The bad computer

Hello everyone... So, for today's task at work, I'm having to completely wipe my work computer's hard drive, and reimage the entire bloody computer. This will take me pretty much all of today and tomorrow to do.

Gah.

For some reason, I was unable to install Adobe CS5 on the damn thing. So, I'm currently writing a disk image of my current 'bad' computer before I wipe the drive and start from scratch.

This doesn't make one happy, let me tell you.

On another note, I'm really enjoying my new iPhone 4. All of the 'reception' and 'dropped call' things that seem to be plaguing other users are not happening to me. My only complaint, is that the supposed 'amazing battery life' thing is completely not true. This battery lasts just about the same amount of time as my first iPhone 1.0. So... Not too cool there... But other than that... It's a great fun toy and tool.


My Lady has her iPad too... She's really getting into the ease of use, and the awesome mobility of it. Yay.

That's the 'Apple-geekery' of the day.

I hope you, my fine readers, are having a better day than I... Signing off.

1st Vlog from my iPhone

Okay, so I've made a quick video with my new iPhone 4. I also used the nifty iMovie for iPhone app on the phone to stitch a couple of things together. This is mainly a test, but thought it would be fun.

What a week!

Well, I promised to try to keep up with this old blog of mine, so here I am again.

Weird thing, is that I'm doing this post from my iPhone, so if there are glaring errors in the text, I plead iPhone typo.
This week was a really long, and fairly arduous one. Lots of work, tonnes of organising, and heaps of meetings. I'm not sure if I can say that I enjoyed it, especially as I spent both Monday and Tuesday sick at home on the couch, and then Wednesday and Thursday just trying to get caught up. (I failed at that task, by the way.)

However, this week I also saw my student workers really take charge, and make things work. I don't know if I can even explain the caliber of the students that go to my little Libral Arts College... They are, of course all intelligent, but... It's their drive to not only succeed, but also to help all of their fellow students to ALSO excel, which is a hallmark of their character.

None of my students' will EVER know about this place that I go to, and I'll never let them know about it.... But I feel compelled to write a special thank you to them regardless. I couldn't do my job without the 12 students that work for and with ne in supporting all things 'media' and technological at my Little Liberal Arts College.

Besides that, I'm afraid I don't have a tonne to share tonight. I'm beat, and typing on an iPhone isn't nearly as easy as all the Apple ads make it out to be.

Be well all my friends in cyberspace. I'm off to bed in 'meatspace' and deserve it. Ciao!

-- Tuckmac

It's been a long time

I've not been writing a blog for over a year now. It's a bit sad that I didn't feel the need to write anything here since February 2009. And, so... Now you're wondering what has changed in my life to make me finally pay attention to my blogger-site and has given me the gumption to post something.

Well, I'll tell you... It's this whole 'Facebook Privacy Thing.' Specifically This Article from the NY Times.

I started blogging back in the old days... You know, the days when scores of people were posting long and occasionally well or badly written screes on the web, for the entire web to see.

I met many friends in cyber-space that way, these friends are still people that I follow, whether it be on their blogs (which I'm impressed that they still maintain) or their Tweets, or their Facebook pages. Some of whom I've actually finally met via "Meat-Space" and actually now know what they look like.

Back in these old days, we all had our cyber-psuedonyms. I was Tuckmac (still am on this blog) and we'd link to each other's cyber-psuedonyms, and even if we knew the REAL name of the person on the other side of their 'web-name' we wouldn't ever utter it. Now, it so came to happen that more and more people got onto the whole "Blogging Thing" and they didn't know, or follow these older rules. I became quite angry with some people who are friends (and they still are, no hard feelings) who would link to this blog with my REAL NAME. GAH! There were many years there where I was quite bold in my political statements, and used the anonymity of this blog as a cathartic vehicle of my out-pouring soul. I was outed. Many who read this know who I am, and for some of you, I wouldn't have preferred that.

(You know who you are FBI guy that follows this blog).

That being said, I can hack it. I have dealt with the fact that the World Wide Web has changed, and that there's nothing private anymore.

