So you know that contract that comes with pretty much anything that you buy? It even comes on the software that you buy. Well, do you ever actually read what it is that you are agreeing to? I'll be honest, I don't ever really pay attention unless I have to start entering in credit card information. I just assume that if they don't have a way of directly taking money from me, they must not really care.
Well, I was really bored before my class, and I had nothing to do. So I began the ritual of rummaging through my backpack to see what all was in there. I came across the End User License Agreement for the SanDisk Cruzer Freedom which Roni and I had purchased on during the beginning-of-the-year-sale at our university. Mind you, I was really bored, so I thought "what the heck" and gave it a read. Here are some of the highlights. (oh, here is the key, so you know what is going on. Device = the thumb drive. Product = the thumb drive + all programs on it. Licensor = SanDisk. Documentation = paperwork that came with the drive)
1. "Do not click on the "I accept" button at the end of this document until you have read this entire document."
- OK, so this is a piece of paper that I pulled out of my backpack. It is not on a computer screen. Unless this is a VERY high tech piece of paper, I cannot "click" on any button after reading this paper because it is a piece of paper. Does this mean that I cannot agree to the EULA, and that I am not bound by it?
2. "You may print and keep a copy of this License Agreement."
- Again, this is not a computer. It would be awesome if I could print a piece of paper from another piece of paper. That would be like... getting the paper to clone itself, and I could sell that for a pretty penny. Now, you might be saying that this is being nit-picky and that I could just as easily copy the paper with the EULA printed on it, and save that for my records, but then we must keep in mind our next item...
3. "You may not copy the Documentation."
- Now hold on a moment... I am allowed to print it off, but not to copy it? Really, what is the difference between me printing this thing or copying it? Especially considering that it is a piece of paper and cannot print a copy of itself.
4. "You shall promptly report to Licensor any Product that is damaged, stolen or lost or reported as damaged, stolen or lost."
- Keep in mind that "product" means not only the flash drive, but everything that comes with it, including the EULA. So, technically, if my dog pees on the EULA, then I need to report it to SanDisk. If somebody steals the drive, then I have to report it to SanDisk. Isn't that crazy? Why should they care if somebody steals my usb drive? Are they going to replace it for me?
5. "Upon termination by Licensor, you agree to destroy, or return to Licensor, the Software, Information, and the Documentation and all copies and portions thereof."
- Again, why? Are they paranoid that I will be naughty and make photocopies of it? And where and I going to get these "copies and portions thereof?" I'm not even allowed to make copies of it in the first place. If I don't care about the rules enough to the point where I am willing to make copies of it, why would I listen to them when they tell me that I have to destroy the copies?
6. "By using the Product, you are agreeing... and warranting that you are not located in, under the control of, or a national or resident of [Cuba, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Iran, Syria] or any other country to which the U.S. has embargoed goods."
- Wow... I guess they are serious. I like the part about "under the control of." Like I am a robot or something. And I don't think that anybody that is from those countries and under the control of some wild regime will care about the EULA... Maybe they are worried that the North Koreans will get a hold of the EULA and ::gasp:: photocopy it! Yeah, I bet that is it. Or maybe they don't want the servicemen in Iraq to use usb drives?
Do you have any fun stories about EULAs?
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Thursday, September 27, 2007
North Korean Blog?
So, as a few of you know, I have fully joined the blogging bandwagon by creating yet another blog. This one is for my Korean friends, so don't be surprised if it is all in Korean. Blogs are pretty standard in Korea, so I thought that I might as well make one in Korean to keep people up to date on what is going on in my life.
Well, I didn't want to use the exact same color scheme as this blog, so I chose a different template from the options, shown here.
I then sent out an email to all of the Koreans that I have an email address for, and told them that I had created a blog and that they were welcome to take a look at it if they so desired. One of my Korean friends, a man that I met near the end of my mission and was baptized a few months after I left, sent me an email about my blog.
It started out with the usual formalities of "how are you? I am great." and then he began to talk about my blog. He said that he was glad to see that I still miss Korea, and that the blog was generally well made. He had only one complaint. He said that the design of the blog reminded him too much of the North Korean flag, and so it made him feel "rigid" and uncomfortable. The North Korean Flag (or as they would like to say the flag of The Democratic People's Republic of Korea) looks like this.
