2008 - October

Archive for October, 2008

bits for 2 october 2008

10/2/2008

Yesterday I mailed out a pack of cigs to the UK, so the favor was finally returned for the pack of John Player Specials I received. Was a little late getting them out but I finally did. Hopefully the package will arrive safely to its destination.

This counts as my first time shipping anything outside of US borders. Yes, I know… not really a big deal but hey it was my first time. :-)

I have a small cool story to tell about the pack I sent:

What I sent were Djarum menthol cloves. However this is a specialty brand so you rarely find them in convenience stores. I was able to locate this cigar shop just a few miles from where I live. The place looks like an absolute dump on the outside but inside it’s pristine. Cool surprise and I really dig the shop.

~ ~ ~

I have been working on a book I call The Forbidden Menga. In a nutshell: The book will have a ton of stuff in it that I don’t talk about on my public web site. If you thought I was snarky on my public blog here, ha! You have no idea. :-)

I don’t know how long it’s going to be when finished but it’s been coming along rather well so far.

On a geeky note, I’m composing the book in an old copy of Microsoft Word 2000 because it has grammar-check. I don’t pay too much attention to grammar when I blog publicly but certainly do in printed stuff.

Yes, this book will be print-only and priced a bit high because hey, if you want the good stuff, you’re gonna have to pay the piper. :-)

~ ~ ~

The singer in my band said there were tickets going on sale for AC/DC at the St. Pete Times Forum going on sale this Saturday. However I couldn’t find any information for tickets there(?)

Even if they are playing there I don’t know if I’m going because it’s cash I really don’t feel like spending unless I can get some sort of deal.

Maybe I’ll go, maybe not.

– edit –

Found out the info. It’s here. The price for the ticket is almost 90 bucks. FUCK THAT.

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this is why i have an aaa membership

10/2/2008

Yesterday I noticed the electric windows in my truck were rolling down slower than usual but didn’t pay too much mind to it because I figured they just needed a cleaning.

Today I go to unlock the truck from the keyfob and the parking lights didn’t even flash.

Uh-oh.

The battery was near-dead. The gauge pod lights came on but the engine wouldn’t even turn.

I just called AAA a moment ago and they’ll be out in a little while to jumpstart the truck. In addition they’ll also be bringing along a new battery which I may or may not buy depending on how much it is. I noted to the call center to bring it with the option of buying it and they were cool about it.

The battery isn’t a big deal but I’m praying the alternator isn’t shot, because that’s a $300 job (cost of alternator and install) - in addition to the cost of the battery.

– update –

Alternator didn’t need replacement. New battery installed.

How it all went down:

The AAA guy didn’t have a battery that would fit my truck so I had to go to the local Goodyear Gemini place. They took the truck in, charged me for an inspection (booooo) and a new battery. Total cost: $158. Bastards.

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wordpress crapola

10/5/2008

This is one of those computer nerdy geeky post things. You’ve been warned.

I had entertained the idea - very briefly - to move this blog over to wordpress.com and have a subdomain redirect there (which would have been rich.menga.net). And yes I even wasted ten bucks just to try it out.

What a waste of time that was.

For those not aware there are over 1,900 posts on this blog. That’s what happens when you blog regularly for almost four-and-a-half years.

I mention this because on export, my WordPress WXR file is over 10MB in size. For a database export of a single personal blog that’s pretty frickin’ huge.

This is what happened on my attempt:

After acquiring my export file I imported it to a wordpress.com blog. Didn’t work. The order of entries was all wrong and the lack of plugin ability makes it a nightmare to work with.

In addition I was unaware that wordpress.com puts ADS in strategic places which is really shitty. You spend 10 bucks only to be informed you have to spend another 30 just to remove the ads. Very, very shitty.

There was other stuff within the wordpress.com system that just outright pissed me off.

So in the end I’m staying right where I am with a self-hosted system. Yes it costs more but you do get what you pay for in this instance.

