Bossman Kaput

I've abandoned my Bossman Project. The idea was right, but doing it by myself wasn't. I've found a new way: FREEGEEK.

FreeGeek is similar project, with much smarter methods. Check out the website. They also give away free computers, with Ubuntu Linux installed. But, they have much more:

They take in old computers, fix them up, rebuild them as best as possible, lode Ubuntu Linux on them, and much more. To get a free computer, someone just has to volunteer for 24 hours -I'm guessing not necessarily in a row. Then, they get a FreeBox. They not only get the computer, but they go through training on how to use it. The FreeGeek organization in Michiana Indiana also sets up what's called FreeLabs, where people can come and use the computers; Word processing, Internet Surfing, emailing, and even learn programming. For free. These places are put in areas where most people don't have access to a computer. The computers are mostly intended for someone who probably could never afford a computer. But, anyone willing to devote their time can get a free one, even if just to give it away.

So, my new endeavor: FreeGeek Central Florida. I already have a halfway decent start. I've put together a few systems, and given out a few. But doing this with a group of people would be so much better.

There are SO MANY computers out there that still have good use. Still have better than good use, and can probably be better than they originally were. The software companies, especially the one in Redmond, has people convinced they need to upgrade their hardware along with their software. What they really need is better software. Especially, software that can make use of older equipment.

If you've got an old box (do NOT look at your wife after reading that line), and think you need to upgrade, try putting Ubuntu on it instead. Or even Fedora Core. These operating systems come with most of the software you'd need, already installed! OpenOffice, GIMP (like photoshop), GAIM (AIM, Yahoo, MSN, GoogleTalk messenger, rolled into one), and most of the hardware drivers are already in the system. Much more, for free! If your not sure about those software alternatives, most of them have Windows compatible programs. You could get use to the Windows version, before you switched if you wanted.

Better yet, go ahead, do the hardware upgrade. Kill the hard drive on your old computer, and donate it to one of these organizations. Especially Central Florida -once I get it going!

# # # #

In Other News:
I went through a complete upper body workout today. A big improvement since starting back. I'm still much weaker than I was before starting the medicine, but strength is coming back.

About the medicine: It either takes awhile to start working, or it's not working for me. I'm still having some issues; pain, swelling, and urgent trips to the bathroom. Nothing major, but enough to go; WTF!

Please click on the links in this post, and checkout some of the sites. None are commercial (except for the Redmond one, of course), and they will give you and idea of what I'd like to do. Also, maybe YOU could give me some ideas!

Working Out again, finally!

I had my second workout today, after just over 5 weeks of no training. The medication I was on was a bit restrictive. I've got less than a week on it, so I'm able to train again.

I got weak. Real weak, real fast! Body pains are still there, but much less. The workout helped, especially in my left hip and shoulder. It's going to take me awhile to get back to something I would call strength, but I don't think I'd ever want to get like that again. Ugh.

When Nancy and I move, I'm hoping to mix the office and gym together. I'd like to have the workout equipment in the same area, making easier to do both. Not necessarily at the same time, but throughout the day. Kind of how a farmer use to live. All day training, out of necessity.

I made me a wallet today: Paper Wallet!

The Photo above is not my wallet, but a picture from the instruction site. Mine's white. In the picture, the one if the foreground is a week old, and the one behind it is just made.
I liked the cheapo wallet I'd bought at Kmart, but it was still a wee bit too big. This paper wallet is just the right size. In the future (probably not too far off), I'll remake one from the Tyvek paper used in Fedx envelopes.

I'm ahead in most of my classes. I have a big project in Networking that has me somewhat nervous, but I'll figure it out. I'm lucky that way.

Shaken, Not Stirred

The new James Bond film, Casino Royale, is a must see for any Bond fan. They stayed as close as they could with the original Fleming storyline.

Recommended by Danny.

In Other News:
I got a lot of homework and projects done today, but still have much more to do.

It's Time

What's it time for? Dunno. Thought it was an interesting blog title. But then, I'm not the best when it comes to titles. Stories? Yes. Titles? Nope. Deal with it.

The picture above is from Amy's wedding rehearsal. I thought it was a good picture of us. Nancy, contrary to her belief, always takes good pictures.

