Mostly Annoyances

I hear so much music on Launch that I would love if it wasn't for the horrible whiny vocals! A good example of that is Taproot -- nice and heavy music, but with a singer who sounds like a little boy who dropped his lollipop in the toilet and wants it back! Can't you fucking SING??! Yes, you can! I can hear that nice rough metal voice every now and then!! USE IT, damnit!! Ah my god, I can't stand those whiny vocals... They certainly master the art of spoiling a potentially good metal song.

And then, on the other end of the spectrum, we have the "Puking Vocalists." They don't sing, they just throw up the content of their bowels in their mike. That's no singing. There's no tone to their "voice", can't hear any difference from beginning to end, or from song to song. I hate them almost as much as the whiny ones (not quite though.)

I know, I know, I'm so intolerant... :) Still, they all suck except the bands I like!!

I bet you're using MS Outlook? Or maybe Eudora if you like to have a real email program? Well you shouldn't! It's amazing how few people still know about the program I'm using... I've been using it for years now, and it just got even better with version 3.x (I couldn't think of how they'd be able to improve it, but they did!) Anyway, I'm talking about PocoMail of course!

I've tried a lot of mail programs and, simply put, nothing comes close to PocoMail regarding customization, ease of use, safety, portability, and, well, just about everything! :) It does everything the big-name mail programs do, and much more!

It's a shareware program, so you can download it and try it for free (it's not even a very large file.) Do yourself a favor and check it out. You will certainly love it.

Woooohs! I found something even better, although totally different, than TotalRock! (it sounds like they say "TurtleRock" with their British accent.) It's on Yahoo and it's called Launch.

It's a "custom" radio, really. No DJs or anything. It just plays music by genres you like, and you can then rate the song, artist and/or album as it plays. Little by little, you basically build your own radio station that will only play what you like, while still discovering new things in the genres you enjoy. Very nice! I've rated close to a thousand songs/artists so far, and my metal/hard rock station is now playing mostly what I like, at a frequency directly related to the given ratings.

The catch is that, after you've played 350 songs per month (at the medium bandwidth/sound quality, and with a few ads here and there), it tells you that you can either upgrade to Launchcast Plus for $35/year (now, that's kind of cheap) at a higher bandwidth (stereo) and without ads, or continue to use the service for free, but at a lower bandwidth in mono (I didn't notice any difference) and without the ability to skip songs. Mmmh, I don't know what to do yet. I'm kind of addicted I have to say. We'll see.

I'm so picky... I realize there are very few bands I really love, and not a whole lot I tolerate :) Seems like it's always the singer's voice that spoils it all for me... I hate all those "whiny" voices we hear so often on the radio, and I also hate the very guttural voices typical of Gothic metal. My favorite type of vocals for metal would be Phil Anselmo's -- now what a voice!! Committed, rough and powerful! And he can actually *sing* too, not just vomit on his mike!

I wish Launch would encode more Soilwork albums, and also get Coroner and Grip Inc. in there! They are all listed and available to pick as our favorite bands/albums (to influence the music they randomly pick for playing,) but they don't have all albums encoded for streaming, and/or don't have contracts with all record companies. Oh well, at least they do have Pantera, Down (another of Anselmo's bands,) Arch Enemy, and my favorite Soilwork album! (and lots of older stuff I still like, such as Maiden, old Metallica, Ozzy, Sabbath, etc.)

I'm probably the only one in the world who doesn't know about that Launch thing... Don't know why I'm even blogging about it.

It's amazing to think that someone like me, spending 99.9 % of my time in front of a computer and loving music, has never listened to online radios until now. Well, I have only had a cable modem for 1 year, and I usually hate stuff played on the radio, so that explains it a bit.

Anyway, I have finally updated my Windows Media Player to the 9 Series (which came out a year ago!) and started looking into the online radio stuff. Most of the stations I checked out (did a search for "metal") sucked. The best I've found so far is a British station named TotalRock (opens in a new window.) They're live from London 24/7 and play everything from rock to death metal, in different specific programs. They also take requests by email and actually play the songs you ask for! I had them play Soilwork and Coroner for me so far! WOOH! Must be the first time ever that Coroner was played on a radio station, hehe! My next request will be Grip Inc.!

Check them out! :)

Honey-hoo, I think the brother may have tested positive for cheese fondue as well. One should never drink Diet Pepsi with cheese fondue, as you well know. Now, of course, if he had hemorrhoids too, like you suggest, that changes everything.

