Old News

It's getting old, Ben, really fast...

Old News...: 10M/31D/98Y: Happy Halloween. The U.S. celebrates the "Annual One-Week Love Affair With Outer Space" holiday with John Glenn's triumphant journey into space. Whee. We should be on Mars by now, folks... In other news, the Soapbox for next week has been posted, centering in on sex and breakups, sort of.; 10M/30D/98Y: Quick note to those people who say they could do a better job than me, or who feel the same way I do about things, REALLY... You're the critic and I'm the creator. I'm actually DOING this and you're just observing. Create your own content and don't leech.; 10M/25D/98Y: Soapbox for the week of October 11th, detailing some material facts about my current state. Abortion doctor assassinated by pro-lifers, Vail burned down by animal rights extremists. What a future we're approaching. Check out this flagrant ripoff of graphics and web design. Pathetic that some web designers think they can get away with this.; 10M/22D/98Y: A few weeks later, I have nothing but great things to say about Half-Life, and Trespasser is found to be one of the worst games I've ever played. Such a turn of events. And Shogo was a complete surprise -- Monolith deserves praise for their work. Trespasser, Trespasser, Trespasser -- you disappointed me. Been staying up all night doing work and studying. This is when the semester begins to drag on too much. That's one thing an Anna is for -- support through busy times.; 10M/20D/98Y: Whine, whine. No excuses, no reasons, just fucking DO it. "I saw your act; it came and went, / As flaccid as an ex-president. / Your ideas are out of place. / It's anarchy with a friendly face. / Rebel, rebel, don't regret, / Screw 'em every chance you get."; 10M/18D/98Y: 'Nother New 'Box. The Neo-Nazis. How come the futuristic RPG Fallout never received more press? It's an amazing game, and everything fits perfectly. The intro is a blast.; 10M/17D/98Y: Two new Soapboxes! I figure I need to go into overdrive to catch up. <sigh> One, for this coming week, deals with my illusory persona, the other for August 30th, all about mine Anna. These comments are a little late, but...Shogo and Half Life are amazing games -- not groundbreaking, but so much frigging fun to play singleplayer.; 10M/13D/98Y: Somehow I got added to the list of candidates on the Internet Homepages Top 100. For whoever's voting for me, thanks. (that thing must have a flawed formula for determining rank); 10M/12D/98Y: Is it just me, or are all the once young people on the Web becoming ultra-conservative and codgy, just DYING to be old? If I read one more essay about how television is causing illiteracy and how writing skills are the most important thing in the world for everyday communication, or how young people are destroying their minds and their futures because of their music, drugs, clothing, and apathy towards a world run by said dull old people, I'm going to puke. Young people like puce have a vitality you guys lost a long time ago. Your days are over.; 10M/11D/98Y: Antiloop...one of the many benefits of having a Swedish girlfriend. It's techno sadly confined primarily to Scandinavia. See if you can resist getting psyched while listening to "In My Mind". And to the person who's going around signing guestbooks using my name...lay off, man. The last guestbook entry I made was sent a year or two ago. I don't fuck around with other people, and I expect others not to fuck around with me.; 10M/09D/98Y: Martina Hingis is no longer the #1 women's tennis player in the world. Lindsay Davenport replaced her! Hingis is a great player, but...well, you know I don't like her. For the uninitiated, this means that currently, both the men's (Pete Sampras) and women's #1 players are American. Woohoo!; 10M/08D/98Y: I paid $290 for my domain and hosting last year and all I got was this stupid Project Cool Sighting Award. Heh. Thanks for sending it my way, guys...it's much appreciated. I apologize for the mess here -- the X-Files section, for example, is horribly out of date. I wasn't really expecting that many visitors today.; 10M/08D/98Y: Yes, UT did indeed ban my virtual host, and it refused to make much of an extra effort to help me out by allowing my SMTP server. Luckily, Digiweb is a professional unit and is helping me out. Please resend e-mail if you sent anything between the 4th and the 6th. Thanks. It's too bad this sort of thing is the norm on the 'Net these days. It's barely "our" Internet anymore. Still looking to trade this Matrox G200 for a Millennium II PCI, btw. I just know I can get this Celeron baby up to 496MHz.; 10M/07D/98Y: 1) Anna, Anna, Anna! It's your day, baby! Everyone wish her well. 2) After testing different possible problems with several SMTP and POP servers, I think I've found the source. And I intend on yelling at my university's sysadmins, if it is indeed true that they banned my virtual host's domain because they thought it was a spammer. Dealing with useless tech support does little for patience. 