Controlled No More

For too long, I have been out to sea without a sail nor a rudder.
I have been at the mercy of the ocean and Davy Jones.
Having no choice of destination, doing the will of the sea.
But for no longer.

I grew tired of not being in control.
I fought my way to where I am now.
I have broken the grip that Davy Jones held over me.
I made myself a sail and a rudder.
I am now master of my own will.
I control where I want to go.

~Captain Steak

Framed and shot!

Ok so for my college assignment I had to take some pictures of nature. There happens to be a size that the pictures have to be, but this just took some beauty away from the picture. So I just wanted to post them here for all to see. Enjoy, or it'll be the brig for ya!

~Captain Steak

Been Awhile and Great Song

So this past month or so has been quite hectic and busy. But I have come out better and stronger than ever. Which also brings me to an incredible song by a new band Device. Their debut song is Vilify and the lyrics are quite powerful. Even though Draiman, the lead singer and also of Disturbed fame, has stated this is about our dependency on technology, I thought of other places this could be applied. But anyway, enjoy. Lyrics and video to follow.

~Captain Steak

As You Vilify, Every Single Move That I Make
And Try To Bind Me In Your Insanity
You'll Come To Know
That You Never Had Control From The Onset
Go Find Another Lap Dog, Fucker
Your Need To Clarify
Every Single Word That I Say
Has Left Me Wrestling With Our Disparity
Leave Me Alone
Take Another Wretched Soul On The Hell-Ride
Go Find A More Susceptible Sucker

I Cant Believe This Is Happnening
I Dont Want To Start Over Again
A Stone I Keep Falling Over Again, And Again, And Again

When You Vilify
You Begin To Nullify, Everything That We've Ever Done
You're Fucking With My Head
As You Vilify All I'v Ever Given
I Dont Want To Fall Apart Anymore
I Want To End It Right Now
When You Vilify, I Start To Ponder Every Battle Ever Fought
Every Thought, Imploding In My Head
If You Vilify, Its A Bitter Pill That I Will Force You To Devour
Enough, Why Dont We End It Right Now?

I've Had My Fill, And I Think I've Had Enough.
When You Open Your Mouth, Every Word Incenses Me
Dont Want To Know, Why You Every Waking Moment
Revolves Around, Criticizing Every Part Of Me
Another Bill, The Number Cannot Be Defined
For The Blood And The Soul, That Had To Flow Incessantly
Fuck You All
And Let Every Minute Be A Reminder Of
How You Let It All Come Crashing Down

I Cant Believe This Is Happnening
I Dont Want To Start Over Again
A Stone I Keep Falling Over Again, And Again, And Again

When You Vilify
You Begin To Nullify, Everything That We've Ever Done
You're Fucking With My Head
As You Vilify All I'v Ever Given
I Dont Want To Fall Apart Anymore
I Want To End It Right Now
When You Vilify, I Start To Ponder Every Battle Ever Fought
Every Thought, Imploding In My Head
If You Vilify, Its A Bitter Pill That I Will Force You To Devour
Enough, Why Dont We End It Right Now?

And When Youre Broken, And Bitter Inside
And Reality Sucks, Because You Know I'm Right
All Over Nothing, Unforgiving Inside
Well Does'nt It Suck, Just To Know I'm Right

Never be afraid to be whatever you want

from xkcd

~Captain Steak

American Ride

Toby Keith with his single American Ride:

Winter gettin' colder, summer gettin' warmer
Tidal wave comin' cross the Mexican border
Why buy a gallon, it's cheaper by the barrel
Just don't get busted singin' christmas carols

That's us, that's right
Gotta love this American ride
Both ends of the ozone burnin'
Funny how the world keeps turning
Look ma, no hands
I love...This American Ride
Gotta love this American ride

Momma gets her rocks off watchin' Desperate Housewives
Daddy works his ass off payin' for the good life
Kids on the youtube learnin' how to be cool
Livin' in a cruel world, it pays to be a mean girl

That's us, that's right
Gotta love this American ride
Both ends of the ozone burnin'
Funny how the world keeps turning
Look ma, no hands
I love...This American Ride
Gotta love this American ride

