold of for the next four days or so.

Email is the best communication method.

Update: I am up at 4:32AM this morning still, and I just want everyone to know that I'm a badass coder. I've almost finished coding all the backend stuff and I didn't plan to have this stuff done until Friday. It's now Tuesday. This is what we in the coding business call ... badass.

One less pressure to worry about this week.

/rizzn

I Called It!

I knew this would happen. I called it. I am so the prognosticator!

Google to acquire YouTube for $1.65 billion in stock
Combination will create new opportunities for users and content owners everywhere

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., October 9, 2006 - Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) announced today that it has agreed to acquire YouTube, the consumer media company for people to watch and share original videos through a Web experience, for $1.65 billion in a stock-for-stock transaction.

Someone should pay me for this stuff.

/rizzn

Quote of the Entry:
I have come to believe that the whole world is an enigma, a harmless enigma that is made terrible by our own mad attempt to interpret it as though it had an underlying truth.
- Umberto Eco

Split Iraq in Three

This from Bill Crawford at NRO:

The prime minister has a long way to go, and Iraq’s parliament is expected to debate the issue of splitting Iraq into three independent zones in the coming weeks. The Sunnis have the most to lose from breaking Iraq up:

At the top of the agenda was the controversial issue of whether to allow Iraq’s provinces to merge into larger autonomous regions, a move which some Sunni Arab lawmakers fear could tear the country apart.

Other groups, however, strongly support a plan which would create virtually independent zones in the oil-rich Shi’ite south and Kurdish north, and leave Sunni Arabs economically isolated in the barren western desert.

As of this Sunday, debate on the federalism issue was suspended.

I think this is a great idea. Combining Iraq into one large country was only a plan implemented by the departing conquering Brits to destablize the region. Why we continue to try to keep together a country that was designed to fall apart is a little beyond me.

It's like we keep doing things to put it together, and like that childrens game where all the pieces fly out every 60 seconds, it blows up in our faces. Obviously, we need a radical new approach. This is the most sensible idea I've heard in ages, and I hope it passes.

/rizzn

Tags: iraq - split iraq in three - political

New Addition to the Oblong Box Network

Hey folks. I've had a crazy weekend - very mind-blowing. I can't talk about it till later this week, but I'll promise to give you the update once my lips are no longer sealed.

In news that I can talk about - We're expanding ModernOpinion.com ahead of schedule into a news blog with multiple writers. I intend to hire about 20 writers to blog there this weekend. If you want to get in ahead of the writer rush and be a contributor, let me know, otherwise I let the agency know on Monday, and start hauling in the writers.

/rizzn

Theivery: Activity or Crime?

My buddy Kevin, from MySpace, sent me an article today that made me ponder my position on the nature of some crimes. Read the summary of the original article here, and my comments afterward

136 stolen cars, 1 suspect: "He enjoyed driving"
He had fun, fun, fun -— until the police took his screwdriver away.

Until that happened, Seattle police say, 23-year-old Liam Moynihan had been on a one-man crime wave, stealing more cars than anyone in King County history. Armed with only a screwdriver and hammer, they say, he jimmied his way into at least 136 vehicles during a six-month joyride of epic proportions.

From last November until his arrest in May, Moynihan allegedly stole enough cars to stock a good-sized dealership, averaging one theft every 32 hours.

And unlike many car thieves, Moynihan didn't sell the stolen cars for parts, say detectives in Seattle's Major Crimes Task Force, which investigates car thefts. Instead, they say, Moynihan simply liked to drive, often taking a stolen car out for a spin for a few hours, sometimes until the gas tank ran dry, and then stealing another.

"He'd just drive around, deciding to go to Kenmore or Tukwila one day. He needed to get from Point A to Point B - he enjoyed driving," said the undercover detective who investigated the case. Police have requested the detective not be identified because of ongoing undercover work.

"He was a nice kid, very forthright, intelligent. But he knew how to do this certain thing, and he was good at it," the detective said.

Many of the cars were either stolen or recovered in the Ballard-Crown Hill area of Seattle, near where Moynihan lives. In some cases, the cars were recovered just blocks from where they were stolen.

Moynihan was charged Thursday in King County Superior Court with 25 counts of first-degree theft. Police think he actually stole 153 vehicles during that six-month period, and many more in his lifetime.

