Tuesday, 19 August 2003 -- A Slight Change In Direction

Hey everyone. I've decided to move my online journal away from here and over to LiveJournal. I also plan on writing more opinion pieces and rants. My journal can be found here.

I still plan to build out the Who Am I, Links and other pages eventually. In the meantime, I am working on rebuilding the VeryLate site. There will be a fun new part to it very soon! Please check it out.

Wednesday, 30 April 2003 -- Still Here, Really!

Alright, not going to let this go too long without an update. Not again.

If you think my little journal and others like it are boring, you should check this out. Here's a nifty new technology along the lines of the Tornado in a Can I told y'all about a while back. Finally, if you use Yahoo! at all you should go here and read it very carefully. I opted out. I suggest you do too.

Saturday, 22 March 2003 -- Well, We're At War Again

Here's some topical content. Check out the government's security icons. Play Gulf War 2! Finally, believe it or not, we're deploying a national guardsman named Optimus Prime!

Tuesday, 11 March 2003 -- Yet Again Even More Random Links

Here's yet another random assortment of links. Here's more on hydrogen energy. Check out the FBI's new method of tracking Internet use. Finally, read about the mystery object that's orbiting the Earth!

Wednesday, 5 March 2003 -- The Future Is Not Even Close To Now

As many of you know, I'm a big advocate of research into alternative forms of energy. I truly believe that if we didn't depend so much on foreign oil, we wouldn't have to stick our noses in the Middle East so often and maybe those terrorists wouldn't want to kill us so much.

Anyway, here's a mildly depressing, but extremely informative article about why the energy issue is so difficult to solve.

Thursday, 27 February 2003 -- And The Trolley's Bells Fell Silent

Early this morning, Fred Rodgers, star of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, passed away.

I watched his show every day when I was very young. As much as I enjoyed Sesame Street and The Electric Company, Mister Rogers was my favorite.

Wednesday, 26 February 2003 -- The English Language Is Becoming More Plural

What the heck am I talking about? Ok. English has three persons: First person, second person and third person. Singular pronouns in the first person are I and me. Plural pronouns in the first person are we and us. Singular pronouns in the third person are he, she, him and her. Plural pronouns in the third person are they and them. Now, the second person is kind of weird. The old second person singular pronoun thou, while still correct, has fallen into disuse. Instead, we use the old second person plural pronoun you for singular. See? More plural.

I've noticed that in order to attempt to circumvent the gender bias inherent in the English lanuage, people have begun using the plural they instead of he as third person singular more and more often. While this isn't really correct, I think it's part of the natural evolution of the language and generally a good thing. Besides, they flows in sentences much better than he or she. Once again, this change is more plural.

Now living down here, I've been learning the idiosyncrasies of the southern speech. You see, southerners compensated for the lack of a second person plural pronoun, by inventing a new one: y'all, short for you all. However, over time, y'all has gradually become used more and more for the singular, which has resulted in yet a new second person plural pronoun being created: all y'all, short for all of you all. I have decided that all y'all is absolutely as plural as we can possibly get. Of course, I'm probably wrong.

Tuesday, 25 February 2003 -- Why Star Trek Sucks

Wow. Updates for two straight days. I haven't done that in a while.

TV Guide has an interesting article about what's happened to Star Trek and how it might be fixed.

Well, the suggestions that the article makes aren't bad, but I doubt that anything will change. The problem with Star Trek is that the characters are too perfect. They don't have the human failings that makes for interesting drama.

For example, it was often hinted at during the run of Next Generation that Picard might be Wesley's father. Of course, that never was allowed to pan out. That would mean that Picard had betrayed one of his closest friends and that Beverly Crusher would have committed adultery. The producers couldn't have that, because in Gene Roddenberry's world people don't do those not nice things. The thing is that people *do* do that sort of thing. It's what makes them human. That notable absence is what makes Enterprise fucking sterile. Yes, I have given the show a chance and yes, I have watched it recently to see if it has improved. It hasn't.

You want another example? Fine. Remember in Star Trek VI when Lt. Valeris betrayed Starfleet? That was orinigally supposed to be Saavik, the character from Star Treks II, III and IV. Why wasn't it? I've heard that they wanted to bring back Kirstie Alley and she wasn't available but I don't buy that. They had no problem recasting her for movies III and IV, why not use that actress? I think the producers couldn't stomach having a recurring character that people liked turn out to be a traitor.

