Ramblings, opinions, and general meanderings from the Deep South

Saturday, January 31, 2004

Mother! There's a monster in my closet and its name is Steve Jobs!

Had a nightmare and awoke a while ago. Dreamed I had purchased an Apple laptop/notebook. That wasn't the scary part. The frightening thing was 'I liked it".

Think I am watching too much TechTV?

"The first computer crash? When the first monolith of Stonehenge toppled..."
-Billy Wobbleynife

Friday, January 30, 2004

Could you be? Would you be?

It's a beautiful day in the cyber neighborhood. The Mars Spirit is sending back telemetry and pictures again. The Lord of the Rings - The Return of the Kings received 11 Oscar nominations. Disney's attempt to make disposable DVDs is not working out. There's a $500,000 reward for the little nancyboy jerk that created the MyDoom virus. My networking problems have momentarily subsided. Things are casual.

Tomorrow I will try to post some links about the diet that starts Sunday night. It's the South Beach Diet and is authored by a sho' nuff cardiologist. And a cardiologist's wife recommended it highly. She really wants me on it. She talked to me on the phone for several hours last night. Okay, okay...it's my oldest daughter! LOL My youngest daughter posted about the MyDoom virus this past Monday and saved a lot of us from the gloom of such misery. Yes, I have very kewl children and they are both Daddy's girls.

Hope everyone has a great weekend. I am going after the garage again. One of these years I'll clean it up. And kill that smelly thing that lives in the back corner...

"Men are not disturbed by things, but the view they take of things."
- Epictetus (55-135 A.D.)
"What about things like bullets?"
- Herb Kimmel, Behavioralist, Professor of Psychology, upon hearing the above quote (1981)

Thursday, January 29, 2004

Happy, happy, joy, joy!

After several days of fighting the battle of kidneystone hill the pain has finally dropped down to a livable level. I wish this pain only on my worst enemies, Osama and his boys and anyone associated with the RIAA. I was forewarned last week to take some days off and recuperate. Work should have waited, but doing the right thing is not always the road travelled. Gosh, golly, gee! I do feel better.

I read a book. It's about the South Beach Diet. They have a plan that is closer to my way of thinking. Low carb, with a period of induction and life maintenance thereafter. They do not limit the vegetables as much and permit coffee! Okay, now you know why I am giving the Atkins books away. All in all, I don't think a diet that includes this much meat and eggs can be that healthy. A short period may be helpful, but I just think some rice, pasta , etc. is acceptable in controlled portions. Besides, I just don't like eggs that much.

Am working on a PC that should have been returned Tuesday evening. It's not liking the upgrade being performed. Also have another machine that is not happy about network adapter insertion. It's a Windows 98 machine and won't accept a Kingston or Intel NIC. Well, I have one 3Com 905 card left and if it won't see this card then it needs to be trashed! The 905 cards are awesome. Must go and 'get right down to it'. Have some new links I'll try and post in the next day or two. Y'all have a great Thursday!

"Never moon a werewolf."
-Mike Binder

Sunday, January 25, 2004

Eatin' mosheen entry #2

It looks like the Atkins diet will commence tonight. Dr. John (aka Mr. Bedside Manners) called and said,"do it and quit whining, damn it!". Also talked to the wife of a local physician earlier this afternoon and she said drink the coffee and follow the rest of the program. Bet I still crave those fries. Everyone pray that Gayle, Chris and Tom don't kill me. My money is on Gayle to snap; she hates whiners anyway. There is a sack o taters with my name on em in the pantry.

Must go and not think about all this dieting googlymoogly for a while. Everyone please eat a bagel/biscuit/piece of toast for me tomorrow and the rest of the week. Thank goodness I will get the coffee!

"Would ye both eat your cake and have your cake?"
[This is commonly misquoted as "You can't have your cake and eat it, too."]
-John Heywood, John Heywood's Proverbs, 1546

Hide the groceries and the coffee, Ma! He's a comin' this way n he's an eatin' mosheen!

