Archive for February, 2008
2/1/2008
The title of this post is inspired by a Frank Zappa album name.
You’ve heard me wax on about how people have an over-reliance on highways when driving anywhere.
Well, here’s a small tale about that from last nite:
Tampa, like any other metro area, has interstates. And because there is a crapload of traffic on a daily basis, the town is courteous enough to perform planned repair work at night. Night construction is commonplace in and around Tampa Bay in general. In addition, there are always signs posted several days in advance that more or less say “Hey! You! This road is going to be under construction from [this date] to [this date] at night. Consider yourself informed. Have a nice day.”
Small note: Yes, the crews do actually fix things and fast. This isn’t like other areas of the US where fix-work construction takes months and doesn’t really fix anything. Florida does get things done.
So anyway I’m traveling on I-75 southbound into Tampa and I see some big illuminated flashing signs that state, very plainly, that the road up ahead is closed and to take a detour.
Not a problem. I tap “Detour” on my GPS and grab the next exit.
It was what happened after I got off the exit ramp that was funny.
I see a bunch of people forced to take the exit because they have no other choice due to the road closure. They have no idea where they are. Several are driving really slowly wondering where to go; some were pulling into parking lots and turning around; others were indecisive about whether to turn around or not, etc.
As for me, I zipped right along on Bruce B Downs south to Busch Blvd.
One wonders if those other travelers, who are locals, ever made it home. They probably did, but not without getting a bit lost first. Some most likely headed the wrong way (north), picked up 56 then headed back south on 41. Others probably headed way up north, picked up 54 and then 301 southbound (the really really long way around).
I find that amusing. :-)
posted in blog | 1 Comment »
2/2/2008
Okay, here we go with a super-nerdy post.
At the time I write this I’m using Linux Mint. Originally I was just testing this for work, but I find that the more I use it the more I like it. This is the only, repeat, the only Linux I’ve ever used that I’ve ever liked. EVER.
Put it this way, I have been trying - FOR YEARS - to switch to a *nix because even though XP is cool and all that, I dig the way Linux does things. The way it runs apps, handles multitasking and so on is just better.
However there are two things that have prevented me from fully switching.
1. Certain hardware doesn’t work.
2. There are a few Windows-only apps that I absolutely cannot go without with no Linux (or Mac) variants.
Concerning hardware:
It’s mainly the dual-screen thing. Linux, or more specifically X, has never really gotten the multi-monitor thing right. And neither has Mac to be honest. Windows does multi-monitor better than any other OS. XP’s way of doing it just works and it’s stupidly easy.
However.. the Compiz multiple workspace environment is just that frickin’ good enough to go without the second monitor. As crazy as that sounds it’s that good. And it certainly beats the ever-lovin’ crap out of OS Xs “Spaces”.
In addition I’m finding getting a webcam to work to be a challenge. But then again I haven’t messed around with it all that much, so.. who knows.
Concerning apps:
Over the years I’ve been slowly but surely giving up commercial software in favor of open source stuff. The biggie was completely switching to OpenOffice. I’d say for the vast majority of people there is NO REASON to use Microsoft Office anymore. None. Why the frig should anyone spend hundreds of dollars for the “Pro” suite when OO does the same thing?
Aside from OO, the secondary biggies are my video and audio editing software. I have not at this point tried to install them in Mint but am going to give it a shot. If it actually works.. wow. If I can give up the dual-monitor thing I can literally switch over at that point.
. . .
There is one other thing which happens to be the biggest reason I might switch.
I can actually use Mint.
For a few hours I’ve been inside this OS using it happily and not giving it a second thought. I’m not fighting trying to find my way around; apps install easy; everything works like it should.
There is no bullshit with this distro. It doesn’t feel like a Linux. It feels like something I can actually use. THIS IS GOOD. A Linux that feels “normal” to use really, really kicks ass.
Now I know from personal experience that die-hard Linux nuts absolutely hate Linux Mint. They hate the fact it’s very “un-Linux”. This is a very GUI’fied OS.