Poor little infa-Miss America's down
She gained five pounds and lost her crown
Quick fix plastic surgical antidote
Got herself a record deal, can't even sing a note

Plasma gettin' bigger, Jesus gettin' smaller
Spill a cup of coffee make a million dollars
Customs got a thug with an aerosol can
If the shoe don't fit...the fits gonna hit the shan

That's us
That's right
Gotta love this American Ride
Both ends of the ozone burnin'
Funny how the world keeps turning
Hot dog...hot damn
I love...this American ride


~Captain Steak <(")

Crapple

Instead of me spewing out my hate for Crapple, I am going to instead link you to this article that sums up Crapple fairly well.

~Captain Steak

R.I.P. Duncan

The world will miss Michael Clarke Duncan. He was an incredible actor with a true gift. He was always a great to fill the role of the big black guy with a warm heart. He will be missed R.I.P. Duncan.


~Captain Steak

Yay Election Season 2012

Warning: Thar be language ahead. Only two more months till the big election of 2012. About 9 months ago was when I got tired of the political bullshit. I for one say that no candidates are of any worth this year. The entire advertising and campaigning has turned into squabbling bullshitting over how much the other candidate sucks. Romney sucks. Obama sucks. Any other candidate probably also sucks. Have I offended you enough that you stopped reading yet? No. Damn, gonna have to try harder. Instead of actually campaigning, we are just gonna throw shit around and make ourselves seem like a god. This is the stance that both parties are taking right now. They both don't deserve the office. They are both scumbag. Sorry, scumbag for insulting you.

Good news everyone.
I now humbly present to you a few of my choices for a write in for this presidential season.

For the White Collar geeks out there:
Neal Caffrey for president and  Burke (Elizabeth, not Peter.) for vice.

For the Royal Pains geeks:
Lawson and Lawson
Hank and Evan, either one for either position
Campaign slogan: "How can we make your country feel better today?"
Slogan suggested by: Becky

For the Castle geeks:
Castle Beckett
not sure who should get the president and vice in this case

For the Stargate geeks:
Samantha Carter for president and Jonathan "Jack" O'neall for vice.

For the American Dad geeks:
Klaus Roger, need I say more?

For the Family Guy geeks:
Griffin Griffin
Stewie for president, Brain for vice

Firefly anyone?
Reynolds for president, Washbourne for vice.

And can't forget Back to the Future.
Doc Brown for president and Marty Mcfly for vice.

What about Dr. Who?
Who Dalek

What about Nintendo geeks?
Bowser for president, Mario for vice

We got Star Wars too.
Vader, Luke Skywalker

And Star Trek too.
Piccard for president and Kirk for vice. and Sec. of State would be Janeway.

And Futurama
Bender as president and Phillip Fry as vice.
Campaign slogan of "Bite my shiny metal ass!"
Slogan suggested by Becky. 

Now these are somewhat not real scenarios for president. Fine be that way. Here are some real write in options for ya.

Bill Nye for president and George Takei for vice
Campaign slogan: "Science!!!! Ohhhh My!!"
Slogan Suggested by Becky

Joss Whedon for president with Nathan Fillion for vice

or if all else fails:
Seth Macfarlane and David Hasselhoff

Any of these candidates would be a much better fit. Also this is still a work in progress. I am working on coming up with more options and campaign slogans. Any ideas will be recognized and added in.


~Captain Steak

RIP Neil Armstrong and Jerry Nelson

Further proof that my generation is aging. Two legends have passed this week. Jerry Nelson was prominent in several Muppet acts and Sesame Street, most famously the Count von Count. Neil Armstrong was one of the first men on the moon and a pioneer in several science industries.

The world will miss you both. RIP.

I am, and ever will be, a white socks, pocket-protector nerdy engineer – born under the law of thermodynamics, steeped in the steam tables, in love with free-flow dynamics, transformed by Laplace, and propelled by compressible flow. ~Neil Armstrong


~Captain Steak

Ahhh Browser Wars

While browsing the web, I came across a great image about the browser wars. But before I get to that image, I am going to first share the original images. First up is the epic battle of Firefox vs. Chrome.

