News: Apparenlty we need to go to the moon

Today was one of the worst work days I’ve had in a while. But, I won’t bore you with that.

Instead, let’s mention this exciting tidbit:

On the “let’s waste more money” front, NASA announced today that they have awarded a multibillion dollar contract to Lockheed Martin to build a spaceship to return astronauts to the moon. Gee, I hope they build it with a place to stow a full bag of golf clubs so that they can hit some more golf balls on the moon.

It’s sad how we all just go on with our lives and forget that there is a war going on on the other side of the world, that there are homeless on our streets, American companies going out of business due to outsourcing, and lots of homeless and moreover, jobless people.

But, hey, you know what will solve all of that? Spending a couple billion dollars to send some putzes to the moon again.

Celeb: Angelina Jolie is NOT hot

Good grief, what is it with the blown-up lip trend, especially in Hollywood (eg: Janice Dickenson, Lara Flynn Boyle)? Check out this recent picture of Angelina Jolie. That is so NOT hot. Excuse me while I go wretch into the toilet. How can anyone think that is hot and even want to lock lips with those.. those THINGS???

Pic Source: yahoo.com

News: Ass of the month

I can’t believe people like this exist:

Parents of the Year

Summary:
—
CINCINNATI, Ohio (AP) — The foster parents of a disabled 3-year-old boy wrapped him like a cocoon and left him for two days in a closet, where he died while they attended a family reunion, a prosecutor said.

The couple made several attempts to burn Marcus Fiesel’s body and concocted an elaborate sham to cover up the boy’s death, Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters said Tuesday.

“Marcus was wrapped in a blanket and wrapped in tape with his arms behind him — and this was not the first time,” Deters said in announcing additional indictments against Liz and David Carroll Jr.

A grand jury indicted the couple Monday on charges of involuntary manslaughter and child endangerment, and David Carroll, 35, on a charge of gross abuse of a corpse.

Tuesday’s indictments included two counts each of inducing panic and one count each of making false alarms. Liz Carroll, 30, also was indicted on two counts of perjury for her testimony Monday to a grand jury, Deters said.
—

Me: Job Titles – "Network Engineer" used too freely

Okay, some folks should not be involved in IT let alone have the job title of “network engineer.” I had a customer today call – he is a network engineer for a company we provide internet access to.

Well, he did not understand the concept of static IP addresses and DHCP assigned static addresses. Nor did he understand the default Windows IP addressing scheme of 169.x.x.x.

He had plugged his laptop into a DSL modem that we configured for static, public IP addresses, so the DHCP server on it is disabled. He called and said, “I have an IP address but I cannot get out. The modem is not working.” I found out his PC had a 169.x.x.x IP address and explained that that is a default IP address that Windows assigns when it cannot obtain an IP address via DHCP — and that is because the modem is configured for public, static IPs and thus the DHCP server is disabled. He then said, “So? What does that mean to me? I have an IP address – the 169.x.x.x IP address.”

I then proceeded to explain that he would have to manually configure an IP address on his laptop out of the public IP block we have assigned to that connection. He then repeated, “I have an IP address. It just won’t route because the modem is having problems.”

ARRRGH!

Ads: Annoying ads – Tanqueray, Red Stripe Beer, & Starbucks

I unfortunately saw three of the most annoying advertisements in a row (to me, at least, and well, that is all that counts in my world) on TV just now. TV must be trying to tortue me, or at least telling me to turn it off and go to bed…

Annoying ad #1: Tanqueray ads with Tony Sinclair.

First off, the scenarios in the commercials are just plain stupid, and Tony Sinclair comes across as a pompous dork. His accent is what annoys me the most about him. Well, that in conjunction with his smarmy, “I am a party god” aura.

Annoying ad #2: Red Stripe Beer

These are the ads where the short dude screams out, “Boo . YAAAY BEER!” Everytime I see those ads I have a near turrets moment where I want to scream back, “Shut the F*** UP!”

