All's Quiet on the Wisteria Front

Early Satuday morning at the beach house can be most pleasant. Even though it is the 6th of 7 work days Saturday is that day that does permit late sleep or a brief early morning nap before the phone starts chortling. It rained last night and we are supposed to have a beautiful day for the Blue Suede Cruise in Tupelo, MS.

Talked to Betuglia and CCRyder last night and they were yuppie camping in the RV awaiting all the festivities. Several musical groups had played and Betuglia liked all of them. There will be a plethora of street rods, motorcycles, etc. in and around the Bankcorp South Coliseum and the Tupelo Automobile Museum. Weather looks good, high in the high 60s.

Great day for a cruise or grilling event. The ribs are marinating as we speak. And just think! Only one more day to work this week!

"Once spent a year in Memphis, think it was on a Saturday."
-Billy Wobblynife

People being responsible, it's a good thing

Looks like some intelligent people are finally stopping the spyware baboons. CNET, parent company of Download.com, is banning all spyware, adware, dungware from their site. They have responsibly taken a NO TOLERANCE stance towards these creeps that are busy infesting our machines. Hoorah CNET! Please click on the above link and read Scott Arpajian's letter. If you agree with this stance, please email it to your Congresspeople.

"New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer sued a major Internet marketer Thursday, blaming it for secretly installing software that delivers nuisance pop-up advertisements and can slow and crash personal computers. Shares of the company, Intermix Media Inc., fell 83 cents, or 17 percent, to close at $3.97 on the American Stock Exchange." This is the lead for a great story from AP over at Newsday.com. Hoorah Attorney General Spitzer!!

Next, let's get Claria, CoolWWWSearch, etc. Orcs they are, all of them!

"Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value."
-Albert Einstein

Early mornin' ruckus

There was an inquiry the other day about Arnold. You know, the opossumus germanicus austriabodicus that visits on occasion. My recent hesitation to write stems from the fact that a friend stopped by and sadly informed me that Arnold might be dead in the middle of the road two streets over where that hoard of Italian possums, opossumus clamsaucesicus berettamus, tried to turn over the Ford Escort by mistake; they thought it was a dumpster. Pondered going by and checking to see if the mentioned roadkill had a tattoo of 'Mom' on his little possum arm. Decided against it because the Saltillo PD might look upon such action as weird.

As I sat researching a problem with strange form factor power supplies earlier this morning, all of a sudden there was an abrupt hissing and obvious confrontation outside the window. Don't think I have ever been so glad to see a possum whuppin' the stew out of a cat! Apparently one of the feral cats that Arnold chased up a tree several months ago decided to brave it and investigate the veranda. Big mistake. When I finally raised the blinds there was Arnold flailing away. The cat was trying to escape and Arnold was steadily pounding. I yelled, "Let it go Arnold!!" He seemed startled and pissed at the same time. He did let the poor beasty go. Didn't know cats could move so fast.

As Arnold wobbled off he was either reciting poetry or rapping. Something about, 'Yo Momma, Yo Daddy, I am a big ole baddy!' After some considered thought, the light bulb in my head flashed on and it was realized the recited line came from an episode of the TV show Friends. I'm concerned. Just where is he watching the tube?

"Ideas must work through the brains and the arms of good and brave men, or they are no better than dreams."
-Emerson

Time is on my side...in a convoluted way

Spybot Search & Destroy posted new downloads early this morning. Do the updates, remember to immunize, and then run a scan. There are new downloads at Ad-aware too. CoolWWWSearch is pounding this PC and my defenses are holding so far. Putting up with these creeps is wasting valuable time.

