Wednesday, January 31, 2001This is my last official post from Blogger.Thanks to all the Blogger/Pyra folks, but it's time for me to be moving on.
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I find it quite interesting that today is this weblog's first birthday.
 And around midnight tonight, I will be converting from using Blogger to using my own PHP/MySQL system.
Wish me luck, and I'll see you then.
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Tuesday, January 30, 2001This afternoon was the first time in almost a year and a half that daubserv1 was manually shut down. I added some additional RAM as well as a thorough cleaning.After only 13 minutes of down time, we are back in business.
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It turns out that even good old Jesus Christ has his own web page. Nice job JC!! Don't even ASK how I stumbled upon this one...
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Message from John: Hint # 234: PHP has a function for EVERYTHING. Yes, it most certainly does...
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Monday, January 29, 2001SPAM! Damned SPAM! I am even getting SPAM in Spanish!
This was certainly the wrong time to send me junk mail, because I was already in
a bad mood. So I issued a small reply...
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Friday, January 26, 2001I have Windows 2000 Professional installed on one of my machines at work and I am overall very pleased with it. The system runs smoothly, even during a semi-heavy load. It does, however, have one MAJOR flaw that I hate and believe should be remedied immediately:
I am REALLY used to the old Windows fonts, mainly in Notepad!
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You have to love system automation.
To: daubenspeckm@nwlehighsd.org
Name : NWLSD_NET_UPS
Informational - UPS: Passed internal self-test.
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Thursday, January 25, 2001I am back in business with another monitor, this time a 21". Let's see how long this one lasts.The coding and design process continues and is moving along nicely. I should be able to release the new version as scheduled on February 1st. Most of the main sections are taken care of, but I like to pass through everything a few times JUST to be sure. I think everyone will be rather pleased, I know I am... And that is far from an easy task. I have been dealing with the Help Desk Software issues at work. There is really nothing out there that I can find that isn't either too simple or WAY over complicated for our needs. Sooooo... That's correct, I'm coding one. Which should be a lot of fun and a great learning explerience. Goodbye nightlife, hello late night coffee/beer binges.
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Wednesday, January 24, 2001This is turning out to be one heck of a day. It all started...Last night I was working on the new site, both coding and the new design. Right in the middle of performing some image editing, my monitor decided to smoke a bit. After a few seconds, it loudly clicked and the screen went blank. Now all it does is click loudly, and it smells BAD. So it looks like I am in the market for a new monitor, and until them I am stuck with an old 15" that I had laying around.
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Tuesday, January 23, 2001We have been testing a few new Help Desk Tracking software packages at work. So far, they are not impressing me. Here is a screenshot from one of the candidates with a supposed "easy to use web interface".
Yeah, nice job with that one. Working like a charm.
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Monday, January 22, 2001The coding is going along fine, and should be done ahead of schedule. Sorry Greymatter, I just don't need you. I should be able to get the rest of the work done before the end of the month, as well as the possible redesign. I think I could probably switch the whole deal now, but I would rather not mess up the entire archiving scheme. I like the month-by-month listing.By the way, if you have the means, please give PHP a try. It will make you a believer too. Just don't use Microsoft FrontPage for anything, because it will only laugh at you.
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Friday, January 19, 2001My secretary found an interesting bumper sticker for me while she was on vacation.
I like it...
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Thursday, January 18, 2001Posting may become a bit erratic...As I mentioned before, I am in the process of changing from Blogger to a server side processor called Greymatter. And this is only step one. I am also learning BASIC PHP and MySQL, and am in the process of writing my own complete weblog generator. Is it going to be better overall? Maybe. At least this way I have no one else to blame but myself, and this will probably come back to haunt me. I like blaming other people. Oh well. After the entire "backend" is completely coded and tested, you can probably expect an entire site redesign, which should hopefully prove to be interesting. Stick with me folks, good things should be on the horizon...
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Wednesday, January 17, 2001I just took notice that Microsoft has a Service Pack (SP-2) for the Office 2000 line. It is has been declared "not to be as critical" as the Service Release 1 (SR-1), but still "a good idea".That's good. But hello?!?! How about opening up the bandwidth on your download servers just a bit?
A 51MB file at 8.31KB/Sec?? Sweet Lord, have mercy!
