SiriusAddict.com

I often times wonder if someone knowledgeable ever answers that chat sessions for Comcast. It seems every time I get on their live chat system, I get some person who doesn’t have a clue what I am talking about initially. Here’s case and point:

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“MySpace doesn’t really have a way to police that.” That sums up this clip. It’s a about sex offenders who are portraying themselves as young teens on MySpace as is a class taught by the Learning Annex put on by Saturday Night Live. While it’s funny, it also reinforces the fact that MySpace doesn’t have a way of policing anything, nor do other social networks (although other social networks are safer).

Just a note to say Happy New Year to all!  Hope the new year brings good things to everyone

Here are some of the pictures I took in 2007. I just thought I’d share; enjoy! http://www.siriusaddict.com/photography

Despite lacking updating the site and keeping current with a song of the week or artist of the week, I have to say Paramore is actually a really good group.

It’s good for a few reasons:  it has the grunge and anger of Avril in her earlier years, but also has the feeling of Garbage and kind of throws back to their days.  The lead singer is angry enough to make you like it, but not angry enough to turn you off from her music and ask yourself “Why do I care about her problems?”  Crushcrushcrush is the song I am talking about as is Misery Business.  You might not have heard of the former, but take a listen to it on iTunes and you’ll definitely like it.

I watched this show on Discovery Times tonight called Most Evil and it was probably the most interesting show I’ve ever watched, but it makes me want to know more.

The premise of the show is based on a Columbia University professor, Dr. Stone, who has a 22-point scale on how evil a person is based on the act they committed (in most cases murder).

He goes around the world interviewing those currently incarcerated or previously incarcerated and asks them questions to try to determine why they committed the crime they did and what motivates a person to commit a crime, particularly if the person has no record of criminal history or actions.

A portion of the episode centered around Archie McCafferty and how love turned around his life, essentially. A professor in Virginia (I believe it was there — can’t remember the University) did a study where a participant was put in an FMRI machine and subjected to two images: a blue circle meaning everything was good, or a red X meaning that they could be subject to a small electrical impulse, I assume somewhat in a roundabout way related to the Milgram experiment. The red X didn’t mean that the subject was going to be shocked by rather it was probable, not guaranteed.

The subject was place in the FMRI machine alone and brain activity was measured. It was basically a stress test. Then, an unknown male subject walked into the room in part 2 of the test and held the participant’s hand. This showed no brain activity in regards to comfort, as is kind of expected. A stranger cannot provide that much comfort in a stressful situation and this test proved it. But then the subject’s husband came in and held her hand and sure enough the comfort level went up and the stress level down. So it does show that having someone you love in your life makes a difference.

This all relates back to Archie McCafferty who met a woman named Mandy while he was incarcerated in Australia and how when he met her, his rage and “desire”, so to speak, to kill subsided (his background information isn’t important but if you care to know, you can Google his name and read this article). Nonetheless, I think it’s really interesting that one special person is all it can take for some people to completely reverse their actions and thoughts or rage, jealousy, or hate.

At the same time, I guess it’s the empty hole that needs to be filled in a person’s life that once filled, there’s no reason to hold onto that rage and jealousy. In the end, it all makes sense and is a really interesting topic to study. The very few psychology courses I enrolled in while I was in college were interesting, but they were just high level stuff that pretty much anyone could infer from just watching humans and studying them (granted it was still interesting). As stated, the whole topic is definitely interesting and makes you want to know more…

Check out Most Evil on Discovery when it comes on again: see schedule of future airings.

Last night, I sold some stuff online. In last July, my account was blocked via PayPal for one reason or another. That’s odd considering I am using the Verisign token ID, a strong password, and know very well about phishing and spoof e-mails. So I was understandably angry that it appears to happen when I make a payment or receive a payment online.

Today, I wound up calling PayPal and asking them what’s up. Surprisingly, I talked to someone immediately (considering it’s midday and they have limited hours, I was impressed). The representative was very nice (Dave) and took a look over my account. I mentioned that access was limited in late July through early September, but last night, it was active and then limited itself again for some reason.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t give an explanation why, which is a bit disturbing, but I can’t ask too much I’m sure anyway. I asked why it would go into Limited Access in the first place. He mentioned that when they get a spoof e-mail submitted to them, they scan the e-mail for e-mail addresses. Then, if they see your e-mail address in there and you have an active Paypal account (the key here), they *can* limit your account access for security reasons. At that point in time, you need to fill out their change request form (password, security questions, etc). Then if the account is not activated again, just give them a call and they will work through it with you.

