The Great Mouse Debockle

    My Mouse that has been with me since I built my computer approx. 5 years ago recently died. Basically it was a Logitech keyboard and mouse set. The Keyboard is a basic multimedia desktop sized keyboard with buttons above the function keys and a button to turn the function keys off so that you can use those buttons as well for multimedia stuff as well. The keyboard is PS2 and the mouse was a basic 3 button mouse where the 3rd button was also the scroll wheel. Very basic. But it worked. It was a USB mouse but came with a PS2 dongle which I used. The keyboard is fine, I just needed a new mouse as I stated initially. So in searching I had a few options. Do I go wireless? No. Not when I am only using USB1.x and not when I am a gamer who wants something reliable. Do I go Laser? Do I really need to spend the $$$ on that? Do I go gaming or basic. Now price wise, a basic laser mouse costs close to a starter gaming optical mouse if you are talking the wired variety. But the big difference is dpi. Now after reading reviews I ended up with a Logitech optical mouse. As soon as I bought it, where I work currently "Best Buy" has decided to discontinue this mouse and it is now on clearance. The mouse still won't be cheaper for me, but that shows it's age. Logitech has been making this model forever, only upgrading the look, the compatibility with newer Windows with upgraded software, and that managed to squeeze 200 more dpi into the max setting upgrading from a 1600 dpi to a 1800 dpi max. Low end is still at 400 dpi. Now other than a current bigger ergonomic design, I get 4 more buttons to play with. Now I could have gone with another brand, I hear Razor is OK, but the reviews on both have been mixed. Since stores typically don't have gaming mice to feel, I'd say read reviews. The only bad reviews on this one, was the typical defective bull or didn't feel good in my hand to me" I mean those are legit negative things, but nothing about build quality or feel. Some people say the plastic gets a little cool or slick I like that. Rubber tends to look better but can be sticky. Plastic on the side is just slick.
     So the question is, is this mouse worth the extra $20 vs, a basic one like the one I had for less? For me, I'd say yes. I am still getting used to it and playing withe the different dpi settings to see what I like better (especially in Linux if possible), and also within individual gaming settings for the older games I can play like the original UT or Quake Live via Linux etc. etc. Plus the way I hold mice, it fits my hand well, but it is so much bigger than my other traditional shaped mouse.
  in conclusion, I am glad I didn't spend the $$$ on a gaming laser mouse, with this old PC I am not going Wireless with the mouse and keyboard, Optical is fine. The dpi can be tuned even more than a basic laser wired mouse that would have costs more money. The only competition is another Optical mouse model from a different brand. But do I really need 3500 dpi? Really? My friend seams to think so, but reports go both ways as whether you need something that high. I am happy with what I bought and so far so good. When I build my next desktop, I'll decide then what mouse I will use. To bad this mouse doesn't work as well with the PS2 dongle, oh well.
   NOTE: This post was not intended to be a review or a comparable, just my thoughts based on my recent mice shopping experience. If you need a new mice for a desktop, want one for a laptop/netbook/tablet, read reviews based on what you are looking for. Or you can ask me here via the comment section.

$5,000? Really?

I was going through some old boxes and found this if you can see what it is. I thought I was rich. Well not rich but WooHoo extra cash. But sadly no. After further inspection, it is a fake. Worse than Monopoly Money. It is actually an original promotional tool a company I worked for like 10 years ago did to promote the company. You don't even want to see what is on the other side. So after making my find, I thought I would scan it in and post it here as a LOL. If it is hard to read or a bit big, I apologize. This is only my 2nd scan with gscan2pdf in my new Kubuntu installation, so bear with me. LOL.

