The Daily Fortune

[databat@ebob:~] % fortune

The program isn't debugged until the last user is dead.

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The Daily Fortune

[databat@ebob:~] % fortune

"I have a very firm grasp on reality! I can reach out and strangle it
any time!"

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The Daily Fortune

[databat@ebob:~] % fortune

I get my exercise acting as pallbearer to my friends who exercise.
-- Chauncey Depew

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The Daily Fortune

[databat@ebob:~] % fortune
I'm not the person your mother warned you about... her imagination isn't
that good.
-- Amy Gorin
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The Daily Fortune

At work

• A pat on the back is only a few centimeters from a kick in the pants.
• Don't be irreplaceable, if you can't be replaced, you can't be promoted.
• The more crap you put up with, the more crap you are going to get.
• You can go anywhere you want if you look serious and carry a clipboard.
• When the bosses talk about improving productivity, they are never talking about themselves.
• Everything can be filed under "miscellaneous."
• To error is human, to forgive is not company policy.
• There is never enough time to do it right the first time, but there is always enough time to do it over.
• If you are good, you will be assigned all the work. If you are really good, you will get out of it.
• When you don't know what to do, walk fast and look worried.
• The longer the title, the less important the job.
• Once a job is fouled up, anything done to improve it makes it worse.

Mama Mia's Intalian Restaurant

Mama Mia's Italian Restaurant
On Westchester Dr.
High Point, NC

Today my wife and I had the pleasure of eating at this fine restaurant. Upon entering, we noticed the lovely decor, and were promptly greeted and seated, even though we arrived about ten minutes before they were suppose to open. We both ordered water to drink. The glasses were spotless, and the water tasted fresh and crisp, no hint of minerals or other contaminants. Our drinks were brought out along with this delicious basket of Italian Bread. It hot, soft, and had a hint of garlic as well as other seasonings. We were also served small butter containers to put on the bread. This was real butter, none of that margarine crap. The ingredients listed on the butter container was double whipped cream, and salt. It was a very light yellow color, and was served very cold, almost freezing. Applying it to the hot bread was easy, as it melted into the bread and spread out. This kept me from ending up with most of the butter dripping onto my fingers, or stuck to the knife. The bread was delicious with and without the butter.

I ordered a chicken parmigiana sub. My wife ordered the Italian cold cut sub. We were given the choice of chips or fries. We both chose fries. The subs cost about $5.75 each. (about as much as Subway charges) Our food was presented to us with the cheese melted on top of it, and the subs open, giving us a wonderful presentation of the contents. We were also offered fresh grated parmesan cheese as well. I declined. My wife accepted, and our waitress proceeded to grate it fresh, on top of her sub. The meal was very enjoyable, hot, and fresh. The fries were cooked perfectly. They were not too crisp, or undercooked. They weren't greasy or salty. They were just perfect, served with ketchup in a little ceramic cup. The portions were excellent considering the cost of the meal. The waitress kept our glasses full, and periodically checked in with us to see if we needed anything. We both asked for a to-go box, as after eating the bread, some fries, and half a sub, we were both full.

Upon our request, the manager came out to speak with us. We let him know we were very happy with our waitress as well as the food. My wife and I will definitely be eating here again. I also plan on bringing some of my friends and family here as well. All of their subs were in the $5 range, while their other dishes were between $7 and $10. I can't wait to try their fettuccine alfredo at $8.99. In fact, when time and money permits, I want to try everything they have! It's just that good! I urge you, try eating there ASAP! It's the best!

Knitting?

Ok, half the people who read this are probably gonna think I'm fruity, the other half won't care. Last month I decided to teach myself how to knit. I picked up a CD-ROM at the craft store, some knitting needles, and yarn. Learning the basics, esp. with the CD-ROM only took a night. However, it took a couple weeks of goofing up and starting over to get the hang of it.

Actually, it's a lot like programming a computer. You start out with basic stitches or building blocks. Depending on how you put them together, you end up with different patterns. How you put your patterns together, shape, size, etc. determines the finished product. Besides, what's cooler than making your own clothing? Better yet, ending up with something that is exactly the way you wanted it?

Originally I wanted to make some knucks. After about 12 attempts, each attempt progressively better and better, I decided to make some wash cloths and socks. The yarn I used to make the wash cloths was Red Heart Baby Teri. It's quite soft, and makes an excellent wash cloth once knitted up. The yarn is a bit pricey though, at $5 a skein. To offset the cost, I knitted several cloths and sold them to co-workers for $5 each. So basically I turned $5 into $25 which I used to buy more yarn. :D Now how cool is that?

