Plunderer Extraordinaire

Our One Demand

2012-02-15T00:09:00.000-06:00

Our One Demand

I concur. Do you concur doctor?

Adventure Games

2012-02-11T00:56:00.000-06:00

Oh no. People are giving Tim Schafer, and a bunch of adventure game creators, including Ron Gilbert; a huge pile of money! This is IMHO a bad thing; let me explain:

The very first game I ever owned, that I didn't have to program myself was Wishbringer. It was a beautiful game, it came with this little quartz rock (the wishbringer..) and a booklet printed on some kind of fancy paper. I loved that game, I couldn't even figure out how to deliver the letter to the Magic Shop; I got absolutely nowhere!!

When my dad got a PC, I got Rise of The Dragon. I completely failed to complete that game. I'm proud to say that I think I did figure out how to get the main character killed. It's progress of a sort.

Then came, Day of the Tentacle. I don't quite remember how I came to play this game. I think my friends were all playing it and having a grand old time; so I gave a whack at it. The third time was the charm; I learned an important lesson - I suck at adventure games; and therefore kind of hate them.

So; now there is going to be this big blockbuster release of a modern adventure game; created by the masters of adventure game making. My friends will all play it, and they will get reminisce over all the inside jokes while sharing tips and tricks on how to complete it. While I, left out in the cold; stew in my hatred. - It's going to be Monkey Island all over again. - Ba!

Bus dodging

2011-12-30T16:12:00.001-06:00

http://www.penny-arcade.com/resources/just-wow1.html

I don't for one minute believe the spin that this N-controller company is putting out. The whole debacle stinks of a publicity stunt. I implore my gaming brethren to take this all the way. Our fury shouldn't be personal. Paul Christoforo deserves scorn, but he's human; he deserves to learn from this and move on (at least to his next lesson, he doesn't seem to learn very fast.) However the company that paid him isn't a person; it deserves our untempered wrath. Don't accept the premise that this is about Moisès Chiullan throwing Paul under a bus. I care about that less than I care about the details of there shipping problems.
THIS IS ABOUT GAMERS REFUSING TO BE BULLIED.
This is us throwing them under the bus.

Root of all evil

2011-12-11T21:21:00.001-06:00

I've gotten some very nice presents for my birthday so far, and it's not even quite here yet (December 14, 1979 - Wednesday).

Thanks Dad and Chris for the Settlers of Cattan book, and the Chukar Cherries. We're already half way through the Cherries and I hope to start the book tonight. My Mom actually came out to visit and she took Gretchen and I out to a very fancy Italian resturant.

These gifts have gotten me thinking about money and I just spent about an hour reading about the national debt. I finished reading even more confused than when I started.

I'm very concerned that all of the information out there has been tainted one way or another by political motivations; for example: When Scott Walker was elected in Wisconsin, he met with his allies and asked them to get him as much financial leverage as they could. He, and his allies, then used that leverage to great effect to push through legislation that was related to finances, but motivated by his, and his supporters ideology. Threating the finances of a state to promote an ideology is treasonous. - Proving his motivations to get him sent to jail would be, probably impossible; and probably not deserved - I'm sure he felt he was doing the right thing; I just don't like the way he did it. Means don't justify the ends and all that.

The national debt is certainly a serious problem, but with so many political and wealthy people recklessly crusading, and using unbridled demagoguery, figuring out what information I can trust is quite difficult.

I think I need a stronger historical knowledge of countries, and their debts to properly frame this issue.

Thankful for not being dinner.

2011-11-24T13:46:00.001-06:00

Pets - not food.

The DOOM bell has rung!

2011-11-04T00:19:00.000-05:00

DOOM!

Hard Drive Shortage

2011-11-01T22:22:00.004-05:00

I just read three "news" stories saying that if your in the market for a new hard drive it might be better to buy one sooner rather than later as hard drive prices are likely going to go up in the next few months.

Idiots!

If the "journalists" responsible for these pieces of copycat poop reporting knew anything they would know that some hard drive prices have nearly tripled! A Hard drive I particularly like The Samsung HD204UI Went from about $90 to $160 - yesterday. Today that same drive is $210.

Luckily I have eight of them sitting on my desk; unfortunately I really wanted to buy four more. So now the big question, what lies ahead: Do I buy four more now, or do I wait as long as I can?

I remember when I was younger a memory factory burned down (way back when when Pentium was a new word). It took, what seemed like, years for memory prices to come back down. But of course by the time prices started coming down, everyone was using DIMMs and SIMMs were worthless (Or some other such technological improvement - I don't remember precisely).

With SSDs increasingly becoming popular; I think it will mean many more people trying SSDs. Once you've tried an SSD it's very hard to go back; hard drives just feel so incredibly slow afterward. So that's my prediction; buy just as few hard drive as you can, cause the world will, to one degree or another, switch to SSD storage. By the time hard drives feel cheap again, you won't want them; you'll have your SSDs.

PS: It snowed on my house today, first time this year. I hope the new tires for my snow-blower arrive soon.

PPS: Please be real E-cat.

PPPS: Graph of the increasing price of my favourite hard drive.

E-Cat

2011-10-29T01:27:00.004-05:00

Ever read a science fiction book that goes on and on about a space ship, or a society, that uses tremendous amounts of power; while the source of that power is summed up with only two words: cold fusion.

e-catworld

Life on this planet is just starting to get interesting.

Deseret Peak

2011-10-05T20:11:00.002-05:00

Large Size Here

Love you all, thanks for visiting my site!

Tour De Coups

2011-06-26T19:46:00.003-05:00

Yesterday Gretchen and I went on the Tour De Coups! Some of the chicken coups were very impressive; even more impressive was some of the things people were growing in their back yards. One couple had a veritable forest of produce! It gave Gretchen some good ideas for the garden, and helped renew my chicken coup building inspiration.

Also a bit of old news; I got a RAID card a week or two ago:

My array is up and running, and I've already expanded it twice! I hope to migrate it to RAID 6 and add a hot-spare before July 8th; but we'll see how it goes.

Gentoo maintiance

2011-06-12T16:11:00.005-05:00

After running Gentoo for years, if not always on my primary computer, I'd like to think that I've learned a thing or two about how to keep my system up to date. So here is a list of the commands/utilities that I use to keep my system running smoothly

emerge-sync
emerge --update --deep --newuse world
dispatch-conf
revdep-rebuild
(Repeat the last two commands until they both finish with nothing to do.)
lafilefixer --justfixit
eix-update
eix-test-obsolete
(if obsolete packages are found remove or, more likely,
upgrade them and run revdep-rebuild and dispatch-conf again)
emerge -av --depclean (*** be careful with this one ***
It's suggestions on what to remove are sometimes dumb.)
eclean distfiles
emaint --check world
emaint --fix world

Many people have told me that doing an emerge --depclean can bork one's computer. But I've never had any trouble with it, until today. I wasn't paying enough attention, and it removed Python. A whole bunch of stuff is dependent on python, including emerge itself. So I had to unpack, configure and make python manually:

cd /tmp/
tar xjf /usr/portage/distfiles/Python-2.6.6.tar.bz2
cd Python-2.6.6/
./configure --with-fpectl --infodir=/usr/share/info --mandir=/usr/share/man
make
make install prefix=/usr
(You might have to fix the python symlinks in /usr/bin/; especially
if you are not installing the same version that was removed)
emerge python
cd
rm -rf /tmp/Python-2.6.6
eselect python list
eselect python set 2
(On my system Python2.6.6 was first, and python 2.7.1 was second.)
python-updater
rm /usr/bin/python2.6
rm /usr/bin/pydoc2.6
rm /usr/bin/2to3-2.6
rm -rf /usr/include/python2.6
rm /usr/lib/libpython2.6.a
rm -rf /usr/lib/python2.6
emerge --oneshot =dev-lang/python-2.6.6-r2
(Just to make sure I deleted all of the manually installed python.
If I missed anything it would result in a file collision)

Then I started my regular maintenance cycle above over again. The old Python 2.6.6 was removed, and everything continued to work because python-updater had switched all the python dependent programs over to Python 2.7.1

After going through all of this I realized that the problem was caused by upgrading from python version 2.6.6 to 2.7.1 - and not running python-updater afterward. All the programs that use python were still set to use version 2.6.6; while emerge --depclean saw that there was a new version and got rid of the old one. If I had realized, and run python-updater immediately after noticing the problem I might have been able to avoid all this. All though it was a fun adventure.

