Howard's Rambling on

Christmas come Christmas go

2009-12-27T22:10:00.001-06:00

Well, what did you find under the tree? My kids got enough money from all the different folks who gave them money to buy a WII. If I'd known these things were so much fun I would have had one a long time back. Right now we just have the basic sports game that comes with it. But I've found I'm pretty good at Boxing, but I stink at bowling. Not surprising, 'cause I'm not that good at bowling.

Jingle Bells, to you too buddy!

2009-12-19T00:12:00.003-06:00

Hehehehe. I couldn't help it. I'm not exactly a Jingle Bells kinda guy. Well, Christmas time has rolled around on us once again. You know, I'm not nearly as big a fan of Christmas since I've had to start paying for it. However, I have been the Beneficiary of a wonderful surprise. Here is a couple of poor pics (but you'll get the idea) of my Shop Smith Mark 5 520 system. I have wanted one

Seeking and Getting Help

2009-12-06T01:04:00.000-06:00

Ok, I've talked about the Keys to Prayer, the Foundations to prayer and all that kind of thing. Well, this isn't exactly in that line or series of thoughts, but kind of related. I've had to both provide and seek help while building / remodeling houses, Concrete forming, plumbing, Dry walling, Working on Cars, and Working on Computers (both hardware and Software). I'm not good at the dry wall

Spiritual Endeavors Part 2b - Foundations of prayer

2009-11-24T22:15:00.002-06:00

We've covered the keys to prayer, so now we're going to cover the foundations of prayer, and yea even later the attitudes of prayer. (You know like thankfulness, etc.) Foundations are that upon which all the other things are built. I used to be in construction, building and remodeling homes, and even spent some time, concrete forming. They all start the same, first you dig down to rock,

Google - Chrome - Chromium OS or whatever its gonna be called

2009-11-23T21:44:00.001-06:00

Well, Google has decided to get into the OS market. I like Google well enough, I use their products, email, blogger, contacts, even Android now. I don't use all their products, mainly because they're not nearly as "Open Source Friendly" as this OS might make them appear. Granted most of what they're doing may be due to market, and their desire to penitrate and get visibility. Anyway. I have

Spiritual Endeavors Part 2a - Keys to Prayer

2009-11-09T22:21:00.002-06:00

We've covered the need for Spiritual Disciplines, even though it was somewhat brief. This entry will cover prayer. This is the most basic, and generally is the first discipline practiced by a new believer. Prayer is the enigma of the ages for new believers because its represented in Scripture so many ways. It can be simple, such as the publican's "Lord be merciful to me a sinner" prayer, or it

Upward Flag Football

2009-11-08T15:28:00.000-06:00

Michael, my son, has now played two seasons of flag football. I really like the layout, and mission of the way they do things. Of course, it's flag football, so, there's no tackling. This is what the wife likes best. Michael has already broken his collar bone twice, so needless to say, she's a little concerned. However, with Upward every player is guaranteed to play, and to play every spot.

DROID phone and Other New Tech

2009-11-07T10:50:00.007-06:00

Wow it has been a long time since I've done this. Got distracted by a few things. Trying to get back on to new and exciting technology. First up is the new DRIOD phones, well to be more accurate "Android" based phones. I like 'em so much I ordered myself the Verizon version. They have at least 2, the DROID, and the DROID eris. They have some really cool, and fun apps, like the screen fogger

Bike Almost a year old

2009-03-07T21:45:00.009-06:00

It's been a long time between posts. I don't think anyone is reading this thing anyway. Well, I'm nearly 2 months shy of the Bandit's 1 year Anniversary, but I've got 8669 miles on her already. I'm really enjoying ridding it. I've taken some much better Pictures because I helped my daughter buy a digital camera, a real one that is. hehehe. Here 'tis after a good washing, and chain lubing. I

Tires on the Bike

2008-08-01T20:15:00.004-06:00

Well, I ordered, received, and have had the Michelin's mounted. I got that last part done today. If the Michelin's last 8K that would be 289 (what they actually cost me) plus 133 (to get them mounted and balanced, includes the greedy uncle's part - tax) = 422 dollars. 422/8000= .05 cents per mile. Not bad. If they only last 6K that comes up to .07 cents per. So, what I have to do is save up

