Author: trinalin

Sony’s new DVD technology…

OK, so today my restore disc was supposed to arrive from Sony. I get home and find not one, but two boxes outside my door. An itty bitty box and a large box. So, of course, I figure the itty bitty box has the DVD. Heh, I figured wrong.

The box that held the box.
This is the box that supposedly held my restore DVD. The umbrella is there for scale purposes.

So, I think maybe they’re just into over packaging. However, it was rather heavy. Could there be a manual with it? I opened the big box to find a slightly smaller box inside of it. And it’s not really the shape one expects DVDs or even DVDs and manuals to be in.

The box inside the box.
Here’s the box that was in the bigger box. A bit more oblong than one would expect.

Well, I opened that box to find something I just didn’t recognize.


It was definitely NOT a DVD.

I had to laugh. Sure, I’m upset that I can’t fix my computer today, but to be sent a picture tube rather than a DVD… Come on, how can you mistake this for a DVD, warehouse people?

So I called Sony and talked with a very nice service lady. She’s sending FedEx to the school tomorrow to pick up the picture tube and overnighting me another attempt at the DVD. Plus she’s returning me some of my money since it didn’t wind up being overnighted originally. Here’s hoping it arrives ASAP!

(Oh, the itty bitty box was a new barcode scanner. Yay me!)

Computer techs are cursed

My dad has noticed that whenever computer techs do upgrades on their own equipment, all hell breaks loose. Upgrading 20 computers for a lab, no problem. Changing video cards on your home computer? Big problem.

When I bought my Sony VAIO PC last summer, it had everything that I wanted except a decent video card. Of course, I bought it all the same, despite the onboard video. But my main addiction, City of Heroes, didn’t play corrently on the VAIO. Bugger. No matter, I decided to upgrade the video. I couldn’t use the card out of my old PC – it was AGP and this computer only has PCI-E and regular PCI slots. So I found an ATI PCI-E card for the computer and installed it.

ATI and City of Heroes are not the best of friends, but my game played. Sure the video card occasionally crashed (well, the driver software did) and I’d lose picture. But it was a rare thing. And sure, sometimes after being off, the card wouldn’t send data to the DVI port and I’d have to turn off the computer blind. But I coped.

But then the fan started going bad. Bleh. I was afraid it would stop altogether and the chip would burn out, so I purchased another PCI-E card online. Yay for NewEgg.com! I found a nice nVidia card to replace the ATI. nVidia and CoH are lovers, you know.

Now, before I installed the new card, I uninstalled the ATI drivers. I know what a pain in the ass conflicting drivers can be. And I pondered, but only pondered, installing the nVidia drivers before I swapped out the old and installed the new. And did I even think about dropping down my resolution? Nope…

So I turned off the PC, uninstalled the ATI card and installed the nVidia card without a hitch. Then I turned it on. And it went into Windows XP without a hitch. Except that once WinXP opened up, no picture. Wrong resolutions for the card! 1280×1024 without drivers is very hard to maintain. So did WinXP automatically switch down to one that worked? Hell no. Incompetent piece of shit software…

No matter, says I, I’ll just see what keystrokes are required to run the driver software disk. I put the disk into the laptop to see what it does. But the piece of shit driver software doesn’t have nice alt-key commands for running it. Still, it does beep when you move over the options. I think I might be able to get it to work blind. But I can’t. Bugger.

What’s a girl to do? Well, go into Safe Mode and change the resolution, of course. Except that the VAIO has NEVER been able to go successfully into Safe Mode. And yesterday was no exception. Grrrrr.

OK, next choice is going into VGA mode. Except I get told by WinXP that it’s missing a key file to do that. Good news – my laptop has that file. Bad news – how am I going to copy it onto the PC? Didn’t have any luck doing it through the network – I never bothered to share the C drive and when I tried the hidden share, I, um, forgot my administrator password. (And bugger all if I didn’t remember it later on after I’d passed the point of no return. Stupid ass tech.)

No matter, I’ll just use a Win98 boot disk and copy it that way. Oh yeah, SATA drive. Duh! The DOS on the Win98 disk hadn’t a clue how to view a SATA drive. I decided I had to go to school and get BART PE and a WinXP Pro disk. And to comfort pissed off treen, I also went to Taco Hell for take away. (I’d been working since 3:30 on this gathering disaster and it was after 5pm by then.)

