Over again

Well it's the end of the school year once again and my thoughts of finally being free from stress are shown to be an illusion once again as well. I really need to get my priorities in order sometime soon. Anyway on a more interesting note, So far this month I have had 963 junk e-mails to my 308 non-junk emails. Thats not as bad as I thought. Although that doesn't count the 100 or so of the 308 that are emails from businesses I use such as HP, Southwest, etc. Also goodby to Charmed, Malcom in the Middle, and that 70's show. Most of the series finally focus has been on Will & Grace which I have lost interest in over the years. Well thats it for now.. I will try to post more thoughts this summer as I have neglected this journal for a great while.

Watch 70 legal TV stations for free

"Here is a collection of 70 free legal channels that you can watch from your browser. Includes Game Network, Tv Cartoons, Horror Channel, Comedy Channel, Sci-Fi Channel, Lifestyle Network, 8 Adult channels and a lot more." How is this legal? Now there would be no reason to pay for cable.. except for my DVR, but we all know TV hates DVRs so why offer something that would only leave DVR owners using cable? Although some network channels have shows on their websites now with un-skippable commercials now.

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hosting

jeff's favorite host. $166 for 2 years, includes 1 domain, add 5 more for just the registration cost. (for registration I use godaddy)
the cool thing is because you have 6 domains possible you can sell those for nearly the same amount. But for me so far I have 2 accounts and haven't done anything but 7 domains that I do for free.. Practice maybe?
one site is hour-of-darkness.com and another is my sister's: Littlestroyalty.com

Pan African Studies: notes

Since no-one reads this i thought i might just use it to take notes today. 1652 -> Jan Van Ri 1800 -> British went to india before it devided brought indians to SA to work in Sugar Cane Plantations as enslaved people. Boers: Dutch / Afrikaaners... Boer War.. Created language: Afrikaan and raised it to national language.  Boer War - Fighted for "Their land".  1948 -> Gave discrimination "Apartheid" a name. Word comes from word apart but means more than a people seperated.  / Apartheid    +- Whites 4+ Million     |   ( Men from the british empire and Boers     |    and desendents )    +- Indians 2+ Million     |   ( Honorary Whites)     |    +- Coloreds 2+ Million     |   (desendents of the whites and     |   the Indiginous Women )    +- Indiginous 45+ Million / Apartheid / Education   +- Whites $1000 per child    |   (Full Curiculum)   +- Indians $200 per child    |  ( Math & Science )    +- Coloreds $100 per child    |   +- Indiginous $25 - $15 per child 87% Land owned by Euro Affricans *8% of the people. You had a pass to go into different areas higher up the apartheid ladder. or even be in your own area.  You could only go into white area if you get a stamp that lasted 72 hours.  You could get it for service to whites. Compounds called Hostels.  Worse than many prisons here.  To work in the cities non-whites had to live in hostels cut off from family.Euro Affricans could have indiginous servants live in"guest" homes. Work would be around $10 a month. husb & Wife must work, 72hr rule made it so you had to live on the out-side of town you had work so husb & wife couldnt live together

2006, the year for mergers complete

Well there is another big merger.  And I find I have little problem with them.  They end up with better products and (sometimes) cheeper prices. At the turning of the callendar two biggies were SBC and Adobe.  Both eating up companies nearly as big as them.  While Adobe kept its name over macromedia, SBC can't be blamed for using the more globaly known AT&T (now at&t).  But this week when going over roxio's website another change at the new year was Sonic Solutions born of Roxio and Sonic.  Both are good solid programs with their own sets of problems.  With a fresh new company me hopes they can turn out a mega DVD solution for the PC that will match the ease of creating DVDs on the PC. BTW, I just got a new widget for my powerbook that lets me post anything from my dashboard. (for those who don't speak mac, it means its now easier to post, maybe I will write more often.)

jack in the box

I often go to Jack-in-the-box because they take my visa and i rarely carry around cash. Well one of my favorite things is a sourdough jack combo meal with cheese potatoes (instead of fry's) and rootbeer. In moments of pure abandon i will even get a shake instead of a rootbeer. Well i hadn't mentioned this until now because i havent pulled my pics off of my phone forever. In early jan. I went to a drive thru in folsom after a long day of work and they charged me for the full meal plus the wedges and milkshake, they wern't paying well attention, i don't know what the deal was but here is a snapshot of the store. Not in good condition. even the counter was a mess.

