So, the state of the union was tonight…

And I didn’t watch it. I watched college basketball and hockey instead. There is enough incompetence and corruption in this administration that I don’t need to hear anymore of it. I admire his call for more bipartisanship, though. But let’s face it, his tax reform package that he just passed is essentially running up the nation’s debt to give the 1 percent a tax break. And the rest of us (who really can’t afford it) will end up footing the bill down the road.

Only under Donald Trump can the same party control both houses of Congress and the White House, and yet we still have a government shutdown.

But there is still hope. We still have the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. The mid-term elections are coming up. America may not be in a good spot right now, but we’ll overcome. We have before. We even survived 8 years of Dubya. I just updated my voter registration recently, and I intend to make sure that my vote counts.

You can tell it’s my day off today

It’s my day off. I can tell. The sun was out today. And right when I take out the garbage is when the hailstorm passes through….

Just another day off….

It’s just another day off again. And yet I feel like today I’m mourning something I’ve lost when it reality I never had it. When I keep boating to myself that I have no ego, and yet I’m still reeling from that which I’m not supposed to have is still being bruised. When I keep bragging that I’ve let certain things go, and yet deep down, I’m still attached.

Sometimes I think it’ll pass. That I just have to keep vigilant. But it doesn’t. But I shall overcome. If not today, but tomorrow. Maybe….

Yes, I’m just another introvert with a blog….

So I was Googling tonight…

And I realized that one of my mentors who helped through some pretty bleak times (right around the time my Mom came out of the closet) had actually passed away almost ten years ago. There is something to said about the frailties of life. Never take it for granted. Take a moment now to tell your loved ones that you love them. Balance your worrying about the future with living your life today…

A not recommended use for a garbage can….

A laptop stand. Usually when I’m at the desk, I use the Tower. But there were times when the tower was down, or I had to do maintenance on the laptop. And so I set the laptop on the wastepaper basket next to my desk. Not really the best for the laptop or for keeping my room clean. So, I’ve invested in a portable desk (think TV tray) to set the laptop on over the wastepaper basket. This way, the laptop is not resting directly on garbage, and I can throw stuff out again. And it’s foldable, so if I want to watch the 55” set from my easy chair, it’s not the end of the world.

Another Tuesday off…

Day off today. Usual stuff. Did laundry (currently in the dryer). Main thing I did today was installing the fenders on my bike.Took a few minutes with a 4mm hex to install the front fenders. The rear fender/cargo rack just clamps to my seat post (it’s a quick release. Also with the rear fender came two reflectors, so I can use my old cargo rack, if I actually had to carry stuff. I had to raise my seat up to make enough space on the seat post, so after I installed the rear rack, I took the bike for a test ride in the apartment building parking lot, and I can still ride it.

If you remember I had tried running Windows 8.1 and gave up on it after encountering issues trying to restore my Steam games. So last week I went with Windows 10. And I also tried a different approach. Instead of using Steam’s backup/restore feature, I simply copied the Steam program directory from my laptop over to my tower. Problem solved….

The growth of data….

When I got my first computer, I specified a CD burner when I ordered it. And I could back everything up onto a couple of 700 megabyte CDs. Then the amount of CD’s I needed  grew, and though I added a second hard drive, I still needed about 20+ CD’s to do a system back-up.

So I bought a DVD burner, and larger and larger hard drives. Eventually, I became adept at using my second hard drive to back up my stuff. There were times though (like when I was partitioning both hard drives) when I had to back up everything to external media. I could do everything to 6 DVD’s at first. And the last time I did a DVD back-up set, it was 8 DVDs.

Then with my second computer, I switched to using my second hard drive for backing up my data (and I would pop the side of the tower off and unplug the drive so the data wouldn’t be corrupted if I had a system meltdown). I then bought an external USB hard drive enclosure, and I started using them exclusively for backing up. Archives were now in the size of 100-200 gigabytes.

At the time my second computer died, I was using 3 1 terabyte hard drives (2 in the tower, and 1 in the usb). After I got my current computer, I put a 4 terabyte drive in the tower, and I started using a 2 terabyte drive in the back-up drive, which was now backing up my laptop, too. Then, due to a sizing mistake when I visited Newegg last summer, I got an extra 4 terabyte, which is what I use now.

I’ve gone from a couple of 700 megabyte CD’s when I bought my first computer, to 1.2 terabytes that I copied over last night. And I have another 600 gigabytes that I might need….

So, here I am at my other job….

So, here I am at Mrs Fields. Main task is actually fixing the owner’s laptop. So I pulled mine to compare them side by side. His is slightly smaller, and is designed for more power-business use (why else would you have a fingerprint reader?). But he has a good laptop (even better, now that it’s running ubuntu). Then again, the drawback is that it’s running Linux, and my skills are limited. But I’ll what I can do.

No weekend for me this week….

Today and tomorrow are supposedly my weekend. From one job. But I had to go to Mrs. Fields today, ostensibly to fix the owner’s laptop. He didn’t bring his laptop. But I bought coffee, so he still let me in the shop. And I have to work there tomorrow. But I’m ready. Laundry is already done and put away. Though I’m still disappointed that I don’t have an actual, do-nothing day off this week. C’est la vie….

Almost a record….

I’ve had Windows 8.1 on my Tower for over a week. And we’re done. The issue de jour was when I restored my Steam backups. But my workaround for that was simple. Just copy the entire Steam installation from my laptop. When I went to restore my Origin games, my system froze. And then crashed. I’m now currently backing up certain files. And then I’ll probably go to Windows 10. Why not? It works on my laptop…

A Surprisingly Productive Weekend

I started out my weekend with the intent of doing nothing. Ended up doing quite a bit. Wiped my tower twice (seems like when I switch to a different OS, it usually takes a couple of tries to get it right). But I got everything going right on the second try. At least with my laptop, I still have access to a working computer. While the 1 tB of my data (documents and such) was copying over from my usb backup drive. I also adjusted the front brake of my bicycle (there’s something to be said about not wheels not squeaking and squealing at 1 in the morning). And I pulled out the pump and I put about 20 lbs. of air in my tires. I’m going to take my cargo rack off the bike as soon as the fenders that I ordered arrive. I was only using it as a rear fender, and I figured I might as well get a matched set.

Laundry was done yesterday, of course. But all things must come to an end, and it’s time to get ready for work tomorrow. Goodnight.

Try, Try, Try Again

Well, the first attempt at putting Windows 8.1 back on my tower went well at first. Got it installed, debloated, upgraded to Windows 8.1 Pro, resized the partition, and got the updates installed. And then I couldn’t open the Windows Store. I tried all my tricks, and no luck. So, I’m starting over.

I guess it’s a good thing that I have a laptop….

What’s for dinner tonight?

So, you take Papa John’s BOGO offer, and add a $25.00 gifts card that I got for Christmas, and what do you get? 2 extra large pizzas to be delivered in about 20 minutes….

It’s my day off today….

Start of another ‘weekend’ for me. Today’s agenda: laundry (2 loads), wipe the tower (yes, I know I do it too much), and does as little else as possible…

I’m not really worried about Specter and Meltdown. If it’s going to happen, it will happen. These bugs are in the hardware, and they’ve been around for the past 20 years. Besides both my tower and my laptop both run AMD processors, (and all the buss is how these affect Intel processors). These are more hardware bugs than software exploits, and the only real solution is to upgrade your processor. And I’m not going to just buy a new computer just to patch a bug that’s been around for 20 years. I’ll just live with it. Though I will install the Windows patches when the come available. Though from what I’ve heard, there are stories of the latest patch bricking AMD processor powered computers….

Wiped the tower again (like I’ve already mentioned). This time with Windows 8.1. Though I remember what happened a year ago when I tried Win8.1, and my power supply went up in smoke. Literally….

Maybe I’ll order pizza tonight. I got a Papa Johns gift card for Christmas, and it’s time to use it….

So some comments were made on New Years…

First it was Kim Jong-Un saying he has a nuclear button on his desk. And then President Cheetos-Face said he has an even bigger one...

Basically, two madmen (one of whom is supposed to be the leader of the free world) are getting into a dick waving contest. Something tells me that nuclear weapons and egos shouldn’t go together….

An unexpected journey. And an unexpected bonus….

I screwed up this most recent paycheck. I went to pay my bills, and the two credit cards that were due. And the electric bill. And my bus pass (I still need to take the bus most places. My bike is mainly for commuting home when I cant take the bus). Then there was the last Facebook ad that I ran for Mrs. Fields this Christmas. So, I was looking at being about $75.00 short when it came time to pay the rent…

Anyway, I got a text from my boss at Mrs. Fields to come in and set up his new printer. So, my day off (today) from my main job I go in with my laptop. First thing, I notice is that my laptop still remembers the store Wi-Fi password, even though I’ve wiped the laptop since I last logged on. Not that I’m complaining or anything. So, I set his printer up (basically installed the software on my laptop and configured it so he could wirelessly print from his cell phone). And then he gave me a paycheck. That I had not been expecting.  And he gave my a Christmas bonus, too.

Needless to say, I won’t be short when I pay the rent. And I can afford the next vial of insulin….

A slightly later strange trip…..

Normally I’d post this on New Year’s Eve, but circumstances dictated otherwise (I had to work). When the New Year began, I was at the Transit Center, waiting for my bus. Anyway, in no particular order, here’s what happened this year:

• I transferred to a closer location for work. There is a difference between a 20 minute walk to work vs. 2+ hours on the bus….
• I got fired. Never a good time.
• I got hired at another company. And two months later, they pulled me into the office and officially made me full time (yay benefits!).
• I bought a laptop. Along with it I’ve also upgraded the RAM, added a USB Blu-Ray, and a TV Tuner. It can now do anything my tower can do. In fact, this post is being written on it.
• I got a  bicycle. Uber is expensive. Owing to my schedule, I’m getting off the bus at 12:30 in the morning at the SR 512 Park and Ride. If I walk it, I get home after 2. Not going to happen anymore. With the bike, I’m home at about 1 or so.
• Dad had two strokes. He’s still in therapy, but he is making significant progress.
• I took over the Mrs Fields Store’s Facebook Page. Not really, but I was given administrator access, so I could write the posts. And this also includes the Facebook ads…
• I bought 4 pairs of shoes. The plantar fasciitis is almost gone (though I also think that the bicycle is helping that, too).
• I thought that I could do all my Christmas shopping before Thanksgiving. And then every time I set foot in Worst Buy afterwards, I still spend at least 3 figures….

Basically, a lot of stuff happened this past year. But 2018 is just beginning….