Scroll buttons and the Lappy, together at last…
< 1 minute read
October 14, 2006, 12:36 AM
Now this is an interesting way to compute. I’m sitting in my recliner, going tappity-tappity-tappity away on the Lappy, which is now very much customized to my own needs. I installed Firefox on here and imported my bookmarks, I put a nice background on the desktop, and arranged everything the way I like it.
Yes, the Lappy is going to make a great mobile workstation. I’ve even set it up to print to my real printer via our home network. Just hit “print” and the document is waiting for me at my desk, ready to pick up. That makes my life quite easy, and also puts that printer/scanner/copier that I paid ninety dollars for to good use on not one but two computers.
Right now, though, I’m just tickled that I can compute from anywhere…
Categories: Computer
A photo of my camera bag’s damaged shoulder strap…
< 1 minute read
October 13, 2006, 9:00 PM
They say that a picture is worth a thousand words, and so here’s a photo of the broken strap on my camera bag, originally referenced here:
Continue reading…Categories: Cameras
This was perhaps one of my scariest return trips from DC…
2 minute read
October 13, 2006, 12:47 AM
On my DC trips, for the run up to Vienna and the run back home, the goal is for the actual driving to be uneventful, and therefore forgettable. As you probably guessed, having had so many of these things, I don’t always get what I want.
I remember one time in May 2004 when I had a blowout on the way up. It happened on I-81, near Mt. Crawford. Thus this happened about 30 minutes into the trip. AAA put the spare tire on, and I continued to DC. The return leg of that trip was uneventful. Then there was the time in June 2004 when it was raining hard all the way to Vienna, culminating in a soaking of the Previa’s undercarriage right at the Nutley Street exit, which caused the car to strain at 25 mph for that last little bit into the parking space. Then there have been numerous return trips where I’ve gotten so fatigued that I have to stop en route and take a nap. Then there was January 17, 2004, and also January 20, 2005 – on those return trips, I had to battle snow almost the entire way back.
I feel like such a loser… a resourceful loser, but a loser nonetheless.
2 minute read
October 11, 2006, 7:39 PM
For those of you wondering about the title, the strap on my camera bag broke. I got off of Breda 2007 at Pentagon City, and was heading for the escalator, and all of a sudden, my camera bag started falling. I caught it, but nonetheless had no working strap. The clip that attaches the strap to the bag on the “leading” end (i.e. the side facing ahead when I’m carrying it, as opposed to the “trailing” side facing behind) snapped off.
Now I’d had warning that the aforementioned clip was having issues. When I was getting ready to go into Union Station today, that same clip slipped off the hook. But then I just reattached it. This time, it actually snapped off, rendering it unreclippable (if that’s not a word, it is now).
So I went to the station manager and asked if he had any string. No string. I didn’t think he’d have any, but it never hurts. So I thought for a second. A rubber band might also work in the same capacity as string in this case. So I asked, “Do you have any rubber bands?” He did! He even offered to give me a few. I took two, and went to work. The station manager even held the strap in place for me while I tied. I tied a number of knots in that rubber band, securing the remnants of that end of the strap to the bag.
Categories: DC trips
If you ever wanted to know what a BSOD looks like on a dual-monitor configuration, here it is.
< 1 minute read
October 9, 2006, 1:46 AM
In my nearly two years of having a dual-monitor configuration, I believe that tonight was the first time that I’ve had the Blue Screen of Death. And I was surprised to see how it went. Take a look…
Categories: Computer
I have taken possession of the laptop…
< 1 minute read
October 3, 2006, 7:58 PM
I’ve officially taken possession of Mom’s old laptop, which means that I will finally have a mobile station with a wireless card for whatever. Think about when I take a really long-distance trip where I take a photo set, like when I went to Breezewood in May (and I’m embarrassed to say that five months later, still no photo set). I would be able to review my shots while still on site, and start that ball rolling early – perhaps re-shoot some photos that came out poorly before leaving. It opens the door to the possibility.
