Song of the Week

"Transfusion" - Nervous Norvus

ZZZZZZOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMM
Tooling down the hightway doing 79
I'm a twin pipe papa and I'm feelin fine
Hey man dig that was that a red stop sign
(Scrreeech-BANG, tinkle)
Transfusion, transfusion
I'm just a solid mess of contusions
Never, never, never gonna speed again
Slip the blood to me, Bud

I jump in my rod about a quarter to nine
I gotta make a date with that chick of mine
I cross the center line man you gotta make time-
(Scrreeech-BANG, tinkle)
Transfusion, transfusion
Oh, man, I got the cotton pickin convolutions
Never, never, never gonna speed again
Shoot the juice to me, Bruce

My foot's on the throttle and it's made of lead
But I'm a fast ridding daddy with a real cool head
I'ma gonna pass a truck on the hill ahead-
(Scrreeech-BANG, tinkle)
Transfusion, transfusion
My red corpsuckles (sic) are in mass confusion
Never, never, never gonna speed again
Pass the crimson to me, Jimson

I took a little drink and I'm feelin right
I can fly right over everything everything in sight
There's a slow poking cat I'm gonna pass him on the right
(Scrreeech-BANG, tinkle)
Transfusion, transfusion
I'm a real gone paleface and that's no illusion
I'ma never never never gonna speed again
Pass the claret to me, Barrett

A rollin down the mountain on a rainy day
Oh, when you see me coming better start to pray
I'm a cuttin' up the road and I'm the boss all the way
(Scrreeech-BANG, tinkle)
Transfusion, transfusion
Oh, doc, pardon me for this crazy intrusion
I'm never, never, never gonna speed again
Pump the fluid in me, Louie

I'm burning up the highway early this morn
I'm passing everybody oh nothing but corn
Man outa my way I don't drive with my horn
(Scrreeech-BANG, tinkle)
Transfusion, transfusion
Oh, nurse I'm gonna make a new resolution
I'm never, never, never gonna speed again
Put a gallon in me, Alan

Oh, barnyard drivers are found in two classes
Line crowding hogs and speeding jackasses
So rememmber to slow down today
Hey, daddy-o
A make that type O, huh
Atta-boy
(Scrreeech-BANG, tinkle)

Links in the Toolbar

I found a way to add my links to the regular toolbar, apparently that's what the folder labeled "links" in my favorites is for... it's not just mindless marketting on the part of Microsoft, go figure. LOL

How to use the "links" part of the standard IE toolbar:

Customizing the Links bar
Published: November 19, 2006

Did You know that you can customize the Links bar in Windows XP SP2, and Windows Vista? You can add, remove, or rearrange shortcuts to your Favorites and folders of Favorites. Customizing the Links bar gives you one-click access to your favorite folders, and webpages.

Here's how:

To enable the Links bar in Windows XP SP2 and Windows Vista

• Right-click on the Windows Taskbar. Click on Toolbars, and then click Links to select it (a checkmark will be displayed beside it)

You will now see "Links" added just to the left of the system tray on the taskbar.


To add a shortcut to the Links bar

• Drag the webpage's icon from the Address bar of the browser

• Drag a link from a webpage directly to the Links bar

• Drag a folder path from a search window to the Links bar

• Click the Add to Favorites/Bookmarks button in your browser, and then click Add to Favorites/Bookmarks. NOTE: If you are using a different browser this feature may not be implemented, or may work differently

• In the Add to Favorites dialog box, click the Create In dropdown list, and then select Links


To remove a shortcut from the Links bar

• Right-click the shortcut in the Links bar, and then click Delete


To rearrange how your Favorites show on the Links bar

• On the Links bar, drag a shortcut to a new location


To enable the Links bar in your browser
NOTE: This feature may not be implemented, or may work differently, in different browsers.

• Click the Tools button, click Toolbars, and then click Links


To add a shortcut to the Links bar

• Click the Add to Favorites button, and then click Add to Favorites

• In the Add to Favorites dialog box, click the Create In dropdown list, and then select Links

You can also drag the webpage's icon from the Address bar or drag a link from a webpage directly to the Links bar.

• In the Favorites Center, drag a shortcut to a new location in the Links folder

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/about/customizelinks.mspx

Word of the Day

Urban Word of the Day
www.urbandictionary.com

February 18, 2007: Gong Xi Fa Chai

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Gong+Xi+Fa+Chai&defid=441970

Happy New Year (Chinese)

Homey, Gong Xi Fa Chai!

Hamster Part 23

GP died today, we were able to get the body out though, so no more cannibalism on the aprt of the hamsters. Mark & Krista are going to take the babies I think. Mark has named the baby that looks like Kus "Yuki" which is Japanese for moon.

Thunderbird -- The Best Mail Client EVER!

So my friend Chad introduce me tonight to Mozilla's "Thunderbird" third-party mail client. It's absolutely phenomenol! It does like everything I need it to and it does it so effortlessly, it's jus so incredible.

It's format is similar to that of Outlook Express so if you are familiar with the basic functionality of OE you'll do fine on Thunderbird.

To get a copy of Thunderbird go here:
http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/thunderbird/

Now here's the BEST part about Thunderbird... remember the downloading hotmail to OE or Outlook I was having awhile back? Well it's solved! Thunderbird has an extension that allows you to get mail from all the top mail servers: hotmail, yahoo, gmail, aol. Once the little Web Mail extension is added to Thunderbird you just have to install the extensions for the mail host you want to use and Voila! it can be added through the create account screen, and if that weren't enough you can download all your folders too!!

The extensions can be downloaded here:
http://webmail.mozdev.org/

You just click on the "Download" button on the left-hand side then:
1. Right-Click the link above and choose "Save Link As..." to Download and save the file to your hard disk.
2. In Mozilla Thunderbird, open the extension manager (Tools Menu/Extensions).
3. Click the Install button, and locate/select the file you downloaded and click "OK".
4. Then close Thunderbird and re-load it for the extension to sync with the program.

Then you can download the extension packs for any of the mail hosts you use and follow the above steps closing & re-loading the program between extension installs.

Another neat little extension lets you minimize Thunderbird to the system tray so that when you get mail a cute little message pops up by the clock to inform you of such.

That program can be found here:
http://minimizetotray.mozdev.org/

Oh!! And another great thing about Thunderbird is how easy it is to back-up! Nothing as piddly and stuip as OE or Outlook, everything is stored in ONE (1) folder on your hard drive!!


"Manual Backup
Backing up Firefox and Thunderbird manually is as simple as copying their respective profile folders to another location. If you do that, you’ll have a full backup with all your setting and personal data saved.

The hard part is finding the profile folders. First up, they are not located where you would expect to find them. Secondly, they are located in different places for different versions of Windows. Thirdly, they may be assigned random file names that make them difficult to recognize.

On Windows 2000/XP machines the locations for your Firefox and Thunderbird profiles are respectively:
C:\Documents and Settings\\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\\

C:\Documents and Settings\\Application Data\Thunderbird\Profiles\\

On Windows 9x/Me PCs they can usually be found at:
C:\Windows\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\\

C:\Windows\Application Data\Thunderbird\Profiles\\ If you can't locate your profiles then check out this document for more information:

http://kb.mozillazine.org/Profile_Folder#What_is_in_my_profile?

On my XP laptop the profiles are:

C:\Documents and Settings\Ian\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\default.ebq

C:\Documents and Settings\Ian\Application Data\Thunderbird\Profiles\25ve0lz5.default

To back these up I copy the profiles to an external USB drive. It's as simple as that. I do it manually but you could also use Windows Scheduler or a backup manager to do the job automatically. Make sure, though, that Firefox and Thunderbird are not running before you backup. "

There's also a tool that will do it for you, it can be found at the link below along with the rest of the info from the above quoted article:
http://www.techsupportalert.com/how_to_backup_mozilla_firefox.htm

"Custom" Tool Bar

I'd like to make a toolbar that was completely customized and not branded by anyone. I can't imagine it would be that hard considering every company out ther has a toolbar!

I'd like one with a search bar powered by Google. A "blog this" link. An auto-fill option. Custom button links to my most used webpages. (google, wikipedia, shortbus.ca, hotmail, gmail, livejournal, xanga, youtube & postsecret.)

