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Microsoft is giving away free patch CDs!

http://www.microsoft.com/security/protect/cd/order.asp

This is for all users of Windows XP Pro, Windows XP Home, Windows 2000 Pro, Windows ME, Windows 98 Second Edition, and Windows 98. It includes all hotfixes, patches and updates as of October 2003.

It's totally free (free cd + free shipping) so all windows users might as well take advantage of it. It's not going to cost you anything so why not spend a minute or two to order it. More importantly when you get the cd, use it!

Heck even non-windows users should order a copy because you all know windows users that don't update their systems. Give copies to all your friends and families to promote safe computing.

You may keep your system updated with the latest patches, anti-virus software, firewalls, etc but there are people that don't. I know it's a pain to do but it's well worth your time and energy to help others out. If nothing other than to know that the next time some worm gets released you know your friends and family won't be part of the problem.

If every person would help out 2 others to keep their systems more secure we would probably have half the problems with viruses, worms, trojans, etc.

Now do your duty and order the cd today!

http://www.microsoft.com/security/protect/cd/order.asp

Well while I watch my new hard drive get partitioned and formatted (see previous post) I might as well tell everyone about what I did for Valentines Day.

Being how this was my first Valentines Day with a girlfriend I had to actually make plans to do something. That's surprisingly hard when for every previous year I've just moaned and groaned. I've always considerer it as a stupid holiday for hallmark to sell more card and force guys to waste money on flowers, candy and other gifts. OK, I still think that but now I have to play the game because that's what is expected of a guy.

Actually it's kind of fun being the first time but I'm sure I'll be back to my old sour self next year.

I could sure tell it was Valentines Days when I stopped at the flower shop. The parking lot was full and there were plenty of guys standing around inside looking uncomfortable and feeling awkward. Buying flowers is a hard thing to do because there's so much to think about. How long have you been together? Does she have a certain preference? What is her favorite color? How much do you want to spend? Then when there are other guys there the peer pressure kicks in. If you only get one rose do they think you're a cheap ass? If you know too much about flowers and order some specific arrangement will they think you're a sissy? If you order too many flowers does that mean you're in the dog house and trying to buy her forgiveness? It can be pretty darn stressful.

I have no clue what the meanings of the different colors or numbers are so I just played it safe. When they got to me I just went with a half dozen red roses. I figure you can't go wrong with that. I got her some flowers for her birthday so going with a single rose would make me seem like a cheap ass. Then if I went with a dozen or more it might send the wrong message like I'm trying to buy her love or make her "owe" me for spending so much on her. So at least for me a half dozen seemed like the right number to just say I love you, without worrying about hidden messages.

So anyways I decided it would be the day of four Cs. Culture, Cuisine, Comedy and a Cherry on top. Incase you couldn't tell the "Cherry on top" is a reference to having ice cream! Of course being it's Ohio and in February it's like 10 degrees outside I decided to forgo the ice cream.

I picked her up and boy was she stunning. I am so damn lucky to have such a beautiful girl. I've always feared I'd end up in my 40s still single and finally just settle for some fat chick so I don't end up dieing alone as an old sad man.

For culture I took her to the art museum. The museum has a jazz exhibit right now which I though would be fun to check out. It's a collection of photos taken by Lee Friedlander who worked at Atlantic Records in the 1950s. As part of the exhibit they had a group of jazz musicians that played and also talked about all sorts of things like instruments, music styles, history of jazz, etc, etc. Along with that the local high schools jazz group were playing out in the lobby. Let me tell you those kinds could play! There was this skinny little guy playing the saxophone that could knock your socks off.

So we spent the afternoon just wondering around the museum talking and joking about the art and stopping to listen to the musicians play some good music.

We then went out to eat at a local place for cuisine. Around here there really isn't anything fancy so it's not like we have much of a choice. This town has all the usual fast food places, way to many pizza joints and no fancy restaurants. It really sucks honestly. I like watching the food network and you see all the amazing restaurants around the world and there's nothing close to what you see around here. What I wouldn't give for a four star upscale restaurant!

Anyways, I had this Chicken Roma dish. Basically, it's plate of olive oil coated noodles with two chicken breasts that are topped with diced tomatoes and mozzarella cheese. It was pretty good except for the tomatoes. I just don't like tomatoes. I'll squirt ketchup on sandwiches, fries, etc but can't stand to have a tomato slice. I guess I'm just odd.

Finally, we ended the night by watching a romantic comedy. We went a saw "50 First Dates". It's the new movie with Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore. It's a very good movie. It has plenty of the usual Adam Sandler comedy bits that'll make you laugh very hard but it also has plenty of serious romantic moments. The ending was kind of bad in my opinion just because it left too many questions open that I would have liked answered. Whatever though, it was still good.

All in all I had a great day and I hope she did too.

