Lumpy's Corner

Further Along the RIAA's "Road Less Logical"

By Lumpy on February 25, 2013 10:04 AM | No TrackBacks

Those of you who have followed this blog over the year's are aware of just how passionate I am about the RIAA. I simply love the way they are creating a new type of mathematics which rivals even federal fiscal budgeting logic, a new Gestapo economic model in which they sue consumers who do not wish to participate in a business model last considered modern in the Precambrian era and crusade to collect artists' royalties which never seem to actually get to the artist.

Ready for their latest move? It seems that they have been unhappy with how Google serves search results. They don't like the way sites they like don't rank as high as sites they feel are "pirate" sites. Mike Masnick, over at TechDirt, brings up the best point which I will paraphrase as "ever hear of SEO?" I wonder if Apple likes the fact that HP shows up in search results for "personal computer brands"?

If Apple were to respond as the RIAA has, they would do some research and conclude that Google is not trying hard enough to keep other brands out of the search results. Go figure... Nonetheless, I must part. I am off to hire a research company to find out why "Lumpy" is not the only result you get when you search for "blogger". I mean why waste time and energy on relevant key words, content and providing the searcher what they are actually seeking?

"You're Self Employed, So You Should have the Time... I mean you set your own hours."

By Lumpy on February 21, 2013 4:41 PM | No TrackBacks

LumpCharcoal (Photo credit: John "Lumpy" Lemke)

The title is exactly what some body replied after they took the liberty of volunteering me to be somewhere at a specific time to do something that nobody else volunteered for. They were truly shocked and amazed when I informed them that I was not available. They totally and honestly believed that I was just being difficult.

I thought I would take just a few paragraphs to elaborate on the myth. (Maybe next time, I can simply point the shocked to this post.) First off, this individual might have better said that "other people" set schedule my time for it is much closer to the truth.

Obviously, they did not have any problem with it nor did they see anything wrong with doing so. They felt every right to do so... Trust me on this one readers, if some one is actually paying you, they feel even more entitled to control your time and your life. If you can't accept that, DO NOT consider becoming a freelancer.

Continue reading "You're Self Employed, So You Should have the Time... I mean you set your own hours.".

Life is Difficult...

By Lumpy on February 18, 2013 7:02 AM | No TrackBacks

The title of this post is also the title of the first chapter of the best selling book The Road Less Traveled. M. Scott Peck had much to say on this matter. Even after a decade past my most recent read of this excellent book, that first chapter still rings clear in my mind. A quote is in order:

This is a great truth, one of the greatest truths. It is a great truth because once we truly see this truth, we transcend it. Once we truly know that life is difficult--once we truly understand and accept it--then life is no longer difficult. Because once it is accepted, the fact that life is difficult no longer matters.

When I first read the book, now almost 30 years in the past, I honestly believed and felt that my life was very difficult. However, my life today is far more difficult than in the past and, in the present, I do not feel the same amount of stress. In fact, I am more thankful now than I ever have been in my 49 years of existence.

So why would I bring this up at my personal blog? Frankly, I think it is high time that every American buy a copy and embrace what it says.... you are going to need it.

Continue reading Life is Difficult....

Super Fast Password Cracking Machine

By Lumpy on December 6, 2012 4:19 PM | No TrackBacks

DES Cracker circuit board fitted with Deep Crack chips Source: http://www.eff.org/Privacy/Crypto/Crypto_misc/DESCracker/ link Copyright: the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Information on licenses found from: http://www.eff.org/ ; private communication by User:Matt Crypto (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

While there are various reasons why this particular password attack, dubbed "brute force", is not a large threat provided you use some common sense protections, the speed of this machine which uses 5 servers and 25 graphic processing cards (GPUs) to rapidly try and break encryption. However, it is not the hardware I am interested in here. Hack a Day covered that very well.

I was more interested in expanding on, quoting the source, "How can one understand 348 billion hashes per second?" While they gave a few examples regarding breaking encryptions, I don't get encryption well enough to understand in those terms. So how fast is 348 billion guesses per second, in terms I can understand?

Continue reading Super Fast Password Cracking Machine.

File Under "Things not to Do"

By Lumpy on December 6, 2012 10:08 AM | No TrackBacks

There are, as Arsino Hall used to say, "make one go hmmm" and then there are things that simply should not be done. While I have been alive too long for this later list to be short, calling the police because a dough boy sold you a dummie is one that immediately comes to mind for example, I confess, I did not see this one coming.

Yahoo! Odd News reports that a man called the police to report that the woman, perhaps better termed prostitute, that he hired had, ready, shorted him by 10 minutes!

Cleveland's The Plain Dealer to Reduce Guild by Ont Third in 2013

By Lumpy on December 5, 2012 11:49 AM | No TrackBacks

Photo by Brice Burtch, June 24, 2007 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I don't know exactly how to feel on this one. Growing up in greater Cleveland, I was exposed to several local daily newspapers. However, that all change forever about the era of CompuServe. The Cleveland Insider and Cleveland.com are now more read by me than Cleveland's only surviving daily paper.

The Cleveland Insider reports that cuts are coming, with more in years to come, at this long published paper. Worse yet, the cuts are in the core area of the business, the guild. You know those that produce the content. Personally, while I feel for those employed, I think we are witnessing the end of an era. I don't think the story started this year. Remember The Cleveland Press?

Sorry to say it this way but I think that is the way it is. Papers, perhaps as long as 2-3 decades have been "surviving". While I still love to listen to radio drama, even dabble in it from time to time, I have to accept that I am not going to a catch Mystery Theater on the air anymore.

For those of you who are interested in it and for what it is worth, there is a Facebook drive to save this newspaper. I say "for what it is worth" not to be cruel or mean but, honestly, it would make about as much sense as me launching a save radio drama campaign. Newspapers are saved by circulation and advertisers not petitions and causes.

Sorry the writing about this one is not "on the wall" nor in columns of newsprint but in 1s and 0s streaming world wide. I will miss newspapers but I don't think they are going to be able to survive much longer.

Aloha Kona

By Lumpy on December 5, 2012 9:31 AM | No TrackBacks

I

Pale Ale (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

f more choices are a good thing, there is good news regarding beer for Clevelanders. I can understand why we like micro-brew beers. Despite the fact that they are bit pricey, they are worth it for the experience on occasion. I think it is safe to say that the average person from my town would be pleased to have Longboard Island lager, Big Wave Golden Ale and Fire Rock Pale Ale added to craft beer options.

The Cleveland Insider is reporting the, Hawiian based, Kona Brewing Company will be expanding its distribution to Ohio in January, 2013. The expansion will result in the beer being available in 35 states... I wonder if we should still call that micro-brewed?

While I think this is going to be nice for the suburban grocery stores and Cleveland's entertainment districts, I a doubt it is going to replace the 40 ounce bottles in most of the neighborhood stores. Nonetheless, I admit my tongue is already looking forward to trying their seasonal Koko Brown Ale in spring of 2013.

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Lumpy's Corner

Just my long-time personal blog. Just me.

Further Along the RIAA's "Road Less Logical"

"You're Self Employed, So You Should have the Time... I mean you set your own hours."

Life is Difficult...

Super Fast Password Cracking Machine

File Under "Things not to Do"

Cleveland's The Plain Dealer to Reduce Guild by Ont Third in 2013

Aloha Kona

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