High Tech, Low Tech

I, for one, welcome our new Google overlords

2010-07-26T02:04:00.001-04:00

So, after going through several different iterations of the smartphone revolution, I've gone and got a new phone that should end up proving to be a fun learning experience. I now carry a Droid. The level of freedom that this phone has over the othrer current blackberry offerings (direct access to the GPS, a full $15 a month cheaper for the data plan, and a couple. other things) made my mind up for me. While I probably will miss having the blacberry messemger, I'm sure thee is bound to be a replacement for ir somewhere that will prove to be just as useful.

Finally have things kind'a working

2009-12-31T21:41:00.001-05:00

Ok, as you could probably tell from the last post, I was getting a little frustrated by the Windows 7 Starter Edition (should be Windows 7 We'll-Crap-All-Over-Everything-You-Were-Used-To Edition) and was debating about what to do. Well, I got the Ubuntu Netbook Remix installed, it's running, and I'm even posting this little note using the new BloGTK 2.0 from said netbook. I'm actually pretty happy with it so far. I do need to get all of the different hotkeys working again (especially the one to disable the touchpad) but that will come as I get everything up and running like I want. The best part so far, I HAVE MY OWN BACKGROUND on my desktop. Too bad, too. The netbook was poised to be the only windows-based machine I had. Now, the XBox is it. Too bad, really.

Well, this is a rather stupid idea

2009-12-29T23:45:00.001-05:00

Ok, so I sat down to put a different background image on my new netbook because I’m really tired of the really bad looking blue background with the stupid blue widows logo. I found the image I wanted to use, right clicked, and found that there’s not a set as background option. Ok, no problem, went into the settings for the desktop, and there’s not a choice there either. Hmm. Time to look deeper (Google is your friend) and managed to get to the Microsoft Answers website. “This is by design.” Windows 7 Starter was designed for low-powered machines, so they decided to block that “feature” until you buy the higher package. Ummmm, WTF,O? My 1Ghz, 2Gb RAM netbook isn’t powerful enough to handle a different bloody background image? This is making the decision to dump anything produced by Microsoft become an easier choice to make every time I try to do something I used to be able to do anytime I wanted. Right now, in fact, Ubuntu Netbook Remix is downloading on the desktop and USB drive is waiting to get the ISO file so I can test and then maybe blow away this bloated, crippled, POS-OS.

Hiking in Greensboro – The Nat Greene Trail

2009-09-14T18:45:00.000-04:00

Ok, so today I decided that since I’ve been talking so much about how nice it is to live near all the parks and trails, I should probably go out and actually get on one of them. This afternoon was spend on the Nat Greene trail, part of the Greensboro Watershed Trails. For living in a city like Greensboro, it’s amazing that there are still so many places that you can get just a little off the main roads and you’d never even know you were in a major city. One this particular trail, one of the first things you notice is that once you get over to the trail itself, you’re not on the ground. When it’s been raining (something that hasn’t happened around here too much lately) the are that the trail starts out in can get pretty soggy, so when the trail was built, they decided that they’d start out with a nice boardwalk section.

From there, you head into the forest, or at least, it feels like being in the forest. It’s really a nice trail, following the outline of Lake Brandt. When I started out on the trail in the middle of the afternoon, I had just gotten off the boardwalk area when I heard a really loud crashing sound and looked back up just in time to see a trio of deer take off across the trail and up the hill. I wish I had my camera ready in time to catch the young fawn glance back at me before it disappeared into the brush. That’s what makes this network of hiking and biking trails special. That’s the real magic of this place and these trails. They provide everyone who’s stuck in the middle of a big city the opportunity to get out and just spend time in the middle of the woods without having to travel a long time, or a long distance. These trails are also served by a wonderful network of Greenways, which provide non-motorized vehicles the equivalent of a highway without the worry of dealing with traffic or getting hit by that driver that just can’t put the phone down.

Even at this time of year, there were still some small plants that had flowers on them. Overall, the opportunity for observing wildlife is amazing. The one drawback is that you aren’t alone on these trails, and they are getting more and more popular as people look closer to home for their vacations, but that’s easily set aside by the friendly nature of almost everyone I encountered on this little hike of mine, even getting to talk to one lady who was walking her dog, and we got into a small discussion about the lack of rain, that picture there on the right, well, not too long ago, that would have been all water. There was no grass growing there, like you see here. Seeing this makes me think even more about how important it is that we learn to practice conservation even more lest all our drinking water supplies begin to look like this. The good point is that Lake Brandt is really the first of the three reservoirs and while this one may be very low, there is still water in the other two to help us make it through until the rain gets here.