Thursday night, Nancy and I went to the Annie Russell Theater at Rollins College to watch the play, "The Mousetrap" by Agatha Christy. It was good. The actors did an excellent job, and stage set was the best I've seen so far. Agatha Christy wrote many mysteries, and a few plays, but The Mousetrap has a special place in the world of theater.

Except for the body aches from the medicine, I'm feeling better. Going to bathroom less in class and at night. I wanted to see the new James Bond movie, but didn't want to pay $9.00 for a ticket, and get up three times during the movie. I'll wait till the DVD comes out. Can you say, "PAUSE"?

We took the dogs to the dogpark today:





They had fun. We did too.

Guilty

Whenever I have to boot into Windows, I feel like I've done something wrong. Something bad.

At first, I thought that feeling was strange. But, I've found many others who feel the same. We share a common bond. We're all working to overcome it. We have a powerful tool. Something that can withstand the viral infestation that is Windows, or the spys that come with Windows, or the 'enemy as gifts' that come in Windows.

Unfortunately, because of school I have to occasionally boot into Windows. The other night, Nancy caught me:
"Oh my G-d, Danny! You promised," she said.
"But, but....it's for school," I replied.
"Don't give me that. You don't need that trash for school. I've seen you do your projects on Linux. You could use VMWare, or Xen virtualization."
"But, this is our assignment."
"I thought I could believe you. You promised you wouldn't do this again. All that educational porn you could access through Linux. All the gambling sites, all the hacking. But instead, you spend your time looking at THIS smut!" she yelled.
"It's just the Microsoft Managment Console," I admitted. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. It won't happen again."
She shook her head at me. "You filthy pig," she said, then spat on the ground. "You're too disgusting to even spit on. Microsoft Management Console. What next? Windows Vista?"
Then, she stormed off. I had to sleep outside. On the porch. In the cold.

Well, maybe it didn't go quite like that. Here's what really happened:
"Watcha working on?" she asked, looking over my shoulder.
"Microsoft Management Console. It's for my A+ class," I replied.
"Oh. Okay," she strugged, then went back to looking at houses. On her Ubuntu Linux computer.

The shame.

* * *

We went to Epcot the other day. It was the last day of our passes, or close enough that it would be the last chance we'd get to go for awhile. We got to ride the new updated, "The Seas with Nemo and Friends". It's the update to "The Living Seas".
No, that's not us. But you do get to ride in a turtle shell. Or clam shell. Or, whatever-the-hell-shell-they-tried-to-sell. I liked the change, but didn't like it. The update is cute, very well done, uses new technology, and is great for kids.
But, it 'unEpcoted' the whole experience. They made an impressive experience with the ocean to a cutesy Disney movie ride. Fine for Magic Kindom, or maybe MGM/Disney/PIXAR Studios, but out of place at Epcot. But, then so is the Princess Dining Experience, which ruined my enjoyment of the restaurant at Norway.
Take the kids out of the restaurant, keep the grown-up Disney princesses -maybe with different clothing/more skin, more alcohol, and a pole in the center of the room, and you'd have a nice change to a Disney experience. Maybe Steven Jobs might go for it?

Nancy did make some new friends

She told them how cute they were, and 'what wonderful and different markings'. When we walked away, she said, "How rude. They didn't say anything. Didn't even look at me. Maybe they're foreign. Where do you think they're from?"

"They're lego," I replied.
"Oooohhhh. I feel so bad. That explains it." She turned to look at them. "That's near Turkey, right?"
"No. Denmark,"I replied.

* * *

Parkour is an excellent activity. Uses all parts of fitness: Strength, Endurance, Flexibility. If you live through it, that is. Here's a good example: (notice the use of all part of fitness)

Blushing Bride

Little Miss Amy got married this weekend. She's now Mrs. Amy Khoury, wife of Elias John Khoury. The wedding was great. I liked the rehearsal dinner best; the food, I mean. Alex Khoury rented out Aladdin's Cafe in Casselberry. I was apprehensive about the food, but was more than impressed. Rates in the top five meals of my life now.

Here I am, in my Network (LAN) class. There's Professor Hennel teaching us how to hack into your computer. Thanks for those interesting files. Don't worry; I can't get any of your files from you logging onto my blog. If you log off; that's a different story. Keep away from the X in the upper right (Red dot in the upper left on Mac, or some versions of Linux).

