I was looking for me and found you

While My Guitar Gently Weeps

2006-01-19T12:32:00.000-05:00

With mind trapped in artistic turmoil, I continue on with the daily routine.

I finish my workday.

I settle in at home ( a sailboat - the only way to live!).

I have a drink or two (this month it's Vodka martini's).

I play some guitar (sometimes acoustic - sometimes electric).

Cuddle with the Wife. :)

Play some more guitar and do some recording.

Crawl into bed at around 1 or 2am.

Wake up and do it all again.

Someday the working will end.
Then life will just about be perfect,
cause I really enjoy that other stuff.

sqg

The Tangent of our Insanity

2006-01-04T08:33:00.000-05:00

So, we have a whole new year to encompass our passion of the reading and sharing of each others thoughts.

And just let me say "I love this stuff!"

I wish that I could read your tales, insights and thoughts, all day long. But sadly, that is not to be.

I have so many favorites among you all, yet I certainly won't single out any one person (well, ok. Ty and staff Rocks!), for all of you contribute so outrageously delightfully to our little web world of inane and insane thoughts.

Unfortunately, I'm one of those engineer types (no orange hair though, thank you very much tt -lol), always lacking in that precious commodity that is time, which makes a daily escape very difficult indeed.

We all have many escapes and those that share them usually makes for some of the best reading out here.

Thank you all! Keep up the excellent work everyone!!

Happy New Year Everyone!

2006-01-03T10:20:00.000-05:00

Ahoy from Ft. Lauderdale

2005-11-08T15:46:00.000-05:00

My dear blogger's and bloggette's, how I miss you all so very much! My lame ass was already practically non-existent out here by being so inundated at work, and then what happens!?! "BAM" A freaking hurricane blows through wreaking havoc on our beautiful little town here.

SusieQ and I are fine. We evacuated our sailboat at around midnight once we knew that we were about to be hit by a category 3 Hurricane. The winds were unbelievable, as I was having to continually go out during the hurricane and mess with lines on various boats. We still have no internet but at least we finally have power back.

Thought I would share some pics with you:

Constantly adjusting lines

This is still before the 120+ winds hit

Our finger pier was ripped away from the dock. The piling had
fallen against our boat and had to be wenched back upright.

Despite our best efforts during the storm our neighbor's
boat lost her mast and was badly damaged

Some of the many heavily damaged downtown buildings

2005-09-08T15:10:00.000-04:00

Hello from South Florida! Hope everyone is doing okay and surviving after all of the disasters we've gone through. My heart goes out to all of those displaced by Katrina and especially to those who have lost loved ones. Be strong.

Meanwhile, my absence is hopefully a thing of the past, as I get a handle on my new situation. Besides the storms and such, I have been totally swamped at work with a new promotion which put me in charge of our South Florida NOC (Network Operations Center), and believe me, I had to hit the ground running and still barely kept up with it. With all of that, plus the fact that I had changed my own personal ISP which meant moving my 6 websites and various other web related entities, I have been one busy mofo. I have taken some quick peeks at some of your sites and look forward to being able to read and partake once again in the ongoing fun here in blogland.
I need a vacation!

With a little help from friends

2005-09-01T18:12:00.000-04:00

http://www.redcross.org/

8/8/05

2005-08-08T12:12:00.000-04:00

Sorry all.
But I will be back.

Message in a Bottle/the Beauty in all things

2005-07-21T14:54:00.000-04:00

The Ocean is hypnotic. A mesmerizing force that can soothe the soul like nothing else. I've always been drawn towards it, captured by it's rhythm and it's sounds, pulled by some magnetic force just as the moon controls its motions.
Sailing the ocean at night is really something to experience. It is one of those rare instances when our mind becomes aware of so much more than we are normally capable of in our typical mundane, day-to-day existence. It is an awe inspiring adventure.
Well, I could babble on about sailing stories and such but should really get back to work. Wanted to at least hop out here, post a pic and say "Hi!"

And what day is almost here!?! w00t!! :)

Comfortably numb

2005-07-14T15:13:00.000-04:00

How will I ever catch up on everyone's blogs!! Well, best get started and there's no time like the present.
Our sailboat did get a little wind damage from the hurricane that blew through last week but it wasn't bad at all. I'll bet jku, "trapped in Miami", sure had more than her fair share of rain though!

Did anyone else enjoy seeing Pink Floyd perform at Live8 as much as I did? I was totally blown away with their set. The 4 songs that they performed are still playing in my head. I just Loved it.
And one reason it was so awesome is that it has to be one of the most technically perfect sound engineering jobs that I've ever heard at a live performance. Unbelievable!! If you haven't seen it yet! Find it and Enjoy!

Batten down the hatches! Thar's a hurricane a coming!

2005-07-08T12:50:00.000-04:00

Meanwhile, allow me to leave you guys with a new pic for the weekend. : )
See you on the otherside! Love and kisses to the girls!

Precursor to FBF

2005-06-30T09:48:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow's the big day over at tblue's and I can think of no better way to prepare, than a shot of one of our beloved Internet Babes! Oh Baby!!!

Never get between a girl and her Mustang! But I can dream about it can't I? :P

___________________________________

May I have this Flirt!

2005-06-29T11:18:00.000-04:00

Any guesses on this?
_____________________________
My humblest apologies for missing soooo much time out here. I've missed way too many flat belly's to let one more week slip by without getting my lazy ass self out here.
Actually, no laziness at all. All work and no play makes sqg... well, how ever that saying goes!?!
I'll catch up in the next day or so, but I'll at least post some new pics to stop all of the complaining. *wink wink* -lol

I've been having withdrawls not being out here with all the Hotties! Ty is gonna be getting the big head if we keep leaving him alone with so many babes. I've got tons of flirting to catch up on, so Summer, Autumn, Q, Wabbit, Grace, Cindylou, Terra, Yoj, Fishy, Mel, jku, and of course my two Arkies, Meg and Birdie, and any of you other new Hotties out there, be forwarned. I've been online-hottie deprived for too long, and so can't be held responsible for any overly-flirtatious comments that I may be making. w00t!