It’s best said like this: Imagine Ubuntu with all the codecs, drivers and so on pre-installed and ready to rock with basically no need to do any command line bullshit. That’s Mint and that’s why I like it.
Linux nerds can have their CLI bullshit until the cows come home; I don’t care. It’s not that I’m unfamiliar with CLI as I can get around a bash prompt easily. But when it comes to a computer that I can actually use, CLI should not be required just to use a desktop OS. This is 2008. Desktop OSes use GUIs; that’s just the way it is. Mint kicks ass because you can basically do everything without going to the CLI.
If this actually works.. wow. I’ve never used any OS besides Windows for an extended period of time as my primary operating system.
To be freed of the shackles of a retail OS is just very attractive, what can I say.
posted in blog | 1 Comment »
2/2/2008
Bad grammar aside, I couldn’t agree more.
Originally grabbed in the comment section on this video.
posted in youtube | No Comments »
2/3/2008
I’ve been toying around with the idea of starting a Tampa waymarking club. I like GPS and I like photography. Geocaching, something I did do once, is cool and all that but I’m more into sightseeing than tromping thru the woods.
I have been out and about around Tampa Bay enough where I know good sightseeing spots that many locals don’t. In addition I’m also schooled enough in GPS where I know how to share locations easily.
So the plan, should it come to fruition, is this:
- I pick out some spots.
- I schedule one spot per week to visit by way of giving out the coordinates (more on that in a moment).
- People show up at the scheduled time, we meet and take a few photos.
That’s basically it.
Here’s the long explanation:
Most people who have mobile GPS in their cars usually have a Garmin StreetPilot or nuvi. Almost all those units (even the ones made 3 years ago) have the ability to accept POIs (Point-Of-Interest).
POIs are almost identical to “Favorites” or “My Locations” in a Garmin GPS. The only difference is that instead of going to Favorites, you go to “Custom POI” or “Points of Interest”, which is simply another menu selection.
I can create POI databases and I’m darn good at it.
Using the free POI Loader software from Garmin, I can send people the locations and all they have to do is plug in the GPS to the computer, run the POI software and load up the Points of Interest.
In the waymarking club I would send an announcement once a week with a POI file attached. They take that file, load it up, then just show up whenever the meet is scheduled.
Easy.
I don’t know exactly when I’m going to start this and honestly speaking, I don’t know if anyone would even be interested.
But hey, I’ll give it a shot. Who knows, I might meet some cool new people.
I’ll notify it here once I have the thing all set up.
posted in blog, gps | No Comments »
2/3/2008
I’ve been debating whether to post a photo of me with absolutely no hair and I figured today was the day.
So here it is:
No, I am not spear bald. I keep a “fuzz”.
Without my eyeglasses I look fairly decent. With them however I look absolutely horrible. And unfortunately I have to wear them almost all the time. This yet another reason why I should get laser eye surgery someday.
The Big Question: Why did I shave the melon again so soon?
Answer part 1 - I wanted to experiment and see if I could keep it a specific short length with the trimmer. That experiment failed miserably, so bzzz-z-z-z-zz and off the hair went again.
Answer part 2 - I don’t think I shaved it correctly the last time I did it so the hair wasn’t growing back in uniform fashion. There were certain parts of my head (particularly ’round the back near the neck) that I thought were shaved proper the first time, but evidently not. This time around I made darn sure to get that area good.
Speaking of which, my hair grew back way faster compared to the first time I shaved it. I don’t know why. Must be a science thing I’m not familiar with.
. . .
And now a few notes about hair from yours truly..
I hate hair. I hate everything about it.
And I’m not just talking about the hair on top of your head.
If there were a way to safely eliminate every single hair on my body permanently, save for eyebrows, I’d do it without hesitation. Yes I know there are ways to have that done now, but the problem is that methods of permanent hair removal aren’t safe, never have been and never will be. Whether you have hair removed the old-fashioned way or by laser, the danger to your skin is always the same as far as I’m concerned.
Strictly speaking about the hair on my head:
Ever since my grammar school days, my hair has always been a problem because no one ever knew how to cut it correctly.