3) In other news, Justin Hall got screwed over. We know where ZDTV's heart is now, though.; 10M/06D/98Y: I don't seem to be receiving e-mail right now and I'm not sure why. I hope they don't bounce. Sorry if you sent something urgent to me -- maybe infinity@mail.utexas.edu works?; 10M/03D/98Y: Caught up on the June 21st Soapbox, this one paying tribute to WoozleDen and my old cat. Conversation with Kitty, #1.; 09M/30D/98Y: Even though I'm still taking heat for liking Unreal... Trespasser is said to be coming out in 1.5 weeks. Oooh... I'm there! My current fave is Rainbow 6, but its multiplayer aspects are lacking... Half-Life is garnering a lot of praise from developers who've played it, but I'm still wary of a 3D shooter from Sierra On-Line.; 09M/28D/98Y: I inadvertently broke the submission form in the Robin Hood Hut when I switched CGI scripts. Also, the Javascript had some incorrect references. Anyway, it's all fixed and the script is even well documented for your perusal. Thanks to Sarah Norberg for pointing out this error to me. Submit away!; 09M/28D/98Y: Are you involved in the music or music distribution industries? Do me a favor and contact me? Clan Nobody's Children makes it to another tournament playoffs, this time for the Quake 2 CTF tourney, Battle Command! In other news, thanks to everyone who's been sending me insightful, thought-provoking e-mails as of late. Helps weed out the tripe. Anna, I love you.; 09M/24D/98Y: A bunch of new links in the link section. I had no idea I had amassed so many bookmarks over the years. My favorite right now: Inside DHTML.; 09M/23D/98Y: Still making up missed Soapboxes. This one, written tonight, is for a June-dated Soapbox and talks about a newspaper letter written in September. Go figure. This 'Box is about the recent UT football stadium seating fiasco and one man's problem with your typical UT student.; 09M/21D/98Y: My system has all its software reinstalled now. Surprisingly, I have had virtually no problems in my upgrade to Win98 thus far, and it did an excelsior job of detecting my hardware. I was worried, what with the horror stories posted everywhere.; 09M/20D/98Y: New design for the Stick in the Mud Status Page. Well, Daniel and I gave it a shot: we went for 496MHz on this Celeron 266 and it made it all the way up to the desktop before it froze. That made it a lot further than we thought, considering my AGP Matrox G200 shouldn't run at 2/3 of a 124MHz bus speed. But I know if I had a PCI video card, I could operate at 496MHz easy...anyone want to trade? Btw, my video drivers got fucked up in the process so I ended up upgrading to Windows98 while I had a chance... Now I'm setting this system up. How bizarre this OS is...; 09M/18D/98Y: Afro Squad. Hehe. New Soapbox posted on Apple elitism.; 09M/17D/98Y: Is it just me, or are there a lot more "Server is busy" messages on the Web as of late?; 09M/16D/98Y: Why the man be keepin' Dolemite.com down? LucasArts appears to be threatening to sue the site for its small, two-page "rhyme", "Star Whores", for infringement on Star Wars intellectual property ownership. LucasArts, you may remember, recently won in a case which claimed another company had a logo similar to LucasArts's. Puh-leese. This site fully supports the author of Dolemite.com -- if not for his First Amendment rights, then for the pictures (see Rudy Ray Moore embracing Kate Winslet in Titanic) or for the section on movie blunders. (I particularly like the one where an off-camera assistant's afro made it into the shot); 09M/14D/98Y: Another old Soapbox written, a mountain still left to catch up on. This August 9th one is about television and radio in Europe compared to the States. Davenport wins US Open -- huge gain for U.S. women's tennis!; 09M/11D/98Y: Soapbox on domain name resellers. Interested in finding out what's on TV in your area tonight? Hahaha.; 09M/09D/98Y: On the heels of the wildly creative, blockbuster movie "Blade" is the computer game, now with screenshots. Heh. UT has a deal with Microsoft: $5 for the major Microsoft titles. Mac, Linux, and UNIX users are furious. iMac is being sold on campus, too, and don't forget the "faster than any P2" line. Microsoft's not the only company with unclean hands, believe me. Final note: I've rounded out my ideas for the Soapboxes I have to make up -- I'll gradually be adding them. Sorry to not have good content posted as regularly as I've wanted. "o bioV bracuV, h de tecnh makrh." This is FUN.; 09M/04D/98Y: Updated the software pages. I know some links may be out of date and all the info may not be completely accurate, but some sites do a poor job of explaining what options are available for their software, plus I don't know if it's worth the time to keep track of all the changes in software these days. What's important is that this area lists my favorite software choices so you can use them for guidance. Suggestions? Changes? Just e-mail me.; 09M/03D/98Y: I've probably discussed this with some people who may read this, but this catch-up Soapbox reveals my disgust at the quality of the college applications I wrote awhile back. I could do much better now (even if I'm still just as long-winded and unfocused).; 09M/01D/98Y: Some new links. Among them is a link to MP3.com, a site which shows a strong effort to legitimize the use of MP3s. Offers free MP3s of bands from amateurs to somewhat popular bands.; 08M/30D/98Y: Okay, been unable to update the site for a bit since I was assembling the new system. But it's running happily at 448MHz now. Not bad for a $100 Celeron 266.; 08M/27D/98Y: Some designer who maintains the Industry Watch section of CNN/fn has some nifty HTML and stylesheet tricks. Good for you, whoever you are.; 8M/26D/98Y: Seen on the door of a professor's office in the classics building: the infamous "G3 twice as fast as Pentium" poster. You'll find this in your marketing 301 books in five years -- look under misleading advertising. I'm all for Apple emerging from its Dark Ages...but come on, Apple should play clean! It is, after all, the "morally correct" choice, Mac advocates say.; 8M/25D/98Y: Old 8/16 Soapbox written. Discusses one of Intel's most talked about products: the Celeron. Could this signal Intel's decline?; 8M/25D/98Y: Forgot to mention that I'm back in Austin. Classes begin Wednesday. I have a Celeron 266 sitting here. The heat sink attached to the top of it feels cold. And it's just sitting here at room temperature. Sweet. ;); 8M/24D/98Y: It's August, 1998, and I'm finally on a 56k connection. Many thanks to the tech guys at UT for installing v.90 software and to Dan for asking them to do it for us humble modem-users. 