I fixed the comments over at LiveRevolt (acutally I had not-very-much to do with it, I just sat there while Achilles fixed them, but somehow -- metaphysically, perhaps -- my being was involved and necessary), so GO COMMENT OVER THERE!

Fact #1: I'm planning to go snowboarding tomorrow.*

Fact #2: Dip, beer, and lack of sleep do not benefit snowboarders.

Problem: #1 is going to suck because of #2.

Solution: Energy drinks.


*Note how I avoid positing truth in future contingencies by my oh-so-delicate wording.

This is a picture of the current blinker controls in The Silver Bullet.

(1) is the lead for the left turn signal
(2) is the power coupler
(3) is the lead for the right turn signal
(4) is the toggle for the relay for the headlights -- normal/brights

In order to signal, you simply pinch either (1) or (3) together with (2). During the length of the contact, the blinkers will blink.

To turn the high-beams on or off, you simply touch (4) to a ground. However, for special effect, I like touching it to (1) or (3), which causes a wild spectacle of blinking lights as the headlights toggle.

I like arriving in the laundry room in time to remove the clothes from the dryer before the wrinkles have set in their ways. That way I can maintain a decent (read: collegiate) level of neatness in attire. I haven't ironed in 4 years. But, then again, Computer Consultants either dress really snappily, like I did sometimes, or like hippies, which I did most of the time. Switch it up just enough to keep you guessing.

I gotta lot more things I wanna say right now, but I need to get some sleep (preferrably 8+ hours) before class tomorrow morning, so I won't say 'em now. I'm going to queue up some Uncle Tupelo, some Nancy Griffith, and some Townes Van Zandt, and fall asleep listening to 'em. (Those aren't really links, you'll have to "google" them on your own!).

I'm thinking about mountain lions, deer, hunting, bows, chewing tobbaco, unfiltered cigarettes, and the charming ways of three different women.

The vices are sooooo glamorous, aren't they?

I repaired the interface on AgentIntellect, which was suffering from some broken links due to errors in re-configuration by my webhosting company, with which I am displeased.

I like using my web addresses sans subdomains (the stuff in front, like www. or mail.), and they have been lax in resetting up their server (in which my websites rest) to respond to those requests...

I had an excellent weekend.

Friday afternoon I played bridge with two fellow students and one professor. I hadn't played in a while, and so was kindof rusty on conventions and so forth, but it was a lot of fun.

Friday night we headed down to one of my favorite family's houses, in Santa Paula... I broached my plan of aided the paterfamilias in his gardening plans, and we set upon next saturday as the designated date. I am to bring a team of three or four down in the morning, and we are going to weave a bamboo fence, place some rocks, and dig up some mulch, among other things, in an effort to improve his Japenese-style garden. He already has a pond, a waterfall, and a flowing stream between them.

After discussing these plans and having the royal tour, my acomplices and I headed indoors for a healthy does of brew, company, and The Band.

Saturday morning I woke upon the couch in the F's living room. Drowsily collecting myself, I stumbled off to The Silver Bullet. I drove down to Rancho Cucamonga, where the ProfessionalExpert resides.

Turns out he resides in an incredibly spiffy pad with a quintet of incredible relatives. We had a lot of fun. Much conversation, caribu steaks for dinner (that Uncle Jim had killed), pool games in the wee hours, and more Corona and fresh, fresh limes off the trees out back than you could wave a can of Copenhagen at. And freshly rolled cigarettes. Every half an hour.

We also talked about business, college, love, life, and the internet. We replaced a motherboard in his computer, went to Mass, and ate fresh avocados and played with the dogs.

Sunday afternoon I drove back up through Ventura to Ojai, meanwhile wiring my blinkers to work via the simple operation of squeezing two out of three wires together... depending on which signal you want...

I stopped into the see Toque both before and after going to eat at a prof's house with my classmates. We played a few songs, had a few beers, and then I returned to campus.

It's always good to drive 250 miles and get a breath of fresh air in a weekend. Especially when you can be in the company of good friends.

I woke up at 8:00 this morning, in somewhat of a daze. I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes, and looked out the window. The San Bernadino mountains loomed large, and with the snow covering, they were frigid and beautiful, ominous and meaningful. I went back to sleep.

