Check it out. The picture's not moving but it sure looks like it is.

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I called SBC this morning to see if I could get a static IP address for my DSL. I figured it would be worth an extra $10-15 a month if it would let me get a domain name and start hosting some real sites on my linux box. I talked to 5 different people and finally got someone who could give me a straight answer. The slowest DSL package with static IPs costs $54 / month. That's almost $30 more than I'm paying now, and the connection would be slower than what I have now. He also said that these prices are not negotiable. I guess I'll keep working with what I've got.

Brendan and I worked on the website for a while this morning and comments are back. We renamed the commenting script and changed some things so it should be a little harder for spammers to find. So comment away. I think we're going to put up some Christmas decorations now.

Sorry about the blog being down for a while. It's fixed now, but comments won't work. Sorry. We've been getting so much comment spam that our webhost suspended our account. We had to remove the script that controls comments, so if you have something to say, use the forums.

If you were wondering whether you could buy 50 AA batteries for $10, the answer is yes.

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It looks like comments are broken again.

Cole responded to my call for testimonials about the high school paper. This is very well said. I should point out that Cole, a junior in college, already has a blossoming career in journalism. He writes for his university paper, the Maryville paper, and he's even worked with the Kansas City Star some.

I can still remember when I first walked into the AHS journalism room for the first time.

It must have been around August 30, 1998 and there I was a freshman with no clue where I was going or who I was. First, a little background on the position I was in at the moment. I had just decided that playing for the dear old Blackhawks football team wasn't for me. In addition to that I can officially say I felt lost and it was then that I swung by my old reading teachers room to try and relive my junior high days.

It was then that Mr. Sears told me I should sign up for journalism. I had nothing to lose, so I joined in. What initially was a one year deal took flight from there. I went from being whipping boy to some power-hungry seniors to editor-in-chief and learned an awful lot in the process.

Was the Drumbeats responsible for teaching me all of my journalism skills that I know so far? Of course not. What did happen there was that my love for journalism was cultivated. I realized in JH03 that working for a newspaper was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. Now to see the paper being taken away in such a manner like this
really hits home. Not only does it anger me but it makes me sad. I cannot help but wonder what would have happened had this decision been made in 1997 and not 2004.

If I would have never had this opportunity, I don't know where I would be. I don't want to complain about the town of Adrian, but lets be honest. The town has zero opportunity for kids the way it is. Now to see the esteemed staff take it away puzzles me. Now I could understand if the Board of Education had voted to cut it because of some reason that makes good sense I would have had no problem. Instead, when I contacted a board member, they did not even know what was going on. If things aren't resolved in a proper manner, I think its time to rally behind these kids. Heavens knows we would if it were the football team, there shouldn't be any difference anyway. By the way, the Drumbeats has produced more scholarship winners in the last 7 years than the football team has.Nevertheless, if things progress, lets let the board hear our concerns.

December 16, 2004.

Cole

I put the original video card back into my Ubunto computer and it fixed the frame lag problem I had. What's more, the ethernet card started working when I booted up. I'm trying to play a cd to see if my sound works. My cd didn't play, but I can record with my microphone and play sounds back. All three of my problems are fixed! Now to create some new ones.

More on the school newspaper shutdown: Click here to read the thoughts of one of the many AHS alumni who benefited from their experience on the paper. If any others want to send me an email, I'll be glad to post it. Mike? Cole?

I've got a Wordpress site set up here: prsnmn.hopto.org/wp/. I think it would make a good platform for an underground newspaper. If you want to learn more, go to the site, create an account and start using it.