Finding Drivers

I own this


To get drivers, I go to Belkin.com
Then I look closely so that I can search in the 'support' section to find drivers.

This thing has about EIGHT sequences of numbers and letters which could be the MODEL number.

Try one, nope. Try another, nope, try another, nope... you get the gist of it. Why does every company make model numbers hard to locate, and completely indistinguishable from all of the other little numbers which mean SHIT and are utterly useless?!

Finally, I put in the right model number, and I find a product page. "NOW we're getting somewhere!"
I put in the 'version number' (at least that one was somewhat labeled), and now I'm seeing links to download either drivers, or software.

I click. It takes me to belkin.com

WTF?!!!

I go back, in disbelief.. Yup, the links just link to the HOME PAGE. WTF!

So now I use GOOGLE, at least now I know the model number. I find a page that has drivers.
Guess what? That page is on BELKIN.COM !!!!

Yup, they can't even set their links right.

I sent them a letter using a feedback form, which I could only use as a desperate last resort because their website doesn't list any EMAIL addresses for feedback in English. They just list phone numbers and company addresses. Useless, that's like telling people to fuck off - They did have a little link to serve those people who want to 'submit an idea'. I let them have it.

I'd love to be able to triumphantly declare that I'll never buy from them again because they're stupid, but so is every other tech company on earth. This problem happens with EVERY damn company. There's not one that gives a shit about users being able to find drivers long after they've thrown out their installation CDs or turned them into coffee coasters.

It's so bad... you can install a device, and look it up in 'Device Manager', Windows won't even be able to spit out a product name half the time. This is what humans do to each other. We design good products and then we do this.

Kennedy Salad

Lemon juice + salsa + pesto.
Try it.

I wonder if this is low calorie compared to other dressings?

Innocence lost

People say when one gains carnal knowlege, that they are no longer innocent.
I think that's one of those sayings which is completely off the mark, and is perpetuated because if you don't really think about it, you just might find that is'very easy to just agree with.

"When live gives you lemons, make lemonade." - Easy to agree with, but try telling that to someone who just lost their spouse to something tragic. There's no wisdom in it then. It certainly isn't universal, but it didn't contain the necessary context and limitations to make it so.

How much of our lives do we believe certain things that aren't universal, taking them as some universal article of faith?

So let's revisit "innocence lost", that one bugs me.

It isn't lost. However, knowledge is gained. There's this idea that once someone knows sex, they have to become an incurable sex maniac. Their innocence is lost, and they will try to sleep with every neighbor's wife, and begin seducing young children like a predator (or a Catholic priest). Obviously, the whole thing is grossly out of context.

Innocence isn't lost unless you're talking Adam and Eve and you believe that 99% of all sex is a sin. In that case, yeah it might be lost. Once Little Johnny learns to masturbate, that game is over and he'll be a sinner for the rest of his life, because... it's human nature, and it's awfully gooooood.

Innocence lost... For me, I recently had a connected experience, that's why this has been buzzing in my mind. I happened to have sex with 'the fantasy girl'. The one who has a figure that belongs on a three page foldout, and is a master and lover of 'sin', if you'll call anything sexy a sin. My entire life, my mind had told me that the sexier someone is, the better it'll be. What I learned is that sex is sex, and the mind lies about that one.

Innocence lost? I do feel a little guilty for what amounts to a one night stand. Guild passes. The whole innocence lost thing revolves around a change in behavior, how will my behavior change?

Well, like I said, the mind lies about "sexy is better sex". If anything, this would improve my fidelity to anyone that I am ever with because I know that if some gorgeous figure flashes her tits and tries to allure me with the perfect body, and... everything else that goes with the sexiest woman imaginable.... well, they'll get turned down because sex is sex is sex, and a rose is a rose is a rose. The greatest illusion I ever believed in was that sexiness is better sex or different sex. It's absolutely the same. That's the real story of this post. Sexiness is a bit of an illusion.

Innocence isn't gained or lost by knowing or not knowing anything... unless you're a religious nut job.

