Sunday, October 30, 2005

Whatsi-ma-happenings

Back to my usual once a week posting ways. It was good while it lasted.

Anyway, there was some cool stuff this week. 4d4m's forum has become incredibly popular among the handful of us at Hagerty that actually post on it. Anyway, it's been a great way to let off some steam while at work, and without actually getting yelled at for being too loud. It's pretty cool, and hopefully we'll get some more poeple on there and get a nice little community going.

Chapter two of the getting my home computer and Visual Studio working. After my successful XP upgrade a couple of weeks ago, I couldn't get Visual Studio installed. I decided to do a full XP reinstall. Jason brought over his (Hagerty's) USB HDD, and I copied all my stuff that I wanted saved. I did the format and reinstall and still couldn't in stall VS. So I went to reinstall my old software and found that nothing would install. After checking the event log, I discovered that it was a memory addressing error.

The problem required a BIOS flash. I'd never done it before, and I'd always heard the stories about it going wrong and destroying the MB. But, I didn't really have any choice. I did the flash, and everything went according to plan. And my PC boots faster now, woo hoo! Anyway, I setup my BIOS settings, and fired up the system. I ran the VS install, and it installed without any problems. I also got all my other software installed. Problem solved. I haven't had a chance to test yet, but I'm hoping that fixed the problem I was having with my CD-RW drive. It has been acting funny lately too.

Thanks for your help Jason.

Well, that's about all I have for today, but here is a site Jennifer found. It's a site with various video clips and such. There is some pretty funny stuff. We spent several days looking at the stuff. There, that should about cover it for this week. Later.

Tuesday, October 25, 2005

Some days

I haven't posted in a few days. I wanted to just relax for the last few days of my vacation. I basically sat around and played Civ III all day. That reminds me, Civ IV was released yesterday. I don't have it yet, but my brother reserved me a copy and the store he works at. I've got to scrounge up some cash to pick it up. It looks awesome! I'll post a review whenever I get around to getting it.

Anyway, today started out about as crappy as could be. My daughter woke up crying at about 5AM. Between her and the dog chasing the cat around my bed, I didn't get back to sleep before it was time to get up. So I get up, get dressed and ready for work, and wander out into the living room to put my shoes on. I look out the window just in time to see the garbage truck driving away from my house. An hour earlier than they are usually here. To make matters worse, my mother in law dropped two bags of garbage off at my house last night to put out with ours. Damn.

Well, I make it to work through the wealth of incredibly stupid drivers that were out this morning. Work doesn't start out too bad. I get there and there are only a few helpdesk requests. I kick them out and clean up my inbox. Most of the day goes pretty well. Adam added a discussion forum to his website, and a few of us spent some time "discussing" on it. Then, I decided to do some of my school work that I couldn't do while I was on vacation because crappy Visual Studio wouldn't install on my home PC. Well I launch it and start working and when I build and run my project, it doesn't work. Turns out my Visual Studio at work has now crapped out as well. Looks like God is trying to make me fail this class. I'll try reinstalling tomorrow, but I have not been very impressed with VS, particularly the install process as I had problems with it the first time I installed it at work. Oh well.

On a lighter note, here is part of an email I got from Alisha today. It's pretty funny.
INDUHVIDUAL QUOTES
==================

Here now, some quotes from Induhviduals, submitted by DNRC field operatives.
Apparently the most confusing concepts for Induhviduals are anything involving
body parts, beverages, food, or animals.

"It's so cold I'm getting goose nipples!"

“I'm as full of vinegar as a Christmas turkey.”

“You can stop kicking this dead whale down the beach and find another hobby
horse to beat to death.”

"One man's trash is another man's garbage."

“I think I was speaking to Tom, and if it wasn't Tom I'm sure it was someone
else.”

"Check the pulse on the temperature."

"He's making a mole hill out of an issue."

"Don't look at me in that tone of voice!"

"I home school three children and am expecting a forth!"

"This is the worst headache I've ever had in the history of my head."

"Imitation is the sincerest form of mockery."

"The squeaky wheel gets the worm."

"You're not the smartest peanut in the turd."

"I'd give an arm to be ambidextrous!"

For some reason, these are funny but don't particularly surprise me. Here are a couple more links that I found particularly hilarious. This is an article about a new "religion", and here is the actual site for this particular "religion". I think I might be switching over! that's thats about all I have today. Hopefully tomorrow goes a little better, but I guess you just gotta take the bad with the good. Boy, was that sappy. I'll try harder tomorrow. Later


Thursday, October 20, 2005

Serenity Now

Well, Jennifer and I went out to a movie tonight. We did see Serenity, so as promised, here is my review.

Disclaimer: I am a sci-fi lover. If it is entertaining, regardless of plot holes, bad dialog, etc, I will probably like it. If you cannot look past such things, you probably won't like the same movies as I do.

