After the race was over, I was all upset and wanted to buy more stuff from California to fill that now cavernous void in my heart that only a man-made race across the country between two competing delivery companies can fill. But then I remembered, I have to install my new motherboard and then I can play games! While this won't fill the man-made race gap, it's a start. So I did that in a shade under a day... actually, two hours, but that thing's a pain in the MOTHERF$@#$@#%! ASS!! Oh well, it's over, and it works. And it works well.

I had been watching the development of a certain game, and it prompted me to buy the motherboard. Last week, a playable demo came out for F.E.A.R. (First Encounter Assault Recon). It's insane. It's like a police game, you're going in, taking out bad guys, slowing down time so you can dodge bullets and stuff, then all the sudden you're crapping your pants. I can't say why, but it is one scary ass game. The graphics are unbelievable, and the sound, at times, sends chills careening down your spine. It's scarier than Doom III, which, before I played the FEAR demo, was the scariest game I had played. At least in Doom 3, after you get scared, you get to kill whatever made you crap yourself. Alright, I'm saying too much. I anxiously await the October 10th release date of F.E.A.R. My hair will turn white. This was a 10 minute demo and I had nightmares. Imagine what the WHOLE GAME will do!

I ordered the motherboard and got it shipped FedEx, and Linux and the mug a few days earlier and it was shipped with UPS. I got the cheapest method of delivery that I was offered on the respective sellers' websites. The Linux and the mug website offered UPS ground for almost free. The motherboard offered FedEx Saver for $3. UPS had a bit of a head start, but they didn't know that they were racing. The shipping methods used are considerably different estimated delivery times, to be fair to UPS. I'm not trashing any company here, I was just having a little fun. But, they both have a little work to do to catch up with DHL. I placed an order at 8pm one night, it shipped from somewhere in the middle of Ohio, the next day I was getting out of the shower in the morning and DHL was there with my package. That was crazy.

Anyway, some more details about the shipping methods:

UPS - BASIC service from California. UPS Ground, essentially. This has an estimated time of delivery of 5 days.

This same service from FedEx claims to take 4 days. Who knows. I'll stick with FedEx Saver. It's like second day delivery without the money.

But, all this really means is that I'll be able to play games tonight and hold off another day on developing the new crap I need to do for this website. Woohoo :) Sorry, UPS, you're still the bomb. High five.

Jeff told me this as I got in yesterday. There was agony and pain running through my body. Marc Jackson made the Sixers the most entertaining team in all of the NBA last year, and I am proud to say I watched nearly every game. But let's look at the overall formula of last year's Sixers.

Allen Iverson is the best player ever. I've said this before in the beginning weeks of this, the revised version of my website. The way he slips between defenders, or shakes a defender off by faking a move to the basket then just draining a fade-away jumper. He makes the most incredible drives to the basket, turns on a dime, and finishes with the most unbelievable shot you'll ever see, then does it again the next possession.

Andre Iguodala can slam with the best of them. I covered him way back when also. Towards the middle of the season, all the way to the end, the CN8 announcer (Marc Zumoff?) would get giddy like a school girl when "the other AI" got the ball and half of a court all to himself. He'd say stuff like "HERE WE GOOOOOO!!!!!!" and "WATCH THIS!!!!" That announcer is another part to the excitement of the team. He does a great job.

Kyle Korver, of "K squared = 3" fame. He would get a pass and before you knew it, it was down from 3 point land. Many games were won because of a shot from Korver in the very late stages of the game. Allen referred to him as "Sniper". Also, his defensive abilities, his hustling, like diving all over the place, sacrificing the body for the team, just a very exciting player to watch.

Samuel Dalembert was the big man. Blocking shots, hammering down slams, dribbling sometimes like a little man. He's gonna be great this year.

