Overheard in the break room (Or, The Cheese Steak)

<Female Co-Worker A> Why are you eating a whole brick of cheese?
<Female Co-Worker B> Oh, it’s fat-free since it’s made with skim milk, so it’s healthy. This is my lunch.
<Female Co-Worker A> Oh, okay. Makes sense.

No, I am not kidding.

Yes, she really was sitting there at the break room table, eating a 2-pound brick of cheese like a steak.

Yes, A really saw nothing flawed with B‘s reasoning.

Fear not, however, this act of morbid idiocy will not go unpunished, as Female Co-Worker B will soon experience the terrible, ghastly brand of constipation which can only be achieved by consuming two pounds of colby-jack cheese in one sitting.

Windows 7 Is Brilliant

win7Anyone who has known me for even a little while knows that I am not exactly a fan of Microsoft. Windows 95 through Millenium Edition were, well, absolute garbage. 2000 was a step in the right direction, but for the normal home user, it was frightening and dangerous. XP, despite adding a more friendly appearance, was basically Windows 2000 with seatbelts, airbags, and metallic paint, and didn’t really offer any substantial improvements.

And then there was Vista. With its compatibility issues, performance issues, stability issues, activation issues, nonsensical menus and settings, and an array of versions and editions that would confuse Scion, Vista was a complete failure on Microsoft’s part, and drove me to install Ubuntu Linux on the majority of my computers just to escape its dementia-inducing madness.

But now there’s a new flagship. Slated for release in October of this year, Windows 7 is promising to change everything we know about the Microsoft Windows operating system. It’s fast, it’s compatible, it’s easy to use. The menus and settings make sense, and it’s not terribly hard on the eyes, either. Windows 7 is, in a nutshell, absolutely brilliant. Read more

MIRROR/REPOST [McKnob.com]: The Completely True Brad Paisley Story and Other Things I’ve Meant To Post

This is a repost of http://www.mcknob.com/2009/05/completely-true-brad-paisley-story-and.html. There is some chance that the original will be forced to be removed, I am just doing my part to make sure it stays up somewhere. Brad Paisley can’t sue us all. This story is 100% factual. It is not satire, it is not exaggeration. The portion of this post relating to Brad Paisley is a factual account of actions his management staff committed. The author of the original post, Crystal, is now being threatened with legal action by Paisley’s staff. Not sure exactly what they are going to sue for, as this story is 100% true with no embellishments. One cannot sue for libel or slander if the statements in question are not false. I have not modified this post in any way except for highlighting the portion relating to Brad Paisley.

Read more

Projects and plugs

I have not posted in some time, we were pretty busy with the move, and I’ve been busy with a top-secret project of doom.

Ok, it’s not so secret. Patrick and I are working on a web application for the rental housing industry. It’s gearing up to be pretty cool. You can learn a little more about it on the development blog.

Also, pay a visit to my wife’s site, Amber Rhodes-Lapoint Photography. She is a very talented lifestyle photographer, and if you live in the West Tennessee area and are in need of a wedding, infant, family, or portrait photographer, you should definitely give her a call.

Prepare to be downloaded!

I love how Windows Update does this for 15 minutes before downloading XP SP3:

What the hell?

Preparing for download? What the hell does that mean? As far as I know, the only preparation required to download a file is to clear off some mpegs to make room for it. I wonder what it’s doing…

Driving in the Dallas area

My work commute is about five miles each way. Not too terrible by any means – if you happen to live outside of the Dallas/Fort Worth area. On a daily basis, Dallas drivers continue to come up with new and inventive ways to irritate, endanger, and generally piss me right off. Read more

My New Computer (or, Why Gateway Can Suck It)

It all started with the awesome Cooler Master RC-690 ATX case. My good friend Lance was looking for a new case to replace his grounding-problem-ridden Antec, and, having my eye on the 690 for some time, I recommended it to him. A bit later, he IM’ed me and let me know that he had bought the case at Fry’s Electronics, and that I should make a trip down there soon to buy the same.

Well, if I’m buying a new case… why not do some upgrades while I’m at it? I’ve been running a sort-of new-ish Pentium 4 3.2GHz box for a while, but AGP graphics and DDR-400 memory are starting to get a bit out of date, and I could surely use a boost in performance. Read more

Webbynode’s Revolutionary VPS System

Any of you who have ever used a VPS/VDS (Virtual Private Server/Virtual Dedicated Server)for hosting know that many times, what you get is what the company you are doing business with has cut out as the “most compatible” configuration for most of its customers.

This works for most clients, but there are still those who wish they had the freedom to completely individualize their VPS/VDS for their own purpose. Read more

Why my 4 year old Treo is better than an iPhone

Everybody loves the iPhone. Except me. I see the iPhone, and I see nothing more than an Apple club badge. The only unique feature is the multi-touch interface, but to be honest with you, that doesn’t make up for the fact that it:

  1. Costs $400
  2. Does all these great things… which Palm and Windows Mobile devices have done for like 8 years. Read more

Complete Windows XP Hardware Drivers For Gateway MT3421 Notebook

Note! The megaupload links seem to all be working again. Enjoy! Since megaupload sucks and deleted my files, I am biting the bullet and putting these files on my server, using my own bandwidth. If anyone has a server and would be willing to mirror these files, please contact me.

Late last year, I purchased a Gateway MT3421 notebook from Office Depot to replace my damaged and unusable Toshiba Satellite M45. At this point, I wish I had bought another Toshiba.

I have spend the past 5 months trying to find a complete set of Windows XP drivers for this machine, as it came pre-installed with Vista, and I don’t want Vista. This has not been an easy task, but I have finally come out on top, and there are no more yellow (!) in my device manager! Hooray! Read more