WorldCom's Bernard Ebbers quits CEO post - Apr. 30, 2002

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Bernard Ebbers has resigned as WorldCom Inc. CEO, stepping down from the company he helped build as regulators investigate its finances and a $366 million personal loan the company made to its now former chief executive.

How this will affect Worldcom subsidiaries -- like Digex -- remains to be seen. Who knows? Maybe I'll get a nice 'go away' severance instead of being fired for cause.

cptgen: I'm outta here
BDHampel: later, adjudicator
cptgen: nice one
BDHampel: Dusty rubs off on me.

pi: you think they'd fire me if I shagged one of my workstudies?
rmf: only one way to find out...
pi: sound advice, thank you my role model
rmf: quite welcome

Majestic The Game will formally come to an end in one week: Tuesday, April 30, 2002. While the game itself was not an outstanding success, the one thing it fostered that cannot be denied was it's tight-knit community.

Calling all Agents of the Alliance! Past, Present, and Future!

To celebrate that community, AgentPisces and I have decided to invite you all into the Way Back Machine for a little ride. Come and join us, and the rest of your peers, for a day of reminiscence.

Go to http://www.geocities.com/bermuda653/mjchat.htm and press the big green button. That will take you to AIM Chat Room: Majestic Alliance Chat (the old skool room). Find your friends, make new ones, carry the torch. Who knows? Maybe we'll even see Kendra. I'm trying to reach her now...

MajesticIntel (5:37:53 PM): Well I have to run back to work. tell the gang i said hi.
BDHampel (5:38:16 PM): I shall. It's good to hear from you.

JodyCoyote: I believe in karma and i've seen the movie Antz.

Well, like that wasn't expected. Given the choices, I was an equal shoe-in for Geek, Goth, or Outsider. I'll bet the scores came out 33.3%, 33.3%, and 33.4%. "Outsider"? I don't think I ever considered myself on the outside. I was on the fringe, sure, but I had my ins. I hung with the in-crowd, the honors kids, the SGA types. I also hung with some jocks, some rednecks, some dopers, some art fags.

Okay, okay. Let me rephrase that. I associated with the in-crowd, etc... When it comes down to it, I didn't really hang with anyone. I'm an equal opportunity elitist. And, my individual ties to each of the cliques kept me from fully being a part of any of the cliques. S'alright. I liked it that way. Nothing was unobtainable. I got to pick and choose my high school experience.

Only problem is, my college experience suffered for it. College was boring. Everybody else was out experimenting with life, trying to find out who they were, blah blah blah. I was sitting around thinking; been there, done that, what's next?

BDHampel: you and your passles. there's always trouble when there's a passle.
cptgen: thats just my favorite word for a collection of momo's
cptgen: like geese are in a gaggle, momo's travel in passles

cptgen: I have done you this favor.... and one day I will ask for one in return..... this is the way of the petpet godfather....

The cold sea firmed his grasping fingers into talons, which was all the better as Donovan struggled to maintain his balance on the makeshift raft. This was quite possibly one of the stupidest ideas he'd ever had. It was certainly the most precarious position he'd ever placed himself. Months of failure had made him desperate, for sure. He'd tried many times to reach the fabled island. Once already he'd lost himself at sea for days, but at least that attempt had been in the relative comfort of a proper rowboat. He shivered in the omnipresent damp.

Ahead, there sounded the blast of a horn. Donovan tugged lightly on the slender towline, bringing himself to within sight of lead craft. Still the hulking troll pressed it's oars into service while the shaman navigated the sea, and still the huntress stood resolute upon the bow. She was as imposing now, dark and looming in the everpresent fog, as she had been when he first encountered her on the wharf two days past. He pitied the fisherman she'd been haggling with.

Donovan allowed the line to go slack again. It was a turn of luck that the destination he'd heard her utter coincided with his own. It'd be another turn altogether if they discovered him trailing along. What would they do? Cut him loose and set him adrift? More than likely they'd reel him in and then dispatch him to the depths. Donovan was fortunate the troll was rowing, for the creature's strength easily compensated against the drag of the raft and pulled him along unnoticed... thus far.

Time passed, and Donovan heard the call of the woman's horn again. His heart lept as this time it was answered.

Matt admonished me for only paying attention to the ladies. I was noticing that myself, actually. I'm not entirely sure why that is. Maybe it's because there isn't much to comment about on the male front... updates all around have been few and far between.

But today... today that has changed.

Little John seems to have closed his blog. "Wut?" you ask? It's true. The wutjohn node redirects to home. While the activity -- any activity -- is a welcomed sight, I wish there was some commentary or explanation.

Contrary to what he'd have you believe, ValSmith does not suck. He's just been busy. I see the renegade on AIM every now and then, but I never interrupt him to chat. I'm not sure why. I think it's the multiple personality thing. There are still some people I'm self-conscious around regarding the whole majestic character business.

