Monday's Music - This is Melodic and Strange

No doubt this is different. The performance is top notch and the words almost mystical. It's rather long, but very haunting. I fell in love with Ghost in the Shell and Motoko Kusanagi. This is a self-indulgence I permit my nerdiness. Hearing this song late one night as the show ended provoked my curiosity and I started watching. It is a strange Manga; sometimes silly, sometimes ethereal, sometime very dark and disturbing. Not for children. Some adults should not watch as well.

Back when TechTV was on air one of their techs, Morgan Webb, mentioned this anime several times. That is why I caught the ending credits and this song late one night. I looked up the next episode and have watched on and off for several years. The interaction between characters and the concept of living inside the "shell" reminds me of the Matrix. Again, this is not for most people, but the song deserves some recognition.



What about it? Comments about music are rare. One of the reasons I took a chance and featured this different type of video. I find this to be soothing. It takes me to a magical land where I feel compassion and love. Some call it daydreams. Any opinions?

"A man can no more diminish God's glory by refusing to worship Him than a lunatic can put out the sun by scribbling the word, 'darkness' on the walls of his cell."
~C.S. Lewis

Ready, Set, Type...or Mouse

If you like online shopping tomorrow is your day. Seems that Cyber Monday always follows Black Friday. The sites are too numerous to list, but a quick check on Google will lead you in the right direction. The online Better Business Bureau can also help you decide which sites are safe and reliable. After my experience on Friday this may be my permanent alternative to leaving the house for shopping. Be sure and order ASAP to avoid shipping collision engines (lol). You notice that no links have been listed. These sites are easy to find and should be bookmarked or in your favorites. Some of the previews suggest wonderful discounts. Be sure and take a look.

It's been an unproductive day. Back pain got me. Hopefully, it'll be better tomorrow!

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

When Black Friday Comes...I'm Staying Home

Disclaimer:To all my wonderful folks not from the Deep South that have gracefully made the transition please know I have the utmost respect for you. You are certainly welcome and I am happy to call many of you my friends. I would never act the way this woman acted in any part of the world.



Foolish mistakes should not be repeated. Therefore, there will be no more leaving the house on Black Fridays. Since I had to get my newer phone back on line a call was made to my buddy Samantha in the cell dept. of Wal-Mart on Main Street. I don't like Wal Mart and this one is my least favorite. Sam told me she was leaving but they had the new chargers for auto and home in stock. She also said they had just a few of each left for my model phone. I arrived about an hour later. Samantha had left. However, a nice young lady tried to help but sold me the wrong devices. Please keep in mind it's Black Friday and I am in a store I despise. Tested it in the truck. Didn't work so it's back inside.

Gentleman at the door pointed me towards customer service where there were somewhere around 20,000 people in one line with one person pulling her hair out behind the counter trying to help. Another lady went behind the counter and asked if she could help someone. I dove for it and was first in line. I was happy. Then this fat bitch pushed my goods to be returned off the counter and plopped her fat ass in my place as I dove to keep my electronics from crashing to the floor. I recovered and informed her she was a rude crude mean spirited person that most certainly was hatched somewhere wayyyyy north of Corinth. I then said, "You should learn some manners." Get this, if she had asked I would have been polite and let her go first!

She then informed me I needed to mind my own GD business. Do not take the Lord's name in vain around me. My survival instincts heightened by 2 years in Vietnam kicked into overdrive. My retort was, "Shut your fat mouth and don't say another word to me." She started ranting and I asked the lady behind the counter to get the manager and call the police. Fat mouth immediately shut up. The lady behind the counter stared at me as if asking, "What do I do?"

"Please take care of her problem so she will leave, but if she speaks to me again, I'll call the police," was my answer. Meanwhile the 14,000 or so people behind me in line started cheering and clapping. Fat ass got her way and left. She probably parked her broom in a handicapped zone. Then the customer service lady said she agreed with my attitude and thanked me for not inciting a riot.

Money returned, I headed out to our other super center. Dread was upon me. They had the parts and a most pleasant woman politely took my money. She wished me a happy Thanksgiving holiday and I returned the same wish. She had a southern accent that was about as thick as my own.

