My Valentine's Day rant...

Now that "the day" has finally arrived, I can sound off on just why I hate, despise, and utterly LOATHE this day.

It's as phony as a 3 dollar bill...that's why.

Long ago, some mastermind decided to concoct a day that they could market their wares to unsuspecting dolts out there, who would lavish their sweetie with tokens and "things".  Roses...chocolates...teddy bears...rings and other assorted diamond fineries.  Admittedly, whoever was the first on their block to conceive such a masterful ploy to reap a sick amount of profit from the lovelorn was indeed a genius in their own right.

But I hate it.  I hate all that it stands for.  I hate that this day is tantamount to little else than to shame any man that doesn't dote on his sweetheart on this ONE DAY above all else.  And it sickens me to the core.

Those who know me, know only too well by now that under the veneer of harshness and abrasiveness, lies a still beating heart of a true romantic soul.  Yes, far beneath the facade of abject callousness and anti-establishment, I'm a romantic at heart, and I'm filled to the brim with mushy goodness.

So why the huge hate-on for Valentine's Day, you ask?

Like I said, it's all so fucking phony.  I could do a quick survey about what Valentine's Day really means and where it really started, and it wouldn't surprise me in the least to see that out of 100 polled, if less than 5% knew the answer.  If that.  Fuck, if even 5% knew where it all began, I'd probably have a heart attack.

So many people have been brainwashed into this over-commercialised feeding frenzy we now know as Valentine's Day that it's all I can do not to thump someone out.  I'm serious.  I just can't wrap my head around how many people I know personally, and just at random that are so fuckin' obsessed with this day.  Women for the "things" they are about to receive, and the men for being stupid enough to pander to it all.  If I got in my car right now and went to any mall in the City, I'd likely see a throng of last minute shoppers quite comparable to the throngs of the same at Christmas time, all looking for that last (or first) gift for their special someone.  I'd be able to witness mass consumerism at its finest in all its glory as these dolts fight and scramble to snap up whatever is still left on the shelves.

And then I'd have to vomit liberally all over myself for being dumb enough to witness it.

Yep, this day is a bane of my existence.

The way I see it, and have long seen it...why would I wait to be TOLD what day I *should* be doting on my sweetie, when I have a full 365 days to choose from?  Why would I wait for ONE DAY to shower her with love and affection and the like?  What the fuck did I do with the other 364 days?  Nothing?

These marketers will always reap profits in disgusting numbers because, let's face it, there's more of "them" (the brainwashed masses) than there'll ever be of "us" (the enlightened masses).  It's just a sharp fact.  As long as men continue to feel shamed or guilted by either society or their mates for NOT pandering to this "holiest of days", there will always be profits to be had.

Well...you can bloody well have it then.  I want no part in it.

I feel no guilt or shame at all by electing to not celebrate this day by forgetting I have a fuckin' brain in my head.  I don't feel any shame or guilt in knowing that I don't need to be TOLD what day I *should* be doting on my sweetie.  I don't feel any shame or guilt in telling the marketers of this world that they can kiss every square inch of my ass today.  And if, by chance, I had shame or guilt aimed at me by my sweetie 'cause I didn't "play along"...then she wouldn't be my sweetie for much longer.

I make use of the other 364 days afforded me by the powers that be.  In all that time, I show her, and tell her how much she means to me "just because".  I don't have any pressing need or desire to be TOLD when I should be doing this, or to be "reminded" that this day above all others is the MOST IMPORTANT day to do it.  Fuck...you...all.  I have 364 days to play with, and make use of them.  I think that can afford me a free pass to avoid this day like the plague it is.

E-cards, and love letters is all anyone gets from me on THIS day.  No gifts.  No "things".  Just cards and/or love letters.  Nice and simple.  Come to think of it, the ONLY money I've spent on THIS day since as far back as I can remember, has been on ME.  The one I love most.  ME.  Yea, I said it...2004 I bought my first big screen TV as a gift to MYSELF for Valentine's day.  2008 and I went and did the same thing...a newer big screen TV as a gift to MYSELF on THIS day.  I really and honestly can't recall the last girlfriend that received any gift from me on THIS day.  Mind you, I also have an equally hard time recalling if I EVER received any gift from a girlfriend on THIS day.  I don't think I ever have...

