It's a late start but I've decided to join the Podcasting community and add one more to the mix. I'm hoping that this will stand out among the millions that are out there, mostly using my experience from the days of working for a Radio Station in Hawaii called KZOO radio. KZOO was a AM radio station, presenting a Japanese format radio station bringing music and news from Japan and also including some local fair as well.
Currently I'm working on trying to contact the major record labels in Japan and try to get them to send me promotional music from new and current artist that they would like to showcase either emerging artist or artist that have new albums that they have recently released or about to be released.
I believe that there is a market for this type of entertainment with the millions of Japanese nationals either immigrating, working or studying in the U.S. I would also like to showcase artists from Hawaii, both new and old artists. Right now, I'm in the planning and setup phase of my first podcast. I hope to start off with a half hour podcast and eventually make it an hour long show. If it eventually does become popular, I just may decide to make it live. For a live show, I'll need to see about getting sponsers to keep up with the cost of live broadcasting.
つづく ( To be continued... )
Monday, November 20, 2006
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
TekWar / IT Heirarchy
As I was sitting around late one night, I came up with the idea how IT is a parallel to IT. You have your CIO (Chief Information Officer) below him you have your department heads and so on and so forth. The image is from a quick org chart I created to visually state the relation between the two. Basically you have your daily battles of trying to keep the networks from falling apart, in order to do this, you have your soilders in a ever present, never ending battle with both technology and the ever elusive Murphy.
The mercenaries of IT are usually contractors, usually only there for the money, the "hired guns" of IT if you will. Mercenaries are also usually employees that stick around until something that offers better money (pay, salary, etc...) Below them, you have other types of people...
You could even modernize it and compare IT to the Military. However I like the Feudal Japan system better, without having to commit seppuku.
つづく ( To be continued... )
The mercenaries of IT are usually contractors, usually only there for the money, the "hired guns" of IT if you will. Mercenaries are also usually employees that stick around until something that offers better money (pay, salary, etc...) Below them, you have other types of people...
You could even modernize it and compare IT to the Military. However I like the Feudal Japan system better, without having to commit seppuku.
つづく ( To be continued... )
Thursday, October 26, 2006
Stupid is as Stupid does... and NO, I'm not your pass around drunken bitch...
Here I go again... I hate it when people don't know the names of the tools of their job, the correct names. You don't go to a mechanic that calls an air wrench an air hose or you don't take your car in for repairs and say that your car has no gas when you need to get a new battery just because the car doesn't start. It really, really pisses me off when a person that is performing a job they were hired to do and don't know how to use the tools of that job. This is like being hired to be a firefighter and don't know how to fight fires.
Just because a person knows what it is and what it needs to do, that doesn't mean everyone knows what your thinking or thinks like that person. I may be intuitive, but I am not psychic and just because I work for a particular company, supporting equipment, that doesn't mean I know everything about everyones jobs. It's like a cashier working at a automotive repair shop, just because that person can ring up the bill, that doesn't mean that person knows how to fix a vehicle.
Now on to the other part of the title.
Another thing that really pisses me off is when you get a call (another clue to what I do as a job) and after resolving that issue, the person states that they have someone else there that needs to talk to you regarding the same or another issue, eventually you get passed around to just about everyone there. Just because they don't want to go through the phone menu and having to wait for someone to answer. You have a dozen other people waiting for someone to answer the phone and help resolve their issue and you'd rather make everyone else wait just to advance your own agenda. It's like standing in a line, waiting for your turn and someone in front of you lets their friends and family ahead of you to cut in line, that's rude and inconsiderate.
The other thing I really hate is those people that call you while their issue is being resolved, but they called so that they wouldn't have to spend time going through all the menu items and having to wait, so does that mean I'll have to waste my time waiting for the resolution or having to try and resolve the issue myself and maybe not having to deal with anything while I could have been help someone else with more immediate needs? You Selfish Bastard/Bitch!
What it boils down to is learn to use and the names of the tools of your job, don't waste my time, cause unlike you, I have other things that I need to be doing and don't have the time to be just waiting hand and foot on you. Get off your lazy asses and be considerate of other people cause unlike you, they have more pressing issues that need resolution. Also, if need be, take a computer class.
つづく ( To be continued... )
Just because a person knows what it is and what it needs to do, that doesn't mean everyone knows what your thinking or thinks like that person. I may be intuitive, but I am not psychic and just because I work for a particular company, supporting equipment, that doesn't mean I know everything about everyones jobs. It's like a cashier working at a automotive repair shop, just because that person can ring up the bill, that doesn't mean that person knows how to fix a vehicle.
Now on to the other part of the title.
Another thing that really pisses me off is when you get a call (another clue to what I do as a job) and after resolving that issue, the person states that they have someone else there that needs to talk to you regarding the same or another issue, eventually you get passed around to just about everyone there. Just because they don't want to go through the phone menu and having to wait for someone to answer. You have a dozen other people waiting for someone to answer the phone and help resolve their issue and you'd rather make everyone else wait just to advance your own agenda. It's like standing in a line, waiting for your turn and someone in front of you lets their friends and family ahead of you to cut in line, that's rude and inconsiderate.
The other thing I really hate is those people that call you while their issue is being resolved, but they called so that they wouldn't have to spend time going through all the menu items and having to wait, so does that mean I'll have to waste my time waiting for the resolution or having to try and resolve the issue myself and maybe not having to deal with anything while I could have been help someone else with more immediate needs? You Selfish Bastard/Bitch!
What it boils down to is learn to use and the names of the tools of your job, don't waste my time, cause unlike you, I have other things that I need to be doing and don't have the time to be just waiting hand and foot on you. Get off your lazy asses and be considerate of other people cause unlike you, they have more pressing issues that need resolution. Also, if need be, take a computer class.
