Category: Writings

Tablet users… I realize this letter is a little long, but please read through it because there are some very important points you need to know. Non-tablet users may want to read through this also just in case.

Having a computer is a great thing. It can be exciting and it can be frustrating, but life with a computer is never boring. Owning your own computer can be one of the first great achievements of your adult life. We applaud those of you who are embracing your tablets and are ready to live a digital lifestyle.

However, you do not own your M275 – you are sharing it, in a sense – so we do have a few rules that we need to enforce on campus to ensure a stable environment that is conducive to academic activities. Please keep in mind that the M275 tablets given to you are property of Dakota State University and the State of South Dakota. DSU has to abide by state, federal, and local laws pertaining to dissemination of information and copyright infringement, among others.

Please read through the Rules of the Road below with an open mind and understand that we are not trying to oppress you or frustrate you; we are merely trying to keep the environment stable for students to be able to do their work effectively and efficiently. These practices are meant to reduce unnecessary network traffic, streamline the Help Desk process for those of you with repairs, and keep our network infrastructure secure and stable. We are not saying that you have to be a clone and not make any changes to your tablet, and we are not telling you that you can’t have fun with it. We are however asking you to be intelligent, responsible adults and to understand that the actions that you take can have consequences for you and for others.

1. Dakota State University is not an Internet Service Provider (ISP). We provide internet on campus for academic activities only. Internet on campus is not for downloading music and movies or for things like chatting and instant messengers. We allow some of this activity as long as it does not get out of hand or start to destabilize the network or unduly slow it down, but we do not guarantee services of those types. Our only goal in providing internet is to provide you with a stable environment from which to finish your homework, do academic research, or check your campus mail for academic related materials. Maintaining academic activities is our highest priority and activities that impede this process will be dealt with.

2. In light of the fact that your tablet is the property of and is maintained by the State of South Dakota, please keep in mind that viewing and storing pornography on it is not a good idea. What you do in the privacy of your own home is not our concern and we have no wish to censor you, but using State resources like our internet connection (which can be and is monitored by the State of South Dakota) to download or look at porn or to use Sate equipment like your M275 tablet to store it and view it is not something we want to explain to the taxpayers who contribute their hard earned tax dollars to the State, or even to the Dakota State Alumni who contributed to many of your scholarship funds and whose money also helps to operate and maintain this school, or to your parents whom for many of you are also contributing funding for your stay here at DSU.

3. Your tablet is for academic purposes only. This does not mean you cannot install games and other programs, but if you do install games or non-academic programs on your computer and it were to cause problems with your computer, your case would be assigned a lower priority at the Help Desk than users with legitimate problems. In order to verify that these software packages are not contributing to the problem with your tablet if you bring it in for repair, we reserve the right to ask you to remove instant messenger clients, games, and other software prior to troubleshooting.

4. Do not make any major changes to your tablet. They are set up for your classes at DSU and if you make any major changes to your system it will no longer match your peer’s tablets, you may not be able to follow along properly in class or study with your peers, and you may not have the proper software and\or settings for your classes any longer. Think of it this way… if you reformat your computer or delete a bunch of programs and come looking for help, then your case may be assigned a lower priority and there could be a delay in returning your tablet to you. We may also reserve the right to ask you to back up any data you need from your tablet and we will reset your hard drive to the way it was the day we distributed it to you.

Not changing the tablet significantly also means not changing or deleting the administrator account that we use for troubleshooting your computer. If you don’t know how to do that then just ignore this, but if you do please stay out of the management setting unless you are legitimately trying to troubleshoot your own computer and you know what you are doing.

5. Do not install or execute any software that is designed to help you download files like movies or music from the internet. This pertains not only to your tablet, but also to any computer plugged into the campus network.

Many, if not most, of these programs allow you to download files that illegally infringe copyrights. This is unethical and unacceptable and we can track your activity and take disciplinary action and\or report you to local and federal authorities. These programs are sometimes called P2P, or peer-to-peer programs. Programs in this category would be programs like Kazaa, Limewire, eDonkey, Morpheus, BearShare, Blubster, etc. You cannot install these programs on your M275 tablet and you cannot run them on the DSU network.

In addition, most of these programs are filled with spyware and malware which track your activities unbeknownst to you, harm your computer, make it slower, and cause you to come and see Computing Services to get them fixed. Unfortunately, we cannot spend countless hours eradicating spyware and malware from your computers so if we find that you are infested with viruses, spyware, or malware we will instruct you to back up any data you need and we will reset your hard drive to the way it was the day we distributed it to you.

Also many of these programs will cause issues with certain software that you need for classes. For instance, many campuses have found that WebCT is often broken by installing Kazaa on your computer. On some computers Kazaa has even been know to break the wireless configuration.

