Observations of a life in chaos…

That will bury Microsoft.

So today I installed some updates on a laptop at the office, one of which being the “Windows Genuine Software Fucker.” It rebooted with a STOP error (BSOD) AKA really fucking annoying and no real easy way to fix error.

So I reboot into “Last Known Good Configuration” and get nothing.

I reboot into Safe Mode… Same thing, BSOD.

So I reboot again, and proceed with the Repair Install from the XP Professional CD. That goes smooth until it finally boots.

I need to re-activate the system. Same computer, same copy of Windows, same license key, NEEDS TO BE FUCKING ACTIVATED. Now I don’t know why they even bother offering the opportunity to type it back in.

I typed the key in right, I’ll need to call them, go through the goddamned auto attendant who tells me that I need to talk to an Indian who speaks broken English and asks me 10 times why I reinstalled the software hoping that I’ll slip up and they can catch a vile, dirty, software pirate.

So I get through ALL THAT SHIT, sit on hold for TEN FUCKING MINUTES, only to have the part-time deli clerk on the other end of the phone tell me that their system is down and I should call back in an hour.

I CAN DOWNLOAD PROGRAMS ON THE INTERNET WHICH WILL DO IT. Of course, most are now paired up with spyware likely done so that Bill Gates can get a chuckle at the New World Bureaucracy he has created. ASSHOLE.

So again I call back, go through the auto attendant, get the human on the phone who asks me idiotic questions like ‘how many other systems have this exact copy.’ ARE PEOPLE REALLY THIS STUPID? Gee, my whole network uses the same copy. Right. Fucking morons. The fact they have the audacity to ask me such a thing after all the money EVERYONE has invested in their lack of options software is bullshit.

So I’m taking a shower earlier before I head out, and there’s a friggin bug on the ceiling. I step out, grab some TP, and head back to squish the bug. I get one foot in, no sooner is my 2nd foot in than I lose grip, my legs go out from under me, I fall, catch the rim of the tub with my left tricep, flip out onto the floor and slide across it on my back like a damned hockey puck, smacking my head into the toilet bowl.

My arm is friggin killing me, but I suppose it could have been worse.

Of all the things that could go through my mind as I slid across the floor… I suddenly wondered why I never invested the whopping $2 on one of those grippy pads for the tub.

Identity theft is a big problem these days, so when I started reading through a MySpace bulletin which on the surface creates some pretty nifty names, I quickly realized that whoever wrote it originally did it to troll for identities. Think I’m full of shit? Check it out:

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (middle name and current street name)
*Now they know the street you live on.

2. YOUR MOVIE STAR NAME: (grandfather/grandmother on your dad’s side, your favorite candy)
*Nothing to lose here…

3. YOUR “FLY GIRL/GUY” NAME: (first initial of first name, first two or three letters of your last name)
*Nothing major here…

4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite animal, favorite color)
*Common security question on some websites when you lose your password is: What is your favorite color? What is your favorite animal?

5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you live)
*Now I know the street you live on, and the city/town you live in. Goodbye anonymity.

6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (first 3 letters of your last name, last 3 letters of mother’s maiden name, first 3 letters of your pet’s name)
*Nothing major here, unless you use your pets name for a password somewhere, or to recover a lost password…

7. JEDI NAME: (middle name spelled backwards, your mom’s maiden name spelled backward)
*Ever use online banking or credit? Mother’s maiden name is an easy way to recover a password, add on the address and city and you can even change an email address.

8. PORN STAR NAME: (favorite pet name, street you grew up on)
*No big deal again unless you use a pets name for a password (very common) or still live on the street you grew up on.

9. SUPERHERO NAME: (“The”, your favorite color, the automobile your parents drive)
Again, favorite color.

Doesn’t seem like a big deal to most people, I’m sure. But realize that by using these results as well as information culled from the original poster’s Myspace profile… I now know her name, where she lives, her mother’s maiden name, her favorite color, and her pet’s name. Those are all used every single day in e-commerce to steal identities.

Think twice before you fill one of these out folks, ANYONE can see it.

