Spicy Stuff

I really don't like the last post...

2007-05-26T20:19:00.000-05:00

I had a tick on my ass today... it was terrible.

Now to remove that image from your mind click the link and listen to their podcast:

The Sowerby and Luff Show

Specifically, listen to episode #14... I'm mentioned in it!

Yay.

Lets make them more depressed..

2007-03-21T13:19:00.000-05:00

Saw this in the sidebar on CNN. I don't know what effect they were going for but the lettering of "Life After Work" looks too angelic to me. Perhaps it really should say, "Life After Death." They very well may have been trying to imply that retirement is a kind of death, and in a away I agree. However, I don't want to be reminded of that. I am no where near retirement, but I don't need any reminders of it from a morbid editor/artist. And I am definitely not going to read their advice...

If I had Photoshop here at work I'd whip-out a parody of this lettering. There are tons of other things like death that you don't need to be reminded about. Like, "Life After Divorce" or "Life After Lunch"...

Poll: Font Name

2007-02-08T12:22:00.000-05:00

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Bonus points if you can figure out what the third option means. First one to post the answer in a comment wins.

I had a meeting with the Bobs

2007-02-08T08:07:00.000-05:00

Next week I am taking some required training on how to use a particular piece of software. This training is mandatory before you are allowed to make edits in the software. I present to you the prerequisite computer skills for this training, which reinforce the un-necessity of the training...

Computer Skills Readiness Checklist:

Computer

Turn on computer
Turn on monitor
Shut down monitor
Shut down computer (software and hardware)
Turn on printer
Turn off printer

Keyboarding Skills

Comfortably use the QWERTY keyboard
Use of Backspace key
Use of Insert key
Use of Tab key
Use of function keys
Use of Shift key in conjunction with other keys
Use of Control (Ctl) key
Use of Esc key
Use of Num Lock key
Use of Enter key
Use of Alt key
Use of Delete key
Use of Page Down key
Use of Page Up key

Mouse

Navigate with mouse
When to right click
When to left click
How to double click
When to single click
When to double click
Use the menu bar with mouse and drop-down menus
Click and drag
Highlight with arrow using the mouse
Highlight text with mouse

Functions in a Windows Environment

Save a document
Tab between fields
Back tab between fields
Open a file
Close a file
Use a print menu
Use a print icon to print
Determine use of other icons
Minimize a window, maximize a window
Keyboard shortcuts
Work on a desktop
Start a program
Close a program
Multi-tasking
Electronic mail or electronic notification system

I wonder if these skills were left off the list by accident:

Human

Breathing
Ability to see
Utilize a minimum 0.001% of brain or at least pretend to
Must have a brain or a doctor's note explaining absence

etc...

Anyway, what event caused this checklist to be added in the first place? I can't imagine any situation that resulted in somebody saying "Gee, we better make sure they can click the mouse and push the up key."

And now for your semi-regular dry erase board art piece...

Overheard in My Office

2007-01-31T10:39:00.000-05:00

"My brains are not in my butt."
-- my boss

25% Photoblog

2007-01-30T21:13:00.000-05:00

3 sides of me

bathroom001

put that in your mouth

kitty tri-force

oh... yay... ?

power core

toxic hand

the three positions in the red hall

Zero's Red Light District

TYSEN

What to do...

2007-01-25T09:50:00.000-05:00

Answer this question for me... leave comments with other ideas. Like maybe I should make up more polls for people to answer!

Get Free Research Polls

Back Off, Birdman!

2006-12-29T11:29:00.000-05:00

It's only 11:30 AM and I've already watched half of the first disc of the Harvey Birdman Attorney At Law Vol. 1 DVD.

Also, I am switching over to the new blogger, sorry if the rss feed gets some dupes.

Eating: Wasabi Peas
Listening: What Apology (Album) By Gunter Schulz (he personally mailed me the CD and signed it!) [slick idiot]

And perhaps with the new blogger I won't be using technorati tags anymore...

Metro Evactuation...

2006-12-07T08:03:00.000-05:00

Today a Blue Line Metro car headed towards Largo Town Center had to be evacuated due to a suspicious looking package. The call came in from car #2831. Mrs. Josie Dempelton, a 63 year old lobbyist from Alexandria, first noticed a small plastic bag with strange lumpy items underneath a seat. At first she thought it was owned by the dashing handsome man sitting above it. But then he exited the train and left it behind.

"Then I go worried. I hear those service messages about suspicious packages all the time. I never thought that I really see one."

The bomb squad was called in as the train approached Capitol South. As the train was being evacuated an homeless rider had a psychotic breakdown and began screaming and push the other commuters. The ensuing stampeded knocked down Billy Liltish, a custom pillow designer from Iowa. If it hadn't been for his amply stocked backpack of supplied he would have been trampled to death.