This morning while working high splicing a cable I received 6 phone calls in 9 minutes. Several years ago the cell phone was dropped in a similar situation and had to be replaced at my expense. It is good common sense not have it hanging off you while 40 feet in the air, especially if you have a fear of heights. 12 minutes later, after finishing the work, the call was returned. Line busy. 17 minutes later it went through. Since I hadn't responded quickly enough they called someone else. Not an emergency, something was making a noise. Can we say use your head and turn it off? Know what? It's not my concern anymore. If my responding in 23 minutes is not quick enough due to extenuating circumstances, don't call back. Sheesh! Most folks appreciate a response in 24 hours and are delighted when you can show up the same day. Interesting though, isn't it?

Now I must go eat lunch. Bet somebody calls.

"Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish."
-John Quincy Adams

Get some coffee or other refreshing beverage, this is a long one

Did you know that Windows is the operating system on 9 out of every 10 PCs? ITWeb has an article about Bill Gates "first" look at Longhorn which took place yesterday at the Windows Hardware Engineering Conference in Seattle. An appropriate location. Microsoft main offices are located in Redmond, a suburb of this thriving, grunge rock, rainy, west coast city. Longhorn, the long awaited replacement of XP, 2000, NT, 98, etc., is being touted as more secure, has better file management, will take out the trash, walk the dog, mow the yard, clean the grill, smooch the wife, husband, lifepartner, etc.

Even though I sit before XP while scribbling this post, my favorite rendition of Windows is still 2000. That was the last issue of Windows where we still somewhat owned the product after purchasing it. Granted, XP has some nice features that are apparent plus there is some really cool and also weird stuff happening in the background. No need to go into great detail, there are books written about such things. Somehow it gripes my butt that every time you make a move inside a Microsoft product and have internet connectivity, various things are reporting in, supposedly, because it "helps" Microsoft make better software. Hell, it's spying.

Call it what you want, it is still an invasion of privacy. Most flavors of Windows do this to some degree but the mighty XP seems busier. MRUs (Most Recently Used thangys) are really none of Bill Gates or anybody else's business unless I 'Jean-Luc Picard' and make it so. Ask me and I might participate. Don't hide it buried inside a EULA (End Users License Agreement) utilizing a 2 pitch font.

Okay, okay, I am definitely glad to live in a Bill Gates - Windows world. Yes, I know that a Darth Jobs - Apple world is not desirable. Who wants 2 year old technology that is overated and wayyyy overpriced? Besides Darth's latest round of operating systems are based on an opensource Unix flavor called FreeBSD. There's real creativity for ya'. Apparently, 9 out of 10 people agree.

Since the comments have been bare maybe some of the Orchard Troopers and XP Nazis will share with us. Flame on. Time to go to a Linux PC and check email. Later.

"From the moment I picked your book up until I laid it down I was convulsed with laughter. Someday I intend reading it."
-Groucho Marx

Back hurts, feet stink n' I don't love Elvis

Still having problems with Netgear. In the process of writing them about issues with several of their wireless routers my attitude has changed to one of try all options and then let them know. Now I am out of options and think that one of the devices may be defective. It is time to structure a letter that will obtain a response. The Good Lord knows the service department won't respond. Maybe this person on the Board of Directors will. He, at least, has a name that sounds like he has the ability to comprehend English. You know, if you are going to work or live in the USA, learn the language!!!

AOL alert! AOHell alert! They own Netscape. Yep the "new" internet provider being heavily advertised, you know, Netscape? Same people. Some good friends tried to sign up with them and couldn't speak Hindi. Then they decided to go Dixie-Net. Yes Dixie-Net: Where folks are nice, seem to smile on the phone, have a thorough grasp of our language and are downright pleased to provide service! These friends also had the misfortune of being Fortune Lowtech (sic) customers and when their email was changed they lost the ability to perform certain tasks. We are trying to find out if there is a connection. Big picture? Dixie-Net = VERY, VERY Good! Netscape & Fortune HiTech = pure barnyard material.

Time to go refill my half full cup of coffee and put a smile on my face. Ahhhhh, Monday. Good day to start another week.