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internet halloween pranks

10/6/2008

What prompted me to write this is that I just fell for my first (and last as far as I’m concerned) internet Halloween scare-prank of 2008. It was a video posted on a blog and needless to say I won’t be reading that blog anymore.

I hate scare-pranks. Hate ‘em, hate ‘em, hate ‘em. They’re not funny, never have been funny and never will be funny. I’ll put it to you this way: It’s a sure-fire way of having me stop being your friend and fast. I’d rather be Rick Rolled than scare-pranked.

My reaction to pranks is always the same. Yeah, I get frightened but I don’t say “Oh ha ha, you got me” afterwards. Instead I get outright fuming mad about it, say “fuck you” and then put you on my list of people I will never accept links from ever again.

Usually when people find this out about me they say “Oh, lighten up!” No. I won’t “lighten up” and never will because the joke is only funny to the one playing it and not the recipient.

Fortunately most scare-pranks are easy to spot. It’s any video that says “Watch closely and turn the sound up” or “Wait until [this happens], keep watching!” In that instance I always turn the sound down.

I will post once - and only once - an example of a scare prank. This is not the one I fell for but it’s almost exactly like this.

TURN YOUR SOUND DOWN when watching it.

This video has over 7 million views of people who fell for this - including me a few years ago.

I fucking hate these videos.

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how i deal

10/7/2008

I will admit there are rare instances on the internet when nerds bug the living shit out of me.

There’s an old saying that’s been circling the internet for a while now (in various forms): Arguing on the internet is like running in the Special Olympics - even if you win you’re still retarded.

I make it a point not to engage in pissing contests on the ‘net but sometimes I still get caught up in them. In years past I would fight-fight-fight until the bitter end but now if someone decides to crawl up my ass about something, I just walk (as in state whatever point I’m going to make, then not comment any further - period).

A nerd’s classic response to this is “Ha ha, you lose. You’re giving up because you know I’m right.” No, I’m walking away because if you insist on jumping into the depths of the Retarded Argument Bottomless Pit, I’m not going to hold your hand on the way down.

In addition to walking away, I also do some literal walking outside. Today some retard was getting on my case so I just stepped away from the computer and walked outside for a few minutes. I live in sunny Florida so I saw little geckos scurrying about on the ground, palm trees and felt a nice warm breeze in the air.

Very nice. 82° F and perfect. Calms me right down almost instantly. This is one of the big reasons why I live here.

Were I back at the stomping grounds the temp there right now @ 4:30pm is 63° F. That’s cold. No warm breezes at 63. No palm trees either. And the low temp over the course of the night this eve in those parts will be 36°, a scant 4° away from freezing - with a frost advisory.

No.

Thank.

You.

I still stick right where I am where the overnight low will be 72°.

This makes for a happy Richard. :-)

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across the pond

10/8/2008

I was notified yesterday that the pack of smokes I sent to a friend in the UK arrived safely and in surprisingly excellent condition.

You can see photos of it here, here and here.

For those out there who smoke, the type of cig are cloves made by Djarum. There are several kinds (Vanilla, Menthol, Cherry, etc.) I think (but not sure) I was introduced to these a long time ago by Kat. They are wickedly expensive ($5 to $7 a pack) so I only get them on rare occasions.

This is the only type of smoke that even the most militant non-smoker will actually not mind because they smell exactly like incense sticks.

You know the infamous “Eww!” followed by the “scrunch” face non-smokers do? They don’t do any of that when around someone smoking a Djarum. That’s how good these are.

It’s also interesting that these cloves make crackling noises when smoking them. But not to worry, they’re supposed to do that. :-)

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switching off of tide (experiment)

10/10/2008

Is laundry soap too expensive?

Today I did something I never do, that being I bought a laundry detergent that wasn’t Tide.

Small history of me and laundry:

The absolute best laundry detergent I ever used was All + Fabric Softener. It came in a neon green colored jug and it was absolutely fucking awesome. Clothes came out perfect every single time.

But then All stopped making it.

(bleah..)

So I switched to Tide with Bleach, powdered version. Works good but is expensive.

