Tag Archives: Rant

Ode to the Blackberry!

A few days ago… I managed to snag a new Blackberry Pearl Flip 8220 as a very belated “Congrats for a GREAT Fall 2008” and a Chinese New Years present for myself. However… I was looking at my Blackberry Curve 8310 and going “Hell, transplanting ALL of my contacts is gonna be a mother bitch… FML!” However… I had heard that Blackberry was one of the few mobile phone brands where the desktop/computer manager allows you to back up your information and then syphon it right over to your new phone.

I’d open the Blackberry Desktop Manager and there was a big icon that said “Device Switch Wizard” and the detail message of “Switch from a Blackberry device or other device to a Blackberry device.” With how many phones I have changed from… I have always hated re-entering or resyncing contacts. However… I figured cause I was going from a full keyboard to a compacted device, I should give the device change application a shot.

I was rather glad I did, to be honest. The process took about 20 – 30 minutes… The first portion is the old phone’s data being extracted, then the later portion is the applications and other things being ported over and installed. The end result was my 8220 not only had my entire phone book… It also had all compatible programs installed on it, my Blackberry Messenger list transplanted, and even my ringtone preferences! I dare say that switching phones has never been this easy in all of my life!

It’s just simple details like these that remind me how much I love Blackberry and how I don’t mind recommending them to friends and family who want a great smartphone that’s stable & stylish to boot. Blackberry has reminded me the most focal point of a smartphone isn’t all about “shiny apps” or “douchenozzle” factor… it’s more about being a great phone FIRST and a great data device as well!

Addendum – I will be working on a Blackberry Pearl Flip 8220 review after I get decent time to completely evaluate my experience.

Leaves of the Lovestone Vine on Saint Valentine

It’s almost Valentine’s Day. I’m sure you all know too well what that means: romance and the consumerist frenzy! So here’s the deal, I feel us as Americans and maybe we as humans have more or less lost sight of the independent concepts of love and romance. I discovered that recently when challenging a friend to tell me a romantic story. It wasn’t terrible. It was cute and funny. Not terribly romantic. Maybe I am just hard to please. That’s entirely possible.

But more to the point… Who deemed flowers and candy and gasp maybe even jewelry to be essential to romantic evenings? It may be essential to you getting laid if you’re a straight guy. We chicks can be materialistic sometimes, but really it’s silly. Love isn’t wilting beauty, shiny metals, and empty calories. It’s about learning how to make the one you love happy.

Sometimes, this is harder to learn… It’s about letting them be happy even if it isn’t with you. Like many others out there I will be alone on Saturday in a metaphorical sense. Mostly because of just how difficult it can be to figure out how to go about letting go of something you had all too briefly… or not at all.

For the record I’ll toast to you all when we open the wine and hide our secrets behind an alcohol scented haze. Be happy even if you’re alone. Remember you’re one of the lucky ones if not.

Ivy out.

New Semester, New Food

So… The new student center is quite a riot. The Dining Room has been a huge change from last semester and I am glad to see that my tuition has gone to improve student morale through our stomachs. Some things have been recycled, like the waffle irons and toasters and even some things like the utensil holders. For the most part, there has been good changes. The “Grill” area has become a much more effective machine at shooting out burgers quickly and deliciously. The sandwich/deli area has become a meal-plan subsidized Subway of sorts. The pizza area now has a bonafide wood-fired pizza oven, rather than that conveyer belt oven.

This has made food taste better and good food always promotes good moods. Though the staff is not perfect, cause the new cafeteria does have its foibles. The pizza oven is not quite 100% mastered, ’cause there are sometimes where the pizza is bang-on perfect and it would give Red Brick Pizza a run for the money… While there are days that the quality is lacking in substance.

There’s also a return to my cafeteria buddies, folks like Drew, Penguin Commander, et al. Over my holiday break, I will admit, I missed them! However, there are some folks I have missed on linking up with… It’s good to be back with my lunch and dinner buddies. It helps ease the passing of the dull days when you have a companion to talk and vent to.

Thanks Texas A&M Commerce for putting some of our tuition to good use. Now… if you could do something fun like either make use of the new LCD HD-TV’s in the New Sam Rayburn Student Center or create an SAE Formula team… then I would be wickedly proud of the school I attend.

New Article at BerryTastic is Up!”What to do, What to do?”

The article is up for everyone’s enjoyment, if you want to see it… it’s here at this link: “What to do, What to do?”

For those of you who are a bit lazy at link jumping… click the “Read On” link here to check it out!
Continue reading New Article at BerryTastic is Up!”What to do, What to do?”

