Event Log Full

The TeamSpeak Server will be down for maintenance until late Sunday afternoon. Time to clean and maintain all the case fans, check for chip creep, re-seat cards, etc.. Someone using the name 'steve' and 'newuser' has been trying to hack into this machine for some time now with no success. It amazes me that an idiot would do this to a machine that contains very little data. If they did corrupt the OS it would take about an hour to reload and bring it back online. It sits there acting as a TeamSpeak server and contains no critical info. Guess children must play, huh? Well, ole steviepoo may have a surprise the next time he attempts to 'hack' into this machine (insert evil grin here).

"No excellent soul is exempt from a mixture of madness."
~Aristotle

Football and Driving

The annual Egg Bowl starts at 11:30AM local time. Should be a good game this year. Most folks in this area will finish the Black Friday shopping and find a TV or radio to gather around and listen to (or view) this great tradition. Since Metrocast has taken over the local cable system it is hard to tell if the game will be broadcast at the beach house. Their onscreen guide gets lamer by the day. Wish Vista Media would come back. RAYCOM is broadcasting the game somehow, somewhere. It may be PPV. Go to RAYCOM SPORTS and click on the Egg Bowl preview for more info.

If you are out there in the melee shopping please be careful. Take it slowly and control road rage because traffic will be heavy today. That's why I won't even get close to the mall or other shopping areas today. If you are working today, please be patient with customers. They are probably frustrated by the traffic.

"If men liked shopping, they'd call it research."
~Cynthia Nelms

Turkey Day!

It's a pleasant day. Slept late, watched TV, had coffee and will spend the rest of this day alone. This is on purpose. Still suffering from the flu, grunge or whatever. People don't need to be in contact with me. Worst cold I've ever experienced, no doubt. The temperature here today will be in the 60s and there's not a cloud in the sky. Slight breeze in the air. It felt good to sit on the veranda this morning watching the world slow down for a day. The fresh air is awesome and so is the coffee. I can actually taste the coffee for the first time in days.

Thought I'd check in and wish everyone a Merry Thanksgiving! Best to you and yours!

"Grace isn't a little prayer you chant before receiving a meal. It's a way to live."
~Windspear

Happy Day Before Thanksgiving!!!

Please travel safely and enjoy the trip. Hope your holiday is a celebration of family and the great gifts granted us. Thank God our founding fathers created this nation using principles that are outstanding. Please mention our troops in your prayer of grace before carving that bird.

"Thanksgiving was never meant to be shut up in a single day."
~Lintner

Third Time Charm?

Several programs are loaded on beach house machines for testing purposes. There's a registry cleaner that's been in use for several months now, a new browser that is getting high marks, an opensource screen shot utility, a free anti-virus program that will run on servers, and Google's Videochat. This weekend there will be major updates to protection software on several networks and another look at free anti-virus programs. On that subject, is anyone having problems with the Free Edition of AVG? Scans of my primary workstation are taking several hours and the updates are not always smooth. AVG is a great program. There was a major version upgrade a few months ago. Hope the scan time and update engine improve. The program seems to be running and doing a good job, but these two features can be exasperating.

For the third time in the past nine days it seems the flu, cold, grunge is subsiding. Twice in the past week I went to bed feeling better only to start the next day miserable, sniffling and whining. Maybe the third time is charmed. Everyone have a casual Tuesday.

"The only way to treat the common cold is with contempt."
~Osler

Removing A.R.C.H.I.E.

Several people have expressed interest in how to remove A.R.C.H.I.E. (Deep Freeze) software from BestBuy display computers after the purchase. This is their in-store protection software used to stop people from corrupting their display PCs. Posted about this on May 7, 2007, but did not give a detailed routine of uninstalling this software.

One way is to use KillDisk. Download the free version and follow the instructions. After a complete wipe of the HDD use your recovery disks to reinstall the operating system. If this sounds too complicated then get a tech to do it. If you don't have recovery disks be careful. Your operating system may reside on the hard drive and wiping it completely will kill the OS too. When I return to full strength efforts will be made to write a more detailed post which will list more options. In the meantime, there are many sites about how to do this procedure. Check Google.

The Mississippi Mudflat Grunge has not let up. Maybe tomorrow the coughing and congestion will subside. C'mon tomorrow! Later.

