Mr.Campbell's Web Log

Fear Factor

2011-12-12T21:06:00.001-07:00

It's back. I hope NBC will let it stick around for another 6 or hopefully more seasons. :-D

SHE'S HOME

2011-11-04T03:38:00.001-06:00

As you know, I last saw Garfield on October 14, 2011 at 7:05 PM. She had disappeared before I got back with the pizza and beer, at exactly 7:55 PM. I looked for her everywhere I went for a week, and asked whoever I saw about her.

One neighbor, a particular hard to understand neighbor, said he saw a calico cat just like the one who follows me around everywhere dead on the street. I was suspicious because he was sure it had been early morning on a Monday or Tuesday a good week previous, maybe longer. The problem was, of course, that Garfield had not yet been gone a week.

By that time, I had already placed an ad in the paper for the following Thursday. The Idaho Enterprise only prints once a week and it's delivered every Thursday. So, my ad first appeared on October 27, 2011, and will run for three weeks.

But, I had a better plan. The Saturday before Halloween I invested ten dollars in 100 posters offering a $100 dollars reward. For Halloween, I taped the candy to the posters and every trick-or-treeter got one. Seventy, exactly.

When I went into the grocery store on Tuesday, I was told that every box-boy was going to canvas the town for Garfield to claim that hundred bucks. Jerry told me that he's been looking at every cat he sees. I thanked him.

I was convinced that someone had her, and that someone else would know.

The first week she was gone was the worst. I was a blubbering fool. The slightest thing sent me into tears. I thought, 'good grief, take away my cat, and I'm a stereotypical pregnant woman'.

So, today, at roughly 6:05, give or take about five minutes, I walk outside and there she is, by my pickup truck! Meowing as loud as she could at me, with her tail so high. When I got her, she snuggled into me and I took her in to feed her.

She is so skinny. Literally, nothing but skin, fur, and bones. She's been starved this whole time! It could be a miracle she's still alive, and another if she can get her health back. She has a fragrance to her, honestly, it smells sweet and reminds me of maple syrup. On further thought, It may be a new car smell. I think she must have been stuck in somebody's house, or car. And, her voice is very hoarse. Wherever she was, she had been crying out as loud as she could.

She was gone nearly 24 hours shy of three weeks! I think she may have gone into some kind of a hibernation state. She is clean, not like she would be if she had been roaming the town and sleeping in weeds. But her belly fur is all matted as though she was laying still and conserving energy to stay warm. I don't know, of course, I'm just trying to speculate what would explain the facts.

The best fact is, she's definitely glad to be home. She purrs so loud when I talk to her, and/or pet her. And, of course I am the happiest camper tonight, on the whole world.

Cat Thief Strikes Again X(

2011-10-15T20:33:00.002-06:00

This time, whoever it is took Garfield! She was with me all day, as usual, while I was working on my camper. I finished a little after 7:00 PM and saw her last at 7:05 PM as I left the camper and went inside to take a shower. After the shower, I went to get some pizza and beer. I returned to the house at 7:55 PM and she was gone.

I knew something was wrong immediately. We've been together for two years, and she's always here when I get back. Always.

It's the same thing that happened with Biter last summer. Whoever is taking them is coming right onto the property and snatching them up.

I am so furious! Garfield is the best cat on the whole planet. She's been gone now for 25 hours give or take about 20 minutes. It's obvious she didn't wander off.

Modern Lynda Carter

2011-09-24T00:52:00.002-06:00

Jaimie Alexander.

Hello! Wonder woman. Hell, I'd settle for Supergirl. Anything but another Marvel character. Am I right? Hell yeah!

Whitney

2011-09-22T20:52:00.001-06:00

Another stupid, bad written, show for NBC. Who writes this shit?! How do they get hired? Please execute them, somebody...

I only left it on because it came on after The Office, which of course, was fantastic, and so was Community (Now there's a great written show!).

I don't understand how Whitney could last as long as it has, but entertaining shows like Roomates, Kyle XY, Greek, Make it or Break It, get sacked. I know, all those shows were ABC, not NBC, but why can't NBC buy those awesome shows that Disney doesn't want, the same thing happened with other shows, like Scrubs and CBS to name one.

When Roommates came out, I thought it belonged on NBC, it was like a modern Friends, if it had a chance on broadcast rather than cable, it would have been an amazing hit. It would, in fact, fit right between NBC hit The office and the new cop show. As it is, this is the first and last time I watch Whitney, and therefore I will never see the new cop show after it.

Goodbye E=MC2

2011-09-22T14:14:00.001-06:00

We now have documented observations of faster than light travel. That's right, not only did the neutrinos particles achieve light speed, it surpassed it by at least 50 nanoseconds (time adjusted for margin of error). No black holes, no deterioration of the particle into pure energy, no blah, blah, blah, whatever you thought would happen when mass approached the speed of light, it didn't happen.

And, the European Organization for Nuclear Research's (CERN's) observation is not even the first! Scientists at Fermilab in Chicago observed the same thing back in 2007, but were so embarrassed at the implications, that they claimed their margin of error to great! CERN claims a margin of error at just 10 nanoseconds!

Well, I for one will be very happy to say goodbye to Einstein's relativity theories. Too much today's world, both in the realms of science, and the general public, embrace those theories as fact.

Battlefield 3 vs Modern Warfare 3

2011-09-20T18:40:00.001-06:00

Go here to vote:

https://www.playfire.com/bf3-vs-mw3/8bbf6d8520f25b8b

I have to say, I voted for Modern Warfare, because I'm a huge fan of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, and I have high hopes for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.

That being said, I have never played Battlefield 3, but another unrelated shooter titled Modern Combat: Domination is WAAAYYY better than the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare series. So, it is possible that Battlefield 3 (whatever that is) is also a better game.

So, if you're a fan of Battlefield 3, click here to vote and enter a chance to win the game you voted for!

Shelf Life

2011-09-06T18:21:00.001-06:00

I'm a master of all trades, and a jack of none.

I have noticed, all my interests have a shelf life. Last week it was cameras, and accessories, this week week it is motorcycles. I am saving up for one, and I plan to get rid of my pickup bed and build my own flatbed, so I'll be learning welding in a couple months.

Yesterday, I finally got around to trying my hand at film processing. I mixed up all the chemicals I had and processed 3 roles of ISO 200 negative film (C-41).

While doing so, my mom happened by (as I was in my Grandma's kitchen) and read a little from the E-6 chemical instruction page I had sitting on the table. Apparently the chemicals only last a few days. This was a surprise to me, so I that evening, I looked it up with the aid of google.com, and, as much as I could find, sure enough, the chemicals don't last a week once opened, let alone mixed.

So, I finished up my role of Velvia 100 and processed it today. It was just a test role, as were the negatives I processed yesterday.

By looking at the image above, you may think it was under developed, but in fact, as a test role, I took several night shots. In fact, the pictures of the moon do appear to be over exposed. All the daylight stuff, look perfect. I can't wait to scan them in to make sure.

Yesterdays negatives came out flawless too. Although, yesterday I had a problem with scum spots on the dried film. I washed them off last light with isopropyl alcohol, which is recommended by Kodak, and they came out great, though I think I scratched the film in a couple places before moving to a lens cleaning cloth.

Anyway, chalk that up to another lesson and skill-set learned.

Ain't No Cure for the Rock and Roll

2011-09-01T17:55:00.001-06:00

Check it out!

So, here's the story: I was busy drooling over various camera accessories for my previously mentioned recent acquired Canon Rebel T2, you know lenses, and filters, and whatever else that goes with an SLR. All the while, I was singing the same line from the Oak Ridge Boys's American Made. You probably know the one I'm referring to.

"I got a Nikon camera, A Sony Color T.V."

So, I was in the mood for the song, but realized I did not have a single record or any kind of album for the Oak Ridge Boys. I have been a fan since I was a kid, thanks to my mom. I have even had them listed on my blogger profile among my favorites, since the first day I set up my Blogger account profile!

So, back to eBay (what did we ever do without that website!?) for the American Made album, record version preferred of course, and there I found it, and another that came with the record album Deliver. Then, I notice the same seller had three other auctions too, each one for two record albums! They were listed as buy it now and auction, so I placed a maximum bid at the buy it now price and watched. Over the days that followed, I remained not only the sole bidder, but the only person to even visit the auction pages, according to the counter at the bottom of the page.

Well, as irony would prevail, I still do not have a playable American Made album, as, out of the 8 records I received American Made was the only one that was in less than excellent condition with several skips. But, I don't mind, eBay is still there and I already have the replacement saved in my "Music" list. Besides, the 1983 release of the record album "Deliver", which American Made came with, as I wrote earlier, was still factory sealed, in brand new condition!!! Sweet, my record player from the same year (I think) came the same way last year, when I bought that. :-D

Score!

My First Helicopter Ride! :-D

2011-08-21T21:00:00.003-06:00

Sometime last century, I had got a hold of a helicopter game I thought was titled "Apache: Attack Chopper", but when I google that title I get no game results. I thought I still had the game, but I cannot find it. Instead, I found "Comanche 2", and Team Apache. While they are from the very same time period I am remembering, neither one validates the most important part of my memory about the game.

I have a very distinct memory of a helicopter game that came with a printable instruction manual. A very large manual. It took up something like 200 pages, printed on both sides, making it roughly 400 pages (sides) total. The first half was real flight instructions for piloting the particular helicopter (which I thought all these years was called an Apache Attach Chopper). Out of both game disks that I still have, only one has a printable manual, Comanche 2, but it is certainly not 200 pages. The second half was how to play the game.

Well, anyway, I loved that game, and, in particular, the first half of the manual, which, after I read, I honestly felt I could pilot the real thing. I have always loved helicopter flight simulators, but because of that manual, I have always wanted to learn how to fly one, or at least ride in a helicopter.

So, I discovered that there were rides available this year in conjunction with the Oneida County Fair, here in Malad City, Idaho. The rides cost $15 and as I watched, it seemed to circle the valley. So I grabbed my digital camera and walked on down to the launching area.

It was kinda worth it, but mostly it was a rip-off. I was told, by the pilots wife, that the ride was around the valley, but instead it was only around the block. And to make matters worse, all day yesterday the helicopter was flying around the city. It must have been a different pilot, but whatever the reason, I did get comparatively shafted.

And now I have discovered a shortcoming of Qumana, I cannot insert the iframe html code to have the video on my blog. So, if I haven't fixed this entry by the time you read this (using blogger's web editor) click the following link to view the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WeeR4W-TNxM

My Latest Toy

2011-08-19T14:48:00.001-06:00

Back in June I bought a Canon Rebel T2. Don't ask me why, I cannot say, as I do not know. I have never been into photos or photography. Cinematography on the other hand, now that is where my interest always lied.

I guess I was a little perturbed at the current quality of digital cameras. Even video cameras cannot even begin to compare with the quality of film, not by a long shot. So, I jumped onto the good ole world wide web for a bit of quasi research and came up with this fantastic idea to buy a 35mm film camera and CanoScan 9000F, which is a combination that would blow the latest digital cameras out of the waters of digital quality.

And, when I considered that 35mm photography has always been fed by the movie industry, which is fading fast away from film. It just made additional sense to buy now; Who knows if there will be 35mm film available in 10-15 years.

Well, as you may or may not imagine, the above mentioned setup requires home processing capabilities. No problem, it's still cost effective anyway I look at it, so now I have chemicals for both C41, which I need for testing and learning, and E6, which is what I'll need when I start getting serious about my photos. My preferred ISO has always been 100, but I plan to start shooting slide rather than negative film. This is the 21st century, so I won't even consider black and white.

Now, It is important to realize, that I have no training or formal education concerning photography. As I mentioned, I never had any serious interest in photography. I still don't. But, I decided it was also necessary to learn something, so I have purchased "The Basic Book of Photography" (5th edition) by Tom Grimm and Michele Grimm, which has proved far beyond any fairy tales, I love the book, it's exactly what I needed. Another book I bought is "Beyond Basic Photography" by Henry Horenstein, which is a great book for the exact reason I bought it sight unseen, which is to learn darkroom technicalities. Only problem with that one is it focuses mainly on the horrid black and white, but it's still of use and does include color.

So, my prep covered, it was time to choose a camera. Based on the [quasi] research I did, I discovered that Canon has this ingenious technique of a standardize lens attachment on all their Electro-Optical System (EOS) cameras. No other camera manufacturer does that. With all other makes, you are limited to specific lenses constructed for the specific model. Duh, talk about a no-brainer! And, to top that category off, Canon is the leader in consumer photo printing and scanning. For consumer video, I always buy Sony, but for digital photography, the clear choice is Canon, hands-down.

I picked the Rebel T2 because it was the last latest and greatest 35mm camera canon ever manufactured, and all reviews I found for it just raved, often giving 5 of 5 stars. I found one complete with lens, instructions, and a strap on eBay, and snatched it up for the average price this combo sales for on eBay, roughly $55.

It became clear within a day that my shooting styles for video and good cinematography simply does not translate well to photographing. With cinematography, I am in control and I can set up any shot to capture perfect video. In short, I have to shoot photos exactly opposite as I would shoot a scene of motion. The standard 28-90mm lens is insufficient.

Back at the Canon website, I narrowed my selection down by affordability to the 75-300mm lens. On eBay that lens sales at an average of $80 for the DC motor and $130 for the ultrasonic motor (USM) (purchased new at a good camera store, they sale for $150 and $180 respectively). I was lucky to find a seller who had posted an auction for the USM model, but was using the picture of a DC model. I messaged him and he sent images of the actual lens, and I got a deal when I won it for $111. Good thing I was the only bidder who knew it was actually the USM model. ;-)

So, that's my latest toy (the EF 75-300mm f:4-5.6 III USM), and I love it. At least, so far I love how it looks, feels and acts. I haven't seen the pictures yet, so keep your fingers crossed for me.

My next intended toy? A new tripod. I'm aiming for the Manfrotto 055XPROB with a Velbon PH-368 2-way panhead. Two of them (each), one for the Rebel and one for the [Sony] video camera. :-D

Handyman

2011-08-09T03:09:00.001-06:00

It's taken me a few years (and counting) to build my trailer. One of the toughest obstacles has been obtaining the tools necessary. I have purchased a router, dozens of C clamps, a table saw, a circular saw, two drills, levels, tape measures, squares, hammers, knee pads and a couple ladders. I have spent over a thousand dollars on tools I will never use again.

All the while, I was cutting my lumber on the ground, off the back of the pickup truck, or between the ladders. With the recent setback in weather that ruined, and forced me to redo, the majority of work I completed last year, I have resolved to doing this a bit differently.

I spent the day (well, it's yesterday now time-wise, though I have not been to sleep) building four sawhorses. I think I could have gotten by with two, but I decided, what the hell, if I'm going to do it right, I'm going to do it really right.

:-D

So, now I have four sawhorses I will never use again, but at least they stack for convenient stowing...

The False King

2011-07-26T14:46:00.001-06:00

United States president, Barack Obama, needs to be stopped. His abuse of the authority constituted to the office he holds is immoral, unjust, tyrannical, and downright un-american.

The powers of the President of the United Stated to veto proposed bills is meant solely to protect the liberty of Americans. Instead, Obama is using this authority to keep his socialist agenda and ensure a greater debt limit, which will mean more taxes, and possibly more socialist acts passing into law.

Now, there are ways around a presidents veto, of course, so if the United States Congress did want to pass any of the proposed debt solutions, it can. But my point is that Obama should not be threatening veto, just so save his pride. America's federal government is facing default as direct result of a century of socialist programs, which clearly violate the citizen's inalienable right to liberty-to be free from government interference.

Reunioniversary

2011-07-17T18:27:00.001-06:00

Today marks the second reunioniversary for Garfield and me. It was 2 reunions ago that I got got her from the little girls who named her, they were unknown distant relatives I haven't seen since. I don't go to those reunions often, but it was held today.

I can't just say it is our second anniversary, because the reunion, which does take place every year, does not take place on the year. Calculation of the exact date of the reunion is a complex ritual that includes secretive variables, and therefore beyond my ability. I once attempted to do so, and arrived one week late! So, I don't bother trying anymore.

Anyway, Garfield is the best cat on the whole planet!

Lunatics!

2011-07-17T13:48:00.001-06:00

Yep, I'm one of them.

Two of my younger sisters, one nephew, and I left my grandma's house at 4:15 AM the morning of Thursday, July 14, 2011, and returned the exact same minute, 24 hours later.

So, what did we do? Where did we go? We went, of all places, to Ogden, Utah to the Larry H. Miller Megaplex Theatre-I hate it when Americans misspell that word-for an all day, eight movie marathon featuring Warner Brothers's Harry Potter films. The first show, "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone", started at 6:00 AM and subsequent films started at the end of the closing credits for each film, except for a 15 minute break between the forth and fifth films.

Except for the last two movies, which have terrible cinematography, It was awesome to see them on the big-screen.