6. You must not disable or remove the Symantec Antivirus software from your tablet. The Symantec Antivirus 9.0 that is installed on the tablets is the newest version from Symantec\Norton. It is updated almost every day while you are on campus, managed by our network administration staff, never expires, and is more stable, robust, and speedier than consumer anti-virus products. For standardization and for security we require that all DSU owned computers have Symantec 9.0 installed in managed mode so that we can administer updates to them regularly. There is no exception to this and if we find that you have removed or disabled it we will require you to come in and have it restored.

7. Do not install a software firewall like Zone Alarm on your tablet and do not enable the Windows Firewall. Please visit this website and scroll down to Step # 2 to help you disable the Windows Firewall if you are not sure if you have it running. http://support.dsu.edu/tutorials/intel.html A software firewall will cause your system to loose its ability to function properly on our network and it will interfere with software that is necessary for some classes.

Thank you for your patience and understanding and thank you for your commitment to a stable and efficient computing and network infrastructure at Dakota State.

Computing Services Staff

I’m getting sick of these little posts, so I combined the last two with this new one to make a slighly meatier post.

I’m working on some better posts, funny ones, coming up soon. Part II for that music one, of course. And perhaps some more math-themed posts in the future.

Also, my mother noticed that my status says “Single” instead of “Taken (kinda)” like it used to. She mentions this to my brother who calls me while I’m at Megan’s. I can assure you that I mainly did it to see how long it was before anyone noticed. Of course, it had to be my mother.

Seriously, though, please keep Megan in your prayers. She’s going through a very tough, stressful time in her life. She needs guidance from God to help her, and me, through this. I don’t feel awkward telling you, my faithful readers, that Megan is very special to me, and I don’t think a long future is out of the question. I love her dearly, and she needs our support.

Also – I had an business class and dropped it for a computer science class. I have a feeling I would hate business. Well, I have a feeling I would have hated that class at least. Any class that starts with the teacher asking you what you wanted to be in 3rd grade is a warning. This is college. No one gives a damn what you wanted to be when you grew up. They want your money and, in exchange, will grudgingly give you knowledge that should be free.

You have to stick it to the man when you can.

Oh, and I’m learning how to create Winamp skins.

Classes Started

Well, today is the first day of school for this year. Guess how many classes I have today. Zero. none.

Zilch.

(eat that suckahs)

Sad News

If you are praying folks, then pray for my little sister, Brenna, and Megan’s grandmother, Frances. Both are in the hospital.

There was more that I was going to write, but I don’t feel like it – I have to make out a schedule.

Hey Beaches. What’s up? Those weird characters are a result of the quick-arsed copy-and-paste job I did on that article from DSU’s website. I’m sure a more accredited source would not have resulted in such an error. It’s kinda funny how you all thought your browsers were borked, though, huh?

Good News:

• I’m still alive
• Megan made RA
• New image by Chris Smith in the gallery
• Organizing a garage sale
• Working on a new theme for Megan
• Gonna start on a theme for Bryce
• Gonna start on a theme for Tony
• Gonna start on a theme for Haji
• Working on something new for when you first get to the site
• Trying to sell my monitor and buy an LCD
• School’s starting
• I can type “tulane” faster than anyone alive
• Learning SQL
• Finally got to play Thief III
• In love with “Let Down” by Radiohead
• I’m only taking 13 credits
• I’m working on more posts
• My books didn’t cost near as much as they could have

Bad News:

• Brenna’s in the hospital
• Megan’s Grandma is in the hospital
• Still moving me
• Still moving Megan
• Organizing a garage sale
• SQL SERVER 2000 book by Microsoft for Exam 70-229 sucks
• I’ve had a headache the last couple days
• I’ve had muscle aches the last couple days
• Stress is steadily building
• Stress is steadily killing

Keep it real, Beaches.

Dakota State University is ranked #2 on the list of top public comprehensive colleges in the Midwest according to the annual America’s Best Colleges survey results released by U.S.News & World Report. DSU moved up two places from a fourth place ranking in 2003. DSU moved in front of both the University of Minnesota, Crookston and Valley City State University, N.D. which ranked ahead of Dakota State last year. Southwest State in Marshall, MN retained its number one ranking.

In reaction to this announcement, Dr. Doug Knowlton, president of DSU stated, “This is very good news for DSU and the state of South Dakota. It is another indication of the excellence of the institution and the recognition by other higher education institutions of the quality of our programs and of the incredible activity taking place here at Dakota State.”

U.S.News categorizes the nation’s schools by mission and region. They then gather data from each college on several measures of academic excellence including graduation and retention rate, student to faculty ratios, and alumni giving. The colleges are also asked to do a peer assessment of the other schools in their category. Scores for each measure are weighted to arrive at the final rankings.

