ARRGH.

And no, it's not a pirate "aargh".

To all my supporters...

... thank you. I have reached my monthly goal of $0.05 on Google's AdSense program! A few more months of this, and I will be able to get that peanut M&M I've had my eye on!

Today is the true test

7pm EST. That's when the true test shall begin. Will the Wildcats prove their mettle and vault themselves possibly higher in the BCS rankings? Can they best a tough (but perhaps struggling) team? I think they have it in them - well, at least the offense. But if the defense plays as well as they did last week, I think there's possibly a single-word bowl in the future!

OMG scam artists

I recently bought a Roomba Discovery as a mistaken gift. After posting to craigslist, I got a response within a day. Yay! Or so I thought.

--------

From: didemola oladipo Sun, Oct 16, 2005 at 3:20 PM
To: anon-104508036@craigslist.org

craigslist Advisory: Fraud and Scam Warning!
Please read our scam advisory page before replying to this message:
http://www.craigslist.org/about/scams.html

This warning is automatically attached to
ALL craigslist forwarded emails


Hello Seller,
How is Business? hope everthing is moving well.i am interested in purchasing your well posted item Ok? so please get back to me with the condition of the item and if the item is for sale Ok?Thanks

-------

The email was very cryptic, but I figured he just didn't have a great command of the English language. It happens now and again in New York City. I also thought how nice of him to ask about my "business"! (Also, craigslist's warning was welcomed. Who knew? Scams on the Internet?)

I replied and asked when he would come to pick it up. He got back to me promptly:

--------

From: didemola oladipo Sat, Oct 22, 2005 at 5:37 PM
To: lostpancake

Hello Seller,
I want to make immediate purchase of this item using USA POSTAL MONEY ORDER.
i will do the shipping arrangement by my self so dont border for shipping,and when you receive an email confirmation of the money order.... so i will do the pick up.
I need to know your full name and address to send the money order to and also your telephone #.
Please reply with this info so that i can go ahead to make the payment...
Thanks.

----------

Hmm. Ok, I guess that sounds alright. Oh, in case I didn't get it the first time, he sent me the same email again five minutes later.

I was a little confused - why would he need to send payment if he was going to pick it up from me locally? That's what most people do with stuff they buy on craigslist, at least in NYC. So I let him know:

--------

From: lostpancake Sat, Oct 22, 2005 at 8:51 PM
To: didemola oladipo

Hi Didemola,

I don't quite understand what you are asking. It's fine if you want to purchase using postal money order, but you would have to mail it to me first, and then I would ship it. I can ship it for $250+$20=$270.

If you live in New York City, then you can just come pick it up from me and we can exchange cash and the item.

thanks,

lostpancake

----------

He replied quickly:

----------

From: didemola oladipo Sat, Oct 22, 2005 at 9:01 PM
To: lostpancake

pls give me your detail so that i can make the payment
your full name and address also your phone number.
reply me..thanks

--------

So I "reply him". Why not? I'll give him the benefit of the doubt. It's been a week, and no sign of the "USA postal money order".

I was feeling discouraged, so I posted again, this time to the New Jersey board.

Wow! A response the next day!

---------

From: jamz jones Thu, Oct 27, 2005 at 10:36 PM
To: anon-107036202@craigslist.org

craigslist Advisory: Fraud and Scam Warning!
Please read our scam advisory page before replying to this message:
http://www.craigslist.org/about/scams.html

This warning is automatically attached to
ALL craigslist forwarded emails


Goodday,
I just want to let you know that i'm highly interested in the purchse of your (ITEM),but will like to know for how long you have been using this (ITEM) ,i will like to know the present condition of the (ITEM) ,how much you are going to sell it for me.I will also appreciate it if you can forward some recently taken pix of the (ITEM) ,thanks and hoping to hear from you soonest,bye.

----------

Hmm. It's different... but the same. Well, who knows. Since I wasn't sure if he knew what (ITEM) he was asking about, I asked him. His reply:

----------

From: jamz jones Fri, Oct 28, 2005 at 9:47 AM
To: lostpancake

Hello,
thanks for the mail,i am very glad to hear from you i want you to know that i am interested in buying your eletronic for sale ,also i want you to list out all the you have for sale so that i can take one of it,look forward to ready form you soonest.
thanks.

