"Land of the Free"?

Apparently not, according to this latest U.S. Supreme Court ruling. So much for private property rights, huh?

You know, this fiasco is precisely why we need to end this business of filibustering every judicial nominee that President Bush puts forth to the Senate.

The story speaks pretty much for itself. I just can't believe that 5 "judges" can trounce all over the 5th Amendment, which reads as follows:

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation [emphasis added].

Good thing there is still a 2nd Amendment...and I'm not joking.

Catharsis...

I was reading some friends' blogs about goals they'd set for themselves by certain ages, and those pangs of regret, long surpressed in the depths of my psyche (you know, down there with the faint light of dreams long ago dreamed) began to rear their collective ugly head. Almost at tears, I write.

Growing up, I had such lofty aspirations for myself. It may sound silly now coming from a man as fat and out of shape as I am, but I always wanted to be an astronaut. I remember seeing old footage of Neil Armstrong's historic landing on the moon and thinking to myself, "That is what I want to do! Something that hasn't been done before." As many of my elementary school teachers would tell you, I always had my nose stuck in books about the space program, particularly the Apollo program. I came to make a goal for myself: become the first human to set foot on Mars...or something equally as likely to land me a place in the history books.

And, for a time, all seemed well in proceeding toward that objective. In high school, I quickly rose to the top of my class. I graduated as valedictorian and headed to Georgia Tech to study nuclear engineering.

Then, I lost it all.

Now look at me. Overweight, out of shape, and stuck in a job at tech support while I finish out computer networking at a local tech school. My, how the mighty have fallen indeed. While I was at Georgia Tech, I had written down some goals for myself by the year 2010. I happened to find them in the murky waters of the My Documents folder on my computer. Suffice it to say I am nowhere near them.

Then again, is that necessarily a bad thing? I mean, I was a different person in the fall of 2000 when I wrote those as part of a stupid freshman orientation assignment. And different people have different goals, right? At least I have clothes, shelter, food, and family...and a woman who loves me dearly. Maybe instead of pining for the past, I should be on my knees thanking God what I do have.

"And I said: 'Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!'" Isaiah 6:5, English Standard Version

The saga continues

Ok, sorry for the lack of updates recently. Here's the latest with what is going on with my battle with the beast known as WPA-PSK. I am now on my second Linksys WRT54G router and still can't get it to connect with any of my computers.

Honestly, at this point, I am at my wit's end. I will try to contact Linksys support for further help on the issue, but it looks as if I am stuck with WEP for the time being. For more details, I have a thread going here under my gaming handle, Veridor.

For the record, check out BobXFett's post about nLite, which is perhaps one of the coolest programs I have ever used. Especially since it easily takes an hour after a fresh install of XP to get it tweaked and customized for my tastes. In short, nLite takes the work out of that by letting you slipstream service packs, hotfixes, tweaks, settings, etc. into a burnable disc image, or ISO. Basically, you get a fresh install that is pretty much up to date and pre-customized for you. Nice indeed.

...or maybe not.

Apparently, the router is to blame at this point. The D-Link adapter I purchased started doing the same thing as the Netgear adapater, as I described in my earlier post. So, I went to Best Buy and exchanged it for another router, so we'll see how things work tonight.

Some good news, though: I was correct in determining that the the DHCP client service had indeed been stopped. However, starting it was no easy matter. It kept telling me that it was failing to start because dependencies were failing. As I discovered, it was some remnants of Norton Antivirus remained after uninstalling it that were causeing the DHCP client service to fail to start. For more info, go here. Yet another reason to hate Norton, folks.

Nearing a solution...

By the way, I've learned how to do acronym title text in HTML, so anytime you see an acronym and want to know what is stands for, just hover the mouse over it and the spelled-out version will pop up. A perk of using Mozilla Firefox is the fact that acronyms with title text will be highlighted in the page, almost like a link.

Ok, I've been able to determine that my Netgear WG111 adapter is FUBAR. I have purchased a D-Link wireless USB adapter, and it picks up the wireless network fine. However, it won't get an IP address automatically, yet I know the DHCP is working because my computer that I use to configure the router is connected to the router directly through Ethernet and gets a dynamically assigned IP address just fine. It gets better, though. Apparently, it works properly when I statically assign an IP address to the adapter.

Thanks to my buddy Mark, I've determined the solution there. My first clue was that when I specified a static IP address, I had to restart my computer. Now, this is normal...if you are running anything prior to Windows 2000 Professional. Mark proceeded to inform me that this happens in Windows XP (which I have on both machines) when the DHCP Client Service is disabled. And, of course, a machine with that service turned off will not be able to get an IP address through DHCP.

So, tonight, I shall try to re-enable that service on the machine using the wireless to see if that works. If it does, I know I have a bad Netgear adapter and will proceed to RMA it to Newegg for refund (hopefully). Also, this will assure me that my router's DHCP server is fine, despite the fact that I will most likely not use DHCP in my network for security reasons, but I still want to know it works and is there if I want it.

Wireless woes...

In light of my parents' decision to acquire DSL within the month, I decided as my part of the deal to get a wireless router and adapter and set up the home network. Besides, when I move out, I'll be needing those anyway, and I'm a lazy bastard who doesn't feel like running cable. So, I purchased a Netgear WGR614v5 wireless router and a Netgear WG111v1 USB wireless adapter. I took it upon myself to set up the LAN side of things, especially since I'm paranoid about network security and wanted to get WPA-PSK up and running on the local side so that once the DSL is installed, I just hook it up to the WAN port and go. I thought that being a networking student, this would take me all of an hour or two.

5:30 AM rolls around the next morning and I STILL can't get the adapter and the router to communicate. I disabled all security, powercycled everything, upgraded/rolled-back/flashed/re-upgraded the firmware and drivers on both devices, etc., all to no avail. I have a post on it here on the Netgear forums, but no solutions as of yet. So, any of my readers (all one or zero of you) who happen to be wireless networking experts who can lend a hand, please do so, as I am at my wit's end.

Today's been interesting at work. One of the lead technicians called out, so they pulled me to be the second LT for ths shift. I like LT'ing as it is a challenge of sorts as I try to help techs who for some reason are stumped on their calls. But, I doubt they'll let me do this too often. Anyhoo, gotta run for the night.

Wow, I haven't touched this thing in years [literally]. I was actually pleasantly surprised to see that my old Blogger was still here. In the years since I've touched this one, I've been using Xanga and Livejournal (see links to the right). However, a couple friends at work (see their blogs in my handy sandy sidebar to the, you guessed it, right) showed me the new and improved blogger and I must say, it is quite nice. Highly customizable, like Livejournal. So, I decided to go with a new template and do some modification to it, as I am trying to relearn HTML and CSS.

In case you are wondering about the title of the blog, it's from Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, from the scene where Anthony turns the angry mob against Brutus after Caesar's assasination in Act 3.

I'm working tech support now, and I hate every minute of it. As soon as I get my networking degree and finish the MCSE program, I am out of here. For the curious, I am still dating Emily, though we did break up there for a while.

Can't think of much more to say, so there.

Today's mood: lonely and depressed.

Work was slow today. I work at a local coffee shop now, in case anyone cares. At any rate, apparently my depression or self-deprecating nature is affecting the other employees at work. Guess I am going to have to work on that.

For the most part I get along with my coworkers, except for this one girl. I won't say her name, but suffice it to say that she treats me without even the most basic courtesy or civility. She is all like, "Tim, stop apologizing to me!" But, if she weren't such a...well, better not say it, else risk setting back my growth in my faith. I guess I need to just avoid her. But, is it too much for me to want at least a basic friendliness from her. I'm not asking to be her best friend or anything. But, she treats total strangers better than I do. And as for bringing personal baggage to work, she is ok to customers unless she is in a bad mood, in which case she treats everyone like a...well, you know.

Otherwise, it's been a rather uneventful day. Don't know why I'm feeling down. Oh well, such is the nature of human life, I suppose.

Wow, I haven't updated this thing in the better part of a year or soemthing. Well, a lot has changed now. I'm back home in Rock Hill. After the initial blow up fro my folks about the quitting GT thing, they are supportive of me in my new endeavor. I am now at the local tech school getting certified in computer networking, the Cisco and Microsoft tracks (CCNA and MCSE/MCSA respectively).

Emily and I broke up about 3 or 4 moths ago after 18 months together. Don't really know why we broke up, but I do know that it was and is for the best. A lot better to break up before marriage than after getting married to someone. I should know, being the child of divorced parents. It's hell on the kids. I would rather remain single the rest of my life than go through that.

Not seeing anyone right now, as much as I may want a special girl in my life. But, what else is new? I've been on a few dates, butmost of them went south. Except for this one girl I went out with this week. She is really nice and fun to be around (and quite attractive to boot). She says she doesn't want a romantic relationship now, which is ok. I mean, one shouldn't want that sort of realtionship with anybody until he/she gets to know that person.

Well, it's late. Better hit the hay. Work in the morning and all that.

Whew, it has been a LONG time since I updated this thing. A lot has changed in my life. I am now back home and am in my second semester at a local technical college, trying to get into the local university and major in computer science. By leaving GT, I put myself about a year behind schedule, but I am glad. I hated it down there. I do miss my friends there. Oh well.

Anyways, I am doing well, just trying to work my way through college. Emily and I are great; we just celebrated our one-year anniversary last month. Only a year has passed? Hmm.

Well, spring classes start tomorrow, and I have to get up early. Later.

Oh, by the way, I forgot to mention this in my lasty post, but the times at which it says the posts are made are in Pacific Time, which is three hours behind Eastern Time. FYI.

Man, it's been a while since I've been able to update this thing, what with finals coming up and all. Aside from a headache, today is going well. I'm a little worried about my finals, but I'll do what I can. Besides, in the long run, is it really that important? I mean, yeah I want to be successful at whatever I choose to do with my life, but success isn't everything. Well, lemme clarify that. I mean success in the world's eyes isn't everything. In other words, I'd rather be a success in God's eyes and fufill the plan he has for my life than make tons of money.

I really miss Emily, but I'll get to see her soon enough.

It's kinda odd, but all my friends at CCF are trying to talk me out of leaving. But my mind is made up. I'm leaving. But they talk as if I am dying or something. Well, I am far from dead, my friends. Not yet at least. Anyhoo, I'm not making a mistake in leaving. The only mistake I made was not leaving sooner. Oh well, hindsight is always 20/20 isn't it?

Man, I really need to sell my paintball gun. I want to build a new system for myself, but no one seems to want my gun. Even if I decide on holding off on building a new computer, I could use the money. Oh well, I trust it will work out one way or the other. I love paintball, and I hate to have to get out of it, but it is just getting too darned expensive, especially for the little amount I get to play.

Well, I had a great weekend. Got a lot of stuff taken care of, as well as spend quality time with my family and Emily. I also got some real food for a change. Dad made some awesome ribs Saturday evening for supper.

I also got to see the new addition to our family for the first time: Sophia Grace, my new half sister. She is a cute one, and a fairly quiet baby as far as babies go. She is just over a week old. Funny thing is, when she goes to college, I'll be pushing forty...ouch.

Only 2 more weeks until I am out of this infernal institute. Good-bye Tech!

I am really looking forward to the summer. Working at my job with Duke, spending time with Emily (oh yeah, you can bet on it), hanging with my brother, and spending time with my family, whom I rarely get to see, even more so since I started college.

Well, it's a new day, and I'm busy as always. Later.

Whew, what a day. I feel exhausted, no matter how much sleep or how many naps I get. But, I am heading home this weekend. Not really looking forward to the drive, but it'll be worth it. Not only do I get to move some of my junk home (saving Dad a trip with the truck) and get some real food and get to see my family, but I also get to spend precious time with Emily.

Bible study tonight at CCF was good, but I had trouble staying awake from my lack of sleep. Man, I really should get some more sleep.

And I am NOT looking forward to finals, but oh well. They are inevitable. I am just eager to end my career at Tech and start anew, whether it be at Clemson or a community college or what not.

I sure do miss my friends from high school. But sometimes when we are hanging out, I feel a lack of connection. Maybe because of the identity shock Tech afforded me. In high school, I was the brains, plain and simple. I mean, that was just who I was--how I defined my existence. But now that has changed. Since I stink at school now, I had to look to another source for self worth and significance...God. Only He is eternal and permanent and immutable. No matter what happens in this life on Earth, I have peace in that He will never leave nor forsake me. I just wished I had learned this sooner.

Well, I am getting tired. That's all for tonight.

Well, here it is. I have decided to start a weblog (or, blog) as an online journal. Not quite sure why. Perhaps someone will benefit from my story. If it makes a positive difference in one person's life, then great. If not, then maybe it'll be good for a laugh.

So, anyhoo, where do I start? A little about myself, perhaps? Ok. I'm currently a nuclear engineering student at Georgia Tech. However, this is my last semester here. Several factors have prompted me to transfer. On the one hand, I am excited about leaving GT, which I am not too fond of, but on the other, part of me is worried. What will I major in at Clemson (the school I'm transferring to)? What am I going to do for the rest of my life? But you know, I just got to have faith. Faith that it will all work out according to God's plan. And you know what, for the first time, I am finally glimpsing that reality.

Hobbies...well, I'm into paintball, computers, video games, hanging out, etc. ad nauseum. I also am an aspiring bass player, although I don't practice nearly as often as I should. I also try to be a well rounded individual, with such interests as music, literature, art, cars, planes, and so on. I am equally content with hanging with my friends or a quiet evening at home.

Well, that's about all for now. I have so much to do before finals. Also, I want to chat with my girlfriend, whom I can't wait to see again. I love you, Emily.