Friday, May 30, 2014
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Ernie
Photo courtesy of Julianne Gentile @ Flickr
On a wonderous day almost six years ago, Julie went into a pet store that we never frequented into due to the conditions of some of the animals kept there. She found two really cool ferrets, a very dark/black furred boy and another, chocolate colored boy that had a teddy bear face. The black one started to climb up my wife's sleeve, begging us to come home. The store claimed the two were brothers, so after we decided to take home the black one, I basically said we had to get both. We did. We named them Burt and Ernie. Burt became "Burt the Bear" since he was so dark he looked like a miniature bear, and Ernie became "Ernie Monster" and later, "Ernie Boloney".
Ernie had a few very distinct aspects to his personality. For one, he enjoyed human flesh. In the later years of his short life, he took to latching onto whatever exposed skin we made available to him, almost like a vampire. We were fairly sure it was just for sport, not malice. He had the most precious teddy bear face, which made this trait all the more hilarious. He loved this raggedy, old pink baby slipper and treated it like his only child. He was very possessive of this slipper and became very frustrated if another ferret touched it. He loved to hide dog food in the couch (we later found a large stash when we opened up the cloth underneath) and Whisker Lickins. Another favorite event was the splashing (emptying) of the water bowl in whatever cage he could gain access to. As a result, much to their chagrin, other ferrets housed with him rarely got any of the water, except out of the bottle! Ernie was always playful and later became a mentor to a new addition in 2006 called Sniffles. Sniffles now empties the water bowl on Ernie's behalf :)
Ernie developed a chronic intestinal problem that gradually became worse. We suspect it was some type of cancer. Despise constant treatments, Ernie left us peacefully today just after noon. He passed over the Rainbow Bridge in his sleep, the very best way possible. He's gone to join the rest of our beloved friends - Cupcake, Baby Kitty, Betty, Grover, and Bubbles. Interestingly enough, we stopped to grab a take-out dinner last night at the Chinese restaurant next to where we met Ernie. It was an odd coincidence. We even had Ernie with us in the car since we had just come back from a vet visit with him. All things in this world are a circle. Are there really coincidences?
There aren't words to describe our love for Ernie, but we will miss him dearly. Be at peace, Ernie, we love you - forever!
The following are lyrics by The Gathering, and the song is called Morphia's Waltz.
I see your eyes
Blue and wide open
Take your time
my divine creature
My arms will provide
undivided attention
Sleep, child sleep
rest your eyes
until the sun comes up
and you'll awake
to light, everyones day
up again
Rest your head
in my lap, honey
The day I wept
is when I had you my love
Sleep, child sleep
rest your eyes
until the sun comes up
and you'll awake
to light everyones day
up again
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Upon the Vista
So, I've been using Windows Vista Business edition for about 2 weeks now. The laptop I use at work doesn't support the video card, thus I can't see Aero Glass. Well, it keeps me from becoming jaded with the pretty graphics, right?
What I like about Vista:
• It's pretty. Even without Aero running, everything is crisper and all menus, etc are very high resolution. Looks great on an LCD screen.
• Folder browsing - It's easier once you get the hang of it. I am mixed on this. Navigation is pretty cool, since you can click on any part of the file path to drill back into a specific folder, even in the middle of the path. Think of a shopping site where you can narrow down your searches, then go back and click on a broader topic to widen your search again. However, the dropdown doesn't support your drive list by default. You get recent places you've been instead. A little annoying. Clicking on "Computer" in the left panel gets you to all your shared drives.
• CD burning - It's easier. Nothing more to say about that
• ZIP files - Imagine this, you can actually CREATE ZIP files now. Something XP should have had out of the box. Duh.
• User migration - It's done within the OS now, but you can still use the user migration tool (easier for mass configurations anyhow). But, if you are a home user, this will be a nice feature, provided you didn't have a system crash on the machine you are importing settings from.
• File sharing - If you turn it on, simple file sharing now really uses the "Shared" account settings for easy access to files you want people to see. Think of it as putting files into your peer to peer sharing directory with something like Kazaa. Users can browse the files. It's an easy way to transfer stuff back and forth with people, and great for multi-user workstations.
• Program level access - When futzed with, this will allow programs to run in an elevated user lever (i.e. higher than "User") for stupidly coded software that used to require full admin access to launch. These are softwares that administrators hate. Hate! Now, at least, I can have something launch at a heightened level without intervention.
Oh, and the screen snippit tool is pretty cool. Easier screenshot handling (you can crop on the fly, highlight windows/regions, etc). No more need for SnagIt!
What I hate about Vista:
• User Access Control - Holy hell. You get asked for every thing you do. I turned off the User Access Control right away. This can be GPO'd, and registry edited to kill. Wow, it stinks. I am an advanced OS user, I don't need to be questioned when I want to change my IP address. I realize this is good for so many reasons, but I hate it. Even with this shut off, running executables asks you if you really want to (for certain types). You know, if I launch a virus or malware on my PC, I can fix it, so I generally don't care about these security settings. In a work environment, sure, but at home? Hell no.
