I wish I could take credit for this caption on this Scooter picture, but props goes to r_k_ologist from Fark for the caption. I just changed the font.

I posted this picture of Scooter in the Fark thread about the Time magazine article "Cashing in on Cute Cats". This article is also in the print edition (p. 62 in the July 23, 2007 issue titled "I Can Has Cheezburger"). I guess lolcats are officially mainstream.

Some people on Fark bitch and complain about lolcats being stale. I think as long as there are people taking pictures of the silly and weird stuff cats do, lolcats will never go out of style. We may be anthropomorphizing our cats, but come on, they are quirky creatures. We'll take Scooter for example. The cat loves the tabs used to break the seal on milk cartons. No telling how many he's brought me just for me to throw them so he can catch. He also like to play with beanie toys. He's got this annoying habit of getting next to me when I'm on my laptop. From there, he reaches over to the display and bites on it He'll still do things even after I reprimand him for things I don't want him to do. He may be a cat, but you can't deny his purrsonality.

In other news, I hate computers. I tried to get this new laptop set up with the things I need for school. I took off Vista and put on XP. I installed all the software needed for school. Everytime I needed to access a file via IIS on either Visual Studio or via a connection to localhost, I'd get the Blue Screen of Death. I thought IIS was the cause. Well, I later tried to use Dreamweaver 8 on the computer. Blue Screen of Death for that as well. So no telling what was the cause! I ended up replacing XP with Vista again. Now that I've had more time with Vista, it's not too bad. It has its issues, but so does XP and all the other Windows platforms I've used. I guess this laptop is my design laptop. My Linux laptop is my server laptop.

At least I have the bulk of the AASU ACM site completed. I finished it yesterday. I have a few things to change, but it's good to go for launch. I have the calendar configured for PHP 4, not 5, like I have on my Linux laptop. Aric told me he had trouble finding a host that supported PHP 5, which is what we want to use. Now, just to see what Chris discovered server wise for me at the ACM retreat. At least I can say I have the site ready.

Oh, yesterday, Beth got the gerbils a new, bigger cage. They seem happy. At first, they were scared. Now, each found an activity in the cage to do. One loves the wheel; the other one climbs up and down the tubes. They are so fun to watch.

[♪ Listening to: "Believe" - Amy Grant]

I was able to leave the house today, so I did. I went to school and downgraded my new laptop to Windows XP so I can have it ready for the Fall Semester. I wasn't alone. Aaron, a guy that I'll be graduating with, was on campus today reformatting his computer and setting it up for the Fall as well. So far, I have Windows XP Pro, SQL Server 2000, Visual Studio 2003, Dreamweaver 8, Paint Shop Pro X, and Editpad installed for school related stuff installed on this computer. I was also able to install a few entertainment items and the appropriate drives for my hardware on this computer.

My problem is the Blue Screen of Death. It occurs everytime I need server access via IIS for developing an ASP.Net application. I even tried a simple page load on Internet Explorer and got the BSD! I have no clue why that's happening. I finally figured it was IIS when IE crashed.

I did make sure I socialized a bit on campus. I spoke to Lindsey, my advisor, and Joey. I can't be on campus and not see her. She told me they're moving my lab to the small room in the IT lounge. The new School of Computing dean wants our lab for something else. Gamble Hall is also getting new desks.

My advisor said I can do my project in PHP, so long as I code in ASP.Net well, That's what I was going to do. The project doesn't have to be in ASP.Net, but he just wants me to get the hang of it. That takes a load of my shoulders.

I spoke to Joey to get some ACM stuff we've worked on from him again. He works in the Writing Center. I'm the only other person in the IT department at the moment that has worked there, so we've got that in common. As I walked in, he was helping these middle schoolers set up an appointment. They then asked him some basic questions about the Writing Center. Since I know the place, and I was at the front desk, I reached over and pulled out the informational flyer with the hours on it and handed it to Joey to hand the kids. I miss the Writing Center, but I don't. Later, I helped Joey with getting a couple of database tables into third normal form. One of his group partners was placing redundant data into a table and was also having trouble figuring out how to get the table into third normal form. After looking it over, I saw how to solve the redunancy problem. I am glad that I can get a table into third normal form.

When I took database, Bobby did all the work designing the database, so I didn't have a chance to do it myself. He also did it in Client/Server. In some ways, having the supersmart person in a group is harmful, but at the same time, I can go over the work he did for our group projects and learn from viewing the code and other paperwork. Plus, he's helped my grades.

After I got home, I spoke to Aric for a bit online about computing. He's wanting me to try VMWare on my Linux box. I guess tomorrow I can try that. I'm trying to have some skills with Linux to go along with my Windows skills.

Well, enough of my day, it's Thursday Threesome time:

Onesome: The-- Food Channel: Yummy Goodness or Food Pr0N? Who do you like to watch (or love to hate <g> )? I'm not into cooking shows. However, this is a good chance to talk about something that's been bothering me about Paula Deen. She's doing ads for Smithfield Foods, instead of Roger Wood Foods, which is local. I just wonder how much Smithfield is paying to be a spokesperson.

Twosome: Food-- in the Summer? Cooking in the kitchen? Any tips to beat the heat for those in the gang literally baking in the heat? Cook in the evening! My mother had a rule that she would not cook fried chicken in the summer. However, her last summer, she did surprise me when I got home from school. She had fried me some chicken. Oh do I miss her! Last night, I had a panic attack about death at 4 AM when I was thinking about her and holding her Graysie.

Threesome: Channel-- some coolness our way: what is your favorite Summertime beverage (yes, mixed drinks work too...). A nice, ice cold water. And occasionally, a nice cold Coke! The water, however, is better.

[♪ Listening to: "Fading Like a Flower (Every Time You Leave)" - Roxette]

I've spent the past 5 or so hours working on an ASP.Net page for adding members to a database. It shouldn't be hard since it's similar to code I did in Client/Server. I still have that code. However, I can't add anything to the database. I can retrieve information for the database, however Once I get this done, I shouldn't have too much trouble getting the rest done. The professor wants it done in ASP.Net. I figured I might as well do it. However, I didn't waste the past month and a half coding in PHP. It's educational and expands my horizons. I know a bit more in coding and accessing databases with various languages than what's required of my major. I'll see if my Client/Server professor can help me with the getting it to connect and add to a database. But first, I need to get out to the school and get this new laptop configured, first. I won't be able to do it until Thursday at the earliest. That's Matthew's next day off. Once I get this laptop taken care off, coding shouldn't be a problem. And I can still design and do all the other coding for the project until then.

Personally, I like PHP better than ASP.Net. And I still plan on working on the PHP thing.

They're from 1992: