No, the above things aren’t actually related. Anyway, heading to DC for a bit of a break and such. Big deadlines coming up, stress building, etc… of course now I find out I might also have to do some work while there to stay caught up! Such is life. Rant. It may be time for another rant soon. Meanwhile, happy Wednesday!
Sometimes life just sneaks up, jumps on you and beats you down with a spork. I realize this is a ‘personal’ weblog and I could blog about what is going on right now, but I’m not even sure I’ve sorted through my own emotional reactions to it yet. Needless to say, my life was already in transition (from grad school to job searching) and something pretty significant just happened in my personal life. I suppose there’s no good time for random things like this to crop up and punch you in the gut, but right now seems a particularly bad time. Ces la vie, more soon maybe.
I was just looking on Digg.com for, well, interesting stuff, news, pics, the usual, and I couldn’t believe how many iPhone-related stories were on the front page. First of all, there were, at the time, 5 iPhone stories in a row that had just hit the front page. Five? I thought (perhaps incorrectly) that Digg had some kind of system for keeping similar stories or stories from the same category from all front-paging at once.
Then I noticed that 6 of the 10 hottest stories on all of Digg were related to the iPhone. Is this really necessary? Isn’t there some Apple blog or something where people who actually care can go read about their precious iPhones? I mean sure, it’s an interesting device, and I’m game to hear updates about it occassionally even if I can’t afford one. Still, I don’t need to see it plastered all over one of the social media sites I frequent. /rant
Sometimes I get into a bit of a writing slump, or am simply stretched too thing between various projects. However, with my new place of residence I’ve found there’s always a wealth of potential material (literally) right outside my door. The only unfortunate part is that I don’t have video capability to actually record what goes on. Hope text is a bit entertaining at least.
Sometimes I sit on my porch with a laptop watching the world go by, or I sit at my desk near a window on the second floor looking out. At least once a day I see what appears to be crackheads and dealers going about their business.
IÂ walked to the corner store the other day to buy a bottle of wine. There was a car pulled over with a cop car behind it. I walked into the store, which was across the street from this scene. There was a group of kids (late teens or early twenties) whispering not-quietly-enough about whether or not they had run into the store too fast when the cops pulled that guy over outside. They were also blaming one another for potentially calling attention to themselves.
Also in the last few days I heard a gunshot outside, though I couldn’t see from where. Two kids scurried off quickly into the night in front of the house. Other times there are cars parked outside with tinted windows. People come and go from these cars, and I can see lighters being sparked inside of them. I suppose it’s theoretically possible they’re just smoking cigarettes. Anyway: crackheads. Always something new.
So I am getting so much spam (presumably as a result of my posting my weirdest spam comments) that I literally can’t moderate my comments right now. Sorry for those of you who have been effected by this but: I probably have to wipe my comments out entirely (those awaiting moderation). My bad folks! Anywho, should be back in order shortly.
Consider this the link list to end all linklists – a meta-list of the best link lists I’ve found on the web! Bookmark this page for future reference, or simply click through to the next big thing. The web is endless! Enjoy!
(10) A classic favorite, Fark is undoubtedly the best source on the web for strange, weird and funny news. This is a site full of sarcasm and stupid puns, be warned!
 (9) At SeeHere expect to see something like what you’re seeing, well, here! In short: the links are short but sweet, and there are nicely categorized/grouped sites.
 (8) Want a broader variety of web-buzz? Stumbleupon always provides interesting and offbeat sites voted by users in all kinds of categories.
(7) Ebaumsworld has always been a scandalous site, surrounded by controversy over stolen content, but at the end of the day they still show users wacky videos and fascinating links.
(6) Everyone knows Digg.com, right? Well, if you don’t, it’s probably the biggest social news site on the web – but it varies from offbeat news to too much tech. Just so you know what you’re getting into!
(5) OK, so, I don’t even know what language this site is in (.hr? anyone?), but they keep linking to me, so I figure they get an honorable foriegn language site mention.
(4) Even though the content is a bit immature and/or scandalous, I suppose it wouldn’t be fair to compile a list of popular linkdumps without mentioning LinkDump.com
(3) WebUrbanist has a great category for cool images of all kinds which is worth checking back in on every few days – not updated constantly, but quality is better than quality, right?
(2) Never forget the good old WallStreetFighter, who posts top 10 lists all the time – and old ones can always be found in his archives at any time!
(1) You guessed it – All Sux dot Com is the best site on the web for awesome link lists. This was in NO way biased by the fact that you are currently on All Sux dot Com …
Having been stalked and read up on it a bit, I thought I might as well share with some readers what the basics are in terms of a stalking. Two things I learned that surprised me: (1) I actually thought I was being stalked before I was (legally speaking) and (2) stalking comes with much heavier penalties than I would have guessed.
(1) “Most stalking laws require that the perpetrator make a credible threat of violence against the victim; others include threats against the victim’s immediate family; and still others require only that the alleged stalker’s course of conduct constitute an implied threat. While some conduct involving annoying or menacing behavior might fall short of illegal stalking, such behavior may be a prelude to stalking and violence and should be treated seriously.” Wikipedia
I had thought that stalking just referred to general harassment, etc… never realized a threat of violence was needed. Only recently (the last week or so) did my stalker actually start implying violence (threatening “real world consequence” and indefinite outcomes like “or else”)
(2) “Federal law provides a number of important tools that are available to combat cyberstalking. Under 18 U.S.C. 875(c), it is a federal crime, punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000, to transmit any communication in interstate or foreign commerce containing a threat to injure the person of another.” USDOJ.gov
Now I have to say that really got my attention. Five years in jail and up to a quarter-million dollars in fines? That’s a pretty harsh penalty, but then again, stalking can be harsh too. So, if you’re being stalked: know your rights and know what the legal boundaries are (look them up yourself, I’m not a lawyer!). Anyway, I would think that sane stalker (is there such a thing?) would see information like this and back off, but I suppose you never know!
OK, so having a digital stalker is getting really really strange. I was confused at first, but then I read that this is a fairly common stalker trick: he has tried to turn the tables and accuse me of stalking him. I’m a little perplexed about how responding to someone’s harassing emails and writing posts without naming them could be construed as stalking, particularly given his own far more intrusive activities.
He has continued to post about me – naming me by (fortunately my fake) name and naming my website – while the few times I have posted about him I did so anonymously. He has contacted people I know, have worked for, am acquainted with, and so on – while I have only contacted him and one other blogger (who was repeating his misinformation). I have asked him to stop writing about me, to me and to people I know repeatedly – but he persists. Perhaps most revealing: this all started because he was violating the law and I notified him about it.
So, OK, maybe I’m nuts but, it seems pretty clear who is stalking who here.
Anywho, this will be the last post abot the stalker directly anyway. So glad Allsux.com is bizarre enough to pick up a creepy fan following. To all you stalkers, though, don’t forget: I am both related to and friends with lawyers … get extra-creepy on me at your own risk ;)
I’ve been a little lazy about updating, so instead of quickly trying to compile some great links or random images I let YouTube do the work for me. Enjoy!