Thursday, May 31, 2007

a Zen story

from the aptly-named 101zenstories.com

Everything is Best

When Banzan was walking through a market he overheard a conversation between a butcher and his customer.

"Give me the best piece of meat you have," said the customer.

"Everything in my shop is the best," replied the butcher. "You cannot find here any piece of meat that is not the best."

At these words Banzan became enlightened.


Hello?

You know that the Empire is going downhill when...

Friday, May 25, 2007

Color me happy

I'm always happy when people put out cool toys on the web (or elsewhere).

This one's been out for quite a while, but I can't remember if I blogged it when it did come out. I haven't had much use for it, but I remembered it today as I was poking around the Adobe Labs site and thought I'd throw it up here for all y'all.

kuler

Thursday, May 24, 2007

Deft vs Daft

Deft: quick and skillful; adroit.
Daft: mad; crazy; foolish; stupid.
Draft: a current of air in an enclosed area.
Raft: what marooned pirates use to escape their islands.

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Oh, the confusion

I wonder if Jeff meant daft?
As for being married, I have been, to Jason, for almost three years now. :) I'm suspecting there may have been some confusion as to which Kristin/Kristen this is. This is Kristin, Jason's wife, not Kristen as in Vesper, who is actually soon to be married with soon being about two weeks at which time she will no longer be Kristen as in Vesper but Kristen as in Cottar ( I think).
Are we confused yet?

Deftness...

Jeff, I think you spelled deft correctly. I'm pretty sure it's not depht, or daeft, or even daephft.

As far as Kristin being married, well, I'll just let her tell that story. :)

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Maybe I'm deft....

(don't know if I spelled deft right or not) but did you get married Kristen? I must have missed something if that's the case.

What is everyone's plans for the summer? I can't wait for Marching band to start this year at Roy. We are going to have a very diverse staff and the band is going to have fun learning our Monty Python show. How exciting!!

Later all!

Monday, May 21, 2007

I'm Here I'm here!

Hooray for my first blog on the band blog. It's nice not to have to log in as Jason to comment. :)
Jayce and I moved out of the apartments and into a house the beginning of March. We've been planning on doing a band party at our house from the beginning, but the time has not been ripe yet. Soon, though. :)
Sadly, we probably won't make it to the housewarming party due to a wedding the same day, but we are going to try. Hope to see y'all soon!

Oh yeah

By the way, anyone planning on coming to the party, feel free to bring a percussion instrument and/or other musical-type instrument. I'm thinking we need a drum circle/jam session somewhere in there.

Saturday, May 19, 2007

Welcome Kristen!!!!

Hey Kristen, when did you move out of the apt's up here? I just realized that we got a new tenant again, and was just wondering.


Jarrett, Rael Brewer came to me the other day at work and said "Do you know Jarrett Whitley?"
I'm like "No, I know a Jarrett Wheatley." and we laughed. Jarrett, how are things in your neck of the woods, it's been a long time and I'd like to reconcile with you. Let me know. you can email me at ohsosaxy2712 {at} comcast {dot} competition

As for all, later!

Friday, May 18, 2007

It's a date... Ya eat em!

So, silly me has lost the linkys to the summer games calendar, and you know, some of us folks who live down south would like to participate too. Jon, is it possible to put the link permanately in the left column, or if not, just re-send me the link and I will bookmark it. s p i e l _ f a n [AT] yeeeeeeeeeeehaaaaaaw [dot] communism (or just yahoo). Anyhoo, thanks! And welcome to the insanity, Kristen.

Thursday, May 17, 2007

Party Annonce

Please visit jinglesthepirate dot com for official housewarming party details.

Also, a demolition derby has been added to the Summer Games calendar for this Saturday.

Also, welcome, Kristin, as an official contributor to the blog.

I Give You...

Pi

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

COOL!

count me in for that.
Also news:
This sat. may 19 is the first hike of the BHSHAC triple crown, 7 am at the Browning Center. We should be able to do one of the Mt. Ogden routes by that time. There will also be a hike on Monday, the 21st, and Saturday morning, 2 June, details to follow. Ben Lomond is being considered, as is something involving timpanogos; but that's still debatable. After June 2, there will probably be a couple of others. But if I'm going to do stuff this summer, it's mostly got to be A: before 25 June or B: on Saturday nights becuase I'll be working in the Uintahs (sic) from the end of June to late August - just in time to move out before school starts! So that's the way of things.