My first thing to try once Leo and I had eaten supper was BART PE. I was able to copy the file that the VGA mode said that it needed. Only the bloody file was already there. *sigh* But attempts to boot into VGA mode still resulted in black screen, and worse, now when I tried booting into Safe Mode, it rebooted instead of just sitting there showing off all the drivers it loaded.

I’d done some research online and suggestions were to do a WinXP repair if you can’t successfully go into Safe Mode. I follow the instructions and things are going OK, until it reboots and goes into Windows – black screen! Still hasn’t dropped down resolution. I haven’t a clue if it’s asking me to type stuff or key buttons or just wait for it to finish. When it gets to a point of inactivity, I turn it off and try going into VGA mode. Ah! Now I can see a picture. And it says that Windows upgrade is restarting. And just sits there. Bugger all.

A second attempt at the upgrade leads to the same results. No way to get into VGA mode while its installing. And when rebooted, it just sits there. Of course, I later realize why this might be so. My computer had Media Center Edition. XP Pro with bells on, but still no XP Pro like I’m “upgrading” it with.

So now I’ve borrowed a computer from school with a SATA drive and copying my documents, videos, and MP3s onto that computer’s HD. And I’ve just wasted $35 to get the Sony VAIO recovery DVD shipped to me overnight (which really means I’ll get it Tuesday since it’s the weekend now). So hopefully on Tuesday I can get my computer back to where it was when I first purchased it. And then get all my stuff back onto it.

Man, I’m gonna miss City of Heroes while I wait for this. I did try installing it on my laptop, but the graphics on here are so bad it’s black & white. Heh. If all goes well, though, I shouldn’t lose any data in this fiasco. At least, I hope not!

Happy Free Comic Book Day!

No, today is not the celebration of the Independence of Comic Books such that they became free entities. Today is the day that all good comic book stores have free comic books on offer. Yay!

I’m not a big comic book geek, but I do love free stuff. And they had quite a few freebies at The Bookery Fantasy in Fairborn (my comic book store of choice). One major surprise for me was a HeroClix of Wolverine. Wow – I now own a HeroClix other than City of Heroes/Villains! Not that I’ll ever play HeroClix, but they are cute little figurines. 🙂

Today was my day out. I had a meeting in Columbus in preparation of B-WISER, the science camp that I teach at each summer. It was great seeing my summer co-workers again. We met at a nice tavern in Columbus (Red Door Tavern) and I had one of the best reubens I’ve ever eaten. Good eats, good conversation, and good planning. Should be a fun week at Wooster!

On my way home, I did a bit of a detour and headed for Beavercreek/Fairborn to check out Best Buy and my comic book store. (I only get there once every few months.) At Best Buy I finally found a nice cover/belt clip for my iPod. And it was on sale for $13! Plus I got Enya’s latest album. After a few arguments with the card swiping device at the check out, I was on my way to the Bookery. There I got the freebies plus my file o’ stuff. Doctor Who & Dreamwatch magazines, but still no Devil’s Panties. When I inquired, the salesman said he remembered seeing it out in the store, so he picked it up for me and then made doubly sure that Devil’s Panties was definitely in my file. (Alas, I’ve missed out on Issue 1. Here’s hoping I can find it some place!)

When I left this morning, I told Leo that I’d probably be back by 5pm. Well, our meeting lasted longer than I anticipated (we ladies had a lot of catching up to do!) so poor Leo had to wait an extra two hours and a half for me. Still, he’s feeded now, so he should be good. And speak of the devil, here he be! Ready to push stuff off my desk so that he can sit in front of my monitor. 🙂

Garage Sale

Each year in April, our town has a Town Garage Sale. Anyone in town is allowed to have a garage sale without paying any license fees or whatever you have to do to have a garage sale. So this year, my folks and I took advantage of the day to have our own sale. In past years, the weather has been pretty nasty. Some years rainy. Some years cold. Some years cold & rainy. But this year, the temperature was in the mid 60s F and it was cloudy (so not too much sun). Perfect garage saling weather. 🙂

So, what did Trina bring to the sale? My old Gameboy Advance (I have the SP now, so didn’t need the other), and MP3 CD playing boombox that never worked flawlessly, some knick knacks, and lots of video tapes. Since I am now a DVD addict, some of my VHS tapes have been supplanted by lovely DVDs. That left quite a few videos I didn’t need anymore. Dad looked through them last night and picked up a few for the Lake. The rest I sold for $1 each or 5 for $3. And I managed to sell over half of them! Which really surprised me – my taste in videos isn’t very, um, usual. Some of the things in the video boxes: Columbo, Dangermouse, Red Dwarf, Monty Python (Flying Circus & Live at Hollywood Bowl), Monkees, and several movies including some Muppets ones.

