Had this real neat weekend trip planned. Going to my old stomping grounds, visit with friends, clean off Dad's grave and maybe go fishing. Didn't happen. Had to work. Federal government job that just had to be done by tomorrow (tomorrow is Sunday and those lazy horses asses would croak if they had to work on Sunday). As I left it amazed me that 3 huge A/C units were just whirring away and nobody has even moved into the building. Just thought everyone would like to know that our tax dollars are at work. This trip had been planned since Tuesday. OK, Ima kickin' over the soapbox.

If you are from the south there is a good chance that you've eaten catfish. If you are not from the south and have eaten catfish, there's a good chance that fish was farmed in Mississippi.

http://www.catfish.com

This is America's Catch site. They are located in Itta Bena, Mississippi. Really good recipes and interesting stuff about old Mr. Whiskers. I am a seafood guy, but I will eat my share of catfish fillets. Very healthy and real tasty.

If you wanna know how to do emeril's key lime cheesecake, google for emeril's key lime cheesecake. A google search just produced 182 hits that you can click on and find such recipes. This is a great search engine and VERY easy to use. I needed information on a particular printer today and went to the manufacturer's site and it was cloudy. I stopped, went to http://www.google.com and found a world of info about my particular problem by just typing in my problem. But, don't use question marks. They have a paid service that will answer questions and it's supposed to be great. I just don't like paying for information that exists on the web for free. Has something to do with low funds, etc. So, use this great tool!

http://www.google.com

Please, use this site. They pay me no money and I support them because of the excellent results obtained down through the years. BTW, I am not paid by any site; just tips that have accumulated from using the internet for a while.

After work tomorrow, I am planting day lilies n yes i am secure enough in my manhood to voice such a thangy. Any suggestions will be welcome!

Having a great email round with Chris the Tech from Corinth! I said Booneville the last time I mentioned him and need to correct that error. He's a fellow music junkie and has found a new player that I'll look into soon. Back at work today and actually enjoyed the calls today. Got to see some old friends n that's always great. I must get jiggy with the day lilies, but that is a weekend project now.

Arkansas Mike n Michael r setting up a LAN party. They are Counterstrike gamers and we found a neat site that has a grip on such stuff:

http://www.tweak3d.net

This site is really kewl and informative. Seems to be driven by a bunch of young ppl that know their stuff! It's been around for a while and the explanation about how to set up a LAN party is about as good as it gets. Kudos to these people for sharing information of all sorts. You don't have to be a gamer to like this site, but it doesn't hurt. Tips and tweaks abound and they talk in simple terms. Great site, go visit!

Sorry about missing yesterday. My vision blurred, literally, spots before my eyes and I had pains down the side of my neck. The doctor thinks it's stress related and I have been advised to take time off. I thought he might have me committed when I started laughing and couldn't stop. Anyway, I just got word that I have to go for further tests next Wednesday and am guessing that they are precautionary. I made a prediction on here 5/19/2003 6:31:01 PM. Even though I have opted to stay home this is NOT what I had in mind. I was forewarned the change made in meds will make me dizzy if I get up too quickly and it does. Thank God this will go away. The ringing in my ears is more prevelant and I hope this subsides as well. Most likely all of this is not serious or I would have been sent to hospital yesterday. My doctors and nurses seem genuinely concerned about my welfare and state of mind. I spent several hours with them yesterday and have faith in their abilities. So, this is a minor setback and expected at my age. I must exercise more and lose weight.

Somehow the daylilies have to be finished today. Somehow I have to get this yard mowed again. Somehow I've got to quit obsessing about mowing the yard. Besides, I might hit one of those creatures that are prowling in the savanna between the front door and the truck (it may be sleeping in the back corner of my garage). I know at least one of 'em has spots, at least it did yesterday...

Monday morning and I do not have to attend work! I think all holidays should be Mondays. Chances are I will go to work today. If I stay at home on holidays I seem to always end up there.

I am rereading all the Douglas Adams Hitch-hiker books. Have all 5 of the trilogy (LOL) in one volume; a gift from Kristi n Jay. These books are light, fun and really geeky. Windows Server 2000 Secrets is my other current read. One of the most interesting books I've read lately is The Art of Deception by Kevin Mitnick. This is fascinating stuff about social engineering and hacking. It's also a bit frightening. Lisa gave me this book after watching Kevin on TechTV. He is a geek's geek and spent time in jail for hacking. I think the 'big brothers' were irritated they couldn't keep Kevin out of their gear and incarcerated him out of frustration. Justice is a weird concept.

http://www.freekevin.com

This will redirect you to information about one of cyberworld's most famous hackers.