See really that shouldn't be that hard... should it? Apparently it is... *sigh*

Word of the Day

(If it weren't for this I wouldn't have a job at Comcast. LOL)

Urban Word of the Day
www.urbandictionary.com

February 15, 2007: connectile dysfunction

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=connectile+dysfunction&defid=2235088

1. The inability to gain or maintain an [internet] connection.
2. The inability to print, [email], or get to the internet.

My computer had connectile dysfunction (CD) yesterday, so I couldn't check my email

Word of the Day

(This one is hilarious!!)

Urban Word of the Day
www.urbandictionary.com

February 14, 2007: valentine's day

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=valentine%27s+day&defid=815383

The reason so many people are born in October.

I was born on October first because my parents celebrated valentine's day.

My Chemical Romance & Sims 2

People have WAY too much time on their hands...

Watch this (the original My Chemical Romance "Welcome to the Black Parade" video):



And then this one... (someone's Sims2 music video of "Welcome to the Black Parade")

Song of the Week

"Teddy Bear" - Red Sovine

I was on the outskirts of a little southern town
Tryin' to reach my destination before the sun went down
The old CB was blarin' away on channel 1-9!
When there came a little boy's voice on the radio line

And he said: "Breaker 1-9! Is anyone there?
Come on back, truckers and talk to Teddy Bear!"
Well, I keyed the mike and said: "You got it, Teddy Bear!"
And a little boy's voice came back on the air

"'Preciate the break, Who we got on that end?"
I told him my handle, and, then he began:
"Now, I'm not supposed to bother you fellows out there
Mom says you're busy and for me to stay off the air

But you see, I get lonely and it helps to talk
'Cause that's about all I can do, I'm crippled, and, I can't walk!"
I came back and told him to fire up that mike
And I'd talk to 'im, as long as he liked

"This was my dad's radio", the little boy said
"But I guess it's mine and mom's now, 'cause my daddy's dead!"
"Dad had a wreck about a month ago
He was trying to get home in a blindin' snow

Mom has to work now, to make ends meet
And I'm not much help, with my two crippled feet!"
"She says not to worry that we'll make it alright
But, I hear her crying, sometimes late at night

You know there's just one thing I want more than anything else to see
Aw, I know you guys are too busy to bother with me!"
"But, you see, my dad used to take me for rides when he was home
But, I guess that's all over now, since my daddy's gone

Not one breaker came on the old CB
As that little crippled boy talked with me
I tried hard to swallow a lump that just wouldn't stay down
As I thought about my boy back in Greenville Town

"Dad was going to take mom and me with him later on this year, Why,
l remember 'im saying: 'Someday this old truck will be yours, Teddy Bear!'
But, I know I'll never get to ride an 18-wheeler again
But, this old base will keep me in touch with all my trucker friends!"

"Teddy Bear's gonna back on out now and leave you alone
'Cause it's about time for mom to come home
But, you give me a shout when you're passin' through
And I'll sure be happy to come back to you!"

Well, I came back and I said: uh! "Before you go 10-10
What's your home 20, little CB friend?"
Well, he gave me his address and I didn't once hesitate
'Cause this hot load of freight was just gonna have to wait

I turned that truck around on a dime
And headed straight for Jackson Street, 229
And as I rounded the corner, oh, I got one heck of a shock
l8 wheelers were lined up for three city blocks!

Why, I guess every driver for miles around had caught Teddy Bear's call
And that little crippled boy was having a ball
For as fast as one driver would carry him in
Another would carry him to his truck and take off again

Well, you better believe I took my turn at riding Teddy Bear
And then I carried him back in and put him down in his chair
And buddy if I never live to see happiness again
I want you to know I saw it that day, in the face of that little man

We took up a collection for him before his mama got home
And each driver said goodbye and then they all were gone
He shook my hand with a mile-long grin
And said: "So long, trucker I'll catch ya again!"

Well, I hit the Interstate with tears in my eyes
I turned on the radio and I got another surprise
"Breaker 1-9!" Came a voice on the air
"Just one word of thanks from Mama Teddy Bear!"

"We wish each and every one, a special prayer for you
'Cause, You just made my little boy's dream come true
I'll sign off now, before, I start to cry
May God ride with you, 10-4, and goodbye."


This song is interesting as there are 2 sequels to it... one in which Teddy Bear dies of his illness, it is sung from the perspective of the neighbour who apparently babysat for "Teddy Bear". The other version is called "Little Joe" and it's by Red Sovine and is the story of how "Teddy Bear" goes on to be his own trucker and comes to see Red after he's in an accident.

"I know lyrics aren't the most popular thing on E2 but this song should definately be one of the exceptions to that rule. It has to be one of the most touching songs ever written. It's a story about a handicapped lil boy who's father was a truck driver. Out of loneliness after the death of his father, he reached out via his father's CB, this song is about a collective 'random act of kindness' by caring truckers. After the 200th time hearing this song I could listen without tearing up or choking up (sometimes)... but the song will always hold a special place in my heart. Lyrics or not it's one of the most touching stories I've ever heard. If you've never heard this song - you've missed out on something special I think.

The #1 hit Teddy Bear - was (of course!) nominated for single of the year by the Country Music Association in 1976. It was also rated #4 on the 1976 Radio & Records All-Time Charts. It's clear I'm not the only one touched by this song, "Operation Teddy Bear" inspired by this song, is an annual event for the past 20 years where truckers "adopt" disabled residents in Salisbury, Marylandd.

The song didn't end with "Teddy Bear" however, a song " Teddy Bear's Last Ride" by Diana Williams followed. "Last Ride.." was about the death of Teddy Bear. Red responded to that song with the song "Little Joe" to prove that Teddy Bear was still alive, not only alive but had experienced a miracle and could walk, and was living his dream of driving a 18 wheeler. "

http://www.everything2.com/index.pl?node=teddy%20bear

Golden Boy

I watched the funniest Anime I think I have ever seen tonight. It was called "Golden Boy" and it was about this guy, 25-year old Kintaro, who travels around Japan on his bicycle as a "freeter" taking odd jobs and living to learn. It was terribly bizarre. There are only 6 episodes that have been released to NA and they all kind of are their own episode until episode 6 where it ties the first 5 together quite nicely. We watched them all in order tonight and they very much played through like a movie.

I particularly enjoyed Kintaro's obsession with toilets and the overall over-exaggerated expressions of all the characters. I also enjoyed how Kintaro always spoke his mind, even when it meant saying things that should have been in his inner monologue, or if it meant he was going to get kicked in the face for saying it.

This is an absolutely hilarious Anime and if you ever get the chance you MUST watch it!!!


The Wikipedia article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Boy_(manga)

2 Other References:
http://www.animenfo.com/animetitle,186,bgolzf,golden_boy.html

http://www.animeacademy.com/finalrevdisplay.php?id=119

AccuRadio for V-day & the Grammy's

So AccuRadio has launched a new channel just in time For Valentine's Day.

Love Songs Radio:
http://www.accuradio.com/lovesongs/


I also found a Grammy radio station that's kind of cool:
http://www.grammyradio.com/

It can be listened to through AccuRadio from their website:
http://www.accuradio.com/

Pimp MySpace

Ever wonder how some people make their MySpace page so pretty?

Well here's a couple MySpace editors I've found that are quite good and very infomative in how to pimp up myspace... like I did (LOL) www.myspace.com/drelwin

My best friend's fiancee Libby has an awesome MySpace:
http://www.myspace.com/libbydew
So does my friend Josh's gf:
http://www.myspace.com/depressive_neko


EDITORS:
http://www.myspaceeditor.org/

http://www.pimpmyspace.org/

http://www.mywackospace.com/

http://www.myspacetoolbox.com/myspace-editor.php

Mao -- ""the only rule you may be told is this one."

This is an infuriating card game that was often played when I was in college. If a new player asked to play the dealer would say something like "sure you can play" and then once you were seated you would of course ask "how do I play?" the answer, was always, "the only rule you may be told is this one."

You would then spend the remainder of the game trying to figure out the game, getting cards added to your hand for not adhering to the rules, talking out of order, or making some other seemingly detrimental faux pas.