The comprehensive college category includes over 400 schools within four regions; North, South, Midwest and West. Comprehensive colleges offer a range in their degree programs including liberal arts and professional fields such as business and education.

This is another site update post. I’m working on a lot of things for the site at the moment. Always changing, we are. I changed the poll. It’s not about the theme anymore. It’s about school starting. I also changed the look of the poll so that it will look better across the different styles. I may skin the poll entirely eventually. They made it very “user-friendly” but, for me, “user-friendly” just tends to get in the way of everything.

I removed the weather thing. I’m going to figure out a better weather situation. That module was ugly, and it didn’t look good with the new theme I made. I call it vintage, and it’s inspired by Burger King’s new design campaign. I literally took the colors off of the drink cup I brought home. If you have a Gecko-based browser, like Mozilla or Firefox, you can view the theme by clicking the icon in the lower left hand part of the browser and selecting “Vintage” from the list of items. I will eventually get it up and going, after I figure out a nice “stylesheetswitcher” situation. It may be a sepearate page, or it may be a drop down list or something else entirely.

Also, we have a new poetry author. This author, Shae, has one poem: The World Within. Be sure to check it out.

If you have any poetry or prose or images that you would like to submit, send an email to submit@awayken.com, and I’ll get it up as soon as I can.

Do you see what I’m listening to? Look down at the left side. On Monday and Tuesday it was Nirvana. Wednesday is Bright Eyes. Radiohead, Bush, The Beatles, The Doors, The Killers, The Alkaline Trio; these are good bands. There are plenty more bands out there that know and understand how to make music, and how to make music interesting. It wasn’t always that way, though.

There was a time when a band in Seattle would be the last new sound I could hear. Picture, for a second, that it’s Middle Aged times. Except, rather than living in England (a moderately small area) you are living in America. The Shaman has just completed his concert for the villiage, and you and a female friend are sitting discussing your favorite musical artists.

You: So, what kind of music do you like?
Her: Uhh.. shaman music, I guess.
You: Yeah… me, too.
[pause]
You: So, who’s your favorite music artist?
Her: Uhh.. probably the Shaman.
You: Yeah. It’s … good.
Her: Well, I have to go find a real man to marry me. Good luck with your “artsy-ness”.

Man. How did artsy Indians ever score? The answer is that probably only the artsy ones who also hunted and killed for a living scored. The story wasn’t much different in Europe. You could hear the same conversation (albeit in English this time) by replacing the word “shaman” with “minstrel”.

England had an advantage, though. There was more “civilisation” over there. The queen or king had a lot of power, and he or she wasn’t typically a benevolent or wise ruler. That is why you should never elect a leader based on who his or her parents were. NEVER. And you definately shouldn’t do it twice in 8 years.

The Queen or King had, at her dispossal, the arts of the minstrel and the jester. This meant that there was always a musician and a comedian in the court. The Queen or King, however, always chooses best. Good jesters and minstrels became famous figures, and their names lived on in history books read by a select few history geeks.

The Queen or King, differing from the Shaman, had the ability to order the head of a tone-deaf minstrel or a boring jester severed from their body. In this way, a check and balance was put in place. Well, not so much balance, but lots of check. This way, a person in power could get rid of the music if it became muzak. The Indians didn’t have this, and that’s why they were so easy to conquer. They had lost the will.

Then there began the transportation era. A musician could travel froma small town to a major city and sit in the streets and play. This meant that the city folks could now choose their music. It wasn’t whatever King Silly Pants wanted – it was whatever you wanted (and could travel to). This meant that conversations on music were much more easily brought about.

You: So, what kind of music do you like?
Her: Uhh.. minstrel music, I guess.
You: Yeah… me, too.
[pause]
You: So, who’s your favorite music artist?
Her: That guy on the East End
You: Oh really? If you like that guy, you should hear the guy on the West End.
Her: When does he play the West End?
You: About late afternoon.
Her: I think it’s the same guy.
You: Oh. Well, maybe he changes clothes then. I didn’t recognize him. Of course, I get very drunk in late afternoon.
Her: Well, we can’t all be police constables. Good day, sir.
You: Good day.

SEE? You practically went home with her! But, there still wasn’t enough to talk about. And the fact that you’re a lush doesn’t help either. Eventually transportation becomes quite popular, and eventually (through the centuries) it becomes widely used and accessible. You leave England for France because you no longer have any friends in England. Here you meet a pretty french girl.