"WARNING: Humour may be hazardous to your ILLNESS."
~Katz

31 - Good Number Today

Congrats out to Ole Miss and Mississippi State for posting wins in the SEC Football arena today. Ole Miss handily defeated LSU at Death Valley 31-13. A new tradition was started today. The Magnolia Bowl trophy is now presented to the winner of the Ole Miss/LSU game. Go Rebs!!! State beat Arkansas 31-28 at Starkville. Tennessee and Florida also outscored their opponents. Now we approach the last games of conference play next weekend. The Ole Miss/MS State Egg Bowl will take place on November 28th, Friday, at 11:30AM CST.

Have a casual Saturday.

"I have seen women walk right past a TV set with a football game on and - this always amazes me - not stop to watch, even if the TV is showing replays of what we call a 'good hit', which is a tackle that causes at least one major internal organ to actually fly out of a player's body."
~Dave Barry

Even Smaller Brief

One more day didn't do it. Still in whine mode. Either getting used to it or feel slightly better. Oh well, we'll shoot for tomorrow and hope something can be accomplished. Being sick sucks.

"First the doctor told me the good news: I was going to have a disease named after me."
~Steve Martin

Brief

Just a note to say that I am recovering from the Mississippi Mudflat Grunge. Sorry about not posting yesterday. Sitting up was an effort. Coughing does not hurt as much. There are extended periods of minimal congestion. Anyway, I've whined enough this week. One more day of meds and sleep may do the trick. Can't wait to return to the realm of the living. Stay casual.

"No matter what your opinion may be of doctors, you'd better get used to dealing with them because as the warranty on your body starts to run out, you'll be spending more time in the shop than an E-Type Jag."
~Dennis Miller

Be Nice to Your Nerd

Want a tech gadget for that geek in your life? All geeks, nerds, nerdlings, techies, etc., love gadgets and tech toys. I wear a binary watch every day. I love it! T-Shirts with tech related matter are always good. There's a world of variety out there. Check out the slideshows at Scientific American. For geekwear and other gadgets try ThinkGeek. Another great site for T-Shirts, hats, posters, books, etc., is CafePress. BTW, they have a huge variety of Guild Wars apparel. My Droks, Leaving in 5 shirt is a CafePress shirt.

Here's a hint about buying geek shirts. If in doubt about size go one size larger than you think. Most of us like loose fits when it comes to clothes. Christmas is just around the corner so beat the holiday rush! Many shirts and other gifts are under 20 bucks. The thought you put into choosing makes the value go sky high!

"God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say 'thank you?'"
~William A. Ward

Ignore This Post, It's Worthless

Spent the day in bed yesterday. Have an appointment with the doctor this morning. All this coughing hurts each and every time. Did sleep though. Waiting on clothes to dry then it'll be time to hit the road. The all-over ache is annoying. It hurts to breathe. I am living the lifestyle of the poor and pitiful. Enough whining.

Later.

"To avoid sickness eat less; to prolong life worry less."
~Chu Hui Weng

Misery Doesn't Love Company

This will be an attempt to keep my whine factor at a minimum. It's also a warning. I am sick. My throat hurts, my feet stink and I don't love Elvis today. Every time I cough it feels like someone is cutting my throat. I anxiously await the next fix of Alka Selzter Cold Plus. It's mixed in warm water. The cold water hurts too much. The best thing to do when I am ill is stay away. My whining would grate on your last nerve. Wussie boy and wimp only begin to describe.

While on the subject, don't ever visit while I am hospitalized. Leave me to my misery. Please don't send flowers. They piss me off. Think about all that money you are spending to have beautiful plants murdered and sent to "cheer" someone up. Hell, send the money. I'll hang on to it. If survival is in the future we'll take the money and have a party. Believe me, the nurses, attendants, doctors, priests, rabbis and ministers will be in agony on my floor so if visiting someone else in the hospital stay away from my floor.

Now I am going to take my morning meds that should have been ingested 4 hours ago. Couldn't tolerate the swallowing at that time. Courage is not an operable word at the beach house today. May the Good Lord help me get down the medicines, keep them down, then lead me to bathroom salvation. Whine out.

“My illness is due to my doctor's insistence that I drink milk, a whitish fluid they force down helpless babies.”
W.C Fields

Faux Woes and Real Woes.