To add to this epic battle, the browsers as kids.

Then comes the last picture, which takes the top image and an edited bottom image.

All in all, great pictures that, to the Captain, depict this battle quite accurately. One thing to point out about Internet Explorer. They are the only browser to come pre-installed on the current number 1 OS of Windows. Yet despite this, can you guess which one opts to invest in TV ads? That's right. Internet Explorer, the number one browser to download Firefox, or Chrome if you insist.

~Captain Steak

Save Our Balls!

This is a follow up article to yesterday's about Bucky Balls. I signed up for their newsletter and this was the image the email had:

The learn more link goes to a new page about how the CPSC is busting our balls and that Bucky Balls is going to "fight hard to keep our products on the market... and our balls in your hands." There is also a video on this page which explains things further out. All in all though, great video with some great truths in it.
Magnets and other "deadly" products are not the problem. Irresponsible people are the problem.
And also, I strongly encourage, as the video suggests, to stick it to the CPSC and buy some balls, or cubes.

~Captain Steak

Bucky Balls

Yes, this is a post all about balls. Big balls, regular balls, gold balls, black balls, purple balls, green balls, pink balls, the list goes on.
If you have not heard of Bucky Balls, is that a comfy rock you have been living under?
In a nut shell, these balls are a rare earth magnet that are marketed as an adult product, or not intended for kids. Despite this fact, kids still play with them. Big surprise there. Since we also live in a society that enjoys placing blame on anything except the actual cause, Bucky Balls is now getting sued. The reason? Irresponsible parents that let their kids play with these balls and then swallow them.
This is the state that the USA is in now. We encourage irresponsibility while also the Government is supposedly protecting our interests.
What is Bucky Balls response to all of this? In a word: Pissed.
If you go here, you can read a press release of theirs.
Also at the top of this page is a great paragraph which I will share here:

You might have heard there's a problem with our products... 

THIS IS NOT TRUE.

A government agency (the Consumer Product Safety Commission) is saying they should be recalled because children occasionally get ahold of them. This is unfair. We market exclusively to adults. We are vigorously defending our right to market these products you love. Let us know how you feel about this: Comment on Facebook; send a tweet; tell your friends; complain loudly; or just buy a set to stick it to the CPSC. Read more here.

End Quote

And go figure, there is a petition to fight the CPSC.
If you go to Bucky Balls site, you can find out even more information about this. Personally, I side with them on this issue. This is a product that is marketed for adults. This is a product that has, I believe, 5 warning labels on the actual package. This is just a great example of why should we watch what our kids do? We don't want to be responsible for shit. Welcome to the USA, here is your summons.

~Captain Steak

You just never know

High school is always a fun time. You meet a whole bunch of people. You get some friends. You lose contact with some people. You just never know what might happen to some people. While browsing through Facebook, I noticed someone shared a link to an EP called Lines. After going to this site, I find out that this EP is done by Jane Marczewski. This a woman that was a couple grades behind me in high school. You just never know what people might do after high school.

Anyway. follow that site and you can download her new EP for free and also tip her some money if you like. Personally, I knew from high school that she had an amazing voice and passion for music. Now that she is slowly breaking out onto the music scene, it is rather incredible to think about. Enough from me, now go listen and download her EP. Captain's orders.

EP Download Site and also her Facebook page

~Captain Steak

Declaration of Internet Freedom

This is exactly what it sounds like. A declaration stating that we have rights and that our interwebz should be free. I was going to explain this out more, but the FreePress.net email I recieved has a email template for sharing. This does a lot better job of detailing it, complete with a link so you can sign it as well. Enjoy.

"Dear Friend,
People in power are making political decisions behind closed doors about how the Internet should operate — and they’re doing this without the involvement of actual Internet users.

The result: bills like SOPA and CISPA that could close down the open Internet and destroy our freedom to connect.

It’s time for us to reclaim the Internet. It’s time to declare our Internet freedom.

Lawmakers around the world must stand with us to protect the open Internet. And Internet users must be involved — from the start — in shaping policies that affect our experience online.