You: So, what kind of music do you like?
Her: Uhh.. french music, I guess.
You: Yeah. Me, too. Except I’m from Britain. I like British music, too.
[pause]
You: So, who’s your favorite music artist?
Her: Uhh.. I think I have to make some french bread. Excuse me.
You: Well, I’ll come by around mid afternoon to hang out and talk more about music. Ok?
[no answer]
You: Excellent.

Hey – you have a date! Except, when you get there, she’ll be long gone, and you’ll never see her again. Oh well, at least you have your music. That’s how I feel. At least I have music. I mean, I’m thankful for my family, friends, Megan, and Haji, but at least I have my music.

Nowadays, music is everywhere. You can actually have a conversation with someone and mention bands they’ve never heard of. Radio, Television, and then the Internet are the titans that have brought us music from all over the world. Where else could I know names like “The Beatles” (from Britain), “Daler Mehndi” (from India), or “Bright Eyes” (from Omaha)? The conversation takes a final form.

You: So, what kind of music do you like?
Her: I like Indie rock.
You: Me, too. Who is your favorite?
Her: Have you ever heard Cursive?
You: They have the cello, don’t they?
Her: Yeah. They have a great song called “Art is Hard.”
You: I love that song.
Her: I… I love you.
[pause]
[kissing ensues]
Her: Have you ever heard of The Mars Volta?
You: I celebrate their entire catalog.
Her: We are going to have a great life together.

So now, centuries since music began, a man is finally able to impress a woman with his musical tastes. Enjoying a little-known, hardly-known, or unknown band can make you “cool”, “interesting”, and “artsy in a good way” to members of the opposite sex.

Now we just have to get the radio to play it.

There are more improvements. Of course, they all involve the side panels. I’ve changed/standardized some of the graphics for the Sites and for the Games. I’ve added new games, Keno, Chess, and Shockwave games. How cool is that? I also added a Thanks section that has graphic links to all those groups who helped make this site possible. I may eventually put up “Validation” graphics, but first I’ll have to be valid, and I highly doubt I am. Also check out the new comics on the side. They load in a popup window.

Well, it’s Friday. Yesterday, I started getting things ready to move. Jeff did a bit more than that, as in moving almost all of his stuff over already. I took my posters down and started going through my books. I’m going to have a Garage Sale before I move out, I think. I’m going to sell books that I have acquired (and will never read) and CDs that I no longer wish to own, plus whatever else I want to get rid of. Whenever I move to a new place, I do this “purging” or possessions. We’ll see how it goes or when it is, even.

I don’t have much planned for this weekend. I plan on making preparations to move. I also might be going to Chicago next week. It’s not for sure for sure, but it’s fairly likely. I really don’t know any details even yet. Seth said that Mike will have a print out of what I need to know. I’m nervous and don’t want to go, but I don’t have much of a choice.

I’ve been watching a lot of Kids in the Hall and Aqua Teen Hunger Force. I think that if a show doesn’t have four words in its name, it’s not worth downloading and burning to VCDs and watching alone in Carl’s old room during lunch. Those shows are hilarious. And if you don’t think so, you can go to another website.

Anyway, I… I’m out of things to say. Haji is good. What a cute turtle. When she’s hungry, and she’s walking around, she bites my toes. It’s so cute (and it kinda hurts). Pictures to come soon. I promise, Tony.

Well, it’s finally done! The site is complete!

I’ve done a lot of improving, much of which you will probably never notice, but (trust me) I will. The site is now entirely PHP based. Not a scrap of HTML or SHTML to be seen. Well, not exactly, but you get the idea.

I have a completely new idea of doing things now, which makes it much easier on me to add new Poetry, Prose, and Image items. You will also notice the “modules” along the sides. These are also a new addition and very handy. I will add and subtract these as they become useful. Be sure to explore them all.

I have a game now called “Dragon Knight”, see the right panel. This game was freely posted on the internet, PHP-based, and not too bad. It’s reminiscent of those old text adventure games. Hey, it was free.

I will probably add and subtract “modules” as I care to. Modules that I wanted to include were:

• Weather
• Clock
• Current Location
• Send comments
• Shoutbox

I had a Shoutbox a long time ago, and never quit got it working. Now that I understand PHP a lot more, I should be able to get it functioning. But, please, explore the site and enjoy. There even more features to come soon, but I wanted to get this out to all of you so you could rejoice in the majesty of Wintern!

?? Which Of The Greek Gods Are You ??
brought to you by Quizilla

While the site is still in development, I continue to try to keep you buggers entertained. I saw Troy the other day, and it was a pretty good movie. You could tell there were Hollywood liberties taken, however. There is some dispute over who the Greek sun god really is. I have no doubt that Troy worshipped Apollo, but Apollo is generally considered the god of things like poetry, not the sun. The largely recognized sun god is Helios.