It's crap, CRAP I SAY! The commercial displays several loser-assholes at a restaraunt drive-through speaker-menu. Several short stoner-scenarios later, they build to a moronic climax by declaring they have no money, put the accelerator pedal to the floor, and plow instantly into a crossing seven-year-old girl on a bicycle, flattenning her like an I.H.O.P. "special" with cherry sauce. This is utter bullshit. First of all, if you can afford weed that incapacitates like these dicks had, you've got money. You can afford a whole bag of hamburgers, and maybe even a shake...yeah, you'll need a shake. Second, if you smoke marijuana (as opposed to drinking alcohol) you would more likely NOT try to attract attention to yourself, and be reserved, if not introspective. It's closer to the truth to say that, if anything, someone who has smoked some pot will be calm, quietish, if not a little paranoid in a public situation. If you were driving, you would more likely smile, wave the little girl on, and look too carefully when entering the roadway (with a giant bag of too much food).
In another attempt to continue the herding of the helpless, uninformed masses of sheep, we have a commercial depicting a person pulled over on the road-side, bending over a heap of flowers where a young man had died. The caption says that the mourning man was the victims brother, and that he tested positive for marijuana.
Of course he did. Almost every person his age has at least tried it. Are we so sheltered, stupid and delusional to think that this plant, untainted by human chemical, causes a person to drive like a maniac? That kid would be dead if his brother was drinking Diet Pepsi. If he was a bad driver. Or was distracted with the pop-top. Or scratched his nuts and chopped off a pimple! The weed had nothing to do with it. What else did he test positive for? Alcohol? Tylenol? Heroine? Cocaine? Hemorrhoids? We will see these all used as excuses for reckless driving and manslaughter as soon as they can mask some real concern.
Look, I don't give a snake's ass what you do. I just hate lying liars. Especially when it costs $250,000.00 for a 30 second commercial of lies that reaches us all simultaneously, over and over again, until the truth is...not.

Time is thinking about us. As we tick away, time wonders how many of us are left. What will there be at the end of...us? What will it do without us to begin our story, to make late...to kill? Time needs us as much as we fear it. As time flies, it steals itself.

Woohs! I've finally kicked myself hard enough to finish that web site I'd started making a while back! I really wanted to be able to show those things to my mom easily (she got her first computer only a few months ago) and she's never seen my Bryce art and other stuff I made. I still want to add more to the site, like maybe a gaming section with my best Rollercoaster Tycoon coasters and parks, possibly other favorite games.

I debated adding a "Writing" section but, so far, I really only have stuff I'd written in French -- which is okay since probably only my mom will visit the site, haha! (although my mom knows a bit of English.) Still, I may add that at some point. What's weird is that I really dislike poetry, but I had written several poems in French (that was a long time ago -- at least 15 years ago.) Those poems are quite good, really, with rhymes and the same amount of syllables every other line. Too bad this is not the type of things that can easily be translated -- everything, rhymes and subtleties, would be lost in the translation... So, well, why don't you learn French? :)

Anyway, the new site displays all my Bryce art (many available in desktop wallpaper size,) some drawings, 3D houses... It also has all my music, and a picture of the 3 clay miniatures I've made so far. I'll add more stuff when I make more stuff :)

Go take a look at Ratqueen's Hobbies & Creations.

Damn, AOL releases new versions faster than rats procreate! I've had to install yet another version last night! (version 9.0.) So now I have the last *3* versions of AOL installed on my computer -- I say "BAH!" The thing is that I *have* to keep all three installed for work, since we're still selling the last three versions of PowerTools for AOL, each compatible with a different version of AOL. I have to start working on updating the PowerTools help file again now (just finished updating the one for PowerTools 11 for AOL 8.0 -- a major update already!) Brad had to change quite a few things in the program because of AOL 9.0's new format. I'll say it again: BAH.

That's what we are! Bad bloggers! I see that neither of us has blogged for a whole week! Shame on us! I even forgot to post my Friday Five questions last Friday. Mah-mah-mah!

Okay. I'm sure you've been in this situation, either as the annoyed person or, more likely, as the annoying one. I guess we all do it every now and then, but some people do it more often than others (like, all the time?) and that is SO annoying!

So, when someone says something, why is it that people always try to relate it to themselves instead of commenting or asking something to the person who initiated the topic? Here are a few annoying examples:

Person 1: "I just got out of the hospital. Had a terrible car accident."
Person 2: "Oh yeah, I've had a bad car accident in the summer of 1949."

