RKNet Blog... Thing

In the spirit of anarcho-capitalist-warm-fuzzy-anti-establishment (alright so that’s pushing it) consciousness expansion and technological empowerment, I am proud to announce the foundation of a series of meeting guaranteed to satiate your curiosity, tittilate your senses, and delight your sense of accomplishment. It’s an offshoot of NH Media Makers geared towards creating a fun learning environment for new technlogies.

The Location: Adelle’s Coffeehouse, 3 Hale St., Dover NH 03820

The Time: Sunday, October 5th 11am to 1pm - Date and Time unconfirmed! Watch this post for changes!
Meeting will officially start at 11:30 to give everyone time to mingle and get settled. Meeting may end earlier or run later than 1pm. Let me know if there are any conflicts here!

The Goal: To provide an open, informal, and comfortable learning environment for anyone who is interested in “new media”, specifically internet-based forms of media, and the systems and tools which make the newest forms of media run, Macs, Windows PCs, and *nix-based systems. If you don’t know the first thing about Macs, Windows PCs or what *nix even is, it’s ok. If using the formatting tools on your email program are intimidating, or if the term “formtatting tools” leaves you at a loss for words, that’s ok too.

Meeting #1: Intro to Blogging

This is for the person who says to themselves “I want to get my writing published on the internet, and I want it to look professional and attractive.” Or “How do I write things to put up on the internet?” Or “What the heck is a blog?”

For this meeting, I can and will personally commit to going over the basics of Wordpress, since I am most familiar with that. I will also go over some HTML 101 topics, which is critical for writers who wish to publish on the internet. I am looking for help for people who want to talk about other platforms, TypePad, Drupal, etc etc.

The only requirement for attending is a desire to learn more about computers and the internet. The requirement for presenting is to have something you want to share with others. That’s absolutely it.

Of course we’ll do our best to stick to one topic per meeting, to give all attendees the best introduction and help on each of the billion topics as possible.

I am also looking for is people who want to learn! Tell everybody and their brother who has ever wanted to publish something to the internet. Come find out how to run your very own blog, and help us decide what the most enticing topic of conversation is for the next meetup!

Future ideas include:

• HTML and CSS 101 - Don’t even know what CSS stands for? That’s ok! Learn the basics of HTML, XHTML and CSS, and get reference resources and practice ideas.
• Video meeting - From the basics of using your webcam to slap a video up on YouTube, to putting together or participating in a web series.
• Photography meeting - Photophiles share their favorite techniques, tips, and equipment recommendations. Figure out how to share your work, get noticed, and enjoy photography more.
• Podcast/audio meeting - Wonder what a podcast is? Want to know how to listen to them, even if you don’t have an iPod? Want to learn how to make audio to distribute via “podcast” or the internet? We’ll go over all that good stuff!
• Image editing - Ever wonder how the captions get on all those lolcats? Want to crop a photo so you can email it? There are all kinds of easy ways to edit images, and lots of folks to share their favorite techniques.
• M$ Alternatives - Don’t want to pay for licenses for the Inext generation of Microsoft Office or Outlook? That new version of AIM really making your computer choke? There are alternatives, and best of all… they’re 100% FREE.
• TV Alternatives - Don’t throw away your television, but do figure out how to make your home network, internet-based content and your TV circumvent your pricey cable bill.
• Windows 101 - Learn more about the system you might have been working with for years. What to turn off, what to keep on, how to maintain and support one of the most popular OSes in the world for the best possible experience.
• Mac 101 - Learn what it takes to make the most out of a system known for it’s sleek, artful presentation. It’s not just for artists and college students! Come see the real thing and learn how enjoyable and approachable the Mac OS can be.
• Linux 101 - No neckbeard required. It’s an open-source (community supported), lean, mean operating system. Linux may run some your favorite sites, but it can run your home computer in ways you might not have expected.

And that’s really just the list of topics I came up with in a short amount of time. There are probably a few dozen that could take up several meetings to cover the basics! Of course no one has to attend ALL meetings, and I’d encourage everyone to follow their passion and speak their mind. These meetings are meant for you, for me, and for anyone else who wants to attend. As I learned from the GI Joe cartoon: Knowing is half the battle. If you’re fighting with your concerns that you just “don’t get” computers, or code, or a specific kind of tech, it’s OK! Bring your questions, bring your lack of experience. We’re here to share!

