RyanHarne.com

It seems like only yesterday that this website was strewn up and down with a ridiculous amount of pointless content. Forgiving the occasional bantering blog, I have diverted from that horrible setup since I left AOL’s 1-2-3 Designer application. For those of you many who never once saw that obese amalgamation of pictures, this website used to be a horror story told by the scariest of old men.

Early in 2001, seeking a solace from the real and present world, I began a small fly-by-wire website that was “free” supposing I had already an AOL account. It was a mess. Modern day internet surfers would pass it off as a typical pop-up ad, full of tantalizing pictures and ridiculous text. Well, the photos were tantalizing to me, at least. They were basically shots stolen from sites like MusiciansFriend.com that featured audio or lighting equipment, particularly of amusement to me at the time because of my dj positions. But a quick glance, assuming you waited for every photo to load, would alarm a current browser of internet sites. I assume many spammers began emulating my WOAH-CHECK-THIS-OUT ideals not long after.

Hey, I was in high school, trapped in high school as I saw it, and so I wanted to try and release this blatant geek somehow. It wasn’t like there were people lined up outside of Mrs. Vest’s english class to hear about how excited I was that !JBL released a new sound reinforcement enclosure. I was in desperation; if this site offered me a way to zone out of school and life and paved a way for me to focus on something I enjoy, then so be it. I went on humoring myself for some time before I found out that a web service called Homestead was offering a free sitebuilder and web space.

Not long after, those free site offers began disappearing like danishes at a continental breakfast. I hopped on board at the right time, and I rode the waves of menial Adobe graphics and regular self-dialogue for over a year. Most of this was never saved or kept permanently archived; only the last few months of my Homestead frivolity were salvaged.

There was another step to take, however, and I was ready to cross the border into new territory. I was an minion in a world of CEOs. What did I know about HTML [what do I know now about HTML... ha!] and how could I justify paying (gasp!) for a website? Eventually, under some prompting (and jealousy that others had beat me to it) I bought a domain name and RyanHarne.com was born.

But why “RyanHarne.com”? Why not “FullofHimself.com” or “TheRoadtoVanity.com”? Honestly, honestly, I thought something along these lines: “Well, I notice that a lot of politicians have their full names as their domain, so if by chance I happen to go into politics then I’ll be one step ahead of the crowd”.

I’m not kidding. I chose RyanHarne.com because I anticipated political involvement on my part! I laugh now, and… well, I’ll still laugh every time I think about that.

And for the record, this entry stemmed from my renewal of my domain name. So ha! yet another year I grasped the famous “RyanHarne.com” from the open market. I am the conniving one, aren’t I?

The temperature fell last night. It must have sprained an ankle or something because it most certainly did not get back up over the course of today. But 20 degF is nothing compared to what Blacksburg must have experienced. Although, would-be students were also enjoying the warm social company that is college life… ::sigh:: Am I honestly already missing school?

And the answer is yes.

I completed another book this weekend. Ri has previously commented on my ability to be a universal reader, picking up good books from a variety of genres. I decided to not let her assessment down. I just finished Stupid White Men by the stupid white man, himself, Michael Moore. I figured that after some of the world’s greatest olde English collections and then a history of a vital food item that I would try something of the political and social persuasion. And, being transparent, I enjoyed it. It’s been a while that I’ve read a book with a clearly appropriated sense of sarcasm and wit. I don’t agree on Moore’s Robin Hood take-from-the-rich-and-give-to-the-poor ideals because they simply are more ruthless than the current system at hand. Yes, there are many corrupt seven-figure (or more) people in America, but an attempt at redistributing those individuals’ wealth would undeservably steal from those other [b]millionaires who honestly earned their status and who give back beneficially to society. Furthermore, while I don’t agree with Pres. Bush on quite a few issues and I clearly see his inconsistencies, I have no disrespect for the leader of the free (at least mostly free) world. Much of the blame of faulty government is actually found within Congress and its corrupt ways of funneling money back into their own pockets. The big, Big shots in the presidential administration get enough public scrutiny that they rarely dare to pull off elaborate schemes to further their (foreign) bank accounts. Nevertheless, I’m glad I read that long-time best-seller. Now on to O’Reilly.

To make the chilly-weather matters worse, it was 58 degF in the office today. The heating in my area decided to go on a ruthless strike and we could do nothing about it. I’m sure tomorrow will be more altruistic to us poor engineers.

As if there was some addictive habit forming, Rianna and I met for dinner again tonight. To withhold a largesse of detail, I’ll simply inform you that we both had a great time. The movie of choice was Saw featuring bad acting, bad screenwriting, and a piecemeal plot. But I suppose I haven’t written any blockbuster horror films recently, so touche.

Jeremiah celebrates his birthday on this day every year. You can set your annual clocks to it (meaning those clocks that… only strike… once per… year). Happy Birthday! I hope it has been entirely relaxing and that the semester is as invigorating as ever.

I must be plagued to forever endure those “Battery Pack Without Charge” or “Low Battery” warnings and threats. Given the amount of time that I usually spend in a car per day, you’d think that I’d invest in simple gadgets like 12-volt chargers. But no! I put it off and put it off and am once again alerted that my portable defibrillator or laser-guided missile defense system or iPod is now without charge. It’s a shame, a dying shame.

Also, if you are interested in getting a free Mac mini, then I offer you this link for information regarding the fun. It’s easy and painless, trust me.

