The 4th approaches

Still working on changing the template and rebuilding. That will probably not happen until next week. Too much to do (thank goodness) and I really need to have meds restocked before starting such a project, LOL. All the ads will have to be resized,etc. If you have no idea what I am talking about right click on a blank spot on this page and then left click 'view source'. This will show you what determines the attitude of content here.

Looking forward to a good weekend. We are putting together a simple gathering in order to LAN game, talk geek, eat cheeseburgers-in-paradise and have refreshing beverages, maybe even a boat drink. It is so nice when people volunteer to help with preparation. Thanks to everyone that has come forward and offered help! My 7 days a week schedule needs a break. Work is not cancelled by any means, but it will be approached with a casual attitude for a few days. If anyone has an emergency it will be addressed in Bermuda shorts and a Jimmy Buffett T-shirt. Duty is an ongoing process.

Stay cool. It's hot out there. Shade is a necessary extension. So is a refreshing beverage...

"Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut."
-Ernest Hemingway

FYI

This is a new title banner that will possibly be used. Thank you, thank you, thank you, Chyna Moon. I am not worthy!

Yes, we have no bananas

Thanks to Darth Admin over at TupeloForums for a great link about the new KingKong movie. Like he said this big dude fights dinosaurs!!

Check out this link for a downright awesome trailer ->
Kong Lives.

Talk about monkeying around!

"Power: The only narcotic regulated by the SEC instead of the FDA."
-Billy Wobblynife

Seeking the Normal (well, as close to it as possible)

Cybersouth will undergo several changes in the near future. Thanks to Chyna Moon a new banner exists. Beagle has some great ideas about templates. The past few days have been spent working on various client projects and in my free time the whole site has been saved. Timing is not the best in the world, but matters could certainly be worse.

We are approaching July 4th weekend and a LAN party. The game will be Unreal Tournament GOTY (2002). It's in place and we will have WAN capability. Yes, I know this is an older shoot 'em up and it will probably be the last time we use it. Most everyone has a copy and it will run on older machines. Hey, y'all can all stop playing Guild Wars for a few hours, LOL! If you are interested in playing over the internet we do have a few openings left. Email me. Bandwidth will limit the amount of players.

"The best way to cheer yourself is to cheer somebody else up."
-Mark Twain

Social engineering, sorta'

Please keep coming here. Several people are trying to find out why the glitch happened and this site will be back -> with a new look! In the meantime, posts will resume in the next day or so. It's a geek thangy. We need to explore the present snafu so it won't fubar again. I appreciate your patience...

Rebuilding permit not needed

Okay, we are under construction. For some reason my good efforts to backup are not correcting the problem that exists. This may be the work of some malware stooges or it may be just a glitch in the Blogger engine. Suspect the latter. No matter, it is too frustrating to continue banging our heads against the wall. The site template will be erased and somethings tells me that even then the problem will still exist. Blogger has offered no support in the past with such a problem and seem to have a "you are on your own" approach. Disappointing. Hopefully, all the archives can be saved to the server or paper. Quickly, it is coming down to completely wiping all data and rebuilding. Alternatives are being considered. It is frustrating to lose data, but more frustrating not being able to determine why this happened. Thank you Beagle for all your help and support.

Will keep posting. Life gives you lemons?!?!...then make lemon margaritas
Mike (aka Dock)

Please scroll down

My frustration is growing exponentially. I've tried eliminating every sidebar, all edits, even used a new template and the space in the post area at the top of the page will NOT go away. At a loss.

Expressing Outlook

Had trouble opening email picture attachments in Outlook Express? Maybe this will help:

Open Outlook Express. At the top of the page click on Tools. Go to the bottom of this window and click on Options. When the next window opens go to the top and click on the Security tab. Look for these two boxes ->

Do not allow attachments to be saved or opened that could potentially be a virus

Block images and other external content in HTML email

Uncheck both of these settings. BE SURE and click Apply before clicking OK. If you don't your new settings will not be registered. Now for a disclaimer: Do this at your own risk.


Want an even better way to overcome this problem? Email me for an invitation to GMail. It's free, you get 2GIGs of on line storage, and this IMHO is the best email client in the solar system! If you have Firefox, Mozilla's alternative to Internet Explorer, and like it you might consider using Thunderbird; a very slick, useful email client.

Have a casual Thursday.

"All of us failed to match our dreams of perfection. So I rate us on the basis of our splendid failure to do the impossible."
-William Faulkner

Hooda thought it?

Where does the madness stop? Law enforcement people of the world unite! Coffee drinkers of the world organize! Krispy Kreme has fired their 6 top bosses! It's interesting that this leading edge American news story was found at BBCNews. At least Elvis did not have to see such horrible news. Wonder if the 6 former employees ate too many jelly donuts?

It's hot. Talked to Extreme Racing Engines yesterday and we plan to rebelt the air conditioning unit in the lead sled soon. It's fun to drive, but during midday there's a whole lotta sweatin goin on. El Caminos, wonder if Chevrolet will ever bring them back? Have a good Wednesday, try to stay cool and eat a donut today.

"The laziest man I ever met put popcorn in his pancakes so they would turn over by themselves."
W.C. Fields

Smooching Monday

Father's Day was nice. Received some neat things from both the daughters and their families. Weather here is beautiful. This week will be busy and I am glad. Have to find some way to finish yard work and other projects around the beach house after hours. My shop is in very poor shape and has to change. The computer graveyard will be removed from behind the dining table as well. This is on top of finishing a network rebuild this week, setting up a backup on another network, modifying an existing backup on yet another network, installing two cooling fans inside a control center panel that has to be altered, bringing a dual processor SCSI server back to life, repairing a Unisyn phone, either repairing or trashing two sad, weird Duron PCs, fishing a cable through a nightmare ceiling/drop ceiling/2nd levelfloor to make a speaker work in a home theater, etc. Oh yes, let us not forget, somewhere in all this time has to be made for a visit at the VA Hospital in Jackson, MS! LOL

This post is made with the Linux Mandrake 10.1 operating system. The graphic user interface is KDE 3.2. The web browser is Konqueror. There are some limits as far as utilities inside Blogger, but they are minor compared to the wonderful world of no spyware, no popups or popunders. Firefox can be installed in this OS, but the popunders are beginning to show up in this Mozilla based browser. This is an older, stable version of a variety of Linux now called Mandriva. My favorite flavor is still Linux SuSE. Hopefully, the FreeBSD machine will be back online in the next few days. Just have to see how the work week goes. With the exception of cretins involved in spyware everyone have a super Monday!

"Once you can accept the universe as matter expanding into nothing that is something, wearing stripes with plaid comes easy."
- Albert Einstein

Counting blessings

Yesterday morning was spent researching how to mount a DVD ISO. Then I repaired my push mower, well sorta'. It still does not want to run properly, but it chugged along and the front yard looks much better. Most of the yard is mowed and I do have a replacement belt for the one that broke yesterday on the yardbug. My son-in-law says my yard cutting looks like an elephant riding a turtle. ROFLMAO! Hey, the little devil may only cut 28 inches at a time, but that 9HP motor hums as it pushes my fatbutt around. Let me have my MP3 player and mowing the lawn is almost therapy. Good Lord knows I need it.

No snakes, possums or Lufwaffe crows have been harmed while working in the yard. If that snake is not poisonous it may survive. Besides, it may be in cahoots with Arnold, opossumus germanicus austriabodicus. The owl is back. I heard hoots during the last two nights since it's been cool enough to sleep with the windows open. His return may have prompted the crows into deep cover. I understand those two species of birds don't get along. While owls are nocturnal, crows stay up all the time seeing how many people and animals they can piss off. Ahhh days and nights at the beach house. The grill is in constant use, there's always music playing, friendly people stop by, got the best neighbors in the world and there is treasure in the local flora and fauna. Thank you Lord!

Celebrate Father's Day. Cherish those alive and remember the ones that have crossed the bar and met their Pilot face to face. Dad, I know you are out there. I love you and think of you every day with fond memories.

"Take more pleasure in giving what is best to another than in having it yourself, and then all the world will love you, and I more than all the world."
-Thomas Jefferson, from a letter to his daughter

TupeloForums and in the jungle, the quiet jungle...

Just over at TupeloForums. Site recently went through an overhaul and it seems easier to navigate and very user friendly. Seeing some people I know and it's a delight to read opinions and observations of folks from this area. Very diverse lineup of topics and far ranging. While visiting, be sure and read You're the Critic. Spend some time cruising this wayyyy kewl site and then join! It's fun!

Now I must build courage to fire up the mower and rid Saltillo of it's unintentional 'Nature in the Wild' demonstration. Something was stalking me in the high grass when I went to the car last night. Large snake has been spotted and the Saltillo PD has given us permission to 9mm it. It's probably Steve Jobs in one of his many disguises slinking around the house.

"Always carry a flagon of whiskey in case of snakebite and furthermore always carry a small snake."
-W.C.Fields

I gotta get rid of this "rash"

Yesterday's post created bruhaha, some internally. I still think we are much better off with a Bill Gates Microsoft world of computing than a Darth Jobs Apple computing scenario. My personal attitude finds me frustrated with the ability to upload to a website - not general web surfing. So, for me to take swipes like in the last post is not really justified without further explanation. BTW in the same mode, did anyone see Clinton on Letterman last night? Bet some of those Democrats are pissed that he is supporting the "W" to the extent he talked about on Dave's show. K, back to the subject at hand. Windows is my workplace. 99% of the machines in this arena are using Microsoft software. Hell, I even have some 98 networks out there.

It's easy to get disgusted with anyone's normal work day being upset by the constant hammering of spyware assholes. They are rampant in Microsoft and are now cursing alternate browsers as well. The Good Lord knows these agents of Satan are ready to pounce on any opensource operating systems; the kernel is there in the open for their pleasure. My judgement may have been too harsh. Hey, human here, mistakes are made. My like of Windows 2000 still stands, but we must all get ready for the next incarnation of Windows. Windows is the planet's OS. Just that simple. It'd be nice to have cooperation between the different venues, but that's almost impossible. Look into what you are using. If Windows really gets your dander up try another flavor of operating system. Nothing is perfect.

Tired now, going to bed.

"I'm in a period of growth and expansion. I'm taking long, hard looks at the world and what's happening in it, analyzing and thinking. I'm trying to become acquainted with the universe -- with the part of it I occupy -- and trying to settle, for myself, what my relationship with it is."
-Gene Roddenberry

Strange noises

The battle of Hewlett's Packard has been won. There has been great loss and casualties. After much wringing of hands, pulling of hair, gnashing of teeth, and foaming at the mouth the PC that has occupied position 1 on the bench for 4 days is finally acting like a normal computer, if there is such a thing. Being a fan of HP products it worries me when the battle is this bloody. This is an older PIII machine and comes from the period when everyone was experimenting with different case form factors, etc. You literally have to remove the power supply to change a card out in it. It is now calm and purring. My bitching and cussing have been reduced to whining. I need more medication.

Windows 2000 is my favorite Microsoft operating system. Seems I am not alone. Eric Bangeman has a really good article about this over at ArsTechnica. Linux SuSE will soon be the primary operating system on this PC. I may dual boot with XP Pro since it will be a shadow in the background and available when needed for troubleshooting. XP is a strange clicking, noisy, DRM, snoopy operating system. There's an older dual processor machine that sits in the corner that is still used a lot because it runs Windows 2000. Fascinates me that Microsoft is reducing support on W2K, and will not offer a version of Internet Explorer 7 for this OS. At the same time, they are hammering away on TV with ads about Windoze XP. They actually want you to upgrade from a somewhat stable computing environment to one that they issue patches for on an almost daily basis. Go figure. Wonder what voodoo spell they are using to write code today?

Please, all XP Nazis feel free to flame on in the comments.

Program complexity grows until it exceeds the capabilities of the programmer who must maintain it.
-Programming Law #7

Potential fighter squadron?

