naladahc | tripping along the golden path

A little late, but my Friday Five for today...

1. Were you raised in a particular religious faith?

Yes. Roman Catholic. Specifically Polish Roman Catholicism which has some variation from what I'd call mainstream Catholicism, especially the Cult of Mary.

No. I suppose I officially abandoned it when I was around 13 or so, but in retrospect I was just going through the motions since I was a child. Isn't that what religious indocrination is really about? I never found Christianity to be even remotely valid in my life or thinking. Even as a child I questioned the logic of too many things to blindly follow any religious belief. Heaven. Hell. Purgatory. These things have no meaning for my life. They are merely human constructs for fear.

I think it is incredibly arrogant to think anything happens after death. All religion is based on fear. And fear of death is the greatest fear imaginable. By making up answers to what happens, people can be controlled by their fear. Most so-called religious leaders past and present are fear-mongers. This is how they maintain power and control.

I have none really. The closest thing that I would use to answer this I don't even view as religious -- I meditate. When I have the chance to be alone and with no one around me I find solace in my analysis of things. This for me I guess would be a "spiritual" ritual.

Humans possess the capability to do anything. "Good" is merely a relative subjective thing so it is worthless to even debate about. No doubt Hitler viewed himself as "good" and "right" in the actions he lead. So...the real question I think is "Is there a real absolute that can be defined as "good"?

Stripper-FAQ (courtesy of Krzysztof Kowalczyk's blog) has provided me with a good 15 minutes of knowledge that I did not know. The "Tools of the Trade" section is interesting as is the two "types" of dancers: subsistence dancers and capital dancers.

On the Geek Side of life I got some new TF shit from Matt's friend Anthony. SKID-Z, Wind Sheer, Tow-Line, and Skyfire will soon join the shelf of overly priced plastic.

My new G4 processor upgrade continues to rock super mega balls. So in the end it was worth every penny.

MaxP got a surprise influx of spendage from an old company he worked for so that rocks mega balls too.

Matt was well on his way to either a nervous breakdown or going postal this morning due to assorted drama converging at the same moment. I think it has passed, at least I hope it has.

Oh. And it looks like Children of Dune will premiere sometime in March of 2003. I can't wait this long. Arghh!!!

Star Trek III: The Search For Spock (Special Edition) will be out soon. But... and this pisses me off... there don't seem to be any deleted scenes on it. Some stupid Terraforming documentary with a NASA scientist miscellaneous filler. Oh well.

And only a Transformers geek such as yours truly could care much about the fact that Dreamwave is creating a consistent vision and continuity for the TF work they do. Thank PHROCKING god!!!

There are days I wish I was "cooler" than I am.

There are days I wish I was everything that I am not.

There are days I wish I was I was not here.

Today is one of those days.

It wasn't. But became so. Strange.

Now a lot of my favourite words may seem bizarre to many. Yes. I have favourite words. Now this doesn't mean that I use them every day. These words are often reserved for special occasions in the real world, or with special people who understand that these words have special meaning to me.

My all-time favourite word is moist. I love the way it sounds. Moist is great because it sounds just like what it is describing... at least in my opinion.

Another favourite is tittie, which I mentioned the other day. Titties! I don't know. It is totally childish... but I love the sound of this word. I especially like to hear it out of the mouths of older women. Breasts is just too formal and antiseptic. Tittie is were it is at!

Some people may not understand this, but skank is also a favourite. Hearing the word skank out of the mouths of certain San Francisco women just brings back such fond memories and I can laugh and laugh. So. While some may find skank and skankiness possibly offending, I like to use it only in the best of ways. And skank whore is only used for 2 of my favourite people.

I'll share more happy fun favourite words later.

All this talk of "titties" the past few days made me have this amazing enlightened moment.

My dad's mother used to call breasts "Chi-Chis". Why, I don't know. She died in 1974 and I suppose I'll never find out.

Anyway, there's the mediocre generican-mexican Chi-Chi's restaurant.

Then there is Hooters, another generican restaurant of no particular culinary merit. However, the women in their employ have rather well-endowed mammaries.

So. I'm wondering. Was my grandmother onto something.

Chi-Chis = breasts

Chi-Chi's = generican-mexican food

Hooters = breasts

Hooters = generican restaurant

Therefore, Chi-Chi's the restaurant must be the exact same thing as Hooters!

See. Isn't that easy.

Don't you feel enlightened this Sunday.

Man. Enough with getting down with the foliage.

So all the plans and internal monologues I have for moving to California next summer still go on and on...

Except that I think the wise move at present will be to leave around August 15 instead of June 10 as I initially planned.

With The Cousin's wedding being planned for the first week of August, I just can't chance searching for a job in San Francisco with the condition that "I need off the 1st week of August to fly back to Glass City for a wedding". And he's more important than any move to SF on my part.

So. I'll move after the wedding. This has the additional benefit of adding additional cash to the "my god I can't believe I've just moved 2400 miles and will be poor forever" funds.

---

Oh. And since I really didn't do any special Halloween versions of this site, I present you this fantastic link to the best jack-o-lanterns I've ever seen (on Goatee Style).

Ok. So Halloween 2002 has come and gone. But I missed this somehow and Geeky Chick commented this great link to Mac O'Lanterns Light Up Halloween from Wired. I must admit, I'm partial to the Ellen Feiss Mac O'Lantern. Then again, I've always enjoyed stoner chicks.

---

Oh... and Lyanna just converted over to Moveable Type. If any of you who've converted from blogger to MT have a moment, please comment at her site on any resources for blogger conversion. Methinks she's having a problem or two with her old blogger entries.

---

Since I miss my most beloved ladies of San Francisco, the Fabulous Deb Doran and Sassy Mama, I decided to make a really lame animated banner from a conversation we had in a MUNI station somewhere on Market St. Essentially it came down to how boring the automated woman's voice is when the incoming and outgoing trains are announced. Wouldn't it be more fun if there were two women having a conversation about the train schedule??? We thought so. Plus, it gave us a chance to use the term "skanky whore" which we love.

Hmmm. Sassy Mama needs to update that damn blog!!!

---

I definitely am going to make this site my personal bookmark from hell. I mean, personal website don't really serve much usefull purpose... so I should at least make it my personal portal to all of the news and stuff I visit.

Enough. Time to eat mediocre store purchased sushi.

I've been spammed.

No. I'm not talking about my usual 300+ per day spams to my Yahoo account. Heck, I'm not even talking about the 25+ per day to my main Road Runner account.

I'm talking actual physical paper spam on my car.

It is bad enough I have to put up with virtual junk mail. Now with the elections in Ohio tomorrow I've been spammed in the parking lot of the horrid and much maligned Thurber Village Big Bear.

So... Judge Tim Black and Judge Janet Burnside... you don't get my vote. I don't care if you defend the rights of workers, consumers, children, retirees, HMO patients, the injured, or the disabled. You (via one of your faceless minions) placed hundreds of cardstock flyers on all the cards in the lot and vicinity. This is deplorable. Now they are just litter all over.

Just for this littering, I hope you lose horribly tomorrow.

Bwahahahaha!!! I swear this could only happen in my favourite San Francisco Bay area... Geeky Chick writes about an initiative in Berkeley that is on the ballot. This initiative, if passed, would require that all brewed coffee in the City of Berkeley, California be Fair-Trade, shade-grown, or organic.

