Raffi's Photoblog of Enlightenment

Final Words...

2005-04-15T17:28:00.000-04:00

I just wanted to say some final words for those of you who are still checking this site out, for some strange reason.
I want to thank every single person that left a comment on this site over the few months that it was running.
I want to also thank Google for creating such a great service, Blogger, and I hope it continues to expand and grow in popularity because it deserves all the fame it can get.
I also want to thank my Nikon Coolpix 5400, which has now been replaced by a Nikon D70, for taking all those amazing pictures, and getting me further into photography. (man that camera kicked ass for a non-SLR camera)

And yeah thats about it. Thanks Blogger for hosting me! Come check out the new and final site, Shattered Abstracts!

Farewell, Blogger!

NEW SITE LAUNCH!

2005-04-09T14:15:00.000-04:00

The site is now officially launched. I'm still working out one final bug thats left but I wasnt going to keep the site from you guys for any longer. I've been working all morning on this and it is finally complete. Enjoy!

Click here to go to the new site: Shattered Abstracts

New Site Launch SOON!

2005-04-07T18:46:00.000-04:00

This week has been packed with homework and tests, assignments, presentations, etc. I'm sorry I havent been keeping you updated too often on the status of the new site, but thats because nothing new had happened until yesterday night.

The new template is up and running, and the site is just about ready for me to begin updating it with photos. I'm just working out the tiny little bugs here and there from the code for now.

Therefore, the new site is coming and I plan to launch it over the weekend. This, my friends, is the beginning of what is soon to be hopefully a new nominee in the Photobloggies awards next year.

Stay tuned.

Icy Grid Lines Part 2

2005-04-06T16:27:00.000-04:00

Icy Grid Lines

2005-04-05T18:18:00.000-04:00

I had trouble deciding what shot to post today, so I decided to post both (the other comes tomorrow). Also, the launch of the new site is postponed until the weekend, due to heavy work load from school. Keep your eyes peeled.

Orange Glow

2005-04-04T16:46:00.000-04:00

Creeping Closer

2005-04-03T14:26:00.000-04:00

The release of the new site is coming near. Stay tuned. ;)

HP Copy

2005-04-02T14:29:00.000-05:00

Out of the archives, this looks like one of those pictures that companies would use on their websites. This is a macro shot of my HP printer.

Good news!

2005-04-01T17:57:00.000-05:00

I have good news! I recently got my hands on webspace and a domain, and I am in the process of installing the necessary software onto it, and configuring it. What this means is that within the next day or two I will publicly post the URL to the new site here. Check back for more info soon.

Over and Under

2005-03-31T15:27:00.000-05:00

Speed of Light Part 2

2005-03-30T15:51:00.000-05:00

First sign of spring

2005-03-29T17:29:00.000-05:00

Twin Candle Lights

2005-03-28T20:34:00.000-05:00

Speed of Light

2005-03-27T14:08:00.000-05:00

Midrange Reflections

2005-03-26T14:10:00.000-05:00

Just to let everyone know, there has been a lot going on behind the scenes for me. I have recently gotten my own webspace on a server, which I am currently setting up now. I'll keep you informed on the status of the new site. I think I will publically launch it when I get my Canon Digital Rebel XT. Speaking of which, thats the second piece of news. Within the next week or two (hopefully) I will be picking up a Digital Rebel XT. =D

Sony Speakers

2005-03-25T10:43:00.000-05:00

Spiral of Impending Doom Part 2

2005-03-23T18:34:00.000-05:00

This gives a different prespective of the similar picture posted earlier. Except this time, this is a macro shot. I know, near the left of the picture looks like an atom bomb blew up or something... but that's just the sun. ;)

Photobloggies

2005-03-22T19:13:00.000-05:00

The Photobloggies is an annual award ceremony celebrating photoblogging around the world. Through the Photobloggies, you can find some of the best photoblog sites on the internet, chosen by photobloggers and photoblog readers. Organized by Brandon Stone, Jake Dobkin, and Rannie Turingan, it includes awards based on geographic region, photoblog subject matter, and "best of" categories.

Go to the Photobloggies and vote for your favourite photo blogs now! (I'm not on there this year, but my goal is to get nominated for next year!)

I want a new camera!

2005-03-20T15:05:00.000-05:00

I have recently been looking around for Digital SLRs to buy, so that the Nikon Coolpix 5400 can belong to my family again and I can have a professional camera to take my pictures with. I've heard nothing but praises of Canon's Digital Rebel cameras, and so I did some research. Turns out they just released a new version of it called Digital Rebel XT, and it has a few things I dont really need (such as the 8MP sensor). That means the Digital Rebel is going to go down in price to make room for the XT!

Click here to see the Digital Rebel and its specifications.
Click here to see the Digital Rebel XT.
Ahhhh how I want the Digital Rebel so bad. Its the only D-SLR thats reasonably priced (sub $1000). All the other ones are more like $1300+.

Anyways, chances of me getting this camera are pretty slim since I highly doubt I'd be able to pull out the money for this out of my ass. Until then, that little Rebel will just remain in my dreams, and I'll keep struggling to take shots with my Nikon.

