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As Connor walked into the joint, he heard the familiar click-click-clack of the tables. Along with the stale cigarette smoke, he breathed a sigh of relief.

Where was she?

She hadn’t been home for a week, and he was tired of looking for her.

“Any luck Con?” said Joe. Why is it that bartenders are always named Joe? Joe poured Connor’s bourbon…neat, just the way he liked it.

“Nope. I’m done,” he replied.

“She’s a good woman, Con, you really should tell the cops.”

click-click-clack-clack

“I don’t need the cops to tell me she left me.” The bourbon felt good going down his throat. Some corny Eddie Money song was playing on the Jukebox.

Connor’s mind went back to their last conversation. She had wanted him to go to the grocery store to pick up some tomatoes.

“Why now? You KNOW I just started working on the ‘vette?”

“Fine, Conny, fine! Sometimes I think you love that care more than me.”

“…for you earlier,” Joe was saying.

“Huh?”

clack-click

“A call came in for you earlier.”

“Who was it?”

“I dunno,” said Joe. “Some dude…sounded urgent…Italian. He left a number, no name.”

Connor looked at the cocktail napkin with the number and felt sick. It was a Brooklyn exchange.

Good thing I didn’t call the cops after all, he thought.

“Joe, give me the phone.”

He dialed, it was ringing.

“-ello?”

“Hey Finn.”

“Conny, did you find her?”

“I think so…you’re not going to like it.”

“The Martinos?”

“I think so…I’ve got this Brooklyn number I’m supposed to call.”

Finn swore.

click-clack-clack

“Lemme call Tommy, Con. You at the Leaping Hound?”

“Yeah…Finn, don’t do anything…we don’t know yet what’s going on.”

“Right, we’ll be right over.”

Conner hung up the phone. He drained the rest of his bourbon and ordered another.

The Martinos. Damn them. Why now? and Why him?

There had been peace for almost 3 years now, and Connor wasn’t a big dog in the Clan…just a “cleaner” on retainer. He was only a Fitzpatrick by name…wasn’t even of the same blood line as the big boss.

“Trouble?” Joe asked as Connor downed the second bourbon.

“Not sure. Probably nothing we can’t handle.”

RRRRRING RRRRRING

He jumped as the phone in front of him came to life unexpectedly.

“Leaping Hound,” Joe answered the phone. “Yeah, hold on Tom…Connor it’s your brother.”

click-click-clack

Connor took the phone, “Hey Tommy.”

“Conny, what was the number they gave you?”

“UL5-6423”

“OK…me and Finn gotta go get someone before we get there, but we’ll be there in a bit.”

“Tommy, don’t do anything stupid! I don’t even know the details!”

“Don’t worry, little brother, we’ll be there.”

Connor swore as he slammed the phone down.

“They better not…sonofa…Joe…you got a piece?”

“Yeah, sure Con, what’s going on?”

“Tommy and Finn are about to do something stupid.”

Joe hesitantly took a brown paper bag wrapped around something out from behind the bar.

“I’ll bring it back…don’t have time to go home,” Connor reassured him.

Connor paid his tab and left as the tables in the joint continued their click-click-clack that was oh, so familiar.

It’s open source software, which in general means it’s free to use.

Here’s the description from their website: “On a laptop or connected to an HDTV, boxee gives you a true entertainment experience to enjoy your movies, TV shows, music and photos, as well as streaming content from services like Netflix, MTV, Pandora and flickr.”

Boxee’s Netflix feature currently only works on Macs.

Check out this video for a demonstration.

quick intro to boxee from boxee on Vimeo.

Unfortunately, Boxee is only openly available on Mac and Linux operating systems. There is a Windows version, but it isn’t considered ready for everyone yet, so you can not download it from their site.

But I found a way. Remember, this workaround isn’t “stealing” because the software is free anyways. All this is is a method of working around Operating System restrictions put in place by the boxee.net website.

Here are the steps: (note: THESE STEPS REQURE A BIT TORRENT CLIENT. IF YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT THAT IS, DO NOT PROCEED.)

1. Go to Boxee.net and sign up for a new account. When asked which Operating System you use, choose Linux.

2. Now, download the latest torrent file for Boxee. You can search the usual places, I found one here.

3. Once torrent is finished downloading, install Boxee.

4. Run Boxee and Sign in.

Also, remember that Boxee is not a final piece of software. The Windows version is in “alpha” so it may be buggy. And, since you are using this “test” software through this workaround, and not through the authorized site, it would not be proper to bug the developers with any problems that may arise.

If you are unsure about anything, do not go through with this. This is a workaround and is not authorized by the developers of Boxee, even though the software is free.

This post is for educational purposes only. And entertainment. ;)

I’ve always wanted to hone my writing skills. I’m going to take a page from the book of my friend Steven Perez and start doing a little free-writing drawing inspiration from Flickr.

He calls it Random Flickr Blogging. I’m calling it Flickr Fiction.

We’ll see where it takes me.

First, though, I believe a redesign is in order.

As usual, it was awesome and therapeutic.

I find that whenever I come back from one of these trips I feel physically, mentally and even spiritually refreshed. This time was no different.

The first night we spent in the Basin of the national park.

The second night, we spent at a camp site called Chorro Vista.

The third night, we stayed on the Rio Grande river in the State park. This was the view at sunset:

Big Bend is definitely my favorite part of Texas.

Here you go:

This was at my sister-in-law’s house in her backyard.

Well, the time has come.

We’re here at the hospital in Labor & Delivery waiting. They will induce Amber at midnight (12:00 AM, 10/16/08).

I just can’t wait to be a Daddy!

Actually, I did not. When I went to College, I wanted to work with computers, and I found I enjoyed Web Design. However, in 1997, the community college I went to did not offer a program in anything related to web design. The closest thing was a Network Administration program that included one class on Web Design.

So, how did I do it? I read and read and read. And, I practiced and practiced and practiced.

The stuff I learned in that 1997 class is obsolete today.

So, if you want to get started in a fun and creative industry, there are 3 things you need to do.

(1) Learn

That’s right, learn. Read anything and everything you can get your hands on.

Want to learn Web Design? Go to the library and check out books on HTML, CSS and JavaScript.

Get a HTML for Dummies type of book to learn the basics of HTML. Then get this book called “The Zen of CSS Design” by Dave Shea and Molly E. Holzschlag. For JavaScript, nothing beats Jeremy Keith’s books DOM Scripting or Bulletproof Ajax.

Want to learn Graphic Design? Once again, check out books from your local library. Also, look to others for inspiration.