If you are from somewhere besides the Deep South and have settled here please take heed: Be polite. Have some courtesy when interacting with local people. We are a society of people that try not to get above our raising. Remember this little known piece of information the next time you decide to use that snarly hateful attitude - We may have lost that war of Yankee aggression, but when 1 Southerner perished that meant that 4 Northern soldiers died. That's a lopsided ratio for any war. We do know how to fight and don't abide much rudeness. Yet it still saddens me that those 4 Union soldiers died every time 1 Rebel soldier died. It was a really stupid war. None of us should be proud. Thank God that is long in the past and we became stronger because of this historical, horrible, bloody mistake.

There. Enough venting. We learn from our mistakes sometimes. Yesterday certainly opened my eyes. And probably a few others too.

"The world is full of cactus, but we don't have to sit on it."
~Foley

As Predicted

Thanks to everyone for respecting my wishes during several crisis periods throughout the day yesterday. Still using the old phone, but hope to replace my missing part sometime later today or tomorrow. My negative reactions were out of character and I apologize. My choices of words were poor at times and I ask you forgive me for this too. Hopefully today will be a better day.

Thanks to Larry D., family and friends for the wonderful food. Had you not been gracious I would have had a frozen TV dinner. It was all eaten and very, very good. Nice to have great neighbors! Fair night of sleep has restored some of my stress coping ability and after the shopping madness dies down this morning I'll try to find that replacement adapter. If not I'll order it off the internet.

"Releasing the pressure, it's good for the teapot and the water. Try it sometime."
~Dickerson

Not Today (EDIT: well, may be ok)

EDIT NOTE: Placed the new SIM card in the older phone and I can now receive calls. Not doing the ID thing, but I will answer. My mood has improved from what is posted below, lol.


My phone will be off today. If you have an emergency please email me. I am about as mad as I get. I've lost the adapter for my phone charger. I've looked for it since 7:00AM.

Before anyone starts volunteering, if you do NOT have a RAZR V9x2 phone you cannot help. It takes a special mini to macro USB adapter and you don't have one. So don't aggravate me further by trying to tell me something that you know nothing about because I do know a lot about this phone and the way it charges. Both Wal-Marts are out of stock and no one else is open today. Yes I have tried my old phone and it says deactivated SIMM card. NO, no one has an old charger that will work unless you have a RAZR V9x2.

This is a shitty Thanksgiving. Please leave me to my misery and extremely negative state of mind. Things will be better tomorrow. BTW, I don't want company today and if you stop by I will absolutely not answer the door. If you send a smart ass email, it'll piss me off and I'll probably deliver the worst ass chewing you've ever had in your life. If one of my family happens to read this please call my Mother and tell her what has happened and that I am ok. Hell, you need to talk to her today anyway. She's alone too.

Heed the label on my ball cap today and I'll probably be here tomorrow apologizing. Please no comments today. I'll just delete without reading them. I will make a note of who defied me. Again, tomorrow it'll be a different world. (See, I can get mad...)

Curmudgeon Central

It's a beautiful autumn day with a slight chill in the air. Perfect day for me to go shop where the evil children live and terrorize - WallyWorld. Wal-Mart is a name used by many. Honestly, if I acted like the little heathens that scream up and down the aisles when I was their age it would have been curtains for me. After a thorough thrashing other parents would have gathered around and applauded this parental effort. Nowadays a kid can run you over with a cart, bite you, even knife you and it pisses their parents off if you take offense! Most likely a bunch of Satan worshippers. If you can't control your children put 'em in a cage where they belong. I think they should enforce stricter rules of behavior. Just trashy and ill-mannered. Yet, I have to go there because they are the only folks in town that sells my vacuum cleaner belt. May just buy a new vac; it sure as hell won't be from WallyWorld!

One more thing, we have gunslinger laws in Mississippi. You can wear a sidearm as long as you don't enter a place selling alcohol or if a business has a sign posted saying no guns allowed. Oh yes indeedy, Wal-Mart has such signs. Probably a good thing...

