The JL InitiativeGo inside the mind and come out barely breathing

I haven’t posted in a long time, and have done even less in this general realm. I’d like to go on and on about what I’ve been up to in my life but I feel I’d rather leave that to those who already know. If you feel you want to keep tabs on how I’m doing, hit up my MySpace (www.myspace.com/jonjon2008) and send me a message or something like that.

I’m in the market for a new digital camera, and I have no idea which one I want. There are many great cameras out there that have so much functionality, it’s hard to choose. I feel a Nikon might be in my future. Maybe a Samsung. Oh that’s a good competitive mix. Japan and Korea… yeah. The Samsung L830 might be on my desk soon, as well as the Nikon L15.

There’s something about highway traffic that I just cannot stand. I don’t know what it is. Some say they don’t like the rush-hour portion, some say they don’t like the speed. I personally don’t like people.

In other news, I’ve become one with iTunes. I now purchase about 60% of my music from iTunes, along with my TV Shows I currently have on my iPod (Numb3rs, Dirty Jobs, Family Guy, and The Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles). I’d rather support and pay than not and die… Eventually they’ll catch up to you… Just lettin you know.

Vista Service Pack 1

For the few (more like many) who have and are in the process of testing Windows Vista Service Pack 1 you have probably noticed little to no change. Well, you’re pretty much right freaking on. Unless you haven’t installed ANY of the Hotfixes (the KBxxxxxx fixes Windows Update passes on to you to download and install), or you are having one of the five random problems SP1 fixes, you’re really not missing much.

Installing the service pack takes about 4 hours to download/install. The downloading process really doesn’t depend on your Internet connection speed. I have an 8mbps connection and it was running about 2mbps (250kb/s) and Microsoft is only about 85 miles from my location. The installation process is a 2-step. The first step is the preliminary download/install, where after downloading all the files, it runs a base installation through the Windows Update interface. After it is done, it will ask you to restart your machine. You are not out of the woods yet and you have about another hour to go, depending on your computer’s clock speed and HD speed/connectivity. (I’m a 2.2ghz dual core with dual SCSI hard drives, so my times ARE different than yours)

Once you restart, hope you don’t need to do anything computer-related for about 1-2 hours. Windows will start, but will instead of going to the login screen/desktop it will start the 2nd half of the installation process. It describes to you there are three stages and it is starting Stage 1 of 3. DO NOT TURN OFF YOUR COMPUTER. It is not joking here. if your machine is on a UPS or is a laptop on battery, PLUG IT IN to a power source.

Once the install completes, it might restart again, I don’t remember. If it doesn’t you’ll need to restart it for the Vista SP1 EVAL text to come up on your desktop. This means you are using the BETA and your OS will deactivate on June 30, 2008. The full version is expected to be out within a couple of weeks from this writing, so don’t get to happy about the public beta (otherwise known as SP1 Beta RC)

Life Flight

I have no cares for magic flying helicopters. It was a catchy title and i wanted to talk about my life. However, there’s not much to talk about anyway. There are many things I want but can’t have right now. That’s life.

Lookin’ Good

If you look good, you look good.

Art

There’s a new work. Check it out.

You know what pisses me off?

Old folks who think they’re more important than anybody else on this planet because they’re old! Guess what smack daddy, your ghetto ballin’ ways are over, and you’re just like us,  except all my deductions from my already low paycheck is going to pay for your ass and your $75,000 ‘Benz. I can officially say that if I have to pay for you to live, I should be able to choose how you spend that money. If I don’t want you ridin’ dirty in your ‘92 Cadillac El Dorado with a balls-to-the-wall 250HP 6.0L V8 with more torque than the space shuttle, then that’s how life will be. Buy a Prius.

The Wii. People. Listen to me. The Wii blows like Katrina at a massage parlor. You get Playstation 1 (maybe 2) graphics, mediocre developer support, no TRUE HD functionality (component video doesn’t do it on a 1080p Sony Bravia LCD, folks), and games that suck like a shop vac. How many times will the folks at Best Buy, Circuit City, or myself at Fred Meyer say NO, WE DO NOT HAVE ANY NINTENDO WII’s AND WE HAVE NO IDEA WHEN THEY’LL COME BECAUSE NINTENDO HAS THEIR FINGERS UP THEIR ASS AND ARE CUTTING SUPPLY ON PURPOSE JUST TO CREATE A HIGH DEMAND before you get it!

Wal-Mart. I’m not just saying that because I work for a competing company who makes just as much as you do and sells the right freaking music… ok never mind. I am saying that. Music was made to be listened to. Not chopped and screwed and bashed and raped. At least ten people every day bring me a complaint and/or a CD purchased from Wal-Mart that they will not take back. What is on it? Half-assed edited tracks. I’m talking worse than a Radio edit. If I want to hear Mudvayne and the F-words that go along with their new release, I will. If I want to hear Nas talk about his N’s and shootin-up-da-place, then I will. Wal-Mart. Go away. Go to Mexico. Your patronage consists of folks not legally from the U.S. Enough Said.

