Hooray!

It just took a little thermal paste. And learning how to properly seat a heatsink…

But the computer is back to normal. So I can probably put Linux back on it, since the issues I was having were more hardware than software….

On the bright side....

Even though I just possibly hosed my computer, I still have my phone. I can't play MechWarrior or Flight Stimulator, but I can still Facebook, and email (in fact, nearly all of my emails are written from the stock Android mail client...), and even do a little bit if web surfing, but all that gets in the way of what Android smartphones are supposed to be doing: playing Angry Birds....

Well this just sucks!

My previous post about the graphics driver crashing linux may not have been all that correct. While I was in XP tonight, it suddenly shut down on me. I know it's not a software crash (xp by default reboots), so it must be a hardware issue. Not a Good Thing. So, I boot into the BIOS, and notice the CPU's temperature was close to the boiling point of water (twice what the motherboard was...). Pulling the side of the tower off, I noticed the heatsink was caked with dust, and it was pretty well insulated from the cooling fan. So I tried to pull the fan off to get the dust off the heatsink, and I end up taking the heatsink off. I dusted it, and now it's not securely fixed to the processor.

So now I've a computer that won't even boot into Bios. Payday is up tomorrow, maybe I can swing by Worst Buy and get some thermal compound. Or barring that, I can start sucking up for a new computer...

Lesson of the Day is:

Video issues are a pain in the arse no matter what your operating system. I noticed this yesterday when I was trying to surf Wookiepedia and watch game 7 (btw, nice way to choke it, Vancouver…). And my system all of the sudden just turned off on me. So I power it back up and it happened again. So I spent the rest of my night in windows. This afternoon, I boot into Linux, and almost the same thing happens. Rebooting, I try to open the Catalyst software to see if there’s a graphic setting to change and it happens again. Ok, I don’t have the expertise yet to troubleshoot a balky linux video issue, so I just wiped the whole lot. I’ll stick with Windows for now. At least I think I can pretend I know what I’m doing….

Hello World!

Installed SuSE. Configured Hardware (that was a nightmare, but I figured it out). Configured Firefox and Thunderbird (for the most part, I'll just install the extensions as I need them).

The one last thing was to check the online repository for a blogging client. And they have one. So, Hello World. This is coming to you from a Linux computer. If I wanted to, I could never go back to windows again. Though that'll seem unlikely, since I'm not advanced to run MechWarrior or Flight Simulator under wine..

Giving a penguin/lizard another try....

It has taken multiple attempts, but I think I've finally figured out OpenSuSE and its installation. Yes I'm trying linux again. On my previous attempt this spring, my main concern was my tv tuner. As in it worked fine in Windows, but Linux wouldn't even recognize that I even had one. My solution was to pull my old tuner from my other computer and put it in. Windows initially recognized both cards, but to avoid a resource conflict, I disabled the second tuner in windows. A three-way splitter insures a signal to all the tuners from my cable box.

Ok, so if you want to install OpenSuSE Linux on my computer, experience has taught me a few insights:

1. Make sure you have enough space partitioned for your root partition. You'll use up a lot of space if you do a pack-rat installation like im prone to do.

2. Do your initial install off the DVD only. Inevitably, you're going to hose it within the first five minutes, and this'll at least save you some bandwidth (Comcast does meter service....).

3. Once you install, before you do anything else, configure the tv tuner. And then make sure you save the configuration. Then you add the online repository (I prefer http://ftp.osuosl.org). Normally, instinct tells me to instal the video driver first, but for some reason, the tuner won't work any other way.

4. Note you can install the Catalyst driver. Unlike windows, this'll take a few restarts to fully configure, and even then, one has manually edit the xorg.conf file. But that is a whole other post.

But in the end, after all the trouble, I'll have my system with a full dual display, a working tv tuner, and a printer. And it'll do anything that I could do in windows.

And one last thing: to reboot into windows, you have to turn the computer off, then unplug the network cable, then turn the power strip off and on, then reconnect the network cable, and power it on. This because of a known issue with my network card. And since I've an integrated lan adapter in my motherboard, I'd basically need to buy another computer to fix it, and I don't have enough money (my brother was actually the one who put up the money to buy it)...

Do try this at home....

Angry Birds Live.

Edit: ok, so there was supposed to be a link there. I'll fix it later, I'm on my phone right now. Apparently, blogger for android can let you do links, but I can't get out to work, and I have to get too early tomorrow to care. Later, gentles.

It’s not all that difficult….

To migrate from WinXP to Win7. I just did it tonight. My former district manager bought his wife a new laptop with Windows 7 and yours truly was tasked with moving her in to it. Which is kind of easy once you figure out that you don’t need to use the WinXP files and settings transfer wizard (oh, and the fact that both there laptops are now wi-fi connected and networked helped….).  He usually pays in kind (dinner and a beer). Tonight, it was Red Robin, where they have Guinness on tap. Yes, I’m in my 30’s, and I just had my first real pint… He also gave me his old windows 98 box. I should probably fire it up. I have a few old games that XP won’t play well with….

Its been about two weeks...

Since I had the MyTouch 4G. The only real course when I realized it may have a defective chip in out read to return it (I was still will within my 'cold' feet period, and I was able top restore it back to stock condition, so that wasn't too difficult). Now I've done my research (which I should've done beforehand), and my options are thus:

1. Just but another mytouch, but get the insurance plan with it. It'll even cover it if and when I root the phone...

2. Wait for the HTC Sensation. I'm really impressed with it's potential, but not the signed/locked system. However HTC has announced that they will no longer be locking bootloaders...

3. Wait for the MyTouch 4G slide. At the very least, when this comes out they should drop the price on the MyTouch 4g....

Decisions, decisions....

Isn't it a little ironic....

That Jack Kevorkian died. From natural causes....

After a few days with the new phone....

Overall, I think this will be worth it in the long run. The MyTouch 4g phone has either one of two chipsets in it. One works fine, the other one is apparently defective, and will eventually fail and brick your phone if you constantly flash your ROM. I have the apparently defective chipset in my phone. As far as I can tell, it can still work. Provided I don't flash any software. So I'm going to use the stock Rom for now. Not that there's anything wrong with it. And I have more than enough memory for all the apps I could want. The main irritating bug I've found is the music player: I can't get the remote control on either of my headsets to work. But that was solved easily: install Songbird from the market.....

Off to work

And as usual, there's a bright yellow UFO in the sky. Oh well. At least the AC will be on aboard the Soundtransit bus...

Star Blazers on tv again...

I grew up watching Star Blazers. Between the local tv here in Tacoma, and the Army controlled tv in Germany (at the time in Germany, the only English-speaking tv station was run by the US Army. Fortunately for me, the GI responsible for programming was an anime fan, so I saw the good stuff when I came home from school). And now the ScfFy channel has Star Blazers. Yes, the animation is crap (this was the late '70s, mind you), and the plots may be a little thin (iirc, this originally was a japanese feature film that they stretched into a full blown series....), and the dialogue is definitely dubbed.... But it is still a classic, and is worth watching....

Now somebody needs to air Guyking and Grandizer.....

Hey Igwanarob, want a phone?

I finally gave into temptation. I got a MyTouch 4G. I’m very much impressed with it. The Internet connection is as almost as fast as my apartment’s Wi-Fi. That in an of itself makes it worth it. Then there’s the Android. Unlike my previous phone, this was designed from the start for it, so there’s no having to go through three different steps to load a good build on it.

Then again, with my HD2, all the android build were rooted from the get-go. I have to manually root this phone, and there goes  the warranty if i do. Well, I think I know what I’m doing, and I’m sure if I muck it up too much, I can put a stock ROM back on, besides, I know how to back-up.

So, Igwanarob. Would you like a slight used HTC HD2? I have confirmed that it runs windows mobile quite well (and ENERGY is still cooking ROMS for it). And you can run android (in fact you can dual boot pretty well). I’ve also heard rumors that you can run windows phone 7 on it, but why would one do that. It’s like escaping the mousetrap to run into the arms of the cat…

Ok, last time I will tell you!

If you go barefoot and paint your toenails black, you’ll be able to walk down the side of a building:

And was that Greta van Susteren making a cameo?

It’s all about the internet security….

I currently use AVG for internet security (along with a hardware firewall/router). There’s also Microsoft Security Essentials. Both are free. Both work. There are also some others out there. But they pale in comparision to what you really need for internet protection. You’ve got malware & virus protection, but what’s protecting you from The New World Order (Mind-Control Division). What you need is a good AFDB:

Always wear your afdb, or you’ll end up like Napoleon:

Happy National Drink Guinness Day

So today is Cinco de Mayo. An alleged Mexican holiday that is celebrated more by white people in America than Mexicans. Basically it commemorates a battle fought against the French in a war that the Mexicans eventually lost. Its not that big of a holiday in Mexico. Their big national holiday is the Grito de Dolores, sometime in September...

So, it is said that Cinco de Mayo is best celebrated by drinking Corona. I don't think so. Corona = Bottled Urine. Then I think back to two years ago. When I basically had my first Guinness. So, if you celebrate it today, first look it up and learn about the history. Then go have a pint...

BTW, this wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for the Civil War going on at the time (Google the Monroe Doctrine...). The French, of course, probably have a different of view on this. The action that the Mexicans commemorate is also commemorated by the French Foreign Legion as a solemn occasion, where they essentially affirm that they won't back down. The French Army may be a bunch of Cheese Eating Surrender Monkeys, but the French Foreign Legion is where the real balls are....

I hope you enjoyed it

I hope you enjoyed the bright yellow ufo that greeted Washington State this weekend. I of course, had to work. All weekend long. But ires all back to normal this morning. The rain is back. And I have to work. Which means the dart is going to suck. I'm so used to Mondays off.

Good Morning, gentles...

Pierce Transit are liars!

First they say that they have to drastically reduce service, cutting over a third of there service (mostly the routes that I have to take to work). But they're still buying new buses. The drivers routinely flout the laws of the road (I can't tell you the times I couldn't cross at the marked crosswalk because the bus was standing in it). I've also seen drivers threaten passengers with an extended denial of service for having the gall to wish the driver a nice day. I've given up on complaining to Pierce Transit about this. Their customer service is dev/null. They just need to fold and stop glutting themselves off of our tax dollars.

Soundtransit is funded differently, and they still rock.

Osama dead

Bin Laden is no more. I’ve been trying to think of what the implications of this are, and to sort my own opinion out on this, but words fail me. All I’ll say is that he can no longer perpetrate evil anymore.

And I don’t think there will be a Beer Volcano and Stripper Factory in your afterlife, Osama…

EDIT:

I saw this posted on as somebody’s facebook status today. And it had been reposted before, apparently. I feel it’s worth sharing, and it sorts out how I feel on it:

”I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy. Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that”

Violence. Is. Evil. Period. It doesn’t matter who does it, or for what it is done. It’s evil. If you resort to it, then you’re no better than your enemies.