Momentary lapse of evil

I'm not due back in Wal-Mart for four months now. Actually made two trips there yesterday. Without a major incident. Seems that someone had sequestered the evil children that live there for some nefarious reason. Probably schooling the brats from hell on how to torture old people or giving them screaming lessons. Yeh, right, as if they need lessons! It's easy breathing for months (try to go only once every two months). Odds are on the 'big' that I don't last that long.

Received several emails about the War of the Cucumbers. Most are of the mind to leave them out of the diet, but one person suggested eating only English cucumbers. No plans are made to put the things back into the diet anytime soon. Murf from Kentucky was vehement and apparently has had a like experience. Tuna, peanuts, cucumbers, what's next? Why couldn't it be beef liver or candied yams or pumpkin pie?

The War of the Voles continues. Have a worthy Wednesday!
"Every evil in the bud is easily crushed: as it grows older, it becomes stronger."
Cicero (B.C. 106-43)

First voles 'n now cucumbers are attacking

Monday was a bust. Early Monday morning, the deadly cucumber, onion and tomato salad attacked and won. Whew! Just glad to be alive. Now I must add yet another food to the list of things banished. About 2 years ago it was discovered that tuna salad was a no no. Grew up eating tuna and have always loved it. Have eaten some grilled since then and it had no ill aftershock. But, there's no need in taking a chance so tuna is on the banned food list. Now cucumbers are added. Hope this is a one instance thing because they make a salad jump! Yet, I certainly didn't think so this time yesterday.

Everyone have a kewl Tuesday and beware yo' foodstuffs!
"Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart; for God now accepteth thy works."
N.B.: "Eat, Drink and be merry." See also Luke 12:19
-Ecclesiastes 9:7

Howling night things

Just watched an older Saturday Night Live when Dennis Miller was anchoring Weekend Update. Miller's latest approach (more conservative and supportive of President Bush) has made me let him back in the fold. In days past I would actually turn the channel if Dennis was on and left someone's house once because they were watching him do his liberal bashing of the GOP. Anyway, he's proof that some folks in Hollywood can deal with the real world. Enjoyed this episode of SNL and one thing stuck out; a quote of A. Whitney Brown. Please remember this is circa 1986. Mr. Brown said, "Iraq having nuclear weapons is like a termite having a chain saw." Poignant and funny.

Sleeping soundly I awoke to the neighbor's dog barking like crazy. There's been too much activity at night on the streets here it seems. Or this dog is psychotic. He barks at something randomly every night and it coincides with REM sleep. But hey, it's 3:15am and the birds are singing their tailfeathers off. Go figure. Could it be that the windows are open and I've just noticed things that have happened all winter? Can't remember last summer, but the air conditioning was whirring, so forth, so on, yada yada.

Rambling now and it's quiet at the beach house. Time to go back to bed and dream of warding off the waves of barbaric voles attacking. Maybe the psychotic dog can be enlisted to fight on my side. Make him a general and call him Hun, as in Attila. Fadin' fast. Peace out...

"Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea."
-Robert A. Heinlein (don't know if this is politically correct, but it's the truth!)

Let's hit the lake!

New sponsor on the page. Mississippi Marine and Outdoors is located just east of the Barnes Crossing Mall which is located at the north end of Tupelo, Mississippi. They sell a world of boats, motors, skis, lifejackets, marine supples, yard tools, duck hunting stuff - well just click on their logo and go look at the site! Bill, Greg, Bill, Jarrett, Tim, Stephanie, Misty, Courtney and the rest of the crew will help you with smiling faces. This is a fun bunch that know their stuff. Hats off to a local business doing things in a positive fashion. Prejudice? You betcha! Like these folks!

"You can learn more about a man in an hour of play than in a lifetime of conversation."
-Plato

Good service or bad service - people make the difference

It's early and the sun is about to rise. Many yard projects today and it's about time to confront whatever is living in the dank, dark back corner of my garage. What a mess out there. Enough to make a grown man cry.

There is a written explanation over at SouthernPhried that outlines the downloading and install of AVG Antivirus. Several fellow geeks are working on graphical presentations of how to install AVG, Spybot S&D, and Ad-Aware. Hope this helps. Comments and email are welcome.

Flopping in bed a few minutes ago the overwhelming need for caffeine time hit me and, after grinding some awesome Odyssey coffee beans, the plan was to watch a program on the History Channel. Then found my upload capabilities traveling at the speed o' light and had to sit down and take advantage of it. VistaIIIMedia is busy working around town and I'll just bet this is in conjunction with the two-way upgrade underway. This day and time it's rare to find a company that goes the extra effort to help their customers. VistaIIIMedia does. Most just don't give a rat's butt about subscribers, clients, customers, etc. Nice to talk to people that have manners. Please keep up the great work y'all.

Hope Comcast doesn't buy them. Then we will have to deal with evil Renee, Renoo, Renaud (sp? - something like that, she probably spells it in some demon fashion) in Alabama that was mentioned in the March 30th post. Brian Roberts (head muckity muck at Comcast)!! I am still inviting you to call, email, snail mail, fly down (there's a joke!) so we can talk about your rude phone answering CSRs in Huntsville or Tuscaloosa. Wasn't always this way. When service for this area was based in Tupelo people were nice (BTW, Comcast folks in Tupelo are still nice and polite). And I know that the vast majority of folks are nice and polite in Alabama. Renee, get some help. Watch Dr. Phil. Join a 12 step program to overcome crudeness. Or move. Don't think she was born in Alabama. Do you care Brian? Apparently not. It is sad to see a company that installed their very first cable system in Tupelo now neglecting its roots. Most folks are not unhappy with the service; just the hateful phone attitude.

The sun is almost up and time to shift into positive gear. Now I must go fight the War of the Voles. Later y'all.

