Get thee out, growling grinch!

Hey, even if your not a geek, dweeb, nerd - you need to read this post! The whole thing. Now do it! N don't forget the day's quote.

Since it has been requested by several people, the SpyBot link is posted. As always, download at your own risk. Don't come here whining and wimpering if you mess something up. This program is one of my all time favorites and it is powerful. Be careful. Read how to use it before changing any settings. Remember, Kolla (the author) is German and they are a most efficient people. This program has very little clutter and really nails stuff. It can hurt ya if you use it stupidly. Now on to the real matters at hand...

Went to bed working on a machine, dreamed about working on a machine and woke up an hour ago to work on the machine. My pseudo-geekness is literally overwhelming me. Have to be my 'happyboy' self all day long, then go to second job remaining 'happyboy', and work late into the night only to arise and repeat.

The machine that's on the bench had 570 infected files with W95/Spaces and various other infections. This nasty infects on June 1st every year and wreaks havoc with the boot sector eventually making start up impossible. It was booting when I found the virus infection!!! Methinks it had booted its last. AVG was installed sometime ago and there were no updates so it practically ate AVG. After spending two nights and many hours prowling the web trying to find a way to put AVG back on, use a removal tool and so forth, I decided to install Windows 2000 along with the existing remnants of Windows 98SE. Understand, I could have placed it on the network and scanned, but the virus definition was not absolute. This machine had to remain off any network until more was known. So, I opted for dual boot with 2 Windows OS's. AVG installed on 2000 with no problem and proceeded to tell the tale. As I sat there watching the red letter definitions ever increase I thought about how much time I had spent on this problem and how there is no way I can charge for my time (they could actually go and buy a new PC for less money!). Most techs would have said, "Sorry, the data cannot be recovered." Same techtypes might have growled around about updates, yada yada. So get ready and hold on to your hats girls n' boys, here's the conclusion of this post and it's a two paragrapher!

These clients are nice people. They have trusted my judgement for a long time. Anytime problems arise they call me. Payment is like clockwork and I am consulted about things techno. Okay, this computer is one of three and virus updates didn't get done. Upon arriving I checked the other two and the virus definitions were up to date. This computer is upstairs and not used a lot. Stuff happens. The needed data is time volatile so an effort is being made to correct an oversight. Hopefully I can kill a couple of chickens over it and say some deep tech-babble spell and it'll revive. Or I can grab the data and put it elsewhere. Who knows? The sun is not up yet and a lot can transpire. Am copying cab files on the machine now and needed a break. This one has been a nightmare.

Why ramble on about said problem? It's real simple folks. Be nice! Be well mannered, damn it! Understand that techs, even the grouchy types, spend a lot of time resolving problems. If you want to push my buttons, say something about 'how long it is taking'. If time is that important to you, pay extra! My pseudo-geekness has not yet been cloned and my cybervoodoo capabilities have not reached inhuman capacities. I have 24 hours a day just like everyone else. A smile and occasional "attaboy" goes a long way in most walks of life. Of course there is the grinch factor that will never appreciate anything. Thank God they are a minority. Don't tell them that though, they'll hiss at you.

"No pessimist ever discovered the secret of the stars, or sailed to an uncharted land, or opened a new doorway for the human spirit."
-Helen Keller

They shoot belly crawling reptiles, don't they?

Just finished reading Corinth Chris. The latest post is a profound statement about the condition of the music industry and the Gestapo agents of the RIAA. His link is posted. Please read and then click on his link to boycott the RIAA and join. How did we ever empower these belly crawling reptiles? This is an organization that needs complete sterilization. No mercy, no quarter. Red Dragon Steve is also starting a site to support eradication of these walking diseases. I'll have the link when he goes up with the site.

"Dictators ride to and fro upon tigers which they dare not dismount. And the tigers are getting hungry."
-Sir Winston Churchill, November 11, 1937

Contributions to the vacation fund will be accepted

Well, I didn't get everything done yesterday. Things happen. It is another week and I have tossed and turned all night. I'll be glad when this day is over. Not quite the optimist this morning. Need rest and a break. Work is about to drive me over the deep end. Actually, it's not the work...

"The power of man has grown in every sphere, except over himself."
-Sir Winston Churchill

Workin' for the weekend or workin' thru the weekend?

It's Sunday and that means only one day left to work this week - today! I hope and pray that I will get my life back and have some weekends off eventually. Time is far more precious than money. If someone can explain this vacation concept, please let me know. I have enough trouble finding time to eat lunch (usually done while driving down the road) so the idea of complete days off is hard to grasp. Don't get me wrong making extra money is almost a necessity, so I shall stride forth to my both of my clients today with a smile. Think my buddy Stan is going to help and that is always great. Charlie may help too.

Watched the third season opener of Star Trek Enterprise last night. After all the hoopla about making it more action oriented, things seem about the same. They also left the story line open once again. This was a cliff-hanger from the end of last season and they haven't finished the story yet. Why not have a 2 hour special instead of letting it go to next week? Anyway, it's worth watching just to see T'Pol (Jolene Blalock).

Must get ready and hit the grind. Don't buy CDs, sign up at the boycott RIAA page and tell your friends.

"There is a vast world of work out there in this country, where at least 111 million people are employed in this country alone--many of whom are bored out of their minds. All day long. Not for nothing is their motto TGIF -- 'Thank God It's Friday.' They live for the weekends, when they can go do what they really want to do."
-Richard Nelson Bolles, What Color is Your Parachute?, 1970

Familial Madness is casual

Awoke to my crazy brother calling on the way to work. He's a nut. His perspective on the world is refreshing. Both of us hate that John Ritter and Johnny Cash died. We are wearing black today. Growing up the West brothers put time to our mortal coils thinking 'bullet proof', daring life and death. Now we both thank God He's tolerated us and let us live to see our children become really neat, cool individuals. Mother still worries, but she's Mother. She also laughs a lot when we are together. N that's a good thing! BAM! take it up a notch.

Watched the stuff on Tech TV last night until sleep grabbed me. RIAA sucks. The cowards wouldn't even show up to take a stance. Lord, I hope we can get duelling re-instituted. People, they persecuted a 12 year girl to the tune of two thousands dollars! And are proud of it! Her mother is a single parent! DON'T BUY MUSIC CDs! Let the artists know that this is not tolerable. Can we say file transfer protocol? FTP!

Have to go. The yard calls to me. Can we say Briggs and Stratton?

"Friendship is the hardest thing in the world to explain. It's not something you learn in school. But if you haven't learned the meaning of friendship, you really haven't learned anything." -Muhammad Ali

Musicians, beware prosecuting your customers

Yesterday's grudge match with the network was a victory. Thanks Killeen Doug, Chris, and Mimi. All responded with the same basic fix and it worked. Good to have machines talking to each other and making nice. Sometimes a different perspective is most helpful. Working from 8:00am until 1:30am the next day will definitely cloud the noggin. Mine anyway. Great to have techs that will share knowledge. Some won't. Let us pray for these bitter people (even though they are buttheads).

Now let's recuss the RIAA. When you get right down to it, they are agents of Satan. They all need to return to hell and bow down to their master. This persecution has gone on long enough. My friend Corinth Chris has a link posted to a site that is ready to send these flies off a horse's butt to the unemployment line. I have a link posted to Corinth Chris. Don't want to steal thunder so go to his site and click on the link after reading his astute opinions about things tech and moral.

Don't even consider giving in to the "amnesty" load of manure. That is a guise to trap you into admitting guilt when there may be none. Above all, don't buy any CD's other than blanks. A nationwide boycott may make artists think about how much the RIAA is "doing" for everyone. If all musicians will start using the download process from their sites (and they ALL have web sites) everyone will benefit but the RIAA sleazes. The artist can make more profit and sell tunes at a lesser price to the public. I'll gladly pay the artist directly, but I will not purchase anymore cds until the RIAA NAZIS ARE DEFUNCT!!!!!!!!

When I hear Moe-dumma or Lars and the cretins in Dumbtallica, the radio is turned off . Always been a Charlie Daniels fan and have enjoyed his website, but he's off limits too. Don't call me a thief after I have literally spent hundreds of dollars purchasing your music Charlie. There will be a list of all the jerks that are whining about file sharing. And file sharing will NEVER go away. So deal with it, musicians of the world. Embrace it and make MO' MONEY.

Many more things need to be said (check out the archives, especially the month of June starting with the post on the 3rd), but work calls. Be nice to somebody today, but don't let it be RIAA types, the French or liberals. Peace out...well sorta'

"It is a revenge the devil sometimes takes upon the virtuous, that he entraps them by the force of the very passion they have suppressed and think themselves superior to."
-George Santayana, The Letters of George Santayana

Yo' RIAA, death is too good for you!

It is highly possible that I may not buy another CD until the RIAA is brought down. It may be time for an overt vigilante action against these horrible scumbags. So help me God, if they will show up here, I'll kick everyone of their asses. N they won't. Cowards hide behind unjust laws. This latest action is bordering the unforgiveable.

RIAA persecution of a 12 year old girl

Are the RIAA jerks taking lessons from Osama? I wish they'd all drop dead! DON"T BUY CDS. DOWNLOAD!!

"The world needs anger. The world often continues to allow evil because it isn't angry enough."
-Bede Jarrett, The House of Gold

Full Moon-itis can be positive

It's 1:30am and I just walked in from a good butt kicking that was delivered by a network. It gets to face me again in the grudge match later this morning. Had 4 of the machines transferred over to a new server and it decided to go schizoid. Have a few choice words to say about the RIAA "amnesty", but must wait until I can communicate with my fingers. Don't give the mafiosos ANY information!

