Arathon's Xanga

new blog address

Thu, 22 Feb 2007 01:29:58 GMT

The location of my blog hasn't changed, but now you can access it differently. The cool, handy-dandy, and otherwise rad new way of getting to my REAL blog is by pointing your browser (I've never understood that analogy) to http://blog.petergaultney.com. Pretty cool, eh?

That's right. blog.petergaultney.com

Don't you wish you had a Blogger account so you could do cool stuff like this too? And best of all, it's free with no advertisements! Cool.

Making the switch...

Mon, 16 Oct 2006 23:55:34 GMT

Not that anyone should particularly care, and I certainly make no promises to actually post anything there, but I'll probably be switching from Xanga to Blogger from this point on. Blogger allows me to have a custom webpage design like this one (with no advertisements either) without having to pay for it. I'll keep this account active so I can keep up to date on everyone's posts, but I won't be posting here.
It should be possible to subscribe to my blog via email, so that you get notified by email if and when I ever post on Blogger. My username is ArathonNova, but that's mostly unimportant, because the address of my blog will be

http://Arathon.blogspot.com

Hopefully, that isn't too hard to remember. =)
Oh, I did post on it - only once so far. But something happened today which was mildly interestING. If I get a comment over there, I might even explain what happened in more detail. It was lots and lots and lots and lots and lots (feeling the sarcasm yet?) and lots of fun.

Free Derek Webb!

Fri, 01 Sep 2006 12:46:19 GMT

Since everyone else refers to their readers as "kiddos" (don't believe me? Check out FoolishYetWise, waxinglyrical, and gracebwithu)....
I'm not gonna do that. But I thought I'd mention it.

I didn't come here to tell you that.

I don't think I'll put this as eloquently as Matthew did, but here's the deal: Derek Webb put out an album last winter, and apparently he's made as much money as he wants (teehee) from sales of the album. Therefore, he is doing something which is almost unprecedented in the world of music: He's making the ENTIRE Mockingbird album, at mp3-quality levels, completely free, reproducible, and do-whatever-you-want-with-it-able.

This is a good album - in fact a very, very good album. I'd say more, but Derek Webb says it pretty well himself on the website. So, the link you've all been waiting for....Go grab it. You'll be glad you did.

www.freederekwebb.com

Mysterious post-eating internet zombies...

Thu, 24 Aug 2006 01:07:45 GMT

Hello? Hello?! Can anyone read this?

.......

............

Hello??? I don't know if anyone's----------------this, but thi-----Peter....I've been trying for------

------for I don't know-------I've lost track of-------------------------I don't remember how long....Oh I hope someone is reading this---------

......

-----f anyone's out there that doesn't know, the summer has been a dead zone--------------people who have been trying to post------------------AAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIII- oh, never mind......it's OK. I---------, it's fine, I'm fine......just thought I heard something.....heard------------them. The ones who've been int----------------all-------sts. I don't know how they------------------------------------------------
--------------------

.......

-----matter what I do, it seems like nothing---------------through. I don't see anyone else's-----------------------------I can't see my own---------------------'ve kept trying, let me tell you-------
--------------

.........

----am I kidding? No one is going to get this one either. Except that I thought maybe they---------------istracted. Like maybe they weren't going to be able-----------------------------that I could get something through-----------------------------I don't know. I'm wasting my time; I'm going craz----------------CRAZY I cant TAKE IT ANY MO----------------------
---------was looking forward to graduating from college, marrying, raising a-----------------------------------------------a computer scientist, but there's no way n----------------------------do that when these zomb----------------------control. Aaaaah! N-----------------------------------
----------mind - it was nothing. But I'm too tired; I can't keep typing like----------rever, and I think I hear them coming back an---------------------

....................

------anyone can read this, send help!!! I'm begging you! I can't live like this much----------
------------

.........................

...............................

.....

waaaaahahahahahahaaaaa

Tue, 25 Jul 2006 13:40:18 GMT

For those of you who know Scott and Megan.......I did not edit this photo in any way - the screenshot was taken as is, without even cutting and pasting the sections so that they'd be next to each other.

Man, I'm good...

P.S. In case it wasn't funny enough, notice the last time each updated his/her profile....

I would like to announce....

Sun, 23 Jul 2006 02:15:49 GMT

That I am a liar. Anyone who has been here knows this.
I have had an incredibly interesting summer, but no one will ever know about it, because I am incapable of regularly posting on this site (for which I have paid, what....$50?).

However, Maria says that I never say anything, so I shall say it, just to prove her wrong.

