May 26, 2004
Dumpster diving
The computer came home today! I'm so happy! Not to mention it got hooked back up with few problems. I can't download MSN Messenger 6.2 for some reason, but that's okay. I'll figure out what's going on later. I did have to go through the hassle of getting my IME tool bar working again too and Real One was due for an update. Works still isn't working, which means ZERO is in limbo for the time being...I need to call and get a disk with Works on it so I can reinstall the program. They gave me the okay to install Frontpage too...
Apparently, despite my machine being secure, I got nailed with some "hostile spyware" that crashed my system along with two trojans that "rode" in, so to speak. It took out Norton and from there it was all over. After talking with the guy, he told me that despite Norton being a good anti-virus and despite patching your system with the usual updates, there are certain viruses that can slip by and new ones are always being written. Apparently mine were spyware related, from what I could gather...
Stupid hackers. You would think, with the know how and smarts, people would use their brains for something more intellegent. What a bunch of assholes...but what should I expect, this world is full of them. God forbid anyone put talent to use and God forbid people respect each other. Sheesh...I hope these people have fun rotting in hell....
Anyway, today I was at work and came across something cool...in the trash can. Yes, you heard me right. I was digging in the garbage. Well, I wasn't digging, I happened to be out in the shop, helping my boss fix the pumping system in one of our trucks and I saw this really nifty cardboard that was used to package one of the new Honda motors we bought. It looked like mask, you know, with eyes and a nose. (no, I haven't been smoking anything) My creative instincts kicked in and I pulled it from the garbage. Before you all stop talking to me, I don't make a habit of going through trash cans, okay....It was right on top, out in the shop and we all know that the trash in the shop is no where near as nasty as the trash in the office.
I brought it home with me and it's sitting on my floor as we speak. I have plans to paint in and what not over vacation. It reminds me of some African mask or something like that. It's really cool. I'll take some pictures of it when I get done with it. *laughs*
Though I don't normally dig through the trash, I do have a habit of collecting interesting objects and making stuff out of them. I blame it on my design 2 class I took in college. My instructor was big into abstract art and encouraged us to break from the norm and create things out of "unusual mediums". That's how I ended up making a stone pillar about three feet tall from styrofoam...and you know what, the damn thing really looked like a rock. If you didn't touch it, you wouldn't have realized it wasn't granite! LOL I was pretty impressed, and I'm NEVER happy with any of my art work...EVER....From there, I caught the bug and started collecting junk...Another time, while I was at work, I took apart some cardboard boxes and built a house out of duct tape, cardboard, and construction paper. Heh I'm a big fan of collecting strage pieces of wood. You know, the kind that twists and turns, or is weird colors...I'm so bad, that my grandma acutally collects stuff she finds and gives it to me! *laughs* My best friend is constantly making fun of me because there's always enough sticks, driftwook, or kindling to build a small fire in my car. Ha ha...I know, i'm wierd...but that's okay, we're all allowed to have our oddities.
So anyhoo, I'm pretty stoked about this new finding. I plan on working on it over vacation. It's been a long time since I actually painted anything...I'm a pretty horrible painter, but it should prove to be pretty fun! I really should get back into art...I usually draw more than I build stuff, but I haven't picked up a pencil in a long time...shame on me...
*just a few of my sketches I've done in the past. Most of my stuff remains unfinished, sorry for the poor quality*
Oh, and I can't end this without giving everyone a glimpse of Hunter's art work. *laughs* He loves to draw and has improved quite a bit! I'll have to dig up some of his Naruto and Full Metal Alchemist stuff, but for now, you all will have to settle for Dragon Ball Z. Heh heh
Well, it's getting late. Only two more days and I'll be ON VACATION! Yah! Take care everyone!
Posted by Zoso at May 26, 2004 10:21 PMSpyware sucks. It nearly took over my computer when I was up at college. You won't believe how many popup ads and IE toolbars I had to wade through before I figured out how to get rid of it. It really pisses me off at how low some people are at stealing your computer's resources for their own crappy software.