I’ll put it to you this way: Right after I get my hair cut, the routine is always the same. I leave the barber, get in my car, look in the mirror and there’s only one thought in my mind..
“WRONG.”
It absolutely does not matter how good the barber is because they always mess it up every time, all the time.
Very irritating.
Part of the reason I started shaving the melon is due to the fact no barber cuts my hair right. I figure if the barber is going to fuck it up anyway, I might as well go ’round with a bald melon instead of a bad haircut.
posted in photos | 2 Comments »
2/4/2008
Since I started watching videos on YouTube 2 years ago (roughly) a lot of interesting stuff has happened.
The most interesting stuff has been YouTube’s “community”. I put that word in quotes because their community is a joke.
The worst flame-throwing trash-talk I ever witnessed was the in-game text chat playing Counter-Strike on public servers.
But then there’s YouTube. You can take the absolute worst chatters of Counter-Strike and amplify that by at least a billion. That’s YouTube. Even CS players know this is true. Well.. for those who still play CS anyway.
Recently a few “celebrity” YouTube users have brought to attention that cyber-bullying is a legitimate problem.
Is it? I don’t know. You be the judge.
I do however know that YouTube has held the unofficial title for a while now as having the absolute worst “community” user experience. You literally cannot surf that site without seeing the never-ending wave of negative crap going thru that place.
It’s gotten so bad that people are dropping off that site left and right, including some of the more popular “celebrities”.
YouTube users have been more or less screaming that Google has got to do something about this.
Well, sorry folks, they can’t. That’s what you get with a community that has been given the ability to police itself, so to speak. You don’t like the negative wave that goes thru the site and never stops? Tough luck. You can’t call on Google like screaming for your mother to kiss it and make it all better because that’s just not the way it works. You want “community”? Well, you got it, warts and all.
Deal with it.
posted in blog | No Comments »
2/4/2008
Yesterday I was feeling quite crappy and for some reason.. old. So I decided to post a personal ad and got a few responses. Yaaaay. :-)
From cute girls, mind you. Yes, plural. Girls.
In typical fashion I wrote my ad as I would a blog post. I don’t go into what kind of girl I want (save for the fact I don’t do BBWs) because to be honest it’s a really boring read. I like to make what I write on personals entertaining.
It works for me; I get responses. That’s all that counts.
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2/4/2008
Okay I was going to give each vid it’s own post but I’m too lazy to do that so here they all are with descriptions (following up from the last I did):
Crappy Strat Bic Lighter Blues
For some reason it always impresses people that I can play slide guitar with a Bic cigarette lighter. So I posted a vid on that.
Counter-Strike Condition Zero fy_snow foolishness
Only CS players will understand what this vid is about. The map shown, fy_snow is the dumbest map of all time but it’s on virtually every “pub” server out there. I disabled the comments on it because of the stupid comments that were coming in.
Michael McDonald at Ruth Eckerd Hall, Florida
A quick clip of when I went to see Michael McDonald at Ruth Eckerd Hall. Good show. Well done.
Acoustic Guitar in C Major Tuning
Guitar-nerdy type of vid.
New Strings on Acoustic
I had new strings on the acoustic and decided to record a vid.
‘93 Fender USA Standard Stratocaster
I only posted this vid due to some retard that thought I didn’t have a “real” Stratocaster, so I proved him wrong.
Star Wars Electric Lead Guitar
Posted because I didn’t see any other (good) videos of anyone playing the main theme to that movie. The vid didn’t quite catch on as I thought it would…
Squier Strat Blues
Posted because I hadn’t any videos of me playing with accompaniment.
Win XP taskbar stuff, Launchy, etc.
Posted as a response to a YouTube message I got.
Different ways to mount a Garmin Streetpilot
I thought this video would get some good traffic but it hasn’t done SHIT. :-)
Garmin 2008 Super Bowl Commercial Song
Okay, best for last (literally, it’s the last video I have on my channel at the time of this post).
This video at the time of this writing has just a hair under 6,500 views.