That said, this movie was great. For anyone who watched the show Firefly, this movie picks up where the show left off. Same actors/actresses and all. I haven't seen the whole series, but it started out with some back story that filled in some blanks for me. There was an excellent mix of humor and action. And, as typical with the show, it held mostly true to a sci-fi western. Fancy space ships, with what look like old fashioned handguns. An odd blend, but it makes for an excellent setting. To top it off, there were some exceptional one liners.

So, if you like a good exciting and entertaining sci-fi movie, I would highly recommend Serenity. If you don't like a good exciting and entertaining movie, what the hell is wrong with you?

Okay, I have another quick review for you. No, it's not a movie, although I watched The Last Samurai the other day and thought it was a pretty damn good movie. After seeing Serenity, Jen and I went to Pizza Hut to take advantage of that buy a large specialty pizza and get a medium pan for a quarter. I decided to a large stuffed crust BBQ Chicken pizza. While I was expecting a good pizza, I wasn't expecting one this good. They have BBQ chicken and onions on the pizza, and they replace the pizza sauce with some sort of BBQ sauce. Jen turned her nose up at it, but that just means more for me. Anyway, if you like to try something different on your pizza, I would highly recommend trying the BBQ chicken pizza. It's Grrrreeeaaat!

Okay, I'll leave you with a link from the Adam files. As he put it, this is someone with too much time on their hands. Very cool in an odd, dorky sort of way. Later.

Tuesday, October 18, 2005

Success!!!

In the words of Stewie Griffin, "Victory is Mine!" Yesterday I successfully upgraded my Windows 98 computer to Windows XP. I got XP free with a programming class I'm taking online through UCLA. I did some research prior to upgrading and there were many stories of people having problems. I wasn't super worried, but you can't be too safe with data.

I started out by trying to backup all the stuff that I didn't want to loose under any circumstances. Tax info, family pictures, etc. When I tried to do that, my CD burner/software was locking up the system if I tried to burn more than just a little data at a time. So after about an hour of burning a little at a time, I finally got everything I wanted.

Then I downloaded the XP drivers for my video card. You know, just so I had them locally. Then I stuck in the upgrade CD, entered the license key, and hit go. I sat back for about an hour, and then it was done. No problems at all. I installed the XP driver for my video card, and I was good to go! Rock on. Pretty damn easy I must say. I'm very pleased.

So, I'm typing this on a Win XP OS now instead of my old 98. I know what your saying, "It's about time." Well, my 98 machine was working fine. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Right? Anyway, I'm happy that everything went well.

My vacation is going well. I had to get up at 8 am today to take the dog to the vet. I know! 8 AM! I thought this was a vacation. It's okay, I'll sleep in tomorrow. I'm hoping to go to Traverse City for an afternoon out tomorrow. I want to see Serenity, so if I do, I'll post my review on here. Maybe eat out somewhere. Hey, Pizza Hut has that buy one get one for a quarter thing. That would be sweet. Mmmmm, stuffed crust!

Oh yeah, I almost forgot. The sidewall on the back tire of my bike had a bulge in it. I figured it hold out for a few days. I went for a ride today, and it held while I was riding, but about 20 minutes after I got home, I heard a loud POP from the front porch. I poked my head out the door, and sure enough, the back tire blew. I've got to replace it now with the Iceman coming up in a couple of weeks. It looks like I can get it online for about $20, but it would be easier to just stop at the local bike shop. We'll just have to wait and see what they charge.

Well, I guess that's about all I have for today. Later.

Saturday, October 15, 2005

Bad call

Hey, what's up? Today was the first day of my vacation, and it was pretty nice. I slept in. Then I got up and watched cartoons for a little while. Specifically, G.I. Joe Sigma Six. You might think I'm pretty weird, but the Scarlett in this G.I. Joe is much hotter that the one in the original. You know, in a cartoon sort of way. Anyway, my wife, daughter and myself spent the afternoon in Traverse City cruising around for Halloween decorations and such. Pretty relaxing day.

Now, you may be wondering what the title of my post is all about. Well, I'm watching game four of the ALCS with the Angels and White Sox. If you watch baseball at all, you probably already know about the bad call in game 2 (if I recall correctly) that let to the White Sox win. Well, there was just another lousy call by the umpiring staff that may end up costing the Angels dearly. When the batter was swinging, the catcher stuck his glove out and it was hit by the bat. According to baseball rules, the batter should have gotten first base free, which in this case would have moved the runner on first over to second loading the bases with one out. Instead, it's called a double play and the inning was over. The Angels are currently down by 2, which they may have very well gotten if that call have been correctly made. Personally, I would love to see the Angels win solely because they are the ones who knocked the Yankees out of the playoffs. I hate the Yankees. We're only about half way, so we'll have to see if the Angels can come back.

Personally I would like to see an Angel/Astros World Series. The Astros are the Wild Card team, which is cool, and the Angels knocked out the Yankees. I don't have a personal stake, so I have to root for someone. Houston is doing pretty good so hopefully they will pull it off, and we'll see if the Angels can come back.

