One thing Mozilla 1.3 does is fixes some of the SMTP mail problems I've had (in an earlier post I claimed Mozilla 1.1 fixes these, but it didn't 100%). My major deal was having multiple e-mail addresses and multiple outgoing mail servers (SMTP servers). Mozilla 1.3 appears to have these fixed. Now, I specify in one place what my outgoing mail server is, and all my e-mail uses that (even from different addresses).
But the MAJOR thing Mozilla 1.3 brings to the table is new junk-mail controls. Previously, Mozilla had filters. But you had to manually create these filters, based on from addresses, certain words in the subject or body, etc... The new junk-mail controls are different. You train Mozilla on what is junk-mail, and what is not. After a short time (depending on how much e-mail/junk e-mail you get), it will automatically start doing things. For instance, for me, I have it set up to automatically move junkmail to a folder called 'junkmail'. And lately, it's been doing this! When I check my e-mail, it automatically starts moving e-mail to the junk-mail folder before I even see them! I love it! It's not 100% yet... some e-mails marked as junk are not. So I still check them. But I believe that in a month or two, I could easily let it simply delete messages it marks as junk!
Also, the interface seems a little cleaner. I can't quite track this down to any particular tangible things, but it seems like it's more solid, visually. And faster, too, but that is highly subjective on my part.
In any case, Mozilla 1.3 is GREAT :).
I should mention that not all PocketPCs with SD slots can use this card. The PocketPC's SD slot must be 'SDIO' capable... most SD slots are only for use with memory at this point. I'm not sure if my Casio E-200's port is SDIO or not. I don't think it is. But most new models' SD slots (or, at least, up-and-coming units) are.
But, they come out with ANOTHER cool detail... some of these cards will have BUILT-IN memory! Wow!!! According to the article, SanDisk will have a card with 128MB memory and Wi-Fi in May for $130. They said they'll have a 256MB card with Wi-Fi in Sept for $150! Wow!
This really opens things up. You can have 256MB & wireless (Wi-Fi) in the SD slot on the side, and have the CF open for something else on the top. GPS? Bluetooth?
I'd personally like to see bluetooth prosper. But to me, it sure seems to have taken it's sweet little time. If Wi-Fi is shrinking this much, I'd like to see Wi-Fi simply overtake Bluetooth. Wi-Fi in my GPS, cell phone... too cool!!!
This kind of collides with another thing I mentioned awhile back, ENUM. But ENUM is where you have ONE NUMBER for home, cell, fax, e-mail, etc... Today's article just talks about your cell phone number.
I couldn't tell from the article, but I'd like to see if this applied to pager services, too. Again, I've had very little problems from my pager service (Arch Wireless), but it would be great to know that I could take that number if I so wished.
I've had my cell phone number the same for probably over five years now, and my pager number for around seven years now! But I find that lots of times friends and others change their cell or pager numbers once a year, or even more! That gets frustrating. To be able to keep the number, and have it the same, not just for yourself, but for others, is great!
There are caveats with this, though. Let's say the wrong person gets your number. Yeah, that sucks. In my mind, devices are going to need to get even smarter than they currently are in the coming years. Today, with cell phones & caller ID, you can simply choose not to answer the phone if the person on the other end chooses not to identify themselves. You can just have them talk to your voicemail. But your phone still rings. I'd like to have the option where the phone wouldn't even ring unless the caller ID is valid. And I'd even take that a step further, and have it so that the phone only rings if certain flagged records in your personal phone book are calling.
I guess I'd kind of like voice calling to be more like e-mail. I know this is strange, as the point of voice calling is to get ahold of someone NOW. But everyone is busy, and at times the phone ringing is really an annoyance! Especially the people at movie theaters. They're the worst. When I go to a movie, both my pager and cell get turned to VIBRATE. I absolutely hate it when I hear a cell phone during a quiet scene during a movie. And I think fuckers who answer their cell phones during movies should be shot, Taliban-style. Lined up in public and shot in the fucking nuts! Ha!
But I DO NOT agree with cell phone jammers. Some places (movie theaters, restaraunts) are getting these now. That is unfair. I've seen rumors of people wanting to get devices that would force cell phones to vibrate mode. That, to me, would be OK. But straight up jamming isn't right. I feel that if a person has the right to jam me, then I should have the right to deny them any service I feel is annoying. Take, for instance, dumbass customer service people. Wouldn't it be great if those people had to wear large tags that said 'ANNOYING CUSTOMER SERVICE PERSON', or my favorite 'I'M GOING TO TRY AND SELL YOU SOME WORTHLESS FUCKING WARRANTY!'. In my mind, if they jam my cell phone, I should be able to take a fucking taser to their ass!
In any case, :), I think the ability for the consumer to take their phone number across carriers is great!
The epitomy of corporate decadence. After all, one can only take so much of "It's a small world after all"...
But I escaped... much the poorer!!! I spent twice as much money in 3 days at Disney World then I did at nearly 5 days of Daytona Beach!
After doing much searching, I found that you can only buy 4 or more day park hopper passes for Disney world on the Internet. I only wanted two or three days. I did find that day passes were avaiable at the front gate, or from the Disney hotels.
I finally decided to stay at a Disney hotel, to make use of their transportation system, if nothing else. But when we arrived, I found that they indeed offered a multitude of passes, including 2 and 3 day park hopper passes. I ended up getting a 3 day pass.
I stayed at the Disney All-Star Music resort. I tell you, Disney certainly has the money aspect down. But, of course, they've had 100 years to figure it out. They give you a single card, which acts as your room key, park pass, and even credit card! Talk about capitalism at it's finest... err...
And did I mention the $10 hamburgers?
