PrezKennedy's Soapbox
Saturday, January 29, 2005
That's Christianity Stupid!
I had the great misfortune of talking to a girl today who considers herself "Christian". That usually sets off at least one alarm bell in my head, but I decided to continue anyways. It couldn't hurt could it? I'll certainly never see her. So, I went on and we talked a little bit and she asked whether I was Christian or not. Well, I said yes, because I am. I've been a Lutheran since I was baptized as a baby.
Well, I told her I was Lutheran and I asked what she was, and she said she was Christian. I asked her what type and apparently she had no idea what I was talking about. I told her that I was a Christian too since I'm Lutheran and she yelled at me saying I wasn't. Come on! If you're going to be a fanatical Christian at least know something about the history of it! Christians are just about everyone who believes in Jesus Christ. There are Catholics and there are Protestants... and then there are the others. Catholics came first, and then the Protestants divurged from them after Martin Luther nailed his famous 95 Theses to a church door. Protestants are broken up into several groups including Lutherans, Methodists, Calvinists, etc. All of which whom still believe in Jesus, thus being Christian. Jewish people are not Christian because they don't believe that Jesus was our savior... they believe he was just a regular man. Obviously Buddhists, Muslims, Hindus, etc are not Christian because they don't believe in Jesus either. It's all really simple isn't it?
A lot of people are like this; claiming they're Christian but not really knowing what it means. Get a clue! If I understand how it works, you should too since you go to church every Sunday. Geez! :-? ¶ 3:22 PM 0 comments
I had the great misfortune of talking to a girl today who considers herself "Christian". That usually sets off at least one alarm bell in my head, but I decided to continue anyways. It couldn't hurt could it? I'll certainly never see her. So, I went on and we talked a little bit and she asked whether I was Christian or not. Well, I said yes, because I am. I've been a Lutheran since I was baptized as a baby.
Well, I told her I was Lutheran and I asked what she was, and she said she was Christian. I asked her what type and apparently she had no idea what I was talking about. I told her that I was a Christian too since I'm Lutheran and she yelled at me saying I wasn't. Come on! If you're going to be a fanatical Christian at least know something about the history of it! Christians are just about everyone who believes in Jesus Christ. There are Catholics and there are Protestants... and then there are the others. Catholics came first, and then the Protestants divurged from them after Martin Luther nailed his famous 95 Theses to a church door. Protestants are broken up into several groups including Lutherans, Methodists, Calvinists, etc. All of which whom still believe in Jesus, thus being Christian. Jewish people are not Christian because they don't believe that Jesus was our savior... they believe he was just a regular man. Obviously Buddhists, Muslims, Hindus, etc are not Christian because they don't believe in Jesus either. It's all really simple isn't it?
A lot of people are like this; claiming they're Christian but not really knowing what it means. Get a clue! If I understand how it works, you should too since you go to church every Sunday. Geez! :-? ¶ 3:22 PM 0 comments
Using JavaScript to Protect your Images
The really paranoid tend to do this; upload images to the Internet and then expect people to not save them to their computer or reuse them in any way. To do that they try to enforce their own rules on the visitors to their website, usually through JavaScript. This is futile however, as their images are automatically saved in the cache of the web browser, as it has already been downloaded for them to actually view it. If you don't want someone to have your files, don't upload them to your website where other people can access them.
Not only that, but JavaScripts that try and prevent the user from right-clicking are also susceptible to a variety of exploits to hinder their effectiveness. You could turn JavaScript off in your browser, or middle and right-click at the same time, or use a browser that doesn't use JavaScript. Someone who really wants to get your images will, so it's pointless to try and put JavaScript on your page to limit your users' abilities. Be a nice webmaster and don't disable right-clicking, it's futile, and it makes you look bad. Thanks! :-D ¶ 3:18 PM 0 comments
The really paranoid tend to do this; upload images to the Internet and then expect people to not save them to their computer or reuse them in any way. To do that they try to enforce their own rules on the visitors to their website, usually through JavaScript. This is futile however, as their images are automatically saved in the cache of the web browser, as it has already been downloaded for them to actually view it. If you don't want someone to have your files, don't upload them to your website where other people can access them.
Not only that, but JavaScripts that try and prevent the user from right-clicking are also susceptible to a variety of exploits to hinder their effectiveness. You could turn JavaScript off in your browser, or middle and right-click at the same time, or use a browser that doesn't use JavaScript. Someone who really wants to get your images will, so it's pointless to try and put JavaScript on your page to limit your users' abilities. Be a nice webmaster and don't disable right-clicking, it's futile, and it makes you look bad. Thanks! :-D ¶ 3:18 PM 0 comments
Tuesday, January 25, 2005
Online Dating and Social Networking, Even If You Win, You Lose
You might have seen the advertisements for online dating services on television, or while you were surfing on the Internet. They're a relatively new phenomena, and for the regular, no-frills, intellectually inclined, they're next to worthless.
