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Well already I’m into my next adventure with Linux. I installed RedHat 8.0 this evening, but this time I was smart about it and made my computer “dual boot”. I can go into Windows XP or RedHat 8.0 when I boot up the computer. Much more convenient this way. At least now I can try it out before wiping out the Windows system and avoid a reinstall. I should try the same thing at work.

Earl and I got ourselves into the holiday spirit a little bit this evening by watching “White Christmas” on DVD. What a charming movie. I hadn’t seen it in a couple of years and I must admit that I enjoyed it very much. It makes me realize how fast paced the world is these days – people enjoyed each other much more back then, and took their time to relax. I need to do more of that.

I’ve been fighting off the sniffles desperately and I’ve been hinging on a losing battle today. I ended up going to work very early because of personnel issues, came home and took a nap, went back to work to do my regular stuff and then came home early and slept until Earl got home. We had a wonderful vegetarian supper this evening too. Earl’s helping out with my healthy lifestyle best he can. I’m glad that he’s supportive.

The holiday season officially starts on Sunday for us with Thanksgiving dinner with my Mom. Then it’s off to Philly for the actual holiday with Earl’s family, and back on Saturday for another dinner on the following Sunday with my dad. Whew! I am determined to make the holidays mean something this year and I am determined to enjoy them. Now I don’t mean to sound like I’m going to be a bastard about it and everyone is going to be happy if it kills them. I just want to feel the true spirit of the season and not get caught up in the commercialism of it all.

Can I tell you that I am getting quite sick of the banking industry? We’ve been using a locally owned bank here since we’ve been together, but now they’re being gobbled up by some corporate entity and now we’re stuck with it. Time to look for a new bank.

There’s a storm across the valley, clouds are rollin’ in. 🙂 The weather folks have been shrieking about a Nor’easter coming through this weekend, but it hasn’t been much a big deal yet. Of course, it’s only Saturday night, let’s see what Sunday brings!

Earl and I drove to Syracuse today for the tri-weekly haircut. I actually got my haircut as well, as I’ve been growing it out with my beard. I had them shave my head. So I’m bald and bearded again. It’s a look I like. I’ll keep it for a while.

We went to Barnes and Noble where I picked up a book on programming in SQL. The IT department at work (that’s me and one other guy) has been asked to redesign a database application that was written years and years in FoxPro 2.6. Whoever originally wrote it never coded in a way to delete data, and now there’s lots and lots and lots of extraneous junk in the database. So we’ve decided to learn SQL and build it from the ground up. It’s going to be interesting, since I haven’t done anything with SQL since my Digital Equipment days back in 1990, but I’ll make a go of it.

We also went to CompUSA to pick up a laptop for my boss. The folks there were pretty much brain dead and were trying desperately to get us to spend more money than we needed to, so Earl told them off and we sent three of them to the store room to pull out computers for us. At that time, we left. I suppose it was rude but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.

I then took a nap upon returning home. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but I’ve been groggy ever since I woke back up. I don’t recommend taking naps during the day. I have a little bit of a headache too that I’m going to have to sleep off.

We watched “The Caroline Rhea Show” off of TiVo and then an episode of “Wonder Woman” off an old VHS tape I made back in the early 1990s. You know, I’ve always wanted to be a superhero. I suppose that’s one of the reasons I’ve been eating healthier, so I could kick someone’s ass if I had to. I’d have to have a groovy name like “SuperNova” or “Captain Freedom” or something like that. I’d like to be fighting for your rights in satin tights. O.k. now, I think I’m getting a little carried away.

I need to go sleep off this headache. Talk to you tomorrow!

I’ve been maintaining my healthy lifestyle pretty well this week. I must say that I am quite proud of myself. I weighed myself today and I’m at 188. Not bad for a guy that weighed 220 on Easter Sunday back in April. Today was a bit of a challenge – the office ordered Wendy’s for lunch (I know, she’s hot and juicy, ho ho, suck wit) and I got the Chicken BLT salad. Well the thing was covered in cheese, which I delicately put in a pile on a napkin. Then they provided honey mustard dressing which I gleefully spread all over the salad. As I was doing this I noticed that the dressing was 310 calories per serving. A packet of dressing has to be one serving, right? WRONG. It was 2 1/2 servings, which, ladies and gentlemen, brings us to 775 flipping calories. Jinkees! So I carefully ate AROUND the dressing and left a big pile in the middle of my bowl. But at least my body is thanking me for it by rewarding me with lots of energy and life! Then, Earl had an extremely stressful day and we both got home late, so we ordered some Eggplant “Roll Ups” and Baked Ziti (which he oddly calls Pencil Points) from the local pizza joint. Of course my “roll ups” rolled up cheese and then had cheese baked on top, so I pulled out the eggplant and chucked the rest. I’ve never done that before, but come hell or mad cow, I’m not going back on dairy. I feel to good. To top it all off, I decided at 10:05 p.m. that I needed to run a mile, so I ran the length of our property and back, which about a mile.