It's about that time to upgrade and reinstall Linux again

This is not a history lesson on Linux or a history lesson about my experience in Linux and what distribution (if you know what that is) , and if you have no idea what I am talking about then you can either Google it or just skip this post all together. This post is not about me in that sense, as that is what the "about the Seth Izenzon collective" page is for when I ever get that finished. Which would include for those whom are curious the specs of my current computers etc., and I know some people are because them knowing whom I am, I get asked that allot.
I dual boot my main machine with Windows XP Pro and Linux. I built my main machine when Windows XP was the version of windows available. Since then there has been Vista and 7, now 8 is on the way soon. My computer is just to old and even though XP is outdated, it is current enough that it is fine. But this is not about that.
I have been using Linux for the past 10 years and slowly have been using Windows less and less. Now I still unfortunately have some hardware, computer games I play, and software for music and movie creation and editing, and other utilities or business or personal related software that either won't run on Linux at all, and there is no good Linux equivalent (this applies to software only), or I can't get the software/game, or HW to work well or at all under Wine (look it up if you have no idea what it is in regards to Linux or Mac OS). So I keep Windows around for that, and if the same software like Firefox, Thunderbird, Libreoffice, or Gimp as examples that run well on both operating systems natively then that is cool because I can sort of sync between the two and use them sort of seamlessly. Again I am only in Windows for the above reasons which is unfortunately allot but the day to day I stay in Linux.
Now for those who know Linux, new full versions not just updates that either require a reinstall or a full upgrade. Like upgrading from Windows XP to Vista (now whether you do it as a fresh install or an upgrade is up to you as far as windows goes if you are just upgrading to the next version up). Some Linux distro's allow such upgrades and some it is not feasible to do or it can be done but it is a whole and a half to take care of it. I have been using the same distribution for a while and as those who know Linux there are so many to choose from it can get overwhelming. This includes the list of dead and dormant ones as well. Some release new versions all the time (every 6 months approx. or less), some every year or 2 to 3 years or longer. But definitely there no matter what new versions in Linux or definitely released more frequently than versions of Windows are.
Which brings me to the title of this blog. My current install of whatever distro I am using has been installed as a fresh install sort of (I am using the same home directory), since it was released maybe a year or so ago. Now it is old and outdated. Yes it is still somewhat supported and some people are still making some updated packages (Libraries, apps, and games) for it, but it is so outdated, and for me to build stuff for myself because there is no package available, forget it. Because libraries are so outdated and can not be upgraded without breaking to much stuff. So it is time to upgrade. Every time this comes around I have two options. Keep the same distro I have which or go with something else whatever it is. The distro that I am using every time a new version is released minus my home directory does require a complete reinstall. Which is not the end of the world, but still. When I stared using this distro there wasn't much out there that I liked, and I was still new to Linux that I needed a (someone coming from Windows and never used Linux before) kind of distro. Now, I am no expert at all but I am definitely over the beginning distro. Now the Linux distro lineup has changed since I started using the distro I am currently using. Some have gone to the graveyard and new ones have cropped up. There is one in particular I am considering switching to. Which again would mean a fresh install minus my home directory. But if I just upgrade to the latest version of the distro I am using, I would need to perform a fresh install anyway minus my home directory, so there. But I don't plan to do this twice so if this new distro doesn't work for me or i don't like it then we shall see. I have friends whom are convincing me to switch. Now everybody says something different, but i think it is time to move on. I like that my new distro is not a one man show with a community behind it, but a company with a community behind it. I also like that it is updated and unlike my current distro with no release schedule meaning a new version could be 6 months or 1.5 years away, this new one is every 6 months without delay. This new distro was not around or it was to new for me to try it back when I chose what I am using now. I love the distro I am using and I would hate to leave the community that I help and support and post on and even make packages for and share them. I have even made some acquaintances there that I really talk Linux with whom has offered to help me learn and grow. But I need something more. A bigger community and something that more people are using and more updated. So I have made the decision to switch.
Notice throughout this whole post I did not mention any distro names. That is on purpose. If you are curious to know what distros I have used and the two distros I am referring to here, contact me in whatever way you want to and I will be happy to say. Of course when I post my current main computer specs in the about page I will say what distro of Linux and it's version number that I have installed and I will keep that updated as I keep Linux updated as long as I have Linux installed in a partition/s which I don't even know why I am saying that because unless something drastic happens as of right now, I will always use Linux in some form.
Now as far as when, I was supposed to do this tonight. I have a cd downloaded and ready to go, but timing just didn't work out. I'll see how my week goes, but it may not be till one of my days off next week. So one more week of this old, mostly outdated distro installed maybe. Once completely installed and customized and I have everything reinstalled again how I want it, then I will blog about this again. I have recruited a friend whom is familiar with such things to help me with this transition because this is a bit different than just going to a new version of the distro I am currently using. This friend knows whom he is (his name is left out not on purpose but whatever as he says). He also knows I appreciate his help and this was sort of partially his idea so when complete, he will be so happy. Because using what I sue now was his idea as well but again back then what was available was different.
Until my next blog post, whether it be about my Linux upgrade or anything else, as my dad would say: "Keep on keeping on."
 

