ThrillNetwork Boards - Blogs - That jerk admin, or The inner workings of TN by Steven http://www.thrillnetwork.com/boards/blogs/steven/ ThrillNetwork is an amusement park and theme park resource and information site as well as a community. ThrillNetwork is also dedicated to amusement park, roller coaster, and thrill ride enthusiasts, complete with news, special features, forums, a database, and a section for Roller Coaster Tycoon and No Limits players. en Sun, 21 Mar 2010 13:10:59 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.thrillnetwork.com/boards/images/misc/rss.jpg ThrillNetwork Boards - Blogs - That jerk admin, or The inner workings of TN by Steven http://www.thrillnetwork.com/boards/blogs/steven/ <![CDATA[How I feel about the whole healthcare deal and Obama's plan]]> http://www.thrillnetwork.com/boards/blogs/steven/how-i-feel-about-whole-healthcare-deal-obamas-plan-163/ Tue, 11 Aug 2009 02:03:41 GMT I've been listening to a lot of people moan and groan about the discussion on healthcare reform that the Obama administration has been trying to push forward. Frankly, a lot of it sounds like the scare tactics and plain fear of change that some people are used to... particularly when all of the opposition comes from conservatives.

Now, before I go further, I don't consider myself liberal, nor am I by any means conservative. I don't identify myself as either Democrat or Republican (though for full disclosure, I was once a member (and past President) of my college chapter of the College Democrats... until I got sick of what Lansing (MI) tried to dictate). I'm actually much more in the middle of the line. I am more of a centrist/populist.

The fact of the matter is... our healthcare system is broken. Costs for everything (prescriptions, hospital stays, office visits, tests, etc.) have skyrocketed beyond our inflation rate, insurance premiums have also skyrocketed (sometimes while offering less care), and many times, we find ourselves at the mercy of the healthcare provider or insurer when it comes to our treatments. Then, people who find themselves "underinsured" or uninsured are left to pay for bills that could be in the thousands at the blink of an eye.

I've heard the liberal views on it, and of course, I get to hear the other end... many aren't for any reform... but then I also don't hear any alternative, or their idea for a solution, other than that "socialism doesn't work" -- a common response I hear. Is it because they like it status-quo, or they don't have an idea of what would be good?

So, I just want to put my views out. Some of you have heard a relatively small taste of what I've said already. But, here's about the best rundown about it.

Really, what I have heard proposed for reform, I feel, doesn't go far enough. In fact, I don't think we should use the word "reform", because essentially what it means is you're taking something existing and changing it. I also don't like the ideas that have been passed around, like forcing people to get private insurance, or face a fine of $1000/year.

What I think needs to happen is that it should be a ground-up rebuild of our system. I think it needs to be equal, universal, accessible, and affordable. I also don't think private for-profit corporations should have their hands in it, because when you have profit in mind, greed (in the form of higher profits) sets in.

Now, who does that leave to run such a system? You either have government, or you have non-profit.

The argument I hear about government is that they shouldn't be dealing with healthcare, and cite Medicaid/Medicare as examples. The fact is that the overhead to run those programs is far less (around 3-5%) than typical private insurers (15-30%). I've heard that the 3% overhead on Medicare is a myth, but those arguments often come from such sources as Kaiser Permanente, Cigna, or Humana, who are profit-oriented, and as I said, when you have profit in mind, greed sets in (they want to protect their profits).

I also hear the argument about higher taxes if the government was running it. Well, yeah, you will have to pay higher taxes if they run it. Nothing is free in this world. Someone's gotta eat somewhere... someone's gotta have clothes on their back somewhere. However, have you thought about the insurance premium that you are already paying? Or, if you're not seeing it deducted... maybe your employer is paying for it, or you may just be receiving it in lieu of getting an extra $50/week gross in your paycheck. If it were government run... you wouldn't have to actually pay the healthcare premium. Your employer wouldn't either. It would be part of your payroll deduction, or the taxes your employer pays. However, it would be according to what you make, and likely be smaller than the healthcare premium you are paying for now.

How can it be smaller? Well, combine the fact that it's a universal system, lower overhead (less bureaucracy, profit, and frivolous fringe benefits found in private insurers) with lower costs elsewhere (ban drug advertising, disallow unnecessary tests that often take place, having doctors that can truly be accountable for their care without having high malpractice insurance, focus on preventative medicine vs. dealing with illness as they come, etc.), the costs will come down, and you'll pay less as a taxpayer.

Ok... how about the hospitals? They should be taken out of the hands of profiteers... period.

Then I get to hear about the supposed horror stories in countries with socialized medicine, often citing Canada as an example. Let me ask this... why do they live longer than us? Why isn't there such a huge revolt against their system if it doesn't work? Opponents say to ask a Canadian why it doesn't work. I've asked a few, and none could even say that it was even broken and that they like (or love) it, even when they called themselves conservative. But, of course, many of those I talked to were in Ontario... which Canada's system relies on the provinces to run their systems, with some national involvement. So, while it might be great in Ontario, it may suck in Quebec (I think Quebec sucks anyway, so there). And of course, while it has imperfections, nothing is really perfect. If it were, we'd really be in Heaven.

Then, how about many of the European countries (Great Britain, France, Norway, the Netherlands, Taiwan, Japan, etc.) that also have universal healthcare? I don't hear peeps from them.

While I focused a lot on the government providing it instead. I know there's other ways it can be done without the government actually running it, including private non-profits running it, public non-profits, handing it over to the states, etc. Quite honestly, I don't know if I want government running the system in its entirety myself, but at least I know there's alternatives that lead to the same rebuild of our system.

For those who say they distrust government to run things... how about you actually get involved... vote, speak to your representative, run for an office yourself? I vote, and I write to people (including our President).

So, I want to hear constructive thoughts on this. I don't want bashing of Obama's policies or anything. Think of it as a brainstorming session and an open exchange of ideas. ]]> Steven http://www.thrillnetwork.com/boards/blogs/steven/how-i-feel-about-whole-healthcare-deal-obamas-plan-163/ <![CDATA[SpeedZone: What's happening to it with TNv4?]]> http://www.thrillnetwork.com/boards/blogs/steven/speedzone-whats-happening-tnv4-71/ Wed, 01 Apr 2009 16:12:04 GMT I've noted that TNJobs will be going away when we release the new site, but I haven't made much mention of SpeedZone as of late.

SpeedZone, our RCT/NoLimits file showcase, has had a history dating back to 2001, when it was completely in the forums. We then moved to a version 2.0, designed and built by Davin Pavlas, which was a complete bust (anyone who remembers that... kudos to you). Version 3.0 of SpeedZone came out when we still had version 2.0 of ThrillNetwork (which was around June of 2003), constructed by TNv3 developer Belahost (which worked better than TNv1 and TNv2 ever did). We then modified SpeedZone 3.0 twice... once to fit the TNv3 design, and once more to convert some of the Perl scripts, as well as give it a bit of a visual refresh.

At its peak, we were running contests, including season pass giveaways. However, with a disinterest in the contests, along with other sites coming around to showcase NoLimits and RCT talent.

When TNv4 launches on April 5th, SpeedZone will not be among the sections available at launchtime. The reasons really boil down to 1) A lack of interest among staff to look over the section, 2) Time and resources to port SpeedZone to the new site (login systems, templates, etc. will no longer be compatible), and 3) the other sites that have come around.

If you are using SpeedZone, some of you are probably feeling a bit of outrage, and wondering what will happen to your work. Rest assured, your work will not be lost. However, it will be unavailable until we can figure out what to do and how to make the files available within the new site. If you wish to share new files, The SpeedZone forums will remain in place, and files can continue to be uploaded there.

If there is enough demand, we will find some way of bringing back SpeedZone in a new form. But, it will take lots of feedback and demand for that to happen. ]]> Steven http://www.thrillnetwork.com/boards/blogs/steven/speedzone-whats-happening-tnv4-71/ So... testing begins http://www.thrillnetwork.com/boards/blogs/steven/so-testing-begins-69/ Mon, 30 Mar 2009 21:07:56 GMT I drew from those who volunteered, along with those who gave me a note by email or other means to test the features of the new site. Some of them were even testers in the last redesign back in 2003.

If you weren't selected... don't feel bad, or don't feel like I left you out. I follow a closed testing process, which allows me to better control the possibility of what bugs are found and getting them fixed.