52000bps connects are nice. The latest Soapbox (for this week, actually), presents you with access to the once-hidden .plan project of 1997.; 8M/22D/98Y: Blade, a faithful translation of the classic vampire tales we all know and love. Okay, so it's a cliched action movie with a sugary vampire coating. If the movie could've captured the spirit of the opening action sequence and bloodbath, it would've...oh nevermind. I'm usually behind you, Wes, but what happened this time?; 8M/18D/98Y: The new Korn CD, "Follow the Leader", which was released today, comes with a free compilation CD of music by bands supported by Korn. Pitchshifter and Limp Bizkit are among the most notables. Korn's a cool band with me -- they've put video clips on their last CD, asked for consumer feedback in CD cases, and now are promoting bands that aren't lucky enough to show up on the radio and MTV (lack of exposure doesn't equal lack of quality).; 8M/16D/98Y: Posted a Soapbox for the week of June 7th, dealing with my love for gothic literature.; 8M/12D/98Y: The Soapbox quest of 1998 continues. The latest is all about buying a new computer, a guide designed to be helpful to anyone planning to upgrade. Oh, okay, and it sort of details my trek towards getting rid of this old clunker I have now. New links on the fave links page.; 8M/5D/98Y: Guaranteed to make some people yawn and make others wondering why they keep coming back to read it: I've posted the July 12th Soapbox, which centers on the development of professional tennis.; 8M/5D/98Y: Schedule is Hellish. Apologies for no updates. I'll make it up to you, I promise. SiN is simply disappointing and a BH6 mobo/333MHz combo is almost irresistible right now. :); 8M/2D/98Y: Back into the scorching heat of the Dallas summer. Yes, I'm back home and am preparing for many Soapbox updates -- this time, sadly, without my lady. No time spent with her is time enough. As for the Web, well, I've certainly done much to cast myself away from the mainland, but the serenity is soothing. I suppose it gives me some time to think about certain accusations of hypocrisy. :); 7M/3D/98Y: Hingis lost to Novotna? Eat that, critics. Leaving for Sweden in an hour. Woo! I'd give you a full itinerary of the past three hours' events, but I'm sure you get enough of that at other personal sites. Psst...try showing some opinions, web folk.; 6M/26D/98Y: Off to Austin! Roadtrip. Too bad, Rios -- Wimbledon overrated? More like Rios the one-dimensional tennis player. Hurry, hurry, get Windows98! Wait, do you even know what's new in it? I didn't think so.; 6M/17D/98Y: Hmm, MSIE 5.0 b1...should I get, should I get? XML, expanded DHTML, faster rendering...ooh... No idea when the Soapbox will be updated. I'm occupied at the moment. ;) Sit tight.; 6M/12D/98Y: Anna arrives today, so updates should be scant for awhile. Not only has a one semester wait to see my girlfriend again ended, but I'm working on some kickass web design projects and I've been pleased with my results. Now all I need is one of them thar Celeron CPUs and I'm set. Not bad for a guy most web authors shit on, no? You guys still unemployed, unhappy, and unsettled? One would think lives like that could give you good content for your diaries. 'Tis not in thy stars?; 6M/10D/98Y: Woo, just found out my summer plans: my Anna's coming for a few weeks, then we go to Europe for a month, together! Needless to say, I'm psyched for this one. Thank you for the arrangements, baby.; 6M/5D/98Y: Hahaha, watch out, Martina Hingis... No women on the tennis tour deserve to be your rival? Was that a straight sets loss to Monica Seles? I think it was. ;) That wasn't even the French Open finals match, either.; 6M/1D/98Y: It must be a full moon -- another rare occasion the current week's Soapbox was posted on time. You might find it interesting. It deals with Macs vs. PCs, the eternal debate. I think you'll learn a thing or two, too.; 5M/31D/98Y: New Soapbox on dreams and visionary personalities. And for all you people who consider me an arrogant brat: I hope you contribute content to the Internet as well. Otherwise, you're not doing any benefit to the Internet by shunning me.; 5M/30D/98Y: The representative of the BenTurner.com embassy in Dallas considers Pakistan's and India's nuclear tests a major digression in human progress. He "[feels] deeply saddened for the people in that region who are just trying to make it through."; 5M/23D/98Y: Two things: 1) The Lakers deserve to lose the playoff series after how they played tonight. I hope the Bulls destroy the Jazz. 2) Unreal, the long-delayed "Quake-killer" might actually live up to the hype. Still waiting to get a glimpse of it. If I like it, I'll be sure to plaster my opinions all over the site.; 5M/22D/98Y: A rant on celebrities and the media and how much I hate hearing about them talking about how hard their jobs are, in the Soapbox for the week of the 17th.; 5M/20D/98Y: Woo! Did you think I was gone? Nope. Any attempts to snuff me out have failed. My virtual host somehow got its configuration files screwed up so benturner.com wasn't set up right all of yesterday. As much as I hate to have my site down at all, I got one free month's credit, so it was worth the trouble. ;); 5M/13D/98Y: Caught up on an old 'Box. It centers on commercial web design.; 5M/10D/98Y: Get me some plane tickets. I want to travel.; 5M/4D/98Y: This week's 'Box: classics elitists and the professors who love them.; 5M/3D/98Y: Okay, I'll have two new Soapboxes coming up soon. I promise. It's the end of the school semester