Spent a lot of time reading about the Atkins Diet yesterday. Come on people, support and help are needed! This diet takes away most everything I find pleasure in anymore and I simply am not masochistic. Besides, my co-workers will kill me before the first week is over. The coffee thing is getting to me. Eliminate coffee for the rest of my life? The alcohol thing will be okay; not my first go at that, LOL. The potato chips will be sorely missed but there are alternatives. But no rice? Is the whole country of China wrong? How many fat Chinese people have you seen lately?

Exploring alternatives. Before, when overcoming weight problems, it was done through intense exercise and moderation of intake. Still had coffee in the morning and just suffered through the hunger pains. Is there a possible mix? I don't think so. This ketosis thing (it's actually lipolysis which is the actual burning of stored fat and ketosis is a byproduct of that action - that makes me uncomfortable knowing that terminology is wrong and aficionados continue to use this misnomer) is a necessary part of induction.

Believe it or not I like salads. Also love vegetables and can be caught secretly eating brussel sprouts several times a week. Dairy products and potatoes are nice. I can do without the sodas or 'cokes' as they are called in the Deep South. Pork skins can be eaten and potato chips are bad? Just doesn't seem proper. Meat, eggs and cheese almost unlimited? Noticed a recurring question on the FAO list about constipation. Hey, real simple! Quit eating so much cheese! Bless be the brie that binds!

Am I ready for this? Well, I've never intentionally tortured myself although the unintentional abuse has run rampant through my life at times. Hey all you folks that are having success, more power to you! Your will is greater than mine no doubt. Somehow, someway it is mandatory that I find a way to exercise more, eat better and lose weight. Just don't think I am ready for the Atkins diet. Dr. John, if you are reading, sorry this just 'ain't gonna' get it'!. I'll run 5 miles a day if necessary. But no coffee? I'll get off caffeine eventually because death is inevitable. Hope someone puts a bag of Odyssey coffee in my pine box. Time for a pair of new Nikes, a load of celery and carrot sticks and a lotta, lotta prayer.

Just mentioning the Atkins diet was cause for several comments. Flame away if needed, but recommendations of alternatives that will not banish things robusto and arabica will be certainly appreciated. Not completely ruling out Atkins yet. I am getting too old for this ----{expletive deleted}? Admitting to the whole world how weak I am depresses me. Guess I'll have a slice of key lime cheese cake and a cup of dark roast...

"My doctor told me to stop having intimate dinners for four. Unless there are three other people."
Orson Welles (1915 - 1985)

Saturday, January 24, 2004

Watch out for the gravity storms

The diet starts tomorrow night. Not a new experience and it will be tough for a few days, maybe more. Finding the time and energy to exercise will be tough. Let's see, not having any energy is one of the main reasons for the diet. Now how to prevent the Catch-22? Today and tomorrow there will be my choice of food and refreshing beverages around the Saltillo Beach House. Quantity is not the goal. Just eating favorite stuff will be nice. My weak point concerning the diet will be coffee. Sorry, have to indulge for at least 2 cups in the morning. No, not starting out with a defeatist attitude. Being realistic. I realize the gravity of my physical situation has to change in order to hang around being casual and not so stressed in the coming years.

Key Lime Cheesecake will be made today. The trip to the Kroger in downtown Tupelo will be worth it since they sell key limes. Smaller variety and more citric than the larger Persian limes and they really change the flavor of the cake. Been there done that. Have taken most of my Buffett CDs and ripped them to the hard drive so playlists can be made. These tunes are at 256 so they are CD quality. Nice to play Buffett music all day and not have to stop and change CDs. Margaritaville is a nice parrothead site and features all the stuff from Jimmy's stores. Be sure and check the specials. Buffett News reports that the opening of the new Margaritaville in Las Vegas this last Thursday night was great! Jimmy n the band played; a good time was had by all. Anyway, these are nice sites for parrotheads. Not a parrothead? Miserable and musically unenlightened? Play Jimmy Buffett and have some fun!