After the brief interlude involving rain yesterday I hope to regain my current run at organization. I think there is some foul, evil animal residing in the back corner of my garage. This is an area that needs cleaning and is an ideal spawning ground for such critters. I just hope its mate doesn't show up.

Sunday, Sunday! Let me tell you folks, the ribs are awesome. The potato salad is spud nirvana. The baked beans are edible (i made them). Jim brought a pork loin roast and some of Emeril's seasoned bacon and they were fork tender! The privacy fence is up! Thank you Stan!! You are the Man! Lisa, you are too sweet (she helped me all day). And the Laundry Witch showed up after working all day and got our barnyard material together!! Such a nice easy evening and no one left with too much to drink. There were buffett tunes forever and some new stuff too. I must fetch some Eric Johnson music. Holidays are nice.

Mike from Arkansas is having a problem with Windows XP running 'poorly' on his computer. Yesterday Jim and I discussed a new found problem with duplicate fixes on the windows update site. They are having problems with machines that have downloaded service pack 1 - SP1. Of course, Microsmooze is clouding the issue, but it will become apparent when, once again, some individual finds a solution to fix this annoying problem. This problem is not affecting all machines, yet seems to be pretty much a popular topic on the boards and forums.

http://www.pcbuyersguide.com/software/system/WinXP-MoreTips.html

A lot of info here about XP. Still a Windows 2000 fan, but have XP on my laptop. I haven't noticed any change in speed. This problem will pull a lot of results on a google search. There is always black viper's site that will list how to turn off services running in the background that are not necessary or security issues. I will not list the address because this is dangerous stuff and I don't want anyone flaming me again because they entered a realm where only the true geeks need to dwell. We've talked about the black viper site before and I think it is one of the best on the web! He's made several appearances on TechTV and really knows his stuff. Turning off services /processes can be very dangerous stuff so stay away from it unless you are adept.

Any tips or comments about this issue or others are welcome. The email addy is posted above! Everyone please stay safe, responsible and happy during our great holiday.

Today is Saturday and Memorial Day weekend. Let us not forget those that have given their lives for our country. Let us not forget those that have served our country; the healthy, the wounded, and the scarred. Let us not forget those that are serving our country. God knows I love each and every one of them. Thank you Armed Forces for permitting me to live in the land of the free!

Hmmm, been up since 5:30am, washed two loads of clothes, the dishes, finished repairing one PC, working on another. To do list: go to grocer, go to shop for a few minutes, clean grills, put ribs n shoulder on, make potato salad, do baked beans, make salad, ice down drinks, move lawn furniture, mow yard, put up 32 feet of fence in 16 foot sections, go to hardware store, clean house, clean garage, hook up new receiver to outside speakers, move tv and rf sender outside, install intel uber switch, set up LAN party, install Unreal, make nuclear meltdown garlic bread, water plants being careful not to disturb the bird family living in one of my ferns, set up bar outside, make music playlist , get bratwurst, burger, n dogs ready, try not to have stroke, sit down, relax, act like everything is casual and try not to think about why I've had to do a week's worth of work in one day. Anyone want to help? You can bet ur sweet ass the food will be awesome!! I will have help cooking, LOL.

Useful links for this weekend:

http://www.all-about-hangovers.com

http://www.topsecretrecipes.com

http://www.rock103.com

Ok, the first one is self explanatory. Don't go there thinking they have a cure. They don't. The topsecretrecipes site was sent in by ubertech Jim. It is way kewl to see how different folks in the food biz get their respective flavors. Rock103 is outta Memphis, TN (not one of my favorite towns, but I love Horn Lake, Walls, Olive Branch, Covington, Brighton, etc.). This is a really kewl classic rock station that broadcasts over the web. Their site is awesome. Tim Spencer, one of the djs n program directors, developed it years ago and it has some way funny stuff on it. Beware! Not for the timid, faint of heart or children. They are risque.

Going now, gonna get jiggy n try to be productive. Best to stick to a great parrothead philosophy on a weekend of celebration - don't push any fool buttons....

When in Tupelo you must visit the West End Market and Deli. It's on Main St. (Hwy 6) at the western county line. This is a clean, well lighted place. Yessiree you can get gasoline, motor oil, and the usual convenience store items. But, you must sit down at one of the red white n blue tables and partake of the best hamburger for miles around. We ain't a talkin' iceberg lettuce and a soy patty here. They make burgers fresh everyday and use leaf lettuce + red ripe tomatoes. Plate lunches are great and for a fiver and change it's entree, 3 vegetables, choice of roll or cornbread, and a drink. They don't portion out they dole out. Nice to sit down and know you'll be full. New Orleans style sub sandwiches and a variety of desserts are available. There's a plethora of softdrinks and juices. Even if you don't drink beer, check out the beer cave. It's chillin'!

