The fickle finger of fate

Saturday was my big offshore fishing trip that I pulled the local card on. I knew I shouldn't have done that. When I try to be sly in any way it ends up biting me, just as it did this time.

The seas were 5-7 feet so they would not take the boat out. The irony of the situation? It turned out to be a beautiful day, was over 100° F, and yet we were all land bound. Not a boat to be rented or a charter to be had. Ah well, that should teach me to try an underhanded trick like the local card.

Since my plans were dashed I headed over to the mall and purchased a "Driving Force Pro" which is a steering wheel made by Logitech. It's main use is for the Playstation 2 game Gran Turismo 4 which has been in my regular rotation of video games for some time now. I've actually almost completed the game and kind of got bored with it so I started it over. In case you aren't familiar with the game it is a driving simulation game. You begin with 10 thousand dollars to purchase a car, race for money, pay for upgrades to various components on your cars. Eventually you have won all the races and have so much money that it is what I think winning the lottery would be like: an exercise in collecting.

The wheel adds to the realism and makes the game even more frustrating and therefore masochistically enjoyable. One of the features available on all cars is what are called driving aids. These include traction control as well as active stability management (which helps you take corners more easily.) Since I have never driven a car with either of these features I decided to turn them off. This further creates a challenge since it is now not only easy to spin cars around at high speeds it is quite common. Built into the steering wheel are all kinds of motors that turn the wheel much like a real car's steering wheel would do. If you find yourself spinning in the roadway at 100+ miles per hour, grabbing the wheel can be a harrowing experience.

...In related news, I'm a video game geek and am hiding from all the company (not really mine) at the computer / playstation 2 desk.

Warning labels

I'm happy to report that on this blog the browser share is 68% firefox/mozilla and only 30% Internet Explorer. I applaud my very smart open source readers. Now since I have your attention if there are any programmers out there could somebody make some sort of extension for browsing blogs. It could incorporate my ever loved Random Blog link and then have some overlay that tells important things about the blogs you land on. For example:

Warning!
Politically Charged!

Warning!
Christians abound!

Warning!
This person uses 'u' for 'you' and 'dat' for 'that'!

Ode to GoJo

O sweet cleaner of grime
foam bubbles so fine
clean smelling, divine.
Your price? A crime.

Gojo Luxury Foam Handsoap, Antibacterial edition is the soap of choice for me. Please do not confuse it with the Gojo Natural Orange soap as they are as different as Dog the bounty hunter and Johnny Depp. They are both dirty, but one is a clean dirt and the other is just nasty dirty. I'll leave it up to you to figure out the particulars on that one.

The cleaning power is as good as any soap designed to remove excessive grease and yet it still smells very nice. I feel it is easier to remove grease with this soap than it is with Lava or even the natural orange. There isn't any gritty feel since there is no grit in it. One pump from the dispenser is all anyone needs under normal circumstances and if perchance one would use two squirts it isn't "Luxury times two" it is "Luxury squared" which is in all accounts (except for like, you know, anything up to and including "2"), a much bigger number.

Speaking of luxury I'd like to announce that I realize this might be the wrong choice of words to get guys to buy this stuff. Lava is a manly soap. Everyone knows that Lava might even take manly over the top and be considered grizzly especially if you've ever washed your face with it. I'm pretty sure you won't find any lanolin, moisturizers, aloe, or anything else soft and nice anywhere near Lava. Lava kicks their asses and flushes them down the toilet. I once left a bar of Lava soap in my bathroom unattended overnight. I'm a heavy sleeper by nature but even I was awakend by the monstrous noises that was the bar of Lava soap trying to flush the Bath & Body Works Signature Collection Cucumber Melon creamy body wash down the commode. I broke up the altercation and forevermore decided not to leave the Lava soap out of its container.

You won't have these troubles with the GoJo Luxury edition. Oh no, it's quite content to share a spot on your sink with the likes of Henri Bendel, Davies Gate, and it seems to get along with Ivory (at least 99 44/100% of the time anyway.) Yes, you'll find the GoJo to be quite amicable to your other toiletries and I've yet had to get up in the middle of the night to break up any altercations.

