Joe's Blogspot

Drivers Under 25, Tickets, and Car Insurance

2011-11-30T11:05:00.000-08:00

I've always been a bit paranoid when it comes to the possibility of getting a traffic ticket or worse situation. And when I got my driver's license and was added to my parents' car insurance policy, I was aware of how expensive insurance can be for young drivers.

Now, I'm not sure when and where I first got this notion, but somewhere along the line, I got the impression that if a teen driver (or more specifically, a driver under the age of 25) gets any kind of traffic citation (even just one), his or her rates will skyrocket to the point of being not affordable (not that teen insurance was that affordable anyway). One of the places that strengthened this notion was on teensurance.com: the Teen Auto Insurance Rate Explorer. What I saw on that calculator was pretty frightening. Get just one ticket, and rates can go up by 265% from $484/6 months to $1,287/6 months! I know younger drivers are high risk, but still, talk about ridiculous. Keep in mind, that's with no accidents, no DUIs, a good student discount, old car, high deductible, and low insurance limit. Even with all those factors, a car insurance rate for a young driver can still more than double according to that calculator for just ONE ticket!

I realize insurance companies have different ways of figuring out rate increases, so that calculator might not be entirely accurate, though I have seen some posts online by people who claim the same thing - that getting just one ticket will ruin you if you're under 25. Funny thing is, I've heard of a number of young drivers getting tickets, and their lives don't seem "ruined" by it. Who knows?

Nonetheless, I've always tried to be a careful driver. Not just because of insurance reasons but simply because it's the right thing to do. Still, there have been situations where I've feared I might get a ticket. One of my biggest fears was red-light cameras. Sometimes, those cameras have had a tendency to be triggered unnecessarily, so I wouldn't want to get an unjust ticket. For a while, I avoided red-light intersections altogether whenever possible. These days, I just avoid making right-hand turns at such intersections.

The issue of tickets and car insurance came up with me again in a big way earlier this year when I got a ticket (the only one I've gotten so far in my three years of driving with a license and five years total if you count my learner's permit). I had (and still do to some extent) all these ideas that insurance rates for drivers under 25 would definitely skyrocket beyond control and out of sight - even if it's just one minor ticket. A number of times, I've talked with one of my friends, whose dad works in insurance. One time, I mentioned to him the kind of rates my family has, and his dad thought we were being charged a lot, all things considered.

The company we've had for a number of years now is ANPAC (American National Property and Casualty). When my parents only were on the policy, the rate was somewhere in the neighborhood of about $600/6 months (approximately, I don't really know). When I got on the policy, it went up to $1,070/6 months (which included the good student discount). Then, when I graduated from high school, it went to $1,200/6 months. Then, when I got my 1989 Camry added to the policy last year, the insurance went up to approximately $1,600/6 months. Yes. $1,600 - not a year...but for every 6 MONTHS! And keep in mind, that most of our vehicles are liability-only, we have two older, experienced drivers with clean records, and two of the vehicles are ancient as it is (a 1987 Ford Ranger, a 1989 Toyota Camry, and a 2006 Dodge Stratus). Additionally, my rates have never really gone down, despite turning 21 last year. I know turning 21 isn't as big of a milestone as turning 25, but my friend said that rates usually go down a little by then. Mine didn't go down one single bit. Actually, a few months ago, we did lower the price by lowering the coverage for property damage or whatever. It went from $1,600/6 months to $1,330/6 months. In my opinion, that's still quite a lot. So, if we're being charged this much for old, liability-only cars, and drivers that have had clean records, I'd hate to think how such a company would respond to an under-25 driver getting a ticket. Honestly, I'm quite concerned.

Since I got the ticket when I was 21 (as opposed to a 16-year-old that just recently got a license) and had been driving incident-free for three years, I'd hope that the insurance company might grant me some slight forgiveness - rather than doubling or tripling the insurance rate like I've heard so many stories about just for one ticket. In any event, since I got my ticket, we've renewed our insurance policy once. At that point, the company didn't seem to know about the ticket, as the premium was the same as before, and they didn't show any incidents recorded. However, it was around the same time that my points were actually applied. The next renewal will be in a few months. As I said, I'm quite concerned.

The Story of My First Packard Bell Computer

2011-11-11T17:26:00.000-08:00

A few times in this blog, I've referenced my original Packard Bell (a Packard Bell Platinum 2240). However, I'm not sure if I've told the full story of it on here. I've talked about my TeleVideo TS-1605 and the digital DECpc LPx 560, so I think the old Packard Bell deserves some recognition.

Note: the above computer is NOT the same model as my first one. It is just a very similar-looking one (though its specs are a little lower and has a different model number). I am just using this picture to give an idea as to what the computer looked like.

Anyway, my very first Packard Bell was a Packard Bell Platinum 2240, made in early 1997. It had a 200 MHz MMX Pentium processor, 32 MB of EDO RAM (we later upgraded it to 64 MB), 3.2 GB Quantum hard drive (later replaced with a 40 GB Maxtor hard drive, though I still have the original 3.2 GB hard drive), 3.5" floppy drive, and a GoldStar 16x CD-ROM drive. It also had 2 MB of video memory and a SND3-336 card (which also had a built-in modem). The computer originally ran Windows 95 but was upgraded to Windows 98 SE for a while (right after the computer started going downhill). Although I've moved on from this particular computer, I still feel some nostalgia for it - especially for the time during 2003 and 2004 when I formed a love for Packard Bell computers and software and really wanted to get that old thing running again.

So - my dad had been using the old DOS TeleVideo TS-1605 for about 13-14 years. It served its purpose, but I guess it got to a point where he felt it was time to upgrade (even a few years before then, the TeleVideo might still be considered quite obsolete). Once, while he was on a business trip in April 1997, he apparently bought a Packard Bell Platinum 2240 in North Carolina - and later brought it home with him. A few days after he got it, I saw it for myself and was just amazed at how it looked. It had all sorts of controls and looked so modern and futuristic compared to the simple, plain, bland box computer that was the TeleVideo. I'd never seen anything like it before and was so impressed that I even mentioned it to a kid or two in my first grade class.

I didn't start using the computer until a year or two later, though. I started out by playing computer games like Math Blaster: Ages 6-9, Reading Blaster: Ages 9-12, Casper: The Interactive Adventure, POD (or Planet of Death - a racing game), and Ecco. I had tons of fun playing these games, and I would later have new favorites, like The 7th Guest, SimCity Classic, Rodent's Revenge, Rattler Race, Comix Zone, Sonic CD, and many others.

And let's not forget Packard Bell Navigator. In early 1999, I discovered Navigator (or my dad showed it to me - I can't remember). And I discovered many "new" programs like WordPad, Paint, Calculator, and the Windows Entertainment Pack games - along with a few other interactive "games" in the Myspace room. I started writing stories about the Energizer Bunny in WordPad while in the Kidspace room - as well as making "Color World" bitmap images in Paint (which consisted of a bunch of multicolor ovals overlapping each other).

