Sunday, December 30, 2012
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
The New Rig
It's been quite a while since I posted... but today is cause for celebration... as I have FINALLY ordered a new computer to replace the Dell that is entering it's End-Of-Life phase. (IE: Too many error messages to count, coupled with disastrous game play.)
So it is with an epic flourish of cymbals and gun play that I present to you... the BEAST!
(pics to come later after I've actually put it all together... LOL)
So it is with an epic flourish of cymbals and gun play that I present to you... the BEAST!
(pics to come later after I've actually put it all together... LOL)
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Gone Purple
In remembrance of the lives lost to bullying, this blog is wearing purple today. Are you?
http://www.hrcbackstory.org/2010/10/this-wednesday-%E2%80%93-wear-purple-to-remember/
http://www.hrcbackstory.org/2010/10/this-wednesday-%E2%80%93-wear-purple-to-remember/
Friday, October 8, 2010
Peng You (Friends)
I've had this song in my YouTube favorites for a while now... because I liked the melody and the meaning behind it. The simplicity of a piano playing the melody adds to it in my opinion.
The song itself is about friends. It's lyrics are written in Chinese, but below is a translation. So the words won't match the melody if you try to sing it... since the Chinese pronunciation requires a different syllable count. And while some of the stanzas come back a little bizarre in the translation... the overall meaning... about friendship... remains. Plus the guy playing it on YouTube puts such emotion into it. :)
All these years, alone
The wind has passed, the rain has gone
There were tears, there were wrongs
Things we hold dear I still recall
If you've had true love, then you would know
There is loneliness, there are goodbyes
There are dreams, always there is you
In my heart
Friends walk this life together
Those days will not return
One word, one life
A lifetime relationship, a cup of wine
With friends, you won't be lonely
Lifelong friends, you'd understand
There are wounds, there is pain
Must go our separate ways
Always there is me
The song itself is about friends. It's lyrics are written in Chinese, but below is a translation. So the words won't match the melody if you try to sing it... since the Chinese pronunciation requires a different syllable count. And while some of the stanzas come back a little bizarre in the translation... the overall meaning... about friendship... remains. Plus the guy playing it on YouTube puts such emotion into it. :)
All these years, alone
The wind has passed, the rain has gone
There were tears, there were wrongs
Things we hold dear I still recall
If you've had true love, then you would know
There is loneliness, there are goodbyes
There are dreams, always there is you
In my heart
Friends walk this life together
Those days will not return
One word, one life
A lifetime relationship, a cup of wine
With friends, you won't be lonely
Lifelong friends, you'd understand
There are wounds, there is pain
Must go our separate ways
Always there is me
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
YouTube Vids
Tons of subscription updates today means tons of cool videos to watch and music to fall in love with. Tonight we have a new cover from Kurt and Sam AND Andrew Kesler has a new one-man-band video... all in the same night! And right before my birthday too! Can you say early present for me? :)
Sam & Kurt
Andrew Kesler
Sam & Kurt
Andrew Kesler
2011 Kia Sportage TV Ad
The ads have started for Drew's family. Go check them out... they're really awesome cars. :)
Monday, October 4, 2010
Sarah Silverman's Message To America, On Gay Suicide
This is great... and I'm not even a Sarah Silverman follower/fan. The message is short... but straight forward.
Friday, October 1, 2010
A Sad Story
So I'm surfing YouTube at work (yeah, I'm a slacker)... and I run across the Philip Defranco show. I've watched this guy before. He's witty, funny, and it's just a great way to waste a few minutes. But today's offering provided a sad glimpse into campus life for one gay teen at Rutgers.
It seems a guy asked his roommate for their room until midnight... basically asking for privacy to get his freak on. A decent enough request for any college kid to make of their roommate. But this roommate said "Hey, why not turn on my webcam and me and my girl can watch him get it on over the internet!" We'll skip over the fact that it is illegal to be filmed/recorded without consent, and move on to the fact that when the roommate got to his girlfriend's room and switched on the feed, he got more than he bargained for. He found out his roommate was gay... because he was making out with a dude. His roommate was not out, and because of the way the roommate set up the cam, the session was basically broadcasting live to the internet for all to see... outting him not to just friends... but to the world. Great roommate huh?
