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Saturday, December 24, 2005
Christmas is awesome.
Thursday, December 22, 2005
Finally.
Speaking of iTunes and ELO...
SNL's "Lazy Sunday" Video a Free Download on iTunes
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
Or maybe I won't!
Monday, December 19, 2005
CBS.com - Be there!
Free AIM Account Registration Broken?
Thursday, December 15, 2005
If I worked for Credit Suisse Group, I'd totally get fired.
For the record...
One of my former classmates spams me
"Wysz ate an apple once I think"
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
Heroic Man Saves Dog's Life
Straight from Cupertino
Dave Barry on Macintosh
Thursday, December 08, 2005
Last Entry
Tuesday, December 06, 2005
Download Conan, Knight Rider, The Office, and more on iTunes
Sunday, December 04, 2005
Another company that doesn't want my help
Thursday, December 01, 2005
This isn't the first time I've dreamt about cake
I think this guy has a fear of the ground
Thinking about robots
Christmas is awesome.
Thursday, December 22, 2005
Finally.
Hey, kids, you remember way back when I asked for
your help in identifying an instrumental classic rock song that I had heard on
the radio? Well, tonight Brendan called me while Fire
on High by Electric
Light Orchestra was playing on the radio. He recognized the tune from
my poor rendition of the song that I created on my keyboard this summer. I just
downloaded the song, and it was it! When I listened to it, I had pretty much the
same reaction I did when I first heard it on the radio. At the beginning, I
thought to myself, "This is pretty weird and I don't think I'll like this song."
But, when the main theme started, I thought, "Hey, this is pretty catchy!"
Neato!
Speaking of iTunes and ELO...
Why is the album price for Face
the Music $10.89 when all eight tracks can be purchased
individually for $7.92?
SNL's "Lazy Sunday" Video a Free Download on iTunes
I just caught up on last week's SNL today thanks
to TiVo, and got to see the popular "Lazy Sunday" video that's been making its
rounds on the Internet thanks to all the nerdy references. The clip has just
been added to the iTunes Music Store, and... IT'S FREE! So click
here and download it now. I hope they add the spelling bee sketch
too... I loved that. I might just digitize it myself, but that involves reaching
behind the TiVo, which usually results in me dropping a wire and getting into
unfortunate positions behind the
TV.
Also free is a Sci Fi Inside special on Battlestar Galactica. There you go, dorks.
Also free is a Sci Fi Inside special on Battlestar Galactica. There you go, dorks.
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
Or maybe I won't!
John Stowe:
the Vocal Chords had the third largest concert
audience, after the HSO and the big PAC
shows
Michael Wyszomierski: Auto-reply: taking care of stuff
12:25 PM
Michael Wyszomierski: am i to blog that?
Michael Wyszomierski: or even know what the HSO or PAC shows are?
John Stowe: HSO = hopkins symphony orchestra
John Stowe: PAC = performing arts council - things like O-Show or Parents' Weekend where lots of groups are performing
John Stowe: you don't have to blog it
Michael Wyszomierski: too late already opened up iblog
Michael Wyszomierski: i don't want to waste it
John Stowe: unless you'd like to spread the word about how awesome the vocal chords are
Michael Wyszomierski: umm i might cut that last line out
Michael Wyszomierski: Auto-reply: taking care of stuff
12:25 PM
Michael Wyszomierski: am i to blog that?
Michael Wyszomierski: or even know what the HSO or PAC shows are?
John Stowe: HSO = hopkins symphony orchestra
John Stowe: PAC = performing arts council - things like O-Show or Parents' Weekend where lots of groups are performing
John Stowe: you don't have to blog it
Michael Wyszomierski: too late already opened up iblog
Michael Wyszomierski: i don't want to waste it
John Stowe: unless you'd like to spread the word about how awesome the vocal chords are
Michael Wyszomierski: umm i might cut that last line out
Monday, December 19, 2005
CBS.com - Be there!
