DVDs

i saw this funny advert the other day:



i hate renting movies and having to watch previews or anti-piracy crap. i will never buy a DVD that has that crap on it. i don't understand why people accept this on the DVDs that they buy.

so anyway. if you make a "back-up" of one of your DVDs, you can remove all of this stuff. all you need is a computer with a DVD burner, and some blank DVD-R discs. you can buy software, download pirated copies of commercial pirating software (i love the irony), or just use free software.

there's a short guide here at the RipIt4Me site of how to do this for free.

i really don't understand the way the RIAA, MPAA, and USA thinks that things work. in an effort to protect their business models, they CREATE scofflaws. people don't want to be restricted in how they use the MP3s that they purchase online, so rather than buy from iTunes, they download illegally. people don't want stupid adverts on their DVDs, and so they learn how to remove them, and then realize how easy it would be to copy and pirate rented movies. people want to smoke pot, gamble online, etc., but because of the USA, they are driven to do so through unregulated channels, and in the process lose respect for the regulations of the US.

shocking

last night i shocked the crap out of myself.

the buzzer on my apartment door wasn't working correctly, so i climbed up onto my kitchen counter, unscrewed the wall cover and started poking around. the problem was a loose wire.

simple enough. all i had to do was reinsert the wire and then screw the holding clamp back down onto it. the head of my screwdriver was too big though, so i grabbed a kitchen knife and set to work.

everything was going perfectly until i shocked the crap out of myself.

i was painfully balanced on the counter with my old-man knees when the 220 volts of electricity surged through me, and then painfully hit the floor with my ass, at which time i painfully hit my head against the wall, and then twitched a little bit as the feeling gradually returned to the right side of my body and chest. that feeling, in case you wonder, happened to also consist mostly of pain.

so yeah. it was what i might describe as a painful experience for which i won't immediately be circling back through the turnstiles to stand in line for again.

the first thing that came out of my mouth though was nervous laughter (shortly followed by a *little* cursing).

my ass-bone still hurts and i have a lump on the back of my head. on the bright side, my buzzer works (so when the delivery guy from Lindo Jardin is at my door, I'll know), AND hopefully the electricity shorted out any electronic microchips that the f'ing gov'ment might have inserted into my body.

all in all, it was a success.