You’ll want a book on Photoshop or the GIMP. Photoshop is the industry standard, but not everyone can afford it. GIMP is 100% free and has most of the features of it’s costly Adobe cousin. Gimp books aren’t as easy to find in a library. Here is a nice list to refer to.

Once you learn the programs, you’ll need to learn the theory. The Non-Designers Design Book is a good place to start, if you don’t have any background. If you’re artistic by nature, you may not need a book, and just look to the world around you for inspiration. (You’ll still need to learn the theory behind Typography, but it should be relatively easy for those with minds that are already creative.)

(2) Build Your Portfolio (A.K.A. Practice, Practice, Practice)

Use what you’ve learned to build a professional looking portfolio.

   -  Create corporate identities for imaginary companies.

   -  Design imaginary advertisements for a favorite product.

   -  Offer your services pro-bono to friends, family or non-profit organizations.

   -  Make sure you have an online presence.

(3) Be Willing to Start at the Bottom

OK. You have the knowledge. You have the portfolio. Now, how do you start making money?

If you come into the industry with no professional experience and expect to be making the big bucks right away, you’re just fooling yourself. Go to print shops or design firms and be willing to accept anything at first. Once you get 6 months of actual real-world experience under your belt, ask for a raise or look elsewhere.

Also, develop a “can do” attitude. If someone asks you to do something, and you don’t know how to do it, don’t say, “I can’t do it…” Instead, tell them that it can be done, but you’ll need to do some research and get back to them. “I can’t” should not be in your vocabulary.

In conclusion…

If your just getting started, it pays in the long run to be humble and willing to learn. Don’t get full of yourself and let your ego get in the way of gaining valuable experience.

Trust me, you’ll thank me later.

Part 2 will discuss 10 of my favorite websites to gain design knowledge and get inspired.

Navigation sucks (confusing, at best), color choices suck (HURTS MY EYES).

General Layout is fine.

There are going to be a few changes (a.k.a. Tweaks) in the next few days.

Enjoy!

If you’re reading this from my website, you may notice something different.

The “typographic” design (as I came to call it) was nice and simple, but it grew old on me.

I felt I needed a change.

So, seeing as how my current job entails the print industry, I thought, “How can I incorporate CMYK into my design?”

Well, this is what came of that musing.

The first thing you might notice is, of course, the colors. CMYK (or Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black) are the four most commonly used colors in printing.

You can re-create pretty much any color in the spectrum using those four colors.

Also, I got rid of the useless “welcome” page.

Now, when people navigate to the site, they go directly to actual content.

There is also a new “site search” feature on the side-bar.

Other goodies/easter eggs throughout as well.

I started on this about 12:00 AM CST and just finished at 3:32 AM CST.

I figure, if I can’t sleep, might as well do something productive, right?

So, I hope you enjoy the new design.

Any comments/concerns would be appreciated.

That being said…

My friend Steven is a passionate guy. When positively (or negatively) outrageous things happen, you can count on him to have an opinion on the matter.

Me and him like to share links to interesting news stories, LOL-tastic stuff, and the like.

Being an election year, the virtual news wire is inundated with stories about politics, extolling the virtues or condemning the scandal du jour.

So, Steve, being a guy who follows this kind of stuff closely, shares an item about the Wiretapping scandal that hit the government in the last couple years.

Cheney’s office hid wiretapping memos from White House chief of staff.

Me, quite sick with seeing POLITICS POLITICS POLITICS posted everywhere, replied to that story with the statement, “So?”

I later said, “…why should I care about this? Why should I waste my energy getting upset about something like this? I am shocked, SHOCKED, to find a politician hiding and lying about something.”

Steven wrote a post illustrating why I should care.

Basically, in a nutshell he said, (consolidating and paraphrasing here) ‘we hired them, so we should get mad about them doing stuff like this in our name.’

Well, Steven, I did not hire them. And I didn’t want to hire the other guy.

See, I think of myself, not as an American, but as a citizen of Earth. I only recognize borders and my citizenship for reasons of legality. Yes, I’m a taxpayer, but that doesn’t mean that just because I pay taxes, I should get involved.

Why get involved? It’s none of my concern. Do I care about the people that have died in this War? Of course I care about them and their families, but it’s not up to me to pass judgment on their Commanders and hold them responsible. Someone else (you know who) who has the Sovereign right will take care of that.

I don’t get outraged and upset by these things, because it’s what we EXPECT to happen. And frankly, it’s not healthy to get upset about something like this anyways.

Now, I’ll be the first to admit that I have a lot to work on. But, one thing I’m sure about is my neutrality. You see an outrage. I see a fulfillment.

Apathy? No…I like to call it Neutrality.

It also took in the historical aspects of La Villita and touched on some of the cowboy history of San Antonio.

I recommend this excellent tour to tourists and natives of San Antonio alike.

Check it out next time you’re downtown San Antonio. The have tours at 9 AM, 12 PM, and 6:30 PM. (There’s no 6:30 tour on the weekends.)

Your results:
You are Iron Man

Iron Man 90%
Green Lantern 75%
The Flash 65%
Supergirl 55%
Catwoman 45%
Spider-Man 35%
Hulk 35%
Superman 30%
Wonder Woman 30%
Robin 30%
Batman 20%

I just combined my feeds from KLAR and McGeeWorld into one.

And it was EASY.

FeedBlendr lets you combine a bunch of feeds into one.

AND, the fact that I use Feed Burner means that you (the subscriber) don’t have to change any feed settings on your end.

To those of you that may be subscribed, let me know if there are any technical difficulties.

I’ve started a side project over at blogger.

As you may or may not know, I am a huge music buff. Especially anything predating the crappy NKOTB era. (And if you know what that stands for, you must be hangin tough in your years.)

My father and a good friend of his had a morning show in the late 70’s at a radio station in Laredo, Texas. That radio station was 1300 AM KLAR. I grew up around 70’s and early 80’s Top 40 and Country. I loved it.

Because radio today sucks, I’ve really gotten into music blogs. (A good site to browse and find good music blogs is Hype Machine.)

I have been inspired to create a blog loosely modeled after my dad’s old station.

I’m going to try combining the RSS feeds so both will show up in your subscription, or as they say in Laredo, your “prescription”.

1300 AM KLAR

That’s right, folks, we’re having a baby girl.

If you want to know the name, you’ll have to wait till 10/21/08.

We didn’t get a new sonogram printout, so this one will have to suffice until we do.

This sonogram is the latest picture we have of the kid. This was taken months ago.

Tomorrow we find out what sex the baby is and get a better preview to what the kid will look like.

We’re really happy and excited.

Will post tomorrows sonogram as soon as we get it.

