A Plethora of Palabras

Wow. This will be a busy post. I have a lot to say.

First, this YouTube Video has me highly stressed. I've got a very low opinions of all politicians, but is this little clip (verified, thanks) a racist rant from Hillary Clinton? It's her but is what she saying racist? Interesting thing to wonder about. I have to wonder why you'd repeatedly point out why you're white thus drawing attention to the fact your opponent is black. I hereby officially throw my hat in the Obama ring -- my first public statement of support for any candidate (none of whom I am overly thrilled with). This hat contingent upon whatever fool he picks as VP.

Second, the evil empire, AKA Microsoft, has come public about COFEE. Yeah, the same company that sells many of you guys your operating system software and recommends and installs all sorts of security updates has given an all-access pass to your local law-enforcement agency. No joke. This is just absurd. And if there's such a simple back-door to get around your operating system protections, how long for the terrorists to figure it out? The USB thumb drive contains 150 Microsoft programmed special commands to allow the user to decrypt passwords, recover all of the computer's data stores, and read a complete log of the computer's Internet activities. It works on-site with any Windows-loaded computer, including PDAs. That means not only your desktop but your mobile device too. I'm glad I'm not using their programs -- the question is why are you?

3. Jesus Made Me Puke is the title of a Rolling Stone article. David Higgins gets credit on this. While I subscribe to Rolling Stone, I hadn't yet read this issue. Why should you read it? You want to know what evangelicals do behind closed doors? Actually, you probably don't want to know. But you should. You might just lose a little sleep at night after reading this.

4. Tina Turner is coming out of retirement. She'll be here November 2nd and I'm excited. I've put in for the ticket lottery and hope to score some. The tickets go on sale Monday. Oh PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE. I wish the International Tina Turner Fan Club was still around and giving us the good seats. Damn. I love Tina. See my review of her final Florida concert here.

5. Cal Rugby once again dominates the Rugby universe.The California Golden Bears blasted out to a 40-0 half-time lead and never looked back against Brigham Young University, taking the 2008 national collegiate championship, 59-7, this past Saturday at Stanford’s Steuber Rugby Stadium. It was the fifth straight title for the Bears and 24th in the history of the Cal rugby program making them the most dominating team in any Division One college sport.

6. I've got Neil Diamond tickets for 10-26-08, which I am also excited about. Nobody cares but me, but, yes, I love Neil Diamond and am greatly looking forward to his concert. I am going with the Mann family.

7. Last, but not least, a brief review of a quirky book called "The Somnambulist" by Jonathan Barnes. This books is unusual. Very much so. I rather enjoyed it. It's set in London -- the Victorian one. It's got humour of the driest sort, often black at that. It's got adventure. If the title frightens you, this book isn't for you. It's got lots of big $50 words, all used properly and without any effort by the author. It's quite the entertaining piece, and if you're in need of something different, this book is for you. I mostly recommend this to readers who would enjoy light fantasy and light science-fiction. Others will not appreciate its charms.

8. Don't forget to read Little Brother. I'm serious. Read this book.

Vegas Trip Summary

As you know it was a trade show that brought me to Las Vegas on Saturday morning for a stay until Wednesday. The weekend was Greg and Gaby's 15th anniversary, and perversely, they invited me and Austri to spend it with them.

We met up with them around 5pm Saturday for an early dinner at Daniel Boulud's Brasserie at the Wynn. I'll take credit for the pick -- mostly because the menu looked good. Gaby and Greg were sceptical of the place because she isn't a fan of anything French. I had reasonable expectations as did Austri. To sum it up, this was one of the best meals we've ever had. We all agree. In fact, it may be the second best meal I've ever eaten. The food portions were reasonable -- not that art over edibility crap -- and the flavours were distinct yet excitingly blended. The food was succulent, tender, moist, firm, and every other texture all at once. We all shared each others' food (me skipping Gaby's mussels as I don't do shellfish) and they were all excellent beyond measure. The deserts were just as good. Although overpriced like most Las Vegas restaurants, we still came in at just under $100 per person with alcohol included. I cannot recommend this restaurant enough. On a scale of 1 to 10, it's at least a 15 and possibly a 20. Go eat here. Really.

Next up was the Wayne Brady show at the Venetian. It was funny. Good but not great. As an "improv" variety show parts were good and parts weren't. But when something fell flat, he didn't let it go. I wouldn't go back, but I didn't hate it.

