New Protection Software at the House of Beagle

Was cruising over at Beagle's site this morning and am testing the recommended protection software found there. There's a free contest to win a subscription. I read the whole EULA, then entered it. I think their estimations of various software is out of kilter somewhat, but the product scans in the background and found this PC clean. They seem sincere in their effort to help eliminate all the malware bad guys. We will see...For more info go over to the right column here, find the LINKS section and click on Beagle's Live Journal. She is at the very top of the list. My personal opinion of these creeps that write this garbage (malware, adware, spyware, thiefware, hijackers, etc.) is that they are the very scum of the earth and will reside in the lower bowels of hell. That said, a big thanks goes out to Beagle and her ongoing fight in this battle against these cretins. You da' Bomb, daughter of mine!

Still waiting on more photos of the gathering for Mother's birthday this past Sunday and will post when they arrive. Once again I'd like to thank my older brother and his gorgeous young wife for a wonderful shindig. Gosh, the food was tremendous! Many people contributed to the menu. Sis D had many wonderful entrees especially the pasta salad with balsamic vinegar, feta cheese and many other goodies, Lex made an awesome chicken salad, Beagle brought great cookies, Verdana made a sugar free Trifle that was to die for and This Could Be Yogurt (TCBY) supplied the heavenly birthday cake. Oh yes, a good time was had by all!

“A wise and frugal government, which shall
leave men free to regulate their own pursuits of
industry and improvement, and shall not take
from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned -
this is the sum of good government.”
~Thomas Jefferson
One of my favorite quotes, wonder if our President has read it? If so, he certainly didn't understand it!

Mother's Birthday Celebration

Families gathered and celebrated Mother's birthday yesterday. A good time was had by all. Today is actually her birthday. BTW, Neil Armstrong stepped on the Moon 30 years ago on this day. Pictures will follow. Trying to find one where I don't look like a lardass. Yes, may be another Mission Impossible. Have pixs coming in and want more. Lex, Beagle I need your photos. Thanks Sis D for the photos. BTW, as predicted the food was absolutely awesome!! Everyone adjourned to poolside and it was a very casual afternoon. Great to see everyone. Such a wonderful thing for my older brother to put this together wirh Sis D (she probably did most of the work, lol). Truly, a good time was had by all.

Thanks Beagle, Mudslingr and Purple Giraffe for a great trip there and back again. Mudslingr is such a great driver I actually fell asleep. That NEVER happens, lol.

"Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional."
~Chili Davis

The Orinoco Just Ain't Flowin' at the Beach House.

Still trying to get a wifi router/access point to revive. Progress is not good. The intermittent ISP drops weren't ISP drops I don't think. Since I've been hardwired the drops have stopped. It was probably the death throes of that router. Will find one today or tomorrow and have it back online. Shucks, 4 years life out of a device that stayed on 24/7 was a bargain. No complaints on Belkin equipment.

I do have 3 Proxim AP's in stock and they have me completely bamboozled. One is a 600 and two are 2000s. Anyone with background in Orinoco/Proxim set up please, I need your help. I do have software and pieces of manuals for the 2000s and a complete manual for the 600. These are wonderful devices with great range. I just can't wrap my head around the initial setup. They all appear to work and I have only one set of radio cards for the 2000s. At one time I did have a 2000 up and running then decided to fix something that wasn't broken. Duh! Whaddya expect? I'm a Nerd! Was always disassembling things as a kid to see what made 'em work. Boy Howdy! Dad was not happy about that lawn mower engine being in pieces scattered around the garage! Anyway, if you are an Orinoco/Proxim Geek Prime I need some help.

Have a lovely Sunday and get outside! Be sure and grab that sunblock! The local weather is awesome!

"Good instincts usually tell you what to do long before your head has figured it out."
~Michael Burke

Beach House Network

Even though no accomplishments on the list have been done at all, it has been a constructive day. I took my main gaming machine off wireless and am now hardwired. The cable is laying in the floor and will have to be routed under the house later. A 3COM 12 port switch is finally in place. My speeds are now reflective of the ones promised by MetroCast. The wireless was slowing me down. It laid down last night in a session of Guild Wars. This has taken a huge chunk out of the day, but drivers were needed, time was spent fighting the wireless and the video card decided to play, "Let's find the Gremlin." I am through today and will just have to use that push mower early Monday. I DON'T mow while church services are held so tomorrow is a definite no-no. All in good time.