"Action may not always bring happiness; but there is no happiness without action."
-Benjamin Disraeli

Comments, please

Why is it so hard for people to update and run antispyware programs? C'mon, really I want to know. Many hours of research have been dedicated to this horrible, horrible problem. Damn it all, why is it so difficult for someone to protect their computing environment from these evils? For years the beach house has been posting articles about taking care of business - updating and scanning your computer for malware. Spyware has been a VERY frequent topic here since the beginning. Spybot S&D, Ad-aware and Spywareblaster have been mentioned many times, yet people still fall victim to the supposed antispyware software that IS, yes IS spyware!

There are many links listed on this page and several colorful buttons that will help you download wonderful, free applications that prevent these creeps from invading your machine. Many hours have gone into building this site. So, I want to know. Why is it so hard for some seemingly intelligent folks to do the obvious and help everyone by protecting their computing environment? Way too many hours are spent on these problems at the beach house. There are other things that need doing, but removing spyware, reinstalling operating systems because of spyware malady, even formatting hard drives are devouring time.

Amazes me when Hamboni and Arnold, opossumus germanicus austriabodicus, get more email and comments than posts relevant to computing safety. Go figure...

"The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt."
-Bertrand Russell

Kewl hardware tip and search function

Here's a solution for those that have overheating problems. It's a dime bracket that is utilized to attach a fan to a hard drive. Check it out over at Cheapbooks. Thanks goes out to CowboyNeal at Slashdot for finding this neat hardware utility. Bet this can be located on other devices with minor modification. David Tiberio came up with this neat idea and has given us a nice page with pictures and instructions. Very inventive and inexpensive.

Beagle and Mudslingr stopped by for a few minutes today and Beagle wowed me with the Local search function in Google. Had never tried it and she said she uses it all the time. Now I see why. What a handy tool to locate stuff in one's own backyard. Just type in something local that you are seeking (address, business, sports arena, school, etc.) and the town and state where it is located. It is pretty darn thorough. Looked up a business in Belmont that has an office in Boonevile and Google Local found both! Neat tool. Thanks Beagle!

"To a father waxing old, nothing is dearer than a daughter."
-Euripides (God blessed me with two!)

Needles n pins

Long day. It's so nice to know that Friday is just a few minutes away. Tomorrow's post will probably be late too. Rain and thunderstorms are predicted with a cooling trend headed this way late in the evening. My big fat butt has ripped out the stitching in one corner of the uber hammock, but my friend Gayle says she can have it repaired in the next week or two. Whew! Sometimes it's amazing what makes us panic. Hammock withdrawal is a horrible sight to behold.

"A man, Sir, should keep his friendships in constant repair."
-Samuel Johnson

Hope this is not too vague

Downloaded Microsoft Antispyware to two computers. Thanks Grasshoppa for the heads up and a great review over at SouthernPhried. It is a beta version so that means some bugs are possibly still being exterminated. Very easy to install and update, but please remember even though Microsoft tries to make it seem they aren't gleaning information from your machine this is not true. Don't believe it and don't trust them. If you run Spybot Search and Destroy on a regular basis then you've probably seen where many Microsoft programs are reporting in with lists of MRUs. MRU=most recently used files. Check out the Negligible List when Lavasoft's Ad-aware has finished a scan. Billy's gang is VERY interested in what you are doing. How about Word, Excel, Windows Media Player, Direct X, IE, even Paint and other Microsnoop goodies broadcasting info? They even want to know the last registry key accessed! Sorry, that's an invasion of privacy and absolutely none of their damned business! Ask me and I might even volunteer. Sneak around like some Osama worm and I will bow up. Back to the subject, this program (Microsnoop's Antispyware) has been around since the middle of February and no bruhaha has erupted. Another tool to add to an ever growing stash of weapons to combat the ass-inine spyware jerks although the Windows folks seem to be doing their share of poking around in OUR computers.

