That's right, bob! It's a NEW CAR!

...a used 1977 Mercury Grand Marquis in root beer brown!

YAY! I AM A MOBILE HUMAN AGAIN! (and of course, all insured and registered... gotta make sure it's all on the up and up!) :o)

So... that means thanks go to my granddad who ponied up the money for me... I owe you pops... and it also means that I have a leg up in my biz since I can now get to my jobs a) without busses and b) without bothering gramps for a ride! Woohoooooo!

:o)))

And on that front... new client! Gal with 2 macs for me to fix... I think I can fix 'em pretty quickly and I told her so. I'm an honest businessman... no cheating to make more $ for time I don't need to spend. If I can fix 'em with a scan and not having to reformat the drives, I will. :o)

Now on to the downside... Still not having 'net or puter action at the ol' grandparents' homestead, and the library closing for a new system conversion for a week... I WILL BE OFFLINE FOR A WEEK except where I may have a few mins access on a client's machine. *sigh* Hope to see you all in a week or so. :o( I'll miss ya.

DON'T USE AIRBORNE EXPRESS IN A RURAL AREA...!

Hmmm what new to report... Still no bizcards... Never use Airborne Express when you're in a "remote area" - they suck... I paid $24.95 for 3-day shipping only to wait 8 days and be told that "in remote areas, there is no service guarantee." You know what? U. P. freakin' S. gets it here on freakin' time, so why can't YOU?!? Anyway... so I'm waiting 8+ days for my 3 day shipping... lovely, isn't it....?

That aside... life goes on, and so do I. ;o)

Well it's now official. I *am* Cold Steel Computing... and Cold Steel Computer Services, and Cold Steel Consulting... (wanted the other names just in case) lol

It'll be in the local paper on friday (the "fictitious business name statement") and every fri for 4 weeks and my ad will be in for 4 weeks as of this Weds in the Buy'n'Sell Press!

Yeeehaw! :D

Bizcard delays, ad placed...
Well... got my cards on the way... hope to have em today or at least very soon... (grr... supposed to be here yesterday *sigh*) and my ad comes out in the local buy'n'sell press here next wednesday... should be pretty good... let me know what you think...

COLD STEEL COMPUTING
Need help with your computer?
Repairs, upgrades, or a tutor?
Call (209) xxx-xxxx or email drake@dsweb.org

Hopefully that will get things going. Gotta try to get my biz license next week too to make it official. ;o) Wish me luck!

NEW CLIENT for COLD STEEL COMPUTING! WOOHOO!

Got a new client! YAY! I think I can really help them too... they need some basic training and a company that's set them up with a new bit of software and a server is really trying to shaft them on the software costs... *sigh* don't you just hate greed... I cut down their costs by several hundred bucks - and may be able to cut further - some of the software may not even be necessary... for example, Windows Server 2003 comes with a Fax service built-in... so why the hell should they need Symantec WinFax Pro?!? And they were going to charge them 429.95 for it - and I found it for 29.95! THIEVES!!! Well, I actually took some unpaid time to do the research... guess they don't want to bother, eh? ;o)

Well it's time the other guy got a bit of better service for their customers...
Or they can just lose 'em to me, and that's okay too. :oP

Anyway, I'm excited... my lil biz is gaining a small foothold, and there's nothing more thrilling than watching your own biz grow, 'cept maybe your own child. lol.

Later, all!

Well... the biz moves on... got a cell phone and ordered some business cards... when I build the site, it will be at coldsteel.dsweb.org and we'll see what happens from there. *shrug*

Keep your fingers crossed for me that my business grows! :oD

Later!

More of me!
Man... I think I get around TOO much lol

Here's some screenshots of my There-wedding to Lorali aka Rosey from OuterWorlds.
http://dreamweaveristhere.com/DWScreenShots1.htm

Another clan I was a member of, Poetic Justice aka -=)>.].=- lol
http://66.205.193.119/S2/clanpageLT0pPi5dLj0t.html

Me in the movies! (under my real name) (I played a part in Karate Cop...) *rolling eyes at my credit*
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0715749/

And if you put me into the Oracle of Kevin Bacon...

The Oracle of Bacon at Virginia
The Oracle says: Warren Reed has a Bacon number of 3.

Warren Reed was in Karate Cop (1991) with David Carradine
David Carradine was in Circle of Iron (1979) with Eli Wallach
Eli Wallach was in Mystic River (2003) with Kevin Bacon

Only 3 degrees of seperation! What do you know? lolol!
The Oracle of Bacon

Ok... maybe SOMETHING new to report... And OMG is it goofy!