The price on the GoJo Luxury Edition hand cleaner will keep all but the most elite of shade-tree mechanics from basking in its wonderous pleasures. This should be an indicator to all of you that you won't risk smelling like Bubba when you return from the washateria. Oh no, you'll be in a class of smell all your own. And really, is there anything more fine?

I hate yogurt

I hate yogurt and I have a reason.

Let's take a stroll back to my childhood. I'm old enough to remember the milk man coming and bringing us milk in quart jars that were glass and had neat seals on the top. We usually got some milk with cream on top but I recall one time we went over the top and ordered some yogurt. I don't recall what led to the decision to get the yogurt and honestly it may have come from the grocery store but since it is a dairy product and we had a milkman at the time I'm assuming it was from him.

I didn't know what the yogurt was since that wasn't a staple in my household and my mom gave it to me and told me it was like ice cream only creamy. With a description like that I was ready to eat it container and all since I like to let my ice cream melt and then eat it when it is creamy. After digging in for a couple of bites I mentioned to mom that I didn't think it was very good. I told her it tasted kind of sour.

Well telling a kid something tastes like ice cream and then it tastes like yogurt is a bit of a stretch.

She told me it was fine and to keep eating it. I ate a few more bites and really didn't like it so I left a little bit in the bottom. I gave it to her and told her she could finish it because I really didn't like it. She smelled it and I witnessed the horror face. The yogurt had soured and I was now bellied up with it.

I don't remember if I kept it down or not but I remember that I don't like yogurt. While not all first impressions last a lifetime that one did.

My son loves yogurt. He now has some new drinkable yogurt and he really really likes it. He can't get over how great it is and how "yummy yummy" it tastes. Thusly I was required to smell it. (aside: for some reason in my family smelling food is very normal. We all do it and love it.) Yes, I still detest the smell of yogurt, even when it isn't "bad"... even though it is all bad.

I am Odin, father of Thor

I have an event to attend and I'm quite excited about it. Our yearly family reunion is coming up and I will be attending. This might not seem like a really big deal but this will be the first family reunion of my own family I have ever attended. I've been to my wife's family reunions but never one with people I should know. Sadly I do not know most of these people. It is my father's side of the family which I only know a handful of people and I haven't seen any of them for 25 years. I have seen my father more recently than that but I doubt he will be attending the family reunion. I'm hoping he breaks his mold and attends since I will be there but I'm not counting any chickens.

The bad part of the situation is the surrounding circumstances of the trip. A few weeks prior to the trip we go into "shut down" mode at work which means I'll be starting work at 6:30 in the morning and completing work at 8 pm for 17 days straight. On the last day of all of that I plan on packing the family into the Jeep and travelling north for about 15 hours to reach our destination. I might save this trek for the next morning, I haven't decided. Either way I sleep a bit and then go to the reunion. Directly after the reunion I have to pack the family back up and make the 15 hour return trip to get a bit of sleep and then back to work. When I do return to work it will be to pack up the job and then lay everyone off, including myself.

Yes, I know I could just take a flight and rent a car but price is quite prohibitive when there are 4 seats involved. I have tried to think of every possible option but it seems driving it is the best idea.

I know I'm going to come out of it tired and cranky but I'll also have memories and for my money and time there is nothing better.

disclaimer:
Solly so bloggy.

Why do I do it?

I try not to consider what I do 'blogging.' I think of it more like a journal. I don't like to write with pen and paper anymore. I have to do that at work and it gives me enough practice to realize I don't like it. There area a lot of things I like about 'blogging' and the blogging community as a whole.

In case your faith in 'blogging' has waned, let me tell you why I like 'blogging' and why I like the whole 'blogging' community. Maybe it will rekindle your love or maybe I'll just look like the freak I really am.