One thing though, their internal highway system is amazing. Disney World is it's own city, with it's own highways. It's absolutely crazy. And the bus system was great. Buses going everywhere at all times. We could walk out front of the hotel, and catch a bus direct to any of the Disney parks. And they also have a limited monorail. The monorail only goes to two of the major parks, and to their more expensive hotels though. But it was fun to ride.
Well, it was a good trip, and worthwhile every once and a great while. But I'll stick to Daytona Beach next time :).
But in the information part of HIPAA, the part that affects me, isn't actually all that bad. The idea is great... having a common billing format required by federal law. For the most part, my agency only bills to the government anyway (Medicare). And for the past few years, we've been on an electronic billing system anyway. But, as always, with something new from the government, it gets complicated.
To make a long story short, for the past few months, I've been busting my ass coding this thing up. It's far from done, but the core of it is looking great. And we're not technically required to use this until July 1st, so we're in very good shape.
I knew from the start that after a few months of this, my brain would be fried, so I scheduled my vacation. And last week, I took it! I hit up Daytona Beach for 5 nights/4 days and Orlando for 3 nights/3 days. In Orlando we went to Disney and I attended the Electronc Home Expo.
It was a great trip, and I'll post some pics later. But in any case, I'm rested, and am very happy with the fact that I got a lot of work done before I left.
Welp, let's get this show on the road!
I started a search for a new remote. I attended the recent Electronic Home Expo in Orlando during my vacation. It was great. I met the guys from Applied Digital, who make my beloved Ocelot (a Home Automation component). In addition, I found some of the greatest remotes on the planet. The Philips Pronto! They have several versions of them, from an expensive universal remote ($199) with touch screen, to an outrageously expensive webpad/remote ($1699). But the products themselves were GREAT.
I thought I was stuck on the Philips Pronto. But then I started looking around at different remotes available at local stores, and found that there are a lot of other options. And then I remembered I just bought a home, and went on vacation, so I'm totally broke :). I looked at a bunch of remotes. The ones that got my eye had the LCD displays with touch screens. They were simple devices, with blocks on the screen for different buttons, but they looked great. However, then I started thinking about longevity. My remotes get abused. I know for a fact that I throw them across the room onto the couch often... and miss often enough :). So whatever I got, an elaborate LCD display was out of the picture.
That narrowed down the field quite a bit. After checking a bunch of sites on specs and opinions about the remotes, I had it narrowed down to two models. An RCA, and a newer One-for-all. The RCA had a smaller LCD display, and looked pretty solid, and was reviewed quite well. But the One-for-all had just a tiny LCD display (just like my old one), and I've had a good track record with my previous remote. But according to the web sites I visited (Best Buy and Circuit City), no one had them locally. I decided to go for the RCA.
I traveled out to Circuit City and they indeed had the One-for-all. I compared it to the RCA, and the One-for-all won out. $50. Done deal!
The model number is URC-8910 (you can find the specs here). It's a learning remote, so if it does not contain the right codes for a certain model, and you have another remote that can control it, then it can "learn" the buttons. Each one has to be programmed, but it's a great feature.
The remote also has a "home theater" mode. I loved this feature about my old remote. Usually with a universal remote, if you hit the 'TV' mode, then all the buttons on the remote will go to the TV. If you hit 'SAT', then all functions go to the satellite. However, with the home theater mode, different groups of buttons can be assigned to different components. For instance, the volume buttons can go to the amp/receiver (the heart of my home theater), the channel buttons can be assigned to the Sat, and the playback buttons are assigned to the VCR.
You can also do macros with this thing. You can have it turn on the TV and go to a certain channel. I don't make much use of this, but I think it's a great feature.
It also has "volume lock". This means that no matter which mode you're in (TV/VCR/SAT/AMP, etc...) the volume buttons will always go to one mode (in my case, the amp/receiver). But you can also exclude certain modes. For instance, I have every mode except the TV using the volume buttons for the receiver. But if I want to turn the TV volume up, I can do that too. But I rarely use the speakers on the TV! Surround sound is just so much better :).
The remote also LOOKS good. I loved my old remote, but as soon as I brought the new one home and compared the two, the new one is just god damned sexy :).
So, to make a long story short, I was able to take the remote home and get that baby programmed the way I wanted it. It took a few hours, but I got it pimped out.
Well... 99.5% pimped. The remote has one HUGE flaw. In "home theater" mode, the power button is useless! Ha! What the fuck is up with THAT? On my old remote, the power button worked great in home theater mode. But on the new remote, it just is a dead button. How shitty!
So I called tech support. The manual made it seem like they were pretty open to have people calling or e-mailling them, so I did! I got through pretty quick and asked how to use the power button. They just flat out said that the power button is useless on this remote in home theater mode. Ouch!
Now, like I said, this remote is a GREAT remote. I'd recommend it with only slight hesitation. If that dumb power button problem didn't exist, I was flatly recommend it to ANYONE. But then again, all remotes have their flaws, so I'm just being picky. But it's just something so obvious... I mean, how the hell did that error make it through Quality Assurance??? :)
So, all in all, I'm 99.5% percent elated with my new All-For-One URC8910 universal remote :). I got it for $50 from a local Circuit City.
I would expect this kind of thing from Microsoft, but when I see it from companies that develop cheap consumer-grade gear, it makes me sad :(. I'm happy with the Linksys, D-Link, and Netgears of the world. They make cool technology affordable by myself, my friends, and my non-profit company :). But when stuff like this comes out, it makes me not want to even think about buying it until there has been EXTENSIVE PUBLIC TESTING. And I don't like that. You guys know by now that I run out and always buy the new stuff... tested or not!
I guess this situation would probably have been worse, if it weren't for the fact that many companies already have 802.11b stuff in place, and there is this recession thing going around :). Many places/people (myself included) might not have planned to rip out the old stuff and replace it with the new for a little while anyway. However, I was planning on using this stuff for any NEW places I would be hooking up in the future. But now, that's unclear.
