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The Growing Ranks of the Stupid

In what is a fitting tribute to the fit of stupidity I find myself surrounded by, it appears that the stupid also vote.

My favorite has to be the f@#$tard vote.

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2008 10 10 JJT Blogging Comments (3) Permalink

What To Wear: Halloween

As the invites to Halloween events have started to come in, I have actually decided to ponder getting dressed for the occasion.  In a continuation of my own recent trend, I am considering going as another television character: Vic Mackey from The Shield.  Those of you who know me know of my affection for the show and my man-love for Vic Mackey.  Besides, I have to be a fan of Michael Chiklis–we both went to the same university!

I need to drudge up some props, but this is a look I can pull off.

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2008 10 09 JJT Blogging Comments (3) Permalink

Bugged by a Bugcheck

I have had a minor problem from time to time on my home desktop.  Specifically, my desktop will sporadically reboot.  Now that I have had some time to dig into the problem, I am pretty certain I know what the culprit is.  Inspection of the event log shows the following entry.

PLAIN TEXT
Event Type:    Information
Event Source:    Save Dump
Event Category:    None
Event ID:    1000
Date:        10/7/2008
Time:        7:46:56 PM
User:        N/A
Computer:    JJTHOME
Description:
The computer has rebooted from a bugcheck.  The bugcheck was: 0x000000ea (0x85a33020, 0x863f9e88, 0xf7a49cbc, 0x00000001). A full dump was not saved.

For more information, see Help and Support Center at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp.

My immediate thought was that the problem must be with a device driver, as that tends to be the case.  A quick search on MSDN turned up a list of bug codes contained in the Windows Driver Kit.  One specifically calls out the hex code in the System Log entry above--0x000000ea.  To quote the article:

This indicates that a thread in a device driver is endlessly spinning.

This usually indicates problem with the hardware itself, or with the device driver programming the hardware incorrectly. Frequently, this is the result of a bad video card or a bad display driver.

I have cranked up the debugging options on my machine to try and capture a full dump of this event.  For some strange reason, my machine is not capturing the actual dump being generated by the "Blue Screen of Death" I know is occurring.  It just reboots.  In my quest for more knowledge, I may just start hooking debuggers into my system and seeing what I can find out.

In the meantime, though, I have two plans that will bear themselves out in the near- and long-term, respectively.

  1. Visit NVIDIA and download the latest drivers available for my card, a GeForce 8600 GT.  DONE
  2. Revisit moving to Windows Vista on my desktop, especially now that SP1 is available and resolves a lot of early problems.
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2008 10 07 JJT Blogging Comments (3) Permalink

Sporting Thoughts

Some recent thoughts running around in my head as I enjoy being a mindless sports spectator. 

Ravens LosS to the Titans

While I was able to take my grandfather and uncle to their first Ravens game on a beautiful day, I was unable to ensure they saw a win.  While I do think the roughing the passer penalty was a bit specious at best, a loss cannot be laid at the hands of the officials alone.  The defense stopped pressuring the quarterback late in the game, and that hurt them.  Now, the tough road stretch begins.  I still am surprised at how the Ravens are doing considering most folks thought they would suck.  Ray Lewis is truly playing like a man possessed (and 10 years younger). 

Red Sox and Rays in the ALCS

While I sincerely wanted the Angels would defeat the Red Sox in their Divisional Series, the fates and playoff history conspired against me.  The Rays, on the other hand, easily handled the Ozzie Guillen-managed White Sox.  (Aside: My hatred for Ozzie Guillen is a deep-seated one, and I find his managerial skills to be highly over-rated.)  Now, my allegiance swings to the Rays.  I would like to see them go from worst to first--even a World Series win.  If they do it while beating the Red Sox, even better.  Anything that slightly reduces the smug nature of most of the visiting Red Sox fans when they visit Baltimore brings a smile to my face.  Besides, I now have a night of drinking riding on this.  Go Rays!

College hockey begins

Important only to me, but my alma mater is ranked 2nd in the Hockey East preseason Coaches Poll and ranked 9th in the Division I Men's Poll.  I miss watching college hockey. 

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2008 10 07 JJT Blogging Comments (1) Permalink

Three Generations of Thomas Football Fans

Today, I am taking my uncle and grandfather to their first Baltimore Ravens game.  I spent most of yesterday preparing for their overnight stay by tidying up the house.  I had to make sure the house was up to snuff given that it has been their first visit.  Last night, I took them to dinner at Nick's Fish House.

The weather should be good, and our seats are in the west end-zone.  We will be heading off to a tailgate in short order, and I know this will be a good time.

I am personally looking forward to seeing my grandfather there.  He went to--and was a season ticket holder for--many Baltimore Colts football games.  He was also the person who took me to what was my first (and at the time) only football game when I was a little Jason.  Consequently, this event has a bit of emotional significance for me.

Here's hoping for a good football game and a Ravens win!

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2008 10 05 JJT Blogging Comments (0) Permalink