See how easy that was! Gentoo GNU/Linux is the best.

iSlavery

2011-05-05T02:30:00.002-05:00

iSlavery - If my boss ever asks me to sign a no suicide pledge I will know, absolutely and completely, that I've become a slave; and I will react accordingly.

Six twelve hour shifts, living in a facility that makes our prison system seem positively roomy!

Shame on you for buying an iPad or iPho... oh shoot. I'm typing this on an Asus EEE pc; I wonder who makes these, and what the conditions are like for their workers. Man; I wanted to buy a faster one too... Now I feel too guilty.

I'm gonna go assemble an Arduino, maybe in a hundred years, I'll have made my own netbook.

Want!

2011-04-16T01:44:00.002-05:00

Snow Crash!

(Sorry for being 4 years old, in term of my sentence structure. Just another thing to save up for; unlike computer stuff this one probably won't loose it's value immediately.)

Delicate Arch

2011-04-03T18:26:00.002-05:00

Gretchen and I went on a last minute camping trip to arches national park this weekend. Here is a picture of me at Delicate Arch taken on Friday.

800x600

1600x1200

3264x2448

Yum delicisous asbestos!

2011-03-03T13:01:00.000-06:00

I'm employed again. Unfortunately upon returning to the same work site that I left, I find that they have begun asbestos abatement in the ceilings that I just spent a few weeks crawling in. Woo Hoo! Mesothelioma here I come! You know when the janitors vacuum the hallways in this school, you can literally see the haze of minute dust particles kicked up by their vacuums as they fail to collect anything but the largest particles of debris. Thank you Utah for spending so little on education; although I'm not sure lung cancer is going to have quite the disciplinary effect on your children that you seem to hope for.

I went and bought my self a P100 respirator, picked up a few books from the library on asbestos; and ordered a few asbestos testing kits. I'm not sure what I should do going forward. But I'm emotionally conflicted; my employer cares about me, and my coworkers. But sometimes makes really strange decisions:

On a previous job we were told some concealed areas had asbestos in them, and we were told to stay out of those areas. Also among the job site prints, plans, and spec sheets was a three ring binder full of information on the asbestos found in the building. I was reading it and came across a section saying that any maintenance worker employed to work on the building had to go through a asbestos training program. I asked one of the company owners about this, and he said that he would look in to it. The next day I found the binder gone, and I never got a response from my boss concerning the training.

Another example (I blogged about this before...) I was working on a job running electrical conduit from 10 and 12 foot ladders. I was approached by the general contractor who told me I needed to be wearing a harness. He and I called over one of the owners of the electrical company I work for. I was told to wear a harness and use a lanyard to tie off to a structural girder. I explained that I wouldn't mind doing that except that none of the fall protection gear that we had would stop a fall from such a small height. The strap around the girder would add a foot or two, the lanyard is six feet long, and stretches to twelve, and attaches to the harness at the top of my back. I'd have to fall from a height where my feet were about 15 to 20 feet off the ground for this setup to catch me. I asked my boss to buy a yo-yo (a piece of safety equipment). He and the general contractor told me to continue installing conduit without the safety equipment; they refused to deal with an employee who actually wanted safety equipment that would function.

This time no one even told us that there was asbestos in the ceilings. I still don't know what's up there or weather it friable. Naturally I'm scared for my health; maybe if I know more about it I wouldn't be. Hopefully I can find out some stuff soon.

Swashbuckling Censors!

2011-03-03T11:41:00.002-06:00

Old Man Murray an influential (during the 90's) gaming and r3view website has had it's Wikipedia entry deleted! (You can still view the deleted article on the internet wayback machine.)

If you don't know why you should be upset RockPaperShotgun.com will educate you.

Inside joke

2011-02-19T23:11:00.002-06:00

Frabjous is now 0.9875 standard Bovia.
*This is not a comprehensive number, it is merely a superficial measurement.*
It has been years since Frabjous has had an opportunity to be greater than one standard Bovia. He could potentially reach 1.0625 Bovia within a few weeks!

Time for everything.

2011-02-12T15:56:00.000-06:00

Ask and you shall receive right? - I've been wanting some time to finish various house projects, and to really start turning this house into a home. Well guess what I've been laid off.

My employer has some work on the horizon; but right now - zilch. So most everyone got laid off for a month or two. Getting laid off isn't something I wanted, but I'm going to make the best of it.

So I get to update the ol' brag sheet, and look around a bit. Ideally I'd like to find some temporary electrician work. In addition to looking for work though, I'm going to spend some time painting, welding, cleaning, etc... and it will be wonderful.

OS's

2011-01-24T23:59:00.002-06:00

So i finished installing WOW on Ubuntu. And it plays just fine; but with the new Cataclysm update, wow can now use some of the more advanced features of my video card. Unfortunately either OpenGl or the gnu/linux version of the video card drivers aren't up to the task yet.

So I'm installing winBLOWS again.

Maybe I should do a small Gentoo installation and virtualize my computer so I could run, Gentoo, Ubuntu, and 'the operating system that is only useful for games' all at the same time.

Bleeding Edge

2011-01-23T17:37:00.002-06:00

So some time ago when, what I consider to be, the second generation of SSD drives first hit the market. I went and bought one. It's a Gskill Falcon 128GB (230 MB/sec read 190 MB/sec write). It was bleeding edge at the time, and is still quite a fast boot drive.
Unfortunately like most bleeding edge hardware, the software support is usually quite primitive, as in just barely usable. Well time has passed and several new firmware revisions for this drive have been released, including a trim program. I've been reluctant to update the firmware because the drive manufacturers in there wisdom made it so that a firmware update destroys all data on the drive.

Brilliant!!!

But the SSD delays have gotten a bit too long for me to ignore, it needed trimming. So after three hours of burning boot disks, rebooting, changing things in the bios, swapping around SATA plugs, and general hair pulling I'm happy to announce my success! Firmware version 2030 is now installed, and I'm off and running reinstalling my operating systems.

For good measure I updated my motherboard BIOS, and increased the overclock on the processor as well. Fun times!

E-reader

2011-01-10T19:23:00.003-06:00

In the past few days I've been thinking about getting an e-reader. I've been trying to read in bed, and I was thinking that an e-reader might be much easier to hold. With a paperback, I spend a bit of effort holding the spine open and twisting back and forth to comfortably see the page. Then again; maybe I've just gotten soft. I remember a time when I used to hold a book over my head for what seemed like hours every night before falling asleep.

Then again I also really like the idea of carrying around thousands of books in a tiny little gadget. We'll see.

Household projects update

2011-01-08T16:08:00.001-06:00

The bedrooms that I've been working on are coming along just fine. Unfortunately there have been other setbacks...

The cat situation exploded! A cat we had been caring for started fighting in earnest with our cats; and one of them started peeing! A cat that pees once is forever a pisser. It had to go; but the reason it was in my house was that it had no where else to go! So I'm building a cat house for the garage. It's heated, and should be quite comfy; especially when the thermostat I ordered from Amazon arrives.

Another set back lies in our new furniture. We bought a new bed and nightstands from IKEA. My visiting father and his sig-o slept on them fine, and on new years Gretchen and I crashed on it; no problems. Later that afternoon I leaned on the bed and, the frame broke; the box-spring and mattress went crashing to the floor in one corner. So now I have another opportunity to use my new welder. I'll have to go buy some steel and weld up a bed frame; or at least a structure to reinforce the new broken one.

Flashlight project and other thoughts

2010-12-12T02:33:00.002-06:00

I have a pair of DeWalt DC527's (battery powered hand-held florescent lights). The reason I have two, is that one doesn't work! I'm too lazy to go through, what I assume would be, a difficult returns process; so I'm fixing it myself.