• Administration - It now takes about 2-3 more clicks to get me where I need to go for administration of users and system settings. Getting to the network connections panel is cumbersome. Even finding "add/remove programs" takes some time until you see it at the top of a dialog box.
• Value - 90% of what I am seeing isn't going to be used by the general home user. Even at the business level, most of the "cool stuff" will either be shut off or just unused. I don't want users to be able to pull RSS feeds to their desktops. I don't wants to throw Internet widgets ("gadgets" they call them) that constantly ping away at some remote service all day long. That will all be disabled.
More later as I fumble through Vista. I've also got Office 2007 running. I'm not a power Office user, but so far, I really like the new interface. The larger panels with logical grouping mirrors of a lot of the Photoshop suite (I think they are called palettes, I still call them panels). Outlook 2007 is really slick. More on Office later as well.
What I like about Vista:
• It's pretty. Even without Aero running, everything is crisper and all menus, etc are very high resolution. Looks great on an LCD screen.
• Folder browsing - It's easier once you get the hang of it. I am mixed on this. Navigation is pretty cool, since you can click on any part of the file path to drill back into a specific folder, even in the middle of the path. Think of a shopping site where you can narrow down your searches, then go back and click on a broader topic to widen your search again. However, the dropdown doesn't support your drive list by default. You get recent places you've been instead. A little annoying. Clicking on "Computer" in the left panel gets you to all your shared drives.
• CD burning - It's easier. Nothing more to say about that
• ZIP files - Imagine this, you can actually CREATE ZIP files now. Something XP should have had out of the box. Duh.
• User migration - It's done within the OS now, but you can still use the user migration tool (easier for mass configurations anyhow). But, if you are a home user, this will be a nice feature, provided you didn't have a system crash on the machine you are importing settings from.
• File sharing - If you turn it on, simple file sharing now really uses the "Shared" account settings for easy access to files you want people to see. Think of it as putting files into your peer to peer sharing directory with something like Kazaa. Users can browse the files. It's an easy way to transfer stuff back and forth with people, and great for multi-user workstations.
• Program level access - When futzed with, this will allow programs to run in an elevated user lever (i.e. higher than "User") for stupidly coded software that used to require full admin access to launch. These are softwares that administrators hate. Hate! Now, at least, I can have something launch at a heightened level without intervention.
Oh, and the screen snippit tool is pretty cool. Easier screenshot handling (you can crop on the fly, highlight windows/regions, etc). No more need for SnagIt!
What I hate about Vista:
• User Access Control - Holy hell. You get asked for every thing you do. I turned off the User Access Control right away. This can be GPO'd, and registry edited to kill. Wow, it stinks. I am an advanced OS user, I don't need to be questioned when I want to change my IP address. I realize this is good for so many reasons, but I hate it. Even with this shut off, running executables asks you if you really want to (for certain types). You know, if I launch a virus or malware on my PC, I can fix it, so I generally don't care about these security settings. In a work environment, sure, but at home? Hell no.
• Administration - It now takes about 2-3 more clicks to get me where I need to go for administration of users and system settings. Getting to the network connections panel is cumbersome. Even finding "add/remove programs" takes some time until you see it at the top of a dialog box.
• Value - 90% of what I am seeing isn't going to be used by the general home user. Even at the business level, most of the "cool stuff" will either be shut off or just unused. I don't want users to be able to pull RSS feeds to their desktops. I don't wants to throw Internet widgets ("gadgets" they call them) that constantly ping away at some remote service all day long. That will all be disabled.
More later as I fumble through Vista. I've also got Office 2007 running. I'm not a power Office user, but so far, I really like the new interface. The larger panels with logical grouping mirrors of a lot of the Photoshop suite (I think they are called palettes, I still call them panels). Outlook 2007 is really slick. More on Office later as well.
Friday, November 03, 2006
Moving...
The DH is moving/has moved. If you see this message, then you found me! If not, well, enjoy seeing a stagnant blog, since that old (Adelphia) page won't be updated anymore!
Since TimeWarner bought Adelphia in our area, I imagine within a certain amount of time the Adelphia servers will cease to exist. Since the URL would change, why not just move now? Also, it's incredibly lame to stick with your ISP's given space for a high profile page such as this!
So, we're on Genglo now, the home domain for my wife's businesses, and for whatever dreamable thing I decide to put here.
Whee.
Since TimeWarner bought Adelphia in our area, I imagine within a certain amount of time the Adelphia servers will cease to exist. Since the URL would change, why not just move now? Also, it's incredibly lame to stick with your ISP's given space for a high profile page such as this!
So, we're on Genglo now, the home domain for my wife's businesses, and for whatever dreamable thing I decide to put here.
Whee.
Friday, October 27, 2006
Moonspell/Katatonia/Daylight Dies
Last night was the Moonspell/Katatonia show at Peabody's. I was pleasantly surprised that the opening bands sounded good. At the SYL show last year, there were a bunch of really terrible bands before them.
At this show, the local opener was Dark Arena. They sounded pretty good overall. The singer was decent and I think if the sound quality was a little better, people would have gotten into them more. I think they only had time for 3 or 4 songs, but it was enough to get things going a bit.