So I’m watching tv this morning and catch this very anal add for Midas. I mean it almost had the feel of your average “buy this pill and all your ills will be cured, side effects are death” commercial. So we get to the end of this ad, and there’s this lanky pale teenager with shoulder length hair, standing next to a car with the wheel off who sings “Trust the Midas touch.” Makes no sense to me. Not to mention someone that young shouldn’t be in the shop, and if he works there shouldn’t be wearing his hair down. So that tells me Midas doesn’t supervise their shops right and I shouldn’t be suprised when some lanky putz doing a brake job gets his hair caught in an air ratchet and paints my car with scalp bits.

Oh wait, I do my own brakes.

While I wouldn’t expect Father Joe to run out in the streets to riot at the release of Da Vinci Code ala the Muslim rage at the cartoon depictions of Muhammed, the blind willingness to supress dissent and mislead is typical of modern religion and one of the main reasons I haven’t been to Church since I turned 18 and got some free will.

While I’ve lost faith in my elected leaders, I’m still a Conservative at heart and as such one of my frequent reads is National Review Online. One of the pundits had a commentary on their experience watching the Da Vinci Code and in a few words… it’s the Anti Christ.

Mind you, this elitist moron started out the article by bragging that he hadn’t even read the book, that he gave up for a bunch of knee jerk reasons I’d expect of the bleeding heart elite. After all, why attempt to logically discuss a point of view when you can shout it down and mislead your readers?

If the Da Vinci Code is anti anything, it’s anti Church. The modern church is nothing more than an overloaded topheavy bureaucracy attempting to push their own view of Christianity on the people of the world. Religion is an essential part of the proper moral upbringing of any human being, that said, you don’t need a church to practice religion. Ask the tree hugging Wiccans and Pagans, they’ve got along just fine without having to molest children or collect a tax known as a ‘tithe’ so you get to visit God when you die.

Some people have unquestionable faith in their religion, and immediately decry any attempt to discuss an alternate view of the faith. For whatever reason they cling to these beliefs as if their very lives and existence depend on it, ravenously destroying any dissent…. and then there are Muslim Extremists which save us the trouble of hearing them whine by blowing themselves up.

I have faith, I believe in God, as I was created in His image, I say GO SEE THE DAMNED MOVIE. I highly doubt that when you meet St.Peter, seeing a Tom Hanks film is going to send you on your way to see Lucifer.

That, and if you feel like eating a hamburger on Friday during Lent, make sure you get some bacon on it, alright? If you’re on your way to Hell might as well enjoy it.

Hate at the Movies

I don’t know about you, but I found the book entertaining. Whether or not Jesus had a wife, I really couldn’t care less. Doesn’t change how I feel about my God or Jesus. Some people just need to take a fucking pill.

This is the last time I’ll wait.
I forced my self here.
Listened to all I can take.
(I try and wash it away.)
I still remember the fallout that can’t be erased.
(Bite my tongue now.)
I can’t believe all the ways that you hold me I break.

This is the world that you burn.
This is the life that you waste.
How does it feel on your own, now that you’re pushing me away?

Cast out the storm in my head I’ve tripped and fell in, caught in my conscience again.
(I try to push it away)
In case you forget I’ll boldly just let it all fade.
(search the silence)
I can’t believe all the lies that you tell me I break.

This is the world that you burn.
This is the life that you waste.
How does it feel on your own, now that you’re pushing me away?
away
away
away

(This is the world that you burn.) You’re pushing me away.
(These are the lives you waste.) You’re pushing me away.
(How does it feel?) I still remember the fallout.
(How does it feel?) I can’t believe all the ways that you break.

This is the world that you burn.
This is the life that you waste.
How does it feel on your own, now that you’re pushing me away?

This is the world that you burn.
(I can’t believe all the ways that you hold me I break.)
This is the life that you waste.
How does it feel on your own, (I can’t believe all the lies that you tell me I break.) now that you’re pushing me away?
away
away
I can’t believe all the ways that I break.

Listening to the radio on the way home yesterday, I heard Mayor Mike Bloomberg say that the solution to the energy problem is for Americans to use less energy.

We, the greatest, most powerful nation on the planet needs to… use less?

