In the short time I have been blogging here I have noticed something. There are a lot of people with a lot to say! Oh, and I am apparently not one of them. Now I don't mean that in any sort of derogatory sense for those who blog very frequently. I have come to visit my blog numerous times since my last entry (article just seems to auspicious a word for what I right), have sat there thinking I would like to write something. But I fail to come up with anything witty or smart, so I d...

I had an incredibly surreal experience on this site just a few minutes ago. An experience that not only shocked me, but worried me very deeply. Someone informed me that I didn't have "the right " to post negative comments about a pop artist because she has so many fans. I was, and still am, appalled. The notion that because something is popular it demands universal respect is anathema to me. That sort of thinking is, at its very core, a huge part of what is wrong with our world. Fa...

This will probably make me unpopular with certain folks and factions here, but that is okay with me. I need to write this, if for no one else, then just for me. Just make sure you remember, none of us pay to be here. Okay? We aren't customers here, just free-loaders leeching off the generosity of Brad. As if we could possibly forget. Maybe it is just me. Maybe I have some sort of weird radar for picking this stuff up. Maybe we are just being reminded of this fact on a painfull...

Wow, for the first time in my experience here I have officially been blacklisted. It is sort of fun you know. I have to admit however that I am at a loss as to why though. I simply commented that Sir Peter Maxwell really ought to fire the peasants he had produce his latest show as the production wasn't fitting to a man of his standing in society. I stopped back in to see what other constructive opinions there were in the thread only to find my post deleted, a trite, insipid, and dull-...

In my years of navigating the ofttimes murky waters of the net I have noticed an interesting phenomenon. It is one that can be seen at just about any forum, BB, Usenet group, IRC channel, and so on. In fact it only takes a quick glance over a random sampling of threads here at good old Joe User to see this phenomenon in action. And it is such a simple principle really. Anonymity breeds arrogance. It most certainly does. Hiding behind our screen names we have the power to construct f...

So, due to numerous posts in the last little bit I had the joy of watching my ranking rise from around 160 to an even 100 (at the time of this writing). I have had a bit more to say as of late, mostly my new "Song of the Day" articles, as well as posting some short fiction of my own, but also the occasional personal article. So I thought I would take a glance at the rest of the rankings. And I discovered something interesting. A lot of those who are ranked higher than me have a fair n...

The past week has been a wild ride. And wild rides often result in some of my more interesting articles (in my not so humble opinion). This week has been different though. I don't know why either. But there have been so many articles that I wrote in my head, I reasoned through, I argued with myself, yet never actually made it into existence. Some were articles born out of frustration, some out of relief, some the offspring of a silly mood, and others the spawn of white-hot rage. I...

Whew, we made it. Yesterday was travel day, flying from Durham, NC to Salt Lake City, UT. . .with a 5 year old and a (not quite) 2 year old. Always an adventure, it actually went pretty well. Aubrey amazingly fell asleep the majority of the second flight, but since it was a tiny plane, and I am not too little, it was a bit cramped with her in my arms. Northwest doesn't know their earlobe from their butt-hole, and so my parents had been told time and again that our plane hadn't lef...

So I know that there are a few people here who have been posting photos. And I know that some of them (wink wink chiprj) are hoping the host they are using doesn't figure out they are hotlinking the photos. In an effort to help us all out I registered at Imageshack.us and tried uploading a photo to see how the service is. And I am pretty impressed so far. Here are the results: If everything works out when I hit submit there should be first a small thumbnail that opens a new...

Since my decision to blog more frequently I have, on more than one occasion, sat in front of the computer with a glazed over look. "What should I write?" Eventually an idea will come or I will simply ramble on about some insipid thought I had (hey now, I don't need anyone pointing out that all my blogs are like that, I know they are!). Or I even ramble on about nothing in particular at all, perhaps just my inability to come up with a good idea. In fact it wasn't too long ago I wrote a...

You just blabber. And sometimes it actually works out. I honestly believe that the at times simply the act of writing gets the creative juices flowing, allows your brain to actually think about something that, while it may not be entirely worthwhile, at least is more fun than sitting here and writing about nothing. But the writing about nothing is important as well. I like to think of it as an exercise of matter over matter. Yep. Not mind over matter, because in this case the matt...

. . .or simply particularly unispiring? Whatever the case may be, as can be evidenced by the fact I haven't written an entry for around two weeks now, I have been feeling quite uninspired. In the past I have written articles that have (however vaguely) dealt with some of the zany antics of all of us here. I have also written about music. And at times I have even written about *gasp* personal goings-on (or would that be going-ons?). But lately none of those have sparked even the most em...

We see it happen every day. Someone opens their mouth or sets their fingers to the keys without fully engaging their gray matter. Or perhaps that is just he way they operate, vomiting forth whatever will come. Of course the aftermath usually is more than they were anticipating, but that is most likely because they left out that crucial initial step. You know, thinking. So the backlash comes. It is inevitable. Even the most well thought out arguments and comments will be offensive t...

We all hunger for acceptance. On a certain level we all need to feel that we are part of something larger than ourselves. It may be a religious group, a political party, a school organization, a group of good friends, a family, a fan club. Or, as we have seen here at JU, it may even be just being part of a lie. And that shocks and appalls me. That someone would feel the need for some sort of acceptance so bad that they would willingly make themselves part of a lie boggles my mind. ...

I decided to attempt a dual-boot install of Linux over the weekend.  Yes, I am that big of a geek.  Installing an OS sounds like fun. Alas, I was not met with success, and conferencing with a Linux using friend were eventually fruitless (though I am extremely grateful to him for sacrificing precious board-prep time to assist!).  As it ended up I had a copy of Linux installed that eventually got me into KDE, but the computer didn't recognize there was a copy of Windows to boot i...