Journal Archive
Those of you who canīt
follow the arrows in a parking lot...
...are very annoying to those of us who can.
And that goes double for whoever you are in the sports car. You know who you are: Youīre just going into the Post Office to check your box, so itīs okay to park in the disabled space while Grandma makes her way across the lot in her walker. You look quite fit. Walking a few extra yards wonīt hurt you.
6/25/2004 12:46:44 PM
Rain again.
But the temp just dropped by 15 F.
6/25/2004 12:46:08 PM
The sinuses are now clear
I just made our first batch of hot sauce of the season. Those jalapeņos are deceptively hot!
The sauce (or at least part of it) will go with Tex-Mex pepper steak Iīll be making for dinner. The steak will feature more jalapeņos and cayennes, grown on the patio. I container garden. Anything I attempt to grow in the ground dies a slow, horrible death.
Excuse me while I hunt for a fire extinguisher.
6/22/2004 10:44:11 AM
New music
Sometimes I must have new music to fuel my writing. I picked up Maroon 5īs "Songs About Jane" and "The Best of R.E.M." last week. Thereīs not a real clunker cut on the entire Maroon 5 CD. Iīm sure that both the artists and the RIAA are happy that Iīm buying CDs, but the truth is that I have better things to do with my time than to scour P2P networks for songs. Iīve discovered a few artists lately that I like, and if I like an artist, Iīll buy the music. I discovered Travis on Virgin Radio, and ended up with all of their CDs. (No, I didnīt buy the overpriced import EP CDs; just the regular commercial ones.)
Letīs take the RIAA out of the equation for a moment. (Iīm not going to open that can of worms.) If you like the artist, why not support them by purchasing a CD? Yeah, I agree that CDs are generally overpriced (thatīs as far as Iīm going down that road for now), so before I buy I generally check out the sites that allow me to preview 30 seconds or so of each cut. If I like what I hear, Iīll drop the money. I really hate buying a CD to get one or two good cuts and ten lousy pieces of music.
Oh, well. Enough of that. Iīm simply stalling.
I need to get writing...
6/22/2004 7:25:59 AM
Enjoy it while we can
We are experiencing yet another day of rain in North Texas. Complain? Moi? As long as itīs not flooding, Iīm happy for now. Itīs 70 F (21 C) and weīre looking for a high of 82 (27). Compare this with average temps at least 10 F warmer. This also means we get to turn off the sprinkler system and let nature take over. Well, we do have a large flower box under a shelter, and we do run the drip system there for five minutes or so three times a week. Thatīs because the rain doesnīt make it to that spot unless thereīs a strong north wind driving it. And of course, the A/C runs less, which means lower bills. I could open the windows today and be quite happy, and I might just do that as the rain has also washed most of the pollution away.
This brings me to a big dilemma: Saving energy is a good thing. Iīd like to go out and ride my bike more often. But the pollution - especially in the summer - is more than my poor asthma suffering lungs can handle. So I stay boxed up in the house with the A/C running. I think Iīm going to renew my lapsed membership at the local rec center once school starts. Of course, I have to drive out there to exercise, but I can work out as long as it isnīt cold. I found that out the hard way last year, when I ended up in the emergency clinic with chest pains. Turned out that going back into the cold after exercising indoors was doing a number on the lungs. Of course, Iīm very happy that the chest pains were "merely" asthma. It could have been a lot worse. I could work out at home, but my clothing-laden exercise bike stands in mute testimony to the futility of that idea. The computer (and work) calls. Iīm more likely to work out if I have to spend money and go away from the house.
Sigh.
6/22/2004 7:12:52 AM
Donīt Panic!
At last, the BBC will dramatize the remaining
Hitchhikerīs Guide to the Galaxy books. Hear the preview and see the video
here.
Real Player is required. All of the surviving original cast members are
returning. This is so cool, I could store a side of beef in it!
6/21/2004 8:05:40 AM
James Bond, eat your heart out
Richard Branson (who else?) shows off an
amphibious
vehicle.
6/14/2004 7:02:38 AM
Funny joke formula
Someone claims to have
figured it out.
6/14/2004 7:01:31 AM
Crash tests
Lots of stuff today. This intresting blog entry
shows
crash test results of a Mini Cooper and a Ford F-150.