--------

I haven't quite decided how to reply yet, but I'm sure the response will be interesting.

ps. Anyone interested in a robot vacuum cleaner?

If it looks like a duck...

An astute commentor, one who is more knowledgable about the law than I am, pointed out that the act of leaking an operative's identity is not a crime unless it was done with knowledge that the operative was undercover - and that instead, what is probably going to bite someone in the butt is the coverup.

Technicalities aside, I am still hoping that someone answers for their backhanded actions. The leak was made in a spirit of pure retribution, if not also a warning to others. Very organized crime-ish.

You only cover something up if you think you've done something wrong. Regardless of whether the original act was illegal, it was still reprehensible.

Wishin' and hopin'

Cheney told top aide of CIA officer - report

I hope this doesn't come across the wrong way, but I actually kind of hope someone high up in the current administration goes down for this. The whole issue of the leak was highly illegal - and it's about time someone faced the consequences of their actions. I don't know about anyone else, but despite claiming to be upright and claiming to care about morals and values, I think this is one of the shadier administrations in recent history.

Everything is covered up, nobody is ever wrong about anything. It's just not possible, especially since there is quite a bit of evidence to suggest the opposite. Oh, don't forget, if you happen to bring any such evidence to light, you will suffer. Just a friendly "warning", mind you, not a "threat". Nobody is above the law. Especially not ranking members of a party that claims to take crime seriously.

"woohoo!"

My my. First time in recent memory that Northwestern is a BCS top 25. Nice. Maybe we'll actually make it to a bowl this year that's not called something like "Clorox Swiffer Bowl". The defense actually did a good job. If they keep it up, we'll definitely make it to the "Vaseline Lip Balm Bowl".

Some headlines:
Cats catch road knockout

Northwestern routs No. 22 Michigan State for third straight win

Body of evidence

I don't know about anyone else, but when I was little, I used to leave all sorts of evidence. You know, when I was expected to have done something. For example, when I got home from school, I was supposed to do my homework first. So I would get out all my books and spread them all over the table, get out my paper and pencil, and start my homework. After 10 minutes (or when it looked like I had done a significant portion of homework, say, half a page of math problems) I would promptly head over to the family room and switch on the television. Or, if I was feeling adventurous, I'd head to the basement and play some Nintendo.

If my parents came home, I could hear the garage doors opening, and I'd quickly put everything back exactly the way it was, down to the exact position of the remote control and run back to where my books were and it looked like I was studying. (Note to inventors: parents might be interested in whisper-silent garage doors) Alternatively, I could pretend like I was in the bathroom, and flush just as they stepped through the door. It was a flawless system. Well, so I thought. I didn't find out until recently that my parents always knew when I had been watching television because they could feel that it was warm. So much for outsmarting my parents.

To this day, I still have this habit of leaving evidence. If I've gone to the gym or gone running, I can't help but leave my running shoes out in a conspicuous place. I'll leave one turned on its side just to hammer home the point that they had been worn that day. If I've eaten an apple, to demonstrate that I've had a serving of fruit I might leave out a plate with the core on it, or I might make sure that the core is prominently displayed at the top of the trash can.

I'm not really sure why I have this need to leave such bits of evidence, but at least I know my kids will never be able to outsmart the master.

Ego doesn't pay.

The hole cards come. J clubs-8 spades. Four callers, you are in last position. The flop comes. 5 spades-2 spades-K hearts. Three-flush, not great. Maybe you'll try to semi-bluff this. Wait - someone bets. Let's see the next card. You call. Next card comes 10 spades. Four-flush.

Time to semi-bluff! Everyone checks, you bet, hoping everyone folds. No such luck, someone raises double. You re-raise. He calls. Last card comes... 5 diamonds. Shit. No flush, but you bet strong again, representing the flush. Opponent raises.

Does he have anything? 2-pair? Three-of-a-kind? The smart thing to do is fold - but they're gonna catch you bluffing! You raise all-in. There's no way he'll call you now. Unless he actually has the flush. Ego doesn't pay.

No, it's not a "nh". You just suck.

I was recently indoctrinated into the world of online poker. I'm not really sure what encouraged me to try it, although a friend did suggest online games reminiscent of the old days.