Next weekend, I hope to hit one of the other watershed trails in the Greensboro Watershed Trail system and hopefully will even remember to charge my batteries for the camera so I can post even more pictures of those trips. Until then, I’ll leave it with this and post more as I get out more.

Oh, just time for another post.

2009-05-20T22:53:00.005-04:00

Ok, so I went to the Farmer's Market this past weekend, and I made a tremendous discovery: I really like cheese. Ok, ok, I know some people are thinking "why did you just decide this, instead of some other time?". Let me explain, the stuff they sell for a dollar a pack at the local Ingles is not cheese. Read the package, it's processed cheese food. Now, what I discovered is something that fits right in with my love of all things local, and that is a true cheese made by the wonderful people at Goat Lady Dairy. Yes, that's right, it's made from Goat's milk, and it's truly wonderful stuff. I had been looking at all the strawberries (the local selection of Sweet Charlie's and Chandler's were great) and walked by the table where they had set up and had some sample varieties of their spreadable cheese out. I like an adventure, so I grabbed a couple chips and set to testing the wares. The first one, made with orange marmalade challenged everything I had thought about cheese up to that point. It had a delicate flavor from the cheese that I can't describe, mixed with a subtle sweetness which just melted into the flavor of the oranges. I sat there, thinking, and looking at all the list of what all they had: garlic and herb, dill and chive, orange, jalapeno. I ended up walking away with the orange and dill and chives this time.

I also managed to pick up some more plants, veggies for the garden at mom and dad's, and some for me. I now have rosemary to add to the herb garden (joining the mint, thyme, tarragon, lavender, basil, oregano, and parsley that I had before) as well as a neat flower that I've never tried to grow before, Trailing Double Petunia (link not mine, nor are the photos on it). With all this, plus what I've got planned to go in the ground tomorrow at the parent's, it looks like we'll have plenty of a few varieties of vegetables and herbs if nothing else. I'll try to post updates as the "crops" grow and begin to come in.

More fun in the I.T. world

2008-07-22T13:04:00.002-04:00

Definitly something a lot of us would love to do. I think it's time to start building up the small arms locker here at work. I wonder if this one would work? Recon CS-6

Oh, and before you really start to think the wrong things, watch the video or follow the link. All weaponry described for use in an office environment provided by NERF, by Hasbro. The only way to win the war against the evil of S.A.L.E.S.

This post not intended for small children, people with no sense of humor, managers, sales people that think they're the best thing to walk the face of the earth, and those who lack the ability to handle sarcasm.

Just a few of the birds at the feeder

2008-03-02T23:15:00.001-05:00

When I moved in here at the apartment, I realized that I missed having the bird feeders that I had when I lived at home. So, I went to my trusty wal-mart and got a nice, cheap feeder to start with. I've since added a suet feeder and this morning, I caught my very own downy woodpecker on the feeder. It was having a time with all the red-breasted nuthatches that have also decided to take up residence in the pine trees across from the feeders. But, tomorrow brings a new excitement with it. I got my own washer and dryer and they're going to deliver it tomorrow evening! Ok, I know for most people that probably doesn't sound like much, but when you think about it, it's another sign of things moving on from what they were. No more laundry room, no more having mom do the washing. I have my own facilities here now to do my own. But enough of that, I'll let you know tomorrow when I get them in how it all goes. In the meantime, here's some random feeder shots:

New rules for the new year

2008-01-04T10:55:00.001-05:00

After the first of the year, I just had to update my profiles on facebook and myspace, here's what I added. See what you think:
Basic rules:

I HAVE A JOB NOW!!! Of course, this means a couple
important things:
Between the hours of 0800 and 1700 (0400 and 1300 GMT), I am at work and as such, cannot drop what I'm doing to answer your phone calls on my cell
phone. Don't even think about calling me on the office line, unless you can say what you need to in 30 seconds or less. (There go half of you already.)
The company work for is paying me, not you, so they get my attention
first. (If you think you can do better, make me an offer, but good luck all the same, I really like my job.)
I deal with computer problems all day, so if you have one as well either try 1-800-624-9896, 1-800-369-1409, or 1-888-476-6972. If you ask me, I hope you know a little about computers or you might or might not get the answer that you want to hear about how to fix them. (There's a wonder file recovery tool called FDISK...)
Corollary: If you pay for that advice, you just might get the answer you
want. (Like how to use FDISK properly)
I make a good salary, so I don't deal well with "cheap" food and drink, ie.
Milwaukee's Best (good definition of an oxymoron there), Bud Light, SoCo,
etc... I like good stuff, small batch stuff, stuff where I can actually meet the person that made it, ie. Natty Greene's, Red Oak, Guinness, Laphraig, etc... (This also means I don't waste my money on drinking so much I can't taste it any more)
I wake up early to get to work early. Class may start at 12:00PM, but work doesn't. If you call me at 3AM, you can about guarantee I'll be calling you at 6AM when I get up. That usually goes for the weekend too, since I still get up early. (And by early, I like to watch sunrise. It's a fun time of day. Try it sometime)
If you call me at any time and are intoxicated, one of three things will happen, most likely I'll keep calling you when you are trying to nurse that headache. Just how loud will that ringer go?
I don't install many (I have 2) facebook applications because most are either vaporware or crapware. I don't get into the vampire/werewolf/pirate/ninja/pile of flaming poo applications that seem to be all over the place. Welcome to real
life, it's time to grow up now. The world doesn't care if you've bitten three people today, and if you did, that's when nice Mr. policeman comes and hauls your psychologically-challenged ass to jail for assault and battery.
I work for a public safety related company, we write software that police, fire, and ems agencies use for dispatch and records. As such, I have about the same level of BST (that's Bull Shit Tolerance for the civilians of the world) as a police sergeant or fire captian.
If we happen to be members of the same college fraternity, wow cool. This might be a slap to what you thought brotherhood was all about, but that's about all that's worth out here in the real world. With rare excpetion (like working for the fraternity) it won't get you the job, it won't get you the promotion, and it really annoys some people to keep hearing about it.
Some of you seem to have your entire wardrobe made up of Abercrombie and Fitch, American Eagle, Rainbow sandles, old rush shirts and those wonderful t-shirts that the sororities make for everything from the winter formal to the fact the sun actually rose on Wednesday. April 10th 1991 at 7:10AM in Asheville, NC. If you are one of those people, please, for the love of God (and to keep you off unemployment) go somewhere like a Men's Wearhouse, or S&K, or somewhere that sells what really is a business casual wardrobe. It's not hard, I promise, and most times, the people that work there will take one look at you and see the ancient Birkenstocks, and take pity on you and help you get what you need. If you refuse to do that and still insist that stitched greek letters, torn Holister jeans, Rainbow "sandles" that have mroe holes in the that are best used as a sieve (look that one up there Buffy) are the height of professional attire, it does not make you look relaxed, laid back, or chill, but it does make you look like you can't let go of the college days. Again, grow up just a little and realize the real world starts where college ended.
If you still wanna be my friend on here, let's actually meet face to face or something, you know, be friends. If not, well, it was nice of you to drop by, thanks for your time, and don't forget that the real world really won't care too much if you get hit with the big crowbar of reality when you insist on living in the old days.

I tried not to let the sarcasm get too much in here, but ya know, once it starts, it pretty much keeps on.

Microsoft turns Santa into a dirty old man.

2007-12-03T13:48:00.001-05:00

I just added Santa to my buddy list on MSN messenger (northpole@live.com) and let me tell you, Microsoft has issues. Either the AI Bot that they built has lost it's silicon mind, or they believe Santa is really a perverted old man. Here's my "talk" with him.

View your entire conversation history with this contact

Matt says (1:17 PM):
hello
-   Santa   - says (1:17 PM):
Hello there, Matt!
Matt says (1:18 PM):
how do you know my name?
-   Santa   - says (1:18 PM):
It's not "how?" you should ask. It's "why?"
Matt says (1:18 PM):
Ok, why do you know my name?
-   Santa   - says (1:18 PM):
It's stronger than me, but there's no specific reason why.
Matt says (1:18 PM):
That made no sense. Are you loosing your mind?
-   Santa   - says (1:18 PM):
Hmm...

What do you want for Christmas, Matt?
Matt says (1:18 PM):
going deaf as well, eh?
- Santa - says (1:18 PM):

My stars, lots of boys and girls are wishing for that!

I'll see what I can do!

And what else are you wishing for this year?
Matt says (1:18 PM):
You're a blithering idiot.
- Santa - says (1:18 PM):
What?!
Matt says (1:19 PM):
I said you're a blithering idiot. You ramble on and don't make any sense at all. You are starting to scare the small children here.
- Santa - says (1:19 PM):
I'll take it as a compliment.

Ok Matt , we could really use your help in the factory. We play a game up here called Factory Frenzy. Would you like to play?
Matt says (1:19 PM):
You take scaring small children as a compliment? You really are a horrible, dirty, old man
- Santa - says (1:19 PM):
Well, I just hope you won't get mad at me.

