Tuesday, December 30, 2003

What to Blog?

Over the past few days I've been wondering about what a blog is. Before I started blogging, I read a book called The Weblog Handbook, by Rebecca Blood. In the book she talks about how a weblog should have links and link text. Also, she says that if you're don't link to other sites and talk about the, then you just have a journal or a diary. This point stuck with me for a long time: I wanted to write a blog, not a diary or journal. I looked at Blood's blog, Rebecca's Pocket and it covered several online news articles with commentary on each. Her blog was one of the original blogs, created in 1999. Boing Boing and Slashdot were also mentioned in her book as examples of famous blogs. Both fit the description Blood gave of what a blog should be. That's what I thought I should strive for or else I'd just have a public diary.

Before I started blogging, looked for blogs centered around specific subjects. I was planning on going to China with my friend, so I looked about blogs about China. One of the first blogs I found was Sinosplice. Sinosplice had one of the key features of a blog according to Blood; It linked to several other blogs. I looked at a few other blogs on the list, but only one interested me. Leylop's blog looked interesting and engaging so I spent time reading her site. However, both Sinosplice and Leylop's blog didn't fit Blood's description of a blog. They resembled journals or diaries instead. Other "blogs" I found also functioned like diaries/journals.

Then I remembered another part in Blood's book about a dispute between the new and old bloggers over what a blog is. Both sides said that it had a real blog and the other did not. So what is a blog? Leo Laporte said something like "an easy way to create a website; that's really what a blog is." Does it really matter what you write in a blog as long as it entertains or teaches people? Many bloggers do entertain others with their lives. One couple, who live ordinary lives, entertain people with their daily lives (warning: comment deleters). It reminds me of a reality TV show where you get to see details of people's lives filtered by TV crews, only this time you read about their lives filtered by themselves.

Other bloggers interweave details about their lives and with several links to external sources. Anjipatchwork and KEC Journal do this.

So what should I blog? Just whatever I want to I guess, even if it does sound like a diary/journal. This is something I wanted to avoid, though. Just the thought of entertaining people about my business was absurd since I would not be getting paid for it. But I guess I could get paid for it if I sold my space to advertisers (with a blogger/blogspot pro account of course). I'm in capitalist mode now, but when I get out of it I'll just want this blog for me and really nobody else. I've just discovered the blockquote tag so there'll probably be more articles.

Wednesday, December 24, 2003

Make Fire Without Matches

Some people just have to prove the superiority of the human mind by using it every once in a while. One thing that separates humans from other life forms is our ability to control fire. This man documented is task to make fire without matches. I didn't read the site because I am a broadband user that just flips through the pages looking at the pictures. There is a special treat for us on page 5.

Backpacking in Italy 2003


Here is an excellent photojournal of Toan Thai's trip to Italy. Each photograph has a description and is set up in a beautifully created webpage. A highly recommended photojournal.

More Statistics

Want more statistics about the world's countries? Check out NationMaster.com. This site allows to to research a variety of statistics for every country in the world. You can even compare the stats of two or more countries. Which country has the most internet users per 1000 people? Iceland, then Sweden, Denmark, and the Netherlands. The U.S. is seventh and Japan is 18th. Who spends the highest percentage of its GDP on military expenditures? North Korea. One of my teachers told me it was the U.S., but that's not true, we're 43rd. Now there's no excuses for wrong information. Most of the information is free to anybody who wants it. Nationmaster.com is a pretty good site.
Link via Call For Help

Tuesday, December 23, 2003

No Fair


The Japanese's electronics are more advanced than ours and they're not sharing everything. I think they're keeping their toys just so they can taunt and make us jealous. Big GPS navigators with pictures of buildings and a first-person view! This product will debut in the U.S. in 2007, costing around $12,000. Image via Joi's moblog

Sunday, December 21, 2003

CIA World Factbook

When I want to find out a fact about a certain country I go to the CIA World Factbook. It's got a ton of facts about all the countries in the world and it's updated regularly. Check it out, use it, learn something.

Learning Japanese

Interested in learning Japanese? Check out this site, written by a major in Japanese. It's a long read, but funny and interesting. I wonder if there's an Interested in Learning English page.

Wednesday, December 17, 2003

ジェスシカ

I finally figured out how to write my name in Japanese. I've been trying to mimic the Japanese form of my name on my computer, but it never worked. I thought if I just typed normally, it would automatically convert it into Japanese. When I tried to do it, all I got was ジェッシカ, and that looked different from the original version. Now I found this site, which tells you how to say your name in Japanese. It doesn't work in Safari though, but it should with IE.

Saturday, December 13, 2003

Europe and Italy

This is a funny flash movie about the differences between Europe and Italy. The blue circle with the 12 yellow stars is the European Union and the circle of the Italian flag is Italy. Italy is part of the EU, but they've singled it out in this flash movie. My favorite differences are coffee and politics. I've never been to Italy, so I don't know much about the differences in the movie. Do you recognize any of them? My mom's German colleagues say that the Autobahn is worse than the Italian highways. It's light-hearted and fun if you're not too politically correct. I hope the creators do other countries too.

Link via Joi Ito

Friday, December 12, 2003

Iranian Telecommunications

The Telecommunication Company of Iran is way ahead of the rest of us. They started in 1379, so they've had a bit more time to develop than the rest of us.

Wednesday, December 10, 2003

The Longest Line

The Japanese must love Apple products more than anyone else on the planet. This video proves it, because the line's longer than any I've ever seen. Those people may still be waiting to get inside. If I was in Japan at that time, the opening of the Apple store would've been an event that I'd skip.

Tuesday, December 09, 2003

No China

No more China for me. That's just during winter break though. I've cancelled my winter trip to China for a number of reasons. This just happened to coincide with a debate on Leylop's blog about what foreigners/Americans think about China. It seemed liked people were saying that the media was real negative about China, and consequently people have a negative opinion about China. There was hardly any evidence of the media casting a negative opinion of China, no articles, no specifics, none. A person who doesn't read or watch the news wouldn't know anything about what the media says, so some examples would be helpful.

It was a pretty uninformative debate, and nobody really learned anything. It's hard to say what you want to say, and it's even harder to say it well. After the debate, I figured out who can do this and who can't. When I look up things on google, several blogs show up on in the results.

I'm not going to China because we can't fit it in the schedule. The schedule is made up of time, money, interest, and knowledge. It's not too late to book a flight to China, but we would've liked to have more time The U.S. dollar's tanking, making travel more expensive, and we like to save money. Also, I'm not as interested in going to China as I was before, and my mom probably didn't care as much as I did in the first place. I think she wants to go to Brazil instead. We don't know anything about traveling to China and I don't have time to find out everything I want to, so going unprepared is not smart. I'll get to go some other time.

Saturday, December 06, 2003

No Visits to Cuba

Since Castro says the Cuban revolution will outlast Bush and himself, I guess it's still going to be difficult to visit Cuba. The Caribbean is not one of my top travel spots, but I saw this documentary on Cuba a long time ago, and ever since I've wanted to go there. Bush is making it harder for Americans to visit there, even academics and business people have a hard time visiting. I heard that if you go to Cuba, you can't really buy anything, not even toilet paper. Normally, going to a place without access to toilet for whatever reason turns me off from visiting. However, this time that doesn't phase me. Learning more about Cuba's my first task, so it'll be a while before I go.

Friday, December 05, 2003

Success!

Research presentations done! End of the semester approaching and less homework means more posts! I think it went pretty well. My research paper was on Chinese immigrants and my presentation was on U.S. and EU trade relations. This period of time is called catch-up time because I, like many others, have put off doing work for a few weeks. It doesn't completely taint the pleasure of my recent accomplishments, but it's still a bitter thought in the back of my mind.

Clutterers Anonymous

I think my dad and I need to start this program. I can through things away, but I have an emotional attachment to all my possessions. My dad's case used to be more extreme. He would save everything. Months old newspapers, empty orange juice cartons, and empty tuna cans. My mom cleaned him up a little, but now she's moved out, so he's starting to return to his old ways. If I throw something out it's like losing a pet, and my dad sees the usefulness of everything like he's McGuyver, but he doesn't actually use anything. CLA should hopefully cure us.

