Here is a series of photos taken at Go’Rilla Dance Club’s first show.  I really like the vibe of this kind of viewport.

Most of the online advice suggested re-installing XP and loading new drivers, programs, etc.  At best this would be a monumental pain and would likely cost me some lost programs and previous work.  I’m glad I waited.

The problem turned out to be something simple that I’ll bet has happened to a ton of unsuspecting people.

About 2 years ago I bought an MP3 player.  I’d plug it into a USB port and that would enable me to load it, organize songs and it also recharged the unit.

Whenever it needed a charge I’d plug it in for a few hours. Whenever I wanted to use it, I’d unplug it and go do my thing.

What I didn’t do was recognize the “safely remove hardware” icon in my system tray and I didn’t click on it and stop the MP3 player before removing it.

The icon looks like this:  You may have seen it.

It turns out that my system hang was caused by not using the “safely remove hardware” button correctly.

Whenever you plug a device into a USB port, the “safely remove hardware” button is activated.  Whenever you’re finally ready to unplug the device, you’re supposed to click on the ”safely remove hardware” icon and tell XP which device you want to unplug. That will deactivate it.

If you don’t,  XP keeps hunting for the missing device and it will eventually lapse into some kind of a loop that locks up.

In the end, all I had to do to fix my system was simply plug my MP3 player into my computer to activate the “safely remove hardware” button.  Once it came up,  I clicked on the icon , selected the USB port I wanted to close (the one with my MP3 player in it) and then waited a few seconds for it to tell me that it was “safe to remove hardware.”

Then, I unplugged my MP3 player.

Since doing this correctly, my computer hasn’t locked up for weeks (I just discovered this recently).  It used to go down about every 30-45 minutes and required a restart every time.  Now it runs like a charm and with no re-installation!

I feel like the luckiest guy in the world.  I was ready to buy a new computer and start all over but can now enjoy a smooth-running machine that is already set up with everything I need.

Yippee!

This site has received a makeover (for those that remember the first two versions) and I’ve incorporated some pretty tricked-out code and graphics.  Me likey.

I’ve also put up a nice site for one of my bandmates who owns an auto repair and restoration business.   It came out good and should generate good quality traffic.

It’s called Mustangs & More and is the perfect place to take your car if you’re sick of corporate suck-ass type people and businesses.   M & M has real people who actually care about you, your car and how well the job turns out.   Check them out if you get a quick second.  Take me to Mustangs & More!

Rarely has the world been improved so much by the absence of one man.

I’m pleased to report that everything is up and running and to date, it’s some of the most sophisticated programming I’ve done.

I figured out how to code a horizontally scrolling photo show, how to implement animated background images, how to embed a string of YouTube videos into a scrolling frame and finally, I was able to create a “News” page that is built upon a WordPress blog platform.

Check out the results at CrashTheCar.com

It would have been even better if Idiot-boy Bush had actually been hit, but it’s still pretty good as is.

Now if we just knew somebody that had some wooden stakes or silver bullets to deal with Cheney…

On the big day, the Japanese won by a mile.

The Americans, very discouraged and depressed, decided to investigate the reason for the crushing defeat.  A management team made up of senior management was formed to investigate and recommend appropriate action.

Their conclusion was the Japanese had 8 people rowing and 1 person steering, while the American team had 7 people steering and 2 people rowing.

Feeling a deeper study was in order; American management hired a consulting company and paid them a large amount of money for a second opinion.

They advised, of course, that too many people were steering the boat, while not enough people were rowing.

Not sure of how to utilize that information but wanting to prevent another loss to the Japanese, the rowing team’s management structure was totally reorganized to 4 steering supervisors, 2 area steering superintendents and 1 assistant superintendent steering manager.

They also implemented a new performance system that would give the 2 people rowing the boat greater incentive to work harder. It was called the ‘Rowing Team Quality First Program,’ with meetings, dinners and free pens for the rowers. There was discussion of getting new paddles, canoes and other equipment, extra vacation days for practices and bonuses. The pension program was trimmed to ‘equal the competition’ and some of the resultant savings were channeled into morale boosting programs and teamwork posters.

The next year the Japanese won by two miles.

Humiliated, the American management laid-off one rower, halted development of a new canoe, sold all the paddles, and canceled all capital investments for new equipment. The money saved was distributed to the Senior Executives as bonuses.

The next year, try as he might, the lone designated rower was unable to even finish the race (having no paddles), so he was laid off for unacceptable performance, all canoe equipment was sold and the next year’s racing team was out-sourced to India.

Sadly, the End.

Here’s something else to think about: Ford has spent the last thirty years moving all its factories out of the US , claiming they can’t make money paying American wages.

TOYOTA has spent the last thirty years building more than a dozen plants inside the US.  The last quarter’s results: TOYOTA makes 4 billion in profits while Ford racked up 9 billion in losses.

Ford folks are still scratching their heads, and collecting bonuses.

IF THIS WEREN’T SO TRUE IT MIGHT BE FUNNY