Profile Gallery Scraps Journal Polls Faves Stars Neighbours

Report

epochwolf Status: Former coder, former literature gallery moderator Location: /dev/sda4 Type of artist: Science Fiction/Fantasy Writer Registered: Mar 13, 2007 Last online: 21h ago

Email: EpochWolf@gmail.com website Aim: EpochWolf@gmail.com Google talk: Email me so I can authorize you. Yahoo: epochwolfgmail Msn: EpochWolf@gmail.com

Artworks: 25 Scraps: 5 Favourites Given: 154 Favourites Received: 18 Stars Given: 27 Stars Received: 4 Comments Received: 2083 Comments Given: 1580 Postcount: 2025 Pageviews: 1569

Written by epochwolf
At Aug 19, 2008, 1:19:02 AM


My laptop of 2 years has stopped working. It looks like a motherboard problem. I'll be taking it into a place to have it looked at. I suspect a dead motherboard which is not something that's worth repairing.

This couldn't come at a worse time. I have a project due in a week and a half. There is no way I can get a new laptop before I get paid for the last job, which will be later this week. A new laptop would take about two/three weeks to arrive once I order one. Getting this one checked out will take two days to bring with so I'm stuck with my desktop. :(

I didn't lose any data and I put my laptop's drive into my external case. So I'll have all my work files but I still need to finish installing linux on my desktop since it was running Windows XP. It's going to be difficult to finish this project with the amount of time I've lost due to project requirements changing every week and now I don't have a working computer powerful enough to use NetBeans. So I'm stuck with a rather limited text editor (compared to NetBeans).

On top of that, I've been looking at getting a Macbook Pro in the future. My Dad thinks Macs are a complete waste of money. (I'm not asking him to pay for any of it.) So I had a less than fun conversation tonight. I am more than willing to spend the extra money on a Mac because I want to be a web developer. Having good tools is half of the job. It's hard to develop without proper tools. I want to move away from IDEs but it's difficult when I'm stuck on platforms with limited or difficult alternatives.

Written by epochwolf
At Aug 12, 2008, 2:55:39 AM


I've been mostly absent around here for a long time. Mostly because of work. I've been posting stuff on my blog but it's mostly about the stuff I find or relate to in the music I listen to. I don't expect my blog to be all that interesting to the majority of the people here.

Anyway, I've been doing freelance programming and I've determine that I'm going to get a job as a programmer for a company. Full time programming. No more freelance work! >.< I'm a structured person and freelance work has very little structure.

I've written a few thousand words this summer and it's not enough. So I've been thinking about starting NaNoWriMo a bit early. Like... next week. With a work project due in 3 weeks and school starting right after that.

I'll have to see how that goes. If I decide to start, I'll be posting weekly updates either here or on my blog.

Written by epochwolf
At Jun 16, 2008, 2:58:21 AM


Burning Out
I've been running all over the place from a number of obligations. I am so close to burning out. When things get like this I wonder why I even exist. Why do I have so many things to do? What's the point in all this. I happened to listen to the song below. I'll continue my journal below it.


YouTube: A Whisper and A Clamor by Anberlin
Growing tired of bedside resolve
Public display of depression
Something's got to give now
Something's going to break down
I grow tired of writing songs
While people listen but never hear what's really going on now
Tell me what's so wrong now

Clap your hands all ye children
There's a clamor in your whispering
Clap your hands tonight
Hear what the silence screams
Clap your hands
Clap your hands now all ye children
Clap your hands all ye children
There's a clamor in your whispering tonight

For most who live and breathe
Hell is never knowing who they are now
Tell me who you are now
Finally safe from the outside trapped in what you know
Are you safe from yourself? Can you escape all by yourself?

Clap your hands all ye children
There's a clamor in your whispering
Clap your hands tonight
Hear what the silence screams
Clap your hands
Clap your hands now all ye children
Clap your hands all ye children
There's a clamor in your whispering tonight
Clap your hands
Clap your hands now all ye children
Clap your hands
There's a clamor in your whispering tonight

It's not the lies that you sing
But what the silence will scream
It's not the lies that you sing
But what the silence will scream
It's not the lies that you sing
But what the silence will scream

Clap your hands all ye children
There's a clamor in your whispering
Clap your hands tonight
Hear what the silence screams
Clap your hands
Clap your hands now all ye children
Clap your hands all ye children
There's a clamor in your whispering tonight


Away from Nothing and Everything
Anyway, I was pondering this tonight. I managed to catch bronchitis on Friday so I didn't do much this weekend. The little I accomplished aside. I've realized that I've yet again not made time to relax. I really do put myself last in alot of ways and I end up wasted time doing things that only create stress while seeming to delay it. I find the song's lines "It's not the lies that you sing / But what the silence will scream" very meaningful.

When I sit down and listen to what my heart is saying deep down I find a lost person. When all the clamor of the world is far away I am lost, alone, and unhappy. I keep myself busy to hide from myself. C.S. Lewis said it best: "If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world." The answers I seek are beyond anything a human can provide. I have known this for a long time. My feelings result from being in a world to which I do not belong.

Now What?
I picked up a book my dad was reading called "Chasing Daylight". My dad doesn't read many books anymore, the few he does read now are worth spending an entire day reading and rereading a single chapter. It has this on page 6, "...God has been either terribly misunderstood or tragically misrepresented. All God seems to be known for is legalism, rules, judgments, commands, and wrath. In fact, Jesus calls us to live a life of unimaginable adventure."

In my heart I knew this was what I was missing. I'm  made for a life of unimaginable adventure. I daydream as various characters I wish I could be. A warrior, a sorcerer, fighter pilot, and more. I dream of adventure, of moral struggles, of tough decisions in a world of moral uncertainties. The words of C.S. Lewis ring in my ears. I do not belong here. I am an alien in this world, sent for a purpose, an adventure.

I have heard my whisper, now I need to figure out what to do. The adventure has already started, and I'm lost. I need a map and a guide. Thankfully, God has provided both. I need only ask.

Written by epochwolf
At Jun 6, 2008, 2:18:00 PM

Stolen from [Valys]
(I'm very very sorry about not having my mayfly stuff done. Today will the first day in weeks that I have any length of free time.)

*cough*
on to the awesome stuff.

1. ROCK STAR NAME (first pet & current car):
Pleco Durango

Pleco was a Plecostomus. I was 7 at the time I named it. It lived for 4 years.

2. GANGSTA NAME (fave ice cream flavor, favorite cookie):
Vanilla Thin Mint

Wooooo GANGSTA BABY!

3. "FLY Guy/Girl" NAME (first initial of first name, first three letters of your last name):
B-Maj

B-Mage anyone?

