Nick's Rants

Number 34, the last blogger blog to be blogged. :(

I still have my flu-e-cold-ish-thing. Doing much better though, thank you. Thursday it was just starting, from about 2am to 2 pm friday was the worst, barely breath, coughing, lots of draining, horrible. Started getting better after that (as if it could have gotten worse).

Was bored, so I went to leoville.com, and Leo said that he heard rumors around that TechTv might be sold, which got me all reminiscent of old TSS episodes, when the network was really awesome, as ZDTV. So I go to the TechTv.com and I see they have a WMV of the VERY FIRST EPISODE, EVER. With Leo and kate and UGM 1.0 (though it wasn't 1.0 yet because there were no successors planned) with an amazing PII 300 and 128MB RAM, WOW. Anyway, so then I see the links to everyones webpages, and go through them all, except kevin's, because it says it was down and just gives a link to go somewhere else for now. So when I'm on Sarah's blog page, there's a link to that same site kevin had posted, so I go there. OH MY GOD! It's the greatest show ever, you have to watch it. Yes, it's an 85MB download, yes you need to go get a DIVX player, but its so worth it if you even remotely like this stuff. Oh, you need the link huh, here.

Also, check this out, entertaining at the least.

What else. Hmm. Going to do a lot of work on website soon. I need to. My HTML class isn't til October, so can't depend on that pushing me. I really am going to try though, I promise.

I went to a family reunion in Munger today. Not my family, but close. My "Grandpa" Jack was there, we haven't seen him in years. He lives in a VA nursing home in GR now, used to come over all the time though. He recently recieved a medal for fighting at Normandy in WWII. Here's the PR. As old as he is, and as bad as his hearing and eyes are, you could see how happy he was to have gotten it.

Ok, I guess thats it. See you wednesday for my 3rd blog at the new blog. Actually I'm not real sure on numbering scheme. Guess it would be number 37 huh. Yeah, number 37. If anyone has suggestions as to what I should work on, improve, or add to the blog, website, or anything, please let me know.

Ohh, I almost forgot.

1 Nicholas Yax
2 Jason Julian
3 John Pauwel
4 Nicholas Suchya
5 Lauren Somalski
6 Robin Yax
7 Stephanie Ricker
8 Scott Helber
9 Troy Histed
10 Rachael Zieve
11 Barb Courtney
12 Jacob Courtney
13 Connie Yax
14 Danielle Pilon

Thats all of you. Sad isn't it. Over 3 months, and only 14 people, and I'm one of them. granted, you may have showed other people, but I doubt it. But I guess thats one of the great parts about having a blog. You can say anything you want, because nobody actually reads it. I have IP address logs to prove it. Ok, thats all.

later,
nick

those that don't believe in war,
remember all who fought and died to allow you that belief.

Number, uhm, 33.

Short one this time, because I am miserable. Either allergies, or a flu-ish thing. I'm not running a temp, but I seldom do. My normal body temperature is in the high 96s to mid 97s, and I am at 97.8. My brother had a flu, was running 99.9 temp, mom seems to have the same thing, so probably is a flu.

The next post on Sunday will be the last one here on blogger, then switch to my .mac page on Wednesday, though I will probably post there on Sunday or Monday. Haven't transfered these blogs to new blog yet, will work on it when I feel better.

Went to Delta last night about 10:30 to look at Mars thru the college's 13" Newtonian telescope. Looked amazing, if you can get out anytime this week to check mars out with even a decent pair of binoculars, do it. My 4.5" Newtonian showed more than I've ever seen, but the 13 is amazing. I could see a few mountain ranges, and clearly see the polar ice cap (it's dry ice, carbon dioxide, not water).

Less than a week until school starts, actually my first class is next Thursday. I finally realized that Delta is starting late because of all the construction on campus. Can't believe is took me that long.

Uhm, ok, thats it I guess. I am probably going to sleep soon, really not feeling good.

later,
nick

If at first you don't succeed, deny trying at all.

Number 32, wow. First post was May 27th, so almost 3 months. Only 2 more posts here though, then the move.

I realized today that I only have about a week left before school starts. Granted, most of you are already back in school, but hey. This year shouldn't be too bad, only taking 8 credit hours, and there not that hard of classes.

