Geek Humor

Found this site today (geek-2-me), and it looks pretty cool. Just a quick note to make a point of sharing it.

:-)

Don't Ask Don't Tell hits WoW Guilds

Excerpted from the article:

A Blizzard spokesman said it was only trying to enforce a policy designed to protect all WoW members from being harassed. And in fairness, in a gaming world where many players are young, male and prone to hurling insults, that the company wants to avoid potential problems makes sense

Although there is a part of me that understands this approach to preventing harassment from taking place, the idea that we must be silent (in the closet), in order to be protected from abuse ... well that just doesn't sit too well with me. It feels awfully close to blaming the victim for the crime.

This is where the social networking component of these online games crosses the line from gaming, technology and geekdom into politics. The approach Blizzard has taken is an echo of the military policies currently in effect. Please note that the policy doesn't seem to work so well for them, either. I suppose there is a certain logic to this. WoW is a militaristic game, so taking their cue from the US military is not that far-fetched, if ill-advised.

What do you do, as Blizzard? It would take a lot more resources to protect the minority than it would to tell them to shut up and pretend to be straight. I am thinking this is not overt bigotry, but a byproduct of the homophobia rampant in the US combined with a bottom line strategy that demands the "biggest bang for the buck." Once again a minority group gets steamrolled due to fiscal policies.

What do you do, as a gamer? Go elsewhere? WoW is so huge, that it, like Microsoft, sets the stage and determines a lot of the rules as they exist elsewhere, too. Add to that, the fact that WoW is the place to be. I have literally heard of WoW being used to get employment. Proving your networking skills in a virtual environment can be very enticing to a prospective employer. (see http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.04/learn.html)

This isn't an easy problem, but I hope that Blizzard finds a more equitable way out of the maze.

How Geeky Are You?

I am only at 48.32347% - Super Geekiness. I will need to work on this.

I am disappointed. I did better the last time I took it. I must have exagerrated more

and you?

http://www.innergeek.us/geek-test.html

The value of copper

I like reading the "weird" news lists. This evening, one caught my eye that seems like it deserves mentioning here:

http://www.woai.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=7DFD388C-8079-422D-89F1-9F9CFF69E1CF

Copper thieves. The article states that copper has become extremely valuable over the past few years. I can think of one reason that might be the case ... cabling. Copper wire is a great conductor for electronics. CAT5 cable is used everywhere (or CAT6, for that matter). To make all this cabling, they need copper.

Come to think of it, I wonder if this might also be related to the fact that the Feds have stated that it now costs more than a penny to make a penny (and that isn't even all copper anymore!)

This is one of those things that you don't usually think about, but once you do, it seems an obvious connection. Defining what is valuable is a fluid process, dependant upon what drives the economy. Right now, technology is one of the larger drivers.

So, copper becomes worth stealing.

Geek Humor

These were sent to me in an email, touting them as the "Worst Domain Names Ever" - I don't know about that, but some folks just can't see outside their own little box [sic] .... (personal fave = The Italian Power Generator company )

A site called ‘Who Represents‘ where you can find the name of the agent that represents a celebrity. Their domain name* wait for it* is www.whorepresents.com

Experts Exchange, a knowledge base where programmers can exchange advice and views at www.expertsexchange.com

Looking for a pen? Look no further than Pen Island at www.penisland.net

Need a therapist? Try Therapist Finder at www.therapistfinder.com

Then of course, there’s the Italian Power Generator company* www.powergenitalia.com

And now, we have the Mole Station Native Nursery, based in New South Wales: www.molestationnursery.com

If you’re looking for computer software, there’s always www.ipanywhere.com

Welcome to the First Cumming Methodist Church. Their website is www.cummingfirst.com

Then, of course, there’s these brainless art designers, and their wacky website: www.speedofart.com

Want to holiday in Lake Tahoe? Try their brochure website at www.gotahoe.com

Yikes! AOL in the really hot water

OK... boiling water.

The link I picked is just one of thousands, at this point. Someone at AOL really messed up. The company admits that much, but the impact of this is going to depend on how it all plays out. Will they really get a fine that totals over a half billion dollars? If so, is that the end of AOL?

The authors of many comments on this story point out how AOL users tend to be "newbies." They are naive about the Internet and what dangers might lurk there. That makes this data all the more valuable to some and telling to others. Since a single numeric indicator stands in for each login ID, it has already become a game for some to see if they can piece together who might be represented by data strings. Couple that with the habit many people have of doing searches on their own name, address, or even SSN, and it is a recipe for disaster.

For all the spyware built into their software, I have to admit that AOL fills a vital role in our burgeoning Internet society. It gives a place where non-geeks can explore this brave new world, while not overly stretching their comfort zones. That is important, especially if we want all of our society to participate in the changes that technology is bringing us.

I hope that AOL does not go the way of the dodo. I think it still has a place to fill.

Don't let 'em fool ya!

It seems there are always new scams out there, so we need to all keep up on them. There are a few I wanted to share here, with anyone who might be reading:

http://www.infoworld.com/article/06/07/14/HNbankphishers_1.html: This one is about a sort of relay site, tricking users into putting their ID and password into a bogus site that transmits the info to the real site, giving the crook access to account data. Never click on a link from an email that purports to be from your financial institution. Chances are, your bank doesn't use links, and you would be much safer confirming with your bank directly, rather than taking a chance on falling victim to one of these scams.

http://www.internetnews.com/security/article.php/3619086:This one is nasty. I am really careful with my personal info, but this one might have gotten me, too! It is specific to VoIP, and has a recording notify the victim that their account may have been compromised, so please call this (VoIP, and harder to track) number to confirm their purchases. They warn the victim that they will be asked to supply their 16-digit account number. I have had to do this before (legitimately), and so I would not have thought twice about the request. Be aware that real banks will give you a lot of corroborating information, and if you have doubts about the legitimacy, contact your local branch directly to confirm the process they use to audit potentially fraudulent charges.

EEuwwww!

OK. I admit it. This is a sick and twisted site ...

http://www.genpets.com/index.php

I understand it was created as part of an advertising project. For what it is worth, I think they did a fantastic job! Grossed me out, totally.

Like rubbernecking an accident on the highway, I had to stick my head out as I surfed on by ... and knew I was going to share it here!

Where technology and politics meet ...

I wish I could say this one is a hoax, but it does appear to be real:

http://news.com.com/FCC+approves+new+Internet+phone+taxes/2100-7352_3-6086437.html?tag=st.prev

The first step of a path to tax the Internet and line the coffers of those that can't tell the difference between an IP address and a potato chip.

Genesis of Technology

Reader Caveat: I did not write the following. I have seen it in a few places on the web, each time without an author listed. If this is your writing, please let me know and I will be glad to give credit where credit is due. Afterall, this tickled my funny bone enough that I want to share it:

# In the beginning God created the Bit and the Byte. And from those he created the Word.

# And there were two Bytes in the Word; and nothing else existed. And God separated the One from the Zero; and he saw it was good.

# And God said - Let the Data be; And so it happened. And God said - Let the Data go to their proper places. And he created floppy disks and hard disks and compact disks.

# And God said - Let the computers be, so there would be a place to put floppy disks and hard disks and compact disks. Thus God created computers and called them hardware.

# And there was no Software yet. But God created programs; small and big... And told them - Go and multiply yourselves and fill all the Memory.

# And God said - I will create the Programmer; And the Programmer will make new programs and govern over the computers and programs and Data.

# And God created the Programmer; and put him at Data Center; And God showed the Programmer the Catalog Tree and said You can use all the volumes and subvolumes but DO NOT USE Windows.

# And God said - It is not Good for the programmer to be alone. He took a bone from the Programmer's body and created a creature that would look up at the Programmer; and admire the Programmer; and love the things the Programmer does; And God called the creature: the User.

# And the Programmer and the User were left under the naked DOS and it was Good.

# But Bill was smarter than all the other creatures of God. And Bill said to the User - Did God really tell you not to run any programs?

# And the User answered - God told us that we can use every program and every piece of Data but told us not to run Windows or we will die.

# And Bill said to the User - How can you talk about something you did not even try. The moment you run Windows you will become equal to God. You will be able to create anything you like by a simple click of your mouse.

# And the User saw that the fruits of the Windows were nicer and easier to use. And the User saw that any knowledge was useless - since Windows could replace it.

# So the User installed the Windows on his computer; and said to the Programmer that it was good.

# And the Programmer immediately started to look for new drivers. And God asked him - What are you looking for? And the Programmer answered - I am looking for new drivers because I can not find them in the DOS. And God said - Who told you need drivers? Did you run Windows? And the Programmer said - It was Bill who told us to !