The not so functional light does sort of work; the bulb glows; but does not fully light. I may have narrowed down the problem: the not so functional light is running at twice the frequency of the good light. I'm working on a circuit diagram (for diagnostic purposes), hopefully I can determine which components create the AC switching frequency, and test them next.

I may have given up trying to tape and skim coat my walls upstairs, I'm just not very good at it. I found someone to hire to help me with the work. I hope he calls tomorrow.

- Sy

Congratulations Mom!

2010-11-02T20:18:00.002-05:00

I voted today! - I'm not 100% sure I voted for the correct people/things but who is; either way it's an important civic duty.

Congratulations go out to my mom who is now the director of the MMLC!

Mideastern Michigan Library Cooperative?
Mortality and Morbidity Liaison Committee?
Minnesota Master Logger Certification?
Management Markets and Legal Consulting Group?

I know what she does, but not what the acronym is exactly. Is it?: Madison Masonic Learning Center? Regardless; when I think about where my Mom works my mind instantly jumps to the: "Derek Zoolander Center For Kids Who Can't Read Good And Wanna Learn To Do Other Stuff Good Too" -- Yes you should watch that movie. In fact I'm going to go see if Gretchen will watch it with me tonight.

Peace out! Oh and play more Alien Swarm!]

Fungus/Insect Free Car

2010-08-20T20:00:00.002-05:00

My car got crop dusted today. I was driving to Dugway, on my way to work, when PhWOOP! All my windows, front, back, and sides were covered in a fine white dust. It was so uniform, that it looked like some sort of white wash paint.

I flipped on the wipers so I could see the road, and by the time I got to my destination the rest of it had blown off the car.

It was quite startling!

Healing my sprain.

2010-08-20T02:05:00.003-05:00

So I can walk, somewhat... I've been going to work the past two days, but just doing partial days. Today I did 8.5 hours (out of 10) - and it was very hard on my ankle. One more day, then I get to rest up over the weekend. Chuck, Gretchens cat, has enjoyed R.I.C.E.'ing with me every evening (Rest, Ice, Compression & Elevation). I've been told that when it gets stronger a wobble board is a good idea to strengthen the muscles and such. I like the idea of having strong ankles; mostly because:

I never want to sprain my ankle again!

New pets the: GDC's

2010-08-13T19:28:00.007-05:00

Gretchen decided to get some chickens. They are generally quite nice, here is a picture of them perching in the grape vines:

Today however, they hopped there way onto the wine barrel, onto their makeshift perch, onto the top of the fence, over the makeshift steel cable that was supposed to help keep them inside, over the rock wall into our neighbors yard, through their fence, and into our neighbors-neighbors yard.

Our neighbors came round, baby carriage in tow, to kindly ask us to get our chicken out of their yard. They have a hunting (pointing) dog, a German short-hair, and they couldn't put it out into the yard without seriously endangering the life of the chicken.

To make a long story short, I tried to catch the chicken, and am now in nausiating pain due to a sprained / rolled ankle. I've never rolled my ankle before! - I'm so upset. I thought I had really strong ankles. - I had weakened it by partially rolling it earlier at work though; and it was apparently too much. I am very disappointed with my ankle...

Nom[?.!]

2010-08-07T23:15:00.007-05:00

So two of my friends were riding in separate caravaning cars. This is a conversation they had, translations in parenthesis. I will refer to them by nicknames:

Rain:	Nom?	(Are we stopping for the promised food soon? The girlfriend is starving)
Bunny:	Nom.	(Yes, most definitely, food is something we must have.)
Rain:	Nom!	(Fantastic!)

They refer to this as the four letter conversation. I like my friends.

Early User Space - Bah!

2010-06-20T16:22:00.002-05:00

So I'm setting up our new router/server here at home, and I've decided to finally get around to trying out a full disc encryption. The idea is that the kernel has embedded in it (or separately loaded by the boot loader) a tiny file system with the necessary decryption utilities. A script runs, does the decryption, mounts your regular file system, then turns the computer over to your regular booting up process.

This works very well, if one can get it to work.

I'm familiar enough with installing my favorite GNU/Linux flavor, Gentoo, that I'm not having any difficulty doing what I want to do with it. However my scripting skills are weak, and I don't have enough knowledge regarding the busybox environment to figure out what's going wrong.

Cryptsetup gives some warning messages or errors when creating a decrypted device mapper node of the encrypted hard drive; but it finally reports success. However I am unable to mount the result. It's very annoying.

I hate Diebold and ES&S voting machines.

2010-06-15T18:58:00.004-05:00

Alvin Greene is a broke, unemployed guy who is facing a felony obscenity charge. He made no campaign appearances and raised no money, but he is the brand new Democratic Senate nominee from South Carolina.

How many senators in the senate were picked by these faulty, poorly designed, freedom destroying machines instead of by us? This case stinks only because it seems so unlikely to us, as outsiders, that this guy was really the choice of the good people of South Carolina. But how many times was a vote close, and with a few button pushes or keystrokes was the balance tipped? - We don't know.

VOTING MACHINES TODAY ARE EASY TO TAMPER WITH!!!! Until people like Bruce Schneider, or other well know security researchers, evaluate and give a thumbs up to a voting machine, or machines, I'm just going to have to hate all voting machines. Lets use paper ballots and count them by hand; then we can at least recount them if we think there was a mistake.

Although, honestly my hate is probably misdirected. Possibly, the guy just won because voters are lazy, and his name was first on the ballot.

Gretchen is OK!

2010-06-01T22:03:00.010-05:00

But her truck is destroyed...
Click on it to get a bigger image.

Gretchen was wearing her seat belt at the time of the crash. As soon as she could squeeze her legs out from under the dash, she crawled out the window.

When the police got there they had to ask the crowd: "Who was the driver of the red truck!" Cause she was walking off the adrenaline rush.

The dashboard and steering column were shoved back several inches. It's a good thing she was skinny, otherwise she would have been stuck.

I would like to thank all the people that rushed to both the aid of my wife, and the other driver.

I didn't get a picture of it but some of the wires in the dash board had started to melt and burn the plastic. That's why the fire department was called. They brought a large crow bar; pried the hood up, and cut the battery cables.

Pictures of the other car...

I don't know if the other driver was wearing his seatbelt. Notice the head shaped bulge in his windshield. I saw blood on his forehead; and heard that EMTs were not getting clear responses to the questions they were asking him. The driver of the white car was taken to the hospital.

Gretchen's right arm started to swell up, I made her take an X-ray of it. I'll post that picture too. It appears to be OK. She is resting with ice packs and compression bandages. She says that when the frozen spinach on her knee thaws, she's going to heat it up with some mozzarella. ;)

Willow Garage

2010-05-31T14:26:00.002-05:00

Is it just me or does the PR2 robot from Willow Garage kind of look like Tom Servo?

Mini-ITX

2010-05-26T00:14:00.004-05:00

I just ordered my first Mini-ITX board! I did some figuring and the electricity cost difference between a computer burning less than 20 watts, and my current server ~300W was enough to justify the purchase. The processor speed is almost identical, but the new one has a two core ATOM chip (four threads). So it should do much better, than the old single core Athalon it's replacing.

The old computer I'm going to try to give away to the owners of a horse Gretchen is breaking. They have a 13 year old daughter, and she will be needing a computer for school. That old machine has served me well for years, and it's still useful, just not what I need any more. That's one of the advantages of living in a small town. There are plenty of people to give my old computers to. This will be, I think, the third that I've given away.

I wonder how giving a computer away could benefit my taxes? Maybe I should be giving them to a charity. - But I'd be concerned that they'd just end up in a land fill. When I give one to a friend or neighbor, I just ask them to give it back when they are done so I can have it recycled...

Old Man Time

2010-05-25T22:38:00.002-05:00

An unremarked moment passed, just this Saturday sometime shortly before 9:00am; I think I was still asleep.

What my sleeping mind did not wake me for was the moment when I was 365.242199 months old.

I am now older than one month for every day of the year;

and I'm ok with that.

But it's a good a time as any for a new beginning. So I've decided (again) to become a programmer. Not to worry I'm not giving up my current career, I'm just going to reorganize my free time. and dedicate some of it to expanding my programming ability.

In that regard I spent three hours this evening watching and listening to lectures:
Linus Torvalds - git
Luis Von Ahn - Human Computation
Richard Hipp - SQLite

Tomorrow I'm going to mess around with QEMU, with OpenVZ on deck.

Man pirates his own TV show.

2010-05-15T10:29:00.007-05:00

Why I steal Movies... even ones I'm in.

That article is a bit long in the jargon. So in case you want the short version:

hOtBoX "Fixed"

2010-03-14T17:30:00.005-05:00

So um, I found the real problem.

The power supply wasn't too small, apparently my earlier troubleshooting was partly flawed. Something went wrong with this component on the video card, and it was causing a short circuit. It completely fused itself, burnt part of the circuit board, and scorched some neighboring components.

I was very sad when I figured this out, cause that video card would be very expensive to replace. (I've already hosed my warranty by removing the heatsink, watercooling, and overclocking it.) Undaunted I grabbed my pliers, tore the offending component off the board, and plugged the card back in.

Apparently it was an appendix; the video card (so far) works fine. - Who knew!?

Although I really would like to know what kind of a component it is. Maybe I can order a new one and solder it on to the board. I'm assuming it's some kind of a power supply component for the video card that overheated and progressively shorted itself out over a period of time. If you want to help me identify it here are some more pictures.

hOtBoX Broken

2010-03-02T01:15:00.002-06:00

Happy because I found cheap replacement motherboard for my computer from a local craigs list type site. Unhappy because as it turns out my current motherboard is fine. After doing some trouble shooting this evening I found out that the powerswitch has done bad (It's a way nice {expensive} switch too!); and I found out that it seems the powersupplys that I've been buying aren't powerfull enough for my machine.

I started with a 750W PC Power and Cooling (My favorite brand of power supply). It worked well for a long time, until I upgraded the motherboard, CPU, and video card. Then the computer started to have strange problems. Sometimes it wouldn't start. The LED's would flash, the fans might spin just a touch, otherwise nothing. So I brilliantly stuck a screwdriver into the powersupply causing it to explode.

Then I picked up a 650w Antec (Another very good brand {in my top three definitly}). It managed, somehow, to run my computer for a time. Then I overclocked my CPU (2.5ghz => 3.2Ghz) and video card (~100mhz). Then it started to have problems again.

Assuming it was the powersupply I bought another one. A 500w OCZ with modular cords (I like their ram...) Notice that as I'm doing this it never occurs to me that I might need a bigger powersupply...

Well to finish this up. With either supply and the video card removed the computer runs fine. Add in the video card and neither one can start the machine. If, however I plug one into the video card, and the other into the motherboard the computer starts every time. (As long as I'm not using the broken power switch.)

Having said that I have not yet tested the output of the video card. But, before this whole shenanigans started I suspected the video card, and my old one is now running well in a friends computer. So I'm reluctant to assign blame to that component.

The newegg powersupply calculator says I need over 700 watts, and thats before the water pump, and the overclocking. If I want to add a second video card at some point I will need at least a 1000W. Maybe more.

I have half a mind to build my own. I've got a pair of 900va transformers down stairs that put out 8v or 16v (depending on how they are wired). It would be a pretty wicked bragging point to have a non-switching 1800w powersupply. It would need it's own dedicated 20A circuit, and would weigh over 50 lbs.

I reserve the right to edit this in the morning, I'm tired. Good night!

Cyanogen

2010-02-27T16:54:00.001-06:00

Happy because I installed CyanogenMOD on my Dream/G1 phone. Unhappy because a run-away script of my own making is the reason I can't get to JosiahLuscher.com from my home computer. Also unhappy because the blog service that I use, Blogger, isn't going to support FTP publishing anymore. One step forward two steps back.

For Love or Money

2010-02-18T18:58:00.002-06:00

Pets can be expensive. More so if you love them unconditionally.

I love my cats; to an extent. A very specific extent: $300.00. If they need medical care that costs more than that, it is fatal to them.

Yes, I will cry; but I'll also be able to afford to pay the mortgage; and, when we are ready, to adopt another stray animal.

In your opinion is that cold? - Because to some extent a financial sword of Damocles hangs over the heads of most, if not all, domestic animals. But it seems to me that usually it's just ranchers and farmers who, before treatment is needed, think about the extent to which they will spend to help an animal live longer.

Having said this, I should note, my resolve has not yet been tested!

Tube Silicone

2010-02-17T23:13:00.002-06:00

So I went to go apply silicone sealant to some joints today. The tube we have has a large UPC sticker across the front. As I finish applying it to the second joint, I realize that it's not sealant, its a lubricant. - Doe!

Still don't know what kind of product it was exactly, the sticker completely covered the front, and the back referred to the contents only as "silicone compound". It was fairly easy to wipe off, so no harm done.

Workplace safety share.

2010-02-16T22:13:00.004-06:00

So I think today was interesting in both ways. It's not enough to wear safety equipment - You have to use the correct tools, and the correct safety equipment!

Ok that changing a light bulb thing didn't go so well. First; you should understand, this is a big light: 500W! The bulb is about the size of a two liter bottle.

We put on safety gear: steel toe bots with metatarsal covers, durable warm cotton insulated coveralls and coats, gloves, safety glasses, hard hat, climbing harness.

We set up the ladder, my co-worker climbed the ladder, latched his harness to the pole, lashed the ladder off to the pole, and opened the light fixture cover.

While opening the light fixture cover, my co-workers hard hat fell off. He had his hands full, an it was an awkward reach; so he just let it fall instead of trying to catch it. I thought this a good decision at the time and we both shrugged it off. So he begins to descend the ladder to get the new bulb...

Suddenly a noise, and commotion, and out falls the guts of the light fixture. I watch, HORRIFIED, as they tumble and spin not more than a foot past his head. The ballast (specialized type of transformer, a big block of iron and copper wire) weighs about 20 pounds. And it, bolted to a sharp edged steel plate about the size of a skate board, went just flying down past him. My work day almost turned into rush co-worker to the hospital day.

The worst part is that we had just finished having a morning safety meeting, and the client's representative explaining the rules didn't know how we would call 911 from where we were working. On big industrial sites, you _don't_ call 911. You call a local number and they get emergency care to you. However, it's a new little shack of a building, and has no company phone. So, yeah, 20 minutes away from being able to _call_ for help there was almost a severe head wound because, either a screw failed, or someone didn't correctly install a retaining screw; and the person who chose to attempt this work from a ladder mis-judged how difficult that would be.

Sorry this is so long, working safely is important. Sometimes concentrating on wearing safety gear can blind a person into choosing the wrong tools. I'd still wear all that safety gear, of course. But the decision to change that bulb from a ladder was I think, a poor decision; and my co-worker almost paid for that today.

Ok, so, I'm trying not to turn this into a rant. However, this is also important: Don't wear safety equipment that does not protect you, just to meet a perceived expectation or requirement.

A standard lanyard is six feet, stretches to, I think 12, and attaches to a harness between your shoulder blades. This harness will allow you to fall and break yourself if you are working at anything less than about 15 feet above the ground.

Frequently I have been asked to wear a harness and lanyard that offer zero fall protection at the heights that I'm working from. (6 -10 feet up typically.) When I ask for a yo-yo and I-beam clamp (which, as I understand things, does offer protection at lower heights) I'm told that I can go without the harness; because those tools are expensive, would require time to go and purchase, and as long as I'm using my ladder correctly (which I do) the risk should be minimal.

But why can't we rent/buy another little scissor lift, we have several already. A used scissor lift, costs a little more than a yo-yo, and allows more productivity. Or for goodness sake, we do have to do ladder work sometimes, I wish we had a few yo-yo's. I'm going to have to ask my supervisors to buy one (or more, hopefully) again.

When working at intermediate heights my employer sometimes doesn't have appropriate safety equipment. When we should be using a lift, or scaffolding to change a light bulb; we are told to use a harness and an extension ladder.