Hell, I may even flirt with Ty! :D

Naw! Ain't gonna happen!
..

Don't ya just love people-watching at events! :)

Life is good at the Boobie store!

2005-06-16T13:59:00.000-04:00

If it appears that I may be somewhat preoccupied with boobies, well then it may just be the case! I don't really know why though. It just seems to be.
I'll blame it on an uncle that kept old Playboys in his bathroom.
Of course, it also doesn't help that I'm constantly surrounded by them.
Just today, one of my service calls was to my favorite place of all time.
A Cosmetic Surgery center, which around our office, we simply refer to as the boobie store. Yep, I got to do my girls today at the boobie store. Well, not really the girls, I just get to work on their computer network. But the girls are quite the side benifit! :)
They all love me, so while I'm there I get to chat and hang around and pretty much just ogle teh hotties. And of course, a prerequsite of working there is also to have been a patient there! w00t!
Actually, a girl told me that after 3 years of working there, they get free procedures.
And I mean, every girl there is right off the cover of a fashion magazine.
So, how can I really be held responsible for this boobie addiction that I apparently have. I mean, they're right there!?!
And then these Doctors that keep making them even more apparent! What's a guy to do?
The other day while at the Boobie Store, a porn star was there getting, well.. even bigger boobs. Is there no end?

But let me just say this..
Girls! We love your boobs no matter what size they are!

We love'm big
We love'm small
We don't care if you're short
We don't care if you're tall
We don't care if you're skinny
We don't care if you're fat
It's all about the boobs
And that's that. :)

w00t!

[end shamelessly shallow post]

wtf!?! All I said was that I liked pancakes!

2005-06-11T07:45:00.000-04:00

You are a little too submissive for your own good. get out more. Take some dance classes or something. I mean shit! Just look at yourself in the mirror! Go shopping for some decent clothes dude! Damn!

Take the What Pulp Fiction Character Are You? quiz.

er..
Can I take the test again?

Money for nothing and chicks for free

2005-06-10T15:38:00.000-04:00

Undacover in da islands mon!

In preparation of our upcoming "girls on girls" sailing adventure, I thought that I should do some preliminary investigation to acquire first hand knowledge of the best bars and clubs on the islands. I thought a disguise would be best, to hide my "pastyhonkywhiteassself" and to fit in more naturally with the locals.
I do believe that I've found some really happening Hot Spots to make for some hardcore partying!
Miss Chandra Flo Ohtay, owner and Bartender of "Happy Crabs", assures me that we will be up to our eyeballs in Bahama Mamas and Rum Runners and will have the time of our lives! At least what we will be able to remember of it.
Get your sailing shoes ready and let your dreams flow free!
w00t!
note to self: Bring plenty of jello shots for the fb lick-off contest!

Wish you were here. You know ya wanna be!

2005-06-09T13:13:00.000-04:00

Girls and Sailing just go together. I say lets have a girl/sailing
party and head for the Bahamas! :) Who's up for some fun in the sun?

Let's all just quit work, cast off, and sail the ocean blue.

There is nothing more enjoyable than island hopping through the Caribbean, searching for that lost shaker of salt.

I can't wait!!!

netsouls

2005-06-08T15:12:00.000-04:00

Through word play and innuendo
we learn and discover,
we tease and we plunder,
the thoughts that we typically lock.

Silent triggers and open books, minds reveal thoughts,
with tales of wit and charm,
and things that alarm,
sharing our electric shock.

I'm with ya Ty [change that shit] quick!

2005-06-06T19:35:00.000-04:00

Don't ya just love women in sports!

Makes me wanna go to the beach right now.
Who's with me?

And to push the package down even more,
here's the beautiful Natalia from Colombia.

All better now Ty?

WTF!! Bogus briefs!

2005-06-04T00:22:00.000-04:00

I think I've been sold some counterfeit 'Blog Ho' briefs!!

Can someone tell me if these look right!?!

Take care of the girls!

2005-05-31T22:10:00.000-04:00

Tip the girls, guys! And don't be fucking cheap about!
Putting up with ass-grabbing drunks and the like, they should qualify for hazard pay.
I always get to know my local girls and gladly take care of them to show my appreciation.
And ya know what! When ya do, then, they take care of you! Now, I have a couple of stops that I don't even have to pay for the beer anymore. They know that I'll give them $20 just for serving me a few beers, so they don't charge me for the drinks. It's so simple, you would think everybody would be doing it.

A few of the girls that I enjoy keeping happy:

Mindy fondles a lime for my Corona.
(yeah, so I'm having a Corona, fucker!)

And my girl Sommer (no, not that summer)
She's mighty proud of the twins.

So hey guys! If the beer is $5. Let'm keep the change from that $10.
If your sitting at the bar chatting with the girls for an hour, give'm $20 to throw in their tip bucket. Be nice, be socialable, and whatever you do, don't be cheap.
Before ya know it, you'll be treated like a rock star.
How would you like to be waiting on the rude and ungrateful?
You'll be making up for the losers that are bumming them out, and so they will just shower you with drinks, smiles and attention.
It doesn't get any better than that.
Everybody wins!