and things are a mess in every single direction. Not like I was ever known for posting these things on time... ;); 5M/1D/98Y: To all those people who can't find personal site authors who have kept at it...hey, baby, still going after three years! And the fun's just getting started.; 4M/25D/98Y: Woohoo, the NBA playoffs are upon us! Oh, wait, that means more of Bill Walton. Shit.; 4M/25D/98Y: Ben's gone and done suggested that there new hierarchical system for the World Wide Web in this week's 'Box.; 4M/19D/98Y: I wrote the Soapbox for two weeks ago. It discusses those rare breeds of sick people who think every little thing makes a difference.; 4M/14D/98Y: I think special praise should go out to the team behind the new wave of Volkswagen commercials. Electronica in the background, a stark contrast between the white background and the new sporty Volkswagen, and some impressive, yet simple effects to reinforce the theme. I like it. A lot. And I've been moved by the different three of them I've seen. Are there more?; 4M/12D/98Y: Skipped a week in the Soapbox, but I will make it up at some point. This week's 'Box is up, dealing with the pretty frigging big thing I mentioned earlier.; 4M/9D/98Y: Not sure when I'll have this week's Soapbox up. I'm really busy with various projects. Just remember, if you choke on a big project, heed Nike and sing your chant... "I am Tiger Woods."; 4M/7D/98Y: I just landed something pretty frigging big. This is the materialization I spoke of in the 'Box, methinks.; 4M/5D/98Y: Finally a new 'Box, "De Familiaritate Scientiaque." Now to work on the next Soapbox, which is supposed to be up today...<sheepish>; 4M/4D/98Y: Anna's home! And I still need to do last week's Soapbox. Sorry for any who are waiting... Began a new story in Robin Hood's hut -- tell me if there are any complications with the JavaScript.; 4M/1D/98Y: I've decided to start writing diary entries in the Soapbox in the style of Hemingway. The Texas Rangers have a pennant-winning team this year. The editor of UT's newspaper was arrested for stealing 7,000 copies of the paper because they contained McDonald's Monopoly pieces. Classics enrollment is making a comeback. Women will no longer leave men as bumbling masses of insecurity. Men will no longer delight in being bumbling masses of insecurity. Sex is evil. The Southern Baptist Convention is right on. Otho was wise. And my summer with Anna is very close now. Right. <sigh>; 3M/26D/98Y: New yadda yadda to read... Men, women, sex, love, everything.; 3M/22D/98Y: Mine Anna's out of town. Is it any wonder my mood is blue...? <pine>; 3M/22D/98Y: New Soapbox. How are personal sites going to survive? Also updated my essay, The Puddle, because the old one was just unbearable to read.; 3M/18D/98Y: Okay, I fixed the Javascript once and for all, dammit. I installed Navigator 3.01 again and found that older versions of Javascript and the Big Two browsers do not like SCRIPT tags inside large and/or embedded tables. This was no easy bug to track down. It must've been tracked down, though, because there were no problems in either Navigator 4.04 or Internet Explorer 4.01. And all these so-called design experts claim standards are a waste of time. I can't even use JavaScript to serve up multiple versions of a page for different browsers because no one follows standards. Brilliant, guys, brilliant. Photoshop does not an expert make.; 3M/17D/98Y: Tired of personal sites that are never updated? So am I! People with nothing to say run dry pretty quickly. But not here: two and a half years and still going! BenTurner.com ain't a quitter.; 3M/<cough>/98Y: The Soapbox is a little late. This week's discusses various cease and desist cases which have occurred on the Internet as of late. In particular, the mobilization of the Netizens against Fruit of the Loom.; 3M/12D/98Y: Some new links added to the links page. For what it's worth, the reason I still list commercial sites is because there aren't enough personal sites interesting enough to promote.; 3M/11D/98Y: Fixed a Javascript incompatibility on the main menu page. Ever try fixing Javascript for older browsers? Sanford Wallace has an easier time improving his image.; 3M/4D/98Y: Microsoft is the subject of this week's Soapbox. Come on, you know you hate them. Just hope I don't ask you why. ;) And Anna, congratulations! You definitely know what for. I'm so proud of you, sweetheart!; 2M/28D/98Y: Okay, the Nobody's Children area is now redesigned. Woohoo, this site is looking a lot better as a whole, don't you think?; 2M/28D/98Y: I'm not really adding anything, per se, but you've probably noticed I've been doing a lot of renovating to the site. Next redesign is for the clan Nobody's Children area. Since my Quake clan is moving up to the higher echelon of Capture The Flag, our site is getting more visitors and a good impression must be made. The Robin Hood and X-Files areas are still horribly, horribly lacking in representation of my current skills.; 2M/28D/98Y: I finally posted this week's Soapbox, which centers on the conflict with Iraq and the problems Hussein is creating for everyone.; 2M/17D/98Y: Brazil banned the game "Grand Theft Auto"? Sounds like what I wrote about in this week's Soapbox, as music companies crack down on MP3s sites.; 2M/14D/98Y: Happy Valentine's Day to mine Anna. No one else -- just her. I got around to encoding the mood music, which you can view on its accompanying explanation page.; 2M/9D/98Y: Really pisses me off when I see all the hate towards one of the big Web browsers out there. WHY do it? Read more in the fledgling Soapbox.; 2M/7D/98Y: Settings page got axed. Tell me if there are any left-over links to it.; 2M/6D/98Y: Bill Gates hit with a pie, IBM works on a 1GHz