Ok, I give up…Bill Gates now owns me, too… / The Return of the Cola Wars…

I used Netscape before Netscape was cool.

Hell, I used Netscape long after Netscape was cool…

…but I’ve finally broken down and decided to give in to Micro$oft. I’ve been a loyal user of the original Internet browser since 1994 when it was the only one available. I think I even have a copy of Netscape Navigator 1.0 on a floppy somewhere! Nevertheless, the company lost so much when it was purchased by AOL that they just don’t seem to put the effort into making their product worthwhile anymore. I’ve been using Netscape Communicator religiously for the last several years, despite numerous improvements on the Internet Explorer front, but now that I’ve entered the age of mobile computing I simply can’t use obsolete software anymore…

Netscape decided to change the format in which it saves its mail between versions, meaning that the version I can run on my desktop with Windows 98 is completely different than the version I’m using on my Windows XP-equipped laptop. They didn’t bother to offer an option with their export feature to prepare your mail for a different version of Netscape, so I would need to export my mail from Netscape to Microsoft’s Outlook Express, THEN from OE back into Netscape! …OR I can just start using Outlook Express altogether – it hurts to admit, but the juggernaut has won again. 🙁

Unfortunately, the suckage continued as I was required to re-enter by hand both of my address books – 162 entries in all. These guys certainly don’t make it easy to switch from one brand to another, but I’m done now and there’s definitely no turning back! Goodbye Netscape, it was fun while it lasted… (it between the frequent lock-ups and crashes, that is)

In other news, a discussion came up about the various off-shoots currently dabbling in the soda pop industry and I thought that it deserved a bit of merit (read – something that the non-geeks in the audience can follow!). Apparently selling 4.3 billion cases of its products per year just isn’t good enough for Coca-Cola, as the company is struggling to compete with its rivals as the new flavors pour from Product Development just as fast as they can crank them out!

I’d seen all of the ads in the past, but I’m typically very picky when it comes to my carbonated beverages so months slipped by without any notice at all. However, after hearing a rave review of the all-new Pepsi Blue, I decided that it was worth a try. In fact, I gave each of these new drinks a try over the last weekend and here’s what I thought:

  • Mountain Dew Code Red — Ok, this one has been out for a while, but there wasn’t anything to compare it to back then. Plain and simple, this one is cherry Mountain Dew – great for those of you who actually like Mountain Dew, but I grew out of that phase back in high school…
  •  Vanilla Coke — I honestly didn’t think that I would care for it, but it wasn’t that bad. Kinda reminds me of slightly flat pop, which isn’t normally a good thing, but compared to regular Coke, I guess I’d choose the new one.
  •  Pepsi Blue — An easy win for Pepsi, these guys hit the nail right on the head! It’s berry-flavored, and that’s as much information as they’ll give you, but it’s a nice balance between fruit punch and carbonation…and my choice in this evaluation. 🙂
  •  Dr. Pepper Red Fusion — If Pepsi Blue was at the top of my list, then Red Fusion is cleanly holding down the other end of the scale as the worst of the litter. Unfortunately, I somehow ended up trying this one out first and it almost led me to hold off on the remainder of the evaluations altogether – maybe the $.50 price sticker should’ve been a clue! The proportions are way off, there are just too many damn berries in this bottle and if nothing else, I hope this review will convince at least one person NOT to try this beverage… I’m a Dr. Pepper fan by blood, but somebody really screwed up on this one.

By the end of this crazy charade, I’d dropped a hair under five bucks for a total of 80 ozs of drinkables, of which I was actually able to consume only a little over half of. I did notice during this fiasco that not a single company had chosen to embrace the flavors of grape, mango or even the banana…hmmmm, Banana Coke! Come on, people – we’re getting a bit tired of the same old berries – let’s spice it up a bit… 😮

All and all it was an interesting experiment, although maybe next time I’ll evaluate beer or possibly even mixed drinks! Labatt, MGD and Corona, I’m thinking in your general direction this time… 8?

