tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56928712011-07-07T17:05:06.964-07:00Don't get caught with your system down.Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.comBlogger1361100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-32889398678200079212009-10-17T21:00:00.001-07:002009-10-17T21:00:34.415-07:00

Web Developers:View the source of this blog entry and feel free to add the following code to the end of your pages. Let's deter people from using Internet Explorer until Microsoft simply gives up on it like they should have done so many years ago! And please encourage other web developers to follow suit.P.S. If you are not using Internet Explorer, you won't see anything below this line.<!--

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-45524425983769136352009-03-22T22:32:00.004-07:002009-03-22T22:47:50.326-07:00

This blog is pretty stale. But considering the nature of this blog, I'd say that is a good thing. It has been difficult to keep up with things while building a house, moving, and working full time.Not a whole lot has happened on the Computer Circus front. However, I have since found a new home for my web sites - I finally found one that allows hot linking so I can post my photos and link to

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-36246644158261799492009-01-03T20:50:00.004-08:002009-01-03T22:03:13.004-08:00

Now that I am getting settled into my new home, it seems some old projects are coming back to life. I was arranging things in the basement today when I came across an old computer power supply casing that I had modified (by ripping out its dead guts) to house a separate, much smaller power supply inside, plus a '386 embedded PC computer board and a tiny hard drive from an old laptop. It was a

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-53472456146968715432008-05-10T13:07:00.002-07:002008-05-10T13:36:03.058-07:00

Wow. It has been a long time since I have written an entry here. Not much has been happening on the computer front, which is a good thing. So far, all my computers have survived the move into my new home, although they are not all set up, yet. And I have no home for my web sites, yet.I had an interesting thing happen yesterday. It was rather irritating, actually, because it cost me a day of

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-2130895949132160222007-07-01T13:27:00.000-07:002007-07-01T16:16:14.191-07:00

I should know by now to never do any of these things:Never use Internet Explorer to download anythingNever look for (or download) anything that has "cracked" or "hacked" in the nameNever assume anything will ever be any different "this time"Never, ever consider computers as a good thingEver.Just after I posted my last UNEVENTFUL post, everything went to Hell. Quite literally. I think I saw the

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-2791755741919117962007-06-30T18:37:00.000-07:002007-06-30T19:01:30.207-07:00

I initially posted this in my general blog, but then thought it would be good (for me, anyway) to include the post in this blog as well, as it is appropriate.I was feeling this feeling in my gut that I get just before something bad happens to my computer(s). I have learned to pay attention to these nagging little feelings, because they have been so foretelling in the past. This time, I decided

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-28339958472308313652007-06-20T20:52:00.000-07:002007-06-20T21:16:03.943-07:00

It has been a long time since I made an entry into the Computer Circus. This is a good thing. Today's entry is a success story, so that's good, too.Just before going out of town for the weekend, the weather turned hot here in the San Francisco bay area. I also just happened to notice that the cooling fan in the power supply of my Linux box had quit. I am not sure how, or why, I noticed,

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-1153939154288930392006-07-26T11:00:00.000-07:002006-07-26T11:49:46.190-07:00

When I moved to the fringes of Silicon Valley (just down the street from Oracle) six years ago, I started my first real job in Web development. I had spent my entire previous history in desktop application development, so this was quite a switch for me. I felt like I had taken a big step back in time, to the days when the mainframe was about the only kind of computer there was, and ADM3A dumb

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-1153530657692494812006-07-21T18:00:00.000-07:002006-07-21T18:10:57.743-07:00

Get over it, people! Ajax is not an acronym! Ajax does not stand for "Asynchronous JavaScript And XML!" Somebody made that up, based on a presumption, and somehow it stuck. Kind of like the name Ajax, itself.Why "Ajax"? WHO KNOWS? It's just some buzz word some guy conjured up while taking a shower. The best way to give old technology new life, I guess, is to give it a name. Hence, Ajax

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-1147279317667009502006-05-10T09:32:00.000-07:002006-05-11T00:44:54.736-07:00

I played my last game of Asteroids last night. And I don't know if Bunchball went away or if they're just having problems, but the game won't even come up for me now, and I can't get to their web site.Last night, I sat down for a quick game, and wound up playing for three hours straight. I shattered the world high score, amassing over 1,145,000 points, but after carefully typing in my code name

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-1146814660441814762006-05-05T00:36:00.000-07:002006-05-06T19:33:37.596-07:00

Go ahead and play a while. I'll come by someday after you've had your fun and I'll set the high score. HA!By the way, if you hop on over to this blog: http://9rules.com/en/browse/featured/archive/81/ and check out the high score, let me know if you see "Kwooda" in the #1 position. That's me! Can you beat that?Update:OW, OW, OW, OW, OW!! My fingers are killing me! I sat down today and

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-1144306163079569092006-04-05T23:27:00.000-07:002006-04-07T02:56:27.043-07:00

Oh, the silly things I spend my time on...The deed is done. My little program recorded the time at exactly 01:02:03 on 04/05/06 today. For some reason, it capture the a.m. event, but not the p.m. event. But at least I got one. It's funny what triggers my memory. Yesterday, I surmised that I must have missed the 12:34:56 7/8/90 incident, but while I was sorting out the files after today's run