A most gracious thanks goes out to Sean and James. These two pulled over on the side of a busy highway after midnight and helped my tired ass get the truck running after the alternator failed and the battery drained. It's nice to hear, "Sir, are you okay?" They deduced the company truck wouldn't be left on the road without someone there guarding it. The thought had just run through my mind to cell phone our office manager. Come to find out they knew someone that worked for us a while ago. Thank you, thank you, thank you. They also went 15 miles out of their way to make sure I struggled into Saltillo. It is a huge pleasure to meet nice people with manners and a concern for fellow human beings! I don't know about your world, but my world has it's share of ill-mannered, ill-tempered jerks. These young guys saw an older dude in trouble and helped. Great ending to a really trying night

"Guard well within yourself that treasure, kindness. Know how to give without hesitation, how to lose without regret, how to acquire without meanness."
George Sand (1804 - 1876)

Enjoy Every Sandwich

Sunday afternoon a legend crossed the bar. Warren Zevon, songwriter/musician extraordinaire passed in his sleep. He was the son of a Russian immigrant father and a Mormon mother. He leaves a daughter and son , Ariel and Jordan and twin grandchildren born by Ariel in July 2003. He was 56 years old. Mesothelioma was the illness. I thank God for his music and its influence in my life. Truly there is Tenderness on the Block. Both of my daughters know.

This was no ordinary cat. His moving ballads will shake your soul. He also wrote wild and crazy rock based anthems. He forever had the surprise waiting. I had heard his second album and was given the third, Excitable Boy, by a friend that is now buried in the past. When listening to Werewolves of London, Tenderness on the Block, Nighttime in the Switching Yard and the rest I realized here was someone deserving of repeated plays. And I have played; over and over. His tunes never get old. The name of the art on this album cover is Willy on the Plate. Just Sunday morning I posted a quote from this album. It came from memory.

People called. Nice to know that others were caught up in this music of a true ‘free spirit’. David Stephens drove to the top of a huge earthen dam, watched the water, smoked a cigar and drank a refreshing beverage in his honor. He thanked me for turning him on to Zevon music. Tammy shed tears of remembrance during our conversation. She laughed and cried about a mutual friend now gone. We think Warren will meet her (our friend Linda that passed away July 13, 2003) on the "other" side. She was playing the lastest Zevon album, The Wind, in the background and a flood of emotion overwhelmed me. Last night, David Letterman was sincerely choked up and paid a wonderful tribute on his show. Letterman aired a video clip from Warren's last appearance on Late Night. Warren knew he was dying and was asked if he had any insight to pass on about the coming event. He replied, "Enjoy every sandwich." It was apparent that Dave and Paul both will sorely miss him. Hey, Warren, didn't know ya' personally, but I will too. Thanks for being the dude.

A gentle human 'put out to sea'
now hastens down the wind…


"As a well-spent day brings happy sleep, so life well used brings happy death."
Leonardo da Vinci (1452 - 1519)

Putting it all in the proverbial one sock

I have limited the amount of posts to 7 days. This may help with the links problem. The archives are in the sidebar if you need to refer back to an older post.

About two weeks ago I had planned on grilling bourbon salmon. It happened yesterday. My youngest daughter and her family brought fresh gulf shrimp, we blackened the salmon, had great veggies and an awesome strawberry cheesecake with strawberry ice cream. Hopefully, my carbohydrate rich Sundays have returned. LOL. And I still managed to work for 2.5 hours.

Organization is the theme this week. All this flopping around like a fish out of water must stop. My inner control freak will be let out long enough to perform badly needed maintenance concerning several venues. Plus, I get to mow sometime this week and how i do love the sound of a Briggs and Stratton in the morning. I really need to be in Arkansas this weekend, but that trip has been delayed . I just need an extra pair of hands to finish a job. Hate to cancel my trip, but, in the words of that great Carmel philosopher Clint Eastwood, "A man's gotta know his limitations."

"Opportunities are usually disguised as hard work, so most people don't recognize them."
-Ann Landers

Attack of the ass-biting spiders at the University of Memphis with somewhat religious closure

Do all you folks at the University of Memphis have Apples? Please refer to previous entries about Steve Jobs if you don't understand. Let me say right here and now I apologize. It's the University of Memphis not Memphis State or Tiger High. There, that's said. I shouldn't 'dis' a University because their team played against an Ole Miss team and beat 'em like an egg in a KitchenAid. Ole Miss looked as sloppy and slow as I've ever seen...we need to improve. I'm sorry Tiger fans, got a tad emotional over our loss.

Next. Please go to http://www.snopes.com if you hear that three tailed snakes, two headed rabid ex-lovers or twostriped telemonia spiders are lurking in outhouses to take you down. This is another version of an old urban legend making rounds again. Snopes will set such things right. If I can ever post a link in the sidebar here again I will put Snopes on the list. Several emails have come in about this spider thangy and it's supposedly biting people at Olive Garden. Hey, someone ate their nasty lasagna and decided to get even. Love their salads and bread, but I have never eaten a good entree at said restaurant. My opinion, but you will flame me anyway. Thanks for the tip Lisa!

Never claiming to be perfect I have admitted a mistake today. Not a day goes by that I don't make mistakes. Well, there were those few days I was comatose due to morphine taken for kidneystones. If you are perfect, know everything, and come here then please tell St. Luke, St. Peter, St. Paul, Esther, Moses, David, Solomon and all the rest I said hello and am a great fan. For all you sociopaths lurking, I am referring to Christ as being the ONLY perfect One to walk the earth. Am taking personal inventory this morning to try and improve. Why don't you?


"Patty Hearst heard the burst of Roland's Thompson Gun - and bought it"
Warren Zevon -Excitable Boy Album

Football shame this early in the season?

It is absolutely ridiculous that Ole MIss lost to Memphis State/ University o Mempho/Tiger Hi, etc. I am pissed! Let's see.....if they don't fumble, Eli hits them in the chest with the ball and they still manage to drop it!!!!!!!!! Cutcliffe needs to start bringing a shotgun to practice. He needs to do something. Something different anyway. I need to go. The quote is a repeat.

"Gentlemen, it is better to have died as a small boy than to fumble this football."
-John Heisman

'Tis the very witching hour

It is 3:30am and I am working on a PC. Sometimes you just have to sneak up on them and do battle in the middle of the night. If I can find legacy sound drivers and modem drivers this one may finally be done. I feel like I've been run through a cotton picker. Sorry, at least I stopped before going to turbo-whine.

Let me know if the links don't work. Sometimes they appear at the top right, sometimes at the very bottom (scroll down). I've even been told that they separate, some at the top and some at the bottom. My brothers and sisters, this is a work in progress n sometimes the progress hits an awful muddy spot in the road. Gladly take any advice about the mysterious artform of linking in a sidebar, LOL. The techandlife blog is now posted in the list as Corinth Chris. Still working on images here of the beach house and other thangs. May try and incorporate a link or button that will let you post email while visiting Cybersouth.

BTW, Charlie, belated Happy Birthday, my fellow geek!

"It is one of the most beautiful compensations of life, that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Weekly disappearing links

This is getting disgusting. Don't give up on me. I will republish the links as I have MANY times before. I wonder if others have the same problem. Will research this...

Moons of Mars

TechTV had an interesting spot last night that applies to stopping the RIAA Nazis. Kevin Rose, aka the Dark Tipper, has found a site that actually blocks known RIAA faux addys and some other evil stuff too. This is not foolproof, but it's a start. Go to TechTV (a link is posted) select the show Screensavers, then look in last night's show notes. This will get you to the free download. Look around if you've never been to this site before. They are kewl.

If I ever become Emporer of the world, people that are with the RIAA, BSA, French, liberals or terrorists will be banished to Deimos or Phobos. These control freak creeps are doing absolutely no good concerning anything. I have to reiterate on occasion. Nuff said about that.

Corinth Chris, a frequent visitor here, has started a page. His email alone keeps me laughing and provokes the occasional deep thought. He's a natural. Check it out!

techandlife


"The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government."
-Thomas Jefferson

That Mexican Weapon of Mass Destruction

Sarah from California wrote, "With this quote, are you endorsing gun control laws?" She's referring to the quote at the bottom of yesterday's post. No, Sarah, please read the August 27th entry. I do endorse learning the proper use of any weapon. I endorse ultimate restraint. I endorse nil hesitation factor. I endorse being very sure of what you will shoot. I endorse locking up all weapons upon the initial imbibing of a refreshing beverage with tequila in it (see yesterday's quote!). Geez! I thought everyone had knowledge that tequila is dangerous in appreciable quantities.

College football is underway. Watched Mississippi State/Oregon Saturday and Kentucky/Louisville Sunday. Mississippi State deserves a rematch because of the sight disadvantage. What normal jock could endure those dayglo yellow uniforms rushing around you? Oregon, get a life and use some restraint. Only things missing from that Mardi Gras uniform were flashing beads and neon signs on the helmet saying "look at my idiot self!" The Kentucky/Louisville game was delayed because of rain. Didn't know they could do that. I don't think they'd delay a game at Ole Miss for anything short of the Apocalypse. Who Knows? New things abound in this world that forever changes. My friends in Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama have to be happy with one exception. They all won with the exception of Auburn which is in Alabama. In a way I hate any SEC team lost, but since one had to - sure glad it was a team coached by Tommy Tuberville. He's a horse's ass. Ole Miss went to Nashville and barely squeaked by Vandy. Can you say fumble? If I overlooked your team, please accept my apology . Remember, I support SEC teams and am a Rebel fan. Also pull for two other Mississippi teams: Go Dawgs and Southern!

"Gentlemen, it is better to have died as a small boy than to fumble this football."
-John Heisman

Cyberspace is full

I've spent the last 2 hours writing, hit the post button and it disappeared into cyberspace. Had a neat link, etc, but this uber-glitching has to happen at least once a week. Will repost sometime today using a HTML based application so I can save before coming here. Some of us learn slowly, if we ever learn at all.

