Last year was a great year for toys... I bought myself a new digital camera. A new PocketPC (@migo PD-600c).. got a DVD Burner for Christmas......
but that was 2003....
this is 2004!
It's time to buy my first new toy of the year!
yes - I'm ricing up my computer! =P
I haven't decided on the black or the white yet... (keep in mind this is JUST a new case).
All of the equipment I'll be putting into this thing (ie. my CD and DVD drives) are all white/beige.. so if I go for the black one, that means I'll have to paint 'em all.... otherwise it'd just look silly. wheras, if I get the white, then I dont have to paint anything.... But I like the look of the black one...
decisions decisions...
:: Eldorado ::
Friday, January 23, 2004 ::
9:53:00 PM
just wanted to let ya know that last week, my blog saw the highest amount of hits that it has ever seen through a week... 89... That's not too shabby, considering I never submitted to any linking service - that it's just the people I care about that are reading my words... Thanks for continuing to come back!
and if you think I'm done with the format - you're wrong... Keep looking for those pictures! (soon.. very soon!) as well as a new interactive link menu.. should be fun!
until next time......
*fade to black*
:: Eldorado ::
Sunday, January 18, 2004 ::
9:45:00 PM
Song of choice: The Old Rugged Cross - George Bennard
The Old Rugged Cross
On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross,
The emblem of suffering and shame;
And I love that old cross where the dearest and best
For a world of lost sinners was slain.
So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross,
Till my trophies at last I lay down;
I will cling to the old rugged cross,
And exchange it some day for a crown.
:: Eldorado ::
Thursday, January 15, 2004 ::
2:17:00 AM
I thought this was absolutely hilarious..
again, these are the last 20 search engine queries... basically what this means is it's the last 20 things people have typed into a search engine who have clicked through to my site....
I've got a confession. Over the last year or so I've been totally neglectful to someone who really deserves more attention... His name is Eldude.
Ok, ok... Eldude isn't really a person - it's my Computer (yes, it has a name... I'll bet you find that funny, but then sit there for a moment and realize that it doesn't surprise you one bit). I have no anti virus software. I have no firewall but the one that comes with Windows XP... I haven't defragged in a parrot's age... yet it still willingly lets me use it as I see fit. Is this right? should I feel ashamed?
lol - ok, enough with the stupidness...
Over the last year, My computer has been dying a slow death... Viruses have intruded.. Trojans.. SPYWARE.. the cancer just was spreading like wild fire. But with my new found ambition and excitement over doing things lately, I decided to take my dear old Eldude in to see Dr. Kyle.... and boy did he need it.
First, though, is an observation. When I first started with the internet about, oh, 9 years ago, porn was EVERYWHERE. I couldn't avoid it even when I tried (and I'll admit - being an 12 year old with access to anything and everything, sometimes I didn't try. lol) but now... it's like, NOWHERE.. Not that I go looking for it and cant find it - that's not what I mean. What I mean is that back then you'd be surfing along them BAM have an adult-oriented popup of some sort staring you in the face. You just dont see that anymore. What do you see around every turn now? Spyware. It's EVERYWHERE! it's weird that just in the last couple of years, people are getting more and more nosey into our personal lives wondering just what video games we like, what sites we frequent, and what kind of shoes you just bought off of eBay.
For those who are clueless as to what Spyware is, it's not a virus. Dont think of it that way. Spyware is essentially a little program set to monitor anything from your web traffic, what movies you watch on Media Player, what MP3s you like... the list goes on... It collects information like that (usually only web traffic, passwords, etc... (not that they'll ever use the password) but some really nasty ones are out there that will report on movies you watch, bank account numbers, and things like that..)
"What does it do with the collected information," you ask? It sends it to whoever created it in the hopes that they've gathered enough information off of you to earn money... Whether it be to sell your email address to a mailing list, or know what kinds of banners to show you when you visit sites sponsored by them in the hopes that you'll click through, thus earning them money..
Remember that MSN Plus! thing that I loved last year? Full of Spyware. Did I know it then? no. Why? Because back THEN it didn't have any - only after it's popularity did it start to be crawling with these little annoying bugs.
