Hound Dog poem #4

Poem #4
I'm just an old hound dog in a barn.
It is from there that I tell this yarn,
while eating my bowl of chili con carne.
Question is, who gives a darn?

Click here for more poems ---> PoemHunter.com

Price Watch: AMD X2 4400 CPU

AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ Toledo 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Dual Core Processor; L2 Cache = 2 X 1MB
Current price here ---> NewEgg.com. I can't wait to get my hands on one of these but have to wait until the price comes down.

Baseball Card

Mickey Mantle
1968 Topps #280

Topps

Vintage Baseball Cards

Becketts Price Guide

Sports Card Central

Sports Card Shows

Collect.com

Mickey Mantle

Mickey Mantle
1968 Topps #280

Mickey Mantle.org

Mickey Mantle stats

Mickey Mantle Web Site

Mickey Mantle HOF

Mickey Mantle Foundation

Mickey Mantle history

Another Hound Dog poem

Poem 3:
I'm just an old hound dog in tree.
From high in a branch I can see,
a cranky old raccoon looking at me.
I think I better leave it be.

Click here for more poems ---> PoemHunter.com

Best on-line Customer Service

In my humble opinion, based on my own interaction with these companies; I hereby designate the following to be my Best on-line Customer Service experiences of 2005:

NewEgg.com - Absolutely no on-line computer store "gets it" better than NewEgg does. They do everything right, top to bottom. Best customer service representatives of any store, anywhere (email or telephone). Best website, best products, best prices, best shipping options, best inventory and best return policy. These guys are incredible. http://newegg.com/

FrozenCPU.com - Exotic computer parts and friendly staff (you can email any of them with a question and they actually write back). They also sleeve cables. http://www.frozencpu.com/

ShadowMajik - These folks sell Krystal Dome computer case badges. Great product and fast shipping. http://www.shadowmajik.com/

Amazon.com - Yeah, yeah... I know, Amazon has been around for years. But you know what... I've never had a problem with them. Best selection of books and DVDs in the universe. Excellent customer service. http://www.amazon.com/

Excite.com - Excite has been My Homepage for years. Great content, graphics, themes, information, news, personalization. http://www.excite.com/

Netscape.com - Runner up to Excite but another good Homepage site. I keep them bookmarked. http://www.netscape.com/

Worst on-line Customer Service

In my opinion (for what it's worth) and based on my own interaction with these rascals; I hereby designate the following incidents to be my Worst on-line Customer Service experiences of 2005:

1&1 Internet Domain Hosting - Charged my credit card AFTER I had canceled the account. Subsequently recieved a PARTIAL refund, only after fighting with them for several weeks.

Big Fish Games - Refused to honor a software license I had purchased from THEIR website because it had been purchased before they were bought out by another company.

MusicMatch.com - When my ENTIRE library of MusicMatch PAID FOR downloaded songs became corrupted and non-playable BY THEIR OWN SOFTWARE; their tech-support department referred me to their customer service department. Their customer service department referred me their tech-support department. Ultimately, both departments stopped responding to my request to fix the problem. I still have a library of useless songs.

Dom Perignon cork goes missing

NeW yEaRs EvE, 2005

<--- Finished bottle of vintage 1998 Dom Perignon Champagne with cork missing.


Frau and I shared this bottle with friends on New Years Eve. There was a big ceremony involved with popping the cork. Lot's of fun. Unfortunately, the cork popped so well that it bounced off the ceiling and flew across the room somewhere. Haven't seen it since. A detailed search of the premises found nothing.

To learn more about Dom Perignon click here ---> Wine on the Web

Microsoft changes OEM OS license

In a move that will further encourage home PC builders to consider switching to Linux, Microsoft has changed their OEM operating system license. Whereas previously a Windows XP OEM license could be purchased in conjunction with a piece of hardware for about $100. The new license agreement announced last September only provides for an OEM OS license to be sold pre-installed. Home PC builders are now forced to buy the retail version of Windows... which sells for $200 or more.

This certainly has the effect of dulling the excitement surrounding the upcoming release of Windows Vista later this year. Many home PC builders, having already dumped the price gouging (and boring) Microsoft Office product line for the more refreshing (and free) OpenOffice.org office suite have to wonder how much longer Windows will remain the (formerly ubiquitous) OS on their custom built computers.

Click here for additional information ---> PC Advisor (UK)

Margarita's specifications

Margarita

Flagship of Cory the Fierce - Pirate of the Caribbean.

Journey to the high seas of the internet for a life of adventure and daring. Treasure laden ships carry gold and silver, ripe for plunder. Battle infamous pirates William Kidd, Henry Morgan, Jean Lafitte or Stede Bonnet. Outrun the English Brigs of War and the Spanish Flag Galleons. Visit exotic ports of call; Barbados, Caracas, Maracaibo, Martinique, Port Royale, St. Kitts and Santa Marta.


~~~~~~~ Margarita ~~~~~~~

Hoist the Jolly Roger and set our backs to the wind. We'll sail the Caribbean in search of Barques, Frigates, Brigantines and Pinnaces. Beware the danger. You must have a worthy ship to pursue such a life. In Margarita, I have such a ship. She is constructed from only the finest components, shipped from ports around the world.

Behold, the specifications of my flagship...

MAIN SYSTEM:
Aspire X-Dreamer ATX mid-tower case w/thermal sensor & LED
AMD Athlon 64 3500 CPU
Gigabyte nForce4 GA-K8N Ultra-9 PCI-E MB
Corsair 2GB XMS DDR dual channel RAM
EVGA 256MB 6800GT PCI-E graphics card
Seagate Barracuda 7200 250GB SATA HDD
WD 5400 80GB ATA USB external HDD
Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS THX Gamer sound card
CoolMax Taurus 600W Modular ATX PS
Lite-On DVD/CD RW optical drive
Sony 3.5" FD

COOLING SYSTEM:
Zalman CNPS7000B 9.2cm copper fin CPU cooler
Zalman 8cm x 1.5cm window fan
Antec 5.25" HDD cooler w/ HS, dual fans, thermal sensors, LED
AeroCool dual 12cm LED anodized silver turbine fans
EverCool dual aluminum 8cm input fans
EverCool aluminum 6cm fan w/ 8cm anodized silver converter
Vantec 8cm PCI, UV/LED dual slot fan(s)
Swirl dual 8cm (laser cut) exterior fan grills
FrozenCPU 5.25" PWM 6X fan controller
Nexus 3.5" 4X fan controller

INTERNAL ACCESSORIES:
ADS Tech Turbo USB 2.0 PCI card
Kouwell 5.25" front bay USB card reader
Acurite internal/ external thermal sensor unit

PERIPHERAL COMPONENTS:
Hyundai Imagequest L90D+, 19" LCD DVI monitor
Logitech Z-5500 5.1 DTS/THX digital speakers
Logitech MX wireless keyboard & mouse
Logitech Extreme 3D Pro game controller
Canon CanoScan N676U (low profile) flatbed scanner
HP Photosmart 8250, LCD, USB printer
Belkin 6' Gold Series USB printer cable

COMMUNICATIONS:
D-Link DI-624 wireless router
D-Link DSM-320 wireless media center
Motorola SB5100 Surfboard cable modem