End of Year Whines

Posting has been infrequent the past few weeks. This has been due to a problem with the template used for this site, end of year activities, an influx of back problems and welcomed out of town visitors. Please bear with me. Changes are being made and it's hopeful that their incorporation will be made without interrupting my daily drivel.

After being in a Flexiril haze for a day it seems that I can stay upright for a few minutes. It's ridiculous for a grown man to get in such a hurry he forgets his age and reverts to habits acquired when a teenager. Bend your knees and pick it up! Duh!

Outta' here. Y'all enjoy the New Year! If you see that old white bearded dude, tell him I just don't care anymore. The useless anticipation is not worth it. Ed MacMahon will never show up. Bah, Humbug!

"New Year's Eve, where auld acquaintance be forgot. Unless, of course, those tests come back positive."
-Jay Leno

RIAA? Headquartering in North Korea Might Be Appropriate (Darth Kim May Not Want Them)

The damned RIAA baboons are at it again. Now they are pressing charges against a Russian company. Hey, dumbasses! Wake up! Russia is not part of the United States! They are a foreign country. Is there no end to this mafioso organization and their terrorist activities? Please, please, please voice your opinions to your Congresspeople and let them know these jerks are driving up prices on entertainment media in a most unecessary fashion. A good article explaining all about this idiocy can be found at ArsTechnica.

On a lighter note, happy birthday to Verdana and Mrs. DaddyDan.

"The secret of staying young is to live honestly, eat slowly, and lie about your age." ~Lucille Ball

Boxing Day, v2.0.1

Visited BestBuy today and thought time had turned back to last Friday or Saturday. People were everywhere and it finally dawned on me, when I saw the return line, why there were so many people in the store. Folks in England call today, the 26th, Boxing Day. Traditionally you take down the tree, box up the decorations and wait for next year. That's a good idea. We should make 'Boxing Day' a national holiday and adhere to this concept. Okay, that's a pipe dream. Probably best for me to accept that in the USA we call the 26th "Return Day".

It's still Christmas at the beach house and will remain that way through Friday...at least in the evenings. Happy "Return Day" everyone!

"Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man."
-Benjamin Franklin

Tis the Season

Best wishes to all the beach housers!

"Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful."
-Norman Vincent Peale

Tone for the Eve

Please take a moment and journey to Southernphried and read A Christmas prayer.... This is a moving post that certainly reflects my feelings during this Christmas season. Thanks Grasshoppa, you have helped make my Christmas Eve. Prayers with you my friend.

"Fail not to call to mind, in the course of the twenty-fifth of this month, that the Divinest Heart that ever walked the earth was born on that day; and then smile and enjoy yourselves for the rest of it; for mirth is also of Heaven's making."
-Leigh Hunt

Thank You, Tyler

Lot of cooking going on at the beach house. Using a fresh turkey along with a spiral ham to anchor the meal with a large pan of chicken and dressing for the main course. Traditional southern green beans will be served (bacon grease IS required - not an option) and rolls will probably harden on the table.

One dish that has constantly been applauded is a scratch cranberry sauce prepared from a Tyler Florence recipe. It can be found here. Actually saw Tyler make this on the Food Network and it is now a holiday beach house staple. I do add walnut pieces. This is one of those dishes best refrigerated overnight.

Why cooking on a geek site? Hey, we eat too. Besides a pregnant woman requested some things this year and this is my way of letting her know a trip to Dad's house will mean fav foods. Let me also mention her sister is one heckuva' cook too. May try some of these goodies at a LAN Party in the near future.

Now my lardass must waddle off to bed. Later.

"In the old days, it was not called the Holiday Season; the Christians called it 'Christmas' and went to church; the Jews called it 'Hanukkah' and went to synagogue; the atheists went to parties and drank. People passing each other on the street would say 'Merry Christmas!' or 'Happy Hanukkah!' or (to the atheists) 'Look out for the wall!"
-Dave Barry, "Christmas Shopping: A Survivor's Guide"

Shopping and DVDs

My Christmas shopping is not done. In all honesty it has not begun. Yes I've looked and made some decisions, but finding the right window to go out amongst the masses has been hard. It'll happen eventually.

Eric Bangeman has an interesting article at ArsTechnica. It is titled DVD players finally outnumber VCRS. In the article there is a reference to another interesting quote of Bill Gates, the chief mojo and head muckitymuck of Microsoft. Gosh Bill, those shoe soles smellin'?

Stay casual and try to avoid traffic mishaps. It's that time of year.

"And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more."
-Dr. Seuss

Looking Out the Window

Yes, I am catching up on publishing. Still have a slight template problem and just not enough time to repair it completely. Am going to change some things and will gladly take recommendations if you can think of anything to improve this site. A border has been suggested and someone said more pictures will help. Still working on the installation tutorials for Spybot, GMail, AVG, etc. It is tough for me to sit down and produce screenshots, etc. without becoming distracted by the world.

Gosh to be 18 again...stay up day and night with endless strength and drive. Well, there's a lot to be said FOR NOT being 18 too. That was a year of hormonal madness and some are so stupid at that age. Certainly amazing how many stupid folks became intelligent when I reached the age of 30. Besides, possum watching wasn't even an option at 18. Nor was relaxing in a swing on the veranda. Shucks, it's actually good to be alive and the oldest geek in the state of Mississippi.

Enough mind meandering. Have a casual day.

"The aging process has you firmly in its grasp if you never get the urge to throw a snowball."
-Doug Larson

Free PDF Writer

Received an email inquiring about free PDF writers. This is the Portable Document File format that comes from Adobe. They let you download the reader version for free, but charge ridiculous prices for the version that actually creates documents in this format. Yes, this is two days in a row that I have slammed Adobe, but they deserve it. Their profit percentages have to be off the charts. Besides, how can you like a company that promotes Yahoo? Please remember, Yahoo is evil and infecting your computer with garbage from "adware" companies such as Claria and 180soultions. The death penalty is too good for these creeps.

Here's one of many free versions of PDF writers. It's called PDF4Free. Haven't tried it, but it has good reviews on the web. Sandy, if you download it (at your own risk, I must say) please give us a review in a few days, weeks, etc. Thanks for the inquiry.

"The larger the island of knowledge, the longer the shoreline of wonder."
-Ralph W. Sockman

Say Cheese

You've purchased that digital camera and are anxious to organize your holiday pictures to send to relatives, and friends. You installed the software and found it to be clunky, slow and a resource hog. You are intelligent enough to know that Adobe charges wayyyyyyy too much for PhotoShop. Besides, Adobe is trying to stick that damned Yahoo tool bar into your computer with their downloads and you don't want that junk.