With time, I became more and more creative on the computer. When we got Microsoft Office 2000, I started using PowerPoint to make crude pictures, "games," and movies. I also used Word to write more, longer stories. We also first got the internet on that computer in 2000, though in the early 2000s, I didn't use it nearly as much as I do now. I didn't get into it that much until about 2002-2003 when I started chatting with AIM and posting messages on the Staufmansion-Line Forum (most of which I didn't even do on the Packard Bell). Fun times, fun times. Quite a few examples I could give of all the fun I had with that computer.

In April 2002, my dad started working for a computer company and bought a new computer to help him with the work. It was a Dell Dimension 4400, which cost over $2,000, I think. I still own and use that same computer to this day. I was rather impressed by it when I used it, as there were many things that computer could do that the Packard Bell couldn't. Nonetheless, I was still happy when my dad gave me the Packard Bell on my birthday a few weeks later. I was glad to have a computer of my very own to use. Unfortunately, this would only be short-lived.

About a week into September, the computer started making a clicking and whining sound. At first, I didn't take much notice, though a week later, things became very bad. I went to the CD Player in the taskbar to change the song I was playing, when the computer made the same noise again. Only this time, the computer froze, and I had to restart it. But things got considerably worse. I restarted the computer multiple times but got error messages after error messages. I had no idea what was going on. My mom said that maybe the computer was "tired." It sure seemed that way!

My early attempts at solving the problem were to run ScanDisk and Disk Defragmenter (interestingly enough, only a few hours before the computer first crashed, I was running Disk Defragmenter, and I wondered if that had anything to do with the problem). At first, I thought running those problems fixed the issue, but shortly after, I kept having the same problems. My dad thought the problem was that the computer was looking for a missing file, so he formatted the hard drive and installed Windows 98 SE. At first, things looked okay, but not for long. The computer was acting just as weird as it did before.

After a while, we basically gave up on the computer, and that's when its replacement came in - a PACE Technologies (a no-name brand computer) with a 300 MHz Pentium II MMX processor, 64 MB of RAM, 5-6 GB hard drive, 3.5" floppy drive, and CD-ROM drive - and ran Windows 2000. Though this computer was slightly more modern than the Packard Bell, I didn't like it very much. Its case looked dirty and old, and it seemed more cold and metallic than the "friendly," bright white plastic case of the Packard Bell. It also ran rather slowly, and the sound card didn't even work (at least not with Windows 2000). Also, a lot of my favorite computer games wouldn't run on the computer. However, I didn't have much choice, so for most of my computing needs, I used the PACE. Even though I didn't like it at first, I ended up having some nostalgia for it years later, as I liked the Snow Trees desktop wallpaper.

In 2003, I started doing most of my computer work on the Dell, and I was glad, as it was much more modern, could run more games, and allow me to do creative things with sound clips, artwork, etc. Also, it was a good thing my dad let me do so, as around mid-2003, the PACE quit working as it should have. It sounded like it would run, but there was no image on the screen (I later fixed this problem a year later by reinserting the video card).

In any event, it was around this time that I formed a big love for Packard Bell computers and Packard Bell software. The office interface in Navigator 3.9 looked so modern and neat, and I just hated some of the 3D graphics in Windows 98. And the new installation of Windows didn't have all my old favorite games (Rodent's Revenge, SimCity Classic, etc.). While I realized later I could have installed and run most of those games on just about any version of Windows, it wasn't quite the same as doing it with good old Windows 95. So, right around mid-2003, it was official - I wanted to restore my old computer with Windows 95 and Packard Bell Navigator!

Even though there wasn't much I could do for the Packard Bell at the time, the next best thing was to try to get as close to the old setup as possible. I tried installing Navigator on the Dell by copying all the old NAV files from the Master CD, but I kept getting error messages relating to ODBC.DLL, ODBC.INI, ODBCINST.DLL, ODBCINST.INI, and being unable to load the resource database. The last particular error message was very troubling to me because it was just so vague. It didn't give me any files to look for and barely indicated what the problem was (how was I supposed to know what the resource database was - that seemed like such a general term). Still, for years, I tried and tried again to get Navigator to work. In July 2009, I finally figured out the trick to get Navigator to work, but that's another story. Even though I couldn't get Navigator itself to run, I enjoyed looking through the screenshots and listening to the audio clips - hoping that maybe someday, I could interact with Navigator directly.

In late 2003, I went crazy trying to get Windows 95 back on the Packard Bell. I found the old, original 3.2 GB hard drive and tried to install it, thinking that Windows 95, Navigator, and all my other old, favorite programs were on there. Well, even if they were, I couldn't use them. For whatever reason (I think maybe it had to do with the Maxtor EZ-BIOS settings), the drive wasn't recognized. So, after that didn't work, I researched information on how to restore Windows 95. I was at a bit of a disadvantage since I didn't have a regular Windows 95 CD (and only had a Master CD, which back then, I had no idea I could reinstall Windows with it), so I didn't really know what to do. So finally, I made the stupid mistake of deleting all the files on the hard drive while in Windows.

And for several months after that, I was never able to use Windows again. I couldn't read from the CD-ROM drive when booting from the hard drive, and I couldn't read the hard drive when booting from the floppy and CD-ROM drive. I was in a real mess. Once I realized I could have installed Windows from the Master CD - and now couldn't due to the problem with the hard drive and CD-ROM drive, I knew I was stuck. If only I had a version of Windows I could install via floppy disk back then.

Eventually, my mom and I ordered a Windows 95 install CD, and I hoped that might be of help. It would have been better if it had floppies to install the OS, but oh well. I used another computer to transfer the Windows 95 files from the CD to a floppy disk. Slowly but surely, I copied the files onto the computer. Unfortunately, it didn't do much good, and I was at a standstill.

My dad, knowing how much I liked the old Packard Bell, took it to a repair center in December 2003 to see if the technicians could fix it. I was really happy but nervous at the same time. What if they couldn't fix it? To my horror, there was some bad news more than a week later. They called and said that they were having problems with it and that they thought the motherboard was the issue. A new one would increase the repair bill to about $500. My dad didn't think it was worth it to spend that much money on an old computer, so he suggested getting a new computer for me. I was open to the idea but still wanted the Packard Bell, as it meant a lot to me. A few days later, we went to look at some new computers, but I wasn't particularly interested at the time, so I passed (though I wish I had gotten one of those computers while I had the chance).

A day or so later, the technicians called back, confirming that the problem was the motherboard. However, they said that a new board would actually up the cost to $250 instead of $500 like they originally said. My dad reluctantly agreed to the motherboard replacement, and that made my day.

About a month later (January 2004), the computer was ready for pick-up. Apparently, it was now working and running Windows 95 for the first time since September 2002! We went to the repair place to get it, and a technician commented that the computer was quite hard to deal with. Once we got home, I set up the computer and turned it on and was excited to see Windows 95 running once again! Sadly, it didn't have Navigator or any of the other programs on it, but that was a problem for another day.

I installed a few programs on the computer, and everything seemed fine at first - until after the third program was installed. I got an error message, saying, "Sector not found reading drive C: Abort, Retry, Ignore, Fail." I was very crestfallen to see this. The computer was having problems again (though different ones, this time). I hoped this was just a one-time thing, but unfortunately, the problem grew more and more persistent. At first, I could just ignore it, but with time, I couldn't get past it. Eventually, I couldn't read from the hard drive or CD-ROM drive anymore. At least things were a little more stable with the other motherboard.

