Friday, May 30, 2003

Death of Netscape?

It appears Microsoft has effectively leveraged a deal with AOL that will kill Netscape. Is there going to be a day when you have no choice in software? Apple continues to innovate, but Microsoft has shown they have no problem stealing or co-opting those innovations.

posted for you by jhawk 11:07 AM - [Link] - Comments ()

Here's another one, but they do not seem to have a pulling device.

posted for you by steer 10:16 AM - [Link] - Comments ()

There's no way I believe this. Now there is another way to come in second.

posted for you by steer 9:54 AM - [Link] - Comments ()

Now we are going to have video gaming at horse tracks. All kinds of rules about what kind and how many hours and when. Let's see, no one came to horse racing, so now that you have video gaming you can make a profit. Won't everyone be playing the, Oh, never mind.

posted for you by steer 9:43 AM - [Link] - Comments ()

Apparently Disney and Pixar really want me to see Finding Nemo. Who am
I to refuse? Anyone who takes that much time and effort to put the
title of the movie, the characters, or references to the movie in front
of my face 24 hours a day can?t be denied. I mean, I did go see the
Matrix. The thing this movie has going for it, is that Steve Jobs
is the CEO of Pixar too.


posted for you by jhawk 9:18 AM - [Link] - Comments ()

I really enjoy this Adult Swim they have on Cartoon Network. Futurama
at 10 followed by Family Guy, every night. Monday thru Friday. How
could you ask for anything more. I barely get to catch it at night,
but the parts I do make it worth it.


posted for you by jhawk 9:07 AM - [Link] - Comments ()

I caught a bit of the New Justice League cartoon while folding laundry.
Yeah, big excitement, cartoons and socks. Anyway, they?ve redone the
characters a bit. The biggest change being that Aquaman is a bit
cooler. He?s not such a wuss anymore. Of course, he still hangs with
the fishies.


posted for you by jhawk 8:55 AM - [Link] - Comments ()

I think I'll grow a beard. Then I'll start making film documentaries
about animals and the woods. Like the hero Marty Staufer of Willd
America. Sponsored by Mutual of Omaha.


posted for you by jhawk 8:40 AM - [Link] - Comments ()

Another email from Armygirl from Iraq.

Just a note to update everyone on where Im at and how things are going.

I am currently in Iraq and probably will be for quite some time to come. Rumors are flying this way and that on how long we'll exactly be
here so Im not getting my hopes up either way. I left Kuwait on the 18th and have been here at the Baghdad International Airport since
then.

The living conditions leave much to be desired but I cant complain because I hear of how some of our soldiers are living in much worse
areas. I started in a bombed out terminal building but the foul smells and heat were too much to stay there too long. So some of my
section moved out into one of our tents and things have significantly improved. I never thought I would say I would rather live in a tent
than live in a building, but that day has come.

Thanks to everyone who has sent letters. The mail is flowing well now. Packages are starting to arrive and are very much appreciated!
We do have a PX here but the lines are horrendous and there are soldiers that deserve that more than myself so I dont bother with the 3
hour lines that form in directly in the hot sun.

I have regular access to email now (actually I have a line straight to my desk) so I can now stay connected with what is going on in the
world. The newspapers we see are at least a week old and I personally dont see them on a regular basis. The internet will be a godsend
so I'll have to take a minute to catch up.

I intended for this email to be short but have found myself rambling on like always.

I hope everyone is well and life is treating you well.

posted for you by jhawk 11:04 AM - [Link] - Comments ()

Oh my! There is a guy out there who doesn't much care for Microsoft!

posted for you by jhawk 10:19 AM - [Link] - Comments ()

In Montana you can get married and you don't even have to be there.

posted for you by jhawk 10:01 AM - [Link] - Comments ()

Has anyone else ever really wanted to become a master at Rock, Paper, Scissors? Me either. But, now we can!

At the RPS Society you can learn some advanced techniques for beating your opponents, crushing and humiliating them into submission! Or something...

posted for you by jhawk 9:09 AM - [Link] - Comments ()

In a bid to further disperse poorly coded products, Microsoft released a security update last Friday (May 21st). This update was shrewdly given a software glitch which rendered people running 3rd party firewall software, primarily Symantec's, unable to connect to the internet. Removing the patch fixes the issue.