"Without change, something sleeps inside us, and seldom awakens. The sleeper must awaken."
-Frank Herbert

Friday, January 23, 2004

It's diet time again, hope the pounds will leave me....

TGIF! Between doing battle with spyware running rampant on networks and kidneystones I am a tad exhausted. BTW, rum and loritab don't mix!! LOL But hey, the sleep was awesome. My fat ass is starting the Atkins diet Sunday night. I will feast tonight and tomorrow. I know this time next week I'll be 'jonesing' for Arby's home style fries. Any input about this diet will be appreciated. Email or use the comments.

"Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart; for God now accepteth thy works."
N.B.: "Eat, Drink and be merry." See also Luke 12:19
-Ecclesiastes 9:7

Thursday, January 22, 2004

Yes, Yes, download everything!!! That's the ticket!!!

People, please read this post carefully. This is extremely important information about what you are putting on your computer. ALWAYS RESEARCH DOWNLOADS!!!!!!!!!! If you download Date Manager, Gator Ewallet, Precision Time, Weatherbug,Weatherscope, DashBar, ScoutSearch, FeedbackResearch, or Gain you've downloaded Claria software and it is ADWARE which some folks call SPYWARE. Your movement across the internet is being tracked. This seems like friendly stuff and they have a way of coercing you into downloading this vile barnyard material. Satan is a smooth operator. Remember that when approaching such software. This company recently changed it's name and my guess is that was due to all the bad press. It is beyond my power of comprehension as to how they can exist in a democratic society. They have sued sites before for calling them "spyware". I ask you my fellow cybernauts, is this a joke? As Americans are we really standing by and letting these clowns get away with such trivial lawsuits? Quit doing evil things Claria or Gator or Gain or CMES III or whatever you are calling yourself today! The Netizens are watching you.

Many pieces of malware await your arrival so they can jump on your PC. My Web and My Search are also tracking your movements. I have spent the better part of a day trying to remove something called Incredifind off a network that has created havoc on internet connection capability (so far we've only formatted one PC). Never download any browser toolbar enhancement except Google. Google is doing a great job which proves there are still some good companies out there. Adware/Spyware not only spys on you and reports to God only knows what kind of nefarious institutions, it bogs down your machine. Trying to remove it can result in re-formatting your hard drive and losing all your data. If you want someone watching every move you make then go ahead and just download your ass off! Wear it out. Get everything that pops up and put it on your machine! Above all, be sure you don't care about other people on your network because if you've downloaded some of this junk it WILL run rampant across a network!! And when I put that bill in your hand don't whine. Don't dare wimper because your data couldn't be saved!

As often mentioned here duelling should be brought back. It astounds me that these jerks can sue someone because the truth has been told. If they were challenged then at least it would become apparent they have no honor whatsoever. Thank you ACLU, liberals and other ne'er do wells for giving such cretins this ability! BTW, the links to SpyBot Search & Destroy and Adaware are listed. Please update these utilities every 2 to 3 days! Great tools for those that care about privacy.

"Be honorable yourself if you wish to associate with honorable people."
-Welsh Proverb

Wednesday, January 21, 2004

Still some good sites on the WWW

Snapfiles, formerly known as Webattack (the button towards the bottom of the link list still says Webattack), has revamped their page and made it easy to read and navigate. Here you will find a plethora of freeware and shareware. They offer many utilities to make living with your personal confuser easier. Many web authoring tools, networking programs and utilities, security stuff and so forth. This is a very well organized site that's easy to read and very fast! I saw no popups and they did not whine for me to register and login. This is a great example of well done work with only banner ads. I hope they continue successfully with this approach.

On the other hand I've been researching DVD burning software with hopes that my next major purchase will be a DVD+R-R unit. I did several searches and won't link to these sites because Burnworld has annoying popups, splash screens, etc. and burn4free actually costs $19.95! Misleading? Duh! They try to justify with the free trial thangy, but they won't get my business because of the blatant deception.