つづく ( To be continued... )
Monday, October 23, 2006
Upgrade almost complete
The upgrade is about 90 percent complete. I just have to install the last couple pieces of software and it'll be done. So far I've noticed an increase in perfomance while working with sound files. From the short time I played Battlefield 2, I've noticed a little more details, like now I can see rocks and particles when things are blown up, the puff of smoke with a shot hits something other than the target...
つづく ( To be continued... )
つづく ( To be continued... )
Saturday, October 21, 2006
The new computer setup
Samantha decided to watch me put my computer together, in order to get comfortable, she used the protective foam from the video card box as a bed. She didn't move until I was ready to plug in the power and start it up. It took about 3 - 4 hours total time to put it all together, I'm sure it would've taken less time if I worked straight.
While putting the computer together, I realized I was much happier than doing anything else. Then again, it's not everyday that I take apart a computer and put it together again, let alone upgrade a computer everyday.
Once I got the computer to power up, I had to switch the DVD drives's with the Hard drives from the motherboard IDE controller to the IDE controller card as I had intended to do. This was because, for some reason, the onboard IDE controller is setup like a secondary controller, so with the IDE controller card is like the primary. After swapping that, it booted up but before getting to the login screen, it would reboot. Turns out that I needed to reload Windows XP so that the OS would recognize the new CPU.
As of this entry, I'm slowly still installing programs that I had previously installed... So it's slow going...
つづく ( To be continued... )
While putting the computer together, I realized I was much happier than doing anything else. Then again, it's not everyday that I take apart a computer and put it together again, let alone upgrade a computer everyday.
Once I got the computer to power up, I had to switch the DVD drives's with the Hard drives from the motherboard IDE controller to the IDE controller card as I had intended to do. This was because, for some reason, the onboard IDE controller is setup like a secondary controller, so with the IDE controller card is like the primary. After swapping that, it booted up but before getting to the login screen, it would reboot. Turns out that I needed to reload Windows XP so that the OS would recognize the new CPU.
As of this entry, I'm slowly still installing programs that I had previously installed... So it's slow going...
つづく ( To be continued... )
Friday, October 20, 2006
IT'S ALIVE!
All the parts had arrived yesterday, picked them up from my friends house. After getting home, I wasn't in an extreme rush to get the computer up, so I took my time taking out the old stuff and replacing it with the new parts. I was basically planning out the install as I was doing it. Samantha decided that the protective foam for the video card was a good place to lay down and watch me work on the computer (got a picture that I'll put up later). Everything went well, almost well, after getting the CPU fan on the processor and tried to reinsert the motherboard tray back into the case, the fan hit part of the case, it was just a little bit higher than the opening. Ended up having to remove the fan, inserting the motherboard tray and then re-installing the fan.
I took pictures of all the steps that I took and should have them posted to my flickr account soon. I'll have to install a new copy of Windows, as soon as that is done, I'll have all the pictures up and back online for a round of Battlefield 2 or two.
つづく ( To be continued... )
I took pictures of all the steps that I took and should have them posted to my flickr account soon. I'll have to install a new copy of Windows, as soon as that is done, I'll have all the pictures up and back online for a round of Battlefield 2 or two.
つづく ( To be continued... )
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Intel Core 2 Duo
Parts have been ordered on Friday, now, just waiting for the parts to arrive, selected 3 day shipping, so I'm guessing that it should be at my friends house on either Wednesday or Thursday, I just hope that the video card arrives at the same time as the rest of the parts. The bulk of the parts (Motherboard, CPU, CPU Fan, Memory and Power supply) were ordered through Newegg and the PCI-e video card was ordered through Crucial (Micron).
Why did I order the video card through Crucial and not have it all through Newegg? Well, the Radeon X1600 from ATI has GDDR2 memory installed on it, while the Crucial built card using the ATI chipset, which is also a Radeon X1600 has the GDDR3 memory installed. Also, for the same model with the better memory, it was $40 cheaper.
Now after this upgrade, I hope that I can save enough money to get the new Nikon D80 Digital SLR camera. I currently have an Olympus (as mentioned in my previous entries) and so far it's been doing a good job of taking photos, but I want to do more. Nothing like going pro but still, I find myself getting frustrated because of the limited features of the camera.
Well, found out that the video card has arrived, wasn't expecting that till tomorrow. Unfortunately, the rest of the parts won't arrive till the 19th, Thursday. I guess I've waited this long, I can wait one more day...
つづく ( To be continued... )
Why did I order the video card through Crucial and not have it all through Newegg? Well, the Radeon X1600 from ATI has GDDR2 memory installed on it, while the Crucial built card using the ATI chipset, which is also a Radeon X1600 has the GDDR3 memory installed. Also, for the same model with the better memory, it was $40 cheaper.
Now after this upgrade, I hope that I can save enough money to get the new Nikon D80 Digital SLR camera. I currently have an Olympus (as mentioned in my previous entries) and so far it's been doing a good job of taking photos, but I want to do more. Nothing like going pro but still, I find myself getting frustrated because of the limited features of the camera.
Well, found out that the video card has arrived, wasn't expecting that till tomorrow. Unfortunately, the rest of the parts won't arrive till the 19th, Thursday. I guess I've waited this long, I can wait one more day...
つづく ( To be continued... )
Friday, October 13, 2006
Excaliber
My Sleep pose is:
Well, tonight is the night that the new computer get ordered.
つづく ( To be continued... )
Find your own pose!
I was reading an article about sleep in the Star Tribune regarding couples and what happens and how it affects relations between couples. Pretty interesting article, according to the researcher, nothing of this type of study has been done before, which I find it interesting because we all do it, no one has really given it much thought as to how it affects couples.Well, tonight is the night that the new computer get ordered.