Well, I shouldn't say that. I guess the worst case scenario is that someone buys all this stuff and only gets 11MB out of it. It'd still be worth it, maybe... there is a good chance that vendors would offer flash/firmware updates for equipment (access points, at least). Maybe the problem will get fixed, but who knows now. These companies just stuck their feet in their mouths, and it'll be a wonder how they get it out!
Last night we wired up the surround sound in his basement (which, I'm sorry to say, is bigger than my HOUSE), and then temporarily wired up the projector. WOW. Watching the THX demo at the start of the Star Wars Episode II DVD was just absolutely amazing. The picture was awesome.
Did I mention the screen is 8 FOOT BY 14 FOOT??? Ha! Yep, that's right. We're currently using a basement wall as the screen. 8' high by 14' wide (in wide-screen mode). So awesome. Even with the false brick pattern on the wall, it still looks good. Soon he's putting up drywall and painting it to make the screen perfect.
But it certainly has more uses than just movies. Think Grand Theft Auto: Vice City in wide screen mode baby! Yeah! I hooked up my PS2 over there and couldn't stop playing that. At times, the people are almost LIFE SIZE! Holy crap!
More info and pics on this baby to come!
U.S. Endorses Merging Telephone, Internet Numbers
I personally think this is awesome. Although we are a civilization that thrives on communications, we're bogged down by technical issues. Phone numbers, cell numbers, e-mail addresses, etc... Having one number for all of these services, in my opinion, will greatly enhance things. And the number is YOURS. For LIFE. You can take it from carrier to carrier, unlike todays phone numbers. Sure, if you move (in the same local area), you can keep your home phone number. But if you switch cell phone carriers, your number is lost. If you switch Internet Service Providers... your address is lost (unless you have a domain name registered, or use an e-mail address not associated with your ISP (hotmail, Yahoo, etc...).
"But how will you know if you're receiving a fax, page, phone call, or e-mail? How will you tell the difference?". You won't have to. Things are getting smarter. They have boxes today you can pick up at Radio Shack that you can plug your phone line into, and can plug a phone, modem, fax, and answering machine into. The thing can distinguish between the devices. Built into the Internet will be methods of identifying a signal and sending it to the right place.
So, for instance, let's say you have one of these numbers. Let's say someone makes a voice call to that number. What would happen is that the Internet would know that would be a voice call, and it would route it to either your home phone or your cell phone, depending on your preferences. That's right... your preference. There will be a way for you to choose whether to route your phone calls to your home phone or your cell phone... using the same number! The Internet "knows" it's a voice call because it originated as a voice call. E-mail sent to that address will be sent to an e-mail device of your preference.... home computer, alphanumeric pager, or cellphone/PDA equipped for e-mail. It's just like a train station. You arrive as a human being. You leave the opposite station as a human being. If you were an automobile on the train, you would leave as an automobile (you know what I'm talking about... sometimes cars are transported via train).
But then things will start to get REAL interesting. On down the line, depending on if they make the technology easy enough to use... it's possible, thanks to things like voice recognition and text-to-speech... that an incoming voice call could be translated to an e-mail. Or an e-mail could be sent to you as a voice message. Very crazy stuff. And it's all possible... each and every part is possible... TODAY. It's just tying the stuff together that is the hardest part.
I've been thinking a lot, and it seems to be that the 20th century was all about inventing stuff. But I think the 21st century will be more about tying the 20th century stuff together to invent bigger things, on different levels. That's just my opinion, but I'm doing it every day. Take my home automation stuff, for instance. This stuff has been around for a while. But what makes it shine is tying it all together to act as a single unit.
THAT is what the 21st century will be about, in my opinion.
I know that I've often criticized NASA for not doing more and for just putting up corporate payload, but the fact is, who else is going to do it?
I really fear the outcome of this situation. The last time this happened, it was nearly three years before another shuttle took off. But now we have to worry about the International Space Station as well. You think those guys up there are going to stay for 3 years? I don't think so!
I'm so worried the fucking politicians are going to look at NASA and say "Oh, look here! You guys can't do anything right! You've got things exploding in the air and spreading toxic shit all over! Let's cut your budget, and expect you to never do it again!". Never mind that the politicians are the ones bending over for terrorist producing, oil-rich countries. Or 75+ year old internal combustion engine companies. Sure Bush made a great speech about pouring money into hydrogen-based cars. But people are smarter know. They know not to trust those fucking politicians. Bush is an oil man. And here I predict his follow-through is going to be next to nothing... if not less. You think he's gonna put his good ole' boy buddies out of work? Yeah, right..
Back to space.
People are so short-sighted it is just not funny. We worry so much about things like asteroids and the ozone level, but we don't do anything about it. It drives me nuts. We put a miniscule budget to putting manpower to pointing telescopes at the sky and looking for asteroids. Instead we point them all directly at the planet for sky games.
If we were serious about our own survival, we'd be checking out all alternatives... including planning (not just entertaining the idea of) establishing colonies on other planets. We can mine oil through miles of earth. We can't set up machines to mine the surface of planets to build cities there?
I bet if someone told the politicians that asteroids and comets contain valuable metals and materials that were FREE for the taking (think about it... no one OWNS freaking asteroids!), they'd be all about doing it. And don't give me this "costs too much" shit. You know how much it costs to build one of those fucking deep sea oil rigs? I'd bet that the entire budget of NASA is less than the cost of a handful of those oil rigs. And remember that NASA recently set a probe down onto the surface of an asteroid. The damn thing wasn't even designed to do it... but yet it did.
Sorry, I keep going off topic here.