Random thoughts

Movies i need to buy / rent mirrormask 2/7/2005 (rent DVD) Narnia 2006 (buy DVD) Corpse Bride Double Disk Widescreen Special Edition (when it exists) PRIME NUMBERS: Who knew they were so interesting. In fact the discovery Prime numbers is a great achievement. The largest of the largest was found on February 18, 2005 by Dr. Martin Nowak from Germany. It was the 42nd Known Mersenne Prime found. Finding a Mersenne prime uses the functions M(p) = 2p-1 and P(p) = 2p-1(2p-1). To understand what makes a Mersenne prime confuses me. You have to know about perfect numbers among other things (A number is a perfect number if you can add up its divisors and equal itself. for example you can divide 6 by one, two, or three and 1+2+3=6!). I find "Twin" primes much more easy to understand.. They are prime numbers that are only two apart. For example 11 and 13 would be twin prim numbers. 3 and 5 are not prime twins as they are prime prime triplets along with 7. (I don't believe 2 is part of the "twin" set as it is only one away from 3.

Big accident

Last Saturday night what a odd night. I stayed home while mom and everyone went to Reno for my cousins wedding. I had a group project for school and went to CSUS after which I saw that my keys were locked in the van. So after AAA broke into the van for me I decided to stop at Safeway for some Aquafina or something. Since the last time I went to safeway it had stopped being open 24hrs. As I walked back to the van I noticed a few Ambulances and Cops, Thinking nothing of it I headed back home. I saw a few more. When I got to landis there was a flipped van and a smashed Honda. It was obvious that no-one walked away from the cars. Being so close to home and with the whole family out of the house on the roads it made me ponder on the scary possibilities. (photos to come once I find my phone.)

digg - Submit Item

The lighter, brighter Nintendo DS system goes on sale in Japan next month. Nintendo DS Lite is about two-thirds the size of the original Nintendo DS and more than 20 percent lighter. Its availability in other regions will be announced at a later date.

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wow, very odd

I got the weirdest email from microsoft, as a member of the Windows Live (Live.com) beta member. Here it is...

From: communications_msn_cs_enus@communications3.msn.com Subject: Your Winter Groove from Windows Live(TM) Date: February 3, 2006 12:22:59 AM PST To: jholdaway@hotmail.com Dear jeffrey, With the holiday season long gone and summer still a ways off, who couldn't use a little more spring in their winter step? Put old man winter on hold and get your Winter Groove going by clicking on the following link: www.imagine-live.com/wintergroove/live.html OR Copy and paste the above link into your Web browser. Best regards, Your fans at Windows Live™ You are receiving this message because you are a valued Windows Live member. If you have any questions about our privacy policies, please read the Windows Live Privacy Statement at http://privacy2.msn.com/tou/en-us We value our relationship with you; however, if you would prefer to no longer receive future special e-mail offers from Windows Live, follow this link: http://privacy.msn.com/choice/default.asp © 2006 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Microsoft, Windows Live and the Windows Live logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. Microsoft Corporation, One Microsoft Way, Redmond, WA 98052 .. Message-Id: <20060203002259.9A29.9309-33041@communications3.msn.com>

