It's a worm eat worm world...

It's a funny thing, really. Someone has written a worm virus that infects PC's infected with the Sasser worm - because of a vulnerability in the Sasser worm itself. But it's not a NEW thing - DoomJuice and DeadHat infected PC's that had the MyDoom worm, however, they didn't gain entry to PC's because of a vulnerability inside MyDoom. That's the new wrinkle to this game. It's just the way of the virus writing community, I guess. As always, run those anti-virus programs, people!
A update on the (alledged) writer of the Sasser worm. Sven J. is his name, and he has told authorities that (get this) he was trying to create an ANTI-virus. Seriously. He says that he came up with Netsky to get rid of the Bagle worm - which the Netsky-A variant does do. Of course, that's not all it does... Anyway, looks like he'll probably avoid jail time. Good for him, I guess.
I have recently had a bad time with a spyware infection - no less than 8 different lame sidesearch, optimizer, and browser enhancer programs just appeared out of nowhere on my Add/Remove Programs list! No idea how these got there, but with help from Ad-Aware 6 and SpyBot 1.3, I got rid of them (I hope...) - but man, was that a pain in the ass! I've never had a big problem with spyware before, and I really hope to never have one again.

Handheld gaming news from E3

This is pretty cool - I'm a big video game fan, have been since the days of the Atari 2600 (I'm an Old School Gamer). The handheld game market, which has been owned forever by Nintendo, is about to get quite the shakeup. At E3 (The Electronic Entertainment Expo) Sony officially unveiled their new handheld, the PSP. And Nintendo has officially unveiled their replacement for the GameBoy Advance, the Nintendo DS. More info HERE. That Sony PSP sounds awesome - wireless connectivity, and it's a music player and will play movies too? Crazy. I'm quite the collector of game and PC hardware, and I will be getting both of these - maybe not immediately (depending on how expensive they will be), but as soon as I possibly can.

Oh - for a little bit of Flash weirdness, check out Cramato.com. This is really funny if you're familiar with the song that plays during the animation - "Psycho" by System Of A Down. Still pretty darn funny if you don't know the song though.

A new piece of Mindless Fun

Thanks to the Link of The Day on Userfriendly.org I have discovered a new website to spend hours doing absolutely nothing useful at - and having a great time doing it! Go right now to The Encyclopedia of Pointless. May I suggest the Choose Your Own Error Adventure as a fine way to start exploring the site. Enjoy!

On Things Involving Cats & Dogs

Random thoughts for today -
Why do dogs love us so?
Do cats get jealous of the dogs, because the dogs love us so?

Yeah, I know, that's a little weird. Let me provide some explanation. My wife and I have two pets - a cat, George, and our dog, whose name is Lucas (yes, I know - "George Lucas". You probably won't believe me if I say that wasn't planned, so I won't even bother to try). George is my wife's cat, she's had him since before I knew her. We got Lucas after we bought our house - Lucas will be 2 years old soon. Anyway, enough background. George and Lucas have what I like to call a "HATE/Why Won't You Play?" relationship. Lucas wants to play with the cat, have a good time chasing each other around the house - dogs do this, it's natural for Lucas to want to, I suppose. George does not like the dog. AT ALL. It's not just a normal disdain that cats have for dogs in general - it's special. He will hiss and spit at the dog, and if up high enough to do so, will wallop Lucas in the head with a right cross paw or two. Like I said - "special". The other day Lucas was following me around the house (like he does) and we went into the kitchen. George was in repose on the center island in our kitchen (like he does) and decided to up the ante some in his ongoing war against dogs. He bit. But not Lucas - he bit ME. Fairly hard too. Didn't break the skin, but I think he would have if I hadn't whipped my arm out of the way in shock. Needless to say, I was very surprised. This was unprovoked - If I am spinning the cat around on his back on the kitchen floor, and he nips my hand lightly - this is to be expected. I provoked that reaction, and it was just a playful nip. This was an unprovoked action, and I'm surprised by it. I don't anticipate further problems, as George seemed very sorry and contrite when he witnessed my displeasure (via the strong (verbal only) scolding he received). But - is this an example of the envy I mentioned earlier? Was he just jealous, because he thinks the dog is loved more? I don't know...