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Tuesday, January 16, 2001Last night I found a relic from some classes in college.
 What a waste of a LOT of paper. So I decided to put it to immediate use.
This morning I broke a wheel off of my filing cabinet. I knew this book would come in handy.
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Monday, January 15, 2001PHP is fun. It's useful. It kicks ass.I have decided to teach myself as much PHP as I can get my hands on. Check out my first of many completely useless scripts, the PHP Calculator.
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Saturday, January 13, 2001Coding is fun...Yawn...
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Friday, January 12, 2001Today is January 12, 2001. The end is upon us.For months prior I have toiled over the notion of self containing the site altogether. I have explored different options ranging from other services similar to Blogger, to more drastic measures such as hand coding. Since I am usually very resistant to change, I shied away from all of them, believing that what I am doing now is just how it is....no longer. I think the recent Blogger slowdown has given me a proverbial kick in the ass. As of February 1st, 2001, this site will be going Grey... Greymatter is quite a customizable CGI/PERL script for anyone to use that has CGI access to create a weblog/journal. It is fast, WELL supported through forums, and has performed flawlessly throughout my two week testing period. Nothing against the Blogger folks, but I like being self contained much better then the notion of counting on something that I have no real control over. But as always, something will happen with Greymatter where I will be stuck, and since I haven't the foggiest idea on how to even begin to look at PERL, I will have to wait for someone else to bail me out of a jam. Additionally, I would rather my name have the © symbol beside it, not anyone else's. Change is upon us, and it will be good. Damned dandy is what it will be. More on this later..
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Thursday, January 11, 2001I have added a new link on the main menu bar so you can constantly check the status of the "Give a poor geek cash" donation. Click on the small dollar sign to check the up to the second status.So far, we are up to $6.00! Great job! Those who have sent cash will receive their prizes shortly. I will still offer prizes until...until...I'm sick of sending out prizes. If you notice on the chart image, I haven't set an upper limit. I believe, as a person, that I should have goals. But when it comes to receiving money, why should I just limit myself? Go for the gusto, that's what I have always said!
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Wednesday, January 10, 2001We are at ground zero, as you can see by the current image:
Check the Donation Status Chart often
for up to the second updates.
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According to Blogger's main page, their recent Server Fund
has raised $10,622.71. Sorry to do this folks, but I have to. The daubnet fund! That's right folks! I am now accepting donations. You can't possibly believe that all of this useless garbage that I press out each and every day (except weekends and holidays) isn't a giant burden on my poor wallet. This kind of work takes not only dedication, but lots of money to bribe the officials at the school district where I work so they won't fire me for being a slacker. That costs money! All of the DVD's that I purchase and mention are expensive. Do you think I do that for me? NO! I do it for YOU, my loyal readers! Do you think I actually ENJOY having an expanding collection (about 194) DVD's? No! All of the stuff that I break in anger costs money. All of the booze and beer that I have to buy for the parties sure isn't cheap. I can assure you, without all of it, the Pictures section wouldn't be HALF as exciting. So let's dig deep into those pockets and look for some cash so you can continue to read this garbage day after day. The first person to send me even one single dollar will receive a very special prize. Hey, I am just that kind of guy. You can either send donations through PayPal or contact me and we can work something out. (sorry, relatives are not eligible to receive the prize).
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Tuesday, January 09, 2001I am a big fan of Mafia/Wiseguy movies. Goodfellas, Casino, and finally, after years of waiting, I purchased Donnie Brasco on DVD.Curious to what your own Mob name would be? Check out Dvd.com's Soprano's Mob Name Generator. My mob name? Thinks-he's-so-smart. What the hell does that mean!?!?
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Monday, January 08, 2001I never knew that something so small could emit such a terrible smell.
  I was called with a complaint that "I can no longer log into the network...". I checked the back of the system case for a network link light. That's when I noticed a wretched smell coming from the back of the case. After removing the case and then the network card, I noticed the small resistor had quite a slightly charred appearance.
Man, what a stink.
