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  ¶ 3:44 AM

  "I'm sorry about what happened to your mobile home, Bobby Joe." - Dilbert

I just finished the story "W. T. For Short." I am pleased with the ending, which I didn't know about until I got there. There are some stories that come to me complete. Most are mostly complete with little surprises here and there. "W. T. For Short" started this way and that, stumbled a bit, then found a way to get where it was going, which was new to me. It is an attempt at comedy. It may have a little dark comedy bits here and there, but for the most part it stays out of the more typical me areas, Love, God, Murder. Wait, that's Johnny Cash.

Tomorrow I begin typing in the story. I'm looking forward to getting a hard copy and editing.

  ¶ 2:43 AM

  .:. DJmag .:. DJ's mix CDs attacked by RIAA in an attempt to control copyrights

The RIAA are bullies. Maybe, due to vague parts of the Patriot Act, the RIAA can be considered terrorists. They sure do terrorize.

Album sales are down because of the rise of mediocre to poor music, some being flat out awful but all thought of by one of the major record labels as the "next big thing." When a band is thought of as the "next big thing," they most often fail, and their albums sell poorly.

The RIAA wants to blame illegal music downloads for the slump in sales. People do not buy albums of so-so music if they can download the single -- often formulaic single -- that they like for free.

I would love to know the statistic on album sales for bands who have sell-out or near sell-out concerts compared to album sales of bands who either group themselves with a half dozen other bands in some *polooza tour or who can't even tour at all due to the lack of ticket sales. I'd bet those with sell-out or near sell-out concerts still have high album sales.

  ¶ 4:31 AM

  Tuesday, I was able to get rid of some frustration by shooting at things with big guns. Now, before anybody gets all in a tizzy about violence and America's gun lust, we only used stray cats for target parties. Okay, we, my friends and I, didn't use stray cats; just a few cans, bottles, jugs, and water filled 2 litters.

I need to practice more. It took a bit before I realized I was shooting too high. When I figure that out, my aim greatly improved. We all need better aim.

It really does feel good to shoot something. There's a loud boom, a sizable punch in your hand, and, if your aim is good, a bottle ruptures emptying its innards or a jug flips into the air.

Maybe it's too primal, too violent of an indulgence. There wasn't any pretending a soda can was the head of somebody that irritates me. And recently, that list of many pages had to be reorganized by zip code. I simply wanted to shoot something. It felt good. And I can't wait until I get another break in the weather to do it again.

Oh, the weather. It's out to get me. That simple.

  ¶ 3:44 AM

  I finally show up in Google. Do a search for Jason Hodges writer. I am in a search for just Jason Hodges, but I show up a few pages deep. Also, search for Jason Hodges under the mooon.  ¶ 4:06 AM

  Fender Stratocaster Information - All Things Strat

I love this site. I could spend all day/night here.

  ¶ 4:19 AM

  Opportunity Lands on Mars

  ¶ 4:55 AM

  Spirit's Condition Upgraded From Critical to Serious

  ¶ 4:53 AM

  An Angel, The Book, and The Word is read.

  ¶ 5:35 PM

  Reuters | Mars Rover Resumes Sending Data Back to Earth

This is good news.

"We know we have a live rover out there and it is capable of transmitting signals and evaluating commands. It's sent a complete communication and is no longer transmitting bleeps on the emergency channel ... This is a very positive sign."

Meanwhile, Beagle 2, Europe's rover, is still silent and has been since Christmas Day.

  ¶ 3:24 PM

  Novell Talks Up Linux Plans

"... no matter what The SCO Group Inc. may try to do in court."

This is good. The big dogs aren't scared.

Also, there's a huge M$ ad on the news article. I guess that means at least one big dog is scared of something.

  ¶ 3:26 AM

  The plextron (home alarm that goes off when the medical or fire department has a call) just went off a few minutes ago. Medical. It was the house across the street again, the one next to the one that was burned (see previous posts). This time it was patient with congestive heart failure with symptoms of heart attack. A few days ago, it was Alzheimer patient having unknown episode. There has been an emergency at that house about once a week for more than a month. I've memorized their house number.

I watched the house when I heard the call. The lights kept going on and off. Somebody turned the back porch light on then off. Then the front light on and off. Then both lights on and off and finally on. Inside, room lights kept going on and off the same.

I believe they were panicking. No shame in that. I also believe there was an elderly lady in the house trying to die. When it's your time, it's your time. Sometimes we're here when we shouldn't be. We can keep the body going longer than we should. I believe that what we are can sometimes leave before the body dies. What's left maybe knows the body can't continue and tries to shut down the body, much like a program trying to shut down a computer. People's minds go. Maybe they really go, leave, go to where you're supposed to go after. And we're left with this shell trying to shut down for good. What do we do? Try our best to keep it running, force the really us part to linger, half in/half out?

