Heavygravity

Forex trading: They are not on your side

Rob — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 23:13:10 +0000

Recently, I have become enamored with the idea of trading currencies. Yes, there is a lot of spam in my inbox due to that kind of thing… but the reality is that forex trading can indeed work – if you are willing to learn a little bit.

That is why I need to vent now. I know that my blog is not important to the google-sphere, but I still need to proclaim:

Alpari sucks.

TL;DR: They are a broker that will take your money. Thats pretty much it.

They offer demo accounts, and if you (like me) are trying out algorithms, you can pretty much forget it. During the most profitable time, you cannot trade. They also disconnect you and dont let you log back in during very active moments. It is not random, it is easy to see if you look at plots of the spread they vary on a per second basis.

My verdict? As a broker, questionable. As a demo account for testing… terrible.

cuband.com – If you’re into Cuban Music

Rob — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 08:21:33 +0000

I recently had a chance to work on a Cuban Music website – http://www.cuband.com – and hope that it ends up working out. It has a pretty big catalog of Cuban Music in MP3 format and targets a small market – people that are interested in the classics from Cuba and the newest sound from a whole bunch of genres.

There don’t appear to be too many other sites like this, and certainly none that are as easy to use. If Cuban Music is your thing, then check out cuband.com today!

(Yeah, this is a shameless plug!)

TI-Calculator Keys

Rob — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 08:37:14 +0000

I’m not sure about you, but I don’t know what these are:

TI-83 (Plus):

n=82EF4009ED7CAC2A5EE12B5F8E8AD9A0
AB9CC9F4F3E44B7E8BF2D57A2F2BEACE
83424E1CFF0D2A5A7E2E53CB926D61F3
47DFAA4B35B205B5881CEB40B328E58F
p=B709D3A0CD2FEC08EAFCCF540D8A100BB38E5E091D646ADB7B14D021096FFCD
q=B7207BD184E0B5A0B89832AA68849B29EDFB03FBA2E8917B176504F08A96246CB
d=4D0534BA8BB2BFA0740BFB6562E843C7
EC7A58AE351CE11D43438CA239DD9927
6CD125FEBAEE5D2696579FA3A3958FF4FC54C685EAA91723BC8888F292947BA1
e=11

TI-84 (Plus):

prp77 factor: 67070508990537181066342707695603050521324524613874331879259881495826493920589
prp78 factor: 186923771200711284770368041572205320486346816476524340240220962467860568859381

n=EF5FEF0B0AB6E22731C17539658B2E91E53A59BF8E00FCC81D05758F26C1791CD35AF6101B1E35
43AC3E78FD8BB8F37FC8FE85601C502EABC9132CEAD4711CB1
p=94489014C63CC9E1E1ADB192DBBDD1F78F90A630DA9C86EFC4CBCA44E5B4D54D
q=19D431AF2794229620B884E3750D622D1C74F2E4569DC15486FC8D5A3BCDFE2F5
d=2A3E1B2010F318D9BD7C7E19300980B055A0E2A9554B77E7142E23CDF7C7CA13C233A3D462FDFC
968B1F9CEAF2AC2CF305147992AD9E834192ACEBB517DB9941
e=11

TI-89:

prp76 factor: 2231124525637629443181963045297394875470510167130210300957267082210173784611
prp79 factor: 3226885534240147415018248397410101286362761128614350056368675111071170873486957

(these are factors of 71995834568684773636720438651160472297127884480206535156843307841378050889714332
73011970552138960583799368215373582308591928985045059261105298431035818727)

Hopefully someone out there would find this useful. Oh, and they might have something to do with this: http://wikileaks.org/wiki/Suppressed_Texas_Instruments_cryptographic_signing_keys,_28_Aug_2009

Rockstar Energy Drink – They’ll Sue You if you Don’t Like It

Rob — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 09:23:43 +0000

This kind of thing pisses me off. A corporation threatens to sue a guy and make him “publicly apologize” because he expressed an opinion about an Energy Drink that they didn’t like. They also had his Facebook account banned, and the group he started on Facebook removed. Then, after he posted this “public apology”, they again coerced Facebook to remove his personal account, despite his public apology (which is now gone as well).

