Wireless
My parents are all up and running on wireless. For some unknown their big fast fancy router will only connect to their 54 mps laptops at 11 mps. Who knows? My father has a VPN to his company. When it connects to the company's VPN the company's laptop is set to kill the other network connections. This is to keep the company's network from being infected so easily and to prevent back door peepers from spying on the network. It is difficult to explain why it takes a couple of seconds and a couple of error messages to go from one network to another.

Duh!

More than 60 percent of all cancer deaths could be prevented if Americans stopped smoking, exercised more, ate healthier food and got recommended cancer screenings, the American Cancer Society reported on Thursday. CNN

Just as long as they don't drag coffee into the mix, I'm all for it. Ban everything. Ban cigarettes and start shooting
g people who are caught smoking, Ban fatty foods. Start lacing cheese burgers with strychnine and serve them in sting operations. surgically implant electrodes into peoples tender bits and set them off if they have been sitting on their ass too long.
Shit or get off the pot. Do something. Stop your bitching. Stop telling me I'm going to die. I will die no matter what I do. Make the correct decisions the easy ones. Make the wrong decisions the hard ones.

Recipe

Beef Stroganoff INGREDIENTS:        1/4 cup butter.        1 1/2 pounds sirloin tip, cut into thin slices.        1 onion, chopped.        1 (16 ounce) container sour cream. DIRECTIONS: 1.      Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add beef and the onions; cook until the meat is browned and the onion tender. 2.      Stir in sour cream, and heat through. Do not boil. Serve over buttered egg noodles.

Anna Banana is trying to fatten me up. I must look skinny in some of those pictures.\

Taxes
I did my taxes!!! Finally. I'm getting some money back, but not nearly enough for the camera I want. I keep hearing different things about income tax.
* Flat rate, no deductions.
* No withholding. You invest your money and keep the interest.
* No income tax, move to a VAT system.
I have a bad feeling this is one of those things that is so ingrained in our every day government that we will never get a good system. Every one seems to have their own agenda. Accountants and some lawyers depend on the complexity of the tax system to stay in business. There is an entire industry based on it. No matter how many changes we citizens try to make there will be a group of people who will be displace by it, and thus fight the change. It kills me. Sometimes change hurts. Make that part of the law that people who are completely dependent on the industry of confusion and unnecessary complexity receive new training. Surly that will be a stiff bill, but it is basically a one time payment.

Support
I am apparently the go-to guy for computer shit in my entire family,  group of friends, coworkers, neighbors, and random shit-heads on the bus who hear me making a tech call while one the way home. ARGH! It has gotten in the way of so much in my life.
I hate it. I hate it. I hate it.
When people have a problem with their house, or car they expect to pay money to get it fixed. I'm sick of having everybody ask me questions about busted computers that are all their fault for doing stupid stuff that they know is wrong and expecting an answer for free.
So, what do I intend to do about it? Bitch!

Taxes
I was supposed to do my taxes again. I have been waiting on some paperwork, but I have it now. Why am I procrastinating? Because I owe money. Why else would I want to wait?

Comment
Someone made a comment on the "Vietnam Virus"

So, in terms of power structures, Vietnam had much less to do with fighting communism than it did with opposing economic development outside the US sphere of influence. Real Art

This is the comment I left on the article.
No offense, but "duh".
Why isn't any one doing anything about all the problems in West Africa? Because there are no oil, diamonds, employable people to exploit or political backs to scratch. So, millions die each year and it doesn't make that much of a headline.
I loved the banners at the protests that said "No blood for oil!" That cracked me up, because most of those people drove there in Suburbans and Expeditions

Quiz
I had some response on the quiz below. It was from one of the folks who's blog I've left a comment. I'm glad I found the path to those people. They are quite a community. I'm finding that I have a couple of regular readers out of it. How cool is that?
I did crater last night and call three people to hit my blog so I could go over 3000. I feel like a whore, but it was cool to watch the counter. I hadn't paid any attention to the numbers until it hit 2500 or so. I didn't think I would get that far in only a few months.

Day
I had a busy day. I'm working on a small project that is a huge pile of problems. I'm trying to get things working and come up with a plan for future distribution. The world will never know the toil. Oh, well.
My French Press came in. I have it in the dishwasher as I type. I can't wait to try it out. I got some Folders "special blend". I have no idea what is so special about it. It looks like it will work in the press though. I need a thermos so I can tote it off to work. The dredge they have there is a nightmare. Every one complains, but no one does anything about it. I've complained before, but it is worth two entries to enfisise the horror that is my company's coffee. ... OH, Oh, my, that is good coffee.
I'm watching Diamonds are Forever on my computer. I forgot this movie was so good. It really is the classic Bond. He relied more on panash than technology in those days. It actually has some nice car chase scenes. They don't have to wreck a million cars or destroy a city to be cool you know.
I really should do my taxes. I have some small business crap to deal with, so I'm putting it off. I had to wait until now to even look at it because of some paperwork. I would so love to hand it all to an accountant and just pay the bill.
I was supposed to help my father get his laptop up and running on the wireless router, but he didn't bring it home with him. It is going to be a pain because his company has not yer gone to SP2. MS made the whole WEP attachment thing much easier. I suppose they had to. The old system was basically unusable.

Yuck
I had to go blow my ears out. Now, I know I have to do this every now and then, but this time was special. I have been bouncing off the walls at work and nearly stumbling. This is a sign of advanced nasty ear, but I cant seem to tell when it is bad, until it is bad. I have one of those little bulb-water blower things and just evicted two meteorites from my ears. I had no idea the invasion started in my head.
"bloouukgkgkgkhkhkh!!!" You think that was hard to read? Those are my ears man. I can hear better. Double "bloouukgkgkgkhkhkh!!!"

Email
A friend sent me one of those emails where you answer the question and send it out to every one else. Well, I refuse to do the spam for them, so I'm opening it up to every one. Feel free to answer the questions and send them to me, or in the comments, or not. Whatever.

