I Finally Went And Did It...

Hello everyone. I hope you are all in good health.
Well, I finally went and did it (guess I am a damned, dirty ape!). I finally went and bought a new computer. Yes, I finally retired the venerable "HAL-9000". For those of you who don't know me, retiring HAL is a big step for me. HAL has been with me since roughly 2000. To explain a little further, HAL is the name I chose for my ancient Compaq Presario. I call it my "digital abacus" because it was/is an old AMD K6-2, 400 MHz system with a whopping 224 MB of ram. It also had an ATI Rage video card with 4MB of SGRAM and (originally) a 10 GB HDD (I later upped it to 90 GB total [80 GB + 10 GB]. When it came from factory it also had DVD-ROM. I changed that out for a CD burner.
To say the least, I extensively upgraded the system. I massaged, tweaked, and pretty much did everything by OC and make voodoo sacrifices to it to keep it running at a reasonable level. But, alas, all was for naught. In the last six months, it started crashing and corrupting files on a pretty regular basis. So I figured it was time for a new system (a decision not taken lightly). I know, people are saying what's the big deal, but I am a geek and I get somewhat attached to my electronics, especially my computer. I put in a lot of hours, sweat, blood, and, yes, even some tears (of frustration) to keep my system in good shape, and now I was going to junk it. I was going to relegate it to my pile of obsolete stuff. Eventually, part of the old system will live on in my new system, most likely in the form of cannibalized parts (probably the new 80 GB WD HDD and my CD burner). However, it didn't change the fact that a machine that had given me so much entertainment and pleasure was going to be tossed aside like so much other personal detritus. Alas, poor HAL! I knew him Horatio; a machine of infinite jest, of most excellent websurfing. (Yes, it is a paraphrase of "Hamlet" [act 5, scene 1])
So, the other day (Friday, I think), I finally got a new system. The system I ordered hasn't arrived yet, so the place I got it gave me a loaner. The system I ordered is an HP s7612n. It has an AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ Dual Core (2 GHz), 1 GB RAM, 200 GB HDD, an NVIDIA GeForce w/ 256 MB, a dual layer DVD burner with LightScribe, and a 17" LCD monitor. I can hardly wait to get it.
Hell, the loaner system I am using isn't that bad either. It is an HP s7520n. It has a AMD Turion (1.8 GHz, 64 bit), 1 GB RAM, 200 GB HDD, an ATI Radeon w/ 256MB, a dual layer LighScribe DVD burner, and a 17" LCD monitor. I like it, but I would rather have the 7612 system.
I've already added a few accessories to the system already. I mean the monitor speakers that came with it just didn't quite cut it (bluntly, they sounded like crap!), so I added some Altec Lansing 80 watt speakers (2.1 type--2 desktop, 1 subwoofer). Now it sounds pretty good. I also decided to get a 1 GB thumb drive, and, most importantly, I got myself a copy of Sid Meier's Civilization IV.
For those of you who don't have Civ 4 yet, get it. I thought Civ 2 was great until Civ 3 came out. I thought Civ 3 was really good, but when Civ 4 came out, I wanted it. Unfortunately, HAL wouldn't play it (system req's were too high). Now that I have this system, I can play it, and do. It blows Civ 3 away. It is no contest. It has all of the stuff that Civ 3 had, except pollution and civil disorder, plus it has civics, religion, and is 3-D. If you like the Civilization series, and haven't done so, get this game. It is one of the few games that actually live up to its hype.
Well, I gotta run (I actually have work to do).
So until next time, I am Chuck, and my new system's name is COLOSSUS. (I name my systems after their famous (fictional or real) predecessors).