This is a risky post. I may suffer the wrath of both my daughters due to their love and care of pets and animals in general. Ever watch Animal Planet on TV? If you don't view this channel don't start. It's addictive.

I was watching some show based in Australia and they were having trouble with crows ripping the blades out of windshield wipers on cars. The solution was to put a huge awning over acres of parked cars. This is stupid. Guarantee that shotgun shells cost less.

Yesterday, I noticed some crows flying in a peculiar formation just the other side of the oak tree in the front yard. Do you think that Arnold, opossumus germanicus austriabodicus, is recruiting a Luftwaffe? Next thing you know he'll be using buzzards as bombers.

"Never try and teach a pig to sing: it's a waste of time, and it annoys the pig."
-Robert A. Heinlein

Minute things

Sometimes it's amazing. Can we get some comments? How about emails? Possum lore is coming, and a Genie that lives in a hard drive will show up. Puh-leeeesse talk to me. I still hate spyware, but continue adore the Celtic Music mentioned many times before. Danny Boy rocks! Today someone argued that Celtic is pronounced with S sound instead of c/k. I like this....

"I refuse to answer that question on the grounds that I don't know the answer."
-Douglas Adams

Why opensource?

Some of the techs over at SouthernPhried have been using Linux SuSE with positive results. Ashby Rhett Culpepper, III, Esq., is implementing the latest version of FreeBSD. While working on other machines I've been downloading and installing Linux Mandrake 10.1 (an older version of Linux Mandriva) on an older PC built from parts of several different junked computers. This machine is running a 400 Celeron processor and the RAM had to be increased to 256megs before it responded at a comfortable rate. I use Linux SuSE 9.2 daily on my laptop. It dual boots with Windows XP. I like it. I like it a lot. Mandrake looks promising as well. BTW, these alternatives have been around for years. Why all this fuss?

Stability and security. Check out LinuxISO for a great explanation of Linux. Please let me say that most folks don't need to run out and start trying to REPLACE their favorite version of Windows with an opensource operating system. Too many applications won't run natively in the Windows alternatives. It does bear some consideration though. Here's an interesting article about opensource advantages -> OpenOffice vs Microsoft Office. FreeBSD and most Linux flavors have a GUI (graphic user interface) called KDE. Their browser is called Konqueror and the spyware cretins haven't started their abuse there. Hopefully laws will be enacted that will put a bounty on anyone in the spyware business. This will alleviate many problems.

Beware that any of these non-Windows factions can turn like a worm and go enterprise. Linux Red Hat did exactly that back a few years ago. Disappointing. It looks like Linux SuSE (owned by Novell) may be headed that way and Mandriva is practically there. Hence, my constant quest for different flavors. FreeBSD seems to be the most likely candidate to stay "free." It is more difficult to install, but it does offer a lot once up and running. Also, FreeBSD will run on older Pentium I CPUs. So don't trash that old Windows 95/98 PC just yet. Most versions of these operating systems can be downloaded from the internet and CD/DVD sales are offered at minimal prices on many sites. If you decide on an opensource adventure it is best to start with a second machine dedicated to the new operating system. Dual booting with your present Windows machine is NOT a good idea for the non-initiated.

My next "fun" project is to download and install Linux Debian. In the meantime, it's back to work and maybe watching the antics of Arnold, opossumus germanicus austriabodicus, for a few days.

"Who is General Failure, and why is he reading my hard disk?"
-Steven Wright

The birdbath is full

The rain is subsiding. The birds are not up to their normal song this morning, but they are around. Most reports indicate that our latest tropical storm has left water in its path without major destruction. The authorities had to make some surfers get out of the water on the coast. A slow, peaceful morning is always welcome.

It's Sunday. Celebrate life. Find some emotional goodness today.

"From the deep Sea of Clouds to the Island of the Moon.
Carry me on the waves to the lands I’ve never seen."
-Enya

Musical notes vs. catfish scales

Celtic Woman will air at 9:00PM, CDT on PBS tonight unless they feel the need to interrupt with the catfish scaling contest or some such nonsense. Socialist TV at its best. LOL! I know that I keep mentioning this special. Rock, classical, and jazz are played at the beach house most of the time. Yes, I do consider Jimmy Buffett rock, shrimpboat rock.

