5 Great Utilities

Here are some sites that seem to interest folks. All of these can be found at MajorGeeks and the Cybersouth links list.

Anti-Virus:

AVG - The Godzilla of all anti-virus programs.

AntiSpyware:

Spybot Search & Destroy - WOW! Just awesome.

Ad-Aware - Super! You go Swedish coders!

SpywareBlaster - Quiet and deadly!

Drive Cleaner/Editor:

CCleaner - Not so cute name, magnificent program.

You MUST update and run scans on a regular basis. You can upgrade Ad-Aware. For a few dollars it will perform automatic updates and scans. AVG's purchased upgrade is really kewl and has great flexibility. Please donate to the others. They used their time and intelligence to share superb software with us. Help them out. Even a few bucks will be appreciated.

If you have problems with installations or just want an opinion about tweaking these programs, email me. Unless you are familiar with registry editors, etc., it's a good idea not to randomly change settings. Some of these tools are extremely powerful and can flat wipe out a system if used improperly. There is work being done here to create install guides with screenshots. The links list is being revamped to provide more info and in a categorized format. This will take time. Bear with me. BTW, anyone that'd like to help, email me!

The beach house is always interested in helpful utilities. Please make contact if you have a viable piece of software that you think has been overlooked. Hey, the damned Yahoo Toolbar is NOT such an item. If you find the home sites listed slow to download, they are most likely bogged down with traffic. Click on the MajorGeeks link above and you will see speed. One last thing - when did you last defragment your hard drive?

"Getting information off the Internet is like taking a drink from a fire hydrant."
-Billy Wobblynife (known Google user)

A Flock of Sea Monkeys

Here's a another entry into the browser wars, SeaMonkey. This is an alpha test offering from Mozilla. It has very familiar looks to anyone that ran the Mozilla browser before Firefox, yet it is built on the Firefox engine. This browser is so ALPHA that it does not have a logo and there is a contest where you can submit your artwork for this project. So please, please beware that it is not considered stable at this time.

Another browser project is Flock. An email address is required before you can download it. They make no bones about their code being experimental. Am still waiting on a registration thangy in order to download and take a look-see. If anyone has info, please make contact. This is different. Worth watching, fer sure! Will keep everyone posted.

Monday morning is peaceful at the beach house and the 'end of the world as possums know it' didn't occur during the night (please see yesterday's post). Remember that today is International Talk Like A Pirate Day...just click on the link below - it's hard to explain. Stay casual today and remember that Tuesday is less than 24 hours away!


"While you are destroying your mind watching the worthless, brain-rotting drivel on TV, we on the Internet are exchanging, freely and openly, the most uninhibited, intimate and, yes, shocking details about our "CONFIG.SYS" settings."
-Dave Barry

Dream State Interrupted

It's peaceful this Sunday morning. The humidity is low and the temperature is tolerable. Sleeping with the windows open is very refreshing unless...you have the Possum Armageddon taking place just outside the window. There I snoozed dreaming of binary wristwatches and P4 hyperthreading processors when a screeching somewhere from just this side of the grave rattled the windows. Armed, I turned on the veranda light, hit the door and there was what I thought was Arnold, opossumus germanicus austriabodicus, raising holy hell with the neighbor's dog. The dog was doing low woof, woofs as it circled "my resident marsupial." 3:00am and there was a zoo in my yard at war. Fur was flying and the unfortunate wanderer was hissing and howling like a wet cat. Many sets of red, beady eyes could be seen in the periphery. Probably the feral cats Arnold ran up the trees a while ago that just had to come investigate all the noise.

Two more small dogs started up with yapping sounds when they saw me and then, low and behold, ANOTHER possum was spotted! It was standing by the fence that has been taken over by the wisteria growing in the oak tree. BTW, this is the ugliest fence in Saltillo and looks like a Munsters/Addams Family decoration in the wintertime. Pictures may follow, maybe not. Please remember, this Possum Apocalypso awoke me out of REM state. After pausing, shaking away the mental cobwebs and gathering my thoughts it was obvious what had happened. The stray possum had innocently wandered into the yard. The dogs delighted in jumping on it since they had been banned from this property some months ago by Arnold. Meanwhile, Arnold stood there amongst the wisteria and was laughing at the invader and encouraging the yappers to bark louder.

This brings a few thoughts to mind. Are the dogs really that stupid? Is there possible collusion between Arnold and the dogs? Do I need to seek a prescription for the well advertised Ambien sleep aid? Will they let me watch Friday night Sci-Fi on TV at the rest home?

"You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream."
-C.S. Lewis

Remnant of the Past

If you have visited here often then you know that Brian Roberts, CEO of COMCAST, is not held in high esteem. He manages a crew of baboons that is disguised as a board of directors. Can we say baboonzilla? Well, the horrid G4TV has returned a show to our airwaves that was a staple of the wonderful TechTV that COMCAST destroyed. It's Call for Help. I still miss my all time favorite TV program, The Screensavers. What a wonderful show and the stream of information was astounding. Well, monkeyboys probably didn't have the mentality to understand the content so they outright killed it.

Leo Laporte is the anchor of the show. Leo has been around for a while and was the first person seen on ZDTV's The Screensavers back in May of 1998. Good to have him back on the air in this country. This is a Canadian based show so most of the people calling are from north of our border. That may change with time. Another thing that has to be taken into consideration is that these folks are Apple Nazis. Still, the content is interesting since Apple OSX is based on FreeBSD and many things are parallel in the Apple, Windows, Linux, Unix world nowadays. In all fairness Call for Help does supply an ample amount of information about Windows PCs.

If someone wanted to break into the TV business, a TechTV type station would be most welcome. Lord knows this station had many many major advertisers when it was abruptly taken off the air. Since G4TV (COMCAST's pitiful replacement of TechTV) is slanted towards the 7 and 8 year old audience that likes gaming, I refuse to have a gaming console at the beach house. Well, there is a PC or two...

"The higher a monkey climbs, the more you see of his behind."
-General Joe Stillwell

Act of Congress

Congress has a new draft concerning broadband legislation. You can read about and download a PDF copy at ArsTechnica. This has to do with VOIP (internet telephone service), video over internet, protection against monopoly strangleholds on broadband service, etc.

It's late, and a long day has transpired. After fighting to stay awake during Battlestar Galactica it's time to sleep.