But wait...there's more. It turns out the kid who originally asked for privacy realized (after the fact) that the cam recorded him... and he basically went through the proper channels to start the process of at the very least finding a new roommate... if not having something done against the illegal actions of his roommate. Sadly, it didn't get much further. Only hours later, the gay student apparently ended his life by jumping from the George Washington Bridge. The various posts about his plight to a gay message board seem grounded and stable... hardly what you would expect from someone about to commit suicide. But at the same time, his roommate had publicly posted on Facebook about the incident... and most responses were of digust toward the gay roommate. Having to face that humiliation day-in and day-out at the dorms where his private life was suddenly thrust into public view may have proved too much for him to bear.
What's worse is the roommate who cause the suicide... and his girlfriend... are likely to only get 5 years each. For illegally video taping someone without their consent. Inciting his roommate to commit suicide and you get 5 years.... nice world we live in.
Here's the YouTube video from Philip Defranco. And below that is the link to the original news article...
Gawker - The Tragic Story of Tyler Clementi, Rutgers' Webcam Voyeurism Victim
It seems a guy asked his roommate for their room until midnight... basically asking for privacy to get his freak on. A decent enough request for any college kid to make of their roommate. But this roommate said "Hey, why not turn on my webcam and me and my girl can watch him get it on over the internet!" We'll skip over the fact that it is illegal to be filmed/recorded without consent, and move on to the fact that when the roommate got to his girlfriend's room and switched on the feed, he got more than he bargained for. He found out his roommate was gay... because he was making out with a dude. His roommate was not out, and because of the way the roommate set up the cam, the session was basically broadcasting live to the internet for all to see... outting him not to just friends... but to the world. Great roommate huh?
But wait...there's more. It turns out the kid who originally asked for privacy realized (after the fact) that the cam recorded him... and he basically went through the proper channels to start the process of at the very least finding a new roommate... if not having something done against the illegal actions of his roommate. Sadly, it didn't get much further. Only hours later, the gay student apparently ended his life by jumping from the George Washington Bridge. The various posts about his plight to a gay message board seem grounded and stable... hardly what you would expect from someone about to commit suicide. But at the same time, his roommate had publicly posted on Facebook about the incident... and most responses were of digust toward the gay roommate. Having to face that humiliation day-in and day-out at the dorms where his private life was suddenly thrust into public view may have proved too much for him to bear.
What's worse is the roommate who cause the suicide... and his girlfriend... are likely to only get 5 years each. For illegally video taping someone without their consent. Inciting his roommate to commit suicide and you get 5 years.... nice world we live in.
Here's the YouTube video from Philip Defranco. And below that is the link to the original news article...
Gawker - The Tragic Story of Tyler Clementi, Rutgers' Webcam Voyeurism Victim
Drew
I'm REALLY falling in love with my new vehicle, Drew. His epic MPGs are being very kind to my pocketbook. :) And he's really stylish too... and apparently unique. Good luck finding another 2011 Sportage on the road... I STILL haven't seen one. ;)
However... there is one thing I desperately miss about Brian. I bought Brian right after the accident... and his driver seat was VERY comfortable. I hadn't realized it at the time, but the lumbar support provided my back with a great deal of pain relief for all the driving I do. But now, I have Drew... and he doesn't have the lumbar support. The EX model does, but the LX does not.... and I didn't know how much I would miss it until it was gone. It took about a week of no lumber for the back pain to show up.