Evereybody has something....

If you are old enough to think about such things, it doesn't matter who you are or your orientation, everybody has that thing that a significant other does, wears or looks that turns someone on. I am not talking about a type whether it be personality or physical or religion or whatever, what kind of person you like to hang out with in a more than platonic way is another conversation. I am just talking about someone walking down the street as an example, I mean some stranger whether they are walking by themselves or with someone else, or if you watch TV or go to the movies you see someone wear a certain thing or look a certain way or do a certain thing and you can figure out the rest. Now I am not talking Fetish or whatever. That is another topic.

Public service announcement not related to initial blog topic:
When I started this blog I decided not to do the over 18 warning. Even though some posts have maybe crossed a little over the line, I have not said or talked about anything that would require that over 18 warning. Since my blog is public, just in case someone reads it whom may get offended, is a young kid whom is in my family, some random person on the Internet whom stumbles upon my blog, or some friend or acquaintance or co-workers kid. I have decided to keep this blog somewhat family friendly. I didn't say G rated no PG, PG-13, R, NC17, 10+, Teen, Mature, etc. In other words whatever popular rating system is out there, I am not using any of them. but if a post gets a bit .... I will post a coherency warning. LOL.  Nothing posted here will be X,XX,XXX rated. If I am compelled to post something like that. Not in the Playboy forums sense, but in the no holds back content as far as exploitive deleted or body part listing, I will post somewhere not public and give links to only those that are old enough to handle it who don't care.
Now why did I go off in a tangent and mention all this which has nothing to with the topic and the original post? Well because I want to make it clear that when I post topics like this, that this is my long way of saying unless it is something adult rated which I will not post here I would put a coherency warning on the post and if I don't then I feel the post is family friendly. I didn't put a warning on this post and I just wanted to mention all this in case I get comments or e-mails about that I should have in  this post.

Ok now back to the post at hand. Thanks for letting me make my public service announcement.

To keep this post in line as I say, for me I will just say it is certain articles of clothing. that a person (in my case a woman) wears that ....I will only tell those people on a need to know basis what that is.
This post is meant to be serious, so if you plan to post stupid comments anywhere, if I can delete them, they will be deleted. If you seriously want to know what they specifics I am referring to, then at my discretion I will say. Especially if you are female and interested in.... [If you can't figure this out, contact me privately somehow and I will explain.]

Again, I hope this post doesn't cross the line I mentioned in my little public service announcement rant. But if it does, then I apologize. As I said with the reimaging of this website and blog, now that I am posting real blog topics semi regularly (not crap about my blog and updates and stuff), I will not be holding anything back except certain topics mentioned in the public service announcement here or anything hurtful, adult rated or harmful minus my opinion as stated to anybody or even myself. That is why I don't talk here about work stuff to much. Because I do have allot to say about that, if you would like to know about work stuff, just contact me privately and I will tell you what is going on as my friends would say. Not in a long blog post kind of way as I would if I were to post about it here, but I will not hold anything back and tell you the whole story.
Until next blog post......

I had a day dream (I am tired of being single Pt2 and other things).