• In 20 years I'm going to smoke a fat one and read my blog. I will laugh heartily. Not just at "youth" but at the way I perceived (wrongly) the things that were going on around me.
• I learn new words every day from the 'blogging' community. My current favorite new word is "SuperFriends." It is a term to replace "Friends with benefits." I giggle a little every time I think about it. I'm far beyond the age of having SuperFriends but I soooooo wish I had thought of that term. I'd be the Rawk instead of the Suck.
• I like to live vicariously through other people. My wife hated the winters in Pennsylvania... imagine what she'd think about the winters in Alaska. If I were a single man with no marriage and no kids I'd be blogging from the big state though. Alas it would require a divorce at this point (which just isn't going to happen) so I read about the other John in Alaska.
• I use 'blogging' as a method of self exploration. When I hit the magic "Publish Post" button it doesn't end there for me. I stew on the post for a while. I mull it over and sometimes I don't agree with what I wrote afterwards but I don't and won't change it. I consider it ink (unless it is a simple typo or unclear.) I might amend what I said in the comments but I'll leave the post so I can go back in 20 years and maybe I'll be the only person that commented on the post but at least I'll be able to see my progression on whatever subject it is.
• When I'm gone from this life (and I'm at the age where I realize that is an impending appointment) others will remember me as I was... not as they candy coat it in my obituary. Let this be my autobiography in an off kilter, disjointed sort of way.
  
• I don't just learn fancy names for old ideas, I learn real stuff. Some people are kind enough to put links to stuff that provide the opportunity to learn about real things. I like this. Learning is power... Three word slogan.
• I like the feedback I receive. Most of the things I write about are menial at best. These are the things that cross my mind in a passing fancy. I like seeing if someone thinks I'm a dumbass for my view on something. I like it when they agree. It tells me they are alert and alive.
• There is a lot to learn from surfing the 'blog' world. One of the things I realize is that not too many layouts "work." Yeah, mine might be horrendously colored (keep in mind that I dress in pitch dark and when I get outside I'm as surprised by the outcome as the rest of the world... I just feel around for long or short sleeves as the case may warrant) but my blog displays the way I think an online display of thoughts should. Well other than the fact that I think the entries should be oldest at top to newest at bottom. I'm still working on that. I prefer to read someone else's blog from top to bottom but with the way they are set up you need to read bottom to top on each archive page to get caught up in realtime order. I think I mentioned I'm not a fan of that.
• I'm sure there's a clinical term for this one but I don't know it. I like pondering on my entry ideas to help keep out the stuff I'm trying not to think about. I'll often start my ideas on my PDA and then work them out on the computer from there. Denial? no, that's DEFINITELY not the word I'm looking for. It's CERTAINLY something different. I'm sure of it. It's not denial.

So did it rekindle an old flame or just make me look like a goon? Either way I can take it. Tell me about it.

Cancer is the answer

Cancer kind of runs in my family. My mom is battling it right now, her father just recently died from it. Her oldest brother died from it less than a year ago. Her younger sister died from it about 10 years ago. Her youngest brother most likely has it but won't go to the doctor. She has no other siblings. Of the 4 of them, 2 have already died of it, 1 is battling it now and the other is in denial.

No, my loyal readers, this is not about to become a goth fantasy of self pity and loathing of life in proportions to be marvelled at. No, we're taking this in a whole other direction. Strap in and prepare for the ride.

Yes folks, I purchased cancer insurance today. Since only one of my natural parents have had the C-bug and not "any two of your natural parents" as they stated on the application I qualify. Therefore I took out the maximum available policy on myself. Now I realize it takes a certain kind of person to get excited about insurance

Hey now, don't you tell me you don't remember me 'cause I sure as heckfire remember you.

Not a chance.

Ned... Ryerson. "Needlenose Ned"? "Ned the Head"? C'mon, buddy. Case Western High. I did the whistling belly-button trick at the high school talent show? Bing. Ned Ryerson, got the shingles real bad senior year, almost didn't graduate? Bing, again. Ned Ryerson, I dated your sister Mary Pat a couple of times until you told me not to anymore? Well?