"A computer lets you make more mistakes faster than any invention in human history - with the possible exceptions of handguns and tequila."
-Mitch Ratliffe

Methinks I craves a homemade Big Mac

Ever wonder what are the ingredients in Wendy's Chili? How does one make Hard Rock Cafe's Tupelo Chicken? Do you like KFC's (Kentucky Friend Chicken) cole slaw? Here's a neat site that tells you about such things. Look under recipes. There's a lot of them.

Top Secret Recipes

Interesting to see actual ingredients that go into "fast" food, etc. This is a good site that navigates easily. Since this is a cookout type weekend my mind turned to food. Wait, I always think about food. Any addys about food are welcome. In the words of that wundergeek, Martin Sargent, "Email me!"

Parrotheads, Pirates, Gypsies and Roadtrippers; be careful out there this weekend. Watch the other dudes n dudettes while on the road. And don't drive drunk!!!


If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.
J. R. R. Tolkien (1892 - 1973)

Coconut bra n grass skirt

Video Music Awards aired last night on MTV. It was an effort to get thru the 3 minutes I watched. Born in the wrong generation? Many classic tunes that you hear so often today were constructed and performed when I was a lowly musician hacking at a keyboard on stage. As is apparent in most music from the 60s, 70s, 80s people had to be talented to get air play. There was harmony, instruments in tune, good lyrics (thoughtful or silly) and an impact that left lingering melodies in your head. Now all you have to do is wear you pants down below your ass crack with ugly boxer shorts pulled up to your neck or dress like a gutter slut n you can get a contract. It's also required that you mumble a lot , have non-sequitur lyrics and always sing in the key of H. Sorry, rap to me is like listening to Metallica or Moe-donna - a waste of time. K, I wasn't born in the wrong generation. Nice to have Buffett playin in the background. Better a grass skirt n coconut bra than to dress like some skank ho.

Labor day weekend approaches. Everyone please stay safe. If using alcohol do it responsibly. Don't even think about getting behind a steering wheel if drinking.

Parrotheads call a great party a Phlocking. One nice thing I've noticed about parrothead gatherings is that some folks stay 'designated dry' and make sure that others don't leave bombed. Probably an idea to consider. Phlock responsibly.

Now for some humor. Corinth Chris n Tina sent this to me. Being a fan of Jethro Bodine and Milburn Drysdale, I laughed!

Trojan worm, Beverly Hillbillies style

"If a man knows not what harbor he seeks, any wind is the right wind."
-Seneca

God Bless Mississippi, Republicans and Democrats

Well, the monument is gone. Sorry about being late and untimely, they had removed it before I posted. Guess I should watch more TV, LOL. Tickles me that the Governor of our great state and one his Republican opponents in the upcoming election have said they'd take the monument and proudly display it. Hey, if you don't like it, don't come here. If you live here and don't like it, leave! Governor Musgrove, a democrat, sums up the general concensus in this article:

Mississippi believes in Ten Commandments

Again, if you don't agree, go away. This is NOT a forum. Frankly, I am tired of all the bashing going on and really tired of the lame limp liberals.

"There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,
Than are dreamt of in your philosophy."
-William Shakespeare, "Hamlet"

liberals want full regression for mankind & they suck in general

If God and the ten commandments have no play in someone's philosophy, why worry? If God fearing men hadn't chartered and formulated structure for this country then all the wimps denying God might not have the right to be athiests, agnostics, yada yada (screw political correctness) and so outspoken about it today. Have you liberal dumbasses thought about this?

Look, I really want duelling to be revived. Think about all the idiots that would off each other and save the taxpayers money. Think about all the loudmouths that would have to acknowledge their 10 cent asses. I think manners might improve in general. Let's go further. Make it mandatory that everyone be armed. 'It's the Law! Wear your weapon. You can't leave home without it!' Why not? Makes about as much sense as trying to abolish Christianity.

Leave the monument alone in Alabama. Our Christian forefathers set forth articles and a constitution therefore the world should remember the forces behind their convictions. The ne'er do wells are trying to take down the very symbols of our ability to rise above the swill and become civil.

So, if you don't believe then why all the hubbbubb? Your little hummingbird ass is irritated? I hope it stays that way; at least until we see the manufacture of duelling pistols wax profitably. Then what will you do? Keep shooting off your loudmouth? Keep showing the world that you are infected with villageidiotitis?

I won't take my religion from any man who never works except with his mouth.
Carl Sandburg (1878 - 1967)

Absence of laughter renders life impossible

Okay, it's time to take a hint. Somehow someway I am not doing something right. First back trouble then kidney stones and now a summer cold that I can't shake off. Have I been in a whine-fest or what? Came in yesterday with grandiose plans of accomplishing several tasks. Sat down - went to sleep. During the evening I migrated to the bed and arose just a few minutes before I parked my carcass here in front of this 'mosheen'. Growing older and being overweight sure does make one tired and lazy. Let's see?... more prayer and exercise, yeh, that's the ticket!

The resolution of your monitor makes a difference as to where the links and archives end up (don't change any settings, just scroll to the bottom). Several people have also said clicking on the archive link after it's open will bring in all the posts for that month. Since this cable modem is not yet asynchronous my actual upgrading of the template which makes this page work is timing out. When the cable company finally upgrades the modem changes will be easier. K, Ima through whining and must go to work. As my friend Ed Coffin often says "hope you have a better than expected day!" Well, everyone but the RIAA, BSA, the French, etc.

If you don't learn to laugh at trouble, you won't have anything to laugh at when you're old.
Edgar Watson Howe (1853 - 1937)

Concerning Links

Experienced my weekly snafu saving links. I have reposted. Some are new. Please please remember, no one is holding a cyber pistol to yo' cyber melon and forcing you to download anything. At least not in here. So, if you download something and gum up the works don't come here looking for cheese to go with that whine.

Summertime, n' the chicken is greasy

As Miss Scarlett said, "Ah juz hate it when it's sticky!" It is hot in the Deep South today. Went out to make use of the hammock and never reclined. There seems to be a shadowy steamy texture to the air. Humidity is horribly high. So, after working a bit, I've done some shopping and rented movies. Also will finish reading Doublas Adams and Nichelle Nichols biography (she played Uhura on Star Trek). It's a lazy day.

Wow, it's time to get back to the couch n nod off. Will post later tonight.


"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."
-Arthur C. Clarke

Music for sociopaths

Does it amaze you how some people have no manners? Ever become flabbergasted at the crude ineptitude of dolts that don't deserve the level of incompetence to which they have been promoted? Nothing infuriates me more than all the 'hitler wannabes' I see on a day to day basis. Well, maybe their inability to form the words sorry, I'm wrong, I made a mistake, etc. Techs seem to have a natural affinity to this group, but the business community has its fair share of these pompous, sociopathic, rodent-like jerks. The RIAA, the BSA, hollywoodphytes, SCO, and so forth seem to thrive on making people miserable. Well, check out this link!

Mighty Microsoft? Not needed, thank you!

This is about a company CEO that flew mad about the BSA hammering him (BSA?=Business Software Alliance). It tickles me when people don't tolerate abuse. This is part of what makes the United States great. Review this article and you will know exactly what strings belong on your guitar!

Take a music bath once or twice a week for a few seasons, and you will find that it is to the soul what the water bath is to the body.
Oliver Wendell Holmes (1809 - 1894)

Linking again

Several new links are posted. They may appear at the top right or you may have to scrolldown to the bottom of this page (it's a cybervoodoo thangy). Leoville is Leo Laporte's sight. He's the host on Call for Help and cohost for The Screeensavers on TechTV. Leo is, somewhat, an apple dude. Since Paul Allen (co-founder of Microsoft) owns TechTV, he talks about PCs for the most part while on the show. Very sharp dude that has been in the business for a while. Annoyances.org is about things Windows. Very old site that is a well of information. Computing.net may be one of the best sites on the web period. EFF is the Electronic Frontier Foundation. They have a search engine that'll let you know if the RIAA Gestapo horseasses are hammering yo bad self. Slashdot? My home page at work. Check em out, n let me know your opinions.

"Knowledge is of two kinds. We know a subject ourselves, or we know where we can find information upon it."
-Samuel Johnson

All hail the mighty Laundry Witch!

The links will return. Being a true novice at blogging, it will take time to put everything back together. Other changes will occur along the way. There is another version of this software that will be utilized which will improve my sad abilities.

Just like to take a moment n wish the Laundry Witch (Rhonda) a happy birthday! She's somewhere in her early 30s (evil grin!) and is so knowledgeable about things worldly. Through this tremendous, loving, caring, giving human being I discovered the power of Oxyclean and Spray n Wash. Hoochie Mama, u da bomb!

"We are the people our parents warned us about!"
Jimmy Buffett

Casual time

Later this afternoon the grill will be heated and bourbon salmon will be the main dish. My youngest daughter's family will be here renewing a tradition we've celebrated for going on 4 years now: Sunday afternoon at "Big Daddy's" for food, refreshing beverage and movies. It'll be a light meal, a light movie and a bit of yard mowing. Too hot for an outdoor whoop-te-doo, but it'll still be great.

With all the W32.Blaster stuff, kidney stones, and so forth - it's time to pause for the cause of humor. There's a link posted called Chili Judge in this text. If you don't laugh at this then it's my hope that the family is putting flowers on your grave. Bruce Cameron has been writing this column for several years and a tv show currently playing on ABC is based upon one of his posts. He's insightful, witty and all those other things. I will seek permission to link to his sight permanently, but I don't think he will mind a link to one article for a few days. Please let me know what you think!

Chili Judge


"Don't worry, be happy!"
Bobby McFerrin

Mr. Hawking is so right

Reviewing Google News, Slashdot, Ars Technica and several other sites, makes one think that the initial hoopla about the Blaster worm/virus/general aggravation seems to be subsiding. Since the cretin that wrote it could not get the Windows Update address right, the potential denial of service possibility has been lessened. We'll see. Come Monday, it may not be all right. Many sales people that are carting around laptops from motel room to God knows where, will check in at the office, plug into the local intranet and re-infect some poor sys admin's newly cleaned network. Yes, it will happen.

