JKane

Writing out how to protect and secure your laptops reminded me that I wanted to tell everybody that not all is doom and gloom when it comes to our digital rights. Years ago, a bunch of very old men--without even the understanding of the Internet as 'a series of tubes' did what they were told to do by their bosses, i.e. their benefactors at pretty much all corporations involved in media production/distribution (plus some others). Unfortunately these men were in the US Congress and what they did is known as the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. It was YET ANOTHER horrible law known by an acronym starting with D signed into law by the beloved President Clinton. DMCA pretty much ended the 'fair use' doctrine many continued to think applied and as technology advanced it became more and more onerous. Making a digital copy of *music you bought* so you can play it anywhere? Technically illegal. Getting past copy protection on that music or video game you bought SO THAT IT WILL NOT DAMAGE YOUR COMPUTER? Absolutely illegal! Decrypting the laughably bad protection on a DVD so you can watch it on a computer running Linux, your cell phone, or from a file you can keep on your computer instead of carrying around the disk? By Jack Valenti's rotting corpse you're going to jail! Well, NOT ANYMORE!!! You may have heard something about how you may now 'jailbreak' your iPhone. You always could, of course--to get by Apple's endless restrictions on what you could or couldn't do, and their controls on who could sell or even GIVE you software to run on YOUR PHONE, just now you can't go to jail for it! Though Apple may still void your warranty and deny you future software updates... More interestingly, you can also go beyond that and UNLOCK your phone from the carrier you bought it from. Now, with the iPhone on AT&T it is a somewhat Pyrrhic victory as T-Mobile's network is no gem plus *just* different enough to not work at 3G speed for DATA and Verizon's network (as well as Sprint's, I believe) is entirely different technology. If you travel it may be of use though--you might be able to get a SIM from a local 3G provider that will provide much cheaper calling and data overseas. Even on AT&T you could often ask for this unlocking for that specific purpose on their other phones--but they wouldn't do it on the iPhone. The legal right to decrypt DVDs YOU OWN for non-commercial private use isn't quite established as 100% legal, but it seems it's a lot less illegal than it was (yet doing the same with Blu-Ray is still apparently illegal!). There's a couple other exceptions added that're more interesting to geeks like me, but one specifically speaks to some BULLSHIT that just cropped up recently. Amazon figured a nice feature to give the Kindle would be the ability to read a book to you in a simple computer voice. Many publishers balked at this, forced the feature removed from smaller company's e-readers, and tried to bully Amazon into disabling it because they felt the audiobook rights were being violated (even though there's a night a day difference between a Stephen Hawking-ish voice stumbling over the goofy words in Harry Potter and a celebrity, actor, or author actually reading it to you...). The deaf and many others took great exception to the publisher's assertions, of course. And now, it is now 100% legal for any eBook to be read aloud, even if you have to crack the DRM (encryption) of an eBook you bought to do it. My god I love the Electronic Frontier Foundation! I have *got* to get around to donating to them, like I've meant to for so long! I also intend to have them in my will.

Another important point on computer security/privacy is that US Customs (and that of some other countries) has the right to search your computer and other devices, without cause, as I understand it now. This kind of thing may be especially targeted at men coming back from certain Asian countries, anywhere that underage sex tourism might be happening. So keep in mind that you may not want to travel with your porn collection on your laptop and that pictures of perfectly 'legal' guys on your camera or phone from your vacation may cause some hassle as you won't have proof of their age with you. Better safe than spending 24-48 hours in limbo (or worse) as you try to get back home. BUT, as I understand it, (Lucky might have more insight here), they may NOT compel you to give your password. So it is a very good idea (also in case of theft!) to have a strong password on your login account(s) (if you hate typing it in each time get one with a fingerprint scanner built in, it's a very common feature now). You should also go into the BIOS and make sure it's set to boot from the hard drive *first* and that the BIOS is password protected for changes. (Booting off an external drive /USB key and copying everything is a common tactic; or if stolen this change makes your laptop pretty worthless to the thief--so a 'reward for return to' sticker might actually get it back to you.) Just be sure YOU remember this password, as you'll need it if you ever need to repair/re-install the OS. If you're really paranoid or have to have critical personal/work info on your laptop there are also options to encrypt the hard drive either built into many laptop's BIOS (if it has a fingerprint scanner it's likely an additional feature) or built into the higher-end versions of Windows (Pro and Ultimate). Be careful with encryption though--if you do it wrong you may never be able to access that data again! And finally, BACKUP your laptop before travel (before playing with encryption too!). Again, FOR FREE, there is a great option built into Windows; Windows 7 especially: you simply plug in an external drive formatted NTFS (formatting as NTFS is smart thing to do with any new drive regardless), and tell it to make a backup. (I think it even asks if you'd like to!) Takes maybe 20 minutes and you're set. Do this on your main computer ever couple weeks too! But be sure to store that drive someplace SAFE, as it would be easier for somebody else to get to your files on it than on your laptop if you followed the suggestions above!