It's because of budget cutting that we're still using shuttles. Those things were designed decades ago. Sure they were designed to last, but god damn, this is 2003. We landed on the moon in 1969. We haven't been back in nearly 30 years. What the fuck is up with that?
Let's tell the politicians that Mars has oil, and it's atmosphere is already fucked up, so no need to worry about enviornmental concerns :). They'll flock to it!!!
As humans we're too busy worrying about material things (SUVs) and ancient religious bullshit to care about our own future and the future of the human race. It makes me sick.
And yet, it persists. Here we are, now in threat level orange. And they're talking on TV about chemical and biological possibilities. Like if we get to level red, we might be confined to our homes. Someone told me they mentioned that parents should be ready to home-school their children, if the need arises. WHO THE FUCK ARE THEY KIDDING? Parents are too busy working their asses off to pay their fucking taxes. How are they going to home school their kids??? Not to mention that our public schools can't even do that. They're too busy fending off frivilous lawsuits (not to mention paying outrageous Microsoft licensing fees) to even buy new books... and that's sad because in this age things are moving so fast that even last years textbook is out of date.
It just feels to me like we're heading in the absolute wrong direction. And we know it's wrong, but we're stuck with these old conservative ideals that make us think that change is bad, and in some cases, wrong (when religion is involved).
But it's so two-faced it's just not funny.
We're unwilling to make radical changes to the educational system, but yet, we're ready to take out Iraq, Iran, and North Korea, as well as the rest of the middle east, using nuclear weapons if necessary? WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON? Which side of our mouths are we talking from? It's getting to the point where I can't tell our mouth from our ass anymore.
And that's fucked up :).
Ah the many faces of government.
So I'm working on a friends house, on his home automation stuff. We've been working on his place for something like two years now. His place is so damn big. He's probably got MILES of wires in his house.
We get a TON of work done this past weekend (Fri & Sat night). I'm extremely happy that we're at the point we're at... after soooo long it's starting to pay off big time.
So I want to go home and celebrate. So what if it's 1:30AM on a Saturday night. I decide to stop by the store and pick up some beer. Since most places don't carry my favorate, Captain Morgrans Gold, I've been drinking Smirnoff Ice Triple Black (much better than the original Smirnoff Ice, much less bitter).
Crap! They're out of 6-packs. Oh, cool, they've got a 12 pack. What the hell! But I take it up to the counter and the lady takes it off and says quickly "we stop selling at 1AM". I'm like what the fuck? But screw it, if this dumb ass place doesn't want to take my money then they can fuck off.
But as I leave I get pissed. What are they dicks? So I head to the gas station.
I get there, and they've got the beer locked up. So I wait in line and ask if there is a key or something. She tells me they can't sell beer after 1AM. This time I wanted an explaination. I asked her why I couldn't buy beer... bars don't stop selling until 2AM. She said it's state law (Ohio) that they can't sell alcohol after 1AM.
So I leave and had to drive home without any alcohol to celebrate. Fuckin' wah wah wah, I know :).
But I get home (as I type this), and I think. What kind of fucking two-faced shit is this?
I mean, think about it. The government is telling you that it's not OK to go to the store after 1AM, buy beer, and drink it when you're safely at your destination. But they are telling you it's A-OK to drive to the bar, get drunk until 2AM, then drive home, which is VERY unsafe. I don't drink and drive, and if you do, you're a total and complete absolute fucking moron. A big FUCK YOU to anyone who drinks and drive. Fuck off!
Enough fucking... back to my story.
I mean, what gives with this?
And since I'm sober at 2:15AM in the morning, I have another thought. Why do they have parking lots at bars? If the government is so concerned about people drinking and driving, why not limit parking lots at bars to staff and maybe a few for designated drivers. It'd be a great idea! The government would get their cut... they'd have to sell those little tags in the window for designated drivers... just like for handicapped people. In order to be classified as a desginated driver, you'd have to pass certain criteria. No DUIs, basically :). The government would get their cut (from sales of the tags and permits), so they'd be happy. There would be less drinking and driving. Where the fuck would you park if the bar didn't have a parking lot??? If you parked in a designated drivers spot, you'd get your shit towed.
I know, it's lame. But kiss off, it's time to celebrate, I've got no beer, and I'm pissed off!
So it's like the government wants you to stock up on beer or something. Yeah, great plan guys! Let's all stock up on beer and become alcoholics. Fucking idiots!
I don't know. I'm sure they've got some reason for it. Maybe it decreases violent crime or something. Maybe they don't want drunk people driving to the store in the middle of the night for more beer. But it just pisses me off. This is a 24-7 world now. Morons like me sleep until 1PM on the weekends and are up way late. Is it my fault that my schedule is different than that dictated by the government? It's 2003 now... Not 1954!!!
Waking up is like someone injecting you with a dose of life, after living all your life in a coma. It's like being dragged from the wonderful realm of chaos into a realm where logic is preached, but where chaos is practiced. Life is chaos with a pretty logic veil welded over your eyes.
Perhaps it's the vodka.
I envy people who awake in a good mood. People who are chipper after rising from the bed. Maybe it's just only that way on TV.
Maybe it was that vodka.
Not just the previous night, but that of the night before.
Vodka is a two-step (or two night, rather) process. On night number one (preferably Friday night, more on that in a minute) you drink a good amount of Vodka. Make sure you drink plenty of water, and visit the bathroom as much as possible (just try not to end up sleeping there). Enjoy the euphoria, and slip into bliss.
The next day is great. Wake up, and feel somewhat invincible. It's the "I just drank a ton of Vodka and I feel wonderful! I should do this everyday!" syndrome.
Then step two comes along. Drink twice as much vodka as the night before! Just drink that much more water, and things will be even better the final morning!!!
