Windows Keyboard Shortcuts

I admit it, I’ve grown quite fond of my Apple computer. What I *really* enjoy is OS X’s keyboard shortcuts. Evidently, Apple has had a habit of making keyboard shortcuts for everything for quite some time. However, I work on a Windows 2000 box at work (don’t ask), which makes life a living hell if you’re used to keyboard shortcuts.

In an effort to find out how to do something simple, like say minimize a window, using the keyboard I happened upon a few pages that might be of some interest. Windows XP Hotkeys, Keyboard Shortcuts that should work in Windows 95, and other windows shortcuts. While I consider Windows lacking in the keyboard shortcuts one did catch my eye.

SHIFT & Restart – To restart just windows and not your whole computer, hold down the shift key when you click the OK button on the shutdown screen. Saves lots of time.

TUCOWS has another option called Active Keys that might be worth checking out as well. I just want someone to create a program that emulates Apple keyboard shortcuts on Windows.

iPod! MythTV!

I won an auction last night for a used 5GB iPod. Granted it’s not a 30GB iPod, but I’m sure it will do. Plus, the thing only cost me $160.00; almost half what a new 10GB would have cost me. After I’ve had time to play with it I’ll give you my impressions.

I’ve also been working on an old project; getting my MythTV box up and running. I’m torn as of now. I have three options:

  • MythTV – Has everything I want, but uses a proprietary file type which may cause difficulty in burning VCD’s.
  • Freevo – much like MythTv, but doesn’t appear to be as robust. It does, however, appear to use a more standard file type.
  • Windows – I could use a Windows program which would make setup a breeze, however, it would not have a web frontend, MAME, MP3 ripping/playing, weather, etc.

As of now I have to worry about getting the damn thing to work. After I’ve got that pimping I’ll worry about VCD’s, etc. It appears right now that I have serious hardware issues, once I get those figured out and farther along I’ll post some pics of the whole process and, quite possibly, a HOWTO.

Homer: Doh!

Evidently it’s not in the genes. A recent study says men don’t live as long as women for reasons not entirely related to our genetic make up. Here’s strong evidence as to why we don’t live that long …

In low-lying flood zones, says Thomas Songer of the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health, men are more likely to drive around barricades and drown in high water.

Yup, we’re dying in massive numbers because we’re stupid. Really stupid. It makes sense. In a society of males that pays more honor to Homer Simpson than they do any voice of reason, I’m not surprised that us guys are such idiots. After all, we watch The Simpsons, Jackass, Beavis and Butthead, and Ren & Stimpy. Nope, this guys isn’t surprised at all.

Of breasts and backs

I have a few grips today, as I usually do. Even Republicans have to question the idea of nominating George W. Bush for the Nobel Peace Prize. First he drops mad bombs over Afghanistan, which I totally support, then he wages one of worst one sided attacks in history, and then he gets a Nobel Prize? That’s just insane! Although Hitler was once named Time in 1938 followed by Stalin in 1942. Not saying that Bush is the same caliber as these two monsters.

In other rants today I was at California Pizza Kitchen when a person I was eating lunch with told me to look to my left. What did I see? The lady in the next booth over breast feeding her baby. I’m not sure if I’ve seen such an apalling site in all my days. I understand the kid has to eat, but put your boobs away and let me eat WITHOUT listening to your kid suck mom’s milk. It’s just rude and wrong.

And for news about broken backs. Cedar Point has a new roller coster named Top Thrill Dragster. The reviews are starting to come in.

Sweet Jesus. There’s Millennium Force. Way down below us.

It’s time to drop, at 90 degrees, from over 400 feet.

Abandon all hope …
If Hell has thrill rides, this brilliantly evil machine should be one of them.

Needless to say my sorry ass needs to get to Cedar Point and check this thing out! It looks amazing!

The perfect sandwich

I hide a dirty little secret: I’m a sandwich fanatic. I’m not sure Lauren even knows this. I’m constantly looking for the perfect cheese, topping, condiment, and meat. I think I’ve finally found what I’ve been looking for all of these years.

After years of eating turkey and wheat I was turned onto rye bread by a fraternity brother. My next discovery came in the form of using chicken instead of turkey. There really isn’t a comparison between the two in my opinion, which, my opinion, is what this blog is all about.

No sandwich is complete with out pepper jack cheese, whose main ingredient is jalapenios. I think the cheese adds a little spice to any sandwich. Of course, no sandwich would be complete with out some sort of spicey mustard, although a good italian dressing is a decent substitute.

But my latest two finds are icing on the cake. On a whim I bought pumpernickle bread instead of rye. I also picked up a jar of straight up slice jalapenios. So, here it is, the perfect sandwich:

  • Two slices of rye or pumpernickle bread
  • Meat. I prefer Sara Lee’s chicken breast, maybe a slice of roast beef for flavor
  • Two slices of pepperjack cheese
  • As many jalapenio slices as you can handle on your sandwich
  • Spicey mustard (optional)

So there you have it. Throw in a few Wisconsin beef sticks, some cheese cubes, a yogurt and a glass of skim milk and you’ve got a great lunch! The only thing that could possibly make the meal better is Busch’s dill red skin potatoe salad.

Stinky Situation

I’m not even sure where to start on this one. Why isn’t the media going nuts about this? It barely got a headline on CNN.com. More and more is coming out about Halliburton’s role in post-war Iraq.

