The Gee Whiz Factor

Despite the fact that MS is touting things like enhanced security, powerful search tools, and improved performance, the real selling points for Vista are the "gee whiz" features, such as the snazzy new "Aero" interface with its semi-transparent windows, and of course this, the 3D cascading effect for open windows that lets you flip through them to pick which one you want to switch to:



Before I moved files back on to the hard drive, I'd chosen a rather cool Northern Lights image from the included pictures for my desktop wallpaper, but soon I found myself missing Scarlett's backside, so I switched back to it.
You can see my latest work in progress in the "stack." That may actually be the last you see of it with the way it's going. Too much shadow, too low a resolution, too little talent..

Minor Annoyances That Are Majorly Annoying

Okay, now I have Word installed. That Google Docs thing was okay, but this is more familiar.
I’ve run into a few irritations so far with Vista, most notably the UAC (User Access Control) thing.
The idea behind it is that you don’t necessarily want programs (or other users) being able to modify settings or install programs wily-nily. In particular, you don’t want pieces of malware installing themselves or executing remote commands.
So basically whenever you or a program do something, a window pops up and asks you to confirm that it’s kosher.
If you’re a user without administrative privileges, you will not be allowed to do it, period.
But, if you are an administrator, all you have to do is click confirm.
While presumably better than nothing, it’s not exactly ideal security, in that it requires no validation of your credentials beyond the fact that you’re logged in, so conceivably there’s a pretty easy way around it (malware does something, UAC window pops up, malware clicks confirm).
Also, it’s kind of annoying.
Kind of really annoying, especially when you’re in the process of setting up a new install.
In fact, once incident was positively infuriating me (What are the odds?).
As should surprise no one, I have a lot of downloaded pictures. A lot.
Keeping them organized can be a hassle, particularly since the pictures come from so many different sources and so there is no sort of universal naming convention.
The solution to this problem that I’ve found is a program called Picasa from Google. It’s got a great “batch rename” feature that lets me select a group of pictures of, say, Scarlett Johansson, which have names like “18.jpg,” or, “sjoh11.jpg,” or whatever. With all of the disparately-named photos selected, I can then give them all names that adhere to the same convention. In my case, the convention is [name][image date][image size].
So, in the case of Scarlett you might end up with something like Scarlett Johansson 2-4-2007 3-30-10 AM 376x490. Each picture would follow that convention, with a difference in date and size to distinguish them (it appends a number to the name if all the other data is the same).
Anyway, I had a bunch of disorganized photos sitting around in different directories that needed to be renamed before being moved over to the main folder, so I figured that now was a good a time as any to go in and get them all renamed. So I reinstalled Picasa, went into the folders, renamed the pictures, then moved them over into the big picture directory…only to discover that they still had their old disorganized names. WTF?
I tried renaming them again. No dice. And yet, some pictures I could rename.
WTF, indeed.
After some investigation I realized that the pictures that I could use Picasa to rename were pictures I’d downloaded since upgrading.
So it was a permissions issue.
If I went into the folder and chose to rename one of the pre-upgrade pictures, I got the UAC window. This was not being invoked inside of Picasa, so the changes I made weren’t being applied.
To solve the problem I had to change the permissions on the folders to allow everyone to modify the contents, not just the “owner,” which was no longer me because those folders were created by a different version of Windows, and not just by the administrator on a case-by-case basis.
So yeah, irritating.
Anyway, on a non-Windows topic, I should mention the experience that led me to go out and by Vista: my root canal.
(I’ll get to how the one led to the other in a bit)
My appointment was originally for 10:10, but on Monday afternoon the Cute Girl With Big Boobs Who Can’t Say Massachusetts (CGWBBWCSM), whose name I should really find out, called to ask if I could come in a little earlier, so I agreed to show up for 9:30.
When I showed up CGWBBWCSM once again greeted me with great cheer, asking, “Are you prepared?”I said, “Sure.”
She said, “Did you eat anything?”
I said, “No.” After all, I’d slept as late as possible, allowing myself only enough time to shower and dress.
She gasped, then said, “You’re gonna starve!”
I said, “I’ll be fine.”
“Okay,” she said, dubiously.
Most people get rather nervous about root canals.
I don’t, but that’s just because I’ve had so many of them.
(Hey kids! Here’s a tip from Jon to you! Take care of your teeth!)
It went pretty much like all the others, and after about an hour or so I was ready to go, with a Valentine’s Day appointment to start work on my crown.
As I was checking out, CGWBBWCSM was puzzled by the instructions as to how to bill me and asked the dentist for some guidance. He explained it to her (I’m not sure I understood the issue), and she said, “I’m always kept in the dark.”
I think I thought something dirty at that point – in fact, I’m sure of it – but I can’t remember what it was. Instead I just sort of smiled sympathetically.
And then I was on my way.
Because I was already out and about I decided I’d head to Wal-Mart to pick up a few things. The thought then occurred to me, “While I’m there, I should pick up a copy of Vista.”
They were actually sold out, so I opted to hit the Best Buy near there on my way home, which is where I bought it.
And that pretty much brings us up to date (though I should mention that my mother called to see how my tooth was doing yesterday afternoon; I wasn’t especially talkative, as I was in the midst of my second upgrade attempt).
Anyway, now my time off is nearly at an end and soon I’ll be back in the three-day grind.

Trial And Mostly Error

Hmm.
I'm trying out the whole Google Doc & Spreadsheets thing (how Web 2.0 of me), as I have not yet gotten Office installed on the computer.
I did, however, manage to get Vista installed successfully.
Eventually.
For the first attempt I went with the Upgrade option, which is great in some ways (you keep your existing applications and data), but not really optimal for performance (a fresh install on an empty drive is ideal).
However, with Vista you actually have to have a version of Windows installed in order to be able to use the upgrade (with previous versions you could just put in a CD to prove that you have a version of Windows).
Anyway, during the information gathering period, the installer came back and said that there were three programs that I had to remove entirely before it could proceed.
Okay. I can understand that there might be compatibility problems with older programs that migh preven them from working in the new OS, but having to actually remove them? Well, whatever; I would be replacing those programs anyway.
Once that was done it came back and gave me a list of programs that might not work, but that they weren't deal-breakers like the other three, so I was cleared for takeoff.
The upgrade was underway and said it could take several hours (yikes), so I wandered off to the living room to fire up the Tablet PC to keep myself entertained.
Some time later I checked in on the progress and it seemed to be moving along smoothly.
A while later it said, "Please wait a moment while Windows prepares to launch for the first time." Okey dokey.
Next time I looked it appeared to be finishing up the install, saying, "Your upgrade has been successful." However, I was puzzled by the fact that it said it was rolling back to my previous version of Windows. WTF?
Wait a second, it said, "Your upgrade has not been successful."
Again, WTF?
Once it finished and I was back into XP, I went online to figure out what happened.I couldn't figure out what happened because, as I'd forgotten, people are useless.
Here are the typical results I got in my search:

Message board post: Vista said my upgrade was not successful, but didn't give any sort of error feedback.
Message board response: Buy a Mac.

Because, you know, that helps.
Hey Internet, you suck!
Anyway, I decided to try the other install option, which is to simply install it on the same drive as the existing version of Windows without upgrading.
Same thing.
During one of the restarts, though, I noticed that before Windows launched my computer was reporting a keyboard failure, as apparently it didn't recognize that my wireless keyboard was connected until Windows actually started.
It was a longshot, but could that have something to do with it?
Further, digging into old message board posts about the various beta releases, I found that the installer didn't seem to like being run from certain DVD ROM drives.
So, I plugged in an old keyboard, put the DVD in the other drive, and held my breath.
I exhaled once I saw it get past a point it had never gotten to before.
Suddenly, after 4 hours and 3 attempts, I had Vista!
Not sure what the X Factor was that made it work, whether it was the different drive, the other keyboard, or just some flaky bit of serendipity.
Once it started up it immediately began downloading updates (no surprises there), and then it began installing them. It got through the first 12 just fine, then the whole system crashed on lucky number 13.
Not a very promising start.
However, it became clear that the problem was that it had misidentified my wireless adapter and had attempted to download and install the wrong driver.
I couldn't find a working Vista driver for my wireless adapter (at the tim I was connected to the router via Ethernet, by the way, to make sure that I had an Internet connection should Vista not be able to use my wireless adapter), which is a few years old from a no-name brand.
I swapped Hugin's wireless adapter with Munin's, as Munin had a newer Netgear adapter, and Vista was able to find a suitable driver.
Next problem was sound, or rather, the lack of it.
There appeared to be a problem with the driver for my soundcard, so I spent (read: wasted) a good hour trying to find and install a new driver.
Then I noticed that the soundcard driver was already installed and Windows said it was working perfectly.
I then noticed that the little message in the notification area wasn't telling me that I didn't have a soundcard installed, like I thought, but that there were no speakers plugged in.
See, back when I upgraded my RAM, I had to disconnect everything, then reconnect it. Dell has these little pictograms next to the audio jacks that are utterly meaningless, so it's sort of by trial and error that you determine which one is for the speakers, which one is for the mic, and which one is the line out.
When I'd hooked everything back up then, I got sound, so I figured I'd gotten the right jack, and I ignored the little message that came up from "Sound Manager" saying that there was something plugged into the pink jack, and what did I want to do about that? I just told it to use them as rear speakers, which was one of the options, and thought that it was just some odd quirk.
Anyway, turns out that I had the speakers plugged into the line out jack, which was why Vista, without the benefit of Sound Manager, was unable to pump sound through them.
By that time it was pretty late in the day, and nearly time for my Tuesday night TV viewing. I managed to get Photoshop installed before setting my ass on the couch.
When I did the "cleanish" install, it didn't overwrite what was on the drive, it simply moved it into a folder called Windows.old. So all of my applications and data are still there, I just can't actually run most of the applications.
I hadn't been too worried about losing anything, as I'd backed up my data, but I forgot about my custom shapes, brushes, styles, and patterns in Photoshop, which all appeared lost, until I noticed the old Photoshop folder.
However, none of those things actually appeared to be saved there, as copying over the old folders has not made them reappear. Ah well.
Anyway, I'm still busily acquainting myself with Vista and getting it to where I need it to be, so I guess I'll get back to it.
Oh, and if you're wondering, overall, I like Vista so far. Not sure about the interface changes they made to Media Center, but I'm sure I'll get used to it.

Where Many Have Gone Before

I decided to pick up a copy of Windows Vista today.
I was going to just get Home Premium, but then said, "Screw it," and bought Ultimate, since Hugin is up to the task of running it.
Over the years I've upgraded the OS on many a computer without ever running into any serious issues.
Of course, there's a first time for everything. Here's hoping this isn't it.
Wish me luck.

The Eye(brow)s Have It

This morning when I was putting my contacts in I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror (something I usually try hard to avoid), and noticed that my eyebrows have this whole Jack Kirby devil horns thing going on.
I couldn't manage to take a picture that illustrated the effect, so I illustrated the effect:




It was the perfect symetry that made it so striking.
It's remeniscent of nothing so much as the brows of this classic Kirby villain, the demented DeSaad:



Coincidence, or a sign that I should brush up on my torturing and toadying skills?

Super Bowl? Is That Some Kind Of Baking Product?

Apparently there was some sort of sporting event yesterday.
As should be obvious, once again I didn’t watch the Super Bowl. I hadn’t even known who was in it until yesterday when I saw the teams (Bears and Colts?) mentioned on a Web site I was at.
I did check out some of the commercials online today. Meh.
Instead of the Super Bowl I watched a couple of different shows about the Bible on The National Geographic Channel and The History Channel.
One of the shows was about Noah’s Ark and whether or not there ever was a global flood. The answer? Probably not, though there may have been a really big flood in that region about 7,000 years ago that serves as the basis for the various flood myths.
I find it interesting that Creationists point to the fact that other people besides the Jews had flood myths as proof that a flood must have occurred. I mean, basically they’re saying “It must have happened because other people said it happened,” but it’s with the tacit understanding that it didn’t happen the way the other people said it did.
So the word of other people is valued up to a point.
The thing I wonder about believers who spend their lives in search of the Ark is why they’re bothering. I mean, if you believe the story, why do you need proof? If you’re trying to prove it to other people, that’s pointless, because faith isn’t about proof.
So really, looking for the Ark, or trying to prove that there was a global flood, and that one man could build a craft out of wood that could contain two of every animal (Including dinosaurs, according to many fundamentalists, and actually, it’s seven , or maybe even fourteen, of every “clean” animal and two of every “unclean” animal. Of course, as Robot Chicken tells us, Noah did not take any of the “freaks,” like dragons and unicorns. Makes you wonder why Noah took the duck-billed platypus along, though. I’m not clear on whether or not dinosaurs fell into the clean or unclean category.), along with sufficient food for all of the animals, many of which actually feed on the other animals present (but agreed not to eat them for the duration of the trip), and have said craft withstands storms the likes of which would easily sink modern ships, is rather pointless, because you’re really not going to have much luck getting non-believers to believe even if you do find the remains of a big-ass old boat on top of some mountain in Turkey.
But whatever. If you want to go looking for the Animal Love Boat, knock yourself out.
Far be it from me to try to tell you what to believe. I mean, it’s not like there are any Christians who would try to tell other people what to believe, right?
The antibiotics seems to be doing their job, and so the left side of my face is not nearly so swollen and sore as it had been yesterday, and as my tooth doesn’t hurt at all unless I do something to aggravate it (and damn does it ever hurt if I do something to aggravate it), I have no need for the painkillers, and so my brain is not nearly so fuzzy as it had been.
I think hunger was adding to the befuddlement as well. Sometime yesterday evening I decided that chicken broth, tomato soup, and applesauce just weren’t cutting it, especially after watching a show about the development of the pizza on The History Channel, so I ended up throwing a pizza into the oven, then spending a half an hour very slowly and very carefully eating it. I remain amazed that I was able to do so without causing myself to pass out from pain.
I ventured out briefly this morning and discovered that it’s frickin’ cold out there, even by my standards. I picked up a couple more of those Duraflame logs to give myself some added warmth and ambience tonight.
In any case, that pretty much brings you up to date, in case you were worried that you were missing out on something with the lack of a substantial post yesterday.

Yikes

The title pretty much sums it up; there's really not much more that can be said about this woman who is obsessed with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Brain No Work

The combination of pain and painkillers is making it sort of hard to...umm....you know, do that...umm...thing. You know, the thing most people don't do anyway.
Think.
Yeah, that's it.
So no real posts today.
Sorry, but I'm sure you'll get by somehow.