But first, I have to fix it all up. Mom wouldn’t let me format it and start with a clean slate when she was using it. Now I’m reformatting that puppy. It’s all getting redone from scratch, since she always had issues with that thing. Now that I’m moving in, it’s going to run like it’s mine.
Then once that gets done, I’m going to temporarily move in completely in order to do some work on my real computer. It’s not the second rehabilitation that I’d spoken about before, but I do want to redo some stuff.
Categories: Computer
You know what they say…
< 1 minute read
October 2, 2006, 8:54 AM
You know what they say… what’s worse than being seasick once? Being seasick twice, of course!
Okay, I just wanted to throw that one out there.
Meanwhile, I’ve misread my schedule at work a few times over nearly three years with Wal-Mart, but this one was particularly amusing. Today, I showed up for work four hours early. I showed up at 7:00 AM – sharp – and I didn’t have to be there until 11. That one was almost as bad as the time when I thought I was off Wednesday and Thursday of a particular week, rather than off Tuesday and Wednesday of that week. I showed up at 7:00 AM – sharp – and had my vest on and everything, went to clock in, and the timeclock kicked me out, since I wasn’t scheduled. Turned out that they needed an extra person on Tuesday, so they were able to accommodate my mistake, thank goodness.
Today, the question soon turned to what to do for four hours. I think I spent the time wisely. I went to Shoney’s, had a nice breakfast, and read The Washington Post. The Post is always a good read, when I have the time. I can polish off the Staunton News Leader in fifteen minutes on a slow news day. Then another ten minutes and I can knock out the Waynesboro News-Virginian. A slow news day with The Washington Post will take at least an hour.
And now, here I am, writing to you from the Augusta County Library, which is between Shoney’s in Staunton (I won’t go to the one in Waynesboro) and work.
So there you go.
Categories: Walmart
My kingdom for a notepad cover!
3 minute read
October 1, 2006, 10:20 PM
Remember back in October 2004, when I wrote this Journal entry? It was about when a company called Myron sent me a notepad with a flip-top cover as a free sample, printed with the name of my father’s consulting business, “Evolved Quality Consulting”.
I actually started using that notepad back in August 2005, and still do. I’ve actually refilled the notepad twice since I got it. I use it to log the transit vehicles that I ride in. For instance, this is what I logged in my little notepad on September 24, 2005:
Categories: Products
“Cannon to the right of them, Cannon to the left of them, Cannon in front of them…”
2 minute read
September 30, 2006, 10:46 PM
I’m watching the episode of The Fresh Prince of Bel Air on Nick at Nite where they get “Rafael de la Ghetto”, the allegedly famous poet, in to read poetry. Of course, it’s really Geoffrey the butler in an afro wig and a dashiki. It’s one of my favorite Fresh Prince episodes.
And with Jazz mentioning that finding someone literate to play Raphael de la Ghetto would cost Will “an extra two Jacksons” reminds me of something I’ve been thinking about lately. Have you noticed that in the two most recent incarnations of the US $20 bill, that they “softened” Andrew Jackson’s appearance? No? Take a look for yourself:
Categories: Amusing, Television
Just speak directly into the clown’s mouth…
2 minute read
September 29, 2006, 4:33 PM
Here’s a new experience for all of you coffee drinkers. I went through the drive-through window at Starbucks in Waynesboro for the first time today. And for the record, the phrase “Starbucks in Waynesboro” still sounds VERY weird. But that’s besides the point. It was weird going up to a drive-through window and ordering coffee. Usually, when I go through a drive-through window, it’s for something that I probably shouldn’t be eating in the first place. Ordering a hot cup of joe from the car just seemed so foreign to me.
But it was painless enough. Study the menu, and then order your coffee. I ordered the venti regular coffee. The next question caught me a touch off-guard: “Would you like cream of sugar with that?” Ummmmmmm… So yeah, that threw me for a loop. But we managed. I wanted my coffee straight anyway, so I just declined. Maybe one day I’ll become good at ordering coffee from the car.
