Another late night note to say I'll be busy this weekend. The phone is still shutting down at random, just turned it back on again for the 4th time today. I just HATE to give that damnable AT&T any more money, but it's getting to the point that there is no choice. In the meantime email is the most secure way to contact me. Many things to do and I am sleepy. Everyone enjoy their weekend. Later.
"Drag your thoughts away from your troubles... by the ears, by the heels, or any other way you can manage it."
~Mark Twain
Ramblings, opinions, and general meanderings from the Deep South
Friday, August 31, 2007
Thursday, August 30, 2007
It's All Good
Just a short note to let everyone know that it's been busy this week. Many projects in progress and trying to keep them 'pro' instead of 'de' or nongress. The cell phone is cutting off at random and the ringer shuts down when it gets good and ready. Probably been dropped one too many times. Meds are still not perfect and sleep still overwhelms me, but that is getting better. Please don't give up on me. All this will be handled and life will go back to the sub/ab normal routine at the beach house, the Good Lord willing. Will try and post tomorrow. Stay casual my sistas n bruthas.
"Don't be afraid to give your best to what seemingly are small jobs. Every time you conquer one it makes you that much stronger. If you do the little jobs well, the big ones will tend to take care of themselves."
~Dale Carnegie
"Don't be afraid to give your best to what seemingly are small jobs. Every time you conquer one it makes you that much stronger. If you do the little jobs well, the big ones will tend to take care of themselves."
~Dale Carnegie
Monday, August 27, 2007
Back to the Sub or Ab Normal Routine
Sorry about missing the past two days as far as posts. The beach house has several projects churning and building a server is not like taking a new PC out of the box. Time was spent on location and it was busy. Thankfully the transition on that network is running at a smooth pace presently.
Tip for techs: Find some PCI parallel cards for the older style printer connections when installing the newer Vista machines. Many do not have parallel ports for the DB25/Centronics interface cable. They also make the USB to Centronics cables and I haven't had good luck with these devices - generic ones anyway.
Wow, weather has cooled down to the high 90s and we may have a great Labor Day weekend.
"The last function of reason is to recognize that there are an infinity of things which surpass it."
~Blaise Pascal
Tip for techs: Find some PCI parallel cards for the older style printer connections when installing the newer Vista machines. Many do not have parallel ports for the DB25/Centronics interface cable. They also make the USB to Centronics cables and I haven't had good luck with these devices - generic ones anyway.
Wow, weather has cooled down to the high 90s and we may have a great Labor Day weekend.
"The last function of reason is to recognize that there are an infinity of things which surpass it."
~Blaise Pascal
Friday, August 24, 2007
ROFLMAO
A seventeen year old, George Hotz who is headed to college no doubt, has cracked the iPhone and made it available to carriers other than horrible AT&T. It took him 500 hours to do the hardware/software crack and it delights me to no end. This news clip is over seven minutes, but John Dvorak's comment about AT&T at the end makes it worth watching the whole video. The ChicagoTribune.com has a related story. Seems to be a nice kid. The Uber Nerds of America will welcome his membership.
"The bathtub was invented in 1850 and the telephone in 1875. In other words, if you had been living in 1850, you could have sat in the bathtub for 25 years without having to answer the phone."
~DeWitt
"The bathtub was invented in 1850 and the telephone in 1875. In other words, if you had been living in 1850, you could have sat in the bathtub for 25 years without having to answer the phone."
~DeWitt
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Umbrella the Heat
Busy time at the beach house, oh yes. Trying to download updates for a server with the horrid heat causing outages at my ISP's head end has made for extended frustration. VistaIIIMedia has been a great provider of high speed internet and they are very diligent about their signal staying operative. But hey, this time of year the scorching weather can create havoc on many things. So an exercise in patience is due on my part.
If you have a few minutes and want to see and hear something great click on the video. This is Lisa Kelly of Celtic Woman and she sure sets the water on fire.
"I just hate it when it's sticky!"
~Scarlett O'Hara
If you have a few minutes and want to see and hear something great click on the video. This is Lisa Kelly of Celtic Woman and she sure sets the water on fire.
"I just hate it when it's sticky!"
~Scarlett O'Hara
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
And His Hair Was Perfect
It's late, the SCSI drives of a server being built are creating a lot of background noise which is making the constant ringing in my ears drive me nuts so I found a pleasant diversion in old music. After watching several videos, while checking on drivers for the new server, this played and filled my head and heart with memories. It contains a classic rock n roll line, you know, the thing about Trader Vic's. We miss ya, Warren.
"What passion cannot music raise and quell!"
~John Dryden
"What passion cannot music raise and quell!"
~John Dryden
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
View From the Top
Google has added another great feature in one of their free downloads, Google Earth. Here is a tutorial that will tell you all about Google Sky. This a user friendly astronomy program that is included in the 4.2 version download of Google Earth (there's download buttons on both links). I've used it and like it. Some of the shots are amazing. Hubble has done a great job looking into deep space.
Hope this helps.
“Astronomy compels the soul to look upwards and leads us from this world to another.”
~Plato
Monday, August 20, 2007
Supermarket Blues
You think you have problems? Check out this product that Beagle found on EBay. Be sure and read the description. It's hilarious. Now my question; why six? They should have shot the stork. She has sold many items with 100% positive feedback. This auction is over in about a day. Will watch to see the end result.