Enjoy reading? There is an online site that has thousands of titles that you can download. It's called Project Gutenberg.

http://promo.net/pg/

This is the official site. The fellow that conceived and initiated this wonderful idea, Michael Hart, was a guest on The Screensavers which aired on TechTV last night. Amiable dude that is all for people reading. They even have a bookmobile that goes all over the country to schools, libraries, etc. This unique vehicle has a printing press and satellite dish in order to print book copies on the spot. Most of the titles are public domain so you won't find the last Danielle Steele (sp?) novel posted. There are literally thousands of selections and you can download them to pcs, laptops and PDAs. I have part of the Bible on my Palm V. It's fun to search through the titles. Many sites mirror this official web site and some of these have much easier navigation. Just Google search for Project Gutenberg; my last one produced 290.000 hits.

Not googling? Did you even get a window in that cave?

http://www.google.com

We've talked about windows washer and ad-aware and their ability to rid you of adware and spyware. Well, get ready boys and girls. There's a new kid on the block and it's just downright awesome. Spybot Search & Destroy is powerful, friendly and thorough! This is freeware but the owner will accept donations. He asks that you pray for him and wish him well!!!!!! Honest n cross my heart, it's in the EULA. Dude is from Germany and the name is Paul Kolla; might be a good idea to remember this name, he's probably not through writing software. Oh yeh, the URL is:

http://security.kolla.de

DOWNLOADER BEWARE! If you use this program and find some applications won't run, do not whine! You have been warned that this is a powerful tool and it has the ability to delete registry keys, etc. Stay in the 'easy mode' when doing your searching and destroying. I really like this program. It's right up there with Mailwasher, Popup Killer and Google. I've noticed it wreaking havoc on Download Accelerator Plus, but if they are up to their old tricks again, then I don't care if spybot rips it to pieces. After all, this is about the art of tearing it all apart!

I hate spyware and adware as much as I hate viruses and the idiots that write them. Satan is saving seats by the fire for the creeps that write such stuff and other foolishness like popups and spam. Thank you Paul Kolla for making the cyberworld a better place to visit. My hat is off to ya! You have my best wishes and prayers.

You little snot nosed weasels writing all this spyware/popup/spam/virus garbage can kiss my Mississippi fish belly white butt!!! Wait I take that back, they probably want to...Sick i tell ya, downright sick

If you are interested in "personal confusers" you will eventually hack in some shape, form or fashion. Not necessarily in a malicious way, but to resolve some issue that cannot be handled by mainstream cures. Mike from Kentucky (one of those radical, die hard, big blue fans) is having trouble retrieving a password in Windows 2k. Well, there are ways.

http://www.codeproject.com/dll/pwdspy.asp?print=true

http://www.atstake.com/research/lc/

K, I know this last one works and it is not freeware, but can be downloaded and used for 15 day trial period. This is actually the old LOpht crew outta the Boston area in a "white hat" reincarnation. Super sharp ppl. This neat program actually attacks in a kewl way (passwords are stored as hashmarks or slashes). A simple password will be cracked in a short period of time. More complex passwords WILL take longer. Be patient. Please don't take these tools and do malicious things. If they are valuable to you then pay the fee. Hope this helps, Wildcat Mike. I spent two days after installing Linux Red Hat 8.0 mentally squeezing my weird, geek mind trying to remember the root password. Sitting at my Windows 2k machine listening to Frank Zappa the light bulb turned on! Before you ask - no it's not dynamo hum or yellow snow.

A prediction; if I don't get time off, finish some stuff, and get badly needed rest, I will stroke out!!! Day lilies to plant (thanks Chester), fences to build, concrete to pour, speakers to install, and the list goes on n on. 'Nuff said - no one is interested in a whine fest.

Received an interesting fix to the grokster problem. It's called groksterlite!! Knew that kazaalite existed, picked up that information from TechTV's Kevin Rose last week, but this is new to me. Haven't tried it yet, so beware. One very informative site, http://www.spywareinfo.com, discourages the use of such programs. Their reasoning is that it sends a message to the guilty site saying that people like the site so much they'll go to these extremes to get rid of ads, spyware, yada yada. Well, liking peer to peer, I will probably try it. I disagree with spywareinfo; to me, it's sorta' giving these sites the finger for their cheesy efforts.
The url is:

http://cleanclients.netfirms.com/

This site will redirect you to the appropriate version of your peer to peer file sharing software. Groksterlite will be down for a few days due to moving from one host to another, but they have assured they will be back up asap. Thanks Molly from Florida for the tip!!!!

