Monday, February 28, 2000It seems that some of the industries biggest honchos are showing up to the annual Internet Industry Conference in New Orleans. The main focus of talks is going to be pointed at the advances as well as future possibilities of wireless cellular Internet. I know it’s going to be big, you know its going to be big, but I’m really having a hard time with the whole concept. I’m the kind of guy that dished out the cash to buy a 19” monitor at home and a 21” at work. When I surf the ‘Net, I want to SEE the ‘Net. I just can’t justify checking sites on the Internet on my small Palm III screen. Email I can understand, but why should I kill my eyes while checking out my important daily weblogs!?As soon as work slows down I am going to add a list of weblogs that I check daily. Can you believe it? They want me to actually work, and not spend time on my web page. Unbelievable. What is this world coming to? When I take over the world I’m not taking any of them with me.
|
Sunday, February 27, 2000Night four. Back for more at the same keg-draining party, just can't seem to kill the sucker. Its not from a lack of trying though. Cruised home around 2am. Had to rise up at 9am for another lovely Sunday at RadioShack. Looking forward to the sunday night wrestling pay-per-view this evening. Now that I think about it, 30 bucks sure is a waste of money to watch 3 hours of wrestling, but it sure helps pass the time.
|
Saturday, February 26, 2000I was thinking of adding an online web cam to the site. After I checked out all the software and things to use I suddenly came to a very distinct realization. Who the heck would want to look at an empty room where hardly anything changes? And the much more important factor, who would want to see a guy like me sitting in front of his computer in his skivvies? Low and behold the idea was scrapped. I think I’ll just get some goldfish with the money I just saved myself….
|
Night number three. After work I stopped by a great small bar in the middle of the woods called Henny's. Hung out with Chris and the older brother Jason. After a quick nap, myself and the younger brother Mike took off for a little keg tapping party at a friend's house. I need to get a good six hours because I'm on my last but of energy.
|
Friday, February 25, 2000Two mornings in a row I wake up way too groggy for my own good. We decided to go hang out at a local bar called Frank's Schoolhouse Tavern. Great little place. Went with Chad and his girlfriend Jen, along with his parents and some friends. Anytime you want a damned good laugh try getting buzzed with a friends parents. I don't think I ever laughed so hard in my life. What do you get when you mix beer and an old guy? You guessed it, an old guy wearing a bright orange bike helmet. Smile!!
|
Thursday, February 24, 2000What a good day. After rolling out of bed WAY to early, I headed to work. I almost forgot that my entire morning schedule was filled with a little informational seminar sponsored by Integra Business Center and Microsoft. They were trying to give us some of the finer points on the new Windows 2000 products. Seems to be a solid product in theory. Which comes to my point. The Active Directory. I’m sure I have seen this before. NDS!?!?! Looks way too similar to Me.
Windows 2000 can’t be all that bad, I have seen a few different reviews that started out with something like “Does not crash like the other Windows versions!”. The new 2000 contains something called “System Healer” (forget the technical term) that will supposedly auto-correct those nasty little [ha!] blue screens of death! According to the Microsoft representative, there is an average of one reboot every ten days with Windows 2000, and around three per day with the previous versions. At least it’s a step in the right direction.
|
|
Just rolled in before making this post. Another wild Wednesday night with the folks at The Penalty Boxx. Remember, you are only old if you feel old. 6am tomorrow morning is going to come awfully early. Introduced an old school friend, Chad, to the Wednesday night Karaoke bash at the Boxx. I think he had a good time. As usual, some friends, some drinks, and some karaoke. Last time I kept score, that comes out on top. Had a pretty good talk with him on the ride home. We came to the conclusion that people don't tend to change that much. Sometimes that can be very frightening. Anytime you feel bad or lonely, hook up with an old friend and I assure you it will be all better.
|
Wednesday, February 23, 2000Just when I was forgetting the days gone by with my old computer systems, I stumbled accross this little gem.
