cybormoron

Non-breaking Space

2010-04-03T23:59:00.003-04:00

just so i don't forget and lose this. i use it for paragraph indentation.

Non-breaking Space

The most common character entity in HTML is the non-breaking space.

Normally HTML will truncate spaces in your text. If you write 10 spaces in your text HTML will remove 9 of them. To add lots of spaces to your text, use the &nb sp; character entity. i inserted a space in there for display. &# 160; is the number.

ampersand nbsp semi-colon is the character entity name.

ampersand pound 160 semi-colon is the character entity number.

info comes from this page.
http://www.w3schools.com/html/html_entities.asp

obsolete already?

2010-04-03T23:29:00.001-04:00

   well technically not yet but mandriva has a new release coming and kde has just released their latest. in fact i've installed the mandriva 2010.1 spring beta 1 w/ kde 4.4.2 and am quite enjoying it. i'm wondering just how much time i should spend in my already obsolete 1 week old virtual machine. this beta is working remarkably well so maybe i should go ahead and switch over.

   a most remarkable thing occured to me shortly after exploring it. i spent a couple of hours checking it out then i took a break. it suddenly occured to me that i hadn't noticed those pesky tool tips. what the heck, did they become less conspicuous or did i get used to them? whatever happened i'm glad that petty annoyance isn't so glaring anymore.

   i'm still only exploring for a few hours every day rather than jumping in cold turkey. i must say it does look quite promising.

   here's some screenshots of mandriva 2010.1 spring beta w/ kde 4.4.2.
http://www.imagebam.com/image/20321674852435/

not committed yet

2010-03-31T00:13:00.008-04:00

   since my post four days ago i've managed to get mandriva 2010 w/ kde4 installed in virtualbox as a guest on a mandriva w/ gnome host. it seems to work well however i'm having second thoughts about committing myself to using it exclusively. actually i'm quite frustrated with it.
   it's really just a petty annoyance but it irritates me so much because there seems to be absolutely nothing i can do about it. i'm talking about pop-up tool tips or pop-up descriptions that POPUP when the cursor hovers over something. i hate these. i hate these with a passion. i find them totally useless, redundant, and very distracting. for example; moving the cursor to the X on a window title bar a yellow tool tip pops up and states "close window". no shit, sherlock. thanks for telling me what the X does. i seem to keep forgetting what it does and without the tool tip i wouldn't know how to close a window, duh!!!
   although the tool tips are everywhere an icon is they're just a minor irritation. it's the pop-up descriptions that really get my goat. all distros use tool tips and descriptions but kde4 seems to have taken them to a new level. an example of these is icons on the panel. hovering over the firefox icon causes a description to come up stating "firefox web browser web browser". uh duh, are you sure that's what the firefox icon does? and thanks for telling me that firefox web browser is indeed a web browser. the adding insult to irritation part is the way the pop-ups go away and pop up again as you move the cursor. it's like a pesky bug that keeps buzzing in your ears. i move the cursor to make it go away and forget what i was trying to do in the first place. to be even more irritating they often overlap adjacent information. i use the cursor to help focus my eye on reading something and a description overlaps the next line.
   i could just keep going on about how lame these are such as they often disappear when you do try read them because the timing isn't right. it's laughable to some extent how irritated i get but when it affects the overall experience then maybe something should be done to reduce the problem. i wish i knew what.
   here's an example of a pop-up description overlapping adjacent info. it merely repeats the text and covers up the next two lines. brilliant huh?

   i've got to get past this. i've wasted enough time fussing around with this stupid issue. if i were to commit myself at this point (to using the distro, not to an asylum, lol.) the next few things that would need to be done are; setting up the repos and installing some packages and setting up firefox.
   i've already tweaked a lot of desktop settings trying to turn off tool tips but i'm still not ready to commit at this time. when i get some of my favorite firefox addons installed then i'll be committed. the web is where i spend most of my time.
   so i'm still psyching myself up. my stated goal is to pretend this is all i have available. hopefully it gets better from here on in.

my kde4 adventure

2010-03-26T02:19:00.003-04:00

   ok, let's get this show on the road. first i want to psych myself up. i'll do this by explaining what i know about and how i feel about kde4 up to this point. throughout this adventure i want to be able to express my thoughts and feelings and results without any derogatory insinuations or insults. i hope i can do this. in fact i'd like to say a thank you to all the GNU/Linux developers that work hard to provide us all with a great operating system. Thank You. if i do say something offensive then please try to grin and bear it and imagine that i'm just an old-skool hippie trying hard to adjust to new ways.
   as we all know kde took a left turn somewhere into some cosmic, intergalactic, subspace, timewarp, plasmoid, wormhole and caused a lot of folks to get lost and confused. many even got angry, very angry. i'm one of those that got mad also but i mostly bit my tongue and honestly tried to explore and use kde4. i started with one of the first nightly releases that came out with the opensuse distro. it wasn't very usable but it provided a nice introduction to where kde4 was going. each time a new release came out i tried it but usually got frustrated in a short period of time (about an hour). when the major distros started implementing it as the default desktop i knew i was going to have problems adjusting. that's when i got mad. so i stayed with mandriva 2008.1 kde 3.5.10.
   i just recently upgraded to mandriva 2010 with the gnome desktop but i'm not happy with it. i know there are other desktops i could try such as xfce or lxde but right now i'm just going to jump into the kde4 wormhole. that's how i got started with linux in the first place. i had linux installed but i kept booting into windows simply because it was familiar. finally i committed myself to stay in linux and learn how to do things or not do them till i learned how. it wasn't so hard and i've never looked back.
   so that's what i'm going to do with kde4. i'm going to create a virtual machine and stay committed to it. i know, a virtual machine doesn't sound like total commitment as the host will still be readily available but i don't feel like creating a dual boot scenario. i'll just have to discipline myself.
   one thing i want to do is document every little, teeny, tiny detail or issue i have with kde4. maybe i'll learn something along the way. one thing i don't want to do is sound like i'm an authority on using kde but rather how i try to deal with things. ok, let's go team, sisboomba. are we psyched yet?
   here's a shot of virtualbox that i'll be using for this. right off the bat i run into one of those little issues. i had to figure out how to close the about window, there's no buttons on the title bar. clicking anywhere inside the window will close it. seems kind of inconsistent to me.

over a year already?

2010-03-25T01:14:00.004-04:00

   wow, where the heck have i been? i've been on twitter. has it really been over a year since i blogged something? yes time flies. so what brings me back? well i'm kind of tired of twitter and i feel the need to blog. well then, dear sir, blog something. ok, ok.
   now that i'm back i'm not sure what to start with. one thing that's on my mind is i'm thinking of creating a virtual machine for mandriva kde4 and locking myself into using it and only it. that's how i finally committed to linux and i've never looked back. this would be different though because i'd be going forth with a negative attitude.
   what can i say? i've explored it briefly and didn't like it. i've recently switched to gnome but i'm not really liking it either. so i'm stuck i guess. switch paradigms and use kde4 or throw my computer in the trash. see what i mean by negative attitude?
   when i first started using linux i was excited, amazed, and full of adventure. now after 5 years i've grown bitter at the direction it's going. so i shall calm down, swallow my pride, keep an open mind and lock myself into kde4. who knows maybe i'll like it, i hope.

too busy

2009-03-01T14:46:00.004-05:00

   man oh man oh man, i can't find time to update my blog. a couple of big distractions are keeping me away. first is that i'm working more lately so that is seriously cutting into my puter playtime. what can i do i gotta pay the rent.
   i wish i could figure out how to make the web support me. i have mixed feelings about this. on one hand i admire those entrepreneurial types that are "making it" with multiple domains, advertising accounts, even legitimate web businesses. on the other hand i've been sitting here spending most of my time blocking those stinking adverts. oh well, i'll figure something out.
   the second thing is i've rediscovered twitter. lots of interesting stuff can be found there. i think it's quite a fad at the moment. yup, i call it a fad. it might stick around awhile but i'm sure the growth will level off soon. in the meantime it's fun.
   a couple of other distractions are all the new web sites and software updates to keep up with. it sure is hard keeping track of billions of new web pages but i'm trying, lol. not to mention all of the new GNU/Linux releases. i'm way behind on exploring many of those.