So, what do you think? Do you think that google is trying to send subliminal messages about our unfriendly neighbors to the east?
Well, I didn't want to use the exact same color scheme as this blog, so I chose a different template from the options, shown here.
I then sent out an email to all of the Koreans that I have an email address for, and told them that I had created a blog and that they were welcome to take a look at it if they so desired. One of my Korean friends, a man that I met near the end of my mission and was baptized a few months after I left, sent me an email about my blog.It started out with the usual formalities of "how are you? I am great." and then he began to talk about my blog. He said that he was glad to see that I still miss Korea, and that the blog was generally well made. He had only one complaint. He said that the design of the blog reminded him too much of the North Korean flag, and so it made him feel "rigid" and uncomfortable. The North Korean Flag (or as they would like to say the flag of The Democratic People's Republic of Korea) looks like this.
So, what do you think? Do you think that google is trying to send subliminal messages about our unfriendly neighbors to the east?
Monday, September 24, 2007
Lack of Study
So, as many of you know, Roni and I are rather fond of our reptilian friends. We want to be good pet owners, we really do. I spend a lot of time looking up information in books, and online about the best way to care for Mu and Remington. I am always surprised to find out how little is really known about the animals we keep as pets.
Chinese water dragons are not all that uncommon. You can find them in pretty much any pet store, from major chains like Petco, to the little pet shop down the street from where you live. But not much is really known about these guys. I haven't run into one scientific study on them, in or out of their natural environment. Most of the information that is available on water dragons is anecdotal evidence that owners have come up with in their own time. A lot of owners disagree on what is best for the lizards, and with no evidence (beyond "my lizards like it when I...") to back up what people say, it is hard to decide who is right and who is wrong!
Even companies that make products for reptiles seem to know very little about the creatures that they make the products for. We recently spent about $60 on a lighting system that broke down in a few days. The bulbs alone where $16 each, and were supposed to be guaranteed for a year. I stumbled on a website that went out and actually tested these bulbs and found that they are almost useless after 4 months!
Chinese water dragons are not all that uncommon. You can find them in pretty much any pet store, from major chains like Petco, to the little pet shop down the street from where you live. But not much is really known about these guys. I haven't run into one scientific study on them, in or out of their natural environment. Most of the information that is available on water dragons is anecdotal evidence that owners have come up with in their own time. A lot of owners disagree on what is best for the lizards, and with no evidence (beyond "my lizards like it when I...") to back up what people say, it is hard to decide who is right and who is wrong!
Even companies that make products for reptiles seem to know very little about the creatures that they make the products for. We recently spent about $60 on a lighting system that broke down in a few days. The bulbs alone where $16 each, and were supposed to be guaranteed for a year. I stumbled on a website that went out and actually tested these bulbs and found that they are almost useless after 4 months!
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Utah Driving
Dear Utah Driver,
I have lived in your state for a few years now, and would like to attempt to explain a few rudimentary driving rules which, up to this point, seem to have escaped your grasp. Some of the things I talk about will be difficult for you to understand, but please try.
1. The fast lane
Are you aware that the freeway has a fast lane? In other places throughout America the slower traffic stays to the right, and the people that want to go faster stay in the left lanes. I realize that you are filled with a righteous desire to "sustain and honor the law," but some of us have places to be. I don't know how the driving test for Utah is, but in CA, they teach you that the the safest speed to go is the speed that everybody else is going at. The lane farthest to the left is not the lane for you if you want to go 55 miles per hour. If you are going 55 in the fast lane, do not be surprised when the people behind you get angry. They want to be going at least 75mph. If you want to go 55mph then go to the farthest lane to the right, and the big rigs will laugh as they pass you, thus making at least somebody happy. Nobody is happy when you stay in the fast lane.