My co-worker almost paid the price for this today. Maybe we will all learn, that would be nice.

if they were fishes...

2010-02-14T12:37:00.002-06:00

I'm not sure if it's best to wish for a omelette (will come true) or superpowers (probably won't come true). Right now I'm wishing I had already cleaned my desk instead of just having started!

Happy valentines day. (If you are reading this you already are my valentine.)

Holidays Are Over

2010-01-05T20:34:00.002-06:00

It's time to buckle down, mail those belated Christmas cards, write thank you notes and take down the tree. How do I know it's time? Because school is starting again:

I Just registered for my 6th semester (out of 8) of my Journeyman Electrician Apprenticeship program! - School starts Monday. Hooray!

My own personal kryptonite.

2009-12-30T18:01:00.003-06:00

My nemesis has reared it's ugly head. I've been sick for the past three days with strep-throat. For some reason I get "streptococcus pyogenes" easily; or at least that's what my mom always said. I've had strep I don't know, like at least a dozen times. I'm so glad I live in a world with penicillin.

Gretchen and I are going to go see the new Sherlock Holmes movie tonight, I hear it's quite steampunk! (Maybe we should dress up hmm....)

Facebook is privacy-washing.

2009-12-19T11:41:00.003-06:00

Facebook's New Privacy Changes: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

"These new "privacy" changes are clearly intended to push Facebook users to publicly share even more information than before. Even worse, the changes will actually reduce the amount of control that users have over some of their personal data."

Increasing the amount of information you share on line increases the number of facebook page views, which increases the revenue generated by advertising. - These changes are privacy-washing (like green washing...) intended to make them more money, expose more of your information, and improve their image with obfuscation and double-talk.

Treehouse

2009-12-19T10:52:00.002-06:00

It has always been true that I would have a tree house. But I'm a grownup now, and a responsible married man to boot. So some changes had to be made:

Computers Everywhere!

2009-12-13T01:13:00.001-06:00

I really like my most recent toys, a G1, and a Netbook. But they aren't nearly as mod-able as my desktop. Maybe I can make a pico-itx netbook in a custom case. - Not this year though. Maybe I should just buy a Sager, at least it can be upgraded in all sorts of intresting ways. - Really I'm just annoyed that the EEE PC 1000 uses a special interface to it primary storage, so I can't upgrade with standard parts. The improvements being made to solid state storage are amazing! I simply adore the SSD that I bought for my desktop; it's so QUICK!

Area51 Haloween Party

2009-11-01T00:55:00.001-05:00

I have definitly entered the 21st century - finally! I'm posting a blog at a dance club on a device that can fit in my pocket and will play doom.
Pictures to follow....

Meow.

2009-10-20T23:52:00.002-05:00

Return to a previous plan.

2009-10-18T17:43:00.002-05:00

Ok, on the weekend of October the 24th I'll be going to Steam-Con in Seattle; not winning lots of money at a LAN party.

This KXCD comic has a surprise ending, kind of sad or possibly bittersweet. I recommend it.

Retro?

2009-10-10T12:37:00.001-05:00

So does Starcraft count as retro gaming yet?

There is a Starcraft tournament at the Protocol42 LAN Party on October 24. Seeing how popular this game is for tournaments I get the feeling that no matter how much I practice between now and then I still won't have a chance. But it's worth a try for a cash prize. So I'll be playing a lot of Starcraft! If you want to join me for a match it might be best to try to give me a call..

Damage Controll

2009-10-03T15:25:00.003-05:00

Anyone know anyone that wants a GTX 285 cheap?

If I can sell it for most of what I bought it for; then I can get the brand new ATI card that I _really_ want.

Upgrade

2009-09-30T18:25:00.002-05:00

So I foolishly left the pump off in my computer a few weeks ago and burned up my video card and motherboard. Not having a huge amount of cash (none) I just replaced the motherboard with an equivalent, but couldn't resist upgrading my video card some.

I now have a GTX285.

And I hate it.

Why?

This is why:

I wanted an ATI card in the first place, but the newest ATI cards weren't compatable with my swiftech MCW60 waterblock. And a new waterblock significantly adds to the cost of a video card. So I got an NVIDIA. But today I find out that ATI just announced a new card that is faster than anything out there, and can support SIX monitors all at once! Granted you can't buy one yet; but I could have gotten a _really_ cheap card and started saving. - Cause, well you know, SIX monitors!!!!

Gah! E-Mail is back.

2009-09-22T19:43:00.002-05:00

But why did it have to leave in the first place! I store my e-mail on a USB stick, for compatibility reasons I left the filesystem fat32. This seems to now be a mistake. Somehow the filesystem got a bit corrupted; maybe I pulled the stick out in the middle of a write; but I doubt it. So compatibility be darned, I think I'm going to change it to ext3.

For those of you who didn't know; Gretchen, Kate, Dad, Austin and I went on a backpacking trip through the Grand Canyon. It went very well. Pictures to come soon.

Heh, Cardigan...

2009-08-19T23:26:00.000-05:00

Do you respect Mr Rogers?

Customer "Service"

2009-08-08T16:50:00.002-05:00

So last night there was shenanigans going on in the World of Warcraft:

A bunch of gold farmers had killed them selves in such a way as to spell out the name of their website - you know to advertise it. Being a good, if infrequent, player I reported the infraction; (Gold selling is not allowed in WOW) this is the response I got:

Greetings Josiah,

Thank you for taking the time to report this issue to us. At Blizzard Entertainment, we encourage and appreciate the role of the gaming community in keeping World of Warcraft a safe and enjoyable environment for all participants.

We will investigate your report and take all necessary and appropriate actions to address this matter. Due to privacy concerns, we will not be able to notify you of our findings, nor of the actions necessary for resolution of this issue.

If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact us at WoWGM@blizzard.com or via the in-game petition system.

Again, thank you for your time and effort to keep World of Warcraft enjoyable and abuse-free.



Regards,
Rilidax
Game Master
Blizzard Entertainment
www.worldofwarcraft.com

This morning I received a request to complete a survey regarding my satisfaction; I felt that my response should have been obvious, but replied anyway:

Greetings Blizzard,

Thank you for taking the time to survey you customers level of satisfaction.  I encourage and appreciate the role of the corporate community in keeping World of Warcraft a safe and enjoyable environment for all participants.

I will investigate my level of satisfaction and take all necessary and appropriate actions to address this matter. Due to privacy concerns, I will not be able to notify you of my findings, nor of the actions necessary for resolution of this issue.

If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact me at JosiahLuscher.com or via the in-game mail system.

Again, thank you for your time and effort to keep World of Warcraft enjoyable and satisfaction-free.

Regards,
Josiah Luscher
Customer
www.JosiahLuscher.com

New Phone Number!

2009-07-29T00:10:00.002-05:00

I still hope to retroactivly post some more pictures from our trip to Germany, so stay tuned. But I'm getting ready for a tip trough the Grand Canyon, and starting school very soon also; so not sure when I'll be able to get those pictures up.

In the mean time, I have a new phone number. If you call my old number you will find out my new number. The short version is that if I want to switch to T-Mobile I have to get a new number. But I've had my current mobile number for at least 11 years! So you can guess I don't want to switch lightly. The solution presented itself just a day or so ago when I got a google voice invitation. My new Google Voice number can be directed to ring whatever phone number I'd like it to; so hopefully this new number will last for even longer than 11 years.

Sightseeing Commences

2009-06-23T21:19:00.002-05:00

The sightseeing phase of our trip was supposed to begin in earnest on Monday. But due to insufficient planning (Cathedrals, and many museums are closed on Mondays) and some navigational difficulties we've gotten off to a slow start. So I had to squeeze some extra time out of my trip to plan the next few days; and unfortunately this means I'm way behind on blogging and I will be very tired tomorrow.

If I am very tired we will cut tomorrow short and try to have dinner with my cousins; and catch up on documenting the trip.

