Monday, June 16, 2003

    I'm Going on Vacation!


    Giddy up! It's time for vacation. I am actually still running around the house frantically, checking and re-checking the lists to make sure everything is packed. I am ready for (just about) anything. Of course there is always the chance that something unexpected will occur -- I mean, Tim is going to be around; and the unexpected is known to follow him.

    I am looking forward to a few days without having to worry about the stuff at home and work. I am looking forward to being able to sit around and drink beer and not worry about who is driving.

    I hope to have some fascinating stories to share upon my return.

    pero      @ 5:45 PM | œ | 14 comments

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    Thursday, June 12, 2003

    Hey Hey Hey -- It's fat Pero!

    Things are coming together around here, with yard work and repairs to my home, my deck, my fence and whatever else. The garage is probably going to stay in it's half-organized state for a while; time just is not on my side when it comes to getting all of this stuff done.

    If I was a cruel bastard, I'd stick all of Tim's crap out on the curb with the trash - but you never know if he really does have some trash-to-treasure collectible lurking in there somewhere. I'm afraid to even begin to dig through some of these dilapidated boxes to find out what exactly is in them - (literally it could be anything). Most likely, there are a lot of old toys that he can't part with or something similar. Either way, it is a two car garage and I'm a one car family so I don't care that much about it.

    I have just a few days left before vacation (it starts Tuesday for those of you that either forgot, didn't read previous posts or just don't care).

    I need to burn more mix CDs for the trip; since I've heard every CD I own so often I even know the songs backwards. I do hope to catch some of you guys on-line before I leave, but I also have Wireless internet access in some of the places (thanks to open networks that can be found if you know how to find them) so I may get to talk to you while on the road.

    I hope everyone's summer is starting out nicely - even if summer hasn't officially STARTED - I can see on the weather forecast that it's hot as hell in some places already so to me that means it must be summer.

    pero      @ 7:28 PM | œ | 9 comments

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    Monday, June 09, 2003

    I have been extremely busy the past week with a multitude of projects and tasks. These are piled on top of my already busy daily schedule. The garage cleaning process is going slowly, but it is at least progressing (somewhat).

    The dog's diagnosis is in. He has a Hypothyroid (underactive). This has caused him to gain 13 pounds (more than he really should have on his frame). The Vet put him on medication for this problem. I wonder how long it will take before his couch potato ass is zipping all over the house. (grin).

    I will post at least once more before vacation (17 June).

    pero      @ 2:52 PM | œ | 9 comments

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    Thursday, June 05, 2003

    Small-minded people seem to get a kick out of starting hoax virus alerts. I will never really understand where exactly the thrill in this phenomenon is, but I get alot of questions from people wanting my opinion on information or suggestions they receive in their email.

    I encourage the inquirers to research everything, no matter how legitimate it may sound, and no matter how much they trust the individual who forwarded the message to them. Researching these things is fairly easy as long as you have a good bullshit detector when you read certain message board sites. If in doubt, keep researching. My links page refers people to V-Myths which has a very good hoax reference section. This is by no means the *only* reference site, but it is an excellent place to start.

    Today, someone asked me about a "virus threat" that instructs a person to search for a specific file name, and delete the file immediately. The file they are having the person delete is a legitimate Windows system file. Most of the poor souls that actually do delete this file don't know how to extract a .cab file from the OS system disks, so they can potentially cause all types of problems for their computers and themselves.

    I am glad that people seek my opinion, but I also want them to know how I come to find the answer when they ask. I want to teach people how to find the answers, so that they can pass on the knowledge. Eventually the thrill seeking hoax bloomers will lose interest and move on to play video games or possibly get an education and do something worthy that will benefit society.

    Before you panic over a virus warning you receive via email, do the research. It takes less time and effort than having to format and reinstall because you deleted win.ini at the suggestion of some goon.

    pero      @ 4:07 PM | œ | 7 comments

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    Monday, June 02, 2003

    The cycle of falling asleep quickly but waking up often after fragmented and strange dreams continues. I really don't think there is anything worth analyzing here, but I woke up amused at how stupid this really is.

    I was walking down the highway in what I guess was a bad area in some city that I had never been in before. There were three other people with me. We decided our best bet would be to take the bus, so we ran across an 8-10 lane highway (or freeway) and stood in LINE at the bus stop. It was very late at night so I have no idea why there were so many people running around.

    A sign outisde the bus read : ONE WAY ride only. Fare per person $2.02. NO REFUNDS. I stepped on the bus realized I had no cash, but this bus accepted payment in food, cash or credit card. I reached for my wallet but it was gone. I realized I that lost it somewhere in the weird city, and started to panic. Someone behind me yelled at me to HURRY THE HELL UP and stop holding up the line.

    All I had on me was a BLT sandwich, cut in half diagonally (toasted). I quicky calculated that this sandwich cost me $5.75 at Denny's so I shoved half of the sandwich into the fare-box. It looked like a regular bus fare-box so this made a mess. Mayonnaise smeared everywhere and the driver looked at me in shock and revulsion. Then the display on the fare-box lit up and made a sound (DING!) - PAID - Thank You.

    I apologized, telling him that I wished I had money but I lost my wallet somewhere and I proceded to board the bus. Inside it was filthy and designed like a 50's style diner -- it had booths and tables instead of regular bench seating. There was one empty booth in a corner so I sat at that one. My friends were still in line waiting to pay.

    I was starving so I took the remaining half of my BLT out and considered eating it. The mayonnaise was oozing out everywhere, and I really didn't know if I wanted to eat it. I hate mayonnaise. It had been sitting out for a while and the mayonnaise had turned jelly-ish and crusty.

    An old man slid into the booth and looked at me and pointed his dirty finger at my sandwich, close enough that his finger was less than two inches away from it. "That isn't that chicken mayonnaise is it? I ate it once but I don't like it much... No, me, I like the regular kind."

    I looked at this man, wondering where in the hell he tried chicken maynnaise. I wondered if maybe he was talking about dijon mustard. I decided to just talk to him like he was normal, since all I wanted is to get home without being robbed. "Nah, I think it's just regular mayonnaise. It's not a chicken sandwich it's bacon, so I don't know why someone would use chicken mayonnaise on it."
    As stupid as that sounds when you read it, it sounded normal when I said it in the dream.

    "I used to eat bacon. I don't eat it any more." said a different voice. I looked up and another man was sitting in the booth behind me. He had twisted himself around in such a way that he could see us and talk to us.

    "Is that right?" I asked him. I was sort of curious to find out what these people would say next. They all seemed so weird.

    "Ah-Yup." he said. "They changed the way it looked to fit the new design. It confused me so I don't eat it anymore." Then he turned around and started talking to one of my friends, who had been seated at the booth with him.

    Then I woke up. I can't fall back asleep, I tried for about half an hour. I wanted to document that dream in the event that I run into someone talking about chicken mayonnaise or re-designed bacon. I hope I can remember to ask them what in the hell they are talking about.

    I don't think it is MUCH of a dream, I am not sure what the point was or where it was going.

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    pero      @ 11:25 AM | œ | 10 comments

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