I paid $40 for my tickets and spent another $20 online for a voucher pack that included a $20 gift card for the megaplex businesses, a voucher for unlimited all-you-can-eat-and-drink popcorn and soda, and several coupons. I guess it was worth it. Had I not bought the voucher pack, I may or may not have spent $20 on popcorn, and dinner. As it happened, I was able to have with me a large popcorn and a large Sprite-no ice-at all times, and for dinner, two double cheeseburgers with fries, and to use up the remaining gift card balance, one box of Swedish Fish, I had to fork over an additional 50 cents for that. We also got, as gifts from the theater, a leftover New Moon necklace, a Harry Potter "It all ends here" megaplex poster, and a free megaplex/Harry Potter t-shirt, which will be mailed to us.

Over-all, it was an enjoyable experience, it makes me excited for a Star Trek convention again, I've always wanted to go to one. Well, ever since I saw the movie "Trekkies" that is.

The finale Harry Potter was just as bad as I thought it would be, which is to say, it was equally as bad as the first "part". The problem was the cinematography, and the shity editing. When we Harry Potter fans first heard about the planned Harry Potter films, like 11 or 12 years ago, we were confused at the plans to make eight movies, when J.K. Rowling only planned on publishing seven books. It didn't make sense back then, and doesn't make sense today. Were I in charge, I would have edited the hell out of 'Deathly Hallows' and released it as one movie. There's a lot of wasted time in those last two releases.

And, the last movie is the only Harry Potter movie where knowledge of the books is a requirement. The movies never introduced the shard of Sirius's mirror, but it plays just as important a role in part 2 as it does in the books, so, was that bad editing again, or bad script writing? Movies need to be self contained, they should never include anything that is not explained within it. The first six adaptations did an awesome job of that, but they really dropped the ball with 'Deathly Hallows'.

Still, I'll get the 3D Blu-Ray, when it comes out. :-D

xfinity

2011-06-14T05:53:00.002-06:00

I love those catchy-tune commercials, ♪Come on Everybody do Xfinity♪. I watch them on hulu.com.

:-D

Unexpected Significant Event

2011-06-04T00:42:00.002-06:00

Holy shit! I cannot believe how good this movie is!!! I have never been a fan of Jack Nicholson; I hate how he tries to get away on Jay Leno with sunglasses, and ... whatever the fuck I can come up with...

Tonight, courtesy of ION Television, I am watching "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" for the first time ever.

WTF!!!

I know, holy shit it's good!!! It could be the best movie I have ever watched!. And I do not say that lightly. Every single bit actor in this movie performers so admirable, it is, quite possibly, the best acted movie I have ever seen.

I shit you not!!

What else can I say, but "WoW!," I love it.

Doh!

2011-05-31T02:48:00.001-06:00

PS3 Reball with the Puhui T-870A

2011-04-14T00:24:00.002-06:00

Hi, this entry is intended to complement and amend my earlier entry, titled “Reballing the Playstation 3”, which is located here: http://waldowoc.blogspot.com/2011/02/reballing-playstation-3.html It still contains pertinent information, so if you haven't read it, please do, though doing so is not necessary.

Introduction

Every since Gilsky's very popular video, people have been confused about what reflow is. First, let me start by writing that Gilsky's "reflow" is not, in any way, shape or form, a real reflow. A reflow is not possible using his heat gun technique. A reflow melts the solder so it can reattach to the connections. Gilsky's method only warms up and re-warps the motherboard so the broken connections are touching again. That's why the Gilsky heat gun fix only lasts a week on average.

The true difference between reflow and reball is whether the integrated chip is removed or not. With a reball, the IC is removed, then both chip and board are cleaned of all the solder, which is replaced with new solder spheres.

So, yes, reflow is possible with the Puhui T-870A. And it takes the same amount of time to reflow as it does to remove the IC. For a reflow, instead of removing the chip, simply turn off the lamp (after one minute if you follow my instructions) and the preheater, and you have accomplished a true reflow.

As far as the actual time it takes to clean the IC and board, and then place the new spheres and prepare the IC for reattach, it depends on experience and comfort level. I take my time and that part of the process takes about another 20 to 30 minutes with a BGA rework tool. With a direct heat stencil system, I can reball in about five minutes. So from start to finish, the whole process can take up to a couple hours, but once you are comfortable with the process, you may be able to do it in about 40 minutes to an hour, or even less per IC.

This is not a route you want to take if you are considering PS3 reballing as a business, the process takes too long, making it inefficient as a business. I only recommend it as a casual hobby, or for occasional repairs for family and friends. Otherwise it's much cheaper to send your board to a professional PS3 reball company, their equipment (which costs $10,000 and up by the way) is better suited for the task and can achieve reflows and reballs in a fraction of the time. Those businesses charge about 60 to 75 dollars, and Sony itself will repair/replace any PS3 whether it's under warranty or not for about the same amount, the last time I checked.

The Puhui T-870A is an excellent low cost, professional rework station. I love it, and use it often. I bought it for personal projects such as component salvage, PC/game system rework, and electronics/robotics development. It's absolutely perfect. And, the company and sales teams provide plenty of support, not that I have ever needed it, it's a solid station.

Many people online are buying the Puhui T-870A as a cheap reball solution for the PS3. The problem with that is they are too inexperienced and lack the necessary electronics education. That's why we're not finding many successes with it online. They are all fumbling around with online tutorials, videos, and forum threads, and in most cases, with a less-than-basic understanding of electronics. A sophisticated project like reballing a PS3 takes way more than that. In the right hands, and with a bit of patience, the Puhui T-870A can be just as powerful as any other expert rework station.

A basic understanding of electronics is required. If you haven't received an electronics degree, stop now and find a good electronics college course in your area.

Now, to be clear, I am a hardcore anti-Microsoft, Linux using, PS3 fan-boy, so I could never justify actually paying any amount of money on a 360 for BGA rework. As a result, I have no experience reballing one. For those of you looking for information on technique and procedure for reflowing or reballing the Xbox, you must look elsewhere. The internet is full of success stories concerning that system.

Because of the smaller IC sizes and lack of heat sinks, Xbox's are way easier to reball than the PS3. So, for that reason, I suggest learning how to successfully reball the PS3 first. I have read PS3 failure stories that start out with wonderful successes reballing and reflowing the Xbox then explain that it doesn't work on a PS3. The PS3 ICs are significantly larger, have more contacts, and all of them have big ol' heat sinks on top making it very tough to rework.

The most important thing to know about reballing the PS3 is that it is absolutely imperative to preheat the PCB. I believe it is pretty standard for electronics manufacturing to keep PCBs at a temperature of 160 degrees Celsius, which concurs with my research into various sphere alloy melting points and reflow times. Therefore, my instructions utilize the method of placing the preheat plate temperature sensor on the topside of the PCB where it should be located at the base of the IC you intend to remove. This ensures that not only is the air below the PCB at 160° Celsius, but the whole board is too.

Based upon my experience, I do not consider the size of the preheat plate a practical concern. I know several forum posters bring this concern up, and coming from a novice point of view, it is logical. However, in practice the procedure is governed by a form of thermodynamics which teaches us that the heated air from the preheat plate is stopping at the PCB and spreading out across the board fairly evenly. Indeed, my tests have confirmed that, at the temperatures we're dealing with during rework, the entire board is heating at an acceptable even rate.

In discussion, or philosophizing, it is easy to forget about how the PCB is preheated and what the heated air actually does when it reaches the board. Especially when one is aware that the initial problem is caused when an IC overheats during game play creating a distortion between the IC and board. Concidering those temperatures, the edges of the board can be close to room temperature. Even at operating temperatures, the other parts of the board, just inches from an overheated IC, can still be 150-200 degrees cooler! That is simply not the case with a properly heated PCB during reflow, regardless of the preheat plate size.

The Puhui T-870A is a 1000 watt system that uses a 400 watt infra red light for the IC, so roughly 600 watts is used to feed the preheat plate. This may seem like a lot, but compared to other rework stations, it is quite small, and I believe it is the fundamental reason for longer preheat times. More power will always mean more heat and faster heat times. But, the key to good PS3 reballing with the Puhui T-870A is patience.

Also, and this may blow your mind, my instructions do not mention the use of flux for lifting or attaching the ICs. The reason is, I have never used it for that. When I first received the T-870A, (three days after purchase, by the way, shipped from China!!!) I had not yet received the AMT-599-ASM gel flux included with the sale. Since it is a chemical, it had to be shipped separate and arrived about a month after the T-870A. Instead, I used what I had at the time, which was supposed to work according to my research. It didn't, and my first ruined PS3 has that to blame, the poor quality flux I used made a mess and helped fry both the chip and the board below it. So, from that point on, I didn't use any flux for removing the ICs.

Disclaimer (heavy on the sarcasm, but necessary nonetheless)

The procedure detailed in this step-by-step howto works for me, however, I guarantee use of these instructions will result in catastrophic failure. You will destroy your PS3 and even risk burning your house down, or at least setting off the fire alarm. If, by chance you do complete my instructions and end up with a successful PS3 rework, then sue me, or thank me, whichever you feel is appropriate. Honestly, this step-by-step is only meant to get some numbers out there in the world wide web for people interested in learning PlayStation 3 reballing times and temperatures on the Puhui T-870A.

Amendment

In my original blog entry, I was using a BGA rework station for applying the spheres to the IC. I have since purchased a set of direct heat stencils, and converted. Using the station was more of a hindrance and ended up being just a nuisance. Using the direct heat method is easier and way quicker! I was originally concerned with lifting contact pads during the removal of the stencil, but so far that has proved to be an illegitimate concern.

Materials

For a more in depth look at what I use, see the afore mentioned entry “Reballing the PlayStation 3”.

PCB Supports
Direct Heat Stencils
Hot Air Wand (Optional)
Controlled Temperature Solder Iron and 900M-T-K (Or Equivalent)
2.0mm Goot Wick
NC-559-ASM No-Clean Solder Paste
Aven 5SA Tweezer (Or Comfortable Compliment)
Solder Pump (Optional)
BGA Spatula (AKA Tin Shaving Pen, or Scraper)
Isopropyl Alcohol
Cotton Swabs
Soft Cleaning Cloth
Flat PVC Card (Or Equivalent Size Spatula Device)
Small Bowl
.6mm Sn63 Pb37 Solder Spheres
Puhui T-870A

Instructions

1. Attach motherboard to the PCB supports to prevent warping;
2. Possition the motherboard about 4 cm above the preheat plate, and the lamp nozzle about 1.5 to 2 cm above the chip;
3. Place the preheat sensor on the top of the motherboard so it is touching the PCB at the base of the IC;
4. Set the preheat plate to 170 degrees Celsius and turn on;
5. Wait for the topside sensor to top out at around 160 degrees Celsius; (This takes about 33 minutes when I start at a room temperature of about 23 degrees Celsius.)
6. Set the lamp to 250 degrees Celsius and turn on for exactly 60 seconds;
7. At the 50 second mark, use the spatula to gently start testing the IC, there should be NO resistance;
8. Remove the IC from the board and place it solder side up on a level surface;
9. Turn lamp off immediately;
10. Turn off preheat plate;
11. Using a combination of solder pump, solder iron, flux, and Goot Wick, remove the melted solder from the PCB;
12. Using a combination of solder pump, solder iron, flux, Goot Wick, and hot air wand, remove the melted solder from the IC;
13. Clean up the PCB and IC with the isopropyl alcohol utilizing the cotton swabs and soft cloth.
14. Apply a thin layer of flux to the IC using the PVC card for an even spead;
15. Align the direct heat stencil and press it firmly to the IC;
16. Apply solder spheres catching excess in bowl;
17. Heat the the solder balls with the hot air wand; (I also add more flux on top of stencil for stubborn balls that do not immediately melt.)
18. Remove the stencil with the tweezer;
19. Allow the IC to cool enough to handle;
20. Place the IC back onto the motherboard careful to align each corner with the corner markers on the PCB;
21. Follow steps 2-6;
22. Turn off the lamp;
23. Turn off the preheat plate;
24. Allow to cool to room temperature.

For reflow only, follow steps 1-6 then 22-24.

Conclusion

This method works for me. I cannot guarantee it will work for you, or anyone else. I also do not consider it definitive, but rather a place to start. When I first looked into the reballing the PS3, there was no information available online providing the temperatures and times of the PS3 reball process. As a result, I came up with this technique through trial and error and educated guesswork. That is why I call it a starting point for those who are interested. Obviously there is room for improvement, incorporating flux, for instance, in the removal steps to help speed things up.

It should also be noted, that I consider Gilsky to be a helpful pioneer in the realm of do-it-yourself PS3 repair. And for that, I have a great deal of respect for him. I know he personally has had success with his heat gun method. I have not, and expect many of you will likewise not have any success with my method. Regardless, I hope at least to have been able to shed some light on many of your inquiring minds.

Good Luck!

Best Series Finale

2011-03-09T21:29:00.001-07:00

Greek.

Oh God! 8-|

2011-03-04T05:05:00.001-07:00

The shuttle launches are the coolest thing about NASA.

The ONLY cool thing.

NASA is a complete embarrassment to America. It is a 40 plus years obsolete waste of money. I am ashamed that the Republic has any such program.

Night of Perfection

2011-02-26T02:31:00.002-07:00

Friday nights can be seen as perfection. Well, at least this Friday night was.

Wow, I am not one to marvel over older women by most means, but the female star of RED, who out ages me at 12 years, is to absolutely to die for. How is it possible for someone so old to be so beautiful... well, whatever the answer, she pulls it off and I wish I could make babies with her.

I also rented seasons one and two of the American take on "The Office", a British tale of... well, office life. It's been an American favorite for at least 5 years running, so I thought I would give it a shot. I started out a fan of "The Office" courtesy of the original British failure "The Office", which is currently running free on hulu.com. The British version is better, but Jenna Fischer, also an oldie, but a goodie, almost single handedly captivates any American, or human, male, in general, watching.

Who wouldn't want a Sara Ross or Pam Beesly?

To me those fictional women epitomize the best of older women, and younger women for that matter.

STS-133 Discovery

2011-02-24T15:27:00.001-07:00

I love watching the shuttle launch.

And, with the last couple shuttle flights, I hope to remember to look up in the night sky to see the shuttle approach and leave the International Space Station.

I hate NASA, but they do put on a good show with the launches.

House's Coveted Teammate

2011-02-19T01:25:00.001-07:00

So, I didn't watch the Jeopardy man vs. machine episodes, but I did read this article by Associated Press writers Seth Borenstein and Jordan Robertson titled "Machines beat us at our own game: What can we do?"

At first I thought, "this would be great for a search engine", then the thought hit me, toward the middle of the article, that Watson, IBM's computer should get a role on House, for an episode or two. You know, House's team comes in and there's this weird computer setup at the table, they all give each other confused looks and shrugs, and the mystery of what it is, and where it came from ensures in true House fashion.

In the end, of course, House is disillusioned about his stolen computer. Man with all it's emotions and beliefs correctly diagnose and treat the patient, thereby proving man the superior.

What do you think?

Reballing the Playstation 3

2011-02-18T04:00:00.003-07:00

The most important thing about reballing the PlayStation 3 is getting an infrared nozzle big enough for the PS3's 43mm square integrated chips. I considered building my own IR rework station, but in the end, I decided to buy one. I bought the $1k kit, and it was worth it me, even though I actually saved up for it for several months.

There are really only 2 options for purchasing a ball grid array rework station under a thousand dollars, the Puhui T-870A, or the Achi IR 6000. The PUHUI T-870A can handle up to 50mm chips and the Achi IR 6000 can handle up to 65mm chips. Anything smaller than those simply will not work.

For the same reason that you wouldn't use a tool for taking up linoleum on a PS3, I cannot advise a home made IR rework station. BGA rework is a very delicate endeavor and temperatures and times need to be spot on, or the chip and/or the board will get fried.

Now, I bought the PUHUI T-870A. I bought it on eBay from browndragonchina. I bought the kit, but you may not want everything in it, so take a look and jot down the most important things you need. Everything in that listing can be purchased separately, just ask Cao, or any other Dragon Group China representative. The kit I bought is eBay #: 180606924018.

The main reason I bought the kit was for the PCB supports. However, they are sold separately upon request. Also, if you chose to go with the Achi IR 6000, there are sellers who offer PS3 PCB supports for that too, though I'm sure they are interchangeable regardless of which BGA rework station you go with. The PCB supports hold the PCB so it doesn't rest directly on the preheat surface, while preventing the PCB from warping during the reball process. If you have a machinist friend, just use the PS3 motherboard as a template utilizing all the mounting holes.

The kit also came with a BGA reballing station. As far as those go, I cannot recommend the one that came in the kit. I have had issues with the top portion teetering on the IC and allowing the spheres to fall though causing a mess and requiring me to start over. I had also bought a small BGA kit a year earlier that came with a reballing station that works great, no teetering. That tool was also bought on eBay but from seller e-best_trade. The tool is a Dragon Group China brand, and is colored blue, that's the one I recommend.

