Geek

Earl and I are back home feeling quite relaxed and ready to take on the upcoming work week. Our little camping excursion afforded us the luxury of getting rid of some best forgotten stress. I’m ready for on-call and I’m eager to work on some projects around the house I’ve been formulating in my head for the past couple of days.

I’ve decided to let my .Mac subscription lapse when it runs out in September. I’m not really using it except for instant messaging purposes, save for the photo albums currently on the .Mac webservers. They are getting moved to jpnearl.com over the next couple of weeks. I’ve changed IM names on AIM and iChat to bluemarvel37 (even though I’m 38 now!). So if you don’t see me on AOL, it’s because I’m using the new screenname.

Earl and I have set up camp here at Hillside Campgrounds in Northeast Pennsylvania. We are here until Sunday. The weather is perfect, the birds are singing lovely little tunes and there’s just enough people here at this gay campground to keep the area feeling populated, but not too overcrowded.

I fired up my PowerBook to write the first of my daily blog entries and lo and behold, there’s wi-fi here. In the middle of the woods. At a campground. For some reason, I’m not surprised. And as you read this, you probably shouldn’t be surprised that I brought my PowerBook along camping. I always bring my PowerBook along whenever we travel because you can take the geek out of the city, but well, I’m sure you understand. Unfortunately I didn’t bring my camera USB cable along so I can’t share pictures until we get back home. I guess we’re roughing it after all.

Our campsite is in an area called the “Landing Strip” in that it looks like a long landing strip carved out in the middle of the dense woods. Instead of runway lights, there’s rainbow flags lining the roadway. Come this time tomorrow there will be a good number of campers and tents lining the roadway as well.

I was a regular here at Hillside back in the mid 90s, as “first Earl” and I had a permanent campsite that we used quite often. Ten years ago this weekend, “my Earl” and I celebrated my birthday together for the first time here at Hillside. It’s a birthday that I will always remember, because it’s one of the first occasions that Earl showed how much he really cared for me by throwing me a small birthday party. We didn’t come to Hillside many times after that until last year as we tended to just keep to ourselves and do our own thing. I also learned that year how much Earl doesn’t really like camping in a tent. Hence, our pop-up camper.

This year we’re here again on my birthday weekend and are keeping it to just the two of us here at our site. We’re looking forward to making some new friends and perhaps seeing some old.

As I write this entry, I realize that ten years ago I wouldn’t have dreamed about writing about camping at a gay campground in my blog. I guess I really have grown over the past ten years.

It’s going to be a great weekend!

I’ve mentioned before that I’m a Rosie O’Donnell fan and that I really enjoy her blog. Since Star Jones’ appearance on Larry King Live this week, there’s been a few messages to the “Ask Ro” feature regarding Rosie’s “mistreatment” of Star. For example:

angelawalton@aol.com writes:
You are nothing but trailer park trash. You are notqualified to carry Star’s shoes much less crtique her life. I am sick of fat obnoxious white trash like you.

I love how people feel they can hide behind an e-mail address and spew venemous tripe at people they’ve never even met. At least when I do it on my blog, you know where you can write to say your piece as well. Thankfully, Rosie let us know where we can send a message as well.

I just sent Angela an e-mail. I’m curious to see if she responds.

A couple of weeks ago, I reaffirmed right here in this very blog that I was going to get rid of my cell phone. I didn’t need it anymore, I didn’t want it anymore and I wouldn’t use it anymore.

Yesterday, Earl and I stopped at the mall so I can browse through the selection of cell phones. After looking over all sorts of phones in every shape and size, capable of doing everything but cleaning my underwear for me, I finally decided on what was right for me.

I’m still getting rid of the cell phone.

When I mention this to my sister she gets very worried that I’m going to be cut off from the rest of the world. What will I do in an emergency? I look at it like this: if I get stuck in a perilous situation with no cell phone then I’m going to have to rely on my wits and smarts to get me out of said perilous situation. I’ve certainly done it before and I can certainly do it again.