I had never heard of this drink before (and I doubt it is available where I live), but now I’ll make sure I tell people when I’m in the USA to avoid it. Litigious bastards like this don’t deserve your business.

So, for posterity, here is his full post:

Don’t Drink Hate. BOYCOTT ROCKSTAR* my apology

Hi all,As the creator of the original “Don’t Drink Hate. BOYCOTT ROCKSTAR” group, I’ve created this group to publish a public apology and retraction as forced by the law firm representing ROCKSTAR*.But before I do, let me explain what led to this.

One month ago, my friend showed me a little article filled with quotations from Michael Savage Weiner and his son Russell Weiner. I was utterly disgusted. Then I read that Russell Weiner was the CEO of Rockstar* and his mom Janet Weiner was CFO . After more readings, I made a PERSONAL CHOICE to BOYCOTT all ROCKSTAR* products.

I made a group to let others know and be able to make a similar choice if they wanted; the group was formed and it quickly grew to over 12,000 members. In it, we put together a list of quotations from Michael Savage Weiner as well as his son that we strongly did not agree with.

We also put commonly known information such as the fact that they co-founded the extremely conservative Paul Revere society, which openly calls for actions such as “Eliminate bilingual education in all states” and “Traditional Marriage.” More easily proven information was included as well.

Then, on May 27th, I woke up unable to log into my personal Facebook account. It was disabled. This is my new account; I lost all my photos, friends and priceless memories. I sent multiple e-mails to Facebook without any response. And then upon inquiring, I found out that the facebook group was suddenly taken down without my or any of the administrators’ knowledge (As an update, as of yesterday, after my friend’s hard work with connections at Facebook they suddenly reinstated my old account. However, as happy as I am, I find this very troubling on many levels in terms, especially because I still have not yet received a satisfactory explanation.)

A few days later, I received a lawsuit threat from the law offices of Glaser, Weil, Fink, Jacobs, Howard & Shapiro, LLP — Robert Shapiro was one of the attorneys who successfully defended OJ Simpson.

I researched, and apparently other individuals — primarily bloggers and reporters (e.g. SF Examiner’s Kelvin, wiqaable.com, gaywired.com) had received threats of legal action as well.

Now here I am.

And I’ve been forced to make this apology.

I’ve been forced to make “an immediate public retraction…” and “apologize for the business libel you committed against ROCKSTAR.”

I’ve been “advised that ROCKSTAR will pursue all necessary legal action to redress the violations of its rights, including, without limitation, an action for general, special and exemplary damages and equitable relief.”

———————————–———–

To THE ATTN OF: ROCKSTAR* / Glaser, Weil, Fink, Jacobs, Howard & Shapiro, LLP

Let this group and this statement stand as evidence of an apology. As Facebook disabled the original group without my knowledge, I suggest you contact them if you want me to be able to message all the members of the original group:

I, Charles C. C. Tsai, hereby apologize for the alleged business libel that I committed against ROCKSTAR* and publicly retract, through Facebook’s own unexplained deletion, the statements from the original Facebook group.

———————————–———–

Now, I personally also apologize for the following:

I apologize for having an opinion.

I apologize that I created a group as a means to explore my FREEDOM OF SPEECH.

I apologize that the over 12,000+ individuals in that group were SILENCED WITHOUT EXPLANATION.

I apologize for STANDING UP for my communities and the communities that I consider myself an ally to.

I apologize for being DISGUSTED by the statements, beliefs, thoughts and actions of two INDIVIDUALS: ROCKSTAR* CEO Russell Weiner and his father, Michael Savage Weiner. Let me repeat, two INDIVIDUALS.

I apologize that you feel the need to THREATEN and SILENCE individuals & organizations that you know are POWERLESS in comparison to your various forms of capital.

