Semo.net Weblog

I have opted, for this pre-Easter period, not to mindlessly eat like a six-year-old raised by wolves, who is then suddenly deposited on the set of Emeril Live during Mardi Gras Open House.

Have you ever given up anything for Lent? What might one typically give up in attempting to identify more deeply with Christ’s privation and temptation in the wilderness? Chocolate, perhaps? “Reality” TV? Alcohol? Tobacco? Coffee? Internet mania? Guitar Hero?

Actually, I am determined to undertake an endeavor possibly more challenging than all these—for me anyway: I have decided to give up nutritional stupidity for Lent. Yes, I have opted, for this pre-Easter period, not to eat like a six-year-old raised by wolves, who is then suddenly deposited onto the set of Emeril Live during Mardi Gras Open House.

I will work to avoid a wide range of behaviors, among them: (more…)

“You can have all sorts of philosophical discussions on life, the universe, and everything, but if someone’s beating your face in, you’re pretty much focused on the present moment.”

—Tony Page

Tony Page delivers. This fact is what has made him an American Taekwondo Association World Champion, and holder of over a hundred other ATA regional and national titles. It’s what has allowed his martial arts school, the Black Belt Academy of Poplar Bluff, to flourish; it’s what propels his students to victory after victory in nationwide competition, year after year. (more…)

Google Desktop - http://desktop.google.com/

Super Bowl Ads - http://www.myspace.com/superbowlads

MacBook Air - http://apple.com

Don’t forget to update your virus definitions!!!!
- Symantec - http://www.cit.cornell.edu/security/symantec/helpwin/liveupdate.html
- AVG - http://www.grisoft.com/

Gadgets - http://gadgetuniverse.com/gadget/

semo.net turned on a new circuit today (Tuesday, Feb 5th) that triples the capacity to the Internet of any other company in Southeast Missouri. This new circuit is an “OC3″ which stands for Optical Carrier 3 and is capable of a blazing 155.5mb/sec. That’s over one hundred (100) T1 circuits worth of bandwidth! The OC3 circuit is provided via AT&T by fiber optic cable.

semo.net, the first to ever order an OC3 circuit from AT&T in Southeast Missouri, is proud to continue the tradition of setting the standard for Internet excellence in our area. Prior to this OC3 circuit, semo.net used two DS3 circuits (45mb/sec x 2 = 90mb/sec) to provide connectivity. Combining these two circuits into a single connection will provide much easier routing and faster service.

While some Internet companies in our area rely on a couple of T1s (1.5mb/sec) to give them access to the Internet and others use a DS3 circuit (45mb/sec), semo.net is the first with an OC3 and 155mb/sec of capacity.

Once again, semo.net proves we are bringing our customers the best available technology and service.

NOTE ABOUT SERVICE INTERRUPTION DURING LUNCH HOUR:
Moving to the new circuit did cause a 5min outage today. We apologize for not issuing a maintenance window, but until this morning, we were uncertain the new OC3 circuit was going active today.

Yesterday I got up the nerve to just stand outside a local grocery store (yes, the site of my unprecedented musical triumph described in “Duet With A Drifter”—what can I say, it’s near my house) and ask people about their plans for Valentine’s Day (Thursday, February 14). What I won’t do to bring you ideas!

Of course it was predictable—and amazingly evident, in some cases—that there were people with no intention of divulging, to a possible nutcase with a pad and pen at the ready, their plans for the most romantic day on the calendar. But some of those were among the most charming people I met on my roving-girl-reporter gig that afternoon!

Here’s how Valentine’s Day is shaping up for some (and comments here may be edited for clarity):

“It’s a Thursday this year, so we’re going to watch ‘Ugly Betty’, and then I’m going to force him to watch ‘Grey’s Anatomy’. We’ll probably do dinner on the weekend.” (more…)

“…what may surprise many…is the fact that Lent is being examined and increasingly embraced by members of…the United Methodist, African Methodist Episcopal, Presbyterian, and moderate Baptist traditions.”

In a moment, the smudge. But to begin with: Lent—which begins on February 6 this year, or “Ash Wednesday”—is the season on the Christian calendar marking the severe 40-day testing of Christ in the wilderness. Lent has evolved a great deal since its ancient beginnings—much too much to permit a detailed treatment here. But in short, this season of reflection has traditionally encouraged observers to focus sincerely on the following: fasting, or other forms of self-denial; prayer; reconciliation with God and man—believed to be achieved largely through work in the previous two categories; and charitable efforts. In such key respects, though it is older, Lent is not unlike Ramadan, the Muslim observance which takes place throughout the Islamic month bearing that name. (more…)