Coldplay vs. Joe Satriani

I heard like a few notes in series. I guess any band that uses the E-B-C#-A chord progression is fucked. (Good-Better than Ezra, When I come Around - GreenDay, With or Without you - U2, countless others.) I agree that Satriani is an awesome musician, but having a song title "I just wanna rock"... isn't that like stealing Twisted Sister's song title, "I wanna Rock".

Big news story here, Music industry is saturated, everything borrows from everything else to give fans enjoyable music. Move on.

Silly thinking

A friend of mine posted this blog.... My response is at the bottom.

I’m not alone
Ran into this story online and i liked it. read away.

Today on my way to lunch I passed a homeless guy with a sign the read "Vote
Obama, I need the money." I laughed.

Once in the restaurant my server had on a "Obama 08" tie, again I
laughed–just imagine the coincidence.

Suddenly, it hit me. An experiment is in order.

I asked the server, did he really believe that Obama's platform was a good one? Yes, he did.

When the bill came I decided not to tip the server and explained to him that I was exploring the Obama redistribution of wealth concept.

He stood there in disbelief while I told him that I was going to redistribute his
tip to someone who I deemed more in need – the homeless guy outside. The
server angrily stormed from my sight.

I went outside, gave the homeless guy $10, and told him to thank the server
inside as I've decided he could use the money more. The homeless guy was
grateful.

At the end of my rather unscientific redistribution experiment I realized the homeless guy was grateful for the money he did not earn, but the waiter
was pretty angry that I gave away the money he did earn, even though the
actual recipient needed the money more.
I guess redistribution of wealth is an easier thing to swallow in concept
than in practical application - at least if it is your wealth that is being redistributed.

One of his fiends left this comment.

i love how misguided you republicans are. Obama is not taking the money that the more wealthy earned. He is simply cutting taxes for the people with less money and getting rid of the tax cuts for the people with more money, mainly big business. I'm not a democrat or a republican, i'm an American. Stop being so closed minded with your views (republicans and democrats alike). look at what is for the greater good of the nation and not just for the greater good of you.

Dave, this is in no way a personal attack, you just happened to have a nice platform for my opinion

Posted by Michael on Nov 16, 2008 7:46 PM

My response

In addition. The wealthy people get their money by screwing the poor people. The homeless guy was probably fired by a man who, while reading his newspaper and drinking his coffee at 9am, determined he could save/make more money by sending all of his company's jobs overseas and hire illegal immigrants to still do the jobs that he couldn't export. By this maneuver, he doesn't have to pay employee benefits, which help the American economy (no 401k, social security) and he can probably get away with paying less taxes, because the size of the business is determined partly on how many employees it has(which most of his employees cannot be accounted for because they are overseas or have no paperwork.) Now he can afford his 7th home while the employees he downsized have none. - Chris Hattery

Hope/Chance/Change/Terrorism/End Times

I've never cared about politics or who's in control of what. However, I have noticed the hugantic national screw-ups over the last few years.

I don't know the definitions of political terms like fascism, liberal, Anarchist, left/right. (haha, i do now http://www.ircpolitics.org/glossary.html)

Comparing the two candidates, One seems to be more for the 'Country'(Mother Russia? haha) and the other, for the 'People' of the country.

As a lower-middle class/income Citizen, I feel the only Hope, Change and Chance for our country can be found in Obama. He seems to have his head on his shoulders, he's connected with us, and still young enough to roll with the coming changes.

Too Young? How old was John Kennedy(43), Ulysses S. Grant(46), Grover Cleveland(47) or Theodore Roosevelt(42)?http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_Presidents_by_age

"Obama rhymes with Osama!" "Hussein! He's a terrorist." Are you guys seriously kidding me? He's named after his father who I'm sure had the name before 'King Hussein'. His name RHYMES with that of a terrorist we had not known 10 years ago. SHOOT! My middle name is the same as the 'King of Pop' who allegedly molests boys in Neverland. I have no chance of becoming president.

Some Religious Fanatics think he's the anti-Christ and the world is going to end. Well, according to the incompletion of the Mayan calendar, Our world is going to end in 2012 anyway. I don't think Obama has THAT much power.

