laptop issues continue (e:theecarey,47877)
(e:theecarey,47879)

So, my computer mouse and touch pad issues did not mysteriously disappear as I had hoped. While I enjoy miraculous recoveries of inanimate objects, there is usually an underlying issue that needs to be addressed.

Originally, two mice failed to work. USB ports are working with other components. Touchpad stops working or works intermittently at the same time that the mice fails. After uninstalling the mouse drivers and allowing the computer to reinstall them, I found that neither continued to work. I did not see how a new mouse would help, but I had picked one up anyway as I wanted a retractable travel variety. Interestingly, the mouse worked. (e:theecarey,47877)

Forward to a couple weeks later or so, and now the same issues have reemerged. Touchpad and mouse work intermittently. Now that I have backed everything up with my new hard drive (e:theecarey,47946), I am much more open to experimentation. Going to root around in the video stuff soon..

But all that stuff besides, I am facing the reality of having to purchase a new computer. I've had this Toshiba laptop for over four years, my old Gateway laptop (still running, but has its own set of issues) for about seven years, and for kicks, I still have my desktop circa 1997; rarely used but once or twice a year- wow, twelve years already? (it collects dust)

I know I have prattled on about buying a new PC on and off for some time. I always want new gadgets, but am often reticent in plunking down the money until I have to. So now reality is setting in, and I really need to figure out what I want, need, etc.

Ideally, I would build a desktop myself and purchase a little laptop for my mobile/in between needs. That would be a toss up between the ASUS or the HP. Not sure what my budget is yet, but once I start getting prices that will help figure out what I want to spend versus what I have to spend.

I miss CompUSA. Online, I usually look at TigerDirect.com

sorry again, (e:metalpeter) - nothing risque to be seen here. (again!)

drats.

I'll leave that to (e:paul) and (e:hodown) :)


I purchased a 1TB external hard drive over the weekend.

I went with the Western Digital My Book Essential Edition. After some research and checking price points, I felt comfortable going with this one at this time.

It is a simple plug and play utilizing its USB connection cord.

I have since backed up my music, photos and other files from my primary laptop, but I have plenty more to back up from my other computer and CD-ROMs, and even a slew of old floppy disks. I will continue to back up on disk (back up to the back up), then also back up on occasion to the external hard drive. I don't see myself having it continually in use at this point.

I now want to pull the tools off the drive (save them to a disk/flash drive) and reformat the drive to get that space back. I imagine I would lose everything I have saved to it so far? Anyway, I'm not in a hurry as I'm not hurting for the 465GB that it takes up, but would like to know that I have all that extra space for my precious belongings.

Here are some Google images:

A slew of over ripe bananas and creative use of available baking supplies plus random items from fridge produced not one, but two varieties of insanely delicious banana 'bread'. Banana something anyways! So good I want more and desperately want to reproduce in all its yummy glory.


I'd list the recipe, but I didn't follow one. I had some ingredients and mixed them together to see what came up. Seriously.

Two bowls of ingredients were mixed together. One that resulted in a regular super crazy moist banana bread with fine chopped walnuts:


Then, feeling extra experimental (and loving the taste of bananas and chocolate), I added a bunch of stuff** together to get this:





Both were so good, and the antithesis to all things relatively healthy. My next adventure in banana bread will be an experiment in making a hearty bread made with all good stuff. But I'd be tempted to try and make one or both of these again.

• I remember I threw together a bowl of several mashed bananas, butter, flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, eggs, a splash of vanilla coffee creamer, the remnants of an almost empty sour cream container, small semi sweet chocolate chips swirled in, hot cocoa mix and a few walnuts. Maybe a sprinkle of brown sugar too. Oh and a few extra tiny chocolate chips tossed on top once poured into the pan.

It was a huge hit with anyone who ate it. They didn't believe what was in it. I don't think it was that weird, but I know my 'creative tendencies" in the kitchen can be questionable.

mmmMmmMmmMmmmmmmm

• sigh*

I'm sitting here looking at my user pic. I was musing over the events surrounding it when I thought more about the time frame. My user pic is one that I took with my phone (pocket pc 8125) over two years ago.

That was when I lived with (e:Paul), (e:Matthew), and (e:Terry).

wow, how time has passed!

Also, I am sitting at the same desk that is in that picture. I loved sitting at my desk, in my room, working on various writing and creative projects. The second hand desk was an important part of my little world. A lovely large Salvation Army find, now so long ago.