"A dreamer is one who can only find his way by moonlight, and his punishment is that he sees the dawn before the rest of the world."
-Wilde

Communication Breakdown

Is anyone having problems with their email, cell phones, internet connectivity or long distance service? My cell phone has developed a mind of its own. Seems early every morning it downloads numbers that have called or messages left hours ago. Strange. Several people have voiced problems with email, most notably Bellsouth subscribers. Yesterday, a Yahoo bizrate account that had been working decided to kill the SMTP and stopped sending email. Sounds like a server problem to me. No doubt we are still under the influence of hurricane Katrina.

Up early and must make haste to avoid the heat potential that will be with us during the afternoon hours. Hope Thursday finds you casual and happy!

"I had to grow up and learn to listen for the unspoken as well as the spoken."
-Eudora Welty

Opinions are needed

Read yesterday's post? Inquiring minds want to know about your favorite wordprocessing software. Go click on comments and make a statement. If you hate Word say so or think WordPerfect is the uber bomb, let us know! Is anyone using the FREE OpenOffice for Windows? It's awesome in Linux. You can save as Word, Excel documents in this great office suite. It can be downloaded at OpenOffice.org. Comment!

There was a note added yesterday that links to the SouthernPhried article Get Out Your Cyber Windex. Has it been mentioned that ALL inquiring emails get a reply? Emails are great because they help with focus on different subjects. Several emails and IMs have been received asking about Windows newest addition to their operating system family, called Vista; you can use this link and get Microsoft's take on their newest wonderchild or click on the one above and have access to several links that are informative, well-written and have no built in prejudice.

Okay, now that I've written almost the same thing for two days it's time to shower, brush my teeth then go pull some cable. Comment here at this post or yesterday's it doesn't matter. Have a casual Wednesday.

"What would you rather have to plow a field — two strong oxen or 1,024 chickens?"
-Seymour Cray

Let's type

Wow! There's a new posting tool. It’s called Blogger for Word. Instead of using the cold, extremely small window I now have Microsoft Word - which means many neat tools and room galore. How many times have posts been lost when trying to publish? No more! This is the first post within Word.  Oh yes, ye shall know mine not so humble opinion within a fortnight.

Ah, word processors. What's your favorite? Word? WordPerfect? OpenOffice? Notepad? DOS prompt? Just click on the comments thangy below this post!

"Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time."
-Edison

NOTE: Interested in the upcoming Windows Vista operating system that will supercede XP next year? Please read today's post at Southernphried titled Get Out Your Cyber Windex written by yours truly.

Coding simplified

Here's a bit of BASIC code everyone should understand:

10 GOSUB LOOK_FOR_HOLES
20 IF HOLE_FOUND = FALSE THEN GOTO 50
30 GOSUB FIX_HOLE
40 GOTO 10
50 GOSUB CONGRATULATE_SELF
60 GOSUB GET_HACKED_EVENTUALLY_ANYWAY
70 GOTO 10

This comes from an article that divulges many super points about keeping our machines safe -> The Six Dumbest Ideas in Computer Security. Please read this article. It helps one understand the immensity of security problems. Props to Zonk at Slashdot for a great heads up.

Time to return to the bench. Wish the 'n' in the last word, in the last sentence was an 'a'. Embrace Monday and hang on, Tuesday is not too far away.

"Time flies like the wind. Fruit flies like bananas."
-Groucho Marx

Money, speed, and lack of C8H10N4O2?

Interested in seeing which CEOs are winning and losing? Try the CEO Wealthmeter. Looks like Mr. Ballmer needs to quit throwing chairs and pay more attention to the boys n' girls at Google. This site was discovered while standing around the "water cooler" over at ZDNet: Nice site that has been around for many years. Wish they'd bring back ZDTV since the goobers in the COMCAST boardroom have ruined TechTV.

Want to test the speed of your internet connection? Try CNET's Bandwidth Meter. Please remember this is not the do-all, end-all verdict about your connection. Many factors come into play when using such a test; location, time of day, conditions of external phone line/trunks, condition of cable system, weather, how many buzzards are sitting on the wire at the time of the test, etc. Using Firefox? Download the Bandwidth Tester extension.

It's late and a long fought battle with three PCs started early yesterday. They have worn me down. Time to rest a few hours then return to the front. Thanks goes out to bondoelvis about the tip concerning the broken link in yesterday's post. You can now click on the Firefox button at the bottom of that post and it will transport you to things wonderful. Have a righteous Sunday.

"If you can't sleep, then get up and do something instead of lying there worrying. It's the worry that gets you, not the lack of sleep."
-Dale Carnegie

(C8H10N4O2=caffeine)

Flaming canine, the fat lady singing and other stuff

DON'T download the beta test version 1.5 of Firefox. The beta version has been in use at the beach house for several days and it has some problems. That's why it is a "beta." Firefox is certainly recommended. Use the very stable version 1.06. It is a super alternative to Internet Explorer. Since Microsoft won't let anyone other than XP users have Internet Explorer 7 when it is issued, you may really want to look into other ways to browse the internet. Here is an excellent Firefox installation guide.

Opera is another browser available. The latest incarnation is version 8.0. You can download an ad driven copy here -> Opera. After using the ad free version for a while it has to be reported that this is a nice browser. It's just not worth $30.00 or so when Firefox is a free download that does a better job. The verdict is not completely in on Opera, but it is not happy with Blogger and has a few other issues. Anyone using Opera? Post a comment or email. Be nice to get different opinions.

Several other browsers are available. Go to MajorGeeks and click on Browsers in the 'Files' list. There are many alternatives and a lot of add on tools in this list. Avant and Maxthon have been used here and found not impressive, especially Avant. Netscape is getting good reports since they adopted the Firefox engine. Just remember that Netscape was the whiner that created all the hoopla about Internet Explorer being bundled with Windows for free back a few years ago. NOTE: It is sad that MajorGeeks actually has a link to the gross, putrid Yahoo Toolbar in this list.

"Life is a great big canvas; throw all the paint on it you can."
-Danny Kaye

Arnold is enjoying the nice weather

Occasionally old pages that have been recommended are revisited. I've mentioned Weather Watcher at Singer Creations several times and thought it would be nice to see what has been going on at this site. If you noticed no link this site then good for you. Sorry, while browsing around I noticed one of his sponsoring links is the awful Weatherbug. ANYTHING connected with Claria, in my not so humble opinion, sucks!!! No one despises this junk more than your resident possum watcher. All right, enough with the negative vibes. Time to be happy!

