Candid Camera.

Ekiga

As I continue to revel in full out geek mode this week, I take great delight in getting a webcam working on my Linux computer for the first time in my computer history. Naturally I made a goofy face for such an occasion.

The addition of this webcam will certainly make it easier for the warrantless wiretappers to keep track of my conversations online. Perhaps I’ll moon the new camera repeatedly to make it interesting for them. I hear my ass is quite identifiable.

I joke about the bill that was passed by the Senate today but in truth I am saddened by it all. I feel like our great democracy is crumbling before our very eyes. Most think that 9/11 was the greatest crime against the United States; I believe the greatest crime is her citizens willingly giving up their freedoms, all in the name of freedom. It’s interesting to note that last October Obama said he would filibuster this bill, today he voted for it. (Kudos to Clinton and Schumer for their ‘nay’s.)

My choices in November are increasingly feeling like “the lesser of two evils”, once again.

9 July 2008 by Geek Political BS. Why. 0

Steamy Night.

It is currently 79 degrees fahrenheit. I should be in bed, I have to get up early tomorrow. I feel tired. I’m "fading" somewhat in front of the computer. Still, sweat beads on selected spots on my body. This has kept me from hitting the hay.

Tomorrow a cold front should make an appearance in our area. It will be preceded by thunderstorms starting around 2:00 a.m. This will make for a busy day as Mr. Telephone Man tomorrow.

I should get some sleep.

Someday we’ll buy an air conditioner.

8 July 2008 by Ponderings and Musings 1

Market This.

As a person that used make his living by writing ad copy for radio commercials I occasionally feel hypocritical for having no tolerance for marketing ploys. I’m not a fan of clever commercials of any type; I don’t feel inclined to buy a car from a man that can belch out the word “huge”, I don’t feel the need to add two blades to my razor just because Tiger Woods swung a ball at it and I certainly don’t find my work day infinitely cheerier because one of the Baby Bells has populated their software interface with pictures of happy people.

Now, I don’t mean to sound like a crank but is it really necessary to put all these smiling, fake, airbrushed people throughout a software application? I’ve been asked many times why I don’t use Microsoft products and while I’m not a fan of their products I don’t hate them to the point of disuse. I just don’t like the fake happy people on their packaging. Their boxes always have pictures of people nearing orgasm over the data in a spreadsheet. Now I know every office has interoffice hanky panky going on but how often is Microsoft Excel included in the fun? I hope not very often.

The aforementioned software interface has pictures of people staring at you no matter what screen you are on. Most the models are of Asian decent and I often wonder why this is the case. Are they reinforcing a stereotype that Asians are more “techy”? Once in a while a white man will pop up on the screen, he’s grinning from ear to ear next to his ancient Sperry text terminal. I hope he’s not saddled with that clunker today! The pictures rotate in a seemingly random fashion, today I had three Asian women staring at me seductively, as of if my attempts to add “speed dial” to a customer account was actually one click away from a steamy session on X-tube.

I think I’m offended by the fact that marketing folks try too hard to make the picture balanced. There’s a token black, a token woman, a token Asian and a token man. Why not just have a group of “people”? Where’s the Native American? Where is the Russian? Where is the Irishman? Where is the Indian? Where is the lesbian? Where is the gay man? The fact that they are trying not to offend me by including an unlikely cross section of people in these photos offends me. If you have to include pictures of people on the site, just make sure they’re human. That’s all I ask.

Now, back to my date with PowerPoint.

8 July 2008 by Why. 0

Test Post.

So I’m in pure geek mode this week. I’m relatively obsessing on my armada of computers at the house. I have an excuse, it’s coolest in the cellar and I can’t think of a better way to beat the heat than to spend time in the cellar doing things I love to do.

This is a test post from my Linux computer to see if the free software Drivel fits the bill. So far, so good.

8 July 2008 by Geek 0

Command Central.

I added a computer to the studio this afternoon. I found a really good deal on a display computer at Best Buy whilst I was browsing around. I had been toying with the idea of adding a Linux desktop to the stable and this computer was perfect for the project so I made the purchase.

The new computer is made by eMachines and has a decent AMD 64-bit processor with 1GB RAM. It has room for upgrades which I’ll most likely being doing over the next year or so as needed. I have it running OpenSuSE Linux 11. I’m liking the experience thus far. It’s good to have a computer to play with without mucking up the Macs too much as I tinker.

6 July 2008 by Geek 0

Summer Memories.

Many of my vivid childhood memories are pre-1977 which was the year we moved into the new house. Before moving we lived in a 10×55 mobile home with a 10×50 addition that my Dad had built shortly after my sister was born. The mobile home sat on a piece of property next to my grandparents. It was in the middle of a cow and horse pasture. Two sides of our back lawn were surrounded by electric fence. My Dad built the new house, a two-story colonial that he still lives in today, across the street from the trailer. Aside from some help from the two guys that worked at the family contracting business, my uncle and my grandfather, my Dad built the house pretty much on his own. It took him two years.