English Translation

There's a game I play called Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
I'm going to launch a technical project on sourceforge, to translate from Japanese to English.
Mostly, I'll be perfecting 'Engrish' into English. Mostly grammatical stuff.
I'll probably be working with a small team. I'll be learning some new programming stuff like their subversion controls and GET repositories. Techie tech tech blah.

Incidentally, I'm also looking at a career of teaching English. I want to get a TESL certification so that I'm not a fake teacher in Shanghai.

"I need space"

My first breakup caused me to feel pain and uncertainty for about eight years, and I hated women because of it. I also learned something about what people are feeling when they say, "I can't, I need space".

A boy who left you last year is messing with your heart today? Pain doesn't last that long, but love does, and love can cause pain if you love someone that doesn't love you back.

I pushed away sincere friends because of it. The only healing I ever had was when I finally stoped loving this person who was now so far in my past.
If you hurt, you still love him. That is why you need space.

Even my relationships today are still impacted by this person in my past. My first girlfriend. I hesitate to feel or trust anyone.

The damage wouldn't have ever been so bad if I knew what the source was.
I needed to stop loving her, stop thinking about her and the times we were together.
I had to stop asking "why" and accept the new situation that she did not want me.

Ask yourself:
Should he impact you more than any of your better friends or family? Should something negative control how you think and feel? You need to let go. That certainly takes time, but isolation won't help. I tried it myself. You need to just stop loving him and the past, love today.

Go out with your friends and family, let something be more important than he was. Put him into the a different place in your mind and heart. So long as this person (any part of them, or your memory of them) is on a pedestal, you will have no peace.

With new experiences, you will get further and further from the past. You need something to think about and value today.

You need friends and new experiences, not empty space. You need to go out more and get your old life back, the good life you had before you met this guy.

We never need space. The problem of space is when we make space for someone that no longer loves us. You need full space, not empty space.

Android Sucks

I got a phone which is powered by the "open source" Android operating system.

This is a smart phone, I should be able to do email, notes, calendars, spreadsheets, almost any kind of program... but I can't even put a .txt file on it because the proprietary file browser (connection tool) is so heavy with DRM protection that I can't even move a text file from the computer to the phone.

DRM is hollywood legal stuff to make sure I can never access any copyrighted content (file) that might have been pirated (copied) instead of purchased. All Android applications and media can only be distributed or obtained  through 'Google Play' (the equivalent of itunes store for iphones).

The only place I can get applications is from one single centralized authority which is heavily restrictive. (Google Play). The only place anyone can buy or sell Android applications is through the centralized authority. Um, great. Everything that was ever great about 'open source' and deregulation is gone now. No benefits for owning an Android.

The only way to access this centralized authority is though an app, which is blocked and unavailable from China.

To be able to access my phone in the most simple manner and even put a .txt file on it, I have to 'root' the phone. I.e. I have to hack it and void the warranty.

What is a text file? One of the oldest and most common file types in existence, more than 20 years old and native to most operating systems. I.e. I can't even type or store notes on my phone. That's not a 'smart' phone at all. Definitely not a smart purchase.

If I bought an iphone, it would work. I would at least be able to take notes and read a .txt file.

Android is terrible, and I don't believe I'll ever buy another Android phone again. I will join the countless legions of hipster drones with iphones. Then I will dance the robot in a black turtleneck as I pay homage to the world of restrictive copyright protection and capitalism gone so out of control that businesses tell the government what's best for the people.

I ask myself. Will my computer be next? Will some future version of windows tell me that I can't have a text file, or read or write, unless the content has been approved or came from the central authority? - Error, you can't write files unless you buy MS Word.

So much has been taken away from us. Who are the real pirates? We've been robbed. Who do we complain to?

Pascal's Wager

The wager: God can't be verified, but if you believe in him, you get heaven forever. If not, hell forever. Best to believe in god.

The flawed logic: A high priest of the flying spaghetti monster confronts you and says that you'd better believe in the cosmic spaghetti monster or you'll suffer forever.

The reality: Christianity is a religion. There's many religions which state that it's either heaven or hell, and you'd better believe in that specific religion. All religions are silly. The real wager isn't about belief (relatively cost free), it requires you to actively practice a religion, that costs time and money.

The conclusion: Pascal's Wager is invalid.