Monthly Archives: March 2007

Why I might be a redneck

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My dad forwarded me an email this morning (something I usually hate), but this one caught my attention. It is the old Jeff Foxworthy joke, “You might be a redneck if…”, but updated. And then it hit me, #15 on the list.

15. You go to the stock car races and don’t need a program.

Apparently, I am a redneck.

48 Lowe’s Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS

PS- I must congratulate my favorite driver, Jimmie Johnson, and #48 Lowe’s team, for their second straight win yesterday at Atlanta Motor Speedway!

Yes, the new one is out! Brand new edition of… “You know you’re a redneck when……

1. You take your dog for a walk and you both use the same tree.
2. You can entertain yourself for more than 15 minutes with a fly swatter.
3. Your boat has not left the driveway in 15 years.
4. You burn your yard rather than mow it.
5. You think “The Nutcracker” is a vice on the work bench.
6. The Salvation Army declines your furniture.
7. You offer to give someone the shirt off your back and they don’t want it.
8. You have the local taxidermist on speed dial.
9. You come back from the dump with more than you took.
10. You keep a can of Raid on the kitchen table.
11. Your wife can climb a tree faster than your cat.
12. Your grandmother has “ammo” on her Christmas list.
13. You keep flea and tick soap in the shower.
14. You’ve been involved in a custody fight over a hunting dog.
15. You go to the stock car races and don’t need a program.
16. You know how many bales of hay your car will hold.
17. You have a rag for a gas cap.
18. Your house doesn’t have curtains, but your truck does.
19. You wonder how service stations keep their rest-room’s so clean?
20. You can spit without opening your mouth.
21. You consider your license plate personalized because your father made it
22. Your lifetime goal is to own a fireworks stand.
23. You have a complete set of salad bowls and they all say “Cool Whip” on the side.
24. The biggest city you’ve ever been to is Wal-Mart.
25. Your working TV sits on top of your non-working TV.
26. You’ve used your ironing board as a buffet table.
27. A tornado hits your neighborhood and does $100,000 worth of improvements.
28. You’ve used a toilet brush to scratch your back.
29. You missed your 5th grade graduation because you were on jury duty.
30. You think fast food is hitting a deer at 65.

Bypass IRC Blocking

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As I was trying to fix my WordPress install yesterday, I attempted to connect to the #wordpress channel on irc.freenode.net. In case you don’t know, IRC stands for Internet Relay Chat, an antiquated online chat system created in 1988. Think of IRC as an earlier version of AIM, Google Talk, or Jabber.

For a better introduction to IRC, check out this article from linux.com.

irc example

But I never could get connected. You see, the network administrators here at UGA have blocked the IRC ports from use, claiming that “there is too much abuse”. I would like to know how much abuse happens over IRC when the ports unblocked.

Anyways, I needed to find a way to get on the channel, as the WordPress forums weren’t providing me any answers. I next tried several online scripts that allow you to connect to IRC servers through your web browser.

First, I tried the PJIRC client, a java-based client. In fact, WordPress even links to a friendly install of PJIRC by Viper007Bond. Again, no luck. This implementation needs to use the same IRC ports as regular clients, so I couldn’t connect.

Then my roommate found a hosted-version of CGI:IRG at IRC @ Work. And it worked! Finally I was able to complete my subversive plans and get some help for my WordPress install.

In all honesty, I don’t know why the IRC protocol is blocked by UGA administrators. I’ve read that it can be used to facilitate computer takeover, control bot computers, implement denial-of-service attacks. How often this happens, I don’t know. I think that the few on campus that know what IRC is are most likely nerds and pose little threat.

If you need to connect to IRC servers from behind restrictive firewalls, I would completely recommend CGI:IRG and IRC @ Work.

Disclaimer: This post is solely for informative and educational purposes, and the author assumes no responsibility and will not be held accountable if you are caught breaking your network policy or local law.

A Little Downtime

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You might have noticed a little downtime here earlier in the day, but all is well.

