I hope that by now, everybody is using Firefox as their main web browser. I know that a few select sites still require Internet Explorer, but its time that everybody embraces Firefox. The raw speed, tabbed browsing, themes, and extensions all make it so much better than any other browser. And most important, it is open-source software. If you haven’t switched already, do it now. Go to mozilla.com.

While you’re there, download Thunderbird for your email.

I have added a favorite site to my arsenal. It is Digg.com and I visit it almost every time I sit at the computer. I have found so many cool pages using this website, including the Simpsons videos that I linked to in an earlier post. Check this site out! Sign-in, and digg your own stuff.

Microsoft needs to do a better job of getting service packs out to Windows and Office users. There is way too much time between these releases. If you have to reinstall either, there are usually a dozen updates to download even after applying the latest service packs. The fact that Windows XP has been out since late 2001, five years ago, more than two service packs should have been released by now.

Some have suggested yearly service packs, regardless of their content, that come out at the same time each year. I support this idea. I think that automatic updates have made Microsoft lazy about making service packs. Even if each of these is no more than a collection of updates that you have applied already, it would make installs and reinstalls easier, and provide some small piece of mind for users.

Many years ago, one of my favorite games of all time came out for the ancient Sega Dreamcast console. The game was made by Midway and was called Hydro Thunder. The life of the Dreamcast was short and is now a device of the past. Hydro Thunder needs to be revived today on the PS2 or Xbox 360. The only other version of the game, to my knowledge, was released for the old Playstation 1. I have never tried that one, but I imagine the graphics were not very good.

Hydro Thunder is an intense speed boat racing game. I have spent many nights in the past, duking it out on 2-player mode. The game is just so much fun. The graphics, sounds, boats, tracks, etc. are all outstanding and top notch. The game has a very fun and loose feel to it. It is the kind of game that you can play over and over, and yet still find a new shortcut or speed booster in new places you didn’t even know were there. I simply never got tired of playing this game. It is among the most fun 2-player games ever made. I don’t have a Dreamcast, but I wish I had a way to play this game, even if just one more time.

Years after the original game, Midway tried to come out with a sequel, this time involving snowmobiles, called Arctic Thunder. When I heard it was being released for the PS2, I was excited. The final reality was that the game was absolutely terrible. It looked so unpolished and played so sloppy that it behaved like a beta release or something. The premise of the game was okay, but the actual game-play is nearly the worst I have ever played. All of the magic in the original Hyrdo was gone in this game. It is complete crap.

My plea to Midway: Please revive Hydro Thunder again and release it for the PS2 and/or Xbox. Don’t stray far from the original. Keep the same hilarious boats, such as “Chumdinger”. Perhaps juice it up by adding Internet play and even more arenas and shortcuts. The game is just too great to let this opportunity pass. We’ll buy it if you do.

Tonight I was browsing the Digg.com site and found a link to a website that offers up every single episode of the Simpsons, for free. All 18 seasons are online to stream to your PC. Only the Flash player is needed. If you are Simpsons fan, head over to allsimps.com and be prepared to waste a few hours. Enjoy!

School recently started and we are entering the time of year when they start their school fundraisers. I have touched on this subject in my hate list, under item 369. I hate being approached by kids and parents to buy some over-priced nonsense from a catalog. Just leave me alone. Why would I want to spend $8 on a small box of chocolate peanuts or on some wrapping paper?

It is ridiculous that kids have to go through this in the first place. Let’s just all put an end to it. I have made a promise to myself that this year I am just going to say no to every one of these offers. I am not going to throw my money away this time and something I won’t even enjoy. I suggest you do the same.

What is with all the recent hype about year-round schools? There is all this bitching about it in the Raleigh News and Observer. Outraged parents protest the conversion of their child’s school to year-round calendars. Why fight it?

The reason that school was structured for students to have the summer off was mostly for agricultural reasons. Now that this is not so much the case anymore, why continue it? The kids are going to class the same number of days every year as they would without year-round school. Schools are overcrowded and if converting traditional schools to year-round calendars saves from building more schools, then go ahead and do it.

One day, all schools will be year-round and anything otherwise would be silly. So go ahead and convert them all. Like I said, it is the same number of calendar days anyway. They get big vacations every nine or so weeks. So what if there isn’t one giant summer in between.

Let’s do them all. Why not? It would be more like the real world…except with more time off.

Recently, I disabled the Permalinks in my Wordpress program for this blog. Disregard the entry from July 3rd, where I said I had added sub-folder structure. I have done away with that. After seeing the previous post, I figured I should post an followup. If you had bookmarked a particular post or page on my site, it probably won’t work anymore. Sorry. I don’t plan to change this again.

Why are ketchup packets so small? It takes three or four to even enjoy your fries. Why don’t they just make packets that are the size of the salad dressing packets? It would probably cut down on wastefulness, I would think. I always grab a huge handful of ketchup packets when I’m eating fast food. I don’t always use them all. If I could grab one big ketchup pouch, I’d be on my way.

While I am on the subject, for some reason McDonald’s “fancy ketchup” is the best tasting ketchup. Do you not agree?

I think that in the same way that restaurants have a smoking versus a non-smoking section, they need to add a section with and without children. I hate being sat next to a family with small kids at their table. Most of the time they are loud and obnoxious. The parents think every noise their kid makes is precious. I do not. It gets on my nerves and as a paying customer, I’d like to sit an an adults-only area of the restaurant. Teenagers are okay, but the small kids have got to go.

And while I’m at it, why don’t we create another section where I don’t have to hear idiots singing Happy Birthday?