New Domain - TheBoredomBlog.com

Hi all. In case you haven't noticed, I've shelled out the cash and actually bought a domain for this site. It's still hosted here at blogger.com, but now if you ever want to tell your friends about me, it's a lot easier. Just tell them TheBoredomBlog.com, and they'll get here. Thanks for everybody's support.
Later

P.S. I heard a rumor that the 1st official episode of the BK Broiler might be comming out next week. It's just hearsay mind you, but keep an eye out for it.

Internet Explorer Exploit used by phishers

Ok, this is actually a very important post for anyone that uses Internet Explorer. I'm serious. If you're reading this and you use Internet Explorer, PAY ATTENTION! There is a new exploit that has been discovered that is being used by phishers (people who fish for your information) that lets IE open a web page that is controlled by the phishers, while displaying a valid URL in the Address bar. Let me explain this simply, because it's really quite important. Pretend you get an e-mail that looks like it's from your bank (lets say Chase). This e-mail says that you need to update some of your info and provides you with a link to chase.com so that you can log in and do this. When you click the link, the site look like the real chase.com. It used to be that you could look at the Address Bar to see what URL you were actually at. If the Address Bar didn't say "http://www.chase.com" you'd know that it was a phony site set up to collect your login credentials. But now, with this new exploit discovered (that phishers are already using) you could be at a fake site, and the Address Bar could still say "http://www.chase.com". To see if your browser is vulnerable, click the link below and run the test (to run the test, you have to click the link labled "Test Now" on the new page, after clicking the Link at the bottom of this post). When you do, a new window will pop up that is a page that is owned by the security company. If your browser is vulnerable, then the address bar will say www.google.com.

OK, so your browser is vulnerable, what do you do? Well the best way to secure yourself from this, and other, IE vulnerabilities is to stop using Internet Explorer all together, and Get Firefox. If still want to use IE, then the only way to prevent this from happening is to disable Activ Scripting. Of course, this will cause a lot of legitamite web sites to stop working correctly, but hey, you wanted to use IE.

Any way, give it a test, it's a little scary to see the results.
Click the link
Later.

What's Wrong With This Picture?

Well? Can you guess? If you haven't figured it out yet, the problem is that this picture was taken today, April 5th, 2006 in New York City. April 5th! It's fucking snowing right now!!!!!! THIS IS INSANE!!! WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE AND IT'S ALL BECAUSE OF THAT FUCKING BROADWAY MUSICAL!!!! Anyway just thought I'd share this rediculous turn of events with the rest of you. So that's all for now, I'm gonna go hide under my desk and wait for the 4 horsemen. :)

Podcast of the Year - Infected by Martin Sargent

This is just a little post for all you uninformed internet monkeys out there. There is one podcast that holds a special place in my heart. Well actuall down and a little to left of my heart. (Sometimes it makes my left arm feel numb.) Anyway it's called Infected by Martin Sargent. I've ben listening for a couple of months now and I'm proud to say that I've been infected. Why don't you get infected too!

New RSS Feed

Hi all! I just want to let everybody know that I've got a new RSS Feed running through Feedburner. If you are already subscribed to my feed, then please switch to the new Feedburner feed. If you haven't subscribed, well nows a great time to do it! If you click on the link you will have the option to subscribe with some of the bessed we-base feed readers out there, or your personal software one. I will be adding some custom subscribe buttons too, but it might take me a little while. Anyway enjoy the new feed!

NASA Manager: The children ar our future (spouses)

"The headquarters office of a senior NASA manager was searched and computer equipment was seized in a child pornography investigation, according to court documents and an online report.

The NASA inspector general’s office served a search warrant on the agency headquarters office of James R. Robinson, in-space propulsion technology program executive, on Wednesday.

A copy of the search warrant on The Smoking Gun Web site said a filter on NASA’s computer system that searches for flesh-colored tones alerted technicians who found 189 images of underage child sexual activity on Robinson’s work computer.

The search warrant also said Robinson’s computer had been used to send movies of child pornography to an undercover postal inspector and used a private account to correspond about pictures."

I really just can't even comment on this. It's fucked up enough. Shame on you NASA guy!

DOOM DOOM DOOM!!!

Board your windows, lock your doors, put your head betwixt your legs and hide under your desk! The Apocalypse is comming and we're all gonna die!!! "But Geoff, why are we going to die?" I hear you ask, "How do you know?" Well my faithful readers, I know the apocalypse is comming because of the newest musical on broadway. So, you ask, what kind of musical could possibly turn our brave and loyal blogger into you're average crackpot doomsayer? Well it's a new musical called... (wait for it) The Wedding Singer. That's right boys and girls, Adam Sandler's The Wedding Singer is now a Broadway musical. It's not even one of Sandler's artsy movies like Spanglish or Punch-Drunk Love. The freakin Wedding Singer is on Broadway!!! Like I said, DOOM!

Quote of the Day

"You can make something idiot proof, but they will always make a better idiot."
--Unknown

Downloading YouTube Videos

Hi all my blogger buddies! I just discovered a neat little website that lets you download all those crazy videos of stupid people doing stupid things from YouTube.com. The site is called FileLeacher and I found it throuhg Darknet. You have to go through a couple of different steps to make it work but it looks pretty cool. Now I just wonder how long it's gonna take YouTube to close up the hole. For details on how to play and convert the files check out the Darknet post about it. Enjoy you crazy peda-- I mean videophiles.

ZDNet: "[..] if you own an iPod, it's got CRAP in it [...]"