2. the carpool or HOV lane
Yes, Utah has created a special lane for cars with 2 or more people in it. This does not mean that if you have more than two people in your car that you are legally required to go into this lane. If you have 2 people in your car, and you do not want to go faster than 55mph, then I suggest that you stay in the right lane. Even though you are not riding alone, I think that the "slower traffic keep right" signs on the freeway should apply to you. The HOV lane is also called the "Express Lane." Look at the signs when you are on the freeway, I'm really not making that up. Express is defined as "Of, relating to, or appropriate for rapid travel." "Rapid Travel" means fast. 55mph is not rapid, when taken in context of freeway travel. It is fast for a city street. The freeway is not a city street. If you are having difficulty with the idea of going fast on the freeway, please see the item titled "the fast lane" above.
3. The freeway on ramp
The on ramp is the place that you enter the freeway. 35mph is not an acceptable speed for entering the on ramp. I do not have a good car. I know that your Lexus can accelerate faster than my car, and yet you seem to have trouble gaining speed for the freeway. Again, maybe it is different in the Utah handbook that the DMV hands out for you to study, but in CA, it tells you to put your foot on the accelerator in order to reach and appropriate speed for entering the freeway. Going slowly onto the freeway does not make it easier OR safer to get onto the freeway. It makes it so that the rest of us have to swerve out of the right lane so that we do not hit you.
4. lanes
Now I sympathize with you, in that the government of Utah seems to be completely inept at building roads. In California we have shiny little markers that help you see where the lane is. Now, people here seem to think that this is impossible to do in Utah because of the snow. This may come as a shock to you, but it snows in California. The tallest peak in the lower 48 in in California. California has mountains with snow, but we still have decent lane markers. Regardless of how the lane is marked, you should be able to get the general idea that the dashed white line in the road is the border of your lane. Your car should not straddle this line. The line is not a suggested guideline. When you start to drift into my lane in your chevy suburban that is scary. I do not want to die, and I would appreciate if you could somehow figure out a way of paying attention to the road and your surroundings long enough to not kill me on the road.
See, was that too hard? Simple right? If you listen to this, then you will be able to make the rest of us very happy. Thank you for understanding!
- the Romgi
I have lived in your state for a few years now, and would like to attempt to explain a few rudimentary driving rules which, up to this point, seem to have escaped your grasp. Some of the things I talk about will be difficult for you to understand, but please try.
1. The fast lane
Are you aware that the freeway has a fast lane? In other places throughout America the slower traffic stays to the right, and the people that want to go faster stay in the left lanes. I realize that you are filled with a righteous desire to "sustain and honor the law," but some of us have places to be. I don't know how the driving test for Utah is, but in CA, they teach you that the the safest speed to go is the speed that everybody else is going at. The lane farthest to the left is not the lane for you if you want to go 55 miles per hour. If you are going 55 in the fast lane, do not be surprised when the people behind you get angry. They want to be going at least 75mph. If you want to go 55mph then go to the farthest lane to the right, and the big rigs will laugh as they pass you, thus making at least somebody happy. Nobody is happy when you stay in the fast lane.
2. the carpool or HOV lane
Yes, Utah has created a special lane for cars with 2 or more people in it. This does not mean that if you have more than two people in your car that you are legally required to go into this lane. If you have 2 people in your car, and you do not want to go faster than 55mph, then I suggest that you stay in the right lane. Even though you are not riding alone, I think that the "slower traffic keep right" signs on the freeway should apply to you. The HOV lane is also called the "Express Lane." Look at the signs when you are on the freeway, I'm really not making that up. Express is defined as "Of, relating to, or appropriate for rapid travel." "Rapid Travel" means fast. 55mph is not rapid, when taken in context of freeway travel. It is fast for a city street. The freeway is not a city street. If you are having difficulty with the idea of going fast on the freeway, please see the item titled "the fast lane" above.
3. The freeway on ramp
The on ramp is the place that you enter the freeway. 35mph is not an acceptable speed for entering the on ramp. I do not have a good car. I know that your Lexus can accelerate faster than my car, and yet you seem to have trouble gaining speed for the freeway. Again, maybe it is different in the Utah handbook that the DMV hands out for you to study, but in CA, it tells you to put your foot on the accelerator in order to reach and appropriate speed for entering the freeway. Going slowly onto the freeway does not make it easier OR safer to get onto the freeway. It makes it so that the rest of us have to swerve out of the right lane so that we do not hit you.