Four people living in a small mobile home was an interesting experience. During the summer we’d have one more living with us; one of my city cousins would come up for some “fresh country air” for a week. There was one bathroom and if we needed to go when someone was in there we’d run across the lawn to my grandparents and use their guest bath near the side entrance to their house. The addition to the trailer allowed for us to have a laundry room, but it was small and only had room for the dryer. The washing machine was in the bathroom. My parents’ bedroom was in the addition and utilized the original back door to the trailer. I don’t know how they had sex because the door was rarely closed. There was a gun rack built into the wall. The third room of the addition was the living room. The old living room in the original trailer became the dining room. It had a small round table that barely sat the four of us. My sister and I shared a bedroom, complete with bunk beds that took up the length of the north wall. Mom once tried to give my sister her own room by splitting the bunks and using the small bedroom behind the furnace, but it wasn’t long enough for a bed. Only a crib would fit in there and she had outgrown that years ago.

I like to think that living in the trailer kept us a close family as there wasn’t really any place for us to escape away from each other. Summer afternoons were spent romping around the farm; I’d hop up on a tree stump and jump into the fenced in pasture and do my own version of running with the bulls. The cows didn’t care if we were in the pasture, but once in a while a bull would get cranky about it. If I yelled “boo” in his direction really loud, he’d stop heading towards me. I’d then run to another tree stump in the pasture and jump back over the fence to my own side.

One of my favorite memories from the trailer was a birthday party for my sister and I. Our birthdays are five days apart and we shared a family birthday party. My city cousins and aunts would come up with Grandma and Aunt Jenn; it was one of the rare times that my city cousins would mingle with my country cousins, who lived relatively close. We’d have a cake that my Mom made, complete with those pure sugar candy letters and numbers from the Acme.

When I think back to the happiest times of my childhood, it’s often to a time when we lived in the trailer.

birthday.jpg

6 July 2008 by Ponderings and Musings 3

Sylvan Beach.


Flickr Link.

Earl and I headed to Sylvan Beach for the afternoon to celebrate Independence Day. Upon our arrival I immediately discovered that the battery in my digital camera was dead; thank the Universe for a relatively decent camera in the iPhone.

Sylvan Beach has a year-round census of just over 1,000 people. Located relatively half-way between Utica and Syracuse, Sylvan Beach is a village and popular summer resort destination on the eastern shore of Oneida Lake, the largest landlocked lake in New York State. Though close to the Finger Lakes Region, Oneida Lake is not considered to be one of the Finger Lakes, as it has a primarily east-west orientation (the Finger Lakes run north-south).


Flickr Link.

Oneida Lake is a popular destination for people of all shapes and sizes and socio-economic standing. The “downtown” area is populated with several resort type shops, restaurants and beach side bars. The radio station I used to work for would hold it’s annual Summer Bash Concert on the beach each year in the late 1990s. The largest artists we had at one of these gigs included Alisha and Kim Syms.

There is also a 1960s era amusement park reminiscent of Seaside on the Jersey Shore (not Jersey Shore, Pa.) Earl and I kicked off our afternoon with some games of Skee Ball. We’d never played Skee Ball together before; I like to think that he was impressed with my Skee Ball skill. The “270” on the machine to the left of Earl in this photo is my highest score of the 10 games we played. We gave all of our prize tickets to a youngster that was playing at the machine next to Earl.


Flickr Link.

After our fun with Skee Ball and walking the beach a few times and admiring the scenery, we stopped at Eddie’s Restaurant, a large restaurant with it’s original 60s motif. To be seated we stood in line under the sign that said “Parties of 1 to 4 ↓". The other line said “Parties of 5 or more”. If memory serves correctly, Grandma and Grandpa Country would head to Sylvan Beach several times during the year to eat at the restaurant. I had the broiled salmon with cole slaw and french fries.


Flickr Link.

One of our stops along the walk was to snap each other’s photo along the Barge/Erie Canal. It’s at Sylvan Beach that boats traveling along the famous canal are dumped into Oneida Lake, which they must cross it’s entire length to pick the canal back up in Brewerton as they head towards Buffalo.


Flickr Link.

Even though Sylvan Beach is relatively close to our home, it’s rare for us to make the drive to hang out in the area. With today’s gas prices, I’m certain that we’ll do it more often this summer. There are more photos available on my Flickr account and they can be found here.

4 July 2008 by Fun and Games Dept 1

Rude.

I don’t know why the members of the American society continue to amaze me but they do. I’m not talking about a good type of amazement; I’m referring to various incidents that leave me shaking my head. I often wonder if I expect too much people or if I continue to live in some sort of Pleasantville fantasy-world. In the past 36 hours I have encountered the following:

1. After the “Yes, We Have No Donuts” incident (as outlined in the previous entry), we headed over to the closest convenience store to see if they had any cookies to satisfy our craving for something sweet. We were in luck, there were two types of individually wrapped, moderately appealing cookies. Earl and I snatched one of each up and I took them to the register. The cashier said nothing. She scanned each cookie and then stared at me. Apparently it is now up to the American consumer to look at the cash register display to know how much to pay the cashier. Thank goodness for technology else we’d be relying on the good ol’ reliable ESP. I gave her a 20. If I was standing in my cherished Ireland, the cashier would then say “Thank you” for giving her money, but the permed-one (as I had nicknamed this cashier in my head) snatched the money and threw a lesser amount in my direction. It was up to me to pick the cookies off the counter and walk out. Never mind asking for a sack. I dealt with it, but I couldn’t keep my mouth shut after all because I said, “This is where you say thank you.” Then I left.