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-1144218359928901902006-04-04T23:02:00.000-07:002006-04-05T17:56:24.586-07:00

I have been digging through some of my old stuff lately, so just for fun, I thought I would set up my old IBM PC/XT clone.As you can kind of see, I had some fun painting it way back when. I wasn't sure it would boot up, but when I turned it on, I was pleasantly surprised.Wow, check out all that RAM! 512KB - yes, KILOBYTES!Not only did it boot, but I was presented with my old familiar greeting,

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-1144014473002377452006-04-02T14:42:00.000-07:002006-04-02T15:10:21.763-07:00

I have been digging through some boxes of old personal items, and I came across a journal entry that was so absolutely priceless, I had to transcribe it here. It is from November 19, 1979! It reads as follows:----I think that computers are starting to take over my life. Ever since school started (even a couple weeks before) I have been working on a computer program. I have (at least I think I

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-1140500650092268292006-02-20T21:19:00.000-08:002006-02-20T21:44:10.156-08:00

For whatever reason, I always like to get on Craig's List and look for free computer stuff. I rarely ever find anything (that I want), and I'm not sure I want anything, but I always look. It is some kind of addiction, I suppose, for there seems to be no rhyme or reason for it. It is just something I do.So, imagine my surprise when I went to take the trash out at my own apartment building,

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-1140443154084653092006-02-20T05:29:00.000-08:002006-02-20T05:52:57.146-08:00

I just realized that this blog turned two years old this month. Wow. I didn't know if it would continue this long. I know there were a couple of times when I thought my computing days were over. But here I am.Yesterday, and old friend of mine called me from out of the blue, looking for help with a computer problem. He was putting a system together with a new motherboard, and spent a couple

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-1137394971438411202006-01-15T22:38:00.000-08:002006-01-15T23:02:53.480-08:00

When it rains, it pours. But that's good, in a way, because when a bunch of problems crop up at one time, they can all be taken care of at one time, so smooth sailing can be anticipated (though never expected) for a while.My wife's computer registered some disk errors the other day while I was looking at it. She has an older machine, running Windows 2000, and we were thinking (still are) about

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-1136873232791173552006-01-09T19:43:00.000-08:002006-01-10T12:13:58.476-08:00

It has been a while since I had a really good story to tell. I've also been lax about including pictures with my prose. Today, I think I'll make up for that a little.It all started out rather innocently. I got a new Western Digital 120GB drive over the weekend (it's the black one in the photo on the left), and as I mentioned in a previous blog entry, the drive turned out to be used (if even

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-1136771121050173672006-01-08T17:36:00.000-08:002006-01-08T17:45:21.126-08:00

So, I finally got around to setting up my systems with some backups. My wife picked up a couple new drives from Fry's for me that were on sale, one of which was a Western Digital 120GB drive. It wasn't until I went to install it that I noticed the drive had been re-packaged into the box it was in. It was shrink-wrapped and was taped up where the packaging had been previously opened. The drive

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-1135785289784389772005-12-28T07:17:00.000-08:002005-12-28T07:59:21.590-08:00

What an adventure. I can't remember a more stressful Christmas. But I'll spare you the details and get right to the computer stuff (unless you also read my Haphazard Musings blog, in which case I will expound on the details there at some point).The first live test of the UPS (uninterruptable power supply for those not in the know) took place on Christmas Day (December 25 for those who are

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-1135121201183503522005-12-20T13:53:00.000-08:002005-12-20T23:58:18.216-08:00

JavaScript objects are somewhat of a mystery, though the exact way they are implemented is not important to know how to use them. But I continually find interesting aspects about them.Study the following code. Print it out and read it before going to bed if you need to (or if you just need to get a good night's sleep). I'm going to pick it apart in the text that follows it.NewA.prototype.f =

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-1134872397198954882005-12-17T16:49:00.004-08:002005-12-19T16:07:11.220-08:00

So, I have been using JavaScript off and on for years now, never really digging very deeply into it until recently. I am now playing with the object oriented aspects of the language.Objects in JavaScript differ fundamentally in certain ways from other object-oriented languages (like Delphi, for instance), and I just learned some peculiar aspects about them today.In JavaScript, everything that is

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-1134688811046716832005-12-15T14:48:00.000-08:002005-12-15T15:20:11.096-08:00

There has been quite a bit of data loss going around lately. Just before it all started happening, I got this sickening feeling in my gut like it was going to happen to me. But, so far, it has only been on the periphery.A friend of mine called me up to say that his computer was running slowly. I tried to troubleshoot it, but it started moving again, so the problem eluded me. I didn't know it

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-1133643289967536002005-12-03T12:42:00.000-08:002005-12-03T12:54:49.980-08:00

With computers, it is only a matter of time before something goes wrong. That is why I started this blog in the first place - I knew there would often be plenty to write about.I have had this feeling for a while now. A feeling of worry. I am worried that my 120GB hard drive is going to crash - the 120GB hard drive that has all of my creations on it. All of my data. All of my programs and

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-1133398117832391682005-11-30T16:37:00.000-08:002005-11-30T19:54:38.253-08:00

