TWO monitors!
February 5, 2005, 10:08 PM
Look at this!
Yes, I have TWO monitors now! One and two. The big one is my original 19″ monitor that came with my computer back in 1998. The second one is a HP monitor that I inherited from my father when he recently got a new computer. I actually got the whole computer from him, and I scavenged it for parts. So I took the video card out of it and also hooked up the monitor.
Continue reading…Categories: Computer
We hit a milestone!
January 29, 2005, 9:34 AM
Yes, we did hit a milestone. One computer is successfully connected wirelessly for the high-speed Internet. And it’s Dad’s laptop. But it works.
For those of you who are wondering what changed without a service call, we moved the modem and router from my room to the family room. And then we tried it all using a laptop. And it works.
So now we need to figure out what’s wrong with mine. The problem I had before was that it wasn’t seeing the wireless card I put in there. So we’ll see. I’m going to fiddle around with my computer a bit after work, and see what I can come up with. Somehow, I’m going to get up and running. Then the rest shall be easy.
All I have to say is goodbye 56K Internet service!
January 25, 2005, 8:56 PM
This is the day I’ve been waiting for! Tomorrow we abandon our 56K Internet service, in favor of CABLE.
And guess who’s setting up the whole thing. You guessed it – me. I’m also doing all the shopping for it. Wednesday morning, I’m going to Adelphia’s office in Staunton, then going to the Staunton Wal-Mart to get all the equipment. I’m getting a cable modem, wireless router, PCI cards for the big computers, PCMCIA cards for the laptops, etc. And then when it’s all finished, high-speed Internet will finally have arrived.
Let me tell you… having high-speed Internet will be VERY nice. Uploads will be a breeze. No longer will uploading a major update take hours. This is going to be SO nice. I’ll also finally be able to give my Online Store the revamping that it’s so badly needed for some time.
Nice little update package from Microsoft today…
October 1, 2004, 1:00 AM
I updated my Windows this evening to all the latest stuff from Microsoft. This means new service packs, incorporating a bunch of new features. Don’t know what half of them do, but I’ll figure it out eventually.
Only things I’ve really messed with are the ones of immediate concern to me (read: annoying features). I fixed the pop-up blocker to not chime and throw a message up when it finds one. I don’t need to know about the ad I just missed that badly. Just a little icon in the corner is all I need. I also fixed it where I can still play flash animations that I’ve got saved on my computer without an extra “OK”. That was a bother before I found the switch to turn that off. I save flash animations from the Internet onto my computer when I find something interesting. I have my favorites that I watch periodically.
My comment above about “…incorporating a bunch of new features. Don’t know what half of them do…” reminds me of Tim Allen’s stand-up act. He says something like, “I bought a [tool]. What does it do? I don’t know. Looks good on that pegboard, though.” Then he goes on to say, “And where did I get it? Sears!” Tim Allen seems to like tools from Sears.
What to do…
April 28, 2004, 11:59 PM
Fixing Becky’s computer, and her roommate Rebecca’s computer went very well on Tuesday. Rebecca’s computer needed to have a DVD-RW drive installed on it, which was a piece of cake. I just slid it in through the front of the computer, secured it, connected it up, and voila. Done. Installing hardware was a snap.
Meanwhile, I think we may have finally gotten W32.Welchia.B off of Becky’s computer. Note I say “think”. We hope we did. I found better instructions than before, with actual manual removal instructions that don’t just say “Run a Norton scan and let us do the rest”. However, we did accidentally delete an important file, svchost.exe. We actually had to scavenge that file from elsewhere to make her Internet work again. But I think that the virus has finally been eradicated from her computer, though I’ll be the first to know if it recurs again.
Becky and Rebecca and I also went out to eat at O’Charley’s in Harrisonburg and then out to the Dayton Wal-Mart to shop. The most priceless visual moment was when Becky climbed in the shopping cart, and proceeded to sit down in it. The most priceless line was by me to the person running the Service Desk after we were finished shopping, with Becky and Rebecca at my side:
And I quote: Is it okay if we leave our cart here while we go use the men’s room?
“I might as well have waited!”
April 22, 2004, 5:39 AM
No, I’m not getting a new computer any time soon. My computer turns six years old next month, and still runs better than a lot of people’s more recent computers. Admittedly, it’s literally been years since I fixed a computer older than mine. But my computer runs like a dream. It’s because I am so meticulous about how it’s all organized, as well as how careful I am about what I install on it.