Last week you may have seen Dave's hand injury
complete with stitches in glorious HD. Well, now you can watch the removal of
the stitches LIVE on the Internet, in something that will certainly be less
glorious than HD. It's all here... or, there, rather, at CBS.com/lateshow/
starting at 4:30 PM EST, today.
Free AIM Account Registration Broken?
Today someone asked me if I knew about any
problems registering for an AIM screen name. He said that he has been trying for
a couple months, and keeps getting the following
error:
https://my.screenname.aol.com
The service you are trying to reach is temporarily unavailable - please try your request again. - 20814
I've gone through the sign-up process several times before without a problem, and created a working screen name as recently as this semester. I figured that he must be doing something wrong, and went to the registration page with Safari. I entered valid data, and when I hit submit, I got the same error. I then switched to Firefox 1.5, which yielded the same message. To make sure that it wasn't rejecting me based on my operating system, I tried it on Bill's computer with Internet Explorer on Windows XP. Same error.
All attempts were made with Verizon DSL as the ISP. I'll try again at home where we have Comcast, but that won't be until Wednesday at the earliest. If anyone out there can confirm or deny having the same problem with registration, please send me an email and let me know your configuration. Any other advice/workarounds would be helpful as well.
Update: Thanks to Steve who figured out that entering a birth date that makes the registrant younger than 13 will cause the error. Simply make sure that the date of birth is at least 13 years ago, and you should be all set. Email me if this doesn't work.
Second Update: I've had a few emails from people who have told me that they still get the error even with a valid birth date. If anyone can find another solution to this error, please email me: wysz@mac.com.
https://my.screenname.aol.com
The service you are trying to reach is temporarily unavailable - please try your request again. - 20814
I've gone through the sign-up process several times before without a problem, and created a working screen name as recently as this semester. I figured that he must be doing something wrong, and went to the registration page with Safari. I entered valid data, and when I hit submit, I got the same error. I then switched to Firefox 1.5, which yielded the same message. To make sure that it wasn't rejecting me based on my operating system, I tried it on Bill's computer with Internet Explorer on Windows XP. Same error.
All attempts were made with Verizon DSL as the ISP. I'll try again at home where we have Comcast, but that won't be until Wednesday at the earliest. If anyone out there can confirm or deny having the same problem with registration, please send me an email and let me know your configuration. Any other advice/workarounds would be helpful as well.
Update: Thanks to Steve who figured out that entering a birth date that makes the registrant younger than 13 will cause the error. Simply make sure that the date of birth is at least 13 years ago, and you should be all set. Email me if this doesn't work.
Second Update: I've had a few emails from people who have told me that they still get the error even with a valid birth date. If anyone can find another solution to this error, please email me: wysz@mac.com.
Thursday, December 15, 2005
If I worked for Credit Suisse Group, I'd totally get fired.
If I worked for Credit Suisse Group, also known
as CSG, I would totally get fired, and for good
reason.
My absence would probably be the number one reason for my termination. I've never shown up for work there. Not even once. In fact, I don't know where their offices are. Even if I did show up, I'd expect to be sacked, because I never do any work for them. I mean I haven't made one single contribution to that company. I've never even sharpened a pencil for them.
If given a second chance, I wouldn't have the potential to save my job, because as far as I can tell, I'm completely unqualified. I know almost nothing about the company. I just know that they're a financial services company. At least that's what it says on their website. And you know what, I don't know anything about financial services. I took one finance course in college, and barely got through it. I was signed up for a Microeconomics course as well, but had to drop that one the night before the midterm. All the guy talked about was corn and wheat.
And if they have a company blogging policy, well this entry would just be the last straw. Not only am I blogging, I'm blogging about them. And my job. And why I should get fired.
It looks like I'm going to be available very soon for employment at another company. I'm thinking June of 2006. So, if you're interested in someone who knows nothing about financial services but knows quite a bit about multimedia production (and blogging), then drop me a line.
