All Alone On The Internet

So I do enjoy my time on this blog, even if it doesn’t seem like it. As you could probably guess, I don’t have anyone reading this but myself. Its nice that way. This is supposed to be practice, a means to get myself writing something, and doing something each day, even if its just posting a stupid photo, or writing something of little to no consequence.

Recently, I’ve been looking over my Blogger stats and see all these different websites popping up. For a moment I was surprised. Did I have an audience? Were people reading my daily musings? When this moment passed I started researching the referring sites. Apparently I’m receiving something called “referred spam” in which a nefarious site (most of which seem to be hosted out of Russia) attempts to get me to click on their link to find out who they are to either increase their page views, install malware/viruses, or to just promote their own site. Apparently, there is nothing that I can do about this, so I’ll just be ignoring these sites. That said, its pretty annoying, and I don’t like it.

Now I can go back to being alone here, writing for me and nobody else. Maybe one day I’ll actually do something that draws someone to my blog of their own accord, something they will enjoy. I’m in no rush, I don’t care. Just me, my laptop, and my thoughts. Oh, and my dog, I can’t be forgetting him (especially when he’s trying to drag me away from my computer to feed him, early I might add).

I Give Up

Sigh…Steam got hacked, possible encrypted CC and personal information taken. This and PSN hack make me hate the internet sometime.

More Than A Little Disturbing…

So, um, yeah, just read the latest at Rhymes With Witch by the creator of the webcomic, Something Positive, and I’m a little freaked out. For Halloween (I assume), RK Milholland has done a series of water colours titled, “The Last Trick-Or-Treaters”, each one panel comic depicts the horrible end of trick-or-treaters on Halloween. Some are darkly humourous, but all are horrifying. I recommend them purely for the scares, and the art, but be warned. As of this date he’s done 8 parts (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8), check’em out.

Early Morning Musings

So, yeah, I feel like absolute crap today. My body hurts, my eyes hurt, and my stomach is upset. Just not my day. So I’ve been surfing the internet, and all I’ve got to say is, “What’s the deal with “Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure”?” The internet has been surprisingly receptive of this “game” manufactured to sell toys to little kids. Gabe and Tycho of Penny Arcade seem to like it, and Jeff Gerstmann, of Giant Bomb, has taken it and ran with it, going so far as considering on the latest Bombcast (10-18-2011) to go out and purchase all $400 worth of the figurines. The last part should be taken with a grain of salt as Mr Gerstmann is known for doing stupid things when it comes to video games.

Here’s the launch trailer:

I really don’t know how I feel about all this. The trailer makes me immediately nostalgic for old Transformers, He-Man, TMNT cartoons, etc. Cartoons whose sole purpose was to sell toys to children. At the same time, it makes be feel dirty. How much of the game can be completed with the starter figures? What is the entire cost of the game if you just want to “mainline” the game?

Microsoft Phone Virus/Malware Scam

I think the worst part about being unemployed and not currently going to school is the phone calls from telemarketers. I’m on the Canadian Do Not Call list, which to date has been pretty effective. Other than the occasional call from a market research firm, or a promotion from a company I’m registered with, I’m mostly left alone. However recently I’ve been receiving phone calls from a call centre in India claiming to be contacting me on behalf of “Windows” or “Microsoft” or “The Internet”. Yes, you heard me, they’ve claimed to be calling on behalf of “THE INTERNET”.

An example of my most recent call from them goes something like this:

[Call Start]

Telemarketer [friendly] : Hello, I am calling on the behalf of Window’s Operating System, and our records indicate that the internets are reporting a large number of virus originating from your Microsoft computer.

Randy [emotionless] : I am aware that this is a scam. Please stop calling me.

Telemarketer [angry in a thick Indian accent] : Well, how do you know this is a sc--

[Call Ended]

For any one reading this, yes, these calls are scams. For one, Microsoft will never cold call you regarding any customer support issue. They will only call you if you first contacted them about an issue.

This scam is so big at the moment that even the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre has listed it as their “Scam of the Week”. Please go to their site for more details.