Have you updated Spybot S&D lately? How about Spywareblaster? You know the one that runs in the background from JavaCoolSoftware? Updated Ad-aware? They seem to update every DAY or so. Wait, have you even run the scans? No? Well some tech somewhere will part you from some of your money because of your neglect. People, these are high priorities in computer usage. If you don't do it, then don't bitch because YOU, yes YOU, screwed up your machine and need technical assistance. I know it's hard to prevent some malware, but we must make efforts and it's a good idea to let your congresspersons know you are unhappy with these thugs. Cast these creeps into live volcanoes, throw 'em to the sharks, Snidley Whiplash 'em to railroads, hell, feed 'em to the pigs! Society does not need such trash.

"I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!"
-Peter Finch as Howard Beale in Network (1976)

Moneypenny, is M in?

There's a new device sitting in front of me glowing red. It's kewl. When booting this machine my long complicated password doesn't have to be used. You just place your finger on the glowing red pad and the PC boots. It's Microsoft's Fingerprint Reader. Red Dragon picked it up at Sam's for under 50 bucks. You can have multiple users and it will work on those web sites that require passwords. Only downside is it requires XP.

Running an operating system other than XP? Take a look at the Targus Defcon Authenticator. It can be found all over the web for under $50.00. Most reviews are good and this unit has two USB ports. For some strange reason they leave XP Home out of their compatible operating system list . This is probably a typo mistake. But it will work with 98, 2000, XP Pro and even ME.

Several companies are making these devices and most of the major suppliers have them in stock. Some are wayyyy too pricy. My next experiment will be to see if the device works with Firefox. Probably won't. Doesn't really matter, the ease of installation and use just for signing on makes it a worthy device. Sorta' James Bond-ish.

"My apartment was robbed and everything was replaced with exact replicas...I told my roommate and he said 'Do I know you?'"
-Steven Wright

Merger, Skype, and Tishomingo

Clint Ecker says, "File this one under the 'stunned look of amazement' category." He's talking about Adobe acquiring Macromedia. If you are even into graphics and/or web development this has to make you wonder. Clint's article is at ArsTechnica. Let's hope Adobe doesn't get a case of Comcast-itis and slowly squeeze the life out of their best competition through absorption. Good article.

Anyone using Skype? This is a free service that is available for Windows, Linux and Mac users which let's you "phone" with your computer. Phone is the operative word here. You can actually phone someone's landline or cellphone for a FEE, so don't get too excited. Just wondered if any of the 100 million people that have downloaded this program visits with us. This is old technology with a new twist.

After a long week and weekend battling faulty a motherboard plus making a major change on the beach house network it will be nice to head to Tishomingo County for a few hours. Beautiful weather and a beautiful drive await. Nice day to ride in the Camino beast. If you need me today and can, Skype me on the cell. Later.

"If at first you don't succeed, try again. Then quit. There's no use being a damn fool about it."
-W.C. Fields (shoulda' seen this while working on that motherboard)

Frag time at the beach house

Just now pronounced a machine dead. When it eats memory, a hard drive, a video card and the processor is so hot you can't touch it, replacement becomes necessity. Even a different processor warmed up quite nicely. It's an older PII PC and it had a great life. Now it has shed its cyber coil and is going to that cyberworld beyond. Glad it finally bellied up so I can quit thinking 'it's fixed now.' You win some, you lose some. Sorry KimW.

Upgraded my windows workstation. It's now XP-ing and has a 256m Nvidia graphics card. It's rock and roll time concerning Unreal 2004! C'mon LAN Party! There'll be a whole lotta' fraggin' going on! This machine ran the initial installation of Windows 2000 for a little over 3 years without any major problems. It has dual 1g processors, an Asus mobo, 1 gig of RAM, 10,000 spin SCSI hard drives, Audigy Platinum sound, 21 CRT, Logitech 5.1 speakers (8" sub!), DVDROM, DVD Burner, and is intergrated into the home theater system. Not the newest technology, but still has plenty of power.

Everyone have a casual Sunday.