This is a direct rip from dapreview.net. I'd make comments but pretty much everone know's my stance on DRM. This is a very good and informative video about why DRM is bad, and I think everyone needs to watch it if we're ever gonna stop these corporate machines from telling us what to do with our content. Below is the dapreview text (check out their site if you never have.) but click the link below to see the video.

ZDNet has a very interesting take on the whole Digital Rights Management deal that is going on at the moment. Instead of calling it DRM though, they call it CRAP, which stands for Content, Restriction, Annulment, and Protection.

David Berlind, the executiver Editor, actually gets really excited about the whole deal. He explains that there are three big companies out there trying to force their proprietary DRM systems on the consumer. Should a consumer however decide to switch from an Apple DAP to Sony DAP he will not be able to play the music he has legally purchased.

That's why he recommends not to buy any products with "CRAP" inside them, because they are restricting your rights as a consumer.

Cool Site of the Day - Vox Machina

This is a cool site i found today courtesy of Dvorak's Blog. It's called Vox Machina and it's a text to speech web app. The reason this is kind of cool is because there are a lot of different and newish voices that you can play around with. One problem, no easy way to download the mp3 you created (but if you do a little html hunting it can be done. Enjoy!

Download Of The Day - Push The Freakin Button Pro

Ok, so I obviously stole the Download Of The Day title from Lifehacker, but I like lifehacker and I think of it more as inspiration. Anyway, I just stumbled upon a really nice little app called Push The Freakin Button Pro. It lives in your system tray, and watches for windows to show up (ones that you specify), and click specific buttons on the windows when they appear. It's made my life a lot easier considering how many times a day my comp crashes, and how many error messages I get when it recovers. But you can also set it up to record macros and do all sorts of neat little things. It's a $30 program, and I say it's well worth it. Click the link to check out the app.

Monday Morning on the 4 train

Good morning bloggerinoes. Did you have a good St. Pattie's weekend? Well enough of the chit-chat, I'd like to tell you a little story before I start my work for the day. I take the 4 train every morning from brooklyn heights, to 42nd Street and it's always packed. Today was no exception. The problem with a packed train in NYC is that there are always assholes on it. Always. They're either taking up 6 seats, or wearing a backpack 3 times their size and knocking people over, or they're pushing their entire back up against the pole so nobody else can hold onto it. These people piss everybody off, not just me. I've often complained with other New Yorkers about these assholes, but usually I never say anything to them, untill today.

This morning I was standing on the train, minding my own business, and watching the beginning of "The Weather Man" on my TAVI. I was standing. I noticed that someone sitting next to me got up to get off at a stop, and when they did, the person in the seat next to them, slid over to occupy two seats. No I don't want to come off as an ignorant racist, or anything like that, but this guy was "thugged out". I say this, because if this situation had taken place in the middle of the night, on an almost empty train, I probably would not have said a word.

But it was 8:40 am on a packed 4 train, I was already in a bad mood, it this just did it for me. Another man, tried to sit down next to the "thug" but he would not move over. It made me happy that the mad made it a point to sit anyway. He squeezed himself in between the thug and anothe person, but there was still a good 1 foot of space that the thug would not slide over into.

I finally spoke. I told the guy to just move over and stop being a dick. By the time I realized what I was sayign it was too late. The thug said "What!?" and I said again, "I'm sick of people being dicks on the subway for no good reason. Move over, let the guy sit down, and stop being a dick!" Well the thug moved over, and when the train got to Grand Central, I walked as fast as I could up to my office. I was shocked that I had said something, but it felt good. It felt good to hear a handful of other people on the train agree with me, and scold the thug.

I'm writing this, not to praise myself, but to tell other people out there. When somebody is being an asshole, just for the sake of being an asshole, say something. It really makes a difference. All it takes is that one voice to get everybody started.

DON'T BE A DICK!

St. Patties Day Special - A toast to green heros and villians

Happy St. Patricks Day everybody. In the spirit of the holiday, I've found a very special web site that gives tribute to all our favorite green super heros and villians. If you've ever read a comic book in your life, then take a look. :)

Quote of the day

Guns don't kill people. Bullets kill people. Guns just make them go really really fast.

What do you use your Dell for?

I can't express how funny this video is.

I'm Sorry

I know, it's just wrong. And stupid. And wierd. But watch it anyway.

Cool Internet Tool - Subway Navigator

Here's a cool tool I just discovered on Lifehacker, called Subway Navigator. You can look up the maps from subways in just about any city in the world. You can also choose your start and destination stations, and the navigator will tell you what trains and transfers to take to get there. However, like everything in life, it has one big flaw, no firefox support. IE and Netscape only (does anyone still use netscape?). Anyway, click the link to check out the site.

Man attempts bank robbery armed with a helmet and a bag

Here's a fun news story for the day. A man in Nicosia, Cyprus (don't ask me where that is) walked into a bank while wearing a motorcycle helmet, and carrying an empty bag. He demanded money. Now wouldn't it be nice if we could end the story here, say that the guard arrested him, and he's just a big dumbass. But sadly, that is not the case. The bank gave him the money and let him walk out the door. So the dumbass of the day award definately goes to the bank. I'm wondering how many people are thinking, "Hey, I should try that" right now.

Desire of the Day - The Slanket Blanket

It's time for another desire of the day kiddies. It's that thing you've always wanted, but never knew you did. It's called the Slanket Blanket, and all it is is a regular old blanket, but with built in sleeves. Looks great for gaming / laptop use / remote control / reading / anything you can do from your couch! It's not very techie, but it does look pretty cool. Check out the link to see all the colors and activities that can be accomplished with this giant step forward in blanket technology.