How about the best photo organizer around? It's another super download from Google. You can download Picasa at no cost. This product has been around for several years. Mentioning it this time of year may make you photo opportunities more pleasurable. Hey, try it - you'll like it. At this price how can you beat it?

Hope this helps.

“There are no rules for good photographs, there are only good photographs.”
-Ansel Adams

Good Gift

Interested in playing GuildWars? BestBuy has the latest module, Nightfall, on sale for $24.99 through Saturday. The first two are still $49.99. I still think buying the original GuildWars is the best way to start, but all 3 are stand alone games. It's amazing that I have all 3 and still find new things to do in the original game. GuildWars Rocks. Thanks for the tip Mudslingr!

"Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things."
-Robert Brault

Corinth Movie Going Experience

Beagle, Mudslingr and I traveled to Corinth, MS, last night to see the movie Eragon. The movie was awesome, but please be made aware I have not read the books. Beagle loaned me their copies and they will certainly be read. Beagle said the movie moved too fast and left out key elements. She still liked it. Mudslingr enjoyed it too. It was a feast for the eyes, ears and emotions to me. Best dragon movie yet! We sat up for 2 hours after arrivng home just talking about it.

One of the main reasons it was so enjoyable was the trip 50 miles to Corinth, instead of fighting the sticky floor, rude people, loud vulgar yelling, cell phones going off, experience that only the mall theater in Tupelo can provide. The large stand alone Malco in Tupelo is fine, just avoid the mall. Definitely try the Malco in Corinth.

People were smiling in a very clean lobby, the concession stand was clean and efficient (even had Starbucks coffee drinks), the ticket taker smiled and said enjoy the movie and he was clean too. We sat down in comfortable seats in a clean theater and upon leaving used a VERY clean bathroom.

Rarely do I go out and this was a great trip. It's nice to feel comfortable and kick back when enjoying a a wonderful movie. On the way back it struck my mind that not one person said a vulgar thing while in the theater, Yep, there are some polite communities left. Thank God.

"Politeness makes one appear outwardly as they should be within."
-Jean de la Bruyère (1645-1696) French satiric moralist.

Saturday? Wow! Only One More Day to Work this Week!

Gleeped this test from Beagle's page:

What type of person do you attract? Your Result: You attract geeks! Your stunning intellect and love of sci-fi and video games allures the geeks like nothing else. Maybe it is the sparkle in your eye that makes them want to text you, who knows. Geeks make good partners, but tend to be arguementative. If you are a TRUE geek magnet, you will know if that was spelled correctly, and actually care. If it is a bad-boy/bad-girl you are seeking, you are barking up the wrong tree, unless they are just 'bad' behind a PS2 console.
You attract artsy people!
You attract Yuppies!
You attract unstable people!
You attract rednecks!
You attract models!
What type of person do you attract? Quizzes for MySpace

Of course it has as much credibility as the weatherman or Prince Mongo. Still, interesting that the answer is geeks. Take by clicking on the blue line at the bottom.

Saturday morning, a good night's sleep, slight Flexiril hangover, but no whineysickboy with back problems today. Chores this AM in the local area and then home to clean up this pig sty. It looks like there might be a trip to Corinth tonight. Eragon, possibly the block buster of the holiday season, is playing at the theater in the mall instead of the new Malco which has stadium seating. In the new theater you will be thrown out if you are acting like a fool or talking like a blabbering idiot. Leave your cell phone and and the good ole boys in the audience may toss you out the door too. The mall venue really sucks and is a recurring topic at TupeloForums. Hey, Corinth is a great town and I bet the crowd will be well behaved. So driving 50-60 miles one way to see a movie is worth it to us. They should sterilize the mall theater and post guards at every 3rd row.

Time to get jiggy with it. Enjoy Saturday.

"Life be not so short but that there is always time for courtesy."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Gaelic Boogie

Just watched Celtic Woman, A new Journey again. What a glorious celebration of music. This is what it's all about. The blend of classic Irish tunes and modern songs gives these women a chance to bless us with their extraordinary talent. They are more animated in this new show and the sound quality is awesome.

Lisa Kelly just melts me. I think she could sing anything and look gorgeous while doing it wearing just a flour sack. They are all pretty and talented. The new member, Hayley Westenra, sang Scarborough Fair and this haunting rendition left tears in my eyes. Mairead kept the crowd up tempo with tremendous violin. She's so cute and can't seem to stand still while playing.

Had a fellow tech comment on my opinion that rap is NOT music and highly disagreed. Well, each to their own. If you like vulgar, monotone, sometimes hate inspiring, most time grammatically incorrect loud cacophany then have at it. Cowboy Troy is okay and I can tolerate the Hammer. DON'T bring that other vulgar, negative garbage to the beach house.

Back in the day I did play keyboards in a rock band while attending college. Was also the lead singer, believe it or not, lol. I know how to read music and can recognize several classical composers just by listening to their style. There were several years of piano lessons and musical theory. My brother has been a professional musician all his adult life. He doesn't like rap either.

Bruce Willis said it best in The Last Boy Scout. He'd been shot and Damon Wayans asked if he was hurting. Bruce replied something like, "If you want to see me really hurt, just play some rap music." And hey, I wasn't real crazy about punk rock. Disco wasn't a favorite either. But there were a few good disco tunes and a few okay punk tunes. Haven't heard the equivalent in rap.

It's late, my 2nd Flexiril of the day is kicking in and it is time to rest. Later.

“I hate rap music, which to me sounds like a bunch of angry men shouting, possibly because the person who was supposed to provide them with a melody never showed up”
-Dave Barry

Music in My Life

God has blessed me in many many ways. My daughters are awesome even though the oldest one has lost the ability to dial the phone due to pregnonophoneitis. My brother assures me this is a common affliction in our family. His daughter is the Mother (yes, Mother should always be capitalized) of three and she experienced the same malady while pregnant. Soon, this should pass.

Many ways I said: My eyes and ears were candy coated last night by the newest Celtic Woman show which aired on PBS. Just ignore the socialist TV hype and get coffee or refreshing beverage during the breaks. You can miss the last 14 minutes as well. Also, unless you are just dead set on sending PBS 75-150 bucks wait until next month and the CD, DVD, will be at Wal-Mart, Amazon.com, etc. at regular prices. Sorry, when Public Broadcast scrambled their signal years ago they lost my annual contribution. Scrambled signal=nonpublic.