I shaved the beard off for Amy's wedding. I might try the Goatee in the future, but I don't I'll be growing a beard anytime soon, unless I intend on visiting someplace really cold.

My prostate treatment is going good. I guess. Can't really tell much difference yet. I'm still going to the bathroom often, but not as often as before. I hope this clears up soon. Or, at the very least, gets a little better. It's frustrating. Especially not being able to really workout.

I've spent most of my time lately working on school projects. That, and helping Nancy prepare the house for sale (buy it, PLEASE!). Time for downsizing, and getting out of overconsumerland Winter Park.

The Dems won much of the election nationally. Republicans cleaned up locally -in Florida. Bill Nelson is still Senator. In my opinion, that's a good thing. I would have voted for the cigarette filled sand in Daytona over Katherine Harris. She may be competent, but I don't like her stance on issues. The selection of polititians was piss-poor. No one from The Emperial Party for Emperor Danny ran! What a waste. And those electronic voting machines? Insist on paper! Those eVoting machines are a joke. The only way I'd trust them is if a paper receipt was produced after the voting of each person.

Congradulations, Amy and Elias. Now, get to work on insuring my social security check!

Performance

After the fall of the Berlin Wall, Roger Waters -formerly of Pink Floyd- performed THE WALL right where the Berlin Wall stood. It was musical performance that represent more than just a rock groups music. It was a change to a new time. In the 90's, it was for the better. Search youtube.com with Roger Waters Berlin as the subject. You'll find links to the complete perfomance.

If you were awake and aware during that time, it was a very moving experience. Here's my favorite part of the performance:

Static

The whole video blog thing is a good idea, but I should probably wait till I have better equipment. In the meantime, I'll stick with pictures, like this one:

As you can tell, I'm trying to grow a beard. I've never grown one, so I thought I'd see what it was like.

This pic was taken at the doctors office. That's right; Doctor. After many years, I finally relenquished, and was dragged kicking and screaming to the doctor. I'd prefer to go in unconscious.

I've been having middle-aged man problems. Not of the performance type. Not yet, at least. My prostate has been giving me problems for a few years, and in the last three months, it's been much worse. After having to get up and go pee twice during a timed test, I knew I had to do something. I got an ultrasound on a testicle -it was really swelling, and not for good reasons- and they found a cyst, causing a varicocele. It's not very comfortable, but it's not dangerous.

I avoided going to the doctor, mostly because I knew what was going to happen; I'd go through some test, be poked and prodded -or rather probed, then the doctor would say, "Yep, you're getting old. Sorry. That'll be $3000.

The first round of antibiotics they gave me knocked me on my ass. I haven't taken antibiotics in probably fifteen years. Maybe even longer. Within an hour of taking them, the level of fatigue was surprising. The weirdest thing is a bilateral 'neuralgia' pain. My left side aches, everywhere. The skin is so sensative, it feels like a sunburn. My muscles hurt, and the joints ache like crazy, but ONLY on the left side. Just the left. That's weird. They also gave me something for Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia. My health insurance is 911, so they gave me a good discount for paying cash.

I can't stand going to a doctor. It's like admitting defeat. Giving in. Giving up. Maybe not so much that, as the healthcare industry in USA is way out-of-wack. When someone I know who can afford the absolute best health insurance available, but still has to wait in the Emergency room overnight for a hospital bed to open, somethings wrong. Then again, that person was afforded no prejudice because he was wealthy. Still, it needs fixed. If I could afford insurace, I'd have gone to a doctor months, if not years ago. Specifically for this problem.

Maybe I watched the movie, John Q. too many times?

Because of this, I haven't been able to workout lately. That's frustrating too. I feel weak, tight, low energy. My waist is actually getting pudgy. In short, I'm becoming American. Maybe in a few months, I'll fit in.

Maybe not.

During all this, Nancy has been really supportive. And, very understanding. I haven't felt like 'me' lately, and those of you who know me will know what I mean. At least, now we know why; I'm gettin older. Five short years ago, I looked and felt much younger. People at my high school reunion recognized me easily, even when I couldn't recognize them. Now, I barely recognize myself.

* * * *

School is going well, even with the up and down during my tests. I've actually been writing more too. Next semester, I should be able to take more classes. And, these classes, except for the Linux Administration class, are ones I've not encountered.