This entry was written while waiting for a kid to finish his homework. Grrrr...
Monday, February 27, 2006
100 Firefox Extensions Installed!
Found this funny link on digg this evening while surfing around the web. It just seems funny that somebody would try this. The amazing part is that it didn't slow Firefox down as much as I would have expected the guy to report it had. It really is an amazing browser!
Sunday, February 26, 2006
You twit. It's 'sponge', not 'plowed'!
Wow! What a week! So much has happened that I couldn't possibly cover it all. Lots of fun, lots of laughs, plenty über geekiness, a couple of nice surprises, and a lot of time spent with friends.
I got to help my best friend celebrate her birthday - twice. Her friends and family were able to surprise her with a birthday dinner 2 nights early. It was great to see her genuinely surprised and I could tell that she was touched by our efforts. On her actual birthday I took her family out to for some delicious sushi (all you can eat - YUM!), then I hung out with them for a few hours afterwards just doing whatever came next. There's no way that I can sufficiently express how much I appreciate the fact that she was born, which ultimately allowed for her to be such an important part of my life.
My life-long friend, René, was able to drop in for a visit this weekend, as well. We spent a couple of hours looking through my copies of our old junior and high school yearbooks. She's been experiencing a lot of health problems over the last 4-6 months, but she seemed to be doing much better, which was a relief to see. We had a great time spent talking and relaxing. She's been my friend since we were 14, which is the longest I've ever known anybody, outside of family. She means a lot to me and I'm so fortunate to still have her in my life after so much time has passed.
Today Rece and I went geocaching with a new friend. The three of us walked about 4 miles and found 11 geocaches in less than 3 hours. There were a lot of people on the trail, which meant that we had to be rather creative in searching for, retrieving, and then replacing the caches without attracting any attention to our actions. Stealth was the key. The variety of ways we went about accomplishing our objectives provided us with a lot of laughs and just an overall good time.
Those are just some of the highlights and I assure you that there were a lot more little moments in between that filled my week with a lot of fun and the enjoyment of time with my friends.
I got to help my best friend celebrate her birthday - twice. Her friends and family were able to surprise her with a birthday dinner 2 nights early. It was great to see her genuinely surprised and I could tell that she was touched by our efforts. On her actual birthday I took her family out to for some delicious sushi (all you can eat - YUM!), then I hung out with them for a few hours afterwards just doing whatever came next. There's no way that I can sufficiently express how much I appreciate the fact that she was born, which ultimately allowed for her to be such an important part of my life.
My life-long friend, René, was able to drop in for a visit this weekend, as well. We spent a couple of hours looking through my copies of our old junior and high school yearbooks. She's been experiencing a lot of health problems over the last 4-6 months, but she seemed to be doing much better, which was a relief to see. We had a great time spent talking and relaxing. She's been my friend since we were 14, which is the longest I've ever known anybody, outside of family. She means a lot to me and I'm so fortunate to still have her in my life after so much time has passed.
Today Rece and I went geocaching with a new friend. The three of us walked about 4 miles and found 11 geocaches in less than 3 hours. There were a lot of people on the trail, which meant that we had to be rather creative in searching for, retrieving, and then replacing the caches without attracting any attention to our actions. Stealth was the key. The variety of ways we went about accomplishing our objectives provided us with a lot of laughs and just an overall good time.
Those are just some of the highlights and I assure you that there were a lot more little moments in between that filled my week with a lot of fun and the enjoyment of time with my friends.
This entry was copied, moved, renamed, then organized alphabetically.
Thursday, February 23, 2006
The one about 500 geocaches
With some help from my best friend, I achieved the 500 geocaches found mark a couple of days ago. We were out night caching (as we often tend to do) and nabbed the last 9 I needed. It feels pretty good to have gotten this far, especially since I'm not one to really care about the numbers when it comes to geocaching. It's mostly just a way for me to get out of my apartment, meet folks with similar interests, and enjoy spending time with some great people.