Ned Ryerson?

BING!

Bing.

but stick with me here, it gets better.

The insurance I bought is the kind that pays me, not the hospital/doctor. They pay me $100 a year just to show I had a cancer screening done. No big deal. But when I get diagnosed with cancer they drop me a check for 5 grand. Any hospital time I have to do nets me a check for $400 per day. Chemotherapy is paid at $20 grand per year.

There are a million other things they pay but those are the highlights.

I look at it this way: I'll have plenty of spare cash to be paying for my "medical marijuana" and I'm thinking my house might be the party house as soon as the doctor gives "the go ahead."

As an aside, I wonder what the opposite of morbid is? Not really even the opposite so much as the absolute bastardization of the concept known as morbid. Maybe that's still morbid, I don't know. But whatever it is, that's what my theory on cancer is. Yup, gonna die from it, or at least be really sick someday. But it looks like I'll be set up. Party's at my place.

Trifecta minus one equals bifecta OR How to play the local card

I was talking to my cousin yesterday and we were kind of bellyaching over the things we haven't done that we said we would do if we lived on an island. One of those things was offshore fishing. It's one of those things that is "Right Here" yet we never took the time to get any information, talk to any locals, or basically do any legwork at all on the subject. I assumed we'd be looking at about $200+ per person for a day of fishing and it really isn't worth that kind of money to me and I suspect it wouldn't be worth that for my cousin. I decided to do a quick search and see what I could find.

Much to my surprise I found a local company that takes people for an all day tour with everything included except food (lunch) for about $105. Pretty reasonable in my book for a full day's worth of entertainment and food to bring home. The web page said to call for reservations and I knew we'd be wanting to go during Memorial Day weekend... therefore I knew there wouldn't be any reservations left. Regardless, I made the call. They inquired when we wanted to go and I queried if they had any openings during the Mem. Day weekend at all. After a moment I was told there were 3 cancellations on Saturday's all day offshore trip and we could get on the waiting list if we wanted. It turns out, unsurprisingly, there was a waiting list for the cancelled seats. I said that would be fine and I gave them my phone number. I didn't even need to think about this one. I wasn't giving them my cell phone number with a different area code. I'd play the local card and give them my land line on the island.

"Oh, you live on Tybee?"

"Yeah."

"Ok, then I'll go ahead and put the reservations in, you don't need to be on the waiting list."

Schwing!


A stroke of luck. I apologize to those that were on the waiting list but hey, I've been that guy, you've been that guy. It happens. For once it turned around in my favor this time. Show up at the dock that evening. I might even share some of my spoils with you. If nothing else I'll tell you the story of how the 900 pound shark got away.

I sail! No, wait, I mean I FISH! No wait... Oh nevermind.

Maybe it is the fine appetizers of the Dolphin Reef, maybe it is succumbing to the pressures of living on a island surrounded by saltwater. Whatever the reason, I not only cooked but ate my first meal consisting of primarily seafood tonight. Sure, I can eat a McFish sandwich, but that's not really fish, is it?

I can't tell the number of people that have given me the line, "You just ain't eaten fish cooked the right way." I've tried dozens of plates of fish to have it taste... just like fish. I doubt any redneck, think their fish recipe is the greatest, conversionary people read this but just in case you do, know your fish before you try to convert someone. Cheap chubs and mackerals that can't be hidden by their seasonings are not the way to introduce someone to fish. I don't know how it falls on the price of fish but grouper is the way to introduce someone to fish that doesn't like fish. As I kind of touched on, Dolphin Reef introduced me to grouper with their mega appetizer that included grouper fingers. Grouper is basically a sea bass, but the texture is more chicken-ish than fish and the fishy flavor is very low.

If I might quote Bob Wiley from the movie, What about Bob, "I SAIL! I SAIL!"