a first

2009-02-10T21:01:00.004-05:00

   today i saw a microsoft computer with an internet connection at best buy. i was surprised to say the least. i've been browsing all of my local computer retailers for about 7 years now and have never seen a windows machine connected to the web. i played around with it a little bit but i had to resist a powerful urge to test the security. a little voice in my ear kept saying, "put a virus on it". sheesh, golly gee whiz, i didn't realize i had such an evil streak in me. i guess my contempt for microsoft comes out in weird ways. there's something about microsoft that just makes ya wanna attack them.
   fortunately i didn't know how to do anything malicious, lol. the worst thing i could think of was to download and install yahoo instant messenger and allow the bundled toolbar to hijack internet exploder, lol. (do they still do that?). instead i used the "live" search toolbar to search for linux and changed the internet exploder home page to linux dot org. haha, i still remember how to change the home page. take that microsoft.
   it did seem like a nice computer, too bad it had windows on it. if it had a GNU/Linux distribution on it i would have seriously considered buying it. i absolutely, positively, refuse to buy a microsoft computer.

http://www.linux.org/

i changed my byline

2009-02-05T15:32:00.003-05:00

i changed my byline today.
here's my old one:
i'm really more of a listener than a talker or should i say a reader than a writer. but i do occasionally have something to say or should i say write, huh?

what is a byline anyway? well, let's look it up on wikipedia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byline

i upgraded virtualbox

2009-02-05T14:50:00.002-05:00

instead of exploring my recent batch of distros i decided to upgrade virtualbox. current version is 2.1.2. it seems to be working ok.

http://www.virtualbox.org/

http://forums.virtualbox.org/

latest batch of distros

2009-02-02T19:05:00.002-05:00

downloading 4 distros to explore in virtualbox. should have lots of fun this evening checking these out.

distrowatch debian GNU/Linux 5.0 rc2
http://www.debian.org/

distrowatch geexbox 1.2
http://www.geexbox.org/en/index.html

distrowatch pardus linux 2008.2
http://www.pardus.org.tr/eng/index.html

distrowatch knoppix 6.0
http://www.knoppix.com/

paragraph indentation

2009-01-24T01:53:00.010-05:00

i found an easy way to indent paragraphs in the blogspot editor. just add this tag
to the first line of the paragraph. add multiple instances without spaces for greater indentation.

this tip comes from here.

this blogger's original tip
talked about adding a style script to the template but i didn't want to risk breaking my template testing it. be sure to back up your template before you test it.

another tip comes from here. again, i haven't tested this one either.

more tips
http://theedifier.com/blogging-blogger/formatting-the-post-fine-tuning-html.php
http://tips.blogdoctor.me/2007/10/format-text-in-blogger-posts.html
http://www.divitodesign.com/2008/10/paragraph-typography-guide/
http://www.ehow.com/how_2382848_hanging-indent-css.html

and there's also blogger help
http://help.blogger.com/bin/topic.py?topic=12457

hey google, stop refreshing.

2009-01-24T00:22:00.005-05:00

refresh blocker from my previous post didn't work so i stopped using igoogle for my home page. the auto refresh was causing problems so i had no choice. i wish google would give more options. i'm just using google's classic home page now. plain and simple, no automatic, dynamic, updates. the gadgets were just links to other pages anyway so i moved the links to my bookmarks.

automatic content updating is probably a good feature for a lot of people but i prefer to manually update. google should offer this option. it got frustrating for me to see a couple of items to check out and go to one of the pages then come back to find the other items have been refreshed and i can't remember what exactly they were. a "pause" option sounds like a good idea. let me pause the auto update so i can check out a news story and come back and check the others. then when i'm ready i can update the news feed, or mail notification, or whatever. whaddya think google? good idea?

refresh blocker addon

2009-01-14T13:03:00.004-05:00

i finally got around to solving a huge petty annoyance. yes, petty annoyances can be huge, lol. this one is about the way the igoogle custom home page auto refreshes. whenever google refreshes it locks up firefox and interferes with other tabs and pages. sometimes it stalls while it's fetching info and takes as much as 20 seconds to complete. google reader does this also. it causes scrolling to lock up on other pages and changes the cursor. the issue is the meta refresh tag in google and there is no setting within google to turn it off.

the solution is an extension called refreshblocker. refreshblocker addon
author's homepage

according to this mozillazine forum thread the tab mix plus and the noscript addons can disable meta refreshes also but may not work.

quote
If you are using Tab Mix Plus you can set tab permissions in context menu to not allow redirections.

quote
Notice that while current NoScript builds work fine either with Refresh Blocker or Tab Mix Plus, the aforementioned TMP "redirection blocking" feature doesn't play nice with Refresh Blocker (results are unpredictable).

quote
The NoScript extension has an option to block META redirections inside noscript elements. It works, but only on "Untrusted" sites though, i.e. JavaScript for the page has to be left disabled.

so far refreshblocker is working for me. i haven't tried the other methods.

another wild goose chase

2009-01-12T03:04:00.006-05:00

or should i say wild penguin chase, lol.
i love exploring linux distros. whenever i see a new release or discover a distro i hadn't known about i immediately download the iso and create a virtual machine in virtualbox to explore it. today i discovered a netbook called Limepc that runs LimeOS linux but i could not find the iso image to download. previously i went looking for linpus or one of those other netbook distributions and couldn't find it either.
i'm confused. i must have a misunderstanding about GNU/Linux operating systems. i thought they were all supposed to be freely available for download. perhaps i'm just accustomed to pre-compiled releases and my lack of knowledge on how to compile source code is what prevents me from finding what i want. perhaps the source code is all a manufacturer is required to make available and if i want to see how it works then i'll have to learn how to compile the code or buy the machine.
i have the idea of making some kind of presentation of the different netbook systems available. i've seen gOS and i have a version of xandros but i can't find the others. oh well, i'll keep looking and see what i come up with.
btw...limepc looks pretty cool.

here's the page for Limepc

here's info about limefree project

wikipedia explains netbooks very well

wikipedia compares netbooks

screen resolution in sidux virtualbox

2008-12-21T14:43:00.003-05:00

i fired up my sidux 2008-03 virtual machine today to check for updates. updating is an issue i'm wrestling with in another distro (slackware) but i'll talk about that later. first i want to set the resolution in sidux. i've had sidux in virtualbox for awhile now and i like it but i haven't spent much time tweaking it. with the virtualbox guest additions installed i can simply grab the corner of the virtualbox window and dynamically resize sidux to any resolution i want but i thought it would be nice if sidux just booted to the 1440x1050 size i like. by default it boots to 1024x768. so what do i need to do?
first i open up KRandRTray but the highest res it offers is 1280x800 so this tool won't work at this time.
next i try the sidux control center. there's an option to configure the x-server but i don't see where to add the exact resolution i want. i'll have to manually edit xorg.conf and add the res i want.
simply adding a Modes line with the res in the correct section will give the res i want. this is where KRandRTray gets its options from and when most distros boot up and start the x server this is where the x server gets its resolution from.

example:

Section "Screen"
Identifier "Screen 0"
Monitor "Monitor 0"
DefaultColorDepth 24
SubSection "Display"
Depth 8
Modes "1440x1050"
EndSubSection
SubSection "Display"
Depth 15
Modes "1440x1050"
EndSubSection
SubSection "Display"
Depth 16
Modes "1440x1050"
EndSubSection
SubSection "Display"
Depth 24
Modes "1440x1050"
EndSubSection
EndSection

the x server reads the Modes line and selects the first resolution. in this case 1440x1050.

now i'm off to figure out how to update my sidux and slackware virtual machines.

snow day

2008-12-19T14:59:00.004-05:00

the tv went dead for a while. i should catch up on some blog posts if the web doesn't go down for me. keep up the good work comcast.

mlive ann arbor news

Washtenaw County to close non-essential services
by By Tracy Davis | The Ann Arbor News
Friday December 19, 2008, 11:04 AM

Washtenaw County is shutting down all non-essential services at noon today because of weather conditions.

Essential services that will continue operating include workers such as those in the jail, juvenile detention, emergency management and some other parts of county operations.

Departments deemed non-essential will be closed entirely for the day.

County director of emergency management Marc Breckenridge said he could not recall the last time the county had shut down because of weather.

"We haven't done this in a long time," he said.

fedora 10 in virtualbox

2008-11-28T01:12:00.005-05:00

yeehaw...i finally have a working fedora virtual machine. it took some head bangin' but i got it banged into shape to suit me.

1st task was to kill those annoying menu tooltips. will somebody please tell the gnome and fedora devs to stop enabling those by default and also install the gconf-editor with the release. i found the command to install gconf-editor
yum install gconf-editor
worked ok, then i run it and go to apps > panel > global > tooltips_enabled. uncheck the box and say goodbye tooltips.

2nd task is guest additions and screen resolution. this is where i've failed with previous versions of fedora and given up, but not this time, hehe. the guest additions wanted gnu make, kernel headers, and gnu compiler (gcc) before it would install. i somehow managed to install those 3 packages and the guest additions then installed like a charm. mouse integration works but i couldn't change the resolution. i found this xorg tip on the virtualbox forums.

QUOTE
Here is what I did for Fedora 10 guest under Ubuntu 8.10 Host
Run the following command to create xorg.conf.new inside fedora 10 box

Xorg -configure :1

Copy xorg.conf.new /etc/X11/

cp /root/xorg.conf.new /etc/X11/xorg.conf

reboot

That is it!!

it worked. i can resize the virtualbox window to any resolution and fedora automagically resizes itself.

now, i'm off to play with my new fc10 virtual machine. so far so good in virtualbox.

war & peace in my email

2008-11-24T11:44:00.008-05:00

i signed up to receive installments of a book in my email. because i spend so much time on my computer i thought this might be a good way to get some book reading done. this should be fun.

i searched for War and Peace at dailylit.

simply entered my email addy

validated my email

had them send me the first installment

let's go check my email

here it is

the text appears word for word as the book

this book is considered a must read but it is a bit daunting. i think i can digest it in small installments.

dailylit appears to be a nice website. there are lots of titles, authors, categories available.

cya george, it's been fun.

2008-11-15T03:30:00.007-05:00

best wishes and good luck, obama.

linky here

another feature i DON'T WANT

2008-11-12T03:05:00.004-05:00

well here we go, another rant in my continuing saga about websites and software makers forcing features on me that i DO NOT WANT. this time it's google search suggestions. just when i start to get comfortable google throws some more bull at me. what really peeves me off is the bullcrap marketing rhetoric they use to convince me or shame me that it's a good thing. they really should stop with all these lame features before they break the proverbial camel's back.
this concerns me because i read on a recent blog post somewhere that it is nothing more than a keystroke logger by google. i wonder why search suggestions is unable to help me find where i read that post? when you start typing into the google search box google offers suggestions based on what you're typing. when you type a letter it looks for words that start with that letter. this is a connection to google and tells them that i typed that letter into the box. i don't believe for one second that google is not logging this. they know every letter i type.
the bullcrap rhetoric is that they are trying to cut down on misspelled words. the hidden agenda is that they see every letter. sure, you can turn the feature off in search preferences but you have to keep cookies for it to stick.
i'm really getting sick and tired of new developments. i'm using an old version of firefox because i don't like the new version. i haven't upgraded my mandriva from 2008.1 to the 2009 release because i don't like it. i have switched to the old version of email because of new features. i'm am growing weary of google very fast.

edit... element hiding helper hides the drop down.

i am a pc but i love linux

2008-10-11T22:57:00.000-04:00

i like the 3rd guy

my adblock stuff

2008-10-04T18:06:00.005-04:00

i have adblock plus installed and subscribed to the EasyElement + EasyList filters. i also have the element hiding helper extension installed. if there is something on a web page that i don't like i'll do one of a few things to block it. i'll try to adblock the image, block the element, add to hosts file, or simply block the whole stinking site. i really don't care for some of the junk that web sites try to deliver to my computer. i don't mess around. it gets blocked, period, end of discussion.

here is the list of advertisement filters i've added.

http://beta.gamook.com/Game/Embed.aspx
http://banners.pcsecurityshield.com
http://images.tigerdirect.com/adserve/
http://pixel.quantserve.com
http://iframe.adultfriendfinder.com/promo/
http://www.danasoft.com
http://www.*/hoverbox.css
*kokoku*
http://momdy.com
http://www.abcsearch.com
http://www.searchengineguide.com/grafx/*125x125*
*abcsearch300x250.gif
*/sponsors/*
http://dw.com.com
http://engage.everyone.net/nserver/aamsz=468x60/
/promo.css
http://www.wonderhowto.com
http://whos.amung.us
http://www.anuslaptops.com/track.htm
http://www3.clustrmaps.com/
http://www.fulltiltpoker.com
http://i.ytimg.com/u/*/watch_header.jpg
http://*/adclick.php
http://*/img/winfixereng468x60.gif
http://*/img/winfixereng728x90.gif
http://www.maploco.com
http://ly.lygo.com/ly/weather/avatars/120x68/betty/night.jpg
http://stumbleupon.112.2o7.net
https://chatenabled.mail.google.com/mail/images/cleardot.gif?at=xn3j32rkp659rbz7y1uhrwmuli8wjd&VER=6&it=2683&zx=2mh1pc-8o730w
http://people.delphiforums.com/foodtech/images/SAMMY2NOV05_2.png
http://people.delphiforums.com/foodtech/images/Samsig7.gif
http://img236.imageshack.us/img236/37/avantar8rguq6.gif
http://c22.statcounter.com
http://img128.imageshack.us/img128/702/9226eb8.png
http://img43.imageshack.us/img43/7845/monkeygun4vz.gif
http://www.quill-signatures.com/Rejean_ani.gif
http://www.cowsmilk.net/pics/grounded.png
http://www.traube-post.it/en/flash/header2.swf
http://www.traube-post.it/en/flash/film_en.swf
http://netcat.ath.cx/ff.gif
http://netcat.ath.cx/mecirc1.gif
http://netcat.ath.cx/mecirc2.gif
http://www.cowsmilk.net/pics/satchel2.png
http://img100.imageshack.us/img100/7135/userbar621887wz1.gif
http://analytics.live.com/Analytics/msAnalytics.js
http://z.digg.com
http://digg.analytics.live.com
http://www.blogtopsites.com/tracker.php
http://www.google.com/images/nav_logo3.png
http://csi.gstatic.com
/ad.png
http://www.trafficxplode.com
*nokia.jpg
http://linsux.org/index.php?action=dlattach;attach=23;type=avatar
http://www.macromedia.com/images/icons/alert.gif
http://www.macromedia.com/images/shared/download_buttons/get_flash_player.gif
http://affiliates.ultrahosting.com/images/UH-VPSpie-468x60.gif
http://c7.statcounter.com/
http://static.ning.com/distroexplorers/widgets/index/swf/badge.swf?v=3.4.5%3A6517
http://static.ning.com/distroexplorers/widgets/index/swf/badge.swf?v=3.5%3A6735
http://clients1.google.com/complete/*
http://clients1.google.com/gen_204
http://www.orangewebhosting.com
http://www.redcounter.net
http://view.spottt.com
*/banner-widgetbucks.gif
avw.php
http://castor.arstechnica.com/
http://ia.media-imdb.com/media/imdb/01/I/22/20/25/10.jpg
http://www.imdb.com/images/js/app/video/video_promo_navstrip_quick.swf
http://ia.media-imdb.com/media/imdb/01/I/42/20/25/10.swf
http://site.techspres.com/images/sideani.swf
http://www.seeqpod.com/cache/DailyPodLists.swf
http://silclog.samsung.com/
http://nmetrics.samsung.com/
http://www.samsung.com/us/flash/common/navigation/flashVersionChecker.swf

here is the list of element hiding rules.