Music is something that touches my soul. My heart soars when hearing talent this awe inspiring. These women are at the top of their craft. If your head is stuck in the boom, boom, boom of rap take a few minutes tomorrow night and let these Irish lasses (okay, the newest member is from New Zealand, but she has strong Irish heritage) teach you the true meaning of music.

Yep, it will air at 9:00PM on PBS (MPB) locally tomorrow night. Their ability to sing is beyond beautiful and it's easy to watch them. Great selection of music and the orchestra is phenomenal. When Mairead plays the violin sit back and hear the melodic feast. Orla plays a mean harp too.

Message to my youngest daughter: Can we go see Eragon Saturday or Sunday so I can watch this special again tomorrow night? Plz, plz!

"Beauty isn't worth thinking about; what's important is your mind. You don't want a fifty-dollar haircut on a fifty-cent head."
-Garrison Keillor

Teamspeak and the Jab Dance

The beach house network is experiencing changes. A second server will be brought online this weekend. Have a machine that will run FreeBSD and act as file server for the network. This will free up the web server of some duties which should improve Teamspeak capability.

It is foggy. There are miles to go before I sleep. Shucks, just glad it's not raining. The weather here is in the 60s and clear for a few days. If you haven't done the flu shot dance please fandango on down and help us all out. Don't spend the Christmas holiday sniffling.

"It is a wise mans part, rather to avoid sickness, than to wishe for medicines."
-Thomas More, Utopia

Update on the Updates

The second Tuesday of every month has been designated Patch Tuesday by the netizens of the world. So, what does this mean? If you have your Windows machine set to update manually, get to Microsoft's update page and secure your machine. Immediately. Don't risk infecting computers that have net interactions with your PC.

It's sad that there are evil people with time on their hands busy writing virus infections, spyware, malware, etc. Further sadness evolves from the fact that most of them are intelligent enough to be productive in a positive way. My guess is that that 8th circle in hell (see Wikipedia) will be full of bad hackers pissing on each others' legs. Maybe it'll help relieve the pain of the fire...momentarily.

Anyway, read about the latest updates at WashingtonPost.com.

"Parting is all we know of heaven and all we need of hell."

-Emily Dickinson

Cingular Still Sucks

Thanks to everyone for the response concerning the crude rude Cingular people at the North Gloster Street location next to Sam's. The emails are appreciated, and comments are still accessible for anyone that'd like to share a part of this horror story. It seems the two women (mentioned in the post December 5, 2006 titled Cingular? More Like Dingular...They Suck) have been having a field day inspiring hate and discord in our community. The Public Service Commission has forms online and the complaint process is underway. It is time to stop this abuse of the consuming public.

Help out, make a comment. Use a fictitious name or just don't use a name. Tupelo, Mississippi, does not need creeps like these two undermining a spirit of good will that exists in the local retail community.

"I would remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice! And let me remind you also that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue."
-Barry Goldwater

Schedule or Agenda?

Temps in the local area are going to be in the low 60s this next week. The rain is supposed to be minimal which makes for a great week to complete tasks long overdue. It starts today. Of course the 'where do I start' question is always there to help out its best friend...procrastination. As my good friend HarleyDave says, "It all starts in the kitchen." So my third cup of coffee will be consumed while washing dishes.

There's a trip to Baldwyn planned today (power supply in hand} and a laptop has to be reloaded with Windows. There's a network report due Tuesday that still needs work. Palm software needs to go on a different computer and W2K SQL Server needs installation on the server. Monitors have to be moved and backaches are not permissible this time of year. Gee, think I'll ever get the garage painted and cleaned up?

Wondering about Wii? It's selling. Check out the stats at FIN24. For the non-gamers, Wii (pronounced We) is the newest innovation of Nintendo. You remember Nintendo? The Mario Brothers/Donkey Kong people? It has modules that include physical interaction. They are handheld. Okay just go read about it at the Wii homesite. Look out XBox 360, there's a new player in the game. Will their be one at the beach house? No. PC gamer here and there is ONLY one game, GuildWars.

Isn't it amazing? Got thru a post without whineysickboy showing up. Enjoy Sunday.

"Tomorrow is the day when idlers work, and fools reform."
-Edward Young

Saturday's Update

Yes, yes the beach house is still around. The template used for this site has some corruption and it is almost 100% again. As mentioned for years new pages for this site are being developed. Just had to slow down and redo some critical components. This is a work in progress that may become live very soon.

I apologize to the person that knocked on the door yesterday and was not greeted. Being in the throes of a really nasty cold you really didn't want me to open it anyway. Not because of the potential of spreading germs, but because of the whineyboy syndrome. Being sick is NOT desirable. I know, my friends have told me this over and over again. Besides, my ability to get out of bed was like a sloth climbing down from a tree.

Thanks to everyone that posted a comment about the Dingulars. Thanks for the emails. Please keep commenting about these lying, rude people.

"He who trims himself to suit everyone will soon whittle himself away."
-Raymond Hull

Cingular? More Like Dingular...They Suck

Cingular users in the Tupelo area, please help me. Don't buy anything from the Cingular store next to Sam's. I have had an ongoing problem with an earbud headset which has a factory defect and they refused to honor the warranty on it today. Research is being done to find out specific names and they will be posted.

Bought the first one in April. It broke and I bought another a few months later from a polite young man named Scott. After expressing interest in purchasing a second one he mentioned if I still had the old one it could be replaced under warranty at no charge. Returning the next week it was discovered they had none in stock and needing to leave one in the car prompted me to purchase a Motorola Blue Tooth.

Well the earbud failed again. It has two small pieces that keep coming out of the connecting device which makes it inoperable. Took it by the same location and they refused to replace it or credit me the cost towards another Blue Tooth device. So, they are liars and have violated warranty procedures. When this contract is up my business will go elsewhere. Their rudeness was also noted and an investigation is underway to prompt further action. A woman waited on me and it was apparent the manager, who was too "busy" to come out front and talk to me was female.

Since they do come under the category of communications a report is being filed with the Mississippi Public Service Commission. Look, this is a small cost item. It's also a matter of manners and truth. If anyone else has had problems with these crude people please let me know. It irks me to have someone stand there smiling and smirking while telling me they will not uphold their end of a bargain. You know in the old West that was grounds for a gunfight.

