Category Archives: Life

Some Changes

Leave a reply

I ordered and received two Motorola Razr phones. I got a blue one for my Grandmother, because her phone no longer works due to some water damage. The responsible party for that being my daughter, Patty. I also ordered an orange one for myself, because with all the commotion that has been going on over Grandma not having a phone I realized that it could just as easily be me in that situation. I figured that I would be a lot better off having a backup. I ordered them both from two different sellers on eBay. I am not really a big fan of ordering things from eBay, because I have a general mistrust of people on the internet, and those fears were not allayed as the blue phone showed up and worked just fine, but the orange one had a bum battery and actually had to be glued together at the bottom of the phone, because one of the snaps that holds it together was broken.

I did contact the seller right away, then waited over 24 hours for a response. I do not believe that makes me impatient, but I could be wrong. The seller said that they would send a new battery right away, and then after a week I finally received a “new” battery. I do not even know if this is an official battery or a Chinese knock-off, because it sort of looks like the original, which someone told me that the original batteries were discontinued in 2006. On the bright side the glue is holding and the battery seems to be holding a charge.

I have spent the last day importing contacts from Outlook via bluetooth to the phone, because I do not store contacts on the SIM card. I tried to install the Motorola software – but that did not go so well. I am not sure it is even compatible with Windows Vista. I also got ahold of wallpapers and some ringtones that I’m trying out with this phone from a website that I am very glad I found. It is sort of a good thing that this is not a smart phone or a windows mobile phone, because I might very well have started my search looking for themes and such for that type of phone. Knowing that Motorola Razr’s were (still?) very popular I searched for that. It seems I spend more time playing around and customizing the look of my phones than I do actually talking and using the phone for its intended purpose.

Speaking of playing around and customizing things I went ahead and installed Windows 7 Ultimate RC2 on my laptop. I even went with the 64bit version, which is a little more work, because I had to find 64bit drivers, and it seems that Dell stopped providing links to these drivers, since they never sold the Inspiron 1520 with a 64bit operating system. I have to believe that this policy is going to chance when Windows 7 actually goes retail and people can purchase that for their laptop. I haven’t had much use for the laptop this summer, since I do not feel like carrying it to class and I do not spend enough time away from home to really need to have the convenience of having a laptop there with me all day, so when I ran into a Vista specific bug with the wireless I went ahead and installed the new operating system.

The bug in question was that the laptop did not show it was connected to the wireless network when it was. I spent hours looking for an answer. The problem with wireless is that first you start with your operating system (Windows Vista Ultimate), then you move on to the hardware. The hardware in question is the Intel 4965AGN, which I ended up at one point downloading and installing both the drivers and software from the Dell site and the Intel site. Then I was searching the Netgear site and the DD-WRT site, since that is the 3rd party firmware I use on my router. As you can see it is a complicated process, especially when there is no remedy for the problem – short of reformatting the system. Yes, the final word is that it is a bug that was introduced in SP1 and Microsoft still has not fixed it apparently.

The issue arose when I was installing the Intel 4965AGN wireless card, and since this is a really new setup for me I went the extra mile searching for a solution, rather than just blaming the OS. I decided I needed to go ahead and try an N network in my house, because I found this Netgear router on sale at newegg.com for $20. I was only allowed to get one, so I had a friend of mine order another one, since I had ever intention on putting DD-WRT on both and using one as a router and the other as a network bridge. I have a friend that already offered to buy my old router, and all I have to do is go over there and set it up for him, so this whole thing is working out pretty good for me.

Long story short my new setup has been working marvelously. I even have internet to my Samsung television now. Which means that I am able to take advantage of widgets on my television. I can check the weather forecast, news, and even twitter from my television now. There is no new firmware for the television, but there was a software update that I was able to get, so I will have to see when they release a new firmware if you can download that or if you have to put it on a USB key or something. The reason I am still really hoping for a firmware update is that I am still having the problem with the contrast, especially white letters appearing grey, then white, then grey again while watching cable. I do not even honestly know if that is an issue with the television at all and not a problem with the cable box. I should probably contact Samsung support and get that cleared up.