I apologize that you seem to be confused by the semantics of the word “co-founder” in the sense that Michael Savage Weiner and his wife Janet Weiner IRREFUTABLY CO-CREATED / CO-INVENTED / CO-FOUNDED the ROCKSTAR drink alongside current CEO RUSSELL WEINER.

From ROCKSTAR*’s OWN archived WEBSITE:

“I was very fortunate to have been raised by two of the leading herbalists in the world, Dr. and Mrs. MICHAEL WEINER, Ph.D. … From my earliest walking days, I remember exploring the jungles of the South Pacific on expeditions WITH MY PARENTS. … MY FAMILY HAS taken that spirit and experience – their lifetime journey – and DEVELOPED the most complete, most unique, most powerful, and most honest energy beverage ever created: ROCKSTAR.” – CEO RUSSELL GOLDENCLOUD WEINER

http://web.archive.org/web/20021211144041/www.rockstar69.com/new/rockstar.html

After reading the above, I apologize that you, Michael Weiner Savage, feel the need to LIE, as you told the SF Chronicle in May 2009 that “I had NOTHING to do with the founding or CREATION of Rockstar.”

I apologize that legal threats WILL NOT FORCE me into SUBMISSION.

I apologize that I will not be silenced.

I apologize that the incredibly smart, strong willed and amazing individuals and communities that dislike your CEO Russell Weiner, his dad Michael Savage Weiner and his mom CFO Janet Weiner will NOT go quietly into the night and will too NOT BE SILENCED.

I apologize that I will, WITHOUT ANY DOUBT, continue to BOYCOTT ROCKSTAR* as it is MY OWN PERSONAL CHOICE TO DO SO.

And, lastly, I apologize for any additional semantically puzzling words this note may have presented. Please realize that I have sensitively taken this into consideration through capitalization and repetition.

Yours truly,

Charles C. C. Tsai

———————————–———–

For more information to further understand the context of this apology:

“the truth about rockstar”
http://www.thetruthaboutrockstar.com/

“official rockstar website”
http://www.rockstar69.com/

“michael savage banned from britain” – huffington post
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/05/05/michael-savage-banned-fro_n_196631.html

“the guardian on michael savage” – the guardian
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/blog/2009/may/06/michael-white-michael-savage

“dear rockstar, please don’t sue us” – wiqaable.com
http://www.wiqaable.com/2009/05/wiqaablog-dear-rockstar-please-dont-sue.html

“Rockstar Demands Retraction from Gaywired” – gaywired.com
http://gaywired.com/Article.cfm?Section=165&ID=23024

“Newsom to return $25,000 contribution from Savage’s Son” – SFGate Blog
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/nov05election/detail?entry_id=40574

———————————–———–

*DISCLAIMER: This group is in no way, shape or form calling for a boycott on ROCKSTAR, the original group name is being used for identification purposes only. The ROCKSTAR* trade name, company, its employees and beyond are not affiliated with this group. Everything said/written is either my OPINION or straight quotations from other individuals apart of, represent, or are family members to the CEO of ROCKSTAR.

Duh.

PS Dear Facebook, NOTHING in this group violates your Terms of Use. Please DO NOT DELETE this group and/or DISABLE my PERSONAL FACEBOOK account AGAIN. There are NO photos containing drug use, nudity, or other graphic or sexually suggestive content are not allowed on the site, nor are photos that depict violence or that attack an individual or group. Please do not CENSOR, especially when nothing here violates your terms of agreement. I am only using the ROCKSTAR* trade name as a means to apologize to its legal firm that has demanded me to do so ON FACEBOOK. There IS A DISCLAIMER as well for this group, see above. If you delete this group, you will have violated your own terms of agreement and believe me, though I don’t have the money to, I will find a way to take legal action (just like ROCKSTAR probably did).
———————————–———–

Upgrading Ubuntu – Smooth as Silk

Rob — Fri, 01 May 2009 09:29:24 +0000

I’ve never upgraded a Linux distribution before. Actually, I’ve never successfully upgraded any distribution – it’s always a clean install for me.