Anything.

I'll attempt to do better than this in the coming week. Maybe Wednesday. When I'm packing. To go back to Tennessee.

lol...look at the tracks I'm listening to...

first day at work

Wed, 31 May 2006 00:23:17 GMT

My first day went well, though it wasn't very productive. Everyone I expected to be there (interns-wise) was there, which was nice. We're all nice and close to each other, and our cubicles are lovely (pictures to follow at some point).

Today's task was getting our work computers ready for service. The IT department had gotten some things on there for us, but it was up to us to install all the work-specific software. Pretty much every single piece of software presented some difficulty to at least one person in terms of installation. Arguably the most important piece, Visual Studio .NET edition, took all day to figure out (including a couple of version changes) and is still not installed on my computer. =P

I installed the Portuguese version of the software that our department is working on, a project called Service Advisor. Hopefully my knowledge of Portuguese will be of some help to them - it almost definitely will if they choose to make use of it.

We were also given our first assignment as a group - a minor interface problem that we're being asked to consult them on. Should be interesting - hopefully we can cover all the angles and come up with a good, complete solution.

Well, I'll try to update regularly over the summer.

Weapons of War

Thu, 25 May 2006 02:16:35 GMT

So my good friend and budding inventor Christian Chastain dreamed up a slightly fanciful yet interesting proposition the other day, involving the use of a mousetrap and party poppers to make the equivalent of an airsoft Claymore mine.
An abortive first attempt involved using a 25¢ mousetrap which did not provide the necessary jerking force to be completely reliable. This prompted the hero of our story to move on to bigger and better things - namely, bigger and better ignition devices - also known as rat traps (each of which costs $2.50).
With rat traps and assorted accessories in hand, he made his way over to the house of somewhat skeptical but willing handyman Peter Gaultney, who promptly (ok, not-so-promptly, as he was in the middle of making French fries for supper) set up in his parents' garage a makeshift workshop for the realization of the RATA1 (Rat Airsoft Trap, 1st revision) Airsoft Antipersonnel Mine.
Development went smoothly - one might even assert that we had God on our side - and within half an hour we had already tested the firing mechanism with great success. Further development led to the implementation of an effective safety mechanism, as well as a brilliant and sturdy planting/aiming method.
The prototype was twice tested with live ammunition, and has been designed for quick and easy field refitting. It is also designed to be safe to transport and easy to set up.

Tennessee, here we come.

I am definitely done.

Wed, 24 May 2006 21:51:58 GMT

I should have said this earlier, but I was too busy being done to be bothered with posting. Now that the doneness is sorta sinking in, I'm happy to share with you my joy at being done.

*shares joy*

Next week, I'll be starting work (on Tuesday). Should be really interesting - I hope the Lord blesses me with a fun job. I know that I'll be paid fairly well, so that's lovely. I'm excited, but I'm certainly enjoying this week of nothingness.

And my AK-47 is certainly a source of joy. I finally painted the muzzle black, because the orange was driving me nuts.

As is the most wonderful girl in the world, about whom - oddly enough - I have not talked very much on this blog. I went with her to see her horse, Rose, today, and it was lots of fun. I even got to ride Rose, and Rose was good about the whole thing. Now my hands smell like molasses and horse mixed together with Welsh Corgi. I can't believe I'm typing on this keyboard with dirty hands, but....but I am.

heading Tennessee

Fri, 19 May 2006 18:01:20 GMT

you know how people say things like "I'm heading South?" Where South is not simply a direction, but a place? Well, Tennessee is not simply a place; it is a direction. Sorta like bowing towards Mecca five times a day. Except not at all.
So I'm heading Tennessee. I'll be there by midnight or so tonight.

Grace, Suzanne, anyone else? If you want to visit, I'll be about an hour and a half away. I guess that would just make Richie insanely jealous, so maybe it's not such a good idea. But if you've got nothing else to do, I'd love for the family/father/whatnot to meet you. I'll only be there Saturday and part of Sunday, though, so you'll have to time it just right.

In other news, I'm pretty much done with school. I think I did well enough on my Physics exam to pass the final, and I feel good about my performance on the Linear Algebra exam. I doubt it was good enough to swing an A in the class, but one can always hope.

Thanks be to God for all the answered prayer over the last...ohhh....15 weeks? There are still a couple left to answer, but my faith is currently =P fairly strong. And thanks to everyone who has prayed for me. It's been a help; probably way more help than I think.

Gotta go. The transportation hath arrived.