Well, THAT'S new...

So - I go to www.blogger.com to write a new post for the blog today, and it's different. Blogger, that is. They've changed the site. New graphics, new interface - it's quite a change. Still kinda getting used to it, but so far I like it.

In other news, I've been using Mozilla Firefox for some time now, ever since they updated to version 0.8 and renamed it Firefox. I also started using Mozilla's email client, Thunderbird. And I think they ROCK. A browser that gives you a built in pop-up blocker, tabbed browsing, easy to install skins, and the ability to install additional features Mozilla calls extensions. Thunderbird has a decent built-in spam filter, is easy to use and configure, and also has downloadable extensions. Plus, they're free of ads (unlike Opera), and totally free! Try them - you'll like them!

Ah, Sunday...

A day of rest, indeed. With the schedule I have at work now, I'm there from 6am till 5pm Wednesday through Saturday. So when Sunday comes along - I am very very tired, and in dire need of a day off. Nice thing is, I can laze around the house all day Sunday, and I still have Monday and Tuesday off as well. Nice, huh? Yeah - I'm one lucky bastard. On a different note, Happy Mother's Day to all the Moms out there!

A chicken or the egg dilemma...

So, a 18 year old kid is currently in custody in Germany, suspected of creating the Sasser worm. Great, right? He was arrested Friday and according to reports, he told the authorities he created the worm, which caused quite a bit of trouble in Britain, among other places. So they have him, but now what? The damage is done. And we are left with a dilemma on two fronts - first, what do we do with the suspect? What will the charge against him be - and will he be subject to only German law and prosecution, or will other countries get a crack at him? Second, and actually the bigger problem here, who do we REALLY blame? The kid who exploited a vulnerability in Windows - or the makers of the Windows? I'm not talking in a legal sense, it's not reasonable to hold Microsoft responsible for viruses (although, it is tempting). I view this more as a morality problem - this kind of activity is becoming more and more common, and it's really becoming more and more difficult to prevent. No operating system is 100% safe, but it seems that Windows is the worst of the bunch by far. Is this just the price to pay for being the most widely used operating system, or is this all due to bad programming and a corporate mentality that simply pushed products out before they were adequately tested and hardened against tampering and vulnerability? And back to the morality issue - is this simply due to a culture that has too much curiosity and to little supervision? Is any one person REALLY to blame here - or any one corporation - or is this a problem with society as a whole? Too many questions here, and not enough answers. Time, I suppose, will tell what will happen here.

TechTV staff - You're Fired!! (copyright Donald Trump)

Well, this is unfortunate news. Leo Laporte, TechTV personality and host of Call For Help announced on his blog The Laporte Report that TechTV's new owners G4 TV have fired TechTV's staff (Comcast owns G4). I really liked TechTV, and the posted info on G4's website about the TechTV/G4 merger leads us to believe that some of the best TechTV shows will continue - but will the finest part of those shows, the talented hosts and other on-air personalities - be involved? I, for one, don't think I would want to watch Call For Help without Leo, or The Screensavers without Patrick Norton. In fact, there was a short time recently when Leo wasn't on Call For Help (due to a disagreement with the management of TechTV) - and I didn't watch the show because he wasn't on (They reached an agreement April 15th, he was back on the air on Call For Help on April 20th). Well, let the protests begin, I say.

Don't. Just... Don't.

I'm so sick of hearing about Friends. Ooh, it's the last show, what'll I do without my Friends? Bah. It's been like this since last summer - I'm sick of it. All this hype of a show that hasn't been any good in years. What a waste. I mean, there is a good show coming to the end of it's run this year - Angel. Sure, it was never as big a deal as Friends, and it hasn't been on the air as long. But it was a good show, and it deserves some rabid media attention, right? Wait - maybe if had received some media attention, it wouldn't be cancelled. And now it also occurs to me that sarcasm really doesn't come through when I write something. Trust me though, if you heard that sentence the way it sounded in my head - you'd have TOTALLY got it.