Dog Day Afternooner

2005-05-30T11:57:00.000-04:00

A friend had a birthaday party for her pitbull 'Gelman' who I believe is like 100 years old or so. The old guy still gets around faily well and spends his days being pampered in doggie luxuries while lounging around the pool.
Coming home from work I forgot all about poor Gelman and drove right past the pet store and it's treasure trove of doggie delights. Upon getting home I see the festive decorations around the pool and quickly realized my missed opportunity for treats for my friend.
Ah, but what does an old dog love more than a milk bone. Why hotties of course.
I grabbed the local Doggie News and scanned the Personals looking for the perfect female companionship and luckily I found four that I thought would be perfect.
With Personals in hand we went to the party.
Gelman was busy sniffing all of the strange boxes and bags that had been placed around him as the rest of us were busy drinking and celebrating in his honor.
Though his owner seemed to enjoy my findings more than he, I have no doubt that he has contacted one or two of those Personal Ads.
I'm almost certain that I heard some pretty passionate dog sounds from the penthouse the other night.
I wonder which ones he called?

The Daily Bark Personals

Hot Damn another BBQ!

2005-05-29T13:12:00.000-04:00

The 10 things I like most about a BBQ at Ty's.

10. All the Hotties that show up!
9. The free flowing Ice cold beer.
8. The Hottest of Hot, Hot wings!
7. The free online chat setup
6. The 'Ty story telling' hour
5. Ok. I admit it. The bouncy house was cool.
4. The Hotties in the bouncy house. w00t!
3. The Hottest dancing ever.
2. Did I mention the Cold Beer!?!

and the number One reason why Ty's BBQ's are always the best..

The Cleanup afterwards! I'll be right over! :)

Getting Wet in Miami

2005-05-28T16:58:00.000-04:00

We have an annual event here in Miami that is something not to be missed.

Since our friend tblue has asked for some sexy pics, I thought that I might oblige him with some images from my private collection. So Ty, in appreciation for your talent in extreme entertainment, allow me to recipricate.

Wet in Miami

Under galleries, click on Colombus Day.

Enjoy!

Capt'n Crawdaddy (sqg)

Three Days Grace!

2005-05-27T21:41:00.000-04:00

w00t!!! It's the weekend!!!!

Three Days of fun in the sun and online mayhem!!

Oh yeah, and Three Days Grace Rock!!

I should post some sexy pic's too!

Posting on the Fly!

2005-05-27T11:28:00.000-04:00

Not that kind of fly!
I'm at a customer sight and just hooked into their network.

Got's ta check on stuff ya know.

Slow day in blogville, huh? Must have been vodka tonics all around lastnight. :)

No more storms today. Another gorgeous day in La-dee-da.
And only had to run the generator for about 2 hours before the power came back on yesterday. The things ya gotta do to keep your beer cold.
Like buy a boat with a generator.

Ok. Acting like I'm working on a real serious server issue while I type this.
Actually, just installing a new drive on a server box and transferring data.
Blah-blah-blah geek stuff.

They were saying on the radio this morning that some guy fishing in the ocean just off shore from Miami pulled in a Guitar. And it was autographed by Jimmy Page of Zeppelin!?! Hmmmm. I'm not to sure about that.

Just a couple of months ago, some guy caught a billfish and it had his wedding band on it's bill that he had thrown in the water months before.
Where does this stuff come from.

Oh yeah, I forgot. This is in the Bermuda Triangle.
Triangle, schmiangle. These guys are just cracked.

lol

Later.

The Power's out! Fire up the generator!!

2005-05-26T17:12:00.000-04:00

Man, I got blogs to read!! I come home to find the electricity off. I figured as much seeing as how the last 2 miles before getting to the boat, street lights and offices were all dark. Had quite the storm blow through evidently. Even had some hail in it. Pretty wild for Ft. La-de-da.
Anyway, no prob for a net addicted fool as I. I just fire up the ol'generator and presto! Porn! Er.. I mean Blogs!
Ha! Land lubber suckers still have no power. I laugh in your general direction.

Ok then. Where's birdie with this hourly promise thing??

Aw yes. A cold brew, the purr of a diesel and you.

Life is good.

Meanwhile, back at election headquarters..

2005-05-25T22:12:00.000-04:00

Somebody answer that phone!!! Where's yoj been all day? Get me the VP elect on the phone right away!! This campaign will "Blow away" all of the competition for sure!
Grace, you're putting way too much into licking those envelops. Pace yourself girl, pace yourself.
Eye's, get over there and help Grace out. And where the hell is duckie!?! And in fact where's Birdie!?!
God Damnit! What the hell kind of election are we running here anyway? Q, Mel, Peachy, CL, cat, you guys need to work on the final draft of birdie's speech. I like that opening so far..
"Cum one, cum all, Line up and answer Birdie's call". Good stuff girls!! Keep it coming!
Birdie!!! I think you should work on your platform some more. Looks like duckies all worn out though. :)

Life's a Beach! :)

2005-05-25T14:37:00.000-04:00

Another gorgeous day in Ft. La-de-da

http://www.sunny.org/webcam/camapp.html

Tough to be a pirate when ya keep losing your floatie

2005-05-25T13:47:00.000-04:00

Damn. I just realized that my keyring floatie is half gone! I liked that one too!
It's a thing that floats that you hang on your key ring. So if you drop your keys in the water, you can easily retrieve them. Believe me. When ya live on a boat, you learn to do things like that. It's not like I have them on everything. Not on my sunglasses. Not on my wallet. Just on my keys.
Wouldn't be a bad idea to have them on my freaking cell phone though. I've gone through 3 I think, just this year. I have since learned to unclip my phone and hold it with a kungFu grip as I climb onboard.

Hey, if your gonna live in South Florida, It ought to be on a boat! : )

Well, at least until another hurricane comes through. :o

Road Rage Blues!!!

2005-05-25T09:20:00.000-04:00

If you can't fucking drive and talk at the same time, please.. GET OFF OF THE FUCKING ROAD!!!!!