The situation was resolved when the bomb squad discovered the suspicious bag was nothing more than a lunch containing one banana, a pear, some cherry tomatoes, and a vanilla custard style yogurt.

Police Commissioner Jufee Gabradino told reporters, "We're glad to see that this dangerous situation turned out to be a false alarm. The lunch's owner seems to be a healthy person and probably meant no harm. I hope he brought lunch money.

Wii ... Wii ... Wii ... uuhhhg, my arm is so Wiieak!

2006-11-20T11:10:00.000-05:00

Since I am not find much news about the Wii online, I'll make some.

I pre-ordered my Wii three weekends ago and picked it up on the 19th, yesterday. Because the Wii tracks what you do on it I can say that I played for 5 hours and 56 minutes yesterday. My right bicep is a tad sore today.

System

The Wii Menu is pretty slick, ok so the hand pointer is really cool. I like holding the remote upside down, simple pleasures. However there aren't many channels available to play with right now. You've got the Mii channel which I thought was fun, particularly grabbing the Miis and swinging them around. I wish you could throw them. The forecast and news channel aren't available yet and the shopping channel is limited to only a few classic games for the virtual console. They should have let you download one classic game free with your purchase of the Wii. The mail system take a few minutes to figure out. There were a few times I wish it would have popped up with more info about what I was supposed to be doing on a particular screen. At least connecting to the internet was a sinch! But then again I am a computer guy so know about that stuff.

Web

I wanted to go read more about the Wii on Nintendo's website, but the large amount of traffic from the Wii sale seemed to have taken the web site down. I am not sure if the Wiis themselves were doing it. I can imagine the WiiConnect24 or the software updates would be on the same serves as the web site.

WiiSports

I really like these. They are fun to play and actually give you quite a work out if you really get into them. Tennis and Bowling are my favs, Boxing is my least fav. I am dissapointed there isn't a central stat viewing screen for all the data about your Wiithaleat.

Monkey Ball

I am not sure how the previous Monkey Ball games were as I only played them a few times, but this one it seems fun so far. The choice of the "twist" motion for the menu system I think was a poor one. Waving or pointing are much better even if less accurate for the visual metaphor. The main game is like the old wooden games where you have a metal ball or marble on a maze like surface, and the surface was tilted on two axises by little knobs. Only in Monkey Ball the knobs are replaced by the remote (which should just be called the Wiimote, so much easier than Wii remote). You start by holding the remote flat and it corresponds with the current level. The level is floating in the air your the movement of the Wiimote is the movement of the level. The monkey actually stays relatively fixed. The directions explaining how to play don't even touch upon this idea, which would reduce the games learning curve. The instructions say to twist left to make the monkey go left, they should have had an interactive demo session where you were given a little level to play with or a image of the Wiimote on screen so you could get some nice visual feedback.

As for the party games, some make you do a synchronizing step with a ladybug and flower but they don't make it clear what you are doing. You are actually creating a three dimensional zero point, usually fixed with the center of the game area. You almost have to mentally picture a game board in front of you to function in the game properly. If you were to move around the room after setting your zero point you'd have a lot of trouble playing the game. Some games are very frustrating, but most aren't.

Since I am fan of disc golf, I do like the game version, but find it difficult to deal with trees. When I hit a tree the next throw it alway difficult because you can see the disc on screen. Every other time I thought I turned enough but hit the tree again. Because you play first person but the monkey throwing the disc in game is actually 3D things get confusing. It would have been better to show you the monkey so you could see where his arm and disc are in relation to the obstacles in front of you.

Your thoughts?

The Dilbert Blog: The Future of Voting

2006-11-15T16:47:00.000-05:00

The Dilbert Blog: The Future of Voting

My comment to the above post:

A few people mentioned Digg as being a kind of basis for a voter information/education system, but in order to incorporate some of the features you wanted you'd have to combined Digg with a social networking platform. The social portion would have to be regulated and actively solicited to those retired generals and economists you want to hear from. Key people post information and debate while the general community rates and agrees with their arguments. You couldn't just use the current systems because none are designed to help people see both sides of the topic. It would take careful planning and visualization to effectively inform people. Now, while I not the person who can make this kind of system I'd gladly beta test it!

Memorable Moments...

2006-11-15T13:07:00.000-05:00

Today at work I watched this...

Too Cheap To Come Up With My Own Material

2006-11-08T14:07:00.000-05:00

Frito-Lay Angrily Introduces Line Of Healthy Snacks

The headline and picture are best parts of the story... here is a larger version of the picture...

Also, I coined a new term.... "Copy 'n Post" a kin to "copy and paste" ... definition: it's what I just did to make this blog post.

Aesop's Tables?