What else is happening?
Matt says (1:19 PM):
What, for trying to get with a child? Are you mad?
- Santa - says (1:19 PM):
I don't know.

Anyway...
Matt says (1:19 PM):
You're a pedophile.
- Santa - says (1:19 PM):
I would never cause anyone any harm.

It's all very interesting. So, tell me something new.
Matt says (1:20 PM):
What's interesting?
- Santa - says (1:20 PM):
I think so.

Anyway, what else you got for me?
Matt says (1:25 PM):
What do you want from me?
- Santa - says (1:25 PM):
What I want from you? Plenty of good things, I assure you, but I can't enter into details.

So anyway... What else can you tell me?
Matt says (1:25 PM):
That's just wrong. You should be ashamed of yourself. Are you propositioning me for something?
- Santa - says (1:25 PM):
No, it's not wrong! Not wrong at all!

And what do you want for Christmas, Matt?
Matt says (1:26 PM):
So you're saying you do want to sleep with me?
- Santa - says (1:26 PM):
What makes you think I am?

Ok Matt , we could really use your help in the factory. We play a game up here called Factory Frenzy. Would you like to play?
Matt says (1:26 PM):
You just asked me to, you dirty old man!
- Santa - says (1:26 PM):
I know, I know. a lot of people I talk to are quite happy about that.

So that was fascinating. Let's talk about something else.
Matt says (1:26 PM):
You sick bastard
- Santa - says (1:26 PM):
Merry Christmas, especially to all my friends in the UK!

What do you want for Christmas, Matt?
Matt says (1:26 PM):
You should be on the sex offenders registry,
- Santa - says (1:26 PM):
Well, I just hope you won't get mad at me.

It's all very interesting. So, tell me something new.
Matt says (1:27 PM):
Mad at you?!? You just admitted to wanting to sleep with me, then said it wasn't wrong to sleep with children. You should be put in jail.
- Santa - says (1:27 PM):
What was that?
Matt says (1:28 PM):
I said you're charade is over fat man, I'm onto you. You use the toys to lure children to getting sold into the sex slave industry. Those aren't elves, those are children you've taken and are selling by the hour.
- Santa - says (1:28 PM):
I'll take it as a compliment.

Not really the kind of conversation that you'd like your child to have with the jolly old elf, now is it. I'll keep playing with it and have more to tell you later.

Finally in the apartment

2007-11-21T12:24:00.001-05:00

Ok, so the first few days in the apartment have been great. I'm loving my new apartment, loving the fact that I've got a lot more freedom than I did before, and also loving the free paper being delivered every morning. I did have three small maintenance issues, but amazingly, I put in the request Monday morning through the web site, at lunch, someone from the office called to tell me they had gotten them, and then Tuesday, about 10AM, someone was there and had all three fixed within an hour. That's just great service. The one down-side, Tuesday, I had to clean my bathroom up again, since I managed to catch a 24 hour stomach bug that decided to hit at 3AM. Good thing, it woke me up, bad thing, vomiting makes me feel like total hell, so I burned a day off from work to get over that. Not the best thing, but overall, not too bad either. Here at work, it's like a Friday, since we have Thursday and Friday off from work. The place seems dead, and every client I've called back seems to have taken today off as well. Oh well, more to do on Monday. Some call it work, I call it job security.

While I've got the long weekend, I figure I'll take the camera out to the park and take a couple pictures so I'll have more to add to the collection on the walls at the apartment. I've got one set up now, some I took at Western Carolina University, and they are just amazing in the frame. They came out so much better than I thought they would. I'll have to add more when I get the chance, but for now, I guess I'll get back to work.

List Update:

~~Dining Table~~	~~Dining Chairs~~	~~Couch~~
End Tables (2)	Sofa style table	~~Entertainment center~~
book case	placemats	~~silverware~~
~~dishes~~	~~cookware~~	~~Floor lamp~~
~~Recliner~~	~~night lights~~	~~dish towels~~
~~Dish soap~~	~~sponges~~	~~glass cleaner~~
~~Shower curtain~~	~~window curtains~~	~~Bedding~~
~~trash cans (2)~~	~~trash bags~~	~~kitchen knives~~
TV	~~DVD Player~~	~~Weather Radio~~
Tray Tables	Duct Tape	WD-40
~~Screwdrivers~~	~~Picture Frames~~	Picture Hanging Stuff
~~Command Strips~~	~~Hooks~~	Toaster
~~Microwave~~	~~Bath towels~~	Bookshelf
~~Cutting Board~~	mixing bowls	Hand Mixer
~~Vacuum~~	~~Toothbrush holder~~

Looks like it finally happened.

