I’ve made a minor change to the website as I am wont to do. This only affects people who use RSS/Atom/XML feeds to view the site. Instead of publishing small excerpts from the entries in the XML feeds, I’m publishing the entire entries (minus the comments) as feeds. This way, if you’re like me and you do most of your regular surfing via RSS reader you never need to visit the actual website. You can just pull the feeds down into your reader and check regularly for changes. Using feeds is good idea for a number of reasons. It’s quicker, lower profile, more efficient, and you’re getting the essential data of the blog rather than everything else that comes with it.
General
21
Sep 04
Some tools I use
- Daemon Tools is the perfect application for CD/DVD emulation. Basically, when you download anything in bin/cue disc image formats you can use Daemon Tools to mount these images as virtual drives. Let’s say you want to download a demo on CD. Most such things are packaged in bin/cue. With Daemon Tools you use the bin/cue files as if you had actually burned them to a CD.
- Azureus, a java-based client for bittorrent.
- DU Meter Measure how much data you transfer. This is good if your ISP has upload/download limits.
21
Sep 04
Credit Reports
I paid to 30$ to pull my credit report last night. There were no surprises except that some of their information was out of date. Basically, if you go to any of the three major credit reporting agencies: Experian, Equifax, or Transunion you can pay for them to provide a report of your credit from the three agencies. They provide a list of the credit available, your payment histories, and your credit score among other things. It’s important to check your credit report from time to time just to make sure there aren’t any errors. I noticed that a few charge accounts were still open from buying furniture and appliances. They don’t really need to be open.
I was glad to see that I have good credit. The suggestions on how to improve my credit were strange. Basically, if I want to get even better credit scores I need to open more credit cards. Isn’t that weird?
15
Sep 04
Dorothy
Dorothy Gambrell of Cat and Girl is my hero. Mainly because I loves her comics. It makes me want to draw! Anyway, now she’s in a band, too.
14
Sep 04
Happy Birthday Baby Brother
Today is my little brother’s birthday. He’ll be 26 today. Yikes. It is good to have a little brother. It’s like having a friend around all the time, although sometimes he was my most hated enemy. We have a lot of good memories and I hope to make more good memories as we go through life. Hopefully we won’t always irritate each other as much as we seem to now. On his birthday I like to think about how he was as a little kid, rambunctious and loving and how we did everything together.
I remember once when we went to this Christian pre-school in San Antonio, Marbach Christian Daycare. We were separated into different classes and during recess his class and mine would be separated by a chain-link fence. This didn’t stop us from playing together. We would push our Hot Wheels back and forth through the fence to each other.
13
Sep 04
The Promoter?
Today I was reading this article on the Myers-Briggs test and how it’s used by businesses so I decided to take the test again. Now normally I test as an ENFP (The Advocate/Champion/Inspirer, etc.) usually borderline extraverted and intuitive but moderately feeling and perceiving. This time, to my surprise I tested as a Promoter/Doer/Adventurer (ESTP values: E – 1, S – 1, T – 22, P – 33). This means I’m showing as slightly extraverted, slightly sensing, moderately thinking, and moderately perceiving. While I don’t think that “type” fits me very well, none of the other ones really fit me very well either. The fact that I’m less of an “Idealist” seems obvious to me, especially in light of my increased yet mostly cheerful cynicism. Coming out as an ESTP is surprising but some things about are strikingly similar to how I feel. For example:
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ESTPs have an uncanny ability to perceive people’s attitudes and motivations. They pick up on little cues which go completely unnoticed by most other types, such as facial expressions and stance. They’re typically a couple of steps ahead of the person they’re interacting with. ESTPs use this ability to get what they want out of a situation. Rules and laws are seen as guidelines for behavior, rather than mandates. If the ESTP has decided that something needs to be done, then their “do it and get on with it” attitude takes precendence over the rules. However, the ESTP tends to have their own strong belief in what’s right and what’s wrong, and will doggedly stick to their principles. The Rules of the Establishment may hold little value to the ESTP, but their own integrity mandates that they will not under any circumstances do something which they feel to be wrong.
ESTPs have a strong flair for drama and style. They’re fast-moving, fast-talking people who have an appreciation for the finer things in life. They may be gamblers or spendthrifts. They’re usually very good at story telling and improvising. They typically makes things up as they go along, rather than following a plan. They love to have fun, and are fun people to be around. They can sometimes be hurtful to others without being aware of it, as they generally do not know and may not care about the effect their words have on others. It’s not that they don’t care about people, it’s that their decision-making process does not involve taking people’s feelings into account. They make decisions based on facts and logic.
And this, from this site:
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As teenagers, ESTPs continue to be action oriented. They are likely to be on sports teams or involved in other after-school activities. If they have a part-time job, they use the money to purchase or save for the things they want, such as sporting equipment, clothes, stereos, cars, and college education.
As young adults, ESTPs tend to fall into their careers. If they are mechanically oriented, they may find a career in mechanics; if their friends are going to college, they are likely to go to college; If their friends are joining and armed forces, the ESTP may go along as well.
ESTPs look forward to their independence and are likely to leave home as soon as they can afford to. Being pragmatic types, however, they may find that home, if less restrictions can be negotiated, is a practical and good place to be, because it is cheaper and allows them more money for other important things.
In adult life, ESTPs often focus on work, where they can directly or vicariously experience high risk and high reward. These risks may be physical, intellectual, personal, or financial. They are likely to look for loopholes, special niches, or other unusual opportunities for finding high rewards for the investment of their time. They are willing to play by the rules but only the point of using the rules to help them be or do what they want. They often fill their lives with many activities besides work. They are busy primarily with their families and with friends when they have time.
For those of you who might know me, decide for yourselves.
07
Sep 04
Office supplies
I love these Tops Stinger legal pads almost as much as I love Super Sticky Post-It notes.
06
Sep 04
Belle nuit
It’s a beautiful night tonight, Open your windows!
- China will send troops to Haiti: “”It’s been a big year for China,” says one official opposed to the deployment. “They put a man in space, won gold medals at the Olympics, and now they are going to put troops in the Western Hemisphere for the first time.”
The official says China’s first military presence near U.S. shores would boost Beijing’s long-term strategy to “supplant U.S. influence” in the region. “China is pursuing a maritime strategy in the Caribbean to gain access and control over port facilities, free trade zone infrastructure, fisheries, oil and minerals, and off-shore banking platforms,”
For example, a Chinese company whose leader is close to Beijing’s communist rulers operates major port facilities at both ends of the Panama Canal.
“They will assert political influence [through Chinese companies],” the official says. “That is where this is headed.”
Administration officials say the decision to permit the Chinese to join the U.N. force in Haiti was made quietly, without a full debate among defense, foreign policy and national security agencies. “ - Report: Civil war most likely outcome in Iraq
- Violence May Force Iraq to Bypass Hotspots in Election
- A Guide To Firefox Extensions Awesome list