Tehchad.com

Some of you have already seen the new blog. I'm closing this chapter and I leave you with a few words.
From one death comes many a life.
This is Chad Bowman, Good Day!

in other people's shoes... an idea

One of the main goals in my life for the past few years has been to understand people. There is no absolute goal here; it's just to keep working towards that.

In one of my old employers, the management never even showed their face around the "peons" of the company unless there was something to talk about. They were terrified whenever a GM or a director was around. They were only mildly scared when a manager was around. HAHAHA!!! These are the people that could be HELPING the staff, or "team members" as one of the GMs liked to call it.

I don't think that they realized who their customers really were/are. I can tell you right now who my customers are. I work for a real estate firm. My responsibilities include many things including
- answering the main phone line
- helping agents with computers
- making sure the office runs smoothly
- modifying websites
- maintaining a couple of databases
- assisting with networking (computers AND people) functions/socials

My customers are real estate agents. I work with and help out with property management too, but that's not my main function.

So, my idea..... is to spend part of a day with several (possibly all) agents in my office to look for things that would make their job easier. I could set it up so that I'm their "assistant" for a couple of hours. That way I can see their agenda, watch them work on their projects, hear them talk to people, and feel how they feel things really are. I can walk in their shoes. I might do this for other people too, but I'll start in my office.

New Toy!

So, after three weeks of fighting with her computer, my roommate gave up and bought a new one. She asked if I could recover her data (photos, music, etc) and I could/did that for her. Then she surprised me by GIVING it to me!

Linky: HP DV6000 / give or take on TigerDirect

I immediately wiped XP and loaded Fedora 10. I'm having some fun trying to get the wireless NIC running, but other than that: I'm psyched! Anyone know of a battery utility? I think I'm gonna have to get a new one. *cringe* Ah well! I've been messing with and configuring Conky for it too! NEW TOYS!!!!

definition: Vista

Vista
(blōt´wãr) (n.) jargon Software that has lots of features and requires considerable disk space and RAM. As the cost of RAM and disk storage has decreased, there has been a growing trend among software developers to disregard the size of applications
. Some people refer to this trend as creeping featuritis. If creeping featuritis is the symptom, bloatware is the disease.
It's actually the definition for "bloatware." Either way, it makes me happy.

the funny things I hear

in real estate...
"GEETURE PROPERTY"

lol

Eloquence, good reading

The ability to articulate has always been a challenge for me. It seemed for a while that I could not communicate in any real clear form (mainly HS and into college). This has since changed some, but not a lot. My end goal doesn't really exist. I desire to work. I want to continue laboring in my quest of becoming more and more articulate. (So I guess I should try to stop swearing so much! HAH!)

This morning I feel the desire to read something inspiring. I'm not surrounded by inspiration. I understand that few people are. To the contrary, we are engulfed in dirt and depression. I found myself actually reading a news article! (linky) The news has become so negative that you have to dig to find something even remotely positive. For this reason, I have basically quit reading the news. It's usually something like "Disaster on Wall Street Thickens" or "Experts say we are screwed" or "Another kid went crazy with a howitzer!" I'm good. I don't really care to hear about that. I WOULD like to read things that are positive and encouraging. (I know, I'm just crazy! Who would want to read such silliness?!)

Anyway, backish on point. If you have something that you have found inspiring, please send it to me! Maybe I can do a reply post for each or just a compilation of what you guys send me. This can also include a passage from a book you enjoyed. Just make sure that you include pertinent info (title, author, page number, et al).

LOL?

http://news.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/03/05/215209
This makes me laugh so hard! Don't worry! The link didn't work for me either! After being slashdotted, they probably realized their ignorance and pulled it! I have to laugh when someone who doesn't know anything about the topic tries to "educate" those below them! I shudder to imagine the other mistakes the LEADING tech group for the state is making. *insert a horrid vomiting feeling in stomach here*

I beg you, my readers, to ask questions about things that you do not understand before giving advice. PLEASE! Read! Early and often! Read for education and not just entertainment! If you don't know something, ask someone (or several people) who does know about it! Be good leaders by asking TONS of questions before making decisions.
/rant

Once in a while....