I'm hoping to have the new site up Sunday, April 5th, in the afternoon. The work won't be done, as there will still likely be some odds and ends that will be taken care of. However, in the end, it will still be a clean version of the new site. It took us a couple of months to normalize things when we did the current site after launch, and I'm expecting much of the same with this. ]]> Steven http://www.thrillnetwork.com/boards/blogs/steven/so-testing-begins-69/ Quick brown foxes and Farts http://www.thrillnetwork.com/boards/blogs/steven/quick-brown-foxes-farts-67/ Sat, 28 Mar 2009 05:27:58 GMT If any of you have actually looked at the last screenshot of the progress of TNv4, you'll notice some very interesting stories.

The plan is to import our stories from December 3, 2003 forward to our new news content system (we have stories going back to 2001 in our news archive, which we will work on bringing over later). However, I can't do any imports as of yet since we are waiting on a couple of components for it to work the way it should We're hoping for that to happen over this weekend.

In the meantime, I had to fill in some "content" of sorts to help with testing of any new code and integration. So, you'll see such made up stories to make it interesting.

When we go live, you won't see those stories, but hey... if you're one of the lucky testers, you can have some fun, too.

Since I'm on a roll of posting some screenshots, I'm going to post the evolution of the TN homepage. I wish The Wayback Machine had shots of our very first version, but someone before me decided that they block even web robots. How ****ty is that? At least I still have logos!

So enjoy the mini-gallery that I uploaded. Should be fun, especially for those of you who have been around as long as I have!
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]]> Steven http://www.thrillnetwork.com/boards/blogs/steven/quick-brown-foxes-farts-67/ Update 3/21/09 (and testers needed). http://www.thrillnetwork.com/boards/blogs/steven/update-3-21-09-testers-needed-64/ Sun, 22 Mar 2009 02:45:45 GMT With about two months before we relaunch TNv4, I have *most* of the forum stuff complete. In fact, it gets hard for me to look at this site and how narrow it is.

I've started to work on the main part of the site, particularly the news. This is the highlight of the changes, because this will totally change how we think about and do news.

We'll be going to a blog-style format, allowing for more original posts as well as our traditional news. Best of all, comments can and will be made directly from the forums.

Now, to ask... will your comments from previous news stories carry over? The answer to that is no. However, your post counts will not go down.

Why the change? We've seen resistance to contribution on this site. Many of you won't leave the cocoon of the forums, which in my opinion, is very sad of you. While you can post comments on news directly from the forums, you will still be expected to contribute news items. That means, the next Cedar Fair news story will not go under parks, you will have to submit under News. Moderators will be instructed to close news items as such.

Well, how do you post news? You'll be able to post a blog entry, which will then enter a queue. Our editors will make any necessary revisions and approve it.

Also, I am also looking for testers. Please post here if you are interested.
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]]> Steven http://www.thrillnetwork.com/boards/blogs/steven/update-3-21-09-testers-needed-64/ TNv4 Progress http://www.thrillnetwork.com/boards/blogs/steven/tnv4-progress-62/ Mon, 16 Mar 2009 01:35:44 GMT Well, this weekend was supposed to be dedicated to work on the new site. But, of course, technology has its way of throwing a monkey wrench into things. We use a special piece of software called vBSEO, which allows for search-engine friendly URLs to be used on the forums, as well as provide... Well, this weekend was supposed to be dedicated to work on the new site. But, of course, technology has its way of throwing a monkey wrench into things.

We use a special piece of software called vBSEO, which allows for search-engine friendly URLs to be used on the forums, as well as provide other functions related to search engine optimization.

Well, about 6 hours after the upgrade was complete, somehow it broke. Many of you were met with a PHP error as soon as you tried to reach the site. We had to work with the maker of the software in order to get it fixed. Once we got rid of the error, most of you were met with the "plunger" graphic that we use anytime we have the forums down for maintenance. until about 6:00pm this evening.

Had everything gone to plan, I would've had significant progress in the construction of TNv4. However, I am able to bring you a screenshot of what I am working on.

I am basically rebuilding the forum template, so that it comes close to what we have now, yet fits within the scheme of the new site. It is not complete (there is still *much* work to do on the forum template, including tweaking and all). But, you will have an idea of what the end result will come close to looking like.

Just to describe... it will still retain the red/burgundy scheme. But, it will have the wider content area (you can't tell this by my screenshot, but it is 200 pixels wider).
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]]> Steven http://www.thrillnetwork.com/boards/blogs/steven/tnv4-progress-62/ Forum maintenance 3/14/2009 http://www.thrillnetwork.com/boards/blogs/steven/forum-maintenance-3-14-2009-61/ Sat, 14 Mar 2009 21:39:28 GMT Yeah, it's short notice, but to begin the prep work for TNv4, we need to upgrade our forums. We will be down starting at 9:00pm EDT, and hopefully we will be down no less than an hour.

