Alex's Crazy Journal

Announcement: This Blog now closed.

2009-10-31T13:45:00.000-07:00

I'm opening a new blog, and this one will be kept for posterity until i can figure out how to transfer the content. Thanks for reading.

Embed: Mibbit: Tropers

2009-08-01T00:01:00.000-07:00

Click the following link to see what i've been up to lately:

http://widget.mibbit.com/?settings=ef15a2213b8547a1a5c9a53ec4bbab48&server=dream.esper.net&channel=%23tropers

Fanbuntu AKA Fannish Pack

2009-05-29T17:46:00.000-07:00

WHAT?

I have been thinking of an idea, where software packages such as Pidgin, Ekiga, Mumble, Firefox, Thunderbird, and other network communications applications are automagically configured (via a Python script, perhaps?) to use centralized servers for specialized communication.

WHY?

I have noticed that many people do not know of or possess many packages that, even if redundant, are Free and Open Source Software, and would not hurt to possess (barring such things as "insufficient disk capacity", "insufficient permissions" or such), and the convenience of having central servers should provide motivation to acquire the meta-package.

HOW?

There are two parts to this idea.

First, there is the client-side aspect, where a Python application adds files and runs scripts to configure the clients. This may involve running a Druid to gather data, then generating files, overwriting the ones produced by the original installers. The point of the exercise being, that the communications applications are already configured to connect (aggressively) to particular central servers, and speaking of which....

Second, there is the server-side. Basic network services, such as DNS name servers, Teredo IPv6 tunneling servers, DHCP address assignment servers, STUN traversal servers, IRC+XMPP+SILC chat servers, SIP+IAX2 VoIP servers, Mumble teleconferencing servers, ESMTP+POP3 mail servers, and LDAP directory servers, not to mention the many MUD and game servers, are all ran by a not-for-profit organization ran by the Science Fiction Fandom, as well as many daughter fandoms, you know who I mean.

These servers may be redundant (especially the basic network services), but these servers a specially reserved and set aside for the Fandom, and provide a specialized community.

Elaboration on this and related ideas to be posted.

Family Reunion Project

2009-05-05T11:32:00.000-07:00

I have shelved a few projects in order to make room for a threefold project.

Keeping in mind that this is a blog for family and friends, very informal, I was going to post information to be used to access services.

My blog will be used to coordinate online communications as a jump-off point.

I plan on posting coordinating info this way.

My Academic Plan

2009-03-31T11:56:00.001-07:00

I think I have finally decided on my plan, academically.

I am a bohemian artist, it seems. I am an individualist.

I spent too much of my life learning technology to waste that, even if I have no natural talent at it.

So, I will go to the University of Texas at Dallas, and take their B.A. in Arts and Technology.

Then after I establish a name for myself as an innovative storytelling media artist (game developer), I will start specializing in educational and commercial virtual worlds and virtual offices.

I plan on leading the market for specialty games and simulations, like those that teach history, training sims, and educational sims.

I need the friends that the University of Texas at Dallas will provide, especially when I get some roomies in one of the apartments.

Hopefully, this will lead to a bright future.

Some things I'm called

2009-03-30T14:00:00.001-07:00

I have been called many things, some things stand out.

I have been called

absent-minded professor,
charismatic,
charming,
enthusiastic,
rebel without a cause,
freedom fighter,
geek,
irish american,
scots-irish,
black irish,
olive-toned,
gunmetal-with-gold-flecks-eyed,
tall,
dark-chocolate-haired,
winter-color-schemed,
impish,
devious,
mischievous,
playful,
talented,
green-thumbed,
artistic,
drama king,
melodramatic,
large ham,
bold,
assertive,
finicky,
chocoholic,
cuddly,
affectionate,
outgoing,
all over the place,
irrepressible,
...

Powerleveling time!

2009-03-30T13:20:00.000-07:00

I am learning a lot. I realize I must have been raised by wolves (not literally).

First, I am only beginning to realize just how many layers there are in this world, as I am peeling off layer after layer.

I am trying to learn my place, as I am just a teenager (I am 21 years old), but I was never taught what it meant to live, so I never knew to expect these feelings.

I am told this too will pass. I can't help but wish it to pass quickly, although a literal genie would take a few years of my lifespan if it were granted.

I am told that no matter what the circumstances, I must be pleasant to be around.
I can do that much. I just have to learn what people expect from me. That shouldn't be too hard.

I am told that I am blessed with an "old soul," a gift of above-average intelligence, and artistic ability. They must not know I'm trying to be humble (I have self esteem issues).

Well, I'm glad I have everyone's vote! I feel better that everyone thinks so much of me.

I'm not trying to make excuses for my behavior, but I am trying to explain that I have large gaps in my knowledge of the world that get in the way of my communication with my family and friends. I grew up isolated from the world, and was not allowed to join clubs and fraternities that would have helped me gain understanding.

Maybe it's because I'm a teenager, maybe I'm just being a wuss, I don't know, but I feel that having been caged for so long as a ward of the state has stunted my emotional and social growth, and that now I'm making up for lost time.

I can do it, but my family has to understand I'm not some genius kid who can do everything.

I keep being told I'm so fluent, expressive, charismatic, kind, gentle, ...

I do need the emotional support, I apologize.

For those who don't know, this blog is mostly for my family and friends, people who know me.
It is very personal and unprofessional. So read at your own risk.

On a more lighthearted note, I have solidified some plans of mine.
I have chosen the path I will take for spiritual enlightenment.
I have chosen Wicca as my religion, and Neo-Druidic philosophy as an ethical guideline.
I may expand it with some Shamanistic beliefs and practices to expand it, but that should keep me busy.

I have chosen the path I will take for social enlightenment, more or less.
I will join Mensa, as I have been propositioned by them twice. It should not be too difficult to beat their test, I just need sleep and breakfast, and a warm up test.

I think I will specialize in banking and finance (high security stuff) using open source software, and for open source software projects.

That means I will be the one to open a bank specifically for open source and distributed projects, specializing in online and anonymous banking, providing capital to open source projects, and other things I feel is related, such not-for-profit endeavors as greening the ways, churches, covens, and groves, and other efforts that could use capital.

The bank would eventually be pretty large, but would follow a Credit Union model (members only).

That way, one has to have stock (money in the bank) to take out loans, thus loans hurt you too if you don't pay them, and greed hurts you too if you get stingy with the loans.

Since enlightened, productive people are the only ones who bother to do all that's necessary to qualify, members will not ruin it for everyone by tossing liability suits around or other such conflicts.

I am the first to recognize that I have a lot of growing to do, I need to become mature enough to be described as "slow to anger," "dependable," "knows what to do in a crisis," and other such wonderful descriptions.

Since I want to be like that, I have to start working on my issues, and powerlevel past some immaturity. I may do things like go to a costume party and have fun, because, having been raised by wolves, I never got to play dress-up, so I might take up silly hobbies like cosplay.

However, to some cosplayers, it's serious business.

But I can do that on my own time. I have only <40 years of life left, and I need to get cracking!

Just Joined a LUG

2009-03-22T15:39:00.000-07:00

A LUG is a Linux User Group.

I joined the one in North Texas / Dallas,

but I was really nervous, and I hadn't had breakfast.

I thought it was a disaster, but

they accepted me anyway.

Whew! I needed those friends!

Anyways, I thought my network should know that it is growing.

Those who actually read this thing may want to know what Linux is.

Linux is a derivative of Minux by Linus Torvalds, as any geek knows,

and is based on Unix back when there was a snaffu about UNIX rights.

Linux may be a monolithic kernel (read: Mach vs Linux), but

Linux is more mature and popular.

Anyway, I'm going to become a master eventually. Wish me luck!

Actually I'm not Bipolar.

2009-03-20T16:42:00.000-07:00

That was a joke. I was feeling sarcastic, I apologize.

Anyways, I am an innovator.

Many of my ideas involve a synthesis from:

p2p, crowdsourcing, open source, organic, libertarian, do-it-yourself, green, smart mobbing, alternative medicine, traditional medicine, holistic, hobbyist, modder, hot rod, hacker, commune, ...

As you can see, I have been exposed to many divergent viewpoints, and taken the best of each. I have taken the social freedoms of Democracy, and combined them with the economic freedoms of Republicanism. I found there was already a word for it:

Libertarianism. What a mouthful.

Many ideas I possess do not have names.

I'll need to coin a few, I guess.

Alex, the Computer Consultant

2009-02-08T06:21:00.000-08:00

Ahem. I have been called "nerd," "geek," "next Bill Gates," "absent-minded professor," "charismatic," among other things.

I love philosophy, ask really good questions all of the time, and never remember to keep up with keys, socks, and the like.

I have never really known what would be best for me, but since I always find and synthesize innovative ideas, some people think I should be an entrepreneur.

Unfortunately, I ask a lot of questions that no one around me have answers for, so I became a computer geek to figure out how to get them.

I have since been developing a marketable skillset, and plan on becoming a freelance Computer Consultant.

I do need to get certified to maintain credibility, though.

Keeping in mind that this is my personal blog, I know more than enough to pass CCNA and A+ certs, but I need money to do that.

For anyone in the biz, it is understood that one must be accredited to gain credibility. Although I personally disagree with the scheme, in that there is no official guild system, and the education system is broken.

(Microsoft has a stranglehold on the market, and so does Cisco. It is not their fault, they are just investing good money in bad mistakes. More on that later.)

Favorite Scene from "Angel"

2009-02-08T05:54:00.000-08:00

Oliver: You are a beautiful, beautiful man.
Angel: Thanks.
Oliver: You're an actor.
Angel: No.
Oliver: That wasn't a question. I'm Oliver. Ask anyone about Oliver. They'll tell you I'm a fierce animal. I'm your manager as soon as you call.
Angel: I'm not an actor.
Oliver: Funny. I like the humor. I like the whole thing. Call me. This isn't a come on. I'm in a very serious relationship with a landscape architect.

That didn't make sense...

2009-02-08T05:42:00.000-08:00

I was talking about scents, but that was weird, looking back on it..

Self Knowledge Part 1

2009-02-08T04:39:00.000-08:00

And Knowing is Half the Battle...

In my battle for control over Self, I have been doing self discovery journeys end to end.

Some things I thought interesting is the fact that scents really do call functions remotely within my mid-brain.

Kinda like XML-RPC, only for Wetware, kind creepy, huh? Well, anyway, now that I know this, I can use the same methods to call Localhost so I don't have to fight myself all of the time.

Here is the list of scents that are guaranteed to work:

Listed Previously...