Cable modem is still hovering in the 1.8 MBit/s range, although it was outright down most of today, last night, and a while saturday too. Stupid asses at Charter couldn't fix your connection if it were just an unplugged ethernet cable. They say "It's probably the router, try connecting a computer directly to the modem." Well, if you shitheads ever get around to erasing my MAC addresses off your server so it doesn't think were supposed to be in Essexville, then that would work, but for now I can't. FOUR MONTHS, AND THEY STILL HAVEN'T ERASED OUR MAC ADDRESSES, FOUR MONTHS! And it cant be the router, because its been hooked up and working fine for over a month now. If Charter would hire people who have an IQ higher than their age, we wouldn't have this problem. Tech support shouldn't consist of a bunch of no-brains reading the troubleshooting manual from the computer in front of them, a 5 year old can do that. And when I told them I didn't have a Charter modem, that I bought my own, he claimed that other modems don't work with the system, and that was my problem, HAH! Idiots.He also said that my speed tests were in-acurate and there is no way I'm running at 1.8MB/s, and the modem was only configured at 768k. Well, 5 different test, including 2 of Charters, all say I'm between 1.68 and 1.85 MB/s. And, the cable modems status page says I'm configured for 2,000,000 bps, so nearly 2.0MB/s. Idiots, freaking idiots.

Anyway, I think thats it. Good luck in school this year! See you thursday for 33rd post, then Sunday for 34th and final on this blog. I will put a link to new site on the last entry for all you who don't know where its moving. Or you can just click the link to my homepage at the right.

later,
nick

Hey all! Guess what I did... I hurt my back again. It was sore on wednesday, but yesterday morning I bent over at work, and schwack! Is feeling better now (vicodin does that).

There is now proof that Apple will be releasing a wireless bluetooth keyboard and mouse in the near future. As a laptop user I don't particularly care, but eventually I would like to get a G5 machine, and then it will be cool. besides, how many companies make bluetooth keyboards and mice? Exactly.

Only 3 more posts on this blog, then I switch to the new one. The new blog will separate posts into 3 categories: general, apple, and boredom. Will allow you to read all, or just the ones you care about.

I am upset with Apple because my Unix book talks about all these cool games in unix, but Apple didn't port them to darwin. Bastards. And installing apps into unix isn't something I feel up to quite yet.

"the Battle of Shaker Heights" opened today. If any of you want to go see it, let me know, because I want to. Of course, if you live far away I don't think that will be possible (that means you danielle, steph, and lauren).

On my birthday (sept. 8) at 9 in the morning, I get to take the apprenticeship test for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW). My Unix class starts at 12, so I will need to see how long the test is. I just re-read the letter and it doesn't list an approximate length. If anyone knows how long it could be (scott?) let me know.

Well, I can't think of much else to say, so I will let you go til Monday. Have a good weekend!

nick


"Now I want you to remember that no bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. You won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country "
General George Patton

Wow, that means like 90ish days on the blog. I think this is day 88, and it will be 90 days the day before the 31st post. Oh, well, anyway.

THE G5s SHIPPED!!!!!!!!!!
Yesterday, the single processor G5s were shipped in limited quantity to Apple Stores and Apple Authorized Resellers across the nation. Yeay!!!

I paid for my classes and got 3 of my 4 books today. On chapter 4 of the Unix book. It says "Do not choose a password that is even remotely related to Star Trek or Monty Python." Guess thats just more proof of how many geeks use Unix. Also "Unix is a set of tools for smart people." Yes, yes it is. So Java, HTML, C++, and Unix/Linux OpSys. The nice part is they are all in C wing of delta, except Java which is an internet class.

I re-calculated my uptime, and that record was 12d 11h 59m. The uptime monitor has a habit of crashing, but now I know the unix command to figure it out myself, Bwah-hahaha!

"If you ever get a message from userid root, be very polite. You are talking to someone who can wipe you out of the system with a single command." See how Unix mimics life? Isn't it cool?

Ok, Its taken me 15 minutes to write this much because I keep reading the unix book, so I am going to give in. At this rate I will be done with the book before school starts on the 4th. Anyway, you all take care, and have fun away at college. Most of you are starting Monday I believe, CMU and NMU are, right? Anyway, bye!

nick
I have enough quotes up there ^

Well, still running at 1.8MBit, downloading 5MB mp3s in a mere 20 seconds is awesome, when I can find hosts that are running that fast too.

I downloaded the security update for OS X yesterday, not realizing it was going to make me restart afterward. So I just minimized the installer into the dock and ignored it for a few hours. Then the computer started acting screwy and I decided that I mind as well just do the restart, though I probably could have fixed it. So the record is at 10 days, 12 hours, and 8 minutes. I had hoped to make 14 days, but the ibook gets too unstable, dirty memory problems. Maybe after I upgrade the memory it will be better.

Jason is dead, has been at least a week since I saw him online or anything. Heck, I've seen troy since I saw jason, and Troy is only on like every 3 months. Well, maybe more, but only like 2 or 3 times since school let out at end of april. Anyway, RIP Jason!

Everyone is leaving for school. CMU, MTU, and , uhm, pretty much everyone I know goes to those two actually. Poor saps, delta doesn't start until Sept. 4th, HA HA! (Nelson style) Maybe they will read blog more this way, being so far from me and all.

My financial problems are fixed, so I will be going to school this semester. I'm glad, I wouldn't accomplish anything otherwise.

