Category Archives: LiveJournal

Ugly White People, Wearing Masks, and Leaving Facebook

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So earlier today, after leaving our local megamart, which in this case is Meijer I was beset by wave after wave of ugly white people not wearing masks. I just cannot stand it, the absolute gall to put the public health at risk all because you want to be a dick about it. It is just beyond acceptable, even in our broken world, so I wrote a Facebook Post. I called them for what they are. Ugly White Pig Fuckers.

The Facebook AI flagged it as “Hate Speech” and so, since I have a long track record of calling out Russians for their shenanigans along with I’m sure other infractions that I have long since forgotten, I have been put in a time-out corner for three days on Facebook.

Almost everyone that I care about is on a shared Signal group, it’s a virtual pub where all my loved ones are also there and I can vent, and listen to my loved ones vent, and we can laugh and share things and because Signal is end-to-end encrypted, there is nobody there to tell me what I can or cannot say.

Very much like this blog too. I always mean to write more here on the blog, and this time-out from Facebook for 3 days is actually not a punishment but rather an invitation I think, to fully abandon the platform. The toxic people, the toxic stories, the endless and sensationalized bottom-of-the-barrel scrape that the wall has become. If I want to visit a wreched den of scum and villainy, at least Reddit doesn’t pretend that it is anything else than just another cultural latrine. Facebook is just a lemon-scented cultural latrine.

I pay for this blog and the service, so I can say whatever I please here without an obnoxious censorship AI locking my account out. Plus, it’s like TV, if you don’t like what I write on this blog, you are very much invited to forget all about it. Just don’t point your browser here, I will not be offended.

So instead of sharing things on Facebook, I’ll share them on this blog. The activity will pick up, maybe if I’m very lucky there will be a new community like Imzy, or perhaps something like LiveJournal before the filthy Russians got their grasping little fingers all over it. Everyone who reads the blog should know, I’m left AF, and while I am not Antifa, I am Antifa sympathetic, especially with the notion that anyone of good standing and solid heart will not hesitate to punch Nazi scum in the face.

So don’t look for me on Facebook. Look for me here. To Hell with Facebook.

Also… WEAR YOUR !@#$ MASKS IN PUBLIC!

Tagging

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I’ve been blogging actively on and off for years. Much of it started in LiveJournal and when SixApart, the company that wrote LiveJournal were sold to a russian company it was time for me to leave. I left for a few reasons, one was because I didn’t trust my writings to a company that was owned by a foreign country – the laws get murky once your thoughts and opinions leave the USA; the other reason was a general eroding of english users as more cyrillic users started to appear on LiveJournal. The language barrier between english and russian was the little push that I needed to leave that and get on with WordPress.

My use of WordPress continued a-pace until one of my work blogs was tagged as suspect by a WordPress.com robot and the company deactivated my blog. After explaining what I was using the blog for, they re-enabled it however that identified a problem for me, mostly that my blog was being measured – if not by a person then by an automatic process and as such, it had a definite stink of censorship about it. At work, and in my private life I already had a separate hosting company and that’s when I discovered WordPress.org, the DIY blog platform based on the technology that powers WordPress.com. I installed a constellation of new blogs both for work and for personal use and that had a bunch of added extras – specifically unlimited storage of rich media which I would have otherwise had to pay for with WordPress.com as well as direct control of the content. There were no robots or censors wandering around turning off accounts willy-nilly in this other arrangement. Also, and more to the point of this blog entry, the shift over to WordPress.org also enabled the use of plugins which really extend the WordPress platform even further than the nice presentation that the WordPress.com system provides. I’ve been having a devil of a time remembering to tag my WordPress blog posts. I went fishing for a new plugin to maybe help with tags and I found the WP Calais Auto Tagger and so far I’m quite impressed with it’s quality. Now when I make a post, the post is sent to OpenCalais where it is processed for relevant tags and I get a list of possibilities that I can elect to use or not. I take the category part of my blog posts very seriously and now I can rely on this bit of technology to help me with the tags as well. If you run WordPress blogs, I suggest you look into this.