Many of my childhood friends probably know this already, but some of you may not realize that I spent a large majority of my high school years playing cards. Although it was great fun, and I have made some lifelong friends this way, in retrospect, I probably should have spent my time on studying or something.

Anyway, while playing online poker, there are some really good players, and a lot of really bad players. I'm an average player, so I can only win money when I am playing against the bad players. Fortunately, as long as I am playing as well as I can (and if I can stay patient and levelheaded) then I can usually win some money.

But there are a LOT of bad players that simply don't know when to fold. (segue into poker terminology. if you are not familiar, you should check out this wiki on texas hold'em poker) They will call a preflop raise with a 6-2 unsuited, then call it all the way to the river with only a pair of deuces, and with terrible odds. Then they congratulate the winner with "nh" in the chat area, "nh" meaning "nice hand". Every time that happens, I want to write back, "No you imbecile! It wasn't a "nh"!! You just suck at poker!!!"

But then, I wouldn't want that person to stop giving me their money.

Oh so afraid

It has rained for the last week and half. Straight. Rain didn't stop once for an entire 10 days.

I go running outside 2-3 a week, and I have become afraid.

See, after more than a week of rain, there is a lot of standing water. Standing water means mosquitoes. I'm not talking the little buzz-in-your-ear mosquitoes. I'm talking mosquitoes the size of your hand, just waiting for you to look it right in the eye so it can plunge its four-inch bloodsucking mouth into your juicy flesh.

They are everywhere. And it's a scary sight - since they are so large, they don't really fly. They just float in the breeze. From far away, they look like cute dandelion wisps floating on a cushion of air... until you notice it's black, has six long legs and wants to suck the life out of you.

It makes running a sort of game, but in a life-or-death kind of way. I can't wait for the water to evaporate.

Disappointing.

Some good news. The Wildcats were able to pull off a win over the Boilermakers in a 34-29 victory. The fact that I am saying "pull off" is disappointing to me. I haven't been able to watch any of the games this season because I don't get ESPN - but how is it that NU can be leading by more than two touchdowns in the 1st quarter and still be fighting for its life in each game? Were it not for a lucky run by T. Sutton, Purdue would have won.

NU has one of the nation's top offenses, but clearly a sucky defense. Now I believe it when they say offense wins games but defense wins championships. Given that NU is up against three really tough defenses with top notch offenses in its next four games, we're probably not looking at a bowl bid.

Dreaming once again

Lately, strange dreams all the time. Complete sentences not this post. Somebody tried to kill. Broke in and she saw. Sister yelled help! That somebody ran. Ran, ran, ran. Tranquilizer guns are fun. Also, a tiger. Used to be a kitty-kat. But after catching to tranq, was like tiger. Good thing brother was holding paws. Holding only back legs for me.

Another dream? Wildcats win today.

A great link to an IT/security professional who just switched to Mac's blog. High probability of his posts being more eloquent than mine.

Now is the time

Given yesterday's Apple media event, I think it's high time for me to talk about why anyone buying a new computer should buy a Mac. Yesterday, Apple announced brand new iMacs with built-in high quality webcams for videoconferencing and integrated media center software with a remote control, a new iPod that does video AND is 30% thinner with 50% more capacity and a larger screen, and a new version of iTunes that lets you buy music videos and TV shows (I wonder where this is going). While some people may yawn at this, I think the excitement should come from where all this might lead. It could lead to a whole new experience for home entertainment. I think that is plenty exciting.

Before getting started, I have to mention how strange the landscape becomes when discussing PC and Mac. The world morphs to become Dali-esque and rational thought leaves the room. It's quite fascinating to me because I've always thought that you could reason with smart people. But not so, when it comes to computers. Even my most knowledgable computer geek friends use irrational arguments when defending their choice to stick with PCs and Windows. I do realize at some point, there is the matter of personal preference. But how can you have a preference when you haven't tried the competition? It's like saying, "I prefer vanilla ice cream, and I will only eat vanilla ice cream." when you haven't tried any other flavors.

To be fair, I have to acknowledge that Mac users are often considered cultish and also defend their platform with emotion rather than reason. However, consider that I became a Mac user only 2 years ago. I hated Macs up until the current generation of hardware and software. I think Macs have finally made a turnaround since Steve Jobs returned to the helm.