Here in Cowtown, Ahiya this sort of legislation would never even come into someone's thoughts, let along make it to an election.

So today is election day here in the midewest state of Ahiya.

I voted. That's all I can really say about it. Someday I'll write about my views on politics. But not today.

---

Looks like my old 'hood Polish Village in Glass City has some organized 'hood patrol now. If it didn't have such horrid associations I'd probably call the place the Warsaw Ghetto. My neighborhood used to be really nice. Yeah, it was old and turn of the century Polish and all, but it only took 15 years to become inner city after my generation grew up and left. Now it is mostly rental properties with obviously absent landlords. Kinda sad.

CAIRO, Egypt — An archaeological dig at the base of Mount Sinai has yielded the most shocking discovery of the new millennium — three previously unknown commandments bringing the total number of God’s hallowed statutes to 13!

“The 11th commandment, ‘Thou shalt not partake of the forbidden herbs’, and the 12th commandment, ‘Thou shalt not covet thine own brother,’ attest to the Almighty’s genuine concern for the welfare of his greatest creation — the human race,” says Dr. al-Harfez.

“The 13th commandment, ‘Thou shalt not take cloth and water to thy person on the seventh day,’ is a bit more perplexing, but it is consistent with attitudes about bathing during that time.”

“This discovery could have grave consequences for mankind,” says a Vatican spokesman. “Just think of all the people who have broken these last three commandments over the millennia, because they did not know they were sinning. Why, I myself took a bath last Sunday.”

A darker curtain has descended over this land. Criminals have been cast in the illusion of legitimacy.

The patterns have all happened before.

The waiting begins. The waiting for the whole thing to explode.

But the scapegoats have also been chosen. Will the puppet maintain his illusions?

Beep Beep Beep Beep Beep Beep Beep Beep Beep

I've been quiet as of late. Nothing really to say. Stupid or otherwise.

However, I find it ironic that the day after the Republicans acquired full power we get news articles about a husband and wife in New Mexico having bubonic plague.

Carve-up of oil riches begins (The Guardian)

Hmmm. Ok. Puppet is an "oil man". Puppet-Leader is an "oil man". Puppet and Puppet-Leader want to attack evil dictator who happens to be on oil rich land.

Although Russia, France and China have existing deals with Iraq, Chalabi has made clear that he would reward the US for removing Saddam with lucrative oil contracts, telling the Washington Post recently: 'American companies will have a big shot at Iraqi oil.'

Indeed, the issue of who gets their hands on the world's second largest oil reserves has been a major factor driving splits in the Security Council over a new resolution on Iraq.

I got an idea. How about giving the oil under Iraq to... *drum roll*... the Iraqi people? Oh wait. That'd mean some non-Iraqi won't make a profit.

Planning for Iraq's post-Saddam oil industry is being driven by a coalition of neo-conservatives in Washington think-tanks with close links to the Bush administration, and with INC officials who have long enjoyed their support. Those hawks have long argued that US control of Iraq's oil would help deliver a second objective. That is the destruction of Opec, the oil producers' cartel, which they argue is 'evil' - that is, incompatible with American interests.

Larry Lindsey, President Bush's economic adviser, recently said that a successful war on Iraq would be good for business.

Even though I am old, busted, bitter, and jaded, I can stare at the pictures on Exploding Dog and find myself reflected in them. Something so simple can bring me such joy sometimes...

these stars are for you

mend your heart with the thread of love

i think your cat is drunk

look ma no hands!

i'm glad you're my friend

you are my sunshine

i really need to learn how to draw, i am the worst ever

Sam... utterly and simply... rocks.

Most people don't realize I have a cat.

Well. I mean Matt has a cat... but the cat for the most part prefers my company over Matt's. At least that's what it appears like.

Quite often, Ziggy, henceforth referred to as "the Meow", pretty much is my shadow when I'm upstairs and there's no Hoont with me. Hoont and Meow do not get along. Well, Meow doesn't get along with Hoont really. Hensley just wants to play and the Meow is just off-kilter enough to not want to ever do much of anything.

He doesn't do much. I think the high point of his daily existence is waking up Matt really early. He hates brooms and is not much of a fan of when I play 'tard with him.

The Meow has currently commandeered my laptop case as perch and Meow-resting place. He sits there when I'm in the office and he kinda just lays around the 2nd floor most of the day. That's about all he does really. Not much more. He doesn't really serve much of a purpose.

Anyway. I had nothing else to talk about. So that's it.

Hoont walks again!

The Friday Five...

1. Did you vote in your last elections?

Yes. I voted. Why? I am not sure.

Yes.

No. I see no reason to since I no longer have any faith whatsoever in the illusion of the American political system.

Yes. Several. I no longer bother.

Yes. Once. However I felt dirty afterwards and very much like Lady Macbeth.

Whilst reading Heretics of Dune for the umpteenth time last night I had the television on...

I noticed something on Scrubs. I have to say that Heather Locklear still has it going on. She's managed to look pretty much exactly the same since her T.J. Hooker days which were 20 years ago. That's pretty amazing.

Now Will & Grace guest star Gene Wilder was a whole other thing. Gene Wilder has not aged well. Not at all. He looks kind of like a deranged version of my Uncle Rick, except sans moustache. However, he's been in remission from non-Hodgkin's lymphoma so that may be understandable.

What was kind of sad was there was this joke in the show where he basically did a line from Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory. It probably went over the heads of most watchers of Will & Grace.

So the not-Frank Herbert's have officially announced Dune 7 Now that doesn't surprise me. I've know about it for years. Unfortunately, the not-Frank Herbert's felt they needed to write all these prequels to "set-up" the events of Dune 7. Ugh!!!

The prequels read like stories for those who just learned to read basic english. There is nothing even remotely innovative about them, nor do they even begin to possess an inkling of the narrative style and complexity of Herbert's writing.

Anyway, before I end up going on a rant, the best bit of news is what I've wanted to hear... and what I've wanted to read...

After publication of THE BATTLE OF CORRIN (Fall, 2004), while they prepare for "Dune 7," Brian and Kevin may publish an interim volume of short stories, selections from Frank Herbert's notes, and missing chapters from the original DUNE novels, which will be called THE ROAD TO DUNE.

That's what Nala wants. The real stuff. Hell...just publish Frank's detailed outline for Dune 7 and let us avid readers/worshippers make our own conclusions. The prequels read like bad fan-fic science fiction influenced too heavily by the post-Star Wars sci-fi literature and films. With 4 prequels already published, Dune 7 will probably be just as poorly executed.

So I've rolled out my best attempt at a somewhat XHTML 1.0 and CSS standards compliant new index page. This is it kids. Ain't it grand!

Of course, the page validates fine. But then I add the blogroll in and my petfinder link in and the javascript screws things up. However, I've done my best. I'm not a web designer. I learn all this by peaking at other's code and figuring out how things work. And this here new look is my best attempt to implement DIV and H tags. Hopefully I'll be able to work out some of the remaining problems tomorrow and start migrating at least the Moveable Type templates fully over to the new source. Then all the other crap. Then fix the inline blog graphics.

And I bother to do all of this why???

So Matt and I went out all over the west side of Cowtown today after lunch. What really pissed me off most was heading to Toys 'R Us on Broad and them having 40+ Scourges on the shelf. He's discontinued and was impossible to find weeks ago!!! How the hell did these all magically appear after I kept bidding on them on e-bay?!?!! Grrr.

Anyway. I bought one so I could rip him out of the box. He is frigg'n totally balls cool!!! But only a TF geek would understand these things. Got another Prime and Magnus to take into work for my office. And a Galvatron too. Ugh!!! No more!!!

I am trying desperately to get a copy of Willis E. McNelly's Dune Encyclopedia. It has been out of print for close to a decade now and I really really really want a copy. If any of you gentle readers has a copy of this book wasting away on a shelf and would like donate it to Nala Libary it would be greatly appreciated. Please. With sugar on top.

So I'm weeding out my filtered spam and I come across some shit from a "Chastity Barabash". If that isn't like one of the most intelligent drag queen names I've ever heard I don't know what is.

Chastity Barabash! It kinda rolls off the tongue, doesn't it?

And lo and behold, from what is no doubt the same fake spoofed email address some spam from "Meaghan Cytrynbaum". I think Cytrynbaum was a Decepticon at one time, but I may be wrong. Probably one of those Beast Machines crappy things I never liked.

The winds swept onto the Cowlands, raining down hail across the farms.

If it was 3000 BCE, the inhabitants of the Cowlands would have saw the thunder gods fighting in for supremacy over earth and sky.

Alas, it is merely 2002 CE, and all I can do is watch the weathermen on Channel 6 geek out on a storm that we rarely see in these parts of the world.

And we await another front to come. More storms? Not sure.

I pray the power remains on so I can watch Futurama and 2 episodes of the Simpsons.

28 years ago today my grandfather died.

If I close my eyes I can return to that moment, a 4 year old Nala huddled next to the heating vent at my grandmother's house, watching all of the chaos happening around me. I wasn't allowed into his bedroom where he died.

Today is also Veteran's Day. Since he died on Veteran's Day and he himself was a veteran of WWII today will always be forever ingrained in my pysche.

He served in the northern Pacific, stationed at the Aleutian Islands fighting the occasional Japanese attack.

Lotsa nice comments about my new simple design for the site. Thanks all!!!

I need to improve some things. The comments run on and blur into one another on the individual entry pages. Don't know what to do there yet. And I just realised that some duplication of entries must have happened with some of the imports. That'll take a bit to clean up. Not to mention the other 2 years of hand-coded entries to get moved into MT.

---

And on a not-so happy note, yesterday's extreme hail left several dings in the hood and roof of the Beetle. Ugh! Nothing really immediately noticeable, but they are there nonetheless.

The apocalypse must be near. Tornadoes and hail in the sky yesterday, and the Sassiest Mama I know finally updated her blog.

---

On a sadder note, a landscaping crew that came by the house today to clean up the back yard also destroyed my beautiful lilac that I've been keeping for several years. It took 3 years to grow, with it going crazy this past summer. Ugh!!!

This landscaping crew also demolished the entire front yard on Friday. I came home to all the trees and shrubs removed, as well as the turf on the front 'lawn'. I say lawn hesitantly since the trees out there block most of the sun and suck up most of the water. I don't think grass would grow well there at all with those nasty trees.

I will say this about redesigning the site... I've learned a lot about how to unlearn prior habits going back to about 1994 and HTML 3.0. Ugh!

Since I also like to work with BBEdit and Dreamweaver, there's a lot to learn about those applications' limitations with CSS and HTML when working with something like Moveable Type. However, I'm figuring it all out. Not that I'll ever use any of this outside of naladahc.com anymore.

Some things on the docket to (re)learn...

• How to use DIVS to reconstruct a graphic that needs to be sliced up for whatever reason.
• How to get DIVS to relate to one another and act as old table columns.
• How to alter Dreamweaver's auto-behaviors to be XHTML compliant.
• Really really learn all of the flexibility of Moveable Type, especially the automated image thumbnail and graphic insert thingie.

Perhaps that's the greatest mystery.

Er... ok. Can someone explain to me this spam:

Hello,

If you are a Time Traveler I am going to need the following:

1. A modified mind warping Dimensional Warp Generator # 52 4350a series wrist watch with memory adapter.

2. Reliable carbon based, or silicon based time transducing capacitor.

I need a reliable source!!

At least it is mildy entertaining.

Much better than the "Hot Lesbos" spam I got earlier. I mean. I've known many lesbians in my time and none of them looked at all like the "lesbos" in the email. Hell. None of my friends in comfortable shoes would take kindly to being called lesbos. Then again, I don't think I've ever called them that before.

There's always a first. If all of a sudden I stop blogging one day, you'll know that I called one of my friends a "lesbo" and she removed my hands.

My favourite crotchety old co-worker sends this joke for your reading pleasure...

Several cannibals were recently hired by a big corporation.

"You are part of our team now," said the HR rep during the welcoming briefing. "You get all the usual benefits and you can go to the cafeteria for something to eat, but please don't eat any of the other employees."

The cannibals promised.

Four weeks later their boss remarked, "You're all working very hard, and I'm satisfied with you. However, one of our secretaries has disappeared. Do any of you know what happened to her?"

The cannibals all shook their heads no.

After the boss had left, the leader of the cannibals said to the others, "Which one of you idiots ate a secretary?" A hand rose hesitantly, to which the leader of the cannibals continued, "You fool! For four weeks we've been eating managers and no one noticed anything. But noooo, you had to go and eat a secretary!"

Lo and behold, more email from Skip...

Best Lawyer Story Of The Year

This is the best lawyer story of the year, decade and probably the century.

A Charlotte, NC lawyer purchased a box of very rare and expensive cigars, then insured them against fire among other things. Within a month having smoked his entire stockpile of these great cigars and without yet having made even his first premium payment on the policy, the lawyer filed claim against the insurance

company.

In his claim, the lawyer stated the cigars were lost "in a series of small fires." The insurance company refused to pay, citing the obvious reason: that the man had consumed the cigars in the normal fashion.

The lawyer sued...and won!

In delivering the ruling the judge agreed with the insurance company that the claim was frivolous. The Judge stated nevertheless, that the lawyer held a policy from the company in which it had warranted that the cigars were insurable and also guaranteed that it would insure them against fire, without defining what is considered to be unacceptable fire, and was obligated to pay the claim.

Rather than endure lengthy and costly appeal process, the insurance company accepted the ruling and paid $15,000.00 to the lawyer for his loss of the rare cigars lost in the "fires."

NOW FOR THE BEST PART... After the lawyer cashed the check, the insurance company had him arrested on 24 counts of ARSON!!!! With his own insurance claim and testimony from the previous case being used against him, the lawyer was convicted of intentionally burning his insured property and was sentenced to 24 months in jail and a $24,000.00 fine.

This is a true story and was the 1st place winner in the recent Criminal Lawyers Award Contest.

ONLY IN AMERICA!!! NO WONDER THIRD WORLD COUNTRIES THINK WE'RE NUTS!!!

However, with the way humans are in this country, I could easily believe this is a true story. Any lawyers or law students know where I could verify something like this? Asa? Zipsix?