4. DETECTIVE NAME (favorite color, favorite animal):
Black Panther

I beat noone saw that coming. Panther!?

5. SOAP OPERA NAME (middle name, city where you were born):
Michael Chicago

Hmm.. that's kinda cool, that is if Soap Opera didn't suck majorly.

6. STAR WARS NAME (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first):
BrMaj

More lame.

7. SUPERHERO NAME ("The" + 2nd favorite color, favorite drink):
The Blue Sobe

Oh yeah, I kick ass. The Elixer Sobe is my favorite right now.

8. NASCAR NAME (the first names of your grandfathers):
Alvin John

That's more rockstar than nascar in my opinion

9. STRIPPER NAME ( the name of your favorite perfume/cologne/scent, favorite candy):
Jelly Belly

I don't have cologne actually. And I love Jelly Bellys. >.> and I'm overweight... this is just too funny.

10. WITNESS PROTECTION NAME (mother's & father's middle names):
Dale Rae

Something actually awesome.

11. TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME (Your 5th grade teacher's last name, a major city that starts with the same letter):
Jackson Jacobson

That's a tongue twister.

12. SPY NAME (your favorite season/holiday, flowers):
Winter Tiger Lily

LOL!

13. CARTOON NAME (favorite fruit, article of clothing you're wearing right now + "ie" or "y"):
Kiwi Camo Shorty

Awesome

14. HIPPY NAME (What you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree):
White Birch Tea

I had sweet and sour chicken with tea this morning... That's a pretty normal breakfast for me. And the fact that birch bark burns really easily make it an awesome tree.

15. ROCKSTAR TOUR NAME ("The" + Your fave hobby/craft, fave weather element + "Tour"):

The Writing Derecho Tour

Derecho on Wikipedia for the confused.

Written by epochwolf
At May 27, 2008, 1:36:35 AM


COMP SCI 242
DISCRETE MATHEMATICS II
C


COMP SCI 257
SOFTWARE DESIGN II
BC


INFO SCI 308
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES
BC


MATH 202
CALCULUS-ANALYT GEOM I
C

YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
BOOYAH!
~~AWESOME~~

Now it's time for me to work on the Mayfly stuff.

Written by epochwolf
At May 15, 2008, 5:39:22 PM

I just finished my first exam. I was pretty sure I bombed by missing at least 2 out of 8 questions. And knowing previous exams, I'll miss more by not being complete enough.

But, as it turns out, a C is 72% and I think I have enough from homework and previous exams to offset a bad final if I get a 70%. (I hope...)

Written by epochwolf
At May 8, 2008, 4:59:52 AM

Some of the greatest inspirations and messages of my life come in the middle of the night after a day of hard and long work.

----

Pslam / Dominic MacGowan by The Crossing


I lift up my eyes
     and I look to the mountains,
And see by their shadow
     I'm nothing at all.
The hills tower over me
     black and forbidding;
The tangles of forest
     bid me come and fall.

No light may enter those caves,
     a great fortress,
Their darkness defended
     by cavern and wall.
A torrent, a flood
     crashes over the rocks and
The thundering falls
     drown a voice still and small:

Listen, my child, for I
     made these great mountains,
The sky far above you,
     the rocks and the falls,
The tangles of forest,
     the caves and the crags
And whatever dwells in them;
     my hands formed them all.

The shadows are emptied
     of threat for I'm in them
As I am with you
     where you follow my call.
So lift up your eyes
     and look over the mountains
And walk in my shadow;
     I'll not let you fall.

----

Walk in my shadow, I'll not let you fall.

Written by epochwolf
At Apr 15, 2008, 8:14:04 PM


I decided that I would try to get into the mind of a character I have been working on. His name is will not be mentioned right now. I don't want to say too much and risk losing my desire to write about him. The character is blind. He wasn't born that way. So to get into the character I would have to try to become blind. A blindfold and several very dark rooms would be perfect. The basement of the house I live in was near perfect and on Tuesdays I have at least 3 to 4 hours alone.

So I'm here in the basement, finishing up the beginning of my journal. I didn't bother to clear out anything. There isn't too much I'm worried of breaking down here and running into things would make the experience more real. I brought down an old cd player so I would play some music to experience with my ears alone, no sights to distract me. I choose "Dancing at the Crossroads" by The Crossing, a Celtic band that I enjoy. I don't know what to expect. There is three rooms down here. One pantry with lots of cans on the shelves and a freezer, my mom's craft room, and large game room with a tv, game consoles and my office area.

My blind fold is the sleeve of a shirt. I had cut off the sleeves of a shirt when I was on spring break during my first year of college. I was down in Mississippi helping rebuild homes. It was bloody hot and I used the sleeves as a sweat band. They were too warm as part of my shirt. Anyway, enough history. I'll pull it down over my eyes and see how long I need to do this to get a glimpse of what it's like to go blind.  

Where do I even start? Well, My eyes are still adjusting back to the light they hurt a bit but it's not terribly bad. When I first turned off the lights and covered my eyes I didn't really notice much. I felt tired so I took a nap that probably lasted nearly 45 minutes. Judging by the file access times on my journal I was blindfolded for about an hour and 15 minutes. Getting up from my nap I noticed nearly absolute silence. But when I sat up I was able to hear my desktop's fan. (Yeah, I finally got an old computer last Friday to replace my dead desktops.) I sat back down and was still hearing the fan. I guess if you heard sounds long enough you don't really hear them on a concious level until they change. Not something I have noticed before.

After walking around a bit I noticed that I was able to judge my location and how far I was traveling significantly better than before my nap. (I did spend about 10 minutes walking around before I laid down on the couch.) I tried listening to the echoes after I spoke. I noticed that I could hear tiny differences in the echo depending on where I was facing. So I would imagine that a blind person could tell some general things about a room just from the way sound echoes. It was really something to experience. Reading about it doesn't come close.

For the last ten minutes I played the CD I had setup. I turned off my desktop first so it's fan wouldn't get in the way of the music. The sound was so clear. Clearer than it had ever been in my life. While I listened I focused on touching the coffee table and the pillows on the couch. I was amazed to find that I could feel so much more than I normally would. I'm still processing everything and I need to get outside and let my eyes adjust to normal light. I hope I'll be inspired to write more about the character later. Even if I don't, it was definitely worth it.