I wrote this in the middle of the night last night:

Isn't that great?!

I studied today. The artist formerly known as RelapsedNerd moved out, and so I have single dorm room here. (He convieniently left high-quality Cambridge Soundworks sound gear, which is fine with me...) The import of this change in living quarters is that I get my desk back. I have decidedly that at that desk, I will ONLY do school work. Thus, I now have a work place. I tried it out today, studying Lab and Theology at 'the desk,' and it worked really well. That's right, gentle readers: I studied today. I think it's a first this semester, and it was consequent on my liberty being regained yesterday, I do believe.

We are at the point in the classwork where I stopped studying last year (a few months after I started my blog, incidentally), and so studying is now necessary. Fortunately, I am enjoying it immensely -- in small doses.

I spent the first night of my freedom in Ojai, on the Green Monster couch. Went to Dargan's pub (the one in Ventura) and had a burger and a Boddington's, and before that went up to the old Crossing where we used to play every Friday night. The rain has completely changed the landscape -- it felt like the three of us were some of the first explorers on the moon.

The moon rose full over the hills before we left, leaving us only with a brief spell of drinking in the dark.

Today an incredible rain arched above campus, just a few minutes before sunset.

Time to go get dinner.

I missed another (!) Music class, because I went back to bed this morning after Lab and didn't get up until three pm. I've got to work on that.

And, oh, did I mention that I'm going Commando for the rest of Lent?

There are few music albums that I will stay awake just to hear at three in the morning, but this is one of them.

Ugh! I missed a class with that wonderful and spritely angel of music, MG today! What was I thinking?!! How could I?!! She only has so many classes left, you know, and I love every minute of class with her!

Since Crash Box has returned to Southern California, we have been playing a lot of music. Which is good.

Myself and G-Hud in Kenya, at the Dominicans, having a good time.

I woke up for morning class, and had two decent classes. The professor was absent for the first half of the first class, but we conducted it anyway, without him, like good third-year students. He came in in the middle of a heated demonstration and argument.

Anyways, we had a good Theology class, but we were missing our main Aristotelian scholar, and our main Platonist, so it was interesting.

The Aristotelian is especially nice to have because he elucidates much of how St. Thomas uses Aristotle...

The Platonist is just plain fun to have around, and her insights are keen as well.

I missed them both.

But anyways, the point of this post was to talk about my sleeping habits. After getting up for the two morning classes I went back to bed (at 11:10am) and didn't get up till quarter to four. What's wrong with me?!

I was hoping this day would never come: the day when I would have to blog about the demise of my favorite online news site: our very own Newsfeed Online.

I understand the reasons, the time contraints, the unfortunate realities that unpaid jobs cannot overcome...

I wish the reins had not been dropped, I wish that someone had been able to pick up the reins -- someone with the time on their hands, and the necessary prudence. I even thought of doing it myself. Alas, I am not in a position where I could.

I do not see the site being dormant for long.

-- Yonder Mountain String Band

Why haven't I setup a VoIP setup in the dorms, and cleaned up on those poor folks who are forced to spend thousands on prepaid-calling cards. Oh yeah, longdistance doesn't mean anything with most cellphones these days. Day-um. It may still be a good idea, though.

MacMini, step aside.

We PC dudes have been doing this for WAAAAAY longer than most people think.

This new XPC is watercooled, for starters. And quite a pretty penny cheaper as well.

Yeah, I realize it's quite a bit bigger, not quite as sexy, and doesn't have a slot-loading drive...

I do like the MacMini...

I talk on my cellular telephone quite a bit. (Did I spell "telephone" right? It doesn't look right to me, maybe that's because it has, for all pratical purposes, become just a "phone.") And when I talk on it, I usually carry around a corded headset to plug into the phone and to talk into and listen from.

This oftentimes results in people starting to talk to me, not realizing that I'm on the phone, but I'll save that subject for a later rant...

What I'm talking about is carrying all this equiptment around. The phone, which is pretty big in itself, and this cable, which I'm always frantically untangling as the phone is ringing beserk, and then stuffing it into my pocket when the call is done, only to pull it back out again. I feel like a WWII doughboy, one of the ones with the big radio antennae-thingie on his back, who the seargeant is always yelling at:

"Private! Private! Get the 'ell over 'ere, GAWDDAMMIT!"