Annoying ad #3: Starbucks frappuccino in a bottle

This is the ad with the folks singing/dancing in a musical style while being in different life scenarios (such as at the subway station) a non-rhyming song that ends with, “I can’t get enough of this wonderful stuff.” LAME!!!! With all the money that Starbucks has, couldn’t they come up with a better commercial?

I can’t believe those commercials got through the target test groups while they were being developed. Maybe they selected these versions because they got the most, “I find this commercial to be really annoying but I can’t seem to forget about it” comments.

Probably the same marketing ploy for those creepy Burger King commercials…

Celeb: Britney Spears and her "twins" – part 2

Okay, I posted a pic a few posts below of Britney from the Teen Choice awards show and her fun-bags prominently displayed.

Well, here is another shot. I mean, COME ON, this award show was for kids. At least holster those “twins!”

News: Pluto is no longer a dog.. err.. Planet!

Well, on the “Don’t they have anything better to do, like work on world peace?” news front, it is official –> Pluto will be stripped of its status as a planet in our solar system. So, instead of 9 planets, we will only have 8. Astronomers said Pluto was too small. Guess he shoulda done steroids. But, even if he did, I’m sure it would have gotten out and he would have been stripped of his planetary title anyways like those in cycling… track and field… football… weight lifting…

Anyways, all those school projects that kids made of our solar system out of styrofoam balls will either need to be destroyed, or modified. Poor kids. All that work down the drain. I feel their pain.

Me: I had to call AOL tech support

Okay, so I am loading a laptop for a client/friend… sweet laptop – Thinkpad T60. *drool* Definitely kicks the butt of my T40. Anyways, I digress. This friend uses AOL for internet access at home (she and her b.f. have a farm and live in the boonies, so no DSL nor cable modem for them).

So, I loaded the new AOL 9.0 security edition. However, once it is installed it wants a screen name (either create a new one or use an existing one) before it lets me progress to the point of installing the anti-virus and anti-spyware pieces. I wanted those installed under the AOL umbrella because this friend isn’t very computer savvy and I wanted things as simple as possible. So, I used my screen name.

Unfortunately, that meant the software assumed my screen name was to be the default screen name from now on. I found a solution in the help section, but it told me to call AOL support. So, I did a quick Google search. No luck.

Soooo, I punched their 800 number into my phone. Their IVR system answers… Helloooooo phone menu hell. I had to answer about 16 different questions before I could get to someone human. So, that part sucked. When I finally was able to hit “0″ to go to a human, I expected to be on hold for a loooong time. I only had to wait for about 10 seconds!

The person I spoke to was courteous and able to get me straightened out. There is an option (hidden, of course) to default all settings for the AOL client. I did that, and my screen name was gone from the computer. YAY!

Overall, my experience and opinion was mixed. The phone menu part was horrible and for me a waste of my time since the steps they had me take was for someone trying to install the software from scratch. But, once I talked to an actual tech, it was quick and painless and I did not have to stay on hold very long.

Me: Mosquitos suck!

I wish someone would erradicate the world of mosquitos. Two days ago I was watching TV and felt these tiny pinches at my neck. So, I swatted around there thinking it was just cat hair tickling me. Next thing I know I see a mosquito flying by. Great. I ended up with 4 welts on my neck and one on my left hand. They all swelled up to be quarter sized and I had to take an allergy pill.

I thought that would be the end of that. I was wrong. Apparently Mr. Mosquito (or one of its relatives) was hanging out in our house because last night it bit me on the knuckle of one of my right hand fingers. Let me tell you that mosquito bites on the knuckle absolutely suck! But, I am sure you already knew that.

Celeb: Vincent "Don Vito" Margera and Britney’s "twins"

News flash!

Reality television’s Vincent “Don Vito” Margera, uncle of “Viva La Bam” star Bam Margera, was held without bond Saturday on a charge of sexual assault on a child.

What a dork!

And, to lighten the tone, here is a pic of Britney Spears at the Teen Choice awards that were held last night. She is in the process of introducing her “twins” to the world. Oh oops, I meant she is introducing K-Fed.