Ok so I got a new SMC router and came over to Brians. Now the problem is it is still not working! Oh the sadness.

Now the cool thing is I am actually wirelessly blogging from Brians basement.

I have to blog quick as I have to run off to lunch now!

So this is the completion of the last entry, where I was about to go over to Brian's house. Well we went to CompUSA and picked up a great deal on a wireless card for my new laptop and a wireless router by SMC. I went with SMC because of price, reviews, and Brian's recommendation. The card was only $59 and the wireless router after rebates will be $69. We also went to DIT, which is the local computer store chain. Slim pickings there but they do have a nice case or two!

As part of my sisters birthday present we went and saw the Cats. Very disappointing. She loved it though so that was great. I had seen it before in London, and although not my favorite musical it was entertaining. I felt like this version left parts of the story out. It didn't seem to flow as well.

Anyway back to the issue at hand. So I currently I should be writing this entry wirelessly on my laptop. That isn't the case. After what should be a "3 click set-up" and 20 minutes I called Brian for a hand. After another hour ont he phone with him, he had deducted that the router more than likely has a non-functional WAN port.

So it looks like I am going in for a swap tomorrow. Joy of joys. Aren't I the lucky one!

Anyway when the wireless works I will be able to be on the ball wherever I am in the house, and for that matter at any of the restaurants and cafés in the local strip of shops!

Ok so after talking to SMC's technical support, I have have got the wireless router working off a static IP address. This sort of sucks as Mediacom uses dynamic IPs.

This is definately not a long term solution. I will have to get onto Mediacom and see what I can find out.

Well we hit the mall at 7am or so. Not a lot to be found there, but we were being pretty specific and not spending just for spendings sake!

So after a short while we went to Menards where we hit the jackpot. For a hardware superstore they sure have a lot of cool stuff! We now have all the nieces presents for Christmas looked after along with Hayden's birthday presents. Plus we have a nice new picnic rug and a collection of fleece blankets.

Last but not least we bought a steamer for cleaning. I have wanted one as it looks like it really works and sanitizes without using chemicals. This world has enough of those already!

I hit the computer stores soon with Brian, so this story is yet to finish.

Ok so I get what Thanksgiving is about, but I don't really get into it. I wish Karissa had told me more about her views on the occasion, as we would have probably headed down to Kentucky for the weekend. My view is that she has her family here too, not extended just Hayden, my sister and I. Perkins turkey looked lifeless (yes I know it suppose to be dead, I mean the serving was brimming with that homemade appeal). So next year I know what I am suppose to do!

However we have decided to have a movie marathon on DVD. ICe Age will start it off so Hayden can watch it, and then Men in Black II. We also have Strange Brew as a back=up if we want to go all night.

So now Karissa is to make a pumpkin pie, and I am going to make brownies. We also have snacks galore. It should be relaxing and fun, just what I need!

We have already planned out our morning shopping spree. For those of you who are not American tomorrow the shops open between 5am and 6am for crazy sales that go until 11am. It is the busiest shopping day of the year.

I have a SMC wireless router on my list. In turn this will make my new laptop more efficient for me. I'll be able to work and keep an eye on things regardless of where I am in the house, or the street for that matter!

Ok here I sit.

• I have my Zip Zap RC Car (which I can use on my somewhat clean desk).
  
• I have my mini fridge (which I wish I had a coke in right now).
  
• I have a picture of my beautiful wife, actually several looking back at me.
  
• My favorite piece of art done by my friend Adam Pyett.
  
• Sketches of HotDog character by Orion.
  
• I'm watching Dave Letterman on my second monitor (yep I have a nice dual monitor set-up).
  
• I have Grandpa the Mexican Cichlad watching over me (you may see him sometimes in the webcam pic).
  
• Virtual images of how the new office should look are plastered on the wall.
  
• I am eating an Australian made Crunchie and I have a Violet Crumble too (no licensed Australian brands made by Hershey's is not the same as the real thing!).

  Now is this bliss?

  Darn I just thought, if I had a wireless router and then a card for my laptop I could have the same thing, in front of a bigger TV, but still with Internet access!

  Posted by Nathan at 11:19 AM | Comments (0)

The amazing second coming of my blog has bought with it visitors galore!

From the western coast of the North American continent to the sun-burnt flat lands of the Great Southern Land, the public are demanding NetBloke!

Ok in all seriousness besides Brian and my wife, I now know Gretchen has viewed it, Mike Chandler, my mum and my cousin should be if my message was passed on!

I was lucky enough to win a double pass (and so was Brian) to go to see 8 Crazy Nights. This is the animated feature from Adam Sandler. The tickets were courtesy of a competition run by Cup O Kryptonite. So I took my wife, Karissa, and we headed off.

It is a funny film but I do not know if I would have parted with money to see it. Plenty of laughs and songs to keep you entertained if you do go though. Personally I think this will be a great DVD, as I imagine the special features will be great.

Oh yeah the day in the life of Adam's dog (the name escapes me) short film is a riot as well.

We topped off the night with a coffee and a crepe (don't say that too quickly) at Chat Noir. This is a great restored house in the Sherman Hills neighborhood of Des Moines.

Ok so today after realizing I have seriously been screwed - yeah literally my Zip Zap has a broken screw in it. I headed off to Millers Hardware to see if I could find a way of getting it out. No luck there, although they tried their hardest and felt my pain!

So I went to Radio Shack and told my sorry tale. The guy was no help with my existing Zip Zap but I got the last three they had in stock! One for Karissa and the other two for my friends Brian and Orion.

Knowing Brian fairly well I thought I better give them their early Christmas presents pretty quickly. So I headed off to Meredith (where they work), and filled their basement cubicles with happiness.

Now for the accessories!

I am very sad. While fiddling with my blog, I was also swapping out the motor on my Zip Zap. I snapped the screw somehow in the hole. I think this is the only thing I could break and I managed too.

However the trippy motor Brian got me is fast! And Mr Fixit is coming over for dinner, so it may be fixed soon!

Ok so I went to the bank for 14 minutes and when I got back this blog was perfect, fixed by Brian of GenXTek. He is look super tech guy or something!

So now my new life with Moveable Type blogging starts!

I have swapped my blog to Moveable type as it seems to have more features for free than Blogger (no offence meant to those guys).

Ok so I got a new SMC router and came over to Brians. Now the problem is it is still not working! Oh the sadness.

Now the cool thing is I am actually wirelessly blogging from Brians basement.

I have to blog quick as I have to run off to lunch now!

So this is the completion of the last entry, where I was about to go over to Brian's house. Well we went to CompUSA and picked up a great deal on a wireless card for my new laptop and a wireless router by SMC. I went with SMC because of price, reviews, and Brian's recommendation. The card was only $59 and the wireless router after rebates will be $69. We also went to DIT, which is the local computer store chain. Slim pickings there but they do have a nice case or two!

As part of my sisters birthday present we went and saw the Cats. Very disappointing. She loved it though so that was great. I had seen it before in London, and although not my favorite musical it was entertaining. I felt like this version left parts of the story out. It didn't seem to flow as well.

Anyway back to the issue at hand. So I currently I should be writing this entry wirelessly on my laptop. That isn't the case. After what should be a "3 click set-up" and 20 minutes I called Brian for a hand. After another hour ont he phone with him, he had deducted that the router more than likely has a non-functional WAN port.

So it looks like I am going in for a swap tomorrow. Joy of joys. Aren't I the lucky one!