2. I worked the early shift this morning. I’m loving being back at work. I’m loving the crew I work with, I love the company I work for and I love playing with all sorts of technology. I’m not a morning person but I do my best to deal. The phone rings. I answer, thanking the caller for calling and saying “This is J.P., can I help you?” “Are you having a problem?” was the response. I was REALLY tempted to say, “Yes, I feel gassy today” but instead I said, “Not that I’m aware of, are you having an issue?” This is when the caller said, “The internet is down and it’s usually you’re fault.” Now, let’s be real. The “internet” wasn’t down as if it was there would be worldwide mass chaos. After some well-worded questions on my behalf, “May I ask who’s calling?” “What sort of trouble are you having?”, I discovered that the caller wasn’t even a customer of the company I work for; she had just randomly picked a number in the telephone book and called it. “You provide the internet, fix it!” She hung up on me when I told her I couldn’t help her because I had absolutely no control over her little piece of the internet.

3. At the end of my lunch hour I headed back to work along the freeway that usually ends up on my video blog entries. As I approached the downtown interchange, the car in front of me slammed on her brakes in the middle of the freeway at the interchange before my exit. She stopped TO LET THE CAR ENTERING THE FREEWAY ON IN FRONT OF HER. There are no traffic jams in this area; cars and trucks are moving around 70 MPH and she stopped in the middle of the freeway. A quick-reflexed jaunt onto the shoulder and my Acura remained intact. After the car pulled off the ramp and in front of her, she was on her away, undoubtedly looking to create more mayhem elsewhere.

Earl and I were having a conversation with my sister and brother-in-law last week about our feelings about the United States and her people. I’m not as much of a fan as I used to be. It’s one of the few points in life that Earl and I don’t agree on. My sister doesn’t agree with me either but my brother-in-law, the Canadian, agrees with me. Like many Americans I’m fed up with our government and all it’s shenanigans. I don’t know if it’s the current administration setting an example or what but it seems like people are becoming downright rude or stupid or both. I’m not looking for a Mary Poppins existence, I’m hoping for just some basic civility. I try to live my life being the best person I can be. I set a high standard for myself that I strive to achieve and I guess it’s dumb of me to assume that others would do the same. ‘Mediocrity’ is the new level deserving of a standing ovation.

And that is why I dream of living elsewhere.

2 July 2008 by Fun and Games Dept 0

Nailed.

I’ve been avoiding Dunkin’ Donuts since the whole ridiculous Rachel Ray incident, but Earl and I were feeling a little bit of a sweet tooth this evening, so we whipped through the drive thru of the closest store.

“CanI help ya”? asked the little voice from the little speaker. She did not sound amused. She tacked on some marketing message about an iced coffee that I ignored.

“I’d like two Boston Cream Donuts”, I barked into speaker.

“We don’t have any donuts”, replied the speaker in a somewhat agitated voice. I must have interrupted a break or something.

“You don’t have any donuts at all?”, I asked, perplexed.

(exasperated sigh), “No, Sir” said the tinny, high-fidelity squawkbox.

“There are no donuts at Dunkin’ Donuts”, I confirmed.

“No Sir.”

“Bye!”, was my final, abrupt bellow into the clown’s mouth that was missing the clown.

And with that I sped through the drive-thru like a madman. Am I unreasonable for expecting Dunkin’ Donuts to have donuts? I think not. So no more Dunkin’ Donuts for me. Not now. Not ever.

Oh Tim Horton’s, where are you?

That is all.

1 July 2008 by Why. 5

You Can Be A Star.

So I’m putting together a new series of DJ mixes and I’m looking for the assistance of my gentle readers. I need audio files of various people saying: “DJ SuperCub” and “Beat Assimilation” in their sexiest voices. These audio drops will be processed and mixed into my future mixes. I’m thinking the varied accents of my gentle readers will sound AWESOME.

You don’t need to go into a recording studio to do this, just use the microphone on your computer and say “DJ SuperCub” and “Beat Assimilation” in your sexiest voice, save the audio file (format doesn’t matter) and e-mail it to imachias-at-gmail.com.

I’ll list your name (if you wish) with a snippet of how you sound in the mix in a future blog entry as my way of saying thanks.

Update: My first “Beat Assimilation” mix is available on the DJ SuperCub site, just follow this link. I think this is the first time I’ve featured my “Mr. Voice” liner voice on the blog. I’m one of the “whispers the name of the station” radio guys that are popular now.

1 July 2008 by DJ 1

About J.P.

Just a guy with a husband. We’ve been together 28 years and he still makes me see fireworks on a daily basis. Hiker. Storm Chaser. Private Pilot. Tech Guy. Hackerish.

Weird? Eccentric!

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