25 things about me you may not know/care about/want to read

I wrote this on January 19th, 2009. 

It's still accurate.

I miss FriendFeed, even though it was like CoSo but less secure. 

 

OK, here's the deal.

Over at FriendFeed, there are these things called memes. This time it's a list, arbitrarily 25 items long, on "25 things you may not know about me".

This latest meme raises some issues for me. I've read some lists that were very revealing and some that were quite facile. Nearly all gave me insight into my fellow FriendFeeders, those I follow anyway, that I didn't have before.So I'd like to contribute to this one, since it actually achieves a worthwhile end.

But I question my own participation, partly because I don't make a habit of getting caught up in these all that often anyway, and partly because I'm not sure just how candid I want to be with this particular crowd. It is a social group, one of several I belong to. Not many of them overlap, there are only around 15 people I know on FriendFeed who I also know in other venues. Still, if I choose not to be totally candid to this group, just how selective should I be? Most of the people who follow me in FriendFeed don't know me from Adam (he's the one on the left)

On the other hand, those who read this blog are mostly a whole other group, people I know through Lockergnome or Scot's forum. That's the tech and comedic side of me. In FriendFeed I expose the more social and psychological me. I'm not sure these two worlds should interact. It could be like matter and anti-matter, you know? Like peanut butter and jelly.

So I decided to post an honest list (meaning that everything on the list is true, but not everything that's true is on the list). Nothing on the list should shock the sensibilities of anyone in either group. Those things about me that would I just won't mention. None of you need to know me that well.

I do take solice in knowing that in less than 5 minutes after reading this, most people will forget all or nearly all I post. This is a very transient medium, populated by far more people with ADD than any group should have to deal with.

In no particular chronology:

1. I'm usually about twice the age of most people interact with daily online. The same situation exists at work. I'm older than my boss's father.
2. I'm still surprised, every time I think about it, that I'm as old as I am. In two weeks I'll be 55. I have a pretty firm mental image, have had the same image for nearly 55 years now, of 55 as being the beginning of old-manhood. People that age have always been girlfriend's fathers, not my peers. Crap, I've always disliked old people. Now I are one.
3. I still smoke de' erb, mon. But other than the occasional toke and an addiction to cigarettes I'm much cleaner now than I was years ago.
4. I spent 13 years in Idaho. I went there to get a bit of money to travel on to Alaska. Stayed way too long and never got further North. Never regretted missing the chance. Froze my ass off well enough in Idaho to convince me that freezing my ass off was not the best life had to offer. After all, I'm a San Diego native, I've lived here for all but 17 years of my life. 
5. The San Diego (a.k.a. The Padre or the KGB) Chicken is the only famous person in my high school graduating class. 
6. For a decade I was a cocaine addict with a full time job living on my own. I can't even recall much about that time. Actually it screwed up my memory which is why... I quit cold turkey and haven't looked back. That was over 10 years ago.
7. I'm very reluctant to discuss gayness with my tech friends but not at all reluctant to mention it in FriendFeed or on other blogs. It has to do with being bisexual. Those who are exclusively gay or exclusively straight both look down, or at least sideways, at bisexuals. Because they aren't, they don't appreciate how anyone could be. If totally gay and totally straight are the extremes, I'm about 65% gay/35% straight, and that percentage can fluctuate by the hour some days. 
8. Speaking of my social handicaps, I'm also blonde (well, was), left-handed, an Aquarian, an atheist and a moderate in nearly everything. 
9. I went to the Regionals in (roller)skate dancing as a ten year old. 
10. In high school I was a wrestler and gymnast, performing both with stunning mediocrity. My passion was my position as news photographer for the school paper, later the yearbook and as the official campus radical. 
11. In high school I published an underground campus paper, called The Crotch, and ran off each issue on the mimeograph machine in the teacher's lounge. I had great circulation until I got nabbed and threatened with expulsion. But I could still write for the legit campus paper. 
12. I went into the Army because the girl I was dating then went in first. I had a great job but the company folded and she'd just enlisted. I figured, "what the hell, I need a job". 
13. My job in the Army was the best job I've ever had, the kind of job that fits your own interests and skills perfectly. I was a fool not to re-enlist. Most of my time was spent at NSA at Ft. Meade, Md. I was working with computers and sound systems in 1975. I was involved in cool secret work, much like working at Apple is today. Our outfit, the Army Security Agency, was a small unit within the Army, with our own command structure and our own rules. We rarely wore uniforms. Did I mention we got to play with computers? Oh, to still be there. I miss that job. 
14. My second favorite job was as a manager for Sam Goody (retail music chain-store). For two out of my 8 years I held the position of official greeter and man-servant for any celebrity who came into the store. We were Southern Cali's newest and biggest store at the time. We were also right under Planet Hollywood. I met hundreds of artists I would never have had the chance to chat with (man-servant = green room attendant as well) otherwise. But yeah, only 2nd best job. I'll take a computer over a celebrity any day.
15. My favorite physical activity used to be free rock climbing. I've always loved climbing things. I am the transitional form between great apes and humans. Or was, before I got a belly and started working jobs that required me to sit too much.
16. That belly is my biggest physical embarrassment. I used to be skinny, or thin as everyone used to say...with a forced smile. I had a 32" waist until I was in my mid-40s. In my late 30s my favorite pair of jeans were ones I'd worn in high school.
17. My last real relationship with a woman ended 24 years ago. We broke up, a couple of weeks later I moved to Idaho, a couple of months later I got a call from a mutual friend letting me know that Susan had quickly married a man she barely knew within a couple of weeks of my leaving. The day before his call her husband shot Susan to death at her workplace (Motorola) in a jealous rage. I'm still blown away when I think of the terrible mistake that all was. My feelings for her got sort of cemented in place that day, and I still remember her fondly. 
18. I was a city cop for two years. I was a terrible cop. Good job though for a person who can't stand routine. And I despise routine. Working in an assembly plant would kill me quickly. 
19. I was a motorcycle driving instructor for the local safety council and sponsored by Yamaha. Got some nice schwag but also got run over a time or two. Even had a hot exhaust pipe run into my arm. I said some very unkind things to that lady. I regret none of them.
20. I have a bunch of books and a few keepsakes of George Catlin, early American painter of Indians. He's in my mom's family. I idolized him as a kid. He got to do all the cool things I wished I'd done. I adopted his journal style of notekeeping, but I can't paint for shit.
21. My last vote for president was in 1972. For a variety of reasons I voted for Richard Nixon that year. I was at the height of my anti-establishment ferver and I voted for Nixon. I knew it was wrong, I knew I'd regret it and I regretted it. If on the first day you take driver's training and you manage to crash the car into a tree causing mild injuries to everyone inside and killing a neighborhood dog tied to the tree, you should perhaps dedicate yourself to memorizing the bus schedules and swear off driving yourself. Voting for Nixon was my collision with the reality I was a crappy voter. Best I just take the path wide of a voting booth. Best for all of us. 
22. I had the opportunity while in Idaho to raise a gray wolf. She was part of the reintroduction program. She was a breeder, pretty much humanized but not completely. Still, I could sit next to her while she ate an entire chicken and not worry. I had a young silver-colored male huskey that became her boyfriend. He was neutered, so no problem there.
23. I sang tenor in choirs from preschool through college. I love classical music but really love Gregorian chant and polyphonic motets. I have all the Anonymous4 CDs. I'm an atheist who loves early church music. So? They got one thing right. 
24. I'm an ordained minister. Yes, it was an online ordination, but I (and the state of California) take it seriously. I do appreciate the mystical. I just don't get carried away.
25. While living in Idaho I was surprised to discover that I could easily have been a cowboy. The Western rural lifestyle really appealed to me.

I'm only reposting for those who may be curious. 