"Life be not so short but that there is always time for courtesy."
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Best Show on TV

I recently left this review on Hulu's Castle page. Normally I love nerdy, sci-fi things and not much into crime shows. Castle is what entertainment is all about to me:

It has everything; drama, romance, mystery, comedy, family and a phenomenal ensemble cast. Every once in a while you do see Malcolm Reynolds (Firefly) slip through in the Rick Castle character. I think Beckett may be the most gorgeous woman in TV land and Alexis may be the most adorable. The daughter-father-mother (his mother) relationship is so refreshing. This is entertainment polished to the highest luster!

If you don't watch this then you are missing out. It's easy to pickup the storylines. Castle explains the show in a brief synopsis at the beginning of every show. Each episode is like a mini movie. It's so delightful to see quality on the boob toob! Here's a great site about the show - CastleTV.net

"They say that ninety percent of TV is junk. But, ninety percent of everything is junk."
~Gene Roddenberry

It's Gobble Gobble Week

Took a few days off to finish some overdue projects and had the truck stall on me. It's repaired. The next morning I started the day with a flat tire. All in all it was not nearly as productive a time off as desired. Is it ever?

No one has contacted me about Thanksgiving so I am planning on spending the time off trying to accomplish more. It won't be the first holiday spent alone and my attitude is positive. Besides, Kroger had a sale on frozen turkeys and there's one thawing in the refrigerator. This is certainly not a pity plea and it will be greatly appreciated if you call before dropping in on me. I have a written agenda to help organize and intruding without notice won't help.

MJR, this weekend will be a perfect time to install your SCSI drives in the server. It'll also give me a break from cleaning up this pig sty. Also there are several other outside chores that need loose ends tied up. The last phase of a hardware firewall installation is due and I'll be glad to get that done.

Up early to start early with the dryer drying and the washer washing. Must achieve several more goals before the day is done. Everyone have a casual Monday. Slow down, kick back and enjoy this week. Sit down for a while and give thanks on Thursday.

"What we're really talking about is a wonderful day set aside on the fourth Thursday of November when no one diets. I mean, why else would they call it Thanksgiving?"
~Erma Bombeck

Something Completely Different

There is some crazy stuff out there for iPhones. This is the MacDaddy of apps written for this controversial device. Check out Waterloo Labs for an ultimate example of geeks having fun. This company is based in Austin, Texas. I found out about them over at Kim Komando's site. No doubt I could hang out with this group for a while. Thanks out to Kim for another great link. Also you might want to take a look at National Instruments who conspired with the geeks having fun on the serious tech side of this, "labor." Anyway, check out how these guys use an iPhone to control a full size vehicle remotely; a very short video. It's a hoot! Leave a comment and let me know what you think about these Waterloo wild and crazy guys.


iPhones have been around for a while and people will do all types of weird stuff with them. Some folks like them and some don't. My daughter that just moved to West Tennessee uses one and loves it. Some local friends liked them so much they actually bought two Apple laptops. One of my clients hates them and says he'll never use them again. He's found that they are unreliable and overheat. BTW, he has a MacBook for sale. Email me. Personally, I still love my Razr V9x. It's perfect for my needs which do NOT include texting. That reminds me, texting can be shut down. If people don't quit sending pictures over the text application it will be turned off on my phone. Email them to me!!! It costs too much money to receive them by phone.

Have a casual hump day.

"People rarely succeed unless they have fun in what they are doing."
~Dale Carnegie

John "Cougar" Mellencamp Redux

Received several emails raving about yesterday's video. Some even thought it was Gretchen lip syncing Ann's version. It wasn't. K, tomorrow I'll post about something else because I need to quit finding all these great tunes on YouTube!

"If music be the food of love; play on."
~William Shakespeare

Good Speakers? Good Headphones? TURN IT UP!

Amazing! Gretchen Wilson definitely has the right last name to sing this song. Alice in Chains rocks too! BTW, for all the real Heart fans out there, that is indeed Nancy Wilson assisting on guitar. This is a great rendition of a great great rock anthem! Gretchen's ability is off the scale. Yep, her country music is good, but this is absolutely, tremendously, bottom line AWESOME!

"My heart, which is so full to overflowing, has often been solaced and refreshed by MUSIC when sick and weary."
~Martin Luther

Flame On My Lovelies

This may make some mad. So be it. I'd like to explain why you can comment on each individual post. It's an area where people can voice opinions about each post. Comments should be more or less relevant. Profanity is not tolerated. Mild profanity will slide by, but don't take the Lord's name in vain or use extremely vulgar things like the 'F' word.

