Archives for 2005

taken from Q101.com

Warner Bros. Records’ attempts to block the distribution of American Edit, a mash-up of Green Day’s American Idiot album, has sparked a protest among Internet activists. More than 200 participants took part in “Dean Gray Tuesday” this week by either posting the American Edit album online or turning their background page gray. The action was intended to be a “single display of the consumptive power of the mash-up and home-remix community,” according to AmericanEdit.org.

The album is very interesting. It is something to go out there and download.

Andrew

taken from Freedom to Tinker :

Here’s a great gift idea just in time for the holidays: Make your friends and relatives their very own copy-protected CDs using the same industrial-grade passive protection technology built into XCP and Macrovision discs.

Passive protection exploits subtle differences between the way computers read CDs and the way ordinary CD players do. By changing the layout of data on the CD, it’s sometimes possible to confuse computers without affecting ordinary players — or so the theory goes. In practice, the distinction between computers and CD players is less precise. Older generations of CD copy protection, which relied entirely on passive protection, proved easy to copy in some computers and impossible to play on some CD players. For these reasons, copy protection vendors now use active protection — special software designed to block copying.

Discs with XCP or Macrovision protection employ active protection in conjunction with a milder form of passive protection. You can create your own CD with exactly the same passive protection by following a straightforward five-step procedure. I’ll describe the procedure here, and then explain why it works.

What you’ll need:

* A computer running a recent version of Windows (instructions are Windows-specific; perhaps someone will write instructions for MacOS or Linux)
* Nero, a popular CD burning application
* CloneCD, an advanced disc duplication utility
* Two blank recordable CDs

Step 1: Burn a regular audio CD

Start Nero Burning ROM and create a new Audio CD project. [View] Add the audio tracks that you want to include on your copy-protected disc. [View] When you’re ready to record, click the Burn button on the toolbar. In the Burn tab, make sure “Finalize disc” is unchecked. [View] Insert a blank CD and click Burn. Be careful not to infringe any copyrights! For loads of great music that you can copy legally, visit Creative Commons.

Step 2: Add a data session to the CD

Start another Nero compilation, this time selecting the “CD-ROM ISO” project type. In the Multisession tab, make sure “Start Multisession disc” is selected; and in the ISO tab, make sure Data Mode is set to “Mode 2 / XA”. [View] Add any files that you want to be accessible when the CD is used in a computer. You might include “bonus” content, such as album art and lyrics. [View] For a more professional effect, consider adding the installer for your favorite spyware application and creating an Autorun.inf file so it starts automatically. When you’re finished, click the Burn toolbar button. Insert the audio CD you created in Step 1, and click Burn. [View] Nero should warn you that the disc you’ve inserted is not empty; click Yes to add your data files as a second session. [View]

Please goto Freedom to Tinker for the whole article. This is fun and hard all at once. Try it… I did!

Andrew

taken from the Sun:

A BRAVE teenager who saved a bank thousands of pounds by foiling a cash machine scam was rewarded yesterday — with a plastic calculator. Luke Bridges, 17, tore a false fascia off an ATM machine then fled from crooks waiting nearby who had put it there. He ran home with the device — used to “skim” customers’ PIN codes and clone cards — and called police. NatWest, owned by the Royal Bank of Scotland — which is worth £54.9BILLION — said they would reward the teenager for his bravery.

But when he opened a parcel from the bank he found a plastic calculator worth a few Pounds.

Furious HSBC cashier Luke said: “I plan to send this thing back with a letter telling the bank they can use it to work out how much money I saved them.

“It looks like the sort of thing they dish out free to bank staff.
“I didn’t expect much but I risked personal injury removing the false fascia and outrunning the crooks. “I thought NatWest might give me some sort of monetary reward as a goodwill gesture. “It’s disappointing but says a lot about what banks value the most — saving themselves money.”

The Sun revealed how Luke foiled the fraud scam earlier thi month in Westcliff-On-Sea, Essex.

NatWest claimed they had sent Luke CD vouchers, which he denied. A NatWest spokesman said: “We are very grateful to Mr Bridges for helping prevent cash machine users falling victim to this fraud but we would never encourage anyone to put their safety at risk by attempting to remove any such device. “We advise anyone who notices anything unusual about a cash machine to report it to the bank or the police immediately. “We have written to Mr Bridges expressing our gratitude and have sent him a gift and CD vouchers.

“We have also re-emphasised the dangers of removing such devices.”

What the Fuck? I would have beat the piss out of the bank manager. Stupid Brits.

Andrew

The Bears’ eight-game winning streak came to an abrupt halt Sunday in snowy Pittsburgh as the Steelers dominated on both sides of the ball in a lopsided 21-9 victory.

Damn Kyle Orton and RonTuner; Both of yous SUCK! I cannot believe they won 9 games so far… Defense has scored more points than the offense… What does that tell you?

Andrew

More at Thomas Hawk’s Blog

“I will make sure you will never be able to place an order on the internet again.” “I’m an attorney, I will sue you.” “I will call the CEO of your company and play him the tape of this phone call.” “I’m going to call your local police and have two officers come over and arrest you.” “You’d better get this through your thick skull.” “You have no idea who you are dealing with.”

These are all direct threats that I received today from an individual who identified himself as Steve Phillips, the manager of PriceRitePhoto in Brooklyn, New York when I called to inquire about my order with them. My crime? Telling him that I planned to write an article about my unfortunate experience with his company regarding the camera order I had placed with him yesterday.

How are these people able to stay in business?

I suppose I should have been duly warned based on PC World’s Camera Confidential expose written a few years back about unscrupulous camera operators operating out of New York, but I have never been so utterly offended by a retailer in my life. I guess in some ways this is my own fault, or as Steve Phillips reminded me, you’re a “professional photographer you should know better than to buy things on the internet this way.”

I have been keeping track of The new Canon EOS 5D for a while. As those of you who visit this site regularly know, photography is a passionate hobby of mine. I’ve told myself that I’d pick up a 5D as soon as the price dropped below $3,000. I’ve been regularly checking both Yahoo! Shopping and PriceGrabber for a while waiting for one to drop. Well yesterday for the first time I saw that the 5D was for sale for $2,899 at PriceRitePhoto. I placed an order online and this is where my trouble began. The order went through and was confirmed and is shown below.

More at Thomas Hawk’s Blog

Please Read the WHOLE Story… It is VERY interesting!

Andrew

“Shouldn’t Nintendo be dissuading people from buying the Xbox 360 by convincing them to wait for the Revolution? IGN threw the question at George Harrison in today’s Nintendo Minute on IGN Revolution.

From IGN: “George Harrison, senior vice president, marketing and corporate communications, Nintendo of America: With so many new products being released each month, Nintendo must always be very strategic in deciding when to stir up buzz for a particular game or system. During this year’s busy holiday season, it wouldn’t make sense for us to get gamers excited about a console that they won’t be able to play until 2006.

Our focus right now is in generating excitement for our current heavy-hitting holiday line-up that includes Nintendo’s first-ever online gaming network in the U.S. with Mario Kart DS and Animal Crossing DS. This is huge for Nintendo and, as you know, the response has been outstanding, with nearly half of all Mario Kart DS owners already playing online. These online titles hit stores in time for the holidays, so it makes sense Nintendo is concentrating on them now while the market for them is hot.

However, once the holiday rush subsides, I think it’s safe to say that you can expect Nintendo’s attention to gradually shift toward its 2006 priorities. Revolution is clearly one of these priorities, and we expect to see gamers become even more excited for Nintendo’s next console in what they learn in the coming months.

So though competitive noise may be high right now, rest easy knowing that Revolution will soon have its day in the sun, and all eyes will shift toward it. “

This however is where we disagree with Nintendo. While they may only have so much left to disclose about the Revolution, it is thought that it would be more profitable to take some measures to dissuade people who are currently tempted to purchase an Xbox 360. This may not be so.

Nintendo has statistics on information release dates and over all consumer response when amidst competition (as do all 3 companies, which help them to base their decisions). Perhaps with the lower cost of the Revolution and the alleged fun factor Nintendo can profit more by delaying the next hurdle of big Revolution news. Who knows. I guess we’ll see – Though we certainly can’t see the reasoning.”

I love hearing about there articles!!! I KNOW I am buying an XBox 360 and the Revolution. It is sad when you buy a system for Halo and another for the rest of your games…

Andrew

taken from Wrestlezone.com :

Wrestling star Eddie Guerrero died of natural causes related to heart disease, said the Hennepin County Medical Examiner Thursday.

The medical examiner’s office said Guerrero, who was found dead in his hotel room on November 13, died of “natural causes related to arteriosclerotic heart disease.” That term is synonymous with coronary heart disease, a narrowing of the blood vessels that supply blood and oxygen to the heart.

The coroner’s did not address what led to the heart trouble, although the wrestler’s wife, Vickie Guerrero, said last month on WWE.com’s website that his past substance abuse and aggressive workout regimen caused the heart disease.

Following Guerrero’s death, WWE announced the institution of a drug testing policy to screen for steroids and other drugs.

Andrew

Taken from Bungie.net

“Earlier today, we completed the update of the Halo 2 playlists as described in the weekly update. If you can still see Head to Head in your playlist selection screen in the game, you need to log out of Xbox Live and log back in until Head to Head is gone and the new playlists are showing up. Bungie.net is now also correctly showing the new lists. Have fun, and post any questions to Optimatch.”

Here are the following changes to the playlists:

Major Clanmatch and Head to Head have been removed.

Minor Clanmatch has received a change in configuration. It will now be called Clanmatch and will allow for team of 4-5 clan members each. Your Minor Clanmatch ranks will persist to the new Clanmatch playlist.

Two new unranked playlists have been added, Rumble Armory and Team ActionSack.

6v6 Team Battle has been added as a ranked playlist featuring team sizes of 5-6 players each. Big Team Battle now supports only larger team sizes of 7-8 players each.

Team Snipers is now a ranked playlist and has a total of 15 maps. Your hidden rank will now be displayed.

Yessssssssssssssssssss!

Andrew

Taken from 99X Rocks :

99X and Michelob Ultra Amber proudly welcome back the annual 99X Nutcracker Christmas, featuring headliners NONPOINT! Friday night, December 9th! Doors open at 5 with the show to kick off at 5:30 at Peoria’s Expo Gardens! 99X local Rockers 3AM Project, Trip-Rod, and 99X’s original house band, Justify The Means rock the house, with regional rockers ‘Left for Dead’ opening the show!

Tickets are available at Radioplex, all Co-op Records, Elmore Musical Warehouse and ‘Shandi’s’ in the Canton Square in Canton. Tickets are $15, $20 gets you a ticket and a commemorative Nutcracker T-Shirt! Check out the coupon on the back of your ticket for savings on a 99X Nutcracker ornament at ‘Rudolph and Me’ in Northwood’s Mall…see you at Nutcracker 2005, from Michelob Ultra Amber, and 99X Rocks!

I cannot WAIT!!!

Andrew

Today is Aaron’s BIRTHDAY!!! He is my weird brother who loves number 26.

Andrew

Taken from Yahoo Sports :

LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) — No hiding the obvious for the Chicago Bears. During their eight-game winning streak — their longest in 20 years — the defense’s dominant play has compensated for a sputtering passing game.

“When you say the defense has carried us, that’s what they’re supposed to do,” coach Lovie Smith said Monday, a day after Chicago pounded on Brett Favre and rode two big interceptions to a 19-7 win over Green Bay.

“That’s the strength of our team. That and our running game is supposed to carry us,” Smith added. “But we need to improve our quarterback play. We need to improve our passing game as a whole. So anyone involved in the passing game needs to pick it up a little bit in order for us to continue this path to win our division and to get into the playoffs.”

Rookie Kyle Orton completed only six of 17 passes Sunday, top receiver Muhsin Muhammad was shut out for the first time since 2002 and the Bears were 0-for-10 on third-down conversions — numbers that usually won’t get any team to the playoff. Thomas Jones did run for 93 yards to reach 1,000 for the first time in his career.

Smith was still not budging Monday as the clamor grew for Rex Grossman’s return to replace Orton, who has a quarterback rating of 60.2. Grossman, who broke his ankle in the preseason, was the third quarterback Sunday and could elevated to backup for Sunday’s game at Pittsburgh.

But Smith was sticking with Orton. The Bears haven’t won eight in a row since their 1985 Super Bowl team started that season 12-0.

“He’s quarterbacked us to eight wins in a row and nine on the season. His leadership ability to get the job done,” Smith said, listing Orton’s strengths.

“Things he needs to improve on a little bit, accuracy probably. But you say that about most young quarterbacks. But I’m going to look at what he’s done overall. You can look at his quarterback rating. Of course it isn’t exactly what you would like for your quarterback rating to be, and then in the end I’m going to look at how many games he’s won and figure he can do the job.”

So far, the Bears’ defense has done a lot of the work and continued that trend Sunday. Charles Tillman’s 95-yard interception return set up a field goal and Nathan Vasher — as he seems to do every week — returned another pick 45 yards for a game-clinching touchdown.

Vasher has seven interceptions this season and also a 108-yard return of a missed field goal for a TD, the longest play in NFL history. Tillman has picked off four passes, including one he returned for a TD in overtime against the Lions.

“I’m having a blast,” Vasher said. “If we continue to win like this, plays like that are going to come. We’re getting sacks, we’re getting interceptions, and that makes the game a whole lot more fun. It seems like the last five, six minutes of the game are real fun for us, and that’s the way we’ve got to continue to play.”

When Smith became coach before last season, he pledged to build a defense that could not only stop opponents, but score points. And the Bears have done just that.

Chicago has returned eight interceptions for TDs in Smith’s first two seasons, including three this year.

“I really believe in our system that we have,” Smith said. “It’s not like we’re figuring it out on the run. Our system has a proven success rate. We know that it works and we have great players in our scheme.”

Need I say any more…

Andrew

Today happens to be Sinia Elizabeth Barlett’s birthday. She is ONLY 29 and could not be happier. I hope she has many more!

Andrew

I have been noticing that there are a lot of birthday’s this month. I guess people got busy over spring break. I find this very funny.

Please check out digg.com. It is a very good site and has been around for a while.

Andrew

Today is Dave’s birthday!!! He turns 27 and cannot wait for Wrestlemania 21 in CHI-Town!!!

Andrew