...you meet someone. This someone is bigger than they appear. They are more than a colleague. They are more than the simple job they do. They are more than the work they put out. They are more than what they say.

They share their wisdom and God knows that ALL of us could use more than that. They encourage us more than we realize. They light things up in a way that we don't see. And usually they do it when we can't see. They show us how to make things happen.

Most people can show us when we mess up. These people show us how to become better. These people show us how things work. These people are direct and explain things clearly.

Their wisdom shines brighter than the toys we play with. Their humor makes people WANT to be called into their offices. Their frequencies are abodes for everyone who needs one at the moment needed. Their demeanor encourages peace and calmness in those with which they interact.

In my few years on this 3rd rock from the sun, I have had the honor of meeting and knowing a few of these people. I am thankful for each one.

Bacon

Well, Bacon found a new home. I posted on CL for a free monitor and a 19" showed up the next day! I hooked it up for her and got almost everything set. I need to spend an hour fixing flash and installing OOo. But things are set and she is using it! It's a good day!

Men were born in the wilderness

This is a thought for a young lady who is having a tough time with her guy. She made some tough decisions and things were working out. Then one of them came back to bite her in the ass and she's trying to make up for it.

"and now even after apologizing, sending an ecard and buying organic ice cream....NOTHING worked. All my efforts to fix the problem failed...I don't get it..I don't get him..."

That is awesome that you are making a HUGE effort to make him feel better! However, I'd like to toss my small blind in there.

ice cream is great.... if you are into that kind of thing (and maybe he is), but I think there are a few things that might be a bit better. guys don't dig ecards. ecards are for girls. We have a tendency to speak to others in our own love language. If that works for me, it will work for you! lol I'd guess that this only works like 15% of the time.

Try to touch his soul. remind him, indirectly, that he is a man. he is strong. he is a force to be reckoned with. he deserves the respect of everyone (more people than just you, so don't just say that you respect him - that would be like him calling you once a week and then after you are upset, saying that he loves you).

What does he enjoy that would do that? the only thing that hits my mind is poker. I don't know him like you do, but if I were you, I'd think of something manly and rugged that he may not think of. Would he go on a hike? Would he lead you up Gray Rock? Would he like an afternoon to go fishing? Would he like something else?
Make sure you get him outside, if not out of the city. Men are at home in the wild. Women are at home in the safe and secure. That's why they like ice cream, tea, and romance novels. They are safe. Men are at home in places that are NOT safe. The felt is not a safe place. It is where we do battle. We attack each other. We try to think of every possible way to gore our adversary's intestines onto the ground. We are warriors. Men were born in the wilderness. It is what brings us to life. A woman makes this battle of ours worthwhile. She is our inspiration... and our reward.

I'm sorry that you are having a tough time. I pray that things work out. You guys are good people. I'd be sad if you were to break it.

Wow, this is good. I'm blogging it.

My small blind...

I have been blessed

To be sure, I've been given a lot over the years. It seems that I have an abundance of computer stuff. I have three computers at the moment. I have a server that I'm working on, my daily workstation, and another smaller computer in my room that I use to watch family guy and futurama when I'm going to sleep. I call this computer Bacon. And I think I'm gonna give it away. I need to get a couple of things done with it, but as soon as I do, I'm getting rid of it. I guess I'll start with my friends and then go to my church. I don't need a computer in my room right now. If I feel the need later on, I can move the server in and go from there. (which means that I need to get on two things; 1 - getting ram for Cajun (the server), 2 - getting the wireless card setup on it.) I also need to pick up a monitor to give away with Bacon.
Hmmm.... well, I'm off to browse CL.

awesomeness

So, today something happened that was inevitable, but unlikely the further along. I fell on my skateboard.... in the middle of College Ave. It really wasn't too bad, but I messed up my ankle. I think I sprained it pretty good. I guess I should spend some time at home.

to a teenager

This is a reply to an email from a young teen that I know. She's having some fights with her parents.