I am certainly glad that I moved my computer downstairs into the basement. This summer has been very warm and it is definitely much cooler down here than it would be upstairs. I think that it might even be a little cooler upstairs now that my computer is not there to add even more heat to the equation. This is of course to say nothing of the increase in privacy I have. Not that I necessarily have been watching inappropriate things, but I do enjoy watching youtube videos and other things without having people looking over my shoulder.

I had to buy a rug and a dehumidifier in order to move the computer down here, because the basement does have some water in it whenever it rains. I did not feel it would be safe to put the computer desk on the floor. Ever since I’ve been running the dehumidifier and my computer downstairs it has gotten noticeably warmer down here. It also smells better and everything feels drier.

Adventures in Asian Food

1 Reply

I got something from the Asian Market from Krhainos, because that is what he does, because he knows I love Asian food. It is sort of ridiculous how much I love this stuff.

This is what he brought me. I mean he brought other things, but this was the most interesting I think. There is also these little shots that are supposed to be all the vitamins and stuff as a whole cup of yogurt, but that is not very exciting. It is a microwave meal. Apparently made for one. I decided to take it apart and enjoy the contents.

First thing I have to say is that it was the hotest thing I have eaten in a while. It wasn’t “Asian hot” which is typically how people describe something being hot with no real flavor – just a great deal of hot. It was more “Mexican hot” and I am sure that this can be attributed to the fact that I mixed a sauce with chili peppers into this meal.

It was pretty good. I wish I had access to a microwave at the University, because I would probably eat one of these things between classes.

_______________________________________

Riding to Class

Leave a reply

I’ve been using the Garmin Edge 305 all week. I could link to every trip I have taken, from the Garmin Connect site, and then by clicking through anyone could see the trip I took on a particular day, but I would rather have it displayed on the site the way I have already done. The problem is that the Garmin site shows the results the same way, but, as far as I know, you can’t take those results and display them on your own site and I am getting kind of tired up of uploading all my trips to two sites. One just so I have it recorded with my other activities and the other site so I can display it here. Honestly, I am just hoping that Garmin does something to their own site that allows for what I want.

I’ve been riding my bike to the University and other places as well. I got a little sunburn and I have a little bit of soreness in my legs, but I feel good. This week the weather was hot and it did not rain or anything, so I still have to see how I fair when the weather is not “ideal”. This week I rode about 28 miles. I think I can do more.

On something completely not related to bikes I sent in my Xbox 360 for repair, a full week and a half after the initial call. I finally had Microsoft mail me the shipping label, since waiting for the new Xbox Support website to actually work the way it is supposed to did not seem to be a very good option. The Xbox Support website that the email links me to is still completely broken. It does not claim to have a console on record that I have registered, even though I registered on the phone and on the site. When I put in the reference number and my zip code it claims that they do not match. I have called about it, and the answer I get is that they can cancel my current repair and give me a new email, with a new reference number, that will not work just like the last three that they sent. I would say the new Xbox Support site is completely broken from my experience.

Bike Ride to Storm’s House

Leave a reply

I decided to take a bike ride today, because I was feeling kind of restless. It was nothing like most of my trips as far as distance goes, but I feel like even though the bike ride was relatively short I got a lot out of it going on such a hot and humid day.

I went over to Storm’s house and taking Brown Street was a good idea, because there is a bike lane all the way up to his house for the most part, so that worked out pretty well. While I was there we watched some videos and I looked at some pictures of when he was in Iraq. He has this video of him chasing a little tornado in a pickup truck. It is sort of hilarious.

I decided, as I often do, not to go home the way I went there. There was a bike lane for most of the trip back. If you look at the speed I managed to get going kind of fast going down a hill by my house. It was fun.

Bike Trip

Leave a reply

I just got the Garmin Edge 305 in the mail today, which was quite a surprise because they had said on the website that I ordered it from that it would not be here till Saturday. I decided I needed to test it, even though it has been raining quite a bit today. I loaded up some stuff in the bag on the back of the bike and started my journey to Wal-Mart, where I needed to return something.

I was just starting my trip and I ran into Eddy. I asked him what he was doing and he said “following you”, so he went as well.