But there is a solution. I picked up a lumbar pillow... and while it is not a perfect solution, it's not bad. I do have to adjust it almost everytime I get in, but at least the backpain is gone. Now it's time for a roadtrip... to see if that's truly a solution. :)
We'll see... but one thing I know for sure. I love Drew. :)
However... there is one thing I desperately miss about Brian. I bought Brian right after the accident... and his driver seat was VERY comfortable. I hadn't realized it at the time, but the lumbar support provided my back with a great deal of pain relief for all the driving I do. But now, I have Drew... and he doesn't have the lumbar support. The EX model does, but the LX does not.... and I didn't know how much I would miss it until it was gone. It took about a week of no lumber for the back pain to show up.
But there is a solution. I picked up a lumbar pillow... and while it is not a perfect solution, it's not bad. I do have to adjust it almost everytime I get in, but at least the backpain is gone. Now it's time for a roadtrip... to see if that's truly a solution. :)
We'll see... but one thing I know for sure. I love Drew. :)
Sunday, September 26, 2010
30 Days of Me - Days 23-30
I'm quite a bit behind with the most recent 30-Days project, so I'm going to blast through all the remaining September days with this post. To be honest, this project hasn't really gotten me that involved... so I've been very lax in completing it daily. I think I'll stay off the projects for a while and just post miscellaneous stuff. Unless I find something I really want to try again. :) So without further ado... Days 23 through 30...
Day 23- something you crave for a lot
Milk products.... Cheese, Cream Cheese, Ice Cream, Cheesecake, etc, etc, etc... Sad that I'm lactose intolerant... or maybe it's because I'm lactose intolerant that makes me crave them. Wanting what I can't have... story of my life..
Day 24- a letter to your parents
This one is slightly ambiguous... what exactly was this day looking for? "Hi, how ya doing?" or "I've got something to confess?"
Day 25- what I would find in your bag
Technology, Technology, Technology... A laptop, power cords, and iPad, a Netbook, a mouse, network cabling, USB cables, telephone cable (just in case), and the good old stand by... pen and a pad of paper...
Day 26- what do you think about your friends
What friends would those be? To be honest, I have reconnected with an old high school friend of mine. But most of my other friends are just coworkers... and we don't really hang out after hours...
Day 27- why are you doing this 30 day challenge
To get back into blogging... but this one just hasn't captured my interest like the last 30 Days of Truth did.
Day 28- a picture of you from last year and now, how have you changed since then?
 |
| Blizzcon 2009 (October) |
 |
| 30 Days of Me 2010 (September) |
Looks like the same doofus to me. :)
Day 29- in this past month, what have you learned
How to program in AJAX... for the most part. Still learning :)
Day 30- your favorite song
...changes from day to day. Currently, it's Kurt Schneider and Sam Tsui's "Don't Want An Ending" (available on iTunes too)
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
30 Days of Me - Day 22: What makes you different from everyone else
I'm a 33yo gay guy, living with his parents who don't know I'm gay. I'm a practicing Lutheran whose religious teachings say I'm going to Hell. I have a bad back from a car accident... and I am a self-taught website developer that has 2 companies that he works for and 2 that he is the owner of. All that wrapped up into a 6'3", overweight body and you have me... and that's what makes me different from everyone else :P
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
30 Days of Me - Day 21: a picture of something that makes you happy
Two for the price of one...
...because Drew is going to Vegas in December! :)
Sunday, September 19, 2010
What's in a Name... Biblically Speaking...
For those not aware, I'm named after the biblical Jonathan, found in 1 Samuel and 2 Samuel in the Bible. My namesake was the son of King Saul and close friend of King David. In fact, the relationship between David and Jonathan is one most interesting biblical relationships.
You might ask why I'm mentioning all this. Well bare with me just a little longer.
I was an avid follower of "Kings" the show on NBC that lasted only a single, shortened season... producing just 13 episodes before being cancelled by NBC. (Yet another good show to die young from NBC's mismanagement. But I digress.) Anyways, "Kings" was based on the books of 1 and 2 Samuel... and took much of their characters, settings, and plot lines from those Scriptures. They took many creative liberties with them, of course. One of those liberties (or so I thought) was the fact that the character if Jack (who was the King's son and was based on the biblical Jonathan) was a closeted homosexual in the context of the show.