It's late and tomorrow will be a very busy day. Thanks Beagle for a great late night laugh. Laundry must be done and then time to sleep.
"There are only two things a child will share willingly - communicable diseases and his mother's age."
~Benjamin Spock, Dr. Spock's Baby and Child Care, 1945
Sunday, August 19, 2007
It's an Animal Kinda' Sunday
The BeHoBODY awards will be announced Thanksgiving. Why? Just seems like a good time. It is right in the middle of the holiday shopping season and may help folks make decisions about gifts. It also gives us a little more time to watch the leading buffoons in our country. Above you'll see a rare photo of the two leaders of the race holding a conference about Zune and iPod. Definitely creatures of their environment. Who's the favorite? Clown Prince Ballmer or Darth Jobs?
Arnold, opossumus germanicus austriabodicus, made his rounds last night. He's finally found a way to turn over the green dumpster and I had to run him off. He sat across the side street glaring and I think I saw him point at the 'Mom' tattoo on his arm. About two hours later the feral cat, Hateful, that I feed on occasion was screaming like a banshee. Arnold took out his frustration on old Hateful. I found a way to secure the dumpster thangy. No doubt I'll find his favorite grill turned over again. It's NOT the one I use for cooking.
Nightlife at the beach house is definitely affected by this hot, humid summer. Enjoy Sunday and please stay out of the heat.
"I like pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals."
~Winston Churchill
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Nannah Nannah Boo Boo!
Yes oh yes it is so good when the the bad guys get their asses kicked. Nate Anderson has a super article at ArsTechnica about a forthcoming class action suit against the RIAA. It's time for these music Nazis to be put away forever. Maybe this will speed up the inevitable. These criminals need to be disbanded, and should serve jail time. I vote for life sentences without parole.
With the advent of iTunes, new Napster, Walmart and other legal download services pirating is just not as attractive anymore. We don't need a Gestapo organization like the boogereaters at RIAA making our lives miserable. Great to see ArsTechnica keep us informed down through the years about this much hated group. Slashdot has been a great source of information too. Hats off to the good guys and worst of luck to the RIAA baboons.
"The only thing needed for evil to prosper is for good men to do nothing."
~Burke
With the advent of iTunes, new Napster, Walmart and other legal download services pirating is just not as attractive anymore. We don't need a Gestapo organization like the boogereaters at RIAA making our lives miserable. Great to see ArsTechnica keep us informed down through the years about this much hated group. Slashdot has been a great source of information too. Hats off to the good guys and worst of luck to the RIAA baboons.
"The only thing needed for evil to prosper is for good men to do nothing."
~Burke
Friday, August 17, 2007
Firefox Rocks!
Isn't it great when good things work? There's a site that is trying to get people to block Firefox because if its ability to block ads through an addon called AdBlockPlus. Read about it over at Slashdot. Then go take a look at the horses' asses that are big enough fools to propagate such trash, Why FireFox is Blocked. For those that are Firefox users be sure and click on the 'Firefox Myths' link at the top and have a good laugh.
Here's the deal, IMHO. If you go to a page using the Firefox browser and are blocked then you are using smart computer habits. Face it. If an advertiser tries to force you to use IE7 or one of its many lieutenants you absolutely don't need to do business with the jerks anyway. Nothing infuriates me more than to be diligently surfing the web for info and ads start popping up. Immediately the site is left and I never return.
There are measures used on my computer that brings this to a minimum. Firefox is my #1 browser and #2 Sea Monkey is Firefox/Mozilla based. Only on VERY rare occasions is IE7 used. IE7 is a much improved browser and should be used instead of IE6. But, Firefox is better because of less intrusions and the interface is friendlier. They work to keep the bad guys out and I am not so sure that Microsoft is trying that hard. Rave on Windows Nazis. Yes, the truth does hurt at times.
Click on any of the four logos in this post and download Firefox then have fun knowing that the bad guys are fuming. If adventurous, click on the first link in the first paragraph and install AdBlockPlus to further ban these creeps. Remember you download at your own risk. Stuff works great on all the beach PCs so don't whine if YOU screw something up.
"In cyberspace, the First Amendment is a local ordinance."
~John Perry Barlow
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Shoes
Sometimes we just have to stop and be thankful. As I mowed another 1/4 of the backyard this morning my thoughts wandered. I stopped and realized that my push mower was relatively new and a good one. When it was purchased I felt like $300.00 was too much for a push mower that didn't even have the automatic wheely thangy pully aroundy device. Didn't want that because they go too slow. The riding lawn mower was in fine working order at that time. But now it's realized that God looked down and said something like 'let me help lardbutt (don't think God would call someone a lardass, but if he does that's certainly fine by me) make the right decision here since he'll really need this mower in a few years.'
Then I thought about the horrible way I've been feeling and after a lengthy open discussion with one of my doctors last week my strength is returning and things are being accomplished. My yard is too large to mow in one fell swoop with a push mower, but at least it's being accomplished. Lot of other projects abound, but with the aid of a few good friends that have come forth and volunteered to help, the beach house is returning to its former state of casualness. God is good to me. And weight is being lost too.
Yep, I can hear Elvis (or Malcolm Reynolds) saying, "Be glad for what you have instead of wishing for that which will do you no good." Nice to start a day with a sense of accomplishment. Nice to start a day...
“Don't criticize what you don't understand, son. You never walked in that man's shoes.”
~E. Presley
Then I thought about the horrible way I've been feeling and after a lengthy open discussion with one of my doctors last week my strength is returning and things are being accomplished. My yard is too large to mow in one fell swoop with a push mower, but at least it's being accomplished. Lot of other projects abound, but with the aid of a few good friends that have come forth and volunteered to help, the beach house is returning to its former state of casualness. God is good to me. And weight is being lost too.
Yep, I can hear Elvis (or Malcolm Reynolds) saying, "Be glad for what you have instead of wishing for that which will do you no good." Nice to start a day with a sense of accomplishment. Nice to start a day...
“Don't criticize what you don't understand, son. You never walked in that man's shoes.”
~E. Presley
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Load of Barnyard Material
Best customer satisfaction in computers and internet portals? Apple and Yahoo? Don't believe this garbage folks. It's not true. Here's the article reporting such trash. Let's take a real look at the situation.
Apple uses their own operating system and a proprietary build of hardware. They have no competition within their OS based platform. They are also only 3% of the market. Users are Apple Nazis. Sorry, but that is the way of the true world. Steve Jobs could sell them a pile of dog poo and 98% of the iUsers would say it was leading edge technology. They build an overpriced, very limited, slower than average computer. Improvements have been made, but best customer satisfaction?
The majority of market share is dominated by the PC users, translated Windows OS based machines. There are manufacturers galore and they all compete for this huge chunk of business. Naturally there will be more complaints because many many more companies and computers are involved. VNUNET has distorted these facts in the above linked article. Probably did it on their iMacs while listening to their iPods and talking on their iPhones. Remember folks, Apple only has 3% of the overall market and no one else competes for that measly 3%. This should be clear to anyone capable of using a PC.
What more can I say about the HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE Yahoo? It's trash and if I ever become Emperor of the Known Universe they will be shut down forever during the first hours of the BeachHouse Empire. Just Google the words, "Yahoo and spyware." Read a few of these posts and if you continue to use Yahoo then don't be suprised when the dudes in the white coats show up and take you away. DON'T, and this is NOT a request, bring me a computer that needs repair with that damned Yahoo as homepage. Find another tech. If you have no more respect for your machine and self then I certainly can't help you. Grow up and change to something decent that is not raping your machine. Try your local ISP portal. Use Google. Use a college web site. Hell, use the Weather Channel. Use Cybersouth. Guaranteed no spyware here.
Needless to say anything at VNUNET will be read with caution in the future. Hope this helps!
"Reading without reflecting is like eating without digesting."
~Edmund Burke
Apple uses their own operating system and a proprietary build of hardware. They have no competition within their OS based platform. They are also only 3% of the market. Users are Apple Nazis. Sorry, but that is the way of the true world. Steve Jobs could sell them a pile of dog poo and 98% of the iUsers would say it was leading edge technology. They build an overpriced, very limited, slower than average computer. Improvements have been made, but best customer satisfaction?
The majority of market share is dominated by the PC users, translated Windows OS based machines. There are manufacturers galore and they all compete for this huge chunk of business. Naturally there will be more complaints because many many more companies and computers are involved. VNUNET has distorted these facts in the above linked article. Probably did it on their iMacs while listening to their iPods and talking on their iPhones. Remember folks, Apple only has 3% of the overall market and no one else competes for that measly 3%. This should be clear to anyone capable of using a PC.
What more can I say about the HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE Yahoo? It's trash and if I ever become Emperor of the Known Universe they will be shut down forever during the first hours of the BeachHouse Empire. Just Google the words, "Yahoo and spyware." Read a few of these posts and if you continue to use Yahoo then don't be suprised when the dudes in the white coats show up and take you away. DON'T, and this is NOT a request, bring me a computer that needs repair with that damned Yahoo as homepage. Find another tech. If you have no more respect for your machine and self then I certainly can't help you. Grow up and change to something decent that is not raping your machine. Try your local ISP portal. Use Google. Use a college web site. Hell, use the Weather Channel. Use Cybersouth. Guaranteed no spyware here.
Needless to say anything at VNUNET will be read with caution in the future. Hope this helps!
"Reading without reflecting is like eating without digesting."
~Edmund Burke
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
BeHoBODY, Rockers and Deep South News
Received an email saying I should apologize for hurting everyone's eyes yesterday with the picture of Ballmer. There was a comment as well. I'll do my best not to post but one more picture of him this year since he's a front runner and has a great chance to win the prestigious BeHoBODY award. It's rumored that Bill Gates has even told his clown prince he must take his billions and retire sometime this year. Please remember, this is the man that has turned Microsoft into one of the largest spyware users in the world. Chances are while you are reading this Microsoft is browsing your computer and you agreed to let them do it. Read the EULA.
Looking a bit older Eddie Van Halen and David Lee Roth announced a joint tour. The long awaited Van Halen reunion will launch on September 27th. This will be sans Michael Anthony on bass. Eddie's 16 year old son, Wolfgang, will fill that position. Dream come true for a teenager or what? You go, Dad. I am a Sammy Hagar fan from way way back, but I always liked Van Halen better than Van Hagar. Besides, the Red Rocker is doin' just fine and still bringing the house down. Read more about the upcoming tour at Reuters.
104F is predicted for the local high. No doubts it'll reach that and probably exceed it. At 6:30AM it wasn't too bad. The front yard and about 1/4
of the back yard has been mowed with the trusty Craftsman push mower. Ha! And that was without taking a break too! Two months ago I couldn't have mowed 1/4 of the front yard without whining. The change in meds is working! Anyway, stay inside under air conditioning and make today cool and casual.
"It is better to wear out than to rust out."
~Cumberland
Looking a bit older Eddie Van Halen and David Lee Roth announced a joint tour. The long awaited Van Halen reunion will launch on September 27th. This will be sans Michael Anthony on bass. Eddie's 16 year old son, Wolfgang, will fill that position. Dream come true for a teenager or what? You go, Dad. I am a Sammy Hagar fan from way way back, but I always liked Van Halen better than Van Hagar. Besides, the Red Rocker is doin' just fine and still bringing the house down. Read more about the upcoming tour at Reuters.
104F is predicted for the local high. No doubts it'll reach that and probably exceed it. At 6:30AM it wasn't too bad. The front yard and about 1/4
of the back yard has been mowed with the trusty Craftsman push mower. Ha! And that was without taking a break too! Two months ago I couldn't have mowed 1/4 of the front yard without whining. The change in meds is working! Anyway, stay inside under air conditioning and make today cool and casual.
"It is better to wear out than to rust out."
~Cumberland
Monday, August 13, 2007
Beach House Intranetting
It's Monday. Let's catch up on current beach house projects. The new address is in place and there is a "coming soon" marker identifying it. The address is http://www.cybersouth.us. We are aligning the FTP clients for different members of this project and making a decision on hosting. There is a new server on the way and it should be in place very soon. The beach house itself looks like a hurricane hit it since the computer room is being completely revamped. The new build mentioned last week is still underway and that computer should be featured soon in an upcoming post. This machine should suffice needs for several years concerning pushing up info and being a fine gaming machine as well. There is a monowall server going online, one of the main servers will be converted to a non-Windows operating system, better ranging wifi equipment will go in place and an overall effort to neaten up is the present attitude.
It has been suggested to change the BeHoBOTY award title from Beach House Buffoon of the Year to Beach House Buffoon of da Year, hence the contraction BeHoBODY. As always your input is valued and considered as long as it doesn't involve blowing something up. Well, that's other than our own computers. My opinion? This is a bit more clever than the original. What do you think? Yes, yes, I know we must face global warming, fossil fuels and world hunger which are far more important issues, but having some fun on occasion is good for the soul. Let me know what you think. Oh yeah, that's chief voodoo witchdoctor and clown prince at Microsoft, Bozo Ballmer, with his tongue hanging out. Darth Jobs definitely presents a more stable silhouette.
"It's never too late to have a happy childhood."
~Berke Breathed
NOTE: Felecia, prayers and support from the beach house for your Dad as he undergoes surgery in the morning. Prayers for the family in this time of crisis and positive thoughts abound! Keep me posted.
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Mr. Gershwin and Heyward Forgive Me, But the Summertime Aria Ain't Gettin' It Done Today
Mercy and My, My! If you put eggs in the water bucket on the veranda, they'd at least poach n might even hard boil. Wanted to put some beast on the grill this morning, but that's an idea for another day. Just hope I don't pass out as I run to the truck to make a trip to the grocer. There will be no ice cream bought today. It'd melt before you got it in the truck. Wait, an ice chest may be a good idea. Nah the ice will just evaporate. Shoes are mandatory if traveling today. If you have a flat and remember there may be a walk on asphalt...
Hope the truck air conditioning holds out. If I am not here rambling on tomorrow, just look for the red truck on the side of the road with old lardgut laid out hammer dead from heat stroke. Anyone picking up on the idea that it's summertime in the Deep South? Yes, where the livin' ain't easy and the chicken is greasy. Catfish aren't jumpin', they're stompin' up and down levees everywhere wanting an ice supplement in their ponds. The cotton might have been high yesterday, but it's for damn sure wilted today. And hush little baby don't you cry. Lord does Ms. Ella move me. She's about as awesome as it gets.
Gotta go. Time to sprint for the truck. Later...I hope.
"If there ain't no sunshine when she's gone, I wish she'd took her ass on outta here yesterday."
Ashby Rhett Culpepper, III, Esq., Jr. (when asked about today's weather)
Hope the truck air conditioning holds out. If I am not here rambling on tomorrow, just look for the red truck on the side of the road with old lardgut laid out hammer dead from heat stroke. Anyone picking up on the idea that it's summertime in the Deep South? Yes, where the livin' ain't easy and the chicken is greasy. Catfish aren't jumpin', they're stompin' up and down levees everywhere wanting an ice supplement in their ponds. The cotton might have been high yesterday, but it's for damn sure wilted today. And hush little baby don't you cry. Lord does Ms. Ella move me. She's about as awesome as it gets.
Gotta go. Time to sprint for the truck. Later...I hope.
"If there ain't no sunshine when she's gone, I wish she'd took her ass on outta here yesterday."
Ashby Rhett Culpepper, III, Esq., Jr. (when asked about today's weather)
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Lapse and More Lapse, but It's All Good!
After a whirlwind trip to the doctor this morning, it's nice to be home in the cool and quiet. There's a nap featured this afternoon that should help a medication transition. This changing meds can be irritable. Yet, change is sometimes necessary and I thank the Good Lord that medical technology is available to help me stick around. Somebody has to keep an eye on the Nazi Possum (Arnold, opossumus germanicus austriabodicus) terrorizing my neighborhood.