Then there's Marc Jackson. A solid player, not particularly great, but didn't make a lot of mistakes, had a heck of an 18 foot jumper, and a bigger heart than anyone. Jeff and I would literally laugh our asses off sometimes when watching Marc! He would get into a rebound battle under the basket, then you would hear Marc. He just screams. It helps him. He'd scream, jump a few times, then get the ball and put it back up and in. He always had a smile on his face except after he just slammed it home or put a rebound back in, then he looked like he was going to rip someone's arms off. My favorite was when he was guarding Shaq. Shaq did his normal, very illegal, using a smaller player as a launch pad routine. This time it happened to be Marc Jackson. Well, Jeff and I are watching, when all the sudden you hear, from the underbelly of Shaq, "HOLY SH%T!!!!". Like, really loud. I still laugh about it.

All of these things combined for the most exciting Sixers I've ever watched. It'll still be exciting this year, everyone listed above, with the exception of Marc, is coming back for this season, plus we have a new coach, Maurice Cheeks, and every player seems to like him more than Jim O'Brien, so that's a bonus.

So, goodbye Marc. Jeff and I will make it a point to catch some of your NJ Nets games next year.

I never reported this, but I broke my motherboard on my very expensive gaming computer a few weeks ago. This is how I described the mishap on a forum I visit:

my F#%$@#!ing motherboard broke... it was my fault though. stupid crazy ass place for a 5 gallon bucket of paint... i'm kidding, i tried to put in a pci card but there wasn't room, and i snapped one of those little chip things that sit on the motherboard and make them work...

Woops. So, eventually, after like a month, I decided to finally replace it because I want to play video games like I do sometimes. So, I ordered the motherboard. Here is that forum entry:

I miss playing games sometimes, but I want to play F.E.A.R. more than anything. The demo is out. So I ordered that b@#$%@ today. Plus, I have a 250GB secondary hard drive on there, with no room in my other computers for it, and I need the space. I hope I got a good one, it'll definitely be better than the last one though... it got a score of "5 out of 5 eggs" on newegg.com. plus it has a very similar layout to the other motherboard, which is HUGE. the last thing I want to do is empty out my liquid cooling and recut tubes to make that s@#$% fit.

It's thundering and lightening here pretty bad, I'm scared so I'm gonna go under my desk. (19th floor is a lot closer to that stuff than the 1st floor).

hopefully, by friday, you'll hear me mumbling sweet nothings to you on teamspeak after I put a bullet through your mother F@#%@#$ing dome.

A few liner notes. Teamspeak is a program used for talking to other people over the internet for free and in real time. There are a few people that I talk to, but I haven't been on in a while, because it's normally used for trashtalking in games and coordinating strategies in a first person tactical team based shooter. FEAR is going to be a cool game. And a motherboard is a very necessary, very fragile computer part. I ALWAYS censor myself, on any webpage I go to. Anyone who knows those words can tell right off the bat, but what if little kids visit? I can't make them not read it, so I figure I'll just make it safe for everyone, for the most part. These posts are "as is".

The other part of this story is my converting every other computer I have to Linux. When Windows Vista (formerly Longhorn) is released, I won't and can't go buy a copy for each computer I have. If they're lucky, I might buy one for the gaming PC. Here is the post about me ordering Linux. So that's also on the way.

It's a race (as the title indicates). Linux and the coffee mug are somewhere between San Pablo, CA, and Drexel Hill. They left San Pablo on August 6th at 5:01 AM. It's anyone's guess where it is now. The motherboard was ordered yesterday, and left Los Angeles, CA at 9:16 AM today. However, Linux and the mug were shipped through UPS, and the motherboard was shipped through FedEx Saver and is estimated to arrive on Thursday, August 11th. Obviously the UPS package has a bit of a head start.

Place your bets!

You:

1) know the sport inside and out.
2) love the sport.
3) know the players and their numbers.
4) end up hating the team for at least a few minutes every game.
5) always boo your favorite player at least twice in a game.
6) always question management.
7) always question referees.
8) never root for your team, you demand of them.
9) hate every other team and their fans with a passion.
10) know how to handle a disappointing season.