The beginning of the trip was fine, but then again we were on back streets. That was fun. The main streets like Arlington and Main are not so good. There really isn’t enough room on the side for the person on the bike and there is a great deal of garbage and gravel. There are no sidewalks for a good part of the trip as well, so we did have to ride on the side of the street.

We got something to drink at a gas station on Arlington. I forgot to bring Gatorade or something. We also got barked at by a dog who was smart enough not to run into the street. We saw a pig in one persons front yard. It was really big. We also saw a badger when we were coming back on main.

We made it to Wal-Mart, made the exchange, and got a screwdriver for Eddy’s bike. The front derailer wasn’t going down into the bottom gear so I bought a 88 cent Philips screwdriver and fixed it. We headed home and we only got rained on a bit at the end of the trip.

Internet Recipes

Leave a reply

I had another cookout on Saturday. This time I tried some Italian sausages. I sauteed different colored peppers and onions on the stove. Tim came over. It was pretty good, but I think I could do better, and with that in mind I have been searching the internet for more recipes. I had a better fire in the grill this time, because I went with more lighter fluid and waited longer this time. That was a suggestion from Derek that ended up panning out.

The kids both passed and they will both be going on to the next grade. Where exactly they will be attending school this year is another matter entirely as I’ve enrolled them both in private schools, which is the alternative you get in this area, because the schools are doing so poorly, and I just have to see if that is going to work out.

Cookout

Leave a reply

We had a cookout yesterday. I invited Derek and Jo over. I invited more people, but it was just sort of a general invitation, so I didn’t really expect anyone else to show up. The kids and Grandma were here as well. I got a new grill and it went pretty well. I did hamburgers and hot dogs. I also did zucchini and squash, but a good deal of that ended up in the driveway, since neither I nor Derek could seem to get it from the grill to the table without dropping them. We had watermelon for dessert and I found out that I’m the only one who likes watermelon. I didn’t think anyone didn’t like watermelon.

Summer is Near

1 Reply

Tomorrow is the midterm for the Maps and Map Reading class I’m taking this summer. I have no idea how I’m going to do that, because up till now it’s been working with groups on worksheet after worksheet and it is hard to imagine sitting there completing a test by myself. I’m not even sure we were supposed to be working together on the worksheets, it’s just that the entire back row of the classroom is education majors, and one history major, and we all sort of think the same way about these types of assignments, which is to say, that we all think we should do it together.

Maps and Map Reading is a lot of math, but the professor is pretty cool about it. When it comes to miles she only wants us to sort of round up or down depending on where it falls on the mile marker on the map key. This really helps when you are trying to do the area for a building on a map, because instead of reaching for the ruler, which is my first instinct, you can just put the dots on the edge of a piece of paper and then line it up with the key and just sort of guess.

Tomorrow is also the last day of school for the kids and then they are on to summer break. I think they are happy about that. The weather has been pretty bad this week, but I’m sure it is going to warm up soon and they are going to get a taste of summer weather. I still have to get their grades and then it is on to a few months without having to worry about waking them up in the morning.

Contest

Leave a reply

I’ve had pretty good luck with contests over the last several years. I won a contest, well technically I don’t suppose I won, but nevertheless I did get a pair of Nike shoes for Michelle. I have not been able to say anything about it, because I wanted it to be a surprise, but at the end of the movie Coraline it says “For Those in the Know: Jerkwad”. None of us knew what it meant, so I went home and did some google searching and found out that it was the word you needed to enter a contest on the official website.

The short story is that we won. I gave the pair of shoes to Michelle today and got a few pictures.

_______________________________________

Patty’s Bike

Leave a reply

I got the bike up and running. I did not really “need” a new front tire, but the one that was on there was showing some signs of wear, so I thought it was best just to replace it. I also had to replace the front rim, because the other one was rusted out pretty good. The new chain wasn’t a problem at all to put on. The brakes didn’t end up needing anything more than adjusting. I also got a new plastic piece for the back wheel, since the old one was cracked. I sent Patty out to ride it around to make sure that everything is in good working order.

_______________________________________