Aye. What wonderful dreams slog their way through the pipes of the brain (pipe dreams?). Too bad it does not work that way.
Waking up the next morning is a hundred times worse than a normal day. The best thing the human brain can come up with is a very primal urge to say "Ugh". The best thing to do is to avoid at all costs any type of activity which requires the neurons of the brain to fire any more than they need to in order to keep you breathing.
Food? Bathroom? Shower??? Fuck all that. I don't even know how to get this blanket off. Let alone open my eyes.
So much for the wonderess of the previous day. So much for the afterglow. If the process was started correctly (again, on Friday night), the third day is Sunday, and perhaps some smiling hours of allowed recovery will shine upon you.
Eventually the neurons slowly start to fire, and the pistons start slugging. But the cam is fucking wack.
Ah the joys of Vodka.
I fucking hate waking up on the third step of the two-step process that is Vodka when it's cold in the winter.
See what I mean?
Is this shit for real? Maybe Bush drinks too much Vodka.
And then I read on the first day we would fire hundreds of our missiles into Iraq. More missiles than were fired during the entire Pursian Gulf campaign. Wow.
The Iraqi people must be totally fucking brainwashed. I mean, they had to have seen what we did to the Taliban. I guess I can't blame them. We went in there 12 years ago, promised them the sun, then pulled out as soon as our prescious Kuwaitii friends were OK. Fucking hell. All we're doing is sewing more seeds of dissent. We invented the Taliban in the proxy battles of the cold war. Then we had to deal with them. Now we're reinventing them again, in the same fucking place, no less. We gave the warlords the weapons to get rid of the Taliban. Now they're fortifying themselves with said weapons. Great plan. Who comes up with this shit?
But this deal with the oilfields. Wow. Our true colors are really shining! Fuck the red, the white, and the blue, let's talk about black baby! Oil black! TEXAS TEA, motherfuckers! Oil? In a place we've wanted to bomb for 12 years? Fuck it, mount up the horses Jed, let's get them doggies a-movin'! Load up the carriers with the best Tomahawks oil money can buy baby! We're gonna go rustlin'!!!
And don't get me started on the "UN Team in Iraq". What? They find 11 (12?) empty warheads, and it's a major find. But then yesterday they good "good marks" from the team, but they still need more time.
And what is our proof? "We don't need proof, it's up to Iraq to dis-prove our imaginary proof!".
If I sound like I'm on the edge, it's because I am. None of these people are worth trusting. None of them are free of motive. I don't like anyone in this entire situation.
Except Saddam. He really should be hung by his testicles in a public place. I mean, how proud can you be to live in a country which you really don't own (i.e. - can you say, no-fly zones?). Fuck Saddam.
But the way we're going about it is just fucking wack. Step #1: Secure the oil fields. Step #2: Bomb Bagdad. Step #3: See if we killed Saddam. Great plan! Ready? BREAK!.
And then Bush again. Wow. "Gotta avenge my daddy!". "I can get some oil too! Motherfucker, what are we waiting for???". Yee-haw!
And then those other people. Those people who say "Well, if we gotta bomb them, let's just try not to KILL anyone, OK?". These people mystify me. "Go ahead and bomb, but don't kill any civillians for Christs sake!". For Christs Sake, now that's some funny shit right there. I want to lock these people in a room and make them watch the History channel. Carpet bombing and the long stick and all that shit. Fucking cluster bombs and napalm into Japanese fox holes.
But there are two lines of thought in the miliary world when it comes to collateral damage. I remember reading a report of "The neutron bomb" which would ONLY kill the people in a said area, not the important buildings or anything. That way we wouldn't have to rebuild anything after the war. But then now we're too busy developing microwave weapons which only kill the telecommunications... leaving the the people in the buildings alive.
Life is fucking strange. What a strange time to be alive.
If you have solid brick or concrete walls, or have lots of metal in the house, then the signal booster HIGHLY is recommended.
So I took to the VERY cold outdoors and took my PocketPC with me to measure the signal (my Casio E-200 with a Symbol Wireless Networker). Wow.
I was able to walk around my house, and the signal never dropped below 90%. I was able to walk around my properly (105' by 168') with no problems at all. I was turning the outside lights on and off remotely. COOL.
So then I walked around the neighborhood. Still no problems. I could walk down the street for hundreds of feet, and I as still good. One time there was a HOUSE between myself and my house (blocking the line-of-site). Still no problems. In the areas where I had clear line of site (even 500'+ feet), I was still around 80%-90% signal strength. Totally crazy!
My wireless unit is about 7' in the air, placed sideways (so the poles of the BEFW11S4 match go with the house lengthwise).
I've got some other places to test this stuff at, I'll let you know how it goes!
Linksys WSB24 Signal Booster ($82) This little baby piggybacks your BEFW11S4 or WAP11 wireless access points and BOOSTS the signal range. As far as I've read, it's getting GREAT REVIEWS (and I myself will receive one tomorrow, according to UPS tracking... and I'm going to test it in my home (smaller), my buddys house (large), and my work (CONCRETE WALLS). Bascially, you move your current antennas to this unit, then plug in patch cables from your access point to this unit. Very Very cool! I'll let you guys know how well it works!!!
Linksys WRT54G Access Point/Switch/Router ($129) This little baby is going to be a HOT ITEM here rather quickly. It's almost identical to my favorate unit, the Linksys BEFW11S4. To begin, let me explain the current and new wireless (Wi-Fi or WLAN) standards.
I love my wireless connections. I have them at home, at work, and at many other places. Now, I'm quite content with 11MB speed. Except when transferring larger files (like batches of MP3s or video files). For home use, 54MB might be overkill. But for a business, the prospect of both 54MB and the signal booster is mouth watering. I have two locations which are less than a mile from each other, and I'm going to do some tests to see if I can connect them using the new signal booster. Right now, the site has a cablemodem, and we're quite happy with that. But the thought of having a wireless connection, AND NOT PAYING MONTHLY FEES, is also quite mouth watering.
