John Belushi– in person, that is– was 28 years ago today. I was reminded of that fact by the NBC special which aired tonight, February 20, 2005, which happened to mention the so-called ill-fated second season Mardi Gras episode– the first and only time Saturday Night Live was ever broadcast from anywhere other than New York City.

I had a part-time job, early in my college days, at a coffee shop situated at the end of the French Market in New Orleans’ French Quarter. Housed in what was for decades the location of the famous Morning Call coffee stand, Cafe Maison took over the cafe au lait and beignet duties in the Market after Morning Call departed to the suburbs. The Vieux Carre Commission required that whoever took over the space continue to serve the same fare as the Morning Call, in order to maintain some warped sense of historic preservation. Local restaurateurs the Masson Family took on the task, and installed a long-time associate of theirs as the manager.

I happened to be a fraternity brother of the manager’s son, and he asked me to sub for him as a cashier temporarily during his National Guard duty. Subsequently, I was asked to stay on and act as weekend night manager.

Cashier-with-a-key was closer to the truth, but I was only a year away from a rural Midwest upbringing, and this night-time weekend French Quarter gig was some pretty heady stuff. These were the carefree pre-AIDS days of disco and nightclubbing, and here was I, perched on my high stool behind the counter, with a great view of a seemingly endless parade of bizarre night-owls in a tourist town that was and is one of the centers of American gay culture. Every night brought something new, and, if not, there were also the regulars one could count on for entertainment.

There was Shell-Shocked Vet Guy, who openly perused glossy pornographic picture mags from the adult bookstore across the street while sipping his coffee, and who concluded most visits by rolling his eyes back in his head and flailing his arms about, appearing to fend off incoming missiles.

There was S&M Dishwasher, one of over a hundred dishwashers the restaurant hired that year, who supplemented his minimum-wage earnings providing bondage and discipline services to those willing to pay.

There were the members of the French Quarter security detail, who were mainly visible only during their visits for free coffee.

Among the waitstaff was Kim, who claimed to be both a veteran Marine and psychology major. Most days, he favored a hint of blue eye-shadow and a bit of blush, and could never be trusted with the key to the supply room, which he considered his personal retreat for quick mid-shift sexual encounters with other similarly-oriented employees.

On the evening of February 20, 1977, also a Sunday, we had our brush with greatness. Somehow, our restaurant was selected to provide a location for segments of the live SNL Mardi Gras Special. What we didn’t realize is that we would also be the de facto dressing and makeup room for the cast, crew, and the show’s guests– we were host to the likes of Laraine Newman, Gilda Radner, Eric Idle, Randy Newman, and Belushi himself.

It was Belushi who I got the closest look at– he came up to the counter and asked to use the phone. I marveled that he appeared– to me– to be rather politely reserved in his demeanor. He seemed by no means that night anything like the crazy Samurai or outlaw Killer Bee, nor the wild man Bluto Blutarsky, the role that a year and a half later would launch him to super-stardom, nor even remotely the eventual casualty of the drugged excess that would claim his life five years and two weeks later.

All of the taping for the show was done outside on the patio– Eric Idle gave a brief update while seated at one of the tables, amidst the total disarray of trash and upset sugar shakers. Belushi did his Streetcar Named Desire “Stella!!!” bit against the backdrop of a building just across the street.

The restaurant manager hustled around bringing trays full of complimentary coffee and beignet out to the cast and crew. I remember thinking he should be charging them– double, or even triple maybe– for the hassle and loss of business that night. I think he had this notion that the restaurant would get some kind of invaluable publicity from the show– it didn’t. Cafe Maison is long-defunct, as are the restaurants of the local culinary legends, the Massons.

The only remnant of that evening is a photo of Belushi, sipping coffee, in the February 20, 2005 edition of TV Focus magazine. He’s seen in the hat and jacket I remember him wearing, and you can make out the upper part of Randy Newman’s face behind him. And, only recognizable to someone familiar with those surroundings, is the blurry outline in the background of the beams and columns that supported the roof of the French Market, and that of the Cafe itself.

