The ol' mowing the heart in the lawn trick - gets 'em every time! ... ok, guess I better finish now. 

faster?... Faster!... FASTER!!!!

I just found a Sa-weeeet site that goes through step by step on optimizing your computer/internet/security settings. I totally went through the guide on desktop optimization, and guess what... my desktop actually boots up and runs faster! I actually am surprised it all worked! So if you're tired of waiting for your computer to work, go here and boost your computer speed. Oh yeah, and it's FREE!

LogMeIn.. please?

So I am looking for a VPN solution to remotely access and control my dad's computer (to help out with all the computer stuff) and I came across this one. I'd love to have a super-secure one that was just built from the ground up using free tools (Super-Geek!), but I doubt my dad would be able to install it himself on the host computer. We'll see how it goes :)

I've Got a Fever...

Well, if you actually do have a fever (and a broadband connection) then download the only prescription out there... more cowbell

Cause I gotta have more cowbell, baby!

(or as Boromir would say...)

Road Trip! (to Barnesville... 30 miles away) 

Cranified!

Fun Families Unite! 20,000 Game Giveaway

So it never happens, right? Just pick 3 pieces of clay that turn into smiley faces and you win a Cranium game! And guess what, yours truly got lucky and mine is coming in a week!! Awesome, right? Sign up and give it a spin... you can try once a day. Odds are you'll get it eventually :) Or if you're lucky you'll get it on the first try!!

Download this right now... no, RIGHT now.

This is basically one of the most useful programs I have come across... make that "print scr" button useful for more that just making your keyboard look really full... ACTUALLY PRINT THE SCREEN!! so try out Printkey 2000 v5.10. It's freeware so it won't hurt, and you will be soooooo glad you did! :)

Prisoner of Catan

So I was looking at how to make my own, durable Settlers of Catan game set pretty cheap ($20 total?) when I came across this guy who is apparently an artist and made his own set. It looks pretty sweet, right!?

Pirates of the Carribean

So I went to Maplewood State Park the other week, and I didn't think it at the time, but looking back I am reminded of how fun it was the time that I went geocaching with some friends. Not heard of it? Basically all you need is a handheld GPS unit like this one (I totally WANT that!) that shows you your longitude and latitude and a set of coordinates of a hidden geocache. Now, this is for outdoor-type people or adventurers who like hiking and all that, because some of these caches are miles down a trail. But that is basically the fun of the hunt - enjoying the hike. So there are thousands of these caches everywhere... you just have to know where to look. Man, that was a fun time!

Don't Panic (or do)

So I saw the hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy, and I had read the book years ago, but it wasn't until recently that my brain started wrapping around this idea about the earth being a giant computer... and I thought about this, about cause and effect, and about our bodies, how they simply react to things that happen to them, both internally and externally... and I thought, does that apply psychologically as well, because if our emotions are controlled by chemicals pulsing through our brains, and those chemicals are controlled by I don't know what, what about how our brains store and recall things, or when we "come up with ideas"... are those "ideas" simply me reacting to something, be it psychological or physical or experiential, or most likely a combination of all of that... and I thought, "are we simply reactionary beings?"

And I took this further, and started thinking, "do I even have a choice in what I am thinking about, or am I simply reacting to my own experience and the world around me... Am I simply reacting? And I can't seem to find that I am not, unless I take into account the spiritual nature of things, which I still think I would be reacting to, actually.

So this thought pattern just takes off and I think, what does this mean about the world? If everyone and everything is simply reacting to everything else, then there must be a set outcome for every interaction, which leads to the next and the next, and carries over into memory which affects the next interaction... and I thought that if we had the technology and the information about cause and effect in the body and psychology of every living organism, and had information about the status of every molecule not only on the planet, but in the known, perceivable universe that could possibly affect us, then you could know how everyone would react to their entire lives throughout the end of time, that is if "you" were outside of the environment so that you wouldn't affect it.

So what would this theory say about the nature of fate? Or destiny? Or choice? Can you truly control anything? Well, I believe that we all think we do, and the fact is we cannot live without thinking that... it is a part of our framework of thought, programmed into who we are, physically. It is in our design. Because we can logically postualte a potential future action, even though we may not do it, we think that we could do it, and sometimes we do.

