Found here.
Friday, January 21, 2011
Things Cascade
About two months ago, my daughter's Dell laptop died. Something happened to the hard drive, and she could not recover. The 'recovery partition', which had saved her on other occasions, was dead in the water. We were very reluctant to get her another one, as there is an aging desktop in the home office that works well enough for her to do her stuff, and, of course, get on Facebook. That we are frequently in and out of there is something she isn't thrilled about, but she survives.
In December, my wife's company had a sale on laptops. We bought one, with the intention of giving it to her when her birthday came around in a couple of months. I'm not exactly sure what moved us to do this. A little bit of it was that our own laptop was starting to be a tad unreliable. Like the desktop, it was good enough, but every so often,it would be really slow, or do something helpful -- as when the cat would brush against it, and the screen part would fall backwards (the famous poor Dell hinge). I understand that now they actually sell laptops where the hinge can be repaired without having to disassemble the laptop, but as we swore a mighty oath to never get a Dell again, I'll likely not know.
This month, we started thinking about replacing our cell phones. The model that my wife and I use is bare bones basic -- a candy-bar style that makes calls, and thats it. No web, no apps. I understand there are a couple of games on it -- my daughter's found them when she's borrowed one of our phones -- but I've never tried to play one. But over time I've noticed that it sure would be nice if the phone had a scheduling application. I remembered fondly when I had a Casio PDA where I could carry my schedule around, make notes, all that sort of thing. I really, really liked that PDA. And I was getting a little tired, whenever around kids of my daughter's age, of noticing that their phones were way better than mine. I have no use for mobile web or email access, but the things that their's could do amazed me.
So we started to think about replacing our phones. Verizon, which does our home phone (yes, we still have a landline - two, in fact) and our TV service, seems to have some decent ones. Of course, it would mean going from a pay-as-you-go, with ATT, to a contract plan with Verizon. (I understand that Verizon does have a PAYG, too.) But the prices aren't terrible -- though the net effect would still be a little more than twice what we pay now. We also thought that it might be good if any phone we got was GSM capable, so that we could use it in France. (Are we likely to call anyone while in France? Probably not.) So getting a phone that could do that would be fairly nice.
Of course, this would mean a new phone for my daughter, too. Fairs fair, after all. We thought she'd like that -- she's mentioned how she thinks her phone is awkward. I think she's noticed the nifty other ones, too. Whenever we see her cousin, she notices -- as I do -- that the cousin is totally wired, with a Kindle, a laptop, and a nifty little phone. The cousin's family has more money than us, and they are willing to Buy Her Things. We introduced the idea to the daughter, and at first she was cool to the idea -- the kid who said she could use a new phone now said Well, would I have to get a new phone? My wife thinks this is because we stress to her that she has to make choices, which she interprets as If I get a new phone, what don't I get that I would rather have? We don't know that this is her logic, but if it is, we like it.
Which leads us back to the laptop. Should she get a new phone and a new laptop at the same time? There's no inherent reason not to, but still.... so now we think Okay, we'll give her our old laptop and the new phone, and we'll take the new laptop. Which means leaving the comfortable environs of Windows XP for the slightly scary neighborhood of Windows 7, where you can't change the way things are presented in menus, no matter how much you hate it. But still: okay. Secretly, I start copying applications over to the new laptop. It's going well. And then my wife points out that I should try the absolute oldest application we have. Quicken. Its about, oh, fifteen years old.
It doesn't work. Apparently, some applications that old can be made to work under W7 via Compatibility Mode This and Administrator Rights That, but Q is not apparently one of them. We're going to have to upgrade it.
Rats. We tried an upgrade of Quicken about four years ago, and I absolutely hated it. Freaking pop-up ads everywhere. I didn't just throw it out, I destroyed the CDs on which it arrived. And looking at the promo for it on the Quicken site didn't delight me -- much, much bright lights and snappy colors, not much clear and sober detail. But I didn't like the idea of Mint (my data? in the cloud? Where anyone can get to it because, ooops, we forgot to secure it adequately? Not to mention, since Mint is owned by the same people that sell Quicken, perhaps mined for marketing opportunities? No thanks), and the other money-managers didn't seem all that great. Microsoft Money doesn't even exist any more. Others assume you have a Mac, or Linux. There is one other for Windows, but I couldn't remember its name.
So, because my daughter's laptop hard drive died, we're upgrading Quicken. I can hardly wait. But I'm buying it through Amazon. I don't like it, its going back immediately. Keep the box!
In December, my wife's company had a sale on laptops. We bought one, with the intention of giving it to her when her birthday came around in a couple of months. I'm not exactly sure what moved us to do this. A little bit of it was that our own laptop was starting to be a tad unreliable. Like the desktop, it was good enough, but every so often,it would be really slow, or do something helpful -- as when the cat would brush against it, and the screen part would fall backwards (the famous poor Dell hinge). I understand that now they actually sell laptops where the hinge can be repaired without having to disassemble the laptop, but as we swore a mighty oath to never get a Dell again, I'll likely not know.
This month, we started thinking about replacing our cell phones. The model that my wife and I use is bare bones basic -- a candy-bar style that makes calls, and thats it. No web, no apps. I understand there are a couple of games on it -- my daughter's found them when she's borrowed one of our phones -- but I've never tried to play one. But over time I've noticed that it sure would be nice if the phone had a scheduling application. I remembered fondly when I had a Casio PDA where I could carry my schedule around, make notes, all that sort of thing. I really, really liked that PDA. And I was getting a little tired, whenever around kids of my daughter's age, of noticing that their phones were way better than mine. I have no use for mobile web or email access, but the things that their's could do amazed me.
So we started to think about replacing our phones. Verizon, which does our home phone (yes, we still have a landline - two, in fact) and our TV service, seems to have some decent ones. Of course, it would mean going from a pay-as-you-go, with ATT, to a contract plan with Verizon. (I understand that Verizon does have a PAYG, too.) But the prices aren't terrible -- though the net effect would still be a little more than twice what we pay now. We also thought that it might be good if any phone we got was GSM capable, so that we could use it in France. (Are we likely to call anyone while in France? Probably not.) So getting a phone that could do that would be fairly nice.
Of course, this would mean a new phone for my daughter, too. Fairs fair, after all. We thought she'd like that -- she's mentioned how she thinks her phone is awkward. I think she's noticed the nifty other ones, too. Whenever we see her cousin, she notices -- as I do -- that the cousin is totally wired, with a Kindle, a laptop, and a nifty little phone. The cousin's family has more money than us, and they are willing to Buy Her Things. We introduced the idea to the daughter, and at first she was cool to the idea -- the kid who said she could use a new phone now said Well, would I have to get a new phone? My wife thinks this is because we stress to her that she has to make choices, which she interprets as If I get a new phone, what don't I get that I would rather have? We don't know that this is her logic, but if it is, we like it.
Which leads us back to the laptop. Should she get a new phone and a new laptop at the same time? There's no inherent reason not to, but still.... so now we think Okay, we'll give her our old laptop and the new phone, and we'll take the new laptop. Which means leaving the comfortable environs of Windows XP for the slightly scary neighborhood of Windows 7, where you can't change the way things are presented in menus, no matter how much you hate it. But still: okay. Secretly, I start copying applications over to the new laptop. It's going well. And then my wife points out that I should try the absolute oldest application we have. Quicken. Its about, oh, fifteen years old.
It doesn't work. Apparently, some applications that old can be made to work under W7 via Compatibility Mode This and Administrator Rights That, but Q is not apparently one of them. We're going to have to upgrade it.
Rats. We tried an upgrade of Quicken about four years ago, and I absolutely hated it. Freaking pop-up ads everywhere. I didn't just throw it out, I destroyed the CDs on which it arrived. And looking at the promo for it on the Quicken site didn't delight me -- much, much bright lights and snappy colors, not much clear and sober detail. But I didn't like the idea of Mint (my data? in the cloud? Where anyone can get to it because, ooops, we forgot to secure it adequately? Not to mention, since Mint is owned by the same people that sell Quicken, perhaps mined for marketing opportunities? No thanks), and the other money-managers didn't seem all that great. Microsoft Money doesn't even exist any more. Others assume you have a Mac, or Linux. There is one other for Windows, but I couldn't remember its name.
So, because my daughter's laptop hard drive died, we're upgrading Quicken. I can hardly wait. But I'm buying it through Amazon. I don't like it, its going back immediately. Keep the box!
Closed?
Last night, they predicted two to four inches of snow for our area. We almost always get at the low end. Below the low end.
This morning, there is a light dusting on the ground. Schools in an arc around us are starting two hours late.
And our district? Opening as usual. On time.
As a parent, I should think that this is a good thing. But as a former kid.....
Ironically, since it's the local public broadcasting station that reports this, I'm mad at them.
This morning, there is a light dusting on the ground. Schools in an arc around us are starting two hours late.
And our district? Opening as usual. On time.
As a parent, I should think that this is a good thing. But as a former kid.....
Ironically, since it's the local public broadcasting station that reports this, I'm mad at them.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Giving the Finger
Just had something scary happen.
I was lying in bed, using the laptop. Went to put it away, and I could barely move my left thumb. From up against the index finger, it'd move about a half inch, and stop. I rubbed it vigorously, and in about two minutes, I had normal flexibility.
