This is only gong to be interesting to my friend Jason Lewis but I spent all night getting up to date on web video compression. I was happy to discover that a new open source codec called VP3 is kicking some ass. (I probably won't be using it on primco.org but I almost did) I tested it out and it competes nicely with the new version of Sorenson Pro. Neither are as good as Windows Media but... I just had too many problems trying to get my "artist" friends with their Macs using WMV.

So I’m gonna upgrade the video one more time on my site. The new SV3.1 codec will allow me to go 640x480 at the same size or to halve the size of all my files, making the easer to download. I think I’m gonna go for the bump in quality. I also discovered a new version of Cleaner 5.1 that should make things a little less buggy. Things are looking better in computerland. Now if only it would stop raining so I can make my skate video.

The latest installment of the Aquarius Records new releases email just came out and it prompted me to look at the little film series being done on that wonderful little store. So far I think #6 and #8 are my favorites. #6 has John Dwyer and Shef, two local legends and buddies of mine and 8 has Windy being super cute and saying, "I am not a *fashion* *diva*. Neither of those words applies to me." Muahahahaha.

Anyhow, Aquarius has been single-handedly running my musical tastes for the last 5 years and I couldn't be in better hand. It's the best store I've ever been in.

davep

Don't rub black shoe polish around your eyes. I did it last night (was in mourning) but I wanted to take it off before I went to bed. Looks like its oil-based and won't come off with soap and water. I had to dig under my sink and find a leaky jar of brush cleaner that my old oil-painting girlfriend left there about 7 years ago and smear the brown goo on my eyes to get them clean.

Ok, that's the last post I'm making. Time for bed.

So, I'm a little puzzled by this. I mean, it's a run-of-the-mill sort of thing, happens to everyone, but after I threw up this answering machine message, like, the first message I get is this one. It sounds like someone I know but I can't be sure. Is it a prank or did the machine actually make it though my gauntlet?

(Inspiration for my greeting comes from Amy Balkin's machine.)

Hello? Central Services? I'm at 579B Block 19, Northwestern Section D. That's exit 1 on Green Pastures Highway at the Orange Blossom flyover and I've got trouble with my air conditioning. It's an emergency. I've got to have a heating engineer.

Thank you for calling Central Services. I'm sorry, due to temporary staff shortages, Central Services cannot take service calls centrally between twenty three hundred and o nine hundred hours. Have a nice day. This has NOT been a recording.

This is an emergency!

Thank you for calling Central Services. I'm sorry, due to

Look, I've got to have a heating engineer.

Thank you for calling Central Serv

Awwww Shoot. Click!

Get In, Get Out :04 seconds or download 400kb

Bzzzrrtt!

Hello?

Hello.

Hello?

Hello Mr. Lowry.

Yes, who is this?

Put the phone down and raise your hands.

Wha, what is this?

Harry Tuttle, Heating Engineer at your service.

Tuttle? Are you from Central Services? I called Central Services.

Well, they're a little overworked these days. Luckily I intercepted your call.

What was that business with the gun?

Just a precaution. I've had traps set for me before now. There are plenty of people in Central Services that would love to get their hands on Harry Tuttle.

Are you telling me that this is illegal?

Well, yes and no. Officially, only Central Services operatives are supposed to touch this stuff, (would you hold this please) but nowadays, with all the new rules and regulations, they can't get decent staff any more. So they tend to turn a blind eye as long as I'm careful. Mind you, if they could prove that I'm working on their equipment, well, that's a pipe of a different color.

Listen, this whole system of yours could be on fire and I couldn't even so much has turn on a kitchen tap without filling out a 27B/6.

Bloody paperwork. Heh.

I...I suppose one has to expect a certain amount?

Why? I came into this game for the action. The excitement. Go anywhere, travel light, get in, get out, wherever there's trouble, a man alone.

Now they got the whole country sectioned off. You can't make a move without a form.

This is all the shit I regularly do to my computing environment when I start using a new OS. In this case, the new OS is Windows XP.

I usually have to do about 10 minutes of tweaking to get Microsoft's user interface to behave and for some reason I'm sharing this with the rest of the world. Next week will be an instructional video of how I tie my shoes.

Explorer:
Open explorer and go to > View and set it to "Details" and extend the size of the name column to something reasonable.

Then in Tools > Folder Options
Use windows classic folders. This disables most of the geewhiz features of XP but they're redundant, oversized and basically annoying to a non-idiot.
View Tab >
Uncheck Display Simple folder view
Uncheck Hide extensions for known file types
Uncheck Remember Each folder's view settings

Check display the contents of System folders
Check Show hidden files and folders

In Folder Views click Apply to All Folders

Start Menu:
Right click the start button and choose properties
Click Customize for the start menu and choose Small Icons
Put about 10 items in the programs list
In advanced Uncheck Highlight newly installed programs
In start menu items I Display Admin tools on the All Programs menu

Internet Explorer:
IE> tools> options >advanced
Uncheck Reuse windows for launching shortcuts.
Check Use inline auto complete
Check Don't display online media in the media bar

Customize toolbars (right click on toolbar) with no text labels, small icons, remove unnecessary icons, like print, edit, media and favorites.
Unlock toolbars and drag the address bar up to the top alongside the File, Edit menu bar. Remove links toolbar, install Google toolbar (without advanced features and without text labels), drag it next to the standard buttons underneath menu and address and lock the toolbars.

Display properties:
No screen saver (power management blanks screen)
Appearance> silver color scheme > advanced > reduce title bar to 20 pixels

Oh, and to get rid of that annoying click every time you click on a link in a web page, go to the Sounds control panel and scroll down until you see "Start Navigation" and assign the [none] sound to it.

If y'all really like to tweak the funky beats, try Tweak-XP.

davep

I'm a search data geek. And who's the baddest motherfuckin searchengine aroooound? Google. That's who. An' who comes next? Iron Maiden. Err, check out the Google Zeitgeist for the year end tallies.

Fight Fight Fight Parry Parry Parry

When you first started off, you walked downstairs and 3 Kobolds killed your party. You used all the Katino's and Dios's you had (2?) but it wasn't enough. Back to Gilgamesh's Tavern and Boltac's Trading Post to make another party.

As you were mapping out the 20x20 grid of the first level on computer graph paper, Calfo'ing those chests, you stumbled upon a secret room and fought Murpy's Ghost. If you managed to kill him, and kill him over and over again, you got some real XP's and some real spells, like Mahalito. The game really started when you got Mahalito. Soon you upgraded to Dalto, Madalto and finally, Tiltowait. Tiltowait was a very powerful spell for a 12 year old.

Beware when opening web pages dedicated to the game, like those in the webring, many are trapped with annoying, poisonous MIDI music that plays on in the background while you hurriedly try to get information off it. Like this one, the pages are gushingly sweet, imbued with the same "Stand By Me" brand of nostalgia for endless summer days and nights in front of the old Apple II. I can't express how obsessive I was about getting Werdna's amulet.

I don't remember how I stumbled on the Bishop identify cheat but I can remember doing it and then being really bummed that I couldn't take my buffed up characters into Wizardry III. How did me and Mondo figure that cheat out when there weren't any gaming webpages, weren't any BBS's, weren't any magazines, weren't nothing? It was the first thing that I cared enough about to hack. You could make save games and copy your characters though a little trick with the scenario disk. Wizardy 8 is out now and it's sparking a new round of nostaglia. Eh, whatever. I'd rather play Wizardy I than 8 anyday.