|
Tuesday, February 22, 2000There is a new DVD Review online now; Very Bad Things.
|
While watching a little TV I came across a show on Fox. And now I feel betrayed. It was a show on the real behind-the-scenes action of the The Brady Bunch. It seems all the cast members used to sneak away at breaks and make out with each other. Even Greg and Mom! Ugh! My god! I can't even consider that!
|
Heres a site that started out as a forum to let us know about problems on the planet, and now they have changed their ideas. You guessed it, they now offer free email and a web redirector service. I can see how they are related.
|
|
A great list of the Low Points in computer technology over the past 1,000 years. My personal favorite:
1994: Intel acknowledges that its Pentium chip, released the
|
|
I certainly do love the three-day weekend. My older brother, a friend I will call Chris, and I decided to make a trek to a local town to do a little beer shopping as well as some bar-stool-warming. Went to a little Chinese buffet then took a trip to a great beer warehouse called Shangy's in Emmaus. This place has just about everything you can imagine. There is wall-to-wall beer from $10 to $40 a case. I finally decided on a case of
Woodchuck Draft Cider. Good stuff, I would highly recommend giving it a try. They have a few different styles, but stick with the Amber; it's usually the best. Next came the much needed trip for some pool and relaxing at The Penalty Boxx. A day hanging out with the boys sure can't be beat.
After work, we headed to the usual Monday Night Raw spot for a few more beers and some of the best slapstick comedy you could possibly be a part of. I was thinking of becoming a stand up comedian, but I get nervous when people laugh at me. But it's the only thing in life I am truly good at. I have a very tortured life, I assure you…
|
Monday, February 21, 2000Today was a very long day. Mainly because I was working and it was a Sunday. Which brings me to my next soapbox issue, old people. Every Sunday is about the same. I work part-timed at a RadioShack. The store is opened at 11:00am. No one usually shows up until around 12:30pm, when church leaves out. And this is when my nightmares begin.I have no real problems with old people in general. Its their attitude I could do with out. I was always taught to respect my elders, but as I grew older I learned on my own that respect is earned, not granted because of age. I do applaud someone who has had the will to live on this planet for more then 60 years, but I see no need to go out of my way to give them an award for doing so. I consider myself a very nice and kind person, who will go out of his way to help solve a problem for anyone. I have seen it on more then one occasion where an older man or woman is in a terrible mood, and it seems that their only goal in life is to make everyone around them as miserable as they are. Lets think about this. I have had an elderly gentleman come into the store and ask me to change a battery in his hearing aid. I'm cringing already. I ask him what type and size the battery is. He, of course, can't hear me because his hearing aid doesn't work. So his solution to the problem is to plop his green and grimy hearing aid in my hand. God, have you ever seen the things that grow in ears? After I kindly asked him to place it on the counter so I could take a look at it, he looked at me like I had lobsters crawling out of my ears. After I checked the battery and replaced it, I did the usual RadioShack name and address thing. I told him that the battery was $2.96, and BLAMMO! I may have been safer calling him a helpless old woman. For the next ten minutes I heard him yelling at me on how the battery is a rip-off, and how I personally was trying to "screw him out of his money". This coming from a person who pulled into the lot driving a $45,000 Lincoln Town Car…
All I can say is this, no matter how old you are, stick to the golden rule. I have changed it to better suit the new millennium. Don't spit in my face, and I won't spit in yours. And another thing, don't put your grimy hearing aid in my hand either.
|
Sunday, February 20, 2000There is a new DVD Review online now; Stir Of Echos.
