Tech Talk

Dear Constant Reader,

I recently purchased a new cell phone, and some great great ipod batteries that absolutely did the trick ... for a little while.
I am so rarely separated from my little gadgets that I often end up going through more batteries than I thought it was ever possible to go through in one's life, and I'm sure my local WalMart loves me because of it.
The problem is that I should know better than to keep buying batteries at WalMart because it's pretty clear that their merchandise is pretty darned ghetto.
Fuck WalMart, and fuck their cheap ass batteries.

Arthur
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Technorati Tags: [WalMart] [Rapes] [And] [Kills] [People]
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Cold and Flu Myths

Dear Constant Reader,

It's not often that I enjoy learning things, but I found this interesting:

Cold and Flu Myths
By Rich Maloof for MSN Health & Fitness


Colds are not caused by going outside without a coat.

Sorry, Mom. You meant well, but the only way to catch a cold or flu is by picking up a virus. Going out into the cold without a jacket or a hat, or with wet hair, does nothing to facilitate transmission. It’s true, though, that we are more prone in the winter. Viruses are more easily shared when people are clustered together indoors.

Flu vaccines do not cause flu.

The Centers For Disease Control and Prevention are emphatic that you cannot get the flu from a flu shot. The vaccine is made from killed or “inactivated” viruses, which can’t be transmitted. However, you may experience a few side effects which mimic the disease such as aches and a low-grade fever.

Feed a cold, starve a fever? Nah. Feed ’em both.

This bit of armchair advice is probably repeated as often as it is jumbled. But you wouldn’t want to starve either virus: At higher temperatures the body produces more interferon, a protein that helps prevent virus reproduction. “The body is like a furnace, and to create heat you need calories,” says Dr. George Wootan, a family physician and author of Take Care of Your Child’s Health. “When people have chills it is because they don’t have enough calories to bring up the heat normally …by feeding them, they will have enough calories to raise the temperature, increase the interferon, and kill the bugs.” Wootan will sometimes recommend to patients without a temperature that they promote their own fever by getting into a hot tub or putting on warm clothes and getting under the covers (drink lots of water, too, if you’re going to try this method).

“[Some] might say that you should starve a fever because you don’t want the fever to go higher,” he concludes, “but the body isn’t dumb and won’t do damage that it can’t control.”

Viruses survive on surfaces.

You don’t have to wait to be sneezed on to catch a cold or flu—you can pick the virus up right from a counter top, keyboard, telephone or other surface. Rhinoviruses, the family of germs responsible for most colds, have been shown to survive on a surface (or “fomite,” in medical terms) for several hours or even days. “The concentration of virus attenuates; that is, the potency is less and less as time goes on. But you need very few viral particles to trigger an infection,” explains Dr. Richard Rosenfeld, professor and chairman of otolaryngology at Long Island College Hospital in Brooklyn, N.Y. “Even if there’s just a little left and you happen to touch that doorknob or coffee cup, the virus can then survive on your hands for quite a long time. Then all it takes is a little wipe or your nose or eyes and whatever little bit of virus on there will go to town very quickly. It’s a very efficient multiplying process.”

Colds that linger or worsen may indicate sinusitis.

Barring an underlying condition or immune deficiency, most people can fight off a cold inside of 10 days. When symptoms such as congestion, headache and runny nose drag on, it may indicate a bacterial infection of the sinuses, or sinusitis. “Duration of a cold beyond 10 days is highly suggestive of bacterial infection,” says Rosenfeld, who was the lead author of a new guideline for treating adult sinusitis, which addresses the importance of distinguishing a cold from sinusitis. “The other feature suggesting sinusitis is the pattern of ‘double worsening.’ That’s when someone starts to feel better and then all of a sudden they get hit again, and they’re getting worse. Now bacterial infection has superimposed itself on the viral illness. When you have prolonged illness or the double-worsening pattern, it’s reasonable to consider antibiotics.”

Vitamin C is ineffective for preventing or treating cold or flu.

A review of 30 studies on vitamin C that was updated in May 2007 put to rest a few dozen years’ of overconfidence in orange juice. “Vitamin C cannot effectively prevent or cure common colds or flu in the majority of people,” says Sari Greaves, registered dietician with New York-Presbyterian Hospital. Greaves allows that some benefit has been shown for extreme athletes exercising in extreme cold, but “since vitamin C is only known to offer a biological benefit in certain cases and in a restricted number of people, for the average adult, it’s not worth it to supplement.”

It’s true: we can put a man on the moon but we can’t cure the common cold.

The problem is that there are hundreds of varieties, or serotypes, of rhinovirus in addition to other viruses that cause the common cold. Of those hundreds, just a few are causing widespread infection at any point in time. The serotypes change so rapidly that they’re impossible to keep up with. A vaccine would have to be specific to the current serotype, and by the time the virus was identified and an antidote developed, the active serotype would have changed. On the plus side, we’ve been to the moon six times.

Arthur
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Technorati Tags: [Flu] [Colds] [Health] [MSN] [Flu Season]
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"Cloverfield" Marketing Rant From Some Cunt

Dear Constant Reader,

This cunt ( ‘Cloverfield’ fans are Paramount’s slave-labor marketing bitches ) is whinily whining about the way "Cloverfield" is being marketed, and I have a few words for her royal cuntiness.

What she says:

Cloverfield is back. Remember the trailer for an unnamed movie everyone was so excited about a few months back, the one before Transformers about a mysterious monster attacking New York and knocking the head off the Statue of Liberty? There’s a second trailer now: it debuted before Beowulf over the Thanksgiving weekend and immediately afterward started showing up on YouTube in an impossible-to-watch cell-phone-cam version.

My response:
"Cloverfield" is back? Did it actually ever leave? Are you so hip that hot trends flit about you, vanish and return based on your interest, or lack thereof?

What she says:

I watched it anyway, and found myself getting a little cheesed off. Not about the movie itself, but about how Paramount is marketing this. I can’t go into a press screening without having my bag rifled and my body wanded in search of cameras and other recording devices -- when I upgraded my cell phone recently, I made a point of getting one without a camera in it so I wouldn’t have to check it with the minimum-wage “security” guards who regularly harass we critics and our guests at screenings. It’s not like those pristine DVDs and downloads of new movies are coming from critics sneaking their cameraphones into press screenings, but we get subjected to this anyway.

My response:
"Minimum wage security guards"? Are you a snob much? Here's a thought: You're not that important, and you can leave your cell phone at home to go to a screening. Do you really think you're so popular that you must have your phone with you at all times you self-centered sow?

What she says:

But Cloverfield makes it clear, I think, that Paramount wanted geeks to camcord that new trailer, wanted it to end up on YouTube. Perhaps no one in Paramount’s marketing department realized that the first teaser trailer would be such a viral hit on the Web this summer, but they had to know the second one would be. This is the first movie for which “piracy” is a planned part of the marketing.

My response:
Yes, because the folks at movie studios are just wild about piracy. Do you actually think before you type you bile filled witch? Are you not aware that Paramount was sending out cease and desist orders to people who were posting images and videos? They didn't come after me, but I know a lot of people that they did crack down on.
You need to stop trying to come off as super cool, and do some fucking homework before you attempt to sound like you know what you're talking about.

What she says:

You can now watch that new trailer (as well as the teaser) in crisp, clear, “official” versions at Apple.com, and it’s even more obvious that it was not primarily intended to be seen in theaters but in a format you can freeze and rewind and rewatch. Lots of intriguing stuff slips by a mere frames. And, of course, you don’t have to bother with analyzing it yourself: All the Cloverfield nerds have done it for you. At CloverfieldNews.com, there’s an ongoing discussion about what each and every shadowy image and garbled sound might be. The sprawling Cloverfield fan community has even ferreted out a connection between the movie and Heroes.