I reinstalled WordPress, because I have been having a strange problem with the Rich Text editor. And it seems that all of that effort was wasted, as the problems still exist.

I have been a little frustrated, because I have posted on the WordPress forums (here) and been on the #wordpress channel on IRC, but I’ve gotten few responses. Since most of the users utilize the ‘code’ version of the editor, they seem to have no sympathy for problems with the Rich Text editor.

Anyways, if you see any problems on the site, please let me know here or in the comments.

Updated to HemingwayEx 0.95

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I have just upgraded to the .95 version of the excellent HemingwayEx theme by Nalin Makar. I put a few extra touches on this awesome theme, including the Twitter updates in the header and the search box in the navigation tab at the top.

I would wholeheartedly recommend this great theme for anyone. If you happen to be upgrading the HemingwayEx theme from an earlier (pre-.95) version, make sure you follow the upgrading instructions here.

A couple of wishes for this great themes (and I am working on most of these):

  • another dark version with red accents, in place of the orange accents
  • implementing a second drop-down panel like what Nicolò Volpato uses on his site to hide the comments section (like how the navigation bar is ‘hidden’ at the top of the HemingwayEX theme)
  • a search block (I have already implemented this myself – in the navigation slidebar at the top – so I will email the code to Nalin sometime. But, lol, I just can’t seem to center the search bar.
  • some sort of mechanism that only shows the ‘read on’ link on the homepage if there is actually more content after the jump

Anyways, that’s enough for now. Oh, and it would also be helpful to get some comments, so I can make sure the recent comments bar works (bottom right).

*Update*

I have just noticed a little bit of an issue when viewing a HemingwayEx themed site in Firefox (2.0.0.2) on a Mac (OSX). See here [Safari on left, Firefox on right]:

Problems in Firefox on Mac

The color on the navigation bar is a little bit yellower (lol) in Firefox (2.0.0.2) on a Mac, but not on a Windows machine.

Also, when viewing a HemingwayEx themed site on a Mac (in either Firefox or Safari), the highlighted links on the navigation bar are not highlighted all the way to the bottom of the bar(ie- there is an orange stripe underneath the link). For an example, see here:

Problems in Firefox on Mac2

But just a couple of thoughts. Nothing major.

R&B Letter

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I had a small letter to the editor published in the Red and Black today. My letter was in response to this editorial, where the author seemed to indicate that businesses in Athens are breaking the law when they limit which customers can enter their private property.

I completely understand the author’s purpose in writing this, but I think the piece would have been much better if it had focused on the how racism downtown affects minority recruitment efforts, instead of legal matters.

Here is a copy of my letter:

Totten treads worn trails with column

Mr. Totten, it seems you have brought up the same subject that is discussed in The Red & Black every spring.

In fact, last April I wrote a very similar letter to the editor when someone else complained about the possible racist treatment of some at the bars downtown.

I would like to reiterate my point: a private business can have whatever policy it wishes regarding who it serves. This is not illegal, as you seem to believe it is.

I also would like to offer you the same advice I gave a year ago: you are free to open your own establishment where you only let in people wearing silver chains, black shoes, mohawks or whatever quality you wish.

You have this right, as does every other owner of a private business.

CHRIS M. LINDSEY
Junior, Grayson
Political Science

And while I must say I appreciate the Red and Black for publishing this letter, I wish they had written a better byline.

Tigers and Orangutans

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I don’t usually post this type of stuff, but this time I can’t hold back. This is possibly the cutest story ever.

At a zoo in Indonesia, they have 2 baby tigers and 2 baby orangutans that shared a room shortly after they were born. Now they have all become pals. They play together, and when worn out, they nap together.

And, surprisingly enough, they have yet to fight.

But, there is a sad part to every story. The playmates will soon have to be split up:

“When the time comes, they will have to be separated. It’s sad, but we cant’ change their natural behavior,” she said. “Tigers start eating meat when they are three months old.”

Go here and see the pictures.

[This is a crosspost from my linkblog, Chris Conundrum.]