When I moved out, my beloved desk was shoved into my garage, left to sit and collect dust ever since. I was planning on selling it, until I had the notion recently to bring it inside my house. I had moved the furniture around my living room a bit, and now had a very empty large space. Which in most cases I prefer. Simple surroundings is a preference.

But I needed a better work space. I often used my dining room table, but that is a little out of the way (and cold), despite my loving the room it is in. I have a pseudo office slash exercise room slash cat litter box slash throw all room, but it isn't inviting to my needs at all. So usually I sat on the comfy couch with my laptop and just hooked up the printer as needed. My coffee table always in some sort of office like disarray.

yuck, clutter.

Couch is good, very comfy even, and likely preferred for mindless surfing, but now that I moved my desk in, and my comfy computer chair, I am loving it so much more. I normally hate sitting at a desk. I am tall with a long torso, so often desks, counter tops etc are too low, even with lowered seating, putting a strain on my back. It puts me into a forced bad posture. This desk sits high, and my chair is low, so my back is happy with good (ok, better) posture.

Now all I want to do is sit at my desk with a mug of coffee and write.

even my coffee tastes better sitting here.

and that's a good thing.

kinda dorky, but I bet some of you relate in some way :)

come on, girl, do it right!.... looks like Jackman is!



and so..
I just tuned in (ok, 35 minutes ago) to the Presidential Address to Congress, after watching, The Biggest Loser. I forgot how much I liked that show. Somehow it seems wrong to munch on gummie bears (e:theecarey,47879) while watching the people on there bike for 24 hours straight.

Reminds me that I need to renew my gym membership and get myself on a schedule. I'd like a training session to help me get back on track and to have a better goal in mind. I lose and tone quick (and lose tone and gain quick), so I want something further to reach for. If the trainers at UB Alumni didn't look so damn bored and put off by training, I would set myself up with someone from there. Alas, I don't need someone yakking with other college kids while I'm trying to learn and push myself. Leave me to my elliptical and weights, thank you.

ok, gotta get back to Obama. I think he just made a snarkyish comment about no more will people be flying their private jets to meetings, or something like that... heh

I really am in the market for an external hard drive. I think that has also been on the mind of another estripper? (e:tinypliny) perhaps? Was it/is it you? Whomever it is, did you come up with something yet?

I have most all of my pictures backed up. I know I copied several folders awhile back, but I am thinking that I haven't kept up with it since then, so I am going through them now and making sure that I have at least the past ten months copied to disk.

Then Word documents will simply be attached to an email and sent off to another email account. Most documents that I have are old school papers, so overall, nothing really vitally important.

HOWEVER, my music is.

This is what actually prompted my desire for backup more than anything else. Using a bunch of CDs would be ridiculous- time consuming and it would take way to many. So, I decided on burning all of/most of my music to DVD's. I just bought a ten pack at Big Lots for $4.00, should more than take care of my immediate needs. 4.7 GB each? yeh, i think so.

Once I scout around and find an external HD, then all will be backed up to that. Maybe I want a couple of HDs? Would that be better for keeping organized? ie; a place for all of my photos to be stored? This will all be new to me, as I haven't looked into/been interested in them before now.

also, I bought an optical travel mouse (retractable cord) for $8.00 *

and some gummy bears.

• The new mouse is working. Unlike the two/three others tried out in the prior post (e:theecarey,47877). It is smaller than I am used to, but I am thankful that it is working. It is all shiny blue and silver. I pledge to take good care of it. Keep it from plunging to it's death.

but I am still keeping my eyes open for other laptop misbehavior, as I feel skeptical that the others weren't working, and the touchpad was all wonky as well.

anyway, so far so good.

Sitting here sipping a mug of coffee, I have a few things to figure out with my laptop.

Could it be possible that I have two dying mice, or is it likely something more troubling than that. I'm betting on that latter, hoping for the former.

My notes so far- add suggestions if you please :)

My laptop mouse, once plugged in, works for a second or two, then cuts out. I had another laying around that I tried, and it too did the same. However, I am good at managing to let those things nose dive to the floor, so if either of them gave up working, I wouldn't blame them.

but I doubt it.

I also had a full day of normal mouse behavior in between the erratic mouse behavior (and now pretty much unresponsive).

So off to the Device Manager I went. Found the mice, uninstalled the drivers. Restarted, let the computer recognize and reinstall/reestablish drivers. Prior erratic behavior continues.

