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July 12th, 2009
05:03 pm - And then...
Had an awesome time at a small drumming circle yesterday. Will post a pic... thank you ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) suzerock! Awesome! Was good to get out of my mundane, and lately tech-coping-centric life for an afternoon and evening and meet and catch up with some cool people. And who’s frakkin' brilliant idea was it to change the name of the Triboro Bridge to the Robert F Kennedy bridge? "RFK Br" in the "temporary" pasted-over bogus highway signage, in a SMALLER, non-reflective typeface, tends to be a lot less visible on a rainy night! That cost me a bit of circuitous detour while dropping a friend off on the way home.
Have gotten My data back from the recovery specialist. Wopila! krazycrafter and Padawan Two went with me on the pick-up, and were treated to the short tour of the guys lab. Like my Studio, in his home, but I never would have suspected flat files FILLED with old Hard Drives. Some good, to recycle, and others, particularly older models, to supply parts. Wild! We then hit MicroCenter on the way back, and picked up a 1 Terabyte Firewire backup drive to run ongoing backups on. That's installed and humming happily away, the LED pulsing like some midget cylon. I may disable most of the live notifications tho'... The software fashes up a little notice onscreen with every file backup... That's EVERY FILE as it's modified or saved... and a Unix based OS is pretty frakkin' busy in the background with a lot of "housekeeping" file activity. Maybe I'll get used to it. Maybe it'll be just to mind-bendingly distracting to work and stay sane! LOL.
It's like twitter from hell for Systems IT geeks.
Balked at a RAID version of a Network Storage Drive... kind of pricey, and we'll need to set aside something to kick into the wopila fund to help move Willie Black Cat out east for Sundance. With one of our Tiospaye out on his back from an injury at an out-West dance, his ride for Willie went away. So some of are organizing his plane trip out and back, and hosting him while he is here, and moving him down to PA and back for the dance. Want to pitch in? Call, email, send a note, comment to the post. Every bit and hand helps!
Today, I am writing invoices, and going to be working on the pool for a bit - last bit of vacuuming, so procrastinating here on LJ! Ha!
But ought to get outside and get SOME of it done!
Banzai!
Current Location: Home, Studio, Mac G5(!), Internet, LiveJournal
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/punquinheads/blue/silly.gif) weird
Current Music: oh.. right... should be studying My Lakota stuff...
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July 9th, 2009
05:59 pm - And WHAT year IS this, again?...
Pool Boots Kids Who Might "Change the Complexion"
Campers sent packing after first visit to swim club
"More than 60 campers from Northeast Philadelphia were turned away from a private swim club and left to wonder if their race was the reason.
"I heard this lady, she was like, 'Uh, what are all these black kids doing here?' She's like, 'I'm scared they might do something to my child,'" said camper Dymire Baylor.
The Creative Steps Day Camp paid more than $1900 to The Valley Swim Club. The Valley Swim Club is a private club that advertises open membership. But the campers' first visit to the pool suggested otherwise. ..." - NBC Philadelphia News
nbcphiladelphia.com
myfoxphilly.com
My comment on another F-Lister with the same News Story.
http://raven-moon.livejournal.com/300626.html
Time to summon the lawyers... while people are making rather great hay of our minority President... mind you, he's referred to as Black because he's not White, while in reality, like myself, he's mixed race, but I digress. But affirmatively actioned President or not, looks like we're SHO' 'NUFF not done yet.
Publicly, I think that media attention needs to go that direction. Some tasteful protests, polite expressions of indignation, and sincere consciousness raising.
And while I do grok that "Private Social Clubs" have a right, upheld by the Supreme Court, hence Boy Scouts of America's stand to exclude gay scouts and leaders, to set their own membership policies. What did they EXPECT taking an inner city day camp's money? JUST the white kids?
"I heard this lady, she was like, 'Uh, what are all these black kids doing here?' She's like, 'I'm scared they might do something to my child,"... RIGHT. I guess just BECAUSE they're black, that makes them dangerous and criminals. Crap like that just raises my back. Always has. It's a hateful and ignorant attitude.
Privately, I think it's time for [ ghetto ] some uptight mother------s to grow the f--k UP! [ /ghetto ] I put up with that bulls--t back in the 70's, we're DONE wit dat. Word.
* Gnash Gnash *
Current Location: 1965, apparently...
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/punquinheads/blue/angry.gif) angry
Current Music: Not in the mood...
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July 8th, 2009
10:48 am - Catching breath...
Have to lift my head from the grindstone and let the steam rise off. There is nothing like working on a project where the end client is kind of... "We don't know what we want, but we'll know when we see it. But I know it's not THAT." (referring to last 4 designs) And we have NO copy, NO site map, or even a content outline. Godz... just hold your nose and JUMP. Get's better, they rather like the web sites of the two biggest (surviving) players in the biz, Morgan Stanley, and Goldman Sachs... GREAT... copy the sites of the market leaders and your competeiors, way to go to stand out as a 2nd rate player...