Enjoy the rest of Saturday. I think it's time for rest relaxation and a refreshing beverage. Gosh, this project took a long time! Later.

"Anyone can do any amount of work, provided it isn't the work he is supposed to be doing at that moment."
~Robert Benchley

There and Back Again

Nice to know that today is Thursday and that means only 3 more days to work this week. Taking time out to visit Mother on her birthday this week. It'll be nice catching a ride with Beagle, Mudslingr and the Purple Giraffe. The Giraffe and I should have a great time watching a video or playing a game during the trip there and back again. Be nice to enjoy the ride and see the scenery too. Looking forward to it. Should be a fun trip. Verdana, Uncle Snake, Mal and Riley will meet us there. The gathering is at my brother's and Sis D is a great cook. We'll have fun, fun, fun and Daddy won't take the T-bird away...none of us have one (insert evil grin here). Hope everyone is in great spirits and the weather cooperates.

Going to try and take a break for a while and play Guild Wars tonight. The hardware firewall projects have escalated and there won't be much spare time over the next few weeks. The spyware, trojan, virus issues have become absurd and ridiculous. The sorry bastards and biatches better be thankful I am not Emperor of the Known Universe - yet. I'd have all of them hunted down along with Osama Bent Lazzzy and gut shot. Get ready folks the day will come where you'll want such a device included in your network. Hardware firewalls are a different type of beast and proper setup is a must.

Gonna run and put on my Guild Wars clothes. Everyone enjoy Thursday. Remember we can TGIF in a few hours. Peace out!

"All that I am or hope to be I owe to my angel Mother. I remember my Mother's prayers and they have always followed me. They have clung to me all my life."
~Abraham Lincoln

Some Wimpiness and Other Things

Thinking about changing this name to Saltillo Wimp House. Both ears are infected, generally feeling blah and have to fast today for tests at 2:00PM. Yuck! Double Yuck! I hope they don't pronounce me diabetic, but things aren't looking good. Seems to be part of the aging process - at least in my family. Dad was insulin dependent 22 years before he passed, my only sibling, brother Dan, and Mother are both diabetic. I've been fortunate.

Delivering a PC this morning if it will ever finish defragging. Ahhhhh, just checked and the defrag is done. This machine has been a tough one. It's been on the bench several days. Had to do a complete hard drive wipe and re-installation. All data was lost. The back up unit failed. Redundancy on backup is not a bad idea. Extra memory and 100mm fan in rear blowing out changed the performance drastically. Nice machine with 4 memory banks and a PCIe slot. Athlon 64 3800 running at normal clock speed. Very clean well kept machine. Not something you see everyday.

Hope everyone is maintaining in this heat. Just hang in there. December will be here before you know it! Later.

"Both optimists and pessimists contribute to our society. The optimist invents the airplane and the pessimist the parachute."
~Stern

Momentary Lapse of Reason

Waiting on church services to end so I can use my trusty push mower. My ISP has slowed my internet connection to a creeping speed since I owe them money. Anyone know of a good job available? How about just a job? It is IMPOSSIBLE to exist in the IT/IS profession without high speed connectivity. Yet I harbor no ill will towards my ISP. I owe them money. I also owe everything else. Not asking for charity, just want to work! This not making money sucks!!!!!!! Not having any is even worse! Okay, enough whining. I should be in church praying.

Have a casual Sunday and enjoy time with family and friends.

"If you have time to whine and complain about something then you have the time to do something about it."
~Anthony J. D'Angelo

A Man Has to Know His Limitations

This may offend some and I really don't give a rat's ass. The sentiments match mine exactly. Enough. Michael Jackson is dead. It's sad that he died. I feel for his family and friends. But...let it go, damn it! The awful, lying, liberal, left wing creepy press has their priorities so mixed up. All you lunatics rave on in the comments and let us see ultimate stupidity and ignorance.



This young man certainly has it right. I'm
in total agreement with him. It seems to me
this country is making more out of Jackson's
death than that of JFK. With all the hype, I'm
surprised the Obama group hasn't ordered the
flags to half mast.





This is written by a young soldier serving his third tour of duty in Iraq. Thought you might find his take on the Michael Jackson news interesting and he's right.