I have posted 2 entries to new blog, to see how it works, and done some updates on the website. I will post a list of all 14 people who viewed this blog on the final post on Sunday, August 31st, 2003. Funny how it worked out that way. Anyway, I am looking forward to it. I can play with the design more, since its just an HTML template, and can put pictures and stuff right in the blog. Will be cool.

An update from a while back, when we went to Mt. Pleasant to get mom's car, we ate at Genji Steakhouse and Sushi Bar in Midland. Very Benihana like. Sushi was small and expensive compared to Hello Sushi, though a greater selection. And price was high, considering that they really just stuff you with sticky rice. I suggest if you want to try it, go for lunch, it's cheaper.

How about that black-out. We lucked out, lost power for about 3 seconds because 2 of Consumer's generators got knocked off from the surge. Really makes you realize how dependent we are on electricity though. Gas pumps, card swipe door locks, elevators, traffic lights, cell phone towers, so much that we take for granted and don't even think about needing electricity.

My Uncle John is in town, the rich one. Came in this morning, leave tomorrow night. Staying at a friends house though, so makes it easier on us. He was here this morning, but I was still sleeping so missed him. Sure he will be back though. I haven't seen him in 7 years, wow.

Ok, I think thats about it. I will be back on Tuesday for number 30. See you all then.

nick

Look, I'm on time!

That fluke with my connection running over-speed is back. It was at 1.8Mbit on friday, then slowed to sub-normal for a while, but returned on sunday to the 1.8Mbit level, and has hovered there since. I love this, I can download at around 230 kbytes/second, which is SOOOO fast its scary. I just hope Charter isn't charging us for this.

My brother has moved back in, long story. He found that living with friends can turn out to be not as great as you expected, and that life is harder than you think. The problem is, he wants his half of the bedroom back, bastard.

I have began moving the blog. The new address is here on my main webpage. I will wait until at least the end of this month to move, and will move all the archived posts from here on blogger to the new page. We'll see how it works out.

I might not be going to school this fall. I am having some problems with financial aid, and need to be paid by tuesday. I'm not sure how to get $1000 in a week, probably will need to get a loan and pay back whenever fin-aid comes in.

My cousin Danielle saw my blog while she was in town, and thought it was really awesome. Before she left home to PA, we set her up her own blog . She's doing better at posting than me, but then again she doesn't have a life (as if I do).

Well, I guess thats it. I will try getting website and new blog running soon, but no promises. This fin-aid stuff is really bugging me, and will definitely be my priority project.

Oh, and uptime is at 9 days, 7 hours, 25 minutes. Have had 1,134,799 pageouts during that time. Actually, if I start VirtualPC, I can hit 15 or more pageouts at a time. By the way, a pageout is what happens when you run out of RAM, and your computer needs to access Virtual Memory on the Hard Disk instead. Right now, I have 11MB of RAM free, but has been less than that generally. I need to put some real thought in weather I should get AirPort card or RAM first. We will see.

Ok, hasta lasagna
nick

Remember, warning labels are there because somebody else already tried it
If somebody thinks that blow drying your hair while your still in the shower will save some time, I say let them try.

Holy fudge, I did it again. I was supposed to post friday night. I thought I was, but it seemed too soon. I should have checked I guess. Oh well, not much I can do about it now, unless I edited the html to make it say I posted on time, hmm. No, I shall leave it.

Anyway, the reason for this post is I thought I should let you all know that friday was officially 1 month til my 21st birthday. I haven't had a "party" in a long time, but if any of you want to come by or something, maybe we can pull something together. So thats Monday, September 8th, 2003. I doubt anything will happen, because nobody even reads this damn ting, but I will let you know if I see you too, so maybe I can get something anyway. I'm not trying to sucker gifts out of you, just letting you know.

Ok, thats all.

Guess the next post is number 28 on monday, see if I can remember this time. Maybe I should go to posting Sundays and Wednesdays, rather than every third day, I haven't been doing to well at keeping the schedule right.

Whatever, see you later.

nick


P.S. Ok, its 2:36 now, and I posted the above at 2:15, right, ok. So anyway, I am insanely bored and should be sleeping, but am not, so I was reading old posts. I found errors up the kazoo, and decided on the new schedule. My first ever post was on Tuesday, May 27th, 2003. If you count every third day from then to now, you end up on Sunday, August 10th, 2003 (today). So, rather than an update on Monday, it will be now, this is it. And I will try to stick to the 3 day thing better. If, however, I fail to do so, I will begin posting on Tuesdays and Fridays to simplify things. So thats the plan, and if you like or dislike it, let me know. By the way, I find the old posts absolutely hillarious. I remember what I was thinking on most of them,and it's cool to be able to go back. Guess thats it. I need to go to bed, so that I can get up and do nothing tomorrow. Another thing, that book I was reading about Apple, haven't touched it in over a month now. I said I would keep you updated on it, so there it is. Too busy I guess. Ok, I'm leaving, really.