1. What time did you get up this morning?	04:30
2. Diamonds or pearls?	Stainless Steel Watch
3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema?	Lord of the Rings (1). It was the last because this bitch kept laughing in all the wrong places. I gave up watching movies in the theater that night.
4. What is your favorite T.V. show?	I stopped watching TV a while back. I have to say, it is whatever I can download.
5. What did you have for breakfast?	Coffee, black.
6. What is your middle name?	Michael. Actually, it is spelled Micheal on my birth certificate. However, I don't spell it that way. My grandfather accidentally misspelled it on my father's birth certificate. He deliberately misspelled it on mine.
7. What is your favorite cuisine?	I like simple. Meet and potatoes, or veggies, or more meet.
8. What food do you dislike the most?	Things that make me feel bad for eating.
9. What is your favorite chip flavor?	I prefer popcorn.
10. What is your favorite CD at the moment?	They still make CDs?
11. What kind of car do you drive?	I am legally blind and cannot drive.
12. Favorite sandwich?	The one some one else made for me when I was busy and  hungry.
13. What characteristics do you despise?	Which ever one's piss me off at a given moment.
14. Favorite item of clothing?	Steel toe boots.
15. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go?	I have no aspirations to travel.
16. What is under your bed at home?	A 12 gage shotgun.
17. Favorite brand of clothing?	Wrinkle free.
18. Where would you retire?	I plan on working until I drop.
19. Favorite time of day?	That moment where you are just about to doze off to a good night's sleep.
20. What was your most memorable birthday?	36
21. Where were you born?	Kansas, though I don't remember it much. I've lived in Houston all my real life.
22. Favorite sport to watch?	Rally car racing. 80 mph on dirt roads with only a piece of ribbon separating you and the spectators.
23. Who do you least expect to send this back to you?	Only the shadow knows.
24. Person you expect to send it back first?	I'm surprised I filled it out. I doubt any one else will mess with it.
25. Physical feature you would change if you could?	Brain. My vision is mainly caused by a problem in my brain. At least, that is what I surmise. No one really knows what is wrong with me.
26. Coke or Pepsi?	Black Coffee.
27. Are you a morning person or night owl?	I hate to admit it, but I'm a not focal person. I'm a crab all the time.
28. What is your shoe size?	11, same as my I. Q..
29. Do you have any pets?	No, I don't like taking the responsibility for trapping an animal and keeping it for my own entertainment.
30. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share with your family and friends?	That is why I have a blog.
31. What did you want to be when you were little?	Some one who could drive.
32. What were you meant to be doing today?	I worked, so I suppose I did it.
33. If you could build a house anywhere, where would it be?	Where I feel at home.
34. What is your favorite high school memory?	Leaving. I was an outcast, so I was happy to be done with all of it.
35. The last CD you bought/burned?	I filled my 30 gb MP3 player with nearly all my favorite music.
36. Where is your favorite place to be?	I haven't found that place yet, but Yellowstone comes in a close second.
37. Where's your least favorite place to be?	Here.
38. What's most important, strong mind or strong body?	balance.
39.what's your favorite kitchen appliance?	French press, when it comes in from Amazon tomorrow.
40. What makes you really angry?	Injustice.
41. If you could play an instrument, what would it be?	Thanks for assuming I can't play an instrument. I play the computer keyboard, so nya!
42. What is your favorite color?	Green when it represents life.
43. Which do you prefer, Sports Car or SUV?	Horse.
44. Do you believe in afterlife?	I believe in many afterlives. I believe you feel every life you ever touched. I believe there is much to do once you move on from here.
45. What is your favorite kid's book?	The Boyscout manual.
46. What is your favorite season?	"Wabbit season"
47. If you could have one super power, what would it be?	To have God change everything around me so it went my way.
48. Can you juggle?	Shit no, but I can do nunchaku.
49. What's your favorite day?	The day I learn to be happy.
50. Favorite kind of flowers do you like to receive?	I'm going to skip this one.
51. What's in the trunk of your car?	I don't have a car. My backpack has the following. Rain cote/poncho Camera Pliers/multi-tool Minni-crowbar (yup) Flashlight Glasses/contacts stuff Condoms (Shut up) MP3 Player PDA Pens/pencils Hat or two. Stamps
52. What do you prefer: sushi/hamburger?	Hamburger, but I'm not very proud of that fact.
53. Who did you receive this from?	Nat.

Monday Morning
This morning I had some one come by and ask about Jen's show this past Saturday. They chickened out for lack of
energy. I've done the same thing. Anyway. When they came into my office this morning it was really nice to say "I have some pictures on my site of the show." That is so cool. I love doing that.
For some reason, that makes me want that camera even more.

Song

Artist:	Mindy Smith [ Search RP ]
Song:	Jolene
Album:	One Moment More [ Search RP ]

Artist:	Michelle Shocked
Song:	When I Grow Up
Album:	Short Sharp Shocked

I can't link to more information on Radio Paradise any more because you have to have a sign in to get to it now. That sounds pretty frigging ridiculous to me. It just means they will not get exposure from my blog any more. I'm really getting sick of every damn place wanting me to subscribe to get anything out of them  I don't have to give my credit card number to window shop. Forget them. I usually just end up signing up for a new account anyway. I have never given the correct information to the New York Times for example. They want you to sign in just to get some news. I sign up with a new account every time. it is faster than me trying to dig up an old email or scrap of paper I probably threw away. I wish they would just give up and stop asking me to sign in.
Microsoft tried a couple of years ago to have a passport service that would allow you to log in once when you sat down and then stay online with your signature showing the whole time. I don't really like the idea of every one having all my personal information that easily. I don't like the idea of trusting Microsoft with it either. They will paten my existence and tell me to get off their planet.

Willie B's Birthday Party
I went over to JP Hops House last night for Willie B's Birthday jam. It was a great set. The performers had more fun than the guests. I had a couple of beers. I sat most of the evening with a lovely woman who's name I cannot remember because of my every day retarded inability to remember people's names. I'm trying to think of what else went on, but all I can think is that it was fun.

Pictures - Willie B's Birthday
Site - Kelly's Cheap-ass Web Page

Camera

You know, those pictures are pretty dark. They would be far more sharp if I had the new camera I want. The lens would gather much more light. The optics are vastly superior. The hardware and software are better than anything I can take with my current camera. I WANT ONE!!! It is only $1000 + $200 for accessories. What is a desperate dedicated shutter-bug to do?

Software
I use a small software package called InfanView to make those HTML pages and the thumbnails. It doesn't work on my primary machine any more. I don't know if it is the version, or the system. It gives me an error "Save Error 1" when I attempt to write an HTML file. For the time being, I can just use one of my other machines to generate the pages. I will be in the market for a new software.

Movies
So, I watched these two crappy movies about people with messed up relationships. All I wanted to do was smack these people. Don't they understand that people are just people. Why do I watch this crap. You know, some people have to remind themselves that it is just a movie in the scary parts. I have to remind myself it is just a movie when people make stupid decisions. Two movies. They both sucked. There was this funny movie also about relationships. It was these two goofy guys who marry these two old geezer women to get their money. They all four try to kill each other. It was a horrible movie, but I did laugh out loud like three times.

Rant
I hate living in an apartment. I wish I had some way of telling people they piss me off in a setting where we could actually do something about or grievances. I hate writing letters. I hate dealing with the people in the front office. They are good people here. Trust me, I've had worse. I just don't like doing it. I wish there ware a way to arbitrate without taking it to court.
This doesn't really qualify as a rant. It is far too rational. I am tired of being rational. Sometimes I would prefer living in a shack with fifteen kids, fifteen dogs and more firearms than dinner plates. It just sounds like it would be fun for a while.

Black and Blue
I ran Ad-Aware, SpyBot, AVG, and a defrag all at once, and my hard drive climbed out of my computer and kicked my ass.

Steroids in Baseball
I had no idea I felt so strongly about this subject. I left a comment on some poor sole's blog who asked what the big deal about steroids was. It is all about entertainment he said. I replied the following.
My kids (someday anyway) will want to be glorious, just like the assholes on TV who use drugs and do irreparable damage to their own bodies just to out do the other guys on their own team.  Even if we make steroids completely legal, they do horrible things to your liver and other internal organs with prolonged use at the levels you need to get the kind of difference these guys get. That is the reason they are illegal. That is the reason I don't want my kids to look up to these self centered jerks. That is why I hope they and their dealers and their coaches and their trainers all end up in prison.

F-16 Sale
This one cracks me up. It just goes to show, as long as the balance of power is kept, the U. S. doesn't care who has what kind of conventional weapon. The balance of power being defined as the U. S.'s allies having the power.

The United States has agreed to sell sophisticated F-16 fighter planes to both India and its next-door rival Pakistan, administration officials said Friday, and India immediately expressed displeasure to President Bush. The diplomatically sensitive move — which the administration was ready to announce later Friday — rewards Pakistan for help in the war on terrorism but angers India, a U.S. ally and a fellow democracy. ... The sales to two nuclear countries that have warred over the Kashmir territory could raise eyebrows among U.S. allies in Europe who are under White House pressure not to lift an arms embargo on China. The Bush administration argues that European weapons could contribute to rising tensions between Beijing and Taiwan. Fox News

24
I'm watching 24. The first and second season. I only caught a glimpse of the series when they were on. I borrowed them from a friend. I have a problem with the whole daytime story feel of the whole thing. I wish someone would blow his daughter away so the man can concentrate on his job.

Dark Mater Continued
It looks like they are finally going to abandon the dark matter/energy theory. Someone has a really good theory that refutes dark matter/energy and still allows for the universe to expand. I say the universe is not expanding. I say that we are simply not looking at the proper evidence. People just love looking at those little red lines and being able to explain by telling people to listen to a train whistle as it passes you. That is such a great analogy. Too  bad it is just plane wrong. I still say there is some property of gravity or space or time or light itself that explanes the little red line in the Doppler Shift from stars.