Sitio del Gobierno de la Republica de Cuba

The government of Cubahas a website and it's got an English counterpart. It wasn't blockaded by Google, so it was easy to get to. If only it was easier to actually visit Cuba.

Monday, December 01, 2003

Who Knows?

"Reports that say something hasn't happened are always interesting to me, because as we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. "We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns -- the ones we don't know we don't know." --Donald Rumsfeld, US Secretary of Defense

Thursday, November 27, 2003

Overloaded

Once again I've got a ton of homework to do, so I'll have to cut back on the entries for a little while. If I don't post anything on Sunday, that means that I'll be busy until next Friday. I'm spending my Thanksgiving weekend working on homework non-stop so I don't have time to idly surf the web.

Blogrolling


I'm going to get an account because I'm way too lazy to add new blogs and links to my sidebar. And, not every site I go to is XML-syndicated so I can't easily check to see if they've been updated. With a blogrolling account, I should be able to see when any blog is updated. We'll see.

A Political Career


If you want to work for the Govenator, you need to fill out an application. A good education and experience will help, but I think that a good reputation's more valuable. A good reputation, clean record, and nothing that would "would cause an embarrassment to you and/or the administration," and you'll be set.

Tuesday, November 25, 2003

The $6,000 Shower Curtain

$6,000 for a shower curtain? That's really cleaning up. I didn't buy my shower curtain, but it's plastic, has pockets, and washable. What more do you need?

Sunday, November 23, 2003

The Future of Bourgeois Society

What is the future of the bourgeoisie in America? As fewer people possess the nation's wealth, will bourgeois society continue to exist in the future? I bring this up because the state of public education is supposedly in a dire condition. So, does the mean that people will leave school learning nothing and not be prepared for the real world? I have no clue about this, but I definitely don't want to be living in a tiny apartment, working long hours, and getting paid nothing. If I get a bad education and can't do anything, there's still a way out: marriage.

Naw, I'd rather go to school some more than be a housewife. Are the only options to get a high priced and valuable education to get a high paying job, or get a mediocre education and get a regular 9-to-5 or longer? How does one make the right decision if the state of the bourgeoisie is unknown? Well, why be limited by the U.S.? I could leave America and go live in another country. But where to go?

I want to live in a place that has a high standard of living, access to anything and everything, and plenty of things to do. I, like the average American, am spoiled. But to have all this and more takes tons of hard work, and if you don't do it, then you don't get it.

Hopefully bourgeoisie society stays in tact in America and I won't have to worry about any of this crazy stuff. Get a good education, job, and die wealthy. Is that what America's about?

Thursday, November 20, 2003

International Dialects of English Archive

The IDEA's site is pretty interesting if you're interested in phonetics or you just like to hear different English speakers' accents. After reading a short story, each speaker talks about their lives. Also, if their native language is English they'll talk about their accent. Some people who learned English as a second or third language almost have no non-English accent. They have a number of samples from all over the world and it's an informative site. My favorite accents are the French textbook ones. Their accents sound so much better than most native English speakers'. I also like the girl from China's story about what she thought about the United States before and after living there.

Sunday, November 16, 2003

Homework Overload

1000 word research essay, 1-2 page journal, math take home quiz, daily math homework, 500 word essay, 2 chapters in Economics to read, 3 chapters in English to read= overloaded, no time for movies, blogging, Call of Duty demo, instant messaging, television, surfing the internet, and life.

Thursday, November 13, 2003

Poetry


The dullest blog in the world.
Don't be confused by the name of this blog, it's the simplicity that makes it great.

Wednesday, November 12, 2003

Had to Do It

I thought I didn't like the Quizilla quizzes, but when I see them on other people's sites I can't resist finding out what I'm like. Forget teachers, counselors, and shrinks, these quizzes hold all the secrets to determining your personality.

casablanca
"You must remember this, a kiss is still a
kiss". Your romance is Casablanca. A
classic story of love in trying times, chock
full of both cynicism and hope. You obviously
believe in true love, but you're also
constantly aware of practicality and societal
expectations. That's not always fun, but at
least it's realistic. Try not to let the Nazis
get you down too much.


What Romance Movie Best Represents Your Love Life?
brought to you by Quizilla

Tuesday, November 11, 2003

Panther Issues

If you don't speak German, use Panther, and use Safari v1.1, be careful about a program called Safaqua. It's a Safari skin that gives Safari an Aqua appearance. It's so pretty and I really like it except when I hold the cursor over the browser buttons most of the "tool tips" are in German! So my Safari is bilingual, too! If you install Safaqua, then uninstall it, the German stays. The only way to get rid of the German is to throw away the safari.app and reinstall it. Sounds simple, but it's not. You can't use Safari v1.0 on Panther, so you can only use v1.1 You can't download Safari v1.1 from the Apple website or anywhere else on the web. I can't upload it to the web so you won't find it here. The Panther install disks have Safari v1.1, but it's not easy to get. Use a program to called Pacifist to find the Safari installer on the install disks.

If you don't mind the German, get Safaqua. If a bilingual Safari bothers you, then be wary of installing Safaqua.

Panther Crashes


Panther is crashing and I don't know why. AOL Instant Messenger, iChat, Word, and Safari have crashed. This didn't happen in Jaguar and it's hard to return to the days of frequent application crashes. Safari crashes the most, so maybe using a different browser would help. I'm thinking about a Mozilla browser like Camino(?). As for the rest of the programs, I'm hoping that future Panther releases fix the crashing.

Whizzing Blur

I don't know if there is any scientific research that confirms the theory that time increases and decreases speed according to Solar radioactivity, but for me time's flying faster than normal. The simple reason for time going so fast for me is that I'm increasing its speed myself. Every day I look forward to the next two, never stopping to relax and enjoy anything. As a result, time's going by faster than it has before for me. It's like going to Cozumel on the first Saturday of spring break and before you know it it's the last Sunday of break and you have an English essay due Monday, and you're wondering how the time went by so fast. It's not that I'm running out of time or don't have enough time, it's just that it's moving so fast.

I think, "Oh, I can't wait till after Tuesday when I'll be done with my math test," or "I just have to make it through Thursday so I don't have start my journal early." I think these things and hours become minutes, days become hours. I'm 18 going on 35 and my life is going whizzing before my eyes.

Jessica


Since nobody cares about the Official Blog of the United States and everybody cares about Jessica, this'll be the official blog of Jessica. What Jessica people are actually searching for, I'm not sure. If you visit here looking for a different Jessica, I'll add more links when I find some time, so maybe you'll find what you're looking for there.

Friday, November 07, 2003

Fair and Balanced News

I read the news daily to learn about what's going on in the world. I read Google News and BBC News because they're in my toolbar in Safari. Google is okay except I don't like the fact that all the articles are chosen by a computer, and the BBC site has articles written mainly by BBC reporters. I just glance over these sites to see if anything catches my attention, reading the article titles and subtitles so I know the point of the article. When I go to other news sites it's usually to find out information on other topics, but not to learn a different perspective.

That is why I don't like spending a lot of time reading the news. Each news site presents a different perspective on the same topic and it can be confusing to figure out what is really going on. Many of the journalists are good writers that can present a convincing argument and make good seem like evil and vice versa. Once I sift through all the bias, I have to read another article from a different news site and do the same.

Some people can do this every day; they read fast enough and are able to sort facts from fluff. I don't want to do this, but I don't want to be shut out from what's really going on. I need to find a reliable news source that isn't going to cloud their articles with self-interest bias. What's a good fair and balanced news site?

Panther on the iBook

I have Mac OS 10.3 now and I'm enjoying it a lot. I have the iBook dual USB with 640mb of memory and a 600mhz processor. Everything runs smoothly now, even before I installed the extra 512mb of memory. There are several other improvements in iChat, Mail, and Image Capture. Reading away messages in iChat is better and I'm hoping that sound quality in voice chat is better also. Mail has a cleaner look and supposedly has better junk mail filters (I never get junk mail so I wouldn't know). Image Capture has a new feature that enables you to share your pictures over the internet, and even take pictures over the internet using the computer.