Somebody please educate this industry about the difference between a designer and a developer! It is hard enough to find a job to get my foot in the door with web stuff, but to deal with employer ignorance only compounds the situation.My wife runs into this all the time. She is more of a designer and she often comes across job listings from employers who say they want a web designer, and then

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-1132490399103109942005-11-20T04:28:00.000-08:002005-11-20T04:40:01.816-08:00

Well, not really. If I were truly a god, it would not have taken this long.It has been a long and winding road. This ordeal with my router. It died one night. Since then, I have attempted to replace it on three separate occasions. The most recent attempt was to be the last attempt. And it was. But I followed up on a lead from the guy I bought the last [bad] router from, who said there was

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-1132440750509566092005-11-19T14:34:00.000-08:002005-11-19T14:52:30.536-08:00

So, you see, I simply can't let a good thing die. I had a router die a while back, and I have been trying to replace it with a router of the same model. I seem to be obsessed with getting it back, like a parent who has lost a child, I suppose. I just liked that router and the way it worked.Last night, I just picked up a third replacement. The first two had problems. My original router died,

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-1131740709331974352005-11-11T12:07:00.000-08:002005-11-11T12:25:09.380-08:00

The Bermuda Triangle paid me a visit.The electricity in this apartment is very strangely wired. My "shop", which is external to the apartment (which is strange enough) is wired (at least partially) on the same circuit with my bedroom and one of my roommate's rooms. Frequently, I have to contend with the power going out when my roommate runs her toaster oven, microwave and refrigerator at the

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-1131567661746213782005-11-09T11:48:00.000-08:002005-11-09T12:21:01.830-08:00

I had a good laugh just a few minutes ago. After eating a late breakfast and watching an episode of the old Cosmos series, I happened upon Who Wants to be a Millionaire just before turning off the television.I surmised it was a newlywed version, as there was a couple in the hot seat, and the man made a comment about what kind of wedding gifts they might expect. But that really has nothing to do

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-1130893194211913702005-11-01T16:44:00.000-08:002005-11-01T16:59:54.276-08:00

I had an appointment to see the doctor today. I was also expecting the landlord to come over for an inspection (in my absence). I have a cat door that I installed as a seperate piece in a sliding glass door (that prevents the door from closing all the way) and through that separate piece is a hole for the network and telephone cable that leads out the the "shop" where I work at my

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-1129755283543386382005-10-19T13:42:00.000-07:002005-10-19T13:54:43.580-07:00

I was playing with the new Playstation 2 that my wife and I bought a week or so ago. I have never been much of a game player, but I got hooked on this Wallace and Gromit game, which turned out to be a lot of fun. The only problem is, it doesn't satisfy our desire to find something that two people can play at the same time. But then again, we have only turned on the PS2 twice since we bought it

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-1129228531210114422005-10-13T11:28:00.000-07:002005-10-14T00:28:33.403-07:00

After visiting Orion's McBlog and enjoying the experience of listening to music playing while reading the latest entry, I thought I would add music to my blog, too. I think you can kind of get an idea about a person by what music they listen to, plus the music can set the mood for the reading experience.I don't think I will change my song every day...although I could automate that. I created a

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-1128798755452553392005-10-08T12:10:00.000-07:002005-10-08T12:12:35.456-07:00

What...is...the...deal...with...Blogger...these...days? Seems...they...can't...keep...up...with...the...demand.Just...when...I...start...using...it...regularly, they...suddenly...get...slow.It...is...very...frustrating. I...don't...have...time...for...this.

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-1128479940911121822005-10-04T18:58:00.000-07:002005-10-04T19:39:00.973-07:00

Now I know why Web technology is the way it is. It is so people like me can get paid to spend an entire day to produce a piece of code that I should have been able to write in about 15-30 minutes. Now, if I only had a job, this would be a more attractive picture to me.But my wife is trying to get me in where she works. I'm not sure how that will work out if that happens. Time will tell.ANYway

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-1128375038406557242005-10-03T14:12:00.000-07:002005-10-03T14:36:02.743-07:00

Circus music, please!How ironic. I was up last night thinking about weird stuff (totally unrelated to computers), so I decided to do something I had been considering for some time now, which was to start a new blog. There have been a number of occasions when I wanted to write about things unrelated to computers, yet refrained from doing so under the auspices of the Computer Circus (despite the

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-1128123206488238972005-09-30T16:06:00.000-07:002005-09-30T16:33:26.556-07:00

My wife and I spent the day in Santa Cruz last Sunday, on the Boardwalk. I got in trouble by taking her on the Fireball for our first ride. "If this makes me sick, I'm going to kill you," she said. To make a long story short (and perhaps this is even needless to say), she wasn't happy when the ride was over.To be honest, I wasn't, either. The Fireball is a great ride, but I think one needs to

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-1127856055070548522005-09-27T13:53:00.000-07:002005-09-27T15:01:09.270-07:00

One would think that, as a company that supposedly portrays itself as a leader in technology (and quite a massive company at that) would have an interest in supporting standards so that it could play well with everybody else. Then again, perhaps Microsoft just wants to stand apart from the rest and be its own island. That would be a bad move. If you don't integrate well into the environment,

