Another Weekend...

I was supposed to work last (Sunday) night. But I was feeling a bit under the weather, and I had enough sick time accrued to cover my shift. So I called out...

So my weekend actually starts tonight. And I paid my bills. And I still have enough left over top live off of, and finish my Christmas shopping...

Tonight's agenda: wipe the laptop, and watch the Big Bash League (yes, I'm now a Cricket fan).

What is wrong with us?

I've seen screw ups and frothing from one side to another. I think Cheetos-Face does deserve to be lawfully removed from office. But will it happen? Probably not. The impeachment trial will be a partisan farce.

So my hope will be in 2020. Cheetos-Face will most likely be running, but openly glorifying sexual assault is an automatic disqualifier (remember the Access Hollywood tape)? Not to mention the raging narcacissm, and the racism. And then there's the intentionally separating families and caging children. These are people, not animals. We're Americans. We're supposed to be better than this. 

My weekend is underway

Home from work. Computer is fired up. 

And as you can see, I'm busy doing the most important weekend task: Flight Simulator X. I hear there is a new version in development though. But this version is sufficient for now... 

I know it’s a little early, but….

Happy stuff bread up a turkey’s ass day (also known as Thanksgiving). Since My work week starts tonight, and goes all the way through to next Monday morning, for me Thanks giving will be just Thursday. But I did celebrate it last night. Didn’t do turkey this year. Last year I did it with Red Robin takeout. This year, I did it with pizza. You don’t need a Turkey dinner with all the trimmings to show gratitude. Gratitude is something that ought to be done all year round. In addition to all the usual suspects that I’ve written about in previous years I’m thankful for:

• Different political opinions. Every coin has two sides. Every issue has at least 2 sides (some have multiple). Very few people have the same opinion as I do, and we can still be friends, too…
• My job. It may not be the best, but the bills are getting paid, and I enjoy it for the most part.
• My health. It’s not the best, but each day, I’m up, I’m conscious, and I’m wearing pants….
• Then there’s the roof over my head, the food in the pantry (and/or available for delivery on UberEats).
• The future: things can only get better….

In an unrelated story, I noticed that 3 pairs of my shoes were wearing out. So I replaced them. I’ve had previous issues with plantar fasciitis, and one of my strategies for dealing with it is multiple pairs of shoes, so I can rotate them frequently, and not have the pressure on the same spot every day. Though the drawback is I have to buy three pairs of shoes at the same time…

A month’s worth of misadventures….

I’ve gone through 4 cable boxes in 3 weeks. It all started one day when I noticed a service package with a lower price and faster internet. And I decided to return my second DVR box. Went to the website, and it was treating it like I was placing a new order. So, I thought I’ll just go in to the Comcast store and take care of everything in person. Because the speed of the internet service I was ordering was faster than what my modem could handle, I was going to have to rent the modem from the cable company….

SO I go to the store, and basically the only thing that went as planned was the returning of the redundant DVR box. A point was made to give me a receipt for it. Got my new modem, and a replacement cable box, and went home, and couldn’t activate them. Numerous tries, and I even called 1800comcast, and realized why I still don’t like their call center (it’s outsourced overseas. I have no problem with the call center employees personally, but the accent on the line is so thick that it’s a language barrier in and of itself). One chat session on Facebook messenger was fruitless, so I slept on it. 2 hours later, I initiated another chat session, and this time I included the serial numbers and MAC addresses of both my box and the gateway. And they were able to get my internet service up and running right away. As for the cable box, a tech visit had to be scheduled. So I scheduled my next day off. And waited. In the meanwhile, I just streamed it to my phone, or I watched TV in the living room.

So the cable guy finally arrived, and got my box activated. I immediately noticed that I didn’t have any X1 programming interface, nor any premium channels, nor any DVR functions. Another chat with Comcast, and the rep asked me to send pictures of the box. It turns out I was given a DTA box instead of a X1 digital box. So, another trip to the cable to get the right box, and even the clerk there confirmed that I was given the wrong equipment. I was given the right box this time, and went home. And I couldn’t activate it. Another extended chat on Facebook messenger, and another visit was scheduled. So I went without TV for another week, and the tech came out. First verdict was that the cable box I was given was DOA. So she pulled another box out, and it wouldn’t activate either. Some more test were run, and it was realized that between the Comcast box and the cable outlet in my room, there was something interfering with the signal (the little box actually has to talk to the DVR to access recordings). So, that box went out, and the tech brought brought yet another box. This one Doesn’t connect to the wall at all. It actually connects to the DVR box via Wi-Fi (since I’m using the Comcast provided gateway),

So I’m now looking at the rat’s nest of coax cables that are now littering my room. And with this wireless box, they’re all redundant. The only draw-back to this is that the box only connect via hdmi. The tv tuners on my tower and my laptop need a coax cable to connect. I tried to connect them to the wall outlet directly, but they’re all encrypted. So I figure I’ll have to stream the channels through my computer. As for the TV tuners, I’ve ordered an amplified TV antenna.

And I think that my next computer will not have a TV tuner anymore…

The 1-2 hour power-on….

That’s how long it took from the time I turned my laptop on to the time that I could use it. Yes, there were a few patches that needed to be installed….

Anyway, my laptop still works, my weekend is over, and it’s time to go to bed. Goodnight.

Yet another weekend….

Yes, I know it’s been awhile. Sometimes life happens. It happens. I think I found my solution to my chronic urging to install Windows 7. The same thing I do with Windows XP and Windows ME: a virtual machine. At least when I get tee’ed off at it, I’m not nuking the entire computer. Which is good, since I’ve been spending way too much time tearing down the software, and reinstalling everything. And as usual, I got tee’ed off at it again, but I just simply deleted my VM and I still have a fully functioning computer.

Unplugged my air conditioner a few weeks ago. Until next spring….

Haven’t had to turn the heat on yet. I can feel the chill in the air, and my windows is still open, but my computer also had a 750w power supply, and so keeping my room warm is not yet an issue….

So, they’ve now formally started an impeachment inquiry against President Cheetos-Face. It doesn’t look good for him, in my opinion. Although in my opinion openly glorifying sexual assault (the grab them by the p*ssy comment in the Access Hollywood tape) was an automatic disqualifier for being president. The sooner he’s lawfully removed from office, the better…

Yes, it’s September 11….

It’s September 11 today. I commemorated it with business as usual. I’m not going to let the terrorists change my routine. I’m not going to give in to the fear. I’m not going to give in to the hate. Yes, in a quiet moment, I will commemorate the lives lost on that day. But I will also defy the terrorists. And sometimes, business as usual is the most defiant act you can do.

Live free or die.

The last day of my vacation

So I’m now starting the last day of my vacation. What did I do? Absolutely nothing. I didn’t go anywhere. I was going to watch the Monday Night Football Doubleheader (which was the official reason why I took a couple of days off), but I overslept the first game, and I’m that big of a Raiders fan. I was going to watch some CPL T20 cricket (I even tried setting my DVR for the matches) but the listings on WillowTV are messed up, so I missed half the matches.

Well, I was semi-productive. A couple of weeks ago, I got PO’ed at my tower, so I wiped it and reinstalled Windows 10. And Sunday & Monday night, I finished reinstalling all of my games. BTW, that’s a real pain in the ass if you have Epic or Twitch, since the only way to reinstall them is to completely download them again. Over 300 gB’s worth… At least with Steam, Origin, Uplay, and Gog, there are ways to back everything up.

Oh, and I turned on my laptop today. First time in a couple of months. Mainly to run some updates, and to charge the battery…

I guess on my last vacation day I should do something tonight. After all, I still need to do my laundry…

4 day weekend...

Normally, may days off are Monday and Tuesday nights. But I decided I need some mental health time. In the past, I would've just called in and taken a sick day, but my boss had read me the riot act a couple of time over that, and I do value continued employment. But, I put in for a couple of days' vacation. Abs my request was approved. So I'm having a 4 day weekend. Officially I told my boss that I was taking the time off so I could watch the Monday Night Football doubleheader tomorrow. But I think I'll be watching more Caribbean Premier League T20 cricket than football. Abs then there's Battlebots. Ave there's also the Puyallup Fair, too. But I think I'll start it with a little bit of football before retiring...

My adventure this weekend….

So at the start of my weekend Monday morning, I realized that I was running out of insulin. Not normally that big of a deal. Ok, so yesterday morning (aka my evening), I jump on the bus and head to the Spanaway Wally World, and pick up another vial of Novolin R (type R insulin is an over-the-counter drug, but you have to go up to the pharmacy counter to get it, as it is a refrigerated item). So I make my purchase at the pharmacy, and then I decide to get a few items from grocery. I put the pharmacy bag in my shopping basket, and then get my items. Then I check out. Cashier bagged my items up, and I was off. Got on the bus, got home. And then I realized that I my insulin wasn’t bagged. After the customary string of profanity (standard procedure for situations like this). I realized that I had to have this insulin, so off to the bus stop again. I figured I would just buy another vial and just learn my lesson. Walked into the store, and walked by the checkstand that I used to checkout. And my basket was still there. Along with my bag from the pharmacy.

Lesson leaned: look twice before you leave the checkstand….

Why is it...

Why is it that for some inexplicable reason I want some cake today? Oh well. There and things in life that should not be questioned. Happy Birthday. And if it's not your birthday today, enjoy your evening anyway... 

For the first time since 2006…

I used to assemble scale models for a hobby. Before I got my computer, and my first internet connection, it was what killed my time. My two best friends owned the hobby shop in the South Hill Mall. I mainly did 1/72nd scale kits, mainly military airplanes, and Star Trek on occasion. But I bought my computer, and going on the internet started using up more of my time, and I eventually stopped (the last model kit that I assembled and painted I actually never really finished). When I moved to Parkland, all of my paints, thinners, and my assembly tools were put away.

A couple of years ago, my sister gave me a Bandai 1/72nd scale X-Wing from the Star Wars Franchise. I was all molded in color, and no cement was required. There are a couple of other kits from the same series that are now works in progress.

Anyway, a couple of weeks ago, I was on eBay, and I found a 1/72nd scale Danube Class runabout from Deep Space 9. And I pulled the trigger. Kit arrived quickly, and I new I still had my sprue cutters and cement. And it came time to paint. Problem is, most of my paints are over 20 years old now. I did find a couple of paints that were still salvageable (and no, I’m not going to order new paint quite yet, just for a one-off impulse buy I made on my phone while on the bus).

Long story short, for the first time since 2006, I assembled a scale model. With paint and cement…

A little bit faster.

Since 2011, I've used a 802.11n for my apartment’s Wi-Fi. Wi-Fi is a must. In our previous apartment, I only had a wired router, and my brother’s computer was out in the living room (gateway was in my room, and the cable outlet for it was in another brother’s room). So there were a couple of episodes of tripping. When my brother and I first moved into this apartment, he bought his iMac and he also bought a 802.11g router. Which was soon updated to 802.11n, so I could move the cable modem and router out to the living room. In 2011, I got my first 802.11n router from Worst Buy and things were good. In my year with dsl, the modem had a Wi-Fi router built in, and so my router got retired. When I went back to cable, I got a new modem, again with Wi-Fi N onboard already.

When I built this computer, the motherboard came with 802.11ac Wi-FI. So I decided to upgrade the router. Once I got the router set up, I moved everything back out to the living room (I moved the modem back to my room a while back so I could use the faster speed a wired connection provides. And I now have a faster wi-fi connection.

And I unplugged my Echo. And it will not be coming back. Too many privacy issues. It was a Christmas present from my brother, and I do appreciate it, but still Spamazon has privacy issues, and I don’t need them eavesdropping on everything I say…

From 3 to 2

Up until earlier this week I had three lines with Sprint. 2 were for cell phones, and 1 was for my usb modem. I never used the modem. Well, I did on occaision. But for the most part, when I had access to a flat surface to pull out my laptop (a 17 inch model), I could also find a good wi-fi signal. And if I need to use my sprint LTE service, I just pulled out my phone.

Anyway, last night, I realized that not only had I paid off my modem, but I wasn’t using it, and I don’t need to pay the $30+ a month extra for a service I really didn’t need. It took three tries and I had to change my password, but I was able to cancel the line.

Though after I cancelled my line, I did get a survey spam with a specific emphasis on using chat with business (I had used Facebook messaging on one occaision to try this). It was a pretty sketchy spam. So much I reported it as a phishing attack.

The Purge, Desktop Edition….

Just did a specialized purge of sorts. Many years ago, when I went to do a system backup, it was to CD (back when I got my first Gateway, which had a CD burner). Then about 6 years into owning it, I got a DVD burner, and started backing up to DVDs. The last back-up that I burned to DVD was 10 years ago, and it was 10 DVD’s long. By then, the size of my back-ups got so big that just started using my second hard drive (in fact, at the time I had burned my last backup set I was already using my second drive). So what happened to all those back-ups I burned? Well, I was looking for something on my cumputer desk, and I realized I had two extremely overloaded DVD spindles of old DVD I burned. So I just went through them. Most of them I threw out as obsolete (like driver cd’s for components that I’ve long since thrown out, like my old Motorola surfboard cable modem, or my really old d-link router). Then there was my old TV tuner that got tossed when I cleaned out my junk drawer. And I don’t think I need my Blackberry CD anymore. Anyway, from over 2 overflowing spindles to less than one. I’m sure I threw out a few blank ones, too, but if it was dirty, I probably wouldn’t be able to read it, let alone write it.

And while I’m going through my old CD’s and DVD’s, I’ve also thrown out a packet of equal (I use Splenda, or at least the house brand equivalent from Wally World. And a bunch of McDonalds salsa packets (yes, I like their breakfast burritos…).

I’ve got a long way to go, and since I have nights off I really can’t do that much (out of respect to my downstairs neighbors who keep a normal circadian rhythm). But there’s a spot on my desk that’s clean again. It’s an obscure, out of the way location, but it’snow clean…

Second three day weekend in a row.

This was my second three day weekend in a row. Last week, on Sunday night (my ‘Friday’), I woke up with a headache which progressed to nausea, and I decided that I’m not going to puke at work. So, I called out. I had enough sick time to cover it. And after a monster and a Tylenol, it went away (probably caffeine withdrawal).

This week, it was planned. About a month ago, I requested the day off &put in for vacation time for it. And it was approved (though approval didn’t happen until after my schedule was written…

So, I finished my computer. Yes, I built it a couple of weeks ago, but there were still a few odds and ends. There was the DOA video card which was replaced, and had to be installed. And then I realized I wanted a memory card reader, so I found one cheap on Newegg. My new computer has more USB ports on the front of the tower than my HP towers had all together. Haven’t yet achieved a framerate in Flight Simulator X that I thought I would it’s still better than before….

So I was playing around with Windows ME last night….

So I was playing around with Windows ME last night. Uninstalled some software, and installed some other software. And then it flaked on me. To the point of not being able to boot. Normally, I’d be upset (more like PO’ed) and I’d end up pulling out my boot disk and nuking it all from a DOS prompt.

But this time it was different. I was just in my virtual machine (I use VMWARE Player). So I just deleted my WinME folder, and re-copied it over from my archive. I’ll try again later….

Hello World!

I built my first computer yesterday. This all started last fall with my most recent attempts to upgrade my tower. First was the computer case (ended up rendering my HP Pavilion 500-214 unbootable at all, and I had to replace the whole computer). Then last month, I tried putting in a new video card (didn’t work at all). So, a week ago, I decided to go ahead and buy the rest of the components and build my own computer. Anyway here’s the lowdown:

• AMD A12-9800 Processor. Could’ve gone with a Ryzen, but this one was initially released only a couple of years ago, and I found one dirt cheap on eBay. I’m sure I could upgrade it in the future, (I made sure that the motherboard was new).
• And cooling the aforementioned processor is an Artic Freezer 12. Since I went the cheap route on the processor, it did not come with a heat sink. And I realized that the cpu cooler I had lying wasn’t going to compatible with the AM4 socket. Fortunately, unlike my Hewlett-Packards, the motherboard didn’t need a proprietary cpu cooler, so installation was easy.
• Motherboard: ASRock X370 Killer SLI/ac. The processor is an older one, but it still works, but I made sure the motherboard was up the date. It has integrated sound, ethernet, wi-fi, and bluetooth. And it has enough open expansion ports that I can upgrade things when I can afford them.
• The case. I went with a Phanteks Enthoo Pro series PH-ES614PC_BK case. I had nothing wrong with my Hewlett-Packard towers. But there was no room for growth. I could only have one optical drive, and one hard drive. Not anymore. I currently have two hard drives in (the first time since fall of 2014) and two optical drives (the first time since I had my Gateway). The two optical drive are siginifcant, because I have a couple of spindle packs of lightscribe media lying around, and I have a lightscribe DVD burner. But I also have a Blu-Ray drive, too and now I can use both.
• As for the video card, it was going to be a Radeon™ RX 570 Gaming 4G, but the reason why I didn’t work when I tried to install it in the other tower was that it was DOA. Fortunately, I realized this when I still had two days left in the return process, and I am replacing it. Props to Newegg for the relatively painless return/exchange process (well I hope it’s painless…). In the interim, I’m running a Gigabyte GV-R725OC-2GI. I know the card is old, but it stll does the job, and I still get a decent framerate out of FSX on it…..
• 2 hard drives. Both 4 tB. And space (and SATA ports) for 2 more….
• And powering this all is a ARC 750W 80 PLUS® Bronze PSU. Especially when I’ve upgraded video cards in the past, I’ve run into problems with the power supply being overworked.
• And of course, my TV tuner (I took it out of my old tower). It still works for what I need it for, I see no need to upgrade it.

Hardware-wise everything works. So far. When I started this build, the only tool I had was my Swiss Army Knife. And yes, it is possible to take apart a computer with only a Swiss Army Knife, I reccomend that you at least get a normal screw driver. On my Hewlett-Packards, there were a couple of star bitted screws in that case that I needed the knife for, but this current case has only philips screws, and a household screwdriver will do the job handily.

The one lesson I learned from all this is DOUBLE CHECK YOUR CONNECTIONS! Got everything put together then plugged it in and turned it on. Ended up reseating the RAM twice, pulling out the video card twice (before realizing it was a dud). The last issue was the BIOS wasn’t seeing a hard drive, and it was because the SATA cable wasn’t all the way in.

I’m running Windows 10 Pro. I bought this last fall, when I thought I would need for my last computer, and due to me not looking at the fine print, I ended up over-drawing my checking account (which has since been straightened out). But I held on it, and it came in handy…

And yes, my new computer is working. After all, this post is being written on it….

Yes, I know it's been a while....

Yes, I know it's been a while since I last wrote here. A lot of it was because I decided to do a system rebuild (becasue I just can't leave well enough alone). And then I decided to go back to what I was running before. And now, it takes two weeks' of days off to get my computer rebuilt. Somebody please remind me of that the next time I decide to wipe my tower....

But with all the work I've put into my HP Pavilion 500-314, I've decided to replace it. I'm actually going with a White Box model (aka, I'm building my own). This all started with my computer case that I got last fall. I tried putting the components of my previous computer into it, (mainly so I could use for than 1 internal hard drive), and ended up rendering my computer unbootable. And then there was the attempt to upgrade my video card last month. Finally, I decided to order the rest of what I needed and get it going....

A couple of weeks ago, I decided to upgrade my coffee maker. I wanted a keurig brewer because k-cups are so convenient for just one cup. But I also wanted the ability to brew a whole pot for the days off when I drink three cups to start my day. I found the Hamilton Beach Flex Brew, on sale at the time at Newegg. The real problem came with UPS. They delivered to an access point (the same one that I've had issues with when I was shopping with Worst Buy). I immediately signed in request re-delivery w/ instruction/permission to leave it at my door.Anybody capable of rubbing two neurons together would've done it. But no, when I thought it was being reprocessed to deliver, it was still stuck at the Access Point. Finally, I had enough and ordered it to be shipped back. Newegg stepped in, and ordered UPS to deliver it to my door, which they did.

Last week, I ordered some new jeans from Wrangler. They left a delivery notice, which I signed Monday morning, and left it on the door. Had they driver bothered to get out of his vehicle he would have seen it. But he just labeled it as undeliverable, and shipped it back. Several back and forth sessions with customer service, and then I got a phone call from a supervisor who finally agreed with me that it should've been delivered, and there are now 3 UPS drivers who are going to be ripped new ones. Which is good because I have a new power supply, motherboard, and RAM being UPS'ed (see the second paragraph of the post).

Weather is really warming up. I've had my air conditioner on since March. And yesterday, my brother set up the AC in the living room....