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Sanity checks

Friday, February 28, 2003 02:57

In the process of cleaning out old files on my hard drive, I find myself reading old irc logs, saved to my hard drive at a time when I found my view of the world undergoing some serious tremors. During the time since those eventful weeks took place, a recurring question has plagued me. All attempts to discover a definitive answer have proved futile.

The question on my mind again tonight: Was I sane?

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The city never sleeps

Thursday, February 27, 2003 01:40

It's snowing like a wild baboon with rabies tonight. Hooray!

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Black day, black night

Tuesday, February 25, 2003 04:13

Guess what everybody? It's time for Bitscape to type another mindless piece of "content".

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Too much B5

Thursday, February 20, 2003 05:03

16 episodes of B5 during the past 14 hours. I think I might be approaching the verge of overdose. I gotta sleep. Peace.

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Monday going on Tuesday feels like Friday

Tuesday, February 18, 2003 07:00

Well, here I am. After already coming over here once tonight to visit Argo earlier (surf the web, watch Angel, etc), and driving back to mom's place to go to bed, I found a piece of snail mail waiting, and just couldn't get myself go to sleep. Now, having laid awake for nearly an hour, I've arisen from bed, dressed, come out in the cold, and driven all the way back over to this here Laser Fortress just to type a rambling. So... I guess I had better have something worthwhile to write.

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News from the front

Sunday, February 16, 2003 00:16

As I was driving to work this afternoon, the local community radio station was reporting on the anti-war protests going on locally and around the world.

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The making of The Making of Worst Scifi

Thursday, February 13, 2003 00:21

Today, I journied to the Boulder Compound, where activities included the filming of footage for a documentary about the making of the worst scifi series.

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Ludicrous Prophecy

Tuesday, February 11, 2003 02:05

And here I was, thinking that tonight I'd type a typical rambling regarding mundane practical matters and crap at work. But instead, behold the insanity... It must be the sick music I've been subjecting myself to.

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Tired Now

Saturday, February 8, 2003 02:47

I'd like to write a little bit of content, since it's been a few days, but I don't really have anything to say.

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Denial

Tuesday, February 4, 2003 02:48

Gradually, I have came to this realization: I am in denial about my life.

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Let it snow!

Monday, February 3, 2003 02:23

Sunday, 12:30am, Tobias slippin' and slidin' down US 36 in the dark with near blizzard conditions, as snow continues to fall in front of the headlights. Straddlin' the lanes, no other vehicles in sight. I slam the brakes, and then hit the gas a few times, just for fun. Testing the conditions. The speedometer jumps from 40 to 0, then back up to 40. Hit the gas. It goes up to 60, and then I let it fall back down to around 40. Throughout it all, the car continues to move at a constant speed. This is what winter is all about.

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Shoutouts

Linknoid: Now if it could translate both ways, it would be valuable
2003-02-01 08:23:43

Jäger: Unfortunately, we believe that AOL-speek is a one-way function. There is no possibility of reverse translation.
2003-02-01 18:19:57

bse: i'm seeing "you insensitive clod" more and more online these days. Isn't it amazing how places like K5 and /. can spread such meme's.... I'm amazed.
2003-02-02 04:31:10

bse: of course, then I wonder how many of these people using the phrase know its origins... i guess when the majority of people using it dont know, it has served its memeship (eg, "all your base are belong to us".. i know so many people who have no idea where it came from...)
2003-02-02 04:35:05

Linknoid: Where did it come from? It just started showing up in slashdot polls a while back
2003-02-02 08:24:12

Linknoid: (referring to the insensitive clod comment, not the "all your base", I know where that came from)
2003-02-02 08:25:46

bouncing: Bosses Reading Blogs: [diveintomark.org]
2003-02-02 21:22:14

scott: i love these polls
2003-02-03 11:39:06

Jäger moves one step closer to becoming a house husband: making bread is now my official task.
2003-02-03 23:31:15

bouncing: Whitebread?
2003-02-04 00:49:53

Bitscape: bad idea: Jaeger applies for a job at the king soopers bakery.
2003-02-04 00:58:49