The Problem With Feeling Nostalgic

Hello readers, I hope you are all in good health.
Today's post concerns that nostalgic feeling we all get once in a while.
I don't know about you, but I usually get to feeling nostalgic when I view something (usually on tv). For example, whenever I watch VH1's "I Love The 80's" I usually go into a week long fit of listening to 80's music and watching "Miami Vice" on Sleuth (and say what you will, Miami Vice was the most kick ass show on in the 80's!!). I also get to thinking that I'd love to go back to those days.
Well, today I did something that made me nostalgic for my college days. Usually, I only get to longing for a return to my days at Pitt when I am actually in Pittsburgh. However, through the modern wonder that is the Internet, I managed to find a webcam located on top of Hillman Library. Hillman Library is the main library for Pitt. As I was scrolling through the views from the webcam, all those good memories of college came rushing back. I looked at the sidewalk in front of the library and memories of working in the stacks came to me. I looked over at the Union and the memory of meeting up with the brothers from my fraternity (Alpha Phi Omega-Beta Chapter) to go on service projects came back (God, I miss those people). I looked over at the Cathedral and remembered my classes there, along with one of my most treasured memories, my first date and, subsequent, first kiss with Kat (and getting caught by the security guard making us both feel very 16 again). I won't go into Kat too much except to say that I dated her for about a year and a half, fell head over heels in love with her, and ended up losing her (something that, even after ten years, I've never quite gotten all the way over. Suffice to say that it doesn't interfere with my life today, but she will always occupy a special place in my heart). I continued to look around on the webcam and memories continued to flood my conscious mind. I looked toward the Carnegie Museum and noticed that they took out the big parking lot in front of the library. They replaced it with a grass field. I like the idea, but where is everyone supposed to park? As I continued, there were so many memories that I had to stop looking. Not because I don't want to remember these things, quite to the contrary, I do want to remember, but because of the feelings they bring up. I loved my time at Pitt. It was quite possibly the best time of my life. The memories that came up only served to remind me of how much I miss the people I associated with and the fact that, without a time machine, I can never go back to those days. The fact that I lost touch with the people who were my friends in college, and the fact that I can never recapture what was, is utterly heartbreaking. Couple that with the realization that, while I knew at the time that these were good times I was having, I never stopped to savor them as I should, and you end up with the depressing truth that a longing to return to those days just leads to wishes unfulfilled and more depression. And that is the real problem with feeling nostalgic.
As always, I am Chuck and I'm going to go be depressed and smoke cigarettes.

PS. If there are any members of APO-BC from the mid 90's (95-97) out there reading this, leave me a comment, I would love to hear from you.

Edited 17 Jan 07 @ 0125 hrs EST for typos and revision of content.

The REAL National Champion

Hello again readers. I hope all is well with you.
The subject of today's post concerns college football's real national champion.
I just finished watching the University of Florida kick the crap out of Ohio State. As soon as the game was over, Florida was proclaimed and ordained National Champions by the all mighty folks at Fox (as we all know, Fox only broadcasts the greatest sporting matches of all time...at least according to Fox. Ergo, this 41-14 blowout was the greatest college football game of all time because Fox broadcast it, and, thus, Florida had to be immediately proclaimed National Champion lest Fox lose its status.) However, despite the proclamations of greatness by second rate sportscasters covering an over hyped blowout, Florida should NOT be the National Champions. True, Florida was ranked #2 and they did beat the number 1 team in the country. But all Florida did was eliminate one of the two division 1-A unbeaten teams. Ohio State was ranked #1 simply because they had gone undefeated until tonight. Florida, with one loss, should never have been ranked number 2, but they were. Granted, Florida did beat the number 1 team, but if the logic for ranking that team (Ohio State) number 1 was the fact that they were undefeated, then the only other undefeated team in the country should now be ranked number 1, not Florida. The only other undefeated team in Division 1-A football is the Boise State University Broncos. Boise State is currently 13-0 after defeating Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl. It may have taken overtime for the Broncos to defeat the Sooners, and BSU may have only won the game by one point, but they are still the only 13-0 team in the country. And since any team that has been defeated at least once cannot logically claim to be better than a team that has not been defeated, Boise State should be the National Champions, not Florida. Boise State has a damn good case for being National Champions. However, until Division 1-A institutes a playoff system, smaller universities like Boise State will continue to get screwed over by pollsters who are more interested in promoting the "old boys", paying back favors, and setting up good tv matchups (ratings wise) in the bowls, rather than seeking out and promoting the nation's best college football teams.
Thus, I have decided that if Fox can proclaim Florida as the National Champion, I can proclaim Boise State as the TRUE National Champion based upon the fact that they are the only undefeated Division 1-A football team. Say what you will, but playing in an over hyped bowl game, wishful thinking, and public proclamations still doesn't change the fact that Florida has one thing that Boise State doesn't...a loss.
I am Chuck, and unfortunately I don't have a vote in the football polls.