We will be upgrading all vBulletin components... that is, vBulletin, our blog software, and some related software.

There will be some new features available (to both the Blog and the Forums). More will be available later. ]]> Steven http://www.thrillnetwork.com/boards/blogs/steven/forum-maintenance-3-14-2009-61/ Here we go... http://www.thrillnetwork.com/boards/blogs/steven/here-we-go-58/ Mon, 09 Mar 2009 16:12:30 GMT I haven't updated this blog lately... lots of stuff getting in the way.

It was December of 2003 when we launched the current revision of this site (TNv3). Knowing that sites tend to get old, We have been planning to do a major revision of our site for a couple of years now, but three things have been getting in the way... time, money, and resources.

Running ThrillNetwork is not a full-time job by any means, because we only make enough to support the hosting as well as other neciessities (software licensing and so forth). None of us get paid, so yeah, we all pretty much have full-time jobs (except for those of us who may have been affected by layoffs and such... I'm grateful that I still have my job). So, whatever we put into this ends up coming out of our pockets at times.

To complicate matters, the person who owned the company (Belahost) that helped complete TNv3 passed away recently after dealing with longtime health issues, so that left us in a bind, considering we had the relationship going back to when we first built SpeedZone.

So, what we decided to do was see what was working and what wasn't working. I started up the social group, invited a good active cross-section of membership, and saw lots of great feedback. Based on that, along with observations I made over the years, I took on the job of coding and designing the new version of ThrillNetwork (TNv4).

I'll be happy to say that our logo won't be changing (much... it will not be in its present form for our masthead -- the top part of each page -- but it will be recognizable in that the basic "TN" part will still be there).

We will still feature a top navigation, but it will be better and help make it easier to get to other parts of the site (including drop-down menus).

Besides the look, the major change is how we treat news stories. We will, for once, have integration between our stories and the forums. You will see a special "News and Special Features" forum at launch, where all news will go. Along with that, we will go to more of a blog-style format. While we already have a quasi-blog-style, we cannot extend it the way we want to, especially with the forum integration. It will also allow you to submit news stories a lot easier, and allow for greater member participation in the publishing of news.

We will also have a bigger content area (950 pixels over our current 750, with a cleaner look that will allow us to do even more that we cannot even do now.

The last major improvement will involve how pictures are displayed in the forums. Right now, people using photobucket or other 3rd party photo sharing services will use image tags in-line, which breaks our current design template. There will be solutions in place that will thumbnail those images, and when clicked, will blow up so that they can clearly be seen on the computer.

I will post updates as progress has been made, along with other little tidbits. Until then, sit down. log in. hang on! ]]> Steven http://www.thrillnetwork.com/boards/blogs/steven/here-we-go-58/ More changes, more gripes by me... http://www.thrillnetwork.com/boards/blogs/steven/more-changes-more-gripes-me-50/ Wed, 12 Nov 2008 20:55:16 GMT We will be doing some maintenance over the weekend (11/14-11/16), so at times, there may be some momentary downtime. We need to do some maintenance to vBulletin, as well as some other parts of the site. Also, some people may have noticed this thread... ... We will be doing some maintenance over the weekend (11/14-11/16), so at times, there may be some momentary downtime. We need to do some maintenance to vBulletin, as well as some other parts of the site.

Also, some people may have noticed this thread...

http://www.thrillnetwork.com/boards/...s-stories.html

Here is how I saw the posts... the staff made their comments, and the members who posted came off as ignorant and lazy. Naturally, I had enough.

We, as a staff, have put in thousands of hours to this site. On top of that, there are thousands of hours put into the design and construction of the site. Unlike some others, we don't have the luxury of having it be our full time job, and being able to make income off of memberships and stuff. Our advertising revenue pays for our server co-location and bandwidth, and what's leftover takes care of other costs, such as software licensing and operating costs. In the end, we as staff see zero.

Then, when I find out cases like this, where people who are so deeply forum-centric post stuff like that, I can't help but get angry. One of your fellow members actually went off and started criticizing the blogs for not being used. Well, I never expected full use. Furthermore, the blogs were part of a bigger upgrade that we purchased when we renewed our forum software license and did the major upgrade to 3.7.x (which offers the enhanced profiles and social networking features).