4. lanes
Now I sympathize with you, in that the government of Utah seems to be completely inept at building roads. In California we have shiny little markers that help you see where the lane is. Now, people here seem to think that this is impossible to do in Utah because of the snow. This may come as a shock to you, but it snows in California. The tallest peak in the lower 48 in in California. California has mountains with snow, but we still have decent lane markers. Regardless of how the lane is marked, you should be able to get the general idea that the dashed white line in the road is the border of your lane. Your car should not straddle this line. The line is not a suggested guideline. When you start to drift into my lane in your chevy suburban that is scary. I do not want to die, and I would appreciate if you could somehow figure out a way of paying attention to the road and your surroundings long enough to not kill me on the road.
See, was that too hard? Simple right? If you listen to this, then you will be able to make the rest of us very happy. Thank you for understanding!
- the Romgi
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Success!!
Well, after several weeks of being entertained at work by Microsoft's Club Live, I have finally earned enough points for the zune. It really did not take as long as I was expecting, only a few weeks. It actually happened yesterday and I am quite relieved to be done with the whole process. Or am I?
Last week, Apple announced the new iPod touch. Now, I am not one to be easily swayed by Apple's latest gizmos, but I will admit to a certain fascination with the iPod touch. Not only does it look amazing, but it has such great potential! I'm sure that as new applications are released by 3rd parties, the iPod touch with transform into the next generation of PDA/mp3 player. Some might say that he iphone already IS the next generation, but I'm really not interested in a lot of the features that are present in the iphone. I know there are a lot of people out there that are disappointed with the iPod touch's 16GB of max storage capacity, but let's face it, all of the music on my computer currently takes up about 6 GB. I could probably fit my entire music collection onto the 8GB version of the iPod touch, and still be happy. Though it would be impressive to say that you have 160GB of storage, what would you really fill that up with? My hard drive isn't even that big on my computer. Also, I like that the iPod touch uses flash memory, making it more suitable for exercise activities and the like.
Now, even the 8GB model at $299 is a bit steep for me (as a starving student). And after Apple's $200 price drop in the iphone after only a few months, I am certainly not going to be the first person in line to get one of these guys, but how I want one! So here is the plan that I have schemed up in my head, let Microsoft pay for my iPod touch. And just how do I plan to make this work? Well, I have already explained club live, and how you can get all sorts of prizes for playing games that run the Microsoft search engine. I have earned the zune and it should be in my hands by mid November. There are a myriad of other prizes that are still available to me- bluetooth headsets, xbox 360 controllers, and the like. I figure if I win enough prizes from club live, I will be able to sell the prizes to earn money towards my real goal, the iPod touch. So what say ye? What do you think of my plan?
Last week, Apple announced the new iPod touch. Now, I am not one to be easily swayed by Apple's latest gizmos, but I will admit to a certain fascination with the iPod touch. Not only does it look amazing, but it has such great potential! I'm sure that as new applications are released by 3rd parties, the iPod touch with transform into the next generation of PDA/mp3 player. Some might say that he iphone already IS the next generation, but I'm really not interested in a lot of the features that are present in the iphone. I know there are a lot of people out there that are disappointed with the iPod touch's 16GB of max storage capacity, but let's face it, all of the music on my computer currently takes up about 6 GB. I could probably fit my entire music collection onto the 8GB version of the iPod touch, and still be happy. Though it would be impressive to say that you have 160GB of storage, what would you really fill that up with? My hard drive isn't even that big on my computer. Also, I like that the iPod touch uses flash memory, making it more suitable for exercise activities and the like.
Now, even the 8GB model at $299 is a bit steep for me (as a starving student). And after Apple's $200 price drop in the iphone after only a few months, I am certainly not going to be the first person in line to get one of these guys, but how I want one! So here is the plan that I have schemed up in my head, let Microsoft pay for my iPod touch. And just how do I plan to make this work? Well, I have already explained club live, and how you can get all sorts of prizes for playing games that run the Microsoft search engine. I have earned the zune and it should be in my hands by mid November. There are a myriad of other prizes that are still available to me- bluetooth headsets, xbox 360 controllers, and the like. I figure if I win enough prizes from club live, I will be able to sell the prizes to earn money towards my real goal, the iPod touch. So what say ye? What do you think of my plan?