I say, our tortillas are really screwed up, and it’s probably because Muslims are making them instead of Mexicans WHO ACTUALLY INVENTED THE GOSH-DARNED THINGS!

People, listen to me when I urge you to DEMAND QUALITY TORTILLAS. Just cause followers of Mohammed make awesome flat bread (and believe me, they do), it doesn’t translate over to tortillas. I mean, have you tried supermarket tortillas and compared them with the real thing made by your abuelita’s own hands?

Seriously, folks, it’s like eating cardboard.

I know it’s hard to find cheery bits in this day and age (and economy), so maybe this bit of free funky music will help him and the rest of us!

Spinning Wheel – Blood, Sweat and Tears
Soul Bossa Nova – Brenard Purdie
Everybody Loves The Sunshine – Roy Ayers
Keep On Playin’ That Funky Music – Muscle Shoals Horns

So True. So True.

I think the history in this video is a little off

[…] Hitler invaded Poland September 1, 1939 and the United States didn’t declared war against Japan until December 8th, 1941 following Pearl Harbor. D-Day wasn’t until June 6, 1944 a full 1,740 days after Hitler invaded Poland. […] General Lee surrendered April 9, 1865 effectively ending the Civil War. The Civil Rights act was signed into law July 2, 1964. It only took 36,608 days to outlaw discrimination based on race. […] Let’s not forget Winston Churchill’s words: “You can always count on Americans to do the right thing — after they’ve tried everything else.”

So true.

Via You Are So Relevant

1. Go to www.flickr.com (don’t sign in) 2. Type in your answer to the question in the “search” box 3. Use only the first page 4. Copy the html and paste for the answer

1. What’s your first name?
“sean”

2. Where do you live?
“san antonio”

3. What is your relationship status?
“happily married”

4. What is your favorite color?
“orange”

5. Favorite food?
“pasta putanesca”

6. What are you listening to right now?
“john coltrane”

7. What is your favorite movie? (right now)
“notorious”

8. What is your dream vacation?
“fly fishing in montana”

9. What are you thinking about right now?
“we’re having a baby”

10. Who’s your best friend?
“Amber”

11. Nickname?
“Chones”

12. Where do you work?
“home”

13. What makes you laugh?
“The 3 Stooges”

14. What are you doing after this?
“mexican lunch”

15. How do you feel right now?
“bored”

16. What are your plans for the weekend?
“the lake”

17. What is your favorite thing to do?
“go fishing”

18. What school do you go to?
“school of life”

19. What are you addicted to?
“fishing”

20. What’s your best feature?
“eyebrows”

If you use Google Docs for your word processing, spreadsheets and/or presentations, this extension is what you need.

gDocsBar adds a full-featured sidebar view of your uploaded documents, allowing you to search them, sort by document type, date or author, and narrow your view to specific folders. You also get drag-and-drop upload functionality.

The best part about all of this? It’s 100% free and works on every major OS platform.

Yet one more reason why Firefox is better than Internet Explorer.

Download gDocsBar for Firefox.

When IE 7 came out in ’06, it was a super improvement over version 6. But there still is a lack of standards compatibility.

However, you can imagine how happy I was when I heard that it was recently announced that internal builds of IE 8 now pass the Acid2 test. This is GREAT news.

This means that IE8 will support “display:table” and generated content, etc.

I know, this is nerd stuff to most of you that read this blog, but it’s exciting to me.

Hopefully, we’ll be seeing some new and exciting things from Microsoft in the near future—for a change!

…

This makes things much easier.

Instead of having to say “Sean is wanting to go home” you can now say “Sean wants to go home.”

Hooray Facebook! At least you did something right this month.

Baseball slugger Barry Bonds will be in federal court in San Francisco today, answering to charges of lying under oath about steroid use. […] Bonds will be fingerprinted and have his mug shot taken. The charges will be read to him and it’s expected he’ll enter a plea of “not guilty.” Experts think he’ll be allowed to remain free without posting bail.

Finally, this guy is going to face the music.

Finally, kids will see where cheating gets you.

Finally.

Your time is up, “Slugger”*.

Barry Bonds indicted on federal perjury and obstruction of justice charges.

Lester Munson Legal Correspondent for ESPN: “Government [has] documents that show what drugs Bonds took. The have a couple of tests…urine tests that are positive for steroids. They also have schedules of drugs that show Human Growth Hormone. And they have something from somebody involving the use of syringes … Some of the details we do not yet know … Some we do not know until the trial begins sometime next year.” (Forgive any inaccuracies as I am transcribing from the Television broadcast LIVE)

This has been a long time coming. A four year investigation. Evidently, there were some in San Francisco that were reluctant to indict the hometown hero zero.

John Burris, Barry Bonds’ Attorney on federal indictments against Barry Bonds: “I’m surprised, but there’s been an effort to get Barry for a long time. I’m curious what evidence they have now they didn’t have before.”

What a horrible example for the kids that look up to him. Let’s hope this guy gets what he deserves.

Setting the Record Straight…

As the WGA knows and its own records will attest, writers are paid residuals on permanent digital downloads.

As the WGA knows and its own records will attest, writers are paid residuals on pay-per-view digital downloads.

This additional compensation was part of the more than $260,000,000 in record-breaking residuals paid to WGAW members in 2006.

When the WGA went on strike, an offer to pay writers for internet streaming was on the table.

Via TriggerStreet.com

See, Steven, there are two sides to every story.

Sounds to me like the WGA is a red-headed-step-child.

UPDATE: Membership of the WGAW (WGA west): 7,627. $260,000,000 divided by 7,627 (total membership) equals $34,089.00 in residuals alone! That means that on average, writers are getting more than $30,000.00 for work they previously did. That doesn’t include work they did that year. Since these are residuals, it’s income for doing nothing.

Over and over, by actions and direct quote, it is clear that through the offerings I’ve seen by any of the major comic publishers, they only look to their website as a way to boost print sales, instead of looking at the web as distribution platform in and of itself. […] Marvel, today, is one step closer to recognizing this bittersweet fact, and they’ve decided to release more of their comics in an online version starting today. Those that regularly frequent Marvel.com will probably not be surprised by this. It has been a long slow march towards what looks like eventually releasing all their comics online.

Unfortunately, everyone and their mother must have hit up Marvel today because I got MySQL (database) errors when I tried to check it out.

It seems to be up now, though.

The crappy thing is, there’s only 25 comics available for free. You have to sign up for an online subscription.

It also appears they’re going the Hula route and only allowing the reading of the comics in their special “web viewer.”

When is old media going to get it and see that people don’t want to jump through hoops (haha Hula Hoops) to see their content?