~ ~ ~

Today I bought a $3.79 generic supermarket brand, liquid 2X version.

The only thing I lost was the scent after the dry cycle was done. Otherwise my clothes are just as clean.

I’ll go thru this bottle of detergent just to see how much I miss Tide - if at all.

It’s not that I can’t afford Tide, it’s the principle of the whole thing. To spend nearly ten bucks for a box of laundry soap is just wrong - especially considering that I know how they make the soap. Soap, simply put, shouldn’t be anywhere near ten bucks for a 32-load box.

I know I’m not wrong on this one. :-)

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trains

10/11/2008

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the unfocused blog

10/12/2008

Is the personal online journal worth it?

In the world of blogging there are only two kinds of blogs: Biz and personal.

The biz blogs are all about a sell-sell-sell mentality while the personal ones are about the personal life of the author, such as the old “What I had for lunch” stuff.

I don’t think there’s any doubt that on read my site is first and foremost a personal journal. Yes, I do sell things here but only the stuff I’ve created in one way or another. Otherwise there are no affiliate links, no banner ads, no text ads and so on.

Personally speaking I have nothing against biz blogs because they do serve a purpose and make real money. There is a legitimate need for them on the internet. However what bothers me about them primarily are three things:

The pigeonhole nature can sometimes backfire.
Creative writing always takes a back seat to the dollar.
Too many rules.

The tightly focused nature of a biz blog will at times put a box around you that is inescapable. For example, let’s say your blog is about cars. You always write about cars and that’s that. But one day you try something different and talk about bicycles. Maybe you saw a really cool bike and wanted to say something about it, so you did. What happens is that your audience will bitch at you about it just for (gasp) writing about something on your blog that didn’t conform to their expectations.

You know you’re trapped in the box at that point if that happens. Your choices are either start a separate site for your other ventures or never dare stray from the primary focus of the blog ever again. People on the internet get quite testy, don’cha know.

Biz blogs by nature are written LCD style because they have to be. One would think with a biz blog you could be a creative writing force - but you can’t. These types of blogs are about information and opinions. If you dare go “artsy” even to the slightest degree, the audience won’t pan you for it but rather not pay attention at all, then maybe pose the question of “Where’s the good stuff?” And yeah, that’s really annoying. Your readers are literally of the opinion, “I don’t give a flying fuck about you as a person. I come to your blog for information I can use, so please have a nice hot cup of shut the fuck up and get back to the goods. Thanks in advance, douche bag.”

Lastly are the rules. Yes there are rules and lots of them. A classic example is that you can’t say fuck on a biz blog. Or bitch. Or asshole. You’re not permitted to say any of that. If you do, some retard (another word you can’t say) will e-mail and/or comment saying, “Think of the children!” As if kids are going to read a biz blog. Yeeeeah, sure. Right after they’re done downloading porn without your knowledge (again) they’re going to catch up on the latest biz and buzz with the internet. Uh-huh. Sure. Kids - including your kids - play video games and download porn, in that order. That’s it. Think otherwise and you’re a fool.

It is nothing short of incredible how well-educated adults use children as an excuse for their own agendas of censorship. And bear in mind these are the same people who supposedly support free speech on the internet, yet get their panties in a bunch when someone writes fuck on a biz blog.

Remember, free speech has never - nor will ever - protect the speech you want to hear or read but rather the speech you don’t want to hear or read. Once you get it through your thick douche nozzle skull that that’s the way it works, you’ll be far better off.

Moving on..

I can write biz-style easily and have done it many times. All I do to achieve this is use a clear concise to-the-point bullet train style of writing with very little feeling or emotion. It works. Yes, you have to work at it and yes it takes mountains of blog writing before you get it right. And even then you’ll still stumble from time to time (to which your audience will eat you alive for).

Said honestly, I sincerely do appreciate the fact my personal blog is in fact personal. And I also appreciate blog authors who toss out a “fuck you” every so often when they get pissed off at somebody (hopefully not me). :-)

My online journal is wildly unfocused and has no point.

And that’s just the way I like it.

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