I wish all paedophiles were this stupid

Alton man faces child porn charges after library staff finds images on his flash drive

The images were found by a library worker while verifying that the man was, indeed, the owner of a flash drive left behind at the library. Once the images were found, he denied ownership of the drive, and then went to a computer at the library, whereupon police were summoned, so I don't know how the case will play out. He could just deny it's his, but surely he must have indicated it was his prior to the images being found, since the police did go ahead and arrest him rather than just question him about it.

As a side note, the news service the link belongs to also published his address along with his name. Since the jury of public opinion doesn't involve 'innocent until proven guilty', that opens him up to a lot of harassment. 'Course, if he is guilty, I hope he's put away for a long time.

Thanks to Blake from LISNews for the story.

But wait!

One more thing to report. Okay, two. Yesterday, I got a package in the mail from Amazon. It was my 16 GB USB drive that turned out to be $5 between the discount from the store and my $25 gift certificate. I spent a good part of last evening putting stuff on it. It uses a U3 system like my current one (they're both Sandisk Cruzer Micros). Along with the data, I downloaded some useful utilities, although it's not as user-friendly as it used to be. Sandisk has apparently gone with a hosting/download service that if you pay lets you immediately download at high speeds, but if you are a free customer it queues you into a holding pattern and then gives you the programs slowly, making you wait between downloads. They didn't used to do that, and it was pretty easy to set up my last one in just a few minutes. This took a couple of hours, and I still don't have OpenOffice on it yet. So that was a bit annoying, but given the great price, I was willing to forgive a little.

Today I got the second part of the order--the DVD of Dr Horrible's Sing-along-Blog, which includes another block of additional music (the commentary on the show) and video auditions for the Evil League of Evil. Ah, I love this show. That means I have the soundtrack and the DVD, so I'm set if they take it offline.

Yipee!

Okay, good night (for real).

Feeling like I'm rambling in my head

Forgive me; this isn't coming out with much coherency in terms of linear time.

When I got home from work today, I took a short nap and then listened to some meditative music on cable. Now I'm catching up on news and doing my laundry, even though it's midnight. Earlier today I went by the library, turned in the books that were due (on time, mind you), and picked up some others. Work was quiet at both places, so it was a decent day. Plus, I just ordered a 32 GB flash drive for a grand total of about $5 (it was $40.00 off at Amazon, plus I had a $25 gift card from my points that I get from my bank account). The idea is to use my old 4 GB drive to backup a friend's documents, since the two 512 MB ones we're using are bursting at the seams, and I almost have the 4 GB drive filled up with my stuff, so I need a bigger one.

Tomorrow's agenda includes paying rent, so I'll have to catch the bus back to the shopping centre where I work is (there's a bank there), get a money order, and bring it over to the leasing office. I only have to work at the hospital, where I plan to mostly do cataloguing (I really have to get the book truck that's partly blocking my cubicle and a computer station out of the way...I'm feeling claustrophobic.) After that I'll probably go over to a friend's house, again on the bus. I purchased a 30-day unlimited pass the other day (it's $30, which isn't too bad, much better than gas for a month). I also plan to clean out the refrigerator and do some dishes later that night. Oh, and notes. :)

Well, that's enough for now. The dryer should be finished in about 20 minutes, so I'm going to check the news. Good night.

I can't believe I just spent 3 hours

trying to get my new 4.0 GB SanDisk Cruzer Micro with U3 to work in my computer (I had no trouble getting it to work on another one, but it locked mine up and took away my icons, etc.) The culprit was a conflict between MusicMatch and the U3 software. I don't really use MusicMatch anymore, so I canned it. I've also been updating the U3 software and downloading utilities, as well as downloading and installing Service Pack 3 for Windows XP.

All this when I should be sleeping. I'm tired. I'm ready for bed, and hunching over the computer isn't helping my disposition. But everything works now with the disk (although I'm still in the middle of installing SP 3, so maybe I shouldn't jinx myself).

PS The flash drive was on sale for only $19.99. There was one that was 8.0 GB for only $29.99 ($40 off), but they were out of that one, of course. Although, having gone through a lot of trouble just to be able to access my data, maybe that's why they were so cheap. :)

I got it! I got it!

Listening to: Big Country's 'Look Away'



This morning I had a package waiting for me from Amazon.com. Yes, that package, the one I ordered using my $100 gift certificate that I received from my bank card rewards programme. It contained two things:

The Seer, one of my favourite albums from my 20s, and I still love it. It's by Big Country, which most Americans only know from their 80s hit, 'In a Big Country' (one of their worst songs, in my opinion, but isn't that the way it tends to go?) They were known for their use of guitars and e-bows to produce sounds similar to the Highland pipes and other traditional Scottish instruments. Many of their songs are based on Scottish nationalist themes, especially this album. The band is still well-known in Scotland. Unfortunately, several years ago the lead singer, Stuart Adamson, died as a result of an ongoing problem with alcohol. (He was found hanged, but it was done in such a way that if he'd been sober he could not have died.) The band has continued to release material, however. I left behind my old vinyl LP at an apartment when I was evicted; my tape version is getting battered from years of play. I was very happy to see it in compact disc. The CD contains some bonus tracks from a Germany release; I don't care for them, but I love all the original ones. I listened to it at work, through notes, and am listening to it right now (I'm up to 'Eiledon').

Even better, I got my data voice recorder, the Olympus WS-311M. Features include:

• 512MB internal Flash Memory
  
• 138 hours of recording time in LP mode
  
• Six recording modes: Use STXQ, STHQ and STSP for stereo recording or HQ, LP and SP for extended recording
  
• Variable Control Voice Actuator (VCVA) records only when sound is sensed
  
• The Low Cut Filter minimizes air conditioner noise and other similar noises
  
• Five file folders, each holding up to 200 files
  
• Up to 16 index marks can be set in a file
  
• USB Storage Device can store many file types, not just audio files
  
• Lock files to avoid accidentally erasing important information
  
• "USB Direct" design provides direct connect to a PC via USB 2.0 port
  
• WMA and MP3 Music Player
  
• Voice Filter enhances the human voice by cutting low and high frequency noises during playback
  
• Slow and fast playback speed variations
  
• Repeat and Random playback
  
• WOW XTTM technology provides rich bass and three-dimensional stereo sound
  
• Customise the sound with a built-in equaliser

Today I have:

1. Transferred a digitised PDF of Kidnapped! by Robert Louis Stevenson [one of the songs on the Big Country album is based on it and historical events depicted in it] onto the device using the built in USB flash drive (the battery case pulls away to expose it; no cable is required, although one is included in case your USB port is in a tight space...but mine is (I don't have a hub, just two on the back) and it worked fine without it).
   
2. Made several test recordings so I could learn to use the file system, play back, delete, etc.
   
3. Transferred the following from CDs I own: The Seer (Big Country), ...Something to Be (Rob Thomas), and Once More, With Feeling (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the Musical)
   
4. Listened to the music as I did notes. It's got nice sound quality.
   

Next on the agenda--recording the game on Sunday to help with the notes (the main reason for getting the gadget in the first place). Then I also get to try out a program I downloaded not long ago that helps transcribe the audio. :)

Anyway, it's been a day of music and gadgets. Yay.