Category: Computers

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Saturday Night Retro

This weekend I’m flashing back 18 years ago to the Spring of 1992. Back then “The Silence Of The Lambs” won Best Picture honours at the Oscars, Microsoft Windows 3.1 was released – quickly becoming the most successful and most utilized computer software platform in the world, Disneyland opened in Paris France, and six days of riots overtook L.A. following the Rodney King verdict.

Back home in Homestead Florida a nearly 25-year-old USAF SGT Chris M. Day (that’s me) was enjoying the final year of his active duty military career – living and playing in Dormitory Building 675 on the original Homestead Air Force Base and working as a Computer Database Manager in a building just off the active flightline and famed Bikini Boulevard. Just a few months later the beautiful base would be destroyed by the wrath of Hurricane Andrew.

On the radio The KLF were rockin’ the acid house nation with their unique brand of European HI-NRG dance music. In 1991 they scored a long-running TOP 5 megasmash here stateside with “3 A.M. Eternal”. They followed that up with the sleeper hit “What Time Is Love ?” – and then came this GINORMOUS smash featuring country music legend Tammy Wynette. This past week marked the 12TH anniversary of her passing. Here she is – standing by the jams.

This is NOT the end of the blogging week, as I return to blogging on Sundays starting tomorrow. Join me as I bring “My Fantastic Journey: It’s In The Lyrics” over to its new day from it’s longtime Wed. night spot. You won’t regret it pal.

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Career Computers Driving God Holidays Nature Travel

Tuesday Night Grab Bag O’ Thoughts

I do hereby declare the start of another fresh new week of blogging !

I.  This Old Car – My 2003 Saturn is aging, and while it may not look very old on the outside and on the inside (due to recent professional cleaning and detailing) it is starting to act its age. It’s starting to sound and feel at times like an old man – making strange sounds occasionally. It’s pushing 67,000 miles, and this June it will mark 7 years in operation. It’s the 2ND longest period of time that I’ve owned a single car – 2ND only to my 1989 Geo Spectrum that I drove around in for 8 years and 3 months from 1989 to 1997. Well it’s really cool and everything to drive around in a car that’s fully paid off and completely mine, but now that it’s getting older it has to be taken care of on a regular basis – more so now than ever before. Yesterday morning I took my car to the local Chevy (GM) dealership here in Homestead (since Saturn dealers don’t exist anymore), and I expected to be there for perhaps 3 hours and maybe spend around $100 in needed maintenance. Those 3 hours turned out to be 5 hours, and it cost $867.91 to get my car thoroughly tuned-up to where it should be. Now it seems to sound and feel like a kid again. I’ll be keeping this old car for awhile. With a little bit of tender loving care it will hopefully continue to purr along on the road.

II.  Have Road Will Travel – Looking ahead at my planned vacation schedule for 2010 I’ve got at least 3 trips to the Dallas Texas area planned for May, July, and November to visit my family. I’ve also got a 7-day Carnival cruise to look forward to in September. I also think that I’m gonna visit the Orlando area for a long weekend in June. I haven’t been up there on vacation (non church business) since 2006 (before the fantastic journey began). I also wish to take a few days (maybe in April) and discover a broad section of the southeast coast of Florida that I’ve never experienced before. It’s known as The Treasure Coast, and it includes the cities (south to north) of West Palm Beach, Riviera Beach, Juno Beach, Jupiter, Tequesta, Stuart, Jensen Beach, Port St. Lucie, Fort Pierce, and Vero Beach. I basically want to drive the 80 miles or so from south to north only on U.S. 1 and State Road A1A, and simply stop along the way at the various places that look interesting to me. I’d do it over 2 or 3 days and really explore the region. I may even combine it with a trip around the Big Lake Okeechobee. I miss doing exploration road trips like that. It’s time to get back on the road again and enjoy God’s Creations along the way.