Add your signature to the Declaration of Internet Freedom today. Then tell the world why the open Internet matters to you.
http://act.freepress.net/sign/internetdeclaration/?source=confirmation
"




Captain Steak

The missing link(s)

The Captain has become aware of a need. Many people are searching and searching for items and can never quite find them. These elusive missing link(s) could be hard to find. However, The Captain is here to solve these problems. The Captain has scoured the High Seas of the Internet and found several missing link(s) to share with you. These links are for a variety of purposes. News sites, other awesome blogs, Linux cheats, Geeking out, and on and on. So without further ado, other than this ado, I present to you the missing link(s). If you would like something added to this list, comment or message me, and The Captain will review your choice.

ThinkGeek provides for all your geeky habits. Slashdot is user submitted news links for a broad spectrum of interests but mostly Technology related news. Sourceforge and Freecode are databases of open source software. Sourceforge is for more general systems and Freecode is more specific to just Linux.

Next is Geekologie. This is a general blog written by GW. He may seem a bit off, but he is pretty awesome and shares a ton of interesting articles. And some of the stuff he may do while drunk. Sorry, had to GW. Most of the articles are geeky happenings or just some really cool videos. All in all, really awesome.

For some good geeky laughs, there is xkcd. This is a web comic that is posted three times a week and always provides for a good laugh. Also, watch out for the red spiders.

For even more laughs, Reddit exists. The front page of the Internet has comedy in all forms and is a special place to see. Just visit and enjoy is all I can say.

Another good news site, with some reviews and other stuff, is Tom's Hardware. This is also a network of sites. There are sites for guides on how to do stuff. A site to help find stuff cheap. A site for just general news. Provides some good information.

Another good humor site, as well as information about projects he cares about, check out George Takei. He also has Facebook, Twitter, and Pintrest. Links on his site for those. Tons of great humor. And also just great to see how much he is involved with Allegiance and various other projects. It's ok to be Takei!

Now about open source. For too long people have been paying for software that they don't need to. Enter osalt. Select a catagory then it provides a long list. First are the commercial products, ie the ones you pay for. After this it provides a list of open source alternatives that get the job done for free.

Another good site to know is MakeUseOf. This site provides several cheat sheets and how to guides on a variety of topics, as well as general reviews about techy items and such. They also provide lists and lists of the best software or plugins for different programs. All of which have been reviewed by them. They even have some geek humor out there too. Oh and lots of giveaways.

And then if you are worrying about viruses, worry no more Avast! is here to save the day. They provide free anti-virus for all the OSes out there. There is even an upgrade option to pay for some extras, but the free version does just fine.

Now onto the big one that didn't almost get away. Linux, or more specifically Ubuntu, is a great OS that for some reason people just don't get or have an unnatural fear of. If you are just new to the Linux world, the Captain suggests starting off with Ubuntu.

This is a good basic OS for beginners and the advanced users. There are also several websites that provide some good information about Ubuntu. For a quite thorough guide, there is Ubuntu Guide. Provides specific how to's of various areas of Ubuntu. If you want to keep up with Mark Shuttleworth, the founder of Ubuntu, this is his personal blog. For general happenings and news about Ubuntu, check out OMG! Ubuntu.

Enough about Ubuntu. Maybe you want to try another version of Linux but don't know which one to try. Check out DistroWatch. Name a flavor and they have information about it, as well as links to even more information.

Now you know some stuff about Ubuntu and Linux and you hear you can do things in the terminal window. But you are still confused about the commands. Enter SS64. This is for the bash shell commands, but they also have some other command lists as well.

Too much work, time to have fun. For some good flash games, check out Ninja Kiwi and Game in a Bottle. Both are smaller developers that produce some fantastic games. For a more general site that uploads all sorts of games, there is Armor Games. Search for games done by John, like Achievement Unlocked. Always a good time.

What about listening to musick? Pandora is wonderful Internet radio. You enter a few bands and it plays musick similar to what you entered. You either thumb up or down new songs which then helps Pandora to suggest other musick choices for you. The Captain's Station is where you can find all sorts of musick that I listen too. Too long to list them all.

That about wraps this list up for right now. Again, if you know of anything to be added, comment or message me and I will review the site.