But it's my life, no one else's. At no point has it gone as planned.  

How to confuse an idiot

63 trillion Florida voters can't be wrong...again

My family grows by one

Meet Cleo, my new roommate.

After nearly a year of dog-less existence I once again have a canine companion. Cleo is a 15 week old Cocker Spaniel. Her previous owners have been reassigned to Japan and Cleo can't go along. So she's decided to share my life and home.

She's a doll. She enjoyed the truck ride home, she couldn't be less interested in cats and gets along with other dogs. After a quick tour to become familiar with the layout of her new home, she's laid down next to my chair, completely relaxed. She seems to know when to be playful and when to relax. Monday we'll see how she does at work. She'll have a bed and kennel she can sleep in there, frequent walks and plenty of attention from the staff and customers.

My last Cocker couldn't make the trip back to San Diego with me due to not getting along well with Mariah, the alpha female that had been with me for years prior to the move. I found her a good home in Idaho, but regretted having to leave her behind. That was in 1995.

Thirteen years later there's once again a Cocker around the house. Of all the breeds I've owned, Cocker Spaniels have to be among the most mellow, the most naturally well behaved of any of them. They are trusting, loyal and easy going, good traits in dogs and humans alike.

We're going to relax for a little while then go for our first walk around the neighborhood. We'll see what she thinks about her surroundings.

Today is a good day.

Wal-Mart says, "Vote Republican or Else"

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is mobilizing its store managers and department supervisors around the country to warn that if Democrats win power in November, they'll likely change federal law to make it easier for workers to unionize companies -- including Wal-Mart.

In recent weeks, thousands of Wal-Mart store managers and department heads have been summoned to mandatory meetings at which the retailer stresses the downside for workers if stores were to be unionized.

According to about a dozen Wal-Mart employees who attended such meetings in seven states, Wal-Mart executives claim that employees at unionized stores would have to pay hefty union dues while getting nothing in return, and may have to go on strike without compensation. Also, unionization could mean fewer jobs as labor costs rise.

The actions by Wal-Mart -- the nation's largest private employer -- reflect a growing concern among big business that a reinvigorated labor movement could reverse years of declining union membership. That could lead to higher payroll and health costs for companies already being hurt by rising fuel and commodities costs and the tough economic climate.

The Wal-Mart human-resources managers who run the meetings don't specifically tell attendees how to vote in November's election, but make it clear that voting for Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama would be tantamount to inviting unions in, according to Wal-Mart employees who attended gatherings in Maryland, Missouri and other states.

"The meeting leader said, 'I am not telling you how to vote, but if the Democrats win, this bill will pass and you won't have a vote on whether you want a union,'" said a Wal-Mart customer-service supervisor from Missouri. "I am not a stupid person. They were telling me how to vote," she said.  (Source-WSJ)

Spam, wonderful spam

Here are my favorite spam email subject lines for the last week.  Keep 'em coming, guys.  I can always use new material.

You've got male

The Loin King

The legend in bagger's pants

See the cockasian at work


Meanwhile, spam in a video...

Ping.fm's UI appears to me to be a sidebar in Facebook.

35 Rules for Good Writers

1. Verbs HAS to agree with their subjects.
2. Prepositions are not words to end sentences with.
3. And don't start a sentence with a conjunction.
4. It is wrong to ever split an infinitive.
5. Avoid cliches like the plague. (They're old hat.)
6. Also, always avoid annoying alliteration.
7. Be more or less specific.
8. Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are (usually)
unnecessary.
9. Also too, never, ever use repetitive redundancies.
10. No sentence fragments.
11. Contractions aren't necessary and shouldn't be used unless you don't want to seem too formal.
12. Foreign words and phrases are not always apropos.
13. Do not use more words, phrases, sentences, or other linguistic elements than you, yourself, actually really and definitely need to use or employ when expressing yourself or otherwise giving voice to what you may or may not be thinking when you are trying to say how many words you should use or not use when using words.
14. One should NEVER generalize.
15. Comparisons are as bad as cliches.
16. Don't use no double negatives.
17. Eschew ampersands & abbreviations, i.e. etc.
18. One-word sentences? Eliminate.
19. Analogies in writing are like feathers on a snake.
20. The passive voice is to be ignored.
21. Eliminate commas, that are, not necessary. Parenthetical words however should be enclosed in commas.
22. Never use a big word when a diminutive one would suffice.
23. Kill excessive exclamation points!!!
24. Use words correctly, irregardless of how others elude to them.
25. Understatement is always the absolute best way to put forth earth shaking ideas.
26. Use the apostrophe in it's proper place and omit it when its not needed.
27. Eliminate distracting quotations. As Ralph Waldo Emerson is said to have once remarked, "I hate quotations. Tell me what you know."
28. If you've heard it once, you've heard it a thousand times: Resist hyperbole; not one writer in a million can use it correctly.
29. Puns are for children, not groan readers.
30. Go around the barn at high noon to avoid colloquialisms.
31. Even IF a mixed metaphor sings, it should be derailed.
32. Who needs rhetorical questions?
33. Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement.
And finally...
34. Proofread carefully to see if you any words out.

Teen Sells 17328 Boxes of Girl Scout Cookies

This item was stuck in between the OMG and WTF files:

Thin Mints, Samoas and Do-Si-Dos have helped a 15-year-old Girl Scout not only satisfy thousands of hungry tummies desiring the perfect sweet treat, but has also helped fund Jennifer Sharpe’s trip to Europe. The Michigan teen sold an amazing 17.328 boxes of Girl Scout cookies, a number that likely set a national record. Sharpe peddled her irresistible cookie collection on street corners and raised about $21,000, enough cookie dough (hee hee) to fund Troop 813’s 10-day trip to Europe.

Who needs a cat tree?

 
Cats never cease to amaze me. I have no idea how Lizbeth can get onto the second shelf above the toilet without causing anything on the rack above her to fall over. I envy her grace.

On the downside, I'm going to have to launder those towels again.

In the dark

A slice of (real) life

Question of the day

The compliment of suburban is urban.

Why isn't the compliment of a suburb an urb?

Code Monkey Dance

I ran across this video on The Uncredible Hallq's blog and enjoyed it so much I had to share. I cannot fathom why I like it, I just do. I think I'll do the Code Monkey dance at random moments at work tomorrow.

First impressions

Poking a little fun at some of my favorite tech bloggers. Click on the image to view.

S'truth

Trying too hard

Every President's Day local companies produce ads to entice buyers to purchase their products. Nothing unusual about that. What amazes me is the length some stores will go to in order to relate their product to the presidents. How do you sell furniture in relation to a federal holiday celebrating two U.S. presidents? You offer "presidential-sized savings". Are those Taft sized savings (he was so fat, weighing 330 pounds, that he got stuck in the White House bathtub) or are they only James Madison sized (5 feet 4 inches tall and weighed under 100 pounds)?

What the hell, presidential-sized saving? And we wonder at the illiteracy rates among our children.

Four faces of Samuel Barber

One of my favorite classical pieces is Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings. It is in turn melancholic, inspirational, profound and restful. I've put together four videos featuring different musician's interpretation of this beautiful melody.


I can't honestly say I prefer one to the other. In their own way each version illustrates another facet of the work.


The first is the traditional, classical version. Second, a vocal version performed by The Choir of Trinity College,Cambridge,UK.Directed by Richard Marlow. Third, an electronic interpretation by William Orbit and finally, Dj Tiesto presents the Adagio in a techno style.


I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

Jeber loves LOLcatz

You can now order a book of the original LOLcat cartoons from the original artist.

Limited edition signed drawing copy of Meet the Laugh-Out-Loud Cats, available from Hobotopia.

Kubuntu on an HP dv2000

I recently got an HP dv2410us and finally got tired of Vista, so I wiped the drive and installed Kubuntu 7.10. I was jazzed, all the major components worked immediately.

