LiveJournal loses power

That's a real shame. They've been down since about 4:48 PM Central time. I know I'm disappointed. I had planned on finishing a chronicle of my travels. I bet Blogger gets some new accounts tonight. ;-)

Firefox 2.0

I downloaded and installed this application a few days ago. I'll leave it to the truly geeky to tell you how much faster it is or how much more secure it is than IE7. Personally, I've enjoyed Mozilla products for as long as I can remember, but that's me. There is one new feature which is absolutely fantastic for the common blogger, and that, ladies and gentleman, is a built in, real-time spell-check. I don't know about you, (okay, yes I do know about some of you, because I read your posts) but I can use all the help I can get on the spelling front. And even if you know exactly how to stop spelling words like "banana" or "Mississippi", everyone makes typos. The little red underlines so common in Word processing these days is now available in your blog entries as well. Please note that this will not help with grammar very much. You still need to know the difference between "to", "two" and "too". (I am going TO the store so I can get TWO antacids because I ate TOO much spicy chicken. Bob wants to come with me, so I said he could come, TOO.) Blah, blah, blah. Sorry. My father was an English teacher.

The only issue I've had with this browser so far was trying to use WebJetAdmin. The browser kept telling me, "Firefox can't connect securely to because the site uses a security protocol which isn't enabled." Warning, this is somewhat more geeky. In order to fix this problem, I went into ABOUT:CONFIG and modified "security.ssl3.rsa_des_sha" to "True". WebJetAdmin now functions normally.

So, in closing, I recommend this lovely browser to pretty much anyone and everyone. You can get it here: http://www.getfirefox.com.

Not here, anymore.

Look for me on livejournal, if you wish to read that which I write. I have some friends there and have thusly switched my posting habits.

Alumni.uwsp.edu

Here is the process for signing up for an alumni.uwsp.edu account. The process follows:

• Start here: http://www.uwsp.edu/alumni/
• Under Features, click on "The Connecting Point"
• Under First Time Visitors, click on "Register now"
• Type in relevant information.
• Find your record
• Complete the registration.
• Click on "Register your FREE permanent email address now".
• Login in with your new information.
• Choose your email address.

Quote on forgiveness

The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.
-Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869-1948)
---
Be strong. Forgive those who wrong you. Your attitude not only affects yourself but the world around you.

Substance

It has been quite a while since I have posted anything of substance here. In part, it is due to not really having anything to say. In part, it is due to the fact that certain people know of this place. Since they know, I feel constrained as to what I can put here. Since most of my thoughts and feelings lately are not overly friendly to anyone, it seems pointless to post them. It's actually rather pointless to have them in the first place but even more pointless to post them. No good would come of it. It would only serve to make my living conditions even more intolerable.

The "big" news of late would be the severance of a romantic relationship which has stood for approximately 3 years. The young lady in question decided she was no longer interested in said relationship. I wish I could say the same was true for me.

On October 16, 2005, I successfully tested for my 5th degree black belt. Overall, I was pleased with the performance. It could have been better, but it could have been so much worse, too.

That's about it as far as "big" things go. We now return you to your regularly scheduled boredom.

Quote on Tyranny.

If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy. -James Madison, fourth US president (1751-1836)

Perception

Once upon a time a man whose ax was missing suspected his neighbor's son.
The boy walked like a thief, looked like a thief, and spoke like a thief.
But the man found his ax while digging in the valley, and the next time he saw his neighbor's son, the boy walked, looked and spoke like any other child. -Lao-tzu, philosopher (6th century BCE)

Quote on Madness

What is madness but nobility of soul at odds with circumstance? -Theodore Roethke, poet (1908-1963)

And another...

God is conscience. He is even the atheism of the atheist. -Mohandas K.
Gandhi (1869-1948)

Quote on God

You can safely assume that you've created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do. -Anne Lamott, writer
(1954- )

SureStore DVD Server model: J4152A

The below actions may be necessary for a full reset if the unit in question has an updated BIOS. Please note that this is informational only. No warranty or promise of functionality, implied or otherwise, is given if you choose to follow these steps. In other words, if your server turns into a molten pile of smoking metal, don't come crying to me.