I haven't used all of the features yet, but overall I'm pleased. I think it is well worth the price and anybody who liked Jaguar will like Panther even more.

Tuesday, November 04, 2003

Value Increase

Since the value of this blog has increased dramatically, reading it and linking to it can only increase the value of your blog and mind. I'm thinking about getting one of those blogroll accounts, but that won't happen until I find some free time.

Monday, November 03, 2003

Electronic Deadwood

The Internet is littered with dead web sites. This isn't news to most people who surf the net at all. How long can a blog be left un-updated before it's considered dead? I wouldn't go longer than a week. When school started I had no time to update, but I got used to all the work and made time for it. When this site does go dead, it'll be offline and not wasting space.

Saturday, November 01, 2003

Interesting Facts You Must Know

I like to look through U.S. state blogs every once in a while and I stumbled across this. This is an email that I actually would appreciate getting rather than how to get out of debt.

American Political Correctness

Writing something and not sure what to call people? Try this. Scroll down a little ways and click on whatever term you're interested in.

Addicted to Homework

Homework addiction strikes many students. It comes in many different forms, from the mild to extreme. Some students get all their homework done in a timely manner, while others complete homework days/week/months before it is due.

I'm somewhere in between these poles. I get my homework done on time, spending most of my free time doing it. I do manage to make room for television and the internet, but little else. Rarely, I'll have a history journal completed before Thursday night and if I find out that I spent hours on math homework due a day later I'll be upset. The feeling of getting work done ahead of time is desirable to me, but not to the point of sacrificing boob tube and mind wandering idleness. I am somewhat of a procrastinator, but I do not and cannot stay up late doing work. My addiction prevents me from doing so.

While the addiction itself is a choice, it can creep up on those who do not wish to be addicted to homework. Approving of, liking, and enjoying homework have little to do with the addiction, although this is a rare side-effect. One may do things like skip out on going to the movies on a school night to do a chemistry lab, while others will refuse to schedule non-homework related events on Saturdays or Sundays. These are the first signs of addiction, and if they continue for more than two week, a person is diagnosed addicted to homework.

The side-effects of addiction can be positive, negative, or both. Positive side-effects are receiving high marks, extra free time, and acceptance to ivy league institutions. Negative side-effects include losing friends (good friends), abandonment of family, and forgetfulness of the definition of fun. People may possess a combination of these, so counseling is advised to maintain positive effects only.

If you know someone who is battling homework addiction's negative side-effects, have her play Grand Theft Auto III or watch Fine Living channel. Anything else the typifies the anti-homework is acceptable too.

Wednesday, October 29, 2003

Be Careful What You Blog

A Microsoft employee thought that posting a picture that he snapped of a truck delivering Mac G5s on his blog was nothing more than innocent humor. Unfortunately, when his boss found out about the blog post, he was fired for a security violation. If you're going to blog about work, make sure it's okay with your boss first, especially if you're posting pictures. However, if the post was a picture of Microsoft software being delivered, I don't think he would've been fired, just given a warning. Maybe they've done this before, though, and just wanted to make a point this time. Hopefully he won't have too much trouble finding a new job. Link courtesy Leoville.

Monday, October 27, 2003

New Microsoft Operating System

Bill Gates is previewing the new Microsoft OS to software developers. This way nobody will have to worry about software not being compatible when they run out and buy Longhorn. Longhorn won't be out until 2006 because they have to copy the features that are in Panther. Microsoft software runs on 90% of the world's desktop computers and Gates needs to make sure that that number stays the same or increases.

Also, since Gates' personal wealth has been declining, I think we need to start some kind of fund to help him out. How much would each American have to contribute so that he has $100 billion again?

I still think that I'll be buying to new operating system, unless more software (games) is made for the Mac. Windows Media Center looks tempting too, so I may buy one of those PCs when the one I have now dies. Apple may come out with it's own media center-type OS though, and it may be better than the Windows version because Apple's good with a/v stuff.

Saturday, October 25, 2003

Running Out of Numbers

Tackling the net's numbers shortage is what experts will be working on in the next few years. Currently, there are 4 billion IP addresses on the internet, but we're running out as more devices use addresses. IPv6 technology's supposed to fix it all, for a while at least, so no need to worry about it.

Tuesday, October 21, 2003

A Little Controversy

A hip-hop Artist from New York has recently put his art one display in Tokyo. Hip-hop may be controversial, but there are other things that can curl people's hair more than that: hip-hop artists as Christian icons in paintings. Personally, I think that this is not a wise thing to do. Not only would it offend people, but it places ordinary people in the place of religious deities. It is equivalent to drawing a picture of George W. Bush, and calling it God.

I am no expert on Christianity, but I think that when Jesus is depicted in art he's not supposed to be any specific person. Taking hip-hop artists, presidents, or anybody and depicting them as Jesus or any other religious icon is a supposed to mean something about that person in relation to the religion. If the depiction is supposed to mean that Tupac is Jesus or a Buddha, then that is morally wrong because it is against religious teaching.

Tom Sanford is unquestionably talented, but I am not sure what message he is trying to deliver through his work. I am further confused by his website (I think it's his website, and I cannot see any of the pictures for some reason). It appears that he does not know about the real conditions of the various ethnic and racial groups in America in the past and present.

As more people become familiar with his work, more will comment and hopefully his work won't be taboo in America.

Monday, October 20, 2003

Peach Money?!?!?!

The U.S. has a new 20 dollar note and it's peach and green! Peach and green?! Who thought that was a good idea? Money should be pretty even if the people on the money aren't. They could have at least added more appealing colors instead.

I guess part of the reason why the Bureau of Engraving is not doing anything drastic is tradition. American money is green and black with old white men and Roman style buildings. Anything different and it would be heresy.

The Bureau just needs to forget about tradition and try something radical. See through money, holograms, primary colors, and new people would all be great things to try for U.S. currency.

If those things don't work out, then that's okay, try something different. What ever happened to the Sacagawea coins? I liked those coins, and I think other people did too. Were the coins too pretty? Were people collecting them rather than spending them? Naw. They just disappeared! May that's why the Bureau of Engraving and the Mint don't want to do anything wild anymore.

Sure there's the state quarters, where each state gets a quarter that is unique to itself, but I haven't seen any I like so far. Also, those are only coined for a limited time so people (including my mom) are just collecting these coins to own some history. People should be able to own a nicer piece of history rather than just peach coins, corn coins, horse coins, etc.

I have so many big plans for U.S. currency, I should work at the mint or something. However, being around money has its consequences as illustrated by the Discovery Channel's program on the Loomis Fargo bank robbery (almost obsolete online).

Saturday, October 18, 2003

Thread Count

After watching Martha Inc. I have become interested in thread count. In the movie Martha wanted her Kmart products to be high quality, and demanded that her sheets have at least a 300+ thread count. So I started looking for new sheets for my bed with high thread counts. Without doing any research about what the thread count of sheets actually referred to, I noticed that higher thread counts meant higher prices. That's alright though, it's not my money.

It may seem like I've turned into a domesticity freak, but I'm looking for two things: sheets that last for 20 years+, and darker sheets that don't look like they're dirty when they really are (I just hate washing sheets).

This is what happens when you watch too much Martha Stewart. If I go broke decorating rooms, this what I'll blame it on.

Friday, October 17, 2003

Senko
Senko - "Wizard Child; Hermit Child". This is my Japanese name. What's yours? Female or male.

Save the Asians

A few days ago I was listening to EWTN Radio and I heard something I didn't know what to make of. One of the callers mentioned that she was concerned about the condition of the souls of people in Asia. According to her, the Christian missions during and after World War II did not effectively convert people in Asia to Christianity. Apparently, the Asians are materialistic, in the sense that they have everything they want, but that's eroding their souls. She believes that now is the time for missionaries to go to Asia and convert everyone over there.

