Another Car
I forgot one.
Honda CR-V: Cheep
and same fuel economy roughly of the Rav4. I just plane don't like the
reviews. I'm still on the Rav4.
Comments please.
2006-12-31
New Vehicle
Nat and I are looking at an SUV. We are thinking of expanding the family. Here are some of your options.
Jeep Liberty: Not a bad vehicle, but it is a Chrysler product. I had the hardest time finding fuel economy numbers for this vehicle. I found some. It is not far off the Rav4. Bit worse.
Toyota Rav4: This is the one I like. It is a bit cheaper and sportier than the others.
Toyota Highlander: Basically the more expensive version of the Rav4. It also seems to get better fuel economy than the others.
Honda Pilot: Not a whole lot online. Looks like it is a bit more expensive than a Toyota Highlander.
There are so many of these vehicles on the market. I'm sure we will be able to find one. Some of our friends lean toward the Honda and some lean toward the Liberty. I lean toward the Rav4, and I suspect Nat does too. I've looked at the hybrid, but I just cant afford one right now. I would also like the technology to get a couple more years in the field before committing to that sort of thing. Ive read they just don't pay for themselves yet. Right now it seems hybrids are just there to satiate Liberal Guilt. I don't feel that guilty.
I also want to get a little utility trailer for the vehicle. This is only to compliments not having a pickup truck. It will have to be very light. It will have to be easy to store. I picture us using it for camping, moving couches and refrigerators. I've found it hard to be a home owner and not having some way to haul shit back and forth. I've found all kinds of sources in just a few minutes on the internet which means there are tons of light duty utility trailers out there.
Nat and I are looking at an SUV. We are thinking of expanding the family. Here are some of your options.
Jeep Liberty: Not a bad vehicle, but it is a Chrysler product. I had the hardest time finding fuel economy numbers for this vehicle. I found some. It is not far off the Rav4. Bit worse.
Toyota Rav4: This is the one I like. It is a bit cheaper and sportier than the others.
Toyota Highlander: Basically the more expensive version of the Rav4. It also seems to get better fuel economy than the others.
Honda Pilot: Not a whole lot online. Looks like it is a bit more expensive than a Toyota Highlander.
There are so many of these vehicles on the market. I'm sure we will be able to find one. Some of our friends lean toward the Honda and some lean toward the Liberty. I lean toward the Rav4, and I suspect Nat does too. I've looked at the hybrid, but I just cant afford one right now. I would also like the technology to get a couple more years in the field before committing to that sort of thing. Ive read they just don't pay for themselves yet. Right now it seems hybrids are just there to satiate Liberal Guilt. I don't feel that guilty.
I also want to get a little utility trailer for the vehicle. This is only to compliments not having a pickup truck. It will have to be very light. It will have to be easy to store. I picture us using it for camping, moving couches and refrigerators. I've found it hard to be a home owner and not having some way to haul shit back and forth. I've found all kinds of sources in just a few minutes on the internet which means there are tons of light duty utility trailers out there.
2006-12-30
Oldy
I try to avoid putting flagrant ads up on my blog without getting paid for it. This one is an exception. I remember my Mom telling me people were calling in requesting the Coke song.
I try to avoid putting flagrant ads up on my blog without getting paid for it. This one is an exception. I remember my Mom telling me people were calling in requesting the Coke song.
2006-12-29
Up-up-up .. and .. over
Remember, he wanted to know just how far he could push it. I wonder what this lesson in gravity cost.
Remember, he wanted to know just how far he could push it. I wonder what this lesson in gravity cost.
Home Defense Discussion
There are just too many opinions on this matter.
| Remington
870 Express 12-ga. Shotgun Simple, reliable and affordable. The
unmistakable sound of
this gun
chambering a round has been known to handle a home invasion situation
all by itself--though you may have to deal with soiled carpet. Hard to
go wrong with this one, IMHO. Bonus : in many states, you can carry
this one in your vehicle without a concealed carry permit. Downside :
shotguns aren't the most convenient tools to lug around, you have
limited magazine capacity and ammo is bulky. |
2006-12-28
Which is it?
So, I'm thinking about Keith Ellison, a Muslim Democrat who has been elected to congress. There are many conflicts between the Qur'an and the U. S. Constitution. There is some big stink about what book his hand will be on when he takes some oath. I'm not concerned with that.
# Separation of church and state.
The Qur'an specifically states that Islam is the government and the government should ensure that Islam is the only game in town. The U. S. Constitution says that church and state affairs should be kept as separate as possible.
# Equal rights.
The Qur'an specifically states that in a court of law a man's testimony is worth that of two women. The U. S. Constitution says they are equal.
# Speech
The Qur'an specifically states that no one can disrespect Islam or Mohamed. The U. S. Constitution states that people have the right to criticize and indeed bring grievances to bare pretty much as they choose.
So, which is Keith going to follow? Doesn't he have to take an oath to uphold the laws of the U. S. and follow the U. S. Constitution? Well, the Qur'an also says Muslims may lie to the infidel and break contracts in order to promote Islam. So, no oath to a non Islamic government counts.
I'm trying very hard to avoid saying "You can't trust Muslims unless you are another Muslim." but that is where I'm headed. You know, I wonder if in many years they don't teach that political correctness was what brought down western civilization. The U. S. is unable to identify an enemy because that enemy is a way of life. If you cannot identify your enemy, you cannot defeat them. The U. S. is unable to bring itself to single out "Literal" Islam. That is probably because any one can pick up a book and read the words. How those words affect their actions is something else.
If I'm wrong on any point, please let me know.
So, I'm thinking about Keith Ellison, a Muslim Democrat who has been elected to congress. There are many conflicts between the Qur'an and the U. S. Constitution. There is some big stink about what book his hand will be on when he takes some oath. I'm not concerned with that.
# Separation of church and state.
The Qur'an specifically states that Islam is the government and the government should ensure that Islam is the only game in town. The U. S. Constitution says that church and state affairs should be kept as separate as possible.
# Equal rights.
The Qur'an specifically states that in a court of law a man's testimony is worth that of two women. The U. S. Constitution says they are equal.
# Speech
The Qur'an specifically states that no one can disrespect Islam or Mohamed. The U. S. Constitution states that people have the right to criticize and indeed bring grievances to bare pretty much as they choose.
So, which is Keith going to follow? Doesn't he have to take an oath to uphold the laws of the U. S. and follow the U. S. Constitution? Well, the Qur'an also says Muslims may lie to the infidel and break contracts in order to promote Islam. So, no oath to a non Islamic government counts.
I'm trying very hard to avoid saying "You can't trust Muslims unless you are another Muslim." but that is where I'm headed. You know, I wonder if in many years they don't teach that political correctness was what brought down western civilization. The U. S. is unable to identify an enemy because that enemy is a way of life. If you cannot identify your enemy, you cannot defeat them. The U. S. is unable to bring itself to single out "Literal" Islam. That is probably because any one can pick up a book and read the words. How those words affect their actions is something else.
If I'm wrong on any point, please let me know.
More Music Filter
I'm warring down the list to the last couple of straglers. Most
of the stuff I've added lately is just stuff that has blips in it or is
just annoying because I'm at work.
| --------
Summary ------------------------------ Total files processed > 53226 Good files in playlist > 46247 Bad files out of list > 5194 Non music files > 1785 Elapsed seconds > 149.58 Files/second > 355.836341757 ------------------------------ "/U2", # Fuck U2. "Radiohead and U2", "_U2_", "pimsleur", "Pimsleur", # Not unless I'm in the mood for a lesson. "/Spice Girls", # You have got to be kidding me. "/N.E.R.D.", "/Luca Turilli", "Red Red Wine", "RedRedWine", # The reason I wrote this script. "Barry White", # I like Barry White, but not at work. "Destiny's Child", "/George Clinton", "/Damnation_History", # Religious nonsense. "/GRP All-Star Big Band", # Not my bag. "Cradle of Filth", # Blekh!!! "Quad City", "Love Tractor", "To All the Girls I", # Yuck. "2525", # The most depressing song ever written. "Motley Crue", # Reminds me I had long hair once. =[ "/Living Colour", "/Rush ", # I'm tired of Rush. "Tool - Aenima - 14 - (-)Ions", # This song is disterbing. "Bombtrack (live)", # This track is both preachy and messed up. "/Jazz/", # Just because Jazz drives me nuts at work. "Kansas", # Too ... much like Rush. "Menudo", "/Moby", "- Moby -", "Built This City", # This song is so over. "The Mighty Mighty Bosstones", # I just don't like the guy's voice. "/Dimmu Borgir", # Makes my throat hurt. "/Starship", # Over plaid. "Disgustipated", # Another disturbing distracting song. "Tripping The Light Fantastic" # Too dancy. |
OOPS!
It is one of those moments where you know it is coming, but there is not a thing you can do about it.
OOPS! 2
This is what you get when you don't have traffic cops.
Weeeeee!!!