This is what Pantheon.org had to say about Apollo:

The son of Zeus and Leto, and the twin brother of Artemis. Apollo was the god of music (principally the lyre, and he directed the choir of the Muses) and also of prophecy, colonization, medicine, archery (but not for war or hunting), poetry, dance, intellectual inquiry and the carer of herds and flocks. He was also a god of light, known as “Phoebus” (radiant or beaming, and he was sometimes identified with Helios the sun god). He was also the god of plague and was worshiped as Smintheus (from sminthos, rat) and as Parnopius (from parnops, grasshopper) and was known as the destroyer of rats and locust, and according to Homer’s Iliad, Apollo shot arrows of plague into the Greek camp. Apollo being the god of religious healing would give those guilty of murder and other immoral deeds a ritual purification. Sacred to Apollo are the swan (one legend says that Apollo flew on the back of a swan to the land of the Hyperboreans, he would spend the winter months among them), the wolf and the dolphin. His attributes are the bow and arrows, on his head a laurel crown, and the cithara (or lyre) and plectrum. But his most famous attribute is the tripod, the symbol of his prophetic powers.

Apollo’s so hot right now. But he’s not the sun god. He’s the light god. I bet they’re good friends, Helios and Apollo. You can’t have one without the other. It’s like how CS guys and CIS guys hang out. The CS guys do all the work and CIS guys break it. They go hand in hand.

The site is going well. It’s moving along well, though it could have been disastrous. The new theme I have done is called Wintern. It’s also the theme for the index page for Awayken.com. I really like the way it’s turned out. I have high-hopes for themes in the future and for the site in general. It should be easier for me, now, to add things to the site. That means less excuses for me!

I’ve also started moving more of my old websites over to Awayken.com so everyone can see. Some of them I had hosted elsewhere (like my COMP sites and ISLE), and others are so old that I had almost forgotten about them. One of those sites was a site I did for a project in school on the NSA.

The site itself is horrible, and (don’t worry) you’ll get to see it soon enough. The graphics are bad (used mspaint) and the text is lame and Javascript is rampant. I also way overused “|” and “:” in my titles and status bar. But it works. It’s up again and everything works as it did on Geocities. I decided that I would check up on the NSA, and see what they are up to.

Well, apparently, the NSA site is flash enabled. Maybe it’s an attempt to appeal to younger kids who may go to work for them. I just know that the intro wasn’t worth my time. Nothing cool happened and I think it played twice before letting me go. There’s a lot there, though, on NSA’s site. Then I spotted it.

The NSA has a Kid’s Page! Besides sporting the requisite “Comic Sans” font in certain graphics, this just looks like an abbreviated version of the rest of their text. Crypto Cat is our friend as we explore links like “What NSA/CSS Does”, “Technology in Cryptologic History” and, of course, the “Coloring Book”.

Would you like to do your own coloring? Try the following exciting sample taken off of the NSA’s site.

Remember kids becoming an NSA officer is just as easy as “RXQ”!

Well, there has been a lot of change recently. I know that some of you have heard snippets of what has been going on in my life and are foaming at the mouth for more. Well, in an exclusive “Extra Extra”, I plan on giving you all that you hope and desire for.

I won’t lie, I didn’t like this change much. The word “break” makes one (one like me) think of Spring Break, the most famous break of them all. This conjurs images of bakini-clad, reservationless partially educated females all wrestling with each other in a mud volleyball pit. At least that’s what my spring break was like. But, no. “Break” in this usage is more akin to the “break” you get when you fall from the top of the playground equipment and, in trying to dive through the tire swing, you end up stopping your momentum with your collar bone. It was about that fun, too.

Megan and I have begun a blog devoted to our wonderful turtle. No, there still aren’t any pictures, but we update the Haji site every once in a while, with little or much to report. There is either a lot going on in her life or not much at all. The page devoted to her is called Hold Me (A Blog for a Turtle Named Haji), and it is on Blogspot.

In order to be able to post as myself on Haji’s site, I had to create my own blogspot blog. So, I did. I call it

I’m honestly trying to get an actual post written. Some of you may have questions about my personal life, and I want to share everything with all three of you who read this site, but maybe I can tomorrow.