Smytty's been busy with work & school projects. That looks to be clearing up. Matt's been busy with DSL woes and tourneys with Da Man. Sorry to hear about the bias judging, but whatchagonnado? Boot to the head!

Who's left? Justin, Chris, and Pat? Neko went the way of the Rev ages ago, but that's okay because we can keep tabs thru Sabs. And, the Holy Devil is offline.

No, I didn't forget about Nick. But the local boy and I talk all the time, which makes it feel a bit redundant to comment here, too. So, I'll just say this: Jimmy rocks.

$325 million dollars

It's Big Game frenzy around here.
Lottery (noun): a tax on those who are poor in mathematics.

Being the rational person that I am, I'm playing for a share of $325 million... but I'm rationalizing it. I'm throwing my $5 into a department pool of tickets. To me, it's not "playing the lottery": it's a team building exercise.

You can tell I'm an accountant. When I get bored, I crunch numbers. It's been a slow afternoon with the sun shining in the windows at 90 degrees and no immediate deadline hovering.

So, I went to the lottery page to see what the odds actually were. I mean, I know the jackpot odds are 1:76mil or something just as outrageous... but what about the odds of winning something smaller, or even of breaking even?

Based on five pulls on 50 white balls and one pull on 36 gold balls, the odds of drawing a gold and getting your buck back are 1 in 62. The odds of drawing one & one and actually profiting a greenback are a pitiful 1 in 102.

Here's the kicker: if you play religiously, the fortuitous favor of the fickle finger of fate will bestow upon you an average return on investment of twenty-five cents on the dollar.

In other words, roughly the same entertainment value as skipping quarters across a lake.

The surreal boxen* are still down. I suppose the plural isn't appropriate because we're really only talking about one server... but it just wouldn't sound gentlemanly to be saying nay about Val's box.

I miss Dusty. I miss Dayna, too, but I came to terms with that the last time. I hope we can all synch up again sometime soon, once I've gotten all my ducks in a row.

Mun's gone awol, too. At least, her domain has. I remember her saying recently that it would be, but I ddin't have the forsight to note down the new domain. Ah well, I'll get it when I se her next.

Zemlet, on the other hand, has the same old domain, but the site's growing. By the looks of the 'under construction' pics, she's cultivating some change. ba-dum-ching.

Meg's been prolific lately; multiple posts a day since the beginning of the month. That's a good thing. I've been missing her since she moved over to LM (it is lockheed, isn't it? I ferget.) and dropped off the face of AIM. But then, I haven't been the most accessible person either.

Zoe's posting again, too. There was an understandable hiatus after the layoff, but I was worried she might've totally lost net access. You know, now that I think about it, there wasn't really a hiatus at all. I must've been imagining it.

Speaking of losing access... I got a visit from the Layoff Lady last Thursday. Turns out it wasn't what I was expecting. My manager filed a formal, written reprimand for my excessive internet usage. Layoff Lady was there as HR's witness. The good news is, I'm still collecting a paycheck. The bad news is, I'm being monitored. (If anyone asks, I'm posting this from a public access terminal on my lunch hour.)

Hey, if I put that memo under my pillow at night, do you think the Pinkslip Fairy will stop by and leave me a Get Out of Hell Free card?

[current music: Imperial March - John Williams, Composer]
You may not use the Company communications to
Access non-business information on the Internet

cptgen: morning
BDHampel: yo
cptgen: isnt it funny that every time one of us begins to lose hope that she's coming back, she does?
cptgen: such an odd coincidence
BDHampel: She's back?
cptgen: yup, the whole Thomas clan got strep throat and was out of commission for a while
BDHampel: Ouch.
BDHampel: I guess her last received transmission was "...everybody's sick... ...it sucks..."
BDHampel: Hrm.
BDHampel: So... are you just delusional about the Thomas' ? I see no evidence of a visitation...
cptgen: what?
cptgen: she was just online talking to me
BDHampel: You're seeing things. Wishful thinking.
cptgen: no, I'm fairly certain she was around
cptgen: I'm not a lunatic
BDHampel: *raised eyebrow* ?
cptgen: well, I'm not
BDHampel: .oO( denial )

Thanks to the respective miracles of XML-RSS, javascript, and Adam Curry, you can now preview my blog from my main splash page: phydeaux.freeshell.org

I realize this means very little to you who jump in here directly from a bookmark, from the link on my old geo site, from the ring code, or from a google search. But it is good for me to finally have something at root. And, it makes a prime example of how one domain can host and summarize multiple blogs, and make them easy to find.

"btw.. brian.. your comment thingy sucks because you're REQUIRED to fill in the email and URL :("

fixed.

"Doesn't matter where you go, when you get back, all you want is a burrito."

There's this game on neopets I got involved in. It was quite accidental. I was trying to figure out how to work it; not that I didn't know how to play (I've been playing it for years under other names), but that I couldn't figure out how to get an opponent. No one will let me crush them. They all give up and disappear after a few moves. Oh well.