"Parents are usually more careful to bestow knowledge on their children rather than virtue, the art of speaking well rather than doing well; but their manners should be of the greatest concern."
-R. Buckminster Fuller

Spyware/adware just plain sucks

Evil never rests. Found another Incredifind victim yesterday and just walked away from a machine that is ate up with spyware. Why do people put this barnyard material on their PCs? The one from yesterday is on the bench at the shop and after removing over 800 instances of spyware it seems happier. Next, we get to remove virus infections. This one was about to go under, but it may be saved. The one on the bench here is not gonna make it. I am trying to recover some files and the hard drive is on its last leg. Wish the hard drive would last because this machine may be the most infected yet. We'll never know. Hey, employees of Keenvalue/Incredifind how does it feel to kiss the devil's butt every day? Hey, employees of any spyware/adware company how does it feel to be a cyber terrorist? Guess your children are really proud of what you do for a living. . .

"What is evil? - Whatever springs from weakness."
Nietzsche (1844-1900)

USB? USB? I want my USB...

Does everyone else have as much trouble with USB devices?!? Why do they suddenly disappear? I'd appreciate any voodoo you do to make these aggravating over-rated serial ports work. At least parallel ports for printers worked. And it may be the inexpensive all in one Lexmark, but seems there is constant trouble with these devices. K, kudos to Apple. Firewire is better. Has anyone paid attention to how many IRQs are used when installing a USB 2 card? Try 3.

Hep me! hep me!

"It's not the personal confuser; it's the user!"
-Techs all over the world

Monday moanings and merriment

Concerned parents ask about good sites for children and I've finally taken the time to browse one that is recommended and now I am on the train. It's Yahooligans. Safe site that has many educational games and other things that interest children. Hey, take a look. Nice that Yahoo is being responsible to the small ones of this world.

Great non-partisan site for "locals" is Mississippi Political. Nice clean looking site with a way kewl links page. If the Magnolia State is dear to you check this out. I like it.

Finally the two Incredifind wounded machines are healed and heading home. Hope someone is reading that has clout with state law makers and reports this hideous cyber malady. Keenvalue is the parent company. They try to come off as harmless and it's just not that way. I've a growing list of clients that feel the same way. Sometimes you just happen across something that reaffirms the fact that evil exists in the world.

Raining and chilly in paradise, but the local weather voodoo docs are mojoing for a casual weekend. Time to plant.

"The rain is famous for falling on the just and unjust alike, but if I had the management of such affairs I would rain softly and sweetly on the just, but if I caught a sample of the unjust out doors I would drown him."
- quoted in My Father Mark Twain, Clara Clemens

Friends, family and hoppin' furry creatures

Thanks so much to Molly and 'Hoppa for the nice comments yesterday. Just when wondering if anyone cares, friends show up and overwhelm me with support. Nice to know that people are concerned and shoring me up in this gruelling effort to overcome stress and high blood pressure problems. There is a plan and it'll be worked. Keep them thar cards n letters a comin!

My uber daughters are awesome. Love them both dearly. Emily has put her page back together and it can be found here. Next time a fast upload connection is experienced it'll be posted in the links as Beagle's site. She also writes a journal, but it is private. Kristi is so busy at work I don't know how she copes. They call several times a week to check on things. Both of them are founding members of SouthernPhried. I am truly the luckiest Dad on planet earth.

Have a superduper Easter. Bugs Bunny for Easter Rabbit! As that great Canton, Mississippi, philosopher Tim Irving says, "Hey, don't see ya today? Go ahead n hide those eggs without me!"

"Above all the grace and the gifts that Christ gives to his beloved is that of overcoming self."
- St. Francis of Assisi

Call on Congress about Incredifind

Wow! It's nice to have internet connectivity. The dial up modem has been removed from this machine so I am exclusively dependent upon cable modem. No connection since Wednesday, but I haven't really tried a lot. Besides, could have installed a winmodem and used my dialup account. Needed the break. Trip to the doctor meant a change in meds and a strict lecture about diet. Rest will work wonders. Stress still sucks and those that support it suck even more.

I won't redo a machine and not install all the updates, AVG, Ad-Aware and Spybot. Just asking for trouble if it's left to the client to do these things. Trying to get someone to do updates is hard enough. So, without my high speed download capability I've been dead in the water for a few days. Have two PCs that Incredifind and various virii laid to waste. Such a sad state of affairs that we have Keenvalue/Incredifind cretins in the world. Back in the day they would have been subject to nefarious hacking and cracking. Nowadays everyone is scared to do anything about even the most evil junk on the net. Thanks, RIAA, ACLU and the rest of you liberal horseasses. I just bet the Incredifind jerks are not intelligent enough to stave off an offense. Hey, look at what they do for a living. Make others miserable. Please, please use the procedures in the tips that are listed at the bottom of the links to remove this spyware from hell. Haphazardly deleting files will end up in a format. Find a good popup murder program (Google Toolbar and AnalogX's POW! are both great), install Ad-Aware and Spybot Search & Destroy, and write your political representatives and ask that Keenvalue be investigated.

The wisteria that parasitically leeches the huge oak in the front yard is blooming and shedding. Looks like a purple blanket out there. It's a beautiful day in paradise with an easy, light breeze. Ignore the smucks, grinches, doodoo heads of the world and have a pleasant day.

"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."
-Edmund Burke (1729-1797)

Incredifind in the Dock Empire? NOT!!

If I become Emporer of the Known Universe heads will roll. Spyware/adware people will be shot on site and spammers gutted n' left to die. Haven't thought up anything horrible enough for the virus writers, but diligently working on it. The Incredifind/Keenvalue sleazes will be hunted down first. EOTKU, has a nice geeky ring to it.

I'm outta meds n' have to be at the doctor tomorrow. Casual I ain't today.

"It is better to be violent, if there is violence in our hearts, than to put on the cloak of nonviolence to cover impotence."
-Mahatma Gandhi

The Good, the Bad, and the Butt-Ugly

Good: Nice to arise, sign on, and immediately get an AVG update. Download speed is still slow, but it was a "go" on the first try. After years of recommending this program and making it one of my first links it's nice to see things returning to normal. An advantage of AVG is that their definitions seem to precede the other antivirus programs. Comes in handy during the next work day. Please remember, UPDATE YOUR VIRUS DEFINITIONS. If it fails, don't walk away like a wimp. Keep trying. Not downloading definitions can end up costing mega bucks!