What it actually says it that now I was dumb enough to add another receiver, I'm locked into a 12-month commitment on ALL of my receivers. And it's at the CURRENT plan... I couldn't switch to a cheaper plan.
I tell you, these people could make rape legal if they wanted to. It's amazing what you can do in this country with a contract. I'd bet that if drug dealers and lawyers got together, they'd come up with a bullet-proof binding contract. The drug user could sign a contract, and be locked into a 12-month commitment to buy a certain amount of drugs. And it would be totally legal because our legal system permits this. As long as you sign on the dotted line, it's legal.
If the government tried to step in, the drug dealer could counter sue for "liquidated damages due to loss of income". And they'd win, too, due to the fact that the judge has a contract with the drug dealer which includes idemnity.
Fuckers.
In Toledo, or the Eastern part of it at least, we have a major north-south route, I-280. It goes from the turnpike in the south to I-75 in the north. Well, a few years ago they went through and repaved the whole thing. And it was wonderful. But it always had a problem. Some dumbass decided to put a fucking DRAWBRIDGE over the Maumee River on I-280. Yep, that's right. A major Interstate... with a DRAWBRIDGE. But later on, the bridge seems to have a life of it's own... opening and closing at it's on will.
So, whatever, the people of Toledo have endured.
Finally, they decided to build a new bridge to replace it. Seemed like a great idea. In addition, they're going to make the new bridge bypass a bunch of high traffic areas, so that you can go straight from the north to the south in short order. For local traffic, they're going to leave the old bridge. Cool!
Well, in theory it's cool. But the execution is fucked up.
One of my pet peeves about our highway system is SIGNS. Signs are important. And I get pissed when I'm driving with someone and they don't know where to go, because they can't read the fucking signs.
But the problem is, we're getting MORE AND MORE SIGNS. Far too many. With stupid shit on them... and I'm not talking about advertising, either.
But the thing that gets me the most is that they never bother to REMOVE THE OLD SIGNS THAT HAVE NO MORE RELEVANCE. I mean, how many times have you driven down a road and seen a sign that read "END CONSTRUCTION", but there was none to be found? Come on! How much do those signs cost? They can't be CHEAP. They're made to last a long time through our fucked up weather, and they have special reflective paint.
So many worthless signs out there, it's starting to make me realize why people don't bother reading them. Why bother if they have no relevance?
Take this situation here in Toledo. The other day, we were heading northbound on I-280. There were at least three sets of signs that indicated the left lane of this two lane Interstate was going to end, and you would have to merge, and the Federal Interstate would be reduced to ONE LANE. Well, you kept driving, and it never happened. In the mean time, people are driving like crazy to speed up and merge and slow down and speed up and merge again.
But it never goes down to one lane.
Then, on the way back southbound, out of nowhere, it goes down to one lane. You're crusing along, you go around a bend, and BOOM! All of the sudden, the fucking lane ends. No signs or nothing.
Fucking Government BullShit. I hate it.
The Mad Max movies are classic for me, and I've always bitched that there should be another one :). Probably won't be out for quite some time (haven't even started filming... not until next year), but I'm quite happy knowing it's coming!!!
So I've moved. But the satellite situation is kind of complicated because I left equipment at my parents house so they could still watch satellite TV. They still have receivers, and I've got mine.
So I call DirecTV. I ask to go directly to the termination department. About a year ago, I called the termination department, and got my bill cut big time, so I figured they'd work with me. No go. In fact, the lady I spoke with was kind of pissed because I got the discount I got. She just flatly rejected hooked me up. Fine... I hung up on her ass.
So I call back to their regular people, and agree to pay full price, and have our accounts split. But then the guy tells me that my parents would have to pay $20 per receiver to get new access cards, because their "used" equipment. What the fuck is that? I went off. Do they know how much I paid for this shit? I've been with DirecTV for some time now. I bought all this shit before they started GIVING IT AWAY. Fuckers. And then I got their DirecPC dish and receiver so I could get the Internet. I paid a pretty penny for that, let me tell you.
The guy didn't budge. So I hung up.
Finally, I called back and asked for their termination department again. I explained to this guy all the shit I just went through, and I was not going to pay the fees. He said he'd waive one of the fees, but not the others. I wouldn't budge. At this point, I was ready to wage war with these people over $20 fees. It was the principal. I've paid out the ass for this shit for years. Sure they hooked me up last year, but they could also cut down these $20 fees since I'm going back to full price, for not just one, but TWO accounts.
So he goes to his manager and comes back a few minutes later. No deal. I'm so ready to drop a nuclear bomb at this point. I went off again about the prices of this stuff. But then he drops a bomb on me instead. He tells me that if I pay the bill, then I wouldn't have to switch anything.
I was so confused. I explained to him that these were two different houses with two different phone numbers. The phone number thing came into play (I thought) because the receivers have to hook up to the phone line. But this guy told me that I'm already paying $5 per receiver for "marriage" fees to keep those extra receivers on my account. He said that people have second homes and that all they pay is these same fees. Even though they're totally different houses and phone numbers, as long as I'm paying the bill I don't have to change anything.
I was floored. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I was expecting to hear them tell me I'd have to pay $50 per house. And here the guy is saying my bill doesn't have to change because I'm already paying the per receiver "marriage" fee.
I find this amazing, and am quite pleased with DirecTV at this point. It sucked that I had to talk to so many people and get frustrated before this was brought up, but in the end, DirecTV certainly came through for me!
And along with moving, I had one hell of an experience which warrants a RANT! Read on...