If you've tried to shore up Microsoft's tough and creative sieve-like security with a good firewall, you will learn not to mess with them!

posted for you by jhawk 2:04 PM - [Link] - Comments ()

A man test driving a car was involved in what police believe is an alcohol related accident early Tuesday evening. Police say that 70-year-old Marvin Smith was test driving a car from Engine X Change at at 929 North Santa Fe. Just after 5:00 in the evening, Smith was driving north on 10th Street when he sideswiped a parked car. He turned right onto Inez street, and ran into a second parked car. He was transported to the hospital where he was treated and released in the the emergency room, and then arrested. Smith will face charges that could include DUI along with several traffic violations.
via KSAL

posted for you by jhawk 1:40 PM - [Link] - Comments ()

The power trio, Furball, seen here at a recent a cappella concert for the Center for Applied Treatment for Sneezing (CATS), has shocked the music industry with their latest album that celebrates the groups new found addiction to catnip. The lyrics are laced with references to catnip balls, fake mice, and even stories of catnip fueled hysteria.

posted for you by jhawk 11:55 AM - [Link] - Comments ()

The purple gorilla software company Bonzai settled the lawsuit against them for deceptive advertising. You have all been effected by their campaign to trick you into visiting their websites. If you've ever seen a pop up add that looked like a windows error message, then there's a 99hance it was one of theirs.

posted for you by jhawk 10:35 AM - [Link] - Comments ()

I never heard of one of these before, unitl my friend mentioned one. We were brainstorming our formation of a new band. I'd play the turkey call, he'd play the harmonica, and my other roommate would play something like a kazoo. Then my friend mentioned he might just have a Hooey Stick instead. I'd not heard of these before, but it appears like it's probably some old timey toy.

P.S.
For those who don't know what a Hooey Stick is:
A Hooey stick is, as you see above, a dowel with a smaller dowel affixed to one end as the "propeller." The long dowel is notched along it. You rub a smaller stick on the notches and it causes the "propeller" to spin. Then you say "hooey" and the propeller will start to spin the other direction. It all has to do with resonance and a little physics. I won't give it all away though. Takes out the fun of saying HOOEY!

posted for you by jhawk 1:01 PM - [Link] - Comments ()

I ended up talking to this lady today, that was upset that our services weren't working for her today. She had just upgraded her computer, she says. (Which I later discovered consisted of buying a new monitor and keyboard only.) She wanted to know why our service was down. Her reason for thinking our service was down....she couldn't type the letters W or U. Sent her into Notepad and sure enough they wouldn't type. Suggested maybe she didn't get a working keyboard. It's always an adventure if I get to end up talking to someone like this. :-P

posted for you by jhawk 10:11 AM - [Link] - Comments ()

posted for you by jhawk 9:18 AM - [Link] - Comments ()

Pontiac being offered is only 2003, steer only wants 2004, will spend money on golf instead.

posted for you by steer 8:17 AM - [Link] - Comments ()

From the "Gazette"--
An animal control officer responding to a call about a snake in a bathroom reported the snake was actually a hair band.
Officers were unable to locate any when a lady called in to report 30 canibals from Yacolt were trying to break into her house.
In a Dorsey Drive facility, one Alzheimer's patient had struck another Alzheimer's patient. When police arrived neither of them remembered the incident.

posted for you by steer 5:36 PM - [Link] - Comments ()

Optimus Prime commands you to wash my car!



posted for you by jhawk 3:48 PM - [Link] - Comments ()

Megatron says to not forget to vacuum!

posted for you by jhawk 3:47 PM - [Link] - Comments ()

We have decided to try and get a game of kickball started sometime soon. We wanted to play dodgeball, but we don't want anyones feelings to get hurt.

posted for you by jhawk 3:26 PM - [Link] - Comments ()

I want to work in the department of the company that makes inane and impossible to implement corporate policy. I want to be able to devise a way to hamstring workers while employing language indecipherable by most intelligent people. That has to be where the fun is at.

posted for you by jhawk 2:02 PM - [Link] - Comments ()

I am so ever amazed at people who seem to be lacking of any sort of common sense. In no other area are people like this obvious to most of us, as when there is a bit of technology involved. Somehow I believe they think there is some actual "magic" involved in the way a computer works. Or that to actually operate a computer somewhat comptently you need a Masters Degree in Mathematics.