つづく ( To be continued... )
Monday, October 09, 2006
Thank you Nintendo!
If it wasn't for Nintendo creating the DS Lite, I'd be losing my mind and wouldn't know what to do with myself... My computer is out of order, I did troubleshooting on my computer and at first thought it was the video card, I then thought it may have been the AGP slot that was going bad, but after switching out the video card with a known good video card, that was not the case.
I then pulled the DIMM's and found that the 2 512k DIMMs that I have in there were the type of memory I normally wouldn't buy, but not paying attention and being that they were cheap at the time, I bought them. The 1st is a Samsung module, the 2nd is a Kingston. I tried switching them around, then I tried them one at a time and now the computer doen't boot up at all.
So, the Motherboard is still in good working condition, just the memory is bad. I'm about 90 percent sure that if new memory modules were installed, the board will boot. I'll just go through with the upgrade. So, I'll have a Biostar TDK 478 Intel chipset motherboard, Intel P4 2.53 Mhz CPU with a Zalman CPU cooler, a Linksys 10/100 LAN card and an ATI 9700 AGP video card with 128k of Video RAM for sale soon, included or sold seperately, a Antec 300 Watt ATX power supply.
I know what your asking, what am I planning to upgrade to? Well, I'm going to upgrade to an Intel DP965LT Socket T (LGA 775) motherboard with the built in sound card and LAN card that does 10/100/10000, 1 gig of Crucial DDR2 800 Mhz memory, a Core 2 Duo 2.13 Mhz CPU, a Zalman CPU Cooling Fan, an Antec Smartpower 450W Power supply and an Crucial Radeon X1600 PCI-e with GDDR3 GPU and 256k of Video memory. The Crucial Radeon was 40 dollars cheaper than the ATI and it came with a better GPU than the ATI...
Going back to the DS Lite, last week I picked up the Lego Star Wars 2 and True Swing Golf. I've been more into the Golf than the Lego Game, I guess secretly I've always been a virtual golfer... One other thing I've noticed since the computers been out of order, I've gotten more house work done and also ironed my dress shirts intead of just wearing them and looking as if I slept in them the night before.
I'm not looking forward to the next 2 days of walking to the bus stop to get to work, the weather predicted for those days are rain and eventually turning into snow. I guess I'll have to wear the boots and the long coat... I'll have to use the water resistant spray on the backpack so that the contents won't get wet.
On a side note, I don't know what has been causing it, but I've been having some pretty bizarre dreams lately, I can't remember any of them but I do remember that it was very strange. Last week, I dreamt something that made me wake up crying... all I can say is that it had something to do with a child dying, I don't remember if it was my child or someone elses child, but the dream was so emotional. In the past, I have had this happen 3 to 4 times before.
This past weekend had been a relaxing one, no contact with people, just me, the TV, Samantha and the DS Lite. With the exception of my friend coming over briefly with his son to visit Samantha and deliver some food items for the week. The only difficult decision I had was to decide on playing on the DS or watching TV... What would have made it perfect is deciding on what type of bait to use to catch fish.
つづく ( To be continued... )
I then pulled the DIMM's and found that the 2 512k DIMMs that I have in there were the type of memory I normally wouldn't buy, but not paying attention and being that they were cheap at the time, I bought them. The 1st is a Samsung module, the 2nd is a Kingston. I tried switching them around, then I tried them one at a time and now the computer doen't boot up at all.
So, the Motherboard is still in good working condition, just the memory is bad. I'm about 90 percent sure that if new memory modules were installed, the board will boot. I'll just go through with the upgrade. So, I'll have a Biostar TDK 478 Intel chipset motherboard, Intel P4 2.53 Mhz CPU with a Zalman CPU cooler, a Linksys 10/100 LAN card and an ATI 9700 AGP video card with 128k of Video RAM for sale soon, included or sold seperately, a Antec 300 Watt ATX power supply.
I know what your asking, what am I planning to upgrade to? Well, I'm going to upgrade to an Intel DP965LT Socket T (LGA 775) motherboard with the built in sound card and LAN card that does 10/100/10000, 1 gig of Crucial DDR2 800 Mhz memory, a Core 2 Duo 2.13 Mhz CPU, a Zalman CPU Cooling Fan, an Antec Smartpower 450W Power supply and an Crucial Radeon X1600 PCI-e with GDDR3 GPU and 256k of Video memory. The Crucial Radeon was 40 dollars cheaper than the ATI and it came with a better GPU than the ATI...
Going back to the DS Lite, last week I picked up the Lego Star Wars 2 and True Swing Golf. I've been more into the Golf than the Lego Game, I guess secretly I've always been a virtual golfer... One other thing I've noticed since the computers been out of order, I've gotten more house work done and also ironed my dress shirts intead of just wearing them and looking as if I slept in them the night before.
I'm not looking forward to the next 2 days of walking to the bus stop to get to work, the weather predicted for those days are rain and eventually turning into snow. I guess I'll have to wear the boots and the long coat... I'll have to use the water resistant spray on the backpack so that the contents won't get wet.
On a side note, I don't know what has been causing it, but I've been having some pretty bizarre dreams lately, I can't remember any of them but I do remember that it was very strange. Last week, I dreamt something that made me wake up crying... all I can say is that it had something to do with a child dying, I don't remember if it was my child or someone elses child, but the dream was so emotional. In the past, I have had this happen 3 to 4 times before.
This past weekend had been a relaxing one, no contact with people, just me, the TV, Samantha and the DS Lite. With the exception of my friend coming over briefly with his son to visit Samantha and deliver some food items for the week. The only difficult decision I had was to decide on playing on the DS or watching TV... What would have made it perfect is deciding on what type of bait to use to catch fish.