Ceiling Spider

2005-03-18T22:13:00.000-05:00

I had trouble choosing which of the three of these shots to put up, but in the end the "darker" picture prevailed. It was hard to get a good shot, lying on the floor and all.

Screw me

2005-03-17T18:39:00.000-05:00

You must excuse me and my lack of creativity in this photo. I haven't really found time to do much picture taking lately. Expect more in the days to come.

RAW!

2005-03-15T21:38:00.000-05:00

Thats right. RAW! I finally did the right thing and gave my camera a long deserving firmware upgrade. I now have the RAW mode at my disposal, and guess what kiddies... That means super high quality uber looking pictures.

I shall commence the new photos tomorrow hopefully. No picture for today, as I am getting used to the new mode and I'm installing Photoshop updates so that it supports my camera's RAW files. These files are HUGE! 8mb for one picture! I took a shot of my backyard, and holy cow it blew me away. Anyways, I guess that means the "FINE, 1280x960" mode is being replaced by "RAW, *insert huge resolution that I couldnt memorize here*" =D

Furry Armenian Letters

2005-03-14T13:57:00.000-05:00

This is a part of the Armenian alphabet. If theres any Armenians reading this, you'd understand. ;)

Perspective of the Keys

2005-03-13T15:19:00.000-05:00

Longhorn Sky

2005-03-12T14:39:00.000-05:00

Photo + Photoshop = First photoshopped picture to be posted on this blog. Hope you like. =)

Spiral of Impending Doom

2005-03-11T18:30:00.000-05:00

Eternal Rising

2005-03-10T18:07:00.000-05:00

Shot was taken at around 11:30pm last night. I think it has quite a lot of depth. Comments welcome.

Greyscale Branches

2005-03-08T17:03:00.000-05:00

I took another shot a few days after a similar shot a few days ago, this time its B&W.

Midnight Glow

2005-03-07T16:08:00.000-05:00

Smile

2005-03-06T13:12:00.000-05:00

Playing around with macro mode and selective focusing. Simple enough.

Reality is so Blurred...

2005-03-05T13:41:00.000-05:00

If you are looking for a cool message board to post on where philosophical topics are discussed all the time, alongside music discussions and pretty much everything else including technology. There is already quite a few members, but we are now trying to expand the boards. Come on down and check it out!
You can click here to visit the boards! (An easier to remember address is http://blurredreality.cjb.net)

See you there! =)

Macro Doll

2005-03-05T09:49:00.000-05:00

I decided that I wanted to use macro mode on something, so this is one of those pictures that I took. It was difficult to keep my hands from moving around too much, but I think this one turned out alright.

Mmmm... Branches... drool

2005-03-04T17:32:00.000-05:00

I took this pic about 10 minutes ago (along with some others that I will post eventually). I don't think I am very satisfied with this shot, but out of the numerous revisions of this same shot that I had, I chose this one as my favourite. Opinions appreciated.

These have been some slow few days...

2005-03-03T22:24:00.000-05:00

These past few days have gone by so eerily slowly yet fast. Uneventful too. We've had snow storm after snow storm with no snow day at all, and test after test to deal with, plus course selections and forms for field trips, etc. It's been quite the stressful week.

On the plus side, I got a hair cut, ate at Burger King for the first time in a few weeks (I wont let that happen again) and I'm getting the hang of programming in Java. Completed my first set of beginner programs.

It seems I have lost all sense of grammar and spelling, thank god for spell check (and common sense). Slow on pictures, yes, but that will be fixed in due time.

'Till next time folks, I bid thee good night. (It could potentially sound like I'm on some sort of crack right now, but I guarantee you I am not.... or at least I think I'm not... =|)

Dominican Skys

2005-03-01T16:51:00.000-05:00

I pulled this one out of my archives (that means it has the dreaded date, and low resolution) Anyways, this shot was taken quite a while back in Dominican Republic. I looked up, took a shot, and only realized how nice it came out when I got home.

Morning glory

2005-02-26T09:56:00.000-05:00

I took this picture this morning after a fresh snowfall. I was lucky to get a clear shot because shortly after, it started snowing again. I like the colours (or lack there of) and the shadows in this picture.

The toothbrush that makes you a loud mouth

2005-02-25T18:59:00.000-05:00

Hasbro Tooth Tunes toothbrush makes you a loud mouth

Any parent will tell you that getting kids to groom their pearly whites is all too often like, well, pulling teeth. Some Hasbro executive had the brilliant idea of keeping kids entertained while scrubbing those molars: enter “Tooth Tunes,” a toothbrush that plays a two minute riff to span the ideal amount of brush time recommended by dentists. The clip, stored on a microchip “no bigger than a dot atop the letter i,” (that’s rich) is triggered by a button on the brush. A minicomputer uses bone conduction to send sound waves first through the front teeth, then to the jawbone and into the inner ear (not unlike the Jawbone, SwiMP3, etc., incidentally). Hasbro is currently chatting up several pop stars for the rights to their songs, but will any of them bite?