Any guesses as to what sold first?

Well, if you would have asked me which would have sold first, if any would have sold, I’d’ve said Columbo and some of the movies.

Heh – nope, it was the Monty Python stuff! A couple and their daughter arrived early and saw the Python tapes. They immediately started arguing whether the son still owned a VCR and if he’d be interested in the videos. So the daughter called her brother, confirmed he had a VCR still, and bought all the Python. And when it added up to only 8 videos, I threw in two Doctor Who videos to make 10 thinking he might like that. (Which two, you ask? Ghost Light and Curse of Fenric, of course. Only quality videos for my customers!)

The stuff that didn’t sell included Red Dwarf and Dangermouse. (The first didnt’ surprise me, the second did! All those little kids who stopped by and I couldn’t sell them on a cartoon about a secret agent mouse and his hamster assistant!)

During the day, I saw 4 former classmates of mine, two whom I haven’t seen in years (I think since maybe graduation!) and one of my sister’s classmates. Dad and I spent most of the day outside selling and chatting with folks as they came. Mom preferred instead to run errands (getting mail, getting lunch – yay! Texas Tenderloins from a vendor on main street).

So, how much did I net during the day?

Almost $60! Wow! I did a lot better than I suspected. So now I’m rich! I think I’ll go to some town garage sale and spend it all! (Hah, yeah right!)

A Fine Day Out

Tis been a lovely spring day. Temperature in the low 70s (F), sunny, pleasant breezes. Prit’near perfect. And I actually spent some of the day outside!

I, of course, walked to the post office in the morning for mail (all junk, except 1 bill). But once I got home, I realized that I’d forgotten to get cash at the gas station (they have an ATM machine). So another walk there. And when I got home, I realized that I really wanted to ride my bike. However, the tires were a little flat from the long winter storage. No matter, another trip to the gas station for some FREE AIR (that’s what it says!) and I was good to roll. I rode over to Becky’s house to chat with her, the little ones, and Deanna. Then I rode more (actually almost wearing myself out – go me! Oh wait, I didn’t ride that much. Bad me!)

Leo and I had lunch after that (mmm, haystacks! Taco salads for those of you who dunno what haystacks are). Leo got a smidge of meat & cheese, I also had lettuce & onions & crushed nachos with mine. A little bit of City of Heroes (yay – my new build for The Dominie rocks – he’s a kick ass defender-controller now! And doesn’t get tired!) But then Leo and I were bucking to get outside.

We went out for about an hour. I read more of Wicked while Leo flopped about in the garage and on the patio. Then he decided to investigate more of his yard. By the time I was done reading, he was trying to see what the neighbors (the ones that aren’t mom & dad) were up to. That was at the edge of his leash, so I unhooked him from the long lead & held his little purple leash. He walked me up and down the fence as he sniffed & stared at the goings on. After a few minutes, I picked him up and we returned to the house.

So, all & all, a lovely day. (This is Trina in Work Avoidance Mode. The house really needs a good cleaning & I have other things on my list, but I’m doing a great job avoiding all of that. Go me! I mean, bad me!)

MP3 Tagging

Whew! I think I’m finally done fixing all of my MP3 tags and making sure every song has a date (hopefully a correct one) and album art. Been working on it for quite a while. But now I’m done. Now I just need to make playlists for all of my music. Using QCD and MediaMonkey, that shouldn’t be too tough.

The one thing that my MP3 collection is lacking is my vinyl collection. Some I’ve found CDs for, so those have been MP3’d. However, some of my albums don’t exist as CDs, so I’m going to need to hook my stereo up and go that route. Scanning in the album covers will be the hardest thing, since albums are bigger than my scanner area. Hopefully I’ll find someone online who’s already successfully done it. 🙂

Anyhoo, that’s all for another day. For now, I’m pleased that I’ve done as much as I’ve gotten so far.

4 Day Weekend

Well, I’m now halfway through my lovely four-day weekend. I’ve been having fun. Yesterday, the folks & I spent the day at the Lake. The weather was very good to us. Pleasant during the morning & early afternoon, cloudy & rainy later when we were ready to watch The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe. We all enjoyed the movie. And I’d like to see the same group do Prince Caspian and Voyage of the Dawn Treader, which I both enjoy a lot. (OK, so my favorite versions of them has Sylvester McCoy as Reepicheep.)