I'm not sure what to make about this viewpoint, but I want to know if anybody who has this opinion can help me understand what it means.
CrAzY SyTeS changes the look of any website without having to do any fancy html coding. If I had know it was this easy, I would've done this in the first place! I found it through Bleu Blanc Blog. It took me about 5 minutes to figure out what was going on, so I've spared anybody else the trouble. And no, I can't read the French.

Tuesday, October 14, 2003

Dubya Speak

The president of the U.S. likes to rewrite the rules of the English language all the time. DubyaSpeak.com is one of my favorite sites because it makes me laugh. If the entire English speaking world could visit this site there would be less war, poverty, and hunger. Nah, I just think he's a silly guy.

The Miniature Earth

I've said it once before, but I have to say it again. You must take a look at The Miniature Earth. I don't feel that I need to explain why, just do it. You'll come away with something and that's good. Also, make sure that you read the text part of it because there's more info.

Sunday, October 12, 2003

Mac vs. Windows

This is a topic that frequently comes up whenever Apple or Microsoft release new versions of their operating systems. I personally use Mac OS X.2 and Windows XP Home Edition. I think both are great improvements over their previous versions, but I am not sure which one is better. It's different for each person, but some things Macs to better than Windows, and vice versa. For me, it's still had to tell. Since OS's are software, it will run differently depending on the hardware. So I'll ignore hardware for now and focus on what the software can do, rather than how fast it is or whatever. The kind of things I do with computers are internet, watch DVD's, burn music and data CD's, instant messages friends and family, use Microsoft Office, and rarely play games.

Both Mac and Windows are great with the internet. Most of the websites I visit are formatted for Windows, but that doesn't stop me from using the Mac. The problem that I have is that major companies have Windows and Mac version of their websites, but the Mac version doesn't look as good. Yahoo! is one site that has all this great video stuff on the Windows version, but they cut all that stuff out on the Mac version. I think they're just being lazy and don't want to create a nice website for the Mac people out there. This has nothing to do with lack of capability of Macs, it's probably just uneconomical for the companies I guess.

Watching DVD's on a Mac is just better than with a PC. I think this has something to do with InterActual Player. This program is a terrible program with so many bugs in it that I just avoid it all together. DVD's have special features that only work on the PC (most special features work fine on the Mac), but InterActual is so bad I just skip over them. I think I need another DVD player for the PC.

Burning CD's is really easy with both platforms. Data CD's burn nicely on both platforms, but music CD's are different. iTunes makes everything easy, while the 5 million programs on the PC all need to be learned after each disk. I just use iTunes; the Mac is better in this field.

Instant messaging is another case where it's uneconomical for the programmers to make a good client for the Mac. I can do the basic things, but the PC versions are full featured. I use AIM, Yahoo!, MSN, and iChat (AOL IM client designed for the Mac) but I can't do voice chat with any of them except iChat. iChat's brand new and buggy, and I can only do voice chat with other iChat users (just my mom). AIM claims that it's Mac version has a voice chat, but it's nowhere to be found (others can't find it either). The PC wins because of the extra features.

I use Microsoft Office on both systems and it works well them. The problems I have on the PC is when I create something on the Mac, and it doesn't show up right. Fonts change pictures not showing up are real cumbersome problems, but I'm told there's tricks I can use to avoid this. I just don't know where to find them though.

When I want to play games, I play them on the PC. Games are made for the PC not the Mac, this might change in the future, so I'll discuss it in the future.

I use the Mac most of the time. It's works for me and can work a lot for many other people.

Saturday, October 11, 2003

This is What I Like

No Cheers for Columbus, Says Venezuela's Chavez. I don't know much about this guy, but I agree with what he says about Columbus Day. Finally, somebody calls the Invasion genocide and not a discovery. There were between 60 to 90 million Native Americans from Mexico up to Canada, and most of them were systematically killed. Biological warfare was used against the Native peoples for the first time yet I don't hear much about it when the topic is raised. If only Christopher Columbus wasn't granted a fleet to sail out in the Atlantic. The world would certainly be a different place.

Wednesday, October 08, 2003

Presidential Blog


When I first clicked on a link to George W. Bush's blog I thought it was a joke. However, the site looked legitimate (lots of money was put into it), and the news reports confirmed it. If only he actually wrote each entry, it would probably sound a lot like his poetry.

No Updates


"Survey says, only 50,000 blogs are updated daily and most bloggers give up within one year. Perseus Development Corp. randomly surveyed 3,634 of the estimated 4.12 million blogs online and found that two-thirds hadn't been updated in over two months. Over one million blogs only contained a single day's posts. Active blogs were updated on average every 14 days. Only 106,579 of the hosted blogs were updated on average at least once a week. Fewer than 50,000 were updated daily. There's lots more in the report - it's interesting reading. QOTD: When's the last time you updated your blog." Courtesy Leoville.

Saturday, October 04, 2003

Organization

Time's precious these days and work's increasing. I still haven't learned how to organize but the video store is hiring and I want to work there because it's so close by. At least I'll have time tomorrow to go grocery shopping for food and watch a movie. I think the problem is that I spend too much time sleeping. On the weekends I don't wake up before 3 p.m. and I always sleep until right before class. If I actually woke up earlier I could get a lot more work done. Another thing I would need is a cure to procrastination. I've looked at some options, but I'm not confident them. End ProcrastinatioNow provides numerous opportunities for me to enter my credit card number, while Doing it Now looks more promising, but I don't like 12-step programs. If anybody knows of a pill, patch, or cream that helps, please let me know. I'm going to try doing assignments earlier, maybe that will help.

Nargile

This is what some people in Turkey do. Maybe if people do this is the U.S. they'll be less nervous, competitive, and thoughtless.

Sunday, September 28, 2003

The Cost of War

Here's an article on the intifada in Israel. It's real short but it gives the data on the number of people that have died in this, which is more than other news sources will provide.

Saturday, September 27, 2003

Ergonomics

I'm on the computer a lot and occasionally I experience joint pain. If I rest my wrists on the keyboard or don't sit up straight for extended periods of time I get real soar. To alleviate these pains I've tried some workstation exercises. So far they've helped and now there's no reason to sue your company for carpal tunnel syndrome. Link courtesy Leo Laporte.

Digital Video Recorder


TV is a necessary part of my life. I have to see my programs! However, thanks to modern technology I can record them and watch them later. All I would have to do is find a blank cassette tape, program the VCR, and make sure nobody else messes with it. If I do it right, then I'll be able to see my programs when it's more convenient to. Unfortunately, possibility of human error is high and any small mistake would cause me to miss my show anyways. In comes digital technology: The Digital Video Recorder (DVR). We have digital cable, so why not have a recording mechanism that best suits it? What's the best brand? What kind of features should I be looking for? Do any of them use WiFi? What media do you use to show your programs on other TV's or at somebody else's house? As soon as my dad finds out about DVRs he'll want one too, so I want to get the right one.

Updates


I've had a ton of work to do lately, so I haven't been able to update as frequently as I like. Next week I think I'll have more time but school projects come up all the time. I guess I could just have short posts but I don't really like doing that. We'll see how things go.

Research Project


My research project for English is immigration to the U.S. from China. I'm not sure what I'm going to say about this subject so feel free to give me some suggestions. It's not due until December, so I'll worry about it in late November.

Tuesday, September 23, 2003

Season = Winter
You're Most Like The Season Winter ...

You're often depicted as the cold, distant season.
But you're incredibly intelligent, mature and
Independant[sic]. You have an air of power around
you - and that can sometimes scare people off.
You're complex, and get hurt easily - so you
rarely let people in if you can help it. You
can be somewhat of a loner, but just as easily
you could be the leader of many. You Tend to be
negative, and hard to relate to, but you give
off a relaxed image despite being insecure -
and secretly many people long to be like you,
not knowing how deep the Winter season really
is.