Bad: Two machines are on my bench and they have something in common. Incredifind was found on both PCs and even though one had previously been worked on by a different tech and returned to the customer it still has problems. The fix? Both hard drives have to be formatted. The reason. Someone tried to delete things without using the formulated steps in the two links listed. We need laws to stop this madness. There are more emails and traffic concerning Incredifind removal here than any other topic. If anyone knows of any Incredifind/Keenvalue removal TOOL please let me know.

Butt-Ugly: Please stay away from Norton Internet Security. NOT Norton Antivirus. The antivirus program all by itself is fine (still prefer AVG). After an hour researching and 5 printed pages later from the NIS parent site, Symantec, I was able to salvage a laptop that has to attach to a network on a daily basis. Don't harp on me about this program. It won't do any good. It's evil and should be taken off the shelves. It will prevent networking, email and internet connection. Don't buy this hunk of junk. It has no resident uninstall program and the 5 pages that explains how to remove it are buried in the site. Also, if you are attempting to remove it the 15 or 20 registry edits they recommend are not enough. You have to do more. A mess if there ever was one. Wish Peter Norton still drove that train. Such garbage would never reach the consumer.

It's Tuesday and the beach house demeanor is Eastwoodish.

"The real problem is in the hearts and minds of men. It is easier to denature plutonium than to denature the evil spirit of man."
-Albert Einstein

Don't tread on Google, rocket scientist boy

Last week's post of Technology (Every Wednesday) finds Kevin Maney saying, "But, you know, much as I couldn't live without it, Google stinks." This article can be found at USA Today. He rants on about how we are all gonna' give up all our personal info and let it be merged with online engines so as to make our lives easier. No wonder I have not been reading what this 'rocket scientist' has to say. He further dictates this will happen by 2010. He has many comments and has become a self-appointed Nostradamus of things Google. Seriously, I am not making this up. Go read it.

After some discussion about this with the local geeks and nerdlings most have been left guffawing and horse laughing as I walked away. One fellow web surfer made the remark, "He's in the money section of this rag and that's frightening!" In all fairness, let it be said that the American public may not be as paranoid as your average geek. Yet, I find some satistfaction that 100% of the people that read the copy I have believe that it's barnyard material. Yes, I carried the article around all weekend (thanks Marshall, for the heads up!). Mr. Maney is certainly entitled to his opinion. Those folks that are still in shock about identity theft may disagree. To accomplish such goals our rights to privacy will disappear. May the Good Lord help us make sure such things don't transpire. He probably composed this little ditty on a Darth Jobs computer. Go figure...

"If you don't know how to use Google then practice, practice!"
-Billy Wobblynife

AVG rocks!

Good to have AVG back in working order. The Avast! utility was a bust. There's more info at Southern-Phried. The uninstall sucked. They tried to leave registry entries and that's not tolerated. Didn't take long to find out AVG is a superior product. Glad they are returning to normal as far as definition downloads.

It's a beautiful day and much work is on the schedule for the afternoon. Plant a tree, put flowers on the table, grab some rays, fire up the grill or reinstall that great yardware utility - the hammock. Every one have a great first day of daylight savings time!

"If a man insisted always on being serious, and never allowed himself a bit of fun and relaxation, he would go mad or become unstable without knowing it."
-Herodotus (484 BC - 430 BC), The Histories of Herodotus

This is not a long one

It's been an 'oh my aching back kinda' day'. Glad to see AVG getting better. Such a beautiful day. Hated to waste today lounging around, but there's tomorrow! Hope everyone has a great weekend.

"Adversity is the first path to truth."
-Lord Byron, Don Juan

A fix, a complaint, a war, and a movie

The AVG download site "fix" is posted at Southern-Phried. The instructions are exact and very boring. This did not help in my venture to acquire a virus definition download so I am now running Avast!. It's different and under observation.

There are many pictures waiting to be posted and I will probably be in overkill mode the next time my upload speed is good. Florida Molly emailed recommending, "quit being a bitch and stop whining." LOL! Okay, my faith is in the VistaIIIMedia people to bring two-way cable modem to the thriving metropolis of Saltillo, MS. Talked to one of their techs yesterday and he was well-mannered, precise and took the time to explain the situation. Even wanted to call one of their uber techs to do a service call and see about possible hardware problems. God Bless them, they are trying to help. So I need to cease and desist my 'girly-man whining' as Molly so graciously put it.

Mississippi State University has information on voles and moles. I am still fighting the War of the Moles/Voles. My mammoth ears have to be planted this weekend and I am dead set on keeping these nasty critters away! Moth balls are said to be a great cure for this problem and humane as well. Results will be reported.

Came in last night, turned off the phones, turned off all the machines (except the server), cranked up the home theater and watched a tremendous movie; Secondhand Lions. Michael Caine, Robert Duvall and Haley Joel Osment turn in spectacular performances. Heartwarming tale that gently reminds us of mankind's superior qualities. One of those movies that delivers, big time. Watch it alone, with your significant other, your Mother, your children, your dog or your goldfish. This is good cinema without rap music, profane rantings, explicit sex and disgusting gore. Yes, it is almost sappy. I cried some and laughed a lot! There is still some good in this rude, ill-mannered world.

"To measure the man, measure his heart."
-Forbes

Brevity due to stress

Just erased a "warpwhine" post about internet connectivity. It will suffice to say that NO changes can be made in anything HTML or any pictures posted until this problem is corrected. BTW, tried the AVG download "fix" that's being shared around the internet and it doesn't seem to help (will try later today on another connection). Just keep trying to download those definitions. Bondoelvis is looking at a free antivirus program called Avast. Check it out and let me know what your think! Everyone have a great day.

"Caveat Emptor."
-Billicus Wobblycusnificus

Dark Side of the Force and COMCAST

Spybot Search & Destroy is slow or timing out. AVG update is still spotty. Ad-Aware is still downloading at a normal speed. Don't know the reasons behind these problems, but will post as soon as something is known. Please, keep trying to download updates. They are NECESSARY.

