My Damn Opinion

wardkebot, nomadphoenix...I thought of you first. ^_^

"The ability of the monkeys to interact with the robotic arm and objects in the work space embodies a "multi-degree-of-freedom" that "paves the way towards the development of dexterous prosthetic devices that could ultimately achieve arm and hand function at a near natural level," according to the Nature article."

Heeheeheeheeheeeeeeee!!

And in other news: Robotic suit amplifies human strength. Well, DUH! I knew that already.

This is some great news. Thanks allpowerfulbob!

And if you can tell me where the quote above came from, I'll give you a dollar. Bob, you're disqualified from that offer.

Clearly, he is not a Jedi yet.

Thanks to lantis_aka_ish

Every now and then I head over to Steve Olsen's blog, because I really like 99% of what he has to say. He's an inspiring, no-nonsense writer, and has given me a lot of insights into my own mentalities and habits. He wrote a very good article for Craig Harper called "Why is it so hard to change?", something I have contemplated myself several times, especially recently. In the article he also recommends checking out Games People Play by Eric Berne. Reading the article really makes me want to get that book.

Check 'em out.

Check out the Metroid Gallery. Holy. Crap.

Many thanks to wilder_hiryu.

"There were geometrical forms for which an Euclid could scarcely find a name -- cones of all degrees of irregularity and truncation; terraces of every sort of provocative disproportion; shafts with odd bulbous enlargements; broken columns in curious groups; and five-pointed or five-ridged arrangements of mad grotesqueness."

 - H.P. Lovecraft, "At the Mountains of Madness"

Check this out.

Now if only we can use that to plot the route from Denver to Mars, that would be cool. ^_^

So, a few months ago I tried to sell some things on Ebay. I've always had pretty good luck getting rid of things this way, and helping other people get rid of things this way, and it's a good way to make some money on the side. However, after spending an afternoon creating several listings, I tried to post my auctions and was told that I could not, that my account was frozen. This was news to me, as I had been repeatedly logging in and out of my account, looking for prices and whatnot. I had even gotten some auction notices.

When I dug a little deeper, I found that my Paypal account had been frozen too. I'm fairly certain there was no money on it, I never leave more than a dollar or two, but I was not able to get a response from Paypal or Ebay as to why I had suddenly been blocked and cut off. To this day, I have never gotten a response. Frustrating, but whatever.

Then I read this. If this is accurate, and I will freely admit that I have not delved deeply into the announcements to extract every piece of data, Ebay is attempting to ruin themselves by financially screwing over everyone who keep their business running: their sellers. I encourage you to  read it yourself and come to your own conclusions. However, my conclusion is this: I am done with selling or buying on Ebay. I know that I have had those "psycho sellers" the author writes about, and I have had negative and even neutral feedback left for me unfairly. (That's right jackass, it's not MY fault the postal service wrecked your shipment. I am NOT postmaster general, and leaving me negative feedback doesn't afftect the USPS at all.)

Over the years, Ebay and Paypal have screwed me royally. Mostly Paypal, I admit. The single biggest sale I ever did on Ebay was to the tune of about $600, and the money was transferred from my Paypal account to my bank account at the time. At least, it was in theory. In reality, the money disappeared from my Paypal account and never showed in my bank account. To this day, I have gotten no response from them regarding that money. But when money donated to charity for Hurricane Katrina victims vanished from Paypal as well, I felt at least a little vindicated - they really were stealing from people. When Paypal finally bought Ebay, I knew nothing good could come of it. And now we see the results.

I will not be partaking in the strike that the author is mentioning, but not because I don't support them. It's because I am going on to Ebay and deleting my account right now. There are a plethora of other auction sites, as well as standard retailers and even local frigging stores that can provide you with the wonderful things you seek. Ebay, however, has decided that their reputation is such that they can act any way they please, and the sheep will keep coming back.

As with every other corporation that has tried this tactic, the real effect is only this: the beginning of their death spiral. Farewell.

UPDATE: Funny....the link on Ebay labeled "Close my account".....is a 404. Seriously....this is kind of childish.