Then around at the pickup window, I paid with a card, and got my coffee, complete with one of those don’t-burn-your-hands rings on it. I didn’t actually get to enjoy the coffee until I got home, though, as it was WAY too hot to even think about drinking when I got it. It sat in my cup holder all the way home. So driving home, I was thinking, for the love of God, don’t upset the coffee! You see, I can handle crumbs. But I don’t want to have to get coffee off of my leather seats.
Categories: Food and drink
And here it is…
< 1 minute read
September 29, 2006, 4:11 PM
As you can see, the Sable is BACK!
The new grille is in place, and the dents have all been repaired. I am whole again.
Categories: Mercury Sable
The Sable is BACK!
< 1 minute read
September 29, 2006, 12:12 AM
The Sable has returned, and now it’s got a brand new grille, a new windshield, and all the dents from the deer accident have been repaired. So basically, it’s good as new. And I also still have the original grille.
The only major difference is in the windshield. The original windshield was plain all the way up. On the other hand, the new windshield is tinted blue at the very top.
They also detailed the whole car in and out, so it’s looking just gorgeous. We’ll see how long that lasts, but I’m going to make it last as long as possible.
And of course, I’m out of Sis’s car again. Trust me, once one takes a ride in my Sable, and especially once one has become accustomed to it, it’s hard to go anywhere else. I’ve come to enjoy my leather seats, and I also have more legroom in the Sable.
As you can tell, and as if the present photo feature wasn’t a BIG hint, I’m so glad that the Sable’s in one piece again.
Categories: Mercury Sable
I cleaned it. It makes a BIG difference!
2 minute read
September 25, 2006, 1:55 PM
First, though, I came to the realization that I’ve not shown you what I’m driving for this week. Here’s Sis’s car, a gray 1997 Mitsubishi Galant:
Categories: Car
I drove it, and…
< 1 minute read
September 25, 2006, 6:53 AM
This is going to be an interesting week. I drove Sis’s car to Eavers Tire and back so Dad could drop off the truck for an inspection. The benefit to this trip is that at least we got one potentially-unpleasant thing out of the way: The first start. It hadn’t been started since mid-August, and so it took its time getting started this morning. But once it got going, great. The ride to Eavers Tire still was like an orientation trip to me, since the last time I drove Sis’s car was a year ago on a trip to Blacksburg.
The things that are the most unusual to me on her car are the back wiper (there is none), and the switch for the front wiper (on the right, vs. on the left in the Sable). Then I also still have to figure out what the proper position for me is in this car. I have long legs, and so in some cars, the “fit” is wrong. This is one of those “wrong fit” cars, because in order to get proper leg room, I’m a mile away from the steering wheel. If I want a good distance from the wheel, I have to drive with my knees in the dashboard. Oh, by the way, Mom’s Sienna is the same way as Sis’s car, where my choice is between knees-in-the-dash or reach-for-the-wheel. The Sable is a good fit for me, and so was the Previa.
Then one must clean it out, which is the name of the game today, once it warms up a little outside.
Categories: Car
The Sable is now at Whitesell’s for repairs…
< 1 minute read
September 25, 2006, 3:31 AM
With the Sable at Whitesell’s getting the dents taken out and a new grille and windshield installed, I’m going to be driving Sis’s car, a 1997 Mitsubishi Galant. This would be one that I’m going to have to get a shovel to make presentable.
Let’s put it this way: Dad described the Previa that I used to drive as a “dumpster”. I did, however, defend it there. It had its faults, but it was still a good car, albeit very well-loved. And it wasn’t the cleanest. On the other hand, Sis’s car is “worse than a dumpster”. All I know is that in being off work on Monday, I’m taking a garbage bag to that car and cleaning out the… well… garbage… from the interior of the car.
It’s going to be weird driving another car this week. Though I can’t wait to see the Sable restored to its proper look again. Plus they’re detailing the whole thing…
Categories: Mercury Sable