#A(href=http://www.hit-counter-download.com)
#DIV(class=collapseableHeaderPromo)
digg.com#A(class=thumb)
#IMG(alt=Banner)
digg.com#DIV(id=join-digg)
bleepingcomputer.com#DIV(id=guestwelcome)
#IMG(src^=http://ad.doubleclick.net/)
#IMG(alt=Text Link Ads)
readwriteweb.com#DIV(style=height: 310px; width: 300px;)
news.yahoo.com#DIV(id=vplyrcnt)
#A(class=xpromolink)
google.com#IMG(height=48)
google.com#DIV(id=box)
google.com#DIV(id=faded_background)
internetnews.com#IMG(src^=http://www.internetnews.com/RealMedia/)
pcworld.com#DIV(class=subscription)
pcworld.com#A(class=IndexLinks)
pcworld.com#DIV(class=divDek)
#IMG(src^=http://ad.uk.doubleclick.net)
grooveshark.com#DIV(id=trust)(class=last sidebar)
#IMG(src$=125x125.gif)
makeuseof.com#DIV(id=right)
#IMG(src^=http://clustrmaps.com)
#A(href=http://www.clicksor.com)
#IMG(src^=http://www.pingo.com)
#IMG(alt=Bloggers Choice Web Hosting)
reuters.com#DIV(class=module marketing)
news.yahoo.com#IMG(width=180)
#IMG(alt=Hit Counter)
#IMG(src^=http://media.fastclick.net)
#IMG(class=statcounter)
#IMG(src^=http://m1.webstats.motigo.com)
#A(href=http://www.webstats.motigo.com/)
#DIV(style=float: right;)
#IMG(src*=/sitebanners/)
#IMG(src^=http://a.tribalfusion.com)
icanhascheezburger.com#LI(id=recent-comments)
icanhascheezburger.com#LI(id=recent-posts)
#DIV(id=show_promo)
#DIV(id=web_promo)
foxnews.com#DIV(id=console)
foxnews.com#UL(class=nav)
foxnews.com#DIV(id=minor)
foxnews.com#DIV(id=ap_wires)
foxnews.com#UL(class=sub_nav)
foxnews.com#DIV(id=header)
foxnews.com#DIV(id=section_head)
foxnews.com#DIV(id=foot)
foxnews.com#DIV(id=minutiae)
itpro.co.uk#TD(id=maximizersky)
itpro.co.uk#UL(id=informationmanagementContent)
itpro.co.uk#UL(id=internetContent)
itpro.co.uk#UL(id=applicationsContent)
itpro.co.uk#UL(id=wirelessmobileContent)
itpro.co.uk#UL(id=networkingContent)
itpro.co.uk#UL(id=serverserverosContent)
itpro.co.uk#UL(id=homeContent)
itpro.co.uk#UL(id=securityContent)
itpro.co.uk#UL(id=storageContent)
itpro.co.uk#TD(width=8)
itpro.co.uk#TD(id=rightindexcontent)
itpro.co.uk##TD[style="background-color: rgb(14, 72, 122);"]
google.com#IMG(id=artist_campaign_icon)
#DIV(id=forum_ads_pic)
sitepoint.com##DIV[style="margin: 0pt; padding: 0pt; background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial; height: 200px;"]
#IMG(alt=Click here to visit our advertiser.)
buzz.yahoo.com#DIV(id=jammod)
computerworld.com#DIV(class=right_col)
computerworld.com#DIV(id=tab3_content)
computerworld.com#DIV(class=zone_inset_content)
computerworld.com#DIV(id=software_zone)
computerworld.com#DIV(class=block)
computerworld.com#DIV(class=icu)
#IMG(src^=http://bs.serving-sys.com)
digg.com#EM
digg.com#SPAN(class=news-img)
#DIV(class=adBlock)
distrowatch.com#DIV(title^=images/kokoku/cnr.swf?)
#DIV(id=textAdTopRight)
ozzu.com#DIV(id=ad76890topContainer)
#IMG(src=sportnet.jpg)
#IMG(src=grvideooriginal.gif)
#A(href=http://www.sportnet.ca/)
lycos.com#DIV(class=ly50Mod module)
lycos.com#DIV(class=module clrfix)
lycos.com#DIV(class=gvMod module)
lycos.com#DIV(class=channelMod module)
lycos.com#DIV(class=newsMod module clrfix)
itwire.com#DIV(id=pro-right)
itwire.com#DIV(id=footer-all)
itwire.com#DIV(id=user4bottom)
itwire.com#DIV(id=google)
lycos.com#UL(style=float: none;)
weather.lycos.com#DIV(class=todo)
#DIV(class=ads)
informationweek.com#DIV(id=xc)
foxnews.com#DIV(id=breaking_news)
#DIV(id=ads)
mail.google.com#DIV(class=e8kn7c)
reviews.cnet.com#DIV(id=wpa_box)
crunchgear.com#DIV(id=sidecar)
#DIV(class=socialadb1)
#IMG(alt=Buddy Media)
geeknewscentral.com#DIV(id=gamma-inner)
#IMG(src*=/bannerserve.cgi?)
google.com##A[onmousedown="return campaignLinkClick()"]
#DIV(class=googleAds)
linuxhaxor.net#DIV(class=right)
#IMG(src^=http://adserver.adtech.de)
#IMG(src$=zinio-sampler.jpg)
#DIV(class=pixMania)
#DIV(id=sky)
distrowatch.com##IMG[title="ASUS Eee PC 900 Linux ($549.99)"]
cnet.com#DIV(id=contentAux)
cnet.com#DIV(id=rbx_netxp1_parent)
#IMG(src^=http://n4061ad.doubleclick.net)
#IMG(src^=http://kittensocute.com)
#DIV(class=ads_337x280)
distrowatch.com##IMG[title="ASUS Eee PC 900 Linux ($549.99)"][alt="ASUS Eee PC 900 Linux ($549.99)"][src="images/other/eeepc.png"]
#IMG(src^=http://www.blogpulp.com)
#div(id=errorPageContainer)
##TABLE[style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0);"]
#A(id=obama)(title=Obama '08)(href=http://www.barackobama.com/)
#DIV(class=center_ad)
#DIV(class=ddslidead)
forbes.com#DIV(id=leaderBox)
#IMG(title=please visit our sponsors)
#DIV(class=carousel)
#DIV(id=dnsstuffad)
traube-post.it#DIV(class=content_right)
#IMG(width=250)(height=250)
#IMG(class=sidebaradvertsimg)
sitepoint.com#DIV(id=col3)
sitepoint.com#DIV(id=adobe)
my.yahoo.com#A(href^=http://us.ard.yahoo.com/SIG)
my.yahoo.com##TABLE[style="border: 1px solid rgb(191, 57, 4); background: rgb(255, 176, 23) url(http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/my/mig/gradient.png) repeat-x scroll center bottom; width: 100%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial; font-size: 87%; font-family: Tahoma; margin-bottom: 10px;"]
my.yahoo.com##TABLE[style="border: 1px solid rgb(31, 69, 146); width: 100%; font-family: Arial; margin-bottom: 10px;"]
my.yahoo.com##TD[style="padding: 0.6em 0.4em 0.6em 1em; color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"]
my.yahoo.com#TD(style=padding: 0pt 0.8em 0pt 0.4em;)
netcat.ath.cx#DIV(id=picarea)
netcat.ath.cx#IMG(alt=Stop data retention! Click & act now!)
netcat.ath.cx#DIV(id=akct)
cnn.com#DIV(id=cnnBannerContainer)
huffingtonpost.com#DIV(id=most_popular)
distrowatch.com#TABLE(style=text-align: center; width: 100%; table-layout: auto;)
#DIV(class=contentslide)
#IMG(width=125)
#IMG(src^=http://www.blogmastermind.com)
mapquest.com#DIV(id=traffPromoTop)
mapquest.com#DIV(id=TraffPromoPop)
mapquest.com#DIV(id=mapTrafficHelpPopupContent)
danidaily.com#IMG(src=http://www.danidaily.com/images/banner/AnimeSkyscraper.gif)
#DIV(class=oio-zone-position)
#IMG(src^=https://tracking.offerstrategy.com)
phoronix.com#DIV(id=phxcms_top_leaderboard)
#DIV(id=containerPromotion)
engadget.com#A(class=banner-500)
beginlinux.net#IMG(src=http://www.beginlinux.com/images/banners/scr_training1.png)