Written by epochwolf
At Apr 10, 2008, 5:32:38 PM


Fall 2008 looks like:

ANTHRO 320 - MYTH,RITUAL,SYMBOL,RELIGION
COMP SCI 353 - COMPUTER ARCHITECTURE & ORG
COMP SCI 371 - ADV OBJ-ORIENT DESIGN-C++
INFO SCI 201 - INFORMATION,COMPUTERS,SOC

Should be interesting. Really looking forward to the Anthro class. (Anthropology, not furries ;))

Written by epochwolf
At Mar 22, 2008, 6:26:47 PM


Just a warning, I haven't had more than an hour's sleep in the last 36 hours. (Maybe it's more?) So, typos and maybe a little language.

This is the first time I've been able to get internet access. I'm in a hotel in south-west Wisconsin. (Note, my home is in the north-east part of the state) My brother didn't bother to check when he could get back into his dorm. Apparently it's not until Sunday at 5:00pm. I had planned on being back home at noon today at the very latest. I want to wring his fucking neck but the delays aren't totally his fault.

At 3:00am this morning my mom and I were up driving. (She was driving, I was watching.) My brother and my dad where sleeping in the back. The SUV blew out the passenger side wheel bearings. That ended up delaying us nearly 6 hours. (Thank God we found someone that could fix it at 8:00am.)

I was pretty worked up because of the 2 hours it took to drive the 20 miles to get to a auto repair shop. I don't think I've ever been so terrified in my life.

Then we (my family and I) find out that my brother is locked out of his dorm. My dad managed to get on to the campus's wireless network and into my brother's email only to find a two week old message relating to "Spring Break" that my brother never read. (Did I mention I want to kill him. He's only 8 feet from me right now. )

So, I'm looking at getting home sometime late Sunday night. I'm not going to have time to work on school work that's due Tuesday. I'm not going to have time to relax. I have work Monday and there is a ton of stuff to do that I just might have to put off.

I'm so frustrated I just want to cry or kill someone.

As a result, I don't know when I'll get to my messages. I looked over the various comments and a pm that I received. I know they are out there and I will get to them in time.

Written by epochwolf
At Mar 12, 2008, 6:49:26 PM

I'm going to be gone for two week starting in a day or so. I have 4 exams and then 10 days of spring break. I don't think I'll have internet access. See you all later. :)

Written by epochwolf
At Mar 9, 2008, 6:16:07 PM


There is a trend in the world today. I've known about it for some time but I really haven't said anything about it directly. People want to live their lives without having to be wrong or have beliefs that they hold challenged. Some of those that call themselves "Christians" seem to be like this too I've noticed more recently. So comes the 11th commandment that people seem to throw at Christians.

Thou shalt not JUDGE

Many people claim the Bible says not to judge. Indeed the Bible has the words "Do not judge". It also says, in Psalms, "There is no God".
Context is very important if you are going to quote something. If you ignore context you are one of three things: ignorant, a fool, or a liar. To not confirm the context of a quote is foolish but since one ceases to be a fool when they learn from their mistakes ignorance is listed as on option.

In psalms the context of "There is no God" is "The fool says in his heart there is no God."

Matthew 7:1-2 says "Do not judge lest you be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure; it will be measured to you."

The verse does not state "Do not judge" in the manner that it is commonly used. The phrase "Do not judge lest you be judged." is a warning to those that would call out another person's actions or beliefs. If you are going to "judge" another by some standard you must be ready to to have that same standard measured to you.

If I where to say you should wear a blue shirt on Wednesday, I should be wearing a blue shirt on Wednesday, lest the person I judged accuse me of my obeying my own "standard". It is a warning against not living up to the standard you hold others to. To do otherwise is clearly foolish.

Notes:
For reference I'm using the NASB version of the Bible.

Written by epochwolf
At Feb 18, 2008, 12:40:53 PM


Stolen from the awesome [beruthiel] I needed a reading list and this one should keep me busy for a long time. I've read tons of fantasy and science fiction and a few books and authors outside of those genres. Most notably Tom Clancy, but otherwise I didn't branch out from my favorite genres much. After [BadFurDay] heckled me about not having read most of the "classics" I decided to go ahead and try reading a few. The first book I read was George Orwell's 1984. It was good reading and quite interested. Next I picked up Run Silent, Run Deep. It wasn't a long book but it managed to put Tom Clancy to shame with it's story, details, and accuracy. Every detail in that book was backed by the experiences of the author. (He commanded a submarine in World War II) I would definitely say I prefered Run Silent, Run Deep to 1984.

I just hope I don't manage to finish this in a couple of months.



Ele's sister:
Jellicoe Road - Melina Marchetta
The thirteen and a half lives of Captain Bluebear - Walter Moer
Blaze of Glory - Michael Pryor
Kite runner - Khaled Hosseini
First Test - Tamora Pierce
Eragon - Christopher Paolini

Ele's Dad:
Ivanhoe - Sir Walter Scott

Ele's Mum:
Pride and Prejudice OR Emma - Jane Austen
David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
Lollie Willows - Sylvia Townsend Warner
The Worst Journey in the World - Apsley Cherry-Garrard
A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush - Eric Newby
The Forest People - Colin Turnbull
"At least one Dortmunder book" - Donald Westlake
Mary Barton - Mrs Gaskell
Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
Larkrise to Candleford - Flora Thompson
The Loved One - Evelyn Waugh
Le Morte D'arthur - Malory
The Warden - Anthony Trollope
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency - Alexander McCall Smith
Jonathon Strange and Mr Norrell - Susanna Clarke
Short stories by Arthur Conan Doyle
A Distant Mirror - Barbara Tuchman

Ele's Jim (Honourary Brother the first):
Ender's Game and its sequel - Orson Scott Card

[Patty]:
Carrie - Stephen King
White Mountains Trilogy - John Christopher
The Canterbury Tales - Chaucer
Tomorrow, When the War Began series - John Marsden

[Fledgist]:
Things Fall Apart, and Anthills of the Savannah - Chinua Achebe
Poetry of Pamela Mordecai
Poetry of Olive Senior
Poetry of Beverliey Braune (Australian)
The New Moon's Arms - Nalo Hopkinson
Hills of Hebron - Sylvia Wynter
Literature of the 1950s and 1960s -- Narayan, Soyinka, Walcott, wa Thi'ongo, Emecheta
T.M. Aluko
Ismith Khan
George Lamming
V.S. Naipual
John Hearne

[Prosepetals]:
A Bridge to the Sky - Margaret Ball

[Rwirtz]:
Generation X and Hey Nostradamus! - Douglas Coupland
Less than zer0 and American Psycho - Bret Easton Ellis
Brightness Falls and The last of the savages - Jay McInerney
Fight Club and Invisible Monsters - Chuck Palahniuk
A heartbreaking work of staggering genius - Dave Eggers
Everything is illuminated - Jonathan Safran Foer

[Darkernights]:
Sync - Steven Strogatz
The Tipping Point - Malcolm Gladwell

[Valys]
Watership Down - Richard Adams.
James Patterson
Piers Anthony
Anne McCaffrey
Robin Cook  
Stephen R. Donaldson
The Girls He Adored - Jonathan Nasaw
A Wrinkle in Time - Madeline L'Engle
Animal Farm and 1984 - George Orwell
Twilight and sequels - Stephenie Meyer
Wizard's First Rule and sequels (The Sword of Truth series) - Terry Goodkind
Pawn of Prophecy and sequels (the Belgariad) - David Eddings.

