Three Easy Payments and One Fucking Complicated One

I ran into my old neighbor today - the one who told me about the job opening where she works. She offered to drive me there every day because I don't drive and all, but I would feel kind of weird depending on her. But I do really need the money. It's a lawn cutting job, which is pretty tough, being out in the sun all day, but I've been told I can get up to 12 hours a day, five days a week. I'm thinking that would turn out to be a pretty big check, but I don't know what my hourly wage will be or if I'll get paid by job or what. I really need the money, so I think I'll do it anyway, even though I'll have no way of getting there and back and all. (my neighbor can take me there, but I don't know if she can take me home)

Today I also tried getting some footage of my Sony brand camcorder, but I had to give up. The thing is that it's a DVD HandycCam and I lost the software CD that comes with it, so I don't have a working driver or the software that lets you access and convert the video. I almost got something to work under Linux (I was using Windows because the camera is designed to work with it) , but then I did something wrong and can no longer mount the drive which really sucks. Sony doesn't offer as much as a driver at their site, and Pixela wants $45, which I don't have, for their lousy software, so I'm stuck with a $1,200 paperweight until I figure something out.

I saw the coolest thing thing from Stepone Studios today. I was watching Episode 5 and one of the guys (I think it was Danny) made a computer case from zip ties, two sheets of plexiglass, and four bolts. It was an open air design, so there was really no need for any fans. This would totally solve my problem. I would do it, but I don't know where to get plexiglass or four big enough bolts. In the video Danny said you could hang the computer on the wall, but I don't think I would. I'd keep it on my desk, but I might move it to the top to give my monitor come space to breathe, not that it really needs it or anything.

Oh and I got Mitch Hedberg's "Strategic Grill Locations" CD today. I like Mitch. He was a great comedian. He still is, but he used to be too. (That was one of his jokes if you don't know - "I used to do drugs. I still do, but I used to to") I like listening to Mitch because he always makes me laugh. He's just so mellow and everything. There's something about how he presents his jokes that's just really great. It's too bad he died a few years back. Now I'll never get to see him in concert. Maybe one day I'll meet him in some sort of an afterlife or something. I don't really know.

Pictures and Pirates and Projects, Oh My

I've been pretty busy lately. Yesterday I set up a myspace page so I could IM one of my friends, but it eventually turned out the IM function was down, so I had to send him an email instead. But I decided to set up a profile anyway, because I was bored. Within the first two hours I already had four friends (people I actually know - I didn't ask many people). It didn't seem like that many to me, but Jason thought it was a lot. I'm new to the whole social network things, so I don't know. I'm really enjoying my time on myspace because I got a chance to chat with some old friends and reunited with this girl I knew in high school. She's really fun to talk to.

I've also decided to upload some photos to flickr because all my friends are doing it and I had to upload my blog's profile photo there anyway. I haven't started yet, but I will very soon. Anyway, I was looking around at my friends photos and Joe had this picture of my dad that I found really disturbing. Not the picture itself, just the fact that he took it. But they used to work together, so I guess it's okay. My other friend, Jake became a photographer and he has some really cool pictures up. You can check it out here: http://www.myspace.com/thephotoblock. All the time I knew him I never knew he was interested in photography, which is weird.

I've decided to get a new case for my HP. I was going to buy one, but the semi-good ones are expensive as hell, so I'm going to take Jason's old one. I'll have to mod it so my hardware fits, but I think I can do it. I know I can do it, I just think I can do it with the tools I have. I'm pretty excited though because I've always wanted to mod a case, and now I have the chance. I used to watch The Screen Savers on TechTV back when those two things existed. There was a guy named Yoshi who could some of the most amazing things with to a case. I miss him and want to meet him in person and thank him for being so great. He's been "working" on a website for years, but has nothing up right now.

I've been working on a movie idea, too. I call it "Pirates of the Great Lakes" for lack of a better working title. It's going to be an action filled movie about software pirates set in a small town in Michigan. The problem is going to be making software piracy exciting. If you were wondering I'm pro piracy in the sense that good software is too damn expensive and people should be able to try it before they buy it. (more than just a demo version) I'm also an advocate of Linux and open source software, so I think I'll focus more on video games and music than commercial software. It's going to be great and I know I'll be interested enough in the project to actually finish it. Look forward to seeing it online sometime within the next five years. (seriously)


UPDATE: My Flickr page is now up if you want to take a look.

I hate Windows!