But at least, with a few bumps, my workstation is mostly back up and running. Have the essentials re-installed and most of the client work back from the old backup. May have to estimate this months invoices. Haven't heard back from the RAID data recovery specialist. *twitch*
Because I was behind, had to work over the weekend some. But did kick off to grill a mini-feast on the Fourth. London Broil, with my two carnivorous Padawans, Signifigant Nom Nom Nom ensued. Also managed to get the pool all the way running. Water is still chilly, but looks MUCH better. It's rained AGAIN yesterday and last night, thunderstorms interrupting the working day, including a lighting FLICK upline someplace that zinged out our Fiber Optic for a few... but we did get our weekend. So I'll take it.. but it's been raining out here just about since we stopped getting "Wintry Mix"... back in APRIL. *laughs* The lawn *squishes* ...
Meanwhile back in other stufz....
I know it's not really supposed to work quite like this... but maybe sometimes it does. I have from time to time expressed my reluctance to take issues to the Pipe about mundane things my human ego suggest should be within my ability to handle... it kind of felt to me like "cheating" or sending my trivial stuff "upstairs". But there are moments, folks.
So filled a Chanupa Monday night and spoke and prayed of the challenges my family and our extended tiospaye... and our machines... are coping with – with whatever grace we can summon up. Offered tobacco to the Grandfathers and Wanagi. Smudged the Studio and the computers... not exactly recommended proceedure in the manuals, but hey...
And yesterday afternoon, this in my email:
Kurt,
We were able to put your RAID back together.
Please see attached screen shot.
Now just have to figure out the best way to get it back to you.
78GB is too much to burn to DVD.
Do you want to provide a drive to copy your data to or should I buy you a drive?
Thanks,
Larry
Okay, then. Taking nothing from the tech wizards awesomeness...
PILAMAYE.
Seriously, a couple of weeks of pain avoided.
Washte aloh. Wopila!
OK, back to work. Banzai!
Current Location: Home, Studio, Mac G5(!), Internet, LiveJournal
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/punquinheads/blue/working.gif) busy
Current Music: WRCR Radio Rockland via 'Net Radio
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July 3rd, 2009
08:02 pm - What UP, Sarah?
Well, what the FRAK?
Sarah Palin, weird babe is pulling the plug? That's surreal, but kind of interesting and highlights the National Political climate.
"Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska announced Friday that she would step down by the end of the month and not seek a second term as governor, fueling speculation that she is trying to position herself as a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012.
Her decision follows a week of extraordinarily bad publicity, from within her own state over ethics inquiries and across the national landscape as top aides on her vice-presidential campaign and supporters have been engaged in a highly public feud that has spilled out in vociferous tones online on blogs and on television. Bloggers in Alaska, critics of the governor as well as former Palin supporters, suggest also that pending releases of e-mails among the Palins were about to expose her to further questions about her finances and governance issues. "
Palin to Resign as Governor of Alaska — NY TImes
Now personally, I doubt if she's any cleaner than your average Republican far-Right shrill, that is, not very. But despite Presidential ambitions, I should still think that you ought to not WALK AWAY FROM YOUR JOB if you plan to hold higher office. Just don't run for re-election. It just looks friggin SHABBY. But there was some noise made by Rep flag-wavers that the move is "brilliant" as it frees her up from the inconvenient duties of Governor to start campaigning and raise money.
So when did being a total political opportunist and ditching out on the people who elected you become a good idea? Nice middle finger salute to the people of Alaska. Now the whole country can share the joy and fun. But once again it underlines political thought, the Party, and the game, is FAR more important than serving the American people.
Still, an amusing distraction from reconfiguring a slightly naked computer and trying to get a little work done.
Banzai...
Current Location: Home - just chillin'
Current Mood: weird
Current Music: WGBH Celtic Sojurn channel
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July 2nd, 2009
11:50 pm - Update
Okayyyy....
With the original drives at the Data Recovery specialist, and a few prayers, yesterday I went about reviving - or rather rebuilding my machine. I was able to pick up two new 500GB Seagate drives for about $60 each (Godz, I remember 16 MEGABYTE drives going for $700-$800 ) So instead of a RAID 0 (striped combined drives) I configured them as RAID 1, Mirrored Redundant Drives. Probably much better for our dodgy power environment. And also, burned twice, tends to deepen one's paranoia. But that meant a bare naked machine... ugh. Have to reinstall EVERYTHING. OS, a lot of my utilities, and spent till up DAMN late reinstalling my workhorse Adobe Apps.
One tired Shaman here... but I could sort of work for a while today. The main SUCK is that I don't have last months' timesheets. So can't do first of the month INVOICES till I hear back from the data recovery guy. Hm. went down Tuesday, but I have no idea how long this sort of thing normally takes. But if those are lost... ugh. Would have to estimate last months work for ALL my clients. And would have to estimate under to give them some slack... rather wait and see. Heard back from the guy today while I stopped rebuilding for a while and got a little work done. He really couldn't get the RAID reconstituted, so he's sending them off to a RAID specialist... at about four times the price point. Crossing fingers. Hoping to hear early next week?