6/14/2004 7:00:41 AM
Back in town
Spent the weekend in Austin, and it has
definitely earned its reputation as the Wi-Fi capital of the world. Man, there
were hot spots everywhere! Went to see the bats, and that was on the
disappointing side.
6/14/2004 6:59:30 AM
Itīs a front yard, not a
trashcan
I live on a busy street, and all too often I find litter in the yard. Today it was a wet, half-eaten bag of Doritos. Once it was an entire six-pack of beer bottles - some still full. I suppose that some underage drinkers must have tossed them from their car onto my sidewalk. That was not fun to clean up. Mostly, itīs cigarette ends. Iīll be that theyīre tossed out by teenagers, too, on their way to high school. Bet they donīt give a hoot about this.
6/10/2004 1:12:59 PM
Not exactly a
pot of gold, but nice
I was greeted by this rainbow as I left my bowling league last night. Nice to see after so much rain. I think weīll get a respite for two or three days, then back to the rain again.
Of course, this time next month Iīll be
complaining about the dry, hot weather. Seriously, Iīm enjoying the cooler
weather while I can.
The best adult
toy
Get your head out of the gutter. Not THAT kind
of adult toy. Itīs
Lego.
6/9/2004 6:21:47 AM
And I thought
the town I lived in had a funny name
At least itīs not F***ing or Windpassing.
Or
Puke.
6/9/2004 6:14:27 AM [Link to this
entry]
So long...
Yeah, itīs been a while. This will be one long, rambling post to just catch up on things. First and foremost, family came first. We had to help a family member move. It was not fun (I still have a wrenched shoulder), but I ended up with some nifty stuff for the genealogy file.
Weīre trying (ever so slowly) to redesign the site. It will take a while. Iīm starting to learn PHP and MySQL, sqeezing it in between assignments.
Assignments? Yes. Iīve had some work. Iīm working on a couple of radio shows at the moment. Iīll have more details as they get firmed up. And just more copywriting and the like.
And I suppose I should say something about Ronald Reagan. I didnīt always agree with his politics, but he was a man who didnīt waffle around. I admire both him and Nancy for the way they carried themselves through his illness - particularly Nancy Reagan. Yeah, I know they were rolling in money and could afford the best in care for him. Thatīs great if you can do it, but money doesnīt buy the love and devotion she showed. Forget politics. Sheīs one classy lady.
And I canīt stop without mentioning the US premiere of "Coupling" this week. I loved it. There wasnīt enough of Oliver for me to really get an opinion one way or the other. I like the way Steven Moffat wrote Jeff out. Very funny. And the whole bit leading up to Susan getting Jane out of her date was brilliant.
For those who have asked:
Yes, we are fine. We didnīt even have a power outage, though I have friends who were without power for a couple of days. The really nasty stuff just missed our location. For now, Iīm enjoying the cool weather for I know it wonīt last.
Yes, I plan to update the Britcom database. Thatīs the first thing Iīm doing over in PHP. You probably wonīt see any change. If you have any triva youīd like to see added to the database, send it to me.
Now, Iīve got bills to pay if I expect to keep
the power on...
6/8/2004 5:54:58 PM
I really have
other things to do....
...but Iīm going to catch up on my world for anyone who might be reading. Iīve had a lot of things on my plate lately. The relative who was ill earlier this year has made an excellent recovery. And now another one is ill. More things to keep us very busy for a while. No vintage whine here; Iīm just explaining the facts.
But other interesting things have been going on, and as soon as plans firm up I might have some interesting announcements to make in the near future. Keep an eye out for that.
This is the last week of school here in Plano. And there was much rejoicing. The kid is having finals this week. He also cooked dinner last night, and everyone survived. ;-)
I mentioned the new laptop in another post. Iīm also trying to learn PHP and MySQL and some other technologies. Seems I should say something about old dogs and new tricks here, doesnīt it?
Well, I do have work to do, so apologies in
advance if blogging is more sporadic than normal.
5/19/2004 1:22:10 PM
Customer
support lives!
This is a bit of a long story, but so far it has a pleasant ending - a rarity these days. I broke down over the weekend and purchased a new notebook. My creaking Compaq LTE 9300 series was just too old to keep up with the demands of my work. Itīs still a great box, and weīll use it for streaming audio in the kitchen. Hey, I never retire old hardware unless itīs absolutely necessary.