My dad found out that the computer was having problems again and reluctantly took it back for more work. But things wouldn't turn out well for the Packard Bell. More than a month passed, and we didn't hear from the technicians, so one day, in March 2004, we called them. Apparently, they had given up on the computer and couldn't fix it. Unless I'm mistaken, my mom said that they said they had never seen a computer that was so hard to fix.

A few days later, my parents picked up the computer, and it was waiting for me in my room when I got home from school. I was glad to see it again, despite the problems it had, and was eager to try an experiment on it. I put in the spare 5.25" drive from the TeleVideo, and to my delight, it worked! Now, I could transfer files from more modern computers to the old TeleVideo! Sure enough, I was playing Castle Adventure on that computer in no time! Unfortunately, about two months later, the Packard Bell even failed to recognize the floppy drives, and it had been rendered almost completely unusable.

At that point, I started to turn my attention to the old PACE computer. It had been about a year since I last used it, and I wanted to get all my personal files off it in case that computer never worked again. I started tinkering with it, looking inside it, and so on. Several months earlier, I cut off one of the PSU plugs when taking out the CD-ROM drive, as I had trouble unplugging it. I feared that something bad would happen if I turned the computer on, so I was reluctant to do so. I later put electrical tape around the cut ends and turned the computer on. Fortunately, it ran fine, and I was also glad to see that the video card was working again.

I then considered using the parts from the PACE computer to repair the Packard Bell. At the time, I was learning about motherboard form factors and knew that the PACE's motherboard wouldn't properly fit in the Packard Bell, but I could try to crudely position it in there (assuming I could take the crossbar out). So, I asked my dad to drill some of the rivets out of the computer case, and once he did, I removed the crossbar and put the motherboard tray from the PACE horizontally across the bottom of the Packard Bell. I then put the other components inside, and it worked. Well, yes, it did work, but I couldn't fit the cover over the case, and the ports weren't sticking out where they should have. Still, that was the best repair I could make with that Packard Bell. I later installed Windows 95 and tried (once again) to get Navigator to work but failed. I did, however, get many other programs to work (like SimCity Classic), and I found drivers for the sound card (they would work on Windows 95 and 98 but sadly still not on Windows 2000).

In early 2005, I was going through a phase where I wanted to make major improvements on myself. I tried to take a look at what I was doing and where I was going. And I started to feel that I shouldn't try to force a repair on the Packard Bell that wasn't appropriate for it. At the time, I had the computer in a small cabinet under my desk, and it was a real pain to deal with whenever I had to plug or unplug something. I finally decided to put the computer parts back in the PACE and use that as my computer. I then took the Packard Bell and put it on a shelf in my closet. And there it sat, sadly spending its final moments in my house useless and with a dark, empty space in the top drive bay where the CD-ROM drive once was. The same computer that was once full of life, playing all the old games I loved. Now useless and could barely do anything.

For a while, I decided to keep the Packard Bell, as I was still a computer nerd and wanted to keep it around for nostalgia and access to parts. However, I eventually decided to get rid of it. I felt it would be healthy for me to let go of it and move on, and it would also save space in my closet. So, in April 2005, I got rid of the Packard Bell Platinum 2240 - the very first Packard Bell I used and that gave me some of my first computing memories and inspirations - the computer that had been with us for almost eight long years. I put it out for the garbage and checked on it the very next day. The computer was gone, but surprisingly, the garbage hadn't even come yet. Someone must have taken it. Who knows what the final fate of that computer was/is?

Even though initially, I was glad to get rid of the Packard Bell, I still felt nostalgia for the Packard Bell computers and software and wished I hadn't gotten rid of it. From time to time, I would see computers on eBay that I wanted to get and considered buying them. But everything changed earlier this year when I learned that a YouTube user named Roadgeek got a vast majority of his Packard Bells from a thrift store called Value Village. I was glad to see there was a Value Village in my area (several actually), so one day, I went to the closest one, hoping that I'd find one. Very shockingly, the very first time I looked, I found a Packard Bell! And not just any Packard Bell, either. It was in the same style (though different model, same one in the picture at the beginning of this blog post) as my Platinum 2240! Best of all, it only cost $3.00! What a bargain! A lot better than paying hundreds of dollars on eBay! Needless to say, I bought it right on the spot. I also went to America's Thrift Store next door and found a Packard Bell monitor and keyboard! At home, I learned that the computer did indeed work and was glad to have another one almost just like my old one.

So, that wraps up my quite long story of my first Packard Bell. Since getting the replacement for the Platinum 2240 (the Platinum Supreme 1665), I've purchased three more Packard Bells. All of these have been fun to use, though my interest in Packard Bells never would have existed if it weren't for my very first one. Hopefully, I'll remember the fun I had with that computer for a long time.

digital DECpc LPx 560

2011-11-11T16:31:00.000-08:00

Happy Veteran's Day!

This year, I've been interested in old computers again. I started looking in thrift stores for Packard Bells and other machines. In 2009, I found a somewhat "old" computer (probably made around 1997), but it wasn't exactly what I was looking for. However, when I went to a Value Village store this April, I found a computer that was pretty much exactly what I've been looking for as far as a vintage PC is concerned (though I would like to find an even older PC - like the TeleVideo).

The computer I found was a digital DECpc LPx 560. I haven't found a whole lot of information on it on the internet, though there are a few online ads for it. Considering that this computer came out in the early-to-mid '90s, it's not too surprising that this machine cost over $2,000! Anyway, the computer appears to have been built in August 1994 and has a 60 MHz Socket 4 Pentium processor - along with approximately 8 MB of RAM and a 516 MB hard drive. It also has a 5.25" floppy drive (one of the reasons I wanted this computer - it's really the mark of a true vintage machine), a 3.5" floppy drive, and a CD-ROM drive. So, it has a mix of old and "new" technology - another thing I like about this machine. Makes a good all-in-one computer.

I haven't used this computer a lot, as I don't want to wear it out, and plus, I don't have any real "need" for it (other than for collection's sake). However, the few times I have used it, it seems to work and runs MS-DOS 6.2 and Windows 3.1. There are even some programs left over from the previous owner - I think little kids' games.

I haven't fully tested this computer, so I don't know if everything works. For instance, I haven't tested the CD-ROM or 5.25" floppy drive. The 3.5" drive I have used a little, though, and it appears to work. I don't really know much more to say about this computer for now, other than I'm glad I found this one when I did. It really has a vintage feel to it.

Joe's Russian Blog

2011-10-28T20:01:00.000-07:00

Just a few minutes ago, I created a new blog - Joe's Russian Blog. You can view it by clicking here:

http://joesrussianblog.blogspot.com/

I figured that I would keep my Russian stuff separate from my main blog. The original Russian posts here, however, will remain - and they'll also be copied over to my Russian blog. Anyway, that's about it.