Geezus! Where are these people coming from that can't drive and talk!?!
Ok. I'm sure everyone has had this same rant but after my drive in this morning I just had to say my own.
Arrgghh!!
People just don't have a clue. Why on earth would you want to go with the flow of traffic while chatting!?!
You can always tell in the cars up ahead just who's on the phone. It's like they suddenly lock their cruise control to 50 while the rest of the world fly's past them at 75!
Brain lock! They can't freaking do two things at once!!!
This guy had a phone in one hand, a map in the other (the knee's evidently steering) and I'm pretty sure that was a bowl of Corn Flakes in his lap!!! WTF!?!
Whatever.
Ok. I'm gonna let this go.

I'm at work. I made it this far. Though the fools on I95 try to take me like every other day, I've made the morning drive safely once again. *grumble grumble*

Deep breaths. Slow deep breaths.
*sigh*

Porn for the masses!?!

2005-05-24T13:49:00.000-04:00

It really amazes me what I find on customer's computers that I work on. I mean, is everyone out there a porndog? -lol
Actually a question for you gals out there.. Is it only the guy's computers that are filled with gigs of porn? Because so far in the past few months, I've only come across one girl's computer that was pretty damn exciting! The rest are all guys. Bringing in computers that are so clogged up with spyware from pron-surfing that the things can't even boot.
Now, I do respect my customers privacy and unless I see a hitlist or some terrorist plot outlined then I just ignore their fetishes and do my work.
Though I was intrigued one day when this Dentist brought in his computer. Same thing, couldn't boot or would just freeze up on him. Turned out of course that it was infected with just a shitload of viruses, trojans and huge amounts of spyware (into the 1,000's). But interestingly enough, his porn was of the more violent nature. :0 You know, the bondage stuff and all. Then I realized the correlation of the Dentist Chair with his clamps and such and all of this bondage stuff! Who'd a thunk!?!
Bet ya think twice on your next Dentist visit. : )
Anyway, back to the girl's computer. Finally a kinky female customer arrives. : ) I set up the computer, boot it up and up loads this wallpaper of this Hot little red headed number handcuffed and chained to a bed.
Oh, that's right, before I even got that far, the system was passworded and she hadn't left me the info, so I had to call her up and get her password, which was "no love for me" :o
She was into goth and such. It was a nice change of pace from the typical shit I see on systems.
*sigh* There is a lot of pent-up passion out there. I could sure hook a lot of these people up!

Well anyway, got the systems all fixed up. She's happy. The Dentist is happy. Everyone is happy.
And I go home all hot and bothered again! :)
So people...
What's on your computer?
-lol

AAAARRRRGGGGHHHHHH!!!!

2005-05-24T09:24:00.000-04:00

Ok. Everything is taken care of.
We had a major breach of security in Blog land but I quickly gave my blog a new address and name. My blog had fallen into the hands of my parents and in a matter of minutes had spread to family members and relatives across the US. *insert shocked smiley*

Remind me to kill my brother. -lol

Hopefully, no one had time to bookmark any visitors sites or such (they're total computer n00bs!) and so I believe that I should be safe.

And here I was just about to go into my deepest darkest fantasies and desire's and such.

Well, as soon as I know that my secret place is secret once again (except of course from you guys!!!) I shall delve back into my usual total chaos and warped visions.

So.. first, what do you think of my new title? I think it sums up blogland just perfectly. :)

Secondly, Duckie!!!! Quit hogging all da wimuns!!!!! -lol

I just have to say, I've really been enjoying reading up on everyone's escapades. Thanks birdie for taking that detour and leading me on to more bloggers and Bloggettes that are worth the read! w00t!!

Just love this stuff and wish I had more time to spend reading and writing!!!

Thanks for sharing all!!! :)

Our Meaningful Lists

2005-05-12T17:40:00.000-04:00

On the matter of lists, I've contemplated several beginings, but then I lose focus and my mind leaps off into memory lane. Derailed again. Though it is an enjoyable detour.

As I ponder on the likes and dislikes that make me who I am, I find that some of my most precious memories are recalled through the senses.
Of course, since I have been involved with music most of my life and that I even remember the songs that played on the radio back when I was around 3, any song that I hear will usually transport me back to a time and place long forgotten.

But the sense that seems most acute is smell. And as I was thinking of the likes and dislikes that would end up on some list, the one smell that I recall the most is from my grandmother's house in Fayetteville. Not just in the house but also around the yard and in fact the whole neighborhood. It is a wonderfully sweet and nutty like smell. I always thought black walnuts but really have no idea what it was from. Possibly just a childhood memory that refuses to let go.

It's amazing that our minds can recreate smells even in our thoughts. I can smell her yard right now and I still have no idea what really made that aroma. On every childhood visit back to her place, the first few steps out of my parents car and I knew right where I was. What a wonderfull smell that was. And still to this day I have never smelled it any where else. To me, it is Fayetteville.

My grandmother died a long time ago and eventually her home was torn down to make way for a student parking lot. A real shame. It was a beautiful 2-story victorian style house right across the street from the University where she worked. There was a porch swing in the front that I would sit in and watch the world go by. I enjoyed playing in that yard so much. It was a kid's kind of yard. And then there was that wonderful unforgettable smell.

That scent keeps that memory alive for me. A smell that I have no idea what it was, but my memory of it keeps it as fresh in my mind today as it was all of those years ago.

I loved that smell.

I loved my grandmother.

Well, anyway.. that would be on my list.

No, I'm not dead

2005-05-06T12:43:00.000-04:00

Sorry for the hiatus, but no, I'm not dead.
..or is it "I ain't dead". At least not yet! -lol

I've just been busy catching up with many things and just haven't found the time to get out here, or at least be creative out here. With other such entertaining blogs, I certainly don't want to just post some mundane drivel out here, because my writing skilz are certainly no match for the wit and charm (it is charm, right?) of the likes of birdie and friends.

I wish that I could write as freely as the thoughts seem to blaze through my mind with tale after tale of the craziness that is the world as seen through my eyes. But alas, I can't.
But I do enjoy trying. :)

I do seem able to keep my self easily amused with the happenings of day to day life. Be it billboards (Ooo0, which reminds me, I haven't photochopped a Paris Hilton Fragrance pic yet! *makes mental note of wet fucked Dog smell*), or people I see on the streets doing god knows what, or just some silly mention of something which suddenly becomes some hysterical thought.