I ended up signing-up for the monthly competition ladder. My first opponent never made a move. After 48 hours of hurry up and wait, I won by default. Now I am waiting to be assigned my second round loser.

In the meantime, I went looking for other online versions. Lo and behold, Ataxxlet. I've set up the board to match the Armada layout. Click more... to play it. The rules are simple: You are red. You move first. Drag a piece one space to make it duplicate, or two spaces to make it jump. The object is to fill the board with your color. When you move into a space, all the adjacent pieces turn your color. Good luck.

SabbyDarling: well, if you figure something out, i'll do it but i'm not overly worried about it.
BDHampel: Okay.
SabbyDarling: danke though. you rock out hardcore like ron jeremy or something.
BDHampel: Thanks. I think. ;-)
SabbyDarling: hehehehehe. bue!
BDHampel: It's been an extremely long time since I've had a twenty-something college co-ed compare me to Ron Jeremy.
SabbyDarling: lol
BDHampel: Probably since... never.
SabbyDarling: well
SabbyDarling: that wasn't exactly a "hey, brian, you're kinda like ron jeremy." thing.
SabbyDarling: but whatever it takes to get you through the day.

BDHampel : I've been suckered back into neopets.
cptgen : yikes
cptgen : its a horrible curse
cptgen : I found this game in there called neoquest
cptgen : and now I'm proper fucked
cptgen : I got one of my pets up to level three now- but this whole money making thing still eludes me
BDHampel : :-)
cptgen : I need to find some cheats to get lots of money
cptgen : that way, if they catch me and freeze my account, I wont be able to play anymore and I'll be saved
cptgen : and if they dont, I'll have lots of money
cptgen : its a win-win situation

[current music: Homeless - Ladysmith Black Mambazo]

Boy, that went fast. Much faster than anticipated. About three weeks ago, we decided to meet with a realtor about the prospect of selling our condo and moving up in the world. She gaves us two weeks to clean the place before putting it on the market. We were hoping for a month or so, because it was an awful lot of shit to get moved around; but we did it. By Thursday, March 28th we were all cleaned up and ready to list the place.

That was last week. She listed it on Friday, put a lockbox on the door Saturday, and had the first showing Sunday. By Monday night we had word that an offer was coming, and we set an appointment for Wednesday morning to review the paperwork. By the time we sat down, we had four offers to go through. Three of them offerred our asking price, and one offerred more but their financing had contingencies. The end result is that we should go to settlement on April 26th, and walk away with about twenty grand in equity to apply to the next place.

Oh yeah -- and, we'll be homeless.

We haven't even really started looking for a new place yet. We've gone out once or twice to see some townhomes, and we breeze thru open houses in the neighborhood on occassion, but that's all been window shopping. Now it's time to get down to business.

At least we don't have to scurry around all crazy like grabbing for the first home that appeals to us. The offer we acknowledged includes "rent-back up to 60 days." That means that if we settle on April 26th, we don't have to vacate until June 25th. Even then, we can always put our stuff in storage and borrow a friend's basement in an emergency.

[current music: Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes - Paul Simon]
And she said honey take me dancing
But they ended up by sleeping in a doorway
By the bodegas and the lights on Upper Broadway
Wearing diamonds on the soles of their shoes

cptgen: I was in the middle of typing a response to your counterfeit yogurt dilemma when I realized that I was typing a response to your yogurt dilemma and shut myself up
BDHampel: heh
cptgen: it involved religionist propaganda and patriarchal society..... and it was about hypothetical yogurt

Once again, it's obvious I have more work to do on this. There's a couple of things I have planned here. The first is to put my old layout back together, with the added variables of MT. You can already see that I've found the underlying stylesheet and changed the colors. Now I have to redo the boxes.

The second is to reconfigure the way archives are posted. I don't have the space here on freeshell to have an individual page for each and every entry. And besides, who the hell looks at single entries anyway when you've got a monthly page that can be read straight through? I'm thinking I'll expand the comments pop-up to include a full entry and navigation index, and let the cgi build it every time. That'll save me space, and I highly doubt it would cause any strain to the server.

The third thing I have in mind is to offer you, my respected audience, the opportunity to customise what you're looking at. Dusty's got her themes, I'm going to have schemes. Just selectable color schemes (ie- primaries, icy blue, cool violet, bubblegum pink, etc) at first; and maybe full-blown themes after that.

Who knows? Maybe I'll even go back to that biorhythms idea someday.

'nuff said.

Okay, just a tad more. Obvioulsy Nightmare is just about one of the coolest things on the planet. My wife & I tried to put together Jack & Sally costumes for Halloween that year; unfortunately, I couldn't figure out how to get the shape of his head right without major prosthetics. Shannon would've made an incredible Sally, though.

Yesterday, I spent 3-1/2 hours trying to install a brand new Lexmark inkjet printer on a brand new Windows XP eMachine. I failed. Not once could I even get the printer to receive a test page, or even a miniscule ECHO "Test" > lpt1 from a DOS prompt.