III.  I Am Not A Computer Expert – I have never claimed to be a computer expert, and I have never demonstrated any notion of being a computer expert. (Some people may disagree with that.) Nevertheless the impression that some people get (for whatever reason) is that I am some sort of genius at fixing computers. Here’s the real deal. If I actually knew how to physically fix a computer then I would not be dealing with my current computer systems at home. I’d fix them. I’d upgrade them. When a computer at home crashes I do what a lot of sensible people do. I set it aside and go out and buy a brand new one. Do I know how to use a computer ?  Sure – I’ve been using personal computers for a little over 17 years now. I used Hurricane Andrew relocation money to help me buy my very first computer system (a 486SX) towards the end of 1992. I’ve gone through a lot of computer systems since then. I’ve never fixed any of them. I’ve bought new ones to replace broken ones. It makes more sense for me to do that. I’m mechanically challenged – and that includes computers. What’s my current job at work ?  I manage resources. That includes (but is not limited to) computers, databases, and finances. I provide guidance on computers, but I do not buy them or fix them. I’m responsible for information that gets input into databases as well as the output based on that data, but I do not put any of the data in myself. I’m responsible for the effective and efficient spending of money, but I do not spend any of the money myself. I’m your classic liaison. I hope that clears everything up for everyone.

Be sure to check out my ‘Thursday Night Mini Thoughts’ later this week. I’m sure that I’ll find something new to rant and rave on, but please keep this in mind at all times – I’m a lover not a fighter. I heard that one !

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Blogging Career Computers Driving History Life Movies Music News People Radio Television

Saturday Night Retro

Standard Time comes to a grinding halt early tomorrow morning – Sunday March 14TH 2010 at 2 AM local time – as Daylight Saving Time begins. Be sure to ‘Spring Forward’ by one hour before you go to sleep tonight, or else you will be one hour late for everything tomorrow. You will lose an hour of sleep, but have no fret for you will get that hour back next November when Standard Time returns. I know – I’m not crazy about it either. I say leave the time alone !

We don’t ‘Spring Forward’ every Saturday night on the ‘Retro’ – we ‘Fall Back’, and this week we take a trip back 18 years ago to the Spring of 1992. It’s when “The Silence Of The Lambs” won the Oscar for Best Picture. It’s when Microsoft Windows 3.1 made its much-anticipated debut at computer stores everywhere. It’s when the ‘Long Island Lolita’ Amy Fisher shot Mary Jo Buttafuoco. It’s when Johnny Carson retired from “The Tonight Show” after 30 years – and Jay Leno took over as the new host. It’s when USAF SGT Chris M. Day drove all around South Florida in his red Geo Spectrum listening to the hottest hits on Y-100.

It’s also when Ms. Amy Grant rocked the radio airwaves with this positive uplifting smash. It’s “Good For Me”, and it’s one of my favourite songs EVER:

This concludes another week of blogging for me. I’ll be back LIVE on Tuesday night for another action-packed edition of my ‘Grab Bag O’ Thoughts’. Until then you can catch me on Twitter at majorhitwaves. Enjoy your weekend !

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Saturday Night Retro

In 1997 Bill Clinton began his 2ND 4-year term as President Of The United States, the Green Bay Packers beat the New England Patriots 35-21 in Super Bowl XXXI in New Orleans, the Dow Jones Industrials rose above 7,000 and 8,000 for the first time, Tony Blair became the new Prime Minister of The United Kingdom, Hong Kong transferred over from British to Chinese rule, Diana – Princess Of Wales – died, Mother Theresa died, The Florida Marlins won The World Series, and everyone was discovering the World Wide Web on their fast new Pentium II / 266 MHz desktop computer systems running Windows 95.

I turned 30-years-old in 1997, and I mostly hung out at home with my little buddy Boots of the feline species. My Mom, Dad, and Brother lived up near the Intracoastal Waterway on the far-east side of Jacksonville Florida with our aging childhood cats Fluffy and Barney. On selected weekends throughout the year my 22-year-old brother and I would meet halfway in the state – Orlando – for a few days and nights of fun at the amusement parks, nightclubs, and shopping and restaurant meccas. One of the great techno songs that we used to dance to on the nightly countdown to Midnight celebration at Downtown Disney Pleasure Island was this rockin’ jam of the time:

This concludes another fun week of blogging for me from Tuesday night through Saturday night. 6 blog posts. 5 days. All good. I’ll do it all over again next week from Tuesday night through Friday night before I take a 10-day hiatus from the blog. In fact next week’s ‘Saturday Night Retro’ will occur on Friday night, and it’ll be a song straight out of 1985. Have a great weekend my friends, and I’ll catch ya back here on Tuesday night for my ‘Grab Bag O’ Thoughts’.