A Phone Hacker’s Memories Revisited…

A while ago, I had posted an entry on ZeroXR about needing advice on a new phone. In the post I detailed about my previous history with phones and my time with them. What I didn’t get a chance to do was to really get into the nit-picky details of why I loved and/or hated each one. There’s the old saying that “Every rose has its thorns” and I am one who believes that even applies to technology. Especially since the “Jesus Phone Part Deux” came out, everyone wants the “hottest” phone or the cutest looking ones. I present to you my “memoirs” of hacking phones up until this present day. Click the jump to read this opus of my memories!

Continue reading A Phone Hacker’s Memories Revisited…

Sanity Lost… Ugh… The Office Grind… [Rant]

I know I haven’t been on as much as I’d like to from the holidays and that hectic business… Luckily, it was not too bad. The “new” phone, BlackBerry Curve 8310, has been a joy to use and it’s stability is one out of the realm of my lost Nokia from eons ago. Continue reading Sanity Lost… Ugh… The Office Grind… [Rant]

“n0 P0litiks P1z, kthx”

So today… I was subject to a racial slur. I found it humorous, as the slur was chased with a foolish statement which negated the ire in his words. So I will paraphrase the exchange before I go into my rant…

Wacky Headcase (WH): “omgz! This country’s going to Hell! America’s lost it’s tradition!!!”
Student Instructor (SI): “Settle down… This is a MATH class, not government!”
WH: “Fucking Obama’s the Anti-Christ!”
SI: “There will be no political discussion on Friday… if you all even make the slightest thought, I will kick you out!”
WH: “This is bullshit! You’re obstructing my right to the first amendment!”
Zero: “School’s a fascist system, DEAL WITH IT!
WH: “It’s people like you that are dragging our country to hell, you Chink! Go back to your own country!”
Zero: “I’m sorry, I was born in DALLAS! This is my country! If you think our country is going to hell… Live in another country and maybe you’ll understand what they go through!”

I mean, I will stand up and fight for a person’s right to say anything they want in the proper forum. I am a believer of Voltaire’s most beautiful quote: “I do not agree with what you have to say, but I’ll defend to the death your right to say it.” The only condition is… I will do it in the right forum and right place. I also feel using racial slurs, name calling, or generally lacking an open mind is down right childish. Personally I feel that school is not the place, save a government or debate class… School is a home of learning and fortitude.

Anyhow, with trying to use philosophical points with this coddy applejohn… It reminds me why I HATE talking politics with people. It leads to childish arguments and well it generally upsets a lot of people. The fact I had to use my brain with philosophy so early gave me a migraine and reminds me why RX-7 and RX-8 drivers warm up their engines before really ragging on them. So… If I see you online. No political discussions please… If I see you on World of WarCraft, put your McCain hate at your terminal and don’t bring it to Azeroth. If I see you in Guild Wars, you bet your ass that I want you to leave your Obama hate far away from Tyria, Cantha, and Elona. Hell, if I see you face-to-face… I want none of it.

Just for the record before anyone tries to con me out with “You fucking hate democracy!” I will state that I loved Ron Paul ’cause he actively campaigned about privacy, so there. I am getting the fuck out of this discussion with a vengeance. I just want to chill, mellow the fuck out, and say “Thank God the media circus and peanut gallery is over.”

Much love,

Special Request Article – The Romantic and Sexual Tendencies of Human Males

This is a special feature requested from my classmate Amber and Haylee with some open discussion from my peers and colleagues for this. The article also was formulated by a few nights at the bars on weekends with friends cutting loose, so I do have some anecdotal data for my “hypothesis” and “theory”.

I have reason to believe that the way the male mind works with regards to romance and sex are all in a set of stages. The stages are cycles may repeat, depending on certain criteria not being met to progress on to the next stage. Some men end up trapped in a cyclical phase of the stages, sadly held in bondage and never to find a means to an end… However, there are others who do learn and have the luck/skills to break out of their sad twisted state of bondage to reach the one optimistic fairy tale ending that most women want.

The stages of romance are as follows…

  • Socialization Stage
  • Chase Stage
  • Lust Stage
  • Pure Stage

The Socilization Stage is pretty cut and dry… The male tries to see what actions make him socially acceptable to females versus which will cause them to avoid him with a violent fury. (Savage beatings from offended women are not accounted for, but they are not out of the realm of possibility.) If the stimulus pleases the female quarry, then the male learns “Oh, hey… she likes that!”.  The opposite should happen if she is displeased, unless the male is completely demented. Once they have reached reasonable understanding of the subject, the male proceeds to the next stage…

The Chase Stage can be compared much like a cat toying with a mouse. It’s the game that is played in an attempt to see if the male may be able to take pride in earning the affections of their desired quarry. If the woman in question plays hard to get… naturally, the man will see his quarry as a challenge. Depending on the mental fortitude of each party, this “Chase Stage” could last from a few hours to a few weeks… This phase is possibly where the gambit romantics takes place, in an effort to show the desired woman the extent of their physical or mental capabilities. Should copulation happen… That will bring things to a new dynamic.

