Saturday 28 April 2012

Pirates of the Digital Era

These days, I would call anyone out as a liar if they told me that they'd never received or downloaded digital content that had been taken from the internet illegally.

Am I one of the guilty? Yes

Am I proud of it? No

So why do I do it then?

Because I believe that we've all become a bit spoilt with technology and content lately - we want it, and we want it NOW. I don't want to wait every Tuesday to see what happens next in my favourite TV show knowing that the same show is already two whole seasons ahead overseas.

If I can't see film and television at the same time as everyone else around the world at home or in the theatre, then I at least want to have the option of seeing the same content on demand so that I can catch up and be up to date.
Most of the major broadcasting companies have "on demand" or "catch up" options on their official websites, and I know that these are free to stream....

Free to stream if you live in the country of origin otherwise you get the "this content is currently unavailable in your country"

How is that fair?

I can understand the reasons why I can't stream the content for free - money hasn't exchanged hands between the broadcasters who want the show here and the broadcasters who own the show there.

And that can take months - sometimes even years.

And this is where my issue is at...... where is my option to beat the slow-ass broadcasters in my country and pay a small fee to watch international content where I want and when I want.

YES, I DID JUST SAY I WOULD PAY FOR CONTENT SO LONG AS IT'S ON DEMAND.

However, there doesn't appear to any such option, which is a shame because someone will then miss out on a pay day if I choose the OTHER option.

So at the end of my tether, the only option (other than waiting for it to eventually air - and by that time it's become less current) is to either find a copy to download or find someone who already has.

The above is using television as an example. When It comes to film most of the blockbusters share a worldwide release date which is awesome. I'm there on opening night, I pay my $17 for my ticket and $23 for my medium popcorn ( the price of which are a different story ).

But what about the films that aren't blockbusters, what about the b grades or even the one that have been banned from even screening here. Shouldn't I be able to make the decision of what is OK for me to view?

Well there is one way of seeing those films where and when I want......

Music? one of those things that has had better treatment via the internet. I Tunes has it pretty well covered, as far as I'm concerned there really isn't any good excuse for music downloads other than the price per download, which in my opinion is not too bad anyway. I'm still a CD shopper however - music is better with lyrics and artwork / photos and you just don't get that with downloads.
I've heard it said before that the artists complaining about their music being downloaded illegally are the ones that really don't need that extra income, the ones that already have five mansions and garages full of expensive cars. I can agree with that statement to an extent, but I'm sure that anyone would be annoyed if someone was ripping them off regardless of how much they were already earning.

So in short - If the option is there, price and availability are reasonable and fair and the content is of good quality it seems as though there are enough people who are willing to pay but just don't have the options.

It's time to change don't you agree?

The debate will continue...


Take care and remember: Oil and water don't mix

Sam1982

Saturday 21 April 2012

Accountability?

This little gem has been floating around the news headlines for a few days now here in little old NZ, and quite frankly it pisses me the hell off!

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10800154

I agree, coke and other such beverages should come with warnings. You know those cans that come in bulk cartons and they all say "not for individual sale" across the top - they should instead read: " Not for idiot consumption ". I mean really? to say that this woman had an addiction and to blame Coke for her death is an absolute cop out.
Coke, one of the biggest (if not THE biggest) cola companies in the world - and why? because people drink coke every day all around the world.

And guess what?

They don't die, why? because most people have self control and know when enough is enough. It's time to take accountability for our own actions people - over indulging in anything is going to kill and for those of us who don't understand that need to open up the dictionary and learn the definition of moderation.

And while I think it's sad that this woman has passed away, surely if not for her friend and family stepping in, her body itself would have at least given her a little bit of warning that she was damaging herself.

And as for this little ditty



What kind of "fair test" is this? put an egg in a glass of coke ( cool coke bottle by the way ) and leave it for 365 days.......that's pretty much a whole year or 52 weeks there abouts. 

