Halloween, It's Almost Over

Uneventful Halloween. No tricksters or treaters and the moon was very bright. Spent the night taking it easy trying to stop the Benadryl. Talked to Beagle and they were doing a neighborhood Halloween. CSA of Tupelo had all employee children come the last hour of work Friday and receive treats. What a neat idea! If you own a business you might consider sponsoring such an event. Very kewl and very generous. Bet the kids had a blast - the young ones and the old ones. I am not a holiday person. This year I may actually hide somewhere and avoid all the Christmas stuff. Give the little ones gifts and be done with it. I love Thanksgiving. Sorry, not Scrooge here. Just think everyone has adopted an attitude that the reason for the season is gift giving, and that's not the case. It hurts my feelings when someone forces me into that situation and I cannot financially afford it. I'll keep my cell phone on for emergency calls.

"Tis now the very witching time of night,
When churchyards yawn and hell itself breathes out
Contagion to this world."
~William Shakespeare
(This is from Hamlet and contrary to popular belief the witching hour is NOT midnight. It's actually 3:00AM, the exact time opposite of Christ's death on the cross.)

And Then the Rains Came...Again

Sporadic connectivity and working on some network problems. Locally, watch the weather. Normally I don't care about weather. Have a storm house and been in it to clean n' stuff. Yet, the radar has this storm coming towards us out of the Gulf of Mexico. Don't freak. Just be careful if the weather picks up. Don't want to lose friends and neighbors. Also, might behoove you to shut down your system until it passes unless ur battery backup is uber. You do have a battery backup, right?

Later.

"Don't know why, there's no sun up in the sky, stormy weather"
~Billie Holiday

Making efforts to be more consistent with posting. Just tired tonight. Thank goodness for Benadryl and Zicam (ignore the bad press - it works!). Being sick is a non-luxury the beach house cannot afford. Hang in there and get ready for those ghosts and goblins this weekend.

Later

Eye Candy

Love great images. Here is a slideshow that is filled with a variety of beautiful shots. Some are calming while others speak outstanding messages. Most were taken in West and East Tennessee so if they seem to portray familiar scenes you know why. He does not charge, but will take donations. The only thing he asks is that you get permission to use an image as a background, screensaver, etc. All the information is in this display. Mr. Gunter's major camera is a D40 Nikon (EDIT: 10/29/2009, sorry about the wrong info on the camera; it has been corrected as has the picture). He does change the lens on occasion. It is my privilege to call him a great friend. Take a look at these surreal, haunting, enchanting and inspirational works of art:

Gunter Photostream

Let's see, this is like looking at the famous Rock Garden of Kyoto. Let the stress go my peeps!

"A great photograph is a full expression of what one feels about what is being photographed in the deepest sense, and is, thereby, a true expression of what one feels about life in its entirety."
~Ansel Adams

Tuesday You Might Want to Use the West Exit

This is a favorite album for casual mode. In some weird way they sound like a jazz version of Pink Floyd. All cuts are intact and I think their style is reflected by the excellent engineering. Recorded in 2004. Thanks Magnatune for the embedding code!



Nocturne by The West Exit


Track 5, Take a ride is a real laid back tune. Let me know your opinion.

""Ah, music. A magic beyond all we do here!"
~J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Musical Time Warp

Let's try a Music Monday. This is for all the women I've had tell me how much they love this guy. The number seems infinite. Dude ain't bad and to have Steely Dan's keyboard, singer, writer, co-writer, arranger, etc., doing the ivories is a plus. Like the black and white film style. Sorta' fits with the OBG theme.



You may ask, "Who is this guy and where have I heard that voice?" He was with the Doobie Brothers for many years and has sang with many artists down through the years. This song is part of his Motown collection.

"Music cleanses the understanding; inspires it, and lifts it into a realm which it would not reach if it were left to itself."
~Henry Ward Beecher

Late Note

Sorry about missing the last 2 days, but what I thought was a positive upswing has turned out to regress to the same downhill slide. It's stupid to write about negative things.

Later.

Hello Planet Mars, Come In Planet Mars

The lunatic is returning from the fringe. Have an awesome DLink WiFi router in place that is cooking! Many, many thanks to Mudslingr and Beagle. They even delivered it!! It's up and working like a champ. Good looking device too. You can click on the picture for a larger view then close it to return here. Mounted it vertically on the stand and it looks wayyy kewl. What an easy installation. Range and speed are awesome. What a wonderful gift. You guys touched my heart.