Anyway when the wireless works I will be able to be on the ball wherever I am in the house, and for that matter at any of the restaurants and cafés in the local strip of shops!

Ok so after talking to SMC's technical support, I have have got the wireless router working off a static IP address. This sort of sucks as Mediacom uses dynamic IPs.

This is definately not a long term solution. I will have to get onto Mediacom and see what I can find out.

Well we hit the mall at 7am or so. Not a lot to be found there, but we were being pretty specific and not spending just for spendings sake!

So after a short while we went to Menards where we hit the jackpot. For a hardware superstore they sure have a lot of cool stuff! We now have all the nieces presents for Christmas looked after along with Hayden's birthday presents. Plus we have a nice new picnic rug and a collection of fleece blankets.

Last but not least we bought a steamer for cleaning. I have wanted one as it looks like it really works and sanitizes without using chemicals. This world has enough of those already!

I hit the computer stores soon with Brian, so this story is yet to finish.

Ok so I get what Thanksgiving is about, but I don't really get into it. I wish Karissa had told me more about her views on the occasion, as we would have probably headed down to Kentucky for the weekend. My view is that she has her family here too, not extended just Hayden, my sister and I. Perkins turkey looked lifeless (yes I know it suppose to be dead, I mean the serving was brimming with that homemade appeal). So next year I know what I am suppose to do!

However we have decided to have a movie marathon on DVD. ICe Age will start it off so Hayden can watch it, and then Men in Black II. We also have Strange Brew as a back=up if we want to go all night.

So now Karissa is to make a pumpkin pie, and I am going to make brownies. We also have snacks galore. It should be relaxing and fun, just what I need!

We have already planned out our morning shopping spree. For those of you who are not American tomorrow the shops open between 5am and 6am for crazy sales that go until 11am. It is the busiest shopping day of the year.

I have a SMC wireless router on my list. In turn this will make my new laptop more efficient for me. I'll be able to work and keep an eye on things regardless of where I am in the house, or the street for that matter!

Ok here I sit.

• I have my Zip Zap RC Car (which I can use on my somewhat clean desk).
  
• I have my mini fridge (which I wish I had a coke in right now).
  
• I have a picture of my beautiful wife, actually several looking back at me.
  
• My favorite piece of art done by my friend Adam Pyett.
  
• Sketches of HotDog character by Orion.
  
• I'm watching Dave Letterman on my second monitor (yep I have a nice dual monitor set-up).
  
• I have Grandpa the Mexican Cichlad watching over me (you may see him sometimes in the webcam pic).
  
• Virtual images of how the new office should look are plastered on the wall.
  
• I am eating an Australian made Crunchie and I have a Violet Crumble too (no licensed Australian brands made by Hershey's is not the same as the real thing!).

  Now is this bliss?

  Darn I just thought, if I had a wireless router and then a card for my laptop I could have the same thing, in front of a bigger TV, but still with Internet access!

  Posted by Nathan at 11:19 AM | Comments (0)

The amazing second coming of my blog has bought with it visitors galore!

From the western coast of the North American continent to the sun-burnt flat lands of the Great Southern Land, the public are demanding NetBloke!

Ok in all seriousness besides Brian and my wife, I now know Gretchen has viewed it, Mike Chandler, my mum and my cousin should be if my message was passed on!

I was lucky enough to win a double pass (and so was Brian) to go to see 8 Crazy Nights. This is the animated feature from Adam Sandler. The tickets were courtesy of a competition run by Cup O Kryptonite. So I took my wife, Karissa, and we headed off.

It is a funny film but I do not know if I would have parted with money to see it. Plenty of laughs and songs to keep you entertained if you do go though. Personally I think this will be a great DVD, as I imagine the special features will be great.

Oh yeah the day in the life of Adam's dog (the name escapes me) short film is a riot as well.

We topped off the night with a coffee and a crepe (don't say that too quickly) at Chat Noir. This is a great restored house in the Sherman Hills neighborhood of Des Moines.

Ok so today after realizing I have seriously been screwed - yeah literally my Zip Zap has a broken screw in it. I headed off to Millers Hardware to see if I could find a way of getting it out. No luck there, although they tried their hardest and felt my pain!

So I went to Radio Shack and told my sorry tale. The guy was no help with my existing Zip Zap but I got the last three they had in stock! One for Karissa and the other two for my friends Brian and Orion.

Knowing Brian fairly well I thought I better give them their early Christmas presents pretty quickly. So I headed off to Meredith (where they work), and filled their basement cubicles with happiness.

Now for the accessories!

I am very sad. While fiddling with my blog, I was also swapping out the motor on my Zip Zap. I snapped the screw somehow in the hole. I think this is the only thing I could break and I managed too.

However the trippy motor Brian got me is fast! And Mr Fixit is coming over for dinner, so it may be fixed soon!

Ok so I went to the bank for 14 minutes and when I got back this blog was perfect, fixed by Brian of GenXTek. He is look super tech guy or something!

So now my new life with Moveable Type blogging starts!

I have swapped my blog to Moveable type as it seems to have more features for free than Blogger (no offence meant to those guys).

Ok so I got a new SMC router and came over to Brians. Now the problem is it is still not working! Oh the sadness.

Now the cool thing is I am actually wirelessly blogging from Brians basement.

I have to blog quick as I have to run off to lunch now!

So this is the completion of the last entry, where I was about to go over to Brian's house. Well we went to CompUSA and picked up a great deal on a wireless card for my new laptop and a wireless router by SMC. I went with SMC because of price, reviews, and Brian's recommendation. The card was only $59 and the wireless router after rebates will be $69. We also went to DIT, which is the local computer store chain. Slim pickings there but they do have a nice case or two!

As part of my sisters birthday present we went and saw the Cats. Very disappointing. She loved it though so that was great. I had seen it before in London, and although not my favorite musical it was entertaining. I felt like this version left parts of the story out. It didn't seem to flow as well.

Anyway back to the issue at hand. So I currently I should be writing this entry wirelessly on my laptop. That isn't the case. After what should be a "3 click set-up" and 20 minutes I called Brian for a hand. After another hour ont he phone with him, he had deducted that the router more than likely has a non-functional WAN port.

So it looks like I am going in for a swap tomorrow. Joy of joys. Aren't I the lucky one!

Anyway when the wireless works I will be able to be on the ball wherever I am in the house, and for that matter at any of the restaurants and cafés in the local strip of shops!

Ok so after talking to SMC's technical support, I have have got the wireless router working off a static IP address. This sort of sucks as Mediacom uses dynamic IPs.

This is definately not a long term solution. I will have to get onto Mediacom and see what I can find out.

Well we hit the mall at 7am or so. Not a lot to be found there, but we were being pretty specific and not spending just for spendings sake!

So after a short while we went to Menards where we hit the jackpot. For a hardware superstore they sure have a lot of cool stuff! We now have all the nieces presents for Christmas looked after along with Hayden's birthday presents. Plus we have a nice new picnic rug and a collection of fleece blankets.

Last but not least we bought a steamer for cleaning. I have wanted one as it looks like it really works and sanitizes without using chemicals. This world has enough of those already!

I hit the computer stores soon with Brian, so this story is yet to finish.

Ok so I get what Thanksgiving is about, but I don't really get into it. I wish Karissa had told me more about her views on the occasion, as we would have probably headed down to Kentucky for the weekend. My view is that she has her family here too, not extended just Hayden, my sister and I. Perkins turkey looked lifeless (yes I know it suppose to be dead, I mean the serving was brimming with that homemade appeal). So next year I know what I am suppose to do!