And imagine what it does to your teeth? ( he says sarcastically ) it turns the egg into a bouncy ball and turns the shell into a sooty mess. Seriously! who in their right mind is going to hold a mouth full of coke for a year, forget the damage that it'll do for your teeth, how infected and stanky would your whole mouth get?

And lets not forget that vinegar does the same thing in less time..




That's right, think twice before you reach for that Balsamic salad dressing.


Just quit with the whining already and take a look in the mirror

Its not McDonalds fault you're fat
Its not Marilyn Mansons fault your kids a freak

And it's not Cokes fault you can't reach for the tap and get your 8 glasses of water a day resulting in your eventual death.

Blame Pepsi instead

Take care of yourself - and remember: Fuzzy wuzzy was a bear, fuzzy wuzzy had no hair so fuzzy wuzzy wasn't fuzzy was he?

Sam1982





Friday 20 April 2012

Storemen Talk: Volume One - I think I've seen you before


I welcome myself back here to blog-o-sphere a little longer than a two year hiatus. I did have a couple of blogs that I posted upon back in 2009 which I had to put on hold for no other reason other than the fact that I left a dead end 8-5 office job (To which I spent most of my time there surfing the net) in favour of picking up a myriad of fork hoist licences and moving forward into joining one of the elitest of the elite warehousing teams in the greater Auckland area.

So between 2009 and now I've picked up a little bit of experience, I can actually drive some pretty kick-ass machines and the physical nature of the job has had it's benefits to my health and fitness.

But what about feeding the mind you ask? (really you do)

Well......

Throw a group of men from varying cultures together in a room with no windows and you can bet your bottom dollar that the conversations that we come up with can delve from gentlemanly conversation one moment to the absolutely absurd the next.
Regardless the conversations never fail to be both entertaining and educational (to a degree), so I figure - Hey why not turn these conversations into blogging gold?

Today, the topic of conversation comes all the way from Egypt .As the story goes from the radio broadcast: An Egyptian man decides to waltz into an internet cafe in a bid to find a "quiet place" to log on to the net and enjoy the sights and sounds of the very vice that has taken the internet by storm - That's right you guessed it, PORN.

I know what you're thinking - who in their right mind would go to an internet cafe to do something reserved for what others may consider a more intimate affair. But I guess that it was his "first time".......ehem yeah right....So any abnormal behavioural patterns can be forgiven.

So anyway.... as it turns out, midway through his Uncle Doug he realises that the actress on screen that is indulging in the humpty dumpty with a generic beard - Is his wife of 16 years. What are the chances?

It is then said that the man collapses to the floor from shock - here's hoping he collapsed gracefully and with a little bit of dignity.
He then races home to confront his wife who (obviously) denies his accusations until he shows the video to her himself - I can only assume that he did this via a home computer, which adds to the confusion over why he would choose an internet cafe for a public fapping.

Feeling cornered his wife confesses to starring in the adult video.......as well as 11 other films WOWEE!!
She explains that the Egyptian Stallion in the video is her ex-boyfriend and they are still involved in an active relationship.
The Egyptian man claims that he had no clue up until that point and as far as he was concerned they were both happy.

To my knowledge that's where the story ends.

Left in awe, we merry men of the Warehouse were left pondering the conclusion. Putting ourselves in the same position as the unfortunate Egyptian man. What would you do? how would you react?

The obvious scenario is that the relationship ends, they split their investments in half and go their separate ways, and while some of us considered the possibility of an instant free hall pass to go off and do "whatever is good for the goose is good for the gander", I comprehended the situation in a slightly different manner:

I find that when you are seemingly content in your relationship it is best not to go looking for snakes (no pun intended) for you will find them. Its pretty clear that this man in question left the comforts of his home to take a risk in public so that he could give in to his perversions. He frantically types his keywords into the search engine and eagerly awaits his fantasy to appear on screen.

And Guess what? the thing that he was looking for was at home all along.

Sure, she was cheating but it begs the question that if you're happy, would you want to know? if you were happy would you want to want to light that fuse that would change everything you knew for the last 16 years in an instant?

Its a cruel world out there kids!

Take care of yourself - and remember: I before E except after C