So without further delay, reasons why a Mac makes sense®:

• NO VIRUSES. NO SPYWARE. NO ADWARE. That's right. Zippo. Is it impossible? Any scientist will tell you there is scant little that is impossible. But as of right now, 0.00000000 viruses, spyware, adware. It just simply doesn't exist. The bad guys for Windows won't work on Macs, so rest assured. In general, the Mac system is more secure. It's much harder for bad software to install itself. In fact, the Mac will ask you before anything tries to install itself if it's OK. Nothing can install itself without your go-ahead. Don't believe me? Here's a programmer's opinion.


• Not as expensive as you think. Everyone thinks Macs are too expensive. Sure, you can't get a Mac for $300 like you can get a PC sometimes at Wal-mart. But that PC is crap and you know it. Plus, no monitor. You can get a good Mac for $499 now, in the Mac mini. Not only do you get a decent computer, but it looks good and doesn't take up a ton of space. iMacs now come with more memory, more hard drive space, built-in DVD burners, the works. Starting at $1299. You take any Dell and match specs, I guarantee the Mac will not be more expensive, and if so, not by much. Macs last longer. It's true - with a PC, you usually feel the need to upgrade every 2-3 years. Macs? You could probably use it for 5+ years without feeling like you were behind the times. That, plus less effort it takes to keep your Mac going probably saves you money.


• Macs are just as powerful as PCs. Yes, they are. Gone are the days when you felt like you were working on a kid's computer. New Macs are fast. And they are getting faster - Apple is moving toward the next gen of Intel processors which should allow four and more processors per system and faster processors in notebooks.


• There are tons of software titles. There is nothing you can do on a PC that you can't do on a Mac. Microsoft Office, Adobe Photoshop, Quark, Dreamweaver, it's all there. True, it will be harder to pirate stuff since Mac users pirate much less. And true, popular games take a little longer to make it to Mac. But they get there. I know the ones you want. Command & Conquer, World of Warcraft. No Problem.


• Best-in-class software Don't forget the software that is Mac-only and is best-in-class. How about iLife? Free with every Mac, it includes iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie, iDVD, GarageBand etc. All considered the best for what they do. You can make some pretty amazing movies with iMovie. And it's easy. More best-in-class software includes Final Cut (video editing), Motion (effects) among other pro applications.


• Most software you need is free. You might pay for a few of the software packages that you use, notable, Microsoft Office. But there are lots of free alternatives out there. Just a download away. If you have the gumption, you can write simple applications for yourself in AppleScript, or even code using included development tools. But I've rarely had to, everything that you can think of is available for download.


• New hardware and software is easy to install (and uninstall). Installing new hardware is as easy as plugging it in. Usually that's it. It just starts working. Almost all modern add-ons work with Macs. Installing software? Just as easy. Just click install, and it's done. Uninstall? Drag the application to the trash. No messy uninstallation. No hidden registry keys. No hidden directories.


• Secure out of the box. The Mac operating system is built on a variant of Unix, widely known to be the most difficult type of OS to hack into. That's because the code is open-source, which means over the last 30-40 years, millions of eyes have looked through the code, plugging holes (are there no holes? of course not. but there are very few bad ones like the ones Windows tries to patch each week). For this reason alone, I would expect my computer geek friends to flock to it. But somehow, the fact that it is built on the most secure and bug-free platform is not a consideration. Upon hearing how great Linux and Unix were I always thought that it would be great if there was a great graphical interface to go with them. You know, a good interface like Windows. Guess what? That's Mac.


• Cool features you can't live without Remember TiVo? Remember how you were like "what's that? I don't need it" but then you tried it - and now you can't live without it. That's how the Mac is. I can't even enumerate all the cool features, but you can look for yourself. Side note: the features that are available now on Mac are the ones that Microsoft is trying to copy and get into their new "Windows Vista" by 2008.

I could go on, but I think you are all tired of this by now (thanks, if you're still reading). In general, Macs = easier, cooler, smaller, just as compatible and powerful, last longer, just as affordable, and gives you some useful functionality that you will not have a chance of getting on PCs until 2008. I just don't get why people wouldn't give it a shot.