Generally speaking, if you are a friend of mine and would like a WordPress.org blog for your own, I’m more than happy to help you out. I can set it up quickly and support it even – if you are interested, just drop me a line. Those that know me know how to reach me. I suppose everyone else could leave a comment. This offer isn’t valid for anyone at Western, sorry.

WOT: Matrim Cauthon’s Theme Song

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I wrote about this years ago when I first started reading Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series of books. One of the main characters of the story is Matrim Cauthon and he plays a central role throughout the entire story. I’m currently reading “Memory of Light” and just finished a rather well-written section early in this book featuring Mat.

That section got me to thinking about an old LiveJournal post I wrote all those years ago. Thanks to Spotify I can embed the music right in this post:


After reading the lyrics and thinking about Mat I really think this track from Coldplay has Mat nailed down pretty well. I thought everyone else might enjoy it as well.

Who might run for President in 2008? Hindsight Lulz!

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If only he’d run…

I’ve been thinking about 2008. Who I’d vote for and who I’d like to see run… I’m registered a Democrat, one look at my blog and that’s painfully, and quite obviously apparent – so I’d first vote in the Democrat’s Primary.

So who do I really want to see as both the primary winner and ultimately the final winner?

Senator Barack Obama from Illinois.

Commenter 1:

I dont forsee that happening.

Reason #1: TOO INEXPERIENCED – I’m not doubting the Senator’s capabilities, but as a junior member, I dont think he’ll receive a lot of backing. This is unfortunate, because somebody who might truly be very capable is likely to be glossed over for somebody with considerably more voice/mind share (ie LOLLary Clinton).

Reason #2: NOT WHITE – Spinning off from being too inexperienced, I dont think the majority of the Democrats will be behind a minority candidate they dont know.

REASON #3: JOHN “GOREBOT” KERRY – I’m not entirely sure the Democrat party will know to avoid a repeat of Algorebot by running a loser two elections in a row. I can’t objectively think of anything that makes John Kerry more endearing to the American public at large than Algorebot. Plus that hideous wife of his. And he’s French.

Commenter 2:

hmm. respectfully, #1 – almost NO ONE is now “too inexperienced” after the current prez. bush has lowered the bar to almost nonexistent. experience has little to do with it.

#2 – “not white” can easily be a huge plus, not a minus, in fact. example – why do u think the Republicans are making noise about Rice? only because her sex and race give her Pluses.

#3 – just because Kerry came up on top of the heap last time around is meaningless to the present. Kerry is a non-issue. and Gore in 2000 got more votes than the “winner” did.

i enjoyed your interesting observations, though 🙂

Commenter 1:

#1 Running somebody as “EVEN LESS EXPERIENCED THAN BUSH!” isn’t going to be a strong rallying cry for Democrats in 2008. Remember how people said that Gov. Bush lacked any experience in foreign policy (HILARIOUS IRAQ JOKES ASIDE, for now anyway)? I do. Foreign policy will no doubt be a major issue in the 08 elections. If Obama lacks experience in foreign policy (and I dont know conclusively, but I’d guess that, as a junior Senator, his experience cant be very high, compared to other more senior Democrats anyway).

#2 It’s not that being a minority is a negative. Not at all. But if the USA is ready for it’s first Africano President, they’re going to want somebody they “know.” This is why Colin Powell was just a strong choice for President for the GOP; he’s got oodles of experience (particularly as a former General) and he’s known on both sides of the political fence and internationally. For all his merits, I just dont think Obama can measure up to the standards that will assuredly be placed on the first serious black American running for President (Carolyn Mosely-Brown nonwithstanding).

#3 Senator Kerry hasnt renounced any plans for running for President in ’08. And, given that the 2004 election was very close, it’s very likely that he could run again if he can make a stronger case than the Republican nominee in 2008. Two years is a long time in politics, but we could be seeing Kerry against Hillary as the Democrat ticket in the primaries. Kerry has a lot of political ambition, so I wouldnt count him out as running again. And Kerry would surely beat out Obama in the primaries, so, for the time being, Kerry is still a contender (although a terrible choice, in my opinion).