NBC never re-aired nor syndicated the New Orleans Mardi Gras SNL episode, as it was largely considered a debacle– one that would prevent SNL from ever venturing outside NYC again. Buck Henry and Jane Curtin covered the Bacchus parade that never passed– it was delayed by a fatal accident earlier in the route. The show’s producers never imagined that thousands of fans would show up for the opening segment in Jackson Square, which featured Dan Aykroyd doing his Jimmy Carter impersonation astride the bronze tail of Andrew Jackson’s horse. Gilda Radner, as Emily Litella, got group-groped by some local drunks. In town, appearing as Endymion Co-Grand Marshals, Penny Marshall and Cindy Williams (Laverne and Shirley) were both so tired from the hectic schedule of the weekend, they barely made it through– let alone to— the show. Cast member Garrett Morris, a New Orleans native, much to his chagrin, was all but left out of the show. And, due to timing issues and various glitches, New Orleans own Meters were left standing on a stage all evening– never to play a single note– while Randy Newman was tapped to perform an unheard-of total of four musical numbers.

I guess it’s a testament to an artist’s being long past the drinkin’-n’-druggin’, party-all-night phase of their career when a show goes off like a well-oiled machine headed down the highway. On the way to the venue, I should have taken the advice of the local classic rock station’s “on-air personality” with a grain of salt. She advised that, at 6:45pm, the doors were open for the 7:30pm showtime, and to expect the opening act to take the stage at 8:00pm followed by the headliner at 9:00. She must have been working from empirical evidence gathered from decades of concert-going, assuming that all such shows start fashionably late. Such was not to be the case.

At promptly 7:32pm, Jimmie Vaughan took the stage. His appearance this date was due to the unavailability of the regular opener for the tour, The Robert Rudolph Family Blues Band. A four-piece line-up for the show, Vaughan’s band consisted of two guitars, drums, and a keyboardist also functioning as bass. His set was short, consisting of mostly barroom rockers, and was unfortunately marred by technical difficulty with his amp cutting out in the middle of “Texas Flood”. More unfortunate that this particular song put his late brother on the map– at least for me– and Stevie Ray’s recording is the benchmark by which I judge all others. Jimmie took it in stride, however, appearing through most of the set both to be happy to be there and to have somewhere else he needed to be.

Jimmie bid us thanks and farewell– after only 30 or so minutes– at 8:05pm, and, after a short stage reset and little fanfare, Eric Clapton took the stage at 8:30. What followed was nearly two hours to the minute of everything you’d expect to hear at a Clapton concert– a little blues, a little Cream, a little sit-down Robert Johnson acoustic, “Layla”, “Cocaine” (an easy sing-a-long for the mostly middle-aged audience), “Wonderful Tonight” (for the ladies), and a second and final encore of “Sweet Home Chicago”, which must be the standard show-closer when you invite all the evening’s acts back on stage for one last big guitar number.

I have to say Doyle Bramhall II on second guitar was a revelation. I’d heard his work before on albums, most notably “ARC Angels”. Being a recreational guitarist, I always like to see how the pros do what they do. Early on, I was confused– did they have another guitarist somewhere offstage? Was Clapton-regular Andy Fairweather-Lowe’s spotlight out? I couldn’t figure out who was playing what. I brought out the binoculars and found my answer: Young Doyle is a lefty who learned to play on a right-handed guitar, so his left-handed guitars are strung upside-down. No matter– he kicked some righteous butt up there, handling the Clapton repertoire like he’d been at it twice his years, and demonstrating exactly why he was chosen for the gig.

Pre-tour information had also noted that Chris Stainton and Billy Preston would be joining the band on keyboards, but, apparently it’s an either/or thing, as we only had Chris. The rest of the line-up included Clapton fixtures Steve Gadd (drums), Nathan East (bass), and two somewhat zaftig back-up singers. Everyone’s attire for the evening was pretty much casual Friday– even though it was a Saturday– with blue jeans all around.

About the only niggling little complaint I’d have to voice about the show was how little–besides through his music– Clapton connects with the audience. It was like 25-words-or-less: “Good evening!”, “We’re going to do a few Robert Johnson songs for you.”, “Thank you!”, “Jimmie Vaughan!”, and “Good night!” I sort of felt like I could have just bought the DVD, if you know what I mean. Would have been nice to know if he was having as good a time as we were, too.

Online Forums, aka Bulletin Board Systems or “BBSes” (a holdover from the pre-internet dark ages), are a great way to communicate with others with a common interest, and increase one’s knowledge of that interest through the sharing of experiences.

Most forums use a similar format, so they’re easy to navigate once you’re familiar with any one of the many software packages available.

Online forums– and those who frequent them– are as diverse as the subjects to which they are devoted. Some subjects lend themselves to very supportive, tight-knit communities. Others engender spirited, if not sometimes highly-opinionated debate. As polite and friendly as one forum may be, another may be infested with all manner of rude behavior.