"... that's not mine." I believe it.
6x4
Reminds me a bit of Charley.
Stupid is as this guy does
Did you ever wonder how people get run over by their own vehicle?
It is one of those moments where you know it is coming, but there is not a thing you can do about it.
OOPS! 2
This is what you get when you don't have traffic cops.
Weeeeee!!!
"... that's not mine." I believe it.
6x4
Reminds me a bit of Charley.
Stupid is as this guy does
Did you ever wonder how people get run over by their own vehicle?
2006-12-27
How to Defeat the U. S.
The one thing I hear repeatedly in martial arts is use the momentum and strength of your opponent against them. This theory works well against the U. S..
Do it all in the name of religion. This makes everything so much easier. Most people in the U. S. expect religious people to be irrational.
Play against Liberal guilt. It is a snap to play the victim and get played in the U. S. media as such. The problem with being the biggest kid on the block is your own guilt.
Long Haul. Be in it for the long haul. announce that you will span generations to achieve your goal. You don't care if no one today is alive to watch your cause achieve victory.
Be willing to win. Be willing to cut someone's head off on TV while they scream at you to go to hell. Be willing to send children in to a crowd to blow themselves up.
Play the press game. Higher a PR firm. Hold press conferences. Hold Charity events. Make sure to invite the press to the good and always push the party line.
Lie. Parade wounded people in front of TV cameras. It doesn't seem to matter if they are the same people every week. Or even the same building.
Lie more. Make sure the U. S. press has a safe place to stay while you spoon feed them what ever you want from the danger zone.
Lawyer up. Form organizations like CAIR full of lawyers on your side who are willing to sue every time someone in the U. S. sympathetic to your cause stubs their toe. This is the best way to bring your fight to the U. S.
Stifle your critics. Any one who stands up and says anything that is remotely against your cause, call them a racist or a xenophobe or say it is hate speech. Think up a new liberal term that will sell in the media. It doesn't matter if they are accurate or if they only speak the truth.
Stay in the news. The best way to stay in the news is to kill a U. S. soldier every day or so. The easiest way to do this is to wait for a group to drive by a bomb and blow them up. The more chicken-shit the method the more likely it will stick in the of the U. S. citizen.
Never admit you lost a fight. Even if you do loose 1000 people in a single fight, remember it is rood for the U. S. media outlets to report the number of enemy dead. None of the media has a problem blaring U. S. casualties. As long as you don't bring it up, it will look like the U. S. is the only side loosing people. The Vietcong lost the Tet Offensive, but it made the U. S. look bad.
Do not fight on U. S. soil. If you can avoid killing people actually in the U. S. they will never get up enough courage to wipe you out. The quickest way to get nuked by the U. S. (short of hitting the U. S. first) is to start abducting teenage white girls off the streets of the U. S. and taking them to another country to have your way with them on TV. That might do it.
Blame the Jews. So many people in this world hate Jews that they are willing to listen to any hair-brained excuse that the Jews are behind all the woes of the world. I don't understand it, but it seems to work. This might even work if you are Jewish..
Infiltrate the UN. The UN and other international organizations are ripe for manipulation. The world runs on paperwork. The UN is just a way to push paper around in circles. It is a great way to make the U. S. look like the bad guy who won't negotiate or talk before throwing punches.
I'm sure there are more. I'll add them al together and write a book.
The one thing I hear repeatedly in martial arts is use the momentum and strength of your opponent against them. This theory works well against the U. S..
Do it all in the name of religion. This makes everything so much easier. Most people in the U. S. expect religious people to be irrational.
Play against Liberal guilt. It is a snap to play the victim and get played in the U. S. media as such. The problem with being the biggest kid on the block is your own guilt.
Long Haul. Be in it for the long haul. announce that you will span generations to achieve your goal. You don't care if no one today is alive to watch your cause achieve victory.
Be willing to win. Be willing to cut someone's head off on TV while they scream at you to go to hell. Be willing to send children in to a crowd to blow themselves up.
Play the press game. Higher a PR firm. Hold press conferences. Hold Charity events. Make sure to invite the press to the good and always push the party line.
Lie. Parade wounded people in front of TV cameras. It doesn't seem to matter if they are the same people every week. Or even the same building.
Lie more. Make sure the U. S. press has a safe place to stay while you spoon feed them what ever you want from the danger zone.
Lawyer up. Form organizations like CAIR full of lawyers on your side who are willing to sue every time someone in the U. S. sympathetic to your cause stubs their toe. This is the best way to bring your fight to the U. S.
Stifle your critics. Any one who stands up and says anything that is remotely against your cause, call them a racist or a xenophobe or say it is hate speech. Think up a new liberal term that will sell in the media. It doesn't matter if they are accurate or if they only speak the truth.
Stay in the news. The best way to stay in the news is to kill a U. S. soldier every day or so. The easiest way to do this is to wait for a group to drive by a bomb and blow them up. The more chicken-shit the method the more likely it will stick in the of the U. S. citizen.
Never admit you lost a fight. Even if you do loose 1000 people in a single fight, remember it is rood for the U. S. media outlets to report the number of enemy dead. None of the media has a problem blaring U. S. casualties. As long as you don't bring it up, it will look like the U. S. is the only side loosing people. The Vietcong lost the Tet Offensive, but it made the U. S. look bad.
Do not fight on U. S. soil. If you can avoid killing people actually in the U. S. they will never get up enough courage to wipe you out. The quickest way to get nuked by the U. S. (short of hitting the U. S. first) is to start abducting teenage white girls off the streets of the U. S. and taking them to another country to have your way with them on TV. That might do it.
Blame the Jews. So many people in this world hate Jews that they are willing to listen to any hair-brained excuse that the Jews are behind all the woes of the world. I don't understand it, but it seems to work. This might even work if you are Jewish..
Infiltrate the UN. The UN and other international organizations are ripe for manipulation. The world runs on paperwork. The UN is just a way to push paper around in circles. It is a great way to make the U. S. look like the bad guy who won't negotiate or talk before throwing punches.
I'm sure there are more. I'll add them al together and write a book.
2006-12-26
The way I feel lately.
This kind of says it all. I'm glad I'm not the only person out there fed up with the whole debate about Islam being the religion of (Convert, pay a tax or die then we will all have) peace.
This kind of says it all. I'm glad I'm not the only person out there fed up with the whole debate about Islam being the religion of (Convert, pay a tax or die then we will all have) peace.
2006-12-25
Elle and Her ABCs
Link to mp3. (I recorded this MP3 so don't give me any shit about copyrights.)
I tried to edit this audio file using audacity, but that software sucks. This is just the file straight off my mp3 player. It doesn't make a half bad recording. Every time I try to modify the MP3 in audacity the speed of the playback screws up or it gets a bunch of squeaks or blips in it, or it is five times bigger than when I started.
Have fun.
Link to mp3. (I recorded this MP3 so don't give me any shit about copyrights.)
I tried to edit this audio file using audacity, but that software sucks. This is just the file straight off my mp3 player. It doesn't make a half bad recording. Every time I try to modify the MP3 in audacity the speed of the playback screws up or it gets a bunch of squeaks or blips in it, or it is five times bigger than when I started.
Have fun.
Christmas2
Yesterday we went over to my parent's house and opened presents. My folks are so happy to see Elle. My father has been under the weather for a couple of months and is only now starting to feel better. No flashlights or sweet tarts this year. I hate to admit it, but I was a tiny bit disappointed.
Today we are off to Nat's mom's place. She is going to bake a pie and we are going to have some more food.
That seems to be the real common thread among all these Christmas things we are doing. The food is both good and there is a lot of it. The gifts don't half suck either.
Rant
That brings me to my current mood. I'm crabby. I'm so sick of dealing with the whole Christmas bullshit. I can't wait until the retail market completely removes Christ from Christmas and we all just move to an end of year gift giving season that is the sole property of Wal-Mart. I mean, doesn't Microsoft already have the patent on God in the U. S. and Europe?
# Christmas Tree: Nothing to do with the birth of Jesus. Some say the star represents the Bethlehem star. Using an evergreen represents the immortality of faith. Sap is blood. It never ends the symbolism you can manufacture.
# Santa Clause: Need I even attempt to rebuke this symbol of the market place?
# Gift Giving: This is supposed to symbolize the three wise men giving gifts to Jesus. Well, each of your family should give one present to a homeless shelter or to your chosen church to distribute.
I really think the Pope should come out and denounce giving gifts on Christmas and say that people should only give to charity. That would wreck at least the U. S. economy in one year. You think I'm kidding? I'll have to dig up the numbers somewhere, but 40 % of Retail sales come from the Christmas rush.
A bunch of people say "happy holidays" to cover their ass. Well I'm glad some religions are fed up with it. The Muslims seem to be the flavor of the week for liberal guilt. Maybe they can finally point out to all the good Christians out here that Christmas is about Jesus. Then maybe the Christians will point out that Islam is the religion of (convert or kill every on who doesn't agree with us and then we will have) peace.