Did I expect this site to become the next MySpace or Facebook? Hell no! In fact, we've been trying to work on getting it so we can integrate some of our features with MySpace and Facebook (yeah, some others have already offered features like coaster counts and such, but we can do better).

Trust me though... I don't get like this anytime there is an issue. To think of ThrillNetwork as just the forums is really not good for you as a member. One of my pet peeves is a duplication of efforts and discussion... because it hurts everyone all around. That is why we have things the way they're set up.

However, we're in the midst of testing some new things that will make it easier for everyone to submit news, participate in news discussion, and so forth. Unfortunately, it takes time, and until then, we ask that you take time and use more of the site, and not be so reliant on the forums for everything. ]]> Steven http://www.thrillnetwork.com/boards/blogs/steven/more-changes-more-gripes-me-50/ Further notes on the changes... http://www.thrillnetwork.com/boards/blogs/steven/further-notes-changes-37/ Mon, 01 Sep 2008 02:53:14 GMT We have made the forum changes. We still have to add the other new features. However, from this point forward, all "Official xxx thread" megathreads are no longer allowed. This includes "xxx general discussion" threads (they fit the same idea that we really need to split up).

Exceptions are in the Rumors and Construction forums. As far as the new "Sports Bar" forum, we'll keep an eye on it, and find ways of keeping some organization.

The reason is this. We simply want to get you to start new discussions on particular topics. A thread is linear in discussion. A forum is non-linear. It's easier to start new discussions in new threads, than to start new discussions in a megathread about Cedar Point or the current NFL season.

We have never been hard-nosed about the forum layout. However, if we find we need a subforum or a new forum for something, we'll create it.

As I noted in my last blog, the Sports forum came from an idea by one of your fellow creators. We kept note of the idea, and we found the need for it, we acted upon it.

We realize that this may not sit well with all members. However, we felt that the threads were beginning to hurt participation. Seasoned members (especially those who have been here since we started the forums in 2001), you might see repeat threads started by newbies. Please don't harass them about it. Help them with whatever questions they have, and help them find a way to keep the discussion fresh. ]]> Steven http://www.thrillnetwork.com/boards/blogs/steven/further-notes-changes-37/ More changes coming... http://www.thrillnetwork.com/boards/blogs/steven/more-changes-coming-36/ Sat, 30 Aug 2008 05:16:42 GMT I'm sitting here, listening to Metallica's "The Day That Never Comes" (from their new Death Magnetic album) and drinking Yuengling...

On Saturday, you're going to notice a few merged forums, one disappearing forum, and one new forum. Along with that, you'll notice a few other changes. Here are those changes...
  • "Roller Coasters" and "Other Rides and Thrills" will be merged into "Roller Coasters, Thrill Rides, and Other Thrills"
  • "Trip Reports" and "Travel Tips" forums will be merged into "Trip Reports and Travel Tips". Furthermore, you are encouraged to submit your trip report for a TN Feature on the front page. If it's good enough to go on the front page, it may earn you a little money.
  • "Show Off Your Site" (SOYS) will be removed altogether. If you wish to promote your site, you can do so through your signature, submitting your site through our links page, and using your profile and blog.
  • A new forum "Sports Bar" will be created. Since we have a lot of sports fans, that will be the new center of discussion. This was actually suggested by one of your fellow members a couple of years back, and we have not forgotten this suggestion, but we do see the need for it now.
  • A new feature, similar to Myspace/Facebook's status, will be added.
  • Along with these changes, "Official..." threads will be banned. They have had the effect of stifling discussion on specific topics. If we have so much discussion on Cedar Fair, Six Flags, Universal, or other parks, we may start a sub-forum for each. The only real exceptions will be in Rumors and Construction.
Also, we will be going down momentarily for some forum software updates to fix bugs and possible security issues. This is routine maintenance, and your access to the forum may be restricted for a few minutes. We do this as updates to vBulletin are released.

Lastly, we will be making some staff changes. You will see the new staff, along with changes in our existing staff, in the coming weeks as we get them acclimated to their duties.