Okay, I need to rant.

I was just watching the news, and I caught part of a report on Michael Jackson. As we all know, Jackson died the other day. He was an entertainer who performed for decades. He made millions, he spent millions, and he did a lot of things that make him a villian to many people. I understand that his death would affect a lot of people, and I respect those people who mourn his death, but that isn't the point of my rant.

Why is it that when ONE man dies, the whole of America loses their minds with grief. When a man dies whose only contribution to the country was to ENTERTAIN people, the Amercian people find the need to flock to a memorial in Hollywood, and even Congress sees the need to hold a "moment of silence" for his passing?

Am I missing something here? ONE man dies, and all of a sudden he's a freaking martyr because he entertained us for a few decades? What about all those SOLDIERS who have died to give us freedom? All those Soldiers who, knowing that they would be asked to fight in a war, still raised their hands and swore to defend the Constitution and the United States of America. Where is their moment of silence? Where are the people flocking to their graves or memorials and mourning over them because they made the ultimate sacrifice? Why is it when a Soldier dies, there are more people saying "good riddence," and "thank God for IEDs?" When did this country become so calloused to the sacrifice of GOOD MEN and WOMEN, that they can arbitrarily blow off their deaths, and instead, throw themselves into mourning for a "Pop Icon?"

I think that if they are going to hold a moment of silence IN CONGRESS for Michael Jackson, they need to hold a moment of silence for every service member killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. They need to PUBLICLY recognize every life that has been lost so that the American people can live their callous little lives in the luxury and freedom that WE, those that are living and those that have gone on, have provided for them. But, wait, that would take too much time, because there have been so many willing to make that sacrifice. After all, we will never make millions of dollars. We will never star in movies, or write hit songs th at the world will listen too. We only shed our blood, sweat and tears so that people can enjoy what they have.

Sorry if I have offended, but I needed to say it. Remember these five words the next time you think of someone
who is serving in the military;

"So that others may live..."

Isaac

Thanks Ed for this glaring, wonderful insight that reflects the pathetic current state of our nation and government.

"I always considered statesmen to be more expendable than soldiers."
~Harry S. Truman

The New Cell Phone is Here! The New Cell Phone is Here!

Finally, my son-in-law, Mudslingr, and I met and purchased a new cell phone for my use. We've talked about it for months. I dropped my Motorola Razr V3 several weeks ago and it has fritzed almost daily since then. After considering the LG CL920 Vu and the iPhone (yes, I truly considered it, they are much better phones now) I decided to go with what has worked for me during the past 5 years. A Razr. It's a V9 and after one day I can see the vast improvements over my old V3. The main factor in the decision was its ability to function in close proximity to a computer. Several friends have the LG CL920 Vu phones. Some have problems with buzzing and low signal when next to a computer, while other folks don't. The LG was very tempting. It is a touch screen phone with many capabilitites including TV. Since a contract was renewed, price of the phones really didn't play a part in the purchase. Well, the extra monthly charges for the iPhones knocked it out of the competition early.

One really nice accessory that comes in the box with the V9 is an adapter that will use all my old chargers. The phone also fits perfectly in my V3 holster. They have made navigation easier by moving many buttons, features, etc. to where I thought they should have been located. My buddy Elies Coming, declared a year ago it's the best phone he ever owned. I understand. His is broken, but still functioning. He will go by today and get a new one. This phone feels good. It has a nice durable finish and if it lasts half as long as the last one I'll be pleased. It will take an eight gig card so there goes my need for a separate mp3 player. It also has GPS. This is NOT the same buzzing, humming phone that many remember when they first hit the market. It's stylish with large screens, easy navigation, lightning fast Blue Tooth connection and awesome range.

Thanks Mudslinger for all the help and guidance and thanks Samantha at AT&T for all the assistance in programming. Now I must find that 8 gig card. Will keep you posted about The Razr2 V9 experience.

"Communication is a two-way street. And while we revel in the reality that we can always get through to heaven, our concern should be whether our Lord can always get through to us."
~Joseph Stowell

Kim Dumb Dung Ding Dong Jong Junk Il

Sorry about not posting the past 2 days. Adjusting to new meds keeps me quite dizzy and in a fog. The dizziness shall pass, not so sure about the fog. Feeling better. If sitting I am okay. Moving around is another thing. I've tried to concentrate on computer bench work and spent 5.5 hours in front of a machine located in an office that is close to the beach house. Am talking to doctors about possibly cutting the dosage on one med. That should help, I hope. Enough of my whine.