The April 2, 2003, airing of The Screensavers on TechTV devotes a whole segment on how to remove Bonzi Buddy. You can go to their site and look up the show notes and find a post of 'how to' rid your PC of this grape ape that sends all your info to various vendors waiting to spam n pornspam you. People that write this junk make me want dueling legalized.

Remember, download at your own risk. If you don't know what you're doing then seek competent help - beware of the geek that knows everything. There are legality issues about file sharing and I have my own opinions. There is much info on this subject, just google search and then read before making a decision. Ahhhhhh, back in the day of FTP n IRC......

I am always interested in what cookies are dropped on my computer when visiting web sites. This annoying, necessary part of web browsing seems to be a constant battle. I use ad-aware to remove spy-ware, ad-ware. Don't let all the cyber-babble fool you, both are annoying and I just don't like the fact that someone is watching my browsing habits or whatever. Too much like 'big brother'. Windows washer is not freeware, but does a good job of cleaning up a machine after it's partook of the web. Here is a really awesome site for freeware:

http://www.karenware.com

Karen has many tools that are way kewl, but cookie viewer, snooper and windows watcher are ++. This is a freeware site, but she won't refuse donations. Check it out.

One of the worst sites to impact your computer with this vile stuff is Grokster. They do a dance in the EULA creepily hiding their guilt. They use Cydoor, Gain, Gator, etc. which were written in hell probably by satan or Steve Jobs. After many hours of searching n probing, I think this load of barnyard material may be worse than virus infections. Bonzi Buddy n Comet Cursor are like evil children compared to this malarky. Do a search on your computer for Cydoor, Gator or Gain. If they don't show up in the search, go to regedit and do a find. This stuff is horrible. I solicit any 'fixes' that will help folks shed these unrequested spy-ware/ad-ware applications. Grokster says they have to use it to stay online, but to place it on your computer in stealth mode is just not right. They even give you boxes to uncheck if you don't want it and it still shows up on your PC. Several folks are working on this and I will keep you posted. If you are using a peer to peer file sharing program to download music, etc. it's almost a sure bet you've got it and it's broadcasting at the speed o light everything it can find out about you. If you have deleted them from your computer, go look again. They are like AOL; they keep showing up even though you have deleted them. If anyone has tips about this puh-leeze let me know!

It's a rainy Saturday morning. I've left the cell phone in the truck on purpose and for a few minutes no one can pull at me. People can be so inconsiderate. Last night was VERY important. I did see my daughter graduate and her friends did come over for burgers n all. Everyone left in a good mood and we had no major glitches. We turned in somewhere around 2:00am and arose at 7:00am. Kristi and Jay are going to visit with my ex-inlaws and then return to Baton Rouge. It's my bet that Mimi will spend part of the day in the super hammock we gave her for graduation.

I wanted more time with my family, but made the best of few hours alloted. Also wish Mom could have made it, but don't blame her for not driving in this awful weather. We installed the fence posts for the patio after Stan came by and corrected the error of my design. Stan can do most anything and is a superior craftsman when it comes to anything wood. In spite of the rain both my sons in law helped me get 'em in the ground. Charlie helped me pick up the material while Kristi n Jay shopped for party food. I finally spent some time alone with Kristi while finishing last minute shopping while Jay put together the new charcoal grill, which is awesome. Serious hustle and joint effort helped us pull off a nice evening for Mimi and her friends. She was certainly entitled (her Benediction last night was strong and well spoken, I swelled with pride). One negative scene was Jan's mother fell after the ceremony, but Dr. Jay seems to think she's ok. We'll know more when he sees her again this morning. She's a super nice lady.

K, all this to explain why I've not answered the phone. God has blessed me with super daughters and they have chosen well as far as their life-partners. They love me and I love them. So, don't call or confront me about not answering the phone for a 16-18 hour time span. Life is too short to take a lotta' barnyard material.

Well, now that I've been pushy on the cyberside, I guess I'll retrieve my cell phone from the truck....

Graduation is over. Mimi did the Benediction, being President of the Honor Society, and looked like a million dollars. The family assembled and attended enmass. Maddie was a perfect angel and everyone is here geeking out!!! A good time is being had by all!!

Concerning the slowdown fix in Office 97 from yesterday Jim has sent the url that resolves a lot of problems in this office suite.

http://office.microsoft.com/assistance/9798/sr1fact.aspx

It seems to be an end all fix all patch. Be sure and turn off all the journal stuff in Outlook. K, I know you probably use outlook express, but if you installed outlook it is saving everything you do in the journal and that is default. Just open up tools (in outlook) click the journal tab and uncheck Access, Excel, Word, etc. Thanks Jim!

Today is graduation and I am snowed under with things to do. Everything has been pushed to the last minute and I will never be able to accomplish all tasks. Time for a priority check. I do know that I will be very proud when my daughter receives her degrees.

Matrix Reloaded? Good? Bad? Well, contrary to what Gene Shallit said, if you are even pseudo geeky GO SEE THIS MOVIE. If for no other reason the FX's are awesome. We went and everyone was nailed. Don't be late. This thing is one continuous action packed romp in cyberworld. The camera work, acting etc. are really good. Lotta closeup shots and fight scenes are uh, uh, just get thee to a theater!

My daughter and son-in-law from Baton Rouge were over last night . Really great seeing them. I did post yesterday but it was from work and the web ramp kicked the network offline just as I published. So it didn't make the trip. Taking a few minutes of my "vacation" time to regroup before I attend work. Sometimes I wonder if reincarnation is real and I was Hitler in a past life. This week is really important and I've had plans for months to enjoy time with my family. Yet, circumstances deem my immediate attention. Really doesn't matter and I am whining - my sense of duty pushes me to act responsibly. Sad to know that no one will acknowledge or appreciate such effort. Folks just don't seem positive anymore. In the words of those sage philosophers King Crimson (from the song 'thela hun ginjeet'), "The world is a dangerous place, a dangerous place."

Anyone that knows why Office 97's Excel program starts taking forever to shut down, or has a "fix" for this problem I'd sure appreciate any info. Thought it was licked yesterday, but the ugly head has risen again. This is on a machine running 98SE OS.

Daddy DAN! If you ever read this I am expecting an email (that's the address to the left right under the title). Daddy Dan is my brother that taught my daughters to call me "Handsome Daddy" when they were both very young! When I hear that now I know there is something 'on the way'. May be blog nepotism but this dude is a musician extraodinaire and one heckuva trivia player. Old movies? He's by far the best ever! So put yo hands on the keyboard n email me!

The CMOS checksum was cured with a new battery. They do fail, though rarely. I have two gorgeous new parrothead pillows, some more parrots (not live), a really kewl picture frame and more neat stuff. Thanks Lisa, u r sweet! Hope Hootchie enjoys the new CMOS battery! (evil grin)

Listening to an old favorite that has been revived. 'Big Yellow Taxi' was a great tune when done by Joni Mitchell (she also wrote it) many years ago. Counting Crows and Vanessa Carlton do a really slick production of this tune. I get chills listening to it. Really pushes my system and kicks the subwoofer in a most righteous way. I'd guess they are not great Republicans, but awesome tune besides all that. Really hate the Dixie Chicks did their number on the "W" because the 'Landslide' cover is awesome. Haven't forgiven em yet. C'mon all you democrats!! Tell me I should! Lord, what have I done? Lapsed into talking music and politics in the same paragraph. Might be time for another dose o' therapy!!! May ask em about all those frogs n catfish that have been showing up on the veranda during bad weather too....

Couldn't sleep during the night and am faced with a CMOS checksum error that won't go away. Defaults in BIOS set, CMOS reset (even removed the battery for a while) and it still nags about the problem. Haven't replaced the battery, that's my next step. La modem was fubar-ed during a recent storm. May have reached out and touched the motherboard. Oh well, these 2:30am awakenings are generated by needs other than a hewlitt packard mobo.

Memorial Day is not too far off. I am planning a very casual parrothead phlocking and LAN party. If my current course holds true I'll end up having to do something weird that will pull me away, but so help me God, there will be fun at the Saltillo Beach House with or without my presence. My youngest daughter graduates this Friday and plans had been made to spend time with my family this week. Family is important to me. Nothing pleases me more than to be with my two wonderful daughters. We've outside duties that have arisen and will make the best of the little time granted. Every person has to put aside selfish pursuits and do that which is right on occasion.

If you are a "Bubba" fan and love parrots, palms n drinks with tiny umbrellas in 'em, here is a site that will connect you with many things parrothead

http://www.islanderz.com/links/

Happy anniversary Gayle n Butch!! May you have many more! n Butch? How old will you be on the 19th? 27? 28? Gayle you are fortunate to have such a young, dashing husband!!