The only one in benefit of any gifts or "things" today will be me.  I like it that way.  I dote on my sweetie all year and I think if I take one day to shower myself with goodies, it shouldn't be considered a foul.  Sadly, there's an awful lot of women out there that would get their knickers in a twist if any man was as brazen as I...spending money on himself today and not her.  The nerve!

There's also an awful lot of women out there that criticize me on THIS day for not gifting my baby...and I tell them all to go to Hell.  If you're enjoying being with a man who feels enough guilt or shame to "play along" on THIS day, just to fuckin' validate YOU...you can have it, and him.  You're both wastes in my eyes.  Yea, I said that too.  I get the feeling behind it, I really do...but this pissing contest never really did anything for me anyways, and though I know and appreciate that these brainless consumerists feel the "need" to be showed all this on ONE day...I still can't wrap my head around it.  It's the ONE day that men get to make up for an entire year of fuckups...and also the ONE day that women almost universally seem to forget ALL the other things he did for you that year but didn't do this ONE day.

Such a pity.

Much like Christmas, Valentine's Day will only have a modest appeal to me when I have kids of my own some day.  It seems important to them, so therefore it'll be important to me too.  But under it all, I'll still be biting my tongue that this over-commercialized feeding frenzy is still being perpetuated.

Rant off.

Well now it's official...

Not like this should come as a surprise, but late this afternoon I officially registered my company with the world.  Well, Alberta at least.  I'm still stuck on pins for a cool and catchy name (and a girlfriend out in NC says all my choices sound like nightclubs  lol), so I have to settle for a numbered company "doing business as..." for the time being.  Sooner or later a name will come to me, and then I'll just do a corporate name change for another $130CDN.  ~sigh~

I was in such a shithouse panic to get this done on Saturday for some reason, but then I realized that the inner karma and irony wasn't lost on me.  That date on Saturday, 2-7-09 sounded a lot too much like 27/09 which is my ex fiancé's birthday.  Way bad karma right there, and this probably explains why the lineup on Saturday went nowhere...I wasn't supposed to be there...I wasn't supposed to do it that day of all days.

However, 2 days later (today), 2-9-09 had huge appeal to me, as that was my Mom's girlfriend's birthday, 29/09.  She was always like a second mother to me, and she was the one that forced me to go back to school twice) saying she knew I was better than I acted, and should be doing something about it.  In her final year (she was dying from cancer), when I was in school, she told me how proud she was of me and she always knew I'd be going places and not to piss it all away.  She said she saw great things for me, and told me that she knows I can be anything I wanna be, and do anything I wanna do.  She said she'd always be proud of me.  So to get it done today was paramount.

And it almost didn't happen.

Went in, and this joint claims "same day incorporation", so I thought perfect I'll just do it and get it done.  Went in and paid, and then she informed me that it could take a couple days because they were "short staffed".  NOT IMPRESSED.  But I thought, okay 2-11-09 has two sets of 2 so this could work for me.  I am a Gemini after all.

But that lasted just about 20 minutes and then I went on a mad dash calling every other registry outlet nearby to see who could do an actual same day incorporation for me.  Ironically enough, my insurance agent answered the call and I didn't even know they dealt with such things.  I got dressed again and flew out the door to head down the road to their offices.  Took me less than 15 minutes to get it all signed up and paid for and finalized.

15 minutes...and I was told by another company it could take...2 days?

Hmm...

Oh, the sister/parent company to the registry outlet that gave me the 2 day time frame called me back after-the-fact, and I told them I literally just got back in from getting it done elsewhere.  To anyone that deals with business, these are words you do NOT wanna hear...like, EVER.

"Your people wouldn't do it for me, so I went elsewhere..."

Yea, you don't ever wanna hear that.  This lady seemed annoyed and asked me if I knew the name of the agent that told me that or what she looked like, herself knowing that short staffed or not it usually only takes less than 15 minutes to file a numbered company.  I gave her the 411 on the rep that told me 2 days, and she said "Thanks..." in that parental tone that you all know spells danger for the recipient.

