Gee Whillickers

Bradley's Diary - February 14 Mom says it's 'cause I'm only ten, but I don't care, I think Valentine's Day is the most stupidest holiday ever. I hate it. We had to give out Valentines at school. All the dumb girls giggled and me and all my friends just rolled our eyes. My friends and me all agree. Valentine's Day is dumb. Nick said it's as dumb as donkey turds. We all laughed, especially when he crossed his eyes. Dad got Mom flowers and chocolates and took her out for dinner. Mom smiled and told Dad he'd get his present later tonight. Whatever that meant. Dad smiled a lot though after that, so he must think it'll be a nice present. When they went to dinner they left Grady to babysit me. Older brothers are the worst babysitters. All he did was ignore me. Grady's dumb girlfriend Leia came over. Grady gave her chocolates. Chocolate companies must love Valentine's Day. Then they kept smiling at each other all the time. Then they kissed. I rolled my eyes and left the room. They thought that was hilarious. Ha ha, very funny. Grady told me later someday I'd understand. I hope not. It's all too dumb for words. Bradley's Diary - February 14 Valentine's Day is stupid. Grady thinks so too. He told me it's the worst holiday ever. I think he's just mad though because Leia broke up with him last week. I don't see the problem, now he can eat those chocolates he bought all by himself. I think it's dumb because it's all mushy. The girls at school kept giving me and my friends cards and giggling like crazy. Most of my friends think it's dumb too. Not all of them though. A few seemed to like it. That's weird. I told Grady that and he laughed and said that makes sense, eleven is a strange age. I don't know what he meant. It seems a normal age to me. Mom and Dad went out for dinner. Mom said something about giving Dad a present later. Ewwww!!! I think I know what she meant. That's so gross!!! Brad's Diary - February 14 I hate Valentine's Day. I hate it, hate it, hate it! I don't get why half my friends seem to think it's so cool. They're even giving cards out to the girls. I don't know how they can do that. There's only one person I'd give out a Valentine to, and he's... I'd never give out a Valentine. I spent the whole evening in my room playing LfDIII. I was home by myself. Grady took Leia out to some dance and Dad took Mom to dinner. I tried calling Nick to see if he wanted to come over but he said he was going to Shelley's place for dinner. I don't know why he'd want to do that. I'm so bored. This is such a dumb holiday. It really should never have been invented, that way I'd never have to think about...never mind. Brad's Journal - February 14 Middle school sucks at the best of times. Middle school at Valentine's sucks donkey balls. Really. I didn't go to the dance. Not that anyone dances anyway. But there's no way I was going there, I'd just feel even more weird, if that's even remotely possible. Dad says it's because I'm thirteen and shy. Oh, Dad. If you only knew. But you never, ever, will. I'll make sure of that to my dying day, and that's a promise. Grady phoned me from college and asked if I had a girlfriend. I mumbled a no. Then he was quiet for a minute, and then started to ask something else, but then he changed his mind and asked me if I saw the game on TV last night. I almost hung up on him. I think I know what he was going to ask. I really hate Valentine's Day. Brad's Journal - February 14 I punched Nick today. He deserved it. Him and his friends were bugging me, asking if I was going to the dance. I was sitting at one of the small tables at lunch, all alone, like always. He was sitting with a bunch of his jock friends at the next table. I think Nick guessed I wasn't going to the dance. Not that it's a surprise or anything. Then he smirked and asked, real loud, if I couldn't get a date. Then he asked, real loud, if I was a fag. So I punched him. Not real hard, and he deserved it. But I feel awful all the same. No teacher saw, and Nick just looked surprised and turned away from me. I doubt it, but I kinda think he looked slightly guilty for a second. He didn't tell a teacher or anything. So I got away with it. But I still feel horrible. And he's right, of course. Not that he knows that. But fuck, I hate my life. Mostly, I hate Valentine's Day. The Journal of Hell - February 14 I skipped today. Now I'm grounded. Dad was furious. He asked me why, he said I never do that. He thinks I'm some delinquent or something now. So he grounded me, and said I couldn't go to the dance. He says I'm fifteen now, and need to be thinking of my future, of my marks and stuff to get into a good college. So, I'm grounded. Funny thing is, he did me a favor. He just doesn't know it. Now I have an excuse to not go. Marissa is probably going to be pissed, but whatever. She asked me, and I only said yes because Nick and his buddies were watching. It's such bullshit. I really hate this. I really hate Valentine's Day. Bradley's Diary - February 14 Today was the absolute weirdest day of the absolute weirdest school year. I don't believe it. I'm still vibrating. Nick was hilarious. He was trying so hard, and he kept crossing his eyes to make me laugh. He's been trying to set me up with dates for the dance all week, but I kept saying no to every guy he pointed out. I had to reassure him when he thought I was mad at him again. After he came over at the end of summer, all apologetic and miserable, I ignored him for two solid months. He didn't give up though, and kept trying every single day, until I figured he wasn't trying to trick me or something. Then I found out about what happened to his cousin...and well...I knew he was genuine. Poor Nick. Anyway, Nick convinced me to go to the dance anyway, even though I didn't have a date. I finally gave in, and went. There I was, leaning against the wall, and Nick walks up with Steven Marks in tow. Steven was looking all scared and panicky and wide-eyed and adorable. If he only knew how I wanted to give him a Valentine's card when we were twelve. Then, Nick looks at me, and says that Steven wanted to ask me something. Steven blushes all cutely, looking at the gym floor, mumbles, then finally asks me if I want to dance. I picked my jaw up off the floor, eventually, and somehow a minute later there me and Steven were, dancing, and grinning like fools at each other. Then, he walked me home. Then, wonder of wonders, he kissed me. Steven Marks kissed me!! I walked in the house all glowing and grinning. Dad took one look at me and laughed. Then for the second time that night my jaw hit the ground. Dad asked who the lucky guy was that had me all glowing. I blinked stupidly at him, but he just said I could stop trying to fool my old man, and that he loved me and was happy that I had a good time. I went upstairs and then talked with Steven on my cell for an hour before bed. Holy shit, I just love Valentine's Day.

