bjstaab.com

UsernamePassword

A 40 degree sunny March day makes me wish I were a runner or had a bicycle, and didn't have to work today.

We had some Fat Tire on the weekend.

As it appears I will never get around to getting this site fully functional again, I've yielded to my innate laziness and installed TinyMCE so at least you won't have to remember BBCode off the top of your head anymore. It will still work, but you don't have to use it.

I been drink'n agin. I picked up a six pack of New Belgium's Mothership Wit. Their "organic" wit beer. The first bottle I had was almost overpoweringly yeast-y. And hence, nasty. But I don't know if it's the couple weeks the now five pack spent mellowing in the fridge, or the fact that I followed the pouring directions, but I'm rather liking it now. You should try it if you get the chance.

I didn't end up go to either the LAN party of Japanese film festival this past weekend. I just didn't feel like lugging my rig over to the Union, especially since none of my usual gaming buds were going. And instead of spending a couple hours watching a movies I really don't care to see, I had my own Japanese film festival with an exclusive (only in my living room! ONE NIGHT ONLY!) showing of Kurosawa's The Bad Sleep Well. It was good, but at 2.5 hours, I had a hard time paying attention for the whole thing.

Wow. Now we probably won't hear from you for a month! :)

Seriously, bresnan has got to get their shit together. This is unacceptable [URL=http://www.speedtest.net][/URL] Unfortunately, I don't really have a choice here. THey're literally the only game in town. Otherwise, I've got a pretty busy week. The Banff Mountain film fest is in town tomorrow and thursday nights. And saturday is the annual [url=http://jaswy.org/press.shtml]japanese schlockfilm festival[/url]. This year it's some terrible sounding movie called The Blue Bird, and Departures. The latter of which has been moldering in my netflix queue for a while. Departures actually won a couple awards. But so did the movie from last year that I found teeth grindingly terrible. Also on Saturday is the [url=http://www.uwyogamers.com/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1]semi-semesterly LAN party[/url]. I'll need to take a vacation to recover from all the excitement. Also, while I was in Ft Collins last weekend, I happened to see a Timbuk2 laptop backpack at REI. It was the [url=http://www.timbuk2.com/tb2/products/swig-backpack]swig[/url], and seemed pretty nice. If you haven't gotten anything yet. It was even on sale. Had a nice cushy bolster at the bottom of the laptop sleeve to keep the laptop from banging into the ground every time you set the bag down. A lot of pen / accessory holders right near the top, in a cutout so they'd be pretty easy to get to. And the lid has extra nylon flaps along the mouth of the bag to hopefully keep out the elements a little better than a regular flap lid would. Since you mentioned Timbuk2 anyway, you might check it out. Oh yeah, and one of the shoulder straps has a bottle opener attached. That's pretty important. I was down in the big city to try and get some of those [url=http://www.vibramfivefingers.com/indexNA.cfm]vibram five fingers[/url] i keep thinking about. [url=http://www.jaxmercantile.com/]Jax[/url] didn't have my size in the style I wanted ([url=http://www.vibramfivefingers.com/products/products_KSO_m.cfm]KSO[/url]) so I didn't get any. Dang they're popular though. There were three other people trying them on while I was there. They said they sell about five pairs a day, so they're constantly replenishing stock. Sounds like I just have to keep trying. I have about 150 miles left on my current running shoes, so it's not a big hurry. Yet. If all else fails, I think I'm going to go back to the [url=http://www.brooksrunning.com/product/1100691D/123206/Adrenaline%20GTS%2010]Brooks Adrenaline GTS[/url]. Brooks at least offer their shoes in wide. Unlike my current, "Oh, they generally run wide, so they should be good enough" [url=http://www.saucony.com/store/SiteController/saucony/productdetails?stockNumber=20043]Saucony ProGrid Omni[/url]s. I did get a couple pair of the those [url=http://www.injinji.com/tetratsok/performance.htm]Injinji tetrasocks[/url]. They feel kind of weird at first. I'm going to try running in them tomorrow. If you like the nerd-core rapping, and I know you all do, you should check out [url=http://www.nerdcorerisingmovie.com/]Nerdcore Rising[/url]. A documentary filmed on MC Frontalot's first national tour. Pretty funny stuff. (Psst, it's available on netflix streaming too...) Tonight I watched [url=http://www.bigdreamslittletokyo.com/index2.php]Big Dreams, Little Tokyo[/url]. Pretty cute. Kind of low-key funny. The guy who wrote/directed/starred in it has a new movie called [url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0892904/]White on Rice[/url] which I'll probably check out when I can. Had a lot of news backed up... Almost done. I've been reading volume one of [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transmetropolitan]Transmetropolitan[/url]. It's really good. It does sometimes seem to be trying a little too hard to impress you with how edgy and in your face, man, it is. But Spider Jerusalem is a pretty good character, and the book is a pretty good read over all. Last night I also finished volume one of [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Walking_Dead]The Walking Dead[/url]. It's really good. Good enough that I now find myself contemplating buying [url=http://www.amazon.com/Walking-Dead-Compendium-Image-Comics/dp/1607060760]The Behemoth edition[/url]. Except that I worry about how unwieldy it would be to actually read a 1000-some page comic book. As for "real" books, I'm still working through [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Guns_of_August]The Guns of August[/url]. I still find it fascinating. The Great War wasn't started just because some dude got shot. Who knew? And it's got me adding more [url=http://www.amazon.com/Dreadnought-Robert-K-Massie/dp/0345375564/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1266989156&sr=1-1]even bigger books[/url] to my "to read" pile. But it's also a little dry, and slow going. And I'm constantly forgetting names and such, so a little confusing too. But that's just my creaky comic book addled brain's fault.

