Yay for Yoono!

Yoono was exactly what I was looking for in an Internet media sharing site. I love it so far. Almost every day I see an interesting article or blog post that I want to share, but the extra step of creating a blog post to do so was enough to deter me. Yoono makes it very easy to impulsively share media on the web. You right-click or select what you want to share, select "Buzz it", type in a descriptive note if you want to, and that's pretty much it.

Here is my Yoono blog. I will add it to my sidebar soon, and likely post most of my links on here from now on. I already added a few if you want to check it out.

This is the first time in a while that I thought, "I wish there a program that did X" and found out that Program X actually exists.

Recommendation Request

What's the best way to share the interesting things you find on the Internet?

I'm looking for a cool stuff aggregater, something that would be integrated with Firefox, allow me to add bookmarks with one click (like del.icio.us), allow me to write a description when I want to (kind of like del.icio.us), offers a recently bookmark feature that I can add to my blog page (like del.icio.us?)...

Okay, I'm going to give del.icio.us another try and see if it has what I need. I remember trying it and not being keen on the interface, so if you have another option, let me know.

Update: Yeah, del.icio.us isn't what I need. I think I found the perfect web app: Yoono. Just installed it, but it's very promising so far.

Yahoo Does It Again

With bonus "Are your friends making you fat?" (Yes!)

Gmail Trivia

I had no idea: Gmail doesn't recognize dots in an email address. Yourname@gmail.com is functionally the same as Y.o.u.r...n.a.m.e@gmail.com .

No, Really

"Nerdcore hip hop, or geeksta rap, is a subgenre of hip hop music that is performed by nerds or geeks, and is characterized by themes and subject matter considered to be of general interest to nerds."

The above quote is both why I love and hate Wikipedia.

I Got Me In'Net!

The DSL service was activated earlier than I expected. Remember when I said in my last post how it was nice to be without Internet access? I lied. That was just to trick the Access Gods. IT WAS HORRIBLE. I spent hours each day, staring at a blank monitor, clicking my mouse like a puppy locked outside a house and pawing a frost-covered window.

The experience did give me valuable insight, thought, that will come in handy if I ever decide to live like a half-naked barbarian.

I missed you SO much Internet. This was the first time in years we were away from each other for more than a week. It was a difficult time. I admit, at times, I thought about having a fling with a trampy dial-up connection. Just for a day or two. But I held strong, and can still make up and respect myself when I look in the mirror. Which I won't be doing much of now, along with shopping, visiting art galleries, or frankly, leaving the house at all.

We have a lot of catching up to do, but once we're done reconnecting, I'll be back to my regular schedule of posting twice a month.

Get Your Very Own PS3

This is funny.

Edit: Well, that was quick. EBay already took the auction down. It was for a PlayStation 3...made out of a PlayStation 1 and PlayStation 2 duck-taped together.

The Internet TV Archive

It's called "TV Links", but I like my name better. Lends a sense of grandeur.

It's a hodgepodge of links to TV shows online. Most the shows are currently running or have recently aired, but there are some links to some ancient oddballs too. Like Legend of Zelda: The Animation Series. (Actual line from show: "LINK: Well, excuuuuuuse me, princess.")

OMG!!! INTERNET GAMBLING BANNED!

Except that it hasn't been.

Last week, Sen. Frist attached the "Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act" to a port security bill at the last minute. The act was allowed to be attached to the bill late at night on a voice vote, and the port security bill was signed into law by President Bush on Friday.

While there are literally millions of Americans that play poker online, I suspect the media initially picked up the story because of the economic ramifications. Online gambling is taxed and regulated in the U.K. and most of Europe. Poker company stocks traded overseas lost around 60% of their price and billions of dollars in market value.

Money is a great quality for any story. It's one of the Three Media Musketeers, along with sex and violence. Now if only Rockstar Games could create a video game that allows you and a friend to bet on how quickly you can beat-up hookers. They wouldn't even need a clever name. They could just call it "Money-Hooker-Smash" and make a fortune.

The media's initial handling of the story made me realize how easy it is to fool editors. Although the act is named, "Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act" the act doesn't make it illegal to play poker online. It's still legal. The first 3/5 of the bill's title is a lie. The law makes it illegal for U.S. banks and credit card companies to directly transfer money to and from overseas online poker sites.

Yet the act's name says Unlawful, Internet, and Gambling, all in the same sentence. So, according to many news outlets: "Internet Gambling Made Illegal" (or, in a nod to nuance, "Internet Gambling Made Practically Illegal)"

Perhaps it's unfair to except accuracy immediately in a 24/7 news environment. Check 1: The words were in order. Check 2: Screw it. We got check 1.

If the act was titled, "Gambling Internet Unlawful Act Enforcement Poodle" and the AP ran a photo of a pink poodle in a cop uniform beating up a computer playing poker, then I'd have more of a case.

The arguments against online gambling are absolutely ridiculous and inconsistent with how we treat similar activities. If you can day trade from the privacy of your home for as much money and as long as you want, why can't you do the same with online poker? You can even play for much lower stacks online than live. The minimum stakes at a casino is usually $1/$2--every online site offers games for $.10/$.20.

Alcoholism is a terrible problem, but that doesn't mean we should ban alcohol. We tried that before. It's called...I forget. I had too much to drink tonight. But if our government isn't going to stop me from crashing my car into a 7-11 and run around the store naked with a Slurpee cup over my crotch, then it has no business trying to discourage people from gambling online.

Most arguments by poker players in support of online poker playing are sound, although some of them try too hard. My favorite is one I heard on a poker radio show: "By letting us gamble at home, it keeps us from driving drunk on the streets." Way to win the hearts and minds, guys.

There are a lot of interesting background nuggets about the situation.

* Sen. Frist's motivation. He has been continually pandering to the religious right to secure their support (and dollars) for his Presidential run. Remember Terry Schiavo?

* Anti-gambling groups have been trying to get a bill like this passed for years. One reason they haven't been able to up until now is because the now-disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff worked to prevent any anti-gambling ban that would hurt his clients, the Indian casinos. Abramoff's work tainted online gambling in a way. "If he defended it, then it must be bad."

* While the bill is difficult to enforce, and most poker players use third-party payment system already that aren't affected by the law, public online gambling firms have pulled out of the U.S. market, which is 1/2 of the total online market. The reason is that, as publicly-held companies, their operations and relationships with banks can't have any hint of illegality or being involved in a legal gray area.

* PartyGaming, a public company with a 50% market share in the U.S., has pulled out of the market, leaving a huge vacuum for private companies to seize.

* Most of poker's recent popularity has come from televised poker shows. These shows get a significant amount of revenue from online poker sites. It's unclear how many of these shows will survive now that some companies no longer operating in the U.S. has no reason to advertise in the country.

* There are a lot of angry, life-long Republicans who play poker and say they aren't voting Republican this year because of the bill. I don't think it will affect any elections though. There's a big online tournament on Voting Day.

McDonalds Sign

Create Your Own McDoanlds Sign (although warning: the site is annyoingly preachy.)

Google Humor

I just noticed that when I enter my spam folder in Gmail, the program displays ads for spam recipes (Vinegar Span Salad, Savory Spam Crescents...). No ads for Monty Python though.

Chuck Norris Facts

I actually have some material brewing around in my head, but I've been in a lazy mood recently.

Anyway, it's much easier to post links to other people's comedy.

Chuck Norris Facts

Hilarious.

"There is no theory of evolution, just a list of creatures Chuck Norris allows to live."

Blix

I'm not saying this game is addictive. I'm just saying level 115 is a bitch.

Craigslist Ad Update

I got 10 responses so far, all of them of the type "I'm not a psychiatrist/obsessive-compulsive, but I am a clean person who is very interested in renting the place." Evidentally, the rent was too low for outrage.

The only mildly humorous response was this one:

"I don't quite suffer from obsessive complusive order but that is a plus for you. As a land lord if anything goes wrong obsessive complusives will call you all the time, trust me I lived with one."

Update 2:
I took the ad down. I was feeling guilty from the deluge of serious responses. I need more experience writing fake housing ads--I must have underpriced the rent by several hundred dollars. I have an idea for another fake ad, which I'll post in a few days, that will much more obviously be a joke.

Craigslist: Room for Rent

(original link here; loosely inspired by my Mom's experiences with renting.)

I have a one-story brick rambler with a large yard in Rockville, MD that is renting for $1,250, a great price for the area. The problem is, the past three tenants have been extremely messy and have not taken good care of the house, causing me thousands of dollars in repairs.

Are there any psychiatrists out there that have an obsessive-compulsive patient that is looking to rent in Rockville? The house has two baths, four bedrooms, W/D, AC, cable-ready, and is a five-minute walk to the Rockville Metro station. Your client can live in comfort and privacy and satisfy his need to clean at the same time. I am happy to provide cleaning supplies, as well as replace any doorknobs or hinges worn from excessive use.

I will give any licensed professional who makes a successful recommendation a $250 finder fee. I request that you only recommend clients who won't fully recover for at least 12 months. If you think your client will recover sooner, 9 months for example, maybe we can talk about ways to get the same results without pushing too hard on the gas pedal.

If you could mention this offer at your next visit with your client, I will greatly appreciate it. In a time where celebrities are attacking psychiatry (e.g. Tom Cruise), I think it’s important for psychiatrists to show that they are willing to go the extra mile for others.

--Sandy

See, Cats ARE Useful

Stuff on My Cat (Thanks, Amy)

Craigslist Fun

I saw an ad in the part-time job section of craigslist for NON-SEXUAL EXCORT SERVICE!!!

Pancake City Career Tip: If your profession requires the qualifier “non-sexual” for its want ads, it’s probably a good time to go on a date with a career counselor.

I was also browsing the housing listings because I may be moving soon. I have a weakness for reading the “Christian-only” ads, like this one:

“We are a household of secure, grounded Christian women who love the Lord and have iron-shapening-iron friendships, who are walking in obedience to the word of God. Most of us go to McLean Bible Church/Frontline. “

Now that’s some good iron. Iron so tough that not only can it form the basis of friendship, but that same iron can be used to clobber weaker, friendless iron into the shape of one’s choosing. Like an iron collar that you could use on an third, even weaker iron to make it your bitch. Or maybe an iron knife for Iron Chef. Or an iron iron, although it would be heavy and difficult to lift, unless you’re Iron Man (comic book character in the Silver Age of comics) or just want to display it on a pedestal as a piece of conceptual art.

Your hip friends will laugh at the irony.

Oh, Yahoo

A real-life conversation:

"Harold! What are you doing in there?"
"Nothing, hon."
"You locked the door."
"Hold on. I'll be out in a minute."
"You're look at porn again, aren't you? Answer me."
"No, of course not."
"You lying bastard! You told me you stopped. You..." [breaks down and sobs]
"Trust me. I'm not looking at porn."
"Oh, really? Then what are you looking at, Harold?"
"Uhhhhh...puppies."
"Puppies?"
"Yeah. Lots of cute puppies."
"You think I'm that stupid? You do, don't you? Well, that's it. I'm leaving, Harold. Goodbye." [door slams]
"Honey, wait! You don't understand. I'm using Yahoo Image Search. Yahoo Image Search! Oh, no. Curse ye, you hoards of delightfully cute puppies! What havoc have you wrought upon my soul?"

The Usual...?

I forgot the password to an online account that I haven't accessed in a few months. The site doesn't have an "Email me my password" option to users because of the security risk. Instead, they ask a question that you wrote when creating the account so you can identify yourself in cases like these.

My password hint is "The Usual." I typed in "The Usual." Not the words "The Usual," but the password I use for many of my accounts.

"The Usual" didn't work. Which is a problem because the site's security is so sophisticated, so clever, that it doesn't give you a chance to reset your password. A password on this site is not a combination of letters and numbers. It is the word of life, the hand that lifts one's account from the digital ether, giving purpose to the millions of electrons set in a chaotic sea of 1s and 0s. It is the Shepard to the sheep: you belong to this name, you exist for this name, this name is your owner, and today, little sheep, it needs to hear the harmonics of your cries.

In other words, this password is pretty fucking important.

So, taking a page from the "Hack Your Way To Success In Three Tries Or Less!" (by Jerry Bruckheimer*) I started guessing entering every word that is the usual in my life.
Frosted Flakes?
No.
Unemployed?
No.
Suspects? Nope.

I kept on guessing, but after the third try, I knew deep in my heart it was a lost cause. I had forgotten another password. Or, in other words, the usual.


*Microsoft Word recognizes the spelling of Bruckheimer. The thesaurus offers "brow beating" for one of the nearest choices by alphabetic order.

Already halfway around the Internet

Search for "miserable failure" in Google.