I was just randomly looking through some Web sites one day (I think; I don't really remember) and stumbled across this page, which presents the (and the "shouting" is the page creator's, not mine) CHRONOLOGY OF THE WHOLE HUMAN HISTORY.
One thing I've never understood about fundamentalist Christians is why they're always so concerned about the state of the world. After all, they already know how it's all going to end, and that all of us liberals, homsoexuals, evolutionists, and secular humanists are going to end up in the Lake of Fire anyway. So I don't understand why they can't just leave us to our wicked, wicked lives and content themselves with the knowledge that when the Rapture comes we'll all be left behind.
On that note, though, "The Daily Show" recently did a report on the Rapture, discussing this service which will send out an e-mail to those you leave behind (assuming you're a good Christian) when the Rapture comes and you're transported bodily to Heaven.
You can view the segment here. It's the clip titled "Heaven Can't Wait."
But back to the aforementioned Chronology of the Whole Human History, I can't help but think that, in this regard at least, there would be some benefit to eliminating the separation of church and state. I mean, how hard could History class be if all you had to learn was fewer than 8,000 years of total history?
And Science classes would be a breeze. How does gravity work? Because God makes it work. Why do people get sick? Because they're sinners. Why did the dinosaurs die? You wouldn't even have to ask that question; there were no dinosaurs, you filthy heathen.
And you'd only ever really need one textbook.
With a curriculum like that you'd have to be a total moron (or a filthy heathen) to not get good grades, and school wouldn't need to last for much more than a couple of years. I mean, would you really need 12 years (not counting pre-school and kindergarten) to learn everything you need to know?
Certainly you wouldn't need a post-secondary education. After all, what good would it do you? There's nothing more you need to know than what's in the bible.
You don't need doctors. After all, if people get sick or die it must be the will of God. There certainly aren't any complex, yet understandable, biological processes involved. How could there be? I mean, it's not like we evolved over time or anything.
Computers? You don't need to know how to use those...unless you're reading the bible on CD-ROM.
So yeah, I guess life would really be a lot simpler.
Sure, you'd have to give up reading, watching movies, watching TV stations other than PAX, playing games, using birth control, having sex for pleasure rather than procreation, and basically just give up having any kind of fun at all, but hey, fun is overrated anyway.
There'll be plenty of time for fun in Heaven. After all, that JC is a total party monster and nobody knows how to party like the religious right, and the place will positively be crawling with them, so...what? No fun allowed in Heaven either, just more chaste and pious living for the rest of eternity?
Oh.
Still, it should be nice. Sort of like living in an episode of "Leave it to Beaver," only, you know, not quite so racy.
In any case, I still think that having this absolute certainty about how things are going to turn out would make fundamentalists a little more laid back.
After all, it must be sort of comforting to know that life, ultimately, is going to be just as predictable as a romantic comedy.
In any case, I think that's going to do it for me for this week. I hope you all have a nice weekend.
Hopefully next week I'll write up some of the entries that have been milling about in my mind for a while.
Thursday, February 24, 2005
Random Complaints or Leave Them Wanting More (or Less)
I’ve decided that among the many things about life that I will never understand is why I seem to be the only person in the world who only needs to accomplish very simple tasks whenever I venture out, tasks that require only a minimal investment in time on my part and the part of the person helping me.
For example, yesterday I went over to the bank to deposit a check. I could have done so via the ATM, but when it comes to deposits I just prefer to do make them with the assistance of an actual person. I’m not entirely sure why that is, but that’s just the way I am.
In the bank there were two people ahead of me, each being waited on by the available tellers.
Neither one of them was doing anything simple and straightforward like depositing or withdrawing money. Instead they were engaged in some sort of complex and time-consuming financial transactions that seemed designed solely for the purpose of making me have to wait in line.
Even after he was finished with whatever he was doing, the guy whose spot I eventually took wasn't really done, as he needed to access his safety deposit box. Fortunately that involved having someone else help him, which is why I was finally able to advance and, in less than a minute, be out of the bank.
Even the woman who came in after me had some sort of complicated transaction.
The same sort of thing happens when I’m in line at the grocery store. People always have some sort of arcane combination of coupons that require calling in a forensic accountant to sort out whether or not it’s a valid attempt at saving ten cents on Preparation H, or who want to use the Debit/Credit Card machine to enact a financial transaction even more complex than the ones they attempted ahead of me in line at the bank.
Meanwhile I’m standing there with two items which I’m going to pay for with cash trying not to go off like the ticking time bomb that I am.
Even when I do pay with my check card, it’s still not that complicated and doesn’t take me nearly as long as it would if I were someone in line ahead of me.
How do people manage to make their lives so complicated that the simple act of buying groceries can become such a challenge for them, and why are there so few people like me who manage to keep it simple?
I suppose there are all kinds of factors that lead people to these circumstances, but ultimately I still don’t see how it can happen.
One major component that I do see, though, is an overall lack of empathy and courtesy. When I’m ahead of people in line, I do what I can to keep it short so that the person behind me, who probably doesn’t want to wait any longer than I do, can get moving and get on with his or her life.
People ahead of me don’t seem to think like that. There’s very much an attitude of “I’m going to take my sweet time doing this, and to hell with everyone else.”
Those are the kinds of people who demand price checks on every item as it is being rung up just to make absolutely certain that everything is scanning at the correct price, but who will still argue over the price at which every item scans rather than just paying the extra ten cents and letting the line move, then taking their complaints to the service counter where these issues are actually handled.
Anyway, that’s my little rant for right now. Just one of the many reasons that I’m so reluctant to venture out into the world.
Speaking of which, we are currently in the midst of another of Northern Virginia’s deadly winter storms.
Why, by the time it’s over, there may be as much as seven whole whopping inches of snow! It’s the end of the world! Too bad I didn’t stock up on supplies when I had the chance. Now I’m doomed, though there may be the slightest chance that somehow I’ll manage.
After the lengthy streak of warm, spring-like weather we’ve had, the ground is hardly conditioned to actually accept much in the way of snow, and the way it seems to be going right now the snow is having a hard time sticking to anything other than the cold metal and plastic of cars.
Of course, I’m sure our crackerjack road crews will do absolutely nothing about it until sometime tomorrow afternoon when they have the assistance of sunshine and above-freezing temperatures…
I have to say that I’m really digging this wireless keyboard. As I’m typing this I’m leaned well back in my chair with the keyboard resting comfortably on my lap. With the help of the “Zoom Slider” I can easily increase the font size so that I can clearly read this as I type. I highly recommend buying one of these to anyone. I got mine from http://www.chiefvalue.com/.
The only complaints I do have about the keyboard is that it doesn’t have a “My Computer” button the way my old keyboard did (a key that would open the “My Computer” window), and there are no lights on it to indicate that things like Num Lock or Caps Lock are turned on.
If you hit those keys, you do get an onscreen prompt that tells you it’s been turned on/off, but that doesn’t stay up as a constant reminder (nor would I really want it to), so it’s easy to forget if you’ve turned one of them on or off.
As for the “My Computer” button, it’s not a major issue, but I think it’s some they easily could have included.
Still, overall I highly recommend it.
There are a few things I want to attend to this afternoon, but I may be back later.