つづく ( To be continued... )
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
Giving last rites to my PC
Last week my computer would either get video corruption on the desktop, not boot or just randomly shutdown. Well, after switching out the video cards, it has been determined that there is something on the motherboard that is causing the issue.
Well... after looking around for a suitable replacement (which there was none), I've decided to do a major upgrade to the PC. So in the mean time, I won't have internet access from home or more importantly, play Battlefield 2 online. If it wasn't for the DS Lite I recently got, I'd be going nuts, not being able to play any games. On a side note, Samantha is much more happy cause I don't have a computer for now. Only because I've been paying more attention to her.
つづく ( To be continued... )
Well... after looking around for a suitable replacement (which there was none), I've decided to do a major upgrade to the PC. So in the mean time, I won't have internet access from home or more importantly, play Battlefield 2 online. If it wasn't for the DS Lite I recently got, I'd be going nuts, not being able to play any games. On a side note, Samantha is much more happy cause I don't have a computer for now. Only because I've been paying more attention to her.
つづく ( To be continued... )
Saturday, September 23, 2006
My life as a country song (except way cooler and more futuristic)...
My computer is not working the way it should, I suspect the video card is going on it, I keep getting video corruption on the desktop, the PC will shutdown either while booting, in the BIOS or while logged in. So, for now, no Battlefield 2, no email from home, no pictures to Flickr...
My car is basically falling apart, the Front CV shaft (front drive car), the boots have a split in them and are loose. The right side makes a clicking noise when I turn to the right, we (my friend and I) tried to get the disc brake off cause the nut wouldn't come off, he sprayed it with WD-40 and waited, tried to pound it off, even tried an air wrench... in the end, we gave up. The engine is leaking oil, the right side blinker is shorted out. There's a CD stuck in the player that won't eject... the CD will play, but I hate the music on it... The stereo, only 1 speaker works out of the 2, the 2 rear speakers are missing... I have to admit, I've had better cars for the same amount I paid...
Well, at least I have a Nintendo DS Lite, however the only game that I have for it is the Atari Retro games... I still have cable... I still have a bottle of Cuevo Black... Samantha is still with me... I suppose without the computer, I could spend quality time with Samantha, I've been neglecting her for Battlefield 2, so at least she'll like that. I could get other things done that I've been putting off for a while, like cleaning up the apartment.
つづく ( To be continued... )
My car is basically falling apart, the Front CV shaft (front drive car), the boots have a split in them and are loose. The right side makes a clicking noise when I turn to the right, we (my friend and I) tried to get the disc brake off cause the nut wouldn't come off, he sprayed it with WD-40 and waited, tried to pound it off, even tried an air wrench... in the end, we gave up. The engine is leaking oil, the right side blinker is shorted out. There's a CD stuck in the player that won't eject... the CD will play, but I hate the music on it... The stereo, only 1 speaker works out of the 2, the 2 rear speakers are missing... I have to admit, I've had better cars for the same amount I paid...
Well, at least I have a Nintendo DS Lite, however the only game that I have for it is the Atari Retro games... I still have cable... I still have a bottle of Cuevo Black... Samantha is still with me... I suppose without the computer, I could spend quality time with Samantha, I've been neglecting her for Battlefield 2, so at least she'll like that. I could get other things done that I've been putting off for a while, like cleaning up the apartment.
つづく ( To be continued... )
Monday, September 18, 2006
Grilled Steak and Chicken
This past weekend, I treated my friend and his family to dinner. Since the apartments that I live in doesn't allow grills of any kind and he had a grill, it was a good compromise. I made steak and chicken for our dinner, the steaks were from the Black Angus, a New York Strip, the chicken was this new type that Cub Foods started carrying that the chickens were raised without any drugs or vitamins.
Well, everyone enjoyed my cooking so much that just about everyone was stuffed...lol I have to admit, I really enjoy cooking for those who really appreciate it. Well, his son didn't care for the chicken so my friends Mom made him a cheese sandwich.. I didn't mind, I know that children can be fussy eaters, he did give the chicken a try though and I think he did try the steak... He did really enjoy the rice though...
After a meal like that, I was planning on making Kara Age chicken, but got lazy... so maybe Monday night, I'll pick up more chicken so that I can make it.
The weather is going to get cooler this week, I'm already planning on making red wine stew and Japanese brown curry. The curry, I want to make it with lamb, but the main markets don't carry it, so I'll have to see about going to a meat market to pick up some.
The Camry didn't get an upgrade this weekend, tried to take the CV shaft off the car, but the bolts holding in the brake pads were so stubborn, we gave up trying to take them off. I just hope that it'll last a while till I can save up for another car, till then, everytime I start out on a trip, I'll have to pray that the car won't give out in the middle of nowhere...
The Honey Crisp Apples made it into the stores, but the quality and the size is nowhere close to those at the farmers market, hopefully I'll still have enough money for the Famers Market this Thursday to get some.
I was also debating on getting a Nintendo DS for the bus ride to and from work, but somehow just can't justify the cost of getting one with a game, especially since there isn't a whole lot of a selection on games, oh well, guess I'll just stick with the mp3 player...
つづく ( To be continued... )
Well, everyone enjoyed my cooking so much that just about everyone was stuffed...lol I have to admit, I really enjoy cooking for those who really appreciate it. Well, his son didn't care for the chicken so my friends Mom made him a cheese sandwich.. I didn't mind, I know that children can be fussy eaters, he did give the chicken a try though and I think he did try the steak... He did really enjoy the rice though...
After a meal like that, I was planning on making Kara Age chicken, but got lazy... so maybe Monday night, I'll pick up more chicken so that I can make it.
