Rantings, mostly…

I seem to hear people talking all the time about how there seems to be a lack of originality in movies (me included) and books, et cetera.

I have to wonder though, with so much pure creativity littering the world, what will be left to the not so creative?

IMDb for example has just incorporated “related images” into its searches like Google. They also have individual actor images appearing besides the names of the actors listed.

I for one, LOVE this new feature.

I do not know how many times I have seen some odd and/or obscure movie and wanted to know who some unnamed actress or actor was. Perhaps with this feature, I may get to see a picture without having to Google image search every cast member’s photo.

I am convinced people are obsessed with bitching when they are not as smart, good looking or rich as everyone else.

The exact opposite of me… I bitch because I hate most everyone and everything.

It makes me sick to think of how much business I have provided eBay (and PayPal).

eBay claims that they constantly police issues and ban users quite regularly for participating in shady or flat out illegal activity.

Yet, you always see the poor schmuck who has to deal with some power selling jackass, get the boot.  Here they are new (and sometimes moronic) to the ways of eBay and online bidding/purchasing.  Yet things like this can occur without repercussion for the power seller.

wirelessaccessories.com is a “power seller” with well over 22,000 in feedback.  In the past year however, 112 of their 158 total negative has transpired.  What has happened to them?  Not a damn thing.  I guarantee nothing will happen to them either, until they stop making money (which eBay thusly benefits from).

Take this for example:
beanyspike got a negative and a neutral from the aforementioned user.  The neutral was *only* because beanyspike did not post negatively.  The reason for this was, in a listing for a Sony Ericsson z520/z520a faceplate it stated: “Easy to install.  Torx 6 (T6) screwdriver is required, also available in our store.”

Well, how fuggin’ convenient is that?

Anyway, it does *not* require that screwdriver.  Any precision set of screwdrivers or a fine-tipped phillips can remove the four screws that hold the faceplate on.

What was the response by wirelessaccessories.com when beanyspike said something about it?

“Some ver. of this phone DO require it. We replace defects. Never contacted us.”

I find myself *again* saying, “what in the HELL does THAT have to do with ANYTHING??”

That seller flat out tricked the buyer into purchasing more products and the seller stays in business.

eBay allows these bastards to basically false advertise (as above) and get away with practically anything.  I have seen the same bootleggers dishing DVDs from all across the United States and what comes of it?  Exactly… nothing.

Oh, they have said countless times as well that to combat the problem of bootlegging music and movies from places like New Zealand and Australia they would have to basically ban the entire Eastern hemisphere.

If you are supposedly worried about it and you know… there is that whole it is illegal thing going on, then why not go ahead and ban entire country ranges. Why won’t they do that? They would have you believe it is because you would be cutting off the “good guys” from those countries, from selling or participating.

1. BS, it’s about the money they would lose. As long as the FCC, RIAA and other such bodies do not put pressure on eBay about it, they will continue to *allow* it.

2. Kill the accounts of those you find in the beginning participating in these activities, log and ban their specific ranges in Class C style.

Another problem is the feedback system.  They posture about how essential it is, and how without it, the entire community would suffer.  At the same time though, a seller can get in touch with a buyer and agree on whatever and then mutually withdraw their negative feedback.  The end result is as if they had never left it for each other to begin with.

As my eyes water, and a cold chill shoots up my spine from lack of sleep and loads of medicine I realize I just complained about eBay for quite some time.  Not to mention I think I have dozed off at least a dozen times in the writing of this.

Hardheaded goodness.

Yesterday my mother said something to my wife about Comcast looking entirely different.  I had no clue what either one of then were talking about as I had not watched TV in a couple of days.

Last night I pop it on only to see an *entirely* different menu, listing, and information system.  It is not even remotely the same as the original one.

Items have moved and the ordering of menu items is simply *not* logical.

Bastards.

Oh… on a bright note, my (cable) TV responds ten times faster than before.  I can live with this.

Today marks the start of the fourth week since the I&D of my pilonidal abscess.

Today also marks the second week I have had a massive earache and bronchitis. I blame this entirely on the antibiotics the ER doctor prescribed me for the abscess. You see, whilst on the antibiotics (Amoxicillin with Clavulanic acid) I felt like Superman. Seriously. Two days after I ran out, I slept almost sixteen hours and woke up with this crunchy mucus that had soldered my eyes shut. The putrid smelling phlegm that found its way slowly oozing from my nasal passages had to actually be sucked out with my infant’s “snot sucker”.

Today also marks the seventh month I have had a broken (in half) tooth, and also the mark of the fourth week since I broke *more* of it off.

I am falling apart.

This giant requires slumber of the deepest kind. The kind you might find only in storybooks or in some fantastical bygone era of rejuvenating springs and elixirs.

Oh yeah… and I gained a few pounds back. 492.6 pounds… I had lost almost ten pounds, but threw two and a half back on.

At least my blood pressure has went down some! Now I am only doubly at risk of a heart attack. Yay!

OK, this time I actually prettied it up a bit and wrote an extensive backing!

I did not code a limit as to how many users could be added to the table. No sensitive information is stored in that table so I will be interested in seeing if someone attempts to abuse it.

I will be even more amazed if someone figures out a way to exploit it.

Check out my lovely dynamically add and remove users page.

Feel free to leave any comments as to how it could be better. I am really digging the whole Ajax concept. Also, if anyone knows a more intuitive library than xajax let me know. Thus far however, xajax is simply *amazing*. I cannot get over how complex yet easy to use this library is.

If anyone wants to see the code (it is ugly, fair warning) let me know.

Usage: um… click *everything*.

I figured with my recent blast of moronic (erm… retarded) advertising, that it would be nice if I could actually say something decent about decent advertising.

Here it is.

Liberty Mutual has a commercial entitled “Responsibility”. It is based on that whole pay it forward mentality and dammit it plucks my heartstrings every frickin’ time. You can check it out at Hill|Holliday (Flash required).

Another one has Pat Benatar’s “We Belong“. I cannot for the life of me remember the commercial or what it was for. I know she recently had something to do with Sheraton Hotels (Starwood?) and they used “We Belong”, but, I just cannot remember. Anyway…

*Quick update!* Yeah, I guess it was a Sheraton commercial. *shrugs*

See, HotelMarketing.com’s “You belong at Sheraton” and the official blah blah at Sheraton/Starwood.

Pat Benatar could sing about killing puppies and that woman could make me cry. Hell, I think I would start killing puppies myself.

Anyone who has had any kind of serious relationship or for those who are madly in love with their partner, spouse, whatever will find it hard not to shed water when you hear “We Belong“. You can check out a video of that song on YouTube (Flash required).