Sunday was walk-around day, leaving Greg and Gaby to their devices. Austri went home today because she had work early Monday morning, so it was just the three of us for the 7pm Jersey Boys at the Palazzo. Gaby really wanted to see this but neither Greg nor I did. It's the story, in case you don't know, of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. Gaby enjoyed herself. Greg and I were pleasantly surprised. This was a GREAT play. And unlike most plays in Vegas it wasn't a shortened, dumbed-down version of the Broadway play: this was the whole enchilada. The music, was of course, fantastic. But the play, which Greg and I thought would be dull and un-interesting sprang to life. It was a fantastic show and I'd even see it again.

After that Gaby booked us at Table 10 the new Emeril Lagasse restaurant at the Palazzo. We went in with extraordinarily high hopes -- after all his Delmonico's at the Venetian remains the finest meal I have ever eaten in my life. What a let-down. The service was the best part of the meal. The food was okay, but not spectacular. The ambiance was all right, but the food lacked the certain je ne sais quois that makes a great restaurant a legend. Almost as pricey as Boulud's but not even half as good.

A word about the Palazzo while I'm on it. I've stayed at the Venetian twice before both as a paying customer and invited guest. Great hotel. The Palazzo is the sister property in the back and they're connected. It was designed to be a second Venetian -- same standards. The hotel is new, only a few months old.

Upon check in, I noticed the room was warm. I called maintenance who eventually came and fixed the AC which was broken. He was unable to fix the burnt out bulbs as he didn't have any with him and promised he'd send someone up -- indeed he called down while we were there. For two days nobody came to fix that burnt out bulb (my reading light over the bed, dammit). The clock was wrong when we checked in (about 5-1/4 hours off). Sounds simple enough. I was unable to figure it out. The alarm was easy enough, but not the time. I called down to ask how to fix it. They said you need a screwdriver to take it apart to set the time! Really! So they had to send someone to fix it. Nobody showed up, so the aforementioned AC repair guy fixed it for us after he called for instructions because he couldn't figure it out. That earned him a nice tip :) Walking over to the blinds to look out at the view, I noticed a few moths flying around inside the sheer Roman curtain. Looking down, there were dead ones. Not that I care, but I was there from Saturday until Monday. They were never cleaned up. Further, and again, I don't care but the buttons on the couch in the room were coming off. I picked one off the floor and left it on the table. Another was missing. For that amount of money, these problems are inexcusable especially in a new hotel. Oh, and video check-out doesn't let you type in your fax and/or e-mail to get a copy of your receipt. You have to stand in line at the counter to get one defeating the purpose of video checkout. Never again.

Ah well. Monday was a boring day and I didn't do much. Switched over to Planet Hollywood (formerly the Aladdin) which I am sad to report has a great casino but the rooms now suck. I won't be back. Half the room was broken. That evening I had dinner with a friend from LA who flew up. Arrived at 4, we ate at Kokomo's at around 6, and he left at 8. Turns out Greg's evening plans were cancelled so I sat with him while he ate some stuff and then we gambled.

Tuesday was the show. The show was a big waste. I was surprised as the show's usually good. So much for that and I'll skip boring you with the details. That evening we saw Louie Anderson at the Excalibur. Very funny but for $60 you think he'd go longer than 70+ minutes. We gambled more. I got up at 345am and flew home, arriving at 130pm followed by my luggage at 230pm. Then, trooper that I am, I went to work.

Little Brother by Cory Doctorow (Book Review)

This part is spoiler free. I was with Adrian at Barnes & Nobles a few weeks ago while helooked for a copy of the new Vladimir Tod novel. when I saw a book sitting there. I wasn't going to pick it up because it just didn't seem interesting. But, on the cover was a very large blurb by Neil Gaiman. Now, if he says he'd recommend it over anything else he's read this year (which he did), then I am obligated to look at it. I needed a "plane book" so I bought it for my trip to the National Hardware Show in Las Vegas (see next blog post for that write-up).

The book in question is "Little Brother" by Cory Doctorow. I read it, and I recommend this book to anyone with the mind to grasp it. It's a very interesting book set in approximately present-day San Francisco. The story revolves around W1n5t0n a cyber-hacker who happens to be a teenager in a local high-school. It's tech-heavy; so although you probably don't need to understand too much to enjoy the book, it certainly would help. It doesn't drift far-off reality and it's not really even science-fiction except for the detail that it isn't a true story. It's frighteningly close to reality and there's not much separating it from truth. It's hard to pinpoint it to a specific genre -- though the Tor imprint pretty much implies sci-fi.

Before I get to the review with spoilers, I must say this book is FANTASTIC. And it's IMPORTANT. You need to read this book. Seriously. It blurs the line between fiction and reality so strongly, you'll begin to wonder. Forget the conspiracy nuts, this book will actually make you wonder how nuts those theorists really are.