There is also the choice of direct heat stencils. The difference is that the stencil remains on the IC while the spheres are heated. With the reballing station, the stencil is removed prior to melting the spheres. Although I do intent to purchase a direct heat kit in the near future, I would be hesitant to use it on the IC's found in the PS3 given the delicate nature of the contact pads of both the motherboard as well as the chips.

Another fundamental tool is the hot air wand. I own the YIHUA 898D that I bought from an eBay seller in Texas. This combo unit has proved invaluable for the solder removal and the melting of the spheres to the IC. The main reason for buying it was parts salvage, who knew it would be so important in PS3 BGA rework? You can take a look at the eBay item here: 160534018372. Having knife style solder tips is critical for solder wick use.

Speaking of solder wick, I learned the hard way that American brands are not desirable. Unless you are already proficient with them stay away from them. The 2.0mm Goot Wick I received with the Puhui T-870a is like the luxury car of solder wick, I highly recommend it for any project required solder removal, especially on the delicate PS3 board and ICs.

Likewise, I discovered that the Amtech NC-599-ASM-TPF(UV) that I received as part of the Puhui T-870a kit is the BEST possible gel flux! There are plenty of sellers on eBay offering the NC-599, but they are all foreign. Amtech is an American company in Bradford, Connecticut. Their website is http://www.amtechinc.com/. Look up the distributor or representative for your area and see if you can buy some direct. They claim on their website that they sell standard size jars, but I have been unsuccessful in reaching the representative for my area. If you get through, let me know. Otherwise, buy from Dragon Group China on eBay (like browndragonchina), just be aware that since it is a chemical, it has to go through regular mail and take a month to do so.

Another important tool to have is a tweezer or tweezers set. I got a tweezer at my local grocery store in the make-up section for about $5 that looks just like an Aven 5SA. I also bought a 6 piece set of Aven tweezers from CML Supply that I never touch (eBay item #: 350426680340). Although, I received a complimentary ballpoint pen with my order that I use all the time. :-D

The last tool to mention that has been a real time saver is a solder pump. Again, I bought mine on eBay, listing number 200547427755.

I have found that IC poppers are ineffective (too thick to get under the chip). For IC removal I gently use the tweezer and the scraper that came with the reballing station.

When you do finally have everything, be prepared to completely ruin the first PS3 motherboard and GPU. You may not actually do so, but be prepared to. BGA rework is very delicate and sensitive. It's way too easy to fry these chips. That's why I'm stocking up on GPU's. ;-D

There is no data on the net as of yet that details the exact temperatures and times for reballing the PS3. Here's what I've learned through trial and lots of error.

To reball the PS3 GPU using the Puhui T-870A, with the board about 4 cm above the preheat plate, and the lamp nozzle about 1.5 to 2 cm above the chip, set the plate to 170 degrees Celsius and turn on. Then wait for the topside sensor (placed at the base of the chip against the motherboard), to top out at around 145 degrees Celsius (about 33 minutes for me at a room temperature of about 23 degrees Celsius). Set the lamp to 250 degrees Celsius and turn on. The chip should come off in about 1 minute. Turn lamp off immediately. Turn off preheat plate. Clean off all solder using, the gel flux, the Goot Wick, and a knife style solder iron tip (you may want to start with just the solder iron and a desolder pump). I also use the hot air wand to help prevent cooling which would allow the wick to become soldered to the board or chip. If the wick gets soldered, melt the solder with the hot air wand to avoid pulling off the contact pads.

Once the board and chip are cleaned and the chip is reballed, repeat removal procedure, without removing the chip. Don't forget you're attaching it this time round, not removing it. :-D

Website Down

2011-02-09T17:15:00.001-07:00

I noticed a few days ago that my website is down. It appears as though www.100free.com simply no longer exists. I didn't get a warning or anything.

Anyway, I have been looking for a new free host, but have been unsuccessful. If I resort to paying for hosting service, I'll wait till July or August before doing so.

Right now, I'm leaning toward http://www.freehostia.co m for my solution, unless I can get my new account working at http://www.110mb.com. I set that one up this morning, but have been unable to log in.

Interrupted Labor

2010-05-13T16:16:00.001-06:00

Two weeks ago, I was in the process of writing this blog entry when the power went out. I was, as always, on my laptop, so I did not loose what I ha written, but the desktop server, through which I receive my internet connection, and the router and modem were all out. Following is how the post was intended:

"They call it interrupted labor, when a cat has more than one kitten then all signs of labor stop for as long as 24 to 36 hours before giving birth again. Garfield's second living kitten came at 1:10 AM this morning. The previous surviving kitten was at around 8:30 PM on Sunday.

"I could swear I felt another kitten while massaging the mommy cat after her latest delivery, maybe even two. But, as of yet, she has had no further signs of labor through this very moment. Maybe I was wrong. It is possible that all she had in there was three, but with as big as she was, and as hard as it was to jump up onto anything, I expected at least a half dozen.

"So far, kittens two and three are doing great. I call them Number One and Number Two. Will there be more? Only time can tell."

I wrote that on Tuesday, April 27, 2010 at around 8:35 PM. Turns out, Garfield only had the two.

The two images were taken yesterday and just a few minutes ago respectively. In the second image, they are just waking up from the sound of the camera turning on. :-D At least they were still cute enough for the picture.

The Gall

2010-04-30T01:59:00.001-06:00

How stupid does Conan O'Brian think we, his viewers and fans, are?

Don't ever forget, that it was Conan who coerced NBC to fire Jay Leno 4 years earlier! It was Conan who started this whole fiasco as a deliberate attempt to unseat the number one late-night talk show host for his own gain. It was he who threw the tantrum and stormed off for no legitimate reason.

So Conan thinks we are stupid enough to believe that he would not have accepted an offer from NBC to return to "The Tonight Show", AFTER his replacement (the guy who forced him off the show to begin with) flushed it's ratings down the drain and left the show on his own accord, if he had been in Leno's shoes?

Bullshit!

You're the stupid idiot, if you believe that, Conan O'Brian, and even more so if you think we do.

I was a fan of both Jay and Conan, I was there (as a nightly viewer, of course) way back when Jay rightfully beat Letterman. I was there from Conan's beginning and he was perfect for the job he had to the day he left it. I was still there when Conan took the number one show in the ratings and, long before Jay came leading in the news, sank those rating with a sub-par show.

I have been here for the whole ride, and it upsets me that Conan would insult me, after all he's done these past years to weasel "The Tonight Show" from Jay Leno, by insinuating the he would never "have done what Jay Leno did" by accepting an offer to return, and that offer came after, that's right AFTER, Conan left the show.

The right comedian ended up in the dog house.

Garfield++

2010-04-26T00:54:00.004-06:00

My cat Garfield birthed two kittens today (yesterday). The first one was stillborn, but to my surprise, the second one was a wriggling little thing from the moment his first appendages became visible. I'm sure there's more waiting to come out, but Garfield is not having a typical labor. I think the whole affair is going to be spread out over the next day or more. She was already at it all day today, poor thing.

Anyway, here's a picture:

New Move-over Woman

2010-04-16T02:15:00.001-06:00

If ever there was a new woman to replace Emma Watson as my top celebrity crush, it's Chloe Moretz. I saw Wednesdays episode of "The Tonight Show" and wow, I was blown away! She is one foxy lady! And, she likes older men... ;-D

Although her hair was beyond beautiful, the most surprising thing about her, to me, was that she was a living character that I created for a suspense story I've been peculating. I cannot believe how close she matches MY character. Now, if I ever publish that book, everyone will think I modeled the character after her.

On the bright side, until tonight, I thought women like her were a thing of the past. That might just convince me to seriously work on this story. Not that I wasn't planning on doing it (I actually have character sheets for her and the major characters), but knowing that this fantastical character exists in real life makes it believable. It was the vary identical aspects of my character and Miss Moretz that she revealed to Jay Leno and his viewers that I found myself struggling with-I honestly kept asking myself "is it possible for a character like her to exist, is she believable?".

But, who am I kidding? Emma Watson is my crush, only time will tell if Chloe has what it takes to move over Emma. (But it sure was a kick watching my character living and breathing on "The Tonight Show".)

Big Red

2010-03-05T22:34:00.001-07:00

Verizon needs to get their own jingle instead of poaching Wriggley's Big Red jingle. Every time Verizon's poached ad comes on, I sing the REAL Big Red jingle.

Now, it should be noted that I am a fan of Verizon, they do have the biggest calling area, but are they so desperate it's necessary to steal a very successful jingle?

Come on Verizon, get your own ad.

E-mail to NBC

2010-01-23T14:44:00.001-07:00

I tried to send this to "The Jay Leno Show" on NBC.com through the 'contact us' form, but received an error for length:

"This message is about "The Jay Leno Show".

"I think "The Jay Leno Show" is 10 times better than "Tonight: With Jay Leno" was. The format is easier and funner to watch.

"The best new feature of the "The Jay Leno Show" is that there is no time wasted on a guest musician/band. I always hated that portion of "Tonight"- and "Saturday Night Live" for that matter. The second best thing about "The Jay Leno Show" is that the first guest is not pushed aside and forced to sit through another "interview" with a second guest. I always hated that, it seems so uncomfortable most of the time.

"Were I in charge of NBC, I would cancel "Tonight" and replace it with Jay's full hour "The Jay Leno Show" now that Conan is leaving. My biggest fear, for when Jay returns to "Tonight", is that it will be the same as it was before: guest musical segment, and two guests on the couch.

"The Jay Leno Show" is 10 times better than "Tonight", no matter who is host."

Serving Success

2010-01-04T02:44:00.001-07:00

I am such a happy camper. I have spent days trying to get my system set up so that I can log into my Linux server from my laptops. Using Xming in windows XP works awesome. My laptops are all dual-boot systems. So when I boot into Linux, I now have it set up so that my X window system can start up with a local login using the function seven key and a remote login using the function eight key. Technically this is referred to as virtual terminal seven, and virtual terminal eight.

The reason I wanted to do this is so that I can have a headless computer system running a Linux Debian server, but still be able to use that system as a regular desktop. I am now confident that the network system I install in my new camper trailer that I am building will function properly as I desire it. I can now remove that large bulky NEC multi-sync CRT monitor. That alone will allow me a more efficient use of electricity in my camper trailer.

Logical Degrees of Difference

2010-01-03T21:28:00.001-07:00

Starting today, I have decided to try switching my preferred temperature scale from the American standard Fahrenheit to the more logical Celsius.

It is something that I have considered doing for years-along with switching to the metric measuring system for all other measuring needs-but have never really attempted before. I made the decision today in a spur-of-the-moment manner. It is my intension to use the nature of a 0 equals ice-melt (anything below means freezing while any positive measurement is above freezing) scale during the remainder of this winter to help ease me into the Celsius method.

Currently, the temperatures have been teetering the freezing (and ice-melt) mark and I have always been more inclined to think in terms of below or above freezing during times such as this. With the Fahrenheit scale, one cannot simply glance at a readout and make that determination based on whether or not the number is positive or negative.

Drillbit Taylor

2009-12-01T00:53:00.001-07:00

So, it's an old movie, but I have only just seen it. And I loved it!

It has the best fight scenes ever! They are located at the end of the movie, and it's hilarious and energetic. ...Very Fight Club-y, the fights that is. They even paid homage to that movie, then showed a clip later on.

If you have followed this blog from the beginning, you'll remember that I once lived like the the homeless (I was hoping to make a few books out of the arrangement, but those project are on hold), so I really enjoyed the bantering and camaraderie amongst the homeless. I spent about two years doing that with real homeless guys, none of which would actually go into a school and pretend to be a teacher. LOL

And could they not have found more goofy looking teenagers? That Asian girl, who played the love interest, was just like any air head clueless student, I've known lots. Pay particular attention to her complete lack of facial emotion. Acting! :-D You gotta love it!.

I loved those sun-bathing chicks the guys stumbled through. The were running from the bullies and cut through this property where the two women were in bikinis. I was like 'stay there! Don't leave', and they came and took pictures with them! That was great. I bet those bullies never got to meet women like that.

I highly recommend that movie, if you like those types of comedies. It's an instant favorite for me.!

Stargate Universe

2009-10-10T23:29:00.001-06:00

Approved.

:-D

Problems With waldowoc.100free.com

2009-09-18T12:11:00.001-06:00

Hmm. I cannot access my own website. I guess I'll be on the look out for a new mirror host. I'm also going to look into Twitter. Micro-blogging might be usefull to me since I've been neglecting my real blog...

Michael Jackson

2009-06-26T13:05:00.001-06:00

Wow, can you believe it?

Tours to Servants

2009-06-14T13:04:00.002-06:00

Today, there is a headline on my browsers personal start page that sparked an interest in commenting. The headline reads, "Michelle Obama, girls get rare London palace tour". The palace, of course, is the official residence of the British monarch; the Buckingham Palace.

It is confusing for foreign governments such as Great Britain, and especially England particularly, to understand that American governments are "subject governments" and that it is the people as individuals who are the sovereign. Compared to a monarchy, America's governments are exactly backwards.

Were America to have a class system and aristocracy like the British, American officials, and particularly the United States, which is America's federal government responsible for all foreign matters involving America, would be the bottom of the barrel. Essentially, when foreign monarchs invite such officials and their families to tours of this magnitude, they are doing so to America's official serfs.

Are the tours that Michelle Obama and daughters received at Buckingham Palace open to British serfs? LOL The joke is on Great Britain and their monarch, who treat our servants as royalty.

Qumana For Linux!

2009-06-13T20:29:00.001-06:00

So, I was casually surfing the net just now, and what should I find? A Linux version of my blogging tool Qumana! How cool is that? Well, it is about time really considering that Qumana is a Java program. Like duh, is de facto in cross platform programming with it's virtual machine method of programming.

So, yeah I'm psyched that I get to blog from Linux natively now. Before, I used wine to run the 'windows' version, which means I was also running the windows version of Java... Well, obviously, that just doesn't make sense.

I do have a problem though. It's not syncing my posts. Well, the real test is whether it posts like it's supposed to. At any rate, it is a lot faster and smoother than running it through Wine. :-D

Star Trek

2009-06-04T14:11:00.001-06:00

Holy moly! I cannot believe I forgot to mention that I have seen the new Star Trek movie titled Star Trek. I saw it in it's second week. It was tricky for me to get the ride to Pocatello, but I finally got my mom to drive me up. I told her that it would mean a free lunch and movie. I expected to go with her and her husband, but to my surprise, when I jumped into the van, he wasn't there. Instead, my Grandma was there, she asked: "so, what movie are we going to see?"

So, true to his promise, JJ Abrams decided to make the movie more appealing to Star Wars fans. Star Wars fans, as you know are brainless idiots who know nothing about plot, and story development. Sad, but true. Yet, he still had to make us Star Trek fans (trekkies and trekkers as well as regular fans, such as myself) happy too. So, there was a plot, albeit subtly hidden and low-key, and there was a semblance of story development. Yippy. I was so afraid for this movie that it would lack any intelligent star trek elements, in favor of the substance less Star Wars style.

I loved it!

Still, there were issues. Cinematography absolutely sucked! Every scene that should have been wide and open was instead zoomed-in and claustrophobic, you can forget about following any action scenes, impossible. I expected way better from jj Abrams, being a fan of at least one of his current television shows, Fringe. That's the price we pay when we accept people of the T.V. generation (kids raised in front of television screens instead of movie screens), they simply do not understand the visual scope of cinema.

As far as the writing was concerned. Excellent. The movie plays out in chronological order, and the scenes make sense and work together seamlessly. I enjoyed the humor immensely. I believe I caught every little nuance and reference to established Star Trek comedy and legend. I even got a kick out of the red jumpsuit and knew exactly what was going to happen to the character wearing it! Honestly, I think I was the only one in the theater who got that one. Actually, I was often the only one who audibly responded to the vast majority of jokes, though I do remember hearing some laughs from my mom too, in some of the right places, which surprised me (no real reason it should have though).

The acting was great too. The new cast filled shoes many thought were too big to fill. Chris Pine is James T. Kirk, there's no question about that. And, the actors who portrayed Chekov, Bones, and Scotty were beyond totally awesome. I love their renditions! And of course, the actors who were Spock, Uhura, and Sulu were awesome too. My only criticism as far as the acting was concerned was with Leonard Nimoy. His performance reminds me of Harrison Ford's "performance" of Indiana Jones in the sucky crystal skull farce, though to be sure, Nimoy was way better comparatively. Though not as bad as Ford's last Jones, Nimoy's Spock appeared, to me, distracted by Nimoys glee of returning as Spock. Also, I wish there had been more of Winnona Ryder in the film. I am still baffled as to why someone so young was cast as someone so old let alone for such a small, trivial role. If anything, Serek's actor should have been younger given the immortality of Valcans.