Since switching to Ubuntu about a year ago, I’ve been pleasantly surprised about how things “just work”. That is the way it should be . And thus far, I’ve had everything simply work (except for installing on a RAID5 array, I had to pull a couple of tricks to get that to work. On the other hand, Windows is a nightmare to install on a RAID array without a floppy drive).

So I thought rather carefully when the update manager said “A new version of Ubuntu (9.04) is available”. Clicking on that button can only lead to a broken system, right?

Wrong. The upgrade went perfect. No problems – none whatsoever! How did the guys at Ubuntu pull that off? Everything just simply works . No screwing around with packages that cannot be upgraded, no strange X problems, nothing. One reboot and I’ve got the latest and greatest.

So – if you’re like me and you aren’t sure about upgrading an existing system for fear of breaking things – take the plunge. It’s a lot easier than you think.

Google Hacked..?

Rob — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 14:56:27 +0000

As I was searching for some things today using Google, I noticed that more and more websites were coming up erroneously as “Malware Sites” as determined by Google. In fact, after a few minutes, EVERY site came up with “This site may harm your computer”. Check out the screenshot (notice that it says that google.com is in the list of websites that may harm your computer):

Anyway, what’s up with that? Did Google itself get hacked, or have some kind of huge server meltdown? Whatever is going on, it essentially makes Google unusable. I never thought that Google could get taken down, but it looks like they sure did. I just wonder if anyone will ever publicly acknowledge this happened.

Edit: looks like about 45 minutes later, Google is back to normal. I wonder who’s going to get fired over this little mishap?

Remote Radio

Rob — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 08:41:12 +0000

I was thinking about getting a radio receiver lately (probably the Icom PCR1500) and I stumbled onto a couple of neat sites.

The first one is called “HamSphere”, and it’s an interesting program that turns your computer into a Ham Radio without any extra hardware. You could also think about it as being a kind of simulator. While it doesn’t transmit any RF (what’s the fun in that, you might ask?) I still think it’s pretty cool in that you can talk with other Hams and using all the lingo that you’re supposed to, with real shortwave propagation simulation.

It is a java program, meaning it will work on Windows, Linux, and Mac. You don’t need to have a Ham license to use this radio.

The next thing I found was also pretty neat – it’s called Globaltuners and it allows you to not only listen, but actively change settings on other peoples’ radios around the world. You can, for example, listen to air traffic in England or a radio station in Australia – all you need to know is the frequency you want (and make sure no one else is listening in at the moment). Unfortunately, there are only a small number of radio stations that you can tune yourself (13 at the moment). But the idea is pretty cool!

Great Job

Rob — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 13:34:15 +0000

A comparison between the treatment of the Jews during the Holocaust and the treatment of the Palestinians in Gaza:

http://www.normanfinkelstein.com/article.php?pg=11&ar=2510.

Wow.

SETI CUDA Client Released – Use Your GPU to Crunch Satellite Data

Rob — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 15:24:13 +0000

SETI finally released a CUDA client that will allow you to use your NVidia card (it has to be fairly new) to process satellite data up to 10x faster than before. Wow!

My system seems to be doing one work unit in about 25-30 minutes now [EDIT: Ok, that's normal I suppose. Looks like the Linux version doesn't do any CUDA workunits yet, even though it recognizes the GPU properly.]

To get the CUDA enabled version, go here: http://setiathome.berkeley.edu/cuda.php

Phoenix Touches Down, Sends Back First Images

Rob — Mon, 26 May 2008 07:06:36 +0000

Some hours ago, the Phoenix lander touched down on Mars, and just in the last few hours sent back some pictures. One of them has an interesting feature in it:

Click the image below this to see the entire picture and the strange white ‘blip’ in context. Whats interesting about the object is that it appears to have a shadow as well, which might mean it’s a real thing (and not a processing or data error). Neat. I’m really looking forward to seeing what comes out in the next couple of months from this project! To see more images from Phoenix, click this gallery link.