Here my name used to be fairly unique and now all of a sudden I see it showing up in the oddest stuff... Here's me, Drake Steele, now appearing in stories and more lolol

In this one, apparently I used to be named Bob. LMAO!!
http://www.cyoc.net/stories/chapter_view.php?story_id=33

I'm also apparently a UHW Wrestler or some such... and a Hooligan *sigh* lolol

"The Hooligans

T Man
The Lumberjack
Hardcore Chaos
Thomas "The Hangman" James
Drake Steele
Rob Johnson
Fury
Tornado
The Dougler
Bob The Builder"
http://www.geocities.com/milk_man_tralfaz/homhal02.html

And a midget race car driver... hehehe
http://www.davesteele.com/images/TomKloskey/drake%20steele%20carpenter%200290-22a.jpg

Wow!!! Now HERE's one that actually *IS* me... (look under the scores for trivia... I'm pretty trivial) *snicker*
http://www.cyberwolfman.com/thisisit.htm

Here's another one that's got a note about the REAL me again (WHOA!) from my friend Micromegas... she's a real hottie with a sense of humor and a great head on her shoulders... ;o)
http://www.tsolocations.com/there/friends/

This one was so interesting I am including the original text here:
NEW SHOW:
OPENS JULY 17, 2004
THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN BEAN
Welcome to the International Coffee Convention, where exotic beauty Shaka Latte will regale you with song. You are also among an elite group of java magnates who have been invited to attend famous coffee-ologist Lord Blustery Montague's gala auction event! Coffee maniacs from the world over will bid for a new amazing strain of Joe- the Golden Bean. Meanwhile, several international super spys have been seen at the convention, including man about town DRAKE STEELE.
$50 (includes show, dinner, tax and tips)
CALL (206) 491-6446 FOR TICKETS TO THIS SHOW ONLY!
(This has nothing to do with the real me but isn't it amazing that this once obscure name seems to be popping up more and more? lolol)
http://www.nwmurder.com/

Here's a bit from my past as a Counter-Strike online game player... I used to head my own "hacker clan" for Half-Life Counter-Strike, including designing spray-on logos for the players/members and such... I'd forgotten this site still existed! LOLOL
http://ancmf.netfirms.com

This is from a bit of the past as well... when I used to hang out in ActiveWorlds, I used to frequent a world called !Friends owned by Steller... Incredible place... I had a beautiful bungalow there of which I still have a pic somewhere... if I find it, perhaps I'll post it... the world was absolutely gorgeous and so were the people... When AW bumped up the prices, she had to let it go... and we all said our farewells... mine's about 6 or so down the page.
http://www.steller3d.com/frw/frw4.html

Here's my review of "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" from my friend's site ObsoleteLab.com, for which I also designed the logo.
http://www.obsoletelab.com/modules.php?name=Reviews&rop=showcontent&id=2

Here's a town meeting for OuterWorlds.com where I took part:
http://10derheart.com/outerworlds/10052003.htm

And last year Outerworlds remembered my birthday on the 19th of August with this lil bit:
19 Drake Steele Caesar Augustus died, A.D. 14 - Adolf Hitler became Fuhrer of Germany, 1934 - W Herschel discovers Enceladus, a moon of Saturn 1787 - Sputnik 5 carries 2 dogs, 3 mice into orbit (later recovered alive) 1960 - Pirate World Music Radio (Holland) closes down after 10 years 1973.
(how sweet... LOL Both Bill Clinton and I were born the day that Hitler became Fuhrer! Sheesh!)

Hmmm someone else in ActiveWorlds apparently remembers me: I'm listed as being in Area 46 in 2ndChild's photo gallery... who knew?
http://members.easyspace.com/riven666/PhotoGallery/Directory.html

Apparently, I get around a bit ROFL (is that an understatement or what?)

Today's update: Nothing really new to report! :oP

Just trying to survive and perhaps expand my lil biz while still looking for some steady-paying work...

Did a job for a couple who I seem to get along well with... and it turns out they're old friends of my mom and related to long-time family friends... what a small world it is, no?

Can you believe it? lol

Hello, all... Latest update: I'm at my grandparents' place and using the library computers to post and check email and such... Oi!

What a pain! But at the same time, I'm starting to do some consulting on the side and am looking into starting a cyberCafe here in this lil mountain area, since noone else seems to have hit upon the need for one in this lil community. :D

Anyway, keep your fingers crossed that my biz may grow, be fruitful, and multiply lol!

Missing you all and wishing I was here...

- Drake!