There's something shipped with MSN Plus! that is called the LOP Toolbar... I'm sure some of you have seen it. Browsing around the internet one day and all is fine.. browse around the next day and BAM.. right there in Internet Explorer is a blue "Search" bar... annoying, huh? It's not harmful, but it's a BUGGER to remove... I've had lethal viruses that were easier to remove than this thing...
So, you realize you have it... wanna get rid of it? you *could* just hit "View>Toolbars" in Internet Explorer and uncheck the really stupid gibberish name given to the toolbar. This is a random bunch of letters to prevent me, for example, from telling you exactly what to search for and delete. It's unique to every machine.
OR you could click here (read next paragraph first before you click, though) for a COMPLETE removal method. I have to give this gentleman credit. You really wouldn't believe the size of the online community devoted to bringing this silly little toolbar to it's knees.
Before clicking the link and going through with what is explained in the next page (if you're going to attempt to remove it) do NOT do this quickly. Working with the computer's registry wiggs even me out when I have to. Follow the instructions to the LETTER and double check everything you're doing. Think of Windows as the brain of your computer (as far as software goes). The Registry is the hidden bit of your computer that you dont normally see. It's like a road map and guide created to tell your computer's brain everything it needs to know... without it, your computer would be a potato....
Well Ladies and Gents, that about sums up this little lesson on safety. One thing that I suggest you ALL do, though, is go and download yourself a copy of Ad Aware and/or a copy of Spybot Search & Destroy. I run both because sometimes one finds something that the other might not. Best of all, there are free versions available for both (and we all like free, dont we?).
Go to it, people, and give your computer the well-deserved attention it... well.. deserves. =
One thing, though... if you get Spybot or AdAware, dont be shocked to see that you have upwards of a couple hundred instances of Spyware... it's normal. These programs consider regular Cookies to be forms of Spyware. Just remove them and you'll be fine. If you find that a program (say, Kazaa for example) doesn't work after you run these programs, the process is completely reversable. No worries there.
Now go in peace, my children... and Lop toolbar? may you go in pieces...
until next time.......
*fade to black*
:: Eldorado ::
3:16:00 AM
Song of choice: oh come on people, this post IS pure music.. i dont need one of these..
I got this idea from Jessica, who stole the idea from someone else..
I'm gonna put my MP3 collection all in a playlist (god that will take time....) then record the first 30 songs here.... dont cheat and delete songs you dont like or are ashamed of!
1. Wild Cherry - Play That Funky Music White Boy
2. De-Generation X - Wrestling music intro
3. Rolling Stones - Start Me Up
4. Elvis Presley (Duet with Lisa Marie Presley) - Dont Cry Daddy
5. Janet Jackson - Doesn't Really Matter
6. Alice Deejay - I Can See It In Your Eyes
7. Greenday - Deadbeat Holiday
8. ACDC - Safe In New York City
9. Backstreet Boys - How Did I Fall In Love With You
10. Dixie Chicks - What Right Does She Have
11. Goo Goo Dolls - Iris
12. U2 - Numb
13. Wave - California
14. Greenday - Blood Sex and Booze
15. Eve 6 - Nightmare
16. Foo Fighters - Learn to Fly
17. ACDC - Give it Up
18. The Tragically Hip - Poets
19. Econoline Crush - Slug
20. Barenaked Ladies - Sell Sell Sell
21. Soggy Bottom Boys - Man of Constant Sorrow
22. Spice Girls - Viva Forever (it took a LOT to not remove this from the list.. lol)
23. Creed - What If
24. Me First and the Gimmie Gimmies - 500 Miles (cover version)
25. B.B. King - The Blues
26. ACDC - Back in Black (Live from Downsview Park)
27. Donna Summer - Hot Stuff
28. The Guess Who - Takin' Care of Business (Live Recording)
29. Pretenders - I'll Stand by You
30. Michael Jackson - Unbreakable
So there you have it! Jess had a common theme to hers... mine is all over the bloody map. Of Course, I still have ALL of the MP3s I've ever downloaded (Viva Forever was actually one of the first, I believe...) so after making a countless number of CDs for people over the years, my music collection has grown to be quite diverse.......
until next time......
