ROXIO BE DAMNED!

Don't ask... long Sunday - got little done... just a huge stack of VCDs... AFTER way too much troubleshooting...

THANKS ROXIO!!

(Y'all should be SHOT!)

Hardware Nightmares

What a big fat pain-of-a-week it's been!! Last Sunday I set about trying to save my laptop computer by doing a clean install of my operating system. After I did this I still had loads of lock ups as well as bad problems writing to the HD. I was pretty sure what this meant but after consulting with a couple of computer-jockey friends of mine, my fears were confirmed - my laptop hard drive is dying fast. So, I performed an Exodus of the few files I had changed AFTER the clean install and then turned my attentions to my desktop machine which is infinitely superior to my laptop, but until now has been doing media crunching, VCD making and VERY limited 'net stuff. No email, no p2p and not much else. On top of that, I had installed two apps WHICH I HEARTILY RECOMMEND AGAINST USING EVER!!

eDonkey2000 is a peer-to-peer (p2p) app that is like Morpheus that allows you to swap files from your HD with another person's HD over the net. Nice in theory but eD2K dumps all this RAM-jamming spyware as does the next bit of software YOU SHOULD NEVER INSTALL!

ANY DivX Player!! Don't touch them - they ALL seem to have copious spyware and have caused a lot of stress, crashes and pulled hair. Anyone who supports this stupid format is a shmuck anyway, since no DVD players support DivX (ie, they won't play DivX discs) and what freak wants to sit at his computer to watch a whole movie?

ANYway, so I got my desktop back up to speed after doing a clean install of my OS on it since you can't get rid of most spyware easily. Basically, I spent Sundayy reinstalling on my laptop (all day), Monday trying to get my laptop to work, Tuesday I spent resintalling stuff on my desktop machine and then the rest of the week making up for the first three days of my week being wasted with these stupid computer woes!! ARG!!

I did buy some cool Star Wars toys which you've no doubt seen just in getting to my site... yippeee! Anyway, I got my Federal Tax Refund already and have spent a goodly chunk of it on clothes, toys (Lego Spidey!) and computer supplies... all in all though, it's been a very mixed week... (emphasis on WEAK.)

472%??

Had a big long update for my blog but then my machine froze. Isn't that nice? Turns out the HD is like 472% fragmented... so bad I can't defrag it OR scan it, so I'm going to just do a clean install... yipee...

Wish me luck!

(much) lataz!

-ThePete

STOP THE SODA TAX!!

Repeal the Soda Tax!

Hey - this is a new law that's on it's way to being passed in California. Whether you live there or not, you should speak out against this thing because this kind of law spreads fast...

Help tell California government that everyone shouldn't be force to pay for the supposed education of kids on how not to be fat. This is a parental issue and while it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a parent to teach that child how to eat, not a school or a community. And if soda gets taxed, what's next? Candy? Chips? TV? Maybe we should try forcing lower prices for the more healthy foods instead of taxing the less healthy foods. I don't eat/drink healthier when my favorite beverages cost more, I drink more water... because that's all I can afford...

I Beat Dawn!! HA!

Hey, check it out - I'm WAAAY early tonight! TheKey is updated and I'm going to go to bed HOURS before daylight strikes!! WOW!

I can't help wondering though...

Is this a good thing?

And also:

How long will it last?

-ThePete

Shortie

Sorry - not much of a blog update today, I've been terribly busy as usual... I am done writing early today, so I am just going to crash... more later on, hopefully...

FRAILTY (2002)

Entertaining? Very much so.
Technically any good? Pretty good for the most part. Story-wise there are a few structural screw ups, but over all the story holds together nicely and the suspense is built up quite well by the filmmaker.
How did I feel as the credits rolled? Creeped out - this movie quietly gets under your skin if you let it.
Final Rating? RTV (Not because it's bad, there's no need to see it on the big screen.)

More Web-Work & Ever Heard of Halliburton?

Well, I had a pleasant evening - I did some work on the cookied version of TheKey (won't be finished for a WHILE), burned some VCDs, started work on TheKaiju at TheSciFi.com (that's going to take a LOT of work to finish) and I also cleaned my office. This last part DESPERATELY needed to be done... Not much else to report...

Hey did you know that our present Vice President used to be the CEO of a company that invested heavily in Iraqi oil? In fact that company helped rebuild Iraq's oil-producing infrastructure after our military tore it down...

Nice, huh?
-ThePete

BIG NIGHT FOR TheKey!!

CHECK IT OUT FOLKS! Entry #100 in TheKey will be uploaded tonight AND IT'S A BIG ONE!!! HOLY CRAP! You WON'T WANT TO MISS IT!! I'm not just saying this, either... I just finished writing it and... just trust me. It'll be posted before midnight tonight. I'm also going to try and premiere the new cookies version of TheKey site as well...

I've got a stack of eBay junk to do - I've been so busy writing TheKey, researching for it, doing screenings and working on my site that I've not been able to get orders filled fast enough. Well, I would have been fine if I hadn't overslept today (yesterday)...

But everyone will get their VCDs today (today). Well, they'll be in the mail today, anyway. Especially since it's only a bit past 5am as I type this and that means I can sleep until noon and still get a reasonable morning's sleep... which reminds me...

GOOD NIGHT!

OK YOU TWO, START GETTING ALONG OR I'LL TAKE AWAY YOUR TEMPLE MOUNT

Okay, this is just nuts. That's the first thing anyone needs to know and understand about the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. The second thing to know is that SOMEbody's been fighting over that land since the dawn of time. Personally, I am beginning to wish the original guys who lived on that land had fought a little harder. See, if you go back to the Old Testament, after the Exodus, the Jews needed a homeland. Yahweh told them that Canaan was the place - the catch was, someone already lived there. Well, no matter, Yahweh was da man - er, well, da God and he said he was in the Jews' corner. So, the city of Jericho would be the first to come under the Jewish blade. If you read Chapters 6:1-5 of the Old Testament, it tells the story of how the Canaanites were essentially slaughtered. Wiped out because the Jewish God told the Jewish People that THIS was their land.