Recently downloaded and tried eMule. Don't bother. If someone knows a way to connect and has had success using this program please let me know. Great idea, lotta press, but no delivery.

Watched the Address last night. Go George W.!!! Everyone have a casual day.

"The best measure of a man's honesty isn't his income tax return. It's the zero adjust on his bathroom scale."
Arthur C. Clarke (1917 - )

Tuesday, January 20, 2004

A not so safe Mississippi harbor

It's hard to believe that most Mississippians aren't aware of or just don't care about the tort reform bruhaha taking place in this state. There's a severe problem here and it has to do with bad laws. Let's get one thing out of the way initially. The phrase "first we kill the lawyers" does indeed come from a Shakespeare play. In Henry the VI, Part 2, a rebel of low and despicable character that is a follower of Jack Cade utters these words saying it is the best way to start overthrowing the King. Well, folks the King is the hero here and the lawyers are on his side. That makes them good guys and if this rebel leader is that worried then they most likely are the super good guys. So the next time you hear this statement please remember the truth. We've many people suing folks because they can. I had a lady make a left hand turn in front of me several years ago and hit the vehicle I was in while going the wrong way on my side of the road. Minor damage. An obvious case that would make anyone realize that she was at fault. Also, there were two credible witnesses that saw this happen. She was dating a motorcycle policeman who showed up just minutes after the wreck. I asked her three times if she was ok and she said yes with the boyfriend saying 'it's just an accident, glad nobody was hurt'. He then walked over to the policeman and they had a conversation. Several people saw this talk. The policeman later denied speaking to motorcycle boy in a deposition. He lied. Outright bald-faced lied. The police report said I was at fault because I hit her. Can we say collusion? She was going the wrong way on MY side of the street. She was in my lane going the wrong way damn it! Well, a local ambulance chasing idiot lawyer (this is a large man and even his fellow lawyers call him a bully) became involved and she was at the doctor's a week later yet never missed work. My company and I were sued. The lady and the officer that did the report were caught telling lies during their depositions. Because this idiot ambulance chasing lawyer frequently pulls these stunts, the insurance company paid them instead of going to court with a solid case they could have won. The settlement cost them less than the price of lawyers and court costs. K, folks, this is way beyond stupid. Not only do we need to run this idiot lawyer out of town (he is actually the subject of an article on the web where he was caught trying to intimidate someone and should have been disbarred then!), the insurance company should be punished as well. Absurd!

I realize that many people practicing law are ethical, upstanding citizens that value truth, justice and the American way. It's a few bad apples that are degrading our state in more ways than one. Doctors are fleeing because of malpractice suits and the silly laws involved. This is personal. I want my friends and relatives in the medical profession to stay here in this area or have the desire to come here without injustice running rampant. Tupelo has the largest hospital in the state of Mississippi. Which is more important? Your health? Or the rights of some cheesy lawyer to practice voodoo jurisprudence? Fellow Mississippians, get off your dead asses and talk to your elected officials. Make them aware you know about such shenanigans and won't tolerate it!! Most barristers I know are sick about all this and support reform. They too are amazed at the general apathy concerning this matter. Do yourself a favor. Go to Google and do a search about Mississippi tort reform. Read about this. Some laws have been passed, but we are still not out of the dark. Be a citizen and get angry about the evil. Support the good guys and vanquish the bad guys. Run their no good butts outta' town! Let's not even consider killing the lawyers, most of them are good guys!! Let's kill the frivolous lawsuits and correct the malevolent laws. After all, isn't this what community is all about? Don't know about all y'all, but I want the doctors in my area to be the best! So, heed my words and help yourself. Wonder if mr. big ugly ambulance chaser will sue me over this post? Probably so. We'll see if the truth can stand up in court.

