June 19, 2003

I've been remiss of late to writing in the blog, so I'm just going to brain dump a bunch of random stuff. First of all - Looks like I will have my Associate's Degree this year (Decemeber will be graduation) - one way or the other. I need three more courses, two of which I've signed up for next semester (Music Appreciation and Expository Prose - we're going to be getting artsy). The last must be Database Programming (which I may be able to test out of), or Calculus I (which I may just study for the CLEP and CLEP out of..).

New subject: Usenet and Google - I must once again say that the Usenet archive on Google is a lifesaving device. If you don't already know - Try groups.google.com and type in some identifying search terms from a problem you can't solve. It's FANTASTIC - just found the solution to Outlook giving me an 'Operation Failed' message. I'm running WindowsXP, and had opened Outlook in a remote session earlier today - I opened Processes on Task Manager, and there was a hidden Outlook running still in the background - closed it and fixed the error....I love being able to look at problems other people have had and seeing the solution just SITTING there....it's great. - Jeffrey Harrow publishes The Harrow Technology Report. In it - Jeff said "It's not what you know, but how quickly you can find what you need to know" - that is so true. The Internet sure has changed how things are done - no longer do I spend hours on bizarre problems - the answers are right there. Go read his newsletter - it's great. I've been reading it for years.

New subject: Pepsi's Win a Billion Sweepstakes - backed by Berkshire "Where else you gonna get a billion dollars?" Hathaway. Amazing - This is just A BUTTLOAD of cash - I've got 8 entries so far. Also, I think I read somewhere that the final numbers are to be randomly picked by a monkey on their TV show special....if it matches the code for the final contestant, they'll win. Let me just ask, can TV get any stupider? I mean, yeah, I want to win a Billion Dollars, but does it have to be televised, and does it have to be done so - what's the word?! - Fox-TV-like? Maybe the special will be aired on Fox. If it's true, it just goes to show the level of intellect that the average American TV viewer has....:sigh:

New subject: The new series of Monk! The TV show on USA Network about an obsessive-compulsive detective. I LOVE this show. If you haven't seen it from last season (It wasn't as well publicized), you've got to catch it. The season premiere is tomorrow and it may bring me back to watching TV on a steady basis again, like I used to watch the X-Files each week religiously. Especially if you're a Columbo fan, this series will be for you!

Speaking of TV - I have a TV capture card (ATI TV Wonder VE, if you care) and just bought some software for it called Showshifter. The software works great - and I've been using it every day of the 15-day trial period, to record shows to my hard drive for viewing and writing to VCD. Using the TitanTV Electronic Program Guide, and searching for shows I want, I've been able to find and record shows I've wanted to watch, including an episode or two of Monk. If you have a TV capture card, you should check out this software - you can even get the professional edition of the DivX codec with it for good capture quality.

Well, out of breath for now....talk later....Rich