Well, we are off.
Merry Christmas, and by that I mean Warship Jesus and help your fellow Christian.
Yesterday we went over to my parent's house and opened presents. My folks are so happy to see Elle. My father has been under the weather for a couple of months and is only now starting to feel better. No flashlights or sweet tarts this year. I hate to admit it, but I was a tiny bit disappointed.
Today we are off to Nat's mom's place. She is going to bake a pie and we are going to have some more food.
That seems to be the real common thread among all these Christmas things we are doing. The food is both good and there is a lot of it. The gifts don't half suck either.
Rant
That brings me to my current mood. I'm crabby. I'm so sick of dealing with the whole Christmas bullshit. I can't wait until the retail market completely removes Christ from Christmas and we all just move to an end of year gift giving season that is the sole property of Wal-Mart. I mean, doesn't Microsoft already have the patent on God in the U. S. and Europe?
# Christmas Tree: Nothing to do with the birth of Jesus. Some say the star represents the Bethlehem star. Using an evergreen represents the immortality of faith. Sap is blood. It never ends the symbolism you can manufacture.
# Santa Clause: Need I even attempt to rebuke this symbol of the market place?
# Gift Giving: This is supposed to symbolize the three wise men giving gifts to Jesus. Well, each of your family should give one present to a homeless shelter or to your chosen church to distribute.
I really think the Pope should come out and denounce giving gifts on Christmas and say that people should only give to charity. That would wreck at least the U. S. economy in one year. You think I'm kidding? I'll have to dig up the numbers somewhere, but 40 % of Retail sales come from the Christmas rush.
A bunch of people say "happy holidays" to cover their ass. Well I'm glad some religions are fed up with it. The Muslims seem to be the flavor of the week for liberal guilt. Maybe they can finally point out to all the good Christians out here that Christmas is about Jesus. Then maybe the Christians will point out that Islam is the religion of (convert or kill every on who doesn't agree with us and then we will have) peace.
Well, we are off.
Merry Christmas, and by that I mean Warship Jesus and help your fellow Christian.
2006-12-24
Resolution
I don't normally make or keep new years resolutions. My long time readers will remember the major resolution that I kept. I gave up sex for a year.
Made Resolution
Blogged about keeping resolution (second paragraph)
In truth, I would have unwillingly abstained anyway. I'm impressed though. How many people can make the above statement?
If I were to make a new year's resolution, I would be along the idea if fitting the big rocks better. You remember the story I'm sure. I need to jiggle the jar a bit too.
I don't normally make or keep new years resolutions. My long time readers will remember the major resolution that I kept. I gave up sex for a year.
Made Resolution
Blogged about keeping resolution (second paragraph)
In truth, I would have unwillingly abstained anyway. I'm impressed though. How many people can make the above statement?
If I were to make a new year's resolution, I would be along the idea if fitting the big rocks better. You remember the story I'm sure. I need to jiggle the jar a bit too.
2006-12-23
More Giant Squid
It turns out the giant squid video was on CNN. That is the last place I look for interesting stuff these days. I missed it. Not quite what I had hoped for. Still worth a view.
It turns out the giant squid video was on CNN. That is the last place I look for interesting stuff these days. I missed it. Not quite what I had hoped for. Still worth a view.
Stuff I wrote yesterday
Big Squid
Someone had a video emailed to them today of a giant squid. I remember hearing about a huge squid found rotting on a beach in a far away land. By the time any one of science got to it, the corps had deteriorated to badly to be of much use. I cannot find the video. I'll have to ask Chris about it. This is about the best I found. It is pretty big and bright red. I suppose they turn red when they are threatened. I would love to see a reporter videoing some stupid story about the port authority at the docks and a squid the size of a buss jets out of the water and starts eating a taxi.
Experience
So a thought popped into my head while I was at work today. What if I had the majority of experiences I currently have at the age of 37.9, only I had them by the age of 17.9. What would be different in my life? Could most of the things I've gone through have happened by 18? I couldn't help myself. I thought about family, work, loves, and a million other things. The result was, I could have done most of it by 18 without much slopping over the sides. I'm not sure what to think about that.
Boil it down (Kind of on the same note as above)
I just closed my email folder for the year. It is approximately 20 megabytes on the drive. I compressed it using BZ2 down to 1.5 megabytes. I thought about it for a moment. That is the accumulated knowledge I've gained since I started this job back in the beginning of February. 20 megabytes seems low when I sop and think about all the crap in there. The fact that it compresses down to one fifteenth it's original size kind of makes me thing there is a bunch of redundant stuff in there. That just doesn't feel like a lot of stuff.
I remember in Johnny Pneumonic, the scene where he tells his capacity. I thought how small that number would seem by the time this kind of technology has come along.
There was some research place talking about the data they had collected on a bunch of instruments. They complained that it was several terabyte of compressed information. I wonder how much of that data is really worth keeping. Surely it is only being collected in order to examine as a whole and then make some decision. Some executive is going to glance at a bottom line and just bark an order to an underling. It will all boil down to a gut feeling at that time.
Rate of change. Rate of acceleration of change. Rate of acceleration of the acceleration of change. It all sounds like the kind of numbers people try to run against the stock market. When really the stock market is just what a bunch of people think. The right people.
Maybe I've just filtered my 1.5 megabytes well. I've managed to boil it down to what is really needed. Perhaps there is more to the formula than what feels right at that moment.
Big Squid
Someone had a video emailed to them today of a giant squid. I remember hearing about a huge squid found rotting on a beach in a far away land. By the time any one of science got to it, the corps had deteriorated to badly to be of much use. I cannot find the video. I'll have to ask Chris about it. This is about the best I found. It is pretty big and bright red. I suppose they turn red when they are threatened. I would love to see a reporter videoing some stupid story about the port authority at the docks and a squid the size of a buss jets out of the water and starts eating a taxi.
Experience
So a thought popped into my head while I was at work today. What if I had the majority of experiences I currently have at the age of 37.9, only I had them by the age of 17.9. What would be different in my life? Could most of the things I've gone through have happened by 18? I couldn't help myself. I thought about family, work, loves, and a million other things. The result was, I could have done most of it by 18 without much slopping over the sides. I'm not sure what to think about that.
Boil it down (Kind of on the same note as above)
I just closed my email folder for the year. It is approximately 20 megabytes on the drive. I compressed it using BZ2 down to 1.5 megabytes. I thought about it for a moment. That is the accumulated knowledge I've gained since I started this job back in the beginning of February. 20 megabytes seems low when I sop and think about all the crap in there. The fact that it compresses down to one fifteenth it's original size kind of makes me thing there is a bunch of redundant stuff in there. That just doesn't feel like a lot of stuff.
I remember in Johnny Pneumonic, the scene where he tells his capacity. I thought how small that number would seem by the time this kind of technology has come along.
There was some research place talking about the data they had collected on a bunch of instruments. They complained that it was several terabyte of compressed information. I wonder how much of that data is really worth keeping. Surely it is only being collected in order to examine as a whole and then make some decision. Some executive is going to glance at a bottom line and just bark an order to an underling. It will all boil down to a gut feeling at that time.
Rate of change. Rate of acceleration of change. Rate of acceleration of the acceleration of change. It all sounds like the kind of numbers people try to run against the stock market. When really the stock market is just what a bunch of people think. The right people.
Maybe I've just filtered my 1.5 megabytes well. I've managed to boil it down to what is really needed. Perhaps there is more to the formula than what feels right at that moment.
2006-12-21
Good and cold
The weather is great for Christmas. It is cold and wet. Nat loves it. "It feels like Christmas when the weather is like this."
Entertaining search on YouTube.
I'm brain dead from work. I wrote something to put here, but it was terrible. So, this is it.
The weather is great for Christmas. It is cold and wet. Nat loves it. "It feels like Christmas when the weather is like this."
Entertaining search on YouTube.
I'm brain dead from work. I wrote something to put here, but it was terrible. So, this is it.
2006-12-19
Loaded for Bear
A friend of min who knows about guns called this model "cartoonist's
over powered". He was right.
Most over the versions of this weapon have long barrels and are designed for hunting and just plane oneupmanship. This version would almost fit on one's person. It is designed as a backup for elephant hunting. That or taking out vehicles. It is 55 oz. That is 3.5 lb empty. It is .50 caliber. It isn't the biggest wad thrower on the market, but it packs a wallop. If you are looking for the perfect gift fore the man who needs a backup that would knock a moose on it's ass, this is your gun.
 |
Most over the versions of this weapon have long barrels and are designed for hunting and just plane oneupmanship. This version would almost fit on one's person. It is designed as a backup for elephant hunting. That or taking out vehicles. It is 55 oz. That is 3.5 lb empty. It is .50 caliber. It isn't the biggest wad thrower on the market, but it packs a wallop. If you are looking for the perfect gift fore the man who needs a backup that would knock a moose on it's ass, this is your gun.