For all the times I played I never did learn enough to be the dealer... sometimes you were told there were 8 rules and the only one sure of them was the dealer. Well I feel bad for all the people out there who couldn't play Mao, and certainly couldn't deal, and so, after much soul-searching and scouring of the Internet, I have found the "rules" of Mao and will divulge them here:

"Rules of play
Mao is a card game of the Shedding family (also called the Stops family) in which the objective is to get rid of all of the cards in your hand. It is very similar to the card game UNO or Crazy Eights.[9][10][11][12] Each player is dealt an initial hand with an equal number of cards; the exact number of cards dealt varies, but is generally either five[10][13][14][15] or seven.[9][16][17] The size of the deck also varies; it is good to have approximately one 52-card deck for every two or three players[11] (or, in games with new players, one deck for every player), but missing or extra cards are not terribly important to gameplay. Two decks combined is common; matching card backs aren't important, either. Once the cards are dealt, the remaining cards are placed face down in a stack in the middle of the table, and the top card from the stack is turned over and placed next to it.[9] In some variants, play commences with the player to the left of the dealer and proceeds clockwise;[10] in others, the dealer chooses who begins and which direction it proceeds.[9] Many variants penalize players for looking at their hands before the game begins or before the dealer looks at his or her hand.[9][13]

A player may play any card in his hand which matches either the value or the suit of the card currently lying face-up on the table.[9] The card played must be placed on top of this card, and the next player will have to play a card that matches the new one. If the player has no cards he can play, he must instead draw a new card from the top of the stack lying face-down and, in most variants, say something such as "Pass" or "Penalty Card".[9] Usually, his turn is lost and he cannot play after he draws a card.

Most variants share a few basic types of special cards. These include:

** A face value that reverses order of play when played (commonly eight,[9][13][14][17][12] but not always[10])

** Aces cause the next player to skip his turn[9][10][13][16][17]
Jacks are commonly wild, allowing any player to call out a new suit when a jack is played[9][10][13][14]

** Spade cards must be named when played (eg, playing an ace of spades requires the player to say "ace of spades").[9][10][13][15] Some variants will randomly nominate one particular suit to be constantly named when played, up to the discretion of the Mao Leader.[citation needed]

** A seven forces the next player to draw a penalty card and requires the person who played it to announce "have a nice day." If the next player also plays a seven, he announces "have a very nice day" and the player after that draws two penalty cards. The number of "very"s and penalty cards can increase as long as sevens can be played.[10][13][14][15][17] In some variants, a red seven requires the player to announce "have a nice day", and a black seven requires the player to announce "have a very nice day".[citation needed]

** In some variants in which multiple decks are used, any player who has a card in his or her hand which is identical to the card just played may play that card, whether or not it is his or her turn. Play will then proceed with the player whose turn it would have been had not the interruption occurred.

Further rules
As noted above, in many variants an additional rule is silently and secretly added to the game with each round. There may also be additional rules that are already in effect at the beginning of the game, just to get things moving, and these rules may be known to all players, or perhaps only to the dealer. The rules will vary from group to group, and possibly from game to game, but most rules fall under one of the following four categories.[6]

** When happens, perform an action (say a phrase, knock on the table, etc)

** When happens, something about the game changes

** An action must always, or never, be performed (don't straighten the pile, etc)

** Something fundamental about the game changes (a king is treated as if it were a jack for all game purposes)

Note that the listed above can be absolutely anything. Common examples include playing a specific card ("the ace of spades") or a specific type of card ("any red three"), but triggering conditions can become as complicated as their creator wishes. Further examples might include "when someone plays a face card on top of a non-face card", "when someone plays a nine with their right hand" or even "playing an odd numbered card on top of an even numbered card".[citation needed]

To "create" a rule, one could pick a triggering condition, and then one or more action and/or game effect. The spirit of the rule is generally something in good fun, and may make more sense when in context; such as saying "He's dead, Jim" when playing what is known as "the suicide king".[citation needed] While rules that unfairly sway the game in favour of one player or to the detriment of one specific player are possible and quite easy to concoct, ("Every time James plays a ten, he gets a penalty") they are generally frowned upon as unsportsmanlike.

In many variants, during the game, no speech is allowed other than that required by the rules. Some players feel that this rule reduces the amount of fun had while playing the game (especially for new players) and allow speech not required by the rules, as long as that speech does not conflict with any other rules in play. Others feel that unnecessary speech can cause unnecessary obfuscation of speech-oriented rules, making it even more difficult for new players to pick up on subtle rulesets.

Examples of particular speech rules include:

Point of Order. Any player (or only the dealer, in some variations) may at any time announce "point of order,",[9][10][13] at which point all players must put down their cards while discussion takes place. This time can be used to go to the bathroom, discuss a ruling, or to ask whose turn it really is. In some variations players have to talk in the third person. The point of order ends when the player that called point of order announces "end point of order," or "pick your cards up" at which point the cards are picked back up and play resumes. Players may not pick up their hands until the dealer picks up his own hand, or in some variations until the player who called point of order picks up his hand. This rule is often enforced by penalties such as "fondling the cards" or "premature peeking". Additionally, there may be a penalty for saying the phrase "Point of Order" during Point of Order; this may be circumvented by saying "Point of O", "P of Order", "P of O", etc. In many variants, during a Point of Order, no players (including the dealer) are permitted to touch their cards at all. Another very common name that is used is "Pivo," possibly coming from "P of O" shortened to one word. In the Oxford variation, any player can end the point of order, thus avoiding the problem of people being unable to remember (or refusing to admit) who started the point of order.

Questions. In some variants, all players (sometimes including the dealer) are prohibited from asking questions.[13]

Swearing. Many variants prohibit swearing.[9][10][13][14]

Blasphemy. Many variants prohibit blasphemy (including taking in vain the name of God, Jesus, Christ, or (in some variants), Chairman Mao.)[citation needed]

Hail to the Chairman. In some variants, playing a king requires the player to say, "Hail to the Chairman," and playing a queen requires the player to say, "Hail to the Chairwoman."[17]
Last Card. Some variants require the player to announce when he only has one card left in his hand.[10][14]

Special card names. In some variants, specific cards are given a name that is to be said instead of the real name of the card. For example, if Bob plays the eight of clubs, he would say, "that's the badger!" And failure to say anything else apart from that would result in a penalty card. This also brings up another penalty of, "speaking the name of the sacred animal out of turn."[citation needed]

Thank you. In some variants, the recipient of a penalty card is issued for not thanking the issuer of the original penalty card, although subsequent, "failure to say thank you," cards are not allowed to be issued for not thanking the issuer of that penalty card.[citation needed]

Mao. Upon playing his last card, a player must call out "Mao" to win.[9][10] Should he forget to say "Mao", or call it incorrectly, he is penalized. Stacking penalties at this point can cause much grief to a player who has gleefully placed his last card down and proclaimed "Mao", only to discover that he has broken some rule. Alternatively, a player may have to call "Mao" when he or she has one card left.

Required order of speech rules. In some variants, where multiple speech rules apply to a particular situation, the calls that the player is required to make must be made in the correct order. [citation needed] One typical order of operations is: calls resulting from the card's suit, then calls resulting from its rank, then calls resulting from the card's suit and rank simultaneously, and finally "last card" or "Mao" when applicable. For example, assume a variant where the "announce names of all played cards that are spades", "special 'have a nice day' rules for sevens", and "required call of 'thank you' upon playing a card with the same suit and rank as the top card". A seven of spades is the top card, and the player whose turn it is plays his last card, which is also a seven of spades. That player must call "Seven of spades, have a very nice day, thank you, Mao", in that order. Any variation is a penalizable offense (which would then bring the "Last card" rule back into play, etc.)

Cumulative effect of speech rules. In many variants, violations of speech rules are cumulative. Thus, if a player were to ask a question that contained a swearword, this would constitute a violation of both the "Question" and the "Swearing" prohibitions, and the player would be penalized for both.

Silence. Some variants forbid players from speaking at all, unless a rule orders them to speak.[citation needed]

In some variants, particular players are assigned particular titles, and particular rights or duties accrue to that player by virtue of that title. Examples:

** The dealer might have the title "Chairman Mao," "Mao Leader," "Mao Master," or "Game Master" and be the ultimate authority over whether a rule was broken. [citation needed]

** A player other than the dealer might have the title "Custodian of the Deck" and be the only player entitled to touch or handle cards during a Point of Order. (Typically, the Custodian of the Deck is charged with ensuring that piles of cards on the table are tidy.)[citation needed]

** A player other than the dealer might have the title "Minister of Foreign Affairs", and be the only player authorized to speak to people who are not playing the game. [citation needed]

There may be a time limit of approximately five seconds for each turn;[13][10][15] if exceeded, the player gets a penalty card and either loses his turn or gets another penalty every five seconds thereafter.