Use of the touchpad is now erratic (from smooth and accurate pointer movement to effortful placement and location of pointer) as well. and annoying,

Thinking it is not mouse specific at this point

Both USB ports work well -dug out an old A drive, also plugged my printer in.

So, System Restore. I can't think of any programs or other tweaking I have done to my computer recently, but I went back a couple of weeks anyways. As assumed- system restore wasn't fruitful. Could go back further.... but I don't want to at this point (if I don't have to).

so now I am stumped (or at least reticent to go where it might be going--motherboard). Laptop issues stump me easier than desk top issues. Everything is so integrated that it can be difficult to pinpoint, or even find an accurate starting point.


again, because of this, it is possible I am looking at a downhill motherboard.

but maybe not.

now I'm backing up some files to disk and flash drives.

and then some research, see what more I can come up with

oy!
(I've also since added liqueur to my coffee)

Go play with your own spider:


This is as close as I would willingly come to touching one.

It is creepy.







and if that doesn't do it for you, you can:

break dance:



sketch and paint:


eat mice in a snake game:


or..

play with a drum machine:

I was looking through yahoo news photos from around the world. I took particular interest to ones involving an Australian bushfire. I believe this took place around the 8th or so of this month? Not sure if anything about it has been posted around here, as the more I looked into the story, the more I realized how much of a global interest it has, especially in regards to a Koala named Sam (Samantha) and a fireman, David Tree, who helped her**.

This is the picture that initially attracted my attention:


"A koala named Bob (top), rescued from last week's deadly bushfires, puts his paw around new friend and fellow fire survivor Sam as she recovers from her burns at Southern Ash Wildlife Centre near Melbourne February 11, 2009. A love story about two koalas rescued from Australia's deadliest bushfires has provided a glimmer of hope after days of devastation and the loss of more than 180 lives."
(Southern Ash Wildlife Centre/Colleen Wood/Reuters)


Then this picture followed, which made my heart ache a bit. I immediately wondered how he came to approach her and what the scenario was like (which we get to find out... )


"A firefighter finds a koala moving gingerly on her scorched paws after wildfires sweep Australia. "Sam" accepted a bottle of water and is now recovering at a wildlife shelter."


Then I did another search, which brought me to this video of the fireman approaching the Koala and giving her water.


"A koala named Sam is given a drink of water by Country Fire Authority volunteer fire fighter Dave Tree as he rescued her after deadly fires swept through the area of Mirboo North, about 120km (75 miles) southeast of Melbourne, February 8, 2009."
(Mark Pardew/Reuters)



A few more photos from news.com.au- Tree and Sam reunited..
insanely sad and cute- I want to kiss and hug and squish her with love!











Taken from above link, the following article is one of many available.
[box] Feb 12, 2009 04:30 AM
Comments on this story (2)
Belinda Goldsmith
Reuters News Agency

CANBERRA-A love story between two badly burned koalas rescued from Australia's deadliest bushfires has provided some heart-warming relief after days of devastation and the loss of more than 180 lives.

The story of Sam and her new boyfriend Bob emerged after volunteer firefighter Dave Tree used a cellphone to film the rescue of the bewildered female found in a burned-out forest at Mirboo North, 150 kilometres southeast of Melbourne.

Photos and a video of Tree, 44, approaching Sam while talking gently to her, and feeding her water from a plastic bottle as she put her burned claw in his cold, wet hand quickly hit website YouTube.

But it was after reaching the Southern Ash Wildlife Shelter that Sam met and befriended Bob.

The shelter's Colleen Wood said both koalas were doing well, while other animals like possums, kangaroos and wallabies were also starting to emerge from the debris.

She said Sam had suffered second-degree burns to her paws and would take seven to eight months to recover while Bob had three burned paws with third-degree burns and should be well enough to return to the bush in about four months.

"They keep putting their arms around each other and giving each other hugs," said Wood.

"They really have made friends and it is quite beautiful to see after all this. It's been horrific."

Tree, a volunteer with the Country Fire Authority Victoria, said the pair have "really taken a shine to each other," adding that after the devastating fires "it gives people a bit of hope."

Meanwhile, police in the state of Victoria have detained two people suspected of deliberately lighting one of the bushfires that tore through rural towns north of Melbourne on the weekend, fanned by strong winds and heat-wave temperatures.

"The investigation is in its initial stages. Two people are assisting police with inquiries," a police spokesperson said today.