I was called to a co-workers desk because she couldn't log into a certain application. I asked what type of error it was giving. Wrong password. Ok, how many times did you try it? Once. WHAT? Ok, did you try retyping it? No. Ok, retype it. It works now! Argh....

Someday in the future there will be computers that will be extremely more advanced and user friendly than today. You will just turn on the computer and it will do whatever it was you intended for it to do. You don't have to click anything, type anything, or in any way tell it what you want. It will just do it all on it's own. Of course, we will still need technical support lines for people to call so they can get help in figuring out how to turn it on.

posted for you by jhawk 1:31 PM - [Link] - Comments ()

Well, I got the BSOD. I've avoided it all these years. Let me see what I can blame it on. Yes, I know I should have gotten a Mac. I think it was when I shut it off for 4 days. I'd never shut it off for that long before and it wanted to show me. The poor tech at HP was all kinds of nice (a rarity, according to TechStories), we tried everything he could think of for 3 hours and then said the dreaded words, "Looks like you will have to reinstall everything". Arrrrgh! I did save most everything except my address book. Oh well, maybe that was a way to thin the herd. Now only those that mail me will get one back. Jhawk will give me some. Now don't know whether to upgrade my car to a 2004 Pontiac Grand Prix GT or a Mac. Both my old things are working fine but, well, you know.

posted for you by steer 4:59 PM - [Link] - Comments ()

We were discussing something here and it turned to a conversation about CPR. (Don't ask how. I think it started with something about donuts.) Then came the revalation that my supervisor was certified in CPR by steer. He never certified me, and I'm his son... :-)

posted for you by jhawk 4:25 PM - [Link] - Comments ()

I finally found a way to convert ringtones for the Nokia phones into ringtones that can be used by my Kyocera phone. Kyocera offered an anemic selection of alternative ringtones. Really bad ones. Now i can find any rttl tone and convert it, upload it to my phone via the USB cable, and I'm in business. :-)

Yeah, I know. There were tons of sites out there for it, but I just now got around to looking.

posted for you by jhawk 3:45 PM - [Link] - Comments ()

Check this out.

A Kansas Highway Patrol Trooper making a routine stop along Interstate 70 in Geary County Tuesday morning ended up discovering a large amount of a major ingredient used to manufacture methamphetamine. KHP Lt. Bruce Hyman tells KSAL News that the discovery was made after a trooper stopped a 2000 Chevrolet with Michigan license plates for a traffic violation. Found in the vehicle was 332 pounds of ephedrine tablets worth $332,000.? Ephedrine is one of the main ingredients used to make meth. Hyman says a quantity this large probably came from a foreign country. Both people in the car, a male and a female, were arrested and booked into the Geary County Jail.
via KSAL

Can you imagine having that much ephedrine? Maybe he just had a bad cold.

posted for you by jhawk 11:03 AM - [Link] - Comments ()

Downloaded that new Opera version for the Mac today. Looks pretty slick. I'm liking it much better than Safari right now. Safari still being a beta version.

posted for you by jhawk 10:43 AM - [Link] - Comments ()

Oh, thank god!
Opera plans to release a new version of their browser for the Mac. I'm so happy.

posted for you by jhawk 7:27 PM - [Link] - Comments ()

Remember the Pylah worm I gave a heads up on a few days ago? The Register reports on possibly why the payload to that worm isn't all that destructive to the infected machine. That's not what it wants. It wants the host in tact to be used to help send spam from the infected machine. That's even more insidious than hosing the harddrive.

posted for you by jhawk 3:49 PM - [Link] - Comments ()

Ever wanted to talk to someone on Tech TV? Me either. But, if you did want to, you have a shot at it. DOn't know how much of a shot, but it's the best ya got.