The Lust Stage is probably one of the most difficult to break and shatter from. The male will (no doubt) be getting sex from their mate… but at the same time, their natural born instincts may betray them. They may seek to try sowing themselves into the wombs of other women. Once part is because the male’s biological function to propagate their DNA to as many mates as possible to ensure the longevity of their blood line… The other is more psychological and the desire to see what all else is out there. Things like a stimulating rumor about some woman who’s like a nasty whore in bed to a young virgin girl who has not been corrupted could be varying stimuli to a male in the Lust Stage. This stage can be self-destructive if not under control as it can essentially fracture the relationship built up from the Chase Stage. Things like infidelity, cupidity, and being two faced generally consequence to such actions. It won’t be until the man learns, for lack of a better phrase, think with his mind and heart rather than his penis that he’s hurting the tender emotion of a woman with his foolishness that he may move on to the final stage.

The Pure Stage is hopefully the last for a male. It’s where the epiphany is found that women are not objects of lust to be taken and abused relentlessly for pleasure… This stage usually gives yield to marriage and other noble things that women dream of. The best way to compare it is… It’s the stage that a man should be in should they want to settle or be sincere to the woman they are enamored with. This is probably the biological thing that most women gravitate to, the “protector” of their honor and eventually the defender of their castle. Sadly… Should parts of the pure stage not be met or become deviated, this could mean either a return to the Lust Stage or even complete and utter destruction to the Socialization stage. Once again, it can be simple things like material, emotional, or even sexual desires that are not met which may cause this recession to the previous stages of romance.

Unfortunately, some men may be trapped in certain stages because they have not come to that profound understanding to evolve their own existence. Some cases, it may be that the man is being held down by a lover who lacks understanding of their own intricate mind. Whatever the case may be… the themes seem to hold very common through out most males.

Sometimes… I wonder… [Humor]

Ever since the Olympics, Shawn Johnson has been a hot topic for winning gold on the women’s balance beam and has gotten tons of press for it. She appears to already have endorsements, as evidenced by the commercial I will link you… though with modern day sexual innuendos, you would think her agent would have said “Er… can we the line..?” to allow her to evade being a topic of pedo bears. Especially as right now she’s already the idol of some pedophilic dreams of enough people already…

The line in questions is “[..] Makes my taco pop!”

I know I was browsing one of my ever favorite off topic forum at ClubSi and when someone said “I can’t wait for the hardcore techno remix yeah!” and later to be met with this YTMND link: http://makemytacopop.ytmnd.com/ All I can say was my kidneys were at the mercy of hilarious and crude humor.

[Mini Editorial] Gotta love the Feds sometimes…

Financial aid is quite the “clusterfuck” as my former boss mentioned the quoted term.

A while back, I had a personal set-back and a medical condition that ended up being the one-two punch that basically had me dropping out of college while on a federal Pell grant. Let’s just say the Feds were awful quick to scream “ZERO!!!!! WE WANT OUR MONEY YOU ASSHOLE!!!!!” in a proverbial sense and they were aggressive as hell (like calling the day the semester ended). Once I paid them back… They conveniently kept a record on their files saying “Zero has paid his dues in full” however, the forgot to put it on my FAFSA file saying the same apparently all summer… I had contacted them about this flag since February, with various agents going “It takes time for the computer to flag an account as paid.”

Chain reaction: My school basically found that same flag and said “Zero, we can’t offer you any financial assistance cause your file is flagged as you have not paid the Feds their due cash.”

Cue this morning: I call the Feds up this morning and met with a amicable agent on the phone. Got hit with the standard gauntlet of questions to verify my identity of Zero, so after that I fire off my query of “Is there a way I could get my status immediately send over to my school for verification purposes and have my file cleared?” Sadly, I got the standard “It takes up to 2 business days for us to fax that to your educational establishment…” line from them.

That’s actually a bit ironic as when you ever owe the feds cash, they will hunt you down like a pack of bloodthirsty rottweilers. On the converse, when you pay them off… They just silently clear your file and set you free, while not updating anything else vital. That is almost a tactic that the nefarious credit companies would pull to try playing the game of “Oh… you still haven’t paid up” and conveniently putting off to the side you’ve paid in full.

Ugh… I hope the document updating my status shoots over sooner than “two business days”. We live in an era where electronic facsimilies are possible, it should not be that hard to pull up my file, drop in my financial aid office’s fax number, and then say “Send to this number.” I think I am going to be feverishly worried for a good while until my school goes “You’ve been verified and here is your financial assistance eligibility…”