We're a new America in need of some new ideas and not continuing to do things the way they've 'always been done'. That is obviously not working.

Obama for President.

SEO No No!

I just received and email from Jen Evan at BigWaveTraffic. The contents:

I can get your site to the top of a search engines
listings. If you’re interested, reply with the web
addresses you want to promote and the best way to
contact you with some options.

Thanks in advance,

Jen Evan

If you were such a great Search Engine Optimization company, wouldn't I find you?

All suspicious emails are followed by a google search. Came up with:
http://aldebaranwebdesign.com/blog/watch-out-for-seo-scam-emails/

And I had to check out the domain... http://www.bigwavetraffic.com

http://www.alexa.com/data/details/traffic_details/bigwavetraffic.com

Not too much going on there.

Haha.

WWDC

Made it onto the WWDC page by using Twitter.
http://flickr.com/photos/cmhatte/2565142484/

Gas Rape 2kX

I created a new word for Urban Dictionary.

gas rape

http://gas-rape.urbanup.com/3067821

Pronounced like [ass rape].

The sodomizing of average citizens by large oil and gas companies who continually and unnecessarily raise gas prices for sustained increase of profit.

Soon, Vaseline will have to be sold along with gasoline to ease the pain of gas rape.

--
http://www.urbandictionary.com/

Development IDE - Aptana

Anyone touch, try, fondle Aptana?

I just downloaded it and watched the screen casts. Wanted some opinions or horror stories.

I watched Chris Parillo's view of it. Based on Java, could be 'doggy' in his words.

Used for PHP, RUBY, AIR Development.

http://www.aptana.com

IRS Stimulus Rebate

This arrived to me in an email. I am not the creator of this genius piece, but I back it 100%.
One day when I'm really pissed about Gas prices, I'll write a very opinionated post.
-Chris Hattery

Thought you'd enjoy, and probably agree with, this.

SPEND Those REFUND CHECKS WISELY!
As you may have heard, the President and Congress have promised us that...
Each and Every One of Us will now get a nice Rebate! ...

BUT...
IF we spend that money at Wal-Mart, all the money will go to China .
IF we spend it on Gasoline, it will all go to the Arabs.
IF we purchase a Computer, it will all go to India .
IF we purchase Fruits & Vegetables, it will all go to Mexico , Honduras ,
and Guatemala .
IF we purchase a good Automobile, it will all go to Japan .
IF we purchase useless Crap, it will all go to Taiwan .
....And NONE of it will help the AMERICAN Economy!
We Need to KEEP that money Here in AMERICA,

So-ooooo the Only Way to KEEP that money Here AT HOME
is to Buy - Prostitutes, Jack Daniel's Whisky, & Beer,
Since those are the Only Businesses STILL IN THE U.S.


On as side note, (and this information may be a bit dated);
These companies import Middle Eastern oil:

Shell........................... 205,742,000 barrels
Chevron/Texaco......... 144,332,000 barrels
Exxon /Mobil............... 130,082,000 barrels
Marathon/Speedway... 117,740,000 barrels
Amoco............................62,231,000 barrels

Citgo gas is from South America, from a Dictator who hates Americans.
If you do the math at $30/barrel, these imports amount to over $18
BILLION! (oil is now $90 - $100 a barrel)

Here are some large companies that do not import Middle Eastern oil:

Sunoco..................0 barrels
Conoco..................0 barrels
Sinclair.................0 barrels
BP/Phillips............0 barrels
Hess.......................0 barrels
ARCO....................0 barrels

New Apple Tattoo

Got a Tattoo, finally. Had to make sure it was a good one.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cmhatte/sets/72157603820787155/

Enjoy!

Chris Hattery

Nov 21 - Random Meetings

I hung out with this guy last night.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greg_DiDonato

It was interesting to know that I knew alot of the same people that a Former State Representative and Mayor knew. Small Community I guess. I got a free drink out of it and got to spend a few hours talking to someone in politics with an actual brain. He and I agreed on Alot of points.

I won!

