One drink too many and a joke gone too far.
A personal blog by writer and artist Jason Hodges.
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Saturday, September 30, 2006
There is now a Windows update for iTunes. Previously, I had updated to iTunes 7 and had... well, issues with it. I was not alone. So they've released an update, bringing it to 7.0.1.8. This is not a "look" update. It's supposed to fix some bugs.
The first thing that I noticed is that it seems to move faster when you're looking through your library. Great. The way you can browse is still... clunky. But at least it moves faster. The update does not fix one of my major problems with iTunes 7. It still downloads videos to the wrong folder, the podcast root folder, and doesn't delete the file when you tell it to. I still have to go in manually and delete the files or move them to where they need to be. When you move the files, iTunes looses track of them, and I have to go in and tell iTunes where to look. It's not like they're trying something new. This worked just fine in iTunes 6. Apple should get the people who wrote that software to have a dinner with the iTunes 7 bunch and make them chat about work.
While typing this, I had some podcasts update. One of which is called Learning Japanese. It was a video podcast on how to install Rikaichan which is a "popup Japanese-English/German/French/Russian dictionary extension for Firefox." I paused in writing this blog and installed it. It works. It's not going to do Google translations for you. When you toggle it on, you hover over kanji and a little pop up will show the possible meanings. To install, it's probably best to save the file and the language files to your computer and then open the files in Firefox. Once you have it installed, you can now go have fun at such sites as NHK.
The first thing that I noticed is that it seems to move faster when you're looking through your library. Great. The way you can browse is still... clunky. But at least it moves faster. The update does not fix one of my major problems with iTunes 7. It still downloads videos to the wrong folder, the podcast root folder, and doesn't delete the file when you tell it to. I still have to go in manually and delete the files or move them to where they need to be. When you move the files, iTunes looses track of them, and I have to go in and tell iTunes where to look. It's not like they're trying something new. This worked just fine in iTunes 6. Apple should get the people who wrote that software to have a dinner with the iTunes 7 bunch and make them chat about work.
While typing this, I had some podcasts update. One of which is called Learning Japanese. It was a video podcast on how to install Rikaichan which is a "popup Japanese-English/German/French/Russian dictionary extension for Firefox." I paused in writing this blog and installed it. It works. It's not going to do Google translations for you. When you toggle it on, you hover over kanji and a little pop up will show the possible meanings. To install, it's probably best to save the file and the language files to your computer and then open the files in Firefox. Once you have it installed, you can now go have fun at such sites as NHK.
We ♥ Katamari - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
It's like a drug... I mean... I have never experienced anything that has killed as many hours as We ♥ Katamari. Seriously, there's got to be some kind of subliminal stuff going on. Right now, I can't see straight, but yet, I still want to play. It's got to be the work of the Devil. Let history or the internet -- the two are not the same -- record that at the very least, his work is extremely entertaining.
It's like a drug... I mean... I have never experienced anything that has killed as many hours as We ♥ Katamari. Seriously, there's got to be some kind of subliminal stuff going on. Right now, I can't see straight, but yet, I still want to play. It's got to be the work of the Devil. Let history or the internet -- the two are not the same -- record that at the very least, his work is extremely entertaining.
Friday, September 29, 2006
D'Aquino, Linked to Tokyo Rose Broadcasts, Dies - New York Times
I actually had the notion to one day go to Chicago and meet Mrs. D'Aquino. She was born Iva Ikuko Toguri in Los Angeles on -- no joke -- the Fourth of July in 1916. During the war, she became stranded in Tokyo while visiting her mother. She ended up a dj for Radio Tokyo and played American music where she "called herself 'Ann' or 'Orphan Ann,' short for announcer and a play on the Orphan Annie character."
There was plenty of propaganda happening at the time. A great deal of it on Radio Tokyo. US service men started referring to any woman on the radio that came out of Japan as Tokyo Rose. There was never a real Tokyo Rose. After the war, Mrs. D'Aquino was arrested in Japan for being "Tokyo Rose" but was released in 1946 because of lack of evidence. When she returned to America, the Justice Department decided to reopen the case in 1948. She was put on trial for treason in 1949. She "was convicted on a single count of treason, relating to a broadcast she was alleged to have made to American servicemen in October 1944, referring to the loss of their ships. According to prosecution testimony, she said: 'Orphans of the Pacific, you really are orphans now. How will you get home now that all your ships are lost?'" She served six years. In 1977 on his last day in office, President Ford issued her a pardon. She moved to Chicago and ran an Asian food store. Iva Ikuko Toguri D'Aquino died at the age of 90 of natural causes. She will forever be linked to the mythical Tokyo Rose.
I actually had the notion to one day go to Chicago and meet Mrs. D'Aquino. She was born Iva Ikuko Toguri in Los Angeles on -- no joke -- the Fourth of July in 1916. During the war, she became stranded in Tokyo while visiting her mother. She ended up a dj for Radio Tokyo and played American music where she "called herself 'Ann' or 'Orphan Ann,' short for announcer and a play on the Orphan Annie character."
