General

Fear-mongering

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The news reports about today’s blackout tell a lot about the current state of mind. Every reporter had to emphasize that it was NOT terrorist related. It seems that when anything happens, they always have to bring up the ‘T’ word. I bet they’ll even mention the ‘T’ word after a big earthquake.

Massive blackouts happen, especially during the summer. All it takes is a power surge to knock out a generator, and due to the grid structure, it will end up taking down others.

I was too young to really remember the 1965 blackout, but I remember major NY blackout in the mid 70s. It also happened on a hot summer day under similar circumstances. I had just put on a Led Zeppelin record & I first thought my record player blew a fuse.

More on RPC Service shutting down

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From Lockergnome Bytes:

It seems as though the latest Windows vulnerability has crashed and rebooted many computers. My E-Mail has been flooded with help requests. If anyone has been plagued by the Remote Procedure Call service “automatically” rebooting their computer, here is helpful information I discovered. (Meryl)

I checked my D-Link DI-624’s log and find I’m getting lots of attacks, which it’s stopping (not that it would have any effect on my mac, thanfully). The entries look like this:

Aug/11/2003 19:49:59

Drop TCP packet from WAN

xx.xx.xx.xx:1417

yy.yy.yy.yy:135

Rule: Default deny

Aug/11/2003 19:46:42

Drop UDP packet from WAN

xx.xx.xx.xx:30099

yy.yy.yy.yy:135

Rule: Default deny

The Believer

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Last night I watched The Believer on Showtime. This is one of the most powerful & haunting movies I’ve ever seen. If you haven’t seen it, DON’T MISS IT.

Ryan Gosling gives a mesmerizing performance as a young Jewish man who becomes a neo-nazi. He’s tortured & conflicted by his own religious beliefs and disgust at his people submitting to god & enemies rather than fighting.

This CD comes with a copy protection DEVICE

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Compilasian, The World of Indipop (Narada World, 2003)

The release of Narada World’s Compilasian (The World of Indipop) comes as more of a sign of changes to come in the record industry than as the cutting edge music it boast. For those readers not aware of the Indipop label, it is a cottage industry label created by producer Steve Coe who is also Sheila Chandra’s husband. Narada World recently licensed Indipop catalogue, including Sheila Chandra’s Indipop releases. And with the release of Compilasian, itself a compilation of unreleased tracks of the groups Monsoon, Sheila Chandra, The Ganges Orchestra, Jhalib and East West, comes with a piracy protection device, called Copy Control. Only time will tell if this device actually puts more money in the hands of recording artists or acts as a trigger for more paranoia in the world. The Copy Control actually comes with its own player and a symbol reflective of the big brother that is watching you. This could cause discomfort in even the most innocent record buyer, especially coming at a time when people believe that the government too is watching their every move. And by the way, as a journalist, I am here to get the word out on musicians and I do not condone piracy. However, I will also say that there is too much fear in the world and I am disappointed that so many establishments succumb to fear instead of spreading love on the planet. Trust is a derivative of love. Protection and security are derivatives of fear (a gentle reminder). [World Music Central News]

Not that I’m wishing failure for the artists, but I hope nobody buys this CD. We shouldn’t have to put up with copy protection devices. We need to let the record companies know we’re not going to stand for that.

Rotten Tomatoes

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I’m not going to see this movie, but the reviews are pretty entertaining:

“Such an utter wreck of a movie you expect to see it lying on its side somewhere in rural Pennsylvania, with a small gang of engineers circling and a wisp of smoke rising from the caboose.”
— Stephen Whitty, NEWARK STAR-LEDGER

“Once you get past the staggering question of who gave this thing the green light, Gigli actually turns into a uniquely bad movie that yields real (albeit unintentional) laughter.”
— Chris Vognar, DALLAS MORNING NEWS

“It is an exquisitely bad movie: One to be savoured, marvelled over, shared with friends and generally appreciated in a state of awestruck wonder. Gourmet fromage.”
— Geoff Pevere, TORONTO STAR

“A rigli, rigli bad movie.”
— Bruce Newman, SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS

“There’s virtually no story, no conflict, no tension and no suspense, just the endless droning of the worst dialogue written in recent memory.”
— Bill Muller, ARIZONA REPUBLIC

[rottentomatoes.com]

Update on Midnight

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Midnight came home yesterday afternoon. The vet says he’s perfectly healthy and about a year old. He spent most of the day hiding under my bed, but he came out a few times to eat. He seems to be back to normal now and whenever he sees me, he makes a little noise, runs over to me, and starts rubbing against my leg.

He & Cody haven’t been fighting since he came home.

Cats are so much fun

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Midnight has been here since last night & he hasn’t tried to run away. I have an appointment with the vet Monday morning to have him neutered.

He spent most of the day hiding under my bed, although he’s also been exploring, eating, and playing. He had a few fights with Cody, but they mostly ignore each other.

I put out separate food dishes for them, but Cody insists on eating from Midnight’s dish instead of his own. Cody also jumped on Midnight a few times, and midnight gave him a swipe, although he didn’t seem to hurt him. Midnight still has his claws, but Cody is declawed, although Cody is about twice his size.

Midnight is very affectionate. He keeps rubbing against my legs & following me around. He also loves to hide behind me when Cody is upset with him.