Give Me the Chocolate

Love, true love is an amazing thing!

"We are all a little weird and life's a little weird, and when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall in mutual weirdness and call it love."
~Easley

Need Your Comments!

Spammers have hit here a few times. BTW, we caught one. Let him off with a warning to not do it again and his ISP is watching. Found him through his ISP after some major vuduing. He made the mistake of coming back to check hits on Cybersouth and the snare worked. Let's just say there are some kewl ISP people in Minnesota. I am adamant about privacy and what is morally right with the web. Please keep commenting. Your input drives this site. It's wayyyy more fun to read the comments I think.

Casual is good for Saturday. Check out the Olympics in Vancouver. Fun stuff and hate to admit it, but NBC is doing a good job with coverage. That network still has too many bleeding heart liberals. Shucks they all do except Fox. Tickles me that Obama is trying to censure the Fox network the same way Hitler did his press opponents. Strong-arm from a Democrat? Hmmmmmmm...think about that. Yuck! Yuck! Yuck!

Later.

"This country has come to feel the same when Congress is in session as when the baby gets hold of a hammer."
~Will Rogers

I Really Really Really Want this Machine

Model
Brand TOSHIBA
Series Qosmio
Model X505-Q860
Part# PQX33U-01G00H
General
Operating System Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
CPU Type Intel Core i5 430M(2.26GHz)
Screen 18.4"
Memory Size 4GB DDR3
Hard Disk 500GB
Optical Drive DVD Super Multi
Graphics Card NVIDIA GeForce GTS 360M
Video Memory 1GB GDDR5
Communication Gigabit LAN and WLAN
Card slot 1 x Express Card
Dimensions 17.40" x 11.60" x 1.63"
Weight 9.70 lbs.
CPU
CPU Type Intel Core i5
CPU Speed 430M(2.26GHz)
Chipset
Chipset Intel PM55
Display
Screen Size 18.4"
Wide Screen Support Yes
Resolution 1680 x 945
LCD Features TruBrite technology
Operating Systems
Operating System Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
Graphics
GPU/VPU NVIDIA GeForce GTS 360M
Video Memory 1GB GDDR5
Graphic Type Dedicated Card
Hard Drive
HDD 500GB
HDD RPM 7200rpm
HDD Interface SATA
HDD Spec TOSHIBA Hard Drive Impact Sensor (3D sensor)
Memory
Memory 4GB
Memory Speed DDR3 1066
Memory Spec 2GB x 2
Memory Type 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM
Memory Slot (Total) 2
Memory Slot (Available) 0
Max Memory Supported 8GB
Optical Drive
Optical Drive Type DVD Super Multi
Optical Drive Interface Integrated
Optical Drive Spec DVD SuperMulti drive with Labelflash supporting 11 formats
Maximum speed and compatibility: CD-ROM (24x), CD-R (24x), CD-RW (24x), DVD-ROM (8x), DVD-R (Single Layer, (8x)), DVD-R (Double Layer, (6x)), DVD-RW (6x), DVD+R (Single Layer, (8x)), DVD+R (Double Layer, (6x)), DVD+RW (8x), DVDRAM (5x)
Use Labelflash media to burn high quality labels directly to disc
Communications
LAN 10/100/1000Mbps
WLAN 802.11b/g/n wireless LAN
Ports
Card Slot 1 x ExpressCard slot (ExpressCard/34 and ExpressCard/54)
USB 4 x USB (3 USB + 1 eSATA/USB combo)
IEEE 1394 1
Video Port RGB (monitor) output port
HDMI-CEC (REGZA LINK)
Audio Ports Yes
Audio
Audio Dolby Home Theater
Speaker Built-in harman/kardon stereo speakers
Input Device
Touchpad Toshiba TouchPad
Keyboard Premium US keyboard
Supplemental Drive
Card Reader Memory Card Reader
Secure Digital, Secure Digital High Capacity, Memory Stick, Memory Stick PRO, Multi Media Card [shared slot]
Webcam Yes
Power
AC Adapter 120W (19V x 6.32A) Auto-sensing ,100-240V/50-60Hz AC Adapter
Battery 12 cell (8000 mAh) Lithium Ion battery pack
Physical spec
Dimensions 17.40" x 11.60" x 1.63"
Weight 9.70 lbs.
Manufacturer Warranty
Parts 1 year limited
Labor 1 year limited



Yes, it's a pipedream, but my laptop is six years old and small problems are beginning to show up. Work is impossible without one. Later, I'd raise the memory to 8gigs. If I find $1200.00 thrown out in my front yard I'll order it now!!!! That's about the only way a starving beach house tech could upgrade. Remember, I have lost 40lbs!!

"If wishes were horses, beggars would ride."
~John Wayne

Latest Work in Progress

Working on a tutorial with pixs (screenshots) about how to install and use CCleaner Slim. It can be found at Major Geeks. Free download. They do take donations. If you are not familiar with this program wait until I post the tutorial. It'll be a rather long one. Put it this way, this is an excellent program to tear up a computer. So be careful. It's also a great program to keep your hdd clean! As usual, if you download it and screw up don't whine to me. Several background functions need to be set up initially. Great program, but not for the novice - translates noobie.

Have a casual Thursday.

"Never let a computer know you're in a hurry."
~D. Neal Jennings

An Explanation

No, I am not perishing immediately, the Good Lord willin'. Since jw-kit ripped Cybersouth - from the Saltillo Beach House apart a few months ago (without warning) repairs have steadily been underway. The main body is down so I can make some changes. It will be back. I have a cold and am running behind so it will take a few days to finish. My apologies about being abrupt. Writing HTML is not easy at times and Cybersouth is incorporating the new layout format being offered by Google. Please bear with me and everything will return to normal (sub-normal) soon. Posts will reappear, etc. Efforts are being made to recover all the older comments that mysteriously disappeared. Again, sorry about being so short, but was pretty much put out with the js-kit, Haloscan, Echo or whatever they are calling their bowl of idiots today. Thanks for your phone calls and emails. Nice to know that people care.

Now excuse me while I take my ZiCam and see if this fever has dropped. Stay casual...enough stress here for all of us.

Enough

Cybersouth is indefinitely suspended by owner

Ear Heaven

I've used this song before with different people playing and singing. Lee Ritenour is in all of them. He's the guy in the blue shirt playing guitar. This is a star line up of great musicians and by far the best version. Don't miss the last few seconds when Mr. Phil Perry, the lead singer, will blow your socks off with incredible vocal range. One thing about Lee and the musicians that surround him is they are always smiling. Blessed by God I'd say:

Even though this is an up tempo positive song, tears come to eyes from the sheer emotion I feel when hearing music that is this beautiful. This well defines tears of joy. Hope you like it as much as I do. BTW, if you are a Gershwin fan Beagle (she's at the top of the links list) has Rhapsody in Blue posted today. It's awesome.

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

Pandora and the Blue

Wow!!!!!! No this is not a post about the Saints winning the Superbowl. I attended 2001 A Space Odyssey, Star Wars (the real first one in 1977), all the Lord of the Rings movies, and they were movies that had a tremendous impact on the industry. The viewing public too. Earlier today I attended a movie in Corinth, Ms., at the Malco Theater. I refuse to watch any movie in the Cinemark in Tupelo. It's downright nasty. We also have a Malco and I've been there several times. It's not nasty. I still think the one in Corinth is the best. Anyway, got off on a tangent.

James Cameron was born in Canada and made a living driving a truck. His family moved to California and Cameron developed an interest in moviedom. He's had many hits that were blockbusters and is rumored to be hot tempered and hard on cast and crew members. That aside, he has changed movie making and viewing forever. Don't believe me? Go see Avatar in RealD 3D. After sitting for 2 hrs 40 mins we walked out of the theater in awe of what we had just experienced. This is not some cheesy 3D film from the '50s, but a major innovation in movie making. You will truly want to reach out and try to touch things. The plot is good, the pace is exciting, the acting is brilliant and the special effects don't seem like trickery on camera. They seem to be genuine.

If this movie doesn't win major Academy Awards then the Hollywood hafwits that vote should be put on a rocket and shot into the moon. This is by far the best movie going experience to date. It is now my all time favorite movie. Go see it before it leaves the RealD 3D theaters.


"The Possible's slow fuse is lit
By the Imagination."
~Emily Dickinson

Friday FYI

My apologies for not posting. It has been a hectic week. Have the Thursday post drafted and it will show up on Cybersouth soon. I've traveled over 500 miles this week and no need to give details. Thanks out to all that have been concerned about my well being. Your emails and phone calls are always appreciated. Give me some time and everything will be published over the weekend...probably.

TGIF. That means only 2 more days to work this week.

"I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain."
~Frank Herbert, Bene Gesserit Litany, Dune

Some Things Just Don't Make Sense

Please DON'T text me. I am a luddite when it comes to this goofy form of communication. Good Lord! If you have time to punch in a bunch of doodoo on a ridiculously small keypad then put the damn thing to your ear and call me! Sheesh! I hate it. AT&T delivers messages at their own will. The cell communication is so bad on AT&T towers in this area a good friend of mind saw an AT&T tech using a Verizon phone that he admitted was furnished by the company!?!?!?!?!? I may get 5 texts today that were written last week! It infuriates me to receive a plea of help 7 days later knowing they can use the below email address. I never check text, but check email at least 10 times a day.

Either call or use my gmail address. THAT ADDRESS IS cybersouth@gmail.com. C'mon people, it's that easy.

"There is nothing worse than aggressive stupidity."
~Goethe

568A or 568B?

Let's talk about software and hardware. These are two COMPLETELY different worlds. By virtue of the fact that I am trained in the assembly of servers (most use some version of Windows Server software), how to network a TCP/IP Dynamic or Static protocol, assembly of client workstations and the repair of them - this means I am a hardware person. If I could retain all knowledge about operating systems, applications and proprietary software my office would be in Redmond, Washington. The campus of my facility would be larger than that of Microsoft. In plain words no one can know all forms of software. Nor hardware.

Yet, I am a hardware person. I build good machines. They last. Most problems that arise are due to UIC (user in chair). With the advent of reasonable prices from retailers and online suppliers my computer building is limited to servers and higher end gaming machines. Being a hardware person since before Bill Gates ever dreamed of Windows, I have seen a lot of changes down through the past few decades. There is one consistent through all this time. Software people really know nothing about hardware and always try to find fault with equipment instead of admitting their mistakes. There, I said it. Some of them are downright liars. Some go off into the purple haze and will say anything to their clients. A good 95% of software people have horrible attitudes and no respect for their customers.

Ask me a question to which I haven't an answer and I will tell you just that. I don't know the answer. But...I'll do my best to find you an answer. As long as you're polite to me you will be afforded the same in return. If I tell you that something is fact you can take it to the bank. No need to be wishy-washy. If I wanted to be that way the software industry is always calling. I refuse to work at a business that uses more than one network technical firm. Tech companies have different attitudes and many of them work well. There are many approaches to getting the job done not just one.

So the next time you talk to a software geek and a hardware nerd, you'll stand a much better chance of hearing the truth from the latter. Oh yes, the title. 568B is the industry standard for attaching a RJ45 connector to a CAT5 or 6 network cable. 568A is the second alternative. It has to do with how you arrange the 8 wires according to color. Next time you speak to a "mighty" software demi-god ask him to explain the difference. Betcha the hardware person knows!

Now I must finish a server assembly and read up on the PC-BSD operating system. This is my opinion and I am stickin' to it. Hope this helps.

"Every path hath a puddle."
~George Herbert

Phil Say's Another 6 Weeks

Phil's official forecast as read February 2nd, 2010 at sunrise at Gobbler's Knob:

Hear Ye Hear Ye Hear Ye

On Gobbler's Knob on this glorious Groundhog Day, February 2nd, 2010, Punxsutawney Phil, Seer of Seers, Prognosticator of all Prognosticators awoke to the call of President Bill Deeley and greeted his handlers, John Griffiths and Ben Hughes.

After casting a joyful eye towards thousands of his faithful followers, Phil proclaimed, "If you want to know what's next, you must read my text. As the sky shines bright above me, my shadow I see beside me. So six more weeks of winter it will be."

Well, there it is for what it's worth. This was gleaned from Phil's web page. Have a casual Tuesday and don't store away that jacket too soon.

"There's one good thing about snow, it makes your lawn look as nice as your neighbor's."
~Clyde Moore

A Grand Dance It Is...

Gráinne Ní Mháille was an Irish pirate queen noted for her negotiations with Queen Elizabeth I. Her anglicized name was Granuaile which basically interprets to mean short hair. To further confuse things her later name somehow turned into Grace O'Malley. This is probably because people that speak English today have a hard time with Gaelic pronunciations. It is history that she negotiated the release of several Irishmen and had the Bristish appointed governor of Connacht, Richard Bingham, removed from his post. It is rumored she met with Queen Elizabeth not wearing shoes. For some reason this impressed the English Queen. The negotiations were mutually successful. I think this may be why Máiréad Nesbitt is barefooted while playing this song:



Please click on the two above links if you'd like to learn more about the colorful pirate queen or the beautiful violinist in the video. Máiréad Nesbitt is not only a pretty face, she's talented and intelligent. Her's is just as interesting a story as that of Granuaile. At least, it is to me.

"Gaelic: Is maith an scéalaí an aimsir.
Translation: Time is a good story teller.
Meaning: Stories become embellished with time."

Sometimes You Don't

Not much of a post. Had a lousy day. Everything I touched became FUBAR. Going to bed and will try to forget today. Tomorrow will be better or I'll die. About the only thing that didn't happen today. Enough whining. Later.

"Stress is the trash of modern life - we all generate it but if you don't dispose of it properly, it will pile up and overtake your life."
~Danzae Pace

Ahhhh Saturdays!

It's cold outside. Setting up several projects today. Server transfer of data to a new machine. Upgrade on a Windows PC. Resisting the last piece of King Cake. I am so selfish and in a stupor from all the sugar. I love those things! Also have to tackle a boot problem. Full day today and tomorrow. Have I mentioned it's cold outside?

It's late in the day and I just had to refuse a geek sushi party. Darn it! We have so much fun and the food is spectacular. Oh yeh, it's cold around here. We gather at a local restaurant and know the owner. He is Japanese. Nice fellow. The prep time for the food takes a while, but the wait is worth it. BTW, all the dishes served are not made with raw fish. Sorry Ashy and Forest. Was previously occupied and couldn't make the trip. Mebbe next time, huh?

Locally and in many parts of the country it's cold. K, my rambling is through. Stay warm.

"If you know someone who tries to drown their sorrows, you might tell them sorrows know how to swim."
~Brown

Slow Day Then King Cake! King Cake!

TGIF. For some reason this week has been very tiring. Just finished two posts that were in the draft stage. They are now published. Where does all this time go and does it take money out of my wallet when it leaves? People are being conservative with their bucks and I don't blame them. I hear reports everyday about business being slow. It's my belief the current administration has taken a bad situation and made it worse. Please remember this as you vote. Health Care Plan my ass! Just another title for federal government controlled socialized medicine.

One really nice thing happened today. When I returned home there was a package on the veranda from Gambinos. Inside I discovered a blueberry King Cake. Immediately the box was opened and a few minutes later the sugar coma took over. Yep, I think blueberry is my favorite. Don't know about King Cakes? Go to Wikipedia and search for Mardi Gras. There's a reason it's called Fat Tuesday! Thank you so much for the wonderful gift Verdana. It is such a pleasure to receive such treats, daughter of mine!

"God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say thank you?" ~William A. Ward

Great Software - Free Download

After yesterday's article someone wanted to know what is used at the beach house to manipulate blank CDs and DVDs. I like Nero, but the price is a slap to the face. Utterly ridiculous to pay such a large sum of money when there are better programs for free. I use a freeware program called CDBurnerXP. WARNING: If you use Windows 7 don't download the version 4.3 beta. Stick with version 4.2.6 beta and you'll find that Windows 7 will be happy. There is a wealth of information about this issue and many other things about this great program. The help section is very well written if you have problems. The forum is also good. Also, make sure Microsoft's .net is up to date. If you are using Automatic Updates the .net stuff should be okay. If you are not doing your updates then why are you reading this post!?!?!? Get thee to Window's Updates and do it - all of them! The beach house has used this great cd/dvd program for years without any problems. CDBurnerXP will do the .ISO dance too. Remember, you download at your own risk so don't whine if you screw it up. They will accept donations so send them some money if you like this program; that is if you have any nowadays. Hope this helps.

"No matter what happens... somebody will find a way to take it too seriously."
~Dave Barry

What Would Captain Jack Sparrow Think?

People occasionally ask about "ripping" DVDs. WikiHow has a way to do it in 4 steps. The legality of performing this action is questionable at best. When a dvd is purchased and finds its place on the shelf at the beach house it gives me a feeling of ownership. Certainly it's a good idea to copy the valuable data and store the original to keep it pristine. This is my humble opinion and I'll leave it at that for now.

Then there is the matter of "burning" DVDs. There is another good article at WikiHow. Again there are legal issues that may concern some people. Again it is my humble opinion that if I am making frontline backups in order to preserve original data it seems a very sane thing. After all they remain in my house and I don't sell them for profit. You'll have to decide this issue.

By no means am I encouraging piracy. The questions have been asked and these are some answers. Make your decision. If anyone has recommendations please use the comments. Hope this helps.

"We have two kinds of morality side by side: one which we preach but do not practice and another which we practice but seldom preach."
~Bertrand Russell

It's FYI Tuesday

Finishing projects on the beach house bench that have been delayed. Lot of work to do and I need to really knuckle down and keep at it. There are several calls scheduled and the field work is almost back to normal. If I am running a bit behind, please understand. Remember I am the dude that celebrated Christmas on January 23, 2010.

Still reviewing the Secunia software. It looks good so far. Am also trying to put Cybersouth back together from the melee attack by the jerks at js-kit. They emailed and offered an upgrade. I cannot print my reply here due to content. They know I don't like them at all.

The How-to-Geek has a great article about managing GMail inside the Chrome Browser. Haven't tried the lightning fast, vastly versatile browser from Google? This post is being made in it. You can find the download at Google Chrome. There is also a permanent link in the Links List on this page.

"Tell a man there are 300 billion stars in the universe and he'll believe you. Tell him a bench has wet paint on it and he'll have to touch it to be sure."
~Murphy's Law

Wow!

She calmly walks out on the stage: Then sings, a capella, a powerful tune!

What a voice.

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