My response:
I'm assuming you didn't get any dick in high school, and so you're now taking it out on your readers?
Oh, and it's kind of hard to ferret things out that someone of even your limited intellect could see in plain sight.

What she says:

Some folks, like my fellow Film.com contributor Eric D. Snider, are tired of all the coyness on the part of Cloverfield producer JJ Abrams and all the literal gameplaying required to figure out what the damn movie is about. I figure the gameplaying isn’t meant for us grownups but for kids with tons of time on their hands. Who else could be able to post something like this: “For the last few weeks, we have been devoting all of our time to the myspace accounts of the characters.” Seriously? All your time? To a movie that hasn’t even opened yet, and might turn out to suck. (That site, Cloverfield Project, hasn’t been updated since August, so perhaps someone got a life.)

I wonder if all these folks realize that they’ve become unpaid marketing managers for a multibillion-dollar corporation.

My response:
What's to figure out? It's a movie about a giant monster that attacks New York City. There I've figured it out. It was pretty obvious from the first trailer, but you and Eric D. Snider must have been too busy sipping latte's and dry humping in your overpriced apartment to notice.
No, I have no clue that I've become an unpaid marketing manager for Paramount because I'm not. I'm a fan who's intrigued by something that could be wonderful.
I'd suggest that you go back to writing your idiotic screenplay, scribbling in your inane blog and leave certain subjects to people who know more than you do. That really won't leave you much to talk about, but nobody's really interested in what you have to say anyhow.

Arthur
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Technorati Tags: [1-18-08] [Bad Robot] [Cloverfield] [Slusho] [Media]
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They Won't Stop Sending Me Shit

Dear Constant Reader,

Let their be ballpoints!
I keep getting personalized pens, and other useless shit from some American company that thinks they are actually going to get my business.
This is the real problem with filling out forms online, and putting your address in when you're asked to.

Arthur
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Technorati Tags: [Personalized] [Pens] [Are] [Cool]
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I Assume Since It's Snowing

Dear Constant Reader,

I assume that since it's snowing there will be more than a few net denzians will be jetting off to their Orlando vacation rental to get away from this nightmarish weather.
I completely cannot handle the snow, and would love nothing more than to look outside and see green grass.

Arthur
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Technorati Tags: [Mickey Mouse] [Makes] [People] [Insane]
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Up Your Ass "Project Cloverfield" & Blogspot Blog Bashers

Dear Constant Reader,

This bitch was irritating a long time ago, and it's only got worse over time.
Check out this little jab at people like me from her barely interesting website:

Note: This site has been debunked and is now recorded as a fake.
Thanks to Q30, question30 for notifying this to me via E-mail!
Well lady’s and gentleman this website: http://tagruato.blogspot.com/ is claiming to be the main resistance against Tagruato and a supporter of the “hacking” of www.tagruato.jp

Reasons why this should / could be fake? ITS A BLOGSPOT SITE! Otherwise, it seems somewhat unpersonal. It does have that personal “hate this” look.
Feel free to discuss the amusing “comments” and the likes.

This cunt isn't the only one who's blogspot snobbery knows no bounds. Check out this from some roleplaying/circle jerk site:

Regarding this: Exclusive: Interview With "Cloverfield" Director Matt Reeves

fishy
Boot

Joined: 21 Jul 2007
Posts: 39
I think that interview was meant as a joke or parody, because it doesn't make much sense. A director would never say that in an interview, and a busy director would never take time off to be interviewed by a blogspot blog. Maybe a mainstream media network, but not a blog.

Are these people serious?
The fact that they had to have a fucking discussion as to whether my interviews were real shows you how idiotic they are, and that their opinions are so completely irrelevant.
You think a blogspot blogger can't start some shit?
I won't even comment on that the fact that I was the only website not sent a cease and desist order regarding the removal of "Cloverfield" set photos despite the folks at Paramount Pictures visiting here. Ooops ... I just did.