But what do I know? I also believe if you make it 75 that hookers and heroin should not only be legal, but be free for you.

  ¶ 3:35 AM

  It is so cold, I have to take a cold shower to warm up.

It is 15 degrees on Mars. It is 23 in my back yard. And further north, it's even colder, much colder, dangerously colder, Canadian colder.

Today was Martin Luther King day, not Lee Day. I can't even remember that Lee guy's first name, nor do I want to look it up. Maybe in ten years, nobody will remember the Lee part. For those who don't know, down here in the South, the Lee part was added so racists could say they're not celebrating King day. Idiots.

Thank goodness racists have sex with their sisters so they're offspring, crippled by inbreeding, are even more stupid than their parents, making it harder for them to breed when they grow up. Eventually, racists will breed out.

  ¶ 11:20 PM

  Dread. That's a very good word.

Today was both long and quick. By that I mean too much bad stuff happened, and I didn't get enough stuff done, good or bad. There are two new additions to Devil's Advocate, one in True Tales and the other in Other Stuff. Seek and ye shall find. At least that was done, again good or bad.

It's cold, wet, and miserable. Of course, it could be worse. But any situation could be worse. It is true that if you're shot six times it could be worse. You could be shot seven times. But does that really take away from the fact you've been shot?

Flipping channels on the brain-deadening TV, I caught the tale end of Devil's Advocate (the movie, not the zine). I really do take a near perverted pleasure in the most inappropriate things sometime, i. e. Pacino's speeches as John Milton/Lucifer.

Did you know that Pacino's grandparents originate from Corleone, Sicily?

  ¶ 2:29 AM

  Hey, what ever happened to that moonwalking boy? You know, had those hit songs like "Beat It," "Bad," and "Bilie Jean." Such a nice boy.

  ¶ 11:08 AM

  Yesterday, I had to go to Walmart. I hate Walmart. But my hatred is not the focal point of this entry, my parking is.

When I first took my driver's license exam, I failed. The only two things I did right, and actually received praise from the instructor, were a 3-point-turn and parallel parking. For some reason, I can parallel park really well. My other driver skills are suspect but not my parking.

So yesterday, while begrudged by the fact that I'm at Walmart, I positioned my car equidistant from the three yellow lines of the parking space. I chose a spot a good distance from the entrance. I don't mind walking, but I do mind other people getting too close to my car. And I pointed the car out of instead of into the space. This way I don't have to back out. Plus, it cuts down on the amount of time I have to spend at Walmart.

Anybody can measure out the sides and ease into a space checking as they go. I eye-balled it and didn't check until I was out of the car. Right away I noticed now nicely I had lined up with the yellow line on the driver's side. When I began making my way to the entrance, I noticed how nicely I had lined up on the other side of the car. Then I looked at the back of the car. From the bumper back, it was the same as the sides. I even measured with my foot and found it was the same on all three sides. And that's what I'm proud of.

Maybe I should do a How To Park pamphlet.

  ¶ 3:42 PM

  Today I watched a house across the street burn. It's still burning now, high leaping flames casting orange on layering smoke and encircling trees. The smoke sits above everything like a ceiling. And the trees almost seem like they've neared the fire, leaning into it to warm themselves.

Early this morning, people arrived with a backhoe to bring the house down. Just as soon as they got the porch beams down, the house collapsed in on itself. It was its time to go I guess, though I hate to see it. Since then, they've been burning it away. The house, which was once owned by my mother's family, was never that big and has been abandoned for years. There shouldn't be much more burning for it.

I used to have dreams about living in that house. Honestly, I never ever gave it a second thought while awake, but asleep... I guess a dream of one old house is a dream of all old houses.

While watching the bonfire, I finished another "episode" for a story I'm working on, W. T. For Short. I have no idea how many "episodes" there'll be. It could easily be something lengthy, but the story is mainly farce and folly of some that puzzle and perturb me.

In a moment, I'm going to work on a novel, see if I can't finish a chapter -- at the very least move it closer its end. I've taken a break while eating and researching Cuban Sandwiches. The research made me too hungry.

  ¶ 8:34 PM

  USATODAY.com - Intel, IBM backing new fund to defend Linux users

This is kind of important. There's this company named SCO who owns Unix now.

In the news release:

"Linux, a variant of the widely used Unix operating system which can be copied and modified freely, emerged a decade ago and is being used to run the Internet, handle financial transactions and even manage the U.S. nuclear arsenal."

