How about that? The Friday Five this week is about computers!!! My favorite subject!! (Other than sex!)

1. What kind of computer do you have? (Mac, iBook, Dell, etc.)
I have a computer I put together. Never have bought an entire computer. My specs are: AMD Sempron 2800+ CPU, 512 Mb DDR RAM, 160 Gb hard drive, SoundBlaster Live!, GeForce FX5200 128 Mb video card, DVD ROM, DVD Writer, 20-in-1 Card reader. (These are just in the tower). KC has an AMD Athlon 1400 CPU, 384 Mb RAM, 40 Gb hard drive, nVIDIA 16 Mb TNT video card, CD ROM, CD Writer. Yeah, I built hers from scratch too; much of it used to be my PC.

2. How old is it? Are you happy with it?
I got the most recent parts this summer. Yeah, I’m pretty happy with it.

3. How many computers are in your household? (at home if you are away at school)
Including Breezomatic’s PC (which she has at college), right now I have 5. Of course, only 3 are in working order at the present time.

4. What are your favorite games/timewasters on your computer?
Most of my “wasted time” is done by browsing the web. I do play Spider Solitaire, but it’s usually the web for me. It’s far more interesting.

5. If money were no object, what kind of computer would you like to have?
AMD Athlon64 (the fastest available), at least one gig of DDR RAM (again, the fastest available), at least a 200 Mb hard drive (maybe larger), the latest nVIDIA GeForce video card with at least 256 Mb RAM on board, a TV Tuner card interfaced with the video card, SoundBlaster Audigy, dual DVD writers, yeah, that’s the ticket.

Being a fan of JRR Tolkein, having read the books (many years ago) and having seen the movies, I am a fan of the Elves. Now, here’s a guy who shows you how to write your name in Elvish. So what’s my name?

It’s… It’s time… It’s time for… It’s time for the Thursday Threesome!

Onesome: Little – by little we work our way through the week. Do you have anything fun coming up this weekend or in the next week? …or maybe you’re ready for a little relaxation?
Nope. It’s going to be nice, what with all the running around we’ve been doing, to sit at home and veg out. Of course, there’s still trim on the house to paint and lawn to mow and … so much for vegging out.

Twosome: Lost – Do you get lost easily? …or are you one of those people who always seems to know where they are?
I’ve got a pretty good sense. However, unlike most guys, I’m not afraid to ask for directions. How can you know where you’re going if you don’t know where you are?

Threesome: Sheep – …and goats and rabbits and, and, and: What is the favorite critter you look forward to seeing at the petting zoo (if you’re a fair goer)? …and if not, well, which one would just as soon not run across on a walk around the block? I mean, if you were the type who walked around the block and the farm animals escaped from Farmer John’s truck on his way to the Fair…
I like most all animals. Sheep, goats, rabbits, squirrels, chickens, geese, turkeys, cows, hogs, yeah… I like ‘em all. Of course, they are usually better in a Hollandaise sauce!

Wednesday… Are you more… Here we go!

01) A believer that the medium is the message or a believer that the content is the message?
The content is the message. I don’t know who did the old quote, but it’s appropriate: “Don’t shoot me, I’m just the messenger.”

02) A Jack Russell Terrier or a Saint Bernard?
Between these two, a Jack Russell Terrier. A Saint Bernard would be cool in a farm setting or if you had acres of land, but where we are a little terrier is better. Besides, you’d have to buy 50 pounds of dog food a week for the Saint Bernard!

03) One who owns up to your mistakes easily or one whose experience has taught them to try to fix your mistakes before they are discovered?
Well, I try to fix them before they are discovered, but if they are discovered I’ll own up to them.

04) Someone who will eat in a diner with great food but isn’t much to look at or one who must go to a restaurant that is decent looking as well as having great food?
Eating is all about the food, not about the ambience or presentation. If the food is good, I’ll eat it anywhere.

05) A lover of poetry or not a lover of poetry?
Depends upon the poet. If it’s classic poetry like Homer or Shakespeare then yeah, I’m a poetry lover.

06) Into eating soups for lunch or into eating fried food for lunch?
I prefer the soups. It works in all but the hottest weather.

07) A thinker or a doer?
Kind of both. I’ll think about something a long while before doing. Once I get doing, though, get the heck out of the way!

08) One who thinks our global society is in a state of economic growth or one who thinks our global society is in a state of economic decline?
It’s in economic growth. Nearly every nation’s GDP is up, especially the US (which is the largest economy in the world).

09) One who thinks our global society is in a state of moral growth or one who thinks our global society is in a state of moral decline?
When you look at the lootings that apparently took place in New Orleans, I’d have to say it’s in a state of moral decline.

10) A person who will cut ahead in line with friends or a person who thinks any cutting in line, for any reason, is wrong?
Depends. If I’m in line for a while and then have to leave for something (typically the bathroom) then I’ll cut back in with friends. If I just walk up out of the blue, I’ll go to the end.

It’s a bit late with the post, but this last weekend was the Hanging Rock Run 2005. It is held in the small town of Redfield, Iowa. There’s a story behind it. You see, KC’s brother Randy was diagnosed with leukemia 8 years ago. He went through a bone marrow transplant and seems to have recovered completely (more on that later). The Hanging Rock Run was organized by KC’s brother Doug (and others) to help raise money for Randy during his chemotherapy stay in Omaha. It is a 5K run or a 2 mile fun-run, depending upon which course you choose. Well, this year, KC and I entered. We also made sure that ZDog, J and Breezomatic were entered as well.

The Take Me Back Tuesday is “Simple this week folks. Or so I hope.”; well at least that’s what the author says!

1. Name three songs either about beginnings or endings.
1. Beginnings (Chicago)
2. The End of the World As We Know It (REM)
3. The End of the Beginning of the End (Smashing Pumpkins)

2. Name three artists whose careers begin and end repeatedly.
1. The Rolling Stones (Just when you think you’ve heard the last of them, they come back again)
2. Van Halen (With Sammy or with David, they break up and get back together many times)
3. The Beatles (Because there seems to be more and more “lost tracks” being released?!)

3. Name three albums with beginning or end in the title.
1. Begin the Beguine (Xavier Cugat)
2. The Beginning (Chick Corea)
3. In the Beginning (Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble)

This week, the Friday Five is kind of a mish-mash without a central theme. Here we go.

Do you have a dream you will always strive to achieve until your dying day?
To make KC happy. I think I’ve kind of fallen into the old comedian’s line: “Yeah, I disappointed a LOT of women when I got married… now that I am married I can concentrate on disappointing just one.” I hope not to live down to that.

Do you believe in fate or free will, or something else?
I believe in free will. I believe God gives us a choice; we don’t always realize that we have a choice, but we do. As it says in the Rush song Free Will: “If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice.”

Marilyn Monroe. Conspiracy or tragic accident?
Tragic accident. Just because JFK couldn’t keep it in his pants (for the umpteenth time in his married life) doesn’t make it a conspiracy.

Favourite childhood sweets/candy?
I have always liked chocolate. I got a sweet tooth early in life as my grandparents ran a bakery and we got a lot of the “day-old” products; still good, but not display-case pretty.

Favourite cocktail (alcoholic or virgin) and it’s ingredients?
I’m not much on cocktails, alcoholic or otherwise. Just gimme a beer, preferably a dark beer.

Ya know what pisses me off the most about smokers? (Besides the fact that Breezomatic smokes) The way they are so cavalier about their ash and butts. It happened again today three freakin’ times.

• I’m in the car with Rick and Chris, we’re headed to lunch. The car in front of us has a smoker driving. I know he’s a smoker because he’s smoking. Then he reaches his arm out the window and flicks the ashes on the ground. One more puff and the cigarette is gone. Then he drops the butt to the ground in traffic. ARRGGHH!
• We’re on our way back from lunch (gyros, by the way; quite tasty!) and there’s a smoker in the car in front of us. Again, I know because she’s puffing away. Next up, she flicks the butt to the lane to her left – AT ONCOMING TRAFFIC! ARRGGHH!!
• Finally, it’s the end of the work day. I’m headed out. The door I use is clearly marked “No Smoking”. This smoker is walking towards the door; again I know she’s a smoker because she’s sucking up the smoke. Then she takes one last puff (the cigarette is not gone) and flicks half of the cigarette out into the lawn of the office. ARRGGHH!!!

Now I’m not against smokers in general. And I don’t really care about second-hand smoke; yeah, it’s irritating but it can be avoided if I want to avoid it. But why is it that so many smokers believe the ENTIRE WORLD is their ash tray?

Not one of my favorite Savage Garden songs, but nonetheless, an interesting title to transform into a Thursday Threesome. (This line is by the original author of the Thursday Threesome)

Onesome – Gunning – What is it that you have been gunning for lately?
Same thing I’ve been gunning for in the last couple of years. My MCP, followed by my MCSA, followed by my MCSE.

Twosome – Down – What brings you down?
Well, I try to not let anything get me down. Sometimes, though, it happens. We have two family members that have been given a very short time to live; one is in her 20’s and the other is retired, I’d say in his 70’s. Very sad, especially the gal in her 20’s. These will bring me down for a while.

Threesome – Romance – What’s the most romantic movie scene you can recall? Are there any scenes that get your heart-a-fluttering?
Ummmm, the finale in Debbie Does Dallas?! No, seriously: the most romantic movie scene was probably Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr in From Here to Eternity. If that don’t get ya in da mood, nuttin’ will!!!

A little late with Are you more…, but I got back home from Jersey tonight at 8:30 and just wanted to talk with KC first. Here we go.

01) One who remembers high school with fondness or one who remembers high school with bitterness?
A little of both. I grew about 9 inches in a year and a half and I was EXTREMELY self-conscious of my height. I had some good friends but I also remember being embarrassed most of the time by cutting remarks made by other classmates.

02) A believer in letting smart kids skip grades or a believer that skipping grades can lead to social awkwardness?
I think it depends upon the kid. In college, our student body president was 16 when he was a sophomore. He was a great person and socially confident as well as academically brilliant. However, there are too many who skip grades who are total outcasts.

03) Thinking the best take-out food is pizza or thinking the best take-out food is chinese?
Pizza, of course. Whoever heard of cold Chinese for breakfast?

04) A procrastinator or a “do it now” kind of person?
Let me get back to you on that…. definitely a procrastinator.

05) Believing young children (12 and under) can dress fashionably (trendy, expensive clothing) if they want to or believing that young children shouldn’t yet be concerned with such things?
No one should be concerned with such things, especially children. Too much is made of the labels. The only thing I want in my clothes is that the fit comfortably and I don’t look like a complete boob. Other than that I don’t care who makes them.

06) Thinking that learning by rote is best or thinking that learning by allowing personal study is best?
Certain things you just have to learn by rote. You know the old “readin’, writin’, and ‘rithmetic”. Once you get a good base of things you have learned by rote, though, personal study is the best.

07) Someone who could hook up a super-complicated home theatre system by yourself or someone who would have to hire somebody to hook it up?
I would want to do it myself. However, my wife would probably make me hire someone to do it for me.

08) The quarterback or the cheerleader?
How about the lineman? I’m not the QB and I’m definitely NOT a cheerleader. (Of course, if you said power forward, well, yeah…!)

09) Free with rendering your opinions to others or close-lipped on your opinions for the most part?
Close lipped unless I know my opinion will carry some weight. Some people just don’t want to hear what I have to say (mainly because it makes sense).

10) A worrier about things beyond your control or “why should I worry about that which I cannot change”?
I believe in the Serenity Prayer: “God grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the Courage to change the things I can, and the Wisdom to know the difference.” Why worry about things I cannot change?

Take Me Back Tuesday – Week 37. It’s all about the blues, baby! My kind of music! (I know these sound a little repetetive here, but they are my favorite blues artists)

1. Name three blues, swing or big band songs.
1. Pride and Joy (Stevie Ray Vaughan)
2. Lie to Me (Johnny Lang)
3. Was (Kenny Wayne Shepherd)

2. Name three blues, swing or big band artists.
1. Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble
2. Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band
3. Johnny Lang

3. Name three blues, swing or big band albums.
1. Texas Flood (Stevie Ray Vaughan)
2. Trouble Is (Kenny Wayne Shepherd)
3. Lie to Me (Johnny Lang)

So here I am in Parsippany, New Jersey (or Joizee as it is pronounced by the local accent). How did I find myself here? For work, of course. I’m configuring computers and setting up email and such. I’m supposed to leave Wednesday afternoon, but I’ve got most of the initial stuff done. What I have left to do is dependent upon others (back at Corporate HQ) to do their part. Anyway, maybe I’ll do more than hibernate in my hotel room tonight!?