Source: Engadget

Macro iRiver

2005-02-24T19:28:00.000-05:00

I took this pic a few days ago. It's nothing special but the reason why I'm posting it is because I particularly like the focus effect of it. I like taking macro shots, but the only problem is theres not much things to take macro shots of in this house. I'll think of something...

Unbelievable...

2005-02-24T17:52:00.000-05:00

LONDON (Reuters) - A blind man has been arrested in Scotland after witnesses reported he sank his teeth into his guide dog and kicked her across the road, police said on Thursday.

The incident allegedly occurred outside a busy shopping center in the Scottish capital Edinburgh.

David Todd, 34, is expected to face charges of cruelty to animals and breach of the peace.

A police spokeswoman said the 8-year old dog had been handed over to a charity dedicated to guide dogs.

"When we took her into custody, she had no apparent injuries," she added.

Todd is due to appear in court at a later date.

Source: Reuters

Raffaele Iannello Knife Block

2005-02-23T20:32:00.000-05:00

You can't buy this Knife Block, designed by Raffaele Iannello, from Vice Versa—they aren't the buying sort of catalog—but you can lust after it all the same. The best meat is murder, after all.

I laughed because its made by... Raffaele .. you know... the name that most people like to pretend is my real name? Riiiiight, that one.

Source: Gizmodo

Weird site of the year

2005-02-23T15:55:00.000-05:00

Alright so it may be a dutch site, but thats besides the point. This site is for those who want to find ways of dumping their boyfriend or girlfriend. If I could read dutch, I'd be taking notes. ;) Besides, the intro music is catchy and the animations you can click on in the site are hilariously stupid.

Have fun! Click here to go to site.

Great week so far

2005-02-21T16:33:00.000-05:00

So this week has gone off to a great start. I was able to drop Physics and pick up Drama instead, and the english teacher wasnt here today but the supply teacher didnt show up until the second half of class after lunch. So today was such a smooth sailing day its not even funny.

I got my laptop back from repairs, and the computer science test was simple. I got 100% on my research paper as well =) I've never seen so many 4+++'s in my life. =D

With the recent heavy snowfall overnight, I thought there would be some good picture taking oppourtunities, but nope... Nothing special. Just dark, cloudy, and a bunch of snow. Come on nature, get artistic a bit, eh?

2005-02-19T18:31:00.000-05:00

Another pic I just took a few minutes ago. This time around, theres no moon and no date either. I cant wait till I get a break from school so I can take more pictures outside.

Daily Dose of Imagery

2005-02-19T13:19:00.000-05:00

A little picture from Sam, a well respected Toronto photographer, whos site you can reach here: http://wvs.topleftpixel.com/
I really like this pic, and the original picture is very very very huge (this is a very toned down image) Anyways, this pic was taken a couple of weeks back during those crazy sunsets in Toronto.

Constantine Kicks Ass... Period.

2005-02-18T22:24:00.000-05:00

Theres nothing else to it. If you like one of the following, go see this movie:

Action
Suspense
Religion (Heaven and Hell)
Keanu Reeves (hah)
Demons
Messed up unethical plot =P

What a friggin kick ass movie. lol

Midnight Delight?

2005-02-17T15:08:00.000-05:00

I took this shot at around midnight last night, it was very very very dark outside but I managed to tweak the exposure a bit to come out with this shot. No photoshop once again. Tell me what you think. =)

Sunset...

2005-02-16T23:23:00.000-05:00

Here is a very old picture from my archives, I wish the moon was a bit more clear but hey what can ya do... I like the natural gradient and the outline of the houses. Once again no photoshop. I'm growing impatient to begin taking pictures of downtown when I begin to work again.

Zombie Raffi? Apparently so...

2005-02-16T18:19:00.000-05:00

I was playing around with a few camera techniques and I got quite a bit of interesting pictures. No photoshop used in any of them, but I decided to post this one as it seems to be the most popular in terms of being "scary". Click for full size.

2005-02-15T16:37:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago while walking around in the "mini-forest" nearby, I took this picture. I think its pretty cool, though I wish I had thought to take the date off before taking the pic. Blogger resized the pic for the net, click the thumbnail for a slightly bigger size. If you want the full thing, leave a comment. (its 1024x768)

Ice day leads to Metroid Prime 2: Echoes spree!

2005-02-14T15:43:00.000-05:00

So I wake up this morning and I head on over to school. Little do I know, that it has rained some freezing rain over night so my driveway is like a sheet of ice. *slip* hah when I got to school I realize no one is there. Eventually people started arriving but as soon as they got there, they called their parents to pick them back up because the busses were cancelled so no school!

Me and a few of my friends left for my house, and ended up playing Metroid Prime 2: Echoes until our eyes bled. Most of the time we were screaming "holy crap where the freaking hell is this god forsaken save point?!?!?!?!" and as a result we just couldnt stop playing until we found a save point. Little did we know, that was a looooong way off. Soooo when we finally did get to the save point, it was 2:30pm and we've been playing since about 8:30am. *wipes forehead* Alright so after all that we're only done 14% of the game. Meanwhile, we got so hypnotised by the game that we thought we had to jump from "light orb" to "light orb" to keep from losing health.... Oh god you know you've played too long when....