UPDATE AGAIN: Okay, so after some digging and following dead links, I found the real Ebay cancel page. I walked through about five steps asking me if I wanted to cancel my account. Taking a bit of artistic license, the conversation went something like this:

D: Cancel my account.
E: We're sorry to see you leave. Are you sure you want to quit?
D: Yes.
E: Are you sure?
D: Yes.
E: Are you really sure?
D: Yes.
E: Are you really super-secret-sugar-swear-sure?
D: YES.
E: Well, you can't. Not yet. You have to wait 180 days before we will cancel your account.
D: ...Six. Months. Why do I have to wait six months to cancel an account?
E: Because you might have auctions still up. Or maybe some bids out on something.
D: Your auctions last a maximum of seven days. That does not explain the six months.
E: You might have a balance on your account.
D: I don't. I can't sell anything on your site, so I couldn't have a balance. You have computers that can tell you this. In fact, they don't need to tell you, you are the computer.
E: You still have to wait six months. Would you like to know why?
D: Yes, please.
E: Here's an email explaining that you have to wait six months.
D: I already knew that, it doesn't explain why.
E: ....
D: Hello?
E: ....
D: Hellooooo?
E: ....
D: ....
E: We're sorry to see you leave. Are you sure you want to quit?

More than ever, fuckass. More than ever.

mightymightybakudan: ROFL!!!!!!!!!!!!!
mightymightybakudan: LMAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
mightymightybakudan: OMFG!!!!!!!!!!!!!
mightymightybakudan: http://edibleanus.com/
mightymightybakudan: http://edibleanus.com/
mightymightybakudan: http://edibleanus.com/
mightymightybakudan: http://edibleanus.com/
mightymightybakudan: http://edibleanus.com/
mightymightybakudan: http://edibleanus.com/!!!!!!!
mightymightybakudan: They have wHOLEsale pricing!!!
Shiloh: Right up your alley.
mightymightybakudan: can't type
mightymightybakudan: laughing too hard
mightymightybakudan: vision blurring
mightymightybakudan: stomach
mightymightybakudan: vomiting
mightymightybakudan: I am totally getting you one of those sterling silver anuses.
Shiloh: rofl
mightymightybakudan: I'll have it mounted on our wedding ring
mightymightybakudan: When we get married by a Shriner dressed as a catholic schoolgirl
Shiloh: rofl
mightymightybakudan: and witnessed by a flock of goats
mightymightybakudan: For the man who has everything.....
mightymightybakudan: So, if you lost your anus in a duel, could you wear one of these like Tycho Brahe?
Shiloh: Yes.

This site has some useful and amusing random generators on it, but my personal favorite is The Grimoire of Questionable Spells. Some beauties from that list:

Induce Nose Picking
Zone of Baldness
Cheese Beam
Protection from Gym Teacher
Call Stripper
Holy Vortex of Immaturity
Dispell Silliness
Persperation Maelstorm
Communicate with Fangirl
Invoke Back Pain
Shield of Impoliteness
Bacon Wall
Eruption of Bad Hygene

And my personal favorite: Protection from Geeks. I need to see if I can get a Ring of Protection from Geeks +5 for NDK. Then again, would I be able to wear it?


Even better is the Realistic Alignment Generator, yielding such treasures as:

Angry Good
Gossipy Neutral
Lawful Irritating
Radical Good
Neutral Arrogant
Artistic Evil
Lazy Evil (best kind)
Fashionable Neutral

And my personal favorite alignment of all time, Chaotic Erotic. 

Seems like every year around this time we get something good like this.

"Our state legislature and this court have determined this category of aggravated rapist to be among those deserving of the death penalty, and short of first-degree murder, we can think of no other non-homicide crime more deserving," Justice Jeffrey Victory wrote.

This makes me so happy. Thank you, Randy. ^_^

In case of ego emergency, please locate yourself on this handy chart. No matter how bad you are, there's bound to be someone worse. 

Why, you might ask? Because of this and this.

Thanks wilder_hiryu.

I know it's only an article discussing the possibility, but still....

The rich will dine on corn-fed Iowa beef while the poor masses slave away in the underground factories, lunching on cultured meat tumor-chow laced with obedience-enhancing drugs. It seems almost inevitable.

The phrase that brings up the highest curiosity-to-revulsion ratio: "Practically speaking, human meat is extremely nutritious to humans."

............

Why the hell do I remember this? I clearly remember thinking that the car turning into the helicopter was the single coolest thing I had ever seen.



Thanks a lot, defective yeti.