Tires, Laptops, and Surgery

2008-07-23T20:47:00.006-06:00

Well, I've put over 4200 Miles on the Bandit since putting her on the road. The problem is that she now has balding tires. They may have a run or two to work left in them, but they didn't do so well on the last one, so I've garaged her for now. I've been debating on whether to buy Michelin's Pilot Road 2s or Shinko's 009 Ravens. I can get the Ravens for 185.48 (front and rear), but the

MC Clubs and Things

2008-06-15T17:15:00.004-06:00

I'm a member of quite a few forums these days. I frequent Bandit Alley, RiderForums, and browse around some on ADVRider, but not much. I was informed that the defunct Suzuki Owners Club of the USA was pretty much dumped in favor of Suzuki Owners Club of North America (Link Here). I remember early on finding the European version which seems to have thousands of members, and thought it would be

New Fun in Riding and Cardo Rider Teamset

2008-06-12T06:53:00.004-06:00

Well, I've decided to just ride the bike until the wheels fell off. Since I've been unsuccessful in my attempt to keep the thing looking brand new (thanks to fall overs) I might as well just forget about the looks and just ride it. Well, I've discovered there's freedom in them there hills. Last night I rode the kids to and from Church just for the fun of it, and they LOVED it. The back roads

God is Good

2008-06-11T21:11:00.002-06:00

I have been a little down lately, since I resigned the Church. So, God has graciously worked out some things to show me just how bad things can get if I don't get my head and heart back in the right place. My bike has fallen over twice, once in each direction, so as to break both levers (clutch and brake) and both front turn signals and scratch the really pretty hard case side color matching

Google's garbage had to go

2008-06-10T21:14:00.003-06:00

Well, I finally upgraded to Firefox 3. I have been holding out waiting for Google to get off its duff and update the Firefox extensions. If you remember I ranted about this in an earlier post. Well, I finally said forget it. I found out one of my biggest problems with Firefox on Linux was Google's fault!! The toolbar was the problem all along. The problem? I could not open more than 2

Data Center Power Downs and DR

2008-05-28T19:56:00.003-06:00

IF you have been in IT for very long you have experienced a Data Center power down. Of course, the smaller the shop the less of a headache it should be. I've been around about 4 of them, 1 was when the transformer blew up down town and took the then "inflow" data center with it. The company I worked at then just had to wait because the Fire Marshall was not smart enough to understand the

Suzuki's Stupidity and Dealer's Impressiveness

2008-05-22T04:20:00.005-06:00

I have to brag on the Dealer in Mt. Juliet, while at the same time seriously warning anyone who buys the Hard Case and Top Case Saddle bags from Suzuki! Since I bought the bike we have waited for the Top Case mount, well, it came in last week finally. The problem was that Suzuki kept telling the Dealer (Precision Motorsports) that it was on its way when in fact it wasn't. Not only that, but on

Old Timer's Day Dickson Tennessee

2008-05-04T15:41:00.004-06:00

This weekend was Old Timer's Day in Dickson, TN. My daughter is a part of American Heritage Girls (AHG), (an alternative to Girl Scouts. As the GS allow gays to lead troops, and AHG has a strong Christian focus). So, she was on a float, and then at 4 was in a fashion show (My Mom sews and does embroidery). Who ever was responsible for the activities needs a serious education. Here's my

New Kubuntu 8.04

2008-05-04T15:14:00.003-06:00

There has been some controversy about the latest version of (K/X)Ubuntu. They decided not to tag the Kubuntu part as LTS (Long Term Support) because of the incoming version 4 of KDE. I think it was utterly stupid considering they'll have to take some kind of stand regarding KDE over every variation of Ubuntu if that is truly their stand. The question I have yet to get answered is "What

Practice Run on Bandit

2008-04-29T20:48:00.002-06:00

Well, I went out for test run today. WOW! The bike has great balance, its almost as easy to drive as those 250's in the MSF course. I drove a total of around 18 miles I think, but I did some sharp corners, u-turns, ran to Wal-Mart, etc. The problem I have is taking off in the subdivision. For some reason I don't give it enough gas, and stall it. Oh, well, I'll get over that. Stupid here

Certified or Certifiable?

