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I'm waiting for word from the street. Any reports? Even official-release service packs have been problematic. You should definitely create a pre-update image with Norton Ghost before installing any operating system service pack. Once the file is officially released, expect servers to be slooow, as everyone and their grandmother will be downloading it. You might want to grab it now, while servers are still blazing fast. I don't use Windows XP very much cuz of the known performance problem with SCSI drives, and I am a SCSI kinda guy.
Seemed like more people were at Heisler last night than normally during the day. After walking thru the entire park, I took the steps down to a surf spot called the Rockpile, which you can see in THIS photo (taken during low tide. As you can imagine, only really good surfers surf the Rockpile.) Hopped over the railing, which you're not supposed to do, and perched myself on a rock that juts out between where the biggest waves break. Everything was cool for twenty minutes. The moon was so bright, the roar deafening .. foamy white water everywhere. Then a monster-sized breaker rolled in. Caught me completely off guard. Almost knocked my ass in the drink. Completely drenched. Not a dry spot anywhere. Must have swallowed a gallon of seawater. Fortunately the water was warm. Not sure why I started laughing. I think it's important for people to balance their technolust with a healthy dose of nature. Whatever you might do, whether it's backpacking .. camping .. diving .. hiking .. white-water rafting .. snorkeling .. sailing .. or .. surfing .. get out and enjoy the summer .. while I find some dry clothes. =)
The particular shade of gray displayed for #333333 varies from user to user. On my screen, it looks almost black. But, again, it depends on a number of variables, such as the type of monitor (shadow mask, aperture grill), monitor settings (brightness, contrast), graphics card, drivers, etc. The top corners, to the left & right, are coded for #333333. But their links should be white (easy to read). On my monitor, there isn't much difference between the the center section and the top corners. I've noticed on other monitors however, that the dark-gray background (#333333) didn't look very dark. This should increase the contrast of the blue links with the background, and make them easier to read. On another note, several readers have written and said they liked site's layout & page design so much that they stole (copied-n-pasted) the code for their own. That's cool. You know what they say: imitation is the highest form of flattery. =)
Like a good restaurant that doesn't advertise, most site traffic comes from word of mouth (so to speak) .. from sources such as THIS ONE (DSL Reports), THIS ONE (Helpfromtechs), THIS ONE (listed under 'Software/Utilities'), THIS ONE (PC Support), THIS ONE (Speedguide), THIS ONE (CD Ripper requirements), THIS ONE (VCD Easy, listed under 'How to install/check the ASPI drivers"). THIS ONE (Cadtutor, near bottom, listed under Where can I find out more?), THIS ONE (FDISK.com), THIS ONE (CDROM guide), THIS ONE ([H]ard|Forum), THIS ONE (X-faqtor, listed under What's New and Relevant), THIS ONE (Pinnacle), THIS ONE (Delltalk), THIS ONE (Tom's), THIS ONE (Slowgold), THIS ONE (CloneCD), .. and many others. The top search queries that bring visitors to the site are: force aspi .. norton ghost .. cd ripping .. hard drive benchmark .. climb half dome .. computer benchmarks .. mp3 encoding .. cd audio to mp3 .. fdisk tutorial .. hard drive partitioning .. northwood pentium .. SCSI guide .. guide to the best software .. backpack yosemite. Still looking to break the magical 1 million hits per month mark. That will put the site in another league. But it doesn't look like we will get there this month.
I enlisted in the Navy after high school. Was subsequently stationed aboard a US nuclear submarine, home-ported in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. So watching this movie made me feel like being at work. They did a good job of portraying a captain whose goal is to accomplish the mission at all costs. I can still remember working 35 straight hours, without sleep, many times (.. and then partying after I got off work. You can do that kind of thing when you're 21 years old. Not any more, tho. =/ ) Good movie. I don't feel qualified to comment on its entertainment value, or recommend it, cuz I lived on a nuclear submarine for 2 years .. which skews my perspective. I noticed a few glitches where they obviously portrayed things for dramatic effect .. that would never have happened in real life. But everyone expects that from Hollywood. Harrison Ford did a great job. I noticed in the credits that he was listed as Executive Producer. I think that means he invested some of his own money .. usually a no-no for actors. |
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Ed posted a dissenting comment here. He makes valid points that few run 1600x1200 (I run my desktop at 1280x1024 & games at 1024x768), and that the (p)reviews aren't objective. But everybody already knows that. Sites that say nasty things don't receive pre-release hardware, forfeiting the traffic that accompanies such reviews and therefore precious advertising revenue. So what else is new? You gotta read between the lines. ATI is a Canadian company. Until now, nVidia has held the titled of World's Most Powerful Gaming Card. Gaming cards are big business. nVidia was recently added to the S&P500 (replacing Enron, that piece-of-shit company that ripped off so many working folks while execs sold their stock and walked away with millions before the bad news went public). With 107 million transitors, the processor on this card contains one of the world's most complex chips. It has nearly *double* the silicon horsepower of my new Intel Northwood Pentium 4 CPU (55 million). Rumor has it that the card will ship with a separate, external power adapter. While gaming cards excels at 3-D graphics, they don't necessarily produce the best 2-D (normal desktop work). I currently own the Radeon 8500 gfx card, which, in addition to providing excellent 3-D, also produces sharp 2-D, which is where I spend most of my computing time. Gfx cards can have a dramatic effect on the quality of the images displayed on your monitor. I like to jump online and play an occasional round of Quake III, but usually get my butt kicked. But I enjoy watching the kids get on there and kick butt. In fact, little Nicholas was here today playing Counterstrike while his mom went to her yoga class. I will probably indulge my technolust and get one of these new bad-boys when the prices drop to reasonable levels (<US$200). It usually take s a few driver updates after the initial release before the card will run without glitches. I'll let all the 'early-adopters' work out the bugs.