Arthur
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Technorati Tags: [1-18-08] [Bad Robot] [Cloverfield] [Slusho] [Website]
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www.tagruato.jp Is Back, and a 'Heroes" thought.

Dear Constant Reader,

The only thing this site tells us is ... well ... nothing.
The "Cloverfield" poster gives us more information than this site, but it's up again.

www.tagruato.jp

So the "thing" is (I'm gathering) a monster that was disturbed by deep-sea drilling. Has anyone checked to see if Al Gore has anything to do with this movie?

And another thing ...
Someone asked me why I'm not talking about the Slusho/"Heroes" connection, and the answer to that question is simple: "Heroes" is a terrible show that nobody with a brain would give a shit about.
Does that clear up my thoughts on the subject?
Oh, and I'm sorry if I offended the mentally challenged.

Arthur
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Technorati Tags: [1-18-08] [Bad Robot] [Cloverfield] [Slusho] [Television]
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What's your life worth?

Dear Constant Reader,

I received another letter today that promised me an amazing life insurance quote that would save me, and my family from the eve of destruction.
I tore up the letter, and realized that I don't care about what happens to my family after I drop dead.
They don't care about me, and I'm not going to spend my afterlife caring about them.
Cruel aren't I?

Arthur
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Technorati Tags: [Blogging] [Life] [Family] [Insurance] [Me]
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I feel so alien today

Dear Constant Reader,

Sometimes blogging from the Outer Banks of the world (small-town Canada) can leave one wondering if anyone is actually paying attention to anything that I'm saying.
I know that folks are reading, but nobody ever seems to want to leave a comment.
What makes people want to (or not want to) comment on a blog post?
Are you people going to make me take my pants off on camera? That can so be arranged.

Arthur
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Technorati Tags: [Blogging] [Canada] [Saturday] [Boredom] [Life]
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A "Cloverfield" Article From Movie Marketing Madness

Dear Constant Reader,

This isn't so much news as it is a big "Well duh".

Cloverfield official website launched

Arthur
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Technorati Tags: [1-18-08] [Bad Robot] [Cloverfield] [Slusho] [Articles]
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A Peek Of The "Cloverfield" ... Thing

Dear Constant Reader,

Well it looks like some video geeks managed to give us a peek-see at the thing that's going to be ravaging Rob, and his main dudes in New York.

The Monster? :



What have we learned?
The monster has legs!
Wow!
This is BREAKING news.
Oh ... wait ... it's not.

Arthur
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Technorati Tags: [1-18-08] [Bad Robot] [Cloverfield] [Video] [Slusho]
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Yet Another PayPal/Ebay Phishing Scam

Dear Constant Reader,

PayPal and Ebay aren't scamming people, but another phisher is phishily phishing for fish with this latest gem :

Dispute Transaction
From: PayPal (support@PayPal.Inc.com)
You may not know this sender. Mark as safe | Mark as unsafe
Sent:November 16, 2007 11:47:09 PM
Reply-to:support@PayPal.Inc.com


To:

Dear PayPal Member,


This email confirms that you have sent an eBay payment of $147.85 USD to
achad13@yahoo.com for an eBay item.



-----------------------------------
Payment Details
-----------------------------------


Amount: $147.85 USD

Transaction ID: 2LC956793J776333Y

Subject: Digimax 130





Note:
If you haven't authorized this charge ,click the link below to dispute transaction
and get full refund

Dispute transaction (Encrypted Link )

*SSL connection:
PayPal automatically encrypts your confidential information
in transit from your computer to ours using the Secure
Sockets Layer protocol (SSL) with an encryption key length
of 128-bits (the highest level commercially available)

-----------------------------------
Item Information
-----------------------------------


eBay User ID: scratchandgnaw2


----------------------------------------------------------------
Edward Harrell's UNCONFIRMED Address
----------------------------------------------------------------

Edward Harrell
211 David St.
Springtown, TX 76082
United States

Important Note: Edward Harrell has provided an Unconfirmed Address. If
you are planning on shipping items to Edward Harrell, please check the
Transaction Details page of this payment to find out whether you will
be covered by the PayPal Seller Protection Policy.