WTMI...

My Favorite Thing About Open Source

2009-02-08T04:29:00.000-08:00

Redundancy!

I'm not kidding! I love the fact that KDE and GNOME are completely redundant!

You could flip a coin and know, absolutely, that there is no losing, because both are utterly right!

Now yes, it is true, that Open Source Developers tend to be very dedicated to their work, and as a result, put their heart and soul into their babies, and will get very emotional over their contributions (wouldn't anyone?), but as a rule, there is no wrong answer.

KDE and GNOME are by no means mutually exclusive, and though they do have compatibility issues, they are, like Democraticism and Republicanism, best together.

Flame me if you got what it takes, I'll outflame anyone!

2009-02-08T02:50:00.000-08:00

http://www.plurk.com/memeticrevolution

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1159433793

http://www.myspace.com/Xanderfoxx

http://www.imeem.com/people/HPHmsXk

http://ubuntuforums.org/member.php?u=277686

http://counter.li.org//person/?nocookie=470877

Education Platform: Reform Education Posthaste!

2008-12-19T12:40:00.000-08:00

I have some links. Google better not block them, as I will be angry.

http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS148013+27-Jun-2008+PRN20080627
[Link to Article @ Reuters]

Newscaster Assumes Government Responsibility
Government at Fault - Government NEVER Solves the Problems THEY Cause

http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2008/2008016.pdf
[PDF Publication on Lack of American Education]

Government Admits THEY are to Blame - Presumably so they can be Re-elected to "Solve" the problems THEY Caused

http://www.strongamericanschools.org/american-education-standards
[Example Platform for American Reform]

The Platform Most Likely Assumes that Government will Mediate or Dictate Curricular Standard (Which is Why We are so Ignorant in the First Place!!!)

It is very important to PRIVATIZE EDUCATION!!!

If we do, WE CHOOSE the school, WE CHOOSE WHEN, WHERE, HOW, and WHY we send our children to school.

To solve this problem, and please be patient, we must:

Abolish every law concerning Education (period)
Abolish Mandatory Education, Public School, the Board of Education, etc.
Abolish all Requirements Regarding Education Whatsoever.

When you do this, the Free Market (http://blog.mises.org/) will take over, meaning that the Employers, Colleges and Universities will then Dictate REASONABLE AND PRACTICAL means to accredit learning and acheivement.

This means that All primary, secondary, and tertiary schools will regulate themselves according to what will provide their students the most profitable careers possible.

The fact that this boom in private schools, the subsequent revolutionary techniques, technology, and teaching practices that have been suppressed by circumstances under the Government's involvement and interference will provide opportunities for students, teachers, instructors, educators, teachers, researchers, and many other industries that depend on education like that never before seen in the history of the United States.

I promise you, that if this process that I will publish is not corrupted and undermined by the political crooks responsible for our current crisis, you will see America Soar to the Top 5 in 10 Years (or less).

In my next post I will provide a copy of the Sample Platform.

Link List

2008-11-25T12:52:00.000-08:00

Starter Sources:

(Great Articles on Economics)

(More Articles on Economics)

Particular Articles of Note:

("Liberated Money Printing" -- Free Market + Strong Dollar)

(Small, Powerful Book on REAL Economics)
(Every High School Economics Class Should Issue This Book!)

("Time, not Poison" -- Pork Barrel + Weak Dollar)

Strong Dollar vs Weak Dollar

2008-11-25T12:15:00.000-08:00

I wish I was more knowledgeable on this subject as it is something that everyone needs to learn.

I will do my best to present to the best of capacity.

Okay, the deal with the Weak Dollar.

There have been Presidents in the past that have followed a Weak Dollar Policy.

Some of them have been popular, for some reason. Why? Short-term boosts in the economy.

What happens right after? Recessions, the Great Depression, and our faltering Economy now.

These are the things that I know and believe to be true:

First: The "Market" is an Expression of Mother Nature working in the Economy (Nature of Economics)

Second: The Market, by definition, cannot fail, only decisions on the part of individuals.

Third: The Market is not the problem, "Stimulus" "Bailout" and "Pork Barrel" Packages, and the "Weak Dollar" are the problem.

See: Stimulus, Bailout, and Pork Barrel Packages

Fourth: Having caused the problem, the politicians now vie to "solve" (delay) the problem, making it worse later (putting a band-aid on malignant melanoma).

See: Weak Dollar and Inflation

Fifth: Politicians who do the right thing usually get burned.

Sixth: Politicians love printing tons of new money, causing the value of money to plummet, and thus prices to skyrocket

See: Weak Dollar and Inflation

-- If You Disagree, there are resources to back this up. In my next post, I will provide additional reading.

Seventh: The Two Party System is entrenched, and cannot be easily broken, thus third parties are viewed as "wasting votes" or "throwing your vote away," and cannot easily gain power on their own.

Eighth: The Libertarian Party, the Constitutional Party, the Green Party, and the Reform Party would be very powerful together, but would probably squabble over irrelevant details of implementation and get nothing done, wasting time better spent.

Ninth: The Best Method seems to be, at current reckoning, to form a new party (I would call it the Fox Party for various reasons (despite the ridiculousness about Satan-Fox Superstition, or perhaps because of it...), and use this Party as a Meta-Party

This New Meta Party Runs as Third Party Candidates, and represents their cause,
and then, as Third Party Candidates, Runs as Republican/Democratic Party Candidates, representing their interests as well.
(Because, as you learned in class, the President represents the entire nation
- or is supposed to, anyway.)

I will write further on this subject in later posts.

Linux-related Article in Review - Sun Defends Open Source

2008-10-24T07:57:00.000-07:00

How Will Companies Ever Make Money Off Open-Source?
— The question 'How will Sun ever make money off giving so much source-code to open source' - as it did in 2000 with OpenOffice.org, has most recently with Project Looking Glass and is about to again with Solaris - is the wrong one, argues Sun's Simon Phipps. 'It's a good question,' he says, but at its heart - he argues - 'lies a misunderstanding about the nature of open source software, and once that's cleared up everything falls into place much more easily.'

Sun Microsystems does a good job at relating how the open source model benefits all, including itself, by adopting an open source business model. BTW, you can find a neat Open Source version of their Unix-like operating system called Solaris at http://www.opensolaris.org/

Bottom line? I give it a 4/5 rating.

The Smartest Thing Linux and FOSS have Ever Done:

2008-09-19T11:32:00.000-07:00

There are two efforts that have been working hard on freeing the desktop, but because the Open Source community tends to get set in its thinking like everybody else, we have lost sight of our true goal, and have been picking over more irrelevant details.

This post is going to be more substantial than some others, as this is serious. The Open Source community should not close their eyes to an excellent way to provide a clear and obvious path for average desktop users to upgrade from their current platform, to one that suits them better. In many cases, this would be Linux, but for those cases where it is not, all we can do is change it.

Introduction:

The best way to ensure that everyone has access to superior technology and innovation, and a culture blending the best of old and new, is to abstract the user's platform market share and technologies for development.

By this, I mean that third-party software developers that would usually develop software only for the dominant platform, or more rarely, the top two, should have the freedom of option to make use of current best technology.

Let me break it down further. If software developers could choose which middleware technologies and application frameworks to use, and were informed in their decision, they would probably choose those development practices and technologies found in the Open Source community.

The reason that they develop only for the top one or two according to market share, is simple:

Here is the current choice:

Spend $5 mil developing using crappy Windows dev tools for 90%+ of the desktop market,
Spend $5 mil developing using great Mac OS X dev tools for ~10% of the desktop market,
Spend $10 mil developing using both crappy Windows and Mac OS X dev tools for ~99% of the desktop market by developing the project twice, or
Spend $5 mil developing using excellent, if arcane, *NIX dev tools for >1% of the desktop market

As you can see, most people will develop for the top, or perhaps the top two despite the fact that the technology associated with 2nd and 3rd platforms are superior!

This, of course, spells disaster for Linux and Open source in general, because we will have to develop everything ourselves, without significantly attracting new users.

Open Source developers' time is at a premium, and there are not enough to go around.

Linux and other Open Source projects are too good to abandon to this situation, but there is a solution!

KDE and Java!

For many applications, you can develop much more easily in Java than in C++. This is true in more and more cases everywhere.

Sun Microsystems is making one of the smartest moves in their history, and Open Sourcing Their Implementation of Java, which would allow Open Source developers to write GPL and LGPL code in Java easily, allowing the use of Open Source Java applications over any platform.

However, even though Java is an excellent platform to develop for, they have a stigma associated with more slowly interpreted bytecode and other problems that are not there in most cases that do not involve extreme accelerated-3D or anything hardware-related.

In cases where it is the tools, utilities, and middleware (ie, widgit toolkits, window controls, multimedia frameworks, and other software-based platform dependancies), this is easily solved!

KDE made waves by breaking away from uselessly idealistic Open Source thinking, and did one of the smartest things anyone I've seen in the Open Source community do: Cross Platform KDE!

Now that KDE supports Windows and Mac OS X, there is no real reason anyone has to choose between platforms, and be forced to make a practical decision: to develop for Windows using crappy development tools and utilities. If Java were not not enough to show everyone how making Open Source platforms cross platform will break Windows lock-in and monopoly, this will!

By Making one of the best Open Source bundles of joy Cross Platform, what do you think will happen?

Some people think that simply because people using Windows who get access to excellent Open Source applications and software, will decide, "Oh, I can get these really cool apps on Windows, what the hell do I need Linux for?"

If this were true, it would only be so for the short term.

The longer term implications of cross platforming our best kick-ass apps are this:

If people on Windows chose between free kick-ass Amarok, my absolute favorite music player of all time, and some dumb alternative that only exists on Windows, what do you think I'd pick? Even if I had never seen or heard of Amarok before, and someone gave me a CD with KDE on it? I'd choose Amarok!

Other people will too!

This will be the same for every kick-ass app that is cross-platformed!

Many apps you can only get on Linux are vastly superior to paid-for Windows-only equivelents!

However, they choose Windows because databases, various documents, and other things they have been investing time and money into are Windows-only!

In addition to this, nobody older than 24 wants to try something completely new and different, while abandoning what they already have!

The solution?

Cross platform the best we have, and introduce them to the old-timers!

Slowly getting them used to what we have to offer, without throwing them into the river to sonk or swim, is the answer!

Once people realize that they do not need to pay for Windows, or tolerate it's bullcrap to make use of these excellent apps, they'll probably ditch it! and what will they download, and start investing time and capital into?