I hate Microsoft Windows. I'm not saying that just because it's the cool thing to say right now. I really hate it. I don't see why people would ever use Windows, outside of gaming purposes, of course. Many of the best games are unfortunately made exclusively for Windows and that monstrosity: DirectX. Many devices are also only supported under Windows, especially the hardware I have: my Compaq iPaq PA-2 (second gen MP3 player), Xerox WorkCenter XK35c (it actually prints under Ubuntu, but won't scan), some wifi cards (I'm looking at you, Linksys) and most any PDA running PocketPC (I can't live without my PDA, though I could copy software to the CF card and install it locally, if there is a non-Windows binary.)

Unfortunately, these peripherals are spread out between two different computers. The printer is attached to my HP (the one that overheats), and that's where I upload songs to my MP3 player. I can't just copy songs to the MMC because Compaq uses some proprietary file system and I've been unable to find a hack or even any information since the iPaq line is now PDAs. I would use my PDA there as well, but I ran out of sockets on my power strip, and I don't have an extra one avaliable. I rarely install software to my PDA anyway, I usually use it to read or play Tower Mogul. The wifi card is attached to the computer in my bedroom because I don't want to run a cable, and I'd need another router, and it would be a mess.

But I hate Windows because it is so slow. It takes ten minutes to boot Windows 2000 SP2 on my 166. This was a problem when I used it in my bedroom, but I stuck an Ethernet card in it, put it in the computer room, and now I have Vector Linux (Slackware based) installed and it runs beautifully at 800X600. My mom's computer is 300 Mhz, and it runs slow as dirt. I'm also running Windows 2000 there because she's been using Mavis Beacon to brush up on her typing skills she learned in High school (on an old-fashioned typewriter). I don't think my mom would really like Linux anyway because she gets turned around in Windows and the new interface would just frustrate her. Even my HP (2.08 Ghz) seems sluggish at times when running Windows, even though I'm anal about tweaking and maintaining the highest possible level of performance. I can run Ubuntu at 1600X1200 on the same machine without the slightest hiccup in performance, except for Firefox 1.0.5, which acts quite odd sometimes.

I just don't see why people like Windows. Linux is so much faster and there are so many great things about it. It's free, open source, and easy to download. I downloaded many ISO files at Linuxiso.org and I constantly got the maximum transfer speed (about 150K). There is so much software for Linux if you know where to look (sourceforge.net, kde-apps.org, etc.) There is software for Linux that can anything from controlling a model railroad or making coffee (no kidding) to providing printable (and PDA friendly) star-maps or video editing. There is this really good Adobe Premier alternative called Cinerella, which is open source, and of course, completely free. Linux is also really secure and versatile and blah blah blah.

But the best part about Linux: it's not Windows. It's anti-Windows.

And I'm sorry for ranting and raving and carrying on.

Urgh...

Bob died yesterday. I knew it was going to happen, and I prepared for it, but I had to actually watch him die. I couldn't do anything for him, and he suffered for the longest time. I thought he was going to die in hi sleep or something. I wish he would have died in his sleep. That way he would have at least been happy.

The worst part was when he tried to stand, then looked at me and meowed in a way that said 'help me.' He clawed his way out of my room where he was sleeping to get my attention so I could help, but I couldn't do anything. I just had to watch him die. He must have been wondering why I was just sitting there and not helping him like I always do. He must hate me right now. I would too.

I remember this one time I was playing with him on the kitchen table. He was always a feisty cat and wanted to fight. So I was playing with him pretty rough and he bit me hard. I raised my hand to hit him, and he flinched because he was scared. I never actually hit Bob and I don't know why I raised my hand to him, but I'm afraid he thinks I don't love him. And now he's gone and I can't do anything about it.

I remember this other time Bob caught a bird in our backyard. It was dark out, so someone let him in without seeing him, which was pretty common. I was on my computer in the dining room and I heard Bob run past, but I didn't look. Anyway, Bob took the bird in my Parents who were sleeping, but the bird was still alive. It started squawking and making all sorts of weird noises and my parents thought Bob got our bird, Lara. So they went around looking for Lara until I pointed out she was in her cage. Then my dad found the bird Bob caught and took it back outside. It was so funny, but I guess you had to be there.

To Cool or Not to Cool

So, I installed that fan today, and it doesn't work. Well, it work - it lights up blue and spins, but it doesn't do a damn thing for my heat problem. The problem is that it's an intake fan that sits in the PCI slot right under my video card. It blows air in toward the video card and then the video card blows air out toward the fan and it just kind of stagnates. The problem is the CPU anyway. I looked it up at AMD's web site (yes, I'm cheap) and it's supposed to run at around 23C, but mine runs at 66C (around 153 F). That's just too hot and the computer constantly reboots.

