ArchiBlog

www.graphjam.com

tat2dredbear — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 12:55:43 GMT

Absolutely *ucking hysterical....

BSG...finally a hint....

tat2dredbear — Tue, 13 May 2008 14:27:54 GMT

"A dying leader will know the truth of the Opera House. The missing three will lead you to the five who are of the 13th. You, Kara Thrace, are the Herald of the Apocalypse and will lead them to their doom." So any fans out there? Whaddya think?

Yeah...new INK

tat2dredbear — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 15:08:16 GMT

Well it was very spur of the hour, shall we say. Here in Vegas on vacation and after a morning at Hoover Dam we came back into town, stopped at the hotel and then went over to Ironhorse Tattoo to look at flash. We hadn't planned on ink while we were here so did not bring any of our stored art ideas. So, back to the flash. Dan and I both looked through the collection and I settled on this nice red and black dragon....and onto my calf it went. I guess my right leg is going to be my red and black leg. Hadn't really anticipated that but I am already thinking how the rest of what I want to do on my right leg will work in and around the new kid on the block. No pool or hot tub while were are here in Vegas I guess. The things we do for INK! 4-18-08: Just realized that I had posted this pic directly from my laptop and had not flipped the image. The ink really is on my right calf...and now the picture actually is correct. Surprised none of you eagle-eyed inksters caught my mistake! :-)

In response to Carp.....

tat2dredbear — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 12:59:11 GMT

Alan Parsons Project.... What can I say 'cept there are 13 albums on my iPhone. :-)

Some RAM, some RAM, my kingdom for some RAM.....

tat2dredbear — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 13:30:04 GMT

On Easter I was at my sister-in-laws place and she and her husband we continuing to complain about how slow their old Dell Dimension 3000 was/is. Having used the machine on occasion (to set their daughters up with their iPod Fatty's) I concurred. Being the somewhat power-y Mac user that I am that KNOWS to buy as much RAM as you can (regardless of system software), I had assumed that their XP installation was riddled with crap and anti-virus and that was what was slowing down the machine. Tracy then mentioned that she checked the RAm on the machine and it was listing 512mb. "512mb?" I said. "You're joking right?" "No" "Well there in lies a big piece of your problem." "So I should buy more" Jim said. "Yes, as much as the machine will take." "How do I know that?" was the obvious question from Jim...... I then spent the next few minutes at Dell's website researching what kind of RAM the 3000 took and how many slots. 2 slots, each capable of handling up to 1gb pc3200 300mhz srdam sticks. Cool. So that's what I told Jim. We checked some prices on-line and he bought two. Next he wanted to know how to change out the RAM. So I had him unplug everything and pull the box out of the shelf. I opened it up to show him the two slots with the one 512 stick that was in the machine. Low and behold there were already two sticks in the machine. UT OH, I thought, one of the sticks is bad. I told Jim either one of the sticks was bad or one of the slots was bad. We reversed the two sticks in the slot and rebooted. Still only 512. Fuck, one of their RAM slots had gone south. He had two 1gb sticks on the way and couldn't cancel the order though he could return one. I told him that of course it might be possible to get the slot fixed but that would probably not be worth it. I told him to put one of the 1gb sticks in along side one of the 512s and see what the machine told him. If it was still 512, he coud just reverse the sticks and at least get 1gb. It would still improve things alot. Three days pass.... Phone call: "Bill, I put in the 1gb stick like you said and the machine is reading 1.25gb...." (Light bulb goes off in Bill's head!) "Oh crap Jim, it never occurred to me that the 512 in your machine was actually two, 256 sticks! No worries Bud! Both slots are working, go ahead and put the other 1gb stick in and you should be golden at a full 2gb!" One hour passes... Phone call: "Bill, the second stick is in and Hannah is on the computer, iTunes cranked, iPod syncing, four IMs going and her little fingers are flying. We are set and working at 2gig." "Excellent." Post script: It never even occurred to me that the 2 sticks in the machine would only be 256s. I have been away from that kind of useage for so long. My mind just sat on two 512s with one broken in some manner as the base possibility. It also doesn't help that XP does not identify the breakdown of the RAM in per slot manner like Macs do, at least not in a way that I know where to find it in the XP system reporting tree. All's well that ends well.