Well done... You're the most inspirational of
seasons :)


?? Which Season Are You ??
brought to you by Quizilla
I couldn't help doing one of these quizzes because I wanted to be winter, and I am winter. I found it at http://mihana.blogspot.com

Sunday, September 21, 2003

Weekend

The weekend was wasted away by doing homework, so I guess that means it wasn't wasted away. I found this article about what schools students should go to, but it doesn't tell you anything you don't already know. Still wasn't able to watch Lord of the Rings, but as long as I'm spending the time on my future that doesn't matter. (!_!)

The Broken


If you have a lot of time and don't mind downloading something 40MBs go to The Broken. They tell you how people cheat/steal from each other with technology by cheating/stealing from some people. I learned about Knoppix and how you can use it to crack passwords. I don't want to screw up my computer, but I think I could use it to see if our passwords are secure enough. They probably aren't, but we don't have any trade secrets or anything valuable that somebody would actually want.

Don't Get Upset

I'm not against A.A. or religion! It was just my observation that A.A. can substitute as a religion because of the emphasis on a God/Higher Power. I'm not saying that people who go to A.A. are going completely against their organized/cult/belief system religion. In A.A. people may use the Christian/Muslim/Jewish God as their higher power, or another God, or they make one up. For example, at one meeting there was a guy who said God for him was Good Orderly Direction. A.A.'s great for tons of people, but it doesn't work for everyone. I have friends who love going to meetings, while others just don't get help from it. I'd like to know what the other alternatives to A.A. are besides church groups. Also, since I tend to be very let's think about other countries, cultures, and ethnic groups, I want to know more about treatment outside the U.S.

Disease


The whole disease thing is another issue. I've heard people say it's a disease, and I've heard other wise. I don't really have an opinion on whether it is or not because I'm not a doctor or an alcoholic. What counts is whether it's controlled if one has a problem, and just preventing it all together which make things easier. Which is better? Prevention or treatment? I'll go with prevention. Somebody's got to deal with cause right? That sounds like a good research paper topic: The Prevention of substance Abuse (in America?)

Saturday, September 20, 2003

Been Lazy

I had plenty of time to work on this blog, plenty of things to say, but I decided against it. My theory was less updates, more traffic. It was the worst idea of the week. Now I've run out of ideas, but I'll try to add as much useless padding as possible.

Miniature Earth


Be sure to watch The Miniature Earth video. Most people are Asian (of course) and not Christian (sooo many people are going to Hell! J/k.) Also, read the text-only version because there's more information. Link courtesy English teacher.

Alcoholics Anonymous and Alcoholics


Is it a religion? Can it substitute for a religion? What did people do before A.A.? To me, is seems like people flock (including my friends) to these services like a church/temple/mosque in order for salvation. They can't exist as human beings if they don't go to a service. The church of A.A. is based on 12 commandments, which all members follow for the rest of their lives. To guide them they choose a priest/pastor who is experienced to personally help them through each guideline. In conclusion, A.A. members are more religious than the average church going American.
I'm also interested in what other people do to stop habitually drinking themselves silly. In America Alcoholism is a disease. To some people a disease is not something you give yourself (i.e. Alzheimers, Parkinson's). Rather, calling Alcoholism a disease is just another way of saying "it's not my fault." I'm not sure what to say to this. What diseases can you give to yourself? Obesity is another "disease." In the words of my English teacher, "Some people just can't stop shoving hamburgers down their throats. It's McDonald's fault, I'm 500 pounds!"

When I Grow Up, I Want to be a...


I can't finish that sentence. Forget grade school, high school and college are supposed to be what you really need for the future, right? So far, wrong. I still don't know what to do with myself! I keep seeing the ITT Tech commercial about the guy who went to a 4-year university and just ended up making hamburgers. I was sucked into the marketing, and I wanted to go to ITT Tech. I informed my mom and she informed me that a real good university would personally write me. Oh well, I really liked their commercials. For now, surviving school is my only goal.

Saturday, September 13, 2003

Economics

Question of the night: Why does the price of other goods create a change in supply? I don't understand how that works, even after reading my "Oh this book is easy" textbook. We didn't even cover that factor in class. Maybe my teacher forgot to mention it, or we just don't have to learn that one. I could've forgot to take down that during the lecture, but I don't remember hearing a scenario where that was the case. We went over cost of production, technological advance, and competition (a change in the number of suppliers). The book is in one world of thought, and the instructor's in another. What's a student to do? At least there's a course website, that has been visited 55 times (I was there twice) since September 23, 2002. I think that all students who went to the website did very well. These may have been the students who actually took notes in class too. The 35 other students in my class probably have real good memories, so they don't need to take any notes, while the 10 of us have to take dictation.

Internet Savvy Instructors


It's pretty cool when a teacher has a website, a course related website. Students care as much about teachers' personal lives as teachers about students'. However, I don't feel I can say, "Oh, I didn't know how to do it," because the teacher will probably say, "Well, if you checked my site...". Besides, sifting through loads of info turns me off from the site since I guess I value the information on the GDP/GNP less than how to set up a LAN.

Stalling


Blogging has become another form of stalling from homework. I should be reading my moron-friendly econ text, but I'm an internet junkie. That in addition to a TV, movie, and novel junkie. With all the stalling I do, I should at least be getting more stuff done.
I have not even picked up my latest library checkouts, more on that later. Nor have I had time to watch Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, the DVD rental, (I have had 2/3 of it on the computer for three months now. I don't like to watch movies on my mom's desktop, I'd rather watch a DVD on the iBook. Tomorrow's another day, one that I will just waste away sleeping, watching "necessary" TV, and hopefully LOTR: T3. Only about 13 more pages to go, I can finish it before bed.

Thursday, September 11, 2003

Still Not There

I thought I had achieved maximum efficiency and that I was working at equilibrium. No floors, no ceilings, just pure freedom. I was wrong. Instead of spending time walking around my house and watching TV, I should've been working on an essay! It slipped my mind, or it was in my mind, but my mind said, "do it Thursday, it's only due on Friday." Folks this is what happens when you procrastinate 95% of the time. It's like a bad habit because it is a bad habit, and it's not easy to break. People fall down all the time, then they get up. I will get up and try it again. Only this time I will remember that there is always more school work to be done, and that I'm never really finished. The essay is finished, that's the important thing, and it's not past my normal bed time. So, the day went okay, aside from the fact that I only had 7 hours of sleep instead of 9. I'll make up the deficit tonight since I couldn't do it during class (I tried!)

More Viruses, That's Not Really News


Yesterday two new viruses were created and people were told to immediately download the patch. I didn't do that since I wasn't planning on turning the PC on again, but I'm still protected even if I did need to. Apparently the new patch really doesn't work as well and a system could still be "possessed" or "owned" or whatever. As far as I'm concerned I don't need to use the PC (thank you Apple), so I just won't turn it on. Abstinence is the best protection of all.

September 11th


Today is September 11th, see? I am no way connected to any terrorist attacks on any country, and I don't know anybody who is. I don't think it's fair to just commemorate this day because Americans died, rather, it should be a day when we commemorate all who have died because of terrorist activity. I'm not really a news junkie but I hear a lot about terrorist activity in other countries, and I wonder if they gather together to remember all the victims. Probably, but we don't hear about that sort of thing. I guess it should be moved to a different day then if it is for all victims of terrorism. Maybe somebody who creates "days" will think of that since terrorism was always an international problem, but two years ago became an American priority. According to me, September 11th is my friends' birthday, happy birthday.

Monday, September 08, 2003

Free at Last!

I finally found free time. What did I do with that free time? Nothing, unless you (sorry English instructory, I used "you") count strolling around the house every once in a while, playing with the cat, and reading for school. I guess I don't really need a lot of free time since I don't know what to do with it. However, it's better than not having enough time to do work, so I'll just get used to it if this continues. How did I find this time? I think I organized my time better by doing homework on the weekends. Today is Monday, the beginning of the week, when homework tends to be a little light, though. Still, I'm prepared for whatever the week throws at me and I'm getting used to things. So it's time to have fun, right? Well, not exactly. I feel that my time is precious so I don't want to waste is playing video games, watching tv, reading fantasy fiction, and IMing friends. Instead, I want to look for things that will help me decide what I want to do with myself in the future, further my education, and help me deal with any problems in the future. It must be some illness that's going around, I'll try to stop it immediately. There's nothing wrong with wasting time on silly materialistic pleasures, I've done it all my life and it hasn't made me a terrorist. That's what matters in the world now. Can't waste time composing an entry, gotta look up neomedieval architecture. I didn't just say that!