tech pressure

Well schools started and I am stressed enough, and now is when my boss wan'ts me to launch a computer Service Promotion. I can understand how he is needing to have security in the business for his family and all, but I don't know who he think will go on service calls repairing computers. To be successfull we will need to do all the calls that come in and a few a day would be all i could handle... Anyway I am researching it and finding good articals on the web. Here is a good guide to see if you should be a tech. Criteria for being a tech You need to be able to agree with a lot of these questions: — I almost always solve my own computer problems on my own, or as the result of my own research. — I talk with colleagues all the time so we can share ideas, about tech and non-tech matters alike. — My friends, coworkers and family often turn to me for help with their computers and peripherals. — My own computer probably would work very well if I didn't keep installing alpha, beta, development and trial software on it all the time. — I've totally hosed my own computer a number of times because I just wanted to see what would happen when I... — I have been known to spend hours on solving a problem, non-tech and tech alike, without growing bored. — My home is littered with electronic gadgets and computer-related devices. — I spend as much or more time on the Internet than I do watching television, and very little of that time is spent on chat. — I can usually quickly find what I'm looking for on the Internet. — I read constantly, and just about everything. — I rarely have a problem explaining myself. — I am somewhat sociable, but I can work for long periods on my own, too. — I'm friendly but not garrulous. — Although I hate the term "self-starter," that's what I am. — I believe all computer peripherals and devices are hot-swappable unless someone else is around. — I have never impersonated someone of the opposite sex in an AOL forum. — I only keep my AOL account so I can more easily get my email from any web browser anywhere. — I get a lot of spam, but I block or filter most of it, so it's not an issue for me anymore. — I never read the manuals when setting up new electronic toys, but only later, when I'm sitting around bored with the toy, just to amuse myself. — Unix is like a lover to me: I don't understand it very well, and it makes me angry sometimes, but I am still in love with it. — I have some computer books on the shelf, but I only use them as references, not as literature. — I see nothing wrong with strapping a wireless PDA with GPS to the dog so that we can log his roaming patterns through the neighborhood. http://www.koozie.org/2004/10/freelance_tech_.html Starting / promoting your business as a tech http://ask.metafilter.com/mefi/27151

GoDaddy Attacks Torrent Sites

GoDaddy (domain registrar) started to ban Bittorrent sites. The first site they banned is Mybitorrent. The next step could be mininova, isohunt or torrentspy. These three belong to the biggest (torrent) site on the web and are all registered with GoDaddy. I just switched from godaddy for hosting to These Guys (BlueHost) I found out about them from my WOW guild (thedungeonmasters.com) and they rock. Its like 6 domains for less than ten bucks or something (i cant remember cause i paid for 2 years at once). They have too like 250GB transfer and 10GB space.. more than i could use.. and 2500 POP EMAIL, the best web host company i know of. I used to be a godaddy only guy (back when they weren't big and network solutions lost the monopoly). I still use them for registration, but i stoped hosting a few months ago. (although the new free hosting with purchase stuff on Diggnation they were talking about has got me interested again.. ) Oh, and the other deal i found recently is this 20 free prints which after shipping costs $2.06, not free but cheaper than sam's club or elsewhere (like 10 cents rather than 14) and you don't have to wait an hour. Just select them and in a few days they are at your door. If you like me you wouldn't be able to find the time to burn a disk and head out to sam's club to do it in that amount of time and this is no effort.

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Sony PS3 and Nintendo Revolution to Ship in 2007?

I think this is a very possible situation. Believe it or not, those of us who look for release date rumors are a minority. The majority will likely remain unaware of such maters until advertisements & promotions begin. And they can count on us to not give up on a system no matter how long before release. Waiting well over a year (maybe 2) can give Sony & Nintendo a great advantage over following the xBox by just 6 months. The first year of the Xbox360 will have a lot of current gen games. Imagine for the next 12 months, a visible percentage of games released on the Xbox360 and also on Playstation 2. While gamecube releases high profile games like "The Twilight Princess" and a few multi-platform games. By the time 2007 roles around, parents and kids are thinking of the Xbox360 as not a new generation gaming system but a current system. And a concurrent release of both Sony and Nintendo systems would propagate that view. (And they have both stated that they don't believe they are competing for the same audience, so they wouldn't mind a concurrent release.)

