I think I used http://cdburnerxp.se/en/home on my last computer, which didn't come with a program to burn discs. I think it works for DVDs too; you might give it a look.

So many stories in the fanfic section. I wish I had time to read them all. Really. There was a time, long ago, when I could actually keep up with them all, but I just can't seem to find the time for that anymore. To those whose stories I have not commented on: thanks for contributing to the plethora of great reading that exists here at chorrol. Please don't be offended that I haven't made a comment on your story; it's not a comment on your work, just on how much time I have.

On a completely unrelated note, I'm wearing my smiley face tie today. I guess I'm just all smiles today

Swedish site

I've had a good week back at uni, I've seen lots of folks I hadn't over the summer and all that jazz. Today was the martial arts demonstration which I think went quite well for my club (no one did anything sufficently badly that any novices would have noticed anyway), though they wouldn't give us a chair to play with.

On the down side I now feel thoughly ill and I've found out that I have to do a really rubbish course next semester, though my timetable is quite nice then.

I just got back into civilization (or syphilization, as I sometimes call it) from a couple weeks in and around the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, in Minnesota. I do so enjoy canoeing, and I got to put in almost 90 miles of it.

So then I pulled back into Missoula for the weekend and immediately played in an ultimate frisbee tournament. Good times.

I've just come back from a week of business related travelling. I'm very tired, but at least it was a success. I do think I'm getting sick though...

Aww Stargie....then you need a huge whisky with hot water, honey and a dash of lemon!

Ehh its funnier to be sick anyway!

Errrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh.... I have lost the ability to sign in to Xbox Live, which is quite annoying. This is due to one of two things.

The first is that perhaps Live is simply down... I find this unlikely, but it's nonetheless possible, affirmation or otherwise of this would be appreciated by anyone else with a Live account.

The other is that my ethernet cable is busted. This wouldn't be so bad, as it only cost me about 7 euro, but for the fact that recently a hole was drilled from my room down to the room the modem is in, meaning the cable no longer has to run down the side of the house. Even still, had I not been so busy this week that I was unable to use my Xbox at all until yesterday evening, it would've been annoying, as the cable would ned replacing, but could still be removed from the holes and discarded.
As things currently stand though.... esterday (i.e. thursday) my sister had a new wardroom put in her room.... one behind which the cable runs, and which pins the cable quite firmly in place, meaning that 1) I can't remove the cable to check for damage, and 2) I can't remove the cable to run a new one through the same channel to the modem.

Yeah, really sucks quite a bit >_<

EDIT: Yeah..... definitely the ethernet cable. Suckish. Oh well

I was sprayed by pepper spray for training last Friday, that is some nasty stuff. I got a 2 second blast of it and it didn't really start hurting right away, then I opened my eyes and they immediately started burning as if I had plucked them out and tossed them into a fire. But that isn't the worst of it, not by a long shot. When OC (which is cop lingo for pepper spray) hits any skin on your body it will feel as if you are in the fiery depths of hell. Seriously. I thought my face was going to spontaneously combust and burn right off.

So I got through that, my face was finally starting to feel a little better then I took a shower. Big mistake. You see, OC is water based and putting water on my skin only reactivated it, plus I decided to get it out of my hair so my hands and arms started burning and did not stop until about Sunday morning.

So the morale of the story is do not do anything that would end in you getting sprayed by pepper spray. At least not the kind we use (there are varying degrees of hotness, the one we use is almost as hot as it gets).

We had some shoplifters here in florida called the pepper spray bandits because they'd spray it in the clerks faces and then grab merchandise and run. They finally got caught and although they came to the store chain at which I was a supervisor, I never experienced it. Thank God. I don't envy you your training with that stuff, Sir Radont.

Wolfie:

WLAN.
802.1a standard (5 GHz band).
Big honking antennae (>= 5dBi gain, better 9 dBi).
WPA2-PSK encryption.

Don't talk to me about wlan. Mine has only just sorted itself out and will probably go down again. Not a clue what the problem is (other than cheap router and thick walls).

