Thursday, October 28, 2010

Google Confuses the Past!

ATTENTION HUMANS:

Lately, I have been having difficulty with the space time continuum.

The problem is with Internet website Google. Usually I love Google. I use it for everything, recipes, directions, whether or not a movie is good. I use it to find out if my roommate has correct information, or if she is just making things up. It is usually the later. For example, Adam West is a real person, not just a fictional character on Family Guy.

However, the way Google presents news articles is completely unacceptable. When you Google a news item, articles come up that are old, sometimes very old. I don't always notice the year the article is dated. And I don't always remember year it is right now. This can cause a lot of confusion! Sometimes I read an article about a great sale going on, then when I show up at the store I find out they've been out of business for seven years. This happens more often than you might think, because the same article keeps coming up on searches for sales on novelty candle holders, and the local novelty candle holder store closed down seven years ago.

This also makes it difficult to understand recent history. I have been living in the United States since coming to Earth, and have been trying to catch up on its situation. But since I haven't been reading news articles in the correct order I had a completely inaccurate understanding of what has been going on! I thought the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico happened before Hurricane Katrina. In fact I thought it was the cause. I thought that's why everyone is so worried about saving energy, so we don't spill anymore and cause another hurricane. I have been recycling for nothing!

I wish that someone would go through news archives and label all of the old articles. They could put a big warning label up top, "ATTENTION READERS: This article is more than a year old, and thus is probably no longer relevant to your daily life. Continue reading at your own risk!" This would save me a great deal of trouble!

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Getting Better By Copying

ATTENTION HUMANS:

I have just made a startling revelation! There are other good blogs on the Internet besides just mine! I was amazed at what strong competition I have! On my planet, when we are challenged we assimilate. When the Spectalons beat us at The Galactic Bingo challenge, we started putting 9 in the top left corner, just like they did. When Alpha 6 started winning more karaoke contests than we did, we started singing David Bowie songs like they did.

For me, blogging will be no different. I will study these blogs, find their strengths, and absorb like there is no tomorrow! So far, I have noticed one similarity in many popular blogs. They call things out! They find something that is silly or stupid, and they point out how silly or stupid that thing is!

Perez Hilton runs a pretty popular blog where he calls out celebrities for saying stupid things, having failed careers, and being promiscuous in a sexual manner! He emphasizes his call outs by taking photographs of them, and inserting captions of his own design. Take that, celebrities! Of course, now Perez Hilton is a bit of a celebrity himself. I hope he calls himself out! That would be a post that could break the time space continuum!

I wonder if I should work on this blog breaking the time space continuum so I could do it before him. That sure would be one-upping, like when we stole the Spectalons bingo cards! Although the referee considered it more cheating than one-upping, but I think that was just an error in translation. Spectalon is a very confusing language.

Another blog famous for calling things out is Regretsy. Its creator finds the most ridiculous products for sale on Internet website Etsy.com, where creative types can sell their arts and crafts. I don't know the difference between arts and crafts, but Regretsy calls out both with equal ferocity!

One popular feature on Regretsy is "Things That Are Not Steampunk," where they call out items that claim to be steampunk, but in reality, are not steampunk. I could do a feature like that on this blog. I could call it "Things That Are Not a Telephone." I could post photos of things that are not telephones, and call them out for it.


That is not a telephone! Not even close!

Not even cakes are safe from being called out by bloggers. Internet blog Cake Wrecks calls out cakes for being ugly, inedible-looking, or misspelled. I was amazed how many humans cannot spell Congratulations! I too could call out inanimate objects. That would be a lot easier than calling out actual people, because they would not seek revenge. Alpha 6 took all the air out of our tires after we won karaoke using Space Oddity.

Therefore, hey! Eiffel Tower! 1889 called! It wants its Victorian Structural Expressionist style back!

Zing!

I think this is the start of something wonderful.

Monday, October 18, 2010

Internet Website eBay: Destroying One Dream at a Time

ATTENTION HUMANS:

Like everyone else online, I have long known of the existence of Internet Website eBay, and even used it once or twice. But until now I had not realized just how much you can buy on eBay! Anything in existence, literally anything at all, can be purchased on this strange and wonderful website.

I recently discovered this due to an incident involving my roommate and her gentleman of choice. She is currently in a long-distance relationship with a rather undesirable young gentleman who often misses their Skype dates to play World of Warcraft. The pair recently had a fight, in which she told all of his internet friends that his World of Warcraft character, though female, was being played by a male. Apparently many of his internet friends had given him virtual items in World of Warcraft under the belief that they were giving them to a real life female human. This part of the story was surprising to me, because in the part of Earth that I reside I see female humans all the time. Perhaps in other locations they are more rare.

