I was talking to a friend of mine on Sunday and we walked by a teenage girl who was bumming because, and these are her exact words... "I'm so upset that I don't have a crush on anyone right now". My friend and I then got into talking about her latest crush and how she was worried that he might be playing her. When I told her just to come clean, she was afraid it might push him away if he genuinely was interested. How fucked up is that?

So, now we come to the crux of my argument. When the hell did we all turn into such craven assholes? I mean, seriously? When did the game become more important than the actual search for a damn connection? How did we all come to be so goddamned afraid of showing genuine emotion for fear of driving the other person away? Why, by the same token, are we afraid of someone who actually has the guts to admit they're interested in us because it's "too soon" and there hasn't been enough time"? Was it always like this? I don't remember it always being this difficult, maybe I was just more naive when I was younger, or maybe I just cared less about the people I chased and they could sense that. I'm fucking baffled either way...
 

It's pretty damn rare that I'm moved to break out the laptop and add coments to the old blog while I'm on the subway, but this needs to be recorded and ranted upon... Since when was leetspeak (also known as Trospek, for you Mythers) fairgame for mainstream marketing? I mean, really? It's bad enough when the proficient practitioners of the bastard language use it. (Yes, I'm one of 'em) but to have some marketing hack suddenly start throwing crap out like 4 HR TH@ H8S 2 STND STL, (an actual L'Oreal ad, I shit you not) that's when I draw the frickin' line. This shit is not ok, people! Keep it online where it (barely) belongs! The last thing I need is some 50+ year old coming at me with "I pwnz j00 n00b lolol!!!"

And while we're on the subject of marketing bullshit, let me bring up Intel's latest pile. Centrino. Ok, now I'm all for them making less power-intensive, potentially non-nuclear processors (Yes, the P4 can double as a fusion reactor) for laptops. More power to 'em. But to say that they're innovating is specious, at best. Transmeta and hell even the Apple/IBM/Motorola group had 'em beat in that department long ago. (Please keep the, "but Apple sucks, Intel rules" rah-rah shit to a minimum, please. It's old and tired) What's worse is the whole "Wireless world" claim they've got going about how it makes 802.11b sooo much easier to work with. I'm calling shenanigans on this crap. You dinks are jumping on the wireless bandwagon like Dell and all the other PC makers before you. It was bullsit when they claimed it two years ago and it's even more bullshit when you claim it now. To claim that you're trailblazing is pretty silly when you 're crusing in your SUV down a four-lane expressway.

Man, they really need a "rant" icon...

Seeing as /. started out as a blog, and for all practical purposes is still just a big blog with random, sometimes inane commentary; I figured I'd post some of my own thoughts on the tech world at the expense of someone else's bandwidth.

Let's begin with the basics, Slashdot is rife with partisanship. From the original crop of MS haters to the late arriving and equally virulent crop of MS Fanboys and/or astroturfers. From the open source zealots to the Mac snobs and everywhere in between. The funny part is just watching the various camps take the pieces of stories they can use to their advantage and run with them, regardless of the truth. A good example of this was exhibited today in the Microsoft/Sony CeBit debacle. Everybody walks away with their own take, kinda like the blind men feeling up the elephant.

Not that I'm not guilty of the same thing, mind you. I happen to fall into that camp of MS haters. But I do find it all pretty damn funny nonetheless.

Just stuff I was thinking about, no great impact, you can go on about your daily lives, or leave a comment if you like. I'll be over here in my office pulling out my hair because someone crashed a server...