King County Prosecutor Norm Maleng said he planned to send a message to other car thieves by pursuing an exceptional sentence of 10 years for Moynihan. The maximum sentence range for the charges would normally be 3 ½ to 5 years. A jury would have to agree that the crime had aggravating factors to award the higher sentence.

Moynihan is being held in jail in lieu of $150,000 bail and is scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday.

Even if Moynihan is found guilty and sentenced to 10 years, he is eligible to have half that time shaved off for good behavior. "Those laws need to be reformed," Maleng said.

Okay. I look at this and think: "Is this really the type of criminal we need to put behind bars?" I mean, granted, this is a crime, and crime deserves punishment, but this is the sort of thing that we romanticize and make movies about as a culture: A smart fellow with a crazy girlfriend who is impressed by stolen cars. It's a life of adventure, romance, and action. Only the ending is slightly different from the movie: he goes to jail for 10 years, and recieves nothing but derision from the authorities.

Take Catch Me (If You Can) subject Frank Abignale. They made a movie about him, sent him to jail pending a trial, and then hired him at the FBI. Or take, for instance, the shoulda-been-a-James-Bond-movie The Thomas Crown Affair. This is the sort behaviorour we love as a country and a culture. Should we really discourage it and heavily penalize it like we did to this guy:

Map Thief Caught: Edward Forbes Smiley III was once one of the most respected dealers in antique maps in the country but that was all taken away from him after he was caught stealing maps from Yale University's rare-book library. Saddled with a need for extravagant living and rising debts, Smiley started stealing maps about 7 ½ years ago from some of the most prestigious libraries in the world including British Library, the New York and Boston public libraries, the Harvard and Yale university libraries and a Chicago library. In total he stole more than $3 million worth of maps. After being caught Smiley was facing 6 years in prison but after cooperating with federal authorities to retrieve most of the maps that he stole, the judge gave him leniency and lowered his sentence to just three and a half years along with a fine of $1.9 million in restitution for the theft of 98 maps.

I'm just saying. Let's not be hypocritical.

/rizzn

R.I.P. Dargo2 HulkHogan (2002-2006)

After fighting for two weeks with viral infections, Dargo2 of the HulkHogan Workgroup, located in Tyler, Texas was pronounced in a vegitative state, and the ethernet connection was removed from the network.

The machine remains on life support. Doctors Watson and Solomon made the pronouncement late Thursday afternoon.

"I loved that machine," user Mark "Rizzn" Hopkins was quoted as saying earlier that afternoon. "Old reliable is what I called him. I remember this one time, his CPU fan spun off and he kept running for five minutes without it! Quite a trooper!"

The machine was known for being remarkably stable for a Windows XP Pro machine, and routinely performed audio, video, and code editing tasks on a daily basis.

At the time of press, all pertinent data was being transferred off the machine to a temporary storage system until Dargo3 could take the workload of the original machine. Dargo3 is expected to be online some time late Saturday evening.

/rizzn

More Wedding Photos

 

Asset and Meeting Management

Reformatting my machine is leading me to the conclusion that I need to move more of my applications to Web 2.0 apps and online solutions. I've been using Google Calendar for my meeting and schedule management, and it's working decently, but I'm looking around for more all-inclusive apps and other interesting programs that will fill the need.

A program I found that's a bit more centric to the business world is this Scheduling Software from NetSimplicity. I took a look see at it, has a free trial - it's interesting and worth a look. I prefer my online apps to be free, ala Google, but if this software pans out to be good enough, might be worth the money.

/rizzn

Ha

So I just found out that I can get my mba online. I thought that was awesome. I was thinking about getting that or my masters in psychology. So I have these two options and what not and I am going to make my decision by the weekend and maybe start classes Monday or so. I think if n e of you want to go back to school then I would check out Capella University. Have a good one.

[this post contains a paid placement.]

A Discussion about Malkin

5:39 PM smokehouse: duuuuuude

me: sup?

smokehouse: watch hotair if you havent seen it yet

me: haven't

5:40 PM smokehouse: well, we conservatives are now considered "inappropriate" in the eyes of youtube

Malkin's group got flagged

5:41 PM me: hrm

why?

what's the given reason?

smokehouse: dome anti jihadi video she posted, or something. just watch the hotair thing

5:42 PM its San Fran...do you need a better reason?

me: i mean wha'ts the reason youtube is giving?