#IMG(src=images/banners/scr_training1.png)
veedee-eyes.com#DIV(id=block-block-9)
#IMG(src*=/ads/)
#IMG(alt=advertisement)
#DIV(id=outerad)
#DIV(class=adverTag)
#DIV(class=outerAd_300x250_1 mod_admodule)
music.aol.com#DIV(class=cott_wrap)
#IMG(alt^=Save 10% at GoDaddy.com)
osweekly.com#DIV(id=banners)
#IMG(title^=http://www.filitrac.com/)
#IMG(src^=http://www.ewebcounter.com/)
#DIV(id^=advert)
#DIV(class=bannerad)
forums.datamation.com#TD(style=padding-top: 17px;)
itmanagement.earthweb.com#DIV(class=right_content)
itmanagement.earthweb.com#DIV(class=ddmenu_menu)
#DIV(id=homead)
linuxplanet.com##TD[style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(209, 61, 37); border-right: 1px solid rgb(209, 61, 37); padding: 10px; text-align: left; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"]
#IMG(src^=http://assets.devx.com)
phpbb.com#DIV(class=mini-panel)
phpbb.com#DIV(id=extras)
#P(class=textlink-ads)
#DIV(class=promo)
digg.com#A(class^=thumb offsite)
digg.com#DIV(class=sidebar)
#IMG(src$=gameszone_banner.jpg)
digg.com#DIV(id=ss-login)
by119w.bay119.mail.live.com#DIV(id=TodayTabSection)
cgink.deviantart.com#DIV(style=float: right; position: relative; width: 410px; text-align: left;)
#IMG(alt=affiliate_link)
#IMG(src^=../banners/)
#DIV(id=footer_ads)
last.fm#DIV(id=LastAd_Top)
#DIV(class=sb_adsN)
#DIV(class=advertise)
mashable.com#UL
#IMG(alt=PPP Direct)
#IMG(id=clustrMapsImg)
google.com#TD(id=col1)
google.com#DIV(class=fpadv2 fb)
google.com#DIV(class=fpadv2 fb fpadimg)
google.com#SELECT(id=label-selector-menu-23)
google.com#SELECT(id=select_box)
google.com#LI(class=sandbox_msg)
google.com#P(id=footer_promos)
#IMG(src^=images/lhb-banner)
megite.com#IMG(class=snapshot)
linuxinsider.com#DIV(id=content-nav)
#DIV(id=flip_content_1)
arstechnica.com#DIV(id=Sidebar)
#IMG(title=Kotaku e3 Coverage)
#DIV(id=mta_bar)
#IMG(src^=http://www.dealdotcom.com)
#DIV(class=Banners)
#IMG(alt=Zendesk)
by121w.bay121.mail.live.com#DIV(id=TodayTabSection)
#IMG(src^=http://image.com.com)
#DIV(id=outerAd300)
#DIV(style^=background: transparent)
#DIV(class=ban_bot)
escapejobhell.com#DIV(id=top-header)
#A(id=toprightg2p)
#DIV(class=sb_adsW)
techcrunch.com#DIV(id=sidebar)
techcrunch.com#IMG(src=http://www.techcrunch.com/wp-content/tc50banner.jpg)
#TABLE(class=bookbg)
#IMG(class=ledeImg)
news.cnet.com#DIV(id=multimedia)
google.com#OL(onmouseover=return true)
#IMG(src*=/sponsers/)
#MARQUEE
#IMG(src^=adz/)
#IMG(class=ads)
linuxforums.org#TD(id=rightColumn)
##DIV[style="background: rgb(0, 0, 0) none repeat scroll 0%; z-index: 5; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial; width: 100%; height: 60px;"]
google.com#SPAN(id=mark-all-as-read-23)
google.com#DIV(class=controls)
reuters.com#DIV(class=searchbarWrap)
#A(href^=http://link.brightcove.com/)
computerworld.com#DIV(id=leftColumn182)
#DIV(id=next2logo)
#DIV(id=headerPromo)
#DIV(class=leaderboard)
#DIV(id=feedback-strip)
#DIV(class=boxad)
#DIV(id=Sponsor)
#IMG(class=bannerPhotos)
##*#TopPromoCallOutBar P
#IMG(src^=http://search.spotxchange.com/banner/)
##*[href^="http://search.spotxchange.com/click/"] > IMG[src^="http://search.spotxchange.com"]
computerworld.com##TABLE[style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 0px 0px 10px 10px;"]
computerworld.com#TABLE(class=purpleleftline)
computerworld.com#DIV(id=right)
#LI(id=performancing_ads)
#DIV(style=margin: -3px -3px 5px 5px; float: right;)
revision3.com#DIV(class=the_homepagebox)
comcast.net#DIV(id=cover)
forum.eprompter.com#TD(style=border-style: none; border-width: medium;)
ghacks.net#DIV(id=sidebars)
computerworld.com#DIV(id=columntwo)
#DIV(id=newsticker_surround)
us.mc511.mail.yahoo.com#DIV(id=newsmodule)
yahoo.com#DIV(id=mantle)
yahoo.com#DIV(id=pulse)
#DIV(class=performancingads_region)
cnn.com#DIV(class=cnnPad5TB9LR)
freesoftwaremagazine.com#P(class=topbox)
#A(href^=http://www.bidvertiser.com)
#IMG(src^=http://www.website-hit-counters.com)
#DIV(class=newsBarInnerBox_gsnb)
#DIV(id=sub-header)
#DIV(id=sidebarads)
#DIV(id=footerbanner)
#DIV(class=gotbanners)
reuters.com#DIV(class=secondaryContent)
#DIV(id=slimlineIndices)
google.com#DIV(class=ftext)
#DIV(class$=sponsor)
google.com#A(href*=http://*.qarchive.org/)
linuxnewstoday.org#TABLE(align=right)
#A(href^=http://www.pubcon.com)
#IMG(src=Images/web_hosting_banner.jpg)
fsdaily.com#DIV(id=content_right)
blog.mandriva.com#DIV(id=sidebar)
ubuntuland.nireblog.com#DIV(id=menu)
#IMG(src^=http://www.clickpoint.it)
#IMG(src*=/banner/)
businessweek.com#DIV(id=column2)
technobuzz.net#DIV(id=sidebar)
##*[target="_blank"] STRONG
linuxmint.de#DIV(class=isoad)
#IMG(src=/images/linux-onlineshop.png)
new.facebook.com#DIV(id=fbnew_preview_bar)
#IMG(src$=/468x60.gif)
#A(href=http://www.lotosus.com)
#DIV(id=top_ads)
yahoo.com#DIV(id=miniws)
technewsworld.com#P(class=story-cip)
technewsworld.com#A
#IMG(src^=/AdServer/)
#DIV(style=margin: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 210px; float: right;)
linuxforums.org#TD(align=center)
cnn.com#DIV(class=cnnRRBoxContent)
mashable.com#DIV(class=partners)
imdb.com#TD(width=1008)
imdb.com#DIV(title=http://www.imdb.com/images/js/app/video/video_promo_navstrip_quick.swf)
delicious.com#DIV(id=player-full)
#DIV(id=googleAfcContainer)
#DIV(id=sixColumnFrame)
flickr.com#DIV(id=mod-explore)
nytimes.com#DIV(id=bColumn)
newsweek.com#DIV(id=relatedLinkBox)
#IMG(src$=/UnlockingtheSecretCode-Silver.jpg)
arstechnica.com#P(class=Survey)
mail.live.com#DIV(id=TodayTabSection)
news.cnet.com#DIV(id=eyebrow)
#DIV(class=squeeze startup-review)
mashable.com#DIV(id=right-column)
mashable.com#DIV(id=lists-stretch)
#DIV(id=adLeftSS)
#DIV(class=sb_adsW sb_adsW2)
#DIV(class=advert)
#IMG(src^=http://locker-room.com)
#LI(id^=carousel)
#UL(id=carousel_head_parent)
techradar.com#DIV(class=innerPad)
techradar.com#DIV(id=top_banner)
#IMG(title=R & D 2008 Winner Badge)
stores.ebay.com#IMG(src^=http://thumbs.ebaystatic.com/pict/)
#DIV(id=slideshow_container_2)
#DIV(class=ad-box-inner)
##*[href^="http://momdy.com/adserve/"] > IMG
#DIV(class=sponsor-widget)
linux-mag.com#DIV(class=content_tools)
theregister.co.uk#DIV(id=right-col)
#DIV(class=tickerscroll)