So please, comment, email, tell a friend. We’ll be here, and we’d love to see you, too.

Note: I’d love to be able to webcast or record the instruction part of the session for future reference, anybody interested in helping with that, email me.

A clear and flagrant disrespect for all things was extruded from the two young men chatting back and forth on the mostly empty train car and left the air palpably unclean. Crisp suits, slick and greasy hair, shifty bright eyes, and utter animal stupidity were readily apparent upon a quick glance. Typical upper-class white boys with no sense of purpose beyond where their dicks will be by the end of the night or who they can roll under the bus to get the next raise. No love except the long-since-abandoned love for mother, and a lust for money and the status associated with it that they assume is love.
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It’s been a very Twitter-heavy weekend, as previous posts will demonstrate. I had a brief spat with some woman named Amanda Chapel because I had issues with the idea of arguing against the merits of internet culture on the internet. Particularly on such a limited platform such as Twitter. I really need to think and do some research before I discuss that whole situation at length. And I do want to discuss that at length. However, in the interest of being fair I intend to read more of Strumpette and see if I can get a proper bead on the philosophy at work here. At that time, I’ll share the archive of the Twitter conversation, and get into depth on what the internet means to me and what I feel it means to our culture as a whole. More on that later though.

One of the other Twitter discoveries I made this weekend was FlypeClub. I’d been followed (and followed them in return) a little while back, but it seemed to only produce an increased percentage of self-promotional fluff scrolling through my gTalk twitter window. This weekend however I got at least a minor peek behind the curtain and figured out that some other followers I’d picked up were authors and conspirators of this mysterious FlypeClub. For the record, I still have no idea what the deal is with it, but now I’m intrigued instead of annoyed by their updates.

A little basic reading, a little paying attention showed me who all is working on the FlypeClub project. (And I KNOW I’m breaking the first and only rule here, but I can’t help it. There is a reason why, you’ll see.) Not so mysterious after all on one hand, but more mysterious on the other. Who exactly are these guys? What was the draw to make something like this? Why the seemingly aggressive promotion when it appears they don’t really have anything to sell? They do claim to offer Alligator & Python swallowing courses for $20,000 a pop, but that doesn’t strike me as a business plan that would best be supported by intense social outreach. Yet there is something to this band of cheeky irreverents that has captured my attention, and gotten me to really thinking.

I have a love for the obscure, and for the obfuscated, for the inscrutable. Although I confess that this love does not extend to businesses who cannot be buggered to explain who they are and what their services entail. That is the exact opposite of good service and should be frowned upon. This is what got me to thinking when FlypeClub came on my radar. Who the hell are these guys? Were they a business or a set of individuals? What are the rules for marketing in the “social” world if they are a business?

Generally speaking, it is up to me to decide what a thing is, what it is worth, whether or not it is valuable or true. That was the challenge posed to me, more or less, by a mysterious Flyper - who I won’t name unless it’s approved - in regards to FlypeClub. That it is up to ME to decide what it is. I liked that. I appreciated greatly the direct outreach, and I appreciated more the admission that it is in fact up to me (and you, and you, and everybody who won’t read this) to decide “what is FlypeClub”.

Seems to me that this has always been the guiding principle of business, and of life. Experts, professionals, self-appointed social leaders can all tell me exactly what they want me to know. Media and corporations have the things which they feel will be liked by the largest amount of people. The great unwashed mobs of people I see on a day to day basis, and the scores of people who write opinions on the internet also provide information on what there is to like about this, that, and the other thing. That is all fine and dandy. I tend to prefer the opinion of someone experienced with a subject or a product to tell me about that subject or a product, and I always attempt to get opinions from other, ostensibly unbaised sources. Yet the thing that so many people do not seem to grasp is that ultimately it is absolutely, one hundred percent my decision (and yours, and yours, and everybody not reading this) as to what is hip, what is worth buying, and what is true.