A basic understanding of online forum etiquette can allow lurker and participant alike to recognize inappropriate behavior, and to hopefully avoid it themselves.

Some useful definitions:

Lurking – Reading online forums only without participating in the discussions.

Post – To start or reply to a topic or “thread” in a forum is to post (v.) or create a post (n.). A throwback term from the BBS days.

Thread – n. – An original post, usually asking a question, or posing a topic of discussion, followed by a series of replies, which hopefully stick to the topic of the OP.

OP – n. – Abbreviation of “Original Post” often used to refer directly to it.

Cold, Hot – A cold thread is one wherein discussion has come to an end for whatever reason– resolution of a question or problem, or just lack of interest. A hot thread is an active one with many replies, and most forum software denotes active discussions with a “hot topic” marker.

Moderator – The owner or administrator of a forum typically acts as a “moderator”, monitoring the forum for inappropriate behavior and editing, deleting, or moving posts as necessary. With large or very active forums, the administrator may appoint one or more members as moderators.

Profile – A part of your forum user account where you may list information about yourself visible to other forum members. Sometimes useful, sometimes encourages unwelcome contact.

PM – Abbreviation for Private Message. Most forums offer the capability for users to privately message one another. Use of PMs are encouraged when one user has a question specifically for another user that would not necessarily be of interest to the general community. For example, if you see in another user’s profile that they are a fan of a particular sports team, it is considered inappropriate to engage them in conversation about it in a forum thread– unless the subject is “What’s your favorite team?” of course. Use a PM instead.

Recently Active Topics – Many forums have this or a similar feature where you can view a list of only the most recently or currently active threads– useful for frequent forum visitors, because they don’t have to sort through inactive topics. Some simpler forums have only a “last ten posts” list.

Sticky Topics – Threads, usually posted by the administrator or moderator which stay “stuck” at the top of the forum, in order that they always remain visible. “Stickies” usually contain information for new forum visitors, including Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), or guidelines to be followed.

Forum Faux Pas:

Thread Mining – Term having both positive and negative connotations, depending on the context in which it is used. For example, doing a search of previous forum posts in order to help with a question posed in a new topic, one might go “thread mining” to find the answer. Alternately, posting a reply in a cold thread when the last post is several months old is also referred to as thread mining.

Thread Crap(ping) – Thread crapping occurs when a person comes into a thread and posts something contrary to the spirit/intent of the thread, often derailing the discussion or turning it into an argument. For example, coming into a thread titled “I love my new Apple Macintosh!”, and posting “PCs are better and cheaper” is a thread crap.

Thread Hijack(ing) – The inappropriate practice of changing the topic of a thread by posting new questions unrelated to the OP in your reply.

Forum Spamming – Many online forums have member rankings based upon the number of posts a user has made, these rankings having associated titles like “Newbie”, “Fan”, “Pro”, “All Star”. Some people feel that the purpose of participating in online forums is therefore a matter of quantity over quality. Posting with the intent of increasing one’s post count is referred to as “forum spamming”. Other examples include replying to one’s own posts (rather than editing a post to clarify, amplify, or make a correction), and “chiming in”. Sometimes also derogatorily referred to as “post whoring”.

Chiming In – A reply to a thread which makes little or no contribution to the discussion (see Forum Spamming). For example, replying to the question “Does anyone here own an Apple computer?” with “Not me”, or “I do”.

Trolling – Posting an outrageous message to bait people to answer. Trolling is a form of harassment that can take over a discussion. Well meaning defenders can create chaos by responding to trolls. The best response is to ignore it, or to report such a message to a forum moderator.

Flame(s)(ing) – Insulting another user’s post, opinions, subject, grammar, or pretty much anything else, in an attempt to pick an online fight is considered “flaming”.

Cross-Posting – Posting multiple identical posts in different topics or sub-forums in the same online forum is considered inappropriate.

OT – Abbreviation for “Off Topic”. Used to notify readers that the post contains discussion not directly pertaining to the subject matter of the thread or forum. Going “Off Topic” is typically frowned upon, and forum owners often create an Off Topic sub-forum for such discussions.

ALL CAPS – Typing in all caps is the internet equivalent of SHOUTING, and, besides making the writer appear ignorant, is also just plain hard to read.

Bumping – The practice of creating a post solely for the purpose of getting a cold or dead thread– usually one created by the bumper– back on the “recent active topics” list.

Also Annoying:

• Posting in the wrong sub-forum, e.g. starting a thread about Apple computers in an IBM PC forum.
• Using lots of !!!!!!!!!!!! or ????????? in a thread subject line.
• Using URGENT!, IMPORTANT!, or HELP! in a thread subject line. Many new users to an online forum think that online forums exist as free, on-demand tech support rather than the online communities that they are. Most forums keep a great deal of past discussion threads online for reference. A simple use of the search function included on nearly every forum can get answers to questions more quickly than can starting a new thread on a subject that has been most likely previously discussed in depth.
• IM-Speak. Abbreviating “you”, “your”, “to”, “are”, “and”, “for”, and other monosyllabic words with letters like “u”, “ur”, “2”, “r”, “n”, “4” is an acceptable device for Instant Messaging, but not forum posts. It might fly in the online computer games forum, but if you notice that you’re the only one doing it, know that it just makes you look immature.
• Replying without reading the entire thread. Sometimes replies are made to the OP without checking to see if a previous reply to it hasn’t already said essentially the same thing.
• Playing “welcome wagon”. The practice of replying to the posts of new users with “welcomes” mostly to just raise your post count.
• Large colored fonts. Yes, most forums allow them. Yes, they are annoying.
• Really loooong links. Most forums allow links to other webpages to be included in messages. Problem is, a long link screws up the formatting of every other post in the thread, and forces the reader to scroll left and right in order to read any message in the thread. Make use of the forum software’s ability to display a short amount of text in lieu of a link that’s longer than a browser window’s typical width.
• Quoting entire posts. Quoting is a very useful forum tool, helping to keep replies in context over the course of a long thread, and especially so when you are not replying to the most recent post in a thread. But it’s best to quote only the most relevant part of the post to which you are replying, particularly when the post being replied to is long.

It’s a Good Thing:

• Reading any new forum you are interested in for a period of time before making your first posts. In this way you are able to get a feel for the generally accepted tone and standard of behavior of a particular online community. When in Rome…
• Using the Search function, if the forum has one, to try to find answers to your questions before starting a new thread. If the forum has been established any reasonable amount of time at all, it’s likely that most basic topics relating to the forum’s subject matter have been discussed several times already.
• Reading the Stickies before posting in any forum– it will save your and everyone else’s time.
• Resisting the urge to believe that you are the wittiest person ever to grace the World Wide Web, and that no thread would be complete without at least some input from you.
• Knowing the difference between discussion and chat, and which is appropriate where.
• Watching your language. The internet is an open place. Children may be present.
• Appropriately-sized pictures. If the forum you participate in allows for the posting of photos, keep the size reasonable and the filesize as small as possible. Be considerate of the dial-up user, who may have to wait minutes for your inline photo to download, and post a link to it instead. Large inline photos, like long links, also screw up the formatting of all the other posts in the thread, making reading very difficult.

Follow these simple guidelines and you should be a welcome participant in any forum you choose.

Haven’t done any geek writing in a while, so it’s time to share my latest tech project. It’s the Dell PowerEdge 400SC server. It’s a not-so-well-kept secret that this affordable server, from Dell’s Business Systems Division, can quite easily be adapted for use as a high-performance desktop as well.

For many years, I have received much better value and satisfaction assembling my own home computers from variously obtained parts. I got exactly what I wanted– no more, no less– and didn’t have to suffer pre-installed bloatware and limited upgrade paths.

Back in those days, a name brand computer most likely meant proprietary motherboards with built-in peripheral components like video and sound that left much to be desired. Not to be unexpected were even proprietary versions of operating system software, too. Names like Packard Bell and Compaq Presario come to mind.

These days, however, home computer technology is sufficiently advanced that even the most basic onboard peripherals are perfectly acceptable for most users, unless they are involved in high-end gaming, or computer graphic or design work.

The PowerEdge 400SC can be had with a Celeron 2GHz processor, 40GB hard drive, 128MB of SDRAM, and a 48x CD-ROM for as little as $274 if you catch the right promotional deal. At this price point, and with an included one-year on-site warranty, there’s no reason to consider building your own system any more.

Even better value can be had by upgrading to at least the Pentium 4 2.4GHz processor, as it supports higher-speed DDR400 memory, and also Intel hyperthreading technology which allows the machine to operate– under certain conditions– as if it has two processors installed. Additional memory is recommended, and is required to run the system in a higher-performance dual-channel mode. Mine is a 2.4GHz, and has a minimum 256MB of DDR400 configured for dual channel.