Today started out rainy & cloudy and became beautiful. Leo and I spent some time outside while I cleared my cart out of trash & straightened the garage a bit. (It’s still quite a state, but at least there’s room for my bike without being in the road of the car.) I let my car stay out in the driveway all night, so the rain washed it nice & clean. 🙂 The rest of my day has been goofing off & catching up on LJ. Oh and I did work on my online class some yesterday & today. (I’m taking an online class about whether one should make online classes available to people. It’s been an eye-opener for me. I don’t think we’re ready at Newton yet – too much work for the treen!)

Tomorrow it’s round to Becky’s for Easter. I guess it’ll be in the afternoon because mom works. It’s always fun to see my little cousins. (OK, so I see 4/5 of ’em at school most days – one of ’em at least 1 period every day, but still…) And I haven’t had a chance to wish Deanna a belated happy birthday yet. I think she’s turned 23? Eeep! I am so OLD.

Happy Easter to all of you playing at home! 🙂

Things about Parables

The folks and I got back from Indianapolis yesterday afternoon. Leo was pleased to see me (and had been upset that I’d left – he left 3 statements for me to that effect – yuk!) We had a nice time meeting up with Ed Beutner and Bernard Brandon Scott and another of the Westar Scholars, Perry something or other. (I’m bad with names.) Very nice fellow, Perry. Ed spoke at his church’s Sunday School, so we went there and to the service afterwards. First time I’d been in a Methodist service since I was a kid and dad was a Methodist preacher. It was, um, formal. But the church was very friendly and is an open and affirming church. I love that in a church.

Anyhoo, during the Friday and Saturday workshops, I took notes. (On my PDA – heh heh – in between solitaire games. Hey, it keeps me awake and keeps me quiet.)

Found on a bumper sticker Brandon saw: “Due to budget cuts, the light at the end of the tunnel will be turned off.”

Joke from Ed: “Did you hear the one about the dyslexic paranoid? He was always afraid he was following someone.”

Some thoughts on parables:

“We don’t learn about parables, we learn from them.” – Brandon (IIRC)

The questions you should ask about parables: “How does it sound? How does it feel? How does it fit?” – Ed

Don’t ask what a parable means – that’s a Hellenistic way of looking at an aural story telling technique.

Parables are not for children.

(And after he said that, Brandon added that he thought at church “we should entertain the children and educate the adults” but we seem to do the reverse.)

Some other thoughts:

“God is nowhere absent and everywhere hidden.” – Ed

“Constantine turned Christianity from a religion of what you do into a religion of what you believe.” – Brandon

There were a few more notes that I’d taken, but I think those above are the cream of the crop. I liked what the fellows had to say. And it’s neat hearing about parables from a strict scholar (Brandon) and from a poet who’s also a scholar (Ed). Brandon admitted that it’s hard for scholars to not look at a parable and try to figure out what it means. But for a poet like Ed, he sticks to how does it sound, how does it feel, and how does it fit.

When Cold Air & Warm Air Meet

The parental units and I are in Indianapolis right now, getting ready to attend another Jesus Seminar on the Road. We went to one back in November where I got to meet two of dad’s little Internet friends. Alas, Daryl Schmidt died March 23rd due to a very aggressive cancer. 🙁 Tonight I’ll get to see Bernard Brandon Scott again, but also get to finally meet Ed Beutner, one of dad’s “cronies.” I’ve heard quite a few stories about Ed, so I’m really looking forward to meeting him. Plus, the two of them will be talking about parables. And I like parables.

So, after dad and I returned from our monthly county tech meeting, mom drove us towards I70 to make our way to Indiana. We were driving down Hogpath Road and, according to mom’s car’s thermometer, it was 78°F. Suddenly, a storm came up on us and before the storm was over, the temperature had dropped down to 54°F! It was quite the frog strangler and there was hail larger than moth balls falling. It was rather impressive to watch. Mom got us through the bad weather and onto Indianapolis. And now we’re in a Baymont Inn that says it’s a La Quinta. Gee, I just love staying in hotels that change their identities on me! (Have I ever mentioned the time when I stayed in a Comfort Inn in London that became a home for refugees before I’d left it?)

The nice thing about this Baymont Inn is the free wireless Internet. Yay! I should be able to work some on my online class (which is over online classes) while we’re here.