So the moral of todays story is, buy Metroid Prime 2: Echoes. =P

Loud music can be addictive

2005-02-13T10:08:00.000-05:00

Well I just heard on Edge that loud music can be as addictive as drugs. So I decided to do some research on that topic and I found a bit... Well first off some more info from Edge: Turns out scientists in the UK put kids in three groups of different music genres to test if Mozart and classical music actually does improve your IQ (the mozart effect). So one group listened to classical music, another listened to talk radio, and the last group listened to rock music (oasis, etc) and the results were that the kids that were listening to rock ended up with a 4% higher IQ than the other two groups.. hmm.

So back to the addictive as drugs idea... I found an article from the Ottawa Citizen that states:
"Whether you prefer to blast Mozart, left, or James Hetfield of Metallica, the effects are equally troubling. Loud music addicts can experience hearing loss and symptoms of withdrawal like mood swings, lethargy and depression."

Appearently it does not matter what kind of music it is, as long as its loud. You get so used to listening to loud music that it becomes the "normal" level of volume for you, while for others it can be deafening volume. And then if someone were to completely take that loud music away from you, you'd experience signs of withdrawl. The name of this symptom is called "maladaptive music listening" (MML) and its catagorized under the same catagory of drug abuse.

Also, which type of musician do you think would lose their hearing first? Classical or rock? Turns out the classical musician will go deaf before a rock musician because of the high levels of music that goes on around them for hours on end.

Eeeenteresting, no?

New MSN 7 Beta!

2005-02-12T23:06:00.000-05:00

MSN Messenger 7 Build 7.0.0604 was leaked earlier today and I happened to get my hands on it. Very nice improvements, however the bad thing is that with these new features comes some bugs. No mouse-over to see full nickname in contact window, offline status in chat window doesnt work, etc.

Some improvements are:

The ability to see the display picture next to their name in the contact list window (small or large icons)
The ability to "share" search results. Hard to explain, but cool nonetheless.
The ability to have a "personal message" next to your nick name (instead of adding things like "sleeping" in your nick name, you can add it to this instead... sort of more formal.
The addition of the "My Spaces" button to complement the new Spaces service from MSN.
The ability to add "now playing" to your nick name, which shows others on your list what you are listening to (only available for Windows Media Player right now)
A new emoticon called (nah) which is another type of (bah)
New features that are not yet activated:
Offline messaging, like the one ICQ has. Allows you to send messages to offline contacts, and the person will get that message the next time they sign in.

A note though... the search results, personal message, and now listening features only work with other people using the same version.

Stay tuned for the public beta release in the coming days. Until then it would be wiser to stay with your current MSN 6.2 or 7 beta release due to some of these minor bugs that need to be fixed.

Homosexual Penguins + Comment system updated

2005-02-11T23:58:00.000-05:00

Just when you'd least expect it.... The most idiotic article I have read in months...

A German zoo wants to run tests on a group of penguins suspected to be homosexual. But that’s not sitting well with gay and lesbian groups. They’re afraid officials could push the creatures into turning straight. “All sorts of gay and lesbian associations have been e-mailing and calling in to protest,” said a spokesman for the zoo in the northwestern city of Bremerhaven. The zoo originally thought the animals might be gay after the males attempted to mate with each other, and hatch offspring from rocks. Then there were stories that Swedish penguins would be flown in to see if it was true. When that news broke, the phone calls started. “Nobody here is trying to break-up same sex pairs by force,” the zoo's director Heike Kueck told public broadcaster NDR. “We don't know if the three male pairs are really gay or just got together because of a lack of females.”

--

In other news, Blogger has updated the comment system to make it more easy for people who do not have a Blogger account to make a comment. (There ya go merz, no more confusion for you)

You girls are dangerous...

2005-02-10T15:20:00.000-05:00

LONDON (Reuters) - A British woman was sentenced to two and a half years in jail Thursday for ripping off her ex-lover's testicle with her bare hands during a drunken brawl after he refused her sex.

Amanda Monti, 24, flew into a rage in May last year after Geoffrey Jones, 37, who had ended their long-term relationship, rejected her advances.

She grabbed him by the genitals, tearing off his left testicle, then hid it in her mouth before a friend of Jones handed it back to him saying "that's yours."

Monti, of Birkenhead, near Liverpool, pleaded guilty to unlawful wounding at an earlier hearing.

Source: Yahoo! News

Tactics if you are stuck in the same room as Dave...

2005-02-10T15:17:00.000-05:00

Date from Hell: Rescue!

CANBERRA (Reuters) - It's every single person's nightmare: You're on a date, it's a disaster but there's no way out.

With Valentine's Day (news - web sites) looming, a mobile phone company in Australia has come to the rescue with a service offering an escape from the date from hell.

All you have to do is discreetly dial three numbers and then hang up without saying a word.

"Virgin Mobile will call them back a minute later with a perfect excuse to get them out of there. We'll even talk them through what to say," the company, a joint venture of the Virgin Group and Optus, said in a statement.

A survey of 402 people by Virgin Mobile found that 53 percent arrange in advance to have a friend call them mid-date to check they are all right or if they need an excuse to get out.