And no, I won't calm down. My politeness lasted until the walk out the door and no profanity or threats were used. My last words were, "Please let me have my headset and receipt, I'll find another way to handle this problem." Yes, rudeness prompted me to take action many years ago concerning a like matter and legal advice was sought on how to handle the problem. That incident took legal action and I won. The lawyer was so upset with the crudeness of this business he waived the fee! Will keep you posted.

“A little rudeness and disrespect can elevate a meaningless interaction to a battle of wills and add drama to an otherwise dull day.”
-Watterson

Back Pain and Slightly Lower

Nice to wake up this morning with only a slight Flexiril hangover. Great drug that eases back pain, but it is one of my least favorite to take due to the dazed and confused afteshock experienced the next day. I really don't know if it relaxes muscles or just knocks you out so you can't move and that enhances the recovery process.

Ahhhh, Monday. There's a slight chill in the air, the sun is shining ever so bright and there's only 7 more days to work this week. Several tasks have to be performed and then a trip home to finish stuff left undone this weekend.. Sometime during the day I have to walk. Have to return to the doctor next week and he's probably not gonna' be happy with my lardbutt. Lose weight; easier said than done.

There is something computerese happening that has floored me. I've mentioned it before and it looks like taxing of online gaming assets is a real possibility. Say it ain't so!!!!! Please, someone wake me up from this nightmare. This is so far beyond absurd my mental facilities break down in just nano seconds when considering the how and why.

Let's see, the horses' asses we elected can't find time to punish the spyware creeps, but they can tax non-tangibles won in a game!?!?! Damn it boys and girsl in the legislative branch!! It's virtual money and goods. Virtual I say!!! IT'S NOT REAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What will the fools tax next? Air? Thoughts?

It's now time to hobble to the vehicle and start the day. Sure am awake after reading about the above topic.

"In the absence of justice, what is sovereignty but organized robbery?"
-St. Augustine

Pass Me Another Glass of that Whine, Please

The aging process is still one of the great mysteries. Yesterday had an agenda to perform some overdue tasks and as I moved a shelf someone snuck up behind me and hit me in the lower back with a 10lb sledge hammer. Well, not really. It did feel like it. As I did my best Charles Laughton/Hunchback imitation and slowly made it to the house and then to the medicine cabinet, my tripping while going up the steps didn't help.

When growing up lifting stuff was never a problem. If a muscle was strained it repaired quickly, especially if there was something fun to attend. Now older, overweight and overwrought, back problems suck. It's not just the pain. The wasted time drives me nuts. Sorry MJR, I'll have to replace that Baldwyn power supply in a few days. Sorry Kim, Killer and Kristi. Will finish the remote maintenance in a few days.

Under the influence of Flexiril since yesterday makes me groggy. Please forgive any errors. Good Lord willin' Monday will be a better day. My wimpiness is outta' here.

"There is still no cure for the common birthday."
-John Glenn

Saturday Not in the Park

Still having repercussions with the nexusmedia "screensaver" download, but we're gaining on it. My ability to publish here has some problems too. Seems part of the template is corrupted. It'll be nice to return to routine, lol.

Battlestar Galactica aired a new episode last night. It was about relieving tension onboard a warcraft by holding a ship wide boxing tournament. Guess it's politically correct since male and females participated in the same arena. That's carrying it a bit too far, but it is still a great show. This may be the weakest episode of the series. Bet they get better.

Got to move some stuff around in the garage, haul off trash and do some cleanup. Enjoy Saturday. Later.

"Time is an illusion, lunchtime doubly so."
-Douglas Adams

Another Approach to Starshine

During a search for some friends, a screensaver that looks much like a fireplace was downloaded from nexusmedia. WARNING!!!! Don't do it!! After adjusting the settings and putting it in place the computer crashed. Several crashes later it was finally removed through the add/remove programs with the little gem of a message saying 'all components could not be removed.' Even though they claim no adware, spyware on their site it was strange to find several baddies like doubleclick, etc., in the AVG Anti-spyware scan.

For some reason people go nuts over screensavers and desktop backgrounds around Christmas. Hey, if you don't like my politically incorrect exemption of all the other holidays then that's just too bad. To me, being a Christian, it is the Christmas season. I have almost no qualms with anyone celebrating other religious or nonreligious rites as long as they aren't trying to harm anyone. Satanism and that Jihad-antiAmerica stuff are not condoned by the beach house.

Also, while on this subject, I do use the pagan tree as decoration. Heck, I even hide eggs at Easter which is a Christian holiday that has some pagan influence and sometimes shoot off fireworks on the 4th of July (nothing really religious here, just proud to be in the USA and also the birthday of my Father who passed away several years ago). There's been green beer swilled on St. Patty's Day. Memorial and Labor Day are prime times to Parrothead LAN party celebrating the deadly cheeseburger and online gaming. But we were talking about downloading screensavers weren't we, huh, huh?!?!

Please be careful when downloading ANYTHING. You know, it's strictly against the law for someone to enter your house, go through your things, get your checking account number, sift through your mail, etc. Yet, there are few laws that stop spyware companies from doing EXACTLY the same thing. IMHO, round 'em all up and put 'em on a rocket then shoot it into the sun. Make it a slow trip too.

From time to time the question comes up, "What is the greatest problem in the world of computerese?" Let me tell you friends, brothers, sisters, neighbors, and the rest of the people on the planet the worst problem faced concerning the world of average computer usage is spyware, adware, dungware, malware, or whatever you want to call it. Got to be a survey that tells us that more money is spent on spyware protection and removal than even anti-virus measures!

Whew! Out of breath! Just be careful out there fellow netizens. And if nexus media looks in here's a personal message: If I ever become Emperor of the Known Universe, you will have reserve seats somewhere towards the front of that Sunbound Rocket I'll be launching.

Time to take my evening meds. Later.

"The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing."
-Einstein

He Said as He Startled Wide Awake in Front of the Computer

It will be nice to get through the initial doses of this new med. It drains me. Tonight as I left a job my knees were trying to buckle. Once home and sitting I felt better, Each day I dread the walks, But it has to be done and whining won't prevail.

Am rambling. It's late and the lights are going out. Maybe tomorrow I'll not be wimpyboy and post something worthwhile.

"The Lord hath created medicines out of the earth; and he that is wise will not abhor them."
-Ecclesiasticus 38:4

Weather n Hard Drives

Break out the Bermuda shorts and short sleeves tomorrow. The day after you will have need of a jacket. Saltillo, MS. forecast; tomorrow's high is 73F n Friday is 39F. Bet there will be need of an umbrella somewhere in the mix. The 10 day forecast is at Weather.com. Wanna bet it changes before morning?