Today Gretchen and I went to a Roman-Irish bath. I thought of it as over a thousand years of leisure research and technology being focused into the art of rinsing off. Most German cities and towns are named in very unimaginative ways. So it's really no surprise then that the German city of Baden-Baden is a place of many hot springs. We went to Friedrichsbad, and for the low price of 31 euro, each, we took a bath. Today being Tuesday, the bathing was mixed, which was nice - we could stay together. The bath consisted of 15 stages:
Shower
Warm Dry Steam
Hot Dry Steam
Soap and Brush Scrub & Massage
Shower
Warm Wet Steam
Hot Wet Steam
Warm Bath
Warm Mineral Soak
Less Warm Mineral Bath
Warm Bath
Cold Water Plunge
Hot Towels
Cream/Lotion Application
Quiet Rest

We actually missed the quiet rest thing, we didn't see that stage untill the place was about to close, but that's not a big deal. We liked the steam and mineral baths so much that after our cold water plunge we jumped back to the warm wet steam and started over from there. All in all it was a two and a half hour bath! I highly recommend this if you are in Germany and aren't too squeamish about being naked around a bunch of bathers. For those of you who like to gamble I should mention that there is an amazing casino in Baden-Baden as well, along with tons of black forest hiking trails and such. I could easilly spend a few weeks just in Baden-Baden.

Friendly Duel

2009-06-19T18:30:00.002-05:00

After a bit of confusion regarding train stations; Gretchen and I met my Mother and Step-Father at the hotel where we will stay for the wedding. It is a very nice little place, that is currently being remodeled. I liked the fact that there was no TV or phone in the room; but it did have wireless internet. It felt just like home. We had a balcony that I enjoyed greatly. Dan and I got our computers out and had a bit of a duel.
Gretchen and I took a walk through the lovely forest that Budenheim is known for; the hotel is right next to it! The forest has chunks of Roman road/wall in it, all covered in vines. For dinner we went out for Pizza at a little corner shop, and ice cream from the bakery next door.

It is so much fun to be in a European residential neighborhood. Everything is built, maybe, 40% closer together. It just makes the houses look so cute/cozy! Arrrgh, I love the windows! I must get some imported for my next house. They open in two different directions, even the balcony door! Unfortunately Gretchens camera doesn't take movies, and I plan on buying one while I'm here, so you will have to wait for a demonstration.

Peugeot

2009-06-19T13:30:00.001-05:00

I knew I was renting a small car, but this thing is tiny. It's really just a clown car with a conservative paint job. The trunk is just big enough for, maybe, three grocery bags.

Hauptbahnhoff

2009-06-19T12:45:00.001-05:00

In Frankfurt we rode the train from the Fleughafen to the Hauptbahnhoff and back. It was fun figuring out how to buy tickets from the machine and riding on a "real" train. Really, we did it just to see if we could. Also, I wanted to get my feet firmly on the ground before we picked up our rental car.

French Service

2009-06-19T09:52:00.000-05:00

Our flight from JKF to Frankfurt was very nice. It was a Delta flight; but the New York based flight crew, I believe, worked primarily for Air France. The service was excellent! Also being a longer flight some of the things that you have to pay extra for were free. Free movies on a mini TV in every seat, a little pillow and blanket for every person. Two meals with wine, beer, soda, or tea. Usually I deny myself the luxuries of airline travel because I feel like I'm being nickel and dimed to death. But this flight was so nice I spent a bit extra and bought myself a few hard drinks. - Which also helped me sleep which was very important.

You see I didn't sleep at all Wednesday night, I get a bit nervous before traveling. I like to stay up and try to think about everything that I forgot. But when traveling a long way East there is another reason. We loose 6 hours! So if I don't prevent jet lag I can't wake up before two in the afternoon, and I won't want to go to sleep untill the sun starts to rise. So I messed up my sleep cycle on purpose then forced my self to sleep on the second plane flight, and awoke in Germany at about 9:30am. It worked just right! YMMV.

Roots

2009-06-18T16:23:00.001-05:00

We are sailing at 37,000 feet, 600 miles per hour; we are an hour and 38 minutes, or 1210 miles, away from landing at JFK airport in NYC. And this, about 50 miles away, is as close as I'm going to get to my old home of Madison WI on this trip.

Marauder

2009-06-18T09:55:00.000-05:00

Arrgh, sometimes a pirate has to go marauding. It gives new meaning and purpose in life. For example: I swear by the higgs-bosons visible in the infinite blackness of black beards beard that if I ever reach the "X" marked on Marty McFly's treasure map. I'm going back in time with his silver gull winged ship and I'm going to beat the small berrys off of the scurvey dog who thought putting gun powder in the heel of his boot was a good idea. Piratical footwear is neither easy nor pleasant to remove.

Ahoy there mates!

2009-06-08T00:27:00.003-05:00

Thar be seceret pirate ways of finding out how your mates are doing. Piratical networking is very important. If you plan on living to a ripe old age; like 29... you have to keep a weather eye out for corsairs corsairs: I've got mates!
((The average age of pirates in the eighteenth century was 27))

Gretchen and I watched Pi this evening. It was my second time. I did find it a bit eerie the first time through; although now it just seems ridiculous.

Flying High

2009-04-22T23:18:00.004-05:00

Arrgh, I usually only get as high as the Crows Nest. I'm somewhat ashamed that my aspirations seem to be less than that of a wee bat; who decided to go to outer space. Although it is nice to know that even the most expensive ship ever created still has problems with stowaways. (Also very funny slashdot comments...)

Papers not just for rolling cigaretts with.

2009-02-08T01:19:00.003-06:00

Being a somewhat educated scallywag, I neither smoke, nor do I, usualy, burn librarys. However we have been out to sea for quite a few weeks now without naught for entertainment, and I wouldn't mind a few new books. So if you are feeling generous buy me this: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep or this: Neuromancer

Avast! Phart Fan's!

2009-01-19T22:57:00.003-06:00

When patching up the ceiling from where me brigantine had sprung a leak earlier this year, I found that the the bathroom fan was completely buried in insulation and wasn't actually vented to the outside, or anywhere for that matter. So we have been blowing hot moist air into mulched paper insulation. I really can't think of a better way to grow mould, but I don't know much about that...

So I bought two new fans, might as well add one downstairs while I'm at it, and have begun to install them. However this brings me face to face with the wiring in my house. ;( There are no ground wires, but that's not the worst part: I have a main panel from ~1960, and two sub panels; I have been unable to locate any sort of a main breaker anywhere!

Lest this small project spiral out of control, I will for the moment resign myself to only replacing wires that are convenient to replace (and in so doing adding a equipment bonding/grounding conductor); and as soon as possible I will add in a main breaker or fused disconnect or something...

So I guess I'll be gobbling me grub after work while thar' be more work to do in the crows nest.
Parting shot: Flow

Break out the buckets! Bail for your lives!

2008-11-02T16:41:00.005-06:00

We were running full sails to the Cove-Moot when we sprung a leak. Before the boatsman could yell, "Avast!" we were already sinking to a watery grave. With the blessing of the sea gods a strong wind blew up and we were able to land on a western (digital) island of a friendly sort. There is no way however for us to salvage and repair in time for the Cove-Moot. I gave the crew double rations of Grog to help keep there spirits up. On the New(Egg) horizon this morning Visa two eyes spotted a ship approaching, when they get close enough we will pillage what we need from them.

(My hard drive started acting funny Friday night at like 10:00pm,
giving me less than 12 hours to figure out what was going on and get to the LAN party. Almost needless to say the drive was collapsing upon itself, I managed to save 99% of my stuff for which I am very thankful. But dang! I wanted to go to the LAN party, instead I spent 48 hours in my basement running diagnostics, and tearing apart old computers for spare parts. I temporarily installed Ubuntu, and actually it's pretty nice, I like the new version. I still expect to go back to a source based GNU/Linux install eventually, but not at least until I get a new hard drive.)

Cove-Moot

2008-10-31T18:41:00.002-05:00

Definition: When a group of pirates sail into a cove, stare at glowing screens, and don't eat, say anything, engage in eye contact, or move at all really. - Except for moving a small plastic mouse in circles, drinking pizza, or eating Bawls. It's part witch craft, part monk like meditation, and partly a cleansing ritual.

Join me at Protocol42's Cove-Moot!