I had a daydream today. It was a weird one. No idea where it came from. I wasn't thinking of anything that caused it, it just popped into my head out of the blue. I was walking, still cognizant of my surroundings, where I was, buildings, cars, people places so I didn't bump into things/people, get run over, walk in the wrong direction, or miss where I wanted to stop at, but I had my headphones off and I had a daydream. It's like a dream when I am sleeping except I am awake and I remember it.
In this weirdness, I call my friend Todd and tell him, I have a some news for you. I have been holding some things back that I have not been telling you. In other words I have secrets. Because I wanted to get things straight. [again this is still the daydream] 1) This weekend I am getting a car (Now other than it being a compact and automatic), I never say which car, whether it is new or used. from where or even a color. But I say yes I am still not 100% comfortable, I can't drive a shift yet and I am still uncomfortable driving certain kinds of vehicles or even any vehicle in certain circumstances yet, but I can drive now and that is cool. 2)Remember a while ago we talked about double dating? Well lets set it up. I have been dating this girl for a while. (Now I did mention a name but I forgot what it was. I do describe her a little, but I forgot how I described her, and say she was around my age (37)(I did not say what religion or race or hair color or eye color she is not that it matters, or say how long we have been dating or where I met her or if she has met anybody including family that I know yet)). But I did say that it is going good, and that I can safely say that I have a steady Girlfriend and that we do stuff that make you (Todd) and your Girlfriend (Fawn) (use exploitive deleted here with the sex stuff (Todd would know what I am talking about which would lead to a for fun contest about that stuff)), and that is without any stuff (again Todd knows what I am referring to), but I did mentioned that my GF and I did talk about using stuff and see how that goes and that I would talk to my Doctor for a prescription. [Again none of this is real. This is still the daydream]. Then I tell him 3)..... In a previous post here I mentioned some things about job stuff and that is what I talk about here. But because I might say something that in case somebody reads it while I am working where I am working, I won't say what I say about job stuff in the day dream to my friend Todd except to say That I mention that I now have an awesome schedule and I have enough hours and $$$ coming in that I don't have to worry about Money so much and I can now afford stuff. Not just any furniture or stuff for my place I want to buy or any technology stuff like this Netbook and or Camera that I have had my eyes on and stuff to build my new current specked gaming rig desktop, but to go on dates and concerts and movies and have fun at clubs and stuff without being outrageous. Then 4) I say not only is my place (and I am still living where I am living) clean but I am completely unpacked as much as I plan to be (which I am not right now) so I can invite my GF over, have parties within reason that are not like family oriented open hose where kids could be there, etc. Now at this point after telling Todd all this, because and I don't say how long this has taken place in other words how long I withheld this information from him, there is a pause so he can soak it all in, he says wow, and says about damn time. Good for you. I don't remember at this point what else Todd says, but some more wow type exploitive deleted stuff. All positive good things. Then my day dream ends while the call is going on after Todd says those things.
There is a line from the movie Bicentennial Man (if you have no idea what this movie is look it up, and I am not going to set the scene, just say the quote so look that up to), where Oliver Platt's Character says to Robin William's  Character "Welcome to the human condition" Now Oliver's character was referring to something different and physical in the scene, but if this dream were true and I hope it does come true, then wow. Now the part about keeping this from my friend Todd until I have all this, I am not that way so I doubt that would happen if this dream were to come true and I hope it does, but if it does end up that way and Todd and I can still hang out while I keep all this a secret and drop this bomb (all 4 parts) on him at once (well at least 3 because he would have seen my place), then I would love to hear his reaction.
Now all this being said, to some people, a dream is a dream. Now some dreams feel so real you can taste it whether it was something you had while you were sleeping (REM or not), or a dream that you had as a daydream. This was one of those dreams that tasted real, whatever real tastes like.
I have a tendency to get overwhelmed very easily and then for me processes break down as I don't know what to do or where to go and ask for help? I am so overwhelmed that I don't even know what kind of help I need to ask for. Even if I am just working on one or two of these things.
Well somehow I need to get over that, because if I do, Then no matter how behind I am, no matter how long it takes, I can achieve all 4 things and make that call to my friend Todd.
So as the quote goes "What is the plan Stan?" I apologize to anybody named Stan and I am not asking people named Stan either. It is just an expression. I am still working on it so that what didn't work in the past, whatever I choose to do, I will make it work this time.
So if Todd ever reads this, all I can say is, I bet you can't wait and look forward to that phone call one day soon. For anybody else whomever you are that is reading this, when I make that call I most certainly will blog about it here or whatever I am using as a blog if I still have one at the time, and use the heading (it may not be these exact words but....)"I made a phone call....." (instead of I had a day dream) with the rest of the heading pending.
I hope I can blog that soon.
I have allot of people behind me and I appreciate that and will not take that for granted.
For now just keep on bloging.....

