allen & karen

What's going on?

2011-06-06T22:02:00.000-04:00

Well, it's been pretty crazy around the household. As you can see this blog really doesn't get updated much. But here is the TL;DR

Started ChristianCollegeScholarships.net as a resource for homeschoolers, MK's, and Christian school kids in obtaining college scholarships. Working with my buddy Kevin, who is a guru of all things scholarship related.
Migrated off 1and1 after being with them for a number of years. I moved valien.net to blogger so you can now check it out here.
Busy keeping 2 boys out of mom's hair when I get home from work!

It's a Boy! Again!

2010-12-03T10:37:00.002-05:00

Well, today I'm excited to announce that the 2nd baby V will be coming into this world come April 24, 2011 and he's all boy. :)

Pics to follow...

Processor Magazine

2010-03-12T09:38:00.001-05:00

So I got quoted in Processor Magazine today regarding an article/editorial on IT Hiring.

Check it out -

http://processor.com/editorial/article.asp?article=articles/P3206/28p06/28p06/28p06.asp&guid=3DF4CD49C2B343E38E9BFDFC0622529C

So check your print copies! Autographs to follow along with a book and movie deal as well. ;)

ChumpmonkeyGames.com is back!

2009-07-26T22:27:00.003-04:00

Update (3/12/10): I no longer own this domain and if you go to it the site that shows up is not related to me at all. It was a fun little project but I decided to move on and let it lapse.

Hi all,

Well, after a long hiatus I am happy to say that ChumpmonkeyGames.com is now live again! Alas, we are not selling board games (maybe one day) but the site is a culmination of a few ideas I've been mulling over for a few years and most recently saw the 'niche' that I wanted to hit.

The focus of the site is reviewing .99 cent iTune App games for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Go check out the site and spread the word! :)

Ah, Summertime.

2009-07-24T15:42:00.002-04:00

Greetings! Amazing how this summer is blowing by. As you can tell my blogging has dropped off a good bit during this time. The days are too nice to be inside on a PC! Well, on top of that trying to keep an 8 month old engaged all the time is work too! Wouldn't trade it for the world.

No new pics here. You can check out my Facebook profile and see some album pics my wife has put up of the little guy. I've been toying with Flickr but haven't spent much time there. Might utilize it more for non-family pics. Not sure yet.

Work has been going very well. Lots of solid hiring activity here in the Upstate. If you're a SharePoint, C#, or Java developer and looking to move to the Greenville, SC area then ping me. I can put you to work. Fast.

I'm Published! Well...sorta :)

2009-06-01T15:45:00.003-04:00

As posted on my Valien.net blog I had my 1st 'professional' blog post go live last week with FGP. Check it out! :)

http://fgp.com/blog/?p=82#more-82 - I talk about some trends in IT Hiring here in the Upstate of South Carolina and what technologies are needed.

Hello Ya'll!

2009-04-22T23:35:00.003-04:00

Hey it's mid-April already. My blogging career is grinding to a halt. Good thing I don't get paid to blog.

Twitter on the other hand...

Anyways here's a 30 second synopsis of what's new...

1. Josiah is growing like a weed! It's all that Dr. Pepper and Ice Cream! (Go go! Cookie Dough!)

2. Karen is staying super busy @ home with the little bugger

3. I'm keeping really busy at work. Can't find enough .NET developers. Know any? I can put them to work...

Oh, our new 'hobby' is now live (muahaha)...

www.clearcreekcandles.com ~ crafters of fine homemade candles. Poured with love and scent (hehe) forth to aromatize the world...er..yeah.

Check it out and buy some candles! :)

Oh, shameless plug for some great friends of ours - www.handsfulloffun.com - Kevin & Melissa have been doing balloons, puppets, and magic for a few years now. It's turned into a pretty cool business for them as well. So if you know anyone looking to have some great entertainment for their kids birthday, retirement, funeral (ok..maybe not that one) then give them a buzz. Tell 'em I sent ya!

Ok, until sometime in the summer...

(writing this @ 2343 hours. I need sleep.)

Wave Hi!

2009-01-05T10:51:00.002-05:00

2009 already? Heh, well, it's been a few weeks. I have some new pictures..but they're at home. So I'll upload a few when I can this week. If you check out Facebook and look under my profile you'll see a few more pictures.

The boy is getting big! Love the daddy role :) Can't wait to play some Puerto Rico or Memoir '44 with him!

Few more pics...

2008-11-21T14:32:00.005-05:00

Getting used to this dad role. Pretty fun I say! Gotta love digital photography too!

First pics!

2008-11-17T13:33:00.006-05:00

Here are a couple of pics! :)

Inky foot!

I'm liking daddy!

I love my sleep!

I love my parents!

There you go! A couple of pics of baby Josiah!

Home!

2008-11-17T11:38:00.001-05:00

Got home about 15 minutes ago. Mom & baby are downstairs sleeping soundly. I'm upstairs updating blog and getting ready to download some pictures from the camera!

Stay tuned :)

May I Introduce My Son...

2008-11-15T19:39:00.002-05:00

Josiah Allen Vailliencourt
11/15/2008 @ 1520 hours
6 lb. 1 oz.
20"

All is well.

Tired but well.

What an amazing miracle!

False Alarm - 1. Us - 0

2008-11-15T09:12:00.003-05:00

Well, just got home from the hospital. All is well so far. Karen is still having contractions but no baby and she's not far enough along to be admitted. So, that means hanging out at home and letting her rest while I get all geeky and blog/twit about the whole event.

I will say, the new Greer Memorial Hospital is very very nice. Great nurses too! Although the cafeteria food is a little on the meh side.

Check out my Twitter feed for the latest info on the Baby V episodes! :)

Is This It??

2008-11-15T05:21:00.003-05:00

Well, it's about 5:21 AM. Karen's been feeling poor all night. Right contractions are in that 10 minute +- zone. Packing bags for the trip...

Oops. Forgot to Update.

2008-11-13T17:34:00.002-05:00

First of all - no baby yet.

Secondly it's been so crazy the last 3 months that blogging was the furthest thing from my mind.

Here is what has been going on in a nutshell:

Karen's done with work! Yay! Nov. 7 was her last day.
Baby is right on schedule for the 17th! Yay!
Work for me has had it's ups and downs. Ups in that I am finally getting some contractors on billing! Woohoo! Downs in that business has really slowed down overall. So I'm working harder and faster than ever before. A 'sense of urgency' is driving me...
I have pictures of the finished baby room that I need to get up on the blog. So yeah, it's coming.
My laptop died completely so I have no decent system @ home to develop or utilize to write (I'll take donations please. kthx)

Next post, hopefully with some really really good news!! :D

Catan Dice Game & Baby Update!