Most times a penalty is called, one card is given to the offender. If the call was wrong, the caller of a penalty can be given the card back with a reason of "bad call".[13][15][17] If the name of the game is mentioned at any time during play, the offender is penalized with at least two cards and sometimes a ridiculous number of cards, like thirty or fifty.[citation needed] Alternatively, this may only apply for the last card a player discards.

When playing multiple rounds of Mao, it is customary for a player (often the winner of the previous round, sometimes the next person to deal) to add one new rule to the game; after many rounds, many new rules will accumulate. Naturally, only the person who created the rule will initially know what it is. Some Mao players insist that two players know the new rule, so it can be consistently enforced.[citation needed] In that case, the winner tells another player about the new rule when it is created."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mao_(game)

This is an amusing site that tries to explain why the rules mustn't be divuldged.
http://www.pagat.com/eights/mao.html

What Does My Name Mean?

In a fit of boredom.... what my name means:

AMBER
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AM-bur [key]

Simply means "amber", from the English word that denotes either the fossilized tree resin or the orange-yellow colour. The word ultimately derives from Arabic عنبر ('anbar).

http://www.behindthename.com/


Amber
Female
Arabic
Reddish-yellow precious jewel, a jewel-quality fossilized resin; as a color the name refers to a warm honey shade.

http://www.parenthood.com/babynames.html



Amber

Although the name Amber creates the urge to be reliable and responsible, we emphasize that it frustrates you through a scattered and emotional nature.

This name, when combined with the last name, can frustrate happiness, contentment, and success, as well as cause health weaknesses in the liver, bloodstream, and through worry and mental tension.

As Amber, you have a natural interest in the welfare of your fellow man, and a desire to help and serve others in a humanitarian way.

You are responsible and generous, although somewhat scattering and disorganized at times.

Any jobs requiring systematic and conscientious effort, or involving any form of drudgery, dismay you.

In your work, you would seek a position offering self-expression through contact with people, such as sales or teaching, or a position giving scope to your creative, artistic talents.

You are good-natured and likeable, and people tend to confide in you and seek your advice in personal problems.

Others sense your sincere interest and desire to help, and you can always be counted on to see the bright side of any problem.

http://www.kabalarians.com/index.cfm


Amber

The girl's name Amber \a-mber\ is pronounced AM-ber. Derived via Old French and Latin from Arabic "ambar". Amber is the English name for a semi-precious gem formed from fossilized tree resin, and is also used to describe the gem's golden color. In Hindi, the name is derived from Sanskrit, meaning "the sky". Amber became popular in the 1960s due to the Kathleen Winsor novel and film, "Forever Amber". Model Amber Valletta.

Amber has 5 variant forms: Ambar, Ambereen, Amberetta, Ambre and Ambur.

For more information, see also the related name Amberly.

Baby names that sound like Amber are Amberli, Amberlie, Amberley, Amberlee, Amberlea and Amberely.

Amber is a very popular female first name and a popular surname (source: 1990 U.S. Census). Displayed below is the baby name popularity trend for the girl's name Amber. Click here to compare Amber with related baby names.





http://www.thinkbabynames.com/



The meaning of Amber
Origin: Arabic
Meaning: Jewel. A jewel-quality fossilized resin; as a color the name refers to a warm honey shade.

Origin: English
Meaning: A jewel name that became popular in the 19th century, from the name of the yellowish resin used in jewellery-making. Used regularly since the publication of 2Oth century writer Kathleen Winsor's novel 'Forever Amber. '.

Origin: Gaelic
Meaning: Fierce.

Origin: Muslim
Meaning: Variant of Ambar: Jewel. Amber stone.

http://www.andythenamebender.com/name-meanings/

Hamsters Part 24

Mark & Krista took their hamsters today, 3 of them, all 3 babies. I gave them two of the cages so that just leaves me with 3 hamsters, 2 girls (Runt & Spunk) and Mouse. :) 3 is a much more manageable number.

Mark decided to name his hamster KJ (for Kus Jr.) and I don't know what Krista is naming hers.

Line Rider

This is an awesome little java game that is uber addictive. You build a slope, hill thing for the little man to toboggan down, he can do flips and jump high if you build it right. It's so neat to see how he reacts to the hills you build.

www.linerider.com

Song of the Week

"Magic Kingdom In The Sky" - Unknown Parody

All my life I have been searching for that fabled promised land,
With my sisters and my brothers we shall walk there hand-in-hand.
Through the trials and tribulations and the devils cruel temtations.
I know that we'll all get there one day!

After years and years of wandering, oh that kingdom we shall find
and the doors might not be open but we'll gather in the line.
And our hearts will swell with pride the day those gates swing open wide and take a walk down Main Street USA!

Oh, that Magic Kingdon in the sky!
We will all be there together by and by!
We will all drink from the fountain and go riding on Space Mountain!
When we reach that Magic Kingdom in the sky!

When mother Minnie and Uncle Dopie and Saint Tinkerbelle abide
There'll be no more cares or sorrow on that heavenly TeaCup ride.
I will lay down all those fears when I put on those big black ears,
and join the choir to sing harmony!

We will sing the song of aimless soul, that one gone astray
Who were lost but now were found in the Electrical Parade
Singing Hakuna Matata, growing musketeer stigmata
In the only club thats made for you and me!

Oh, that Magic Kingdom in the sky!
We will all be there together by and by!
All Gods children shall be free in The Pirates of the Carribean
When we reach that Magic Kingdom in the sky!

Oh, the meekest and the poorest their inheritance shall see
and a zillion Japanese tourist all will join the jamboree
They will ride that holy Monorail into sweet providence
When they learn their redeemer is a mouse in short red pants!

Wont you take me to Anaheim where the sun is shining bright?
All the angels are clean shaven and the people snowy white
Where your prblems are all hidden and unhappiness forbidden
You will find salvation for modesty!

Climb in my Winnebago and if you will help with the gas
Then maybe we can finagle you a five or six day pass
May your afterlife be blessed just American Express it
Let Master Card and Visa set you free!

Oh, that Magic Kingdom in the sky
We will al be there together by and by! Mickey Mouse and all his friends will be there to meet us at the end
When we reach that Magic Kingdom in the Sky!

Oh, that Magic Kingdom in the sky!
Manufactured by that Uncle Walter guy!
We'll give thanks to that old geezer and we'll keep him in the freezer

When we reach that Magic Kingdom in the...sky!

Hamster Part 23

GP died today, luckily we were able to get him out of the cage before he was cannibalized by the babies. That leaves 3 babies. I think Mark & Krista are going to take at least 2 of them, or maybe all 3.

The baby that looks like Kus Mark named "Yuki" which means "moon" in Japanese apparently.

Word of the Day

Urban Word of the Day
www.urbandictionary.com

February 04, 2007: super bowl

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=super+bowl&defid=999839

The only show that makes me eager to watch the commercials.

Did you see the Reno 911 trailer during the Super Bowl? That movie's gonna
rock!!

Pollock Drawings

This is a really neat (and addictive) site that lets you draw random ink blots with your mouse, depending on the speed, frequency & length of your mouse movements it produces different ink blots lines. Inspired by the painting of Jackson Pollock

http://jacksonpollock.org/

*oh and a tip, if you click your mouse the colour changes.

Wondering who Jackson Pollock was? I thought you might be... here's to Wiki for an answer!

"Paul Jackson Pollock (January 28, 1912 – August 11, 1956) was an influential American painter and a major force in the abstract expressionist movement. He died in a car accident near his home in Long Island, New York."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackson_Pollock

Quote of the Day

"Illegitimi Non Carborundum"


""Don't let the bastards grind you down"

According to Safire's New Political Dictionary, this is "a pseudo-Latin phrase meaning 'don't let the bastards grind you down'. Small signs and plaques carrying this message have appeared in U.S. business offices and army posts for at least a generation, since General "Vinegar Joe" Stilwell used it as his motto in World War II. Carborundum is a trademark for silicon carbide, a leading commercial grinding substance...In politics, the motto was popularized by 1964 Republican nominee Senator Barry Goldwater, who hung the sign in his office." (--from Safire's New Political Dictionary, p. 353)

Source: Safire, William Safire's New Political Dictionary : The Definitive Guide to the New Language of Politics Random House, New York, 1993. (R 320.03 Sa1)"

http://www.santacruzpl.org/readyref/files/a-b/bastard.shtml

Watch TV Online

Here's a great site for those of you who, like me, are rebelling against the actually ownership of a cable package for your TV. Whether your motives be financial, locational, or simply due to the fact you "never watch TV", this is a great site for you.