2008-04-28T19:01:00.004-06:00

Yes. :-D. I passed the MSF (Motorcycle Safety Foundation) course over the weekend! I'm now, in the words of the Rider Coach, Chad Hargis, "Certified to do 12 - 18 MPH in a parking lot, safely!" I took my course from Learn to Ride, naturally at learntoride.org. The course is hosted by Nashville State Community College on White Bridge road just about every weekend. The Lady I spoke to over

New Bike

2008-04-22T18:21:00.004-06:00

Well, I finally will be able to say I own my own bike. I've ridden before, took a Motorcycle safety class in High School, or Jr. High something like that. Many are accusing me of a mid-life crisis, and other such things . . . whatever. The problem is that gas prices are going through the roof, and I need an alternate vehicle that isn't going to take up lots-o-space in the driveway. This was

No Longer Pastor of MRBC

2008-04-03T18:17:00.004-06:00

It is with a heavy heart that I have resigned from Missionary Ridge Baptist Church. I believed God would do great things there, but alas, if He does, it will be without me. I could rant here about bad things, and vent frustration, but this is not the forum, and I'm biased. I think it would be extremely wrong for any man claiming to be mature enough to be an Ordained Minister to follow such a

Not Interested in $10,000?

2008-04-03T18:07:00.004-06:00

Sorry, I know the headline may have gotten you, but somethings never cease to amaze me. According to this link, "not interested in Linux" from ComputerworldUK the reason a Ubuntu Laptop remained unhacked after three days in a contest was because, "There was just no interest in Ubuntu,"! Can you believe that? I can't. If I thought I could take down a Linux box and get 10K for doing it your

(K)Ubuntu 7.04 upgrade

2007-04-24T21:36:00.000-06:00

Wow. I like it. How's that for a start? :-D Well, I took the plunge on my Linux Mint running Dell Inspiron E1705 first. Things went smoothly for the most part. I had to keep running the package manager, and refreshing the views to keep getting the things I needed, which was a pain. The Update manager Ubuntu uses has NEVER completed an upgrade for me for some reason. However, its easy

Spiritual Endeavors Part 1

2007-04-24T20:20:00.000-06:00

Today, I want to talk about Spiritual Disciplines. Its kind of difficult because when most Americans hear "Discipline" its immediately negative, painful and hard to do. Actually its nothing more than actions of correction. They can be negative, but they can also be positive. For example, prayer. Prayer is always positive. Unless you are a Roman Catholic and Hail Mary's, Our Fathers, and the

Where you bin?

2007-04-02T16:58:00.002-06:00

I know, its been a while. I've been up to a lot of things since I last blogged. I've been playing with some Ubuntu derivatives. Right now I'm running Linux Mint, and lovin' it. I discovered that most of my ills related to Kubuntu, were Kubuntu. I tried two or three of the feisty Herd Cd's only to be miserably affected. Two of the three wouldn't even load a kernel! However, the Ubuntu CD's

Sickness Stinks!

2007-03-11T11:49:00.000-06:00

Good Grief! Since Wednesday Night I've been afflicted with a "severe" case of the same thing that had gotten both my children down. Fortunately neither of them had it as bad as I got it. I'm just now coming back to some semblance of normalcy. I was able to actually eat solid food yesterday, after 2 days of no food what-so-ever, not because of an upset stomach but because of a VERY painful

New Dell Laptop a winner

2007-02-26T10:51:00.000-06:00

Unlike the HP AMD 64 bit laptop, everything is now working in the new DELL. I got a E1705 with the Intel Core 2 Duo T7400, 2 GB RAM, 160 GB HDD, 17"WUXGA screen, and Intel 3945 Pro Wireless card. I had to completely wipe the hard drive, but thanks to Dell's foresight in packaging a real Windows install DVD, and driver CD or DVD, I was able to install Vista on a 30 GB partition, and allocate the

Drum Set pics

2007-02-18T19:19:00.000-06:00

My Daughter has a FisherPrice Kid's digital camera, so this thing is grainy I know, but it'll give ya' an idea of the drum set. My son is sitting at it. He's taken some lessons at the Renaissance Center in Dickson, so he's not doing bad for a beginner. He has to concentrate, like his dad, too much right now, but he's picking it up. I hope that this helps him grow in his confidence.Here's another

No Church, Waiting on Laptop, and Drums

2007-02-18T17:28:00.000-06:00

I hate sundays with no Church. Due to the snow and icy road conditions this morning, left over from last night, we canceled Church. I hate doing that, but I know the people well enough to know what that'll do to the crowd. I know what you may be thinking, but I don't want folks feeling less than "spiritual" because they can't get out on the snow or ice, its not their fault. I also don't want

YEEHAW turned to NO WAY

2007-02-14T21:35:00.000-06:00

Well, so much for my excitement. I'm back on the crapshiba now. I guess I should be nice to it, it at least, runs Linux. I thought I had everything working until it just started locking up again. I couldn't for the life of me figure it out. I went back to base code, I even compiled my own kernel in Debian, and it made no difference. I worked with that thing to the wee hours of mornings (yes

NEW Laptop is IN!

2007-02-08T09:04:00.000-06:00

YEEEEHAAWWW ! I just had to say it. My new HP DV9000z came in Monday, which is why I haven't put anything on the site. Well, I have EVERYTHING working (well, the wireless works with linxant drivers). I tried every distro in the world, nearly, and some three times, but I finally got Debian testing installed on the thing. I still can't print to my Brother MFC-5840CN printer (if any of anyone

SNOW! Yes

2007-02-02T09:18:00.000-06:00

Hey, this is just to commemorate our fist (howbeit half decent) real snow. It wasn't much, maybe an inch of real powdery snow. We tried making a snowman, and throwing snowballs, but the snow just wasn't slushy enough. Oh well, Christine and I had fun anyway, we made snow angels, and did our best with the snow balls. I wish I had a digital camera so I could post images of it, but, alas that's

New Ramblings Laptops and Taxes

2007-01-30T19:13:00.000-06:00

Wow, that title says alot. Well I have quite a bit I haven't said anything about lately.I found a donor for a new Laptop! The US Govt., well the IRS to be precise. I don't know about you, but I like tax time. Always have. I struggle through the year, and pay a little bit too much, so that I get a nice refund each spring. I know, I know, you should set your taxes up so you don't have to pay,

Debian Printing

2007-01-21T14:56:00.000-06:00

Now I remember why I left debian in the first place. Printing. I can't get my Brother printer to print now that I've switched to Debian. I'd like to rant all over both Brother (and their crappy support for CUPS printing) and Debian (for their non-standard way of doing things). However, neither is going to help me figure out what to do next. I'm thinking that going back to Kubuntu Edgy would

Swapped Back

2007-01-19T14:29:00.000-06:00

Well, crow isn't so bad if you put a little ketchup and salt on it.I finally had to come back and try Debian SID again. I ran Kubuntu for almost a year, which is a record for me I think. There are things I stand by as far as what I've said about a lot of Debian developers being cry babies. The problem is they make the best darned overall distro out there hands down. Especially if you like KDE

Bye Bye Sugar Coating

2007-01-11T20:31:00.000-06:00

Well, I've been preaching this kind of stuff for years. I have long believed that you CAN NOT win a soul to Christ using the flesh! A person will not be won to the Spirit after having the flesh appealed to first!! Why do I say that? Because for years now the SBC (at least the TBC) in their "Youth Evangelism Conferences" have used "Christian Rock" or "Contemporary" music to attract young

Sundays Good, Mondays bad.

2007-01-07T20:43:00.000-06:00

I love the weekend. It has Saturday, which is my general purpose only real day off. It also has Sunday The real first day of the week, Church day, and football day (If you like to watch football). Anyway, today was our Church's Business meeting and we scheduled out our Valentine banquette, Vacation Bible School, and Revival. The Revival is especially interesting to me, because I've been

Kubuntu Breakdown

2007-01-04T21:23:00.000-06:00

Well, it appears that my work was in vain, or worse. It seems that now, whenever I come out of hibernation my PC just forgets how to access the hard drive. It will slowly begin to lock up, and then eventually get to the point of being so hosed, that I have to power it off! The problem is that now, I don't even have to come out of hibernation, as it could do it any time. I got so frustrated

Kubuntu Breakthrough

2006-12-28T17:14:00.000-06:00

EUREKA! (No I'm not talking about Vacuum Cleaners). Anyway, I found a combination of software, and settings that appears to have fixed my hibernate problems with Kubuntu and my Toshiba Laptop. (HINT: NEVER buy a toshiba).Anyway, a hint came from Elijah's Website. I didn't use the software he mentions, but it did bring to mind something I remember from way back. You need a "resume=" line on