Get outside. Go for a walk. Eat lunch in the park. Grab the kids, wife, girlfriend, boyfriend, the dog or cat and watch the sunset. Have a casual day.

"Those who bring sunshine into the lives of others, cannot keep it from themselves."
-James Barrie

I pray

Prayers for the people. Stop listening to the dissenters like Mr. Jackson and offer hope up for those afflicted. If you don't pray, then at least sit in silence for a moment. Props to everyone that has helped with the Katrina crisis. Folks, the survivors need ALL of us to stand behind them. Lend a hand and shore up this great nation instead of using mean spirited negative attacks to tear it down.

"I try to avoid looking forward or backward, and try to keep looking upward."
-Charlotte Bronte

Loss and Gain Concerning the Cathode Ray Tube

Maynard G. Krebs has left the building. Bob Denver passed away. Most will remember him for his roll as Gilligan, but Maynard was a hoot! He was a beatnik character on the Dobie Gillis show. Very, very old TV and also some of the funniest stuff I've seen. Way ahead of its time. I think TVLand or some network is airing it locally. Check it out. Be sure and watch the interaction between Maynard and Dobie's Dad.

There's a new TV show available for download. The name of this show is NerdTV. Yes, it's for real. It is a Robert Cringely vehicle supported by PBS. The first hour long show is an interview of an Apple dude that has seen the opensource light. Opensource, you know, that Free BSD and Linux stuff that is free to download and use. It's also VERY stable. Anyway, Andy Hertzfeld was the original MacIntosh systems programmer and he talks about his love of opensource software. Hey, I am not making all this up. No Zamboni here. This is for real. My geekmeter is off the scale.

"In general my children refuse to eat anything that hasn't danced on television."
-Erma Bombeck

EDIT: Anyone that has signed up for GMail can download and install Google Talk. This is an awesome instant messaging program. My email addy is cybersouth@gmail.com. Ad me to your list! If you need an invitation to GMail then send me your email address. I have almost 100 invitations left. Hey, 2.5gigs of web storage space is downright awesome. Believe me folks, this is the best email client in the solar system.

Just leave a note in a mayonnaise jar on the steps of Funk & Wagnalls

Does anyone know of a freeware calendar/scheduler program that can be used on a network? Different trial versions have been downloaded. They ended in miserable failure. Several attempts have been made to use Sunbird, but trying to use webdav requires extra doses of medication. Very frustrating.

Why is this type of software needed? Take Emporer Mofat of Zamboni, for example. Emporer Mofat has a very busy schedule and several people have been hired to keep up with his various activities. They sometimes make conflicting appointments because the Emporer has a large office complex on several floors in the royal palace. Emporer Mofat is a kind and considerate ruler and tolerates the glitching of an otherwise smooth workflow. But the vassals and minions are constantly frustrated because they cannot do their job to the utmost efficiency which would please Emporer Mofat and they LIVE to make him happy.

In another scenario you have Emporer Mofat's neighboring country, Bootalia, that is ruled by a triumvirate consisting of Cornelia, Julia and Licinia. They do not need one calendar, but three so their centurions, etc. can post to each individual leader's schedule. This can be server based or on each individual machine of the leaders. Everyone would be networked, have access to the three schedules and be able to read or post to them. This would leave the leaders more time to spend with their husbands and boyfriend, Julius, Pompey and Crassus.

Another neighboring country, Accountia, is actually split into two different areas. The ruling faction is another benevolent ruler named Cleopatra. Of course her title is Countess. Coordination between the two areas is important. Her workers are busy with tasks at hand and need to find a way they will not overlap appointments, blocks of the pyramids, etc. This will have to be done with a LAN and a WAN and possibly a snake. Yes, I know this will probably involve the mysterious webdav. Ahhhhh, the dilemna of scheduling is a mighty one.

So, does anyone know of a freeware calendar/scheduler? Or even a decent shareware program that doesn't require voodoo spells to install and implement. Inquiring minds wanna know.

"I am definitely going to take a course on time management... just as soon as I can work it into my schedule."
-Boone

Labor Day 2005 Observations

New event at the Annual Microsoft Non-Intermural Games; Chair Hurling. Favorite to win at the time of this writing is team leader Stevie "Hissyfit" Ballmer. Behind the scenes reports are saying that Bill Gates is trying to supply him with more employees leaving the company for Google so he can do the exit interviews and practice his event. Distance will not be the only factor that determines the winner. Judges will rate style, lack of character and idiocy for each contestant. An insider informed me, "Stevie's use of expletives and smutty language are sure to make him 'shoo in' to win the Blue Ribbon." You can read about Hissyfit's training regimen at BBC News.

Remember the book 1984, by George Orwell, published in 1949? Didn't read it? Here's the complete book online. Don't understand or comprehend science fiction? Take a look at the SparkNotes. This was read early in life; seems I remember watching the pterodactyls fly by the window while conjuring up a mind's image of the horror attached to such an oppressed society. Anyone else find it amazing how much companies try to control us and how lenient the government is when it comes to invasion of privacy? Where's this going? Click here. Seems Blu-Ray has adopted the anthem of spyware thugs -> Subjugate thyself!

Thanks to all that are helping in the Katrina aftermath. Thank God our nation is responding efficiently to this horrible crisis. Yesterday, I received an email and was asked an opinion about Kanye West's remarks Friday night during the NBC live televised fundraiser concert. Here goes. 'Even a fool has a right to embrace freedom of speech.' You can quote me on that.

"People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for the freedom of thought which they seldom use."
-Soren Kierkegaard

Coffee is in my immediate future

Just read a funny article at Slashdot. It's about what people have in their laptop cases. The comments are hilarious. There's also a great article about the state of Massachusetts dropping Microsoft Office in favor of an opensource office suite. Microsoft is launching a pay per search thangy, shucks, just click on the link and take a look. This is one of my all time favorite pages. It has great depth and links to a world of neat information.

Overslept. Think it has anything to do with that 2 hours research on infrared emitters and receivers around 1:00am this morning? Running a cable today at Beagle and Mudslingrs. Then it's time to see if the new belts can be properly routed on the riding mower. It won't go in forward gear. The yard is so tall my neighbor and friend Larry has offered to help mow. Some sticks were picked up yesterday, enough to create a nice bonfire. Everyone enjoy the day and remember those suffering in your prayers today. By the way, my lardbutt will be suffering if I have to use the push mower.