I figure if people want to call me they can always call at home. If I don’t answer, I’m not here and apparently I don’t want to be bothered. When Earl and I are traveling, I always bring my PowerBook along and there’s plenty of people out there that have no security on their wireless network; I’ll just borrow theirs and perhaps leave a little message on their desktop thanking them for their service (I’ve done it before).

So instead of shopping for that shiny new cell phone and spending $60 a month for a new two-year contract, I’m going to tuck my old cell phone away and disconnect the number and see what happens.

I’m going to live on the edge.

I took a peek at the beta version of Microsoft’s latest version of their operating system, “Windows Vista”. I figured I needed to see what the fuss is all about since I’m going to end up supporting it at work. I planned on writing a detailed review of what I thought and sharing it on my other blog, The Geekdom.

I couldn’t stand using it long enough to garner enough to write a review. Granted, it’s a beta (pre-release software) and not indicative of the final product, but I saw enough. After wading through security screen after security screen and being chastized for not having an anti-virus program installed when I first installed the program, I decided I had had enough.

I hate it. Absolutely hate it.

I approached the experience with an open mind and a desire to love it, hoping this would finally be the bees’ knees of Windows experiences. I mean after all, Microsoft has been working on this beast for the better part of a decade.

I hate it. Absolutely hate it.

At work we have to use Windows as our operating system. While I’ve kicked and screamed about this for the past year, my arguments will pale in comparison to what I will do if I’m told I need to switch my work computer to Windows Vista.

I hate it. Absolutely hate it.

So here’s the deal. I will never touch Vista again unless I’m a) being paid a lot of money or b) being held at gun point. However, if a friend or family member wishes to learn the virtues of becoming a Maccie or wants to know what this Linux people are mentioning is about, then I’m your man, I’ll be glad to show you for free.

But I have officially slammed the Windows shut.

Today I received a call from the radio station I worked at a couple of years ago. They needed some helping fixing a server I had built for them when I worked there and apparently I hadn’t shared all of my secrets with the necessary people so they were a little confused by my wizardry. I snuck over during my lunch hour and had them up and running in no time.

While I was there, I met up with the owner of the company and we chatted a bit just like old times, like that time I had to sit in his office and tell him that DJ Repulsive had told listeners that Britney Spears was at the station for an interview and when they found out she wasn’t, they had mobbed the parking lot and were disassembling the van.

Anyways, while I was there, I asked him if I could borrow the jingle CDs from over the years so I could make copies for my growing collection of radio jingles.

I think I’ve mentioned before that my absolute favorite part of being Program Director of a Top 40 radio station was orchestrating the sound of the station. I loved being clever with those little “Mr. Voice” thingees you heard between songs (i.e., “Let’s keep it simple, the other station sucks. This is Wow FM, The Beat of Central New York.”) Once I was bestowed with a budget for that sort of thing, I went for the big time and bought professionally made jingles every year.

I love radio station jingles. You can travel all over the country and hear the same jingles from your favorite station back home, just with different words. I knew that I had picked the right jingles for the station when I heard a group of kids singing them in the mall. I called this jingle “The Anthem”.

The Anthem. If you lived in Seattle in the mid 1990s, this probably sounds familiar from KUBE 93.

I first introduced the area to the screaming diva jingles with this one. This would sound familiar to someone living in Indianapolis and listening to “99 and a half ZPL”.

I picked another jingle to play every hour beginning at Friday 5:00 p.m. and going right through until Sunday at midnight. That would Weekends Sound Best. If you listened to 103.5 ‘KTU in New York in the late 1990s, that one probably sounds a little familiar.

I have a generic version of the jingle I call Move To It, and I often play it between songs while I’m spinning in a club. Another ‘KTU favorite.

And of course, simple is always best, as illustrated with one of the basic jingles you’d hear sprinkled between your two favorite songs.

Back in the day Earl would occasionally comment that I had the gayest sounding radio station in the land (go figure), as we’d kick off commercial free music with “Get ready for another Wow FM Beat Blitz (random sound clip, for example “Thank You Sir, may I have another!” or “Oh Zephyr Winds which blow on high, lift me now so I can fly!”) and then segue into a screaming diva jingle*.

Ah, the good ol’ days.