It all started when I bought Fable for my dad as a Christmas present. My computer (barely) met the recommended specs, but my integrated video (GeForce FX) wasn't compatible with video shaders. So I bought this card (a Geforce 6200) and now nv_4.disp causes Windows to crash. ( I only use Windows to play games and on my 166 because I can't get Vector Linux to recognize my WiFi card) For a long time I blamed the Geforce driver, and I went through a lot of different versions.

I was using dial up at the time, so it took forever to download the relative small (30 MB) driver files. I even ended up accidently uninstalling the Nforce GART driver. That was a huge mistake. But I eventually realized it was a heat issue. A few months ago I got an exhaust fan, but it really doesn't help much if at all. So now I have this new fan that I've been needing since Christmas, but it doesn't help. I think maybe if I switch the wires going into the fan it'll spin the other way and become an exhaust fan, but I don't know if it works like that. And I already tried disassembling the fan and flipping it around.

The underlying problem is that I have an HP and the case is very poorly designed. It's not particularly small, but the components are crammed in there so tightly that there is no room for additional fans. I put an exhaust fan on the back, but I'd really like an intake fan or two. (I'd need to keep the exhaust fan for an intake to be effective, so I can't just flip it around) I don't think the case is very aerodynamically efficient either, because the single fan really should do what I need. Either I get another new fan, or a water cooling system, but I'm poor and I'd probably screw it up anyway and get water all over my motherboard, hard drive, and new video card. (and the pretty blue fan)

So I decided to remedy my problem by doing one of the following (listed in order of difficulty): Removing the video card and fans and cutting my loses. Installing a blow hole in the top of the case, if I can find the room. Cutting a hole and installing a fan in the left and/or right side panel, provided the right panel can be removed and it wouldn't interfere with the mobo. Remounting the hard drive at a different location (either above the DVD drive or off to the side), cutting a hole in the front cover (after figuring out how to remove it), cutting a hole in the front of the case itself, and installing a fan to create a cross breeze. I'll get to work on one of those things as soon as I get my hands on a Dremel and something to cut through the aluminum case.

Michigan Sucks

Today I went downtown looking for a job. I owe Baker College $2,500, which wasn't my fault. Well, I'll take partial credit for not knowing all of the many financial aid stipulations. I want to go to another college (any other college) and they won't send my transcript until I pay them. I'm also paying off my student loan, at least my parents are, and they're starting to get impatient. It's not like I haven't been looking for a job or anything, it's just that I can't find one.

Two of the places I went in today were going out of business. Many of the others weren't hiring because they already had more than enough employees. The only places that I ended up applying at were places that never turn down applications, but they never hire anyone and just keep it on file. I applied at a pizza place that was actually hiring, but I was tired and kind of nervous when I filled out the application, so I made some mistakes and had to scribble some things out, so I don't know if they're going to think I'm a sloppy person or what.

I hate not having a job because I'm constantly told that I sit around the house all day and do nothing. I have a friend named Sarah who has the same problem, even though she has two jobs. Two jobs, and her parents still aren't satisfied. Actually, come to think of it, I have two friends named Sarah with this problem. Anyway, I feel like I should be doing more to find a job, but I don't know what it is. I mean, what else can I do? I don't have a driver's license and even if I did, I can't afford a car, so I'm stuck here in town.

And on top of feeling lousy for not having a job, it turns out my best friend Bob is dying from feline lukemia (yes it's my cat). In case you don't know, feline lukemia does the same thing to cats that HIV does to people. Now I feel bad because I never paid enough attention to him. I didn't ignore him or anything, I just haven't played whit him since he was a kitten, and I always wanted him to be an indoor cat, and now he's got this virus from some stray cat in the neighborhood. So I guess it's kind of my fault. I feel so bad for him right now.

But on the bright side of my life, uh, wait. I have nothing. I'm usually really good at ending everything with a bright note, but I can't think of any right now. I've been spending a lot of time with a special someone, which is great. And he always makes me feel better, but today I kind of insulted him for voting for Bush. I didn't mean anything by it, and I feel really bad. Oh, and I got a new fan for my computer, which I needed desperately. Anyway, I'm going to bed so I can get up early. I don't remember why, but I might in the morning.

Since When is Name Calling Nice?

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