"Three-fourths of the Earth's surface is water, and one-fourth is land. It is quite clear that the good Lord intended us to spend triple the amount of time fishing as taking care of the lawn."
-Clark

Katrina and six string music

A soon to be 15 year old wandered through the lobby of a local inn where he is staying with relatives until the okay is given for the family to return home to Louisiana. He noticed someone playing a guitar and sat down to listen for a while. The guitarist asked where he was from and did he like guitars? The young fellow answered affirming his love of the instrument. After a few minutes, the lad mentioned that he supposed to receive a guitar for his birthday next week, but acknowledged that it was doubtful such a gift would be possible due to the loss of property, his Dad's job destroyed by Katrina. He was not whining, just stating facts. A young, gentle soul trying to be considerate of those around him. A rare thing seen this day and time.

The guitarist thought about this after the young man left. His heart lifted to churn his thought processes and so began a search. After talking to a local merchant that sells musical instruments he was armed with information about a decent guitar and amp. Then he consulted the parents to make sure they approved. They were overwhelmed, especially with his generous offer to let them give this cherished present to their son as if they had made the purchase. They insisted that the guitarist do the honor. Well the instrument has been purchased and very soon there will be an extremely happy 15 year old in Tupelo that is from the Lake Pontchartrain area.

The guitarist, a native of Tupelo that is employed at the mentioned inn, said, "When you're 14 or 15 you just need to celebrate your birthday."

Thank you "Ashby Rhett Culpepper, III, Esq.", for being a kind, generous person. Thanks Jim for being a friend.

"The deed is everything, the glory naught."
-Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Would Wagner or Mozart use this browser?

Recently, Opera granted keys to interested users for their ad-free browser. After obtaining one, I've installed this software and used it a few days. Good looking structure and the speed is fast enough. Three things stood out immediately. 1->No popups. 2->It doesn't like GMail. 3->Some important tools are lost in The Blogger posting area. This reminds me of KDE's Konqueror in use on my Linux PCs. Fortunately, Konqueror does not have a problem with GMail even though it is not on the GMail approved list. Will keep using this alternative way to surf the internet and report later. For a free download of the ad-driven version of Opera click here.

Firefox is still the leader in the recent browser battles. They have to gain control over the increase of popups though. The bad guys are still hammering away trying to force garbage on our PCs that we don't want. If you go to a site and the popup blocker stops an ad then DON'T return to this site. Email the webmaster of the page and tell them why you won't return. Gee, think people will do this? Internet Explorer 7 is on the horizon and will be available only to XP and Vista users. Why does Microsoft keep shooting that foot? Does Bill Gates have plans to venture into the Linux realm? Sure seems like he's headed that way. Remember, he injected 150 million dollars into non-voting shares of Apple in 1997.

NEW LINK: Please click on Cybersouth Links just under the picture above and check out the new Computing.net search link at the top of the page. For many years this site has been a great resource for curing various problems computerese. Just type in your query, select the category and enjoy the results!

Anyone having problems with Windows Updates? Please comment.

"I have never heard enough classical music to be able to enjoy it; & the simple truth is, I detest it. Not mildly, but with all my heart. To me an opera is the very climax & cap-stone of the absurd, the fantastic, the unjustifiable. I hate the very name of opera - partly because of the nights of suffering I have endured in its presence, & partly because I want to love it and can't."
-Mark Twain

Browse the list and read the quote

Hats off to Morgan Freeman, Harry Connick, Jr., Wynton Marsalis, Tim McGraw, Dave Mathews Band, Green Day, Ellen DeGeneres, Leonardo DeCaprio, Ludacris, Alicia Keys, Master P, Russell Simmons, Matt Lauer, Jerry Lewis and many others for helping with the relief efforts that will go to the victims of the Katrina disaster. Want to donate and don't know how or where? Here's a partial list:

American Red Cross
1-800-HELP NOW (435-7669) English,
1-800-257-7575 Spanish;

Operation Blessing
1-800-436-6348

America’s Second Harvest
1-800-344-8070

Donate Cash and/or Volunteer

Adventist Community Services
1-800-381-7171

B'nai B'rith International
1-888-388-4224

Catholic Charities, USA
1-800-919-9338

Christian Disaster Response
941-956-5183 or 941-551-9554

Christian Reformed World Relief Committee
1-800-848-5818

Church World Service
1-800-297-1516

Convoy of Hope
417-823-8998

Corporation for National and Community Service Disaster Relief Fund
(202) 606-6718

Feed the Children
1-800-525-7575

Lutheran Disaster Response
800-638-3522

Mennonite Disaster Service
717-859-2210

Nazarene Disaster Response
888-256-5886

Presbyterian Disaster Assistance
800-872-3283

Salvation Army
1-800-SAL-ARMY (725-2769)

Southern Baptist Convention -- Disaster Relief
1-800-462-8657, ext. 6440

United Jewish Communities
1-800-462-8657, ext. 6440

Union for Reform Judaism

United Methodist Committee on Relief
1-877-277-2477

People, there are folks out there that really need your help. If someone knows about an organization that needs to be added to this list please use the comments or email me - cybersouth@gmail.com. God Bless all that are active in this humanitarian effort.

"And now abideth faith, hope and charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity."
I Corinthians

Cafe Du Monde is closed today

The floodgates in New Orleans that usually keep water from flowing into the city may be opened to let water out if they can, in fact, get them open. Another concern is fuel storage tanks floating free and spilling into the area creating the strong possibility of fire. Read about it at The Times Picayune. This is a local newspaper in the New Orleans area and a pertinent source of topics relevant to this awful tragedy. Another informative, up to date site is MississippiPolitical. Thanks and props to CW for an awesome job of keeping us informed about current matters concerning this dilemna.

It cannot be stressed enough to give money, blood, time and prayers. NOLA, the Mississippi Gulf Coast and surrounding areas are devastated. Thank God my friends and family are safe. Returning to this area will not be easy for them. We must pull together as a mighty nation and reach out to help those in need. Such havoc in this historical area that I love dearly is sad enough, but the plight of the people tugs at my soul.

Donate to the Red Cross. Help the saints, sinners and all concerned go 'marching in' again.