Add on! Try not to be too sport specific, like "Every game you curse Ed Wade." I'm talking the all encompassing list. Some of mine might suck, so suggest changes too.

I saw a few movies in the last couple of days.

Coach Carter: Good, but during the whole movie, you only see someone miss a shot ONCE. At least during game time. I guess you can't really show them missing, there's no point in showing it, but that's my only qualm with the movie. Other than that it's really good.

Constantine: OK. Not the worst Keanu Reeves movie I've ever seen. I like Rachel Weisz, but not as an actress. She's right up there with my Jennifer Connelly obsession.

Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events: Different. I like it though. Jim Carrey is good, you see many characters played by him.

Alexander: Whatever you do, avoid seeing this movie at all costs! This morning I laughed, Beaner slept over last night, and he was watching it as I was heading out for work, and I said to myself "Boy, is he in for some disappointment. That sucks." Jeff and I turned it off before it ended. I don't know how many chapters are on the DVD, but we didn't wait til it was done with 32, which is pretty close to the end, but we couldn't take it anymore. It kept jumping back and forth, showing "uncomfortable" scenes, using long words and obsolete language, and pretty much wasn't filled with action at all. There were two war scenes, and I was thinking it's a movie about Alexander the Great, who pretty much conquered the known world. But, there was a lot more to it than that. The war scenes were pretty cool. It would be a good movie if it was told in a different way, and got rid of some scenes.

Hostage: Pretty good. Suspenseful, but really F@#%!@#ing bloody! You see exit wounds, dudes getting engulfed in fire, a kid dying and being soaked in his own blood, a psychotic or two, corporate crime, etc. Good but you question the need to show a 7 or 8 year old boy's face as he takes his last breath. There's no need. The kid in "Pay It Forward" died, and you got the point, but they didn't show it.

Team America World Police: There was always a little chuckle in every scene, just because of the way all of the little puppets walked and everything. But there were some laugh out loud scenes too. The sex scene and the talk about "Dicks, A^%@holes and P@#$@#ies". I will not be reproducing it on my website though :-P I don't know if I will be watching it again, though. I don't feel compelled. However, I am not upset that I watched it, especially since we watched it right after Alexander. It was much needed comic relief.

I have to buy me some more good movies. Contact and Rounders are still great, and are always scheduled for a 11:30 PM showing in my room, but I need more.

Jim sent me this picture from Kadena AFB in Okinawa, Japan.

Click on the image, it's gigantic. But look really close at the closer jet. You can see his name on it! That's bad ASS.

Now I feel left out. Out of the two of us, I am the only person without their name on a kickass fighter jet that can take on whole armies and break the sound barrier in no time, and also accelerate in a vertical climb. On top of that, I'm the single one. But, I'll bet Jim doesn't work in a skyscraper in Center City Philadelphia... Woohoo. I got one on him there. :)

This one is not the one that was left out of the previous upload. I'm going to save that one and make it a "previously unreleased" song in a few years when I sell my first album. The new one is called "Put Your Feet Up". That's exactly how I recorded it. It rivals those showoff moments like Stevie Ray Vaughan's playing behind his back or Jimi's playing with his teeth. It's all about showing off. I was leaning back in my chair too, which has arms, so it makes it difficult to solo down the neck... so excuse any mistakes :) And listen to it how it's supposed to be listened to, drinking coffee, smoking a cigarette, and just relaxing. It is a relaxing song, but the chords I used were neat. They can be solo'd over in blues scales or in Jazz scales, so that's what I did. It reminds me of SRV's song, "Lenny", which he wrote for his wife. That song rules.

I just added another song. "Winding Down". Download that one too because it rules. You can put your feet up to it too.

I was at Mara and Billy's place last night. We played A$$hole. But instead of the normal drinking mechanisms, which are those beautiful red plastic cups or straight from the artistic glob of green glass that is the Yuengling bottle, we used Pilsner glasses. Beer doesn't stand a chance in these things.