Here's a section from the Old Testament:

21Then they devoted to destruction by the edge of the sword all in the city, both men and women, young and old, oxen, sheep, and donkeys.

This all happened after Moses death in or around 1405 BC.

Now, I'm not saying the Jews are evil, or that what they're doing is wrong or even that it's right. Only a moron can't see that there are two sides to EVERY argument and usually both sides have their point and both sides have their failings. My point is just that this: That land has been the source of nothing but strife and death and blood since before the time of Christ. THIS is why it's nuts over there - because the rights to that land were apparently divinely granted to BOTH sides...

Here's more, this time on the Muslim side. According to the Koran, in AD 638, the heir to the Muslim faith (after Mohammed died), Caliph Omar moved into Jerusalem and took it over with the angel Gabriel at his side. The two approached the Temple Mount - one of the most Holy places in the world to the Muslims, the Jews and the Christians and found that it was in shambles. The Christian guy who'd been in charge had let it fall to ruin and for that, Omar punished the guy by forcing him to grovel from a mud pit. Then, under Gabriel's watchful eye, Omar set about rebuilding the Temple Mount, constructing the beginnings of the structure that would eventually stand today. As this new mosque was built, Gabriel ascended into heaven.

So basically, both sides say it's their 'holy land' and both sides are willing to kill and be killed for that point to be understood.

I don't think it was ever supposed to be an ethnic thing. I don't think Allah (the Muslim God) said to his people KILL THE JEWS and I don't think Yahweh told the Jewish people to KILL THE MUSLIMS. But I think both belief systems filled each peoples with a sense of power and proper. I'm not saying either side are pompous bastards, but each side does believe they are right and there's no arguing with them.

This is one of those rare instances in Modern Times when money isn't the problem. However, greed is still the culprit. Both sides want the same thing - as opposed to being happy with LIFE.

Here's where I start to piss some people off... well, only the people who let belief in a God run their lives...

Let's break it down here. So, you've got these somewhat ancient texts that speak of how a GOD and an ANGEL come down and CHAT with people who then go on to KILL LOTS and LOTS of their fellow people. Hm.... you know, if this were to happen today, WE'D CALL IT SCHIZOPHRENIA!!

THESE GUYS WERE INSANE!! Come ON - "God said this." or "An Angel said that." If that chick in Texas had been alive two thousand years ago, they'd have called her a PROPHET FOR KILLING HER KIDS!!

When are we as a SPECIES going to realize that RELIGION IS NOT THE ANSWER!! IT'S THE EXCUSE!!

STOP BLAMING GOD AND TAKE RESPONSIBILITY!! THE TEMPLE MOUNT IS JUST A GOD-DAMN-FRIGGIN HILL WITH A TOURIST ATTRACTION ON IT!!! ANYONE WHO THINKS IT OR GOD'S WORD IS WORTH DYING FOR IS SPITTING IN THE FACE OF WHAT LIFE IS SUPPOSED TO BE!!

Do you think God is such a shallow bastard that he/she/it would have created the world JUST to praise him/she/it? HELL NO! Come on, man! The dude created the UNIVERSE! After such an accomplishment as that, DON'T you think he'd be proud enough? Does he need his own little RA-RA squad to make him feel better? I don't think so...

And where IS God at this point, anyway? Is this REALLY what he wants to happen? He's the excuse for all of this killing going on. If I were him I'd not be appreciating that. Most say he gave us free will, right? Well, I'm taking my free will and WALKING - I don't want to believe in a God who condones this kind of insanity. If this guy was a parent, he'd be the smelly alcoholic who falls asleep watching Jerry Springer with a lit cigarette in his hand and two of his infant children are fighting in the playpen nearby. Forget that the toxic, second-hand smoke from his cigarette is slowly giving them chronic bronchitis, emphysema and cancer, they're fighting over last year's Christmas present. And they're about to literally tear each other's eyeballs out...

The really sad thing is, there are other kids in the house and for some reason, they're too scared to do anything...

TheKey Cookied (almost)

I'm a bit behind where I thought I was with the cookied version of TheKey, but I'm getting there. I have 60 more entries to reformat and then I have to tweak a directory listing script to make the archives way easy to work. I also found this totally bitching Scotish/Celtic techno music that I will no doubt post in a week or two at TheKey... I might just put the tracks up because they're cool...

Anyway, I still have that buttload of junk to do.. but I like to keep TheBlog updated every day - even if it's nothing spectacular...

Lataz...

-ThePete

Webbing Away

SIGH OF RELIEF... slowly but surely, ThePete gets things done!!! WOOHOO!! I got my taxes done and in the mail - I am mere INCHES from being done with editing script #2. The cookie-version of TheKey is about 3/4 of the way done and I have several other things ready to be installed on the site to make it better... so things are getting done. I still have to edit script #1, submit it and #2 along with chapters of my novels to respective hopeful agents, redesign the Bitch Page (and write a new bitch one of these years!) implement the new designs of TheSciFi.Com's sub pages, add pics (old and new) to ThePeteCave and a few other things like draw, play video games, play with Lego and Play-Doh...

If Only Life Were Like a VCR

Too much to do as usual! Sorry, I'll try to do a better update soon... new Funnies, soon and more! Sheesh! SOMEBODY HIT PAUSE!!!

Nevermind, I'll just get everything done!

bastards...