Thinking about buying a new hard drive? You might want to read this article at ArsTechnica. Some folks may not be aware that Seagate purchased Maxtor last December. Seagate drives have a 5 year warranty. They increased the Maxtor warranty from 1 year to 3 years. Since IBM withdrew from the arena, Seagate has been my prime choice.

Hitachi bought the IBM hard drive division years ago with IBM retaining part of the R&D department. Anyone used any Hitachi drives? Haven't seen them available in the local market. Just wonder if they continued IBM's tradition of trying to build a bulletproof hard drive. Hope so.

It's been a long day. Hope tomorrow is as industrious in spite of the weird weather. Nighters all.

"It is easier to do a job right than to explain why you didn't."
-Martin Van Buren

Latest Media Bruhaha

I don't like Bush bashers. He's our President. Show some respect. What the hell has happened to our country? We are becoming a nation of impolite, rude, trash mouth hate mongers. It's okay to disagree, but don't make up stuff just to hear your tongue flap. That said, IMHO it's time to get our troops out of harm's way and let the Iraqis finish their civil war. Do they really care about democracy? We will see. So I disagree, but there was no name calling.

Yes, I disagree with the current administration's war. If you can't see that this IS a civil war then God help you. We have issues with greater threats such as Iran and North Korea. Our initial invasion of Iraq was to stop proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. You say that's false? Let's see, they found 24 late model MIGs buried in the desert. I'd bet a dollar that Saddam removed most of the big stuff before we arrived. He had plenty of time. Where are they now? That's the question.

BTW most of the major democrats are on record stating they initially believed in our troops being there. Now many of them are of a different opinion. Another form of Bush bashing? Not necessarily. Like me they may want our brave servicepeople to quit dying.

Brings our troops home. Welcome them and tell them job well done. It's for sure that didn't happen when we returned from Vietnam. What prompted this slanted political observation? A conversation with a client who whispered she's a democrat and was very polite in stating facts plus an article posted at Reuters.

Agree? Don't? Use the comments.

"My kind of loyalty was loyalty to one's country, not to its institutions or its office-holders."
-Mark Twain, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court

Heart drunk with beauty...

Sometimes things just slap-dab blow me away. EdC, that great Texas philosopher and netizen extraordinaire, sent a link that has started this Monday out with a touch of class: Time to Say Goodbye. This is just over 5 minutes of pure musical celebration and left tears welled in my eyes. Watch it with the volume up, without distractions. It is Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman. Wow, I just watched it the second time. Such talent, such beauty.

Thanks Ed. As usual, I owe you one. Monday somehow seems better now. Yes indeed.

"He who sings scares away his woes."
-Cervantes

Modern Day Inklings, Southern Style

It is always a good time to gather with friends and enjoy common interests, trade tales and facts computerese, eat good food (the taco soup and chili were hits - not much leftover, lol, n Beagle's cookies were downright awesome!) and get online together to play GuildWars. I did fall asleep for several hours but getting up at 5:30AM and working all day on prep, remoting in to different networks , fielding phone calls from customers and being under the influence of new meds that drain energy made for a long day. But the LAN party was the first time to relax in forever and a nap was needed to enjoy the rest of it.

Yesterday was Purple Giraffe's birthday. She is the daughter of Beagle and Mudslingr. It's always great to see her and she had fun showing off her birthday presents. She actually received a robodog and it is as cute as pie. It barks, flaps its ears, walks and is A.I. Heck, I want one of these! That brings to mind the book my exbride gave me many years ago called the Peter Pan Syndrome. Robots have always fascinated me. Think about it, robodog needs no pooper scooper, and if he gets rambunctious just turn him off. Am still sad that Sony canceled the Aibo robodog. It probably had a root kit in it.

Once again there were mega computers in the house. The whirring, buzzing, kewl soft glow of lights, the enormous display panels were fun to behold. Still, it's the constant laughter and positive interaction that delights me the most. We have a fun, verbose, mega intelligent group. Just glad they let me hang out! Those that didn't attend? So sorry you missed another great gathering. God willing, we'll do it again!

"Properly speaking, the Inklings was neither a club nor a literary society, though it partook of the nature of both. There were no rules, officers, agendas, or formal elections."
-Warren Lewis, from Wikipedia

De Back, Boss! De Back!

There's about 6 hours left until LAN Party. The kitchen is the present target with the chili and taco soup simmering. Next the southern cornbread and texmex cornbread. Have to make one short trip to the grocer and keep cleaning like a mad man. Somehow I will find that slob that comes in and messes the house up. Okay, enough of a break. The back has eased up a bit so it's grind and work like a lardass on a treadmill.

Come LAN Party with us! Great gaming, super fellowship, awesome tunes on the sound system, and the food will hopefully be passable. K, stalling here, I must return to scrubbing n' the like...if you show up and I am flopping in the floor or worse please stir the chili and check to see if the cornbread is still in the oven before callling 911. Later.

"Don't cook. Don't clean. No man will ever make love to a woman because she waxed the linoleum - "My God, the floor's immaculate. Lie down, you hot bitch."
-Joan Rivers

THE Shopping Day is Today

Mornings usually start with a cup of fresh ground coffee, reading email (which is really GMail, lol),checking messages, then a scan of the web for interesting tech news, afterwards a shower and hit the road running. It's a holiday and even though I have two service calls scheduled the luxury of sleeping late this morning was awesome. The recent change in meds does a good job of draining energy so the extra snooze time finds me chipper and ready.

Scanning email discovered a link from my daughter in Louisiana and it is hilarious. It takes place in Emperor Palpatine's office and involves Darth Vader phoning to report some news. Even though the profanity is bleeped out this is still not for children. Anyway, go look at a very funny Star Wars Phone Call. Have a great Friday and be careful out there amongst the shoppers.

"Wal-mart... do they like make walls there?"
-Paris Hilton

Thanksgiving is a Great Time for Family, Friends and Food

Spending mine alone this year. Am splurging and putting kraut and cheese on my hot dogs, lol! Will drink a real Coke today too. The family is busy doing things elsewhere and it's nice to have some time off. The kids will be here Saturday for the LAN party and that's treat enough for me. Enjoy the day and please take a moment to count your blessings. Mine are tremendous. I thank God for all of you that call me friend, family and brother.