I didn't care much for Zachary Quinto's Valcan salute, It was too limp. Sharpen that up next time Mr. Quinto!

And let's not forget the Enterprise. For many people, the concept of a device or prop as a character is hard to understand outside the movie industry. As a result, I read a lot of negative criticism long before the movie's release about how fans expected the films Enterprise to match the series's Enterprise (since it takes place before and during the series timeline), or they just would not stand for it. Well, I was not one of those people, and, for one, I was glad to see that not only do we have new looks to all our old people characters, we got a new look to our old space ship character. It was awesome too. Way more realistic to me than some of the other versions (though, I have to admit, each rendition of the Enterprise has fit with it's respective role).

And, was I the only one who noticed that the sequence where the Klingon (yes Klingon) ship is destroyed was the same shot used in my all-time favorite Star Trek movie ever, Star Trek 6: The Undiscovered Country and one of the next generation features that I cannot remember (was it Insurrection or maybe Nemesis???)? That makes three movies that particular explosion has been depicted.

The musical score left some to be desired. The new theme song was reminiscent of both the original series's theme and the established movie themes, but it wasn't as catchy and didn't flow so well. This may be a factor of the film that could grow on me, only time will tell. I kept wanting to whistle along as though it were the original theme, but it didn't mesh. Well oh!

Over all, I enjoyed Star Trek, it was well worth the 3 admissions and the 2 hour (round trip) transit just so I could see it. (And even the 40 minute wait after the scheduled show time-I'm still pissed off about how late that theater started the film!)

Live long and prosper.

Local Celebrity Status

2009-06-02T01:19:00.001-06:00

I think the people of the little drive-in here in Sick City think I'm a celebrity. Apparently, the word is out here in town that I am a writer. I'm not sure how, though. I wish I had asked the woman who approached me about it this evening. I would like to have known who she had heard the news from.

Anyway. For those of you who still watch this blog with great anticipation, I should inform you that I am no longer working on any novels at this time. I took another job a while ago, and as per my personal promise of several years, I will never work two jobs at once. And, yes, I consider writing a job. Like I told the drive-in woman tonight, I'm not Steven King, I do not write in my "spare" time.

I should also point out that if you have always wanted to write, just do it. It's a lot easier when you start.

That reminds me, I baby-sat some of my nieces and nephews recently, and one of my nephews showed up with a book he is writing. It was totally awesome to read what he had. Though I was unable to discern just where the story was going, I have to admit that his dialog was perfection. I often wish that I could write dialog that good. I guess he reads a lot, that's where you learn how to write.

Unless you're lucky enough to be born with the skill, like me. ;-)

Miniature Whiptail Devourer

2009-04-17T03:11:00.001-06:00

Happy birthday to my second character created for Guild Wars. I couldn't remember when I first bought the game, but I was sure it was his birthday sometime this, or last, month, so I have been checking in every few days to see if he got his birthday gift. He had it when I checked today. A Miniature Whiptail Devourer. Yay!

Even though the character is technically my second character, he is the oldest living and the first one I created for the main game. Being new to Guild Wars, I had created a PVP character first, but never played him as I realized my mistake and deleted him and immediately created the second character. I have a total of 5 characters so far. The others should have birthdays in about a month or so.

Pictures

2009-04-10T08:20:00.001-06:00

Doh! I forgot my blog was a particular size, so all those images stick out to the left. That last post really looks bad, but I'm not in the mood to fix it, so it stays. Maybe I'll fix it some other day. And I forgot to make the address at the bottom clickable! Man, I need some sleep. To hell with it.

Earthquakes in Diverse Places

2009-04-10T08:13:00.001-06:00

I keep an earthquake watch on my web browser's startpage that I wrote. There is always earthquakes happening in the world and in the States of America. The past few days, however, have them in unusual places, diverse from one another. I thought it interesting enough to take a few screenshots and share them, while they last.

Yeah, I've been wanting to post some pictures here for a while. :-D

Anyway, if you're interested in watching the current earthquake status, you can go here: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/recenteqsww/

Just Checking In

2009-03-25T16:02:00.003-06:00

Once again, I have been gone for a while. I have been over at the official PlaStation Home forums working on the Xi alternate reality game (ARG). It ended over the weekend with the discovery of a USB device that was found in England. The device gave us the date of the official release of the new Xi adventure game and space for PlayStation Home.

It was fun, but it come with a bit of drama. You know, the usual stuff. Players getting mad at other players, etc.. There was no prizes, just the satisfaction of being a part of something no one else even knew was going on.

Why I think Barack Obama as president of the United States will end up being good for America

2009-02-17T18:36:00.001-07:00

If you recall the United States presidential campaign of 2008, you remember that the vast majority of Americans felt they were being forced to choose the best candidate of the absolute worst choice in American history. Every candidate's platform was based on implementing socialist concepts.

As you know, I oppose socialism in America. It will prove to be the catalyst which instigates the fall of this great Republic. As such you can conclude that I would be dead-set against having as open a socialist as Barack Obama in the position of America's federal government's executive president. You would, however, be slightly mistaken.

Though I am against socialism, I believe the the presence of a socialist such as Barack Obama in that position may actually turn out to be better for the country than not, though not for the reasons his supporters would express. Consider the following.

I have observed Barack Obama for as long as any other average American Citizen. I have heard him talk, read his ideas, and analyzed his actions. My conclusion is that he is the first person, in my lifetime, to be elected president of the United States, who is actually educated enough to understand and know what the United States is and how that government is intended to function. Sure, the U.S. has had 'ivy-league' educated presidents before, but unlike any U.S. president in my lifetime, Obama knows and understands the truth. He understands the sole purpose of government. As a result, he my not be so quick to implement those hardcore socialist promises. Indeed, I get the impression that he only used the socialist party to procure his seat as U.S. president. He may end up working harder to protect the Republic than usurp it and institute a democracy, which has always been the acknowledged goal of the political party that got him elected.

The place I believe United States president Barack Obama will be the most helpful for the United States and, through it, America, is in international and foreign dealings. Though his full name and the mere color of his skin has already done much towards foreign views of America, he has a deep and hypnotic voice that will lull foreign diplomats and leaders and their citizens further into acceptance. He will be able to use that voice to comfort counties who are predisposed to stand against America and the United States.

On the home front, American people are more vigilant against the government when a 'democrat' is the president of the United States. When Bill Clinton was president of the U.S., militias throughout America met on regular occasion and his administration encountered stiff opposition from most Americans. Yet, the majority of these community meetings ceased with the election of George Bush Jr.. I remember reading a concerned American's post on some arbitrary internet forum following the infamous events of September 11th 2001. Being concerned of future terrorist attacks, she had sent her husband to a regularly scheduled meeting. He had returned a few minutes later only to inform her of a notice on the door of the meeting place that read all meetings had been canceled because since the United States had a republican as president, there was nothing to worry about!

Then there's the whole racist issue. Even though it is the 21st century, there are still people in America who were taught that black people are an inferior race. Most of us know this concept to be flawed and idiotic at best. Nonetheless, racist people have a history of causing problems for everyone in their communities. This is an issue, that not only divided a country, it splits families and fosters hatred. Having a black man (even a half-breed like Obama) in what is often erroneously considered the highest power in America, can bring this issue to it's second boiling point, which would force all Americans to consider the roots of what it means to be American.

On the religious side of things, zealots expect the collapse of government to signal the end times. Humoring this concept, any conflict which destabilizes government into collapse can only be seen as a good thing, when you consider that the end time is meant to herald in the second coming of the Messiah, and a millennium of peace. Barack Obama could very well spark such a collapse either directly through his socialist intentions and actions, such as spreading the wealth, or indirectly as a result of the afore mentioned racist issue, should such a thing ever escalate to war again. And, there is always the possibility, that I may be wrong in my assumption of his intent, in which case, he will use his position to accomplish his political party's agenda of usurping the Republic with a democracy, such a thing will result in all-out war. After all, many if not all Christ based religions teach from scripture that neighbor will fight against neighbor in the time preceding His return.

In the end, it does not matter who is president of the United States, but what is done as president. If Barack Obama does understand the limits and intent of the U.S. presidency, then he'll do his best to defend the concepts of a republic form of government and the liberty that is fundamental to it. If, on the other hand, he does seek to usurp the Republic, as he promised during his campaign to be elected president of the United States, than it will only bring about a quicker end to socialist America, as no true American will stand idly by while that happens. Either way, America will prevail and emerge stronger and better.

Long live the Republic!

Lost vs Heroes

2009-02-15T16:49:00.001-07:00

I watched Lost in accordance with the previous post up through episode 9 of season 3 before I finally stopped watching. The show simply sucks. There are too many inconsistencies with established facts of season 1, and I get the feeling the writers are separate and goal-less.

After my frustration with Lost, I decided to check out another series, this time one I wanted to be interested in, but never took the time to investigate. Heroes. I was hooked from the first episode. The writing was 100 times better than that of lost, and flow was exceptional, the characters fun and entertaining, the premise was marvelous.

Right from the beginning, it was easy to tell that the writers had a definite vision and goal. In fact, I have now watched every available episode of Heroes, and the entire series as a whole has been, for the most part, consistent. Yes, it does have it's holes like most shows of this time, but they are nothing compared to those of Lost.

But don't get me wrong. I will not be watching any more Heroes episodes. I am not satisfied with the new direction the series has taken in season three. So much so, that I will not continue to watch the show. I am simply not interested in the season story arc, or the drastic changes that have ruined the beloved and established characters.

With season three, I get the impression that the writers didn't like the abilities that were given to some of the characters in the beginning, and lacked the imagination to come up with challenging situations for the characters with them, so they simply wrote out the abilities. And what happened to Molly? If you (the writers) don't like these things, don't write them in the first place. Season three is half-ass writing just like lost. I can do without it.

Unless they reboot season three and return to the enjoyable plot and story styles of seasons 1 and 2, I will never watch another Heroes episode again. And that seems unlikely, unless others who like the first 2 seasons stop watching too. I'll watch season 4 only if the season 3 finale erases any and all changes made in the season, so that season 4 starts off after an uneventful year right after season 2 as though season 3 never happened.

So, long story short, I haven't found any new programs worth watching on network television. And, in my opinion, Fringe is the best network television program on air today, though House is a close second.

Also, after this (the whole Lost and Heroes fiasco) and last weeks GateWorld podcast, I have decided not to listen to those two losers any more.

Lost

2009-01-31T18:58:00.001-07:00

I don't have cable television which includes Showtime or the SciFi channel, so I cannot watch the Stargate shows. As a supplement, I have subscribed to the GateWorld Podcast for my iPod. It's a really good show, fun to listen to and I can piece together episodes from it. I'm not worried about spoilers, by the time Atlantis is cheap enough for me to justify buying the DVD's for seasons 3-5, I will have forgotten any harmful spoilers.

As you know, Atlantis was cancelled this past season, and there are no new Stargate shows airing until this fall. Which means, there's no weekly episodes for the GateWorld postcasters to talk about and dissect. As such, one of the comments on this weeks 'cast was that Lost was now the best show on Television.

I had never seen Lost, so I took the comment as a recommendation, and surfed on over to ABC.com, where I found the entire series available to watch free on the internet. I am up to episode 15 in the first season, and I have to say... well something.

It sucks, it's boring, etc.. Those are fitting descriptors, but I'm going to continue to watch in the hope that some kind of substance eventually gets written into the storyline. Like, maybe when they're done introducing the castaways, the show will take a new direction and illustrate a purpose. I haven't seen any character development yet, or any viable story arcs... I mean there's nothing there. There is nothing to this show. It is substance-less.

If I wasn't watching the episodes together, I'd have 'lost' interest half-way through the first episode. Even with the five separate 30 second commercial breaks online, I find it hard to keep clicking that continue button.

I get the impression the entire season was filmed in a 1-2 week period of time. It's like watching a daily soap opera, only instead of a day to pause in the middle of a conversation, it's a week. Honestly, after that long can you really remember what was being talked about?

I can see, I will NOT be tuning in to the show on Television IF I ever get caught up to the current season.

I really hope it gets better. J. J. Abrams is the guy we have entrusted the Star Trek reboot with. Sure, Fringe is kick-ass good, but it was good from the first episode. Lost just sucked from that one, and it's still sucking all the way through episode 14.

I hope it gets better.

They Finally Said it! :-D

2009-01-29T02:40:00.001-07:00

They finally said it!!!

I love the new show Leverage on TNT. I can't watch it when it airs on television, so I catch it later when I get the time on the internet. In this case I just finished watching the most recent episode "The Mile High Job", and when the line I've been waiting for came, I jumped up and yelled, quite loudly, "Yes! they finally said it". Keep in mind, that it is after two o'clock in the morning and my walls are paper thin. I hope I didn't wake anybody up.

If you know the show, you'll know the line without me telling you, but for those of you who don't, beware of the spoiler, because I am going to tell ya.

Leverage is a cross between Oceans Eleven and The A-Team. It's about this group of thieves who steal from the bad guys to help the underdog good guy. I love this show. I was a huge A-Team fan back when it first aired-yes, I'm that old-and I still watch episodes every now and then on Hulu.com. And as you know there was a famous line delivered at the end of a lot, if not all, of the episodes.

Leverage is so much like The A-Team that I always expect to hear that line. I have even considered writing a fan letter to Dean Devlin asking him to drop that line in at least one episode. And here it was tonight! I'm so happy!

"I love it when a plan comes together."

:-D

Name the New Home Space "Contest"

2009-01-27T15:40:00.001-07:00

I admit, the only reason I haven't written for a while is because of the big let down when Qumana crashed the other day and I lost the post I wanted to write when United States President Obama was still president-elect.

So, sorry about that, I'll try to look past the dread that crosses my mind every time I want to sit down and write something for this blog.

Also, I have been hitting the Official PlayStation Home forum. The PlaStation Home people had a contest for us users to name the new cafe. It was supposed to be judged on originality and creativity.

I suggested The Percolation Sensation, which is a wonderful play on words, and fitting a chat-room of this caliber. It is 100% original as the term does not exist anywhere on the net, and it's 1005 creative.

Not only can it refer to percolating coffee and how one perceives the aroma and flavor through the senses, but a gathering and sharing of ideas (percolate) in a festive and celebratory manner (sensation).

The winner suggested "The Sixth Axis". Where I do agree, it is a fitting name for a Home space, it is hardly original, and not only is it uncreative, it is copyrighted already by Sony, which is a direct violation of the official contest rules, which stated the entry had to be uncopyrighted. Or is that simply "the Six Axis"?

Anyway, a quick search on the internet reveals that it is also already used for a business in Madison, Wisconsin.

Well, I may not participating in any future "contests" from those guys.

Yhe Huge Let-down

2009-01-20T00:32:00.001-07:00

Qumana crashed earlier today, and I lost at least 5-6 average sized paragraphs of an important post. I am still very upset over it, so much so that I am not going to try to rewrite the article, which was a look at the up-coming President of the United States. I wanted to post it the day before the inauguration, but that won't happen now. By the clock it is already the next day. So screw it. Maybe I'll do it later, though then it will seem like retrospect.

Lost Post

2009-01-16T09:29:00.001-07:00

I stumbled across a lost post today. It was categorized as a draft in Blogger.com. I had such a hard time getting the formatting to work, that I just saved it as a draft instead of posting it.

Well, I have just resurrected it. After a few miner changes to the content, here is the original entry originally dated August 3, 2008, without the original code snippets and detailed explanations:

"Background: I have always wanted to know C++ so for the past 10 years or so I studied as many tutorials and books teaching the language. At the conclusion of every one, I felt confident I knew the language well enough to code my own programs. However, since all the programs I needed, were already written, I had no practical use for the knowledge, and the fact that none of the material I read taught GUI, was discouraging.

"I am a Linux user, and for the most part very happily doing everything in Linux that I once did, and occasionally still do, in MS Windows. I say almost because, so far, Linux does not have one thing I want; a Linux native Yahoo! Messenger with all the features of the real thing.

"I have been waiting years for someone to write a full feature clone of Yahoo! Messenger, and the outlook still looks grim. Apparently most Linux software developers simply are not interested in a Yahoo! Chat (I wrote CHAT, not IM) client, or the voice and webcam features Yahoo Messenger offers.

"The Project: I have decided to launch a personal project in an attempt to accomplish two objectives; 1, Teach myself C++ GUI programming with QT 4; and 2, Provide the Linux community with a full featured Yahoo! Messenger clone.

"The Problem: No, not biting off more than I can chew, (the whole point is to learn how to chew it in the first place). That is to say, that since libyahoo2 exists, I decided to use it to write my client. After all, that's how this stuff works, right? The problem is that my instruction in QT 4 was limited mainly to the GUI, which I understand great. But it lacks in practical application. In other words, I'm having trouble getting my GUI code to blend with the libyahoo2 functions. The specific problem I'm getting is during the compile stage and appears to be dealing with scope.