Last night I spent a few hours in Guild Wars and the frustration seemed to drip off me as the night went on - we crossed the North Wall in Pre-searing and slayed many Charr. Mudslingr and Hoppa are awesome players and can flat out do business across that wall. Mudslingr is in the throes of death leveling and keeping us posted. My money is on him to become the first Legendary Defender of Ascalon in our bunch. Several of us are trying, but this is a VERY hard title to obtain.

Also repaired another AP device on the bench. Oh yes, the TEAMSPEAK server is online and running better than ever. Tightened security a bit and adjusted port forwarding to more efficient settings. This service will go through a major transition in a few days as it is switched back to the Alienware server.

On the tech side Mudslingr brought my attention to an article published in Daily Finance. It's about the city of Los Angeles converting their system to GMail. The city council votes on it next week. I am still so glad to have participated in the Alpha phase of this wonderful email service engineered by Google. Hey, GMail is not only good it's the best email service from Earth to planet Mars!! On top of all this it's a freebie! Read more over at DailyFinance.com.

Many thanks out to Ashy and Verdana for the positive input yesterday. My whine factor had hit warp speed. Thanks to all of you for helping a frustrated man get all his sh-- in one sock. Man, what great family and what a great family of friends. God has truly blessed me.

"Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family. Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one."
~Jane Howard

Today I Am a Fringe Lunatic

After a few unsettling hours of sleep I've awakened with a churning stomach and cannot take anything or eat anything. I will be miserable until the doctor's appointment is over and can take Pepcid. I will take something to break this anxiety and the clinic will just have to deal with it. Regular meds are permitted. Going to the clinic makes me anxious enough. Can anyone explain the dread and fear that come along when a trip to the clinic rolls around? Then I have to rush back to Tupelo and work all afternoon. Then home to a filthy house (definitely my fault) and a yard that needs mowing (again, my fault). Tomorrow's forecast is rain, chance 80%. Duh! If I mow today, it'll back the same height after the rain! After working so hard to lose weight I get on the scales this morning and realized that I have gained back almost 20lbs. That's not helping my frustration. 50lbs of weight loss looked so much better. Plus the doctor is a runner and extremely thin. He seems to sneer at me when I am in the office. I may cancel again and see if I can pull myself together. This whole network thing that I mentioned last night is really bothering me. I guess sometimes we all just sorta' lose it and that time is here and bothering me.

After a period of contemplation I am canceling the appointment this morning. I have no business driving today. Stomach problems have escalated and there will be no further details about that situation. Besides, this having only one computer bothers the hell out of me. I have to have backup if dialing into a network becomes necessary. My front end wired router decided to join the rest of the conspiratorial network devices and is unstable. A power surge or lightning strike possibly? Literally, I'd have to go to another location if I lose this connection. On top of all this the truck is not wanting to run right this morning. Sheesh! Need to get off here and get busy with some of this malarkey. Good Lord, do I ever want a doughnut!!!

"The mark of a successful man is one that has spent an entire day on the bank of a river without feeling guilty about it."
~D. Neal Jennings

ARGGGGHHHHHH!

I really wish I had bundles of money. There would be a bonfire and EVERY piece of computer equipment I own would be in it. It is so tiring to try and keep everything up and running. No network, no Wifi. This really sucks. Please don't even ask me about TEAMSPEAK! It is on my last nerve and I may never purchase another piece of Linksys equipment forever. If you are thinking about calling to straighten me out, don't. I'll invite you to a fistfight and you better bring a large caliber weapon. Really folks, this has gotten through to me bigtime and I need your support not any smart ass remarks. Don't like it? Build your own server and see how much fun it is to pay the cost of keeping it online 24/7 and constantly upgrading components.I have spent all evening trying to resolve these issues.

And if you sure enough want an apocalyptic style bitch fight just mention switching to that garbage POS - Ventrilo. It sucks. Having a 'fasting' doctor's appointment in the morning isn't helping. Who knows? Tomorrow may see better results. Please don't call unless it is a true emergency. I don't have time to chew the fat or listen to jokes.

"Horse sense is the thing a horse has which keeps it from betting on people."
W.C. Fields

Awesome Synergy

Two of my favs. John does a great job and Slowhand smokes. If you have no idea what I am talking about, please find a site that plays "Twinkle Tinkle Litte Star" with a kahzoo or however you spell it. I give you John Mayer, he's great, and a master, Eric Clapton.



Boogie Woogie ppl. Get up and DANCE!