I also got around to hiding another cache, this one being a more out of the way/wilderness hide - like, as in you actually have to hike to it. It's in the foothills above Orange/Anaheim Hills, along some hiking/mountain biking trails. The location was found while I was out hiking with some friends from work last month. It just seemed so odd that there was a trail to this particular place, that I thought I'd hide a geocache there. I decided to call this one "Well-Defined Trail to Nowhere".
I also got around to hiding another cache, this one being a more out of the way/wilderness hide - like, as in you actually have to hike to it. It's in the foothills above Orange/Anaheim Hills, along some hiking/mountain biking trails. The location was found while I was out hiking with some friends from work last month. It just seemed so odd that there was a trail to this particular place, that I thought I'd hide a geocache there. I decided to call this one "Well-Defined Trail to Nowhere".
This entry was found aimlessly walking around a park in the middle of the night
holding a flashlight and staring at a strange cell phone-looking device.
holding a flashlight and staring at a strange cell phone-looking device.
Thursday, February 16, 2006
In John They Trust
The Smithsonian Magazine website has a fascinating story about some South Pacific Islanders and how they worship what seems to be an American. It's interesting to read about how Americans had an effect on the spiritual beliefs within the culture when they suddenly appeared during World War II.
Their website seems to have a lot of interesting articles that I look forward to reading, as time permits. Hopefully you get something out of it, too.
Their website seems to have a lot of interesting articles that I look forward to reading, as time permits. Hopefully you get something out of it, too.
This entry worships the almighty shopping cart!
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
Brokeback to the Future?
File this under "obviously somebody had too much time on their hands" (wait - that wouldn't fit on a file tab)...
My buddy Quinn posted a link on his blog today to a rather entertaining spoof of a trailer for a non-existent movie called Brokeback to the Future. It's pieces of movie footage from the various Back to the Future movies put together to make it look as though Doc and Marty had some sort of "relationship" other than that of Delorean-time-machine-inventor and accidental-teenage-time-traveller. Funny stuff!
My buddy Quinn posted a link on his blog today to a rather entertaining spoof of a trailer for a non-existent movie called Brokeback to the Future. It's pieces of movie footage from the various Back to the Future movies put together to make it look as though Doc and Marty had some sort of "relationship" other than that of Delorean-time-machine-inventor and accidental-teenage-time-traveller. Funny stuff!
This entry was brought to you by a rainbow bumper sticker.
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
Photos from the 2/11/06 hike
As promised, here are some of the pictures taken while hiking through Riley Park this past weekend. Click an image to view a larger version.
An Old Studebaker Wagon
Entrance to Butterfly Garden
Staci Ann & a Live Oak Tree
A Coyote in the Nature Center
Trails Climbing Up Rolling Hills
Looking Back Down at the Trail Up
Rana, Barbara, & Staci Ann
Rana, Barbara, & Gabe
The View From Horned Toad Vista Point
Thanks to Rana & Staci Ann for taking the photos!
This entry brought to you by the OCUW Hiking Crew.
Happy V.D.
This is the second Valentine's Day in a row that I haven't felt any pressure to do or give something to somebody that I didn't want to do or give on my own. It feels great!
My ex, Sherise, is the type of person that expresses her love through gifts - or "tokens of love" as she used to put it. So by her reasoning she felt loved when she was given stuff, especially when accompanied by some sort of mushy sentiment along with it. Now I'm not saying that she's wrong for being like this, not at all - it just isn't the way that I feel driven to show my affection for others. This fact didn't help in our relationship at all, as one might imagine.
Having gone through the stereotypical Valentine's Day routine with Sherise for over 14 years, I can say that I'm officially done with all of the "traditional" V-Day stuff. I'll express my feelings for the gal I care about in the manner that I feel I show it best. If that isn't enough for her, then she isn't the one for me!
When I care for somebody (friend or more), I do things for them. Be it tuning up their computer, helping them move, watching their pets, listening to them talk about their life, etc. - I'm there for them. This is something I enjoy doing for them. Sure, I might give gifts when appropriate (birthdays & Christmas), but it's usually something that the person can use - preferably something they actually need. I'm reluctant to buy something for somebody when they already have pretty much all they need. There are some exceptions to this line of thinking, but it isn't the norm.