Now here is where we finally come back to relevance. Jonathan is said to "love" David in the Bible. Most historians and of course mainstream religious interpretation of the relationship call this one of platonic love. But more modern scholars and writers and now interpreting this as a case of homoeroticism... and possibly even labeling Jonathan and David and homosexuals.
David (yes, the same one who slays Goliath) is brought before King Saul to celebrate his triumph over Goliath and here is where he first meets Jonathan... who is said to take an immediate liking to him. They also made a covenant...
1 After David had finished talking with Saul, Jonathan became one in spirit with David, and he loved him as himself. 2 From that day Saul kept David with him and did not let him return to his father's house. 3 And Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself. 4 Jonathan took off the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his tunic, and even his sword, his bow and his belt. - NIV Bible, 1 Samuel 18:1-4
Later on, King Saul is angered at his son, Jonathan, when he has let David go to his family instead of forcing him to attend the King's dinner table...
30 Saul's anger flared up at Jonathan and he said to him, "You son of a perverse and rebellious woman! Don't I know that you have sided with the son of Jesse to your own shame and to the shame of the mother who bore you? - NIV Bible, 1 Samuel 20:30
The word "sided" here is a translation of the word "behar" which also translates into "choosing" and sometimes indicates a permanent choice such as a firm relationship. And finally, David's praise of Jonathan upon hearing of his death...
26 I grieve for you, Jonathan my brother;
you were very dear to me.
Your love for me was wonderful,
more wonderful than that of women. - NIV Bible, 2 Samuel 1:26
All these passages seem to indicate there was more to the relationship than simply platonic affection. The above passage especially seems to bring out the fact the Jonathan was in love with David... having more love for him than he has with women.
So in fact, "Kings" on NBC may not have been so far from the Scripture or taken as much liberty as one might have originally thought... at least in this regard. And more to the point... my namesake appears to be the only instance where homosexuality is allowed and the participant is not killed or a city destroyed by God... as was the case with Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 19. Jonathan is in fact killed by the Philistines in 1 Samuel 31:2...with Saul's other sons. While David becomes King of Israel and an ancestor to Jesus, our Savior.
And why did I post all this? Just some random thoughts on my name... and it's ironic link to my homosexuality. :)
You might ask why I'm mentioning all this. Well bare with me just a little longer.
I was an avid follower of "Kings" the show on NBC that lasted only a single, shortened season... producing just 13 episodes before being cancelled by NBC. (Yet another good show to die young from NBC's mismanagement. But I digress.) Anyways, "Kings" was based on the books of 1 and 2 Samuel... and took much of their characters, settings, and plot lines from those Scriptures. They took many creative liberties with them, of course. One of those liberties (or so I thought) was the fact that the character if Jack (who was the King's son and was based on the biblical Jonathan) was a closeted homosexual in the context of the show.
Now here is where we finally come back to relevance. Jonathan is said to "love" David in the Bible. Most historians and of course mainstream religious interpretation of the relationship call this one of platonic love. But more modern scholars and writers and now interpreting this as a case of homoeroticism... and possibly even labeling Jonathan and David and homosexuals.
David (yes, the same one who slays Goliath) is brought before King Saul to celebrate his triumph over Goliath and here is where he first meets Jonathan... who is said to take an immediate liking to him. They also made a covenant...
1 After David had finished talking with Saul, Jonathan became one in spirit with David, and he loved him as himself. 2 From that day Saul kept David with him and did not let him return to his father's house. 3 And Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself. 4 Jonathan took off the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his tunic, and even his sword, his bow and his belt. - NIV Bible, 1 Samuel 18:1-4
Later on, King Saul is angered at his son, Jonathan, when he has let David go to his family instead of forcing him to attend the King's dinner table...