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-1127785731327594192005-09-26T18:30:00.000-07:002005-09-26T19:16:56.093-07:00

I have been toying with an idea now (since last night). Traditionally, it has not been possible to hide JavaScript on a web page. Either, the script is embedded between <script> tags, or it is linked in a link tag. But the bottom line is, if you can find it on the page, you can load it in your browser (or save it to disk).This means anybody can take your code.Ajax helps with this, as now I can

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-1127513909418469812005-09-23T14:25:00.000-07:002005-09-23T15:18:29.493-07:00

I was tempted to do this when I saw this in another blog, and then it showed up in yet another blog, so I guess now I have to do this. Perhaps this is a bit personal for the Computer Circus, but then again, what hasn't been personal in this blog? May as well find out a little about yours truly, eh? ;-)7 Things That Scare Me:1: Fire2: Evil-looking markings on evil-looking critters3: Other

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-1127451459182359422005-09-22T21:42:00.000-07:002005-09-22T22:01:09.886-07:00

Again I stray from the focus of the Computer Circus (there is so much more to life, isn't there?). This time, it is about the media.Don't you just love how melodramatic the media is? How about interrupting normal programming for hours to talk endlessly about an airplane that is flying around in circles to burn off fuel before it lands on its twisted landing gear?Do we really expect to see

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-1127419006397537742005-09-22T12:14:00.000-07:002005-09-22T18:30:39.496-07:00

I sit late into the night, tediously hacking away on my keyboard(s). My back hurts, my neck aches, I strain against the poor lighting conditions as my eyes attempt to compensate for the high contrast of the white screen against the darkened room, and my brows furl as I toggle back and forth between the Mac and the PC...or whatever other computer(s) or gadget(s) I have on my desk at the time.

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-1127370511551075202005-09-21T23:06:00.000-07:002005-09-22T18:50:15.420-07:00

Are humans like computers? When a computer is turned off, it loses its memory. That which makes it function is gone. The hardware is still there, and if you turn the power back on, all the functionality gets loaded back into memory and off it goes again. But if it is never turned on again, what it was known for - its capabilities, its quirks...it's "personality"...are lost for good.But what

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-1127326071488756822005-09-21T11:07:00.000-07:002005-09-21T11:07:51.490-07:00

This is a test. This entry will be deleted. Changes are a-comin'.

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-1127089363743594352005-09-18T16:53:00.000-07:002005-09-18T17:28:16.116-07:00

<shudder>I'm using Internet Explorer on the Mac</shudder>OK, enough of that nonsense. I TRIED to use IE on the Mac, but it didn't like blogger, so I started over. Now I am using Safari. Can you believe IE on the Mac - my powerhouse dual G5 desktop - came with IE 5.2? 5.2! I don't know if 5.2 even understands stylesheets. It certainly doesn't work with much. What's the point? Maybe it is

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-1122084552812871472005-07-22T19:01:00.000-07:002005-07-22T19:11:18.693-07:00

I always have to jinx things. It wasn't long after my previous entry that another Computer Circus event occurred.My router died.I'm not sure why it died. I was trying to set up an FTP server to experiment with sending my blog (yes, this blog) to my own server, and I was not having much luck. I did a little research and determined that some ports were not open on my SMC Barricade firewall, so I

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-1122066816603825562005-07-22T13:40:00.000-07:002005-07-22T14:13:37.496-07:00

Well, now I'll never know for absolutely certain if the guy who bought my magazines was trying to scam me or not. He eventually wrote back and said he got me confused with someone else from whom he ordered something. Lockheed Martin even wrote back and said they couldn't tell me anything about the employee (company policy), but that the address was a valid LM address. And the money order

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-1121600597073517602005-07-17T04:21:00.000-07:002005-07-17T04:50:23.776-07:00

Well, I have been making progress on organizing my workshop. In the cleaning process, I got rid of and sold a bunch of old magazines. In fact, I sold a bunch of Model Aviation and Radio Control Modeler magazines to a guy...who is now trying to scam me!Asshole.I posted an ad for my magazines on Craig's List - which is like a big pool of easy pickin's for scammers. Normally, I simply don't deal

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-1120898375460816232005-07-09T00:50:00.000-07:002005-07-09T01:49:04.506-07:00

Synopsis: - I put my car up for sale and someone bought it the next day. - I was without a car for a couple weeks and felt totally stranded. - I wanted to buy an old Honda Civic Wagon. - I wound up buying a Honda Civic Hatchback (in a severe lapse of judgement) that won't pass the smog test (which is a fucking scam in California, anyway). The tires were shit, so I swapped them with the tires

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-1118424623869308192005-06-10T09:39:00.000-07:002005-06-10T10:30:23.910-07:00

Speaking of computers blowing up...I should know by now never to mention anything about computer problems when the computers are working.I guess it was the day before yesterday (at night, actually), I was sitting at my computer, thinking about my accomplishments and contemplating my future. I decided to fire up the Mac and watch one of the movies I made last semester - my last music video.