Saturday, September 06, 2003

Does This Look Infected?

Today, after turning on the PC, I get some message on the screen telling me that something went wrong and the computer will shut itself off in one minute. I restarted the comp, and everything was fine after that. Later, online (using the Mac) and I see an adversitement displaying the same message that I had seen earlier on the PC. I click on the ad and the site it takes me to says that the message I had received was caused by a virus! I couldn't believe it. All virus definitions had been updated throughout the week, I scanned all email attachments I had received, and we're behind a router. However, the night before I did use WinMX unsucessfully, leaving the program running for at least 6 hours. So maybe doing that let the bug in. Just to be sure, I went to Symantec and did an online virus scan. The results were clean, but that didn't expain why the message showed up. Maybe if I just leave it alone, the problem will go away by itself. *Crosses fingers*

Friday, September 05, 2003

Burned Out

After another week of school, I'm burned out! It's only the second week and I have little of the free time I desire. Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers arrived a few days and I wanted to watch it tomorrow, but looking at all the work I have, I don't think I'll be able to do that. So I'll wake up at noon tomorrow so I can finish some of it and have a friend over. At least there's nothing to write. I was to make that spaghetti and it turned out great, too bad my dad ate it cold. Tomorrow will have a salad with homemade dressing which shouldn't take too long to make ^_^.
When I'm not worrying about how much work I have to do, or what to cook for dinner, I'm thinking about where I want to go for winter break. I'm not really a fan of flying on airplanes anymore, not because it's not secure enough, it's the exact opposite: it's too secure. Too much security anywhere is not a good thing because it gets to the point of absurdity. Also, I'm not sure if the measures that are being taken are really helping. One round trip should be bearable for me because of the destination, wherever that may be.

Tuesday, September 02, 2003

It's Nice to be Finished

Finally finished with my essay, I can write without having to worry about being graded. I put the work off, not to the last minute, but to the last day. It was just a short essay, so waiting didn't hurt the quality of the work too much. Most of the day I was tired because of the holiday weekend and having to readjust to my schedule. School should only be 4 days a week, but I couldn't work that out, so this was a nice treat. At home we're getting used to getting along without mom, I think i'm gonna cook a made-from-scratch meal: spaghetti. It's pretty simple, except for having to make the sauce, and it'll last us for a few days. I may try enchaladas using a mix next time. Better save up my energy for all this cooking, it's just more work for me.

Monday, September 01, 2003

Writer's Block

Is that fair to say when I can compose this entry? Sort of, since I can just say whatever I want here and not worry about being graded. The writing that will be graded is due on Wednesday, but I want to get most of it done. Budgeting my time has become important even though I don't have a job or many household responsibilities. I want to have more free time, and it's good to know how to organize so you can be prepared. So, it's not that late now and I don't have any other homework to finish. If mom were here I'd ask her, but she's not, so the next best thing is dad. Since he's my only option at this time I'm better off doing this on my own. Writing about writing is easier than doing the writing itself. Does that make sense? When I'm not doing my homework I'm trying to figure out what do cook. I finally went shopping and did okay without a proper list, except for mistaking processed cheese as real cheese. I'll come up with a better list when I have all that free time I'm organizing. Today a neighbor was nice enough to cook us dinner so I didn't have to worry about making something. More free time for me, but it's running out as I compose this entry. Right now I need a cure for writer's block. This ailment is probably due to reading material on how to write correctly, and consequently I understood this as not writing at all to avoid making any mistakes. No words, no mistakes...no essay. Better start writing.

Friday, August 29, 2003

One Week Down, 15 More to Go

I can't believe that I haven't updated this since Monday! I kept telling myself each night that I would update the next day, and I just never got around to it. Anyways, tonight is Friday so I have more time to complete my homework than any of the other weeknights. Well, school's not so bad anymore; I still don't like it but it's tolerable. I am trying to think positive thoughs, but I don't think they're helping me much. It'll all go by faster if I think positive, but it's so temping to figure out what classes I'll take next semester to make school more enjoyable. As long as I stay in school I'll be fine. One of my teachers said that the hallways will be half as crowded two weeks from now because people will realize that they'll have to do some work. I knew that I would have work to do, but I wasn't sure as to what kind of work it was. Reading seems to be what I'll be spending a lot of time on. Also, I'll have to study for math more intensely; it's important to fully understand the concepts. I haven't burned out yet, but if I stop blogging then you'll know something's up. Being able to see now that I have new glasses really improves the atmosphere too. After two days of not being able to see the board I decided it was time to do something about it. My sleeping paterns have also improved too. I am able to get to sleep in one hour, instead of three or four. Ten hours of sleep a night is my new goal. I have to start some of my homework now since I've frittered the day away relaxing.

Monday, August 25, 2003

Didn't Like It

First day of school today didn't go very well. It's not that it went bad, I just didn't like any of my classes. Maybe I expected too much, but to me it all seems pretty dull and boring. I'm not sure if I can finish out the semester if things continue to go this way, but I do want to finish. Hopefully, I'll find solace in the internet and blog. So far this blog is turning out to be a journal and I don't think that that's really fun at all. Putting more links in could make it more exciting, but I hate doing it on a Mac. Blogger decided for some reason that they would include less features on the Mac than for the PC. They'll learn some day; maybe if I wrote a letter they'd change things. Anyways I am so tired right now I just want to keel over. The only thing that'll get me through the day tomorrow is the fact that I have another knew class, and there's only two to suffer through. Being near sighted w/o glasses makes school a pain too. I want to take this as a sign that I shouldn't be in school. Need sleep now. -_-

Sunday, August 24, 2003

Last Day of Freedom

Tomorrow's D-Day. I've spent today getting ready for it by cleaning up some things. I didn't get to go shopping today so I do it tomorrow. Now it's just a matter of time before school starts. A small portion of today was spent downloading/installing/learning W. Bloggar. I was convinced I could use it to upload photos to blogger w/o an online host, but I learned eventually that it wasn't going to happen. I might just have Geocities host my pics so I can post them online, but for now I'll just use Snapfish as a host. Maybe in the future it'll actually occur to me that in order to have what I want I need to pay for it. That leaves plenty of time to search for a reliable/cheap host. However, my free time will decrease starting tomorrow so I might just have to limit my dedication to the blog. This doesn't mean that I won't continue to post, but I probably won't have time to change things. I'm going to spend the rest of my summer vacation watching a movie.

Friday, August 22, 2003

Home Alone

My dad and I are home alone now. So far everything has been smooth, but I can see signs that things are going to be real messy in the house. We have paid our first bill and it will go in the mail tomorrow, however my dad has decided to store the bill in his own container: a paper bag. So far there are two paper bags; one for mom's mail and the other for the bills. There will be more paper bags and things will get lost. To counteract this I have started to clean up my junk from the family room before school starts. It will just get junky again with my new stuff, but at least things won't get mixed up. We're having issues with applying the cat medication, too. This medicine needs to be rubbed on to Cindy's ear twice a day. I don't wake up in the morning when the first dose must be administered so dad will have to do it. He's very heavy handed and never touches the cat. I'll trim Cindy's nails so he doesn't get deep scratches. There really isn't any food in the refridgerator so I think we'll go shopping on Sunday. Things are already really different and it's only been one day.

Last Minute School Prep


I never realized how much I'd have to do to get ready for school. Even though I started getting ready a month ago and told myself that I wouldn't leave things to the last minute, other things popped up and I have to scramble to complete them. In addition to cleaning the family room and getting food, I still need to put together/prepare all my new school things! As far as health goes I think I'm fine only I can't see very well without glasses. I was too lazy to do the eye exercises/read the book, so my eyes are pretty weak. Sitting in the front of class should help, but I might not get a seat there. Hopefully by Sunday night I'll be ready to go.