Day
This is one of those few days in Houston that is so very nice. Normally we have two or three weeks of nice weather all year. The rest of the time it is rainy, hot, cold, or just plane miserable. Today, though, is nice. It reminds me of days that I never lived.
At lunch, we went to some Mexican place on Westhimer. That should narrow it down. We ate outside. The birds will obnoxious, but it was pleasant. I have tomorrow off. I really wish I had the drive to run up to the park and ride my bike around. I want to take a bunch of pictures. I have the bug so bad that I nearly bought a new Canon Rebel this afternoon. That is a bad thing. The one I want is right at $1000. I will of souse need a new memory card, and of course, a new case. Fortunately, my old lenses will work with the new camera, but only at a funky multiplier (35mm / 29.Xmm). That means the math isn't quite right on the lenses. That is OK. I'll live.
I'm whipped after today. I want to go take a nap. I want to stay up and keep my sleep sickle on track.Who am I kidding. C'yall in the funny papers.

Schiavo
I am so frigging sick of hearing about this case. Congress needs to make a law that makes deliberately letting someone die of dehydration or starvation illegal. Problem solved. If Joe Blow wants to euthanize someone, he will have to be a bit more creative, or desperate.
This is a state problem. It was decided in state court. The parents of this poor woman refuse to accept their state decision. The trouble is, it is the state's decision to make. You shouldn't be able to run whining to the feds when you don't like a state court decision, unless it is in conflict with standing federal law or the constitution. That is what I think any way.
Really, I just wish the case would make its way out of the news.

Docker
I really hate it when the big name brand item really is the best in its field. I've been paying attention to which shirts get me the most compliments. Well, it is Docker shirts that fit the bill. The trouble is, these don't say "wrinkle free" on the tag. I'm so torn. I intend to go get six or eight shirts of varying pattern, mostly soled, and color, mostly dark colors, as soon as possible. They are on Amazon. How the hell do you tell what shirt size you are?

French Press
No, the kind that makes coffee. I like black coffee when it doesn't taste like crap. Instant coffee pretty much tastes like crap to me. I've seen a French Press in the movies. Someone finally told me what the hell it was called. I'm going to find one and start drinking black coffee instead of soda on the weekends. I don't care how fagot it sounds.

Thought
I'm trying to come up with a way to kill every human on Earth. Not for real, just for fun. I'm thinking a chemical that makes people sterile, stupid and horny. hmm, that sounds like marijuana. That way, I could let STD take do the job for me. There will be some hold outs, but they will get mopped up by the mobs of people looking for farmers who can grow Mo-Jo. Maybe I should start lobbying for free dope.

Joke

A mother is driving a little girl to her friend's house for a play date. "Mommy," the little girl asks, "how old are you?" "Honey, you are not supposed to ask a lady her age," the mother replied. "It's not polite." "OK", the little girl says, "How much do you weigh?" "Now really," the mother says, "those are personal questions and are really none of your business." Undaunted, the little girl asks, "Why did you and Daddy get a divorce?" "That is enough questions, young lady, honestly!" The exasperated mother walks away as the two friends begin to play. "My Mom won't tell me anything about her," the little girl says to her friend. "Well," says the friend, "all you need to do is look at her drivers' license it is like a report card, it has everything on it." Later that night the little girl says to her mother, "I know how old you are, you are 32." The mother is surprised and asks, "How did you find that out? "I also know that you weigh 140 pounds." The mother is past surprised and shocked now. "How in heaven's name did you find that out?" "And," the little girl says triumphantly, "I know why you and daddy got a divorce." "Oh really?" the mother asks. "Why?" "Because you got an F in sex."

Swapping Hard Drives
I have two primary computers at my day job. One is an every day machine that I use for programming, email and the like. The other is a test machine. The test machine gets restaged all the time. That means, I take it back to the day the operating system was installed in order to make a good test system. That helps eliminate conflicts with all the normal stuff on a day to day work machine. This arrangement has been great except for one thing. My primary machine has a fan this trying to go out. It sounds like a cement mixer. I finally got sick of it today. I swapped computers. Normally, that is a pain because I have one all set up the way I like it and the other is basically blank with some utilities on it for software packaging. However, nearly everything that has to do with configuration and setup is on the hard drive. I swapped hard drives and now I'm off to a quiet afternoon.
Now, their are a few things to keep in mind when swapping drives. These two machines are basically identical so the drivers and settings should be compatible. Some things are still different. The machines have two different serial numbers. The machines have two different MAC (network card) addresses. Little things like that all over the place. It is kind of like a person's memories. Most of your memories are kept in specific parts of the brain. If I wanted to switch bodies, all  I should have to do is figure out a way to move just those parts of the brain, or even just the information on those parts of the brain to another.
I read a short story (they made a modern Outer Limits out of it) where people could go to this place. They lay down on a table. These little micro bots crawl all over them and take a reading. More little bots across the universe create an exact duplicate including memories and current thoughts. Then the original is destroyed. Of course, the process screws up and a live person on the table has to be killed to maintain the balance.
I'm not the first one to swap out a hard drive apparently. The differences are funny. The keyboard repeat rate is different. Where the hell do you adjust that?

Contractors
I'm a contractor with a large company. I need to keep an eye on this article.

"The Idaho Statesman is carrying the story of 33 local Boise HP contract workers suing HP From the article: . They claim that they were expected to perform at the same level of expectations as HP workers and thus should be given the rights and privileges of HP workers. HP claims the suit is without merit.""The suit seeks to represent 3,000 workers in Boise and elsewhere in the company and could involve as much as $300 million, according to the complaint." SlashDot

At the top of CNN's web page are banner adds. Just below that is an area that CNN sometimes puts breaking news with a red background and white writing. The other day, I noticed I completely missed the breaking news at the top of the page because all the advertisements at the top of the page also use red backgrounds and white writing. It was only the fact that the ad seemed to be the same on every page that I noticed it. So, I can expect to miss warning signs in the future. Great. Who do I sue for that?

Robin's Computer Trouble
Robin's computer was one of the ones I worked on this past weekend. There really wasn't much wrong with the computer. The main trouble is the number of programs installed on the machine that probably should not be installed. Most "normal users" don't think twice before installing software. Ask some questions before you just say "yes" to the messages.
* Do I need this?
* What is this supposed to do?
* What else is getting installed?
* Who wants this on my machine?
* Can I get this functionality somewhere else for less cost in time and additional unneeded functionality?
Run SpyBot or Ad Aware for God's sake. Run them all the time.
She wants me to fix a relative's computer. It is an old win 9x box with some kind of video driver problem. I hate to tell her, but you probably can't find those drivers any more. I'm not sure I can help there there.

My Parents Network
The other system I worked on this weekend was my parent's. My mom bought a new notebook and I went to set up the wireless network. I turned on WEP and put the key on her machine. My father will have to do the same on his laptop. That sounds simple enough, but it took for ever. This is because of the hidden duties. These are the duties that people don't tell you about when you show up to fix one thing. For example, email address book transport, setting up her Gmail on her new notebook, Sharing the printer on her desktop to the network. A couple of other little tings.

Cynthia's Question
Sunday afternoon I get a call from Cynthia. She wanted to know my opinion on GUIs for Linux. She gave me her Criteria (which one is prettier?) and I gave it to her (Gnome). I also informed her she can install two and go back and forth, but you will have to maintain them separately. I like these kinds of questions. I don't have to sit down and fix anything.
I'm proud of any one who give Linux a try. Cynthia had a machine die and she is trying to get another computer up and running so she doesn't have to buy another copy of MS-Crap OS.

Taxes
I was supposed to do my taxes weekend before last. I suddenly got a bunch of things to do. I was supposed to do them last week. I got sick. I was kind of supposed to do them this last weekend, but a bunch of crap got in the way. I have to do them pretty soon. I plan on trying TaxAct.com this time. Wish me luck.