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-1118196824747662862005-06-07T18:55:00.000-07:002005-06-07T19:13:44.756-07:00

Again, there has been quite a gap in this blog. But I'm still alive...and my hand continues to improve, though it is frustrating that it takes SO LONG to recover.Anyway, I am not sure I will be continuing this blog much longer. I am really thinning out, trying to simplify my life. I am basically getting out of robotics, since I don't spend much - if any - time with it (other than the combat

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-1113031181583261402005-04-09T00:11:00.000-07:002005-12-28T16:31:05.483-08:00

For two weeks, I had two metal pins sticking out of my hand. Two metal pins holding my fifth metacarpel bone together in my right hand while it heals. But now I have only one. One was removed on Thursday. It was very strange - the doctor just took a small pair of pliers, twisted it, and pulled it out. It came out unexpectedly clean (not bloody like I imagined). My hand felt almost

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-1110680584861661332005-03-12T17:51:00.000-08:002005-03-12T18:36:00.490-08:00

I tend to push myself too hard. After 27 years of using computers, I pick up new software tools rather quickly. But I have a nasty habit of complicating things. I don't know if I even know how to make something simple. And I always seem to be working alone.Now I am working with only one hand. It all started 27 years ago, when I thought I was interested in computers. Here it is 27 years

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-1110097971724160952005-03-06T00:25:00.000-08:002005-03-06T01:01:46.913-08:00

Oh, man, I have no idea what I have gotten myself into. I'm not getting very far away from computers. Is there anything that doesn't involve computers these days? I am so entrenched in After Effects and Flash and Photoshop that I am now spending more time on the computer than ever. Even with my video - most of the time is spent importing the footage, sorting it out, cutting it up, assembling

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-1107053313986978012005-01-29T18:38:00.000-08:002005-03-18T15:28:01.050-08:00

School has begun and I am now well-entrenched in learning multimedia tools. I am taking five classes this semester - two of them are cake, because their intro type classes that I only need to qualify for a certificate. But the classes are: Introduction to Multimedia Digital Video Photoshop & Illustrator Macromedia Flash Adobe After EffectsI have my hands full. And I also don't have all

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-1103328603149248862004-12-17T16:04:00.000-08:002005-03-06T01:01:37.313-08:00

My Final Cut Pro editing class is finally over. Not that I am excited that it is over, but now at least I am free from my project that I was slaving over. Here is the final version that I presented to the class (it's in Quicktime format). It was well received. I am always so surprised as to how differently the end result is perceived (even by me) when it is presented in front of an audience.

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-1103115502651294482004-12-15T04:53:00.000-08:002004-12-15T04:58:22.650-08:00

OK, so even the best of us get bitten by an urban legend now and then. The picture I posted about the 1954 computer photo was actually the result of a Photoshop contest. Ah, well. That's what I get for trusting the people I trust who send me this stuff. Interesting note about my Mac: It seems to have fixed itself. I haven't had a lock-up or hang in a long time. It seems it just needed a

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-1102549398614991662004-12-08T15:39:00.000-08:002004-12-08T15:43:18.613-08:00

If computers actually were built like this today, I might have better luck with them. This was from Popular Mechanics magazine in 1954. How times have changed. What's that growing out of the top of the guy's head, anyway? And what's the deal with the dual steering wheels? Does the thing run on diesel?

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-1102379601241662812004-12-06T16:32:00.000-08:002005-03-18T15:27:23.660-08:00

What an ordeal. I was working hard to prepare for my first bout with my new combat robot, but the biggest problem I had was burning a DVD on the Macintosh. iDVD has some seriously annoying bugs. One of which - for SOME reason that it won't report - is its inability to burn my project on a DVD. It took me three days to finaggle it to the point where it would actually create the actual DVD.

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-1101636178438334482004-11-28T02:01:00.000-08:002005-03-18T15:26:53.486-08:00

I know this blog is stale. I have been busy with my combat robot. I'm also going to be taking a full load of classes in the Spring (i.e. January), so likely all web production will suffer. Just thought you'd like to know.

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-1097875462597718252004-10-15T14:13:00.000-07:002004-10-15T14:25:39.996-07:00

A friend of mine called me yesterday because he wasn't able to get on the Internet. Before calling me, he was on the phone with his Internet provider (which I will not name - but it's a big one) who talked him through some troubleshooting steps. They were unable to resolve his problem. Because he mentioned that he went through this troubleshooting step, I assumed (bad move!) that they took him

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-1097379701531000752004-10-09T19:51:00.000-07:002004-10-09T20:42:27.963-07:00

OK, yeah, well it has been a while since I posted anything here. I've been busy. I spent a few days creating a filing system for my paper files. It feels good to have everything in one place where I know I can find it. I have finally weeded out all the unnessary papers that have been hanging around in drawers and boxes, etc. At least until I discover another box of papers. I still haven't

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-1095381090739558842004-09-16T16:48:00.000-07:002004-09-16T17:34:22.916-07:00

Yesterday, my best buddy in the whole wide world passed away; my buddy Max: Ten years ago, if someone told me I would be burying my best friend and that it would be a cat, I would have said they were crazy. But Max was a special spirit who taught me more about life than probably any human ever did. I am convinced that he was my wife's guardian angel. He was a very wise cat, and you couldn't