*fade to black*
:: Eldorado ::
Monday, January 12, 2004 ::
8:40:00 PM
Song of choice: Video Killed the Radio Star - The Buggles
Fitting song, isn't it?
I mean, my blog gets totally updated, and why not have the first music video ever played on MTV as my song of choice? Ok, I digress. I didn't JUST choose this song because of that, there were actually a number of factors - namely it being one of the best party tunes ever! Well... With my bunch of people it is, anyway.
*whispers to everyone but Jessica* you haven't seen anything until you see jess after a few drinks and this song comes on... ok, maybe if "Paradise by the Dashboard Light" by Meatloaf was heard, you might get a better show.
What to talk about? I've got a ton of things to report... lets start with ticking a couple things off that list, shall we?
Boxing Day eve / Boxing Day Most people refer to Boxing Day eve as the more popular, more traditional, 'Christmas'. Me? no. I'm afraid Boxing day is, and always will be more exciting than Christmas.
"You've gone mad!" you're probably saying right now... and the truth is i really haven't. It's a tradition that is held very dear to me - Boxing Day shopping.
For the last... 7... maybe 8 years, my brother and I have gotten up at the crack of dawn (sometimes we beat the crack.... - why does that just not sound right?) on December 26th, and the two of us (paired with a buddy of his from highschool) head out to the mall in search of some last minute holiday gifts.
Gifts for ourselves, of course.
Sure over the years we've had a couple stragglers, like my brothers then girlfriend (now fiancee) a couple times, and another friend of his from school way back when the tradition first began, but we're the three that really keep it together.
Our list of rules are quite simple.
1) out the door by 8am to beat the Boxing Day rush.
2) no jackets allowed once you exit the vehicle.
3) no, under ANY circumstances, women.
4) be out of the mall by 10:30 just as the mall is getting busy.
Rule number 3 was an addon after we realized that women (namely my brother's soon-to-be wife) just mess with the system. Why should three guys be dragged into Zellers or some other frilly store when we're there to power shop? And, of course, we have to be out by 10:30 and back on our way home to a fantastic brunch that is being prepaired consisting of eggs, bacon (both strips and pemeal!), pancakes, toast, and about a dozen other things just waiting to be consumed.
New Years this is all i have to say about New Years Eve....
ok, maybe a little more than that...
it was a great event. There was Outlaw Volleyball... Kaluha banana milkshakes, lotsa music, some impromptu performances like the one above by adit (for the full video clip, click here (1.3MB)... or the one by James and Adit singing Mary-Mac by Great Big Sea, among others... Fun times indeed... Now that I've got my blog remodeled, I'm looking to add photos so look out for that sometime soon...
Saying that 'you're stuck with me' and meaning it
I know I've said this on many occasions, as I'm sure a billion other people have done.. But do we ever mean it? I'd like to think so. But what happens when a day between seeing someone turns into a couple? a week perhaps? month? Like Christa and I for example. I can't count the number of times I've promised her this, yet I think I can count on my fingers the number of times we've seen eachother in person in the last few months... The last year, even. It upsets me that we're not nearly as close as we used to be. Like she has explained in her blog It's hard going from being able to look at someone, know exactly what is going on just by the way they look at you... To still being someone they can trust, however there's no longer any... hmm.. how can I say this... need? I guess that's as good of a word as any... There's no longer any need to. I guess what I'm saying is that I dont like the thought of being replaced, even though I know it's completely natural and bound to happen - especially at this point in our lives, but that doesn't mean that I have to like it.
To all who I have made this promise, and not kept it, I'm sorry.
My Birthday
My birthday was pretty good this year. I got my birthday wish, and that was for Beth to come down from Port Elgin and visit me for a couple days. She drove to Orangeville, and I picked her up from there and went to Square 1 to get a couple links taken out of the watch that my parents got me for my birthday. It's a fancy shmancy more of a formal watch than not kind of watch. I didn't think I'd want a watch for my birthday.. I didn't think that having a nice formal watch was something that I'd use very often, because I'm not really a watch guy.. but I'm glad they got it for me anyway.. (they wanted to give me some sort of keep-sake for my 21st birthday, and this will do quite nicely).