The weather is going to get cooler this week, I'm already planning on making red wine stew and Japanese brown curry. The curry, I want to make it with lamb, but the main markets don't carry it, so I'll have to see about going to a meat market to pick up some.
The Camry didn't get an upgrade this weekend, tried to take the CV shaft off the car, but the bolts holding in the brake pads were so stubborn, we gave up trying to take them off. I just hope that it'll last a while till I can save up for another car, till then, everytime I start out on a trip, I'll have to pray that the car won't give out in the middle of nowhere...
The Honey Crisp Apples made it into the stores, but the quality and the size is nowhere close to those at the farmers market, hopefully I'll still have enough money for the Famers Market this Thursday to get some.
I was also debating on getting a Nintendo DS for the bus ride to and from work, but somehow just can't justify the cost of getting one with a game, especially since there isn't a whole lot of a selection on games, oh well, guess I'll just stick with the mp3 player...
つづく ( To be continued... )
Saturday, September 09, 2006
Honey Crisp Apples!!!
Tis' the season for Honey Crisp Apples, actually it's supposed to begin on September 15th, apparently there are some farms that have them early. Either way, I have to get them, they are so sweet, juicy and crunchy. The best ones are from the Farmers Market, cause they appear to be larger and those that you can get in the Market.
The weather since yesterday seems like fall already, the skies are mostly grey, the temperature has been a little cooler... I guess I prefer the cooler weather over the hotter weather, it makes it for better sleeping. I'd rather be bundled up and snug in my bed and blankets then being sprawled out all over the place, trying to get cool.
As I sit here at work, with a headache that doesn't seem to want to go away even after taking 2 tabs of aspirin. Riding the bus into work didn't help either. It seems the bus was busier than a week day. Then again, it may have been because of the grey, fall like weather. I don't mind riding the bus, mostly cause I save on gas, but some of the people on the bus should learn to use soap before getting on a mass transit system as a courtesy to the other riders. Sure occasionally you get your forever drunk riders that try to hide their alcohol in a soda bottle, but worse yet is someone who, lets face it, stinks.
By the way, contrary to what most people think, vodka does have a smell to it. No matter how you try to hide it or what others have told you, it smells like, alcohol, the rubbing kind. Why do I say this? I drink vodka occasionally and when I do, I prefer it either straight or on the rocks.
So far the Camry is still running, but I'm a bit worried about the CV joint, the clicking noise when I turn to the right, as I've been told by many people, is a sign that it needs to be replaced. Until I can buy a replacement part, I'll have to nurse the car as much as possible to avoid it breaking down a lot sooner than necessary.
Last night I made garlic bread with the rolls I picked up at the farmers market this past Thursday. I ended up eating about 3 pieces and Samantha didn't want to be around me for a while after that... I'm looking to make spaghetti tomorrow and I'll sautee' the mushrooms I picked up at the farmers market also. I'll sautee' them in butter and add some red wine, it'll be added to the marinara sauce.
つづく ( To be continued... )
The weather since yesterday seems like fall already, the skies are mostly grey, the temperature has been a little cooler... I guess I prefer the cooler weather over the hotter weather, it makes it for better sleeping. I'd rather be bundled up and snug in my bed and blankets then being sprawled out all over the place, trying to get cool.
As I sit here at work, with a headache that doesn't seem to want to go away even after taking 2 tabs of aspirin. Riding the bus into work didn't help either. It seems the bus was busier than a week day. Then again, it may have been because of the grey, fall like weather. I don't mind riding the bus, mostly cause I save on gas, but some of the people on the bus should learn to use soap before getting on a mass transit system as a courtesy to the other riders. Sure occasionally you get your forever drunk riders that try to hide their alcohol in a soda bottle, but worse yet is someone who, lets face it, stinks.
By the way, contrary to what most people think, vodka does have a smell to it. No matter how you try to hide it or what others have told you, it smells like, alcohol, the rubbing kind. Why do I say this? I drink vodka occasionally and when I do, I prefer it either straight or on the rocks.
So far the Camry is still running, but I'm a bit worried about the CV joint, the clicking noise when I turn to the right, as I've been told by many people, is a sign that it needs to be replaced. Until I can buy a replacement part, I'll have to nurse the car as much as possible to avoid it breaking down a lot sooner than necessary.
Last night I made garlic bread with the rolls I picked up at the farmers market this past Thursday. I ended up eating about 3 pieces and Samantha didn't want to be around me for a while after that... I'm looking to make spaghetti tomorrow and I'll sautee' the mushrooms I picked up at the farmers market also. I'll sautee' them in butter and add some red wine, it'll be added to the marinara sauce.
つづく ( To be continued... )
Saturday, August 26, 2006
Vehicle hardware upgrade version 90.00A
Little did I know that saving the screws from previous computer upgrades and builds would benefit my vehicle. The windshield wipers, from the previous owner was changed, apparently they took off the hardware for the wiperblades and tried to put the replacement blades directly on the wiper arm then put a screw in to hold the wiper blade onto the arm.
It was time for another replacement because it seemed as if the wiper blades were replaced previously about 10 years ago. To make a long story short, I was able to get both wiper blades off but ended up breaking the screw head off on one side, I got the new hardware on the arm but because I broke the screw on the other, at the time, thought I would have to wait till I got to a hardware store to get a replacement screw.
The next day after trying to figure out when I would be able to buy a replacement screw, it came to me that I have spare screws for the computer and thought that the size was pretty similar to the one that was broken. So, that night, after getting home, I had the hardware with me and picked out a screw that was pretty close and went out to the car, low and behold, it was the exact same size. What a relief that was...
つづく ( To be continued... )
It was time for another replacement because it seemed as if the wiper blades were replaced previously about 10 years ago. To make a long story short, I was able to get both wiper blades off but ended up breaking the screw head off on one side, I got the new hardware on the arm but because I broke the screw on the other, at the time, thought I would have to wait till I got to a hardware store to get a replacement screw.