[url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YI9sHO0R5iY]mom's weird saturday video[/url]

Must be something in the water [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yk2vR8w2sjc&feature=player_embedded#]cheese[/url]...

[URL=http://www.speedtest.net][/URL] I sure am glad I'm paying $55 a month for this awesome connection...

Since you missed the Friday video or weird

Haven't seen any really weird videos lately, but I've been digging this music video. Apparently the song was used in an L4D2 commercial, but I haven't seen it or bothered to look for it. Of course, there is [url=http://vimeo.com/8858005]this video of what could possibly be the greatest house party ever[/url].

Anxiously awaiting the next weird friday video.

forgot to post my weird friday video. :3

happy friday benjamin!

I need a new purse. Any bag suggestions? I prefer a backpack style. It needs to be able to carry a laptop. I have no plans on owning a laptop bigger than 14" Currently I'm using a [url=http://www.rei.com/search?cat=8000&cat=40004547&cat=4501709&hist=cat%2C40004547%3ALaptop+Bags^cat%2C4501709%3ALaptop+Backpacks]REI laptop backpack[/url] that's not on their website. I'm liking the look of [url=http://www.booqbags.com/Laptop-Backpacks/Boa-squeeze-macbook-backpack]booq Boa Squeeze[/url]. Brand wise I've been looking at [url=http://www.spireusa.com/products/laptop-backpacks.htm]Spir[/url], [url=https://www.crumplerbags.com/flash/flash.aspx#/english/products.html]Crumplr[/url], [url=http://www.timbuk2.com/tb2/products/laptop/laptop-backpacks/]Timbuk2[/url] and [url=http://www.jansport.com/js_product_thumb.php?cid=41]Jansport[/url]

Did you take a picture of your lunch?

Laramie has a new sushi restaurant again. And it's delicious. I mean really good. Really really good. I went there for lunch today with a couple guys from work, and everything we had was great. The yellow tail sashimi was probably the best I've ever had. Really. The rolls we had were also pretty damn good. This place is much nicer inside, and a lot closer to my apartment than laramie's last sushi restaurant. I hope it can stick around for a while. Old picture, but [url=http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=350+s+3rd+st+laramie+wy&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=38.22949,55.634766&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=350+S+3rd+St,+Laramie,+Albany,+Wyoming+82070&ll=41.310582,-105.593634&spn=0.008865,0.013583&z=16&layer=c&cbll=41.31066,-105.593612&panoid=b3wruVz3IgOQJuwk1WJQkA&cbp=12,100.42,,0,-3.25]this is the building it's in[/url]. And with that, I'll leave you with the heavy metal rooster. Happy friday

I watched this http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/young-at-heart/chorus.html on PBS last night. It was kinda neat, and the music wasn't too bad either.

