This week has been a blast. The college scene is so much different from high school it's not even funny. The main thing that's nabbing me is how much freedom one gets in a university. In high school, classes were mandatory from 8-3; unless you were a senior, then it was 8-12 on occasion. At most, I attend three classes per day (one class on Fridays!).

The homework load is pretty small too?as a matter of fact, one could say that there is no homework. Most of the classes are lecture and the "homework" is to read the upcoming chapter(s) in the textbook. Speaking of textbooks, I spent over $150 on those suckers! I like the concept of not having to go to the same class every day, too. It's like, attend English on Tuesday and Thursday, etc.

My favorite class that I'm taking is Information Systems I. It's an introduction to my major: Computer Information Science. For those who do not know what that is, it's a field that contains jobs such as network administration and management, software engineering, etc. The class itself is a cakewalk so far, but I expect it to generally become more challenging. The professor was kind enough to place all the class notes on his website in .ppt (Power Point) format for download. My other classes are a walk in the park as well. Again, this is only the first week so I expect the challenges to pick up a bit.

I'm seeing old friends and other people I knew from high school. I've already made some new friends too. I am not sure whether or not I want to sign up for the CIS (Computer Information Science) club or not. It seems pretty interesting, but I'd like to kind of lay low for my first semester to kind of get the feel of the place. I'm even taking a semester off from programming! Well, I'd better wrap this post up, because I have got to play some World of Warcraft. I'll do a bit of studying before I hit the sack tonight and really hit it hard tomorrow since I'll have all the time in the world

This may sound odd, but I'm wanting a display replacement for my Windows XP system. I am wanting to make my desktop look like Gnome or KDE, but can't seem to find anything! I've searched high and low but to no avail. For those who are clueless as to what I'm talking about, Gnome and KDE are GUI displays for the Linux operating system. Most people that use these interfaces want more of a "Windows" feel to their systems. If any of you readers have suggestions on this issue, please let me know!

Why do I want my desktop to look like Gnome / KDE you ask? I'm not one of your "omgwindozesux" people; I find that the look and feel of Gnome and KDE, mainly KDE, is more appealing than that of Windows. I've tried shell replacements, but that I tried offered what I was looking for. I've tried looking on source forge for open-source alternatives, but there's still nothing there. Here is an example of what I'm looking for; note that this is something I got off of Google.



The next question I would probably get would be, "Why don't you just get Linux?" The reasons are simple: my network card is incompatible, and I can't play my favorite games on it. I know that there are drivers and emulators that will help me get past these road blocks, but I figure since all I'm really wanting is the look and feel of a Linux desktop, that this would be a "better alternative." Better stability would be nice as well, but you can only go so far with a Windows system .

Again, if any of you folks out there have any suggestions, please send me an e-mail or leave a comment here. Also, if you're a Linux user, please post your desktop for all of us to see! As a side note, I got OpenOffice.org today. Check it out at www.openoffice.org.

I've been playing with my digital camera lately. It's an old hand-me-down that I got from my parents, so the quality is rather low. It's a Vivicam 20. Here are some quick specs that I got from http://www.dcviews.com/_vivitar/0020.htm.

• 640x480 resolution
• 8MB internal memory
• Dimensions: 3.8x2.4x1.4
• Weight: 6.3oz
• Video capability
• ...more features...

You'll have to see the site for a fuller list. The video quality of the camera is beyond poor, but the thing itself is old as dirt so what else can I expect? . My phone takes better quality pictures, IMO. Though I have no way of transferring my phone images to my computer at the moment, I can post the picture i took with my cheapo camera.



The shot I got of my cat off with the phone was at a much nicer angle as well. The camera my parents have is a looooot nicer. I don't know exactly how to work it, though . Compare that with this crystal-clear picture taken from our Olympus C-755 Ultra Zoom.



Pretty impressive difference, eh? The specs for the C-755 Ultra Zoom can be found here. Why am I making an article on this, you ask? Well, as time goes on, I am finding myself more and more interested in photography. Granted, we may not have the best camera on the block, but both can perform very well in my opinion. Of course I would have to favor the C-755, but it is far more expensive anyway. If you have a digital camera, or are an "expert" with cameras, I would love to hear your comments on what we've got over here.

One last side note. As this is a blog, I will quit posting Nerblog development news on the main page. It will instead be located on the forums (which you can access via the "Crusty Panties" section).

Today I blew out $249.84 on a new cell phone; my old one suddenly died! The phone I got was a Nokia 6102i. Here is a picture of it...



The phone even has a fucking camera built-in it, I love it! Thing is though, now I can't even buy a bottle of water if I want to pay the second half of my tuition on time :x

Myself and irayo added BB Codes to the comments. I put a box below the submit button telling you what they do. Next on the agenda is pagification and archives, along with a text-only version of the blog. Also when you leave a comment, the website will remember your name and password (if you have one). Here are some of the features I am planning on having built in the script...

• Fuzzy, user-friendly, and secure admin panel
• Skins
• Archives
• Lo-fi version
• Events calendar
• Implimented quote/code system for posting blogs and comments
• Multiple-user blogging
• ...and much more

Slap that up with a sexy install file, and you've got yourself a nice blog script there. Irayo and myself are working hard on trying to get Nerblog 1.0 out sometime in mid-September

I got a new desktop background...it's a pretty slick-looking GITS:2nd GIG background. Also, I got The Black Album by Metallica today, thanks to cpp off of #snoopy

I love you, Cara! This random picture is for you (even though you've seen it probably!)

I've been pushing hard lately to try to swap the names of my priest and my warrior on World of Warcraft. The response that I got in my e-mail really irked me. Here it is, word for word.

Greetings Alex, Thank you for contacting the World of Warcraft Game Master Department. Currently we have no dedicated service for changing a characters name, should it not be against our current policies. You can find these policies located at (?http://www.blizzard.com/support/wowgm/?id=agm01722?). We apologize for the inconvenience, and we hope it does not take away from your enjoyment while playing. Thank you again for contacting us. We hope you continue to enjoy your experience in World of Warcraft! *** Please do not respond to this email as all conversations on this matter would be best handled online. *** Regards, Aballia Game Master Blizzard Entertainment http://www.worldofwarcraft.com

So unless the names "Ceil" or "Axi" are against the Blizzard naming TOS, I'm shit out of luck. Looks as if I am going to have to live with the tag "Axi" on my priest forever

I still haven't fixed out the bugs in Fable: The Lost Chapters yet. As of such, I can't progress any further into the game because I can't read the fucking text

Apparently my parents have put an eye out for my blog...and they have a respect for my words! My dad, fully aware of the dangers, wanted me to post a short story of his on my site. He is a writer in his spare time; mainly focusing on the science fiction genre. The link to his story is listed below. It's 1301 words and well worth the read!

Genie in a Bottle

That's all for now. I'll post something again tomorrow

Today I had to cough up half of my tuition fees for this fall semester. That ate up a smooth $1,000! I'm still pretty pissed off that the university deemed me too stupid to take a programming class. They didn't literally say this, but the implication was definitely there . When will they learn that the ACT doesn't mean anything in terms of how "smart" one is, but is rather a measurement of one's test-taking skills, which I severely lack . All things set aside, I'm pretty excited to start this year off. Next semester I will be eligible to enroll in Programming I, so that's something to look forward too, even though I already know C++ very well. I suppose that this is the price I must pay for having poor test-taking skills