Weekend
Saturday, I fixed Robin's computer to a point. I think I got most of the stuff back together. She just needs some major spy-ware fixes. She also needs some more memory.
Later we all ended up watching a fight on pay-per-view at the VFW. It was a great bout. Actually, three of the four fights were very good. They were welter weights. Some serious bruisers though.
I ended up crashing at their place.
Today, I went over to my parent's house and set up their wireless network. I never could get Outlook to recognize Gmail. I ran out of gas before I could sit down and figure out what I missed. While I was there Cynthia called about Linux install. She is a convert, YES!
Now, I'm home. I'm watching The Simpson's on the tube. Block Buster just had a commercial for their new $15 a month service that mimics NetFlicks, Wal-Mart and some others. They are only about a year and a half behind the curve.

Good Dog
Many moons ago a friend of mine and his family moved into a new house. While running into his new room the 6 year old said the family mutt would not let him go in. The dad is like "what the heck" and went to investigate. The dog was laying on the floor outside the room with a dead scorpion inside its mouth. They rushed the dog to the vet and barely saved its life. My buddy said he didn't care what it cost, or that it was a mutt, "That dog earned his keep."

Bug
I walked outside for two minutes to feel the sunshine on my face. I walked back inside and found a little bug crawling on my arm. Probably from the railing I leaned against. Now, I itch every couple of seconds.

Overtime
Overtime has become a dirty word in corporate America. I know the company I work for has only one response when the word overtime is used. That word is "no". They give impossible deadlines and tell managers they cannot higher any one new. Then say absolutely no overtime.
I have a buddy who is an independent contractor for construction of commercial buildings. He says the people issuing the contracts these days say they will simply not pay any over time hours. Not just the overtime part, the whole hour listed as overtime. The issuers don't care that the deadline requires a seven day a week crew to complete in time. They don't care that the contractor is required by law to pay overtime. They say, "We will not pay for overtime hours, sue us." He says they are serious about "Sue us." They would rather pay ten times the amount on lawyers than the time on the bill.
I have not worked an overtime hour in two years. My responsibilities have doubled in about that period. There are less people in our department that are dedicated to standard operations. It is getting bad. How are so many Americans finding jobs? Every one I talk too who has been in the work force for more than ten years says they do more things now than ever before. There are less mangers managing more people. Everything is getting outsourced and yet, unemployment is low. I don't get it. Where are all the other people working?
Then I read blogs where people complain about how board they are at work. "I started this blog so I wouldn't fall asleep at my desk at work." Bastards. I hear-by declare that I work my ass off at work. I prefer it that way. As long as I receive proper compensation and I'm not expected to kill myself, or ignore my family for work, I'm more ore less happy.

Weekend
Speaking of overtime, I have two computers to fix this weekend. Robin, an old friend from my CB days (Bratt) has a slow crashing machine that needs some attendance. Tomorrow, I set up my parent's new wireless router and laptop. I'm getting some meals out of the deal. I'm on call 24/7 these days. Oh, well. At least I'm good for something.
So, I wake up this morning. I get an email from my mother (tomorrow's appointment) and she says I can come over today If I want. Then I call Robin (todays appointment) and she says she is on her way to a bartender meeting and will call me back in thirty minutes. Then I call my mom to get logistics straight. She tells me they are on their way out for the day. Robin calls back and says she has to take care of some business after the meeting and I may want to cancel until tomorrow. [stop and think} If I try calling every body and canceling, all kins of breakage will happen. I've learned it is better to cancel and completely reschedule in free time rather than trying to switch two appointments. This is strictly my thing. I cannot push this strategy on any one else. I'm sure there are those out there who can manipulate like a champ. Not me. [done thinking} "Lets try ding this today Robin. I have the parent's machine to fix tomorrow."

Color Schemes
All the electronics these days are in this silver or brushed stainless look. I like the dark gray or black from the eighties or early nineties. Some phones have freaky color covers that you can get. My old phone I bout a very conservative gray cover. My new phone has a black version in Korea that I saw on one of the pages. Mine is silver. The Dell laptop is silver. Most of the new  computers at Dell are gray with silver bits. I have to say, I prefer the non-beige computer cases. I just plane got burned out on those.

The Latest Gadget
People keep asking why they stagger the sales of new game machines all over the world. It starts in Japan, goes to the U. S. then makes it around to Europe. Well, these things typically sell really well on the opening month. Then sales slow a bit. Then a bit more. Pretty soon you have a surplus. Sony and all the other manufacturers know this all too well. They start in one country and just as that curve flips over in sales, they open up in another area. Otherwise, they would run out and people would bitch even louder. Then, no sooner would they ramp up production, than the next gadget comes along and steels their cloths.

Proof That Women Are Nuts

On Scott Peterson's first day on death row, two women called California's San Quentin State Prison to say they were interested in marrying him, according to prison officials. Prison spokesman Vernell Crittendon said about three dozen women called San Quentin with messages of support for the prison's newest bachelor, convicted and sentenced to die for the murder of his pregnant wife, Laci. "Two of them actually indicated to our staff that their purpose for calling was marriage," Crittendon told CNN. CNN

I read somewhere that women exhibit their fear of commitment by the men (significant other) they choose. For example, a woman who is only turned on by married men has a fear of commitment. I imagine this is somewhere on that same scale. There is a song called "Chicks Dig Jerks" that goes into how many women propose to death row inmates among other jerks in the world. Maybe it is God's way of removing them from the gene pool. Yes, I like that idea. I'm sticking with that one.

BS

TAKE our best understanding of gravity, apply it to the way galaxies spin, and you'll quickly see the problem: the galaxies should be falling apart. Galactic matter orbits around a central point because its mutual gravitational attraction creates centripetal forces. But there is not enough mass in the galaxies to produce the observed spin. Vera Rubin, an astronomer working at the Carnegie Institution's department of terrestrial magnetism in Washington DC, spotted this anomaly in the late 1970s. The best response from physicists was to suggest there is more stuff out there than we can see. The trouble was, nobody could explain what this "dark matter" was. And they still can't. Although researchers have made many suggestions about what kind of particles might make up dark matter, there is no consensus. It's an embarrassing hole in our understanding. Astronomical observations suggest that dark matter must make up about 90 per cent of the mass in the universe, yet we are astonishingly ignorant what that 90 per cent is. Maybe we can't work out what dark matter is because it doesn't actually exist. That's certainly the way Rubin would like it to turn out. "If I could have my pick, I would like to learn that Newton's laws must be modified in order to correctly describe gravitational interactions at large distances," she says. "That's more appealing than a universe filled with a new kind of sub-nuclear particle." NewScientist.com

I told you Dark Mater was a load of crap. Other ideas.
* Gravity is not uniform.
* Gravity repulses at great distance. (Galaxies repulse each other into clumps.)
* Gravity is multiplicative, not additive.
* Space has some very minor friction to motion.
* Things just aren't as far away as they look. There is some function of light over great distance we just don't understand.
This is a really good article. I suggest you read the whole thing.

Today
It's St. Patric's Day? I didn't ware green I was at work all day and no one said a word. I remember pinching my first girls behind because of St. Patric's Day. It was second grade I think. I'm not sure. All my schooling blurs together. Torture has that affect. I had no idea until I started reading some blogs at the house.

Today (continued)
I was sick and drag-ass yesterday. I had a hard day today. I was not quite up to snuff in my health. On the walk from work to the bus stop, one mile, I felt like a million bucks. I still coughed. I still felt run down. I felt good though. I hadn't even done anything at work that should have given me a good feeling. I have no dates planned. It was just pretty outside and the weather is cool and the air is clean. Well, except this one house I pass where the smell of death just about knocks you down. I think something crawled into the sewer and died. Poor folks who live there. Oh, well, fuck-em. I had a nice walk home.