"Any Linux coders out there want to put this whole thing out of my misery? I'm not really a programmer, just a wannabe."

Spent the Day In Logan, Utah

2009-01-15T23:41:00.001-07:00

Utahans are the rudest and most inconsiderate people who ever walked the planet.

The Scent of Coal

2009-01-14T18:55:00.001-07:00

As past readers of this blog and personal acquaintances can attest, I hate Sick City, Idaho. But there is one aspect to this town that I absolutely love. It goes way back to when I was little, though it's not so popular anymore.

The scent of burning coal in the air on a crisp autumn, winters, or spring day.

I'm not from Sick City, Idaho, but I did spend some time here back when I was a curtain-crawler. Back then there were more homes heated by coal, and the scent was strong and constant. Any time I catch a whiff of it today, I am transported to that time.

I love the scent of burning coal. I wish I had a coal furnace, but like most of the old homes here in Sick City, Idaho our house's furnace was replaced years ago with a propane furnace. Many homes still have the coal shoots, but our coal room has long since been converted for storage.

But every now and again, I catch that scent. It's then that I realize those moments almost make it worth it.

Update On Kyle XY and Amanda

2009-01-12T16:15:00.001-07:00

Duh, they're playing a marathon all day on ABC Family. And, yes, the character's name is Amanda. Can't wait for tonight, I hope I don't forget it again and end up missing it. But then again, it is the 21st century, so if I miss it I can just catch it on abc-family.com or Hulu.com like I have to anyway with Greek. That one comes on while I am working, so I never get to see it on T.V..

What I Have Been Up To

2009-01-12T16:03:00.001-07:00

So, I have been offline, so to speak, as far as this blog is concerned for quite a while. Wow, for like 2 years. Jeeze.

As you know, Blogger is hard to post to. That doesn't mean I haven't been writing for it though. I have, but as I mentioned before, I end up just scrapping them. The topics were mostly government or politics related anyway, so they weren't important in the least bit. Trust me, no loss there.

I think I mentioned once that I had bought a Playstation 3. Well, if not, I did (buy one). I bought it towards the beginning of last year. I was able to take advantage of the holiday Blu-ray special I had found online, so I got 5 Blur-ray movies free. My current Blu-ray collection is 12 movies, but I have two more coming in the mail. Even on a standard TV, the output is crisper, clearer, and more colorful then DVD's.

I prefer first person shooters, and I have Resistance, TimeShift, and Call of Duty 4. (I have lots of other games too, but those are my favorite FPSs.) COD4 is my absolute favorite, I spend more time with that game than any other game I have-online of course.

PlayStation Home Bata was just made available for me a couple weeks ago, so I have been there too. I have been anticipating it for a year. It rocks! I enjoy the bowling, pool, general chatting and exploring the glitches. You can often find me at Sully's bar dancing on the bar. ;-) The new Red Bull area is cool too. So far, I crash a lot, but every now and then I can get all the rings.

The main criticism I have for PlaStation Home is that there is no voice chatting in the public areas. That aspect really needs to change! This is the 21st century after all. Typing in chat rooms and bulletin boards was fine back in the 80's and 90's, but come on, technology has advanced, give us voice.

The same plea can be made for any instant messenger in Linux by the way.

I would love to give you my PlayStation username so you can look me up and we can play together, but the current use policies for the PlayStation forbid telling people your username. I know, lots of people do it, but I enjoy the system too much to jeopardize my privileges of the online services. It shouldn't be hard for you to discern it if you wanted too though. ;-)

Well, that pretty much suggests everything I have been up to in my spare time. Oh, except there is Hulu.com and other free movie sites, which reminds me, all the T.V. shows I like are retuning again. Yay! Monk and Psych returned last Friday, and tonight, its Kyle XY. We finally get to find out what happened to Amanda (she is sooo cute!). Gosh, it's been so long, I can't remember if that's the characters name or not. I'll have to go to abc-family.com to re-watch last years season finale, to catch up.

I Am In the Mood!

2009-01-12T15:13:00.001-07:00

When it rains, it pours. I am in the mood to blog. It is so much easier now, I can't tell you. I just cannot express how much simpler it is to blog with a blog client and the messy website scripts. I wish I had done this long ago.

One foreseeable problem though, is now that I can do everything from one application, I may not spend enough time on the editing as my previous method allowed me. And, as those of you readers who have read through my other posts can attest, I still could have done with more editing.

I'll do my best, and I hope the reader will forgive the often erroneous spelling and grammar, I think, for the most part, you will be able to 'get the drift' so to speak. Still, often I do miss the negative forms of certain statements, like neglecting to type words like "not" and their derivatives. I'll have to continue to change them as I find them.

Dyslexia can be such a drag. Well oh...

So Long Atlantis!

2009-01-12T14:59:00.001-07:00

Those of you who are fans of Stargate: Atlantis will know what I'm talking about. Stargate: Atlantis has been cancelled and the final episode ran last week. I'm so bummed out about that. It was in it's prime.

But, not to fret, Stargate: Universe will start shooting soon for it's summer premiere, lets all wish that new cast, crew and series in general a hefty good luck! I look forward to seeing it.

Post Script:

Qumana still rules in Wine. ;-)

Qumana Test

2009-01-10T02:29:00.001-07:00

Hello! :-D It's been a while, I know. The new Blogger.com has made it a real frustration to actually post blogs. I have been writing them but every time I have tried to post, Blogger.com gets in the way and I end up just scrapping the piece.

So, here I am, after a whole day searching for a blog client I can run in Linux. As far as Linux native applications are concerned, FORGET IT! I guess all those Linux bloggers out there are... your right, what Linux bloggers?

My solution to the whole fiasco is to run Qumana with Wine, the program that has it's own version of the Windows API to allow Windows native programs to run on top of X11. Yay! And, so far it works perfect! Double Yay!

:-D

This is my first attempt with Qumana in Wine. If it works, I'll be dusting off this old blog and posting some new content. This is so much easier so far too. One program to do everything. Before, starting way back in the beginning, I had to write the entry in OpenOffice.org (or Word on the Windows computers), then copy and paste it to a text editor and from there copy it to the browser window at Blogger.com (after navigating to the website and logging in and waiting for that damn thing to load), make more formatting changes, and hold my breath when I clicked publish. More recently, I never got to the end.

Now, I'll be able to start one program, type what I want to see, then click publish, all at my leisure with no messy webpage scripts. This is going to be awesome. I can't believe how fast it works, and how easy it's all happening so far.

Well, time for the moment of truth. ;-)

Webpage Update

2008-05-10T04:14:00.001-06:00

Greetings everyone. Gee, it's 2008! I know, it's been so for a while. Anyway, I finally got around to making my yearly dates and ages update on the pages that require it. I think. It's been so long since I did anything with my website, that I can't remember all the pages that needed to be updated.

A Plea for the Republic

2008-04-08T06:22:00.000-06:00

With each passing year, America's foundation becomes more unstable. Had you asked me 7 years ago where America would be today, I would have answered "what America". I was so sure after September 11th, 2001 that our last remaining treads of constitutional republic would have been severed by now and replaced with the dreaded dictatorship. I consider it a small miracle that a thread still remains.

Still, the Republic is barely hanging on. At this point, I know that what I have to say will be ignored by most and rejected by the rest, yet I cannot help but remember what our founding fathers said to a future latter-day prophet when they demanded their temple ordinances be completed, that they had "followed the will of God unwaveringly". How many of us could ever say the same?

Today, were I to ask any student in this county what form of government we employed, they would respond, "a democracy of course". If I were to ask them what country they lived in, they would respond, "United States, duh". Yet these two obvious answers couldn't be more wrong. And America was based on freedom right? Wrong again.

For the past several generations, new developing media technologies and world turmoil have allowed Americans the opportunities to witness the government creation process as new countries formed and old governments reformed. We know that it a long and complicated endeavor. It is times such as those that inspire some to reflect upon America's own beginnings that took over 6 years to complete since the signing of the Declaration of Independence, and a generation of debate before that.

It was the conclusion of our forefathers that America would be a country based on the God given right to be free from government interference, the definition of liberty (look it up). And out of all the forms of government to choose from, they settled on the only one based on liberty, a republic. But they didn't stop there, those men who were following the will of God unwaveringly, they erected boundaries to the powers granted to the Republic in a constitution.

But what do these terms mean? Today, modern usage seems to imply that liberty is synonymous with freedom, and republic synonymous with democracy. Yet 226 years ago, it was common knowledge that a republic is a form of government based on individualism where people assemble and administer it by their representatives and agents; A democracy is a form of government based on socialism where people assemble and administer it themselves.

To illustrate the difference of Liberty and freedom, I like to picture the difference between an average household canary and the wild eagle. The canary is free to choose which perch to stand on, free to eat whenever it wants to, and free to sing whenever it wants. In fact, it is free to do whatever it wants to do within the confines of it's cage. Contrast that with the eagle, it is free to nest in any empty tree, free to soar from mountain peak to mountain peak, free to hunt, free to mate, free to protect itself, free to live, and free to die. The eagle is unrestrained in the things it is free to do, it has liberty where as the canary has mere freedom.

I am not a conspiracist. I do not believe that there is a group of people or an individual anywhere on this planet who seeks the destruction of liberty. In fact, I believe that our liberty is being eroded as a direct result of good intentions and lack of information by honest people who have simply been mislead by various propaganda. Propaganda, which, in my experience, can often trace it's origins to socialism and/or America's socialist party, which has sought the usurpation of the Republic in favor of a democracy for over 150 years now.

For years I thought that the best way to defend our republic and it's constitution was through our congressmen, but then I realized that the problem does not lie with them, for there isn't a single U.S. Congressmen who doesn't know that their powers are limited; that the statutes they write can never subjugate a single American Citizen. They know that America's legislatures may only write statutes which pertain to matters that concern every citizen but that cannot be attained by any single citizen. But they also know that the majority of Americans do not know that.

The fact of the matter is, that everyone who is subject to any given statute knows he is subject. This includes civilians (elected office holders, government agencies, agents, and employees, etc.), military personnel, corporations, and foreign entities within American boarders, such as immigrants who do not seek naturalization, tourists, etc.. In every case, subjects are notified of their subjugation through office oaths, employment agreements/contracts, visas and licenses, and charters, etc..

The problem is that local governments are populated by an uninformed public. It is the local legislatures that assume the ordinances they write are laws which apply to all inhabitants within it's geographical jurisdiction. It is they who are the most unaware that statutes are not law, but that they may become law only when tested on a case-by-case basis in a legal court of law.

To compound the issue, many local legislatures use a monkey-see-monkey-do method of writing the statutes in the first place. A statute in New York, which is written because of it's large population of unnaturalized foreigners, or corporations would be constitutional when applied to those, but unconstitutional when adopted by a small town without a single corporation, or unnaturalized foreigner. Property taxes, Eminent Domain, are perfect examples of monkey-see-monkey-do statutes. Local legislatures often focus on the fact they exist, but neglect to understand why they exist or to whom they apply.

To make matters worse, even sheriffs, the only legal law enforcement entity in America, are now "enforcing" those statutes without the least regard to Due Process; making arrests when no warrant for arrest has ever been issued, no conviction or even trial has ever occurred. Even the least informed American is familiar with the phrase "innocent until proven guilty". Yet most dismiss it as how things used to be. Well, it's not just the way things used to be, it's the way it is. Every time you see a "law enforcer" making an arrest when a trial has not resulted in a conviction which warrants that arrest, you see a citizen's liberty being violated.

And this is what it means to have constitutions hanging by a thread. It means that the constitutions exists, but the people aren't taking the time to learn them, and as a result, they don't know how to utilize them. It means that until such time that America's citizenry begins to uphold and sustain our constitutions by disallowing local sheriffs to make arrests without lawfully issued warrants, and stopping prosecutors from pressing charges against citizens, and recalling any civilian who refuses to operate within their limits, the government is going to continue to infringe upon our liberty.

Most of the country's sentiment is that this election year will be a pivotal turning point for America. On the U.S. Presidential front, voters must choose between what many are calling the worst of the worst. The socialist party is in full force and even it's rival counterpart has a candidate with heavy socialist views. It is entirely possible that the federal Republic may not last another term regardless of who is elected its president.

On the local front, this county must decide on both the sheriff and the prosecutor. The major deciding factor appears to be the voters stance on how the jail issue was or should have been handled. An issue that has plagued many Idaho counties these past several years. County legislatures and sheriffs everywhere seem to think that new or more or bigger jails are needed. To prove it, more arrests are being made, and they're getting away with it because no one is suing the sheriffs for false imprisonment, unlawful arrest, personating a law enforcement officer, and liberty and Due Process violations.

In the end it's not going to matter which candidate is elected, but whether or not they are willing to start adhering to the supreme law of the land by honoring the limits therein. As equally important is whether or not the American Citizens uphold and sustain those same constitutions by enforcing them through the impeachment, and recall processes. A civilian who fears to lose his position and credibility will tend to go out of his way to stay on track. America cannot afford to continue to let it's governments reign without responsibility or accountability if we expect to retain and maintain our liberty.

In conclusion, I would like to leave you with this thought, when a man who is honestly mistaken hears the truth, he will either quit being mistaken, or quit being honest. And for those of you who still haven't figured it out, we live in America, which is the official short version of the States of America, which is a union of states, and is abbreviated U.S.A.. The United States is a legal term, which bears different definitions depending on the statute which uses it. In the Constitution of the United States of America, it refers to the federal government itself, or the seat of the federal government when used in a geographical sense.

Long live the Republic.

Wii Verses... What?

2008-01-31T03:30:00.000-07:00

I am tired of people (websites, media, etc) referring to the Nintendo Wii as a "next generation" console. It's nowhere near next gen. As much as I hate Microshit, at least the Xbox 360 can be called a next gen system. The Wii is just a Gamecube in a new case with different peripherals. Literally. Look it up if you don't believe me.

The first and foremost feature of a next gen console is support for high definition output, or at the very least compliance with the ATSC standards. The Wii only supports NTSC which is outdated, and obsolete. What this means is you cannot have the Wii connected to new HD television sets, without switching the set to SDTV each time you want to play. For those of you who don't know, the NTSC format only allows a resolution of 640x480 and limited color capabilities. Whereas the ATSC format allows resolutions up to 1920x1080 and millions of colors (HD).

The second feature required of a true next gen console is online cross-platform capabilities. With a true next gen system, a gamer can play against any other player with the same game who may be on a PC or any other console platform the game has been ported to. The Wii can only utilize it's online abilities with other Wiis on a peer-to-peer basis. That not only alienates games manufactures, but, coming from an end user perspective, it just doesn't make sense for a console in the 21st century.

The third feature required in next gen systems is raw power. While both the PS3 and the 360 sport hefty 3 Ghz dual technology processors, the Wii is still fumbling with its measly, Gamecube innards (400-729 Mhz single core).

A forth feature, and last requirement for the "next generation' label, is a hard drive. The Wii does not come with a hard drive. That is absolutely ridiculous.

Now, don't misread what I've written, I'm not saying the Wii sucks, obviously, it's a popular system with a load a fun games. What I am saying is that it is nowhere near "next gen" as far as it's "competition" is concerned. In it's own inferior way, the Wii is in a class of it's own.

Never Say Never

2008-01-21T01:33:00.000-07:00

I remember having a conversation with a relative some months ago concerning wireless keyboards and mouses. I have from time to time considered purchasing one or the other or both, but never have for the obvious reasons that they depend on batteries. That's an expense and inconvenience I'd rather not have with any device that can single-handedly make or break a good computer setup. Could the pros of having wireless extremities such as those make it worth it? Absolutely not.

Nevertheless, while browsing through a secondhand store recently, I happened upon a small desktop keyboard with a much desired and sought-after layout similar to my IBM ThinkPad's. It even had a built in cursor mover (mouse). The only thin was, as I'm sure you've figured out by now, it was wireless. As I've said, I have long wanted a keyboard like it; small, without that god-awful numpad sticking out in butt-fucked right field. (Seriously, what purpose does the keypad have on a home PC? It's not like were checking groceries at our desktops. It's totally redundant to have two sets of numbers on the PC keyboard. And to top it all off, it throws the whole keyboard off center, which means we have to sit with our arms unnaturally to our far left anytime we need to type. It literally does not make any sense.)

Anyway, I bought the keyboard with the intention of testing whether it worked and maybe convertinging the power source to be wired instead of battery powered. It only takes two AA's, so it wouldn't be hard to wire it up to a basic AC to DC power adapter. The wireless signal I wouldn't change, the vulnerability is primarily in the power source. Anyway (again), I promptly forgot about it. Though I did make it a point to buy some batteries a few weeks later, though I could not remember for what. :">

Enter the Sony Playstation 3. For months now I have been craving a good game console and some quality game play time, so two weeks ago, I bought a PS3. (Totally fun, way awesome system!) As you may or may not be aware, the PS3, like all next gen game consoles, comes with wireless accessories, the controller for instance. The way Sony pulled this technique off, was to have the controller rechargeable via a USB cable. Ingenious! All a player has to do is plug the device in whenever it's convenient, we can even play while its charging.