However we have decided to have a movie marathon on DVD. ICe Age will start it off so Hayden can watch it, and then Men in Black II. We also have Strange Brew as a back=up if we want to go all night.

So now Karissa is to make a pumpkin pie, and I am going to make brownies. We also have snacks galore. It should be relaxing and fun, just what I need!

We have already planned out our morning shopping spree. For those of you who are not American tomorrow the shops open between 5am and 6am for crazy sales that go until 11am. It is the busiest shopping day of the year.

I have a SMC wireless router on my list. In turn this will make my new laptop more efficient for me. I'll be able to work and keep an eye on things regardless of where I am in the house, or the street for that matter!

Ok here I sit.

• I have my Zip Zap RC Car (which I can use on my somewhat clean desk).
  
• I have my mini fridge (which I wish I had a coke in right now).
  
• I have a picture of my beautiful wife, actually several looking back at me.
  
• My favorite piece of art done by my friend Adam Pyett.
  
• Sketches of HotDog character by Orion.
  
• I'm watching Dave Letterman on my second monitor (yep I have a nice dual monitor set-up).
  
• I have Grandpa the Mexican Cichlad watching over me (you may see him sometimes in the webcam pic).
  
• Virtual images of how the new office should look are plastered on the wall.
  
• I am eating an Australian made Crunchie and I have a Violet Crumble too (no licensed Australian brands made by Hershey's is not the same as the real thing!).

  Now is this bliss?

  Darn I just thought, if I had a wireless router and then a card for my laptop I could have the same thing, in front of a bigger TV, but still with Internet access!

  Posted by Nathan at 11:19 AM | Comments (0)

The amazing second coming of my blog has bought with it visitors galore!

From the western coast of the North American continent to the sun-burnt flat lands of the Great Southern Land, the public are demanding NetBloke!

Ok in all seriousness besides Brian and my wife, I now know Gretchen has viewed it, Mike Chandler, my mum and my cousin should be if my message was passed on!

I was lucky enough to win a double pass (and so was Brian) to go to see 8 Crazy Nights. This is the animated feature from Adam Sandler. The tickets were courtesy of a competition run by Cup O Kryptonite. So I took my wife, Karissa, and we headed off.

It is a funny film but I do not know if I would have parted with money to see it. Plenty of laughs and songs to keep you entertained if you do go though. Personally I think this will be a great DVD, as I imagine the special features will be great.

Oh yeah the day in the life of Adam's dog (the name escapes me) short film is a riot as well.

We topped off the night with a coffee and a crepe (don't say that too quickly) at Chat Noir. This is a great restored house in the Sherman Hills neighborhood of Des Moines.

Ok so today after realizing I have seriously been screwed - yeah literally my Zip Zap has a broken screw in it. I headed off to Millers Hardware to see if I could find a way of getting it out. No luck there, although they tried their hardest and felt my pain!

So I went to Radio Shack and told my sorry tale. The guy was no help with my existing Zip Zap but I got the last three they had in stock! One for Karissa and the other two for my friends Brian and Orion.

Knowing Brian fairly well I thought I better give them their early Christmas presents pretty quickly. So I headed off to Meredith (where they work), and filled their basement cubicles with happiness.

Now for the accessories!

I am very sad. While fiddling with my blog, I was also swapping out the motor on my Zip Zap. I snapped the screw somehow in the hole. I think this is the only thing I could break and I managed too.

However the trippy motor Brian got me is fast! And Mr Fixit is coming over for dinner, so it may be fixed soon!

Ok so I went to the bank for 14 minutes and when I got back this blog was perfect, fixed by Brian of GenXTek. He is look super tech guy or something!

So now my new life with Moveable Type blogging starts!

I have swapped my blog to Moveable type as it seems to have more features for free than Blogger (no offence meant to those guys).

Ok so I got a new SMC router and came over to Brians. Now the problem is it is still not working! Oh the sadness.

Now the cool thing is I am actually wirelessly blogging from Brians basement.

I have to blog quick as I have to run off to lunch now!

So this is the completion of the last entry, where I was about to go over to Brian's house. Well we went to CompUSA and picked up a great deal on a wireless card for my new laptop and a wireless router by SMC. I went with SMC because of price, reviews, and Brian's recommendation. The card was only $59 and the wireless router after rebates will be $69. We also went to DIT, which is the local computer store chain. Slim pickings there but they do have a nice case or two!

As part of my sisters birthday present we went and saw the Cats. Very disappointing. She loved it though so that was great. I had seen it before in London, and although not my favorite musical it was entertaining. I felt like this version left parts of the story out. It didn't seem to flow as well.

Anyway back to the issue at hand. So I currently I should be writing this entry wirelessly on my laptop. That isn't the case. After what should be a "3 click set-up" and 20 minutes I called Brian for a hand. After another hour ont he phone with him, he had deducted that the router more than likely has a non-functional WAN port.

So it looks like I am going in for a swap tomorrow. Joy of joys. Aren't I the lucky one!

Anyway when the wireless works I will be able to be on the ball wherever I am in the house, and for that matter at any of the restaurants and cafés in the local strip of shops!

Ok so after talking to SMC's technical support, I have have got the wireless router working off a static IP address. This sort of sucks as Mediacom uses dynamic IPs.

This is definately not a long term solution. I will have to get onto Mediacom and see what I can find out.

Well we hit the mall at 7am or so. Not a lot to be found there, but we were being pretty specific and not spending just for spendings sake!

So after a short while we went to Menards where we hit the jackpot. For a hardware superstore they sure have a lot of cool stuff! We now have all the nieces presents for Christmas looked after along with Hayden's birthday presents. Plus we have a nice new picnic rug and a collection of fleece blankets.

Last but not least we bought a steamer for cleaning. I have wanted one as it looks like it really works and sanitizes without using chemicals. This world has enough of those already!

I hit the computer stores soon with Brian, so this story is yet to finish.

Ok so I get what Thanksgiving is about, but I don't really get into it. I wish Karissa had told me more about her views on the occasion, as we would have probably headed down to Kentucky for the weekend. My view is that she has her family here too, not extended just Hayden, my sister and I. Perkins turkey looked lifeless (yes I know it suppose to be dead, I mean the serving was brimming with that homemade appeal). So next year I know what I am suppose to do!

However we have decided to have a movie marathon on DVD. ICe Age will start it off so Hayden can watch it, and then Men in Black II. We also have Strange Brew as a back=up if we want to go all night.

So now Karissa is to make a pumpkin pie, and I am going to make brownies. We also have snacks galore. It should be relaxing and fun, just what I need!

We have already planned out our morning shopping spree. For those of you who are not American tomorrow the shops open between 5am and 6am for crazy sales that go until 11am. It is the busiest shopping day of the year.

I have a SMC wireless router on my list. In turn this will make my new laptop more efficient for me. I'll be able to work and keep an eye on things regardless of where I am in the house, or the street for that matter!

Ok here I sit.

• I have my Zip Zap RC Car (which I can use on my somewhat clean desk).
  
• I have my mini fridge (which I wish I had a coke in right now).
  
• I have a picture of my beautiful wife, actually several looking back at me.
  
• My favorite piece of art done by my friend Adam Pyett.
  
• Sketches of HotDog character by Orion.
  
• I'm watching Dave Letterman on my second monitor (yep I have a nice dual monitor set-up).
  