The results showed women were twice as likely as men to use the tactic.

Source: Yahoo! News

Due to popular demand...

2005-02-09T22:19:00.000-05:00

I've been hearing from some people that the articles I post on here arnt really that great, and that they'd rather see more "bloggish" kind of posts (aka personal) rather than generic "odd news". And sure thats fine... That I can do.

Honestly if you guys have any comments, opinions, feedback... Feel free to leave a message in the comment section.

Anyways, half way into the first week of Semester 2 and I'm in a hot debate on whether or not I should drop Physics class... Ugh so difficult to make up my mind. Speaking of which I should be doing my Physics homework right now... Oh well. I want to upgrade my laptop somehow... Add more RAM, buy a new battery... Or just get the whole thing replaced in general.

Damnit its 10:25, I better go and finish this work. More updates to come.

Hurray for msn!

2005-02-08T19:28:00.000-05:00

Alright well now that we all know that MSN is being a complete crackhead... I say we all finally make the switch to Yahoo! Messenger.

Honestly, Yahoo is so much cooler, I dont see why everyone is so stubborn on staying with a service that has more outages in a span of 2 weeks than a freaking 70 year old fuse box.

Everyone, please for the love of god... Click the following link and leave a comment with your Yahoo username so I can add you... And you and I will both be free from MSN and its retarded servers. And thus, here is the "following link".

This kid is my hero

2005-02-08T16:18:00.000-05:00

4-Year-Old Mich. Boy Drives Mother's Car

Tue Feb 8, 9:33 AM ET

SAND LAKE, Mich. - A boy drove his mother's car to a video store in the middle of the night, police said — and he's all of 4 years old.

Even though he was unable to reach the accelerator, the boy managed to put the car in gear and the idling engine provided enough power to take him slowly to the store, a quarter-mile from his home, about 1:30 a.m. Friday, Police Chief Doug Heugel said. Finding the store closed, the youngster began a slow trip home.

Weaving and with its headlights off, the car got the attention of police Sgt. Jay Osga, who initially thought he was following a driverless car that had taken off after being left running at a gas pump.

The car turned into the boy's apartment complex and struck two parked cars, then backed up and struck Osga's police car.

That's when Osga discovered the boy inside.

"He knew how to go from forward to reverse," Osga said Monday. "The mother said she taught him how to drive by letting him sit on her lap and steer."

No charges will be filed against the boy or his mother, Heugel said.

"He's 4 years old. His mom didn't even know he was up," Heugel told The Grand Rapids Press. "I don't think he even realizes what he did."

Source: Yah... bah you probably already know by now

Well, at Least He Won't Be Fathering More Fans...

2005-02-08T16:05:00.000-05:00

LONDON (Reuters) - A Welsh rugby fan cut off his own testicles to celebrate Wales beating England at rugby, the Daily Mirror reported Tuesday.

Geoff Huish, 26, was so convinced England would win Saturday's match he told fellow drinkers at a social club, "If Wales win I'll cut my balls off," the paper said.

Friends at the club in Caerphilly, south Wales, thought he was joking.

But after the game Huish went home, severed his testicles with a knife, and walked 200 yards back to the bar with the testicles to show the shocked drinkers what he had done.

Huish was taken to hospital where he remained in serious condition, the paper said.

Wales's 11-9 victory over England at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff was their first home win over England in 12 years.

Source: Yahoooo!

And so it begins...

2005-02-07T19:18:00.000-05:00

Well school has officially started... Semester Two to be exact. So far so bad. Math, physics, english, computer science. The first three are proving to take the longest freaking time to complete the homework and its only the first day. Sorry about the lack of updates these past few days folks, I've just been really busy, but I'll get back on the daily updates asap!

Stay tuned...

RIAA sues dead woman

2005-02-06T10:50:00.000-05:00

Dead Woman, Who Didn't Have Computer, Sued For Music Trading

POSTED: 7:47 am EST February 4, 2005

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The recording industry sued Gertrude Walton, accusing her of illegally trading music over the Internet as "smittenedkitten."

But the lawsuit was filed more than a month after the 83-year-old woman died in December, and her daughter says Walton hated computers, anyway.

A group of record companies named Walton as the sole defendant in a federal lawsuit, claiming she made more than 700 songs available for free on the Internet.

Walton's daughter, Robin Chianumba, lived with her mother for the last 17 years and said her mother objected to having a computer in the house.

"My mother wouldn't know how to turn on a computer," Chianumba said.

She said she faxed a copy of her mother's death certificate to record company officials several days before the lawsuit was filed, in response to a letter from the company regarding the upcoming legal filing.

"I am pretty sure she is not going to leave Greenwood Memorial Park (where she is buried) to attend the hearing," Chianumba said.

A Recording Industry Association of America spokesman said Thursday that Walton was likely not the smittenedkitten it's searching for.

"Our evidence gathering and our subsequent legal actions all were initiated weeks and even months ago," said RIAA spokesman Jonathan Lamy. "We will now, of course, obviously dismiss this case."

Source: WFTV

My computer gave me a birthday present!