If computer accessories used that approach to wireless extremities, I won't hesitate to purchase them. Especially if they didn't freeze the computer every time the power pack became too low to send signals. With the PS3, when the control doesn't function, such as when it's out of power or turned off, the PS3 system doesn't freeze. That's the ultimate hotplugger right there. Just plug it in (to charge) or turn it on, and viola, everything's fine, no hassle, no inconvenience, no messy hard-booting, and no wasted time.

Today, I found that wireless keyboard I had bought batteries for and hooked it up. I've been using this whole time while writing this blog entry. Very nice. I didn't like the little mouse thingy though, so I'm using my real mouse. It's nice to sit back and use it's symmetrical layout in my lap. Before, when I was always fumbling with an over-sized board which never sat right in my lap because of that blasted numpad... I think I'll get used to this real quick. Some buttons are in new places and some others stick, but overall, its not more than I can handle. Looks like I've got some soldering to do in the near future because, even with all the pros going for it, it still runs on batteries.

An American Guide to Law & Statute

2008-01-03T03:46:00.000-07:00

In a recent online conversation (chat) I was involved in, the subject turned to who was actually subject to certain licensing laws. During the conversation, I decided that the facts I was presenting should also be shared on my blog. So, after editing the transcript for spelling and clarity, I offer the following. The question I'm answering could easily be "why aren't I required to license...".

Because of America's system of government. It is founded (as in the foundation of America) upon liberty, and mankind's God-given rights (as in inalienable). What you are referring to as "law" is actually a statute which was passed by a legislature whose powers and authorities only extend to matters "which concern all the members of the republic, but which are not to be attained by the separate provisions of any". They exist for two purposes, to govern the foreign entities who have been granted certain privileges in relation to America, and as a code of conduct for the members of the government itself, which is why it is often referred to as "code" (statutory code, United States code, Internal Revenue code, etc.).

Actual law in America is what a legal court decrees when a statute is tested through trial. It is situation-dependent and relies on the plaintiff's ability to prove the statute is law in each particular case. Because of this, what may be found to be "law" for one person or group of people, may not be so for any other.

The key is Liberty. The right to be free from government interference (look it up). Americans, are guaranteed liberty. Any statute written, which appears to apply to everyone, must be read in light of that fact. So, where the legislature has authority to write statutes, they do not have the right to subject American Citizens to that statute. In other words, they (statutes) only apply to people under the direct authority of the legislature; civilians and foreigners.

No, not all of us are civilians. Remember, America's government is divided into three separate parts, two parts civil (legislature, and judicial), and one part militant (executive). A civilian is a member of the civil government, officers (elected officeholders), delegates, agents, employees, and so on. Most of us (Americans) are citizens.

Furthermore, a statute cannot be enforced. Only law (judgment of the court) can be enforced. Hence the phrase "innocent until proven guilty". And even then, only by a legal law enforcement officer. As the title suggests, enforcement "officers" are duly elected individuals empowered to enforce the law (decree, warrant). Ever seen a traffic ticket? Tickets are not law either, in fact, they are just summonses to appear in court and are themselves governed by statute.

If you looked at most licensing forms and the statutes and regulations which constitute them, you will discover that they were intended only for foreigners who wish to practice certain privileges within the States of America, or government agencies that the government has decided should provide certain services (county hospital, city fire department, etc.). Remember that all statutes are written by a legislature, with limited powers and authorities, under the assumption that those who are within their jurisdiction know they are subject to the statute.

Also, when reading statutes, you have to be able to read EVERYTHING regarding the statute you're interested in. The reason is because legislatures use their own definitions for common terms and words, which is crucial to understand the statute as the legislature intended. Also, you have to cross reference other seemingly unrelated statutes.

For example, most statutes which govern licenses will have some connection to the Social Security Act. Many licenses require social security numbers (SSN), which can only be issued to foreigners and certain benefits receivers. The forms use the term "United States", which is defined in the code (statute) as the District of Columbia, Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, and American Samoa. Most people, including American Citizens, would have assumed the term "United States" on the form referred to the States of America (the 50 states), and would have no problem signing under the oath of perjury that they were citizens of the "United States", when, in fact, they may never have even visited the "United States" as the term is defined in relation to that form.

Actually, statutes aren't complicated. They are well organized and straightforward and easy to understand. Definitions like the one cited above are often found in their own section labeled "definitions" for each section, subsection, or title they apply to.

It may seem far-fetched, but you don't have to take my word for it. The truth is indeed out there, and easier to find than one would first assume. If you stick to the statutes, their regulations, and the constitutions (state and federal) you'll figure it out in pretty short order. It may even appear mind-boggling that more people don't already know.

Fullscreen vs. Widescreen

2007-11-26T18:16:00.000-07:00

I hate fullscreen movies. I do not understand why they exist. Wait a minute, first let me say that when I'm referring to "fullscreen", what I mean is full screen versions of movies that were filmed in widescreen format. Pan and scan. Movies like "Gone With the Wind" and so on that were filmed in the square format are fine, and even the newer movies filmed in 16:9 ratio are fine. But those movies that have been butchered from the director's intentions, discuss me. I cannot understand why someone would want to watch a movie where only one-third of the movie is actually visible. It just doesn't make sense to me.

How would you like to walk around and only see people from the center of one shoulder blade to the center of the other shoulder blade? Pretty freaky isn't it? So why would you want to see just the center portion of movies? I know I don't. When I pay to watch a movie, i expect to see the whole picture. Not just the center piece.

Live Free or Die Hard came out recently, and I had intended to rent it this weekend, but while I was in the video store today, I noticed it only had the fullscreen version.. I was renting the first three Die Hard movies, which were in their original format today so that I would be all caught up by Thursday when I planned to rent Live Free or Die Hard. Now, I guess I'll have to wait longer to see that one, because I am not going to pay money to see just 1/3 of the picture. An action film like that, I would never be able to tell what was happening. Or see everything the director wanted me to see.

I wish I could damn the sons of bitches who first slaughtered a movie-just so it would fill a television screen-to hell. Or perhaps chop two-thirds of them off so they could see how repulsive and useless they would be with only one-third of their bodies left.

SG-1

2007-11-23T19:47:00.000-07:00

Stargate SG-1 was canceled this year. It ran for 10 seasons. I loved that show. In fact, I currently have my old Ati All-In-Wonder Pro card installed on my desktop computer because I don't have a television set and I wanted to watch Stargate SG-1. I even installed cable to my room just to watch Stargate on the local Fox channel (The Cable Company I have does not provide the Sci-Fi Channel). But, since Sci-Fi canceled it, Fox removed it from their lineup as well. Damn.

It is amazing; the depths I was willing to go just to see Stargate SG-1. A major reason for having DSL was so I could watch online TV and hopefully find the show. I have been unsuccessful in that endeavor as well. I have spent a lot of money on SG-1. And effort. And Time.

Enter an awesome sale at Shopko. In my weekly visit to Pocatello, I stopped by Shopko and was amazed at the price of the DVD series's. Stargate was on sale for $19.99 a season. Shopko normally sold it for about $45 a season. So, what did I do? I bought the first five seasons! :-D

I don't know how long the sale lasted, just that it ended on the 21st. I became aware of it on the 20th. Had the sale started a week earlier, and had I known about it, I would have bought the whole series. I could have afforded it anyways, but as much as I have always wanted that series more than anything else, I decided that there are more important things I NEEDed to spent my money on. :-( But, At least I got the first 5 seasons.

I had never seen the first season. So, I spent the last few days watching season 1 and 2. I love that show. It has always been my favorite show, And now I finally know how the SG-1 team and the SGC in general was started, and how/why Daniel was apart of it. I always wondered what happened in that pilot, or first episode. Now I know.

I have had a great Thanksgiving because I got to spend it watching Stargate SG-1 seasons 1 and 2 so far. :-D

Short Circuit

2007-11-18T20:33:00.000-07:00

My desktop monitor blew-up Friday night. :-( That's the second monitor to do that to me. The first time it happened I was in Island Park, Idaho and the temperatures were reaching about 20 degrees below freezing. I made the mistake of turning the propane heat on one morning before the computer. When I finally did turn the computer on, BOOM!, the condensation caused a major short inside the monitor and sent a bunch of smoke out. This time, it was way different. While it is getting cold enough to cause some condensation when I turn my propane heater, the monitor had been on for a while. This time it shorted out on a reboot. Weird, it was second hand, and when I looked inside today, I could see that whoever owned before me had spilled some type of dark pop, like a cola or root beer in it. I think it may have fried a few parts enough to expose some wires, which finally just shorted out completely on Friday and burned a few additional component.

So, I'm back to my old stand-by, the first monitor that came with our families first ever PC. This thing was built to last! It's a Hewlwtt Packard D1182A. It came with the Hewlett Packard Vectra 386. My display has gone from 17 inch 1024×768 to 640x480 on the 14 incher. :-( But, at least I have something.

Webpage Update

2007-11-18T03:13:00.000-07:00

As some of you may be aware, I have been having problems with the Yahoo! mail servers. I about 40% of the mail I send in never received and about 60% of the messages sent to my are never received. I've had this problem for the past several years. Anyway, since Google Mail offers free POP3 as well as Free webmail, I have decided to use Gmail as my primary e-mail account. Tonight (or this mornig :-)), I edited all the "mailto" links throughout my pages to point to my Gmail address.

If any of you tried to email me from the site, but go no response from me, try again now. :-D

You can visit my sites at:

http://waldowoc.100free.com

and

http://www.geocities.com/waldowoc

DSL At Last!

2007-11-11T20:17:00.000-07:00

Yippy!, I can now be online unrestricted. I finally had our local DSL service activated. Before that, i was using dial-up, which wouldn't be so bad if I hadn't had to wait till after midnight to use it. We only have one line, and my grandma didn't want to miss any calls, so I would have to wait until night time before anyone could log on. Then my mom and/or little sister would get on for a few hours. I was never able to get on before midnight. I finally broke down and opted the 50 bucks a month it costs. I guess it's worth it. I tell everyone it's 'I'm a happy camper now'. :-D

What's so great about being stiff?

2007-10-05T22:44:00.000-06:00

Well, I guess if someone ever came up with a reasonable answer to that question, we'd all be walking stiffs. Then again, maybe some of us already are. The question is, how to tell if you're a walking stiff. I remember a show about some astronauts who were in a space shuttle when the world blew up. The took an opportunity to go back in time to try stopping the event. I think that was a show where they didn't really know who were the bad guys [aliens] and who weren't. I really liked it. It was on the SciFi Channel, or Showtime, but I think it got canceled in the first season. Bummer.

Writing prompt by http://writingfix.com/dailypromptgenerator.htm.

Writing Prompts

2007-10-03T19:14:00.000-06:00

Do cartoons have long term effects on us? I don't know whether cartoons have long-time effects on us or not. I do know that for the longest time I craved a live action Scooby Doo movie. In fact, I wanted to write the script, and did begin on at one time. As it turns out they finally did make a Scooby Doo movie, though Scooby himself is still a cartoon. My story was nothing like the one that came out, but both concepts did move the characters into a modern setting. In all, I was satisfied with the movie and it's sequel. Today, I no longer crave a live action Scooby Doo.

For a while now, I have been interested in using writing prompts for my blog. The preceding was just such a prompt from WritingFix.com. It wasn't exactly what I was looking for, but it will suffice. I hope this will help me to write blog entries more often. I won't set a goal, because I really don't have that great of an interest in keeping this blog up, especially since google got a hold of Blogger.com. It's pretty-well gone to shit since that happened. :-( Well oh.

Something else that might rekindle my interests, is that i finally got regular internet service here at the house, so I no longer have to be dependent on public access points (such as the local [socialist] library). I have DSL. When I'm online, I'll try to be logged into the usual instant messengers; Yahoo! (waldowoc), MSN (the new account uses my Yahoo! email address as the username), AIM (waldowoc), and ICQ (249301444).

Webpage Update

2007-05-23T00:47:00.000-06:00

Well, it is 2007 so I've done my yearly dates and ages update throughout the entire site. Also, while preparing for an a new upcoming page (Dungeons & Dragons FINALLY!), I discovered some problems with the Table of Contents page (things that should have been updated ages ago), so I've fixed that all up. Basically, when I first launched the renovation back in '04 (?), I allotted specific pages for my Dungeon & Dragons and Star Trek pages which I commented out on the javascript menu and noted "coming soon" on the all the html pages. Later on, those pages got reassigned to other html navigation pages, but I forgot to change the links. Anyone who had clicked on the Star Trek or D&D links from the contents page (page16.html) ended up with the favorite links and helpful resources indexes. Oops. Well, it's all fixed now, but if you click on the D&D link, you'll get a 404 because it's not there yet. I should be there within the month.

You can access Waldo's Web at http://waldowoc.100free.com or http://www.geocities.com/waldowoc.

So, if you haven't checked it out yet, do so! :-D

Record Downtime

2007-05-21T00:30:00.000-06:00

Well, here it is some five months after I last posted. Whoa. What the hell? That has to be some kind of record for me. The truth is, I haven't been writing anything. I guess I should catch up.
The major reason I haven't written so much lately is because of the harassment I experienced at the Oneida County Library. The following is what happened to me on January 28, 2007:

Sometime around 3:00 or 3:30 PM on Thursday, January 25, 2007, I sat down at my usual spot at the back of the Oneida County Library and preceded to read through a couple magazines. At around 3:40 - 3:50 PM, I preceded to access the Internet with my laptop computer.

At around 4:30 PM, or shortly thereafter, I noticed one of the librarians approaching from my right. It was Kay Caldwell. It appeared at first as though she were going to say something, but when I looked up, I noticed that her attention was on something to my left. As she walked past me it became clear that whatever she was interested in was not only to my immediate left, but behind me as well.

Just as I was returning my attention to my laptop, Ms. Caldwell stated, "you know I can't let you do that". It was clear she was referring to the use of the electrical outlet next to my chair that my laptop was plugged into. When I looked up she was smirking at me so I returned a courteous smile and told her, "yes you can," and returned my attention to my laptop.

At that point, Ms. Caldwell became visibly agitated and made some comment about how if she let me, she would have to let everyone else and how she couldn't let people use her power (she actually used the word "my"), but that it I wanted to use my battery, I had her permission. I informed her that we were in a public library and that the power was ours to use. She stated again that she could not "allow" me to do it, and ordered me not to, then left in the direction that she had come.

At just after 4:50 PM, Ms. Caldwell approached from the bookshelves I faced and declared across the room in a loud, arrogant voice, "Are you about done?". At that point, I became defensive and informed her that this was a public library and that she did not have authority to tell me what I can or cannot do. She then started to argue with me, but I cut her off and told her that if she had a problem with me then she needed to file charges against me in a legal court of law, and obtain a district court judgment against me. She abruptly turned around and declared "fine, I'll just get that from Dustin tomorrow", and stormed off.

I continued with what I had been doing until 5:15 or 5:20 PM when I left.

She never did get a that court order from "Dustin", the stupid bitch. :-D As if the local prosecutor can just conjure up a legal court order over night. Somebody watches too much Television. To bad for her this is America and due process requires that before a court order can legally be issued at the conclusion of a trail in which the defendant is presumed innocent and the plaintiff [prosecutor] bears the sole burden of proving guilt.

Regardless, I have not been to the library in months. They even stopped offering wireless because I was "abusing" it and causing a "security" treat. According to the slanderous notice that is currently posted on the front door. I did send a complaint to the board of trustees who answered by declaring that they did not recognize a violation of my rights. The have yet to receive a response to a second letter I sent concerning the slander. I guess I'll have to make a bit more noise to get this issue resolved. My writing has suffered a great deal because of it.

In the mean time, I have become ensnared with a few distractions that have ended up being a complete waste of the entire time.

Sometime around the end of last year, I downloaded Kubuntu to try out. I wasn't willing to wreck my perfect Debian installation on my laptop, so I assembled a desktop out of various components and spare parts that I have. The real reason I compiled the system was because the living room DVD player stopped working and the one my mom got for Christmas was taken down to her work space, so we didn't have a DVD player upstairs anymore. So, I decided to get a computer working just so I could watch DVD movies.

That was the easy part.

The computer turned out to be a 450mhz PII which, of course, is useful for a great deal more than just watching movies. So, I've been playing with various Linux programs that I've been wanting to learn for a while. And it seemed so perfect as game station. I'm not really a gamer, its just not very practical, though I have always love console games (Nintendo, Sony Playstation, etc.). I have discovered Doom, thanks to some Linux ports. I have even explored Cinelerra, which may not be as wonderful as I was hoping-It would be better if it handled everything in raw formats or at the very least mpeg format instead of Windows avi's and Quicktime formats only. I've been dabbling here and there, the list of software is endless.