It is official. Leo Laporte has left The Screensavers as a host over at TechTV. Lisa, the Laundry Witch and I roadtripped to Birmingham, Alabama, not quite two years ago to meet Leo and Megan Morrone. They were signing books, etc. and very cordial. Nice people. Yet, Leo's current rage at Microsoft and his constant chatter about Apple have actually made me turn off TechTV on several occasions. He still hosts Call for Help and it's now an Apple show instead of Windows. He offends 90% of the market with this attitude. I'll opt for the more Windows friendly Kevin Rose and Patrick Norton. Sorry Leo, it saddens me that you have become Lord of AppleSith under the guidance of Darth Jobs.

Along the same line, COMCAST has purchased TechTV. This bothers me some, but I'll reserve opinion until they have had a chance to "drive the train" for a while. COMCAST of Tupelo (where COMCAST originated) service is now handled out of Huntsville and Tuscaloosa and they are rude and crude. Downright ill-mannered. If you have to call and a Renee person answers, hang up immediately! I think she is in league with the devil. Sad to see a once customer oriented company become so backwards. Brian Roberts, if you read this call me, we'll chat about your rude employees. I'm in the phone book.

"Use the force Leo, resist Darth Jobs!"
-Billy Wobblynife

Early morning ramblings and the Duke

Google has made slight changes to the opening page and it's easier to use. Always good to see my favorite web tool improve. Try clicking the "more >>" and look at the features available.

Who told the Republican party that there are not enough popups on the internet? The stupidity of mankind is boundless. I am a Bush supporter and, even more important, anti-Kerry. Yet, the post at Slashdot makes me wonder about some of the folks onboard the campaign wagon for the 'W'. It's titled "Political Pop-ups, and Follow the Money."

On Friday "Caesar" Fisher posted an article at Ars Technica about Apple's false claims in advertising. This is fuel for the fire in the orchard. Gee, like we didn't know that Darth Jobs was lying to us about the 'world's fastest computer'??!?!? Still, it's nice to see it in print.

It's early, forecast calls for rain, whine mode is about to overcome me and I need to go. Have a good one.

"I won't be wronged. I won't be insulted. I won't be laid a hand on. I don't do these things to others and I require the same of them."
-John Wayne

Telco cable modem snowball

As I sat this morning disconnecting my connection that signed on with a 16.8k upload then immediately reconnecting (probably somewhere around 40 or 50 times), thoughts lingered in my mind. Several hours have been wasted just trying to connect this weekend, you cannot download some updates at such a slow speed, what alternatives are available, etc. It seems to wax worse exponentially! So I will post something very small then go get in the sunshine and forget this ridiculous problem for a while. Everyone have a great Sunday!!

"I have often regretted my speech, never my silence."
- Xenocrates (396-314 B.C.)

A device I really love/hate

Up since 4:30am fighting with my telco cable modem trying to acquire enough upload speed to perform some routine maintenance. AVG sorely needs updating. After 9 sign ons at 16.8 upload speed, I gave up and did something "really" constructive; watched the Weather Channel for a while. Then, after plugging in my external dial up modem and ready to regress, I decided to try one more time. Finally a 24 upload.

This is the bare minimum required to perform normal tasks such as windows critical updates, virus definition updates, etc. I've completely given up on any HTML changes here. Hmmmm, is it wrong to want do this at home instead of the office? I think not.

Please bear with me as changes come about slowly. All that work last year to gain the ability to post pictures is now negated by slow upload (that was money pissed into the wind). This problem started a few months ago and just won't go away. First the slower upload speeds and now if you turn your back while online the connection is terminated. This is a new nuisance that is most frustrating.

Okay, this is whining. Yes, turbo whining that is approaching warpwhine. It is still believed the polite, positive customer service representatives, field techs and management at Vista III Media are doing their best to bring this area into the 21st century of internet capability. They deserve some consideration because they are well mannered if nothing else. Manners are so important in this rude, crude world today.

Anyway, I've named my General Instruments SURFboard Model SB3100D telco cable modem. It's proper name is now Beelzebub and I chant 'get thee out Satan, you Lord of the Flies!' when entering this room. Hope that Vista III Media will let me purchase this device when they bring two way to the beach house. Pictures will be posted of the exorcism that will be performed with the help of Mr. Ruger. Now it's time to take my medication...

"Evil is easy, and has infinite forms."
-Blaise Pascal

I paused momentarily and liked it

Just finished reading the neatest post over at Southern-Phried titled "Sayin' good-bye to a good 'un." Being in the throes of virus removal (how about 1484 infected files!?!? LOL) and up all hours trying to take my turn downloading the AVG update it's nice to stop and realize what a neat community surrounds me geographically and cyberwise. In a world where rudeness seems to dominate and self-centered attitudes wreak havoc on society a gentle reminder of such value helps lift my spirit. Like the dude said, "We may speak slowly and use different dialects, but we say the word Y'ALL exactly the same." Wampus knows the pronunication. Read the post, you'll understand. And now for something completely different...

Is your 'personal confuser' in the doldrums? Trying to open a program and it closes after a few seconds? Can't get that anti-virus program to scan due to the Netsky.P virus or some such nonsense? Well, get online (NOT ON A NETWORK!) and go to Symantec or TrendMicro and do an online scan. Then download the appropriate removal tools from Symantec's site and heal yo'self (yes, these are freebies). Then immediately update your anti-virus program and run a scan. This is not rocket science. Just slow down and take the time to read the instructions and follow them. You can doooo et!!

"If you should die before me, ask if you could bring a friend."
-Stone Temple Pilots

Children of Satan are at it again

It's spring time, the birds are chirping, the bees are buzzing, the squirrels are nesting and the script kiddie virus writers are busy doo dooing all over the internet. Bagel, Netsky, Lovegate, Blaster are just a few of the flavors making the rounds. The bastard stepchildren of the virus writers, spyware jerks, are busy too.