We’ve all heard Bush say multiple times that the oil in Iraq belongs to the Iraqi people and should be used to rebuild the country. Hrm.

… the company would: put out oil well fires and assess the facilities; clean up oil spills or other environmental dangers at the sites; repair or reconstruct damaged infrastructure; operate facilities; and distribute products.

Operate and distribute? Furthermore, this contract was awareded without competition. Huh? If you don’t know why this is such a stinky situation I’ll remind you that Halliburton is the company which Dick Chaney was the CEO of prior to being “Vice President”.

Of course the White House denies any favortism, but when one notices that the contract has no time limit and no dollar limit you have got to wonder. Cheney sold all of his Halliburton shares, but still owns tons of stock options. Hrm. My only worry is that this apparent scandal-to-be won’t be as vigoriously covered by the media as the White Water scandal was.

Not allowed to change ways

In response …

Do I have any illegal MP3’s in my iTunes library right now? Not that I know of and if I do Lauren put them there. All of the CD’s in my iTunes library were ripped from CD’s I purchased. I bought my last CD a few days ago (Everclear – Sparkle & Fade).

I haven’t downloaded an MP3 from the Internet (that I didn’t buy) in, literally, years. The “collection” from California was nuked when I bought my Mac over a year ago. Since then I’ve realized two things: 1.) I don’t need 40GB of MP3’s and 2.) I should support the artists I like listening to.

Another funny thing that Paul is forgetting is that he has coded for money. If Paul found out that the company who paid us to code that software was breeching our original agreement he’d be pissed (as he’s expressed this before).

This leads me into a good discussion on another topic: People change. I’m not the same person who spent hours recompiling my kernel to get my CD burner working so I could burn MP3’s. I know use OSX and Windows 2000 (for that very reason). I’m no longer the person who feels it’s OK to download music I don’t own. My views are different now that I’m 23 and not 19. I can name quite a few changes I’ve made over the years and I’m sure Paul can too. I’ve lost a few friends over the last year or so because of how I’ve changed. This includes fraternity brothers and close friends.

Paul, along with quite a few others, seem to forget that they have changed too. Moonkhan no longer drinks with Miester. Moonkhan no longer enjoys coding with Miester. Moonkhan never calls Miester. But, I’m not pissed, people change. Moonkhan’s alter ego, Paul, now has a fiance. Paul also has a job where he works very hard to keep an entire school district up and running. Paul, soon, will have a house and little evil Moonkhans in his own image running around. Paul has a princess who wants ponies to worry about.

The point of all of this is that the actions of me from more than a year ago can’t necissarily be held against the me of today. People change, we all need to understand that.

More on stealing music

Paul amazes me sometimes. It amazes me that someone can actually call downloading music “copying” and not any form of stealing (he refers to it as “copyright infringement).

Well, Paul, you’re right. Technically, what you’re doing is “copyright infringement”, but that doesn’t make it “legal”. According to dictionary.com copyright is “The legal right granted to an author, composer, playwright, publisher, or distributor to exclusive publication, production, sale, or distribution of a literary, musical, dramatic, or artistic work.” Infringement is “A violation, as of a law, regulation, or agreement; a breach.” By definition steal means “To take (the property of another) without right or permission.” And, to round it out, a thief is defined as “One who steals, especially by stealth.”

Do you have permission to have a copy of that file? No? Thought so – you’re technically a thief. Just because what you stole was not tangible doesn’t mean you are not “liable” (Legally obligated; responsible).

His defense that they aren’t “thiefs” but rather “pirates” is a total joke. Again dictionary.com; a pirate is defined as “One who robs.” A pirate is just another name for a thief. And the person who sells unauthorized copies of movies are thiefs too.

Do I think that fair use is severly limited by the DMCA? Yes, of course! But I also think that virtuosos like David Allan Coe have a right to charge for their intellectual property. The reality is that downloading music that you don’t have a right to own is stealing. Pirating and stealing are the same thing with different names. Again, if Paul would take a few seconds to think about it from his perspective (charging for code) he’d come to the same conclusion.

I think the dilema has moral considerations too. No one in this country thinks about anyone else anymore. It’s all about money, oil, free songs, and ourselves. What I find so amazingly ironic is that we hate the record labels because they steal from the muscians. If you “copy” music that you don’t own so are you!

Senate unseals McCarthy hearings

It’s nice to see my representatives are actually doing some good on Capitol Hill. The Senate unsealed the closed McCarthy hearings today.

This is big news in my opinion. It’s proof that not everyone in our government is focused completely on Iraq. It’s also important that our government doesn’t keep secrets about its own skeletons from us. Ironically, McCarthy died a broken man whose only legacy was a Supreme Court decision saying that those who testify before the Senate do not give up their constitutional rights.

Even more good news! It appears the Senat was cool enough to post the closed hearings online for everyone to read. Even more proof the government doesn’t suck!

Washington, DC

I just got back from Washington, DC. Other than a long ass drive both ways, it was a good trip. We made stops at Arlington National Cemetary, the Holocost Museum, and the Smithsonian’s American History Museum. We missed out on the new spy museum, but I can wait.

We also spent a lot of time eating and drinking. The last night we were in town we saw Wanda Sykes. To put it lightly, she was hysterical. I had a good time catching up with Lauren’s sister and her boyfriend. At any rate, I should probably get to fixing the servers at work now.