Well I don't really sail, but I do now officially eat fish. I cook it too, with a citrus and pepper marinade. On the bbq, in an oven bag.

100 Things you may or may not know about me

1. I would not like to be famous
2. I would like to be obscenely rich
3. I envy, moreso than I should, people that have 8 hour workdays
4. I don't eat seafood
5. I'm not the worrying type
6. I drink far too much alcohol
7. I am ashamed of my national government
8. I have a very strong work ethic but would not work if I were obscenely wealthy
9. I don't believe in ghosts, heaven, or hell
10. I classify my religion as "other" on forms for convenience
11. I will never knowingly support Tom Cruise again
12. I'm not a hairy person
13. I'm not a very sexual person
14. I am intrigued by math and physics yet horrible at both
15. I don't believe people are innately "good"
16. I work best under pressure
17. I often wonder if I am hosting a colony of tapeworms
18. I can whistle like a bird although I never learned to properly catcall
19. I don't have a favorite color or number
20. I don't believe in making money off of employees
21. I love camping
22. I belive "What's good for the goose is good for the gander"
23. I use the word "gander" far too much
24. At chinese buffets I do not eat rice
25. I support same sex marriage
26. I dislike writing checks
27. I like the bread on a sandwich to line up in the direction it was in the loaf
28. I like to watch people but am secretly critcal of them
29. I like to smoke but dislike that I smell like smoke
30. I loathe asking for help
31. I enjoy being alone
32. I do not like bars/clubs
33. I consider myself to be completely average
34. I am a good mediator
35. I don't flirt
36. I have very bad teeth but am afraid of dentists
37. I consider myself to be a "Momma's boy" and have no qualms with people calling me that
38. I like to cook and consider myself to be good at it
39. If all jobs paid the same I would pump gas for a living
40. I went to college to be a high school english teacher
41. I never plan on teaching high school english
42. I don't hold grudges
43. I enjoy mowing grass
44. I dislike unions and any system that rewards seniority over ability
45. I like eggs after a bender
46. I do not approve of lying
47. I prefer Folgers Classic Blend coffee over all others
48. I love chili, possibly too much. I can eat a gallon in a day. (see #17)
49. My desk is always messy
50. I prefer exactly 8 hours of sleep per night
51. I always wear underwear when I go out in public
52. I don't like cake unless it is unbaked
53. The only pie I really like is pumkin pie
54. I hate cornbread and cornbread derivitaves (hush puppies, dressing, corn dogs, etc)
55. I hate squash of all types (except the kind that makes pumpkin pie)
56. I dislike Microsoft and especially Microsoft Office but am required to use it
57. I am not, nor will I likely ever be, an activist for anything (well except open source software)
58. I believe Yahoo! knowingly allows bad things to happen with its web and chat space
59. I am not a slave to fashion
60. I have no sexual fantasies left that have not been acted out
61. I enjoy juvenile fiction
62. I rarely watch television
63. I don't like carrying a cell phone
64. I have a habit of collecting computer keyboards and old computer parts
65. I try to look on the bright side of life but am internally pessimistic
66. I hated Christmas until I had kids. Now I pretty much love it
67. I can play several instruments but cannot draw
68. I feel I will contract cancer within my lifetime
69. I hate it when scissors aren't where they are supposed to be
70. I do not like talking on telephones
71. I believe billy goats are the most vile creatures on the earth
72. I am deathly afraid of snakes
73. I don't own any guns
74. I love go karts and would have my own if I owned land
75. I don't recall ever having an imaginary friend
76. I don't particularly like to dance although I do like to sing
77. I don't do karaoke
78. I do not like to tell people what to do
79. I am not superstitious, believe in foretelling the future, or any of that other mumbo jumbo
80. I would eat dog or cat if it were put on my plate
81. I prefer forests over seas
82. I hope to never live in a "subdivision"
83. I think women misunderstand men just as much as men misunderstand women but women will not admit this
84. I prefer romantic comedies when I choose movies
85. I think health food is overrated
86. I have a basic understanding of the theory of relativity and I think Steven Hawking is mostly full of shit
87. I have lived life like the Waltons
88. I have eaten squirrel, groundhog, rabbit, deer, bear, and alligator. Of these I have killed deer, squirrel, and groundhog
89. My weight fluctuates wildly, as much as 7 pounds per day
90. I dislike buzzwords
91. I have a set way I shower and it never varies.
92. I sometimes wonder if I am obsessive compulsive
93. I love food from a county fair
94. I love to skateboard, bicycle, and rollerskate.
95. I disagree with almost everything the FCC does
96. I prefer to watch movies with closed captioning on even though I am not hard of hearing
97. I am offended by the subtitles some movie producers use for closed captioning "for the hearing impaired." What about those of us that just like to read? I think it should be "closed captioned for the hearing impaired and those that enjoy reading."
98. I am an amateur weather forecaster and I think I'm as good or better than the pros
99. I don't worry about other people's opinions of me
100. I have lived for the better part of a year in a motel