My internet connectivity has been horrible. Every few minutes I get booted off and speeds are at a crawl. Just wonder if it has to do with the attack on the USA and South Korea by that bunch of creeps known as North Koreans? You can read more about it at the Associated Press. This guy, Kim Dumb Dung Ding Dong Jong Junk Il, would be lucky to keep a missile in the air the distance from Tupelo to the Alabama or Tennessee border. Probably end up nuking his own country. Think he ought to hang out with the French? The filth connection and disdain for the USA would keep them occupied for years. Instead of being jealous of the American Way, why don't they get up off their dead asses and do something constructive instead of destructive. Guess the French will be pissed if we save their asses again in some war. I've had to work with the jerks at times and they are not only arrogant, they are not very bright. Yes, I am sure there are exceptions.

Does anyone know who won the French Civil War? Or did both sides surrender? Gosh this is some stretch from Kim what's his goofy name to railing on the French. Anyway, have a pleasant evening and a nice day tomorrow.

"Money couldn't buy friends, but you got a better class of enemy."
~Spike Milligan

Late

Long day. Various things combined to make Monday, well, a Monday. This prime time sleep cycle has to stop. More new meds arrived today from the VA. I think they periodically just send stuff when they decide their sales are down. Yes, we do pay and wayyyyyy more than those that I now obtain from Walmart. Okay I am whining. Will try and sleep again. Nighters.

"Money doesn't sleep."
Wall Street (the movie)

Great Success

For a few hours last night it was nice to take time to visit with friends and fellow nerds at a LAN party sponsored by FeleciaB. She opened the doors to her spacious home and everyone felt welcome! Nice to see my family. They all attended for a while. It was an easy evening with a tremendous amount of laughter. Gaming was fun and the food was good too. Several people signed in from remote locations and played. Thanks to Beagle and Mudslingr for the loan of the grill. Thanks to Verdana and Uncle Snake for the drinks. A special thanks to Felecia for her hard work and all other supplies.

Preparation was easy since Felecia had almost everything done. We set wireless, plugged in a 3COM switch and off we went to the world of Guild Wars. Ashy brought the new game AION and it looks like a winner. Apoc brought his Netbook and played on it. The quality was awesome. Marlin of Buckhorn sat up shop with his uber PC at the same table where I was located and marched through several quests. Ty Roneus came on his bike and seemed to enjoy the evening. Later in the night we actually spent time on the porch just talking and laughing. Gosh, what a kewl bunch of folks. Yes, I think a good time was had by all.

"Pleasure is spread through the earth
In stray gifts to be claimed by whoever shall find."
~William Wordsworth, 1806

Cya This Afternoon! LAN Partay!!

Have a map marked with the location of Felecia's house. No need to make fun of my artwork. If you can do better have at it. If you can find Walmart on Main Street you will be able to get to the LAN party. Please email or call...will be mowing yard for next hour or so. It's with push mower (riding won't crank) so I'll take breaks and check phone and email. Email addy is cybersouth@gmail.com. I'll edit and post when I leave for the party.

Happy 4th and God Bless these United States of America. Later.

EDIT 1: Damn it's hot out there! Pushing a 6.5HP mower without any wheel drive assistance is a bee-atch! Makes you plumb dizzy! If I happen to fall over dead please don't mourn too much. Put my lardass in a burlap bag and throw me off the Tombigbee Bridge on the Natchez Trace. Then go somewhere and party like it's 2099! Anyway, gonna make another few rounds then get ready to leave. Look for Edit #2.

EDIT 2: Made it to LAN party and it was a blast, more tomorrow.

"The best car safety device is a rear-view mirror with a cop in it."
~Dudley Moore

LAN Party is On - Location Change

The Metrocast tech just paid a call and had to replace a whole cable run with a different type cable. The squirrels had chewed through it with the intention of sharpening their teeth (don't you wonder who did this study?). He used an underground cable for replacement and the problem should be resolved. If you lost Teamspeak during the night now you understand. Metrocast is a good group. They are limited with repair vehicles and hopefully that will be corrected. Nice folks.

