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The Surprising Benefits of Being Unemployed .. One thing that’s not a benefit.. not getting a paycheck.

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Thanks, Mr. Control-Alt-Delete for the carpal tunnel syndrome.

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Wow. Almost a week since my last update. Am I getting lazy or what? Yeah, lazy.

So it looks like we’re moving at the end of the month. We’re pretty jazzed up about it, but that means one thing: packing. Never fun. But I think it’s going to be a good change, and I’m definetely stoked.

I’ll also be glad to drop my buddies at TVMax. No, not really. I can’t STAND TVMax. They’re one of the worst cable companies I’ve ever dealt with. Yeah, I’m not happy with him. But your mileage may vary.

It looks like Mr. Potato Head will be okay, and that’s great news.

I’m not huge into sports, but I’m also glad I’m not the only one that hates wrastlin’.

Another long week of work. Yep, have to go into the office this week. But don’t dispair. It’s not that bad.

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So another review of new hardware. I picked up a new SprintPCS phone, the Samsung i500. It’s very delicous. I dunno if anyone has ever used that work when describing a cellular phone, but I am.

It’s the smallest Palm phone on the market today. Running PalmOS 4.1, it does quite a bit of stuff. Having all of my work documents on it securely, compliments of PGP, is great. Especially when you’re in a computer room with no access to the Internet, it’s great to be able to check something using the browser on the phone.

The only downside I really have a problem with is that there is no external LCD to see who’s calling. You have to flip the phone open to check out who’s calling. No biggie, since I’m sure it’s probably due to the small size of the phone, but annoying none the less.

So we were going to renew our lease with our lovely apartment, but it turns out that we might have a possibility of renting/leasing a townhouse for awhile. {Hey Jerry!} So we’ll have to see if that is possibility

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Ahoy, a handy pirate speak con’erter is har. A pence for an old man o’de sea?

Arrr, so today is Talk like a pirate day. Gar, Where can I find a bottle o’rum?

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Except that means that I actually have to go into the office, to drop off some mail and take care of some other things. Fun, fun stuff. But I can drive the Explorer, at least!

So I picked up one of the Jaba FreeSpeak’s the other day, and I have to say, I’ve been pretty happy with it. It hurts my ear, though, a little bit. Maybe I have funky ears? I dunno. Also, the battery life isn’t the greatest. Unfortunately, I’m on calls over 4 hours, and that’s the battery life limit. But those aren’t all the time, I guess, and it only takes 2 hours to charge it. So all in all, it’s fair.

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You have to love The Internet Archives. Basically, you can put in a URL and get a snapshot of what that web page looked like back on that day. For example, here’s how http://www.disney.com looked on October 22, 1996, the oldest entry for Disney. Quite a difference.

So I was browsing, and found my first rough, and I mean rough, webpage. It was when I worked for the Maricopa Community Colleges, and we had a spare VAXStation running VMS 5.5.2h4 that I could install OSU webserver on. So here it is, just don’t laugh: Thomas Bates’ Home Page!

Scary, isn’t it? And I think I’ve come a long way, but man, my pages still kind of stink.
Thomas

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So an ABS sensor in the Explorer was the problem, and it was at least covered by warranty, so I really can’t complain. Of course, we have a $100 deductible, but that’s okay.. I can swing that. I just had visions of $1000 in my head, so $100 is manageable.

I just need a Vespa.. I can see me cruising down the street in ones of these bad boys. But the heat in Arizona would kind of suck, but man, I’d be a chick magnet, or something like that. (Not really, but I can dream.)

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It’s good to see that Seattle didn’t pass the espresso tax. Some sanity in the world, me thinks.

So the Explorer is now at the dealer trying to figure out why the ‘ABS’ light is constantly on. My luck, it will cost $500.

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So more fun with the car. First, the windshield has this lovely spider-crack in it. It’s over 4 inches long. Looks really nasty. So had to deal with the insurance company today to get them to pay for the windshield. Of course, they wanted us to use their glass company, but I’ve been happy with Empire Glass, so forget them. But they really didn’t want to pay for it, but tough luck. (You’re not required to go to their company, you can go anywhere you want.)

And then the other day the ABS light came on and stayed on, so back to the dealer on Wednesday to have it checked out.

Weekend was nice. Cought up on some great sleep, and hung out with the wife. Even drove down to Coolidge to see where she used to live, and man, what’s a great little town. (Not really, but hey.)

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