Wednesday, August 20, 2003

No Uploading Photos

Apparently with regular old free blogger there is no way to upload photos. So instead of uploading the pic I tried to create a hyperlink directly to the pic from the computer. Didn't work. Stored the pic in my Yahoo! Briefcase, then created a link to the pic there. That worked -- as long as I stay logged in to Yahoo! I need a host, but I don't want to have to join another service in order for this to happen. Not sure whether to continue linking to my online photo service or get a host. I'm so tired right now I can barely keep my head up or think straight, but I must stay up to watch Making the Band. I'll fix the cat pic later...::nods::

Tuesday, August 19, 2003

More Cindy


Cindy just got her medication on Monday and so far everything's fine. It's a topical cream that is rubbed in her ears twice a day; once in the morning in one ear, and once in the evening in the other.


This week is my last week of freedom and time is running out. Classes start on Monday and I am not anticipating any of them. Year after year it's the same thing, late August rolls around and summer comes to a close in the blink of an eye. I should be used to this by now, but I don't think anybody ever really gets in the habit of accepting this terrible fate. My days are numbered now, freedom's coming to an end. To make matters worse my mom's going to be leaving for a year to teach in another state. My dad and I have never had to fend for ourselves for more than a week and we won't know what to do with ourselves. Who's gonna make dinner, fill the refridgerator, clean the house, help with homework, take the cat to the vet, pay the bills,etc. I can guarantee that in less than a month the house will be in chaos. Hopefully, mom will visit to straighten us all out. Still, while she is gone we will have to adopt some of these tasks ourselves, or not. The only things that I have prepared for is cooking meals, but I stopped doing that a month or two ago. My dad will have to pay the bills, but he's not good and keeping the checkbook balance up to date, so I suggested online bill payment. He's really into Yahoo!'s services so he might try to use Yahoo! Bill Pay. We're going to need a lot of help so if anyone wants to do just that please feel free to offer your services. If all goes as planned we will have hired a maid by late October.

Sunday, August 17, 2003

Mercedes Lackey Book 1

I read Arrows of the Queen and I didn't like it. Didn't like the characters, plot (was there a plot?), style (sort of). I'm told that this is her first book and she gets better, but I'm still skeptical about it. Even Harry Potter 1 had a plot! And the characters were realistic too. If I don't like the next Lackey book then I won't be tempted to read the 70 others.

No Power


No, I didn't not experience a power failure, however some of my family members did. My aunt had to spend the night in her office, and most of the phones in her house require power. Now some Americans know how the Iraqis feel, and it's even hotter there. This event has not inspired me to learn more about the nation's power grid system, yet. It usually takes some time for people to sort all the details out and then propose what to do, so I'll wait for that. I couldn't image living in a house without power for more than an hour, especially when it's so hot. In my neighborhood we have frequent blackouts and I can barely stand not having internet access for more than a second. At least there's always reading or writing, heaven forbid we run out of ink!

Friday, August 15, 2003

Sick Cat

My cat Cindy has been diagnosed with Feline Hyperthyroid Disease. This means she'll have to take medication everyday until she's better. We hope that this will work because the other treatments are admininstered by a vet and include surgery and radioactivity. Cindy is 11 years old and has been throwing up and losing weight rapidly. We're glad that we found out what the problem was before it got worse. Cin will have to visit the vet again in about two weeks to check up on her condition. To Cindy this is about as pleasant as being sentenced to death; she just doesn't like to leave the house. Oh well, maybe she'll get used to it and realize that it's all for the best.

No More Painting?


I think we are done painting the deck, but we still have to seal it. The project's not over, but the color is on. All that's left to do is touch-ups. Today's been hotter than usual, about 88 degrees F, so we started later in the day. Unfortunately, the bugs were out and we started to rush to get done so it may look a little sloppy. I think that I'm finished with the deck because I have a small migrane above the left brow that might be a result of the project. Yet another reason to leave DIY to the professionals.

Wednesday, August 13, 2003

Wood is Porous

Today's the second day of painting the deck and we've discovered that wood is porous. More porous than we originally thought. This means we'll have to paint two coats on the top part (spindles), in addition to going over the spillage that occured on the bottom. We would have painted the top first, but we didn't know exactly what colors we were going to use. After painting is finished we have to seal the wood, then the project will be over! So, I think we'll be done by Saturday. If we don't finish soon the project will never get done because we can only paint the deck when the weather allows us to. It takes about three days for the wood to dry after it rains, then about 72 hours for the paint to dry, so that's another two days without rain. If it was up to me a professional would have been called. :-(

Tuesday, August 12, 2003

Summer DIY Project: Finish the Deck

Due to the recent change in the weather in my neck of the woods it's time to finish painting the deck. To some this would appear to be a simple task that anybody could do. For the rest of us this is not an easy task. I am not used to doing any strenuous work at all but felt it was my duty since I complained about the deck looking bad. Also, nobody else seemed too enthusiastic about actually doing the work either. I guess this has something to do with not growing up in a DIY family. Some people just love to work on handy personish stuff any chance they can get. It's one thing to want something done, it's another do actually do it. I'd rather spend my summers traveling, reading, and lounging than do any kind of DIY. However, it's fun to watch others work on stuff like that. I enjoy watching HGTV(Home and Garden Television) and seeing people do various home improvement projects, but I never would actually do any of that stuff myself. That's what professionals are for, they need to make money too.
If you're suddenly inspired to paint something visit Behr Paints and go nuts.

Monday, August 11, 2003

Cindy


This is my cat Cindy. She had to go to the vet today and was wounded on the nose on the way. This picture was taken in haste to participate in the America 24-7 digital photo contest.

Saturday, August 09, 2003

Back Home

It's always nice to be back home from any kind of trip, even if you're not there for very long. Chicago was nice, but I was tired for most of the trip, probably a result of not getting enough sleep the previous night. We went to the Apple store and used the iSight, played Harry Potter 2 and Tony Hawk Pro Skater, and listened to part of a demonstration. Unfortunately the G5 was not there so we didn't get to test that out. As far as shopping goes, I only got a pair of jeans and shoes; we can get the rest of my school clothes at home. I never really liked shopping since I want to buy everything I see but can't, am unable to walk for long periods of time, and don't like spending money. Luckily Chicago is much more than just stores so I enjoyed it a lot. Don't have any photographs, i hate carrying things even if it is a small digi cam. Besides, I didn't want to look too much like a tourist. My little trip is over now, time to be lazy again.

Thursday, August 07, 2003

Chicago

I'm going to Chicago tomorrow! We're going to spend the day there at a computer store and shopping for new school clothes. I haven't gotten new clothes in 3 years so it's definately time for something different. I am so sad that summer's almost over. Oh well, Chicago should be fun. I'm hoping that new clothes will inspire me to avoid idleness of the mind. On the Montel Williams' show I witnessed what an idle mind can lead to. I didn't even know people like that existed, people who just didn't want to do anything. Like what the people who post on the Yahoo! Message boards say, this is Bush's fault. However, I believe it's his fault for not helping change some of the unproductive parts of American society. Too bad it seems like he is an unproductive part of society. Uh Oh! I might be blacklisted for saying something bad about the president! I won't be flying on a plane very much so I don't need to worry about airport security arresting me. Link courtesy www.mediachannel.com I think that a president should meet at least two requirements: that s/he is a smart person able enough to lead a country (preferable this one), and that s/he makes an effort to do something to help the country. We're in a real big mess now so I guess we should be looking for someone to clean it up.

Don't Walk

If you don't live in a city with good public transportation, avoid walking at all costs. You never know when you're going to pass out need a lift. Also, avoid walking if you live in a small city and it's getting dark. Always where shoes that you don't mind taking wear and tear. This translates into shoes that won't cause wear and tear on your feet.

