ehowton: (Default)
ehowton ([personal profile] ehowton) wrote2007-04-13 12:00 pm
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STL: A Retrospective

Time changes everything. Its inevitable and inarguable. Many things have changed since this entry...

The Sleeper has Awakened!



The top ten things I like about STL:


  1. [livejournal.com profile] galinda822

  2. IMO's Pizza

  3. Morgan Street Brewery

  4. PX Liquors

  5. Overland, MO

  6. I-70

  7. Gooey Butter Cake



  8. [livejournal.com profile] bigdog_etc







Thinning the pile

Rec'd a call from [livejournal.com profile] drax0r. Due to mitigating circumstances beyond his control (and for that case, my own, easily embodied in that of my wife) it was time to trim the fat. We took a long hard look at the pile of boxes which have been sitting in his garage for the last 18 months, and decided what to keep, and what to toss. I tell you, it wasn't easy. Ultimately, we chose to get rid of all the SPARC32 boxes (1xSPARCstation-5, 1xSPARCstation-10, 1xSPARCstation-20), both the Indigo's, and the B-series HP/9000. *sigh* Mr. [livejournal.com profile] drax0r is stripping the 18GB 10k SCSI drives & SCSI CD-ROMs from the departing boxes. From this pile we're keeping two HP/9000 model 712's (to create one good one - the shell of the other will be tossed; hey, they run 11i so leave me alone), the RAVE, the U30 (which I will use for parts when the U60 arrives, then likely toss that as well) and the Ultra-1 (I don't know why). Either way, my Octane will replace the lost Indigo's and if anyone wants the Ultra-1, just let me know. It's an Enterprise edition and in great shape.







IE & The GIMP
For those of you who have the notify option when "One of my friends uploads a new userpic" please accept my sincere apologies for my rash of 'iPod' attempts. Since uninstalling Adobe Photoshop CS2 from my work computer, I've had great difficulty creating high quality userpics. I needed the Shuffle avatar for The Worlds Smallest MP3 Player + kubuntu post, so I turned to GIS and found a source image, but the pre-loaded image manipulation package on my kubuntu box didn't appear to do transparencies. So...I bit the bullet and installed GIMP. This was issue #1. Because I'm not as familiar with the interface, it took me FOREVER to produce a cropped transparent PNG file (I adore recursive acronyms) Grrrrrr. Couple this with the fact that while I was cleaning up my work computer I also retardedly uninstalled Firefox. Ergo, every PNG file I made displayed with a 50% gradient background rather than a transparent one. I THOUGHT I WAS DOING SOMETHING WRONG. Later that evening, at home, it took me 45-seconds to create the image with Photoshop and it displayed accordingly in Mozilla.

(Anonymous) 2007-04-13 05:31 pm (UTC)(link)
You know when I am doing this from work it would be better if you had a white background with black lettering so It looks like I am reading technical documentation. :-)

[identity profile] ehowton.livejournal.com 2007-04-13 06:13 pm (UTC)(link)
Change your layout to visually represent a black-on-white official document, then bookmark my site on your browser appending the URL with '?style=mine'

Good day to you, sir.

[identity profile] celtmanx.livejournal.com 2007-04-13 06:35 pm (UTC)(link)
I take it that's not your mom!!!

[identity profile] ehowton.livejournal.com 2007-04-13 06:49 pm (UTC)(link)
Not mother?

[identity profile] drax0r.livejournal.com 2007-04-14 03:30 pm (UTC)(link)
the obvious flaw in your plan is that it requires the anonymous poster to log in first

i had more to say but i am bloging from an ipaq & typing sucks

[identity profile] celtmanx.livejournal.com 2007-04-14 07:00 pm (UTC)(link)
WEE!!!

[identity profile] ehowton.livejournal.com 2007-04-14 08:03 pm (UTC)(link)
the obvious flaw in your plan is that it requires the anonymous poster to log in first

Good point.

[identity profile] celtmanx.livejournal.com 2007-04-13 06:37 pm (UTC)(link)
So what are number 8 and 9???

[identity profile] ehowton.livejournal.com 2007-04-13 06:51 pm (UTC)(link)
They're simply for effect, for Mr. Cluck's sake.

[identity profile] ehowton.livejournal.com 2007-04-13 07:36 pm (UTC)(link)
(Smoking Baby speaks with a French accent)

[identity profile] celtmanx.livejournal.com 2007-04-13 08:39 pm (UTC)(link)
WEE WEE!!!

[identity profile] bigdog-etc.livejournal.com 2007-04-13 07:47 pm (UTC)(link)
GEE! You could have made me number 8 since apparently you couldn't think of one. I'll shutup now as I feel honored to have made your top 10 this time!

[identity profile] ehowton.livejournal.com 2007-04-13 08:24 pm (UTC)(link)
Maybe next year you'll make #9?

[identity profile] bigdog-etc.livejournal.com 2007-04-13 08:38 pm (UTC)(link)
I guess in order for that to happen I will have to reply and post more frequently? Especially since you won't be in the presence of the amazing Mr. Cluck.

[identity profile] celtmanx.livejournal.com 2007-04-13 08:41 pm (UTC)(link)
Poor Mr. Cluck, your loss is my gain with Eric leaving St. Louis>

[identity profile] ehowton.livejournal.com 2007-04-13 09:23 pm (UTC)(link)
The Cluck comes out at night!