The fires have burned 1,033 homes and left 5,000 people homeless. Authorities say the death toll is expected to rise beyond 200 as more bodies are discovered in the charred remains of houses.[/box]

• There are some conflicting articles regarding the timing of the video. Firefighter, David Tree took the picture and video about a week before the fires? So while nothing above appears to be untrue, the timing if the video is in question. Regardless the pictures are what they are, an animal has been rescued and things are going well.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10556565

[box] Footage not what it seems * Prue Vincent-February 12, 2009

'Koala Man' Dave Tree woke up this morning to find he'd made front-page news across the globe.

NBC, Fox, CNN, even Ellen Degeneres have been on the phone, propelling Dave into the spotlight.

Unfortunately nobody appears to have asked the relevant question 'when was this video filmed?'

The video of the Mirboo North resident stroking a singed koala was actually taken in the week leading up to the deadliest bushfires in Australian history, during preventative backburning operations.

The video shows Dave feeding water from a bottle to the koala, now universally known as 'Sam'. The wounded animal also rests its paw on Dave's hand.

Now Dave has become a household name from London to Los Angeles, but he says all the media interest has taken its toll.

"I think it happened about a week and a half ago, but you'll have to bear with me - I'm losing track of the days.

"I've had all these phone calls for interviews, I've lost contact. I can't get my head around it. I don't think it's finished yet.

"But if Oprah Winfrey called and wanted me to come over to be on her show, I'd have to say No - I'm terrified of flying. I can't get in a plane.

Dave says there was no intention to deceive the public or court publicity and fame.

He says he only took the video to show his daughter.

"I emailed the photos out to a few people to cheer them up. And it's just snowballed from there.

"It's just gotten so out of control, I definitely wasn't up for it. My head's spinning. I'm having a hard time dealing with it...Mentally...it's just, wow. I'm really outside my comfort zone.

"I'm a country boy. I live in a small town of 1800. "

"If people see it as a distraction and a good news story amidst all the tragedy we're going through, then that's great.

Despite the time-lag, the photographs of Tree stroking Sam the Koala have come to symbolise the plight of native animals left homeless after thousands of hectares of bushland burnt.

"At first she was really wary, then she just plonked down and it was like "You're a big predator, but I'm sore, I'm beat, I'm done." She was in pain. And she just looked up at me. So I yelled out for the bottle of water. And she started lapping it up.

Tree was reunited with Sam after she'd been taken to the Mountain Ash Wildlife Shelter for bandaging.

"It was great to see her again. She had a sniff and I got a bit up close and personal, and I even got a bit choked up.

"So I got in there and got a few happy snaps but I had to bail because I was getting a bit chocked up.

Tree is full of praise for the CFA and DSE's work.

"I don't think there's a word in the English vocabulary that sums up the work these guys are doing. The CFA is a massive family. If one stands we all stand, if one falls, we all fall.

"We got off scot-free in our hometown. My heart goes out to those guys out there still fighting. It's just tragic what's happened.

"So many people have cried over it and I think people needed a release. I think that's why they've related to the koala so much."
[/box]

Relevant post title but nothing risque..


I've now turned my reading attention to the late sci fi and mainstream writer, Philip K. Dick. His novel, "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?", was the basis to the 1982 film, "Bladerunner" and was the novel that spurred my interest to revisit his work.

Although I read books from any genre, there are few authors** that I formally collect. I am always looking to latch on to a new author or be introduced to an established one that I had not yet 'met' or had simply forgotten about, as is the case here.

My boyfriend bought me, "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep" awhile back, and then a recent jaunt to the book store, led me to seeking out another novel. I decided on, The Minority Report, a book of short stories. It was here that I realized that there are many novels and short stories that have been used as a movie premise:
-Minority Report (based on the short story, The Minority Report),
-Total Recall (same book title)
-Screamers (based on, Second Variety)
-Next (based on the short story, The Golden Man)
-Paycheck (same as book title)
-A Scanner Darkly (same as book title)
-Impostor (same as book title)

and several adaptations, such as Ubik Video Game based on his story, Ubik and an Opera, "Valis Opera", adapted from Dick's book, Valis. And there are others.

Many literary critics and scholars in Western and Eastern Europe, Japan, and throughout North America agree that Philip K. Dick will be remembered in years to come as one of the great novelists of the 20th century.