A new week! The weather is here and wish you were beautiful, uh, uh anyway, it's a beautiful day in the neighborhood. This week I am supposed to be on vacation, but I am going to work in a few. They better keep an eye on me because I am really quick for an old, fat guy. I shall Clark Gable and be gone with the wind.

Planning a cookout? There are awesome sites about culinary stuff on the web.

http://www.foodtv.com

http://www.foodgeeks.com

http://www.recipedude.com

Be sure and check Emeril on the foodtv site, lotsa links there and he has pages galore.

Thanks Charlie, Mimi and Maddie for the Buffett CD (one I really didn't have) and the Elvis DVD and triple thanks for help in mowing my jungle; the lions didn't roar last night. Hyya West Memphis bunch; Dena, Lexi n all!

Ever seen 'The Drowning Pool'? There's a scene where Paul Newman and an actress (can't recall her name) have flooded a room and they open the doors and water rushes everywhere. Well, the office where I start work every day had a minor scene like that today. Some folks from Marshall County (Holly Springs) drove by saw the water seeping out and contacted the local police. Our police chief, Steve Brooks, came to my house and told me about it. I rushed up there and shut the water main off and then opened the doors. A minor deluge at both front and back doors. Immediately I called people and got an overwhelming response. After making sure the water wasn't covering the server and phone switch I started sweeping. Our office manager, Gayle, quickly called the building owner and folks started showing up. Judd, the owner of the building, contacted a recovery expert and he responded immediately. Within a few hours what might have been a major major disaster was brought under control. Tomorrow we can find out the extent of damage, but we will be open for business. Steve, the recovery expert, had awesome equipment and quelled the massive water seepage. Big Yank Chris, one our techs, helped move stuff as did Butch and Gayle. So great to see such a quick response and people working together to overcome this crisis. Gayle, Butch (Gayle's husband), Big Yank Chris, Steve, Judd and Chief Brooks THANK YOU!!

Our owner is out of town with his father recovering from heart surgery. At times like this I am so proud to be a Mississippian and a resident of the Town of Saltillo. Thank you Marshall County people in the blue truck, whomever you are....

Thanks to Butch for working on my a/c unit on top of all this! The Saltillo Beach House is its refrigerator self again!

Let's remember BT in our prayers. Here's hoping his hospital stay will be a very successful one.

Due to circumstances beyond my control I've deleted the last entry. More will be posted later.

Today is my birthday. Some folks that have known me for a while express amazement that I am not dead. Parts of my 'back in the day' were rather rowdy. I am certainly not proud and, sometimes, downright embarrassed of those years. Due to the haze in my brain at that time, recall of some years is very vague. God has graced me and if I cross the bar today I will leave very dear loved ones and a life that 'ranneth' over.

Nowadays time is spent monitoring my control freak tendencies and learning more about tolerance and patience. Looking back, awe overwhelms me and not necessarily in a positive fashion! LOL People never ever cease to amaze me. In the past few days I have praticed tolerance and patience to keep from confronting someone due to their nasty negative hateful attitude. After all, I am human. That great philosopher Clint Eastwood said, "A man's gotta know his limitations." Mine have been pushed. Control freakishness still fights to take over. That ego, id, super-ego thangy (google search this n see the results!).

Someone I know and work with on a daily basis is in crisis. His father was hospitalized and underwent bypass surgery yesterday. BT, the father, has always been kind to me. I've done service calls on his network and have looked forward to seeing him. Those of you that pray please put him on your list.

Tomorrow is my birthday. I have received two gifts!!! Brother Dan sent a band! It's a group of dogs playing various instruments. All of the dogs are better looking than me. Neal and CC sent a Three Stooges clock that is way kewl and makes stooges sounds. They are better lookin' than me. I've got to do something about my insecurity. Thanks y'all!! Way kewl stuff that will be treasured forever. I love ya!

There is a saying amongst the members of Alcoholics Anonymous; so-in-so is not sober, he's only stopped drinking. This observation has so many levels of interpretation. Beware of such people. They lie, cheat, steal, abuse others and generally are up to no good.

Isn't is funny how the smallest things are so important to 'little-bitty' people? The non-sober ones probably have a twelve step program on how to mercilessly be cruel at all costs. Yes, I am bitter. Bitter about how some disguise the need for immediate gratification as friendship. It is my considered opinion that the evil control freaks of the world have a special place reserved in hell, way down in hell. My stomach has been turned during the past day or so and I am venting. Yet, I know that perserverance will see injustice become the trivial, minute entity it is...