Walked about 6-8 miles today

For those of you who know the Atlanta in-town area. I had a good walk today walked about 6 to 8 miles. I pretty much walked from my place which is where the Edgewood Marta station is to the North Avenue Marta Station. I didn't follow bus route #2 exactly but if you look up itsmarta.com and check out bus #2 you can see how far I walked one way. Back and forth abouts. I was gone including stopping to eat twice and buying something to drink twice, from about 5:30 pm till 11:30 pm. I didn't bring my pedometer so I have no idea how long I walked because I did not go the way of Marta bus #2 but ended up at the same place. So even though Google maps directions doesn't show the way I went, I would say based on their estimations and how far off the direct path I went I would say my Title is accurate. Between 6-8 mile walk today.

New Promo for The Seth Izenzon Collective Blog

New Promo for the The Seth Izenzon Collective Blog.  No I didn't come up with this but..... and I promise this won't be rarely updated but..... I thought this was cool. Yes I know my blog is addictive, and that is the point. Happy Blogging.

Thank You

This is an official Thank you even though I officially made one on Facebook, to whomever wished me a Happy Birthday on facebook. There I made it official.  So thanks again.

Edit: Such a Beautiful day......

Based on a suggestion this post has been edited for content. For no reason other than keeping it fun but professional. For those who have read the original post here, cool. I will end this there.  So what did I do, after a good conversation with my cousin Stuart, I ended up cleaning myself up, getting dressed and going for a walk. If you know where I live and the surrounding area then great. If you have no idea, then Google it I guess. But I walked from my place in Edgewood, all the way to little 5 points behind freedom park to Inman park, ending up at the Virginia Highlands area. Eventually walking up Ponce Deleon almost making it past City Hall East. To then turn around and walk back, but then I saw the Marta bus come and me being a little lazy, and a time save just took that back to the bus stop by my house and walked home and here we are. While I was out, I was feeling good because the weather was nice, but spending my birthday by myself sucks. So I called my friend Todd whom was out of town visiting Family, and had a talk with him. It was good until he started giving me shit about did I see any cute girls, talk to them and get phone numbers? I mean the crowds were starting to form but it was early yet. It was maybe five something PM by now. I really wasn't dress nice enough to hit the bars. Nothing raggedy, just T shirt and Jean shorts with minor paint stains from my artistry. But going into a bar by myself and picking up women even if there are single women there not talking to guys, has never been my thing. I am witty and am good at pickup lines but they also sound cheesy and suck. So after Todd gave me a bit of crap and we joked around about it which I deserved because I have given him shit in his single days and now he is reciprocating. So I took it in stride,  we finished our phone call, he wen't off to do his thing and I went to finish my walk and head home as stated above. Still single with no phone numbers. At least I got exercise and enjoyed the nice weather. At first after the phone call after Todd giving me shit jokingly I was a bit bummed and depressed, but I put my Archos on with some Real Big Fish, then some old school Primus, got myself some caffeine in the form of a 20oz Diet Mountain Dew which was on sale at Publix for a decent price and then started to formulate a plan to change things.