Linux! Open Source projects will see a slow, powerful tide of new, capable, and willing developers contributing code!

Third-party vendors will write cross platform apps for KDE 4, and include the base libraries on CD!

Peoples' dependance on tolerating Windows bullcrap will lessen, and lessen, and Linux, FreeBSD, Solaris, and other *NIX platforms will start getting more notice by hardware developers!

This benefits everyone! Why must people fight it?

My verdict?

Cross platform everything possible, and show people they don't need Windows to get awsome stuff!

I can't wait to download KDE 4 and learn how to develop apps for it.

Now that this has developed, I know I don't need to learn how to develop for Windows.

FreeBSD Home Gateway Experiment

2008-05-10T15:16:00.000-07:00

I intend to experiment with my home gateway - or the older computer I'm going to turn into one - and load FreeBSD on it. Now I'm going to say here and now that I'm a complete noob when it comes to FreeBSD. I only have a little Ubuntu exposure as my pitiful excuse of *nix experience, but what better time to start, eh?

Anyway, I intend to install and configure FreeBSD for these purposes:

Firewall
NAT Gateway
Router
IPv6 Tunnel Endpoint
DHCP/DNS Server
HTTP/FTP/SOCKS Proxy
Etc.

I will attempt to document my progress, and the results of my foray into the world of FreeBSD, and allow others to enjoy it as I did.

Springing into New Classes

2008-05-10T15:00:00.000-07:00

I am now a student of "Introduction to Scripting" (involving mostly .bat and .wsh scripting, meaning windows shell scripting, which is so limited and underdeveloped, it's a joke), and "Motivation and Leadership" (a class that discusses internal office politics and corporate culture - which makes me think of a petri dish on a polished mahogany office desk in a skyscraper. some interesting topics are discussed in both, however, and I like and respect both professors.)

I am doing okay, so far, and I will post an update later.

I am doing a little roughly overall, though, and need to improve my CGPA and such, so that this so-called university doesn't take my money and run with it.

Getting Serious about Playfulness

2008-04-05T12:09:00.000-07:00

After the date, and after doing an overnight marathon of anime via YouTube, I came to think about how I'm really not that old, even though I'm physically 20.

I might be called smart, but the majority of my psyche, if I'm using this word correctly, is below this age considerably. I guesstimate that I am an average of 16, mentally speaking.

Thus, if I am going to think anywhere in the direction of dating, I need to find another big kid.

It cannot be a mature adult, because I would not appeal to her, and obviously a high-schooler as a companion would be too weird. So, a similar case to myself would be ideal.

What I propose is this: I will seek friends (with the possibility of something more) that are 18-24 years of age, smart, but have the mental and emotional age of a high-schooler, like myself. I plan on a long friendship, and if things go well, perhaps is will blossom into a more meaningful thing.

That said, those who are aware of this proposal need to know more about me. Obviously, I should not reveal things like my exact location and other more personal data to the general audience, because that would be begging for disaster, but I can give a bio, sure.

I am male (duh.), 20 years of age, have a winter color scheme going (meaning I have dark hair, and light tan skin, which means I look good in bright red, blues, violets, all shades of grey, and other cool colors, but look horrible in yellow and orange, or green with any yellow in it), am sort of geeky in personality, am fairly handsome, but not really a head-turner, I think.

I like blueberries, computers, GNU/Linux, some Japanese anime especially the cute (as in adorable) kind, although I like Naruto, Bleach and Fullmetal Alchemist as well, gardening (especially veggies, perennials, vines such as grape, jasmine, passion vine and especially wisteria, I also like model trains (N-scale, as OH-scale is too big for me), eating with chopsticks, learning new cultures and languages (although I do not have that kind of time usually, I may try to learn either Chinese or Japanese, perhaps Japanese, since that is a big business language, and I would not need to have english subtitles anymore, and also because the Japanese seem to want us to learn their language as a people, as so would not be against my learning, I would guess.) I also like to cook, though I have little opportunity, time and skill. I like hanging out with my friends, and listening to classical, soft rock and tokyo-pop (I think that is what it's called?) music. I really like the smells of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream, hickery wood smoke on Wintery air, the smell in the morning after a overnight rain, and the smell of certain books, like large 10-year-old dictionaries.

I like to laugh, am very carefree most of the time, and try to be a lot of fun (I think I usually succeed, since I have a lot of friends. I come across as weird sometimes, and sometimes I do this intentionally, just to be ornery, and I try to live life and enjoy it while it lasts. That is part of my philosophy as well.

I like camp fires, fireworks, incense, holiday/Christmas lights, LEDs, flares, lighting bugs, cobalt blue glass, prisms, lenses, fiber optics, variable-opacity window panes, glow-in-the-dark things (as long as they aren't el cheapo) and all sorts of things related to the production of light.

My favorite color is cobalt blue (or blue-blue-violet), an intense, thoughtful, beautiful color, followed by silver and black, followed by bright flag red.

My favorite foods are English clam chowder, Papa John's Pizza's "the works, regular" pizza, my mom's banana nut bread the way she used to make them, maraschino cherries, blueberry and pomegranate Italian spritzer from Whole Foods Market, chocolate-chip cookie dough ice cream, berries and granola parfait, flavored yogurt, granola breakfast cereal. Whole Food Market's organic root beer (it's much better tasting than A&W, which is my favorite regular root beer, but slightly more expensive, so moderation is required at present). I also love certain pastas, and my mom's "sketti" (spaghetti and meat sauce) is so good, it should be marketted commercially. I love garlic and onions, so the vamps out there should watch out. I also like potatoes, whether deep fried as french fries, tater tots, or potatoe chips (or crisps as the English would call them), mashed, skillet fried, or au gratin. That must be the Irish in me. I love blueberries in any reasonable form, and blueberry yogurt is great.

I love key lime pie, lemon merangue pie, blueberry cheesecake (or shortcake), and chocolate pudding pie. I love real pumpkin pie, and I like pecan pie, as well.

My favorite kind of weather is in the morning after a Spring overnight rain, where it's about 65 degrees F, with a slight breeze, bright and sunny, with a fairly high humidity. I love walking about looking at all of the raindrops on the grass and foliage, with the sunlight sparkling off of it all.

My favorite song changes, but right now it's the earlier theme song to "Negima!" (even though it's called an ecchi-type anime, the ecchi actually takes away from its appeal. I ignore those elements, and even look away from the screen at times, even though the majority of it is quite cute. I might be a guy, but even I agree there is too much bloodshed, gore and hatred in this world of ours. I appreciate the finer things, like innocence, beauty, cuteness, colors, and light, as well as education, books/literature, music, art, and such. Read my dislikes on the subject of seriously "macho" behaviors).

Some basic information about my past: I went to school at Klein Oak High School, in Spring, Texas, USA, and I did well at the TAKS test (Commended Performance in Science, missing only one problem, and History of all subjects), as well as the SAT (I was below average in Math, very high in Critical Reading, and low in Essay Writing). I took AP Computer Science, which was surprisingly easy, content-wise, but very fast paced, I think I did okay in it, but am currently unsure. I am doing so-so in college, and am planning to transfer to Brookhaven College, in Dallas.

I cannot tell you my current location, because there are people who would misuse that information. (Jerks!)

Also, I have had a troubled childhood, but I'm cool with it, and try not to let it bother me. A few leftover problems is that I am nervous when placed in certain weird situations, but during normal social situations, I'm fine.

I already have a friend that I'm dating, but as neither of us confirms or denies that we are boyfriend/girlfriend, I have to assume we are just friends, and that nothing more will come from it. I will keep my audience informed if it does go farther, so as to cancel this offer. We only went on one "date," but does that mean anything. I do not know, so I have to keep looking.

I am probably going to start a job soon working in a supermarket or theatre, but since I'm not working now, I have limited funds to use during dates. That will change, hopefully. I need to be more independent.

Thinks that I do not like: I do not like unnecessary dishonesty, disloyalty, hypocrisy (including expecting of others what one does not expect of oneself - this includes me, I do not expect of others what I do not expect of myself - whenever I break this moral code myself, I get really pissed off at myself. The self-punishment is severe). I also dislike unnecessary rules and regulations, or those that are unreasonable or make no sense. I dislike unnecessary secrecy, especially that that causes harm and misunderstanding. I dislike bigotry and unreasonable hatred, but also dislike harmful labeling and hate-mongering. I dislike the more powerful praying on the weak, but also dislike the weak taking help and respite for granted. I dislike freeloading, but cannot argue this point due to the fact that I have have no job and live with my mom. That will change in time when I become more responsible for myself. We are working on this problem now.

There are various things I want to do someday: learn Japanese, Chinese, Spanish, and perhaps Gaelic, just for the fun of it. I'm currently learning how to play the piano, but I really need to practice more often. Usually I just play, when I'm supposed to do specific exercises. I need to work on that. I'm attempting to compose a piece, but I should really learn theory, first.

I want to vacation at Tokyo someday, perhaps on a honeymoon or something (although any wife I might choose would make that choice, and if she should wish to delegate some of that decision, that would also be her choice. If she wanted to go to Paris, Hawaii, or even Hong Kong, that would be just fine.

I want to have a house with a huge backyard, so that I can have an elaborate garden, with veggies, flowers, a gazebo with vines all over it, a patio with an arbor over it, a quiet meditation spot, with statuary that would also hold incense. I plan on having a large household with many children, and seeing them through college, and having all of the things I never had, like a good childhood, with many friends at school, and a decent education. I hope for a wife that will be understanding while keeping me in line, and a career in either computers, horticulture, or both.

I may even start a business, like a garden nursery or Open Source computer shop.

Currently my goals are to complete a Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering, but am contemplating other options, like pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Horticulture, instead. I am keeping that option open, but am serious about obtaining a Bachelor's in something I like to do.

I plan on remembering how it is to be a child, and to keep my inner child alive, so that when and if I have children, I can relate to them more easily, and therefore take better care of them.

I love dogs, cats, ferrets, pet rats, and parrots, and I'm usually good with animals and kids.

Almost all of the time, even with dogs that have a reputation of biting, dogs love me. Cats, unless they have a semi-feral or shy nature, don't mind my presence.

I have no known allergies.

Physical data:

I am tall and pretty thin (I am 190.5 cm [or 6'3"] tall, and I weigh 78 kg [or 172 pounds]), although now that i'm 20, I am gaining muscle.

I am very fast, and have long legs. I can jump pretty high, and should have been in track and field in high school, though curcumstances would not allow.

I have dark hair, with a grayish-brown sheen in the sunlight.

I have hazel eyes, and have had them described as "gunmetal gray with gold flecks." My eyes are one of the things I like most about my appearance.

I have a somewhat squarish jawline, somewhat like an acorn (i'm not really sure how to describe such a thing.)

I have an aqualine nose, full lips, and braces (I'm hoping those will come off soon!)

I am very expressive, and one can always tell what I'm feeling by looking at me.

Mental data:

I am somewhat disjointed in thought, and can jump from one idea to another in a moment's notice. I am very original and creative, and like to improve on other's ideas, to make them my own, but I can come up with completey original ideas as well. I can draw fairly well, and I can sing and am not afraid to, although I'm usually somewhat off key (probably because I'm trying to sing full chords, which is impossible with only one voice. One can always tell if I'm in a good mood if I'm humming or singing wordless songs. When I'm singing nonsense songs that I'm making up on the spot, that means I'm hyper, and that I'm in a very good mood. If I'm very quiet, I'm probably sleepy, slightly depressed, or both, but this is rare. I'm usually talking or working on something, usually on my laptop computer. I have a tendancy to talk a lot, and about many things, and I sometimes rant about things I think I know something about. I am told I'm funny, and I supppose I am, but I only hear this from my friends, so that may be bias speaking.

Anyway, I guess that's enough for now. Bye!

I've Got a Date!

2008-03-18T16:15:00.000-07:00

I never suspected it would happen, but as we were playing a game of Free Word Association over the AIM chat network, it developed into a fairly deep discussion of weighty matters, and finally into arrangements for a date.

Wow.

The woman in question is a fine Black woman, well endowed, with above average intellect, and a well proportioned face.

She is also very sweet, funny, fun to talk to, aware of the ways of the world, and seems interested in me.

See has pretty eyes, the color of 70% cocoa bittersweet dark chocolate, and has very endearing mannerisms.

I have plans to take her to Genghis Grill, Interskate, and then La Madelaine. I hope she won't be disappointed.

I am perfectly willing to spend my own money for this, and will require only transportation from Mom.

It is currently scheduled for Friday, 6 PM to 9 PM, but is flexible. I will have to check with Mom before committing to this, as she needs to be free to transport me.

I'm very excited, as this is my first date since my high school Prom, and the lady, Rachel, is quite something!

My Pseudo-Domain

2008-03-04T15:12:00.000-08:00

http://q2c2gmwf2naf4k6h.onion/

For family and friends only:

See if you can access this resource. What does the message given say?

You can have a similar setup as well, everybody can. Although it isn't pretty, because no publicly-accessible IP address is needed, neither is a real domain name, you can use Tor's built-in Domain Name-like system to identify resources on the Internet.

I wonder how to get HTTPS/SSL to work?

The Joys of Tor: Experimental Freedom

2008-03-04T09:37:00.000-08:00

I have been tinkering with a lot of different technologies lately on my quest for Internet freedom, and one of these technologies, an Open Source one caught my eye in particular.

I doubt the government has any love for Tor, the Onion Router, as it provides fairly great anonymity for free, although it does have it's ups and downs.

It is an excellent project, as advanced experimental software goes, and you may download it here.

First of all, they call it the Onion Router because of how it works (and it usually does), basically be enabling the client to connect to a client, which acts as either a SOCK4a or SOCKS5 proxy which encrypts traffic in multiple layers of SSL/TLS (Secure Sockets Layer/Transport Layer Security), which in turn connects to a daisy-chain of "relays," servers which accept encrypted connections, and each of form an SSL tunnel endpoint for each layer, thus the name "Onion Router," as each Relay "peels off" a layer of encryption, until at the Exit Node, the traffic is returned to the state it was in (in reality, if the Tor Client it reachable over a LAN, logically if it is only running on your Localhost (meaning the same computer).

It was a breeze to set up Vidalia on M$ Windows, and the next step is to carefully regulate how applications and any plug-ins access the Internet.

When you want to be in stealth mode, you want to actually be in Stealth Mode.

So, First of all, use Firefox and Pidgin, and don't use Java, Javascript, or Flash unless you have to (disable them, via <about:plugins>. You may selectively filter Java, Flash and Javascript access-control-list-style by obtaining Noscript, oh, and use Cookie Culler to manage cookies (I need to investigate this, so I can't tell you how good it is, though Noscript is great, I use it all of the time, but remember that it uses an implicit Deny, so if it is unfamiliar with the domain name, it will Deny its access to your Javascript engine), so you don't have to disable cookies outright, or keep purging them all.

I Will keep you posted on my forays in this, as this is such a fascinating thing.

Did I mention Hidden Services though Tor, which means endless possibilities to server hosting behind Firewalls, overzealous ISPs, censored computers, organizations, schools, even countries!

Not that I'm going to do anything naughty.... ;)

Web servers under Hidden Services is only the beginning, you may host chat servers, game servers, mail servers (although SMTP is usually blocked because of the greedy spammers sending junk email to everybody anonymously, so anti-abuse measures were taken to prevent spam flooding the network.

You can host just about any TCP-based network service you can think of over Tor, just remember that heavy traffic is considered impolite, so you may want to justify something extreme by hosting a Relay, or even an Exit Node offsite somewhere, which would mollify anyone's complaints. Most people do run this stuff for you and everybody on their own time, money, bandwidth, and risk, so please give the volunteers some respect, okay?

Thanks.

Anyway, see you.

New Class Schedule

2008-03-01T15:53:00.000-08:00

ENGL 135H: "Honors Advanced Composition" professed by Anne Gervasi
Room 202 Friday 8 AM - 11:50 AM

NETW206: "Introduction to Switching w/ Lab" professed by Kenneth Chipps
Room 261 Thursday 6 PM - 9:50 PM

These classes will officially start this Monday, though classwork will probably not be expected to start until I walk into the classroom in reality.

The online component of the classwork is now active, however, and I have begun work in the "Threaded Discussions" (forum-style discussion prompted/seeded by the professor).

Why I'm Evil: A Rebel Just Because

2008-03-01T15:37:00.000-08:00

Alex's Ruminations on the Nature of Evil: an Exercise of Faith

I ask that everybody ask him- or herself one seemingly simple question.

Do I choose to be “Good,” or do I choose to be “Evil”?

Most of you would immediately, and without question answer to him- or herself "Good!" as loud as the inside of you mind can handle.

However, before I lose you to your busy schedule and the influence of the true evils in your world, ask yourself:

What is Good?

What is Evil?

I propose an exercise of the mind that won't take much of your time. Take a seat, get comfortable, and let's get in a pondering mood.

My suggestion for getting the most out of this is to take each line in the below comparisons one at a time, and consider the implications of each on its own

merit, as well as all together as a whole.

Yes, I realize that I might make make some assumptions that may be invalid, but the whole point of this exercise is to open your mind to think for yourself

on each idea's own merit.

Let us compare the two by what we all are led to believe.

Good vs Evil
Light vs Dark
Order vs Chaos
White vs Black
The Known vs The Unknown
The Commonplace vs The Rare
The Watched vs The Unwatched
The Governed vs The Unregulated
The Policed vs Those Left Alone
Tame vs Wild
Push vs Pull
Fear vs Respect
Emotion vs Logic
Fast Food vs Whole/Natural/Organic Food
Megacorporations vs Family-Owned Businesses
Agribusiness vs Family Farms
Licensed and Proprietary vs Open Source
Centralized vs Peer-2-Peer and/or Distributed
Closed vs Open
The Few in Power vs The Many in Power
Men in Power vs Men and Women on Equal Ground
Pharmaceuticals vs Herb and Other Ancient Lore
Organized Religion vs Independent Spiritual Growth
Groupthink vs Individual Thinking
The Borg vs Capitan Picard
Sociopolitical Machines vs Independent Thinking
Unthinking Party Line vs Thinking Before You Vote (And Vote)
Mainstream Media vs Independent Newspapers
Spoon-Fed Media vs The Internet
Dictatorship vs Democracy
Told What to Do vs Given Advice and a Choice
Government-Run vs Community-Run
Mandatory vs Elective
Being Drugged vs Being Clear-Minded
Monotony vs Variety
Hate vs Understanding
Efficiency vs Quality
Being Brainwashed vs Doing Your Own Thinking
Being Blinded vs Being Long-Sighted
Being Muted vs Being Free to Speak
Being Trapped vs Being Free to Walk
Being Labeled vs Being Self-Defined
Being Enslaved vs Being Free

After these ruminations, I have to say that appearances really are deceiving after all. But all one has to do is take a second look to see the second side of things.

After this, do you really want to be "Good?"

What will your fate be?

Update: New Classes, New Plan

2008-02-25T08:24:00.001-08:00

New Educational Plan:

I'm going to switch from BS - Network and Communications Management at DeVry University, to AS - Network Systems Administration at DeVry.

All of my classes will transfer, so no wasted overpriced classes, and I'm already halfway through it.

When and if I graduate from that abominable facility, I will transfer to Brookhaven College, on my way to a BS at University of Texas at Dallas.

I can't believe I let Carl persuade me to sign up at DeVry.

Never, ever, sign up at DeVry. They are overpriced and incompetent. They are a useless school, and they have a largely unreasonable staff. They act like they are picky, but they do not know how to educate, nor to work with students. The only thing that keeps them afloat is fresh meat, and I don't recommend anyone ruining their life accruing a debt over these idiots. No-one is going anywhere with a "degree" from these people.

Personal Rant:

I have now developed a slight disgust and healthy fear of my step-grandfather Carl. I will not be around him and his deleterious influence if I can help it.

He apparently knows this, as he has threatened to break down our door if we don't let him in whether to rearrange our own furniture for us, in our own apartment, which we have already arranged just the way we like it, or to make sure we didn't throw away a piece of garbage he dragged out of the closest cesspool.

Mom might be, but I am not afraid to call the cops and get a restraining order for the sicko.

He might think so, but offering me cookies and similar items does not make up for striking me on my head, chest or back. He has a history of this, now. I have lost count of the times he has done this for no discernible reason.

Either he is going far over the cliff pas the hill, or was nutty to begin with.

He was the reason we left the apartment to begin with. Neither my mother nor I could life in such a stifling and deleterious environment. You had to always watch the meats, and if you got sick with the squirts, it couldn't possibly be his fault, no, it was the restaurants we ate at, if not that, we weren't getting enough sleep, if not that, then we weren't washing out hands right. Never his precious cooking. We may know how to cook, but he selected to oldest, cheapest, on the bottom of the super-duper-pay-pennies-on-the-dollar bargain bin meats and other dubiously food-like substances he discovered in dusty corners of Walmart.

I'm willing to give up a lot to eat right.

I'm willing to pay more, and eat less. I'm willing to regulate my eating habits as a matter of course. I'm willing to cook my own foods every week at least.

All I have to do now, is convince Mom of the fact, and to also convince her that I'm not saying this because I'm not paying for actual food just yet.

There is a reason blueberries, pomegranates, baby spinach and garlic are so expensive: They actually make you healthy, just as there is a reason McDonalds "food" is nearly free: It does the opposite.

I have a new group to allow me to "push" information to you.

If you would like intermittent information from me that I deem important (things I think you would want to know) and know me from somewhere, please feel free to join my Group:

Alex Net

Visit this group

If the above device does not work, a direct link is here.

Well, that's it for now.

I'm going to "Torify" (implement Tor on) my friend's computer. (He's paranoid, and for good reason, what with all of the senseless wiretapping the government is doing)

This won't help much, but he will appreciate it nonetheless.

Bye.

When the Goin' Gets Rough, Sign Up for Gmail!

2008-01-14T14:44:00.000-08:00

Richard Lance Christie, I tried sending an email to you, and it bounced back saying your mailbox is full.

We really have to do something about that.

I recommend Gmail, you get loads of space, cost is not a worry, the ads are actually pleasant and useful, and best of all, it's easy to learn how to use.

Sign up here.

According to Gmail's homepage:

"
Welcome to Gmail - A Google approach to email.

Gmail is a new kind of webmail, built on the idea that email can be more intuitive, efficient, and useful. And maybe even fun. After all, Gmail has:

> Less spam - Keep unwanted messages out of your inbox with Google's innovative technology

> Mobile access - Read Gmail on your mobile phone by pointing your phone's web browser to http://gmail.com/app. Learn more

> Lots of space - Over 2757.272164 megabytes (and counting) of free storage so you'll never need to delete another message.

©2008 Google
"

Use the address. Chat with me using GTalk as a network, and Pidgin as the client.

That way we'll never have to be cut off like this again. Okay?

I'm going to try your atl at frontiernet dot net email tomorrow, and if are still not there, I'll try the next day, and so on.

When you visited, you turned out to be everything I hoped you would.

Thank you for visiting. You did a lot of good when you did.

More than I imagined possible. I wouldn't be surprised if Goddess decided to straighten my family situation out using you directly as a cat's paw.

All is well! My depression has ended!

2007-12-10T08:42:00.000-08:00

I was somewhat depressed for the greater part of a day due to a comment from the Peanut Gallery. Unfortunately, I care about what my grandfather Carl says.

However, I am over it, and as long as doesn't mention that horribly disgusting and sickening comment, or anything related to it, I'll be okay. I can forget, if not forgive.

I have attended two Christmas Parties, the first was apparently the excuse to utter the comment, and the second was much better dispite the fact that it was a company party, which by definition are usually very boring. That says a lot.

I didn't get to karioke like I was hoping to, but I don't know a lot of songs, anyway. I was thinking of doing the carol Silent Night accipello, but no-one was brave enough to sing the melody so that I could sing the Tenor part.

Bloody yellow-bellies!

Well, I've made some progress on the Python, and I'm already planning on how I'm going to arrainge the perfect carioke session next year, as they are probably going to do it next year, since they had such a good turnout of Half-Price employees.

You should have seen the gal singing an Irish drinking song as it should be sung. That was great. What made it even better was the fact that fellow employees were equipped with camcorders as to play it for her when she was sober. Unbounded joy for her! ;)

I will post again soon. Bye!

Quick Update

2007-12-05T07:07:00.000-08:00

Well, I just had my
Birthday, on November the 13th, and I got a cake, a Barnes and Noble
gift card with $30 on it. I also got a motherboard, though I hope to
get a matching processor for Christmas. That is the last time I let
anyone I know get a cake from that Kroger. Especially one with
strawberries. The day after we brought it home, it sprouted fine silky
fuzz with little black capsules. (Read: Mold)

Anyway, I have been
practicing my PHP coding skills a little, and I'm thinking about
starting on learning Python.

I recently (Saturday, December the 1st) presented my part in the Christmas
piano recital over there at Valley View Mall, outside Dillards, I think. My mom and I did
fairly well on "Up On the Housetop,"
but the page-turn messed up our coordination on "Greensleeves," (or "What Child is This,"
according to the Program Sheet) so we did well on the first half, but
were noticeably faltering on the second half of the first go through,
though I think we corrected ourselves sufficiently once we turned from
the first page to the second page the second time. (My mom doesn't agree.) I think we did well,
overall, though, and from the glowing appreciation everyone poured on
us after we were through, made me think that it wasn't bad, just
imperfect.

Later that day, I sang
at my Church's Nativity/Creche Presentation. I sang Tenor, and I sang
in quite a few Carols. Two of them were sung by the whole Congregation, and
four were sung specifically by the Choir, only, and we practiced heavily months in
advance, which appeared to pay off, not only to my own ears, as I think
we sounded gorgeous, but we were paid many compliments by all sorts of
people. I think I was given around two compliments, myself, and my
grandmother was given some as well.

I temporarily fixed the problems with my router, as it was acting up.
It can be such an attention-seeker sometimes. It must have felt
abandoned or lonely or something, but it picked a bad time to make a
scene, as I was filling out a form on line, and the connection quit as
I submitted it. It was a huge form, and of course it didn't save my
work, so about 15 minutes to half an hour went down the drain.
Thankfully, it wasn't of utmost importance, or I'd be pulling my hair
out in frustration.

I found my Izod jacket. I thought it had disappeared off the face of
the planet through the miniature black hole that took up residence in
our apartment. The drier isn't this malevolent, so I know it isn't that.

Richard, if he hasn't repeated a grade, will be coming out of school
this coming May. I can't wait to apologize to him, befriend him, and
tell him how sick I was to be mean to him, to use him in my
attention-seeking behaviors, etal. If he reads this blog, I want to
tell him I love him whether he forgives his big, bad big brother or
not. I'm really a big softy, and if he wants to, he can beat up on me
for a whole year.

I offer a year of retribution as penance.

I also offer this reassurance. All of that disturbing nonsense I was
coming out with at Buckner's and such, I said to get attention. I never
meant it, not one tiny bit. Not that you'd trust my word, though the
thought pains me, but I give you that to consider.

I loved you very
much, no matter what, I'll make it up to you. Both of us were being arses. For some reason, I
wanted to be the bigger arse, so I tried. Unfortunately, I think I succeeded.

I love you little brother, and I really hope you come to forgive me. I
have some plans as to what we could do as brothers, like go skating
with Mom, watch movies with Mom, and the like.

I know I have broken your trust, but when you need a place to stay,
email me at mailto:maurin.alex@gmail.com,
okay?

I'll be waiting for you.

Turns Out I Was Wrong in My Calculations....

2007-10-28T15:01:00.000-07:00

This is for the consumption of family, so don't think I'm broadcasting to the general public, here. I'm not.

News on Richard Arthur Maurin:

Richard is 17, and will be graduating this next year.

We are not really prepared at the moment.

We need to get a house or something, big enough to contain us all.

My current sizes are:

Shirt: L
Jacket: M-L (It depends)
Pants: 36W / 34L
Shoes: 11
Colors: Winter colors (blue, white, black, tan/khaki, gray, red)

Google Acting Up, and the Interim

2007-10-27T16:41:00.000-07:00

Well, I would have kept everybody on the upo and up, had several factors not played a trick on me.

First, Google was having some server trouble, then my computer was being slower than usual, so I backed up some stuff, and wiped the hard disk.

I had trouble getting it back to working condition, and then when we got ourselves a piano, we had to move some stuff out of the way.

That resulted in the DSL modem getting lost. It still is, and we are still looking for it.

Anyway, I thought I'd get that out there real quick while I'm sitting around doing nothing at a friend of mine's place.

Well, gotta go. I'll give you guys a more thourough sescription of the going-ons mlater. Bye!

Fall '07 Semester Starting Soon

2007-09-28T17:03:00.000-07:00

I'm about to start my next semester at DeVry University - Irving.

According to my tentative schedule, I'll be taking MATHLAB (online math curriculum from Pearson Education <http://www.coursecompass.com> | <http://www.mathxl.com>), Advanced Composition, and Routing fundamentals.

Let's see, I'm going to be 20 years old on the 13th of November, so that'll be how many days?

I don't know off the top of my head, and I'm a little old to spend time calculating things like that, so I guess I won't start a count down.

I know what I want for my birthday, but it is quite unlikely that I will get any of the items on the list.

For example:

A new Toshiba or HP Laptop, midrange+, fully Linux-compatible
A midrange digital camera that is known for Linux compatibility
An upper midrange (musical) keyboard to go with the laptop, with Rosegarden (A professional audio and MIDI sequencer, score editor, and general-purpose music composition and editing environment. Rosegarden is an easy-to-learn, attractive application that runs on Linux, ideal for composers, musicians, music students, and small studio or home recording environments.) in mind, and finally, but not least importantly,
nice pants that fit

Well, so much for that.

I might be able to summon enough collective holiday credit to at least get some decent clothes, and I'd be happy with that.

[for those who know me:]
I wear:

Pants: 36W/34L
Shirt: L
Shoes: 11 (1/2)
Colors: blue, red, purple, jewel green, (I'd stick with blues. If you can get a brilliant blue-violet shirt, that would be great.

Anyway, gotta go. My access is going out the window.

I heard this growing up, too.

2007-09-27T14:49:00.001-07:00

Greenday's Boulevard of Broken Dreams

I Hear this song everywhere, though it's not my favorite.

2007-09-27T14:44:00.001-07:00

Creed's "One Last Breath"

Almost a Universial Song for anyone not over 50 years old.

2007-09-27T14:40:00.001-07:00

Linkin Parks's "Numb"

Macarena

2007-09-27T13:59:00.001-07:00

Dance to this, and send me a video.

Imperial March (Rage Mix), by Force Commander

2007-09-21T11:45:00.001-07:00

This one is neat.

Metallica Imperial March

2007-09-21T11:38:00.001-07:00

Imagine Bush Baby Playing This....

Nah, he wouldn't be that smart.

Richard Should be Graduating Soon

2007-08-31T11:45:00.000-07:00

Richard Arthur Maurin, I think, should be graduating this year, unless he has been flunked a grade.

I wonder if he'll be able to find this Blog before he gets kicked out of Care, or gets sucked into an Adult Institution he may never get out of.

I hope he does find this, and know I care about his well-being.

I may not have shown it, but I do care.

...

I need to go!

Class is going to start soon!

Chao!

I Can't Believe Summer's Over, but I Should

2007-08-31T11:22:00.000-07:00

I never really did get to enjoy the Summer fully, as I didn't participate in a big splashing swim party. I don't think I ever was aware one existed nearby that I could attend.

It may not help that I think Splash War is a fun game (I'm damnably good at it, you see,) and tend to aggravate those who want to touch as little water as possible while still qualifying as "in the pool."

[mock whiny voice]

No-one wants to play with me!

[return to semi-normal]

But I did get to work my butt off doing schoolwork, while making time to familiarize myself with the joys of Anne McKaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern series, which lives up to it's reputation.

I've read "Dragonflight," "Dragonquest," "The White Dragon," and have just started on "Moreta: Dragonlady of Pern." All previous three were excellent, and surprisingly, Jaxom was quite plausible as a young male character, even though written by a mature woman. If she didn't emply ghostwriters, that is an achievment all by itself in my book.

I recently reviewed my grades and was reassured by the A/B grades.

I want a good cumulative GPA as much as the next college student, and I like that my GPA is now getting up there to the 3.x range. Last semester it was 3-dot-something, and hopefully it'll stay that way.

I'm semi-secretly planning to buy, or at least have bought a nice set of Expo Dry Erase markers for all of my favorite professors, Including Prof. Gabriel Bonner, Prof. Rusty Meadows, and Prof. Rajim Koonjbeary. I'm going to do this close to Chistmas, so that I can claim I gave them all gifts for Christmas. My memory may be pretty faulty, but I usually remember those people that actually went out of their way to make things doable for me, that didn't try to hinder me, or watched passively as I failed at something or things.

Anyway, things are going great at my end so far, and hopefully will continue doing so.

Chao!

Time Sure Went By, Didn't It?

2007-08-19T13:39:00.000-07:00

I'm now taking NETW202 "Intro to Networking," BUSN115 "Intro to Business," and MATHLAB.

I am planning on taking on Mandarin Chinese, that should be interesting.

I've gotten a 107% (Curved) on one of my more major Networking exams, not Cisco Netacad, but a written exam for an associated class.

Gotta go, classwork to be done.

Chao!

Summer Semester #2

2007-07-01T16:43:00.000-07:00

I have been spending a significant amount of time playing "Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos" on my Laptop against my Mom, who has lately been kicking my hiney, and our mutual friend, Dickey (who is an actual person). He doesn't have the time to really practice, but since we have invested so much time and money into it, I supposed he ahs decided to attept to leatl how to play.

I have played some on battle.net, but I'm still in noob territory, and I haven't completed the Campaign, yet. (That would be the single player storyline mode.)

I have developed some interesting maps via the included World Editor.

I'll include one, for those of you who happen to have a copy.

Chat Module follows:
There's no password, enter your first name as nick, and accept the room ID.

That's it!
(from freeJavaChat.com)

This application requires Java suport.
This server also available via IRC at:
irc://irc.ircstorm.net:6667/

Update for Summer Semester #1

2007-07-01T16:06:00.000-07:00

I know I haven't posted in a while, so I thought I'd make it up to you guys by posting a really long one.

I have thought up some really neat ideas, ones I wished stuck with me, but I can say it would have made any book I wrote including those ideas quite deep.

I have pondered many things, some of which I will share with you.

I have thought about death, and how it affects people.

One of the ironies of life, said a friend at church, was that without death, there would be no time for "repentance."

I'm a Mormon, to some extent, or at least I'm born into a Mormon family, so I am familiar with a lot of Mormon ideology.

I have a brought-up-Neopegan bookworm (whom I wouldn't trade for the world) for a mom, and a sociopathic idiot who absurdly calls himself a Mormon for a would-be dad.

I love my mother, could care less about the other freak.

I have, as you guys probably figured out, been from public institution to public institution. Most of those were "residential treatment facilities," meaning I stayed there long-term, and got lots of head doctor attention. Mostly, I just had a bunch of orderlies look out for me, but there were a few guys and gals that were more than faceless "direct care personnel," or however they put the title. Some were true (or as close to true as you can get in a place like that) friends.

I especially honor Mrs. Williams-Coleman, in that she went (as far as I knew) beyond her duties, and actually took us under her wing as would a mother hen.

I really appreciate that.

Dr. Jack Charles Hinds is a great guy. He may have not been there every day, but over time, what I got to know of him showed that he was (and is) a quality guy.

There are others in similar facilities that I knew, Mr. Aaron from Meadow Pines RTC, as well as "Sphincter Woman," I called her that because I was "Sphincter Man" to her. It was an inside joke, obviously.

Also obvious, was that I couldn't come up with a better comeback quickly enough. I can do so now.

I went to the Angelika Film Center in Dallas for the first time. I watched "Paprika (2006)," a Japanese anime, which I enjoyed.

I will keep you posted!

-- Alex Maurin

Mother's Day Poem

2007-05-13T12:47:00.000-07:00

I wrote a poem for my mom and her mom. They both were pleased, though Mimi (Grandmother Penny) had issue with two lines. See if you can guess which ones:

Letter to an Unsuspecting Mother

(And Her Mother)

You ask why it is that I'd rather you didn't die,

Well I thought it rather obvious that I didn't lie

When I said I really do love you.

That is something I cannot deny: I really do.

Whenever you said I was facetious or rude

I never did say I was your clone, dude,

but I'm always your child, however crude.

I love you, and have always loved you, both.

I may choose a different path than you,

But that's not 'cause o' anything you did or did not do.

You are Mama and Mimi, and that settles the matter,

I'd trust you however the mercury, mad hatter!

As simple the words, however clichéd,

I cannot deny the truth.

Forever and always, and evermore,

I love you exponentially, more and more.

Can you see them? Anyway, see you guys later! Happy Mother's Day!

New Club - PC Gamers Club

2007-04-30T11:29:00.000-07:00

PC Gamers Club

I am now looking to see how much interest there is for activity in a PC Gamers Club for DeVry at Irving ( www.dal.devry.edu ).

This club is still forming, and anyone enrolled in DeVry interested in joining please don't be afraid to claim positions.

I'm still figuring everything out, and kinda feeling my way through it, and I don't have anything concrete in mind,

but I was thinking that the club would consist of people who enjoy playing older multiplayer games, and not-so-old multiplayer games over an Ethernet LAN. Everything else would revolve around that singular purpose, to have fun slaying each other. My favorites that I have in mind are Warcraft III, Command and Conquer II: Red Alert, and similar games, but this club is DEFINATELY NOT restricted to that. Doom, Quake, Halo: Combat Evolved, and other games are definately in mind, and any member can suggest other multiplayer LAN games.

I can't wait to play Halo: Combat Evolved, and if I could just get comfotable with the controls, I might be interested in BattleMech 4: Mecenaries. The controls are goofy, so it'll take quite a bit of practice just to get comfortable with controlling the mech.

Anyway, happy fragging!

I Love My Brother

2007-04-30T11:19:00.000-07:00

I Really Do Love My Brother

I know I do, because even though I mistreated him, I missed him when he was gone. I'm glad he got the chance to go to a family-setting foster home. I was never good enough for that. I was shipped from RTC to RTC (Residential Treatment Center), and they tossed me about like a hot potato.

I hope he comes home to:

6001A Orinda Drive
Dallas, TX 75248

If you find this page, Richie, click this link:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=6001A+Orinda+Drive,+Dallas,+TX+75248&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=35.136115,59.238281&layer=&ie=UTF8&om=1&z=16&ll=32.956753,-96.806846&spn=0.009092,0.014462

That opens to Google Maps with a map of our home selected.

Hope that helps.

See ya later.

I'll Be Waiting for my Classmates.

2007-03-21T08:37:00.000-07:00

I want to provide some way to keep connected with my classmates without peeing them off, so I guess I'll be playing a juggling act between this http://crazy-alex.blogspot.com, http://groups.google.com/group/devryu-class/

I love this song I downloaded and modified: http://groups.google.com/group/devryu-class/web/Mom-Torture-Song.mid.

That's the current version of it. Be warned, it's a bit repetitive, but it calms my nerves. Grandpa thinks of it as a war chant. I'd have to disagree.

I will keep you guys posted,

Alex

Starting a New Term - Adds Spring to my Step

2007-03-13T13:47:00.000-07:00

I'm feeling good today, having had a small respite from griping elderly family members, and having nothing important on the agenda (that I can think of, at least). I'm really hoping I can find a way to connect to my new classmates, but this is always a tricky business, because I'm dreadful at using a phone, and no one uses email, chat (either IRC, Jabber, or the new one, PSYC - see http://www.psyc.eu/psyc.html or even any proprietary one either) as I more primary means of coordinating things. mailing-lists are fairly good, but chat is definitely my preferred mode of communication over long distances in a synchronous fashion. The eCollege version of web forum, called Threaded Discussion, does the job, but underlying that is the assumption that everyone will be unable to communicate effectively at around the same time. I do prefer to type than speak (when attempting formality, anyway, as I love eye-to-eye chatting when you're not being recorded with a microphone, the records of which are to be scrutinized by a bunch of white-coats). I also like testing and trying new technologies, and I have some hope for that new PSYC chat protocol, it sounds like it would work very well, once released. Those guys have managed to hype me up, at any rate.

I definitely want to get a PSYC server running, if given an occasion to do so. (He-he-heeee!)

I'm taking a really trying class, as well as a (hopefully) fun class, the trying one being the COMP100, and the maybe fun one being COMP192. COMP100 was trying, not because it was hard, but due to the exact opposite. I was exerting 12 to 13 times the effort to keep from being sarcastic, unpleasant, exasperated, or something, than actually do the work. I must have succeeded, because, after I did the two labs due the next week in a short time that day, I impressed my instructor with the art in which I completed the work, rather than any disrespect for his class. I'm not saying the class isn't good, or anything like that, but it would be insulting in the extreme if I was unable to test out of it. Father forbid!

At any rate, I'm excited about this other class, this class I haven't experienced as of yet, COMP129. It sounds fun, and I've already heard good reports about the professor. I am not going to let myself be anything less than excellent in that class. According to what I've read and felt, I believe that, once completed successfully, you should be able to take the A+ Certification Exam, and do well (as in pass).

I'm waiting for my chance to prove that I have potential, and that I'm not a completely empty-headed fool.
I'm crazy, not stupid. (At least that's what I keep telling myself. My grandmother is hell-bent on proving just how stupid and useless I am, as is my grandfather. My old Major Payne is trying his best to motivate me with negative reinforcement, which I have grown immune to over the years. The only reason I pay him any mind at all is because I love the sorry sucker. That's the only reason I listen when he tells me I'm under his roof and that he expects the respect he deserves (he does deserve it). My grandfather tell me a lot of things that are difficult to listen to (not because the message inflicts any pain on me, but because I usually have to override the many parts of me that automatically shield me from ridicule, cruel jokes, criticism of any kind, especially negative, and other forms of mental, emotional, or other non-physical abuse, and such defenses take a lot of effort to override. I know it's for the best, logically, to listen to him, and heed the warnings and advice he gives, but the way he delivers the wisdom he does sounds so much like ranting patronization that I have to actively disable my automatic defenses designed to shield me from verbal assaults.

You can tell I have learned a few things about ignoring the stupid kids that like to make fun of kids besides themselves, can't you?

This armor is not enough for my grandfather, though, and I guess he intends to rip these very carefully designed walls down and build them how he wants to.

Ah, well. I love him anyway.

Back to my classes, I'll be going to my first COMP129 class this Wednesday at 6:00 PM in room 254.
Wish me luck!

Join my Google Group!

2007-03-09T16:35:00.000-08:00

My Group is useful, and I will be submitting my Paper to it, so you guys can view it.Again, it's

Subscribe to Alexnet Club

Email:

Visit this group

2007-03-09T16:23:00.000-08:00

This is a useful Group to join. The compination of these two wonderful services by Google should solve many of my problems with keeping everybody informed. Subscribe to Alexnet Club for information on that whats and whens

Subscribe to Alexnet Club

Email:

Visit this group

Anyway, I plan on blogging regularly, and I will strive my best to keep my friends, family, and other interested parties informed as to my thoughts, feelings, imaginings, and other snippets of my mind. I really do suggest you subscribe, but whether you do or not, I do intend to consummate this pact with myself.

In other news, I have just turned in my Journal (Actually my blog before this point), my Portfolio, and I've already turned in my Position Paper, which is on the building of fiber network infrastructure owned and managed by municipalities, to suppliment the spotty coverage of some larger telephone companies, like AT&T, QWest, and Verizon.

Richard? Where are you?

2007-03-09T15:05:00.000-08:00

Richard? Where are you?

I'm looking for you!

No, really, I want to apologize. Make a note to this, if you want to talk.
If not, well, that's just fine.

But, I'd rather you talk to me before I die of old age.

I do love you, you know, and not in a funny way.

As I said, attention-seeking behaviour. I'm not funny and I'm not that kind of brother-lover.
I do love you, just not THAT way.

Bye.

Some More Crazy Ideas

2007-03-09T14:30:00.000-08:00

Let's see.

I'm imagining a fictional spacecraft, with four grav-props (Gravity-Wave Propulsion Generators), they form a circular ring around the middle, then by tweaking the flow, generates small gravity distortions that propel the craft. It then stores energy in the ring, like an inductance coil, and releases it into the surrounding space-time, ripping a temporary wormhole in the spot it had been. In the same instance of time, many millions of light-centuries further, it lapses back into normal grav-prop mode, and docks with a spaceport.

Sound interesting? I bet I got that from somewhere. I thought it unique. Gravity Rings. You spin plasma around in a ring, tightly confined via manipulated gravity waves, and then force half of it to flow counter to the other half. Many collisions occur. Very great heat, increased pressure. In this scenario, it compacts so much energy, that it rips/stretches space-time so that further, more subtle, manipulations can be made, so that it transfers nearly simultaneously.

Modern magick is really a blend of nanotechnology, bioengineered viruses, and bacteria, integrated into genetically engineered super-soldiers, who fight for their freedom. They can manipulate anything from magnetic waves, and electricity, to fire, to gravity. Modulated gravity waves are used as a form of telepathy (outgoing only), based on neurophone technology, and fire manipulation is created by use of biofuel-carrying microbes generated by the adept's body, especially hands (palms and fingertips).

Most advanced is ability to separate into smaller lifeforms resembling normal common creatures in the wild, but remain a whole via clustering technologies via gravity-wave transmission for synchronization of mental processes.

When in multiple guises, sensory inputs are increases exponentially, but run the risk of being "scrambled," meaning, a gravity-wave noise generator disrupts communication between disparate parts, which could cause the soldier to be prevented from reassembling.

Creatures generated may vary based on a soldier's preferences, personality, or other factors, but birds of prey are favored, as well as coyotes, wolves, wildcats, small rodents. Usually mammals, birds, a few reptiles are favored by some REBAGs (Really Evil BAd Guys).

That should do it for now.

Richard Answer Here:

2007-03-09T14:25:00.000-08:00

Please answer here: I'm going to try to let you answer a poll. Let's see if it works. Guess not.

Well, you can always comment.

Wednesday's Child offered me a scholarship, but I don't know what happened to it. I never received the money.

Richard Arthur Maurin

2007-03-09T14:18:00.001-08:00

My name is Alex John Maurin, 19, of Dallas. I am a man on a mission.

I want to know how I can talk with my brother.

My Brother's name is Richard Arthur Maurin.

I want to apologize for all of the times I've hit him.

I want to apologize for all of the times I've yelled or cussed him out.

I want to look at him and say, "My bad," and see the verdict.

I would wish the crap away, but I can't so I'm just going to have to keep looking.

I imagine that CPS is trying to keep Richard isolated, so it can have more power over him, but I hope he has Internet access. If he uses email or web at all, I hope he will find this blog.

So, Richard, what's it going to be? Do you forgive me? Do you need some time? I bet you do. You may take as long as you want, as long as I hear the judgement before I die. Deal?

I hope so.

Richard Only - Others May View

2007-03-09T14:05:00.000-08:00

This post is for Richard Only.

I'm addressing it to Richard,
so he can find me. Respond to this post if you're Richard. This blog is public like the others, but it's primary audience should be him.

Richard Richard Richard Richard Richard Richard Richard Richard Richard Richard Richard Richard Richard Richard

Arthur Arthur Arthur Arthur Arthur Arthur Arthur Arthur Arthur Arthur Arthur Arthur Arthur Arthur Arthur Arthur Arthur

Maurin Maurin Maurin Maurin Maurin Maurin Maurin Maurin Maurin Maurin Maurin Maurin Maurin Maurin Maurin

Richard, I saw you on Wednesday's Child. You didn't look happy. You are the only one who didn't make a comment. Richard, just know that we love you back home. David's in the Big House, good riddance, and now we have Mom, who I've loved since I was born, and probably before then, Penny, who is very sensitive, sweet, loving, kind, long-suffering, patient, warm, etc. And then there is Grandpa Carl. I love him to death, but he sure doesn't make it easy on me. The guy is attempting to "toughen me up," since I'm such a milksop to him. He even said one time, "Get Mama's tit out your mouth, and make something of yourself!" Okay. (I never was on her tit, except when I put on Mama's Gold. I needed that to set up my immune system. I was bottle-fed after that.). He definitely wants to put me through boot camp, but with all of the thugs in there now, I would never come out, except in a body bag.

Richard Arthur Maurin. I want you to forgive me. If you google this, please let me know by responding to this as a note.

Some Crazy Ideas

2007-03-09T13:05:00.000-08:00

I sure hope this gets through the system okay.

Well, anyway. These are some crazy thoughts I've run through my head.

Fisrt, I wanted to join the DeVry Linux Users Club, but from what I could gather, they had disbanded, maybe becasue nobody had the time? I know I'm being given a steep learning curve, especially since even though the DeVry classes are easy so far, my Grandparents bombard me with "How the Real World Works" lessons, and a giant extended tutorial on manners. I know I need them, but they really shouldn't overload me like that. I've got enough confusion and stress going on up there without added burdens. They make it sound like I'm going to starve and die if I don't learn all of this stuff ASAP, and I would rather it be spread over a longer stretch of time. The clincher is that my grandparents make it a "take it or leave it" deal, and it shouldn't be, but they make it so. My grandfather loves me dearly, but he has this attitude that comes off as, "Oh, a kid! Let's put him in the Navy, they'll make a man out of him quicker than greased lightning!" When denied that option, he resorts to making the home his own private boot camp. I know he loves me, but he has a funny way of expressing it. I'm not the super-macho-coconuts-in-the-pants type, and I don't easily get testosterone poisoning, which should grant me some evolutionary points, but it seems there is not a general consensus on the value of a more straight-headed guy, one that isn't flaming gay, but is nevertheless more open-minded, more sympathetic, more appreciative, more caring, more emotionally balanced.

Before my Prom, I had the attitude of, "Oh, the Prom. So?" But after I found a willing Sophomore (yeah, I know, not the most "popular" guy in town), I went ahead and took her to it. It was as I expected it to be. Boring, frilly, big deal to the Big Headed Bozos (The children who made it to the Ballots for Class King and Queen, and various other laughs), and later, not a lot of activity. I did dance with my date a little, but as she told me, I could not dance, which was obvious to the both of us, She found a guy she knew from band, and danced with him a little. I met quite a few of her friends, some were band members, some I couldn't remember, maybe grew up together. Whatever.

Then the fun began. We went to the After Prom Party! I played laser tag maybe 16-20 times, sometimes annoying everybody with my Sarge routine. I thought it was funny, but they didn't take the game that seriously, anyway. I, of course, got #1 ranking about three times, I preserved those record slips until I moved to Dallas, where I promptly lost them in the moving mess. I don't think I still have them. If I do, it would be somewhere in that huge pile of papers in a particular box. I never got to go bowling with my date, however, but I sure did eat with her, talk with her, and spent some time with her. I also remember giving some sympathy to another girl whose date had canceled at the last minute. She had streaks all down her face, so I invited her to spend time with us, my date and I, and since my date didn't have nearly the amount of zest for the laser tag setup as I did, I imagine she spent some time playing games in the arcade, while I was battling in the laser tag arena.

I really miss my brother. His name is Richard Arthur Maurin. I won't go blabbing too much about him, in case I piss off Child Protective Services, and get their evil lawyers on my case. All I'm going to say is, I miss him big-time, and that I'm sorry that I hurt him, and that I would love to make it up to him somehow. I don't care if that means he ties me up, takes an ice pick, and stabs my arms and legs with it over and over. Yes, it would hurt like hell, but if it made him feel better, I'd submit to him, and let him do some inflicting. That's not to say I would take sadistic crap during all of the time I'm in his presence, I hope he doesn't develop something serious like that over this family crap, even though it's highly likely that he has been damaged severely by all of this crap.