[1:36 update: As I suspected, this isn't a real story. Kelmeister comes through with the hoax info. Of course, with modern American humans, this kind of actual activity and lawsuits is still entirely within the realm of reality!]

I came home to many changes today.

The several years half-dead tree in the backyard is gone... completely removed and from the looks of it the stump too. The entire alley side of the fence is totally clean. They removed these ancient hideous railroad ties (I recall these were popular in the 70's) and the even threw some new stone down.

The biggest change is the front yard... which is now terraced. Not sure what the landscaping company is going to plant, but it'll definitely be interesting. And hopefully, nothing to mow.

If Matt can figure out where he put my Olympus, I'll take some pics and share with you all.

Nothing much this evening. Crappy Papa John's Pizza. Updated some more pages and converted a few to the super mega titz version 70 of my design. Working on overhauling all my photo galleries too.

Other than that, I give you the only thing I found on the net tonight that made me laugh... and/or cry...

Photoshop a farker's nephew staring down the bastard who stole his halloween costume (fark.com)

This creepy Jesus-World Trade Center Jack-O-Lantern (rotten.com)

When puddles go bad (rotten.com)

A woman reduced to component parts (rotten.com) Ummm. This is pretty bad. Most would freak if they saw this. So... I'm warning you. Don't click!!!

Honda: The Land of Penises and Rainbows (boners.com)

Yay! Murdering Mouth is back!

The No Kill I, a Star Trek punk band

The Onion, November 9, 1948 (onion.com)

Me so war-ny. Me bomb you long time (get your war on)

Yeah. That's been my night pretty much. Ain't it grand.

In this week's Onion I think I found the funniest item of the week. Two "What do you think?" responses pretty much some up my feelings on last weeks elections...

"You know, they say people get the government they deserve, but I don't recall knife-raping any retarded nuns."

"The American people have spoken. And they have said, 'Duhhh, I likes chockomut ice cream.'"

"Gosh, that election really sucked. Well, at least it'll probably be the last one we ever have."

Then again, I'll take care of all these problems when I become your God-Emperor. Sometimes I may not be all that benevolent, but understand that I love each and every one of you nonetheless.

Sometimes I wonder if having a personal website is really worth it. Every now and then I've taken it down since there's really no point to have a personal website at all for me. I mean, c'mon. I'm not remotely vain and personal websites are nothing but vanity for all to see.

Maybe I keep this around because I've had it since 1995 in one shape or another. Or maybe I'm afraid to let it go.

I mean. I post pretty much useless commentary here. I don't have the patience, or for that matter any real inclination to post lengthy content like jhames does. Or so many of the sites I read. And nobody in their right mind has any interest in my geekitage.

My life is pretty mundane now that I'm in my 30s. And creating has pretty much dried up.

Many an unfinished plot synopsis and half-completed comic book script litter my computers, attesting my true lack of writing skill. The craft is just not mine I'm afraid.

Or is it just that as I've grown older, I rather loathe the thought of new associates? The colorful freaks and geeks of the past are gone, and the only ones to survive the Dark Ages that I deeply care about have left the Land of Cows for greener pastures.

Jump back 10 years pre-web and I could have shared stories of insanity and a bit of depressed loathing too. Yes. The Dark Ages of my life were full of people who I could have written quite a bit about. And when I was into the club scene I probably could have dredged up a story or two told through intoxicated eyes.

But that's not my life anymore. I closed the door on that chapter when I was 27 and most of the 90's seems like a distant faded memory that requires a certain amount of meditative concentration to even fully remember. Names and faces have fallen away. I see people walk by on the street who I knew at one time in that other-life. But honestly I can no longer remember from where or when.

As many readers know, my life revolves around IT support and management in the publishing industry. I am in charge of maintaining and designing graphics production systems on both Macintosh and Windows platforms, with Solaris thrown in along the way for good measure.

Now I've fairly satisfied with this career. I didn't choose it. It sort of just happened that I ended up where I am and with what I do. I've come a long way from working on a Master's degree in Anthropology that much is certain. And I've put my degrees and minors in Classics, Greek History, and traditional Animation to oh so many uses.

I'm an expert at Mac OS (non-OS X) systems, and successfully admin Windows 2000 (and soon XP) systems. I can find my way around most Unix systems, at least with KDE or X installed. My command line days are in the past, and unfortunately my mind seems to have elminated the ability to ever remember CLI commands and work. GUI computer usage will do that to ya!

Anyway, I consider myself very educated with what I do, most of it self-educated in fact since there aren't a whole lot, if any, University CIS programs out there that deal with the specifics of digital imaging. Hell, I know very very few IT people that can operate in multiple environments. The generic IT people being produced by schools (University and supposed-technical) tend to have a very generic, basic education in the actual reality of operating systems. You get a large number of graduates with Unix scripting and Unix system-use experience and more than likely are familiar with Linux. You get a larger number of people who are suckered into the Microsoft-only world of computing, rarely knowing anything of actual value in "computing" if MS didn't dictate it. Hell, there are few if any people out there that know Mac OS, but that is changing with Unix peepz falling in love with OS X. (NOTE: I'm not faulting Unix or Windows or Mac "only" people, just pointing out that education in these areas is often too platform-specific.)

Finding IT people with Unix, Mac, and Windows skills all together is a rare thing indeed. Finding them with a knowledge of PostScript, imaging, networking, and hardware support is even rarer.

So I do all these things and have done so for many years now.

Why am I sharing this with you? No reason.

I just really hate supporting 9 year old hardware and obsolete and discontinued SCSI connectivity.

My week has sucked. Sucked major balls nasty.

That is all.

To make my week worse, I had to click on this horrid recent pic" of Michael Jackson.

Taking note of Davezilla's additions to the You know it's going to be a bad day when..." lists I must add...

• ...the sound of the acronym SCSI now sums up your general feelings on the technology itself.
• ...a chemist sends you graphics in a file format created by a program that was discontinued 8 years ago.
• Microsoft Office doesn't do simple things correctly. Oh... wait! That's every day.

Oh. And new Birds of Prey is on tonight. And I freely admit I've been having fantasies of Mia Sara. Droooooool.

So a few weeks ago I upgraded Satori, my old G4 tower to a new 1Ghz PowerPC chip.

At the time, I was blown away at the speed increase that I got, as well as my comparisons to the 2.4Ghz Pentium IV systems I use.

At the time I figured I'd finally have some hardware that wouldn't make Mac OS X feel like an intolerable old drunk uncle that won't leave when Christmas dinner is done. Apple did a good job of lying to the Mac public about OS X running on certain hardware. Sure it'd run... however performance would be utterly balls nasty. OS X has been a major speed dud in my book, even on the newest (but relatively lame) Apple hardware. Performance only marginally improved to tolerable levels in the fairly recent OS 10.2.

So with a new 1Ghz chip in the tower I figured it was time to give Mac OS X another try. (I think this will be my 10th try. Every time I "try" the damn aqua rainbow retarded interface eventually makes me go back to 9.)

So I spend this afternoon backing up my 60GB of internal drivers and repartitioning them along a new back-up scheme. I wiped the prior OS 10.2 install and decided to install it fresh.

It runs ok. Not great. But ok. OS 9.2.2 screams bloody murder on my new chip. OS X kinda says "I'm opening windows faster, what else do ya want!".