Мои Компьютеры (Русская Запись/Russian Entry)

2011-10-28T19:29:00.000-07:00

В 1980-х годов, мой отец купил наш первый компьютер - ТелеВидео TS-1605 (TeleVideo TS-1605). Спецификации компьютера: 5 МГц 8088 процессор, два дисковода, и монохромный монитор. Мы использовали этот компьютер в течение многих лет до Апреля 1997 года.

Мой отец купил новый компьютер - Паккард Белл Platinum 2240. Спецификации компьютера: 200 МГц Pentium MMX процессор, 32 МБ ОЗУ, 3.2 ГБ жесткий диск, и Windows 95. Мы использовали этот компьютер с 1997 года по 2002 года. Мой отец купил новый компьютер - Делл Dimension 4400. Спецификации компьютера: 1.9 ГГц Pentium 4 процессор, 512 МБ ОЗУ, 40 ГБ жесткий диск, и Windows XP.

Также, в Сентябре 2002 года, Паккард Белл больше не работал. Я получил другой компьютер - PACE Technologies. Спецификации компьютера: 300 МГц Pentium II MMX процессор, 64 МБ ОЗУ, 5 - 6 ГБ жесткий диск, и Windows 2000. К сожалению, звуковая карта не работал.

В Декябре 2006 года, я получил новый компьютер (Делл Inspiron 1501). Это был мой первый лэптоп! Спецификации компьютера: 1.8 ГГц AMD Mobile Sempron процессор, 2 ГБ ОЗУ, 60 ГБ жесткий диск, и Windows XP.

В Августе 2009 года, я получил ibrowse компьютер. Наконец, в этом году (2011), я получил много старых компьютеров.

Мои Старые Телевизоры (Русская Запись/Russian Entry)

2011-10-21T22:02:00.000-07:00

У меня есть много старых телевизоров. Я любил старые телевизоры с 2003 года. Теперь, у меня есть шесть старых телевизоров: 20" Quasar VV2020, 5" Living Solutions ATC-032, 10" General Electric Porta-Color WM202HBW-4, 26" Mitsubishi CS-26EX1, 19" RCA ColorTrak FKR484WR, и 1965-1966 Zenith All Channel, Model 8320, Chassis 25MC36. С Августа 2003 года по Декября 2004 года, у меня был другой Porta-Color (WHE5226WD). К сожалению, он больше не работал в конце 2004 года. Мои любимые старые телевизоры - RCA ColorTrak и Zenith.

My Old TV Collection - Part 1/3
My Old TV Collection - Part 2/3
My Old TV Collection - Part 3/3

TeleVideo Tele-PC Plus TS-1605

2011-10-09T22:38:00.000-07:00

So, this is the 20th post in Joe's Blogspot (I actually didn't realize that until just a moment ago when I checked the "dashboard" and noticed that this blog had 19 posts, compared to only 1 in my Dodge Dynasty Blog. But anyway, in this post, I will share information on my family's very first computer - a TeleVideo Tele-PC Plus TS-1605 (I'm not sure if that was the whole, official name, but nonetheless, the basic brand and model was a TeleVideo TS-1605 as far as I can remember).

I haven't found a whole lot of info. on this computer online, and I really wish I kept (or at least made copies of) the user manual(s) before donating them with the computer. Most of the TeleVideo-related things I find online (or on eBay for that matter) is for the TeleVideo TS-803. I haven't found much at all on the TS-1605. The two models look about the same as far as I can tell, so it's not important, though. But anyway, before I go on, I'll put up a picture of the TeleVideo TS-1605 (taken in April 2004) to put things into perspective.

I don't know for sure, but I think my dad got this computer around late 1983 or 1984. It had a 4.77 - 5 MHz 8088 processor, maybe 512-640k of memory (ultimately), and two 5.25" floppy disk drives (later, I think around 1988, my dad installed a 32 MB hard drive). What made this computer particularly unique to me was that it was one unit, as opposed to most other IBM computers, which were sold as components. The keyboard was connected via a RJ11 cable, and the screen was 14" in diameter and was monochrome. The green monochrome screen in particular was one of the things I later loved about this computer. It made it feel like a true vintage machine, and the operating environment with just text made things feel so simple (though less user-friendly). Other features of this computer included RGB and composite output ports, a RS-232C serial port, and a parallel port.

My dad used this computer for a number of years. He even had two or three dot-matrix printers to go along with it. He used this computer even into the mid-90s before finally getting a new Packard Bell Platinum 2240 in April 1997. Upon the purchase of the Packard Bell, the TeleVideo TS-1605 was set aside and was pretty much untouched for the next two years until February 1999 when I was really interested in it and wanted to try it out. My dad turned it on and showed me how to start the MultiMate word processor.

Since then, I was enthralled with the computer and used it from time to time - particularly for typing stories in the simple text form. My dad even set up one of the old dot-matrix printers so I could print my stories. Even three years later, I still enjoyed using this computer despite its age. For many years (excluding the brief period when I used the Packard Bell Platinum 2240 for a few months), I didn't have a working computer I could call my own, so that's probably part of the reason I liked this computer a lot.

Between 2002 and 2004, with the advent of my Packard Bell Platinum 2240 acting up and being unreliable, I began using the TeleVideo a lot more often for my personal computing needs. I became a computer nerd in late 2003, and in 2004 in particular, I spent a lot of time thinking of ways to tinker with the TeleVideo - making it as close to modern as possible. It ran MS-DOS 3.3, but I wanted to eventually upgrade it to either DOS 5 or 6 so I could utilize a mouse. I also looked into getting drive bracket adapters so I could try putting in a 3.5" floppy drive. Nothing ever came of it, though. I never bought anything off eBay, and it was just as well anyway, as I don't think I had the right cable connections. I also got a modem but couldn't figure out how to make it work (not sure it even would work on the TeleVideo, anyway). I also tried to run the "DOS version" of Windows 95, but it gave me some error message, so that was a big "no." I also stupidly erased the hard drive, and it took me a while to figure out how to get the computer to boot from the hard drive again. Sadly, there were many directories that were now long gone. I wish I remembered everything that was on there.

On the plus side, I downloaded some simple DOS games (most notably Castle Adventure), which seemed to work pretty nicely. The TeleVideo was playing games for perhaps the first time in its life! I transferred the files by putting in the spare 5.25" floppy drive in the Packard Bell (which had come back from the repair shop and was otherwise useless by that point) and copying games from the 3.5" disks to the 5.25" disks. It was fun to play games on that old computer.

Around late 2004 and early 2005, I finally was able to make the upgrades I hoped for on the TeleVideo (sort of). I got a copy of MS-DOS 6 and a serial mouse. As expected, MS-DOS 6 ran fine, but the GUI was pretty pointless because I wasn't really able to use the mouse. Sometimes, I saw the cursor appear on the screen, but I couldn't move it around. I don't know if I was doing anything wrong - or if that old computer simply wasn't designed for a mouse.

2005 was a year in which I tried to go through various personal changes. I tried to leave behind my childhood interests and also get rid of many material things I felt were holding me back. One of the first "big" things to go was the Packard Bell Platinum 2240, which was now just sitting on a shelf in my closet collecting dust. And later that year, I decided to get rid of the TeleVideo. Not only was I trying to rid myself of some material things, but it was big, old, and taking up a lot of space. A charity agreed to pick it up, and so that September, I got a big box and put the TeleVideo inside - as well as the manuals that came with it, many floppy disks, and probably some of the original receipts that came with it.