Eventually I will write up some of the entries I keep promising, and I’ll have more to say about my latest rejection, but for now I’ll leave you wanting more.Or, you know, not wanting more. Whichever.
For example, yesterday I went over to the bank to deposit a check. I could have done so via the ATM, but when it comes to deposits I just prefer to do make them with the assistance of an actual person. I’m not entirely sure why that is, but that’s just the way I am.
In the bank there were two people ahead of me, each being waited on by the available tellers.
Neither one of them was doing anything simple and straightforward like depositing or withdrawing money. Instead they were engaged in some sort of complex and time-consuming financial transactions that seemed designed solely for the purpose of making me have to wait in line.
Even after he was finished with whatever he was doing, the guy whose spot I eventually took wasn't really done, as he needed to access his safety deposit box. Fortunately that involved having someone else help him, which is why I was finally able to advance and, in less than a minute, be out of the bank.
Even the woman who came in after me had some sort of complicated transaction.
The same sort of thing happens when I’m in line at the grocery store. People always have some sort of arcane combination of coupons that require calling in a forensic accountant to sort out whether or not it’s a valid attempt at saving ten cents on Preparation H, or who want to use the Debit/Credit Card machine to enact a financial transaction even more complex than the ones they attempted ahead of me in line at the bank.
Meanwhile I’m standing there with two items which I’m going to pay for with cash trying not to go off like the ticking time bomb that I am.
Even when I do pay with my check card, it’s still not that complicated and doesn’t take me nearly as long as it would if I were someone in line ahead of me.
How do people manage to make their lives so complicated that the simple act of buying groceries can become such a challenge for them, and why are there so few people like me who manage to keep it simple?
I suppose there are all kinds of factors that lead people to these circumstances, but ultimately I still don’t see how it can happen.
One major component that I do see, though, is an overall lack of empathy and courtesy. When I’m ahead of people in line, I do what I can to keep it short so that the person behind me, who probably doesn’t want to wait any longer than I do, can get moving and get on with his or her life.
People ahead of me don’t seem to think like that. There’s very much an attitude of “I’m going to take my sweet time doing this, and to hell with everyone else.”
Those are the kinds of people who demand price checks on every item as it is being rung up just to make absolutely certain that everything is scanning at the correct price, but who will still argue over the price at which every item scans rather than just paying the extra ten cents and letting the line move, then taking their complaints to the service counter where these issues are actually handled.
Anyway, that’s my little rant for right now. Just one of the many reasons that I’m so reluctant to venture out into the world.
Speaking of which, we are currently in the midst of another of Northern Virginia’s deadly winter storms.
Why, by the time it’s over, there may be as much as seven whole whopping inches of snow! It’s the end of the world! Too bad I didn’t stock up on supplies when I had the chance. Now I’m doomed, though there may be the slightest chance that somehow I’ll manage.
After the lengthy streak of warm, spring-like weather we’ve had, the ground is hardly conditioned to actually accept much in the way of snow, and the way it seems to be going right now the snow is having a hard time sticking to anything other than the cold metal and plastic of cars.
Of course, I’m sure our crackerjack road crews will do absolutely nothing about it until sometime tomorrow afternoon when they have the assistance of sunshine and above-freezing temperatures…
I have to say that I’m really digging this wireless keyboard. As I’m typing this I’m leaned well back in my chair with the keyboard resting comfortably on my lap. With the help of the “Zoom Slider” I can easily increase the font size so that I can clearly read this as I type. I highly recommend buying one of these to anyone. I got mine from http://www.chiefvalue.com/.
The only complaints I do have about the keyboard is that it doesn’t have a “My Computer” button the way my old keyboard did (a key that would open the “My Computer” window), and there are no lights on it to indicate that things like Num Lock or Caps Lock are turned on.
If you hit those keys, you do get an onscreen prompt that tells you it’s been turned on/off, but that doesn’t stay up as a constant reminder (nor would I really want it to), so it’s easy to forget if you’ve turned one of them on or off.
As for the “My Computer” button, it’s not a major issue, but I think it’s some they easily could have included.
Still, overall I highly recommend it.
There are a few things I want to attend to this afternoon, but I may be back later.
Eventually I will write up some of the entries I keep promising, and I’ll have more to say about my latest rejection, but for now I’ll leave you wanting more.Or, you know, not wanting more. Whichever.
Wednesday, February 23, 2005
The Best Laid Plans
Originally I’d actually had plans for today, which is rather unusual.
It was my intention to head out into the world and get some shopping done.
Most notably I was going to find a solution once and for all for the Audio/Visual mess that has cropped up from me trying to have both my TV set and my ATI All-In-Wonder card connected to my digital cable box via RCA connections.
So far I have yet to find a solution that would allow me to have them simultaneously connected. It always has to be one or the other, as I’ve been unable to find a switch box that has multiple A/V outputs. Most have multiple inputs, but that really doesn’t do me much good.
I was also finally going to pick up some speaker wire so that the wire feeding my surround speakers wouldn’t be sticking out in the middle of the floor.
Beyond that I was going to do some “impulse shopping.”
However, most of my plans were disrupted by me agreeing to give Brian and Kathleen a ride to the airport early this morning.
I had toyed with the notion of simply staying up all night, but ultimately decided to just turn in relatively early.
Even so, I only ended up getting about four hours of sleep.
And even though it was Sarah’s gentle voice softly rousing me into wakefulness, when my alarm went off I still found myself thinking “What the fu…?” as I’m not accustomed to being woken by my alarm on Wednesday morning.
Especially not that early on a Wednesday morning.
Still, eventually I got up and headed over to Leesburg to pick them up.
Brian actually drove to the airport (we took his truck, as their luggage wouldn’t fit in my car), and then I simply had to drive the truck back to their house.
When leaving the airport I was still feeling a little groggy from my lack of sleep, so I missed the exit that I’d intended to take. I shrugged and thought “I’ll take the next one.”
Then I missed that one.
And the next one.
Still, I was in relatively familiar territory, so I figured I’d get a chance to exit onto some familiar street.
Exits, however, were not presenting themselves, and suddenly I realized that I was driving in the HOV lane.
For those of you not familiar with it, the HOV lane is a commuter lane designed to essentially reward people for carpooling.
Of course, it’s a requirement that you have more than one person in your carpool, otherwise you’ll get pulled over and ticketed.
Getting pulled over for driving solo in the HOV lane would be bad enough, but getting pulled over for driving someone else’s vehicle in the HOV lane would undoubtedly be much worse.
So naturally I was eager to get out of there as soon as possible, but it was beginning to look as though that wasn’t possible, as the HOV lane is essentially closed off from the regular lanes of traffic around it, and seems as though I was going to end up in D.C., which is something I definitely didn’t want.
Eventually, and with great relief, I spotted an exit from the HOV lane onto Route 7, which I took immediately.
Ultimately I ended up adding another ten miles or so total onto my trip, which annoyed me, as I really just wanted to go home, but I still had to go to Leesburg to drop off Brian’s truck and pick up my car.
I considered simply going home first, then picking up my car later, but I decided that I just wanted to get it over with, so I stared wistfully at the exit to Ashburn as I drove wearily past it.
Once I’d gotten my car I decided that, since I was up and out and about, I might as well stop at McDonald’s to pick up some breakfast.