LAN Party is going to happen at FeleciaB's house. Please email me (cybersouth@gmail.com) if you don't have phone number or directions. She lives 10 minutes from the beach house. The menu will be burgers and dogs. Pack up your machine and get headed that way. Festivities start around 6:00PM tomorrow (Saturday) night so plan to spend some quality time with fellow gamers. Be a great gathering with geekiness and the nerd factor everywhere! On top of all this the Dragon Festival is being celebrated in Cantha. It's my favorite. This makes me feel better. Thank you Sis for coming to the rescue.

Am moving stacks of PCs and trying to clean in general. Preparing to start a major project for the first half of this month. Gosh my mood is better today.

"The antidote for fifty enemies is one friend."
~Aristotle

Eulogy for Jeff Goldblum by Jeff Goldblum

I am ROFL. Recently, it was "reported" that Jeff Goldblum, Harrison Ford, Natalie Portman and George Clooney met tragic ends via strange deaths. For instance, Jeff fell off a high cliff in New Zealand. Don't believe it. While Steven Colbert is not everyone's cup of tea, he makes me laugh heartily at times. Reminds me of Groucho Marks in a strange sort of way. May be the bowtie. He cleared up the mystery surrounding the demise of Mr. Goldblum on his show Tuesday night. How? Jeff Goldblum showed up and did an impromptu eulogy about himself. Hilarious! Of course Colbert argued with him that he was, indeed, dead because he'd read it on Twitter. Anyway, just go take a look at The Colbert Report. Be sure and watch the video. I don't know who is the funniest. Goldblum or Colbert? Be sure and listen to Goldblum talk about Goldblum. ROFL! ROFLMAO!

"A rumor without a leg to stand on will get around some other way."
~John Tudor

Firefox 3.5

Just tested the benchmark on the new FireFox 3.5 browser. Three days ago it benched at 709 with Firefdox version 3.0.1.1. Today with 3.5 it benched at 1113. That's 404 points higher. Download this browser. There is a permalink in the sidebar column to the right. Of course it will be under the Links topic. This new browser is fast. It no longer has the initial delayed load, and transition between pages is awesome. FYI, also did a Speedtest before benchmarking; the results were 9.09 down and 1.01 up. This might be of interest to some folks. Maybe not. The actual appearance has not changed, but no doubt about the speed improvement. After some use an update on the results will be posted in a week . For now, download this awesome software. You'll like it!

"Nothing is as frustrating as arguing with someone who knows what he's talking about."
~Sam Ewing

No LAN Party This Weekend At The Beach House

I am sorry. We will quit trying to do this since it has been a constant cancellation for the past year. Was really looking forward to it, but no money, going through the process of changing a major medication, and need to start some projects that will catch up my -15 day cash flow problem - these are the reasons. If someone else wants to host and have a gathering I'll gladly announce it here. Time will be set aside to play Guild Wars this weekend. I should be able to play a few hours Saturday night. Once again, no more will be planned because I am tired of disappointing people.

"Never ruin an apology with an excuse."
~Kimberly Johnson

Old Virus With New Twists

The Postcard from Hallmark Warning or Postcard from 'a family member' and several variations are once again making the rounds. Don't even touch this email with your mouse. Delete it immediately. It is NOT a hoax and can harbor a virus ready to attack your machine. Take a look at Hoax-Slayer for more information. Stay away from snopes.com, they drop adware on your PC. Be sure and DO NOT click on any links in such an email, especially the snopes link. This is where you mess up. I repeat, do not even touch this email with your mouse. Delete it. Then delete it permanently. If you have been diligent and are sure you've done all Windows Updates then your PC should be safe. You might want to scroll down and read some of the comments on the Hoax-Slayer link. People that write this virus garbage deserve slow death. These creeps once again prove that Satan exists and is very active. Thanks MJR for the tip!

I'd like to thank the techs again for commenting about yesterday's post. Several angles to the predicament had me concerned. Mis-information just plain sucks. So glad further research was done or the wrong hardware might have been purchased. One really sad thing is an extended warranty that had never been used just expired a month or so ago. I'll keep you posted about how Hewlett Packard handles this problem.