Really, it’s always been that way. Influence only goes so far. The task of a business, an organization, a person who wishes attention from many is to do this: provide the public with something they cannot get from anyone else. Or, if they can get the product/service/opinion from someone else, give them very good reason to embrace yours over someone else’s.

This is one of the reasons I signed on to be an affiliate of TorsoPants. Yes, they (technically) sell tshirts. Yes, there are dozens of “witty” tshirt companies abroad, particularly on the internet. But I saw these guys and immediately liked everything about their site and what they had to offer. (For the record I have not yet bought my very own pair of TorsoPants, but I am also pretty broke.) It’s something that everyone needs (clothing) and it’s got a shine to it that no one else really has.

Another fine example of providing something unique is Scarlet Imprint. I have purchased two books from them so far, The Red Goddess, and Howlings. They provide something that no one else does, and they do it well. Their books are well written, and well made (I was expecting much less from such a small press), and they are rare. Not only are they rare (very limited print runs), but they make it very clear that they take their work very seriously, and they are willing to communicate directly with those who would buy from them.

I am a decision making machine, and I am primed by the words and actions of others, but I don’t fire until my internal system of checks and balances has had its say. What kind of decision making machine are you?

Woe and sadness unto you, cubicle drone. An entire blog dedicated to snapshots of tons of different companies. Mainly young, hip, internet-based companies on top of it.

Take a good look around you. Do a quick inventory of your surroundings.
Do they include any or all of the following:

1. A full wall, hand-painted mural
2. Some manner of arcade cabinet or gaming table
3. “Alternative” or mainly ergonomic furniture
4. Pets, not counting fish, rocks, or plants
5. As-yet-to-be-finished sections, or furniture that is not yet assembled
6. A large colorful logo that isn’t your neighbor’s favorite sports team banner

If you said “no” to all of the following, it is entirely possible that you work for a stuffy, old-school, dead-end company. If this is a concern, it is highly advisable that your reorganize your life goals and hop to it. That house in Bali won’t build itself, bucko.

That said, go check out some of these pictures, seriously. If that doesn’t inspire you to improve your work life, what will?

Woke up freaking late.
Stupid alarm clock!
I should get a new one.
Felt all stuffy and wheezy again this AM.
Not good.
Today isn’t half over yet. I feel so dreadfully unaccomplished.
Still there’s always a chance for things to improve.
Perhaps it’s dim-witted optimism, but so be it.

I was standing outside in the back parking lot of my apartment building with some people, talking about I don’t even remember what. It was night time approaching early morning and rather cloudy. All of a sudden there was a noise in the air like dozens of planes. Flood lights popped on to periodically illuminate green (like the old copper on Lady Liberty) planes of a sort I don’t even suspect could really fly. Rather than having a wing perpendicular to the body, or two as with a bi-plane, there was one wing suspended away from the body in a parallel that extended slightly beyond the body of the plane on all sides. While I was busy being confused-bordering-on-fearful about it all, one of the planes swooped low and banked hard over our building once or twice before dropping a bomb that rocked the very air around. Everyone outside was knocked down, including myself, but I looked up to discover the damage was mostly to the third floor, but there was a fire. I pushed myself off the ground in a rush. I nearly went right back down to the ground from the immediate dizzy spell, so I half-ran and half-crawled to the badk door, struggling to get the key in the sticky lock and charge up the stairs. The next thing I remembered I was waking up next to my beau. It was early in the morning, the apartment was a mess, and it took me a moment to realize what had happened. I’d gotten to the apartment and passed right out. Why he was there, seemingly undisturbed, I don’t know. I can’t remember if I woke up on the floor or in bed. At this point, a frantic search for the people outside occured, turning up everyone who had been there, plus extra. Rushing up the stairs, the damage was awful but no fire was raging. Heading back down to the lot showed everyone was either up or getting up. There was some outside source who didn’t believe in the bombing, at which I nearly lost it. The planes had been there! Everyone else saw it, too! It was a short lived argument for whatever reason, and next I was looking to help one of my neighbors who was mysteriously also one of my co-workers. He’d lost a lot in the explosion and I was going to offer to store some of his stuff while he tried to rebuild/relocate. The beau wasn’t too happy about that and was probably less happy when neighbor/co-worker started making up the couch as if to stay there.
Before, during, or after all that, I was somewhere public with a little watch on a chain attached to my collar. Just a little clip on thing, and it also had a pink teddy bear charm. I found out during the course of the speech I was listening to that there was a culture of dominance and subserviance which relied on such indicators to show who was who. Sure enough I look across the room just in time to spot the short haired girl with the animal collar riddled with charms just like my little pink bear. I didn’t get my watch out of sight fast enough and she came over to me. Subserviant though she was, she was clearly a leader in her circle. I tried to explain that I didn’t know, and it was a mistake. The girl only smiled at me knowingly and proceeded to evaluate the quality of the bauble hanging from my shirt collar (or did I have on an animal collar as well…). I remember a couple arguments between some same sex couples where I hyperfocused on their faces, as well as the start of another event/scene/thing, but not clearly enough to make the transition.
that’s all.