[Epochwolf]:
Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage - Alfred Lansing
The Beast in the Garden - David Baron
Through Wolf's Eyes - Jane Lindskold
Run Silent, Run Deep - Edward L. Beach
On Basilisk Station - David Weber

[Segundus]
Dreamcatchers, The Dark Tower series and Firechild - Stephen King

Ele's Workmates:
Mental Fight - Ben Okri
Rosencrantz &amp; Guildenstern Are Dead - Tom Stoppard

In Ele's bookcase; as yet UNread:
The Hinge Factor - Erik Durschmied
Mister Pip - Lloyd Jones
Modernism and the Feminine Voice: O'Keeffe and the Women of the Stieglitz Circle - Kathleen Pyne
A Thousand Brilliant Suns - Khaled Hosseini
The Greek Myths - Robert Graves
My Place - Sally Morgan

[No-More-Monkeys]
Martian Chronicles, Dandelion Wine, Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury
The Day Of The Jackal - Frederick Forsythe
The Bourne Identity (possibly the Supremacy & ultimatum, haven't made it too far in those) - Robert Ludlum
The Call Of The Wild and White Fang - Jack London (if you haven't read these, i'm surprised... they deal with wolves...)
Into Thin Air - Jon Krakauer
The Chosen - Chaim Potok
Slaughterhouse 5 and God Bless You [i]Mister Rosewater - Kurt Vonnegut
Siddhartha - Herman Hesse
A Raisin In The Sun - Lorraine Hansberry
A Catcher In The Rye - J.D. Salinger (if you haven't read this, make it a priority)
A Separate Peace - John Knowles (I'm seemingly the only person on earth who dislikes this book, so you should love it)
All Quiet On The Western Front - Erich Maria Remarque
Prince Of Tides - Pat Conroy
The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
Native Son - Richard Wright
Shoeless Joe - W.P. Kinsella
The Old Man And The Sea - Hemmingway
The Count Of Monte Cristo - Alexander Dumas
Mutiny On The Bounty - Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall
Peace Like A River - Leif Enger

[jonas-shifu]
Red Dwarf: Infinity welcomes careful drivers - Grant Naylor

[cageybutterfly]
Van Gogh; His Life & His Art - David Sweetman
The Magus - John Fowles
Mark Twain: A Life - Ron Powers
Youth in Revolt: The Journals of Nick Twisp[ /i] - C.D. Payne
[i]The Sixteen Pleasures - Robert Hellenga
Man's Search for Meaning Viktor E. Frankl
Les Miserables Victor Hugo


[Beruthiel]
The Fire on the Snow - Douglas Stewart
The Man Who Mistook His Wife For a Hat - by Oliver Sacks
The Crucible - Arthur Miller
The poetry of John Donne

[prosepetals]
Junkie - William S. Burroughs
Queer - William S. Burroughs
The Naked Lunch - William S. Burroughs
Close Range - Anne Proulx
Love Life - Ray Kluun
Looking for Mr. Goodbar - Judith Rossman
Atlas Shrugged - Ayn Rand
Touched with Fire - Kay Redfield Jamison
Lightning - Dean Koontz
Strangers - Dean Koontz
From the Corner of His Eye - Dean Koontz
Beloved - Toni Morrison



...So. Anyone have any additions to make?

Written by epochwolf
At Feb 5, 2008, 2:06:47 AM


This is some kind topical statement of my view of morality.

To start with:
You can argue the standards of morality but I measure mine against my faith in Jesus Christ as my personal savior. The laws of the New Testament of the Holy Bible guide my life as much as possible. I will not claim to be perfect. A few conversations I've had with other users on the site will prove that I am far from perfect but I strive to be better.

It never ceases to amaze me the beliefs that people hold.

I've talked to people that will support immoral acts to protest or defeat laws they claim are "immoral" or "unethical" with the only motivation being selfish desires. To clarify there are times that I see killing one human being in the defense of another to be a moral and right act. Police officers I have talked to know this however little they may like it. But for me to kill another human being because I would enjoy it would never be morally right no matter the situation.

Another thing that annoys the heck out of me is the belief that somehow I can be held responsible for the actions of another person. One example from my Dad's ethics class is the Jailer and the Mob.

A Jailer has a prisoner in his jail that's not yet proven guilty of a crime deserving death. The prisoner is already guilty of a lesser crime. A Mob wants the prisoner dead or they will riot kill other people until the Jailer hands the prisoner over.

This is used as proof of for moral relativism. There is a blindly obvious assumption that the Jailer is responsible for the actions of the Mob. It begs the question how a person can be held accountable for the actions of another. In the above, the Mob may kill and destroy property regardless of what the Jailer does. So if the Jailer hands the guy over to Mob whom then proceeds to destroy the country-side is the Jailer responsible for the Mob's actions?

I would make the claim that in order for an act to be "morally right" the person intentions and actions have to be right. I would also claim a person can only be held accountable for his own actions. (This makes the idea of "end justifies the means" immoral)

Written by epochwolf
At Jan 23, 2008, 10:49:37 PM


I'm so pissed off now. This is venting but that doesn't mean it isn't true.

There are certain things that just piss me off. My dad happens to just nail a few of them on my worst days.

To start with I'm frustrated with this assignment that I have to do for school. The assignment is to create a "user manual" of myself so other people can understand me. I have a great deal of work with introspection behind me but this assignment is hitting some kind of roadblock in my mind. I know a few of my strengths but I'm unsure of my weaknesses.

People really don't see themselves well and need the input of other to improve and identify weaknesses. Some of our weakness are obvious to others but not ourselves. Other weaknesses we see are those we can hide from other but not ourselves. For whatever reason I can't seem to find the types of weakness I have in the area of discussion.