Why?
Because people didn’t read the whole title of the video. They just saw “Garmin 2008 Super Bowl…” and assumed it was the actual commercial.
Wrong. It’s just me playing along to the song in that video.
Several hi-traffic web sites mistakenly linked to me playing the song instead of the actual commercial.
Bwaahahahahah..
That’s funny. And no it was not my intention to deceive anyone - said honestly.
I haven’t broken any copyright by playing along to the song. If I included video from the commercial then yeah I would have, but I didn’t because it’s technically a cover song which is 100% legal. If it weren’t, every single cover song would be taken off YouTube post haste.
I disabled the comments and ratings on the vid because a few people got angry that my video was not the actual commercial. But Garmin posted it on their garminblog YouTube channel so all is right with the world.. hopefully. :-) Heh.
posted in youtube | No Comments »
2/5/2008
I found out that my MSI motherboard had an update for the BIOS so like any good computer geek I downloaded the update. Following the given instructions very carefully, I flashed the BIOS and shutdown for a reboot.
On boot the computer did not go past POST. The splash screen for the mobo would appear spit some text on the screen but never finish.
I rebooted and tried to get into the BIOS setup. No dice.
I said to myself “Okay, I’ll download the manual for this motherboard which will let me know what jumper to change so I can boot and ‘hard’ reset the board”.
The MSI web site has absolutely no PDF manual for my mobo. None. Zip. Zero. Zilch. And on attempt to go to the area where that stuff is, the site sends you right back to the home page.
And of course I don’t have the original manual. Who keeps that around anyway?
In short, my motherboard is useless. Something went wrong when I flashed the BIOS and now the fucking thing won’t boot.
I will never buy an MSI motherboard again as long as I live.
. . .
Mind you, I’ve flashed many BIOSes in my day on both desktops and laptops. The first one I ever flashed was an HP Vectra series box way back in the late 90s - A REALLY LONG TIME AGO.
Since then I have never had one not apply correctly. Of all the computer issues I’ve ever ran into, a BIOS flashing problem was not one of them.
Until today.
I squarely blame the problem on a poorly programmed BIOS flashing app, which is what MSI delivered.
I learned my lesson and won’t be buying from then again.
(sigh..)
So anyway, I wasted $55 and ordered a BIOSTAR mobo. The only real complaint about it by people who bought it is that it’s somewhat not overclock-friendly. Being that I don’t give a rat’s ass about that, the ‘board suits me just fine.
In addition it will take all my existing hardware with no problems. I can throw on my 256MB vid card, my 2GB of RAM, my Core Duo proc and all the rest.
I can only hope the BIOS fuck-up didn’t screw with any of the other hardware. If it did I am going to be one pissed off dude.
And in case you’re wondering how I’m writing this blog post, I’m doing it from the laptop.
posted in blog | 1 Comment »
2/6/2008
This rant is about people who completely fail at instant messaging.
If you are a slow typer:
You fail.
If you expect someone else (i.e. the person you’re chatting with) to hold up the entire conversation:
You fail.
If you are the question-question-question type but say nothing about yourself:
You fail.
If you use MSN:
You fail.
If you all of a sudden start typing really fast only when someone has pissed you off:
You fail.
If you have ever called someone “dude” in chat:
You fail.
If you use the same shortened misspelled crap-ass grammar on chat as you do when text messaging:
You fail. (You do have a full keyboard at your disposal so you have no excuse.)
If you start a conversation with a message that’s more than 15 words long:
You fail. (Don’t make me scroll..)
If you have ever typed “lol” in chat:
You fail.
If you have ever typed “LOL” as if it means something totally different than “lol”:
You fail.
If your screen name contains “xxx” anywhere in it:
You fail.
If your screen name begins and ends with an “x”:
You fail.
If your screen name begins with a number:
You fail.
If your screen name begins and ends with a number:
You fail.
If your screen name has a dash, period or underscore in it:
You fail.
If your screen name is an e-mail address:
You fail. (STOP USING MSN..)
posted in blog | 2 Comments »
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