Without thinking, though, I took the Greenway home, which while very convenient in that the Ashburn exit brings me practically right to my apartment, going to McDonald’s would be slightly more of a challenge, as it would involve either turning left against several lanes of traffic, or else turning right and then making a U-Turn.
Ultimately I decided that I would just go home and call McDonald’s a miss.
Once I got home and got back into bed, though, my stomach, roused by the notion of breakfast, wouldn’t allow me to sleep.
So I got up and broke out the Bisquick and got to work on making pancakes. I was going to cut the recipe in half, since, as I’m so often reminded, I am only one person and have no one else to cook for. So I put in half as much Bisquick, half as many eggs (one as opposed to two), and, in my bleary-eyed stupor, the full amount of milk. It took me a while to figure out why my batter looked so runny, and at the end of that particular while I cursed profusely before tossing in another egg and an additional quantity of Bisquick.
On a positive note, though, the pancakes turned out very well (my griddle continues to be one of my favorite purchases), as did the omelet I made to accompany the pancakes. The bacon, though, was sadly less than stellar. I think it was the particular brand. It's a shame, since, as most people who know me are aware, I really love bacon.
I tried to convince myself that, as one person, I didn’t need to eat ALL of the pancakes in one sitting.
I failed to convince myself of that, though, and as a result spent the rest of the morning feeling fat and bloated.
After gorging myself I finally took a shower and decided that I would go ahead with my original plans for the morning.
Once I’d gotten dressed, though, I remembered to check the shipping status of the keyboard/mouse combos I’d ordered over the weekend. When I checked I saw that they were on the truck ready to be delivered to me.
I figured that I probably had enough time to go out and do what I wanted before the delivery, but ultimately I decided not to risk it.
So I decided to wait.
Waiting took the form of falling asleep on the couch for about three hours.
That seemed to be the right amount of time, though, as shortly after I woke up the lady from FedEx was knocking on my door.
After opening the shipping packaging I discovered the reason that I was able to get the keyboard/mouse combos so much cheaper than the regular retail price was because they were OEM versions.
OEM means “Original Equipment Manufacturer.” Essentially I got the same package that a computer manufacturer might get for the purposes of selling with a new computer system.
This wasn’t really a problem; it simply meant that they didn’t come with any software installation CDs (though being HID [Human Interface Device] compliant they didn't need drivers, so I just had to download the software necessary for accessing their special features) and the only documentation was a rather anemic “Quick Start” guide.
Still, hooking up a keyboard and a mouse, even those of the wireless variety, isn’t especially complicated.
I set up Munin, my secondary computer, first.
Everything worked fine, but I found that Munin was no longer able to connect to my wireless network. I thought that it might be interference from the new wireless devices, so I decided to leave it alone for the time being and see what happened when I set them up on Hugin, my main computer.
There was no evidence of interference there; the wireless network got along just fine with the new devices.
So I went back to Munin and played around with it before finally discovering that it had basically just lost the network settings, as I noticed that my network wasn’t listed in its network setup.
So I put it back in, entered my WEP key (which allows the computer to authenticate on my network), and voila!
However, after the next reboot I discovered that it apparently can’t hold onto the information after being shut down.
I decided to troubleshoot that particular issue some other day, though.
Once I was done with getting everything working there were a couple of other things I needed to attend to.
Most notably I no longer had a free USB port on Hugin to plug my graphics tablet into, as, unlike my old keyboard, my new keyboard doesn’t have pass-through USB ports built into it.
There were a couple of things I could have done to resolve this without venturing out into the world, which I was actually reluctant to do at this point, as it was no fairly late in the afternoon and traffic would be ramping up.
However, the best option for dealing with this problem, I decided, was to pick up a USB hub.
So I ventured out into the world. The “world” in this case turned out to be Circuit City.
While I was there picking up the hub I decided to see if I could find the A/V solution I was looking for. The pizza-faced kid working there suggested something that I found less than appealing, and which, I ultimately decided, wouldn’t really work anyway, so I just bought the hub and left.
The other day I discovered that Office Depot currently has a really sweet deal on a really sweet laptop computer. After rebates, it comes to only $600.
Circuit City, however, has the same laptop for the same price after rebate, but their deal is even sweeter, as the initial cost before rebate is $100 cheaper.
I was very tempted to buy it, and to be perfectly honest, I’m not entirely certain why I didn’t. After all, I could use it take the place of Munin and spare myself the expense of buying Brian’s LCD, thereby essentialy only spending $200 more than I was planning to.
Still, even if it is a very good deal, I’m reluctant to shell out that much money ($850 before rebates) on something that I really don’t need.
I was also tempted by some of the 19” LCDs they had on sale, but, as with the laptop, I didn’t give in to temptation.
On the way home I had something of an epiphany about a minor problem I was having with Munin.
While they are extremely cool and work very well, the USB wireless adapters that allow my computers to connect to my router are rather thick, and in the case of Munin that thickness makes the port next to the one it’s plugged into almost entirely inaccessible.
The wireless adapters actually came with these weird little USB cables that essentially serve as extension cords for the USB ports. I had been plugging one of them into Munin to make the USB 2.0 port in the back more easily accessible for plugging my mp3 player into it (the front access USB port on Munin is only USB 1.1, which is much slower).
However, with the receiver for the keyboard and mouse plugged into the USB port on the back, there was no room for plugging the “extension cord” in.
As I said, on the way home I had an epiphany, and what I realized was just how monumentally stupid I can be at times. The whole point of the “extension cords” that came with the wireless adapters is to allow you to plug the fat adapter in without blocking the other ports.
It only took me a little over a month to figure that out.
*Sigh*
So once I got home I plugged the adapter into the USB cable and plugged the other end into the computer. This freed up a port for me to plug the other cable into, making the port more easily accessible for plugging my mp3 player in.
In any case, there are a couple of things I want to do before TV makes me its slave for the night (Smallville, Mythbusters, Law & Order), so I guess that’s it for now. I may be back with another entry later.
It was my intention to head out into the world and get some shopping done.
Most notably I was going to find a solution once and for all for the Audio/Visual mess that has cropped up from me trying to have both my TV set and my ATI All-In-Wonder card connected to my digital cable box via RCA connections.
So far I have yet to find a solution that would allow me to have them simultaneously connected. It always has to be one or the other, as I’ve been unable to find a switch box that has multiple A/V outputs. Most have multiple inputs, but that really doesn’t do me much good.
I was also finally going to pick up some speaker wire so that the wire feeding my surround speakers wouldn’t be sticking out in the middle of the floor.
Beyond that I was going to do some “impulse shopping.”
However, most of my plans were disrupted by me agreeing to give Brian and Kathleen a ride to the airport early this morning.
I had toyed with the notion of simply staying up all night, but ultimately decided to just turn in relatively early.
Even so, I only ended up getting about four hours of sleep.
And even though it was Sarah’s gentle voice softly rousing me into wakefulness, when my alarm went off I still found myself thinking “What the fu…?” as I’m not accustomed to being woken by my alarm on Wednesday morning.
Especially not that early on a Wednesday morning.
Still, eventually I got up and headed over to Leesburg to pick them up.
Brian actually drove to the airport (we took his truck, as their luggage wouldn’t fit in my car), and then I simply had to drive the truck back to their house.
