You learn something new every day.

For fun, and out of boredom, I pulled out some original dress Navy blues I inherited from my dad. I didn't know who they were originally issued to, since that side is a Navy family and I hadn't pulled them out since middle school. After some examination, I found our last name, then his first and middle initial. I had no idea they belonged to him. This turns these from simple keepsakes, to something that is precious to me, more than I could have known.

What's more, as I examined the garment, I found a standard patch on one side, and on the other "Atkron 35".

Atkron 35 "Black Panthers" has been a squadron in service since 1934. The most likely service period for my father, as I recall, was the early 80's, where I know for a fact he worked on the now-retired A6 Intruder.

All useless information to the masses, mostly, but I never thought for a moment these were anything more than heirlooms. I was wrong.

Laptop is down and outta service. Screen cracked. Gotta think. Either partially refurb it back to "running" for about a c-note. Or stand no laptop for a coupla months and trade up. Almost wanna drop the 100 and keep it running because this thing has been so much of a trooper. Long run, 5 to 6 years now in my possession alone, was a corporate machine before that. Two hard drives, three charger cables, 1 battery. Nothing else!

Good job, Dell, I can applaud you for this one.

I always get into such strange mental "modes" when the weather changes like this. It's a mix of something that feels like nostalgia, tainted slightly with an anxiety that can't quite be described. It's not necessarily bad, either, just curious.

FAFSA forms: Filled, signed, and sent for approval.
Application: Ability to pay comes this weekend.
Placement tests: Once I get accepted.
The rest: Falls into line.


Like a boss.

Left to do:

Have parent sign Financial Aid form electronically.
Dish out application money.
Get it all together in one place with a counselor.
Choose my classes.
Start going to class.
Work current job contract until the end, and since i'm only three-quarter time at school, eligible for unemployment.
Get part time job before unemployment runs out, survive on that, grants, loans, scholarships.
Make it about to happen, for realreal.

If there were a window to my mind, all it would show is the view of a front-load washer in the middle of the cycle.

You aren't alone. They may be a different foe, but we all fight the same battles.

We're all just human. You don't have to be afraid.

Today, I finished reading this ...

Interesting. Explanatory. Recommended.

So much still to do. Under such a tight time constraint, and budget constraint. One little thing, then two, then four, then eight. All little things. Each one a step away, just barely out of reach. One thing hinging, one thing to wait for.

When it all finally domino's over, will I be looking at a clear design of the future? Or further derailment?

Come on now, let's jump again. Remember, both feet, just like always...


Screw you, stress.
-With love.

I see what you did there.

Check it out: I'm a local that doesn't give a rats ass about Megaplex.

Cool, aren't I?

Listen up!

I've got something to stump the hell out of you techs out there.

I've posted the saga of my gaming rig here, and all of it's problems. The most annoying and previously thought impossible barrier was a strikingly slow bios post with no trouble codes or issues. It just took about as long as, you know...forever.

I sent the mobo in, got mobo back, reinstalled everything. Still. Slow post.

Now, as in right now, I let it boot to windows, got in just fine. The speed is excellent, and I even benchmarked the performance by playing a little GTA-IV. Once windows hits...nothing seems wrong.

Everything that i could think of, as well as static, and heartwood...we're all stumped. Me completely.

NOW anyone got any ideas?

I just put it in.

Applied for Seminole Community College.


Do I know what I'm going to do? Sort of. Let's see what happens.

I require some assistance from geeks, meaning I come to you people.

I recently got a -good- power supply for my gaming rig, and while this one actually works (side story about the other two in a moment) my boot is painfully slow. 10-20 minutes or more. This is throughout the entire boot and post for the bios, checking for serial devices, the whole nine yards. I can get into the bios menu, and even it's slow as ballllllllls.

My original setup had a 750watt PS that, one day after shutting it down, decided to stop working. Completely. No status lights to the Mobo, nothing. Second was a total DOA. Not even a kick of life out of it. The last time it was running, all the setting were fine, nothing was overclocked, and it booted and ran like a champion. Now I have this. Everything I own is janky and busted, and this couldn't help but follow that trend.

Any ideas for repair?

(Tried resetting bios, attempting to update now if it'll load into windows, been through the memory, HD's, video card, etc.)