[identity profile] schpydurx.livejournal.com 2007-04-13 09:07 pm (UTC)(link)
I was supposed to get one of those boxes years ago...maybe I can come pick it up?

[identity profile] ehowton.livejournal.com 2007-04-13 09:23 pm (UTC)(link)
The SPARCstation-10 had your name on it. The Ultra-1 will run circle around it...and absolutely dude!

[identity profile] celtmanx.livejournal.com 2007-04-13 09:55 pm (UTC)(link)
People in hell think they are supposed to get ice water but it does not mean they will!!!

[identity profile] schpydurx.livejournal.com 2007-04-14 05:39 am (UTC)(link)
Le bébé parle français!

[identity profile] ehowton.livejournal.com 2007-04-14 01:18 pm (UTC)(link)
ROFLMAO!

[identity profile] ehowton.livejournal.com 2007-04-14 07:59 pm (UTC)(link)
In case I wasn't clear, yes, you can have the SPARC Ultra-1 Enterprise workstation when you visit [livejournal.com profile] drax0r, [livejournal.com profile] celtmanx and I in Texas.

[identity profile] schpydurx.livejournal.com 2007-04-14 08:08 pm (UTC)(link)
I thought that was what you meant, but thanks for the confirmation. You guys r0ck harder.

Does early August sound good? That should be time for you to get in and decorate the house and my birthday to roll around as well.

[identity profile] ehowton.livejournal.com 2007-04-14 08:19 pm (UTC)(link)
Sure, if we sell the house immediately and purchase a house which has already been built. But if we don't sell the house right away, it could be awhile. Or if we sell the house right away, and have one built, or if we sell the house, but for less than what we need to start having a house built, or buy a pre-existing house, or if we don't sell the house, but buy a different, smaller house anyway, or if we end up renting for awhile, or you know, anything in between.

[identity profile] galinda822.livejournal.com 2007-04-14 05:08 am (UTC)(link)
Aww! Aren't you sweet!

At least I beat out IMO's - that was a close call. :)

[identity profile] ehowton.livejournal.com 2007-04-14 05:12 am (UTC)(link)
Deconstructed, I have you, food, and liquor. Ah, the finer things in life!

[identity profile] galinda822.livejournal.com 2007-04-14 05:24 am (UTC)(link)
You are very sweet! What will you miss the most though?

[identity profile] ehowton.livejournal.com 2007-04-14 01:21 pm (UTC)(link)
Its a toss up between first scooby-snack of the morning with you every morning, and IMO's pizza.

[identity profile] galinda822.livejournal.com 2007-04-14 05:09 am (UTC)(link)
ps: It'll all still be here if you ever come back through St. Lou!

[identity profile] ehowton.livejournal.com 2007-04-14 05:14 am (UTC)(link)
The whole lot of ya - staples of Saint Louis.

[identity profile] galinda822.livejournal.com 2007-04-14 05:20 am (UTC)(link)
That's me - a staple of Saint Louis. Born and breed here probably never leave here. No exciting moving around constantly.

How very boring of me!

[identity profile] schpydurx.livejournal.com 2007-04-14 05:52 pm (UTC)(link)
I am confused. What mitigating circumstances? Was it Mrs. [livejournal.com profile] drax0r and Mrs. [livejournal.com profile] ehowton that demanded the box3n be gone through?


The Gimp is not Photoshop. Photoshop is an Adobe product. Adobe products run better on Macs (especially Mac Pros). Buy a Mac.

[identity profile] celtmanx.livejournal.com 2007-04-14 06:25 pm (UTC)(link)
It was Mrs. Draxor aka Tony that demanded the clean out of the garage!!!

[identity profile] schpydurx.livejournal.com 2007-04-14 06:27 pm (UTC)(link)
"I see" said the blind man as he picked up his hammer and saw.

[identity profile] schpydurx.livejournal.com 2007-04-14 06:28 pm (UTC)(link)
that's Mrs. Drax0r to you!

[identity profile] schpydurx.livejournal.com 2007-04-14 06:48 pm (UTC)(link)
Le bébé parle avec un accent français !

[identity profile] ehowton.livejournal.com 2007-04-14 07:57 pm (UTC)(link)
Oui?

[identity profile] ehowton.livejournal.com 2007-04-14 07:57 pm (UTC)(link)
Oui?

[identity profile] ehowton.livejournal.com 2007-04-14 07:56 pm (UTC)(link)
The mitigating circumstance that my boxes are in his garage in Texas, and I'm in Saint Louis, and they required moving - nothing I can do about that!

The GIMP is not a licensed product. Photoshop is a licensed product. I was at work, where I have an XP box, and a linux box. I already own a Mac. It didn't help me at work.

[identity profile] schpydurx.livejournal.com 2007-04-14 07:58 pm (UTC)(link)
Sometimes we cunning linguists write for the sake of the words and their sounds not the reality of things that have been.

[identity profile] ehowton.livejournal.com 2007-04-14 08:01 pm (UTC)(link)
And sometimes no-talent ass-clowns smear their own fecal matter on a canvas and call it art.