Lack of manners and pompous inconsideration astound me. Qualified system administrators should be armed and given a license to kill. Well, maybe a big hammer. These good people work hard to give others a place to exchange and process information. They rarely ask for anything other than lotsa caffeine, quiet moments with their machines, more RAM, and the newest copy of PC Magazine. People that don't update virus definitions and blatantly plug into networks should be terminated immediately via hammer or pink slip.

For days now I have ranted about updating virus definitions. If you want your computer infected to the point that it crashes and loses ALL data that's your business. Hey, you can even call me and I'll gladly repair the poor damaged machine to a state of useful bliss. It will cost you. You have to go away and not call while I perform this ritual that I know way too well. And promise not to run over some poor defenseless animal just because it runs into the road on your way home. Nuff said. This rant stops here....for now anyway.


"I think computer viruses should count as life. I think it says something about human nature that the only form of life we have created so far is purely destructive. We've created life in our own image."
-Stephen Hawking

Cannot find REALITY.INI...World halted

After 4 miserable days of morphine and various other drugs, I am back at work. It's hard to believe I used to take stuff for recreation that now makes any type of reasoning null and void. Actually, it was making us null and void then. Ahhh the 'gray days'. I certainly don't long for them. It's nice to be functioning on any level. Certainly wasn't earlier this week! Let me tell you brothers and sisters, kidneystones hurt (this is probably the understatement of the year)! Three days were spent man-crying and whining at the speed o' light. So, I am older and now have no desire to get stoned or kidneystoned

Beta News has announced that Microsoft will stop production of Outlook Express. Support will continue, but alternatives need to be considered. Billy n the boys in Redmond will push MSN9 and Outlook 2003. This may possibly open the door for mail clients heretofore unused, which is a good thing. Just another way to make money for Microsoft. What's next? Internet Explorer 7 for sale? Marc Andresson, get yo' whine box ready! Mozilla is open source and a nice alternative to IE6. Kmail is way kewl too. Running on the Linux Red-Hat OS also keeps the Kmail client pretty much virus free at this writing anyway. With all the authentication code voodoo, smarmy attitude, etc., Microsoft is opening the door for alternative operating systems. Linux keeps getting better and free BSD is making a loud noise in this arena. If Satan will call Steve Jobs back to hell where he belongs and the Apple people will stop all the high profit margins, their PCs might become more popular since they've crawled outta the cave and updated their hardware technology. And quit making lame claims about the world's fastest computer! Outright lies, I tell ya. It's a beautiful day in the cyber-neighborhood.

If you have any trouble sounding condescending, find a Unix user to show you how it's done.
Scott Adams, Dilbert Cartoonist

Symantec FixBlast tool rocks!

Please download a removal tool from AVG, Symantec, SARC, Trend Micro, etc. and run it to eliminate the W32.Blaster virus/worm from your PC. Then restart. After restarting IMMEDIATELY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! go to Microsoft's site and download the patch. If you let this worm stay on your computer and continue to use your computer - you will lose data!!! Again, if you ignore this and keep using your machine - you will lose data!!! I have seen it happen!! If you cannot do the removal get a professional to do it for you. If you cannot access the internet borrow a friend's PC and download the tool. The Symantec FixBlast tool works fine. A link is posted to George Washington University that will give you step by step instructions (Blaster removal).

If you have sat on your dead ass and not updated your virus definitions then guess who is at fault? You as in Y-O-U. How many times have I warned up in here about updating virus definitions? Anyone running AVG that has done the updates will not get this latest intrusion on their PC. My network has an uber router, an uber switch, a cable modem and I run ZoneAlarm. Even with this protection, ALL my Windows PCs have AVG and are updated every day. Some may think me harsh, but updating virus definitions is like brushing your teeth! It has to be done. Peace out, the pseudogeek must attend to kidneystones...

Part of the inhumanity of the computer is that, once it is competently programmed and working smoothly, it is completely honest.
Isaac Asimov (1920 - 1992)

W32.Blaster worm/virus

Still recovering from the gravel pit in my kidneys, I decided to check on different sites concerning the latest virus/worm problem known as W32.Blaster, Pova, LovSan, or Blaster. Fortunately this class 4 problem can be eliminated if you take prompt action and go to the windows update site and download the appropriate security patch immediately. Microsoft's update site is very slow, but still functioning. This is not the time to do ALL the updates. The pipe is being squeezed to the max. Finish your updates late this evening or during the night when traffic will be slower. This will help prevent a bottleneck or dos (denial of service). Also, AVG users might try late at night or early am. Their site, Symantec (Norton's), Trend Micro (P-Cillin) are all slow because of the last minute interest in this problem. If you are running McAfee's, nevermind - you'll never be protected by this lame company. TechTV, Microsoft and various sites have been warning about this bug for a while now. If you are running Windows 2000 (any flavor), Server 2003, XP (any flavor) or NT4 (any flavor) you need to protect your machines. So far the Windows ME, 98SE, 98 and 95 OS's are not subject to infection. Firewalls and routers seem to be preventing infection, but why take chances?

This is a direct quote from Patrick Norton of the Screensavers site:

In the first version of Blaster, a countdown clock face pops up and your system gets seriously unstable and restarts (a lot). Some reports say Blaster will launch a denial-of-service attack on the Windows Update website on August 16. Other reports say the attack will happen immediately.

The obnoxious thing about this worm? It'll load itself onto your system if you don't have the patch and you're not running a firewall. Forget about opening attached files online. This one can get ya if you simply go online.

The really nasty thing? The worm can run any code it wants to on your system. That could get ugly. Think total data loss.

The really, really nasty thing? Experts have told our Kevin Rose that the first Blaster worm wasn't written well. New versions of the worm with updated code are already out there. That counts for everybody running Microsoft Windows NT 4.0, NT 4.0 Terminal Services Edition, 2000, XP, or Server 2003.


Patrick is a TechTV personality, show host, etc. This dude really knows his stuff as does Kevin Rose. They speak - I listen. TechTV is well staffed with intelligent people and they are very entertaining. Everyone needs to heed their good advice.

Alfred Hitchcock was born this day in 1899. Google has honored him in the page title; very clever. Insipid means useless or worthless.

At times one remains faithful to a cause only because its opponents do not cease to be insipid.
Friedrich Nietzsche (1844 - 1900)

New Template!

Was getting nowhere and decided to change template. Hope everyone likes red n brown. Will post when feeling better

No matter how much pressure you feel at work, if you could find ways to relax for at least five minutes every hour, you'd be more productive.

Dr. Joyce Brothers (1949 - )

Something is still amiss..

Now I am getting pieces of information from someone else's site in here. Really don't need this barnyard material on top of kidney stones. Hope this posts. Nothing else seems to make the trip

Something is amiss..

Something is really unstable here besides me, or I need to review my capabilities . Funny that I have been here since April with virtually no problems until about 2 weeks ago. Once again I will republish the links, etc. BTW, absolutely don't go to Groovyweb. They are Gator/Gain people and I WILL not recommend anyone using that trash. Sad, some good info there.

Finally got some sleep last night. Seems like illness is catching up with me. It hurts like hell, you just can't get in a comfortable position. Must go

Health is not simply the absence of sickness.
Hannah Green

For some strange reason my templates keep disappearing. Don't go to Groovyweb. They are Gator/Gain advocates and will infect your machine with this trash spyware. I am passing kidney stones and feel horrible. Must go and bow to the porcelan thrown.

Dig out those old Young Rascals 8-tracks and vinyl albums. Boy howdy, have I gotta site for you! It's NOT a music site. Just nice to have kewl music playing in the background while surfing the web. Don't know about the Young Rascals? Learn. They had a hit called Groovin' that was really big a long time ago in a galaxy not so far away. 8-tracks? Nevermind.

Groovyweb. Yep, that's the name. This site is neatly done. Online tutorials abound and they offer information about things not computerese such as Physics, Music, Politics, Philosophy and so forth. The online tutorials are editable and in a constant state of change. Before you email me and rant about the screwed up attitude in the politics section, please realize that we are harvesting free information from here. I think this is just one opinion among many people that contribute to the site. If I get enough negative email the link will be removed. Check it out n let me know. And please note the quote of the day; it's apropo...


A man thinks that by mouthing hard words he understands hard things.

Herman Melville (1819 - 1891)

Another Saturday morning. Sun is shining, birds are singing, gentle breeze is blowing, humidity is tolerable and wasps have invaded the veranda! Being so allergic herr doktor won't let me carry a kit for fear I may use it then drop dead. I really have no use for wasps. They are the Hitlers of the insect world. There will be wasp howitzers purchased in quantity and tonight they will feel a wrath like unto Patton's 3rd! Yea tho' they fly thru the veranda, they WILL fear evil for Pseudogeek will be amongst them.

Dawnload.net is a way way kewl site. Anyone that has ever needed codecs knows what a pain it can be to hunt down these elusive necessitites for audio and video. This site has most of what you need and more. If you are into audio, video, peer to peer, n such this is a great page. Also some networking stuff, cd burning software, etc. Linux, Beos, Amiga, n crapple are also supported. Nice page, moves quickly, easy to navigate, and full of wonderful goodies. Check this out n give me your opinion. Murf, you should go for this page.

{Please understand that I am trying to provide links that may make computing easier. Yet I have to occasionally make a statement about downloading. Forgive my harshness unless you are the flamer.}

Once again let me remind you that Pseudogeek has no army patrolling the realm of cyberspace putting guns to your heads and forcing you to do anything. You have absolutely no right to flame me if you download something and screw up your personal confuser. You did it, and probably did it wrong. Whining here is done by ME and everyone knows I take care of that. If you don't like links that I post then go away and hang out with apple users, the RIAA Gestapo or the French. You can flame me for that which I am responsible, but your own stupidity lies in the self realm.