* When I first contacted Reelworld Productions to produce our jingles based on what I had heard elsewhere, I found out the female singer’s name was Karen. I was surprised by this, because I always thought she sounded like a Shaniqua and I told them so. They’d heard that before.

I am truly a blessed geek. I’ve been fortunate enough to have access to computers since 1982. I’ve been given the go-ahead to basically what I want when I get my hands on a computer, so I’ve had more than my share to learn, troubleshoot and play around with technology for a good portion of my life. I realize that many others do not have the same opportunity, whether it be a lack of access to technology or the fact that they really can’t wrap their head around the concepts involved in computer use. I fully understand that, for some it just comes naturally, for others, well, they’re just not wired that way.

In the new and improved department I work in now I’m often working with end users that are trying to that are having any random computer issue. Often the trouble can be traced to a Windows glitch but I do my best to rule out any trouble on our end of the connection before I start blaming Microsoft. I understand that in this corporately run world, Microsoft is the mediocrity that people have settled for and it’s up to us geeks to keep it all together.

Today I had a customer call that was having a problem dialing in to the network. After going through all the various settings on her “new computer”, as she called it (it was running a spiffy new copy of Windows 98) and determining that everything was pretty much set up correctly, I asked her to make sure she has dial tone on her phone.

“Oh, I don’t have a phone anymore.”, she responded, shocked that I would ask her to do such a thing. “We’re talking on my cell phone.”

“You no longer have phone service to your house with Verizon or something like that?”, I ask.

“No. I don’t use it. It’s too expensive.”

“Uh, since you don’t have a land line, I’m pretty sure you’re going to have difficulty connecting to the internet over your _dial-up_ connection.”

“Well I thought you would upgrade my account to go over the cable.”, she offered.

“Um, no. You would need to contact your cable provider for that.” I was doing my best not to go all Bea Arthur on her and get sarcastic.

She hung up on me.

The following is a well written entry lifted from a blog I follow, In The Thick Of It I’m asking for your help today on keeping the internet the way it was meant to be.

Congress is currently pushing a law that would end the free and open Internet as we know it. Internet providers like AT&T and Verizon are lobbying Congress hard against Network Neutrality, the Internet’s First Amendment and the key to Internet freedom. Network Neutrality prevents AT&T and Verizon from choosing which websites open most easily for you based on which site pays AT&T or Verizon more. Network Neutrality would insure that Amazon doesn’t have to outbid Barnes & Noble for the right to work more properly on your computer.

Grammy-nominated musician Moby made a goofy, yet poignant new video about the very real attack on Internet freedom that is happening this week in Congress. Watch the video.

Learn more and sign a petition telling congress that your Internet is not for sale to the highest bidder.

The very nice Adelphia technician came and fixed our internet connection today. Oh yes she most certainly did. She replaced a filter out on the pole and now it is flyin’. _Flyin’_ I tell ya. Apparently the filter keeps us from getting cable television (we have DirecTV) and it looked pretty fried. I didn’t want to disagree with her in anyway, because though she was a very, very nice person, she looked like she could beat the crap out of anyone she wanted to.

I shouldn’t let material things like this sway my mood but this has just made my day. We can actually talk on the phone now (over VoIP) without it s ndin l ke th s.

Now I can finally get rid of my cell phone.

“We’ll feed you pizza and wings” is what the e-mail basically said. It was an e-mail from my aunt, who was asking her favorite nephew and computer geek to visit one night this week to help out with some computer woes. I take a certain pride in maintaining the various computers in my family and I’m always eager to help out. Plus, Earl is out of town on business tonight so I would have been a little lonely around the house.

So I headed west on the New York State Thruway.

More importantly, the 50 minute drive gave me the opportunity to listen to the latest album I’ve downloaded to my iPod: “The Very Best of Stars On 45”. I never cease to be amazed by the Stars On 45 medleys from the early 1980s; there’s a different version of each medley for each country it was released in, due to musical clearance issues, and there’s a ton of variations of the “Stars On 45 Theme” and the “Stars On 45 Jingle”.

So tonight was a geeky good night after all: good music, IT superpowers used to spread good will and great conversation and laughs with my aunt, uncle, cousin and my mom.