Even $40 isn't an excuse! Microsoft now has a very good antivirus product they offer for free! It's called Microsoft Security Essentials, I'm using it and have read several favorable reviews: it ranks among the top of the free products and is very competitive with the expensive ones--without all the unnecessary (IF you exercise a little bit of caution online!) bloat that often comes with 'suites' from Symantec or McAfee. So I highly recommend MS Security Essentials as well as keeping your PC up to date with the the latest service pack and other updates through Windows Update. All free! As for pornsites and their 'leavings', I always use 'Private Browsing' (Firefox) or 'InPrivate' (Internet Explorer) if I go anywhere near that kind of thing (even my 'hobby' email address) at work. At home I have a separate login on my computer for that kind of stuff (preferably an account without administrative privilege). It's actually what I spend most of my time logged into (first step is admitting you have a problem...), but if anybody were to use my computer under the 'normal' account they'd have no access to anything naughty I've done, nor would anything that compromises my porn/escort browsing login have easy access to where I do my online billpay and keep various financial records/etc.

I chose to think it was answered, for the reasons mentioned above... But now that more have seen it and are participating, anybody else have opinions on it? I'd like to see it again on an Imax screen, maybe this weekend.

And you feel it's *good* we allowed genocide in Bosnia and Rwanda, then gave in to brutal warloards raping their country to pieces in Somalia? Because it saved some tax dollars? I mean sure, between those three millions of people died, but they didn't have oil so fuck 'em! Of course we'll also allow Somalia to continue developing into what Afghanistan became under Clinton: the breeding ground for world wild terrorism; and since we can never learn from our mistakes we'll only try to do something about it after they kill thousands of Americans (or at least get really close to pulling it off...).

Afghanistan allowed to develop into the mess that spawned 9/11 and the tech bubble allowed to grow then burst plunging the economy back down much of any gains...

Yep, that sounds like the bad beat I watched, don't think I'd ever seen anything quite that high lose before. No, I just visit relatives in Texas once or twice a year and usually get dragged up there. Have watched it triple in size these last couple years. Usually try to play a tournament but if I miss it 2-5 or a bit higher sounds right.

I don't get how gays can idolize the Clintons or think Hillary would do better by them! These are the people that brought us DADT *and* DOMA. Could've vetoed either, in fact with DADT they let congress legislate what had been a presidential prerogative so no future President could just 'desegregate' again. Instead they gave both hearty bi-partisan support. But hey, at the time it helped them hold onto some power, and that's all that is important. Especially when they went on to use that power to... wait, what did they actually accomplish? My memory is of an administration on the floor curled up into a ball crying 'not in the face' at the Republican leadership, their pets like Ken Star, and the Fox echo chamber for the last several years. Backing down to cries of 'wag the dog' when it was clearly time to go after Bin Laden and Afghanistan because he couldn't have kept it in his fucking pants.

And you're getting a much higher dose of nicotine per cigar than cigarettes. Yet you're not getting the added chemicals and you're generally not inhaling smoke into your lungs, which combined with the frequency lessens the medial impact greatly.

Yep, several times. Was even at a table that would've hit a pretty good bad beat jackpot (forget what you had to lose with), if only it hadn't been a tournament game.

I visited Austin an loved it, also San Antonio is nearby, right? Used to be home to several 'star' escorts. Not sure they qualify as 'North Texas' though. FourAces, you spending any time at the Winstar Indian Casino? Do they even have any high stakes games?

I like a cigar, may once every week or so. Never sure I'm right when I automatically answer no, I'm not a smoker. Not a big fan of getting together with guys that smoke, but it's pretty unavoidable and there are worse smells!

I almost had a bad one this weekend, somebody from Craigslist actually tried to hustle me, little shit was so young he probably thought he was the first to think of it! Real rarity for LA CL, especially outside of Hollywood. So it was a guy in my area, which is unusual, so I kind of automatically want to give him a try and see if I can find a regular who's quick and easy to get together with. I opened his post in a new tab, replied via email, by the time I had (which was very quick after it'd been posted) he'd been flagged and the email bounced (damn you, CL!), luckily (well, not as it turns out I guess) I still had the page open, so I texted him. Young guy (19), good stats, never saw a picture. But he's in my area so... I ask how much for his time, he says it depends if I want to get sucked, massaged or fuck. I explain that agreeing to exchange sex acts for money is illegal and was only interested in paying for his time. He says $200. I say that's a bit higher than I expected (usually in this situation a guy looking to make a little extra on the side is great with $100-$150), but that I would consider it if we'd have a nice relaxed time and he'd stay for 90 minutes to 2 hours or so. I really would've done well to end it right there, but didn't... Listen to your gut and BIG head is always the moral of these tales! I give him directions, shower then run to the bank (he'd asked me to call when I was done, said he'd head over then). Before I get back he's already at my gate, texting me, calling from the call box and calling me direct (all at nearly the same time, crashed my POS phone!) but eventually a call got through from the gate--in a woman's voice (or child's) asking if I'd let her in. I say no, then he calls out in the background so I hit the code, figuring somebody else is also standing at or blocking the gate. I pull up, there's a woman driving the car, he waves from the passenger seat. Gets out to talk to me. Is kinda cute, in the young just out of HS way, acne, probably could've been fun but nothing special. Slim body, can't tell muscle tone. He asks if we can get the business out of the way up front, so he can leave the cash with 'his associate' who'll wait while we go have fun. It's at least 95 degrees out and their car obviously doesn't have A/C, by the way. So I'm just sure the plan is for her to sit patiently for 2 hours! I say this is a first for me--a guy has never once shown up with a PIMP and there's no way in hell I'm interested. (Knowing full well his game plan is something like after 20 minutes he needs more money or can't perform and that ends our '90-120 minute relaxed session'). They do leave without incident, he says something about wasting his time, I say I've done this probably a hundred times and nobody's ever brought a pimp AND that nobody who was any good has ever demanded to be paid up front. Thank god I had the experience to know right away to get the hell out. Also a great reason to not give people my unit number and instead meet them in the parking lot!

I like silicone-based, a little hard to wash off maybe but it doesn't dry out in ten minutes either. Originally Eros, but am now a fan of Swiss Navy just because their bottles are so much more convenient.

And I 100% agree with you! I'm annoyed by Craigslist's actions, had hopped they'd stand up to the fucking Puritans... though they were probably facing some real liability for something they weren't profiting from. In the end it comes down to getting laid or taking some vague, un-noticed stand against the changes. Easy choice. On CL, the Adult section under 'gigs' has some potential, but haven't checked on the fees for posting. As for another potential site, I've been keeping my eye on BackPage, they even have a male escorts category! In LA I haven't seen much yet, other than some of the guys that overposted so much on CL I'd never hire them. But there is some tiny bit of hope.

People say that every couple months and have for the whole history of Craigslist. It's all about using the same caution you'd use on the street (and should use on Rentboy). Don't agree to exchange sexual acts for money. Don't pay up front. Don't discuss anything risky until you've done something a cop's not likely to do (long french kiss, mouth on cock, etc...). Probably safer for them to come to your place (law-enforcement wise). IF you go to them in a motel/hotel and they want $200 up front to fuck you/be fucked you are either about be busted or about to waste $200 on a crappy experience. That said, CL has been working against us. Openly solicitous ads get flagged quickly in busy cities, some will get you locked out and require verification to re-establish. But with a little practice there's still plenty of fun to be had.

Angle's the best gift Reid could hope for and by the end she will hopefully have done a lot to discredit all tea-baggers in the minds of voters. Somebody had to have paid Greene's filing fee. But the right-wingers are crafty at getting around campaign finance law, probably gave him cash. Wonder how much more than the filing fee they gave him... And whether they spread it out enough or he kept it out of accounts enough for him to not eventually wind up in trouble with the IRS or somebody. Still, whatever they did, it's those local Dem's fault entirely they got away with it. I know from experience that even state and county Democratic officials don't pay any attention whatsoever to solidly 'red' districts. So while they were looking the other way some clown sneaks up behind them with a pie.

To be clear, Obama is providing the same level of funding, PLUS 366 million; this article is complaining that in this economy he's only added 366m instead of 1 billion (per year) once mentioned during the campaign. I'm sure 5 other headlines on CNN that day were about the deficit and out of control governmental spending. How in the world would another 1 Billion/year for AIDS in Africa make it past the minority party? His even trying would give them a bat to bludgeon him with in the eyes of 'the average voter'. Especially with the powers-that-be in the Republican party's penchant for race-baiting. Others know far more than I about the fight against AIDS around the world. But it is my belief that while Bush apparently did do a a lot for certain kinds of AIDS funding we need to remember that half the times he went out of his way to praise and advocate an initiative he gutted the funding for it in the very next budget. And that his administration went out of their way to prevent distribution of and education involving condoms, often replacing government aid programs with 'faith based' ones run by religious ideologues. I have no specific knowledge, but I wouldn't be surprised if the effect of Bush's leadership in Africa was a net negative. More people living longer with less symptoms thanks to increased access to medications (which is good of course), but *combined* with less education or access to condoms... The question is, what will the rate of infection do these next couple years?