Old
So, I was watching the Simpsons the other day when I noticed something very interesting. They don't have the appeal they used to. It has got to be the stereotypical characters and the over played plots that are finally getting to me. I've heard someone quote the Simpsons and then say "back when they were funny." That kind os scares me. I mean, it has been nearly twenty years. I watched the first season way back when I had just dropped out of collage for the first time.
I used to laugh at the antics. I used to play my life out in my mind while I watched. Somehow I sympathized with the different characters as they drifted in and out of the choppy plots. The jokes eased my day. Something happened several years ago that has eaten away at the pleasure that the Simpsons show brought me. The world seems more harsh and sharp now. There is not a day that goes by, not for a long time, that I don't feel the weight of the world on my shoulders. I'm doing my part.
TV used to give me moments of ease. I cannot watch TV any more unless the show is pure escapism. Family Guy, The Simpsons, American Dad, It seems Fox has my number. I just want to laugh at someone else's pain and not feel bad for it. That is not such a bad thing is it?
So, I was watching the Simpsons the other day when I noticed something very interesting. They don't have the appeal they used to. It has got to be the stereotypical characters and the over played plots that are finally getting to me. I've heard someone quote the Simpsons and then say "back when they were funny." That kind os scares me. I mean, it has been nearly twenty years. I watched the first season way back when I had just dropped out of collage for the first time.
I used to laugh at the antics. I used to play my life out in my mind while I watched. Somehow I sympathized with the different characters as they drifted in and out of the choppy plots. The jokes eased my day. Something happened several years ago that has eaten away at the pleasure that the Simpsons show brought me. The world seems more harsh and sharp now. There is not a day that goes by, not for a long time, that I don't feel the weight of the world on my shoulders. I'm doing my part.
TV used to give me moments of ease. I cannot watch TV any more unless the show is pure escapism. Family Guy, The Simpsons, American Dad, It seems Fox has my number. I just want to laugh at someone else's pain and not feel bad for it. That is not such a bad thing is it?
2006-12-18
Elle and her mobile phone
Elle drew a toy mobile phone in class today. I found this out on the way home. Elle was in the back seat talking to herself. I mean talking to her Paw-paw (Bill). There were a couple of things I noticed. Elle it turns out has been paying attention to people talking on phones. She said “Did you hear me?” a couple of times and repeated the same phrase twice, only louder the second time. Smart girl.
First Day
It is Natalie's first day at a new job. She is working in the mall. I'll be putting Elle down and holding the fort until she comes home. Our family enters a whole new era. I try to make her understand that she doesn't have to work. Nor does she have to not work. It is up to her. I 'v always known I would work. I have no problem with that. I'm glad to have the work. I have chosen to work next week. I could take it off without pay, but that, as so many luxuries, will not happen.
Complaint
I cannot figure out how to view the HTML code in Open Office writer. There has got to be a way. I've looked on the net and people swear you just go to the view menu and click “view HTML”. Not. I have to cat the file. No biggie.
2006-12-17
Day
Well, I sat around. I did half the dishes. Nat ran some errands. I watched the Sunday night Fox lineup. Family Guy was particularly funny this evening. Nat starts her first day of work tomorrow. We should get the car back pretty soon. My modest raise came through.
Now, I'm blogging and kicking back. We did not make it to the goblin party. Nat wasn't excited about it. She didn't want to go in garb. I was just plane tired by the time we thought we should get ready. It just didn't find it's way in to the cards. The fall out thread sounds pretty interesting. We missed a heck of a shin-dig.
Nat and I went to Eragon Friday night. I enjoyed the movy, but I never read the books. I'm kind of glad I didn't. The movy felt choppy and poorly edited. It felt like they were trying to fit three movies worth of books in to two hours. I still enjoyed it though. I should read the books. They sound much better than the movie.
Well, I sat around. I did half the dishes. Nat ran some errands. I watched the Sunday night Fox lineup. Family Guy was particularly funny this evening. Nat starts her first day of work tomorrow. We should get the car back pretty soon. My modest raise came through.
Now, I'm blogging and kicking back. We did not make it to the goblin party. Nat wasn't excited about it. She didn't want to go in garb. I was just plane tired by the time we thought we should get ready. It just didn't find it's way in to the cards. The fall out thread sounds pretty interesting. We missed a heck of a shin-dig.
Nat and I went to Eragon Friday night. I enjoyed the movy, but I never read the books. I'm kind of glad I didn't. The movy felt choppy and poorly edited. It felt like they were trying to fit three movies worth of books in to two hours. I still enjoyed it though. I should read the books. They sound much better than the movie.
Bad idea
This is a good reason to not street race. Look what happens when someone crashes. People bug out like cockroaches. I didn't hear any call for an ambulance.
This is a good reason to not street race. Look what happens when someone crashes. People bug out like cockroaches. I didn't hear any call for an ambulance.
2006-12-16
Ah-Ha!
I always wondered why someone would mess with SimCoaster. The game looked pretty limited to me. Well, Now I know.
I just don't have a devious enough mind I suppose.
I always wondered why someone would mess with SimCoaster. The game looked pretty limited to me. Well, Now I know.
I just don't have a devious enough mind I suppose.
Written 2006-12-15
Retired
I work for a smaller company now. At my old company people retired all the time. We used to show up to the little parties and say "Hell of a guy!" as we walked through the door. They normally had some kind of free food and it was a break in the middle of the day.
At this company, it is a huge deal to have someone retire. They have been here for many years. They are both very knowledgeable. They will be missed.
I've often said I'm going to work until I drop. That seems like a common thing these days. So many people I know have no retirement plan. I have a little money going away, but not nearly enough to retire.I'm not sure why I bother. I'm 37 and I will never work any one place long enough to build up the kind of time that people associate with retiring from a company. Even if I stay here until I'm sixty that is twenty three years or so.
Retired
I work for a smaller company now. At my old company people retired all the time. We used to show up to the little parties and say "Hell of a guy!" as we walked through the door. They normally had some kind of free food and it was a break in the middle of the day.
At this company, it is a huge deal to have someone retire. They have been here for many years. They are both very knowledgeable. They will be missed.
I've often said I'm going to work until I drop. That seems like a common thing these days. So many people I know have no retirement plan. I have a little money going away, but not nearly enough to retire.I'm not sure why I bother. I'm 37 and I will never work any one place long enough to build up the kind of time that people associate with retiring from a company. Even if I stay here until I'm sixty that is twenty three years or so.
This doesn't look dangerous at all
I bet using a dull blade is better than using a fresh one. I wonder what the tricks of the trade are.
Wheeee!!!
Why they race expensive cars
This video illistrates why you choose a top of the line BMW or Lamborgini when you decide to run down the road at 150 MPH pluss. Escortes were simply not designed to take that kind of hit. At least they tried to design the Lambo with those kinds of speeds in mind.
The other side of expensive cars
This is the other side of that argument above.
The Mach 40
That Ferrari sounds like the Mach 5.
Man pisses on a very expensive car
It is more for comedic effect than any sexual nature, but there is quite nearly male frontal nudity in this one. I couldn't bring myself to look that close.
Bit fast into that corner
Breaks Wrok
Another reason to have a good car. They typically have better breaks.
I bet using a dull blade is better than using a fresh one. I wonder what the tricks of the trade are.
Wheeee!!!
Why they race expensive cars
This video illistrates why you choose a top of the line BMW or Lamborgini when you decide to run down the road at 150 MPH pluss. Escortes were simply not designed to take that kind of hit. At least they tried to design the Lambo with those kinds of speeds in mind.
The other side of expensive cars
This is the other side of that argument above.
The Mach 40
That Ferrari sounds like the Mach 5.
Man pisses on a very expensive car
It is more for comedic effect than any sexual nature, but there is quite nearly male frontal nudity in this one. I couldn't bring myself to look that close.
Bit fast into that corner
Breaks Wrok
Another reason to have a good car. They typically have better breaks.
2006-12-15
Good Fun
Just looks like fun.
My experiance
This is what I'm used to when it comes to 4x4.
Sticky 4x4
Just looks like fun.
My experiance
This is what I'm used to when it comes to 4x4.
Sticky 4x4
2006-12-14
Stuck Teeth
This morning Elle said "Mom, my teeth are stuck."
Any one who knows Nat, knows she has a partial plate in the front of her mouth. I'm not going to get into why right now. Elle has seen Nat pull her teeth out numerous times. I'm sure Elle has seen Nat's mom pull her teeth out too. It nearly brought Nat to tears. We had to explain to Elle that Mom's teeth are different. Teeth don't normally come out like that. I tugged on my teeth. Nat tugged on her bottom teeth.
Nat hates the fact that she needs those teeth. I wish I could afford to get her teeth fixed for good. I'm tired of saying some day.
This morning Elle said "Mom, my teeth are stuck."
Any one who knows Nat, knows she has a partial plate in the front of her mouth. I'm not going to get into why right now. Elle has seen Nat pull her teeth out numerous times. I'm sure Elle has seen Nat's mom pull her teeth out too. It nearly brought Nat to tears. We had to explain to Elle that Mom's teeth are different. Teeth don't normally come out like that. I tugged on my teeth. Nat tugged on her bottom teeth.
Nat hates the fact that she needs those teeth. I wish I could afford to get her teeth fixed for good. I'm tired of saying some day.
Car
I"m so pissed off I can't see straight. Nat called me today and said the insurance inspector couldn't get to all the pieces of our car to really inspect it so they just rubber stamped $740 as the cost of repairer. Our deductible is $750. Now it is the mechanic's job to make sure the damage on the car costs at least $740 to fix. Our deductible starts over in a couple weeks. Thanks God. One more time Kelly takes it in the ass. Appreciate it.
If my prayers meant anything I'd prey that man kind find a way to end itself in the next five minutes. The Earth would be a great place if it weren't for the people.
I'm sure you will catch me blogging about it again in the near future.
I"m so pissed off I can't see straight. Nat called me today and said the insurance inspector couldn't get to all the pieces of our car to really inspect it so they just rubber stamped $740 as the cost of repairer. Our deductible is $750. Now it is the mechanic's job to make sure the damage on the car costs at least $740 to fix. Our deductible starts over in a couple weeks. Thanks God. One more time Kelly takes it in the ass. Appreciate it.
If my prayers meant anything I'd prey that man kind find a way to end itself in the next five minutes. The Earth would be a great place if it weren't for the people.
I'm sure you will catch me blogging about it again in the near future.
2006-12-13
Photo
Oh, the office photo showed up. I look like a dork. I guess they photographer skipped the one where I looked like a complete nimrod. Frigging Allen cracking jokes. Oh, well. It isn't as bad as I thought.
Car
We have still not heard about the car. For all I know, it only needs an alignment and a new tire. It didn't look like the rim was bent or anything. It could be a broken ball joint or a bent tie-rod. I found out or deductible is $750, so it won't be too horrible if it is something bad. What scares me is those cars are kind of funny. What if the car has thousands of dollars worth of damage or is totaled. That would really make me mad if the car is seriously damaged just for bumping the curb. I can see it happening with a modern car though. They only seem to build them these days to just barely make it past the warranty.
On the good side, Nat has fallen in love with the Rav 4. It is not a complete minivan. It reminds me a lot of Adam's Lexus SUV. They have the small one, what ever it is called. The new Rav 4 seems to be a really cheep version of that. Cheep, but functional. I do not mind plastic over wood siding. I prefer cloth seats over leather. It will be at least a year before we can afford anything. This time, I'm begging my dad to go with us to the dealership and to help us sell our Carola outright.
Oh, the office photo showed up. I look like a dork. I guess they photographer skipped the one where I looked like a complete nimrod. Frigging Allen cracking jokes. Oh, well. It isn't as bad as I thought.
Car
We have still not heard about the car. For all I know, it only needs an alignment and a new tire. It didn't look like the rim was bent or anything. It could be a broken ball joint or a bent tie-rod. I found out or deductible is $750, so it won't be too horrible if it is something bad. What scares me is those cars are kind of funny. What if the car has thousands of dollars worth of damage or is totaled. That would really make me mad if the car is seriously damaged just for bumping the curb. I can see it happening with a modern car though. They only seem to build them these days to just barely make it past the warranty.
On the good side, Nat has fallen in love with the Rav 4. It is not a complete minivan. It reminds me a lot of Adam's Lexus SUV. They have the small one, what ever it is called. The new Rav 4 seems to be a really cheep version of that. Cheep, but functional. I do not mind plastic over wood siding. I prefer cloth seats over leather. It will be at least a year before we can afford anything. This time, I'm begging my dad to go with us to the dealership and to help us sell our Carola outright.
2006-12-12
Clam Up
I feel so much safer now that I have the Clam. ClamAV is a Linux anti-virus software. It is open source. It has nightly builds. It is command line. It is making my hard drive make all kinds of funny noises as I type.
It looks like a pretty handy product. It is on the yum repository for Fedora. It is on the apt-get thing for Ubuntu. Fedora does not install the freashclam (auto downloader). You have to install it separately. Ubuntu does it automatically. That is just the kind of OS Ubuntu is.
I'm not going to get into why I'm looking for a virus scanner. It is for work mostly. The situation is so very interesting, but unblogable.
I'm far too tired to continue. Today took a lot out of me.
I feel so much safer now that I have the Clam. ClamAV is a Linux anti-virus software. It is open source. It has nightly builds. It is command line. It is making my hard drive make all kinds of funny noises as I type.
It looks like a pretty handy product. It is on the yum repository for Fedora. It is on the apt-get thing for Ubuntu. Fedora does not install the freashclam (auto downloader). You have to install it separately. Ubuntu does it automatically. That is just the kind of OS Ubuntu is.
I'm not going to get into why I'm looking for a virus scanner. It is for work mostly. The situation is so very interesting, but unblogable.
I'm far too tired to continue. Today took a lot out of me.
2006-12-11
Blown tire.
We hit a curb last night. We were on Dairy Ashford, the best maintained street in South East Texas, and hit a piece of curb that was jutting out from the edge of the street. There were tire marks on it already, so we were not the first. it nipped the side wall of the tire and blew it out. Not only that, but the front wheels were not aimed the same direction. They were toed out a bit. It is good to have friends. Ken came to the rescue and helped (actually, he did it mostly by himself) change the tire. We put the doe-nut on and pulled the car in a parking lot. Nat commented the steering felt funny even at five miles an hour. The tow truck showed up and we got it home.
Nat took care of getting the car over to the dealership this morning. We have a rent car thanks to our insurance for the moment. I really hope our insurance covers more than that. Times are tight.
This puts me in the mood to buy a truck. So much so, that I had a dream last night that Nat and I bought my father's Nissan. I dreamed that Nat was complaining that it was a stick. I looked around an thought "When did we get a stick? This is my dad's truck." I remember making the comment that Nat drove better in a stick. I was probably talking in my sleep.
Ken, the tow truck driver, the buddy we called who has a car dolly, well, just about every one has told me the same thing. "Get a truck." I would love to get a truck. As soon as I can afford the gas, I'll get a truck. This town and being a home owner demand a vehicle that can carry crap, go through more than ankle deep water, and get over a curb. Nat wants a minivan. I want to puke. Will every one please convince Nat that minivans suck.
We hit a curb last night. We were on Dairy Ashford, the best maintained street in South East Texas, and hit a piece of curb that was jutting out from the edge of the street. There were tire marks on it already, so we were not the first. it nipped the side wall of the tire and blew it out. Not only that, but the front wheels were not aimed the same direction. They were toed out a bit. It is good to have friends. Ken came to the rescue and helped (actually, he did it mostly by himself) change the tire. We put the doe-nut on and pulled the car in a parking lot. Nat commented the steering felt funny even at five miles an hour. The tow truck showed up and we got it home.
Nat took care of getting the car over to the dealership this morning. We have a rent car thanks to our insurance for the moment. I really hope our insurance covers more than that. Times are tight.
This puts me in the mood to buy a truck. So much so, that I had a dream last night that Nat and I bought my father's Nissan. I dreamed that Nat was complaining that it was a stick. I looked around an thought "When did we get a stick? This is my dad's truck." I remember making the comment that Nat drove better in a stick. I was probably talking in my sleep.
Ken, the tow truck driver, the buddy we called who has a car dolly, well, just about every one has told me the same thing. "Get a truck." I would love to get a truck. As soon as I can afford the gas, I'll get a truck. This town and being a home owner demand a vehicle that can carry crap, go through more than ankle deep water, and get over a curb. Nat wants a minivan. I want to puke. Will every one please convince Nat that minivans suck.
2006-12-10
Heath, eat you heart out.
I like diesel trucks. They are extra manly. They are slow, tough, hard to stall, high compression, and they stink. Just like me.
If at first you don't succeed, back up and floor it
I like Toyota. They get the nod even if they are not diesel.
oop-oop-oop-WATCH IT!
Another brave Toyota. (strong language).
Taking it a bit far
It gets 60 mpg. It has been bunjied together. It is cross wired like a Christmas tree. It is noisy inside and out. There is no AC or heater that I see. It smells like ass, but it will get you down the road.
Bring it on.
I like diesel trucks. They are extra manly. They are slow, tough, hard to stall, high compression, and they stink. Just like me.
If at first you don't succeed, back up and floor it
I like Toyota. They get the nod even if they are not diesel.
oop-oop-oop-WATCH IT!
Another brave Toyota. (strong language).
Taking it a bit far
It gets 60 mpg. It has been bunjied together. It is cross wired like a Christmas tree. It is noisy inside and out. There is no AC or heater that I see. It smells like ass, but it will get you down the road.
Bring it on.