DSL
I'm in Houston. DSL here seems to go down every couple of months for a couple of days. I'm getting a little sick of it. I post most of my pictures from this blog on my web server in my apartment. I can't imagine running a business off that system. I can't get a cable modem in my apartment complex because they monopolize the cable TV connection and the company that does it has not option for digital cable. At least, not two years ago when I checked last. So, what am I going to do about it? Well, I plan on bitching allot and bad mouthing DSL in my blog.
By the way, it just started working again a couple of hours later. Frigging DSL. I have no idea if any of the other options are any better.

From A Friend At Work

The other day I'm having this intense conversation -- delving into issues like love and loss and cassette compatibility -- when I realize I'm talking with a stranger. This is surprising since I'm not like those people who tell you about their divorce, their hemorrhoids and their shoplifting conviction 20 seconds after meeting you in the express checkout at HEB. But we're not at the store. We're on our bikes. Big difference. I'm cruising along the FM1463 when he catches me. We exchange greetings and start trading pulls, working together against a headwind. At first we don't say much. But from his pace, his cadence and the way he sits on his bike, I know this: We're a lot alike. We both ride as much and as well as we can. We like being fit. We like being outdoors. We like the Zen rhythm of pedaling, the unspoken communication of a smooth drafting partnership, the flicked elbow that says please pull through, the pointed finger that says glass ahead. We turn off the busy road onto a Hunt lane where we can ride side-by-side. We're relaxed, happy, doing what we love. The conversation flows, gets deeper. Pretty soon I'm talking about stuff I haven't told my mother. (Mom: Just kidding. I tell you everything.) It's like this with my other cycling buddies. I've never been to their homes. Some I wouldn't recognize without a helmet and sunglasses. But we've told each other things you wouldn't say to your therapist, unless you consider cycling therapy, which I do. (a buddy at work)

This guy does the MS150 every year.

Blogger Woes
Blogger is really starting to piss me off. Every time I try to post, it takes ages fro the screens in the interface to pop up. It looks like it is screens that have to do a database query that take the most time. Perhaps they are suffering from too much success. I've looked at some of the alternatives and none have the presents of Blogger. I have a server in my apartment. I could just put it up there. That would make overhead easy to manage, but I would loose out on some of the perks like Google spidering my site nine times a day.
I'm not the only one complaining. There are some professional bloggers out there who make money with their site. They are all talking about bailing on Blogger.
I tried to fix a typo on an entry a couple of hours ago and it took me forty five minutes to get to the entry and make a change. The save took a long time too. I don't care about load numbers and distribution problems. I want to publish when I want and fix things when I need. Well, I will keep my eyes open for another method of providing my blog to the world. After all, you don't want to be left in the dark, I'm sure.
=]

Two Bads Make a Good
I am very tired of people wishing evil and chaos on the Iraqi people just because they want the Bush administration to fail. I am in Texas and I still hear people say things like "I hope it all falls apart. That will show Bush". Show Bush? Here is someone who knows better. Someone in Iraq. Someone who is the past victim of Saddam oppression and who is now trying to make a better Iraq.
Look, I had to put up with 8 years of Clinton. You can deal with Bush.  49.9% of Democracy is about loosing. People in the Middle East have heard loud words from Americans about freedom and Democracy for decades. Finally, someone is doing something. True, people are dying. Then, haven't people died for ever over causes that matter? Finally a president is doing something to make things better. If it involves killing the people who make it bad, then I don't have a problem with that.
Bush may be a terrible public speaker, but he walks it like he talks it. That earns him and the U. S. respect. I would rather they respect us than like us.
Please don't wish bad things on another people just to get back at someone you don't like. That is evil. That will never come to any good. Yell, rant rave, scream obscenities, but be glad the the Iraqi people have a government (though far from perfect (like the U.S.)) by the people, for the people.

Sick
I had to take a sick day today. I woke up at around 3:00 am and had a 102 fever. I can't remember the last time I took a sick day. I had to take a day off in late January to take care of Metro Lift. That is the last non-vacation day I've taken. I took a couple of Fridays in the Fall just for the heck of it. I'm always there it seems.
When I got ready to go anyway, I looked outside and it was cold and raining. It would have been a miserable commute in perfect health. I went back to bed and slept until lunch time. It feels good just to get up for a while. I can tell I'm still sick. Not just from the stuffy nose. I still feel a bit feverish.
I just got off the phone with my mother. She just happened to call me five minutes after I got up. She is at a coffee/bagel shop on the wireless connection. She swears she sent me an email with a picture, but I have not received it yet. She has allot of fun with that thing. She needs to get a blog of her own.

Adam, you have pretty high ceiling in your living room. I can barrow a projector. Iron out the details and lets get this thing working.

"RPGs like Dungeons and Dragons are traditionally played on a tabletop using miniatures. The problem is that the players are only supposed to see those parts of the map that they have explored. Gamemasters are reduced to drawing explored sections of the map on the playing surface with dry-erase markers or using cardboard tiles representing stretches of corridor. Some fellows have an expensive but elegant solution. They map out the playing area in a laptop using software such as Tabletop Mapper, which allows to game master to dynamically hide and reveal sections of the map. The laptop is attached to a 1600 lumen DLP projector mounted on the ceiling and projecting an image of the visible map onto the tabletop. The miniatures can then be moved on a dynamic map. The eye candy factor is vastly increased, gamemaster labor is reduced, and the players have more fun. The elegance is that this is an intuitive enhancement of the traditional gaming experience, instead of an unfamiliar new user interface to be mastered." SlashDot

This is nice. I'm sure we can iron out the bugs in no time.

Click on the image for more information. The map highlight area does not appear to be automated. Let's get it running. Who is with me?

Blank Page
I want to write about something, but I just don't have the focus to put that much down about any one thing. I could write about my gloomy walk in this morning. I enjoyed it, except for my crappy MP3 player that needs to be reset every ten songs. I may write about the song on the radio. It mentions Wyoming. You just don't hear Wyoming mentioned that much these days. I might write about how busy I am at work. It is busy, but not too terribly busy. I could mention how cold it is in my office lately. I am starting that new task that I blogged about a while back. It is fun to do some "real" programming again. I might write about the girl I met this last weekend. She was fun. She was sweet (Not nice sweet, sweet as in a decadent pleasure that you know is bad for you, but you want her, I mean it, none the less.) I might write about dreams I had last night. They were boring dreams that, yet, I remember. A woman walking across rocks in her bare feet. I wanted to carry her, but I wasn't there. I was watching from somewhere else. I could write about the news that floats through the ether all around me. The stories are all the same. I may write about my cough and how my grandfather had breathing troubles near the end of his life. My father worries about his respiratory health too.  I might write about my Matchbox cars and how I still pick them up and remember playing as a child. I may tackle the decision of what to have for lunch or dinner. The topics are endless. I may write about my lack of focus, but it is too nice of a day to complain. If I will be scatter-brained today, I might as well enjoy it.

Renaissance Festival
I have been invited to do the Texas Renaissance Festival (TRF) properly this year. By properly, I mean camp over night and work the festival. I have already looked into some web pages for cloths. One must dress for the occasion. I have no idea what to go for. There is the fancy dress of a noble, or the kilt of the commoner. I don't even know what they mean by "work" the festival. I will have to get a "day in the life of a festival worker" from Ken. It should make for some good pictures and blog posts. I will be going with some folks who have been doing it for over ten years. Chris (Jade Falcon), Ken (Steel Viper), Heath (Lost Marble). There are quite a few people who know those names at TRF. Really, I'm looking forward to it. I may grow a go-t for the occasion. I wonder what that will look like.

Extraordinary Machine
Fiona Apple has an album called Extraordinary Machine that has not been released by her record company. Radio Paradise has been playing tracks from the collection and I like it. I've heard others complain that they can't lay their hands on the CD. I wonder if it is some kind of publicity thing. The songs have a different sound to them. The ones I've heard anyway. They sound almost like grown up Disney songs. It is pretty cool. I can't even find the MP3s through my normal contacts.

