Hurricane Charley is on his way to Tampa. This is the first time that a hurricane has ever hit Tampa since I’ve lived here. I’ve been getting hammered with phone calls all morning from people trying to find out what’s going on and where we’re going to evacuate to. I have two ferrets and two computers, so I’ll be right here. However, I’m pretty bummed for not getting a UPS. The last thing I’ll be doing is evacuating to some crazy hurricane concentration camp. I still don’t know what the big deal is, I mean, it’s only a category one. The only thing I’m a bit concerned about is the possibility of tornadoes popping up. Shudder to think. In the picture you can see the Tropical Storm Bonnie by the panhandle, why didn’t they name Hurricane Charley Hurricane Clyde instead?

Just a brief update, been busy this past week, sprained ankle and digital crack has taken up my free time.

I was browsing through the Sunday ads and CompUSA actually had some decent deals. One being a Maxtor 200GB 7200RPM HD for $130. They also have a 2.2GB External USB 2.0 Hard Drive but it’s a bit pricey. It’s about the same size as most jump/thumb drives, I figure the more models they come out with that have larger storage the cheaper the older ones will be and then I’ll indulge. Just more things to add to my tech wishlist, I’d rather go wireless first. You wouldn’t believe how annoying it is dragging a wired laptop everywhere.

While I should be camping out in Tennessee, I’m stuck in bed on my laptop, feeling like crap. At this point there are only 4 things to make one feel better:

• Wolfgang Puck’s Vegetable Soup
• Arctic Shatter Powerade
• New Simpsons at 8PM
• UT2K4

I hate you.

Today and tomorrow I will be finishing my move from MT to WP (as time permits), implementing and testing new plugins, and changing the default template to it’s original form.

I had such a blast in Orlando, I’ll post more about the trip, perhaps along with pictures, when I complete the site.

Here I am casually browsing the intrawebnetdotcom. When I went to type a web address into the address bar in Firefox, by accident I typed just a W and hit enter and well, a virgin eye surprise is in store! Try it and be disgusted and frightened!

In my family, today is a valued holiday, bigger than Christmas. My grandparents hail from ye Ireland, Donegal to be exact. There is still quite a clan of us in Donegal. My grandfather is full of stories of Ireland, when I got older I was informed of the other not so pleasant, political horror stories and such, shattering my childhood dreams of leprechauns and pots of gold. Today means more than just wearing green. St. Patrick’s Day is a day when we celebrate very heartily and remember to take great appreciation for our family and our friends.

The Irish culture is beautiful and full of fascinating folklore. There are so many versions of every story, it’s quite impossible to know where fact ends and fiction begins and St. Patrick’s Day is no exception. I know several versions of the story of the patron Saint Patrick (who was really a Brit); from chasing pagans away and bringing Christianity to Ireland, using the shamrock to teach the Holy Trinity, chasing snakes away and luring the last into a box with a drink and tossed the snake into a lake, another about a dragon and so on and so forth. As my relatives would say, “If you don’t like the story, change it a bit, it’s the Irish thing to do.” As Irish folk tend to be remembered for their story telling.

Whichever reason you celebrate, enjoy St. Pat’s. Just remember if you’re drinking today in honor of St. Pat, you better be drinking Irish, and I don’t mean green American domestic beer!

Get into the Irish Spirit:

• Bake some Soda Bread
• Listen to classic Irish music
• Drink Guinness!
• Then Listen to the Dropkick Murphys
• …REALLY LOUD!

Instead of green beer, drink Irish tonight:

• Guinness
• Caffrey’s Irish Ale
• Murphy’s Irish Stout
• Murphy’s Irish Amber
• Harp Lager
• Or try a Black and Tan or an Irish Car Bomb

Saint Patrick was a gentleman,
Who through strategy and stealth,
Drove all the snakes from Ireland,
Here’s a toasting to his health.
But not too many toastings
Lest you lose yourself and then
Forget the good Saint Patrick
And see all those snakes again.

The time has come where we have splurged and brought a new addition into our home. We decided it was time to bring another ferret into our home for little Lucy. With Danielle and me not being home as much as usual we figured it was time for Lucy to have a new friend to prevent her from being lonely while we are gone. (His first pose is in front of the Dreamcast. He must know it’s Dreamcast week.)

