The Fall Of The USBastille

I'm going to make this post's point very simple: I want my USB ports back, you sanctimonious son of a bitch.

I can (and have) put up with a lot of junk, a lot of shit, and a lot of stupidity in the name of a steady flow of cash. My patience is surprisingly long in this regard, and I have been quite patient so far. After all, there are few things in this world that I value more than a steady income, so in the name of that, I am willing to deal with a lot.

I put up with the arbitrary reasons given for virtually any policy that gets set or changes in the workload that occur. It isn't so much that I mind the changes or the policies, really. I found the bullshit reasons that came attached to them to be annoying, and occasionally insulting to my intelligence.

I will put up with ridiculous policies on sleeping or having any sort of enjoyment in the office. Let's face it, those policies are stupid and nobody is really going to follow through on them if the one who made them up isn't around. We will pay lip service to your insipid attempts at establishing control but don't expect us to buy into it because you say so.

I will put up with them putting privacy-invading software that allows them to see the things I do on my work PC. I understand the rationale behind putting it there. That doesn't mean I don't take offense to the fact that it is invasive of my privacy and quite insulting.

I will even put up with the fact that I believe every last employee of this company to be grossly, grossly underpaid. I mean, for all the work we do, we could be making a lot more than we currently are. I suspect the only real reason we stick around here is that, on some level, we enjoy each other's company. And the free Internet.

I will even put up with the incessant whining I hear from practically everyone else each time a site like Friendster or Multiply gets blocked. I never liked social networking anyway; think its stupid, really. The constant whining when something of that sort gets blocked is just so incredibly repetitive and annoying.

I even manage to put up with the fact that the Internet connection the office runs on is god-awful, to the point that a week doesn't go by without it breaking down completely. Let's face it, folks: it happens a lot. And there's likely quite a grain of truth to the joke that this is because the boss is too cheap to pay for a better connection.

I also put up with the noise. Gods help me, the noise of the night shift people as they're about to leave is grating. Not a day of this passes by without me forcing down the urge to grab a throat and throttle it until I hear that satisfactory sound of a death rattle. These people seem to never shut up, but no matter how tempting it is to silence them myself, I keep calm and not make a move.

But blocking USB ports? That I'm taking very personally.

See, I'm lazy. I like to spend half my time in the office sitting in front of the computer and doing things with no relation at all to work. Browsing Deviantart or Photobucket for pics to add to my expanding collection, for example. Sometimes I just type in some random topic I'm interested in and let Google take over from there. Other times, I just want to sit back, go into a forum and browse. But mostly, I like searching for pictures.

Pretty pictures of scenes, characters, backgrounds, and whatnot. I like taking them home. I like the thrill of seeking a specific picture, spending an hour or so finding it, and plugging in a USB drive so I can take it home and add it to my compilation of similar pictures. This is pretty much the only thing I bother coming to work for anymore, and my actually getting my work done ahead of time is a side-effect of it. Without that...well, work becomes rather pointless until I remind myself of the meager cash flow it earns me, doesn't it? Financial motivators only work for so long without something to support them.

I'm a digital packrat. I like to make redundant copies of my files. I like having at least two copies of any given file on two separate computers, making sure that in the event one fails, I can effectively restore things without too much trouble. In theory, there are a few back-ups in place for work.

This is fine and dandy if either one was actually capable of exhibiting some degree of consistent reliability. One back-up archive is useless since it is accessible only via the Internet and only within the office itself. I don't think you can even retrieve files from this archive. The other is crash-happy, especially whenever the electricity fluctuates or dies out. Plus, there doesn't appear to be any real way to get files stored there back - not without it being altered somehow, if things I've overheard from the voice loggers are any indication.

This leaves me with the option of simply dumping files into my USB drive and taking them home as back-up. Now this is no longer an option. Frankly, I'm not about to rely on two unreliable back-up archives when a better option is staring me in the face but can't be used because of some bullshit arbitrary decision.

I've taken a lot of crap over my time in this job. I've more or less put up with it. I've not once deliberately attempted to be insulting or confrontational of the boss' policies in any degree, no matter how much I disagreed with what's been laid down. But this?

Viva La Revolución.