These four singers and one violinist are so talented it is hard to describe the beauty of this work. David Downes, the musical director and conductor, created a wonderful two hours of moving, emotional, uplifting melodies. There will be chatter about contributing to PBS. Please watch these breaks since they interview the artists during this time. They will stir your soul while performing.

Why did the Irish ever start speaking English? Gaelic is such a pretty language.

"The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all art and science."
-Albert Einstein

Listening in

Downloaded the newest free versions of WinAmp and Jet Audio. Also found some plug ins for Windows Media Player 10. Trying to find something that has an easy playlist builder. So far it's WMP10. Sure do like to looks of JetAudio and it is not nearly as resource hungry as WMP10. Click on the Major Geeks link in the list, go to the Multimedia section and find new ways to listen to your tunes. Now I must listen to Dire Straits. Music, it does a body good.

"Propel, propel, propel your craft softly down liquid solution. Ecstatically, ecstatically, ecstatically, ecstatically, Existence is simply illusion."
-Fred Rogers, parody of "Row, row, row your boat" on his television show, "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood."

Not rock n roll and I LIKE it

When the alarm went off at 10:00pm last night my waking thought was, 'what is this all about?' Then I remembered that once again Mississippi Public TV scheduled the Celtic Woman special for NON prime time. It will air again this Saturday night at 9:00pm if they stick to their schedule. They've cancelled before due to some type of state kitten petting contest or it might have been the state fish cleaning festival. I always get those two events confused.

Is it so hard to maybe hit the 7 o'clock evening slot just once? They are pleading like crazy for money throughout this wonderful celebration of great music and talent. Seems like someone would realize that airing this during the evening hours (more than once) is probably an intelligent act. Gee, that way families can sit down and watch good, wholesome entertainment. No violence or profanity. They even do some Irish spiritual music.

Folks, tune in. This was recorded in 5.1 Dolby Pro Logic. The audio is awesome.

"Knowledge speaks, but wisdom listens."
-Jimi Hendrix

Not traveling

When people need you it's important to be there. You have to shift and make room for their concerns. It's easy to be selfish and not be attuned to the world around you. It's easier to do that which is right, that which is required of you by God. Far more fulfilling. Just returned from a long, tiring trip. Glad to be home. Glad the journey was made.

Time to sleep.

"Oh! snatched away in beauty's bloom,
On thee shall press no ponderous tomb;
But on thy turf shall roses rear
Their leaves, the earliest of the year."
-Lord Byron

Traveling

Out of town for a funeral and will be back late this evening or tomorrow. If you have an emergency I am carrying my laptop and cell phone. Please understand if I don't answer immediately. There are some remote areas along the way that may not have Cingular towers. Just call back until you get an answer. There is a tech standing by locally, in case of an emergency. Thanks.

Things non-Windows

This is being posted using Internet Explorer 6. Firefox is still used for general surfing and checking email, but until someone develops a decent popup/popunder filter for Firefox, IE6 appears more trustworthy when uploading to the web at this point. All along it has been said that my faith in Firefox was not complete. It is still a really nice browser, but the spyware jerks are working overtime to wreak havoc with their popunders and other such trash. Hopefully, in the next week or so Windows will be gone from this machine and Linux will be the resident operating system. No big deal, just changing operating systems around for convenience and security. Installing Linux is certainly no problem, just have to wait until my newer XP machine is completed. Besides, the fingerprint reader only works in IE6 and that's a kewl way to enter passworded sites.

Was over at Slashdot which is usually a good site for info, but sometimes their Apple Nazism gets in the way. Zonk posted a link to an article about Apple being 16% of some voodoo way to count numbers of overall computer users: Thoroughly muddled was I for a few seconds by the doublespeak. Apple is lucky if they have 3% of the market. If Microsoft hadn't injected a large chunk of change into their company back several years ago, they would not exist today. The iPod has been good for Apple, but it is only a mid-fi device. Most reviews indicate several devices that are superior and far more flexible. Oh yeah, did you send your iPod back and get the exploding battery exchanged? Anyway, I am still considering the purchase of a Mac just to improve my skills concerning service calls on these overated, overpriced, yet sorta' pretty formfactor computers.