I'm typing this entry in Mozilla 1.2b under OS 10.2 at the moment.

I'll try out some various hacks and 3rd party add-ons again to make Aqua tolerable. But hopefully I can find a happy medium to using this.

Oh well. Knowing me, I'll be back in OS 9 regularly by tomorrow.

Yes. The new chip made all the difference.

So I'll start working in OS X more. Still a lot that annoys the phrock out of me, but given time (and various hacks) I'll make it livable.

---

So much I could be doing at this moment. So much I'm not. This office of mine is a disaster both waiting to happen and happened. Yes. You read me right.

All my music CDs need reorganized. Ugh! Sucks balls.

Not to mention all this shit I could be doing on naladahc.com in terms of getting all my galleries and videos redone and up.

Never before have I been privy to such a large amount of feces creation in the known written history of mankind. The implications that arise out of the fact that a dog of such small stature could generate such large amounts of poop off of 2/3 of a cup of food is staggering. Biologists would have a field day trying to find an equation to explain the sight I just witnessed during walkies.

And on another note. Today is November 17. Ya got that? November 17.

Why in the hell does the house at the end of the block already have Christmas lights and a Christmas tree up??? My god!!! That's insane.

It is bad enough that every frigg'n store is already pandering holiday warez. It is bad enought that the frigg'n economy of the United States of America (in November and December) is intimately tied to families spending vast amounts of money and getting into credit debt for a holiday. Insane.

I am not a fan of Christmas. I haven't been for some years. My moment of enlightenment came around the age of 18 or so when I realized how manufactured the entire sentiment of holidays are, especially the big December 25th one. The concept of connecting spend-a-palooza to a religious holiday is truly amazing.

Now yes, I still participate in the gift giving. I do enjoy giving special unexpected things to certain people. But the guilt that I now feel for even being somewhat involved in this holiday has started to sicken me.

Perhaps a longer rant on a day when I have less to say... ya know... to fill up the internet with even more useless commentary.

It is 27 degrees outside.

Yay for heated seats on the New Beetle!!!

The warm ass of Nala is happy.

Oh. It most definitely is a Monday morning.

Apparently the IT department (not the one I'm affiliated with) decided to "improve" some back-end server or router items this weekend.

Lo and behold, 15 or so machines all have network accessibility problems this morning.

Ugh!

Yes. Indeed my gentle readers. It is a Monday. Last week sucked several tanker trucks full of balls. This week is starting out the same.

So I came across this link to a belief systems selector test... one of those online quiz things.

According to the SelectSmart.com Belief System Selector, my #1 belief match is Mahayana Buddhism. So at least the test is somewhat accurate since they hit that on the nose.

What do you believe? Like you need a web quiz to tell you.

I wonder how Hensley would test. Probably a Secular Hoontist or a Jehovah's Dachshund or something.

Since I've been so busy lately, I decided to dredge up some of that high quality Hoont action from the past.

Hoont Table Action

Someday the fine gallery of Hoont and other videos and pictures will be once again available to the people out there who demand this fine quality entertainment.

I remember when I saw the t-shirt on Think Geek. "Go away or I will replace you with a very small shell script" it said.

Of course, I got the gist of it and could easily laugh at the general truth of the statement. But deep down inside I have always known that implementing such a thing is one of my weaknesses. No. I suppose weakness would be a pussy wimp-out term for it. It is one of my major faults. And I have tried to learn to accept it.

The problems lies deep at the root of my mental processes. It goes deep into my past as far back as 7th grade. It goes back to the fact that I just never could understand certain types of mathematics, and generally lumped everything and anything that required terms and forms and equations into the same category. Hell, let's throw formal logic into the mix since that is probably the root of this problem.

While I easily pulled off A's in every other class, everything regarding written logic and mathematics, including those areas of science dealing with these things, ended up making me a frightened mess since "I just didn't see it!".

I suppose I should step back and say that my mental processes are probably a bit different than most peoples. I don't know how this evolved, but there is a key that I need to look for in everything. This key is essentially that "thing" that when I find it buried in the knowledge I am seeking allows me full understanding of what is going on. I guess you could say I need to find that element that allows me to see the big picture. Once I have that... there's nothing preventing me from learning any given subject or topic.

Practically everything I do in life is based off of finding these "keys". I'd even go so far as to borrow a term from the Buddha and call them "Noble Truths". Knowing a given noble truth allows me to see the inherent "paths" to understanding things. For most things seeing these keys just comes natural.

Unfortunately, there has been no teacher or mentor that has been able to give me that "key" to understand logic and mathematics. And this has always left me wanting.

Wanting to find that key to understanding the knowledge I need. Wanting to just break that barrier of entry to such wonderful things as programming, scripting, writing, self-control... and so many other inter-related things.

Take History for example. I can gorge myself on history, delving into events and seeing all the myriad interconnected details that allow reality to exist. Biology... just another form of history for me. One beautiful bit of reality shaping and forming into the next. I guess that's why I thrive on such shows as James Burke's Connections series.

Natural History comes... well... naturally to me. That's why I studied Anthropology and Ancient History for 5 years in University. These things were my life blood and I could suck on them forever if given the chance.

However, life lead me to a role in imaging and computers where I stand today.

Except I know and fully accept my faults of not understanding the primary logic of software and programming. I just cannot for the life of me find that "key" to understanding and absorbing the general concepts of scripting and such. While this has not impacted my success in IT, it troubles me to know how much easier my life could be if I had certain knowledge incorporated into my skills.

I can stare at code and tags endlessly. I can read pages of "teach yourself" and "how to" guides. But none of them give me that essential key that my mental processes require. None of them.

Why did I start sharing this?

The simple fact that I need to write a script in the simplest scripting language I know... Applescript... and yet I find it utterly complex and feel like I'm being asked to add, multiply, and whatever to complex fractions. I feel like that frustrated 7th grader again. I mean... this is NOT complex!!! I know it isn't. I can see it!!! But why doesn't it just click!!!

Where is that all-encompassing "key" I so badly need??? How come after 32 years I haven't found it yet. Countless hours of meditation and self-reflection have left me only with understanding that I have this unquenchable gnawing void inside when it comes to these things.

Why can I look at History, Natural Science, Religion, Linguistics, and so many other subjects and they all naturally flow in and out of me as if I knew them at the core of my being, but my ability to get programming and scripting logic is impossible. Hell, Starscream has a better chance of finally taking over the leadership of the Decepticons from Megatron than I do of getting logic.

Argh!!! I can barely put into words to describe my emotions on this. I can barely convey what I am trying to say!!! Argh!!!

Maybe I'm slightly retarded. I know I'm definitely socially retarded. But maybe there's this mild retardation that will forever prevent me from finding the answers.

So. I'll just open up another book and try again. Maybe the next will be the Rosetta Stone I am so badly seeking.

Whilst searching for sites in my earlier post, I came across James Burke's KnowledgeWeb Project. This is super mega balls cool!!!

"The KnowledgeWeb system is designed to present knowledge in a highly interconnected, holistic way that allows for an infinite number of paths of exploration between people, places, things, and events."

What a great project. I hope it succeeds.

---

And on another note, I've decided to rethink all of the graphics production workflow that I have designed and implemented here at my place of employ. I am going to rethink where and how I can automate portions of production. And I am going to force myself to learn Applescript, basic VBscript, and some Unix shell scripting in the process.