A few days ago I was listening to the local radio station in Canton, Rock 107. They did one of their 'caller 9' contests to win movie tickets and a chance to win tickets to see Dane Cook in Cleveland this weekend. I tried calling then and got nothing but busy signals.

Last night, at 7:20PM they announced the contest again. It was the final winner. I called and got right through to the radio announcer. I was caller 9. And I...had won. Just the tickets for the movies. But, today, they will do the drawing for the Front Row Dane Cook tix and to meet him. How awesome is that.

I tried sending a text message to all my friends to tune in to the station cause I would be on in like 2 minutes. I think my dad was the only one to hear. And a friend Josh. haha.

So, at the very least, I'll go see his new movie co-starring Steve Carrel, 'Dan in Real Life'.

Phishing at Work...

My brother works for an Amish Construction Crew and at least once a week he is paid while him and his co-workers have a few beers and fish for a few hours. I picked the wrong job field!

Today, my work has involved sifting through months worth of emails sent from my web server to make sure it isn't being used as a relay spam server. 2 years ago when I set it up, I made sure the configuration setup prevented this, but some still slip through.

We received an email from Time Warner today letting us know that they have receive numerous complaints of spam email coming from our IP address. "Fix it or Lose it". I'm assuming they mean 'lose our static ip'. Not sure. Either way, I'm blacklisting every IP address that looks...fishy.

Oct 14 - The New Car

Cleanest Engine I've ever had. Ashtray has never been used. Smokers Suck.


The headlights have windsheild wipers to get the bugs off. Door in back seat so my passengers can get their beer from the trunk. The Party Door.


I am still figuring out what all the buttons do. Heated seats, sunroof, mirror buttons. Still getting used to ALL the windows being controlled from the middle as opposed to on my door.

Some buttons for moving my seat. And up to 3 memory slots, so when my brother decided he wants to stretch out while driving, I can press '1' and it'll go right back to where I like it. And there's the full car. It's nice. I'll be working alot of overtime to pay for it, and insurance, and the gas to drive it around.

Oct 13 - Auto Update

Tuesday, was good. I went to my monthly North Eastern Ohio Web Standards Group in Cleveland. This month it was held at Tri-C, Cuyahoga Community College.
I met Nate Klaiber after work at Border's in Canton. That way, it'd only take me about a half hour to get home once he dropped me back off there. It's like an hour from the college.

He dropped me off around 12:30 or 12:45 if I remember correctly. I entered my car and started the 1/2 hour journey home. While I was traveling south on I-77, just going under the new Hall of Fame Bridge, my engine just quit. Stopped. Ceased to make motor noises.

I knew it was nothing electrical because I still had electrical power. The lights were on, my instrument panel(which warns me of upcoming engine troubles) seemed to be functioning correctly.(Except for missing the 'hey, your engine's about to die' light).

I coast over to the side of the road and try to start it. At first, it sounded like it wanted to start, and then the noise changed to one that told me I was probally going to be walking somewhere soon.

Just as I was about to call a tow truck, a Ohio State Highway Patrol officer pulled up. I told him what the problem was and that I needed to get it towed. (It was 1am). Between the two of us, we decided now wasn't the best time to find a garage that may or may not be able to fix my car. So he offered to take me to a nearby hotel if I didn't have a friend to call in the area. I don't know too many people in Canton, so that was a no-go.

After patting me down (He totally cupped my balls) he let me ride in the back seat to the hotel. They were full but nice enough to call the Red Roof to see if they had vacancy. They did. I walked across the street to hand over some of the pay check I had just got that day. The lady behind the counter asked, 'Smoking or non'. I said 'non, please', and she said she only had a double and it would be like $10 more. 'Uh, single then. It's ok if it's smoking'. The room smelled like ass. I hate smokers. I watched some tv and then went to bed. I knew the day ahead of me was going to be a bear.

I woke up, called work to let them know the situation and then jumped online(after paying $10 for a one day pass from t-mobile to use their hotspot). I called a few auto garages to see if they could fix my car that day. 3 said, 'no, we are not competent enough to fix your timing belt within the specified amount of time'.(Oh, yeah, the timing belt broke on my car. That's why it died.) One man suggested Park Honda in Akron. Against my better judgement, I called them to see if they would be able to fix the car possibly today. They said, 'Sure'. Sounded good to me. I didn't want to spend another night in the hotel. I had no clean clothes, deodorant, or hair gel.

I called the tow truck and had him meet me at ground zero. It was a 26 minute walk, half being up the off-ramp and down the interstate to reach my car. I beleive it was around 10 or 10:15 at this time.

While I was waiting for the tow truck operator, a car pulled off the side of the road, I assumed, to see if I was okay. As I approached the car, I noticed the driver looked strangly familiar. It was my co-worker Darla, who had the day off. Her and her mother were on their way to breakfast and shopping.

After the tow truck man showed up, I decided that spending a few hours with Darla and her mother would be more fun than riding up with the car in the creapy man's truck, so I told him where to take it and I would be up to deal with them in a few hours. Settled. I called Park Honda to let them know, but also to look at the vehicle and let me know if they can fix it and give me an estimate.

Darla and her mom took me to breakfast. Bob Evans. And actually, a man they knew from their church picked up our check. Nice guy. Then we went shopping. I bought some new clothes from Platos Closet. At the time, it was to cheer me up a bit from the previous nights events, and possible rest of the days events. Keep reading to find out what their real purpose in my life were.

Darla offered to take me into work, but I had asked that we stop by Park Honda on the way since I heard nothing of my car yet. It had been a few hours.We arrived at Park Honda. They had not looked at the car yet. The girl also informed me it would be $80 JUST to look at it. After spending $50 to get the car towed there, I didn't want to spend another $50 to have it taken somewhere else, so I said ok. (I havn't paid it yet though.) I then finished the trip to work.

I got a few hours in at work and around 4, called Park Honda to ask how it was looking. They gave me a $400 estimate for timeing belt and for a tensioner that may need to be replaced. I needed my car fixed, so I said ok. But they wouldn't be able to fix it till the following day, Thursday.

I asked a couple of my co-workers if I could stay with them for the night. It's a good thing I got those clothes from Plato's. Finally, our man in collections said he could take me in for the night. So, I went home with him. We got pizza, drank some beer, tried to play some computer games, played some pool, played with his dogs and I eventually went to bed. It was a good time.

Next day, work, called park honda. They said they did the repair BUT, the valves were bent and it would be another $800 to fix the engine, but it might not be worth it because it's leaking oil. Jeeeeez. So, they want me to come in and pay them money for a car they DIDN'T fix. haha. I've talked to a few people, and they said mechanics can tell if the valves are bent before changing a timing belt. Asses. So, I tried to get approved for some credit to get a new car, knowing probally wouldn't happen. I also called around to see if anyone knew of cars for sale.

So, I was stuck in Barberton for another night. I went home with Scott again. It was pretty much a repeat of the previous night. We went to a car lot in Parma to see about getting approved for a car. We missed the guy by about 10 minutes. sucks. Found some cars I was interested in.The next day, we called the car lot to ask what I needed to get a car. Basically, $500 down and I could get the only $4000 car on the lot. A 95 Volvo 850. It has leather seats and Windsheild wipers on the headlights. haha. And a sun roof, BUT, it's and automatic, and I only drive standard.

Not wanting to burden Scott for a third night, Last night, Friday, I went home with Joe. We hit David B's for a few hours, then met up with his cousin and their friend and we went to DT Akron. There was really nothing going on.

So today, I went to Cash Advance, got some money, and I'm supposed to head up to the Car lot to get the car. But now, scott is an hour late...So I just faxed my stuff over.... I hope this is all over today. I havn't been to my apartment since Tuesday morning, all my clothes need washed, and it'll be nice not to have to ask for rides and places to stay any more :) But, I had a good time hanging with Scott and Joe, and hope to do it more often.

Later Kids. You can comment on this one:)

School Rampages - Violent Video Games My Ass

Let's Pretend for a moment that the year is 1987. Atari and Comodore 64 are hot on the market right now. In a few years, Nintendo and Game Boy will be in the hands of 50 percent of adolescent children.