Some of the things I wanted to try, just can't be done with Ubuntu though. The reason I wanted to try Ubuntu in the first place was because I love Debian, but though Debian is stable, none of the cutting edge software is available for Sarge. Which is the problem. Ubuntu is just too unstable. It is, after all, based on Debian unstable. It is kinda like going back to Windows, only with a lot more software and instead of restarting the whole system, I just have to restart whatever process is causing the problem, mostly X. But, it's still far superior to MS Windows.

Sweet Tragedy

2007-01-15T23:44:00.000-07:00

Today marked the anniversary of the birth of a particular life-altering thank-you card. :-s

I remember it as though it were yesterday. I wish I could go back and tell myself not to write it; that the recipient was in no way as worthy of it as I had thought and not as kind as I had perceived. In fact, 'kind' is in a whole other ballpark of of what she turned out to be. I would also point out the difference between countenance and continence, which I may have used by mistake that day.

Anyway, if this day, last year, had never happened, I would not be living in a pickup camper in my grandma's back yard in Sick City, Idaho. So, fire or frying pan? Except for the 0 degree weather, it feels like fire. But it could just be the 'high' setting.

I do often wish I was still living in Satan George, Utah. Despite the fact that I hated it down there, and most of the people, I did enjoy the lifestyle, the much warmer temperature, and the friends I had. The best part was the bicycling. I had legs of steel then that have become mush since vegi-ing out up here, and it was a great cardiovascular workout every day.

Well, happy birthday infamous thank-you card. And f@#k you!

I Want My MTV

2006-12-13T23:49:00.000-07:00

The DVD player in the living has stopped working. I guess it just couldn't handle the Superman movies. I don't know what's wrong with it, but I will no longer be renting movies every week. At least for a while.

Tonight, I flipped through the channels, never quite settling for any one thing. I found myself switching between that new show on TNT called My Boys, which stars this totally sexy woman who is such a knock-out gorgeous babe when her hair is fixed long and curly, and a fun show on TV Land spotlighting memorable television catchphrases. Or, maybe I watched the catchphrase show first then began switching between My Boys and one of those stupid VH1 countdown shows-this time about celebrity mistakes or something.

Anyway, one of the catchphrases that I remembered was the "I want my MTV" from back when MTV was new. It was part of a promotion to get cable companies to pickup the channel. And it worked.

Now I remember when MTV came out. I used to watch it all the time-well, that and Nickelodeon (You Can't Do That on Television rocked!). They were the greatest channels on cable next to HBO. Back then, MTV was Music Television. Non stop music videos. It was totally awesome! Today, my MTV doesn't exist. There are so many shows of all sorts on that channel. I cannot just tune in to MTV and watch music videos.

Well, I want my MTV.

I got wondering what would happen if we all started calling MTV and declaring "I want my MTV!" Could we reign in that wayward channel and bring it back to it's roots? Nothing but nonstop music videos 24/7? Probably not, but it was worth a thought.

I want my MTV. Come to think of it, I want my Nickelodeon, what a franchise that turned out to be.

Celtx

2006-12-11T23:44:00.000-07:00

I found a great treasure on the internet today. Celtx. It's a script writing program that runs in Linux. It looks pretty cool and does everything I need it to do, and more. I look forward to using it a great deal. It's just too frustrating to write screenplays from a full-featured wordprocessor like WordPerfect and OpenOffice.org (which is the one I use ;-)). I was looking for something simple and more specialized.

I can keep track of characters, locations, and a host of preproduction tools. I can include prop, cast and crew info, as well as budgeting and scheduling. It's even available in Windows, and Mac operating environments. I can also collaborate with others via networking, internet, forums, etc..

I'm pretty happy. I've looked for something like this several times before, but always came up empty handed. Sure, there are some good programs out there, but they are expensive and are only ported to Windows and Mac. For a Linux buff like me, that just doesn't cut it. And, like most Linux software, it is 100% free.

From my initial test of the software today, I can see I'm going to be using Celtx for quite a while.

SIP

2006-12-10T00:26:00.000-07:00

My youngest sister was in drivers education since school started and graduated last month. She now has what is called, in Idaho, a student instruction permit (SIP) until she is able to get a real drivers license. Congratulations to her. Today, we are on our way to Preston and she is driving. She is doing a good job despite the erroneous directions her dad and my mom are giving her.

Also, I've noticed that she seems to disregard the orange speed signs that appear just before sharper curves in the road. She also takes after her dad, and drives in the middle of the road. This is probably due to the fact that she was raised observing his driving and just (subconsciously perhaps) assumed that his way is the right way, essentially starting a habit of driving badly before she even drove for the first time.

Eragon

2006-12-03T23:46:00.000-07:00

I tend to notice a lot of trivial coincidence, it's just how my mind works. Like, for instance, on Friday, my youngest sister and I watched the episode of Full House in which the ever-sexy, lustrous Cameron and best friend the Keebler Elf go to a frat party and the Elf gets drunk. At one scene, the the Elf is depicted as reciting a certain poem. Then, after we had come back from picking up the little kids, we watched Superman II: The Donner Cut and low and behold there was the same poem being quoted by Jor-El.

Then, on Saturday, while watching the television broadcast of Home Alone 3, I saw a preview for a new movie due in theaters later this month called Eragon. The interesting coincidence about that was that I had just finished that very book.

Sometime towards the beginning of this year, I obtained a copy of the fantasy novel. I never took the time to read it, however, until I saw the sequel, Eldest, at the local library. Seeing it intrigued me enough to take the time and see if Eragon was any good. So, last week I pulled the book out and read it over a few late nights. It was fairly good, and I was anticipating reading farther in Eldest, which had sat on display unread for weeks at the library.

As it turns out, Eldest was checked out Friday when I went to the library to get it. I guess it doesn't matter now; now that there is a movie, everyone is going to be reading Eragon to make sure they've read the book before seeing the movie, and subsequently reserving and checking out Eldest. I suppose it will be a while before I'll have the opportunity to see what becomes of Eragon and Saphira.

At any rate, the movie already looks quite a bit different than the book, but just as entertaining and enjoyable. Perhaps I'll get a chance to see it in theaters. I may make a point to do so.

Superman's Return

2006-12-03T02:32:00.000-07:00

Well, Friday night I was able to visit a Wal-Mart for the purpose of purchasing the "Superman Ultimate Collector's Edition", which the Wal-Mart website read was carried by Wal-Mart. It wasn't. At least, it wasn't at the store I went to. I made due with the last copy of Superman II: The Donner Cut (widescreen of course) they had in stock and one of the remaining widescreen editions of Superman Returns.

I was disappointed in the Superman Returns because it didn't have any special features! I was really counting on seeing all those shot that were in the trailers but not in the theatrical release. Apparently, the marketing for Superman Returns includes standard movie, which I bought, and a separate "special edition". So, I spent 40+ dollars instead of the 70 bucks I had planned, but I didn't get nearly everything I wanted.

It's not so bad. The whole reason I was even there that night was because my little sister was leaving her kids at Grandma's house for the weekend and didn't want to come up all the way. It's sort of the halfway point.

Anyway, my sister saw that I was contemplating buying the Superman Returns movie and mentioned that if I did buy it and later found the collection I had gone for, that she would buy Superman Returns from me. So, I agreed. Today she phoned from Target where she had found the "Superman Ultimate Collector's Edition" and I told her to get it. It was indeterminate whether the collection contained the regular Superman Returns or the special edition, she'll be here tomorrow with both the collection and a separate special edition copy of Superman Returns. :-)

According to my information, which is from the Wal-Mart website, the "Superman Ultimate Collector's Edition" does not come with the special edition of Superman Returns, so I just told her to get both and bring the receipt. So, as of tomorrow, I will have spent about a hundred and forty dollars on the Superman Movies. Which is about as much as all the movies sell for individually. Only, I'll have three copies of Superman Returns. :-s Hmmmn.

At any rate, Superman II: The Donner Cut was way awesome! Although, there were a few scenes form Lester's version that I think would have made the movie more enjoyable. And, they still left out a few good scenes that I would have liked to see in the cut; like both times Lex left the Fortress of Solitude, the first time after he finds out about the three Krypton bad guys, the second time under arrest. Were I to edit the film I'd cut out the whole time travel ending and leave it the same as the other version right after Superman drops off Lois. Oh, and I'd cut the shot were Superman vaporises the Fortress of Solitude. So, my ending would be Donner's ending with Lex getting arrested, cut the vaporization, Lois being dropped off, cut the flying around the world, finish with Lester's kiss of forgetness, the whitehouse scene, and then back to Donner's café and the rest. Roll credits.

Super Returns was a might better on the T.V. screen, but not as much as I had hoped. The movie was filmed so claustrophobic, at times it actually seemed as though the top and bottom was actually cropped out to give the appearance of a letterbox movie. That really is my only complaint about that movie. Usually when a film maker choses the widescreen format, it's because he wants to get as much visual candy as possible. I can't understand why Singer would zoom in on all these shots in way that actually removes the action from the frame. I can't stand all the close-ups with all those heads and chins lobbed off. I mean one of the best parts about letterbox frames is the ability to have a standard close-up and all the location or even two close-ups in one frame. I don't remember the X-Men being that bad or the Usual Suspects, or any other Brian Singer movie that I have seen.

Crystal Gayle

2006-12-01T00:29:00.000-07:00

I will never understand why some women think they look better with short hair. To me short hair on a woman is so repulsive. There is a number of things that repulse me about women. Old age aside, I'm referring to lousy trends. I've seen some of the most beautiful woman take their attractiveness and flush it completely down the toilet all because of a stupid trend.

Like those idiot low cut jeans.

Low cut jeans are about as lame as short cut hair on a woman. They both take the natural attractiveness in ladies, and strip that aspect down. The whole concept seems to be base on the premise that they, as women, are required to impressing other woman instead of attracting guys. I find myself pitying women who make those kind of choices.

This is one of my greatest pet-peeves of all time. What ever happened to the girls, all those princesses, who admired Crystal Gayle's hair; all those little ladies who loved dresses and being a girl?

Take Hilary Duff for instance. She used to be one of the most sexy, beautiful women on television (before she grotesquely lost so much weight). You'd think she would have looked good in anything right? Well, I just watched The Perfect Man, and was absolutely disgusted by the reoccurring scenes of Miss Duff in those ugly low cut jeans.

What are they thinking? A properly worn jean will accentuate a young lady's body just as skirts and dresses do in their own way. Low cut jeans are not pleasing to look at or see on these otherwise lovely young women. And as if low cut jeans are not enough, some women dress in both jeans and a dress!!! Do they not realize how foolish they look?

Shallow Waldo

2006-11-24T12:53:00.000-07:00

My movie picks this week include Shallow Hal and The Goonies. I had never seen Shallow Hal, and it turned out to be a fun movie. I realized that I am very, very shallow. ;-)

Shallow Hal turned out be the second Gwyneth Paltrow movie I checked-out within the past week. Last week I saw Proof, which was a bad movie for her. I have a pet-peeve about such old hags playing people of much younger ages. I mean, Gwyneth is nearly forty years old now and yet she was playing a 27 year old. It was disgusting!

I also got Mean Girls this week. I had the same problem with it as I did Proof, Rachel McAdams is the same age as me, yet in Mean Girls, she plays a 15 to 16 year old woman! Now I happen to think Rachel McAdam is absolutely gorgeous, even with those blue eyes, but she is NOT 16-year-old gorgeous. It just makes me sick to see such obvious old hags pretending to be so much younger. Yuck!

Which brings me back to The Goonies. It has been one of my most favorite movies of all time. I had not seen it for a few years, and so was craving it for the past several months. I realized something important while watching it again. Something I had never thought about before, ever.

I am in love with Andy Carmichael.

And I'm not talking about some little crush or anything, like I've had on Britney Spears, and Emma Watson. I have modeled all my expectations on the ideal woman after Andy as she was perfectly played by the lovable and sensuous Kerri Green. I love her looks, her hair, her body, her attitude, her personality, her comfortability, and her grace. Andy Carmichael is the ideal woman. And I've been infatuated with this ideal for over twenty years without even knowing it.

The only thing I ever really remembered about Andy was how sexy she was and all the up-skirt shots of her there are in that movie. Yes, I've been lusting over her since I was nine years old. How pathetic.

When I watched that movie Wednesday, a lot of feelings saturated me. Not just lustful feelings, but a sincere acknowledgment of comfort, appreciation, loss, and longing, and a sense of belonging (and even more I can't put words to). I've missed her. This is very provocative for me, and I don't know where to go from here. All my girlfriends, and crushes have had a lot of Andy in them, but I've always kept wishing and hoping and waiting for . . . Andy. I just never knew it.

How shallow am I.

Another surprise for me was the fact that she wasn't 14 as I had always thought. That's right, Kerri Green was 18 when she made that movie. I don't think I have ever seen an 18 year old woman look so pretty and perfect. And even as a thirty-something she still looks great.

Here's JoJo!

2006-10-25T23:21:00.000-06:00

Well, I'm watching RV. I remember seeing previews of this movie in the theaters and thinking "Wow, that looks like a hot chick, I wonder who she is". I told myself I'd have to watch it to see her. I thought she was some newcomer, which she is, but after all the hype of Aquamarine, now I know who she is.

Unlike in Aquamarine, JoJo is a totally sexy babe in this movie. She is so hot. And cute, and lovable, and absolutely sexy.

But...

Did you ever see that Seinfeld episode where Jerry had a girlfriend who was good looking one moment and repulsive the another? Well, that's the way it is with JoJo for me. Like in Aquamarine, she was cute but then she would smile large and her facial defects became vivid. I didn't think she was all that attractive because of those defects. Yet, in RV, she's one of the hottest women in Hollywood.

Don't get me wrong, I don't think her dimples make her repulsive, I'm just less attracted to her big smile. Her grins and small smiles are perfect. So perfect in fact that I have considered switching my current desktop background of Emma Watson (you didn't really think I could make it through an entry about a cute celebrity without mentioning her did ya?) with a frame of her from this movie. Well . . .

You know what else I love about JoJo, is her voice. It just sounds so real. I don't know how to explain it, some women seem to have a phony or pretend voice that they use like they're afraid of their real voice. Her voice seems natural. I like that, it's very refreshing to hear. It makes her all the more attractive.

Frozen Waldo

2006-10-25T23:07:00.000-06:00

Well, I've been snowed on twice in a week now. Welcome to Sick City, Idaho. One of the huge reasons I chose Satan George, Utah to move to back in the winter of '03, was to get away from the snow. Now that I'm back, I have been dreading the winter to come. Already it's as cold as it got in Satan George, Utah last winter. The temperature lingered around 30° F. all day today. Brrrr.

To make matters even worse, for work I'm helping reroof a hundred+ year old barn. The job was put off all summer, if you can believe it, because of the "heat". If you ask me, or even if you don't, it never got hot enough this summer not do it. In fact, after that one entry I wrote about the work I was doing that first week here, it mysteriously became to hot to work. Now it's too cold. That's right, no work today. And I feel like this is just the beginning.

Not that I mind not doing that kind of work, after all, I didn't come here to do any of that. It's just that I was hoping to do a bunch of these odd jobs and getting enough money to get a new vehicle, build a new canoe, and build a new camper trailer. Relatively inexpensive, but now unobtainable before my gaol of moving back home in Island Park, Idaho in the spring. I was hoping that by next winter, I would have sold my first book and started to make money on my writing, or at least enough to get an apartment for the winter.

Well Oh. In the mean time I've got to put up with the chill of this winter, which is well on its way. Did I ever mention how much I hate snow and winter in general. :-D

I hate snow.

Frozen Lisa

2006-10-13T13:16:00.000-06:00

Well, I'm going to have to give up on the whole idea of that movie critique thing. I've been seeing so many motion pictures lately that I just can't remember what I've watched and what I wanted to say about it. I had two years of movie watching to catch up on, which actually seems weird because even when I was living as a homeless in Satan George, Utah, I still got to the movie theater more per month than any previous time in my life. Hmmm, the life of the homeless, someone should write a book. ;-)

I can not remember most of what I rented and checked out last week, (King Kong, the Sum of All Fears, the Terminal, Fat Albert, and three others) but Sum was good, the Terminal was excellent, Kong was . . . as bad as I thought it would be, the word "sucked" comes to mind. Fat Albert on the other hand was great. I loved it. It impressed me a great deal, and I watched it several times. It has great plot, story, and character development. And, not to mention the sex appeal. Well, o.k. I'll mention it, those ladies were fine! More than fine, down right sexy.

The week before that I had actually been in the mood for some sex appeal, so I got Aquamarine. I was interested in the amorous miss JoJo, and anxious to see what all the hype was about Emma (yep another one) Roberts. Turns out Emma is a pretty skinny under developed cutie and the gorgeous JoJo never dressed down for the beach. But not to distress, it was an awesome show and I enjoyed it a few times. It's a really cute and fun movie and great for the whole family. My mom, my sister, and I laughed a bit and felt pretty good about it.