Looking back, I miss that computer a lot. It was such a unique computer to me, and I wish I hadn't gotten rid of it. Since then, I have found old-style computers (particularly the digital DECpc LPx 560), but even they aren't the same as the TeleVideo. It was the true essence of a vintage PC with its monochrome green screen - and it was neat how the whole computer was one piece (except for the keyboard). I hope to find another computer like it - or at least similar to it. I have visited thrift stores a number of times this year, and while I have come across some pretty old computers, I haven't seen any like the TeleVideo. I have seen the TeleVideo TS-803 on eBay, but it's very expensive. Maybe someday I'll be reunited with a TeleVideo...or not.

My Comics (Partial Russian Entry)

2011-10-09T21:40:00.000-07:00

In 1997, I started drawing comics. I drew a car named Greg, a dog named Mr. Dog, and a refrigerator named Refrigerator. In October 2004, I started drawing a character named Big Phill. He was a student in my class. Finally, in January 2009, I started drawing two guys named Robert and Daniel.

В 1997 году, я начал рисовать комиксы. Я рисовал машину по имени Грег, собаку по имени Мистер Дог, и холодильник по имени Рефриджерэйтор. В Октябре 2004 года, я начал рисовать персонаж по имени Биг Филл. Он был студентом в моем классе. Наконец, в Январе 2009 года, я начал рисовать парней по имени Роберт и Дэниэл.

Writing in Russian

2011-10-06T13:38:00.001-07:00

I'm going to write part of this blog in Russian just for the heck of it.

Привет, всем! Меня зовут Джо, и я живу в США со своей собакой. Я студент в колледже и хочу стать фармацевтом. Я люблю Южный Парк, компьютеры, и торговые центры. До свидания.

Hello, everyone! My name is Joe, and I live in the USA with my dog. I am a student in college and want to become a pharmacist. I love South Park, computers, and malls. Goodbye.

Please correct me if there are any errors with my Russian grammar and/or translation. I've been studying it for the last four years or so but still don't know it fluently. I still have some grammar and vocabulary to learn before I can really write much with Russian.

Current Packard Bells in My Collection

2011-09-21T12:31:00.000-07:00

Earlier this year, I became interested in '90s Packard Bell computers again and really wanted one again. Up until recently, the only one my family ever had was a Packard Bell Platinum 2240, which I got rid of in 2005 after it was unable to be fixed properly. Since then, I've somewhat regretted that decision even though the computer didn't work, as I just love the appearance of the '90s Packard Bell cases.

Anyway, I learned of a YouTube user named Roadgeek, who obtained most of his Packard Bells from a thrift store called Value Village. I never really considered checking thrift stores for computers but decided to give it a try. Fortunately, there was a Value Village not too terribly far from where I live. Shockingly enough, on the very first time I checked Value Village, I found a Packard Bell! Even more shocking was that the cabinet was in the same style as my original Packard Bell Platinum 2240! Since then, I've checked various other Value Villages in my area for Packard Bells but was coming up dry until the last month or two when I got two horizontal PBs (I've always wanted one of those). And just a few days ago, I found a Packard Bell Legend 814CD but decided not to buy it because the cabinet style was the same as the last one I got, so I didn't want to spend the money.

Anyway, the Packard Bells currently in my collection are the Packard Bell Platinum Supreme 1665 (the first I got), the Packard Bell Legend 18CD, and the Packard Bell PB 5310. I'm glad I got these from thrift stores, as they'd be a lot more expensive on eBay. I'd still like to find a computer like my old TeleVideo TS-1605, though.

Outrage over HOPE Grant Changes

2011-04-16T22:14:00.000-07:00

Now, recently, I've had some news that's both angered and concerned me. Governor Nathan Deal signed something not too long ago that will bring changes to the Georgia HOPE Scholarship and Grant. The Grant will now pay only about 90% of tuition and will not pay any mandatory fees or books.

I am just so outraged by this decision. The books, and maybe the fees, are okay to cut out, but some people (my family included) likely can't afford to pay 10% of tuition! What annoys me is how they're bragging about how they're "saving the program" by making cuts. In my opinion, they might as well cut the whole program altogether. I don't think my family or I can afford to pay even 10% of tuition, so what does it matter if it still covers 90%? I mean, really!?

I'm just disgusted by that decision. What makes it worse is that part of the reason that was probably done is because the officials are so hung up on making the Grant based on academic achievement only. I understand why they want to have it that way, and normally, I would support that, but when a government's got a bad budget, I think it would be a better use of money and more of a relief for poor families and college students to use the money to help pay for the education of people who don't have high incomes. I'm sorry, but I just don't think that a government needs to pay for a rich person's education - especially not when the state has an insufficient budget. But no, these dang government officials HAVE to make the Grant "academic only," and thus, they have no money to pay 100% tuition, and so those people who really can't afford to go to college can't pay the 10%.

As I said, I'm just furious about this. I understand that the state doesn't have an unlimited amount of money, but as I said before, a lot more money could be pumped into the system by setting an income cap. I'm very well aware that a lot of people are against that idea, but to truly help those who can't afford college, I really strongly wish everyone would reconsider.

And what about student loans? I don't have a credit rating, and I don't know about anyone else's rating that could possibly co-sign for me. Besides, I don't like the idea of loans anyway - especially since I don't have the cash upfront anyway or a decent credit rating. A loan just seems like an overwhelming obligation for me at this point in time. My current philosophy is to either pay the bill in full upfront or get a scholarship that can do that. And since I probably can't do either at this point in time, well...come fall 2011, I'm not sure if I'll be able to go to college. I really don't know what I'm going to do.

Update for 2011

2011-04-16T21:48:00.000-07:00

Hey, everyone, it's Joe again. It's been over a year since I've blogged here. Wow. Hard to believe it's been that long. Anyway, I guess I'll post an update on how things are going in my life.

Since my last post here, I finally applied to Griffin Technical College in April 2010 (now better known as Southern Crescent Technical College). I had a bit of a problem at first, as I mailed in my high school transcript with my application, but for some reason, the college didn't get it. How that happened I'll never know. I finally decided to hand in another copy of my transcript in person. A few months pass, and I don't hear from the college. I decide that soon I'll go reapply at the college and hand in all the paperwork in person at the same time. Maybe things were all mixed up because of the way I handled things. Finally, in September, I got an acceptance letter, so I didn't need to reapply after all. In the remaining few months of the year, I concentrated on getting financial aid (the Georgia HOPE Grant) and registering for classes. And as of now, I am a student at SCTC. I don't know for how long, though. I'll get into that in another blog post in just a minute.

Another bit of news is that last year, my grandmother's health went downhill, and she spent her last few months in the hospital. In May, things were not looking good for her, so we went to Knoxville, Tennessee for the first time in almost six years to visit her. Several weeks pass, and she goes back and forth from the hospital and the nursing home. Then, in July, her health took a turn for the worse, and my mom and I made another trip to Knoxville. Sadly, she died, and a funeral was held for her shortly after.