2005-02-04T08:58:00.000-05:00

Well my computer was nice enough to give me a present, though its not exactly the nicest thing someone can give... A broken Hard Drive.

After endless tests and diagnostics, the guys at Neowin and I probed my computer until we can find what was wrong with it, and now I know for sure that it is a hard drive problem.

If anyone has a spare HDD I can borrow to dump my files onto before this baby officially dies and goes to hard drive heaven, that would be awsome (though it has to be assuming you are one of those people I usually see at school and such).

Creativity at its finest

2005-02-04T01:23:00.000-05:00

Train crash survivor wrote message in blood

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A Los Angeles man, whose blood-scrawled love message to his wife and family became the most haunting image of a fatal train crash last week, has choked back tears as he thanked his rescuers.

Trapped, injured, and fearing for his life in the wreckage of the suburban Los Angeles commuter train collision, John Phipps, 44, used the blood seeping from his injured head and legs to write "I (heart symbol) Leslie" and "I (heart symbol) my kids" on a nearby train seat.

Eleven people were killed and almost 200 injured in the January 26 crash which was triggered by a car left on rail tracks by a suicidal man who changed his mind. The driver has been charged with murder and could face the death penalty if convicted.

Phipps was cut out of the wreckage by fire fighters, who were touched by his scrawled message and asked news photographers to take a picture of it for his family.

The photo was widely used in newspapers and on the Internet but Phipps had shied away from publicity until coming forward on Thursday to meet reporters and thank fire fighters. More than 700 people had called the Fire Department wanting to wish the mystery writer well.

"I am here today because these guys deserve the credit. All I did was just lay there," Phipps said, choking back tears.

"I don't know whether I did it because I thought I would not make it out alive or because I was just being a maudlin dope," Phipps said, walking on crutches and wearing a Los Angeles Fire Department cap and shirt.

Fire fighter Bob Rosario, who helped cut Phipps out of the wreckage, said the message was one of the most touching things he had seen in 25 years on the job.

"It is pretty moving that someone in that situation could have the forethought of doing something like that," Rosario said.

Source: Yahoooooo hoo...

Signed Hitler photo for auction? wow... just.. just wow.

2005-02-04T01:19:00.000-05:00

Complaints Force Hitler Photo from Auction

LONDON (Reuters) - A signed photo of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler was withdrawn from an auction in Britain after complaints of insensitivity from a Jewish group, the auctioneer said Wednesday.

The local Jewish group objected to the timing of the sale, coming only days after world leaders had gathered at Auschwitz on the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the death camp to remember the 6 million Jews murdered in the Holocaust.

"It's very much an exception withdrawing them. These documents are important historical records," said Richard Westwood-Brookes, historical documents expert at the auctioneers Mullock Madeley in Shropshire, western England.

"I'm not a Nazi sympathizer. Quite the opposite, like many others my father fought against the Nazis," he told Reuters.

The 1940s postcard portrait of Hitler and a signed biography, entitled "Adolf Hitler: His Life so Far" and written in 1932, will still be available for sale privately, Westwood-Brookes added.

He valued the items at between 650 and 1,000 pounds each. ($1,230 to $1,850).

Source: As usual, Yahoo! News

Happy Birthday to me

2005-02-03T01:07:00.000-05:00

Yeah... My birthday is today. Yippie. *dozes off* I asked for a frapachino wheres my fucking frapachino?

random i know... and thus, what happens when your brain is fried from exams is clearly displayed above...

No but seriously, its my birthday.. =S

Mission Complete

2005-02-01T14:56:00.000-05:00

Alright so exams are finally FIN. History was a easy exam, while Religion was brutal as hell. I had studied all weekend but then I put too much focus on History and I completely forgot most of the things for religion, soooo the only part I did good on was the multiple choice and the matching. *sigh* Whatever. That piece of crap was longer than the History exam and we had 30 minutes less to do it.

Anyways, so this means we go back to our regular programming of odd and interesting news... Till then, *blasts some Children of Bodom* \m/

Tomorrow is the big day

2005-01-31T23:19:00.000-05:00

Talk about being underprepared... Tomorrow I have a World History exam and a World Religions exam. History will be a 2 hour exam, and Religion will be a 1.5 hour exam. I guarantee you that by the end of it my brain will be fried, toasted, burnt, short circuted, and whatever else you can think of thats bad.

I'm pretty underprepared right now... I've been studying all weekend and I still dont feel confident enough going into this. Maybe its because I keep going back and forth between subjects remembering that I need to know this or that... I'm basically freaking myself out here. One thing's for sure though. I hate Ancient Greece. My god what useless civilization is that.. No offence to any greeks reading this, but seriously have you read up your past? Maybe its just annoying to me because I'm being forced to memorize the greek gods and goddesses, and a bunch of other things I really dont care to know about...

Anyways I better get back to studying... I have half an hour left before I gotta just shut everything and sleep... Ayeee I'll report back tomorrow some time after the exams finish.

If Bill Gates is struggling to concentrate, that means I have hope right?