We want your content, we desire your content. Give it to us and make it easy. That’s all we ask. Use all the product placement and advertising you want, we won’t mind if you just give us open, easy access!

Greed Greed Greed.

Both Sides.

Greed Greed Greed.

Striking is like a little kid throwing a fit because he didn’t get his way.

The studios are already looking at other sources for writing material (i.e. UK writers and others.)

They throw a bunch of big numbers up there. But what they don’t talk about, is that even though the percentage of residuals remained the same, the fact that sales have “skyrocketed” (their words) means they get a percentage of that skyrocket.

Now, I completely understand about Internet streaming of video.

But still, stop being childish and go back to work or go home. Walking the picket line is just STUPID (another word for RETARDED).

Anyhow, here’s a letter to the Writer’s Guild Association:

Dear WGA,

I hereby put you on notice that I am on strike against you.

For every day you go on strike, I am going to download a copy of your work for free online.

That’s right, kiddos, you ain’t getting my 2 and a half cents.

Frankly, the way you’re acting, you don’t deserve it.

Go to your room.

Sincerely,

Someone that has a REAL job.

Let me just say, it was a lot easier than I thought!

Now, I wasn’t developing an application, just an informational website. But it still was a learning experience.

The biggest challenge was getting the site to display properly in the iPhone and still look good in a regular full-size web browser like Firefox. I wanted to do this without having to have one site for the iPhone and one for everyone else.

Well, it took some trial and error, google searching, and conditional tweaking to get it to work, but in the end, it worked.

Here’s the URL to the site: http://www.uthscsa.edu/podcasting.

And if you would like to see what it displays like in the iPhone, go to iPhoneTester.com.

Since the iPod family is so in tune with music, I’ll leave you with some songs.

Bruce Springsteen – Born to Run
Beck – Earthquake Weather
Steely Dan – FM
America – Ventura Highway

Enjoy!

• FOR THE PASTE


• 1/2 cup green onion (sometimes called spring onion)


• 1 or 2 green chillis (Jalepeno worked, but you probably should use Thai chillis)


• 4 to 5 cloves of Garlic


• 1/2 cup cilantro leaves and/or stems.


• 1 teaspoon cumin seed


• 1/2 teaspoon ginger


• dash of Five Spice


• OTHER


• Boneless Chicken Breast or Thighs cut into bite sized pieces


• Soy Sauce


• 4 oz Mushrooms (fresh or canned)


• 6 oz frozen peas


• 8 oz Coconut Milk

1. Using a mortar and pestle (or a food processor) combine all the ingredients for the curry paste until they are mashed into as smooth a paste as possible.


2. Heat some Vegetable oil in a wok on medium-high heat.


3. Brown Chicken in Wok with a dash of Soy Sauce.


4. Add your curry paste to the wok with the chicken and stir to combine.


5. Add Mushrooms and peas to wok and stir to combine.


6. Once peas are thawed and heated, yet still have a bite to them, add Coconut Milk.


7. Bring mixture to a steady simmer. (If mixture is too soupy for your tastes, you may thicken it slightly by mixing in 1 teaspoon of a cornstarch and water paste.)


8. Salt to taste. (I like to top it with Oyster Sauce, but not everyone likes it.)


9. Serve with Jasmine Rice.

The Pharyngula mutating genre meme

There are a set of questions below that are all of the form, “The best [subgenre] [medium] in [genre] is…”. Copy the questions, and before answering them, you may modify them in a limited way, carrying out no more than two of these operations:

* You can leave them exactly as is.
* You can delete any one question.
* You can mutate either the genre, medium, or subgenre of any one question. For instance, you could change “The best time travel novel in SF/Fantasy is…” to “The best time travel novel in Westerns is…”, or “The best time travel movie in SF/Fantasy is…”, or “The best romance novel in SF/Fantasy is…”.
* You can add a completely new question of your choice to the end of the list, as long as it is still in the form “The best [subgenre] [medium] in [genre] is…”.

You must have at least one question in your set, or you’ve gone extinct, and you must be able to answer it yourself, or you’re not viable.

Then answer your possibly mutant set of questions. Please do include a link back to the blog you got them from, to simplify tracing the ancestry, and include these instructions.

Finally, pass it along to any number of your fellow bloggers. Remember, though, your success as a Darwinian replicator is going to be measured by the propagation of your variants, which is going to be a function of both the interest your well-honed questions generate and the number of successful attempts at reproducing them.

1. The best political novel in SF/Fantasy is:
THE MOON IS A HARSH MISTRESS by Robert Heinlen.

2. The best scary book in scientific dystopias is:
FAHRENHEIT 451 by Ray Bradbury.

3. The best road-trip song in rock is:
Led Zeppelin, Communication Breakdown.

4. The best cult movie in science fiction is:
THX 1138.

5. The best stand-up comedian in American comedy is:
Zach Galifianakis.

6. The best jazz album in music is:
Miles Davis, Sketches of Spain.

My great-great-great-grandparent is Metamagician and the Hellfire Club.
My great-great-grandparent is Flying Trilobite.
My great-grandparent is A Blog Around the Clock.
My grandparent is Shakespeare’s Sister.
My parent is thoughts from an empty head.

Not tagging anyone, cuz no other bloggers (other than Steven) read this blog anyway.

Stupid stupid stupid.

Linking to your content is not copyright infringement. It is promotion of your content. You should be happy people are linking to your content.

This isn’t the stone age. We’re talking about the interNET here. Emphasis on the “NET”. Links make the internet a NET. Without links, there would be no NET.

Drop this lawsuit now. It’s a very dumb and stupid lawsuit. You’re wasting the court’s time and your money.

Sincerely,

Sean M. McGee
San Antonio, TX

What can I say about that? It put a smile on my face. It also shocked me. “Shocked you say?” Yes shocked, I say.

Why? Well, considering all the CRAP music being produced today, it surprises and shocks me every time someone comes up with something good.

I was just discussing the music industry with my father over the weekend. What prompted the discussion? We were listening to Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon album.

I was thinking about it and realized that you can’t really download that album. All the songs on that album merge together to form one work.

I told my dad, “You know, if modern recording ‘artists’ put their albums together like this, people wouldn’t MIND paying for a CD.”

To reiterate and expand on that idea: If modern recording ‘artists’ produce their albums as complete works and not a collection of songs, I won’t mind paying for it. If modern recording ‘artists’ actually produce something worthy of the name ‘art’, I won’t mind paying for it. If modern recording ‘artists’ actually had something real to say, I won’t mind paying for it.