So I'm Single

I'm single and, unlike many others in this situation, I don't pay much heed to that fact. I've never felt the need or the desire to attach myself romantically and emotionally to a girl in a manner that can be described as being said girl's boyfriend. Not that I'm disinterested in girls, mind you. Merely not interested or motivated enough to actively seek one out. This is of no real consequence to me, and proves to be no real hindrance to most of my interests. Still, once in a while, somebody - exactly who asks it varies, but sooner or later, someone will - asks that annoying little question.

"When are you going to get a girlfriend?"

I usually don't mind, and would regularly offer a flippant, uncaring response. I'd cite things like time or money more often than not, as having a girlfriend would require both and they are resources I have no interest in squandering on anyone but myself at the moment. Frankly, I barely make enough to do that as is. See, a girlfriend is really a luxury I can't afford. And yes, that's essentially what having a girlfriend is, when you boil it down to the most basic terms: a luxury.

I don't need one to keep going on with my life, now do I? I don't see having one as being a necessity for any aspect of my life as it is now. Having one right now has a low chance of adding anything to it, really. Other than just another way for me to alleviate my boredom for a brief moment, or someone to talk to to take my mind off work and, thus, delay my finishing my daily tasks. I think I have enough of those already, thank you very much.

Under most circumstances, it doesn't really annoy me when people ask why I'm still single. Under most circumstances. There are times when I find it annoying beyond all sense when they ask, though. Usually when the one asking is someone that has asked it consistently and should already know what the answer is.

The honest truth is that I'm quite fine in being single, and have no interest in undertaking a course of action that would make me otherwise. My mind is a mess and my life is far from ideal, and adding a girlfriend into the mix will only further complicate matters. Besides, I'm happy as things are now, with me having time for my projects and interests, as opposed to having to keep my thoughts occupied by thinking of someone else.

I'm single and, contrary to how people seem to think, I don't feel the need to go looking. Nor do I feel sad that I'm not attached. So honestly, I'd appreciate it if people stopped asking me if I want to meet this friend of theirs or if they want the number of this cute, single girl they know. It can get frustrating. Mind you, I'd like the numbers of cute single girls, but not for the purposes of pursuing them. I'm odd that way.

In the words of Moto Chagatai:
Who will stop me?

TDK

The Dark Knight Returns

I don't usually keep up with comics. Too expensive to keep buying issues and update my knowledge of the twisted plots and storylines. The best I can do as a fan of certain characters is to just read wiki entries and try to get the gist of what's currently going on. Still, once in a while, when they come out with compilations or (better yet) graphic novels, I do what I can to grab a copy. Among the finest I've ever read is this: The Dark Knight Returns.

It has a Batman coming out of retirement, looking as if he's pushing 60, because the Bat in Bruce Wayne won't give up the fight. The book hits hard, as we see the effects of age and time finally catching up with the Bat. He's not as young, as strong, or as fast. But ultimately, he is still the Batman. It doesn't feature his whole rogues' gallery, but it does feature prominent names in it. Including, rightfully so, the Joker. The confrontations do not disappoint, though it'd spoil things to say who he faces.

I also liked how Frank Miller added in commentary and analysis on the Batman. On how he might be the cause of the very crimes he punishes. On the fact that he became a criminal to stop criminals, and understands that. On the fact that there will always be people who think he's a menace, even as there are those that support him. It even touches upon something that most comic books don't, and that's somewhere, deep inside the popular consciousness, the common people they save are the most terrified of superheroes. A line from the comic says it best:

"We must not remind them that gods walks the earth."

This is one of Frank Miller's finest works, and is arguably the best rendition of the Batman ever made in any medium. It also ushered in the modern portrayal of the Batman as a grim, obsessive force of justice in the shadows. The force of vengeance and justice. A hunter.

It repairs the damage done by the campy portrayal of Adam West and perhaps reminded fans and artists alike of how the Batman should be portrayed. Not as a joke, and not as someone openly cooperating with the police and the authority, like Superman. Batman is a figure that borders on urban legend, a nightmarish enforcer that Jim Gordon has to bend laws and break rules to accommodate, simply because he gets the job done when law enforcement's hands are tied.

This is definitely worth the read. Batman at his dark, brutal best.

Boredom.

Boredom, folks. It has become my regular state of mind. So enjoy this pic of Akiyama Mio, from the anime K-ON!. More likely than not, I will end up writing about that show sooner or later.