2006-12-09
I want one of these trucks (Did I say that already?)
Do you still think they can't build a diesel hot rod? There is a lot of tire left on that road. The turbos make it sound like a jet about to take off. I'd like to take a look under the hood.
And another.
Looks like the same truck as above.
Pussiest ... burnout ... EVER!.
Still fun to watch though.
Do you still think they can't build a diesel hot rod? There is a lot of tire left on that road. The turbos make it sound like a jet about to take off. I'd like to take a look under the hood.
And another.
Looks like the same truck as above.
Pussiest ... burnout ... EVER!.
Still fun to watch though.
I want one of these trucks
If you look closely, a bunch of pieces go flying off the truck. It doesn't even look like it stalled. I like the dialog.
Driver "You OK?"
Navigator? "YAAAA!!!!"
Truck "RRRRAAAAAAAAAA!!!"
If you look closely, a bunch of pieces go flying off the truck. It doesn't even look like it stalled. I like the dialog.
Driver "You OK?"
Navigator? "YAAAA!!!!"
Truck "RRRRAAAAAAAAAA!!!"
Too funny
I had more fun trying to figure out what all the bleeped words were than actually listening to the funny lyrics.
I had more fun trying to figure out what all the bleeped words were than actually listening to the funny lyrics.
MP3 Player
I remember blogging about my MP3 player troubles before. It was locking during boot. Well, I brought it in to work today in order to use it as a portable hard drive. While looking at the file system I noticed it said 3.8 gigabytes of space was still taken up even after most everything was removed from the partition (It has multiple Linux partitions). I poked around and noticed the trash folder had some files in it. I tried to remove them and one gave me a fit. I finally got it off the drive and now my MP3 players boots up and seems to work again.
How messed up is this? I have to know OS and FS configurations and typical problems and solutions in order to keep my MP3 player functioning. That is just wrong. I shouldn't have to diagnose my gadgets. The real problem is the Linux GUI file manager. When I removed a bunch of files in the past, one of them got messed up in the .Trash.user folder and was producing an error when the boot sequence tried to empty the trash, or thought it was an MP3 and tired to get info out of it. Next time I go to remove files from this MP3 player, I'll use the command line where I'll know what the hell is going on when things happen.
Oh, well. It looks like I have an MP3 player again.
I remember blogging about my MP3 player troubles before. It was locking during boot. Well, I brought it in to work today in order to use it as a portable hard drive. While looking at the file system I noticed it said 3.8 gigabytes of space was still taken up even after most everything was removed from the partition (It has multiple Linux partitions). I poked around and noticed the trash folder had some files in it. I tried to remove them and one gave me a fit. I finally got it off the drive and now my MP3 players boots up and seems to work again.
How messed up is this? I have to know OS and FS configurations and typical problems and solutions in order to keep my MP3 player functioning. That is just wrong. I shouldn't have to diagnose my gadgets. The real problem is the Linux GUI file manager. When I removed a bunch of files in the past, one of them got messed up in the .Trash.user folder and was producing an error when the boot sequence tried to empty the trash, or thought it was an MP3 and tired to get info out of it. Next time I go to remove files from this MP3 player, I'll use the command line where I'll know what the hell is going on when things happen.
Oh, well. It looks like I have an MP3 player again.
2006-12-07
Good Beatles
I was listening to the MP3s today and the Beatles "When I'm sixty four" came on. It got to the line "We will take a trip to the isle of White if it's not too dear." Meaning, if it not too expensive. That line brought a tear to my eye. I'm struggling to make ends meet. I would love to take a vacation. I would love to do something nice for Christmas. I would love to buy things, frivolous things, fun things for my family just for the hell of it. I can't because I'm broke. If anything breaks, I can't afford to replace it. Any extra expenses that come up might not get covered. I had to stop and take a little break after that song.
I was listening to the MP3s today and the Beatles "When I'm sixty four" came on. It got to the line "We will take a trip to the isle of White if it's not too dear." Meaning, if it not too expensive. That line brought a tear to my eye. I'm struggling to make ends meet. I would love to take a vacation. I would love to do something nice for Christmas. I would love to buy things, frivolous things, fun things for my family just for the hell of it. I can't because I'm broke. If anything breaks, I can't afford to replace it. Any extra expenses that come up might not get covered. I had to stop and take a little break after that song.
What I Do
I just realized something today. A friend and I were discussing our different jobs over email today in short bursts of incite. She told me what she did. It involves a lot of paperwork and verification. My job is all banging on computers until they do what I tell them. I asked her "What do you do that someone has to shake you back to reality to get you to stop?" Her answer was a depressing "Nothing I guess." I told her "That is what I do for a living." If you don't believe me, just ask Nat about me and the computer. It is like a calling.
I just realized something today. A friend and I were discussing our different jobs over email today in short bursts of incite. She told me what she did. It involves a lot of paperwork and verification. My job is all banging on computers until they do what I tell them. I asked her "What do you do that someone has to shake you back to reality to get you to stop?" Her answer was a depressing "Nothing I guess." I told her "That is what I do for a living." If you don't believe me, just ask Nat about me and the computer. It is like a calling.
2006-12-06
Music Filter
Here is an update of my music filter at work. I've added a few bands since I posted it before.
Here is an update of my music filter at work. I've added a few bands since I posted it before.
| ### Output Total files processed > 53225 Good files in playlist > 46387 Bad files out of list > 5053 Non music files > 1785 # Filter (This stuff is removed and put in the 'bad' play list) "/U2", "Radiohead and U2", "_U2_", "pimsleur", "Pimsleur", "/Spice Girls", "/N.E.R.D.", "/Luca Turilli", "Red Red Wine", "RedRedWine", # The reason I wrote this script. "Barry White", "Destiny's Child", "/George Clinton", "/Damnation_History", "Quad City", "Love Tractor", "To All the Girls I", "2525", "Motley Crue", "/Living Colour", "/Rush ", "Tool - Aenima - 14 - (-)Ions", # This song is disturbing. "Bombtrack (live)", "/Jazz/", "Kansas", "Menudo", "/Moby", "- Moby -", "Disgustipated", "Tripping The Light Fantastic" # Too dancy. |
Company Picture
I bet they won't let me blog the company picture. I wish someone had been videoing the affair. It was hilarious. It was fun too. I was laughing with the crowd, not at them. First we lined up in a long hallway by hight. Then, we got numbers. Then a bunch of people showed up late and messed up the numbers. Ken was a hash mark. I just happened to be smack in the middle in hight so I got to sit in a chair. That was a good thing. We were all crowded in rows. Of course, we had to play about eight rounds of musical positions before the photographer started shooting. He had to coxes people in to positions. Some had to kneel. Some had to stand on their toes. He hollered at me for closing my eyes between pictures. I was trying to get the image of the flash out of my head.
I wore a nice shirt and slacks. I'm surprised the dog didn't bark at me on the way out the door. I can't wait to get the picture.
I bet they won't let me blog the company picture. I wish someone had been videoing the affair. It was hilarious. It was fun too. I was laughing with the crowd, not at them. First we lined up in a long hallway by hight. Then, we got numbers. Then a bunch of people showed up late and messed up the numbers. Ken was a hash mark. I just happened to be smack in the middle in hight so I got to sit in a chair. That was a good thing. We were all crowded in rows. Of course, we had to play about eight rounds of musical positions before the photographer started shooting. He had to coxes people in to positions. Some had to kneel. Some had to stand on their toes. He hollered at me for closing my eyes between pictures. I was trying to get the image of the flash out of my head.
I wore a nice shirt and slacks. I'm surprised the dog didn't bark at me on the way out the door. I can't wait to get the picture.
Yum
So, what is the big deal about yum? Well, there is no big deal. The repositories and server are the easy part. The hard part is getting yum client installed on some older OS machines. Then it is jut a matter of downloading the repositories (only necessary if you are on a closed network) and pointing the clients to the right place. It is remarkably easy once you get things started. Now I need to get some permanent server space and figure out what repositories I need. That's pretty much it. I should have things working in production by next week. That sounds good to me. I hope the powers that be like it.
It has been fun learning this stuff. I like learning new things. It is fun making things work.
So, what is the big deal about yum? Well, there is no big deal. The repositories and server are the easy part. The hard part is getting yum client installed on some older OS machines. Then it is jut a matter of downloading the repositories (only necessary if you are on a closed network) and pointing the clients to the right place. It is remarkably easy once you get things started. Now I need to get some permanent server space and figure out what repositories I need. That's pretty much it. I should have things working in production by next week. That sounds good to me. I hope the powers that be like it.
It has been fun learning this stuff. I like learning new things. It is fun making things work.
2006-12-05
Fixed!
Well, mostly.
For the longest time I've had some trouble with YouTube videos. It is the same with Google video. Everything works fine until I use another program that takes the sound control away. Then, when I go back to YouTube to play another video, there is no sound. Well, Adobe has a Linux Flash 9 beta 2 out. It fixed this problem. I still cannot play FoxNews video, but who wants to watch that crap anyway?