"The United States is a nation of laws: sometimes badly written and randomly enforced."
Frank Zappa (1940 - 1993)


Sunday, January 18, 2004

"Lady in a turban...dancin' rhythmically"

It's raining. Work planned today is cancelled. It involves digging a trench for a cable, drilling two walls and soldering two connections outside. Stomping around in the mud and going inside and out just won't get it. So, I'll probably change a water pump on the lead sled and attack the garage. First, it's fix a flat time. Don't have to be afloat to get 'in irons' around here! LOL

Weekends should be 4 days long. At least on weekends it's hide and call the shots about when,what n' where. Some think the work day for beach-housers is 24/7. Hmmmmm, think I'll start bartering for their time. Work on your network - you come help me organize my garage. Replace your faulty video card, you mop my floors. Eureka! May have found a way to get the beach house in order! Am sooo sorry for those that are disappointed that maintenance and sleep are necessities. There's even one person out there that has decided I don't need sustenance. Okay okay! True, my fat ass could throttle back in that area.

"Everyone will start to cheer when you put on your sailin' shoes."
-Lowell George (via Little Feat)

Saturday, January 17, 2004

Train whistle lullaby?

Up early making changes. Am trying to set up everything for publishing pictures/images. Really wanted to road trip today and visit friends. It won't happen. Too much to do, water pump is out on the lead sled, have a flat tire, need to deliver a media PC, have one on the bench, have to work tomorrow - the list goes on and on. Great to be alive and in Mississippi!

Really like this time of night. The phone doesn't ring. TV in the wee hours of the morning sucks, but books seem to come alive. The trains seem to moan instead of shriek. Nice to know you can nod off and dream about sailing or riding a Harley. Watching the sun come up while sitting on the veranda drinking coffee is a treat. Just something refreshing about the peaceful darkness after the witching hour.

Please drive safely this weekend and laugh aloud.

"Time to get busy with the digital camera."
-Dock

Friday, January 16, 2004

Sweet Dreams and Nightmares

Ever been to the Harley-Davidson site? They have a neat utility where you can select a picture of a bike and put different color schemes on it. This a very well organized site and has neat features. Go take a look. I've always wanted a Hawg. Here's another Harley site, Bumpus Harley-Davidson. Just sitting and dreaming about bikes and thought I'd pass this info along. Hey, like the Japanese bikes too. Never owned a Harley but have had several Hondas and one Yamaha - all good bikes. Sometimes I think about A1A and Key West via Harley. Wow, what a concept.

Like to thank my Tishomingo County Faction for their support yesterday in the comments. I needed a lift. Working on a network problem that snagged my lunch and ate every bit of it!! Had to even call in a competitor and the problems are still not resolved. Talk about egg on the face! LOL

Let me just say this, UPDATE YOUR ANTI VIRUS SOFTWARE! If you are not using SpyBot DOWNLOAD IT NOW, then immediately do the updates!!!! There's a nasty Trojan of sorts going around and some jerks have created a piece of barnyard material spyware that will actually alter the DNS settings on your machine. This is nasty stuff!! Please read the tutorial on SpyBot and be sure and Immunize. Get Adaware too. There are links posted for both. If you don't protect your computing environment you WILL have these problems. If you are running WEATHERBUG, Precision Time, etc., you are infected with spyware. Anything Gator, Gain, CMES III, GME, Claria is akin to Satan. They recently sued a site for calling them spyware and they are assholes to the nth degree. So sue me! You can't get blood from a turnip! If someone goes 'Postal' I hope it's on these folks! Anyway, some day I'll loosen up and tell you my true feelings about these dolts. As I gather information about this newest malady I will post it.

Time to hit the road and daydream of Harleys. Isn't it amazing what we do to alleviate stress?

"When dealing with the insane, the best method is to pretend to be sane."
Hermann Hesse (1877 - 1962)

Thursday, January 15, 2004

Sometimes you just have to bitch!