For now, I reprint one of the greatest online practical jokes I ever pulled off.

rauschpax: Woops?
angel009900:what?
rauschpax: I crashed AIM.
angel009900:I do that at least once a week
angel009900:If I have to get off suddenly it’s because our dinner guests are here, k?
rauschpax: Fine. Nice chatting.
rauschpax: Bryce loves you.
angel009900:what?
angel009900:I don’t get off yet
angel009900:I don’t have to get off yet
rauschpax: What?
rauschpax: Oh, great.
angel009900:I’m writing you an email now
angel009900:it’s pretty good so far
rauschpax: I”m glad you like your own work.
rauschpax: Is it better than the one to Bryce?
angel009900:which one?
rauschpax: The best one.
angel009900:hmmmm no, because i stopped just when it got good
angel009900:i sent it though, and now you can read it
angel009900:no more suspense
rauschpax:Okay.
angel009900:cool.
angel009900:BRB
rauschpax:[jeopardy theme in background]
rauschpax:[miles tapping foot to beat and drumming fingers looking around]
angel009900:why aren’t you getting my email while i’m gone?
rauschpax:Uh… [nervous pause] cause…
angel009900:you’re a great person to chat with
angel009900:did you know that?
rauschpax:I’m flattered.
rauschpax:Really.
angel009900:rightfully so
rauschpax:Do you want to know why you’re dead?
angel009900:YES
angel009900:please
rauschpax:Because you didn’t tell Jenny and KT the thing about the story the second they walked in. Bryce was chatting with Jenny and she was clueless.
angel009900:I thought that you guys emailed everyone…. sorry
angel009900:really sorry
rauschpax:Well, okay, you’re undead.
angel009900:THANK YOU!!!!
angel009900::-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-)
angel009900:Ok, what’s your address?
rauschpax:My who?
angel009900:address… where do you live by snail mail
rauschpax:P.O. Box 176
rauschpax:Big Stone City, SD 57216
rauschpax:but Bryce already told you that
angel009900:he told me somthing Mitchell Ave.
rauschpax:That’s street. P.O. Box is for mail.
angel009900:that sux
rauschpax:Why?
angel009900:because i thought he knew i meant for mail when he gave it to me, which means i sent a letter to your street address… will you still get it?
rauschpax:Yup. Big Stone’s not huge so they’ll know where to stick it.
angel009900:ok, good
angel009900:whew!!!
rauschpax:I know Big Sigh of Relief.
angel009900:yup… exactly
rauschpax:Forget about it
angel009900:ok
rauschpax wants to directly connect.
angel009900‘s software does not support sending and receiving IM images.
rauschpax:=-O
rauschpax:8-)
rauschpax::-DO:-)8-):-P
angel009900 signed off at 12:05:28 PM.
angel009900 signed on at 12:06:40 PM.
angel009900:sorry about that
rauschpax:Geez!
angel009900:my AIM got disconnected
rauschpax:I like this font. It reminds me of Pyramids.
angel009900:i can’t see it
angel009900:all i see is times new roman
angel009900:so do you want 9 pics or 5 pics
rauschpax:Bryce is wondering if you were killed by jenny or kt because of the footage.
rauschpax:9
angel009900:ok
rauschpax:what pics?
angel009900:of the end of summer
angel009900:could you do me a favor?
rauschpax:what??
angel009900:change your font back.
angel009900:it’s really huge like this:
rauschpax:Is this better?
angel009900:yes
angel009900:thanks you
rauschpax:That’s great. See, I need it large so I can see. Both of my lenses were removed and I’m typing by memory.
angel009900:wow
angel009900:that sucks
angel009900:when are you getting new ones?
rauschpax:When the surgury for placing lenses catches up to the surgery for removing them.
rauschpax:50 years give or take.
angel009900:your lenses?
angel009900:like ON your eyeball?
rauschpax:Yupers. Did I spell that right? I can’t see.
angel009900:two p’s
rauschpax:I’m lucky I can chat with you at all. The mouse is terrible t use.
angel009900:i’m sorry
rauschpax:Yeah.
angel009900:soooo did you get my email?
rauschpax:Yes. I think. I can’t read the words on the screen, remember. I think I saw the word “dog”
angel009900:I don’t know what you’re talking about
rauschpax:Well, I think that’s what I saw. I could be wrong.
rauschpax:I can’t read remember?
rauschpax:Know what?
angel009900:you are a lying twerp
rauschpax:I got an email from Tenley, and she was calling me Bryce. In an Email!!!
angel009900:oh my gosh! the blonde hair is getting to her
rauschpax:Quick. Go over there and rescue her!
angel009900:no, she’s a lost cause.
angel009900:pray to Saint Jude
rauschpax:She said that she got all the way done and realized that it wasn’t to Bryce. But for some reason she didn’t change anything.
rauschpax:Gotcha.
angel009900:yeah, she’s just making that up
angel009900:she really had no idea
rauschpax:Un-hu. You tell it sister.
angel009900:yeah
rauschpax:Why so quiet? Something wrong. Tell Cousin Miles
angel009900:I’m surprised you can read this, retard cousin miles
rauschpax:Bryce is reading to me. Thanks for crushing my feelings.
angel009900:yeah right
angel009900:you can’t get your lenses removed from your eyeball, loser!
angel009900:and plus, WHY WOULD YOU?
angel009900:how long were you planning on milking that one…
rauschpax:It was a freak accident. I was blasting those rocks for my dad. The visor shield burst in. I was to close to the rocks and I got a full blast in the face. I was bloody, disorientated, but managed to get to the house. Dad took me to the emergency room, but they said they couldn’t save my vision. The only way was to remove the badly ruined lenses.
rauschpax:Thanks for adding insult to injury.
angel009900:are you really being serious?
angel009900:why didn’t you decide to put that in your email then?
rauschpax:I wanted to keep it quiet. Maybe… I don’t know what I was thinking. They can’t restore my vision. It’s hopeless. And my visions of being a director… gone…
angel009900:I have to go set the table
angel009900:sorry
angel009900:well, talk to you later
rauschpax:Love you. Please keep this quiet.
angel009900:Miles, if you are lying to me i’m going to be really mad
rauschpax:What if I apoligize now?
angel009900:I CAN”T BELIEVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
rauschpax:I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.
angel009900:YOU LITTLE TWERP!!!!!!
angel009900:I CAN”T BELIEVE YOU!!!!!
angel009900:I’m saving this conversation just to bring up and laugh at later
rauschpax:I’m really sorry! I didn’t think you’ld buy it, but the writer in me took over and I thought it was pretty believable.
rauschpax:I should save this too. I don’t have any saved yet.
angel009900:ok, by the way, nice job
rauschpax:Thanks, I think. How mad are you.
rauschpax:?
angel009900:it was a good touch, that whole “keep this quiet”
angel009900:I’m not mad, but the gueests are her!
angel009900:bye!
rauschpax:Good. Love you.
angel009900:I love you anyway!
angel009900 signed off at 12:26:56 PM.