Now I’m relaxing in front of the computer.

Last night I reinstalled Windows XP because while I love Linux very much, I still have issues with the scanner and the webcam. Now I know it’s not Linux’s fault that the manufacturers of my hardware have not allowed them to reverse engineer the Windows drivers to make them compatible with Linux, but I don’t have the money right now to buy new stuff and I need to be able to use all the stuff I have attached to my computer. Plus, I am vain and I like my picture being updated regularly on the webcam page. I never got a chance to try out the newest release of RedHat… that’ll be my next venture into Linux I suppose.

As I’m typing this I’m multitasking and looking for a downloadable version of “The Jackal” by Ronny Jordan. I saw C.J. perform this on “The West Wing” during the first season and I’ve been looking for it since. I wonder if she’ll ever perform it again. If you watch The West Wing, no doubt you know what I’m talking about. And I think Allison Janney is beautiful. Just my 2 cents.

You know who I think is absolutely stunning is Amy Brenneman. I love “Judging Amy”, but I wish they would end the whole stalker story line. I don’t like the whole “Amy is vulnerable” thing. I don’t think it fits her style. Tyne Daly is wonderful too. I dare say that West Wing and Judging Amy are tied for my favorite show this season.

I must admit that I am somewhat disappointed in Survivor this time around. We are down to seven people and I really couldn’t care less who wins. This whole cast has been boring boring boring and I really wish it would just end. I am looking forward to Big Brother 4 next season. I do enjoy Big Brother. I know, I crank about it from time to time how self serving it is, they’re media whores, blah blah blah. And I sometimes still feel that way. They need real people on that show that aren’t all looking to be famous. Second season was famous for that (no pun intended), third season was much better. But I think the premise of the show is really cool. I think they should do more things to freak out the house hampsters (as I like to call them) like turn off the air conditioning and lights or something like that. Or turn off the water. Something cool. Whee, I guess I’m a little sadistic, don’t you know.

O.k. I’ve found a RealAudio sample of the “Jackal” but RealPlayer is being cranky about it. Gotta love DirecPC. They promise ultra high download speeds, the easiest internet ever, clear skin, blah blah blah. I’m lucky if I can it fast than a 1200 baud modem sometimes.

I was very productive at work today. I’ve been trying desperately to be more organized. You see, part of my job is to be responsible for the radio station’s billing. I have this habit of “double” billing customers (I charge them $500 for two months instead of just one for example), and while it does generate extra revenue for the company, it’s probably not the best way to go about it or to keep customers. So I’m setting up additional systems to keep things running smoothly.

I’m finally cooling down from my little run this evening, I think I’m going to call it a night.

Today is a healthy day. I am trying very hard to eat healthy. Since lunch is just around the corner, let’s see how long I hold out. I brought sweet potatoes and cabbage for lunch. Watch our world, J.P.’s got the toots. 🙂

More later.

O.k., I’m working at home on my computer and I’m using Linux. I can’t believe how well it’s working for me this time around. I am cautiously loaded RedHat 7.3 and plan on upgrading to RedHat 8.0 after downloading it at work this week. I was going to install Mandrake, but it refuses to recognize my USB keyboard during the installation, which makes it very hard to type in responses to the installation prompts, so I decided to give RedHat a whirl again. For some reason it’s working much better than it did the last time around.

Earl and I went to Buffalo for an overnight stay last night. We took our time driving out there and toured around Rochester. With Earl so heavily involved with his company’s Buffalo plant, we like to know more about that part of the state in case we need to move out there or anything like that. After touring around both Rochester and Buffalo, I have to admit that I felt much more comfortable in Buffalo. I instantly felt more at home there. Rochester has a more yuppy feel to it to me at least.

We checked into the hotel in Cheektowaga and then decided to head to the Walden Galleria mall just off the Thruway. It’s basically the same as Carousel Center in Syracuse without the tall center part. They have a really cool thing going on there – no kids under 18 allowed without parental escort after 6 p.m. And they were strictly enforcing it. I saw the security guards ID a couple of kids and ask a couple others where their parents were. The merchants say that traffic is way down, but everything there is actually spending money instead of being a menace, so that it’s all working out for the best. I found the experience enjoyable. We bought some new shoes at DSW.

We then drove up to Niagara Falls and toured around there a bit, freshened up at the hotel and then went to Buddies. It was “bear night”. Finally, a night out where Earl and I felt totally comfortable. I look forward to going back there again.

Today we drove back and stopped in Rochester again. This time it was for lunch at Tom Wahl’s. They have a great vegetarian burger. 🙂

Since getting home I’ve been playing with the computer and I must say that I am quite pleased with how it’s working. Let’s see if the trend continues.

Well I’ve been on this health kick for a couple of days and feeling pretty good. I’ve given up, for the most part, dairy. After reading about the negative aspects of dairy products, I’ve decided to just stop eating and drinking dairy products. I’ve given up caffeine as well, and I’m feeling pretty good. I thought I’d get a nasty old headache, but I must have calmed down on it beforehand or something because when I’ve tried to give it up before I had a caffeine headache like you couldn’t believe.