It is not hard to explain why I don't know how to install every gee-gaw available. It is not hard to explain why I don't know every piece of proprietary software available. It is hard to form the words in English that explain to some folks why I have problems trying to install their googly moogly, super duper, mo betta widget making software/hardware that's probably older than the hills and and do it without manuals or tech support. Believe me when I say there are thousands and thousands of such programs and units of hardware in existence. Some days I barely survive. Ever had a mass of machinery and a huge bundle of category 5 cable arise and try to devour you? Happens to me almost every day. With a lot of prayer I am still here. I really love these machines. I like how PCs have made the people of this planet a more efficient society in spite of all the virus writers, spyware jerks, RIAA, etc. I don't like when people that requested my presence become frustrated because I can't prevent all things evil and assure them salvation leading to immortality. Gimme a break! If you know what's wrong or how to install a piece of gear why did you call me? Go for it! Save some money and time. If I knew the ins and outs of EVERY piece of software written my butt would be in Redmond, Washington, opening up an office across the street from Microsoft! Yes sir ree bobtail! So please be patient. Folks, this goes for all techs. I do realize as a group we might not be noted for our happy cheerful dispositions. That is due partially to pre-occupation with things computerese and cyber. The next time you become impatient because you lost the drivers disk for your printer or scanner don't punish your tech person. She or he probably knows where to find said drivers and you don't. If your network fails and you haven't a clue how to get YOUR computers talking to each other then smile when your tech/geek arrives. Think about it. Be nice.

Mail.com started out as a good web mail service that has degenerated into a cesspool of greedy, trashy popups. Their last ploy to "entice" you to pay them was to slow down the page response while logged on and using the service. It always helps to have a trash account to avoid spam so now I have two at the Mail.com. They also show a page wanting you to upgrade every third or fourth time you take any action and you have to tell them yes or 'no thanks'. Well no thanks you bunch of clowns. This service started out in the late 90s as Snap mail and I've watched several transitions and stayed with them through the years. Last summer I was talking to my buddy Corinth Chris whose site is From the mind of a geek wannabe and we both used Mail.com at that time. He switched to Yahoo mail in utter disgust as I did back a few weeks ago. I was very seriously thinking about paying them at one time. I had even emailed and asked several questions about various account prices. Then the slow down started. If you want me to do business with you then use positive solicitation not negative!! Yahoo mail has constantly improved and the spam problem once there is not as prevelant now. So, they now have my support and will get my money. So sad to see the lust of money combined with the minds of idiots ruin a good thing.

Time for my initial cups of coffee sent to me from my daughter and son-in-law that reside in Louisiana (love you both!). Odyssey is still my favorite coffee supplier in the world, but this Mello Joy Cajun coffee is VERY tasty! Keep your sunny side up and kiss or hug a tech today!

"The first rule of any technology used in a business is that automation applied to an efficient operation will magnify the efficiency. The second is that automation applied to an inefficient operation will magnify the inefficiency."
-Bill Gates

Tuesday, January 13, 2004

Get a portion of geekness southern style...

Short note before work. Please take a look at Southern-Phried. There's a link posted. One post is a question about a problem in XP Home and the other has great links about where to buy equipment online. There's also a link posted about satellite radio!

Today's schedule is full. Started a project yesterday and worked like a dawg still not finishing. So gotta' run. Have smooth, easy day and compliment someone!

"Rudeness is the weak man's imitation of strength."
-Eric Hoffer (1902 - 1983)

Saturday, January 10, 2004

Lava, it's a good thing

AVG antivirus software has a very important update available. It consists of definitions for several nasties prowling the web. Symantec, Panda, Sophos, etc. will probably follow suit and have new definitions available for all that like to pay for antivirus software. Adaware has an update available for their free version. Spybot just posted three updates for Spybot Search and Destroy. Stop what you are doing and download all this free protection! Just having the programs on your computer won't get the job done. Do all updates and then USE the programs. Have you checked Windows Update lately to see if the boys and girls at Microsoft have blessed your operating system with security patches, etc.? Is this getting through to anyone? Is this message being received? Hello? Hello?