My absence would probably be the number one reason for my termination. I've never shown up for work there. Not even once. In fact, I don't know where their offices are. Even if I did show up, I'd expect to be sacked, because I never do any work for them. I mean I haven't made one single contribution to that company. I've never even sharpened a pencil for them.
If given a second chance, I wouldn't have the potential to save my job, because as far as I can tell, I'm completely unqualified. I know almost nothing about the company. I just know that they're a financial services company. At least that's what it says on their website. And you know what, I don't know anything about financial services. I took one finance course in college, and barely got through it. I was signed up for a Microeconomics course as well, but had to drop that one the night before the midterm. All the guy talked about was corn and wheat.
And if they have a company blogging policy, well this entry would just be the last straw. Not only am I blogging, I'm blogging about them. And my job. And why I should get fired.
It looks like I'm going to be available very soon for employment at another company. I'm thinking June of 2006. So, if you're interested in someone who knows nothing about financial services but knows quite a bit about multimedia production (and blogging), then drop me a line.
For the record...
I may refer to this entry later to prove
something.
Talkboy. Marty. Bail.
Talkboy. Marty. Bail.
One of my former classmates spams me
That's right, Phil. I've had enough of your
online poker affiliate links.
"Wysz ate an apple once I think"
That's what comes up if you type "W" in the
Google search field on Bill's computer.
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
Heroic Man Saves Dog's Life
CARROLLTON, Indiana — Last night at
approximately 3:30 AM, Sam, the Jenkins family dog, was sleeping on his bed in
the laundry room when a curtain caught fire in the study. He owes his life to
the heroic actions of William Jenkins, 54, of
Carrollton.
According to Fire Chief James Mitchell, Thursday's early morning blaze began when an old curtain was ignited by a radiator in the house's first floor study. While the family was careful to keep the curtain out of contact with the radiator, it is believed that a small draft allowed the curtain to be blown onto the radiator, where it may have snagged and ignited.
William, who was sleeping upstairs, woke to the sound of the smoke alarms installed in the house. He woke up the rest of his family and led them downstairs. On the way out, Williams nudged the confused Sam and led him outside.
William's actions do not surprise some experts.
"We've known for a long time that people can sense when their pets are in danger, and this is simply further proof," said Sherryl Costino, a cognitive scientist at Indiana University.
Sam doesn't seem concerned with the scientific significance of this morning's events. He's just happy to be a dog.
According to Fire Chief James Mitchell, Thursday's early morning blaze began when an old curtain was ignited by a radiator in the house's first floor study. While the family was careful to keep the curtain out of contact with the radiator, it is believed that a small draft allowed the curtain to be blown onto the radiator, where it may have snagged and ignited.
William, who was sleeping upstairs, woke to the sound of the smoke alarms installed in the house. He woke up the rest of his family and led them downstairs. On the way out, Williams nudged the confused Sam and led him outside.
William's actions do not surprise some experts.
"We've known for a long time that people can sense when their pets are in danger, and this is simply further proof," said Sherryl Costino, a cognitive scientist at Indiana University.
Sam doesn't seem concerned with the scientific significance of this morning's events. He's just happy to be a dog.
Straight from Cupertino
Someone has a cool boss. Look at
this:
Thanks, Skip
Thanks, Skip
Dave Barry on Macintosh
I got Dave
Barry in Cyberspace when it first came out, and recently thought of
this awesome quote:
For many years, while we MS-DOS people were typing insanely obscure instructions like:
dir c:\abcproj\docs\lttrs\sales\apr\*.*
... the Apple people were simply aiming their little mouse pointers at little pictures and going "click."
In short, the Apple was far easier to use. So the vast majority of us serious computer users rejected it.
For many years, while we MS-DOS people were typing insanely obscure instructions like:
dir c:\abcproj\docs\lttrs\sales\apr\*.*
... the Apple people were simply aiming their little mouse pointers at little pictures and going "click."