Person 1: "I'm from Switzerland."
Person 2: "Oh yeah, my uncle's cousin's daughter is Swedish too. She was born in 1949."

Oh please! Before you open your uneducated mouth, get your geography right too! (and I said: ge-o-gra-phy, not geometry!)

Person 1: "I cooked homemade spaetzlis for lunch today."
Person 2: "Oh yeah, first time I tried that was in 1949. And it was brown rice, really."

Person 1: "My computer crashed last night."
Person 2: "Oh yeah, even though personal computers didn't exist then, I had a dream that mine crashed on New Year's Eve of 1949. It was bad."

And finally, the most annoying of all:

Person 1: "I have pet rats."
Person 2: "Oh yeah, I've had hamsters for a long time. Since 1949 actually."

HAMSTERS?? Hell, why not talk about your MILK COW while you're at it?

Oh yeah...

Well, who isn't? So if you're like me, you might like this. I always search the web for free stuff (usually software) or cheap stuff (usually software, although I may be tempted by books and personal jets.) After checking out many sites in search of a particular type of games, and not finding anything worthy with my favorite price tag ($0.00,) I found the next best thing: cheap.

Do you like jigsaw puzzles? No? Then you girlfriend might (hey, now that's a good idea for a cheap Christmas present! My specialty!) So I found that wonderful jigsaw puzzle game for only *$9.95*! And it's not crap! Not at all. I don't like cheap crap (usually.)

The game is called "Jigs@w Puzzle" (how original.) And it costs only $9.95, in case I hadn't mentioned that yet. As you might except (or should expect,) it allows you to create jigsaw puzzles with any images or photos. The great thing about it, besides the fact that it's only $9.95, is that it allows you to cut the pieces into 8 different sets of shapes, and select how large/small you want the pieces, which obviously changes the amount of pieces for your puzzle. It also has a "chaos" option that allows you to randomly deform the pieces (that's a slider, so you can deform them just a little, or a lot -- and it shows a real-time preview. Neat.) Of course, we can save/load a puzzle in progress. Another great thing aside from the price (which is just $9.95,) is that is has a wonderful interface -- not only is it beautiful, but it's also very easy to use (great for grandmas that want to play jigsaw puzzles.) Oh, and the pieces are nicely represented on the screen, with a nice shading/shine, and you'll hear a satisfying "click" when two matching pieces lock together.

The most amazing, I think, (besides the price of $9.95) is the file size of this game. The installation file is only 1.3 MB, and the executable, once the game is installed, is only 465 KB! How the hell did they pack so much goodness into a program with such a small footprint??! (and such a small price!) The game also loads and operates very quickly. Makes me think it was coded in C++... certainly not in VB, like so many shareware programs.

Anyway, it's GOOD! And I only paid $9.95 for it!!

If you want to try the shareware version of this jewel, get it here (opens in a new window):

Jigs@w Puzzle by Tibo Software

1. Do you watch sports? If so, which ones?

Yes, of course. I mostly like to watch those where the players have to eat Madagascar hissing cockroaches (although African cave-dwelling spiders seem to be quite a challenge too.)

2. What/who are your favorite sports teams and/or favorite athletes?

Well, I like Rat Pack #3 quite a bit. They're pretty athletique, especially since they've had that 3-story skyscraper in their cage (it features *2* wooden ladders!) Miss Jigsaw, although tiny in size, is amazingly energetic.

3. Are there any sports you hate?

Mmmh... I think any that don't involve sitting in front of a computer.

4. Have you ever been to a sports event?

You mean, something like a heavy metal concert? If so, yes, I've been to plenty!

5. Do/did you play any sports (in school or other)? How long did you play?

Sure, when they forced me and that I had already used the excuse of feeling unwell the day before, or of being on my period the week before. As far as how long I played, I'd say about 2 minutes at a time, without a break or anything.

I have nothing to say but I figured, if I don't blog something now, I'm going to be outblogged by the Bastard down there (and up there.) I can't let this happen, of course. So, please, take notice that I did blog today, however meaningless my blogging.

Oh! I don't care too much for seafood either (or for giraffes as a matter of fact.)

Those three little words that people find so hard to say...