I dreamt about a lot of things. I dreamt about being interrupted during what was ostensibly my high school graduation by a flirty boy who was also graduating by some kind of satellite deal so he was there/not there. The majority of my “class” was people I work with. Some strangers. Some people I actually went to school with. I kept getting distracted by that boy, and by thoughts of Zelda 2 for whatever reason. There was some EXTREMELY awkward joke about some kid with terrible hair being gay and I told him his back hair wasn't that bad at all. (Although it was pretty fuzzy.)

In another dream I was partly an observer and partly behind the eyes of a blond assassin woman who had Athena, Inc type abilities including hiding a sword in her throat! She said it was encased in a tube of that “movie glass” stuff, apparently after drawing the sword from her throat, she'd then shatter the “glass”. Since it was movie glass, her stomach would dissolve it since it's some kind of sugar and corn syrup mix or something. She was laying behind some kind of barrier with a wide crack between it and the ground. Sidling forward, she pulled out some kind of blade, she was going to ham string one of many soldiers just for the hell of it and something held her back. What it was I don't rightly remember, probably the vulnerability of her position. At any rate, she kidnaps Patton, who was played by some guy I know from work (so, assassin is fictional girl on the outside, me on the inside, this person is fictional on the inside and real on the outside), and proceeds to hold him captive for days, during which time they become lovers. She reveals to him that she's been successfully cloned many times, each clone being taught enough unique personality traits to be planted in subversive roles throughout the US without too much of a fuss. Yet she advises Patton not to worry because while her side has terrifying technology, they are also insane at their core and will fall apart. She eventually lets him go, with some story about defeating some large number of attackers and whatnot. With the excuse of completing her mission to eliminate him, she returns to where he is stationed. Some alarm is sounded at this stranger in their midst but “Patton” makes an excuse for her, including in front of his wife who appears obviously dismayed. Yet some joke was made of it that instantly mollified the situation. There was more canoodling and fretting and then the last I remember of it was she was leaping about through some kind of warehouse or some place with pipes.

The last dream I remember was quite a doozy. It actually takes place after the high school dream. Outside, sitting on the ground, some moderately heavy-set woman in a very loose knit red fuzzy body suit (and various other whatnots) made a bunch of awkward comments to me. Then I or someone was studying a bunch of paintings. 3 large panes, 2 of which had many of smaller images within the main frame, coming up with this insane theories and running into this building next to him/her/me yelling at some woman who was supposed to be a clarvoiant or something in regards to the meaning of the paintings. Then the paintings started to shift, and things got real meta, since it became the memory of a dream within a dream itself. There wer adorable colorful monsters in a crowd, and something else with an equally fat-lined drawing style. It was all moving and shifting colors a wash at a time. Then there was some business with me being in charge of some magical soda machine, which appeared to have gotten mixed up with reality since there was frozen corn and whatnot in it. Things started to fall apart right about then.

The trumpet of a prophecy! O Wind,
If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?
~ Percy Bysshe Shelley: Ode to the West Wind

Because everyone else will be espousing their philosophical and political agendas, I feel it appropriate to bring up a philosophical and political standpoint that has been on my mind a lot lately. Not as an “I told you so” or a demand for changes in the wake of disaster. Only as a question, something to consider. I like the way the linked question was phrased, for the most part. The alternate spin I would put on it is: are we all simply too involved with the world at large, above and beyond our own area communities, to go without over-arching systems of government?

