netgear update

An update on the Netgear drama...

After the surgery, there was a brief scare when the network adapter lapsed back into being retarded, but it's condition has since stabilized. Although it sports a significant scar (not to mention the huge heat sink protruding from it), it's doing well. Aside from the one relapse the day of the operation, it's been doing well ever since.

Hurray!

fin

So sometime towards the middle of last year I bought a large quantity of books. I finally finished one of them. Yes, four volumes of Romance of the Three Kingdoms is now done. Although I might read it again at some point. Despite the enormous number of characters, poor editing, and plain old biased perspectives, it was a great read.

So what's next? Um... I think I'm going to focus on writing for the next couple of months. Then I'll shift back to photography, and then maybe I'll do a bit of reading. :-)

damn

You know how I've moved every single year since I graduated from college? Finally this year I was able to stay put for over a year (been here since June 2004). I was going to stay here till August 2006, but it looks like things aren't going to work that way. Real bummer, especially considering that I'm trying my best to focus all my time and energy on grad school applications. These essays aren't going to write themselves, you know!

american cheese sucks

I just ate some, but I stand by my assertion that American cheese sucks. Brie is so much better for anything that American cheese is good for....

Although I've never tried Brie on a hamburger... couldn't imagine it being worse though. More fat and cream = better, right?

damnit netgear

Damnit NetGear... you made me do it.

For almost half a year I dealt patiently with your crap hoping that eventually you would end your rebellious stage and behave like a good network adapter.... but no.... you made me do it.

You could have worked flawlessly, or at least only die on me only periodically. But instead you chose to be fickle. I gave you your chances you bastard. I gave you more than your fair share of chances. But no, you had to be a pain in the ass.

My trials with your retarded behavior remind me of dealing with Sprint PCS. Months and months of crap with nothing to show. But finally, I decided to do something about it. I'm not proud, but it's not my fault... you made me do it!

You forced my hand. I wanted to leave you alone, but no. You forced me to whip out the surgical blade, slice you in half, then pry you apart with a screwdriver. Sorry... I didn't use a sterile blade... didn't give you any anesthesia. But hell, you deserve to suffer a bit after all the crap you put me through. Besides, it's for your own good, motherf*cker.

Now you sit in your normal spot, but you look a little different. Where's you're shiny grey jacket? Oh? Gone? What's that there in it's place? I see... a heatsink that I stole off my dead computer. Yes, your friends will all laugh when they see you. "What the hell is that wireless adapter doing with that gross heatsink on it?" they'll say as they point, appalled at the sight they see.

To be honest, I don't know why you need that thing either. Perhaps your true parents (yeah, you're adopted, bitch!) dropped you as a child. Or maybe it's just a birth defect. These things happen these days.

My intentions were good, I assure you. Maybe after you go a few weeks without passing out from the summer heat you'll realize that I'm really trying to help.

You had your chance. I saw you stumble, but I gave you a chance because I thought you could learn to walk on your own. Alas, I was wrong.

travel time

Yep. I just got more plane tickets!

Here's what's going on....
September 24-26: Boston
October 15-17: New York City
November 20 - December 13: New Zealand and Australia (and maybe even a little bit of LA)

Non-plane related travel:
September 27: Detroit
October or November: Alexandria, VA

speechalist

So there is a method behind the madness?

http://video.gprime.net/media/video/presidentialspeechalist.wmv

rsnrx

Yesterday I officially doubled my one of my investments. I had $2,200 invested in the RS Global Natural Resources Fund, and it's now appreciated by over $2,200. Not to brag, but that is simply amazing, especially considering I made that initial investment at the end of 2003, so it hasn't even been two years yet.

Do I feel bad that I didn't invest more? Absolutely not. Sure, it's doing great, but I wouldn't want to put everything I have in some risky sector fund. But heck, this is what I want out of my sector funds!

Am I going to put more money into it? It's tempting, but considering it's already performed so well, not only would it be naive to think it would continue, but the mere fact that it doubled already makes it a fair chunk of my portfolio. So no, I'm not. At least not until I have *a lot* more money.

craziness

Despite what you hear from the mass media, it looks like there's a whole 'nother ugly side to the nightmare by the Gulf that we don't even hear about.

http://www.nppa.org/news_and_events/news/2005/09/hurricane2.html

excerpts from the bible

With our given biblical names, these are the conversations that result....
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Paul: he has speakers
he wants bigger ones.... he doesn't need them
unless you get a hammer to hook up to it that would just pound the floor
....or his crotch.

Joseph: lol

Paul: feel the bass!

biz school websites

This is what I would call a rant... but here goes.

I've been looking at web sites of various biz schools to try to get a better feel of what they offer, etc. etc. Some are good, some are bad. Yes, they're full of surprises.

So far I've looked at Kellogg, Fuqua, U Chicago, Tuck, and Yale. So which one's outstanding?

U Chicago - Great school with a great reputation. Yes, everyone knows you, but you could really put some effort into your site's content. It tells me the most obvious things. Yes... great faculty, looking for diversity, great education. Of course! I challenge you to find a biz school that *doesn't* say any of those things. Would it be so hard for you to do a little bit more and work off the Chicago brand and try to differentiate yourself from all the other top schools?

Tuck - Awesome site. Provides a lot of information that really tries to give the essense of the Tuck experience. None of it was really new to me, but it certainly helped reinforce my image of what life at Tuck would be. The comraderie, the random sports, and the quality of the alumni network. Chicago GSB, you could learn from these guys. Anyone applying to either Chicago or Tuck is clearly looking for a quality program with great academics, diversity, etc. What us prospective students want to evaluate is fit, and other stuff that sets schools apart from each other. Tuck does an excellent job with this. Chicago fails.

Yale - Amateurish site. Not to talk smack, but I really expect a top notch school to have a site that's somewhat up to date. The Yale site has second class graphic design, poor organization, and poor communication design. The pages are a chore to read. The content is dry. It reads like a course catalog. How about something that would lead me to believe that this is a school that real people actually go to? The rational mindset brought me to your door. Now please try to use the emotional aspect to make me feel that it's OK to even consider stepping across the threshold... or at the very least, don't make me feel like turning away!