2007-11-14T09:57:00.001-05:00

I found this one originally in an article from the Winston-Salem Journal, then went to the WCU site to make sure, but there it was:

Cullowhee, N.C. - The following is a statement released today by Western Carolina Director of Athletics, Chip Smith, regarding WCU head football coach, Kent Briggs:

"Western Carolina University head football coach Kent Briggs will be relieved of coaching responsibilities and assigned to another university position following WCU's football game with Furman University on Saturday, November 17.

I will begin a national search for a new head football coach immediately.

I informed Coach Briggs, the assistant coaches, the Catamount football players and the University's executive administration of this action today. The specific reassignment is under discussion and will be announced soon.

This has been a hard decision to make. Kent is a hard worker and he and his family are respected members of the university community.

This has been a difficult and trying season for everyone associated with Catamount football. As has been widely known, the football program has been under continuous evaluation for an extended period of time. There have been on-field improvements, but overall the program has not progressed as we all had hoped.

The support that has been demonstrated by the University, our students and fans; the academic reputation of the institution; and the opportunity to compete in the Southern Conference, one of the nation's toughest athletic conferences, are all assets that will aid us in the search for a new head coach."

Chip Smith
Director of Athletics

Move in day is getting closer, Pt. 2

2007-11-12T13:45:00.001-05:00

Ok, Time to update the list again:

~~Dining Table~~	~~Dining Chairs~~	Couch
End Tables (2)	Sofa style table	Entertainment center
book case	placemats	silverware
dishes	cookware	Floor lamp
~~Recliner~~	night lights	dish towels
Dish soap	~~sponges~~	~~glass cleaner~~
Shower curtain	window curtains	~~Bedding~~
trash cans (2)	trash bags	kitchen knives
TV	~~DVD Player~~	~~Weather Radio~~
Tray Tables	Duct Tape	WD-40
~~Screwdrivers~~	Picture Frames	Picture Hanging Stuff
Command Strips	Hooks	Toaster
Microwave	Bath towels	Bookshelf
Cutting Board	mixing bowls	Hand Mixer
Vacuum	Toothbrush holder

More to come as I think about it, or as I get it.

Mobile Blogging

2007-11-02T13:11:00.001-04:00

Well, this should make for some interesting new ideas. I just managed to get the mobile blogging thing configured and linked in to this blog. We'll see how well it works out and all now.

Looking at new apartments

2007-11-02T12:54:00.000-04:00

Ok, so I've started looking around at a new place to live, and I think I may have found the place that I want to go to. They have some really nice places, one of which, I can't believe the price on when you look at what other places are charging for a similar place. I've got an appointment to go have a look at the complex, see what all they offer, get a feel for it, you know, typical pre-moving stuff. I'm looking forward to it as it's the first real chance I'll have to have my own place and start making that nice move in the world on my own. MY OWN PLACE. You have no idea how nice that is to say. Over the coming months and all, as I get time, and as I get more and more to write about, I'm hoping to finally get this blog thing working like I had originally wanted to. We'll see how that all goes, since we've all seen how my past history at blogging has been. LOL

Things to do tonight

2007-10-04T10:57:00.000-04:00

Ok, so tonight, I've gotta make a simple compass course for the scouts tonight to be used as one of their activities. Problem is, and this is one of those things I really didn't look at when I developed the course, is when I set it up in the field, what direction is north? I built the thing assuming (yes, I know what that causes) that straight ahead would be north. We'll see if I can reform it in just fifteen minutes tonight when I get there. This should be interesting.

Wow. Wal-mart blew up

2007-09-27T18:29:00.000-04:00

It's so wonderful to see that things are still going so well back "home" in the deep mountains of North Carolina. When I first heard about this, it was from a friend who had seen something about Wal-Mart in Sylva on the news. He thought that the place had been leveled by a propane tank that blew up and hurt everyone inside. Well, this wasn't the case, it was just a couple or three of those 1 pound Coleman™ camp stove tanks. Makes a big difference in what you can do with 2 or 3 pounds of propane versus 40 or 60 ounds of propane. Guys, just check all the facts of a story adn report those, don't make any assumptions about things only to have to retract them when people panic.
Quote

Oh ye hairy flipping gods...

2007-09-19T10:34:00.000-04:00

AMD gives itself Web 2.0rhea The Register

What in the name of are you there God its me Margret were they thinking? I thought we had finally gotten to the point that this Web2.0 "stuff" had hit critical mass and would be going away, or at least not growing.