Playboy radio - one man's review

Sirius has Playboy channel available as an opt-in feature for their subscribers. I happen to be a subscriber and have received the print magazine for several years.

The process for opting in was quick and painless, just a couple clicks on the internet and I was in. I'm a big fan of no hassle experiences and signing up fit the bill nicely.

I have listened to the channel only a handful of times and hve found the programming a mixed bag. My afternoon commute brings erotic tales read by women. Some are outlandish and others are humorous in the manner that only verbal porn can be. The "DJ" of this program definitely doesn't do the show any favors with her faux-sexy, slow drawl that she uses to make small talk between segments. The only thing worse I have heard on there thus far was an early afternoon show with two Playmates chatting. I guess it could have been called a two-way interview. They discussed the Playmate of the year voting, seeing their own "[pause] boobs" in some issue, and other inane topics that quickly made me think of the skit in Amazon Women On The Moon where the Pethouse Playmate decides to live life without clothing after winning Playmate of the year. Realizing I preferred to look at playmates over hearing them pontificate about the meaning of their lives and their favorite parts of the centerfold layouts I began to understand that not all of the programming on Playboy radio is my cup of tea.

All is not lost in the world of Playboy radio my dear readers. I was pleased one morning a I was driving around picking up lunch to hear two male "DJ's" playing a game entotled "Who would you do?" This program consisted of them or their callers naming two women and then they would decide which one they would "do" over the other candidate. They offered their rationale which was invariably as funny as the choices themselves.
Some pairings included:
Mrs. Brady or Mrs. Partridge

• The wife from the Munsters or the wife from the Addams family
• Mona or her daughter from Who's the Boss

and the kicker...

• Weezie or Edith Bunker.

I won't go into their detailed rationale; That is best left to the imagination.

As a side note I'd pick Weezie because I couldn't listen to Edith's mouth. Rather like the Playmate blather.

Seagate hard drive woes

So recently I bought a new hard drive, a 300 GB Seagate Serial ATA 7200 RPM


Well said drive wasn't as stellar as I had at first hoped. After I put it in everything seemed to be working fine. I loaded it up with the contents of two other drives I had in the computer and was waiting until I got around to taking one of them out to put it in a case and call it my external hard drive for portable apps and whatnot.

The computer started locking up randomly. Not completely, as in bsod or had to hit the magic button, but for 10-15 seconds at a time I lost all control of it and the wireless router I have connected to it would freeze and drop connection. After some very quick investigation I found the drive not listed in the computer and quickly realized the drive was bad. I restarted the computer and it ran through scandisk, something I hadn't yet seen in Windows XP. I thought it was odd so when it was done and logged on I restarted again just to get to see scandisk again. Both times it reported 16KB of bad sectors.

I shut off the computer and unplugged the hard drive and turned the computer back on. I left the computer like this for two days. Not a single time did my computer lock up like it had been while the hard drive was connected.