Christmas and KJ2000 Reading

2006-12-26T11:34:00.000-06:00

Well, Christmas is over, and all the gifts have been unwrapped around our house. This actually turned out to be a better Christmas for the kids than I thought it would be. We spent last Saturday with the family from my side, and had a GREAT time. We played Cranium (a neat game, and the more people the better). We snacked, and opened presents. We all swapped "White Elephant" gifts, which was

Tired of Fighting P2

2006-12-22T20:31:00.000-06:00

Ok, Now that my pressure for other activities has past I want to follow up.Some year or so ago I used SUSE, and back then, (as I assume now) there was the big argument about MP3 players. Well, I got tired of the argument then too. Here's the rant I never sent to the mailing list:'<'terribly irritated person beginning useless rant'>'To be honest I'm getting tired of fighting all this crap. I'm

Tired of Fighting

2006-12-22T16:39:00.000-06:00

Well, no, I haven't forgotten about the BLOG. I did postpone working with it for a while though.Today's topic: Tired of Fighting in Linuxland.Linux is really beginning to suck wind. Sorry, but that's the best I can say about it. Why?Easy, There is NO way to stay decently up to date.There is NO way to just do an install of an application.There is NO decent hardware support.Should I go on?Now,

BAH HUMBUG!

2006-11-30T20:39:00.000-06:00

Gotcha. Well, that title is me. Its not that I don't like Christmas, I like it. Its that I can't stand the misuse of it by vendors who want to benefit from "Christmas Gift" shoppers but will not use the name 'Christmas'! If you are going to use the images to prompt people to buy from your store, and those images are unique to Christmas alone, then by George, use the word!!!The other problem I

Wednesday Evening Lesson

2006-11-29T22:26:00.000-06:00

Tonight we're back in Habakkuk. chapter 2We found 5 woes for sinful man, or The 5 Woes of Judgment.1. Woe to the Oppressive. (4 - 8)This addresses those who have no decency in the way they treat those who are under their authority. Its about those who while in office, or while in a position of advantage, treat others with an emboldened harshness and cruelty. This can be applied to just about

Thanksgiving Day

2006-11-23T21:01:00.000-06:00

Wow, its just about over. I don't get NFL network, so I've missed every Pro game played today. Oh, well. I did get to spend a good day with my whole family together. Its the first time my side of the family has been together for longer than I can remember! I think there was one Thanksgiving about 4 or 5 years ago. . . but I'd rather forget that one. Lets just say I'm glad God taught me

Bible Reading

2006-11-20T20:36:00.000-06:00

I've been a bad boy, and its beginning to affect everyone around me . . . . Well, its true. Did you know that the reason sin is so grievous, and heinous, is not the affects it has on you, but the affects it has on those around you? Think about it. Why is murder so wrong? It hurts those who had no choice in the matter, right? Well, it could be argued that they had some choice, but lets not

Bad Laptop no donut

2006-11-19T08:57:00.000-06:00

I'm really beginning to renew my serious lack of appreciation for Toshiba. This thing has had power and over heat problems since I got it, I've sent it back to them twice, and now that its out of warranty guess what's returned? yep. My ATI video card is apparently the guilty party, because the problem only seems to happen when I'm doing video intensive stuff. Like playing a 3d game, or watch

Wednesday Evening Lesson

2006-11-15T21:32:00.000-06:00

Tonight's Message at Missionary Ridge Baptist Church was a continuation of our New Testament Lessons in Old Testament Prophets series.I'm in Habakkuk. (its in there, keep looking).From verse 12 of chapter 1 to verse 1 of chapter 2 (1:12 - 2:1) you have Habakkuk's second question. I call it the Prophet's Worry.Its about a man who knows certain things, or believes certain things, about God. He

Careless Caretakers

2006-11-14T18:02:00.000-06:00

Ok, here it is. The post I alluded to earlier today. For some reason I've really begun to notice a reckless attitude toward children from their moms or caretakers. Today, while at McD's I was sitting in a center area where a water tank in the shape of a tube with a floating Nemo in it, and some bar type chairs around it. This little girl, who I had seen come in with a lady and another girl a

First Blog Post

2006-11-14T12:11:00.000-06:00

Well, Here it is. I've decided to put this up because so much happens you want to communicate about, but never have a central place to put it. So, here it is.There are some things most folks need to know.1. I'm a Baptist Minister. I was saved in Mainz, Germany in Sept. of 1986 in an Independent Baptist Church called Calvary, while I was in the Army. Since then, I have been ordained as a