"I am not the only person who uses his computer mainly for the purpose of
diddling with his computer."
-Dave Barry

Get the newest version of Firefox

This is the first Cybersouth post done with Linux SuSE 9.2. Blogger limits the tools that make for handy linking, italicizing, etc., but there's always HTML. Upgrading to version 9.2 helped me understand how to make the sound card work on this laptop. Now I have tunes in the background while chattering away. Nice.

Firefox, version 1.0.3, is now available. Highly recommend downloading this new version since there are major security patches included. The browser doesn't seem to have any apparent changes, but it's almost a gurantee we all need the security "fix." The spyware dungheads are working overtime to screw up our lives and that now includes Firefox. Also, AVG has an anti-virus flavor for Linux users. There are links in the list to the right.

"The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side."
-Hunter Thompson (sound like the RIAA Nazis?)

Anonymous Apple Dude! We miss your comments.

Just think about a computer scenario in which Darth Jobs and the orchard gang would have control. Two year old technology at ridiculous prices? Nope. Give me Windows any day. Apple's idea of innovation is building a prettier case. At least, they were smart enough to steal FreeBSD and manipulate it into their current operating system - Alley Cat, Lion, Tiger, Feral, Panther, Garfield or whatever they call it today. Microsoft is forever striving to improve their products. They leave the case building to hardware people. Besides, the most popular selling software for an Apple is a Microsoft product! Office!

Come on Internet Explorer 7! Popunders are showing up in Firefox and spyware people aren't being exterminated quickly enough. To the live volcano with them, I say! Recently installed Linux SuSE 9.2 with the KDE interface on two machines (sweet!). KDE has a browser called Konqueror. It's a nice piece of software, but not the quickest player on the block. I haven't tried Opera, but some folks seem willing to pay for it. The free version has ads and that just plain sucks. Folks, if you know people in the spyware business, don't leave your doors unlocked. Thieves are easily tempted.

Have you Googled today? It's Leonardo Da Vinci's birthday and their banner has an appropriate theme. Just click on it and you'll find a world of links about this great scientist.

"The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and the lightning bug."
-Mark Twain

New low for ISPs

After watching AOL for years and hearing horror stories about customer service my mind was made up that no one could be worse. WRONG! Try FortuneHiTech. HiTech my ass. Their tech is so low they'd have to look up to see a snake's belly. A client was transferring from these 'rocket scientists' to Comcast. I will not forgive Comcast for their butchering of TechTV and Brian Roberts (CEO) is a booger on the face of humanity, but their speed is awesome. They are having problems with the local fiber frame, but they will overcome. Ever since they pulled service from Tupelo and started handling it from Somewhere, Alabama, they've had problems. If you ever call and hateful Renee answers, hang up immediately. She may be Satan. Wait, back to Fortune LowTech.

After trying to remove their Family and Home Management software, it was apparent the only way this was leaving the computer was to call and get the "required" uninstall code and password since the account was not active (or format the hard drive). A phone call was made. Josh (who would not give his last name for fear that someone might call him at home - that's a real endorsement, huh?) informed us that no one was present that could provide the needed uninstall code, etc. He also said someone had called earlier with the same problem and he couldn't help them either. Seems there was no supervisor present that could take our call. Yeah, right! So, this computer sits there and ALL internet access is blocked due to this squirrelware provided by FortuneLowTech. Paul Orberson (CEO) should pay attention to the consuming public instead of counting his money. I've scoured the web and hit several links to find more about this problem. Seems they all lead to the same wimpy web site. Getting in touch with the BBB in Lexington, Kentucky, is a priority. This is where the lowtechs are based.

Stay away from these people. If you have service with them, God HELP you if you decide to terminate. These hedgehogs sure won't.