I knew what I had to do. I had to do a fast recovery of my data back to the original hard drives and get the drive returned and get a good one back in my hands. It took me a good while to get the data transferred back to the old working drives but when I got it done I took the drive completely out of the computer. I called Seagate warranty service to find out that they close at 6PM eastern time, 20 minutes before I get home from work. Whatever, I'll just take the drive with me to work and call from there tomorrow. I did this and the warranty division had me call back and ask for technical support. Thusly I did. Technical support wasn't available for the first 1.5 -2 hours I tried to call because they were "Shut down for a departmental meeting." Interesting way to do business.

I finally get through to someone at Seagate and he said I have to download SeaTools from their web site and run it on the drive before they will RMA it or get the warranty department involved at all. Huh. Well my work computer doesn't have SATA so back in the plastic static-free bag it went and I put it back in the box I intended to ship it back to Seagate in.

I get home and download their software which is a choice of floppy disk or cd iso. I don't have a floppy drive in my computer at home so I opted for the cd iso. I burned the iso and it turns out it's a bootable cd running DR-DOS. Good times. I reboot to their (un)fancy dealio to find that my USB keyboard and mouse do not work in DR-DOS. GAH. I scour the apartment for a ps2 keyboard and find one plugged into a computer.

[Stating the obvious] I was kind of pissed off at this point. Here I was diagnosing THEIR problem on MY time and now I was being delayed and put off even more due to their crappy software.[/stating]

I got the keyboard hooked up but wasn't in the mood for searching for a 1980's era mouse so I just keyboarded my way through it. I got the program started and did a quick scan. The options were quick scan, complete scan, and memory test. After the drive failed the quick scan I decided I would run the full scan in case they wanted that when I called. I get it started and let it run about 5 minutes and it still said I had about an hour and 26 minutes to go. Cancel. I ran the quick scan again and let it complete. I called the number, hoping the technical support people would be there past 6; hoping the warranty people were the only ones that got off early. No such luck. Nobody home.

I figured I had time for the full scan now so why not. I let it fly and the wife and I popped in a movie. When it was done it gave me the option to view the report which I did. I decided I needed to keep it. My options were "save to floppy" or "print." Hmm, well I don't have a printer connected and I don't have a floppy drive. I activate the save to floppy drive hoping I can change the drive letter. nope. No such luck. I have a printer available to me but it is usb and since nothing else usb is working there's no sense in even trying it.

What to do what to do

I grabbed the digital camera, turned off the flash, and started snapping pictures of my screen. Yes folks, welcome to the high tech world of the 1980's Activision / Atari 2600 high score club. Get your highest score, take a picture of the tv screen and mail it in to them. I think if you got over 50,000 points you got a patch. Gah.

As it turned out the full scan reported several bad sectors but claimed to have repaired them. I had nothing better to do with the computer so after I had all of my pictures I ran the program again and did another complete test on the offending drive. This morning when I cheked it the claim was it was in good shape. Right. Except for those dozen-some bad sectors.

I look at it this way:
If you buy a brand new car. Let's say you even order it special. It comes in and it is the absolute right color, exactly the right options, and everything is peachy keen. Except there are 4 or 5 very deep gouges in the paint. Nothing that would be noticed at first glance but could cause rust problems in the future. Would you buy the car? What if you didn't notice them until the car was home?

Well I don't know what I'm going to do about this situation. I don't trust my data on that drive without running at the very least weekly backups. It's a 300 GB drive, so provided I fill it up that should only be what, about 75 DVD's to back it up completely. Hmm, that's about a hundred bucks. That's what the drive cost. Rediculous.

Why wouldn't they have a standardized check routine for each and every drive that went through their shop? I know this might add time to production and possibly even effect the price but when your product is a hidden product... meaning it isn't paint on a car, it's something you can't see, wouldn't you want to do some sort of testing? Maybe they live life by the numbers, the magic standard deviation way of quality control.