"Some hae meat and canna eat, -
And some wad eat that want it;
But we hae meat, and we can eat,
Sae let the Lord be thankit."
-Robert Burns

EDIT: Wow, I barely get this posted and one of my best friends shows up with a huge plate of Turkey day food and another container of different desserts. Know what? Actually didn't pray for food n such, just said prayers of gratitude for that which has been bestowed upon me. And people don't believe in the power of prayer? Go figure...

Hard Hats & Coffee

Over the holiday weekend the beach house network will undergo changes. These are upgrades that will improve the overall performance of the web server and file server. The changes will be made during early morning hours and hopefully Teamspeak clients will not experience downtime. This should commence early Friday around 4-5AM. Please bear with the construction. Thanks!

"What I mean is that if you really want to understand something, the best way is to try and explain it to someone else. That forces you to sort it out in your own mind. And the more slow and dim-witted your pupil, the more you have to break things down into more and more simple ideas. And that's really the essence of programming. By the time you've sorted out a complicated idea into little steps that even a stupid machine can deal with, you've certainly learned something about it yourself."
-Douglas Adams

The Better Half

Top ten girl geeks comes to us from CNet. Darryl Hannah made the list. So did Mary Shelley. And Paris Hilton. Kewl article with good graphics. This definitely caught my interest since both of my daughters are nerdlings. Let's face it the world of computer science is not gender prejudice. Nice, I like the concept.

Did you know the keyboard is lefthand prejudice? Keys most often used are on the left side. Lefters rock. Am rambling and Morpheus is doing his dance in my head. Time to sleep.

"If a woman has to choose between catching a fly ball and saving an infant's life, she will choose to save the infant's life without even considering if there are men on base."
-Dave Barry

Such a Deal?

Amazing how the mail box fills up with circulars this time of year. Everyone is having a morning madness sale Friday. This tradition probably started several years ago when people lined up outside Wal-Mart in the wee morning hours to take advantage of the great buys. Other businesses saw this piece of marketing strategy and adopted it. Staples will even open at 5AM! Yep, all that pushing and shoving, rudeness, hair pulling, eye gouging, tire slashing, bitch slapping sure makes me want to get up early and dive into the insanity.

Just go to any retail site and check out their specials. It'd take the whole day to link to them.

"Rudeness is the weak man's imitation of strength."
-Eric Hoffer

Eyelids are Getting Heavy

After trying to remote into a system all day with only one successful attempt, it's time to hit the hay. Did play Guild Wars with good friends for an hour or so this evening and that goes a long way to relieve stress at times. Actually got a machine built and running that is dedicated to the online remote process. It can sit and perform tasks as I do geek things on other PCs. Power Supply for my Linux PC should be here in the next day or so. Initialized a Calendar from Google and changed my home page moving all my nerd stuff to a tab called Geek Stuff. Actually, not a bad day. Just wish the ISP at the other end of my remoting had been more reliable.

Niters y'all, too tired to stay up and watch Van Morrison on Austin City Limits. Enjoy it!

"For fast-acting relief, try slowing down."
-Lily Tomlin

Entertainment Tonight? Fabulous, just Fabulous

Some things are hard to describe. Beauty is one of them. And believe me, there is something beautiful about music. It is eclectic, so mysterious and melancholy, exciting and intense, moody and soulful. Beauty showed up on the stage of Austin City Limits tonight. This show airs on most PBS-TV stations nationwide at different times. Not talking about a good looking woman, not a chorus line of dancing legs, or even the new two piece swim suits of the Miss Universe contest! Mr. Van Morrison and company showed up to stir the imagination and soul of the audience. Thank God for surround sound, subwoofers and TV.

Geogre Ivan Morrison was born in Belfast, Ireland. His 61 years have led him down a path rare in this world. Talent abounds and it was present and accounted for at this Austin City Limits appearance. To be given such a gift and still share it at his 'youthful' age is inspiring. Van always seems surrounded by other people of max ability and this hour was filled with many harmonies, solos, jams, and smiles. Seems there's a lot of standing ovations for closing tunes, but Van got one for Wild Night, the opening song!

The music ran from country refrains to blues to old rock standards. Somewhere around the 4th or 5th tune Van asked for requests from the audience saying they didn't have a planned set. How many times have you seen someone do that!?!? Again another standing ovation. Gosh this just got better as the music progressed. Literally, there were people dancing in the aisles. The intense wails and resonance of his distinct voice blended with ultimate harmonies from voice and instruments is still sending chills to the marrow.

When performing St. James Infirmary Van started the tune with a alto sax solo which he nailed. Man oh man this was something. His sax playing was spot on and then he did a moving rendition of the Ray Charles classic I Can't Stop Loving You. The night ended with an awesome version of Brown Eyed Girl which segued into Gloria, the rock anthem of the 60s. Austin City Limits just gets better with age. Awesome I say, the epitome of TV broadcasting.

Van Morrison was one of my first musical heroes. His melodies constantly fill the beach house along with Buffett, Stones, Hendrix, Clapton, Pink Floyd, Phil Perry, David Sanborn, King Crimson, Mindi Abair, Mr. Zevon, Lyle, Ray Charles, the Temps, Celtic Woman, Steely Dan, Tom Waits, Mozart, Stevie Ray, Grieg and many, many more sounds that abound. Music is a wonderful entity and one of humankind's greatest pleasures. Here's the link at PBS. Hey boys n girls, friends n lovers, ladies n gents, if you live locally it will be aired again tomorrow night (Sunday) on PBS at 11:00PM. See ya at the concert...

"Music is the wine that fills the cup of silence."
-Robert Fripp

Open Mouth, Insert Foot...and Chew It Off Because You Can't Stop Talking

Throughout the years it's been mentioned here on several occasions that Bill Gates is not perceived as some evil Satan in the realm of computerese. Gates made it possible for us all to have affordable PCs in the home and workplace. It sure didn't hurt his feelings to make a bit o de long green along the way either. No, Bill is not the devil. That title is held by Steve Jobs, aka Darth Jobs, evil overlord of the 3% of the marketshare Apple Empire. Well seems Darth has a padawan Sith Lord inside the halls of Redmond. His name is Steve Ballmer, aka Loudmouth, Doofus, Sh--head, Microsoft's head sycophant etc.

This village idiot decides to once again offend a large segment of computer users by announcing that Linux infringes upon Microsoft's intellectual property. Gee Steviepoo, think if you jerks had written better code initially there'd be a Linux platform? Somebody had to get it right! And there was certainly no noise about FreeBSD which is making tremendous strides in the desktop battle. The FreeBSD peeps are kewl; they know their stuff works. Loudmouth's timing is impeccable. Just earlier this month Microsoft announced a joint venture, merger, voodoo ritual, witchdoctor thangy with Novell, which is the repository of things LINUX SUSE!

It is time for Ballmer to retire. Period. Bill Gates should post a watch on him or maybe even invest in one of those fashionable Martha Stewart ankle bracelets. It is my hope that Windows Vista will be a good operating system and not a continuing nightmare of hundreds of "fixes" and other such garbage. Lighten up and consider the customer. We deserve a break today. Quit offending our intelligence. The passive attitude of the computing society may abruptly change. Let me tell you friends and neighbors, Kubuntu, my favorite variety of Linux, runs fine on a beach house desktop and it was installed yesterday on the laptop. This was a flawless installation done with utmost ease in under 30 minutes. It took less than five minutes to configure the wireless connection and that's not something you can usually say about Windows.

Must stop now, time to take the morning meds. The article that keyed this can be found at Slashdot. The /.'ers seem to be a fringe group of mostly Apple users that don't bow to Jobs, his lordness of sithy pomes. Thanks for a great site and a very enlightening article. Gee, the sun is shining, it's Friday (only two more days to work this week) and the fall season is putting on a show alongside the Natchez Trace which I have to travel today. Be nice if Santa brings me a convertible...

"Genius may have its limitations, but stupidity is not thus handicapped."
-Hubbard

Trojan Hunter? It's Pure Garbage

Recently a reader asked, "Have you ever used Trojan Hunter?" After answering no I decided to take a looksee. Any program that is advertised as a free 30 day trail and then absolutely WON'T let you update is being falsely represented. That's complaint number 1. Complaint number 2 is how can they get away with asking 50 bucks for this trash? Let me just relate the experience instead of numbering the rest of this...

Downloaded and installed it. As usual I turned off all programs including AVG running in the background before installing. It proceeded to do its thing and the computer crashed. No 3 finger salute (Ctrl/Alt/Del), no closing the application, just absolute hard crash. When finally rebooted it decided to take out my Linksys wireless card which has worked perfectly for months. As I rushed to uninstall this garbage (it has no uninstall program, you have to use the control panel) it crashed again. After rebooting and spending some time repairing the network card config, I am now able to write and post this information.

I am considering reporting this company to the proper authorities and HIGHLY discourage anyone from trying to use this junk. Download AVG Anti-Spyware and have a good experience installing protection software that's free. Screw Trojan Hunter. 50 bucks my lardass!

"Albert Einstein, who discovered that a tiny amount of mass is equal to a huge amount of energy, which explains why, as Einstein himself so eloquently put it in a famous 1939 speech to the Physics Department at Princeton, "You have to exercise for a week to work off the thigh fat from a single Snickers."
-Dave Barry, Dave Barry Turns 50

Touch of the Past

Ever own a VIC-20 or C-64? I did. Commodore was a glimpse of the future. Now there's a book out about their rise and fall. Check it out over at Slashdot. Remembering this far back brings up images of floppies that were floppy, RF modulators for TV hookup, Basic, Pascal, Pitfall, Space Invaders and Donkey Kong.

Long day today and the bed is screaming my name. Later.

"Fatigue is the best pillow."
-Benjamin Franklin

It's a Baby Girl

Yesterday the post was about my youngest daughter, netname Beagle. Today it's about my oldest, netname Verdana. She went to the doctor this morning and promptly walked out after her appointment and called "Handsome Daddy," LOL. She's going to have a little girl in April. Wow , two granddaughters to spoil and call me Big Daddy. Neat that I was first to know! Well, after my son-in-law, naturally.

Got to get back to work. Thought I'd take a minute and share good news!

"The only thing worth stealing is a kiss from a sleeping child."
-Joe Houldsworth

Half-Full Glass

Wow, my homepage just got better. Using Google's personalized homepage has been great, but one of my two wonderful daughters (netname Beagle) just made it even more fun and thought provoking. Now, in the top left corner of the screen is a marquee type window that displays Parrothead information galore! Every half minute or so it displays a different bit of trivia about all sorts of things casual.

Gosh, how many times has Jimmy Buffett shored up my life with songs of happiness and sometimes deep meaning? Awesome. Beagle thank you. Thank you for everything. Hey, I did notice the positive take on "Dad's cornbread dressing recipe" over at your site. Be sure and read the quote today. Ludlow was Lewis Grizzard's stepbrother and your Mother has the book. It's a short read and very funny.

My daughters...both are da bomb!

"People that put sugar in their cornbread just ain't right with the Lord."
-Ludlow Porch, The Cornbread Chronicles

SUSE no more

When Novell grabbed Linux SUSE several years ago it disturbed me. Trying to be optimistic I continued to use this flavor of Linux. It is the version that dual boots with XP on the beach house laptop. This will change in the very near future. It was hard to forgive Novell for the creation of "Netware" anyway. Netware is a horrible, horrible networking protocol that has gone by the wayside for the most part.

On November 2nd, Novell announced a newly forged partnership with Microsoft. This "merger" has been in the opensource software news and this worries me and others. The people that bring you the capability to interface Windows with Linux, UNIX, FreeBSD, etc., are really upset. This company is a huge player in the computer world and makes it possible for a vast majority of networks to function. Read about it at Samba.org.

What new Linux flavor for the laptop? Kubuntu, no doubt. This is an awesome alternative operating system.

"A dance and type of music from Brazil originating from African slaves. The dance is very difficult as performed by Brazilians in comparison to formal "ballroom" dancing which is highly stylized. Men and women dance samba differently and together yet without touching. The dance for the women can be characterized as quick symmetrical feet movement with each foot twisting on the heel. This foot movement is accompanied by hip and shoulder gyrations creating a dance that agitates the entire body...."
-Web definition of Samba (the dance)

Recollection of Some Sobering Moments

Today is Veterans Day. This holiday was originally meant to honor Armistice Day and the Veterans of WW1. In 1954 President Eisenhower signed a bill changing the name in order to honor veterans of ALL American wars.

Being a veteran of the Vietnam War, this holiday is most precious. My 2 years over there and blood left on the ground are memories that linger. The most devastating part of this experience was the treatment of the troops during this conflict and the national attitude upon return. It wasn't good at the time...