• I have Grandpa the Mexican Cichlad watching over me (you may see him sometimes in the webcam pic).
  
• Virtual images of how the new office should look are plastered on the wall.
  
• I am eating an Australian made Crunchie and I have a Violet Crumble too (no licensed Australian brands made by Hershey's is not the same as the real thing!).

  Now is this bliss?

  Darn I just thought, if I had a wireless router and then a card for my laptop I could have the same thing, in front of a bigger TV, but still with Internet access!

  Posted by Nathan at 11:19 AM | Comments (0)

The amazing second coming of my blog has bought with it visitors galore!

From the western coast of the North American continent to the sun-burnt flat lands of the Great Southern Land, the public are demanding NetBloke!

Ok in all seriousness besides Brian and my wife, I now know Gretchen has viewed it, Mike Chandler, my mum and my cousin should be if my message was passed on!

I was lucky enough to win a double pass (and so was Brian) to go to see 8 Crazy Nights. This is the animated feature from Adam Sandler. The tickets were courtesy of a competition run by Cup O Kryptonite. So I took my wife, Karissa, and we headed off.

It is a funny film but I do not know if I would have parted with money to see it. Plenty of laughs and songs to keep you entertained if you do go though. Personally I think this will be a great DVD, as I imagine the special features will be great.

Oh yeah the day in the life of Adam's dog (the name escapes me) short film is a riot as well.

We topped off the night with a coffee and a crepe (don't say that too quickly) at Chat Noir. This is a great restored house in the Sherman Hills neighborhood of Des Moines.

Ok so today after realizing I have seriously been screwed - yeah literally my Zip Zap has a broken screw in it. I headed off to Millers Hardware to see if I could find a way of getting it out. No luck there, although they tried their hardest and felt my pain!

So I went to Radio Shack and told my sorry tale. The guy was no help with my existing Zip Zap but I got the last three they had in stock! One for Karissa and the other two for my friends Brian and Orion.

Knowing Brian fairly well I thought I better give them their early Christmas presents pretty quickly. So I headed off to Meredith (where they work), and filled their basement cubicles with happiness.

Now for the accessories!

I am very sad. While fiddling with my blog, I was also swapping out the motor on my Zip Zap. I snapped the screw somehow in the hole. I think this is the only thing I could break and I managed too.

However the trippy motor Brian got me is fast! And Mr Fixit is coming over for dinner, so it may be fixed soon!

Ok so I went to the bank for 14 minutes and when I got back this blog was perfect, fixed by Brian of GenXTek. He is look super tech guy or something!

So now my new life with Moveable Type blogging starts!

I have swapped my blog to Moveable type as it seems to have more features for free than Blogger (no offence meant to those guys).

Ok so I got a new SMC router and came over to Brians. Now the problem is it is still not working! Oh the sadness.

Now the cool thing is I am actually wirelessly blogging from Brians basement.

I have to blog quick as I have to run off to lunch now!

So this is the completion of the last entry, where I was about to go over to Brian's house. Well we went to CompUSA and picked up a great deal on a wireless card for my new laptop and a wireless router by SMC. I went with SMC because of price, reviews, and Brian's recommendation. The card was only $59 and the wireless router after rebates will be $69. We also went to DIT, which is the local computer store chain. Slim pickings there but they do have a nice case or two!

As part of my sisters birthday present we went and saw the Cats. Very disappointing. She loved it though so that was great. I had seen it before in London, and although not my favorite musical it was entertaining. I felt like this version left parts of the story out. It didn't seem to flow as well.

Anyway back to the issue at hand. So I currently I should be writing this entry wirelessly on my laptop. That isn't the case. After what should be a "3 click set-up" and 20 minutes I called Brian for a hand. After another hour ont he phone with him, he had deducted that the router more than likely has a non-functional WAN port.

So it looks like I am going in for a swap tomorrow. Joy of joys. Aren't I the lucky one!

Anyway when the wireless works I will be able to be on the ball wherever I am in the house, and for that matter at any of the restaurants and cafés in the local strip of shops!

Ok so after talking to SMC's technical support, I have have got the wireless router working off a static IP address. This sort of sucks as Mediacom uses dynamic IPs.

This is definately not a long term solution. I will have to get onto Mediacom and see what I can find out.

Well we hit the mall at 7am or so. Not a lot to be found there, but we were being pretty specific and not spending just for spendings sake!

So after a short while we went to Menards where we hit the jackpot. For a hardware superstore they sure have a lot of cool stuff! We now have all the nieces presents for Christmas looked after along with Hayden's birthday presents. Plus we have a nice new picnic rug and a collection of fleece blankets.

Last but not least we bought a steamer for cleaning. I have wanted one as it looks like it really works and sanitizes without using chemicals. This world has enough of those already!

I hit the computer stores soon with Brian, so this story is yet to finish.

Ok so I get what Thanksgiving is about, but I don't really get into it. I wish Karissa had told me more about her views on the occasion, as we would have probably headed down to Kentucky for the weekend. My view is that she has her family here too, not extended just Hayden, my sister and I. Perkins turkey looked lifeless (yes I know it suppose to be dead, I mean the serving was brimming with that homemade appeal). So next year I know what I am suppose to do!

However we have decided to have a movie marathon on DVD. ICe Age will start it off so Hayden can watch it, and then Men in Black II. We also have Strange Brew as a back=up if we want to go all night.

So now Karissa is to make a pumpkin pie, and I am going to make brownies. We also have snacks galore. It should be relaxing and fun, just what I need!

We have already planned out our morning shopping spree. For those of you who are not American tomorrow the shops open between 5am and 6am for crazy sales that go until 11am. It is the busiest shopping day of the year.

I have a SMC wireless router on my list. In turn this will make my new laptop more efficient for me. I'll be able to work and keep an eye on things regardless of where I am in the house, or the street for that matter!

Ok here I sit.

• I have my Zip Zap RC Car (which I can use on my somewhat clean desk).
  
• I have my mini fridge (which I wish I had a coke in right now).
  
• I have a picture of my beautiful wife, actually several looking back at me.
  
• My favorite piece of art done by my friend Adam Pyett.
  
• Sketches of HotDog character by Orion.
  
• I'm watching Dave Letterman on my second monitor (yep I have a nice dual monitor set-up).
  
• I have Grandpa the Mexican Cichlad watching over me (you may see him sometimes in the webcam pic).
  
• Virtual images of how the new office should look are plastered on the wall.
  
• I am eating an Australian made Crunchie and I have a Violet Crumble too (no licensed Australian brands made by Hershey's is not the same as the real thing!).

  Now is this bliss?

  Darn I just thought, if I had a wireless router and then a card for my laptop I could have the same thing, in front of a bigger TV, but still with Internet access!

  Posted by Nathan at 11:19 AM | Comments (0)

The amazing second coming of my blog has bought with it visitors galore!

From the western coast of the North American continent to the sun-burnt flat lands of the Great Southern Land, the public are demanding NetBloke!

Ok in all seriousness besides Brian and my wife, I now know Gretchen has viewed it, Mike Chandler, my mum and my cousin should be if my message was passed on!

I was lucky enough to win a double pass (and so was Brian) to go to see 8 Crazy Nights. This is the animated feature from Adam Sandler. The tickets were courtesy of a competition run by Cup O Kryptonite. So I took my wife, Karissa, and we headed off.

It is a funny film but I do not know if I would have parted with money to see it. Plenty of laughs and songs to keep you entertained if you do go though. Personally I think this will be a great DVD, as I imagine the special features will be great.