2005-01-31T18:25:00.000-05:00

Doodle Mix-Up Confuses Blair with Bill Gates

LONDON (Reuters) - When a sheet of paper covered in doodles was found on Tony Blair's desk at the Davos World Economic Forum, handwriting experts delighted in analyzing it, concluding the prime minister was stressed and under pressure. Experts who examined the tangle of boxes, circles, loops and notes on debt and trade variously described Blair as "struggling to concentrate" or "not a natural leader" and "stressed and tense."

But there was a problem.

The doodles, it later transpired, were nothing to do with Blair but were the work of Microsoft founder Bill Gates, who shared a table with Blair at the summit.

"Somebody from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has said that the notes are from Bill Gates rather than from Tony Blair," a spokesman from Blair's Downing Street office said on Monday.

"We were surprised nobody bothered to ask us about this when the paper was made public last week because the writing is obviously not the prime minister's," he added.

Psychologists and graphologists drafted in by a number of British newspapers even noted how "Blair's" handwriting had changed for the worse since he first won election as British Prime Minister in 1997.

"We look forward to psychologists reassessing their conclusions of how these characteristics ascribed to the Prime Minister equally apply to Mr. Gates," the Downing Street spokesman said.

Source: Yahooooooooooo! News

Harry Potter fans are going a wee bit too far me thinks

2005-01-31T09:38:00.000-05:00

Harry Potter fans pay homage at graveside of British soldier in Israel

JERUSALEM (AFP) - Fans of literary boy wizard Harry Potter have been beating a path to the tomb of a 19-year-old British soldier who is buried in a cemetery close to Tel Aviv.

Corporal Harry Potter, a member of the Royal Worcestershire regiment, was killed 66 years ago during fighting in the southern West Bank town of Hebron and was subsequently laid to rest in a cemetery in the town of Ramle.

"Every day tourists and visitors come wanting to see Harry's grave," the cemetery's custodian Ibrahim Huri told the Maariv daily on Tuesday.

"At first I didn't know why they were interested in this grave, but then I was told there were books and movies about him."

The local council has recently added the grave to the official tourist guide.

"There is great interest and curiosity over Harry's grave," Ramle deputy mayor said. "We want to make an historical investigation into the soldier killed in Hebron when he was only 19."

Source: Yahoo! News

Crazy for you

2005-01-30T14:35:00.000-05:00

Company Won't Pull Straightjacketed Bear

SHELBURNE, Vt. - A straightjacketed "Crazy for You" teddy bear has drawn rebukes from the governor, mental health advocates and human rights groups — but it's a hit among shoppers. The $69.95 bear, which is accompanied by commitment papers, is selling well despite complaints that it insults and stigmatizes those with mental illness.

This is a view of the Vermont Teddy Bear's Website showing the Valentine's day bear called 'Crazy for You Bear'. The bear is in a strait jacket with commitment papers and is meant to convey out-of-control love. The executive director of the Vermont chapter of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill says the bear is 'a tasteless use of marketing that stigmatizes persons with mental illness.' (AP Photo)

Vermont Teddy Bear Co. President Elisabeth Robert says the bear is meant as a funny Valentine's Day greeting and has been popular among customers.

"We made a very difficult decision not to withdraw it from the market," she said. "I listened to customers, from a lot of feedback from our employees. These people are Vermonters who really don't like to be told what to do."

Mental health advocates have called for the company to stop selling the bear, calling it "tasteless" and saying it stigmatized the mentally ill. Gov. Jim Douglas called the bear insensitive and inappropriate.

Robert said the company had planned the bear as a one-time offering for Valentine's Day, and that it will continue selling the bear until it is sold out.

She said the company is "truly sorry if we hurt anybody with this bear" but added that freedom of expression was at stake.

She said the bear got "the highest favorability rating" from customers and that she consulted with the Vermont Teddy Bear board of directors and radio stations that advertise the bear before deciding to keep it.

"We're not in a position to be told what we can and cannot sell," she said.

Source: Yahoo! News

Airports showing porn now? Where was Johno?

2005-01-30T11:11:00.000-05:00

Airport's porn blunder raises temperatures

January 10 2005 at 08:19PM

New Delhi - Passengers at an Indian airport were shocked when a hardcore porn movie was played on television screens for 20 minutes.

It happened at New Delhi's Indira Gandhi international airport at midnight when the airport was at its busiest.

Passengers were shocked by the sex scenes accompanied by moans and groans which echoed around the terminal.

Officials turned off the TV screens after complaints from passengers but the porn film was broadcast for 20 minutes.

Airport officials later claimed that a TV channel was broadcasting the film as part of an Aids awareness project.

However, airport sources claimed some employees were watching a blue film and accidentally sent it out on the airport's television sets. - Ananova.com

I wish this would happen over here

2005-01-29T21:27:00.000-05:00

Mistake Puts Gas Prices at 18 Cents

By CHUCK BROWN, Associated Press Writer

OMAHA, Neb. - A misplaced decimal point gave drivers a surprisingly good deal on gas, and even inspired some threats of violence at a west Omaha filling station Wednesday night.

Carolyn Folsom, who occasionally helps her brother and father run the self-service, attendant-less Shell station, said she goofed Wednesday afternoon when entering prices into the computer that runs the fuel tanks. A gallon of regular, unleaded gasoline was supposed to cost $1.89 but ended up costing only 18 cents.