Jessica Corbin is a Tech TV contributor. She takes some tech equipment and demos it for a week and then reports on it. This week it's a new cell phone. The Sanyo SCP-8100. Part of the testing with the equipment is to use it in real life situations. Now this is where you may come into it. She gives out the phone number to that phone. You can call it, and depending on if she wants to or not, answers it. You could talk to here and demo out the phone. And if you look. She's even got a Kansas City number.


PS GO ROYALS!

posted for you by jhawk 3:26 PM - [Link] - Comments ()

I decided to cut my hair tonight. I've let it grow out since the last time I shaved it all off. Which has been at least 2 and a half to 3 months. I'll post before and after pics tonight on the Photoblog so everyone can see. Or possibly tomorrow :-)

posted for you by jhawk 3:20 PM - [Link] - Comments ()

For all you punks out there. ;-P

posted for you by jhawk 2:56 PM - [Link] - Comments ()

My ability to write coherently has left me in the lurch the past few weeks. I apologize to anyone who actually reads this site for the lack of literary prowess displayed by me on the past few posts. I will try and do more better. :-P

posted for you by jhawk 1:47 PM - [Link] - Comments ()

I read this CNET article on the iTunes music store, and it's failure to revolutionize online music purchases. I don't know if that was their intent to start. Apple in my view wanted to take yet another step toward being the first choice when it comes to media, music and video creation and editing. You can see the push by Apple in this area all over their product line and business strategies.

I love iTunes. Best music player I've ever used. And it's list of internet radio stations built into it, and the iTunes music store make it even better. What I'd like to see iTunes deliver as far as revolutionary is to create their own internet radio station themselves. To offer a mix of music, maybe with different channels to play music. If you've got the station on, and a song you like comes on, there should be a link offered to download and purchase it. That would be a great idea, I think.

posted for you by jhawk 11:44 AM - [Link] - Comments ()

I have a strong craving for chicken noodle soup. Not the condensed can stuff, the real homemade variety. I'd love it for lunch, but no time to make it. There's a homestyle chicken restaurant here that makes it as their special on Mondays, but guess what? Wow, you're quick. Yes, it's Wednesday.

posted for you by jhawk 11:00 AM - [Link] - Comments ()

The sun has returned to us. It is going to be somewhat nice out for once. It's that time when we can start being outside to get that nice summer tan. Then there are those people who decide that would rather pay for what they can get for free. I always wondered how tanning salons didn't go bankrupt in the summer months.

posted for you by jhawk 10:49 AM - [Link] - Comments ()

No city is without it's crazies. The people who just seem to live with a logic all their own. Never struggle to understand them. Just avoid eye contact and go about your business.

Here is the latest one we had in our lovely enclave of humanity.

A man was arrested over the weekend on possible obscenity charges. Police say the charges stem from videos that were rented, and returned to the Dillon's grocery store in Sunset Plaza. Allegedly, 43-year-old Groucho Sixbury rented the movies, and before returning them, recorded adult pornographic scenes onto the end of the tapes when the credits were finished. Sixbury was busted after Dillon's started receiving complaints. So far, seven tapes with the pornographic scenes added to the end have been recovered, and police say there may be more that have not been discovered yet. Sixbury will face possible charges that include multiple counts of both promoting obscenity and criminal damage to property.

Now that's weird.

posted for you by jhawk 3:38 PM - [Link] - Comments ()

The Lemon is churning out the good stuff baby. Better than The Onion so far. I love his internet timeline.

*Update* Looks like it got on Fark too.

PS- I love his tagline too. "When life hands you lemons, it means you suck."
What a cheery outlook. :-)

posted for you by jhawk 3:27 PM - [Link] - Comments ()

Had a discussion about motorcycles and helmets today. There was a person in our city who was critically injured during a motorcycle crash in which the person lost control of their bike at 90mph. They hit a curb, flew through a split rail fence, a bush, across a lawn and into the next cross street. He's in a coma now.

I remarked he should have been wearing a helmet. The intial impact being into the grass before the fence, coupled with a helmet could have provided some more safety for the brain. Sure, there would have still been some broken bones and the like. Bones heal better than brains.