"To know what is right and not do it is the worst cowardice."
-Confucius
"To keep silent when we should protest, makes cowards of men."
-Abraham Lincoln

Patches? Not the 1962 Dickey Lee Song

Here we go again. BBC has news about more patches needed to protect your PC from the evil goons. One of these is even cross-platform (it affects more than the Windows operating systems). If you are running Internet Explorer, XP, 2000, 98, 2003 Exchange Server, 2003 Server, Works, Word, Messenger 6.2, etc., please read this brief, informative post.

Next time a Microsoft Nazi wants to raise hell with me because of my Firefox leanings, do yourself a favor - re-read the above linked article. On the same subject, please don't delete Internet Explorer just because you are using Firefox. You'll need IE. Besides, the association with AOHell makes Firefox suspect. The malware horses' butts are now working overtime to invade Firefox too. George Lucas has a movie coming out next month that is based on a similar theme; turning to the dark side.

And now for something completely different: What is the cheesiest song you've ever heard? Click on the comments line below, fill in some name (be creative), post your vote for cheesysong and then click the publish button. It's easy and fun. Go ahead, it won't hurt. No one is tracking you!

"Confronted with the choice, the American people would choose the policeman's truncheon over the anarchist's bomb."
-Spiro Agnew

Stones and spyware

Okay, in last night's post I ended by saying sleep is just a shot away. That's an old expression that has several different interpretations. It is part of a Rolling Stones song, Gimme Shelter. This is also the title of a documentary which can be purchased at Amazon.com. Lyrics to the song? Go to OldieLyrics. To continue, there's no death wish here and certainly not any drug use other than the prescribed HBP meds. Actually, I was thinking about a "shot" of bourbon. Even passed on that and slept like a baby. So please put your mind at rest and understand phraseology bears different meanings. But hey, I do appreciate the email!

PCWorld is a good magazine about things computerese and their online site is full of great info, downloads, reviews, etc. Click on the link and you'll see their list of favorite anti-spyware downloads. Of course, Ad-aware, Spybot S&D, and CWS Shredder are the top three. There are links in the list to all three. Merijn's CWS Shredder is COOLWWWSEARCH REMOVAL. I will add his properly titled link soon as well as one for Spywareblaster, a great spyware PREVENTION tool. Concerning Spybot S&D and Ad-aware, please remember to either schedule or manually update these programs and use them to scan your PC, at least, twice a week. Don't know how to schedule Spybot S&D? Email me. Want to schedule Ad-aware? Get off that hip pocket or purse and buy the full version. Scheduling is not available in the free download. But hey, it's easily done in manual mode.

"Real folks face the music, even when the song's not likeable."
-Billy Wobblynife

This is a short one

Living the Mamas n Papas Monday. Long day, and missed posting early. Sometimes brevity works n especially when the bed is not far away. One of my fav new sites is TupeloForums. Check it out. Maybe wake u up!

Sleep is just a shot away.


"You know I can't sleep, I can't stop my brain
You know it's three weeks, I'm going insane.
You know I'd give you everything I've got for a little peace of mind."
-Beatles, I'm So Tired

Tomes are casual

Visited Google today? There's a book in the Title Bar. This is recognition of National Library Week. Saltillo and Tupelo are fortunate to be part of the Lee-Itawamba Library system. The main facility, on Madison street in Tupelo, is a beautiful building with many books, tomes, periodicals, etc. They have an excellent broadband computer network that is available to patrons. Jan Willis is the Director and Lin Joiner is the IT/IS for these great facilities. Cindy, Elizabeth, Charity, Brian and the rest of the crew make visiting these great halls of information a casual, easy experience. Check 'em out at Lee-Itawamba Public Libraries. Not from here? Check out your local library; good chance they are online!

"It is not true that we have only one life to live; if we can read, we can live as many more lives and as many kinds of lives as we wish."
S.I. Hayakawa

Gimme peaches n pears

Well, it's apparent iPod is a success. It''s amazing people will buy these midfi devices. Apple will make millions, maybe billions, even gadzillions on the replacement of batteries at $100.00+ a pop. Creative's Zen Xtra has a button you push to release the battery cover so the owner can easily perform this task. This device has much better sound than the iPod and will use any media platform. You can even put data on it.