I didn't think I'd ever say this, but I'm actually glad to be back at work after a week and a half off. I was sooooo bored being at home that long. On hearing the news that Kat got herself a macbook, I was all set to type up this long treatise on the basic, fundamental differnence between OS X's desktop environment, and Microsoft Windows' (and [url=http://www.gnome.org/]Gnome[/url]'s and [url=http://kde.org/]KDE[/url]'s and pretty much [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desktop_environment#Examples_of_desktop_environments]every other DE in existence[/url]) and why it screws up so many people when they switch to OS X. And then while looking around for supporting information, I found Ars Technica basically already [url=http://arstechnica.com/software/news/2009/01/dock-and-windows-7-taskbar.ars]did the article for me[/url]. Personally, after a period of adjustment, I far prefer the window-as-document paradigm as it leads to a far more consistent environment, and fits far better with the way people actually use their computers. As I keep saying, I'm sitting at this computer to do something. Not to use <insert DE here>. Which is something I think Microsoft tends to forget with their constant annoying popups and balloon tips and other focus stealing tactics. Also went to see [url=http://www.avatarmovie.com/]Avatar[/url] on saturday with a bunch of friends. We drove down to Loveland so we could see it [url=http://www.metrolux14.com/Showtimes.aspx?MovieID=414]in 3D in a nice theater[/url]. How was it? You know, I'm really conflicted. I want to hate it for the incredibly simple, really cliche plot and sometimes laughably poor dialog. But after reading some reviews, I think I know why I actually came out liking it. It's, to borrow a phrase, well crafted. And the techno-goodness just adds to it. The CGI and 3D effects didn't seem gimmicky. The whole thing was just really well put together. I can't say it was the best movie I've seen all year. But it was completely competent. And really incredible to look at. If you have the chance, the couple extra bucks for 3D is really worth it. As long as you don't get a headache. I didn't, but I've heard a lot of complaints of that. I think my brain is so used to constantly integrating messed up images from each of my eyes, that integrating the 3D effects was no problem. I'm not sure I like [url=http://www.borderlandsthegame.com/]Borderlands[/url]. I'm already mostly board with the singleplayer, and the co-op multiplayer is needlessly futzy to setup. I keep saying multiplayer [url=http://fallout.bethsoft.com]Fallout 3[/url] would be awesome, and I was kind of hoping this would be it. But it's not. At least I got it for pretty cheap thanks to the Steam holiday sale. Lastly, Dad sent me a link to a [url=http://www.ridermagazine.com/output.cfm?id=2387467]preview of the 2010 VFR[/url]. I might have to wait until I see it in person before I make up my mind, but based on the pictures, that thing is fugly. Seriously. And I'm not sure about the displacement increase to 1200cc. I'm not sure I ever found myself wishing for more power. and 1200 is huge for a bike that size. Unless the bike itself is bigger. But it doesn't look like it, and the passenger accommodations certainly don't look any more comfortable. Unfortunately for me, it seems like they're moving it more to the Touring side of the Sport Touring equation. Which seems weird since they still have the [url=http://powersports.honda.com/2009/st1300.aspx]ST1300[/url] sitting nicely on that side. If I ever get a new bike, I might end up looking somewhere else I guess.

Happy New Year Benjamin!

Thank you for the coffee and mug. We tied the Holiday blend this morning. Very good! We had an issue again this morning. I put the malwarebytes back in and dumped the AVG. Spybot seeems to work OK, but takes a lot of time. Thanks for the advice.

[url=www.safer-networking.org]Spybot[/url] is one of my goto utilites for system cleanup. Unfortunately, no single program seems to work for everything, so the other two similar utilities I use are [url=www.lavasoft.com]AdAware[/url] and [url=www.malwarebytes.org]MalwareBytes[/url]. I'm cheap, so I just use the free versions of them as required. As for AGV, I know the name. And I've [url=http://arstechnica.com/security/news/2009/09/av-comparatives-picks-seven-anti-malware-winners.ars]heard they usually test pretty well[/url]. But I've never used it. I don't put a lot of stock in purchased "internet security" suites, preferring a combination of [url=getfirefox.com]Firefox[/url] with it's [url=http://adblockplus.org/en/installation]AdBlock Plus[/url] and (sometimes) [url=https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/722]NoScript[/url] plugins. I've also found myself increasingly using [url=http://www.google.com/chrome]Chrome[/url] for my web browser. I do miss the AdBlock plugin. But I'll get over it. Back to antivirus, my Windows PC is pretty much only used for games (It's all [url=http://www.ubuntu.com/]Linux[/url] and [url=http://www.apple.com/macosx/]OS X[/url] for work and other [url=http://www.freshbytes.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/internet-serious-business-cat.jpg]serious business[/url]), so I just go with the free [url=http://www.microsoft.com/Security_Essentials/]MSE[/url]. But I'm not sure if that is available for Windows XP.

Tech question. We had a major infection so I took the box to a local store. They cleaned it all up. They removed my malware, glary utilities, and some other programs. What they installed was AVG 9.0 and Spybot search & destroy. Should I buy the AVG and is Spybot a good program?

Happy Birthday!!!!

Funny parrot! Have a good weekend, stay warm. We are having the same low temps like you and 17 inches of snow. The roads are so bad, even East Wash is like a wash board. Good weekend for baking cookies or something else yummy.