Meanwhile, in fixing the computers of friends and family (my friend Becky’s computer and my sister’s computer come to mind), they tell me they have a problem, and then I sit down, and I’m like, “What did you do to this thing?”
Gotta love surprises, eh?
Meanwhile, here on my working-like-clockwork computer, things are going well. My Transit Center Web site is complete, and I’m just going over it to make sure it’s all how I want it before I say “Doors opening!” and welcome people into the site. Look for a minor redesign on the “Major Areas” section when I am ready to open the site.
And now it’s nearly 7:30… time to get ready for work. I love this quality time with my journal…
Categories: Computer
An unexpected but fun evening
April 7, 2004, 12:43 AM
I had an interesting evening. After a Risk Control Team meeting and a cashier meeting at work that I had to attend on my day off, with three hours in between them, which basically shot my whole day, it was nice to have a change in evening activities.
Basically, after the cashier meeting, my friend Katie (who works with me) and I went over to her house and basically just visited for a while, and I also got to meet her mother, as well as a friend of theirs. Then Katie and I went out to this Chinese restaurant in Waynesboro on Main Street next to El Puerto. All in all, we had a good time. Then after that, we went back to her house, looked at some Strong Bad Emails (I made reference to the “Thnikkaman” at work once, and so we looked at that), and then noting the number of pop-ups on her computer, cleaned out some junk on her computer.
I don’t know what it is about me… a computer has an issue, it’s like something itching. I’ve got to fix it. So now all those evil pop-ups are gone. Especially when one of them said, “Decide who wears the handcuffs tonight!” That was a surprise, needless to say.
So all in all, it was a fun evening, with two friends hanging out for a few hours. And it’s always nice to be able to get away from work, too, since even after a day at work, I flip on Nick at Nite, and there’s a Wal-Mart commercial. So it was nice to have a change from the usual.
April 1!
April 1, 2004, 11:57 PM
Wow… I haven’t written to you all since Tuesday morning.
Anyway, I have to say that I was successful in my eradication of the virus on Sis’s computer, which was W32.Pinfi. With over 3,000 instances of it, someone really did a number on that machine. But we got it all cleaned up, and she’s back online. Thank goodness. As it is, I was working on her computer until 1:00 AM, and didn’t get home until almost 4:00. That was a LONG day.
And I found out that we missed something on Becky’s computer, which I fixed on Monday night in Harrisonburg, as the W32.Welchia.B virus reappeared. Seems we missed something. So we’re going to make another trip up to fix that. And meanwhile, I’m going to do a little research to find out why the blasted thing came back.
Meanwhile, pouring the candy from a broken bag of chocolates into the trash reminded me of an oft-repeated dream I’ve had. From time to time, I have dreams that I’m at work. Now in these dreams, I know I’m clocked out, because I don’t have to go into work for a while. So with that, I then think, “I’m working off the clock, how did I get into this?” and “I’m working off the clock! I’m going to be in so much trouble!” Etc. The dreams tend to revolve around the fact that I’m working at the Service Desk, and doing so off the clock, and how did I get into this.
Categories: Cell phone, Computer, Dreams, Family, Walmart
One computer down, and one more to go…
March 30, 2004, 8:39 AM
Well! Monday night at Becky’s (the person whose computer I was fixing) in Harrisonburg was productive and fun. It was determined to be the W32.Welchia.B worm, after a Norton Antivirus scan was run. We also did some general housekeeping, running my favorite “spyware” cleaner, Ad-Aware, as well as getting rid of some unused programs.
We also had a load of fun that evening. We went to Chili’s on East Market Street for dinner after running the system scan, and then while we were out, went to OfficeMax to see if we could cash in on the “STORE CLOSING EVERYTHING MUST GO” sale going on. I didn’t get anything, but Becky and her roommate both found something. At 50-70% off, it’s quite a deal. Becky’s roommate got a DVD-RW for like $75, which I thought was pretty darn good. Amusing product: A do-it-yourself divorce kit. It’s actually a little box that supposedly has everything you need for getting a divorce. No wonder it was marked 70% off. I’d love to hear testimonials of people who used it: “I got a divorce-in-a-box and look at me now!”