Setup is:
EVGA 790i SLI FTW mobo
Intel Core2 Duo (E8500)
2Gig DDR3
EVGA GTX 260
Corsair 750watter
Odds and ends don't matter.

I had a few people look, and say it's the south-bridge on the mobo, in which case it isn't so bad, and I just have to send it back in, new one gets here. But i'd like to just get it up and doing it's thing, if it is at all possible.

I've found myself lately in a consistent state of flux, not quite knowing where I am, or where I'll go, or even how I feel about it. It's much akin to purgatory. Nothing is good, though nothing is really bad, it just...is.

My job. It's a place I go until 6 in the evening to make money. I don't like it, but I deal with it. It just is.

My car is interesting to drive, has a lot of power, but it's merely become a way to get from one place to another. It just is.

My home is nice in it's comfort level. I'm proud of the things we have as a group. The eclectic mixing of styles has lead to an interesting environment, but there's still more I would do, and better ways I could relax. It just is.

My future plans aren't set in stone, but I know the kinds of things that I like. None of it really feels like it's good enough for me to pursue, but anything worth it seems too far beyond my level of competence. It just is.

My social life is moderately active. I have friends I really like being around, great guys for sure, but my participation in socialism has dwindled from what it once was. Large social activities feel more like an exercise in futility than they do a chance to meet new people and experience new things. It just is.

Don't get me wrong. There are points of each week, day, and moment that I can still take and appreciate eternally, but some of the more base factors just seem blase and lackluster, convincing me that I could be ten times worse off, especially now, but have little reason to pursue further. I crave improvement, bettering myself to see the leaps and bounds I can make on my own terms, but the drive in it all has died. I've become complacent, and it bothers me.

It's not a funk of depression per-se, just one of apathy. That much has changed. The glass is no longer half empty, it merely stays at half capacity, not leaning one way or another. Perhaps insight, spirituality, and meditation can bring forth an answer. But then, with medical insurance coverage now active, something to balance and at times calm me from attacks is also an option. Who's to say which would work. Of course, I'll be taking the cheaper method initially, and one I've trusted for the past nine years now.

Perhaps this is just something that many people encounter in their daily lives, and I'll come from it like civilization from a darkened period of stagnation. But then again.

Maybe it just is.

I know this is somewhat random, but here's a call out.

If you are/know an electrical engineer, this means any and everyone, reach out to me.

Over the past week or so something has been on my mind, repetitively. Well, two things, actually. One is that as good as I am getting at it, benefits administration is a fitting field from a work standpoint, but not one quite suited to my personality. There's a lot of technical aspects that are good, but the human aspect throws the whole equation into chaos.

However. Less than a week ago I was at work, and had just gotten the new car. I was at my desk during a really slow time in the morning with the wiring harness for the radio, and the one that plugs to the cars stock harness. I got such a joy out of taking a good solid hour to putz around and make sure all the wires were stripped and prepped properly, and connected soundly. I really zoned in on the project at hand and cranked out an end product that worked flawlessly. Even while assembling my new computer when all the parts came in. Which got me thinking about my dad some, too.

I lost.

My dad was a Systems Administrator for IT by trade, but our garage at my childhood home was always filled with electronics. Oscilloscopes, computer odds and ends, tape-drives, old receivers and audio equipment he kept to just tinker around with. Even his old truck was more a toy for him to tinker with than drive most of the time! Even as a boy I would watch him do things to and with electronics, some I can't even figure out to this day. Our lawnmower was even sacrificed to multiple rewirings.

I think I need to look a little more into this. Could be interesting, perhaps.

To all of my friends out there, near and far, Merry Christmas. Your posts, and messages, have been the only thing to remind me it exists. :P

It finally happened. All these years, people talked about it, and it finally happened.


Hell froze over.


news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/Las-Vegas-Covered-In-Snow-Winter-Storms-Coat-Sin-City-In-Record-Snowfall/Article/200812315185666

It is not until now, that I have actually done any maintenance on my friends list, that I realize how many of you are friends on this journal.



Can I really be that interesting?

Reloaded laptop with fresh XP install. SP3. It actually works again.

Next is the desktop, followed by games, and happy.