West Wolf's "Make My Day" Journal
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west_wolf's LiveJournal:
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| Monday, July 31st, 2006 | | 5:52 pm |
| | Monday, July 10th, 2006 | | 10:40 pm |
| | Thursday, July 6th, 2006 | | 5:17 pm |
Driving the mean streats of Tulsa, Weddings, and Jobs
My weekend was super busy. Friday night, I got rear-ender in Tulsa by another man in a 2 ton utility van; he said he didn't see me and admitted fault to the officer. I had an accident report in my car already filled out by the time the officer showed up, so that smoothed things out a lot. The estimated damage is well over $3,000, but the other guy's insurance is covering everything, including the rental of a brand new extended cab Chevy Silverado. I love driving trucks! Too bad they cost so much. The good news is, my car didn't get totaled and I'll be driving that awesome truck for probably the next two weeks. :) That Friday night, I went to my brother's wedding rehearsal and had a wonderful dinner afterwards catered by Nothing But Noodles http://www.nothingbutnoodles.com/ This chain is awesome. If you have one in your area, by all means, go for a visit! The wedding was a smash hit. There was dancing and some of the best wedding cake I've ever tasted. The groom's cake was mocha and the bride's cake was Bavarian Cream (tastes like a light cheese cake). I also got a few phone numbers from some very attractive ladies, too. But the best part of all, was getting to see family members that I had not seen in many many years. Wayne, my step-grandfather has offered me a free trip to Costa Rica. He says that the rain forest in the highlands maintains a constant temperature in the 70's! It is a true tropical paradise, from what he told me, with flowers and butterflies of all sorts of exotic colors. I've always wanted to see the rain forests, and now I'll have my chance. If only I could get this job thing squared away, I'll have a more realistic idea of when I can go. I've already obtained new copies of my birth certificates. Now all I need is my passport. By the way, it my promise to all of you is that I will not indulge in or patronize the world class Federally regulated prostitutes that Costa Rica is famous for. http://costaricaticas.com/I also got to see my aunt Gina, who is remarkably like my sister in personality. Italian women are so fiery! Greg, also came to visit. He was recently discharged from the Navy and will be attending Boise State University. http://www.boisestate.edu/ I'll be sure to visit him some time, because I hear that country is absolutely beautiful. While he was here, I introduced him to Google Earth. Once he became familiar with the controls, he showed me every single naval base he had ever been, including one in Thailand and Singapore. He also spotted a nuclear sub in a strange looking resupply dock. According to him, the satellite photo on google earth showed the sub in a classified situation. In return, I showed him Area 51. Yes, you really can find Area 51 on Google Earth. | | Monday, June 26th, 2006 | | 5:26 pm |
Working the night shift this week.
I'll be working 3rd shift all week long until Thursday morning, so if I seem unresponsive, that is why. Also, Thursday, I have family coming into town for my brother's Saturday wedding. | | Sunday, June 18th, 2006 | | 7:10 pm |
I've been away too long!
For the past month and a half, I have been working both overtime (with very odd hours and changing shifts), plus I've been fixing up my new computer. Going with a water cooled system is a great way to go if you are trying to build a high end Media Center that runs quiet. Finally, everything seems to be working as it should. After all, I think I spend probably around $2,000 on this SOB. If it wasn’t official before, it is now; I am a true computer geek. Unfortunately, due to my schedule and building a new PC I’ve had little time, if any to check up on LJ or anything else! In fact, I have over 1500 deviations that I haven’t seen yet on DeviantART. I’ll probably just delete them, since I don’t have the time to go through that. I just hope that my computer upgrades will prevent DeviantART from slowing down my PC to a crawl. Also, I’ve been without an email client for most of this time, so if you haven’t gotten a response from me, stay tuned. I’ll get to your letter/comment soon. Now, it's time to take my bragging rights, so here is the breakdown of the new system. Cooling system: Koolance 700 series w/Lian-Li PC-V1000 case CPU: AMD 3500+ running at 2.2Mhz Mother Board: ASUS A8V with 8x AGP and gigabit eithernet port and 1000Mhz hyper-threading Graphics card: nVIDIA GeForce 7800 GS with 256MB GDDR3 RAM TV card: ATI TV Wonder Elite HDTV card: Cat's Eye 151 by V-Box Memory: 4GB EEC Kingston Value Ram Hard Drives: Twin 400GB SATA-150 Western Digital hard drives with 16MB cash each running in RAID 0. (That's like an 800GB hard drive running at twice the speed of a 400GB drive.) Keyboard/Mouse: Gyration wireless keyboard and gyroscopic mouse combo Monitor: 37" Westinghouse running at 1920x1080p (I tried Goodle earth with this thing full screen. ZOMG, it looks so awesome!) OS: Microsoft XP Media Center Edition 2005 Notes: Since I've never used a gyroscopic mouse before, I was taking a big risk in getting one. After all, these things aren't cheep (around $60 at NewEGG). But this product lives up to it's claims. It has an optical mouse feature for flat surfaces, but the ability to move the mouse in the air, rather than across a desk, is simply astounding. I can hardly believe how accurate it is. I give it a big thumbs up and would recommend it to anyone. I've had to install the entire system twice now. I blame this on installing the system on a striped RAID 0 array using an old, outdated driver from early 2005. I used the newest one on the second install (which is current as of February), and the performance and stability have been greatly improved this time