Sure, that sounds great to Liberals and environmentalist weenies who see the world through rose colored glasses… but realistically we need to accept the fact that the population of this planet is only going to rise and we must make plans now to accomodate that growth.

Neither Republicans or Democrats have any solution beyond catering to their flock enough to steal another vote. I know this because neither side is doing a damned thing to:

• Increase domestic drilling…
• Increase domestic refining…
• Increase the use of alternative sources such as Ethanol, fuel cell, or biodiesel technology…
• Cut or eliminate taxes on energy and energy production…

Any one of those would have a direct effect on the price of energy, put more money into our pockets, and possibly make it so we can enjoy driving just to drive again… for decades to come.

Instead we have idiot politicians voting to ‘cap the fuel tax’ instead of eliminate it, or suggest that we use less energy, or propose taxing the profits of oil companies. None of that will do anything to significantly lower the cost of energy. That momentary thrill of sticking it to big oil will be rapidly lost when the cost of those taxes are immediately passed on to you and I.

Better dust off the skateboards folks, because if nothing is done you won’t be able to afford a drive to the town hall, city hall, or state capital to voice your opinion… Maybe that was the goal all along?

When Chris was voted off I started hearing rumors that he was offered a gig with the band Fuel. His wikipedia entry had mention of it, and a ‘friend in the industry’ confirmed it for me yesterday. Last night on Extra! on NBC, the offer was officially made, and today the news is a buzz with the story.

My only question is… What happens to Absent Element? Although I like Fuel, and to see where Chris could go with that band would be exciting… Normally an established band isn’t so open to the songwriting skills of a newcomer. I absolutely love the lyrics of AE, so whatever route the guy takes, I hope he uses a pen & paper as much as his voice.

Chris Daughtry Gets Job Offer From Fuel – Thanks to Derek for the link.
Chris Daughtry’s Wikipedia

So last night I was as shocked as anyone, not nearly as shocked as the contestants of American Idol when Chris Daughtry was voted off. I won’t lie, it fucking pissed me off. I look at the performances of everyone and saw a guy who was a world ahead of the rest. Every performance was radio worthy. Every performance was original and unique. Ever performance refused to compromise and was the antithesis of pop.

There, I said it. Chris Daughtry wasn’t Pop enough for Idol and God bless him for that.

So I did some digging today and discovered that vocal gymnastics are nothing new to Daughtry, in fact he’s been the lead singer and guitarist for a band called Absent Element.

Of course, you wouldn’t know that because despite the fact they are his band, and played with him before the American Idol train came calling… They can’t use his full name on the website, nor even show a picture of him. The decision makers of Idol have turned Chris into a commodity where only the highest bidder can benefit for the duration of his contract, music be damned!

That said, take a few minutes and check out http://www.absentelement.com/ or http://www.myspace.com/absentelement/ to see just what our man Chris is really capable of. I already bought the album and a t-shirt.

Broke my heart to see the guy torn down like that on TV, he sure as hell didn’t deserve it, and the tools who are still in the game don’t deserve to be there nearly as much as he does. That said, he’s got bigger and better places to go, and I’m sure once he’s free of the shackles of American Idol he’ll be dominating the charts much to the chagrin of the high and mighty music industry. Once the industry realized they could sell records without talent, we all got kicked off the show.

Best of luck, dude.

All I can say after tonight is that American Idol is fixed. Some folks may have believed it already, now I do. There’s no way in HELL that Chris Daughtry got the least number of votes. I’ll surmise he got the most number of votes, but simply wasn’t ‘Pop’ enough for the elitist morons running the show. Mark my words, that guy is going platinum because none of the 3 that remain could ever release a record worth listening to. I’m officially done with that fucking show, it’s an absolute joke.

Take away the gray hair and wacky dancing, Taylor’s a Karaoke singer. Can belt some notes out, but won’t sell a record to anyone under 40. Catherine’s a doll, but she barely has a pop voice. Don’t even get me started on the identity crisis that is Eliot. Proof positive that in the end talent has nothing to do with that joke of a show.

Still looking forward to Daughtry cutting an album, I have very little doubt that there will be some industry assholes owing him an engraved apology in the very near future.

Good luck Chris, show must go on man, so take what you’ve accomplished and just fucking tear shit up.