The situation is worse than I thought. Not only have the bots figured out how to get through my captcha device to leave comment spam (which then goes to me for moderation), but I just noticed that a bunch of them had registered accounts here, including the email confirmation, which means they were technically able to leave comment spam unmoderated. I went through my comments and thankfully there was no damage done, but still it terrifies me that they were able to get that far.

Until a solution presents itself, I've turned off unregistered commenting and I've set things so that all new accounts have to go through me before they are activated. This means that if you're a legitimate visitor, you're going to have a tough time commenting or registering, but let's face it: I haven't really been updating here lately, so there's no real incentive for random strangers to pop in and leave comments or register new accounts.

I'm going to overhaul the site eventually, though I'm not sure when, or how. When I do, hopefully I'll be able to find a better option.

It appears the spammers have figured out how to get through my captcha devices. This site, which I rarely ever update at this point, is being inundated with comment spam. I need to fix this, ASAP!

In which the RIAA attempts extortion (read: business as usual), only to be rejected by a disabled, single mom.

(actual entry after the break)  Read more »

So I'm starting up a new creative community site called ctrl alt create, and I need people to join it and help me iron out the kinks. It's at its very earliest stages right now, but it's going to be centered around the collaboration of creative output: you join the community, share your artwork (in whatever medium), and get feedback from other members. Likewise, you're free (and encouraged) to comment on other members' artwork, to offer criticism, advice, tips, and so on. Also, as a community site, there will be opportunities to actively collaborate on some projects; for instance the site's many logos will all member-submitted, and they cycle randomly. I also plan on making the direction and execution of the site very interactive - full members will be able to suggest new features, and major changes will be voted on by the members. I'm aiming for a tight-knit community; not a thousand or a billion users, more like 20 or 50, so that each one might feel more comfortable sharing his or her artwork. Check it out, please, and tell me what you think.

So far all I've got is an implementation of phpBB, but I want it to become so much more. I need your help to do that.

I found a website called stripcreator that allows anyone to make comic strips quick and dirty way. It's fun and even a bit cathartic, and the best part is it's easy.

I've got a whole bunch already made, and I'm making more. You can check out mine and then make your own. Also, I'll be putting a feed of my latest strips off on the sidebar, somewhere. I think.

For reasons I can't begin to fathom, I've been making a large number of spelling and grammatical errors in my writing lately. I've been misspelling words that I should know how to spell, leaving out letters or accidentally adding new ones. Also, I've been omitting articles and prepositions from some sentences, and in some cases I've even omitted crucial verbs and nouns.

I was going to attribute this increased frequency in writing errors to a lack of sleep. I haven't been getting as much of it as I should of late. It would stand to follow that certain alertness-intensive skills (such as proper communication) would suffer. I was convinced this was the reason. That is, I was until today. Last night I got more than a full night of sleep, and I've felt fairly well-rested all day. And I just now made a number of avoidable mistakes in my writing.

Perhaps my brain is getting slower in my old age? I'll be 25 next week. I once stated (at the tender young age of 19 or 20) that people over 25 couldn't be trusted, because they were officially old and therefore unable to relate to young'uns. So do I eat those words now? No, because I really can't relate to 19- or 20-year-olds anymore. The things they do very often seem so immature and self-centered (he said, as if he were himself the paragon of wisdom and altruism). I was conversing with my kid sister the other day, and I uttered some slang phrase that was relevant when I was young, but somehow had stayed relevant. She told me I was too old to speak like that anymore. Sadly, I agreed with her.

I used to listen to various dark, angry musics when I was a teenager. There was no such thing as emo way back then, but I would have been right at home among the Linkin Park and My Chemical Romance fans of today. Then one day at around 20, I realized that my life didn't suck all that bad, and honestly I had a whole lot to look forward to. I couldn't be whiny or angry about anything anymore. I found I preferred music that made me feel better about myself, not the stuff that reinforced my negative attitudes. I ran out of angst. I feel much the same way now. I'm newly into Indie Rock and Pop, and I really like the music, and the scene looks pretty appealing too... but I don't think I have the energy necessary to feign hip individualistic conformity.

I've still got a few years of youth ahead of me (or at least, I'd still like a few more years of youth). I'm not even out of my mid-20s doldrums. There's nary a career or a family in sight on the horizon, and I still enjoy the freedom of young restlessness and aimlessness. So what do I do? Do I diminish, and go into the West, and remain me? Or do I rebel against father time and fight the onset of old age?

I guess as time goes on, birthdays become a time for reflection.

Oh, yeah, and by the way: I'm back. Hi.