"It is every man's obligation to put back into the world at least the equivalent of what he takes out of it."
-Einstein

Riders on the Storm

It looks like a disaster area around the beach house. No major damage, but the streets are full of debris and water is standing in small pools everywhere. It amazes me that when weather is sane and pretty in this area a local yokel weatherman will interrupt TV to tell us about storms in Texas or Louisiana. Last night I think that horse's butt was hiding somewhere. TV coverage sucked. Here we are in the midst of a tropical storm at 7:00pm and they are showing clips from 6:00am that were filmed over 300 miles away. Go figure.

The storm shelter is decent, but not my cup of tea. People in the neighborhood use it. Last night after I knew that my daughter and son-in-law in Baton Rouge were okay, things became anticlimatic. Went to bed somewhere between 9:00pm and 10:00pm and slept with the windows open. Arose late this morning and trying to survive an earache. Has anyone ever died of one? One of these days I hope to be ailment free. We should have intermittent showers and sunshine today. Haven't seen our star shine this morning. Still raining.


If Arnold, opossumus germanicus austriabodicus, was in the front yard oak tree last night he received one bang up ride. Never seen it whip around like that. Some of the branches were beating against the veranda. If it had blown over the massive wisteria vine would probably have held it upright. Now it's time to put the hanging plants back out and start picking up limbs that have blown off the trees. Thanks to all those that have been concerned. Many calls were received last night and this morning. Your emails are appreciated too.

Have a pleasant day and remember those people in Florida and on the Gulf Coast in your prayers.

"Storms make trees take deeper roots."
-Dolly Parton

Catergory 5 or 4? Katrina, not cable

No wind yet. And it's not raining. That will change drastically before the day is over. Most of the regular readers know that my oldest daughter and her husband reside in Baton Rouge, LA. Talked to her at 11:00pm last night and they are staying due to his duties as a physician. Fortunately, he will be able to return home during the most intense hours. It's my guess he will start making rounds at the hospital in another hour. They have filled the tubs and 'battened down the hatches,' LOL. She went to the grocer late last week and their stock of emergency supplies has been replenished.

The track of Katrina is still on course for a collision with New Orleans. The Weather Channel Geeks are predicting severe power outages and extremely high water levels. Our friends there have evacuated as have those on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Baton Rouge is over an hour away from New Orleans and it seems most residents there are staying. Yes, I am worried. This day will center around an important phone call from crawdad country. Have I mentioned lately how much I love both of my awesome daughters?

"I know a girl
She puts the color inside of my world"
-John Mayer, Daughters (for complete lyrics try lyricsdepot)

Be careful where you step on the computer trail

Had any experience with StopSign? This is a supposed "antispyware, antivirus tool" that grabs your machine and dumps popups/ads onto it while gleaning information about you. The parent company is eAcceleration. Vaguely I remember something about them and occasionally see this show up in the Spybot S&D list as well as Ad-Aware. If you have had experience with this malware please get in touch. Trying to help someone rid their machine of this infection. Garbage like this is written by people that are horse turds on the computer trail of life.

Let's go over some basic protection ideas. Hey, this is not a claim to have the perfect defense and the beach house gladly receives any input from people that have alternatives. This formula works here and on many networks in this area. Far be it from me to not incorporate a new idea into the protection scheme. If you remember, CCleaner was added to the arsenal just a month or so ago.

ROUTERS: A good router helps alleviate some of the stress. Not a switch or hub - a router. The router must be next to the internet connection. Yes, you can use a router on dialup, but the device has to be capable of handling a dialup connection. A router can be used with one computer. No, you cannot use wireless on a dialup due to lack of bandwidth. If you are using a small network, here is an excellent site that goes into detail about the various aspects -> Schmidt Consulting. This is indepth, precise and well written.

ANTIVIRUS: AVG Antivirus rocks! If you insist on using Norton's, Symantec or whatever they are named today go ahead. Just use the Antivirus program. Stay away from Norton Internet Security (NIS) and Norton System Works. You will pay good money for software that is sluggish and hard to use. If you are using McAfee Antivirus, God help you not only with computers, but with everyday decisions in life. Some folks like AntiVir, Trend-mirco, and there are other programs that create protection from the baddies. After 5 years of using AVG...well, if it's not broke, don't fix it! Don't forget that AVG has a free edition for non commercial users.

ANTISPYWARE: Spybot Search & Destroy, Lavasoft Ad-aware SE, and Javacoolsoftware's Spywareblaster are a must. They are free downloads and all can be found at MajorGeeks. You can donate or upgrade. Please consider helping out these folks that provide us with great tools. While at MajorGeeks, go look at their Geekwear section and other areas. I like this site. Back to the anti-spyware stuff - just installing the programs won't cut the mustard. You have to setup properly, update and scan on a regular basis. They won't work by just residing in your program list. An additional area of this site is under development that will provide a step by step installation and usage guide. This is taking some time, but there will be pictures! If you click on the line just below the beach house pix above, you can find individual links to these wonderful programs.

BATTERY BACKUP: Throw away that $10.00 power strip and get a real backup unit. Please see the post dated Tuesday, August 23, 2005.

Hope this helps. Please feel free to send input or make a comment. As Red Green says, "We're all in this together."

"A computer once beat me at chess, but it was no match for me at kick boxing."
-Emo Philips

Let's all go to the lobby

I love movies. Sometimes a good black and white classic is a great escape from a fast paced world. Just sit back with the remote, turn on the DVD, and enjoy the magic in comfortable surroundings. The trip to the Malco is made on occasion. Star Wars, Revenge of the Sith, was seen on the first day it was shown and so were the three Lord of the Rings films.

Going to the theater can be troublesome. Nowadays many parents do not teach their children manners. During the first LOTR film, I had to get up, go out and find the manager to stop some 15 year old brat from kicking the back my seat. This was after giving serious thought to jerking him up and dragging him with me. I have that technology. How rude for this ill-mannered urchin to come between Frodo and me?!?!

On the other hand, during the second LOTR classic we saw a young man get down on his knee and propose to a young lady. She accepted. He had put up a series of pictures interlaced with the ads that ran before the previews. This ended with an onscreen, "Will you marry me?" There was a spotlight on him as he proposed. Everyone stood up and applauded. Very warm and refreshing. There were tears of joy in some eyes. Smiles were abundant.

The outrageous price of popcorn and soft drinks also dampens the spirit of a night out at the cinema. This is covered by Ken "Caesar" Fisher in a very insightful article at ArsTechnica titled Hollywood faces the music: bad movies mean bad ticket sales. There are some interesting comments; just click the "Discuss" button at the bottom.