~Captain Steak

The Cola Wars

I am not going to tell you which cola is better, or that this cola is more awesome than that one. Instead, take a look at the most recent ads of Pepsi and Coke. Which company would you rather support?

Seriously though, which of these companies would you rather support? Personally, Coke is a much better choice. One company shows the good things that people surprisingly still do. The other shows how hard you have to work to get their product. Coke's current motto is "Open Happiness". Pepsi's is "where there is pepsi, there is" insert something here. What more could be said?

Captain Steak

Marri Age for all

So, when it comes to certain issues, I have no problem stating my mind. Will it piss people off? Possibly. Does The Captain care? Not a damn bit.
My thoughts on equality: Why the hell are we squabbling over meaningless issues? Marriage should be for any couple that is in love. This could be a man and a man, a man and a woman, or a woman and a woman. As I have seen several people post and say, "What will these protestors look like in 50 some years? What will we remember about them?" For a good reference, just think back when the minorities stood up for equality, mainly the African Americans. Looking back at that whole fiasco, many state that we were idiots for fighting over that for so long. How is this any different? This is after all the Home of the Free, ain't it? Why are we one of the last nations to make this law?
I am in full support of Equal Marriage for All. This article provides an interesting take on the issue that may make you change your mind.
As a final note, consider Clint Eastwood's sentiments on this issue:
"These people who are making a big deal about gay marriage?
I don't give a fuck about who wants to get married to anybody
else! Why not?!
We're making a big deal out of things we shouldn't be making a
deal out of. Just give everybody the chance to have the life
they want."

~Captain Steak

Yay for Geeks!

Saw this and thought I would share. If you are wondering, The Captain does not fit into just one of these molds. The Captain fits into many.

~Captain Steak



Source: BCO

Ubuntu

As many of you may or may not know, I have a huge fondness for Ubuntu. Every six months a new Ubuntu version is released. After each release there is a summit to discuss the next version and the next set of features. Before this summit, people are able to pick the brain of Mark Shuttleworth, founder of Ubuntu. The questions were intriguing, but to my mind this question stood out the most. The answer to it is just more reason to love Ubuntu. Ubuntu is here to build our future. Also, follow the questions link to read the rest of the Q&A session.

~Captain Steak

Q: What do you think about Windows 8? Have you tried it? Do you think that it is a big chance for Ubuntu?

Mark: I admire some of the gutsy choices microsoft are making.
It’s difficult for them, and they are doing some things very well
credit where it is due.
We are not here because we hate anybody else.
We’re here because we have a vision of a future only we can create.
Nobody else is trying to create that – not Microsoft(!), not Google, not Red Hat, not Debian, not Arch
so, it’s up to us to build that future: free, supportable, beautiful
 and your help is much appreciated.


 

Time for some reviews

This past month I have had the pleasure of playing, reading, and watching something that was incredible.
First up is the playing. My fiance has a friend who happens to be a programmer. He recently released his very first game, Omegalodon. Check out the link for the description of the game. My take on the game is that it's a uniquely original concept. The controls are fairly basic and the objective easy. Overall, the game can provide for long hours of enjoyment. If you have not yet played it, why not?

The reading is a trilogy by Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay. The books are incredible reads and very engrossing. After taking a few days to get through the first one, I then finished the last two in a mater of a couple of days. There is action, comedy, tragedy, romance, and the Capitol. The books were nothing short of amazing. If you have not yet read them, why not?

The watching is the movie that is based off of the first book of the above trilogy. Before going into the movie, I read up on some facts about the movie. It had shattered box office records just at the midnight premiere. The movie's opening weekend went on to shatter even more records. The theatre I want to still has it playing on four screens despite having opened over three weeks ago. So is this just hype or is the movie that great?

You don't need to read the book first, but the book does help explain some things in the movie. The movie itself was mind-blowing. I will not go into detail of the movie as I do not want to spoil anything. But the movie is worth every penny. It might be over two hours long, but by the time it's over it feels only like an hour. The movie just draws you in and makes you feel everyone's pain. If you have not yet seen it, why not?

~May the odds be ever in your favor.

~Captain Steak