Commenter 2:

politics –

u make salient points, but i am unconvinced ANY Senator can be elected, to be honest. Senators – all of ’em, McCain, Clinton, Obama, Kerry, Frist (haha) – all suffer in some serious way from necessary public statesmanship doing their job; they turn off too many pleasing some.

i’d prefer Obama, like Andrew; i really think he’s the shit. Powell is a fascinating topic u bring up – before he totally allowed himself to be used like toilet paper wiping bush’s ass, he could’ve been elected in a heartbeat i think, i would have voted for him enthusiastically. no more. bushies have truly ruined him and he allowed that to occur, so i no longer respect Powell.

i despise Rice because of her lies heading into Iraq, and her incompetency prior to becomming the Sec of State – so far she’s doing pretty well in her new job, and it’s great having a black woman rep us in the world, i like that a lot. still, i’ll never forgive her for her pre-Iraq garbage.

i would be excited about Sen. Clinton as president – there’s history. it’d be fascinating. she is too conservative for me, but so was her husband, but she would at least balance the budget as he did (i suspect). and i think she’d rep us well in the world, as opposed to what we have now.

i’m mad at kerry, he sucks, he ran a poor campaign at best. it’s tiresome that Dems get balls AFTER they lose. this is my problem with Gore, altho i like him more than Kerry. i would be thrilled with a Gore Presidency. and Gore is a hawk, and i hate his wife Tipper who is anti-firstAmendment, but i think Gore would still make a great President once he was in.

Commenter 3:

Commenter 1’s #1 is mine. As many good things as Obama is, I don’t really feel confident that he’s ready for a run for the Oval, nor do I think that he’d pull it off. It may take a decade, but I think that he could become an amazing power for good in that time.

Myers-Briggs Typological Test

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Well, the results are in, and I’m an ESFJ. Yay! 🙂

Your Type is
ESFJ
Extroverted Sensing Feeling Judging
Strength of the preferences %
1 11 44 44

Description of the ESFJ:

Guardians of birthdays, holidays and celebrations, ESFJs are generous entertainers. They enjoy and joyfully observe traditions and are liberal in giving, especially where custom prescribes.

All else being equal, ESFJs enjoy being in charge. They see problems clearly and delegate easily, work hard and play with zest. ESFJs, as do most SJs, bear strong allegiance to rights of seniority. They willingly provide service (which embodies life’s meaning) and expect the same from others.

ESFJs are easily wounded. And when wounded, their emotions will not be contained. They by nature “wear their hearts on their sleeves,” often exuding warmth and bonhomie, but not infrequently boiling over with the vexation of their souls. Some ESFJs channel these vibrant emotions into moving dramatic performances on stage and screen.

Strong, contradictory forces consume the ESFJ. Their sense of right and wrong wrestles with an overwhelming rescuing, ‘mothering’ drive. This sometimes results in swift, immediate action taken upon a transgressor, followed by stern reprimand; ultimately, however, the prodigal is wrested from the gallows of their folly, just as the noose tightens and all hope is lost, by the very executioner!

An ESFJ at odds with self is a remarkable sight. When a decision must be made, especially one involving the risk of conflict (abhorrent to ESFJs), there ensues an in-house wrestling match between the aforementioned black-and-white Values and the Nemesis of Discord. The contender pits self against self, once firmly deciding with the Right, then switching to Prudence to forestall hostilities, countered by unswerving Values, ad exhaustium, winner take all.

As caretakers, ESFJs sense danger all around–germs within, the elements without, unscrupulous malefactors, insidious character flaws. The world is a dangerous place, not to be trusted. Not that the ESFJ is paranoid; ‘hyper-vigilant’ would be more precise. And thus they serve excellently as protectors, outstanding in fields such as medical care and elementary education.

