phopp@home%> cd grill
**Access denied**
phopp@home%> ls -ld grill
-rwx------ 1 snow pile 0 2008-04-20 14:23 grill
phopp@home%> sudo /etc/init.d/spring start
Password: **************
* Forcing start of spring weather patterns... [ ok ]
phopp@home%> umount /mnt/snow_pile_on_deck
Failed: /mnt/snow_pile_on_deck in use
phopp@home%> sudo /etc/init.d/shoveling start
* Shoveling process has begun, please wait 2 hours as snow is decompiled [ ok ]
phopp@home%> date
Sun Apr 20 12:30:44 EDT 2008
phopp@home%> sudo at 2:30pm today
Password: **************
warning: commands will be executed using /bin/sh
at> /etc/init.d/grilling_season start
at> <EOT>
job 1 at Sun Apr 20 14:30:00 2008
phopp@home%> exit

"We have been told we cannot do this by a chorus of cynics. They will only grow louder and more dissonant. We've been asked to pause for a reality check. We've been warned against offering the people of this nation false hope.


But in the unlikely story that is America, there has never been anything false about HOPE."

Senator Barack Obama
January 8th, 2008

Full text available here
YouTube Video of the full speech: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fe751kMBwms

One well used and abused advisor for sale - Make Best Offer

Late 90’s model student group advisor v2.0, running the AllyOS v10 and equipped with gaydar 9.5. Model seems to have a weak spark and is having troubles being an advisor to Keweenaw Pride. Unit has seen heavy use but lately has begun adopting too many of the bad habits of the current generation 2005-2008 models of the Student models including apathy, laziness and their single minded self interested purposes/needs.

Unit may still be useful but is in definite need of an involved, interested and community building focused Student models. Definitely a fixer-upper unit.

Advisor unit is a support unit and not a leadership unit. Advisor has upgraded memory, high level technical and listening skills and has the following upgrades:
- Non-Alcohol fueled
- Good Advice matrix was installed after high level listening skills
- Generous and caring improvements
- Tough love and confidence building hardware is integrated into personality matrix
- Unit has highest level drama shielding available on the market

Advisor unit does have some warn out parts in need of some time off
- Nagging and guilt add-ons is completely warn out and appears ineffective with 2005 or higher model students
- Patience is worn thin
- Bullshit detector seems stuck in the on position with 2005 or higher student models
- Disappointment meter has been strained and can not take any additional load without causing harm to users.

Taking all offers, make your best offer and we’ll see what we can do. If unit is not sold or repaired by March the unit will be taken out of service.

Questions or interested parties can contact the owner at directions@wherethehellwasigoing.com

Got a new(to me) boat today.. Larson Citation, 175 HP and red..

First order of business is to get her cleaned up and ready to go, gotta get the trailer hitch on the truck upgraded and a bolt for the ski-pole. After that it's time for the naming/re-naming cermony. I've got a call into the previous owner to see if it had a name, if it did there is a fairly complex procedure to rename the boat, if not there is still a fairly complex procedure to name a boat the first time. Available here: http://www.boatsafe.com/nauticalknowhow/rename.htm

It's new name will be... and the geekiest thing I've probably ever done... is... drumroll...

Sea:\Drive

So I haven't updated since April, not a whole lot going on.. Everything is standard..

One thing that has been awesome lately is that the Transformers movie just came out. I've been waiting for the movie for 6+ months. This Christmas was great because for the first time since I was like 7 or 8 years old I could get the same toys I got when I was a kid for Christmas. Yes, Yes I am a dork. They re-released the classic transformers, Optimus Prime, Megatron, Bumblebee, Cliff Jumper, Mirage, Grimlock, Starscream, Hot Rod, Ramjet and Astrotrain.

I of course own all of them, and then I went on to buy all the Transformers Alternators, and all the movie toys. So now my entertainment center is covered with all of that. There is nothing that keeps MTU students more entertained then playing with robots that change in to cars and planes and stuff.

The movie that came out this past Monday was awesome. The robots were well done. There was a small section of the movie that could have been removed to make more time with the Decepticons who kinda get shorted on time. The thing that made me absolutely the happiest about the movie is that there wasn't a giant human love story in the middle of a sci-fi/action movie. There was a little bit of stuff between the two human leads but all in all it took a max of like 1 minute of screen time. And that's how it should be, this wasn't a movie about human people, it was a movie about giant F!@#$ robots.

I'll try to post a spoiler-reffic review later below the fold...

Find out which Transformer you are at LiquidGeneration!

Today is the National Day of Silence.. Take a moment to reflect on the silence in your life if the person this message belongs to was or had been suddenly and violently ripped from your life as a victim of a hate crime because somebody disagreed with how and who this person loved.