Pseudogeek out


The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function.F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896 - 1940)

Had an interesting conversation about spare time and what we do with it. When the concept of spare time, time off, vacation (I keep hearing this word and must look up the meaning in the dictionary), days off without mowing the lawn was explained, I vaguely recalled the 'good old days' when I had such in my life. Every Sunday afternoon was reserved for time with my youngest daughter's family and I really enjoyed cooking out, watching movies, talking and normalcy. Then I inherited a second job or two and my familial socializing flew out the window. Well my good friend Stan is going to help me with one of my jobs Sunday afternoon which means that a lot of work will be accomplished. Maybe a change is blowing in the wind. I long for the days of yore when there was time to clean out the garage, paint the garage, tinker with my leadsled el camino, sweep out the garage, organize the storage shed, finish the patio, organize the garage, do all the laundry...something amiss here?

Memphis Monk emailed and wants to further recommend the Tinhat site. He's become security conscious and loves Tinhat's straightforward look on matters. He installed Zonealarm and, after a freaky start, is tickled with it's capabilities and the cost, lol! Monk informed me as to the location of a great astronomy program a few days ago, Celestia. Still haven't built my planetary system called the Catfish system. May put that on my "sparetime" list.

Links are reposted.


Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family. Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one.
Jane Howard, "Families"

Thanks everyone for the Linux input. I think ubertech Jim has solved the problem once again. Nice to know people that know Linux.

Tipton County Marty, you 'keep thema cards n letters a comin!' If Tipton County Jim starts whinin' too loud with those back problems tape another flexiril on him, he'll soon pass out! We have our health problems that seem inherent with age, but they sure beat the alternative.

Anyone interested in a 1965 Mustang coupe restored to the max with a hot engine n gear box let me know. This pony is priced to sell. Belongs to a friend of mine and he's moving out of the country and can't take it with him. Sweet, I tell ya, sweet.

One of these days my 4lb shop hammer is going to help me calibrate a dot matrix printer. I will video tape this moment for posterity. Then I may calibrate an apple crapple box and mebbe it's user! I just hope that great Web Site in the Sky is running on Linux and I get to LiLo there. Hmmmmmmm, there's possibly a song title in that last phrase...


What I look forward to is continued immaturity followed by death.
Dave Barry

One of our fellow techs needs some help with Linux Red Hat 9.0. He's trying to install it dual boot n make it see the dsl "modem". The OS is up and running but the DSL won't play nice. Any hints or help will be appreciated.

It's been a day of driving and frustrating problems with windows 98 and dot matrix printers. It is now on my bench and I shall dive into it later. Sometimes the most simple things become fubar. Hope that everyone is surviving the weather. Talked to Charlie (my son-in-law) earlier and he had 14 inches of water standing in his garage. Luckily it did not get in the house. Rain has been sudden and massive.


Nature does nothing uselessly.
Aristotle (384 BC - 322 BC), Politics
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This afternoon I sat with several of my clients and was thoroughly entertained. Trying to repair a very tough email printing problem in the background of this conversation was a hoot! It was mentioned that God had placed me there at that time for a reason. The discussion started out about the removal of a tech device from one fellow's chest and the letter that was developed by the device recipient that initiated said removal. They talked about writing their potential obituaries because the newspapers had a way of messing them up. Then I was shown a piece for Farley the dog (from the comic strip "For Better or Worse") that they had published in the local paper. There was a list of names, including a kewl dog that I now know, honoring the memory of Farley. Now, I realize this might not translate ROFLMAO on this page, but they were cracking me up! I left, then 'googled' for famous obituaries, last words and observations. Some people are just downright funny to the very end. Hope I go with a smile and an astute observation.

They couldn't hit an elephant at this dist. . . .
Killed in battle during US Civil War.
~~ General John Sedgwick, Union Commander, d. 1864

I should never have switched from Scotch to Martinis.
~~ Humphrey Bogart, actor, d. January 14, 1957

That was a great game of golf, fellers.
~~ Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby, singer / actor, d. October 14, 1977

I'd hate to die twice. It's so boring.
~~ Richard Feynman, physicist, d. 1988

Shoot straight you bastards and don't make a mess of it!
Executed by firing squad.
~~ Harry Harbord "Breaker" Morant, Australian poet & national hero, d. 1902

Either that wallpaper goes, or I do.
~~ Oscar Wilde, writer, d. November 30, 1900

Never knock on Death's door: ring the bell and run away! Death really hates that!
Matt Frewer, as Dr. Mike Stratford in "Doctor, Doctor"

Life is pleasant. Death is peaceful. It's the transition that's troublesome.
Isaac Asimov (1920 - 1992)


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Another Monday is upon us. Today I shall rally forth and attack this day with the gusto of a hound dog. This will be a prayerful day. Patience and strength will be requested. Patience to tolerate irritablility when confronting the silliness and inconsideration of others and strength to keep from killing them. After this recent round with my back I have come to one conclusion; the drugs are wearin' off. Good people that have never experienced this type of gnawing, gut wrenching malady - it is my hope that you won't - ever! People that smirk and besmirch such things - Doom on you. Stay alive. Your turn is coming...



That best portion of a good man's life,
His little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and of love.
William Wordsworth (1770 - 1850)
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Recently received an email from New York Jan concerning a worthy, worthy cause. Please read:

As you may be aware, the US Postal Service recently released its new
"Fund the Cure" stamp to help fund breast cancer research.
The stamp was designed by Ethel Kessler of Bethesda, Maryland.
It is important that we take a stand against this disease that affects
so many of our Mothers, Sisters and Friends.

Instead of the normal 37 cents for a stamp, this one costs 40 cents.
The additional 3 cents will go to breast cancer research. A
"normal" book costs $7.40. This one is only $8.00. It takes
a few minutes in line at the Post Office and means so much.

If all stamps are sold, it will raise an additional $35,000,000 for
this vital research. Just as important as the money is our support.
What a statement it would make if the stamp outsold the lottery this
week. What a statement it would make that we care.

Next time you order stamps over the internet or stop by the local Post office please remember this entry. Thanks Jan for having a good soul.

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Can you say fiasco? My inept blogging while under the influence of prescribed drugs has escalated into a disaster. At this point saving this site is at the top of the list. Trying to change back to the softer format with the blue at the top and the links have been added back several times. Things are looking better and I will keep trying. Walking upright with small discomfort and NOT taking the meds may help me align my ramblings and ravings. Prayers are welcome!


Don't be discouraged by a failure. It can be a positive experience. Failure is, in a sense, the highway to success, inasmuch as every discovery of what is false leads us to seek earnestly after what is true, and every fresh experience points out some form of error which we shall afterwards carefully avoid.John Keats (1795 - 1821)

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Memphis Monk sent me an astronomy site, Celestia. It is simple to use and the site is just about as good as it gets. It's easy to navigate and has a documentation section where you can download the full user's guide. Chris Laurel put this site together and has deep credentials. He worked for Microsoft as a software design engineer. His most notable works are Chrome and DirectX 8. Only one small criticism; the background is black and sometimes the text is hard to read. Perhaps the color scheme is appropriate for an astronomical page though. There are addins and scripts. You can even build your own planetary system. Think I'll call mine the Catfish system. Or perhaps Frogstar...


Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so.
Douglas Adams (1952 - 2001), "Last Chance to See"

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After my backache subsides and my life can return to pseudonormal, the links will be reassembled. I had no business operating 'heavy machinery' while taking medication.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Okay, know the links are gone. Working on putting them back. This is a great example of NOT backing up data. Wish my foot would reach my ass!

The do not call link is posted. If you sign up, telemarketers have to stop calling on October 1st. If this works, I will be a happy boy. Also there is a link posted that lists all the names of those supoenaed by the Nazis at RIAA. It was last updated on the 28th. EFF has a search engine that will look up your user name or IP and see if you have been included. It's posted too. After browsing the list I see no familiar names. Cindy Cohn was a guest on The Screensavers last night and supports our use of peer to peer swapping of files. Check out TechTV for this interview.

My back hurts, my feet stink, n I don't love Elvis. Going to take a magic carpet ride via Flexiril n Loritab as a result of a backache that won't quit! Pseudogeek says peace out!


Technology is dominated by two types of people: those who understand what they do not manage, and those who manage what they do not understand.
Putt's Law

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Weather has affected the connection. This will be short. I will post the 'do not call' addy that stops telemarketers from calling. This process is garbled , but probably due to weather stuff. BTW, the RIAA is at it - as usual. TechTV has posted a list of all the users that will be harassed. For the most part it's KAZAA users. I am sure the apple wormites will turn me in when they get to my peer to peer group. LOL!!!!! Please remember, RIAA, G5s n liberals are LAME!

Pseudogeek out


A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes.
Mark Twain (1835 - 1910)

Archives are functioning. Sometimes you have to click a second time to make the full archive appear. Thanks Alabama Bob for the tip. Still researching how to post images in here. Yes, there will be an actual picture of the Saltillo Beach House, LOL.

The other day when I was snooping around in the Mississippi Secretary of State site it was completely legal and wasn't a hack. They have a web site that posts a lot of info and anyone can visit it. So, Anonymous email person if you wanted a mention - that mission has been accomplished. Duh!?!? The pseudogeek does not hack. I am too busy mowing my yard.


Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former.
Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955)

CAVEAT EMPTOR, My potentially sauced "friends"

The following is the opening blurb on Apple's page about the new G5:


The Power Mac G5 is the world’s fastest personal computer and the first with a 64-bit processor — which means it breaks the 4 gigabyte barrier and can use up to 8 gigabytes of main memory. The new G5 processor — available at speeds up to dual 2GHz with a new ultrahigh-bandwidth system architecture featuring AGP 8X and PCI-X — makes the Power Mac G5 a breakthrough in desktop processing power. And models start at just $1999.