But, see... That's the thing. I USED to be private on the 'Open-Web' that the article above was talking about. No one saw anything about me that I didn't carefully vet myself. I was anonymous on the web for a LONG time... I liked that.

Facebook was meant to be private. I put stuff up on Facebook that I didn't mind sharing with people that I KNEW, but wouldn't generally be interested in sharing with the average Joe off the street. The changes that Facebook has made to their privacy settings is upsetting. And I'm really tired of people giving me the: "Hey it's the web, anything you post is open to everyone" argument.

When I post 'questionable' things, I do so via secret accounts, with made up e-mails, and no last names. When I post stuff on Facebook, my name is automatically attached to it. Now, if my friends see that I am bitching about a co-worker, then it's okay... But if that co-worker (whom I'm not a friend with on Facebook) can see that post... It's an issue.

So... I've wiped my Facebook account to as 'private' as it seems to let you get it. I'm not leaving Facebook. It's an amazing thing to be able to stay in close contact with my friends over the pond, and to keep up with all that happens in my friend's worlds.

I will tweet. I will Facebook... But. It's going to change a bit. If I have anything questionable to say, I'll probably post it here. I have a certain amount of anonymity here, and I know that no one from work, aside from my Lady know who I am... And won't find me, without some sort of weird 'luck' due to Google. That's the way it's going to have to be.

But, I've missed this a bit, so perhaps it's not a bad thing. Hmm...

Well, I'm off to enjoy my day.

-Tuckmac

Darn, I want this t-shirt

Busted Tees are a bit overpriced considering what they are...

That being said, however... They have some of the best t-shirt designs on the web.

I want this one.

--Tuckmac

Well, it's been an interesting few weeks

Since my last post, where I admit I was less than enthusiastic about our new President, things have been occuring which frankly, bears out my opinions.

President Obama has done a few good things... Dealing with Gitmo, terrorist defendants, the environment, and other 'liberal' ideals.

However, during this stimulus-package debate, President Obama has been less than stellar.

In holding to his 'bipartisan' goals of governing, I've seen a so called 'trimmed down' stimulus package that will not do ANYTHING to actually help our economy.

Gail Collins from the New York Times, wrote something 'pithy' that actually does sum up what is going on in her column today titled: Tough Times at Obama, Inc. An exerpt:

"I dropped out of school for a semester to campaign for Barack Obama. And now I’m asking myself whether I spent four months living with my aunt and going door to door in Dayton, Ohio, just so we could have a stimulus plan written by a bunch of moderate Republicans and conservative Democrats in the Senate."

I don’t know how many times we need to go over this, but this is actually a real-life version of what Obama promised during the campaign. Didn’t you jump up and cheer when your guy promised that he’d get Republicans and Democrats to work together?"

Yes... Ms. Collins, exactly... People expected Obama to be this transformative presence in the new American Government, and he may actually BE such a thing... But no true Republican will be happy, and certainly no true Liberal Democrat will be happy.

In the stimulous package bill currently blundering through the US senate, my OWN democratic Senator from Minnesota Amy Klobuchar voted for a REPUBLICAN amendment offered by Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) that stated “None of the amounts appropriated or otherwise made available by this Act may be used for any casino or other gambling establishment, aquarium, zoo, golf course, swimming pool, stadium, community park, museum, theater, art center, and highway beautification project.”

Okay... Highway beautification? Yeah, we can do without that sort of thing right now in our tough times. And casinos and gambling establishments? Fuck them. But... Everything else????

Parks? Museums? Theatres? Art Centers? We don't NEED these things anymore?

Minnesota has been losing its small theatre companies, dance is suffering, arts organisations are tumbling... And now the Feds have decided that none of these things are important either.

May I just say that I fucking HATE living in America at times like these... Corporate ass-wipes who put us into this failing economy in the FIRST place are getting huge stimulus cheques from the US government and $18 Billion of this money went for BONUS cheques to the CEOs of these companies. Aren't bonuses meant to be perks for GOOD work?

All of that is fine... But the arts are not.