2008-09-12T16:16:00.004-04:00

My wife and I like to do lunch on Fridays when we can. She has an hour lunch that day and so I either go to her office or she comes to my office. Normally we eat, chat, and just chill. Sometimes I'll bring a game from home if I remember. The only problem is that most of the games I have at home are not fast or portable.

So today I picked up the Catan Dice Game from Kevin at The Command Post (our local FLGS). It was only about $11 bucks so the price was right. We were able to get a quick game in after eating and had a blast. It's basically Yahtzee! with a Catan theme pasted on it but I think it's funner than Yahtzee! It's Euro! :D

Oh another cool thing, it's small and portable. So I'm thinking we'll be playing this a lot at lunch now! Yay for more games!

In baby news, our registry is mostly complete. Visit Babies R Us and search for "Vailliencourt" for info on our registry. Karen has a baby shower in Delaware at the end of the month, then another one down here from her office. It's been fun and tiring looking at all the baby stuff. Talk about a change! Wow! I cannot wait! For those so inclined feel free to purchase an XBox 360 or PS3 for dad-to-be... ;)

The baby is moving quite a bit now. Getting hiccups a bit too much to Karen's discomfort. The Doctor said that all is right online and looking good.

Almost 9 weeks counting...

Eek! :)

Missionary Presentation

2008-08-28T21:49:00.001-04:00

My dad put together a video presentation of their ministry in the Philippines. I was able to upload it to Google Video so that anyone can watch it.

Enjoy!

August Already?

2008-08-01T16:24:00.003-04:00

Hard to believe that in about 3 1/2 months I'll be a dad! Yeowzers! Talk about exciting, scary, surreal, awesome, and a whole lot more.

Karen is definitely feeling the baby move a lot more. Especially when she changes position (going from sitting or standing to laying down). At that time the baby decides he wants to do somersaults and kick and what not. It's kinda weird feeling him move around in her tummy. Strange that this beautiful baby inside belongs to us! Our God is good & the miracle of life is amazing.

Oh, keep your eyes open on this site - allenandkaren.kidmondo.com - it's like a specialty kids blog/site. Some place to put up pics and baby info for the family. It'll be private only (ie our family only most likely). The concept behind kidmondo is really neat too.

Probably will have some pics up this week since my sister and 75% of her kids will be visiting along with my parents. Full house FTW! or should that be FTL! Ask me next week...

July 4 With Family.

2008-07-10T08:34:00.006-04:00

We spent the July 4 weekend with my wife's family up in Pennsylvania and Delaware. It was nice to get away and do nothing productive. :) Well, we did do some fun shopping at Kitchen Kettle, and some outlet stores but other than that it was eat lots of good food and chill with family.

One displeasure was that it rained most of the time while up there. Meh.

Here's a few pics of the fun and festivities...

(here we all are warming up for a competitive game of mini-golf! I came in 2nd to last...)

(At Uncle Ray's trailer on the beach in Delaware. We just mostly hung out and ate food and talked. It was cloudy and rained a bit so we couldn't go out on the boats too much.)

It's a Boy!

2008-06-23T21:53:00.007-04:00

Today was the day our baby became a boy. :) We had our 1st (well, my wife did) ultrasound and we have a 20 minute DVD of the whole thing! Talk about cooool. Baby V was quite active and kept squirming around mommy's tummy.

I captured a few images off the DVD. Here's one of the pics of Baby V! The arrow you see in the picture is pointing to his tiny heart. :)

Later on he decided to do a flip and stretch his legs. Here's a pic of that event as well (not as clear though).

He kinda looks funky. Like some quasi-alien-human-thingy. :D But he's got all the human parts necessary to function. It was amazing seeing his heart and watching all 4 chambers operate. Got to see his kidneys, stomach, umbilical cord, spine, legs, arms, ear, nose, mouth, etc.

The creation of life is absolutely amazing. All this designed by our Heavenly Father. That's what blows me away. Praise be to Him!

I'm going to try to get some video uploaded this week as well. Gotta share the good news!

Now taking name suggestions... ;)

Second Dr. Visit.

2008-06-05T09:33:00.002-04:00

My wife and I went to the Dr. for a 2nd visit on Tuesday. We were able to hear the heartbeat again. It's a lot stronger this time! Even heard the baby move a little (at least that's what the Dr. said). Wow!

We also got an official due date - November 17. So possibly he/she won't be a Thanksgiving baby (unlike her mom and dad...) Yay!!

Our next visit is for the ultrasound and that will be in about 2 weeks. Cannot wait! First pics of the baby! Wee!!

We decided to do a little window shopping at Target the other day and looked at some baby stuff. Still seems kinda surreal but it was fun nonetheless. Karen's dad bought us a nice web cam so we can chat with them and show the progress as the baby develops. That's been fun to do as well.

The baby closet is all cleared out of games but we probably won't be doing anything major to the room until after September (since my parents will be coming into town before they fly out to visit).

Ah, the great excitement of the whole journey! :)

Great News!

2008-05-09T16:10:00.004-04:00

Hi everyone. My once in a lunar cycle of updating this blog. Most everyone knows but wanted to post it here as well (for official record?!?!)

My wife and I are expecting our 1st child come mid-November. Yay! We're ecstatic and at the same time scared to death! At the doctor's last week we were able to hear the heartbeat for the 1st time. That was way too cool. In a few weeks we'll be going in to get a sonogram and I imagine it will really sink in then!

Karen has been feeling pretty good so far, which has been a big blessing. We're just praying that we'll have a healthy baby. :)

Other than that big news, nothing much else too exciting going on. I'm updating my other blog with most of my work related info - www.valien.net - so feel free to visit that one and see what's happening.

Yay for parenthood! Eek! hehe :D

Hello!

2008-04-15T12:48:00.002-04:00

Hi! A bit dusty in here since I've not posted in a while. I finally did get rid of my game. Karen ended up taking it to Wal-Mart and getting a gift card. Yay!

Spring is finally...I think...in full force down here. So welcome the nice yellow pollinated cars! The itchy eyes! Stuffy nose! Pains of getting old. :( hehe

Everyone is doing pretty good. I'm really enjoying my work at FGP (make sure you check out my other blog for work details and updates) and Karen is busy as ever at Heritage. Our plants are starting to bud and flower. I need to take some pics and post 'em here.

Well, lunch is over and I need to get back to work. Later!

Bummer.

2008-03-27T22:49:00.003-04:00

Well, my game didn't sell on eBay. So I'm putting it on Craigslist instead. You can check it out here.