I bring this up because of concerns raised by a good friend of mine in the wake of Virginia's tragedy. A large enough group of people decided it was perfectly acceptable to keep arms out of the possession of lawful defenders in that area. As demonstrated time and time again, unlawful, violent people with the intent to harm have no regard for such laws. What makes them criminal in cases like this is not so much their disregard for the laws themselves as it is their disregard for the human lives the laws were theoretically designed to defend.

Yet the question on many people's minds must be: If lawful, non-violent citizens were granted their right to bear arms within that area, would there have been as much carnage?

It is anyone's guess and the truth of the matter is the situation is over, done with, and no amount of speculation can reclaim the lives lost today.

I would implore everone to take this opportunity to respect and espouse the benefits of reason and intelligence instead of reactionary snap judgements and fingerpointing. Not only would I encourage that of anyone I have direct contact with, but I would strongly encourage all people of strength and wit to aid others through a scary time, and try to prevent the kind of fearful outbursts that cripple us all.

If we cannot be self-governing en todo, then perhaps we can at least make the democracy we have today worth supporting.

Okay, so I finally got convinced to play around with this whole “Twitter” thing. I signed up for it months and months ago, probably trying to win a Wii. I didn't really mess with it, and didn't care to either. However, more and more lately it's coming up in articles, etc. This morning I was asked to aid someone in test driving their account also. Nice to know I'm not the only one who didn't pay any attention to it.

At any rate, fair denizens of zee internet, I shall put forth the question to thee:
You on Twitter?

http://twitter.com/giania

If so, hit me up. I've heard this only gets interesting as you add people, which makes sense since it sort of relies on little blurbs of user-generated content to keep you entertained.

My phone isn't on there because fuck that noise. If anybody can give me a good reason to add my phone I will.

This Words To Know is being brought to you today by “why the hell not?” and also by “not formatted anything like the other ones”. Now with 99% less Wikipedia and 100% more link mouseover info. This makes it sort of revolutionary among its brethren, and also somewhat of a jerk.

First thing's first. With the recent pet food scare, and me owning a kitty of which I have yet to take pictures, I decided it was time to find out what kitty ought to be eating. There were a lot of resources out there, but the best has to be this recipe for a “raw food” catfood. More on how that works out later.

One of the suggested ingredients in there is a whole rabbit (minus skin and fur of course). That's not a euphamism for kibble, either. That's the real deal, 1 whole Peter Cottontail, 1 whole Benjamin Bunny, 1 whole hexen hase[2]. I myself am going to settle for the chicken option, it's a lot more accessible and ultimately much more afforadable.

That's just one of several things I've managed to suss up lately. I've gotten into a lot of bizzare philosophical debates on IRC lately, and one of the most recent involved average IQ. (Intelligence has been on my mind a lot lately, particularly the calling into question of my own. Which is a patently ridiculous scenario, I realize.) Of course, show me a person with a truly average IQ and I'll probably be so stricken by the unlikelihood of it all that I'll spontaneously develop bizzare psychic powers to not be outdone in the oddity department.

Speaking of the oddity department, and discoveries, I've decided that I'm intensely enamored of the whole “Gothic Lolita” fashion style. The lovely Annalee over at ToM pointed out the store site for Baby, The Stars Shine Bright. I spent a while browsing there and then struck out on my own, looking for more super-fun visual styles in that vein. It is of course by no means practical, but it's so enjoyably artful that I can't help but be fascinated by it.

This leads to my last little bit, which like most of the rest of this post will be less of an proper WTK and more of a personal aside. At some point while gushing over how adorable a bunch of cosplayers were I quipped something to the effect of “quick, everybody gimme me money so I can buy a Suiseiseki costume!” However, my attempt to be funny went slightly off-center with someone and I wound up being donated $15 through PayPal. …so now I intend to hold that money aside and put it towards buying real hosting for my site as I mentioned wanting to months ago. I guess I am willing to take other donations but I'm not really all that keen on the idea since it feels sort of absurd to take handouts for something as simple as hosting. What I will accept with open arms are suggestions on a low-cost, stable hosting solution that will support wordpress.