Toils of an IT Professional

The last thing an IT professional wants to do is troubleshoot his/her own computer.

Unfortunately, I had to do some of that this weekend. You see, we now have a new member of our cozy household and the room he is living in is the one that was previously occupied by two computers, sharing the high-speed internet connection that we have. Well, once I moved my computer into my bedroom and reconnected the modem, it doesn't work.

Of course this was on a Saturday.
Of course Comcast can't make it to my house until next Saturday.

I'm not sure the modem is still working, giving how prone to static electricity I am and how detrimental that is to electronic equipment. I'm going to try to re-connect it in the room it was previously in. I suspect the modem has died (which isn't a bad thing, I never liked the brand I bought). But, this leads me to my next issue. Do I follow through on my plan to go wireless in the house? Will I suddenly find myself on my laptop while watching CSI? Will I suddenly have the urge to go wireless on my xbox? Where will I find the money for all of this??

Decisions, decisions.

Update: So I find out that I connected the modem wrong. You can't begin to feel the stupidity I felt last night. The good news is I now have wireless connectivity at my house. Next step, get the rest of the roommies on wireless then the xbox.

Friend in Need

Wow!

I was just talking to Michelle. She hopes that she wont have to go to a funeral for a family member next week. Please join me in praying for the health of her family.

Are You Lying?

How do you know if someone is lying to you?

Well, if you are my brother, his eyes give it away but for many people, there are subtle ways that give away what they are doing such as failing to make eye contact.

MSN.com has an article explaining the different ways to tell if someone is lying including the most likely method of lying (hint: it isn't face to face).

So next time you suspect someone is lying, remember, you are giving subtle hints about your true agenda too.

Johnny Carson

NBC will be running tributes to the late Johnny Carson all day, including on The Tonight Show. How fitting for the man who defined late night t.v.

My favorite memory of Johnny Carson was when Tammy Faye Baker was in the news. His skit was based off of a parody of books on a top ten best seller list (it may or may not have been the NYT best seller list, I don't remember). All I remember was the description he gave before announcing the title of the book. The book was about the dangers of standing next to Tammy Faye Baker while crying.

The title of the book? Caution Wet Paint

I swear, I still cry from laughing so hard at that one.

Lou Henson Retires

Over the years nothing has brought my blood to a good boil better than the two annual Lobos v. Aggies basketball games. Since the days of Neil McCarthy and Dave Bliss to this seasons battles, nothing brings out the best in Lobo fans than a game against the Aggies.

Now, the rivalry will suffer.

The only man who could quickly bring the Aggies back to a competitive level against the Lobos was Lou Henson. That's why today's news is such a shock, such a heartbreak and such good news at the same time.

The man has almost 800 career wins. He has been to the Final Four twice and is a well respected coach. It was a major coup when NMSU was able to talk him into coaching their team after he retired from Illinois.

Coach Henson, I wish you the best in your retirement. First and foremost, get well quickly. Although we are arch rivals, I don't want you to have to leave the game you love so much because of a virus that can't be beaten. Secondly, it will be good to pad the overall series lead the Lobos hold and to do it without hurting your career record.

Memo to Aggie fan - you now have the fourth best basketball team in the state. Time to start rooting for a different team. By the way, we don't want you on the Lobo bandwagon. We have enough losers on that already.

Rants and Raves

Somedays you just wonder what is wrong with your co-workers.

Take today for example. A co-worker came into my office to ask if we had a piece of hardware he could "borrow" (translation - keep). Since this co-worker already has a piece of hardware he is "borrow"-ing, I informed him that we did not.

Thus, comes his second issue. Why can't he have an inbox the size of his Hotmail account (250 MB). The reason is simple. We don't have the disk space to make that size mailbox available. Needless to say, he grumbled, gruffed and shuffled out of my office, leaving me feeling like dirt. I'm glad I don't have to go through that everyday.

On a good note: it is Friday, the women's basketball team won last night, beating the Mormon's from BYU. Tomorrow, we get the native american people from Utah (a.k.a. the Utes) in a clash for early bragging rights in the conference. Should be a good game. You can catch it on WB19 if you live in town. Personally, I'll be at the game, trying not to lose my voice screaming at the worst officials in the country, with Heather. It will be a good time. Hope to see you there.

Inauguration Day

What are the odds of a sniper hitting President Bush today? In case you haven't figured it out by that comment, I am not a Bush supporter. Not George Sr. Not George Jr. Definitely not Jeb Bush.

Sadly, the state of the country will continue to diminish because of you, the American people, who are so blind to what is happening around you because you are happy that you got an extra $300 check within the first six months of the Bush Administration (which came from money that President Clinton had saved to help balance the budget and reduce the national debt). For us "middle" class workers, we keep having to support the wealthy without having an equal say in what happens in the country.

I ask you to join me and my friends who will be praying that America gets humbled quickly and the rest of the country will open their eyes to what is really happening to us.

Drink Pepsi

No, I'm not getting paid to advertise Pepsi products. I'm going to drink as much Pepsi as I can to gather as many winning caps as I can so I can get some free music and maybe win an iPod Mini.
Last year, I think I downloaded three songs for free courtesy of Apple and Pepsi. I'll try to at least double that this year.

Happy drinking!

Darth Potato Head

Just the picture makes me laugh!

Rants and Raves

Why, oh why is Lenny Wilkens still employed?

Is Isiah Thomas that blind? Is he too soft to do the right thing? How many more games will Knicks' fans have to suffer watching the team build a lead only to lose in the final quarter?

I, for one, am tired of it.