chip, Netscape considers selling itself to another company, and much much more. Guess which one wasn't done with any malicious intent? ;); 2M/6D/98Y: Are you 'Net-savvy? Plenty of enemies online, coupled with plenty of ISP disconnections? You might be getting nuked. Yep, our favorite OS is getting ripped apart by people searching for holes in Win95's TCP/IP. Go to this page for nuke protection patches. Disregard the porn advertisement. ;) The site's just a front end for Microsoft's www.labyrinth.; 2M/4D/98Y: Overheard..."Today we were all assigned computer-type companies to research and compete in class. You know, like Microsoft and Sun and shit like that. But I got Oracle...man, that sucked." <rofl>; 2M/4D/98Y: Got around to posting the redesign, finally. Here you go -- enjoy. I also did work on the autobio, which hasn't been touched for years, and I redesigned the Soapbox, which has a new article in it discussing the problems with abortions, death penalties, and one word solutions. Yes, the guestbook and search scripts are gone. Like they were useful anyway.; 2M/2D/98Y: It's my birthday. I'm twenty. Phil saw his shadow...again. Somehow I'm not amused.; 1M/29D/98Y: Two new Soapboxes. One on a new design philosophy, the other (this week's) as a farewell to the already dead.; 1M/19D/98Y: Ben Turner goes half popular culture analyst, half inspirational speaker. The result? Well, the result wasn't too good, more like a poor attempt at humor, but you can read it anyway.; 1M/18D/98Y: I have two old Soapboxes to write, plus this week's. It'll take some time, as I'm still searching for ideas, as well as the energy to write them. Also, any form using the formmail script from Matt Wright is not working right now. I don't know why and my ISP insists it's not their fault. So I'll probably look for a new script to use, and hopefully I'll stop losing anything that people are sending to me.; 1M/12D/98Y: Yeah, it's late. The Great Recovery of the Soapbox continues as the New Year begins to start powering up. This one is for the week of the 14th of December and it has to do with my wanting to achieve weightlessness in order to be successful.; 1M/11D/98Y: Catching up on the 'Boxes. This one is about what I predict for myself in 1998 and how the Soapbox derives its title for this year. Enjoy. I will be doing just that.; 1M/10D/98Y: Well, after being almost a month late with the next Soapbox, I wrote the one for next week a day early! Go figure... It of course explains some of my feelings after spending Christmas with the goddess herself, Anna. Here's to 1998's Soapboxes!; 1M/8D/98Y: I'm back home now, although I wish with all my heart that I was still with Anna. I know some of you may not care, and you may be sick about it, but fuck, I deserve this and this is what love's all about. If you don't feel the same way about your significant other, then shame on you. Updates coming soon, especially in the Soapbox department. I'm afraid it's sickenly behind. :) New main page since I don't think it's easy enough to navigate. We'll zee about zat.; 1M/1D/98Y: I thought I said this, but I guess I didn't. Since I'm here in Stockholm until the 6th, there won't be any updates until that time. Too much to do and I need a break. Congrats, Annababe, you're the first one to interrupt the schedule of the Soapbox. ;) And the only one, methinks. Damn I'm enjoying it here...<evil grin> Happy New Year everyone.; 12M/13D/97Y: Contrary to what you may believe, the Soapbox is not late because I've been playing Quake 2. I've actually been very good and have been doing my work.; 12M/10D/97Y: Yep, I went and done did it. There's a new main menu now. Hope you like it. Fewer links mean fewer distractions. I just hope people get the idea that the site IS big and that it IS easy to move around in. Soapbox coming soon.; 12M/6D/97Y: For God sakes, Ben, the Soapbox is a week late now? Why, yes it is. Been busy with school, getting little to no sleep. But I have an off-week now which I'll use to catch up on the 'Boxes and introduce a Christmas design. And as for e-mail, I'll respond to all that before I leave the country. Promise. ;) New 'Box about giving one's opinions at a university.; 11M/30D/97Y: I just got back from Thanksgiving weekend, so that's why the 'Box is late. At least it's open and heartfelt. I write more about how much I love Anna and about how much she means to me and...what, you mean you aren't nauseous yet? I'll have some other fresh updates soon as soon as I have time. You'll see. Oh yeah, and the Quake clan Nobody's Children is going to the QWHPCL playoffs. Woohoo!; 11M/21D/97Y: Finally completed the second Hood's Hut story. Well, Sarah Norberg did, and she did a wonderful job of it! A wonderful final twist. And you've probably already seen it, but there's a humorous list of how governments would treat cows in the other documents.; 11M/20D/97Y: You say you're surprised I won't wear an orange and white UT Austin sweater? Read the 'Box to find out why.; 11M/17D/97Y: Just added a section for my RobScript, a MUD script specifically for Stick in the Mud and zMUD.; 11M/11D/97Y: Wrote the new 'Box for this week. I liked how it turned out, even if it was mainly a dialogue on my various views of the world. Babbly. But the RealAudio is cool. ;) I'm on a roll.; 11M/11D/97Y: Oooh, new splash page! It looks okay, doesn't it? E-mail me with your opinions.; 11M/10D/97Y: Finally had time to redo the design section, since it had become horribly outdated and was beginning to make me look bad. But the new design looks kickass, don't it? I think so too.; 11M/3D/97Y: Updated the Soapbox reasonably on time. Congrats to me. ;) Also added some Chris Carterish type things at the bottom of the main menu. The X