Then the private has to sort of hunch over, all the while the seargeant is alternately cranking the damn thing into life and cursing, and slamming the telephone down. Shells expoliding in the background. John Wayne has a cigar tightly clenched in his jaw as he fires his machine with what seems like unlimited ammunition.

FREEDOM!!!

Look folks. Given the current propagation of high-speed internet, and the give-it-to-me-now-i-mean-right-the-f-now attitude of crass American commercialism and consumerism, there is no excuse for an online retailer of software to not provide a downloadable version of the software. Click, buy, download, install, instant gratification. C'mon, guys.

I just wanted to buy a chess game.

It was a good day... highlights included sleeping uptil 2:26pm, much guitar in the coffee shop (and a little chess and basket-weaving first), and then some wild network wiring in the wee hours of the night. It's 4:11am. I'd better go to bed before I get all time shifted again. Oh wait. Too late.

Wow, woke up at 2:26 pm today when someone buzzed my room. Decompression from the week, I guess. I made it to all my classes, and I was on time to 3/4 8:30 am classes. That's pretty durn good.

I get off-"campussed" wednesday.

My tablet PC is RMA'd successfully (I need to call DHL to have them come pick it up though), and a few other projects have been going pretty well too, work-related and so forth.

I've got to slot some time to do some work on the car, but it keeps raining.

I also have a few project to complete for my friends in Kenya...

Been playing a lot of chess.

Been going through a lot of Cope', too which is not good, but it's helping me get through it all, I suppose. I need to get back to my old workouts, I've just been doing the odd thing here and there to maintain.

Classwise Seminar is deathly boring, Lab is great, Theology is heavenly, Math is pedantic and mind-numbing, Philosophy is tedious, and Music is fun.

The only class I dread is Philosophy, really...

So there's the report...

It's been raining off and on all day here, but the rain started pouring down here suddenly, hard, in an outburst that made me think of Africa rain. Now, that's hard, chillun'.

The Pogues, Lorelei

TECH THINGS I WANT TO HAPPEN RIGHT NOW:

#56: I want EVERY ethernet card, onboard or PCI or what have you to be 10/100/1000 from now on. STOP MAKING 10/100 ethernet!

DREAM REPORT:

I had a series of vivid dreams last night. The one that sticks in my head was this one:

I've run out of my stash of ginger brew. If anyone's going to Trader Joe's soon, pick me up some. I'll pay you back. I like the raspberry stuff the best. It says "extra ginger brew" on it and had 26 grams of ginger per twelve-ounce bottle.

I'm going strong so far this week: 3/3 8:30am classes ON-TIME. Except for today, slightly, because I went to the wrong classroom first, but still... That's pretty good.

I've figured out that I've got to go to bed early wednesday night in order to get through the last two days of the week. Or take a decent-sized nap wednesday afternoon. Or both, like I did yesterday.

Now I've gotta relearn some of those chess openings that I used to know...

Traveling makes you learn things about yourself. It makes you learn things about your country. It makes you less tolerant of your fellow country men who trash your country.

A discussion came up recently about a man calling his country "the best country in the world," and whether that is something he should or should not do.

Well, I happen to think my country is the best country in the world. I think that perhaps it is a citizen's duty to think that his country is the best in the world. (Perhaps I am equivocating on best, here, but...). It seems that if a citizen's country is not the best in the world, he should work, tirelessly, to change that. And failing that...well I'll get to that in a bit.

It seems to me that many countries have been built up originally out of one culture, one people, one way of life. That is a good thing, a beautiful thing, in itself. It loses quite a bit of that 'cultural' beauty when the culture or country as a whole tries to impose itself upon another culture or country, at least in an oppressive way. The way that the Romans expanded their culture was to assimilate other cultures into their 'empire.'

It seems to me that the United States did not form from one culture, or one people, or one way of life. American culture is a mixture of all cultures that can be mixed together peacefully. As such, its 'culture' encompasses the foods, activities, religions, and so forth of many other cultures. This makes it a great place to live. Freedoms inherent in the Constitution and Bill of Rights and so forth -- as laid out by the founding fathers of this country -- are beyond what many other countries have.