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

I like mine with lettuce and tomato plus a side order of shrimp please

It will be in the 90s today, the sun is shining and the humidity is somewhere around 3000%. Precipitation is forecast for tomorrow and plans have been made to cook out. Rain? No matter, that's why there is a second grill on the veranda under roof. Some shrimp will be boiled, and a good time will be had by all. We are celebrating summer. It's here and it's hot!

Ahhhh, the parrotheads will be grinnin' n chillin' to the magical sounds of Jimmy Buffett tomorrow afternoon. Hey, that's one of the main reasons for beach house existence. The hammock is still in poor shape on one corner, but I may try to find a temproary remedy. With the positive gusto of a hound dawg we will celebrate!

Testing a new burger recipe and aroma is calling me. Later, dudes n dudettes.

"One particular harbor, so far and yet so near."
-J. Buffett

Things geekish

Here's a kewl onsight store, Geeks.com. Be sure and check out their TechTips. Great info, neat tee shirts, variety of equipment from motherboards to carry bags, and many more things geeky. The tech tips are well written and pertinent. Thanks goes out to Cmdr Taco at Slashdot for a great heads up!

Got a geek birthday on the horizon? You might consider giving this as a gift. While at ThinkGeek, take a look around. They have one of the best online tee shirt shops. Many strange and wonderful geek items here. Wish they had a brick and mortar shop within driving range!

Thank God it's Friday. Only two more days to work this week. Ahhhh, a weekend at the beach house repairing computers and watching Arnold, opossumus germanicus austriabodicus, terrorize the speeding motorists. Life's good.

"We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give."
-Sir Winston Churchill

The force is very weak with this one

Russell Purist Sci-Fi Report: Star Wars Episode III, Revenge of the Sith raked in over 1/2 billion dollars worldwide during the first twelve days. The title of Russell's "article" on the 18th of May, the day BEFORE the movie hit the theater, For science fiction, Star Wars' doesn't cut it, gives one the range and scope of his mentality. I have rocks in my driveway possessing higher IQs. Hey, Marty, don't get too absorbed in the wonder of that one button mouse attached to your Apple computer.

"There is nothing worse than aggressive stupidity."
-Goethe

Ever seen a possum do the goosestep?

It's late and I just looked out the window and saw a car almost hit Arnold, opossumus germanicus austriabodicus. This driver has no idea how close he came to a horrible death. Arnold stood in the middle of the road flexing his possum biceps and alternated giving the car the Memphis Salute (middle finger gesture) and pointing towards his 'Mom' tattoo as it sped away. He was livid! Didn't recognize the car so hopefully the driver doesn't live around here. If you drive a late model 4 door black or dark blue GM product like a Pontiac Grand Am, please be very careful coming around the corner. Actually, it's best if you stay away. Saltillo PD is VERY strict about drinking and driving. Appears that Arnold endorses this attitude.

This computer sits next to a window that overlooks the oak tree and the street corner. The car made such a tire squealing racket I naturally looked up. Damned idiot driver. The Chief of Police is my neighbor! Besides, there is the faction of opossumus clamsaucesicus berettamus that stays a few streets over. Late last night I heard possum shouts in the distance of 'Zeig Heil Mein Fuhrer' and 'Dichiarare Guerra El Duce' that had heavy Italian accents. Occasionally, you could hear a single, loud voice with a German accent. Want to know what this was all about? I think Arnold watched too many World War II movies over the Memorial Day weekend. Still a quandary as to where he's watching TV. Before leaving in the morning I am going to check and see if there is an extension cord going up that oak tree.

At least all's quiet on the Wisteria War Front and the cats aren't howling in pain. Now, another quandary. Should I tell him we kicked the Fascist and Nazi butts in WWII? Hmmmmmmmm. That revelation should slide...for now.

"I refuse to have a battle of wits with an unarmed person."
-Pogo, aka Walt Kelly