Let's see? How do I describe my feelings about this? Do I post a mass profanity warning? Nah! Let's just call it a typical pile of barnyard material spouted by Steviepoo Jobs and ilk. After spending time reading articles from many sites that have reviewed this matter, it seems that they are exercising the right to blow their advertising so out of proportion that it becomes utterly ridiculous and the consuming public will know not to trust such malarky. Caveat emptor - let the buyer beware.

Hey, they start at just $1999. Does that include the power cord? I don't really know, but if Jobs is up to his usual 'let's see how bad we can stick it to 'em' the power cord will cost you your firstborn and have plugs so weird that one has to make their purchase at the fruit orchard. The top end model starts at $2999. Then comes the monitor, all that apple peripheral stuff, horribly expensive software, etc. before you have your "world's fastest computer." Can anyone find software based on 64 bit processing at this time? Now let's see, do I want a $3000 or a $4000+ fruit bowl?

Apple can maintain their market share of between 3% and 4% by charging such outrageous prices. The silliest thing about all this is, for some strange reason that does not make sense in the known universe, the wormites that use apple stuff think they are elite. Yessiree bobtail! I wanna' rush out n pay two to three times the price and buy two year old technology and become a member of this elite group! NOT!

And Jeff Goldblum....I hope they pay you lotsa moola for the voiceover in that silly ad. You are alienating about 90% of computer users on the planet. There are no links posted

Oh, that way madness lies; let me shun that.
William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), "King Lear", Act 3 scene 4

Socialist TV (PBS) aired Soundstage last night 9-11pm. They are in fund raising mode and, I think, actually stretched an hour show to two in order to sell overpriced trinkets and tell us how we need to send money. When C-band satellite stations first scrambled these rocket scientists (PBS) jumped on the band wagon. Won't send them money anymore since they've decided that they will choose their audience. PBS also does not want people to link to their website (heh heh heh! ha ha ha!). Public broadcasting my ass. Anyway, the group tonight was Chicago and their performance was really good. Hard to explain the Chicago thing - sorta big band meets rock. For fans this is a MUST see. Roberet Lamm & James Pankow are still with them and strong in voice and the Peter Cetera/Terry Kath replacements do a great job. Check it out. The link is still posted


The worst solitude is to be destitute of sincere friendship.
Sir Francis Bacon

Flexiril State of Mind. Sounds like a song, possibly a lullaby. Heard it last night and may listen to it again today. Back aches really, really, really suck. Knew better than to help load a 160 lb server in the back of a truck, but machismo did its number on me. Now I can't even stand up straight. Asleep by 7:00pm drifting in and out of weird dreams and awoke this morning realizing I did not post yesterday.

Reading is one of the great pleasures of life. Here in Lee County we have a library that is A-1. They have a nice roomy facility, smiling pleasant staff, a wonderful computer array that gives people the ability to go online, a 'do-business' web site, 'used books for sale' department, ample parking, and books! Recently, I found out that Elmore James wrote a book titled Tishomingo Blues. Checked out their web site and found it immediately. They also have a page that gives headline news, weather, hot new titles, etc. A tab exists for the calendar of activities, you can personalize the page if you have a library card, and there is a separate Kid's Catalog. Now I understand that not everyone lives in Lee County, Mississippi. Check out your local library. If you don't have an addy then Google search. I encourage people to take advantage of these wonderful institutions. Read on!, my sisters and brothers! A link is posted.

Men’s evil manners live in brass; their virtues
We write in water.

King Henry VIII. Act iv. Sc. 2.
Shakespeare

The past few weeks have been rough and tonight something happened that made life easier for a few fleeting moments. It's apparent the "The Lifestyle of the Poor and Pitiful" is the soap opera most favored by the Saltillo Beach House. But, watching tv here is a hoot! Onkyo audio/video receiver, Sony dvd n vcr, Infinity speakers w/12" subwoofer, quadzillion comb filtered Hitachi TV, GI digital cable controller and the computer network is interfaced with the system both indoors and outdoors. When you suffer from an extreme case of lackomoola it's a good idea to get the most bang for your buck. I don't go to bars, don't travel a lot, drive an ancient lead sled, have few vices at this age, love music and computers. Hence, these few vices I enjoy.

Soundstage is an old pbs music show that has featured many great artists. It disappeared for a while but is back on Thursday night at 9:00pm Central. Tonight Michael McDonald was the main event. For the uninitiated Mr. McDonald was the keyboard/singer for the Doobie Brothers. On the show was Ashford and Simpson n they were great. Also, Tom Johnston and Patrick Simmons (two of the original Doobie Brothers) played along for several tunes. I will give the old socialist TV station, PBS, credit where credit is due. The sound was really great. Dolby Pro Logic II and the whole room jumped as the bass notes hit! The subwoofer pumped up de volume. Mr. McDonald has a voice that still makes women of all ages swoon. His rock/jazz/blues styling is wonderfully intricate and always amazing. This cat has vocal range that is off the scale. Something else that is important is that all the band members seemed to be enjoying this feast for the eyes and ears. Everyone had to hug Mike and they all smiled. It's no secret that success depends on group efforts most of the time. Being nice helps too. I love to see a cooperative at work. Hats off to these wonderful musicians that have spanned several decades and still can smile as they entertain. A link is posted.

Remember the words of that wizard of moviedom John Barrymore, "Smile you sour bastard. Smile like you mean it and smile until it hurts. Not for you, but for others!"

I am hungry. I've eaten only one meal a day all week. This sucks! And my brother Dan never calls. I even send him snail mail. They hate me. I am not the black sheep of the family, more like the black possum. K, I feel better now, the hunger has subsided momentarily. Must go before I lapse into warp whine.

My son-in-law sent this to me.


The following has been attributed to State Representative Mitchell Kaye from GA. The guy should run for President.....

"We, the sensible people of the United States, in an attempt to help everyone get along, restore some semblance of justice, avoid any more riots, keep our nation safe, promote positive behavior, and secure the blessings of debt free liberty to ourselves and our great-great-great-grandchildren, hereby try one more time to ordain and establish some common sense guidelines for the terminally whiny, guilt-ridden, delusional and other liberal bed-wetters. We hold these truths to be self-evident: that a whole lot of people are confused by the Bill of Rights and are so dim that they require a Bill of No Rights."
ARTICLE I:

You do not have the right to a new car, big screen TV or any other form of wealth. More power to you if you can legally acquire them, but no one is guaranteeing anything.
ARTICLE II:

You do not have the right to never be offended. This country is based on freedom, and that means freedom for everyone -- not just you! You may leave the room, turn the channel, express a different opinion, etc., but the world is full of idiots, and probably always will be ... and like the rest of us you need to simply deal with it.
ARTICLE III:

You do not have the right to be free from harm. If you stick a screwdriver in your eye, learn to be more careful; do not expect the tool manufacturer to make you and all your relatives independently wealthy.
ARTICLE IV:

You do not have the right to free food and housing. Americans are the most charitable people to be found, and will gladly help anyone in need, but we are quickly growing weary of subsidizing generation after generation of professional couch potatoes who achieve nothing more than the creation of another generation of professional couch potatoes.
ARTICLE V:

You do not have the right to free health care. That would be nice, but from the looks of public housing, we're just not interested in public health care.
ARTICLE VI:

You do not have the right to physically harm other people. If you kidnap, rape, intentionally maim, or kill someone, don't be surprised if the rest of us want to see you fry in the electric chair.
ARTICLE VII:

You do not have the right to the possessions of others. If you rob, cheat or coerce away the goods or services of other citizens, don't be surprised if the rest of us get together and lock you away in a place where you still won't have the right to a big screen color TV, pool tables, weight rooms or a life of leisure.
ARTICLE VIII:

You don't have the right to a job. All of us sure want you to have a job, and will gladly help you along in hard times, but we expect you to take advantage of the opportunities of part time jobs, education and vocational training laid before you to make yourself useful.
ARTICLE IX:

You do not have the right to happiness. Being an American means that you have the right to PURSUE happiness -- which by the way, is a lot easier if you are unencumbered by an overabundance of idiotic laws created by those of you who were confused by the Bill of Rights,
ARTICLE X:

This is an English speaking country. We don't care where you are from. We welcome you here. English is our language and like the one you left behind, we also have a culture. Learn it or go back to the country and the living conditions you were fleeing.

Monday night and I am off to bed. This was an extremely rough day and it's my hope I'll never elucidate as to why. Lack of money sucks

On this day in the year 1969 Neal Armstrong walked on the moon. That's a really kewl thing. Several years before that my Mother was born on this day. That's an even kewler thing! She's just absolutely awesome! Happy birthday Mother, I love ya!!

Neat feature of web surfing is to find a pearl amongst the swine. I am definitely in security/privacy mode researching sites to recommend for password development. With the musicnazis at RIAA using strong arm tactics, hacker attacks, the virus creeps and script kitties doing their weirdness - everyone needs to secure their personal confusers and web activities. Good passwords are essential. After exploring known sites, leafing throught the government pages of monotony, I have discovered a site that is easy to use, simple in language and contains a wealth of information. It seems to be English. Andrew Starling bought a CD from Amazon.com and later returned under another identity. Amazon.com kept reminding him that he was originally registered as Andrew and this inspired him to further investigate how they gained such info. This led to the creation of Tinhat.com.

This site offers tips and aspects of cyber-security. He even gives a brief explanation of Echelon and has many links about each topic on the site. It's ad driven, but they aren't that annoying. Still using your telephone number, date of birth, pet's name, Bible name, favorite character from the Lord of the Rings as a password? Be sure and read 'Good and bad passwords' under Personal Data.

Good site, navigates well, a plethora of info, easy to read. A link is posted - Tinhat Security, etc.

Remember the words of that New England Poet, Bobby Frost, in Mending Wall -"Good fences build good neighbors."

CYBERSOUTH MAKES GOOGLE


I was just in the Mississippi Secretary of State site snooping around trying to find out about some local businesses and was going to Google search about one individual. Just on a whim I entered Cybersouth. Low and behold! Cybersouth - from the Saltillo Beach House is on the first page, down at the bottom!! I feel like Steve Martin in The Jerk when he ran across the parking lot screaming, "The new phone books are here! The new phone books are here!" The email addy is even listed!