And if there is a set pattern of things (fate) so complex that we, honestly, could never understand it, then from the first moment the last thing was created, and all of the attributes of the universe were set in place and in motion, the end of all things was determined, because God can know all, and he can understand the place and existence of all things, because He created them. (Not to say that there is more to it than that, like the nature of time and God...) But if all that is set in place and at even the present time is in motion, then what is the nature of the earth, and what is the the culmination of existence for all things that exist on the earth?

But even if we could know about and "calculate" the end of existence, if we had the mass of data and the computer that could calculate it, we would then in essence be changing it, and at the point of knowing, that result would immediately become invalid, because that knowledge would change the environment. (But it is not like that ability to "see" the potential future would not have been possible, because it happened.)

See, the end of all things would came about without us ever seeing it, because we would not be able to calculate it. Because in knowing the calculation, and our knowledge being a "variable" in the "formula", that formula would then be changed.

So, basically, what did I come up with? The world is "calculating" something that we have no choice in changing. The outcome is "destiny" or "fate" which we completely have a part in, and at the same time cannot not do exactly what we do. But please, continue to think you have choice, although in the big picture, you really don't... you are just reacting... and this whole time you have been reacting to what I wrote here... and it will never go away (Mwa ha hahaha!!!).

And so the moral of this story?
Be careful what you listen to. It could effect the eternal destiny of the universe...

or not.

WHAT AM I DOING?

I should be reading and writing a paper right now, but I can't help it... I just read in Writght's book "Relational Leaership" about coming to terms with failures in your life. And I just had an epiphany of sorts - that I can't change the past... even the decision I made to stop working on my schoolwork to go through all the hooplah of posting to this blog from a not-at-home workstation. I am going to have to learn to accept the things I cannot change, like the past, and keep my eyes fixed on the prize. Ahhhhhhh... feels better now.

Let's move to.... CATAN!

What? You play Settlers of Catan, but you don't have any friends around to play it with? Well, downlolad this and join the 2,101 other active online members (including yours truly) of S3dconnector, the online version of Settlers. Trust me, there are games being played as we speak... i mean, as i write.

Ok, so you've done that, but noticed that the tiles are a little, shall we say, "dumb-looking"... don't worry, they did it that way on purpose. To fix it, download this and follow these directions. That will replace the tiles with the normal US version... or grab this (10.1 MB) and get a few international versions of the artwork as well.

I call myself "The Newbie-Bloginator"

Yeah, so since I haven't given out the web address to this blog yet, what are you even doing here... I mean I wrote this on a whim,a nd now you're here. You are so in trouble right now. But you know, since you stumbled upon me, hey! why not hand around for a few minutes and check out a few things... like:

Strongbad, or the coolest Praise and Worship Archive I have seen yet. You might even want to sign up with a cool picture sharing/chat program that my family, friends, and I use EVERY (other) DAY! What else is there? Oh, well there's this (which is all free) and this (which can come in handy sometimes), or maybe this for the DVD geeks. Do you officially consider yourself a geek, geeky, or slightly nerdy? Because you also might find this interesting(most likely not), which a friend wrote... and I recently downloaded and installed this (another yawn). It's supposed to be pretty good. Or you might just post your geekcode, and we'll call it even.

Other stuff:
Looking around? Use this, or look it up here and learn something new, or check out what your house look like from satellite.

I thought that this was pretty cool for trading dvds on the internet. I've traded a whole bunch through it.

eBay: try out auctionsniper. Free auction sniping to begin with, and, yes, sign up and it earns me free snipes, too :)

Now this is pretty nice - I used to go to Slickdeals and FatWallet to get some great deals (and I've gotten them - like $40 for a 16x NEC DVD burner with 50pk of dvd's included, or a $20 WD 80GB Harddrive, for starters)

One last thing. If you're not using this or this, then what are you even doing on the internet in the first place?

so... kept you busy? maybe not?
well, that's a quick snapshot of things I like.
see you soon?