30 Saul's anger flared up at Jonathan and he said to him, "You son of a perverse and rebellious woman! Don't I know that you have sided with the son of Jesse to your own shame and to the shame of the mother who bore you? - NIV Bible, 1 Samuel 20:30
The word "sided" here is a translation of the word "behar" which also translates into "choosing" and sometimes indicates a permanent choice such as a firm relationship. And finally, David's praise of Jonathan upon hearing of his death...
26 I grieve for you, Jonathan my brother;
you were very dear to me.
Your love for me was wonderful,
more wonderful than that of women. - NIV Bible, 2 Samuel 1:26
All these passages seem to indicate there was more to the relationship than simply platonic affection. The above passage especially seems to bring out the fact the Jonathan was in love with David... having more love for him than he has with women.
So in fact, "Kings" on NBC may not have been so far from the Scripture or taken as much liberty as one might have originally thought... at least in this regard. And more to the point... my namesake appears to be the only instance where homosexuality is allowed and the participant is not killed or a city destroyed by God... as was the case with Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 19. Jonathan is in fact killed by the Philistines in 1 Samuel 31:2...with Saul's other sons. While David becomes King of Israel and an ancestor to Jesus, our Savior.
And why did I post all this? Just some random thoughts on my name... and it's ironic link to my homosexuality. :)
30 Days of Me - Day 20: Someone you see yourself marrying or being with in the future
I have no prospects in this regard. Well, I take that back... there are several people I could see spending the rest of my life with. The problem is they are all straight... as far as I know. ;)
30 Days of Me - Day 19: nicknames you have and why you have them
Technodude-
A nickname I got from working with computers and my tech saavy at work... not be cause I like techno music...
JP-
My initials and a nickname I had when I was around 5... and one that I grew out of (thank goodness)...
Ardy-
In-game nickname of my characters' longer names; Ardexor, Ardelon, and Eminard.
A nickname I got from working with computers and my tech saavy at work... not be cause I like techno music...
JP-
My initials and a nickname I had when I was around 5... and one that I grew out of (thank goodness)...
Ardy-
In-game nickname of my characters' longer names; Ardexor, Ardelon, and Eminard.
30 Days of Me - Day 18: plans/dreams/goals you have
I plan to one day be able to support myself with my own business... and not work for someone else
I dream to one day be able to legally marry the man I fall in love with... and not have to settle for legal paperwork to provide spousal rights.
My goal is to one day have the courage to tell my parents I'm gay.
I plan... I dream... I hope.
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Introducing IE9... or... We built a new browser that STILL doesn't support all industry standards
Throughout Microsoft Internet Explorer's existance... they've always tried to do things their way. They're own HTML standards, they're own Javascript, they're own technologies. Finally, the web community had enough of it... and its slow ass speed and Firefox and Chrome were born. Both of these newer contenders fully support the web standards as set forth by the W3C. Microsoft never has. And IE8 was such a joke of a release that IE9 was already in development nearly immediately after Internet Explorer 8's launch.
IE9's goal was to has a perfect acid test.... which is a test the determines the rendering capabilities of the browser... and how well it's conforming to industry standards. When IE8 launched it scored a dismal 25 out of 100. Bare in mind that Chrome and Firefox's browsers score 100/100... and have for MONTHS before IE8's release. Consequently, Microsoft built a browser that no one was willing to switch to from Chrome or Firefox... and immediately IE9 started development. After MONTHS, they finally got the test over 50. OOoh. (I mean seriously... how difficult is it to take existing web standards to everyone uses and incorporate them into a browser's render capability?)
Now... IE9 Beta is available... acid test results? 95/100 and that's a gift... because the render is NOT smooth (as the test page says it should be)... AND still doesn't support basic CSS3/HTML5 standards... like Border Radius settings (take a look at Twitter.com and see how the corners render in Chrome/Firefox compared to IE9 or earlier). Also, IE9 is still as cumbersome and slow as ever... though now they try to pawn that off on toolbars... by giving you a dialog box at the start that says "Look how long Google Toolbar took to load, would you like to display it." It displayed over 2 seconds as the time delay for the toolbar... disable it and guess what... the browser doesn't start 2 seconds faster. Imaging my surprise...