Nerd Stuff About Ghial in Guild Wars

Lotta' talk about today's Zaishen mission in Guild Wars. It's ganking Ghial in NM or HM. He's the Necromancer that carries Animate Flesh Golem. He also has an awesome minion master staff. I was not only the first person in our group to become a Necromancer, Maskull Tor, but he was also the first character I ever created. Still my favorite by far. Neal and CC gave me the game for Christmas on December 5th in 2005 and I created Maskull on December 9th of that year. So my selection of first character took a lot of study. Ppl still want him in their group. And I'll go, but you have to let me take my 3 heroes. Think about it. How many of you have Superior Vigor runes and max runes plus insignias on your heroes? I'm talking bloodstained boots n all! He also has a full time Ruby Djinn. and max Pain Inverter. Maskull tends to stay alive with his own crew where it's not so good otherwise. Thanks a bunch Neal and CC for the original Prophecies. One of the nicest gifts ever. Dan and Dena sorta top that list, but that's another tale for another time. Thanks JK for the wonderful addition of the Factions, Nightfall and Eye of the North GOTY module. I have not been in a bar since owning these games! LOL!

I need to let the yard dry one more day and plan on making this run in normal mode and hard mode throughout the day. This is serious stuff to me. Wearing my dark blue wizard type robe with hood up and plan on wearing it throughout the day (it's a tad chilly in the Deep South today). Thanks JK and Uncle Snake for this wonderful gift. Absolutely gorgeous robe. Floor length too. Oh yeah, completely ignore the maps on Guildwiki. There's a much easier route to take and it's at least twice as fast. Don't even try the route from Senji's Corner. Ashy likes going from KC and I like starting in the Marketplace. KC does give you a better selection on henchmen for sure. Heck, just nail me when you get in the game and we'll gank him and another boss. On the way you'll meet a mantis monk boss, Zinfaun Lifeforce, that drops one of the all time rarest scepters, Zinfaun's Belief, in the whole game too. It took me over 200 attempts to get that scepter, but I own one! Then there's the 50 something Jade Brotherhood you'll obliterate along the way and you'll usually get a jade bracelet and 13 bolts of cloth (us old pros running this route call these items "complimentary" lol). Be sure and target their Ritualists first. BTW Ghial's Staff is VERY rare since it is 20/20/20. Don't think it'll drop much today, but bring a Signet of Capture if you don't have Flesh Golem. Merlin of Buckhorn has found a way to push those big, bad boys to level 29! Downright scary!



And you non Guild Wars players imagine us playing some form of Pong or Pac-Man. ROFLMAO!!!!!!! Thanks out to Ashy for a super heads up!! Go Dragons, BAs and all the rest of our friends! I think a good time will be had by all.

"Ha! Let's see your bone dancing evil ass do a jig now as you lay dead on the deck!"
~Ashy

Rain and Spyware. Too Much Lately

Went to bed talking about rain. Took that medication to help change the sleep cycle and of course overslept. But shucks, I feel more human. What woke me this morning was the sound of a lawn mower. At first it seemed like a dream because I do remember hearing rain on the window pane last night, but checked the time. Woke up 1.5 hours later than usual. Then it occurred to me that lawn mower was still running somewhere. So outside I go to check the sponge, uh, ground. It is still wayyyy to wet to mow. I still hear that lawn mower. Wish my fat butt could get industrious as that neighbor! I have to mow at least one more time this year.

As you can tell there is not a lot of news in the techno world. There is still a major rash of spyware, malware, garbageware, adware, dungware, or what ever you call it making rounds again. If we all go to hardware firewalls and watch our browsing it would put them out of business. Computer users are to blame as well as the creeps that create and publish or use this junk.

Stay off gambling sites, free ads, porn and NEVER click on a popup ad. Just close it in the taskbar at the bottom and immediately tell your browser to never let it pop up again. If you go to a site that has advertising popups then complain to the site owners and refuse to go back unless they change. Then run a scan with your protection software on your computer. After running my normal scans yesterday I found 4 potential threats. They were immediately removed and I will not return to ABC-TV's site since they originated there. No fear though, you can watch ABC shows through Hulu.

"I just wish my mouth had a backspace key."
~Billy Wobblynife

Wet

Can't remember when it rained this much in October. It's been a constant drizzle with an occasional thunderstorm. The ground is soaking wet, like a sponge. It's getting cooler too. It's either more blankets or shut the windows.

Fell asleep early and awake now. Just took something to help this sleep cycle change to normal. It seems that evening prime time is is evening nap time, lol. Age. Sure beats the alternative...right now.

Need to catch up on email. Everyone have a great evening and I'll return your calls that came in during prime time - tomorrow.

"Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating; there is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather."
~John Ruskin

What to Do When the Truck Won't Start

This is a mixed group of favorite musicians doing one of my all time favorite tunes from one of my all time favorite albums. Definitely in the top five range. Since the truck decided not to start this morning I decided not to give in to anger or self pity. Instead...listening to some tunes and loving it. I feel sure the truck will recover. Am rescheduling all appointments and should be back up running tomorrow. Hate I missed my doctor's visit this morning, but there's next week!



I was inspired to post this by Beagle's selection for Music Mondays this week. You can take look at Beagle's LJ. Just scroll down to Music Mondays and see a very clever stitched video of the Beatles doing Drive My Car. Thanks Beagle for making my day! Your inspiration makes life easier. Love Ya!

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

There is Still a Freeware Version of Malwarebytes

If you try to download Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware from Major Geeks you will now find only the shareware version. For some reason they have removed the freeware version. However do not despair. You can go to Malwabytes.org and the free version still exists on their homepage. They do redirect you to CNet. This site has been around for years and seems safe enough. During the download process it updates the program and definitions. Be sure and let it do these things. In other words, don't uncheck the boxes. This is a wonderful and powerful tool and I will purchase the shareware version. I suggest everyone do the same. Remember you download at your own risk. It runs fine on all my PCs.

This subject has come up several times in the past week or so. There is a new wave of spyware making rounds so be careful out there. Hope this helps!

"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."
~Alan C. Kay

Rah Rah...

Terrible weekend for Mississippi College football. Ole Miss and State both lost. Always next weekend, God willing. I want all Mississippi teams to win. Some Mississippi State fans pull against Ole Miss ALL the time. And yes, there are Ole Miss fans that do the same in return. Don't you think that's silly bordering on childish? If Ole Miss can't be national champion then I sure want it to be Mississippi State! Or Mississippi Southern! Southern is not even in the SEC. I do pull for SEC teams, even Auburn. Looks like this year it'll be a gunslinging shootout between Alabama and Florida. Time will tell.

It's late and I have 3 PCs on the bench. They are all running. Later.

"Football is not a contact sport. It's a collision sport. Dancing is a good example of a contact sport."
~Duffy Daugherty

Ole Miss & Bama

To watch in HQ on the internet go to


CBS Sports SEC Live


They playing NOW.
Hotty Toddy!

A GW Find

Just found 2 pages of Guild Wars themes in iGoogle (Google's personal home page that is easily customized). You just go to change themes then type in Guild Wars and hit the search themes button. Here's the theme I chose:

Assassin

Really wish the name Guild Wars was in it, but I found text and colors easy on the eyes. She's not bad looking either. If I ever have time I may try to make a personal theme.

"A thing of beauty is a joy forever."
~John Keats

Perspective

Sorry folks, the geek in me went crazy yesterday. I know this site should have some continuity, but it's hard to resist my weird sense of humor. When was the last time you tried to make somebody laugh?

'Nuff said.

Guild Wars = Nerd Fun

Okay, stop the complaints about Mudbone's picture in the right hand column. If you want it changed, send me some good screen shots of your Guild Wars characters. Try not to use group shots. I get tired of posting my own characters and know enough ppl playing the game to have a plethora of pix. Close ups on lighter backgrounds seem to be the best, but I'll take anything.



We were chatting the other night and came up with some ideas for new skills they could use in the game. You may have to be involved in the game to fully understand, but most anyone that plays PC online games will get the idea. Penitendagon Arelin started the suggestions with Merlin of Buckhorn, Ashy, Forest Whistler and myself chiming in with ideas.

Here are skills we think they should include:

Aura of the Glitch

Essence of Lag

Mantra of Rubberbanding

Anthem of Barnyard Material

Invoke Lightning on All Yo Evil Asses (instead of 1)

Wail of the Everlasting Ping

Go for the Nu Nus (to replace Go for the Eyes)

Defying Snore

Glyph of the Hungup Router

Boon of Leroy Jenkins (may have to be a WoW person to understand)

Quick was Mojo (melee person that sends everybody on &...LOL)

Mark of Chappelle/Brady Slap a Biatch (great synergy with Quick was Mojo)

Ray of the Catfish Judgment (a Monk skill)

Burinate Trogdor's Party Wipe (good in late nightfall)

Ward of Medication

Spending was Obama (Yes We Can!)