As it is a sold as a business server, the 400SC comes with little in the way of software– none, in fact. The user must supply an operating system, and also drivers for the installed and onboard peripherals. The typical home user will install a copy of Windows XP Home Edition, or, preferably, the Professional Edition. (Actual business users would be likely to employ a Windows Server OS, or a Linux-based solution.)

Drivers may be obtained from– where applicable– Dell’s or Intel’s websites, the video card manufacturer, or from a web forum dedicated to afficionados of this machine.

Of further interest is the heritage of the 400SC. It’s mainboard is produced by Intel for Dell, and is essentially the same as the one found in Dell’s higher-end Dimension and OptiPlex models– models which sell for hundreds of dollars more.

In fact, if you peek through the holes in the 400SC’s front panel, you will see the front USB ports and headphone jack found on the aforementioned premium desktop models. Apparently, it would cost Dell more to have the server model produced differently without the front panel components, so they leave them in, just covered and inaccessible. The USB ports are actually connected and functional, not that you’d probably need them– there are six more on the back panel, all high-speed USB 2.0. And the headphone jack could even be activated by purchasing a $5 cable.

Two other vestiges of the higher-end desktop models include– neither officially supported by Dell– an 8X AGP video slot and onboard sound.

Other plusses include virtually silent operation, a tool-less case and a Gigabit ethernet NIC.

Update: Time marches on, and, sadly, the 400SC has been discontinued as of November 2004. Afficionados are attempting to embrace other models that have replaced it, but have not as yet equalled the 400SC for ease of adaptation to desktop use.

After a few bumps in the road:

I’m knocking on wood that writing this won’t jinx things — it’s been almost a year without any significant glitches.

Just prior to that time, I was having reasonably reliable service, but happened upon a startling revelation. While helping a friend with a cablemodem problem, I thought to myself that their connection sure was a lot snappier than mine. When I got home and acted on my hunch, I found my throughput only a third of what it was supposed to be — 420kb/sec rather than 1.5Mb/sec.

I made contact again with a former BS tech who had previously helped me with a hardware issue. He gave me the scoop on how to get BS to act when your connection is only operating at the “guaranteed” speed rather than the “advertised” speed. You see, DSL speeds vary with your distance from the central office — the further you are, the slower it gets. But, at 12,000 feet it’s not supposed to anywhere near as low as mine was.

Anyway, I was able to get them to come out, and check it over from end to end. The final result — the drop from the pole to my house was changed and my speed increased to 600kb/sec.

I called the former tech back with the bad news. His advice was to try to get another modem — maybe mine was just bad. So, on a whim, I hooked up an old modem I had had a problem with before which was replaced by BS themselves, and bam(!), I was up to blazing full speed. Talk about ironic.

MP3oE? Yeah! MP3 over Ethernet!

I became increasingly aware, the more I collected MP3 files, that I really wasn’t going to want to sit in front of my computer to listen to all this great music. Heck, I have a great sound system in the den, but how to go about playing them in that sonically superior environment?

The answer, fortunately, wasn’t too difficult, nor all that expensive. Most of what I needed was in the closet – all those leftovers from five-plus years of computer upgrades. I had a case with motherboard and processor, memory, and a moderate- sized hard drive. But the thought of buying a monitor and keyboard, let alone aesthetically integrating same into the home theater, gave me pause.

A little web research gave me a solution I could live with. Since I was already running a home network (you know – hers, mine, and the other one that talks to the DSL), all I needed was another NIC and a sound card with some good specs. I picked up an extra 100baseT card, and a Turtle Beach A3DXstream for under fifty bucks for the both.

The dreaded crawl through the attic to run the cable to the den really wasn’t that bad, as I had previously drilled holes to drop the surround speaker wires inside the wall behind the entertainment system.

Now, you ask, how to run a PC without monitor or keyboard? The answer – simply, elegantly, and best of all for free. I found a program called VNC that lets me control the den PC from any other machine on the network. It’s a little kludgy, but for free, who cares? All I had to do was set the MP3 box to boot up without a keyboard, and put the VNC server in its Windows StartUp group.

I can queue up about a hundred MP3s in WinAmp, and then kick back for hours. And the MP3s can be served from any machine on the network.

Addendum: Initially, I was somewhat disappointed by the sound quality – there was an annoying hum. Even if the MP3 box was off, there was a hum from the speakers. Unplug the PC, and it went away. After a little more web research, and some process of elimination, I found that the problem was a ground loop. Now it sounds great!