Beth and I headed to my place after that, where we sat and exchanged photos.. She showed me some photos of herself as a youngin', and I showed her some of mine... Then it was time to go out to Tucker's Marketplace in Burlington where we were meeting my Aunt Lisa, Uncle Cliff (even though we just call him Cliff because before he married my aunt, that's what we called him and it was just easier and more comfortable that way), their daughter Taylor, both my Grandparents (my dad's mum, and my mum's dad), my sister's boyfriend Rich, and my brother's fiancee Melanie. It was an awesome dinner, even though I didn't have that much to eat... (side note - a glass of vodka (not a shot) is not a good idea... I was still feeling it from new years eve (and this was on the 3rd!). My brother and Melanie got me the X-Men collector's edition DVD set, my sis and Rich gave me cash, my Aunt & Co. combined my Christmas (eep.. Boxing Day eve) and birthday gifts to form one rather hefty Futureshop gift card. And I just got cash from both my grandparents.. $$$$
Which leads me into my next topic..
Guess Who Beth and I were talking a couple months back about gifts we got when we were young, and gifts that we didn't get... I was telling her that, when I was a kid, I *always* asked for the game 'Guess Who' when it came time to write out our Christmas lists (i can say Christmas because it was back before our tradition! =P). Anyway, Santa just never seemed to have enough room in his sleigh for it and I never got it.. Until my birthday this year! Beth got it for me. It put a huge smile on my face to know that she remembered that conversation because it was just so fleeting... In the months that we've been together, it amounted to about a minute and a half of it... It was a wonderful thought, and meant a ton. =)
Another moon landing... only for MY generation!
For those of you who aren't yet in the know, President Bush is expected to unveil plans on Wednesday of his that might lead Humans back to the moon.
I've always been fascinated with space travel. The two things that I was *always* found reading about when I was a kid was about the Titanic (I read EVERY book on it that was in my public school library... which amounted to about 4 or 5, but trust me, at that time it was a big achievement!) and Space Travel. I learned about all of the different Apollo missions. The successes and failures of them. The Mercury program... Gemini... even a little bit of the Russian Soyuz program... it all fascinated me, and to know that I might be able to see a man land on the moon... it excites the hell outta me!
Anyway, that's about all I'm going to write about now. I put a hell of a dent in that list of mine. I've got a bit of a headache so I think I'm going to take off for the night...
hope you like the new look.... =)
until next time.......
*fade to black*
:: Eldorado ::
Saturday, January 10, 2004 ::
1:32:00 AM
I'm full of ambition!
the only problem is i need to write on a keyboard which actually HAS a spacebar... (instead of copying a space, then hitting "ctrl+v" every time i need it...)
look for not only new things happening with the blog (time for a facelift, no?).. but new things at the Omegavoid as well.......
now if you'll excuse me, i've gotta go help to get ready for a party my family is having tomorrow...
things of possible discussion....
- Boxing Day eve (aka. Christmas)
- BOXING DAY!! (it quite literally is the best day of the year!)
- New Years
- Saying that 'you're stuck with me' and meaning it...
- Church
- My Birthday
- TOOT TOOT
- Guess Who
- Another moon landing... only for MY generation!
- And, of course, just how blessed i am
With a halo around the moon tonite (which is quite beautiful if you've ever seen one) i'm full of something inside that i haven't allowed in in quite some time... i'm suddenly feeling more alive.. it's weird, i now.. but there's something in me that almost makes me able to feel like i can feel the life in something else... it really is hard to explain.. the best analogy i can use is like Luke Skywalker in The Empire Strikes Back... The Force is filling him... and the force is, of course, what binds the universe together... kinda giving him a common denometer to everything around him..
or maybe my brain juices are expanding because of the cold.....
everyone, please look at this poster and seriously consider it... i know that if i'm going to be in town this night, i'm going to be here.... you should too.. Culture yourselves, people!
until next time.......
*fade to black*
:: Eldorado ::
Wednesday, January 28, 2004 ::
1:48:00 AM