A new column, and an explanation…

Well, I had originally planned on having a new column ready for the latest issue of Just Laugh, but seeing as that came out last week and the actual deadline itself was much before that, it just didn’t happen. It’s too bad, really, because I had a nice piece on tourism in the works, so maybe that’ll be coming up next time…

I guess I probably would’ve had plenty of time to get it done under normal circumstances, but then this came along:

I’d always loved the previous games in the series and I was really looking forward to this one, and well, maybe it’d be easier if you just read about it here – The Warcraft 3 Excuse

And by the way, a special thanks to all of those who voted in the first round of Humor Columnist Survivor! I successfully made it through round one, managing to stay true to my morals and all, so there’s now only 14 weeks left to go… 😀

Hooray for me…it’s about time!

😎 – Yes, I finally got this site completely up and running – no error messages or anything! Ok, more or less, it was working at the beginning of the week, but I was kept a little busy moving another website to its new home. Nevertheless, I am extremely happy that this battle is finally over and now I can divert more of my time back to that whole humor columnist-thing…

And with the unveiling of this glorious new website, I suppose it would also be fitting to say a big WELCOME to anyone and everyone who happens to wander into this chaos, whether in response to one of my annoying promotional letters I send out from time to time or simply by accident – thanks for visiting! I hope you enjoy your stay – please let me know if there’s anything I can do to make you feel more at home… 🙂

Humor Columnist Survivor!!!

God, how could I forget about this???

Yours truly has managed to become an official contestant and I need your help! I haven’t really developed much of a strategy for this competition, so I’m pretty much depending on my dashing good looks and dazzling personality to get me through at least the first couple of weeks. You can lend your hand in making me the Ultimate Survivor by visiting the site every single day and voting for anybody other than me! I don’t really care who you vote for, as long as there’s somebody’s name other than mine on that ballot…

Ok, I do care, but it would be unsportsman-like of me to bad-mouth the other contestants…at least until I get some really good dirt on them. Vote today!!!

good news on the horizon…

I know I was definitely pleased to hear about this…

Lower Manhattan Development Corporation And Port Authority Unveil Six Concept Plans For World Trade Center Site, Adjacent Areas And Related Transportation (July 16, 2002)

The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey today unveiled six options for rebuilding the World Trade Center site and adjacent areas, focused on honoring those lost on September 11 and revitalizing Lower Manhattan. The plans are a milestone in the ongoing public process that will lead to final plans for the most important development project in New York City history. They suggest ways to use space on the site for a memorial, commercial and retail space, cultural facilities and other neighborhood amenities, a hotel, and a new transportation hub serving New York and New Jersey. Some plans also call for residential development in areas adjacent to the site.

I’ve never even been to New York City, so I really don’t have much of an opinion on which concept is the best – I’m just glad to see that it’s getting done in the first place! As far as I’m concerned, any building that’s 80-stories high looks pretty darn cool to me…

For more information, visit The LMDC, Lower Manhattan Development Corporation.

Coming Soon – this site may actually go online!!!

Yes, it’s true…

I was finally able to secure a new web host that keeps their servers online during the day, so hopefully this little ditty will be available to the public and everything fairly soon! Even though I’ve yet to serve anything with these guys yet, it already looks like they’re going to be about a million times better than the previous host which I had picked out to due the honors. Obviously, the site never even made it there, so if that doesn’t tell you anything…

If I had only one suggestion to anyone involved in the web hosting business, it would have to go something like this:

Settle 4 Less Web Hosting – Solutions with a Smile!!!

Mark my words, though – if the new host ends up sucking like our last two, I’m retiring and moving to Canada. I don’t know what I’ll do there, but it certainly won’t have anything to do with this internet-thingy…

chicks that rock…

Ok, once and for all, I’ll admit it – I’ve got a thing for teen pop music scene. I’m not ashamed…the people in the music store probably think I’m a pervert, but I’m fine with that – they have no idea! I think this genre of music gets a bad vibe simply because there are quite a few artists that royally suck and it pulls down the rest of the crowd. Really, there are a ton of rock ‘n roll bands that royally suck, but the entire image of rock ‘n roll still remains pure and untainted…unlike the teen pop genre which I believe has actual laws preventing anyone over the age of 14 from becoming interested…

Well call me jailbait then because I just can’t seem to get two new cds out of the rotation in my car and I think they deserve a little recognition…

Michelle Branch:

Spirit Room

Avril Lavigne:

Let Go

First thing’s first – yes, they’re both extremely hot – this goes without saying. Granted neither of them is Britney hot, but they could each certainly hold their own! Behind the breasts, though, these ladies have this little thing I like to refer to as talent which is commonly overlooked by the skeptics…and that’s just a damn shame because there’s actually some really good music on these two discs. These aren’t your typical pop-single, written by Diane Warren, MTV all-star hits – no offense to Miss Warren, of course! Let me break things down a bit further…

Michelle Branch – This is a very happy cd for the most part, although that doesn’t necessarily have to be a bad thing! Michelle’s debut cd might focus around love and relationships, but she’s just got the most beautiful voice that makes it all worthwhile. The songs sort of flop back and forth with regards to perspective, so if you’re in a lousy relationship and aren’t feeling up to the bouncy, cheerful tunes, just skip ahead to the next track and she’ll be back on your side! This one is a great choice for both long road trips and lazy Saturday afternoons…

Avril Lavigne – I got hooked on this girl a few weeks ago after hearing her first hit on the radio and was pleasantly surprised when I listened to the rest of the disc. Anyone who’s seen the video for Complicated knows that she’s a punk at heart, so it’s safe to report that this cd is a bit rougher than most female musician’s of her time – think a little like Fiona Apple, only minus the suicidal tendencies. Even though my own gender does make a few cameo appearances throughout this disc, Avril focuses on a wide range of topics including fame, growing up and tolerating differences among personalities. Sure, there’s a little bit of angry chick rock in here, but they do have a decent beat and she’s got more than enough counter-balance “happy” music here as well…

Wrapping things up, if you’re looking to add some new music to your collection and aren’t sure exactly what, I definitely suggest giving either one of these ladies a try. I’ve got a feeling that both of these girls are going to be around for a while, so you might as well make the best of things – trust me on this one! You may rant and jeer about appreciating Britney Spears and her cohorts, but it’s going to be much more difficult to find negativity for these two so jump on the bandwagon while they’re still relatively new!

Besides, couldn’t you use a little happiness in your already chaotic life??? 🙂

A Sad Day Under the Sea…

There’s been a death in the family. Well, sort of…

I’ve been having some problems with one of my fish tanks for a while now. It seems that its somehow managed to cultivate a type of super algae which I haven’t the faintest idea how to get rid of. It has a bad habit of clogging up my filter in less than a week after I’ve replaced it and that tends to get a bit pricey! I’d noticed the filter overflowing again earlier this week and had planned on changing it, but I’ve been so busy lately with non-disclosable law issues that I just never got around to it.

Well, I finally found time to get around to it last night, but it was too late. I came home from work to find my two oldest goldfish, Bananarama and Frederico sleeping very soundly at the bottom of the tank. “Don’t fish float when they die?” you ask? That just gives you an idea of how big these guys were! I’d had them for nearly five years and were certainly not under-fed during their time with me!

Of course, now I’m faced with two tasks. Figure out a way to get the damn algae out of the tank for good so that I don’t end up losing the other three in the process AND acquire a few new goldfish to replace those who have passed on to that big pond in the sky. Unfortunately, I’m extremely impatient and the thought of waiting years for them to get impressively large again is a very lousy feeling, but nobody ever said that losing those close to you was easy… 🙁

Damn – I almost got that out with a straight face! 😉

R.I.P.

Bananarama & Frederico

1997 – 2002

Your legacy will not be forgotten…

2002 Cartoonist’s Choice Awards

Congratulations are certainly in order, as I received the word earlier today that Barry over at InkTank.com took Best Gaming Comic this year with Angst Technology in the 2002 Cartoonist’s Choice Awards! There were quite a few good comics nominated this year, but if anybody deserves it, it’d definitely be Barry…

Nice job to all of the other winners as well! I know that now I won’t have to look far the next time I’m looking for some new comics to kill the time with! 😛

Heat wave…

Wow, I never thought I’d be saying this in Northern Michigan, but it is just way too hot… And to think I’m supposed to be in Florida right now??? I can’t stand living my life in front of a fan five days a week now, let alone all year long down there… 😕

Anyways, I did some domain registering this weekend and hopefully the site will be up sometime within the next week! There are still a few minor tweaks I want to do here and there, but overall I’m extremely happy with the way this whole thing has turned out. Besides, it has to go up in the next week – I’ve got too many projects for Just Laugh that I’m supposed to be working on…it’s definitely going to be a busy summer!

But that’s the way I like it. 😀