"Girly, EVERYONE gets in fights with their parents. I'm no exception. It's def a stupid girl thing too though! :-D It's okay to be mad and confused. Just remember to take your time and be real with them. And by far the most important is to be open to their ideas. This is the stage when you think you know everything.
A little hint that some adults don't get: the point where you know everything comes when you realize that you know little to nothing and use common sense to figure things out. It's not about "knowing" more; it's about how you approach each item or task. Few people go at the same thing the same way. There are many ways of doing most things. Parents are focused on showing you the easiest ways so that you don't get hurt or have things cost you too much."

The reason that I posted this is that so many people think they KNOW stuff. They may know a lot of stuff, but it is usually irrelevant. They let their egos get in the way. I do it too! But, again, it goes back to the approach. If your fundamentals are sound, your approach will be too. You will be able to tackle anything. You may need help bringing it down! BUT! You already knew that!

We are a social species. Why we are built that way, I'm not sure. However, we are. And that means that we NEED each other. We NEED guys and girls nights out. We NEED a drinking buddy. We NEED wing men. We NEED lunch dates. We NEED our colleagues. We need each other. We need help and we need it often.
Mk, I'll stop beating this dead horse. You get the idea.

note

Elise has been added to the Italian Roast

information structure

This is a reply/discussion of sorts to Elise's recent post. She was waxing philosophical about what a global information infrastructure would look like from the perspective of an overloaded mind.

This is something that I've spend a fair amount of time thinking about. My degree (when I finish the paperwork in a month or two) is towards computer information science. I've thought a bit about what that would look like beyond technology. The more I think past technology, the more I see us going back to the way things were 60 years ago. People worked for a living. Really worked. We didn't sit at a desk and shuffle papers and broker deals. The men worked in the field or in a shop. We built stuff; stuff that lasted. Hard wood, cool metal. We sat down for dinner every night with our family. The women worked hard too. They toiled hard to make sure that we had a couple of nice meals each day. I miss those meals. They tasted SO good!

Anyway, back on topic. People had families over for dinner. They met for coffee. They had game nights. They *gasp* talked face to face! After dinner was always one of my favorite times. The adults would get together and talk and discuss and roll around. Everything from politics to religion to concepts and difficulties. All of those things that are now taboo, they talked about these things.

It was funny and the adults always laughed a bit about it, but they never gave me shit. There would be 5 or 6 adults talking about why some tax cut was good or bad and why. Then there would be this 5-10 year old named Chad, doing nothing but listening and drinking coffee. (Yes, I drank coffee at age 5.) One of my favorite places is at the feet of an old person. The wisdom and experience that our elders have is so valuable. I need to make this a regular event. Maybe I can add to my volunteering with this.
Maybe teaching elders how to blog. That is an idea! Then they won't only be sharing with me. HA! I'm digressing again from technology. Maybe it is just inevitable with me. I've grown up to the whir of the fan in a power supply and the jet engine sound of my hard drives.

I guess my main point with this post was to go back to people physically talking to each other. We need more of that. Yes yes.

I think this sums it up nicely

As I delve further and further into people, there are a few things that remain the same. One of which is each person's wound. The wounds are not unique. The way each person experiences them are unique. Here's another view from a woman's side of things. It is out of a great book that I would recommend to anyone trying to understand women or yourself if you are a woman.

"Few have ever felt so pursued. Sometimes we wonder if we’ve even been noticed. Father was too busy to come to our games, or perhaps he jumped ship altogether. Mother was lost in a never-ending pile of laundry or, more recently, in her own career. We come into the world longing to be special to someone and from the start we are disappointed. It is a rare soul indeed who has been sought after for who she is—not because of what she can do, or what others can gain from her, but simply for herself. Can you recall a time when a significant someone in your life sat you down with the sole purpose of wanting to know your heart more deeply, fully expecting to enjoy what he found there? More people have climbed Mt. Everest than have experienced real pursuit, and so what are we left to conclude? There is nothing in our hearts worth knowing. Whoever and whatever this mystery called I must be, it cannot be much.

“In fact,” we continue, “if I am not pursued, it must be because there is something wrong with me, something dark and twisted inside.” We long to be known, and we fear it like nothing else. Most people live with a subtle dread that one day they will be discovered for who they really are and the world will be appalled."

It is a wonder why women got jobs. Pffffft.