Jäger has been given official control of the resident breadmaker.
2003-02-04 07:44:48

Jäger: (Bitscape's quote about being punished for doing something well applies here.)
2003-02-04 07:45:16

Yanthor: Real men make bread by hand from scratch! ;-) (I was trained this way and have some decent experience)
2003-02-04 09:17:23

Yanthor: I once taught my first girlfriend and her monther how to make bread by hand from scratch. Neither of them knew.
2003-02-04 09:17:55

Yanthor: "taught" was an exageration. Since their experience was zero and mine was higher, I led, but it really was a general muddling with flour. The outcome didn't taste too bad.
2003-02-04 09:18:50

Jäger: In that case, Nemo would count as a real man. [jaeger.festing.org]
2003-02-04 09:29:41

Linknoid: Delenn was in a Chrysalis, not a cocoon. And it was all about change, not hiding from it
2003-02-04 11:09:19

Linknoid: Do we all live in a cocoon? I know I do most of the time
2003-02-04 11:11:11

Jäger: Don't forget that $SPOILER was also in a chrysalis. :)
2003-02-04 12:14:44

Jäger points out that Bitscape hasn't seen the episode in question which I narrowly avoided spoiling above (I just watched it again this weekend)
2003-02-04 12:15:36

Kiesa: The Reader Reaction poll doesn't allow for much neutrality . . . Something close to entertained but not so perky :)
2003-02-04 13:40:52

Kiesa: (though definately an interesting feature)
2003-02-04 13:41:26

Jäger: more pseudo-content solutions fun! [festing.org]
2003-02-04 22:53:00

Jäger: John Creighton, real astronaut: [www.windows.ucar.edu]
2003-02-05 11:45:27

Linknoid: Jaeger, what show is $SPOILER from? Your comment is completely cryptic as is
2003-02-05 20:05:33

Linknoid: [www.netfunny.com]
2003-02-05 20:45:59

Jäger: In response to "Delenn was in a Chrysalis". (You have seen "War Without End", parts one and two, right?)
2003-02-05 21:36:07

Linknoid: That's the one with Babylon 4, right? I know what you're talking about now, I think.
2003-02-05 23:17:16

bouncing: Um, are we back on the old server again? :)
2003-02-06 21:23:35

Jäger: We're running on Hydrogen(ii). [jaeger.festing.org]
2003-02-06 22:30:45

bouncing: [www.cse.msu.edu]
2003-02-07 18:25:26

Jäger contemplates writing an epic Wedding Journal Entry
2003-02-07 20:12:11

Jäger finishes his Epic Wedding Journal Entry prior to Bitscape's completion of his ramblings. Ha!
2003-02-07 21:40:41

Bitscape: Bravo! Now I'll have to finish mine.
2003-02-08 00:44:44

bouncing: class Gemedor (Jaeger, Kiesa):
2003-02-08 10:42:49

Jäger: This guy should play scottgalvin.com in the movie version of my life: [us.imdb.com]
2003-02-09 19:13:30

Jäger introduces Kiesa to gnucash
2003-02-09 21:07:35

bouncing: I think this would be more apropriate: [us.imdb.com]
2003-02-11 00:10:07

Jäger films worst sci-fi: the making of
2003-02-11 20:10:28

swell. i like the ReaderReaction: scott
2003-02-12 19:39:55

scott: and that mixup was funny
2003-02-12 19:40:43

Jäger: Hydrogen was down for a while; we're still trying to figure out why, but we're back now
2003-02-13 17:23:45

Jani (I did the 3d 4 wsf0): I can't wait to be intervied for the "documentary"
2003-02-13 20:24:46

Jani (I did the 3d 4 wsf0): P.S. If one of these people does reproduce, then I hope they name the child better than they name their computers.
2003-02-13 20:27:22

Jani (again): I'm lonely. Somebody please go to my website and post on the message board. I had to alter the hits counter to make myself feel better.
2003-02-13 22:19:46

Jäger: Just in case you're lost, Jani's page: [home.attbi.com]
2003-02-14 14:35:12