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-1094572787147134812004-09-07T08:29:00.000-07:002004-09-07T08:59:47.146-07:00

Today's entry has little or nothing to do with computers. It is really more of a rant than anything else. But before I get into the rant, allow me to draw a preliminary picture. My wife got Thursday, Friday and Monday off work, so we took a trip to the Yuba river and had a blast swimming in the river. Perhaps I'll provide more details on that later. After taking the 4-hour drive home on

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-1093557150620705952004-08-26T14:30:00.000-07:002004-08-26T16:57:03.006-07:00

I don't know (yet) if the Apple is all what it is cracked up to be. Perhaps what I have seen simply isn't taking advantage of the dual 2GHz processors, but when it comes to SETI@Home, my 2.6 GHz (single processor) PC runs rings around the Mac. My PC processes a SETI@Home packet at a rate of just over 4 hours. The Mac takes well over 5 hours to process a packet. Now, an interesting thing

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-1092703236777763442004-08-16T17:25:00.000-07:002004-08-16T17:40:36.776-07:00

Wow. Order an Apple computer one day, and you get it the next. I not only ordered it one day and got it the next, but I ordered it in the afternoon and got it in the morning! So now I have a dual 2GHz G5 computer running OSX (10.3 Panther). The thing weighs a TON! The keyboard is weird, and the computer itself is not much to look at (reminds me of an air conditioner or something). But it's

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-1092440748825822212004-08-13T16:35:00.000-07:002004-08-13T16:47:04.216-07:00

I ordered a G5 PowerMac system today, so I'll soon be on my way to editing video. The Final Cut Pro class was full, so I need to go to the first class to see if I can get in, officially. Speaking of classes... Yesterday, I built a cardboard prototype of the bot I want to build in my CSM Robotics class: It will have a spinning weapon on one side (as you can see in the image, hopefully) and a

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-1091753889454513502004-08-05T17:54:00.000-07:002004-08-05T23:24:15.496-07:00

Wow. I have been busy lately. Let's see if I can even remember what has happened since the last time I wrote. Well, let's start back at Monday night. I went to the CSM Robotics class where a friend of mine is attending. He has built a robot that he calls the T-34 B, and he has this transmitter that he uses to control it that is for radio controlled cars. I don't like transmitters made for

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-1091214204832370222004-07-30T11:59:00.000-07:002004-07-30T12:03:24.833-07:00

I was playing with an idea yesterday for a very short film. I decided to set up the camera to shoot some experimental scenes just to get some ideas. After watching the footage afterward, I was laughing so hard I had to put an out-take reel together. So here it is It is a Windows Media file for a high-speed connection, so if you're on dial-up, it probably won't work for you. The reel starts

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-1091155503487132202004-07-29T19:43:00.000-07:002004-07-29T19:45:03.486-07:00

I think I have captured just the right attitude for a Nuke the Moon persona. What do you think? The link is for a Windows Media File, by the way...

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-1090961441268879252004-07-27T13:40:00.000-07:002004-07-27T13:59:28.043-07:00

It looks like I will be getting a Mac. A dual 2.0 GHz G5 system. With Final Cut Pro. I'll be editing the short film that the group just shot last week. I am enrolling in a Final Cut Pro class at the College of San Mateo. Better late than never - I just got admitted, so now I have to go through all the remaining hoops to get in (assessment tests, meet a counselor, etc., etc.). Ugh. Not sure

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-1090528592830237002004-07-22T13:34:00.000-07:002004-07-22T13:36:32.830-07:00

The better a day is, the worse the next day is. Yesterday was hell. I don't even want to talk about it. Now nothing works. At least my Trike is up and running with my PCM radio, so I got to drive it around a little yesterday. It's fun. I just need some wheels on it that have some traction. And maybe I'll add another battery and make it a 24V system so the thing will "haul ass" as they say.

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-1090449984194067822004-07-21T15:47:00.000-07:002004-07-21T15:57:45.366-07:00

Yesterday was one of those freakish days that are so rare I often believe they don't exist. I call them freakish because things go right. Things work. And I'm just not used to that. To make a long story short (because I don't have much time), the revision G boards for my RC4 device arrived. Coincidentally, I also received four proximity sensors for my robot, and a new Jameco catalog. It was

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-1090302377785466032004-07-19T22:33:00.000-07:002004-07-19T22:46:17.786-07:00

Well, my new code didn't work. I discovered I had made a couple transcription errors in the truth table when I entered it into my software - not the least of which being that one of the inputs was inverted. I also had an error in the code (I sent a branch to the wrong label). Correcting the table led to some ugly Boolean equations which would have adversely cluttered up my code, so this gave

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-1090258506409111602004-07-19T09:38:00.000-07:002004-07-19T11:49:33.760-07:00

I'm afraid to look. I was up a little after 2:00 a.m. this morning when the power went out. I was really mad, because I had been typing an entry into this 'blog for about an hour, and was about two minutes away from saving it. I really (key word here: REALLY) don't like living in this area. I have seen more power outages since I moved here four years ago than I ever did growing up in Tucson