In any case, there are two programs out there that can help get rid of spyware on your computer: Ad-Aware and Spybot - Search and Destroy. Working together and updated, they detect all forms of spyware on computers. Of course, the best way to get rid of spyware is to stop it getting on your computer in the first place, and there's a almost foolproof way I discovered: never use Internet Explorer.
All the anti-Microsoft sentiment notwithstanding, IE is really buggy browser that's a system-level application, meaning people can easily hijack the browser and mess with people's settings. To stop this, people need a browser that's a user-level application, meaning the worst that spyware can do is not cause the browser to work anymore (and thus they're rarely targeted by spyware).
If you haven't already, I seriously recommend switching from IE to another browser (my personal favorite is Firefox). Ever since I switched from IE to Firefox, I haven't gotten single piece of spyware on my computer. It was that much of a difference. ^_^
PS - Those pictures kick ass.
Posted by: Arxane at May 27, 2004 12:49 PMHey, say hello to Oscar the Grouch next time you go to Sesame St. LMAO... im only playing LOL. no your absolutly right about sometimes finding some real gems people get rid of. I LOVE auotmobile junkyards!!! OMG sometimes they have the best stuff, if you know what your looking for, and can put an odd part to some cool use. plus you can get some parts literaly DIRT cheap. i needed an air intake hose for my truck, $70 from toyota, $15 for that part, plus a radiator cap, an awesome rear view mirror from a 4 runner, and a clock for my dashboard. bucket seats from texas for $100. just keep a pair of laytex gloves with you, sometimes you never know what you'll find.
Posted by: EvilSmiley at May 27, 2004 06:16 PMArxane-
Hey, thanks for the tip! I'm going to look into it. I've heard other people talk about it as well, and it comes highly recommended. I really don't want to have to mess with spyware or buggy browsers...Microsoft ticks me off...you think with all the money they rape from their customers, they'd give us a product that was worth a crap...You know, I had that Spybot Search and Destroy on my computer, but was a bit confused on which items should be deleted. Some of the messages I got when I ran a search said that if I removed certain spyware, it could effect certain programs (Like Microsoft Works). Though the guy at the computer place told me just to get rid of anything that pops up...*laughs* He too recommended the Ad-Adware, so I'm going to install that this weekend. Thanks again for the advice and thanks for the compliments on the pictures! ;-)
I'm surprised my cousin hasn't posted yet, telling me once again why Mac's are better than PC's. *laughs* I know your reading this Jeff...(ha ha) You can say it..."I told you so"...LOL
Posted by: Zoso at May 28, 2004 11:23 AMEvil Smiley...so you're back for more, eh? Did you just akin me to Oscar the Grouch? That's not very nice!!! LOL
Ha ha! Yes, there's nothing wrong with going through the trash, just so long as you're not eating what you find, right? ;-) It's amazing, actually, what people throw away sometimes. I've seen perfectly good furnature sitting on the side of the road, appliances, pictures, etc. People should recycle that stuff to discount stores like Goodwill...
Hey, how come you haven't sent me any new pictures? Been too busy? I have a package in my closet I need to send you...*laughs* It's like a year over due! Sorry...LMAO Take care, I'll catch up to you later!
Posted by: Zoso at May 28, 2004 11:30 AMMicrosoft Works has spyware? Since I've never used the program, I can't say it that's true...but I digress. When Spybot mentions that removing some things could affect programs, they're more often than not talking about programs that have spyware in them. The most common example of this is, of course, KaZaA (not KaZaA Lite); the free version has spyware on it, which is how they make their revenue. If you remove the spyware, the program itself won't work. Basically, there are freeware and shareware programs out there that use spyware to make their revenue; once the spyware is removed, they don't work anymore, and that's more or less what Spybot is warning you about.
Posted by: Arxane at May 29, 2004 09:55 AMYeah, apparently it does...which ticks me off...I don't remember what the spyware was called, but SpyBot told me if I deleted it Works may or may not spellcheck any longer. We all know I need spell check, so I left it alone...;-)
But I suppose that doesn't matter much anymore, considering Works doesn't even WORK on my computer right now...*sigh*
I don't use Kazaa anymore. I had it on my old computer and I didn't like it much. I switched to Bit Torrent instead and am much happier.
Posted by: Zoso at May 29, 2004 10:07 PM