5:43 PM smokehouse: vilolation of terms of service...you know, standard you cant post that crap

they just sent her the form letter, she cant get a response

the majority of her posting are Fox clips

5:44 PM she's SUCH a hatemonger

me: ah

well

law's law

gotta produce original content

or ascribe to fair use

smokehouse: no dude. you need to watch it. you're missing the point

5:45 PM me: if she's using things outside fair use rules, then shit happens

it's not just her

smokehouse: thats not what its about though

me: i've had stuff canned over fair use before

what's it about?

smokehouse: watch the video. you've got 3 minutes

or whatever it is

me: url?

5:46 PM smokehouse: www.hotair.com

5:50 PM me: One, it's not YouTube that flagged her group as inappropriate.

and Two, if she posted copywritten material, and someone brought that to the attention of YouTube management, they are bound to take it down.

Three, there are tons of video sites out there with less stringent copyright policies. Choose one, and quit complaining.

5:51 PM or Four, host the video on your own domain. Bandwidth is cheap.

Whenever you publish video to someone else's site, you are subject to their whims

it's fully within YouTube's rights to censor content as they see fit.

smokehouse: oh so you think its okay that anti bush vids can be posted and anti jihad ones cant?

5:52 PM me: yep

If I had a viral video site, and I chose an arbitrary editorial policy, it's my perogative to enforce it as I see fit.

My web site, my rules.

5:53 PM smokehouse: that is true, I just dont see it as proper. I suppose it irritates me how gi snuff videos are appropriate and anti jihad ones arent

5:54 PM just kinda sick

me: This is the same thing I was addressing with the Libertarians in Broward, when they were talking about censorship on these internet sites re: video being suppressed and history being re-written.

Keep in mind YouTube is virtually a big nine.

5:55 PM They are invested in by major media conglomorates.

Same for iFilm.

Google Video, to a certain extent, has similar problems.

5:56 PM Mostly because they are a high profile company and will be forced to take things down because of copyright violations.

smokehouse: just reeks of hipocrisy, if you ask me. Freedom of speech only counts if it passes a liberal litmus test, these days

5:57 PM me: True... but we still have freedom of speech.

for 100 bucks a month, Malkin could publish her videos from her own website.

5:58 PM She chose to go into someone elses community because it was free video hosting, and it might help the viral nature of her videos. She wanted to partake in YouTubes free service, but when you play in someone elses sandbox, you have to live by their rules.

smokehouse: agreed. I'm just saying. and as far as copyright, maybe I didnt give a good example she's nsver been flagged for copyright. she got flagged for message hell, if they enforced copyright, youtube would be gone

me: And they may be arbitrary and capricious.

5:59 PM smokehouse: and she does post them to her own site usually

me: They do enforce copyright when the copyright holders complain

smokehouse: everybody uses youtube tho...its a people grab

me: when you're michelle malkin, you've got a high enough viewership for copyright holders to know about it

smokehouse: as far as I know, she's never been busted for copyright

me: And the provision she read on the show allowed for 'legal violations'

smokehouse: and really, I dont think FNC cares

6:00 PM me: which could cover copyright.

smokehouse: she works for them :)

me: True.

But Fox has been on a rampage lately removing their content from the video sites.

the major ones anyway.

Google and YouTube mostly.

smokehouse: true. but like i said, I got off on the wrong foot. this really wasnt about copyright

6:01 PM I just mentioned it because there are a bazillion fox vids on there

me: But it's likely the technicality they'll hinge this thing on with her.

smokehouse: not just hers

the video that was pulled...she made

6:02 PM so I dnt see how that'll work

me: True, but was she the originator for all the video and images she used?

smokehouse: dont know, I never saw it

6:03 PM but I'm willing to bet she has grasp of "fair use"

me: Honesltly, she should vote with her community, instead of raising a stink.

move to a different hosting site.

smokehouse: she's been around the block

me: Why fight a battle like this.

smokehouse: I dont thinkmits about actually winning a battle

6:04 PM I think she's just pointing out hipocrisy

will she win? of course not. she knows that

but she can draw attention to lopsided practices

6:05 PM me: But she's framing it in a debate.

It's a poor move, and she ultimately doesn't hold the winning hand.