The only hardware that didn't work was the built-in webcam (no great loss), my bluetooth mouse (OK, I have a USB one as well) and the wireless (uh-oh).

It just so happened I was on my way to the KDE 4.0 release event at Google the next weekend, so I left it alone and waited to see if one of the great minds there could offer a suggestion.

To my surprise and pleasure, I had two great minds take a look at it. Jonathan Riddell (Jonathan is the only Canonical employee who works full-time with the Kubuntu project and is the lead maintainer and KDE developer) and a VP from AMD both examined my laptop and reached the disappointing conclusion that the Broadcom chipset in it is too new for Linux to have developed drivers for it.

So now I'm dual-booting Kubuntu with Vista and have the best of both worlds (well, on the Windows side that's open for debate).

My visit to Nirvana

 
I just got back from three days at the Google campus attending the release event for the Linux KDE version 4.0 desktop. The event itself was great. I got to meet quite a few very smart people from all over the world, united by our interest in Linux and the KDE desktop manager. But I don't think any of us could get over the fact that we were at Google, geek heaven, the holy of holies for the internet crowd.

We were "asked" not to say much about the Google campus, so I'm afraid I can't go into much detail about the place. We were not allowed to take pictures inside, only outside and only when accompanied by Google security or staff. Let's just say that having spent a few years working at the NSA I didn't feel that out-of-place at the Googlplex.

Vote for Stephen

Marimo-All About a Dog

For anyone who has ever lived with, and loved, a dog.

BBC NEWS | Obituary: Oscar Peterson

One of the jazz world’s greats has died. Oscar Peterson was a truly gifted pianist. He’ll be missed by all of us who love jazz.
BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Obituary: Oscar Peterson

Lessons learned...the hard way

1) Do not under any circumstances microwave a full cup of coffee with sugar already added.

2) Keep a roll of paper towels handy near the microwave.

3) Do not attempt to drink the coffee you made in the process of learning rule #1.

Do not push the Red Button

Put The Big Red Button on your site

Polish off your week

...with this music video. Everybody, on put your shoes for dancing into disco.



Don't blame me if this gets stuck in your head all weekend.

Microsoft shuts down Santa for talking dirty

And Bill O'Reilly's upset about store clerks who say, "Happy Holidays"?

Microsoft Corp. quickly shut down Santa Claus’ Web privileges after it found out the automated elf it created for kids to instant message with was talking naughty, not nice.

(MSNBC is a joint Microsoft - NBC Universal venture.)

Last year, Microsoft encouraged kids to connect directly to “Santa” by adding northpolelive.com to their Windows Live Messenger contact lists. The Santa program, which Microsoft reactivated in early December, asked children what they wanted for Christmas and could respond on topic, thanks to artificial intelligence.

The holiday cheer soured this week when a reader of a United Kingdom-based technology news site, The Register, reported that a chat between Santa and his underage nieces about eating pizza prompted Santa to bring up oral sex.

One of the publication’s writers replicated the chat Monday. After declining the writer’s repeated invitations to eat pizza, a frustrated Santa burst out with, “You want me to eat what?!? It’s fun to talk about oral sex, but I want to chat about something else.”

The exchange ended with the writer and Santa calling each other “dirty bastard.”

Microsoft spokesman Adam Sohn said the company’s engineers tried to clean up Santa’s vocabulary, but even after making changes to the software, the company wasn’t comfortable keeping him online.

“It’s not like if you say, ’Hello Santa,’ he’s going to throw inappropriate stuff at you,” said Sohn.

Sohn said Santa’s lewd comment was sparked by someone “pushing this thing to make it do things it wasn’t supposed to do.”

Santa is just one of many “agents,” or automated IM programs, that computer users can chat with on Live Messenger. Some are useful — customer service agents, for example — while others are frivolous, like an alien that responds to IMs with burbling extraterrestrial noises. Sohn said some of the bots are programmed to fend off inappropriate messages.

“If they’re meant to be cheeky and have fun with you, they may repeat certain things back,” he said, or respond to certain words with “that’s naughty.”

Sohn said Microsoft was not aware that the Santa code included the foul language, but insisted the company did not suspect an employee prank.

Microsoft disabled Santa Tuesday. On Wednesday, northpolelive.com appeared to be online in one reporter’s essenger contact list, but Santa did not respond to her messages.

(Source)

This almost makes Vista seem benign.

Just because it's Thursday

OH HAI HAPPY THANSGIBBEN!

Critters

I've been trying to familiarize myself with my new video camera. Here's a recent test starring two of my roommates.

Good news at Computerworld Magazine

I have it on very good authority that Computerworld Magazine is naming Scot Finnie as the next editor in chief.

I'm very happy for Scot. In addition to being a very good friend of mine, he's a dedicated and hard-working writer with an absolute passion for the computer industry. He has written with great foresight on the re-emergence of the Mac as well as the problems Microsoft has had creating enthusiasm for Vista in the business world.

The current editor in chief, Don Tennant, is an excellent writer and very bright fellow. He has spent time at the National Security Agency, as have I, and no doubt we both came by our fascination with the world of computing from that assignment. I further have no doubt that he could find no one more qualified and worthy to hand his reigns to than Scot.

I know Computerworld Magazine will only improve under Scot's skillful guidance. I wish him and his family all the best as he begins his new assignment.

Red sky at night

A shot taken this evening of the sun setting through the smoke of San Diego's wildfires. I am in what has become the center of the unburned area. All around us, North, East and South, wildfires are burning out of control. If any of them reach the ocean, we will be completely surrounded by fire.

The air smells of smoke and ash is falling like dust. My co-worker is among the thousands that have been evacuated from their homes ahead of the approaching inferno. Luckily, I live in an area of the city not threatened.

With the lack of rain recently, I think we all knew the likelihood of wildfires was great this year. But I doubt any of us could have predicted just how severe the situation would become.

San Diego doesn't "get" mass transit

It's a shame that in a city as large as San Diego mass transit isn't more popular than it is. While the numbers of riders has increased, still the majority of San Diegans drive their own cars. Yet the transportation board is in large part responsible for the lack of mass transit usage.

Bus routes are confusing and often don't service the areas most in need of public transportation. The MTB fails to properly police its vehicles, violence and disturbances are common on the buses and trollies. And now, instead of making buses and the trolly more accessible, they are determined to further erode its user base.

On Thursday, across-the-board fare hikes were proposed at a Metropolitan Transit System hearing, as was the possibility of eliminating bus and trolley transfers.

Despite the fact that San Diego's buses and trolleys are attracting more riders than ever, officials said finances are stretched thin and that they may be forced to increase fare prices.

"My concern is: Why go up, when I can barely get around now?" said bus rider Sherry Madison.Officials with the MTS said they are dealing with a $9 million deficit."There are 100 people here today, and we agree with their messages," said Rob Schupp of the MTS. "We don't want to eliminate services. We don't want to raise fares. That's not what we're all about, but we don't have many choices."

Some critics, though, said that raising fares was not the way to find money to solve the problem."They're trying to cut corners wherever they can, but you shouldn't look to … poor people and working-class people who are serving the community to hit them with that burden," said Marlena Lewis of Citizens for Effective Transportation.

"It's an unjust situation."Among the proposals being floated are increasing the local service price by a quarter this year and another 25 cents next year. Also changing would be the monthly pass, which could jump from $60 to $68 over the next two years.

One of the most controversial changes, though, has nothing to do with raising fares. Instead, it is the elimination of transfers."I think eliminating the transfer system -- after people in San Diego for so long have become accustomed to that method of the transfer system -- is something that does not need to occur now," Lewis said.MTS officials said that some people are cheating the transfer system, so they are mulling its elimination in favor of a $5 day pass."A number of agencies around the country are eliminating the transfers and going to the day pass," Schupp told NBC 7/39. "It's much simpler to administrate, simpler to sell, it's simpler to enforce."