So I avoided the assignment until my dad comes home. He wasn't happy with the way I parked the SUV. It's damn hard to see how it's parked when I'm driving it. I thought I had parked just fine. He just told me that I should know how to park on the driveway. (Okay, I made a mistake but I'm leaving in 2 hours, why try to correct it, it's not going to be in anyone elses way)

My Dad asks about my day and I really don't have anything to say about it other than I'm settling in for a long and boring semester of classes I don't like. I didn't really want to talk about it. I pack my stuff up off the kitchen counter so I'm not in the way and carry my bags upstairs.

After I did that I brought the assignment I had been having trouble with to him thinking that he could help me with this. He just reply "What's so difficult about this? How is this hard? Just write what you know?" and went back to watching TV.

I wonder if he even knows how much he hurts me every time he says that. I wouldn't bring something to him if I didn't have some issue with it. If it's not a problem, why would I bother bring it to him? Even an "I don't know how to help you with this." would mean something to me. Not knowing is something I understand but saying I shouldn't have a problem with this tells me there is something wrong with me.

I don't know how many times he has said stuff like that to me. I doubt he knows how I feel but I can't bring my feelings to him because I feel that I will get the same response. I have before.

Men aren't supposed to cry but... I cry now. I feel so alone sometimes even if I'm with my parents. I love my Dad so much and I know that he loves me but at times like this that knowledge is no comfort. I try ask my Dad for help sometimes but I can't handle this. Even once is too much to bare.

[update]
I talked to my dad about this. It went pretty well all things considered. My dad and I share alot of the same traits but we communicate completely different. We are both at the opposite ends of the different ways of communicating.
[/update]

Written by epochwolf
At Jan 16, 2008, 1:26:50 AM


My temporary job is over. I've made over $600 in wages Half of that will be saved. The other half will be used either for books for college or a PDA if I can get away with not buying the books.

More on my life when I have recovered.

Written by epochwolf
At Jan 7, 2008, 9:58:00 PM

[edit2]
I have work again. 1st shift this time same place...
[/edit2]

[edit]
The company just canceled their contract with the temp agency I had applied through. I won't be getting any work. :<
[/edit]

I got a temporary job. I start Tuesday.

Ten days of stuffing envelopes. I'm working 2nd shift (3pm to 11pm). No days off, a 15 minute lunch break in the middle.

Then school starts soon after I finish. :)

I don't know how much I'll be on.

Written by epochwolf
At Jan 4, 2008, 11:11:47 PM

That all for now. Details later.

Written by epochwolf
At Dec 20, 2007, 6:58:22 PM


The bot CanisDirus lives again. I was not able to retrieve it's configuration from my dead server so sorry for anyone that had an account on the bot or had added words to the AZ game.

I bought 3 months of virtual server hosting from slicehost.com.

I have also purchased the domain name EpochWolf.com. :) I hope to have some kind of site up by the beginning of the new year. Currently EpochWolf.com has nothing on it. I need to finish configuring the server. MySQL isn't installed yet.

Written by epochwolf
At Dec 6, 2007, 3:59:51 PM


I've decided that doing the journal along side the news post for my literature picks is unnecessary. Since anyone can comment on the newspost.

The features will still be in my bio. :)

Written by epochwolf
At Dec 5, 2007, 3:57:50 AM


My server seems to have died over the night. As of right now I can't determine why. The two likely suspects are a busted motherboard or a busted CPU. I have spare for both by taking apart my test computer. I hope very much that my CPU died. I have an identical CPU in my other desktop. I wouldn't need to change anything in my server's configuration if it's just the CPU but right now it's not even booting or beeping.

This is not a good way to start the week. I depend on my server for file sharing, printer sharing, and half a dozen other tasks.

I'm going to look at buying a new computer. Just a cheap one. The problem is I have no money. :(

[edit]The CPU is fine. The motherboard is dead. Which is just about the worse possible thing that can happen for me.[/edit]

[edit]Tried a new motherboard and powersupply. (Both known to be working as they had been in another working computer less than two hours ago.) I'm likely dealing with a multiple component failure. The video card is not working nor is the system's speaker. (As far as I can tell.) I've been giving serious thought to getting a new system when I have the money. I've spent at least a $1,000 on this setup which is really too much for its age.[/edit]

[edit]
Thanks to 4g0ny my server is back online. The mother board has been bent enough to push it into the the metal case. I just added some foam as he had mentioned and now my server is working again. The only other issue is my network card ended up becoming eth0 instead of eth1 which required some changes to Samba and the network interfaces.

So, the server is back up and all systems are go.
[/edit]

Written by epochwolf
At Nov 23, 2007, 10:22:04 PM


Today has been just about a solid wall of work. I've barely seen my parents and my brother even though they have been home all day. Tomorrow looks even worse. ;_; I'm going to be needing to prepare a load of scripts for a server for work. It's supposed to be a relaxing weekend. Finals are soon. I have a 15 page paper due in a few weeks and I'm already very busy. I'm only supossed to be working ten housr per week on my internship. I hit ten and a half just before finishing up an email.

I think I can tell my stress level by the amount of heavy rock and metal I listen to. I'm totally into all of my heavier stuff and I'm stressed through the roof.

I'm wasted on programming and my best friend is coming over for pizza in an hour. I'm pretty sure I recharge by spending personal time writing, reading, or watching a movie alone. So I really don't want to be around anyone right now. But I want to see my friend too. I'll manage. Some how.

Written by epochwolf
At Nov 18, 2007, 6:30:24 PM


Well, I've got alot of work to do for school, my internship and Storm-Artists.

I've deactivated my instant messengers except for Google Talk which I will only be using to contact  my brother who is at college away from home. I don't plan to be on IRC much for the next week.

I've come to realize that I always need to be busy or that I feel I do. I'm either very busy or I drown myself in some useless task that allows me to avoid knowing what I'm feeling. Maybe everything is really okay but how would I know if I don't let myself reflect on how I'm feeling.

I've also noticed that I can't write when I'm very busy. I'll have alot of ideas but I can't put them into a story. I get frustated and I just add another project so I don't have time to think about writing. I don't doubt my ability to get my projects done. I've been busier in my life. I've just reached a point where something needs to give. Storm-Artists is a 4th priority to me after my internship, school, and family. So instead of cutting myself off completely I've decided to cut down on activities that take alot of my time. Being a moderator doesn't take alot of work at this point nor does working on the rewrite of Storm. . Chatting however eats up hours of my time.

So for the next week I need to buckle down and stick to my priorities. I'll still be around the site at least once a day to check messages, leave comments, and moderate where necessary.

Avo & Patty, I'll be working on the new database design when I have time. I'll note you guys when it's ready for comment.

Everyone else, I'll see you around. Wolfy isn't going far.

Written by epochwolf
At Nov 4, 2007, 4:32:59 PM


I was just looking over some older peices by an artist on my watch list. I thought I would like to feature some of [technographer]'s awesome digital paintings.

