Soulless & Feral

Not that I haven’t mentioned it a few (zillion) times on Twitter and Facebook already, but my car was totaled yesterday in an accident that was, according to the police, clearly not my fault. While I am fine, my car is a loss… so I am looking for replacement vehicles as of like… now.

To answer the inevitable questions:

- Yes, I am okay. Thank you for asking. The morning after, I have a sore finger and that’s really it. I’ve been worse off after the gym.
- The other guy was fine too, aside from his lapse in judgment.
- What happened is sharable, if you text or send me a private message somewhere. I’m not posting ANYTHING about it (faultless though I may be) until i get my check.
- The insurance payment will pretty much pay of the car, so win.

So. Aside from missing my old car (and I really do; it might have been annoying sometimes, but it was my very first “all mine” car ever) and having the minor stress of having to find a new car hanging over my head, I am fine. There’s the difficulty of locating a new car though. So… if you can help me out, I will buy you a drink or maybe offer something from my arsenal of skills. Let me know.

I am looking for:

- 2003 to 2010 model; obviously I will go older for more features.
- Less than 15K. I have more, but why spend it if I don’t need to?
- Automatic transmission. I can’t drive a stick (that’s what SHE said.)
- Leather inside. I just don’t like cloth. I can DO cloth if everything else is sex and magic though.
- Decent gas mileage. No Hummers or tanks, please.
- I am looking for a smaller car. I want maneuverability.
- 4C or 6C… you hit 8C and gas efficiency sucks.
- 2 door preferred. I don’t need a 4 door.
- An aux port would be delicious.
- I dug my last autodim mirror. I’d love to have a new one.
- Nice stock sound; I’m deaf, so it needs to be loud and uh, not crappy.
- Colors I like are black, dark blue.

- I totally dig the Mini. I mean, dude.

If you can score me a Mini convertible with all of my features for less than 15K, you are awesome.

John convinced me to switch back, and I am digging it. Aside from the occasional GPS hiccup, it is great. – Chad

To be clear, I’ve been using both Gowalla and Foursquare simultaneously for the past 6 weeks.

First some quick reasons why I prefer Gowalla over Foursquare, then the bigger reasons at the end:

• Foursquare – turn on the app, you check in, close the app, that’s about it. Gowalla – I have a reason to linger around in the app and the website a little bit longer, it’s a little more involved (if you chose to be more involved; more on that later)
• I prefer how Gowalla posts to Twitter over Foursquare basically for the simplicity of the post by Gowalla. The Foursquare post, if you’re not wordy, tries to add the address, which I find unnecessary (plus, most addresses are missing and/or wrong; more on that later)
• I prefer how Gowalla posts to Facebook over Foursquare. The icon Foursquare associates with its FB posts is a boring map location icon of the check-in that’s unusable in its small form. The icon Gowalla associates with its FB post is the category icon of the check-in location (which taps into people’s simple minds and sparks interest, IMO; more on that later)
• Gowalla now has the ability to post pictures of each spot which are available to other users to view when they check-in.

(more…)

Alright, I have some freebies. If you’re interested, drop me a line via e-mail or Twitter and we can meet up somewhere (maybe at my house if I know you.) You can have as many or as few of them as you like. Some might even come with exam coupons, so huzzah for you!

I have:

- Network Security Bible (Wiley)
- Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Admin’s Pocket Consultant
- Exam Prep: MCSA/MCSE 70-290
- MCSA/MCSE WIndows Server 2003 Training Kit
- Sybex CompTIA Security+ Second Edition
- Exam Cram Security+ (SY0-101)

Now that I am again gainfully employed, I can in good conscience fix your personal computer problems for trade and amusement, My rates are somewhat negotiable, but generally I ask for trade in goods and services equal to half of what i charge in cash. So basically, you get $60 an hour service for around $30 an hour when all is said and done.

What can I do? A lot! I don’t do circuit level repair (I am clumsy with the soldering iron) but I can fix just about any software or hardware problem your home PC happens to have. I can also fix and secure your network, advise you on upgrades, and generally give you the sort of service that your local retail fix-it place can only dream of offering.

The best part? You don’t necessarily have to pay cash!

If you have something interesting to trade (from technology to yummy food to a trade in services) I’m possibly game. If you want to buy me something off of my ThinkGeek Wishlist!

Hit me up if you need something done.

I’ve been bitching a fair amount about the official Microsoft 70-646 course book published by Wiley Press of late. See, I’ve finally decided to go ahead with the Microsoft certification trac

I’ve been working on my MCITP for Server 2008, and I thought until yesterday that I was just about ready to take the first of three tests. I’d taken the Server 2008 Administration Course at TCC, studied the official academic course book until I could honestly claim to know 95% of the material by heart, and took all of the practice tests contained on the included CD. Things were looking good!

Of course, I’m no novice to the certification test arena. More to the point, I know the format of Microsoft’s tests rather well. The tests in the academic book were structured as simple fact recitations, aka:

What over the counter medicine helps you get your Zz’s?

A. Ham Biscuit
B. Viagra
C. Chloroform
D. Nyquil
E. Dayquil

…whereas Microsoft’s questions are more like word problems.

John Smith has been working as a brick mason for 12 years at the Bigass Brick Barn. He is working at a building site when he begins to develop sniffling, sneezing, and coughing. He is sent home by his supervisor, who advises him to rest himself overnight so that he can return to work as soon as possible.

What steps should John Smith take to suppress his symptoms and meet the requirements of his supervisor with the minimum expense and investment of time? (Choose Two)

A. Go to the hospital to be treated.
B. Take a dose of Nyquil
C. Take a does of Dayquil
D. Go to bed.
E. Stay awake until symptoms are clear.

Knowing this, I sought out a practice test from MeasureUp. When I did not only did not know the answers, but I did not know what the questions was referring to, I suspected that the $120 “Academic Course” was a pile of shit. Not one to jump to immediate conclusions, though, I went out and bought the self-paced MS Press course, which had the information that was missing from the other book.

Nice.

A quick minute or five later, and I’d pushed the test back a week and set a pretty rigorous schedule of two chapters a day (600+ pages total) in the self-paced course so I can hopefully be prepared to take the test NEXT Friday. I can always re-re- schedule, but I’d honestly like to move on to the next cert test. :-/