Today was my day off. $Day-job was offering free flu shots. So I got one. Normally if I don’t get one by this time of the year, I skip it. Because by now normally I’d have a horrendous cold, and so I skip the flu shot since I already had it…
But I side effect to all the social distancing and mask wearing is that I haven’t caught new bugs. And I’d like to keep it that way….
Santa didn’t give me nay coal this year. My brother gave me some socks from Duluth Trading. Since we’re in the middle of a cold snap, they will be appreciated. I gave a coffee mug from Friends (the TV series) and a Golden Girls shot glass set/drinking game. With the pandemic going on, the only person I specifically shopped for this year was my brother. I did have some other items that I purchased as ‘spare’ presents. This morning, I gave them to my brother with instructions to distribute them as he sees fit.
And that was pretty much my Christmas this year. Not that much, but it was enough. I’m not worried about what I receive or even if I receive anything. Christmas is so much more than that.
It’s Christmas. Normally I’d go with Merry Christmas. Or Happy Christmas. But this year, Yipee-Ki-Yay Motherfucker is the most appropriate holiday greeting. So that is what I greet you with. Here’s to a safe Christmas. As I left work this morning, a coworker gave some homemade chocolate chip cookies. Notwithstanding that I said they would be disappointing since I work at Mrs. Fields and I’m a diabetic, they were actually pretty good.
And yes, I gave my boss the customary wish of extra coal in his stocking.
I can tell the holidays are upon us. Because I’m Netflix’ing a Captain Underpants Christmas Special. Tra-La-La…
When we last left our hero last Thursday, I was complaining about barfing on Thanksgiving as a result of a 7-11 snack run gone terribly wrong. After I wrote that, I took a shot of insulin. And I felt better. After sleeping it off, I was able to enjoy Thanksgiving dinner and then I went straight to work. And there was a gravy volcano. So Thanksgiving was saved. I just have to remember to lay off the 7-11 snack runs, and that when my blood sugar gets high, I toss my lunch…
So Saturday, I was at my workplace before my shift, and I decided to get my Christmas shopping knocked out. So I went to Spamazon. And I ordered my roommate’s Christmas gift. And I’ve already admonished him to not open the box. And he’s got my a Festivus present. Apparently a yarn sampler of some sort (he knits/crochets). So, my guess is I will be getting something hand-knit. And it will be appreciated (I’ve long since stopped being picky about what I get….).
Normally on Christmas Eve, there’s the Big Bryant Family Reunion. This year, due to the pandemic, I’ve decided that I won’t be attending. The risk is too great. And I just got off the phone with my father, and there is a real possibility that it will be called off this year. So, the last part of my Christmas shopping was at Target, and most likely these are going to be designated as ‘spare’ presents (meaning the recipients haven’t been assigned yet). I may mail them. But for now, all my Christmas shopping is done…
So my bother is cooking this Thanksgiving feast. And dinner is even timed so I can enjoy it and then head out to work. And there’s just one complication. My early morning 7-11 snack run has most likely given me food poisoning. Went to bed at 9 this morning. And woke up at noon. And I puked. Normally when I toss my lunch, that’s the end of it. Not today. So the only thing I can do is tell my brother that Thanksgiving is all about the leftovers. And hope that I can make it work tonight…
Yes, I got sick on Thanksgiving. The last time it happened was 34 years ago. And I didn’t make it to the bathroom to throw up. Today, I did…
It’s Thanksgiving. The day where we celebrate gratitude by shoving seasoned bread up a Turkey’s ass. Normally my brother and I would go to one of sisters’ house. But due to Covid-19 we’re staying home. Sure, we can get together for Thanksgiving dinner. And then spend Christmas in the ICU. Or gather for a funeral in the New Year. Even with masks and social distancing, it’s just not worth the risk.
Having said that, there are many things to still be grateful for. Here are some of them in no particular order:
There are many things to be grateful for. Gratitude is something that should be year-round. And our pilgrim fathers originally celebrated it with Chinese carryout and watching football….
I copied a post on Facebook recently that said that a mask is better than a ventilator, home is better than the ICU, prevention is better than the cure. One of my supposed ‘friends’ replied “99.9% survival rates, get real and get a life”.
Guess what we’re no longer friends. And I’ve blocked him. It may seem too extreme, but I figure if he has a right to his opinion, then I have a right to shun him for it. I’ve made it a point not to unfriend or block anyone for having a different political opinion than mine (because the diversity of peoples’ opinions is one of the many things that make America great). But I will block/unfriend/shun you for attacking others who have a different opinion. The same goes for hate speech. And I’m adding Covid is a hoax/conspiracy and masks are oppressive to the list.
Take your Covid hoax conspiracies/masks are oppressive crap and go shove it. Covid is real. Don't believe me? Ask you nearest Healthcare worker what his/her last shift was like. Try getting a hospital bed in South Dakota/North Dakota. Think masks are oppressive? Try being intubated.
If you're still peddling conspiracies and/or whining about your rights being taken away, then go shove it up your ass. These are tough times for everyone. We're all in this. Together. Selfish whining is not the solution. With rights come responsibilities. And we're in this mess because too many if you are being irresponsible...
Though he may not realize it. Cheetos-Face is out! Even Fox News is projecting Biden as the winner of the 2020 election. Of course, there’s going to recounts, lawsuits and other nefarious tricks, but he’s just fighting the inevitable…
Biden is in, Cheetos-Face is out.
And it’s still not too late to vote for Pedro….
Actually I voted for Biden (like I did last March during the primary). Clearly he is the more qualified of the two candidates. He hasn’t openly glorified sexual assault. He takes the covid-19 pandemic seriously.
But regardless of who wins the election, we still need to be civil about it. One the things about being in a democracy is you have to sometimes accept that your candidate won’t always win…
Yes, my SSD failed, and I had to replace it. Replacement arrived and installation was quick and painless. Aside from the rat’s nest of cable behind the tower that keeps getting worse and worse. I think it their mating season. But with the new SSD, I also ordered a SATA power ‘y’ adapter so I could add the third hard drive. I’m mainly going to use it as an internal backup (in addition to my usb external backup).
I voted last week. Defnitely not for Cheetos-Face. Of all the candidates this year, Biden is the most qualified. He has also not gone on record for openly glorifying sexual assualt. Whatever happens next Tuesday night, I’ve done my part.
The weather has definetly cooled off. I took down my AC for the season a couple of weeks ago, and last week, I started turning on the heat. That reminds me, I need to pay the electric bill….
It appears as though my SSD has bitten the dust. The one that I bought back in May. and unfortunately, as part of the trouble shooting, I wiped both of my other drives (thank The Flying Spaghetti Monster that I did have a recent backup from a month ago). But still, it’s a pain in the ass. But lesson learned. Replacement drive has been ordered. And I made sure that it’s compatible with my motherboard. I’m stepping down from a 2tb to a 1tb drive, but the interface is going from SATA to PCIE 3.0x4 so it’ll be faster. I just can’t run Linux on it anymore….
RIP Western Digital Blue 2 tb m2 ssd. But did you have to take down my whole system with you?
And I know it was a hard drive failure, because in frustration I booted into Gparted and tried to wipe everything, and I could even wipe this drive.
Sorry, I know it’s been a while since I’ve been here…
The first debate between Joe Biden and Cheetos-Face is in the books. And to be honest, I slept through it, so I’m watching CNN’s post debate coverage. Actually I did catch one scene of it. And I promptly switched to the Science channel. I wanted to see the candidates’ stands on the issues. Not personal insults and outright lies. Either give the moderator control over the candidates’ microphones, or just have Don King hype them.
The first debate is in the books. And Cheetos-Face is dangerously under-qualified for the Oval Office…
Since April of last year, I’ve used a Samsung Galaxy Note 9. It’s primary drawback is that I can’t root it (actually there is a confirmed root for it, but imho it’s too risky for me to try it. But still, props to all you developers out there). Anyway, I bought the phone on the Samsung for life plan (like Sprint’s iPhone for life), wherein you lease your phone and at the end of your lease, you can return your phone for an upgrade, or they give you the option to buy it. I’m sufficiently happy with my phone, that I decided to buy it outright. I was thinking about the Galaxy Note 20, but in the end this phone works perfectly ok, and it has a headphone jack. So I’ll stick with it.
I got so excited about the Samsung Galaxy Note 9, that I finally bought it. After 18 months…
And I’m feeling so lazy that I don’t even want to put on my shoes to go to 7-11 (which is literally on the corner of my block) to get a diet coke…
Oh well, water is good…
Comcast sucks. Comcast sucks hard. Case in point, last week, I decided to address a chronic issue that I’ve been having (namely whenever I downloaded something big, my TV pixelated and stalled). Basically because my main tower and my cable box were both wi-fi based. And because the cable box was wi-fi, the cable modem had to be on the same outlet as the DVR. Basically, I needed my wired cable box back. So I packed up the old box and took it to the Cable store in Federal Way (also called upon Mrs, Fields and did a bank run for the owner). This was the high point of the caper. My cable box return was accepted, and I received a wired box (and after previous misadventures, verified as X1 compatible). Get home, hook the box up to the outlet in my room. And unable to connect (same issue I had last fall). So I sent them a message on Facebook. And waited. And waited. And waited. And then I called them out on Twitter. And finally I got a response. To send them a DM (which I already had, since experience has taught me that it’s the same team that handles Facebook and Twitter). Finally I broke down and sent them another direct message, with the first paragraph already including all the information that they ask you (you know, like name address and phone number). And their initial reply after already telling them that was to ask me for my name and phone number. And I told them to stick it. Sorry, but if you’re not even going to bother reading my complaint, then don’t waste my time. At the time, I told Comcast to consider this to be their notification that I would be withholding payment until the matter was addressed. And then I sent out an Executive Email Carpet Bomb. It wasn’t until after over 12 hours from the time I sent my initial request for help that I got an answer. And I replied. And I didn’t get an answer for 2+hours later. (this all went down on my day off). I went to bed and got woken up by a phone call. Comcast corporate office (apparently they’re incapable of using the ‘reply’ key when they get an email). I let voicemail handle it.
While struggling to go to sleep, it occurred to me that I already had the solution. When we first moved in, I had a third cable box installed in my brother’s room, and the outlet that was being used was in my room. So I had the installer snake the cable all the around my room along the wall into my brother’s room. That didn’t last long, the box was returned, but the cable line stayed. It was out of the way, so why move it? So I go to work, still getting Facebook messages from Comcast wanting to reset my boxes and my modem. I finally told them that I was work, I’m no longer taking personal messages while at work, and they had plenty of time to address already (remember they didn’t answer my initial message for over 12 hours. Get home from work, pull the cable out, hook my box up. And everything works. Ended up moving the cable modem into my room. It has Wi-Fi 6 so my brother will still have internet access. Upshot of that is that my tower can now connect with a physical cable, and that is always faster than wi-fi. As for the cable’s routing, it had go across a hallway, and over a closet door, so a $7 bag of cable staples from Spamazon later, I had under control…
So back to that Executive Email Carpet Bomb. I sent them an email. And they tried calling me. I called them back (Sprint has a service to transcribe voicemail. I highly recommend it). And somehow I ended up being bounced back their regular phone tree. Comcast’s executives basically told me to go pound sand. Let that sink in.
I’m under a contract with Comcast. Notwithstanding they have still raised my rates, and cut channels. Their customer service is abysmal. If you have a problem, even their executives don’t anything to do with you. They’ll gladly take your money, and the god forbid you should actually try and use the service you pay for (oh, they did offer me a $40 for my troubles, but I declined for ethical reasons. I didn’t have the heart to explicitly tell the executive team into which orifice they could stick it)…
Comcast, you suck. Go back to ignoring your customers.
Last night at work, it was my turn to go out and clean up the parking lot. Usually when I go outside it rains. This was no exception. It was just a light misting, but still moisture was coming out of the sky, and I had to be out in it. Temperatures are cooling off to the point that my AC compressor is now cycling off (and in fact, I’m routinely turning it off). And in addition to the sh*t-load of pumpkin spice k-pods I got a couple of weeks ago, 3 liters of pumpkin spice coffeemate arrived today.
Fall must be here. Bring on the No Fun League.
It was my birthday yesterday. Got lots of well-wishes on Facebook (the high point of my birthday). Bought my own present (the new Flight Simulator. See the previous post). And my brother was going to make me a birthday dinner (or at least he said he was when I said I was ordering pizza). So I woke up last night (I sleep during the days because I work overnights), and was greeted by a stack of Domino's gift cards. You might have your opinion about them, but they deliver, and I hardly have a problem with them. More importantly, unlike grubhub, doordash, or uber eats, when they deliver, they know which driveway to go up. I can't tell you how many times I've had to go running after delivery drivers... And Domino's pizza is also cheaper than even McDonalds...
Finally. After over a decade, they released a new Flight Simulator yesterday. And it was my birthday. So I went over to Steam and bought it. And then spent three+ hours downloading it. So far there are issues with my joystick controller, but I'm impressed with the graphics. While troubleshooting the controller, I ended up messing the software installation up so much that I decided a rebuild was warranted. I know what's going to happen. I'm going to end up getting the new Airbus controller. But given that price, and the $132+ that I just shelled out, that's not going to happen for a while. And then there's the video card I've been eyeballing. The card I put in a year ago is now the bare minimum for FS 2020.
Yesterday was also the first day of the Caribbean Premier League. Hooray West Indies (which is also the cheer I give whenever Pakistan plays)...
It was most likely dehydration, caffeine withdrawal, and something I ate. Headache and nausea eventually went away on their own after a cup of tea. So, I’m going to cut back on my coffee (note: sleep is suitable substitute for caffeine, especially on a day off). And I should probably watch my overindulging…
Woke up with a headache. And nausea. Figuring caffeine withdrawal I fixed myself a cup of coffee and drank it. And 10 minutes later, it tried to come back up. I don’t need to be barfing on the bus to work, or while at work, so I called out (applying the mantra to stay home if you’re sick).
I actually wanted to go to work tonight, but I also don’t need to be tossing my lunch on the job either….
I was at work this past weekend, and I got a text from the Mrs. Fields store owner. One of our early morning regulars passed away July 3. RIP Duane. You will be missed.
Ok, I just had to try Windows 7 again. I thought I’d have better results with an MBR boot drive than a GPT one. But with my other hard drives being GPT, I was having issues. So yesterday, I did a complete external back up. Then I booted off the Windows DVD and went straight to Diskpart, and used the ‘clean command to wipe everything completely. And I was able to initialize my ssd as a MBR drive and I installed. And then when I went to set up my other hard drives, I realized the problem. The windows installer had initialized one of my hard drives as MBR as well. Apparently Windows 7 doesn’t really want to recognize m.2 ssd’s. Learning my lessons from previous attempts, I went ahead and put the Windows 10 DVD back in, and it’s back to the drawing board….
Sometimes, the only you’re going to learn is to go ahead and make the mistake. But that’s why we have backups…
West Indies won the match Sunday morning. Next match in the series starts Thursday morning. And I will be at work all 5 days…
Just finished reinstalling all my software yet again. Between Epic, Steam, Origin, Uplay, Gog, and Amazon, I have way too much crap installed on my computer. But all I seem to do is play Flight Simulator X. On August 18 (my birthday btw) , they will be releasing Flight Simulator 2020. I think I know what I’m getting for my birthday. And since it’s being initially released through the Microsoft store, it’ll be a good reason to keep Windows 10 installed for more that a week. Speaking of which, I had a hunch about why I kept getting bluescreeens in Windows 7, and looked it up. Though about trying it out again. But in the end, it was going to be the same thing, and I’d end up wiping everything and starting over for nothing. So I left it at that.
I came home from work, and I was hungry. So I pulled out my phone and ordered some Domino’s. Actually, I was on the bus, but I selected future delivery and I was home by the time the driver delivered. When I was ordering on the app, I noticed that there a was pay with PayPal option, so I tried it. I signed in, selected my checking account, and placed the order. Got a confirmation email indicating that I was paying with PayPal.
And then the driver came, and said that I still needed to pay. Apparently I was never charged. I didn’t have the cash on me, and I’m not going to take stuff that I didn’t pay for so I declined the order. And I then called the store back, and explained to the manager what happened and I then paid for my order with a credit card. Basically because my ethics and my conscience answer to a higher authority. And I did order it, so I’m obliged to pay for it.
So that was the end of that. No use in bitching out the store personnel since this was beyond their control. But I took it to Twitter. I messaged Dominos with all the details, and I just wanted to know why they’re not taking PayPal when they give it as an option to pay. And their response was to just ask me for more personal info that they don’t need. I also called out PayPal, but I’m not going to bother with their response as they’re just a ‘bot. Dominos just doesn’t know how to read…
So last Saturday I again ordered Dominos. This time, applying the lessons learned in previous weeks, I paid with a credit card. Driver showed with and extra order of cheesy bread and a Diet Coke, saying that his manager added these because of the problems with my last order….
Moral of this story: Never use PayPal for ordering takeout/delivery and always tip generously….
3 years ago yesterday, I was at my previous employer. I got The Phone Call to go to the office. Getting fired sucks. But I’ve landed on my feet, and within a month and a half I was back to work (with my current employer). But still not a fun experience….
And 19 years ago today, I moved. The first time I moved was from Meridian West Apartments to The Hamptons. Literally just across the street. Bigger apartment. Rent was about 1.5 times what we were paying. And my room was smaller. Less than a year into this apartment, I was diagnosed as a diabetic, I had lost my job, and I had lost my health insurance. But I overcame.
Twelve year ago, I moved into this apartment with my brother. This move was literally from one building to another. I’ve lost two jobs since moving here, but I’ve always landed on my feet. And I still have health insurance…
When I moved in here, I had T-Mobile for phone service. In 2012, we switched to Sprint. Due to a recent merger, we’re back to T-Mobile….
And I did something stupid. I decided just from a one-off Google search, that my issues with Windows 7 were because of a couple of hotfixes (because my boot drive is now an SSD). Nope. I was an idiot. I put Win7 back on my tower, and I still got the Blue Screen Of Death. THough this time I was less of an idiot and looked up the error codes. It appears as though it’s a hardware driver, but since Windows 7 has been end-of-life for at least 6 months, it is probably best that I stick with Windows 10.
Back to the drawing board…
But on the bright side, I know that the 2004 update of Windows 10 will work. I’ve been running it since the Release Candidate….
And tonight, I did text my manager that I was calling out. I wonder how long it’ll be before he realizes that I was off anyway….
Finally, I finished reinstalling everything in my computer after buying the 2 new hard drives a few weeks ago. It took a while since I gave into temptation a couple of times to try running Windows 7 with the new ssd. And while my system was very much faster than with the old rotary hard drives, it was very much more unstable. It would blue screen and crash just by opening FIrefox. I think there may have been issues with a driver, but we’re moving forward. Windows 10 is still fully supported, and all the drivers work, therefore that’s what I’ll run. Now I just need to remind myself of this everytime I decide to go retro….
Yes, I know it’s been a while. About 3 weeks ago, the world watched as a white police officer murdered a black man. Much has been said about George Floyd’s character, but ultimately, his criminal record and what he was accused of were not captial crimes. And yet he was executed anyway. Without a trial….
Black lives matter. Just because your skin color is different doesn’t mean that you life is forfeit. I would say that All Lives Matter, but that is is being misconstrued into something inflammatory. So, I’m going to keep silent on this. I know my opinions on this matter, and this is a case where I should hold my peace for now…
It all started on Memorial Day. 4 officers have been fired and have been charged. I have much more to say about this, but not at this time….
Sorry, I’m still trying to sort my thoughts out on this one…
Leaned back in my office chair tonight, and it went too far back. Like it was loose. Looked on the carpet, and saw the screw that had worked itself loose. And then there was the other screw that I saw on the desk that had come loose. So I went to put them back in, and my screwdriver wouldn’t bite. And then I looked at them and realized that they were hex heads. And then I looked on my desk and saw the hex key wrench that I used to assemble my chair to begin with. Office chair is back together again…
When I built my computer last year, the motherboard I picked out had two M.2 slots for ssd’s. At the time, I went with regular hard drives (though I had 2 hard drives at the time). Then a week and a half ago, I finally decided that I had run out of space on my main hard drive. So I ordered a bigger one (albeit slower). About a day later, I realized I could afford one, so I ordered a new boot drive (2 TB M.2 ssd). The hard drive arrived Saturday, the ssd arrived Monday. Tore the computer apart, and then I realized that the SSD didn’t come with any M.2 screws (they apparently exist). Fortunately, my tower came with a case of extra screws, and I found one that fits, and the motherboard already had the right riser installed in the proper slot). A drawback was that I had to remove my video card to install it (my experience is that if I have to remove a part, there’s a real chance it won’t get put back in properly). But I reassembled my tower, and everything was reinstalled properly.
My tower has enough slots to hold more than two hard drives, and my motherboard has enough SATA ports, too. The one catch was my power supply. I didn’t have enough power couplings. So I’m going with only two HDD’s (a 4 tb and 8 tb). Plus the 2 tb SSD. My ssd isn’t the fastest around. But it is so much faster. Last week, when I turned on my computer, it took at least 2 minutes to reach a desktop, and then it still took even longer to finish loading everything. Now it’s a fraction of the time.
If your motherboard can handle an M.2 ssd, I highly recommend one.
No, not that move. Last weekend, Square Enix had virtually their entire Steam library on sale for 95% off, and all proceeds benefiting charity (I can’t remember which one, but I know there was one). Including the prorate for everything that I already had, it came out to about $35.00 for 47 or so games. So I went for it. And it was a 247 gb download. And after I downloaded it, I realized I’m running out of hard drive space. I currently have 2 7200rpm 4 tb hard drives. On Newegg, I found an 8 tb hard drive that I could afford, but it was only 5400 rpm. But I went ahead and ordered it. And a couple of hours later, I realized that if I played my finances right, I could also get a 2 tb M.2 ssd. So I ordered one. They should both be here by me next day off. And I have another used 2 tb hdd that I’m going to put in the tower just to play with Linux on (so I can avoid repartitioning my hard drive every other day). I guess this means back everything up today, and get it on to the external hard drive.
But when this is all done my setup will be:
The 4 tb hdd that I will be pulling from this tower will be going into my other tower that I currently use for my media center/blu-ray player…
For the past couple of days, it’s been getting real warm. Warm enough that my heavy coat has been retired for the season. And more importantly, it has warmed up enough that I set up my air conditioner. Since I work overnights, that means I sleep during the day, and it’s hard to sleep during the heat of the day. During the night, when I have it on, it’s still cool enough that just the fan runs, but in the afternoon, it does warm up enough that the compressor kicks on.
I should say it was starting to warm up. But today, there is just a little bit of rain coming down, so it’s not as warm as it’s been. And as I wrote that the AC compressor kicked on again…
Ok, yes I know I’m writing this in Windows. But Mageia is still installed. And I’ve already made further progress this time than I’ve ever had with OpenSuSE on this tower. I’ve already configured Firefox and Thunderbird. And I’ve even set up my primary adblocker: the HOSTS file from mvps.org.
The potential issues that I see from this setup are the TV tuner (and that’s a moot point right now, since my Tuner Card doesn’t have a signal coming to it), and the ability to play a Blu-ray. But I can Netflix on it.
There is a drawback: I’ve set the bootloader to boot windows by default, but when I boot into Linux, it resets the default back to Linux. Until I find a fix for it, I guess I have to watch the menu when turn my computer on.
For those of us who are fasting for the next month or so:
Ramadan Mubarak.
I had a premonition yesterday morning. Sat down on the throne, and I could tell that there was a round in the chamber, but it didn’t want to come out. I was stuck up. I went to bed, and hoped that it would clear out when I got up. Last night, I got up, got ready for work, and gave it another try. No luck. I had enough sick time to cover my shift, I’d get in less trouble for calling out than if I went in and spent most my shift on the throne (and also I’m more productive when I’m not in obvious discomfort). Kept trying all night long, and finally at 1 am, sweet relief came. A great pressure within me was finally released. 10,000 corks were loosed….
Something tells me I need more fiber…
It looks like it’s going to be Biden vs. Cheetos-Face. Even Bernie Sanders dropped out and endorsed him. I liked Bernie. He has good ideas. Not all of them, if any will work, but they can make a good starting point. And he did have enough sense to realize that there was a common foe to defeat.
Biden vs. Trump. Now if we could only get Don King to hype the debates…
Due to the Covid-19 outbreak, they passed an economic stimulus package, and one of the things that they had was a $1200 payment to everyone. And I got mine this morning. And it lasted 30 minutes. I’m not worried. I paid my bills. All of them. And I have another paycheck (my regular one from work) coming tomorrow. And since all the bills that were going to be paid out it, it’s pretty much free and clear.
I use my email inbox to keep track of what needs to be paid and when. When I get a statement notice, it stays in my inbox until I pay it when it gets archived. Because of due date throughout the month, there are usually at least two or three bills in my inbox at any given time.
This is the first time my inbox has been bill free in ages. At least until I get the next account statement…
I was able to install Linux on my computer is a dual-boot configuration. And even more importantly, I was able to successfully reverse what I did, and also take Linux off my machine as well. That last part was really important, as when I first started out the only way I could ‘unLinux’ my system was to pull out the DOS floppy and nuke the entire tower from orbit. But now I’ve demonstrated how to install, configure dual-boot, and remove Linux.
There won’t be anymore experiments on Linux this weekend (Flight Simulator time now), but maybe next week…
Started the install attempt to put OpenSUSE on my tower. This will be the first time in over 5 years, that I’ve dual-booted, and the first time I’ve attempted it with Windows 10. Not that I have any problems with Windows 10. We’ll find out in a few hours if it works. If not, my backup is current, and I’ll just dick around with Linux in a VM…
So a few weeks ago, I put in to take last night and tonight off. And it was approved. And it seems like right after it was approved, the Stay At Home orders were issues. So, I’m spending 4 nights Netflixing and Chilling. Initially I took this weekend off for the opening weekend of the Indian Premier League. But again, that went out the window since India is now on a 3 week lockdown. But still, there is a chance to sleep in and stream where I would otherwise work.
Btw, I was able to find toilet paper today while I was in the store (Wally World). But I decided that Taco Tuesday would be on a Sunday, and so I was procuring ingredients for said tacos, and they were out of tortillas. So, it was Nachos instead. And did I mention my brother is a really good cook?…
Technically it’s not a lockdown, as you can go out to get some air, as long as you’re 6 feet away from people. Earlier this evening I headed out to the local 7-11 (knowing and convenience stores and corner markets are exempt), and was greeted by a sign that it was closed. My brother’s employer has made the decision to close for now (they could’ve stayed open since they offer take-out), but there is a concern there own health. Mrs. Fields has closed for the duration. So, I’m at home for the second night of my weekend. Another night of Netflix and chill. Or Hulu. Or Amazon Prime. Or Disney+…
So, last night, I got up from bed (work overnight, sleep during the day), and I told my brother (rommate) that I was going to order pizza, and if he wanted something. Normally he declines, bought last night he wanted a chicken parmesan sandwich. That sounded good, so I ordered one, too. Add wings, a salad, and a diet coke, and it was delivered.
But who new you can order dinner from Dominos without even getting one pizza?
I think I was productive last night. I did laundry. Filled out the survey for the Census online. Now I just need to put the laundry away…
So Governor Insley has now issued a stay at home order to fight the spread of the Covid 19 pandemic. Basically, unless you really need to, stay at home. Not me. Where I work is considered ‘essential infrastructure’ so I have to go to work. But such is life. So for my weekend, the task at hand is Netflix and chill. Or do laundry. Or both…
I did have to take a sick Saturday night. What happened was I went to sit on the throne (at about 7 pm) before getting dressed for work, and I realized I was ‘stuck up’. And it wasn’t going to end easily for me. Unfortunately this was one of those times where I would get in less trouble for calling out in the first place than spend half the night on the throne trying to pass a cork (which I was finally able to at 4 am). And I get yelled at enough at work. So, it was barely mentioned last night when I returned to work, and we got on with the task at hand.
I think I need more fiber…
So, apparently the best protection against the corona virus is to build a toilet paper fort… All the stores are apparently out of it. So on my weekend, the agenda to go storm someone’s tp fort. Not really, but you need to use common sense here. In Washington, they’ve closed bars and restaurants, but takeout and delivery are still viable (even Dominos has a great sale going on).
So this is pretty much a Netflix and chill type weekend. I’m not going to go anywhere (I’m still trying to recover from whatever I caught two weeks ago). But I’m feeling better enough that I’ve weaned myself off the cold medication (which people are panic buying unnecessarily now, too). Even, then I notice that when I took it, it would work for 3 hours and then the symptoms would rebound, coming back even worse than before I took it. But beyond the occaisional cough drop, I’m now running natural…
Another round of primaries today. Including Washington State. The Democrat field has thinned down considerably since last week. It’s now basically Bernie vs. Biden.
Once again, beware the Idiots of March…
I was scheduled to work tonight. But last week, at least two co-workers had colds. And by the time I had gotten off work Monday morning, at least one of them gave it to me. It’s not the Corona Virus (the symptoms just don’t match up). But I did spend my weekend feeling like crap. Woke up this afternoon, and I decided I’m in no shape to go to work, and so in compliance with the memo posted by the breakroom door, which said if you feel sick then don’t go to work, I called out. I have enough sick time to cover this tonight, so I’m going to spend the night drinking tea and watching cricket, and hope I feel better tomorrow….
So, Comcast normally has a 1 TB limit on it’s internet service. Problem: whenever I rebuild my system, my Twitch Prime and Epic games have no way of being backed up, like in Steam. So, I have to redownload them all (about 700 GB right there). And then there’s streaming (why else would I reset up my old tower to hook up to the TV)? So, today (actually yesterday) I ordered the unlimited internet option. It’s gong to be much more expensive, but I have no choice. Comcast is a monopoly. They know it. The rates keep going up, but the service keeps going down. I’m supposedly in a contract (since last fall), but they’re already dropping a channel from my service and raising my rates, notwithstanding the aforementioned contract (which apparently means that I’m the only one locked in).
It sucks, but I have no choice….
So, another weekend has started. Agenda: absolutely nothing. Aside from some Flight Simulator. And maybe some streaming. And definitely sleeping…
Finished setting up my second tower. It will be used as my Blu-Ray player/streaming box on my TV. But it also has a current version of Chrome/Firefox and Office so I can use it as a back up tower in a pinch.
Also finished setting up the laptop. And I brought it out to the living so my brother can use it too (I even created his own account on it).
All this trouble so I can stream ESPN+ to my TV…
For some reason or another, today just seems to be a good idea today. Happy Birthday.
And if it’s not your birthday, happy Thursday and cake is still a good idea…
Did my taxes online last night. Still getting a refund, though not as much as I thought. But it’s still better than paying….
Ordered a new wireless keyboard and internal Blu-Ray drive. My old tower is going to be recommissioned as my smart Blu-Ray player. I still have my Windows 8.1 Pro with Media Center Key for it. And I’ll be able to stream ESPN+ to my 55” TV finally…
As I was about to end my shift this morning, the white stuff started following. Get off work, get on the bus home, and by the time I get home it was sticking. But it’s my weekend, so I’m not going to miss any work for this…
I should’ve titled this post ‘Cocaine…’
Anyway, the white stuff came down last night. Actually it started early Monday morning (and since I work overnights, to me it was evening). Anyway it wasn’t really sticking yesterday. That much. When I woke up last night, it was sticking. And it was still snowing. For most of last night, it snowed. I stayed home, ordered pizza, and watched AB De Villiers make his Big Bash League debut (yes, I like T20 Cricket). Then I played some Flight Simulator. And it still snowed. Sometime last night, I also decided not to make my traditional Tuesday Morning Trip up to Mrs. Fields. And I also decided my traditional errands that I normally run today can be put off as well. It’s my weekend. The roads are treacherous. I’m staying inside.
20 years ago, I bought my coat from Target (or was it Mervyns?). I’ve had other coats since then, but I’ve always used this one. Until Friday night, when the zipper finally broke. I tried borrowing one of my brother’s coats (props to him for literally offering my anything in his closet, save the one he was wearing at the time). I’ve order my replacement coat (from Target, naturally), but it’ll be about a week before it arrives. Correction: UPS says it’ll be here Friday.
But for now, I’m going back to staying indoors….
Yes, all the Christmas presents that I bought were given away. But, on Christmas Eve, I took a look at my finances and realized that I could now afford something that I’ve been looking forward too for a while. When I built my computer, I spent the most money on as much motherboard that I could afford, and put in a lower end CPU. Christmas Eve, I realized that I could now afford an AMD Ryzen 7 2700X. So I pulled the trigger. And I also upgraded the RAM to0 (I’m now at 64 gB). Yes, I know that my components are a couple of years old already, but I’m not going to spend 4+ figures for top of the line parts, only for them to be obsolete the next week. Well, not obsolete, but still the deprecation in price will be worse than a car.
As for performance, the best stress test, I can think of is Flight Simulator X. So I crank up all the display settings to their respective maximums, and I still got a decent framerate. But then again, some would say that it’s already obsolete, but it works even better than I had before, so Im not goin to complain…
2019 was a trip. In no particular order, here’s what happened…..
A lot did happen this year, and I’m sure this is just the tip of the iceberg. Here’s to 2020….