People accusing the United States today of being 'empirical,' like the Romans were a few thousand of years ago. Perhaps it's not that actions of the USA that people are objecting to. Perhaps the USA is not being empirical. Perhaps other people, in other cultures, are tending towards the freedoms of the USA by their own choice. Like all those immigrants who started the United States did two hundred years ago.

So when I think that my country is the best, it is not a disparaging statement towards other cultures: it contains other 'cultures' and peoples into itself (perhaps not in full, but then, that's a tradeoff), and in effect, is saying that no one culture is 'the best,' but that 'the best' is to have as much of each one as it is possible to throw into the mix.

Perhaps that isn't coherent. I guess I'm saying that if Americans don't agree with that, they should emmigrate elsewhere. And if other people in other countries with less 'freedoms' agree with the USA's inherent beliefs, and are unable to change their own country, they should immigrate here.

Or maybe I'm just a stupid, pigheaded American fascist bastard. But I think we've got a good thing going here, and I think we need to fight tooth and nail to keep it going.

Sometimes when I sit in front of the computer, I think of myself as trading time for information. I sit here, and absorb information. Hopefully most of it is worthwhile. I dunno.

So my server went down hard today. Maintenance kept it out almost the whole day, and that means no blog, no email, no company website etc. Not good for business, or for blogging. I'm going to move to a new webhosting company soon. Maybe today. One with a better deal and more redundancy.

Now that's badass. And, incidentally, good tactics. Destroy the first and last tank, and the dudes in the middle are stuck. Like fish in a barrel. Or students at TAC.

Two-thirds of the way through morning lab class I was dying. I kept putting my head down on the desk, and then stuggling to raise it up for a few more seconds of attentiveness.

My thoughts, which were active in the first half of class, became nonsensical. I tried to explain something, went to the board, and drew a blank.

As soon as class was over I dashed up to the commons, smothered half a bagel in cream cheese (which is whipped! what?!), scarfed it, pounded a cup of orange juice (for the sugar), and grabbed a cup of coffee.

I headed back to class. I would have only been 5 minutes late to class (Lab having gotten out precisely on time), but I stopped to talk to MV, an old sectionmate of mine. So we caught up for a few minutes, and then I headed to class.

I got in sat down drank coffee.

Within half an hour my brain kickstarted itself again, and I read four articles to Thomas' Question 7 in English, and parts of that in Latin and plunged headlong into the discussion.

Even with my brain occasionally misfiring I felt like I was back in the swing of things, for the first time this year. It was a glimmer of academia, reminiscent of the past, and hope-full for the future.

I've got this great idea for this dorm 'activity.' You get two teams of guys, and two vacuum cleaners. And then it's basically a vacuum-cleaner war for the main floor area of the commons. You get two different colors of little, vacuum-able things, like peas or something, and the opposing teams get ballons full of these things that they can pop on the floor. Then whoever vacuums up the other teams color completely first wins. But the other team can sneak around and unplug the vacuum cleaner, and...

... maybe it's just 2 am and I'm hopped up on coffee.

It's all his fault.

This post has, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, inspired a stream of what I now call S.P.A.T.'s. I will hereby present them to y'all simply for the mocking streams of derision that will not doubt ensue. So there.

For Queenie, who asked. I'm not sure if this will really answer her, but it's a start, anyway.

At first I thought poetry was a different way of saying the same thing...

Problems with sleeping the whole damn day, #237: When 2 am comes around, you're still not tired.

And I beat halflife 2, so now what? I guess I'll study, so the classes I sleep through tomorrow will be the ones that I have best prepared for yet.

Roadtrippin'.

My favorite thing I heard said today.

I'm brainstorming for a name for a new email server for my company to host. You know like, me@email.com. Think up something to replace the email.com bit that isn't already taken and email me. IF I use your idea, I'll give you something, like a lifetime email account at that address.

I don't know what the hell is going on. I got up at 9:50 am, got some breakfast, jumpstarted at 15-person passenger van with my volvo, went back to bed, and woke up at 4 pm. Something with my time clock is royally screwed up. I wasn't even up that late yesterday.

Got some photos from my Vancouver trip. I'll post them after I compile, edit, and refurbished.

This is part of the Seattle skyline.

So I did my (computer) work from an undisclosed location on campus over hi-speed, I'm still disapointed by the lack of cell phone reception in my room, I have served 3 days worth of my 14-day "campus-ment," am a little bit sick, and looking forward to Saturday. I'm about do some "killin'," as a few of us here term playing Halflife 2.

Oh, and I'm going to make some instant oatmeal for my mid-night snack. I always mix one of the regular packets with one of the sugary packets. MG's grandpa died this afternoon; say some prayers for him.

Went to sleep last night. Physically COULDN'T get up this morning, in fact, not until after 2PM. Which meant I only made it to Math class, which was fun. I mean the class, not ONLY going to it.

All-school seminar was fun as well. I am really enjoying my classes. My brother and I flanked one of the tutors and caused commotion and confusion to ensue because we have the (gasp!) same last names.

Other person: "As Mr. T said,"
Me (interupting): I didn't say that!
Other person (correcting): "As Mr. T the Younger said..."

One person even said: "Messers T"

...refering to the both of us, when we were in agreement.

That being said, I see no reason for my brother not to be getting straight A's in his classes.

I think I'm an engineer. He may really be a philosopher.

Some of us like our new digs.

UPDATE: I like Sudafed.

I'm in a conundrum. Should I go for the basic setup and get a killer Mackie mixer with a firewire out option and keep it simple, or should I go right for the professional option and get a MOTU unit with more options and you can shake a pointed stick at? The MOTU works standalone as a mixer, but the goal is multitrack recording.

Wow, I'm sitting in my dorm room talking to my buddies on IM. This takes me back to ... college!

Incredible!

The winds have been blowing here, and I was up late last night working on computers that are 400 miles away. It's been frustrating because the speed over the EDGE network has not been good.

The winds that have been blowing have been wreaking havoc with my sinuses. I thought I was over allergies, but I have been sneezing and blowing my nose like a champ, all last night before I went to bed, and then today, even after the shower and the tea, which usually clears that stuff out.

But it just so happens that I have a few tablets of this lovely stuff left over from Africa. And I'm drinking Mate right now. I guess I'll be flying high in seminar tonight.

A conversation from a few seminars ago:

[...]

H: You GUYS are CRAZY!
Me: Well, you try going to this school for SIX YEARS!

I've have spoken with the Dean of the College and the verdict stands: two weeks confinement to barrack, erm, campus.

This was day one.

I'm still alive.

I went to afternoon Math class yesterday (Monday) afternoon. I had been up for close to thirty hours, which is not that much or that bad, but almost twenty-three of them were driving, some of it through snow-storms and fog and rain, which does put a kind of a strain on you.

I was so tired in class that I was either falling asleep or hallucinating. I would snap awake, and the sentences that people were saying would change their entire meaning. While hallucinating or awake-dreaming their words would be crazy, non sequiter, and hilarious. For part of the class it seemed to me that there were trees to my left, with little birds perched on them and singing. People were wearing these crazy cowboy hats, and pointy hats with feathers, and all kinds of stuff. It was raining in half the room.

I'm telling you folks, you don't need to do drugs. Just don't sleep for a while, and drive from Vancouver to Santa Paula straight. Then go to class. It's great.

--Samuel Adams

Oh, and folks...

It's FAT TUESDAY.

I sletp 18 hours, from 3 in the afternoon last night to 8 this morning. I was supposed to get up at 5 and do some work, but my body didn't let me. I vaguely remember the alarm and trying to get up... But it just wasn't going to happen.

I was in class this morning, fresh off the greatest sleep in my life, wondering why all these other people were yawning and tired. I felt great, and it didn't feel like 8:30 am normally feels at all.

Back. In SoCal.

I drove from 12:30 pm Sunday to 11:15 am Monday.

22 hours, 45 minutes.

Vancouver to In-between-Santa-Paula-and-Ojai.

Time for a quick shower, a quick lunch, a quick class, and bed.

When I transfer
The server
New shit will come to light.

Verizon Wireless (on their National Access - Broadband Access plan) has been disappointing... We've tried to remain connected throughout our 1300 miles of trip so far. And it has been quite flaky.

Between Ventura and San Jose we lost connection ten or eleven times (at least) which is an average of every 40 miles. Needless to say, this hurt our ability to play Party Poker considerably.