The intent of these changes is to stir some things up in here. We want to split up the discussion going on a bit more and throw some fire into the site. Along with that, this is just part of periodic maintenance that we do to keep the site going. ]]> Steven http://www.thrillnetwork.com/boards/blogs/steven/more-changes-coming-36/ MySpace vs. Facebook http://www.thrillnetwork.com/boards/blogs/steven/myspace-vs-facebook-32/ Mon, 11 Aug 2008 22:56:39 GMT If you are one of my closer friends, I'm a reasonably heavy user of MySpace and Facebook. Both MySpace and Facebook have been undergoing transitions as of late.

MySpace has been integrating various changes one step at a time (I loved their new landing page after you've logged in). They are supposedly working on a profile redesign, which I have no idea what that holds.

Facebook has pushed their new site into beta (Welcome to Facebook! | Facebook). I tried it for about 2 days, and it sucked. Nothing really worked.

I continue to use both because I have friends that are on one site, but not the other. I like to keep in touch with them, so cancelling one seems to be out of the question.

I'm curious though... which social network do you use, and why? ]]> Steven http://www.thrillnetwork.com/boards/blogs/steven/myspace-vs-facebook-32/ The forum URLs are different all of the sudden? http://www.thrillnetwork.com/boards/blogs/steven/forum-urls-different-all-sudden-19/ Sat, 14 Jun 2008 04:54:43 GMT We added new software that makes them easier for Google and Yahoo to crawl them and gather information. If you noticed, there were some times when you couldn't get to your favorite forum or thread, and getting redirected back to thrillnetwork.com's hompage.

We worked out the kinks with that part. Now, we are going to work on the other features, such as your own URL. That will be more complicated to implement, and will take some time, and along with that, more chances for there to be some glitches.

Right now, member profiles are accessible by a URL similar to this...

http://www.thrillnetwork.com/boards/members/steven.html

I'm hoping to shorten that, or make it easier to type in. It'll take lots of tweaking, but hopefully, we'll get it working. ]]> Steven http://www.thrillnetwork.com/boards/blogs/steven/forum-urls-different-all-sudden-19/ Hats for Bats for President http://www.thrillnetwork.com/boards/blogs/steven/hats-bats-president-17/ Thu, 05 Jun 2008 19:10:05 GMT http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/TV/0...nts/index.html

I was reading that article here at work. Of course, since Dennis Haysbert is in there, it always makes me think of his Pedro Cerrano character from "Major League", hence the title's reference.

In the early part of this season on "The Unit" (before the Writer's Strike), where he currently stars, he donned the Cerrano look. I had to do a double take when I saw it, and he sounded just like the character, as well. He's since gone back to the way everyone else is familiar with on that series, as well as on "24" and the Allstate commercials.

Instead of Obama (who I voted for), I would rather have this guy for President. He'd do well, especially among all religious groups (since he appears to change from Voodoo to Buddhism to Christianity (I think) in the Major League series of movies). ]]> Steven http://www.thrillnetwork.com/boards/blogs/steven/hats-bats-president-17/ Moving... http://www.thrillnetwork.com/boards/blogs/steven/moving-14/ Thu, 15 May 2008 00:44:04 GMT I hate anytime I have to move. Well, who really likes to move? Well, unless you're going to someplace that's more than worth it.

I have to move at the end of the month because my complex is going to do inside renovations to the entire building, and they don't want us to breathe in the old lead and asbestos (even though my building is roughly about 35 years old).

Anyway, I've been trying to pack, but it's been tough, with work, apartment hunting, and all that. Furthermore, my desktop at home decided to act up, and I ended up replacing the entire thing. I got a Dell Inspiron 530 with an Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 processor, 4GB of RAM, 500GB Hard Drive, and Vista Home Premium. I have a copy of Vista Ultimate that I can upgrade with (yeah, it's legal... got it two weeks ago from going to a launch event for 2008 server, that's how I got my copy of Office 2007, when they had an event for Office and Vista).

I must say that with Vista, I'm impressed with the way it runs. I had an Intel Pentium 4 2.4Ghz with XP Home. Vista boots faster on this than XP ever did on my old machine. It also runs faster overall. Of course, I have the power under the hood now.

Back to the moving... you likely won't see me doing much for the next few weeks, and there will be a few days I won't have Internet (except at work). That doesn't mean you all have free roam, since this Nazi Admin has his Nazi Lead Moderator and his gang, LOL.

In the meantime, just have fun, and I'll be on here and there. ]]> Steven http://www.thrillnetwork.com/boards/blogs/steven/moving-14/