Like.. whatever happened with that Anna Nicole Smith Kellogg's Cereal Promotion?

Hehe. I just love hacking up photos. -lol

Oh well, back to work. I'll try to be a little more attentive out here.
cya

Are You Ready for the Weekend

2005-04-15T13:54:00.000-04:00

I am so ready for this weekend! Should be a gorgeous one too. Not that it would really matter considering that I'll probably just be down inside the boat playing with my music stuff or typing at the computer. :0

I think I'll make myself a promise that I have to go topside and enjoy the beautiful weather for at least an hour or two. Especially since a lot of my online friends are still actually experiencing Winter. Brrrrrrrr!
I owe it to them to enjoy the warm weather here.

Ya gotta love South Florida! :)

Here's a live BeachCam at Ft. Lauderdale Beach. Enjoy!:

http://www.sunny.org/webcam/camapp.html
w00t! It's back up!
(Picture refreshes about every 20 seconds)

Well, back to work.
Hope everyone has a safe weekend.
cya

A Day in a (computers) Life!

2005-04-14T14:41:00.000-04:00

I'm amazed at how complicated everyday simple computer use has become for the novice.
I find myself helping peep's with a variety of issues on a daily basis. Of course, I'm always helping my actual customers but also friends, family and even strangers who over hear a conversation at lunch or something and then ask a simple question where I then proceed to inundate them with a plethora of boring yet well informed knowledge base type info.
A well informed computer user will be a safe and happy computer user.

It used to be that all we needed on our pc's was a decent virus program and we were all set to take on the internet and all that it has to offer.
No longer is that the case. These days, we must be armed to the teeth with a powerful arsenal of anti-virus, anti-spyware, anti-spam, anti-popups, anti-this and anti-that programs that will protect our systems so we can surf happily and aimlessly through the muckity-muck.

Amazingly some of the best programs for this type of protection are free and are readily available for download. Though I have the links below, these can also easily be found by simply googling the names.

My job as an engineer is to keep computers running smooth anyway, so I always feel that it is my duty and obligation to help everyone enjoy safe and problem free computing.
Besides just having programs such as these to help maintain a healthy pc, it is also a must that you continually update not only your Operating System, but all of your various programs too. Typically, updates are not only revising your existing versions to their latest release version, but also are usually patching security holes found in the software or operating system. Always install Microsoft Critical Updates when prompted and in fact you should have that set as an automated process.

Anyway, I wanted to at least share some of today's best programs for keeping a system clean and problem free.
Here are some direct links to some of the best out there:

AVG Anti-Virus by Grisoft -one of the best out there! Symantec and McAfee are both resource hogs and can't touch AVG's quality and ability. AVG sell's a high-end version but also offers a free single user version on their website.
Do yourself a favor and switch to it!
http://free.grisoft.com/freeweb.php

Microsoft Anti-Spyware Beta -the best spyware tool out there. It's free now but will eventually cost. Download it now to enjoy it for 100 or so days before the free version times out. This is for 2000 or XP and above only. And you don't have to do the Windows validation thing that it mentions on the page.
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx

Ad-Aware by Lavasoft -one of the better spyware tools out there and a must for when the above Microsoft Anti-spyware is no longer being used. But I actually run all of these utilities together for ultra-protection.
http://www.lavasoft.com/

SpyBot-Search and Destroy 1.3 -another great spyware utility.
http://www.safer-networking.org/en/download/

SpywareBlaster 3.3 -yet another in the arsenal. Where Ad-aware and SpyBot are manually run scans, Spywareblaster runs continually in the background like the Microsoft product does.
http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html

ZoneAlarm Firewall - Free firewall protection with an excellent control panel for easy use. Another must have product for ultimate protection.
http://www.zonelabs.com/store/content/catalog/products/sku_list_za.jsp?lid=dbtopnav_za

Ad Muncher - for stopping Pop-ups. Also, both Yahoo and Google offer great pop-up blockers that are add-ons to their toolbars and are easily installed.
http://www.admuncher.com/download.shtml
http://toolbar.google.com/?promo=mor-tb-en
http://toolbar.yahoo.com/?.cpdl=fp

Email Spam - Controlling email spam is sometimes best handled through your ISP. I have Earthlink and they offer a free email spam service which works very well. Most other ISP's offer similar Email Spam solutions for their customers. If your Internet provider doesn't offer any spam protection then you should look at some of the third-party offerings. I also use "Qurb" to block Spam but it isn't a freebie.
http://www.qurb.com/

Happy and safe computing!

Time Flies

2005-04-13T16:45:00.000-04:00

Where does the time go?

I've been so busy on some of my other sites that I've been totally neglecting my mindless duties here.
But also, I've been finally getting my little recording studio back together after a long hiatus while my hand has been recovering from an accident last year.
Believe me! There is nothing more horrifying to a guitar player than mangling up his hand! :o

I'm finally able to play a little bit now and I'm getting all excited about it again! Yay!

I've pretty much converted the front stateroom of our sailboat into a small recording studio and now can't wait to start laying down tracks again. w00t!
Wifey even let me buy a new audio mixing console, so I've just been overwhelmed with fun stuff!!
She said she's just happy to see me play again because she knows how much it means to me!
Man, I love this girl! :)

Well, keep the tunes turned up out there!
..

Oh and btw, thought some of you gamers out there might get a laugh out of this little pic that I came across ;)

-lol

note: No cartoon characters were harmed in making this gif!

Happy April

2005-04-01T08:44:00.000-05:00

Happy April Fool's everyone! :)
I'm not really into practical jokes and usually find them offensive, irritating and just not that funny.
I see no humor in deceiving someone for just a quick laugh at their expense.