Also, most browsers will either have a built-in mode or allow you to install an extension or add-on that will reverse the colors for you with a click of a button. Often called "night-mode" or something similar.

The truly tragic part of all this, of how it keeps happening again and again, is that we are simply refusing to learn from our mistakes, and refusing to take hard-fought-for wisdom and knowledge and put it to good use. How large groups of adolescents interact and react with each other given various environmental and social pressures, and without proper supervision and encouragement, is not news. It's not a mystery, and it's not a surprise. We know this. It's been studied and researched and written about for decades. It takes strong, skilled, and competent leadership from adults, enlisting help and commitment from so-inclined kids, to create a positive peer culture that encourages and creates tolerance and does not permit the interactions that lead to bullying. This takes effort. And work. And, most importantly probably, money and resources. Without it, it's Lord of the Flies. Every time. Not yet fully developed neo-cortexes, especially in certain individuals, take a back-seat to the hormone and emotion driven monkey-brains that are more concerned about social pecking order and power than calculus or tolerance of differences. We know this. It is predictable and understood. The only question is, why are we choosing to spend our resources elsewhere? Why is drilling for oil and building a new sports stadium so much easier to get money for than hiring the people and creating the programs needed to stop this from happening? Well, again, it's those same base drives and emotions that take over when we decide to forget to think.

It's funny how often this subject comes up in various websites, forums, message boards, etc. Text and background colour on computer screens seems to be a bit of a hot button topic for people. Not surprisingly, a fair bit of solid research has been done on this exact subject. Here's some links on these studies: http://www.aprompt.ca/WebPageColors.html http://www.stcsig.org/usability/topics/readability.html http://www.writer2001.com/colwebcontrast.htm To summarize the general findings, the answer for what is most readable is: It depends. Yeah. Figures, right? But it does. Here's a bit more detailed answer: Different people have different preferences, some like light backgrounds and some like darker. Common elements however for almost everyone are that the contrast is sufficient between text and background, and not colours that clash horribly with each other. More important seems to be font selection and size. So I suppose in the end it's very much a matter of preference and taste.

Agreed. This is a high honor to the quality of the writing and authors here at Awesomedude. Let's celebrate and spread the word as far as possible.