The next day after trying to figure out when I would be able to buy a replacement screw, it came to me that I have spare screws for the computer and thought that the size was pretty similar to the one that was broken. So, that night, after getting home, I had the hardware with me and picked out a screw that was pretty close and went out to the car, low and behold, it was the exact same size. What a relief that was...
つづく ( To be continued... )
The Human Walking Butt...
Oh the Joys of Public Transportation. On the bus ride home last night, a bus rider boarded the bus. Normally it wouldn't have caught my attention, less chronicle about the experience and or person, but (pun intended) he smelled so bad, either this guy was a sewer worker, never bathed in his life or just doesn't care. I'm going with the last two.
At first, after boarding the bus, mostly because I usually sit towards the middle of the bus, as he selected his seat, about 1 bench away... The stench from this guy was so bad, the woman in front of me eventually moved towards the back of the bus, trying to get away from his butt smell. Now I don't know if this guy uses toilet tissue after going to the bathroom or rubs his butt smell all over himself, but it was bad.
Now I can take smelling the occasional skunk scent when driving or walking past a skunk hiding off to the side, but eventually I had to open the bus window to let the air flow through and try to divert his funk away from me. This person appeared to be somewhat less than intelligent or stoned beyond reality. When he finally got off the bus, his funk stayed and seemed to get off at the next stop, to which I was so grateful, normally I would nap a bit on the way to the end of the line, but his funk kept me wide awake till about 3 stops after with the window open.
I think from now on, I'm going to do what I did in Japan, carry a bottle of cologne and a cloth handkerchief. You do that in Japan when your out doing the tourist stuff because if you have to use the public restrooms there, you'll be spraying the cologne into the handkerchief and holding it up to your nose and mouth while breathing through it. Enough said.
Thursday was a pretty good day, it was Farmers Market day in Downtown Minneapolis, I bought some really good red pears, really crunchy and sweet peaches, ginger, wild plum jam, the really, really good rolls and some Zucchini Nut bread. I wanted to get the potted basil plant, but decided not to. The habanero plant that I bought for a dollar about a month ago is doing pretty well now, got a sun lamp and some fertilizer for it, it looks as if more peppers are going to be coming out.
Now if I could pick up this RC vehicle that looks like a bug and shoots nerf darts called N.S.E.C.T for work... Nah, better not. I could just imagine starting something new, all these RC bugs walking around the office, shooting people. It might look like a scene out of the Movie Runaway starring Tom Selleck and Gene Simmons...
つづく ( To be continued... )
At first, after boarding the bus, mostly because I usually sit towards the middle of the bus, as he selected his seat, about 1 bench away... The stench from this guy was so bad, the woman in front of me eventually moved towards the back of the bus, trying to get away from his butt smell. Now I don't know if this guy uses toilet tissue after going to the bathroom or rubs his butt smell all over himself, but it was bad.
Now I can take smelling the occasional skunk scent when driving or walking past a skunk hiding off to the side, but eventually I had to open the bus window to let the air flow through and try to divert his funk away from me. This person appeared to be somewhat less than intelligent or stoned beyond reality. When he finally got off the bus, his funk stayed and seemed to get off at the next stop, to which I was so grateful, normally I would nap a bit on the way to the end of the line, but his funk kept me wide awake till about 3 stops after with the window open.
I think from now on, I'm going to do what I did in Japan, carry a bottle of cologne and a cloth handkerchief. You do that in Japan when your out doing the tourist stuff because if you have to use the public restrooms there, you'll be spraying the cologne into the handkerchief and holding it up to your nose and mouth while breathing through it. Enough said.
Thursday was a pretty good day, it was Farmers Market day in Downtown Minneapolis, I bought some really good red pears, really crunchy and sweet peaches, ginger, wild plum jam, the really, really good rolls and some Zucchini Nut bread. I wanted to get the potted basil plant, but decided not to. The habanero plant that I bought for a dollar about a month ago is doing pretty well now, got a sun lamp and some fertilizer for it, it looks as if more peppers are going to be coming out.
Now if I could pick up this RC vehicle that looks like a bug and shoots nerf darts called N.S.E.C.T for work... Nah, better not. I could just imagine starting something new, all these RC bugs walking around the office, shooting people. It might look like a scene out of the Movie Runaway starring Tom Selleck and Gene Simmons...
つづく ( To be continued... )
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
Engage Cluetrain blogospheres
I got a replacement vehicle, it's a 1990 Toyota Camery, missing the pipe from the Catalytic coverter to the resonator. It's a bit loud but at least now I can travel on the freeways instead of having to drive the back roads. It'll take a little work to get it in better shape, but at least it's mine, not the financial institution, but mine. Oh and the other thing I like about it, it's a manual transmission. I've realized that I like the manuals over automatics, mostly because you save a little bit more on gas.
Haagen Dazs has a really good flavor, a sorbet called Tropical Sorbet, it's a blend several types of fruits and it's SOOOOO Good! I ended up eating a pint of this sorbet all by myself. Oh, for you weight conscious readers out there, it's fat free. They also have a Mango flavor, which I am yet to try it out...
I also recently picked up a new set of headsets for my mp3 player, the sound is fairly good, the best part of it is, when I'm riding the bus, I can't hear anyone else but my music. For the price I paid for the headsets, it's pretty good, but not as good as my studio headsets from AKG, Shure makes the headsets which I was more familiar with the Microphones, but was a little hesitant about the headsets. They do have a better quality headset, but the suggested price was about 200 dollars... just a bit too much to use while riding the bus, but perfect for digital recording.