night
nick

The Macs are Back

Yep, Best Buy has macs again. They have been going on and off their website all week, but it seems they will now stay. They are also available at a few stores (not ours) and are to be featured in "several ads" as of tomorrow, not known yet if this means weekly circular or on-line ads though. Currently, the website lists emacs, imacs, ibooks, and powerbooks, plus keyboards, mice, and displays. Interesting note: Apple displays use a proprietary ADC jack for connection, that carries power, USB, and DVI signal to the monitor, but only the PowerMac carries this jack. The only other mac capable of connecting to an ADC display is the PowerBook 15" and 17", which have DVI output but require an adapter for ADC. So Best Buy sells the displays, and the PowerBooks, but not the adapter, and no PowerMacs, making the displays unusable. Perhaps they are waiting for the G5 to sell Powermacs. We will need to wait and see.

Ok, went to a bon-fire last night and was ravaged by mosquitos. I look like I have a disease or something now. Mom keeps yelling "put this on," "put that on". "It's not working woman!!!!!" All that brings relief is itching, but there are too many!

I made it to 4 days, 3 hours before restarting. At about the 4 day mark though, a glitch in the finder made draging stop. For some reason, when I clicked an icon and tried to drag it, it didn't move. Fiddled with stuff for a while, but finally gave in and restarted. At 5 days 7 hours 31 minutes now (11:40 pm).

Yesterday our cable modem was running rather slow for a while, as was several peoples I hear. So at around 8 pm I was downloading a file and got this insane download speed, and was really freaked out. Ran a speed test at DSLReports.com and got this. Yes, 1.8 MBit, on a 768 kbit line. Thats more than double our standard speed. heck, Charter only offers up to 1.5 MBit to consumers. It (sadly) returned to normal after about an hour.

Well, can't think of anything else. Guess I will talk to you all tuesday at blog #27.

nick

Why aren't you people buying my stuff?!

Aghhh!

Life sucks. You can never do anything up to anyone else's standards, but if you quit trying you just get it worse. You can do anything and everything they want, and even more, but they can always find a fault. It's useless to clean your room, because the door is closed, so who notices, even if it took all day. And if the tell you "dont worry about the ...", that better be the first thing you do, or you better stay far from it. Depends on their mood, and your a mind reader to know, because your "perfect like them".

Sorry, bad day, well, bad 15 minutes, but enough crap for about a week.

This is number 25, might be a milestone or something. Don't seem to well at those though, so we will forgo anything special.

Working on getting bedroom in order, now that all the little people are gone. Have been trying to do this since we moved in in what, april? Good luck, huh... Not going to bad really. Just need to press on I guess.

Ok, you all go enjoy your busy little lives, with your happy little families. I'll just sit here in hell and wait to die. Don't mind me, I can take it, I hope.

Horribly depressed,
nick

don't kick a gift horse in the mouth. It's senseless, you'll never tenderize that thing.

It's the first time, but I did it.

I'm late.

Technically not though. I generally post a day late, but only by like an hour, not 23. Oh well.

My allergies were REALLY bad last night, went to bed early.

I did see Bad Boys 2 last night though. REALLY good movie. Definitely see this in the theater, don't wait for the DVD (If your waiting for the VHS, I will kick you, no, really). You don't need to have seen the first one, but it was a good movie so see it anyway, got to help a little.

So I hurt my back, and hit my shin with a sledge hammer, well now I whacked my knee getting out of the shower. Dislodged my knee cap or something. I suck.

Finally got CATV and Ethernet upstairs. My TV cable was kinked though, and the reception is suffering. Am going to check the connections, try our amplifier first, but will probably need to re-run the cable.

Downloaded Konfabulator and CandyBar, Both really cool. Konfabulator puts Java widgets on your desktop. You can choose from 1100 pre-made or make your own, anything from weather to calendars and mp3 controls to system uptime monitors (at 3 days, 10 hours and 29 minutes now). CandyBar replaces all the finder icons system wide. Folders, disks, the trash, network files, audio files, movies, toolbar icons, all of it. Konfabulator is free, though they do ask for a donation. CandyBar is $12 something shareware, free for like 2 weeks.

My cousins and everyone is gone now, (woohoo). My other uncle is supposed to be in town in a couple weeks for his high school reunion. Haven't seen him in 7 years, since our first year on Wagner.

BTW, my birthday is September 8, just 36 days away (HINT HINT). I will be 21 and no, I will not buy you alcohol (without a bribe anyway HINT HINT).

Well thats all for now. Back to normal schedule, as if I hadn't missed.
Number 25 on Tuesday

nick

"I see fraged people"