Hopefully it will sell this time. I need the moola! hehe

In other news, everyone is doing well. Karen's been working a good number of hours at HBC and still enjoying it. I'm coming up to a month now at FGP and am really enjoying it. Hopefully I'll be able to place some candidates soon! Got a few lined up for some interviews so we'll see what happens...

Oh, if you visit the FGP website you can see my bio. :D No pic, but just some blurbage that Karen and put together.

Again, visit my other site for regular updates on my work, tech, and everything else non-personal. :)

This weekend is our monthly gameday at one of the local game stores. Hopefully we'll have a good turnout! Wee for board games! I've not played any games in a good while and am having withdrawals. *twitch*

Selling Super Paper Mario (Wii)

2008-03-21T20:46:00.001-04:00

Hey hey!

I have a game that I need to sell - Super Paper Mario for the Nintendo Wii. I picked it up a while back but won't be able to play it anytime soon and so I need to get rid of it.

Spread the love and share the link!

:)

What's new in the V household?

2008-03-10T22:10:00.002-04:00

Not much. hehe

Actually, so far a good bit. I just started a new job on March 3 with FGP Technology. Karen went up to PA and back to help her mom with her surgery. I finally fixed the squeaky belt in Karen's car. We made a few loaves of Amish friendship bread (yum!). Got some new games to play on the Wii. And probably other stuff I'm missing.

Oh, and I'm still trying to get a free XBox 360. :D

And got jealous of my sister getting snow. :(

XBox 360 for Free. For Real?!?

2008-03-04T19:46:00.003-05:00

Hi all,

I stumbled across this site while doing some looking into picking up a XBox 360 so that I can play games with my friends online.

It's quite legitimate as I've read and seen some news articles that this company is real.

So I figured, why not give it a whirl? After all, if someone else can get a free 360, why can't I?

You can read more about it on my Valien.net blog -

http://www.valien.net/xbox-360-elite-for-free/

Or even see my status updates via this cool little image:

My offer hasn't shown up yet as I just filled it out this morning, but should reflect on my account in a few days. :) Yay!

Job Hunting Update!

2008-03-01T10:54:00.002-05:00

Oh, forgot to mention that my job hunting days are over. Yay! I will be working at Find Great People starting this coming Monday (the 3rd). I'll be joining the FGP Tech team as an IT Recruiter.

You can read more about it on my other blog (that way I'm not rehashing everything here).

Yay!

Update on Karen's Mom

2008-03-01T10:49:00.002-05:00

Some of you know that Karen's mom was diagnosed with cancer a few weeks ago. Well, she has undergone surgery and the bad lymph nodes have been removed and the results are pretty good so far. Not all the nodes were cancerous and the doctors are pretty positive that with chemotherapy and other stuff that she will have a full recovery.

Karen and I are grateful for the news (so is Mom!) and encouraged by God's goodness in taking care of her and everyone else. We've had a great sense of peace throughout the whole thing and we know that the Lord is in control. For that we're encouraged.

This week Karen is actually up in PA helping out her mom with different things. She's been enjoying the time up there and says it's really cold. Good thing it's sunny and semi-warm here in SC!

Thanks for the prayers and I'll try to get more updates as I can post them.

Change is good. I think.

2008-02-12T23:05:00.002-05:00

Well, a few weeks ago I posted about valien.net and some experimentation I was doing with the site (ie using it for casual gaming). Well, if you look at it now you'll see something totally different. Yup, a Wordpress blog once again. I used to use WP on Chumpmonkey.com before I removed it and changed it to a forums site only. I decided to install WP 2.3.3 on valien.net and play around with it some more. BTW, I will probably be bringing the gaming side back on the site. Just got to work it within the WP framework.

So now I have 2 blogs. This one hosted by blogspot/google and valien.net hosted by me (well, on 1and1's servers to be technical about it).

Why? Uh, to have fun, learn new stuff, experiment, and maybe actually post something worthwhile... Also, this blog will be mostly for family related news and stuff. My other blog will be pretty much tech ramblings, business ramblings, etc.

Check back in a couple of days as I get all the right plug-in's installed and configured properly!

Blessing from Friends.

2008-01-31T11:03:00.000-05:00

Over the last week or so we have been blessed by the generosity of some friends that goes way beyond the call of duty. :) We had some friends take us out to eat last week and it was wonderful. Then the other day some other friends said they had some freebie tickets to Biltmore and wanted us to have them.

Yay!!

I've never been to Biltmore and it's absolutely wonderful. I definitely recommend the audio tour. That house is amazing.

Unfortunately our digital camera decided it didn't like the cold weather and the only pics we took were with Karen's SLR so I need to get that film developed.

One amazing individual we talked to yesterday was a Blacksmith. He's been practicing his craft/art for 32 years now! It was amazing to see the detail in his work and in a dying trade. Now all I need is a couple hundred dollars for some curtain rods!

Good friends are a blessing. Thank you so much for letting Karen and I have a wonderful week so far.

Valien.net - A Game Experiment

2008-01-24T10:26:00.000-05:00

Good day to all!

I've owned the Valien.net domain for a good number of years now. For the most part it's just been used as an email domain. Nothing much else.

Recently though I have been working on some projects and one of those have to do with casual gaming. So without further ado I present to you the Valien.net games portal. Right now there is only 1 game. :) I didn't program the game at all but rather got it off another flash development site. My goal with the project is to provide some casual games for people without all the other junk on most flash game sites (movies, immature forums, etc.) I have some ideas and plans on what to do, at the moment just think of it as a pre-alpha stage site.

So check it out and let me know what you think.

Google Notebook and Snow.

2008-01-19T15:42:00.001-05:00

So what do those two have in common? Nothing much, except that as I write this post it's snowing outside (yay!) and I'm learning the ropes on Google Notebook. A while back I exported all my bookmarks into Google Bookmarks and have been very happy with the results. So today I decided to try out Google Notebook and I'm impressed.

I'm doing some research on the video game industry in South Carolina (if you have any news, links, etc. send them my way please!) and instead of writing a document in Google Docs I decided to post the links and information into a Notebook. It's very easy to use and will help out my research immensley. Once again, Google has created a product that helps me out yet costs me nothing.

Just wish I was an early Google investor. :D

More Snow!

2008-01-17T12:35:00.000-05:00

Finally got our 1st real nice snowfall this year and the best snow in the last couple of years. We got almost 3 inches at our house last night and was quite beautiful to behold.

Of course being that this is g'ville the city shuts down on days like this because there is no equipment to handle all the road clearing.