But...
I did do just a little thing today that was actually suggested by an online friend.

At a forum that I admin, it was suggested that I swap out the main page with a different fake page, to shock visitors as they connect to login.

So I did that.

I figured at 6:00am this morn, it would only affect a few early risers and give them a little early morning startle. -lol

It did.

I had swapped out the opening screen page of several of our sites with an Official looking FBI screen saying

"This site has been shutdown by the FBI in accordance with the U.S. Supreme Court articles 2256 (8)B and 2256 (8)D, for the distribution of pornographic content as described in the Virginia State subpoena filed against said owner. All data is hereby confiscated and entered into as evidence against said principals and all properties contained herein shall be subject to Federal jurisdiction. Said parties shall be held accountable to the full extent of State and Federal laws. The FBI will be tracing all IP traffic to this site for further prosecution."

Of course above the text was the official FBI logo.
And of course our sites are certainly not pornographic.
The ruse was for it all to look like some big mistake!

Oh well, I still felt bad about doing it and so only had them up for about 20 minutes.
It did get a few people this morning but all is back to normal.

Hope no one plays too dirty of a trick on any of you out there today!
Good luck all!

Commentators

2005-03-31T13:22:00.001-05:00

Southern Dish or Media Clowns

Where do I even begin? The TV news sickens me. Not just the daily blast of negativity that we are bombarded with, but also the way in which it's delivered. Does everything have to be reported like it's a sporting event and the newscaster is shouting the news at us like he's giving the nightly scores?
At least during the day while in my car, I get to tune to NPR where I can hear intelligent people report and discuss the news. It's only after I get home and catch the media madness on the tube that I realize that there is probably a better use of my time than spending it listening to the right-wing slanted clowns of the media monopolies, preaching their views instead of reporting the news. It's a world gone mad I tell ya.

But I then click it off, grab a beer and settle in front of yet another world. The online world.
It's not that I am hiding from the news, sadly it's just that I know that I can't do anything about it.
I'll settle in here and get my world news right here from real people. Not from some overpaid airhead that's just trying to scare me into staying tuned to his station so that I don't miss the upcoming story on the greatest threat yet to our society! Oooooooo, scary! Gimme a break! It's like the color coded warning system that was put in place prior to.. Grrrrrrrr.
whoa!...
I'm starting to get too political here.

I like my news in more of a playful, realistic view format.
More like our "birdieseyeview" of the world.

Well anyway, bottomline is..
I like my Common Taters with ketchup.
And a little tabasco too.
:)

Wifey's Birthday!

2005-03-30T17:09:00.000-05:00

w00t!!

It's my beautiful and most precious SusieQ's Birthday!

Let me check my shopping list for on the way home..

1. Flowers
2. Champagne
3. IceCream!

Yep! Looks good!! :)

See you guys tomorrow!

Directions

2005-03-29T09:01:00.000-05:00

I really wasn't sure where I would be going with this blog. In fact, it's direction is still an unknown.
At first, I wanted to just have another outlet for my creativity in both art and music. Not that they're anything great or really worth the fuss, but just because it is something that I enjoy doing.

And maybe the 2 people that ever even bother to read this stuff will occasionally critique my work. -lol
Of course so far, all that I've got in here are these few silly little pic's that I had whipped up.

Well anyway, as I was saying, first I thought I would just focus on music. But then, once I started to read some other sites, I became aware that it could be so much more. I've found that I kind of enjoyed the nonsensical rambling thing. Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying all that I read is just...

"Shit!" Painted myself right into that corner.

Regardless of what got me here and of the direction first taken, I can only say, "Rambling it shall be!"
At least at first. We'll see.
I guess that's where the Mindfull thing comes from. Nailed that on the first try and I wasn't even sure what it meant.

Sitting here at a computer at an ISP allows me ample time for lots of rambling, that is until I get a call and have to go reset some piece of equipment somewhere between here and Miami.

Doh! Off to work.
..

Oh, I saw a New billboard on the freeway today. Paris Hilton Fragrance!?!
Do the advertisers even know what smell they're suggesting there!?!
I almost died laughing.

Love for a Friend

2005-03-28T16:00:00.001-05:00

On a sad note, an online friend is struggling with the emotional stresses of dealing with her life after being attacked. :(

In another online community, where about 40 or so of us have become quite close over the past 3 years, regularly exchanging pm's, emails and even the occasional gift, we learned of this very tragic news. Despite being spread all around the World we have become a very close family through our online presence.
Even I was the recipient of many gifts from these wonderful people that I have never met, for an injury that occurred over this past Thanksgiving Holiday.

I still have the little children's book, "The Magic Finger", that she had sent me.
She knew that the joke would cheer me up.

And now, we are searching for ways to help her, while now she struggles with fright and anguish of something as trivial as just venturing outside.

Why do these things have to happen?

And what type of scum could even do such a thing?

We hope that the assailants are caught and justice can be served, but that does not give my friend her life back. Not back to the way that it was before.

She is at home in the care of her family and boyfriend overseas, and he gives us an occasional update on her condition.
Besides a devastated emotional state after such an attack, she is also recovering from some very serious injuries sustained while trying to fight off her attackers.
It both sickens and angers me.
I'm ashamed that there are men in the world that would do such a thing.

I truly think that laws and punishments are in need of a serious overhaul if the criminals show no concern for them. If you're scum enough to destroy someone's life like this, than you damn well better know that you WILL be caught and you WILL spend the REST OF YOUR WORTHLESS FUCKING LIFE in prison.
No parole, no chance, not ever. You Fucking piece of shit dirtbag scum.

Pardon the rant but I tear up just thinking about this. :(
..

Well, we all pooled some money together and got her a gift. We sent her a Vermont Teddy Bear for her Birthday next week.
It was the best idea we could think of to give her our support, our love and a hug, from across an ocean.
We hope for at least one brief moment, when she opens the box, that her thoughts will be filled with our love,
and not the memory of that terrible evening.