Next up was Daylight Dies. I read a little about them on the Web before the show. I was eager to hear them as they are categorized as 'doom metal'. That description is fairly accurate, maybe doomdeath, since the singer is a growler. The sound quality for DD was quite good for Peabody's and I enjoyed the classic doomish guitars, with low and heavy chords. Will definitely have to check them out. I read that they've toured with Katatonia in Europe - totally cool for a US band realitively early in their career!
Katatonia took the stage around 9:15. I honestly haven't listened to them too much, but I did recognize a good deal of the songs from 'The Great Cold Distance' since we had recently purchased the CD. Their guitar sound seemed a little thin, possibly too distorted at times. I realize this is part of their sound, but it was difficult to discern all the instruments (yeah, and I know the acoustics in there aren't the best). Anyhow, it was a good set of recent material from TGCD, Viva and a few other tracks thrown in from other albums. I will probably have to listen to TGCD a little more and maybe check out Viva to appreciate the reviews these CDs have gotten.
Moonspell got on around 9:45, maybe a little earlier. I discovered Moonspell from a guy in Sweden some years ago, and became intrigued by their dark and somewhat gothic sound. They released a few albums that were a bit different ('Sin-Pecado', 'Darkness and Hope'), but the latest one - 'Memorial' - is simply killer. They played a bunch of tunes off of it and an equal amount of older stuff. The crowd really got into 'Wolfheart' and 'Vampiria'. They played one track I hadn't heard (or noticed) before, but it sounded great. Their performance and sound was exceptional for the venue. We stood dead center and it was awesome. I never thought I'd get to see these guys and really hope their experience in Cleveland was positive. They really put on a good show and looked very professional. Their appearance, with light amounts of black makeup was fitting for the time of year (Halloween).
All in all, it was an excellent show. Every band was worth seeing and I look forward to seeing them all again soon.
Here is a list of tracks played. Katatonia was kind enough to announce their songs for me, which is great since I wouldn't have been able to pick them out :)
Katatonia:
Leaders
Soil's Song
Deliberation
Had to leave
Deadhouse
Ghost of the Sun
Criminals
July
My twin
Evidence
Murder
Moonspell:
In Memoriam
Finisterra
Memnto mori
Blood tells
Opium
Wolfshade
Alma mater
Proliferation
Upon the Blood of Men
Nocturna (i think)
Vampiria
Full Moon Madness
From Lowering Skies
Mephisto
Capricorn at Her Feet
Thanks for coming! Come back to the US soon!!
At this show, the local opener was Dark Arena. They sounded pretty good overall. The singer was decent and I think if the sound quality was a little better, people would have gotten into them more. I think they only had time for 3 or 4 songs, but it was enough to get things going a bit.
Next up was Daylight Dies. I read a little about them on the Web before the show. I was eager to hear them as they are categorized as 'doom metal'. That description is fairly accurate, maybe doomdeath, since the singer is a growler. The sound quality for DD was quite good for Peabody's and I enjoyed the classic doomish guitars, with low and heavy chords. Will definitely have to check them out. I read that they've toured with Katatonia in Europe - totally cool for a US band realitively early in their career!
Katatonia took the stage around 9:15. I honestly haven't listened to them too much, but I did recognize a good deal of the songs from 'The Great Cold Distance' since we had recently purchased the CD. Their guitar sound seemed a little thin, possibly too distorted at times. I realize this is part of their sound, but it was difficult to discern all the instruments (yeah, and I know the acoustics in there aren't the best). Anyhow, it was a good set of recent material from TGCD, Viva and a few other tracks thrown in from other albums. I will probably have to listen to TGCD a little more and maybe check out Viva to appreciate the reviews these CDs have gotten.
Moonspell got on around 9:45, maybe a little earlier. I discovered Moonspell from a guy in Sweden some years ago, and became intrigued by their dark and somewhat gothic sound. They released a few albums that were a bit different ('Sin-Pecado', 'Darkness and Hope'), but the latest one - 'Memorial' - is simply killer. They played a bunch of tunes off of it and an equal amount of older stuff. The crowd really got into 'Wolfheart' and 'Vampiria'. They played one track I hadn't heard (or noticed) before, but it sounded great. Their performance and sound was exceptional for the venue. We stood dead center and it was awesome. I never thought I'd get to see these guys and really hope their experience in Cleveland was positive. They really put on a good show and looked very professional. Their appearance, with light amounts of black makeup was fitting for the time of year (Halloween).
All in all, it was an excellent show. Every band was worth seeing and I look forward to seeing them all again soon.
Here is a list of tracks played. Katatonia was kind enough to announce their songs for me, which is great since I wouldn't have been able to pick them out :)
Katatonia:
Leaders
Soil's Song
Deliberation
Had to leave
Deadhouse
Ghost of the Sun
Criminals
July
My twin
Evidence
Murder
Moonspell:
In Memoriam
Finisterra
Memnto mori
Blood tells
Opium
Wolfshade
Alma mater
Proliferation
Upon the Blood of Men
Nocturna (i think)
Vampiria
Full Moon Madness
From Lowering Skies
Mephisto
Capricorn at Her Feet
Thanks for coming! Come back to the US soon!!
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