つづく ( To be continued... )
Haagen Dazs has a really good flavor, a sorbet called Tropical Sorbet, it's a blend several types of fruits and it's SOOOOO Good! I ended up eating a pint of this sorbet all by myself. Oh, for you weight conscious readers out there, it's fat free. They also have a Mango flavor, which I am yet to try it out...
I also recently picked up a new set of headsets for my mp3 player, the sound is fairly good, the best part of it is, when I'm riding the bus, I can't hear anyone else but my music. For the price I paid for the headsets, it's pretty good, but not as good as my studio headsets from AKG, Shure makes the headsets which I was more familiar with the Microphones, but was a little hesitant about the headsets. They do have a better quality headset, but the suggested price was about 200 dollars... just a bit too much to use while riding the bus, but perfect for digital recording.
つづく ( To be continued... )
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
Flickr instead of textamerica
I found that Flickr is easier to use than Textamerica, plus more people that I know use Flickr, like my really good friend in Hawaii, whom I first met while I was a DJ for a Japanese radio station there. I ended up being his BBS tester whenever he added new features or upgraded his BBS. For those of you that don't know what BBS stands for, BBS is Bulletin Board Service. This was like the net of the dial-up days...
I've changed the slide show on the side from Textamerica to Flickr since I add more photos there than I do with the other.
Anyway, even to this day, every so often, my friend in Hawaii asks me to test things out on his website, which is now a forum for Firefly as well as other SciFi movies and shows. Now days he doesn't really have much time to add new things or upgrade his site because he's been having a house built in Hawaii, plus his job as a programmer for some kind of financial software (I think).
Also, since he does a lot of programming for Microsoft OS, I tend to ask him questions about Windows and such. As a matter of fact, without his advice and wisdom, I wouldn't be in computers, either building or trouble shooting them if it wasn't for him. Thanks Haken.
Catching a taxi the last 10 miles after the bus gets to the end of the line isn't all that bad, at least, if it wasn't for Uncle Pawlenty giving me money (Property Tax Refund), I wouldn't be able to do this and would've had to walk the last 10 miles. At the begining of the week, I didn't think I would've had enough money to do the 5 days of cab rides, but as it turned out and as luck would have it, I had just enough to get me through this work week. Now if my luck continues, that car that I was interested in hasn't sold yet, or at least I haven't gotten a call from the owner yet, I'll be able to check it out and also hopefully have my friend go along to check out the mechanical side of the car to make sure it's worth the asking price.
It seems that I'm lucky with finding vehicles and being able to purchase one, but it seems that I'm not lucky when it comes to owning them for very long. Since moving to Minnesota back in 1995, I have owned 7 vehicles plus 1 motorcycle, which I had shipped from Hawaii for a total of 8 vehicles... out of the 8, one of them was a brand new '96 Plymouth Breeze, which I really, really liked... Manual transmission, smooth ride, quiet and very economical fuel wise, but because I wasn't able to keep up with payments, the car got taken away. That's why since then I get used vehicles and pay for them up front instead of financing, this way, I own the vehicle and not have some financial institution own it and having to pay them for the use of it.
つづく ( To be continued... )
I've changed the slide show on the side from Textamerica to Flickr since I add more photos there than I do with the other.
Anyway, even to this day, every so often, my friend in Hawaii asks me to test things out on his website, which is now a forum for Firefly as well as other SciFi movies and shows. Now days he doesn't really have much time to add new things or upgrade his site because he's been having a house built in Hawaii, plus his job as a programmer for some kind of financial software (I think).
Also, since he does a lot of programming for Microsoft OS, I tend to ask him questions about Windows and such. As a matter of fact, without his advice and wisdom, I wouldn't be in computers, either building or trouble shooting them if it wasn't for him. Thanks Haken.
Catching a taxi the last 10 miles after the bus gets to the end of the line isn't all that bad, at least, if it wasn't for Uncle Pawlenty giving me money (Property Tax Refund), I wouldn't be able to do this and would've had to walk the last 10 miles. At the begining of the week, I didn't think I would've had enough money to do the 5 days of cab rides, but as it turned out and as luck would have it, I had just enough to get me through this work week. Now if my luck continues, that car that I was interested in hasn't sold yet, or at least I haven't gotten a call from the owner yet, I'll be able to check it out and also hopefully have my friend go along to check out the mechanical side of the car to make sure it's worth the asking price.
It seems that I'm lucky with finding vehicles and being able to purchase one, but it seems that I'm not lucky when it comes to owning them for very long. Since moving to Minnesota back in 1995, I have owned 7 vehicles plus 1 motorcycle, which I had shipped from Hawaii for a total of 8 vehicles... out of the 8, one of them was a brand new '96 Plymouth Breeze, which I really, really liked... Manual transmission, smooth ride, quiet and very economical fuel wise, but because I wasn't able to keep up with payments, the car got taken away. That's why since then I get used vehicles and pay for them up front instead of financing, this way, I own the vehicle and not have some financial institution own it and having to pay them for the use of it.
つづく ( To be continued... )
Monday, August 14, 2006
1 beats 10...
Well, I have to admit, walking 1 mile beats having to walk 10 miles... anyday. At least I know about how much it would cost to catch a cab from the Northtown Mall to the Riverdale Cub. I have the money to do this for at least 3 times and was thinking of walking the 10 miles on the 4th day. The difficult part would be taking in lunch that won't spoil on the ride into work. With the money that I would kind of save on the 4th day, I could buy stuff in downtown that won't spoil that I could keep at my desk.
Something to think about until I get to work tomorrow.
Hopefully that car that I found in an ad will still be available, if it is, I should have a replacement car by this weekend.
つづく ( To be continued... )
Something to think about until I get to work tomorrow.
Hopefully that car that I found in an ad will still be available, if it is, I should have a replacement car by this weekend.
