"In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends."

"It may be true that the law cannot make a man love me, but it can stop him from lynching me, and I think that's pretty important."

- Martin Luther King Jr.

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Friday, May 09 2008,

  eBay. by xombi at 13:28 CST

Anybody here try selling any high-end electronics on eBay? The Consumerist wrote: I'm having a very hard time selling my item on eBay. I have listed the item four times, and each time something has gone wrong. Here are the item numbers, with descriptions of the problems: [detailed list of everything Timothy's tried up to this point. -Ed.] After the last two listings, my account was locked because eBay thought (for some reason never told to me) that the listings were due to a compromised account password - even though the listings were legitimate and posted by myself. I have now had to reset my password to something new, since eBay would not allow me to reuse the password I have used for a long time. Can you please tell me what I am doing wrong? I'm just trying to sell my laptop on eBay. I have used eBay for several years, and have never had a single problem before. I am not doing anything differently - so why am I having such trouble? I've been thinking about buying a 60gb PS3 off eBay, now I'm scared. Theme Music: Ghostface Killah ft. Trife Da God's "Be Easy"

  Who gives a damn? Nobody. Throw your 2 cents in.

Thursday, May 08 2008,

  GoneForSure. by xombi at 09:15 CST

Microsoft's DRM managed music platform, PlaysForSure is GoneForSure. Microsoft wrote: As of August 31, 2008, we will no longer be able to support the retrieval of license keys for the songs you purchased from MSN Music or the authorization of additional computers If you attempt to transfer your songs to additional computers after August 31, 2008, those songs will not successfully play. Want that translated into plain English? Dive Into Mark wrote: So what happens on August 31, 2008? On that day, Microsoft will turn off the servers that they maintain for the sole purpose of validating that the songs that people have already “purchased” through MSN Music are still theirs to play. Those people (hereafter “the victims”) will not notice the change right away. The victims will only notice it when they purchase a new computer, or when they upgrade the operating system on their current computer, or when the hard drive in their computer dies and needs to be rebuilt/reinstalled. At that point — transferring the music files they have “purchased” to another drive or a new computer — the Microsoft music player running on the victim’s PC (like iTunes, but all Microsoft-y instead of Apple-y) will make a call to Microsoft’s validation servers to verify that the music files were legitimately purchased. This call will fail, since the servers are not responding, since Microsoft has intentionally turned them off. The Microsoft music player will then conclude, incorrectly but steadfastly, that the music files were downloaded illegally and that the victim is a filthy pirate, and it will refuse to play them. In this case, the left hand knows exactly what the right hand is doing: they’re both giving you the finger. Absolutely. Microsoft is giving you the finger: they could have left the validation servers on even if they weren't pimping the platform anymore. Now everyone is going to wonder "What if Apple ever does this with iTunes?". But that's not the real question: the real mystery is how companies got the right to take away things you paid for. Somehow the term "Intellectual Property" really means "Permanent Property", a business tool to ensure the absolute maximum profit possible masquerading as a legal concept. Since Apple or Microsoft actually selling you a copy of a song isn't the most profitable scenario, these monied interests define you as a "licensee" who isn't allowed to own anything. Therefore, Microsoft turning off their validation servers and robbing you of your ability to play your music is never called what it really is, theft. Instead, you've merely had your license revoked. Your remedy? None of course, that's not the maximum possible profit, remember? Theme Music: Fat Joe ft. Lil Wayne's "The Profit"

  10 fools are already blabbin'. Throw your 2 cents in.

Monday, May 05 2008,

  The Rat Race. by xombi at 11:57 CST

British Medical Journal wrote: Subjects who retired early at 55 and who were still alive at 65 had a significantly higher mortality than those who retired at 65. Mortality was also significantly higher for subjects in the first 10 years after retirement at 55 compared with those who continued working. After adjustment, mortality was similar between those who retired at 60 and those who retired at 65. Mortality did not differ for the first five years after retirement at 60 compared with continuing work at 60. Fuck it, I still wanna quit the rat race as young as possible. Theme Music: Canibus & Biz Markie's "Shove This Jay-Oh-Bee"

  22 fools are already blabbin'. Throw your 2 cents in.

Saturday, May 03 2008,

  Iron Man by xombi at 17:08 CST

Thank god they didn't put Tom Cruise in this. I find that attempts at humor are often sorely out of place in superhero flicks. This one is pretty funny, although no one in the theater laughed at what I thought was the funniest joke. Audi and Burger King paid a lot of money for product placements. Don't leave when the credits start to roll. Highly recommended. Theme Music: Ghostface Killah's "Marvel"

  12 fools are already blabbin'. Throw your 2 cents in.

Thursday, May 01 2008,

  Opportunities: R.I.P. by xombi at 22:46 CST

I knew as soon as I saw the headline, that something interesting would be on the list of the Top 30 declining jobs. I only hit #5 before I saw that Computer Operators were predicted to go the way of the Dodo. This job was my start in the computer industry, a good stepping stone to bigger and better things. Good luck to those who would follow in my footsteps, those who seek decent opportunities for the future. Hopefully, the Wal-Mart greeter demand will continue. Theme Music: Black Sheep's "Black with N.V."

  14 fools are already blabbin'. Throw your 2 cents in.

Wednesday, April 23 2008,

  Reviews on a stick. (Part VIII) by xombi at 15:13 CST

Atmosphere - When Life Gives You Lemons You Paint that Shit Gold When I'm listening to hip-hop, I always expect, and maybe need, that one monster jam that you can throw on to get yourself pumped. Here, Slug's raps are all introspective and story oriented, so you never quite get that here. I won't front on it though, I'm in effect looking for the same ol' same ol', I can see what product they're offering here isn't just produced, it's been crafted. There's also some credit to be given towards an album that ignores the dance floor in this day and age. I still don't like Ant's early work, but I've become a bigger and bigger fan of Ant's production as time passes. The sound on this one is a curveball, the production is very experimental and a bit mid 80's electro-funk retro, which sets its sound apart from just about everything else out there now. EMC - The Show This album illustrates my long standing problem with collaborative efforts, sometimes the MC's are sufficiently talented, but not always writing on the same page, acting like a group rather than a collection. When it feels like they sat down together and wrote their material, you get some awesome stuff. "Don't Give Up on Us" is the most brilliant introspection on life, hope, disappointment and dreams that haven't come true since Outkast's "Get up, Get Out." But about half of it doesn't sound like that, which is OK, but the rest of it shows us they can, and do, better. They'd have been better off leaving out the album concept, because a concept album with Masta Ace on it will inevitably be compared to Disposable Arts, and this concept is kind of thin. Be sure to check out "Winds of Change," "EMC (What It Stand For)," and "Feel It." Del The Funky Homosapien - Eleventh Hour Lyrically, I think Del's done better, I think he may have just been too serious here. I'll cop to being behind the times here, I liked Del goofier like he was on I Wish my Brother George was Here. Other than a couple of the tracks, I just can't take too much notice of the effort he put into making this. Guilty Simpson - Ode to the Ghetto I just can't get into his rhyme style. What's really weird is that he sorta reminds me of Ice Cube. Gnarls Barkley - The Odd Couple It's certainly tempting to dis this album in comparison to the highlights of the first, but that would be a mistake. This one is more consistent, lacking the annoying surfer music experiments as well as being slightly funkier. Cee-Lo is the most talented and unique voice in music today, and Danger Mouse's game is tighter, yet this is not as catchy as the best of the first album.

  5 fools are already blabbin'. Throw your 2 cents in.