Think about it...

www.dayofsilence.org

Feel free to leave a comment about how your life would be different.

Leave me a comment and I'll(more then likely in my freetime):

1) Tell you why I friended you.
2) Associate you with a song / movie.
3) Tell a random fact about you.
4) Tell a first memory about you.
5) Associate you with an animal / fruit.
6) Ask something I've always wanted to know about you.
7) In retort, you must post this in your own blog apparently

From the March 13, article by Gary Kamiya from Salon.com

"For this isn't really about Coulter at all. This is about a pact the
American right made with the devil, a pact the devil is now coming to
collect on. American conservatism sold its soul to the Coulters and
Limbaughs of the world to gain power, and now that its ideology has
been exposed as empty and its leadership incompetent and corrupt,
free-floating hatred is the only thing it has to offer. The problem,
for the GOP, is that this isn't a winning political strategy anymore --
but they're stuck with it. They're trapped. They need the bigoted and
reactionary base they helped create, but the very fanaticism that made
the True Believers such potent shock troops will prevent the
Republicans from achieving Karl Rove's dream of long-term GOP
domination."

Read more here...

Ho Ho Ho...    It's the Holiday time of the year again.  Just got home from my yearly pilgrimage down to my sisters in Vandalia.  Everything is about the same there...   Jo is moving out and on, Julie is doing good, her boyfriend Bruce is healthy and the animals are all Ok.

This was the first year that the Hopp family Christmas standard traditions have changed in 28 years for me.  Normally what happens is we drive down on Christmas Eve, have dinner at Grandma Hopp's, then go to midnight mass either at Grandma Hopp's or Grandma Flemings church(it alternates every year).  Go back to Charries sleep, wake up at 8am for quiche at Granda Hopp's..   Eat 'dinner' at 1pm, open presents as for the Hopp side and then pack up and head to Grandma Flemings.  Open presents there, then eat, pack up and head back to Michigan to do our own imediate family Christmas.

Well last year we lost Grandma Fleming, so instead of going there we went to Aunt Karens, which was very nice and we had good food.  It just felt very different, without Grandma Fleming pushing us all to be together as family the Fleming side of things don't feel as 'family' as they used to.  The other part that changed was that I didn't go back to Michigan with the girls, and Jodie didn't even go to Aunt Karens.  We (Julie, Jodie, and I) exchanged gifts that moring at the Hopp's side of things.  I went back to Charrie's that night and left for home at 4am the morning of the 26th.

Stopped in Appleton on the way home, did a significant amount of shopping.  Picked up things for the SASlings and for myself.  Incase anybody didn't know they are re-releaseing some of the orignal transformer toys that I played with 20 years ago.   I've bought all they have released, as well as some of the newer ones and now have I think 16 of them.  They are also making at new live action Transformers movie that will come out on 7.4.2007.  I'm pretty geeked about that.

It's late, and I've gotta work in the A.M. so I'm off to bed...   Will try to post pictures/video from xmas as soon as I find a decent picture resizer for vista that can do multiple pictures at once.

- addios

Not a darn thing going on. Been busy with work, and advising the kids in KP

. Bought them their domain name, put up the website and helped them start it. Hopefully they do better at keeping this one up to date.

Been listening to a lot of PodCasts lately...   Some of them are: Best of the Left, MoPod Show, Democracy Now, Wait Wait Don't tell me, and Gay Pimpin with Jonny McGovern.  Quiet the mix, and definatly not for everyone but fun none the less.  Definately educational/funny.

Have some interesting questions from class that I figured I'd share with you and see what your answers were...

P.S: I know I haven't updated in awhile..  I'll try to change that.

1.    How would you define culture?
2.    What is something that is important to you in your culture? What is the importance?
3.    What are the attitudes or beliefs that are most characteristic of your culture?
4.    Have you ever lived in another culture? How long? What was that like?
5.    Do you think the media presents people from other cultures in a positive or negative manner? Can you give examples?

Class reunion for the class of '96 from Cassopolis High School(Ross Beaty High School) was this weekend.  Kristi and Amy organized it.  Was small, but that's Ok.  I'll be uploading pictures when I get home and have a decent internet connection.  Lots of people are married and have a kid or kids.  Some people have changed, others haven't changed at all.  Pretty standard.  A group of us who didn't have to run home to take care of kids and wanted to keep hanging out headed over to Hacienda had some drinks, then went out to the Brosman's for a bonfire till 2 in the morning.  All in all a good trip so far.  All next week I'm at my sisters house in Vandalia working on the house.

I'll post more about the class reunion when I post the pictures.