For me that means dropping the wife off at work and working from home. :)

Enjoy the pics!

Springwise ~ Cool Trends and Ideas.

2008-01-10T14:44:00.000-05:00

I've been a Springwise newsletter subscriber for a few years now. It's one of few emails that I look forward to every week. The ideas that are in them are most excellent. This weeks letter details some top 10's from 2007 and dives right into what's hot for 2008.

Springwise newsletter | 10 January 2008

For any aspiring entrepreneur or someone just wanting to get ideas on business I highly recommend you subscribe to the newsletters. And they're free to boot!

They also have a sister site called Trendwatching.com where they follow different trends on the market and that newsletter is also free to subscribe too.

2007 Nickel & Dime Game Plays

2008-01-08T12:51:00.000-05:00

A lot of board gamers like to put together lists of 5 & 10's at the end of the year. The 5 & 10 list is basically a list of games that you've played 5 times or more and 10 times or more.

Here's our list of 5 & 10's for 2007 -

10 + plays

San Juan
Wits & Wagers
Jambo
Bohnanza

5+ plays

Memoir '44
Thurn & Taxis
Vegas Showdown
Dreamblade
Pitch Car
Andromeda
For Sale
Manila
Niagara
Oasis
Shear Panic

I don't even own some of these games (Shear Panic, Dreamblade, Pitch Car) and Karen has been the only one to play Andromeda.

You can see my full list here.

What's Been Played Recently

2008-01-07T10:05:00.000-05:00

I just added a new widget on the side showing what games we've recently played. A new favorite of ours is the Ticket to Ride Swiss Expansion map. It's a great game for 2-3 players. The artwork is great, the game play is intense and plays pretty fast too. I finally won my 1st game against my wife this past week (currently my record is 1-6 I think). :(

Other notables games we've played recently have been Alhambra, El Grande, and For Sale!

Guess what? You can buy some of these at my store too! <-- shameless plug.

It has been so much fun over the last couple of years introducing new people to board games, and specifically to euro-style/designer/German games. Everyone that has played them has commented on how much fun they are, how the artwork looks incredible, and how unique they can be each time they are played.

We routinely get together with friends and family to game and you can't beat sitting around a table playing games with friends and family. It sure beats the digital entertainment that we are surrounded with all the time (and I'm a huge video gamer too!)

So get out and play some games this year! I know you'll enjoy it.

Snow?!

2008-01-02T10:12:00.000-05:00

This is what we woke up to yesterday morning. It was quite a nice surprise. Of course most of it was gone by end of day but at least it was pretty to look at (and fun to drive in! zoom!)

The front hit NC pretty decently and Northern Greenville County (where we live) so it was nice to get a little snow.

Hopefully next time this happens we'll get a few more inches to actually enjoy it (and watch all the people down here panic!)

2008-01-02T09:27:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year!

What? A post? Well, let's see, it is 2008. I figured I could make at least some use of this space.

So here goes another attempt to post what's happening in the V household. Maybe I can even get my wife to write. After all, she is the writer in the family...hmmm...

So what happened to my WordPress blog @ Chumpmonkey.com? In a nutshell I'm simplifying. For the last few years I've started to use Google a lot more (Gmail, docs, bookmarks, groups, and now blogs). I decided that it wasn't worth it to have 2 blogs up (cause I don't blog that much). So when I moved Chumpmonkey.com from my old hosting provider to my other hosting provider I just eliminated the blog and now it's just a forums site. So all the good Chumpmonkey discussions happen there.

Snazzy eh? (less headache for me that's for sure)

If you read on some of the old archives here you will see some old posts dating back to 2002. It's fun to take a memory stroll and see what we used to talk about. :D

For those courageous enough to read through my blather here's what my ideas/goals are for this blog -

1. Updates on our family for some of our friends and family
2. Musings on entrepreneurship, technology, board gaming and more
3. Random madness
4. Experimentation *insert mad scientist laugh*

Until the next post...

2007-02-27T08:09:00.000-05:00

Hello world.

Well, for the 1st time in almost 4 years I'm posting a new post here :). Amazing eh? Well, needless to say, I am not a blogger. I've tried, but the gift of writing does not inhabit my genes... My wife on the other hand is a wonderful writer. Maybe I can get her to start posting here.

Anyways, the archives have some old stuff. Pretty neat read if you are really bored.

In the meantime check out my other sites -

www.valien.net - our personal domain. Really nothing there at all. Maybe I'll do a dns redirect to this site or something...
www.chumpmonkey.com - my true blog using WordPress. I use it as an experimental site to post anything from gaming to business to well, whatever. :) I also have the famous Chumpmonkey forums hosted there as well.
www.chumpmonkeygames.com - my e-commerce business. Looking for an excellent boardgame? Check out my store. I treat all customers as gold. :) (or at least I try too...)
www.faforums.org - my HS Alumni forums - Faith Academy.

See you around! :)

~Allen

2003-08-25T07:26:00.000-04:00

A note to our faithful readers:

Starting this week Chumpmonkey.com will be down for a period of time. I'm transferring it to it's own domain, space, etc. My goal is to have it back live by the 1st of September (if not sooner). Please stay tuned! :) I have some ideas I want to implement...we'll see if I can get the time to implement them. hehe :)

On other news, my apologies for the recent event that happened last week. You can be assured that it will never happen again. We will be hosting our own images in the future.

2003-08-22T11:10:00.000-04:00

Confessions of a Car Salesman

Buying a new or used car? Read this article. Has some great information in it about how car dealers and car salesmen work. No wonder they are on the low-list of careers to have.

Probably one reason why eBay Motors, and the 'net are so popular in buying a vehicle..no dealership hassle.

2003-08-21T11:33:00.000-04:00

We have a new Chumpmonkey Blogger coming on board soon. I'll let him introduce himself though, but here's a hint - he's a firefighter. :)

This brings me to the point...what is Chumpmonkey.com? From what you can tell..it's a little of everything..games..computers...life...humor...news...personal anecdotes, etc.

What does the future bring for Chumpmonkey? right now..nothing except this...I *do* have some ideas/plans..but time is the factor right now. :)

In the meantime..enjoy and please tell others! :)

2003-08-21T08:57:00.000-04:00

Tech News - CNET.com

I like this guy. Great article on how Microsoft's tactics forced him to change his company from a MS-centric company to a Open Source company.

Many companies today could use this little shove to migrate their systems (or at least a majority of them) onto Open Source. When I was at ScanSource, we had 80 some Windows servers (mix between NT4 and 2000). Talk about a waste of money (you can blame their poor IT management for those decisions). They would have saved thousands of dollars if they just ported over their webservers to Linux, and that's just the top of the pond!