Sometime between 6:45AM and 10:12AM this morning Google News reverted back to it's original form. No settings were changed. It just happened. In the words of that great Vulcan philosopher Spock, "Interesting." Soon, this temporary Windows 2000 machine will be replaced by a Vista machine. That may clear up a lot of these tech heebee jeebees. It would still be interesting to know why these weird things have happened. My curiosity is not satisfied. But then, there's nothing like a little mystery in your relationship with a PC.

Solution for possible gas price increases; Pull out of Iraq and go next door to Iran. There's an interesting article about these jerks at BBC News. This country is horrible. They are responsible for many of the woes of the world. Seems we should deport every Iranian in our country and say to hell with them. If they work on atomics then bomb their facilities. Of course our administration to be will probably kiss their asses and this cowardice will go a long way to destroy the USA. Do I think Obama is the Anti-Christ? To answer this latest email...NO. Satan will have a more intelligent minion to fulfill this venue. On that subject - Nancy Pelosi is not the Anti-Christ either.

"The art of leadership is saying no, not yes. It is very easy to say yes."
~Tony Blair

What the Hell? Has Google Gone Insane?

First they crowded the iGoogle homepage with a nasty sidebar that took up a lot of space. Thankfully, enough people were upset that tools showed up to return it to the original layout...almost. Now they've taken their News page and screwed it up. Are they trying to run us off? If so just tell me. Quit dropping bombs!

You have to spend time scrolling down to view different areas of the news now. Before, you could view all sections when the page opened. They also took time to add extra sections not chosen by the beach house. Hey, Google? Those were promptly deleted. I am sure there will be a fix for this in a few days, but in the meantime I have a message for the people at Google. Quit being horses' asses and leave that which works alone!

One more bomb like this and I'll get anti-Google on their butts! Haven't their stocks fallen enough? Several weeks ago they were at $360.00. Yesterday they closed at $312.00 and change. Spending hours redoing Google is not my forte. Netvibes still works like a champ!

"Insanity is often the logic of an accurate mind overtasked."
~Oliver W. Holmes, Sr.

Short Visit

Traveled to northwest Mississippi and visited with Mother and brother Dan (EDIT: he has a new fearsome boxer watch puppy named Hoss). A great bonus was that I was able to spend the whole day with Verdana and Mal. They are visiting from Baton Rouge. Nice to see my daughter and grand-daughter for sure. Hopefully, both of my daughters and grand-daughters will visit this weekend. The trip was uneventful and relaxing. Needed to rest and this was a great way to do it.

It's late and I am headed for bed. Later.

"When you look at your life, the greatest happinesses are family happinesses."
~Joyce Brothers

Google VideoChat

Google now offers a video chat add-on. Drag out that webcam and hook it back up. If this follows their normal standards it will be good initially and great in a few weeks. It's refreshing to see major providers using GMail in their technology. I still don't like that sidebar in iGoogle, but a Firefox extension solved the problem beautifully. If you want info on how to rid your screen of the sidebar let me know. I'll GMail you the links with brief explanation about how to install the extension and script.

The Video chat should increase the number of GMail users. They have partnered with Logitech to offer webcams at a discounted price too. Logitech is one of my favorite manufacturers of tech gear. There's been a Logitech webcam at the beach house for many years. And I own two of the G5 gaming meeses, which are absolutely outstanding pieces. IMHO, GMail is the best email service in the solar system, bar none! Here's the link to the new service: VideoChat. You must use XP or Vista. It won't run on Windows 2000. Think there's a version available for Macs too.

“Anyone who thinks the art of conversation is dead ought to tell a child to go to bed.”
~Gallagher

Bury Me With the US Flag Pin

It's Veterans Day. Several local activities are scheduled to honor those lost, retired and serving. Saltillo High School has a program scheduled for this afternoon at 1:30PM, there's a parade in Okolona sometime today, Veteran's Park in Tupelo will have speakers at 2:00PM, and Ole Miss will have a service at 4:00PM. Contact the Daily Journal for more information. It's raining so I wish for the fine folks in Okolona a brief respite while the parade is underway. Thank you for the recognition and the efforts to actually celebrate this great day with a parade.