つづく ( To be continued... )
Sunday, August 13, 2006
The next 4 days will be a test of endurance...
Tonight it shouldn't be that bad going home, just need to make sure that I can catch a cab from 41st Ave. in Columbia Heights, it'll be a bit more than the cab ride from my apartment to the Northtown Mall, which with tip came out to $25.00, but if I have to do this for the next 4 nights, it'll take me a while to make up the loss, not only that I don't have the money to do this because of the other thing that I need to take care of.
I figured that it'll come out to about $100.00 even if I were to take a cab from the last stop that the buses run to, which is in the Northtown Mall at the hour that I finish work and to make it there, if something urgent comes up at work, I won't be able to make it that far, cause the later buses only goes as far as 41st ave. There is no one that I can call for a ride or would ask for a ride because it is so way out of everyone's way that I know. My friend that lives in Blaine won't be able to do that because he has to be up by 7:00 a.m. and his wife is currently in the hospital due to very, very major surgery.
NOT HAVING A VEHICLE AND WORKING AT NIGHT IN A STATE WHERE THE BUS SYSTEM REALLY, REALLY, REALLY SUCKS... SUCKS!!!!!!
つづく ( To be continued... )
I figured that it'll come out to about $100.00 even if I were to take a cab from the last stop that the buses run to, which is in the Northtown Mall at the hour that I finish work and to make it there, if something urgent comes up at work, I won't be able to make it that far, cause the later buses only goes as far as 41st ave. There is no one that I can call for a ride or would ask for a ride because it is so way out of everyone's way that I know. My friend that lives in Blaine won't be able to do that because he has to be up by 7:00 a.m. and his wife is currently in the hospital due to very, very major surgery.
NOT HAVING A VEHICLE AND WORKING AT NIGHT IN A STATE WHERE THE BUS SYSTEM REALLY, REALLY, REALLY SUCKS... SUCKS!!!!!!
つづく ( To be continued... )
Good News, Bad News...
Good News: I potentially found a vehicle that fits my criteria, those are as follows:
1. Must be fuel effecient (gets at least 24 city and 30 highway).
2. Must be inexpensive (between 300 to 500 dollars).
3. Must be very minimal on maintenance (just have to do an oil change, refill fluids, filter changes and basic service of the vehicle).
4. If I finance a vehicle, I must be able to sign on my own for the financing without the need for a co-signer.
Well, I've found a vehicle that potentially fits my criteria, I just need to have my friend go along to check over the car, a 1990 Toyota Camery 4 door. From the photos it looks as if it has very minimal rust and the owner is asking $400.00 for the car.
Bad News: I don't have the full asking price available to me until Friday, the 18th of this month. I potentially have about half but while talking with the owner, it was apparent that he wanted the asking price in full before he signs over the car.
So for this week, I'll have to catch the bus to and from work, the only bad part of that is, that I work a 2:30 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. shift for this week until I can change shifts next week with a co-worker that would like to change shifts with me. This will allow me to catch the bus in and out of downtown, thus minimizing fuel consumption when I do get another vehicle, save money and give me a change of pace from working the late shift, not that it was bad, but I could use the variety of working a different shift now and then, to a mid-shift.
A friend of mine, whom I've known for about 8 years now has offered to rent part of his home to me for a little less than what I pay now, it's a great offer, plus the neighborhood is WAY better than my current place and it's a little or way closer to the bus route compaired to living in Anoka where the bus don't run at all on Sundays...
Which also reminded me, for today (Sunday), I'll catch a taxi to the Northtown Mall to catch the bus from there, then on the way back home, the bus I'll need to catch only goes as far as the 41st ave. in Columbia Heights, so I'll have to catch a taxi from there which is an additional 6 miles compaired to 10 miles from the Northtown Mall. I have to say, the bus system here in Minnesota really is awful compaired to the bus system in Hawaii.
つづく ( To be continued... )
1. Must be fuel effecient (gets at least 24 city and 30 highway).
2. Must be inexpensive (between 300 to 500 dollars).
3. Must be very minimal on maintenance (just have to do an oil change, refill fluids, filter changes and basic service of the vehicle).
4. If I finance a vehicle, I must be able to sign on my own for the financing without the need for a co-signer.
Well, I've found a vehicle that potentially fits my criteria, I just need to have my friend go along to check over the car, a 1990 Toyota Camery 4 door. From the photos it looks as if it has very minimal rust and the owner is asking $400.00 for the car.
Bad News: I don't have the full asking price available to me until Friday, the 18th of this month. I potentially have about half but while talking with the owner, it was apparent that he wanted the asking price in full before he signs over the car.
So for this week, I'll have to catch the bus to and from work, the only bad part of that is, that I work a 2:30 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. shift for this week until I can change shifts next week with a co-worker that would like to change shifts with me. This will allow me to catch the bus in and out of downtown, thus minimizing fuel consumption when I do get another vehicle, save money and give me a change of pace from working the late shift, not that it was bad, but I could use the variety of working a different shift now and then, to a mid-shift.
A friend of mine, whom I've known for about 8 years now has offered to rent part of his home to me for a little less than what I pay now, it's a great offer, plus the neighborhood is WAY better than my current place and it's a little or way closer to the bus route compaired to living in Anoka where the bus don't run at all on Sundays...
Which also reminded me, for today (Sunday), I'll catch a taxi to the Northtown Mall to catch the bus from there, then on the way back home, the bus I'll need to catch only goes as far as the 41st ave. in Columbia Heights, so I'll have to catch a taxi from there which is an additional 6 miles compaired to 10 miles from the Northtown Mall. I have to say, the bus system here in Minnesota really is awful compaired to the bus system in Hawaii.
つづく ( To be continued... )
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