|
Saturday, February 19, 2000I hated to do it, but I think I have to take one for the team.I was at work, on a weekend, with very little to do. Usually I keep myself busy by watching whatever happens to pop on the DSS Satellite. As usual, there wasn't anything on that I found interesting. Plus, I had already seen that damned Good Burger movie about 100 times. I asked my self the important question, are men really sex-driven, gluttonous pigs who use the Internet for their own enjoyment? Not sure, but I was about to go undercover to find out the truth. Armed with a copy of AOL's Instant Messenger and a provocative name, I created a new user. I will spare you and myself the humiliation of mentioning the name, only because it is just too damned funny to be revealed. I created the usual profile, and added a few interests to my list. Armed with fashion, reading, and wine and beer, I logged in. For the first five minutes or so, all I could do was laugh at myself, then I decided to take the project a little more seriously. I added Chatting and Having Fun to the list. Well the response was almost immediate. Literally within minutes I received three messages. The first popped up and said "Hey, how's it going. I checked out your profile and was wondering if you wanted to chat with me." Feeling a little like I was in the middle of the movie The Crying Game, I replied with a "Sure", and shortly afterward I think I vomited. Within the next two messages came a barrage of questions about what I looked like and more importantly "Did I have a pic?" After I replied with "No", I received no messages for about 10 minutes. I sent another message that asked if "you still there?". Nothing. Two more messages along the same lines, and after the second, I was blocked. Does this prove anything? Maybe. Is it funnier then it should be? Hopefully. Am I out of my mind? Probably. Nevertheless, I still did receive a bunch of messages as soon as I logged on, which has to be some proof. Does this prove men are pigs? Maybe. And if they are, so what, I think its something bread into the male gene coding. So girls, the next time you call a man a pig, remember this. Can you blame a dog for humping your leg, a cat for scratching up your furniture, or even another woman for changing her mind? The answer is no, because that's what they were all born to do.
|
Friday, February 18, 2000Pop quiz time. There is only a single question. Answer it incorrectly, and you fail. Here we go:
Two weeks ago you wreck a $35,000 Dodge Durango in a big snowstorm. It takes almost $1500 and three weeks to fix. You wake up and notice that it is snowing just as hard, and there is just as much snow on the ground. Do you: Common sense would lead you to answer D. So which did I pick? Correct you are, C. Back me up guys, it seems to be the obvious answer to me. Iv'e added an image of my pride and joy in the Pictures section.
|
Ahhhh to feel young again. Being employed by a school district has its definite advantages. About the only one I can think of is snow days. That and the retirement plan. Now, if I only had something interesting to do all day.....
|
Thursday, February 17, 2000Thanks to all for sending me the birthday wishes. Hope to see you back next year.Just when I thought I had seen everything, I stand corrected once again. I was channel surfing this evening when I saw a trailer for a new movie called The Next Best Thing. It is basically about two people that are such good friends that you could only assume that they would make a wonderful couple. Except the man is gay. Until one night they have a little too much to drink and BING, they have a baby. They then decide to live as a family for the sake of the child. Anyway. To my point, which is usually hidden somewhere. What's up with Madonna? Has she nothing better to do then try her hand at being an actress again? I have a very good memory of some of her last attempts. Am I the only person that remembers Who's That Girl? Yikes is my only response. Yikes.
|
|
One more year older, and hopefully wiser. Quoth, well, myself: I need sleep. I have to stop staying up so late. Thanks to the folks at The Penalty Boxx for the birthday wishes. There is really nothing better in life then hanging out with friends and singing Kareoke. 24 years old. Now I know I am an old fart. Welp folks, It's all downhill from here.
|
Wednesday, February 16, 2000Busy day at the school today. I have to set up about 100 new computers by the end of the month. Thank god for Norton's Ghost. It is definitely an interesting sight to see an eight foot wall of computer boxes. That plus I needed an excuse to pull out the new digital camera.