Anyway, I ended up with a Toshiba Satellite A-45 series. Nothing really top of the line, but more than enough horsepower for writing and web site development. Itīs purely a work machine, though Iīll pop in a DVD, just to make sure that works as advertised. ;-) Hey, I need to make sure itīs all working before I send in that rebate form.
The salesguy at the store pointed to a shelf of software and said I could choose as many as I wanted for $14.99 each. Such a deal! One I chose was StarOffice, which retails for about $80. I got the thing home, installed it, and it seems to be a trial version. Well, I was Not Amused. If I had paid full price for that software, Iīd have been really ticked. After a very cordial exchange of messages, a support rep at Sun has assured me that I have a full version, and to please let them know if it expires. This was resolved via e-mail in just a few days.
Weīll see in 90 days or so, but it was refreshing to get an answer from a human being, and to be treated in a courteous manner. This is especially refreshing considering that Sun is not exactly a mom-and-pop outfit.
Now I get to dig into the software and see if
it really meets my needs. Iīm hoping it does. I just couldnīt see spending
another small fortune on another copy of Office - especially when I have two
computers going at once, and technically I might be violating licensing rules by
using the software concurrently. Besides, I like trying out different packages.
I may find out it doesnīt suit my needs, but if I end up ditching it, it wonīt
be due to lousy support experience.
5/19/2004 1:09:33 PM
The DIY
Parallel Universe Detector
How can I make something like
this up?
5/14/2004 6:23:13 AM
Geeks building
a better world
Yes, itīs the
Keg Wrap!
Someone actually got a grant for this.
5/14/2004 6:07:18 AM
Disgust
Yes, Iīve been busy. Iīm taking just a few minutes to express my feelings of utter disgust over the Iraq prisoner photos. Anyone from the Middle East reading this: Weīre all not like that. Believe me. This whole thing really sickens me because we puff up and talk about how much better we are (presumably because we are Americans), and then the evidence shows otherwise.
Yes, weīre human. Human beings are capable of such atrocities. Just because humans are capable does not make it right.
The best thing our government can do is to be entirely open about the entire issue and punish - really punish - those involved. Let it be shown that we donīt tolerate this behavior.
No more time to blog for the moment.
5/10/2004 7:08:16 AM
Long time, no blog
Due to family issues blogging will be sporadic for the next month. One quick rant this morning, then back to work.
5/10/2004 7:06:31 AM
Meow!
Ananova reports that the Royal Mail has
suspended deliveries to a house in Kent because of a
dangerous cat.
5/10/2004 6:18:01 AM
Yeah, that stuff belongs to my cats, honest!
Lawyer says clientīs rooster owned drugs.
Gosh, why didnīt I think of that? Letīs see,
itīs the cats who ran up the charge card, your honor. I donīt owe them a thing!
Yeah, thatīs the ticket!
4/23/2004 6:21:19 AM
NOW I understand
Just came back from grocery shopping. One of
the checkout tabloids had a headline stating that a dozen members of Congress
are space aliens. You know, that explains a lot, doesnīt it? ;-)
4/12/2004 1:40:38 PM
Bad Air Day
For once, Iīd like to get more than two hours
of uninterrupted sleep. Weīve been cleaning the kidīs bedroom. It needs it. But
all of the dust and the like is playing havoc with my lungs. And weīre supposed
to be doing this so HE can breathe better?
4/12/2004 9:17:07 AM
One more thing on air quality
Donīt get me wrong; Dallas and Ft. Worth have a
lot to do on their own in order to reach attainment, and we shouldnīt be
dragging our feet. Yet, clean air is not just the responsibility of a small
area.
4/6/2004 5:45:40 AM
Dirty Air
The editorial blog over at the Dallas Morning News has had some interesting discussion over clean air issues in North Texas. Even if you donīt live in this area, you should see what dirty tricks our politicians are playing. You could be next.
(The DMN doesnīt allow deep links. Click on the
Opinion menu to get to the blog.)
4/5/2004 7:03:56 AM
Iīve been busy, okay?
Check out the new cloaks page. Iīve been selling cloaks on eBay since last fall, and Mystik Merchant convinced me to set up my own site. This is still in the early stages, but expect more cloak pics and info in the near future - I hope.
The model, BTW, is called Honoria Glossop.
4/5/2004 7:01:10 AM