Since then, we've made multiple trips to her house in Knoxville to try to clean out her house to get it ready to sell and to get any personal things we wanted out of it. As of now, the house has been on the market for almost two months now, and a few people have looked at it, but as far as I know, nobody has made an offer yet.

Another thing I'd like to mention is that my grandmother had a will in which she left all her property to my mom and uncle in the event that she passed. That, of course, included her car. After going through the probate court process, my mom and I went to the tag office and transferred ownership of the car to me. So since last November, I've been the proud owner of a light blue 1989 Toyota Camry! It sure is a nice car in my opinion. It needs a little bit of work, but it's still functional, and any car is better than no car as far as I'm concerned.

Now, very recently, I've taken an interest in The 7th Guest computer game, Beavis and Butt-head, and old-school computers and computer software - like old Packard Bell computers and operating systems like Windows 95. Ah yes. The good old days.

That's about it for now.

Looking into Colleges...finally

2010-03-09T02:55:00.001-08:00

Well, here I am several months later after making that last post in October, and wouldn't you believe it - I still don't have a job and am not in college. I still have many personal projects yet to finish, and I think it's possible my ADHD may be preventing me from getting a lot done (it's been said that it can sort of cause a lack of motivation to finish certain things, and also, I was diagnosed with it many years ago, anyway).

Anyway, it looks like I may finally be moving things along as far as my future is concerned. I learned that you don't need to apply for college only within a few months of the deadline, which made me understand why other students in my high school class were sending out applications in the late part of 2007 even though a lot of them would probably be heading off to college in the fall. It was good news, as it meant I could apply earlier and get my dad off my back. I'm doing more research on some colleges and on different careers to make sure I have a better of idea of what I'm getting into and what is needed, but hopefully, I'll at least start applying to some colleges in maybe the next week or two.

It really is time for me to move along. Having time off from school has been nice, but when you just sit around all day and rarely talk to different groups of people on a regular basis, it gets pretty boring.

Update on My Life

2009-10-21T09:00:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I've posted here, but I guess I'll talk about how my life's been going so far.

Since the last post I made about school, unfortunately, nothing's really changed in my life. No school, no job, etc. (although I did take the SAT in May). That's really my fault because I'm just so incredibly unmotivated. I want to get many of my personal projects done, but I can't seem to find the strength to concentrate and work on them. Also, I am a bit afraid about when I'm finished with my projects. When the time actually does come to do things like find a job and go to college, I fear things won't work out well, and I fear having to talk to people all the time. Maybe it's because I've become so introverted that I don't want to talk to virtually anyone unless it's over the internet. I never thought I used to be quite this bad - maybe I've just become that way. But whatever the case, I know that I've been doing nothing long enough and that I've got to move on.

My website is now on my friend's server, so it will not be on GeoCities anymore. It's just as well, as GeoCities is closing in just a few days. I think it's a shame, but oh well.

I got a dog named Buffy on February 6th, and she's a white/cream colored Pit Bull Terrier. She is nice, but she is very wild and hyper and can be a lot of trouble.

In May, I started working on some vlogs on YouTube regarding life after high school and age and life after death. I plan to do more vlogs soon once I get some of my other projects under control.

Other than that, I'm ashamed to say that not much else is going on with me. I really need to get my act together.

I Really Miss High School

2009-01-16T10:29:00.000-08:00

...or any type of school for that matter. Sigh...I'm just feeling really nostalgic and sentimental right now. I was just viewing some YouTube videos from my old high school, and although I hated going to school back then, I now don't realize how lucky I was. I now realize that when in school, you really need to live it up 'cause you'll never relive those experiences again. Even if you come back to visit the school or come back to work at the school, it's just not the same. In my last year of high school, I was slightly more social than I'd been for about a year or so, but even so, I had a lot more work to do, and I seemed clueless and seemed to take the fact lightly that a big change was going to occur in my life - when I'd leave school and never go back (at least for a while). Sure, I plan (and hope) to go to college, and I sure hope I go, as it'll be the next best thing to reliving old high school years as I can get, but even then, it won't be the same. Things'll be more adult, and more time will be spent on schoolwork rather than coasting through school on mediocre grades and having crazy parties, goofy times, etc. Sigh...I really miss high school.

My life sucks now - I got virtually no friends (at least not many that I contact often in person) except for my good friend Daniel, and I rarely get out of the house or go anywhere or do anything. Ever since graduating high school, I planned to make the most of my time off - get a job, find some hobbies, live it up, etc., and I planned to take only a few days (or a week) off to decompress (as George Costanza did on Seinfeld). I was going to kick back, play some Warcraft II, listen to some oldies music, and do nothing, and maybe catch up on some old projects. Well guess what? It's over seven months...going on eight...since I graduated from high school...and I'm still virtually no better off. I'M STILL DECOMPOSING...ahem...DECOMPRESSING! Sure, I've gotten some things done, but not as much as I hoped and certainly not within a short time period. I've still got TONS of goals from 2008 that I still haven't completed. Will it ever end? Will I ever break free from the prison that is my hermit life? Can I finally be social once again and actually talk to people and have a real life? I haven't had a girlfriend in almost a year - and the last one I had was the same one I'd known for years prior - I've only had two girlfriends over the course of my life, and one of them didn't even amount to much. Now that I'm out of school, my chances of getting a girlfriend are very slim, and getting one in high school was slim enough. I "envy" my friend Daniel a little bit who's enjoying his final months in high school. Ah to be in his place again...it seems like just yesterday I was in his place...and it was a year ago! I remember I had my final classes...the one class in particular I liked was Drama, and I was the only senior in a class full of freshmen (and some sophomores). There was a small snow one year ago today (although it didn't amount to much), and I took the next two days off from school just for the heck of it (since they didn't give us a snow day off). It seems like just yesterday, but a year has passed since then.

Have I really done so little with my life that time just blazes by me in a heartbeat? I remember things from three years ago that still seem like things I just did. It's a little scary actually. I had the same worries around that time when I was worried about the afterlife and that I'd be a fully grown adult before I knew it and that I'd be in a nursing home before I knew it. Time passes fast, and the only way to make it seem like you've accomplished a lot is to actually do a lot...which I haven't. I waste precious time, and I have so many things I could be doing with my time. I miss my old social life (if I ever had one). Eleventh grade was no doubt the best year in high school for me - I had a pretty good number of friends and even took my girlfriend to the Homecoming Dance. Now, more than two years later, I've got nothing. Things are so damn boring around here! I can't stand it! I've got to get a life soon - I hate the misery of being alone with nothing to do. I'm tired of wasting time and not doing anything. I miss the good ole days of high school when I was surrounded by tons of people my own age. It doesn't even feel like I really graduated...I feel like I'm still a student at my school, but yet, I'm not. I'm all done with it, and I can't go back. It's really sad, but yet when I graduated, I felt little emotion and thought almost nothing of it. I've got to go back to school (as in college). Maybe then things'll finally rev up for me. Otherwise, I can find other ways to improve my life. One way or another, I've got to do it - I'm sick of wasting my life. Let's let the good times roll again!

