1999, the Re-Evaluation

1. January 3, 1999 - "Re-Evaluation"

   It's time for me to assess what I have, take into account what I'm good at and what I'm bad at, and then correct myself so that when the time comes for me to make my move, I will have the discipline and control to take full advantage of it.

   
   
2. January 10, 1999 - "The Dallas Christmas with Anna"

   Herein do I describe the beautiful Christmas Anna and I spent at my home in Dallas in 1998.

   
   
3. January 17, 1999 - "Spring '99 Semester"

   My courses for this semester, and my reasons for taking up a whole Soapbox to tell a disinterested reader about it. Hey, this shit may bore you to Hell, but this site's not about you, is it?

   
   
4. January 24, 1999 - "Glowering at Local Bandwidth Empery"

   Cable modems and DSL are supposed to be accessible and affordable to get now. Yeah right. Not in Austin. Not for me, anyway.

   
   
5. January 31, 1999 - "Denial of Self"

   Man denies he is animal. Doesn't that flaw his whole line of thinking? Man acts like Animal every damn day, in front of my very eyes.

   
   
6. February 7, 1999 - "De Vita Morteque"

   Some thoughts on life, death, and what sacrifices it requires to learn that death isn't to be feared, but appreciated.

   
   
7. February 14, 1999 - "The NBA: They Still Milk This Game!"

   The NBA is back after a long lockout period. What are the long-term effects of their bumblings?

   
   
8. February 21, 1999 - "Web Design, Stagnation of"

   Some of my thoughts on where web design is going, in light of the version 5 browsers from Microsoft and Netscape.

   
   
9. February 28, 1999 - "Something Nice for Me to Think About"

   You know, web design is a cool profession (if you will) to be in. It's certainly provided some stability for me, and it's fun to participate in.

   
   
10. March 7, 1999 - "Knowledge and Opinion"

    I never said I knew everything -- quite the opposite. Please understand that.

    
    
11. March 14, 1999 - "Call to Power"

    Regarding the Internet: "What the military intended to protect themselves from hostile attack now protects the consumer from overbearing, manipulative, deceptive companies."

    
    
12. March 21, 1999 - "That Was Such a Nice Thing You Did for Me"

    Random thoughts about work, Kosovo, my childhood memories, dreams, and so on.

    
    
13. March 28, 1999 - "Seeing It for What It Is"

    I am overcome with a calm sense of inner peace -- all around me, the world becomes louder and louder, yet I am learning that it is all only noise.

    
    
14. April 4, 1999 - "The Goofiest Game"

    A plea to men and women to get their acts together regarding relationships, and giving notice to my exit from that arena.

    
    
15. April 11, 1999 - "The Next 'Threat' to Entertainment"

    My explanation of how the movie industry has much to be concerned about after seeing what MP3s did to the music industry.

    
    
16. April 18, 1999 - "The Trenchcoat Media"

    Who would've thought that a made-up name for a group of kids at my old highschool would relate to a school shooting in Colorado by a group called the Trenchcoat Mafia?

    
    
17. April 25, 1999 - "Massacre of the Different"

    Unfortunately, the death of the Columbine High School shooters did not end the panic: this is a tale of mass media, overreactive parents, and the children who hate them.

    
    
18. May 2, 1999 - "The Online Melting Pot"

    Everyone belongs on the Internet. Do you truly believe that, or just say it because it's been fed to you?

    
    
19. May 9, 1999 - "Summer, 1999"

    Summer's the best time of the year. Here's how I'm planning to spend it. Stocks, work, summer school, web design, women. How base!

    
    
20. May 16, 1999 - "Popping Thunder and Fateful Towers"

    Some whimsical thoughts on Man, myth, the Tower of Babel, and the Edge of the World. Just the usual stuff.

    
    
21. May 23, 1999 - "David Brin's 'The Transparent Society': My Thoughts"

    After reading The Transparent Society by David Brin, I felt like contributing my thoughts on reciprocal transparency, accountability, secrecy, and the future, based on my impressions of Brin's argument.

    
    
22. May 30, 1999 - "Summer, 1999: Update"

    Just as it says, an update to the previous Soapbox, "Summer, 1999". School, grades, cable, web sites, and more.

    
    
23. June 6, 1999 - "Ben Turner Storms 'The Real World'"

    Excuse me while I indulge in a little dream to be one of the cast members on MTV's The Real World...

    
    
24. June 13, 1999 - "On Relationships with Women"

    Thoughts on my dealings with women, from the very close Anna to complete strangers. For all your little sets of prying eyes out there...all five of you. Hehe.

    
    
25. June 20, 1999 - "The Government's More Subtle Approach"

    Governments step up their attacks on Internet rights. Public knows nothing about it. Post-mortems to be ugly.