Release

Defiance

City in the Sky

Legacy

Sunflower Machine

Execution

Written by epochwolf
At Oct 30, 2007, 1:26:31 AM


I was asked by Mirrin to delay putting up a Literature picks for the month of November until someone else on staff releases a newspost.

Apparently he doesn't want me being the only person on staff submitting news posts XD

Also, I've been busy lately and I have't been able to gather enough quality pieces for November's picks. Suggestions are welcome! I do need some.

Written by epochwolf
At Oct 27, 2007, 5:19:43 AM

It seems that my last entry has people really worried about me. I do need to clarify some things.

The first thing is, I am over my great uncle's death. I took it really hard at first because I've wanted to kill myself before. And just to let everyone know, I couldn't kill myself now. I've got a serious mental block to even thinking about it, which is good. It's very similar to why I don't drink alcohol. One of my uncles drinks too much. Once I saw him drink beer after beer one night he must have had at least 6 or more in 3 hours. He didn't even get close to drunk. Since then alcohol scares the heck out of me.

The reason I'm over my great uncle's death is I talked to my dad. He gave me some straight up perspective: I didn't know my great uncle very well, I shouldn't be reacting like this. It doesn't make sense.

After that I needed to do some serious praying, which I got peace, comfort and relief. I know that I am over it. I know what it's like when I'm suppressing thoughts. I also know that psychologists will say that people can bury memories and emotions without knowing it.

I haven't had a relaxing break in over two weeks. See my brother home from college last weekend was great but I had to work over 12 hours on Sunday and Monday to get all my work done.

I've been worrying and putting off dealing with my stress and stuff that had to be done. Yesterday I paid for it with my sanity.

Right now, I'm a little tired. (I've taken a 5 hour nap... 6:30pm to 11:30pm) But right now, I'm okay. Sorry to worry everyone. I don't always remember what I've told people. As far as you guy knew things could have been much worse.

Here's a to those of you that responded to my previous journal.

Written by epochwolf
At Oct 26, 2007, 6:16:00 PM


I've been trying to get my life back in order since my great uncle shot himself.

I'm behind in my school work and I can't focus on anything. I can't pay attention in class. Certian health issues I have have been getting worse.

Everything I need to do gets put off. I want to run away from all my problems again. I've been getting extremely hungry lately and I can't stop eating. I'm overweight and I can't gain more weight. I don't know what is going wrong with me but something is affecting my body and my mind. I feel like I'm going insane. I can't run away because there are things that need to be done.

I just don't know what to do. I have been so lazy but nothing has been relaxing. I'm just avoiding work by watching TV. I don't know what I need to do. I don't know what's driving me insane.

The first thing I'll do make sure all the work that needs to be done before the weekend. The second. I just don't know. I'll see if I can talk to my friend.

Written by epochwolf
At Oct 19, 2007, 12:34:41 PM


My friend told me about a new song out by one of my favorite bands: Demon Hunter.

Fading Away by Demon Hunter

It's in this wake that I find myself
Losing the will to resume this Hell
When every breath is a dying wish
It's harder to follow the point of this

This broken place that I call my home
Has deepened the sorrow that I have sown
And I can't erase what is in my heart
I want it to finish before it starts

My own solution insufficient again
No false illusion, this devouring threat
I break the vessel, giving air to its red

And open my fate to the darkened sky

Chorus:
I've been fading away
I've been waiting on the call to reach my veins
Ready or not
No attention to waste
Every sorrow of the soul will read my name
When I cease to exist

So now I've come to the final sleep
I pray that forgiveness is mine to keep
I know it's hard to forget this man
Driving the failure into your hands

My own solution insufficient again
No false illusion, this devouring threat
I break the vessel, giving air to its red

And open my fate to the darkened sky

(Chorus)

Watch the Music Video

Written by epochwolf
At Oct 16, 2007, 2:08:59 PM


I've been able to get over my grief. I talked to my dad and everything is alright now. At least for me. I hope that at the wake tonight I'll be able to be a comfort to the others around me.

Getting to other things, I've come to realize I don't know how to handle stress. I don't know what helps me to relax.

I have a truly massive linguistics test to finish by Monday and I'm behind on my work. I think that I'm getting majorly stressed again and I don't know how to handle it.

Written by epochwolf
At Oct 14, 2007, 3:25:52 AM


I just don't know what to say...

One of my great uncle killed himself about midnight last night. He shot himself with a gun in his own bedroom. He died instantly with the first shot.

He was married to my grandma's sister. My mom's side of my family is pretty close. Everyone knows just about everything about everybody.  

I was sleeping when it happened. My mom and I were at my grandma's house (which is about an hour away from her sister's house and mine)...

The wake is Tuesday night, and the funeral is planned for Wednesday morning. My great aunt is just devastated.

I don't think I'm going to be able to finish my work for my internship.

I just can't write anymore.

Written by epochwolf
At Oct 11, 2007, 10:54:23 PM


I don't know how many times I've totally screwed up this week. I'm over 5 hours behind on my programming for my internship. I shouldn't have spent time playing chess last night. I shouldn't have messed with my computer which cost me 3 hours of my time today. I shouldn't have spent the afternoon watching TV half sleep because I was tired. I've let down friends too many times in the past. I've made excuses because I've been too tired or sick because I can't handle stress at all. I've messed things up so badly today I don't feel I can make anything right. I've put things off so long that I can't make things work without giving up so much sleep I won't be able to function tomorrow.

I've promised a friend I would drive him and a friend to church and I can't let him down again. I can't finish my programming if I don't stay home.

I just want to cry. I just want to run away. I don't want responsibility. I don't want to be an adult. I don't want to have to live with my mistakes. Why can't my parents just make everything right?

But... I have to do something... what's my priorities? I can't leave my friend in the dust. He's my only true friend I know. Without him I don't know what I would do. My work... I'm not paid. I'm just an intern. My boss never meets his deadlines. I can't ever trust him to get stuff to me on time. I need sleep badly. If I can't get at least 6 hours of sleep I can't drive safely. I've nearly gotten myself killed before because I didn't have the sleep I needed.

I guess I will go to church, program as much as I dare afterward, and sleep as much as possible.

With that decided. I need to spend some time now preparing breakfast and lunch for tomorrow. Because I won't have time later.

Responsibility sucks but I can't run away. If I run away, I won't stop running away and I'll lose everything I have.