Now for the post nap report: The Teamspeak server was down for a short period this afternoon. An auto-boot rule is written, but it is not working due to a faulty battery backup. This will be replaced ASAP. Major changes are underway concerning the beachhouse network and Teamspeak will be moved to a non-Windows server in order to maximize speed. Will keep everyone posted.
"In a disordered mind, as in a disordered body, soundness of health is impossible."
~Cicero
Now for the post nap report: The Teamspeak server was down for a short period this afternoon. An auto-boot rule is written, but it is not working due to a faulty battery backup. This will be replaced ASAP. Major changes are underway concerning the beachhouse network and Teamspeak will be moved to a non-Windows server in order to maximize speed. Will keep everyone posted.
"In a disordered mind, as in a disordered body, soundness of health is impossible."
~Cicero
Friday, August 10, 2007
James Taylor, Saturday Night
Tomorrow evening at 9:00PM CDT there will be a two hour special on PBS that is a tribute to James Taylor. This is loaded with stars such as Carole King, India Arie, the "Boss", Sting, Taj Mahal and many more. Regrettably those female jerks the Chixie Dicks, uh uh, make that Dixie Chicks will make an appearance. I will definitely NOT watch them. There's just something about traitors that piss me off in a big way. Hard to believe people will still buy their music. Well, I guess Osama and his bunch of suiciders listen to music too. BTW, if you disagree that's your problem. You can comment, but my opinion won't change. Other than this one major downside music should abound.
There's too many sites about Taylor to list. Just Google. Many rumors are put to sleep and lotsa goodies to be found. Take a look.
"Natalie what's her name? She doesn't need to step in barnyard material to smell like it because her head is full of it."
~Billy Wobblynife
Thursday, August 09, 2007
Email and a Kudo!
Upon arising there was an email in the GMail inbox and it puzzles me. A question has come up, "Why doesn't the Beach House post a glossary?" Is this serious, a pretty good joke, or have I been cyberslapped? This inquiry must be inspired by last night's BeHoBOTY post or does Arnold, opossumus germanicus austriabodicus, need a permanent spot and explanation on the site? No doubt you have to have some knowledge of Southernese to read here on a regular basis, but a glossary? Wow, something to mull over in the mind or am I taking myself too seriously? Methinketh the latter.
Congrats out to NASA and their awesome crew of astronauts on the successful launching of Endeavor. You go, for real rocket scientists! Nice job.
"There is just one thing I can promise you about the outer-space program - your tax-dollar will go further."
~Wernher von Braun
Congrats out to NASA and their awesome crew of astronauts on the successful launching of Endeavor. You go, for real rocket scientists! Nice job.
"There is just one thing I can promise you about the outer-space program - your tax-dollar will go further."
~Wernher von Braun
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
BeHoBOTY Quandary and Pondering
For the life of me, trying to figure out the winner of the Beach House Buffoon of the Year (aka BeHoBOTY) in 2007 is a hard job. Two years running it was hands down Steve Jobs, Lord of Sith at Apple. Then last year goofball Steve Ballmer, Microsoft's answer to Crusty the Clown, snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. Man all this guy has to do is talk to the press and he embarrasses everyone from his family to mankind. Now Darth Jobs is back in the running. Go to Internet.com and check out why Apple doesn't boast Intel Inside.
Sometime early spring iJobs appeared onstage with Bill Gates for a press conference. Bill has had his moments, but is far more polished and presentable than Darth. He was his normal reserve intelligent self, but iJobs surprised everyone and was actually a pretty decent human being for around thirty minutes. He joked almost amicably with Bill. Then a few weeks later iJobs dissed the record industry and thumbed his nose at them embracing opensource in a weird sort of way as far as downloading music. This actually endeared him to many of us.
If you are a regular reader here then you've probably noticed my attitude towards Apple has changed some over the past years. They are still slow, overblown, and extremely overpriced. But hey, someone held Darth's feet to the fire and made him change two very important features of their computer line that were just not making it - the operating system and the CPU. The beach house water cooler was almost knocked over when Jobs made a statement a few years ago about Apple being the fastest computer. Standing around it saying nothing still will bring tears to the eyes due to laughter if we look at each other just the right way. What a windbag! Or was old iJobs trying to make a joke?
After Apple ripped off the wonderful opensource platform called FreeBSD, reworked it, made it proprietary and called it Apple OSX they finally had a great operating system. Then they switched to Intel CPUs. Low and behold the birth of a pretty decent little graphics and music assist computer. Riding the success of the very average sounding iPod and their multimillion dollar iTunes store, this actually indicated very good thinking on someone's part. But, alas, it is just not enough.
Apple has two enormous problems. Do inquiring minds wanna know? I'll tell you. Absurd cost and constant form factor change. They are so overpriced any PC user is justified in calling the Apple user groups iSuckers. Now for the second problem. Why won't they stop fooling around with their package? C'mon people at the orchard, do you really think people will embrace the throw away computer concept at your prices? Look at the picture above. Would you want to work on that? Now look at the nice case in yesterday's post. Is there some clarity? HP, Dell, Gateway, etc., went through a phase several years ago trying to make stuff more compact with spaceage looks. Today they still shudder when remembering the bitching and nightmares created by service. Apple, take a hint. Quit goofing around and give folks a computer to which they can add memory or change other component parts. Sheesh! This is not rocket science.
One more thing and then I'll retire for the evening. Apple, when are you going to truly embrace mouse technology?