There is a different fix for the version that is reported to all the web pages. Between the two, things seem to be working better now.
Beta 1 releases are usually bad news. Beta 2 releases are a bit more stable typically. That is only true about half the time. I'm just glad it worked this time. That has been a pain in the ass for a couple of months.
Well, mostly.
For the longest time I've had some trouble with YouTube videos. It is the same with Google video. Everything works fine until I use another program that takes the sound control away. Then, when I go back to YouTube to play another video, there is no sound. Well, Adobe has a Linux Flash 9 beta 2 out. It fixed this problem. I still cannot play FoxNews video, but who wants to watch that crap anyway?
There is a different fix for the version that is reported to all the web pages. Between the two, things seem to be working better now.
Beta 1 releases are usually bad news. Beta 2 releases are a bit more stable typically. That is only true about half the time. I'm just glad it worked this time. That has been a pain in the ass for a couple of months.
2006-12-04
Old and New
My father still works for my old company. I am still in touch with some of the folks over there. I worked in the engineering department.
This company has taken upon itself to outsource it's engineering department. This company also doesn't pay well. The "boom" is back on and people are leaving for far greener pastures. Some of the leads have left for 60% raises elsewhere. All any one has to do is read the financial pages to know this huge international company is working to open a 1000+ person engineering division in India. They are also trying to duplicate their U.S. holdings (chemical plants eta al) in Saudi Arabia. Who would want to join this effort unless you are just in it for a temporary position? I can't put in links without just plane giving away the company name. I'm trying to avoid that. I'm sure I've given enough evidence, but you have to perform due diligence on your own if you want to know.
The person in charge of the engineering and construction has a hard-on for outsourcing to India. There is no budget to higher new people with any experience in the existing engineering department. At least, not at market demand. They have some newbie folks, but that won't get a plant built. Every other day I hear about people retiring or bailing. I think the head of engineering is setting up the U. S. engineering department for failure so the overseas engineering department will look good if it accomplishes anything.
I've worked in a minor capacity with some folks from India and a couple other Middle East nations. I've noticed something. Most of them have been raised to believe that not only does family come first, but family is all that matters. If you don't have the family connections, you will not get anywhere in their society. Europe used to be the same way. Many people who came to America were trying to escape their family's fate, not their nations fate. The end result of this kind of thinking is if what you want out of someone does not directly affect their family, you just might not get it. It also results in people who think their family is better than another family will not work with each other. I'm told the same sort of class situation comes from how many or what kind of degree you have. People from different disciplines will not cooperate with each other because of a virtual degree based class system. That's no good for a modern work place.
I've read about this kind of thing happening in modern academics all over the world. This fact and a few other things make it sound to me like folks in the Middle East and elsewhere want to run a business a bit like a university. That frightens me. I know that universities have a hard time getting anything done that isn't based on a couple of individuals who take charge and run with the ball.
I'm so glad I don't work there any more. I do not have a degree and would never make it in that kind of society. If I had stayed any longer, I would have been sucked in to the temporary raises and other short term incentives for people to stay. Then the ship would have sunk out from under me.
My father still works for my old company. I am still in touch with some of the folks over there. I worked in the engineering department.
This company has taken upon itself to outsource it's engineering department. This company also doesn't pay well. The "boom" is back on and people are leaving for far greener pastures. Some of the leads have left for 60% raises elsewhere. All any one has to do is read the financial pages to know this huge international company is working to open a 1000+ person engineering division in India. They are also trying to duplicate their U.S. holdings (chemical plants eta al) in Saudi Arabia. Who would want to join this effort unless you are just in it for a temporary position? I can't put in links without just plane giving away the company name. I'm trying to avoid that. I'm sure I've given enough evidence, but you have to perform due diligence on your own if you want to know.
The person in charge of the engineering and construction has a hard-on for outsourcing to India. There is no budget to higher new people with any experience in the existing engineering department. At least, not at market demand. They have some newbie folks, but that won't get a plant built. Every other day I hear about people retiring or bailing. I think the head of engineering is setting up the U. S. engineering department for failure so the overseas engineering department will look good if it accomplishes anything.
I've worked in a minor capacity with some folks from India and a couple other Middle East nations. I've noticed something. Most of them have been raised to believe that not only does family come first, but family is all that matters. If you don't have the family connections, you will not get anywhere in their society. Europe used to be the same way. Many people who came to America were trying to escape their family's fate, not their nations fate. The end result of this kind of thinking is if what you want out of someone does not directly affect their family, you just might not get it. It also results in people who think their family is better than another family will not work with each other. I'm told the same sort of class situation comes from how many or what kind of degree you have. People from different disciplines will not cooperate with each other because of a virtual degree based class system. That's no good for a modern work place.
I've read about this kind of thing happening in modern academics all over the world. This fact and a few other things make it sound to me like folks in the Middle East and elsewhere want to run a business a bit like a university. That frightens me. I know that universities have a hard time getting anything done that isn't based on a couple of individuals who take charge and run with the ball.
I'm so glad I don't work there any more. I do not have a degree and would never make it in that kind of society. If I had stayed any longer, I would have been sucked in to the temporary raises and other short term incentives for people to stay. Then the ship would have sunk out from under me.
2006-12-03
Nither a lendor nor a barrower be
I hate the idea of borrowing money. I worries me to have a mortgage. I still think the whole reason so many people hate the Jews is because they could lend money and charge interest during times when other religions did not allow that sort of thing. It is my understanding that Muslims are still not supposed to barrow money from the infidel and pay interest. Banks get around this by charging fees that work out to the same amount that interest would have worked out to.
I've never lent money to friends because I do not want to strong arm them to get it back. I've always just given money when friends really need it. Now I really need it and can't afford to give.
I hate the idea of borrowing money. I worries me to have a mortgage. I still think the whole reason so many people hate the Jews is because they could lend money and charge interest during times when other religions did not allow that sort of thing. It is my understanding that Muslims are still not supposed to barrow money from the infidel and pay interest. Banks get around this by charging fees that work out to the same amount that interest would have worked out to.
I've never lent money to friends because I do not want to strong arm them to get it back. I've always just given money when friends really need it. Now I really need it and can't afford to give.
Comments
Yes, I do not know what I'm doing. I agree. I'm 37 years old and It
seem like am the little kid learning the basics. I understand how
complexities beget complexities. Computer technology is expanding like
a bacterium. Pretty soon you are going to call a psychiatrist in stead
of tech support when you have a problem with you computer.
The reason I'm going through all this is because I'm supposed to be the yum guru at work. That is kind of why I was hired. So, even if there is an easier way, I need to learn the yum methods and problems that pop up. If I were updating computers at work, I would use the DVD. It really does seem to go more smoothly. I'm not sure why except there must be some specific code somewhere to check for and fix specific problems that occur upon upgrade.
So, what is the deal with all the programs that still don't work?
# Acroread gives me a syntax error. I've tried everything. Nothing works.
Fixed with This link. Why they can't get it right in the first place is baffling. Frigging corporations just don't care.
# JAlbum does nothing. It is Java, so you think it would have survived the upgrade.
Fixed by reinstalling and reinstalling JDK.
# JPilot gives an error. I don't use it any more anyway.
Doubt I'm going to run it any time soon.
I'm sure I'll complain more in the future.
| Kelly,
I must say that you really struggled to get a plain system to
work. I took the fc6 dvd, went through the install, and where it gave
me the install or update, I chose the latter. Worked just fine. Consider that with the newer technologies such as multi-core, xen, etc. that complexities are going to expand by a power of two. As example, when there was 100 interactions, then we had to look at 100 by 100 possibilities of bugs (10000). When we introduce xen or multi=core, and that number goes to 200 by 200, then we are at 40,000 possible interactions. Can we generate code that can handle systems that are expanding in complexity? That power of 2 example gives credence to your comment that we should separate 64bit systems from 32 bit systems, anywhere where we can generate isolated islands of logic with few interfaces. That concept, is similar to the one door in and one door out philosophy. |
The reason I'm going through all this is because I'm supposed to be the yum guru at work. That is kind of why I was hired. So, even if there is an easier way, I need to learn the yum methods and problems that pop up. If I were updating computers at work, I would use the DVD. It really does seem to go more smoothly. I'm not sure why except there must be some specific code somewhere to check for and fix specific problems that occur upon upgrade.
So, what is the deal with all the programs that still don't work?
# Acroread gives me a syntax error. I've tried everything. Nothing works.
Fixed with This link. Why they can't get it right in the first place is baffling. Frigging corporations just don't care.
# JAlbum does nothing. It is Java, so you think it would have survived the upgrade.
Fixed by reinstalling and reinstalling JDK.
# JPilot gives an error. I don't use it any more anyway.
Doubt I'm going to run it any time soon.
I'm sure I'll complain more in the future.