Journeys cold or so I’m told
take weeks and months until you’re old
And when ripe agéd you become
behold here comes another one.
With pack and hat and staff and shaft
you find your way to that which hath
no slight apparent or otherwise
path for journey or disguise.
“Promise promise!” sass the lass
and stash her past within her brass.
But what foley has begun
mass hysteria for all and one.
“Do it” “Don’t It” blew it, won’t it
bounce on back – you knew it, won’t it
return to right – shoot it, mount it
dead is done – blew it. Count it.
Persons of a certain sort (cough)
Will find the urgent said retort.
And with the noblest of air
I reply with, “I don’t care.
Be it, see it, as it may,
I will live another day.”

Graduation ends in bullets, blood

Massacre? Indefinate

The Associated Press

MILBANK, S.D. – June 12th was supposed to be one of the happiest days of their lives, but for the graduating class of 2004 in Milbank, South Dakota, it was a very different kind of day. Instead, it became, for some, the last day of their lives.

Reportedly, Miles Rausch, an alumni of the high school, had been sitting quietly in the bleachers throughout most of the ceremony. As diplomas were being handed out, he suddenly snapped and produced a semi-automatic weapon that he had hidden in his jacket. Those closest to the alleged were the first to go, said one bystander sitting opposite the gymnasium.

Said one parent, there to see her daughter graduate, “The scene was horrible. It was so loud with the screaming and the gun firing. I saw his face, his cold unmoving face. Then when the gun stopped, some of the screaming subsided and I swear I heard him singing.”

After several minutes of firing, Rausch fled the scene, leaving 57 injured and 24 dead. Police arrived on the scene minutes later but were unable to locate Rausch. Ambulances moved most of the injured to the hospital south of town where some of the most badly hurt were air-lifted to Sioux Falls, 150 miles south.

Investigatory documents and testimonies all point to Rausch as the culprit and a warrant was issued for his arrest. This is where the twist in this story lies. Police, after questioning his parents and relatives, dispatched to his home in Madison, South Dakota. It was there they discovered that Miles Rausch is paralyzed from the neck down.

In February of 2000, Rausch had recently become depressed over a breakup with a long-time girlfriend, then a freshman. He located his father’s handgun from the closet and, after taking several handfuls of pain killers, he attempted to end his life. The gun, however, slipped several inches lower than where he had planned to fire, and the bullet managed to sever his spinal cord.

Even after years of physical therapy, Rausch has only gained minimal use of his fingers in his right hand. He is wholly unable to dress himself, feed himself, or perform most functions alone. Doctors are sure that Rausch would be very unable to have done this crime both physically and mentally.

“Miles is a very kind and gentle soul. In his condition, he would need several people assisting him to do what [the witnesses] say he did. I firmly believe that he is not responsible,” said one doctor. Police are baffled as to who is actually responsible for the Milbank Massacre. Theories abound as to who did it and why. One thing seems certain, though. This was definately the worst act of violence in South Dakota history, regardless of who’s responsible.