It is my new goal to become fluent in the fundamentals of the scripting of these 3 operating systems.

There is no reason I should not be able to sit down and in an hour code a script that will take a folder (directory), rename the files inside of it, and then move the folder (directory) to another location on the system where the script is running.

With Herr Hoont as my witness, I shall become like a God-Emperor unto you all. And you will be amazed and say to your friends "I am amazed. Nala is so cool I shall listen to him and follow his words."

Coming soon to a web browser near you -- www.onyourteam.org!!! Brought to you by the fine folks behind some famous internet websites as www.naladahc.com, www.gigamatic.com, and other members of The People's Front of Judea.

Unfortunately, it is too soon to discuss the many hours of joy you'll experience when you visit www.onyourteam.org, but know in your hearts that there will be no gratutious coochie shots, no "adults only" dachshund pictures, and none of that "actually useful information" type stuff contained on many websites.

And remember. Parking Is Free!

Ten hours later I am still in sort of a dumb-founded shock. I watched last night's new episode of South Park unfolding and I honestly was shocked and amazed.

Never in my life did I think I would see a gerbil trying to escape from a gay leather queen's butt told as if it was a children's story. Magic frogs, sparrows, and fish appeared and assisted the gerbil Lemmiwinks on his journey.

It was... it was... well... it was something to behold. That much I'll give it.

Yes gentle readers.

Nala completed his simple script last night.

And it works.

Now. To figure out how to add error checking into it. Normally I wouldn't bother at home with something like this... I mean... "change name of files in a folder" doesn't really matter much to me at home.

But. I think I can add an error check without too much work.

Yay for Nala.

Yay for the World!

I think I found the best news article of the day.

MS paper touts Unix in Hotmail's Win2k switch (The Register)

Amazing how an internal MS document about their attempted migration of Hotmail from FreeBSD to Windows could be so pro Unix.

Of course, as the article shows, the actual public MS TechNet document is heavy in pro-MS rhetoric.

Now I have to admit, the deeper and deeper I get into my understanding of the workings of 'nixes, the more I can appreciate some of the things I hated about it in my 20's... at least for server duties.

Ok. So I'll be the first person to bemoan "political correctness" since it usually is just a cover-up means of being polite when the underlying sentiment is usually so wrong or more truthful to what is being told.

I believe most people should have the common decency to be civil in what they say to each other, especially where stereotypes are concerned. But I'll never reprimand someone for saying something.

Anyway, I was just privy to a "joke" that while I could care less if it was said or not, I was most definitely offended by the mere fact that someone would share this in the particular circumstances.

I went outside to take a break and have some coffee. There are 4 white older women (one of them obviously a lesbian, and one of them the woman who several weeks ago felt it necessary to tell me all about her 15 year old daughter dating the 30 year old guy and how she's been in and out of JD for theft, fraud, etc.).

Ok. My point here is that this group of women isn't exactly some flawless group of women, especially if one would openly compare and contrast them to others.

Well this other woman comes out and says... "Why do white people shop at the garage sales of blacks?"... which leaves the others thinking... and to which she replies "to get their stolen stuff back!"

Honestly. My jaw dropped.

I don't think for an instant if one of these women were black that this joke would have been said. Not for a single frigg'n second.

They all laughed and another woman started to then tell another "black" joke.

I honestly couldn't believe it!!! If any of the black women who go out there and smoke were there the jokes would never have been told. The woman who has the 15 year old daughter arrested for theft (on more than 1 occasion) has no reason to be laughing at such a joke.

I don't know. It isn't the joke that bugs me. It is the obviously flawless people who can tell such jokes.

Perhaps I'll come up with some good 50+ year old women and lesbian jokes to tell. I'd like to judge their reactions to those. (They'd more than likely tell an HR person that I said something offensive.)

Must remember to harass Lyanna since she says she's never ever seen The Godfather. I mean. The Godfather. None of that sucks balls Godfather, Part III. But THE Godfather.

That's like... that's like... against the laws of nature and man combined!!! Hmmm. I wonder how easy it is to convert VHS to PAL. Least methinks the Netherlands would be on PAL. Maybe Mike knows. He's like the video-tv-engineer jock guy.

Was bored. Decided to give some new blogs a chance. Some I like. Where are all the truly phreaky absurd blogs? That's what Nala wants to know.

Yay!!! Email from Andrea. She'll be back here a week from Sunday!!!

You can take the girl out of the Cowlands, but you can never take the Cowlands out of the girl.

I have nothing to share with you today except to reiterate the obvious fact about how much I loathe Cowtown weather at this moment.

Loathe! Loathe! Loathe!

Something Awful's Photoshop Friday for today is fantastic. Then again, I'll always be partial to anything that offers such great book titles as Divine Secrets of the Bene Gesserit Sisterhood by R.M. Mohiam...

"And we thought the Tleilaxu were vile! This tell all story shows just how far the Witches are prepared to go to get your genes"

"I am the maker who makes all the Spice. And I'm wearing a hat and a tie which is nice. You can mine it and drink it and weave it and eat it, but you must be careful to never deplete it."

That made my Friday enjoyable.

I think it is time to come clean about the secret organization I lead. For over a decade now the UKM has plotted and schemed to gain power. While my minions are few today, we are growing at a staggering rate.

All of them sleeper agents ready to do my bidding at a moment's notice.

That is right. I am the god-emperor of the UKM. The Underground Kielbasa Movement. My minions may be your friends, your neighbors, your lovers, your mothers, and your fathers. They may be your dogs (except no jack russell terriers), your cats, your iguanas, all yearning to be free.

Remember! We are the UKM. Fear us.

(Mental note: Typed to His Nalaself: Hmmm... or maybe Underground Kielbasa Movement was just a brilliant band name after all. No more. No less. Well, at least Erin at Gay, Dead, or Canadian? finds it funny.)

So the OSU Buckeyes almost lost it today but managed to go the season 13-0. They won the Big Ten Championship and very well could win the National Championship.

However, I don't really care all that much. I lost what little interest I had in football years ago and working at OSU from 1998-2001 killed any interest in OSU football since football Saturdays became nothing more than an extreme pain in the ass for me and my job.

The Fabulous Deb Doran however shares her fond memories of living in Cowtown on football day...

My favourite memories include drunken frat boys donning red windbreakers and holding bottles of Coors while hanging out at the back of the Maynard Street dwellings.

I recall their confusion and anger as I kindly requested they remove themselves from the bumper of my car so I could go to the bookstore or any place other than my infested near-campus apartment. It was tempting to nudge the stumbling crowds of football fans with my car as I slowly made my way down the alley to the street.

I always will cherish the memory of a cop arresting a screaming, drunken fan who kicked my car while shouting "Go Buckeyes" as the veins on his neck bulged and the drool ran down his chin.

The Disgusting R. Doran also writes...

And I really loved riding COTA to work during football season. There's really nothing better than drunken football fans screaming "GO BUCKS" in your face when you're already angry about going to work on a Saturday morning.

And now they are all out in San Francisco. Being fabulous every day.

How I long for the day I can join them.

Any chance of me getting things done when I'm online just ended.