"Falsehood is cowardice, the truth courage."
~Ballou

Advice Needed

Recently I worked on a computer that had video problems. It is a small form factor that is meant to take up less space on the desk top. The resident video card is a 128mb and proprietary due to the need for a narrow card. The client was warned beforehand that the video card might not be all the problem. They had to make the decision since the price from HP for the video card was extremely high. It was on my bench for 48 hours after installation of the new card and removal of malware. There were no glitches or errors. When it left the shop it worked perfectly. It failed within a week.

Okay, I know the first video card was bad. The fan would not even spin. The card is located at the bottom of the machine which sits maybe 1/8" off the desk or less. Rubber supports were installed to raise it to a substantial height to increase air flow. The operating system is Vista Home Premium and while on the bench updates were installed. Many hours of research were put into this project since I was trying to avoid the high price that Hewlett Packard wanted for this 128mb card. Finding the location to purchase the card on HP's site was VERY frustrating.

Then I get an email Friday from someone I don't know recommending a card found on a website for much less money. To start with the card is being sold by Tiger-Direct and I have had problems in the past with them and choose not to do business with this company. Then there is the replacement card recommended. Anyone ever heard of Galaxy video cards? I'm not putting them down, but being a gamer I have researched many, many video cards and just have not run across this manufacturer. The next problem is the size of the card. It's a 512mb card. That's great, but we have to realize that one of the smallest power supplies used in desktop computers will be powering it. Maybe the two work well together, I don't know. It's not gonna' happen at the beach house. On top of all this the 512mb card has a very small fan. Once again the small, narrow size creates limitations. The heat sink on the graphics chip in the picture shown looks nominal at best. Use the DVI connector as a point of reference and you'll realize the small size of the heat sink and fan.

This scares me. My plan is to refund what little money was paid and let the customer take it to this tech that's recommending the card or return it to Hewlett Packard for repair. Even though a warning was given on the front end that the video card might not be the only problem, I do not want to get involved in a situation where a tech I don't know is recommending the above "fix." If I need help there is a number of friends in the business that I know and trust. It's my suspicion that the present video card in the machine is good and the problem is elsewhere. It is just not presenting stable output to the monitor. Or is the monitor bad? Who knows?

Try not to purchase a small form factor computer. I was consulted about the hardware makeup, but the case was never discussed. You can bet there would have been a veto if it had been mentioned. You need the larger case to utilize aftermarket parts which many times are far superior to the original parts. Also, the size of a power supply has become critical in today's machines. The latest operating systems demand more advanced hardware therefore ample power is important. I am betting there is NO upgrade for this machine's small power supply. Also, air cooling needs space for circulation. Desktop PC form factor is quite different from a laptop. This is a predicament that has me thinking that the machine should be sent back to HP or replaced. The first words out of my mouth when consulted was, "Replace it." "That's too expensive," was the answer. I don't think so.

Besides, the tech recommending this may be far more knowledgeable about such things and may be a good choice. I have never heard of him and he is in Memphis, a place I try to avoid at all costs. But the tech seems like he is trying to help. It's sad to see this problem. I think Hewlett Packard is a great company, but they are asking a ridiculous price for this particular video card. Is my attitude proper? I am seeking help and/or verification. Please comment.

"Loyalty is still the same, whether it win or lose the game; true as a dial to the sun, although it be not shined upon."
~Samuel Butler

EDIT: After further research the Galaxy card is low profile only, not narrow. That's the reason for the small heat sink and fan. So this card will not fit because of width. Hmmmmmm, back to the factory I think.

EDIT2: After a very good conversation with the client the computer is going back to HP. I feel better.

Links Added

Added several new links. Just click on the one that interests you and off you go! This will eventually be a very long list. Links used to be a separate page, but there was some hosting confusion when MetroCast bought VistaMedia. It's good to have them back on the main page. Am working how to better define each link title and center things in the sidebar. Taking a few days off from trying position the Header. Arggghhh! New meds are taking some time to incorporate and tolerate. No surprises here. Everything is on schedule. Not much more to tell. The elephant will be riding the turtle late this evening (lawn mowing). What a great way to spend a Saturday evening, entertaining the community.

"Crabgrass can grow on bowling balls in airless rooms, and there is no known way to kill it that does not involve nuclear weapons."
~Dave Barry