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The holiday's end

Now is the end of the holiday's. We had a great time with Gingerbread houses, christmas Caroling, Christmas Eve and Newyear's eve. And christmas lights are getting big here. It started (and continues) with Dove Court, where it took about 20 minuets to drive past. It has every house decked out with lights and a theme. I enjoyed the beach christmas house.. Another street (about 10 times as long) has joined in the last few years. It isn't as themed but makes it up (for me at least) with mostly disney cutouts. This year, and right around the corner was a house set up with relays. Now this was a new idea this year seen on the internet (Download) then filmed & purchased by Miler Light for a commercial. The house around here had the same Manhattan Steamroller music and more songs this last week ending on Dec. 31st. They only had 48 relays rather than 86 like the ones on the net. However they had trees in the front yard which made for a better show. It took over 3 miles of extension cords, 3 days to set up and 8 hours to program the song.

The new year is looking up...

1. Didn't have work monday, 2. Downloaded Dr Who (New Episode) !!! 3. New Arrested Development (not the best episode, but its new) 4. Scrubs is back on TV. (Pushed back to now to focus on 'The Office') 5. Got to a point in 'Mario & Luigi, Partner's in time' requiring a check of Gamefaqs.com 6. Movies: New World (if it lives up to the hype) Nanny McPhee (likewise) Underworld 2 (maybe) Big Mamma's House 2 (Nooooo! kill me now!)

Sam's Club Photos

As i was waiting for Sam's Club Photo section to upload my 15 photos (which is the most you can do) and to the side there is a notice that only 6MB files can be uploaded but may not exceed 200MB. I'm no math major but I can tell you that 15 pictures at 6MB each has no chance of exceeding even 90MB! Interesting.

Circuit City

UPDATE ** Circuit city as a whole has come through, The few (two) bad apples at the store I encountered were more than likely just uninformed or under pressure to pull through.. I got the promised 24/24 card promotion and all is well. I have been to the same store since and have only been met with kind, knowledgeable service. I will likely stay away from the morning shift anyhow... Mom really wanted to get Aaris a Nintendo DS for Christmas. 160 bucks for the system and game was a bit much. So Emily and I decided to get one (or rather go in on half). So today I decided to try the great offer of Circuit City and have it ready for pickup by paying online. However the Citrus heights store was not ready and didn't care about the $24 and I was mad and on the way to work. So I wrote a letter.. In the end they did what they could. I just hope they talk to the specific store to stop future problems. (And I will return to the Arden one which has always impressed me.)

I was impressed by the offer to have a order ready in 24 min. of the item being ordered. I happen to have a very busy schedule and looked at the website for a Nintendo DS and Mario Kart bundle. I made the purchase and went to the store on my way to work. I live about 20 Min from the store in Citrus heights CA. I only had time for a ten min detour. I noticed they had a 24 min. Sign hanging in-front of the web order checkout. I went up to the clerk and presented my Credit Card and ID. He went in the back for about 5 min. I asked the other Clerk jokingly how can anyone know that their order is ready and not being gathered when they come in? He replied that that is how it worked, you get it within 24 min. of coming to the counter. 'Otherwise' he said 'you might make the order at home and come 24 min later and demand the reward.' I should have got his name, but he had a white shirt instead of red. Apparently that is how the Citrus heights store runs it. A few min. Later I got my item as he found it and he scanned it in to the computer and printed a ticket. I left angry at myself that I didn't read the fine print. On a whim I called the Arden store and asked how the promotion worked. If I came in a half an hour after ordering would it be waiting for me? They said that if I come in after 24 min. and it isn't waiting for me on the rollers, behind the counter, etc. then they would give me a gift card. I asked what stops me from coming in at 24 min. and demanding my card for the few min. it takes to get the item. They said that the rules cover the fact that waiting in line does not count. Please check Order 4427-2378469 if it was scanned in at 24 min. I don't think it was but I may be wrong as I live only 20 min. away from the store and they could have found it and scanned it in the back in that 4 min. I would like to know the time because they did not give me any receipt with a time-stamp on it. Least of all I feel that Circuit City has deceived me or at the least mislead me if the 24 min. Actually starts from the time you enter the store. Thank you Jeff Holdaway

The response came today, it was {SURPRISE} a form letter.