Penn & Teller : Bullshit!

I love this show. It's simply one of my favorite things to watch on TV. I watched the first season and thought it was great, but somehow kept missing episodes of the second season. Well, thanks to Showtime On Demand, I am now all caught up. They did some great stuff, talking about recycling, PETA, safety hysteria, the War on Drugs, even the Business of Love. Their next topic is The Bible : Fact or Fiction? - man, that sounds good. I love the way Penn & Teller present facts and prove to the viewer that this stuff is, well, Bullshit! I think one of my favorite things they did was an experiment they conducted the first season. The topic was Environmental Hysteria, and they went to a big environmental rally and circulated a petition to ban a chemical - dihydrogen monoxide. Folks, that's H2O - water! They didn't lie to people, they told them straight up it was a petition to ban dihydrogen monoxide, and told them some of the bad things water can do - all true information. The best part was that about 70% of the people they showed signing the petition were holding - bottled WATER!! And they got a LOT of people to sign the petition - it was hilarious!! See - this is a great show! Be sure to watch it, if you don't already - Thursdays at 10pm, or do what I do - wait a couple days and catch it On Demand. Love it!

WTF RIAA??

Has the RIAA (Recording Industry Artists Association) turned into another SCO? A company that just runs around suing everyone? Read this article for more information. I really think that lawsuits are the wrong way to go about this. Yes, it is illegal to download music, movies, books, etc. you didn't pay for. Really no way to argue about that, since that's THE LAW. But instead of complaining that people download and share music over P2P networks without paying for them, wouldn't it be a better idea to concentrate efforts on making purchasing music in the traditional manner (on in a new manner) a better option? If the cost of the CD in the store is roughly the same as buying a blank CD and spending the time (and money - for a broadband connection, electricity, a PC and the necessary hardware/software to burn that CD) to create your own CD - but the purchased CD has higher sound quality, has the cover art and liner notes, etc. - doesn't that make it a better value? For me, that would make it worth going to one of the several stores very close to me where I can purchase it. Maybe it's just me.

Fun with iPod

I have a 15GB iPod - got it February 14th. Which was great timing, cause the Pepsi/iTunes promo started soon after that. I think I ended up with something like 50 free songs, not bad I guess. I have something like 800 songs in total on my iPod, and I spend alot of time listening to it on random shuffle - which makes some very interesting choices. I've had it go from playing Radiohead to Journey to Eminem. It's a lot of fun to just take a long walk and let it shuffle play an ecclectic mix of your music to you. I also have a FM transmitter to use in the car - so I can take along my iPod on car trips. Apple released a new version of iTunes and a new version of the iPod software - and I guess some people are having problems with the new software not recognizing their iPod. Man, that sucks. I don't know what I'd do without mine now.

Random fun and weirdness

So I read User Friendly every day - I think it's probably one of the funniest online comics (and I read a LOT of online comics). They have a feature on the site called the Link Of The Day - users of the site submit webpages and one is chosen to be featured each day. Today's site is Antibubble - it's pretty interesting. Gotta say I've never actually seen that before. Don't know if I'd have the patience to try and make antibubbles myself, but it would be cool to actually watch it happen.

Think locally...

I work for a corporation that has offices around the country - and I'm sure has some offices (for at least a few of the businesses it owns) around the world. That said, it's very important to the company for local offices to become involved in the community. So, we are always being given opportunities to volunteer our time to local causes and such. I generally put little stock in personal voluntarism, my personal time is very valuable to me. So I generally find myself participating in events I don't have to attend, events I can give money to, or donate goods to. Recently I did do a 5 mile walk for WalkAmerica (their main site is HERE, but local events will be on locally sponsored websites). My wife and I did the walk together, and had a good time. Our office is also doing donations for Operation Feed, a food donation program run annually by the United Way here in Central Ohio. Since that event only requires donations of food or money, I donate :) But anyway, I think the point I'm trying to make here is that I think you don't necessarily have to kill yourself donating hours every week to worthy causes to make a difference. If more people donate time to events they believe in, or touch their lives in some way, then the impact is felt strongly. If you combine that with charitable donations to worthy causes, you've really made a difference. And that's one to grow on ;)