Written by epochwolf
At Oct 3, 2007, 3:59:16 AM


Standard Feature Header
Each month I choose three or four submissions from the previous month to be displayed in my bio. Of course if I come across an older piece that I like I might display it. Before anyone gets upset, I pick peices that appeal to me. This is not an "Offical Storm-Artists Event", though it does have a news post. I do try to avoid featuring the same person two months in a row but I make no promises. Suggestions for next month's pieces are welcome but please do not recommend yourself. Feel free to suggest things to me using any method other than public comments or shouts.

This month's features.


It's Not About the Emotion: A Peace That Transcends All Understanding
By: [minstrel-ayreon]
Prose -> Non-Fiction -> Philosophy
A short piece of Christian philosophy on the topic of emotion and it's place in the Christian lifestyle. Very well thought out and very interesting if you have the time to think on it.


The Mind Reader WIP (Chapter 2)
By: [patty]
Prose -> Fiction -> Dramatic/General Fiction
Second piece in a series, written in journal style. It's fun to read. It plays with the idea of telepathy. The main character is very logical about understanding his usual talent.


A Morning's Charm or The Trip That Never Came
By: [the-mitmit]
Prose -> Fiction -> Dramatic/General Fiction
A more mature piece about a teen that's going through some troubles in his life. Simply a glimpse of a single day.


Reassurance
By: [beruthiel] and [patty]
Poetry -> Human Nature
A truly awesome collaboration by beruthiel and patty.  It tells a story that I just want to savor again and again. Definitely worth the time to read more than once.

Past Features
September 2007
August 2007

Written by epochwolf
At Oct 1, 2007, 4:11:07 AM


I spent the weekend up at my grandparent's house . It's too far for me to drive for a weekend trip. I just love my mom's parents. They are so fun to be around. They are getting old though and my grandpa doesn't have the energy he used to. There are times it's bittersweet to see them. My grandpa probably doesn't have as many years left as I would wish. So, I spent as much time with them as I can because pulling away would just hurt me more. I can live with the memories of happy times more than I can with regret. And I don't think about the future when I'm with them.

Anyway, before I went up I stopped by Circuit City and bought a camera with the monies I had from my birthday. I nabbed a Fujifilm FinePix S700BK for about $200!!! I was also able to nab a 2gb SD card for $25. (The 1gb was $20 and I needed at least 1gb) I also grabbed a decent soft case for $18. Total cost was about $250. The maximum I was willing to spend.

My parents' where not nearly as thrilled as I was. I don't think my Dad understood why I wanted to get a camera. (Of course... that's partially my fault. I didn't tell him I was buying a nice camera. I did tell my mom the night before when I was drooling over the image online.)

The camera was definitely worth all the money I spent in my opinion. You will be able to see the pictures in my gallery as I find time to resize them and upload them.

After all that I have more to say. I've finished the first chapter of a story that's been in my head for nearly two months. A certain one of my watchers has seen a snippet. Most of the story is still in my paper notebook which I've been using because back problems have prevented me from typing for long peroids. So I need to find time to type it in.

Written by epochwolf
At Sep 17, 2007, 1:48:41 AM


It seems I forgot to mention this to everyone. Today was my birthday. (Being Sunday in the US)

I started with going to church with my parents. :) Something I haven't done in a long time. (I usually go to church on my own on thursday nights)

Then I when to one of my coworker's house to watch the Green Bay Packer kick butt.

From there I when to dinner at my favorite restaurant with my parents, my mom's parents and my best friend.

So far I've collected $95 in monies. Combined with my paycheck and some other monies I'll have almost $400 in my computer fund.

I've decided that my server has plenty of everything it could need. (Adding anything else would be a waste of money.) So I'm looking at my options for spending and saving. My options are as follows: ebook reader, macbook, or a new desktop computer as a windows development environment.

Currently I'm drooling over sony's reader device. [link]

Anyway, have a nice night. I have some more drooling to do.

Written by epochwolf
At Sep 10, 2007, 3:11:53 AM


Standard Feature Header
The pieces that I feature will be ones that catch my eye. They can be old, new or whatever. All that is required is that the piece be on Storm-Artists.net and  Granted, any writers on my watch list have a significantly better chance to be in my bio. This is not a popularity contest. I would happily take suggestions for features. But if you suggest yourself, I'm definitely not putting your piece up.


This month's features.


Material Nation
By: [technographer]
Poetry -> Social Commentary
I love the different world view this poem comes from. I have a love of sociology and history that this touches. It also reads quite nicely to me.


Ice
By: [nevergetfooledagain]
Prose -> Non-Fiction -> Biography
I love listening to people talk about their lives. This story reminds me of listening to other people that have told me about their lives. On top of that it's quite vivid in it's decriptions.


When You're Stoned
By: [asharcain]
Poetry -> Lyrical
I liked the story it told and where my imagination took me when I thought about it.

Written by epochwolf
At Aug 20, 2007, 2:47:13 AM


I've just had a bad day. The first thing I've noticed is that my server had crashed this morning. I can't boot it into graphical mode anymore. It still works as a server but no longer can I log the storm chatrooms full time with my server. (I had been using x-chat) My laptop will be filling in that position for now until I get my server reloaded.

The good news is that my server is still running and hosting my files and webpages. Printing isn't working but I can hook up my printer to my laptop.

The next thing that happens is I'm stuck at work all day doing nothing... The store was completely dead and over staff but I wasn't allowed to leave.

Next I get home and I'm just sick for a couple of hours. When I finally get better I decide some old N64 video games with my brother would be fun.

The final straw. My old N64 is dead. Completely dead. It has power but nothing displays. No sounds either. Just flipping great :< So I only hope something can go               well before work tomorrow.

Written by epochwolf
At Aug 6, 2007, 4:28:58 PM


I had an idea a couple of nights ago. I thought it would be cool if I picked 3 or 4 of my favorites from the literature gallery every month and displayed them in my journal. I talked it over with several other people. (I did have this idea very late at night, not the time for the brightest of ideas.) I have decided to feature 3 or 4 Literature pieces each month in my bio.

The pieces that I feature will be ones that catch my eye. They can be old, new or whatever. All that is required is that the piece be on Storm-Artists.net and  Granted, any writers on my watch list have a significantly better chance to be in my bio. This is not a popularity contest. I would happily take suggestions for features. But if you suggest yourself, I'm definitely not putting your piece up. That said, to start things off I've chosen one piece for August. September will have 3 or 4. :)

The first feature is Devotional: The Messenger of the Good Shepherd by [minstrel-ayreon].

Written by epochwolf
At Jul 29, 2007, 1:59:31 PM


I've stepped down from the Storm-Artists coding team. I've been very busy lately with no time to handle my layout design responsibilities.