Okay Okay Okay, this does seem to fit me. It’s uncanny how plain I seem now that I’m just 4 letters. 🙂

Take the test yourself, maybe we can be fast friends or bitter enemies… Jung – Myers-Briggs typological test

Day One Migration

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My Day One Migration is moving along well. I’m grabbing low-hanging-fruit and copying in those posts from my old LiveJournal that didn’t have comments attached to them. I’ve decided to include comments as one of the most frequent commenters on my LiveJournal was my dearly departed friend Ryan. Seeing his words on my LiveJournal help bring him back to life, if only in a very small way, but they are important to me as are all the other people that I love. So far, with some original Day One entries, the copied in Notes from Facebook (Where my blogging went between LiveJournal and Day One) and LiveJournal so far I have 547 entries, spanning 327 days with items spanning back to 1999.

Once I have everything moved over in Day One then I can search more easily and look at different posts and maybe repost some things from my old LiveJournal that I think are either still relevant today or at least entertaining enough to share once again.

Sharing

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I ran into an inconvenience with the current way I share socially
online. I have established a new workflow. Short messages still end up
going to Twitter, and if I feel like they are worth sending to Facebook
I use “Selective Tweets” to push that single tweet forward into
Facebook. For longer entires I write them up in Day One no matter if
they are public or private and then save them there and then share them
via email if they are public with my WordPress blog. If they are private
matters, they simply get shared with Facebook with a default stringent
security setting so only the right people can see those posts.

The email routine actually has been hit and miss to start but now it’s
working out quite nicely. First I migrated my blog from WordPress.com to
Wordpress.org. This is just me moving stuff from a companies site (.com)
to the domain that I own with Scott (windchilde.com) and I figure since
I’m paying for it anyways I might as well use it. Plus the switch over
to the windchilde.com domain also allows me unlimited storage and
unlimited bandwidth so I can share photos and videos without having to
worry about running into any storage caps or having to pay for extra
storage when I’m already paying for a pretty good deal with the host
that runs windchilde.com. I originally started with WordPress.org and
figured that Jetpack, which is a feature crosstalk package between
Wordpress.com and WordPress.org, extending some of the things that I
liked about WordPress.com around my installation of WordPress.org for
free. One of those options was “Post by Email” which gave me a
gobbledegook address at post.wordpress.com. That feature never worked
for me. It was supposed to be turn-key but it fell on it’s face. So I
turned to plugins, which are how you can extend WordPress.org sites, but
not WordPress.com sites. The company keeps a tight lid on things like
that where the “DIY” system is far more flexible and accommodating. I
downloaded the plugin called “Postie” and configured it to use a POP
account that I created on the windchilde.com domain and got that all set
up. There were a wee bit of growing pains regarding how to set
Categories and Tags in the email posts that I was making out of Day One.
What I had was a rather clunky Evernote note with the copied text from
my WordPress Category page so I could refer to that to pick and choose
which category I wanted the email post to go into. This was a mess. I
thought about it for a while and when I was done working out at Anytime
Fitness it struck me in a eureka moment; Why not just use TextExpander
to do the heavy lifting? So I started TextExpander on my MBP at home and
it came up, loaded the settings from my Dropbox (neat) and I created a
new snippet, called it “Categories” and set it’s trigger to be “;cat”.
Then I loaded all my categories from WordPress into a bracketed
pull-down list that TextExpander enables you to make on-the-fly so once
I’m done with Day One editing, I can save the entry (also is stored in
my Dropbox, yay!) and then click Share, Email, and then with the open
email I can just type in the trigger for each category I want to add and
I don’t need to remember to go to Evernote to get the list, or risk a
typo screwing everything up. Using Categories this way is really
convenient and tags are a snap to add as well.