The MTS board approved the rate hikes and transfer-elimination proposals on Thursday. Now, the proposals must be green-lighted the San Diego Association of Governments, which will vote on the plan on Friday.

(Source)

All the Googles in Googleville...

So here's how I see my future;

I've accomplished the first step. I've sold my soul to Google. In exchange, I received a gmail account, a spot on Orkut, a Blog on Blogger and unlimited access to Google/Froogle/Google images, groups and news. I have heard that others have received these same benefits without bartering their soul, but I cannot confirm these rumors, and besides, I wasn't using mine anyway, so it wasn't a big deal.

In the next few years, after Google buys up Microsoft and Intel, and owns a controlling amount of stock of the internet, they'll want their piece of the real world. Real estate, literally. So somewhere in the mid-West will blossom Googleville, a beta community. I, of course, will be among the first in line to apply for residence. Landscaping be damned, we'll all be in our lovely Googlehomes, sitting in front of our GoogleMachines computers with broadband access via our Google ISP, 24 hours a day. Blooging this, gmailing that, searching for even more entertainment. Once a week I'll trek down to GoogleMart for my supplies, maintaining my net connection with my Googleberry device. On the way back I'll stop to fill the tank of my Googlemobile at GoogleGas, then hurry back home to surf/blog/email/search some more.

Soon I'll be at Mecca, Google headquarters, heaven on Earth. I shall bathe in Googloodness. I shall feast on Googlisms. I shall share my dream of the future and secure my place in it. I will be reborn as BetaBoy©, a registered Google property.

Behold, I am Googlfied.

Ah, could my future be any brighter?

Taste testing and KDE

I get a lot of fun invitations and I try to attend most of the events to which I'm invited. This week I received two invitations that exemplify the range of those I receive.

Shortly I'll be taking part in a taste testing for Jack in the Box, a San Diego corporation. I believe they intend to introduce some new salads to their menu and want feedback from regular customers. Sad to say, I am fully qualified. There's a JitB far too close to the store where I work and I find myself there several times a week to scarf up a quick lunch. I used to be a bit of a health nut, but I find as I get older attempting to preserve my youthful appearance and vigor are less easy to justify. That's not to say I've allowed myself to totally go to hell, it just means when Jack invites me to taste his new salads, I'm pleased to accept.

The other invitation I received is far more exciting. I get to attend the official launch of KDE 4.0 (that's the Linux K Desktop Environment) at one of the shrines in Geekdom.

This is an official invitation to the KDE 4.0 Release Event at
Mountain View, California. This event is being held to celebrate the
release of KDE's latest computing environment, KDE 4.0. Alongside
numerous KDE community members, this event has been opened to our
industry partners, and members of the press. This is an opportunity
to take a closer look at the KDE 4.0 release, and mingle with the KDE
community at large. Presentations will be held on the architecture of
KDE 4.0, prominent KDE applications, KDE's various communities and
plans for the future. This event provides an invaluable opportunity
for members of the press, I.T. industry and the KDE community to meet
in person and discuss the free software movement.

Where: The Google Headquarters, Mountain View, California
Hotel: The Wild Palms Hotel, Mountain View, California
When: January 17th to 19th, 2008.

Hotel rooms have been kindly sponsored by Google for those with
official invitations, and all event meals will be catered. The only
thing you need to do is get there!

Oh, I'll be there alright. My deepest thanks to Chris Pirillo for the invitation. He obviously knows my interests.

It seems over 90% of the social events I attend are technology related. I couldn't be more pleased. After all, I've got to keep my inner geek well fed.

My new wheels

My new ride.  Hell on wheels at 25MPH. So much fun.

gigapan: GigaPan allows users to upload, share, and explore brilliant gigapixel+ panoramas from around the globe.

gigapan: GigaPan allows users to upload, share, and explore brilliant gigapixel+ panoramas from around the globe.

Ever wish you could do more with your digital camera? Here's a site that should fire up your imagination. Contribute your images and create a gigapixel panorama. You can also view panoramas on Google Earth. This is truly awesome technology.

A beautiful case mod

This is perhaps the most fantastic, beautiful and envy-worthy case mod I've ever come across. About all I know about it is that is was built in Europe, it's a water-cooled PC in the steampunk style. I'm in desperate geek-love with this machine. If anyone can read the source forum entry and can add any more info on this work of tech art, please do.

Tired guy and fat cat

I thought I'd post a couple of shots from the somewhat more organized cottage. Speaking of images, check out http://play.blogger.com/. You can watch real-time as images are uploaded to Blogger accounts. It's rather fascinating.

New haircut but need a shave:


A few of the jazz CDs I've unpacked:


A novel way to store the classical CDs:





Fat cat by herself:

Two songs for Maryjane

She wanted me to hear this one;







and I wanted her to hear this one;







To round out this Incubus moment, here's one we both understand;

Freedom for the Internet

Today I offer Henry Rollins, as profane and angry as George, with a different slant on the topic. Language Warning; profane and opinionated.

Who Owns You?

George Carlin is a hero of mine. Not because he's smarter than everyone else, not because he's more successful than everyone else. Carlin, like Lenny Bruce before him, has the courage and insight to say the things we don't want to hear, to tie together the threads of thought we're often too distracted by daily life to put together ourselves. Carlin says what ought to be said, what needs to be said, whether we want to hear it or not. He presents the alternative view to the news broadcasts, the television commercials, the pronouncements from the government. His is the clear vision of the common man. And nowhere does he cut to the quick deeper than in the following video from one of his concerts. Be warned, Carlin's routine contains many words you won't want your children to hear, and quite a few obscenities as well. Carlin's objective has always been to make people think for themselves. I hope this video causes you to think.

Everything Old is New Again

A very good friend of mine inspired me to read back through this blog today, and I happened across this entry, created 3 years ago to the month. Amazing. I find myself in nearly the same position once again.

My Mom is currently in the hospital and soon to be living in an assisted-care facility, so I'm being forced to consider moving, which will entail finding a new job as well. Since I moved her in with me 3 years ago, her retirement pay has gone toward offsetting the rent here. That support is ending, as we need to divert funds to her care now. The pay I receive, while above minimum wage, is insufficient to allow me to rent another place in the ridiculously expensive city.

I hope this doesn't become a habit; every three years having to post that I'm soon to be homeless and unemployed.

These are times that try men's souls, as it were. If I were ever to doubt my atheistic conclusions, days like this provide the opportunity. How nice it would be to think that some super-being would swoop in and make everything better. How comforting it would be to dump all my problems in the cosmic lap of this being and expect him to fix them. But I'm not tempted at all. Reality may not be all that comforting or pleasant, but it is reality. I will muddle through this current situation much as I always have, depending on myself and my friends and family to find a resolution. No guarantees, no promises, no hope in mythical beings. I can only be determined and thankful for the help I get.

The Internet Crash of 2007

The Onion outdoes CNN...

Follow your dream

There are people who don’t always fit into society as smoothly as others. They are the ignored, the passed-by, the unimportant. Those are seldom attributes they assign themselves; they’re assigned by others.

But then there are those who have found the nugget of value within themselves. Paul Potts is one of those. He’s not especially attractive. He got bullied in school. He could easily have become bitter, disillusioned and withdrawn. Instead he uncovered a talent, an absolutely beautiful voice, and despite being a mobile-phone salesman, he gathered up the courage to risk humiliation by sharing his ability with the world. And the world is better off for that.

Please allow yourself to enjoy this too short video, and let it encourage you to follow your own dream.

Blogged with Flock

Computer Dominoes

A different kind of computer crash...

Weemee

Oliver kicks back

 
In two short months, Oliver has adapted to his new home admirably. He already has a favorite chair and a favorite blanket. It doesn't appear he finds KPBS mentally stimulating.

Penguin Pete's Blog - 10 Signs you've been using Firefox too long...

Penguin Pete's Blog - 10 Signs you've been using Firefox too long...
Penguin Pete offers the following 10 signs you've been using Firefox too long...

1. You sit right next to a window but you still just look at your ForecastFox icon to see what it's like outside.

2. You fumble with the TV remote for a minute before remembering that you can't open another channel in a new tab.

3. Everybody else says "Google it" now, but in addition you can also Yahoo it, Wiki it, and eBay it.

4. Your sole measure of a celebrity's popularity is whether they appear on Stumble-Upon.

5. You have to think hard to remember what a pop-up or a banner ad looks like.

6. You think Debian should have backed down on the whole Iceweasel thing.

7. Your distaste for Internet Explorer has branched into an irrational phobia of the letter 'e'.

8. You message your spouse through ChatZilla to find out what's for dinner instead of just going upstairs.

9. A web page without CSS looks naked to you.

10. Your spelling used to be terrible until version 2.0 came out.

I refuse to say how many and which of those apply to me, but it's more than one.

Blogger's Blues

I guess for some geeks, nothing could be more depressing, more disheartening, than to do everything they can think of to increase their blog's audience and interest - submitting site maps to Google, studying SEO tips, posting every 13 minutes - and then see a Google Alert for blogs return a result like the following;

First post- why blog?
ProgressiveU.org - San Mateo,CA,USA
My name is Kaylen and this is my first blog. I'm going to write about WHY I made this blog, and why I am planning on writing in it each day. ...

It makes me just want to slash my wrists.

Well, not me...I meant the hypothetical blogger I mentioned above.

Blogging for bloggers

I've been reading a lot of comments from internet pundits lately predicting that 2007 will be the year that blogging will reach its zenith in popularity.

The blogging phenomenon is set to peak in 2007, according to technology predictions by analysts Gartner.
The analysts said that during the middle of next year the number of blogs will level out at about 100 million.
The firm has said that 200 million people have already stopped writing their blogs.

BBC News

Since I'm notoriously oblivious to most trends, I'm choosing to ignore this one as well. While I might agree that the number of quality personal blogs may level off or even decrease in the near future, I think we're going to see an increase in the number of companies that embrace the blogging ethic to create a relationship with their customers and the public at large.

To help empower bloggers, I'm creating a forum for both personal and professional bloggers that will offer resources and support. Check it out and join up. Share your knowledge and pick up some hints, learn more about customizing your site and how to provide quality content. Any type of blogger using any platform/software is welcome. Bloggers need community, too.

Bloggers-exchange.com forum. Let me know what you think.

Test results

My test post went well, as did the switch over from the old Blogger to the new Googlfied Blogger. So I guess I'm ready to resurrect this, my oldest and original blog.

I'm a huge fan of the blog concept. Blogs are the first realizations of a true world democracy. Whether that is for good or ill still isn't known. So far I perceive the positives as outweighing any negative aspects.

I don't expect that the Chinese government, perhaps even our own, would agree with my statement. But that in itself is encouraging. Governments are legitimate only as far as they pay attention to the needs of their citizens. Now, the citizens have a way to let their needs, concerns and attitudes be heard. The internet could very well be the impetus for a worldwide democratic revolution. No longer do groups of people have to suffer in silence. On the web, every voice has an equal chance of being heard.

Even yours.

This is a test

This is a test of the new Blogger system. Had this been a real post, there would have been interesting content.

Useful Dead Technologies || kuro5hin.org

Sometimes I feel like a ludite. Even though my house is full of electronic gizmos, there are times I regret not having the sturdy, dependable hardware of the 50's. So when I read what mcgrew published over at Kuor5hin,Useful Dead Technologies || kuro5hin.org, I had to chuckle. I guess I'm not the only curmudgeon around here. What's really amazing is some of the feedback he got. Whew...That's why you never have a conversation like this in a bar.

Serial blog killer

I just killed off "Weakly Whirled News" and I intend to also kill "News and Reviews" before the evening's out. I had to hesitate when it came time to hit the "Delete this blog?" button. Killing off content that sometimes took a day or two to perfect is really difficult. For a writer, it's a little like killing off a child, though the state looks much more kindly on killing a blog. But I really need to limit my blogging to just the two that I originally wanted to have, so the dross needed to be culled. Hmmm, maybe I'm a serial culler...

That's so gay

With my deepest apologies to James Taylor...

Sometimes my brain likes to modify song lyrics and find new meanings in older tunes. So here's my nomination for the Queer Nation anthem:

"Shower with the ones you'd love to love,
Show them the way that you feel.
Everything's gonna be much better
if you only will..."

OK, I promise to behave for a day or two.

San Diego gets weather

COX.net for San Diego - Local: "(San Diego, CA) -- For the second-consecutive day, heavy rains and gusty winds caused blackouts throughout San Diego County. SDG&E officials say most of the outages occurred between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m., leaving a total of about 82 thousand homes and businesses without electricity. Hardest hit were Logan Heights, City Heights, Encanto and the College areas. The public is being urged to stay away from downed power lines. Crews are working as quickly as possible to restore service. For an update on outages in your area, visit www.sdge.com.
"
See, we do occasionally get real weather. Rain, winds, darkness...we'll be talking about this week for the next six months. Any weather outside the usual 50-70 degrees, light winds, sunny makes the news for ages afterwards. Of course our inches of water pales in comparison to the tsunami-affected areas of the world. Tidal waves are things of our nightmares. Living along the coast as we do, it's a frequent worry, and always a possibility. Even here I understand we had 8 foot waves as a result of that earthquake. Amazing.

Blog about a blog about blogging

Take a few minutes and read this Shovelware entry in which Mark Dery shares his thoughts on what constitutes an interesting blog. He even wonders if the term "blog" isn't just ugly and awkward enough to qualify for improvement. I would add that the term "blog" has now become a pejorative term in the general population, spoken with more than a little smirk in the tone. It makes me apologetic when I mention my blogs. "Journal" at least has maintained a bit dignity.

I agree with much of what Mark writes. I'm more a fan of the one-voice blog, even though bOING-bOING and Fark are two of my favorites. But they don't give me a sense that I know the person behind them. I'd still rather read Doc Searls, Joi Ito, Chris Pirillo, and even Mark Dory. I still enjoy a conversation, even when it's electronic. Dave Berry's blog gives you a very general view of what qualifies as interesting to him, but that's it. Doc shows you pictures out his window, then discusses the current state of online publishing, or his recent trip to England. Always interesting, always personal.

But I haven't gotten caught up in the "newsy" blogs much. I admire those with enough time and the proper connections to be able to practice electronic journalism that's as good or better than that provided in print or on television. -I like that major news services are having to credit bloggers with having broken a few important stories, or at least providing the flame that begets the fire. And I'm not surprised or bothered by the bias expressed in their coverage. It's that personal voice thing again. But I'm more philosophical than topical, so I simply don't read that many of them. I do like Andrew Sullivan, because he'll speak forth on esoteric and often unpopular themes.

Spreading the...joy?

Not exactly, unless you enjoy the effects of influenza.

Of course I haven't helped the situation any. I sit and complain about people that come to work with a cold or the flu in an environment in which we share confined spaces and headphones and wind up infecting me...while I too am at work. My excuse is that as a new employee I don't qualify for sick pay until after 90 days. But in truth, none of us is wealthy enough to be missing work very often. So this bug is sure to be going around for a while yet.

I now believe one of the worst jobs to have with an illness that causes you to sneeze and cough constantly and clogs your sinuses completely is one that requires you to talk to people on the phone 8 hours a day. It has to qualify as a form of torture. I'll bet I took half the number of calls last night that I usually do, simply because I had to pause after each one to blow my nose and pop a coughdrop in my mouth.

And my attitude really takes a dive when I don't feel well. I'm one of those cranky sick people. It takes all my 20+ years of customer service skills to remain pleasant and upbeat on the phone. I've noticed that it's also very difficult to troubleshoot a problem when your brain is fuzzy with antihistamines. Usually I try to think in a flow-chart fashion, from easy to hard, simple to complex. Hopped up on DayQuil, my mind seems to wander all over the place. "Oh shoot, let's go back to device manager for the third time and let's check another thing I should have had you check the last two times we were there." Blah...I hate doing that to people. At least they know I'm not following a script. No one would write a script that screwy.

No, the crises ain't over

But I was getting tired of that online mid-life crises thing. It was one of those "good ideas at the time".

Instead I decided to give this blog a more general title, the name I would have given to my bar in the Bahamas had life taken me in that direction. But I never got to be another Jimmy Buffett. Hell, I never got to be another Warren Buffett. Just another cat in cyberspace.

My love for jazz is the inspiration for the Juke Joint subtitle. If I'd have been around in the 40's, I'd have had a juke joint downtown somewhere, a smokey place with live jazz and beer, conversation and marijuana. Basie and Mingus hanging out in the back room, while Peterson held the stage for a set or two. Red neon and Blue Moon.

Oh yeah...dig it

Low man with totem pole

I've had a few jobs where I was able to move from new hire to management in six months. I even worked for a company in the '70s in which I was able to go from part-timer to Vice President within a year.

But I've never before now worked for a company that on my third day of employment invited me to sit down with the head of operations and several others to discuss the future developement of the company. And this was not a "welcome to the job" type meeting. This was a true working session, with input welcome and noted and good ideas incorporated into the planning documents as we talked.

I'm amazed, and impressed. To have the #2 man in the company (actually he's the #1 man, as the company's president is a woman) asking me direct questions and listening to my responses...not just listening but noting down and including in the planning documents my suggestions...made me realize that here is a medium-sized company (perhaps 300 people at this location) that doesn't just say they value their employees, but proves it by recognizing experience within it's employee pool and taking advantage of that experience, even when it involves someone they've only known for a few days. It has certainly given me a reason to try and make this opportunity work to not just my benefit, but the company's as well. I'm always willing to offer my loyalty to a company or group that is willing to reward it by showing loyalty in return. I hope that turns out to be the case here.

Amazing, I've survived two days...

...on this job and thus far no one has died or even been seriuosly injured. I think that's pretty good considering the circumstances.
Tomorrow's only my third day on the desk, and already I've been invited to a meeting being conducted on new directions the management wants to take the company in, particularly a pay-for-call help desk setup. Well, I do have a bit of experience at that, and have a few opinions on the concept, so I guess I'll attend and see how much my 2 cents are worth in the corporate world.

This job is not having any effect on me at all.

The fine print

Thank you so much, Alibris. Tonight I was able to locate and order two books I've been seeking for a couple of years. "I Had a Dog and a Cat" by Karel Capek, a book I read 15 years ago, was the hardest to locate. It's never been reprinted since 1947, and while I have a copy that's in good condition already, I wanted a reading copy. Capek, better known for writing "R.U.R." in 1920, and giving the term robot to the science fiction community, penned this lovely little story about the trials and joys of living with his dog and cat in 1940 that just makes me feel wonderful every time I read it. His use of the language, even when translated from the original Czech, is so tight that it nearly qualifies as poetry.

I was also able to pick up a copy of "Religion and the Rebel" by Colin Wilson. Wilson wrote the book that first woke me up in my twenties and made me start to think about my life and beliefs. That book, "The Outsider", says more about me than I'm usually comfortable having people know. "Religion and the Rebel" picks up where "The Outsider" left off, discussing in even more depth existentialism and the famous people who personified the "outsider" in society.

As I wrote in a review of "The Outsider" for Amazon in 2000, "For over 15 years this has been my favorite book. Wilson explicates a thesis - that much of great Western Literature is written by and concerns men who see and feel more deeply than their contemporaries. Perhaps one might regard them as more sensitive. At any rate, such men are alienated-hence outsiders. Such figures include: Hermann Hesse, Van Gogh, Hemmingway, Lawrence of Arabia, H.G. Wells, Albert Camus, Vaslav Nijinsky, Sartre, Tolstoy, and others.

This book can be used in many ways: as a primer to existential philosophy, an introduction to religious mysticism, or as an introduction to the work and thoughts some of the greatest artists and writers of the 19th and 20th centuries.

Understanding of this book is helped by familiarity with the works and artists Wilson discusses - but it's not necessary. Wilson's discussion of each work/artists is complete enough even without prior exposure. And, indeed, it would be hard to have exposure to all he includes. In a way that, too, is a plus. I used this book as a core curriculum for nearly everything I've studied. I read what Wilson had to say, and if I was interested, I'd then explore those artists myself."

Since existentialism is a philosophy and not a religion, many of those who read "The Outsider" thought that Wilson was selling out with "Religion and the Rebel" when they first saw the title. But what Wilson discusses is religion in the sense of a passion, a fascination with something beyond and grander than the individual. In that sense, you could describe my interest in the Internet as a religion, considering the role it plays in my life.

I've never owned a copy of this book, so I'm very pleased to have found a copy in good condition at a reasonable price so I can add it to my "special" bookcase. Those are the books I doubt I'll ever part with, and include the 3 volume set of H.L. Mencken"s "The American Language" and the science fiction novels of Stanislaw Lem, famous for "Solaris" (which has twice been made into terrible movies but was a brilliant book) but also the author of several amazing stories including my favorite "Memoirs Found In a Bathtub", which reminds me of my time at NSA (to quote a review, "A paranoid story from the year 3149 in a world without paper. The protagonist is given a mission so secret that nobody has a clearance to tell it to him. Spies, counter-spies and counter-courter-spies stand in his way as he attempts to solve the mystery of his mission")

So once I get tired of reading about routers and wireless access points for work, I can take my pick of two better works to distract myself from computers for a while.

Welcome fellow LangaList readers

I'm pleased to see so many of you stopping by to see what's going on. I wish I knew.
But since you're here, and obviously in a "clicking" mood, why not click your way on over to my forum, Jeber's Help Desk. If you like what you see there, join up. Share your knowledge, your interests and your thoughts with me and my friends. It's a forum for the more mature computer user. No game cheats, no warez, no music downloads. Just a small group of us who realize there's more to life than a computing, or are at least trying to maintain a life beyond the keyboard. My main web page is at Jebers.com.

And thanks again for visiting.

If you own a D-Link product...

...make damn sure that by Monday you've done all your firmware upgrades, read your manuals and asked all your necessary questions, because it looks like, due to some obvious breech in the fabric of space-time, or perhaps as a cruel joke perpetrated by the gods to amuse themselves, as of Monday, December 6th, 2004, a day that will live in infamy, I will be answering your networking questions at the call center that I'll be calling home until they finally catch on to the fact that I haven't the foggiest clue what I'm going to be talking about, since the very thing in the realm of computing I know the least about has to be networking, although I don't know much about how to add more blinky-lights to my laptop, either, but the odds of my learning how to add more blinky-lights to Gromet are much better than my really understanding networking, so I'l have a hundred little blinky-lights scattered in delightful patterns around my Toshiba's case long before I've managed to get your wireless notebook to connected through your wired router to your cable modem box and out onto the Internet while at the same time trying to DMZ your Xbox so you can get back to your online Halo game.
This should be interesting...

A little blogging humor

OK, yes...I wish I'd written this. Having confessed that, I can recommend this "Review of Blogs..." by Joe Lavin as a good, and I hope not entirely true, comment on the perils of blogging.

Ahhhhhhhhhhh...

That, my friends, is the sound of relief.
I went to a job interview this morning, filled out the application and various other forms and took a test on networking support. I was quite concerned about my ability to pass a networking test. Networking is perhaps my weakest subject, having spent less than a week at school covering the subject. So the last few days I've been reading up on the OSI model, TCP/IP, wireless networking, routers, LANs, WANs, WENs... My eyeballs are swimming in acronyms. On top of that, I was told that I could only miss 5 questions on the test to qualify for an interview. Let's just say I wasn't planning on being interviewed.
Imagine my surprise when I was.
Then I was told that there weren't any more of the part-time positions that I had applied for, but since I was interested in full-time, they'd see if there were any available. "We'll call you" I was told. That's often not a good sign in my experience.
Less than an hour later, I got a call.
Starting Monday, I'll be attending a week of training for my new, full time position as a support technician for Aradiant Corporation, working on the D-Link support team.
I still don't know how well I did on the test...but you can bet I'm still studying my networking books. I'm taking notes now.

JHD-blog...R.I.P.

Well, it was ugly, and at times it looked like the little varmint would escape the fate in store for it, but last night I decided to kill off the blog attached to my Jebers.com website. It clung desperately to life, refusing to be deleted from my host as a unit, forcing me to go in and rip out its guts one file at a time.
I never read what I call "blah-blah" blogs. You know, the ones that are filled with entries that read, "Today I bought new shoes. They're really cool" or other topics that mark them as totally personal blogs. I don't mind them, or think they somehow devalue blogging, I just don't read them. I try hard to make my postings fun to read, and as I'm operating on just a few remaining brain cells (did I mention I'm getting older and should have taken better care of myself?) I'm finding it enough to try and maintain my four main blogs, two on Blogger and two on Type Pad. Each has its own purpose, but JHD-blog didn't. It consisted of entries better posted to my forum. Since I couldn't justify its existence, I knew it must die.
This incident made me aware of another reality. As much as I like and use WS_FTP, there are times that the FTP function built into Power Desk 6 functions so much better. Working with a folder on a remote site as if it were on your local drive is intuitive and easy.

Well, this is interesting...II

I think that is enough for a review. See the previous empty entry? That was a rather lengthy post all about how I was checking out this software to do remote blogging called BlogWeaver, and how I intended to review it once I'd used it a few times. Well, after the first usage I went to uninstall it, and found out it doesn't want to uninstall via add/remove programs , either. Read the full review here. I should have it published pretty soon. (Hint: don't waste your time)

Well, this is interesting...

The merry month of December

Since I'm too old to move back home to Mom's house, I've decided to move her in with me. Actually, due to circumstances, Mom will be moving in with me next month, the very same month my current job comes to an end. You say coincidence, I say the stuff is all hitting the fan at the same time.
Not that I don't think her moving in here isn't a good idea. She can't really afford to rent her own house on her limited income and at 81, she needs someone who can check in on her on a daily basis. Neither one of us is a very social person, so it's not like our parties are going to disturb one another. And we both enjoy spending time on the computer. So I imagine we'll get along OK. But it is going to be very weird for a while. Despite the fact we're good friends, I haven't lived in her house since I was 16 years old, 34 years ago, and she's lived independently for those years as well. It's going to be quite an adjustment for us both. Meanwhile, I've rented a storage unit to fill with all our extra furniture and everything else that won't fit in the house with two people living here. There's a lot of work to be done between now and then. And a full-time job to think about as well. Then, come January, all that activity will be over. That's when I'm planning on having my nervous breakdown.
I need another cup...

Progress...

The development of Jebers.com is coming along, but the forum is already in place and ready for visitors. Please stop by, and if you feel so inclined, become a member. Let's talk about the topics of concern to all of us...how computers work and what impact they have on our lives. Do you have gardening questions, want to brag about your pets? Share with us. Jeber's Help Desk is all about the human in front of the keyboard as much as it is the machine on the other side. Come by and see for yourself.

A perfect end to the week

OK, so it's my Friday night (I know it's only Wednesday, but I get the next two days off, thus...) and it's 10:00PM. I get off work at 10:30, and there are no calls waiting to be answered.
Usually, we hate this. It's too early to log out, but we dread that last call that may take us into overtime and earn us the displeasure of the payroll department. So about 2 minutes later I get a call. Uh-oh. And it's someone with a "yearly" pin number, meaning they get unlimited number of support calls for a year. But many of the yearly folk think that means they can talk for an unlimited amount of time on each call. They tend to like to chat. And that really messes up our que for other callers, who have to wait for us to get free of these.
So I reluctantly answered the call. The caller said, "I don't really have any issues, I just have a suggestion. This help desk should offer Linux support. I just wiped Windows off my computer and loaded SUSE 9.1 two days ago, and I love it." That cracked me up. My last call on a "Friday" night, and I get to talk Linux. What a perfect way to end the week.
Thanks, new friend, for letting me leave work this week with a smile on my face. I hope to meet you again in Scot's forum.

It's alive!

I've posted my custom "place holder" page to Jebers.com. I hope it isn't there for long, that I'll soon have at least the main page ready to put up. I'll also be adding a fun little FAQ page to Jeber.net. I'm back to using Dreamweaver for most of the composing, but thanks to Josh's inspiration, I've been trying to make more use of CSS.
One tip you may find useful. SP2 breaks Dreamweaver if DW is already installed. But if you uninstall it, load SP2 then reinstall DW, it seems to work just fine. I have no idea why, or if this will work for you. But it's working fine for me. I do have DW in a separate partiton from Windows. Perhaps that makes the difference.
Keep Jeber's Help Desk in mind, and send me your ideas, tips and suggestions (jebers.help.desk "at" gmail.com). It's all appreciated. And a huge thanks to Scot, Chris, Josh and all my friends at Scot's and Lockergnome forums. You've all truly been an inspiration.

Coming soon...

As of today, I'm the proud owner of the Jebers.com domain name. This is the first step in my determination to carve out my own little niche on the World Wide Web.

Those of you who know me as Jeber may wonder why Jebers. Once I have the site up, you'll see that I intend to use that in the possessive, and the site's name will be Jeber's Help Desk.

Lest you think I only intend to make the site computer-centric, I'll let you in on some of my thinking in regards to the planned content of Jebers.com. There certainly will be computer help offered, both for Windows and Linux. Now that I'm involved in offering computer help both for a living and as a pastime, I'm coming across information every day I want to pass along to others. At work I'm totally in a Windows environment, one that covers every operating system from 95 to XP, and eventually, if it ever gets released, Longhorn. At home, I'm using and learning about Linux. Both have their strengths, both have their weaknesses. Both are far more complex than the average user ever notices. While trying to stay focused on the everyday user, I'll also try to include content for the more advanced. But that's only half, perhaps three-quarters, of what I want to include on my new site.

There will also be humor. I intend to eventually incorporate my "Really Bad Computer Advice" page into the site, and open it for contributions from my friends. There will also be some of the lighter moments of life at a real-life help desk. I hope you'll get a chuckle out of some of the things we hear and situations we deal with on a daily basis. Humor is such a wonderful thing. It's gotten me through some very tough times, and I value the benefit it can bring into our lives. I really enjoy bringing humor into my life, and yours.