Although this assessment is largely based on the power and continuing relevance of Dick's science fiction novels, these critics argue that he is most accurately regarded not only as a great writer of science fiction but as a major literary figure whose works make an important and ongoing contribution to world literature of all genres.

I'm happy to see that there are several books that I have yet to read by Philip K. Dick. I won't read them all back to back, as I don't want the stories to morph into each other, but I will purchase them regularly, officially adding this writer to my collection.

I normally gulp down books, yet with science fiction, I find myself reading a bit more slowly and carefully. Often the context of a novel can be assumed, a logical progression ensues and the environments are rational and logical. In sci-fi, nothing is like that, so to glaze over a sentence could mean the difference between truly getting what the author is saying and just having a muddled sense of the story, losing the intricacies and oddities. I like to envision every detail and absorb the voice of the writer, and therefor prefer a fresh mind when settling down to read.

The one pet peeve I have about newer printing cover art is anything that is adapted to have a modern image especially when the novel was made into a movie. I do not want to see celebrities on the cover of a classic work, and while I am at it, nor do I want to see, "Oprah's Book Club" stamp of approval. Or, "now a major motion picture" label plastered across the cover. I appreciate the original cover or something that maintains the integrity of the original context. Yet, whatever gets people to buy/borrow books and read is the most important prerogative in my mind.

Another pet peeve is the failure to incorporate the original publish date. When multiple publishers print a book, they need only to include the years that they printed it, not the year that the book was originally written. Some include this information somewhere, but not always, and definitely not in a casual search. ie; a book may have a copyright of 2008, but was originally written and published in 1934.

picture of a young P.K.D.


older author


The Minority Report- the book with cover that I bought. Not sure what the original work is, if this is it or not. There are other versions.


another cover from The Minority Report


another cover art version of, The Minority Report. It is a Greek cover, but it is an example of what I don't like- a cover with a celebrity from the movie adaptation (Tom Cruise).


all pics from www.philipkdick.com


Back to collected authors..

• These are just a few authors that I add to my collection as they come out and/or as money permits.

Chuck Palaniuk
Kurt Vonnegut
Naomi Wolf
Toni Morrison
David Sedaris
Jennifer Lancaster
Paco Ahlgren
Norah Vincent
Issac Asimov
Madeline L'engle
Octavia Butler
Alexander Dumas
Augusten Burroughs
Frances Hodgson Burnett

Also, anything classic, significant, culturally revealing and impacting- ie;

Ernest Hemingway, Jack Kerouac, Kate Chopin, John Steinbeck, F Scott Fitzgerald, Leo Tolstoy, Franz Kafka, Maya Angelou, Rudyard Kipling, Charlotte Bronte, Emily Bronte, Upton Sinclair, JD Salinge, Ralph Ellison and so forth. Many works that are often listed as 'must reads' in ones lifetime. There are many I am forgetting as I am just trying to visualize my shelves, but you get the idea.

My books are beat up and smell old. There are many that I wold like to read again, as perspectives change over time and I simply forget much of what I read and the impact of it. Yet there are so many that I have yet to read, that I get overwhelmed. I know I write about books a lot, but it is truly a passion of mine, so I am bound to say the same things over and over again as though I was saying them for the first time. My excitement never wanes. I vacillate between fiction and non fiction. I read for mindless pleasure, for reflection of life and culture over time, for learning something entirely new and/or adding to my knowledge base.

From the purely informational choice of reading material, I gravitate and own several pertaining to the sciences, health, medicine, nutrition, neuropsychology, behavior modification, business, systems thinking, entrepreneurial books, quantum physics, nature, photography, art, inspirational thinking and philosophy. These naturally take me longer to read and it can take a little while for me to get into the groove of the subject matter; so I enjoy them most when I have a large chunk of time to devote to reading.


As much as I do a lot of reading online- blogs, articles, etc, I've never been fond of reading ebooks. Staring at a screen is bothersome to me, and the experience lacks the 'feel of the experience' that I am looking for. What do you think?

well, although related, this was a disjointed post. Thanks for reading, if you got this far.

Time to clean, get some work done, and run a few errands. The sunshine these past few days combined with the greenery after the snow melted, makes me think that it is warmer out than what it is. Even though it is still cold out there, it is psychologically uplifting to experience the longer day full of sunshine.


WOW!! Just looked at my calender..
Did you know that in less than three weeks we forward our clocks ahead?! and in less than five weeks it will be officially spring? yay! Good thoughts to have...