Say, You suck YouTube, I'm leaving.

Not, Explain why you did this, when they have no obligation to do so.

6:07 PM smokehouse: its not necessarily about obligation. its like I told you...she's making a point.

if she didnt violate the TOS as it is written (I honestly dont remember if I saw the vid or not)

me: Well, she's making it poorly.

Wrong approach.

6:08 PM I will agree that she looks good doing it though.

smokehouse: she draws attention man.

like I said, win or lose, people will know about it

6:09 PM and sometimes thats the best you can do

me: It's not like she'd have a problem making it known.

All she'd have to do is say, YouTube Sucks, here's why, I'm moving.

then talk about it on her next FNC or Bill MAher appearance.

6:10 PM It's not like she's going to change the opinions of the management at YouTube.

or the users who flagged her group.

smokehouse: well no..but it is a way to inform people who are less astute than say you or I

me: Quite honestly, it sounds like some mildly popular liberal forum people or liberal bloggers had it';s readers/posters go to YouTube and flood the group with flags until it got flagged.

6:11 PM smokehouse: most people arent as entrenched in this crap as we are

me: True.

smokehouse: we arent the target

You and I know this crap goes on

6:12 PM its the same reason we blog, dude

when I write stuff, I dont write it for you. I know YOU know

just like you know I know

we throw it out there for those who dont, or dont have the time for it that we do

6:13 PM I mean sure, I'll discuss my stuff with you, but you arent my target

same thing with this

me: I gotcha.

6:14 PM I know. I suppose I just disagree with her approach.

Late Night; Productive Night

I've been up late working on the major Oblong Box site redesigns.

The upside is after extensive testing, we'll now be able to completely deviate our web designs from each other, and still maintain branding. That is to say, there will be a persistent navbar on top of everyone's web page, but it will not detract from the overall design, and still maintain continuity between everyone's pages.

The downside is that while I have the mockup and the concept work done, it's going to take several more days of development to get this project done.

To go into more boring detail that no one will probably care about besides me: The navbar will allow for editors to maintain payment information for the different writers, auto-update the blogs for those that insist on updating their MySpace blogs, but not their dot-com blogs (you know who you are!), as well as possibly in the future allowing the writers themselves to look at their balances and see how much money they have coming to them.

These things will take a while to develop, but as soon as they are done (and I really am predicting a matter of days here, not weeks), things are going to start looking up for the network aesthetically.

On the finance side of things, several of our writers were just accepted to the tier two PR placement program, so we'll start seeing a lot more money going out to writers... and Wendy will be likely be doing a lot more typing!

All of these are good signs, because it means the network is finally making enough money for me to focus on developing it full-time. I was worried for a while that it would continue a sort of back-burner status for a few more months, what with me having to focus on paying gigs all the time. But patience of the current writers has won out, and we've got something we can actually work with here. We've started to tear through the threshhold of obscurity into something that will be noticed very shortly.

Additionally, I'd like to mention that I appreciate every writer's continued work through these lean times, and I especially want to send out some major kudos to Wendy, who has labored very long for not a lot on the promise that this is going to go somewhere. Everyone send a note of thanks to your tireless assistant editor. She deserves it.

/rizzn

Finkel-Mart

News from the Finkel-Front (a conversation I had with Michael Finkelstein this afternoon):

Unclespam21: i mean he is already working like crazy
RznDoUrdn: i hear he's doing well with that.
Unclespam21: ya
Unclespam21: lol
Unclespam21: now he is sueing wallmart
RznDoUrdn: haha
RznDoUrdn: what for?
Unclespam21: he triped over some machine that wasnt supposed to be in the store or soemthing
RznDoUrdn: lol
Unclespam21: i havent been able to talk to him
RznDoUrdn: he's ok, right?
Unclespam21: but im preaty sure it will be called finkle mart soon
Unclespam21: ya
RznDoUrdn: HAHA
RznDoUrdn: awesome
Unclespam21: liek aparantly blood from his head
Unclespam21: but nothing deadly
Unclespam21: or un-healable

Another Short Wedding Related Note

Just a quick note to say that if you subscribe to my RSS feed, you can look for my Wedding Photos in there via my Flickr Feed.

And expect more wedding gushiness for a while. I'm lovin' it.

/rizzn