Isiah Thomas and Jim Dolan, you two need to wake up, stop drinking the decaf and pay attention to your team. You have enough talent to win 48-49 games this season, if you do the right thing and hire a coach that:
1) preaches defense
2) preaches consistency

I'm tired of the excuses. The first chant will be fire Lenny. I'm sure the second one will be fire Isiah.

Good thing I only have to wait a month until pitchers and catchers report. It will be nice to cheer for a winning team in New York again.

Side Note:You only have 9 months to get my birthday present. In the past I've asked for an iPod, but that is no longer true, since I will be receiving my iPod Shuffle this week.
Shop often, shop early!

John Trever/Albuquerque Journal Friday, January 14, 2005 [01-2005]

Exploring Saturn

Ever since I read 2001: A Space Odyessy, I have been in love with exploring other planets. The Cassini mission is one that I have kept a close eye on since the probe reached Saturn in December '04. I guess it has something to do with the book and the original mission to Saturn by the U.S.S. Discovery (the mission was changed for the movies to save time and budget). I'm secretly hoping there will be a transmission about a rectangluar black object, with the dimensions 1:4:9 in orbit around the planet.

Hey, why not? Arthur C. Clarke has been right about other things...

Apple Products

If you know me, you know I absolutely hate Apple computers. However, I absolutely fell in love with the iPod when I first played with it. Yesterday, Apple announced a new iPod, one that is very affordable.

I think I'm going to buy one - finally!

Anybody want an old mp3 player?

Boot to the Head

I don't know if you've ever heard of it, but there is a crazy funny radio comedy routine by The Fanatics called Tae Kwan Leep.

Now, I don't want to hear about people who are sending a boot to the head to everyone. Instead, I'm going to send you a...

Boot to the head!

New York Baseball Teams Buzzing

It's a great time to either live in New York or be a fan of either of the New York baseball teams.

The Yankees will officially announce the acquisition of Randy Johnson tomorrow.

The Mets are expected to announce the signing of Carlos Beltran this week.

This news should make people like Isiah Thomas of the Knicks and Welington Mara of the Giants extremely happy because it takes the focus off of their mediocre teams (which I happen to both cheer for) and allow them some time to catch their breath after answering countless questions why each team is as bad as they are.

Just about a month away from pitchers and catchers reporting for Spring Training.
Subway Series World Series anyone?

Movies to watch

One of the benefits of 2005 rolling around on schedule is the outpouring of new movies that the year brings. Well, I'm anxiously awaiting May. Why you ask? Well, 1st my cousin is getting married (after many years of waiting), but most importantly we finally get to see the latest in the Star Wars saga, Revenge of the Sith. I would like to see how George Lucas manages to tie together the two trilogies together. From what I've seen (and granted it's not much) I think it might be a little bit lame. I mean, C'mon, there has to be some decent amount of time between the two trilogies because Luke and Leia are grown-up and Obi-Wan has gone grey. Does this make it right that we see the wookies in this movie? Or seeing Padme/Amidala with the honey bun hair style (the jury is still out on that. I want to really see Natalie Portman with that hairstyle)? Well, rest assured I will not pay full price to see it but I will see it.

Tsunami Pictures

Click the title above to see satelite images of the destruction to Indonesia (Note: You do not see bodies, just the land that was impacted). Very sobering.

National Championship Game

USC - 55, OU - 19

It's too bad I was watching another blowout last night (UNM Women 101, Morgan St. 22) because I would have loved to watch the beating that USC gave Oklahoma last night (which reminds me, I need to tease Sara Minter next time I see her). I've cheered for USC on and off since Rodney Peete was their starting QB and he was getting beat up by Notre Dame top it off with the fact that Oklahoma once again proved they 1) can't win the big one and 2) don't deserve to play with the big boys brings a big smile to my face.

Oh, Auburn fans, don't even try to convince me that your team would have put up a better fight against USC than OU. You had a hard enough time winning your bowl game, that wasn't for the National Championship.

The good news is pitchers and catchers report in 7 short weeks. Sweet!

Back to Work

"All good things must come to and end" - Q, Star Trek: The Next Generation

Well folks, it's back to work tomorrow. I know, how can I complain when I've been off with pay since the 23rd. I'm not complaining, I'm just spewing my thoughts. I'm actually grateful for the time off. I had no idea what I would do with the time off and I'm glad I didn't make plans. I actually enjoyed sleeping till 9 AM and lolling around the house until I absolutely had to go somewhere. Thus, I got to play a lot on my Xbox and watch a lot of movies. It also helps that I now have surround sound at my house.

So, the biggest challenge tomorrow will be getting up for work. I'll probably need to take a nap during lunch tomorrow because the earliest I've be up since the 23rd is 6:30 and I need to get up earlier than that to get to work (35 minute drive one way). The next scheduled day off isn't until Memorial Day (I believe we work on MLK Jr.'s birthday). Meantime, it's life as usual.

Happy New Year

Welcome to 2005!

I'm not quite sure what I want to try to accomplish this year. I've put down some thoughts on paper (Microsoft Word paper) and they aren't as extensive as previous years goals, but they are just as ambitious. I still desire to be married (I am taking applications as we speak from all eligible women). And I still desire more money. However, the other goals I've set in the past have pretty much been accomplished. I think the last thing I want to accomplish is to try to buy a house. I would really like to start settling down and having a place of my own is a great start.

So, as I finalize my list, I'll see if it's P.C. enough to post. If you have something you'd like to see me accomplish this year, let me know, kindly, politely and in a very uplifting way.