Fellow Netizens, if you are not taking charge of your 'personal confuser' and protecting your cyber existence then you are endangering the whole community! Please, please use caution and be extremely paranoid when it comes to spyware and virus infections. We are all in this together like it or not. I have no clue as to what posesses people to write all this trash and they should all pray to their evil gods that I never become ruler of the known universe. I will pitch their sorry carcasses into a raging volcano and laugh as they plop the lava. Worthless slugs! Satan must hold seminars for script kitties, the folks at Gator/Gain/Claria, the people that write Word Perfect (ever tried their tech support? - don't bother, I don't think it really exists), McAfee and the rest of the ne'er do wells that have clogged our information highways. I wish I could meet someone at the Gator/Gain/Claria house in the middle of a ring and do battle with them! It'd not be a pretty site. Weatherbug my ass...

If you search through the links on this page you'll find there is ample software available to setup a nice barrier of protection. If you like what they have and can afford a donation then do it. It you are living the "lifestyle of the poor and pitiful" then download and use it. That's the reason they call it freeware. If you insist on using Weatherbug (Weatherscope is its current name I think), Precision Time, My Web, My Search, etc., then you need help and are probably so far gone you can't even realize it. Maybe some relative or friend will see your FOOLISH way and intervene. K, time to take my grumpy butt outta here.

"Nothing astonishes men so much as common sense and plain dealing."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 - 1882), 'Art,' 1841

Thursday, January 08, 2004

Popups need to be stoppedup

Okay, let's see, at the top of this site is the title and below that is a description that says "raves and rants from a Misssissippi nerd" so on and so forth, ya da ya da. That basically tells you that this site is not a forum. While this is true, the comments section is a bit different. I absolutely cannot erase comments. I cannot alter comments, including my own. So even though the posts are mine, let me clarify that comments are not. I cannot be responsible for what is said there. Also let me throw in the fact that comments cannot be traced unless you include your email and/or website address. Look, anyone that has visited here frequently knows that it's not my intention to agree with everyone. If you are a thinned skinned democrat, liberal, member of the aclu or riaa, etc. and can't understand that I'm just another human espousing opinions then my sincerest regrets and no apology. It is a public blog and wide open for anyone on the planet to read. Yes, sorta soap-boxy. That said let's go on to other thangys and not dwell on my silly whimpering.

There is a popup that shows up when you click on the 'driverguide' button. I am going to investigate this and if it can't be corrected I'll kill the link. Popups suck! I will not allow them here. After you get to a site and start browsing that's different; to each his own. But, I will not allow anyone to link here that has popups on their opening page. That's about as cheesy as it gets. Thanks for the tip Redrum! AnalogX has an awesome popup killer called POW. It's under the network category and I've had nothing but good reports concerning this neat utility. Normally I despise explorer toolbars. That Yahoo thangy takes forever to load and slows down surfing. If you are using My Search or My Web explorer toolbars, congratulations! You've infected your browser with spyware and it is reporting every move you make on the internet to various nasties!! The Google toolbar is different. It has an awesome popup killer/blocker that requires very little set up. It also keeps several handy tools available. Google Toolbar. Before the critics chime in and tell me I've mentioned this before, hey, I am aware! Hope my repetition helps someone download one of these super utilities and it eliminates these annoying pests.

It's cold in the Deep South. Ahhhh, Spring is just around the corner.

"Any reviewer who expresses rage and loathing for a novel is preposterous. He or she is like a person who has put on full armor and attacked a hot fudge sundae."
-Kurt Vonnegut (1922 - )



Wednesday, January 07, 2004

I dunno where Ima gonna go when de Volcano blows

Let's see the Unknown One in yesterday's comments said I should be grateful for what I have and not worry about the other. If I hadn't resolved my fiduciary problem I'd be living on the street this weekend. Sheesh! I guess the Unknown One's bills are paid and he/she has no clue what it's like to live literally payday to payday. What if you owed a lot of old hospital bills and couldn't make ends meet without working at least two jobs? Alas, the Unknown One is making a point. I will stop whining about all this and just put the worry aside. The next time I need to collect I'll just do their kneecaps with hollow points as starters. That okay UO? Hell, I was just making passing comments to avoid ranting and calling names about people involved! Excuse me for being a tad human there. I'll try to refrain.