Tuesday, August 05, 2003

Bad FanFiction

In my opinion most fanfictions are just plain horrible! I'm not saying that fanfic writers aren't creative and don't have any good ideas. That is the least of the problems with fanfictions. Unfortunately, most of these creative "writers" can't really write to save their lives. Every single error that could be made while writing can show up in one chapter of an average fanfic story. I understand that people make errors all the time, but it doesn't hurt to have at least one person proofread a story before it's published. If you ever go to FanFiction.net you'll know exactly what I am talking about. There's just way too much garbage on there to sift through before finding a gem. You never realize how much you appreciate a good pre-edited book until you read fanfiction. I think fanfiction and the internet are good things, however, just publishing any old thing you want regardless of quality is sacrilege. My advice: just read a book. For those who want to write a fanfiction go to HOW TO WRITE MARGINALLY READABLE FAN FICTION. I believe that this alone can improve a fanfiction by the amateur writer.

Monday, August 04, 2003

Back to School Prep

Unfortunately there comes a time when you have to admit that summer is almost over and it's time to go back to school. It wasn't easy for me; I was persuaded by the reminder to get my books, i.d. card, planner, etc. Lucky for me school doesn't start until the end of the month, however some of my friends aren't so lucky and school begins in about 10 days. Consequently this means I have to visit with all my friends before the various d-days occur, leaving little time to go out of town. No, there will definately not be any major vacations this summer, but I will get to go to Chicago and a little town in the north before time runs out. I didn't really do much of anything this summer but I certainly feel that that time was spent well. When I say "well," I mean that I was able to rebuild and repair myself after damage during the school year. I think summer is meant for that and anything that contributes to the damage done is not a very wise choice. Some people say that employment should be sought during the summer, and after pondering that idea for longer than I wanted to, I have decided that this is wrong. Doing absolutely nothing valuable to society or nature is justified if the self is improved in some way. Then when the resting period eventually ends the self can return to the pressures of life and its responsibilities more efficiently than if it wasn't rested properly. In other words, be lazy during the summer, work during the school year. For those who don't have this luxury of retiring during the summer, take advantage of any off-time availabe. Doing this can only produce good things. On the subject of getting ready for work, my advice would be to never leave it to the last minute. However I always leave it to the last minute. Like a cat that chases a rat, it's in my nature to leave it to the last minute. Punctuality is probably not natural for most people, yet it can be learned with a brief assessment of values, etc. It takes a loooong time for many, including myself, to learn it. That's why I'm going to plan the end of summer/beginning of the school year tomorrow, maybe. If anybody has any suggestions as to avoiding procrastination please feel free to comment. Normal people will appreciate your efforts. :-)

Sunday, August 03, 2003




Please click here so I can achieve world domination!!!

Saturday, August 02, 2003

Better Eyesight Without Glasses

After the unfortunate destruction of my glasses I've been forced to find other alternatives in order to see better. I tryed eyedrops to ease the pain, closing my eyes for a few seconds, and looking away from the computer screen every once in awhile. Despite my efforts my eyes continued to hurt for a few more days, but they got used to seeing on their own. I decided that I would not get my glasses fixed and instead try to improve them on my own. This was an idea I had ever since reading a short story where a man moved to a new location and after a while he didn't need to use his glasses anymore. So after a few online searches I discovered the late William H. Bates. His techniques for improving vision have been tried and tested and I decided that I would borrow his book from the library and see for myself. Some people have called Mr. Bates a fraud but I didn't inherit that idea because I really wanted to see better. I'm only in 50 or 60 pages but I have already seen some improvements in my vision that his book has explained. Hopefully I'll have 20/20 vision by the time i'm done reading. Anybody who is tired of wearing glasses/contact lenses and doesn't want to undergo dangerous surgery should read Mr. Bates' book.

Friday, August 01, 2003

It's the last month of summer and school's gonna start at the end of it. :-( I still haven't gone anywhere for vacation besides my aunt's for 2 days and I doubt that we'll be going anywhere else. Most of the news is filled with stuff on the war in Iraq, Microsoft security flaws, and the poor economy. There's no real point in posting any information on that stuff since it's pretty boring anyways. I try to look for stuff that's good but it's all pretty depressing. The major news sources tend to cover up a lot of things anyways; whatever happened to all the stuff on Afghanistan anyways? Maybe when school starts the news will be more interesting or I'll find better news sources. Besides looking for interesting news I'm also looking for good books to read, computer games to play, and other ways to spend the rest of my summer. It goes by too fast, 2.75 months is not long enough. However, my summer started in mid-May, it still seems pretty short to me. When school starts back up I think that I'll work somewhere too, but I'm not sure if that's the best idea yet. I'm going to apply to two places tomorrow and will be ready to start work immediately but spending the rest of the summer days working doesn't seem very fun. Oh well, maybe I'll find something really interesting to do before my time runs out. ;-)

Wednesday, July 30, 2003

I'm back from a short vacation out of town now and will continue blogging. I would've posted something while I was gone but the internet connection there was too slow. I've experimented with a bunch of different things to customize my blog so I may change it to an actual blog instead of just a practice one. I pretty much know all the basics now i.e. links and stuff so I doubt I'll make any major changes unless I talk to somebody who could help me. However, I think I might get some more info on blogging just in case I'm missing out on something essential. One major realization I've made is that there's no way that this blog is going to summarize news articles on all the major events of the world. After reading a few good blogs that do that I've deemed it virtually impossible to do the same. Oh well, I know I can make it interesting and possibly useful somehow. :-)
BLOGGERTesting to see if this "Blog This!" button works on the iBook.

Wednesday, July 23, 2003

World's Longest French Fry

Ever since a guy from Wisconsin Rapids, WI sold a long french fry on Ebay for over $200.00 more people have been jumping on the band wagon hoping to make some cash. If you do a search for "french fry" on Ebay you'll find about a dozen other people trying to sell long french fries. Weird but true.

Monday, July 21, 2003

Interesting article on blogging.
I've had enough of changing my backgroud colors and now i'll focus on adding links to things instead of trying to figure out what color combinations go together. I doubt that anyone will link back to this site so I think it's safe to add links to my text. Just to be sure I'll only add links from real popular websites that don't care about who is linking to their webpages. Here is an article I thought was interesting, but not too important. Personally, I haven't taken a bath in a bathtub in years myself. However I wouldn't tear the ones in my house out just because I don't use them. It sounds kinda weird, but I'd rather have a full bath than just a shower. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that once you're used to something you don't want to change your habits. Who knows?

Saturday, July 19, 2003

Today I didn't do anything significant to my blog. Click on the two real links and a new window will open, that's about it. I've also decided to stick with this blue color now until i visit this one website that helps you color coordinate things better. When I actually post something worth reading I'll start linking to other pages and stuff but right now since this is just practice don't expect to see anything interesting.

Friday, July 18, 2003

I've given up my search for my HTML guide. Instead of using the paper guide I've found an online guide that's probably better because I can test out what I learn right away. Once I finish the online guide I'll try to figure out how to use my HTML editor. Some thing I've learned today is how to write some special characters like this ♥. I'll report back later with some more stuff later.

Thursday, July 17, 2003

For some reason blogger works better on an PC than on a Mac. When I updated my template using a Mac there weren't any changes on the blog istelf! Then when I went on the PC the changes I made showed up right away on my blog. From now on I'll do my template updates with the PC. ^_^
Here is site I visit a lot. I'm just choosing to link to Yahoo's site because I don't want a lot of traffic to my site.
Today I gave my blog a minor facelift. It's not much and I don't like it very much but at least it's a change. I haven't been able to find my 30-page print-out on html yet but i'll keep looking for it. I have also added a comment system so feel free to write something. I'm going to continue to experiment with new designs and other blog features until I'm comfortable with this. :)

Wednesday, July 16, 2003

Okay this is my second post and I'm trying to figure out how to personalize my blog. I want to learn how to change my blog template using HTML and anything else I could use. I also will work on what I believe to be one of the most important parts of a blog: content. Hopefully lots of people will want to read what I have to say but it's supposed to be fun for me too. Gtg, bye.

Tuesday, July 15, 2003

This is the first post I'm going to publish. :)