WARNING - BEFORE READING THIS POST - please click on the link, Email Manners. Read the whole article. This is very good. It's so good I've put it at the top of the list! BTW, the Geocities popup on this page disappears after a few seconds....




Okay, let's talk about email courtesy. If you send an email to me that is "chained" (asks me to forward to 5 people, etc.) I read it, enjoying the fact that you took the time to send it to me. I will NEVER, NEVER, NEVER forward something that has tried to intimidate me into doing it. I reallly hate the religious ones that tell me that if I love Jesus I'll send it to 'so many people' and if I don't then that means I don't love Jesus. Let's get something straight right here and now. I accept that Christ is the Son of God. He is my personal guardian and salvation from a corrupt, fallen world. He knows this and I don't really give a damn if you like it or not. Those that are busy trying to convince me to worship a particular way - hey get a life! I accept that we are all different and it is not my place to judge others as so many "religions" do. Whatever floats your boat. Now, you are welcome to keep sending such emails, I love to hear from folks. Just understand, I don't send stuff on to others and probably won't send stuff back. If you address me personally, you WILL get a personal reply from me. Any personal news, important info or general cyber info is always welcome. Please bear with me if I take time to reply; my day usually starts at 5:30am and ends around midnight.

If you call on the phone don't even bother with hello - ask if I am busy! Yes, just say the words "Are you busy?" It is very frustrating to be on a scissors lift, 40ft in the air (am a fraidy cat when it comes to heights anyway and wired by being in such an awful predicament) repairing a break in a cat 5E cable and the phone rings with someone on the other end wanting to chew the fat. Folks, last time I did such a repair it took two hands. Besides, even if I had a free hand, I'd be hanging on for dear life with it. If I don't answer the phone at home or otherwise, I am busy and don't have time to talk. Time is precious and I try to rigidly schedule mine. My company provides my cell phone and they pay for the time. Short messages r k, but NOT long conversations. Tom has a thing about personal calls on his cell phone, so please work with me and respect this request. I do not tolerate ass chewings, right or wrong, very well.

Consider all that's been written then you will see that I am only asking for common courtesy. I've toned this down and put off posting these requests since I first started this blog. The air seems better now.

Keep those cards n letters coming! Just don't expect me to do the "chain letter" dance.

It's Friday and I am tired. May be back later.

Since I am determined to re-install the operating system and applications on this PC after a format, I've brought the Zonealarm firewall on line to relearn it. This freeware (yes, use the free version) program is great for anyone that spends time on the internet and may be worried about intrusions of the hacking kind. That great Roman statesman Julius Caesar once said, "Just because you are paranoid doesn't mean that there's NOT someone after you."

Zonealarm works. It is somewhat of a task to set up. You go through a period of 'training' it to let the programs you use access the internet and vice-versa. Since I've not used this program in a network scenario, I am testing the water. So far so good. Now a lot of folks don't have the patience and time to use a firewall. It is tedious at first. And I have a D-Link router that offers great protection. Routers are 'hardware' firewalls and do other things like routing network traffic. Very easy to install. Anyway, you may ponder if this is overkill on protection? Depends on your needs. If you are a newbie and unsure, this may not be a program that you want to use right now. Please read the tutorials and get a good grip of what is happening when we say firewall.

Don't bring your flamethrower here if you haphazardly go off and install this involved program and it fubars yo' personal confuser. All uber geeks n teckies - I don't care if you think it is simple, it wasn't for me when I first used it. Please remember, the pseudogeek did not show up at your house and force u to download anything. A link is posted

New York Jan recently lost popup killer, an older program that has not been supported since March of last year. AnalogX has one called POW and good reviews have been presented about this tool. I have had it stored on my PC for a while and plan to use it when I do a reinstall on this machine. I really like the AnalogX site. It has been around for years and has some very useful tools available for free. Dude has been on The Screensavers and the boys n girls at TechTV rave about this site. Check it out, n i need input and responses! There's a link posted.

Pseudogeek is going to bed and sleep, perchance to dream in hexadecimal, have visions of Crays and multiple Xeons dancing in my..........hey I really do need to snooze at length.

Cable modem is back. I delayed any action on it for a few days and they sent Mike Simpson out and he performed cybervudu so now it's back working. So nice to know responsive people that have manners are still around. Mark, your people at Vista III Media are doing a fine job. From the CSR's at the office to the techs that show up at the residence. The most impressive thing is everyone is polite. I've linked to their site if anyone is in northeast Mississippi and needs cable or high speed internet.

MoweringBoy has been doing his thangy. I have to return to work tomorrow and am trying to get caught up on everything that has had to be postponed the past few days. It is summertime in the south. We are breathing as much water as air when outside. Humidity is up, up, up.

Sometime in the very near future I am going to install my server on this network. That will be interesting. I am also planning a weekend of BSD 4.8. Hopefully, this will be a learning experience for us all. All the hammers have been removed from the house.

Your prayers and well wishes are awesome. Thanks everyone for helping me through an extremely hard time.

Thanks to everyone for the concern. Grief is a hard to control emotion. I posted the last entries in the middle of the night and did not proof them. Almost seems like a negative person snuck in and posted. Well, it was me. I am re-filling the half-full glass.

"Can you build me a computer?" - a frequent interrogative. Will I? Now there's the question. If you are looking for high performance no holds barred machine, have money and patience, promise not to torture the machine, will sign an agreement to defrag/do the proper updates/feed it properly, the answer might be yes (evil grin to be inserted here). I have to live with it and the "input" it will receive for a warranty period. Therefore, I will only use what I consider the best components and they will be more expensive. So where can you get the most bang for the buck? There are several manufacturers building linear architecture machines. Dell, in my opinion, is not a good choice. They still make 'big iron' stuff that is good, but their entry level leaves a lot to be desired. Dell's worst crime is bragging about their support. Have you ever gone to their web page and tried to find drivers? Yuck! Worst support page on the planet. Gateway is okay and IBM still makes super machines but get out yo' wallet, you will pay. Hewlett-Packard is my choice. My server is an old dual processor HP machine as is my Linux machine. They usually have great systems at good prices. You can find them at Circuit City, Wal-Mart, Sam's, Staples. etc. Their support page is the best on the planet and they will ship a replacement unit if you have problems while it is under warranty. They have Pentium 4/Celeron units and AMD machines too. I have all Pentium machines, but AMD makes good stuff. That's a topic that will be approached at a later time. One model line even offers Linux as an alternative operating system. Hewlett-Packard has been around a long time. There's a link posted.

The words? "I love you"

I've lost someone that I love deeply. As life goes on and I deal with the small, bitchy people that constantly confront me, it seems I never make enough time for those that really count. Stop today and embrace someone that you care about. Tell them how you feel. Say the words. A piece of my heart is forever gone, ripped out and the wound will never heal. Years ago, promised God that I'd live life as a white hat. Only asked that I not die afraid. When death shows up again I will still be pissed. Why do good people die? Life is not a fair square deal. Death is an even bigger sonuvabitch...

Windows Guides link is new. Has great tips and tweaks for things windows. For instance, have you ever tried to get rid of the annoying update thangy in Window Media Player? You can learn how to do that here. Trying to brush up on my 'Netmeeting' skills and this site has great info about this sometimes hard to use tool. This page started as Regedit.com and has been around a long time. Sad that they now have popups, but the evil one is everywhere. And it beats having to pay for the privilege of visiting this informative, free site. Check it out, very easy to navigate.

After a brief scare the blog has returned. I was working on it this morning trying to manipulate the archives and it just disappeared. The archives are working. I have on the MowerBoy uniform and must go get in this hot, muggy weather and cut grass. If it doesn't happen soon, I'll need a bush-hog or a sickle.

Alas, de cable modem she still dead mon. Well, that's life. I need rest and relaxation. My morning would have consisted of torturing a power supply in my Antec tower by installing more hard drives and reinstalling windows. I won't do that now. No way I am going to use a machine that does not have ALL the proper windows updates. Anyone that has done the updates knows it takes days on a dial up modem.

Really not Vista-Media's fault, I just did not listen when they told me how to install the new modem. I absolutely will not call on a weekend and bother a technician. They are probably on call and being paid, but I am a believer in the Golden Rule.

Watching a special on A&E about God and later may nap for while. Then I turn into 'MoweringBoy'. "With the speed of a bullet he leaps across mole trails and fallen branches all the while avoiding the random possum that may run across the yard." MoweringBoy's uniform is not what you think; no tights, leotard or cape. Worn out smelly deck shoes, awful lookin' baggy shorts, any t-shirt with holes in it and a ball cap that smells like it's a relative of the deck shoes. There will be the required towel hangin' out my pocket. Guess the towel is a poor substitute for a cape.

MB says Peace out

Vista-Media called me back before 830am. They were working on it early! Picking up my new cable modem today. This is excellent service!

Those techs need to talk some more. The cable modem is out again. I've just sent an email to the cable company requesting that they swap out the modem. I will have to drive to Booneville and pick up the device. This is real annoying. They are nice enough - so far. This is the second time I will make such a trip. I just hope they respond. Satellite now has local channels and DSL is way cheap. I've just always liked the dependability of the cable modem and hope they don't disappoint me.

This weekend has been scheduled for maintenance on my big windows machine. I am going to archive a lot of data, install 90 gigs of SCSI 10,000 spin hard drive and also install a server (another dual processor machine) on this network. If I can manage it, there will be one more machine added that will use BSD as an operating system. Of course I have to mow the yard and clean out the garage, etc. There is also a second job that needs several hours of work this weekend. Okay, okay. I am not whining. Glad to have the machines, the kewl lawn and the second job. Posting here may be difficult, especially if the cable modem is down all weekend. After all the network improvements are in place, there will be more time to post/publish here and mow my yard!