I don't care what you think of what I think.
I don't care if you lack something you can easily get.
I don't care if things aren't perfect
I don't care too much for seafood

Every motel south of the Ohio border is owned and operated by a man from India. Not a woman; a man. Not Indiana; India. Not a motel; a bag of shit with a bed and a door.
We go to south Florida for a working vacation. We're lucky enough to stay at a luxurious hotel for five days, and enjoyed every moment. Then it was time to travel north to Orlando and Disney World, land of smoke and mirrors (and NO smoking). From here on out the accommodations will not be reimbursed by the employer, so this is when we substitute the H in hotel for an M. Thus began our saga of disgust.
I'm capable of rugged, rustic surroundings, my girl is not, necessarily. However, even I (King Of Clutter And Chaos) could not withstand the fate we had in store. Somehow every motel in the Disney area is filled with mold and mildew so strong that it chokes the breath out of you and makes all your belongings smell like Hell. These were not shady dives either. Fairly respected names like Days Inn and Quality Inn. After the third one, just like the first one, I told Rashid to hook us up with a room, despite the ancient cellar qualities. Turns out this one had a cess-free pool and was almost tolerable. After two days at Disney World we headed again north to find a place to camp for the night. To make a long story end, the camping failed miserably and by 12:30 am we had to stop somewhere for the night. We pull cautiously into a refugee-camp-looking place that the billboard said was around $28.00 for the night. "Not so," says Achmed, "But I can put you in a room for 40.00 plus tax." We just grinned and walked out and back to the car. I was so tired and very frustrated and pissed. I noticed the parking lot needed all the trash from my car's interior, so with childish glee and exhaustion-charged courage, we launched our attack and sped away from the scene, semi-vindicated. A few more miles up the freeway we see a billboard for The Valley Inn. Sounds picturesque, does it not? The sleepy/surly east Indian girl slammed the key onto the desk, yawned and walked away without speaking. I was unloading some stuff from the car and my girl went up to the room to have a look. The first thing she sees is the giant metal cover for the air conditioner was broken off and laid in the floor. I came up and propped it back up with one of the provided chairs. After a while we each sat up in the bed and watched some t.v. Soon we discovered the headboard was covered with a sticky, brown substance that had bonded itself in our hair. I took a provided washcloth and got some of it off of the headboards. At least the room didn't stink too badly, I thought. In the morning I turned on the shower, and it shot a dangerously strong stream of water at the back of the tub, tearing off tiles and waking the neighbors, I'm sure. The shower head had been removed, causing this deadly water cannon and I wasn't getting a shower that morning. I went down and found the manager, and invited him up to the room for a word or two. When he arrived I led him around the room like a time-share salesman. I displayed the broken air conditioning like a pro. The filthy washcloth was an excellent visual for my headboard reveal, and when I showed him the torture-shower, I was so worked up I yelled "If I was to stand in there the force of the water would knock my cock off!" Carole knew I was enjoying this and I enjoyed knowing she was enjoying me enjoying it. With a cool tone Punjab asked "You want take shower?" No...(my spirit went limp, I began to mock) I want refund. "The shower, she works. It is just the head that is missing", he said seriously. "The air conditioner also works, but is just not together at this time." As for the sticky stuff in your hair, I don't know, but I will give refund." I accepted his offer and suggested he fire everyone and start all over again.
We packed up and headed purposely homeward, unwashed but unshaken. Two things were going through my mind; at least I am not at work, and there's no place like home.

More idiom translations...

English: When hell freezes over.
French: Quand les poules auront des dents.
Literal translation from French: When chickens have teeth.

English: To beat around the bush.
French: Tourner autour du pot.
Literal translation from French: To go round the jar.

English: To laugh up one's sleeve.
French: Rire dans sa barbe.
Literal translation from French: To laugh in one's beard.

You know how medicine ads always list a whole bunch of possible side effects? I find that hilarious. Which reminds me that Ratqueen Inc. just came up with this wonderful little pill! But read on...

Zonkpoft BC/AD (Chx.) -- Superior Chin Pain Relief Medicine
With NEW Zonkpoft BC/AD (Chx.), you will no longer feel any pain in your chin, guaranteed! Unlike other chin pain relief medicines, Zonkpoft BC/AD (Chx.) acts where it hurts, and only there! Why would you need headache medicine when only your chin hurts? If your chin hurts, use Zonkpoft BC/AD (Chx.)!

Warnings:
If you are fat or working as a nurse, please contact your doctor before using Zonkpoft BC/AD (Chx.). Children under the age of 12 should only use Zonkpoft BC/AD (Chx.) if they have a double-chin.