Thursday, September 6, 2007
Freshman Fashion Show
So, one of my favorite parts about the new school year is watching all the freshmen. They all look like they are 12 years old. I have put off a lot of my general education requirements because... well... they aren't very interesting. However, this being my last year, I really have no choice but to take the ones that I have been putting off. The upside is that Roni and I get to see what is in fashion.
A young face and lost expression isn't the only way to tell who is a freshman, and who has been at BYU a few years. Judging by the amount of parents that have been floating around Provo this past week, one can assume that there have been quite a few freshman that had their parents drop them off. Anyways, for whatever reason, it seems that parents wanted to buy their kids new school clothes "just one last time" (though I don't think my parents bought ANY of my clothes since freshman year of highschool). As a result, ALL of the freshmen look remarkably similar. They are all wearing BRIGHT flower print shirts. I mean BRIGHT. Now, maybe they think they are in high school, and people actually care? But wearing garish flower print is like putting a huge sign on their heads that says, "LOOK AT ME, I'M A FRESHMAN!" Just give them a couple years, they'll get over it.
A young face and lost expression isn't the only way to tell who is a freshman, and who has been at BYU a few years. Judging by the amount of parents that have been floating around Provo this past week, one can assume that there have been quite a few freshman that had their parents drop them off. Anyways, for whatever reason, it seems that parents wanted to buy their kids new school clothes "just one last time" (though I don't think my parents bought ANY of my clothes since freshman year of highschool). As a result, ALL of the freshmen look remarkably similar. They are all wearing BRIGHT flower print shirts. I mean BRIGHT. Now, maybe they think they are in high school, and people actually care? But wearing garish flower print is like putting a huge sign on their heads that says, "LOOK AT ME, I'M A FRESHMAN!" Just give them a couple years, they'll get over it.
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Worst... Food... Ever...
So do you all remember the Tracer, it was old, it blew smoke, but still could get from a to b. On the it died, over a year ago, I went to meet up with Roni in Concord. There was a festival or something going on in a nearby park, so we walked around and enjoyed the music that was playing. As we were walking around we saw this Korean restaurant, and decided to check it out. Maybe we had even decided ahead of time to go there, I can't really remember. Anyways, the point is that we had never been to this place, and so we didn't know anything about it.
First, you must understand there are several criteria that I use to judge how good an ethnic restaurant is. 1. Does the person greeting you at the door have an accent from the same country the food in question is from? 2. are there people from that country eating in the restaurant? 3. Are people from that country in the back cooking? So, for example, if you walk into a Chinese restaurant and the person at the door speaks with a British accent, there are elderly white people eating in the restaurant, and it looks like some kid that got fired from McDonald's is working in the kitchen, it is best NOT to eat there. The food is probably sub par.
My first warning should have been that the door greeter was not Korean, and did not even understand the Korean greeting. My second warning should have been that there were no Koreans, or even Asians, eating in the restaurant. And, the place smelled more like a taqueria than a Korean restaurant. Nevertheless, we were hungry for Korean, so we just thought we would order something simple. I asked for bulgogi, which in all honesty, is pretty hard to mess up. This place found a way. Bulgogi means "fire meat" and it simply marinated meat cooked on a grill. My order of bulgogi came out with more vegetables than meat, and tasting like it has been seasoned with a packet of taco seasoning instead of korean pear and soy sauce (the way every bulgogi should be). Worst... Bulgogi... Ever...
However, I would have gladly traded the meal on that fateful day over the food I got yesterday. I think we can all agree that a fajita is pretty hard to mess up. But the good people of Delta, Utah sure found a way. On our way back from camping in Nevada's Great Basin National Park, we all stopped in Delta for some food. Dad was in the mood for Mexican, so we pulled into a Mexican restaurant. Now, Mexican food in Utah is hit or miss, and this place already looked like more like Denny's than a Mexican restaurant. But hey, I wasn't the one paying, so my vote didn't count for much. I was the first one to order, and I ordered fajitas off the menu. Everybody got their food before mine. When the waitress came out from the kitchen, I could hear the sound of sizzling meat and I could see the cast iron skillet she was bringing over. My hopes were high.