1. Turn off unit.
2. Holding in the reset button on the back, turn on unit. Hold in for 30 seconds.
3. Release button, wait 3 to 5 seconds and then hold in the button for another 30 seconds until STATUS light is solid amber.
4. Release button, wait 10 seconds or so and reboot server.

Long time friend bites the big one.

Okay, so inanimate objects aren't really "friends", but you tend to get used to them. Earlier today, I was spending time splitting wood. It's actually moderately relaxing in an odd sort of way. Unfortunately, I found a piece of oak with a lot of knots which didn't want to split. It did, finally, after much leaping about of the wedge, but the final shot was too much for the wedge, too. I'm actually a little surprised. I've only had this "Wood Grenade" for a couple years. Fortunately, Menards was still open and for a measly $6.48 + tax, I was able to acquire a new "friend" and complete the splitting I wanted to do today.

What is the value?

What is the value of life, or even a single life? Does it matter if it is human? Does it matter if it is intelligent? What is the value? Who can say? Who cares? Other than the insurance companies who put an actual monetary value on a life, I don't know who can say or who cares. I don't know if an insect is worth less than a sperm whale. I don't know why it is considered a tragedy when a thousand people die in an earthquake or avalanche and why no one mourns the millions of fish caught in the sea every day.

What I am beginning to grasp, ever so slowly, is the value of death. I'm not referring to the "random" acts of destruction humans perform on other humans or the devastation Nature wreaks upon the human condition. I understand those, too, or at least I think I do. I'm referring to the life span. I'm referring to the reason that some people prefer to die than to live. When one has a conscience and one executes acts in his or her life which, at the time seemed like a good idea, but later turn out to have caused others significant distress, it tends to make one seek a way to make up for those acts. Eventually, most people realize that there is no way to make up for what they have done. The damage is done and cannot be undone or repaired no matter what one does. At that point one has a choice of paths:

• They may live with what they have done and attempt to forget about it.
• They may live with what they have done and grow a scab over their conscience so that it no longer bothers them.
• They may live with what they have done but allow it to consume them, every new action considered and reconsidered in a vain attempt to prevent such damage from ever happening again.
• They may die, which, in theory removes the pain of the guilt and self-hatred.
  

There are probably other options but it seems likely that other options simply lead to these options in one fashion or another.

So, although I do not seek death, nor do I long for it, I now see more clearly its value than every I have before.

Quote on insanity

I just couldn't resist this one:

Insanity - a perfectly rational adjustment to an insane world. -RD Laing, psychiatrist and author (1927-1989)

Quote on human kindness

Human kindness has never weakened the stamina or softened the fiber of a free people. A nation does not have to be cruel to be tough. -Franklin D.
Roosevelt, 32nd US President (1882-1945)

Quote and comment

I have never started a poem yet whose end I knew. Writing a poem is discovering. -Robert Frost, poet (1874-1963)
---
I would extend that to almost any kind of writing. Sometimes I will start something with a certain ending in mind and more often than not, the story changes itself to end another way.

Ah, and to the bagatelle in 210, pbbbbth! Try not to insult your tech over much. They tend to get mildly pissy.

An Autumn morning

Fond memories of thee, my love, on a chill October morn, new-fallen leaves, their orange, shocking against black asphalt, like some great hand spilled paint intended for an evening sky. The smell of wood smoke in the air reminds me of a longing I forgot I had, a desire to just sit with you by a fire, huddled close for warmth and companionship, chatting about God and Life, delving into the mysteries of the Universe and with each passing moment, growing just a little closer to you, becoming a little more like each other.

May peace find you, my love, and may you find peace. I hope your desires manifest and any emptiness you may have known be filled with Love and Joy.