A card is what I tend to give during special days (like today). If I were romantically involved with a gal, I'd definitely take her out to dinner (or cook something special myself) and try to find something that we could do together that was fun and best suited to our relationship and personalities. It's possible that a gift might be involved, but that would depend on many different factors.
So before I come off sounding like an uncaring oaf, I hope it's clear that I'm not saying that I won't express how I feel to the people that I care for. Quite the contrary! It's just that I won't waste my time trying to express it to them in a way that feels false or completely foreign to my core personality (sensibilities?) anymore. WYSIWYG!
My ex, Sherise, is the type of person that expresses her love through gifts - or "tokens of love" as she used to put it. So by her reasoning she felt loved when she was given stuff, especially when accompanied by some sort of mushy sentiment along with it. Now I'm not saying that she's wrong for being like this, not at all - it just isn't the way that I feel driven to show my affection for others. This fact didn't help in our relationship at all, as one might imagine.
Having gone through the stereotypical Valentine's Day routine with Sherise for over 14 years, I can say that I'm officially done with all of the "traditional" V-Day stuff. I'll express my feelings for the gal I care about in the manner that I feel I show it best. If that isn't enough for her, then she isn't the one for me!
When I care for somebody (friend or more), I do things for them. Be it tuning up their computer, helping them move, watching their pets, listening to them talk about their life, etc. - I'm there for them. This is something I enjoy doing for them. Sure, I might give gifts when appropriate (birthdays & Christmas), but it's usually something that the person can use - preferably something they actually need. I'm reluctant to buy something for somebody when they already have pretty much all they need. There are some exceptions to this line of thinking, but it isn't the norm.
A card is what I tend to give during special days (like today). If I were romantically involved with a gal, I'd definitely take her out to dinner (or cook something special myself) and try to find something that we could do together that was fun and best suited to our relationship and personalities. It's possible that a gift might be involved, but that would depend on many different factors.
So before I come off sounding like an uncaring oaf, I hope it's clear that I'm not saying that I won't express how I feel to the people that I care for. Quite the contrary! It's just that I won't waste my time trying to express it to them in a way that feels false or completely foreign to my core personality (sensibilities?) anymore. WYSIWYG!
This entry was brought to you by geek <3.
Sunday, February 12, 2006
Love Cache?
Just got home after attending a Geocaching event (gathering) named "Love Cache" (yep, it's a spin-off of the B-52's song "Love Shack" - go ahead and sing it, I won't try to stop you). Not much love for BuzzKill (my geocaching alias) to find, as the single gals in their 30's that I was told would be there by the event organizer were nowhere to be found.
That didn't stop me from getting too much unwanted attention from a 14 y/o girl, though. EESH! This is the second time that I've been at one of these geocaching events where a minor (the first one was 15) ends up giving me ga-ga eyes and hangs around trying to talk with me for a good portion of the event, while I'm doing my best to talk with the adults. It's a very uncomfortable thing, I tell ya! At least this one didn't come straight out and proposition me. (shudder)
Speaking of strange minors; a boy - I'd have to guess around 9 or 10, walked up to the table where me and 5 other (adult) geocachers were seated and announced, "I just violated a cherry!" We stared at him sorta stunned for a moment before he grinned and held up a maraschino cherry skewered by a half a dozen plastic sword toothpicks. Uhm... yeah.
The event began to thin out after the raffle was over, so I decided to say my goodbyes and go home. On my way out to my car, I passed by the flirty 14 y/o who waited until I was 10-15 feet away before telling me to "shake it". What on Earth are parents teaching their kids these days!?
That didn't stop me from getting too much unwanted attention from a 14 y/o girl, though. EESH! This is the second time that I've been at one of these geocaching events where a minor (the first one was 15) ends up giving me ga-ga eyes and hangs around trying to talk with me for a good portion of the event, while I'm doing my best to talk with the adults. It's a very uncomfortable thing, I tell ya! At least this one didn't come straight out and proposition me. (shudder)
Speaking of strange minors; a boy - I'd have to guess around 9 or 10, walked up to the table where me and 5 other (adult) geocachers were seated and announced, "I just violated a cherry!" We stared at him sorta stunned for a moment before he grinned and held up a maraschino cherry skewered by a half a dozen plastic sword toothpicks. Uhm... yeah.