Every once in a while I like to plug software that really works for me.
I plug the tarnations out of Mac, of course, as it’s the platform that I
can actually get my work done on. The apps that run on the Mac make the
rest of it work oh-so-well. Day One is a magnificent personal journaling
app. It’s private and password protected on all my devices and stored on
my Dropbox so I don’t have to screw around with backups or restores or
worrying that my entire Journal may just flit off into nothingness if my
MBP or a flash drive decides to play dumb on me. Plus Day One has
in-built sharing features, so I can share via Email, Twitter, or
Facebook if I want to. WordPress.org is not really software that runs on
my Mac, but instead runs on a host. The host I use is iPage.com and they
do a competent job. Setting up a WordPress.org site is embarrassingly
easy, mostly just a handful of clicks and you get a starter email with
the address you should use and your username and a temporary password. I
started to use WordPress because I left LiveJournal when the Russians
bought SixApart, the company that runs LiveJournal. Not that I have
anything against russians, but I’m not a huge fan of my words in that
place, it’s a personal thing. WordPress.org also enables commenting and
stats collection and automatically publicizes on it’s own to Twitter and
Facebook and Tumblr so I don’t have to futz around and create links to
my blog posts after the fact – WordPress does it for me.

Day One stores everything, WordPress stores my public lengthy stories,
Facebook stores my private lengthy stories and Twitter and Facebook
handle the rest – the tiny stuff. It’s all held together by Dropbox,
TextExpander, Day One app, my host, WordPress.org, Twitter, Facebook,
and Tumblr. It seems complicated and it is rather too-involved, but this
way I can write freely without having to concern myself with
self-censorship or exposing the wrong people to the wrong kind of
information. This way it’s all compact and interrelated and convenient.
So far, this is great for me and it’s how I am able to “have my cake and
eat it too”, which I’m a huge fan of in general.

All these products that I mentioned are either cheap or free. Nothing
cost me an arm or a leg, even the host, when you spread the cost over a
whole year is a pittance. I could even help friends and family set up
their own WordPress.org blogs on my host if they, and Scott, agreed. So,
if you think some of this would suit you and Scott’s good with it, just
let me know.

 

LJ – Fear Itself

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From 11/26/2003

ATLANTIC CITY, New Jersey (Reuters) – Saying the threat of another terror attack remained high, Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge urged Americans Tuesday to be vigilant as they set off on their travels for the Thanksgiving holiday.

So, what form should this call for vigilance take? Should I react as my government wishes, cowering under the covers before the big bad terrorists come to sucker-punch us all? Should we invest in plastic sheeting and duct tape, perhaps buy more canned goods and shotguns? And exactly which terrorist should we fear – the remote Osama-like one that we no longer really care about or the one much closer to home Bush, Cheney, Ridge >cough< ? Should my vigilance enable me to set random foreigners on fire with BBQ lighter fluid and a match or should I just let the air out of their tires and report their suspicious breathing habits to my local SS Officer FBI Officer (>cough<) ? While I'm wallowing in the new shiny Fear EverythingTM Module provided to me by my government, my vigilance will be keenly felt by all around me as I refuse to change my behavior just because some be-suited moron tells me to be afraid.

As a people, we’re supposedly more terrified than our founding father’s slaves ever were… it’d be hilarious if it wasn’t so tragically sad.

I can imagine that both George Orwell and Eugene McCarthy are spinning in their graves, in opposite directions, of course.

LJ – I Hate George W. Bush A Lot

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From 10/14/2003

I started on a particular jag in this post here about our wonderful selectident. This got me thinking about what we’ve pretty much come to accept as the truth when all you see is a kaliedoscope of lies coming from our government, that eventually the lies show fault lines and one can piece together bits of a roadmap to the truth.

I think everyone can agree that the entire campaign in Iraq was driven by two primary factors, the first being Greed, the lust for money stored as oil underneath Iraq; the second being Pride, the fact that our Selectident is a A-1 class wimp just like his father and to prove his masculinity needed to exercise his will upon the people of Iraq. We’ve watched as US Military Servicemen are killed, blown up, commit suicide, or go AWOL for this meaningless sandbox exercise. What first had the inklings of Vietnam is now just a REALLY expensive Vietnam – one could call this Vietnam II – more expensive and lacking in a ready supply of reason to fight.