is simply to mark the week of the X-Files final season premiere. I will be updating the design page since it's horribly out of date and I can do much better now.; 10M/29D/97Y: Pissed off because your friend sent you an unreadable e-mail? Me too! Read about it in the 'Box.; 10M/24D/97Y: Finally updated the 'Box, which this week deals with the topic of mortality versus immortality and how it all pertains to vampirism. Ooh, bring on all the *.gothic Usenet regulars! Also made some small updates to the Robin Hood area, as I've received a LOT of information as of late, particularly from people who live in Nottingham and surrounding areas.; 10M/16D/97Y: I went on and on, plugging one of my favorite programs on my computer, HomeSite v.3.0 beta 4, in the 'Box. I'm hooked! Also fixed some Javascript incompatibilities and made some of the HTML in my root directory more pleasing to the strict validator.; 10M/15D/97Y: Updated the resume to reflect some changing dates and various things. And all that.; 10M/15D/97Y: Some new or updated graphics on the NC clan page. Also, a new intro essay on the main page. Figured I'd make note of that change for those of you who bookmark this page because you trust me...<wink>; 10M/7D/97Y: Oh shit, it's 3:20AM. But at least I got the Soapbox written reasonably on time. Okay, Anna...now you have my full...attention in this wee hour of the morning. ;); 10M/2D/97Y: Want to contribute to the newest petition to change our daily schedule? Read the 'Box, babe. Some little easter eggs thrown in, too, for those who look hard enough.; 9M/23D/97Y: Stopped doing this a long time ago, but I've added some secret and spider links to various pages. Now, please don't scare me and go LOOKING for these things. There's over 200 documents on this site and for you to find all of them would be reason for me to have you institutionalized. It's just a little hidden treasure for those who happen to find them. Also, some tidbits of info about Robin Hood on the who is Robin? page added. Lawrence D. Weisberg added my Robin Hood section to his list of master links.; 9M/21D/97Y: I think women have a lot to worry about on the 'Net. Find out why I think so in this week's Soapbox.; 9M/14D/97Y: No doubt I'll get mail for this week's Soapbox. ;) Everyone will want to tell me I overlooked something crucial in talking about racism. Well, read the whole thing first. I've already explained that...well...my stance on racism wasn't fully explained.; 9M/13D/97Y: Dr. Frederick Walker generously wrote up reviews of two Robin Hood books he read, which are in controversy with each other. The books are Robin Hood by J.C. Holt (my favorite RH book) and The Quest for Robin Hood.; 9M/11D/97Y: Added a LOT of information to the Robin Hood section of the site. Far and away the most popular, the Hood section has new entries to the Hood's Hut and other new tidbits of info.; 9M/8D/97Y: Updated my resume to include the latest address info, in case anyone was stalking me and bumped into the wrong person.; 9M/7D/97Y: Why don't I feel like writing right now? The Soapbox explores my current state of mind.; 9M/1D/97Y: I get my phone line tomorrow. Thank God. Here's this week's Soapbox.; 8M/26D/97Y: Been busy moving into the new room here in Austin. So sorry the Soapbox is late.; 8M/20D/97Y: New look to the welcome page. You might like it, or you might not. I don't really care anymore. ;) As long as it looks decent on most browsers. But what you think of what I do aesthetically is meaningless to me. Uh, unless I know you.; 8M/18D/97Y: Old-style Soapbox in store for you, about Howard Stern's removal from DFW's airwaves.; 8M/14D/97Y: Lots of small changes. Added the Quake Name Maker to the NC file list in place of HardNoise's Funky Quake Name Editor. Stick in the Mud was having some difficulties, but it's better now.; 8M/13D/97Y: The Robin Hood section continues to be far and away the most popular area at the site, and I've added a lot of new information, much of it sent in from loyal Robin Hood fans who took some time out to help me. Thanks, folks.; 8M/10D/97Y: I've had a lot of time to think alone, since Anna's been out of town. I love you, Anna. I wrote about my findings and experiences in this week's Soapbox, an essay I probably said too much in. But it was an honest confession of my feelings. More for Anna to read and for myself to think about than for anyone else. The software section has been updated, what with newer versions of software being released and whatnot. I spent too many hours upgrading all the junk on my system, just because I'm a perfectionist who can't leave software alone. <poke>; 8M/5D/97Y: Hurry up and come home, Anna. I miss you, and you only left today! Hope your trip went safely. The find Ben page has a new look with some updated information. Also added my PGP public key which I'd advise you add to your keyring if you correspond with me frequently. :); 8M/3D/97Y: Damn, it's early. But I'm attempting to continue the string of on-time Soapboxes. Looks like it goes another week! The first week of August has brought on the subject of music as a cathartic tool, spurred by a recent CD spree I went on in Dallas. The CD player's smoking!; 7M/28D/97Y: Added "Robin Hood and the Tanner" to the Robin Hood section.; 7M/27D/97Y: The Soapbox isn't late. To anyone who's e-mailed me anything from the beginning of July, I HAVE received it and I WILL respond. But I'm just getting back on track and I need to answer it all soon. Sorry for the delay. Been really busy. Special thanks to Tyler Vance and Wendy Novel for sending me the Robin Hood tales!; 7M/20D/97Y: Back to posting Soapboxes on time. It's such a shame, too, because I feel like my time would be better spent communicating in any