But I shudder when I have to call their tech support. A bunch of fucking idiots. I swear. I want to cry when I have a problem... which is rare.
So I've moved. I wanted to move my cablemodem. I called Time Warner over a month ago to have them bring in new cable. They said they'd have to send out an engineer to approve it, since this was a newly built house. They said 7-14 days. Two weeks later, I hear nothing, and I call them back. So by the time I move in, I finally get a letter stating my home is approved for their Time Warner cable server. Fuckers. What a crock of shit.
So last Thursday I call Time Warner and tell them I want to get my Road Runner moved. I tell them to move the service the day they come out. They say fine, and I have an appointment on Tuesday between 3 and 5.
So what do they do? They come out and disconnect my old cablemodem, at my parents house IMMEDIATELY. I mean like the next day those fuckers came out and disconnected me. Did they hook up my new house? NO. So I have no fucking cablemodem service. What the fuck is that? I call them up and BITCH. What the fuck are you idiots doing? Why would you cut me off and not hook me up? I don't understand!
Sir, we don't want the new occupants of the house getting free cable.
You fucking morons, that was my parents house! They're not moving, I AM! You have no right to assume that. You shouldn't have disconnected me in the first place. If you're not going to MOVE me that day, you should not DISCONNECT me that day. I was so fucking pissed. I still am. These fucking people are god damned morons, and it's fucked up because they're de-centralized, and you can not talk to anyone who isn't impotent to do anything.
But that wasn't the end of it. I kept telling these people that I need cablemodem service. Either come back and hook me up, or come out to my new house and do it. But they would have none. In fact, they moved my new installation BACK TWO DAYS WITHOUT TELLING ME! I didn't find out until the tech support person let that slip. Fucking morons. And the lady I spoke with sounded very helpful. She said she'd call me back (I called on Saturday night) either Sunday or Monday and get me an earlier appointment. So Monday rolls around and I hear nothing. Fucking bitch. I call them back and speak with someone else. But they can't get ahold of anyone who can do anything. They're totally fucking impotent. What the fuck is the purpose of Time Warner Customer Support? It's a joke! A total joke!
I call back several times, but finally gave up. Here it is Wed., and I get a call (from a computer) confirming my Thursday appointment. Pieces of shit. And I want so bad to be a dick to the guy who installs my line. I want so bad to just cuss them out and bitch slap them. But they're impotent to. They just do what they're told. But it's impossible to get ahold of the people in charge giving them the orders. I want to bitch slap those fuckers. Hard. And then I want to take them to Circuit City or Best Buy, charge shit on their credit card (with the warranty of course), break the shit, and try to have them return it, even with the warranty. Fuckers. I hate them.
And the adventure isn't over. They still have to come out and actually install the line. I put in underground conduit. And I explained this to them on the phone every time I call. I bet the person who comes doesn't even know he's doing an underground conduit drop. God I hate them. So fucking worthless.
But when the service is working, it works great. I wouldn't trade Road Runner service for anything. But their customer service really sucks gigantic donkey dick. God I hate them.
Oh, I almost forgot. Somewhere in there I asked them if they had a dial-up service for backup. They said they did. But in order to use it, I'd have to get on my cablemodem (which was disconnected in their error), install the Road Runner software (which I don't use because it isn't necessary), and sign up for the dial-up service. What a fucking joke. I asked them if they could sign me up over the phone. I mean, what the fuck, are you telling me that if people are in a tight spot, due to the company's error, you can't hook them up? Nope. They couldn't even just give me a phone number, temporary login name and password. I was so pissed. I had to go to work so I could get my e-mail and pay bills.
So, in summary, if you've been sleeping for the past few paragraphs, TIME WARNER ROAD RUNNER CUSTOMER SUPPORT FUCKING SUCKS!!!
UPDATE: TW came out and hooked my Road Runner and I am back on-line. The service itself is great, but I tell you, I am just not happy at all with their customer service!
OK, here goes. To sum it up, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City is worth every penny of the $50 price tag.
The game takes everything from GTA3 and adds tons more! Remote controlled helicopters, REAL helicopters, motorcycles... WOW. And not to mention the whole mid-80s thing :).
But when you first start playing, you might not be all that impressed. The graphics look kind of... strange. This is due to the game starting with "traces" turned ON. If you press start, go to display, and turn traces off, then the game looks 1000% better. Really. I played it for a full night with this on, and I was just not impressed. However, the next day I was looking for cheat codes (because I really suck), and I found this note. I turned it off, and had a MUCH better experience!
Speaking of cheat codes, for a bunch of weapons, hit R1-R2-L1-R2-L-D-U-R-L-D-U-R. I haven't found the armor code yet... if you guys know this, let me know :). And don't send me the ones that don't work. I've seen the same codes on like five different sites, and none of them work except for the above code. Only send me a code if you have the game, have tried it, and it WORKS :).
After playing the Phnom Feng '86 mission, I was just floored. While the game retains 100% of it's quality from the Grand Theft Auto point of view, it has taken off from that category and launched into new venues. I mean, hanging out of a helicopter in a large city picking people off of rooftops and balconies from a warlord's house is just out of this world. If that's not stress relief, then I don't know what is.
And the motorcycles! Wow! I hate running into things and flying 25 feet, but still... it's cool :). Those things fly.
Tommy talks to damned much though... but I suppose that's part of the games' theme. I'm glad he finally got a cell phone instead of that damned pager :).
In any case, I also bought the GTA:VC strategy guide (from Brady Games, I think.... I bought it at Media Play). It's well worth it. Lots of maps and hints and stuff. Remember, I suck and have to cheat, so I like these things :).
That's one of the reasons I love this game. You have total freedom of movement. You're free to move around, and are not limited to certain avenues. Want to take the long and scenic route? Fine! Need to do a drive-by on the way to the mall? OK. Need to pick up a prostitute before your next mission? Kewl.