His logic was this. Riding a moped at 30mph nobody thinks of helmets. He rides his motorcycle around town at 30mph. Therefore, no need for a helmet. The accident was just bad because of the speed involved.

My logic was this, and steer will be able to correct me more specific on this. A person traveling at a certain speed and then experiences a rapid deceleration, ie hitting the ground at 30mph, results in a extremely high force on the body. Federal crash tests always mandate the tests at 30mph ratings. These tests regularly result in forces of 40 to 50G's. So a 10lb object would result in a force of 40 to 50 times its weight, or 400-500 pounds. Now imagine an actual persons weight.

So in closing, I'll leave you with a Jerry Seinfeld quote on helmet laws.

There are many things you can point to as proof that the human is not smart. But my personal favorite would have to be that we needed to invent the helmet. What was happening, apparently, was that we were involved in a lot of activities that were cracking our heads. We chose not to avoid doing those activities but, instead, to come up with some sort of device to help us enjoy our head-cracking lifestyles. And even that didn't work because not enough people were wearing them so we had to come up with the helmet law. Which is even stupider, the idea behind the helmet law being to preserve a brain whose judgment is so poor, it does not even try to avoid the cracking of the head it's in.

posted for you by jhawk 2:57 PM - [Link] - Comments ()

New email worm out there from this past weekend. The Palyh worm comes to your email purporting to be from Microsoft support email. Update your virus definitions for your AV software. Of course, if you don't run Windows....disregard. :-)

posted for you by jhawk 2:24 PM - [Link] - Comments ()

David Beckham must be stopped. At all costs...

posted for you by jhawk 2:07 PM - [Link] - Comments ()

Was in Tucson the last 4 days. Of course it was over 100 each day. But as "they" say, "it's dry heat". Well I don't care, that is still hot. U of A was awesome, a well built campus. No, I didn't get to see Lute. Just hard to get used to cacti and other brush growing in the sand and rocks that make up your front yard. Wait, maybe they're onto something. Have to think long and hard about ever living there. Housing was expensive. Had never seen tortillas thrown at graduation before. They do fly ok and don't hurt when they hit.

posted for you by steer 2:04 PM - [Link] - Comments ()

I've been extremely pleased with the new iBook I recieved. I know it's not a Powerbook people, but for as a laptop its small size and OS X is killer. It's done everything I've asked it to and more.

Now, I'm about to dive into the world of file sharing between the iBook and my PC. We'll see how this goes. Did some quick research on Apple and it looks like this will be easy to do as well :-) Yay Apple!

posted for you by jhawk 9:56 AM - [Link] - Comments ()

The Sunday after the birthday. I felt a bit off today. I think it was from something I ate. I didn't really party it up or anything last night. I'm feeling much better now. I'll get back to blogging good tomorrow. I haven't posted a whole lot lately. I worked more on the template instead. Now it's done, and work isn't as busy. I'll get back to better posts.

posted for you by jhawk 7:30 PM - [Link] - Comments ()

Well today is my birthday. I'm getting up there in age. :-) Birthdays just don't carry that same anticipatory excitement that they used to when you were younger. Now it's just the day that marks when you start adding one to the age you've been telling everyone you are.

No special plans as of yet to celebrate. Going to a party for something else, which we sort of dubbed as an unofficial birthday party too.

Everyone have a good day!

posted for you by jhawk 10:35 AM - [Link] - Comments ()

It's raining yet again. Coming down pretty good. Where is the summer weather I remember? Hot and sunny with 40 mile per hour winds?

posted for you by jhawk 10:15 AM - [Link] - Comments ()

I messed with the template a little more today. I'd been working on it for a few days. I finally implemented the changes this afternoon. I hope you like it.

posted for you by jhawk 4:55 PM - [Link] - Comments ()

We've had 2 days of no rain. That means we're due for rain. And it'll be here by later tonight. They say April showers bring May flowers. But May rain just brings tall grass and lots of mowing.

posted for you by jhawk 10:28 AM - [Link] - Comments ()