Mika, I am buying your album. Why? Because you showed in that song that music can be fun, entertaining, and also have something to say that not everyone else is saying. Hopefully, others will follow suit.

Just temporary though.

Pink for October is a movement to promote Breast Cancer Awareness.

Web sites will Go Pink during the month of October to bring attention to Breast Cancer Awareness Month, get people talking about breast cancer, and raise money for research.

But to be clear, raising money isn’t the primary purpose of this web event.

The hope is that you turn your site pink (in whatever way works for your site), go out to that World Wide Web thing (in fact you’re on it right now! :) ) and educate yourself about the multiple issues related to Breast Cancer, then take that newfound knowledge and tell someone else what you’ve learned.

Here’s the site to register if you would like to participate: http://pinkforoctober.org/.

Media Matters=Fox News

Both are creators of FALSE STORIES. (2 Pet 1:16)

Don’t listen to what EITHER of them say. Just listen to common sense. They’re both Propaganda machines.

All your Janes are belong to us!

1. Jakob Nielson – Could this guy be any more full of himself? Jakob: your ideas are great…if this was 1999. We’re in the year 2007. Don’t tell us how to design when it’s obvious you can’t. Your site is one of the LEAST usable and LEAST attractive I have come across.

DISCLAIMER: my site isn’t finished yet. when it’s done it will be an altar to usability.

2. Los Angeles – Don’t get me wrong, I like California…I like Yosemite, Sequoia and the Sierras. I like San Fran and everything nerdy that comes out of Cupertino. But I hate loathe L.A. I’ve only been there once, and believe me when I say L.A. is OVERRATED. Too many people, too many cars, too many celebrities that are full of themselves, too many people that wish they were celebrities, too many people that THINK they are celebrities, the MPAA, etc. I could go on and on, but trust me, it sucks. Now, San Antonio definitely has it’s negatives. But I’d rather live in San Antonio for 80 years before I live in L.A. for more than a day.

3. Beyonce Knowles – is it just me, or does she just RUIN every movie she’s ever been in? Listen, I’ll acquiesce that she sings good. But she is a HORRIBLE actress. Almost as bad as that blonde chick from CBS’s Cold Case. ALMOST

4. MySpace – WHY THE HECK ARE PEOPLE STILL USING THIS SITE? People, MySpace sucks! It has HORRIBLE usability, HORRIBLE aesthetic appeal, and a but-ugly-did-I-mention-HORRIBLE Layout. Plus, your privacy on MySpace is virtually NILL. And the ADS, don’t get me started on the ads. ANNOYING AS … well, almost as annoying as Beyonce in every movie she’s ever been in. ALMOST.

Basically, Virgin took some photos with Creative Commons licenses and captioned them for use in their ads. Perfectly legal. However, they failed to get “model releases” from the individuals in the photograph.

See, if you’re going to publish a photo for profit, even if you have the license for it, you still need releases from people that may be IN the photo. The only exception is when they’re unrecognizable.

One teenage girl’s picture was used. It was captioned, “Dump your pen friend girl,” whatever that means.

Now her and her family are suing. According to the Associated Press, Virgin’s use of the photo caused the girl “grief and humiliation.”

The experience damaged Alison’s reputation and exposed her to ridicule from her peers and scrutiny from people who can now Google her, the family charged in the lawsuit.

The strange thing is, when I Google her, I come up with nothing. Could not find the ad in question.

Here’s another strange thing:

Chang’s family filed a lawsuit late Wednesday in state district court in Dallas against Virgin Mobile USA LLC, its Australian counterpart, and Creative Commons Corp., a Massachusetts nonprofit that licenses sharing of Flickr photos.

Now, I haven’t read the lawsuit (haven’t found it yet) but it seems to me that Creative Commons would be innocent in all this.

Creative Commons license is only to license the distribution of the photograph, and has nothing to do with model releases. Virgin should have known that.

Here’s my message to the Chang family:

Sue Virgin, Leave CC alone. KTHNXBYE

Sickening to watch, I know.

HOWEVER, it’s beginning to appear that this guy is a complete TOOL. I mean, before he was even grabbed by the cops, I wanted to kick him myself in the back of the head.

Lessons we can learn from this: Cooperate with the police, no matter how innocent you are. Unless you’re guilty. In that case

RUN LIKE HECK!

I think that this video would have been just as effective if it had shown him escorted out for asking the questions. Not as sickening, but just as effective in showing the kind of control we live under.

Every Thursday I will write a post about food in San Antonio or feature a favorite recipe.

Today’s will be a recipe.

Visit any city in America and you’ll realize that we are in love with the cuisine of Asia. From Peking Duck to Teriyaki Beef and everything in between, we love most of it.

My favorite style of cuisine comes out of Thailand. Thai food, in my opinion, can be described as a fusion of Szechuan and Indian cuisines.

Szechuan is a style of cooking from southwestern China that is known for being spicy (hot).

Indian cuisine is perhaps best known for the varieties of curries used.

This dish is a careful blend of the heat of Szechuan and the sweetness of Indian curries.

The heat, for western tongues, must not overpower the sweet hint of coconut in the dish. It is a careful balancing act that, when performed correctly, can turn an everyday dish into a world-class meal.

Here is my personal recipe for Easy Coconut Curry Chicken.

Easy Coconut Curry Chicken.

Ingredients

• 2 lbs. Chicken Breast or Thigh (Boneless/Skinless)
• 2 tablespoons of Vegetable Oil
• 1 tablespoon of Sesame Oil (optional)
• 2 cloves of Garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh Ginger or 1 teaspoon ground Ginger
• 1 tablespoon Chinese Five Spice
• 3 tablespoons of Yellow or Red Curry Powder
• 12 oz. of Unsweetened Coconut Milk
• 1 teaspoon Sugar
• 1 cup of Bamboo Shoots
• 1 cup of Cilantro (Chinese Parsley)
• 1/4 cup of Thai Basil (optional)
• Salt to Taste

Directions

1. Cut raw Chicken into bite size strips or chunks.
2. Heat the Vegetable Oil in a Wok on medium-high to high heat.
3. Add the Chicken, 1 clove of minced garlic, 1 tablespoon of the Curry Powder, ginger and Five Spice to the Wok.
4. Cook Chicken till done.
5. If using Chicken Breasts, remove from Wok and set aside when done.
6. If using Chicken Thighs, do not remove from wok.
7. Add Coconut Milk, Bamboo Shoots, sugar, remaining clove of garlic (minced) and remaining Curry Powder to Wok. Bring to a simmer.
8. Once simmer point is achieved, put Chicken Breasts back into Wok. (disregard this step if using Thighs)
9. If available, add Thai Basil.
10. Simmer for 5-10 minutes.
11. Serve over Jasmine Rice. Garnish with fresh Cilantro.