Waiting for inspiration

Boredom causes introspection. Well, it does for me at least. I've been thinking a lot about the state of my life, the state of the world, etc. - and I think I need to make a change. I'm really really in need of a new job, I think. Problem is that to get a "good" job, I need more education. I'm toying with the idea of going back to school. It's something I'm going to have to think about a lot, since it would have a definite financial impact on the wife and I if I went back to school - even part-time. So right now I'm just considering my options and we will see what happens I suppose. On a different tack, check out this link to a auction on eBay - Imperial Star Destroyer replica (the auction has ended). Looks like a LOT of work went into that, huh?

Reality TV

OK, I'll admit it - I watch reality shows. Not every one, but a lot of them. I've watched Survivor (but not every season), The Apprentice (which was a whole lot of fun), one season of Celebrity Mole (lame), Mad Mad House on the SciFi Channel, and have watched Newlyweds and The Osbournes on MTV. I'm sure there are others I've watched that I'm forgetting to mention. But I really wanted to point out that for all the mostly useless hours of watching vapid people spout off endlessly about themselves I've sat though during the runs of these shows, there is one reality show that I believe is a cut above the rest. A reality show that is worth watching, is engaging television the viewer can become invested in, and overall is a hell of a lot of fun. That show is The Amazing Race on CBS. It's a race around the world, it's an endurance test, it's a challenge-based strength and planning and intelligence test, it's a test of relationships. The fifth season will be shown this July, and I for one can't wait. I'm not quite as psyched as my wife is (because she is the biggest fan of the show EVER), but it's definitely a show I look forward to watching. And something that makes the show even more fun to watch every week is going to Television Without Pity.com (or TWoP for short) to read the recaps of each show. The brilliant folks at TWoP write recaps for many shows, like Survivor, The Apprentice, Newlyweds, Smallville, Angel, American Idol, etc. The recaps are written in a style that describes what happened on the show and also manages to bring a hilariously "snarky" tone to the shows that are either lacking in intellectual merit (I'm looking at YOU, American Idol) or to characters on the show who deserve to be taken down a peg or two. Well worth stopping by and reading a recap or two from your favorite show.

The Blahs

Ever have a day where you just don't really feel up to doing anything? Like you just want to lie around the house watching crap on TV and not really doing anything? Yeah, that's the kind of day I'm having. Plus being at work today really isn't helping that feeling go away - it's actually exacerbating it. Blah. On the plus side, I get to beta test Google's Gmail thanks to having a Blogger account. Thanks Blogger!!

The Black Mamba can deliver GARGANTUAN amounts of venom with one bite.

Saw Kill Bill Vol. 2 last night - and it was terrific! A very different movie than Vol. 1 though. I was very impressed with the performance that David Carradine gave - he was very, very good! Also I enjoyed Darryl Hannah's performance in both movies, she had some of the greatest scenes in Kill Bill Vol. 2. And Quentin Tarentino learned the lesson of the martial arts movie genre - if you're going to introduce some esoteric move (The 5 Finger Palm Exploding Heart Death Technique), then someone had better use it!

Kill Bill Volume 2!

Go see Kill Bill Volume 2!! Go right now! Do not delay! Skip school/work/familial obligations/medical treatments - just GO!!

Tax day!

So it's April 15th - tax day. Our federal taxes have been done for months (since we knew we would get a HUGE refund), and we just sent in the state taxes yesterday (since we owed money). Taxes suck in general, but not getting a refund sucks hard.
On a seperate note, THIS article is pretty interesting. How far off are implants that actually ARE computers - not just interfaces to one? It boggles the mind, doesn't it?