AVG is slow, probably due to the increased traffic concerning virus infections. Keep trying. You must update and scan. I do it daily. Spybot Search & Destroy is slow at times too. Keep trying. You must update and scan. I do it daily. Ad-Aware is updating normally.

Wish the virus writers and spyware people would show up with the RIAA and ACLU in tow at the beach house. Wasn't it Duvall that said (in character-Apocalypse Now), 'I love the smell of napalm in the morning'? Nahhh, don't need to off a bunch of pansies. Probably saying boo would make 'em wet their pants.

Be careful out there in cyberspace. Lunatics lurk around every port it seems.

"People that write virii and spyware just ain't right with the Lord."
-Billy Wobblynife

Wrath of Thor and thanks

Sometimes it's just hard to believe computers are inanimate objects. I gathered parts and assembled a PC that is being used as an interim device in a THX multimedia network until we build the uber machine. It has a Tyan motherboard, plenty of RAM, brand new hard drive, new USB ports, new 52X CDRW, etc. Now this combination should work and be a stable platform. Upon initial installation it performed flawlessly.

The location is a rural area and even the internal hardware modem purred at around 40k which was acceptable believe it or not. It returned last week for a few hours. And it's back again. Modem problems. Now we are going to a USRobotics 56K external (are there any better?!?!). If this doesn't work...there's the 4 pound shop hammer.

Have you seen Patrick Norton on TechTV and his sledge hammer actions? Child's play compared to what will happen here. Besides, I really need to vent . An exercise in non-patience. Not my first time either. No tickets will be sold, the event is free. Time to be announced at a later date. A good time will be had by all.

Thank you to all the fine folks at Richmond Baptist Church for the prayers. The Good Lord knows my Methodist soul needs the help. It was a stressful battle, but I finally stayed home a few days and it was wonderful. Blood pressure has dropped and the fog has lifted somewhat. Nice to know someone cares. Thanks to all of you.

It's Wednesday and the weather is awesome. Keep everything casual...and exercise some patience, will ya?.

"Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there."
-Will Rogers

The court was a disaster area yesterday

Hate that Mississippi State lost. Sorry Lisa, Bob, Glenda, Chloe, Pam, Jimmy, Rhonda and the rest of the dawg fans. Glad they made it as far as they did. And hey Murf, if Ole Miss goes to looking for a basketball coach could you get Tubby aside and ask him not to apply? What are you Kentuckians gonna' do now? There's always next year.

Must go converse with the Laundry Witch. She's a friend that gives me marching orders whether I need them or not! LOL. I am just a scoopful of oxyclean in the great agitated tub of life.

"Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do."
-John Wooden

Rats have more honor than the people at Incredifind

Okay, I've not given Symantec enough credit for stepping out into the world of malware and addressing such problems as spyware. They have an easy to read blurb on Incredifind removal. While this is a straightforward outline of how to remove the problem, it is not a tool that can be downloaded. Sorry, you still have to go to a little effort to get rid of this dungware. Again, Symantec says the damage capability is low. Am I possibly crossing into another dimension? I have horror stories about Keenvalue, Incredifind, etc. These snakes of society need to go into deep, deep cover if any of the flamers writing here go to active pursuit. These people are MAD! Don't listen to this babble about being harmless, this junk CAN and WILL screw up your PC. Get rid of it and protect yo'self. Hey Keenvalue idiots! Invasion of privacy is against the law. Remember what the Russians and Americans did to the Nazis. It can happen to you!

Downloading these two utilities will step towards the awesome in protecting your PC from future hijacking. Be sure and read the instructions and install both properly. There is a tutorial with Spybot Search & Destroy and it NEEDs to be read before installation. Just throwing it on your computer does not work. Set it up properly. Don't flame me if you if you can't follow instructions. I've used both these utilities with great success. Do the updates (I do them every day).

So...there it is in living color. Click on the two boxes above. If you have problems with the installation then email me.

"Rather fail with honor than succeed by fraud."
-Sophocles

Spring in Paradise? Forecast is occasional ballistics

Today is the Vernal Equinox. If you click the Weather-Saltillo, MS, link you will find that the first day of spring at the beach house is weather positive. Just hope it's not premature to move ferns, palms, etc. outdoors. It will get cold tomorrow night, but don't think there's a chance of frost. Wow, so many things to do. Only one PC to finish this weekend and one drive that needs to be investigated for data recovery.

My yard is infested with moles or voles or whatever. Watched one dig directly into the concrete steps. They are not intelligent animals and definitely in the dark. Have some elephant ears that are so large they are called mammoth ears (no kidding, check your local Lowes). Well, if these are planted in the ground now it will be like inviting these critters to a banquet by the veranda. So the nasties must go. Anyone have any suggestions? Stan and Charlotte have the same problem and they can't find a solution either. May take 1,000 rounds of .223 ammo and spray the yard. Think this would upset my neighbor, the Chief of Police? Okay, that idea is on the back burner. BTW, I have NO qualms about killing the little suckers. Now that that's said, flame on you bunch of "animal rights" nazis! Hope to find a tiger chewing on your liver someday. 'Hell, it's just doing what comes natural!'

Anyone had a problem installing a Hewlett-Packard Photosmart 7660 printer? Creekmonkee has an AMD K6-2 550, 192 meg o ram, 80gig 7200 spin Maxtor HDD, etc. He's running Windows 2000 and things are not copasetic. It wants to blue screen after he installs the drivers from the disk. The latest update from HP may be the answer. If you have input, please comment or email.

Now it's time to begin the War of the Moles. Where is my bayonet?

"Moleshiva, bringer of wrath upon beach house flora. "
-Billy Wobblynife

Once again, Incredifind and other malware

Incredifind, aka Keenvalue or Euniverse, hangs in there irritating the hell out of everyone. How do these people stay in business? I keep seeing 'low harm potential' ratings from different spyware/adware removal sites, but email keeps pouring in about how this dungware has hijacked PCs and drastic measures are needed to restore cyberharmony. Sometimes formatting is the only answer. Been there and done that. The client was not backing up and very disappointed. Why, oh why, do people not back up their precious data?