Oh yeah the day in the life of Adam's dog (the name escapes me) short film is a riot as well.

We topped off the night with a coffee and a crepe (don't say that too quickly) at Chat Noir. This is a great restored house in the Sherman Hills neighborhood of Des Moines.

Ok so today after realizing I have seriously been screwed - yeah literally my Zip Zap has a broken screw in it. I headed off to Millers Hardware to see if I could find a way of getting it out. No luck there, although they tried their hardest and felt my pain!

So I went to Radio Shack and told my sorry tale. The guy was no help with my existing Zip Zap but I got the last three they had in stock! One for Karissa and the other two for my friends Brian and Orion.

Knowing Brian fairly well I thought I better give them their early Christmas presents pretty quickly. So I headed off to Meredith (where they work), and filled their basement cubicles with happiness.

Now for the accessories!

I am very sad. While fiddling with my blog, I was also swapping out the motor on my Zip Zap. I snapped the screw somehow in the hole. I think this is the only thing I could break and I managed too.

However the trippy motor Brian got me is fast! And Mr Fixit is coming over for dinner, so it may be fixed soon!

Ok so I went to the bank for 14 minutes and when I got back this blog was perfect, fixed by Brian of GenXTek. He is look super tech guy or something!

So now my new life with Moveable Type blogging starts!

I have swapped my blog to Moveable type as it seems to have more features for free than Blogger (no offence meant to those guys).

Ok so I got a new SMC router and came over to Brians. Now the problem is it is still not working! Oh the sadness.

Now the cool thing is I am actually wirelessly blogging from Brians basement.

I have to blog quick as I have to run off to lunch now!

So this is the completion of the last entry, where I was about to go over to Brian's house. Well we went to CompUSA and picked up a great deal on a wireless card for my new laptop and a wireless router by SMC. I went with SMC because of price, reviews, and Brian's recommendation. The card was only $59 and the wireless router after rebates will be $69. We also went to DIT, which is the local computer store chain. Slim pickings there but they do have a nice case or two!

As part of my sisters birthday present we went and saw the Cats. Very disappointing. She loved it though so that was great. I had seen it before in London, and although not my favorite musical it was entertaining. I felt like this version left parts of the story out. It didn't seem to flow as well.

Anyway back to the issue at hand. So I currently I should be writing this entry wirelessly on my laptop. That isn't the case. After what should be a "3 click set-up" and 20 minutes I called Brian for a hand. After another hour ont he phone with him, he had deducted that the router more than likely has a non-functional WAN port.

So it looks like I am going in for a swap tomorrow. Joy of joys. Aren't I the lucky one!

Anyway when the wireless works I will be able to be on the ball wherever I am in the house, and for that matter at any of the restaurants and cafés in the local strip of shops!

Ok so after talking to SMC's technical support, I have have got the wireless router working off a static IP address. This sort of sucks as Mediacom uses dynamic IPs.

This is definately not a long term solution. I will have to get onto Mediacom and see what I can find out.

Well we hit the mall at 7am or so. Not a lot to be found there, but we were being pretty specific and not spending just for spendings sake!

So after a short while we went to Menards where we hit the jackpot. For a hardware superstore they sure have a lot of cool stuff! We now have all the nieces presents for Christmas looked after along with Hayden's birthday presents. Plus we have a nice new picnic rug and a collection of fleece blankets.

Last but not least we bought a steamer for cleaning. I have wanted one as it looks like it really works and sanitizes without using chemicals. This world has enough of those already!

I hit the computer stores soon with Brian, so this story is yet to finish.

Ok so I get what Thanksgiving is about, but I don't really get into it. I wish Karissa had told me more about her views on the occasion, as we would have probably headed down to Kentucky for the weekend. My view is that she has her family here too, not extended just Hayden, my sister and I. Perkins turkey looked lifeless (yes I know it suppose to be dead, I mean the serving was brimming with that homemade appeal). So next year I know what I am suppose to do!

However we have decided to have a movie marathon on DVD. ICe Age will start it off so Hayden can watch it, and then Men in Black II. We also have Strange Brew as a back=up if we want to go all night.

So now Karissa is to make a pumpkin pie, and I am going to make brownies. We also have snacks galore. It should be relaxing and fun, just what I need!

We have already planned out our morning shopping spree. For those of you who are not American tomorrow the shops open between 5am and 6am for crazy sales that go until 11am. It is the busiest shopping day of the year.

I have a SMC wireless router on my list. In turn this will make my new laptop more efficient for me. I'll be able to work and keep an eye on things regardless of where I am in the house, or the street for that matter!

Ok here I sit.

• I have my Zip Zap RC Car (which I can use on my somewhat clean desk).
  
• I have my mini fridge (which I wish I had a coke in right now).
  
• I have a picture of my beautiful wife, actually several looking back at me.
  
• My favorite piece of art done by my friend Adam Pyett.
  
• Sketches of HotDog character by Orion.
  
• I'm watching Dave Letterman on my second monitor (yep I have a nice dual monitor set-up).
  
• I have Grandpa the Mexican Cichlad watching over me (you may see him sometimes in the webcam pic).
  
• Virtual images of how the new office should look are plastered on the wall.
  
• I am eating an Australian made Crunchie and I have a Violet Crumble too (no licensed Australian brands made by Hershey's is not the same as the real thing!).

  Now is this bliss?

  Darn I just thought, if I had a wireless router and then a card for my laptop I could have the same thing, in front of a bigger TV, but still with Internet access!

  Posted by Nathan at 11:19 AM | Comments (0)

The amazing second coming of my blog has bought with it visitors galore!

From the western coast of the North American continent to the sun-burnt flat lands of the Great Southern Land, the public are demanding NetBloke!

Ok in all seriousness besides Brian and my wife, I now know Gretchen has viewed it, Mike Chandler, my mum and my cousin should be if my message was passed on!

I was lucky enough to win a double pass (and so was Brian) to go to see 8 Crazy Nights. This is the animated feature from Adam Sandler. The tickets were courtesy of a competition run by Cup O Kryptonite. So I took my wife, Karissa, and we headed off.

It is a funny film but I do not know if I would have parted with money to see it. Plenty of laughs and songs to keep you entertained if you do go though. Personally I think this will be a great DVD, as I imagine the special features will be great.

Oh yeah the day in the life of Adam's dog (the name escapes me) short film is a riot as well.

We topped off the night with a coffee and a crepe (don't say that too quickly) at Chat Noir. This is a great restored house in the Sherman Hills neighborhood of Des Moines.

Ok so today after realizing I have seriously been screwed - yeah literally my Zip Zap has a broken screw in it. I headed off to Millers Hardware to see if I could find a way of getting it out. No luck there, although they tried their hardest and felt my pain!

So I went to Radio Shack and told my sorry tale. The guy was no help with my existing Zip Zap but I got the last three they had in stock! One for Karissa and the other two for my friends Brian and Orion.

Knowing Brian fairly well I thought I better give them their early Christmas presents pretty quickly. So I headed off to Meredith (where they work), and filled their basement cubicles with happiness.

Now for the accessories!

I am very sad. While fiddling with my blog, I was also swapping out the motor on my Zip Zap. I snapped the screw somehow in the hole. I think this is the only thing I could break and I managed too.

However the trippy motor Brian got me is fast! And Mr Fixit is coming over for dinner, so it may be fixed soon!

