Diary of a Network Geek

Could this be a viable business?
Okay, first, get your mind out of the gutter. I’m not talking about prostitution! See, I’ve been sick the past couple of days and it would have been nice to have someone to make me soup and worry about me a bit. You know, someone to baby me the way a significant other is supposed to do. (Not that they do all the time, but, you know, in theory.) Maybe someone to help you clean up while you’re sick, too. Short term only, mind. Nothing longer than, say, a month.
Oh, and it would be perfect for that gay friend who’s family just won’t accept them as gay, or wouldn’t understand, or whatever. You could rent them a girlfriend for the holidays and spread a little faux Christmas cheer.

Somehow, I know this would backfire, but, yesterday, in my cold-medicine-induced surreality, it seemed like a good idea. We now return you to your regularly scheduled internet insanity.

Just in time for Christmas!

Er, well, maybe I missed it already, but candy and Christmas go together, so, whatever… Anyhow, the folks who make M&Ms have a webpage where you can order custom M&Ms. By that I mean, you can order M&Ms printed with your own custom message. Now, there’s a limit to how many characters you can put on and, of course, there are content restrictions:
“While we encourage your creativity, Masterfoods USA will not honor a request to print any “objectionable” language, acronyms, symbols, pictures, or any other graphic representation. “Objectionable” means, among other things, anything that (i) is libelous, defamatory, pornographic, sexually explicit, unlawful, racially or ethnically offensive, (ii) infringes on someone else’s patent, copyright, trademark, trade secret or other property right, (iii) is something people would consider harassing, abusive, threatening, harmful, vulgar, profane, obscene, or violent, (iv) would breach a person’s privacy or publicity rights, (v) is a misrepresentation of facts, (vi) hate speech, (vii) encourages others to break the law in any way, or (viii) is otherwise inappropriate.

Masterfoods USA must and does reserve the absolute right to decline orders that in its sole judgment and discretion contain subject matter that may be considered inappropriate or offensive, including, without limitation, inappropriate, offensive words, acronyms, symbols or other content. ”

Hmm, so much for say it with candy. (Or, was that flowers?)

In any case, it can be legitimate fun, if you keep it clean. How about, “Have fun”? Or, “Happy New Year”? Maybe, even, “Be Well”… Well, it could be fun and romantic when I’m ready to date again. In the mean time, though, it’s Friday, even if it’s New Year’s Eve, so check out the link! Have a safe and happy New Year’s Eve celebration everyone!!

So, this is Christmas…

Well, I won’t be alone today, which is very nice. Though, I have to admit, it will be a very bachelor Christmas. Actually, that’s pretty nice, too.
Aw, who am I to complain? At least I’m here, at home, for Christmas. It could be worse. I could be with the military and stationed over-seas where people are shooting at me. You know, no matter how you feel about our presence in the Middle East, you can at least support our troops. They’re doing a tough job at a tough time of year.
Here’s something a friend sent me, as a reminder of what those brave men and women are dealing with this season: Until Then.

So, hug your family, count your blessings, and have a very Merry Christmas.

Hey, why not?

Okay, so it’s Friday, which means a “Friday Fun Link” from me, but it’s also Christmas Eve, so it’ll be a holiday theme. A friend of mine sent this to me, hoping to cheer me up, and, frankly, it worked! It’s pretty funny, all things considered. You’ll probably have to use Internet Explorer to see this, for which I apologize, but it’s worth it. Trust me. So, without further ado, here is…..
A White Trash Christmas!

Hey, it’s Friday and Christmas Eve, so if you’re reading my sad, little blog, you might as well click on the link and have a laugh. Merry Christmas everyone!

Watching the days roll by.

I’ve been reading a lot lately. Now that I have so much “extra” time to myself, I’ve been finding ways to fill it. I’ve read two books in the past two weeks, not to mention getting all my Christmas shopping done in time to send it all up North to Chicago. For a change, I should manage to get everything there in time! Yea for me!
Ah, the books, right… Well, I read Blood Sucking Fiends and Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom after giving up on a linguistics book. It was interesting and all, but with the upheaval in my life, it was just too much effort to read. So, I read some fiction that I’d had laying around. (Full reviews are over at my other blog.) Now, at the suggestion of my father, I’ve started reading On Death and Dying by Dr. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross. I know, you’re asking yourself, “WTF?”, right? Well, it’s like this… My relationship with my wife is dying, or dead, and now, in a weird way, I’m mourning it and grieving over it. Sure, there was a lot wrong with our relationship, but it was still a major part of who I was and now it’s gone. As a result, I’m working through a process very much like the grief of a dying spouse. Except, of course, my future ex-wife is still very much alive. I hope she takes the time to mourn the death of what we had, too, but I doubt she will. I’m afraid that it will cause her pain later, but there’s nothing I can do about that. I never could take care of her, or rescue her, the way I wanted. That’s just one of the many things I’m working through during this period of grief.
It’s been an interesting holiday season so far. And, it promises to get more interesting before we’re done. So, while the days spool out, I’m just marking time until this phase of my life is completely dead and over. It’s a process, but it’s a process I have to live through. I’m glad that I’m self-aware enough these days to recognize that and pay attention to what’s going on.