While I understand the reason to lock the account due to a phishing e-mail and appreciate the security measures, there’s a limit when it’s security and then when it’s security + annoyance. Considering they saw your account in a phishing e-mail, it doesn’t mean you’ll act on it. I guess their system should be revised a bit, in my opinion but I’m not sure how, that’s the issue. Since we don’t know how they scan accounts for suspicious activity, it’s hard to say why factors set off the red flag.

Either way, I was impressed with the response time to activate my account again and appreciate the representative helping me to the best of his knowledge and to the best he could. At least the account is active again…

In the past few years, there’s this politician that has come along named Pat McDonough that decided it’d be an excellent idea to have his campaign revolve around speaking English and flaunting signs that read “Speak English!” To him I say: Shut up.

When did America become the place were English is the official language and we didn’t welcome in those who are legally allowed and have applied for and been given VISA’s to stay here? America doesn’t have an official language and Maryland, as you’re trying to make it, shouldn’t have the official language as English. You are the most self-centered, close-minded, and arrogant person I’ve ever heard of. You felt that people were cheering for you during the parades in Maryland, as you explicitly wrote in a local newspaper, because they supported your “Speak English” campaign. Maybe they were, but did you also notice the people snickering at you? Probably not, because you’re too full of yourself to think anything bad of your campaign. 

So what’s next for you, I ask? Perhaps you should add to the campaign “No Asians” or “No Blacks” and see how many people you piss off. After all, it would fit nicely with your current campaign since you’re discriminating against those legal residents here who CHOOSE to speak Spanish or another language rather than English. Let me also remind you of freedom of speech and the choice to speak the language you are most comfortable with, have grown up with, or simply prefer.

Take a look at the constitution sometime. You might be surprised how this country prides itself on freedom of speech and expression, which your campaign clearly says “No, I’m not going to support that.”Perhaps you never took the time to learn Spanish or other languages in school where you were surely given the opportunity to do so. If you were not given that opportunity, I’d recommend Rosetta Stone to learn the language. But since you’re so full of yourself and narrow minded, you won’t take up that offer. You’ve certainly enough money to purchase a course and learn something from it. But I have faith that you never will. Besides, if you know Spanish (since that’s what I assume you’re targeting), what’s the big deal? Allowing your “Speak English” bill that makes English the official language of Maryland is not only idiotic, it’s also childish. That’s likely the reason your bill hasn’t passed as of yet. Aren’t there more important things to work on in office or are you just “trying to make the world a better place” by making it more Aryan in a sense (but just relating it to language rather than race)?

If we all act, speak, and think the same, hey, there can’t be any problems!  Yeah… whatever. Even if your bill does by some miraculous standard pass, making English the official language of Maryland is absolutely ridiculous. Is there also a clause in there that says “If you don’t speak English fluently and enough that can be understood and carry on a high-level conversation with a native-bon English speaker, you can’t live in Maryland?” Your goal is to make English the official language of Maryland…so what exactly will that do? Of course you’ll probably put some spin on it saying “Well, non-English speaking immigrants (note: because all non-English speaking people are immigrants according to your views I’m sure because there certainly cannot be a Spanish speaking, American born person living in America *gasp*!) will get the message that they are not welcome in Maryland and thus should not come to Maryland due to the fear of an official language.”

Right… non-English speaking people will come here despite what you say and attempt to pass in a bill and furthermore, they’ll gang up on you and really tell you how childish your bill is anyway. Frankly, I hope that they do and that it’s a slap in the face to you because your reality isn’t what America would agree on if you decided to randomly poll people.

There was an interesting Flickr group and new segment on Fox News ( video ) about a photographer that decided that after taking pictures in a public place and being approached by security guards he’d speak up and rally against this action by the security guard. According to the video and posts on Flickr, he was taking pictures of the shops and sidewalks in Silver Spring, MD and was approached by a security guard telling him to essentially stop doing so because it was against the rules or something, despite it being a public place.