The event began to thin out after the raffle was over, so I decided to say my goodbyes and go home. On my way out to my car, I passed by the flirty 14 y/o who waited until I was 10-15 feet away before telling me to "shake it". What on Earth are parents teaching their kids these days!?
This entry ended up feeling rather creeped out when it got home.
Saturday, February 11, 2006
...and one gram of protein
This morning was spent hiking with some of the gals from work that I'm friends with. We (well, I) decided that we should give Thomas F. Riley Wilderness Park a try, since none of us had ever been there before. Like the rest of Orange County's parks, this was a pleasant place to visit. The weather was clear and not too warm, and the UV factor was low, so I didn't even need sunscreen. It doesn't get much better than this for a hike with some friends.
It was the shortest hike that our group has done so far (just barely over 2.5 miles), but we spent the entire time talking and laughing. Either because of our noise level or that it was just a slow day for critters, we didn't encounter much wildlife on the trail, which was a shame.
After the hike we enjoyed a potluck picnic and more laughter. For the most part the items we brought were pretty healthy, but one of the gals had brought some sinful marshmallow/cookie treats along. Out of curiosity, we looked at the ingredients on the box and were astounded not only by what was in it (3 types of sugars, partially hydrogenated oils, etc) but also by the sheer length of the ingredients list! Not surprisingly, the nutritional value of these sweet morsels was practically none, but the gal that brought them was quick to point out that at least they provided 1 gram of protein. I'm just going to leave that part of the story at that...
After the picnic a couple of us went to check out the park office and nature center. I wanted to talk to one of the rangers to see if they were open to allowing the placement of a geocache or two within the park. The ranger was very nice and told me that I could, as long as I worked with them when I go about hiding the caches.
We took some pictures, so hopefully the 2 gals with cameras will send me the pictures soon and I'll post them here.
It was the shortest hike that our group has done so far (just barely over 2.5 miles), but we spent the entire time talking and laughing. Either because of our noise level or that it was just a slow day for critters, we didn't encounter much wildlife on the trail, which was a shame.
After the hike we enjoyed a potluck picnic and more laughter. For the most part the items we brought were pretty healthy, but one of the gals had brought some sinful marshmallow/cookie treats along. Out of curiosity, we looked at the ingredients on the box and were astounded not only by what was in it (3 types of sugars, partially hydrogenated oils, etc) but also by the sheer length of the ingredients list! Not surprisingly, the nutritional value of these sweet morsels was practically none, but the gal that brought them was quick to point out that at least they provided 1 gram of protein. I'm just going to leave that part of the story at that...
After the picnic a couple of us went to check out the park office and nature center. I wanted to talk to one of the rangers to see if they were open to allowing the placement of a geocache or two within the park. The ranger was very nice and told me that I could, as long as I worked with them when I go about hiding the caches.
We took some pictures, so hopefully the 2 gals with cameras will send me the pictures soon and I'll post them here.
This entry enjoyed a breath of fresh air on a lovely day.
Edit to add: Photos have been uploaded and posted here.
Thursday, February 09, 2006
Geek humor
My boss just sent me the following email:
Well, all the question marks were actually those little boxes you sometimes see when an invalid character can't be displayed. Anywho, I thought it was hella funny.