A series needs real characters with real failings that people can identify with. This is why I think that Babylon 5 was a far better sci-fi series. This is why Buffy The Vampire Slayer is a really great show. Twenty years from now, people will still be watching those shows on DVD (or whatever the next format will be) while Voyager and Enterprise will sit on a shelf gathering dust.

Monday, 24 February 2003 -- Big, Huge Update

Well, I have a whole bunch of links for all y'all today! But first, I have a new navigation menu that I've added above. As you can see, I plan to be adding a bunch of new sections to the site over the next few weeks. Suggestions are welcome. Use the "E-Mail Me" link above.

Now, for the links! If you need to feel the pain of living where I live, read the chronicles of the Redneck Neighbor. If you didn't think old-fashioned inventors were still out there, check out the Tornado in a Can! Here's something interesting on those Nigerian bank scams that you've probably been spammed about. If you don't belive that racial discrimination still exists in hiring, then you really need to read this! Finally, learn how to launch a personal water craft.

Saturday, 1 February 2003 -- Seventeen Years And Four Days

That's how long it's been since we lost someone in a NASA mission. Until today. I'm almost at a complete loss for what to write. I am deeply saddened by this and only hope that this will not set back the space program.

Monday, 6 January 2003 -- Raving Lunatics

There are lots of looney people out there on the Internet. Here are just a few. Remember now, these people really believe what they're saying. Find out how to make a thought screen helmet. Check out the ravings of Nancy Luft. And even though I've linked to this guy before, I still recommend Time Cube!

Sunday, 24 November 2002 -- Hacktastic Fun!

Have you ever thought to yourself, "Hey, I think that stuffed animal over there would make a cool ethernet hub!" Well, these guys did! And if you've ever wanted to change the sounds on that Billy Bass contraption, here's how!

Thursday, 21 November 2002 -- Fun Stuff Today

Check out The Deadly Follies of Stick Figure Warning Man. If you need some reassurance, go here and type in your first name.

I've also found a really good Flash site with some very funny original material. The site is HomeStarRunner.com and has some really cute cartoons, but the main reason to visit is for Strong Bad's e-mails! That is some funny shit.

Sunday, 3 November 2002 -- R.I.P. J.M.J.

I want to take a moment today to say how saddened I was at the death of Jam Master Jay. The work of Run-DMC opened the door for me into the world of hip-hop. He will be sorely missed.

Thursday, 31 October 2002 -- Network Security Stuff

A couple of network security links today. Learn all about WarDriving and with the holidays coming, make sure that you're careful about sending your freinds online greetings!

Sunday, 20 September 2002 -- Here's Some Stuff

Still distracted by trying to eke out a living down here. Anyway, here's some stuff. I found a neat site that has biographies of many authors. If you're enough of a geek, you can go out and get yourself a shirt with an error message on it! Oh, and don't forget to get your pirate name! I be Captain Harry Kidd! Arr!

Saturday, 10 August 2002 -- Belive It Or Not, I'm Alive.

So, the last time I updated this site, I promised that I wouldn't go very long without updating it again. Well, it's been months now and it seems that I didn't keep my word. Sorry about that. I don't like forgetting my promises.

Anyway, I got quite distracted by a number of happenings in my life and have just now realized that keeping this site up is good and therapeutic for me.

So what was it that happened in my life?

Well, I'm still unemployed. In order to cut costs, I have moved to North Carolina. I now live near (but fortunately not with) my parents. I'm scraping out a living by selling my possessions on ebay. Also, as my mother is even more of a packrat than I am, I have access to a very large supply of collectibles to sell.

In April, I went through the very painful process of saying goodbye to friends and fellow APO Brothers as I stepped down from my position in the Fraternity. I was honored with a number of accolades and awards on my last night and I cried my eyes out in the process.

In late June, one of my very best friends got married and I had the extraordinairy honor of being in the wedding. That was a great day. Actually, it was a wonderful weekend!

Other than that, life has pretty much sucked. It has been very hard down here. I have had very little luck in finding a decent job anywhere in the country. I am now long past the point of being picky about where I end up working, as long as I can find a decent job somewhere. I miss my friends terribly. I would visit them, but I'm barely scraping out grocery money.