I tried to encourage some new ideas..but too many stagnant minds there. Such is life. Guess if the BSA came along and squished them..maybe they would think differently.

Our office is pretty much OSS now. Running E-Smith for our backend, Open Office for our desktop, and Mozilla for our browser. Soon to come...Desktop OS I hope :)

2003-08-20T15:23:00.000-04:00

sodaplay

wow! who's gonna make a chumpmonkey?

2003-08-20T15:22:00.000-04:00

2003-08-20T09:45:00.000-04:00

MASSIVE ASSAULT. Global Domination Strategy

Oh my. Found my next PC game. (psst..karen..hint...birthday gift..hehe..or earlier :) ). It's has all the features I've been dying to see in a Wargame.

Turn-based
3D
Internet play
Wargame!

sign me up! The trailer and in-game movie are sweet.

2003-08-15T14:50:00.000-04:00

Alrighty then! Vote Time. Add a comment for your vote. One vote per person, please :)

2003-08-14T17:34:00.000-04:00

Major power outage hits New York, other large cities

Wow, big news...

I'd hate to be one of the people in a hot & smelly elevator.

gak...

2003-08-13T08:41:00.000-04:00

If you are like me, you probably get a lot of Free Credit Card offers in your mail on a daily/weekly basis. I called the Opt Out number about 2 years ago and it stopped all the offers in my mail. When we moved and purchased our home the offers have started up again. Here's some info and the number to call to Opt Out of the mailing lists again:

Identity theft survival guide - Nov. 26, 2002: "Opt out. Thieves use mailed pre-approved credit offers and the 'convenience checks' that often accompany them to get a credit card quickly. According to the postmaster general, 30 percent of convenience checks get used fraudulently. If you want fewer pre-approved credit offers in your mailbox, you can call (800) 5-OPT-OUT and ask them to remove your name and address from the mailing lists."

:edit: Just called the number, and it has changed to - 1-888-5-OPT-OUT (or 1-888-567-8688).

2003-08-12T10:19:00.000-04:00

Larry Burkett>Larry Burkett memorial

I am slow on some news! Just found out that Larry Burkett passed away on July 4. Larry was the founder of CFC Ministries. His ministry and his advice on financial matters has made a big difference in my life. I have a few of his books, and have listened to his radio program many times.

2003-08-11T09:06:00.000-04:00

Hey everyone!

Glad to see Fubak and Cruv keeping Chumpmonkey.com up-to-date with the latest news and swag! hehe. :) Sounds like the LAN Event this weekend is going to be a fun one. Do we have an official name for it yet? *hint hint*

Karen and I had a wonderful time up in PA and DE this past week. Spent some great time with her family up there. It was a go! go! go! vacation, that's for sure! In summary here's what we did (if I can remember it all):

1. Went to a baseball game (Delmarva Shorebirds)
2. Went fishing & swimming on the Choptank River (near the Cheasapeake Bay). I caught 3 perch! lol
3. Went to Rehoboth Beach and won tons of prizes at the games (Karen won the big stuffed animals...I just got the small ones)
4. Went dragracing against the Amish buggies! <--kidding. hehe
5. Ate food. (hmm..site needs help. hehe)
6. Went doing all kinds of touristystuff.
7. Went to Baltimore and visited the Inner Harbor
8. Ate more food.
9. Consequently gained weight! EEK!!!!
10. etc. etc. etc.

It's nice to be back home though. Something about sleeping in your own soft bed...mmmmm :)

2003-08-08T09:46:00.000-04:00

ok folks,

I'm looking for good links to post on my blog. Check out: To Tell You The Truth and see what's there so far. I want to get some good links to resources, deals, fun sites, etc...

But don't be offended if I don't use a site you suggest :)

Just post a comment to this post. :)

2003-08-06T18:13:00.000-04:00

Go vote for heterosexual marriages!

Click here

Thanks Cleary!

2003-08-06T14:41:00.000-04:00

Powerball Winner's Money Stolen At ... Club

ok - Is this guy dense??? What in the world! Let me leave $500+k in my car!!!

moron...

2003-08-05T08:42:00.000-04:00

LAN Update - 8/5/03

Starting: Friday (15th) at 6PM (This is mainly for setup. Email me if you want to come)
Ends: Saturday (16th) at 3 or 4PM

What to bring:
- PC & Monitor (duh)
- Surge Protector
- CAT5 Cable (Network cable)
- Bring a folding chair if you would rather sit on that
- Five $1 bills. I don't have an exact cost on the pizza yet.

Things to note:
- This party is by invite only. Do NOT invite anyone else with out my permission!

2003-08-04T13:59:00.000-04:00

LAN UPDATE!

I got us a 24-port 10/100/1000 switch! :o) Who da man!?! hehe

Anyways, we still need tables!!! If you have a way of getting tables through your church, work, school, etc then please do! Some of those 8ft church tables would be awesome. Please email me at fubak1@charter.net if you need any info.

2003-08-01T20:27:00.000-04:00

Wow. What a storm tonight. We lost at least 3 trees. doh!

Hope everyone else fared as well...(those local folk that is to us..hehe).

Have a good week. We are headed up north for a few days :)

2003-07-31T10:11:00.000-04:00

Ah..mmmmm...yummy!

This new handheld looks really cool. Tapwave has been quiet over the last year or so..but as they get closer to release date more details are emerging on this new system. Designed for games first, then applications. I might have to get one..hehe :)

Here's a quick news blurb about it.

2003-07-30T10:57:00.000-04:00

It's LAN PARTY time!!!

When: Friday, Aug 15th at 6PM until the cows come home on Saturday, Aug 16th
Where: Brad 'Fubak' Shannon's pad
Who's invited: You will receive an email if you are invited :)
What to bring: Your PC, CAT5 cable(s), power strip, games, etc.

Also, we have need for tables. I have enough to hold about 8 desktops. We need 2 more tables if at all possible! Please email me at fubak1@charter.net if you can help. More info and a map coming soon!

2003-07-30T09:44:00.000-04:00

Losing e-mail worse than divorce? hah! some folk need lives! This BBC article has all the details.

Let's see..i do enjoy e-mail for the most part. But it is also nice without it. Next week my wife and I will be traveling and I won't have e-mail or 'net access for a good solid 8 days. wow! I'm looking forward to it that's for sure.

Now if only she'll let me bring my PS2.... :)

2003-07-29T17:02:00.000-04:00

I love it!

Ties = bad!

I knew it! hehe...

good thing me no wear ties now..except for Church usually... :)

2003-07-29T15:41:00.000-04:00

Specs for the new Playstation Portable ;)

Click here if filipinos are short!