There was plenty of propaganda happening at the time. A great deal of it on Radio Tokyo. US service men started referring to any woman on the radio that came out of Japan as Tokyo Rose. There was never a real Tokyo Rose. After the war, Mrs. D'Aquino was arrested in Japan for being "Tokyo Rose" but was released in 1946 because of lack of evidence. When she returned to America, the Justice Department decided to reopen the case in 1948. She was put on trial for treason in 1949. She "was convicted on a single count of treason, relating to a broadcast she was alleged to have made to American servicemen in October 1944, referring to the loss of their ships. According to prosecution testimony, she said: 'Orphans of the Pacific, you really are orphans now. How will you get home now that all your ships are lost?'" She served six years. In 1977 on his last day in office, President Ford issued her a pardon. She moved to Chicago and ran an Asian food store. Iva Ikuko Toguri D'Aquino died at the age of 90 of natural causes. She will forever be linked to the mythical Tokyo Rose.
Sunday, September 24, 2006
Crooks and Liars ยป President Clinton blasts Chris Wallace (of Fox News)
Why does it seem that everybody at Fox News is an asshole or a right-wing puppet?
I wish Bill Clinton could be President again. I really do.
Why does it seem that everybody at Fox News is an asshole or a right-wing puppet?
I wish Bill Clinton could be President again. I really do.
Friday, September 22, 2006
GRC | Security Now! Notes for Episode #58
Everybody running Windows needs to do this:
Click Start, Run, and paste this:
regsvr32 -u "%CommonProgramFiles%\Microsoft Shared\VGX\vgx.dll"
Then hit enter.
Once M$ patches this, you can run this:
regsvr32 "%CommonProgramFiles%\Microsoft Shared\VGX\vgx.dll"
Eric Sites, VP R&D of Sunbelt Software, says there are about 1,000 websites out there using this exploit, which allows websites to install whatever they want. And it can affect Mozilla/Firefox or IE/Outlook users.
Not everybody at once rush to the store to buy a Mac or clog up the "tubes" downloading Linux.
Everybody running Windows needs to do this:
Click Start, Run, and paste this:
regsvr32 -u "%CommonProgramFiles%\Microsoft Shared\VGX\vgx.dll"
Then hit enter.
Once M$ patches this, you can run this:
regsvr32 "%CommonProgramFiles%\Microsoft Shared\VGX\vgx.dll"
Eric Sites, VP R&D of Sunbelt Software, says there are about 1,000 websites out there using this exploit, which allows websites to install whatever they want. And it can affect Mozilla/Firefox or IE/Outlook users.
Not everybody at once rush to the store to buy a Mac or clog up the "tubes" downloading Linux.
Sunday, September 17, 2006
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
I just upgraded to the new iTunes 7. I would just like to say that Apple has changed everything that I previously blogged about. They have changed that ugly metal-grey skin, separated podcasts from the music store, and allowed folder and file browsing of your music. Wait... oops. I'm wrong. It's still ugly metal-grey, the podcasts and music store are still together, and you still access your music the same way. Crap.
Apple did add two new ways to view your music collection. They are not new ways to access them, just view them. And they're not the best in the world. It's still... well, "gawky" for lack of a better term. I'm not saying do away with the way you do things, just let me have the chance to do it my way with folders and files.
iTunes did some no-no's that really bug the crap out of me. Without asking, it placed an icon on my desktop, set it's "itunes helper" to run when I start up, and put an icon in my system tray. I removed all. I hate it when software just decides things for me. I do not want anything running when I start up. I do not want anything in my system tray. If it had not done those two things, I would have overlooked the whole desktop icon.
Apple has added movies to their store. I'll never buy one. I checked out some prices. The ones I found were $9.99 to $12.99. For a couple of bucks more, I'll buy the DVD and rip it to my iPod (if I had an iPod). But I don't imagine I'm Apple's target audience. I'm glad they do what they do. I just wish they weren't so hell bent on doing it their way because I'm hell bent on doing things my way.
Speaking of my way, I beat the game Shadow of the Colossus earlier. I was surprised at the ending. It was a little more complicated than I thought it would be. And maybe I was reading too much into things, but I did not see it as "open" as people have said the ending is. I'm not going to foolishly mention anything here; if you want to know, you'll have to play the game, which is worth doing three fold. I will say Shadow of the Colossus is one the most beautiful and emotionally engaging games ever made on any system.
I still haven't started another screenplay. Though, I do have an idea or two floating about. One is coming to the surface, but it has some murk to go through first before breaking the water for air. I have no idea how long that'll take. Ideas go at their own pace. My job is to temp or tease them out. I'm going to go do that now.
Apple did add two new ways to view your music collection. They are not new ways to access them, just view them. And they're not the best in the world. It's still... well, "gawky" for lack of a better term. I'm not saying do away with the way you do things, just let me have the chance to do it my way with folders and files.
iTunes did some no-no's that really bug the crap out of me. Without asking, it placed an icon on my desktop, set it's "itunes helper" to run when I start up, and put an icon in my system tray. I removed all. I hate it when software just decides things for me. I do not want anything running when I start up. I do not want anything in my system tray. If it had not done those two things, I would have overlooked the whole desktop icon.
Apple has added movies to their store. I'll never buy one. I checked out some prices. The ones I found were $9.99 to $12.99. For a couple of bucks more, I'll buy the DVD and rip it to my iPod (if I had an iPod). But I don't imagine I'm Apple's target audience. I'm glad they do what they do. I just wish they weren't so hell bent on doing it their way because I'm hell bent on doing things my way.
Speaking of my way, I beat the game Shadow of the Colossus earlier. I was surprised at the ending. It was a little more complicated than I thought it would be. And maybe I was reading too much into things, but I did not see it as "open" as people have said the ending is. I'm not going to foolishly mention anything here; if you want to know, you'll have to play the game, which is worth doing three fold. I will say Shadow of the Colossus is one the most beautiful and emotionally engaging games ever made on any system.
I still haven't started another screenplay. Though, I do have an idea or two floating about. One is coming to the surface, but it has some murk to go through first before breaking the water for air. I have no idea how long that'll take. Ideas go at their own pace. My job is to temp or tease them out. I'm going to go do that now.
Sunday, September 10, 2006
I finally finished my screenplay, "Meanwhile". A rough draft has been given to my friends for their humble opinion. To be honest, they deserve the first peak because there more than a few things in the screenplay that are drawn from our lives. There's even a few direct quotes in it. The next one I write will probably be horror. I'm already looking forward to starting. I'll post here when I do begin writing it, which shouldn't be too long. I really enjoyed writing "Meanwhile" and can't wait to do something... well horror. Probably something with a body count.
The space shuttle Atlantis finally went into orbit yesterday. I was beginning to wonder if it had finally given in to its nickname; The Penguin (black and white and never flies). I love the space program, NASA, and all the shuttles, but it is time for something new. I'm not talking about new missions, though that wouldn't be so bad. It's time for a new bird to fly, something different than the shuttle.
William Shatner has already turned down a flight into space on Richard Branson passenger space program, set to launch in 2008. That's a start. Not the Shatner turning down a ticket part. It's a start that there's somebody out there building things to go into space. It will be a long time before it's viable like the shuttle program. By that time, NASA should have long since replaced the shuttle with something new.
The space shuttle Atlantis finally went into orbit yesterday. I was beginning to wonder if it had finally given in to its nickname; The Penguin (black and white and never flies). I love the space program, NASA, and all the shuttles, but it is time for something new. I'm not talking about new missions, though that wouldn't be so bad. It's time for a new bird to fly, something different than the shuttle.
William Shatner has already turned down a flight into space on Richard Branson passenger space program, set to launch in 2008. That's a start. Not the Shatner turning down a ticket part. It's a start that there's somebody out there building things to go into space. It will be a long time before it's viable like the shuttle program. By that time, NASA should have long since replaced the shuttle with something new.
Monday, September 04, 2006
Steve Irwin dead | The Courier-Mail
"THE Crocodile Man, Steve Irwin, is dead. He was killed in a freak accident in Cairns, police sources said. It appeared that he was killed by a sting-ray barb that went through his chest, Queensland Police Inspector Russell Rhodes said." - The Courier-MailThat really sucks. I really liked Steve Irwin. For years, he has been a neat source of entertainment and information as well as a stand up guy for the environment and ecosystem.
Buy my book.
From a Hole in the Sky
13 Stories of Horror, Madness, and Religion make up this dark-kudzu collection. A city run by angels with demanding burial rites. A white van jostling with clowns and warnings about sleep. A weeping pastor with a dead man in a boat. Homicide, Suicide, Jesus, and The Devil. To join a family, you're going to need some stitches. Kids today on their way to cut grass and play cowboys and injuns'. A hole in the ground where poor John Henry met a foul ending. And unholy birthing machines with a chosen one. All this and more. Where do bad things come from? They come FROM A HOLE IN THE SKY.
The Alabama Weather Blog
A blog of the current forecasts, watches, and warnings for the state of Alabama. The posts are automatically generated from E-forecast and E-warn e-mails from my local ABC Network Affiliate, ABC 33/40. The images are from the National Weather Service. The site will refresh itself every ten minutes.
From a Hole in the Sky
13 Stories of Horror, Madness, and Religion make up this dark-kudzu collection. A city run by angels with demanding burial rites. A white van jostling with clowns and warnings about sleep. A weeping pastor with a dead man in a boat. Homicide, Suicide, Jesus, and The Devil. To join a family, you're going to need some stitches. Kids today on their way to cut grass and play cowboys and injuns'. A hole in the ground where poor John Henry met a foul ending. And unholy birthing machines with a chosen one. All this and more. Where do bad things come from? They come FROM A HOLE IN THE SKY.
The Alabama Weather Blog
A blog of the current forecasts, watches, and warnings for the state of Alabama. The posts are automatically generated from E-forecast and E-warn e-mails from my local ABC Network Affiliate, ABC 33/40. The images are from the National Weather Service. The site will refresh itself every ten minutes.
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