The thing is, you're both absolutely right. It's obvious, it's visible, and it's palpable. Dinner conversations about traveling are different here now. It isn't long where, instead of people talking about going to Jamaica or France or Cuba, they're instead talking about how they're never, ever, going to the States again. Usually accompanied by a horror story of a strip search at the border or their car being torn apart. If not that, then stories about how long they had to wait in a US airport, or other indignities. I know, from certain news stories, that US tourism is suffering as a result. Don't get me wrong. It's getting worse here too. But, we're probably ten or fifteen years behind in terms of survelliance and authoritarianism/militarization. When I was a kid, crossing the border didn't even require ID. The border guard would more or less wave you through. Even fifteen years ago I remember crossing the border from Saskatchewan to Montana. The border at that time on that smallish highway consisted of one small building on one side of the road for US customs, and one small building on the other side of the road for Canadian customs. No gate. No booth. No nothing. The road was marked by a yellow line at the actual border. When I pulled up, absolutely nobody, nobody at all, was around. I stopped, looked around, then drove past the border and pulled off the road. I wandered into the customs building and rang the little bell at the desk. Eventually a friendly looking guy came out from the back, asked me if I had any fruits or vegetables, and then said thanks and went back where he came from. That was it. I could have breezed on through without even slowing down should I have chosen to, and I doubt there would have been any consequence at all. Compare that to my last crossing, about five months ago. I wasn't on a busy highway. I figured a small crossing might be easier, since all the extra security these days at the main crossings means slower and longer lines. I was on my motorcycle. I pulled up to the heavily steel-gated booth. I could see cameras and microphones prickling from every corner. The guard was out and watching me approach before I even rounded the last curve, so obviously they have cameras to watch for approaching vehicles even on the Canadian side. I stopped and before I could even move, the guard was standing right beside me, with a heavy steel hand on my shoulder and his other hand on his waist, near his firearm. He said, in a montone but very serious voice, "Turn off the engine and stay seated." No smile. No hello. No "sir." Just an order. I felt like a damned criminal. Eventually after taking my passport and spending an inordinate amount of time in his booth on his computer with it, he came back out, this time much friendlier. We had a short chat about the weather and I was off, but his improved demeanor did nothing to calm my nerves. Unpleasant doesn't begin to describe it. Then, right after you cross, there's all the warning signs beside the road. Don't do this. That prohibited. Don't you dare... You'd better not.... etc, etc, etc. And I must've passed at least three or four state troopers before I had gone five miles. Once you get past that it's fine, of course. And small towns are still mostly the same as they ever were, but still. There's a feeling, a sense of impending...something. Like everyone is holding their breath. So, yeah. There it is.

Living next door to the U.S. has its own interesting perspective. Canadian culture isn't so different, so the States is more-or-less familiar, and it's extremely easy to blend in. People don't act different around you, since they mostly assume you're another American. I've visited often, the first time that I remember when I was only 10 years old or so. And many times since. But, I don't live there. Perhaps that's why I notice the changes so clearly every time I go there. Starting, of course, at the border stations. Then the road signs, the increased militarization of their police forces, the increased visibility of the military, the change in people's attitude towards authority and government, the increased mistrust of anything odd or different, the increasing polarization of opinions.... I don't want to paint with too broad brush strokes. It's a wonderful country full of beautiful people and great things to see. That's why I go there. But, honestly, I really, really don't like what I'm seeing the last few visits. And, once again quite honestly, if this continues it won't be long at all before I will be making the decision to not go there again. It just won't be worth the hassle, or the risk.

Now the shoe's on the other foot. A restaurant in Tennessee has barred an anti-gay politician for his prejudiced and discriminatory views, saying, "I hope that Stacy Campfield now knows what if feels like to be unfairly discriminated against." Here's the link: http://thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2012/01/30/414125/tennessee-restaurant-throws-out-anti-gay-lawmaker/

That one is excellent.

This is true for almost all professional sports everywhere. I know there was a rugby player by the name of Gareth Thomas who publicly came out. I believe he's now retired but I think he played both league and union and maybe even some international play.

Backups are especially important for anyone who has work on a computer they simply couldn't bear to lose. Like, say, an author. If you care at all about your work, your ideas, your written thoughts, your failed starts, your random notes and observations about the crazyness of life around you, and everything else, you have multiple backups. On another computer, on a usb drive, on a cloud computing server like Dropbox, somewhere, anywhere. Just remember: if your house burns down and all your backups are in that house, it's not really much of a backup.