2003-07-28T10:40:00.000-04:00

With all the recent e-mail scams hitting our inboxes it pays to take a few moments to read and research things that do come in and seem legitimate.

Recently a lot of SC Charter Pipeline users received an e-mail from Charter asking them to go to a certain website to fill out some information about their account. Well, I was quite suspicious at first and decided to research things a little more before I sent them my information.

I did a whois search, traced their mail headers, inquired on VeriSign, etc. All in all, it looked ok dokey. I read some posts on my UCLUG group and then did a search on BroadBand Reports and found this thread. Looks like it is legitimate and looks like Charter (as usual) is trying to straighten out their borked network. Go figure.

As I get more info, I will let ya'll know.

2003-07-28T09:22:00.000-04:00

Good morning!

Fubak has already announced the great wedding of Dave and Kristen. It was a lot of fun and very pretty. Glad to see that he has found someone to keep him in line! :)

It was a regular Chumpmonkey group down there. Brad, Dave C, John S, Dave S, and me. Of course we all had our wonderful wives with us to keep us in line and make sure we behave ourselves. hehe

Some fun highlights:

1. Raven Shield LAN play. Aw yeah!
2. Brad squishing the bee in the clubhouse
3. Watching Brad attempt to dance. hehe
4. Eating awesome food
5. The Beach and walks on the beach with my wife :)
6. Saw a blue STi on our way home.

That's all folks!

2003-07-28T08:14:00.000-04:00

Friday, August 1st, at 10AM is when I close on my house! I can't wait! Anyone want to camp out with me? I think my boss is gonna bring a laptop, projector, and a big screen ;o) I'm open to suggestions!

2003-07-28T08:13:00.000-04:00

Dave and Kristen Singletarry are officially married! Now Dave has to quit looking at teenagers :) (hehe j/k Dave!)

It was a beautiful wedding. And WOW, was the food ever good! :p Best of wishes to Dave and Kristen as they start a new life together! And hopefully Dave will still let me come play games whenever I'm on the Island :D

2003-07-24T09:20:00.000-04:00

Ha! Gotta love Russian methods of getting back at spammers. Check this article out.

2003-07-21T15:57:00.000-04:00

Ah, remember the 25 Dumbest Moments in gaming? Well, now Gamespy has the 25 Smartest Moments online. W00t!

2003-07-21T12:35:00.000-04:00

Good Monday morning, er, afternoon on the East Coast! :)

Hope everyone had a good weekend. Mine was busy. I sprayed our deck with some funky chemicals to preserve it, then found a nice self-propelled lawnmower for $75 bucks and mowed the lawn. Watched G'ville Braves play (intensely boring game - bottom of 9th. 2 outs. bases loaded. Orlando pitcher walks the 4th guy. Game over. 1 to 0 Gbraves. *yawn*). But the fireworks show was awesome!

Oh, I played and lost a mission in Starcraft: Brood War. So, gotta rethink this one. :(

Today's cool article is chemically enhanced DVD's! (registration required use blah991/blah991 to get in...hehe) cool!

Tonight I make my debut as a softball player. Hopefully it will be my last. I have no l33t softball skillz. hehe

2003-07-18T09:09:00.000-04:00

Remember All Advantage? A few of us actually made money on it. I made just over $100.00 before it tanked. Well Cruv just sent me some info last night on a new system that uses affiliate marketing to make money. I spent a bit of time last night and this morning researching and reading up on it.

It's pretty straightforward. You download a small piece of software (and according to their FAQ it is not spyware). Basically a .dll that works with IE or Netscape (I can't get it to work with Mozilla though..go figure), and it uses Internet Keywords to find sites. Basic stuff. Technology has been there for years.

So I figured, why not? I have nothing to lose, all they have is my e-mail addy (yay, big deal). If I want to remove myself from the system it takes 20 seconds.

It's pretty basic. Go here to find out more. Make sure you use my referral id/number/name so that I get credit. Questions? Lemme know!

ps. Since most of us 'net users like to shop on the net, why not shop through your referral? One, you get to buy what you want...two..make some extra pennies too!

2003-07-17T21:15:00.000-04:00

John Carmack released the minimum system requirements for Doom 3 to www.3dactionplanet.com today. Here's the clip...

With all the hubbub floating around the net lately about what would and what wouldn't run DOOM³, we decided to bring an end to the system requirement confusion and contact the main man, John Carmack, himself. Here is the official word on the minimum system configuration you'll need to run Doom³.

1GHz CPU
256MB RAM
GF1 or Radeon 7xxx series card

Don't expect to run it fabulous with that system setup , but everything will be playable at least.

Triangle shooting anyone?

2003-07-17T08:40:00.000-04:00

Well, Japan might have super-fast DSL for $21 a month, but here in the US we have super-cheap ISP's! Can you say $5.50/mo? This article details some of the sub-10 dollar ISP's that are starting to gain speed in the US dial-up market today.

A few months ago I had looked into wholesale service and the possibility of starting an ISP. It is a lot easier today than it was 3-5 years ago. Today the infrastructure is in place, you just purchase something wholesale and retail it out. Very cool I might say. So many of these small and cheap ISP's could really be run by a guy out of his garage :)

Nifty eh?

2003-07-15T17:14:00.000-04:00

12 MBit for $21 a month! sign me up! Alas, only in Japan. It's Softbank's Son who's jumping headlong into some serious cool stuff again. Maybe he'll make money on this one eh?

2003-07-14T16:53:00.000-04:00

Ever wanted to play Quake 2 .NET? Well, here's your chance! :D

http://www.vertigosoftware.com/Quake2.htm

hehe

2003-07-14T09:35:00.000-04:00

Good Monday Morning! :)

Interesting article on an Exchange server replacement that is Open Source. Opengroupware.org is mentioned in this CNET article.

I for one think this is great news. One of my pains has been looking for a nice OSS Exchange alternative. Looks like we might be getting one pretty soon!

In other news, congrats to Brad for getting a great deal on a house! Here's a Realtor.com link to it.

2003-07-10T23:14:00.000-04:00

What not to do if you are a crab in the ocean...

Pipe 1, Crab 0

This is a video taken in 6000 feet of water. An undersea robot is sawing a 3mm wide slit (1/10th of an inch ... remember that width) in a pipeline. The pressure inside the pipeline is 0 psi, while the pressure outside is 2700 psi, or 1.3 tons per square inch. Then a crab comes along....

