lornamatic

So it’s almost 3am. Hey, blogging time!

I came across this post by Sree Kotay, former Viewpoint CTO, and it reminded me of those early days when Viewpoint was still MetaStream, and it was all about putting fast and beautiful 3D content on the web. It was all cutting edge, exciting and new…

A big contrast to the reputation the player ultimately got, which is, I think, a little unfair. Read Sree’s comments here, if you want the details.

But anyway. Today I got prompted to install the Viewpoint Media Player upgrade. C’mon, are you kidding me? I haven’t installed that since like, 2001. But AIM installs it, and I finally just got around to trying Triton (no small deal for me, since I’ve been using AIM 2.3 for, oh, a few years now) . There are probably still a few other things that slip it in, too (you can tell who finked you out by looking in the MetaStreamID.ini file).

So as a public service announcement, and because I feel at least a little responsible for that damn installer, here’s the easy way to disable that little turd (mostly) forever.

Step 1. Go here:

Step 2. Change this:

to this:

Step 3. Then, just save the file.

Easy as pie. VWPT can’t launch anymore, because you’ve just reminded it that you never gave it permission to launch in the first place. Worst you’ll ever get is a little EULA prompting you to click OK, which I hope you can figure out how to take care of on your own.

You know that scene in the Wizard of Oz, where suddenly the world is in COLOR, and nothing will ever be the same again, not even after it goes back to black and white? Some day, I’ll write about what it was like, that day when the internet stopped being all text, and pictures started filtering through. That day, I found out there were flowers in Baghdad, of course there were, just like anywhere else in the world, and I sat at my desk and cried.

Over the past year, the same thing has happened for video, regular people taking video and uploading it. Regular people, like the ones who live in Lebanon, or Israel.

I’ve been looking for regular people’s video documentation of the conflict in the Middle East on Youtube. I’ve not found anything from Beiruit or Lebanon so far, but I suspect this will change fast.

For now, here is one person’s view from Haifa, Israel, where the air raid sirens have been blaring. War sucks.

One of my very favorite places in all of Los Angeles is the Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Refuge. It’s just a beautiful example of how to create a community park and an oasis for wildlife, right in the middle of a city.

They’re talking about building a freeway connector, to help ease traffic at the 101/405 interchage.

They’re talking about building the freeway connector through Sepulveda Basin.

Of course, they might not. It’s just one of five options.

But what I can’t get my head around is this: they MIGHT.

If you’ve never been, now’s probably a good time.

Here’s the rest of the story.

Dear Internet,

I just wanted to drop you a little note to say thanks for always being there for me. Just when I thought I was alone in the world, I found out I’m not the only one. Once again, you came through for me.

I know, they’re painted bright yellow, and extremely slow moving, with enough federally mandated space around them to build a house or two.

Yes, it was broad daylight, in the middle of the afternoon. No, alcohol was not involved. Yes, you’d think I’d have seen it coming from 50 yards away. No, somehow I didn’t. And the bruise, my goodness, the colors, the shape of the lump. It would almost be aesthetically pleasing, if only it so totally weren’t. And if it were the kind of thing to involve insurance, I do believe I would incur 100% of the blame in this accident.

Anyway, Internet, although there may be only 47 or so other people in the entire world that have done this, thanks for making sure I know it’s not just me.

Love,
Lorna

Update:PDF of the clemency decision here:
http://www.governor.ca.gov/govsite/pdf/press_release_2005/Williams_Clemency_Decision.pdf.

Excerpt (links added):

The dedication of Williams’ book “Life in Prison” casts significant doubt on his personal redemption. This book was published in 1998, several years after Williams’ claimed redemptive experience. Specifically, the book is dedicated to “Nelson Mandela, Angela Davis, Malcolm X, Assata Shakur, Geronimo Ji Jaga
Pratt, Ramona Africa, John Africa, Leonard Peltier, Dhoruba Al-Mujahid, George
Jackson, Mumia Abu-Jamal, and the countless other men, women, and youths who have to endure the hellish oppression of living behind bars.” The mix of individuals on this list is curious. Most have violent pasts and some have been convicted of committing heinous murders, including the killing of law enforcement.

But the inclusion of George Jackson on this list defies reason and is a significant indicator that Williams is not reformed and that he still sees violence and lawlessness as a legitimate means to address societal problems.

Right. Guilt by association. I can’t possibly argue with that kind of logic.

Gov. Schwarzenegger is contemplating clemency for Stan Williams. Stan Williams has been nominated for the Nobel peace prize five times, for his work on reducing gang violence and helping keep kids away from gangs. He’s also a convicted killer, who is scheduled to die on Monday.

I believe that he has a great deal to offer, particularly with his work to connect with at-risk kids and keep them from making the same mistakes as he has.

I’m really hoping for clemency. I signed an online petition to the Governor. You may or may not agree with my views on this, and you can feel free to let me know, but my conscience demands that I post this.

It’s a story we should all be aware of and I hope you will want to learn a little more about it.

Stan Williams bio:
http://www.savetookie.org/bio.html

The petition sent to the Governor’s office is at:
http://www.cm-p.com/pdf/executiveclemency.pdf
(Launches Acrobat)

The online petition I signed is at:
http://www.petitionthem.com/?sect=detail&pet=2240

(Currently at ~41K, they are looking for 100K.)