Now I must work up the courage to go see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. A friend emailed several weeks ago and highly recommended this Johnny Depp vehicle. Hopefully, there won't be any rude monsters at the late showing.

"For me, the cinema is not a slice of life, but a piece of cake."
-Alfred Hitchcock

This brings a smile to my face

Ever tried to escape the throes of AOL? Okay, you think you have eliminated AOL from your computer? Do a search and type in AOL. Tell it to search your "C" drive. Aha! You only thought it was gone. You have seen the light and the dark side of the force still lurks trying to do evil to your style of computerese.

There is actually a free download over at MajorGeeks that helps you remove AOL. Sad that someone had to spend time and write a piece of software that gives us the ability to eliminate something we DON'T want on our PCs. Sounds like malware, huh?

Back to the topic at hand; Charles Jade has a great article about justice in America at ArsTechnica. The title of the post is You got fined! No small fine either. Thanks and props go out to our Northern friends in the state of New York for setting an example of how to deal with this annoying, "internet provider." Now if the folks in the Mississippi legislature will pay attention...

"There is little success where there is little laughter."
-Andrew Carnegie

Things Google

If you use any type of instant messaging download Google Talk. This will be huge. After using their simple interface and understanding the ease of making voice calls it is apparent Google has once again taken a technology and put a very positive spin on it. Even though GAIM is the beach house interface, it saddens me to use the spyware plagued Yahoo service in any shape, form or fashion. GAIM lets you use most of the known IMs inside their software eliminating the background clutter. If you need a Gmail account (you do) please email me for an invitation. It's easy to enroll, the installation is quick and this is the best email service in the solar system. Hey, they give you 2 gigabytes of online storage space!

Must crawl to the Flexeril. That falling off a ladder early this week was dumb, dumb, dumb. K, outta here before I lapse into turbowhine.

"The worst pain a man can suffer: to have insight into much and power over nothing."
-Herodotus

Monitor Blues is over and new IM

Need a new monitor? OfficeMax offers a StarLogic 19" Flat Screen CRT for $139.95. They have a few left and will be on sale until Saturday. Dot pitch is .25 and maximum resolution 1600x1200. Great clarity and even though it's a CRT the depth and weight are minimal.


Heard about Google Talk? It is a new free instant messaging service that has no ads! They use your Gmail account name. Don't have Gmail? Puh-leeze crawl out of that cave! Email me for an invitation! Finally, a way to escape spyware carrier Yahoo (every time you use Yahoo you are supporting one of the largest spyware thugs -> Claria) and the most annoying MSN Messenger. BTW, you can turn off MSN Messenger permanently in Outlook Express.

Google Talk is compatible with GAIM, a great opensource IM that covers many formats of instant messenger services. It will run in Windows, most flavors of Linux and can be tweaked to run on those Apple thangys. GAIM is in use at the beach house and it rocks!

Have a cool and casual day unless you are in the spyware business.

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

Protect thyself from radical free electrons

Battery backup units are just like closet space, kitchen cabinets and computer memory; you can't have too much of any of these things. During the power outage due to stormy weather yesterday, my battery backups sat chirping their beeps until the noise became irritating and they were turned off. After bringing everything online when the power was restored, my connectivity was null and void. Why? The router had taken damage during the return of power. It has been replaced and would still be working if it had been on a battery backup unit. The expense of a new router is over twice as much as the cost of a battery backup unit. Needless to say I will purchase another battery backup today. Here I am preaching about protect yo' stuff all the time and now through my own stupidity and neglect the wallet has become lighter.

Here are some links to local businesses that sell these units:

OfficeMax
CircuitCity
Walmart
BestBuy

DON'T buy a cheap surge protection strip. DO buy a backup unit with a battery in it. These units have software that will automatically shut down your computer properly in case of a power brown out. They also protect your system from surges while the power is being restored. One more piece of advice - never plug your printer into one of these units. They use mega-amperage during start up and will defeat the purpose of the battery backup.

"I was trying to daydream, but my mind kept wandering."
-Steven Wright

Dreaming about Iuka

The temperature is supposed to drop this weekend according to the weather witchdoctors. It'll be time to go forth and do battle with the heat in about an hour. Starting early to avoid the frying time that commences around high noon. May try and cook an egg on the pavement if back at the beach house during the afternoon. Saw Bif Henderson attempt this feat on David Letterman's show a few months back, but I don't think New York City receives the blistering heat found in the Deep South. Will keep you posted. Should I ask Arnold, opossumus germanicus austriabodicus, how he likes his eggs? Nah!!! He'll probably want cheese grits, biscuits, country ham, gravy and coffee on the side...

Anyone have a report on the success of the Furniture Market last week? Comment or email me. Have a memory of the ice house era? I remember going to the ice house in downtown Iuka. It was just behind the Court House. Comment or email me.

"It's a strange world of language in which skating on thin ice can get you into hot water."
-Jones

Laughing out loud

Check the Ashby Rhett Culpepper, III, Esq, post from Friday, August 19, 2005, titled Diabhi's Wild Ride over at SouthernPhried. Gosh, lotta commas in that last sentence. Anyway, this is a tale that will have you rolling on the floor. It involves a squirrel that I think has taught our frequent visitor Arnold, opossumus germanicus austriabodicus, a trick or two or three.

"He who laughs, lasts."
-Poole

Chill baby, chill

It's hot outside. I was out and about before 7:00am and it is sweltering. The humidity must be about 2000%. The predicted overnight low for tonight is in the mid to high 70s. Summertime in the South. Gotta love it. Please be careful and stay inside unless absolutely necessary. When the heat index soars to well over 100 it's time to read a book, do some housework, watch TV, catch up on email, browse HomestarRunner and possibly say a prayer for those of us that have no choice about being in the heat. Have a casual and cool day.

"Sometimes I wonder what I'm a gonna do
But there ain't no cure for the summertime blues"
-penned and originally performed by Eddie Cochran, covered by Blue Cheer, Rush, Alan Jackson, etc. - also part of the soundtrack of Easy Rider

Things that go bump in the night

Early morning marsupial wake up again. I've got to move the small grill that Arnold, opossumus germanicus austriabodicus, returns to steal every week or so. He's hellbent on it going somewhere. Tyroneus and I have decided he likes the residue of grillings past even though it's been Brillo scrubbed and doused with boiling water. The picture of possums sitting in the top of a tree with the gas burner flaming, singing Italian and Austrian ballads while drinking Chianti or Riesling just won't leave my mind. Probably cook some type of roadkill. If he does manage to drag it off I certainly don't want it back!