my hosts file

2008-10-04T17:33:00.002-04:00

in addition to the mvps hosts file i have added some sites that i don't want my computer connecting to. i've blocked these sites because some web page content was blinking or moving or attempting to track me somehow or belonged to a third party affiliate of the web site. it seems like a perpetual cat and mouse game with webmasters and advertisers and i'll play it until they learn that this is my computer and i control what runs on it. not what they think i should run. i don't know if my additions are redundant or can be optimized. i just added whatever i didn't like from a web page on the fly.

#start of lines added by cybormoron
127.0.0.1 clickbank.net
127.0.0.1 www.gamook.com
127.0.0.1 silclog.samsung.com
127.0.0.1 www.sendmemobile.com
127.0.0.1 images.scanalert.com
127.0.0.1 sdc.mcafee.com
127.0.0.1 www.siteadvisor.com
127.0.0.1 partner.experiandirect.com
127.0.0.1 gravatar.com
127.0.0.1 www.gravatar.com
127.0.0.1 www.liutilities.com
127.0.0.1 www.eblogtemplates.com
127.0.0.1 www.widgetbucks.com
127.0.0.1 s29.sitemeter.com
127.0.0.1 www.channelinsider.com
127.0.0.1 www.redcounter.net
127.0.0.1 click.spottt.com
127.0.0.1 view.spottt.com
127.0.0.1 www.orangewebhosting.com
127.0.0.1 easyhitcounters.com
127.0.0.1 link.brightcove.com
127.0.0.1 click.payserve.com
127.0.0.1 www.windows7screenshots.com
127.0.0.1 tophostingcenter.com
127.0.0.1 affiliates.tophostingcenter.com
127.0.0.1 www.addthis.com
127.0.0.1 s3.addthis.com
127.0.0.1 600z.com
127.0.0.1 www.600z.com
127.0.0.1 www.adtoll.com
127.0.0.1 www.revenuescience.com
127.0.0.1 pix01.revsci.net
127.0.0.1 service.urchin.com
127.0.0.1 tracking.offerstrategy.com
127.0.0.1 2o7.net
127.0.0.1 danasoft.com
127.0.0.1 llimg.ny.publicus.com
127.0.0.1 www.abcsearch.com
127.0.0.1 www.filitrac.com
127.0.0.1 www.workfromhomeonline.us
127.0.0.1 chumby.com
127.0.0.1 store.chumby.com
127.0.0.1 www.hechinger.com
127.0.0.1 stat.dealtime.com
127.0.0.1 di1.shopping.com
127.0.0.1 www.acunetix.com
127.0.0.1 andybeard.eu
127.0.0.1 clickaider.com
127.0.0.1 www.clicksor.com
127.0.0.1 www.b5media.com
127.0.0.1 www.awin1.com
127.0.0.1 www.dgm2.com
127.0.0.1 www.falkag.net
127.0.0.1 66.111.45.180
127.0.0.1 affiliate.wordtracker.com
127.0.0.1 www.e-consultancy.com
127.0.0.1 www.brightcove.com
127.0.0.1 www.rackspace.com
127.0.0.1 www.wildapricot.com
127.0.0.1 www.text-link-ads.com
127.0.0.1 www.pantherexpress.net
127.0.0.1 www.onesite.com
127.0.0.1 www.ads-click.com
127.0.0.1 www.odesk.com
127.0.0.1 www.ebuddy.com
127.0.0.1 www.mediatemple.com
127.0.0.1 raxso.net
127.0.0.1 www.techtree.com
127.0.0.1 www.channeltimes.com
127.0.0.1 ultrahosting.com
127.0.0.1 affiliates.ultrahosting.com
127.0.0.1 chipin.com
127.0.0.1 widget.chipin.com
127.0.0.1 www.trafficgeyser.com
127.0.0.1 csi.gstatic.com
127.0.0.1 www4.clustrmaps.com
127.0.0.1 mapstats.blogflux.com
127.0.0.1 ssl.gostats.com
127.0.0.1 www.website-hit-counters.com
127.0.0.1 c32.statcounter.com
127.0.0.1 tinyurl.com
127.0.0.1 a.tinyurl.com
127.0.0.1 payperpost.com
127.0.0.1 2o7.net
127.0.0.1 www.2o7.net
127.0.0.1 searchportal.information.com

another host file i've used is hpHosts. this one is well maintained and quite extensive. i had to remove it though because it blocked content i wanted to see.

Jeff Healey Band - When the Night Comes Falling

2008-10-03T08:30:00.003-04:00

my current favorite tune.

want more? check these out.
JEFF HEALEY- SEE THE LIGHT-MUST SEE!! THIS ROCKS!!

The Jeff Healey Band - Angel Eyes (Music Video)

The Jeff Healey Band - Lost In Your Eyes

Jeff Healey

RIP paul newman

2008-09-30T01:01:00.007-04:00

Born Paul Leonard Newman
January 26, 1925
Cleveland, Ohio, USA
Died September 26, 2008 (aged 83)
Westport, Connecticut, USA
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Newman

and i'm a pc

2008-09-30T00:10:00.004-04:00

everyone is criticizing microsoft for their recent advertising campaign. they say the first two commercials made absolutely no sense whatsoever and are a failure. i agree that it was lame. the news articles report that microsoft simply fired seinfeld in order to move on to phase 2 of the ad campaign.
phase 2 of the campaign seems to be going over better. in fact it has become an internet viral meme. this is the ultimate dream of any advertiser. there is much power in becoming a viral meme. i see this starting to become a meme because of a new website startup that is poking fun of the ad campaign. i also think the "I'm a pc" campaign is a good rebuttal to the "i'm a Mac" campaign.
it seems to me that the whole campaign wasn't a failure at all. i see it as a very clever strategy. the first part was a great diversionary tactic to get everyones attention then they drove the nail home with the second part. maybe i'm just thinking too much but either way the "I'm a pc" part seems to be fun.
despite my deep contempt for anything related to microsoft i'll share this new parody website with you. simply submit your phrase and the website completes it with "and i'm a pc". it's kind of funny.
oh, by the way, I'm running GNU/Linux and I'm a pc. hahahahaha

kiwilinux in virtualbox

2008-08-31T02:47:00.004-04:00

i enjoy exploring distros in virtualbox and creating screenshot galleries. i use flickr because i like the way it works as opposed to picasa.
kiwilinux is basically ubuntu with some kiwi artwork and some non-free packages. it runs well in virtualbox.

kiwilinux.org
distrowatch announcement
flickr gallery
flickr slideshow

hardy heron in virtualbox

2008-08-29T18:52:00.003-04:00

i discovered something strange about running ubuntu 8.04.1 hardy heron in virtualbox. when i resize the virtualbox window the resolution of ubuntu automagically resizes to whatever size the VB window is. i'm not sure why it's doing this but i'm not complaining. it's pretty cool actually.
notice the strange resolutions, 1576x1103, 1472x1061, 1184x859, 1440x1050.