2006-10-22T18:47:00.000-05:00

My book says "Aesop's Fables" but I always referred to them as Aesop's Tales. Anyway, I've been reading a big book of them (on the crapper!). These are my two favs right now.

The Mouse, The Frog, and The Hawk

A mouse and a frog struck up a friendship. They were not well suited for each other, for the mouse lived entirely on land, while the frog was equally at home on land or in the water. In order that they might never be separated, the frog tied himself and the mouse together by the leg with a piece of thread. As long as they kept on dry land all went fairly well; but, coming to the edge of a pool, the frog jumped in, taking the mouse with him, and began swimming about and croaking with pleasure. The unhappy mouse, however, was soon drowned, and floated abut on the surface in the wake of the frog. There he was spied by a hawk, who swooped down on him and seized him in his talons. The frog was unable to loose the know which bound him to the mouse, and thus was carried off along with him and eaten by the hawk.

No moral was given with this story, so I'll accept suggestions.

The Lion and The Boar

One hot and thirsty day in the height of the summer a lion and a boar came down to a little spring at the same moment to drink. In a trice they were quarreling as to who should drink first. The quarrel soon became a fight, and they attacked one another with utmost fury. Presently, stopping for a moment to take breathes they saw some vultures seated on a rock above, evidently waiting for one of them to be killed, so that they might fly down and feast on the carcass. The sight sobered them at once, and they made up their quarrel, saying, "We had much better be friends than fight and be eaten by vultures.

No morel for this one, but I think it's more obvious.

"Share and play nice or be eaten by vultures."

Voicemail Remix Contest & Kevin's Quest

2006-10-06T12:56:00.000-05:00

Hey all you DJs and music producers out there, you have got to listen to this track and remix it!*

But, seriously, I think aliens or demons from the future left a message on my home voicemail.

Click here to listen to the strangest message I've ever received! (strange_message.mp3)

The only thing I've done to this file is adjusted the volume a bit. The tone you hear at the beginning of the message was much louder than it is now.

What confuses me the most, and is the reason why I don't think this was a fax machine, is the click at the end of the message. It sounds like something hung up the phone. Do modems simulate the sound of the phone hanging up?

* I have a nearly uncompressed wav file if you want to remix it, or maybe you could just try to make some sense out of it.

Now, behold, my first ever adventure comic!

Click for larger size!

Blog ideas I don't have time to delve into...

2006-09-27T15:47:00.000-05:00

Listening to the Mortal Kombat movie soundtrack recalls memories of playing Dark Forces.

Some other music which I can't remember always reminds me of playing Legend of Zeld: Ocarina of Time.

Yet some other kind of music reminds me of my friend Susan.

Raising kids is similar to programing a computer, just a really advanced one. I wonder if I'll be better at it because a) I really like and want kids or b) I know how to program computers? "Eat yout peas or I'll put you in a 'While True' loop until I feel like 'ctrl-breaking' you out!"

Why I never have water in my cup when I want to take my vitamins?

You [Help Me] Decide...

2006-09-21T09:16:00.000-05:00

I am having trouble figuring out which is better.

Sweet then salty,

Or

Salty then sweet?

Thoughts?

Back to the grind... plus displeasure!

2006-09-18T13:52:00.000-05:00

I am back in the USSA, it's nice to be home where everything dysfunctions just like I expect it to.

On a sad note, the mean webfilters here at work have touched my no-no area and really upset me. Flickr is now blocked. I am one smidge away from proxy land, I wonder if I can hold out for the whole week. Perhaps I can set it up to funnel my traffic through some TOR boxes, I hope those German police don't seize too many servers (I know the TOR stuff isn't probably all in Germany, but I really don't know much else)... maybe I can sign up for Relaxx.

[PAUSE]

2006-08-30T13:57:00.000-05:00

This blog has been paused because I will be OOT* and aboot for the next two weeks. Where will I be? Probably, somewhere near here.

There will be probably a million posts and a trillion pictures related to it when I get back.

For now why not amuse yourself with this neato comic.

Or maybe you should check out my Bendy-Reflecty photo set.

*Out Of Town

GPS - Geocaching

2006-08-26T16:08:00.000-05:00

*This post is going to be edited several times, I am testing out some stuff. Come back and read the final version tomorrow.*

I'll explain this later, I'm just happy I got it to work (but don't hold me to that I haven't tested it in IE).

To view the map at full size go here.

HELLO

I had to do a find and replace on the map.xml file generated by RoboGEO to correct for the actual location of the images. I searched for "href='IMG" and replaced it with "href='http://www.hotcactuspepper.com/photos/GPS/GeoHunting0819/IMG". And one for "src='IMG". This is because it encoded the html to be stored in an XML attribute.

Sleeping Right? AND Pirate Baby Cabana Battle...

2006-08-23T09:36:00.000-05:00

First I'd like to provide to everybody a nifty little service. I have developed two charts that should help you get a good night's sleep! Grab them here:

Tysen's Sleep Chart

There is a "Sleep" chart and a "Wake" chart. On the sleep chart you pick the time you need to wake up and then based on how much sleep you want to get you figure out when you need to go to bed. The wake chart is just the opposite. First you find the current time, decide how much sleep you want, and then figure out what you should set your alarm to.

Picture Samples

For a little more info on sleep cycles check out this link. One thing I learned here is that we loose the ability to use our skeletal muscles when in REM sleep. I have had many vivid dreams where I distinctly remember not being able to move as I normally would. In my dream it would feel as if I was pinned down even while standing. I could move around as the dream directed, by as soon as I felt like I wanted to change the course I couldn't. I would consciously think, "I need to move over there" and not be able to do it. Or I'd try to run and I would only manage a stumbling trot. I knew I was dreaming and didn't understand why it was that I couldn't move properly. Perhaps it's because I actually couldn't in reality!

Lastly, you've got to check this out!

Click the image to read all about it on Wikipedia. The link to the video download can be found here. If you like any of the following you should watch it: Old style side-scrolling action video games (think Double Dragon, Final Fight, or TMNT); Anime Style Charaters; Clever Artwork; Special Moves; Zombies; etc.

Office Space-like & Google's new service "Ass* Words"

2006-08-22T09:08:00.000-05:00

Similar to the Office Space Innetech employees I have several bosses. While they don't usually stop by my office (which is not a cube, but it might not last), they do feel a need to forward me every memo they get. I usually end up with 3 or 4 copies of the same thing in my email inbox. The part that really gets me is the email that delivered the memo to them was also sent to me. And yet they click "Forward" and send it to me anyways.

Yesterday one of my bosses disliked my usage of the word "assess" in a memo I had written. He said it seemed like I was talking about a bunch of asses. So me and Matt decided to see how many "ass*" words we could work into a few sentences and then resubmit them as a "updated" version of the memo. Below is my contribution. Stats: 25 unique ass* words all used fairly correctly, 29 total ass* word.

The assurgent insurgent became an assertive assassin after assaulting the commander's assistant in the ass with an assegai. The assistant failed to assuage the commander's fears that the assembly's assiduous assessment of the assorted assets assimilated from surrounding associations was unfavorable. It had been the commander's assignment to assay the assets and the asshole assistant had assured him everything was A-OK so the commander assented. The insurgent did not assume the assistant was being truthful and decided to assail him. And with this story told the ass assonance has been asseverated.

Fishin' Photos

2006-08-20T12:35:00.000-05:00

So I went fishing a few weeks ago. Click on any of the pictures to go to the photo gallery. And here are some links to the Delta Sig Alumni Club event, a National's baseball game.

HotCactusPepper.com Gallery

DCDeltaSig.org Gallery

Other news... lets see:

I did upgrade to the Garmin 60CSx, it's much better.
Saw SNAKES ON A PLANE... but that was probably obvious already. However, you need to see it.
Went Geocaching (I like to call it GeoHunting), more on this later.
I am about to go play disc golf.

Snake on my brain... shit!

2006-08-19T00:59:00.000-05:00

I played magic afterward, thank to matt.. It blew.

If you haven;t seen sankes on a plain then you is missing out.

SNAKES On A PLANE!

Whammy isn't going to make it!

I need to talk to my therapist.

GPS's only half as smart as you'd expect...

2006-08-17T09:48:00.000-05:00

With a GPS you can figure out where you are.* They can even record where you've been and help you go back the way you came. But apparently, if you want to save your path you are not allowed to know when you took it.

I have a Garmin Vista Cx, which I am thinking about exchanging for a 60CSx.*** I recorded some tracks from this past weekend when I was camping/sleeping in my car/stargazing/driving around at night. I went back to analyze the data and to match it up with some photos I took, but I have come to learn that the saved tracks don't contain any timestamps!**

Apparently you only ever need to know where you've been, but when you were there is too trivial.

After some exploring I found that the GPS does, in fact, record the date and time. But this info is only in the "active" tracks. Once you save the active track you loose all datetime info. So you have to download the active tracks if you want the timestamp data. Oh and there is a catch! If the GPS looses satellite signal then it starts a new active track. You have to manually combind these separate active tracks into one. And you can't name the track in your GPS because that requires saving it. So much for manipulating tracks on the fly.

However, all the features that I only kind-of need work great!

* unless you are inside a building, in a thick forest with only a patch antenna (so it seems), or have your finger over the antenna.
** waypoint only save the date & time is you put them in the comment field (at least it comes prepopulated that), so I hope you don't have another comment you'd rather make.
*** people who had the same problems that I've had with the Vista Cx said the 60CSx worked great for them... I hope the same is true for me.