Here is the Spychecker search engine:

Search Spyware-Guide.com

If you want to see the various nefarious jerks that are spying on you click on 'complete listings' after getting search results. This will list the cretins known to Spychecker in alphabetical order. They don't have the perfect solution, but this service is free (the search engine is free, their software is shareware) and has helped folks find a way to rid their systems of these horrible plagues.

Be sure and check out the links for Ad-aware and Spybot Search & Destroy. If you have problems with the installation of these programs you can email me and I will do my best to help. Laundry Witch did just that today. Spybot S & D is not only installed now, but immunizing her PC as well. Red Green says, "We're all in this together." True.

Speaking of plagues, if you are a John Kerry supporter please try prayer or at least return to your physician and see about a change in meds. Or how about this? Check out his history as a politician. See how he has voted down through the years. Remember that he hails from the same state where certain politicals can drive off bridges and kill people then receive, basically, a hand slap. Ann Coulter has an interesting article about his "international" support. Please research before waving your smarmy liberal flag. It might help you do the right thing.

"Error is to be pitied and pardoned: it is the weakness of human nature. But vice is a foul blemish, not pardonable in any character."
-Thomas Jefferson

Techno prayer with background music

Matchbox 20's 3am song is becoming a way of life. Two machines that are being worked on have been "blessed" with a spoiled child hissy fit that my telco cable modem started throwing yesterday. Please God, help me understand that I am not a patient man and guide me to that most evasive and mysterious place called serenity . Or have someone send valium. Amen. Finally, at 3:15am, I am up and have connectivity. I just know the powers at VistaIIIMedia will make the beach house one of their first stops when doing the two-way rebuild in this area. They are such nice people. And I am glad to have had some form of broadband before anyone else in this area. Wow, I've prayed AND counted blessings. Internet, it does a spirit good! Keep leading the choir brother Rob Thomas! Ima' feelin' better! (be sure and listen to the songbyte under Multimedia if you visit the MB20 site - it's awesome!)

In the words of the godfather of soul James Brown, "Good God, y'all!"

"Out of respect for things that I was never destined to do, I have learned that my strengths are a result of my weaknesses, my success is due to my failures and my style is directly related to my limitations."
-Billy Joel

'What's your favorite color?' Green dude, green.

Happy Saint Patty's to all! Back at work a day early. Be sure and check out Google. Their header is festive.

Irish Stuff is the site of a second generation Irish American. Lotta' links here and they are diversified. Grab your corned beef and Petersen pipe then browse.

For things concerning this holiday try St-Patricks-Day. Here we have history, Gaelic games, recipes, etc.

Everyone have a pleasant Irish celebration!

"We make out of the quarrel with others, rhetoric, but of the quarrel with ourselves, poetry."
-William Butler Yeats

Other Operating Systems and Modem USB Ports

Interesting posts over at Southernphried. Mudslingr has a modem (think internal) with a USB port on it...what's up with that? Modem maker decide to be helpful and just throw in an extra USB connection? Anyone know?

Grasshoppa (another great Southernphriedite) has sucessfully installed Linux SuSe and likes it a lot. We talked about Fedora the other night and want to see it. You can find more info at LINUXISO. Knoppix is also available here. It is CD-bootable and does not need to be installed on the hard drive to run.

Speaking of operating systems that don't need to be installed on the hard drive to run, have you seen Menuet? This actually fits on a floppy and runs from a floppy! It is written in assembly language and has many neat features. Quick, easy download and it's free. Really nice looking interface.

Must mention FreeBSD. This is a very popular alternative OS that is utilized by many websites. This is a true UNIX flavor and uses many applications found in open source software.

Everyone have a terrific Tuesday.

"Cyberspace: A consensual hallucination experienced daily by billions of legitimate operators, in every nation."
-William Gibson

I could eat a dozen chocolate covered doughnuts right now!

Probably short entries for the next few days. Trying to catch up on some badly needed rest, incorporate a more healthy way of eating and start exercising. No longer desires. . .but desires that have become necessities. I must become an efficient machine again.

"How long does getting thin take?"
Winnie the Pooh, from the book Winnie the Pooh by A. A. Milne

A time to rest

Amazing what a weekend away will do for one's blood pressure. Had a tremendous time resting and catching up with old friends. Now it's back to the doctor and possibly some needed and deserved rest. I still have a week's vacation left over from last year. Time to use a few days. Stress level will go down by just accomplishing a few things that have been put off for months. This going to work, sleeping, going to work, sleeping makes Dock a dull boy.

Everyone stay active and happy!

"Gladness of heart is the life of man, and the joyfulness of a man prolongeth his days."
-Ecclesiastes

Saturday mornin' stuff

GOOGLE ALERT: Did you know that you can go to Google and type in define followed by a word of your choice and it will give you the definition? Is that cool or what?!?! The Web Definition will be at the very top. Don't know about Google? Make sure they've stabilized your electrolytes before you get out of bed after that long coma. Google rocks!

Thank you Kim from Tupelo for the nice supportive email. Neat to know other people are watching and researching John Kerry. C'mon folks, doesn't this guy look like his last name is really Capone or Gotti?

I actually have friends that are democrats, but they lean conservative. As said before, if you are a liberal you have absolutely NO business being here reading anything. Hopefully, voters will look at the political records of both candidates and make the right decision. President Bush is not perfect, but his policy is solid.

Remember, this is NOT a forum. My opinions are exactly that. Mine. I don't care to know about your liberal whinings. Go hang out with Hilary, Bill, ACLU, RIAA, Satan, Rosie, Moe-donna and all others trying to destroy our freedom. We have enough barnyard material in here without lapsing into utterly ridiculous.

Got to check on build progress of latest media PC. BP is now 158 over 97, a really good thing. Chill and stay casual this weekend.

"A lot has been said about politics; some of it complimentary, but most of it accurate."
-Eric Idle

U no open attachments in OE? Lookee here!