around. Setting up the VIA SATA driver for the windows installer was a bit tricky, too. The instructions on how to make the disk were not very clear. Thankfully, I've had the resources of my old PC. I have not yet installed any games, but from what I'm told, the card I have runs Oblivion very well, so all that I have should look quite beautiful. The first game to be installed will be Black and White 2. Being a fan closet fan of god games, I'll be sure to enjoy playing this favorite again. After that, I'll reinstall Half-Life 2 and Unreal Tournament 2005. Both systems are not fully networked at one Gbit. They both share the same internet connection and can exchange files with one another. Later on, I'll install a massive hard drive in the old PC to serve as a backup for the new one. It still has room for one more HD, so I'm saving it for when the new TB hard drives become more reasonable. The coolant fluid has a UV reactive dye that glows in the dark by the added UV lights I added to the case. | | Wednesday, May 24th, 2006 | | 10:49 pm |
Computer Problems from Hell
Long story short, my video card's higher functions are fried, pure and simple. I've always suspected that it had heat problems from the beginning. It still works as a generic VGA card, but even with a fresh Windows Install, the card simply won't work. It is as if the card were given a total frontal lobotomy. What this means is that I need a new graphics card! Also... Microsoft says that I've installed my copy of Windows to many times, so now I need to call them up, read them a long code, and then they are supposed to give me a new CD key that replaces my current one. That sucks because now I'll have another stupid peice of paper to keep track of.. Well, it doesn't matter anyway, because I'm going to buy Windows XP Media Center Edition. It _should_ take care of some other issues I've been dealing with. I hate to admit it, but I can see why people love there Macs. Edit: Upon further review, I've decided to hold off on installing Microsoft Office because of the activiation requirement. If I've installed that program too many times, I'll have to call them again. I don't need to put up with any more of there crap. | | Friday, May 12th, 2006 | | 6:27 pm |
Why I’m Within Six Inches of Becoming a Libertarian
The Democrats have never appealed to me because: 1.) They are not a party of liberty, but a party of lifestyle evangelism and radical extremism. 2.) They take everything that is wrong with communism, socialism and fascism, roll it up into a ball and say “It’s good for the country”. 3.) I believe the unborn are as alive and have as much a right to life as somebody who is no longer attached to there mother. The democrats pander too much to filicidal man hating feminists to ever permit any of there members to have a differing opinion. 4.) It is my opinion that Democrats deliberately foster situations that suppress and impoverish minority groups both in finances and in knowledge. By maintaining a population of peasants eager for government handouts, they maintain power. More peasants equal more votes for them. 5.) The Democrats may cry foul over the Patriot Act or the phone record snooping, but this is obviously political banter. If given the chance, they would have done the very same thing. The Republicans have long appealed to me, mostly because I have more in common with them than the Democrats. But the Republican party is becoming everything the Democrats were fifty years ago! Here is why they have fallen into my disfavor: 1.) Republicans may be fore modestly lower taxes (which are disappointingly too height), but they spend money like the dickens! How is spending liberally acting as a conservative? 2.) Little or no progress removing activist judges from the bench who not only fail to protect the constitution, but outright attack it at times. 3.) Failure to protect the privacy of the people. We may trust President Bush with our phone records, but what about future administrations? And what about the Patriot Act? The Federal Government has no right to know what books I check out at the Library, even if they are the ones they “red flag”. Because of the potential for abuse, President Bush should have had the foresight and willpower to investigate matters of terrorism using more conventional methods. ( Read more... ) Current Mood:  bouncy | | Monday, May 8th, 2006 | | 10:55 pm |
Back on-line!
Finally, what felt like more than 20 hours of trial and error, elbow grease, and some plain old hard work, I finally have my computer back up and running. I still have a few more tweaks to take care of, but I'd have to say, I'm generally pleased with my new setup. The best part of this rebuild is my new HD tuner card. I got the Cat's Eye 151 by Vbox. If you are thinking about adding an HD card, I strongly recommend this one. | | Friday, May 5th, 2006 | | 9:45 pm |
Hum... Upgrades.
Well, I finally decided to bite the bullet and rebuilt my computer. The parts finally came in today and I have already begun some basic installations. The CPU has been installed in the motherboard along with a massive heat sink. I've also installed a spare memory module I had lying around. When I finally take down the computer I'm using now, I'll be extracting it's memory module as well, which will give me a grand total of 1.5GBs of RAM. I've also got a brand new HD tuner card. I've spend most of the evening backing up my files to an external USB hard drive, so hopefully I'll be able to start gutting my computer tomorrow. The most significant upgrades are going from a 4X AGP slot to an 8X and going from an 2.0 GHz Athalon XP to a 2.4 GHz Athalon 64. Plus, I'll get to use an extra 500MB of memory. If all goes well, I should see significant performance improvements once I am finished. The only thing I dread about this process is the reinstallation of the software. That really sucks. | | Friday, April 28th, 2006 | | 12:38 am |
| | Sunday, April 23rd, 2006 | | 7:57 pm |
Good News!