If this doesn't make you want to go home and empty a bunch of Pepsi or Dr Pepper 2 liter bottles, then you're boring. Water Rockets! I imagine my roommates and I would end up with some catastrophic water rocket incident.

posted for you by jhawk 9:22 AM - [Link] - Comments ()

They're changing out $20 bill. It's going to be more colorful. It's going to be more "European" as I put it. :-P

I was once asked how we kept our money straight. It being all one color. My reply was simple. The big numbers on all the corners front and back. :-)

Oh, I'm kidding...



posted for you by jhawk 2:37 PM - [Link] - Comments ()

My sister, Armygirl, bought me an iBook for my birthday. She's a pretty cool person :-) Below is a picture of it. For those of you who think Macs are hard to use, don't work with PCs well, and devoid of software to choose from. You're so far off you should just be cursed to use Microsoft products for the rest of your life. I'm sure it will be shortened by all the stress you will incur as you navigate your world of BSOD and illegal operation errors. You all should get very good practice at installing and unistalling software and formatting your harddrive. While the Mac users live in a blissfull world of computing ease. :-P

hehe



posted for you by jhawk 2:26 PM - [Link] - Comments ()

Woke up to a pretty good thunderstorm this morning. It lasted all of 15 minutes and now it's clear and sunny. Love the weather changes we can get here in the plains. :-)

posted for you by jhawk 10:46 AM - [Link] - Comments ()

Kinda sad today. The Bluebirds I have been feeding and watching are taking a rest. The babes have flown the nest. Actually they have just flown to the roof of the house and not much farther. The parents are flying back and forth. The babes are just sitting there wondering what to do next. Well, good luck and come back next year.

posted for you by steer 2:48 PM - [Link] - Comments ()

Below is a compilation of text from a couple of emails from Armygirl as she arrives for her deployment in the Middle East. I just pasted it together from the exact text she sent. So it may not seem to flow well together, but it's verbatim.

I made it to Kuwait just fine. The flight was great, it was a commercial flight on a 747 operated by United. We had
stewardesses and everything and I got to sit in Business class. The first time ever and probably the last. It was a great
flight and I actually got some sleep on it unlike any other time I've ever flown.
?
Im in Kuwait now at a place called Camp New Jersey. Soon though they tell me I'll have to pick up and move to Camp
Pennsylvania. Not really looking forward to that move since we have showers here but not at the other camp. We run out of
shower water daily but at least we have some if we can get there early. Today it was a bottled water shower and we're not
supposed to do that but oh well.
?
It is hot as hell out here during midday but not too bad at night and early morning. We're surviving all right and Im getting
used to drinking tons of water all day every day.

Conditions here are very rough. We had to shovel sand out of our tent when we got here and we didnt have any lights in the tent
although we were supposed to since all the other tents to. There are tents here with AC though so its not as bad as you might
think. It's just a matter of it getting so darn hot during midday. We have to walk about half a mile to chow everytime but we
can pick and choose if we want to go or not. So far the chow has been pretty good. Since we are in a built up camp that is
permanent things are so bad. The shower water tanks run out of water daily, but they get refilled every day and the port-a-
potties get cleaned daily too. At our camp there are what they call Pads. I am on Pad 5 of I think 7 different pads. They are
about 800 meters apart and on each pad are about 2000 people. I got told yesterday tough that I may be moving to a whole other
camp though where the conditions arent as good. Meaning, no showers etc.

posted for you by jhawk 9:16 AM - [Link] - Comments ()

Sean Penn is suing because he says he was blacklisted for his trip to Iraq. Hmmmm. Other maybe more credible reasons.
> Not a very good actor.
> Ugly.
> Formerly married to equally bad actress.
> Like father, like son.

posted for you by steer 12:12 PM - [Link] - Comments ()

As I get older I worry about what it will be, when people say, "Ole steer used to say........"

posted for you by steer 9:30 AM - [Link] - Comments ()

This thing was coming through here looking for tornadoes. Well there were some, but not near here, a little south of me. They're trying to film for an IMAX movie about storm chasers. If they got the footage they want, it'd be pretty darn cool to see in an IMAX theater.

