Monthly Archives: April 2005

Some guy’s quest in spyware removal

I hate spyware. I rarely get infected these days, which is probably because I enact a few paranoid security measures (run as restricted user, use firefox), but sometimes I’m called upon to fix someone else’s spyware problem. Raise your hand, I’m sure some of you have had to do this as well.

Anyway, I stumbled upon this forum thread between one man and a friendly IT guy who go step by step to fix a spyware problem.
FRUSTRATED! Please help!” href=”http://www.geekstogo.com/forum/FRUSTRATED_Please_help_-t14149.html”>Geeks to Go! -> FRUSTRATED! Please help!

It’s pretty amazing how many steps they went through, and you can see that it took them nearly a month to finish the cleanup. Honestly, it’s a shame. There’s software for bad people to make a mess of your computer, but the cleanup software, though good, seems far more limited.

I suppose it just goes to show that it’s way more difficult to fix things than it is to break them. Kind of like the second law of thermodynamics. It’s probably similar to how it’s often easier to buy new stuff than to fix old ones, and why it might be easier to start from scratch than to get huge gains from modifying a tried-and-true system.

Some guy’s experience at the Outback

This probably belongs in my snippets section, but I figure most of you don’t read that. Besides, this is pretty hillarious, and you really shouldn’t miss it. 🙂

Have a look at [the knee-slapping tale]:http://www.mentallyincontinent.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=155

I’ll pass on a complete retelling, and provide you with this brief teaser-snippet.

> The blend of the cabernet sauce and the mint jelly with the tender juices of the lamb made for a spectacular flavor explosion. It was truly a party in my mouth.

> It was also the last bite of that meal I would take that evening.

Enjoy!

Tea is good

Mmm… if you’re looking for a good tea to try, give Lapsang Souchong a shot. It has a rather unique taste. I can’t really describe it. It’s a little smoky, kind of like a campfire, and has a sort of fragrant leather-like as well. It doesn’t taste like normal tea at all, which might explain why it doesn’t seem to be widely available. Anyway, my coworker Adil introduced it to me, and I liked it enough to buy my own 200g stash at a [tea shop]:http://store.tea-time.com/ . That was more than a year ago, and I had only brewed it a couple times since then. So tonight, I brewed myself a pot. Yum.

I have fond memories of drinking [Tippy Assam]:http://www.bettysbypost.com/ProductInfo.aspx?pid=RT1664(Tea+and+Coffee)&returnurl=http%3a%2f%2fwww.bettysbypost.com%2fCatProducts.aspx%3fcat%3d1886%2b125g%2bCaddies(Tea%2band%2bCoffee)%26page%3d2 , at [Betty’s Tea Room in York]:http://www.bettysandtaylors.co.uk/frame.asp . Yeah, I bought myself a tin of this too. Betty’s, by the way, is a great place to have afternoon tea (with scones and all!). Nowhere else was it as fun to say “I’ll have a Fat Rascal, please.” I saw Fat Rascal on the menu and said to myself, I *have* to get that. So I did. 🙂

Anyway, I have several other tea favorites, but I’ll save those for later. No, I don’t like Earl Grey, since it tastes like soap. Raise your hand if you agree. [Stash Tea]:http://shopstashtea.com/212070.html has an Earl Grey that’s less soapy, so it’s reasonably drinkable, but I can’t say I *like* it. Besides, all the other Earl Greys I’ve tried are practically undrinkably soapy, so maybe the Earl is just a soapy guy.

John Paul II on flickr

I just read an [article about people’s camera-phone photos with the pope]:http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/08/international/worldspecial2/08snaps.html , and it occurred to me that I could search [flickr]:http://flickr.com for those photos. Using Flickr’s tag search, yields a significant number of interesting photos (though not all are relevant).

Here are a few searches, linked for your convenience:

[Photos tagged with pope]:http://flickr.com/photos/tags/pope/
[Photos tagged with johnpaulii]:http://flickr.com/photos/tags/johnpaulii/
[Photos tagged with john paul]:http://flickr.com/photos/tags/john%20paul/
[Photos tagged with papa]:http://flickr.com/photos/tags/papa/
[Photos tagged with wojtyla]:http://flickr.com/photos/tags/wojtyla/

If you find any more interesting tags, I’d greatly appreciate it if you would post them here.

You can [search Technorati for pope]:http://www.technorati.com/cosmos/search.html?rank=&url=pope as well, but as they say, a picture is worth a thousand words, so the flickr search seemed more interesting.

For those of us following the events around John Paul II’s passing, these pictures can give us an extra glimpse into the atmosphere at the Vatican.

Peace be with all of you.

Humor: The Guy’s Rules

Here’s an email forward that I got recently, and I figured that, rather than spamming people, I’d post it here. It’s worth a chuckle or two.

—-

At last a guy has taken the time to write this all down.
Finally, the guys’ side of the story.
I must admit, it’s pretty good.
We always hear “the rules”; from the female side.
Now here are the rules from the male side.
These are their rules!
Please note… these are all numbered “1”;
ON PURPOSE!

1. Men ARE NOT mind readers.

1. Learn to work the toilet seat. You’re a big girl. If it’s up,
put it down. We need it up, you need it down.
You don’t hear us complaining about you leaving it down.