Did You Ever...

Hello again readers. I hope everyone had a pleasant and safe holiday.
Today's post concerns the fact that I cannot seem to gather my thoughts enough to write a coherent post.
It would seem that I have too many subjects and not enough "umph" to write just one post. On top of that, all the subject seem to be jumbling together. What I mean is, I would like to write about my reaction to Bill Cowher's decision to resign as the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers. But then again, I would like to write about how my Friday went (lousy). And all of that is being mixed around with concerns for my girlfriend's health (she was in the hospital for a few days) and the fact that I am about 3/4ths burned out in my job (I think I need a break, but the company, being the dicks that they are won't give me one). With all that in mind, I have just decided to write a blurb on each. Here goes...
First, I am sad that Cowher has decided to resign. I am not unhappy that he is pursuing another course, I am just worried about what direction the Steelers will take from here. I mean the Steelers have had only two coaches in my lifetime and both of them have done very well. I am just worried that the third coach will finally be the one that sends the Steelers back to their pre-Chuck Noll mediocrity.
As for my Friday, I have one question...Is it some unwritten rule that every driver in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania must lose their higher mental functions the moment that the first raindrop hits the ground? It seems like it to me. On Friday I had to take my consumer to an appointment 40 miles from our house. On the way there, I saw people executing nearly every form of stupidity that one can commit in a car. From going 70 mph in the rain to swerving from lane to lane (without signals, I might add), to "multitasking", you name it, some idiot was doing it. WTF, people? Do you not understand that hydroplaning, and thus lack of control, can occur at 55 mph? Do you not know that you can be cited for failure to signal a lane change (or did you just run out of "blinker fluid")? Do you not know that "multitasking" increases your chance of having an accident? Or are you, as I have surmised by your behavior, just idiots? I guarantee that if one of these idiots hits me, and they aren't injured in the accident, they will be by the time the police arrive!!! For those of you wondering, no, I don't have road rage. Bad driving is just one of my pet peeves. People constantly complain about the increase in the number of drivers on the road every year. If I had my way, that number would drop drastically. First the age at which you can get a drivers license would go from 16 to 19. Second, all new drivers would have to pass a test as stringent as the current CDL-A test. And last, in a phased program taking no longer than 10 years, all current drivers WITHOUT a CDL would have to the new CDL-like test and pass it before they could renew their licenses. In addition, if you failed the test 3 times, you would have to wait at least 6 months before retaking it. If you failed it 5 times, the wait would go to a year. And if you failed it 7 times, you would be banned from driving permanently. On top of that, driving without a license would get some teeth. The new penalty for driving without a license would be: 1st offense, 6 month suspension-$10000 fine (mandatory), 2nd offense, 1 year suspension, 3 months in prison, $15000 fine, and 3rd offense, lifetime suspension, 6 months in prison, $25000 fine. All subsequent offenses would carry a minimum of 1 year in prison and a maximum of up to 10 years in prison. It would have to be that harsh because those who lose their license would just say, "So what, I can still drive" and then commence driving without a license, so there needs to be a harsh deterrent.
Well, I think I have complained enough. I am glad I got that out of my system, I feel much better now.
As always, I am Chuck, and I say "learn how to drive, ya moron!"