Jani (again): Thank you!
2003-02-14 16:36:32

bse: heh, i was at the san francisco anti-war protest.. not there in any political sense, just taking photo's
2003-02-17 20:30:07

scott: i just withdrew from a class. working and making no money is killing me. can we go back to 1995 already?
2003-02-18 10:52:10

Jäger: This is wrong: [www.rentmychest.com]
2003-02-19 11:21:33

Bitscape: Quick, tell scott about this new advertising opportunity for buildmeasite.
2003-02-19 15:56:07

bouncing: I have to note, Bitscape, that the AFL-CIO is probably the kind of entity that would LOVE to know about managers requesting employees work off the clock. hmmm.
2003-02-19 18:54:37

Bitscape: AFAIK, they haven't explicitly asked anybody to work off the clock. They just get mad when people have overtime. (OTOH, they also don't like when things don't get finished, so it's a no win.) Some people have worked off the clock though "without being asked", because it saves them the hassle. Tricky.
2003-02-19 19:00:41

Linknoid: Have any red and blue 3D glasses? [linknoid.net]
2003-02-20 22:29:49

Linknoid: 100% Linknoid originals. I can't test them out, but I heard they came out pretty good except the trees
2003-02-20 22:30:56

Linknoid: [www.cellar.org]
2003-02-24 18:54:47

Jani: What's wrong with Windows XP?
2003-02-25 22:07:15

Jäger: Everything.
2003-02-25 22:50:28

Zan Lynx: Hardly everything. Why embrace blind zealotry? I'll list three good points for it. A fast, crisp user interface. No, I am not kidding. It is faster on a 600 MHz P3 than Gnome or KDE on my dual 1900's. Massive hardware and software support. Everything works. It is stable. My friend Keith routinely gets 3 weeks uptime on his XP. He only reboots for security updates (Which Linux also requires for kernels occasionally.)
2003-02-25 23:29:25

Zan Lynx: Another comment about Bitscape's "Don't attack Iraq" banner. Have you considered that there may be real reasons to attack Iraq? That it might not be a bad idea? There are two or more sides to any argument. Personally, I don't feel that anyone I've talked to has enough facts to hold an informed opininon on the subject.
2003-02-25 23:32:23

Bitscape: 1) Though Windows XP is more stable than many earlier versions, it has gotten worse in terms of user privacy and rights (i.e. automated registration required to use it, switching hardware causes it to break in an attempt to prevent piracy). Also, I don't trust the direction MS is moving with regard to DRM in the OS. For these reasons, I personally don't use it on my own hardware.
2003-02-26 00:19:10

Bitscape: 2) For day-to-day operations, my dad much prefers the interface on his Mac. The _only_ reason he got a Windows box was so he could interoperate with others using file formats and protocols which are intentionally designed to prevent compatibility with other OSes. I think that's a sad commentary on the state of the industry.
2003-02-26 00:21:58

Bitscape: WRT Iraq: Hmmmm... These little boxes might not be the ideal place for a long, in-depth debate. (Maybe I should write a full-fledged commenting system like yanthor has sometime.)
2003-02-26 00:23:18

Bitscape: The short of my view: Yes, Saddam is a bad guy. There are a lot of bad guys in the world. However, I don't think that justifies a full-scale invasion of an entire country without provocation.
2003-02-26 00:25:50

Bitscape: (In my view, simply having weapons does by itself does not constitute provocation. If that were the case, the U.S. would be among the top candidates to be "disarmed".)
2003-02-26 00:28:31

Bitscape: However, if you believe there is sufficient cause to go to war with Iraq, feel free to put a "Let's Attack Iraq" banner on your page. :)
2003-02-26 00:29:56

Jäger: One specific flame about XP: switching keyboard layouts now must be done for EACH APPLICATION, and the control panel to do it is much more obscure than in any prior Windows.
2003-02-26 06:58:22

Kiesa: On the otherhand, it keeps me from accidently leaving the church computer in dvorak.
2003-02-26 08:24:29

