Ok, I almost forgot today.

Ok, I almost forgot today. This is a process, of course; one which I’ll soon memorize and do daily. Today is an unpaid plug for my favorite OpenSource/Free software. What do I use everyday? A bunch of free stuff. I work for one of the largest companies on the planet, and my favorite toys are free. Is that ironic (or is it just funny?)? So, here’s a list of the stuff you should use if you want to be a cool corporate rebel like me:

  • AOLserver: This is the coolest. I work with AOLserver everyday, and find new reasons to love it all the time. It’s fast, uses Tcl (my favorite language, after English), is threaded, and allows me to create some really cool stuff (like the stuff in the list on the right).
  • Arachnophilia: This is my Windows text editor. It does awesome find-replaces and has cool customizable tool bars. I love it!
  • LinuxPPC: I have this Powerbook on my desk. It’s my “other” computer that I was having a hard time coming up with a use for other than watching DVD’s (a bad thing to do at work while anyone’s watching). So, I figured hey, Linux is fun, let’s try that. LinuxPPC is cool. It’s easy to install and configure, and it rock-solid. It sits on my desk as a glowing testament to cool free stuff (although I paid for my copy).
  • Ximian GNOME: For a comparative newbie like myself, Ximian GNOME is a lifesaver. It provided me with a cool interface, all the programs I wanted, and an easy-to-use updater. And, soon, it will provide a really cool e-mail client (doesn’t currently work with my mail, but I trust it will shortly).
  • Mozilla: Mozilla, how do I love thee? This would be farther up the list if it work work on my Windows machine. But, it’s the best browser Linux has ever seen, and they keep building a LinuxPPC version. How cool is that? I can now get my mail with it, and my pages look almost the same as they do in Windows. Yummy.\
    And, as I think about it, I’d switch to Linux altogether if I didn’t have to keep using Office for work stuff. I love the idea of it; that something done by thousands of different people, all for different reasons, actually works. Linux competes with operating systems built by gigantic corporations, and wins in a lot of cases. I just love the thought of it (actually, sometimes more than the reality of it… Linux still pisses me off too often). But, ok, that’s enough for today. Time to get back to work.
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Categorized as geekery

I’m going to start keeping

I’m going to start keeping this thing up-to-date, promise. It will be my lunchtime habit from now on. I will post something, ANYTHING. I’ve been writing code too long. I’ve forgotten how to communicate with people, and how to write. I can’t even spell anymore. It’s sad sad sad. So, here we go… whooooopie!

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Categorized as blogging

I’m starting to go grey.

I’m starting to go grey. I admit it. I’m 26 and have this nice grey spot on my right temple. I always figured that I would lighten and eventually go white like my dad’s doing (he’s 48, and I didn’t notice until last year… lucky him). Welp, here I am, at 26 with a grey spot the size of a quarter. My brother, Tim, and I always talked about what would happen if we started losing our hair, and I always said I wouldn’t care. I’d shave my head before I’d dye out the grey, or wear a toup. Now that I’m here, though, I’m not so sure. I’m definitely not losing hair, cuz I have to go to the hair-cuttin’ lady’s place every 4 weeks, or I get what I affectionately call “preacher hair”. But grey? Come ON!! I’m not even mature yet. So, here’s my plan. If I go super-grey, like all over, I’m dying my hair Kool-Aid Blue.

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Categorized as Kevin

I don’t know them. I’ve

I don’t know them. I’ve never even conversed with them through e-mail or in person. So, why do I care that a bunch of people lost their jobs? Meg, Jack and Ev (who didn’t lose his job, but losing a large chunk of a dream has to hurt). Through their writing, a lot of us have come to know them, and many others. It’s a great testament to the idea of weblogging that their problems have affected me, and apparently many others, so deeply. Good luck to all of you, and if I could, I’d hire you tomorrow, even though I don’t know you other than by your writings (and webcams).

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Categorized as blogging

You know, we just got

You know, we just got back from Tucson, and you’d think I’d be all refreshed and ready to work after a week of loafing and losing Pinochle games repeatedly (and not to make them feel good or anything; they just kicked our butts) to my in-laws… I’m not. The same old frustrations are still here. Why do we think that things will be different if we’re gone for a week? Duh… silly man.

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Categorized as family

So, here we are in

So, here we are in sunny Tucson, visiting Jen’s parents. It’s so nice to be away from work, and home and everything for a week. I even hesitate to check mail, but I guess I have to. Well, we’ll enjoy the company, the Pinochle, the food and the weather for a few more days and then head back to chilly DC… oh, and work too.

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Categorized as family

So, it’s apparently all over.

So, it’s apparently all over. Poor Al, poor us. You know, I was raised a Republican, and as I’ve gotten older and moved out on my own (well, not my own, with my wife and Max) I’ve moved closer to the middle with lefty-type leanings. I voted for Ralph Nader. I decided we needed a non-Nazi third party, and I wanted them to get federal matching funds for next time. Whoops. Oh well, maybe next time.
Wait, where was I? Oh yeah… this whole process has been fascinating. From Jesse Jackson comparing the election to Selma, to the constant spinning by both sides, to the courts, I have loved it all. I just hope we never have to do it again.
I hope that we can go to an electronic system (not web, just electronic), like touch screens or something where the votes are counted instantly, and you have a chance to review your choices before submitting your “ballot”. Wouldn’t that be nice?

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Categorized as politics

So, I watched CNN until

So, I watched CNN until 11:30 last night. I have one observation. Why did they start talking about it (and not just CNN, ABC cut into Once and Again right @ 10) before anyone at any of the networks had started reading it? It made me laugh, and my wife cringe to watch poor freezing Charlie on the steps of the Supreme Court freezing his butt off being peppered with questions from Judy and Bernie and trying to read the 55 page packet. I really think they should let him go inside. He looks ill. And it’s not like CNN was the only one! Every network had people reading and talking at the same time and no one really knew what it meant. My favorite exchange was the about twenty minutes from 10:40 to 11 on CNN when Jeff Greenfield and Roger Cossack went back and forth going, “Oh, yeah, I haven’t got there yet but it looks like Gore is screwed.” “Screwed? Yeah, Jeff, that’s how I’d put it.”
And I was really staying up to see if Bush or Gore would make a statement. Boy was I disappointed. James Baker’s 30 second, “Yeah, this looks good. This has sucked on all sides, good night” was such a disappointment, I just went to bed.
Oh, one more thing… Gore MAY not concede today?! He MIGHT challenge the slate of electors? I’ve been with the guy, and been ok with all the legal battles, suits, and worthless charges of racism, sexism, anti-semitism, etc from both sides. But, pleeee-ase. You have to know when you’ve lost! Take it gracefully. If he bows out now, he’ll probably win in 2004, and the dems will regain the house and senate in 2002. That’s not so bad. If he continues to fight it, he’ll just hurt his chances for next time.
Wow, this is my longest post EVER.

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Categorized as politics