When leaving the airport I was still feeling a little groggy from my lack of sleep, so I missed the exit that I’d intended to take. I shrugged and thought “I’ll take the next one.”
Then I missed that one.
And the next one.
Still, I was in relatively familiar territory, so I figured I’d get a chance to exit onto some familiar street.
Exits, however, were not presenting themselves, and suddenly I realized that I was driving in the HOV lane.
For those of you not familiar with it, the HOV lane is a commuter lane designed to essentially reward people for carpooling.
Of course, it’s a requirement that you have more than one person in your carpool, otherwise you’ll get pulled over and ticketed.
Getting pulled over for driving solo in the HOV lane would be bad enough, but getting pulled over for driving someone else’s vehicle in the HOV lane would undoubtedly be much worse.
So naturally I was eager to get out of there as soon as possible, but it was beginning to look as though that wasn’t possible, as the HOV lane is essentially closed off from the regular lanes of traffic around it, and seems as though I was going to end up in D.C., which is something I definitely didn’t want.
Eventually, and with great relief, I spotted an exit from the HOV lane onto Route 7, which I took immediately.
Ultimately I ended up adding another ten miles or so total onto my trip, which annoyed me, as I really just wanted to go home, but I still had to go to Leesburg to drop off Brian’s truck and pick up my car.
I considered simply going home first, then picking up my car later, but I decided that I just wanted to get it over with, so I stared wistfully at the exit to Ashburn as I drove wearily past it.
Once I’d gotten my car I decided that, since I was up and out and about, I might as well stop at McDonald’s to pick up some breakfast.
Without thinking, though, I took the Greenway home, which while very convenient in that the Ashburn exit brings me practically right to my apartment, going to McDonald’s would be slightly more of a challenge, as it would involve either turning left against several lanes of traffic, or else turning right and then making a U-Turn.
Ultimately I decided that I would just go home and call McDonald’s a miss.
Once I got home and got back into bed, though, my stomach, roused by the notion of breakfast, wouldn’t allow me to sleep.
So I got up and broke out the Bisquick and got to work on making pancakes. I was going to cut the recipe in half, since, as I’m so often reminded, I am only one person and have no one else to cook for. So I put in half as much Bisquick, half as many eggs (one as opposed to two), and, in my bleary-eyed stupor, the full amount of milk. It took me a while to figure out why my batter looked so runny, and at the end of that particular while I cursed profusely before tossing in another egg and an additional quantity of Bisquick.
On a positive note, though, the pancakes turned out very well (my griddle continues to be one of my favorite purchases), as did the omelet I made to accompany the pancakes. The bacon, though, was sadly less than stellar. I think it was the particular brand. It's a shame, since, as most people who know me are aware, I really love bacon.
I tried to convince myself that, as one person, I didn’t need to eat ALL of the pancakes in one sitting.
I failed to convince myself of that, though, and as a result spent the rest of the morning feeling fat and bloated.
After gorging myself I finally took a shower and decided that I would go ahead with my original plans for the morning.
Once I’d gotten dressed, though, I remembered to check the shipping status of the keyboard/mouse combos I’d ordered over the weekend. When I checked I saw that they were on the truck ready to be delivered to me.
I figured that I probably had enough time to go out and do what I wanted before the delivery, but ultimately I decided not to risk it.
So I decided to wait.
Waiting took the form of falling asleep on the couch for about three hours.
That seemed to be the right amount of time, though, as shortly after I woke up the lady from FedEx was knocking on my door.
After opening the shipping packaging I discovered the reason that I was able to get the keyboard/mouse combos so much cheaper than the regular retail price was because they were OEM versions.
OEM means “Original Equipment Manufacturer.” Essentially I got the same package that a computer manufacturer might get for the purposes of selling with a new computer system.
This wasn’t really a problem; it simply meant that they didn’t come with any software installation CDs (though being HID [Human Interface Device] compliant they didn't need drivers, so I just had to download the software necessary for accessing their special features) and the only documentation was a rather anemic “Quick Start” guide.
Still, hooking up a keyboard and a mouse, even those of the wireless variety, isn’t especially complicated.
I set up Munin, my secondary computer, first.
Everything worked fine, but I found that Munin was no longer able to connect to my wireless network. I thought that it might be interference from the new wireless devices, so I decided to leave it alone for the time being and see what happened when I set them up on Hugin, my main computer.
There was no evidence of interference there; the wireless network got along just fine with the new devices.
So I went back to Munin and played around with it before finally discovering that it had basically just lost the network settings, as I noticed that my network wasn’t listed in its network setup.
So I put it back in, entered my WEP key (which allows the computer to authenticate on my network), and voila!
However, after the next reboot I discovered that it apparently can’t hold onto the information after being shut down.
I decided to troubleshoot that particular issue some other day, though.
Once I was done with getting everything working there were a couple of other things I needed to attend to.
Most notably I no longer had a free USB port on Hugin to plug my graphics tablet into, as, unlike my old keyboard, my new keyboard doesn’t have pass-through USB ports built into it.
There were a couple of things I could have done to resolve this without venturing out into the world, which I was actually reluctant to do at this point, as it was no fairly late in the afternoon and traffic would be ramping up.
However, the best option for dealing with this problem, I decided, was to pick up a USB hub.
So I ventured out into the world. The “world” in this case turned out to be Circuit City.
While I was there picking up the hub I decided to see if I could find the A/V solution I was looking for. The pizza-faced kid working there suggested something that I found less than appealing, and which, I ultimately decided, wouldn’t really work anyway, so I just bought the hub and left.
The other day I discovered that Office Depot currently has a really sweet deal on a really sweet laptop computer. After rebates, it comes to only $600.
Circuit City, however, has the same laptop for the same price after rebate, but their deal is even sweeter, as the initial cost before rebate is $100 cheaper.
I was very tempted to buy it, and to be perfectly honest, I’m not entirely certain why I didn’t. After all, I could use it take the place of Munin and spare myself the expense of buying Brian’s LCD, thereby essentialy only spending $200 more than I was planning to.
Still, even if it is a very good deal, I’m reluctant to shell out that much money ($850 before rebates) on something that I really don’t need.
I was also tempted by some of the 19” LCDs they had on sale, but, as with the laptop, I didn’t give in to temptation.
On the way home I had something of an epiphany about a minor problem I was having with Munin.
While they are extremely cool and work very well, the USB wireless adapters that allow my computers to connect to my router are rather thick, and in the case of Munin that thickness makes the port next to the one it’s plugged into almost entirely inaccessible.
The wireless adapters actually came with these weird little USB cables that essentially serve as extension cords for the USB ports. I had been plugging one of them into Munin to make the USB 2.0 port in the back more easily accessible for plugging my mp3 player into it (the front access USB port on Munin is only USB 1.1, which is much slower).
However, with the receiver for the keyboard and mouse plugged into the USB port on the back, there was no room for plugging the “extension cord” in.
As I said, on the way home I had an epiphany, and what I realized was just how monumentally stupid I can be at times. The whole point of the “extension cords” that came with the wireless adapters is to allow you to plug the fat adapter in without blocking the other ports.
It only took me a little over a month to figure that out.
*Sigh*
So once I got home I plugged the adapter into the USB cable and plugged the other end into the computer. This freed up a port for me to plug the other cable into, making the port more easily accessible for plugging my mp3 player in.
In any case, there are a couple of things I want to do before TV makes me its slave for the night (Smallville, Mythbusters, Law & Order), so I guess that’s it for now. I may be back with another entry later.
Tuesday, February 22, 2005
Uneventful
So apart from getting my rejection slip, which sucked, and getting my check for the stock options I sold last week , which also kind of sucked because so much was taken out of it for taxes, today was pretty uneventful.
I spent most of it doing some research online to see if it would be possible to turn my current computer, which is almost a Media Center PC, into a full-fledged Media Center PC.
Prior iterations of the Windows Media Center Edition (MCE) OS had only been available to computer manufacturers. However, the latest version can actually be purchased, so I was considering this option as it does have a lot of features that I wish my computer had.
One of the key features of a Media Center PC is that it has a TV tuner card built in, allowing you to make use of MCE’s TiVo-like features.
I have a TV tuner card in my current computer, which is why it would be nice to have MCE.
Unfortunately, the current version of MCE doesn’t work with the tuner card I have.
Oh well.
Maybe after I’ve gotten past the novelty of actually having money in the bank I’ll break down and shell out some cash to buy a real Media Center PC.
After spending the day finding out that I can’t upgrade my computer without buying a new piece of hardware, I went to cooking class, as evidenced by the pictures.
Once I got home I found that my VoIP service is actually working.
So that was a plus.
I have to call it a (relatively) early night tonight, as I’ve agreed to give Brian and Kathleen a ride to the airport at the butt-crack of dawn.
They’re flying out to Tucson for a week to visit Brian’s parents.
My brother Brad was just out there last week visiting my parents (well, his parents too, I guess). Evidently he’s considering even buying a home out there at some point for after he retires from the Navy. It’s been a little over a year since I last went to Tucson. I may go next year, but who can say?
In any case, this is going to be a rather abbreviated entry. Hopefully I’ll write something more interesting tomorrow.
I spent most of it doing some research online to see if it would be possible to turn my current computer, which is almost a Media Center PC, into a full-fledged Media Center PC.
Prior iterations of the Windows Media Center Edition (MCE) OS had only been available to computer manufacturers. However, the latest version can actually be purchased, so I was considering this option as it does have a lot of features that I wish my computer had.
One of the key features of a Media Center PC is that it has a TV tuner card built in, allowing you to make use of MCE’s TiVo-like features.
I have a TV tuner card in my current computer, which is why it would be nice to have MCE.
Unfortunately, the current version of MCE doesn’t work with the tuner card I have.
Oh well.
Maybe after I’ve gotten past the novelty of actually having money in the bank I’ll break down and shell out some cash to buy a real Media Center PC.
After spending the day finding out that I can’t upgrade my computer without buying a new piece of hardware, I went to cooking class, as evidenced by the pictures.
Once I got home I found that my VoIP service is actually working.
So that was a plus.
I have to call it a (relatively) early night tonight, as I’ve agreed to give Brian and Kathleen a ride to the airport at the butt-crack of dawn.
They’re flying out to Tucson for a week to visit Brian’s parents.
My brother Brad was just out there last week visiting my parents (well, his parents too, I guess). Evidently he’s considering even buying a home out there at some point for after he retires from the Navy. It’s been a little over a year since I last went to Tucson. I may go next year, but who can say?
In any case, this is going to be a rather abbreviated entry. Hopefully I’ll write something more interesting tomorrow.
Cooking Class Pics
So tonight in class we made lasagna. We broke into two groups. One made regular lasagna, and the other (mine and Kathleen's group) made eggplant lasagna.
Kathleen and the Lady Whose Name I Don't Know.
The actual lasagna on its own.
Kathleen and the Lady Whose Name I Don't Know.
The actual lasagna on its own.
No Surprise
If you've ever wondered what a rejection slip looks like, here's your chance to find out without having to have your hopes dashed and your dreams destroyed. Enjoy!
Matchmaker, Matchmaker, Make Me a Match...
For close to ten years now I’ve been on something of a streak.
It’s not exactly what you’d call a winning streak.
Not for me, at least.
This streak has, however, paid off pretty well for several other people.
So what is this streak I’ve been having?
I’ve been getting women married.
So far from what I’ve seen there seems to be a direct correlation between whether or not I’m attracted to a woman and whether or not she gets married.
Actually, that’s incorrectly stated, as my lack of attraction isn’t necessarily enough to keep a woman from getting married.
The presence of an attraction on my part, though, pretty much guarantees that the woman I’m attracted to will get married.
Sure, maybe it would have happened eventually anyway, but at the very least it seems that the addition of my attraction speeds up the process, acting like a sort of catalyst.
To date, at least in those cases where I haven’t completely lost track of her, every woman I’ve felt more than a passing attraction to in the past ten years has gotten married, or at the very least gotten engaged, and/or had a child (not mine).
That even includes my ex-wife, who was fortunate enough to find her future husband and father of her child while we were still married.
If I hadn’t fallen in love with her and married her, who knows how long she might have had to have waited in order to get married to someone else and had a child? Good thing I was there to be the catalyst for making her marriage happen!
I inadvertently stumbled onto the evidence of my latest matchmaking success this past Friday.
Longtime Threshold readers will remember my references to “Flame Chick,” a very attractive young woman at work who, due to the circumstances of work, I’d been unable to approach in any meaningful fashion.
I’d recently learned that, apart from the other difficulties, a vast chasm separated us: she is a rabid sports fan. The French may say “vive le difference!” but they don’t really mean it, and no one in this country cares what the French think anyway.
So in this case the difference, an overwhelming interest in sports, is unacceptable and an insurmountable obstacle.
Still, while I knew that nothing could come of it, there was no harm in just looking…
While looking a couple of weeks ago I noticed a ring that hadn’t been there before. This past Friday I overheard a snippet of conversation in which she said, “Well, I have a dress, now he just needs…” and I didn’t catch the rest.
So yeah, looks like I’ve made another match, and my streak continues.
Ladies, if you’re out there looking for a man, all you have to do is catch my eye.
Don’t worry; you won’t be stuck with me, as capturing my attention will guarantee that you capture someone else’s…
In Tucson I had a friend who stated that most of the women he'd ever been attracted to had ended up suffering some major injuries (no, he wasn't responsible for their injuries), so, at least if I'm not feeling sociopathic, I guess my streak is better than his.
Last night when I was chatting with Wendy I got up at one point and walked over to my dining room table. When I got to the table I was fully expecting to find an open pack of cigarettes, a lighter, and an ashtray.
Imagine my surprise when I didn’t.
Further, imagine my surprise when I realized what I was doing.
In a little under three months it’ll be a year since I quit smoking, yet I still find myself engaging in some of the old habits (except for the actual habit itself).
Sunday night’s episode of “Law & Order: Criminal Intent” once again drew its story from the headlines, this time from the allegations made by actress Jeri Ryan about her ex-husband Jack dragging her against her will into a “sex club.” Said allegations destroyed his political aspirations.
They also did an interesting bit of casting, as part of the story involved a man who was very much like the famous publisher of a certain men’s magazine.
The interesting part was that the role of “Hef” was played by actor/director Peter Bogdanovich, a man who used to be friends with real deal.