“Inflamed by greed, incensed by hate, confused by delusion, overcome by them, obsessed by mind, a man chooses for his own affliction, for others' affliction, for the affliction of both and experiences pain and grief.”
~Gautama Siddharta Buddha
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
The Smell of Upgrade Floats on the Summer Humidity
There's been ongoing problems with the PC being used to make this post for several months now. In the beginning Vista installed nicely and then threw a fit about a sound driver upgrade and had to be rolled back. That's okay. Then a series of different video drivers were used and the problem ended up being a defective video card. That's okay too. Met some nice folks at XFX and received the warranty replacement in less than two weeks! The system started locking up a few weeks ago and does this daily sometimes requiring 6-8 restarts with at least one in safe mode.
Granted there are several forced XP drivers running under this Vista OS due to laziness. And in all fairness it must be mentioned that parts to build a new PC have been here for over a month. This is a "user" error issue because of my lack of concern about its condition. Folks, do as I say not as I do. Always try to resolve issues when they first appear. Ignoring computer problems, unlike husbands, will not make them go away.
So here's the new case, an Antec 900. It's also known as the "Uber Gaming Case." This machine is a virtual turbine of airflow and is built like a Sherman Tank. All fans are 120mm or larger. Knowing that I will have to look at it for several years helped me justify the price. Look at this top fan (200mm). It's as wide as the whole case! This is intense cooling power, ya think?
Ashby Rhett Culpepper, III, Esq., Jr., helped me locate a serious motherboard to match the Operton 180 CPU. It comes from Gigabyte. The model is GA-K8NXP-SLI. This is serious moboarding. It comes with it's own wireless card and has an automatic dog walker/trash compactor feature. Now I gotta go out and find a dog. No, wait. I'll just have it walk Duke the neighbor dog. He's an ultra kewl boxer. I certainly don't need a live-in pet. Please note that the container (that's the box in the background) is DOUBLE the normal size.
Since I am on a semi-break from doing battle with spyware, assembly should begin this week. It's too hot to get any outside tasks done and this should be a fun alternative. Look at all the thingamuhbobs and doowats that have to be assembled. The heat sink on the CPU looks like something out of Star Wars and should glow nicely under the twenty gazillion lighted fans in the case.
All the Antec case fans are blue and the red cable wrap arrived yesterday. Can we say Hotty Toddy? Later.
"Willyoupleasehelpmefixmykeyboard?Thespacebarisbroken!"
~ D. Franklin West
Granted there are several forced XP drivers running under this Vista OS due to laziness. And in all fairness it must be mentioned that parts to build a new PC have been here for over a month. This is a "user" error issue because of my lack of concern about its condition. Folks, do as I say not as I do. Always try to resolve issues when they first appear. Ignoring computer problems, unlike husbands, will not make them go away.
So here's the new case, an Antec 900. It's also known as the "Uber Gaming Case." This machine is a virtual turbine of airflow and is built like a Sherman Tank. All fans are 120mm or larger. Knowing that I will have to look at it for several years helped me justify the price. Look at this top fan (200mm). It's as wide as the whole case! This is intense cooling power, ya think?
Ashby Rhett Culpepper, III, Esq., Jr., helped me locate a serious motherboard to match the Operton 180 CPU. It comes from Gigabyte. The model is GA-K8NXP-SLI. This is serious moboarding. It comes with it's own wireless card and has an automatic dog walker/trash compactor feature. Now I gotta go out and find a dog. No, wait. I'll just have it walk Duke the neighbor dog. He's an ultra kewl boxer. I certainly don't need a live-in pet. Please note that the container (that's the box in the background) is DOUBLE the normal size.
Since I am on a semi-break from doing battle with spyware, assembly should begin this week. It's too hot to get any outside tasks done and this should be a fun alternative. Look at all the thingamuhbobs and doowats that have to be assembled. The heat sink on the CPU looks like something out of Star Wars and should glow nicely under the twenty gazillion lighted fans in the case.
All the Antec case fans are blue and the red cable wrap arrived yesterday. Can we say Hotty Toddy? Later.
"Willyoupleasehelpmefixmykeyboard?Thespacebarisbroken!"
~ D. Franklin West
Monday, August 06, 2007
He's So Busted, Yo
Found out about this site wayyyy too late. The dude has been exposed. It centers around a blog that is supposed to belong to Steve Jobs aka Darth Booger, head Lord of Sith over at Apple. It is The Secret Diary of Steve Jobs. Many inside jokes about Silicon Valley and some content that is hilarious. You have to read back for a while. A great spoof. He calls Apple users iTards. Be sure and catch the August 1st post titled Monkey Boy dancing for Zune. It's that doofuss Steve Ballmer acting like a fool as usual. The label for this post is Microtards. This is funny stuff. Here's the rest of the story.
"The large print giveth, but the small print taketh away."
~Tom Waits, Small Change
Sunday, August 05, 2007
Catfish Jumpin? Doubt It
It's hot and humid in the Deep South. This may be the understatement of the year. Have many projects to finish inside and out. Riding lawn mower is so close to being usable, have a brand new garage door opener in the box, the wax for the truck can be used in direct sunlight, and the new 75' water hose is 5 ply and should be a nice addition to the pressure washer when it comes time to climb up and down the ladder and finish washing the house. All of this is important, but not having a stroke or heart attack is on my mind as well. Ahhhh, to be young again and laugh at the weather, work all day, party all night then get up and do it again. Sweet. Well, maybe this time around I'd leave the partying to someone else.