As for the socks, I decided to make my first pair out of inexpensive yarn. I used Red Heart sport yarn. Its 100% acrylic so it's machine washable. It also holds heat in very well. The down side to acrylic is that it doesn't let your feet breath. So if your feet get too hot and sweat, it'll just hold that in. Luckily for me, I prefer my feet as hot as I can get them. The only time I remove my socks is when I'm taking a shower or going swimming.

To knit the sock, I used a number 4 U.S. 16 circular needle. The needle ends are actually rather short, so it was easy to work it in the round. Being a tube sock, I basically just cast on 44 stitches, did knit purl for the cuff ribbing, then did knit stitches for the rest of it. Knit stitches worked in the round comes out as stockinette stitch. For the toe, I decreased by one every 22 stitches until my needles were too large to decrease anymore. Then I switched to regular number 4 needles. I transfered my work to the new needles alternating them as i went. (from the circular needles, side one, side two, side one, side two, etc.) This leaves you with only one row of stitches on the new needle, closing the end of the sock. Then I just bound off as if to knit. Trim your tails, turn it inside out, and you have a tube sock.

The next pair of socks I am knitting will be made of 80% acrylic an 20% wool. This should keep them easy to wash as well as allow it to breath more, and add more stretch in the cuff. In time, I hope to replace all of my store bought socks with ones I've made myself. That way, if I'm unhappy with my socks, it'll be my fault. :)

Announcement 1-29-2007

Ok so the updates have been a little slow coming lately, as well as the daily fortune. I've been busy with real life issues. But fear not, I am working on them. The next edition of Binary Hole is creeping along nicely, as well as a new cyberpunk fiction novel series. The goblin story is also being worked on. It's a lot to do, so please be patient with me.

The Daily Fortune

[databat@ebob ~]$ /usr/games/fortune

Your computer account is overdrawn. Please see Big Brother.

[databat@ebob ~]$

The Daily Fortune

[databat@ebob ~]$ /usr/games/fortune

He who steps on others to reach the top has good balance.

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The Daily Fortune

[databat@ebob ~]$ /usr/games/fortune

Save the whales. Collect the whole set.

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The Daily Fortune

[databat@ebob ~]$ /usr/games/fortune

In Seattle, Washington, it is illegal to carry a concealed weapon that
is over six feet in length.

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The Daily Fortune

[databat@ebob ~]$ /usr/games/fortune

Good morning. This is the telephone company. Due to repairs, we're
giving you advance notice that your service will be cut off indefinitely
at ten o'clock. That's two minutes from now.

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The Daily Fortune

[databat@ebob ~]$ /usr/games/fortune

Bachelor:
A guy who is footloose and fiancee-free.

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To Firefox!

What's the best browser out there?! Firefox!! And yanno what's even cooler than it's safe browsing features? It's got the mother load of customization and Extensions!

Follow the link to begin your extension using days!
https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/extensions/

The Daily Fortune

[databat@ebob ~]$ /usr/games/fortune

Photographing a volcano is just about the most miserable thing you can do.
-- Robert B. Goodman
[Who has clearly never tried to use a PDP-10. Ed.]

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The Daily Fortune

[databat@ebob ~]$ /usr/games/fortune

The primary purpose of the DATA statement is to give names to constants;
instead of referring to pi as 3.141592653589793 at every appearance, the
variable PI can be given that value with a DATA statement and used instead
of the longer form of the constant. This also simplifies modifying the
program, should the value of pi change.
-- FORTRAN manual for Xerox Computers


[databat@ebob ~]$

Microsoft Bribes

The cat is out of the bag, Microsoft is giving away free laptops to bloggers writing articles about Microsoft products. Could this set a precedent for other companies? Perhaps a new advertising business? Paying/bribing bloggers to write positive articles for your product? Or perhaps, will this get caught up in all the red tape that has been forming around the internet so far this decade.

While many people view these bribes as unethical, (and yes they probably are, esp. to those who are looking for unbiased reviews on said products, and haven't a clue what their reading is a paid ad) to the hard working sod who earns barely over minimum wage, and blogs in his spare time just to earn pocket change off Google AdSense, it's probably seen as a Christmas Bonus.

Read the original article for more details. Merry Christmas from Microsoft! :-)

The Daily Fortune

[databat@ebob ~]$ /usr/games/fortune

Whenever someone tells you to take their advice, you can be pretty sure they're not using it.

[databat@ebob ~]$

Christmas 2006

Christmas was a lot of fun this year, spending time with Mandy's family, and mine. Dad got me an economy model digital cam so I could post some pictures here. For some amusing pictures of our Christmas, click here.

Merry Christmas Everyone!