way with the woman I miss so much...; 7M/18D/97Y: The Soapbox is late, but there is a reason for it. I am in love and I am still recovering from the jetlag and shock of not feeling mine Anna in my embrace, as I grew accustomed to in our week together.; 7M/7D/97Y: Komodo's been added to the NC roster.; 7M/5D/97Y: After being tired of posting the Soapboxes late, I decided instead of waiting until Sunday to write, I would have it done before then. So for me, being on schedule will be like staying a week ahead. Hehe, sad. This week's Soapbox is the big announcement I've been dying to tell about for the longest time. I'm coming for you, Anna... After reading this week's 'Box, you'll know why next week's entry will be a bit late. Bear with me.; 7M/2D/97Y: I just finished an exhaustive Soapbox on religion. Bleah.; 6M/27D/97Y: Not hard to tell that the main menu has a fresh look. It, by its nature, can't change much in its overall look, but it changed nonetheless. If you're observant, you'll know that some small things have changed and will be changing frequently...; 6M/26D/97Y: I am so, so eager to make a big announcement concerning Anna and myself, but I must be patient. There are still a couple of weeks to go. An agonizing two weeks, for sure. I'm so ready. I can't wait. This week's 'Box deals with the Night, that lovely being who most people neglect. New main menu design coming soon, as I don't like what's currently there... You guys won't mind a bit of wasted bandwidth, will you? ;); 6M/16D/97Y: I got reviewed by The Net but I'm a little unsure of the reviewer's impression. A review of a review, in this week's 'Box.; 6M/15D/97Y: The MUD area has been updated so that it actually has current information. Imagine that. :); 6M/12D/97Y: Small revisions to some areas of the Nobody's Children clan pages.; 6M/11D/97Y: Enough about love. Let's rant about friendship! I did a lot of updating in the Robin Hood section, after receiving some wonderful information about Robin's possible tie-ins to nobility from Dr. Frederick Walker. I also received a beautiful entry from Sarah Norberg for the Hood's Hut. Fine, liquid writing. Check it out -- it's an area of my site that I wish had more contributions. The Hut really is a fun thing to play with. The resume has been slightly updated to reflect my current status.; 6M/3D/97Y: Discussing the future again. I've decided not to worry so much about the past anymore -- the future holds so much more!; 5M/29D/97Y: Do you have what it takes to receive the benturner.com Badge of Disapproval? Check the 'Box to find out! I'm gonna get you, Anna...; 5M/20D/97Y: Sure looks like I'm lusting for world domination again, doesn't it? Be afraid -- I may get it, in one way or another.; 5M/13D/97Y: Happy Mother's Day! I'm back home now. I have a comfortable, private room that I just cleaned out, but I have to deal with halfwit ISPs again, like Netcom. Jesus, the Better Business Bureau should be notified about these sorts of scams...; 5M/5D/97Y: Oh, I'm sorry...did I offend you? I feel so bad about it. Finals are coming up. Boy, that ought to kill my inspiration.; 4M/30D/97Y: The weather is warm, sunny, and accommodating, as am I. To a very select few, of course. Maybe it was the weather that inspired me to speak so highly of UT Austin in this week's 'Box, or maybe it was something else entirely.; 4M/21D/97Y: Hay is for horses. Wrote a new Soapbox to whet your appetite. Gotta like the response I'm getting from the Robin Hood pages these days.; 4M/15D/97Y: I wrote about my family. Now get off my back, ye hounds!; 4M/10D/97Y: Added a bit of information on the origins of Friar Tuck to the Merry Men page.; 4M/10D/97Y: Soapbox. "The Rescue". 3:30 AM. Bleah.; 4M/7D/97Y: Finally added the random quote generator, plus a link to take you to a random page at benturner.com.; 4M/3D/97Y: New Soapbox (written in the tradition of the ideal journalist), addition of sitemap, addition of Men in Tights theme song lyrics (yes, people ask for them), and scattered other updates as I fixed a lot of broken links today. Enjoy. I'm tired!; 3M/31D/97Y: New entry to the Hood's Hut! Been awhile! Care to contribute? What's there is shaping up to be a damn good story. Some other changes scattered throughout the site, too insignificant to note.; 3M/26D/97Y: I'm seeing how many more people I can piss off with this week's 'Box. After I received flame mail in response to the rant on the menu page, I knew the sky was the limit. ;); 3M/16D/97Y: Hate my guts? Think I'm an arrogant jerk? Then maybe this week's Soapbox isn't for you. I didn't intend it to be flattering to yours truly, but its subject matter made the problem unavoidable. And hey Nyte, before you go off as champion of decency and caring, try asking people before you involve them in your little games.; 3M/9D/97Y: Of course there's a new essay in the Soapbox this week. And it's on time! Amazing! Amazing what you can do when you have nothing to do (Spring Break). The essay even has tie-ins to Millenium, Howard Stern, and other media-ish entities -- you won't fall asleep this week! The Nobody's Children clan site has some updated info if you're interested.; 3M/4D/97Y: I love how this place is set up. It requires very little maintenance. Proper HTML and excellent design. This week there are a lot of small changes and additions to the site. Soapbox. New Windows wallpaper. New defense of introversion. The software pages have been updated so they should reflect the latest versions available as of this date. Finally, I uploaded one of the old archived Soapboxes since I found it in another directory. Must've been late when I transferred the file...; 2M/27D/97Y: You know what's new this week. Oh, that, as well as the site for the new