I guess it's time to play taps for a fallen hero. My 40gig IBM 60GXP hard drive had died.

Ok, it isn't dead yet. It's just making a horrible noise when it spins up and takes forever to read data. That means it's on it's deathbed and prepared to go up in smoke.

So I unplugged it from the computer about an hour ago and ordered a new drive. Luckily, I only use it as a storage drive for mp3s, downloads, etc so I can afford the downtime. I never fully trusted the drive when I bought it. It was a heck of a deal from newegg.com but it was bought after the 75GXP debacle had begun. As a result I kept my old 27gig hd as the main OS drive and just used the 40gig 60GXP as a storage drive.

To replace the dying drive I'm getting a brand new 120gig drive. I figure it's about time I upgrade to a larger drive anyways since the 40gig was full. I decided to go with a Western Digital Caviar WD1200JB Special Edition. I'm buying from ZipZoomFly.com which used to be googlegear.com. It's actually a bundle that comes with a Vantec round cable. The total price is only $99.00 with free 2 day shipping so I'm not complaining.

Well actually I am complaining. Talk about bad timing to die! I just got a new car and I still don't have a job to pay for it. Blowing a hundred bucks on computer hardware right now isn't helping me any.

Oh well I'll live with it and try be happy. I'll have 3 times the space I have now so things should be good for another year or so before It's full and I wish I had more space.

I don't have anything to talk about today. Politics has been pretty boring as of late. You hear the same thing about the democrats every day so unless you're living under a rock you don't need me to say anything.

Yesterday I watched the local philharmonic play. My girlfriend had to go watch them for a class so I went with it. They say misery loves company. However it turned out to be very enjoyable. The music was very good and the three special guests were downright amazing. First was a countertenor from Queens, N.Y. that could belt out the tunes. He's only a sophomore but has a spectacular voice. Second was cello player from China. He may be a freshman but he shows the skills of a seasoned professional. Finally, a beautiful pianist from Russia. She's a graduate student that has studied extensively around the world and it shows. Her playing was almost hypnotic and time just seemed to stop. From where I was sitting I could clearly see her hands as she played. The way that her hands flowed over the ivory with what seemed to be no effort was breathtaking.

What can I say but I loved it! I'm going to have to get a schedule of their programs so I can watch more. I guess a little culture can be good for you.

So anyways I'll leave you with this quote I found. It very much describes what I have experienced since meeting my girlfriend.

"The moment you have in your heart this extraordinary thing called love and feel the depth, the delight, the ecstasy of it, you will discover that for you the world is transformed."
-J. Krishnamurti

Well unfortunately the "family" car that I was driving, 1995 Oldsmobile Achieva, decided to go awol on me. Started up last Tuesday and just as I was scraping ice off the windshield it died. After about an hour of playing with it, the car finally started but was running on only 2 or 3 cylinders. This has become a regular occurrence over the last 2-3 years so it was no surprise it happened really.

I had originally planned on buying a new car after graduation but it became clear that I had to buy a new car now. So I spend rest of last week reading up on different cars and visiting several car lots. I narrowed it down to the Oldsmobile Alero and the Chevrolet Malibu. The Alero was nice but it just didn't click with me. It felt too much like a grandma car I guess. Being young and hip I just didn't feel comfortable in it. So I went with the Malibu.

General Motors did a complete overhaul of the Malibu for 2004. It's may be called a Malibu but it's nothing like previous years. It's based on their new Epsilon platform. It's the same platform being used for the Opel Vectra and Saab 9-3. It's been modified by Chevrolet to be more "American" but it still has a hint of European influence.

I like the look a lot. It's much more sophisticated than anything I've seem from Chevy before. I went with the Galaxy Silver metallic exterior which is what is shown on the Chevrolet website. Well technically I didn't have a choice since the dealer I went with only had the one Malibu on the lot. However I wanted the silver so it worked out perfectly.

The interior is a bit disappointing but it's still nice. You see the outside and you think upscale but you look inside and it's pretty low-key. The cloth seats are nice but plain, the dash is minimal and layout is pretty sparse. Then again I like it clean and simple since to me throwing on tons of fancy trim and other stuff is just a waste to me. The car has some nice features like a telescopic steering wheel which lets you adjust how far back or forward the wheel is. Plus the car comes with adjustable electronic pedals. Basically you can move the pedals back and forth about 2-3 inches. Between the wheel and pedals even a rather long legged driver such as myself can be very comfortable in the car.

There's a 200 horsepower V6 connected to a four speed automatic transmission. It provides plenty of power for the package and acceleration is quick and responsive. Shifting is very smooth and my only complaint is that I wish GM would get out of the 4 speed auto rut them seem to be in and put out a 5 speed model at least as an option.

I could go on and on but I won't. All in all I'm happy with the car. It has four wheels, an engine that runs, and doesn't look like trash. That's all I ask for in a car. So here are two pictures of it.