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.

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.

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! :)

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 :)

sodaplay

wow! who's gonna make a chumpmonkey?

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.

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

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...

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).

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.

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 :)

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. :)

Go vote for heterosexual marriages!

Click here

Thanks Cleary!

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...

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!

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.

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 :)

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.

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!