Renovating Joe's (Joey's) Website Again

2008-10-16T02:48:00.000-07:00

Almost a year has passed since Joe's Website was reopened with a new style. It was very refreshing from the old, dull style that I introduced a year before. I really enjoyed the new style, as it used a template, which organized things very nicely and had a much better color scheme than anything I could have done myself. I still had some work to do to get the website completely up and running, but for the time being, the website looked nice.

In March 2008, I started to get back to work on Joe's Website and started to edit information on my interests and opinions and other such things. However, I got discouraged from working on the site when a picture I uploaded didn't appear and when the template didn't look exactly the same from one page to the other. I would have liked to use the template as a frame - so that I can go from the home page to the opinions page, etc. without having to make multiple copies of the template. Unfortunately, I do not know much programming, and I have heard some bad things about frames anyway, so right now, I am in the middle of trying to take the formatting mess that is now my website and shape it into an appealing, organized website. I don't know what I am going to do now exactly - I have looked through several free templates but can't find one that I like a whole lot. I really like the style of the template I'm using now, but as I said, I don't like how I have to copy it to multiple pages. I wish I could edit that one template so that if I change something on the template on one page, I don't have to go back to all the other pages and change it there.

Oh, and I put "Joey's" in parentheses because as of today, I am renaming Joe's Website as Joey's Website.

The Upcoming Election: McCain or Obama?

2008-10-16T01:56:00.000-07:00

Well, on November 4th, 2008, the big Presidential election is scheduled to take place, and I am quite excited. I am planning to vote for the one man I never thought I'd vote for in a million years: Barack Obama. Honestly, I can't stand the guy for the most part, but I despise McCain because if he gets elected, we're never going to get out of Iraq, and our economy is going to continue to deteriorate. I would much rather vote for a third party candidate, but people have been telling me that I'd be wasting a vote, so I figure what the heck. My friend persuaded me to vote for McCain at one point about a month ago. He said he didn't like him either, but it was better than putting Obama - the potential Anti-Christ, in office. I agreed with him to some extent, but only a few weeks later, I had second thoughts. I couldn't bear the thought of having McCain in office. His presidency would mean just more of the same: a crumbling economy, an ongoing war, and so many more problems. Even though I hate Obama, I feel that he needs to be in office right now.

Ever since the beginning of this year when I took Government and when I registered to vote, I have been eager to vote for whom I thought would best represent our country. However, when I finally decided on somebody that I liked the best, it turned out to be none of the main contenders. The man that I wanted for President was none other than Ron Paul.

I hated a lot of the other candidates. Huckabee, Romney, Giuliani, and many other Republicans supported the ongoing and disasterous war, while candidates like Clinton and Obama had certain quirks about them that I didn't like. Obama in particular I hated greatly. I didn't understand why everybody was so cukoo over him. He got elected to the Senate in '04, big deal, but guess what? I remember seeing on TV how there was this HUGE celebration about it. When I first heard of him, I never really hated him, although as I said, I didn't understand why everyone was clamoring over him. People seemed to think of him as some god or something, but I didn't see how he was any different than most politicians and how he compared to some of our country's "heroic" ones (i.e. Ronald Reagan, Abe Lincoln, etc.) As time passed, I began to dislike him.

When I took Government earlier in the year, we were to research the candidates and learn about their viewpoints on key issues. When I looked through Obama's viewpoints, I found that not many of them particularly stood out from other politicians. However, one of his stances I found absolutely appalling. On one site, he was reported to have said regarding abortion that if one of his children got an unplanned pregnancy, he would not want them to bear a child as punishment. I couldn't believe my eyes - that was just plain sickening! The man didn't just support a woman's right to get an abortion - he actually supported abortion itself it seemed! Don't get me wrong, I 100% support the woman's right to have abortions, but I feel that they are still quite gruesome and in a sense disrespectful to life and should be prevented as much as possible. Many abortions appear to come about as a result of irresponsibility. Hillary Clinton said that she wanted to make sure that abortions were legal, safe, and RARE in the next century. THAT'S the kind of attitude we need - not, "Oh, I got pregnant as a result of irresponsibility, I'm just gonna kill a potential sweet, loving child" - primarily in regard to late term abortions. The earlier abortions I don't think are as bad because the fetus has not really formed into a complete human yet, but one has to agree without a shadow of a doubt that a baby in the third trimester is pretty much a human on its way out. Anyway, I couldn't believe what Obama said. It wasn't just that, but I thought of him as a possible Anti-Christ. Rumors circulated about him being a terrorist and a Muslim, and while I didn't exactly believe those things, I still felt that Obama could betray us. To me, he also seemed arrogant. The guy was in Atlanta a few months back, and he charged about $10,000 for a picture with him - for his fundraiser! Come on! The guy has got TONS of support - he does not need to charge $10,000!

Anyway, when it finally came down to McCain, Obama, or Hillary, who did I choose? None of the above. I chose Mr. Ron Paul, as I really felt he was exactly the kind of guy we needed in the White House. His political viewpoints were almost exactly like mine. He was against the Iraq War and abortion, yet he supported gay rights for the most part and small government. He had a strong moral fiber that I really liked, and he seemed like a warm, caring man. The drawback to Ron Paul, though, was that although he was running as a Republican, he was more or less like a third party candidate. Ron Paul did not carry nearly enough delegates to be the nominee unfortunately.

For a great portion of the year, I still supported Ron Paul for President despite the fact that he had little support in the main polls and he dropped out of the race sometime in March. Around August or September, however, after my friend "ridiculed" me for planning to write in somebody who wasn't even running, I decided to vote for someone who was running and for someone who had a much better chance of getting elected than Ron Paul: Ralph Nader. I don't agree with Nader on issues like gun control and abortion, but I set those differences in opinions aside. The thing I like about Nader is that he seems like the kind of guy that would get things done in office and not play politics - just the kind of guy we need. However, my friend kept insisting that Nader wouldn't get elected and said I shouldn't waste my vote. To me, however, it wasn't a matter of voting for the winner - it was voting for the person that I felt would best represent the country.

Nonetheless, I decided against voting for third party candidates a few weeks later, and my friend convinced me to vote for McCain. However, only a few weeks passed, and I was having second thoughts about planning to vote for McCain. Finally, I decided enough was enough - I was going to vote for Obama - despite how much I hate him and how much I don't understand why the guy is so popular. As I've said before, it's either elect a man who's surely going to put us through the same misery as Bush or elect somebody who's at least got a shot at making things better. As one of my friends said, even if Obama screws us over, our country's already in Hell, so it wouldn't matter anyway. As much as I hate to say it, I feel that our country needs Barack Obama, so that is why I plan to vote for him in the upcoming election.

Ignore the Previous Post

2008-07-23T10:37:00.001-07:00

On July 15th, I voted in the primaries, and my voting information turned up. After writing a letter explaining the situation with my voter's registration, I was finally mailed a card with my name on it. Later, I checked the internet, and as it turned out, there apparently was a record of my registration that had been entered. I guess in that case all it took was a simple letter to straighten things out. I can be quite crazy at times.