Now that the noise has subsided it's time to try for a few more winks of sleep. Maybe dream about a trip to Lowe's later today. There will be a an anti-possum log chain/padlock combination in the near future. Wonder how long it'll be until Arnold has a key to the lock? Think those Italian buddies that he hangs out with are some sort of criminal element? Possum Mafia? After all, my first glimpse of them was while they were trying to turn over a Ford Escort Station Wagon a few blocks over that they had mistaken for a dumpster...

Stay casual. L8R.

"We are confronted with insurmountable opportunities."
-Pogo

Monitor Blues

Anyone shopped for monitors lately? My 21" Trinitron flat screen CRT has bit the dust. I'm sick. It has to be replaced. To me, CRTs ( the big ones that are shaped like TVs) are easier on the eyes and seem to have more information. If you know of a decent buy, please use the comments or email me. The monitor I am presently using just won't do the job. I've worked on the 21' CRT all morning and it just won't revive.

Time to get outside and do some work. Everyone have a most casual Wednesday.

"The only thing God didn't do to Job was give him a computer."
-Stone

Cool drink

The long, hot summer never goes away, at least during August. Furnace index has been well into the 100s. Whine, whine, whine. It's great to be alive and in Mississippi. After losing 5000 pounds in water weight, the beach house is a nice respite. Just glad the air conditioning is alive to aid my recomposure. Don't go out in this heat!

Ahhhh, relaxing and recovering I must say, the music is great. Mairead is playing violin and Lisa, Chloe, Maev n Orlagh are singing. Don't understand? Read the archives. Celtic Woman Rocks!!!

"Sing with me, sing for the years/Sing for the laughter'n sing for the tears."
-Steve Tyler, the Aerosmith dude

Catfish are jumpin'

It is summertime in the Deep South. Even in the early morning hours the air is so heavy that it feels like an extra layer of clothing. Early morning starts for outdoor work are mandatory this time of the year. Yet, it's nice to travel in light traffic, coffee seems to taste better this early and there is an illusion of calmness to be enjoyed. Exhaustion will be prevelant come the afternoon. Humidity and heat sap strength. Somewhere there's a prayer in here. Thanks for another day.

The melancholy is over. Time to 'turn to' and head out. Make Monday casual. Just think, you could be out in this heat.

"A perfect summer day is when the sun is shining, the breeze is blowing, the birds are singing, and the lawn mower is broken."
-Dent

Pass the low-cal dressing? Yeppers, that's what I'd like to do...

Salad burnout is a horrible nasty thing. Not so much the lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, shallots, carrots, and all the rest of the vegetable family, but to do without whole dressing for an extended period makes me turn inward and socially isolate. Right now I am in the throes of Blue Plate withdrawal. Any true southerner knows that there is ONLY ONE mayonnaise. It is slightly expensive, but well worth the price. The good folks at Reily Foods have blessed us with many great products since their humble beginnings in 1902ish New Orleans. Luzianne Tea & Coffee, Swans Down Flour, Wicks Fowler Chili and Carroll Shelby Chili are some of their products. There are rumors of a tabasco flavored Blue Plate mayo and my search has begun.

Have a casual, easy Sunday. Remember our troops in your prayers. On my way to purchase a drill bit later today there will be a detour by the Kroger to see if that spicy mayonnaise has made it to the local shelves.

"The most remarkable thing about my mother is that for thirty years she served the family nothing but leftovers. The original meal has never been found."
-Calvin Trillin

Dr. Strangelove and the heat

Does it bother anyone that Iran is developing nuclear technology? If you think this is good then your children are probably playing with loaded guns. Folks, these maniacs aren't worried about a thrifty energy source. They have oil for centuries. May I remind you that this is the country that brought us the Ayatollah? They also let Iraqi fighter planes land in their country during the first Gulf War. Yep, they did this at the same time they were sworn enemies with Saddam's bunch. You really think they should handle nuclear devices?

With the heat index in the 100s work for the beach house starts early and stops early. It's hot out there. Stay inside under conditioned air if possible. If outside, drink plenty of liquids and get somewhere cool at the first sign of dizziness. Time to go load the truck. There's only 3000 feet of cable to go on this latest project that suddenly has to be finished Monday. Ahhhhhhh, living for the weekend! LOL

"What dreadful hot weather we have! It keeps me in a continual state of inelegance."
-Jane Austen

Harleys, hacking and a horror story

Glad to report that Kentucky Murf is returning from a great trip to Sturgis, South Dakota. The annual Sturgis Ride was a great success. Murf stayed at Buffalo's with a record crowd of 35,000. God speed and Harley well. BTW, August the 19th starts the weekend festivities at Sturgis, MS. Read all about it in a really kewl biker magazine, Thunder Roads. Be sure and turn the sound up!

Just love it when the bad guys receive a big ole plate of what the deserve. Darth Jobs is probably throwing the hissy fit to end all hissy fits. Read about the latest usage of Apple's OSX at Wired News. Apparently there's a pirated version that runs on Windows machines. It can found at Bit Torrent. It's certain that Bill Gates is watching.

Remember the two thugs that killed the 4 students and 1 teacher in Jonesboro? Well, one of them turned 21 and was expected to walk out of prison yesterday or today. Some idiotic technicality is permitting this to happen. IMHO, hope one of the parents shoots this no good son of a bitch!!!! Sorry bastard does not deserve to live. Read about this horrible mistake of the Arkansas "justice" system in the Washington Post. Remember, this is the state that brought us that worm Bill Clinton.

"When justice is done, it brings joy to the righteous but terror to evildoers."
-Proverbs 21:15

Google, Discovery, etc.

A very interesting article about the use of Linux at Google and other web sites, businesses, countries, etc., can be found at Computer Business Review Online. Chris DeBona is interviewed and he was a frequent guest on the now defunct TechTV. His participation converting Linux Red Hat to solely enterprise status did not make me happy, but he is savvy about things Linux. Very well written article.

If you watched the Discovery return from space yesterday morning I hope you were tuned into the Fox News Channel. Their coverage was awesome. It's great to have the astronauts back home safe and sound. Have a productive and casual Thursday.