Kiesa: XP is better than most Windows I have seen. However, I still prefer 2000.
2003-02-26 08:25:13

Jäger: Parodoxically, I believe the only way we can avoid direct military confrontation with Iraq is by proving to Iraq that we are ready and willing to go to war if Saddam does not disarm. Only then will he act in self-preservation and disarm.
2003-02-26 11:01:01

Jäger: Conclusion: The only way to prevent war is to go full ahead with preperations, ratcheting up the pressure until Saddam cracks.
2003-02-26 11:01:51

Yanthor: Jaeger: regarding Dvorak for each window, this is also true in Win2k unless you set it as the default keyboard layout, then every new window opens with it as default. I assume XP handles the default layout the same.
2003-02-26 14:05:13

Yanthor: Bitscape: don't forget that the Digital Rights Management (DRM) stuff also goes for the upcoming versions of M$ Office. According to press releases and comments from early beta testers, they are putting DRM stuff on all Office 2003 documents including emails. Guess what? More proprietary extensions to email!
2003-02-26 14:07:48

Kiesa: Windows question (yes, I know overall this is the wrong group to ask). The Internet Options in the Control panel: does it affect more than just IE?
2003-02-26 16:45:11

Kiesa: The Qwest guy that came to fix the internet problem at the church just checked "Automatically detect settings" under the LAN settings in the internet tools.
2003-02-26 16:46:05

Kiesa: I wasn't there when he finally got there so I don't know if the connection was working before he tried his little magic trick or not. It just seems unlikely that this solution fixed the problem.
2003-02-26 16:46:51

Kiesa: However, I could be wrong. Any ideas?
2003-02-26 16:47:01

Kiesa: (see jaeger's page for summary of the entire situation: [jaeger.festing.org]
2003-02-26 16:47:40

Kiesa: oops . . . try this [jaeger.festing.org]
2003-02-26 16:48:20

Zan Lynx: You have listed several real problems with XP. That still doesn't equate to "Everything." All absolute statements are bad! Heh.
2003-02-26 18:18:19

bouncing: At the end of the day, attacking Iraq will not improve our security. Unifying our enemies will not improve our security. As far as I'm concerned, that defeats the argument for war.
2003-02-26 19:54:39

bse: it took me about 10 hours to get windows xp installed and running correctly on this new box. ...
2003-02-27 04:09:27

Betty: It took me 2 hours to install XP on a new box.
2003-02-27 20:39:49

Betty: I like XP and I like Linux equally; they have their strengths and weaknesses. Therefore, I find that their appropriateness depends on what you want to do.
2003-02-27 20:42:40

Linknoid: It took me 2 hours to install Redhat 7.0 using a 2x CD-ROM
2003-02-27 21:36:02

Jäger: eep! where on earth did you get your hands on a 2x cdrom?
2003-02-28 11:35:34

Poll

Should we go to war with Iraq?

Yes2 (28%)
No2 (28%)
Cow3 (42%)

Most desired Content Collective feature

Set user password2 (28%)
Customized Automap0 (0%)
3d1 (14%)
footprint trails1 (14%)
Favorite areas navigation0 (0%)
More other user preferences0 (0%)
Trolling Cowboy Bot1 (14%)
Rewrite it all in Flash, you insensitive clod!2 (28%)

Who will reproduce first?

Drizzt and Natasha0 (0%)
Yanthor and Anya3 (27%)
Jaeger and Kiesa4 (36%)
Bitscape1 (9%)
bouncing0 (0%)
scottgalvin.com (preferably via cloning)2 (18%)
Cmdr and Mrs Taco1 (9%)
Cowboy Neal0 (0%)
You are an Insensive Clod, consdering world overpopulation! (Blame Jaeger!)0 (0%)

Best/Worst Disaster

Columbia shuttle0 (0%)
9/11/20013 (37%)
Columbine Highschool1 (12%)
Oklahoma City Bombing0 (0%)
Challenger shuttle0 (0%)
JFK0 (0%)
Pearl Harbor3 (37%)
Death of the Cowboy0 (0%)
You are an Insensitive Clod for making this poll!1 (12%)