The Pageant, as it's called here in Laguna, runs all summer long: from 07july to 31august. Almost every night. But I just noticed that the entire Pageant, for the entire summer, is SOLD OUT. That sucks. I even called their 800 number to confirm. You can still get tickets from places like this. But they're ridiculously expensive (altho offering great seats). Sometimes scalpers hawk tickets outside before the show. Often you can score if you arrive early. Hard to describe the Pageant, but they use real people to create famous works of art on stage. They're called "Tableaux vivants (living pictures), which recreate art works using live performers with creative lighting/backdrops." They create an impressive optical illusion. It's one of those things that you have to see to believe. The theme for this year's pageant: Heroes & Heroines (after the tragedy of 9-11). The show always ends with Leonardo DiVinci's The Last Supper (188KB JPEG). The show is held at the Irvine Bowl (which is not in Irvine). Outdoors, under the stars. Educational to boot. You either have to buy tickets in March, when they go on sale, or know someone in the cast, who gets tickets as part of their compensation. It's difficult to get good seats. Even in March. We live walking distance from the Irvine Bowl. The Pageant is truly one of the coolest things I've ever seen. The only show that impresses me more is Cirque du Soleil.
Brought along a few custom music CDs I had laying around. Gave them to the girls at my dentist;s office as a peace offering. They actually played one of the CDs while drilling my mouth. Also gave a few Rad CDs to Pia at the eye office next door. She's a sweetheart. I have one CD titled 'Relax' that I made specifically for dealing with the aggravation of bad-traffic days.
Did some research & heard nothing but good things about v3.5. Seems that Avid is serious about staving off competition from Apple's Final Cut Pro and other up-and-comers to the world of video editing. The card installed without a hitch. The O/S (W2K) automatically installed the drivers. Haven't had a chance to test-capture any clips yet, but don't expect any problems. No IRQ conflicts. That filled my last PCI slot (NIC, SCSI, 2 sound cards & now Firewire). Five slots.
I have a friend, who knows a guy, who has an acquaintance, who heard through the grapevine .. that this book is as accurate as anything you'll find in print. Nuf said. The conclusions the author draws may be debatable, but the foundational facts allow you to arrive at your own. When 9-11 went down, I didn't know what the heck was going on, politically speaking. But I knew that a lot of people were very pissed at the US. Usually, when people are *that* pissed, it's not for purely imaginary reasons. And I knew I wouldn't find the real dope on CNN. Public television only presents the tip of the iceberg. I think everybody knows that. Anyway, the first question to pop into my head on 9-11 was, "What the heck did we do to piss off so many people this badly?" Back then, I figured that, if you dug deep enough, you'd find oil (money) at the root. This book answers the "what-the-heck?" question as accurately as you'll find without knowing someone on the inside.
Most striking was how well Hanks & Newman, two acting powerhouses, shared the screen. These guys can pick and choose their parts. I thought the personalities of these two male bettas might clash on screen, but not so. On the contrary, when they shared the screen, 1+1=3. The effect was truly synergistic. I was also struck by how masterfully the ending was executed. Minority Report also had a similarly, well-executed ending. Both were satisfying in that respect. I won't say more, cuz I don't want to ruin it for you. The youngster who played Hanks' son has a lot to be proud of. He had a big job sharing the screen with not one, but two acting heavyweights, and held his own. Good casting there. No doubt the lad has a bright future ahead. Paul Newman is getting old, but he still rocked. (I buy his salad dressing all the time.) And of course, Tom Hanks simply kicked ass. As he always does. The guy is amazing. In this film he plays the strong, silent type. So believable, no matter what role he plays. Looked like he put on a few pounds for the part.
It didn't hurt. Even when my dentist blew air in the hole. He whipped up a temporary fix and made an appointment for some gold-work next week, which will add to my already impressive portfolio of oral precious metals. Everyone I've told asks the same question: Which cereal? Heritage by Nature's Path. Probably should've stuck with Cap'n Crunch. =)
The best grand-finale I ever saw. Or maybe it's cuz I sat so close. So close that hot cinders dropped on my face. Next time I'll know better and sit upwind. A private party nearby hosted fireworks that ran twice as long as the city's. Might go see Men-in-Black II today.
The first thing I noticed is how heavy it is, even without water. This speaks of quality, metal construction (not cheap plastic). Reminds me of a Mercedes. Hard to believe this is their cheapest unit. It's supposed to allow even a novice to make good espresso. The list of precautions made me laugh. The include the most absurd things. Stupid stuff similar to: Don't allow a water buffalo to so sit of your new espresso maker. Is the Internet slow today? My connect is dragging. I ran a trace, and everything up around San Francisco and the Midwest is crawling.
Site usage stats for the month of June are posted here. New site record for bandwidth usage (17 gigs). |
31jul2002 - Windows 2000 Service
Pack 3 is out, altho unofficially. Read about it 
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News for August, 2002] |