Any company that increases its profits 260% in one year with a very mediocre product is screwing the public. Read about it at ArsTechnica. BTW, the ArsTechnica people like Apple it seems. Sorry, I just don't like overrated, overpriced computers using two year old technology. Their machines are nice enough, but let's tell the truth; a new Windows machine for half the price will devour an Apple.

Time for coffee. We are in for a beautiful weekend weatherwise. Just hope it stays quiet around the beach house. Beagle, Verdana, Mudslingr & Uncle Snake - enjoy your visit, have a great time and please be careful. Wish you were here or I wuz thar.

"Come on you boy child, you winner and loser, come on you miner for truth and delusion, and shine!"
-Pink Floyd

Fight back, damn it!

It's hard to believe that a stupid, evil individual shot a football coach at a Texas high school. Here's an article that will start you reading about this sad, sad occasion -> KTEN. Gather up these creeps and the creep kids that go to school killing innocent people and KILL them all. Let God sort it out. They don't deserve to live. Enough is enough. If you terrorize then you MUST be the recipient of severe consequences. These goons are in the same league as Osama and that bunch. What about it America? Will you let these agents of evil keep killing your children and families or will you stop taking this abuse?

"If we desire to avoid insult, we must be able to repel it; if we desire to secure peace, one of the most powerful instruments of our rising prosperity, it must be known, that we are at all times ready for War."
-George Washington

Letters, we get letters

Got an interesting email from Memphis Mojo. Basically, he feels that my trying to gain over 3000 hits in the next 7 days will not be accomplished by whining about Netgear and their horrible support group. Know what? He's right. My apologies to all that visit. Exhaustion will make one do strange things. But hey, can I whine with the best of 'em or what!?!?

Why over 3000 hits in the next 7 days? On April 14th, Cybersouth - from the Saltillo Beach House will be 2 years old. This has been a great trip for me. The whole gamut of emotions are apparent here. Life is never dull or boring at the beach house. Even the flamers have been fun. In a weird, strange way it's sad that the Anonymous Apple Dude has not stopped by lately. Guess I'll have to blaspheme his god, Darth Jobs. Anyway, 60,000 hits in two years is a lot for a simple southern boy that just pokes fun at some things and gets downright angry concerning stupidity and evil. Yes, I do believe people involved in the spyware business stand a good chance to burn in hell.

It's always fun when Hamboni shows up. I know the curmudgeons take exception to sophmoric humor, but Hamboni receives more email here than anyone except Arnold. Arnold is never too far away. He's madly in love right now so his antics have subsided momentarily. He's okay for an opossumus germanicus austriabodicus. He'll, "be bahk." Hamboni is making noises in that big foot SCSI hard drive being used as a door stop that he calls home which means he's not too far away from taking over the network for a guest appearance.

Time to hit the dusty trail. Miles to go before I sleep.

"The greatest part of our happiness depends on our dispositions, not our circumstances."
Martha Washington (George was a lucky man)

Netgear really sucks

Problems with Netgear - they seem to not care (14 days, that's two weeks). Please buy Dlink or Linksys. Many days since I contacted Netgear and they do not respond.

"Sometimes you just tire of dealing with jerks."
-Billy Wobblynife

It was a stark and dormy night....

Ever have that desire to post something to the web, but don't want the hassle of learning HTML or developing a webpage or weblog? Boy howdy do I have a plan for you. There's a site looking for new members and affiliates that might be of interest. It's called SouthernPhried. You can submit articles or ideas here or over at Southernphried. There's no guarantee, but everything submitted is reviewed by phriedites. Casual bunch. Very eclectic bunch. Fun bunch.

Have a better than expected day unless you are in the spyware biz; then I hope you get VD.