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-1089940388911958252004-07-15T18:14:00.000-07:002004-07-15T18:36:10.983-07:00

I've had a hell of a time with the PIC16F87 chips.  I don't know if they're major flakes, or if it is my programmer.  But I have had a hell of a time.  I'm not even going to go into it.   I have ONE critical item remaining on my list.  One.  But it eludes me at the moment.  It's that last major deal that I have to conquer.  The one last great challenge.  But then I also just noticed that my RC4

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-1089769572976234102004-07-13T18:24:00.000-07:002004-07-13T18:46:12.976-07:00

Wowie, wowie, wowie! What the hell is wowie? Just thought I would add a bit to my earlier statistics. The current instruction count is 1951 instructions for PIC1, and 1705 instructions for PIC2, for a total of 3656 instructions. I added a few today (trying to bring my development rate up to one instruction per hour - haha). And things are moving right along. I have only one critical item

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-1089742892092597732004-07-13T11:08:00.000-07:002004-07-13T18:49:57.163-07:00

I was just thinking about my RC4 device this morning and all the time I have put into it. It is amazing how all this work just boils down to a collection of bits. All these bits have to be arranged just right in order for this thing to do what I want it to do. The amazing thing is that I have developed firmware for two chips on this board. The first chip handles all the data communication (

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-1089687427927781152004-07-12T19:32:00.000-07:002004-07-12T19:57:07.926-07:00

My RC4 device is really shaping up! I have only four critical issues remaining (but two are so closely related that I really have only three issues remaining) before I will be ready to plug this into a computer and start playing with it. Oh man! All that hard work and I am finally approaching an end point! I haven't ordered the Rev G boards, yet. I am glad that I gave myself the weekend to

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-1089592311131059682004-07-11T17:14:00.000-07:002004-07-11T18:22:49.240-07:00

I had a rare day yesterday. Something actually worked. I am working on my RC4 project, trying to wrap up the last few priority issues. Well, I was looking into an issue - that was more like just a question in my mind - and in the process discovered a number of issues. Let's see...do I try to even explain it here? If I do, it probably won't make sense to anyone but me, but I'll try, anyway.

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-1089428176873985892004-07-09T19:13:00.000-07:002004-07-09T19:56:16.873-07:00

I'm trying to wrap up my RC4 project. It has been over two years now. I recall vividly, now, why I stopped working on it in the first place. It has become far too complicated, and the code has been distilled and compacted to such a degree that there is very little decoupling between routines, so if I so much as tug on one strand, a hundred other strands are disturbed. It's like a giant

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-1089057190653910302004-07-05T11:45:00.000-07:002004-07-06T11:34:53.873-07:00

I'm writing this really fast in hopes of compensating for the speed of Blogger this morning. Just kidding (for those who don't know me any better). Well, last night - July 4 - was a little bit exciting. I went to see Fahrenheit 9/11 earlier in the day and didn't see a single thing that surprised me in the least about Bush. He's just exactly the weasel I imagined him to be from the day he

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-1088812382631209502004-07-02T16:51:00.000-07:002004-07-02T16:53:02.630-07:00

Who says BattleBots and computers don't mix? http://robotcombat.com/video_moebius_music_video.html Now I know what to do with MY battle bot!

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-1088715595877075372004-07-01T13:59:00.000-07:002004-07-01T13:59:55.876-07:00

I [expletive]-ing gave up. I'm back to using a stock template for this 'blog. Live with it.

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-1088715191141800542004-07-01T13:41:00.000-07:002004-07-01T13:57:18.010-07:00

I could make a whole ton of religious references and throw in a bunch of other sordid words that you can't say on television, but what's the point? Words are simply inadequate. All I can say is, I am SOOOOOOOOOO GLAD that I am not a Web developer! How in the HELL does anyone deal with this crap? Ok, the expletives are leaking out (not surprising - I'm full of them right now). I have tried

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-1088534798279969832004-06-29T11:37:00.000-07:002004-06-29T11:47:52.710-07:00

My little "combat robot trainer and test platform" is up and running. I call it the 'Trike'. I also refer to it as the six-hour battle bot, since that's about how long it took me to make it. It is a blast. I wish it was faster and had some traction, but that doesn't diminsh the fun. I took it to the parking lot across the street (it needed some help getting up the hill, due to lack of

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-1088489736152572982004-06-28T23:02:00.000-07:002004-06-28T23:15:36.153-07:00

So, today I got bored. After building an embedded computer inside a power supply case, I decided to build a radio-controlled car. It's kind of a unique car. The frame and the motors and the rear wheels came from an old child's electric riding toy (that looked like a small truck). I have had the parts for some time, but threw out the truck body shell, and I got the itch to start driving

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-1088461604242039132004-06-28T15:09:00.001-07:002009-01-03T21:59:01.900-08:00

Quite some time ago - like when this whole Computer Circus 'blog began - I took an old dead power supply (yeah, remember that one?) and gutted it, and tried to install a much smaller power supply inside of it, along with an embedded computer. Well, that didn't work out, because the power supply I installed (that I bought supposedly brand new from a surplus electronics store) didn't work.I

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-1088016075931012522004-06-23T11:31:00.000-07:002004-06-23T11:41:15.930-07:00