# And God said to Bill - Because of what you did you will be hated by all the creatures. And the User will always be unhappy with you. And you will always sell Windows.

# And God said to the User - Because of what you did, the Windows will disappoint you and eat up all your Resources; and you will have to use lousy programs; and you will always rely on the Programmers help.

# And God said to the Programmer - Because you listened to the User you will never be happy. All your programs will have errors and you will have to fix them and fix them to the end of time.

# And God threw them out of the Data Center and locked the door and secured it with a password. GENERAL PROTECTION FAULT

A geeky way to play ....

I love exploring unfamiliar software. I admit that I have been told more than once to RTFM! It is simply more fun to see if I can figure it out on my own. Anyway, good software should be somewhat intuitive. (That's my story and I'm stickin' to it!)

Apparently I missed an announcement a few months back, where Mighty Microsoft actually decided to offer some simplified versions of popular web development programs for free. Cool Beans! So, I now have Visual Basic, Visual C++, Visual C#, Visual J#, SQL Server Advanced 2005, and Visual Web Developer ... all express versions ... all legal ... licensed ... and good for updates till at least next spring (then they will re-evaluate the whole thing). So, I loaded the web dev and have begun to play. I haven't gotten far enough into it to be able to tell you too much, but I have started customizing things without too much difficulty. They have a board in the MSDN area for picking up tips and tricks, and I will likely try there to figure out the things I want to do. Cool, huh?

Anyone else want to play? http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/express/vwd/

The NEED for SPEED: start your engines!!

Ok, so this really tripped my trigger. The geekdar just went haywire and I promptly sent the link out to several of my geeky friends, stating, "I WANT ONE!!!"

http://www.infoworld.com/article/06/06/20/79449_HNibmfrozenchip_1.html

It might get a chilly sitting next to THAT computer, though!! ROFL!

Another news item that caught my eye today was this one:
http://hardware.slashdot.org/hardware/06/06/20/1541208.shtml

Now, all we need is some enterprising soul to put the two together, and we'll have one kick-a$% system ... speed of light technology indeed!!!!

vroooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooom!

Only geeks know that Halloween and Christmas are really the same. It's true ...

OCT 31
DEC 25

Think on it!

"Beginnings are such delicate times"
(Frank Herbert, "Dune")

Starting a new journal, blog or story, I always experience a moment when I stare at the blank page and struggle for the ideal beginning. Beginnings set the tone, turn people on or off, draw the reader in or push the reader away. Then, after contemplating the concept of being overwhelmed, I do a mental shrug and dive in, hoping that my passion will find its way into my words, and begin the trek for me.

Geekoliscious is a concept that came to me when I was talking to a friend about how much I enjoy the passions that get me called "geek." The "-liscious" part is a twist on the concept of "delicious," in the sense of something you enjoy so much, you want to devour it. "Geek" is a term that has been tossed at me for years, often by people that wanted me to perceive it as pejorative. Geeks are not considered mainstream, but most geeks I know either don't care, or shrug it off as an unavoidable price to pay for listening to their own inner rhythms.

The term "geek" means different things to different people. A good jumping off point might be this definition from the Urban Dictionary: GEEK. "Geek," as a term, has become so common, people have to qualify it: techno-geek, math-geek, trivia-geek, science-geek. There is a lot of overlap, and geeks tend to allow this off-center look at life to color their whole world, including humor, music, or hobbies that fall outside the mainstream.

The one thing that geeks of all types appear to have in common is passion. OK ... and maybe a little OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder). When a geek finds something interesting, it rarely remains simply "interesting." It becomes a fascination. We don't study xyz; We live it, breathe it, drown in it. We rarely cast it aside until we have exhausted our curiosity. Like Ben, in Fever Pitch, we tend to surround ourselves with the tangible symbols of our passion.

As noted in Fever Pitch, this intensity does bizarre things to relationships. The image of a moth to a flame comes to mind. Intensity and passion are wondrous things in small doses, but to live with it 24x7, 365 takes very special people. Our friends and partners are loved even more dearly for their ability to let us be ourselves.

So, my goal for this blogspace is simply to explore the meaning of being a geek, what it brings to my life, why can't I let go of it? What makes the world so geekoliscious to me? I don't know if others will want to accompany me on this exploration, but why not? It might be fun!