Being without high speed connectivity has become stressful - pseudogeek out

The first tech said to the second tech,"Man, dude is pitiful. Wants his tv to work as long as screensavers or call for help or techlive is on."

Second tech said, "So, what's the problem?"

"His cable modem is snafu-ing"

"Ohhhh!"

"The sobbing and incoherent language are hard to decipher," remarked the first tech.

"Wow, get the dude surfing! His whine factor has lapsed into warp. He's speaking something that is a cross between l33t and outright man crying," answered the second tech.


Okay, I am all better now. Had a 'badjones' for a while, but it's working now. I'll give vista-media credit, they rarely fail. So I am trying to catch up on email, forums, and my natural desire to seek out new freeware, going where only geeks boldy go. I really do not like negative connectivity. Needless to say I have my external modem out and will hook it back up as a back up.

No new links now, but they are in the very near future of posting.

Please remember to give Steve Jobs the finger if you see him, smear the RIAA, and hate the French.

Pseudogeek out n connected

The bottom link (over there to the right) is a really kewl protection program called win patrol. It guards against unwanted cookies, changes in your web browser, stuff running in the background, etc. This is a very powerful piece of software so be careful and read about it. Don't blame me if you mess up your personal confuser. This program works fine on mine and is in harmony with all other applications running on this machine. It is great protection and I will probably try the shareware version. Shoot for $13.00 it's a buy!

Hope everyone likes the new format. All you have to do to go to a link now is put your cursor on it and click. Got to be easier than copy and paste! I am still working on the archives. I appreciate everyone's patience (not having a lot myself). Please remember to NOT use AOL, do anything to antagonize the RIAA, suffer not the lowly French and accept the fact that Mitch Glazier and Steve Jobs are in league with Satan.

Pseudogeek, peace out!

Trying new look

There are changes coming....

I'd just like to mention to the wormy little european dude that hacked here Saturday that you have been reported. There's quite a trail so you probably will be found. Why do cretins do this? I just don't understand. Probably French and we all know what a bunch of cowards live there. We should have cleaned up Europe and the rest of the middle east when we finished with Saddam.

Sleep is a problem. I remember being awake for hours at a time during the night when just a small, small child. Sleeping all night is out of the question. When I first returned from Vietnam the dreams were horrible. They still show up on occasion. Sometimes I can almost smell things. Not a lot of fun. Thank God these nightmares are more infrequent now. I also dream about flying. Just me, no planes. Weird. I suffer from acrophobia. A fear of heights has something to do with the strange, frightening dreams of soaring. I can sometimes ID these dreams as dreams and they go away peacefully. Any suggestions?

Monday and I've been awake for several hours. Read a book, watched tv and kept my sore foot propped up. Think I'll go back n see if there's another hour or so of rest before being off to work. Can 'they' fire you because your foot mysteriously started hurting? No doubt I need sleep.

Growing older beats the alternative. Aging has some amazing suprises. Some are well documented; eyesight begins to fail, hearing starts to go, hair thins, harder to lose weight, etc. Some are not so apparent. The way your can harmlessly sit and have your back start hurting is aggravating. And what's with all this new stuff? I never had a problem with my feet short of stepping on something or in something. Now I've got a pain in the bottom of my right foot that discourages mobility. Where did it come from? This being tired stuff is for the birds too. Why is it some foods are just not edible now? Spent most of my life loving a good tuna salad sandwich and now I cannot eat the stuff. Always loved parched peanuts and they've declared war on my digestive tract. I should be thankful I've aged and am a blessed man. God willing, I still have some things to do.

http://www.questia.com/Index.jsp?CRID=aging&OFFID=se1

There are thousands of sites on aging. Google search and take your pick. I found the above site interesting because it has online books and seems easy to navigate.

Well, this has been exhausting. My foot hurts, my back is in spasms, I am not seeing this screen clearly, and the tv volume needs to be turned up. Time to hop to the kitchen, eat some bland food, and watch it put pounds on me while I drift away to la-la nap land. Seems like there was something else I wuz gonna do?!?

Yesterday was a pretty awesome day. I did not leave the house. I did not mow the yard, but that starts today along with cleaning out from under the magnolia tree. Then I must try and repair a dryer. After that I'll spend 6-8 hours working on a home theater installation for a client.

We've had a slow start concerning the heat this summer, but today it is hot! Yet, I know it is just another day in paradise. I hate the heat but love the south. There is no place like it. It really helps to be from here to live here, but tourists are welcome. Just enjoy your stay then go home. You move here and you'll spend the rest of your life wondering how n why you decided to set up housekeeping in such a humid, muggy place! Then you'll start whining. There's enough whining around here and I certainly don't want anyone infringing upon my whine rights. So come visit! Make sure it's during the months of July or August. Also, we are so far south it rarely snows here. But it does get cold in the winter. We also have huge snakes, mosquitoes the size of crows, black widow spiders abound and the brown recluse spiders are just naturally ill and wanting to kill something. And all critters stay away from the fireants; they'll hurt ya as they try to kill ya! Those cute raccoons you see on tv are mean as the devil and will bite the ever lovin' doo outta you. If you think a possum is cute and just plays "possum" ask the next coondog you see. They are nasty vile animals that play possum long enough to lure a coondog in and then they open a can of possum whupass on the poor hounds. BTW, a coon can whip a possum on any given day. If you think life has not slowed down here, make an appointment - with anyone about anything. They'll be late. Our right as southerners. About the only thing on time down here is the temperature change from winter to summer and it was late this year.

We do have a nice Elvis museum and display. He was born in Tupelo. There's a huge Automotive Museum downtown. We have many lakes, the Natchez Trace, some pretty good restaurants, a coliseum with an arena football team (the Tupelo FireAnts - God, I love that name!). They also play hockey or some yankee sport there during the winter. Tupelo has a Symphony Orchestra and many country and rock bands haunt the clubs in this area. The clubs range from calm, laid back safe-harbors to downright juke joints. Folks here are nice and we speak to each other, even stop to chat sometimes. Brice's Crossroads has an excellent Civil War display, museum and gift shop. The Natchez Trace has many interesting sites, some concerning Native Americans. So there's a lot to see and do here. Remember the heat thangy if you notice that real estate is affordable.

Pseudogeek is leaving the building singing 'hi ho, hi ho, mow lawn then work I go'

Fourth of July is a traditional Parrothead Party. Last night I talked to Parrothead Mike and we are amazed that we are getting so old we are not planning the huge festivity with rum n cooked animals on the grill(listen to "Gypsies in the Palace" by Buffett}. Being ageless friends we both agreed that we'd probably talk before this day is done and shared old experiences and renewed our friendship.

I am having steak for breakfast. Dr John, if you are reading this don't get spastic. I will also mow an acre of lawn today. So chill. And put down those Malboros. I may even eat ice cream before the day is done. So, a great whoop-te-doo is not planned. Last few times I've tried to whoop-te-doo the party has not materialized. It's gonna be nice to spend some quality time with my machines and tv.

The Mississippi Highway patrol has spammed the tv channels with ads about not drinking and driving this weekend. Please heed these warnings. Doesn't matter if you are in New York, Alabama, Florida or Mexico - abide! Stay safe and relax. Time off is precious for everyone. Respect your fellow man/woman/person and drink responsibly. WORD!

My father passed away several years ago. His birthday was the 4th of July. I will reflect on his life and association with me all day. There may not be a lotta people here and I may spend the day alone or with the lawn mower, but positive thoughts shall rule throughout the day. Yep, nice day to be off and celebrate our great nation! Other things too...

Digital cameras are awesome. Investing in one of these now may be a good idea. You can use it on vacation, shoot wonderful summer landscapes, or blackmail your friends that imbibe too much on the 4th and Labor Day. All this will lead to better pictures during the Christmas holidays due to familiarity.

Buying the cheapest one will probably lead to frustration and a complete waste of money. Don't make the mistake of not having the LCD readout on the back of the camera!. Megapixels?

http://www.digicaminfo.com/resolution.htm

This site has a concise, easy to read explanation of the mysterious megapixel. At first I decided on a unit with extremely high megapixels. After some research it became obvious that 2 to 3 megapixels would suffice. I made the purchase to capture precious family moments, post pictures on the web, re-learn lost skills, inventory personal belongings, and so forth. One does not need the extreme high end camera to do these things. If you have the wherewithal or are downright insecure and have to make impractical purchases because you think it impresses others buy the high end Sonys, Nikons, Canons and anything with a German-like name.

Stan and Charlotte recently purchased a Sony P-50 series camera and brought back super photos of their trip out west. Buffalo fighting in the road, Old Faithful erupting; it was a hoot to sit down and listen to the stories that evolved from the trip while viewing different pictures.


I opted for a Canon S-200. It's extremely small, does short movies WITH audio, has had consistenly good reviews and has an all metal case. Yes, all metal. It's been a joy to use and it absolutely amazes me when I see some of the shots that have been produced with a camera you can hide in the palm of your hand.


After you take those Pulitzer Prize winning shots the results can be edited to the max. Software abounds that can manipulate photos. Okay, Adobe Photoshop is awesome. It also has an awesome price tag. Before I go any further let me make a simple and important statement. Adobe Photoshop is hard to use. Again. Adobe Photoshop is hard to use. You geniuses out there that want to flame me and tell me how easy it is, please go find some rare chickens or almost extinct mosquitoes to 'save'. There is an alternative.

http://www.ab.wakwak.com/~knight/download.htm

The name of the program is Pixia. It is of Japanese origin and the patches for English need to be installed. The online tutorial will help get you started and it's free! I discovered this program on TechTV's Call for Help when Leo interviewed a dude that does cybercamps. They use this software in their summer programs to help young people get started using digital cameras.

Now for the deep dark purpose of getting a digital cam - the real truth. When those frogs and catfish show up on my veranda wanting out of the rain again, ZAP! Then I'll have my proof...