I have full capabilities to ban people temporarily or permanently. Believe me, if I don't want you in here, your access can be negated in a matter of seconds. Just try and post some stupid joke with no relevancy and see how fast your ass is shut down.

This is in no way meant to discourage commenting. Just send personal stuff to cybersouth@gmail.com. Or click on the small envelope email type symbol out beside the Comments line. It is rare that you see someone post their email directly on a site. My spam filters are awesome so I've made it available for many years. This is a bit of clarity long overdue.

Cybersouth, from the Saltillo Beach House is NOT a forum. If you'd like, email me and I'll help start your own blog or web page. Only I dictate content here, that way no one gets into trouble except me. Yes, Beagle is listed as a site administrator, but that's in case I drop dead. Efforts are being made for such an occurrence not to happen. End result of that? Only the Good Lord knows.

Many years have passed and this has not been a subject until now. Please feel free to comment away. I love it. You can get mad, disagree, make funny remarks, link to sites, so on and so forth. Many times the comments are far more interesting than what I have to say. And I realize that not everyone agrees with my Republican, United Methodist, frisbee throwing, music loving, whining silly butt. So don't hold back. Just please use my email when it is of a personal nature. Is that asking too much? Opinions? (I'll be really surprised if at least one person doesn't think I am being too self centered and wants me to drop dead, LOL)

"Take your life in your own hands, and what happens? A terrible thing: no one to blame."
~Erica Jong

Dan West!!!

Well, you won't answer your phone, I doubt you visit this site much, but maybe someone will tell you that your younger brother said:

"Just remember, once you're over the hill you begin to pick up speed."
~Charles Schulz

Sorry GW Fans, Our Running Joke About GW2's Intro Date is Wayyyyy Off

Go to Gamerzines and take a look. BTW, there is a free AION guide that you can download if playing this new game brought to you by some of the people connected with Guild Wars. Sorry about the date, but change is always possible.

There is so much left for me to do in Guild Wars 1 it'll still not be finished by the time GW2 hits the racks. It is a wonderful past time and I wish there was more time to play. If you see me on and there's no response chances are I am asleep, lol. If you hear me snoring in TeamSpeak kick my lazy butt off! I can always sign back in when awakened.

TGIF, only 2 more days to work this week.

"Clocks slay time... time is dead as long as it is being clicked off by little wheels; only when the clock stops does time come to life."
~William Faulkner

You Need to Read This if Living in the USA

I find this email MOST appropriate to follow Veterans Day. I wholeheartedly agree:

A lesson that should be taught in all schools . . And colleges

One September, on the first day of school, Martha Cothren, a social studies school teacher at Robinson High School, did something not to be forgotten. On the first day of school, with the permission of the school superintendent, the principal and the building supervisor, she removed all of the desks out of her classroom.

When the first period kids entered the room they discovered that there were no desks. 'Ms.. Cothren, where're our desks?'

She replied, 'You can't have a desk until you tell me how you earn the right to sit at a desk.'

They thought, 'Well, maybe it's our grades.'

'No,' she said.

'Maybe it's our behavior.'

She told them, 'No, it's not even your behavior.'

And so, they came and went, the first period, second period, third period. Still no desks in the classroom.

By early afternoon television news crews had started gathering in Ms.Cothren's classroom to report about this crazy teacher who had taken all the desks out of her room. The final period of the day came and as the puzzled students found seats on the floor of the deskless classroom,

Martha Cothren said, 'Throughout the day no one has been able to tell me just what he/she has done to earn the right to sit at the desks that are ordinarily found in this classroom. Now I am going to tell you.'

At this point, Martha Cothren went over to the door of her classroom and opened it.

Twenty-seven (27) War Veterans, all in uniforms, walked into that classroom, each one carrying a school desk. The Vets began placing the school desks in rows, and then they would walk over and stand alongside the wall... By the time the last soldier had set the final desk in place those kids started to understand, perhaps for the first time in their lives, just how the right to sit at those desks had been earned..