SCO claims that IBM and others are illegally using parts of Unix in Linux and demands that IBM and others pay. Which parts? SCO refuses to say, which has caused IBM to sue them back.

""By refusing to give the basis of their claims, what they're doing is preventing the Linux community from resolving any potential intellectual property issues," Intel spokesman Chuck Mulloy said."

Most people in the know think this will go away when it gets to court. But the problem is paying for the court cost. It's the small businesses and individual end users who really do make up the Linux Community. And SCO is trying to bully people. Give me money because you're using something that's mine! What am I using that's yours? Never you mind, and just hand over the money!

"McBride said SCO would make good on its threat to sue a "large Linux end user" within a month, adding "I think it's time to face this thing head on.""

A "large Linux end user" could be any business or non-profit organization.

I hate greed. SCO just wants money since they can't make any on their own.

  ¶ 3:23 PM

  News - Funeral Flub: 'Dead Man' Turns Up in Jail

My relatives.

  ¶ 2:15 PM

  "The Dead Girl & The Jack-in-a-Box," a drawing, has been added to Devil's Advocate. Go there can click Other Things. Of course, if you're reading this from DA, just look to your left and click Other Things.

Drawing has always been difficult for me. More often than not, I can't get what's in my head onto the page. I've had some positive feedback on the drawings on DA. So, I'm going to keep doing them. The next one I'll do might have something to do with Stigmata, something that affects 1 out of every 4 children.

  ¶ 1:32 AM

  "The kernel is the core of the Linux operating system. It controls system hardware, the processor, memory allocation, drives, input/output devices, and the way your computer allocates resources across all these components." - Chris Dibona.

There comes a time when a Linux user must update his kernel. Today wasn't one of those days. I use Mandrake 9.2 and the included kernel, 2.4.22, works just fine. But I wanted to update never the less because if isn't broke I must find a way to crack it just a little. To update your kernel, you have to build a whole new one. That's where the fun starts. Kernel 2.6.0 has this menuconfig thingy that lets you go through and pick this and that, stuff that could help your system, or radically disable it. There's even a kernel hacks section, which I won't go into here.

The first thing I did was not do anything. The second thing I did was do some research on some things. I learned that you can do a make defconfig and have a basic config file written with the basics, the stuff you probably need the most. Then it was a matter of going through all the little menus and picking out things.

Windows has a huge kernel. Everything is built into it. It is the most bloated kernel out there. Since everything is in it, this often means when something goes wrong, everything goes down, crashes, freezes, blue screens (being so tired of this in Win 98, I actually changed the blue screen of death to green), and so on. There is another type of kernel with nothing built in except the basics. I can't think of one off hand. The Linux kernel is somewhere between the two. You can build things into it, but at the same time, keep it from becoming one big house of cards with all base cards. And it uses modules, which can be loaded as needed.

Quick note on numbers and Linux. Even are stable. Odd are not. For example, 2. 5.00 would be unstable. When it became stable, it is renamed 2.6.00.

It took about 30 minutes to config, compile, and install. It is not something I recommend folks do unless they're ready to reinstall everything. One simple mistake can make things not work anymore. But for folks who like seeing how things work, it's worth looking into.

That's not all that happened today. That's the good part, though. I actually did the big daddy delux-o in Linux, compiled my own kernel. It's mine. Hands off M$. Other things today included it being cold and my sister coming home... again. And again, she said her marriage was over. I told her to stop talking. Firmly, I said, "Stop talking." The police officer who brought her home thought that was funny. I then dragged all her stuff back to her room.

Yesterday, I finally got to see Return of the King. I didn't post about it last night like I wanted to. Words. I had none. The 3rd part is amazing, but amazing is such a cliche for the film. And it's all one big film, parts 1, 2, and 3, just like the book. Now I've seen it complete, sort of. I consider the extended versions to be the complete versions. But the theatrical is nice as well.

I'll write what I told my friend today about the movie. It moved me more than I thought it would. It took me back to probably my most happiest time in life. I was around 7 or 8 and had found The Hobbit in a chest of drawer right outside my grandmother's bedroom. The book was in the bottom drawer. The cover was gone, and a stamp on it read the name of the old Dora School Library. I have no idea how the book got there, what it was, or who was that elderly man on the back smoking a pipe. That night, I lay on the extra bed in my grandmother's bedroom. It was the same bed my grandfather slept on after his stroke until he died. I lay on that bed, turned around so my head was at the foot of the bed. I remember the thin pillow that was between my head and the metal bedstead. My grandmother lay on her bed the say way. It was August, and she had the huge window fan on. This thing had a metal frame and metal blades and a wide metal cage that was supposed to warn you from putting your fingers in the blades because it certainly couldn't stop you.