Thanks to Linda for this one.

How many dogs does it take to screw in a light bulb? 1. Golden Retriever: The sun is shining, the day is young, we've got our whole lives ahead of us, and you're inside worrying about a stupid burned out bulb? 2. Border Collie: Just one. And then I'll replace any wiring that's not up to code. 3. Dachshund: You know I can't reach that stupid lamp! 4. Rottweiler: Make me. 5. Boxer: Who cares? I can still play with my squeaky toys in the dark. 6. Lab: Oh, me, me!!!!! Pleeeeeeeeeze let me change the light bulb! Can I? Can I? Huh? Huh? Huh? Can I? Pleeeeeeeeeze, please, please, please! 7. German Shepherd: I'll change it as soon as I've led these people from the dark, check to make sure I haven't missed any, and make just one more perimeter patrol to see that no one has tried to take advantage of the situation. 8. Jack Russell Terrier: I'll just pop it in while I'm bouncing off the walls and furniture. 9. Old English Sheep Dog: Light bulb? I'm sorry, but I don't see a light bulb. 10. Cocker Spaniel: Why change it? I can still pee on the carpet in the dark. 11. Chihuahua: Yo quiero Taco Bulb. 12. Pointer: I see it, there it is, there it is, right there ... 13. Greyhound: It isn't moving. Who cares? 14. New Zealand Sheep Dog: First, I'll put all the light bulbs in a little circle... 15. Poodle: I'll just blow in the Border Collie's ear and he'll do it. By the time he finishes rewiring the house, my nails will be dry. The Cat's Answer: "Dogs do not change light bulbs. People change light bulbs. So, the real question is: How long will it be before I can expect some light, some dinner, and a massage?" ALL OF WHICH PROVES, ONCE AGAIN, THAT WHILE DOGS HAVE MASTERS, CATS HAVE STAFF. What is a Cat? 1. Cats do what they want. 2. They rarely listen to you. 3. They're totally unpredictable. 4. When you want to play, they want to be alone. 5. When you want to be alone, they want to play. 6. They expect you to cater to their every whim. 7. They're moody. 8. They leave hair everywhere. CONCLUSION: They're tiny women in little fur coats. What is a Dog? 1. Dogs spend all day sprawled on the most comfortable piece of furniture in the house. 2. They can hear a package of food opening half a block away, but don't hear you when you're in the same room. 3. They can look dumb and lovable all at the same time. 4. They growl when they are not happy. 5. When you want to play, they want to play. 6. When you want to be alone, they want to play. 7. They leave their toys everywhere. 8. They do disgusting things with their mouths and then try to give you a kiss. 9. They go right for your crotch as soon as they meet you. CONCLUSION: They're tiny men in little fur coats.

Right now I have the computer's screen and my kitchen light on. There is also light coming in from my balcony window. But, not that long ago, It was daylight, lanterns and candles. Before that, it was a camp fire and a spark on the end of a stick. Earlier still, it was only the moon and stars.

Light and Dark
Are you afraid of the dark? Have you ever been?
Now, feel around you. Someone warm is here to hold you. It is pitch dark and raining for hours on end. It was dark all day. It is dark all night. A child's fright. A child who has only known day's light. Mother is near, out of sight. Now shiver. Hear rain hit the world all around. They sound like foot steps to a child's mind. The smell of mud and sweat and dust and your mother's hair. Now, ever quieter, ever more, in dreams, like the dancing of some pleasure at arm's reach, just as you slip beneath the rain and your mother's arm to the land of sleep, the brightest thing you have ever seen flashes every shadow in the universe brilliant, yet unseen. All shapes and shadows and hard burning lines. Then the loudest thing you have ever heard in your young life, the sound felt as much in the bones as in the ears, grabs you and shakes you back a wake. Your mother shook too. What could scare her? What is that terrible?
Are you afraid of the dark? Have you ever been?

Houston In The News
Houston is never going to get a break. The only time I read anything about Houston in the news it is either a mother drowning her kids in a tub, a wife running her husband over, or now, a four year old shooting his two year old brother in the head over a toy.

HOUSTON -- A two-year-old was shot by his four-year-old brother, who may not have known the difference between a real gun and toy one, police said. The two-year-old, who suffered a single gunshot wound to the temple, was in critical condition Saturday night in hospital. Sgt. Cameron Grysen said the boys had been arguing when the younger one threw a toy at his brother. The mother thought the boys had returned to their room, but they had instead gone to her room, where the older boy took a loaded gun from the woman's purse. "The four-year-old was angry. ... He went and got the gun, put it to his brother's head and shot the gun," Grysen said. CANOE

No respect.

Anna Banana

This is one of her pizza on a stick experiences at the Houston Rodeo this past weekend. Yes, pizza on a stick. OK, maybe Houston does get some god press.

TV
I switched on the TV for the first time in a while this evening. I just wanted to find out what was on. I have to tell you, I'm not impressed. There is so much dribble. They advertise more TV shows like they have something new to show. Sometimes new is good. The commercials are the most creative thing on. I wonder if they do that on purpose. The powers that be don't want the shows to be more interesting than the advertisements. Hey, they are not in the business of making interesting TV, they are in the business of making money.

Party Pictures
OK, here are the photos from Tim's birthday party yesterday.

Depression
This is why I don't go out and do more stuff. I have a down day after an up day. Yesterday I saw a bunch of old friends I really have missed over the years. I saw :
Ken and his whole family. I hadn't even met the youngest before.
Chris (Jade) He is a cop in training. How did I always know he would become a cop?
Cole (I'm not spelling it right.)
Heath.
Heath's new fiancé.
Tex.
I can't remember the names of the rest. God I'm horrible with names. I don't get it.
Anyway. Today I'm all depressed. It is like I used up the fun quotient or something. I flirted with a flirty girl named Rosy or Rosaline or, God help me with names. She was extreeeeemly cute and sexy. That is one thing I have got to hand to the CB group, there  are a lot of good looking women. God, I need a girlfriend. I should have ditched taxes and gone on the boat. I know, taxes are the responsible thing to do. My own happiness is my responsibility too.

I Am Male
A comment I left on a girl's blog.

I'm male. You expect too much. I am male. I want to fix problems, not just complain bout them. I want to love, but not be judged every time I try to fix your problems instead of just sit there and listen to you complain about the same thing every day. I want to be loved, but I don't want to get my ass jumped every time I try to hit on you when I'm in the mood and you are not. I'm not hitting on any one else. (I don't cheat). I am male, I want to be your prince in shining armor, but that implies fixing some problems instead of just listening to you complain about them day in and out, over and over. I am male, I want to grow old together and watch our chubby grandchildren play in the front yard, but I don't need criticism of the way I never listen to you and how I'm always meddling in your life (I thought it was "our" life) every five minutes. I'm trying to fix the things you are complaining about. I am male. What am I supposed to do?

You know, I could put that on 95% of the female driven personel blogs on the internet. I may need to keep that one handy.

Day
I went to the best ten year old's birthday party I've ever been to today. It was at a place called Gladiator's. We had cupcakes and watched him open all his presents. I hung out with the parents and played Battlfield 1942 with some of the dads.
Ken and his family are very cool. I've missed hanging out with them and the whole gang. They wanted me to go out on the boat tomorrow. I completely forgot that I had something that I needed to do. I remembered that there was something. I have planned to do my taxes tomorrow. I hope they all have fun.
I am dog tired right now. I will put up the pictures soon.

Drat!
A friend of mine showed me a photo he took in Europe last year. It is a row of parked cars in front of some interesting building. Anyway, right in the middle of the photo is a Lamborghini. On top of the Lamborghini are two birds that, I swear, are trying to take a crap on the roof of the car. There are no other birds in the picture. He won't let me put it on the blog. =[
Some people just don't understand the drive to publish I suppose.