However, when she put it in front of me, I almost wanted to ask her if she had heard me right. I think of fajitas as looking like this. However, the mass of mush in front of me looked like peppers and onions that had been boiled in equal parts of grease and tomato paste. Everything was limp and mushy, except the chicken. The chicken looked like it had been grilled, then fried, and had the flavor and texture of slices of wood. You know how paper looks when it has oil spilled on it? That kind of translucent property it takes up? That is what happened to this poor, poor piece of meat. Add to that the fact that some of the pieces of meat still had the fat and skin attached, and it did NOT look appetizing.
I somehow managed to eat three small tortillas worth of the mush before I had to stop. Everybody seemed to wonder why I didn't finish the whole thing. The Be of Besta even offered to finish off my uneaten portion, but after one bite of the chicken he put the rest down and said, "Well, now we know. Order the beef." My stomach was sick for the rest of the day. Honestly, worst food ever. Maybe I will just have to lower my expectations for Mexican food in Utah...
First, you must understand there are several criteria that I use to judge how good an ethnic restaurant is. 1. Does the person greeting you at the door have an accent from the same country the food in question is from? 2. are there people from that country eating in the restaurant? 3. Are people from that country in the back cooking? So, for example, if you walk into a Chinese restaurant and the person at the door speaks with a British accent, there are elderly white people eating in the restaurant, and it looks like some kid that got fired from McDonald's is working in the kitchen, it is best NOT to eat there. The food is probably sub par.
My first warning should have been that the door greeter was not Korean, and did not even understand the Korean greeting. My second warning should have been that there were no Koreans, or even Asians, eating in the restaurant. And, the place smelled more like a taqueria than a Korean restaurant. Nevertheless, we were hungry for Korean, so we just thought we would order something simple. I asked for bulgogi, which in all honesty, is pretty hard to mess up. This place found a way. Bulgogi means "fire meat" and it simply marinated meat cooked on a grill. My order of bulgogi came out with more vegetables than meat, and tasting like it has been seasoned with a packet of taco seasoning instead of korean pear and soy sauce (the way every bulgogi should be). Worst... Bulgogi... Ever...
However, I would have gladly traded the meal on that fateful day over the food I got yesterday. I think we can all agree that a fajita is pretty hard to mess up. But the good people of Delta, Utah sure found a way. On our way back from camping in Nevada's Great Basin National Park, we all stopped in Delta for some food. Dad was in the mood for Mexican, so we pulled into a Mexican restaurant. Now, Mexican food in Utah is hit or miss, and this place already looked like more like Denny's than a Mexican restaurant. But hey, I wasn't the one paying, so my vote didn't count for much. I was the first one to order, and I ordered fajitas off the menu. Everybody got their food before mine. When the waitress came out from the kitchen, I could hear the sound of sizzling meat and I could see the cast iron skillet she was bringing over. My hopes were high.
However, when she put it in front of me, I almost wanted to ask her if she had heard me right. I think of fajitas as looking like this. However, the mass of mush in front of me looked like peppers and onions that had been boiled in equal parts of grease and tomato paste. Everything was limp and mushy, except the chicken. The chicken looked like it had been grilled, then fried, and had the flavor and texture of slices of wood. You know how paper looks when it has oil spilled on it? That kind of translucent property it takes up? That is what happened to this poor, poor piece of meat. Add to that the fact that some of the pieces of meat still had the fat and skin attached, and it did NOT look appetizing.
I somehow managed to eat three small tortillas worth of the mush before I had to stop. Everybody seemed to wonder why I didn't finish the whole thing. The Be of Besta even offered to finish off my uneaten portion, but after one bite of the chicken he put the rest down and said, "Well, now we know. Order the beef." My stomach was sick for the rest of the day. Honestly, worst food ever. Maybe I will just have to lower my expectations for Mexican food in Utah...
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