Mr. Doctorow is a former director of the EFF, so his facts are tight. Apart from an unhealthy love of the evil X-box, he's blown me away with Little Brother. And if the recommendation by Neil Gaiman isn't enough, how about Mitch Kapor, Ray Ozzie, or Tim O'Reilly? This book is amazing. And the even the giants of technology agree -- the list of kudos is impressive.

The book is a quick read, tightly packed, well edited (I only found two typos), and fascinatingly entrapping. A good mental exercise and a release at the same time. Buy it. Read it. Then tell your friends. This book should go viral.

This italicized part is NOT spoiler free. Specifically, Marcus (W1n5t0n) lives his life as a cyber-geek and cyber-genius. Unrelated to that, a terrorist attack hits San Francisco. This is the story of Marcus and his girlfriend in their quest to reclaim San Francisco when the Department of Homeland Security takes over. They turn San Francisco into a mini-Gitmo and while they never impose marital law, rights are slowly taken away just like is happening in real life. Alone that would make the book possibly interesting. But that's not all.

The book explains, in detail, why all those little RFID devices everyone carries aren't such a good idea. RFID? They're in your SunPass (toll booth transponder), Passport, and so forth. They couple that with data in the traffic camera, and data mined from government records. All of a sudden they know more about you than you care to think. Might sound like science fiction but it isn't. This part is all current, working, installed technology.

W1n5t0n goes into hiding and his ultimate goal is to survive his imprisonment, torture (yes), and take back what is slowly being taken away. He could be a hero if he can only succeed. Nothing I write here will do this book justice. You need to read this book. If you think you're living in a free America, you probably should read this work of fiction. Because although it's fiction, that story is delivering a message. Freedom is not free. What would you pay for yours?

Please buy this book. I really can't reiterate this enough: buy this book. BUY IT NOW.

As for my friends: you're all getting this for Christmas if you don't write me and tell me you've read it before then. You don't want to wait. Trust me. You're going to have thoughts after you read this book. Be afraid. Very afraid.

Psystar: My First Visit

Back on 4-20 I was thinking about visiting Psystar's offices to discuss the Mac clone. Psystar is a short drive from my house. I'm sure they're scammers, but I want to see for myself. So today, I figured I'd drive by.

First a few words. Their claims have been met by skepticism on all fronts. They claim to be a company that has just moved. Their new address was wrong. Many people claimed the new address doesn't exist on mapping software. I'll get to that in a moment.

Everything about them is suspicious and I'll skip all of that because it's documented everywhere. First, they are in a nice building -- many photos are on the web. Today's Sunday and most companies are closed. Psystar's lot was full of crappy-looking cars -- not the sign of a successful company -- but their neighbour company was open: cottonImages, so perhaps the cars were theirs. The main doors were closed and the company did not appear to be open for business and the door is silk-screened "not open to the public."

I mention this only because it is a shared building. One building, two tenants. Their door graphics were done by the same company, obviously. And it looks like despite Psystar's claims, they've been there awhile. On the Psystar side, the bay doors were closed. A blue ocean container was blocking one of the doors.

This brief visit did not instill confidence. However the address is valid and has been valid for years. Some map software may not show it because it's a gated complex. That means by shutting a gate, the entire complex is closed off and there is no public access. Those criticizing because the address is invalid are just blowing smoke.

I'll report more, but sometimes you just have a bad feeling. This is one such time. (This is my opinion and perhaps my facts are wrong.)

4-28-08 Update: I've got some links of interest. This link from ZDNet has photos of the Psystar offices and some commentary that is semi-positive. More upsetting is this link from Gizmodo which shows some of the old "offices" but what concerns me is the last paragraph. If you want to see the registration for Psystar on the state's website, it's here.

Firefox Rolls On

Just a quick entry to note that Firefox has crossed the 500 million download mark. That's a half-billion downloads. Or to put it in numbers 500,000,000 downloads and counting. I hope Bill Gates sleeps well tonight.

Thanks to Jose for helping me with php includes. Soon my site will perform better and be easier to update. I am removing most tables from the site. The original index page had about a dozen nested tables -- yech. The new one has two tables: one that's two columns and one row (it includes the sidebar navigation in one column and the content in the second). The other table is in the sidebar. That's the Sponsor's box and it includes a border. I wasn't sure how to make that work. I'm sure I'll get to it.