Everyone has those "urges" to just veg from time to time and sometimes a 2 hour movies isn't what you are looking for in the way of vegging... enter online television.

This site offers links to TV shows online that you can watch from the comfort of your computer anytime you want.

http://www.alluc.org/alluc/

Pre-order Harry Potter

We must be at about the 6 month mark to the book release, I got the invite from Chapters to pre-order "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows" The 7th (and final) Harry Potter book.

I love Harry Potter

July 21st, 2007!!!

Order it here.

http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/books/item/books-978155192976/1551929767/Harry-Potter-and-the-Deathly-Hallows?ref=Search+Books%3a+'Harry+Potter+and+the+Deathly+Hallows'

Geocaching

This is a neat idea for a new "sport" in takes hiking & treasure hunting & puts them together. Probably not the best idea for me, but a neat one nonetheless.

Goecaching:

"Geocaching is an entertaining adventure game for GPS users. Participating in a cache hunt is a good way to take advantage of the wonderful features and capability of a GPS unit. The basic idea is to have individuals and organizations set up caches all over the world and share the locations of these caches on the Internet. GPS users can then use the location coordinates to find the caches. Once found, a cache may provide the visitor with a wide variety of rewards. All the visitor is asked to do is if they get something they should try to leave something for the cache. "

This site lets you type in a zip or postal code (or there are other search criteria) and it tells you about caches in your area. You have to create an account to get coordinates.

http://www.geocaching.com/

Managing MSN Emoticons

There should just be a program that lets you easily install and move and trade and store msn custom emoticons. Sadly this is not the case! There are a lot of neat programs out there that let you do one of the functions I mentioned, but none that do all of them. Here is a list of the programs I've found thus far that are of some value, although again they are not perfect:


MSN Backup

Software for the backup and installation of Moods, Winks, Emoticons, Backgrounds and User Tiles from Microsoft MSN Messenger 7, 7.5 Live 8.0 and now 8.1. With MSN Backup you can see the image preview and the flash preview for the Winks.

**The downside is, in live messenger anyways, once an emoticon has been re-added from a backed up copy friends can no longer add the emoticon to their repetoire, it somehow disables the "add" options from their msn for the emoticon.

http://www.baisoft.it/msnbackup_english.asp


CEDP Backup Only

The Custom Emoticon/Display Picture Backup Wizard is a utility for backing up the custom content, like MSN Display Pictures and MSN Emoticons, that you have added to your MSN Messenger account (MSN 6.2, 7.0 or 7.5).

**This one only backs up files it doesn't put them back in msn, but it's neat if you get a lot of emotes from friends and want your own .gif version of them on your hard drive. Oh and it comes with spyware.

http://www.sherv.net/article78.html

Emoticon Adder

Automatically Add Custom MSN Emoticons into MSN Messenger

**This one has spyware as well, it works rather well though, it lets you add in a bunch of emoticons at once, the only downside is they have to all be named the same thing like "smiley1, smiley2, smiley3," etc. So it works best if you have a large, well-sorted collection. Oh and friends can "add" your emotes when you add them through this program.

http://www.sherv.net/MSN_Emoticons_Adder.html

EZ Emoticon

EZ Emoticons is a brand new add-on for MSN Messenger 6 and 7. It allows you to use all your custom MSN emoticons without the need to remember any shortcuts! EZ-Emoticons, as the name suggests, is easy to use. You simply press Control+Spacebar in an MSN Messenger conversation which will bring up a window with all your emoticons, and then click on the emoticons you wish to use. This means you can use over 300 MSN emoticons without remembering a single shortcut!

** The downside to this one is that is comes with spyware and only manages, doesn't backup emoticons

http://www.brothersoft.com/internet/communication/ez_emoticons_34022.html


CEDP Stealer

Steal your friends MSN Emoticons and Display Pictures and more!

**This comes with spyware and only lets you steal emotes that have been used in the convo, but it is kind of cool for stealing display pictures.

http://www.sherv.net/CEDP-Stealer-4.html

Song of the Week

"She's Everything" - Brad Paisley

She's a yellow pair of running shoes
A holey pair of jeans
She looks great in cheap sunglasses
She looks great in anything
She's I want a piece of chocolate
Take me to a movie
She's I can't find a thing to wear
Now and then she's moody

She's a Saturn with a sunroof
With her brown hair a-blowing
She's a soft place to land
And a good feeling knowing
She's a warm conversation
That I wouldn't miss for nothing
She's a fighter when she's mad
And she's a lover when she's loving

[Chorus]
And she's everything I ever wanted
And everything I need
I talk about her, I go on and on and on
'Cause she's everything to me

She's a Saturday out on the town
And a church girl on Sunday
She's a cross around her neck
And a cuss word 'cause its Monday
She's a bubble bath and candles
Baby come and kiss me
She's a one glass of wine
And she's feeling kinda tipsy

She's the giver I wish I could be
And the stealer of the covers
She's a picture in my wallet
Of my unborn children's mother
She's the hand that I'm holding
When I'm on my knees and praying
She's the answer to my prayer
And she's the song that I'm playing

[Repeat chorus]

She's the voice I love to hear
Someday when I'm ninety
She's that wooden rocking chair
I want rocking right beside me
Everyday that passes
I only love her more
Yeah, she's the one
That I'd lay down my own life for

And she's everything I ever wanted
And everything I need
She's everything to me
Yeah she's everything to me

Everything I ever wanted
And everything I need
She's everything to me

Managing Blogs?

There is no good way to manage blog readings! Especially when the people who's blogs you read post on a variety of websites.

What needs to be created is a program that sorts new blog entries similar to new e-mail entries so once an entry is read it can be marked as such so if you get behind in your readings you know where you are when you log back into the program.

It should be smart enough to acknowledge there is a date and that the post under it belongs to that date as does the title and give you an interface similar to Outlook Express where along the side you have all your blog title and then when you click on them, similar to an inbox, they have a list of all the entries in there by date & title. Once you've read an entry you can then move it to the trash or file it or simply mark it as read.

There are programs that do something similar to this using RSS feeds, but the problem is not all blog sites support RSS feeds automatically and some that do, dod not have a reliable RSS feed so that when you download all the RSS feeds you are missing a bunch of entries.

This RSS feed getter is pretty good, but far from perfect:

http://www.bloglines.com/

Some blogs offer a nice service, like Livejournal & Xanga where you can subscribe to your friends blogs and then they are delivered to your inbox, or at least your friend's page, but this is far from perfect as often if an entry is posted after the send time for the day you will never see it except for manually going into their blog. Also it doesn't help people like me who have friend's posting on a variety of blog sites.

Chris

An ex-colleague of my dad's is the step-mother of a guy I went to high school with, Chris. Chris and I were best friends for the better part of high school, but as often happens after high school we drifted apart. He moved up to Northern Ontario and I moved out to Alberta. We tried to connect via phone or e-mail over the years, an attempt here and there but all that ended about 3 years ago and I had not heard from him since.

The other day, through a Christmas card from the step-mom to my dad's work I was able to get an e-mail address through which to contact the step-mom to gain some information as to Chris's whereabouts... I e-mailed her a few weeks back, but to my dismay, heard nothing positive back from her. They were in the middle of a move and she had yet to unpack her address book with the contact information for Chris in it.

Today she finally replied back with a phone number and an address! I was over the moon! I have spent so many hours over the past few years worrying about Chris, wondering how he was doing and how his life has gone. Most of my friends from high school I knew would be okay on their own, but Chris was always a little more naive and innocent and I always worried the world would take advantage of him if I weren't there to protect him... which I haven't been for many years.

I called the number provided to me and got an answering machine, a comical message by Chris himself, no roomate, just Chris! It was so thrilling just to hear his voice again, to know that my gentle giant of a friend was okay, that he was still existing in this world and sounded none the worse for wear. I hope to talk to him soon, but just to know he is okay made my day! :-)

Word of the Day

(The only way to ride...)

Urban Word of the Day
www.urbandictionary.com

January 28, 2007: VIP

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=VIP&defid=676850

The act of riding in the back seat of a car when the front passenger seat is
available.

Tommy: "Do you want to sit up front?"
Tony C: "No, it's cool. I'm gonna ride VIP."

Passion Party

I hosted a passion party at my house tonight, those things are quite fun! I've been to 2 now, my friend's debut one before Christmas and this one that she held at my house. What is a passion party you ask? Well... they sell bath products like lotions & salts, gels & body sprays as well as shaving gel. They also sell things like massage oils & lotions, sensitive area sprays, massage mits & cologne. Then there is the naughtier side of things wherein they sell lubricants, vibrators, adult toys, role-playing props, love swings, sex dice and all manner of fun things. ;)

Oh the fun things I bought! But it would be overly naughty to tell you... hehehe

So instead I will show you the website and you can see for yourself what fun things can be bought and then let your imagination run wild... :)

http://www.yourpassionconsultant.com/index.php?page=catalog&id=northernexposure

How the Girl Scouts Have Changed...

I stumbled across this site the other day:

http://www.girlsgotech.org/

It's a site for younger girls put out by the Girl Scouts USA, promoting the learning of math, science and technology among young women. It tells about careers in these fields and how important these subjects are to the world we live in.

There's some games on it as well as resources and stuff for parents.

Also there are links to their ad campaign, which is kind of neat.

Backing up the Sims 2

When it comes time to wipe the pc, or when you just want to make sure your families are safe heres's some info on backing up your sims 2 files:

Back-Up "The Sims 2" Files
Courtney Marchelletta,

Back-up your neighborhoods and downloads to be sure you don't lose them.
Whether you just want to make sure you have copies of your families or you got a new computer, keeping a copy of your game files is a smart idea. With a copy, you will be ready to get a new computer up and running with your families quickly or have a copy in case a hack or expansion pack installation ruins your files. You could move the files to a second hard drive, DVD, CD, or at the very least another folder in My Documents (like C:\My Documents\EA Games\The Sims 2 Backup\.
The Directories to Back-Up

C:\My Documents\EA Games\The Sims 2\Downloads\
C:\My Documents\EA Games\The Sims 2\Neighborhoods\
C:\My Documents\EA Games\The Sims 2\Saved Sims\
C:\My Documents\EA Games\The Sims 2\Projects\

http://compsimgames.about.com/od/thesims2strategyhelp/qt/backupfiles.htm

Star Wars + Boredom

An Essay on Star Wars... further proof people have too much time on their hands or that boredom is a very dangerous thing indeed:

A New Sith, or Revenge of the Hope
Reconsidering Star Wars IV in the light of I-III

If we accept all the Star Wars films as the same canon, then a lot that happens in the original films has to be reinterpreted in the light of the prequels. As we now know, the rebel Alliance was founded by Yoda, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Bail Organa. What can readily be deduced is that their first recruit, who soon became their top field agent, was R2-D2.

Consider: at the end of RotS, Bail Organan orders 3PO's memory wiped but not R2's. He wouldn't make the distinction casually. Both droids know that Yoda and Obi-Wan are alive and are plotting sedition with the Senator from Alderaan. They know that Amidala survived long enough to have twins and could easily deduce where they went. However, R2 must make an impassioned speech to the effect that he is far more use to them with his mind intact: he has observed Palpatine and Anakin at close quarters for many years, knows much that is useful and is one of the galaxy's top experts at hacking into other people's systems. Also he can lie through his teeth with a straight face. Organa, in immediate need of espionage resources, agrees.

For the next 20 years, as far as 3PO knows, he is the property of Captain Antilles, doing protocol duties on a diplomatic transport. He is vaguely aware of the existence of the princess but doesn't know much about her. Wherever 3PO goes, being as loud and obvious as he always is, his unobtrusive little counterpart goes with him. 3PO is R2's front man. Wherever they land, R2 is passing messages between rebel sympathisers and sizing up governments as potential rebel recruits - both by personal contact and by hacking into their networks. He passes his recommendations on to Organa.

Yoda is out of the picture by this stage, using the Force-infused swamps of Dagobah to hide himself from Vader and the Emperor. Or something. He is meditating on the future and keeping in touch with Obi-Wan via the ghost of Qui-Gon Jin, which as comm systems go has the virtue of being untappable. Obi-Wan, on Tattoine, keeps in touch with Bail Organa and the other Rebel leaders by courier, of which more later.

As Star Wars opens, R2 is rushing the Death Star plans to the Rebellion. R2, not Leia. The plans are always in R2. What Leia puts into him in the early scene is only her own holographic message to Kenobi. Leia's own mission, as she says in the holographic message, is to pick up Obi-Wan and take him to Alderaan - or so she thinks. Actually, her father just wants her to meet Kenobi, which up to this point she never has. There's a reason for that.

Obi-Wan has spent the last 20 years in the Tattoine desert, keeping watch over Luke Skywalker and trying to decide on one of the three available options:
A) If Luke shows no significant access to the Force, then leave him alone in obscurity
B) If Luke shows real Force ability, then consider recruiting him as a Jedi. The rebellion needs Jedi. Now.
But, if Luke shows any signs of turning out like his father, then C) sneak into his house one fine night and chop his head off. With great regret but it'll save a lot of trouble later on.
Knowing this to be the case, Bail Organa (perhaps at the insistence of his wife) has found excuses not to send Leia to Ben for assessment of Jedi potential, largely for fear of option C.

To be fair to all concerned, Leia has shown no overt signs of a link to the Force. Luke on the other hand has. In his home-built hotrod aircraft, with no formal fighter pilot training and no decent instrumentation, Luke can regularly score centre-hits on 2-metre targets in complicated zero-altitude maneouvres. Until he attends the briefing on Yavin, Luke has no way of knowing that hardened combat pilots would consider that nearly impossible. To him it's easy. Obi-Wan, who saw Anakin's performance in the Pod Race, is nervous.

Much of Obi-Wan's behaviour in this film, and Yoda's in the next, can best be understood if they are frankly scared to death of what Luke might become. (Ben is also scared that he himself will make all the same mistakes he made with Anakin.)

Now, with the existence of the rebellion at stake, Bail Organa has finally told Leia to go see Obi-Wan and has sent her along with R2. The original plan would then be for Obi-Wan (with optional Luke and/or Leia in tow) to leave his exile and take the Death Star plans to Yavin, where they can be put to use. R2 (with Leia if Ben doesn't want to take her) would then carry on to Alderaan to maintain the cover story. The original plan does not survive contact with a large Imperial Star Destroyer.

R2 and 3PO bail out in an escape pod, landing in vaguely the right area of Tattoine, where R2's first priority is transport. He arranges to be captured by a group of Jawas and, once on board their transport, he makes a deal with them (possibly using emergency funds stored about his person) to take him where he wants to go. The Jawas refuse to go directly to Kenobi for fear of marauding Sandpeople but they agree to R2's second request : transport to the Skywalker farm. They even get to keep the purchase price if they can sell R2 and 3PO there. The Jawas shake on it and go through with the plan.

Seeing 3PO fail to recognise the farm where he worked for 10 years gives r2 a moment's amusement but, as soon as possible, he gets away and heads for Kenobi. Luke and 3PO follow, which may or may not have been part of the plan.

On first seeing R2, Obi-Wan has a twinkle in his eye and calls him "my little friend". Well, he is. However, when Luke wakes up and says that R2 claimed to be owned by an Obi-Wan Kenobi, he blandly says "I don't seem to remember ever owning a droid." Ben has in fact owned several but the remark is aimed at R2 and translates as "You keep quiet. I'm not about to tell him everything just yet." Obi-Wan thinks fast and tells Luke a version of his past that does not involve a father who became a dark lord of the Sith. He wants to examine Luke a lot more closely before he risks telling him the real truth.

Although the Death Star plans need to get to Yavin as soon as possible, Obi-Wan needs to make one more diversion first. If the Empire knows that Leia is a Rebel leader, then they also know about her father and the whole Organa family may need immediate evacuation. Fortunately, before coming to Tattoine, R2 had already arranged transport, which is waiting at Mos Eisley, under the command of the Rebellion's other chief field agent and espionage asset. Chewbacca.

20 years earlier, Chewbacca was second in command of the defence of his planet. He's there in the tactical conferences and there on the front lines and is a personal friend of Yoda's. When he needed reliable people to join the embryonic Alliance, who else would Yoda turn to but his old friend from Kashykk? Given his background, there is no way that Chewie would spend the crucial years of the rebellion as the second-in-command to (sorry Han) a low-level smuggler. Unless it's his cover. In fact, Chewie is a top-line spy and flies what is in many ways the Rebellion's best ship.

The Millenium Falcon may look like a beat-up old freighter but it can outrun any Imperial ship in normal space or hyperspace, hang in a firefight with a Star Destroyer or outmaneouvre a dozen top-of-the-line TIE fighters. It's a remarkable feat of engineering and must have cost a colossal fortune to build. How does Han come to own a ship like that? He only thinks he does, actually it's Chewie's. Half-way through RotS, we see the Falcon landing at the Senate building on Coruscant. If it's the same ship (which of course it is) then it was the personal transport of one of the senatorial delegations - a much more likely source to commission its design. That delegatino must have later joined the Rebellion and given it the use of the Falcon. In fact, if the delegation is the one from Kashykk, then the ship may have belonged to Chewbacca as early as RotS.

Han is Chewie's front man. It's much better, and safer for him, if he doesn't know what's really going on. Chewie used to work with Lando Calrissian in a similar way but Lando wanted to settle down, so Chewie arranged for him to lose the Falcon in a card game to Han Solo, an even better choice as partner. Han and Chewie's working method is pretty much what we see in the cantina scene: Chewie make the contacts and sets up the deals, then turns them over to Han who haggles over the price and gives the final yea or nay. This lets Chewie wander the seamy underside of the galaxy pretty much at will, making contacts, gathering and passing information with no-one was the wiser, especially not Han.

Chewie persuaded Han to do business with Jabba the Hutt so he could make regular runs to Tattoine, where Chewie could pass messages between Kenobi and Organa. When R2's urgent message came through only days before, the only way for Chewie to get back to Tattoine in time was to make the "mistake" that forced Han to dump his cargo to avoid capture. As a down side, this led to Solo's getting a death mark out on him from Jabba the Hutt. Chewie was a bit upset about the need for that but figured they weren't going to be dealing with Tattoine for much longer.

En route to Alderaan, R2 and Chewie play stop-motion chess. This is the latest in a series of games they've played over the year in the back rooms of space stations and cantinas across the galaxy, but this is the first time they've done it in front of their respective straight men, so they put on a big show.

Then it all goes wrong again. Alderaan is gone and the Falcon is caught and brought aboard the Death Star. Only Han, Luke and 3PO don't know just how much trouble they're in but Obi-Wan has a plan and seems confident (but Jedi always do). Soon afterwards, R2 finds Leia in the detention cells and shouts that they have to rescue her, to which Chewie can only agree. If Vader learns he has a daughter, then they're all in deep trouble, so Chewie does his bit to persuade Han to go along with Luke's plan.

Then, on the verge of escape, Vader himself turns up only yards from both of his children, one of whom is leaking Force all over the place. Obi-Wan stages a distraction by letting himself die and go into the Force while the others escape. At this point, Chewie suddenly realises that he's been left in charge, not only of the Death Star Plans and the survival of the Rebellion but of the secret son and daughter of Darth Vader. With the Organas and Kenobi all dead, only Chewie, R2 and Yoda know who Luke and Leia are. And only Ob-Wan knew where Yoda has been hiding. Chewie is stressed out by the responsibility and R2 (who keeps making crude jokes about the whole affair) is being no help at all.

Chewie's first problem is what is happening between Luke and Leia. With a psychic link they can feel but don't understand, thrown together in a life-or-death escape, they are looking at each other with a sparky intensity that Chewie gradually recognises as Romantic Tension. He's no expert on human relationships but Chewie is fairly sure that that's Wrong, so he does the only thing he can under the circumstances - he throws Han at her. Han is at first not interested but after a while starts to warm to the idea with an intensity that gives Chewie new worries.

When they reach Yavin, Han decides to take the money and run and Chewie decides to go with him. Looked at in cold light, it's for the good of the Rebellion. Even if Yavin is destroyed, there'll be one agent who knows what's going on who can try and put something back together, but he doesn't feel good about it. When Han decides to turn around and join the attack, Chewie is all for it.

Han and Luke get medals but Chewie doesn't. Actually, Leia offers him one but Chewie turns it down. He got one of those things from Yoda about 20 years ago, but there's no way he can tell her that.

As the film ends, the three founders of the Rebellion are all gone. Bail Organa is dead, Yoda is out of contact and Obi-Wan's ghost can only talk to other Jedi. (So that would be Yoda then.) Thus, the field leadership of the rebellion has just been turned over to the daughter of Darth Vader. Chewie is really hoping that someone with an official rank greater than hers will get here real soon before he has to think really seriously about option C.

© Keith Martin 2005

http://www.morningstar.nildram.co.uk/A_New_Sith.html

Installing the Sims 2

This is an article I found that notes the order in which the Sims 2 game & expansions should be installed for maximum results:

"Order of "The Sims 2" Expansion Packs
Courtney Marchelletta

Install expansion packs in the order they were released to minimize problems.
When possible, I recommend installing the expansion packs in order. The expansion packs build upon the previous one released and include patches for previous expansions. In theory, installing the expansions in the order they were released should save you a lot of problems in the long run.

The Sims 2 main game

"The Sims 2" Expansion Pack Order
"The Sims 2 University"
"The Sims 2 Nightlife"
"The Sims 2 Holiday Party Pack" (Stuff Pack)
"The Sims 2 Open for Business"
"The Sims 2 Family Fun" (A Stuff Pack)
"The Sims 2 Glamour Life" (A Stuff Pack)
"The Sims 2 Pets"
"The Sims 2 Happy Holiday" (A Stuff Pack)"

http://compsimgames.about.com/od/expansionpacks/qt/sims2_exporder.htm

Google is Taking Over

This is an article about the seemingly "underhanded" means by which Google is effectively bugying up the internet data centers so that eventually they will be the only provider available to meet ISPs needs and will essentially become the proxy for us to tget to the internet. The article discusses the dangers this poses and how bad this large corporation is for taking such measures.

I for one would be thrilled if Google took over. I love Google! Google is my homepage (when it's not shortbus.) Google is the only toolbar I allow to live in my IE besides the IE ones. Google is my Earth program that amuses me to no end. Google is my desktop search. Google is my e-mail, although gmail does leave a lot to be desired... and, as of recently, Google became my blog provider thanks to the Blogger/Goggle merger. I say bring it on!


When Being a Verb is Not Enough: Google wants to be YOUR Internet.
January 19, 2007
By Robert X. Cringely

I spoke recently with an old friend who is a bandwidth broker. He buys and sells bandwidth on fiber-optic networks around the world. And he told me something that I found not completely surprising, but I certainly hadn't known: Google controls more network fiber than any other organization. This is not to say that Google OWNS all that fiber, just that they control it through agreements with network operators. I find two very interesting aspects to this story: 1) that Google has acquired -- or even needs to acquire -- so much bandwidth, and; 2) that they don't own it, since probably the cheapest way to pick up that volume of fiber would be to simply buy out any number of backbone providers like Level 3 Communications.

Google loves secrecy. That they've been acquiring fiber assets hasn't been a secret, but the sheer volume of these acquisitions HAS been. Why? One thought is that it kept down the price since people didn't really know it was Google snatching up this stuff (they've done it under a number of different corporate names). But if price was the issue, then why hasn't Google just bought the companies that own the fiber? It made no sense until I scratched my head and thought a bit further, at which point it became obvious that Google wants to -- in its own way -- control the Internet. In fact, they probably control it already and we just haven't noticed.

There are two aspects to this control issue, but let's take the legal one first. If Google bought a bunch of Internet backbone providers, such a move would of course get the attention of regulators from the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, the two federal agencies charged with looking at large corporate mergers for signs of anti-competitive activity. But simply acquiring legal control of those same assets through leases and other long-term contracts doesn't trigger such an examination, though perhaps it should. By renting instead of buying, Google was able to acquire its fiber assets primarily in secret. The game was over before most of us even knew there WAS a game.