It's like they were perfectly crafted through years of testing. The world's top minds got together, got bombed every night, and the next morning reworked their current designs and got ripped again that night. There is no better way to spend tax dollars. Cheers to those guys for their hard work.

Actually three, but I haven't uploaded the other one yet, I'm still listening to it. The new ones are "August" and "Out of my Butt". Click on August 4th on the calendar. Out of my Butt is great.

@#$!@#$!^!

Stupid ass music companies and MICROSOFT. Yes, Microsoft had something to do with this, believe it or not. These are copy protected CDs that allow you to copy the songs to your hard drive, but guess what... only in Windows Media format. And as you may know, Microsoft is to music as Microsoft is to secure operating systems. They can't be good at one thing, they have to take over the whole world and suck at everything. Ok, but enough about Microsoft.

One guy says : "Apple's the leader in digital music. It doesn't make sense to release too many copy-protected CDs if they're incompatible with iPods. But Apple could also be at risk if these CDs keep selling well."

Apple will never be at risk. There are 30 million iPods out there. They have 67% of the market share, and they support all non-proprietary music formats (mp3, essentially) and their own. They would never support Windows Media because MS would never let them. And not a lot of people are going to give up their iPods for a stupid portable CD player. I had one, they are so not convenient at all compared to an iPod.

But then a record exec at Sony BMG tells how to work around it!

"Sony BMG, a joint venture between Japan's Sony Corp. and Germany's Bertelsmann, said users can get the music onto iPods by transferring files to a PC, burning them to a CD, ripping those and transferring them into iTunes."

That's the same way to get iTunes bought music stripped of the DRM. Or to download a certain program that I know of thanks to Zatko. It'll only take a few months or shorter before someone hacks this format and there's a program out there to rip these cds directly into Apple Lossless format :)

Roenick's the man. But we got Peter Forsberg (again). I wish Roenick the greatest success in the future, to a degree. I just don't want his team to beat our team in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. He's a class act and he's hilarious. And a good all around guy. You can read up more on the Flyers here, here, there's a piece here, here, here, a web search here and any other website in Philadelphia. It's big news.

Only on my laptop though. I don't much like the distro that I installed, for 2 reasons. It's Mandrake Linux 9.1. First reason, they made it too much like Windows. Second reason, here's the website. I don't think it's supported anymore! Woops. It was the only copy of it I had that was already burnt to CDs. I have Shrike (Red Hat 9.0) but in ISO form on one of my computers. However, I don't want to get into that for its big company and proprietary additions to Linux. RPMs are a Red Hat addition, which are mainly used for installing applications. When I use Linux, I don't double click applications. I use this server, and everything involves running gzip -d on it first, then tar -cvf, since they're just binaries with no install. You set them up manually, drop the script into /etc/init.d/ (which on my current installation happens to just be a symbolic link, like a windows shortcut) and you're done. It's beautiful. However, since I can't use Mandrake, I'm going to install Gentoo Linux. Their website is still up, they are still developing and supporting the latest kernels, and have added some neat things using standard linux techniques (unlike Red Hat's RPM). You can still use Red Hat without ever once using an RPM, so, really, I'm just not using it because I want to try something different :) Red Hat's still darn good.

Here's the funny thing. I actually bought Gentoo Linux. Well, I paid to have CDs with the software delivered to my house. To do this with Windows, you're looking at $179 (cheapest that I ever got it on ebay) PER COPY (per computer!). The beautiful thing with Linux (if you know how to use it), you buy a CD for ranging prices (I've seen $1.50 plus S/H), and you can install it on a bazillion computers. I paid $9.99 for the install CDs and $9.99 for the packages CDs. Plus I bought a mug :) I always contribute to Open Source software that I like. I paid $20 for a free FTP client, FileZilla. It's nice though, but sadly, I won't be using it anymore, as it's only available on Windows.