Also in the video when Fox News brought out their news camera near the FBI building a security guard, that could only chase down a donut if it was running away from her (she was huge and really the only thing she could protect is blocking the doors to the building by standing in them), approached them and question them. While I sort of understand the concept behind not taking picture of federal buildings, it’s kind of stupid honestly. I am willing to bet I could walk down there with a pen and notepad, walk around the building a few times casually looking at it and taking notes of where entrances, cameras, and security guards are located. And in fact, that can be just as effective as a picture or video if done detailed enough. But would I get questioned about it? Probably not if I was careful about it. Sure, I’d be on surveillance video, but so what?

Don’t get me wrong: I’m all for national security and wouldn’t do the above because I don’t want trouble in any event (and frankly don’t care enough to do so) . But there’s a limit to what is national security and what is a public place that should be open to do as you please (under the law and decency standards). I just feel it’s kind of wrong that a security guard approached the subject that started this outcry in the first place. It’s not like he was taking a picture of something highly sensitive: it was a sidewalk and shops in Silver Spring, MD. According to another post on the Flickr group for banned photography in D.C., the property is owned privately and it’s the policy of the company that owns the property to “not allow pictures” as they can be used to “say bad things” about the stores and/or company. Hmmm… last I checked, I can open my mouth and bad mouth the stores on this street due to lack of service, less than sanitary conditions, etc (if that were the case of course; I don’t know as I’ve never been) and the company owning the property could not do a thing about it. They’d probably try to charge me on slander or something and they might even win because God knows I wouldn’t have any proof to back it up except my word since pictures “aren’t allowed” on this particular street.

In the end, it’s all ridiculous and I’m certainly not trying to change the rules or law or by any means trying to change what the government feels is national security as I’m sure they have a good reason for defining the rules they’ve defined and that’s totally cool with me. It’s just that the flaws in the arguments are what bother me in life. If you’re going to make a stand on something, you better have a good reason for doing so and be able to support it nearly flawlessly, otherwise it’s just a stupid stance you’re taking in my opinion. Thoughts? Against it? For it?

Everyone knows who I am talking about, even if you don’t know me personally. As the year goes on and it get warmer outside, I’m seeing more and more people (read: Mexican workers) on the corner selling flowers. Now don’t get me wrong, I have no problem with their ethnicity, heritage, gender, or what they do. It’s always the same group of people working, though; Mexicans, and that’s cool.

But that’s not really what this post is about. It’s about the fact that when you’re across the intersection and watching them as there are no cars there, they are ALWAYS holding the bouquet of flowers upside down letting any remaining water that’s left in the flowers fall to the ground and not to the stems of the flowers (which is how flowers get their water primarily). But the second a car stops, they begin walking toward the intersection and all of the sudden, the flowers are upright and practically being pushed through your windshield. But that’s not the amusing thing about this scenario.

Rather, the amusing aspect is that when you’re in the car alone, you’re looking every which direction the flower guy is not in. You’ll fake a call; you’ll fidget with something in the console; you’ll shave (wouldn’t recommend it!); anything you can do to show you’re not paying attention to him (or her in some rare cases). After all, you’re not a prospective customer and you certainly don’t want to look like one! As the guy walks past you, you feel you’re in the “safe zone” again and not a prospective customer.

All is well and so you move on with life, right? Of course not! Once the flower guy passes you, you immediately switch your attention to the rear view mirror and side mirrors because a part of you tells you that you’re not out of the clear and frankly, you’re nosy just like every other human being whether you want to admit it or not. So now, this guy is the most interesting person at the intersection. The guy next to you could be picking his nose, there could be an accident across the intersection, and the light color surely doesn’t matter at this point in time. You want to know what this flower guy is doing (even though you know very well he’s trying to sell flowers) and more importantly, you want to know the first person who puts their hand out the windows and starts waving frantically like there’s no tomorrow to get his attention and by from him.

This isn’t just my personal way of doing it either. The next time you’re at an intersection, watch yourself and watch others as well and you’ll see exactly this situation. But you have to be in the car by yourself. Having a passenger doesn’t count because you have the liberty of talking to them and they are usually of more interest. But you’ll see… the next time you’re at an intersection where someone is selling flowers, take a look around you, watch your reactions and others, and you’ll see exactly what I mean!