A Dumping Ground

Sat, 19 Dec 2009 18:31:18 GMT

Disclosure: I work for a technology retailer. Behind our counter, we are supposed to use Eneterprise-level Symantec/Norton Products for malware (read: Virus and Spyware) removals.

Shrewsbury has a non-profit cable TV/ISP called Celco. For $0.59 a month, they provide Symantec Antivirus to their customers. Symantec Antivirus is an enterprise-level solution for corporate antivirus, and is, as such, meant for people who don't actually go on the internet for personal reasons.

Translation: I remove viruses from computers with Symantec Antivirus all the damn time, tell them to buy a real antivirus product (such as Symantec's own Norton 360, which is a consumer-level product, and as such, will actually protect them from the evils of the internet) and then, once they agree, manually remove Symantec Antivirus from their computer, because the uninstall file is password protected, and Symantec does not provide an automatic removal tool, like they do with all Norton products.

Now, one should ask the question "but don't Symantec Consumer products such as Norton 360 and Norton Internet Security get good reviews all the time?" Yes, they do. Which is why I recommend them. However, it seems to me, that Symantec's Consumer and Enterprise products use entirely different scanning engines and definitions.

Simple fact: Scanning a hard drive removed from a customer's computer with Symantec Antivirus will not yield as many results as a second scan with a free scanner provided by either Malwarebytes or even Microsoft's free consumer products Security Essentials. That is to say, either of these products will remove more infected files from the hard drive than Symantec Antivirus after Symantec Antivirus has scanned the hard drive.

Which is, primarily, the reason we don't bother with using it.

Christmas

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 20:55:29 GMT

Everybody always asks me what I want/need. Thus, I present a list.

1. A new battery for my macbook. The original one (it's lasted 42 months) is shitting the bed, and gives me ~45 minutes of charge. I'm seeing if a full discharge+recharge will reset it to give me anymore juice, but I doubt it.

2. Hugh Blumenfeld's Rocket Science.

3. A new screen and digitizer assembly for my Palm t/x.

4. A PS3 and either Rachet and Clank: Tools of Destruction or Disgaea 3.

5. A small third world country in which I may rule as I see fit.

6. Training in the ways of the sith, so that I can light people on fire over the phone.

Huzzah!

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 18:40:21 GMT

I've been playing a game called Cave Story/doukotsu, which is one of those hard platformer games. It's a wonderful little game, but there's three endings (It's japanese. Of course there's multiple endings). I've gotten the Bad and Good endings, but then there's the Great ending. It requires you beat the game with some obscure and deranged requirements (Hint: You will not pull this off on your first play-through) but I've managed those requirements, and it opens up a whole bonus dungeon after the final boss.

There's a sign at the beginning of the level that says "Welcome to Hell!"

Why must I be interested in such impossible games? Why?

Sans Computer

Thu, 24 Sep 2009 21:01:57 GMT

Will be running offline for a while, because I've running a customer's data recovery off my laptop. Cause I'm a good associate, oh yes. Do I have much of an internet presence right now? Not really, but it'll be even less. Hell, I'll even be going in to work on my day off to double check on things.

I is a "Windows Expert"

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 02:31:39 GMT

This is according to Microsoft. I got this status while on my Mac. I should probably get myself a windows computer, though...

Can't listen.

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 18:31:39 GMT

Thanks to the internet, I find it extremely rare when I reach the point of "No, I can't watch/listen to this anymore."

This is one of those times.

It's a woman on the phone from Iran, talking to CNN news reporters, describing Iranian police killing protesters. I stopped after she finished saying a husband fainted after his wife was beaten to death, and began talking about the police just shooting into the crowd. I just couldn't listen. It was her voice, rising as she spoke, getting higher and higher as she talked about each horrible thing she had seen built in her voice.

Wed, 03 Jun 2009 23:21:44 GMT

This saddens me

Because it won't be out 'til 2010. Motherfucker.

for eclipse8dream

Fri, 22 May 2009 04:54:04 GMT

xkcd for eclipse8dream

Also, everybody needs to see this, because it's amazing.

Star Trek

Fri, 08 May 2009 14:02:26 GMT

Saw it last night. It was awesome.

Can't say much more than that, except for this. Shatner, the reason you weren't in this movie is because it wasn't about you. It was about Spock. I'm sorry your ego couldn't take that.

Mon, 13 Apr 2009 03:14:43 GMT

Melody synthisizer. Something that got linked to me. It's nifty.

Tue, 07 Apr 2009 13:10:06 GMT

Whenever I think things are starting to pick up and go well, something happens to fuck everything up.

New goal in life.

Fri, 20 Mar 2009 23:08:13 GMT

I'm surprised I didn't already have that on the list, but I suppose i never really thought it was going to happen in my lifetime.

To see Blue Turn Black.

Random note

Tue, 10 Mar 2009 04:06:36 GMT

She said yes.

I've been informed by co-workers I am glowing at times. It horrifies them.

The sickness has me

Thu, 26 Feb 2009 22:14:11 GMT

Now I'm incessantly listening to Robbie Williams' Millenium. God dammit.

Sat, 21 Feb 2009 16:18:26 GMT

Interesting.

Ronald Reagen signed a treaty stating the US is bound to investigate torture in '88. Clinton's senate ratified it in '94.

Obama is bound by treaty to investigate Bush. We have people admitting torture was done, and a DOJ statement that waterboarding isn't torture doesn't make waterboarding not torture. He never issued any pardons for any of these folks (he didn't even issue a pardon for Scooter Libby, despite Cheney begging him to do so). Obama's even legally required to go and prosecute them.

Only problem? PR. Except, Ronnie Ray-gun signed the treaty. Bush went against Reagen, the greatest president EVAR!!!!!!11111 according to (most) Republicans. Spin it that way, hype up the "Ronald Reagen signed this treaty" aspect, and no one can go against this. No one dares desecrate Reagen's name on that side of the fence

Thu, 22 Jan 2009 03:32:10 GMT

I now know four people who used to work at Spag's (before the daughters took over), but now work at Staples. This is especially strange, since nobody around here even knows what Spag's is.

Thu, 15 Jan 2009 17:53:11 GMT

My God, it's full of crazy. Taken from Gibson Blog.

I know Karate. Voodoo, too.

Thu, 01 Jan 2009 23:00:13 GMT

I don't know why I like this. But it's strange. Now I'm listening to more Tom Waits.

Year of the Pig

Fri, 26 Dec 2008 05:48:21 GMT

It's got the full song on it (all 18+ minutes of it), but I've already listened to that (FLAC rip from record). This has country edits (US, UK, and Japan). Which are all amazingly different.

The US and UK both keep the opening elements of the song. The US has the male lead cut in with a loud scream, while the UK edit keeps the closest to the full song, paring it down (cutting out the beginning and much of the refrains) and upping the tempo just enough that you don't notice it. The Japanese version, though... it makes it sound like fucking techno-pop, which is disturbing for punk rock. Tempo is cranked up a lot, most of the guitar is gone, and the piano is upped.

It's all very strange.

I think it's the season.

Sun, 07 Dec 2008 03:03:10 GMT

More shit has been piled on. It's a good thing, I suppose. Gives me a sort of nervous relief.

Now I can worry about everything else going on in my life.

So tired.

I hate November, and November hates me.

Sun, 16 Nov 2008 07:08:28 GMT

Me and November have a long history of hating each other. It started with Car Insurance. Then it advanced to the smashing of my exhaust pipe two years ago, and dropping a ~500 to fix it. Last year, it was Disney's wonderous drain on my credit card and further repairs to my car. This year, it was a police officer informing me that my registration had expired at 2:30am friday morning.

Does anybody remember if a reminder gets mailed out at all? I've asked at work, and I can't get a straight answer out of anyone. I recall getting one last year, maybe, but I'm not sure now.

Eitherway, I had fun calling people while the battery on my phone died. The cop was gigantic dick, because cops are always gigantic dicks. The only cop I have ever had a pleasent conversation with was a statie I found a pen refill for. So my car got towed and impounded.

Now I have to take monday off of work to go get my car re-registered and then hunt down the impound lot. At least I got off with just a warning, but then he probably knew how much I'd have to pay for a new registration and getting it out of the impound lot.

*sigh*

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 03:13:29 GMT

There are certain times I wish I was a doctor, so that I could stab a bone syringe into my face and draw out all the shit in my sinus cavities to stop them from hurting.

Well fuck

Tue, 21 Oct 2008 02:19:16 GMT

So I suddenly realized how to make serial_monster more interesting: The Warmaster writes it for someone (who is part of the second book). And just staring at that change, it makes so much sense, but it also changes a lot of the outline and structure, something I haven't been paying much attention to except in the 2nd draft. Which means I have to drop what I've written so far (not much, admittedly, I'm slower than molasses that hasn't been set loose upon boston on a warm winter day) and start again.

WHEEE.

The Joy of MEMEs

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 01:11:09 GMT

stolen from irony_chan

CREATE YOUR OWN 50'S HORROR MOVIE MEME!

You Will Need:
1 D10
This list
A little imagination

Instructions:
Roll the D10 four times. Write down the words that correspond to each number. Then come up with a 1-paragraph synopsis of your movie's plot!

FIRST ROLL:
0) Attack of the
1) Revenge of the
2) Terror of the
3) Curse of the
4) Earth Versus the
5) Lair of the
6) Castle of the
7) The Amazing
8) Brides of the
9) Island of the

SECOND ROLL:
0) Slime
1) Devil
2) 50-Foot
3) Teenage
4) Swamp
5) Vampire
6) Wolf
7) Atomic
8) Bloodsucking
9) Crawling

THIRD ROLL:
0) Creatures
1) Monsters
2) Women
3) People
4) Zombies
5) Things
6) Spiders
7) Beasts
8) Apes
9) Brains

FOURTH ROLL:
0) from Hell
1) from Outer Space
2) from Mars
3) from the Centre of the Earth
4) from 20,000 Fathoms
5) from the Year 5000
6) from the Lost World
7) that Wouldn't Die
8) from Beyond the Grave
9) from the Mummy's Tomb

My own creation:

Brides of the Swamp Apes from Beyond the Grave.

The third movie in the "Swampes Apes" series, this one plunged into depths of depravity unseen since Attack of the Atomic Women that Wouldn't Die. Largely considered an excuse by producers to have many teen-aged woman running about wet and scantily clad. With the death of the Swamp Apes in the 2nd movie, they needed a way to bring back the horrid creatures for a 3rd showing, but without actually using any special effects budget. Thus: slapping "from Beyond the Grave" into the title. With this, more time could be devoted to watching screaming girls running through night-filtered swamps in teeny-weenie yellow polka-dot bikinis, instead of being used on such things as "plot" or "special effects." Even still, this is considered a masterpiece next to the 4th movie, Revenge of the Swamp Apes from the Mummy's Tomb.

GRAHARGHARGH

Wed, 17 Sep 2008 19:03:54 GMT

Visited dentist for first time in four years. I have very nice (albeit large) teeth, apparently. No cavities, no nothing. Little bit of buildup, and I need to floss.

No, the pain will commence when I get home. I'm at work now. I have no internet at home, and I have no idea when it will return. Last time we spoke with comcast, they said we had to speak with our old roommate about getting him to sign something to throw at comcast. Except we never got it from him, after asking three times over three months.

We'll see how asking them politely (but insistently) will do.