The Independent Kixmiller Pigeon MrkII

Continuing from the last article, it was noted that the WebTV Viewer for Windows 98 kept it's channel settings in a ODBC Database that could be modified with Microsoft Access. Wanting to explore the databases even more, Office 97, which includes Access, was installed onto my Win98VM. Afterwards, the TSS.MDB database located in the "C:\Program Files\TV Viewer" directory was opened.  In order to add a channel, changes had to be made in a few of the tables. The following tables that need to be modified include: Channel, Channel Enhancements, Enhancements, Lineup, and Station. Starting with the Channel table opened, I've created a new entry for my example channel. It's important to remember the values of the field name, as it will correspond to field names of the other tables as well. Anyone familiar with database programming will know that a table will have a primary key, which is an identifier meant to impose a unique value for each table. Each channel will be uniqu...

Holy Crap, I remember a time when this blog wasn't mostly populated with religious and political crap. The fact is that the past several weeks (months), I've been quite busy with various projects in regard to virtualizers and emulators, mostly in regard to various future videos. One of those future projects is trying out the WebTV Viewer for Windows 98. With MJD trying out the WebTV boxes and people like jarhead and nitrate92 for working on a WebTV revival project. Their work reminded me that there was a WebTV Viewer for Windows. Holy crap, that's one name that I've haven't heard in awhile. Believe it or not though, I've had "some'' experience with this software back in the past. Many moons ago, I had an ATI All-In-Wonder with a built-in TV-tuner. I wanted to try it out, so I had a PC with Windows 98 installed and installed the WebTV Viewer from the Windows 98 Extra Options. WebTV pulled the TV listings off my dial-up internet (there was a 56K mod...

I'm not the biggest fan of Facebook (to put it nicely). I do occionsl post here and there, and generally lighthearted ones at that too. However, FB is a toxic cesspool designed to appeal to addicts consumed by social media. FB is a drug essentially.   At best, FB is the ultimate time-killer. It's the modern equivalent of Window's Solitaire. People usually go to FB to catch-up on the latest family gossip, vacation pictures, or see cat videos. It's not typical for one to go to FB thinking "Do you know what, I really want to be political indoctrinated or religious proselytize today!". While FB can be a great source of information, one who is dealing with deep issues in regard to their spirituality would generally pursue that journey in person. Given the time-killing and recreation nature of FB, when one says that they're going to FB to evangelize, it's a claim that to me sounds dubious at best. FB is not the place that one to pursue for a deep spiri...

Well, I voted earlier this week. I'm largely not satisfied with my choices though. When one looks at my ballot over the past decade, it's a mashup of dots all over the place as many are picked based on the merit of whether one can do their job, regardless of party. I don't owe anything to any party! The sad thing is when you're an Independent, their is no party that represents me.  As such, I try to free myself from that drug called partisan politics.   Yet, that won't stop many as presenting political  parties as deep, personal friends who genuinely  care about me. I didn't know that the political  parties were just like Jesus! This intoxicating drug induces people into thinking that their preferred side can do no wrong. Thus, they become blinded by ignorance and arrogance.   However, as an Independent, one is presented with few choices. As an Independent, I don't like voting for people that I don't like or support. While many Republicans complain ...

Well, in this lesson, we will look at Acts Chapter 18. Now, last week, we looked at Chapter 17. In that chapter, Paul and Silas went to the synagogue in Thessalonica before they were chased out. From there they proceeded to Berea and then Athens. From there, we are going to proceed into chapter 18. Like with the previous lesson, we will look at a particular chapter in the Bible, summarize and discuss it. When looking at the lesson, it's important to understand the historical context of what was going on. Context is key. Why were the authors writing the content that they were writing? How does it relate to use nowadays?  Chapter 18 Paul left Athens where he went to Corinth. Corinth was a major Greek city in the Roman Empire. While he was there, he encountered a married couple, Aquila and Priscilla. They were now residing in Corinth after they were expelled from Rome on the orders of Caesar that Jews were no longer permitted in the city. Like all the previous times before as mentione...

This isn't an issue that is easy to address, depending on how one feels about the topic. Several (including yours truly) believe that one can still uphold the Second Amendment while pursuing common-sense gun regulation. One can embrace such ideas without being labeled anti-gun, anti-Second Amendment, or anti-American by those who simply see things one-sided. However, the NRA taught a whole generation of Americans, especially Texans, that the Second Amendment is to be interpreted as owning anything to your heart's content without regulation. Those who see things black-and-white have been blinded by the NRA's empty rhetoric. The once proud and respected organization, tainted by the pursuit of power and money; only proclaims people's right to own firearms because of the financial incentive,  and not  because of genuine commitment to the Second Amendment. Their presence has made a farce of the Second Amendment, and the Constitution as a whole.  The NRA hadn't cared abou...

     It was early 2000. It was a cold (by South Texas standards) day with high's in the high 40's. As a way to help pass the time, I was listening to the radio (set on the local rock station) in my bedroom when I heard Kryptonite by 3 Doors Down playing for the first time. I thought "This is a cool song". My enthusiasm continued when I heard that song repeated two hours later. After hearing the same song for the fourth time in a row, my opinion about Kryptonite started to change rapidly. "OK, this is a cool song, but don't you think you're playing it just a tad bit too much.....OK you're going to play it again aren't you."     By the end of the month, I hated Kryptonite, along with 3 Doors Down. I was overexposed to the song so much that my brain programmed itself to revolt whenever it started to play. I never wanted to hear Kryptonite again. The overexposure killed whatever potential enthusiasm that I had for 3 Doors Down as a group. Unfortu...

I just saw the debate a few nights ago between Greg Abbott and Beto. It was very interesting, and there is a lot to type. Regardless though, in this election, it's not about who you vote for, but who you're voting against. In a perfect election, one should be able to vote for any candidate because they like and support him or her, not because they dislike the other one. However, as noted in previous blogpost, this isn't a perfect world. The fact is that when you live in a two-party state, you're just given two options to choose. If you're like me, an Independent, then you don't have a choice. Republicans complain about the perceived censorship. Yet, Independents don't have a voice at all! As an Independent, you might as well be invisible! Thus, you just happen to vote for the candidate that you dislike the least. Greg Abbott has been a colossal trainwreck of a governor. We has failed this state multiple times; from Covid to the Freeze, Gun Violence, Women...