Well, I don't know how they do it but I know that Seagate has lost a point in my book. Previous to this I wondered what led people to believe that one hard drive manufacturer was better than another or why some people refused to buy a certain brand of hard drive no matter the price. I think I have it partially figured out now. I'm not going to run out and try to register the domain name SeagateSucks.com or anything but I will chalk this one up to a lesson learned. Hopefully I won't ever lose any of my data or I'll be making a bid on that domain name.

Other people, I swear

I've been using the "Next Blog" feature of blogger. It's really nothing more than a random blog chooser. I like random. I think that's why I like chinese buffets. I don't ask what the meat is, I just sample it and get more if I like it. I see a lot of both extremes while playing this random game. Some people have good content and layout and other people take it to the other extreme. Many of the pages are in languages I don't understand but one more click of the Next Blog button and I'm back to exploring the blogs.

Here's what I've realized about random blogs:

• Too many people profess their faith in their blog. It is much like they don't believe what they are saying so they have to say it over and over to knock it into their skulls. I don't think that's how religion of any sort (other than maybe a cult) is supposed to work.
• Too many people have no idea what good layout is. I see so many blogs where the content is in a wee little box and there is just random crap around it -- pictures, videos, etc. Isn't blogging about the content? Also, please don't change my cursor with your javascript. I don't think it is cute.
• Poetry is so 1800's. Learn an instrument and sing the stuff. Quit wallowing in your inner dour. Even Morrissey isn't making a decent living off of it anymore.
• Fantasy sports is not real life. This is obviously an addiction from all of the raving lunatics that post every 3.5 minutes about when so and so took a crap and how that will result in his standings in whatever fantasy league to go up or down.
• Too many people host their pictures with photobucket. Some people block that crap site. Keep that in mind.
• Never start an entry with anything resembling "So I haven't posted/updated in a long time." This should be obvious to your readers by the date/time stamp.
• A lot of teachers blog. I think this is a good thing. They need some way to vent the stress they put up with. Besides that their entries are by and large legible and well written.
• A lot of preachers blog. I don't really like this one. I'm not into the holier than thou attitude and random bible quotes.
• Bicycle riders like to blog. I don't even understand this one. What is it about man and machine that makes them feel they need to share their thoughts? I have always found them to be a pompous lot. In other news I love my bicycles.
• Gay people blog a lot. And it's always about gay stuff, never about shared things, you know, like life. Everything is a drama to a gay person. I belive that is what being gay is about. It has nothing to do with sexuality, only drama. Hence the blogging. And promoting the blog much like one would promote the drag show he/she is participating in. ...or something like that.
• The most common link in these blogs is one titled "Edit-Me" Maybe they should edit it?
• Writers don't write. They write about writing, or not writing, as the case may be. Fascinating. Truly.
• Photographers take pictures and blog about their photography equipment. I suppose this isn't that bizarre but it always makes my head cock to the side and think things like, Now how did they take a picture of their lens if it wasn't on the camera?
• Spelling is much like underwear. Optional.
• People will invariably write about other blogs. Kind of like I just did. Now it's your turn.

Sad but true

Sunday my wife forgot to watch/tape her favorite show, Charmed. There are only a few episodes left before the girls are off to other ventures so this is particularly important to her. Realizing her egregious mistake early she started looking to download the episode and watch it on her computer. She spent most of yesterday downloading, probably 10 or 11 hours in total.

About 8 last night she started the playback. On the screen was full-on hardcore sex scenes. She had downloaded something by the right name but wrong content. I informed her that if all the episodes were more like that one I'd definitely be a bigger fan. I doubt I'd miss an episode and I'd probably even have a website devoted to the show. Alas it is not to be though.

Imponderables

Overheard on the radio (CNN Radio on Sirius)

Reporter on location: Good morning, you'll notice the sun has come up.

No, I wouldn't have noticed that.

Lime in the cocoanut

You really have to hand it to them. I suppose when you have that kind of money anything is possible. I just wonder how they got Keith Richards' wheelchair into the palm tree for him to fall out of. It boggles the mind.