March 07, 2016

Camping at Tyler State Park

My wife wanted to go camping this week as an experiment to see how we liked it as a family.  I had done a lot of camping as a Boy Scout, but not much as an adult.  We had gone on trips with her family when there was a Winnebago Minnie Winne available for people to sleep in, but this time it was a shelter site at the state park.  


I couldn't say no.  I am at a point where I will leap at any change in routine to get me off my keister and out exercising.  So we loaded up the van and went.
more...

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October 12, 2015

Audible has a free audio drama of Locke & Key!

IF you have an amazon account, go sign into Audible.com and down load this drama.


I've had the first two volumes (Welcome to Lovecraft / Head Games) for some time, but never got around to picking up the other four.  This is a very well done 'radio play'.  The drama will be free until November 4th.

As a side warning, yes, this is a dark story, and the name of the town is no coincidence.  Welcome to Lovecraft Sound, Massachusetts. 

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October 06, 2015

Windows 10

I finally took advantage of Microsoft's free update to Windows 10 from Windows 7.  I've been running the OS for about a week and a half now and I'm largely happy with it. 

Only have one real major failing with it at this point and that has to do with the chipset of my Netgear WNA1100 wireless N adapter.  Depending on how much I'm doing on the internet (connection wise), all my USB devices will just disconnect.  At first, I thought this was a recent Win10 development, but after thinking over the pattern of things, I realized the network disconnection has been going on for some time.  What is new is that the device completely disconnects now.  Previously I would just hit seemingly high pings for up to 30s and then be back to normal.  So I do think it was going on while I still had Win7.

All said, even after making sure I had the latest drivers, it seems the answer is don't use the Atheros chipset in my USB wireless or get an internal card. 

Or do what I really want to do and just start using Ethernet over Power adapters.

 I don't think most users will have many problems with Win 10.  Yes, stuff is arranged differently and I don't like how much usage information is being sent to Microsoft.  It lacks all of the touch interface items that made Win8 annoying.  Heck, I suspect it is only an iterative update from Win 7 overall under the hood.

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June 26, 2015

Evening...

Laying in the dark with my old tuxedo cat under one hand and a book in the other. The thunder interrupts occasionally from a near by storm front. It is a good evening.  

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April 09, 2015

Music rediscovered...

Okay, some time back, I stumbled on a torrent for Deus Ex Sonic Augmentation from OCRemix.  I just learned today that they have released multiple albums of songs over the years.  Went on a downloading spree.

Humans and Gears, Super Metroid - REserve Tank, Wild ARMs: ARMED and Dangerous...

The music!!! Oh the cycling music!!

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April 04, 2015

Bicycling...

Started cycling this last week again.  Realized that 312 lbs was just the wrong way to be living.  I've known this for some time, and have hovered around the 290 mark for the last couple of years, but it jumped up twenty pounds in the last eight months.  Nope, I'm done.  I promised myself years ago it wouldn't get this bad and I turned around and let it get that bad.  I had a couple of rides where I couldn't even make it a mile, but as I ride every day, I'm pushing it just a little further.  Managed to put in a five mile ride in this afternoon with a small mid ride break.  Hoping to be doing twenty to thirty by midsummer.

Benefits:  I'm already sleeping better a night on any day I exercise and I've found my troubleshooting has been going better at the helpdesk I work at. 

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December 31, 2014

Happy New Year!

For the few that read here, Happy New Year to you all! May your health be good and your projects be plentiful and completed on time!

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October 13, 2014

An early stormy morning

I've got my work stuff up and running, the rain is falling outside with some thunder in the background.  I count this a good morning.  Still not adjusted to my shift schedule completely.  Need to figure out how to enjoy the weekend without staying up late and sleeping in til noon.  I'm still happy I was able to change shifts at work.  I like being off work by 1pm.

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July 12, 2014

Ghost in the smartphone?

On a slightly more somber note, I'm starting to think there is a ghost in the machine. Or at least, I'm learning we leave a bigger digital footprint behind us than I have expected. I keep finding  the name of a friend who passed away several years ago from ALS listed in my phone contacts, favorites, and messages thanks to various information services auto linking things on my phone.

Scrolling contact list,
Your name appears many years later.
Lifetime remembered.

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April 26, 2014

The need for the Second Amendment

Steven Den Beste has probably laid out the best description of the need for the Second Amendment in our country that I have heard in a long time:

http://chizumatic.mee.nu/si_vis_pacem_para_bellum


While I probably fall on the other side of the political line from Steven most of the time, I'm glad he said this.  It's much better than I could have ever done.

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September 03, 2013

Yes, I've been slacking.

A brief update:

Yes, I'm still writing.  Its going slowly. 

Went to GenCon for the first time ever, had a blast, was sick half the weekend.  Spent the other half of the weekend meeting friends I had known for years online. 

With my wife going back to school, I've decided to borrow several of her books from last semester to fill some critical gaps in my personal knowledge.  See, I wish I knew basic calculus, yet I can barely do basic algebra.  So I'm taking some time in the evenings to read up on the Algebra to bring myself back up to speed.  Hoping to be working on Calculus by next year.

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July 04, 2013

Have a happy and safe Fourth of July!

Be safe with friends and family today.

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May 21, 2013

Storm watching..

I really shouldn't but I find myself drawn to watching the radar images for Dallas/Fort Worth today.  It is not helping my stress levels any...

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May 16, 2013

Memory and the Social Network

While I know it is basically an ad for an upcoming video game, I still find this video rather inspiring. And it also still makes me think too about other issues with our digital revolution. Who is going to be able to read it in ten years, twenty years? Will we be the equivalent of the Gate builders from Stargate SG-1, leaving behind huge cities full of inscrutable texts and unusuable technologies?

http://youtu.be/LczkikAgAVE


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May 14, 2013

Amost Human?

Might we actually get a decent cyberpunk series on Fox?




Nice trailer!

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May 13, 2013

My idiot light...

Some days i wonder why i go to bed and stare into my ipad reading or watching something on netflix well into the night.   Then i turn it off and remember all the voices in my head that i dont want to hear...

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May 03, 2013

Iron Man 3 Midnight showing!

Okay, head is a little clearer now... Iron Man 3 was a very good movie. I think they used the Mandarin, Ben Kingsley, and the Extremis storylines very well. Loved the ending sequence. There is the usual post credit sequence, and it is pretty funny. I want to say more, but for now it will suffice that RDJr, Gwenneth Paltrow, and the rest of the cast knock this one out of the park.

It was well worth the the midnight showing and my craving for brains this morning at the office.

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May 02, 2013

Today is a writing day!!

Time to get ready for Saturday's post.  Which means I need to go over the section I want to post and see if there is anything too painfully bad in it.  Considering I've recently changed the MC's rank on the ship and such...  I probably have some work ahead of me.


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April 04, 2013

Lungs, hy have you forsaken me?

Bronchitis sucks... that is all.

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December 27, 2012

Random 001

Huh, so my tactic for getting through the day is to listen to 8-bit Genesis video game music of games I liked.  I can deal.  Wait...was the Genesis considered 8-bit music?

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