I will post a picture later.

Family of Swashbucklers

2008-07-19T12:42:00.002-05:00

My sister is really a better pirate than I, honestly. I am so proud of her; I should make her a sword. She has made a poster for the Zapatistas, and it has been chosen to be produced and put up for sale as part of the celebrate peoples history poster project of JustSeeds.org. Take a look at it, and if you feel so inclined buy one, they are very inexpensive at four dollars:

Evil Inside Me

2008-07-19T08:49:00.005-05:00

I had made port and gotten into a friendly game of cards with some wolves. It wasn't a piratical game precisely, but I liked it quite a bit. This sea dog makes it a rule to avoid fortune tellers.
One, on account of I don't like bad news; and two, because no one can really know your future; except for the great sea captain in the sky. But it was already too late, this card game read my soul. Just as I thought the results were as pretty as a drowned man.

Well after seeing that, it was obvious what was to become of me. This pirate, way deep inside, has a supervillian buried.

In light of this I have a new role model Dr. Horrible.

New Rope

2008-01-03T21:42:00.001-06:00

It be what passes for rope here on the web. Although whenever I hear wiki, I can't help but think of raiding a villiage o' tiki huts. Them islanders are strange folk, as soon as we started lobbing marshmellows at them (we were out of canon balls) they all ran away.

I have no friends (page)!

2007-12-08T01:01:00.000-06:00

Gretchen and I went out to dinner on the vet clinic, tonight was the holiday party. We ate well, and had lots of somewhat awkward work conversation. I always feel that I've made a fool of myself at these gatherings.

Last year I ordered a glass of wine. Besides the clinic owners being Mormon, and it being forbidden by their religion; being a company party, it raised issues of liability. Previous to that no one had dared to be so bold, but now the ceiling is broken; this year several people ordered drinks on the companys tab. (I did have a beer, but paid for it myself at the bar, and brought it to the table.)

This year a sweet nothing whispered into my wifes ear became a subject of conversation when she decided to share! Ladies, please, don't share those. Also I was the center of a very awkward conversational pause. Has this happened to you?: I was talking about how difficult it can be for some unfortunate people to loose weight, and all conversation died just as I said some thing like "no matter how you slice it: to loose weight, eat less!" So I totally made myself out to be a fattist. I might actually be something of a fattist, and that scares me. I would rather be, and feel that I usually am, sensitive to others, and understanding. Although, even my sister called me a fattist once. God I hope she was wrong.

On the technical side: I like Blogger because it is convenient, fairly pretty, and I can edit the HTML template! But it is quite feature less. I would like to have a friends page powered by an RSS aggregator. I may have to switch to Joomla or WordPress. But I don't think I'm up for that much work. Better to blog now, and code when motivated.

Parting Shot: CDC - Overweight and Obesity

Jack Black

2007-12-04T19:04:00.000-06:00

I found this funny if a bit raw, but then again it's jack black so... whatever.

Kick in the cunt.

By way of an apology to those whom are offended; although, honestly, I find it even more uncomfortable: The Cunt Shop

Parting Shot: I dare you to buy a Blue Uterus Skirt!

GM Food: Not Grown in Detroit.

2007-12-03T19:36:00.000-06:00

I do wish GM foods were labeled as such. Not that I'm particularly scared of them, but Jeffrey Smith, in his book Genetic Roulette, has shown that there might be nasty side effects. And I'd prefer to be able to make a choice to eat, or not eat GM foods.

This article says that "60 percent of our processed groceries contain genetically altered ingredients". But no reference is given, and it's easy to lie with statistics. So I'll believe it when you have a third eye, and gills. Although, I do think that Starbucks coffee beans are GM.

I've never actually written a letter to the people that represent me in government. I should give it a try.

Parting shot: Campaign to Label Genetically Engineered Foods

Squid Attack!

2007-11-25T14:25:00.000-06:00

Th'ar be many stories of great giant squid attack on yonder high seas, but by the powers this be the strangest and the only one true tale ye ever hear.

I be taken shore leave, and woke to a powerful headache in a unfamiliar place. This ware normal for shore leave, but I began to worry when I saw there were no saucy wenches, or empty glasses to explain the headache. I was marooned in a right rum place Arkham, Massachusetts.

I quickly got on my feet being a pirate of old salt, it seemed I could almost turn lead into gold among these land lubbers. Yargh.., I even found a nice flute. But things in that town weren't right I tell ye. My timbers were just about shivered out after a few days.

Then I came across a terrible foe in the streets down the south side of town. It seemed to be birthed right from the stars; I tell ye it was horrible. I thought to soothe it and played my flute, I don't right know what happened but blowing on that flute seemed to twist my mind and tear at my soul. When my eyes stopped swimming my foe was gone.

Figuring it was time to weigh anchor, I made for the train station. Thats when I saw it. A great giant land squid! It's tentacles were a thrashing and knocking buildings down left and right. Without my trusty saber; I though I was going to the fiddlers green. Then the most astonishin' thing happened, a landlubber lass, and a Nun to boot, stepped in front of the squid, threw a stick of dynamite, and she put the black-spot on it I tell ye! I don't know where a nun comes by a flame thrower, but she single handedly burned every tentacle off that monster.

Thar now be a spot on me crew, and doubloons to boot, for any nun who can wield a flamethrower.

(I have never been able to play The Nun well. When Craig drew her I asked him to play her so that I could see it done right. After 4 rumors and 13 almost consecutive gate openings he proceeded to single handedly defeat Nyarlathotep! - Apparently I get what I ask for.)

Parting shot: Arkham Horror

Happy Thanksgiving!

2007-11-22T23:06:00.000-06:00

Valley Life

2006-01-30T01:14:00.000-06:00

About time I blogged. For the, like, three of you who might read this; please be prepared: the next few blog entries may be very lame.

I live in Utah now! I still have moving in things to do. It has been a month and a half now; and I am a bit dissapointed that it is taking me this long.

A large problem has been the WI DOT! We just recieved the licence plates for the Truck this week, the registration papers were sent in on October 10, and the temporary plates expired on January 7th! The title still hasn't arrived. With out the title I can't register the vehicle in Utah. According to Utah law I have to do this within 60 days, and that time is quickly running out.

From talking with some of my old co-workers (temps) they say it is very easy to get thrown into prison in Utah. I think that some form of debters prison is still in effect out here, which suprises me. Regardless, I wish I could just register the stupid vehicle and be done with it...

Living with my fiancee is a dream come true. Today we drove 60 miles to Euerka! UT, to look at a Mansion that was for sale for $130,000. What a wreck! It's a historical landmark in a tiny mining town. I didn't even bother taking a picture, it was that worthless.

I have a permanant job! I work for Modern Display in the shop. I am being trained mostly at the moment. With float season coming up I will be learning to weld! I think my fiancee's boss rented a christmas tree from my new employer, but of course I won't go trying to find out that wouldn't be nice.

Consumer Reports = Useless

2005-12-26T15:50:00.000-06:00

While trying to research vacuum cleaners I purchased a subscription to http://www.consumerreports.org It was a waste for five dollars. Here is the letter that I wrote to them:

I am extremely disappointed with your website and the complete lack of value that I received from paying $4.95 to your company. I was shopping for a vacuum cleaner, however instead of giving me information so that I could make my own, hopefully informed, decision your website tried to tell me what I should be looking for in a Vacuum! This is completely backwards! You are supposed to give me information so that I can form opinions. Not instruct me on what is important, and then give me your opinions. I am extremely angry, your website is deceptive, uninformative, and a ripoff.

If you want to see what a real product review looks like I suggest the (free) digital camera review web site http://dpreview.com/

I was hoping that you would provide me with that type of information about vacuum cleaners. I was sorely disappointed. Let me be specific, you _supposedly_ measured the decibel output of various vacuum cleaners, instead of listing your measurements you list the "noise" on a scale with five choices from Excellent to Poor! How can I believe that you made any measurements if you don't give me the measurements that I am paying for, and don't tell me the conditions under which the measurements were made. You must tell your clients what the results of your noise test were, in decibels, so that they can form their own opinions about weather the noise level of a particular vacuum cleaner are excellent or poor.

Every single one of your ratings were presented in an equally obtuse manner: with out facts, or testing information. I have no reason to trust your opinions. The motivation of your corporation is clearly to make money, not help consumers. I am simply astonished by your audacity at trying to sell undocumented corporate opinions! You misrepresented your website and the information that I would find inside it; please refund my money and cancel my subscription.

Vacuum Facts = Elusive

2005-12-26T15:32:00.000-06:00

I have been trying to find information about vacuum cleaners, Gretchen and I need a new one. And have found almost no factual information.

For example if I want information about a digital camera I'd go to http://dpreview.com/ Phil Askey has created in depth reviews and his testing methods and the results are clearly documented. He does include his opinion at the end of the review, but readers are encouraged to make their own decisions.

I would expect that at least some websites would have measurements on the decibel level of noise that various vacuum cleaners make... nothing.

If you know of a site that has information please let me know.

Posthumous Conception = Not Necessarily A Zombie

2005-03-14T21:35:00.000-06:00

If notice is not received that the decedents genetic material was available for the purpose of posthumous conception within four months of the decedents death (In writing, certified mail, return receipt requested.) Death benefits should be paid as if the child of the deceased conceived after the death of the decedent had predeceased the decedent.

- And I thought pirates were nasty...

Excuses, Excuses.

2005-02-28T23:29:00.000-06:00

The ship is in for repairs. I may not be bloging for a time while I concentrate on fixin me house. I pledge a photo journal update when I blog again. Toodles.

New song bird makes parrot sound like a four pack a day habit.

2005-02-21T21:33:00.000-06:00

My step grandmother Flo (aka: Crazy Lady) has been suffering the slow degrading death of dementia. She can still get out a coherent sentence or two in the mornings, but by evening she isn't capable of speech. Her caretaker Marjorie is truly an excellent: Mad props!

the point of my lollygagging is that I am in possession of her stereo, it's a McIntosh (2100amp, preamp, and tuner), with an NHT speaker system (Super Zero & Powered Sub). It sounds very good. (Understatement) I also have the privilege of holding in trust a mildly impressive collection of classical music, about 300 CD's ish, collected by her late husband Anthony. Upon Anthony's death I was given his University of Illinois class ring, I wore it for many years, until I developed a mild rash. I hope it's not an allergy to gold - that would be silly - but it might be. I really hope it's not Anthony's ghost disapproving of the way I live my life. It would suck to have a ghost hate me, my saber is useless against ghosts. Believe me I know...

Good night for now...

Swab the lack of deck!

2005-02-03T00:07:00.000-06:00

The tile isn't finished, the swabbies are refusing to scrub the lack of deck. I found out last night that laying tile is more difficult than the brain washed idiots at Home Despot led me to believe. I go now to continue this noble work, there is no time to swashbuckle, or drink me Grog for that matter.

Weapons of Mass Wallet Devistation

2005-02-01T02:40:00.000-06:00

The Card got out of the safe! I was not used for its intended purpose, and instead of being protection, security and peace of mind, it has ravaged another chunk of the inheritance I will some day provide to humanity.

Cold Stone Ice Cream = $5.28
Two Domain Transfers & 1 Year Extension = $16.40
DSC-F828 Macro Lens Set = $38.45

Paying MasterCard back instantly online so I suffer no interest charges; priceless.

The Great Vehicle Itself (my car) is fixed! The right rear control arm replacement went very well after the old control arm finally came off. The suspension bolts that go through metal sleeves in the bushings are really nearly impossible to remove after 140,000 miles. It took four days of working on the car, and many trips to the hardware store for tools before they even budged. While it took less than 4 hours to prepare and reinstall the new arm. The car runs really well and I haven't gotten an alignment yet. Unfortunately something isn't quite right either the ball joint on the replacement (used) control arm is excessively worn, or the tire rim was damaged and not quite round. Cause it's making a bit of a lump, lump sound when I sail. This will be investigated next time I'm in to port.

The good news is that with the ship sea worthy I can check my e-mail, and write in my log book more often! Yea! (To date it's been seven days since last I seen land.)

Night all.

Parting Shot: Fidgeting Helps Separate the Lean From the Obese

Nine days!

2005-01-25T01:12:00.000-06:00

Nine days since the last entry, that is too long. But, that is what happens when one does not have internet access sometimes.

What have I been doing? Lots! Nothing exceedingly memorable, however. Gretchen and I are thinking about going on a cruse in the Caribbean for a vacation this May. I requested off for Shibaricon. I went sledding and was captured on the news, amazing that they were able to film it on account of my sled going so fast. But those corsairs’ corsairs over at the news can Pan and Tilt like you wouldn't believe. Dad is in town. Please don't judge him by this, but here it is anyway: JLuscher.com - I have his permission to put those pictures up. Besides it's his web site, he can take them down with a slash from his sword (AKA: FTP client).

Must Finish Kitchen...

2005-01-16T04:38:00.001-06:00

I have nothing interesting to write, so how about a bit of boring ness.

This weekend was filled with the usual, plus Kitchen tile laying +2. That and I've begun the rewiring of the upstairs bedrooms. The electrical wiring in the house is really a mess; it’s going to take a lot of work to fix it.

Stay warm,

Must Finish Kitchen...

2005-01-16T04:38:00.000-06:00

Hook(ey)

2005-01-13T02:53:00.000-06:00

Ha Ha - No work for this pirate today (At least not in the modern sense), the hook demands it.

I cleaned: Basement, Hook, Dishes, Clothes, Decks. That and some orginizing of the computer, and fulfilling of promises made.

Southern DOS: Y'all reckon? (Yep/Nope)

current mood: calm
current music: Coolio - Fantastic Voyage (timber mix)

Land Ho!

2005-01-12T02:43:00.001-06:00

Another awesome handle time day at work, down to 10:40ish. Pretty Sweet.
There is however very little else I remember about this day.

Mike helped me out by letting me use some of his hosting, so my website is back up: JosiahLuscher.com His hosting provider Mesopia.com is awesome. The tools that they give you are really powerful. I found the user interface lacking in context, and so it was frustrating; however the service is exellent. If I ever have to part ways with sharing the service that Mike alreay has I will probably go with them.

And hey isn't it cool! My friends commented on what I wrote. Thank you my peeps. I don't know how you find time to do that, but it rocks.

PS: There is nothing suprising about the ocean running out, land isn't a word we need to shout.

Money on my mind.

2005-01-11T21:32:00.000-06:00

I want a house!!!!! I'm living in a nice house, and I'm paying for it. But it's not mine. This is an important difference. So how do I get a house? (Perferably a fixer-up-er) Well acording to some mortage calculatos I've tried out, I could buy a house costing about 70k right now. Maybe a benevolent third party (Parents?) will help me with the 30-50K that I supposidly can't afford. I think that my income potential is good, it would just take an inordinant amount of time to pay a third party back; which is why they would have to be benevolent.

Hmm, I suppose I should start finding some real numbers. I will go to the bank tomorow and see if I can talk to a lender about what I can afford, and what I can't.

See typing the problems always makes a solution, and lifts me spirits. Arrgh Matey! Don't let you sails luff.

you fight like a milkmaid
you spell like a walrus
Both of you swim like my car.
How appropriate, you fight like a cow
I am rubber you are glue.
I'll skewer you like a sow at a buffet
What if glue hits rubber? For example what if I were to body slam you?
only one way to find out!
I would die
Would there be a bounce and a squish, or whould it be more of a splat?

Arrgh! Matey,

2005-01-10T22:09:00.000-06:00

There be wings on me back today I'm flying high. I do customer service for life insurance, and I was kickin those whiney bereaved beneficiarys off the line with a quickness. I think my AHT (That's Average Handle Time, for those of you not in the know...) was about 11:00 minutes. A full 40 seconds below my goal. But hear I am being distracted and my to do list grows.

I have Friends! mlitiagrl & defaultlisa

I go now to Tile and Sleep on Couch!

current mood: accomplished
current music: Bloodhound Gang - The Bad Touch