Click on the image to see a larger version.
|
Tuesday, February 15, 2000The following is an actual excerpt from this month's Forbe's Magazine:"A herd of buffalo can only move as fast as the slowest buffalo, and when the herd is hunted, it is the slowest and weakest ones at the back that are killed first. This natural selection is good for the herd as a whole, because the general speed and health of the whole is maintained or even improved by the regular culling of the weakest members. In much the same way, the human brain can operate only as fast as the slowest brain cells through which the electrical signals pass. Recent epidemiological studies have shown that while excessive intake of alcohol kills off brain cells, it attacks the slowest and weakest brain cells first. Thus, regular consumption of beer helps eliminate the weaker cells, constantly making the brain a faster and more efficient machine. The result of this in-depth study verifies and validates the causal link between all-weekend parties and job related performance. It also explains why, after a few short years of leaving a university and getting married, most professionals cannot keep up with the performance of the new graduates. Only those few that stick to the strict regimen of voracious alcoholic consumption can maintain the intellectual levels that they achieve during their college years. So, this is a call to arms. As our country is losing its technological edge, we must not shudder in our homes. Get back into the bars. Quaff that pint. Your company and country need you to be at your peak, and you shouldn't deny yourself the career that you could have. Take life by the bottle and be all that you can be." There is a different view on it. Drinking beer for "my company and my country". That brings an honest to god tear to my eye.
|
Note to self. Kill William Shattner. Priceline.com, great idea, BAD commercials.
|
Monday, February 14, 2000I hate to talk about wrestling. Normal people hate wrestling. And thats why I like it. I wanted to watch wrestling at 9:00 on USA Networks. It seems that the show was pushed off 2 HOURS because of the International Dog Show. I love dogs. They are cute and fuzzy; and they are man's best friend. But is it necessary to have a 2-hour TV program to show them off? I think I would rather watch Ready, Set, Cook! for 2 hours.
|
For some strange reason, I stayed up all night last night goofing around on the Internet. What a lovely day at work this shall be. God bless coffee. I have noticed that TV in general has slowly been on the decline. Even during so called prime-time hours, the shows just aren't quite up to par. Maybe I should start reading more books. I used to remember when I could stay up late and catch a good movie on some channel late at night. Not these days. I can't tell you how many times I have seen the infomercial on that stupid Rotato. I think I may have to buy one. Either that or the Onion Machine.
|
Sunday, February 13, 2000Go Microsoft go! It seems that the anticipated release of Microsoft Windows 2000 will be about the same as previous versions releases. It turns out that there may be more bugs in the software then they first believed. Welcome to the Microsoft Bug Club 2000. That's a catchy name; maybe I'm on to something here…
|
Saturday, February 12, 2000For some unknown reason I have a part timed job, additional to my main job. I usually work as a Systems and Network Technician at a school district. Don't worry; they keep me away from the children. My other job is at a local RadioShack. I know, its hard to believe someone will actually admit it, but I am.I work in a store located in a rather small town. I help a wide variety of people. After doing some reflection on the whole situation, I have come to the single conclusion about the population of my hometown: Everyone is related. They all look the same, they all act the same, and I think they all generally share the same mind. An older gentleman came into the store to complain about a printing calculator that he had purchased a year ago. He also claimed that it "adds up wrong". To amuse him and more importantly myself, I checked it out. Of course, it worked fine. He pointed out that when he entered 6.60, the machine would print out 6.6. I explained to him that the calculator didn't need the extra 0 for the computation, and that 6.6 is the same as 6.60. His next question was that when he typed in 6.03, it printed 6.03. Ugh. Trust me, I have been known to come up with plenty of outlandish stories, but not even I could make this up.
|
Once again my ISP decided to throw a little party. They all sit in the dark as they chortle over my suffrage.
|
The DVD Blog is ready to roll. I decided to keep it a separate entity from the main page, mainly because not everyone likes DVD's, or movie reviews. The 1st review is on the DVD The 13th Warrior.
|
Friday, February 11, 2000I really do dislike my ISP. I think they all sit in one room and stare at the physical wire that makes my internet connection possible. Then they all giggle out loud while they unplug it. They stare at it for exactly one hour, then plug it back in. They then proceed to giggle some more. But no, I'm not bitter.