Oh this is so super mega balls cool!!! Comics Continuum is reporting that Carl Pott's Alien Legion will be seeing the light of day as a Mainframe animated show!!! (press release)

This is so totally super mega balls cool!!!

I fell in love with Alien Legion back when I was 13 (in the yester-times of 1983... before the 'poks-e-klips' of the 90's). And Mainframe should be able to capture the flavour of the illustrations... since Alien Legion has a slick style to it already. Wow. I hadn't realized how much I miss Frank Cirocco's illustrations.

I am so excited. I loved Mainframe's Reboot series, as well as their attempt to do Transformers with Beast Wars and Beast Machines (even though the toy geekage sucked).

---

The Alien Legion

Alien Legion with some of the Who's Who page pics

Alien Legion site from The Netherlands For all my Dutch readers. Well. I have at least 1 I know of.

Some cool Mainframe desktop images!!!

A collection of Apple Switch parodies. And a real one from Will Ferrel that was only shown at Macworld..

Since I upgraded the processor, I've been using Mac OS X regularly for a few weeks now.

My opinions haven't changed all that much.

Basically, there is nothing in OS X that offers any improvements for what I do in OS 9. Everything is slower to some extent, and there are some glaring issues that drive me utterly and freakingly bonkers. Of course, there is always Aqua to loathe too.

Some positives of OS X...

• Chimera! I love this browser! The fastest web browser I've ever used.

Some negatives of OS X...

• Aquafied Microsoft Office X.. A horribly ugly application if ever there was one. The "aquafication" makes this so hard to work in for long periods of time. The interface is chunky, too big, and puke-able.
• No GUI themes. A user cannot make the interface palatable to their specific needs or wants. The aqua-gorification makes you need to shut down all windows when trying to accurately color match true color data on screen. This is bad!
• Behavior. Some things just don't conform to what I think Apple itself has created as a aqua gui standard. Text at times is clunky. Finder windows mess up their placement of headers and often cut off text. And I've read about many other issues with the Finder I have only waited patiently to happen to me.
• Aimed at flat screen LCDs, not CRTs. A conundrum if ever there was one. The whole screen rendering of text, especially of small text, doesn't work well for CRTs. Geez. And Apple just happens to try and sell overpriced LCD monitors??? Hmmm...
• And OS that isn't really made for the lower-end hardware sold. I can't see anyone running this on the older G3s and G4s. Apple's 2 years behind processor problems become glaring business problems in light of OS X true system requirements.
• All the glorified "Unix-ness" is for geeks only. The general consumer cannot even remotely care about this. But unfortunately, this "Unix-ness" shows up in file permissions issues. I've even encountered some things that made me go to "root" user to delete files. (This really isn't a negative for me... but could I easily explain this to someone like Dave when he eventually switches to OS X? Hardly. Would I want joe-user logging in as root? Never.)

So. I've given it a lot of work.

And I still have found absolutely zero reasons to switch regularly to OS X. Absolutely none.

Other than adding an aqua interface to everything, the OS 9 versions of every app I use are identical in functionality. The iApps serve no purpose for me since I do not use .Mac, a smart phone, an iPod, or have any need for a PDA. There is no reason for me to use iTunes since the original version, SoundJam, does exactly the same thing. Changing email apps "just because" doesn't justify going to Mail. My Entourage 2001 junk mail filter already does a perfect job and it is "aqua-less".

I just cannot find any valid reason to switch at all... other than to maybe switch to a MS Windows 2000/XP operating system.

My opinions haven't changed.

And I find it funny that Apple, who is desperately trying to hold on to whatever demographic it even remotely still has, has so few hardware vendors that consumers can turn to. There's a few printers, a few scanners, and a camera or two out there that work on Mac. In the scheme of things, using a niche OS hasn't been pretty and I've been doing it for over a decade now. (And let's face it, this switch parody about Mac gaming... it isn't someone picking on Mac OS because they use Windows. It is the honest to god truth on so many levels when using a niche computing system.)

But, with all that said. I'll continue using Macintosh. I'm just "switching" back to OS 9 until there is a real reason in my computer-using to use OS X. And so far, Apple hasn't given me that reason. (I really want a valid reason... but it just isn't there. Being a good american consumer doesn't cut it for me. And when I entered the real world of Information Technology, any Mac-centric thinking was ultimately crushed by reality.)

My name's Nala. And I'm a Mac OS 9 user.

I decided to get something to eat for lunch today... something I rarely do. So after running to get some cash (and running into Matt getting gasoline) I decided to go to McDonalds. The last time I recall consiously going to Mickey-Dees was when we headed up to the wedding in Glass City in September.

Anyway...

The point of all of this is to say that I don't think there is any nutritional value in the Big & Tasty and McChicken Dollar Menu items I just consumed. None at all. And now I do feel like I want to hurl.

Wow! McDonald's has the same affect on me as the Hitler, I mean Bush Administration.

I am not the same person as I was during the 1990's. I'm not doing the same kinds of things I was doing then and this in turn has changed and molded me into who I am today.

In the yester-times, I was a Macintosh zealot. I used to play the "Mac is better than this" or "Mac is better than that" game. Sure I could do just about anything on Mac OS. I could track down any given problem and solve it. It was something I was extremely proud of (and still am) to this day.

The tight integration between hardware and software that Apple could offer freed me to know it intimately. Hell, I could tell how my Mac OS 7.5.5 (remember that?) systems were performing by merely how the Finder responded.

My systems were all way beyond "default" install. Every Mac I touched would get a complete going over. Every folder and suitcase would get my attention. Nothing that would bog down the system or cause conflict was allowed to exist. Each and every machine... from the Performa LCs and Power Mac 6100's of Kinko's West Broad St, to the Power Mac G3 and G4s today were all personalized and a bit of soul was in each and every one of them.

Therefore, most of the machines I configured weren't plagued by the crashing and freezing typical of that era. Sure problems happened, but I could tell when they would and quickly solve the problem.

Software? Hell... give me 20 minutes with any software package and I would have most, if not all, of the application figured out and could produce with it.

Now I don't consider my time with Kinko's as a real job. Sure... I learned an incredible amount... one has to under no IT resources and never being allowed to spend anything. I used Kinko's. I bled them dry of everything I could learn about Macintosh, Novell Netware 3.12, Windows 3.11/95, digital printing, plotting, and large format printing. I worked overtime all of the time... absorbing and figuring out everything I could.

I used this as a jumping off platform to OSU. The progression was natural, but my time at OSU was severly hindered by my poor choice to remain there. My sanity was slowly falling apart. But I continued my learning there, master Windows 98, NT, and some slightly more bizarre thing such as CAD essentials and the like.

Basically, I don't think I had a real job until my current one. All of it was building up to the things I do today... which is essentially designing and implementing new graphics production workflows that results in millions of pages of printed material each year. No. I alone don't do this. But the team of people I work with allow me to have my say and improve and change what I can. (Note: Graphics production when I arrived was technically circa 1994 or so. In less than 18 months I've managed to implement an overhaul to a digital processing environment and get us up to at least 1999 so far!)

And I realized something. That "mac zealot-ness" I had disappeared along the way. That "computer geek" and "computer dude" that I used to be has transformed over these past years into a relatively well functioning Information Technology employee, versatile in several operating systems, multiple methods of configuration, and pro to expert in around 15 major desktop publishing, design, and imaging applications.