The friendship soured, though, after Bogdanovich became involved with doomed Playmate Dorothy Stratten who was murdered by her abusive husband.
In an article about Stratten (which formed the basis for the film “Star 80”), Bogdanovich and Hef were both held to be as accountable for Stratten’s death as her crazed husband had been. Bogdanovich responded by writing his own book, in which he fobbed the blame off onto Hef alone.
Not surprisingly, his portrayal of the Hef character on L & O was considerably less than flattering.
Anyway, I found it interesting to watch him portray Hef as a sniveling old degenerate clinging to the last pitiful vestiges of a hedonistic lifestyle that’s left him little more than a pathetic joke…albeit a pathetic joke constantly surrounded by smoking hot babes.
But, you know, even if he is having nightly orgies with some of the most beautiful women in the world, he’s still pathetic, because…umm…well…
*Sigh*
It’s not exactly what you’d call a winning streak.
Not for me, at least.
This streak has, however, paid off pretty well for several other people.
So what is this streak I’ve been having?
I’ve been getting women married.
So far from what I’ve seen there seems to be a direct correlation between whether or not I’m attracted to a woman and whether or not she gets married.
Actually, that’s incorrectly stated, as my lack of attraction isn’t necessarily enough to keep a woman from getting married.
The presence of an attraction on my part, though, pretty much guarantees that the woman I’m attracted to will get married.
Sure, maybe it would have happened eventually anyway, but at the very least it seems that the addition of my attraction speeds up the process, acting like a sort of catalyst.
To date, at least in those cases where I haven’t completely lost track of her, every woman I’ve felt more than a passing attraction to in the past ten years has gotten married, or at the very least gotten engaged, and/or had a child (not mine).
That even includes my ex-wife, who was fortunate enough to find her future husband and father of her child while we were still married.
If I hadn’t fallen in love with her and married her, who knows how long she might have had to have waited in order to get married to someone else and had a child? Good thing I was there to be the catalyst for making her marriage happen!
I inadvertently stumbled onto the evidence of my latest matchmaking success this past Friday.
Longtime Threshold readers will remember my references to “Flame Chick,” a very attractive young woman at work who, due to the circumstances of work, I’d been unable to approach in any meaningful fashion.
I’d recently learned that, apart from the other difficulties, a vast chasm separated us: she is a rabid sports fan. The French may say “vive le difference!” but they don’t really mean it, and no one in this country cares what the French think anyway.
So in this case the difference, an overwhelming interest in sports, is unacceptable and an insurmountable obstacle.
Still, while I knew that nothing could come of it, there was no harm in just looking…
While looking a couple of weeks ago I noticed a ring that hadn’t been there before. This past Friday I overheard a snippet of conversation in which she said, “Well, I have a dress, now he just needs…” and I didn’t catch the rest.
So yeah, looks like I’ve made another match, and my streak continues.
Ladies, if you’re out there looking for a man, all you have to do is catch my eye.
Don’t worry; you won’t be stuck with me, as capturing my attention will guarantee that you capture someone else’s…
In Tucson I had a friend who stated that most of the women he'd ever been attracted to had ended up suffering some major injuries (no, he wasn't responsible for their injuries), so, at least if I'm not feeling sociopathic, I guess my streak is better than his.
Last night when I was chatting with Wendy I got up at one point and walked over to my dining room table. When I got to the table I was fully expecting to find an open pack of cigarettes, a lighter, and an ashtray.
Imagine my surprise when I didn’t.
Further, imagine my surprise when I realized what I was doing.
In a little under three months it’ll be a year since I quit smoking, yet I still find myself engaging in some of the old habits (except for the actual habit itself).
Sunday night’s episode of “Law & Order: Criminal Intent” once again drew its story from the headlines, this time from the allegations made by actress Jeri Ryan about her ex-husband Jack dragging her against her will into a “sex club.” Said allegations destroyed his political aspirations.
They also did an interesting bit of casting, as part of the story involved a man who was very much like the famous publisher of a certain men’s magazine.
The interesting part was that the role of “Hef” was played by actor/director Peter Bogdanovich, a man who used to be friends with real deal.
The friendship soured, though, after Bogdanovich became involved with doomed Playmate Dorothy Stratten who was murdered by her abusive husband.
In an article about Stratten (which formed the basis for the film “Star 80”), Bogdanovich and Hef were both held to be as accountable for Stratten’s death as her crazed husband had been. Bogdanovich responded by writing his own book, in which he fobbed the blame off onto Hef alone.
Not surprisingly, his portrayal of the Hef character on L & O was considerably less than flattering.
Anyway, I found it interesting to watch him portray Hef as a sniveling old degenerate clinging to the last pitiful vestiges of a hedonistic lifestyle that’s left him little more than a pathetic joke…albeit a pathetic joke constantly surrounded by smoking hot babes.
But, you know, even if he is having nightly orgies with some of the most beautiful women in the world, he’s still pathetic, because…umm…well…
*Sigh*
Monday, February 21, 2005
Woken By An Angel, Dude's Getting a Dell, and More Adventures In Spending Money
As I mentioned in a post last week, I purchased a CD clock radio.
The primary purpose of said purchase, of course, was to allow myself to be awoken by something a little more pleasant than the buzzing of an alarm.
When 4:15 am rolled around on Friday morning, I became vaguely aware of the sound of an audience cheering. In my semi-conscious state I thought, “Well, how nice. Yay me, apparently.”
As I drifted closer to wakefulness it became clear that the crowd wasn’t cheering for me, but rather for Sarah McLachlan, whose beautiful, beautiful (insert several more "beautifuls"), angelic voice helped pull me fully into consciousness.
I have to say that it’s not a bad way to wake up.
The only drawbacks are that I find that I’d much rather simply lie there in bed listening to Sarah sing than actually get up, and that I’d also much, much rather that Sarah herself were actually there to rouse me from my sleep, but alas, as I rolled over I found that, excepting myself, my bed was empty as usual.
Ah well.
With the exception of getting my annual review on Friday and being informed of how much of a raise I’ll be receiving (more money is always a good thing), the weekend was largely uneventful.
I was annoyed on Saturday and Sunday morning to find that I wasn’t alone in the fitness center for my morning workout. I read in “Men’s Health” once that, though we might not like it, we have a tendency to workout a little harder when someone else is working out at the same time. The competitive instinct, apparently.
Whether that’s truly the case, I can honestly say that I really wish he hadn’t been there. I like having the place to myself (though I wouldn’t be averse to having several hot chicks show up), and typically the fact that I’m there before 5 in the morning has assured me that I would.
I hope this isn’t the start of a trend, but if it is, I guess I’ll adapt.
Of course, by "adapt" I probably mean "stop working out and get fat."
Over the weekend Dell was having a big “Presidents’ Day Sale,” so Brian ended up ordering himself a new computer.
As I’ve got some spare money burning a hole in my bank account (In telling me about the Dell sale, Brian said, “I know what you can spend all that money on.”), I checked out their offerings myself, but ultimately decided against buying a new computer from them.
I had, however, been toying with the notion of buying/building a cheap computer to take the place of my secondary computer. I wouldn’t need anything too fancy, I’d just like to have something with a little more power, as the secondary computer (named Munin) is over four years old and was a rather low-end system to begin with.