Some further reading:
In-depth comparison of Mac OS X and Windows XP

Another comparison by NYT's tech columnist

WSJ's tech columnist recommends Mac to people shopping for new computers

Poop de-oop

According to Freud's theory of psychosexual development, we move from the "anal stage", marked by fixation with bowel movements and the control of such movements, to the "phallic stage", at around age 3. I'm not sure that I ever completely gave up my anal stage. I am still very much fascinated by bowel movements and discussions thereof.

I don't see anything wrong with discussing, honestly and straightforwardly, of course, matters of poop, pee and all other things doodie. But I have met tons of people who have trouble vocalizing their feelings and views of such matters. Why is this the case? Has society beaten their anal stage out of them? Is there really such shame and distaste around feces?

I am especially confused when people say things like, "Please! I'm eating!" I have said such things before, but always in jest. Everyone else seems to make such proclamations in utter earnestness. Do I have a special gift of being able to separate gustatory enjoyment from intellectual discussion? I find no reason why one cannot discuss excrement at the dining table.

In fact, it should motivate one to eat when discussing doo-doo. After all, that is what eating is all about - making poopie. We should take a page from Chris Griffin's notebook, "I'm going to turn you into poo! Hee!"

American Pie

I'm trying out Google's AdSense. I figured that with my readership, I can earn almost $0.05/mo. If I save enough, I might be able to buy a jawbreaker by February. If the ads are annoying, let me know.

Window of opportunity

I saw the news about the earthquake in Pakistan Saturday, right after it happened. My first thought, after hoping the best for the survivors, was that this would be a great opportunity for the West, and in particular, the U.S. I was, and still am very afraid that as a nation, we will squander this opportunity to help change how we are perceived in the minds of the 95% of ordinary, good-hearted Muslims in Pakistan and the rest of the Middle East.

It is more of an opportunity in this year than it might have been in other years; we had a national (nay, global) outpouring of support and monetary donations for the Asian tsunami disaster and Hurricane Katrina. How would it compare if there was no similar outpouring for the victims of the Pakistan earthquake?

They are estimating 20,000 to 30,000 dead in this disaster, compared to 275,000 for the Asian tsunami and under 1,500 for Katrina. While the tsunami was an unparalleled disaster and Katrina hit close to home, I think we must respond in kind to the Pakistan earthquake. This is a region of the world that is poor, isolated, and for which our response will be judged critically by the people we need on our side to help end terrorism from Muslim exteremists. I believe that if Muslims as a whole in the Middle East didn't hate the U.S. (even if the ones that currently do don't participate directly in terror activities), then children would not grow up sanctioning the actions of Al-Qaeda and perhaps becoming active members of such terrorist organizations. We have to respond quickly and with overwhelming support, so we have a chance of showing ordinary people in the Middle East that we are not a nation of "evildoers" and "infidels".

Yes, I recognize that even if we do throw our hearts and money at earthquake relief, our actions could be twisted and used against us. They might say we are trying to buy them or that our money/support doesn't make up for all the wrongs previously committed. But what would be the effect of responding weakly, or not at all?

Yep. It's confirmed.

Did you ever wonder if crazy people know that they are crazy*? Well, the answer was on Martha Stewart's The Apprentice. And you thought you couldn't learn anything new from reality television.

Jim is crazy. He acts with complete self-interest to the point of detriment. There is nothing savvy or strategic about how he executes his well-publicized gameplan of doing everything and anything to win. I really believe there is something to be said for integrity and treating others as you want to be treated. You might win here and there in the short run by being ruthless, but in the long run, nobody will want to play with you anymore. Then, you lose and you can't even get back in the game.

What's disturbing is that Jim feels that his behavior is perfectly acceptable. He even has a wife and newborn child! (If a man like that can find a woman that wants to marry him - take solace all ye who are yet unmarried and need reassurance that it is possible) That he would act this way on national television flabbergasts me and only proves that he thinks there is nothing wrong with the way he has carried himself. Therefore, he is crazy. I hope he loses soon, because I hate when such deplorable behavior is rewarded.

* For the purposes of this post, I consider "crazy" to be defined as someone who acts outside of societal norms with a reasonable expectation of understanding that they are doing so - not persons with mental illness.