Hey, speaking of Christmas shopping…

You NEED a Room Defender. No, really. C’mon, admit it, you’ve always wanted an automated sentry robot of your very own, if for no other reason than to torture your cat. Oh, if these had existed as a kid, I would have been begging for one every year until I got one.

Aw, geez, it’s been a long week, but it’s Friday, go look at it!

Yeah, this pretty well sums up my experience with them.

Okay, so you all may remember my horrible experience with Best Buy a little while back? Well, according to this article on Ars Technica, I may have just been one of the lucky few that they wanted to get rid of. Now, I know that I’m not all that great about doing things like filling out rebates and such, but I sure do shop around to check prices. I mean, hey, money is pretty tight these days, so I can’t afford to be fat, dumb and happy when I’m shilling out my hard-earned cash for tech stuff. Besides, I practically live on the web, so I’d have to be some kind of idiot if I didn’t at least look at prices before I bought something.
Anyway, if you’ve ever been jerked around by Best Buy, the article is pretty interesting and informative. I highly reccomend it before doing your Christmas shopping at Best Buy.

Well, actually, that should be lack of privacy alert…

Now, keep in mind that I’m a fiscal conservative and have always, so far, voted Republican as you read this. Remember that I’m not a screaming liberal that wants to outlaw guns, okay?
Over the Christmas holidays, George W. Bush signed into law the most dangerous bill since the Patriot Act. According to this article on WiredNews, the new Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2004 allows the FBI “to obtain records from financial institutions without requiring permission from a judge.” So, basically, that means if you look “funny” to an FBI agent, that agent can get every financial detail of your life, without a search warrant or subpoena and the financial institution supplying the info is not allowed to even tell you. Remind you of anything? Yep, this is the same thing that happened with libraries taken to the next logical step. See? Those librarians were right to be worried. And we should have been, too.
What disturbs me about this is that ol’ George W., whom I voted for in the last election, slipped this by at a time when most folks are pressed for time and might have missed it. Basically, he knew it was a violation of our civil liberties and decided too many people would raise a fuss about it, so he slipped it in on the “down-low”.
So, how does that commercial run? “What’s in your wallet?” No matter what it is, the government can find out about it now. Oh, I know, I know, if I haven’t done anything wrong, what do I have to worry about? Right? Well, how soon before expressing a dissenting view, like mine, is a crime against the State? How long before our “right” to free speech is infringed? Remember, it started small, just like Nazi Germany. First, a few little rights were shaved off. Then, a few more. The next thing they knew, soldiers were showing up to collect guns. Then, they were showing up to collect “enemies of the state”. Is it too late to stop that slide here? I pray to God it is.
Remember this and vote in your next local election. Don’t let all our rights get stolen away in the name of “security”. Remember what Ben Franklin said, “They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.”

No, really, that’s what it’s called!

Cartoon Network has put together the “Ultimate Wishlist” of stuff from their network. And, man, is it ever the ultimate!! Ever wish you could have Space Ghost’s desk? It’s in there. How about Dexter’s Lab? There, too. Bascially, every cool, wild, or crazy thing from Cartoon Network’s in-house shows is on sale here. Of course, they’re all expensive, but, if you have the cash, it’s worth it!!
All this and just in time for Christmas, too!!

(This post is too good to pass up, so it’s also appearing on my other blog at the same time. I know, it’s kind of weak, but this is just too much fun! ‘Sides, it’s my birthday, so I get to do what I want!!)

It’s another grey day in Houston.

Really, “winter” in Houston is just a long string of grey, rainy days piled up one on top of the other. But, it’s warm, and it hasn’t been too rainy this season. I’d actually prefer snow to rain. Sure, I don’t have to shovel rain, but I can stand on snow, at least until it melts into slush. And, I can’t make “rain balls” or build a “rain man” in the front yard. I suppose it’s nice to be able to walk outside barefoot on Christmas Eve, but I’m still a Chicago boy at heart. And, I miss snow. It just doesn’t feel like Christmas without snow. And having a palm tree in the back yard doesn’t help much either.
At least I don’t get sick as much down here. Okay, sure, I know that being in the cold doesn’t really contribute to catching a cold, but still, I think I get sick less down here. Though, I do seem to have started getting sinus infections instead of colds. Ah, the joys of hayfever.
And, I don’t hardly need to invest in long-sleeved shirts. For about 90% of the year, short-sleeved golf-shirts work just fine for me. Unless I’m getting dressed up in a suit. Then, long-sleeved, white shirts are a must, no matter the weather. But, for the rest of the time, short-sleeves work just fine. Though, I miss my winter coats. I only get to wear them for about a week or ten days. Then, it’s back to windbreakers for me. My wife and step-daughter are bundled up most of the time, but they grew up in this warm climate and it’s thinned their blood. I hope that never happens to me.

I miss winter.