I've had a bent toe for about two years -- just popped up one day -- which the doc says is arthritis. And every so often, I go to flex the fingers on that hand, and they're just a bit stiff. So I'm guessing that's what this is. Only, worse.
Did not like it.
I was lying in bed, using the laptop. Went to put it away, and I could barely move my left thumb. From up against the index finger, it'd move about a half inch, and stop. I rubbed it vigorously, and in about two minutes, I had normal flexibility.
I've had a bent toe for about two years -- just popped up one day -- which the doc says is arthritis. And every so often, I go to flex the fingers on that hand, and they're just a bit stiff. So I'm guessing that's what this is. Only, worse.
Did not like it.
Picture
I like this image. I see smart people working seriously. Doesn't hurt that it's my team, of course.
Dreamin'
Well, it happened again. I dreamt in French.
Only this time, every so often.... I understood what I was saying.
Oh, syntactically incorrect all over the place, but still....
Only this time, every so often.... I understood what I was saying.
Oh, syntactically incorrect all over the place, but still....
Monday, January 17, 2011
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Blue? You Bet!
That's the color of the new piece of apparel my daughter just picked up.
Blue. As in, belt. As in, American Style Karate.
Okay, watching your only daughter get kicked in the face during the sparring part of the evaluation, such that two instructors went over to examine her, wasn't so hot. But being an intermediate rather than a novice? Someone who can now teach the white and orange belts? And learning that she has a fast, aggressive close-in sparring style?
Hot diggety!
Blue. As in, belt. As in, American Style Karate.
Okay, watching your only daughter get kicked in the face during the sparring part of the evaluation, such that two instructors went over to examine her, wasn't so hot. But being an intermediate rather than a novice? Someone who can now teach the white and orange belts? And learning that she has a fast, aggressive close-in sparring style?
Hot diggety!
Learnin'
Why French is fun.
Is this your daughter?xxxxIs-this what it-is your daughter?xxxxEst-ce que c'est votre fille?
When was she born?xxxxWhen is-this who'she is born?xxxxxQuand est-ce qu'elle est neé?
As distinct from English, which is, of course, relentlessly rational.
Is this your daughter?xxxxIs-this what it-is your daughter?xxxxEst-ce que c'est votre fille?
When was she born?xxxxWhen is-this who'she is born?xxxxxQuand est-ce qu'elle est neé?
As distinct from English, which is, of course, relentlessly rational.
Friday, January 14, 2011
Eyes
I'm not one to call photographs amazing, stunning, or any of that. Many are quite good, but amazing? Not really.
These macrophotographs of the surface of the eye are.
These macrophotographs of the surface of the eye are.
Driving In
Sometimes, my daughter needs to be driven in to school.
Usually, it's because she's been up late the night before, and usually that's because she's been at color guard, which lately has been running from six thirty to ten at night. Twice a week. (Plus 'sectionals', which happens right after school. And Saturday practice, which tends to run about four hours.) Then she comes home, and if she's still got homework to do, she finishes it. Or she tells us she's finished it, actually planning to a) do that in study hall, b) play the odds that she won't get asked for proof of completion, or c) both.
My wife tends to regard having to drive her in as a nuisance, but the truth is that I kind of like it. We listen to the radio, and sometimes we talk about what they've discussed. This morning, the topic was assassins, and assassinations. I didn't catch the entire article, but apparently a massive study of assassins was concluded in which it was found that assassins are not, for the most part, crazy, and not, for the most part, acting on behalf of a political movement. They do tend to have some mental health issues, notably feelings of alienation, inconsequentiality, and depression, and they do occasionally ally themselves with a political point of view, but neither of those are primary factors. To over-simplify it, they're looking for a chance to get instant fame without having to actually do something fame-worthy in the normal course of events, and they conclude that assassination is the way to go. One fellow specifically targeted a sitting vice-president because he learned that no one had ever done that before, so he thought his chances of fame - they might even give me my own chapter in a book -- were greater. This is not the thought process of a crazy person.
So we talked a little about assassins, and about protective societies. I said that I'd hate to be the people who have to take this new knowledge and do something useful with it. I can just see people saying Well, the President's coming to town, we need to lock up all of the crazies, but also all of the disenchanted and alienated. Which sounds funny, but it's not. Used to be, I told her, that the Fourth Amendment pretty seriously protected against unreasonable search and seizure. You couldn't be jailed or even interrogated just because a cop didn't like the style of your hat. But with the terrorists being so prevalent, that amendment, and the definition of what's 'unreasonable', is being stretched a lot. Quite a lot. Check the TSA gropers, for example.
Talking with your daughter. Good stuff.
Usually, it's because she's been up late the night before, and usually that's because she's been at color guard, which lately has been running from six thirty to ten at night. Twice a week. (Plus 'sectionals', which happens right after school. And Saturday practice, which tends to run about four hours.) Then she comes home, and if she's still got homework to do, she finishes it. Or she tells us she's finished it, actually planning to a) do that in study hall, b) play the odds that she won't get asked for proof of completion, or c) both.
My wife tends to regard having to drive her in as a nuisance, but the truth is that I kind of like it. We listen to the radio, and sometimes we talk about what they've discussed. This morning, the topic was assassins, and assassinations. I didn't catch the entire article, but apparently a massive study of assassins was concluded in which it was found that assassins are not, for the most part, crazy, and not, for the most part, acting on behalf of a political movement. They do tend to have some mental health issues, notably feelings of alienation, inconsequentiality, and depression, and they do occasionally ally themselves with a political point of view, but neither of those are primary factors. To over-simplify it, they're looking for a chance to get instant fame without having to actually do something fame-worthy in the normal course of events, and they conclude that assassination is the way to go. One fellow specifically targeted a sitting vice-president because he learned that no one had ever done that before, so he thought his chances of fame - they might even give me my own chapter in a book -- were greater. This is not the thought process of a crazy person.
So we talked a little about assassins, and about protective societies. I said that I'd hate to be the people who have to take this new knowledge and do something useful with it. I can just see people saying Well, the President's coming to town, we need to lock up all of the crazies, but also all of the disenchanted and alienated. Which sounds funny, but it's not. Used to be, I told her, that the Fourth Amendment pretty seriously protected against unreasonable search and seizure. You couldn't be jailed or even interrogated just because a cop didn't like the style of your hat. But with the terrorists being so prevalent, that amendment, and the definition of what's 'unreasonable', is being stretched a lot. Quite a lot. Check the TSA gropers, for example.
Talking with your daughter. Good stuff.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Observation
There are times when I get really, really tired of studying French. Usually when I'm thinking that I am never going to acheive any sort of fluency.
Frenched
Well, once again, I'm thinking tell me why I want to go to France? And, as before, it's because our summer guest has displayed less than overwhelming fascination with us - to wit:
hello
please can you stop to comment my publication and one my friends because they didnt understand why you speak him and they dont know you please
Okay, so her English isn't so hot. Neither is my French. I figured out (once you get past the syntax problems of him/her/it) that she was asking me not to comment on her Facebook wall. I exchanged notes with her, and it turns out that her friends wonder who this bearded guy is that occasionally posts in stilted French, and it's embarassing her. Well, okay, I can understand that. In fact, I asked her a few months ago if it would have that effect, and she said no, her friends didn't do that. Well, guess they're learned.
Even so, it makes me just a little sad - ma petite fille grandit! - which makes me think Do I really want to see her again? And the answer is Of course you do - and her family, and the Saône et Loire area where she lives, all of which seems to be quite pretty. So I suck it up. The double 'please', though likely simply a translation artifact, helps. It reminds me that I really do like this kid.
I did consider adding a phrase to the little cheat sheet of phrases I absolutely want to be able to say (I carry it in the car and review it when at stop lights) just in case I meet any of her friends, that being: L'âge légal du consentement en France est encore quinze ans, non? -- but my wife says I can't do that.
hello
please can you stop to comment my publication and one my friends because they didnt understand why you speak him and they dont know you please
Okay, so her English isn't so hot. Neither is my French. I figured out (once you get past the syntax problems of him/her/it) that she was asking me not to comment on her Facebook wall. I exchanged notes with her, and it turns out that her friends wonder who this bearded guy is that occasionally posts in stilted French, and it's embarassing her. Well, okay, I can understand that. In fact, I asked her a few months ago if it would have that effect, and she said no, her friends didn't do that. Well, guess they're learned.
Even so, it makes me just a little sad - ma petite fille grandit! - which makes me think Do I really want to see her again? And the answer is Of course you do - and her family, and the Saône et Loire area where she lives, all of which seems to be quite pretty. So I suck it up. The double 'please', though likely simply a translation artifact, helps. It reminds me that I really do like this kid.
I did consider adding a phrase to the little cheat sheet of phrases I absolutely want to be able to say (I carry it in the car and review it when at stop lights) just in case I meet any of her friends, that being: L'âge légal du consentement en France est encore quinze ans, non? -- but my wife says I can't do that.
Sunday, January 09, 2011
Palin and Arizona
I really can't see those who say that because Palin listed that Arizona congresswoman's seat as being one of those 'in her crosshairs', she's somehow responsible for the shooting. She's responsible for many hideous things, but this isn't one of them.
Dentists
A joke paper I read had this comment:
Dentists should just advertise "We won't give you grief about your flossing or brushing. We'll just fix the damage".
I'd totally go.
Dentists should just advertise "We won't give you grief about your flossing or brushing. We'll just fix the damage".
I'd totally go.
Thumbs Up
There are thumb drives....and then there are seriously creative nicely designed Objects of Desire thumb drives.
Saturday, January 08, 2011
En Kindle? Et En Francais? Mais Non!
I came across the Christine Thompson Blog this afternoon while mulling over the idea of getting a Kindle purely for a) an easy-to-access detailed French-English dictionary, and b) reading material for our French trip (I think of our summer guest as she ran out of French material to read, and I shudder. I need to read.) The blog is quite good -- well written and interesting.
Here's what she had to say on the subject, speaking of a friend with much the same quest:
Here's what she had to say on the subject, speaking of a friend with much the same quest:
Her dream: read French novels, newspapers and magazines on a conveniently portable device like the Kindle. Current releases, not just 19th century public domain books. Because she’s passionate about perfecting her French comprehension and pronunciation skills, she’d love to read while listening to a simultaneous playback via MP3 (or equivalent).
French is not her native language, so she wants to be able to select unfamiliar words on the Kindle, thereby launching a built-in dictionary whose entries explain their meaning. She’d also welcome the option of viewing French-to-English translations of unknown words and slang (a must-have for people whose French is less fluent than hers.)
The conclusion is: the technology and infrastructure are not hardly there at all, at the moment. And no immediate prospect of improvement, either, due to multiple factors.
Well, heck.
Friday, January 07, 2011
Reading
Finally finished The Traveler, by John Twelve Hawks. It's been my leave in the car to read while you're waiting book. I really liked it. First time in a while that I came to the end of a book and really didn't want to know how it ends.... just in case something bad happened to one of the characters. Turns out there are sequels, too. Hmm....
Thursday, January 06, 2011
Magical Mousse Powers
I cannot stand it when I make a very simple recipe that does not turn out well. I don't take it as a personal failing that it didn't turn out the way it did for the guy showing it (My daughter:Don't take it personally, Dad....he probably has magical mousse powers) but it does drive me crazy that I don't know why.
Basic Instinct
If this is the screen test, I'm lucky not to have seen the movie. I doubt my libido could handle it.
Tuesday, January 04, 2011
Check
Based on the call I just got from the van dealer, when the Check Engine light comes on, the symbol should be a little dollar sign. More than one, in fact.
SWAT Rocks and CDI
This is an old article about what works in getting the job done, and what's just window dressing, or worse. But I just came across it again, and I still like it. A quick read.
Last Five Minutes
I stopped believing in simple fixes, years ago. Especially when it came to organizations, I just could not bring myself to believe that they would work. Too much hearing about 'quality' and how 'just doing this' would make the organization better. It never did. It always seemed to me that simple fixes couldn't work, that life was more complicated than that, that businesses more complex than that. Sure, simple fixes had the potential to work, but they had to be implemented with a sense of purpose, as part of an overriding structure. The visible manifestation of a much deeper and pervasive change. The frosting, not the cake itself.
So it's quite surprising to me that when I read this article on a simple thing to do with the last five minutes of your day, I thought you know, that might just work.
Perhaps I've been away from work long enough for some of the cynicism they taught me to wear off.
So it's quite surprising to me that when I read this article on a simple thing to do with the last five minutes of your day, I thought you know, that might just work.
Perhaps I've been away from work long enough for some of the cynicism they taught me to wear off.
Morning? Guh...
The daughteroid is not happy. Seems her mother used the online lookup to see how her grades were, and discovered that a) she's got a low grade in one class where we thought she'd addressed it, and b) part of that is that she failed to turn in something minor which would have boosted her grade a bit.
Just exactly how she was hoping to start her day.
Just exactly how she was hoping to start her day.
Sunday, January 02, 2011
Phrases
Sometimes we say things, and we really don't know what we're talking about.
Take our Lexmark printer, for example. It's plugged directly into our desktop PC. Any of the wireless laptops (is that redundant?) can print to it -- the address is \\Desktop\Printer, which means that it's logically part of the desktop. That computer has to be on in order to print to the printer. This is a minor pain when you want to print, but since you usually have to go into the room to turn on the printer anyway, it's not that big of a deal.
Now that we find that the new Windows 7 PC can't print to that printer -- don't know why; my guess is that its a driver problem, but I have to admit that I have only a general idea of what that means -- we're thinking that we should get a new printer. We don't want to, but we do want the new PC to be able to print, so, barring a driver specifically for Windows 7 showing up for the HP laptop, what choice do we have? (Lexmark says use the vista driver, but that doesn't work. Why it doesn't work, I have no idea. It just doesn't.) So we did some research, and found that the HP 4500 printer, which is a wireless printer, would work - supports XP and Windows 7. It also has wireless connectivity, so we could plug it in anywhere and print to it. Not necessary to turn on the desktop. Okay, this is good. We went to Staples to look at it.
First off, we were dismayed to find that it makes a lot of noise when it starts. Thats something the Lexmark does, too, and we really don't like it. I don't know if its the cartridges moving or the scan head positioning, I don't like it. But, okay, it has a power saver mode, so I suppose it would be okay to leave it on all the time. It does say wireless, so that's good. The wireless feature adds $30 to the price, but that is okay. Then we think: the printer is going to sit about four feet from the router. Why can't we just connect it to the router and forego the 'wireless' part? In which case, why can't we just buy the non-wireless version? In fact, why can't we just connect our existing printer to the router? Well, sure, that wouldn't address the Windows 7 problem, but until that is, we wouldn't have to turn on the desktop PC to get to it.
So when we get home, we look, and the cable from the printer to the desktop is a USB cable. I unplug it from there, plug it into the router, which has five CAT5 plugs and one USB plug. Try to find it on the network. Nope. Try to add it to the network. Nope. Try printing to the existing definition, the one that includes the desktop as part of its name. Nope, though I'd have been surprised if it did. So we conclude that just plugging it into the router isn't going to work. Plug it back into the desktop, the printer immediately starts and kicks out the page I'd created. We talk about it. If plugging THIS printer directly into the router didn't make it addressable, why should I assume that plugging the NEW one would? Maybe they assume it'll be plugged into a PC, not a router? Which would bring us pretty much back to where we started. Then again, if its wireless, it doesn't need the cable, so maybe it could work directly with a router. Maybe.
Sometimes.....
Take our Lexmark printer, for example. It's plugged directly into our desktop PC. Any of the wireless laptops (is that redundant?) can print to it -- the address is \\Desktop\Printer, which means that it's logically part of the desktop. That computer has to be on in order to print to the printer. This is a minor pain when you want to print, but since you usually have to go into the room to turn on the printer anyway, it's not that big of a deal.
Now that we find that the new Windows 7 PC can't print to that printer -- don't know why; my guess is that its a driver problem, but I have to admit that I have only a general idea of what that means -- we're thinking that we should get a new printer. We don't want to, but we do want the new PC to be able to print, so, barring a driver specifically for Windows 7 showing up for the HP laptop, what choice do we have? (Lexmark says use the vista driver, but that doesn't work. Why it doesn't work, I have no idea. It just doesn't.) So we did some research, and found that the HP 4500 printer, which is a wireless printer, would work - supports XP and Windows 7. It also has wireless connectivity, so we could plug it in anywhere and print to it. Not necessary to turn on the desktop. Okay, this is good. We went to Staples to look at it.
First off, we were dismayed to find that it makes a lot of noise when it starts. Thats something the Lexmark does, too, and we really don't like it. I don't know if its the cartridges moving or the scan head positioning, I don't like it. But, okay, it has a power saver mode, so I suppose it would be okay to leave it on all the time. It does say wireless, so that's good. The wireless feature adds $30 to the price, but that is okay. Then we think: the printer is going to sit about four feet from the router. Why can't we just connect it to the router and forego the 'wireless' part? In which case, why can't we just buy the non-wireless version? In fact, why can't we just connect our existing printer to the router? Well, sure, that wouldn't address the Windows 7 problem, but until that is, we wouldn't have to turn on the desktop PC to get to it.
So when we get home, we look, and the cable from the printer to the desktop is a USB cable. I unplug it from there, plug it into the router, which has five CAT5 plugs and one USB plug. Try to find it on the network. Nope. Try to add it to the network. Nope. Try printing to the existing definition, the one that includes the desktop as part of its name. Nope, though I'd have been surprised if it did. So we conclude that just plugging it into the router isn't going to work. Plug it back into the desktop, the printer immediately starts and kicks out the page I'd created. We talk about it. If plugging THIS printer directly into the router didn't make it addressable, why should I assume that plugging the NEW one would? Maybe they assume it'll be plugged into a PC, not a router? Which would bring us pretty much back to where we started. Then again, if its wireless, it doesn't need the cable, so maybe it could work directly with a router. Maybe.
Sometimes.....
Saturday, January 01, 2011
Friday, December 31, 2010
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Alarming
Getting out of the van this evening, I set off the car alarm. I'd had that button taped over, but the tape had apparently eroded. To turn off the silly thing, you have to start the car, which of course would take any New York City kid about thirteen seconds if he was wearing gloves. Plus, the HONK HONK HONK is so common, we assume that it's someone who inadvertantly set it off. We don't even look up. About the extent of our involvement is to swear mildly if it goes on for more than a few seconds.
Man falls into a vat at the chocolate factory. Flailing about, he screams FIRE!!! People come running, and they drag him out. Why'd you yell Fire? they ask. He replies "If I'd yelled Chocolate, would you have come?"
What's needed is an alarm that's truly alarming. Something that gets your attention. Something like -- a scream. Recorded in your voice, blasted into the air. Shouting your name. (And transmitting it to the cops, just to keep it being used as a prank). Bellowing HELP!!!!!
All this as an installable dealer option.
I would turn and look. Wouldn't you?
Man falls into a vat at the chocolate factory. Flailing about, he screams FIRE!!! People come running, and they drag him out. Why'd you yell Fire? they ask. He replies "If I'd yelled Chocolate, would you have come?"
What's needed is an alarm that's truly alarming. Something that gets your attention. Something like -- a scream. Recorded in your voice, blasted into the air. Shouting your name. (And transmitting it to the cops, just to keep it being used as a prank). Bellowing HELP!!!!!
All this as an installable dealer option.
I would turn and look. Wouldn't you?
Ten Things
This article, about the ten most important things they didn't teach in your school (mine, neither), is written to be funny. But the really funny thing is that if you read it -- it's absolutely true. Some of them, I wish they were real classes.
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Casual Delight
I received an email this morning from a French friend.
Not the one we'd had here, but her mother. From whom I'd despaired of ever hearing. Whom I'd convinced myself had in fact washed her hands of us, including any offers to visit with them at their home in France.
The email was to ask when we expected to come there, so that they could be sure they'd be available.
To say that I was, and am, delighted, is to put it mildly.
Not the one we'd had here, but her mother. From whom I'd despaired of ever hearing. Whom I'd convinced myself had in fact washed her hands of us, including any offers to visit with them at their home in France.
The email was to ask when we expected to come there, so that they could be sure they'd be available.
To say that I was, and am, delighted, is to put it mildly.
RoboRat
I am as likely as anyone to panic at the thought of what evil can be accomplished with a group of bright young people and cutting edge technology. Take, for example, the recent financial meltdown, which was born from greed and facilitated by technology. But when I read articles like this one about a robot that's controlled by rat brain cells which have been cultured -- I'm obscurely delighted. I see improvements for paralyzed people. That it also is a step closer to cybernetic RoboCops..... well, I'll table that fear for the moment.
Yet Again...
We're all going in different directions today.
Right now - well, not right now - I'm studying French. This morning I realized that the 'wagon lits' of The Orient Express referred to 'sleeping cars', 'lit' being French for bed, which knowledge made me happy. Just after lunch, I'm going over to the hospital to talk with a woman for whom I've been doing some pro bono consulting (I put it that way because it sounds classier than 'something to keep me off the streets', plus it reminds me that I would like to earn some money doing this).
My wife is over at the elementary school, starting the project of sewing the incredibly complex flags for this season's color guard. In about ninety minutes she'll be home for a quick lunch, then going up to her mother's home to attend the funeral of a relative who died abruptly two days ago. She'll be back mid-tomorrow, in time to bake the manicotti she's making as dinner for the color guard folks (dinners are supplied by volunteer parents).
My daughter's over at the same school, doing one of her twelve hour practices that are so intense, she was limping this morning from the practice yesterday, the concept of 'vacation' having apparently eluded their instructors.
I'm pretty sure the cat is just staying here today, so that's something.
Right now - well, not right now - I'm studying French. This morning I realized that the 'wagon lits' of The Orient Express referred to 'sleeping cars', 'lit' being French for bed, which knowledge made me happy. Just after lunch, I'm going over to the hospital to talk with a woman for whom I've been doing some pro bono consulting (I put it that way because it sounds classier than 'something to keep me off the streets', plus it reminds me that I would like to earn some money doing this).
My wife is over at the elementary school, starting the project of sewing the incredibly complex flags for this season's color guard. In about ninety minutes she'll be home for a quick lunch, then going up to her mother's home to attend the funeral of a relative who died abruptly two days ago. She'll be back mid-tomorrow, in time to bake the manicotti she's making as dinner for the color guard folks (dinners are supplied by volunteer parents).
My daughter's over at the same school, doing one of her twelve hour practices that are so intense, she was limping this morning from the practice yesterday, the concept of 'vacation' having apparently eluded their instructors.
I'm pretty sure the cat is just staying here today, so that's something.
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Learning
I spend a fair amount of time studying French. It's coming....slowly. Based on the little I've accomplished, I can say: This guy knows what he's talking about.
Monday, December 27, 2010
Concepts
The Terminator is essentially the same movie as A Christmas Carol. What? Yeah.....it is, when you really think about it.
The trick is to come up with that connection without reading the article. Or, having read it, to reliably apply it elsewhere.
Oh, and how can a Bond film be a great film but not a great Bond film? (Hint: When you like it but don't want to watch it more than once.)
The trick is to come up with that connection without reading the article. Or, having read it, to reliably apply it elsewhere.
Oh, and how can a Bond film be a great film but not a great Bond film? (Hint: When you like it but don't want to watch it more than once.)
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Snow? Wha?
No snow here yet. Maybe a trace by tomorrow. I know, I should be happy. Still.....
But I got to play with my new torch!
But I got to play with my new torch!
Sing It, Dudes!
When I was in high school, my very large chorus, on its way home from a Saturday practice, gathered in the local subway station. After waiting for awhile, we started doing riffs from our recent practice. And then, we did, from start to finish, the Hallelujah Chorus, which, with the underground acoustics, sounded pretty damned good.
But not as impressive as these folks, I think.
But not as impressive as these folks, I think.
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Reactions
My daughter is awesome.
Everything's opened. She's looking around, smiling, but her voice has just the slightest quaver when she says Is that....ALL...of them?
We look at each other. I think so, I say. My wife says Though the cat has been dragging some things ...behind ...the tree. Why don't you look there? Just to be sure. She scurries back, dives under the tree, come up with a certain package....
(Nintendo DSi)
......and a very Merry Christmas to all of you, too.
Everything's opened. She's looking around, smiling, but her voice has just the slightest quaver when she says Is that....ALL...of them?
We look at each other. I think so, I say. My wife says Though the cat has been dragging some things ...behind ...the tree. Why don't you look there? Just to be sure. She scurries back, dives under the tree, come up with a certain package....
YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(Nintendo DSi)
......and a very Merry Christmas to all of you, too.
Friday, December 24, 2010
Terror
There is no terror quite like that of a parent who hid the gift really well.... and then can't find it.
Nice One, Lex
Lexmark is likely a division of LuthorCorp. No doubt about it.
I just spent the better part of four hours trying to get our Lexmark 5150 all-in-one printer to connect to the new Windows 7 PC. Nada. Looked at lots of sites that Goggle belched forth when given Windows 7, printer, driver, Lexmark. Found lots of people saying Thees no work, senor. Lots of comments about you got to fake it out, got to use the Vista driver, Vista doesn't talk to network printers (though the since-deceased Vista PC did), you got to install it as a LOCAL printer, even though it isn't. One guy even used the word "poodlefake".
Along the way, I accidentally clicked 'connect to the Laserjet', which is our older HP Laserjet 5, and it connected immediately, printing a test page with no problems whatsoever.
But the Lexmark?
That D is a hex 13, and, at least on mainframes, a hex 13 is SVC 13, which is a call to ABEND. Dead Meat. Roadkill. Or as one of the three different people I spoke to on Lexmark chat support said, you can't connect PCs of two different operating systems to the same printer.
WHAT?????
I just spent the better part of four hours trying to get our Lexmark 5150 all-in-one printer to connect to the new Windows 7 PC. Nada. Looked at lots of sites that Goggle belched forth when given Windows 7, printer, driver, Lexmark. Found lots of people saying Thees no work, senor. Lots of comments about you got to fake it out, got to use the Vista driver, Vista doesn't talk to network printers (though the since-deceased Vista PC did), you got to install it as a LOCAL printer, even though it isn't. One guy even used the word "poodlefake".
Along the way, I accidentally clicked 'connect to the Laserjet', which is our older HP Laserjet 5, and it connected immediately, printing a test page with no problems whatsoever.
But the Lexmark?
Windows is unable to connect to the printer.
Error code 0X000000D
Error code 0X000000D
That D is a hex 13, and, at least on mainframes, a hex 13 is SVC 13, which is a call to ABEND. Dead Meat. Roadkill. Or as one of the three different people I spoke to on Lexmark chat support said, you can't connect PCs of two different operating systems to the same printer.
WHAT?????
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Planning
One of the small traditions of our neighborhood is that we give trays of cookies and such to a few of the neighbors, right around this time of year. As my wife and daughter are away overnight, getting home around mid afternoon tomorrow, and as we're (probably) going up to my mother in law's house Saturday morning (right after my daughter gets her lingering question answered: did we get her the Nintendo DS that she really wanted?), it's going to be me doing the baking. Which is fine with me.
So, tomorrow morning, I do two things.
First, bake about forty or so chocolate chip cookies.
Second, melt a mess of white chocolate (carefully!!!), submerge pretzels into it, and drop multicolored sprinkles on the still-moist pretzels.
And then, when my wife comes home, we package it up and deliver it.
That's the plan.
So, tomorrow morning, I do two things.
First, bake about forty or so chocolate chip cookies.
Second, melt a mess of white chocolate (carefully!!!), submerge pretzels into it, and drop multicolored sprinkles on the still-moist pretzels.
And then, when my wife comes home, we package it up and deliver it.
That's the plan.
Some Goodness
Mildly pleased. Last night I read a page of the Easy French Reader without (much) difficulty. Still much to do, but still: I'm pleased.
Oh, and the dental surgeon says my mouth looks pretty good (not great, but not bad). So I'm pleased about that, too.
Now, if my wife and daughter were here, instead of staying in Philadelphia overnight to see Cirque de Soleil, it'd be just about poifect.
Oh, and the dental surgeon says my mouth looks pretty good (not great, but not bad). So I'm pleased about that, too.
Now, if my wife and daughter were here, instead of staying in Philadelphia overnight to see Cirque de Soleil, it'd be just about poifect.
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Driven
Just spent about two hours configuring my daughter's new PC.
Apparently, Lexmark didn't see fit to release a Windows 7 driver for their 5150 printer. But they say that the Vista driver should work.
This opinion, not shared by people who post about such things. Apparently, it will kind of work. But not totally.
Ah.
Apparently, Lexmark didn't see fit to release a Windows 7 driver for their 5150 printer. But they say that the Vista driver should work.
This opinion, not shared by people who post about such things. Apparently, it will kind of work. But not totally.
Ah.
Baking
I had planned to do a fair amount of baking, this holiday season..... but then things happened.
The abrupt problems with my dental implants, where I went from those things are rock solid to there's bone loss across all of them, and you're going to lose this one in, no kidding, two weeks. Put the kibosh on the merry holiday spirit all by itself. And dealing with the contractors for the siding and the roof, which was a major cataphony every day, though the results, I must say, are rather nice. We did lose the screwed-into-the-window-frame thermometer that we've had since about a year after we moved into the house, but we replaced it with a remote-display dealie - the sensor sits in one of the kitchen windows, out of the direct sun and exposed to the outside air, and the two remotes sit inside -- one in the bedroom, one in the kitchen. No more going to the window to see what the thermometer says. I can't quite read it...the sun is behind it/the window is frosted... So that was a good result from an unfortunate thing. And then there's French, and France, and people from France, not all of them, but certain ones, where I think it's been pretty obvious how I feel, and of course I could go on for about an hour about that.
So all of this has kind of kicked me out of the baking mood. But, like shaking off the mood that contemplation of the last in that list (I can do it, but I have to work at it), getting into the baking mood is possible. I have to work at it, but it's possible.
So today, I think I'll bake.
The abrupt problems with my dental implants, where I went from those things are rock solid to there's bone loss across all of them, and you're going to lose this one in, no kidding, two weeks. Put the kibosh on the merry holiday spirit all by itself. And dealing with the contractors for the siding and the roof, which was a major cataphony every day, though the results, I must say, are rather nice. We did lose the screwed-into-the-window-frame thermometer that we've had since about a year after we moved into the house, but we replaced it with a remote-display dealie - the sensor sits in one of the kitchen windows, out of the direct sun and exposed to the outside air, and the two remotes sit inside -- one in the bedroom, one in the kitchen. No more going to the window to see what the thermometer says. I can't quite read it...the sun is behind it/the window is frosted... So that was a good result from an unfortunate thing. And then there's French, and France, and people from France, not all of them, but certain ones, where I think it's been pretty obvious how I feel, and of course I could go on for about an hour about that.
So all of this has kind of kicked me out of the baking mood. But, like shaking off the mood that contemplation of the last in that list (I can do it, but I have to work at it), getting into the baking mood is possible. I have to work at it, but it's possible.
So today, I think I'll bake.
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Awake?
Every parent's done it.
You're half asleep. Perhaps it's the middle of the night. And you hear that sound. A muted wail. Your child needs something. It's not an urgent sound, just a it sure would be nice if someone got up and fed me, maybe changed my diaper kind of sound. You freeze. Maybe your partner will think you're asleep and be a nice person, get up and take care of it.
The wail recurs. Dammit. I guess I'll have to get up -- then you feel the slight movement in the bed. Is the partner getting up? The movement stops -- dammit -- then starts again. Yes! Yes! I get to stay in bed! They're getting up!
This morning. Daughter's 16. Our alarm goes off. The daughter's alarm goes off. Nobody moves.
And eventually....one of us gets up....stumbles to the door... raps on the daughters door.
Which is better: the feeling of glee at being about to sleep in, or the feeling of self-righteousness at getting up?
You're half asleep. Perhaps it's the middle of the night. And you hear that sound. A muted wail. Your child needs something. It's not an urgent sound, just a it sure would be nice if someone got up and fed me, maybe changed my diaper kind of sound. You freeze. Maybe your partner will think you're asleep and be a nice person, get up and take care of it.
The wail recurs. Dammit. I guess I'll have to get up -- then you feel the slight movement in the bed. Is the partner getting up? The movement stops -- dammit -- then starts again. Yes! Yes! I get to stay in bed! They're getting up!
This morning. Daughter's 16. Our alarm goes off. The daughter's alarm goes off. Nobody moves.
And eventually....one of us gets up....stumbles to the door... raps on the daughters door.
Which is better: the feeling of glee at being about to sleep in, or the feeling of self-righteousness at getting up?
Monday, December 20, 2010
Conversations
This morning, my daughter asked me to drive her into school.
When we walked into the garage, I laughed. She asked why. I told her that yesterday I had walked into the garage and the heater was running a lot -- so much that the garage was toasty warm. That was pleasant, but I didn't like the idea of heating the garage so well. And it bothered me to think that my car was in better living conditions than some families. I went on to tell her about an article I read this morning from the current issue of The Economist, about unemployment insurance, and how for many families its a fraying lifeline. I said that I understand the standard Republican view that you can't fund unemployment insurance forever, that you're mortgaging generations unborn, but when I hear about people who are trying desperately and there's just no jobs to be had, I can't help but be angry at Republicans for sticking to that principle, no matter the cost. We talked a little about whether you have to always stick to your principles, and if not, how do you decide when to bend.
It was an interesting conversation.
When we walked into the garage, I laughed. She asked why. I told her that yesterday I had walked into the garage and the heater was running a lot -- so much that the garage was toasty warm. That was pleasant, but I didn't like the idea of heating the garage so well. And it bothered me to think that my car was in better living conditions than some families. I went on to tell her about an article I read this morning from the current issue of The Economist, about unemployment insurance, and how for many families its a fraying lifeline. I said that I understand the standard Republican view that you can't fund unemployment insurance forever, that you're mortgaging generations unborn, but when I hear about people who are trying desperately and there's just no jobs to be had, I can't help but be angry at Republicans for sticking to that principle, no matter the cost. We talked a little about whether you have to always stick to your principles, and if not, how do you decide when to bend.
It was an interesting conversation.
Local News
Last night, decorating the tree, my daughter and I talked about the relative attention that student activities get. She was irritated that the sports teams get attention no matter how they do -- Football Team Loses Again; Let's All Go Cheer For Them! -- while other activities, from color guard to chess to math club can get recognition only if it's truly amazing -- and even then, on page six of the student newspaper. I told her that I believe it's for two reasons; first, that schools are used to cheering for physical sports of the conventional kind -- but we work just as hard as the football team! she said. Maybe you should wear pads and do tackles, I suggested -- and second, our society has the same bent. We're not willing to recognize effort that doesn't show in sweat. I told her about when it happened in my high school, too. Not fair, she replied. I agreed.
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Reading
I like to read, and I like to read about various things - usually, things that really don't have anything to do with my daily life. Sometimes, what I read just fuels a fantasy life -- like the article I just read about Moleskin notebooks, and how excellent they are (also, how you can buy a virtual clone for a quarter the price); I love the feeling of good quality paper, and I love using a good writing implement. Or an article I read about a church that was converted into a home; the idea of a home with soaring ceilings and massive chunks of stone for a walkway, light filtering through stained glass -- I love to muse over that (I think its that kind of thing that fuels my occasional desire to do more with our home, nice as it is.) Or articles about a new style of traffic signal (it looks like an hourglass; I don't like it -- any light that has to be explained isn't quite right, no matter how ingenious), or hydroponic engineering, or how you go about designing a very tall building.
The problem isn't finding these articles. Google Reader, and RSS, does a nice job of that. (Could be better, but not a lot better. Though I hate it when I subscribe to a comic and for some reason the comic doesn't show up in the reader -- the associated text does, but not the comic. Why is that? ) The problem is that when I read these things, I frequently like to slow down, reading -- thinking about the concepts, mulling them (nothing deep, just more than read the words and get done). And all of this takes time. So when I go to GRdr and it says I have over a thousand articles waiting to be read, I get a little stunned. I can't possibly read all of those! So I go and read the comics, and look at four or five articles, and then think well, enough of this. Leaving, oh, nine hundred ninety-plus articles left to read. Or ignore, but at least notice.
There has to be a better way. And sometimes, I think: You're so smart? YOU figure it out. And ideas do occur to me - but implementation?
Ay, there's the rub.
The problem isn't finding these articles. Google Reader, and RSS, does a nice job of that. (Could be better, but not a lot better. Though I hate it when I subscribe to a comic and for some reason the comic doesn't show up in the reader -- the associated text does, but not the comic. Why is that? ) The problem is that when I read these things, I frequently like to slow down, reading -- thinking about the concepts, mulling them (nothing deep, just more than read the words and get done). And all of this takes time. So when I go to GRdr and it says I have over a thousand articles waiting to be read, I get a little stunned. I can't possibly read all of those! So I go and read the comics, and look at four or five articles, and then think well, enough of this. Leaving, oh, nine hundred ninety-plus articles left to read. Or ignore, but at least notice.
There has to be a better way. And sometimes, I think: You're so smart? YOU figure it out. And ideas do occur to me - but implementation?
Ay, there's the rub.
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Get Right On That
There's a guy who's known for being a guru of great ideas. Ideas that cause people to say Damn, why didn't I think of that? Here's one of his offerings:
What are you working on?
If someone asks you that, are you excited to tell them the answer?
I hope so. If not, you're wasting away.
No matter what your job is, no matter where you work, there's a way to create a project (on your own, on weekends if necessary), where the excitement is palpable, where something that might make a difference is right around the corner.
Hurry, go do that.
Just me, or is that a little sparse? This (found here) , on the other hand, makes mucho sense :
What are you working on?
If someone asks you that, are you excited to tell them the answer?
I hope so. If not, you're wasting away.
No matter what your job is, no matter where you work, there's a way to create a project (on your own, on weekends if necessary), where the excitement is palpable, where something that might make a difference is right around the corner.
Hurry, go do that.
Just me, or is that a little sparse? This (found here) , on the other hand, makes mucho sense :
Humiliation
Apparently, even diplomatic status isn't enough to keep the TSA Gropers from doing their thing. And yours, too.
Observation
"Powerful" in computers is a term that is misleading at best and rapidly obsolete at worst. I have never had a computer that could play The Sims fluidly.
Black Plastic
Solutions that involve the use of black plastic twist ties are inelegant. Why is that?
Latte -er, Perhaps
I would like to be able to make a Starbucks Frappacino at home, so I don't have to find, yet again, that on our rare visit to the only SB's in the area, that woman is again hogging one of the two comfortable chairs. I swear, she lives there. But I don't want to spend the bucks for a hissing espresso maker to do it.
Bookmark This
Read a brief article this morning about how a fellow discovered that as he bookmarked more and more, the probability of his being able to find such bookmark when it would be helpful grew less and less. Ah, I thought, yes, of course. Do you have an answer?
Nope.
My thought: A Bookmark Keyword Generator and Deleter. Periodically runs through your bookmarks, purging the ones that haven't been used in, oh, a year. (More elegant: some period of time related to how often you create a bookmark. More often? Faster. Not so often? Slower.) Yes, I know that bookmarks don't have dates-of-creation. They should.
And for the remainder, runs out and pings the site shortly after creation. If it doesn't exist any more, flags the bookmark for deletion. (Shoves it into a Deletion folder.) If it does, grabs the metadata and creates a keyword index. You then use a search engine to scan your bookmarks. (Which, I gather, Google kind of does, though I never really understand the results it says it finds 'already on your computer'. Half the time, I go looking, and don't see where it found them. Not to mention the oh my god is that there still? Purge it quick! stuff. )
So that's my contribution to the solution.
Nope.
My thought: A Bookmark Keyword Generator and Deleter. Periodically runs through your bookmarks, purging the ones that haven't been used in, oh, a year. (More elegant: some period of time related to how often you create a bookmark. More often? Faster. Not so often? Slower.) Yes, I know that bookmarks don't have dates-of-creation. They should.
And for the remainder, runs out and pings the site shortly after creation. If it doesn't exist any more, flags the bookmark for deletion. (Shoves it into a Deletion folder.) If it does, grabs the metadata and creates a keyword index. You then use a search engine to scan your bookmarks. (Which, I gather, Google kind of does, though I never really understand the results it says it finds 'already on your computer'. Half the time, I go looking, and don't see where it found them. Not to mention the oh my god is that there still? Purge it quick! stuff. )
So that's my contribution to the solution.
Sticky
As the length of time involved in any process including the use of superglue goes up, the probability of a successful conclusion goes down.
Bookie
I had to hide my bookmark for Facebook. I may have to delete it.
Reason is (not that anyone will care but me), I was getting -- and likely will get again -- manic over why don't I get responses when I post a response on the French kid's page? I know why. It's because I'm not French, I'm not a teen. But the reason doesn't matter. Objectively, I don't think such mania is a good thing. But I do it. I give in to it way too often. Then I go nutso. Should I even be STUDYING French? Should we even go at all??? Driving myself directly to crazyland, just because I want a person and her family to like me when they barely even know me. As my wife said, I want a warm, growing friendship, right now. Yeah. That's about right. And using the bookmark feeds that.
So I made it a little harder to do. It won't stop me. But maybe it'll slow me down just a bit.
Oh, and I changed the password to something that'll remind me, too.
Reason is (not that anyone will care but me), I was getting -- and likely will get again -- manic over why don't I get responses when I post a response on the French kid's page? I know why. It's because I'm not French, I'm not a teen. But the reason doesn't matter. Objectively, I don't think such mania is a good thing. But I do it. I give in to it way too often. Then I go nutso. Should I even be STUDYING French? Should we even go at all??? Driving myself directly to crazyland, just because I want a person and her family to like me when they barely even know me. As my wife said, I want a warm, growing friendship, right now. Yeah. That's about right. And using the bookmark feeds that.
So I made it a little harder to do. It won't stop me. But maybe it'll slow me down just a bit.
Oh, and I changed the password to something that'll remind me, too.
DisManaging
Last night, I dreamt about management. It was kind of weird.
Basically, I found myself trying to be the leader of a bunch of people who were pretty disorganized, and at times my organizational skills helped them along. But I noticed, unwillingly, that they didn’t like it – that there were times when I got the feeling that they’d rather be disorganized than effective; they felt that in organization they were losing something that made them effective. I could almost see that point of view. But I also thought that in being disorganized they were losing something effective, losing the ability to get returns for their efforts, and that frustrated me. At one point we were supposed to be handing out packets of information to everyone. This was important stuff, like packets of airline tickets and passports. I knew that in the past we’d get to a point where we’d think that everyone had their stuff, and then someone would say no, they were missing their ticket, or they didn’t know what the ticket was supposed to look like, or they had someone elses passport - so it was pretty important to do it carefully and precisely – here’s what you should have, do you have it, okay, next. Their feeling was that I was taking authority and, more importantly, responsibility away from people. Its their material, they’d say, if they screwed up and didn’t have the right stuff, they’d get hurt, so let them take responsibility for themselves. Yeah, I’d argue, but the downside is that if they mess up, they affect not just themselves but others too – now person one has person two’s passport, so two people are affected. At some point the costs of disorganization are too high, you need that central control. But I had to acknowledge their point too, that there are times when the costs of organization are too high, you do lose something vital. The phrase "Just Enough Management" came to my mind.
And then I woke up.
Basically, I found myself trying to be the leader of a bunch of people who were pretty disorganized, and at times my organizational skills helped them along. But I noticed, unwillingly, that they didn’t like it – that there were times when I got the feeling that they’d rather be disorganized than effective; they felt that in organization they were losing something that made them effective. I could almost see that point of view. But I also thought that in being disorganized they were losing something effective, losing the ability to get returns for their efforts, and that frustrated me. At one point we were supposed to be handing out packets of information to everyone. This was important stuff, like packets of airline tickets and passports. I knew that in the past we’d get to a point where we’d think that everyone had their stuff, and then someone would say no, they were missing their ticket, or they didn’t know what the ticket was supposed to look like, or they had someone elses passport - so it was pretty important to do it carefully and precisely – here’s what you should have, do you have it, okay, next. Their feeling was that I was taking authority and, more importantly, responsibility away from people. Its their material, they’d say, if they screwed up and didn’t have the right stuff, they’d get hurt, so let them take responsibility for themselves. Yeah, I’d argue, but the downside is that if they mess up, they affect not just themselves but others too – now person one has person two’s passport, so two people are affected. At some point the costs of disorganization are too high, you need that central control. But I had to acknowledge their point too, that there are times when the costs of organization are too high, you do lose something vital. The phrase "Just Enough Management" came to my mind.
And then I woke up.
Friday, December 17, 2010
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Residential
Ah, mi casa impossible.
I can just hear the mellow sounds of the guitar....the sweet aroma of a Garcia y Lozenge Grande.....the soft leather of the armchair......the crackling of the logs in the fireplace.
Wait, was that ....gunfire? From the treeline? Damned rebels!
I can just hear the mellow sounds of the guitar....the sweet aroma of a Garcia y Lozenge Grande.....the soft leather of the armchair......the crackling of the logs in the fireplace.
Wait, was that ....gunfire? From the treeline? Damned rebels!
Update
The dental trauma is slowly coming to a close. Bleeding has stopped on one side, mostly on the other. Oddly, the guy who told me not to sleep with the denture in place is telling me that I should -- but not, as I suggested, to sleep with the gauze in place. Said having the denture there overnight would 'allow the clot to form'. I thought didn't the gauze do that? but my wife thinks maybe he was worried I'd swallow it during the night - and then, you know, I'd wake up and my pillow would be gone!
One thing I'll bet my life on: he's trying to compensate for the failures of my primary dentist. Today's services - the nurse, the anesthesiologist, him - were essentially free.
One thing I'll bet my life on: he's trying to compensate for the failures of my primary dentist. Today's services - the nurse, the anesthesiologist, him - were essentially free.
Naming
Things are named for people whom we should admire, and usually don't.
Highways are named for people of obscure achievement ( does anyone remember who Major Deegan was? I grew up thinking that a Deegan was just a way of naming a street, and that somewhere there was a Minor Deegan, Lesser Deegan, whatever.) Schools are named for politicians. Remember kids: Always say that you expect to be vindicated when all of the facts are known! Sports stadiums are named for corporations - gee, Ma, when I grow up, I want to play at GlobalTerminexFed Stadium and Used Car Lot!!!! Libraries are named for the person who donated the most money to it, which is why my town library has the name of a some local guy rather than the name of the community. Good luck finding them in the phone book.
But every so often.....
I learned yesterday that our French student's first school -- her lycée -- is named after Hyacinthe Friant. A man whom, among his other accomplishments, can count this: development of a new class of cheese.
Now that's classy.
Highways are named for people of obscure achievement ( does anyone remember who Major Deegan was? I grew up thinking that a Deegan was just a way of naming a street, and that somewhere there was a Minor Deegan, Lesser Deegan, whatever.) Schools are named for politicians. Remember kids: Always say that you expect to be vindicated when all of the facts are known! Sports stadiums are named for corporations - gee, Ma, when I grow up, I want to play at GlobalTerminexFed Stadium and Used Car Lot!!!! Libraries are named for the person who donated the most money to it, which is why my town library has the name of a some local guy rather than the name of the community. Good luck finding them in the phone book.
But every so often.....
I learned yesterday that our French student's first school -- her lycée -- is named after Hyacinthe Friant. A man whom, among his other accomplishments, can count this: development of a new class of cheese.
Now that's classy.
Update
Dental surgery's over.
Good news is, it went pretty well. Though I was aware of it going on, I didn't really know about it. They call it 'twilight sleep'.
Bad news is, I'm definitely going to lose one of the implants, and very soon, too. Ah, well. I'm a little disappointed, but I'm kind of past the point of being pissed at the general dentist whose delay is (I believe) the cause of the problem. It is what it is: move on.
Though it reinforces that you really do have to drive your own health care. At the end of the day, the medical person goes home, and, odds are, they don't think about you till something makes them think about you.
Good news is, it went pretty well. Though I was aware of it going on, I didn't really know about it. They call it 'twilight sleep'.
Bad news is, I'm definitely going to lose one of the implants, and very soon, too. Ah, well. I'm a little disappointed, but I'm kind of past the point of being pissed at the general dentist whose delay is (I believe) the cause of the problem. It is what it is: move on.
Though it reinforces that you really do have to drive your own health care. At the end of the day, the medical person goes home, and, odds are, they don't think about you till something makes them think about you.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
WAL
WhatALesbian is an interesting site. When I see comments on there like this one:
PROUD of my education
IN LOVE with my girlfriend
EXCITED for a future that combines the two
I'm pleased for them. My daughter asked once how we would feel if it turned out that she was a lesbian, and I said that although I'd be a little concerned about her future, and how people would treat her, I'd still love her as much as I ever did. I don't think that's the route she's going to take, but when I see sites like WAL, I'm a little less concerned about the results if she does.
PROUD of my education
IN LOVE with my girlfriend
EXCITED for a future that combines the two
I'm pleased for them. My daughter asked once how we would feel if it turned out that she was a lesbian, and I said that although I'd be a little concerned about her future, and how people would treat her, I'd still love her as much as I ever did. I don't think that's the route she's going to take, but when I see sites like WAL, I'm a little less concerned about the results if she does.
Furthermore....
Okay, I feel a little better about French. I still can't do the stuff I mentioned wanting to do, but now I understand the phrase "Je suis tombé" (I fell) a little better.
I knew that it almost-literally meant "I am fallen", but I did not know that it comes from the verb Tomber, to fall, or that it can be used to describe multiple things, from falling in love to the fall of a drape. Even fainting -- Je suis tombé dans les pommes, which literally translates to I fell in the apples. Go figure.
Anyway, I always feel better when I know things like that. Boosts my self-esteem. Thank you, About French!
I knew that it almost-literally meant "I am fallen", but I did not know that it comes from the verb Tomber, to fall, or that it can be used to describe multiple things, from falling in love to the fall of a drape. Even fainting -- Je suis tombé dans les pommes, which literally translates to I fell in the apples. Go figure.
Anyway, I always feel better when I know things like that. Boosts my self-esteem. Thank you, About French!
Nervosity
I can be a wimp at times. Things get stuck in my head, and I find it hard to dislodge them.
Take this dental surgery tomorrow. It's really not going to be any big deal - in fact, the guy was going to do it with just Novocaine (or whatever they're using, these days), but decided that since he would have to use a lot of it to numb the two areas, he'll just use a light anesthetic. They've done this before. The way they describe it, they knock me out completely, then bring me partially awake for the procedure. I'm not nervous about that. What I'm nervous about is the amount of pain I'll feel afterwards. I'll have drugs (mostly OTC stuff, but I still have some heavy-duty ones), so its not a big deal - except in my mind, where I remember the one time he did some suturing in there and nicked a blood vessel. Two hours after getting home, my mouth was still bleeding. Only happened once, ten minutes back in his office, it was fixed, but still: juddering feelings. So I'm nervous about that.
And I'm a little grumpy about my progress in French. The other day I actually exchanged a note with the French kid, and I wrote it in French. I also wrote it in English, and used Google Translate to convert it, so that she actually got three versions -- English, GT, and my version. I compared the last two, and, at least to my eye, it wasn't that bad -- I got about seventy percent of it right. Still, I want to be able to just say things. For example, this is an image from a checkpoint this morning in Rosetta Stone:
The idea is that they give you a blank 'say this' box; you look at the box to its right to figure out what the response was, and that tells you what you want to say. These kids are saying "Yes, we're on the same football team", so you know that you want to say "Do you play football", or something along those lines. And I just draw a blank. Eventually, I think Um...Sommes Usted....and then I stop, because Sommes is we are but I want you are. And Usted is Spanish, not French. Dammit! Then RS pops the phrase up for me to just read (coincidentally counting it as wrong because I said nothing at all that the speech recognition engine could recognize as any of the words it was looking for), and I think Oh, yeah, right, Are you on the same football team, that's what I wanted to say. Why can't I just do that yet, dammit??? It's been THREE MONTHS!!!
Take this dental surgery tomorrow. It's really not going to be any big deal - in fact, the guy was going to do it with just Novocaine (or whatever they're using, these days), but decided that since he would have to use a lot of it to numb the two areas, he'll just use a light anesthetic. They've done this before. The way they describe it, they knock me out completely, then bring me partially awake for the procedure. I'm not nervous about that. What I'm nervous about is the amount of pain I'll feel afterwards. I'll have drugs (mostly OTC stuff, but I still have some heavy-duty ones), so its not a big deal - except in my mind, where I remember the one time he did some suturing in there and nicked a blood vessel. Two hours after getting home, my mouth was still bleeding. Only happened once, ten minutes back in his office, it was fixed, but still: juddering feelings. So I'm nervous about that.
And I'm a little grumpy about my progress in French. The other day I actually exchanged a note with the French kid, and I wrote it in French. I also wrote it in English, and used Google Translate to convert it, so that she actually got three versions -- English, GT, and my version. I compared the last two, and, at least to my eye, it wasn't that bad -- I got about seventy percent of it right. Still, I want to be able to just say things. For example, this is an image from a checkpoint this morning in Rosetta Stone:
The idea is that they give you a blank 'say this' box; you look at the box to its right to figure out what the response was, and that tells you what you want to say. These kids are saying "Yes, we're on the same football team", so you know that you want to say "Do you play football", or something along those lines. And I just draw a blank. Eventually, I think Um...Sommes Usted....and then I stop, because Sommes is we are but I want you are. And Usted is Spanish, not French. Dammit! Then RS pops the phrase up for me to just read (coincidentally counting it as wrong because I said nothing at all that the speech recognition engine could recognize as any of the words it was looking for), and I think Oh, yeah, right, Are you on the same football team, that's what I wanted to say. Why can't I just do that yet, dammit??? It's been THREE MONTHS!!!
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Events
We're under a little pressure, this week.
Last night, I abruptly realized that if we decorate the tree as planned this weekend, it'll have been up for less than a week before Christmas. Less than a week! How did the holiday season get so compressed? I know, Thansgiving is late this year, and all, but still: where did that time go?
I think my daughter has the worst of it. She says that shes gotten so much homework and projects to do, she ran out of space in her agenda book to note it all. She's convinced that her instructors are loading up for the holiday week. That would be the same holiday week as when she has all day -- 12 hours a day -- color guard practice for five straight days. They're bringing in an outside instructor, you see, which is expensive, so the local people are trying to get as much time with him as they can. Screw that these kids might have a life outside of color guard, let alone, educational stuff to do. This is about when I say how stupid activities like this are, and get overridden again. How many scholarships does color guard give out, again?
We did get one nice piece of news relative to our financial status, but overall - man. This is one hurried season.
Last night, I abruptly realized that if we decorate the tree as planned this weekend, it'll have been up for less than a week before Christmas. Less than a week! How did the holiday season get so compressed? I know, Thansgiving is late this year, and all, but still: where did that time go?
I think my daughter has the worst of it. She says that shes gotten so much homework and projects to do, she ran out of space in her agenda book to note it all. She's convinced that her instructors are loading up for the holiday week. That would be the same holiday week as when she has all day -- 12 hours a day -- color guard practice for five straight days. They're bringing in an outside instructor, you see, which is expensive, so the local people are trying to get as much time with him as they can. Screw that these kids might have a life outside of color guard, let alone, educational stuff to do. This is about when I say how stupid activities like this are, and get overridden again. How many scholarships does color guard give out, again?
We did get one nice piece of news relative to our financial status, but overall - man. This is one hurried season.
Monday, December 13, 2010
tank smudge
If you want to know, you'll have to go here. But if you're a geek, you'll likely laugh a lot when you get there.
PostBang
The new roof covering is on, and the new siding is on. The hammering and banging are over. Should we do this again, we'll make sure not to be in the house when they're working. As predicted, our daughter prefers the older color -- we went from pure white (stained over twenty years) to a very light cream.
I exchanged notes with the French kid. In French. Very bad French, but in French. I liked that. I still don't know why just contact with the kid delights me as if it were my own daughter, but it does -- and my nascent ability in French adds to it.
We used the online grade lookup today for the first time. Our daughter will not be happy with what we've found.
Tomorrow I meet with my mentee for the first time. I have this image of a kid whose family was willing to wait for two months before turning in their form. Don't want to prejudge him. I do intend to be more attentive to his tests and grades, though.
Wednesday, the last Santa of the season, at a neighbor's house.
On Thursday, I have the dental surgery. As things go, it should be minimal. They're going to knock me out for it, which is a good thing. But anything where you have to take pain meds afterwards does cause me a certain amount of angst.
And, oh year, we will put up the tree this weekend.
Enough for a while, I should think.
I exchanged notes with the French kid. In French. Very bad French, but in French. I liked that. I still don't know why just contact with the kid delights me as if it were my own daughter, but it does -- and my nascent ability in French adds to it.
We used the online grade lookup today for the first time. Our daughter will not be happy with what we've found.
Tomorrow I meet with my mentee for the first time. I have this image of a kid whose family was willing to wait for two months before turning in their form. Don't want to prejudge him. I do intend to be more attentive to his tests and grades, though.
Wednesday, the last Santa of the season, at a neighbor's house.
On Thursday, I have the dental surgery. As things go, it should be minimal. They're going to knock me out for it, which is a good thing. But anything where you have to take pain meds afterwards does cause me a certain amount of angst.
And, oh year, we will put up the tree this weekend.
Enough for a while, I should think.
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Livres
While at Rizzoli's, I bought a book in French, just to practice on.
I've discovered something. Those footnotes that are used to explain something? In a French book, they're in French, too. And if you can't read a paragraph, skipping to the next won't make things any better.
I'm on page two. Gonna be here a while.
I've discovered something. Those footnotes that are used to explain something? In a French book, they're in French, too. And if you can't read a paragraph, skipping to the next won't make things any better.
I'm on page two. Gonna be here a while.
Gender
From a web page talking about a product called Diaspora; specifically, the box marked "Gender". Apparently, it's both optional and an opportunity for creativity.
Post Nyawk
We survived our trip to New York City.
The bus itself was comfortable. Certain things could have been better, but overall, it was a good thing. In the city, we were let off at Seventh and 49th, and promptly started walking north, hitting an Au Bon Pain (which delighted me for two reasons; one being that I was hungry, and such places tend not to exist in the burg where I live, and the the other that I could read the name). We walked over to Fifth, and then north up Madison, finally making into Central Park Zoo, which location I think I've only been into twice in my life. It was great, as much for the people watching as for the animals. In a darkened room we watched penguins up close, diving, swimming underwater, and preening. We saw the famous red-butted monkeys going through a mating dance (Me: Talk about guys who can't get a date. Wife: Oh, he can get a date. But that's all he's going to get.) We saw flightless cranes and lumbering primates. It was great. Also great: the Rizzoli bookstore, which was the kind of bookstore I remember, before the mallification of bookstores. (Me, to clerk: It's a good thing I don't live closer. I'd be a lot poorer.) And I would, too. We walked down Fifth again, stopped in at St. Patricks, aka Mob Scene Central, jogged a block over to check out The Tree (massive, and brilliant). And, oh yes: SantaCon was in full force.
We had a good time.
The bus itself was comfortable. Certain things could have been better, but overall, it was a good thing. In the city, we were let off at Seventh and 49th, and promptly started walking north, hitting an Au Bon Pain (which delighted me for two reasons; one being that I was hungry, and such places tend not to exist in the burg where I live, and the the other that I could read the name). We walked over to Fifth, and then north up Madison, finally making into Central Park Zoo, which location I think I've only been into twice in my life. It was great, as much for the people watching as for the animals. In a darkened room we watched penguins up close, diving, swimming underwater, and preening. We saw the famous red-butted monkeys going through a mating dance (Me: Talk about guys who can't get a date. Wife: Oh, he can get a date. But that's all he's going to get.) We saw flightless cranes and lumbering primates. It was great. Also great: the Rizzoli bookstore, which was the kind of bookstore I remember, before the mallification of bookstores. (Me, to clerk: It's a good thing I don't live closer. I'd be a lot poorer.) And I would, too. We walked down Fifth again, stopped in at St. Patricks, aka Mob Scene Central, jogged a block over to check out The Tree (massive, and brilliant). And, oh yes: SantaCon was in full force.
We had a good time.
Friday, December 10, 2010
Chaotic, Semi
Things have been a bit chaotic around here. Mostly that's due to the guys working on the roof and siding. Being inside a house that's being resided is not fun. Many, many WHAM WHAM WHAM interruptions. Pictures shifting on the wall, ceiling lights vibrating in their sockets. Plus, its a little weird to be sitting in the kitchen, doing stuff on the laptop, and look up to see three guys staring in at you. Actually, they're more interested in the siding they're cutting, but it feels almost effete -- I'm in here, warm and casual, they're out there, shivering and working hard. They were supposed to be done today, but not -- probably at about 90%. With luck, tomorrow.
Which is when the two of us will be gone all day, taking a bus trip up to New York while the offspring spends the day doing color guard stuff. Not expecting much, and almost certainly not going to be buying anything -- feeling the normal pre-Christmas sense of impoverishment, which sense not helped by having to buy a replacement laptop for the daughteroid. Her Dell got all frakked up, to the point where even the 'reload from the protected partitition' didn't help. We're convinced she downloaded something lethal. I just can't get the partition to start, either from the restart partition or the Vista reinstallation CD. Apparently, I really shouldn't have told it to wipe that partition-- it keeps telling me it either a) can't find a Boot program, or b) on reinstallation, can't find its drivers -- sometimes, can't even read all of it its own files. If I were more tech-savvy, I'd play with the BIOS and such, but I'm not. If I want to frustrate myself, there's always my attempts to get a decent French accent.
Speaking of French, I'm in the depressive stage of Will we ever see that French kid again, let alone, her family? Right this moment, I'm thinking not. I want them to be giddy with the possibility of meeting us, you see; I want the kid to light right up at the sight of us at the door. Ten, fifteen years from now, keeping in touch, visiting each other.... Don't hold your breath. But I sent them such a nice Christmas card! With a note!!! In French, yet!!! I know, I expect too much. Perhaps the trip will distract me. I'll get a decent New York City hot dog, for sure. Maybe some pizza, too. An egg cream? Not out of the realm of possibility. Distractions. Because when I think about studying French now, my reaction is why bother? (This post speaks to me, on that whole topic.)
I did get the kitchen Christmas tree up. Cat likes it. A lot. Get out of there, dammit!
Which is when the two of us will be gone all day, taking a bus trip up to New York while the offspring spends the day doing color guard stuff. Not expecting much, and almost certainly not going to be buying anything -- feeling the normal pre-Christmas sense of impoverishment, which sense not helped by having to buy a replacement laptop for the daughteroid. Her Dell got all frakked up, to the point where even the 'reload from the protected partitition' didn't help. We're convinced she downloaded something lethal. I just can't get the partition to start, either from the restart partition or the Vista reinstallation CD. Apparently, I really shouldn't have told it to wipe that partition-- it keeps telling me it either a) can't find a Boot program, or b) on reinstallation, can't find its drivers -- sometimes, can't even read all of it its own files. If I were more tech-savvy, I'd play with the BIOS and such, but I'm not. If I want to frustrate myself, there's always my attempts to get a decent French accent.
Speaking of French, I'm in the depressive stage of Will we ever see that French kid again, let alone, her family? Right this moment, I'm thinking not. I want them to be giddy with the possibility of meeting us, you see; I want the kid to light right up at the sight of us at the door. Ten, fifteen years from now, keeping in touch, visiting each other.... Don't hold your breath. But I sent them such a nice Christmas card! With a note!!! In French, yet!!! I know, I expect too much. Perhaps the trip will distract me. I'll get a decent New York City hot dog, for sure. Maybe some pizza, too. An egg cream? Not out of the realm of possibility. Distractions. Because when I think about studying French now, my reaction is why bother? (This post speaks to me, on that whole topic.)
I did get the kitchen Christmas tree up. Cat likes it. A lot. Get out of there, dammit!
Friday
So, we have workers busily nailing siding outside. And in about an hour, who's going to emerge from the house?
Santa. On his way to a local kids group.
Should be interesting....
Santa. On his way to a local kids group.
Should be interesting....
Thursday, December 09, 2010
PC Death
Looks like my daughter's PC has bit the dust. Excellent timing - right after we've spent all the money on her that we were planning to spend.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)