One of the kids is thoroughly enjoying killing bats in Castlevania or shooting up some ducks in Duck hunt (occasionally shooting the dog for laughing if you miss) and watching colorful 8bit blood splatters.

Then the kid has a bad day at school, probably built up from years of being made fun of for not being able to dribble a basketball, or coordinate a bat hitting a
baseball. Maybe his social skills are lacking because he was a little different and no one talked to him. People are constantly snickering or laughing at him for his inadequacies and never see any of the stuff he's good at, because the stuff he excels in doesn't revolve around the school's athletic program.

So, he goes home, gets his dad's gun out of the closet and takes it to school with him the next day, planning on shooting Johnny Jockitch for laughing at him for missing the foot connection in kickball, or planning to aim at Suzy Fucking Perfect because she turned him down laughing after he spent 3 months getting the courage to ask her out. While he's at it, he might take out the teacher that always asks him the answer to questions he obviously doesn't know and puts him on the spot to make him look stupid in front of his classmates. Did we blame 8-bit video games then? Back then, I think they blamed it on the drugs, or whatever else was unpopular with adults.

It's not about video games or violent movies Dr. Phil. It's about revenge. It's about taking all you can and lashing out with something that builds up inside a kid for years because people fuck with them for too long. This is a definition of a troubled teen. That kinda kid is a minority.

The same can go with college kids too. Personal Vendetta's, trying to belong in a group that won't accept them. Add that to the years of high school preceding it.

I play violent games. I prefer them. I like to shoot at computer generated graphical representations of human beings, and blow their digital, artificial intelligent brains all over the bitmapped brick texture of the wall they're standing in front of. And I know the difference between that and a real human. The lines are not scewed for me. I have it together. People with mental handicaps can distinguish between the two. I do not drive over crowds of people in my car to see them flail around in the air like retarded monkeys for enjoyment, but will do it in video games. And kill hookers to get my money back. That's the best part.

I'm sure a kid that has gone through years of being made fun of will do drastic things to see Johny Jockitch beg for his life, and apologize for laughing at him so much. And, it's not video games, violent movies or music. In most cases it's the schools. Feeling inferior to other people is no picnic at the lake. Socially, mentally, physically.

Jocks, help him shoot the basket better. He wants to fit in.

Girls, at least be nice to the kid. You'll change his life one day and help him develop the social skills and self-confidence to move on from you. Be patient.

Teachers, give the kid a break. Don't put him on the spot. If he doesn't know the answer when you call on him, don't drill him to force it out. Some people think slower than others, not because their dumb. They just can't think on the spot.

Dr. Phil, stop blaming. It's not the fault of the troubled. It's people as a society. Not helping each other, and ignoring the troubled.

Dane Cook gets it. He talks to the crazy guy at work, so when he decides to come in with a gun one day because his co-workers make fun of him for looking like the gamer from the World of Warcraft episode of Southpark, He'll be like 'Hey, Dane. Thanks for the candy.', and continue with his rampage, leaving Dane unscathed. And I don't make fun of that guy to his face. But, he'd take out the first floor, and I'd be safe on the third, cause he'd never walk up 3 flights of stares to shoot us. And I talked to him a few times about computers, so I think I'm safe.

If games were the problem, wouldn't there be more violence against the parents, and home shootings? If kids were playing video games in school, Dr. Phil, the connection may be stronger, but you have no basis to blame games or movies for violent acts that take place at schools, or workplaces.

Anyway, the point of this is, Dr. Phil is a cracked Doctor, video games, movies and music do not influence people to kill. But if the kid has got an Ipod, he can listen to some Cannibal Corpse while rampaging.

-Chris

New Blog

I'm still trying to find the easiest, funnest, blogging software/online app. Keep up with me at the following addresses:
myspace.com/xvidkidx
xanga.com/xvidkidx
360.yahoo.com/cmhatte
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=513735831
Wow, I'm a social blogging whore.

The company I work for(web designer)
bussonportraitdirectories.com