Identity Theft And BankAtlantic A New Case

I had a long, involved fraud case with BankAtlantic from February of this year. There were three posts (One, Two, Three) and I only refer to them for my less-frequent readers. I had decided to keep my money there because it was convenient, they noted my new account (and all closed accounts) that there were fraud restrictions and everything had to be checked with photo IDs. I heard no more about it and had put it behind me.

I need to point out that BankAtlantic has a unique typo in my address that nobody else has. The only place this typo occurs is INSIDE the BankAtlantic computer. Mail was always sent to an alternate address (which also, oddly, contains a unique typo in their computer). Nobody else on the planet has this uniquely incorrect address of mine. Everyone else has it correct.

I came home from work today and had a big fat envelope from BankAtlantic. At home. With the same uniquely misspelled address. (Insert Klaxon Here). I open it, and it contains a letter thanking me for opening a brand new savings account and lists the account number. Yeah, except I didn't open a new account.

I call them immediately. The lady is helpful and asks me a number of security questions because, of course, there are notes on the account. She also notes money has been transferred from my checking (real) account to the savings (fake) account. I ask her to close the account. She needs a supervisor. They both note that the account was opened over the phone with no sort of valid ID provided. They close the account and transfer the money back. They try to get the fraud department (aka Security Department) on the phone without luck as it's after 530pm. They also try to call the person who opened the account with no luck. They suggest I call Monday. I thank them and hang up.

I get in my car and drive to the local BankAtlantic branch. I see someone and explain what happened. I ask for a cashier's check for the sum in my account. I am told they need to get a supervisor to sign it. I say that's fine. She says she's not sure if one's available. I tell her to have one drive over from another branch and I'll wait. She's not sure if she can do that. I said I will gladly take cash. She tries to tell me there may not be enough cash, which I find laughable. I don't have that much money.

She then runs into the back of the bank to consult with the supervisor (I assume the same one who isn't available). She comes back and is on the phone trying to call the security department, the person who opened the account, and so forth.

I remind her that it's my money and I have politely requested it. They are legally obligated to give it to me as long as it's under $100,000 -- and I can assure you it was NOWHERE near that amount, though I wish it was. She stalls and tries to get me to keep my account open.

I tell her I won't leave without my money and they can lock me in if they'd like. Amazingly, I get my money and the account is closed along with many apologies from the supervisor (who I must be imagining since she's not available). I remind her that they've already broken the law by opening an account without following legal procedures -- and they've done it TWICE now. And they ought to find out which employee is the crook.

I go to another financial institution -- again I need an account in a bank that's open on weekends. But I do most of my financial dealings with a traditional bank. I open my account and return home.

I am going to make one last phone call to the BankAtlantic fraud department and relay this last story. There is a close to 100% chance it's an inside job at the bank. If you have an account here, you probably need to reconsider the wisdom of that.

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

4-28-08: Update redacted 4-30-08 at the request of BankAtlantic Fraud Department.

Why I want to own a Casino 2.0

This will be my third annual why I want to own a casino post in which I marvel at obscene amounts of money and rip on Donald Trump. Previous posts are here: 2006 and 2007.

Today we'll use the Wynn as our example. The Wynn is a lovely place, though they do not get my patronage due to their high table limits and overpriced rooms. They have one in Las Vegas and a brand new one in Macau, SAR, China. The one in Macau is spectacular and I did spend the night there in 2006, but that's another story (part 1 and 2).

All data, as always, is from the 10-K forms filed with the SEC. No arguing these numbers.

Income for Wynn, just one hotel in Las Vegas, is a staggering $2.9 billion dollars. Of that $1.9 billion dollars is from the casino. That's an average take of $5.3 million dollars per day just on the casino -- out of which winnings are $3.2 million dollars per day. That leaves $2.1 million dollars per day in profit.

To be fair, "doubtful accounts" are budgeted at $100,000 per day. These accounts are owned the skeletons they found in the desert, back in the day. I maintain that trained monkeys could operate a casino. Trump bankrupted his. Why do people respect this man?

Another property is Boyd Casinos. It's a chain. Wynn makes as much as their entire chain. But Boyd operates "locals" casinos for the most part, though they're building a strip resort called Echelon now. And they own part interest in Atlantic City's Borgata. Still $1.7 billion annual income on casino against $752 million paid out still leaves about a billion left over for the year. What could you buy with a billion bucks? A tank of gas. Maybe even two.

The rest of the operation is profitable too. But we don't need to discuss that. I wish some brave company would let me run their casino for a few years. I know casinos, I know gambling (for better or worse) and I could run one. They probably can't afford me. :)

I am going to visit Mom on mother's day. I got a ticket. It's embarrassing what a plane ticket costs now. Then again, after filling up my car maybe it's not so unreasonable.