The Morning Drive

2005-03-28T12:38:00.000-05:00

After posting that story yesterday, I had a dream lastnight that my brakes went out as I was backing out of some driveway!?!
Damn near hit 2 cars! -lol
Funny thing how are minds are so easily steered.

Driving in to work is one of those rare moments that belong to us alone. It's our little piece of private time where we can sort out the things that we've done, the things that we should do and the things that we will do. Or we can also just mindlessly people watch as we drive down the same streets and go around the same corners, day in and day out. It's interesting to watch the people around us. I guess we all have some voyeuristic qualities in us. Some more than others I would imagine.

As I drive along, I see many of the same faces again and again. I stop at the end of my street and briefly wait as the joggers pass by making their way to the beach. A little further down the street I usually get a few minutes at a light and get to enjoy the Starbucks crowd, all making their grand appearance at their "dealers door". This is always a very amusing moment for me as I watch the Porsches, Jags and Humvee's all trying to find a parking space in the tiny little parking lot that's there. Ah, the beautiful people and their need to show off their newest car or latest fashion as they all crowd into this small homage to all that is rich, to pay their $8 for a cup of flavored water. No offense to you Starbuckers out there. I know that addictions can be tough!

As I make it past the jetset corner, and within just a mile, my surroundings quickly go down hill. I'm now at the street corner where this homeless man is selling newspapers. I swear that some day, I'm going to stop and offer him $10 to take his picture. We never know the story behind those faces and I'm sure that some are rather tragic, but this guy is always smiling and seems genuinely very happy about his entrepreneurial enterprise that he has going for him. But the reason for the picture? This guy is the exact twin of Dusty Hill, Bass player for ZZ-Top. He wears a baseball cap, Cheap Sunglasses and a shabby grey beard that reaches to his waist. I can see the Headlines all ready! " ZZ-Top bass player falls on hard times."
Oh well, that's that intersections story.

Next mile is the adult bookstore stretch that has your "lady's of the night" still straggling around at 8 in the morning. I couldn't imagine. I think that my friend Dusty is far better off then these poor girls. You would think that a city could help people a little better.

Oh well, past that and I'm onto the freeway where I only go about 2 miles, make my exit, continue another mile or so and pull into my parking lot. I unlock the front door, go past the front offices (they'll show up in about an hour), make my way back to the Tech Lab and login.

And here I am.

I wonder what the drive home will be like?

Buck Idecker

2005-03-26T11:15:00.000-05:00

A co-worker was just telling me about a friend’s car accident. He’s ok, his car is totalled but he’s fine, just a little bruised up.
Anyway this got me thinking about some of my past mishaps. Unfortunately for my parents, I was quite the hell-on-wheels type of kid. I’m actually lucky to have survived a couple of serious accidents. I really shouldn’t have. Of course everyone attributed my surviving to various gods and such.
But those aren’t the accidents that I was thinking about. It made me think of some of the more unusual accidents that I had been in, where luckily no one was injured.

This goes way back. I didn’t even have a driver’s license yet and I was driving a motorcycle to school in the 9th grade.
I was 15 and one of the few who had a motorcycle back then, and even fewer had cars. In fact I guess the only way you could have been driving a car back then in 9th grade was to have failed so many times that you were years older than everyone else.

Enter Buck Idecker, the biggest, baddest dude at Hartman Jr. High. This kid must have been 6’6” and 200+ lbs. He was so much bigger than the rest of us that the coaches didn’t even want him on the football team because they were afraid that he might accidentally kill somebody.
Well, you get the idea. He was huge!

As it turns out, Idecker and I shared a few classes. As the school year went on, we became closer, well, still just class acquaintances, but we talked in the hallways and stuff. I didn’t have to be afraid of him anymore. Other kids still had to hide, or go the long way around school to get to classes and make sure to never make eye contact with him.
His size just seemed to intimidate people.

One day, Idecker comes up to me, and starts asking me about my motorcycle.
He goes on about how his girlfriend would like to ride one and would sure like to go out on a date on one.

I look up at him puzzled, “You want me to take your girl on a date?” I asked?

He stares at me with a look that I still remember to this day. You know, that look the impala see's right before the lion pounces on it and rips it to shreds. I’m pretty sure I was about to be killed, but he gathers his thoughts and continues,

“No ya little dipshit, I want to take her out on your bike”.

“Oh” I say. “I’m not sure I should do that”
He follows with, “It’ll be fun, this Friday night let’s meet at the carwash, I’ll get your bike and you can take my car.”

My jaw dropped. "A car! Hot Damn!" I thought. Me on a real car date!! This will be awesome.

So of course, I agreed.

Friday night came and we met at the car wash as planned. We exchanged keys and Buck and his girl took off. I got into his car, a late 60’s muscle car, and then headed off to pick up my girl. Well, any girl that I could find. I finally found someone on the third try. Melissa! I picked her up and we started cruising around listening to tunes. Melissa was a nice girl, a close friend of some other girlfriends of mine and really into partying.

Well, we’re just cruising, rocking to the tunes and talking trash when suddenly, approaching a major intersection, I realized that there were no brakes!
My foot goes to the floor and I see all of these cars stopped at the light in front of us. I swerve to the left lane and throw the automatic transmission into park. Well that actually didn’t do anything to stop our forward movement. That just caused some really nasty, loud sounds to come from under the car. And then WHAM!!
Yep, a little white MG finally stopped us.
This little white MG goes flying ahead and skids to a stop right in the middle of the intersection.