I don’t know how many of you are or have been ferret owners, but the introduction of a new ferret to an established one is SUCH a process. I prefer to relate this to the equivalent of already having a child and bringing home a new born into the family.

Our first mistake was getting the LARGEST ferret at the pet shop. When it comes to ferrets, Danielle and I love the big guys. We didn’t take into account just how intimidating he would look to Lucy. We assumed his size would be perfect so she could romp with him and we wouldn’t have to be as worried if he had been a baby.

This morning, Lucy was getting more curious about him and venturing closer and closer to his cage. I decided to take Murphy out and hold the two together to make a short acquaintance. They seemed to be coming at each other very playfully so I thought I’d try out letting them romp.

Sorting out the pecking order is what Lucy had in mind. There was old Murphy, squeaking and hopping just as vocal as old Lucy, but Lucy was out to show her dominance. And she did. And now they are separated again. Well, perhaps children don’t really do this.

Oh, the woes of motherhood.

I am an American citizen. As an American citizen, my life is governed by laws and regulations. I have the right to live my life in anyway that I seek fit, as long as I abide by the laws of this nation. I am free, but with limitations.

Growing up in America, I was presented with the notion that America is synonymous with freedom. As an American I was also confronted with the idea that even I am a symbol of freedom. I guess that all depends on who’s looking. Or what the other factors are in this equation. We’d have to scratch beneath the surface to find the answer. Let’s slide this under the microscope because anything can seem beautiful and tranquil from a distance.

Am I freer than my next door neighbor? Are we really equals like they teach us? The answer is simply, no. Some of us are still not granted the same rights as our neighbors. Sure, we’re all human beings but we are all different from each other and we are still living in a time where our differences are all we are made of. In our country, the land of the free, everyone should know that this only applies to some of us.

As you get older you will make choices and you are guaranteed to be judged on the choices that you make, whether they were good or bad. On the contrary, you will also be confronted with things that you cannot choose, and you will also be judged by them. There is a plethora of traits and characteristics that a person develops that essentially makes them who they are. All in all, they are a person. My government has a responsibility to me. As a citizen of the US and as a human being, my government owes me respect, decency, and must see that I am treated as fairly as any other person in this country.

I have come to find out that only parts of me are protected. Only certain aspects of me are considered equal. Only half of me has rights.

I’m being confronted with that fact that my government sees me as subhuman. It’s a fact, so far. Would you believe me if I told you that there are 2,107,707 prisoners alone in the US that has certain rights that I don’t? It’s true. Murderers, pedophiles, rapists, and every other incarcerated person does. The more I think about it, even some of the most vicious villains of history that are serving life sentences in prison are more human than me, in the sense that they are granted certain rights that I am not.

Yeah - I’m talking about marriage. I have mixed ideas, personally, about marriage altogether. On a whole, refusing to allow same-sex couples to marry is discrimination.

What’s the deal with marriage anyway? Marriage is a package, aside from the ceremonial conception and the concept of national validity of a monogamous relationship, under the pretty wrapping of love and unity comes a few other rights that are granted to married couples. Taxes, medical care, and adoption are just a few wedding gifts given by the state.

When I hear the far-right, anti-gay activists, screaming that this country should protect the sanctity of marriage, I cringe.

Things I have been hearing lately throughout the news -

Homosexuality is an unnatural act and violation of Christian beliefs and is nothing more than a sin against GOD and should never be condoned by our society. - I’m not religious by ANY means, so I look the other way on this type of statement. Jesus, God, Allah, Buddha, whatever makes your life happier, so be it. You have the right to religious freedom. To be honest, I don’t care what your religion is and what beliefs you follow. You are allowed to worship whatever you choose. However, I am in no way affiliated with anybody’s religion and nor will I conform to their beliefs and ideals and succumb to living my life according to their concepts. Might I add there are PLENTY of religious gay people that praise god right next to you every Sunday in church. This isn’t a religious issue; this is a civil rights issue. If gay people are just sinners that do not deserve rights, what about murderers in prison that have the right to marry? Are they not sinners too according to your beliefs?

But marriage is a sacred union between a man and a woman in the eyes of god - Maybe it is for you. Everyone has a different perspective on what marriage means to them.