Fake-And-Bake Orange/Blonde Chicks. If the tanning bed doesn’t kill you, someone else will. I promise. There comes a point at where looking beachy stops being sexy and becomes "what-the-f?" I like a woman who gets their tanned skin from either the sun, or from their genes. If you have Native American, South American, or Arabian blood in you, you’re probably rather tan naturally, that’s hot. If you spent a week in Hawaii and were once white, but now a nice light golden brown, that’s hot too. But the spray-on or the slow-cooked in the microwave look is stupid as all hell. One in Three teenage girls in the western half of the United States are fake-and-bakers. How do I know this? because Out of the 520 or so sophomores at my high school, about 290 are girls, and over 150 of them fake and bake. They glow for god’s sake.

My rant’s over. I’m tired. Christmas is almost here and I have no one to be close to on the holidays. Oh well…

With the holidays coming around, there are so many different options available for people to choose from when it comes to the technology that they purchase for their loved ones. Not only that, but there has been some great new releases like Firefox 3 Beta 1.

I personally bought a Wii game and some music for someone close to my heart. Keeping the receipt is a must in a situation like this because you never know if they have it already. Buying a gift that is truly special takes a lot of hard work and thought that really pays off in the end.

There aren’t many friends out there in the world anymore. But I want to thank my real friends for always being there. You know who you are…

There are so many things that totally  confuse me. Women happen to be one of them. I don’t understand why, but they do, and someday, I hope to understand that.

As a guy who has had relationships with many different types of people, be it white, black, slutty, and more, I have gathered a large realm of knowledge that has helped me so far. Today, however, I am lost.

Lost. It’s an interesting word; you say it enough times and you wonder why that word sounds like it does and why it means what it means. I experienced what all experience and continue to do so on a regular basis.

Sometimes I sit and wonder what is wrong with me? Should I fight for what I have? Questions like that haunt me every day and I, to this day, have no answer. I have come to the conclusion that I may not ever understand nor get the answer.

It’s one of the mysteries of life.

Last night, on the Republican National Debate on CNN, moderated by Anderson Cooper from CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360, the republicans were asked questions from YouTube videos people posted. Of the five thousand sent in, the "good ones" (which in my opinion some of those folks could have been shot and not missed [see confederate man]) made it on the air. A couple of the questions were really good question and were without superfluous ideas.

This one blew me away. I mean come on, people! Think about it! Let’s promote this illegal-ness! Sure! You’re an illegal dude, and we tried like hell the block you out of the country, but guess what? If you make it far enough, we’ll hide you and keep you cool! Mit Romney made a damn good point and I support him all the way on this issue. Juliani, shut up… seriously.

Will you grant amnesty for those who come [to the U.S.] illegally? Hmmm… lemme think about it… NO!

Conspiracy for a North American Union? Well, sounds good in theory. Until the immigrant issues are resolved, then it’s not worth it. If we merged with Canada and Mexico, imagine all the "EHs" and "Holas" everywhere! Hola, Eh? No… sorry. If the CAD is higher than the USD, then God help us… but if Canada becomes the same as The U.S., God save the queen… God save me… from bashing in the heads of those who approve this idea!

What three government programs will you remove? Your mom… IRS? please…

Listening to and watching this almost makes me sick. Seriously, this is all crap that has nothing to do with running the country successfully.

Those are only a few questions as there are many that I wish to not discuss because they are equally as horrible. China sucks, their toys are a form of terrorism, and taxes give you a job, fool… end of story.

It sounds like a great idea. When will I start it? who knows….. Stay tuned.

In other news, I’ve got a new look coming up shortly.

It’s amazing to see that it actually works. I would never guess that some crack program made by Microsoft would work.

However, It’s not all peaches and creme. I couldn’t get WLW to work under Windows Vista, but it works like a kid on speed under Windows XP (Pretty much everything including XP itself runs like a kid on speed on my machine compared to Vista… but that’s something everyone knows already)

So I guess, maybe if I feel like it, I’ll start writing more…

A podcast is in the future…..

Found this pretty funny… I figured you’d like it too…

The following quotations are taken from official court records across the nation, showing how funny and embarrassing it is that recorders operate at all times in courts of law, so that even the slightest inadvertence is preserved for posterity.

• Lawyer: “Was that the same nose you broke as a child?”
• Witness: “I only have one, you know.”

• Lawyer: “Now, Mrs. Johnson, how was your first marriage terminated?”
• Witness: “By death.”
• Lawyer: “And by whose death was it terminated?”

• Accused, Defending His Own Case: “Did you get a good look at my face when I took your purse?”

The defendant was found guilty and sentenced to ten years in jail.

• Lawyer: “What is your date of birth?”
• Witness: “July 15th.”
• Lawyer: “What year?”
• Witness: “Every year.” Read the rest of this entry »

As I have been looking around the web for “intersesting” stuff, I stumbled upon these:

Don’t know what to do in the office

Don’t Click It — Forget about clicking to navigate. Your mouse buttons will feel deprived.

Seeing Through Your Screen — w00kie’s slideshow on Flickr… If your screen was transparent… it would look awesome like this.

Horse! Sing! NOW! — If you’ve never seen this classic, I’m sorry.

CN Tower Time-Lapse — Now, a time-lapse system YOU can control.

Crime Clock — Welcome to a perfect world.

Fourteen Things That Took Me Over 50 Years to Learn — Nothing to say about this one.