The Thoughts of Cory LaViska

I’m finally giving up on my home-built computer.  After a new motherboard, new memory, two new video cards, and a new operating system, it still freezes at the most inopportune times.  I’ve concluded that this is not a software issue and I can’t seem to pinpoint what is wrong/broken/incompatible with the hardware.  So, after hours of rewriting tedious JavaScript code that was lost in the freeze (along with other equally annoying data losses), I decided to trash the idea of building another system myself and just order a new computer online.  With so much reliance on my desktop these days, instability like this just can’t be tolerated.

So I did what anyone who has lived in Round Rock, Texas would do…I ordered a Dell.  Here’s a few of the specs:

• Intel Core2 processor (2.40Ghz Quad Core, 8MB cache)
• 4GB DDR2 SDRAM at 800MHz
• 256MB Radeon HD 2600 XT (with dual DVI)
• 320GB SATA2 Hard Drive (7200RPM)
• 6X Blu-Ray and 16X DVD+/-RW
• Media card reader with BlueTooth

I maxed out the processor and RAM for this system.  And, of course, I have another SATA2 hard drive that needs to go in there, but I’m sure that this will last quite awhile.  I hope it doesn’t freeze up on me :(

Hypothesis

Much thought and experimentation has been accomplished in an effort to develop the following theory.  For the sake of simplicity, I’ve converted my findings into an easy to understand mathematical formula:

  Staying up late
+ Waking up early
+ Dressing Self
====================
  Fashion Disaster

Experimentation

The evidence is clear as day given the fact that both of the following days proceeded 2:00am bedtimes and 7:00am risings:

• Last week: Realized, while at work, that underwear were on backwards
• This week: Realized, after getting home from work, that undershirt was on inside-out
• Next Week: [insert random fashion error here]

Conclusion

I’m not sure whether these are symptoms of regression or senility, or if my inability to be coherent before noon has finally caught up to me.  It looks like I’ll have to start double checking all my undergarments before I leave every morning.

Weird.  This was never a problem before :-\

Ironic that, the day I get home from a “hacker” conference, my credit card company informs me that my account number may have been compromised (along with many others).  The card has been voided and a new one is already in the mail…yay.  Apparently a hacker broke into some online retailer’s system and “saw” a bunch of the numbers so this is just standard procedure.  Luckily, there were no fraudulent charges on my account.

A phone call to my house at 6:15am usually results in curse words and violent fits of rage.  Fortunately for Rich, who is doubling today as airport shuttle slash traveling buddy, this is the morning we leave for DEFCON in Las Vegas.  Excited?  A bit.  Tired?  Hell yeah.  I didn’t get to bed until 2:30am again—nothing out of the ordinary for me.  On a positive note, a 3-hour shift in time may help me get to sleep at a reasonable hour or, at least, avoid any kind of jet lag.

I’ll see everyone on the 7th!

Today, whilst driving home on Knecht Road in Palm Bay (a 35 MPH road), one of two cops standing on the side of the street motioned for me to stop. So I stopped and rolled down the window, but only about halfway. I looked at him with my shades on and a “what the hell do you want” expression. After a brief moment of silence, as if he had to make up something to say, he spoke:

“What’s a safe distance between moving vehicles?” he asked.

“About 2 seconds” I replied (because I’m such a hardcore traffic-safety guru).

“So how far apart were you from the car ahead of you?”

Without hesitation I said about 1 to 1.5 seconds, which is my average distance on 35 MPH roads and a fair estimate of how far I really was from the car in front of me — I was by no means tailgating.

“Try about .5 seconds,” he said, and warned me that not adhering to the two-second safety rule would result in a “big ticket”.

I rolled up the window and drove away chuckling (without my seatbelt fastened, mind you). Seriously, guys…no, I’m not going to use a donut joke…but don’t you have anything better to do?