P. S. IN case any were wondering, Harmonica Army only reached 1,000 people of the needed 1,800. They'll try again next year, I suppose. It's all good. I got a free harmonica.

Monday, May 14, 2007

A Week and A Day

That's how long it will be until The Party.

S'right, kids! The Kinneys, Robyn, the Wintertons, Tom, and Jon will be throwing down a combined housewarming party on the 22nd, right around 6pm. There will be much feasting (potluck), merriment (board games, Wii action, movies, ultimate frisbee), and general hubbub. Invite a friend, date, spouse, significant other, parole officer, complete stranger. Do I sound like a broken record? Whether I do or not, at least bring yourself. And a chair. And housewarming gifts, while not strictly prohibited, are in no way required - we'd just like to see your beaming faces and hang out with friends we haven't seen in a whiles.

So put it on your calendar. I've added it to the Summer Games cal. See you there.

Sunday, May 13, 2007

A word about Macs.

As the resident Mac cultist around here, I feel the need to point out that Macs don't get trashed if you don't run windows on them. I think the problem lays in allowing that Gates-ware on the computer in the first place. If there's one thing that sucks, it's all the PC junk that is floating around out there. In using Macs almost exclusivly for the past three to four years, I have never ever experienced a problem. They're still great machines, they just need their native operating system. Anyhoo, I digress.

Happy Mother's Day!

Saturday, May 12, 2007

Multi-something...

Everybody needs a multiplicity of stuff. :) Jeff, I run a Dell PowerEdge 2850 server every day. It is a quad Itanium box with 4G of RAM and running in a RAID 5 configuration. I was even sort of involved in replacing a couple of the SCSI disk in the RAID array. It was I who first discovered that they had gone bad! :) Yeah, it's a nice server, but really for a personal machine, it's not that impressive, and ungodly loud with the fans it takes to keep it cool. Now, for me, what would be cool would be a nice, high-capacity router and switching system to route traffic on the Internet. Oh yeah, sweetness! Can I just own a telecom company?

So yeah, Jeff, congrats on everything. I think it's great that you're getting sealed. Your life will be richly blessed! I can't tell you how much Kristin and I have seen the blessings of a temple sealing. It's incredible. Good job!

Okay, so for those of you who believe that Macs are impervious to the problems of Windows machines, I refer you to the [quite] new iMac at Kristin's grandma's house. I have seen only a handful of Windows boxes that run as bad as that thing does. Between her and everyone else who uses that machine, it has tons of junk on it, just like badly infected Windows boxes. I ran 'ps -e' and 'top' to try to determine why it was running so poorly, but couldn't find anything out of the ordinary. So, it is possible to hose a Mac.

Also, riding a motorcycle is so freakin' awesome! If you get the chance (or if you force the issue in my case) learn to ride. You'll not regret it. It's so awesome to be riding down the road with the rumble of the motor beneath you and the wind whipping around you and to realize that you can get a way more unobstructed view of everything than the poor saps stuck in their cars. :) Even a convertible can't match it. Now, don't get me wrong; I love cars. But motorcycling is like taking driving to a whole new level. Just a little thought. :)

Chao!

This betta be pretty freakin' impat'nt. Is the meadow on fire?

Friday, May 11, 2007

RAID 5.....

I went onto Alienware the other day to see how much I could spend, and boy, I tell you, if I was rich..........hehe!
I created basically a multi-OS server with about 3 seperate hard disks totaling 10TB of storage with 4GB of RAM each all in RAID-5 configuration. It was sweet!!!!
IF I only had $17,000!!! Anyone wanna donate to the Jeff needs a hobby fund?

I can't contain my excitement, tomorrow afternoon, I will be sealed to my family for time and all eternity!! This feeling is amazing!!!
Congrats Diego!!

Also, I must say how excited I am to have Diego working with Roy High this year and what Diego and Fig are bringing to the table there! Finally! A STABLE and COMPETENT set of Drumline advisors!!!

OH, Happy Day!

So, just about forty minutes ago, I picked up the keys to Tiffanie's and my new place. I am very excited to get out of the apartment that has been known to wet itself when it has been nervous. We now live in a duplex just down the street from Jon, Ben, ben, and Hava. The final move will take place on May 26th. Excitement is running through my veins right now.

Thursday, May 10, 2007

thanks....

for the ideas. I don't know what was going on, but it hasn't acted up since that night. ??? Who knows. Technology seems to like giving me some attittude. :) Anywho...Jeff....I am so happy for you! That is one of the best things I have heard in a while. Congrats!!!!!

Yeah, Maybe Not...

...fdisk. That's pretty much the last thing you want to do to your computer. Even if it is being very unstable, there has to be a cause. If that cause can be rooted out, then more power to you. Besides, once you run fdisk, it's either lots of hours reinstalling everything on your computer or it's lots of hours using my partition rebuilding tool to get back the data. :) Either way, it's lots of hours. The best thing that can ever be done with computers is to BACK THEM UP! I can't say that enough. Sooner or later, you're going to have to restore your computer. It's just that simple. I don't care who you are or what kind of computer you run, they are all subject to various types of failures that could lead to data loss. So, unless you can re-create that class project from scratch, or that photo album you spent years on, I'd suggest that you back up your data. I spent two weeks restoring data from a corrupted hard drive in my wife's computer last summer because of a lack of backing up. :)

There are several way to backup your data. (By the way, unless you have a nice sophisticated computer system, only back up your data. It doesn't do you any good to try to back up your operating system and applications.) I like using the following to back up my data:

  1. Network disk storage. I have a local Linux box that I back up to from time to time. This is commonly called NAS, or Network Attached Storage.
  2. Writable CDs or DVDs. Simple, easy-to-use.
  3. Removable (USB or Firewire) hard drive.
  4. Removable (case-mounted) hard drive.
These are in no particular order. However, I do tend to use numbers 1 and 2 more often than 3 or 4. That network disk is a lifesaver!

Also, keep in mind that the best way to run your computer is to either a) install more than one hard drive and only install your operating system (Windows, MacOS) on one disk and use the other for your data, or b) partition your single hard disk into more than one partition and do as is said in (a). If you don't feel comfortable doing such things as this yourself, I or any other geek friend would be glad to do it for you. :)

Anyhow, I'm rambling. If you enjoyed this little trip through the techno jungle, my name is Jason and this has been the World Famous Jungle Cruise. If you didn't like it, then my name is Patrick and this has been the Submarine Voyage.

Tootles!

Quote of the day

Man is the only animal that laughs and weeps, for he is the only animal that is struck with the difference between what things are and what they ought to be.
- William Hazlitt

On that note, I'd like to get feedback on something I've been working on recently. For my job I have been given the charge of meeting a request made by many WSU students for more multimedia in their online classes. As a part of this, I've begun working on some games that can be used to review concepts taught in the course. The first two are "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?" and "Jeopardy!". I've also created an authoring tool so that faculty can go in and create game files.

So. What I need are a few people to email me, I'll set you up a login, and then you go play with the system, test it out, try to break it, and give me feedback on any problems you run into, suggestions, comments, dollars, etc.

If you'd like to test out the games themselves, but not the authoring tool, you can try just the games here and here.

Thanks, all.

F-Disk it.....

Heather,
When in doubt, F-Disk the thing. That seems to be the IT philosophy at Ogden Convergys.
Who wants to know any root cause when you can just reimage and start anew?!
(I'm just kidding of course)
You could always pay Geek Squad $300 to say "I can reimage it for you!"
HAHA! Sorry, had to say it!
So, onto more promising notes, my wife and I took out our endowments last Saturday,
and this Saturday we'll be heading down to Jordan River to have our family sealed.
If any of you on this blog have not been through the temple, I HIGHLY recommend it,
it's an amazing experience!!
On another sidenote, I switched projects at Convergys and now work for DirecTV! What an amazing client. After 90 days of being employed, I will qualify to receive a FREE DVR with Premier service(185+ channels) plus 31 movie channels (normally $100/mo) for FREE!!! I am SOOOO excited to be on a project where my goal is to actually assist customers, as opposed to selling them crap they don't need!
So there's my novel of the day!

Later~

Wednesday, May 09, 2007

Triple Crown

opens not this Saturday but next - May 19
This summer's "Triple Crown" is the quest to climb three mountains in our local area: first, Mt. Ogden; then, Ben Lomond Peak; third (though perhaps it will end up being second as that's open to debate) Mt. Timpanogos. Everybody, and that means absolutely everybody, is invited to participate. Friends. Relatives. Neighbors. People you've never even seen before. Terrorists also welcome but we can't give them the discounted fare.