A horse walks into a bar and the bartender says
ℼ佄呃偙⁅呈䱍倠䉕䥌 ⁃ⴢ⼯㍗⽃䐯䑔䠠䵔⁌⸴‰牔湡楳楴湯污⼯久•ാ㰊呈䱍ാऊ䠼䅅㹄उ琼瑩敬䐾瑥楡剬灥牯㱴琯瑩敬ാऊ㰉敭慴渠浡㵥䜢久剅呁剏•潃瑮湥㵴䴢捩潲潳瑦嘠獩慵 瑓摵潩⸠䕎⁔⸷∱ാऊ㰉敭慴渠浡㵥䌢䑏彅䅌䝎䅕䕇•潃瑮湥㵴䌢∣ാऊ㰉敭慴渠浡㵥瘢彳敤慦汵䍴楬湥却牣灩≴挠湯整瑮∽慊慶捓楲瑰㸢उ洼瑥慮敭∽獶瑟牡 敧却档浥≡挠湯整瑮∽瑨灴⼺猯档浥獡洮捩潲潳瑦挮浯椯瑮汥楬敳獮⽥敩∵ാऊ㰉楬歮栠敲㵦栢瑴㩰⼯浩条獥牥敶敭獳条汥扡潣⽭浩条獥牥敶⽲汰浵牴敥振浯潭 ⽮異汢捩振獳洯楡獮祴敬汣敩瑮敮湥挮獳ഢऊउ祴数∽整瑸振獳•敲㵬猢祴敬桳敥≴ാऊ⼼䕈䑁ാऊ戼摯⁹卍偟协呉佉䥎䝎∽片摩慌潹瑵㸢उ昼牯慮敭∽潆浲 ∱洠瑥潨㵤瀢獯≴愠瑣潩㵮䐢瑥楡剬灥牯獡硰刿灥慎敭匽慰䑭瑥楡♬浡㭰啩敳䥲㵤呍祅呎㍅愦灭椻畃瑳浯牥摉䴽杪䴰䵪☽浡㭰慤整㴱〲㘰〭ⴲ㈰ご㨰〰〺娰愦灭搻 瑡㉥㈽〰ⴶ㈰〭吸㌲㔺㨹㤵♚浡㭰潤慭湩䄽汬愦灭攻畓㵢汁♬浡㭰呥㵯汁♬浡㭰䙥潲㵭汁♬浡㭰䵤瑥潨㵤汁♬浡㭰䑩浯楡䥮㵤∰椠㵤䘢牯ㅭ㸢椼灮瑵琠灹㵥栢摩敤 ≮渠浡㵥弢噟䕉南䅔䕔•慶畬㵥搢睄䵸捔乺䕔伵䵔伳獺伫摯晰瑩䑰嘯㥍坪牯畹䉘䅡娵㐱∽⼠ാഊऊउ琼扡敬眠摩桴∽〱┰•污杩㵮挢湥整≲ാऊउ㰉牴ാऊउउ琼 污杩㵮挢湥整≲瘠污杩㵮洢摩汤≥栠楥桧㵴㠢〳㸢उउउ
Well, all the question marks were actually those little boxes you sometimes see when an invalid character can't be displayed. Anywho, I thought it was hella funny.
This entry was brought to you by ≲ാऊउ㰉牴ാऊउउ琼.
Edit to add: After reading this on my home computer, I see that it was partially made up of some Asian language, so you may see Asian characters instead of just question marks or boxes on your computer.
Edit to add: After reading this on my home computer, I see that it was partially made up of some Asian language, so you may see Asian characters instead of just question marks or boxes on your computer.
Tuesday, February 07, 2006
The Mystery Door
Went to lunch with a couple of the gals from work. We went to a Salvadorian pupuseria (Pupusería San Sivar) just off of Harbor and 19th Street in Costa Mesa. Very tasty food!
While we were there we noticed this door that had been covered 1/2 way up by linoleum:
What really struck us as funny was the fact that they didn't even bother to remove the "Employees Only" sign after they were finished.
While we were there we noticed this door that had been covered 1/2 way up by linoleum:
What really struck us as funny was the fact that they didn't even bother to remove the "Employees Only" sign after they were finished.
This entry is for Employees Only.
Cuddles
I found my teddy bear today packed away in a box, hidden in Rece's closet. I've had this little guy since I was born. Hard to believe that I still have the thing over 33 years later! Anywho, nothing else to say about it, but that I'm happy to see him again.
This post became all warm and cuddly.
Timing is everything
Yesterday I was talking about my experience with upgrading to the newest version of Firefox (version 1.5.0.1) and how that was going.
Today I received an email from US-CERT where I've signed up on their security alert mailing list. Today I received an email warning of vulnerabilities in Mozilla products. The solution? Upgrade to Firefox 1.5.0.1.
Here's a link to the article.
So... yeah. In order to ensure that you're not susceptible to the vulnerabilities, maybe an upgrade to version 1.5.0.1 is in order.