Sitting here watching the sunrise forced me to step outside the door for a moment. It looks like a good day to clean house and work on building a PC. Muggy won't even begin to describe the humidity. It may be hot in the summer by we sure do have nice, extended springs and autumns most years. Spring rocks. Everything wakes up and the world becomes active. Am I beginning to sound like Whitman, Thoreau, Sandburg, Dick Rice? Humpf! Long term memory might not be so bad after all. Have a pleasant Sunday and remember me in your prayers as you are graced with His presence in your house of worship.
"Summer has set in with its usual severity."
~Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Sitting here watching the sunrise forced me to step outside the door for a moment. It looks like a good day to clean house and work on building a PC. Muggy won't even begin to describe the humidity. It may be hot in the summer by we sure do have nice, extended springs and autumns most years. Spring rocks. Everything wakes up and the world becomes active. Am I beginning to sound like Whitman, Thoreau, Sandburg, Dick Rice? Humpf! Long term memory might not be so bad after all. Have a pleasant Sunday and remember me in your prayers as you are graced with His presence in your house of worship.
"Summer has set in with its usual severity."
~Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Saturday, August 04, 2007
Help Needed? Yes
I need a break from spyware and people that own computers that are constantly re-infected. For the life of me I cannot understand why people resent technicians that charge a fair wage for good work. Many years have been spent in research and practical application of that study. There have been many hours of purposely infecting PCs to find the cure and prevention. Talking to a fellow tech reminded me that the beach house rarely has problems with such and most scares here are hardware related. He said he couldn't remember the last time one of his machines or mine had a virus.
Residential customers, please heed my plea. Red Magnet is IMHO the best computer service company in the area. J. Couch is an awesome tech and charges a fair price. Computer Universe does a great job too. PC Solutions also will do great repairs. Up north C. Swindle is an uber tech that will be reasonable. So if you resent my prices or don't like my work there are several alternatives out there. Email me and I'll gladly look up any of their phone numbers for you. I don't think I can bear seeing another machine with a damned Yahoo homepage, MySpace cooties or one that has not updated protection software in weeks. If I see a grimace when someone is handed a bill then our history is done. Damn it all, no one is being gouged.
If you call me every month and need your computer formatted and the OS reinstalled, do it with a smile. Yes, even over the phone. YOU created the problem not me, remember? Tomorrow will see a return of subjects other than poor client/tech relationships. This is beginning to bore the hell out of all of us. Enjoy your Saturday.
"Patience is also a form of action."
~Auguste Rodin
Residential customers, please heed my plea. Red Magnet is IMHO the best computer service company in the area. J. Couch is an awesome tech and charges a fair price. Computer Universe does a great job too. PC Solutions also will do great repairs. Up north C. Swindle is an uber tech that will be reasonable. So if you resent my prices or don't like my work there are several alternatives out there. Email me and I'll gladly look up any of their phone numbers for you. I don't think I can bear seeing another machine with a damned Yahoo homepage, MySpace cooties or one that has not updated protection software in weeks. If I see a grimace when someone is handed a bill then our history is done. Damn it all, no one is being gouged.
If you call me every month and need your computer formatted and the OS reinstalled, do it with a smile. Yes, even over the phone. YOU created the problem not me, remember? Tomorrow will see a return of subjects other than poor client/tech relationships. This is beginning to bore the hell out of all of us. Enjoy your Saturday.
"Patience is also a form of action."
~Auguste Rodin
Friday, August 03, 2007
Warning, Contains Profanity. Yes It's About Spyware, But the Last Part is Good
What do I have to do to convince people that spyware is the damned evil tool of Satan and his minions when it comes to the internet?!?!?!?!?!?!? Hold you down and and bang a hole in your head then pour in all the articles written about this garbage? Oh hell, here I go again. Try this one from last year that talks about that creepy myspace - MSNBC. Here's another from...LAST YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! - Spyware targets MySpace. Or how about something from the WashingtonPost? Let's see, this was from when? July of last year? Damn it folks this is not new news!!!!!!!! Now, if you know how to Google (if you don't then leave this site and don't ever come back) you can go read the other 1.9 million or so articles about this problem and "MySpace" then please, oh yes puh-lease come to me and be in a state of wonder and awe concerning the weird actions of your PC amazed that it doesn't function properly. My attitude will remain the same, well duh!!! And this is only the MySpace jerks.
Okay, this site has been here for over four years. Early on it was mentioned to help people understand that Yahoo, with their cute little yodeling ads, is yet another tool of the devil. Claria, which probably has the major gate to hell located somewhere on their property, brags about how Yahoo produces 33% of their business. These horses' asses sue people like me for calling them spyware and declare they are only adware. Damn it all, their souls are lost to hell, and this trash is all the same!!!!! Why does the damned government let these jerks stay in business? Why do YOU!?!?!?!?!??!?!??!? Spyware, thiefware, malware, adware, garbageware, creepware, shitware!!! Any way I am getting through to anyone out there? Hello? Hello?!? HELLO!?!?!?!?!???!?