My picture resides here on the website, it sits quietly in the Photo Album, not disturbing anyone who doesn't wish to look for it. I'm nothing spectacular to look at, I eat well, I don't exercise a lot, I believe in living life and not worrying about little things, and I'm happy with myself. Well, I was until I tried a couple dating websites like OK Cupid and Web Date, and haven't been able to find a single soul to really talk to (I'm not trying too hard though, I've mostly been checking out webcams in their online chat). I've talked to a few girls on AIM, but they must look at my profile and dislike what they see because they instantly lose interest. Hey, I'm going out on a limb by coming out of my shell to talk to you, and you give me the hand. That's not cool at all! It's funny too because I have high matches with these people, but I talk more to an acquaintence I met in German class at UMBC.
My former roommate decided to start using Match.com for girls because he was getting lonely and couldn't pick any up, even though we're at a university with many fine looking, bright, young women. His experiences have been mixed. No doubt they've produced more results than mine have, but I can't say that I'm jealous... he's been through four or five and none have had that much going for them. He pays about $35 a month to match up with different girls around the Catonsville area, a $35 wasted monthly in my opinion, especially since you'll be spending even more money on dates and presents once you have a steady girlfriend. For him, it included flowers, chocolates, dinner, and alcohol. The stories about the nights they stayed at the apartment will never be forgotten... Extreme Mario Kart comes to mind. He keeps trying to convince me to try it out as well, but either I'm too cheap, or I just enjoy being a single guy... What little money I have goes to the cool toys I can afford once every six months or so, the books I need to learn with, and the food I need to survive.
And then we have MySpace, a social networking thing. I signed up there because a girl I used to talk to that lives in Arizona is on it and she told me about it. I signed up, spent a little time with the profile, and my page has seen exactly one page view in a month. She's had some luck with it though, and found a "buddy" through it. I guess I'm just not a popular guy, or maybe it's because my friends don't use that type of website. I don't blame them actually, we aren't the type to fit in. I went through profiles attached to my friends and here are a few blurbs I found about reading books: "I only read magazines not books", or how about this one, "Never read one book in my life..I started reading one but never finished it cause I hate reading. Mad props for those who read." That one almost gave me a fit. Look here America, there's our future, and it doesn't read books.
They sure know a lot about music though... check this list out: "Music my favorite thing life....eh lets see....i wont say i like everything because i dont, and even genres that i do like theres some artists i hate... so ok... i was raised off of classic rock and reggae and some cumbia (kinda like salsa).... so that leaves me today with loving reggae, punk rock, pop punk, emo, screamo, 90's metal, alternitive, classic rock, ska, white boy reggae, old school rap, oldies, and all kinds of latin music (exept latin pop)... to make this short ill list like 5 bands from each genre ....reggae (bob marley, eekamouse, mike dread, barrington levy, kymani marley) ...punk rock (bad religion, anti-flag, dropkick murpheys, social d., fifi) ... pop punk (goldfinger, mxpx, nofx, millencolin, nerf herder) ...emo and screamo (finch, taking back sunday, brand new, afi, auttum to ashes, thursday) ...90's metal (KoRn, static x, deftones, system of a down, soulfly, slipknot) ...alternitive(incubus, dashboard confessional, hoobastank, yellowcard, lost prophets) ...classic rock (led zepellin, guns n roses, bad company, zz top, pink floyde) ...ska (reel big fish, suburban legends, less than jake, suicide machines, catch 22, five iron frenzy) ...white boy reggae/rap/punk (sublime, 311, authority zero, spoken gun, slightly stoopid, kotten mouth kings (kinda reggaeish)) ...old school rap (early snoop dogg, beastie boys, kriss kross, early dre, nwa) and i dont like any specific oldies or latin music besides ozomatli". Most of that crap I've never even heard of! And then some of the stuff I have heard of he couldn't spell correctly because he never reads! You know, I like computers, music, books and all, but I'm not going to sit here and list every single piece I can think of because I'm not that bored.
Did I mention that being a music trivia buff won't get you a job? Sorry...
Some girl I used to talk to that lives in Arizona said she would never be more than just a friend because we have "intellectual differences", like I'm a genius or something. Granted, I'm smart, but you'd never know just how much because I've learned to mask most of it behind a screen of mediocrity. I went through middle and high school getting made fun of because I was smart... and I've been rejected because of it too. :cry: The funny thing is that I'm not looking for a brainiac girlfriend, or even one that enjoys computers. I'm looking for one where we can both bring something unique to the table every night, and be able to hold onto when we try something new. I'm not really that picky either, just being faithful, honest, and loving. Is that so hard to find today? It seems like it... at least for this shy, relatively quiet guy.
I've seen some interesting articles about Online Dating and such, and if you want to read more and hear their insight into the matter, check out this post and this page for some good reading when you're bored at work. :-) ¶ 1:38 PM 0 comments
You might have seen the advertisements for online dating services on television, or while you were surfing on the Internet. They're a relatively new phenomena, and for the regular, no-frills, intellectually inclined, they're next to worthless.