posted for you by jhawk 1:53 PM - [Link] - Comments ()

The following email was sent from a friend of Armygirl who is already in Iraq right now. He sent this in response to Armygirl's going away email. I'm posting it in case anyone else didn't get to see this response.

to let you know.....hopefully things will improve drastically as more rip units get here, hopefully they bring more creature comforts...1. all of your packages will get destroyed...tape all the edges very well...2. this is the first time i have seen internet since the invasion and i am 'pirating' off a contractor....all and all life in Iraq isn't too bad. Baghdad is a pretty good place to be, hopefully 3rd ID will leave you some of the things they set up to help with your creature comforts.
?
Bring lots of baby wipes and your mosquito net, paper and envelopes, you won't need stamps, mail is free to send out.
?
Now, hurry up and get here so the rest of us can leave!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
?
Be safe, and for the rest of you who have no clue who I am, "hi", be sure to send here lots of mail, trust me, on most days getting a letter even if it just says 'hi' can make a whole week better.
?
Now, like I said, L, hurry up and get here so I can go back home, I have had enough of Iraq, I think we took care of most of the bad guys for you though so hopefully you won't be running for cover as much :)

--M

rip -- Replacement in Place
3rd ID-- 3rd Infrantry Division


I didn't post his name, as I didn't get permision to post this.

I'll continue to post stuff as I get it. You should be able to get news about what it's like to be a troop in Baghdad as the rebuilding starts.

posted for you by jhawk 11:54 AM - [Link] - Comments ()

A new study says that in the U.S. you are not an adult at 18, it happens much later. It says most people say it happens at 26. Darn. I was hoping it said 30.


posted for you by jhawk 11:41 AM - [Link] - Comments ()

A little excitement at work. An attorney tries to enter with a handgun he "forgot" was in his briefcase. "How do those handcuffs feel, not to tight I hope". He is explaining to the ATF not only why he tried to enter a Federal Courthouse, but why the gun is entered as stolen. I wondered what happened to the client he was there to represent. "Ah, no thanks I'll try someone else".

posted for you by jhawk 5:33 PM - [Link] - Comments ()

New stuff up over at the photoblog. I apologize for being so lax in updating it. I actually have a good backlog of photos now, so I can get more updates on there.


posted for you by jhawk 3:39 PM - [Link] - Comments ()

When I'm bored at work I notice things like this...

When the FedEx guy comes to drop off a package and the UPS guy is already there picking up packages, I always imagine there is some secret animosity between them. The FedEx guy give a knowing glance to the UPS guy, and only they really understand.


posted for you by jhawk 10:14 AM - [Link] - Comments ()

Armygirl should be in Iraq now. She will email me as soon as she can. The infrastructure for the internet access isn't quite in place. Plus the bandwith usable will be very limited. I'll post any stories or anything she wants here. So keep watching here for her updates.


posted for you by jhawk 9:58 AM - [Link] - Comments ()

The countdown is on. I have less than 24 hours before setting foot in an area of the world I hoped I would never have to visit and I'm sure I'll see things I undoubtably could do without, but nonetheless I am going and will do so willingly. Since you know, it is my job.

Not really sure exactly what to expect other than to be hot, sweaty and dirty for anywhere between 6 months to a year. We are told that our mission is 365 days or until mission complete, whenever and whatever that is.

Im excited and apprehensive. No one ever wants to deploy, but yet there is a lure. A lure that comes from knowing that you are doing something worthwhile (even if there are those out there that would disagree) and something you and your soldiers have trained for. There's always the unexpected but yet we're being relied upon to do a job and that's what we are going to do and to the best of our ability.

I will try and relate some stories through email to jhawk so he can post what is going on, since every news agency has some slant, you'll get it through my eyes and maybe even a few pictures will pop up here and there. I cant promise that though as the bandwidth is going to be severely limited for me.