Martha said, 'You didn't earn the right to sit at these desks. These heroes did it for you. They placed the desks here for you. Now, it's up to you to sit in them. It is your responsibility to learn, to be good students, to be good citizens. They paid the price so that you could have the freedom to get an education. Don't ever forget it.'

God Bless you Mrs. Cothren. This has been verified by several sites on the internet and is true. Thanks EdC for the wonderful email and consideration to send it to me. What would we do without friends (and Veterans)?!!?!?

"How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and she-roes!" ~Maya Angelou

Happy Veterans Day

"We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude."
~Cynthia Ozick

Talk to a Human

Browsing Kim Komando's Site an interesting link was discovered. How about a list of phone numbers to many of the major companies that put you through to a real human on the other end instead of that seemingly endless phone tree of gobble-de-gook? Go to GetHuman.com and see if this helps. A reminder; don't forget to bookmark or place this address in your favorites. I have a feeling you'll use it more than once. Also do the same with Kim's site. She has a world of information that comes in handy. Her newsletter is read every day at the beach house. Now I am not assuring you that they will speak understandable English, but at least you won't sit forever listening to that press 1 for English, etc. Damn it! This is the United States of America . It should all be English and if someone doesn't know the language, learn it! There are free classes for legal immigrants all over the country! Kim's site is one of the best and I've been going there for years. Kudos and props for a job well done.

"Speak when you are angry and you will make the best speech you will ever regret."
~Ambrose Bierce

Hard Rows to Hoe

Nice to see Ole Miss win and even nicer to see Jevan Snead NOT throw an interception throughout the game. Now we have two home games then meet the Dawgs in Starkville. Next week the mighty orange of Tennessee will show up in Oxford. I dread that contest. CBS-TV will broadcast it and the gametime is 11:00AM. Seven days later the LSU Tigers invade Oxford and they are ready to pounce the Rebels. Losing that 1st Magnolia Bowl trophy in their own stadium last year did not make the rajun cajuns happy. Then it's off to Mississippi State for the annual Egg Bowl. Believe me folks don't ever count the Bulldogs out of this game. All three of these teams had impressive victories yesterday. It still baffles my mind that we lost to South Carolina and that bunch of ---- at Auburn. Anyway, our schedule is tough. And Jevan it'd be so nice if you'd continue last night's passing trend. Please quit playing for the other teams. Throw the football to OUR guys.

On the issue of the Colonel mascot - he'll not die as long as fans keep waving those flags. The nay-sayers are being downright nit-picky! Wish you bunch of jerks wanting him gone would assemble in one place so we could load you on a rocket ship and shoot you into the sun. For goodness sakes people this great icon was inspired by a black man named Jim Ivy! Sorry to say Mr. Ivy passed away in 1955. He'd sure have something to say about it if around today. So darken the mascot's skin tone and leave him alone!!!!!! The original concept was to keep him in the red, white and blue color scheme to match the school colors. Personally I could care less about skin tone. Opinions?

"I have no color prejudices nor caste prejudices nor creed prejudices. All I care to know is that a man is a human being, and that is enough for me; he can't be any worse."
~Mark Twain

Turn It Up!

Here's almost 8 minutes of one of the greatest 'tube' videos. She's awesome. What pipes! Solo extraordinaire and then awesome rendition with the whole band. This is definitely worth the listen. Turn it up! Turn it up! Turn it up!

"So she poured out the liquid music of her voice to quench the thirst of his spirit."
~Nathaniel Hawthorne

A Few Serious Words

On August the 10th I celebrated the fact that I have been happily divorced for 17 years (might be 18, not sure). During this time my ex and I have been amicable the majority of the time. I think she dates someone and I gave that up several years ago. My turning inward and striving to be alone is part of recovering from my time spent in Vietnam or so I am told. I drink far less, don't do drugs, love my friends, family and country. I will always thank God that my ex delivered two beautiful, intelligent, almost perfect daughters. My pride swells when I even think about them. They are the bright shining lights you see in my eyes. Both have chosen wonderful husbands and their children are extremely well mannered and happy.

Why am I talking about this at this time? My ex mother in law is hospitalized and needs your prayers. She is a Christian who loves the Lord. All her life she has been an educator. Later in life she even returned to school and obtained her masters. My ex brother in law and sister in law are on good terms with me and they really should despise me. That's a story you will not find here. I care for this family. Next to my own father I admired my one time father in law more than any other man. He loved his family. May they both rest in peace. You know, something tells me they do...