Four AM. I am trying to remove some of this junk from a PC and it's becoming clear to me that this battle cannot be won. The computer needs to be formatted and completely redone. People, I have better things to do. I could be volunteering at church to help the truly needy and praying that the Good Lord will help me curb my use of profanity. I'd love to revamp this site and post tutorials about how to install great programs like SpyBot S&D or Spywareblaster. My garage needs cleaning. I want to visit my Mother. I'd like to see my granddaughters. Yet I am up at almost the witching hour in combat with spyware assholes that need to be gut shot and left to die a painful death. This poor old horse has been beaten to death sooooo many times. Honestly, the beach house can't take too much more.
There are companies in the local area that are better equipped to unass this junk from a machine. They have tools that I cannot afford. Their abilities far exceed that of a home user and can correct such problems at times without data loss. Do you have any idea how long it takes to clean an infected registry with regedit? Sometimes it takes hours and hours. If you leave a machine infected and don't do updates this is a perfect breeding ground for the bad guys. So when you are asked to pay the bill don't act offended. Just keep this thought in mind; you left your machine unprotected, visited sites using your hands or let some other household member do this and you do not have the ability to correct the problems. So smile, pay your bill and take heed of the tech's advice.
Enough profanity and raving. I am going to take some anti-anxiety medication and return to bed. My blood pressure does not need this frustration. Does anyone have a non-computer related job that needs filling? Preferably something with physical activity. I can mow, trim hedges, wash cars, pick up cans on the side of the road or open and close doors. Think a roll-around taco stand will be a good venture? Gee, golly, then I can practice my Spanish. There are worse occupations you know...you can be in the computer biz.
After all this negativity and my constant stress about the spyware problem, let me make amends and pass along 5 minutes or so of pure beauty. This helps me leave this necessary post with a better attitude. Just click on the play button and be overwhelmed by a gorgeous live performance. She touches my heart.
"Be as beneficent as the sun or the sea, but if your rights as a rational being are trenched on, die on the first inch of your territory."
~Ralph Waldo Emerson
Okay, this site has been here for over four years. Early on it was mentioned to help people understand that Yahoo, with their cute little yodeling ads, is yet another tool of the devil. Claria, which probably has the major gate to hell located somewhere on their property, brags about how Yahoo produces 33% of their business. These horses' asses sue people like me for calling them spyware and declare they are only adware. Damn it all, their souls are lost to hell, and this trash is all the same!!!!! Why does the damned government let these jerks stay in business? Why do YOU!?!?!?!?!??!?!??!? Spyware, thiefware, malware, adware, garbageware, creepware, shitware!!! Any way I am getting through to anyone out there? Hello? Hello?!? HELLO!?!?!?!?!???!?
Four AM. I am trying to remove some of this junk from a PC and it's becoming clear to me that this battle cannot be won. The computer needs to be formatted and completely redone. People, I have better things to do. I could be volunteering at church to help the truly needy and praying that the Good Lord will help me curb my use of profanity. I'd love to revamp this site and post tutorials about how to install great programs like SpyBot S&D or Spywareblaster. My garage needs cleaning. I want to visit my Mother. I'd like to see my granddaughters. Yet I am up at almost the witching hour in combat with spyware assholes that need to be gut shot and left to die a painful death. This poor old horse has been beaten to death sooooo many times. Honestly, the beach house can't take too much more.
There are companies in the local area that are better equipped to unass this junk from a machine. They have tools that I cannot afford. Their abilities far exceed that of a home user and can correct such problems at times without data loss. Do you have any idea how long it takes to clean an infected registry with regedit? Sometimes it takes hours and hours. If you leave a machine infected and don't do updates this is a perfect breeding ground for the bad guys. So when you are asked to pay the bill don't act offended. Just keep this thought in mind; you left your machine unprotected, visited sites using your hands or let some other household member do this and you do not have the ability to correct the problems. So smile, pay your bill and take heed of the tech's advice.
Enough profanity and raving. I am going to take some anti-anxiety medication and return to bed. My blood pressure does not need this frustration. Does anyone have a non-computer related job that needs filling? Preferably something with physical activity. I can mow, trim hedges, wash cars, pick up cans on the side of the road or open and close doors. Think a roll-around taco stand will be a good venture? Gee, golly, then I can practice my Spanish. There are worse occupations you know...you can be in the computer biz.
After all this negativity and my constant stress about the spyware problem, let me make amends and pass along 5 minutes or so of pure beauty. This helps me leave this necessary post with a better attitude. Just click on the play button and be overwhelmed by a gorgeous live performance. She touches my heart.
"Be as beneficent as the sun or the sea, but if your rights as a rational being are trenched on, die on the first inch of your territory."
~Ralph Waldo Emerson
Thursday, August 02, 2007
Morning and Sweating, Yuck!
The truck is waxed, now to do the wheels. This will make for a pleasant day while doing rounds. It's hot out this morning and there are many alerts about staying inside. So be careful. The sun is coming up and it looks like a scorching, humid day in the Deep South. Find some air conditioning.
Thanks goes out to Penitendagon Arelin for assistance with the Remains Mission in Guild Wars. No way I could have completed this part of the game. Extremely nice assist and my whole demeanor has changed, lol. Keep up the good work. Now I must pay it forward.
After some editing yesterday's post is now correct. It is so nice to hear about random acts of kindness. In a world of jibbering unintelligible people being forced into the American way of life with nothing but greed on their simple minds it is a great pleasure to hear about people considering the feelings in their hearts instead of their pocketbooks.
Have a casual Thursday and remember tomorrow is TGIF.
"Deep summer is when laziness finds respectability."
~Sam Keen
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