I've had Linux running as a desktop before, but ever since I got this server, I've been learning more and more about it, so I now will feel more comfortable using it all the time, and I'll probably learn more on the desktop, and I'll be able to do cooler things on the server. That's a cool prospect.

Anyway, geek me up in the comments again.

I live in the only town called "Drexel Hill" on the entire planet. I can't say the same about where I work... Philadelphia.

I like taking the bus in the morning. I used to take the bus to school between 1st and 3rd grades. We moved to within a block of the school during my 3rd grade. However, some things have changed, some good, some bad. For instance, we used to bounce up and down on our seats so that when we hit a bump, you would bounce much higher, which would prompt laughter from all over the bus. Our bus driver back then was a giant a-hole. We pissed him off pretty good. When you would miss the school bus, that's it... you had to walk. Jeff and I missed a few times and would trek the multiple side roads and one main road into school. The school bus was free for me. Now, you see different people every time. Some people you see a few times a week. Now, I would have the option of taking my car, but I find it a lot more enjoyable letting someone else drive, plus parking anywhere besides in my driveway sucks. Now, it's anyone's guess if there will be people at the next bus stop. Now, you almost never see kids on the bus. And now, my destination is a lot cooler.

That paragraph is stupid.

Work is cool because sometimes we'll talk about stuff at my manager's desk. Work related stuff. But, I get in by 9 and all the sudden it's 11:30 and I haven't done any programming, research, analysis, design, or whatever I'm doing that day.

I saw someone get punched yesterday. This man and woman were arguing at the bottom of the escalator, and she threw a pretty decent jab and caught him under the chin. He was calm and didn't have a fit, so that was good. It could have taken a much worse turn if he had really been an angry type of guy. I didn't want to have to whoop some ass.

Man, this post really sucks.

This just in...

Top Sports Cities (Article Registration required. The origin is The Sporting News)
1. Boston
2. Philadelphia
3. Detroit
4. Miami
5. Los Angeles/Anaheim
6. Houston
7. Baltimore/Washington
8. Dallas/Fort Worth
9. Atlanta
10. New York/New Jersey

Individual Sports
Baseball: St. Louis
NBA: San Antonio, Texas
NFL: Green Bay, Wis.
NHL: Philadelphia
College basketball: Philadelphia
College football: Iowa City, Iowa.
NASCAR: Bristol, Tenn.

NFL : Green BAY?!!?1?11 We have so many more people than them, the best and most raudy fans in the F@#%!#! world, and we get to the NFC Championship game EVERY YEAR. That's bull. I don't even know that we win Hockey, but we'll take it :) I like all Philly sports, but it's a football town. I can't wait to see the Flyers, next year's Sixers, 10 years from now's Phillies, and who doesn't freakin love the Eagles. Green Bay sucks and I hope they lose every game this year. Oh, and I know someone who will be terribly offended that Philly also wins college basketball. Anyone who lives in a little city called "Lexington" in that small southern state known as "Kentucky". Those guys are nuts.

I can't put into words what my friend Todd's website means to me. See, Todd and I are like twins, mentally. I'd say we look alike too, but I'm much better looking ;-) But, he has been traveling down a path that I only started on, or maybe I'm not on it yet, perhaps I'm in the woods staring at a rock, procrastinating, waiting for the rock to move so I can get to the path. But I'm near it :) Todd's posts are filled with spiritual thoughts, life struggles, inspiration and hope.

Todd's website has a "comments" section, but I never have anything to add to his posts because they pretty much say it all. Browse around a bit. Or read these prime cuts:

Eternal-Global Perspective and the Need for Significance
That What is Mortal May Be Swallowed Up by Life
Pretty much every post in this topic
Can't Sleep

It would be unjust for me to not make a post about his site, I've read it 4 times. So it's more like it's about time. Thanks Todd, enjoy the 2 new visitors :)