You can't do anything in this country anymore

2008-04-17T13:29:00.000-07:00

I registered to vote on January 29th, and since then, I never got a voter registration/precinct card. Last Friday, I called the voter's office, and they said they'd send me a new card. So today, I found a card in the mail, but unfortunately, it was not my card. I decided to go online and check to see if my state had a search feature that would allow me to see if I was registered to vote. Fortunately, they did. I typed in my information, but nothing turned up!!!

The search site said that voter information was updated monthly, so if your information doesn't turn up, it could be because you just recently registered. I registered to vote over two months ago, and I am still not listed in the database! I swear, you can't do anything in this country anymore. You can't even do something as simple as register to vote!

2008 Presidential Election

2008-03-15T11:55:00.000-07:00

Since about late 2007, I have been a supporter of Ron Paul, primarily because some of my online friends liked him, which influenced me to support him as well. I thought Ron Paul seemed like a very nice, warm man who would hopefully do many good things for our country. I liked his conservative nature, and I liked how he considered himself a true conservative as opposed to neocons like George W. Bush.

Unfortunately, I found out yesterday that Ron Paul had "dropped out" of the race. I figured it would happen eventually. Although Ron Paul was popular online, he didn't seem to have much support elsewhere. About a week ago, I decided that I would probably just vote for John McCain anyway because I really would not like Obama to be president. I just can't believe how popular Obama is. He seems to have very little experience, and he seems very untrustworthy. I think he very well could be one of the anti-Christs we will see in the future. He is very popular, which is frightening, considering that he hasn't really done much to get so popular. I first heard about him in 2004 when he became a senator for Illinois. People were making such a huge deal over him, and afterwards, people were talking about him becoming president. I was baffled because I didn't know much about him and why people were making so much of a big deal over him. I think Obama could possibly trying to lure people into supporting him, and then, once he becomes president, he may turn on America and not fulfill his promises. But then again, it may not happen, and Obama could turn out to be a great president. Even so, I am not going to vote for Obama, and I feel safer casting my vote for McCain.

My Dog Holly's Death

2008-03-15T11:28:00.000-07:00

I regret to say that yesterday, on March 14, 2008, my dog Holly was put to sleep at a very young age as a result of an accident she got into while she was on her way to the vet's for a routine checkup.

From April 1997 to February 2007, I had a really great dog named Ginger. Unfortunately, her health was in decline, and she soon suffered massive bleeding attacks. Eventually, we had to put her to sleep. Losing her was very sad because she had been in our family for such a long time, and she was a really nice dog. Things did not seem the same without her for a while.

In December, I happened to come across some free puppies that were offered. They happened to be part Beagle and part Labrador Retriever. Concidentally, I had been talking about how I liked the appearance of Beagles, so it was funny that I found some puppies that were both Beagle and Labrador Retriever (the breed we were initially looking for). The dogs weren't exactly what we were looking for, but I thought it would be a great opportunity to jump on. Free dogs that were part Beagle and part Lab. What a strange coincidence! We were initially looking for a yellow lab, but eventually, we decided that one of these dogs would be nice.

I picked out one of the dogs, and we took her home. Her original name was Ashley, but with time, we eventually renamed her to Holly. We had no idea how much of a nightmare she would turn out to be. Upon arriving home, the dog whined and bayed very loudly. It was extremely annoying, and it seemed no matter what we did to try to get her to calm down, she wouldn't stop. We assumed that she was just scared and nervous that she was in a new place, but by the next day, she was still doing it as loudly and frequently as ever. By the third day, I had gotten so fed up with her that I almost wanted to take her back to her old owners. She wasn't even the type of dog we were initially looking for anyway. Unfortunately, I didn't want to "discriminate" against a dog. I felt that every dog needed a loving home. I realize that eventually, someone would come along and give her a good home, but the point is, if someone else could put up with her constant screeching and baying, we could too. Fortunately, things did get better on the third day. She did seem to whine a little less, but she was still pretty bad about it. About a month later, she rarely screeched to the extent that she did when we first got her. I was glad that I decided to keep her.

Indeed, she really was a nice dog. She was quite different from Ginger, though. Ginger, for one thing, was a little more particular about the things she ate, whereas Holly would eat just about anything - even feces! Holly also seemed a lot more stubborn than Ginger and was determined to chew up whatever she wanted. This was one of the things we didn't like about Holly. She also got into the garbage a lot and spread everything out. She was also bad at nipping at peoples' clothes, which got to be very annoying. Also for a while, she was not housebroken and would have accidents in the house. With time, though, she got much better about it and did not have accidents as often. But with the exception of the negative things, Holly was a good dog. I liked how she seemed really excited to see me when I came home. She'd jump up on me and made cute sounds. Also, she was a cute, small puppy and how she acted feminine. Sometimes, she would put her front paws together while sitting upright, and it looked really cute. What I thought was also cute was that she leaned against the wall often. It looked adorable! She also had a cute face and looked innocent and meek. Sometimes, though, she was a troublemaker, and in order to avoid "punishment," she ran away and had a sneaky expression on her face while doing so. Even so, I think she was a great dog.

Everything went well until just yesterday. Holly had broken her leg - apparently from falling - and after taking her to the emergency clinic, it was determined that it would cost thousands of dollars to have her treated. Her broken leg was serious and was above the growth plate. As much as we hated to do it, we just couldn't afford spending money to treat Holly. We decided, as much as it was painful to us, to have her euthanized. Just before she was euthanized, I saw her one last time. I didn't even see her face-to-face, but I stroked her back and then left. Upon returning home, I was really sad about what had happened and wished that the treatment for Holly wouldn't be so expensive. She was really a great dog, and it was a shame to cut a young life so short. She was cute, innocent, and adorable. After thinking about an adorable picture of Holly, I realized that what had happened was extremely saddening. I was really sad, and like Ginger's death, things haven't been the same without Holly.

I would just like to say that I really miss Holly and wish that nothing bad had happened to her. I wish that she hadn't been put to sleep and that she would remain perfectly healthy and could live many long years. Holly is in a better place now, hopefully where she will be very happy and never again feel pain. I love you, Holly. May you rest in peace.

Joe's Website Returned

2007-10-19T20:58:00.001-07:00

I finally put my main website page back up. Sometime about a month ago, I took the main page down briefly, and I intended to put it back up since. I finally did it just now, and I'm glad to have it back up. Even so, I plan to rennovate my site some more because it is in big need of a design change.

Thinking of a Story Idea

2007-10-19T20:54:00.000-07:00

It's been several months since I last typed a major story of any kind. I'd like to get it done before the end of the year, so I'm a bit crunched for time, especially since I have lots of other things to do. Even more of a problem is that I've got major writer's block. The problem is that whenever I start writing a story, it just doesn't feel right. I don't feel the same desire to continue with the story as I did with the stories I wrote in the past. None of the stories really interest me as much as the older ones do. I guess I'll just have to keep thinking until I come up with a good idea.

My First Post

2007-06-08T12:12:00.000-07:00

This is my first post in my new blog. I figured one day I'd register for a blog, and here I am! On this blog, I'll just write about whatever I feel like. I probably won't come on here that much, but if I'm ever in a contemplative mood, chances are that I might post something here. Thank you.

-Joe