It's not exactly the delay, but rather many of the nutjobs who write these viruses are sadly very smart people. They hide bits of the virus in other areas, such as your registry or hidden in other benign looking processes. The virus checker will find the "main" part of the virus and delete it, but the other part of the virus will then notice this and immediately put those pieces back. And vice versa--if the other part gets deleted first, then the second part will replace the first part. Or, you can delete the file from the hard drive, but since the process is already running in memory, it will simply write it back. For these, you need to run a standalone virus checker, where you boot from a CD or USB stick, so windows isn't actually running when you delete them, that way there's no process running to immediately write 'em back. Seriously though, aside from the odd exception, the best and easiest way to avoid almost all of these things is to stay away from the seedy underside of the internet. There's a reason why many teens' computers are absolutely the most virus filled things in existence---all the porn sites, and they don't know better than not to click on clever, catchy, and colorful looking buttons on websites offering stuff too good to be true due to lack of experience. Edit: I forgot another common virus vector: If you use questionable peer-to-peer file downloading programs for music or movies and whatnot. Many of these are full of viruses themselves, and many of the things you download on these networks are also full of viruses. If you download stuff like this, use a known safe client written with a GNU license and be careful what you download.

The most common vector these days for most of them is as Trojan Horses. In other words, they're disguised as something else that you think is safe. A lot of them infect your computer when you click on those buttons on various websites that proclaim, "Your computer is infected! Click here to clean!" or some variant. Those aren't virus cleaners. They're viruses. Never, ever, click on anything like this. The only thing you should be using to clean your system is your known and trusted utilities. The sketchier the website, the more likely they will be rife with these kind of things. Other common vectors are vulnerabilities in web browsers or email programs. Stay up to date with those programs, and use something known to be fairly trusted, such as firefox, chrome, thunderbird, etc. Or use gmail or something similar for email. Never open any email attachment from an unknown source. And never open any unexpected attachment from a known source without checking it with your virus checker first, since even trusted sources may, unbeknownst to them, have their computer infected. Always run your virus checker and keep your definitions up to date, something known to be actually useful such as Security Essentials or Avast, not something expensive and relatively useless such as MacAfee. Or, just run linux and avoid 99% of all of these issues.

Now that we have bootsector virii, even reformatting your hard drive and reinstalling a shiny new copy of windows won't work if you're unlucky enough to have obtained one of these lovely nasties.. The virus lives in the bootsector of your hard drive, the tiny area used to tell your computer where to find the operating system to start booting from. It doesn't get touched by a wipe or reformat. So you can freshly reinstall windows and still have a virus. You need a special utility (like GMER) to clean one of these out. Or just buy a new hard drive. Or take a flame thrower to your computer and then drive a monster truck over it.

Very powerful stuff. Thanks for posting that.

Excellent article. Thanks for finding this.

Okay, I have to retract some of what I wrote above. After some more reading, the participatory part of it is more about ideas, feedback, and money during the creation process. The effects themselves are mostly done by one guy, but yeah, low budget indeed for this kind of work.

Camp parody is difficult to get right. So often, if not done exactly right, it comes across as stupid and crass instead of clever and funny. When someone hits the balance right, they usually have a cult classic on their hands. When they don't, which is far more often, the book or film or whatever gets tossed on the rubbish heap and is quickly forgotten about, except perhaps as an example of horrible work. The effects on this film I believe are mostly done by volunteers collaborating mostly over the internet and using home gear. In that context, I'm amazed they managed to do what is shown in the trailers. Of course, I don't know the details of the rest of it, just what I've read since finding this yesterday, but apparently that's the idea behind participatory cinema.

Well, this should be interesting. Made using the new-ish Participatory Cinema method of funding and effects, an indie film that looks like it'll either be a whole lot of amazing fun, or really, really bad. It turns out that after WWII ended in 1945, the nazis didn't disappear. They holed up in a secret base on the far side of the moon. Now, it's 2018, and they're ready to come back. In a big way. I give you: Iron Sky And another... (Language Warning) Here's the President of the USA in the film:

Oh my. That's some imagery!

Can you imagine the panic by every business leader and government if a useful, working replicator was actually invented? They would immediately, and forcefully, move to squash it with every means necessary. After all, if you can make anything you want, say, a new car or computer, in the comfort of your own home, why buy anything? The entire world economy would collapse completely, overnight!

:lol: Maybe truer than you realize.

Did you try ndiswrapper? What chipset is it, there's not too many that aren't supported now.

Pretty much, and not for the first time. Flip open style cell phones are modeled after the original series communicator, ipads and tablets are modeled after The Next Generation's PADD device, (which is why Apple's attempted patent on the form factor is ridiculous) and of course the ubiquitous use of touchscreens on TNG has now become reality. Life imitating art indeed.