In short, the Apple was far easier to use. So the vast majority of us serious computer users rejected it.
Thursday, December 08, 2005
Last Entry
John Stowe:
quote me and die
Tuesday, December 06, 2005
Download Conan, Knight Rider, The Office, and more on iTunes
Sunday, December 04, 2005
Another company that doesn't want my help
Today I received yet another one of those PayPal
phishing emails. I always click on the links to see if the site has been shut
down yet. This time, the email linked to
http://paypalsecuritycenter.net/
which forwarded to
http://paypalsecuritycenter.net/webscr.php?cmd=LogIn.
The text for the link tried to tell me that I was going to
http://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_login-run.
This is what the site looked like. I tried a WHOIS lookup but got nothing, so it must be a recent registration. I'm sure it won't last long, but it will last long enough.
I decided to be a good citizen and report this to PayPal using this form in their Security Center. Here is their automated reply:
Dear Michael Wyszomierski,
Thank you for writing to PayPal regarding the email you received.
Because this is not an eBay or PayPal member, website, or email, we are
unable to determine if this email is legitimate. While it may be
considered spam or possibly even fraudulent, it is not something we can
determine on behalf of other companies. This email should be reported to
the company that appeared to send it for their assistance and
investigation. Normally, to do this, you would substitute the word
"abuse" in place of the name in front of the @ symbol. For example, if
the email was sent from user@goodmail.com, you would send your report to
abuse@goodmail.com.
In addition, you may also want to see if online customer support is
available for this company. As for eBay, please forward any suspicious
emails to spoof@ebay.com for our review and investigation. I also invite
you to take this time to familiarize yourself with eBays Security Center
for helpful information on this topic. A link to our Security Center can
be found below:
http://pages.ebay.com/securitycenter/index.html
Thank you again for reporting this email. I hope this information will
be helpful.
Sincerely,
PayPal Account Review Department
Okay thanks a lot, PayPal. I'll go right ahead and forward it to abuse@paypal.com and spoof@paypal.com, because PayPal.com is the domain of the spoofed "From" header. I look forward to your automated responses to those. And I appreciate your typo in the last paragraph: eBays Security Center. That's professional.
Update:
Looks like forwarding to spoof@paypal.com is the way to go:
Dear Michael Wyszomierski,
Thank you for contacting PayPal. We appreciate you bringing this
suspicious email to our attention.
Commonly referred to as phishing, these emails are sent by fraudsters in
an attempt to collect sensitive personal or financial information from
the recipients. PayPal takes phishing threats seriously. Our fraud
prevention specialists are working 24/7 to help protect you and enable
the community to stay safe.
After review, we can confirm that the email you received was not sent by
PayPal. Any website which may be linked to this email is not authorized
or used by PayPal.
Our fraud prevention team is working to disable any website linked to
this email. In the meantime, please do not enter any information into
this website. If you have already done so, you should immediately log
into your PayPal account and change your password, as well as your
security questions and answers. We also recommend that you contact your
bank and credit card company immediately.
This is what the site looked like. I tried a WHOIS lookup but got nothing, so it must be a recent registration. I'm sure it won't last long, but it will last long enough.
I decided to be a good citizen and report this to PayPal using this form in their Security Center. Here is their automated reply:
Dear Michael Wyszomierski,
Thank you for writing to PayPal regarding the email you received.
Because this is not an eBay or PayPal member, website, or email, we are
unable to determine if this email is legitimate. While it may be
considered spam or possibly even fraudulent, it is not something we can
determine on behalf of other companies. This email should be reported to
the company that appeared to send it for their assistance and
investigation. Normally, to do this, you would substitute the word
"abuse" in place of the name in front of the @ symbol. For example, if
the email was sent from user@goodmail.com, you would send your report to
abuse@goodmail.com.