The second aspect of this is the whole idea that the game is already over for control of the Internet. I touched on this concept back in 1998 when I wrote my first column about PayPal, which at the time had been offering its core service for less than a year and already had eight million members. I wrote then that PayPal had already won the Internet payments race, which time has since showed they had. PayPal's confidence was based on analysis of its own growth. Understanding the potential range of growth, looking at the rate of subscriber acceleration, and using second derivative analysis of these data, PayPal was pretty darned sure, even back in 1998, that its competitors at the time would never be able to catch up.

Topix.net founder Rich Skrenta recently took a similar approach to argue that Google, like PayPal, has already won the game and represents to most users the face of the Internet. Skrenta (in this week's links) argues that Google's dominance of search and advertising is so profound that most competitors -- especially Yahoo -- would probably be better off NOT even attempting to compete and simply let Google handle search and advertising while Yahoo provides content. He's probably correct. Skrenta argues that even if services come along that are superior to Google's, in order to become dominant they'll have to overcome Google's brand recognition with users, which is almost impossible to do. So just being better than Google isn't enough.

All this is prelude for understanding what Google intends to actually DO with all this technology, which I have only lately begun to figure out.

I live in South Carolina, a state that I can argue qualifies as a technology backwater despite being the shrimp and grits capital of the world. Why, then, are the local business pages filled with stories about Google preparing to build massive data centers here? Google is apparently negotiating to build data centers in Goose Creek, a town not far from Charleston, where I live, in Columbia, the state capital, and a third location across the border in Georgia. To read the papers, Google might choose one or another of these locations, but according to people I have spoken with who are fairly close to the action, Google actually seems intent on building in all three locations.

Why?

Why would Google need two data centers in a state with only four million residents? Why would they need to buy 520 acres in a Goose Creek industrial park when that's probably 100 times as much land as any conceivable data center would require?

Google is building a LOT of data centers. The company appears to be as attracted to cheap and reliable electric power as it is to population proximity. In Goose Creek they bought those 520 acres from the local state-owned electric utility, which probably answers the land question posed above. By buying out all the remaining building sites in an industrial park owned by an electric utility, Google guarantees itself a vast and uninterruptible supply of power, much as it has done in Oregon by building a data center next to a hydroelectric dam or back here again in Columbia by building near a nuclear power station.

Of course this doesn't answer the question why Google needs so much capacity in the first place, but I have a theory on that. I think Google is building for a future they see but most of the rest of us don't. I'll go further and guess that Google is planning to build similar data centers in many states and that the two centers they are apparently preparing to build here in South Carolina are probably intended mainly to SERVE South Carolina. That's perhaps 100,000 servers for four million potential users or 40 users per server. What computing service could possibly require such resources?

The answer is pretty simple. Google intends to take over most of the functions of existing fixed networks in our lives, notably telephone and cable television.

The Internet as we know it is a shell game, with ISPs building their profits primarily on how many users they can have practically share the same Internet connection. Based on the idea that most users aren't on the net at the same time and even when they are online they are mainly between keystrokes and doing little or nothing when viewed on a per-millisecond basis, ISPs typically leverage the Internet bandwidth they have purchased by a factor of at least 20X and sometimes as much as 100X, which means that DSL line or cable modem that you think is delivering multi-megabits per second is really only guaranteeing you as much bandwidth as you could get with most dial-up accounts.

This bandwidth leveraging hasn't been a problem to date, but it is about to become a huge problem as we all embrace Internet video. When we are all grabbing one to two hours of high-quality video per day off the net, there is no way the current network infrastructure will support that level of use. At that point we can accept that the Internet can't do what we are asking it to do OR we can find a way to make the Internet do what we are asking it to do. Enter Google and its many, many regional data centers to fill this gap.

Looking at this problem from another angle, right now somewhat more than half of all Internet bandwidth is being used for BitTorrent traffic, which is mainly video. Yet if you surveyed your neighbors you'd find that few of them are BitTorrent users. Less than 5 percent of all Internet users are presently consuming more than 50 percent of all bandwidth. Broadband ISPs hate these super users and would like to find ways to isolate or otherwise reject them. It's BitTorrent -- not Yahoo or Google -- that has been the target of the anti-net neutrality trash talk from telcos and cable companies. But the fact is that rather than being an anomaly, these are simply early adopters and we'll all soon follow in their footsteps. And when that happens, there won't be enough bandwidth to support what we want to do from any centralized perspective. A single data center, no matter how large, won't be enough. Google is just the first large player to recognize this fact as their building program proves.

It is becoming very obvious what will happen over the next two to three years. More and more of us will be downloading movies and television shows over the net and with that our usage patterns will change. Instead of using 1-3 gigabytes per month, as most broadband Internet users have in recent years, we'll go to 1-3 gigabytes per DAY -- a 30X increase that will place a huge backbone burden on ISPs. Those ISPs will be faced with the option of increasing their backbone connections by 30X, which would kill all profits, OR they could accept a peering arrangement with the local Google data center.

Seeing Google as their only alternative to bankruptcy, the ISPs will all sign on, and in doing so will transfer most of their subscriber value to Google, which will act as a huge proxy server for the Internet. We won't know if we're accessing the Internet or Google and for all practical purposes it won't matter. Google will become our phone company, our cable company, our stereo system and our digital video recorder. Soon we won't be able to live without Google, which will have marginalized the ISPs and assumed most of the market capitalization of all the service providers it has undermined -- about $1 trillion in all -- which places today's $500 Google share price about eight times too low.

It's a grand plan, but can Google pull it off? Yes they can.

http://www.pbs.org/cringely/pulpit/2007/pulpit_20070119_001510.html

Song of the Week

"Good Directions" - Billy Currington

I was sittin’ there sellin’ turnips on a flatbed truck
Crunchin’ or a pork rind when she pulled up
She had to be thinkin’ “This is where the rednecks come from”
She had Hollywood written on her license plate
She was lost and lookin’ for the interstate
Needin’ directions and I was the man for the job

[Chorus]
I told her way up yonder past the caution light
There’s a little country store with an old Coke sign
You gotta stop in and ask Miss Bell for some of her sweet tea
Then a left will take you to the interstate
But a right will bring you right back here to me

I was sittin’ there thinkin’ ‘bout her pretty face
Kickin’ myself for not catchin’ her name
I threw my hat and thought, “You fool, that coulda been love”
I knew my old Ford couldn’t run her down
She probably didn’t like me anyhow
So I watched her disappear in a cloud of dust.

[Chorus]
I told her way up yonder past the caution light
There’s a little country store with an old Coke sign
You gotta stop in and ask Miss Bell for some of her sweet tea
Then a left will take you to the interstate
But a right will bring you right back here to me

Is this Georgia heat playin’ tricks on me
Or am I really seein’ what I think I see
The woman of my dreams comin’ back to me

She went way up yonder past the caution light
Don’t know why, but somethin’ felt right
When she stopped in and asked Miss Bell for some of her sweet tea
Mama gave her a big ‘ol glass and sent her right back here to me

Thank God for good directions…and turnip greens

The People on the Bus Part 5

When I got on the bus as I walked down the aisle there was a profound smell of potpourri, the cheap kind that is way to floral and pungent to be nice except in small doses. The entire bus reeked of this scent and it was particularly strong as we walked by an older man in a ratty coat slumped in a middle seat of the bus. His hair was quite unkempt and his face unshaven, in general he was quite disheveled.

My traveling companion pointed out that perhaps he had bought cheap air freshener to improve his smell as he was obviously homeless, and is often the case homeless people are smelly.

This prompted a discussion about homelessness in general.

I just feel so bad for these poor souls who have nothing and no real means of acquiring a better existence. I mean I know there are shelters and food banks, clothing banks, etc. to help out such people, but it's hard for them. I mean if you don't have money you can't get clothes, well decent clothes, to apply for a job so you can get money and if you lost your job without a permanent residence you can't get EI from the government. I mean I know that organizations try to help but year after year I see the same homeless people around the parks and on the buses and I wonder how much good they are actually doing for these people.

Hamsters Part 22

One of the "boys" is missing *sigh* it's one of the parents, I think the mama... so it's GP and 3 babies in the cage now.