We went to war in Iraq, at least in the adverts for the war, because Iraq wielded Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD). Nearly every civilized and industrialized country has WMD’s including the US, France, Britain, Israel, Pakistan, and India. We were told that Iraq had WMD just after Dick Cheney wrote up his still-obfuscated Energy Policy which upon lots of digging turned up analysis maps of oil reserves in Iraq shortly before the war. We were able to dupe ourselves that we are in Iraq to “Win the hearts and minds” and “Remove the WMD threat” and over time these threadbare lies started to show their seams – now we’re there for the oil and we’ll bleed as much as we need to to start the pumps and hook our Hummers up to the tap. Turns out that Iraq didn’t have any WMD at all, therefore there was zero real threat, just Saddam gallivanting around. We could have with our immense and well-paid Intelligence Services discovered the truth behind WMD, but instead we had allegations of WMD and a false report of Yellowcake from Africa. So we know we are literally dying for Iraq’s oil.

Now we’ve seen North Korea rant and rave about having WMD, in fact they have jumped onto the world stage and admitted to processing weapons-grade plutonium! To hell with Yellowcake from Africa! What are we doing in regards to North Korea? Absolutely nothing. I think it’s because there isn’t any easily exploitable natural resources in North Korea. We can’t find a hole to rape so why bother? Because our entire point was to unmask Saddam’s WMD (Which don’t exist) and that led us to an invasion and hostile occupation of Iraq – we are failing to invade and occupy North Korea.

I think our Selectident has sent hundreds of Americans to die, and impovershed the rest of us so that he could line the pockets of his profiteering oil-swine friends, to make them squeal with abject delight knowing that cash will be flowing like a mighty river. The inconsistency is the rub here, we go after Iraq for allegations of WMD, yet we ignore North Korea when they *admit* to having WMD. If logic is to persevere then we must plainly attack North Korea and then rebuild that country. I suspect we shall do no such thing. I would go on to suspect that we would have gone after Saudi Arabia much earlier if they didn’t have the necessary cash to buy us off – we won’t rape that hole, even if it’s gushing with crude oil.

So what is the bottom line? Bush, our selectident wasn’t popularly elected, he ruined the American Economy, he plunged us into an unwinnable war, he ordered American Servicemen to their deaths for personal profit, he defaced the American Flag, which is worse than burning it and it is a FEDERAL CRIME TO DO SO, he completely botched our relationship with The United Nations – he set an entire soverign country on fire – and committed each and every one of us to an atrocity of genocide against the Hussein family and more generally, anyone in Iraq who doesn’t lick our feet.

How to resolve this? The Selectident must be recalled. He must be impeached. He simply must not be allowed to acquire any more power whatsoever and he absolutely must not serve another term in office. He will ruin the United States and with his concentrated cowardice, fear, and lust for blood he will render unto the Earth a new kind of Corporate Hell – with fire and suffering for each and every American Citizen. Anyone who votes for Bush in 2004 is clearly voting to ruin whatever is left of our nation, our way of life, and our liberty.

LJ – Citibank Brings The Funny

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From 10/11/2003

Got this letter in the mail, from AT&T Universal (just Citibank with the 3rd face of Satan) regarding “Is your AT&T Universal Card meeting your credit needs?” and goes on to state that “we’ve noticed you haven’t used your card in a while, what can we do to enrich your credit experience?” and they make such awe-inspiring claims as “The point is, when you call us, you call the shots.” and “We’ll make it worth your while.”

They weren’t ready to make it worth my while, nor were they ready for me to call the shots, as it were.

I read the letter and called them up and told them that I’d like them to cut my APR to 5.99% permanently and offer me a 3.99% Balance-Xfer for the life of whatever I xfer to the card until it is paid off. They were very conciliatory and told me that they’d be happy to meet my 5.99 request but only for 6 months.

I thanked them for their time and put the card back in the satchel of unused plastic.

They weren’t really serious, and I’m not really serious about using it. Funny how that works.