Sarah emailed with a problem opening attachments in Outlook Express. Here's a possible answer:

Open Outlook Express. Go to Tools (at the very top, 2nd line 4th word over just under the page title bar) left click and open, then click on Options. In Options click on the Security tab and under virus protection unclick "Do not allow attachments to be saved or opened that could potentially be a virus."

Microsoft, in a big brotherly fashion of sorts, is trying to protect us. The problem is that Outlook Express seems to indentify ALL attachments as potential virii. Ahhh, what would would we do without Bill looking out for us? LOL. This question, the one about opening attachments, pops up quite a bit.

If you follow this procedure and become infected don't whine around here. Have you updated your virus definitions in your antivirus program today? No? Then do it!! Now!!!

My cable modem is possessed. It knows that I want it to leave and is fighting the exorcism. Not only has the telco upload slowed, now it disconnects at most inopportune times. I know the mighty Vista Express crew will use great diligence and relieve me of this problem when two-way becomes available (is that some techno sucking up or what?!) It'll be like Christmas in Spring at the beach house!

Have to arise early. Working on a media machine that's to be integrated into a THX home theater. It will be delivered tomorrow. Later gator, other reptiles n mammals!

"Never trust a computer you can't throw out a window."
-Steve Wozniak (interesting, coming from a co-founder of Apple)

Wouldn't FDR be proud?

The election is heating up. John 'I spent 4 whole months in Vietnam' Kerry called the Bush administration, "a lying bunch of crooks, the worst I've ever seen." He thought his microphone was turned off. This is from a man that looks like he has just walked off the set of The Sopranos. If you want the truth, look at Kerry's voting record down through the years. It's everywhere on the internet. Since Mr. Kerry called my President a lying crook, then I'll call him what he is; a bumbling, self-centered, no show liberal asshole. Don't like it? Go find a Hilary "we are the President' Clinton fan page. No need coming back here. Kerry, you owe the world an apology. Don't tread on the President of the United States of America.

Now I must go take my new high blood pressure medicine. Have a happy and productive Thursday.

"If pride of character be of worth at any time, it is when it disarms the efforts of malice."
-Thomas Jefferson (one of my favorite quotes!)

A bit worried

Malignant hypertension, "a particularly severe form of high blood pressure, is a hypertensive emergency. Blood pressure is at least 210/120 mm Hg. It occurs in only about 1 of 200 people who have high blood pressure. However, it is several times more common among blacks than among whites, among men than among women, and among people in lower socioeconomic groups than among those in higher socioeconomic groups. Unlike a hypertensive urgency, malignant hypertension may produce a variety of severe symptoms. If untreated, malignant hypertension usually leads to death in 3 to 6 months."

If you had such a problem and read the above paragraph, would you be concerned? I am. Mine was exactly 210 over 120 two days ago. I am now taking medication to correct this problem. It's my own fault. I should have been to the doctor before now. Making appointments and then cancelling is a thing of the past. Damn somebody else's petty reasons for not going, my life is in jeopardy. I am regrouping, rethinking, realigning, reacting. Let me tell you brothers and sisters in the words of Little Feat - "ain't had enough fun."

"Try to find your deepest issue in every confusion, and abide by that."
-D. H. Lawrence, Selected Essays

My shortest post

High blood pressure is running amok. Bear with me for a few days.

853 is the number of The Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams: A play and an old black and white movie with a slim, young Marlon Brando screaming 'Stella, Stella'.

"Anyone can face a crisis, it's the day to day living that will kill you."
-Chekov

Doin' the defense shuffle (and some whining)

If you are using a telco modem that uploads at slower than 24k forget downloading the service pack 4 windows update for windows 2000. It won't work. I've tried this several times and usually end up unhooking the PC and taking it somewhere that has DSL or COMCAST. Then it will update like a charm. Sitting here at 4:30am on purpose because I think traffic will be minimal and watching this thing sign on at anywhere from 16.8 to 21.6 after numerous attempts is frustrating. No use complaining really. I've put my faith in my internet service provider so I'll make an effort to stop whining about it. C'mon two-way!

Chris, from Memphis, sent an email inquiring about Ad-Aware and Spybot S&D. He wants to know, "Why both?" While it's true that Ad-Aware does pick up most all spyware/adware/dungware Spybot S&D does something that strikes me as really important. It lets me know how many times resident applications present a call to upload to the internet. Watch the results of a scan and it may amaze you at all the different things wanting to 'report in'. Microsoft has a number of applications that constantly want to talk to something over the internet as do others. Hey, I don't care what Mr. Gates knows about me, but damn it all, ask my permission!! The XP machine goes really nuts reporting in. Can we say authentication code jitters? Wish Bill Gates had never met Darth Jobs!

I constantly monitor outgoing with ZoneAlarm, the free version. It takes a while to train this program and some people become frustrated with it. Believe me, bear with it and learn to use it. It's a good defense. The Addams Family would be proud of this paragraph.

Well Monday started early. Frustration has the stress level up so I can save money on coffee this morning, LOL. Patience is truly a virtue. Does anyone know the significance of the number 853? It has to do with a writer born in Columbus, Mississippi. Let me know...

"Evil begets evil. Shooting it only makes it stronger."
-Father Cornelius, The Fifth Element

Rude n crude stuff that needs attention

Here's the map of those states fighting to tax you online. The coon asses and bamites are neighbors that are being confronted with this issue. Mississippi is not part of it and our neighbor to the north, Tennessee, is in the clear as well. Why do we have to contend with such drivel?

Just like the damnable people at the RIAA Temple of Doom. I really thought we stomped out goosestepping in World War II. Everyday seems to bring some new malady that seizes our rights online. As Netizens we must become aggressive and eliminate the bullies and mafiosos. The RIAA is nothing more than a pack of thugs raping the music industry and the public. They are fighting for existence to continue their extortion practices. They are taking away your freedom and you sit doing nothing! A pox and plague on all of them. Go to These are important issues. Before long you will be watched by Big Brother ALL the time. Do away with these horrible people. Put a stop to it! Contact your congressmen. Express yourself!

