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....

The Purge Returns

Got up tonight, and I put grew tired of typing on my shoes just to get to the light switch. So once again, I started to clean my room. 3 bags full of garbage. Most of it being from around my waste basket. I'm not done by a long shot but my easy chair is now a chair again, all my Star Wars model kits are but away, and all the shipping boxes from my misadventures on Newegg are thrown out. And I have visible floor space again.

Next up will be my computer desk. I have a new coffeemaker arriving tomorrow... 

Windows 10 1903 is out.

Latest version of 10 is out. It didn't show up when I ran windows update, so I used the Media Creation Tool to get it. Tried to burn it to a flash drive, but it didn't take for some reason. So, I'm installing it directly. It is taking a while to install (currently on 25% of updates). But I've got a Tv to watch.

Ordered a new video card. My R7 200 is running perfectly fine, but Newegg had an RX 580 (IIRC) on sale abs I can always use a better frame rate in FSX. 

Trouble eating out…

Tried eating out at Jacking Off In The Box. Placed my order at 8:57 pm. Paid $10.98 for it. And ended up leaving 15 minutes later without my food or a refund (and no progress had been made on my order). Went to their website to complain, and jumped through all of their hoops. And was promptly ignored. A week later, I went to Twitter, and sent them a DM on Twitter. And was ignored again. Over  a week after my initial complaint, I was sent an survey spam email on behalf of Jacking Off In The Box. Eventually, I got a form letter DM back offering a certificate. I told them to go shove it, because:

1. I really doubt that the ‘certificate’s’ value will cover what I actually paid (for items I never received).
2. There are documented cases of Jacking Off In The Box sending gift certificates that are already expired! Meaning, that they pretty much never intended to make the customers right.
3. But the real reason why they can go shove shove their gift certificates up their asses is that to accept them would be to acknowledge that I’m coming back. In the time that I was waiting for my order form a supposed fast food establishment, I could’ve gone across the street to Shari’s, been seated, placed my order, and received it on a real plate with real utensils.

Last week, I finally got a reply from my original complaint. Basically, yet another form letter completely disregarding the fact that I never received the goods and services which I paid for, and only offering a ‘complimentary certificate’. But the only part that I can quote from it is:

This email communication and any attachments may contain confidential information which also may be legally privileged and is intended only for the use of the intended recipients identified above. If you are not the intended recipient of this communication, you are hereby notified that any unauthorized review, use, dissemination, distribution, downloading, or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited. Additionally, if you have received this communication in error, please immediately notify us by replying to this email, delete the communication and destroy all copies.

So, I paid $10.98 at Jack in the Box. At 8:57pm on April 12 at store #8305. I never received my food. My complaints were officially ignored (if it takes you more than a week to respond, then your response is irrelevant). And all I eventually got for my complaints were 2 form letters, a questionable offer for a meaningless certificate, my personal information sold to a third party, and a not-so-subtle SLAPP threat.

Hey Jack In The Box:

• Your food is shit. It never looks like it is advertised, especially the tacos. Usually the main ingredient in them is grease.
• You food is overpriced. Especially when I never received what I paid for!
• Your customer service is atrocious. It always seemed that whenever I go to Jack In The Box in general, and store #8305 in particular, I have to wait at the counter for an unacceptably long time. And then I have to wait even longer for my order. But hey, they know that you’re just going to ignore complaints, so they can get away with this.
• If you really want to make this situation good, I want my $10.98 back. In verifiable funds. I don’t want your worthless, pre-expired ‘certificates’. You’ve made it already quite clear that I’m not welcome at your establishment, even after I placed and paid for my order. And if I can’t trust you to deliver on said order, than I will not accept a company check, either (your word is just plain not good. Period).
• And you can also shove that confidentiality notice up your ass as well.
• But whatever. Just go back to ignoring your customers and go fuck off, thieves…

Been about two weeks

It's been about two weeks since I upgraded my phone. And I've reached the point of no going back. I deleted all the other ROMs that I had for my other phones (I even had one from my old EVO 3D which I don't even know where it is). I doubt think I'm going to be using my old phones anymore, if not fit anything else than that it costs me $36 to activate each time, each phone (it's not like I can just pop in the sim card, like my T-Mobile days).

I also got a wireless charger. And it works, even through my OtterBox... 

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I've found a new sport

I've been following cricket a lot lately. I guess that's a side effect of having a boss from India for the past 13 1/2 years who's really into cricket. But I've found out recently that Xfinity has moved WillowTV (a cable channel that covers only cricket) from a separate premium channel to a service tier that I already have. Ave the Indian Premier League is running. They've also staggered the schedule so that there is one match every morning (owing to the time difference between Parkland and India). But the my high point will be the World Cup coming in a month abs a half.... 

So, I've had my phone for about a week now...

So, I've had my phone for about a week now. I'm impressed with it. Some thoughts:

• The battery life. 4000mh. That's huge. When I had my EVO 3D, I had an external battery charger that was only half that size. 
• The power management. Yes it had a big battery, but it also uses it well. Even if I forget to charge my phone at lunch, I still have enough juice to go the distance. Whereas with my HTC 10, I had to charge it on my lunch. 
• The display size. Not a big as my old tablet (but quite close). I can fire up the Kindle app and actually read something, without struggling over the size of the display (yes, when I last went to the eye doctor, I had 20/20, but that won't last forever). And streaming will be a happier experience. 
• The security. My previous phone had just a fingerprint scanner. My current phone has one, too. It also supports iris and facial scanning. I like being to unlock my phone just by looking at it. Abs the fingerprint scanner is located where I can unlock the phone using it with only one hand.
• More ram. More ram=more stuff I can have running at once. Though this has a tendency to kill the battery...
• The storage space. My phone has 128 gB on it, not including the memory card. 

The rest of what I like about my phone is simply software related. Though I miss Sense. Abs the ability to root my phone. Though I can survive... 

Waiting....

Second day of my weekend here. Slowly 'moving in' to my new phone. Surprisingly, I can still use my phone without root, though I do miss the ability to dig around the internals, like my previous phones.

But that is not what I'm waiting for. I decided I want pizza for breakfast (owing to my inverted sleep cycle due to work), so I ordered Papa John's. And it should've been here 10 minutes ago...

Another first tonight…..

All the times I’ve had Windows 10 on my tower, whenever I’ve decided to wipe it, it was by my choice. Usually because I wanted to go back to a previous version of windows. My days of rendering Windows completely unbootable were behind me. I thought.

Until tonight. Somehow I successfully managed to make WIndows 10 unbootable on my Tower. Fortunately, I have two things going for me: A recent backup, and my laptop. So I’m now wiping the tower again. And I have a laptop that I can use until I get the tower ready (currently I’m restoring my Steam archive to my laptop)…

For the first time...

With the exception of 2 months in 2009, when I tried using a BlackBerry, all my phones have been HTC products, starting from my T-Mobile Shadow, all the way to my most recent HTC 10. When I paid the phone bill yesterday morning, I also paid off my phone, and so I became eligible for an upgrade. Sprint doesn't currently offer any HTC phones, so i decided on a Samsung. Unfortunately, Samsung has gotten really good at locking their phones. So I've decided I will not be rooting my next phone. The only reason why I rooted my phones anymore was so I could kill ads with a HOSTS file. There are ways of killing ads without HOSTS (like the adblock extension in Firefox.

So, I've decided to upgrade my phone. And rooting is out of the question for the moment. But it will be worth it. I getting a Samsung Galaxy Note 9...

And yes, I know the irony of writing this post on my old phone...

The Weekend Begins….

Normally, I took Tuesday Nights and Wednesday Nights off. Irregardless of what my schedule said, per management. I did lead to a lot of marks in my record regarding no-show/no-call, but when I asked management what I should be doing, they did confirm that my days off were Tuesday and Wednesday nights.

But there was a management change recently, and they new manager wants us to follow our written schedules. And so my weekend has been changed (to make sure days off are staggered). And so my weekend begins now.

Rather warm of late....

Tuesday and Wednesday nights are normally my nights off. Last night, I thought I was going to be off, but due to short staffing at work, I had to come in. But I've also been fighting a bug for the past week. Basically, the day before my last day at Mrs. Fields, the owner's wife came in, and said that her mother-in-law had the flu, and from the 2 minute conversation, I caught it. It's not really that bad, just annoying. And owing to the fact that we're short-staffed at my main job, I have to stay late with cuts into my sleep time. And that means that I can't NyQuil and sleep this off. So I'm averaging about 3 hours of sleep a night. And when I woke up yesterday, I could tell that the cough has taken it's toll on my voice. So I took a sick day. My employer has tightened up its attendance policies, and they can now affect quarterly bonuses, but I'm doing nobody any favors going to work sick.

So, I took a sick day last night. And I noticed that it's been rather warm of late. So I set my air-conditioner up again. It's was right were I left it. I just put the exhaust hose back up in the window. It's not even April, and I already have the AC on. Although once the current spell of warm weather passes, I'll probably take it down again, put up my window fan instead. For now...

Ok, it’s 2019 already…

Why are we still shooting up houses of worship? If you have to resort to violence to prove that you have a better invisible friend, then you’ve lost the argument. There is no place for hate. If you think that somebody’s life is forfeit because they worship God differently (or a different God), or they come from a different country, or their skin color is different, or they are otherwise different from you, then you really need to rethink your life and your priorities.

There is no place for hate. Violence is evil. Period. Any questions?

All good things…

It has been said that all good things must come to an end. Even vacations. Technically, I haven’t been on vacation. I only took time off from one job, so I could cover the owner’s vacation at Mrs. Fields. But the schedule and the duties have been sufficiently different that it seems like a vacation. But whatever it is, it is coming to an end. Tomorrow night is when I return to my first job. Though I could’ve gotten used to working the day shift. Seriously. But it’s time to go back to work. And it’ll be awhile before I get a vacation. For some reason, whenever I call in sick, it’s my vacation time that gets the hit (and not the sick leave)…..

The past week’s misadventures on my phone…

I finally decided to upgrade my phone from Nougat to Oreo. Since my phone is S-off, it just means flashing the Oreo firmware and then flashing the ROM. Which went well, without any complications. unfortunately, I didn’t like the Oreo ROM. I was so used to the options I had to customize my Nougat ROM. So I thought it would be pretty straightforward. Reflash the Nougat firmware, then the recovery, and then the ROM. Ok, so I did that. And then I didn’t have my fingerprint scanner anymore. Reflashed the Oreo ROM, and everything worked again. Repeated this a couple of times, and each time, I couldn’t use my fingerprint scanner. Finally I downloaded the Factory ROM (Nougat) from Sprint, and ran the execuatable, and it install everything back onto my like it was from the Factory. So I then reflashed my custom Nougat ROM again, and the hardware worked, but I had no LTE data connection. Fortunately, Pierce Transit buses now have WiFi. So, yesterday I reflashed the factory ROM and this time I let it run, which I should’ve done in the first place, as it had to do a hands-free activation again. Once that was done, I then reflashed my custom Nougat ROM, and everything now works again.

If it ain’t broke, then don’t try to fix it….