It was a bit of a rough Monday at work but I got through it easily enough. Personnel issues can become so muddled. Communication is this key! You think it wouldn’t be a problem working at a radio station, but it is.

Earl and I are thinking of going to Buffalo this weekend to check out gay life a bit. I know, I know – gay life in Buffalo. Believe me, it exists! When Earl and I go out on the prowl (as we call it), we tend to go to the more masculine type bars and such and hang out with the bearish guys. There seems to be some of that in Buffalo and we want to go see.

I was doing some tweeking on the website and noticed that I have some really odd pictures of us up there – especially the one when I was young and Earl’s graduation picture. It’s a good thing we don’t give a hoot of what people think of us!

I’m getting the Linux bug again and am thinking about installing it on my work workstation – Mandrake 9.0. If you know anything about this and how much better it is than the last version of Mandrake, I’d like to hear from you. I’m looking specifically for webcam support for the IBM/Xirlink webcam and for DOS programs. (I use a DOS program at work that I can not get rid of).

It’s snowing! It’s snowing! Earl and I went for a ride today to Syracuse, and then up to Watertown through the infamous Lake Ontario Snowbelt (Pulaski had a couple of inches of snow), over to Lowville and back home through the Tug Hill Region. Drove through quite a snow storm from Lowville to Boonville – now it’s snowing here at home. Very nice.

While we were out and about I picked up one of Marilu Henner’s “get healthy” books and I’m finding it to be very interesting reading. I am going to do it. The “Total Health Makeover” in 30 days – that’s what I’m working on. It’s a 10-step program and I’m currently working on two of the steps – losing the chemicals in food and losing the sugar. Let’s see how that goes. I think Earl is thinking I’m nuts, but I really, really want to get more healthy. I want to live a more natural lifestyle. I want to feel better about myself and this is how I want to do it.

We went to the new Best Buy in town last night and picked up Spiderman on DVD. This Best Buy is quite different than others we’ve been to – arranged completely different and they have single line checkouts – much like at a bookstore or something like that. Afterwards we went to Target and did some shopping.

On Friday I started Pilates. I’m working on integrating it into my exercise routine. I’ve stuck to my routine pretty well since the change back to standard time and I feel great.

You may have noticed that I’m really trying hard to write in my blog too. I’m trying to be more expressive and get things off my chest rather than just sitting on my feelings and letting them create stress inside. I don’t need that!

I have found something very interesting. As I have continued my spiritual journey as a Gnostic Christian, I am finding that people are not understanding that my belief in psychics, mediums, etc. go hand-in-hand with Christianity. They are finding them totally unrelated and are assuming that I am a atheist! I am as far from being an atheist as one can get. I totally believe in God. I totally believe in heaven. I totally believe in all that stuff. But because I believe in reincarnation and psychic ability and all that stuff too, people think I can’t believe in both and so they assume I’m an atheist. Sigh. Part of me says just shut up about religion (it must be my upbringing), but I just can’t. I guess I’m too opinionated.

I better get back to work. Just had to vent.

I am a football wife. It’s official. Just a few minutes ago, as Earl was watching the Eagles vs. the Giants on Monday Night Football, I poured him a glass a beer and gave him a bowl of pretzels to enjoy. I stayed in the kitchen and baked bread and did the ironing. How unbelieveable is that. The smile on Earl’s face when I gave him snack made it all worthwhile though.

I’ve been in some sort of weird funk today. I can’t put my finger on the reason – it’s not that I’m depressed or anything. Maybe it’s just the Monday blahs. This too shall pass. Tomorrow is another day.

I had a wonderful workout again this morning. The second day is always the hardest. I just need to adjust my routine so that I can work in my workout every morning before going to work. I felt great afterwards and I felt much more productive at work today, so I know it’s a good thing….

I see the counter on our home page is stuck at “1” again. What’s up with that. Frontpage 2002 can be so unpredictable. I think I “broke” the counter when I was messing around with the code last night. Who needs a counter anyways. Not having a counter will add to the mystery of how many people are keeping tabs on us.

I just purchased a “learn French in your car” CD series from Amazon. I’m going to make another go of becoming fluent in French. More specifically, I’d like to speak Quebecois so that I could navigate in Montréal and Québec City. I’d like to go to Montréal for New Year’s this year, and then maybe Québec City next summer. We’ll have to see. I’m intrigued to see how this learning the language in the car thing works out. It has received great reviews online, let’s see if I can become another success story.

Earl and I watched “American Dreams” off of TiVo this evening. I’m really liking that show. I hope it continues to succeed, because we are really into it.

I’ve discovered simplicity. Before 1995, there was “Windows 3.1” and “Windows for Workgroups”. Remember them? Well I’ve found tons of tools online for this classic operating system and I’m getting quite the functional system running on my spare Pentium. Could this be my future, satisfying my need for simplicity these days? Only time will tell, but I’m getting really excited about this.