Today's youth should learn manners. Being hateful is just stupid. Recently I had a young female confront me about something asinine. She was out of place and clueless. She's from way way north of Corinth has no manners and probably no scruples as well. I decided to be passive and not call her a dumbass gutter slut. Besides, I've never had much success arguing with a banshee or a shrew. She's in her own world and hasn't even offered an apology. If I am impolite to someone then I apologize and genuinely seek forgiveness. This person has no character and will suffer her rash, hateful ways eventually. Not my place to worry with her, God will take care of it. There, that's off my mind.

"I pity the illmannered fool that gets in my face!"
-Mr. T, The A-Team

Important FREE links and weather ramblings

AVG Anti-virus, Spybot Search & Destroy, and Ad-Aware are important and FREE. They are permanently listed in the links column, but you can click on the words in this paragraph and be directed to the appropriate site. Setting up these programs for maximum protection may be tricky and I will gladly answer any email or comments. Nice thing is that after the initial setup they only have to be updated and run to do their job. If you like these utilities and can afford it, upgrade and donate!

VistaIIIMedia has changed their web site and it is much, much, much better! Anyone in the immediate area should consider their cable service and internet service. Saltillo residents are only a few weeks away from being two way concerning cablemodem. In the past I've been disgusted with upload speed, but these folks are making a good effort and very helpful with problems. They respond very quickly if you are having issues. Besides, they are polite and that's rare. A link is posted.

Stormed across Saltillo last night. We had all kind of warnings, tornado, flood, flash flood, thunderstorms. The neighborhood gravitates towards the stormhouse during such periods and I purposely leave the door unlocked. Am sure the insurance agent and lawyer would disapprove, but if it grants my neighbors solace then far be it from me to deny such. I go in it every few months to check the cleanliness, but don't bother during inclimate weather. Don't get me wrong if I see a tornado coming my butt will make a dive for it. Storms don't bother me that much. Just a 'rider'.

Should be a great day; clear, temps in high 60s (that's F no clue as to C) and humidity low and steady. After the massive rain during the night the ground will be soaked, but still a great day to bask in the sun. Only have to work outside of the shop for about 4 or 5 hours this weekend. It will be muddy, a new home construction site. Used to be fun when others didn't work 7 days a week, but now we all seem to bang into each other. At least I have the supplementary income.

Everyone have a good weekend. Get outside if possible. Catch some rays.

"Some people walk in the rain, others just get wet."
-Roger Miller

Please pay attention to the second paragraph

Can't wait for the internet connection to become two way. This telco modem is the pits. VistaIIIMedia delivers a beautiful picture and is very responsive to any calls. I've discussed the problem with them and must exercise patience. I hope they tell me to throw this thing away when changing out. I will take it out and .223 it to its deserved death.

AVG, Ad-Aware, Spysweeper, Spybot Search & Destroy all have updates available. If you are not updating on a daily basis then you are placing your personal confuser in jeopardy. Symantec (Norton's), Sophos, Trend Mirco (P-cillin) and the rest have updates too. Using McAfee? May the Good Lord help you find knowledge. It still amazes me at the number of people that don't do Windows Updates, or use spyware protection. Tell you what, just leave that garbage on there. Your machine will slow to a crawl because of all the popups and resident evil. Spam will run amok. If you are not running antivirus protection and updating on a regular basis please leave and don't come back. Get yo' head outta there and use it! Update! Update!

"To talk to someone who does not listen is enough to tense the devil."
-Pearl Bailey, Talking to Myself

Sleepless in Saltillo and old Incredifind news

It's 1:30am and I just finished a post here only to be dropped by my damned telco cable modem. It's gone; into cyberspace never to return. Well, it's late and I am not going to post all those links again. Must pray for patience because I just know the VistaIIIMedia folks are good people and will get us asynchronous soon.

If you will check the archives, last week in February, 2004, several posts are about removing Incredifind. There's even a search engine that's related to spyware in one entry. I understand that the manual removal can be difficult, but I didn't put this garbage on your machine. To the well mannered folks that email and say thanks let me just say that I am glad to help. Seems someone would use the comments.

Back to bed. Have a tremendous Thursday.

"Now we know ... It's Bush vs. Kerry. Please remember the rules of this campaign. You can criticize Bush because he only served in the National Guard. You cannot criticize Kerry because he served four months in Vietnam. OK ... Let's get it on!"
-Neal Boortz

The patio table umbrella is unfurled!

Not a lot of news to post. Just changing some things. I put comments on the page so everyone can instantly respond. Want to know if these colors are better, etc. The header is more reflective of the beach house spirit; laid back, kick your shoes off, have a refreshing beverage, cook some animal on the grill, listen to music, sleep in the hammock and at night, look at the stars. Click on comments fill in the name block and tell me what you think.

"One particular harbor, sheltered from the storm..."
-Jimmy Buffett

Glance up at the Title!

Trying to use a really kewl title header that Chyna Moon put together for me. The page will change over the next few days, so please bear with me. Trying to make things mo' casual. If you want to see really good work, visit her page. Link is posted.

"Laughter can be heard farther than weeping."
-Jason Kuller's Mother, Mildred

One ring to rule them all. . .

Eleven. A clean sweep. Tied the all time record with Titanic and Ben Hur. Lord of the Rings III aka The Return of the King rocked the house last night at the Academy Awards ceremony. About time. The scope of this project is absolutely awesome. Peter Jackson's attention to detail and love of this book have produced a true masterpiece. And the most phenomenal thing about all this? These movies are based on a book (or books, take your pick) about friendship. I find that uplifting.

Nice easy evening, napping and watching the TV broadcast. Wish Johnny Depp would have beat Sean Gooberhead Penn. As a matter of fact this was the only major acting award that was different from the SAG awards. Bed was calling and almost gave in, but glad that I saw LOTR, ROTK win best motion picture.

It's a new month, new week, new day. Everyone have a better than expected Monday.

"There never was much hope, only a fool's hope."
-Mithrandir