So, I've switched to being the Gallery Moderator for the Literature Gallery.

Now wait a second... doesn't a Gallery Moderator have more work?

Not really. The literature gallery is quite small on this site. Moderating a gallery takes less time than trying to figure out CSS.

If anyone has any questions I will be happy to answer them. :)

[edit] Changed the title so I don't scare anymore of my friends, sorry about that[/edit]

Written by epochwolf
At Jul 29, 2007, 1:32:33 PM


My Art
I'm a writer. Most of my writing is Science Fiction. It's been a long time since I've written anything in true fantasy form. In the past have have written stories in "furry" or "anthro" style.

I do some poetry but it's not often that I do it. Inspiration is hard to come by.

Art I enjoy
I love Science Fiction in most of its forms. Some of my favorite books include Allen Steele's Coyote, Frank Hebert's Dune, and Gordon R. Dickson's Wolf and Iron.

I love furry/anthropomorphic art, at least the tame ones. Along with this comes a love for fantasy. I loved the movies of Lord of The Rings. I enjoyed the book as well. In the fantasy genre Jane Lindskold has captured my eye. Her books are some of my favorites. The one that stands out to me is "The Buried Pyramid."

A Few Personal Things
I was born in Chicago, Illinois but I've lived in Wisconsin most of my life. I've seen a good deal of the United States though car trips my family went on during the summer. I've been to Colorado, Florida, Washington D.C. and most of the states in between. I spent a year at a college in northern Michigan. I've been to Mexico as well. I've seen just a small bit of the world personally and I've seen much more in pictures and talking to people. I'm deeply in love with my country and my home state. It's not just I like living here because it's comfortable. This is a love for my home.

Just as deep for the love of my country is my love of God. I am a Christian. I do not associate myself with any denomination. I didn't accept my faith lightly. My parents raise me as a Christian and I've been in a church all my life. When I was in high school I questioned my beliefs after taking a sociology class. I started on a search for truth that has only convinced me that I was on the right path to start with. I've looked deeply into other beliefs and philosophies but I won't trouble you with the details.

My Dream Job
I love software and web design. I don't really like being a code monkey. My strength is in my ideas. I would love to spend all day writing database layouts, design mockups, logo ideas and leaving the coding to someone else. Oh there are days I can't wait to code something but once I've figure it out it can get really boring.

Written by epochwolf
At Jul 28, 2007, 3:38:47 AM


I finally got my server built out of the parts of two old computers. I did learn a very valuable lesson, be careful with computers as the cases have hundreds of little places to draw blood. I got off with a rather painful sliced thumb on my left hand. Oh well, I'll know bettr next time. Now on to the computer. (This gets geeky.)

First thing I did before I even before I went to work (I built the computer after work.): I moved the wireless DSL router into the basement within range of my 14 foot ethernet cable. I could have the router in the basement on one condition, that my dad could use his laptop's wireless in the garage. Well, he gets better signal in the garage than in his room. XD He will get servicable signal in his room and great signal anywhere else in the house as the router is more centrally located than before. The reason for the router needing to be in the basement is that any server needs as close to 100% uptime as possible and sharing files and printers and serving webpages over flaky wireless sucks. The more stable the server's connection the better. That, and linux doesn't handle wireless very well.

I went to work and had an okay day. I did get to go home 90 minutes early. I pulled all the parts out of my temporary desktop computer (except the motherboard) and my dad's old desktop.
.
For those that don't hang out in the chatroom I need to explain this. My dad, about 5/6 years ago bought a pair of computer kits. Rather cheap ones. He built one for himself and one for my brother. The computers where fairly similar in specs. I got my brother's computer when he bought a new desktop for college. And today, a couple of weeks after my dad bought a new laptop, I got my dad's old desktop. So I got to make one uber machine out of both. Now granted my brother's new desktop totally owns my little frankenstein desktop but I like it nevertheless.  

Now the specs.
--
The case has 4x 5.25" bays, 2x 3.5" floppy bays, 2x 3.5" harddrive bays. So it's not a full tower but it's good sized and a bit heavy. It's all metal with the only plasic being the face plate that holds the power and reset buttons and the LED lights. Of course it's a beige color that most old computers are.

I choose the case that was my dad's because it had vents. The other one had one vent were I punched out a slot in the front ><. I choose the motherboard from my dad's because the on board sound worked with linux. My brother's didn't.

The core system is a:
Soyo SY-K7ADA Motherboard Tech Specs
AMD Athlon XP 1700+
512mb of PC2100 DDR SDRAM
1024mb of PC2100 DDR SDRAM (Added a second 512 ram chip)

Current Drives:
DVD-Ram drive
24x/10x/40x CD-RW drive
40x/12x/40x CD-RW drive (Other one died)
60gb IDE ATA33 Seagate (5400 rpm)tech specs
20gb IDE ATA33 Seagate (5400 rpm)tech specs


I installed the following PCI cards.
2x ethernet 10/100 cards
Realtek 10/100 Ethernet card
Atheros 802.11abg Wlan card
Generic USB 2.0 controller card
Nvidia GeForce 2 MX100 APG (32mb) graphics card
SIS 32mb APG graphics card (Nvidia melted due to too much heat.)

Modifications/Additions to the case.
A 80mm fan was added to the front to draw in air, and a 40mm fan attached to the back was flipped to push out air. [edit]Cut a nice big hole in the face plate so the intake fan can draw alot more air into the case. Removed an ethernet card to add a slot fan to cool the video card. Can't lose my last video card to over heating. Also installed exhaust fan correctly this time.[/edit]

HDD Partiation Setups:
Device 0 (60gb)
_Partition 0, 128mb, EXT3, Boot loader
_Partition 1, 59gb, EXT3, Debian Etch
Device 1 (20gb)
_Partition 0, 19gb, Unformated EXT2/3
_Partition 1, 1gb, Linux SWAP partition.

Additionally I have a 200gb External HDD formated as a single large EXT3 partition used for data storage.

Sweet peripherals:
19 hotkey usb multimedia keyboard
5 button usb wireless mouse
Gateway 19" LCD Monitor (Max res of 1440x900 @ 75hz)
Crappy 15" CRT
HP Deskjet 3845 Photoprinter.
Cyberpower AE550 Uninterrupted Power Supply
(2.1 stereo system using a Pioneer VSX-41 receiver and Wharfedale speakers and subwoofer)

Overall I'm very happy with my setup.
I'm pissed that I installed the exhaust fan backwards and killed my good graphics card. But I'm still happy to have a working server. The ugly CRT does prevent me from playing with the server settings. Which is a good thing. I bungled Ubuntu on the server by playing with it too much.