I went to a couple of sites and looked through some “barebones” configurations, thinking that, if nothing else, I could salvage Munin’s hard drive and DVD ROM to keep the costs down.
The problem I kept running into, though, was that I was tempted to build a new main system instead, which would drive the costs up considerably, leading me to spend more money that I really want to (even though I really want to buy a new kick-ass computer).
Ultimately I ended up agreeing to buy Brian’s current 17” flat panel monitor for use with Munin (it’ll fit better on my kitchen counter), as he’s getting a new one with his new computer.
I also ordered two Microsoft Wireless Desktop 3.0 wireless keyboard/mouse combos. I wanted a wireless keyboard and mouse for Munin so that I wouldn’t have wires hanging off my counter, but while I was at it I figured I should get one for my main system as well (named Hugin, by the way). If you buy directly from M$ the combo costs $85, but I found a site selling them for $50 a piece. So it was a bargain, and how could I pass up a bargain?
Because Brian has been raving about the fingerprint reader he bought, which allows him to log in to any sites that require a password with a simple touch of his finger, I also considered purchasing the Microsoft Optical Desktop with Fingerprint Reader, but I wasn’t able to find it much cheaper online, so I opted against it.
I may well buy a separate fingerprint reader at some point, though. I’ve just got too many passwords at this point.
For a while I was considering buying myself a Media Center PC as my main system.
Honestly, what I’d really like to do is buy myself a new, kick-ass main system, then make Hugin my secondary system (and turn Munin into a Linux box), and also buy a Media Center PC, like this one, or a Digital Entertainment Center like this one, which I could use solely as my home theater.
Unfortunately I can only afford to do one or the other, so I think that I’m going to do neither.
I'll buy the LCD from Brian, hook up the new keyboards and mice, and leave it at that for a while.
Last week, drawing on the lessons we learned, Kathleen baked her own bread. Unlike our results in class, however, her bread turned out perfect and did not look like an aborted pig fetus the way ours did. So kudos to Kathleen!
For my part I’m unlikely to bake my own bread, as I almost never eat bread.
When I got home from work last night I found myself having an odd connectivity problem with my computer (Hugin).
For some reason I simply could not get online. I did a power cycle with all of my equipment, checked all of my settings, but no dice. Over on Munin I could connect with no problem, so my cable modem and router were both working properly. Hugin just refused to get online.
I messed around with a few things, gave up in frustration for a while, then went back to it and found that it was mysteriously working.
Shortly thereafter the connection dropped again.
I managed to reconnect to the router, but only at a very low signal strength, which meant that I didn't have enough signal to actually surf the Web.
The low signal strength was baffling, as the router is maybe five feet away from the wireless adapter on my computer.
Then I noticed something odd. The name of the wireless network I was connected to was “EU,” which is not the name of my network.
In fact, I was not connected to my wireless network; I was connected to a network belonging to one of my neighbors.
So I removed the neighbor’s network from the list, told the computer to connect to mine, and boom, back online with full signal strength.
I really don’t understand why that happened, but I’m guessing that at some point the signal from my router dropped, and my computer just latched onto the first signal it found, then moved that one up to the top of the list as the preferred network.
It’s hardly the first time my signal has dropped (which is pretty annoying), but that’s the first time I’ve seen the computer latch onto someone else’s network like that.
I’ve upgraded the firmware on the router in the hope that it will prevent me from losing my connection so often.
Last night, after straightening out the network issue, I spent a couple of hours chatting on AIM with Wendy, the young woman who took me to task for claiming that female comic fandom is a myth. I have to say that it’s interesting to talk to someone who knows a lot about comics and is also actually a girl.
For those of you who concern yourself about such things (namely my mom), Wendy is already involved, so no, this isn’t a potential romance for me, but I should think that by now it would be obvious that there’s about zero potential for romance in my life anyway.
In any case, one of these days I’ll write that entry about female fandom and women in comics that I mentioned last week, but that day isn’t today.
As for today, I did briefly venture out into the world, as I needed to pick up a few groceries.
I also had to stop in at my eye doctor’s office, as I needed to replace the little device that cleans and disinfects my contacts. Somewhere along the line the UV light in it that actually kills the germs stopped working, and recently the element that heats up the conditioning solution broke off.
So, since I was venturing out today and it’s sort of on the way, I stopped in to buy a new one.
I explained what I needed to the woman working there and why, and she asked, “Do you have the damaged unit with you?”
I said that I didn’t, and was a little puzzled by the look of concern that crossed her face. Was I only allowed to own one at a time? Is the broken one some kind of hazardous material that needs to be properly disposed of? Had I paid a deposit on it?
She said, “Well…okay....I’m going to trust you to bring it in, otherwise I’ll have to charge you for this one.”
Ahhh...that made sense. It seemed that I wasn’t going to have to buy a new one like I thought; I simply needed to swap the old one for a free replacement. Sweet!
I had thought that maybe there was a warranty on it, but I couldn’t remember for certain, and didn’t feel like packaging the old one up when I initially ventured out.
I probably should have, though, as after I'd done my shopping and gotten home I had to head back out to bring the old one back to the office.
And that more or less brings us up to date. I may be back with another entry later on.
In the meantime, just on the off-chance that there are any new Threshold readers stopping in today, here’s a plug for my novel blog.
I wrote the novel, titled “15,000 Years,” in order to contribute to National Novel Writing Month this past November.
This is my first (completed) novel, and to be perfectly honest, I don’t think it’s especially good. It has definite possibilities, and some day, when I’m not sick to death of it (writing 50,000+ words in less than 30 days can leave you feeling kind of burned out), I may return to it and rework it into something more coherent and engaging.
As it stands, though, it’s an extremely rough draft that was written largely in stream of consciousness fashion with very little forethought.
Anyway, if you still want to read it after getting that glowing review, feel free. There’s also a link to it if you click on my Profile. Enjoy!
(Note: The graphic declaring me a “2004 NaNoWriMo Winner!” only indicates that I successfully wrote 50,000 words in a month, thereby successfully completing the challenge. It doesn’t mean I won an actual prize, or provide any indication of the actual quality of the story. So if you were thinking that I was just being humble in my critical assessment above, think again.)
The primary purpose of said purchase, of course, was to allow myself to be awoken by something a little more pleasant than the buzzing of an alarm.
When 4:15 am rolled around on Friday morning, I became vaguely aware of the sound of an audience cheering. In my semi-conscious state I thought, “Well, how nice. Yay me, apparently.”
As I drifted closer to wakefulness it became clear that the crowd wasn’t cheering for me, but rather for Sarah McLachlan, whose beautiful, beautiful (insert several more "beautifuls"), angelic voice helped pull me fully into consciousness.
I have to say that it’s not a bad way to wake up.
The only drawbacks are that I find that I’d much rather simply lie there in bed listening to Sarah sing than actually get up, and that I’d also much, much rather that Sarah herself were actually there to rouse me from my sleep, but alas, as I rolled over I found that, excepting myself, my bed was empty as usual.
Ah well.
With the exception of getting my annual review on Friday and being informed of how much of a raise I’ll be receiving (more money is always a good thing), the weekend was largely uneventful.
I was annoyed on Saturday and Sunday morning to find that I wasn’t alone in the fitness center for my morning workout. I read in “Men’s Health” once that, though we might not like it, we have a tendency to workout a little harder when someone else is working out at the same time. The competitive instinct, apparently.
Whether that’s truly the case, I can honestly say that I really wish he hadn’t been there. I like having the place to myself (though I wouldn’t be averse to having several hot chicks show up), and typically the fact that I’m there before 5 in the morning has assured me that I would.
I hope this isn’t the start of a trend, but if it is, I guess I’ll adapt.
Of course, by "adapt" I probably mean "stop working out and get fat."
Over the weekend Dell was having a big “Presidents’ Day Sale,” so Brian ended up ordering himself a new computer.
As I’ve got some spare money burning a hole in my bank account (In telling me about the Dell sale, Brian said, “I know what you can spend all that money on.”), I checked out their offerings myself, but ultimately decided against buying a new computer from them.
I had, however, been toying with the notion of buying/building a cheap computer to take the place of my secondary computer. I wouldn’t need anything too fancy, I’d just like to have something with a little more power, as the secondary computer (named Munin) is over four years old and was a rather low-end system to begin with.
I went to a couple of sites and looked through some “barebones” configurations, thinking that, if nothing else, I could salvage Munin’s hard drive and DVD ROM to keep the costs down.
The problem I kept running into, though, was that I was tempted to build a new main system instead, which would drive the costs up considerably, leading me to spend more money that I really want to (even though I really want to buy a new kick-ass computer).
Ultimately I ended up agreeing to buy Brian’s current 17” flat panel monitor for use with Munin (it’ll fit better on my kitchen counter), as he’s getting a new one with his new computer.
I also ordered two Microsoft Wireless Desktop 3.0 wireless keyboard/mouse combos. I wanted a wireless keyboard and mouse for Munin so that I wouldn’t have wires hanging off my counter, but while I was at it I figured I should get one for my main system as well (named Hugin, by the way). If you buy directly from M$ the combo costs $85, but I found a site selling them for $50 a piece. So it was a bargain, and how could I pass up a bargain?
Because Brian has been raving about the fingerprint reader he bought, which allows him to log in to any sites that require a password with a simple touch of his finger, I also considered purchasing the Microsoft Optical Desktop with Fingerprint Reader, but I wasn’t able to find it much cheaper online, so I opted against it.
I may well buy a separate fingerprint reader at some point, though. I’ve just got too many passwords at this point.
For a while I was considering buying myself a Media Center PC as my main system.
Honestly, what I’d really like to do is buy myself a new, kick-ass main system, then make Hugin my secondary system (and turn Munin into a Linux box), and also buy a Media Center PC, like this one, or a Digital Entertainment Center like this one, which I could use solely as my home theater.
Unfortunately I can only afford to do one or the other, so I think that I’m going to do neither.
I'll buy the LCD from Brian, hook up the new keyboards and mice, and leave it at that for a while.
Last week, drawing on the lessons we learned, Kathleen baked her own bread. Unlike our results in class, however, her bread turned out perfect and did not look like an aborted pig fetus the way ours did. So kudos to Kathleen!
For my part I’m unlikely to bake my own bread, as I almost never eat bread.
When I got home from work last night I found myself having an odd connectivity problem with my computer (Hugin).
For some reason I simply could not get online. I did a power cycle with all of my equipment, checked all of my settings, but no dice. Over on Munin I could connect with no problem, so my cable modem and router were both working properly. Hugin just refused to get online.
I messed around with a few things, gave up in frustration for a while, then went back to it and found that it was mysteriously working.
Shortly thereafter the connection dropped again.
I managed to reconnect to the router, but only at a very low signal strength, which meant that I didn't have enough signal to actually surf the Web.
The low signal strength was baffling, as the router is maybe five feet away from the wireless adapter on my computer.
Then I noticed something odd. The name of the wireless network I was connected to was “EU,” which is not the name of my network.
In fact, I was not connected to my wireless network; I was connected to a network belonging to one of my neighbors.
So I removed the neighbor’s network from the list, told the computer to connect to mine, and boom, back online with full signal strength.
I really don’t understand why that happened, but I’m guessing that at some point the signal from my router dropped, and my computer just latched onto the first signal it found, then moved that one up to the top of the list as the preferred network.
It’s hardly the first time my signal has dropped (which is pretty annoying), but that’s the first time I’ve seen the computer latch onto someone else’s network like that.
I’ve upgraded the firmware on the router in the hope that it will prevent me from losing my connection so often.
Last night, after straightening out the network issue, I spent a couple of hours chatting on AIM with Wendy, the young woman who took me to task for claiming that female comic fandom is a myth. I have to say that it’s interesting to talk to someone who knows a lot about comics and is also actually a girl.
For those of you who concern yourself about such things (namely my mom), Wendy is already involved, so no, this isn’t a potential romance for me, but I should think that by now it would be obvious that there’s about zero potential for romance in my life anyway.
In any case, one of these days I’ll write that entry about female fandom and women in comics that I mentioned last week, but that day isn’t today.
As for today, I did briefly venture out into the world, as I needed to pick up a few groceries.
I also had to stop in at my eye doctor’s office, as I needed to replace the little device that cleans and disinfects my contacts. Somewhere along the line the UV light in it that actually kills the germs stopped working, and recently the element that heats up the conditioning solution broke off.
So, since I was venturing out today and it’s sort of on the way, I stopped in to buy a new one.
I explained what I needed to the woman working there and why, and she asked, “Do you have the damaged unit with you?”
I said that I didn’t, and was a little puzzled by the look of concern that crossed her face. Was I only allowed to own one at a time? Is the broken one some kind of hazardous material that needs to be properly disposed of? Had I paid a deposit on it?
She said, “Well…okay....I’m going to trust you to bring it in, otherwise I’ll have to charge you for this one.”
Ahhh...that made sense. It seemed that I wasn’t going to have to buy a new one like I thought; I simply needed to swap the old one for a free replacement. Sweet!
I had thought that maybe there was a warranty on it, but I couldn’t remember for certain, and didn’t feel like packaging the old one up when I initially ventured out.
I probably should have, though, as after I'd done my shopping and gotten home I had to head back out to bring the old one back to the office.
And that more or less brings us up to date. I may be back with another entry later on.
In the meantime, just on the off-chance that there are any new Threshold readers stopping in today, here’s a plug for my novel blog.
I wrote the novel, titled “15,000 Years,” in order to contribute to National Novel Writing Month this past November.
This is my first (completed) novel, and to be perfectly honest, I don’t think it’s especially good. It has definite possibilities, and some day, when I’m not sick to death of it (writing 50,000+ words in less than 30 days can leave you feeling kind of burned out), I may return to it and rework it into something more coherent and engaging.
As it stands, though, it’s an extremely rough draft that was written largely in stream of consciousness fashion with very little forethought.
Anyway, if you still want to read it after getting that glowing review, feel free. There’s also a link to it if you click on my Profile. Enjoy!
(Note: The graphic declaring me a “2004 NaNoWriMo Winner!” only indicates that I successfully wrote 50,000 words in a month, thereby successfully completing the challenge. It doesn’t mean I won an actual prize, or provide any indication of the actual quality of the story. So if you were thinking that I was just being humble in my critical assessment above, think again.)
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