I hope

I hope that Obama reacts in a similar fashion.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/7878418.stm?lss

Donkeys and pink elephants

I think that I have found one of the bigger roadblocks between democrats and republicans. Every time I hear a rep talk of trying to talk to a dem about politics, they say the same thing. You can't get a word in edgewise and even if you do, they won't listen to you. It's their way and that's it. There isn't even a highway. Typically, dems are so hard up on their ideas that they cannot listen. I tend to agree with this. However, I think it applies to reps too. They are just quieter and more "ethical" about it.

Alright, let's look at the mortgage limit. It was at 10 and now it's at 4. I'm not sure who oversees that (I'd guess the FED, but IDK). So let's say we have a businessman. He is an investor. For all practical purposes, that is all he does (for our example). He has 200 properties currently. He has 70 mortgages and owns 130 of the properties out right. Say he has $250,000 in cash and liquid assets. That isn't enough to buy a house outright. However, that is enough to put down several down payments and get a solid start on a mortgage (or three).

Being in the real estate business (read: working in a RE office as I'm not a broker), I keep hearing about how this is such a buyer's market. Rates are low on a historic level; equity is low vs likely future values; there are tons of properties being listed and put into the for sale databases/being foreclosed.

Now, put that cap on at 4. You can no longer get ANY financing for even well leveraged and backed projects. Your credit score is 912? Nope. You can back the project with 75% capital? Nope. This has stopped many development projects. You are this guy. What do you do? You can't invest in the most tangible investment in existence. The stock markets are a bit sketchy.

I look for venture capital opportunities. I'm looking for people similar to myself who want to start businesses that provide essentials to living that have solid business foundations. I'm looking at people looking to start a Costco, a grocery store, a Sam's. If I can help start one of these businesses with $150,000 of my cash/etc and some partners, I will have made a solid investment that creates a ton of jobs. Why not a $20k tax credit to business that are expanding and growing or even a new business! I'm sure there are more than a few small businesses that are looking to get off of the ground.

What would make it easier for me? People need to live. They need essentials: housing, food, a job. They will find ways to have fun past that. It is not my concern. I would like to see things loosened up for people looking to make things happen for these three priorities. Mr Obama, ease regulation for these people. Please!

I just saw an ad the other night on the internet somewhere. I think it was an Allstate ad. This company started in 1931. Who can say that? They have focused on "the basics." Our economy has been so bloated with saturated fatty acids like the formalities of advertising and making things bigger and more *fill in the blank*. Let's look at making milk cheaper; flour; beef. Let's get back to basics.

Do you see what I did there? I looked at the problem from a citizen's perspective. I looked at a possible solution. I talked it out. I really haven't read much about it all (other than some stuff to become educated enough to write the previous couple of posts). I didn't say that this group had got it right and this group had it wrong. There was no dem or rep. I took a problem that has been talked about and just thought things out. People seem to judge too much and too often. Please stop.

side note: The democrats seem to be more educated about things, but I'm not sure which is more focused on actually solving the problem(s); if either group is.

another side note: a good link I just found (http://www.fixhousingfirst.com/the-issues/index.php)

2 diff issues

In my last post, I was talking about two different issues. after rereading it, it looked like I was talking about one. The first issue was the first time home buyer tax credit. The second issue was the mortgage limit. sorry for the confusion.

Democrats are messing it up too

Even though Bush is no longer our fearless leader and the republicans are basically powerless, the democrats are making a bad situation worse.

I was really happy to hear about the first time home buyer credit of up to $15k. I was not happy with the limitation of financing past 4 houses. There are plenty of wealthy people who have cash on hand. Guess what these people want to do? They want to buy real estate!!! With interest rates where they are, people are wanting to exploit the buyers market that we find ourselves in. Inside the changes that are happening, one of them is a limitation on how many mortgages you can have. The limit WAS 10. It is now 4. What does this mean? Even the people with cash cannot get financing. The banks NEED to get back to lending. That is how they make their income; from interest off of loans. What is the ideal client? The ideal client is the investor who is well backed and leveraged with cash on hand. This is a huge mistake in my humble opinion.
I'm glad that George W Bush is out of office. He made a lot of mistakes. But I see some big mistakes being made since then. *sigh*

more funnies

So I've seen a lot of 404 File not found pages in my 23 years using computers. This is something along the lines of where I'd like to see them go.

hahaha

It's so cute! Can we keep it?!?!?! huh? huh? huh? huh? huh? huh? We can name it Vista!!!!