Sorry Microsoft. IE9 is an improvement... but when you're starting in the basement to begin with, it's hard NOT to have an improvement. I'm still sticking with Chrome until you join the rest of the party in supporting all the internet standards. As a web developer, you cause too much anguish in my live to be my main browser.
IE9's goal was to has a perfect acid test.... which is a test the determines the rendering capabilities of the browser... and how well it's conforming to industry standards. When IE8 launched it scored a dismal 25 out of 100. Bare in mind that Chrome and Firefox's browsers score 100/100... and have for MONTHS before IE8's release. Consequently, Microsoft built a browser that no one was willing to switch to from Chrome or Firefox... and immediately IE9 started development. After MONTHS, they finally got the test over 50. OOoh. (I mean seriously... how difficult is it to take existing web standards to everyone uses and incorporate them into a browser's render capability?)
Now... IE9 Beta is available... acid test results? 95/100 and that's a gift... because the render is NOT smooth (as the test page says it should be)... AND still doesn't support basic CSS3/HTML5 standards... like Border Radius settings (take a look at Twitter.com and see how the corners render in Chrome/Firefox compared to IE9 or earlier). Also, IE9 is still as cumbersome and slow as ever... though now they try to pawn that off on toolbars... by giving you a dialog box at the start that says "Look how long Google Toolbar took to load, would you like to display it." It displayed over 2 seconds as the time delay for the toolbar... disable it and guess what... the browser doesn't start 2 seconds faster. Imaging my surprise...
Sorry Microsoft. IE9 is an improvement... but when you're starting in the basement to begin with, it's hard NOT to have an improvement. I'm still sticking with Chrome until you join the rest of the party in supporting all the internet standards. As a web developer, you cause too much anguish in my live to be my main browser.
Friday, September 17, 2010
All Good Things...
...must come to an end. That's how the saying goes anyway. But in this case, it hasn't been "good" for a long time... and it finally ended today.
For those unaware, I had been following the story of Luke and Noah on the soap "As the World Turns" for some time now... on and off over the last 2 years actually. And today was the final episode for the show. It's being pulled from the lineup after being on the air continuously since 1956.
Much like every soap opera, the general storylines tended to be extreme with crazy twists and turns... but it really was the only daytime drama to depict a gay couple on television. (If anyone knows of another, I'm looking for a new vice to fill the gap.) ;) But despite it's bizarre plots and unbelievable situations, I followed along with Luke in his coming out story... all the way up through his first kiss and first boyfriend.
Beyond this point, there be spoilers... be forewarned :)
For those unaware, I had been following the story of Luke and Noah on the soap "As the World Turns" for some time now... on and off over the last 2 years actually. And today was the final episode for the show. It's being pulled from the lineup after being on the air continuously since 1956.
Much like every soap opera, the general storylines tended to be extreme with crazy twists and turns... but it really was the only daytime drama to depict a gay couple on television. (If anyone knows of another, I'm looking for a new vice to fill the gap.) ;) But despite it's bizarre plots and unbelievable situations, I followed along with Luke in his coming out story... all the way up through his first kiss and first boyfriend.
Beyond this point, there be spoilers... be forewarned :)
30 Days of Me - Day 17: someone you would want to switch lives with for one day and why
I'd want to switch lives with myself... my younger self, that is. So that I could tell him what a goober he was in High School... and get him to open up more, sooner in life. Get him to take chances more. Get him to take care of himself more.
But I think this day was meant to be someone else... so I'm gonna go with Neil Patrick Harris. The guy has transcended the kid actor generation to serious adult actor... and stuck in a few musical theater credits in the middle. He's super talented and just seems to have his life together. :)
But I think this day was meant to be someone else... so I'm gonna go with Neil Patrick Harris. The guy has transcended the kid actor generation to serious adult actor... and stuck in a few musical theater credits in the middle. He's super talented and just seems to have his life together. :)
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