I hope everyone the very best and hope everyone will keep in touch through one means or another. Dont worry about me, I'll be safely seated behind a desk somewhere. Worry instead about our soldiers that walk the streets trying to do what is right in a place where there has been so many wrongs.

posted for you by armygirl 11:29 AM - [Link] - Comments ()

Just saw the funniest stuff I've seen in a long, long time. Visit Read Me blog and go down to the heading of More Fun Than a Fat Kid Can Shake a Stick At. Download the first one and watch it, then come back and download the second one. I swear I laughed so hard...


posted for you by jhawk 5:38 PM - [Link] - Comments ()

Damn it. All this is happening and I still don't have a Mac. Let alone an iPod.

Cruel world...

posted for you by jhawk 2:08 PM - [Link] - Comments ()

Josh at Colonel Sanders reports on a bug in Internet Explorer. He points to the original article that explains the vulnerability. He suggests Opera or Mozilla instead. I of course, say Opera. :-) Just at least for the mouse guestures. :-P



posted for you by jhawk 2:00 PM - [Link] - Comments ()

We were all sitting around this morning at work. One lady opened a can of orange juice and remarked, "I wish I had a straw for this." Another lady immediately replied, "Here, I've got one." She then pulled one out of her pocket.

Anyone else carry a staw in their pocket?


posted for you by jhawk 1:51 PM - [Link] - Comments ()

posted for you by jhawk 11:47 AM - [Link] - Comments ()

Is anyone listening to me? Last night a couple of guys at work were talking about the man who had invented the 200 mph carb. for the car, but was bought out by the oil companies. I couldn't believe it. (But then you all know where I now live). They were adamanant about it. Nothing I could say would sway them. Then I get an e-mail about rat urine on the soda cans from Hawaii. These have been from people I thought were reasonably intelligent. Oh, wait. Anyway, my reply's are getting nastier about checking them out before sending. Does anyone ever look at Snopes? Oh, well, never mind.

posted for you by steer 4:18 PM - [Link] - Comments ()

I have a strong hatred for Powerpoint presentations. Often in our training they like to use Powerpoint to make a training presentation. Wow, what crap it always turns out to be.

One screen will have a sentence or two on it, that will have to be elaborated on just to explain what the heck that screen is supposed to be about. Now mulitply that ineptness by 100 screens. You've got a typical meeting session here.

Today's was classic. We have this little training over a small departmental change in how we will be reporting to managers in different departments. We're just at this one person's cube, which is actually a large cubical. She wants us to crowd around her computer so we can see this powerpoint presentation, and then hands a hard copy of that exact presentation to us. Needless to say, nobody ever even took a glance toward the computer, as they had the damn thing right in their hands already.


posted for you by jhawk 4:07 PM - [Link] - Comments ()

Just read a very sad story over at Colonel Sanders Conspiracy. Seems Josh will be forced to get rid of their dog. :-( It's really too bad the way it has transpired too. I think I'd come to the same decision they did. If you want to adopt a nice Weimaraner or know someone who does. Head over to his site and read up. You can see the dog at his own blog at The Mr. Smooth Weblog. I feel bad for him and his family and the poor kid who got hurt.


posted for you by jhawk 1:24 PM - [Link] - Comments ()

I don't know what this batsman is doing, but I think it's worth 50 runs... or points...


posted for you by jhawk 1:20 PM - [Link] - Comments ()

Apple's new music service is apparently selling good in it's first 18 hours of operation with over 275,000 songs being purchased. At $.99 a song that isn't too terribly expensive. Let's see how this continues. Plus Apple appears to be planning a PC version of the service. I even saw a rumor of iTunes being developed for PC.


posted for you by jhawk 11:53 AM - [Link] - Comments ()

Ever seen 3 people try to do a project that should only take 1 person to do? 3 people should make this job go quicker, right? Does that ever happen?

No, I wasn't one of the three.


posted for you by jhawk 11:18 AM - [Link] - Comments ()

Pizza

Tonight is dedicated to pizza. I will order it, pay for it, and consume it. Possibly I will leave just a little bit of it for tomorrow too. Pizza deserves at least 2 days.


posted for you by jhawk 10:28 AM - [Link] - Comments ()

DROOL

30 gigs, 7500 songs...


posted for you by jhawk 9:30 AM - [Link] - Comments ()