There’s a reason. I don’t know where to put it.

That’s really all there is to it. I just haven’t decided on it’s placement in the layout.

But, not to worry, it will be there.

This time, she’s being sued.

A federal prisoner incarcerated in South Carolina, has filed a lawsuit against Martha Stewart.

A South Carolina prisoner known for suing celebrities has targeted Martha Stewart.

Jonathan Lee Riches says Stewart violated his civil rights in a real estate deal.

The 30-year-old man is in federal prison in Williamsburg County, South Carolina, for his involvement in an identity-theft ring.

Riches filed the two-page, handwritten lawsuit against Stewart, seeking $3.5 million in damages from Stewart for what he calls “emotional, mental, psychological distress.” He says he will donate any damages he collects to television cook Rachael Ray.

Oh…it gets better.

He also claimed he would donate his winnings to Rachel Ray to pay for surgery that will prevent her from smiling so much.

Not sure if that statement was meant as a joke, but it sure was funny. Maybe he can also do something about that “E-V-O-O” nonsense she always says. Grrrr…but that’s another blog post.

Makes you wonder if a new trend has started…LOLcons.

Via dumb-lawsuits.com

Comments isn’t working yet.

(Actually, it’s working, but the input boxes are invisible and I’m tired now. Will fix tomorrow.)

UPDATE: Decided to fix comments. Everything is functional now. I think. ;)

Picture courtesy of ahajokes.com

I’m sittin’ here at work, matey, tired and wishin’ I had stayed asleepin’ on me boat, when I had meself an epiphiky, “It be the 19th o’ September! Talk Like a Pirate Day! Yarrrrr!” I’m thinkin’ about rentin’ “Treasure Island” (t’ original Disney Live-action movie). Long John in that movie became t’ ultimate pirate.

“Now, smartly wench! Fetch me another mug o’ grog!”

After some exploring and experimentation I have decided it is far superior to anything I have used to date—including Wordpress.

Since I’ve decided to stick with textpattern, I believe a new design/layout is in order. Or at least a “teaking” [sic] of the current design.

Because of this, blogging will be erratic until further notice.

Here are some tunes to keep you occupied until “teaking” is completed.

Van Morrison – Dweller on the Threshold
Phish – Bouncing Around The Room
Peter, Paul, and Mary – Leaving on a Jet Plane

Proposals to ban saggy pants are starting to ride up in several places. At the extreme end, wearing pants low enough to show boxers or bare buttocks in one small Louisiana town means six months in jail and a $500 fine. A crackdown also is being pushed in Atlanta. And in Trenton, getting caught with your pants down may soon result in not only a fine, but a city worker assessing where your life is headed.

I HATE this crap. I don’t care WHAT race you are, if your pants are hanging off your BUTT something is wrong with you!

PICK UP YOUR DANG PANTS…IDIOTS!

It appears too that I lost some of the images I uploaded via blogger. (Shoulda just used Flickr).

The feed will be updated today. Not sure when I’ll get to the design.

Here is the new URL to the feed.

http://feeds.feedburner.com/sean_mcgee

The reason for this, is that I am going to be changing my blogging software. To avoid any confusion, and interruption of service, I am just going to use feedburner from now on.

I’ve been testing it on an old blog of mine, and it’s working nicely.

But I don’t have time to customize the template just yet (too much work and people depending on me for this weekend.)

If you blog, check textpattern out. It’s very user friendly. (Requires PHP…sorry Windows server people!)

On Tuesday, a reader of the technology news website Slashdot claimed to have taken a recently bought Acer laptop back to PC World to have the hinge repaired, only to be told that the installation of Gentoo Linux on the machine had voided the warranty.

“PC World said that installing Linux had voided my warranty and there is nothing they will do for me,” wrote the reader, identified only as Tikka. “I spoke to a manager, who said that he has been told to refuse any repairs if the operating system has been changed.”

A spokesperson responded saying, (I’m paraphrasing here) ‘No, there’s no void on the warranty…just reinstall windows and we’d be happy to work on your computer.’

PC World’s spokesperson added that customers who replaced Windows with Linux were encouraged to reinstall Windows “where it is feasible” before returning their machines for repair. “As long as PC World or the TechGuys [PC World’s IT support staff] are able to restore the initial settings, there is no void with the warranty. In cases where customer wants to install Linux, it is vital that they make a Windows recovery disc first, unless this comes with the computer,” said the spokesperson.

What a bunch of baloney. Linux fans, if you wonder why it’s hard to convince people to make the switch, this is why. People are just soooo afraid of what they don’t know.

HOW THE HECK DOES AN OPERATING SYSTEM HAVE ANYTHING ANYTHING TO DO WITH REPLACING A LAPTOP HINGE?!?!

In the words of my buddy Steve, “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot!?”

Via zdnet.co.uk

The Teaser Trailer was released today.

Unfortunately, Paramount is being a little you-know-what about people uploading the trailer to YouTube. So I cannot embed it here. But the above screenshot was taken by me.

Here’s a little something to get you in the mood.

Four Random Songs I Love:

1.The Beatles – She Came In Through the Bathroom Window

2. Elton John – Goodbye Yellow Brick Road

3. Michael Jackson – Working Day And Night

4. Beach Boys – Wouldn’t It Be Nice

McDonald’s Worker Thrown in Jail for Salty Burger

A McDonald’s employee spent a night in jail and is facing criminal charges because a police officer’s burger was too salty, so salty that he says it made him sick.

Kendra Bull was arrested Friday, charged with misdemeanor reckless conduct and freed on $1,000 bail.

Bull, 20, said she accidentally spilled salt on hamburger meat and told her supervisor and a co-worker, who “tried to thump the salt off.”

On her break, she ate a burger made with the salty meat. “It didn’t make me sick,” Bull told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

But then Police Officer Wendell Adams got a burger made with the oversalted meat, and he returned a short time later and told the manager it made him sick.

Bull admitted spilling salt on the meat, and Adams took her outside and questioned her, she said.

“If it was too salty, why did (Adams) not take one bite and throw it away?” said Bull, who has worked at the restaurant for five months. She said she didn’t know a police officer got one of the salty burgers because she couldn’t see the drive-through window from her work area.

Police said samples of the burger were sent to the state crime lab for tests.

City public information officer George Louth said Bull was charged because she served the burger “without regards to the well-being of anyone who might consume it.”

Yes, folks, you read that right: “…samples of the burger were sent to the state crime lab for tests.”

Here’s a phone number to remember the next time you get food that is too salty: 9-1-1.

