Tuesday, 29 May 2001 -- The Hunger Site

I've always liked The Hunger Site and I've tried to visit it whenever I can.

Now that I know that an old high school classmate designed it, I really think everyone should go there. =)

Sunday, 27 May 2001 -- Why, Oh Why, Must TV Sci-Fi Be So Terrible?

So, I saw the series finale of Voyager. I don't know if I would say that it sucked, but Lord knows it wasn't good. I guess that's OK though. Voyager never really was all that good. It's not like, say Earth: Final Conflict, which started out with a lot of promise and then pretty much went straight down the shitter.

My major beef with EFC is the characters. Early on, they were deep, interesting, mysterious and multi-faceted. They were three-dimensional. Often their motives were at least somewhat complex. Now, they're either "good guys" or "bad guys". No mystery here. They've become flatter than a pre-breast-implant Demi Moore. Do you hear that sound? Oh, sorry. That's me snoring.

What a complete cop out. I mean, it started out as one of the most unique shows on television and then became just another carbon copy of everything else. Oh, and they got rid of the good music, too. Maybe I got spoiled by Babylon 5. Or maybe they just decided to stop taking risks.

So, take my advice. If you want some good sci-fi nowadays, read yourself a book.

Saturday, 26 May 2001 -- Various Assorted Junk (Or, I'm Too Lazy To Come Up With A Title Today)

As promised, here is a very low-res image of me in my towel.

I got called into work today to deal with a DDoS attack. Sucks to work on a Saturday, especially on a holiday weekend, but what can you do?

As I missed it on Wednesday night, I hope to be home in time to see the repeat of the series finale of Star Trek: Voyager. I honestly hope that it doesn't suck as much as PvP thinks it did. But, I'm afraid that it will.

Friday, 25 May 2001 -- It's Towel Day!

Towel Day has arrived! And, yes, I have my towel. It's a lovely sky-blue towel, hanging around my neck as I write this. Hopefully, I'll have a webcam photo up later so that everyone can see me resplendent in my silliness.

I'd like to take this opportunity to once again recommend that you read Douglas Adams' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Even if you're not a science-fiction fan, I think you'll enjoy this book.

Unless you're stupid.

In that case, go away. I don't want you reading my website.

In other news, Monday is Memorial Day. At 3:00pm local time, on Monday, please take a moment to remember those who have fallen.

Thursday, 24 May 2001 -- Are You Concerned With The Size Of Wired's Penis?

Apparently, someone is very concerned about the size of Wired News' penis. Read about it here.

For more spam fighting info visit SpamCop, CAUCE and MAPS.

UPDATE: 1:31pm EDT

Did I mention that I hate being sick? I'm at work today, but still feel kind of sluggish. Thanks to those of you who sent major love my way. =)

Monday, 21 May 2001 -- Falling Over Myself With Joy

I have just discovered that my favorite author Ursula LeGuin is going to write another book in my favorite universe. Not only has she recently released Tales from Earthsea, which I now must go out and buy, but I understand that there's another Earthsea novel on the horizon for the fall. Apparently, one of the stories in the collection is Dragonfly, which I already have as part of the Legends 3 compilation. It's a great story and I was happy to see just a smidgen more Earthsea material before LeGuin died, but I had no idea that it was the start of more. I wouldn't have even dared to hope for such a thing.

If you haven't read any of the Earthsea books, you should start with A Wizard of Earthsea. The sequels are: The Tombs of Atuan, The Farthest Shore, and Tehanu: The Last Book Of Earthsea. All are excellent.

Then again, this is coming from a guy who named his home computer Tehanu, so your mileage may vary.

Sunday, 20 May 2001 -- An X-Phile On The X-Files

Sorry there was no update yesterday. I was too busy trying to do as little as possible.

I'm honestly not sure if I want the X-Files to come back in the fall or not. I like Robert Patrick as the new agent and I think that the show's still good, quality sci-fi. Actually, until the new Babylon 5 series becomes a reality it might be the only good sci-fi on TV for a while, with the possible exception of Farscape. I haven't seen Farscape yet, but I hear great things about it.

I don't think that the X-Files is no longer good. Just not as good. I'm no longer compelled to tape it or watch it no matter what, as I used to be. The storylines aren't as compelling as they once were. Anyway, it might be good for the franchise to take a break. Take a year or two off and come back fresher. Which is exactly what I think should happen to Star Trek.

Turns out that the X-Files will be back in the fall with Scully and Doggett as the agents. If they don't take a break, I honestly hope that this is the last season. I really think they should end it before the premise starts to wear thin.

Friday, 18 May 2001 -- Will You Have A Towel On Towel Day?

Will you be sporting a towel on Towel Day? I know I will.

No idea what I'm talking about? Read Douglas Adams' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy if you want to learn more about the usefulness of towels. Yes, as you may have guessed, this is in tribute to the late Douglas Adams.

Thursday, 17 May 2001 -- No, I Can't Read Your Stupid Attachment

Alright, time for a rant. Hopefully, the first of many.

One of my biggest pet peeves about the Internet is all the ignorant fuckers out there who naturally assume that you have Microsoft Office.

"Here's all of the vital information I have to tell you. It's in Excel! Please get back to me ASAP!"

Fuck you.

No. I don't have Office. I have no interest in giving $500 of my hard-earned money to a company that has lied, cheated and bullied its way to the top of the software industry. Why should I have to go out and buy software because you are too lazy and inconsiderate to put your document in a universally readable format?

Here's a tip: TXT is your friend. There is no one, and I mean no one out there who can't read a plain text file.

"What about Adobe Acrobat? They have free readers for almost any platform!"

Yes, Adobe Acrobat's a wonderful thing and I own a copy just for the purpose of sending out universally readable documents from my Mac. But, I don't expect you to go out and buy their software for my convenience. I don't think dowloading their free reader is too much to ask.

"Well, I didn't know about all that."

OK. Fine. Now you know. Don't do it again. I just might have to DOS your ass.

Wednesday, 16 May 2001 -- MMMmmmm... Trader Joe's...

I have decided that Trader Joe's is just about the coolest chain of grocery stores around. I thought you all should know that.

Tuesday, 15 May 2001 -- I Am A Cash Whore

In case you didn't notice from yesterday's note, I've signed up with Amazon.com's Associates Program.

To be honest, I'm not doing it to be a cash whore. Really. Money spent at Amazon though my links will go to support serviceusa.org, one of my other projects through which I provide free webspace to non-profit organizations.

Monday, 14 May 2001 -- A Sad Day

Hello, everyone. While this site is still under construction, I have to put something up here today.

This past Friday, Douglas Adams died. If you don't read science fiction at all, you probably don't know who he is. Was. He was the brilliant mind behind The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and its four sequels (The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, Life, the Universe and Everything, So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish and Mostly Harmless) which are, without a doubt, some of the funniest books ever written. While I still love the Hitchhiker's series, I also think that his later books, Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, and especially The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul, are vastly underappreciated. I recently re-read those two books and I appreciated them much more now that I'm older. I was looking forward to the possibility of more in the Dirk Gently series.

He will be sorely missed.

UPDATE: 1:40pm EDT

Richard Dawkins, a scientist and friend of Douglas Adams, has written an excellent Lament For Douglas. I almost cried at the end.

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