EVE-Online

tat2dredbear — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 15:25:48 GMT

So....just over a month ago I was reading through my normal news items and saw a story about EVE, the space-based MMOG, now being available for Mac. Hmmm, I thought, that sounds interesting. I had a mild interest in WoW but had never pulled the trigger to check it out. A space based free flowing game seemed right somehow for gaming on the computer. I decided to check it out. WOW Can we say hooked? The game has been in existence since 2003. The programmers are based in Iceland and their servers are in London. The "EVE Cluster", the star system that is the EVE world, is some 5000 star systems. There are a few differences with WoW. First, the EVE "playing field" is not broken into shards like WoW. When 30,000 players are in the game they are all playing in the same world, not copies each containing a few thousand players. Secondly, the game is not a face to face game like WoW. EVE players all fly ships and interact ship to ship, ship to station. The EVE builders have stated that a later addition to the game will give players the ability to ambulate in stations. Third, there are no "levels" per se in EVE. Players train skills and advance in proficiency in that manner. Skills are ranked, some are harder to learn than others, and the more advanced skills have other skills as prerequisites. Skills give players bonuses in game play, both in running and maintaining your ship(s) and in dealing with the NPC world of the game. A player can train one skill at a time and the skill trains in real time. The beginning skills can take as few as 15 minutes to train. The higher level (proficiency in a given skill from 1 to 5) of skill and the higher rank (difficulty of the skill relative to other skills from 1 to 12), the skill will take longer to train. The longest training time I have seen so far in my month of play is 8+ days. Skills continue to train when you are logged out of the game. So you can set a long skill to train when (if?) you go to bed or if you are going to be away from the game for a couple of days. Even when not actively playing, if you have a skill training, there is this background connection to the game, you "know" that your character is still working at something. Most importantly I think is that in EVE there is no "one" story path to follow in the game. You can be anything you want. A fighter, a good guy, a bad guy, a miner, a tradesman, a bounty hunter, a corporate megalomaniac bent on taking over the whole cluster. Whatever floats your boat. You can play against the computer, receiving missions from agents or fly in to low security (sec) space and take on other players in direct Player vs Player combat. The game also provides for voice capabilities so when you are in a fleet with other players you can talk to them in real time. I have no vested interest in this plug. If you were thinking about trying a massive multi-player on-line game, take EVE for a spin! eve-online.com Oh yeah, one more thing....the graphics are un-fucking-real. Bill

Vegas Bound...

tat2dredbear — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 14:39:38 GMT

Well we finally pulled the trigger and have decided to add Vegas to our New Mexico trip so we'll be there for SmokeOUT the first weekend in April. Finally going to meet some of the fine cigar smoking men I usually chat with online.

Crapped out on Yahoo.....

tat2dredbear — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 19:01:13 GMT

Friends and acquaintances.... Alot of you here I also know to some degree on or through Yahoo. Several weeks ago I got phished via a link through Yahoo Messenger, sent to a Yahoo page that was by all accounts PERFECT in it's look-alike-ness to a real yahoo page. Within fifteen minutes I was logged out of messenger and then could not log back in. Beyond the fact that I am still kicking myself for being fooled, I am no longer in charge of my old yahoo ID: tat2dredbear. The associated 360 page is now out of my control and Yahoo, in their very typical way, can only seem to send me form letters in response to my requests to shut it down or get me a new password. I love how when the first thing I tell them is my password was hacked, the first thing they tell me is "log into your account." DUH, not really possible now is it? Geez. Anyway, I have created an alternate yahoo ID, tat2dredbear65, and anyone here who happens to also chat on yahoo messenger, can find me at that ID. My aol and iChat ID remains the same, archhawk. Catch ya later....