2006-12-02
More Upgrade Fallout
Well, I also found out that liferea didn't work. It said it was missing a file. I downloaded the source and compiled it. Works now. Another was XMMS. It complained about missing a file. I used yum to uninstall and reinstall it and it seems to be working thought it complains about missing some .so file.
So far, not too bad.
# I'm back making blog entries.
# All the movies seem to play as they did before.
# I still have the sound problem with YouTube, but that seems to be a sound driver issue. When I open a browser, I can play movies with good sound. If I run another application that requires sound, it seems to work fine too. Then, if I go back to that same browser, most of the time I get no sound on the YouTube movies. It is the same for Google.
# I'm surfing the net just fine.
# The whole kttsmgr and text to speech thing still works. I can't get it to work at work. I may go to Fedora Core 6 at work just to "test" it out and get the frigging ktts working.
So far, I would call it a success. I would like to thank Nat for being understanding during my upgrade torment.
Well, I also found out that liferea didn't work. It said it was missing a file. I downloaded the source and compiled it. Works now. Another was XMMS. It complained about missing a file. I used yum to uninstall and reinstall it and it seems to be working thought it complains about missing some .so file.
So far, not too bad.
# I'm back making blog entries.
# All the movies seem to play as they did before.
# I still have the sound problem with YouTube, but that seems to be a sound driver issue. When I open a browser, I can play movies with good sound. If I run another application that requires sound, it seems to work fine too. Then, if I go back to that same browser, most of the time I get no sound on the YouTube movies. It is the same for Google.
# I'm surfing the net just fine.
# The whole kttsmgr and text to speech thing still works. I can't get it to work at work. I may go to Fedora Core 6 at work just to "test" it out and get the frigging ktts working.
So far, I would call it a success. I would like to thank Nat for being understanding during my upgrade torment.
More local Psychos
Well, that last one wet my apatite for Houston Street Racing. I'm a victim of this behavior. I wish the police would do something. If I do something, then I'm the criminal.
Part 1
Part 2
Long, but you can clearly spot our street in some of the videos. They are easily breaking 100 on residential streets. Some even put names up on the video. They think they are above the law.
This one was taken in the parking lot of the Fish place. I think you can actually see our house in one of the shots.
OK, Nat and I have done this one.
One thing that gets me about most of these videos is how dirty the windshields are. I guess I'm used to Hollywood where they spit shine the glass to make sure to get the shot they want.
Well, that last one wet my apatite for Houston Street Racing. I'm a victim of this behavior. I wish the police would do something. If I do something, then I'm the criminal.
Part 1
Part 2
Long, but you can clearly spot our street in some of the videos. They are easily breaking 100 on residential streets. Some even put names up on the video. They think they are above the law.
This one was taken in the parking lot of the Fish place. I think you can actually see our house in one of the shots.
OK, Nat and I have done this one.
One thing that gets me about most of these videos is how dirty the windshields are. I guess I'm used to Hollywood where they spit shine the glass to make sure to get the shot they want.
Other Side of the Coin
Well, well, well, that was easier than I thought. If you look very closely, you can spot the fish market across the street from my house in this video. This guy is one of the assholes who frequent the racing scene down the street from my home. By the look of his actions, it won't be long before he raps himself around a poll.
Thanks for the evidence.
Well, well, well, that was easier than I thought. If you look very closely, you can spot the fish market across the street from my house in this video. This guy is one of the assholes who frequent the racing scene down the street from my home. By the look of his actions, it won't be long before he raps himself around a poll.
Thanks for the evidence.
Survival
Well, I survived. I used to use Mozilla edit for my HTML editing needs. but you can't get Mozilla to work properly on FC6. Well I had to look up what Mozilla suite turned in to. It is now called SeaMonkey. That is going take some getting used to..>seamonkey --edit blah.html. That just doesn't have the same ring to it as mozilla --edit. I'm telling you it is a plot to drive me over the edge. At least it is still out there and on yum.
I also had to massage my Firefox install because frigging FC6 comes with Firefox 1.5 which came out about a year ago. That was easy at least. The old software was still on in the same spot. I just had to re-point the default browser and such.
Oh, get this. I wanted to remove some menu items from the menu of programs that no longer work. Well, the menu editor was not there. I found out it was installed. It just wasn't on the menu. That is kind of messed up. One more reason to climb a tower and throw rocks at people.
More complaints coming soon.
Well, I survived. I used to use Mozilla edit for my HTML editing needs. but you can't get Mozilla to work properly on FC6. Well I had to look up what Mozilla suite turned in to. It is now called SeaMonkey. That is going take some getting used to..>seamonkey --edit blah.html. That just doesn't have the same ring to it as mozilla --edit. I'm telling you it is a plot to drive me over the edge. At least it is still out there and on yum.
I also had to massage my Firefox install because frigging FC6 comes with Firefox 1.5 which came out about a year ago. That was easy at least. The old software was still on in the same spot. I just had to re-point the default browser and such.
Oh, get this. I wanted to remove some menu items from the menu of programs that no longer work. Well, the menu editor was not there. I found out it was installed. It just wasn't on the menu. That is kind of messed up. One more reason to climb a tower and throw rocks at people.
More complaints coming soon.
Core Upgrade
Well, I found this page before I wrote the previous post. I thought it was out of date. I found someone's blog who mentioned it worked for core 6, just replace the 5 with a 6 in most places. Well, It is running as I type. This may be my last transmission for a while. I'm sure you will (eventually) hear the results on this blog.
I did have to use --nodeps on the RPM, but the dependencies were of a documentation nature. That does scare the hell out of me. I hope the upgrade itself puts those files in place. That would (unfortunately) make sense, so I'm not holding my breath.
The waiting is hell. I'm watching the downloaded packages scroll up the screen. I think it said there were over 2000 things to install. It rocketed up the screen and was basically gone in a moment or two.
I'm going to go watch cartoons.
Well, I found this page before I wrote the previous post. I thought it was out of date. I found someone's blog who mentioned it worked for core 6, just replace the 5 with a 6 in most places. Well, It is running as I type. This may be my last transmission for a while. I'm sure you will (eventually) hear the results on this blog.
I did have to use --nodeps on the RPM, but the dependencies were of a documentation nature. That does scare the hell out of me. I hope the upgrade itself puts those files in place. That would (unfortunately) make sense, so I'm not holding my breath.
The waiting is hell. I'm watching the downloaded packages scroll up the screen. I think it said there were over 2000 things to install. It rocketed up the screen and was basically gone in a moment or two.
I'm going to go watch cartoons.
Written 2006-11-30
Brain Drain
I did some more yum work today. This time I was trying to get the client working. I downloaded one rpm after another and finally had most of the pieces I needed. I installed and gathered all the modules in the correct places. For some reason (my configuration I bet) yum wants to install all over the machine in stead of the directories it is supposed to.
After I got things working on the client side, I just couldn't think any more. The rest of the day, my brain was at half power. It just plane wore me out getting that stupid thing to work.
They just plane shouldn't try to mix architectures. they should have just bitten the bullet and made 64 bit systems incompatible with 32 bit systems. This half way stuff is killing me. Can you even get a 64 bit windows application to work in native 64 bit?
Today
Friday afternoon I got the RHEL repository to work. It ran through an update and did nothing. That is because the files are not newer versions of the files already on the system. I kicked off a repository download that I really hope works. I'm using CentOS repositories. I would love to use CentOS repositories in stead of Red Hat simply because of the RHN login that I have to deal with office politics to get.
It is amazing that this has taken this long. I'm trying to figure out how to upgrade Fedora Core 5 to Fedora Core 6 via Yum. I know it is possible, I just can't get the magic link that points me to that guy who did it and bothered to write it down. The world needs more of those folks. I'm trying to be one myself.
Brain Drain
I did some more yum work today. This time I was trying to get the client working. I downloaded one rpm after another and finally had most of the pieces I needed. I installed and gathered all the modules in the correct places. For some reason (my configuration I bet) yum wants to install all over the machine in stead of the directories it is supposed to.
After I got things working on the client side, I just couldn't think any more. The rest of the day, my brain was at half power. It just plane wore me out getting that stupid thing to work.
They just plane shouldn't try to mix architectures. they should have just bitten the bullet and made 64 bit systems incompatible with 32 bit systems. This half way stuff is killing me. Can you even get a 64 bit windows application to work in native 64 bit?
Today
Friday afternoon I got the RHEL repository to work. It ran through an update and did nothing. That is because the files are not newer versions of the files already on the system. I kicked off a repository download that I really hope works. I'm using CentOS repositories. I would love to use CentOS repositories in stead of Red Hat simply because of the RHN login that I have to deal with office politics to get.
It is amazing that this has taken this long. I'm trying to figure out how to upgrade Fedora Core 5 to Fedora Core 6 via Yum. I know it is possible, I just can't get the magic link that points me to that guy who did it and bothered to write it down. The world needs more of those folks. I'm trying to be one myself.
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