On May 1st, the day before I turn 28 years old, my car will be 100% mine! That's right, my Ford Taurus will be completely paid off! I've worked very hard to save my money for this and my efforts have finally paid off! Oh, it feels so good! I still haven't heard back from the lab I interviewed with, but they did say that I would hear back from them no matter what they decided, so they aren't going to leave me hanging. I guess this means "no news is good news", right? | | Wednesday, April 12th, 2006 | | 2:03 am |
Wow! I actualy posted something I drew on DeviantART!
 It's total crap, though, which is why it is in the scraps section. Oh man, I have work in the morning! :p Time for bed! Edit: For some reason, the picture won't display but for a few moments after I update this entry. Once I edit it again, it reappears, but then disappears in a matter of seconds again when I reload the page! What's up with that? The picture still displays when you click on "comment", but it won't show on the main page. Current Mood:  sleepy | | Sunday, April 9th, 2006 | | 11:43 pm |
Yet another new LJ icon!
This time, it's Satan's old lover, Sadam Husein possessed by a Goa'uld. "Kneel before your god!" I really am dorky this evening...and loving every moment of it! | | 11:33 pm |
New LJ Icon!
It's the TARDIS! Ripped from a larger gif file I found on line. I shrunk it down and added some nifty motion blur to help with the lack of frames. Pretty cool, huh? For some reason, I'm in a really dorky mood tonight. I once though that my science education was ruining my ability to enjoy Sci-Fi, and it did for a while. All that knowledge in my brain allowed me to nit pick all the errors, but as my Genetics Professor once told me to do, I have now learned to simply enjoy the story and the wonder of the fiction. Besides, a lot of great inventions are based on science fiction concepts. Note: Gif animations work best in any browser other than IE. IE sucks. | | Friday, April 7th, 2006 | | 7:46 pm |
| | Wednesday, April 5th, 2006 | | 12:58 am |
My thoughts on spaying and neutering.
I'm taking a very controversial position, here, and will probably get a lot of flack for it, but here goes anyway. It is my opinion that dogs should not be spayed and neutered. For years I was an advocate of spaying and neutering (because that’s what good pet owners are supposed to do), but I’ve changed my mind on the subject. In fact, I've completely and utterly rejected this socially engendered dogma. I have thought about this issue for myself and I'm telling everybody what I think. Still, I dread the inevitable emotionally charged responses I am sure to get. Potential responders, hear this. If you are not going to forge a well reasoned response, don't bother posting your preprogrammed blather. If you can't seriously think about this issue, you are speaking out of a conditioned response because you have heard your entire life over and over again that only good pet owners spay and neuter their pets. I urge everybody who reads this to consider what I have to say with an open mind so that you may better explore and understand what I hope to communicate. ( Read My Ravings! )For further study, here are to blog articles written by the same veterinarian on the subject of spaying/neutering from a cancer treatment perspective. The second article, in particular, speaks about how the current medical establishment may actually suppress data that could show that spaying and neutering may be harmful. The reason, she says, is the emotional outcry is so great, nobody wants to deal with it. Spaying and neutering philosophies are so ingrained in people’s minds that logical discussion is out of the question. It is as if spay/neuter has become a secular religion. http://www.mmilani.com/commentary-200509.htmlhttp://www.mmilani.com/commentary-200511.htmlYou may also consider visiting the yahoo group “Don’t Spay” http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dontspay/ | | Wednesday, March 29th, 2006 | | 11:39 pm |
| | 11:27 pm |
For the first time, I have written my Congressman!
Yes, my friends! The issue of immigration is so important to this country that I actually lost my apathy. Our country is being invaded by interloping peasants looking for a free lunch and they are collectively costing us billions of dollars every year. Just who the F*** do these people think they are? This is our country, not theirs! It’s not our fault that they have such a messed up country and corrupt government. Why does that give them the right to live on our public dole? It’s disgusting, I tell you! *If I had things my way, I would declare all those caught crossing the border as the "foreign invaders" that they are and have them shot on sight, just like any sensible nation would do to its invaders. EDIT: *I don't really want to see ILLEGAL Mexican invaders getting shot. Please understand that I wrote this statement tongue-in-cheek and out of frustration over the dynamics of this issue, so no hate-mail, please. I simply wrote what I wrote because it felt good and not because I meant it. But this does not change the fact that ILLEGAL invasion is a serious problem in America and I do want the ILLEGAL aliens dealt with in a severe way so that this country will look less enticing to those thinking about ILLEGALY crossing the borders and bypassing the proper channels. These people do not love America. They just love our money and want to convert this country into another Mexico, just like invading cancer cells eat away at healthy tissue and flourish in places that they don't belong. Let’s face it, Mexico sucks! So, why the hell should we let them convert the ways of this nation over to the ways of a less successful one? Current Mood:  Pissed | | Monday, March 13th, 2006 | | 10:48 am |
| | Thursday, March 2nd, 2006 | | 8:29 pm |
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