I lay in my grandmother's bedroom and began The Hobbit, the first book I ever read. Lord of the Rings came later and so has everything else, including my own writings. Seeing Return of the King took my back to those days. I love that. I really do. And that's what I have to say about the 3rd part, and the entire Lord of the Rings film, The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and Return of the King.

  ¶ 4:19 AM

  I need to correct something. In the previous post, I said I hadn't seen where else Sofia Coppla could act. At the time, I didn't remeber that she was in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace. She played Saché. Saché. How could I ever have forgotten Saché? I don't know. I really don't.

  ¶ 4:05 AM

  I just finished watching The Godfather Part III. Let's get the bad stuff out of the way first.

Sofia Coppola. She can't act. I don't want to be mean. So judging by her performance in The Godfather Part III, she can't act. She may have proven else where that she can. I haven't seen it. But she's very still and stiff. She delivers her lines and waits to deliver her next line. I can't even tell if she actually breathes in real life. With that said, she doesn't sink the ship, and isn't in the movie that much. So it's okay.

The Godfather Theme Music. They almost use it too much. I'm not a big fan of having music play over every frame of a movie. A movie needs to breathe (unlike its actors). Sometimes, the music tells us how to feel instead of complimenting what's going on on the screen. And we decide what to feel according to what's on the screen. But, it is good music.

Nicholas Cage. He's not in the movie so don't freak out. His name is listed as a producer. I actually like Nicholas Cage and enjoy his movies. But I don't think his name should be on any of the Godfather movies.

Now let's talk about the good things.

Pacino. Pacino is Pacino. Pacino can steal a scene by just wiping his brow. Like I said, Pacino is Pacino. (my spellchecker says that Pacino is a misspelling of "passion")

The movie is beautiful from the opening to the ending. There really are some stunning shots in this movie. I really shouldn't call it a movie. It is a film. There is a difference. The Opera stuff is amazing. The shots of the Italian landscapes, though less here than in the other two, are nice as well, including the Vatican parts.

Part III usually gets a bad rap, but I don't think it deserves it. Sure, it's the lesser of the three. But it is a good film. If it wasn't for the fact it is a third to The Godfather I and II, it might even be considered a great film.

And don't forget in the film we learn that the Vatican is the bigger Mafia, and that incest is wrong.

  ¶ 1:28 AM

  I just finished a drawing for Devil's Advocate. The drawing may be titled "The Dead Girl and the Jack-in-a-box." I said may. Tomorrow, when I scan it it, it may be called something else. And it may not even make it into Devil's Advocate. That's for tomorrow, by which I mean later today, Tuesday.

I also got some writing done on the never ending novel. I'm in the third act now. There should only be four. But who knows. There's still a lot to tell. And I need to wrap things up as soon as possible because the next novel is right behind it pushing.

  ¶ 1:33 AM

  It is no longer warm. The warm air has changed its mind like Britney Spears on her honeymoon and left town.

  ¶ 2:31 PM

  Britney Spears married Jason Alexander Saturday. In an attempt to out do Britney, Christina Aguilera quickly married Larry David on Sunday.

Britney Spears is -- no joke -- married to Jason Alexander, her childhood pal. It's not the same one from Seinfeld.

It has been too warm here lately. Yesterday, Sunday, I watched a flock of bird go from one tree to another, and then back to the other tree. They did this for hours. Then close to sunset, they left.

Around 11, it began to rain and has ever since. It should continue through the morning and then to mid-day. The weather people said until the afternoon, but it got here early. Of course, I could be wrong, and it'll rain all day and into Tuesday.

Soon, it is going to be very cold and windy. Oh joy.

Football. It was a very nice football weekend. LSU beat Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl. Damn right. And Greenbay beat the Seahawks to advance in the playoffs. Damn straight.

Time to read... then bed... rain makes me sleepy, good sleepy. I shall sleep to the sounds of the Cowboy Junkies in a spring rain (yeah, it's December, but I'm in Alabama. We have our own special weather.)

  ¶ 3:58 AM

  And on this third day, I am glad 2003 is over. It really was a shitty year.

I'm listening to the demo for the Tool song "Sober." Things were a little different, lyrically.

I wonder if it's too late to become a priest. I wouldn't want to be Catholic one, but the suit they wear is sharp. But they probably won't let me be one though. Lately, I've been calling nuns "Jesus Witches," and I like nuns.

  ¶ 3:16 AM