Is anyone out there?

tat2dredbear — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 17:41:06 GMT

NASA's gold record turns 30: are the aliens listening to Chuck Berry yet? Posted by Steve Guttenberg NASA's gold record comes with a phono cartridge and instructions for set-up and use. I heard on NPR's Weekend Edition Sunday that it was 30 years ago that NASA sent Voyager 2 into space with the music of Louis Armstrong, Chuck Berry, Beethoven, Bach, and a wide selection of world music. The disc that also contained images of Earth, and the sounds of whales, a baby crying, and waves breaking on a shore. The NASA scientists must have felt sound was one of the best ways to communicate human experience of the 20th century to intelligent life in the distant future. The gold-plated, 12-inch copper disc was an all-analog recording, probably because that was the only way to ensure the aliens would be able to play the thing 40,000 years from now. That's NASA's estimate for when the Voyager 2 will be far enough from Earth to encounter another planetary system. The interstellar probe is traveling at 38,000 miles an hour, and as of March this year Voyager 2 was 7.68 billion miles from Earth. So sure, it's more than a few years out of warranty, but Voyager 2 is still sending scientific information back to us.

Still Here....

tat2dredbear — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 18:24:05 GMT

Just a short post to let anyone/everyone know that I still do check out my Tribes even though I may not be bloggin here on any kind of regular basis. Been a hectic couple of months. dan and I purchased a house at the end of October and then in November I finally stepped down from my Mr. Philly Leather title and we took a weekend trip to DC. December was crazy with house stuff and the holidays of course. In January we went to DC again, this time for Mid-Atlantic Leather; it was my birthday weekend. Now that I am 42 do I get some special insights into the answers to the Universe? In February we will be travelling to Houston for LUEY. Hope to finally meet some online acquaintences! Same holds true for March when we go to Texas Bear Round-Up in Dallas. that'll be a good trip as there will be 10 Liberty Bears in attendance. More later....

Moving to Yahoo360....

tat2dredbear — Wed, 01 Feb 2006 14:03:34 GMT

Heyya All - Have decided to move over to Yahoo360 for my personal page. I like their picture handling and features over Tribe. With Tribes new prohibitions on pictures etc, it doesn't make sense to have more than one place to post stuff. Catch me at http://360.yahoo.com/tat2dredbear. I will still be checking in on my various Tribe groups but interest here has seem to fallen off for most of my groups. Later....

Dawn Marie....

tat2dredbear — Tue, 17 Jan 2006 19:57:21 GMT

This one goes out to dawn marie, my sash wife, Ms. Philadelphia Leather 2005-2006. Thanks for being you, Mama's Blonde Bombshell and leather girl supreme! I am so happy to be able to spend my time as Mr. Philly with you at my side. Walking down the stairs with you during the titleholder role call was truly a highlight of MAL Weekend for me. I am blessed to have a counterpart to share the title honors with. My male compatriots around the country who do not have "title-wives" just do not know what they are missing. Love ya dawn, Bill

Great Time at MAL!!!

tat2dredbear — Tue, 17 Jan 2006 19:48:24 GMT

This past weekend saw thousands of leathermen (and others) and bears get together in Washington, DC for the annual pilgrimage to Mid-Atlantic Leather Weekend. Through the crazy weather that started out above 60 on Friday and ended below 10 on Sunday, new friendships were made and old friendships were rekindled. I was able to re-connect with some 20 other fellows from my IML27 class. The continued representation of the 2005 class has been phenomenal. I am so very proud of everything you guys have continued to do during and after your title years. I would like to also recognize the new and renewed friendships made amongst the cigar and pipe smokers. Tim, Hawgs, Mike, Thrasher and all the rest.....Thanks! Here's hoping I see some of you again at ABW in April if not sooner. Bill

Cheap Blades......