I am slowly starting to get a handle on this whole ebay thing and may be able to muster a visit up north in a few weeks. We'll see.

Tuesday, 29 January 2002 -- Whoa

Damn, it's been over a month.

Well, time can fly when you're working on a big project. Anyway, here's some cool stuff:

Find out how to irritate people who use Outlook. Register as an American patriot. If you are or have ever been unemployed, you have to check out Odd Todd.

That's all for now! I promise I won't wait as long next time! =)

Thursday, 27 December 2001 -- A New, Old Project

I haven't been able to update this site in a while because I've gone back to a project that I've had on the back burner for a long time.

I used to have a website on Geocities that was an index for businesses that were open late at night. It was called Night Owl and it hasn't been updated in over two years.

Well, I've had a domain I wanted to move this over to for some time, but I just haven't been able to make the time. Being unemployed gives you the time to work on projects like this. I plan on opening VeryLate.com on January 1st. Please give it a look.

Tuesday, 11 December 2001 -- Why College Park Sucks

Well actually, I love College Park. But you can't help loving someplace that you called home for that many years. But honestly, it isn't what it could be. The area of Route 1 between the Beltway and the main entrance to campus just looks like hell. I've been to a lot of other college towns that are much, much nicer. There was a recent series of articles in the Diamondback about how the City of College Park and Prince George's County are trying to improve things. Here's part one. I think you can follow the links to the other two parts from there.

Friday, 30 November 2001 -- My Favorite Beatle

George Harrison passed away yesterday. Why was he my favorite Beatle, you ask? Well, he was modest. He didn't crave the spotlight. He was a genuine musician. He taught John Lennon to play guitar. He was spiritual, convincing the rest of the band to make their pilgrimage to India. He was a filmmaker, producing such great movies as Monty Python's Life of Brian and one of my all-time favorites, Time Bandits. I'll probably be watching my tape of that tonight, along with Yellow Submarine.

I've been listening to his music all day, either on Arrow 94.7 or on VH1. Even MTV2 is showing Beatles videos today. I realize that I need more of his music. I don't have a copy of "Here Comes the Sun".

I don't know how to explain the Beatles to the young'uns who read this page, but suffice it to say that no other group has influenced music more. These guys invented the music video, for crissake. I was a huge fan of them when I was young, but I didn't keep listening to them as I got older. I only have one Beatles CD. I really need to fix that.

Friday, 23 November 2001 -- I Have The Best Friends In The Entire World

I haven't updated this because I've had a really rough three weeks. I think I would have lost my goddamn mind if not for my closest friends who've been there for me once again.

Some background first. In college, I joined a group that changed my life: Alpha Phi Omega, a national co-educational service fraternity. Of course, this is where I met most of my good friends. Anyway, I'm still involved with APO as an alumni and as a national officer. I'm elected by the chapters in Maryland and DC. Those are the students I work with.

About three weeks ago, something really bad happened with APO. I can't go into any details, but I will say that it was very stressful and opened some old wounds. As always, my friends were there for me. On the good side, my students surprised my by their courage and tenacity in this situation.

While this was going on, I was interviewing for a job at my alma mater and things were looking good. I even got a preliminary (verbal) offer. Unfortunately, thanks to the lovely economy, they managed to implement a hiring freeze in the next few days. So, I got fucked over yet again.

The day before yesterday, I was in a car accident. I'm ok, but my car is fucked. I can't drive it. At this point, with my insurance company's claim office closed until Monday, I have no idea what's going to happen with that. Of course, this makes it just about impossible for me to get a part-time job.

So, with all this going on, my friends have been going out of their way to hang out with me, buy me dinner, make sure I de-stress. They've been great. Two of my best friends who live a couple of states away, dragged me to Thanksgiving dinner, since I couldn't visit my brother with the fucked up car. My buddy Jami even tried to get the readers of his webcomic to drop me a note and cheer me up!

I've been officially 30 for a week now and it's not so bad. Last weekend was an oasis of goodness amid the recent nightmare. I got to have a little birthday celebration with my good friends and got to catch up with some folks I haven't seen in way too long.

I'm writing again. I find that I write humor when I'm stressed. I'd post what I wrote the other day up here, but it's one big, long inside joke. If I get anything done with some broader appeal, I'll let you know.

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