mitchell baker - trapeze artist

2008-08-23T20:39:00.003-04:00

WOW, I didn't know this. Mitchell Baker, Chairperson of the Mozilla Foundation and Chairperson and former Chief Executive Officer of the Mozilla Corporation is a trapeze artist. she's also affectionately known as "chief lizard wrangler".

watch video.

something happened

2008-08-06T00:37:00.007-04:00

holy smokes, am i dreaming? did i strike a nerve with yesterdays post, or was it just my pisces intuition? ibm announces partnerships with linux distributors to deliver microsoft free computers. one article even used the same words as me, "make it happen". this sounds like good news if you ask me and a huge step in the right direction. i will be watching for these computers to hit the market.
here's the news links i've accumulated.
http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/24825.wss

http://offer.interwebsearch.org/2008/08/05/ibm-linux-and-the-microsoft-free-pc/

http://www.internetnews.com/dev-news/article.php/3699706

http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Linux-and-Open-Source/Selling-the-MicrosoftFree-Desktop/

http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/marketwire/0422213.htm

http://arstechnica.com/journals/linux.ars/2008/08/05/ibm-targets-microsoft-with-desktop-linux-initiative

mandriva partner program

2008-08-05T00:37:00.003-04:00

hey computer manufacturers listen up; if you ever want to sell me a computer then you better get involved in this mandriva partner program. hello? hello? knock, knock, is anybody home? this means you Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Acer, Lenovo, Toshiba, Asus, and all the rest of you microsoft brow beaten computer makers.
i will not buy a computer with microsoft on it. do you hear what i'm saying? let me repeat that for your deaf ears. i will not buy a microsoft computer. the next computer i buy will either have mandriva linux preloaded or be certified for mandriva. ya'll better get with the program because ya'll ain't getting a dime from me till you do. why can't you make this happen?

mandriva partner program

BLAG Linux and GNU 90001 in virtualbox

2008-07-26T23:32:00.013-04:00

a short screenshot tour, made by me, of blag linux 90001 in virtualbox. it runs great as a virtual machine except for the screen resolution. i was only able to get 800x600 because xorg refused to load the guest additions module. it may work better if installed directly rather than in a virtual machine.
with most distros installing the guest additions replaces the graphics driver however blag 90001 is using a release candidate version (Xorg 1.5 RCx) of xorg server which virtualbox doesn't support at this time.

blag linux
distrowatch announcement

flickr screenshots uploaded by me
flickr slideshow

free online magazines

2008-07-20T23:27:00.003-04:00

ghacks posted an article about free online magazines today. there's plenty of categories for your reading interests. i enjoy these digital reading applications. this one works online in your browser. i do wonder how they can legally offer these so ya better read them fast.

ghacks article is here
the website is here.

more changes. this time igoogle

2008-07-12T16:30:00.004-04:00

aaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrgggggggggggggg.
read that as one long and loud groan of frustration and one long expletive deleted. that's my first reaction to changes. ok, ok, i'm ok now, but i had to walk away from my puter for a few minutes and drink more coffee.
these changes are really driving me to distraction. this time it's my browser home page, igoogle, making changes. google calls these "experimental igoogle features" and i've been selected to be one of the first users to preview them according to their help page. i don't believe that line that i've been specially selected for a minute. this is the internet. everything must first be viewed with suspicion till it's proven itself benign. there's always a hidden agenda.
the reason for my frustration is because i view most changes as self serving rather than actually making things better for me. they say things like they're better, faster, easier to use, more robust, and more feature rich, but all they really do is rearrange the deck chairs to keep you from abandoning ship while they figure out how to squeeze more money from you, and show you more ads, and keep you locked in, IMHO. i wish web sites would stop trying to make things "better" for me. i've seen too many so called upgrades that i've selected to go back to the classic version of most things. ok, i'll relent a little. some things do need changing but i can't stop feeling a little overwhelmed.
so what are the changes? well, i don't know yet. i need to calm down and work through them and figure out what they're trying feed me. see the link for the help page and stayed tuned for my updated analysis, criticism, rant, or kudos, whatever.
General Info: experimental iGoogle features

first cicada of the season

2008-07-12T01:17:00.009-04:00

i heard the first cicada of the season today and thought it was a bit early to hear one of these loud bugs. i've never paid attention to when these come out but i've always associated them with the "dog days of summer" which i thought was later in august. this is probably normal and i just never noticed before. i do wonder if any scientific organization has monitored these bugs with reference to the global warming thing going on. they monitor birds, and bees, and frogs, why not cicadas? i'm sure they can be affected by climate changes as well.
i'm somewhat curious because these bugs used to fascinate me as a kid. i would see their shedded skins a couple of feet up on a tree and wonder what the heck it was. i was stunned to learn that they had lived in the earth for 17 years. wow, imagine that! i used to see a lot of them fully grown also but never knew that's where they came from. i also thought they must have a pretty good bite so i never touched them but i marvelled at how ugly and scary looking they were. can you believe some people eat these things? fascinating!
i'm sure there'll be plenty more cicadas soon enough and the dog days will be filled with their song.
http://www.cicadas-pictures.com/index.html
http://www.cicadamania.com/cicadas/2006/08/26/apache-cicada/
http://www.gpnc.org/cicadas.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cicada
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dog_days
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_warming

cool T-shirt

2008-07-10T00:48:00.006-04:00

i have got to get one of these

my yahoo out of beta

2008-07-08T00:08:00.008-04:00

ok, what am i playing with today? how about yahoo? they're fun to play with. i have a love hate relationship with yahoo. i want to like yahoo but they do some things i don't like so i punish them by not visiting their pages. but i can't resist visiting occasionally. what do i love and hate? well, let me tell you about it.
what i love. yahoo has great name recognition and some great properties such as flickr, delicious, and maps. i use these a lot and i think yahoo has done a nice job of not screwing them up when they bought them. i especially like their web mail. i recently went through all of my email accounts to see what was there and clean them out a little. wow, i was surprised and shocked to find 5 year old sent emails that yahoo had saved. i didn't know they do that but was very pleased to see some of that old stuff. they scored lots of brownie points in my book when i saw that. seems like a great way to save a backup of anything. i don't know about any privacy issues but i'm not too concerned.
what i hate. the biggest issue i have with yahoo is their lowdown, dirty, rotten, pathetic, sneaky method of getting their stinking toolbar onto your computer. i worked on a friend's computer once and noticed the toolbar. my friend said, "i don't know how that got there. i only signed up for instant messenger." i know how it got there. it's bundled with the instant messenger software and they hide the option not to install it. that's really pathetic. sure, it's easy to uninstall but it shouldn't have been installed in the first place. i don't use their im client, i have another client that logs onto their network, so i don't know if they still do that or not. they probably do. i don't use their toolbar either. the only other issue i can think of is their web page layout. it's full of crap. i guess some folks like to see all the stuff but i just stay away. they have a nice personal page that you can customize and avoid all the crappy extras, so i just do that.
on the whole, despite some great features, they seem desperate to keep a visitor locked in and desperate to get you to click ads. this really takes away from their overall friendliness. they seem to be getting more friendly though, and have released their custom home page today, which is why i'm playing with them today. it seems more friendly.
here's a cool tip. click the exclamation point on yahoo! to hear the famous yodel. yaaaahoooooooo!

an old desktop shot

2008-07-06T12:09:00.006-04:00

this is mandriva 2007 full size 3200x1200 is here

changes, arrrrg

2008-07-03T18:08:00.008-04:00

too many websites and applications are changing things around to my dismay. change is inevitable and usually for the better, but when features that i like to use are removed then i get frustrated. the latest site to change things around is digg.
i like to read the linux/unix upcoming news thread. i don't care for any of the other categories on digg nor the front page. i'm not even sure i know what the "front page" is, i only read the upcoming news page.
digg seems to have made this page difficult to find. the changes are in process and called beta but till they get it right i have found a way to get to the upcoming page.
1. go to digg.
2. search for keyword "linux".
3. the so called front page of the linux category comes up with another search box and 3 drop down menus to refine the search.
4. select the search conditions such as, upcoming and newest first then hit the search button again.
5. voila, the upcoming page comes up and now you can read through the posted news links before the digg hoards kill the website.
6. bookmark the results page.