NSFW, explicit content, and funny as hell!

So, I saw this video here recently and I about popped a lung from laughing so hard! This is the view of an IT person's hell from his desktop. He's using a virtual machine to "switch" desktop environments. And I have to say that he's pretty good.
Enjoy!

hahahaha

"AFAIK, your cheif genetic imperatives are mating and killing each other"

This is a very objetive and a bit sarcastic view of the human species. It is a quote from a robot in QC.

re: hm comment

that was something that someone said and I was thinking about it. It wasn't what it looked like. Sorry for the lack of elaboration.

hm

why don't any of you ever speak up

....

Friends, dark times are ahead for me. I'm not talking about money or the market. I'd kindly request that you pray for me. In whatever form you choose, pray for me. The fire is primed and I'm ready to walk through it.

Quote for my thinkers

"Just because something doesn't do what you planned it to do doesn't mean it's useless."
-- Thomas A. Edison

I really like this quote. It is the philosophy that many people who embrace linux have. They say, alright, it doesn't work for this. What will? Is there something that this will work with? Will it work for this developer or that user? Will it become the foundation for a new idea?

My red Thwingline Thtapler

Transcribed for your reading pleasure!

Milton
"I, I don't care if they, if they lay me off either, because I, I told Bill that if he movth my desk one more time, then, then I'm quitting. I'm going to quit. And I thold Dom too because they've moved my desk four times. I uthed to be by the window, where I could thee the thquirrels and they were merry. But then they thwitched from the Thwingline to the Boston thtapler, but I kept my Thwingline. They have my thtaples for the Boston and I kept the thtaples from the Thwingline thtapler."

Peter
"Ok, Milton."

Milton
"And if, if they take my thtapler, I will, I will thet this building on fire."

my big project!

Alright, so this has been a couple of months in the making. I bought a computer about a year ago to learn Linux and now I'm going to do something with it.

As you know, I like to think that I'm a poker player! HAHA! See The Chad's Poker -> -> -> -> under Italian Roast. Anyway, I bought a workstation in August and a nice monitor a couple of weeks ago to play poker on. Well, I don't mind how Pokerstars runs on the new box, but I'm not a big fan of Vista. It's a huge memory hog and you really should not need that much horsepower to work. I was already on the way to learning Linux and this is inspiring me to learn faster.

I've been working with Ubuntu and Fedora. Ubuntu is supported/written by Mark Shuttleworth's Cononical. It has his African roots and philosophy of community and sharing. I dig that. Fedora is Red Hat's child. Red Hat Enterprise Linux is THE Linux that powers the big corporate servers. RH is more the commercial, production Linux and they have commercial support for it too. Fedora is really nice and clean IMO. I've seen lots of people who mod it and make it a really solid OS. Both Ubuntu and Fedora run the Gnome desktop environment as a default, but they also support KDE and Xfce if you would prefer.

Alright, the project! I run a database behind my poker to track and analyze my play and my opponents. I'm thinking that I can have the server run the database and it's engine while I play on the workstation. I'm not real sure how I can do this yet, but I'm gonna try! I'm currently in the stage of getting a workstation that will run stars like I want (stable). I'll then work on getting the database engine running smoothly and interacting well with stars. Then I'll wipe vista off of my "production" workstation and build a Fedora box for actual play. As far as I can tell (I hit google AND 2+2), nobody has done this yet, anywhere. People have played poker on Linux, but nobody has run the database that was written in windows, much less off of another computer.

Updates later.

Initiation

This is a reply to a friend who asked about me having a tough time with life. Now, this is a bit of a general thought on the past year.

"I've always tried to strive for wisdom. If I receive nothing else in this life, I choose to become wise. I feel as though if I want or need anything, wisdom will bring it to me.

I know I kind of dodged your Q and I think you deserve an answer. I believe that 2008 was that fire that defines me now as a man. Things only get harder and harder in life, but you go through initiations. I became a man last year. I had to be put to the flames before I could be forged. In life, there is no such thing as a cold-forge. Only hot. 2008 was THE hardest year of my life so far. 09 is looking better, but only time will tell. I still have many a wound to break open and clean before it can heal correctly. We are all scarred. But to become wise, we must have knowledge coupled with experience. I believe that I have knowledge. I'm just going through the experience now. Experience is often a VERY hard thing to go through. Sometimes it is hard to lift your arms. But if you are to climb Long's Peak, you must life each leg many a time when it is most difficult. You will fully believe that you cannot lift your knee even one more time. But what you do is what matters.

Well, I've stood on the summit several times. Each time I go, this lesson is only reaffirmed."

Downtime

We all need downtime. Rest is SOOOOOOOOOOOO important and people underestimate it. Peace is something that people talk about only in theory and never in application.
The only thing that will be work (other than work ldo) will be teaching climbing wed and thur evenings. I'm going to try to get 8 hours of sleep every night and spend lots of time at home.

Here's to a restful week!

why I teach people to climb

I was teaching my weekly introduction class last night and I had the opportunity to tell one of my favorite stories. Teaching people how to be safe about climbing is one of the most rewarding things I have ever done in my life. It's amazing. This experience set THE perfect example for the love I have of teaching people my passion for climbing.

A few years back, I was working at my local gym. The group was coming in late morning and there was only 7 or 8 of them. When they showed up, I realized that they were high-risk youth. They were around 13-15 years old. They lived in a "home" with kids in similar situations. It was something of a foster home for kids who had never had much guidance or parenting, if they had parents at all. One of the girls was pregnant. The boys had tatoos and wore jeans that hung from their thighs. All of them looked physically and emotionally abused. Well, maybe I could do something about their day.
After screwing around putting on harnesses and an hour of tying knots and learning to belay, I felt that we were ready to start actually climbing. One of the boys had the WORST attitude. He didn't want to do anything but sit and pout. I don't know, but he may have been in trouble earlier in the day. He was REALLY all sorts of unhappy about his day. I don't remember his name, but he touched my life in a way that he will never know.
After basically fighting with him to get him into a harness and to participate, I volunteered him to be the first climber. I volunteered a girl who seemed the complete opposite of him in the group and probably wasn't friends with him to belay him. (She was solid, which was the real reason I chose her, but it really helped that she wasn't his buddy.) After a couple of minutes of hooking up and tying in, I had every member of the group check both of them over to make sure that they were setup correctly. I then had them all sit down right around us, just a couple feet away. Then I asked the question; THE question. "Do you trust your friend?" He looked scared to death and I could almost see the blood fade from his face. I had him take his jacket off and pull his shirt through his harness. Then I had him approach the wall.
In climbing we have lots of communication. When someone leaves the ground, both people know what is happening and they are talking to each other. This begins with a couple of commands. They recited the commands and he pulled onto the wall.
The girl very diligently pulled rope and belayed him perfectly. He climbed higher and higher, gripping the holds harder and harder as he ascended. About 20 feet up, he stopped and I could see the tears on his cheecks. He was so tense that his legs were doing what we climbers call "sewing machine leg" or "Elvis' legs." He was not willing to trust his belayer. I was breaking that right now. You could see the anguish on his face. His arms were on fire from the lactic acid builing up. I told him that he needs to do one of two things. He can keep climbing or he can sit back in his harness and lower off. I looked back at all of the other kids and they were on the edge of their seats.
After some coaching, he reached the top! Then the hard part began. I had to talk him into sitting back into his harness and letting go completely of the wall. I'd guess that it took a good three or four minutes to accomplish that. Once in lowering mode, I did my best to relax him.
When he touched the floor, his face was about a mile wide. His adrenaline had to be going about mach 2 as he wiped his tears away and untied.
Just watching this 180 of this kid was amazing. He went from a kid who didn't trust anyone and probably didn't like anyone, to someone who was building self-confidence, trust in other people, and the ability to encourage. I will never forget that day.

charity

I have been thinking a bit about my move this past weekend. I gave a ton (for me) of stuff to goodwill and I'm just thinking about that. I gave a bunch of shirts (some old dress shirts that I don't wear anymore), some over shirts/jackets, and a backpack-FULL of books (not actually a backpack; I just used it for a picture). I didn't realize the tax break and I certainly didn't realize how good I would feel about the whole thing. I'm thinking of giving more.

I have an old computer that I'm thinking of donating. It is really pretty old. I'm guessing it was built around 2000 or 2001. Since it won't run windows really at all anymore, I installed Fedora 10 on it and it seems to run pretty well. I'd guess that it would be limited to writing papers and browsing the web with its hardware state. But none the less. If you know someone who is in need and could use something like this AND would be willing to learn Fedora, I would be interested in chatting with them in the future. I'm thinking that I will use it until I get my server up and running and then look at giving it away or selling it. ($60ish, monitor included) I think the optimal recipient would be a student or single parent, etc with little or no computer knowledge. I find it much easier to show someone linux who has not been brainwashed by the Microsoft crowd. But alas, it will be about a month before I do this regardless.

funny story, I'm getting a bit full of myself for a second

Okay, so this is poker related, but I feel it's better here. (I think I posted something on this on my poker blog)

On my birthday, I played poker for the morning/lunchtime. I had lunch with Heather and climbed a bit. Then I decided, REALLY spur the moment, to go play in this tournament at a friend's house. I got there about 20 minutes late and had to wait for someone to bust. But meh, I don't mind running to the fridge for beers for people! They were greatful and it gave me some time to just watch and pick out the fishies.
So, I got in about an hour later, just after first break and started beating the crap out of the live ones. I did it in really REALLY thin situations too. Then I ran hot. my 55>AA allin preflop FTW!!!! Anyway, the fun part!
When we were down to about 8 or 9 players, I stood up for some fun! I made a big deal about it too. "Okay everyone! It is my birthday! Today I am 26 years old!" Some of the players greeted me with happy birthday, etc. "So, you know what that means right? You HAVE to let me win!" A roar of laughter broke out and everyone was cheery! It was awesome.
When we were down to 3 or 4, I hollered over to the cash game that had started up "Hey guys! I was only kidding! You didn't HAVE to let me win!" The banter is something that I will always enjoy among the card games I sit in.
Well, guess what. I won. Happy birthday to me! Happy birthday to ME! Happy birthday dear CHAD! Happy birthday to me!
Then I proceeded to blow most of my winnings on a new toy. I invested in a new (to me; refurb'ed) 22" widescreen monitor for my home computer. Happy birthday to me!

so I got a couple of new toys

one of which will make great transportation around old town and to work.
The Blunt

I had a skateboard a long time ago, but never got too serious about it. I think that this will not only be useful, but relaxing too. I just may have to break out my mp3 player for my commute.

This is a tribute to a woman's heart

The heart of a woman is more beautiful than anything else on the planet. The line "I hear violins" comes to mind. I hear .... vio... lins...... One thing that I also hear, is the sunrise..... at 14,000 feet.

I dosed off at about 1145pm, August 4th, 2006 in my BMW 325i. I was woken up by a random boy from my church assigned from my pastor, Josh Ratslaff. He knocked on my window asking if I was "Chad" and then to "wake up." Six hours later I saw the third most beautiful thing I had ever seen in my life. (see attached) The second, you will have to ask me about when you have five minutes. The first is a woman. A woman is by far THE most beautiful creature that God has created on the face of the planet. I would imagine that Brooke would have taken her small fingers and, with God's help, orchestrated something like this....

A tribute to woman's heart.....

Loving everyone

"You know, you don't have to like everyone in your tribe, but you do have to love them."

There are a few people in my life that I don't really approve of. And sometimes it is really hard not to just let them go. But we must slog on in our relationships. It means more to people to have love than anything else.

projects

I'm posting a couple of projects so that I will actually sit down and do them.

1 Install the new power supply in the old server.
2 upgrade said server to Fedora 10.
3 get RLF running on the blog.

4 read about teh virtual machines