"Success is blocked by concentrating on it and planning for it.... Success is shy - it won't come out while you're watching."
-Tennessee Williams

Geekarama Trauma

Spyware is really, really bad. There are so many things that could be done instead of having to deal with this slime. Why are we putting up with these cretins? To the volcano with them all I say. My possum watching is down to almost nothing and my yard suffers because it seems there are machines or remnants of machines always sitting around waiting to be de-spywared.

There's updates to be done, networks to be managed, cables to be pulled, a garage that needs painting, a new Best Buy that needs checking out, my family that misses me, having a pet is out of the question, the leadsled air conditioning needs attention (it has to feel neglected), the checkout people at Kroger sent a note wondering if I was okay since I hadn't been down to lust over the donuts and the cable company is amazed because even though the cable modem is in great use, my TVs are never on anymore. Wow, that was almost a one sentence paragraph.

If someone from the health department saw my sink and the dishes they'd have me put in a home. The thing that lives in the southwest corner of the garage won't even growl anymore. Think it's sulking because of all the new computer carcasses that adorn it's domicile. Spyware is taking over my life. Please note the time of this post. Have a nice day unless you are associated with spyware; all you creepware jerks need terminal wedgies.

"There are many here among us
who think life is but a joke
but you and I, we've been through that;
this is not our fate.
Let us not speak falsely now, the hour's getting late."
-Bob Dylan, All Along the Watchtower
(Jimi Hendrix rendition...w00t!)

I say again, Yahoo is BAD juju

Have you heard about an alternative browser, Maxthon, based on Internet Explorer? It's been used at the beach house for several days. It offers some neat features, has good looks, and they take donations. After some search on the web about how to rid it of the HORRIBLE Yahoo search engine and replace it with Google, it seems to be the opinion of several folks that Maxthon is adware. Well, I read the EULA and didn't find any indication, but not having passed the bar there may some wording that has flown over my head. So, since there is such talk around the net and I can't use Google as the default search engine, it has been uninstalled. Any input will be appreciated.

How often do you wipe your computer clean and reinstall Windows? What was that? Wait a minute, you don't? You might want to gander at a very interesting article over at ArsTechnica by Josh Meier.

"An appeaser is one who feeds a shark--hoping it will eat him last."
-Winston Churchill

With a purple umbrella and a fifty cent hat

Is it just me or does anyone else find it amusing that Cadillac is using Led Zeppelin as their theme music? Another great site for fans of these British Rockers is Led-Zeppelin.com. Be sure and turn the speakers up!

"It's been a long time since I rock and rolled,
It's been a long time since I did the Stroll.
Ooh, let me get it back, let me get it back,
Let me get it back, baby, where I come from."
-Bonham, Jones, Page, & Plant

Links are returning, slowly but surely

There is a new links page which can be accessed by clicking on the phrase just under the picture of the Beach House. Yep, that one; right up there at the top in the center of the page. The list is an older one and it's not big on organization, yet. Change can sometimes be slow. For instance, one of my favorite sites, Mississippi Political is not yet listed, but will be soon. Links will be categorized and overall navigation will be easier. Hey, between the Possum Grill Wars, maintaining life and general paranoia, it's a miracle anything happens around here. So, please be patient. Any suggested decent links will be considered. Email addy is cybersouth@gmail.com. Please report any dead links found. Need all the help I can get!

"Politeness is to human nature what warmth is to wax."
-Arthur Schopenhauer

Windows 2000 relief

Using Windows 2000? MicrosoftWatch has an article that will definitely interest you. eWeek also has an article concerning the 2K roll up. So does InformationWeek.

It's late and the bed is calling. Have a joyous weekend.

"Don't smoke too much, drink too much, eat too much or work too much. We're all on the road to the grave, but there's no need to be in the passing lane."
-Orben

Really neat gadget

Thinking about a portable MP3 player so you can listen to tunes while mowing the yard, walking the dog, or washing the car? Before you go to the orchard and flop down your hard earned money for an iPod, please consider the alternatives. The folks at Creative Labs now offer a new device called the Zen Vision. Several people have read beach house positive reviews of the Zen MP3 players. It's nice to report that 100% of the the people that purchased these devices and then contacted me are extremely satisfied. Use mine all the time. It provides melodic relief in a stressful world. But this new video/audio player with 120 hour capability of video? That's so cool that icicles are dripping from it. BTW, it will cost you the same as the 60gig (non-video) iPod. Thanks to Ken "Caesar" Fisher at ArsTechnica for a great heads up.

"Of all the music that reached farthest into heaven, it is the beating of a loving heart."
-Beecher

NOTE: Over the next few days there will be construction here - we are working to put the Links list back in place. Please bear with us. The site shouldn't be down for very long so please check back. Thank you!

Yoga...it's a good thing?

We face a world each day with terrorist threats from goobers that are mad because of the way we live and our freedom of religion, but the news media is reporting the activities of 'hardened', 'violent', mobstress aka Martha 'Gun Moll' Stewart. C'mon folks, give it a rest. She is being punished 3 more weeks with the ankle bracelet for attending a yoga class. The horror of it all. What's next? Will they send her back to jail if her souffle drops? Gosh, she might do something dangerous like stop by the grocer for blueberries or cilantro. Read about it at EOnline.

"I love women. They're the best thing ever created. If they want to be like men and come down to our level, that's fine."
-Mel Gibson

Possumnator speaks

I do have a set of keys to the leadsled (click on comments from last post).

"We have met the enemy and he are us."
-Pogo

Grill Wars - Revenge of the Possumnator

Around 3:00AM there was a noise outside the door. After falling asleep at the workbench this clatter startled me awake and it flashed through my mind what poor soul would be trying to steal the leadsled? Jerking the door open it was discovered that Arnold, opossumus germanicus austriabodicus, was once again trying to steal the grill not the El Camino. At least, not yet. What does he think he's gonna' do with the grill?!?! Put it in the top of the oak tree and invite his possum friends over for a roasted pocket bread soiree? I can see the headline - 'Foolish man chains barbeque grill to porch to keep local fauna from becoming thieves.' Or worse - 'Man found severely mangled after interrupting supply line of local United Possum Guild, #42.'

Good Lord, please deliver me from this denizen of brazen marsupials. The next thing you know he'll want my Emeril cookbooks! I must go rest now...

"Laughter is the closest distance between two people."
-Victor Borge