Do a service to your country and report any and all Salty Burgers.

HOUSTON (AP) – A family who was the unlucky victim of a falling traffic signal won’t get any car repair help from the city because state law exempts traffic signals and lights from liability, officials said.

The city of Houston rejected a claim for reimbursement submitted by Lei Zheng and his wife, Hua Yang, stemming from last year’s freak accident. Yang and her 4-year-old son were on a shopping trip when the signal fell through the windshield of their Volkswagen Passat. Neither was seriously hurt.

The couple’s insurance company paid their claim and they had the car fixed. But the couple wanted the city to reimburse their insurance deductible and some out-of-pocket medical expenses, totaling less than $2,000.

The city notified Zheng that it was immune from such claims.

They’re claiming immunity. The law they refer to is Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code – Section 101.060 (a) (2).

(a) This chapter does not apply to a claim arising from: 2) the absence, condition, or malfunction of a traffic or road sign, signal, or warning device unless the absence, condition, or malfunction is not corrected by the responsible governmental unit within a reasonable time after notice; — http://law.onecle.com

However, I would refer them to Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code – Section 101.022.

If a claim arises from a premise defect on a toll highway, road, or street, the governmental unit owes to the claimant only the duty that a private person owes to a licensee on private property. — http://law.onecle.com

I still think there’s grounds here for a claim.

This is just ridiculous. It’s obvious the city was negligent with maintenance, yet the law, which is to protect us, prevents the victims from gaining restitution.

Harlan Heilman, a manager in the city’s claims office, said the city is prohibited from making payment in such cases.

“These things happen on occasion. Like any other (governmental) entity, we have to follow the law. The state Legislature is the body that addresses this issue,” Heilman said.

Traffic lights and signs are specifically exempted from liability, with the intent to keep the city from being responsible for accidents that result from a signal going out or a stop sign being knocked down.

And all this for less than $2,000.00.

Dear City of Houston,

Sean M. McGee

Via WOAI.com

Here’s what happened (in his words):

As I headed towards the exit doors I passed a gentleman whose name I would later learn is Santura. As I began to walk towards the doors Santura said, “Sir, I need to examine your receipt.” I responded by continuing to walk past him while saying, “No thank you.”

As I walked through the double doors I heard Santura yelling for his manager behind me. […] Santura and his manager, whose name I have since learned is Joe Atha, came running up to the vehicle. I closed the door and as my father was just about to pull away the manager, Joe, yelled for us to stop.

I reopened the door to talk with Joe and at this point Joe positioned his body between the open car door and myself. (I was still seated in the Buick.) Joe placed his left hand on the roof of the car and his right hand on the open car door.

I twice asked Joe to back away from the car so that I could close the door. Joe refused. On three occasions I tried to pull the door closed but Joe pushed back on the door with his hip and hands. I then gave Joe three options:

1. “Accuse me of shoplifting and call the police. I will gladly wait for them to arrive.” 2. “Back away from the car so that I can close the door and drive away.” 3. “If you refuse to let me leave I will be forced to call the police.”

Joe didn’t budge. At this point I pushed my way past Joe and walked onto the sidewalk next to the building. I pulled out my phone and dialed 911.

Two minutes later Brooklyn, Ohio police officer Ernie Arroyo arrived on the scene. […] Officer Arroyo asked to see my receipt and driver’s license. I handed over the receipt, and stated that my name is Michael Righi. Again, Officer Arroyo asked to see my driver’s license. The conversation went something like this:

Me: “I’m required by law to state that my name is Michael Righi, but I do not have to provide you with my driver’s license since I am not operating a vehicle.” Officer Arroyo: “Give me your driver’s license or I will place you under arrest.” Me: “My name is Michael Righi. I am not willing to provide you with my driver’s license.” Officer Arroyo: “Turn around and up against the wall.”

Yes, he was arrested for refusing to provide a driver’s license, even though he wasn’t driving—he was standing on a sidewalk.

This incident is really two issues rolled into one.

The first, why do stores treat every customer as if they are a criminal? It’s really bad customer service. It’s a lose-lose situation for the customer. Why? If you show your receipt, you are submitting to an illegal search—you’re giving up your rights to privacy. If you refuse to submit to these searches, you are looked at as a troublemaker and potential criminal.

The second issue this incident raises is one of abuse of authority. In this modern age, all a policeman needs to look up your information in his system is your name, address and birthday. If you are driving a car, I understand being asked to show your license. If you are fishing, I understand being asked to show your license. But, being arrested for not showing your papers when you were neither driving or fishing, and just standing on a sidewalk is just wrong!

Welcome to the United Socialist States of America, comrades.

I dont’ know about you, but from now on, Wal-mart and all those other idiots can Kiss my….receipt.

Via Steven Perez

Labels: fascists, justice, legal, life, rants, unjust

Labels: comics, funny, LOL

I’d have to agree with John Gruber when he says: “The difference between Ridley Scott and George Lucas is that each time Scott goes back and tinkers with his masterpiece, it gets better.”

Four jobs you may not have known I have had in my life:

1. Substitute Teacher

2. Billing Clerk for a Law Firm

3. Legal Assistant for that same Law Firm

4. Sales Rep for Best Buy

Every Friday I will post 4 personal things that you may or may not know about me.

Here’s the first entry.

Four movies I could watch over and over:
1. Happy Gilmore

2. Batman Begins

3. Star Wars I, II, III, IV, V, VI

4. They Call Me Trinity

It’s easy to tell others how to design their site and what they’re doing wrong, but when it comes to your own site it’s tough.

I guess it’s like furniture in your house. You have to rearrange it every now and then.

Oh well, at least I’ve got tons of projects to keep me busy for a while. Then I’ll probably re-design again.

Well, we got back from the district convention. Let me just say, it was great.

We’ve got lots of changes to make, and we’ve already started making them.

Here is a list of goals that I have meditated about and decided to try to reach:

• Make Every Meeting
• Increase my time in the ministry
• Be Content with what I have
• Save for a Travel Trailer or RV to simplify
• Serve where the need is great

After this weekend, I realize that I don’t really need to come on here at UTHSCSA as a full-timer. Remaining as a part timer will allow me to increase my time in the ministry. All I really need is a stricter budget.

That Convention was just what I needed.

Labels: convention, Corpus Christi, goals, personal

Labels: Beach, beer, Corpus Christi, fishing, Jehovah's Witnesses, Texas

The crowd leaned forward with anticipation as he stepped up to the plate. He was about to break the all-time home run record that had stood for years. Some want him to fail. Some don't care. As he felt the familiar CRRRACK!, he knew it. He knew he had made history.