Day
I should have taken a day of vacation today. It was nice outside and it was work inside. It was hard to concentrate. I managed to keep things straight for most of the day. It was difficult after lunch. When I walked in this morning I was starving. I ate dinner at like 5:30 yesterday. I ran and got breakfast in the cafeteria at work. The sun was just coming up over the building. The air was cool and crisp. It felt like the weather I keep hearing people in California describe. I ate a nasty cafeteria wrap thing for lunch out at one of the pick-nick tables. I let the breeze and sunshine wash over me like the hands of a gentle lover. I nearly fell asleep in the arms of mother nature. Man, it was nice. I almost bailed.

Weekend Plans
I'll have lunch with the folks tomorrow. Hopefully they can drop me off at a gaming place near Highway 6 and 59. There I will meet some old CB buddies. No one uses CB radios any more, but that is how i got into the group in the first place. I remember roller-blading around with a walky-talky in my hand trying to hook up with people as they drove around. Fortunately, they hung out at a black-eyed-pea restaurant not too far from my parent's place. All we ever did was hang out. If any one drank, I didn't notice it. We played CB-Tag and sat and shot the breeze in the middle of the night.
We even put on some plays in Richmond Rosenberg. I was always behind the scenes. It was allot of fun. I did some very minor acting in middle school. I've never been particularly good. Some of the people in the CB group were very good actors. I wonder what some of them do now.
The game place is for network gaming. One of the guys works there. The party is actually for Ken's ten year old son. I have a feeling we adults will have as much fun as the kids. I don't think Ken plays, but some of the other guys do. I'm not sure which girls will show up. Ken dropped a name, but I don't think I was thinking of the correct person when I had a face pop into my head. The surprise will be good for me. I hope this leads into some renewed friendships and some new friends. I hope it leads to some good blog entries too.

What DnD Character are You?

I Am A: Neutral Good Dwarf Fighter Ranger Alignment: Neutral Good characters believe in the power of good above all else. They will work to make the world a better place, and will do whatever is necessary to bring that about, whether it goes for or against whatever is considered 'normal'. Race: Dwarves are short and stout, and easily recognizable by their well-cared-for beards. They are hard workers, and adept at stonework and engineering. They tend to live apart from other races; generally in deep, underground excavated systems, and as such tend to be distant from other races. Primary Class: Fighters are the warriors. They use weapons to accomplish their goals. This isn't to say that they aren't intelligent, but that they do, in fact, believe that violence is frequently the answer.

Secondary Class: Rangers are the defenders of nature and the elements. They are in tune with the Earth, and work to keep it safe and healthy. Deity: Marthammor Duin is the Neutral Good dwarven god of protection and travel. He is also known as the Finder of Trails, the Watcher over Wanderers, the Watchful Eye, and the Wanderer. His followers are also wanderers, and are open to new ideas far more than most dwarves. They are typically guides or scouts. Their preferred weapon is the heavy mace. Marthammor Duin's symbol is an upright mace in front of a fur-trimmed leather boot. Find out What D&D Character Are You?, courtesy of NeppyMan (e-mail)

For the record, I would like every one to notice "Race" below. Dwarf is a 10, Elf is -4. Perfect.

Law & Chaos: Law ----- X (1) Neutral - XXXXXXXXXX (10) Chaos --- XXXX (4) Good & Evil: Good ---- XXXXXXXXXXX (11) Neutral - XXXXXX (6) Evil ---- (-2)

Race: Human ---- XXXXXXX (7) Half-Elf - X (1) Elf ------ (-4) Halfling - (0) Dwarf ---- XXXXXXXXXX (10) Half-Orc - XX (2) Gnome ---- XXXXX (5)

Class: Fighter - XXXXXXXX (8) Ranger -- XXXXX (5) Paladin - (-1) Cleric -- (-1) Mage ---- (-7) Druid --- (-2) Thief --- X (1) Bard ---- (-1) Monk ---- (-4)

I was thinking of placing some other people's results here. They are just too long. No one will ever read them. If you want, put them in a comment. I'm interested in the results.
I usually play a dwarf fighter. I suppose I've been playing the correct character type. I'm going to have to insert a bit of ranger to give it a try. We already have three rangers in the group I normally join. Not every one can be a ranger. We need spell casters. No one wants to be a bookworm/witch which is what most spell casters end up being thought to be at some point in every game. I think the stigma needs to be addressed. Perhaps an incentive needs to be added for the player who takes on the challenge  Worth thinking about. Of course, this last time, I've plaid a half dragon human paragon fighter. That one wasn't on the list.

MP3 Volume Level
Every sound file on the computer has a different volume level built in. While I'm on my win to work I listen to my MP3 player. I've noticed most of the MP3s have different volume lives built in. There are ways to edit the files and manually make them consistent. That would take ages. Besides, what level do you make all of them? There in lies the problem. No one has an existing standard for listener volume level.
Movies are the worse. Everything you come across on the net is made by some individual. No one has an idea how to make things level. Every movie is ripped by some dork in his parent's basement. They all have an opinion on how every one else in the universe should create their concoctions called AVIs. Trying to get them to comply with a standard is like herding cats.
It isn't just MP3 and movie volume levels. I've noticed Online radio stations are all over the place. There is just no consensus.
So, there I am at work trying to concentrate on what I'm doing and if I'm listening to my MP3s, I have to adjust the volume ever two or three songs. Either you can't hear the music, something in the environment makes enough noise to distract you from your music, or a song comes on that blows you out of the chair. At least most online radio stations have systems to compensate while you are listening to that specific station.
Oh, well, it is still better than trying to listen to your coworkers, friends or family. =]

Mom's Story
My mom has lead a very interesting life. She is one child of twenty. That's right. She has 19 brothers and sisters. One of my aunts is a couple of years younger than I. She should write a book. She has the itch. I think she is just looking for a nudge in the right direction. I told her to just start writing down the anecdotes. Just put the stories down on paper, or the computer. Go back a couple of weeks later and read them. Improve them. Turn them into a story. Put them in one order, then another. draw outlines between the stories. dream a little. Don't sweat the missing details. Don't ask too many questions of family. Use your memory and interpretation.
Maybe I'll take my own advice. I should write a book about not fitting in.

Email
I have had some complaints for not having an email on the blog site. I don't like leaving it out there for the scavengers to grab. I've heard scrambling it with Java script is an accepted method of making it work and kicking the majority of the spiders to the curb. I got my code from InnerPeace.org. Let me know if you have any trouble mailing me from that link to the right.

Taiwan and Texas
It is getting scary in China.

"We have never forsworn the use of force. No sovereign state can tolerate secession and every sovereign state has the right to use necessary means to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity. ...The draft legislation provides that in the event that the "Taiwan independence" forces should act under any name or by any means to cause the fact of Taiwan's secession from China, or that major incidents entailing Taiwan's secession from China should occur, or that possibilities for a peaceful reunification should be completely exhausted, the state shall employ non-peaceful means and other necessary measures to protect China's sovereignty and territorial integrity. The draft legislation also provides that the State Council and the Central Military Commission are authorized to decide on and execute non-peaceful means and other necessary measures, and promptly report to the Standing Committee of the NPC." The NPC, after approving the law, will have given the military commanders the go ahead to act in the defense of the one-China policy based on the actions or words of the "Taiwan independence" forces. This weekend protectors in Kaohsiung took to the streets to express their concern over the pending legislation. Vice President Annette Lu said "Taiwan will face a serious military threat from China as the new law will provide Beijing with a legal basis for using force against the country." She noted that is China who is changing the status quo, not Taiwan. Lai I-Chung has a similar take. Little Red Blog

Taiwan is joined to China via a treaty. Remember, Texas is the only state joined to the United States via a treaty. It just sends a shiver up my back when I think about it for a while. It kind of drives home what the Taiwanese might be thinking while they read the morning headlines. Really, the only difference is the level of communication and ease of travel.
I met a girl from Taiwan (Kat's roommate at UT). Her sister had a pop song there in at the top of the charts. I remember they all spoke English better than I do and were extremely intelligent. So, this is another connection I have to Taiwan. Not much, but it counts.

Hits
Well, this is irrefutable proof that Cynthia's methods of getting hits works to a point.

Green = Visits, basically original hits per day.
Purple = Page Views, or the number of pages hit (everybody hits at least one page when they visit).
The 10th is listed as zero because I took this screenshot at 23:55 or so. So, what happened on February 24th? I started hitting other people's personel blogs and leaving comments all over the place. I've noticed positive comments left on other's blogs lead to more positive comments on my blog. I try to say something constructive and on topic.
I went from an average of around 10 to an average of around 20 a day. The lasting affects are poor. You have to take a little while every day or every other day and just wander around. I enjoy doing it. It doesn't seem like a chore to me. It seems like fun.

Training
Training was actually fun today. We went ninety miles an hour. We covered the object model and how to plug into the database. I am such a geek. I loved it. It was like waking up from a coma after years of the same boring dream over and over. It was so nice to try something new. Tomorrow it is the same old crap again. I am only 25% on this new project. That is ten hours a week. I bet some more hours will slip that way.
Classes, Class Views, Object model, Methods, properties. It is all pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. I get to write the code to put them all together. It isn't easy. Then, not much worth doing is.

Biblical Justice or Terrorism?

Mr McCartney, a 33-year-old father of two, was stabbed near Belfast city center on 30 January following a row in a bar. [Pictured right if the BBC still has it up.] ... On Tuesday, the IRA said it had offered to shoot the people it says killed the 33-year-old after a row in a city center bar. His family has rejected the offer. Hugh Orde said he had "no doubt" the IRA meant they would kill the men. BBC

This story falls far short of telling the whole story. Here is my take on what has been in the news lately.
* A guy walks into a bar somewhere in Ireland.
* A fight ["row" in the UK] starts, as fights do in bars.
* A group of men allegedly kill the man in front of a bunch of witnesses.
* It turns out the group of men are allegedly members of the IRA.
* Additional members of the IRA allegedly showed up and used their knowledge of being alleged terrorists to allegedly destroy evidence and allegedly shut the witnesses up.
* The IRA offers to "shoot" the men involved, and now some people are turning themselves in to the police.
* Sinn Fein says "Wholly Christ" and finally tries to distance itself from the IRA.
That picture appears to be taken from a video. Man, that is a wholesome photo. Look in the background. Those are the beautiful rolling hills of Ireland. That backdrop looks straight off a movie set. That kid is going to grow up to look just like is daddy, you think?
I think every member of government in the UK is shaking their head and coming to the conclusion that something has to be done about the IRA. It is all over the BBC. Blare condemned it during the weekly Prim Minister's Questions meeting.

South Park's best sound bite.

Hemp
I've seen marijuana in a bunch of movies lately. It seems like Hollywood is trying to bring back the old mo-jo. South Park had a special show about it last year. I've heard it show up on a couple of other shows. It seems to play a part in a bunch of movies. I don't even smoke, and I'm tired of hearing about it. I listen to a comedian online radio channel. It seems like every other joker gripes about legalizing the stuff. Honestly, I don't care.

Napoleon Dynamite
I watched this, um, movie. I only have one question. Why? Why? ... Why?

South Park
I really hate Timmy. He would have been funny in one episode.
I like the freaky left turns it takes.
Oh, my god, they killed Kenny. I mean killed him. Smart move. The joke was getting old.
The characters are nuts. Yet, I know some people like this.
They have covered some touchy subjects with pizazz and irreverence.
Canadians on the show talk and their whole head flops around.

Wholly Crap
I just went to Google and typed in the words just Kelly with now quotes. My blog was the first link that came up. Freaky. I never expected that. If that is for real, I'm impressed.

Training
I went to the training today. The guy teaching the class is someone I've worked with in the past. He is very intelligent and actually knows what he is trying to do. In huge corporations you normally get the fifth person away from someone who knows what is going on to teach you. This schmo has now clue and you have to sink or swim based on your own ability. Just like university. University professors don't know what is going on in the real world. They are only interested in porking a freshman and making ten year or whatever it is called. It looks like I will learn something in this class. It is normally about five days of training. This other programmer and I are getting two, six hour sessions. I like the fast pace of the class. It makes me pay attention. I have another six hours tomorrow. I can do it. Tomorrow is where we learn about the common object model. Our company, among others, refuse to use .net. Now, .net is about to be replaced.  We will be two orders of magnitude behind soon. I hate learning obsolete skills.

Chair Saga Continued
I took the cheap chair back. There really was a piece missing. We found a place in the disposable plastic thing that should have held a little bolt that allowed you to tighten the back onto the chair. I got the Relax-o-Matick 9000. It is cool. It has mesh seat and back. It is 100% high impact plastic. It goes up and down with a cool swish noise. It rocks back and forth. And, coolest of all, it has a little head rest pillow thing that can flap around the back of the chair when not in use.
I call her Tina. =]
The bolts all had this lock-tight stuff on them. As difficult as they were to screw in, that chair should outlast ww III. The back and seat are this mesh stuff. The fan blows right through the back. Nice. I paid too much for it, but who cards. I spend half my life in front of the computer.

Battlefield of Tomorrow

Israel last week revealed that ground troops now sport wrist-borne LCD screens which enable real-time identification and elimination of targets. The Tadiran system - code-named "V-Rambo" - beams images of the enemy from unmanned drone aircraft direct to the men in the field, shortening the time it takes to identify and strike a target from around 10-12 minutes to a matter of seconds, AP reports. ... The Elisra Group is currently developing other remote-controlled technologies for use in unmanned ground vehicles, which may be adopted by the US as part of its "Gladiator" programme for the US Marines. Carnegie Mellon University's National Robotics Engineering Consortium recently won a $2.3m contract to develop a 7-foot "Tactical Unmanned Ground Vehicle", intended to act as a targeting vehicle. The Register

The funny thing is, it takes more effort to make an autonomous ground vehicle than an air vehicle. I guess it all boils down to less things to hit.

Night
I woke up in the wee hours of the morning with a headeach. It wasn't enough of a headeach to really justify getting up and dealing with it. At least not until I decided I could not fall back asleep. I wasn't really awake. I was half awake and tossing and turning. I knew it was a sinus thing. I didn't want to take a decongestant because they keep me awake. Guess what. I ended up taking an aspirin and a decongestant. I bet I lost two hours of sleep over it. At what point do you decide to get up and deal with something like that? I bet I was back asleep two minutes after I took the decongestant.

Jen Rathbun
Jen has a new video (top one) on her page. My personal ratting is "hubba-hubba".

DnD
I completely forgot to play up the fact that the wizard who died was my father in the DnD game this weekend. It was late and I was well out of character. The funny thing is, I went home that evening and typed up my notes. It took me longer to find the music stand I use for hard copy typing than it did to type up the notes. I meant to correct the notes and add some more comments, but that didn't happen.
My character needs some maintenance. I hadn't leveled him up since the last game. Now, of course there are two levels to add.

Training
I have training over the next couple of days at work. I dislike training. It isn't difficult. It is more of a strain to deal with the people who expect results immediately. Managers expect training to work magic. You are not going to walk out of a training class and go 100 miles per hour right from the start. There is still a ramp up period. I'm about to start a new project and one of the managers actually said "Wont the training delay the output?" I nearly choked. This person has a degree. This person has been working in this field for many years. Give me a break. This person is not stupid. This person must understand the concept behind training. Is this person trying to: a) Set me up for failure? b) So blinded by their own agenda that they loose touch with the realities of other workers. c) Straight out of a Dilbert strip. Maybe all the above?