My picture resides here on the website, it sits quietly in the Photo Album, not disturbing anyone who doesn't wish to look for it. I'm nothing spectacular to look at, I eat well, I don't exercise a lot, I believe in living life and not worrying about little things, and I'm happy with myself. Well, I was until I tried a couple dating websites like OK Cupid and Web Date, and haven't been able to find a single soul to really talk to (I'm not trying too hard though, I've mostly been checking out webcams in their online chat). I've talked to a few girls on AIM, but they must look at my profile and dislike what they see because they instantly lose interest. Hey, I'm going out on a limb by coming out of my shell to talk to you, and you give me the hand. That's not cool at all! It's funny too because I have high matches with these people, but I talk more to an acquaintence I met in German class at UMBC.
My former roommate decided to start using Match.com for girls because he was getting lonely and couldn't pick any up, even though we're at a university with many fine looking, bright, young women. His experiences have been mixed. No doubt they've produced more results than mine have, but I can't say that I'm jealous... he's been through four or five and none have had that much going for them. He pays about $35 a month to match up with different girls around the Catonsville area, a $35 wasted monthly in my opinion, especially since you'll be spending even more money on dates and presents once you have a steady girlfriend. For him, it included flowers, chocolates, dinner, and alcohol. The stories about the nights they stayed at the apartment will never be forgotten... Extreme Mario Kart comes to mind. He keeps trying to convince me to try it out as well, but either I'm too cheap, or I just enjoy being a single guy... What little money I have goes to the cool toys I can afford once every six months or so, the books I need to learn with, and the food I need to survive.
And then we have MySpace, a social networking thing. I signed up there because a girl I used to talk to that lives in Arizona is on it and she told me about it. I signed up, spent a little time with the profile, and my page has seen exactly one page view in a month. She's had some luck with it though, and found a "buddy" through it. I guess I'm just not a popular guy, or maybe it's because my friends don't use that type of website. I don't blame them actually, we aren't the type to fit in. I went through profiles attached to my friends and here are a few blurbs I found about reading books: "I only read magazines not books", or how about this one, "Never read one book in my life..I started reading one but never finished it cause I hate reading. Mad props for those who read." That one almost gave me a fit. Look here America, there's our future, and it doesn't read books.
They sure know a lot about music though... check this list out: "Music my favorite thing life....eh lets see....i wont say i like everything because i dont, and even genres that i do like theres some artists i hate... so ok... i was raised off of classic rock and reggae and some cumbia (kinda like salsa).... so that leaves me today with loving reggae, punk rock, pop punk, emo, screamo, 90's metal, alternitive, classic rock, ska, white boy reggae, old school rap, oldies, and all kinds of latin music (exept latin pop)... to make this short ill list like 5 bands from each genre ....reggae (bob marley, eekamouse, mike dread, barrington levy, kymani marley) ...punk rock (bad religion, anti-flag, dropkick murpheys, social d., fifi) ... pop punk (goldfinger, mxpx, nofx, millencolin, nerf herder) ...emo and screamo (finch, taking back sunday, brand new, afi, auttum to ashes, thursday) ...90's metal (KoRn, static x, deftones, system of a down, soulfly, slipknot) ...alternitive(incubus, dashboard confessional, hoobastank, yellowcard, lost prophets) ...classic rock (led zepellin, guns n roses, bad company, zz top, pink floyde) ...ska (reel big fish, suburban legends, less than jake, suicide machines, catch 22, five iron frenzy) ...white boy reggae/rap/punk (sublime, 311, authority zero, spoken gun, slightly stoopid, kotten mouth kings (kinda reggaeish)) ...old school rap (early snoop dogg, beastie boys, kriss kross, early dre, nwa) and i dont like any specific oldies or latin music besides ozomatli". Most of that crap I've never even heard of! And then some of the stuff I have heard of he couldn't spell correctly because he never reads! You know, I like computers, music, books and all, but I'm not going to sit here and list every single piece I can think of because I'm not that bored.
Did I mention that being a music trivia buff won't get you a job? Sorry...
Some girl I used to talk to that lives in Arizona said she would never be more than just a friend because we have "intellectual differences", like I'm a genius or something. Granted, I'm smart, but you'd never know just how much because I've learned to mask most of it behind a screen of mediocrity. I went through middle and high school getting made fun of because I was smart... and I've been rejected because of it too. :cry: The funny thing is that I'm not looking for a brainiac girlfriend, or even one that enjoys computers. I'm looking for one where we can both bring something unique to the table every night, and be able to hold onto when we try something new. I'm not really that picky either, just being faithful, honest, and loving. Is that so hard to find today? It seems like it... at least for this shy, relatively quiet guy.
I've seen some interesting articles about Online Dating and such, and if you want to read more and hear their insight into the matter, check out this post and this page for some good reading when you're bored at work. :-) ¶ 1:38 PM 0 comments