1. Sunday sports. It’s like the full moon or the changing
of the tides. Let it be.

1. Shopping is NOT a sport.
And no, we are never going to think of it that way.

1. Crying is blackmail.

1. Ask for what you want. Let us be clear on this one:
Subtle hints do not work!
Strong hints do not work!
Obvious hints do not work!
Just say it!

1. Yes and No are perfectly acceptable answers to almost
every question.

1. Come to us with a problem only If you want help solving it.
That’s what we do. Sympathy is what your girlfriends are for.

1. A headache that lasts for 17 months is a problem.
See a doctor.

1. Anything we said 6 months ago, it is inadmissible in an
argument. In fact, all comments become null and void after 7 Days.

1. If you won’t dress like th! e Victor ia’s Secret girls, don’t
expect us to act like soap opera guys.

1. If something we said can be interpreted two ways and one
of the ways makes you sad or angry, we meant the other one.

1. You can either ask us to do something, or tell us how you want it done. Not both.
If you already know best how to do it, just do it yourself.

1. Whenever possible, Please say whatever you have to say
during commercials.

1. Christopher Columbus did NOT need directions and
neither do we.

1. ALL men see in only 16 colors, like Windows default settings.
Peach, for example, is a fruit, not! A color. Pumpkin is also a fruit. We have no idea what mauve is.

1. If it itches, it will Be scratched. We do that.

1. If we ask what is wrong and you say quote, “nothing”, We will
act like nothing’s wrong.
We know you are lying, but it is just not worth the hassle.

1. If you ask a question you don’t want an answer to,
expect an answer you don’t want to hear.

1. When we have to go somewhere, absolutely anything you
wear Is fine…Really.

1. Don’t ask us what we’re thinking about unless you are prepared to discuss such topics as baseball, the shotgun
formation, or golf.

1. You have enough clothes.

1. You have too many shoes.

1. I am in ! shape. Round IS a shape!

1. Thank you for reading this.
Yes, I know, I have to sleep on the couch tonight;

But did you know men really don’t mind that? It’s like camping.

Pass this to as many men as you can – to give them a laugh.

Pass this to as many women as you can – to give them a bigger laugh .

Personality quiz: Dating Profile

It seems that this particular quiz is making the rounds at Xanga, seeing as two of my friends from completely different social groups have taken it and posted to their Xanga blogs. Here it is: El super quiz. Actually El Super is the name of a mexican grocery store, but let me have my fun polluting search engine relevancy, okay? 😀

Message to my readers: Do you know of any sites/articles that analyze the spread of these sorts of memes? Is there one dispersion pattern for personality/dating quizzes, another for tech gadgets, one for political causes, and something totally separate for blogging-related issues?

Anyway, here are my results, so that perfect strangers can study it and pretend they know me. 🙂 The results are odd. I have to say that I’ve never really thought of myself as “athletic”– my family knows my exercise habits are pretty sporadic– but I suppose I *am* rather practical though perhaps I’m the idealistically unrealistic one of my family.

Your dating personality profile:

Athletic – Physical fitness is one of your priorities. You find the time to work athletic pursuits into your schedule. You enjoy being active.
Religious – Faith matters to you. It is the foundation that you build your life upon. You trust that God has a plan for you.
Practical – You are a down-to-earth individual who is not impressed with material excess. You care about the stuff of like that really matters.

Your date match profile:

Athletic – You aren’t looking for a couch potato. You seek someone who is active and who keeps her body in top shape.
Practical – You are drawn to people who are sensible and smart. Flashy, materialistic people turn you off. You appreciate the simpler side of living.
Religious – You seek someone who is grounded in faith and who possesses religious values. You believe that a religious person can enhance your life.

Your Top Ten Traits

1. Athletic
2. Religious
3. Practical
4. Adventurous
5. Wealthy/Ambitious
6. Outgoing
7. Traditional
8. Liberal
9. Intellectual
10. Romantic

Your Top Ten Match Traits

1. Athletic
2. Practical
3. Religious
4. Traditional
5. Intellectual
6. Big-Hearted
7. Adventurous
8. Conservative
9. Shy
10. Sensual

Random quote: Follow your dreams. You CAN reach your goals… beefcake. BEEFCAKE! 😀

13 things that don’t make sense in science

From New Scientist, [13 things that do not make sense]:http://www.newscientist.com/channel/space/mg18524911.600

This was a really good read. For the lazy, here’s the list of them to entice you to read the rest of the article:
1 The placebo effect
2 The horizon problem
3 Ultra-energetic cosmic rays
4 Belfast homeopathy results
5 Dark matter
6 Viking’s methane
7 Tetraneutrons
8 The Pioneer anomaly
9 Dark energy
10 The Kuiper cliff
11 The Wow signal
12 Not-so-constant constants
13 Cold fusion

Pope John Paul II has died

The Holy Father, Pope John Paul II has died and passed on from this life. He was the only pope of my lifetime, and what a pope he has been. I’m not an expert on his life, but I do know he was an inspiration to me and many, many people in this world.

From the horse’s mouth:
[Catholic Online – Vatican Report:Pope John Paul II has Died]:http://www.catholic.org/cathcom/international_story.php?id=13583

I notice that there are some typos in the article, but remember, this just happened an hour ago.

Peace.