Now I don't have a plan yet. But I will. Next time Todd and I hang out, it will be on a double date with his GF fawn. Wishful Thinking on my part or will I make this happen. We shall see. I will probably see Todd (and I did) before then. But........... I'll end it there.

My cousin and me.

My cousin Stuart and I used to get along well. Over the past few years that has obliterated. Now I know what must be said and what i need to do. He deserves the respect I should have given in the st place. I am so sorry. I just had to say it. This is a short post.

I am tired of being single..... Pt 1

I need to go meet more people in person or online in order to achieve my goal. Beyond the tech, gaming and other Linux websites I visit. Besides posting here. For those who know my situation, I have a good bit going for me but 3 things going against me. They are huge enough and even though all are in my control, I can only control them so much. I have great friends. There are only a select few that I keep in contact with on a regular basis and because of distance and my situation only a few of those friends I see in person. I also have the best Family anybody could ask for. For those who know my situation know what family members as far as how I am related to them I am referring to. Now platonic friends are good to have, and acquaintances are good to. Coworkers past and preset that I am still cool with as well as customer's I know, make a good resource for networking or whatever else. You also can't say enough about family. Well you could, but as long as it is nice. But that doesn't change the fact that I am going to 37 in a couple of days and I am still single with a dry spell that has lasted longer than: pick a name of any famous desert. Now I am not saying that this was completely my fault. some of where I am are circumferential. But Mostly it is on  me. So as my title says, I am tired of this and Staring Now. I am going to make some changes to make sure my dry spell ends soon without the 3 things being to much of an issue. I hope at least for the women I meet/date. So I end by saying that I don't have a plan yet or some kind of way to tackle this like a project manager, but lets see what happens. This is only pt 1. Whether it be daily, weekly, monthly I put up parts 2,3,4 as many as I need to, who knows. Hopefully the numbers won't need to go that high and if there is no post other than this one here on this subject that is also bad. I just hope not. We shall see.............

Yes I have a Atom News Feed for you lazy.... LOL

For those of you who like to subscribe to the websites that you visit and use a news reader or an application that can read ATOM/XML news feeds so you don't have to keep all those browser windows/tabs open to view updates and new posts on those websites you subscribe to, then please subscribe to mine. The link is the button that pops up when you hit the Blog button on my website navigation menu. Now just because you subscribe to my blog via news updates doesn't mean that you should't come back and visit this website in person every once in a while. This is just another easy way for my lazy visitors to get my blog posts. Aren't I just nice. Awe Shucks. LOL. Oh and I apologize now for calling anybody lazy who visits my website in this blog post who isn't really lazy at all.

No More Updates?

Well Not Exactly. I always add, fix things here all the time. I am not talking about adding just new blog posts but other things as well. but I hate those technical posts that say "Hey I did this on my blog today." This is not a blog about updates for itself by me. So to change that, under everything in the right menu under my contact information, I have a button (which now goes to a 404 page (Sorry folks)) that will be fixed soon (so keep checking back if you are curious), that will (eventually) have a changelog or listed updates to The Seth Izenzon Collective. This does 2 things. For me (not that I will forget, but it allows me to keep track of updates for The Seth Izenzon Collective. Also if you are like "Something is different here, I wonder what has changed?" you can click on that update button and take a look yourself. Under the update button is a revision number, Same numbering system used like anything else (x..x..x ). So you and especially me can keep up with revision  numbers of this website. As of this post, the revision number of this website is: 4.2.1. Of course as development and fixing happens rapidly here, this will change. Again, unless I do a major redesign, just check the changelog if you see something different and are curious about it. I may Tweet about it on Twitter so you can check there as well if I feel like or the change is significant enough that it needs to be tweeted. If I do something major like a total redesign, enough to make a big stink as my visitors will, I probably will make a blog post about it. Otherwise, (at the risk of sounding like a broken record), click the update button below and check the changelog. I am glad this is the last time I have to make a post like this here. Geez. Shut UP Already. Ok. Publishing Post....