During the past several years two young people found out about my experiences and said thank you. Both times I came home and cried. And I thanked God my name was not on that big black wall. Those that honor this holiday by closing business or displaying the Flag on Monday have my respect.

Say a prayer for our troops today. They are the most wonderful people going in harm's way so that we can live free. God bless all of you.

"My God! How little do my countrymen know what precious blessings they are in possession of, and which no other people on earth enjoy!"
-Thomas Jefferson

A Geek Friday Night

Having slight problems with uploading and it should clear up in the next day or so. Working on a way to use the contig.exe file to defrag Guild Wars and changing some stuff around on the server. It will be down for a few minutes Sunday night, so Teamspeak ppl, please don't be alarmed. It should only be long enough to extract and install a few pieces of hardware. Let's say maybe a half hour, k? Have a casual evening!

"It is well for people who think, to change their minds occasionally in order to keep them clean."
-Luther Burbank

Why GMail instead of EMail?

Security, power, access capability, intergration, and user friendliness are all pertinent to the title question. Are you having trouble with spam? Here's your answer. Need to keep all your messages? Here's your answer. Need to access your messages when at home, on a trip, etc? Here's your answer. GMail has revolutionized the way netizens receive their primary mode of text communication. The spam filter alone is worth the 20 minutes or so it takes to set up an account.

Being an early tester of this product helped my decision to support this great service. It virtually flew without problems from the getgo. During the past few years my account storage space has increased from 1 gigabyte to almost 3 gigabytes. This is a Google product and that is possibly the strongest endorsement one can give to any application. You don't Google? Okay quit reading this and go run the bats out of that cave.

Google has a knack of taking difficult procedures and tweaking them for maximum usage and ease. When you click on the Google link be sure and take a look at their online spreadsheet, their online word processor, Picasa which is a awesome graphics editor (PhotoShop comes to mind), Calendar, Google Talk, and many of the other services provided. Hey all this is free! Google just plain rocks!

The beach house has used this great service in several different ways. At first it was downloaded through Outlook. When I switched to the Thunderbird client, GMail easily made the transition. What is Thunderbird? The Mozilla email software that is closely associated with Firefox. What's Firefox? C'mon, you're kidding me right? You really don't know? Might be time to go feed that velociraptor you keep as a pet.

Anyway, now GMail is used as a webmail client instead of POP3. It's just easier that way and I don't have to worry about losing data if a machine crashes. Keeping data stored on the internet saves hard drive space and messages, attachments n' such can be downloaded at my convenience. Besides, give me a computer using most any flavor of Linux, FreeBSD, Windows, even Apple and GMail can be accessed from any location I visit. This is wayyyy handy.

I can go on and on about the wonders and awe of this service. Attachments are a breeze, large files can be transferred, you can use the extra space as online storage, etc. Instead let me list several links so you can see why my endorsement is so positive.


GMail FAQ (not a Google site)

Wikipedia definition of GMail

Forbes (review made 11 days after the GMail beta was released!)

About GMail (this is a Google site)


Is everyone getting a sense of heavy duty, positive feelings about this service? Many things have not been mentioned, like the ability to download your GMail messages to a cellphone, the integration of Google applications, so on and so forth. In the days when the internet has massive problems with spyware creeps, trojan writers and other such scum from cyberhell it is nice to report about a service and a company that is improving our lives through better communication procedures. Hats off to the super folks at Google for a fine, fine job.

Now I must cease this adoration and go feed Robodog. Questions? Use the comments or GMail me at cybersouth@gmail.com.

"Some people worry that artificial intelligence will make us feel inferior, but then, anybody in his right mind should have an inferiority complex every time he looks at a flower."
-Kay

MySpace and Possum Rights

Someone asked if I have anything on MySpace. NO. If you want to use it that's fine with me, but this is another site that has absolutely no business in the workplace or home. Why, you ask? Check out this article at TechDirt. If you want to laden your PC with garbage be sure and put this right along side Yahoo in your favorites. Then when the local tech of your choice charges you by the hour and cuts no slack deal with it. It's very sad that these sites persist in covert invasion of privacy and then laugh at the consuming public.

Arnold, opossumus germanicus austriabodicus, has been quiet lately. His marsupialness is probably preparing to direct traffic at the Christmas parade again. He almost bought the possum farm last year. This past weekend his glowing, beady eyes were spotted prowling around the large green garbage bin in the wee hours of the morn. There was a very muted stream of possum cussing as he banged around. He probably wanted to impress one of his possum girlfriends, but I've found a way to stop it from being turned over. If he calls out his stormtrooper possum buddies guess I'll have to give him admin privileges on the dumpster. Hey, don't want to wake up one morning and find the car turned over!

"The Democrats seem to be basically nicer people, but they have demonstrated time and again that they have the management skills of celery. They're the kind of people who'd stop to help you change a flat, but would somehow manage to set your car on fire. I would be reluctant to entrust them with a Cuisinart, let alone the economy. The Republicans, on the other hand, would know how to fix your tire, but they wouldn't bother to stop because they'd want to be on time for Ugly Pants Night at the country club."
-Dave Barry

Please click on the link in this post and read...

There is one type of article that always lifts my spirits: Company fined $3m for adware use. Only problem here is that the FTC let them off with a nominal fine. They should close them down, grab all the assets and put all stockholders in jail for 20 years without parole. The death penalty is too good for these creeps. Sad thing is that this company will probably recover with even higher profit margins.

Will the people with Zango on their computers pay attention? Probably not. This passive attitude is why the computer industry is full of crooks and going straight to hell. You have Microsoft with over 300 "fixes" concerning XP and the number is still growing. Apple charges a ridiculous fee for outdated hardware and gets away with it. Yahoo is putting spyware, adware, malware, dungware or whatever it's called today, on your computers left and right, but I still see this garbage used as home pages everywhere. Hey FTC, when will y'all deal with these jerks?

Yes, yes, still better a Microsoft world than an Apple one. It is true that since Windows is the big boy on the block they are the primary target. Still, they need to worry more about customer satisfaction and less about profit. Good Lord knows they've made enough over the past few years. This latest fiasco called Vista will most likely be another never ending string of "fixes." Yes, yes, they are to blame, but the jerks tampering with their code are even more guilty of violating the rights of the public.

Rant over. Gosh, this can be quite tiring. Maybe tomorrow I'll write about the resident possum and his latest shenanigans. Now I need to review the first sentence up there and decide what made me get out the soapbox (insert evil grin here).

"A business that makes nothing but money is a poor business."
-Henry Ford