Possible side effects:
Abundant anal bleedings, blindness, total hair loss, lung disease, cheek pains, loss of toe nails, skin cancer, genital herpes, acne, dental cavities, meningitis, Parkinson disease, viral computer infections.

How can he be president of the United States? I was starting to get the feeling we're advancing well and had the ability to learn from past mistakes. If that were true our elected figurehead wouldn't have tampered with ballots in the state his brother governs and gotten away with it. He wouldn't be the kind of human who can spread easily provable lies to frenzy us into warring anywhere he sees a profit.
He would pronounce it 'NUCLEAR' instead of 'NUCULAR'.

When I think of all the trained robots that protect him from those of us who supposedly have the power to send him home, my head wants to explode. He is an under-educated, bumbling liar, and those of us who don't see it that way are 'blind as a jar'.

Just before my head explodes I visit BUSH LIES.

I like idioms. Since my first language is French, I sometimes make ridiculous mistakes by literally translating a French idiom into English. I thought I'd share the fun and do some literal idiom translations every now and then. So here goes:

English: To be a bald-faced liar.
French: Mentir comme un arracheur de dents.
Literal translation from French: To lie like a tooth puller.

English: It's not such a big deal.
French: Ce n'est pas la mer a boire.
Literal translation from French: It's not the sea to drink.

English: Stone deaf.
French: Sourd comme un pot.
Literal translation from French: Deaf like a jar.

1. What vehicle do you drive?

Pontiac Sunfire GT.

2. How long have you had it?

Since 1998.

3. What is the coolest feature on your vehicle?

The electric sunroof :)

4. What is the most annoying thing about your vehicle?

Lots of miles for a relatively young car.

5. If money were no object, what vehicle would you be driving right now?

Ah, I don't know... I like the 70's Corvettes but, given my lack of social skills, maybe a military tank would be more appropriate.

Oh, in case you're wondering where everybody gets those "Friday Five Questions", it's at http://fridayfive.org/ (took me a while to find out.)

You are at the top of your game. It has taken years to get up there. You know everything about your position and everyone looks to you for guidance. Then your particular project at work goes south and you must start over. At the bottom. You now know less than the lowest agent. Time to either strap on the climbing gear and begin the new ascent, or chuck it all in and start up somewhere else. I think I'll give it a while. See how it goes.
I really hate this.............

- Refridgerators with an open door.
- Meetings that involve more than one person.
- Forgotten tent parts when going camping.
- Good books that only have 300 pages.
- Neighbors with lots of kids, dogs and annoying bitchy voices.

I mean... besides cheaters, of course! Still, open refridgerator doors are surprisingly much overlooked.

Honeybeeee?... what are you looking for in the fridge?... CLOSE IT!!

I would like to vent for just a moment about something I find cowardly, weak and needless;Infidelity.
In my oppinion, it has nothing to do with religious beliefs, or even moralistic practices for that matter. It has everything to do with extending the same basic respect and humanity you expect or desire from others.
One "reason" for fucking around behind your beloved's back is 'The passion is missing, but I still love them'...if the passion is gone, either find it, create it, give it less priority, or end it. The horrible, gut-wrenching feelings you create by cheating are completely avoidable. Break up first, asshole. I know people who are cheating on their wives/husbands/girlfriends/boyfriends right now. People I respected for one reason or another. Their stupidity has made me think far less of them, and I think they will hate themselves when they realize how badly they have hurt those they say they love.

It's simple. Before you cross that line, draw one behind you and move on.

By "online meetings" I don't mean meeting someone online, I mean a real meeting that takes place online. A work meeting. A boring meeting. Something that should not exist, you know?

Anyway, just got out of one... BO-RING! I sit there while my overzealous colleague fires off (or is it "up", or "down", or "out"?) question after question, and while my boss takes about 5 minutes to type each of his replies, with long gaps where nobody says anything, waiting for someone ELSE to make a comment. And then it's my turn to report on my stuff, and I never have much to say at all because I do the same things all the time and rarely have any dramatic anecdotes to recount. So I rack my brains to find something to say and not look like an idiot (or like someone who doesn't have anything to say)... and I hate it, because I do NOT have anything to say. Or maybe just "bah." Or "meh."

I just wanted a record in here proving that I'm awake and alert at 10:30 AM. Pretty good, huh?