I Hate Microsoft!

I hate Microsoft! And I've paid for that right! I have owned every operating system save for business related ones like Server and such. MS-Dos, Windows 3.1, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 98 SE, Windows ME, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, I've owned them all and still do. The crux of this post is Windows 7 and the problems I'm having with it. Please let me explain.
The back story is that I beta tested it which involves installing an early release of the software and was successful and helped the program and other users.
The story now is that I bought a 3 license upgrade "Home Premium" pack from Bestbuy and installed it over a month ago.
The problem is that the other day I booted it up and got the message that my copy is a illegitimate bastard child! Ooh, I'm sorry! Let me use their terminology: "you may be a victim of software counterfeiting. This copy of Windows did not pass genuine Windows validation".
I'm sorry, I lost my cool there for a moment. 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10!
I'm okay. Most other people would not be okay because of the key word "upgrade". If you upgrade your operating system and this happens, your computer will stop working after awhile. 
I won't be affected because the computer I installed this on actually can boot into three O.S.'s: Windows 7, Windows XP and Ubuntu. I still hate Microsoft, but after all this typing and explaining I realize that they are their own worst enemy. I can still use my computer but the average person, their core group of customers, will hate them far more then I do. I think they should call this "the genuine windows disadvantage".

A Casting Call for Lisbeth Salander

Lisbeth Salander, for those fewer and fewer people who don't know, is the main character in the Millenium series of books written by deceased author Stieg Larsson. These three books have sold over 30 million copies worldwide and are said to be selling 50,000 a day in the U.S. The books were initially made into movies in Sweden, Larssons home country, and have now been optioned for the U.S. rights. What that translates to is David Fincher will be the director and needs a leading lady. This is where things get interesting because the wrong choice could spoil what could be a series of blockbuster movies.

As an example, currently there are rumors that Kristen Stewart, of Twilight fame, is interested. This I believe would be a mistake on many fronts chiefly because she doesn't look the part and secondly, not trying to be mean, but no one knows if she can act, yet! It has been said that Fincher would prefer someone in the realm of South Africa's Yo-Landi Vi$$er, a member of Die Antwoord, and someone who, at first blush, delivers the look of a "Salander" type girl, diminutive, yet strong. She's in the video below.



The Swedish series of movies showcased Noomi Rapace as Lisbeth Salander and having only seen the first movie I can only say she was well cast in it.

The second movie opens in the U.S. on July 9th, 2010. July 30th in Cleveland at The Cedar Lee.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
The Girl Who Played with Fire (Vintage)

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest
Stieg Larsson's Millennium Trilogy Bundle: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest

LastFM has more on Die Antwoord as does MySpace.

Collider has an article on this subject as well as NYMag.

A Collection of Zapping Stuff!

Rat zappage and such! I don't know why or how I tripped on this stuff, but it's fun, yeah?

This next clip is about ball lightning and the weather guy is wrong about Saint Elmos Fire being similar to ball lightning. Saint Elmos Fire is seen in the ocean and its phosphorous organisms that react to the movement of the ocean created by boats and is related to lightning bugs.


Here's a link to wikipedias info about ball lightning.

Abes of Maine: Rokinon 8mm Fisheye Lens

Fathers day was June 20th and I got a Rokinon 8mm f3.5 fisheye lens from Abes of Maine! Let me just say that I love the lens! 8mm and a 180degree field of view rock! The link above is to Amazon and there's a reason why. I ordered from Abes of Maine(they're located in New York) for the first time and the price was right and shipping was free! All good, right? I did have an issue with the order, me the dumbass, ordered for the Canon mount, like I didn't know I own Sony! So, I called them and got through after a couple of minutes and changed the order but then the guy wanted to sell me a lens pouch. I said, didn't the lens come with a pouch and he said no, so I got the pouch. He said $14 something on the phone but I was billed $15. Whatev, so I got my pouch first and then the lens. The lens came with a pouch! I then called and was switched to a guy that said he would knock off $5 from the cost so I said okay, will I get an email stating that? he said yeah. Well, no email. Actually, he also said that Bower(the brand of the pouch) was "top of the line". Right. My recommendation is NEVER shop with Abes of Maine. PAY more for a better experience!

Tall Ships Preview: Round Two

Okay, so I'm full of crap! Yesterdays post was erroneous at best and just possibly an outright lie! Neither of the 2 ships I spotted yesterday were the U.S. Brig Niagara (reconstructed, home port: Erie Pa.) because it came in a few hours later. The first 2 names and origins remain unknown. So I was wrong. But, so was the Plain Dealer! On the front page article from the June 15 edition it clearly stated and I quote: "this Wednesday, you won't be able to board the Niagara, who's home port is Erie Pa. - you will have to wait until the festival to do that".  Well, you don't get pictures like the one to the left without being on board the ship, so there! The festival they refer to is the "Cleveland Tall Ships Festival" which runs from July 8 through July 11th, a Sunday at the port of Cleveland.  Tickets are $12 in advance and $14 day of. More info at playhousesquare.org and 216-241-6000 or 866-546-1353. More pictures are here! And you can win tickets to this event here! And the Niagara's page is here!

Tall Ship Preview

The Plain Dealer reported, rather inaccurately, that one of the "Tall Ships" would be visiting Cleveland on Wednesday, the 16th. Actually two just sailed into Cleveland at about 4 o'clock or so. They arrived from the East and were visible from Wildwood State park to the 55th Street Marina area. The last I saw of them, they were holed up at the Lakeside Yacht Club, a "members only" establishment, behind a chain link fence. So, they'll rest there overnight and probably party till dawn and then wake up and proceed to shoot their cannons off in Cleveland Harbor. Follow up links are: Channel 5's story and the home page of these two ships is here.

Carpe Diem!

"You're falling asleep!" or "Shoot low!" are the sounds you here when you're hanging around Nick and Nick. I've run into a loose group of guys at Wildwood who have a interesting habit of shooting carp through the head (or there abouts) with an arrow tethered to a bow. Bowfishing is a sport that may be as obscure as it is controversial. The controversy arose after I showed the pictures to Mary who went all "Don't club the baby seals" on me. The pictures are graphic I admit, but this is a sport with rules and regulations and it's legal. Besides, I'm a spectator here! Besides, these guys are fun to hang around with. They have a loose camaraderie that's easy to join with and they are more than polite while pursuing their prey.  I'll keep posting about these guys and their exploits as the season goes on. For more pictures click here.