2003-07-08T11:02:00.000-04:00

Over the last few months when I get a few free minutes or when I need to take a 10 minute mental break. I play Legend of the Green Dragon. It's a new web rendition of an old BBS classic - Legend of the Red Dragon. It's free, easy, and fun. Look me up when you are there - Squire Valien (I'm a Squire, because I've slain the Green Dragon one time so far! w00t!).

Oh, make sure you use this link so that I get some in game bonus points for referring you (that is, if you make it to level 4 or not). Also, if you do log in, message me and I can hook you up with some gold...when I get some. hehe

2003-07-07T11:16:00.000-04:00

Being a gamer, although not as much as I used to be, I like to keep at least a general knowledge of what's happening in the industry, different reports, etc. Stumbled on this article on MSNBC today. I don't think they need an offiicial survey to see how many college kids game. I know at one local private university, a lot of the guys game regularly.

Nerf Arena anyone? ;)

2003-07-07T10:53:00.000-04:00

Ah! Found my car! And it's affordable too! :) hehe

On other news, many many thanks to John and Ginger Schwerin for hosting a bunch of us at their new home for July 4. We had a great time. Ate way too much food, had a awesome swim in the pool, and had a blast (literally!) with all the fireworks. I think next year we will budget more $$$ for bigger and better explosive devices! wee!!!! hehe

I see that the Cruvmeister has his own blog up now. Took him long enough. Time to link it off the side soon...

2003-07-05T13:23:00.000-04:00

The Hulk. Reviewed. Read it - now

2003-07-04T11:45:00.000-04:00

Well, there's nothing like tootin' my own horn, and this is nothing like it... :)

To Tell You The Truth

2003-07-03T18:39:00.000-04:00

yeehaw!! Ad Critic is back!

but you have to get a username, blah, blah and it's a subscription deal

bummer....

2003-07-03T16:29:00.000-04:00

Interesting blog I came across today. It's from an Iraqi national that blogs about life in Bagdad. Interesting read.

2003-07-02T19:40:00.000-04:00

Wee! Update Valien.net finally. Yeah, I know I'm a slacker. :(

2003-07-02T12:55:00.000-04:00

Finally! SC gets with the online picture for their DMV Processes. About two weeks ago I was able to change our addresses on our license online. Not only was it easy, it was convienient. Now they have finally finished their DMV Online rollout and they have a bunch of services now!

SC DMV Online

Here's another related article on WYFF's site.

I just checked my record..so far..0 points on it :) hehe

2003-07-01T09:21:00.000-04:00

Blizzard North Employees Leave

Hmm..wonder if they will start their own awesome gaming company and have a Diablo killer. That would be sweet! Hmm...i'm thinking a sci-fi theme would be cool...

2003-07-01T09:03:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was definitely a monday. On my way home from work I got my first ticket since 1997, and my first ticket since living in SC. The sad thing, was that I wasn't even trying to speed. I know that there are plent of times I drive fast and should get a ticket, but this time I was just tired, just left work, and was thinking about my wife's softball game coming up. So I was just driving normally, not even thinking about the speed limit. Well, I saw a police officer in a parking lot just waiting and too late...i looked down and realized that i was going a tad fast (he said 54 in a 35). So I immediately pulled over at the next open lot and got my ticket :(

Officer Worley (I think) was pretty nice. Dropped it to a 40 in a 35 zone. So the fine is relatively cheap (under $50) and I don't have to go to court. I'm going to call my insurance today and see if i'll get docked for this. I had such a nice record.... *sigh*

My only gripe is this...he said it was 35. The only sign on that street says it is 45 mph. So, I could contest this because there is no signs. Bah. Maybe not...Mr. Officer gets only 26K-30K a year, maybe this will help his paycheck.

That's my other gripe. Why do our Police Officers get paid so poorly? These men and women work hard, they put their lives on the line all the time...and for less than 26K a year (starting salary in our area - Search for Deputy jobs.) Now that is sad.

Anyways, I'm not upset at getting a ticket...upset with myself for not paying attention. :)

Hey, at least I didn't do a Singleterry...hehe ;)

2003-06-29T15:40:00.000-04:00

Well, what a weekend! Karen's sister got married, we had tons of family visiting and parading through the house, we ate out way to much (but it was good!) and Space Quest 0 was released. SWEET!

2003-06-27T11:39:00.000-04:00

Wee!! Finally, the national Do Not Call list is live and active! As soon as I post this I'm signing up!

Here's another link to a MSNBC article about the list (thanks wifey! :)

2003-06-27T08:35:00.000-04:00

Casual Wireless Gaming. Great article on the rise of wireless gaming. Something I've been following over the last few years. One of my goals is to hopefully jump into this market by providing this kind of content for wireless devices. I think it has merit and can be profitable if done right.

Oh, for fun, check out the GE Advertisement where you can sketch and send it to people! Very cool! :) hehe

Don't forget if you don't have a NYT username use 'blah991' as your user/password :)

2003-06-27T08:21:00.000-04:00

Late breaking news!!!!

Fubak just discovered that the comments are borked on the site. DOH! Something exploded when Blogger updated the the codebase (the comments are powered by a different script).

I'll see what I can do to get it up and running.

In the meantime..open up notepad..type in your comment and save. hehe :)

2003-06-27T08:17:00.000-04:00

Friday! Wee! What a week I must say! Busy busy busy. Tomorrow my wife's sister gets married, so there are tons of family members flying, driving, walking, crawling into town for the big event. We have my in-laws at our house this week. So far it's been enjoyable :) Ate at Miyabi Kyoto last night. Had a great chef.

Well, enough non-tech stuff. :)

Installed Windows 2000 SP4 yesterday on my work PC and last night on my home PC. Seems pretty stable so far. Has almost 700 fixes or something. I'm not gonna bother reading all of them so I'm assuming it's good. :) hehe

As I write this I'm downloading Mozilla 1.4RC3 to test. So that should be pretty cool. I'm enjoying using Mozilla more and more. Has some nice features.

No gaming news today from my viewpoint....been too busy over the last week to even think about games. I think I missed bluesnews one day! eek!

2003-06-26T07:40:00.000-04:00

Whoa! I log in to Blogger this morning and WAMMO! New featueres! New Code! New cool stuff! Hmm..gonna have to see how good this new Dano base is. :)

Onto other news, interesting article about Amazon.com's web services and 'hacks' that people are creating now. Sounds really cool too.

2003-06-23T09:58:00.000-04:00

Some new changes are in the works...