That chick is SO gonna get her ass chewed out I suspect...heh.

I'm now a company owner.  Business owner.  Officially.  Gotta tell ya, even though it's just a piece of paper, I feel like I can bend steel with my mind right now.  I feel powerful.

And I have blankets of good karma surrounding it already.

This is for you, Norma.  I'll show you just how bright this star can shine...I'll make you proud.

Cry me a river...

I'm reading today's paper, and I happen across this article which bemoans the recession having affected the relationships of gold-diggers.

Succinctly put...WAH.

Cry me a fuckin' river.

Yea, I actually forced myself to read the entire article, and couldn't help but shake my head to the point I thought for sure it'd soon snap right off just from the seemingly perpetual motion.  I was appalled and aghast, and actually quite disgusted with what I read.  Real relationships are going to Hell in a handbasket, and these broads have the stomach to whine and piss and moan because their lovers cut their allowance in half?

Again...WAH.

You gotta read that article for yourself to appreciate the stupidity of the words.  I won't really dignify it with an explanation of my own.  Not worth it.  They even have what amounts to a "Poor Rich Girls" club formed...I'm not kidding.

It became clear to me that any chick who goes to that site has no fuckin' class, dignity or self respect.  But I have to give them props for being honest hookers...I mean, women.  No wait...I mean hookers.  That site, so unlike any other, is catered to the gold diggin' whores out there specifically...so if you're there, lookin' to hook up with your Sugar Daddy...yea, you're a dirty low class Grade A hooker.  Hey, I just call 'em as I see 'em, and sex for "things" and money is prostitution...so yea, you ARE a dirty hooker.

What I found most laughable about that article was the one chick being interviewed...and how she feebly tried to hide her gold diggin' self behind flowery symbolism and shiny words.  Scrape away at that nonsense and you can see beneath it, she's just another low rent ho too.  She tries to pass off her presence on the site as a way to avoid another relationship "...where birthdays passed uncelebrated, and gifts were never bestowed."  Spare me the garbage.

It's no small wonder so many men (myself included unfortunately) are so very stand-offish with the women folk...because of useless shit like this going on.  The women we meet all try to play themselves down as the ones that "wouldn't ever do that", or to just outright say "I'm not like that".  I dunno man...call me a cynic, but it seems pretty clear to me that if they opened a whole SITE dedicated to those types...they ain't quite as rare as the ladies would like us to believe.  It's like I always said, when money's involved, ANYONE can be "like that"...doesn't matter WHO it is.  The whole concept of money and "things" seems to make people go all insta-retard.

I'm one who really, REALLY wants to believe that not everyone is cut from that same cloth...but when I see stuff like this, it's enough to make me wanna weep.  The harder I try to be less cynical about it, the harder it gets to stay there when I see shit like this.  Just when I think I can take all women at face value, I see or read or hear something like this, and that all goes straight backwards.

I don't know why they even printed that fluff piece.  Slow news day perhaps?  It's nothing I'd remotely deem "newsworthy" in the least, that's for sure.

Another gold digger is stuck at home on a Friday night with only half her allowance provided by Sugar Daddy...

Oh poor, poor pitiful you.  Boo fuckin' hoo.  Now go toss yourself out a window...

Live Mesh Beta goes for a spin...EPIC FAIL

Windows Live Mesh (Beta).  I give this app and Microsoft a rank of EPIC FUCKING FAIL.  Two big thumbs down.

Why?

2 reasons.

The first is trivial...I have a widescreen monitor (20.1") and a resolution of 1680x1050 and I connected to my prototype testing rig (I was testing the Mesh Remote Desktop ability) to give this app a spin.  That resolution is maxed at 1024x768.  This was okay because according to the spec sheets, this is the minimum resolution required.  Or so I thought it would be okay...

