Just a lil news...

No real reason for me to post this pic except that I can't stand the Yankees and I'll take any chance to jump on any weakness they show... like this rather 'gay' moment here.

Anyway, I haven't posted anything for a while outside of my virus alert, so, I thought I'd fill y'all in.

First off, I'm proud to let you all know that with A's in Microsoft Applications and Pre-Production Techniques that I've landed on the dean's list for the first time. Consider the fact that a little over a year ago I was on academic suspension, this makes this feat something to talk about. I guess I should be proud either way, but, really I didn't expect it. I still really question if I even deserve it. Frankly, the Microsoft Applications course was what I like to call... pud. Meaning, extremely easy. But, I thought I was doing average in Pre-Production Techniques and would get an average grade. Thing about it is that I underestimated myself with my grades with the Winter quarter too. I thought I was doing average and came out with B's.

Mom was so proud of me that she insisted on getting me a gift for it. So, I told her I'd like a copy of NCAA Football '06 when it comes out in July. So, expect my grades to drop again. Kidding.

So, now, this is one of the few times I can remember looking forward to going to school. This is because I'll be taking Web Design I, in which we work with Dreamweaver, and Photoshop II. Finally, I'm getting to do the stuff I came to college for in the first place. I'll be taking what is a hobby for me and start making a little money with it.

Anyway, there's not much else going on. I've mostly been working or sleeping during my summer break. So, nothing else too thrilling.

Y'all B.E.Z.

Virus Alert

Over the past couple of days I've gotten a string of emails on my yahoo account posing as "official" yahoo emails. With the email comes an attachment... that attachment contains the W32.Mytob virus. The W32.Mytob virus is a mass-mailing worm that opens a back door and lowers security settings on the compromised computer. It affects Windows 2000, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows Me, Windows NT, Windows Server 2003, and Windows XP. Looking at Symantec's website for recent virus threats, W32.Mytob has come up a lot over the past week and it appears that it's constantly changing letters after W32.Mytob (ex: W32.Mytob.ED@mm).

The sender of these particular emails have been using yahoo.com addresses. Official yahoo emails come as yahoo-inc.com.

For you yahoo mail users, here's an example of what a real email from yahoo would look like:

Notice that it's highlighted in blue and had the red yahoo "Y".

And here's how the fake emails with the virus look:

Notice it's not highlighted and there's no yahoo "Y". It also has the paperclip showing there's an attachment.

Now, I have two guess on why I'm getting these. 1. Someone's simply playing asshole and wants to send me a virus, or 2. the most likely option is that someone who has me in their address book has this virus which is why I would suggest scanning your computer now. It's a good idea to do so at least once a week anyway.

Web mail is a good way to keep viruses off your pc. But, if you use web mail or an email client (ex. Outlook or Thunderbird), never open attachments from strange sources.

Just lookin' out for yall.

B.E.Z.

Here we go again

It looks as if my hometown of Pensacola, FL could be in for another bout with a tropical cyclone.

Last September, Pensacola and the surrounding area had to deal with Hurricane Ivan (check the Sept 2004 archives). Ivan was by far the strongest storm to hit the Pensacola area on record. The storm did so much damage that even nine months later, there's still damage that has not been cleaned up.

The fear that the Pensacola area had was that another storm would come before all the cleanup efforts could be made and before the city could be rebuilt. The main concern is that some of the lingering debris would be swept up and tossed becoming a projectile moving at whatever the wind speed was.

Well, the fear may be dealt with. Enter Tropical Storm Arlene, a little pinwheel of hell spinning just to the south of the western tip of Cuba. The storm is expected to move north to a general area from Panama City, FL to New Orleans, LA... that puts the Pensacola area right in the center. The good news, however, is that the storm is only expected to strengthen minorly. Good news being that Pensacola is not ready for another hurricane.

Let's keep our fingers crossed.

Officially Summer

I'm finally done with classes. I've yet to find out what my grades are yet, since they're not posted on the college's website yet. However, I feel confident in how I've done.

I've also made sure my FAFSA (federal financial aid) is in order for 2005-06 so that my education remains as free as possible.

I'm really looking forward to my classes next quarter. I'm slated to take Photoshop II and Web Design I. I'm really excited about the web design. I'm hoping in the process of that class that I can learn some things to spice up this here page you're looking at now. So, don't be surprised if some changes come next month or so.

The only downside I'm experiencing is that I'm now in the middle of five consecutive work days. I love the money and all, but, I need a little time to vegetate you know? But, I did see I get three out of four days off during the middle of next week so I suppose I'll do my relaxing then.

The Boards are Being Improved!!!

I haven't seen the results yet, as the servers for proboards.com are currently updating as I type this. But, I understand there are a lot of new features coming to the message board, including:

1. File Attachments - this could either be a good thing or a bad thing, but, you now have the ability to post photos in your messages.

2. Backup Personal Messages - With this new feature, you now have the ability to download a ZIP file of all your personal messages from the board.

3. Faster Searching - This feature allows you to find that one post you've been looking for.

Then there's some other admin features being added that only I need to know about. But, it sounds like they're stepping in the right direction with this service, so, when it's back up feel free to take advantage of that.

B.E.Z.

Time Flies

Happy June everyone. It kind of shocked me this morning when I looked on the clock and noticed it said "6/1" it. Anyways, summer is coming soon in a lot of respects. We've already had the "unofficial start of summer" just the other day on Memorial Day. We obviously have the "scientific" start of summer on June 21st. Meanwhile for me, summer begins at approximately 2:50 pm Central Daylight Time next Wednesday the 8th. That's when I'm officially done with this quarter's classes.

I know in my Mircosoft Apps. class that I'm in good standing as I'm getting everything done. I can't say the say about my Pre-productions Techniques class. The problem I have without his class is it's just so damn boring to me. It's another one of those deals where the program is so broad that this class falls in one of the areas I'm not interested in. I constantly have to remind myself that everything ties into itself and that everything in here has a purpose when it comes to web design.

Still, this hasn't been enough motivation for me when it concerns this class. So, here I sit with three actual class days left and I still have some work to do. This means I'll probley be staying until 2:50pm for the first time in a while just to get stuff in. I just hope I don't get any of my classic migranes that also like to hamper me during this class time.

Anyways, hope everyone is looking forward to summer like I am.

B.E.Z.