tat2dredbear — Tue, 13 Dec 2005 19:19:36 GMT

OK, so I have been shaving my head for just over a month. I use a Headblade (one of the coolest devices ever created, www.headblade.com) which takes Atra double-blade cartridges. I typically buy the Eckerd brand match for the Atras. I find they cut just as well and are about a third the cost. When one uses a fresh blade every day, that can add up. The last time I purchased a package of 15 blades. Last night when I went to change out the blade for this morning's shave I noticed that the pack of 5 blades (there was a container of 10 and a container of 5 in what I bought) was the wrong kind of blade. At first I thought I was losing it when the razor clip wouldn't got into the back of the cartridge. then I looked at it closer and realized that this pack of 5 was not Atra blades. Hmph. I took the whole lot back to Eckerd at lunch today, not really with any goal in mind other than to let them know of the problem. The very nice manager looked at them, gave a little "Hmph" and then said "How about a new pack?" I said "Sure" thinking that he would replace the 5 wrong blades. He came back to the front of the store with another 15-pack, swiped it over the RF detector and dropped it into a bag and I was off. I guess that works out to 10 free blades. Thanks Eckerd.

Holiday Party.....

tat2dredbear — Mon, 12 Dec 2005 21:10:09 GMT

Dan and I would like to thank all of our friends; club brothers, leather folk, neighbors and co-workers, the 60+ people who came and celebrated with us in our apartment this past Saturday night in recognition of the holiday spirit. Thanks, Bill & Dan Nice picture there of Jeremy, Nick, Brian and Eric....

Idiot in Chief

tat2dredbear — Mon, 12 Dec 2005 18:36:53 GMT

Ugh - What a mess. Walking to work this morning, on Walnut, crossing Broad, there were news vans and satellite trucks everywhere. More than the 1 per network that are usually there when Governor Rendell is in town. There were 3 from each broadcast (two locals and one national each) plus a truck from CN8 and CNN. I was like, "what the hell?" Then I remembered that "W" was going to be in town. I had heard that he was going to be in Philly but not where as they are tight about giving out too much information before hand about the Presidunce's schedule. When I went back out too get some lunch, both Broad and Walnut Streets are closed down and I can hear the protest groups out on Broad Street from a block away. The Secret Service has the upper floors of the Bellvue shut down. At least I was able to get into the basement food court....kinda surprising actually but I guess that was the deal they worked out with hotel management. Anyway, I have no idea what he is here to promote. I'm sure whatever the topic is will be on the backdrop during his speech. I think they put that there so that when he walks out on stage, it acts as a brief reminder of what he needs to say. Errrrr

Easy Weekend...

tat2dredbear — Mon, 07 Nov 2005 14:12:44 GMT

Nice to finally have an easy weekend. All things were comfortable and close to home. Friday night Dan and I went to WET night at The Bike Stop in support of my "sash-wife" dawn marie and we commiserated on the continued fall-out from the move of next year's Philly leather competition from February to November. We're starting to talk about what were are going to do during those additional 9 months. Saturday we slept in a little and then woke up to go over to the Reading Terminal Market to get breakfast at the Dutchy Counter. On the walk over to the terminal, Dan pronounced that he felt like a turkey....a turkey dinner that is. So we bought a fresh turkey at the market plus a few of the trimmings that we needed. That afternoon was spent cooking the bird and watching the DVD of Revenge of the Sith. Adam and Erik came over for dinner and conversation. We all headed over to the bar around 11pm and wound up staying, SURPRISE!!!, till the lights came on. We are such happy hour people, I forget sometimes how nice it is to go out late and meet up with a different crew of acquaintances. Sunday WAS a later morning getting up. We were supposed to have gone to breakfast with another couple but Dan wasn't feeling well and we wound up cancelling. We'll be sure to meet up with Steve and John the next time they are in town. I did go to the store and get some stuff for breakfast while Dan continued to sleep. We started watching football a bit later and then Adam, Nick, Dave and Juan stopped by in the late afternoon, pre Liberty Bears meeting and social. At 4:30pm it was back over to the Pit for the club meeting and "Pornopalooza" social. I set up the bar for the evening as Stacey was workin upstairs and then Brian worked the bar for the first shift after the meeting was over. I worked the second shift. The meeting went well...we usually cruise through our meetings with some good discussions. It was a low key night though all around. With the Feables game late on Sunday, the crowd at the stop was definitely off. Got to have a nice conversation with Rick Rogers while I was working the bar though because the crowd was light. Nothing untoward is planned for this week. I'll be glad though when tomorrow's elections are over in NJ. Finally the balls awful commercials will stop. Friday I will be back behind the bar at The Pit for my Hot Ash Smoker night and Saturday night is another Liberty Bears party....the Bears in Boxers Ball. It's at Key West from 8-12. Later, Bill