For a company whose registered trademark is "We Never Stop Working For You," this is despicable.

D: What's your motto, [name]?
[name]: I don't have a drinking problem. I drink, get drunk, fall down. No problem.

pause

[name]: It's kindof a long motto. I forget it sometimes.

P: What's your motto, D?
D: Um.

Listen up for upcoming audio blogs. That's right, we have been audio blogging some of the *critical* moments of this trip. Like our recent *experience* in a Greasy Spoon (tm), named "Tiny's".

WE'RE IN CANADA! YAY!

Actually, we're not. I lied. We are just leaving the Portland area and crossing into Washington.

I put in just about 17 hours behind the wheel, and then Paddy took over...

So, officially I'm campussed for two weeks starting Ash Wednesday. I didn't quite catch the official 'reason,' but I guess I find that out... I intend to appeal the decision as soon as I get back, because I believe that I didn't do anything wrong, and where there is no crime there is no punishment...

Blogging from In-N-Out in Davis. Ordered food, waiting for RR to come. Everyone is relatively well-satisfied with the trip so far, although we have only made it up here to Sac-town. Which is normally a 5-something hour drive up from school (when you can take the five). And we are eight hours into it. Hopefully our total trip time will still be in the 26-hour neighborhood.

Conflict, conflict, conflict. Life is essentially conflict.

Things you NEVER get back when you lend them:

#012: Duct Tape.
#160: Drill Bits.

For the record: I didn't play video games AT ALL yesterday.

I did play about 6 hours worth of guitar, though. We went to Ojai and sang some songs. I wanted to go to an open session of Irish music a professor's house, but promises and politics prevented me.

Someday talk to me about my theories about 'tall dogs.' A lot of what I think has been articulated (better) by Acidman. I think he should write a book about it, just for kicks. I mean really about leadership and stuff. And name it with a funky name and just have fun with it. Hell, if he doesn't do it, I might.

I don't like name-calling. If it's malicious, it's simply spitting -- spitting out venon or malice that's in your soul -- and it reflects badly on the one who does it.

However, if it's witty and clever, and done with a twinkle in one's eye and a joking smile and laughter, you can get away with calling anybody (almost) anything.

I went to bed at 7:27 PM last night. Got up at 8:08 AM. I needed some sleep.

-- Gin Blossoms, Day Job

Spent from Dinner till eight-something in the coffee shop with old friends, and some new-friends-that-are-in-the-process-of-becoming-new -friends, and some old-friends-who-are-like-new-friends-again. It was very nice.

Haven't really socialized much since being here. I think I am starting to adapt again. I have eaten two (count them) campus meals both today and yesterday. That's a big step up from a breakfast of instant oatmeal and four pb&j's.

Wired speakers into my (dorm) room. There's a certain satisfaction in using my hands to do something that requires physical skill (and not much mental interaction), patience, and so forth, and there's a real good in doing such a thing well. Makes you feel good, too.

I'm not sure that I'm really a philosopher.

Gotta go. Lotsa stuff cooking right now.

Random scene from outside the commons on campus. But the packing pallet looked so much like the ones in Halflife 2 that I almost took a crowbar to it.

Random photo from seminar today. The book we were reading was Shaskespeare's Tempest.

These are my pants after the hack episode today. It's not a very *HARUMPH* revealing shot, but you can kinda get the picture.

We had a great hackysack game today. It was the happiest I'd been since being here. Then my pants ripped, right from the seat all the way to the zipper in front. It was lucky I had underclothes on underneath, or it REALLY wouldn't have been dress code. I liked those pants. Needless to say, I didn't ride my bicycle back down to the dorm. I walked it.

My tablet came, but it doesn't work. It's DOA. Now I'm trying to figure out if the guy was trying to rip me off, or if it just happened. Like these things do.

Of course, it's under HP's warranty, but I kinda feel like the seller should take responsiblity for this.

Saw this on Mad Ogre. Did it. It worked. You should too. (I haven't installed the os yet, but I'm thinking on one of my junkie old laptops, just to see).

Meet Hyped. He's my new skull. His real name is Yorick.

- Alison Krauss

I've been doing a lot of work on the php file upload properties of my web-based control panel. The code that I've done is basically the giant's sh