Just an additional FYI - This installation appears to be more stable than 1.5 and I haven't experienced even one lockup or crash in the day I've been using it. Of course a day isn't really a stress test, but it's more than just blindly installing it, right?
Today I received an email from US-CERT where I've signed up on their security alert mailing list. Today I received an email warning of vulnerabilities in Mozilla products. The solution? Upgrade to Firefox 1.5.0.1.
Here's a link to the article.
So... yeah. In order to ensure that you're not susceptible to the vulnerabilities, maybe an upgrade to version 1.5.0.1 is in order.
Just an additional FYI - This installation appears to be more stable than 1.5 and I haven't experienced even one lockup or crash in the day I've been using it. Of course a day isn't really a stress test, but it's more than just blindly installing it, right?
This entry was upgraded in the nick of time.
Monday, February 06, 2006
Vindicated!
While I won't say exactly what or why (as that's just not the type of person I am), events occurred today that relieved my mind of the stress it's been under for almost a week, now.
A malicious person wronged me - even after I had earnestly tried to be nice to them and help them through what I perceived to be a very trying time for them. What was being done not only affected me directly, but could have indirectly affected the well-being of my son as well. A person with such blatant disregard for others deserves what they get for their actions... as does their accomplice.
A malicious person wronged me - even after I had earnestly tried to be nice to them and help them through what I perceived to be a very trying time for them. What was being done not only affected me directly, but could have indirectly affected the well-being of my son as well. A person with such blatant disregard for others deserves what they get for their actions... as does their accomplice.
This entry exists within the light at the end of the tunnel.
Edited to add: No, I'm not talking about my ex-wife. We're getting along just fine.
Much better!
After 30 minutes of using it - Yep, the Fasterfox extension made a big difference. If you don't already have it installed get it now! So far I haven't encountered any problems. Some of my old extensions still haven't been updated to work with 1.5.x, which is sort of a bummer, but maybe they will sometime soon.
Keeping on the theme of Firefox, I came across this interesting blog about the history of Firefox. A good read for fans of this wondeful browser.
Keeping on the theme of Firefox, I came across this interesting blog about the history of Firefox. A good read for fans of this wondeful browser.
This entry will likely be followed by a hungry lion and devoured.
Firefox 1.5.0.1 update so far...
So far the upgrade from Firefox version 1.0.7 has been OK. I have noticed what seems to be a little lag while FF renders a page, especially the images...
... wait. I just realized that the Fasterfox extension didn't go along with the upgrade. Let me try installing that and seeing if that makes a difference. I'll keep you posted.
... wait. I just realized that the Fasterfox extension didn't go along with the upgrade. Let me try installing that and seeing if that makes a difference. I'll keep you posted.
This entry makes me want to dance a jig.
Cover me! I'm going in...
Firefox 1.5 had quite a few problems that gave me enough reason to uninstall it and reinstall version 1.0.7. Now they've released version 1.5.0.1 and it's been on my mind to check it out ever since it was released last week.
Upgrading Firefox used to be something I never thought twice about, until version 1.5 came out. The notification of an update was given and I'd just go ahead and do it. Now I'm cautious. I'm going to take the plunge today and give it a whirl. Rest assured that I'll share any problems that I encounter here. Wish me luck!
Upgrading Firefox used to be something I never thought twice about, until version 1.5 came out. The notification of an update was given and I'd just go ahead and do it. Now I'm cautious. I'm going to take the plunge today and give it a whirl. Rest assured that I'll share any problems that I encounter here. Wish me luck!
This entry wants to jump up and down like an idiot.
Friday, February 03, 2006
Change is in the air
Another cryptic message for my friends and family:
Things are brewing, change is likely, but I'm handling things just fine. Don't worry about me, I'll be just fine, if not better than before.
I want to thank all of those who have been so supportive of me lately. There's no way that I can express the extent of my gratitude!
Things are brewing, change is likely, but I'm handling things just fine. Don't worry about me, I'll be just fine, if not better than before.
I want to thank all of those who have been so supportive of me lately. There's no way that I can express the extent of my gratitude!
This entry shifted in and out of the shadows as it stalked its prey.
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