That's my 2 cents. Get out and get GTA:VC (if they're not sold out!!!!)... NOW!
You can find Beavis & Butthead on DVD HERE!
You know what I hate... journalists who think they have impunity.
Last week I was watching one of those Amazing Videos things on TV. They had this journalist who traveled to Kabul, Afghanistan and was traveling around town in a cab. He went up to a checkpoint controlled by a rebel group, and they started shooting at him. But he seemed to not understand... he said something like "I'm a journalist, and I showed them my papers... but they shot at me!". Who the fuck are you??? Are you God? You can go wherever you want? Are you royalty? You deliberately went into a fucking jungle/war zone, and you thought that that pass would buy you lunch or what? These people are shooting at EACH OTHER. You think they give a fuck about some Western white-bread looking motherfucker? No!
Now, I understand the need for the press. Information needs to get out, sure. But what's up with the God complex? I thought I was God? :)
And as I'm watching the news, a group of between 20-50 people (Muslims, Chechens, or both?) are holding 500-700 people hostage in a theater. Holy shit man! It's not just America here... the whole world is getting bombarded by these people. Even I'm starting to think that bombing Iraq and taking out these people would be for the better... and THAT'S bad!
A new burget joint opened up in the Toledo area, and I'm totally in love with it. It's called the Red Robin, and their tagline is "America's Gourmet Burger & Spirits".
What the fuck is a Gourmet Burger?
That's kind of oxymoronic right there... A burger is supposed to be fast and tasteless... at least, that's what corporate America is teaching us :).
However, this place is something else... it lives up to what it advertises... in my opinion. I've been there three times, and each time my experience has gotten better. The first time we went, the place was PACKED. I thought we'd be waiting for like half an hour. We walked up, and they gave us a card with a celebrity on it... Buffy no less :). Turns out, we waited like 10 minutes, and that was it. We got seated in the back. It was very loud, but that was the only bad part. I ordered the bacon cheeseburger and onion rings. The onion rings came on this tall rack thing, it was pretty neat. The dipping sauce was pretty nice, too. Then the burger and fries came. The burger was awesome. But it got better... it turns out, they offer bottomless fries! And their fries are good steak-fries, too!
So the first time was pretty good. The second time was even better... then we learned they have this $25 meal deal where you can get two movie tickets and two meals for $25 (drinks, tax, and tip not included)! Let me tell you, this is a deal. Seeing a movie at a movie theater AND eating the food can cost you nearly $40 now (and that's just nachos and pop)... for around $30 you can eat some awesome burgers, bottomless fries, AND see a movie!!!
Then the third time we went, we did the same thing, but even at 7PM, we got seated QUICK (like in two minutes, even with a crowd waiting... not even enough time time to finish our video game). Then we ordered our food, and I swear not more than five minutes later, our food arrived! Holy shit!
The great thing is, with bottom-less fries, there isn't really any need for an appetizer. So like I said, for around $30-$32, you can get a great, filling, meal (even for fat asses like me), AND see a good flick!
So anyway, that's my 2 cents :).
They've just got the one place in Toledo, but after looking at their website, they have locations in different states. Happy eating!
Happy Halloween :)
Then California balked at this, and reduced the reuqirement to 10% HYBRID OR ELECTRIC cars. Pure electric cars have zero emissions (although I understand they have to get their energy SOMEWHERE... and that somewhere does emit pollution... but not nearly as much as the millions of vehicles on the road). Hybrid electric cars have both an electric and has engine.
Well, it's a great step in the right direction.
But the auto industry will have none of it. They don't want requirements.
Why should THEY be responsible for pollution? It's the people who drop the bomb... not the people who make it.
I fucking hate people who think like that.
It's not like they're requiring them to do 100% turnaround in one year. Come on. 10%.
But the industry won't have it. The cars don't require that much oil. It won't do!
And then you've got Bush. He lost Michigan in the 2000 elections. And this is how he kisses ass. That's what fucks me up about this entire issue. It's not even about pollution, they've turned it into politics. Bush wants to get re-elected, so here we go. Fuck the issues, let's politicize them!
A big FUCK YOU to all politicians on this Friday morning.
It wouldn't be clearer if there were constant drum rolls playing over every loudspeaker in the country.
And the game is afoot, too. Everyone who is anyone is trying to get a piece of the pie. The American Pie.
The Capitalists are fed up... they simply won't have it anymore.
Everyone is on edge. Is there anywhere on this planet that peace is abundant? I think not.
But we simply cannot have this. We cannot pay $1.50 per gallon of gasoline. It just won't do. Somebody must die. We must control the oil.
Forget the fact that this act may give the oil-keepers ample reason to release their furious hatred of anyone who is not them upon those same people. Forget the fact that this may give other hot tempers reason to explode. Forget the fact that some of these spots are so on-edge that they have crazy amounts of explosives pointed at one another. If the Capitalist must pay more than $25 for a tank of gas for the ole' 9-mile-a-gallon SUV... it just won't do.
Forget the fact that we're on the edge of cleaner vehicles. Hybrid gas/electric vehicles are here. Fuel cells are coming. Hydrogen is on the horizon. But they don't guzzle oil... that won't do.
Forget the fact that without constant world pressure, India and Pakistan will clash. Forget the fact that when the eyes of the world are watching Iraq burn on CNN China will launch an assault on Taiwain. Forget the fact that while we're watching instant replays of Saddam blow up, the Arabs and Jews will start World Wide War 3.
The drums are beating... can you hear them?
The drums are pounding... can you feel them?
The world is suffering from high blood pressure.
But I am unfazed by this, for I wonder what it will really change.
- www.JoeThielen.com