Ok so I went to the bank for 14 minutes and when I got back this blog was perfect, fixed by Brian of GenXTek. He is look super tech guy or something!

So now my new life with Moveable Type blogging starts!

I have swapped my blog to Moveable type as it seems to have more features for free than Blogger (no offence meant to those guys).

Ok so I got a new SMC router and came over to Brians. Now the problem is it is still not working! Oh the sadness.

Now the cool thing is I am actually wirelessly blogging from Brians basement.

I have to blog quick as I have to run off to lunch now!

So this is the completion of the last entry, where I was about to go over to Brian's house. Well we went to CompUSA and picked up a great deal on a wireless card for my new laptop and a wireless router by SMC. I went with SMC because of price, reviews, and Brian's recommendation. The card was only $59 and the wireless router after rebates will be $69. We also went to DIT, which is the local computer store chain. Slim pickings there but they do have a nice case or two!

As part of my sisters birthday present we went and saw the Cats. Very disappointing. She loved it though so that was great. I had seen it before in London, and although not my favorite musical it was entertaining. I felt like this version left parts of the story out. It didn't seem to flow as well.

Anyway back to the issue at hand. So I currently I should be writing this entry wirelessly on my laptop. That isn't the case. After what should be a "3 click set-up" and 20 minutes I called Brian for a hand. After another hour ont he phone with him, he had deducted that the router more than likely has a non-functional WAN port.

So it looks like I am going in for a swap tomorrow. Joy of joys. Aren't I the lucky one!

Anyway when the wireless works I will be able to be on the ball wherever I am in the house, and for that matter at any of the restaurants and cafés in the local strip of shops!

Ok so after talking to SMC's technical support, I have have got the wireless router working off a static IP address. This sort of sucks as Mediacom uses dynamic IPs.

This is definately not a long term solution. I will have to get onto Mediacom and see what I can find out.

Well we hit the mall at 7am or so. Not a lot to be found there, but we were being pretty specific and not spending just for spendings sake!

So after a short while we went to Menards where we hit the jackpot. For a hardware superstore they sure have a lot of cool stuff! We now have all the nieces presents for Christmas looked after along with Hayden's birthday presents. Plus we have a nice new picnic rug and a collection of fleece blankets.

Last but not least we bought a steamer for cleaning. I have wanted one as it looks like it really works and sanitizes without using chemicals. This world has enough of those already!

I hit the computer stores soon with Brian, so this story is yet to finish.

Ok so I get what Thanksgiving is about, but I don't really get into it. I wish Karissa had told me more about her views on the occasion, as we would have probably headed down to Kentucky for the weekend. My view is that she has her family here too, not extended just Hayden, my sister and I. Perkins turkey looked lifeless (yes I know it suppose to be dead, I mean the serving was brimming with that homemade appeal). So next year I know what I am suppose to do!

However we have decided to have a movie marathon on DVD. ICe Age will start it off so Hayden can watch it, and then Men in Black II. We also have Strange Brew as a back=up if we want to go all night.

So now Karissa is to make a pumpkin pie, and I am going to make brownies. We also have snacks galore. It should be relaxing and fun, just what I need!

We have already planned out our morning shopping spree. For those of you who are not American tomorrow the shops open between 5am and 6am for crazy sales that go until 11am. It is the busiest shopping day of the year.

I have a SMC wireless router on my list. In turn this will make my new laptop more efficient for me. I'll be able to work and keep an eye on things regardless of where I am in the house, or the street for that matter!

Ok here I sit.

• I have my Zip Zap RC Car (which I can use on my somewhat clean desk).
  
• I have my mini fridge (which I wish I had a coke in right now).
  
• I have a picture of my beautiful wife, actually several looking back at me.
  
• My favorite piece of art done by my friend Adam Pyett.
  
• Sketches of HotDog character by Orion.
  
• I'm watching Dave Letterman on my second monitor (yep I have a nice dual monitor set-up).
  
• I have Grandpa the Mexican Cichlad watching over me (you may see him sometimes in the webcam pic).
  
• Virtual images of how the new office should look are plastered on the wall.
  
• I am eating an Australian made Crunchie and I have a Violet Crumble too (no licensed Australian brands made by Hershey's is not the same as the real thing!).

  Now is this bliss?

  Darn I just thought, if I had a wireless router and then a card for my laptop I could have the same thing, in front of a bigger TV, but still with Internet access!

  Posted by Nathan at 11:19 AM | Comments (0)

The amazing second coming of my blog has bought with it visitors galore!

From the western coast of the North American continent to the sun-burnt flat lands of the Great Southern Land, the public are demanding NetBloke!

Ok in all seriousness besides Brian and my wife, I now know Gretchen has viewed it, Mike Chandler, my mum and my cousin should be if my message was passed on!

I was lucky enough to win a double pass (and so was Brian) to go to see 8 Crazy Nights. This is the animated feature from Adam Sandler. The tickets were courtesy of a competition run by Cup O Kryptonite. So I took my wife, Karissa, and we headed off.

It is a funny film but I do not know if I would have parted with money to see it. Plenty of laughs and songs to keep you entertained if you do go though. Personally I think this will be a great DVD, as I imagine the special features will be great.

Oh yeah the day in the life of Adam's dog (the name escapes me) short film is a riot as well.

We topped off the night with a coffee and a crepe (don't say that too quickly) at Chat Noir. This is a great restored house in the Sherman Hills neighborhood of Des Moines.

Ok so today after realizing I have seriously been screwed - yeah literally my Zip Zap has a broken screw in it. I headed off to Millers Hardware to see if I could find a way of getting it out. No luck there, although they tried their hardest and felt my pain!

So I went to Radio Shack and told my sorry tale. The guy was no help with my existing Zip Zap but I got the last three they had in stock! One for Karissa and the other two for my friends Brian and Orion.

Knowing Brian fairly well I thought I better give them their early Christmas presents pretty quickly. So I headed off to Meredith (where they work), and filled their basement cubicles with happiness.

Now for the accessories!

I am very sad. While fiddling with my blog, I was also swapping out the motor on my Zip Zap. I snapped the screw somehow in the hole. I think this is the only thing I could break and I managed too.

However the trippy motor Brian got me is fast! And Mr Fixit is coming over for dinner, so it may be fixed soon!

Ok so I went to the bank for 14 minutes and when I got back this blog was perfect, fixed by Brian of GenXTek. He is look super tech guy or something!

So now my new life with Moveable Type blogging starts!

I have swapped my blog to Moveable type as it seems to have more features for free than Blogger (no offence meant to those guys).

Ok so I got a new SMC router and came over to Brians. Now the problem is it is still not working! Oh the sadness.

Now the cool thing is I am actually wirelessly blogging from Brians basement.

I have to blog quick as I have to run off to lunch now!

So this is the completion of the last entry, where I was about to go over to Brian's house. Well we went to CompUSA and picked up a great deal on a wireless card for my new laptop and a wireless router by SMC. I went with SMC because of price, reviews, and Brian's recommendation. The card was only $59 and the wireless router after rebates will be $69. We also went to DIT, which is the local computer store chain. Slim pickings there but they do have a nice case or two!

As part of my sisters birthday present we went and saw the Cats. Very disappointing. She loved it though so that was great. I had seen it before in London, and although not my favorite musical it was entertaining. I felt like this version left parts of the story out. It didn't seem to flow as well.

Anyway back to the issue at hand. So I currently I should be writing this entry wirelessly on my laptop. That isn't the case. After what should be a "3 click set-up" and 20 minutes I called Brian for a hand. After another hour ont he phone with him, he had deducted that the router more than likely has a non-functional WAN port.

So it looks like I am going in for a swap tomorrow. Joy of joys. Aren't I the lucky one!

Anyway when the wireless works I will be able to be on the ball wherever I am in the house, and for that matter at any of the restaurants and cafés in the local strip of shops!

Ok so after talking to SMC's technical support, I have have got the wireless router working off a static IP address. This sort of sucks as Mediacom uses dynamic IPs.

This is definately not a long term solution. I will have to get onto Mediacom and see what I can find out.

Well we hit the mall at 7am or so. Not a lot to be found there, but we were being pretty specific and not spending just for spendings sake!

So after a short while we went to Menards where we hit the jackpot. For a hardware superstore they sure have a lot of cool stuff! We now have all the nieces presents for Christmas looked after along with Hayden's birthday presents. Plus we have a nice new picnic rug and a collection of fleece blankets.

Last but not least we bought a steamer for cleaning. I have wanted one as it looks like it really works and sanitizes without using chemicals. This world has enough of those already!

I hit the computer stores soon with Brian, so this story is yet to finish.

Ok so I get what Thanksgiving is about, but I don't really get into it. I wish Karissa had told me more about her views on the occasion, as we would have probably headed down to Kentucky for the weekend. My view is that she has her family here too, not extended just Hayden, my sister and I. Perkins turkey looked lifeless (yes I know it suppose to be dead, I mean the serving was brimming with that homemade appeal). So next year I know what I am suppose to do!

However we have decided to have a movie marathon on DVD. ICe Age will start it off so Hayden can watch it, and then Men in Black II. We also have Strange Brew as a back=up if we want to go all night.

So now Karissa is to make a pumpkin pie, and I am going to make brownies. We also have snacks galore. It should be relaxing and fun, just what I need!

We have already planned out our morning shopping spree. For those of you who are not American tomorrow the shops open between 5am and 6am for crazy sales that go until 11am. It is the busiest shopping day of the year.

I have a SMC wireless router on my list. In turn this will make my new laptop more efficient for me. I'll be able to work and keep an eye on things regardless of where I am in the house, or the street for that matter!

Ok here I sit.

• I have my Zip Zap RC Car (which I can use on my somewhat clean desk).
  
• I have my mini fridge (which I wish I had a coke in right now).
  
• I have a picture of my beautiful wife, actually several looking back at me.
  
• My favorite piece of art done by my friend Adam Pyett.
  
• Sketches of HotDog character by Orion.
  
• I'm watching Dave Letterman on my second monitor (yep I have a nice dual monitor set-up).
  
• I have Grandpa the Mexican Cichlad watching over me (you may see him sometimes in the webcam pic).
  
• Virtual images of how the new office should look are plastered on the wall.
  
• I am eating an Australian made Crunchie and I have a Violet Crumble too (no licensed Australian brands made by Hershey's is not the same as the real thing!).

  Now is this bliss?

  Darn I just thought, if I had a wireless router and then a card for my laptop I could have the same thing, in front of a bigger TV, but still with Internet access!

  Posted by Nathan at 11:19 AM | Comments (0)

The amazing second coming of my blog has bought with it visitors galore!

From the western coast of the North American continent to the sun-burnt flat lands of the Great Southern Land, the public are demanding NetBloke!

Ok in all seriousness besides Brian and my wife, I now know Gretchen has viewed it, Mike Chandler, my mum and my cousin should be if my message was passed on!

I was lucky enough to win a double pass (and so was Brian) to go to see 8 Crazy Nights. This is the animated feature from Adam Sandler. The tickets were courtesy of a competition run by Cup O Kryptonite. So I took my wife, Karissa, and we headed off.

It is a funny film but I do not know if I would have parted with money to see it. Plenty of laughs and songs to keep you entertained if you do go though. Personally I think this will be a great DVD, as I imagine the special features will be great.

Oh yeah the day in the life of Adam's dog (the name escapes me) short film is a riot as well.

We topped off the night with a coffee and a crepe (don't say that too quickly) at Chat Noir. This is a great restored house in the Sherman Hills neighborhood of Des Moines.

Ok so today after realizing I have seriously been screwed - yeah literally my Zip Zap has a broken screw in it. I headed off to Millers Hardware to see if I could find a way of getting it out. No luck there, although they tried their hardest and felt my pain!

So I went to Radio Shack and told my sorry tale. The guy was no help with my existing Zip Zap but I got the last three they had in stock! One for Karissa and the other two for my friends Brian and Orion.

Knowing Brian fairly well I thought I better give them their early Christmas presents pretty quickly. So I headed off to Meredith (where they work), and filled their basement cubicles with happiness.

Now for the accessories!

I am very sad. While fiddling with my blog, I was also swapping out the motor on my Zip Zap. I snapped the screw somehow in the hole. I think this is the only thing I could break and I managed too.

However the trippy motor Brian got me is fast! And Mr Fixit is coming over for dinner, so it may be fixed soon!

Ok so I went to the bank for 14 minutes and when I got back this blog was perfect, fixed by Brian of GenXTek. He is look super tech guy or something!

So now my new life with Moveable Type blogging starts!

I have swapped my blog to Moveable type as it seems to have more features for free than Blogger (no offence meant to those guys).

Ok so I got a new SMC router and came over to Brians. Now the problem is it is still not working! Oh the sadness.

Now the cool thing is I am actually wirelessly blogging from Brians basement.

I have to blog quick as I have to run off to lunch now!

So this is the completion of the last entry, where I was about to go over to Brian's house. Well we went to CompUSA and picked up a great deal on a wireless card for my new laptop and a wireless router by SMC. I went with SMC because of price, reviews, and Brian's recommendation. The card was only $59 and the wireless router after rebates will be $69. We also went to DIT, which is the local computer store chain. Slim pickings there but they do have a nice case or two!

As part of my sisters birthday present we went and saw the Cats. Very disappointing. She loved it though so that was great. I had seen it before in London, and although not my favorite musical it was entertaining. I felt like this version left parts of the story out. It didn't seem to flow as well.

Anyway back to the issue at hand. So I currently I should be writing this entry wirelessly on my laptop. That isn't the case. After what should be a "3 click set-up" and 20 minutes I called Brian for a hand. After another hour ont he phone with him, he had deducted that the router more than likely has a non-functional WAN port.

So it looks like I am going in for a swap tomorrow. Joy of joys. Aren't I the lucky one!

Anyway when the wireless works I will be able to be on the ball wherever I am in the house, and for that matter at any of the restaurants and cafés in the local strip of shops!

Ok so after talking to SMC's technical support, I have have got the wireless router working off a static IP address. This sort of sucks as Mediacom uses dynamic IPs.

This is definately not a long term solution. I will have to get onto Mediacom and see what I can find out.

Well we hit the mall at 7am or so. Not a lot to be found there, but we were being pretty specific and not spending just for spendings sake!

So after a short while we went to Menards where we hit the jackpot. For a hardware superstore they sure have a lot of cool stuff! We now have all the nieces presents for Christmas looked after along with Hayden's birthday presents. Plus we have a nice new picnic rug and a collection of fleece blankets.

Last but not least we bought a steamer for cleaning. I have wanted one as it looks like it really works and sanitizes without using chemicals. This world has enough of those already!

I hit the computer stores soon with Brian, so this story is yet to finish.