Quote on morals

What is morally wrong can never be advantageous, even when it enables you to make some gain that you believe to be to your advantage. The mere act of believing that some wrongful course of action constitutes an advantage is pernicious. -Marcus Tullius Cicero, statesman, orator, writer (106-43 BCE)

---

I read this a couple of times and I find that I like it, a lot. - The trick here is determining what is "moral". What is or is not moral must be left to the person making the decision. No other may make that decision, not "God", not the Church, not the community as a whole. That person, with conscious and sentience, must decide.

La Mixteca in Plover

This restaurant (La Mixteca) has good food and pretty good prices. As the name implies, they serve Mexican food. The food, to date, has been excellent. Unfortunately, they seem to be having some trouble with their menus. Their regular menu lists a pitcher (48 oz.) of margaritas for a very nice $7.50 or 15.625 cents per oz. Their side menu (table stand), on the other hand, indicates that a pitcher (64 oz.) of margaritas is $14.00 or 21.875 cents per oz. (The price per oz. is not listed on the menu.) Alas, we ordered from the regular menu and when the bill arrived, were a bit surprised by the final total. A chat with the wait-staff and the owner's wife resulted in no positive results, so they have lost a margarita customer. I'll probably still eat there as the food is quite good, but I'll also double check the prices with the waitress.

Quote and commentary.

The following quote seems to emphasize that Texas has a long history of "interesting" political figures:

Quote from Anu Garg of Wordsmith.org:

In the 1920s, while barring the teaching of foreign languages, Texas governor Miriam "Ma" Ferguson picked up a Bible and famously declared, "If English was good enough for Jesus Christ, it's good enough for Texas." The governor could be excused for not knowing that what she held in her hand was a translation, but not for mixing state and religion. But here we'll focus on the former. If anything, she unknowingly presented an argument for better teaching of history and geography. There was no language called English at the time of Christ, nor was the Bible written in English. The books making up the text of the Bible were written in various languages (Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek). So much for mandating monolingualism! [snip]

End Quote

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And people wonder why I avoid politics and news regarding our current administration. These quotes should explain nicely.

Quote and comment

Rightful liberty is unobstructed action according to our will within limits drawn around us by the equal rights of others. I do not add 'within the limits of the law' because law is often but the tyrant's will, and always so when it violates the rights of the individual. -Thomas Jefferson, third US president, architect and author (1743-1826)

---

I don't think we have this in the USA anymore. I could, of course, be mistaken, but I think it's time for a change. I think it's time for a return, not necessarily to "good old-fashioned values", but rather to good old-fashioned freedom. The freedom to bear arms, the freedom to express one's views and opinions in any format and on any subject, as long as it is not libelous or slanderous. I will admit, we have many freedoms that many countries do not enjoy, but I see ours slipping away in the name of progress or national security or best of all, the aforementioned return to values.

A great example of this last one: It is now illegal to sell sex toys as sex toys in Texas. (I know, this is old news, but it still irritates me no end.) This article goes into depth: http://www.holisticwisdom.com/article_sex_joanne-webb-sex-laws.htm

In any case, I could rant and rave for hours on this, but it does me no good and I don't have the time at the moment. Perhaps soon.

Quote

God builds his temple in the heart on the ruins of churches and religions.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson, writer and philosopher (1803-1882)
---

I just couldn't resist posting this one since I am not a fan of either churches (other than some of the amazing architecture) or organized religions.

In the interest of time.

Time is a luxury of which I have had very little of late. Work keeps me busier than I'd like, especially with two of my co-workers gone. Fortunately, I'm going on vacation in a couple of weeks or so, so hopefully I'll have a chance to relax there for a while.

There are lots of other little things going on that have little consequence or real meaning to my life. One notable thing is that my second ex-wife is 8 months pregnant. I'm actually quite happy for her. I know how much she wanted kids.

I think that's about it, at least for now. Maybe I'll have more to say from my vacation spot.

New month, new quote.