======================================

I hate ruining the illusion that I try to create with my wallpapers, but I am moving towards not putting copyright credits directly into the picture. It’s just a pain in the ass for me, and I think it hurts the visual integrity of the work. So, that means I have to credit in the text. I would like to thank :resurgere: for his wonderful blood stock pack. Otherwise, the photos taken of the graduation were mine.

You can get the deviantART download or get it in the gallery, under “Wallpapers”.

It started with Megan saying that we were going to Sioux Falls for a surprise trip. We had planned on going on Friday, to see Spider-Man 2 again, and to do some shopping she needed done. This was only Wednesday, though. I was immediately wary.

It actually took a lot of mind work to get that out of her. Then she got irritated with me for a while. I tried to get out of her what I wanted, but she wasn’t having it. She used the guise that it had been our 9 month anniversary on July 4th and that she was taking me out to celebrate.

If you know Megan, then you know why I was suspicious.

There was much drama about where to eat. She wanted me to pick. I wanted to eat at HuHot. The problem with that is that the last time we ate there, she had the flu. So, no when she thinks of HuHot she feels sick. We finally at at the Olive Garden, which was actually very reasonably priced. I thought it would be much more than it actually was. And best thing: she payed.

She still hadn’t told me the real reason for coming to Sioux Falls. She simply stressed that it had to be our last stop. Hmm… I tried my best to get it out of her, but she wasn’t having it. I kept bugging here throughout all the stores we went to. Through the mall, the drives, and finally in front of Best Buy she let a hint slip. I said, “Why won’t you tell me?” She said, “Because if I tell you, you’ll try to stop me. You don’t think I’m responsible enough.”

That was it. Ever since Jeff almost got a kitty Megan has been lamenting the dorm’s “No Pets” policy. The policy pretty much limits your pet selection to fish or crabs, neither of which are very cute or cuddly. I had never said that she wasn’t responsible. But if she were to get a pet, like a kitten, it would have to stay with me (assuming my new place allows pets). That would mean that I would probably end up being the sole care provider, and I don’t have time for a kitten.

I knew it was a pet, but I didn’t know how she was planning on keeping it when the school year came. Megan never ceases to amaze me, though. We finally get to the pet shop. We look at the puppies, fish, birds, bunnies, and people. Then she shows me the kind of pet that she wants, and its perfect. Megan wants a turtle.

The hitch at this part is that a turtle was quite a bit more expensive then she had wished for. In fact, the kind we were looking at was $50. The problem is that Megan doesn’t have $50. She gets paid next week, but that’s not going to help her now. With a sad heart we headed home. I started a surprise plan of my own.

The next day we went to Sioux Falls again, and picked out the turtle. I knew that I would end up playing with and holding and loving this turtle, too, so I decided to pay for half of it. So, I decided to become the proud co-owner of a new turtle. I know what you’re thinking, some of you (mom), but a pet is not like having a child. And Megan and I co-owning a pet isn’t like getting married and having kids. It’s just a turtle! Calm down already.

That having been said, there have been problems when a couple buys a pet and then breaks up. But Mike seems fine now, so everything worked out great. And we’ll even bring Haji to work sometime so he can see her.

Anyway, back at Mini-Critters we talked to this guy named Ajay for about an hour. I don’t think he gets a lot of customers (turtles aren’t a hot commodity) and so he wanted to tell us everything he absolutely could before we left. The total cost came to about $120. I figure, I made over $1,000 on my last paycheck, I can afford $60 startup cost on a turtle.

So, now she lives at my place (a much better environment than Megan’s cold, cramped house). Her name is Haji, which is Japanese for “hold”. This isn’t as in, “Hold me, I’m just a scared turtle”. It’s more like, “Hold onto her or she’ll leap out of your hands.” She’s spunky and really active. She also gets grumpy if you come home from lunch to see how she’s doing, and you think she’s dead because you’ve never seen her sleep before, and you go to rub her leg. Then she’ll hiss at you.

Haji is a three-toed box turtle, Terrapene caroline triunguina. She is native to places like Missouri. Hence, she loves it humid, overcast, and warm. We let her play outside, and she loves it. She’s always moving, unless she’s in her aquarium. I think we should have done some research before we bought her, because now I’m rethinking living quarters, and I could have saved us $10.

She eats crickets sprinkled with calcium. So do I.

As soon as I can, I’ll have pictures of her up here. I’m sure Megan will steal them and put them on her site, too. What a copy cat. I had this post written first, but she wrote less so she could get done faster. She even tried to say that Haji is “all hers” and not “half hers”. And I say, “Then you can get your dirty turtle out of her before I cut her open.” That shuts her up. In a hurry.