"I don't know if my finger missed the nine or what," Folsom said. "The whole family is laughing about this. I will never live this down."

Folsom said about 500 gallons of gas were sold during the several hours the price was down, costing the business about $1000. The station does not have an attendant and the only way to pay is at the pump, so the mistake went unnoticed for hours.

A fuel truck driver who came to deliver gas discovered the problem and tried to block the entrance of the station with his truck, Folsom said.

But by then word was out and the rush for cheap fuel was on.

Folsom said one person threatened to hit the fuel truck driver with a hammer if he didn't stop blocking the entrance.

"That's the thing that upsets me," Folsom said. "I mean, grow up."

Folsom said her father fixed the price about 7:15 p.m. And he's forgiven her for the mistake, she said.

---
Bahahahah threatening to hit a gas truck man with a hammer... classic.

2005-01-29T13:41:00.000-05:00

This is officially a Greater Toronto Area Blog! Woohoo!

Funny links

2005-01-29T13:17:00.000-05:00

So I ran into a few funny links and I thought I'd share 'em. First one is a sound file, second one is a comic.

The Toast Song! If you like eating toast, you'll love this song. hahah (Right click and save as...)

Penny Arcade - Bless You. Just a comic strip I found to be really funny. I mean, when Jesus says "We out" its automatically a classic. ;)

New Meaning to Phone Sex

2005-01-29T10:04:00.000-05:00

I was reading up on the news today and I found this article to be pretty ... ehem... interesting. Have fun with this one

Gives New Meaning to the term, "phone sex"

NEW YORK (Reuters) - This is one cellphone you might not want to set to "High & Vibrate."

Porn star Jenna Jameson is now hawking her "moan tones."

For $2.50 fans of the ubiquitous porno queen can choose from a variety of moans, grunts and lurid sexual noises all recorded by the blond bombshell.

If that's not enough, Jameson will talk dirty to you when you phones rings, in English or Spanish.

Also available are color pictures of the porn star posing naked that can be displayed on your phone for $2.99.

"Rock stars make music tones, porn stars make moan tones," said Dennis Adamo, head of Wicked Wireless. "We thought it would be an interesting novel approach of introducing new content to the mobile users."

Some people were shocked, but others said they wanted more from the product.

"If you can get her to say my name then I would buy it. I need that kind of personal attention," said New Yorker Julian McCullough.

Alright lets get the party started

2005-01-28T22:24:00.000-05:00

Alright so here we go. I'm going to put this account to use. From now on, this blog is officially Raffi's Blog of photos and just anything in general.

On days when I have taken pictures, I will post them.
On days when I find interesting links, articles, news, etc. I will post them here too.

So just keep checking back every so often for updates to this blog. =D

First Entry!

2004-07-21T01:24:00.000-04:00

My first entry on Blogger. Not much to say other than I'm just testing this thing out for now before I decide if I'm staying here or going back to LJ.

Raffi's Photoblog of Enlightenment

Final Words...

NEW SITE LAUNCH!

New Site Launch SOON!

Icy Grid Lines Part 2

Icy Grid Lines

Orange Glow

Creeping Closer

HP Copy

Good news!

Over and Under

Speed of Light Part 2

First sign of spring

Twin Candle Lights

Speed of Light

Midrange Reflections

Sony Speakers

Spiral of Impending Doom Part 2

Photobloggies

I want a new camera!

Ceiling Spider

Screw me

RAW!

Furry Armenian Letters

Perspective of the Keys

Longhorn Sky

Spiral of Impending Doom

Eternal Rising

Greyscale Branches

Midnight Glow

Smile

Reality is so Blurred...

Macro Doll

Mmmm... Branches... *drool*

These have been some slow few days...

Dominican Skys

Morning glory

The toothbrush that makes you a loud mouth

Macro iRiver

Unbelievable...

Raffaele Iannello Knife Block

Weird site of the year

Great week so far

Daily Dose of Imagery

Constantine Kicks Ass... Period.

Midnight Delight?

Sunset...

Zombie Raffi? Apparently so...

Ice day leads to Metroid Prime 2: Echoes spree!

Loud music can be addictive

New MSN 7 Beta!

Homosexual Penguins + Comment system updated

You girls are dangerous...

Tactics if you are stuck in the same room as Dave...

Due to popular demand...

Hurray for msn!

This kid is my hero

Well, at Least He Won't Be Fathering More Fans...

And so it begins...

RIAA sues dead woman

Dead Woman, Who Didn't Have Computer, Sued For Music Trading

My computer gave me a birthday present!

Creativity at its finest

Signed Hitler photo for auction? wow... just.. just wow.

Happy Birthday to me

Mission Complete

Tomorrow is the big day

If Bill Gates is struggling to concentrate, that means I have hope right?

Harry Potter fans are going a wee bit too far me thinks

Crazy for you

Airports showing porn now? Where was Johno?

I wish this would happen over here

Funny links

New Meaning to Phone Sex

Alright lets get the party started

First Entry!

Mmmm... Branches... drool