Now that I'm started, I can't believe how evil the so called "guy," (more like an "it") my genetic father was, and how fatherly he wasn't. I can't imagine how a mide that crippled would move a single muscle! That guy is either so freaking sick, he shouldn't be alive, or just plain devil-spawn given flesh. Yes, I know his parents had serious Bipolar Disorder, and went Manic every now and then, but that doesn't excuse the thing (my not-father). That thing has serious issues. Next!

I always wondered why CPS keeps telling me that my brother, Richard is real pissed off at me for "telling the family secret." I don't get it. David was so freaking stupid, the authorities would have noticed his crotch-tag games eventually. I don't know why he'd rather be slapped around, kicked, stomped on (like my baby sister), thrown around against the walls, or sexually molested, instead of separated for a while by some incredibly stupid social workers. At least the inept social workers didn't molest me. I can't say that about my not-father. I was thrashed a bit, but that was, pretty much, the extent of it. That doesn't mean I like getting kicked around, but I'd rather be physically abused than sexually, any day.

Richard Arthur Maurin: If you ever read this, just know this. I'm sincerely sorry for all of that crap I put you through, I'm sorry I participated in that silly sibling rivalry gig, I'm sorry I hit you. I'm sorry for each time, whether I thought you deserved it, whethere you really did or not, You don't deserve to get picked on just because there's enough mother to go around. I really am. I'm sorry I was such a jerk, I'm sorry I didn't treat you like a brother when I had the chance. I'm so sorry that I left you with the memories of the attention-seeking lies I left at Meadow Pines RTC. I can't prove it, but I never, ever looked at you like that. Ever. I loved you ONLY as a brother would his little brother. I can prove that I care when you move in over to our apartment. By that time we should have a really big apartment, and I'll have a job to help pay for it. Every time you need Mom's attention, you can have it. I'll wait patiently until your done, and then I'll say what I have to say, how's that?

I really do love you, Richard. I mean it.

Here are the plans so far: I'm 18, so that means you should be about 16, now. Huh. I bet you're bigger than me! If you wanted to, you could probably beat me up, now! Anyway, if you read this, please make a note of it here on Blogspot. Thanks.

Tossing Ideas Around -Note Jotting

2007-03-08T19:31:00.000-08:00

Let's see...

16 characters, one for each Jung-Meyers-Briggs "type"?

Probably not.

Primary Theme?

?= Coming of Age, Use of Wisdom (as applied to technology), Disadvantages of Bigotry, Rescue (Later)?

Zander and Chloe go on a journey to find their place in a world they no longer understand, by defeating a system of control used to manipulate them and their families.

----

Utopia

Can the Day get Any Worse?

Weirdos, Weirdos, Everywhere!

Something I can't Quite Put a Finger on...

Abilities Gained, Freedoms Lost

That Crazy Dream

Are You Sure You're my Mom?

I Guess I'm Insane

Mix and Match

Responsibility, that Necessary Evil

I Hope It isn't You!

Tangled Webs Woven

Ooh, a Journey! What next?

On the Road Again!

Disillusionment

Oh, boy, a Snake Bite! Just What the Really Evil Bad Guy Ordered!

Waiter, there's a Flesh-Eating Worm in my Gut!

Oh, no! It's Them Zombies 'Gain!

Really Evil Guy's Lair, at Last!

Just Not Our Day

They Took My Wife, and She's Out There Cookin' Pecan Pies!

There's More Than Pecans in There, isn't There?

National Heathen Day

Licking Our Nasty, Green-Glowing Wounds

What's in that Water, Anyway?

Lots of Colors, Few Options

A Desperate Plan

Execution of an Iffy Plan

What, Do I Look Like Your Manservant?

I can't Believe You Said That!

Distraction? Oh, Yeah, Right! Like That'll Ever Work!

Pretty Colors, a Flash and a Bang

The Same Old, Same Old.

Restoration of Order

A Strictly Nonelectrical Spark

You Know What They Say, It's Only the Beginning!

Back from the living, I come from the flesh

2007-03-08T17:10:00.000-08:00

It always makes my day, when I'm allowed to be extremely morbid. I just hope this doesn't strike the wrong chord with any potential boss.

Well, what happened so far... let's see....

At the beginning of Sr. Prof. Cloete's class, I struggled to keep a marginal level of brain activity running, which was an uphill battle for me, as I dutifully rose from the dead at, what, 4 to 5 in the morning, got myself reasonably presentable for class, and ate myself a breakfast, which required many calories to digest, with the calories produced from the food eaten ready for use after a considerable delay, perhaps 2 to 3 hours, I'm not a dietitian/nutritionist, I don't know, but anyway, I arranged for transportation via my beloved mother, and off we went, an hour plus drive (one of the countless reasons I love her so dang much). I attended my Critical Thinking class, and then Composition.

I went to Monster.com and JobFinder.com and registered, landed a job at a staffing company called CoWorx. Seemed to be a reputable company. Did the little interview, did my first W2 Form, and all. Really neat. They hooked me up with Intechra, an asset reclamation company, but it was not working out for either of us, so that relationship ended.

This past 8 weeks my mom applied for and landed a job at Half Price Books Records Magazines, and she still has that job. I was absolutely 100% certain that she'd fit the job perfectly, and they, meaning Mom, and two friends of ours, two Davids, (what a coincidence, eh?) one had the job for a while before, but the other was applying at about the same time as Mom, but luckily, they both landed positions. I'm happy for them.

They both are very cautious, since they are still in training, but they are very knowledgable, they both know the bookselling business, they are very well read, and they are professional without being boring. You have to love that balance. I'm told I'm a lot of fun to be around, but can be very unprofessional when I'm not trying to be professional, and get very silly, and goofy.

I can't believe that those people who keep telling me college is hard as heck were right, more than I imagine they knew! Unbelievable. But I have to run into reality sooner or later. since I'm on the edge, I imagine I have a better view of what people like to believe, and what is glaringly obvious. This makes my an "outsider."

I seem to have this characteristic opinion, that people shouldn't conform for conformity's sake. Is that wrong? Will I grow out of that? I hope not. I also seem to have this idea that misinformation is control at it's worst. The people who know, I hope, are acting with the good of the country at heart and mind, and not wallet or bank account, or worse-I'm not EVEN going into that. (ugh!)

Anyway, I'll try to be more regular, and I'll be back, probably tomorrow.

--

"what kind of chip you got in there, a Dorito?"

Okay, I should have done this earlier, but...

2007-01-29T13:13:00.000-08:00

...I didn't think of this option until it was too late. I'll go ahead and transfer all of my previous journal entries later.

Now, to the good stuff:

I'm 19 years old, obviously male, thin, kinda lanky with dark hair. I've inherited gray-hazel eyes, and I like to sing. I sing a an SATB choir at Church, but I'm also trying to set my laptop up to take the punishment necessary to process sound and music like that. Maybe not, as my computer may revolt on me.

I have a whole bunch of journal topics to go through, but I'll start with:

What is my favorite food? It's a classic simple question, but must be asked.

My favorite food would be: the Blueberry Scone
Especially when not burnt to a crisp. I haven't had them in a while, so if someone I know reads this and makes one with out burning it too much, hey, they would get on my good side embarrassingly quickly.

My favorite dessert? Toughie, that one. I'd have to say, blueberry cheesecake, followed closely by lemon meringue, and then Banana Nut Bread as a cake. After that, banana pudding with whipped cream and vanilla wafers.

My favorite Veggie? That also is a Toughie. Fried okra comes to mind, then corn-on-the-cob, then creamed corn, then crisp carrots with ranch dressing, then candied carrots.

Sweet teeth? Who, me? No-o-o-o. Not Me!

Okay, maybe I've got a good half dozen, but who doesn't like dark chocolate, if their bodies can metabolize it? I've recently had the pleasure of trying Godiva's "Choco-lixir," and I made sure I took small sips, and held the warm fluid in my mouth for a good minute before letting it flow down my throat. Purely divine, I remarked. And it was, for a mortal-made drink.

Great stuff.

I also got a bar with raspberry in it there as well, and it was very good, too.

I enjoy supreme pizza, extremely spicy thai, like Pei Wei's food, and I always go for a large, spicy burrito, with beef, tomatoes, lettuce, hot sauce, spices, and sour cream, as well as a good number of other delightful things.

I'm a Texan Pepper-Belly, can you tell?

I want to try that Instant Insanity Hot Sauce at that Texas store on the third floor at the galleria, and when I dump it in my burrito, I want everyone I know watching as the steam clears out my sinuses. That'll be a Kodak Moment, all right!

What's happened since the last post, we-he-he-e-ell! That'll take a while!

Well the last week contained some interesting events, not the least of which would be my inspecting the job arena. I created accounts in http://www.monster.com , http://www.careerbuilder.com , and http://hotjobs.yahoo.com .

Now I have emails coming in from all sides, it's a hail of job offers! Help!

Today, I woke up, started to put up the sleeper couch, but Mimi wanted to have the sheets washed instead, then I checked Mom to make sure she didn't need any IT help, ate a breakfast of Raisin Bran with a little sugar, eating fast enough to get it down before it got soggy, and then I got on the laptop I'm on right now, to check my email, and I discovered I flaw in Firefox. http://www.devryu.net sometimes creates a bug in which the navigation bar does not stay up to date, and the searchbar does not work, if you try to use it, it's like their are no search engines their, and no way to put any in. I'm not sure if it can be reproduced, but that really bugged me. I reinstalled Firefox, and that seems to have temporarily fixed it. I then ate a more substantial breakfast, I fried some eggs, zapped some sausage, toasted a slice of bread, and put some peach preserves on it.

I then added some cayenne pepper and garlic salt, and then some salsa, and had myself a little breakfast. Good stuff, but not nearly as good as when Grandpa takes out the Belgian waffle iron, and cooks a good dozen. One memorable time, he did his thing with the waffle iron, and he manufactures a good dozen soft fluffy Belgian waffles, with whipped cream and peach pie filling on top. Add to than some natural maple syrup from Whole Foods Market, and some sausages, white grape peach fruit juice blend, and he established a permanent residence in my memory.

Oh, good stuff. That's what I want for my next birthday, on November the thirteenth of 2007. A trip to the Dallas Arboretum would be nice, too.

I better wrap this up. Bye, Journal!