|
|
Why is it that women are so different from men? The female of the species claims that men should be more open and that they should openly discuss their feelings. On the other hand, women are allowed to play mute. Women generally blame men for not "picking up the signals" that they generate. On the other hand, women are allowed to play blind. Women almost always blame men for not listening. On the other hand, women are allowed to play deaf. Is anyone seeing a pattern? Quoth Watts from the movie Some Kind of Wonderful, "Did you know a woman can be anything she wants?". If women can be anything they want, why do they choose to act handicapped? This of course, could be an overgeneralization.
|
Thursday, February 10, 2000Looks like I will have to reiterate back to music. Today after work I was listening to a group of student's parents talk about "where all the problems in the world come from". I think you can all guess where they put the blame on. "Today's music". They blabbed on and on about Marilyn Manson, Metallica, and Rammstein, just to name just a few. This, as usual, is totally unfounded. I myself will be 24 years of age next week. Many still consider me a kid. I agree with them, I am going to be young forever. I think I own just about every CD that they had on their "black list". I can defiantly say the blame isn't on music. It's on their upbringing. I grew up listening to Metallica and lots of other music of the same type, many probably even worse. Believe me, I have even tried listening to them all backwards, and nothing. It did sound cool though. Anyway, to prove my point, look at me and how I have turned out. Wait. Never mind. BAD example.
|
|
With the popularity of DVDs increasing by leaps and bounds lately, I was thinking of one of two additions.
1 - Create a separate weblog for DVD reviews. Either way, I will add DVD reviews. Give me some feedback and let me know which will work better. For some reason I feel the necessity to purchase about 2 new DVDs every week. I am at the point now that I would rather relax and watch a $20 DVD at home then drag myself to the theater and pay $7. Besides, I don't have to take an ice scraper to un-stick my shoes from the floor, and I don't have to take out a loan for a large soda. Additionally, being a rather tall individual, I also don't care to squeeze my legs into a seat that seems to be manufactured for a small child.
|
Wednesday, February 09, 2000If anyone cares to know the exact way to make a grown man cry, listen up. I am about to disclose the secret. Take away my SUV for 2 weeks, and I will blubber like a baby. I will again reiterate on how much I dislike driving a compact car. Two weeks and $1000 later, I finally have back my Dodge Durango in full force.Here's a good story I caught on the net. It seems a South African woman was put in prison for a few hours because her cellular telephone rang in a South African courtroom. What a criminal....
|
Music. The one thing in life that makes sense. Well, almost. I enjoy all types of music. Everything from Trance to 80's Pop. I was listening to
Limp Bizkit's Significant Other today on the way to work. I can freely admit that I like the way the music sounds. I'm a metal and a rap fan. I enjoy when the two are combined and you get something completely different. Until……they add words. Does anyone know what the heck Fred Durst means? "I'm like a chainsaw…I'll skin you're ass raw!" (Break Stuff). Who talks like this? I love the music and I am a true "Head Bangers Ball" fan by heart, but who can understand this gibberish? I'm not saying he has to sing about things like saving the planet, or not killing animals for fur coats, but let's cut back on the crazy-talk Mr. Durst.
|
Tuesday, February 08, 2000After a huge law suit against Mp3.com, it seems they are trying to fight back. Mp3.com filed a complaint against the Recording Industry Association of America, or RIAA, for using "unfair business practices" when gathering information from Mp3.com. A little far fetched, I feel, but hey, worth a shot. What would we do without our MP3s?!?!
|
Monday, February 07, 2000Hmmm. It may be time to get deep here. Not sure if I should.Ever since I was introduced to the whole weblog thing, I have struggled with the idea of putting thoughts into text. It seems hard to translate the garbled mess in my head and make sense of them "in print". I have spent quite some time checking out other weblogs to see if I can come up with ideas. There sure doesn't seem to be too many left-brained people out there. Not sure? Find out. Lots of folks seem to drag on and on about how dreadful life is, and they express that through different methods of art. Art is cool, but why does it always have to be about suffering and being miserable? I just guess I'm not very artsy. Why complain when life changes too fast to dwell on how bad today may seem. Live each day to the fullest. More importantly, remember that tomorrow is another day. As the great philosopher Ferris Bueller once said, "Life moves pretty fast, if you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." Sound advice from where I'm standing.