Well, the Macworld whingding is going on this week in San Francisco. Steve 'Goober Lips' Jobs has basically told all apple users to get ready for the next wave of love from him. He grabs your wallet and doesn't even kiss. I am so sick and tired of the applenancies hootin' about the G5 piece of doodoo being the world's fastest computer. ROFLMAO! I say again ROFLMAO! Just goes to show - apple aficionadoes haven't a clue as to what happens in the real world. Glad most of them live in California. That's a long way away from Mississippi. Sorry folks, Macs or g-whatever they are calling them today, suck. Sad to see a machine using two year old technology selling for 2 to 3 times the price of a reliable PC. Yikes! Can we say dumbasses? The iPods are kewl, but way too pricy. And the thought of carrying one around reminds me of the time I really wanted to kiss the girl with herpes. Pretty, but tainted. Think I'll buy a Rio.

Got to go watch Kevin Rose of TechTV show us all how to clean a non-optical mouse on The Screensavers. Whine boy out!

"If you want to know what God thinks of money, just look at the people he gave it to."
-Dorothy Parker (1893 - 1967)





Tuesday, January 06, 2004

Storm has become a tsunami

Stress still sucks. The first week of the new year shouldn't be spent worrying! Spent the morning being disappointed. Amazing how lackomoola can tear down an optimist. Lackofriends is worse.

"Money is like a sixth sense without which you cannot make a complete use of the other five."
W. Somerset Maugham (1874 - 1965), 'Of Human Bondage', 1915

Monday, January 05, 2004

Riding the storm...

Stress sucks. The first weekend of the year should NOT be spent worrying. The "Golden Rule" is certainly not working around the beach house. Is it anger or disappointment that nags the most?

"No amount of ability is of the slightest avail without honor."
- Andrew Carnegie

Saturday, January 03, 2004

Hey buddy, can you spare some time?

The inconsideration of human beings never ceases to amaze me. I work, come home, work some more, and then sleep. Rarely do I have any time for leisure. I had planned on an easy weekend of cleaning the garage that I've talked about for a year now, but that won't happen. A true emergency has made me shift plans in order to pay bills. The stress of not having them paid, wondering if they will be paid etc., will kill you. That's the reason my creditors are paid on time. It makes them happy and I am happy. Obligations should be met in a timely fashion. Maybe I've missed something in this ever changing world. BTW, DaddyDan, the check will soon be in the mail...LOL

"As human beings, we are endowed with freedom of choice, and we cannot shuffle off our responsibility upon the shoulders of God or nature. We must shoulder it ourselves. It is our responsibility."
-Arnold J. Toynbee

Friday, January 02, 2004

Update on connectivity dilemna

Talked to the satellite ppl and they want almost 50 bucks for their service with local channels. DSL is somewhere around 40 bucks. This saves me no money and there are 'start up fees'. So I called the cable company. The local people are always nice, but have no clue about internet stuff. After making the second call I actually talked to a straightforward, well-mannered young man in Georgia and he took the time to check on some things for me. Looks like I'll stop whining and put up with the inconvenience for a few more days. Sorry folks, I should not vent on y'all about this and will try and refrain in the future.

Jump drives are kewl!

For Christmas I received a jump drive. It's a small USB device that holds 128 megs of info. Easy to use and very handy. I have many utilities loaded on it for use in the field and it's been nice to have with my current internet upload speed problem.

This weekend I am going to try uploading with a regular dial-up modem. K, keeping it short and without a quote. Hope this works. My whining is bothering even me...

Thursday, January 01, 2004

Happy New Year

I've written two posts that have disappeared. Ahhhhh, wasting 1.5 hours of my life.

"Beware the fury of a patient man."
-John Dryden, Absalom and Achitophel, 1681