I'm not sure whether or not Howard Dean lived up to my hopes or not, at least the DNC under him helped defeat McCain, but whoever the hell it is that's replaced him as DNC chair doesn't seem to have done jack shit. Maybe the new DNC chair is the Ficus potted plant Michael Moore once tried to run for office? May as well be! It's like he doesn't want to do anything at all in case it risks drawing the kind of attention Michale Steele gets. I never supported Hillary in part because I didn't think she (or Bill for that matter) really believed in anything other than their ambitions. The second part was because a huge target would be painted on the White House for all the Ken Stars of the world and the Fox talking head echo chamber, allowing them to create so much distraction nothing would get done (assuming anything much was even tried). Just too much baggage on Clinton's part and bile on the other. Given last week's bullshit, tea baggers in general, and all the obstruction to Obama (even though many believe what he's tried to accomplish is mild)... what if I was right and Hillary would've had it even worse? Would DC be a cratered wasteland by now?

Variety, location, specificity. I can post what I'm looking for and where I'm at and guys find me. LA's a pretty big area, almost all the escorts are in WLA or (West/)Hollywood. I don't always want to go there and they often don't want to come to me. Occasionally guys respond to my post because they're interested in doing what I've described and are happy to do it just for the fun of it, being paid doesn't enter their minds. And those that do get paid are often also in it for the fun too. A couple I've hired off CL have cum just from riding my cock, which is a great indicator of their participation you often don't see with 'escorts'. Guys (just) from Rentboy it's often only a transaction for, and guys from here (or the other review site) are often not available spur of the moment. I'm not a big fan of planning to be horny next Thursday! Especially when I'm horny NOW! Then there's price, often guys are happy with $100-$150. When I pay $200 it's usually a guy that stays several hours, gives me a massage and we have fun again (have had several regulars perfectly happy with that arrangement). Am I taking advantage? I know I can't afford to hire several times a month for $300/pop from Rentboy--especially for a mediocre 30-40 minute 'hour'. I also prefer guys looking to make a little extra cash to those doing it as their profession, even if I sacrifice the perfect 'WeHo clone' body for it. Yet there ARE dangers, particularly compared to sticking with a well-reviewed escort. But I've never had a serious problem and it's a lot safer than cruising Santa Monica BLVD for the almost nothing there. Why would anybody do *that* you ask? Well, when I'm in the area and horny *NOW* the big head doesn't get to do all the thinking. That can be a very dangerous situation no matter where you are or who you're with, but sometimes I can't help myself.

Sadly with Jon Stewart on vacation (as he ALWAYS manages to be when stuff like this breaks) that . She did a pretty good job too!

An Apple computer, maybe. If they have a version of VLC. Even better, bootcamp into Win7 and do whatever the fuck you want. But then why spend so much more on an Apple in the first place? BUT he's talking about Apple TV, which is a proprietary (even more so than usual for Apple) device that's basically an iTunes linked (or slaved may be more accurate) media player. There are some ways around it though, but many other products that can do more are out or coming. Both the Xbox 360 and PS3 have as good or better streaming and playback from PC, but each also have some proprietary limitations of their own. By the way, the yellow, white and red plugs are the lowest quality video you can get and look especially bad on an HDTV. Better to use one of the DVI ports on your graphics card and an adapter or cable that makes it HDMI. Some PCs now even have HDMI outs directly.

Which is a great reason support net neutrality! Unfortunately the courts seem to keep cock-blocking the FCC--the one time recently they've tried to do something good. There will come a point where we need to seek out neutral ISPs and support them. Because AT&T and Comcast will make more money capping bandwidth and dropping any traffic they can get away with before the average subscriber notices.

D.C. Douglas Fires Back At FreedomWorks. With all the bullshit this week from the Fox Ideologue Channel and pals it's good to see somebody strike back.

While I've had a passing desire for women a couple times (has never gone well!) I've never had ANY attraction for men pretending to be (or changing into) women. It seems the worst of both worlds to me (and not just physically: attitude, personality, etc.). I don't even get the whole drag/impersonation aspect of gay culture, the 'Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence' are the closest to that I've ever found amusing. Shemales in Hollywood have probably darkened my opinion of the group as a whole as well, overall nasty in every way back when they'd work SMB, beating up and pushing out working guys or latching onto the masculine ones and dragging them down into their endless drama. That said, in my many forays hiring on Craigslist I have experienced two FTM (Female to Male) transsexuals. It was very interesting. Much more fun than the female bodybuilder I tried early on, both were the closest I've come to 'enjoying myself' with a (biological) woman. Neither quite put me over the edge though, but that may've just been because it was such a novel experience for me. I'd love to see the first again (actually slightly more feminine of the two). So I'd vote Buck, except he's a bit older than I'd hire. I bet Kimber was a stunning twink once.