I got tired of the blog being in reverse chronological order. To me it always seems to make more sense to read about events in the same sequence that they occur. Call me odd. So, I decided I would try to put my new knowledge of style sheets to use, along with javascript, and see if I could re-sequence my blog display, since everything comes up in reverse order. And Blogger does not provide an

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-1087886057573995302004-06-21T23:22:00.000-07:002004-06-21T23:42:11.396-07:00

<way off-topic><sarcasm> Welcome to America! Where corporate corruption rules and the people who do the work just don't matter. What is it with paranoid companies and their non-disclosure agreements and proprietary attitudes? If you are an honest, hard-working, caring individual (or spouse!), you are sure to be degraded and down-trodden for trying to help. Are we taught to fear to such a

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-1087807198019630432004-06-21T01:13:00.000-07:002004-06-21T01:46:41.416-07:00

I hate it when I can't sleep. I'm supposed to get up early...today...but it's already early and I haven't slept yet. I need to take my wife to work as she is still recovering from arm surgery and can't really drive yet. It's about an hour commute, but I guess I'll be working with her, since she roped me into helping her with this web stuff. I learned cascading style sheets this weekend. Well

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-1087612395928080972004-06-18T19:03:00.000-07:002004-06-18T19:51:13.956-07:00

I don't pay too much attention to my Linux box. It runs so long that I forget how to use it between the times I need to interact with it. I have to re-learn everything I knew just to take another step. It's kind of frustrating, but then it is also a testament as to the stability of the operating system. Imagine that. An operating system designed with stability in mind. And security, too!

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-1087599458020945792004-06-18T15:56:00.000-07:002004-06-18T19:33:46.346-07:00

Let's see. If I were to describe JavaScript - or, better yet, web technology in general - what would I say about it? Hmmm... Never mind. I'm not going to go there.

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-1087415243018605552004-06-16T12:29:00.000-07:002004-06-16T12:55:22.490-07:00

The software demons have possessed me the past few days. It started in the usual fashion. I got an idea in my head for something and I thought I could fire up Delphi and whip out something in a couple of hours. But here I am, five days later, and I am still working on the foundation. Nothing is ever easy or quick in software development. And by the way, who ever drummed up the term "

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-1086985126164458972004-06-11T13:10:00.000-07:002004-06-11T13:25:15.540-07:00

I am so sick of people and companies who list software as "free download" or "free version" when, in fact, it is a TRIAL or EVALUATION version of the software. If it was FREE, it wouldn't expire and it wouldn't required a license key and it wouldn't require that you do anything except download, install and run the software. COME ON PEOPLE - TELL IT LIKE IT REALLY IS! When something is

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-1086832545066981852004-06-09T18:36:00.000-07:002004-06-09T18:55:45.066-07:00

So today I thought I would see what I could learn about 3D modeling and animation. I downloaded a number of tools, including 3D Canvas, Alice, Anim8or, blender3d, and Metasequoia. I have used Metasequoia in the past to create some virtual models of model airplanes (and BattleBots) to fly in the FMS flight simulator. It has some of the most intuitive interface controls to manipulate the virtual

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-1086741610186254282004-06-08T16:53:00.000-07:002004-06-08T17:40:10.186-07:00

Well, well, well. Something appears to have worked! My DSL modem has not locked up since I updated the firmware. Not bad for a firmware update that ended in "Update FAILED!" I guess you can't believe everything you read. I just discovered this place called omnicircus. The artist is looking for a roboticist. Actually, he is looking for a variety of skilled people to help him bring his

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-1086455067179104012004-06-05T09:58:00.000-07:002004-06-05T10:04:27.180-07:00

Okaaaayyy... Something is adrift in the ether this morning. This replacement modem just won't stop locking up. I sent an email to my ISP to see if anything is going on on their end, but no reply, yet. At least I haven't checked my mail, anyway. I haven't been able to - my modem won't connect! Well, it is connected now. I went to Westell's web site to see if there was a firmware upgrade for

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-1086451270595195612004-06-05T09:00:00.000-07:002004-06-05T10:04:40.676-07:00

Well, it appears the new modem has the same problem as the old modem. I just had to reboot it again. Maybe it is my network provider that is having hiccups.

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-1086448834073172412004-06-05T08:05:00.000-07:002004-06-05T09:02:10.576-07:00

There are these incredibly annoying blue jays that show up around this time every year and begin squawking at the cats in the morning. EVERY FREAKIN' MORNING they wake me up between 5:00 am and 6:00, and I am about to keel over dead from not getting enough sleep! I want to kill the birds - which is unusual for me, since I don't like to kill ANYTHING - but when driven mad by inadequate sleep

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692871.post-1086411328699389302004-06-04T21:10:00.000-07:002004-06-04T22:05:25.293-07:00

Well, I finally have started to gain a little momentum toward doing something with video production. Today, I went to Home Depot and bought some green paint and I came back home and painted up a piece of cardboard. This was a big piece of cardboard, left over from another production that never got off the ground. It was a piece of the ceiling from the set, which was the bridge of a space ship

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01109343057105566460noreply@blogger.com0