When people can not afford to go out to dinner... A FREE museum or art gallery can be the only thing for a family to be able to go out and DO. The cultural side of life can be the only thing that will help people be able to DEAL with their problems, but... No... Culture is the FIRST thing to lose it's funding. But we'll give money to giant polluting corporations that DO NOT use the money to STIMULATE anything... No... They use it for fun company trips to the Virgin Islands, and for big bonuses for it's owners.

America... Get WITH it. Fuck the Republicans in congress and pass a REAL stimulus bill that will actually STIMULATE the economy! Money for the poor... Money for non-profits, money for small-business... Money for cities and municipalities who will help people that actually NEED it.

The Republicans continue to 'cut taxes.' F That. RAISE them. The CEOs that just got $18 billion in money from our government? Take it back through taxes... Tax the richest 10 percent in America 50% of their incomes. Tax them on bonuses... Tax them on property ownership... Tax the fucking rich, and give it to the REST of society that actually need it.

There IS no middle class anymore. Without a middle class, there is social unrest. (Just look at the history of Europe during the 19th Century. When there is no buffer of people between the REALLY rich and the VERY poor... The poor get angry. The poor get violent... And the country suffers.

--Tuckmac

Today, I got me a new President.

Mr. Barak Hussein Obama was sworn in today as my nation's president. I have to admit to having mixed feelings about today.

For the past week, everything... News, radio, other people... Have been speaking about January 20th, as though it was the day of the second coming of Christ.

People were crying, when they were talking about it. I mean... Crying. Wow.

I know that the election, and now swearing in of the 44th president, a Black Man, is a momentous and exciting occasion for my county. And I believe that people reacted differently to this man, depending on their own backgrounds, and ages, and creeds.

My reaction: Um... It's about TIME we elected a minority to the White House, I mean... Come on! Can't we move onward, past all this race crap?

But again... That's just my reaction. My mother was raised in a time of segregated schools, water fountains, and Blacks having to ride in the back of the bus. I was raised, where my first 'serious girlfriend' was African-American, and frankly... No one blinked. I certainly did not think that I was 'breaking rules' by thinking a beautiful girl was beautiful, now was I?

I understand, how someone of my mother's experiences, would react to President Obama in a different way than I would. Therefore... All people who have been annoying me the past couple of weeks... If you're in the "But a minority is finally in the highest office of the land" crowd... You are okay, I can hack it.

To the people who have been overly giddy... Due to the fact that a smart guy is replacing a horrificly STOOPID guy in the White House... Um... Okay. I sort of understand this too. Look, I admit that I am so happy I'm goofy, that Bush is finally out of the American Presidency. Really. I think that he has been the worst president we've had in my country for the past 100 years or so.

But, BUT... The idea that Barak Obama is going to be able to do all the things that he says he wants to do? Nah... Come one, folks. There's this big thing called a Congress. Every single one of the bastids is owned by major corporations, and those corporations control the votes. Doesn't matter if the Senator or Representative is a Republican or a Democrat, any real policy change that Obama tries to put through will be gutted/disallowed/ignored, you have it. Nothing is going to change.

Look, we may get rid of Gitmo. That's great. We may actually be able to get out of Iraq in a year or so... Also great. But universal healthcare? Forget it. Education upgrades? Forget it. Science funding? Phfa... All that's going to happen is that the rich are going to get richer... The poor are going to get poorer.... The middle-class is going to get poorer... And our environment is going to get worse.

Nothing is going to change that. As long as greed is the foundation of this great nation of ours... It will continue to lurch to the 'Right' in social issues, moral issues, tax policies, and fiscal irresponsibility.

Our county has perhaps eight years, where we'll have a decent man in the White House, who really won't be able to do much... And then our country, 'cause we've proved ourselves to be rather stupid... Will vote in Sarah Palin, or some OTHER doofus like Bushie was, to be the figure-head for the military-industrial complex... And it will all get much worse again.

Eight years of a reprieve, where things will only get sort of worse... Then Eight to 12 more years of Republican's destroying our Earth, our rights and our country.

Yeah... Congratulations Mr. Obama. I'm happy you're here. However, I'm a realist enough to know that you being here doesn't mean much beyond a nice fact that you're Black, and it's freaking about freaking time.

--Tuckmac