Dear Jeff Holdaway: Thank you for writing to www.circuitcity.com I understand your concern regarding our 24/24 In-Store Pick-Up Guarantee. I apologize for any inconvenience caused while seeking assistance at our store. The following exclusions are posted on the website and in the store: 24 Minute Pickup Guarantee applies from timestamp on order confirmation email until the time order is ready for customer pickup. Guarantee excludes customer wait time in store lines. Offer valid on orders placed at circuitcity.com or by phone during pickup store's normal operating hours up to 30 minutes prior to closing. Guarantee not valid the day after Thanksgiving, 12/26 or 12/27. $25 minimum purchase. One $24 gift card offered per qualifying in-store pickup ticket, which must be claimed at time of pickup and is good for future purchases. We hope this information is helpful. For further questions, please feel free to contact your local store. You can find the store nearest you by using this link: http://www.circuitcity.com/ccd/locator.do. Thanks again for writing to www.circuitcity.com Sincerely, Virendra K. Customer Support Coordinator Contact ID Number: xxxxxx

I responded with this.

Thank you for the form letter. Surprisingly it DID help me; to decide that I was LIED to by the store manager and have no reason to believe that if I "contact [my] local store", as you suggest, that I will not be met with the same response. Please find out when the order 4427-2378469 (ticket number 442702378469) was scanned into whatever it is to tell the time it took to fill the order. Please let me know when it was as they were extra careful to only let me see the pickup ticket and not any papers that may have a time stamp. And to clear up any misconception i had not "Inconvenience.. seeking assistance at [your] store" as you put it. I WAS THE ONLY ONE THERE. The item was not ready and the only question is if it was ready within the 24 min. time period as they would only tell me the time it took them to find and pull the item and not the time it took from the order conformation. Thank you Jeffrey Holdaway

Today they reinstalled my faith in the store. I may have rather been treated well and honestly but they did respond quickly and kindly today (on christmas?) good will towards men I guess.

Dear Jeffrey Holdaway: Thank you for writing to www.circuitcity.com I understand your concern regarding the experience you had at our store. We apologize for any inconvenience you may have experienced at our store. In light of your situation, I have requested that a $24 gift card be sent to your home. The gift card will arrive via United States Postal Service. We appreciate your patronage and hope to serve you again. Please quote the Call ID number or IM number provided at the end of this e-mail for any future correspondence. Thanks again for writing to www.circuitcity.com Sincerely, Utkarsh T. Customer Support Coordinator Contact ID Number: xxxxx Call ID Number: xxxxxxxxxxxx IM Number: xxxxxxx

Holliday season is upon me

I always feel a bit of pressure the holiday season. This year there is school classes to fight for, work every day, shopping to get done, and more. Although I still love Christmas time. Here are some pics from gingerbread houses saturday. i hope to get the caroling photos from my cousin(s) as i left my new R817 camera at home.

I really need to have let someone else have the camera from time to time.. I'm never in the shot :P

Teen's blog confession forces him to plead guilty plea in fatal crash

Teen who caused fatal car wreck surprised that admitting to guilt on his blog may be bad for his defense I think the following passage explains blogging to a T...

The institute estimates 4 million teens between the ages of 12 and 17 write blogs, a term derived from the phrase Web log. About twice as many regularly read the online ramblings. Bloggers often use photos, graphics and music to convey mood and personality. The trend baffles the parents of the teens involved in the crash. "I think it's dumb," said Tina Nagy, Robinette's mother. "I don't want 3 million people in the world knowing what I do or what I think. But that's today's teenagers."

It is a new phenomenon, being able to write a public version of the private diary. It still remains quite private as the article said, more blog then read blogs.. I think this type of diary blogging is different then a journalistic/political/news/informative blogs that are read by thousands. I know i used it myself to look back over this year for our family christmas newsletter.. I had forgotten much of what happened this year.

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Google Zeitgeist '05

Google just released their Zeitgeist 2005 with all the top searches and interesting search trends. One i found interesting is how tight the WMD campaign and interest in WMDs were. After the campaign the term dropped back to normal almost overnight. (and it is interesting to note how interest declined throughout as well.


it was also interesting to see how terms I live with every day, like ipod and podcast are only recently becoming publicly known.


Although Star Wars fans will argue that the dark side is part of the force it is a cute chart :P I would like to see more in the movie section next year.


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