Labels: barry bonds, baseball, cheaters, grrr, home run, sports

Labels: art theft, only-dreemin, photography, rebekka, yay

Labels: grrr, huh

Labels: disclaimer, grrr, legal, life

Labels: flickr, grrr, photography

Labels: funny, LOL, movies

Labels: lawsuit, legal, Linux, Microsoft, patents

Labels: art theft, flickr, grrr, only-dreemin, photography, rebekka, theft, Thomas Hawk, unjust

Labels: fishing, god, life, marriage, moments, top 5

Labels: art theft, flickr, grrr, photography, theft, unjust

Howl At The Moon
Originally uploaded by sean_mcgee

Labels: flickr, neon, one cool photo

Labels: bebo, cards, flickr, moo, vox

Labels: cNet, gadgets, Intel, OLPC

Labels: flickr, one cool photo, san antonio

To "gouge" means to extort, to take by force--something that oil companies and gas stations have no power to do. Unlike a government, which can forcibly take away its citizens' money and dictate their behavior, an oil company can only make us an offer to buy its products, which we are free to reject. Because sellers must gain the voluntary consent of buyers, and because the market allows freedom of competition, oil and gasoline prices are set, not by the whim of companies, but by economic factors such as supply and demand. If oil companies could set prices at will, surely they would have charged higher prices in the 1990s, when gasoline was under one dollar a gallon! ... The true culprit that we should condemn for driving up prices is the government, which has engaged--with popular support--in the gouging of both the producers and consumers of gasoline. Federal and state governments have long viewed gasoline taxes as a cash cow. In 2003, for instance, when the average retail price for a gallon of gasoline was $1.56, federal and state taxes averaged about $0.40 a gallon--which amounts to a far higher tax rate, 34 percent, than we pay for almost any other product. (Contrary to popular belief, gasoline taxes do not just pay for the roads we drive on; less than 60% of the gas-tax-funded "Highway Trust Fund" goes toward highways.)

Labels: gas, government, grrr, oil, taxes

cactus flower Hosted on Zooomr

Labels: cactus, flower, one cool photo, photography, san antonio, yellow

Labels: blogger, css, design, template

"All designs, images and content copyright ©2004-2006 only-dreemin UK. All rights reserved. Unauthorised use strictly prohibited."

Labels: flickr, only-dreemin, rebekka, theft

Many thanks for asking for our side of the story rather than simply offering more death threats... In August 2006, we were contacted by "Wild Aspects and Panoramics LTD" a company based here in London, they offered to show us some imagery, that they stated would be high resolution and we would have sole reselling rights. We were visited by a salesperson from the company and we liked what we saw Anyway 2 weeks passed, emails were sent back and forth, basic research was done by us to enable us to resell them and then the paperwork was signed and a considerable amount of money was paid (£3000.00) by us , for us to start selling these images in the form of canvas prints. 6 months later we had a letter from a law firm in Iceland, stating we were using someone's images, we Googled the claimants name, lo and behold we found we had been duped! As requested, we immediately removed the images from the internet and destroyed any copies of the images we had. We emailed the law firm to state we had dealt with these requests and to apologise to their client. We took legal advice, they told us say nothing more than we had, not recommending we contact the claimant and tell her what had happened, by the way we were very keen to do that, but we were told to avoid all contact. In the meantime we started our own investigation into the above company's contacts and sources but have since found nothing more because the telephone doesn't get answered, mobiles are permanently off and emails are getting bounced back, it seems we were conned too. As Rebekka has now decided to make this public, we can set about explaining to her why this has happened and of course, to apologise.

Labels: flickr, only-dreemin, rebekka, theft

I have a LOT on my mind right now.. to be honest, i've rarely been so royally pissed off as i am today. The photos shown above all have one thing in common (besides being rather lovely landscape photos): They were all taken , without my permission, by the London based print-selling company Only-Dreemin. This company prides itself on offering its customers only the best quality canvas prints of the finest photos, by top artists. What they fail to mention is that some of the photos they're selling prints of have been illegally obtained, and are being sold without the artists consent or knowledge. In my case, a friend of mine came across their store on ebay and recognized one of my prints. (this was way back in january i think) I looked into the matter and discovered 7 more of my photos being sold there. In the case of pictures 1, 2, 6 and 7, the image had been divided up into 3 vertical panels. ( Something i would never DREAM of doing myself. ) Furthermore, the images had been given new and exciting titles, like "Seraque II" and "Attica", "Dawn expander II" and " Joga" (barf) I spent a good many days researching, going back thru their customer feedback, and was able to track back the sales of at LEAST 60 prints made from my images. These prints sold for a total sum of 2450 british pounds (around 4840 US$ ) I gathered all the evidence , saved each webpage displaying my work , saved the list of customer feedback, printed all this stuff out and took it to a lawyer here in iceland. She was confident that by sending them some well-phrased letters i'd be sure to get some damages out of them. After all, i had tons of incriminating evidence. The letters did nothing other than make them take the images down from their site. Further letters got no response from them. My icelandic lawyer could do nothing else, so i was stuck with a bill and the infuriating fact that I, being only a non-wealthy art stutdent/ single mom in iceland, will have to accept that these people stole my work and made lots of money off it, and apparently are going to get away with it. This is NOT OK BY ME. I could think of little else to do than to at least tell people about this. I have reason to believe that they've stolen images from other people, maybe other flickr users. The reason i suspect this is quite simple. My photos were being sold under the bogus name of "Rebekka Sigrún" (the nerve of keeping the first name the same is somewhat amazing). I saw a number of other photos being sold under that same artist name, and they werent mine. And obviously this Rebekka Sigrún doesnt exist. Looking over the pictures i remember being sold under that name, it appears they've changed the artist name to "marco van eych". If anyone knows a landscape photographer by that name, let me know. i very much doubt he exists. So i encourage everyone that has been displaying similar landscape photos on flickr to look at their site and see if they see something suspicious. It would also be pretty cool if as many people as possible would send them angry letters, (address them to info@only-dreemin.com) but that's just if you feel like it;) ok. i've said my piece. Quite a load off my back.

I hope you're getting a lot of hate mail, criminals. Pay Rebbekka what she deserves! Your company is no better than a mugger in the streets. Sean

Labels: flickr, only-dreemin, rebekka, theft, unjust

Labels: busy, css, design, treatment

Labels: one cool photo, photography, Surf, Thomas Hawk

Labels: impala, one cool photo, photography, Thomas Hawk

Labels: Fox, link, news, smart, trapeze

Labels: gattaca, usaa, uthscsa, work

Labels: design

Labels: design