If you know a veteran it certainly won't hurt to thank them for their service to keep you free from the evils of the world. Don't know what to do? Pick up the phone and tell them thanks for their service to our great nation. Then pray for our country. We need to ask God to help us survive the next 4 years. No doubt the Iranians, terrorist groups and other renegade factions are busy laughing at us. Pray for Senators Wicker and Cochran to be able to stave off the goofiness suggested by the next administration concerning foreign policy.

Today I'll wear my flag pin. I may wear it every day for the rest of my life in protest to our President-elect choosing not to honor our nation by putting his hand over his heart or saying the Pledge of Allegiance. I also protest his painting out the flag of the USA on his campaign jet. This list could ramble on, but real Americans know about all this negative, liberal swaggering too well. God help us all.

"In the beginning of a change, the patriot is a scarce man, and brave, and hated and scorned. When his cause succeeds, the timid join him, for then it costs nothing to be a patriot."
~Mark Twain

Goodbye to a Decent Bunch

It's sad, but true. Circuit City has filed for bankruptcy. It looks like they will honor gift certificates that have been issued. I've always preferred CC over BestBuy locally since they have a more congenial approach to helping customers. They also carry several product lines preferred at the beach house. Even if they recover the Tupelo outlet is scheduled to close no later than December 31st.

Sometimes the BestBuy crew can get downright hostile with their 'tudes. I'll never forget needing five 19" LCD monitors for a customer and even though they had them in stock the didn't want to sell five. They wanted to sell us three. "It wouldn't be fair to the other customers," quipped the sales person manager type. Well, my customer was an out of town owner visiting his local branch for a day and wanted this done before he left. We were paying cash. Credit was not needed. And Circuit City did not carry the model he desired.

After announcing the "other customers" needed to bring their asses down to the store and purchase said monitors now or they should take the money and deliver the product. After all, it is a RETAIL outlet and this is America. Further mention of open market, fair trade, capitalism, etc., helped them relent. They sold us the units. Sheesh! You'd have thought we were asking for their first born or something. The sales person contacted initially just couldn't believe they copped this attitude at the counter.

Although I will still shop at BestBuy on rare occasions (they do have good prices on Guild Wars) most of my tech buying is done via internet. Mudslingr n I collaborate a lot and make purchases from reputable companies online. Anyway, hate to see Circuit City close. They are only discounting most items 5-10% now, but that should change as door locking time approaches. Will try to keep you posted.

"I went to a general store but they wouldn't let me buy anything specific."
~Steven Wright

FYI, Y'all

Does anyone else find it interesting how much "red" is on this map? Click anywhere on the map for a large, more detailed look. Did you notice the murder capitals of this country (Memphis and Chicago) are dark blue? Thank God Mississippi was a pro McCain state. Helps reinforce the belief there are intelligent people around me. Count on it, I'll avoid the blue areas of the map like the plague. Hmmmm, no trips to the delta for a while. Everyone does realize that Mississippi is the state with the highest percentage of Afro-American (or Black if you prefer) population? Okay, there is the District of Columbia, but is that really a state? It'll be a massive state of confusion for the next 4 years or so...

"I think there is one higher office than president and I would call that patriot."
~Hart

NOTE: The Taylor Swift and Def Leppard Crossroads will air again today at 1:00PM CST on Country Music Television (CMT on yo dial).

Solution for Liberal TV News? Stop Watching!

I know Gov. Palin is sincere in this video, but I've solved my problem with the TV news media. Slowly but surely I will change my TV viewing drastically. I want to see the last episodes of Battlestar Galactica. Then I am going to select viewing over the internet. To hell with ABC, CBS and NBC.




That's my story n Ima stickin' to it!

“The Liberals talk about a stable government but we don't know how bad the stable is going to smell.”
~Douglas

She's Hot! And Def Leppard Ain't Too Shabby Either!

Taylor Swift and Def Leppard? Together? Oh yes, this works. The video loads somewhat slowly, but is well worth the wait. Put the headphones on and/or crank up the volume.

Taylor Swift
 
More CMT Music
 
More CMT Music Videos

There's more stuff out there. Crossroads is an awesome show.

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

"Open Source" & DVR News

ARE you using WINE to run Windows inside Linux? Is it unstable? Having other problems? HowToGeek recommends Crossover. The article is written by Syed Abbas of TNerd.com and is very good. He goes through the steps of installing and utilizing the program. There are graphics too. Nice piece of work.