"We write to taste life twice, in the moment and in retrospection."
Anais Nin

Tab browsing is kewl

It's Monday and that means only 7 more days to work this week! Hopefully, this will be a week of accomplishments. Just put together a new PC for my work bench and decided to download a different theme for Firefox. It looks like Gnome which is a variety of browser that shows up in opensource stuff like FreeBSD and Linux. Used the 'latest headlines' bookmark and opened it up in tabs. This is really a nifty feature. Try it. There's a button just below the links list for Firefox. BTW, there's an article at Techworld that may make you even more interested in alternative browsers.

"How often, or on what system, the Thought Police plugged in any individual wire was guesswork. It was even conceivable that they watched everybody all the time. But at any rate, they could plug in your wire whenever they wanted to."
-George Orwell, 1984

Take advantage of a rare opportunity, set those clocks ahead today!

Just read a well written article over at ArsTechnica. Ken "Caesar" Fisher tells of the enormous profit being reaped by the prerecorded DVD firms. The big money movie moguls are full of it. Losing money to piracy a dire and grave problem? Hah! While visiting here take a look around. This is a polished, well written website that stays on top of the latest issues. It has great depth and many tips and insights for Netizens.

Google has increased storage space for all us gmailers from 1 gig to 2 gigs. Take that you spyware infested Yahooers. It's said imitation is the greatest form of flattery so that prompts me to think that Yahoo will double their present storage space which is 1 gig. Now if we can just get Yahoo to imitate Google and NOT use dungware! Remember, 31% of Claria's profit is from Yahoo and these are the folks that bring you Satan malware such as Weatherbug, Weatherscope, Precision Time, Gator, Gain, etc. Sorry, excuse my rant. Back to the subject at hand. You can read about the storage increase at Computerworld.

During the past week several issues have arisen around the use of Netgear wireless routers. As mentioned in the previous post the techs at Dixie-Net have been a great boon in efforts to overcome problems with adding these devices to existing networks. Their expertise helped bring a network back online after several hours of frustratiing downtime. Part of the problem was some miscommunication with Bellsouth over telephone service, but Quinton and Eric sure helped us revive a Netgear router that lost its mind during the fiasco as well as resolving other problems. Thanks again guys! Nice people.

It has been 13 days since I contacted Netgear's support group about devices purchased less than a month ago. They have not answered. Since then I have written to the feedback on their site and even emailed their support asking that they just reply so I know that my numerous emails are not being ignored. Well, they are being ignored. After much research I finally have the email address of one of the Netgear board of directors and will send him copies of my unanswered communications if I do not get a response by tomorrow. Netgear came highly recommended and I actually use one of their wireless routers at the beach house. Sad to see them completely ignoring their customers. Hope they change. Meanwhile, you might look at the DLink or Linksys sites for networking and wireless equipment. Both of these companies respond to your needs and seem happy to help.

"The race of mankind would perish did they cease to aid each other. We cannot exist without mutual help. All therefore that need aid have a right to ask it from their fellow-men; and no one who has the power of granting can refuse it without guilt."
-Sir Walter Scott

Need a local ISP? Try Dixie-Net!

Started work at 3:20am yesterday and finished at 12:30 am today. Found out a LOT about Netgear routers and the dudes at Dixie-Net are the people that helped. Have had a support case at Netgear for 11 days now without a reply. They suck on support and I may publish the email interaction for those interested. Hey, love this product, but my support has not been good compared to my tech brother grasshoppa. He must have a firmer way to make them understand his dilemnas. Quinton and Eric at Dixie-Net absolutely rock. We had a major problem with a network and these guys hung in there and had manners helping me plus they have a great knowledge about hardware. They also speak excellent English. Nice to know that there are still good people out there willing to help. This client will keep believing in Dixie-Net from now on, as he should.

Tired and sleepy, must go rest now. Thanks again for great support Quinton and Eric!

"The greatest good you can do for another is not just to share your riches but to reveal to him his own."
-Benjamin Disraeli