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Friday, January 05, 2001For once, Windows98SE actually surprised me. I don't think I have ever been more amazed in it's capabilities in all my life....I had all of my software loaded on a 10GB drive in a Pentium III 450mhz system. Trust me, I have TOO much junk loaded on this system. I had the chance to upgrade to a new AMD Athlon 700mhz system with a new motherboard, new drives, and a brand new case. I, of course, took the chance. I love AMD. I transferred all the important PCI cards; video, network, and sound cards. I added a newer CD-ROM drive and transferred the old CD-R to the new case. I used my old keyboard, optical mouse, speakers, QuickCam, USB compact flash card reader, and Palm Pilot docking cradle. All of the hardware was properly installed. Now onto the part that would make me VERY skeptical. The software. I used Norton Ghost to transfer all the files from the old 10GB drive to a new 30GB. I resized the partition to access the entire 30GB. With my eyes tightly closed, I booted into windows. By God if it didn't find almost everything automatically. There were a few sporadic networking files that the system couldn't find, but after I pointed to the right directory, it chugged right on through. It automatically found all the new motherboard drivers, all the USB drivers, and all the PCI cards automatically. I'll be damned...it worked!
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Since the beginning of something I will call my "Internet Experience",
I have always used Eudora to handle all
of my e-mail needs. From the early days of 2.x through the 3.x Eudora Light,
and now onto the 5.x "Sponsored Mode". This means that
Qualcomm sells advertising space to
different companies, and they submit a linkable 2x2 inch square that is placed in the bottom of the
active Eudora window. Any other time, anything like this would annoy me to no end, but since
I have yet to EVER pay for a copy of Eudora, I don't really mind. And overall,
it is a good piece of software. Additionally, on a 21 inch monitor, a 2x2 inch square isn't that much wasted space. These adds are supposedly "tailored to you". They try to point me in the right direction with things I want to see, or could be interesting to me. Which means they are trying to predict me. Good luck!
 Sea Turtle Survival League/Caribbean Conservation Corporation?
Oh yeah, that's all me. Nice try.
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Thursday, January 04, 2001A few weeks ago, I was poking around the web for some disk drive cloning and partitioning software. I came across a few different products, one being from a company called PowerQuest. They now have the Partition Magic line as well as a few other goodies that allow you make an identical copy of a hard drive on another drive, with less headaches then conventional methods.I assure you, I wasn't looking for this software for any other purpose then a quick cure for boredom. Which is why I am so surprised that I actually truthfully filled out the "give us all of your information before you download a trial, so we can hound you until you pull your own fingernails out with a pliers" form. I don't usually give them my phone number, but this time I may have. I received a call from "Brain at PowerQuest."
Me: "Hello?" At this point, I clicked the phone on hold and hung up. I sometimes rather enjoy watching the little red "Line-in-use" blink. This guy, so far, has taken the longest to hang up. After two full minutes of me giggling like a two year old, the light finally dimmed. Two minutes later, I received an email message from Brain at PowerQuest: To: mdaubenspeck@daubnet.tzo.com From: Brain Somethingorother Subject: Hanging up the phone! When some one calls you on the phone it is very rude to hang up on them! If you are not interested in there service just tell them that! Thanks, and have a great day. When the hell did this guy become my mother? I think it is my God given right to be as rude as I want to be, to WHOMEVER I want to be. Time to remove PowerQuest from my vendor's list...
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Wednesday, January 03, 2001According to C|Net's new Bandwidth Meter, my net connection at work is a bit above average!
The things I could accomplish if this were only true...
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What a great year this is going to be! In this day and age, even
the godfather of metal, Ozzy Osbourne, is in the process of making a
3D action/adventure game. Check out the
Ozzy's Black Skies site for more information and screenshots.
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Tuesday, January 02, 2001How can you not love a game that has a player skin that looks like this?!
 Come on, give Unreal Tournament a try. Everyone else is doing it. You can't become addicted after just one try!
I'm not addicted. I can stop anytime I want to. I just don't want to.
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I just remembered that I took a few images with the digital camera at
the New years bash.
This is an image of Jen and I. I was surprised that I actually look quite healthy,
not exhibiting my normal glassy-eyed party gaze...
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Welcome 2001, it should turn out to be as action packed as 2000 was... We had a pretty standard New Years gathering. Lots of food, booze, and mainly lots of nonsense. There is always one unambiguous sign that the party was a success: You still feel a bit groggy a full 24+ hours later...
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