Well, recently I discovered that I can have 2 domains with my account. doh! All this time I've been hosting chumpmonkey as a webuser off my PCM account. Well, no longer! Hopefully this week or next, I will have chumpmonkey.com hosted on it's own domain, with it's own look, and content. I'm redoing things completely and as of now, looks like I might be stepping away from blogger. I like blogger, but I want to see if there are some other blog tools out there with a little more power and features (right now I'm leaning towards Movable Type. So, if you have any suggestions, or comments, please let me know! When I get close to rolling out the site I will let everyone know here first.

As always, Chumpmonkey.com will be your source for whatever! hehe

2003-06-23T09:26:00.000-04:00

Good morning! Tis a happy Monday indeed.

Well, the weekend sure went fast. I feel for Fubak in what happened to his car. :( I had my gauges stolen back in December. It's that sense of intense anger and irritation of how someone could just violate your personal property and steal stuff like that. Makes you want to find them and do bad things... grrr!! :(

Anyways, I mowed our lawn this weekend. Whoa...mental note..buy SELF-PROPELLED mower. :) Cruv graciously let me use his lawnmower and it did the job. Although my hands are screaming in protest (read: blisters) hehe. Guess that's what happens when you are a softie office squid....you get tender :) hehe

Hmm..Karen and I put up some drapes on the living room this weekend. :) Gotta love Lowes and Home Depot! So now we have some nice color in the living room and we can keep the temperature down during the day when it heats up nicely due to lots and lots of sun.

Oh, and I've been playing Dynasty Warriors 4 for the PS2 that I borrowed from GerM. Ugh..talk about addicting! Yowzers. My current character, Liu Bei, is pretty sweet. The game is pretty simple once you get the hang of it. Just mash mash mash buttons...all in sequence though.

Well, have a good week. Tomorrow, Lord Slappy, GerM, my wife and I will be headed down to Six Flags over Georgia for a day of 'coaster fun! Weeee!!!!!!

2003-06-21T09:57:00.000-04:00

This has been a very, very, very rough week. Probably one of the worst weeks of my life. Why do I say this? Keep reading...

1. My girlfriend went to the Emergency Room Sunday (6/15/03) night complaining of severe abdomen pains that she had for 2 weeks and it had gotten too unbearable. Why did she wait that long? She's stubborn. Ok anyways, the doctors put her on an IV and took blood. This doesn't sound so bad, but you don't know Maegan. She HATES needles with a passion and she was bawling like a 5 yr old. I hated seeing her in pain and I tried to comfort her as much as possible, but there's only so much I can do.

Well, she had X-Rays, Ultrasounds, blood tests, urine tests, and an Ink Test to test her gall bladder. They couldn't find anything wrong, except that her liver enzymes were very high. So, they kept her overnight in ER. That sucked b/c it's pretty uncomfortable for everyone and the nurses are ALWAYS on edge so it's hard to ask for things.

After staying overnight in ER, they moved her to a room on the 5th floor. We were happy about that, but she had a roommate. This roommate was a large, older woman who had Redtide in both her legs. This wasn't so bad, until the nurses came in to clean them DURING LUNCH TIME!!! I almost threw up. They pulled the curtain but you could still hear...smacking the wound, "OK YOUR HAND IS IN THE WOUND NOW!!!!", and various other things that I don't want to remember. Ok, enough about the roommate already. She was a sweet lady. She just talked too much.

Maegan was high on morphine the entire week. That's right! She was in the hospital from Sunday morning at 9AM until Thursday night at 7PM. And you know what another bad thing is? They don't have insurance. Yeah, I pity them too. Anyways, I came to the hospital every morning before going to work, during lunchtime, and then I came right after work and stayed until midnight. I was doing my best to be there for her. I just wanted to take her pain away so badly. Is this true love? I think so :o) She was diagnosed with Mono and a certain type of hepititus that is caused by the Mono. So do I have it? Probably. I just hope that it doesn't make me so ill that I'm in the hospital for a week.

The liver enzymes finally started coming down at a steady pace so the doctor's let her go home. She's still in alot of pain, but at least she's home where she can be comfortable and watch TV, and talk to me online with my PDA that I setup on a WAN at their house :D Yeah, I'm a dork ;o)

2. This isn't NEARLY as bad, but my Honda Accord was broken into last night at our house. My CD Headunit, Amplifier, and Digital camera (Canon A70, 256mb CF card, mini-tripod, 4 batteries, and a carrying case) were stolen. This just infuriates me! I've had the worst week of my life and some low-life, no good for nothin, scum of the earth, piece of poop thief has to break into my car and steal stuff. How low is that?

Ok, time to start my own blog. This is rediculous. Thanks for reading, if you did.

2003-06-20T10:32:00.000-04:00

Tis a sad day indeed. Why?

Well, Benny Hinn is in town this weekend. In fact right now he's performing 'great miracles!' about 200 yards away from my office window. What's amazing is that this guy is filthy rich, and people are so deceived. Yesterday we were commenting in the office on how sad it was to see all these hurting people (people in wheelchairs, crutches, etc) all walking, rolling, limping toward the BiLo Center to see Benny Hinn to try to get 'healed'.

How can this guy live with himself? Many of these people coming to see him think that he's a great man of God. They are being deceived by this man! Matthew 7:15 even warns us - Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

One day this man will face our Lord and Savior and be held fully accountable for his actions.

2003-06-19T08:54:00.000-04:00

Ah, shareware games. For most of us 'old folk' shareware games were one of the major reasons we got into gaming. I remember back in the early 90's of all the shareware I would buy/download (off BBSes!) and play. Incredible way to market your product and games.

Over the last few years there has been little shareware per se, but recently it looks like it's starting to gather some more steam. This CNN article talks about how shareware is starting to pick back up. Also, here's a link of Slashdot that talks about it as well.

2003-06-17T09:14:00.000-04:00

Good morning!

Ugh, the weather here in G'ville over the last few days has been pretty blah. Cloudy, rainy, all that good stuff. I feel like I'm living in the Pacific Northwest. hehe

Installed Mozilla 1.4 RC1 last night at home. So far it's pretty nice. Also installed the Googlebar for Mozilla. That was the one thing that I liked about having IE. Well, no worries now, I have the Mozilla googlebar and I think it's a lot nicer than Google's own toolbar!

So I can say that I'm 98% IE free. I still use IE to post my blogs, because it doesn't show up right in Mozilla. Oh well.

Watched The Italian Job last night. Wow! Very cool movie. Those Mini Coopers really made the movie neat with all the chase scenes and driving. Made the Maxtrix 2: Reloaded chase scene look corny. The movie was very much like Ocean's 11 in that it is a remake of a 1969 movie, has some big name stars, and involves a lot of money! My wife and I liked The Italian Job much better though.

Well, the day is fleeting and lots of work is calling.