Ok so I get what Thanksgiving is about, but I don't really get into it. I wish Karissa had told me more about her views on the occasion, as we would have probably headed down to Kentucky for the weekend. My view is that she has her family here too, not extended just Hayden, my sister and I. Perkins turkey looked lifeless (yes I know it suppose to be dead, I mean the serving was brimming with that homemade appeal). So next year I know what I am suppose to do!

However we have decided to have a movie marathon on DVD. ICe Age will start it off so Hayden can watch it, and then Men in Black II. We also have Strange Brew as a back=up if we want to go all night.

So now Karissa is to make a pumpkin pie, and I am going to make brownies. We also have snacks galore. It should be relaxing and fun, just what I need!

We have already planned out our morning shopping spree. For those of you who are not American tomorrow the shops open between 5am and 6am for crazy sales that go until 11am. It is the busiest shopping day of the year.

I have a SMC wireless router on my list. In turn this will make my new laptop more efficient for me. I'll be able to work and keep an eye on things regardless of where I am in the house, or the street for that matter!

Ok here I sit.

• I have my Zip Zap RC Car (which I can use on my somewhat clean desk).
  
• I have my mini fridge (which I wish I had a coke in right now).
  
• I have a picture of my beautiful wife, actually several looking back at me.
  
• My favorite piece of art done by my friend Adam Pyett.
  
• Sketches of HotDog character by Orion.
  
• I'm watching Dave Letterman on my second monitor (yep I have a nice dual monitor set-up).
  
• I have Grandpa the Mexican Cichlad watching over me (you may see him sometimes in the webcam pic).
  
• Virtual images of how the new office should look are plastered on the wall.
  
• I am eating an Australian made Crunchie and I have a Violet Crumble too (no licensed Australian brands made by Hershey's is not the same as the real thing!).

  Now is this bliss?

  Darn I just thought, if I had a wireless router and then a card for my laptop I could have the same thing, in front of a bigger TV, but still with Internet access!

  Posted by Nathan at 11:19 AM | Comments (0)

The amazing second coming of my blog has bought with it visitors galore!

From the western coast of the North American continent to the sun-burnt flat lands of the Great Southern Land, the public are demanding NetBloke!

Ok in all seriousness besides Brian and my wife, I now know Gretchen has viewed it, Mike Chandler, my mum and my cousin should be if my message was passed on!

I was lucky enough to win a double pass (and so was Brian) to go to see 8 Crazy Nights. This is the animated feature from Adam Sandler. The tickets were courtesy of a competition run by Cup O Kryptonite. So I took my wife, Karissa, and we headed off.

It is a funny film but I do not know if I would have parted with money to see it. Plenty of laughs and songs to keep you entertained if you do go though. Personally I think this will be a great DVD, as I imagine the special features will be great.

Oh yeah the day in the life of Adam's dog (the name escapes me) short film is a riot as well.

We topped off the night with a coffee and a crepe (don't say that too quickly) at Chat Noir. This is a great restored house in the Sherman Hills neighborhood of Des Moines.

Ok so today after realizing I have seriously been screwed - yeah literally my Zip Zap has a broken screw in it. I headed off to Millers Hardware to see if I could find a way of getting it out. No luck there, although they tried their hardest and felt my pain!

So I went to Radio Shack and told my sorry tale. The guy was no help with my existing Zip Zap but I got the last three they had in stock! One for Karissa and the other two for my friends Brian and Orion.

Knowing Brian fairly well I thought I better give them their early Christmas presents pretty quickly. So I headed off to Meredith (where they work), and filled their basement cubicles with happiness.

Now for the accessories!

I am very sad. While fiddling with my blog, I was also swapping out the motor on my Zip Zap. I snapped the screw somehow in the hole. I think this is the only thing I could break and I managed too.

However the trippy motor Brian got me is fast! And Mr Fixit is coming over for dinner, so it may be fixed soon!

Ok so I went to the bank for 14 minutes and when I got back this blog was perfect, fixed by Brian of GenXTek. He is look super tech guy or something!

So now my new life with Moveable Type blogging starts!

I have swapped my blog to Moveable type as it seems to have more features for free than Blogger (no offence meant to those guys).

Ok so I got a new SMC router and came over to Brians. Now the problem is it is still not working! Oh the sadness.

Now the cool thing is I am actually wirelessly blogging from Brians basement.

I have to blog quick as I have to run off to lunch now!

So this is the completion of the last entry, where I was about to go over to Brian's house. Well we went to CompUSA and picked up a great deal on a wireless card for my new laptop and a wireless router by SMC. I went with SMC because of price, reviews, and Brian's recommendation. The card was only $59 and the wireless router after rebates will be $69. We also went to DIT, which is the local computer store chain. Slim pickings there but they do have a nice case or two!

As part of my sisters birthday present we went and saw the Cats. Very disappointing. She loved it though so that was great. I had seen it before in London, and although not my favorite musical it was entertaining. I felt like this version left parts of the story out. It didn't seem to flow as well.

Anyway back to the issue at hand. So I currently I should be writing this entry wirelessly on my laptop. That isn't the case. After what should be a "3 click set-up" and 20 minutes I called Brian for a hand. After another hour ont he phone with him, he had deducted that the router more than likely has a non-functional WAN port.

So it looks like I am going in for a swap tomorrow. Joy of joys. Aren't I the lucky one!

Anyway when the wireless works I will be able to be on the ball wherever I am in the house, and for that matter at any of the restaurants and cafés in the local strip of shops!

Ok so after talking to SMC's technical support, I have have got the wireless router working off a static IP address. This sort of sucks as Mediacom uses dynamic IPs.

This is definately not a long term solution. I will have to get onto Mediacom and see what I can find out.

Well we hit the mall at 7am or so. Not a lot to be found there, but we were being pretty specific and not spending just for spendings sake!

So after a short while we went to Menards where we hit the jackpot. For a hardware superstore they sure have a lot of cool stuff! We now have all the nieces presents for Christmas looked after along with Hayden's birthday presents. Plus we have a nice new picnic rug and a collection of fleece blankets.

Last but not least we bought a steamer for cleaning. I have wanted one as it looks like it really works and sanitizes without using chemicals. This world has enough of those already!

I hit the computer stores soon with Brian, so this story is yet to finish.

Ok so I get what Thanksgiving is about, but I don't really get into it. I wish Karissa had told me more about her views on the occasion, as we would have probably headed down to Kentucky for the weekend. My view is that she has her family here too, not extended just Hayden, my sister and I. Perkins turkey looked lifeless (yes I know it suppose to be dead, I mean the serving was brimming with that homemade appeal). So next year I know what I am suppose to do!

However we have decided to have a movie marathon on DVD. ICe Age will start it off so Hayden can watch it, and then Men in Black II. We also have Strange Brew as a back=up if we want to go all night.

So now Karissa is to make a pumpkin pie, and I am going to make brownies. We also have snacks galore. It should be relaxing and fun, just what I need!

We have already planned out our morning shopping spree. For those of you who are not American tomorrow the shops open between 5am and 6am for crazy sales that go until 11am. It is the busiest shopping day of the year.

I have a SMC wireless router on my list. In turn this will make my new laptop more efficient for me. I'll be able to work and keep an eye on things regardless of where I am in the house, or the street for that matter!

Ok here I sit.

• I have my Zip Zap RC Car (which I can use on my somewhat clean desk).
  
• I have my mini fridge (which I wish I had a coke in right now).