Pepper spray doesn't sound much like fun. Fortunatly with the amount of time I spend stuck at uni I don't really have the time or energy to go breaking the law.

We are finally beginning to see some fall color here- the ash trees are a brilliant yellow, the dogwoods and sumac are deep red. Some maples are holding their green and others are painted orange, red, and yellow with some green intermixed. It seems like it took that soaking rain on Tuesday to finally trip a switch. We are still under drought conditions- something like 6 inches (15 cm) under for rainfall.

That necessitated my cutting down a large (50 foot or 15 m tall) maple tree at one end of the house. The dry soil had stressed it to the point that it died. At least I will have a good supply of firewood for the winter. There is another, larger tree just off the front porch that is showing similar stress- but only one side of the large fork.... That one will be an even bigger challenge to rope and drop without hitting the house or smashing up some of our other trees....

Ahhh, fall colors in the Smokies! How wonderful, makes me wanna go there immediately..mmmmm. But we also see fall coming, birches and oaks are now getting their beautiful red and yellow nuances. Unfortunately this time of the year passes too fast and soon the november dullness is all over us..

Plantie, thanks for that CD burning link .. I downloaded it.

Treydoggie, you are making me remiss that I live in Florida now; too far south for the parade of colors that is autumn up north. We have color changes but they are much softer and you have to look more closely to see the difference. And since the slow moving hurricane, we've had a whole new batch of baby lizards born .. seems the lizards got mixed up and mistook the hurricane for Spring. But the baby ones are so cute and so rare this time of year.

Harvest is upon us. Around here you can see it everywhere, coloured leaves falling from the trees to form a noisy carpet of delight on the streets, chestnuts beg to be kicked about...

It would be pleasant if not for the fact that it gets colder every day, everyone is getting sick and the days are growing shorter and shorter. Although it surely beats winter in these parts. If only we had snow in winter, one might be able to enjoy it, but alas, all we get is cold, darkness and an all-permeating grayness that dulls mind and dampens spirit.

Me, I'm sitting at home, coughing and sneezing and drinking many a cup of hot tea in an attempt to get back up on my feet, thinking about what is yet to come and whether it wouldn't be better to live on some tropical island with no seasons, or indeed in the land of baby lizards.

One has to wonder though, as used as we are to seasons, wouldn't we miss them in the end? Could we really appreciate summer - as short as it may be sometimes - as much? Could we really appreciate spring and harvest as we do if there was no winter? My mother seems to think so. I never used to, but now, I'm not so sure....

I enjoy the change of seasons- although the hot weather seems to come earlier and last longer. And I would like to see more snow than we usually get... Of course, if I really get nostalgic for snow, I can drive up to the mountains later in the year.

Take care of yourself, Stargelman. Eat some chicken soup.

Yes starg .. lots of grandma's recipe for colds .. chicken soup. As for missing the seasons - some down here in Florida do, especially in their first years here but then you just sort of forget. I don't miss snow or the change of seasons really at all. As pretty as the falling leaves are; that is only what 2 or 3 weeks that it happens. Is that long enough to put up with 3 or 4 months of cold weather? Not to me. We more or less dread summer in Florida to tell you the truth; not only because it is so darned hot & muggy but because it is prime hurricane season as well. But most all Floridians value and love autumn which is our most beautiful and comfortable weather time of year.

I wouldn't be able to live in Florida because of the storms, I was annoyed by the power outages and the wind we had here in Arkansas...and we just got some heavy rain. Compared to the tropical storms and hurricanes people deal with on the coast we have it easy.

I'm almost always looking forward to the cooler seasons because things just seem more calm and relaxed...almost a serene feeling that makes everything a bit easier. For me at least.

It's getting colder really quickly here. And its getting darker too, sunrise is about 8 now and it sets at 6 which means I don't see that much of it. I'm definatly a summer person but I think winter is nessesary as a contrast. I'd get bored if there weren't seasons.

One thing I don't mind is that even in the last decade there is less snow. I hate snow with a passion.

On the topic of cold remedies I'll vouch for hot toddy - a mixture of hot water, honey, lemon and whisky. Clears the head no end.