digg blog
webware article
an opposing view

bullit chase scene on google earth

2008-06-27T21:44:00.012-04:00

how cool is this? uber cool in my book. you can watch the chase scene video and follow along on google earth. the earth imagery needs a little work to keep up with the video but is still worth watching. this is a novel concept and another great use of google earth.
a really good idea and a pretty good job from whoever did this.

steve mcqueen bullit chase scene and google earth

the driver of the dodge charger is bill hickman. according to wikipedia he was quite the stunt driver and had an impressive career. he also drove in the chase scene in the movies The French Connection and The Seven-Ups.

tips to change firefox 3.0 behavior

2008-06-22T22:29:00.013-04:00

i've tried firefox 3.0 but i'm not sure i like it. i'll stay with 2.0 for awhile till i can tweak 3.0 to suit me.

tips from labnol.org
tips from lifehacker.com
tips from dria.org
field guide from dria.org
about:config entries from mozillazine knowledge base

R.I.P. Scott Kalitta

2008-06-22T17:25:00.013-04:00

http://www.nhra.com/2008/kalitta/index.html

i fixed my old machine

2008-06-22T16:55:00.004-04:00

swapping the power supply unit fixed my puter. i should be good to go for another four years.

using my backup computer

2008-06-19T22:35:00.003-04:00

till i fix my main computer i'm using my experimental, sacrificial, linux distro test box. in some ways it works better than my main machine. i bought it used for the purpose of testing linux distros but i put mandriva 2007.1 on it and it runs so well i didn't have the desire to wipe it and test any more distros. it just didn't make sense. so now i need to buy another test box. this is a dell optiplex gx260 w/ 512 ram, 80 gb hdd, ati video.
i do prefer using my hp pavilion. it has 1gb ram, 2 x 500 gb hdd, nvidia fx5200 video. i have spent a little money on the ram and hard drive upgrades so it's worth fixing, imho.
good used machines are a dime a dozen and they run linux very well. since i can't buy a new machine that isn't infected with a microsoft operating system i'll just keep using old machines that i have wiped all traces of microsoft from. linux rocks, microsoft sucks.

i'm having puter problems

2008-06-16T23:22:00.003-04:00

my computer is randomly shutting down or rebooting. POOF! gone. it won't stay running. i'm pretty sure it's a hardware problem. the power supply unit is making a faint buzzing noise when off. i think i can fix it.
one thing i'm not going to do is buy a new computer with microsoft on it. absolutely, positively, no way in hell am i going to buy a microsoft computer. i'll spend ten times the going rate on replacement parts or learn how to build a machine myself before i'll give microsoft another dime. hardware manufacturers really need to start supporting GNU/Linux on a larger scale. when they do i'll consider buying a new puter.

a post a day

2008-06-15T23:16:00.002-04:00

my goal is to post something everyday. i have 45 minutes to get today's post posted. i've started using blogger because most of the other free sites just don't appeal to me.
the only thing i did today is cruise around my old neighborhood with google earth street view. my old neighborhood is about 300 miles away and i haven't been there in about 30 years. i feel as if i have visited there in person. the pictures were great. it was almost as if i were actually driving down the streets looking around.

the new AOL Radio rocks

2008-06-14T14:23:00.007-04:00

alright, here we go man. this new AOL radio beta thing is ok. OMG, did i just say something nice about AOL? ow, ow, let wash my keyboard off with soap. oh well, i guess even a blind dog finds a bone once in a while. i've been playing the classic rock station the last few hours and i'm lovin' it. it's working well in my firefox on linux. i haven't heard any commercials but i'm sure aol will start infecting it with those soon. hehe, there i said something bad about aol. i feel better now. check it out before the commercials start. be sure to clean your flash cookies after using this thing. they're dropping lots of tracking cookies with flash.
aol radio guide
clean flash cookies

today's desktop shots

2008-06-14T13:20:00.009-04:00

this is mandriva linux 2008.1 spring. dual samsung syncmaster 204b monitors plugged into a nvidia fx5200 card at 1600x1200 each for a total of 3200x1200 pixel resolution. the wallpaper background comes from a member of deviantART. i really like this guy's artwork.
http://jbensch.deviantart.com/
http://jbensch.deviantart.com/art/Flames-Blue-Weave-Dual-Display-32307758

this is a 3200x1200 background image that spans both monitors

this is what it looks like with applications open. what you can't see in the screenshot are the monitor bezels that divide the 2 monitors. i have the monitors placed side by side and there is about a 1 inch gap between the screens. i hardly notice it though.
i keep firefox (web browser) open on screen 1 and konqueror (file browser) open on screen 2. i use the outer edges for smaller windows.
this shot shows knotes, gkrellm, etherape, ksnapshot, firefox, konqueror.

i can enable the compiz 3d effects but i usually don't run it. i would like to but there are some side effects i don't like so i just turn it off. here's a shot of the cube. notice how it appears to be an octagon because of my dual monitors.

rediscovering my blog

2008-06-14T12:41:00.002-04:00

time to rediscover my blog. i don't use it much but i've recently read somewhere that blogger was cool so i shall attempt blogging with blogger more often. i've tried other blog sites but i'm not sure if i like them. i would really like to have a central location for all my comments, rants, raves, etc. why not blogger? most everything i do on the web seems to revolve around google somehow, homepage, reader, email, earth, etc, so let's find out how reliable blogger is. oh, did forget search in that previous sentence? hehe, google rocks.

so let's get started

2006-10-11T16:12:00.000-04:00

started with what? some people actually have something useful to say. me? i'm still trying to figure out what to say. just what exactly is a blog supposed to be used for? i really don't care to share my opinions about things to anyone nor am i qualified to give advice on a lot of subjects. so i reckon my blog will be nothing more than a diary of sorts although advice and opinions may just very well appear. i certainly will try to avoid simply repeating any news stories, i'm not a reporter. i'll probably just use this blog as a bookmark service for myself.

like i said previously i only use linux so most everything i blog about will be about linux. here's my desktop. i am running mandriva 2006 with kde environment. i have 2 samsung syncmaster 20in monitors on a nvidia fx5200 graphics card at 1600x1200 pixel resolution for a total resolution of 3200x1200. this arrangement is called "twinview" by nvidia. i snagged the background images from the web somewhere (apologies and thanks to copyright holder) and layered them to a 3200x1200 template to create the effect of having different wallpapers per monitor. the wallpaper/background is actually 1 image.

am i stupid?

2006-10-11T15:14:00.000-04:00

perhaps i am. perhaps i should have chosen a more intelligent nicname instead of trying to be funny. i saw the nicname "village idiot" on some message board somewhere and was quite amused. after reading a few of this fellows posts i knew he was far from an idiot. in fact i would call him a comic genius. he was very witty and clever and intelligent and funny. he was also very computer savvy. i too wanted to be able to say funny, clever, witty things so i created my nicname. but alas, it takes real talent and skill to have a clown like personality and i often wonder if i measure up. so i guess i am not only a moron but an insecure one also. huh?

so i've had this blog about 2 years now and still can't figure out how to use it. i must be a moron because i keep trying. so here i am again renewing my commitment to get some blogging accomplished. let's see how far i get this time.

mostly i'm gonna talk about linux. what? a moron talking about linux? yes! i use linux full time now. it really is easy to use after getting over the first few learning hurdles. it does take a certain persistance to get over those hurdles and i see where most people give up and go back to their other operating system rut. i kept going back also but something kept nagging me to keep learning linux. finally i decided to just keep linux booted up and not boot my other operating system. i was bound and determined to learn how to do things in linux or simply not do them till i figured out how. it worked. i can do everything i used to do and more. i feel liberated. i guess we need to travel down that dark, scary road before we come into the light. try it for yourself or stay in your rut.

so that's a little bit about me and my nicname and what i'm gonna talk about on my blog. i hope to come up with something useful.