So "we" - that is, the Band Hall Inter-Ensemble Summer Activities commitee (orchestra as well as band, choir, and so on) - have elected to head up for Mt. Ogden in the early morn of Saturday, May 19, 1007. We will be meeting at our beloved VBC at a time to be announced and then carpuddling up to the trailhead. For those who, like Jon, will be busy, an alternate hike will also be carried out as Mt. Ogden is a good one. Further details will be posted; but my usual program (which I have found pretty effective) is to bring a sack lunch to eat at the peak (which easily seats twenty people) and then, once we reach the bottom, to reward ourselves with Ice Cream - Farr's has a double cone they call the "mount ogden", but that's open for discussion.

So in quick review the facts are:

We are going up mt. ogden sat. may 19 please come bring lots of people watch for more info.

Address

Indeed, Heather. The location of Lindquist field is Lincoln Ave (just East of Wall Ave) and 23rd or 24th street (it takes up the entire block between, but the entrance last year was closer to 23rd street). Not sure on the computer crashing. You could take it to the IT service desk in Lampros Hall and ask them to take a look at it for you.

Also, happy birthday to John Brown and J.M. Barrie.

Tuesday, May 08, 2007

Merci beaucoup...

Thanks Jon....but there seems to be a problem with my computer right now. I guess it wants a break from the semester as much as I do. It keeps crashing when I click on the link. I'll keep trying, and maybe I'll be brave and venture to find the directions for myself...:) (is there an actual address??? like 36th and Harrison (for example) or something???). I will be using the bus system, so if there is a known bus stop nearby, that would help immensely. Besides the fact that I have to work until 4, it'll be a miracle if I make it. But, I will try. Oh, and by the by... any ideas on how to fix a computer that keeps getting slower and slower by the minute and likes to crash after about 10 minutes of use??? It was fine until last night. I don't think I opened anything that could've been a virus, but who knows. Anyways. Thanks again Jon. I hope I can make it!!!
~Tchao!

How to get to Sesame Street

Here's how to get to Lindquist Field for the Harmonica Army on Saturday.

Monday, May 07, 2007

If one is interested...

how would one go about getting to the Lindquist field if they have no idea where it is (like myself)? I've always wanted to play the harmonica! Thanks for the info Jarrett! I now have someting to look forward to for this week, other than moving across the field and starting my new job. Just hope that I don't have to work during that wonderful day! :)
Can I just say....
IT'S SUMMER!!!!!!
Yippy!

Well, I have more info

if nobody else does

I called the "pizza runner" today and got more information on the Harmonica Army: They say that, yes, it is a Lindquist field; they will be going for the record at about 5 p.m. but the will be registering people and distrubuting harmonicas from about 3 pm. If you bring your own harmonica, make sure it's in the key of A. Tell everyone you know - this is a crazy, once-in-a-blue-moon kind of an activity! So I will see you all at Lindquist field around 3 on Saturday. You will know me by my pointy hat.

Thursday, May 03, 2007

Way to Go, Andrew!!!

That's totally awesome. It is nice to finally be done after years of effort, eh? I haven't finished watching all of the films on your youtube-powered blog, but I like what I have seen so far. I especially liked the cement one - very well done.

And congrats to Tim & Amy also.

And there's going to be a party at my house this very evening (6-ish) to celebrate the end of the semester. Bring food. Bring friends. At least bring yourself.

And I'm moving. I'll post the house-warming party events here on the blog when I know exactly when it will be. (It will be by June, at the latest, although a lot of my stuff is already in my new appartment.)

Wednesday, May 02, 2007

Mission accomplished!

No, this is not some dog on the president post as you might be lead to believe by the title. Rather, I have reached a momentus point in my life by completing the requirements to obtain a Bachelor or Arts degree from the University of Utah! I will be graduating this Friday at 11:30. Today, I turned in my last assignment ever and am feeling pretty proud to have finished college! It's an amazing feeling which I highly reccomend to everyone here. Anyway, I just wanted to share the news with all my friends here in the virtual band hall!

Fun Things

Just to let everyperson know, in a week or so you have the opportunity to brandish your musical talent in a way that could get you into the Guinness Book of World Records.

Last year they attempted to break the record for the most number of people playing the same song on the harmonica at once. They were only a couple hundred people short. This is the second attempt: Harmonica Army II. Show up, get a free harmonica, get into the Book of Records, retire a famous person. I've put the event in the Summer Games calendar and I'll add the time to it when I find out what time that may be. Last summer it was held at Lindquist Stadium here in Ogden. I'm assuming it'll be the same this year.

Also, I've posted a few cool links over on bag-o-cool.