Updates out the wazoo

I just finished letting Windows Update install 3 million updates on my laptop. I noticed that the time was still on the old DST settings. There are all sorts of security updates and IE7, which I only use to communicate with Microsoft. So now when we have to mess with the time change the laptop will adjust itself.

Connectivity restored

It started sometime before 6am on MLK Day, 21 Jan. My internet connection went down. I called Time Warner tech support who could only tell me useful things like they weren’t able to see my modem on the network. Duh. He advised me to go to the office and switch out my modem. I did that. Got home. No workie. I called tech support again.  She asked me to check the cable to see if it was connected to the wall. Then I had her schedule a visit from a tech. So the next morning the tech came over and determined that the problem was at the junction pedestal which is in the back yard of the neighbor behind me. The other problem is they have dogs. So he did something to boost the signal but said that it was a temporary fix. He left a note on the door of the neighbor asking them to call so he could get in and fix the line. They never called. the connectivity came back for the most part. There were a few times when it would go down but I was busy and just tried to tolerate it. That is until yesterday. I came home Friday at 2am to find the connection down. I restarted the modem and after about an hour of blinking it connected again. Then later in the day Friday I decided to hook up a wireless router I bought. To do that I had to shut down the modem and it never found the signal when I turned it back on. So at 2am this morning I called tech support and asked them to send someone. They scheduled it on standby. So this afternoon I went by the neighbor’s house behind me and asked them to do me a favor and bring the dog in. The message I got from her was that if they were there when the tech showed they’d keep the dog tied up but if not they wouldn’t make any exceptions (tying up the dog when they were away, etc). I figure oh well I’ve been shit out of luck before. Fortunately the tech showed up and found that their fucking dog had chewed through the cable insulation and jerked on it to the point that he broke the coax connector. He fixed that and buried the end beside the junction pedestal. So after going through the router setup again we now have wireless internet. What I didn’t tell the tech was that he should have sprinkled wolf piss around the pedestal to scare off the mutt.

42nd Street Photo of New York

I’ve been using Panasonic cameras for a couple of years now. I own two. The DMC-LZ7 is a 7MP/6x Optical Zoom point and shoot that I carry with me all the time. I have an account on Flickr and tend to take spur of the moment photographs. My other Panasonic digital camera is the DMC-FZ20. It is a 5MP/12x Optical Zoom camera. What I like about it is that I am able to attach filters to it and converter lenses. I have been considering upgrading my cameras, especially the larger format one. I think the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18K from 42nd Street Photo is the best direct upgrade for that camera. I don’t know if my teleconverter lens will work with it, but it looks like a good step up from what I have. 42nd Street Photo is located in New York. In addition to digital camera and memory cards you can get camcorders, digital recorders, DVD players, treadmills, iPods and other MP3 players and accessories as well as GPS units. They ship nationwide as well as internationally. There is live customer support and order tracking on their website. Check them out at 42photo dot com.

Computer Memory

My laptop came with 512MB DRAM as standard. The machine needs two things right now. I need to get a new battery and to upgrade to the 1.0GB maximum for memory. From the brief time I have been looking into these two items it looks like the memory will actually cost less than the battery. I really think the battery is more needed but I will probably get the memory first. We used to have to go to computer stores all over town shopping for the best price. Now most stores back their memory products with a lifetime warranty. So I think I’ll just check a few places and once I’ve done the upgrade I’ll put the old DRAM module in the new one’s package and keep it in a drawer in case something happens with the new memory.

Late night tinkering

I need to figure out a way to mirror this site. I just had two people unable to reach it while I was able to load the page and publish a test post. I’ll talk with some people who have done mirroring. I am communicating with tech support at my host to try an figure out why this is happening. I am glad I am able to reach the host but the url needs to be accessible from all over.  I have also been having a problem with the .htaccess file on the server. It seems to be a problem that a number of WordPress users have encountered. I looked up the error on the forum and found the fix. They mentioned needing to reboot the Apache Server but I don’t think that is a problem. It is allowing me to make changes to the options file and that is what I was needing. I hope the WP team ads this to their todo list for 2.5. I am going to get a few hours sleep and deal with some other issues around Noon.

Notebook Computers

I’m pretty satisfied with my laptop. It could use a new battery and maxing out on the RAM and HD wouldn’t hurt. But the situation I had with my previous notebook computer isn’t the case. That one was a 333MHz machine that I bought back in 2000. Processor speed was skipping ahead rapidly and perceptibly so. Now the machines are at a level where 1.8-2GHz works fast enough for most applications. I’m not suggesting people not trade up if that is what you want to do. It’s just that if the machine you have works fine and might be helped with a few upgrades, then do that. I just bought a new case for it and am going to get a screen protector. I hope to have the other upgrades completed by the Summer.

A tale of two laptops

It appears that several people have been detained while trying to board flights and their laptops have been seized or web page data has been copied off them. I haven’t taken a laptop on a flight since 2005 but I didn’t place it in the box properly so the white shirt went through my bag. Well it looks like people are going to have to employ a little trick from military personnel. They get inspected so often that many people keep a separate uniform clean, pressed and bagged for just such occasions. It keeps them from getting gigged for an unsatisfactory item. Here’s what you are going to have to start doing if you want to take a laptop on a flight. You’ll have your “regular” laptop that you use to go back and forth to work or whatever. Then you’ll have a clean laptop with all the software you use for your job or business but with bullshit Nickelodeon, Barney the Dinosaur web searches. Or if you don’t want to go to the expense of buying a second computer, get a new hard drive, load it with everything you need to do your job. Then switch it out before you travel. By the same token keep a separate sim card.

This world is getting more and more insane.

I am not sure what to think of that

The fan came on in my computer. This is an HP Pavilion, not a Mac. The fan just came on for about a minute. I’m glad it’s working. But I didn’t think it had that capability. I moved a book case over near the rear of it. Maybe that sufficiently disrupted the airflow into the fan. It’s not obstructed and I moved the computer a few inches farther away on the desk. I’ll have to keep an eye on that. I have things set up so that I can get to the CPU if I need to without crawling around the desk trying to reach around the back and unplug cables. That might not be as attractive as the seemingly seamless arrangement of having the CPU in the desk nook. But now that I have the LCD monitor taking up less space it was the better option.

Buzzfuse: Creative Content Marketing

In reading Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyoski I learned a number of techniques for creating wealth. To do that I have to make use of assets and one of the things Mr. Kiyosaki mentioned was intellectual property. For the last three months I have been working diligently to get my work (blogs, photography, other writings) in front of more and more people. I joined Buzzfuse to extend that endeavor. People create the content, link it to Buzzfuse, and Buzzfuse puts you in contact with others in their network. The beauty of it is there is no approval process to go through getting your work on Buzzfuse. If you have multiple blogs, content from them can be linked through Buzzfuse. I’ll be signing up for the premium account soon. I want to start by lining up some items I want to create a buzz about.

Domain Registration in Australia

Any domain registration company should offer an integrated set of services, not simply selling you domains. I expect to see an explanation of the various domains and who can or a cannot register for a particular one. You should be able to renew your existing domain and transfer from another registrar. Payless Domains is Australia based and offers 24 hour customer service, web hosting packages, e-commerce packages and has everything you need for domain registration so you can get started putting your site together. Parking a domain until you are ready to point to it is free as well. They’ve also got some tips on choosing a domain name, and a secure WhoIs Lookup with detailed instructions so you can check on the availability of the name you have in mind. There is a detailed help page which includes frequently asked questions. Payless Domains offers competitive pricing and welcomes bulk registering of domains. If you’re interested in registering a domain in Australia, have a look at their website.