Every skill I've ever learned has built upon the previous skill sets. I was never afraid to take on something new in the realm of digital imaging, and I've managed to broaden that into areas of networking, systems administration, server configuration, and am heads and tails over most IT people when it comes to making things look right and proper (hence my imaging niche).

Normally I'm modest. Even though I say the occasional thing here and there (this is a blog isn't it?) I rarely talk about myself in an arrogant way. It just isn't in my nature.

I just realized that I've evolved into a "geek" that sees computers and technology as merely tools to accomplish a specific task or solve a specific problem. It doesn't matter which computer platform I use or which peripherals I implement, all that matters is that the problem is solved.

Honestly... this is an amazing revelation.

And it has forever altered the way I view technology.

The only real validity to use any form of technology is... "does it solve the problem"!

That's it. Nothing more. Nothing less. The fringe elements of the various tools may differ. And much functionality of the technology may exist across various apps. But... does it solve the problem you are facing? Windows. Macintosh. Unix. Linux. Solaris. BeOS. Java. VBScript. Whatever! Does it solve the problem you are facing?

That's all that needs to be asked!

Knowing I've evolved in this conceptual viewpoint from 10 years ago makes me extremely happy.

And thus I felt I had to share with you all.

The amazing coincidence of the fact that I basically summed up my negatives of Mac OS X today and 'lo and behold, John Gruber at daringfireball.net posts an entry that completely validates my problem, but also removes the confusion I've created for myself.

Hideous childish color palette for the mentally retared aside, it isn't Aqua I have so many issues with, but it truly is the Mac OS X "Finder" that I'm really at fault with. Gruber nailed what I've been trying to put into words for many many many months now.

The Finder is emblematic of everything wrong with Mac OS X. In the years leading up to the initial release of Mac OS X, Mac users only asked for two things from Apple’s next generation operating system:

• Improved stability
• Better performance

What we got:

• Improved stability
• Worse performance
• Changes to the user interface

And the only thing I can say is that I've used Mac OS 6-9 for so long that I believe I am completely mentally integrated into the User Interface of the Finder. The "expected" just is missing and no matter how many haxies I add to OS X or reorganizing this or that, there is this fundamental part of my mind screaming for this missing appropriate OS behaviour.

Read the post. And understand Nala just a little bit more.

What can I say. My day has been less than stellar.

I took a vacation day today so I could run some errands... you know... take a look at what is out there that Matt may want as a present and pricing some things for my parents.

Now we are heading to Matt's parents for Thanksgiving tomorrow and the Hoont was out of tranquilizers for the ride to B-ville.

I slowly arose out of bed this morning. I mean, hey... I'm on a vacation day so why get up at 6?

I get to the vet, who ups the Hoont's quaaludes to 25mg. I paid for the drugs, and get back in the Beetle. Key inserted, I tried to start the car. Nothing.

I try again. Nothing.

Nothing except this little light on the dash that looks like a little Beetle outline with a key in it. I dig out the owner's manual.

Lo and behold... the security system as decided that my key (used every day since March) is not "valid". There is a little circuit in the key. The ignition looks for this circuit and validates the car is not stolen (well, sort of I suppose). Without this validation... no start.

I'm now only a bit flustered.

So I go back into the vet's and call Matt to come with his spare key.

Yet again, not "valid".

Called the dealer and of course, nothing can be done but have the car towed in (all the way on the other side of Cowtown) to have it checked out.

So... after some Roadside Assistance (came with the car thank god) drama, the Beetle is now at the dealers.

Ugh! Ugh! Ugh!

At least I have Matt's car. I wandered around the Target and the Barnes & Noble pricing some things.

That's my day.

It has been oh so grand.

(NOTE: And I didn't even start it with the hoont poop drama this morning!!!)

Well. I found another thing I like that is OS X native. Audion by Panic Software. This is a great MP3 player, much more like the old Sound Jam I love so much. Much much better than iTunes. Of course it isn't free... but hey... it is so ugly.

So as I stated earlier, much of my drama today resulted from me having to get tranquilizers for Hensley.

I decided to research this tranquilizer, Acepromazine, to see the best method to get him baked before the drive tomorrow.

Now I never thought it did anything for him in the past two years when we've been on the road. Today I got a larger dosage...but I found something really interesting in my googling..."Many dogs seem to be able to will themselves to overcome its effects, at least temporarily."

I definitely think this has been the case with Sir Hoonts-A-Lot. It was almost as if the car anxiety was overwhelming and augmented his typical hoont abilities by making the drug wear off.

Let's hope the higher dosage helps. It honestly is for his own good.

Know this thing:

As the majority of you sit there today gorging, know the amount of carnage and cruelty that has had to occur so that you could have the day off and be consuming more calories than many people in other countries eat in 6 months.

And know that this oh-so-infallible country has tied most, if not all, of the success of the retail sector to a fabricated need to spend. This is bad for the economy as a whole and must be reigned in. The entire success of this sector is now based off of 1 month of sales. Not a good thing. Not good at all.

With that said... eat your turkey and/or your soy-based product and know that I love you. I love you all.

I have successfully wasted the day after. Yay! And tomorrow is major geekage at the Mid-Ohio Con!

However, here are a few poorly taken snapshots of the Hoont's first trip to Barnesville.

So Matt, Dan, Kelly, Asa, and I decided to get some hard core geek-ons go'n today and went to the Mid-Ohio Con comic and overall geek convention today.

Major geeks. There were some cool geeks... and there were some of those geeks, well, lots really, that give us minor geeks a bad name. You know the ones... the stinky, fat, live in Mom's basement type of geeks. But... such is the realm of this kind of geekage.

I managed to pick of a few bootleg videos I've wanted to see. I managed to get...

• The never to be seen again on TV ever The Star Wars Christmas Special that is so horrid. Bea Arthur sings though!!!
• The unaired pilot of Birds of Prey with Sherilyn Fenn as Harleen Quinzel instead of Mia Sara.
• An unaired, or horridly bad, pilot to a Justice League TV show
• and, another horrid TV show called "Legends of the Super Heroes" from the 70s!

With that said, we have extreme amounts of video geekage to last us tonight. Oh... and a bootleg of the 1994 never to be released low budget Fantastic Four movie too!!!

Food for thought to all you late 20's, early 30 somethings out there.

Nostalgia is best left as just that...nostalgia.

That "Legends of the Super Heroes" show is so god-awful. Sometimes, it is best to leave your childhood memories intact.

We've got 7 people coming over tonight to watch the other movies we brought. We are all 28 to 32.

Any fond memories we had of these things are going to be ripped to shreds. Completely and utterly ripped to shreds.

---

And on a side note, I'm really really really pissed I missed Ernie's Weakest Link appearance. I had such high hopes of him winning.

Yay!!! Andrea is in town!!! Yay!!! Andrea is in town!!!

For you see, while the Skanky Mamas and the Fabulous Deb Dorans have crept into my life over the years, there has always been Andrea. And she's returned for a visit to the Cowlands that she forsook for New York City!!!

Yay!!! Andrea is in town!!! Yay!!! Andrea is in town!!!

Christ on crutches!!! It makes me bouncy as a hoonter.