In addition, you may also want to see if online customer support is
available for this company. As for eBay, please forward any suspicious
emails to spoof@ebay.com for our review and investigation. I also invite
you to take this time to familiarize yourself with eBays Security Center
for helpful information on this topic. A link to our Security Center can
be found below:
http://pages.ebay.com/securitycenter/index.html
Thank you again for reporting this email. I hope this information will
be helpful.
Sincerely,
PayPal Account Review Department
Okay thanks a lot, PayPal. I'll go right ahead and forward it to abuse@paypal.com and spoof@paypal.com, because PayPal.com is the domain of the spoofed "From" header. I look forward to your automated responses to those. And I appreciate your typo in the last paragraph: eBays Security Center. That's professional.
Update:
Looks like forwarding to spoof@paypal.com is the way to go:
Dear Michael Wyszomierski,
Thank you for contacting PayPal. We appreciate you bringing this
suspicious email to our attention.
Commonly referred to as phishing, these emails are sent by fraudsters in
an attempt to collect sensitive personal or financial information from
the recipients. PayPal takes phishing threats seriously. Our fraud
prevention specialists are working 24/7 to help protect you and enable
the community to stay safe.
After review, we can confirm that the email you received was not sent by
PayPal. Any website which may be linked to this email is not authorized
or used by PayPal.
Our fraud prevention team is working to disable any website linked to
this email. In the meantime, please do not enter any information into
this website. If you have already done so, you should immediately log
into your PayPal account and change your password, as well as your
security questions and answers. We also recommend that you contact your
bank and credit card company immediately.
Thursday, December 01, 2005
This isn't the first time I've dreamt about cake
I have a presentation today so I should really be
sleeping right now, but I just had to tell you about the dream I had last night.
It was actually more extensive, but I'll just let you know the best
part.
I was in section for one of my courses (which is weird since none of my courses have section this semester) and the T.A. was giving us back our last assignment. What was it? A cake. Yes, a cake, in a rectangular pan. I found my cake, and written in pen on the top of the cake, in one of the corners, was an "F." I panicked and started looking around at the other cakes, and saw that I was not the only one to receive a failing grade. I looked at the T.A. angrily, because my cake looked really good, and I deserved better. I sunk my hands right in it and ate the whole thing one handful at a time in front of her, to show her how good it was. When I glanced down at the table again, I saw something that I found funny, even in the dream. One of the cakes only filled about 3/4 of the pan (lengthwise), and written in the corner was an "I" for "incomplete."
I was in section for one of my courses (which is weird since none of my courses have section this semester) and the T.A. was giving us back our last assignment. What was it? A cake. Yes, a cake, in a rectangular pan. I found my cake, and written in pen on the top of the cake, in one of the corners, was an "F." I panicked and started looking around at the other cakes, and saw that I was not the only one to receive a failing grade. I looked at the T.A. angrily, because my cake looked really good, and I deserved better. I sunk my hands right in it and ate the whole thing one handful at a time in front of her, to show her how good it was. When I glanced down at the table again, I saw something that I found funny, even in the dream. One of the cakes only filled about 3/4 of the pan (lengthwise), and written in the corner was an "I" for "incomplete."
I think this guy has a fear of the ground
Thinking about robots
John Young:
yeah, i was thinking about robots today in
one of my classes
John Young: do you think if a robot attacked someone it would be charged with a crime?
Michael Wyszomierski: nah its owner would. it's not a legal entity like an individual or a corporation, so i dont think it could legally be charged
John Young: assuming the robot was artifically intellegent
Michael Wyszomierski: hmm i'll have to consult that episode of star trek where they determine whether or not Data is starfleet property
John Young: do you think if a robot attacked someone it would be charged with a crime?
Michael Wyszomierski: nah its owner would. it's not a legal entity like an individual or a corporation, so i dont think it could legally be charged
John Young: assuming the robot was artifically intellegent
Michael Wyszomierski: hmm i'll have to consult that episode of star trek where they determine whether or not Data is starfleet property