I shall see selfless acts again, God willing. My glass is still half-full and with it I toast those that know the meaning of friendship and kindness. Carpe diem!

For the first time in days I've looked out the window and not seen snarling masses of irate bullfrogs and catfish hanging out on the veranda. I heard their grumblings about rushing the house to get out of the weather every morning. Paranoid about grunting, croaking creatures? Possibly, aren't you?

When was the last time you saved your favorites list? Find the folder. You do a search or find from the start icon (for some reason they keep changing the name of this tool) for favorites. In Windows 98 it resides in C:\Windows. In 2000, XP it resides in C:\Documents and Settings\"your name". Place a floppy in the A drive then open that device. Open the window of this device and leave it open. Nest, go to My Computer and open C drive then go to your favorites folder, highlight it, then hit the control key and "C" - this will copy the favorites folder and it is almost instantaneous. Close the window where your favorites folder resides and you should be in the window of your target device (A drive). Press the control key and "V" - this will paste your favorites folder to the floppy disk. This is not rocket science and after a few tries it will become second nature to copy and paste. If you do this then a backup of favorites exists and the ability to copy and paste has been learned. Important to me, since my favorites list has gone 'Godzilla' on me.

Finally found "Big Electric Cat" by Adrian Belew. Not the best MP3, but at least I now have it. Yes, I've have purchased this album (several times). BTW the name of the album is Lone Rhinoceros. "Mr." Jobs over at the apple barn has found yet another way to screw the public. He's now selling music for his devices at a dollar a tune! Let's see, about 12-15 songs on a CD? Wow, just go to the Wal-Mart and buy CDs instead of all that downloading, converting to CDA, etc. And some intelligent people are endorsing this? I have been warning everyone that the jerks at RIAA, etc. would stop file sharing. I warned ppl before Napster, Audio-Galaxy fell by the wayside, and even though Grokster and Morpheus won their court case, this is not over yet. The Mafia/Nazis of the RIAA won't give up their gravy train easily. You can bet on that. Me worry? Not me, I like music, always have and I am not about to spend 4 or 5 thousand dollars with the "worm" in the Apple.

It's misting rain again. The frogs n catfish are back. Wait, why is that one wearing glasses n got a bad haircut? Did I hear some of them speaking Italian and German. Good grief! It's Stevie-Poo and the henchman! A plot exposed! ARRGGHHH!

Jan from New York writes:

"Checked out your website and liked it so much I added it to my
favorites! It is bright, funny and clever. Good job!

I made timely use of your avg virus info. Somehow my norton
antivirus program lost its executable path or its mind. So I decided
to try AVG. Nice...."

Mike from Arkansas writes:

"it is one of those pieces that if it is written well, you know, you just keep reading till you finish, even if you aren’t interested!"

Wow, thanks for the kudos. Now I must do a '180'. I have been thoroughly flamed about my statement concerning Steve Jobs. It is interesting that most of these people were mad about my disrespecting Apple computers and could care less about "Mr." Jobs. It's true that Jaguar or OS10 or whatever they call it today is based on Free BSD, an operating system that seems extremely stable. But, it is "Mr." Jobs personal flavor of BSD and you can't get it from anyone else. So, Stevie-Poo used an open source platform and is now selling it in a proprietary format. There's no convincing Apple users to switch. Are you believing that Apple came out with OS10 and a coupla months later issued what would basically be a "patch" on the windows update site and sold it to these poor people for over $100.00!!!!!! I am sticking by my guns. If you like Apple, so be it. I am staying away from a product that seems to have as many worms as some college mascots out there. Sure hope these Apple people don't find out where I live - they may show up enmass and "core" me to death while screaming 'Baltimore!' and something about 'who's your friend?'. "Mr." Stevie-Poo of the mighty $100.00 update isn't there friend, n that's fer shure!

Recently Shannon had a problem with "typing lag" on his PC. Those of you that are frequent readers may remember the post. If he used Word, or a terminal emulation, Notepad, etc. the on screen type would lag behind his actual typing. This was a very frustrating problem that was resolved by turning off Quick Books update program which resided in the start up group. He had just installed a USB hub and a Zip drive and we were pointing the accusing finger at one of these. K, general discussion and several emails helped us resolve this problem. When we ask for input please don't hesitate. That which seems trivial to one may be a crisis solution to another.

Last night bad weather was trumpeted in by the local howling sirens and played to an SRO crowd in my storm cellar. My air conditioning is out so the windows are open and the 9MM on the table. I heard voices. Concealing the gun in my pants I went outside to investigate. There was a crowd stacked like sardines in my storm house! It has been a standing tradition that all my neighbors can use it and the door is unlocked. Just hadn't noticed such a commotion before with the windows up and the air unit whirring. On the way back into the house a thought crossed my mind about how it's a good thing these people didn't notice my gun toting tendency.

Mark Minasi is a writer of books. Mark Minasi is an ALPHA geek. Mark Minasi is an ubertech. This dude writes books about techno stuff, Windows, Linux, etc. They are precise, correct, readable and downright entertaining at times. He also has a website that will awe and amaze you with the amount of knowledge it contains. This site is for newbies and ubertechs. Try it! You'll like it!

http://www.minasi.com

A big thank you to all the dudes n dude-ettes in Arkansas. Thanks to Murf, I am glad to say that there is a definite Arkansas faction interacting. Welcome aboard and please let me know what needs to be here. Of course, I can't do the go hawgs thangy, being an Ole Miss fan (LOL)! Nice to see this is getting attention and it is moving me to upgrade my capabilities here.

I will "blog" more in the next month. Sorry about the link problem. Just keep using control "c" to copy and control "v" to paste in the address line of your browser and I will start using "click on" links within the site. After reviewing many blogs I am changing my mind about a web page and will most likely expand capabilities here. Remember to add the links you like to your favorites!


http://www.techtv.com/screensavers/ - this is one of my favorite favorites. Lotta info here and you don't have to have the TV channel available to take advantage of their geekiness.

Email me, email me, email me. I do respond

It's raining in Mississippi. There are weather alerts about tornadoes. Yesterday and this morning several people were killed by these storms. I've experienced inclimate weather. In Arlington, Texas, I was building a network and we could see the funnel cloud just a few hundred feet away. I told two other techs to please tell my daughters that I loved them if they survived me. Amazing what goes through your mind during duress. All I could think about was that I was a long way from home and really wanted to see my "little girls" again. Some resolve sitting under a desk and seeing all types of stuff fly through the air, including cars, pushed me back towards home. Storms may take me, but I'll be at home. God help those that have perished and those that have survived

Last week Verizon's ISP division was ordered to turn over the names of two of their clients that openly file swap music. They have 15 days to comply. This is due to the RIAA taking them to court. What is the RIAA? The recording industry something something, yada yada....are the Mafia/Nazi thugs of music. They basically double the price of music CDs. Go to Clint Black's website and see the price at which he will download his latest album to you. It's amazing.

Grokster and Morpheus did win their case in court last week. They are not responsible for the content of file swapping on their sites because both sites are strictly peer to peer. This was announced and the RIAA immediately started sending messages to file swappers threatening them with legal action. Madonna has been sending a profane message for weeks now to people that are downloading her latest offering. I have to explain something here: I just edited out a major lambast of these jerks because I cannot talk about them without resorting to nasty language. So to Ms UnAmerica and the goofballs called RIAA - heh heh heh, ha ha ha, nana nana boo boo!!!!!!

What a beautiful day! No rain, humidity low and people everywhere doing summer things, I like it. There are really kewl web sites for Lowe's and Home Depot if your into such, n Sears n Walmart have great sites too. It's May n Parrotheads are winding up for the season (if you don't know about parrotheads, Google search and if you don't like Jimmy Buffett please quit reading this blog). There will be a minor private family phlocking at the Saltillo Beach House in honor of my daughter graduating in a coupla weeks. Then Memorial Day is a Phlocking Magnolia Style. Yes, there will be a LAN party and we will prob play Unreal Tournament since not everyone has the new version. It will be outside on the new patio. Hopefully a good time will be had by all. There will be "rum and cooked animals on the grill" and geeks seem to enjoy and kick back at such a gathering. Let me know if you're coming and bringing a PC. I will have enough connections so everyone can play. I look forward to both of these events.

http://www.margaritaville.com

Nuff said!

A great alternative to the weather channel website is

http://www.intellicast.com

and if your ever in need to know your ip address try

http://www.ipchicken.com

Hi Ho Hi Ho to the grind I go....

Sometimes it's hard to understand how stuff works and there's a site waiting to answer:

http://www.howstuffworks.com

This site was discovered when searching for info about DSL using Google. Really neat site with lotsa links.

Sometimes the jargon used in cyberworld is downright frustrating. There's a site!

http://www.webopedia.com

Another great site that has awesome links. The answers are concise and easy to read.


Sometimes I have to go to work. That time is now!