Quake clan I'm in, Nobody's Children.; 2M/19D/97Y: Quite a few more of my favorite sites added to the links. Also, there's a new article in the 'Box, addressing the current state of the Web. Who dares to say the Web is dying?; 2M/12D/97Y: Small changes/bug fixes and link additions on the site (if you can find them). Oh yeah, and we have a new Soapbox.; 2M/3D/97Y: This week's Soapbox may not be what some people want to hear, but as one person told me, I am not a pleaser.; 1M/29D/97Y: What's with Ben as of late? The Oracle of the Soapbox'll tell you. Small revisions on some other pages.; 1M/21D/97Y: More words from the Soapbox, a favorite visit for its almost non-existent cult following.; 1M/15D/97Y: Yeah, this week's Soapbox essay is late. So sue me. I was thinking about the past, er, the future, er... You decide.; 1M/9D/97Y: Made some changes to the Robin Hood pages, in particular adding the ballad, "Robin Hood Rescuing the Three Squires". Also added Philosophies of Life to the other documents.; 1M/7D/97Y: That's right, another Soapbox essay is here. And this one might just set off some folks...; 1M/5D/97Y: Added a whole medley of documents which don't really fit in anywhere. As a collective, they're called the other documents.; 12M/31D/96Y: New Soapbox essay. Has Ben lost it?; 12M/30D/96Y: My choices for the best software apps are now online. The picks are mainly for Windows95, but, like all good programs, some are available on multiple platforms.; 12M/24D/96Y: Mr. Ben is getting so much done! Ain't you prouda him? My resume has been put online for your perusal. That leaves about ten trillion other projects to complete before I go back to Austin...; 12M/23D/96Y: New Soapbox article dealing with the importance of the ritual. It's not a comprehensive look at rituals, of course, but it presents some interesting ideas for you to expand in your own mind.; 12M/23D/96Y: Made a lot of little tiny tweaks as far as links go. I ran my site through Linkbot and found all the outdated links for all my pages. What a program! It costs $50 to register though.; 12M/19D/96Y: A minor Christmas theme added. Enjoy.; 12M/18D/96Y: Plenty of small updates on the Robin Hood (index.php, Who is Robin?) and on the music pages. Many local Dallas band links added. Long live Funland! Long live Dallas music!; 12M/17D/96Y: I meet plenty of people through the 'Net and through real life. About the same ratio, actually. See what I've encountered so far.; 12M/12D/96Y: While I should be doing other things, I decided instead to post a couple articles I enjoyed on the 'stuff I wish I had made' page. One is by Michael Kinsley, socialite, and the other is by my dad, Fred Turner, the technodweeb of the family. Heh. Disclaimer placed on the "Mendax Cavus" article on the 'stuff you wish you had made' page, since some people obviously have never read anything metaphorical before.; 12M/9D/96Y: Added The Fresh Web Page to the links. New Soapbox essay, this one about misunderstanding. I've written an essay about Sierra On-Line's The Realm, arguing against paying the fifty dollars for its CD version. That's about it for today. Maybe I should study for finals now.; 12M/7D/96Y: Simplified look for the main menu. It was just getting too cluttered, don't you agree? Mood patterns and expression of my theory of life pages added. As said before, software app list coming soon, as is a collection of zMUD settings. Oh yeah, fixed the Javascript on the main page. Forgot to comment out the code. *innocent*; 12M/2D/96Y: Found a bug in the path for the random link script. It's been fixed and you can now visit random links from the links page. You're welcome. ;); 12M/1D/96Y: New article added to the Soapbox. It discusses why people feel the human imagination has stagnated and why people feel so nervous, so afraid of being idle.; 12M/1D/96Y: Got back to UT today after going home for the holiday break. No studying was done at home -- I do not feel guilty. I shall now indulge myself in updating benturner.com every day in celebration of December. Be prepared for a Christmas update of this site in a couple weeks. Also be on the look out for a software app recommendation list and Xeus's Lab, an exercise in arrogance for an imaginary character in an online game.; 11M/26D/96Y: benturner.com premieres. There's a new soapbox essay, this time dealing with the subject of words that can kill. Spicy, eh? Bring on the Pepto Bismol -- it may upset your stomach. Hey, write me if anything on the site's not working, 'kay? I may be a perfectionist, but I can't catch everything.; 11M/24D/96Y: Stayed up late checking pages through various browsers. Spend this morning running pages through validators. Now for the Lynx test! I don't think I'll add many new graphics -- some of the newer pages look better with a pure textual look. I keep pushing myself to finish this thing, so I've been making updates on the other directories of benturner.com fairly quickly. I think I'm almost done, unless I want to redo some graphics or somesuch.; 11M/20D/96Y: The "Stuff You Wish You Had Made" and "Stuff I Wish I Had Made" pages have been completed. They probably won't be updated all that often.; 11M/15-18D/96Y: It's a damn good thing I don't have anything to study for. No hours have been wasted trying to complete this site so that I can premiere it. I'm excited about this one. Really I am. Been imagining a day when I knew enough to run a web site by myself. The front end of the site is being redone at the moment.; 11M/14D/96Y: I bribed Internic and they registered benturner.com in two days! Amazing what a little cash will do for you on the side, eh? Now what will I do with this thing...?

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06/15/08 MOOD: