Monceaux.org

I received a Dell Inspiron 5150 recently for work. Overall, it is a really nice, fast laptop. It has an internal Truemobile 1300 WiFi card that I intended for use to connect to my wireless network at home. However, for whatever reason, I was never able to get it to connect to my Netgear access point. Windows XP constantly dropped and lost the WiFi connection for no apparent reason. I have numerous other wireless cards that worked perfectly.

For months, I've used a spare Netgear wireless card to get online at home. The fact that I had to use a spare wireless card when this laptop already has one that wouldn't work really ticked me off. I tried everything listed in the Dell forums to get it to work. Nothing seemed to help.

Well, not to speak too soon, I think I have finally gotten it working. Apparently this internal card really wanted to be on channel 11. My access point was set for channel 6. After setting the access point to channel 11, all seems well. So for anyone running across a similar problem, that's something else for you to try.

Well, I just finished my first set of homework for this semester. I have been taking one class per semester since fall 2001 through MSU working towards my Masters. Luckily, work pays for me to take these classes. It is a free ride for my degree. While everyone has their own decisions to make, I cannot imagine why many of the people I work with do not pursue a degree or take any classes.

Although, as much as I wish to continue taking classes and getting my Masters and Ph.D., I really am tired of school. I do learn things from my classes, but it just seems so monotonous. Basically, I sit in a classroom listening to someone teach something, take some tests, write some papers, and that's it. I think I have already proven over the many years I've been in school, that I can study and take tests. I would really just like to take classes where everyone discusses a topic and actually learns from the interaction and conversations surrounding interesting topics. At the same time, I'll be the first to admit, that without tests and due dates hanging over my head, I'd likely not ever participate. I'm quite lazy, and would prefer to watch some TiVo, play on the 'Net, or go to a concert with my wife.

Overall, I would say that I actually enjoy learning something from my classes. I would highly encourage anyone who has the opportunity to go to school on someone else's nickle to do so. Even if you do not pursue a degree, the right courses will keep the wheels of you mind from rusting up so much. I do a great deal of thinking and puzzle solving for my job, but there are just some things that get rusty without using them. For me, my math skills suffer very quickly without occasional usage. I also would not mind freshening up on some biology or chemistry.

Not sure exactly how I got on this tangent, but I really just felt like announcing that I had completed my first homework assignment, and I wish it were the last.

After searching the net for months (which really means I used Google for a couple of hours) for a decent website layout, I finally settled on this one. I may alter the color scheme to reflect changing moods, but otherwise I'm satisfied with the layout. I may additionally add some images, but I currently like the simplicity.

I am using a blogging system, b2, to update this site. While it doesn't provide any type of theme engine of which I am aware, I do like the fact that it is easy to integrate into any plain old HTML template. That's something that is a bit more difficult to do in PostNuke, etc.

In addition to the new site look, I'm also switching back to the Gallery software to manage my images. I cannot say enough good things about it.

I have added a PDF calendar generator to this site. I use 'pscal' and 'ps2pdf' on the back end to create a nice calendar suitable for printing. I cannot tell you how many times I've just wanted a quick way to print a nice calendar to write on and had no immediate way of doing so. It is very handy for planning school work, budgeting for bills or planning trips. Kudos to the authors of pscal and ps2pdf!!

I've recently developed an interest in RSS feeds. I don't know why, I just did. That's what actually led me into getting a blog system for running this site. The b2 software automatically generates RSS feeds for my site. In addition, I found some PHP code to pull in and display the RSS from other sites. Currently, I have CNN and Slashdot going. I think I may try to track down a weather-related RSS feed as well.

Anyway….I hope you enjoy the site. Thanks for visiting. I'll try to keep it updated with stuff.

This is my first attempt at setting up a blogging site. So far, this b2 software seems pretty simple to use. We'll see if it helps me keep this site up to date any better.