Crossover is not free. It will cost around 70 bucks the first year and then 40 bucks for an annual license. Hey, I WILL keep looking for a free alternative. Codeweavers, the parent company of Crossover, apparently does NOT embrace the spirit of open source and is grubbing money from the public. Gee dudes, thought Linux utilities were all about being for the public? Greed is a horrible thing. Sad.

There is not a DVR, aka TiVo, at the beach house. Shucks, there's not even a 1080 HDTV. Just an old analog 27" that's been going strong for about 12-13 years now with one minor glitch. I inherited it (thanks David and Michelle) and had a friend repair a known defect by replacing a board. All this will possibly change, soon. I have a particular TV in mind. It's the Toshiba 31.6" REZGA with Cinespeed. It will also double as a gaming monitor. And I am researching how to record from the internet onto a DVR. I've decided to stop watching TV in the normal cable mode since the networks news fiasco with the last election. Yes, the prejudice, liberal, wussie news media came out of the closet.

Here's a great link discovered during researching this expensive upgrade. If you own a DVR/TiVo you might want to look at PC Magazine's TiVo: 10 Things You Didn't Know You Could Do. About all I know about these devices is that they utilize a Linux OS plus a hard drive to manipulate programming. If someone finds out something real clever from this article let us know about it. Use the comments.

BTW, Guild Wars will run in Linux using Crossover. It also will play nice with both GNOME and KDE.

"Definition of Open Source - A program in which the source code is available to the general public for use and/or modification from its original design free of charge."
~Calgary ECommerce Services

My Prayer Regimen Has Changed

Well the liberal news media and the Hollywood halfwits are happy. As this nightmare unfolds over the next 4 years I just hope our country survives. This may prove to be the worst thing that has ever happened to the USA or we may survive and then elect some honorable person that has a real love of country. If (or should I say when?) taxes rise and the national debt swells, please remember how you voted.

I will support the President as an American citizen. I will pray for him and our country. I am duty bound never to commit treason or be a traitor. After two horrifying tours of Vietnam plus many years of reflection I have come to understand some things. Our great nation has made huge strides to keep the world at peace. Great men like President Reagan helped us survive the onslaught of those that would tear us down internally and externally.

Good Lord knows my hope is that these concerns are proven wrong and we escape unharmed as a nation. A really bad feeling about the direction in which we are headed haunts me. This negative attitude will be replaced with one of hope and prayer very soon. I fought in Vietnam to ensure the safety of our nation. It was a rough time returning home to all the negative criticism. Yet, our efforts in that "police action" slowed down some of the war mongers that have tried to hurt our country. Enemies of the USA suck. Liberals suck.

I pray that we are all safe for the next 4 years. The election results have to be accepted, but I don't have to like what has happened. Please remember, this is NOT a forum. These are my opinions and if you don't like them then leave this site and don't return. Hopefully, there will be no more negative posts published by the beach house. God help us all.

Go McCain/Palin!

Certainly hope this leaves no doubt about the beach house political stance. My prayers are for my country all day, today. God help us all.

"God Bless America,
Land that I love.
Stand beside her, and guide her
Thru the night with a light from above.
From the mountains, to the prairies,
To the oceans, white with foam
God bless America, My home sweet home."
~Irving Berlin

Tina Fey, Keep the Costume.

The truth shall set you free! Go tomorrow and vote McCain/Palin. Vote for change that will raise the quality of life in our country. In the local election please be intelligent enough not to listen to the lies of Ronnie Musgrove and vote for Roger Wicker. Musgrove was such a disappointment as Mississippi's governor that he couldn't be re-elected. Vote Wicker!



Gosh, just think. Only one more day of this hoopla. Get out and vote!

“I think we finally have a poll without a margin of error, ... We have sent a powerful message to Washington: Change is coming.”
~John McCain

Tick Tock

Did you set your clocks back one hour? We are now on Standard Time. I favor moving the clocks forward and leaving them ahead one hour permanently. We'd enjoy more daylight hours in the evening. Anyway, go to time.gov, click on your state and the correct time will be displayed. I like the way the map displays where daylight and dark begins and ends. You can find out more about DST, etc. here.

Enjoy the extra hour today and remember it will be dark early.

"But what minutes! Count them by sensation, and not by calendars, and each moment is a day."
~Disraeli