Preparation of the Wallet (lasts indefinitely)

Spirit of a Lesser Hangover (defintely NOT a shout}

Enfeebling Bio Break (it will last a minimum of 2 minutes)

Signet of Gebroni Death (honorary Hoppa idea)

Broad Head Flaming Dazing Poisonous Icy STD Nuclear Arrow

Spinning Scythe of Ass Sombrero (for you Merlin)

Postal was Kaolai

Avatar of Al Sharpton (definitely will nullify ALL other Avatars)

Assassin's 3 Minute Bathroom Break Promise ala Shedding Armor & Daggers

Shorewatcher's Boogaloo (honorary Mudslingr idea)

Oh No! You Didn't Just Put that Juju on ME!! (another Hoppa-ism)

Bampf to Izzy (stops his creepy PVE nerfing for 3 months)


Well this list could go on and on. If you've any ideas please feel free to use the comments. Sometimes we crazy nerds have to have fun. Y'all have no idea about the stress in our jobs. Shucks, it's what makes us all weird!

"It is one of man's curious idiosyncrasies to create difficulties for the pleasure of resolving them."
~Joseph de Maistre

Help...It's a Good Thing

Beach House Saltillo is always open for changes. A few months ago I made a change that puts the links in bright red. If you see an embolden bright red phrase in a post that's a link. If interested, click on any of the words in red and it will automatically take you to the link. When finished close the link and you will return to Cybersouth, from the Saltillo Beach House. I have a red/green color blindness problem and that red text glares at me. So please don't tell me you cannot see it. Besides, it's in bold text. Or maybe it's time to see your local friendly eye doctor. The silly thing is the links were in green before the change. Does anyone else see the humor in that?

My site takes time to load all the goodies, but is still very fast. My pipe (bandwidth) is huge and Metrocast works very hard to keep their clients up to date. So slow loads may be our fault on rare occasions, but it never hurts to check browser settings. They can make a huge difference in quick page transitions. Firefox, Google Chrome and IE8 all have awesome help sections. Just click on Help in your browser (it's at the very top of the page) and see if you can speed up and improve the quality of your browsing experience. Firefox has enormous flexibility. There are add ons and extensions for days. Two I won't be without are Greasemonkey and Interclude.

K, going to put a link in here to help identify what they look like in these posts. Go to Firefox Help to view a vast amount of easily navigated information. When you get through close the link and you return to this page. Chrome and IE8 also have super-duper help pages. In the meantime, update your protection software, run those scans and help us all experience safer browsing. Hope this helps! Peace out!

"Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not."
~Dr. Seuss

Vaccination?

Here's a really good "how to" that we all need to read. With the widespread concern and the many questions that surround the 'should I or shouldn't I?' factor, click on How to Get a Flu Shot. This answered many of my questions and I am opting to get both the seasonal and H1N1 shots this year. Don't go rushing down to Walgreens and pay 25 bucks either . If you check local health facilities, you might find the vaccinations at no cost or a reduced cost. Had been thinking about changing my many prescriptions to a local Walgreens because of location, but will not since this has the ring of a scam.

Yes, there will be naysayers that advise everyone not to get them. Ever heard a Doctor give such advice? Certain groups of people need to make the extra effort to acquire this protection. I qualify on several levels. Anyway, go read the article, It has great info and several links that may sway you to make the right decision. Please remember, I am NOT a doctor or involved in the medical professions in any way. Just felt like this is very useful information. Several important things were learned from reading it and a few of the links. Hope this helps!

"The patient should be made to understand that he or she must take charge of his own life. Don't take your body to the doctor as if he were a repair shop."
~Quentin Regestein

Hi Ho Hi Ho, Off to Bed I Go

It was a long day. Everything schedule-wise blew up, but some tasks were accomplished. Nothing has dropped out, just moved to a different time. Monday will be busy for sure. Gosh it's nice to know my weird change in sleep cycle won't bother me tomorrow since I can work during the night hours and sleep a little late Saturday. Insomnia sucks. I've experienced it all my life even as a small child. Yes, I know there are drugs. Have several varieties. I hate taking them. Even the 714 Quaalude blues didn't bother me. Not my thing during the purple haze years.

Speaking of sleep, it's time for another 2-3 hour "nap." Later!

"Sleep is the interest we have to pay on the capital which is called in at death; and the higher the rate of interest and the more regularly it is paid, the further the date of redemption is postponed."
~Arthur Schopenhauer

Yawn

Worn out tonight. Long day and will have the same tomorrow. Please excuse my non-rambling. It's time for bed. Tomorrow will very possibly be a GREAT day! The weather will be awesome locally. Nighters all.

"Life is too short to sleep on low thread-count sheets."
~Leah Stussy