All restraints upon man's natural liberty, not necessary for the simple maintenance of justice, are of the nature of slavery, and differ from each other only in degree. -Lysander Spooner, lawyer (1808-1887)

---

I like the quote and the idea behind it. The problem I have is: Who defines "justice"?

Quote and a little

Loneliness... is and always has been the central and inevitable experience of every [hu]man. -Thomas Wolfe, novelist (1900-1938)
---
I do (still) find it amazing that often I feel the loneliest when I'm with other people, especially large groups of people. I wonder if that's what drives some people to be leaders...so they don't feel lonely in the group they're leading. *shrug*

Weekend

I finally managed to make some time to work on the yard this last weekend. There was still a large number of leaves from last fall scattered around. Along with the help of my sweetheart of a GF, I was able to get most of it cleaned up. I then mowed the lawn and spread lime on the lawn. I even managed to pump up the tires on our bikes and take my first ride of the season. It was only about 6 miles, but it was a good start for the butt. Surprisingly, I'm not feeling any deleterious effects what-so-ever. This was all on Saturday.

On Sunday, after doing a bit of running around to get some plants for the garden (my GF's project, not mine), I then seeded the lawn in white clover. I'm hoping it will grow well and possible drown out the actual grass. I'd love a lawn that was all white clover, at least in theory. I also trimmed the dead branches off several trees in the back yard. One in particular looks like it will need more than trimming. It looks like lightening may have struck it as there is a large blackened area down one side of the tree and there are only a few leaves on the whole thing. *sigh* I feel bad for the tree and am not looking forward to the attempted removal.

I managed to get my class grading done this weekend, too. Overall, the classes did well with a few here and there who decided to stop attending. There were a few as well that truly bombed the final exam but that's to be expected. Some people just don't try and others have alternate priorities.

Work remains far too interesting for words. :p

Quote

Heresy is only another word for freedom of thought. -Graham Greene, novelist and journalist (1904-1991)
---
As a matter of fact, the etymology of the word suggests that it simply means "to choose". Heaven forbid we should actually choose something. :-p

Traffic Cop

Tuesday last I did something a bit odd and (I think) somewhat out of character. I was walking to my T'ai Chi class and in so doing, have to cross a very busy, poorly regulated and moderately dangerous four lane intersection. This I usually do with no notable trouble as I simply either resign myself to waiting until there is a clear patch or time things such that I am able to cross relatively safely even though some of the lanes have cars and trucks zooming by at 35 to 40 miles per hour. (Mind you, the speed limit is 25 mph.) In my opinion, the intersection has needed traffic control lights since some university classes started being held at the YMCA. This is about 10 years now. On Tuesday, I chose the slither method and even though there were people waiting to cross on both sides, I was the only one to cross. I even managed to do so without inconveniencing or getting hit by any of the vehicles. After crossing, I looked at the somewhat desperate people on both sides of the street waiting to cross and something must have finally snapped inside me. I turned right around and walked out into traffic holding my arms palm out, stopping all four lanes. Once they were stopped, I waved the pedestrians across and walked back to my desired side of the street, staring down one particular jerk-off who was revving his engine at me.

Looking back on it, I realize full well I could have been hit and possibly killed but at that particular moment, it didn't matter. I'd had enough, enough of the speeding traffic, enough of the lack of control and enough of the lack of respect for pedestrians, just plain enough. At the same time, if I had been hit and/or killed, maybe the city would finally consider putting a demand-light at that intersection. Either way, it helped, if only for a moment.

Work is devouring most of my time right now which is why I've not been posting much, but this one was just too odd not to note. Peace.

Quick quote before the weekend

Question with boldness even the existence of a God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason, then that of blindfolded fear. -Thomas Jefferson, third US president, architect and author --- (1743-1826)
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Although I doubt everyone would agree with this statement, I rather liked it and although I believe in a Being similar to the description of God, that does not mean that I have not questioned Its existence. My big thing is, find your own.

A perfect quote for my work place...

Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that! -Lewis Carroll, mathematician and writer (1832-1898)