Beagle has mentioned this on her site several times and I feel compelled to mention the need for prayer here. So, please put her on your prayer list or give a moment to pass on our concern to the heavenly Father. Don't think I've ever mentioned anything about my past married life, but I do respect this woman and pray there be Grace in her life. Please pray God's Grace for the family too. My ex does not read this site. Nor do any of the family except my daughters. This is a plea for God's mercy and my fellow man's compassion. Nothing more.

"We have to pray with our eyes on God, not on the difficulties."
~Oswald Chambers

Doo Dah

There will be several new links show up in the list on the right side of the page. I've had requests like the free Malwarebytes download, Karen's Powertools (especially Replicator), etc. Procrastination is a terrible thing. If I could work for more than 15 or 20 minutes without the proverbial backache showing up more would be done. The beach house is a wreck and I still have to gank that smelly evil thing that lives in the southwest corner of the garage.

Hateful has stopped hissing when I feed her. Think she's female. Not sure. Seems I remember kittens around her at one time. Okay before I get into trouble - Hateful has stopped hissing when I feed him or her. Better? Probably not. Anyway the feral cat will now come closer and not run off if I just walk out on the veranda. We're getting there. Who knows? May be able to pet him or her eventually.

Looking forward to a long weekend of remote work on several networks. Have a casual Thursday (unless you are a terrorist).

"As every cat owner knows, nobody owns a cat."
~Ellen Perry Berkeley

Late Night

After sleeping through prime time the Dimension 3000 was declared sane and working. Upgraded RAM to one gig and reinstalled OS. It has a hyperthreading processor so the speed is nice! Redoing a machine is always unpredictable. You never know what may happen. This one stayed on overnight and ran scans properly. It's going home in the morning. Gosh it takes a long time to do all the procedures properly.

Sorry about not returning calls, but I don't think anyone wanted 11:00PM return calls. Will try to contact everyone today. Yesterday was one of those drop to the recliner and drift away days. Thanks MJR for the nice gift!

Folks, the new AVG 9 Antivirus Free Edition is a new, improved version of 8.5. If you let it optimize during the end of the installation (only takes a few minutes) your scan time will be reduced enormously. Go to Tools, Advanced, Schedule and tell it to scan Local Hard Drives. Glad to see this improvement. Those 3 hour scans were driving my crazy.

Have casual dreams unless you are a terrorist. Nighters.

"People who snore always fall asleep first."
~CC Jennings

Opinion

Ever have one of those crazy days where things just almost work? Happening at the beach house and surrounding area on this fine, fine Tuesday. Weather has turned out awesome, but fighting registry entries in DOS...'xcuse me the DOS emulation in XP. Fried Pie registry me thinks. Hate for people to lose valuable data, but no back up. Do you have an external back up? No? Do it!!!!!!!!!!

"If a mistake is not a stepping stone, it is a mistake."
~Eli Siegel

Monday's Music

Normally you'd expect to walk into a venue on the Mississippi Gulf Coast or some like place to hear this music genre. Well let me tell you girls and boys, Yankees can get just as soulful and 'down to it', oh yes indeedy! They are all over the place on TV. You Tube has a varied selection of many live videos. The Craig Ferguson Show performance is also outstanding. I know this is several years old, but can she sing or what?!?!? Also rocks the house playing the legendary Hammond B3. Hate I missed them when they played Birmingham! Love to see them live.

Wow! Can't stop watching them. Such a diverse repertoire. Check them out at Wikipedia. BTW, they have a nice home page which is linked on the wiki.

"Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life."
~Berthold Auerbach

New Books

Note: The picture in yesterday's post is Edwin Booth in character as the lead role in Hamlet. Yes, he was the older brother of John Wilkes Booth. Some consider Edwin to be the greatest Shakespearean actor of all times.

For Isaac Asimov fans - there will be more books issued in the I, Robot series. Check it out at Keeping the Door. Thanks Slashdot for a great link.

Later.


"Part of the inhumanity of the computer is that, once it is competently programmed and working smoothly, it is completely honest."
~Isaac Asimov