We must protect the sanctity of marriage - Under what pretenses? Should we ban divorce? Drive through weddings in Vegas? Marriage is a right, not a privilege.

Popular vote clearly shows that America is against gays and gay marriages! - CNN demographics again? Just who do they poll anyway? I was never asked to vote and don’t know anybody else who was asked or who has voted. Take a look at our electoral system, even our president isn’t elected based on popular vote. At one point in American history, almost 80% of the people were in favor for slavery. It was also considered a “popular opinion” that interracial marriage was a disgrace to society. Perhaps some of you still feel this way, and that is a true sign of a decaying society. Popular opinion doesn’t make anything right. Who’s to say that anybody’s opinion is right? I think my stance on gay marriage is right which makes yours wrong, but you think yours is right and mine is wrong, so who’s to say who is right? Nobody should be denied basic civil rights based on the grounds of someone else’s personal opinion.

But that is a personal opinion - No, it’s a fact. As a human being and a citizen of the US, I have the right to the pursuit of happiness and I have the right to be treated equally as you.

The argument on gay marriages could go on infinitely. Either way you look at it, there is no way anybody can say that this is not a clear case of oppression and discrimination. Our entire history is littered with people fighting the injustices of our government for equal rights. Have we learned nothing from our ancestors? This is no different. We are all entitled to freedom and civil rights regardless of our gender, religion, race, and sexual preference. To deny someone rights based on who they are in love with is hypocritical and archaic.

If being gay means my life is only partially protected by law, that my life and what choices I make are limited legally, then I am not a citizen. If this country can allow laws to be written and amendments to be adjusted for the sake of ostracizing groups of people simply based on who they DATE, I do not live in a free country. If the government refuses to recognize me as an equal individual and continues to discriminate against me and countless others, for what reasons should I recognize the government? Why should I pay taxes to an oppressive government that won’t even protect me under their laws? If the United States continues to discriminate against its own citizens, going against the very documents that our nation was founded upon, in an effort to clearly define gays and lesbians as an anomaly of this society, why should I feel obligated to do my part as a citizen, if I am not really one?

Everyone should be ashamed that our country, our president, seeks to ban certain individuals basic civil rights solely based on who these individuals fall in love with. Whatever your feelings may be towards gays and lesbians, nobody’s personal opinions should stand in the way of another person’s rights.

I don’t buy into the whole Valentine’s Day thing and this year I tried to persuade Danielle from feeling pressured into giving into the flowers, candy, and dinner theme. So we opted to go to a flea market and peruse around. I love going to flea markets because every so often you will find a nice little game store there that’s moderately priced. Although, the past couple of places we went to, we hadn’t been so lucky. I remember this one guy trying to sell me Nintendo games at $20.00 a cartridge. Um, I don’t think so.

This time, however, we were much luckier. We have been fighting off the temptation of buying a PS2. I’ve wanted so badly to get my hands on a nice Dreamcast. And yesterday, we got incredibly lucky.

We found a nice little booth at the flea market that had a nice array of used consoles and games. We browsed through the NES games, that’s were priced between $3.99 and $9.99, I can handle that. We found a copy of M.U.S.C.L.E, and had to grab it regardless of the price. Out of curiosity I asked the guy how much he was selling his Dreamcasts for. He said, “Thirty-five dollars”. I said, “WHAT?! Does it work?!” He responded with, “Of course. But you know if it doesn’t, bring it back and I’ll give you your money back.”

We caved. We bought it. We also nabbed a couple of games and were on our way. We decided on the way home that we’d visit a couple of our favorite pawn shops and see if we can find some more games and accessories.

By the time we finally made it home, we had spent just under $70.00 and got a Dreamcast, 4 games, keyboard, web browser, and two memory cards.

So, I was the first to check it out, loaded Jet Grind Radio and indulged for a little. Then I let Danielle have her turn and what happens?

The Dreamcast stops working.

Okay, so I try to maintain my composure, but I’m pretty pissed. So I start fiddling around with the little guy, turns out it’s not spinning discs.

Argh.

It was getting late and I was a bit too tired to toy around with the DC so I put the project off for the morning.

After a cup of espresso, I decide to give it whirl and tinker with calibrating the laser. I take it apart, adjust the calibration device a bit and after a couple of tries, she’s fully revived and now I’m off to enjoy ye old Dreamcast.