    
    
26. June 27, 1999 - "Sn1pe and Hax0r"

    What are computer games missing these days? Patience? Non-violent mission goals? More stealth? Less adrenaline rush in your face pressure? Here are my ideas for cool games.

    
    
27. July 4, 1999 - "Backing Off"

    I'm tired of people commenting on my personal life based on what they read on my site. No more of that! Friends, family, coworkers...etc. Who needs the second looks?

    
    
28. July 11, 1999 - "Computer Components at a Bargain"

    The best computer you can buy comes in separate pieces at cheaper prices. It's not pre-built. You just need to know what you want and how much to buy it for. (in other words, how to upgrade your system and save money)

    
    
29. July 18, 1999 - "RHAT: Sharks and Geeks"

    Red Hat (NASDAQ:RHAT) IPO's soon. How will it be received by the stock market? How have inexperienced open source investors dealt with the new experience of trying to grab IPO shares?

    
    
30. July 25, 1999 - "Where Will It End?"

    I've come so far already. How much further can I go? Will my future be more or less what I expect it will be?

    
    
31. August 1, 1999 - "Fahrenheit 2577"

    A republishing of Ray Bradbury's afterword from Fahrenheit 451. In it, he discusses how others have tried to get him to edit his own works in order to satisfy them. He refuses profusely.

    
    
32. August 8, 1999 - "200 Weeks Ago"

    The 200th Soapbox! How far have I come?

    
    
33. August 15, 1999 - "Ubiquitous, Endless Bandwidth"

    Bandwidth should flow free, for all to pluck out of the sky, not controlled, not limited, not held back. What would be possible if bandwidth were open?

    
    
34. August 22, 1999 - "JIT"

    Much is to be learned from Amazon.com, both as a valuation on its stock and as a company.

    
    
35. August 29, 1999 - "Another Minor Disturbance for Microsoft"

    The government can really only do one thing to hurt Microsoft, if you ask me, and that is to release the source to Windows.

    
    
36. September 5, 1999 - "Hit Pirates Where It Hurts Them Least"

    The RIAA and BSA are coming after pirates now. And they're getting results finally. Of course, it's all to no avail. They're hitting moving targets.

    
    
37. September 12, 1999 - "Growing Up"

    When you're a kid, you're allowed to do whatever you want. When you get older, you're not allowed to do anything.

    
    
38. September 19, 1999 - "Our Boy Graduates to Broadband...for Good"

    Broadband and handheld and wireless are coming together rapidly. Between DSL and a Palm V, I've come to see what I've been looking for all this time.

    
    
39. September 26, 1999 - "Reviews"

    For too long, reviewers have gotten to freely dick around and write stupid reviews on movies or computer games or whatever else they choose. What about looking at the quality of the reviews instead of whatever they're reviewing?

    
    
40. October 3, 1999 - "Harsh Comparison"

    Harsh Realm, Chris Carter's latest offering, smacks of previous winners before it, particularly The Matrix. What's up, Chris?

    
    
41. October 10, 1999 - "The Love of Money"

    Pursue money or run away from it? Who are you to tell me what to do? Clearly, I have a handle on it you can't help me with.

    
    
42. October 17, 1999 - "Daytrading Restrictions"

    The NASD and the NYSE are seeking to curb daytrading. Of course, such recognition of the practice is long overdue. But there are important implications to the proposed rules. Will they affect me? I don't even daytrade.

    
    
43. October 24, 1999 - "Friendships Bounce Off Me"

    Why do I not keep friendships close to me? It has to do with my childhood...and with my future as well.

    
    
44. October 31, 1999 - "Roots and Reintegration"

    I quit my job and now I'm a full-time student for the first time since high school. And you know what, it's freed up everything about me. Heck, I'm still young! Why not enjoy it?

    
    
45. November 7, 1999 - "A Day of Accomplishment"

    By following my heart, I've placed myself in a peculiar position where I'm restrained by nothing and at the same time accomplishing my goals and making it lucrative.

    
    
46. November 14, 1999 - "Respect My Authori-tay!"

    Run-ins with incompetent night watchmen and pussy neighbors.

    
    
47. November 21, 1999 - "February Sauna"

    Can you believe it? It's fucking February and I'm sweating my ass off. There's something wrong about this. And I blame it all on the management.

    
    
48. November 28, 1999 - "The Nodal Point"

    Some preliminary thoughts on putting together a new system.

    
    
49. December 5, 1999 - "A Wild End to an Important Year"

    Our intrepid explorer recounts his experiences from the semester and charts out his future path. But first! A much-needed Christmas break.

    
    
50. December 12, 1999 - "The Wrongful Execution Argument"

    More thoughts on capital punishment in light of Texas and Governor Bush putting a great-grandmother to death.

    
    
51. December 19, 1999 - "Market Divergence"

    Should the NASDAQ follow the Dow as it goes below the psychologically important 10,000? What's going on? I love to guess.

    
    
52. December 26, 1999 - "She Would"

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