After OfficeMax, we went a little bit down the street and headed over to Wally World, a store that all of us are much more familiar with. We bought some stuff, and we had a blast, and I brought my cell phone with me, and so we have pictures. A sequel to the Wal-Mart photo set from 2000? I don’t know, but I definitely got enough to make a photo set out of it for Life and Times. That will also mark the first time that the cell phone gets some extensive use with the Web site. But we had a blast, buying up some junk food, some stuff you want to keep away from the “bad ol puddy tat” (you’ll see), as well as hamming it up with the “quintessential Wal-Mart item”, Spongebob Squarepants, etc., etc., etc.
Two days off really leaves a person refreshed!
February 25, 2004, 2:47 PM
And I broke my promise to myself not to go into a Wal-Mart on this “weekend” (it’s two consecutive days off – that’s just as good as Saturday and Sunday in my book), as I had to go out to get some odds and ends that were running out. Note, though, that I went to Staunton instead of my own store.
Otherwise, I got the desk back into position against the wall. That was good. The Merry Maids (a company we employ that comes every other Wednesday to clean) commented that the place will look really nice when it’s finished. I agree. It’s going to look SO nice when it’s done.
So by tonight, I should have the computer set back up. This whole thing about using Dad’s computer is really a pain. Especially after starting up his computer, discovering a program called “Spybot – Search & Destroy” that takes ten minutes to check your computer for spyware when you start up. I terminated that program prematurely, since I believe that the best spyware deterrent is to actually (God forbid) know and pay attention to what you’re putting on your computer. That’s what I do. I do have Ad-Aware on my computer, but that I only use if I think I may have spyware. Then it goes and finds it and does away with it.
Of course, we still ask the question of why his computer was off to begin with, but that’s not as important.
Categories: Bedroom remodel, Computer, Walmart
The computer is dismantled now. That’s weird looking.
February 24, 2004, 11:52 AM
The computer is now dismantled, and all the components (the computer itself, the monitor, etc.) are piled up on and around my blue recliner. It looks so strange, let me tell you. And I pulled the desk out to clean behind it, plus pick up whatever wires are remaining behind the desk.
And once that’s done, I just have to do some taping, and the last stage of painting will commence. This will complete the paint job. And then it’s all downhill from there once the paint dries. Then I start putting furniture back. I purchase and assemble the new bookshelf. The card table that the paint stuff is on will get put back. The paint stuff that I paid all of $3 for which included a brush, two rollers, and a tray (go Mainstays brand) will get thrown out, and the remaining paint (I estimate I will have about half a can left when I’m done) will go to the garage where it will sit in reserve for touch-ups and such as needed.
I just can’t wait to be done with this. My deadline for being out of Sis’s room is fast approaching, and I’m getting tired of things being all over the place. I’m ready to be done with it, and get Mom in there to give my carpet a good shampooing (I am officially not allowed to do that myself because Mom’s like that, so it’s not like I’m passing the buck or anything).
And last night, I put together some storage cabinets for the corner of the room, and also put together my torchieres. Now I’ll be happy when this place is finished, so I can have my room back…
Categories: Bedroom remodel, Computer
And a side note – always make sure your batteries are fresh
November 28, 2003, 2:20 AM
Yeah, I was writing the previous journal entry, and my keyboard died on me. Now for those of you who don’t know, I use a wireless. Both my keyboard and mouse have no cords, and I have a receiver on my desk for them both.
So I’m writing my previous journal entry about how FCUK dictates exactly how to give the change out, and the keyboard dies. It won’t type another thing. So I go into crisis mode. First of all, I “evacuated” my journal-entry-in-progress from the Web form to a text file by using mouse commands, thus ensuring that I wouldn’t lose what I was working on. Next, after pressing “connect” buttons on my equipment, I restarted. Still no luck. No signals.
So I went downstairs to where we keep the batteries, and found some Duracell “Procell” batteries, which are supposedly professional alkaline batteries (probably a fancy way of saying “expensive”, but that’s besides the point). I popped those babies in, and it came back to life.
Categories: Computer
My computer, the Internet kiosk
July 30, 2003, 6:13 PM
Ever get that feeling that your computer is more like a public terminal? That’s how it seems my family takes my computer. It’s their little place to use the Internet, it seems. They even doodle on whatever paper I have laying around. So I’ll have something on my desk that I need to refer to or something, and then I’ll come back and find the phone number to someone I don’t even know scrawled on it.
All the more reason to finish college and move out…