Right about now, Adam, (a friend at work) would be saying, "baseball sucks!", at which point I would be telling him to shut up before I come over there and kick his ass!

Suddenly, I have the munchies. I'm not hungry at all. In fact, I actually feel pretty full. I just have this horrid urge to eat. My wife was wanting some munchies earlier, so I may end up going to the store. I'm trying to resist, so we'll just have to see how it goes. Maybe if I wait long enough it will go away. Oh well. I'm going to get back to the game and cross my fingers that the Angels will come back. Later.

Thursday, October 13, 2005

Another week, gone.

Well, it's been another week. I know, I'm slacking. Oh well. I've been working, and getting my wife off the computer is quite the task. I have all of next week off, so I will try to post more often.

Well, Lost was on last night. That show rocks. I watched all of season one, and every episode of season two so far, and I have absolutely no idea what the hell is going on. My wife have been frequenting the some Lost discussion forum. They find all sorts of little stuff that I never see. All I have to say is that some people have WAY to much time on their hands. In any case, wanting to find out what is going to happen next always have me excited about next week.

Man, I was talking to a buddy at work about Battlestar Galactica. Now I'm itching for the new season to start, and it's still two or three months away. Grrrrr. Oh well. I can still watch reruns from season two on Fridays.

Here is a cool link that I ran across. www.starwreck.com. It's from some fans in a European country, Sweaden maybe? Anyway, they did it on a guys home computer and everyone that worked on it worked for free. I haven't watched it all yet, but the pieces I've seen are pretty funny. They make fun about almost everything. One of the better Star Trek parodies I've seen. It's pretty large, so a broadband connection is recommended.

Well, I guess that's all for tonight. Like I said, I'm off of work next week so I'll try to post more. Later.

Thursday, October 06, 2005

It's been a week. So what?

Yeah, I know. It's been a few days. Sorry. I've been busy.

Sorry, but I'm going to vent a bit here. I am so sick of the stupid, ignorant, incompotent people that are allowed to have drivers licenses. I drive about 40 minutes, each way, to work every day. Everyday, at least a half a dozen times, some dumbass bastard does something stupid around me. They cut you off. They speed up when you try to pass and slow down after the passing lanes. They don't signal. Oh, I almost forgot the jackass semi trucks that are passing people on a two lane highway when there is oncoming traffic. Specifically, me. Yeah, I've fought the road rage bug. I still get mad but usually I just call them names and such. Thanks Jen. :-)

Okay. That's out of the way. So, last night was lost. That show rocks. I also hate it. Basically, each episode brings up more and more questions about what is going on without actually answering anything. When they do manage to answer something, it usually just creates ten more questions. But, I guess that's why I keep watching it every week. Really, I do like that show.

CSI is on now. Dead lady at the bottom of the stairs. Husband all covered in blood. Yeah, he did it. Probably cheating on his wife and wanted to be with the other one, i.e. Scott Peterson. Now they are saying they sleep in separate bedrooms. Guilty as hell. I'm probably completely wrong, but who really cares.

I don't know if I've mentioned it, but I'm taking guitar lessons. My wife signed me up for them for my B-day this year. I've been wanting to learn to play for years. A couple of years ago, I bought myself a sweet Fender Strat. I'm gonna get good and rock the hell out. Hell yeah! Yeah, pretty soon Metallica or System of a Down will be calling and asking me to replace their lead guitar player. Oh, and then I woke up. I enjoy it anyway. Maybe I'll find someone to jam with one of these days.

I'm also taking a C# programming course online through UCLA. The credits should be transferrable to the local college where I am actually going (some years) for my Associates. Yesterday was the first official day of class, but we don't have our books yet so I'm still kind of waiting. I may be upgrading my home PC to Win XP this weekend so I can work on it at home. Three other guys at work are taking the same class, so I'm thinking it should be fun.

I'll leave you with this link. Tourettes Guy. I'm pretty sure he doesn't actually have tourettes, but what do I know. Some of it is pretty damn funny. BOB SAGET!!! (You'll understand after you watch some.)

Later

Sunday, October 02, 2005

Hey. Not much to report. It was a busy but uneventful weekend. Friday night/Saturday morning, I had to take my mother in law to work because her car broke down, so I slept until 11am. Then I got up and ran a couple of errands before we went to watch some soccer. My uncle is coaching a team, so we go to watch all the home games. Gas is to damn expensive to go to the away games. Then my daughter took a nap and then we went and wandered around the mall.

Sunday, my parents took us out to dinner with the rest of the family. They rock. It was a 45 minute drive to get to the restaurant, but the food was great. Then we came home and sat around a while. I just finished taking care of the helpdesk requests from work so that I don't have to do them in the morning. I'm trying to save myself some time tomorrow, we'll see how it goes. Otherwise, I plan on just sitting around the rest of the night watch my dumb dog chase her tail. That's about it. As I said, pretty uneventful.

Later.