|
Tired of pounding your head against the wall trying to find that perfect gift for your Valentine's Day Sweetheart? It's as easy as point-and-click! A company called Red Envelope suggests that it is as easy as buying some simple erotic fortune cookies! I think that $25.00, plus extra for shipping and handling, seems more then reasonable. Just think of the look on your sweetie's face when he or she opens a cookie and it says, "Someone is thinking kinky thoughts about you." If that doesn't scream class, I don't know what does.
|
I would like to take the time to wish my good friend John a very happy 24th birthday. Hip Hip, Hooray!!
|
Sunday, February 06, 2000I am very reluctant to admit this. But honestly has always been my best policy. I am a fairly avid wrestling fan. I can't explain why, but something about it has always fascinated me. The recent news about the World Wrestling Federation creating an entertainment-only football league has me very interested. The XFL should debut sometime in February 2001. This means that all hardcore football enthusiasts will have football of some sort all year long!
|
Saturday, February 05, 2000I don't think I've ever actually used the phrase, "Those were the good old days" and truley meant it. That is, until last night. John and I took a trip to one of my old college hang-outs, The Penalty Boxx. We had a lengthly, in-depth disscussion about how the "on-line world" has changed. Remembering an old DOS terminal program called Telix, we would dial-in and connect to several multi-line BBS's. There are very few people that understand what I mean when I use the term Z-Modem. Nevertheless, I think we are both beginning to feel old.
|
Friday, February 04, 2000It is very hard when you lose something so dear to you. Today, I had something very close to me pass on to the next life.
|
|
Here is a great email reply that I received from the webmaster over at this site when I commented on how much it resembled metajohn.
> Hey, make your own opinions on how to take that one.
|
Thursday, February 03, 2000Finally, I can smile again. My Durango seems to be back and ready to roll. Took it for a test drive in another snow squall, and it seems to be working just like it used to. Thanks to the good 'ol boys that fixed it! When I get it all cleaned up I will add an image or two to the Pics section of my page.On to the more important things, it seems some folks have raised a class-action lawsuit against AOL for their 5.0 software screwing up web and online services of their personal computers. I'm sure Time Warner can afford to hand out some extra cash anyway.
|
The Durango saga continues....Day two. I just love conversing with mechanics. "This was a !@#$% of a job, but me and the boys will stay late and fix 'er up for ya!". All I wish is to have my SUV back, is that too much to ask? They say I can come back this evening and pic "'er" up. When I am in and driving, that is when I will believe it.
|
Wednesday, February 02, 2000What is this world coming to? There is nothing better then reading an article about a sweet, harmless supermodel being arrested on assault charges. Again.
|
I can always have a dream. Thinking back in life, I should have made better decisions. I should have either been a weatherman or a mechanic. The Durango still isn't done, because "It was a harder job then we thought!". Isn't that always the case. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day. Quoth Eric Draven in the move The Crow, "It can't rain all the time."
|
Today is finally the day. I should hopfully be getting back
my 1999 Dodge Durango from the body shop. A few weeks ago I was
playing out in a snow storm and had little mishap with a snow
bank. It should be fixed and ready to go back out on the road. May
I remind you, compact cars really do suck.
|
Tuesday, February 01, 2000Beer. The breakfast of champions. I recently decided to try my hand at home brewing my own beer. I purchased a fairly good and rather inexpensive Home Brewing Kit. I have already tried an American Pilsner Light, which surprisingly turned out rather well. I am on the last 24 hours of the brewing process for an American Lager, and I am eagerly awaiting the results.
|