As far as sex appeal goes, Aquamarine didn't quite cut it, adorable would be a better word, and I did have a backup movie called The Little Black Book. Now, I'm not a fan of extreme skinniness, but I did find whats-her-name fairly cute in a goofy-face sort of way, and the sexiness of the show was about right. As a matter of fact, I got more than I bargained for with all her unexpected panty scenes, which did heighten her cuteness.

I don't generally get in such a lustful state, and I was somewhat distressed about it so, I tried to get some movies that would counter these desires. So in addition to Aquamarine and Little Black Book, I checked out some family style action flicks. I can't remember all of them now. (My Monday video routine is four check-outs from the library and two 5 day rentals at 75 cents each.) The one that stuck with me was Zathura, a Space Adventure.

Awesome!

Zathura totally kicked ass. Not only that, but it turned out to be exactly what I was craving that week. It was loaded with action and tension and comedy. All the actors were superb and the direction phenomenal. The special effects rocked, they were real (like in the good ol'e days) and had just the right mix of CG. When I saw the frozen Lisa, I was blown away. My immediate thought was 'how'd they do that?' (which is saying a lot, because I know EVERYTHING about film making) followed by 'I want a frozen Lisa'. The detail was so amazing. She looked so alive! Not just lifelike, but alive while frozen! Woah.

Zathura totally took the cake for sex appeal that week. Lisa is so hot. I was totally blown away by her. She was mesmerizing and captivating. And I love her energy, it really vitalized the movie and balanced the film. Every shot of her was l like 'she's so beautiful'. On retrospect, I ponder my reaction to that wonderful actor. I realized that one of the major reasons I was so fascinated with her may have been because she entered every scene with a bang. It's like one frame she's not there, and we've lost track of the character, then BOOM! there she is. She just kinda pops into the scene unexpectedly, all gung-ho and breathtaking.

I watched Zathura several times, for all the reasons mentioned above. In fact, I'd like to own the DVD. And, I'd give anything to own the frozen Lisa, and not for sex appeal.

Month of the Movies

2006-09-23T11:58:00.000-06:00

I've gotten behind on my movie critiquing. Over the past few weeks, I have checked out several movies from the county library here in Sick City, Idaho and renting a few at a local video store. I've seen a bunch that I've been wanting to see for a few years now. So, now you know why I'm posting a lot of them all at once like this.

The Movie Critique 020

2006-09-23T11:57:00.000-06:00

The Avengers is even worse than The Lord of the Rings movies. It was so bad, I had to turn it off after only twenty minutes or so. I don't think I've ever done that before, which says a lot about how bad it is.

The Movie Critique 019

2006-09-23T11:55:00.000-06:00

A few years ago, back in '03 as a matter of fact, I saw one of the worst movies ever made. As matter of fact, that day I saw several at the dollar theater in like Caldwell or Nampa. I remember, I went to see Daredevil and in sucked so much that after the movie, I just went back to the ticket booth and got a ticket for Phonebooth. It was just as bad, so, when it was ever, I went back and got a third ticket, determined not the leave the theater until I saw a good movie. Agent Cody Bank was the last movie and it kicked ass.

Anyway, because of how bad Phonebooth was, I approached Cellular with some skepticism. The plot sounded pretty flaky, but I gave it a shot (probably subconsciously being a huge William H. Macy fan and not knowing he was in the film despite the fact he's pictured on the cover). As it turns out, it was really good. It was made by the same person who made Phonebooth, so I've been told. You wouldn't be able to tell though. Turns out, the story and plot are great, the action is fun and exciting.

The Movie Critique 018

2006-09-23T11:54:00.000-06:00

The Notebook's a good tear jerker. I can't think of anything about the picture that I did not like. Well, there was the fact that the actors often spoke too quiet and illegible. At times, I had the volume full up and had to playback dialog several times to discern what was being said. It was a great love story though.

The Movie Critique 017

2006-09-23T11:53:00.000-06:00

I finally got to see Evolution. That was a fun, freaky movie. It was a lot more serious than I thought it would be. I was expecting more of a spoof type film, but it was better. Evolution is a good movie. If you like Ghostbusters, which I do, you'll enjoy Evolution.

The Movie Critique 016

2006-09-23T11:52:00.001-06:00

Signs was alright. As expected, it was a bit slow and boring and the believability factor just didn't exist. I mean come on M. if something like that was ever televised as extensively as you portrayed it, the casters would be exited and nonstop talk and debate. And, I guarantee that if an alien force does exist out there that is allergic to water, it will never, repeat never, come to Earth.

The Movie Critique 015

2006-09-23T11:52:00.000-06:00

Did I ever mention how good Serenity is? I also saw it in the theater, and it became one of my favorites. I checked it out of the library this week and it's just as good as I remembered. Some scenes were a bit purposefully over exposed and one scene was kinda dizzying, but other than that, I really liked it. In fact, the more I see it, the more I like it.

The Movie Critique 014

2006-09-23T11:50:00.000-06:00

When I first saw Lord of the Rings Fellowship of the Rings, It was in the theater when it had just came out. I disliked it enough that I vowed not to return for the subsequent films, I would wait until they all came out on video to see if they were any better.

They're not.

Move Over Emma!

2006-09-09T22:54:00.000-06:00

:-D Yesterday, I was watching a run of several old episodes of Monk. I didn't think to write down any of the titles of the episodes I saw, so I cannot be specific which episodes they were.

Anyway, one of the characters is a beautiful young woman by the name of Julie. She has the most awesome hair imaginable, it's really super long and ... well, beautiful. I like her character too. I like all the characters on that show, but she could easily be one of my favorites.

The budding young actor who plays her is Emmy Clarke, and I have got to say, move over Emma Watson, because this woman could be my next celebrity crush. She is so cute, and with hair like that, it's all over for me.

Interestingly enough, I "discovered" her on the month of her birthday. Her birthday is September 25th. Well, happy birthday for her.

One thing that I find interesting is that she lives in Connecticut. How can that be when she is a regular on Monk as Mr. Monks Partner's daughter? Do they fly her out once a week during filming? Amazing! Apparently, someone has recognized her potential and is willing to help her into stardom at extreme costs. Right on!

And, Sally Peep is back. Way cool. She will be staring as Holly on CBS's new series The Class. Way to go Lucy Punch! Before Emma Watson adorned my computer desktops in her radiant perfection, I had Lucy's very sensuous character Sally Peep beaming that gorgeous smile of hers. It was a frame capture I did from the made for T.V. movie The Tenth Kingdom (one of my favorites) where the main characters first meet Sally.

Sally: "I'm a shepherdess."
Wolf: "There's no question about that Sally."

That picture still serves as my startup and shutdown logos for my MS Windows operating system. I still get to see that smile on a daily basis.

Psych Me Out!

2006-08-21T14:52:00.000-06:00

There's a pretty woman that works at the public library here is Sick City. Every since I first saw her I thought she look familiar, like a movie star or something, but I could never place her. Then, one Friday night I was watching one of my favorite new television shows, Psych on USA. There she was! The actor, not the librarian, but they do look a lot alike. They look so much the same, they could pas for sisters. It's even better because of how cute they are. ;-)

Pros and ... Cons?

2006-08-14T14:39:00.000-06:00

On June 24th of this year I purchased an external DVD writer. Though I would have preferred firewire, I was limited to USB. No worries though, with my dilapidated laptop, I doubt firewire would have sped things up a noticeable amount.

I love Linux. It doesn't matter what I buy, I just plug it in and turn it on and it works. In the case of the DVD writer, I did have to install writing software (I tried many, and settled on k3b as my primary GUI burner), but other than that, hardware recognition and accessing was effortless.

There is one stipulation with the burner. When I was shopping for it I happened across a technology known as Lightscribe developed by Hewlett Packard and standard-I think-on all HP DVD writers. So that's what I bought, only a cheaper one on sale at Staples from I/O Magic. The problem? So far, there is no free Lightscribe software available for Linux. Nero sells the software, but since Lightscribe ain't all-that, I'm not in the least bit interested in it.

On August 5th, of this year I went shopping for a PCMCIA network card and a PCMCIA modem. I found a combo unit at a Surplus Computer Depot in Pocatello, Idaho.

As I looked at the card I noticed the Xircom brand, which I did not recognize as a popular brand. I made a comment to the sells rep. asking him if he thought I would be able to get Linux drivers for it. Big mistake. I don't know what I was thinking, after all, I have never been in a computer store where the the sales reps knew anything about computers.

The idiot said well, Xircom is made by IBM so it is unlikely that they will have Linux drivers because IBM is kinda in bed with Microsoft. He went on to misinform me that I would have the same problem with 'winmodems'. He concluded that the network adapter part might work under Linux but that the modem part would not.

Now, I had already been aware that Linux has support for every PCMCIA modem card out there. What I didn't know was whether the network card portion had as strong of support. But as soon as the salesman said Xircom was made by IBM, I knew I wouldn't have much problem with Linux drivers if any at all because, even though Microsoft used to be a subsidiary of IBM, IBM manufactures software-independent hardware, all tested on Unix/Linux type computers. It's a major mass-market, worldwide brand and that guarantees Linux support.

And what the guy said about "winmodems" well, I knew right then he didn't know anything at all about Linux. We in the Linux community refer to winmodems as linmodems. All they are is software driven modems. The whole myth about software modems (winmodems) not working in Linux has been debunked almost since the myth was first start.

As it turns out, I couldn't get the combo card to work in Windows (I have a dual-boot system with 98), but for my Debian Sarge, it worked immediately from the first boot. I can even remove it or insert it any time without crashing the computer, unlike windows.

It took me several hours to get the Xircom REM56G-100 RealPort Ethernet 10/100+Modem 56 to work under windows. I was able to do so only after a bit of research proved that the driver program on the store-made CD provided the incorrect drivers. I had to download the correct self-extracting driver program from IBM. The store provided XBEM_314-2.exe, which extracts into a few incorrect drivers, but the correct file is xem_270-1.exe, which extracts into a 14 MB installation CD structure.

Next on my list of purchases? I need to get an external hard drive, or at least a external caddy for a hard drive. I think I'll go with the former.

Serpent Tide

2006-08-11T14:56:00.000-06:00

Where have I been? Sorry I haven't been posting. My interest in this blog is roller-coaster to say the least. Back on July 17th, 2006, I even started an entry, that I never finished. It's an aggravating topic and I was quite angry when I wrote it. I had decided that I should calm down before posting it.

It follows:

Liar Liars

Well, yesterday kicked off a week long family gathering for my mom's family. It started with a "reunion" of my great-grandfather's (that's my mom's, mom's dad) descendants. This years, there was only around 175 to 200 of us there. It seemed to me that many of the people my age were missing, which is understandable considering they're probably married and busy with their own young families.

The reunion was enjoyable. The mutton wasn't as good as it should have been, but It was nice to be there again. In a previous year, one of my nephew's fell off the tree swing that had been enjoyed by generations before, so, because of the idiocy of modern idiots, it had been taken down. I suppose it's just as well, since the majority of descendants no longer attend any way, making my nieces and nephews and a few of my younger cousins the majority of the kids there.

I became angry last night when, after we (that would be all my grandma's descendants who are here this year) left the main reunion at the ranch early to come to grandma's house. The kids were all told that they were going to be roasting marshmallows after they got home and cleaned up. Well, after sitting with the kids in the backyard for an hour and a half waiting for the marshmallows and sticks, and being pressed by one of my nieces for them, I went into the house to see what was going on. It turns out the "adults" had just flat-out lied to the kids. They had never intended to uphold their promises.

Typical.

This week, my mom's sisters planned what they are calling a "heritage" week to "honor" our ancestors. Most of what they have planned this week has nothing to do with heritage at all, but involve skills our great-grandparents implored in times long past. A more fitting word would have been legacy, since none of what we will be "learning" was passed down to this portion of the "family", it still doesn't work for these events.

I wonder, however, if one thing was passed down to this family through blood and false traditions. Compulsive lying.

Today, I am infuriated. The lies that five very special kids are being told and brainwashed into believing insults me, insults the kids, insults their parents, and offends me a great deal. It really pisses me off. They're my four nieces and a nephew from a sister who went through a divorce that subsequently separated them from their parents and ill-placed them, divided, into the homes of two of my aunts.

That's as far as I got before taking the much needed break. I went to the library and happened across a book titled The Serpent Tide. It wasn't written very well, but for some reason I was drawn to it so I continued to read. As it turns out, the main character is struggling with similar lies. What a coincidence.

In the book, Wesley stumbles upon the secret that his parents aren't really his biological parents at all, and that he may have been kidnapped as a baby. It was a fun story with lovable characters and a predictable end, but despite the fact that it was written by a Mormon woman living in Sandy, Utah, I would recommend it to LDS readers and other family oriented people.

In reality, my sister's kids were "legally" kidnapped. Thanks to false doctrine and unrighteous counsel from a certain meddling mother and her sisters, the state was unwisely invited to intercede the delicate situation, where they had no right or authority be. As a consequence, the kids were unlawfully removed from both parents and placed in the guardianship of the aunts.

We all make decisions, and shit happens. I can handle the situation, and although it disappoints me that so much righteous counsel from the appropriate religious authorities was rejected, I still have hope for all those involved. One day, I hope that they will all prayerfully recognize their mistakes that were due to their satanic pride, jealousy, and vanity, and come clean with everything.

But, that's not the problem that angers me concerning the situation. It's the false doctrine and lies that the kids are being told that upsets me. The aunts are teaching my nieces and a nephew that they are the kids' true eternal parents and that their real parents are nothing more than "birth-parents". Through this false doctrine, the kids are being taught that their mom is really their cousin and I and my other sisters are also cousins.

Why?

Why would these aunt's, who purport to be LDS, seek to destroy the truth of their grand-nieces' and nephew's family? What's wrong with teaching them the truth: that their family got separated and now they live with their grand-aunts until their own family can be reunited. It's simple. It's easy. It's the truth.

So much of reality has been taken from these kids. They are so confused about it. I don't know how many times I've had conversations with them as they struggle to remember how we, my sisters and me, are related to them. This from kids who knew me from birth as their favorite uncle. They have lost so much of the knowledge they were taught when they were little. They are being told that everything they know to be true, is wrong. All for the satanic greed of very selfish, and compulsive-lying aunts.

Webpage Update

2006-07-19T14:07:00.000-06:00

Well, that's just like me. :-) The main purpose I updated my website last time to change my age. It's a new year, and I'm a year older. So, what did I change? Everything else that also needed changing, but not my age. So, I have finally done so. You'll now find that my age as reported on my About Me page is 30 now instead of the previous 29.

But, between you and me, I still feel like 16. My number three niece tells me I look nineteen. :-D I wish that was true, then I would still be able to get the girls like I used to. ;-) My niece also thinks that I should marry Emma Watson, but I have tried to explain that that will never happen (for all the obvious reasons, not to mention that even though she is my celebrity crush, I tend to keep my marriage and relationship prospects more realistic and tangible). Not to worry though, I have already consigned myself to the image of the lonely, old, scary guy that I evidently am.

Anyway, you can checkout the change here:
index.html or index.html

Also, as mentioned unofficially in my last post, I have made similar changes in various online profiles I keep, such as Blogger, and Yahoo!, and MSN. I'll get to AIM and ICQ as soon as I can.

Wireless/No Wireless

2006-07-19T14:02:00.000-06:00

During the past week, I updated my website and several profiles to reflect my new residency and age. During the process, I removed all mention of my ability to access the internet via wireless network at my local library. Upon my first visit to the Oneida County Library, I was informed that they did not have wireless access.

However, yesterday during my somewhat daily visit to the library to use their internet computers, I discovered that I had been misinformed on my first visit. I was told by one of the ladies here that they did indeed have a wireless access point, but that it was somewhat unreliable. Some people are able to connect, while other are not.

So, here I am today with my laptop at the library to see what I can see. So far, I am unable to recognize a public access point, but I have discovered two nearby networks, but no DHCP offers. I haven't requested help, because of the conversation I had yesterday, which implied that there was known issues with the server (windows XP) and no password to make the necessary changes. How funny. :-D

The gal in charge of the network here has got a regular network cable available for laptop use because of the known problem with the wireless system. If nothing else, I may just end up acquiring a standard pcmcia network card, if I can find one. I guess they are not so standard anymore. Anyone out there have one you wouldn't mind sending my way?
Oh, but it feels nice to be on the computer once again in the comfort of a public library. It is too bad that this particular library does not have open hours better suited to my writing habits. The town is just too small to justify it.

The Zodiac Dragon

2006-07-17T14:25:00.000-06:00

I noticed on my blogger profile, my “zodiac year” is Dragon. It just struck me as interesting being that I now live in Sick City, Idaho, the high school of which has a dragon for the mascot. This is a small town, so it may even be said that the dragon is the town’s mascot too. I’m not sure if it has an official mascot or not, but it may as well be a dragon.