Thanks for the Kink!

tat2dredbear — Tue, 01 Nov 2005 19:52:57 GMT

Just wanted to post a thankyou to everyone that attended, donated time or material to or in any other way helped out with the Kinky Karnival this last Saturday night. dawn and I had a great time putting it together and doing the hosting duties. We raised a combined $1,500 for the American Diabetes Association. I would especially like to thanks the Bike Stop, Jim Madden and all his staff, for working with dawn and I to pull off this event. A last thankyou to Bill Pearson. The flogging was great and I'm glad I got the opportunity to get on the St. Andrews Cross before the midway got crowded. Thanks. Bill

Las Vegas!!!

tat2dredbear — Tue, 06 Sep 2005 14:21:57 GMT

Whew - What else can I say. What a trip. Dan and I ventured to Las Vegas on September 26th to attend the Ms. World Leather Competition. It was held at The Boardwalk Casino on the Strip and was to be the stepdown for our friend Pandora, Ms. World 2004. The weekend went well and then Katrina hit the Gulf Coast. Needless to say, the 2nd part of our vacation, going to New Orleans for Southern Decadence did not happen. We were to have made the trip from Vegas to NOLA on Wednesday the 31st. We wound up instead staying another 3 nights in Vegas. We probably spent 3x as much money in those three extra days as we would have in the 6 nights we were to have been in NOLA. I am happy to say that all of my friends in NOLA were able to get out before the storm hit. What they have to go back to though is still in question. Only time will tell. I wish them all the best in their recovery efforts. Came back from Vegas with a few items. Some new leather (chaps and a pair of shorts) and a new piece of ink. Got a Capricorn sigil on the nape of my deck. Done in black with blue shading by Schwab at Iron Horse Tattoo. Came out really nice.

Bear Embarassment...

tat2dredbear — Tue, 26 Jul 2005 16:05:05 GMT

Yesterday, whilst walking north on 15th and crossing Walnut, I placed my left foot on the north side curb just as a bike messenger swerved past me. I adjusted my foot a bit so as to not get hit and the ball of my foot (in my good slippery soled Bostonian shoes) was not fully seated on the slippery granite curb. Can you see where this is going? Needless to say my forward momentum kept me moving as my left foot slipped off the curb. WHAM! Concrete hurts when one collides with it. I'm sure it was not graceful as left knee and left hand hit the sidewalk pavement first followed by my right hand holding the pad of paper I was carrying. I heard a couple of "Oh My Gods!" and "Are You Alright?" and a young lady was kind enough to pick up my pad of paper. I scraped my left palm and somehow managed to scrape up my left knee without damaging the pants I was wearing. Did I mention that this was at approximately 1:00pm in the afternoon and there must have been about 50 people walking through the intersection at that time? Ack. talk about feeling like a total idiot. Anyway, my chagrin has mostly faded and the ego is returning to normal. Later....

NYC Pride

tat2dredbear — Tue, 28 Jun 2005 13:23:59 GMT

Just want to give a shout out to the MetroBears, NYC and to Robert Valin and BlackKat for hosting wonderful events over the past weekend in NYC as part of the city's Pride celebrations. This was the fourth year in a row that Dan and I have attended the MetroBears Pride Cruise. The shift into the evening hours was great. Seeing Manhattan from the water as the sun was setting was awesome. This was the first year that we have participated in the parade and it was even more awesome. Seeing the crowds, from the very beginning at 52nd Street all the way down to the end of Christopher was amazing. Thanks you New York City!

40 Sucks....

tat2dredbear — Thu, 16 Jun 2005 17:20:08 GMT

Turned 40 in January. Found out a week later that I am Type 2 diabetic. Hurt my arm/shoulder last Thursday. Found out today that I have two herniated disks in my neck. Errrrrr.