It was not.  Not even close actually.  Even after toying with the display settings once I connected, I maximized the screen and used Full Screen capabilities, the mouse pointer from the server side (my side) was NOT CENTERED.  What does that mean for performance?  Well, if you expect to click an icon, you can't.  The mouse pointer on MY side appeared to be hovering directly above the icon on the client side (prototype rig), but each time I tried to click or right click, I got the context menu one would see if the right clicked the Desktop screen.

So I looked back towards my client side, and as I moved the pointer I navigated it on my side to hover over an icon but on the client end, the mouse was actually an inch or more to the left of where it appeared to be on my end.  That just meant that, in order for me to right click this icon I wanted, my mouse pointer on MY side had to be an inch or better to the right of what I saw on screen for it to work properly and align to what the client would see.

UNACCEPTABLE.

What I see on MY screen should be what I see on the client end, even at a diminished resolution.  To have to make adjustments like navigating over an inch or more to the right for everything I wanted to click on is just absurd and totally unacceptable to me.  Microsoft got a FAIL from me for this alone.

Then we get to the second item, and THIS had my head spinning.  This item is NOT trivial in any way, and is in fact a HUGE liability and security risk to anyone using this product.

In order to use "Live Mesh", one has to have a Windows Live ID, so let's say a Hotmail address or .Live address.  You access the Mesh site and download their software and install it.  You sign in, and the app is ready to go once the device has been added to your "Mesh".  I installed this app on my system and the prototype and added the 2 systems to my "Mesh" and vice versa.  Now here's where it gets tricky...

I was logged in and signed on to both systems.  I first tried to access the prototype.  I connected and as they said it would, there was a dialog on the screen that said "Allow" or "Deny" the remote connection request.

Now pay attention to this part...

If the client end does not select one of the items, Allow or Deny within 30 seconds...IT AUTO-CONNECTS ANYWAYS.  Yes, that's what I said...if the client doesn't explicitly Deny the connection, Mesh will connect itself after 30 seconds.  Microsoft is aware of this as they have it listed as a "Feature".  A FUCKING "FEATURE"?!  Okay, so we tried the connection from the prototype to my system.  That worked too and auto-connected as did the first attempt.  From a diminished resolution (remember, prototype is 1024x768 only) to a higher resolution, this made for one Hell of a challenge to actually accomplish anything...but at least what I saw on that screen was what I was clicking on the client end, which was now MY system.

But then I got curious...

I figured with such a huge vulnerability as the auto-connect "feature"...what happens if I try to connect and the system is ON, but not logged in to Live, and Mesh is actually OFF?

I found out what happens...and damn near screamed.

It still logs you on automatically.

Yes way.

My Mesh was signed out, and so was my Windows Live account on the prototype.  In effect, this means that my computer may be indeed on, but I'm not actually signed on or using any Live applications.

To Mesh, that doesn't matter.

It connected me anyways.

So I immediately removed that piece of shit application knowing what a huge risk it would pose to leave it on my systems.  I then sent Microsoft a scathing feedback submission telling them about my experiment.  I can't imagine anyone with an ounce of sanity allowing this piece of garbage to be installed on their systems at home or especially at WORK, just knowing that all it takes is the computer to be ON and anyone can access it at anytime (as long as it's in their "Mesh"), because there's no requirement for Mesh to be active or for you to be signed in to a Live account...and let's not forget the auto-connect "feature".

I gave Microsoft an EPIC FUCKING FAIL for that piece of nonsense right there.

I understand that this is Beta, but for the love of Mike...who in their right mind would see NOT being required to have Mesh running or to be logged in to a Live account, and an auto-CONNECT "feature" as a GOOD thing?!  I know I certainly don't, and would never.  You're just asking for trouble at that point.  Making it a requirement to have Mesh ON or to be logged into a Live account would be a good place to start.  Turning the auto-CONNECT in 30 seconds to a auto-DENY in 30 seconds would be the next step.  If I'm not physically there to Allow or Deny you access to my system, it should auto-DENY you until I get there.

What the fuck was Microsoft thinkin' callin' that shit a "feature"?

So yea, if you're thinking about using this lame ass app, USE IT AT YOUR OWN RISK.

All I'm sayin'...