Finally, Jeber's Help Desk will offer personal help. This is an area I've been trying to figure out how to explore for many months. I am both a licensed minister in the state of California and an atheist. For those of you who may think you see a glaring inconsistency there, let me elaborate. I do believe humans are special creations, as are all living things on this planet. I do not believe we are the creations of a supernatural power. I do not believe we were created for some purpose known only to a select few. I believe all life is an amazing coincidence, something that could only occur one time out of a billion. That makes all life special and unique. If we were simply the good idea of a supernatural power, doesn't it make sense that power would have repeated that practice elsewhere? Yet we have thus far failed to detect any other life anywhere in the known universe. I accept that is because trillions of factors have to be "just right" to produce what we know as life. So I value all life very highly. Every living thing is like a fingerprint, never repeated exactly the same. And as a human myself, I have a special affection for my own species. I think humans are wonderfully complex, interesting and generally nice to know. But we are also social animals, and as such suffer many problems caused by our need to fit into a societies that often don't produce happiness in our lives. I want to do my small part to increase the happiness in the lives of those who stop by Jebers.com. In my 50 years, I've had my share of good times and bad, and I've learned a lot from those I've met along the road. I want to not only share what I've learned, but to provide a venue for others to share the wisdom they've gleaned over the years as well. I hope to set up a forum at some point to allow my friends (and anyone who visits with good intentions is a friend) to share their knowledge of computers as well as their knowledge of the human existence. My goal is to make everyone who visits smarter and happier by the time they leave.

Don't go racing over to Jebers.com just yet. It may be several days before I even have a chance to set up the general design of the place. Even then there will be frequent changes and tweaks until I get it into the shape I desire. Josh knows exactly what I mean (he's my secret source of all good web design advice...not that I follow his lead as often as I should). Meanwhile, enjoy my blogs and Jeber.net. I'll be adding content to all of them in the next day or two.

Be happy, compute...and stay tuned.

How may I help you?

Hey, it's better than "Would you like fries with that". At least for my circumstances, anyway. So the week and a half of training is over, and tomorrow we "go live". Wednesday will be our first day on the phones by ourselves, each of us squirrelled away in our own little cubicle (mine is #35, if you're ever in the neighborhood stop by and say hi), with all our notes and cheat sheets of useful URLs. The facts of help desk operation are probably familiar to anyone who has ever had to call one. You call up and tell us your problem, we write up a trouble ticket and attempt to do our best to solve it. But did you ever realize that there's a good reason why the advice you usually get is "format and reinstall"?

I remember a couple of years ago hearing people complain that all techs ever advised was to "format and reinstall". It seemed like a cop-out. "I don't really want to take the time to really solve your problem, so let's just fdisk your hard drive and start all over." But having heard many calls now, I realize that often that's the best advice you will get. You've added and removed hardware to the point where there is no "original" system left for me to go by. You've done the same with software. I have no way to tell how, or how well, you removed all traces of that software. Then you failed to install, update, or even use anti-virus software. You don't have a firewall, or have never configured it to do its job. So finally you call me...with your system full of spyware , adware, viruses, leftovers of extinct software and a few new pieces of hardware that may or may not have been installed properly. And since you're paying by the minute, you expect to have a solution, and a pristine system, within ten minutes or so. In that amount of time, I can probably tell that the only way you are ever going to get a factory-fresh system again is to format and reinstall your OS. Anything less is going to leave you with a vulnerable system that may or may not be fully healed. And you should remember, you were the one who inflicted the damage, not the help desk tech trying to help you. Don't get irritated with me because I can't undo in ten minutes what you've had months, perhaps years, to do.

As we've often said in both Scot's forum and in Lockergnome, the best habit you can develope when it comes to owning a personal computer is BACK UP YOUR DATA ON A REGULAR BASIS!! If it's important to you, make sure you have a backup copy somewhere besides on your hard drive. Then when you've finally gunked up your system to the point where I have no better option to suggest than that you format your hard drive and reinstall your OS, you will have everything important already preserved, and perhaps we can get your problem solved in just a few minutes.

Emotional Rollercoaster

This week has certainly taxed my emotional stability. Yesterday Sam and I said our final farewell (after he'd won about 8 more admirers at the Vet's office...I tell you, his eyes were magical) then today I received the phone call I've been waiting for over a year. An offer of a real, full-time job. It's a help desk position for Gateway Computers, and it's in the United States! 8-D The pay is half what I made at my last job, but I can live with that for the time being. I've never had a job where I stayed at my starting wage more than 3 months. Yes, I'm self-confident and aggressive in going after better positions. But I'm also more comfortable leading than following, and most of my former employers noticed that after a while. Considering the last two computers I've torn down to the motherboard and rebuilt have been Gateway's, I'm pretty familiar with their hardware. Now I've got to get back to boning up on my knowledge of Windows. I've been trying to learn Linux so much that I've somewhat neglected my Windows partition. No more. I've got 3 days to review my basic A+ stuff, then start on the really hard parts.
This is good for two reasons. I really did need a job, and a job in a field I'm already passionate about. More importantly, I needed a distraction from the empty porch...the missing bark of welcome...those eyes.

Sam's last week

Sam, my faithful Malamute mix, has passed his 14th, and last birthday. I adopted him as a two year old from an animal shelter in Idaho. I was helping out at the shelter in my free time. (I'd already learned how to avoid the temptation to adopt every unwanted cat that came through the place, going so far as to help with the process of euthanasia to cure my notion that every animal could be saved. Reality is often ugly, and I refuse to avoid the ugly parts. Without experiencing them, I can't fully appreciate the beautiful parts.) For more than two weeks this Mal-mix had sat in the shelter after being found running loose. When it became obvious no one would be coming to claim him, he was scheduled to be put down. But when I went into his enclosure to bring him out for the injection, I made the mistake of looking in his large brown eyes. Their was intelligence there, and a plea I couldn't ignore. That day he became Sam and joined my family.

As it always is with death, it can only be postponed, never avoided. For the last twelve years Sam has avoided his fate while being a wonderful and fun companion. Though most dogs his size are fortunate to live ten to twelve years, Sam has managed to hang on for a couple of extra. But now he's past the point of enjoying his existance. His rear legs can barely support him, his fur is starting to come out in clumps and he hardly moves. In short, his time is at an end. On the 18th, next Wednesday, we'll take one last road trip to the vets and he will cease having to endure the pain and disabilities that plague him now. Once more I'll be saying goodbye to a decade long friend. One of the saddest things about growing older is losing those close to you. Then one day, you are the one to leave your friends behind. It is an inescapeable fact of life. It begins, and it ends. I hope I leave with the grace and dignity Sam has shown. And as I've said many times, humans would be showing their true humanity if we allowed ourselves to bring a peaceful and quiet death to one another like we permit ourselves to do with our animal companions.

Sam and I will enjoy our last week together. Then he'll leave, yet live on in my memories and in my heart.

The rise of Technocracy

Chris Pirillo is going to kick off a new channel dealing with Technocracy soon, and he's going to allow me, Mike (my good buddy from Lockergnome), Georganna and David (fellow members of WebSanDiego) to be the initial contributors. So what the heck is a Technocracy channel? It's going to be a webblog and newsletter covering every aspect of the affect that the web has on our daily lives. We'll talk about how the Internet has impacted religion, government, business, education, the workplace, the schoolroom, even interpersonal relationships. If it's technology and it touches our lives, we'll dig up the stories and give you the links.
I'm excited about this because I've come to be quite interested in the future of technology in our lives. From the interactive home to the ability to communicate across physical borders, the Internet is going to have dramatic effects on our lives...so much more than it has already. Now that we have a vehicle that makes it possible for every person on the planet to have a voice, nothing will ever again be quite the same. Even the humble blog is becoming more than a way for anyone to share their thoughts and opinions with us all. It's becomming the "news source" of a wired generation. Stories will be blogged well before the major news outlets can get their stories written, polished and in the hands of their talking heads for the 6 o'clock broadcast. Blogs have become the new "Stars and Stripes" for our men and women in combat zones. We can now hear voices previously silenced by repressive governments.
Technocracy is the future. The Internet is the future. I think that's very kewl.