----------------------------------------------------------------
This payment was sent using your bank account.

By using your bank account to send money, you just:

- Paid easily and securely

- Sent money faster than writing and mailing paper checks
- Paid instantly -- your purchase won't show up on bills at the end of
the month.

Thanks for using your bank account!



----------------------------------------------------------------

Thank you for using PayPal!
The PayPal Team
PayPal Email ID PP118

A quick Google search for scratchandgnaw2 will be a very quick eye opener (if you didn't already figure it out from the friggen email) that this is a nasty scam guaranteed to bilk you out of your money.

Here's what PayPal has to say to it's users if they want to make sure that the emails they are receiving are from a trusted source :

Email Security

* Look for a PayPal Greeting: PayPal will never send an email with the greeting "Dear PayPal User" or "Dear PayPal Member." Real PayPal emails will address you by your first and last name or the business name associated with your PayPal account. If you believe you have received a fraudulent email, please forward the entire email—including the header information—to spoof@paypal.com. We investigate every spoof reported. Please note that the automatic response you get from us may not address you by name.
* Don't share personal information via email: We will never ask you to enter your password or financial information in an email or send such information in an email. You should only share information about your account once you have logged in to https://www.paypal.com/.
* Don't download attachments: PayPal will never send you an attachment or software update to install on your computer.

More info from PayPal can be found here :
Security Tips and Fraud Prevention

Arthur
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Technorati Tags: [Ebay] [PayPal] [scratchandgnaw2] [Phishing] [Scams]
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Some Neat New "Cloverfield" Pictures

Dear Constant Reader,

Here's an assload of "Cloverfield" pictures that may shed some more light on this mystery movie :
































Arthur
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Technorati Tags: [1-18-08] [Bad Robot] [Cloverfield] [Pictures] [Slusho]
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"Cloverfield" 2nd Trailer In High Def

Dear Constant Reader,

So an even better trailer for "Cloverfield" is now available, and sweaty women are hot.
Nothing new to see here ... really. Nothing.

High Def 2nd "Cloverfield" Trailer



Arthur
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Technorati Tags: [1-18-08] [Bad Robot] [Cloverfield] [Video] [Slusho]
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Random Weird Questions

Dear Constant Reader,

Just some meme inspired ramblings from me.

Q: What is your least favorite day of the week and why?

A: Monday. I hate waking up on Monday.

Q: What's the best way to end the day?

A: Masturbating yourself to sleep.

Q: Which animal would you have left out of the ark?

A: Snakes. I hate the fucking things.

Arthur
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Technorati Tags: [Memes] [Monday] [Blogging] [Blog] [Bored]
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Another UFO Sighting

Dear Constant Reader,

Knowing that something is going to happen, and setting up a camera to capture it has been the highlight of my day.
I've had many UFO experiences in my life (including one I may tell you all about someday), and tonight I managed to capture one of the many crafts that have been a part of my paranormal life.

Here's the photo of what I captured tonight:


Arthur
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Technorati Tags: [UFO] [Alien] [Area 51] [UFO's] [Aliens]
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Cloverfield: How It All Went Down

Dear Constant Reader,

Here's the best quality version of the new trailer for "Cloverfield", and some of my thoughts below it :



1. So this movie is filmed entirely on a video camera? Hear that? It's the Blair Witch making JJ Abrams stand in the corner.

2. This trailer gives us nothing new beyond the title of this film.

3. The characters in this film could turn out to be the most irritating group of people to listen to since Michael Bay sodomized audiences with "Transformers".

4. A horse drawn carriage really isn't all that creepy.

5. People don't abandon their video cameras during a catastrophic attack?

Arthur
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Technorati Tags: [1-18-08] [Bad Robot] [Cloverfield] [Video] [Slusho]
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Christmas Pishmas

Dear Constant Reader,

Our neighbors have begun to dig out their christmas tree ornaments, and bastardize their front windows with garish displays of Christmas bullshit.
Isn't this a tad early to be putting up a friggen Christmas tree?
I loathe this time of year, and can't wait for news of the first Christmas tree fire.
Oh what fun it is to ride in an ambulance with third degree burns!

Arthur
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Technorati Tags: [Christmas] [Christmas Decorations] [Holidays] [Jesus] [December 25th]
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I don't know what things mean

Dear Constant Reader,

I'm not quite sure what a plasma mount is, but I'm reading an internet article on it.
Why am I reading an article about something that I couldn't hit an interest in by swinging a dead cat?
I'm not sure, but I think today's the day that I'm going to lounge around the house and educate myself on completely useless things that I give a rat's ass about.


Arthur
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Technorati Tags: [Education] [Learning] [Bored] [Lazy] [Quiet]
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Let's Get Physical

Dear Constant Reader,

I need to exercise more, and it seems the expense of one of those fancy home gyms is entirely out of my league.
What does this mean for me?
I'm guessing that it means I'll have to get my exercise at my new job, and combine that with power walking through thigh-high snow.
How much fun am I having?



Arthur
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Technorati Tags: [Exercise] [Video] [Gyms] [Workout] [Music]
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Homecare Trouble

Dear Constant Reader,

If bullshit was houses I'd have a real estate franchise of bullshit.
I'm getting tired of people telling me what I need to be doing for my mother when it's their job, not mine.
I have a job, and I don't need another one to put me into worse health than I already am.
Is it too much to ask for someone to give me just a little bit of fucking honesty?

Arthur
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Technorati Tags: [Homecare] [Life] [Mom] [Health Care] [Bullshit]
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Welcome To Our House #3: Hygiene & Make-Up

Welcome To Our House #3: Hygiene & Make-Up
Video sent by jak201

Sisters and soap actresses Natalie Hammer & Nina Hammer-Ortiz are back to teach you about hygiene and make-up. Inspired by Brenda Dickson's fantastic "Welcome To Our Home." http://julieandjackie.com

Arthur
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Technorati Tags: [Video] [Funny Video] [Women] [Makeup] [Hair]
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"Cloverfield" Is "Cloverfield"?

Dear Constant Reader,

Bet you thought I'd forgot about this didn't you?
I was waiting for some news to report, and here it is :

According to the all-knowing movie gurus over at ComingSoon.net, on November 16th, the date that “Beowulf” is released, Paramount will be releasing a new trailer for the oh-so-mysterious J.J. Abrahms film codenamed “Cloverfield.” So if you’re really hoping to catch the new trailer you could head out to see “Beowulf”, or just wait a couple hours til it makes its way on the net. Along with the trailer, it is also being reported that the film’s official title will be revealed. Although interestingly, the folks over at CHUD.com are reporting that they’ve seen the secret trailer, and that the movie’s name is actually “Cloverfield.” It won’t be too long before we know the truth, although I’m sure they’ll come up with some new things for us to speculate about.

Arthur
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Technorati Tags: [JJ Abrams] [1-18-08] [Beowulf] [Cloverfield] [Coming Soon]
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Unexplained Aprons

Dear Constant Reader,

For some reason we have eight aprons in our kitchen drawers, and nobody can explain to me how they got there.
Is the ghost of Julia Childs really invading our home, and causing this unexplained cooks clothing?
I doubt that it's a Julia, but it certainly is a bit baffling as to how we managed to end up owning something that nobody in our house has ever used.
Does anybody really wear aprons anymore anyways?

Arthur
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Technorati Tags: [Julia Childs] [Was] [A] [Big] [Woman]
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My Brother The Tweeker

Dear Constant Reader,

My brother has (yet again!) entered drug rehabilitation, and I hope that he decides to stick with it.
I'm not saying that I'd reunite him (that will never happen), but I hope that he finally decides to get his shit together.

Arthur
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Technorati Tags: [Drugs] [Drug Use] [Rehab] [Family] [Personal]
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