Now here comes the surreal part. Like right out of some Hollywood teen movie.
I jump out and run towards the MG, the door opens up and these legs appear. Beautiful, long gorgeous, exposed legs, wearing knee high white boots. Melissa is saying something to me but I’m not hearing a word. I’m just ogling as this lady gets out of her car. Remember, I’m just 15!! White boots, white Hot pants, tight red top and one pissed off face! Oh, she was mad. I start explaining that the brakes had gone out and blah, blah, blah… I’m not sure what I was babbling. All I know was that I was face to face with what must have been a playboy model and I couldn’t think straight!
She asked for my license, which I answered that I don’t have one. Another pissed off look. I suggested that we move the cars out of the street.

She’s thinking… then asks, “What’s your name?”

I tell her.

“What!?!” she screams and then mutters “I don’t believe this”.

I’m nervously still watching for the police as she says while rolling her eyes, “You’re Mel’s kid?”

“What?” I gasp. “You know my Dad?”

She’s mumbling stuff as we move the cars to a parking lot.

My mind is racing. I’m dead. Dad’s gonna kill me, and then Idecker's gonna kill me. And this lady I don't even know is gonna kill me. And then my Mom’s gonna kill me. Yep, I’m dead. My life is officially over.

Then, out of nowhere, everybody suddenly starts showing up. First, my Dad just happens to show up and he proceeds to calm down Miss Bambi or whatever her name was. Next, friends start showing up, they see Idecker's car wrecked and hear that I was the one driving it. You could hear the murmur of the crowd, something about "me" and "soon to be dead". Then, wouldn't you know it, that Idecker just happens to drive by on my bike and see his car. That’s it, I’m dead now.
I knew that my life was about to be over for sure.

But that’s not what happened at all.

It turns out that she's a "dancer" at a nearby club and that she really did know my Dad! Apparently rather well. Dad, you sly ol'dog you!

And actually I think Idecker kind a fell for Bambi, because he was very nice about the whole ordeal.
He was actually even nicer to me at school after that. Not sure why, maybe something about letting a minor drive his car and that I could have killed somebody and he would have ended up in prison. Or that maybe he started seeing this Miss Bambi? Whatever it was, it all worked out. I had my bike back, Idecker got his car fixed and Bambi's little MG was fixed too.

I Don’t think my Dad ever saw Bambi again after that.

Did I mention that my Mom was with him when he happened by the accident?
Yeah, that was some night.

Well anyway, I was just reminded of it.

Man, those were some nice boots.

the Comdey of life

2005-03-25T14:31:00.000-05:00

I'm just glad that we have the ability to laugh. I can't begin to imagine a world without laughter.
Sometimes it's the one thing that keeps us all sane. I love to laugh. And all of my friends know this about me, especially when were all online in voice chat and I'll have to cover the mic because I'm laughing so much.
Well, anyway I'm glad that we have humor. We see and hear so much negativity around us each and everyday, that at least one thing that can help keep us going is finding something to laugh about.

Like my friend Wolf who posted "the Llama song"!?! That silly little clip gave me a laugh. My friend Pepper and the continuing exploits of his Cat's Plan of world domination, are always killing me. Birdie and her great "Orange Jesus" (coffee out the nose on that one!!) had me rofl. .. and the list goes on.

Happiness is the king of all emotions and I thank you all for giving me something to laugh about each and everyday, because when I laugh, I'm happy! :)

That song stuck in your head!

2005-03-24T18:52:00.000-05:00

It always happens. Especially when I'm learning a new song, it plays over and over in my head. First I'll seek it out on the radio and really crank it up so my brain can absorb all the nuances. Then as soon as it's over, I'll turn off the radio and listen to it again in my head. I'll play the whole song through again in my mind, which is easy enough to do once you've heard the song enough. If I miss some parts, I find it on the radio, listen through again, then try the run through once more.
Currently it's the song "Home" by Three Days Grace that's pounding away up there. Driving to work, during the day and then driving home, that song is blasting through the speakers in my mind. Then, once home, I strap on the guitar, put on the headphones, crank up the cd and start ripping through the song! w00t!
I definitely lean torwards the heavy side of music, and that song has one mean hook in it. I Love it!
I sure had to tune down a few steps before it sounded right though!?! Great bottom end with a "C".

Back when I lived in a brick house, that we had pretty much turned into a recording studio, I could play through the speakers at wonderfully High Volumes and not disturb the peace too much. But now days, doing my jamming in a sailboat, I pretty much always play through the headphones so as not to freak out the neighbors.

Jamming to "Home" also got me back into playing some STP. I had forgotten just how hot Stone Temple Pilots were! "Wicked Garden" is an awesome "Heavy" anthem. Though I had always thought that he was singing "Wasted Garden". I think either works.

Well, been doing this song for about a week and now it's definitely stuck in my brain!?! I'll play it for a few more days before I'll move on to something else. Maybe back to some old ZZ Top. Or maybe I'll try that new Korn cover of Pink Floyd's "Another Brick in the Wall". Yeah, that would rock!

ramble on

2005-02-27T09:56:00.000-05:00

My life has taken me in so many different directions that I always find it difficult to focus on just any one aspect of it before my mind wanders off onto some other childhood episode or past event that has left it's indelible mark etched forever into my ever more confused mind.
Music has always been a major part of my life. Actually, in earlier years, it was the main driving force..probably the only driving force of my life. Whether just listening to the songs of the day, working with some band at a late night gig or just jamming with friends into all hours of the night, music is what made my world go round. I have always felt a kindred spirit with musicians and songwriters. Though I am not a name in the world of music, we do share the same deep emotional commitment in our heartsongs. That is after all where it comes from.
Music is, as is always stated, a universal language. It's most amazing that I can listen to music from around the world and feel an artist's emotion pouring out of their instrument into a melody of magical sound. Too much fluff. Maybe so, but music is just that powerful. At least it is to me.
I feel sorry for someone who has no favorite song. Doesn't listen to the radio. Doesn't know the difference of Pop from Rock, from Do Wop to country Bop. How can anyone not know of Bach, Mozart or Zeppelin!?!