It’s official - the Mac mini is the real deal. I remember my hesitations when Jeremiah first introduced me to his lovely 466 Graphite iBook. It was beautiful. But I could only drool for so long; the back of my mind reminded me of Microsoft Office (talk about a chain gang) and my beloved computer games that were, supposedly, Windows-only.

That moment is almost exactly four years behind me. Now, I realize that MS Office is so much better on a Mac; come on! Word was first on the Macintosh in 1984, long before “Windows” was even capitalized. And those computer games? Well, they certainly are available for Macs, should I ever return to my juvenile ways of wasting hours of my life in front of an electron-emitting device. I will avoid the latter at all cost.

I really like the Mac mini. It’s not only the smaller than those “micro PCs” that exist solely for gaming purposes but it’s also just as infinitely gorgeous as the rest of Apple’s products. If ever someone who has been hesitant about switching (perhaps, just like that tortured Windows user I once was), this is the moment to jump on board.

Be assured. This is not a bandwagon scam. No red tape. No knife-in-the-back. You’ll love the change and will likely find yourself amazed that “everything just works” on the Mac. Plus, you’ll realize how gawd-awful-ugly Windows (and their OS-running PCs) are.

Take a dive; you have no more excuses.

I had a fabulous time watching Jobs’ Keynote speech yesterday evening. A Tuesday gets a major face-lift thanks to such uplifting media

Ok, I’ve been fervently going through the Wordpress procedures but progress is so slow considering the amount of work I still have ahead of me. Slow and steady is the winner, yes, but I would rather have like… an autonomous me working on this while I lay back and listen to some music. I know that one of VT’s senior projects is an autonomous vehicle; I wonder, perhaps, if they have tested such technology on more biological beings. Oh well.

The sight of Steve Jobs at a Macworld Expo Keynote address makes some geeks wet their pants. With an unusually successful 2004, Apple is ready to capitalize itself for a fresh and vibrant consumer market for innovative products.

Mac geeks and critics alike both criticized the iPod mini’s $250 price when it was announced at the 2004 Macworld. However, from the time it began shipping up until the fall, stores could not keep the “lil’ sis iPod” in stock; there was even a waiting period at nearly every online retailer. As long as Apple makes products that continually redefine something, I have a feeling they will succeed, and succeed well. I believe it simply takes an attractive approach to a product or service for that company to be successful. Look at BP - their 2004 ad campaign was intriguing for anyone regardless of their natural fuel-usage beliefs. “Beyond Petroleum” looked cool, and their stocks showed it; a healthy 30% gain over the course of 2004.

Despite my bias to a certain, now famous, “switcher“, I affirmatively believe that the Switch ad campaign by Apple began their journey to becoming an iconic figure for other businesses and an “ideal” that current PC users look to in envy. Basing the emphasis on “hey, this is better than what you’re hearing at the office; I dare you to try it yourself” and not solely on Macs’ great looks, Americans saw the possibilities of deviating from old habits and then-habitual inconveniences. Now, many everyday switchers sit back and chuckle at the virus outbreaks that infest PCs from coast to coast; “why did I not make this move earlier?” they’ll pose to themselves.

Tomorrow is the 2005 Macworld Keynote. Apple has been rumored to announce a “flash iPod”, a “headless iMac”, an office suite called iWork, and a few other things including PowerBook updates. Some of these rumors began early last year, some before that actually, but most of these are based on reputable resources that constantly subvert Apple’s efforts to disclose such information. Of the previously mentioned items, I am expecting all of them. In fact, I am expecting more (call me a dreamer… or idealist). Apple has the potential, right now, to blow an increasing competition out of the water. Endless, and I mean endless, mp3 players have been released within the past few months, all desperate attempts to somewhat offset Apple’s complete dominance over the digital music player market. But the people keepp buying what they want, and the people want the iPod.

I can’t wait for tomorrow. And I’ll admit that I’m already planning to wear my Apple polo to work… with pride.

Words like “grand” and “serene” and “refreshing” are the perfect descriptors of my recent conversations with Rianna. Tonight we chose to dine at The Neighbor’s Place as we began yet another discussion. It’s impossible for me to express my gratitude for a friend like her, one whom with I can share all of my personal discourse and vise versa. Our meals were wonderful (the blondie being the highlight) and the dialogue that followed even better. Dim lighting does wonders, people.

This weekend I picked up a copy of Underworld’s 1992-2002 album. Adam’s wealth of music was my first introduction to Underworld and further research on my part has only led to further golden eggs. I know 1992-2002 is a “best of” album, but I really like each track. Thus, ’twas my weekend artistic pleasure.

It was a shame that Barnes & Noble’s “expresso” machine was malfunctioning when I went in for a latte today. But I appreciated their [attempted] sign to inform us all of this inconvenience. ::sigh::

And finally the weekend event of notoriety: a mouse. That adorable, indigenous member of both rural and urban living found itself caught off-guard in our house tonight. I was called to action! Our cat wasn’t that excited about eating a mouse so it more/less batted it about lightly without much interest (Garfield has ruined many a good generation of felines). After obtaining a small, round tin to catch it with I went to work. I managed to corner it and lead it towards the tin but evasive maneuvers on the mouse’s part set it free again. This time, however, it found an interesting form of retreat: up my pant’s leg. I say with assurance, I have never before had a mouse up my leg. But tonight I did. And… it tickled… a lot. Those slightly dulled claws of it brushed my leg until I just shook it for the mouse to fall out. Scratch that off of life experiences yet to be fulfilled.