To make it up to him, my roommate wanted to buy him a present. So she went to eBay, and purchased items that he can use in this computer game using real, American money. This surprised me even more, because I have only ever bought items that actually exist. I have never bought a pretend loaf of bread, or a theoretical train ticket. But on e-bay, the make believe is completely accessible!

You can buy all sorts of strange things on eBay, from old tissues, to used ink cartridges, to outdated computers. I have never seen such items for sale in stores, and, in all honesty, can not even begin to understand why a human would want to purchase one. What use is a computer that cannot go as fast as a computer you can buy in a store? Humans are very strange!

E-bay is also a good way to verify if an item exists. Since eBay even carries made up items, if you cannot find something on eBay then it most certainly does not exist, even in anyone's mind! For example, when I search for "real live unicorns" (using quotes of course), I get no results. Therefore, unicorns do not exist. Sorry unicorn lovers, but your hunt for the unknown has just come to an abrupt end. However, when I search "fire-breathing dragons" I do get some results, so maybe you would have better luck there. I also find no results for "tasty meal that won't make me gain weight", so don't believe those fad diets that tell you it is possible! eBay sees through their lies!

Unfortunately, when I search for "boyfriend for my roommate that won't make her complain to me all the time", I do not get any results. I suppose this means I will just have to get used to waking up at three in the morning to the sound of her watching "Love Actually" and sobbing madly. Such is life. I was a little more disappointed that "...and maybe someone for me as well. No one smelly" did not receive any search results. It looks like my options in life are either loneliness or unpleasant odors.

eBay tells it like it is, regardless of your feelings.

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Standing Up for the Internet!

ATTENTION HUMANS:

This coming November many decisions will be made. Not only do humans have to decide when to start wearing their heavy winter coats, but for those living in the United States, they also must decide which politicians will run their government. This November many United Statesian senators, representatives and governors will have to convince other humans that they are neither corrupt, incompetent, or criminals. To help highlight their usefulness, politicians are drawing attention to their views on big issues. And one such big issue is the Internet.

Some politicians think that the Internet should be more regulated. Others think less. They are constantly poling the voting public to see what they think, but most politicians ignore a very important opinion. They pay little if any attention to what the Internet itself thinks of being more regulated. This is a huge mistake!

As we have seen before the Internet is not in a good place, emotionally speaking. Unfortunately, the Internet, much like trees, cannot speak for itself. Unlike trees, the Internet has no Lorax to speak for it. I have recently been reading a lot of Dr. Seux. The Lorax taught me a lot about Earth politics! I never knew political debate had such a tight rhyme scheme on Earth!

Though I am not poetic enough to formulate a proper Earth argument, I put forth the idea that the Internet ought to have someone to stand up for it in political issues. Someone who understands the Internet inside and out. Someone who will not be easily swayed by what is best for humans. Someone who runs a blog that helps humans everywhere better understand the Internet.

If it seems to you that the only person qualified for such a job would be me, then you have come to the same conclusion I have. I would be a perfect Internet representative! According to my research, many United Statesian humans are worried that their politicians are too entrenched in "the system", whatever that is. I am not entrenched in anything! I barely know anyone! I recently joined Netflix, but I promise never to be swayed by their promises of as many movies and television shows that I can watch. I also have a lot of free time to devote to the many political meetings I would be required to attend, which is actually why I signed up for Netflix in the first place. So if you were to elect me as Internet representative, I might not even need Netflix anymore!

So this November, I encourage you to vote for Kazara, for Internet representative extraordinaire! I won't be listed as an option, but feel free to write my name and title in at the bottom of your ballot. I understand that is how it works in the United States! And to readers from other countries, feel free to elect me as Internet representative extraordinaire in your country too! I have plenty of knowledge for everyone. I am sure it will not be a conflict of interest to hold the same title in multiple countries. I'm sure that if this was an issue, The Lorax would have mentioned it!

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Halloween Internet Fun!

ATTENTION HUMANS:

According to my human calendar, one of your major feast days is quickly approaching! I am of course, talking about Halloween, when humans don costumes and masks and demand sugary treats of their friends, neighbors, and total strangers. This will be my first Halloween, and I am very much looking forward to it! Holidays are very different on my planet. They are not on the same day every year, so part of the fun is figuring out which day it will happen. There's a rather complicated mathematical formula, and that changes every other year, so if you want to have a nice holiday you need to stay vigilante. Your Earth Holidays are much easier to observe!

Like everything else, the Internet can greatly increase your enjoyment of Halloween. Many people are becoming increasingly concerned about trick-or-treating-related dangers, such as finding razor blades in Snickers bars, or getting lost on an unfamiliar street. But using the Internet, you can go trick-or-treating without ever leaving your house!

Just like children go from house to house demanding treats, you can visit various retailers online to obtain coupons. Many retail stores and food brands have free printable coupons on their Internet websites. You can get great deals on products, then go to the store the next day to redeem them. That way it's like a two day holiday!

If you want a more adventurous Halloween, you can attempt to obtain treats from sources that do not advertise their availability. E-mail Internet website Amazon.com and ask for candy apples. E-mail Internet website Paypal.com and ask for candy corn. Paypal may not have any candy corn at their office, but you never know, especially at this time of year. And maybe they can offer you something even better. Like Reese's Pieces.

For an Internet appropriate costume, you have many options. You could purchase a costume from Internet websites like E-bay, or Iparty.com, or have one custom made on Internet website Etsy.com. You can then wear your costume while you sit at your computer e-trick-or-treating.

Or, if you want a costume that fellow Internet users can see without using a webcam you can use an alias. Find a picture on Google Images or Flickr of whatever you want to be for Halloween. Then join various forums and use that image as your avatar. You can also trick-or-treat from your fellow forums goers. You can also attach the image to your trick-or-treating e-mails with the caption "this is me!" This manner of costuming also does not limit you to costumes that can actually be created. You could use a photo of the Eiffel tower, or a helium particle. Halloween is no time to be limited by reality!

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Even Your Dreams are Not Safe!

ATTENTION HUMANS:

I am always on the lookout for new scams to avoid. It helps keep my bank account safe, but it is also like a game. In many ways the Internet is a big game you can never quit, and scams just introduce new and exotic rules. Don't post your birth date anywhere! Never use your real name! It all adds to the fun!

But lately, I have been hearing about types of scams that are distinctly not fun. These are scams that do not go after victims' bank accounts, but their dreams. For instance, there are many fraudulent publishing companies that take advantage of aspiring writers' dreams of publication. I heard of another company that charges massive amounts of money to set victims up with websites they can run, and it claims they will become millionaires off of the advertising revenue. Instead of becoming millionaires, these poor aspiring rich people just wind up among the scores of under-appreciated website owners. Sure, these scammers do often wind up with their victims money, but their main concern appears to be destroying hopes and dreams.

On my planet we do not charge anything for dreams, anyone may have however many as they wish. But this does not seem to be the case on Earth, as so many scammers go after them with remarkable vigor! I hope my alien hopes are not even more valuable than Earth hopes. And I wonder if they go after the kind of dreams you have for the future, or the ones you have when you sleep as well. I would not mind if they took my bad dreams, or even the ones I can't remember, since so often those are more annoying than anything. But I have a good deal of dreams in my sleep that I like a great deal!

I am also worried about my hopes! Many of them are quite valuable to me! Lately I have been hoping to save up enough money to buy a blender and make delicious smoothies and shakes. I refuse to give that hope away! Unless it is for the price of a blender, in which case I will consider it, but only if the scammer promises to remind me to use the money to buy a blender. But seeing as the whole point of a scam is not to pay for the ill-gotten gains, I find this situation unlikely!

Many of these scams apparently existed before the Internet, but they have proliferated there extravagantly. This has me quite worried! Since I am on no official registries, these criminals cannot get to me by mail, and due to my appearance I am rarely approached on the street, but on the Internet my dreams and hopes are frighteningly vulnerable!

If anyone knows of any good ways of avoiding these hope-stealing monsters, please let me know. Also, if you hear of any good deals on blenders, I would be interested in those as well.

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Movies Are Not Always Factual

ATTENTION HUMANS:

If you are in possession of a television set, it is possible that you have seen commercials for the film "The Social Network." For those of you unlucky enough to possess such equipment, or own it but chose not to use it, "The Social Network" is about one of largest Internet websites, Facebook. It displays its creator as Mark Zuckerberg, a student of Harvard University with a dream in his heart and a tremendous amount of numbers in his brain. He uses this numerical knowledge to create a website where everyone can learn anything about anyone. Going about this is apparently very dramatic and scandalous, and makes Mark's best friend hate him.

What a string of lies! I have not seen this film, but from what I have seen on my television and read on Wikipedia, this movie has an extraordinary lack of truth! Perhaps Mark Zuckerberg went to Harvard. And maybe he lost his best friend. But he most certainly did not create Internet website Facebook!

That is simply not how websites are made. The Internet, as I have explained before, is a gelatinous substance in the Earth's core. This is where websites come from! They don't get made by nerdy Ivy League geniuses.
That's just silly.

I suppose it's a simpler explanation that a mysterious substance creating websites at random and for no apparent reason, but simple explanations are not always correct. It may also make humans feel more secure to think that websites are created by other humans, especially if they are made by well educated ones. Humans act on human-style motivations. Who knows what could motivate a gelatinous substance! Perhaps one day it will change everyone's Facebook status to "being a loser", or make every Google search turn up Wikipedia entries on 14th century politics.

Humans, I realize that you like to feel happy and safe. But you must understand that neither is the purpose of the Internet.