Discovering that with all the install and patches and whatnot, seems that Micro$oft Office is not happy and the apps crashed on launch. Tried everything to the point of probably scrambling the OS a bit... So kind of had to start over. And worried about the RAM.. but RAM for older machines is cheap these days.
Still not the happiest camper but at least I'm kind of back on... Now I really need to byte[!] the bullet order that terabyte network backup drive, like I should have done back in February... But there was always some other more immediate expense to field. Paying for it NOW, campers. Guess my paranoia routines needed a booster shot!
Sorry for all the geekspeak but that's life in the Tech age.
banzai...
Current Location: Mac G4 while Adobe CS3 reinstalls and repairs itself
Current Mood: aggravated
Current Music: Music? What?
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June 30th, 2009
11:38 pm - EGAD
This is turning into a frakkin' EXPENSIVE year...
Current Location: Home. Studio. iBook G3. Internet. LiveJournal...
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/punquinheads/blue/stressed.gif) stressed
Current Music: Huh? Music?
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12:09 pm - Mo' Computerz...
And here we frakkin' go again...
I am on the #2 computer again... having more Computer woes with the "new" G5. The #1 started behaving fwinky this past week and got downright cranky on Sunday. Now won't boot and the primary drive is having "Directory Allocation Table, B-Tree" issues... And that's past my geekspeak level. Mind you mu clients still want their work turned about quickly. And that's when I miss working on a drafting table with a t-square, x-acto knife and technical pens. THEY aren't subject to computer issues. But this is the 2nd time in under a month with this machine, and this time I DON'T have a proper backup... was waiting for some money to come in and get a more chunky Small Office Newtork Drive... like a TERABYTE, OK? But other pricier stuff turned up. *grimace* So just bite the bullet when I am up and running again and just get the proper safeguards all the way in place. And pray that the credit card does not burst into flame. *grimace*
Working on salvaging some work files from the #1 machine before I take it back to the techs at the Apple Store.
Not that it'll be all that great, for some of the high end stuff I need to do these days, #2 (mac G4 circa 2002) is just not muscular enough to do. At least in a sane amount of time. ... But I think that the RAID 0 configuration (2 125 GB drives mapped to make one large 250 GB ) Is too finicky for our weird power issues here, TWO UPS boxes not withstanding. So when I am back up and have a full backup... make erase them, de-RAID them and make them back into 2 standalone drives...
Have a 1:40 appt. at the Apple Genius Bar... tried to get in yesterday but like the gatekeeper at The Castle of the Mighty OZ... "Go away and come back tomorrow!" With the Palisades Apple Store closed for remodeling, they've been SWAMPED over at Tice's Corner. And based on my experience last time... their techs are BETTER. The Palisades people had the beast for a WEEK and were clueless, and the guy at Tice's had me out of there in about an hour!
* looks over shoulder at machine #1 running Tech Tool Pro... * Ahhh... Data Recovery is still running smoothly, hasn't crashed.. a good sign, that.
Soooo.. anyway, back to it. At least it's FINALLY stopped raining EVERY DAY here...
Ban-frakkin'-zai, Mr Grumpypants...
Current Location: Home, Studio, G4 Mac, Internet, LiveJournal
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/punquinheads/blue/grumpy.gif) Grumpy, but hopeful
Current Music: Not enough HD space to run iTunes... WAHHH!
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June 28th, 2009
06:25 pm - My G-G-G-Generation... Redux
In honor of those of my generation who've recently passed on, and for the rest of us who are still here.
Guess as long as we're still breathing, the best way to honor those folk is to keep on keepin' on. Word.
Ban-frakkin'-ZAI folks.
Current Location: Home - NOT "Studio" tho' it's the SAME computer.. HA!
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/punquinheads/blue/thoughtful.gif) thoughtful
Current Music: The Who - My Generation
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01:53 pm - HEY! STOP THAT!
Okay... LISTEN UP! You 50 year old motherfuckers have to stop frakkin' DYING... It's a BAD TREND!!! Ah don't like it. Ah don't like it at all!
"TAMPA, Fla. – Billy Mays, the burly, bearded television pitchman known for his boisterous hawking of products such as Orange Glo and OxiClean, has died. He was 50.
Tampa police said Mays was found unresponsive by his wife Sunday morning. A fire rescue crew pronounced him dead at 7:45 a.m."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_obit_billy_mays
That fact that I am 50 has NOTHING TO DO WITH IT!!!!
Padawan One says that since I'm not a celebrity, so I'm safe.
Grrrrrrrrrr.....
Current Location: Home. Studio. Computer. Live Journal
Current Mood: annoyed
Current Music: My sons snapping on the ShamWOW guy...
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June 27th, 2009
02:34 pm - My G-G-G-Generation...
Seeing Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett passing over was a bit of a shock, especially after David Carradine last week and George Carlin last year. Gods, George would have LOVED the last Presidential Campaign, SO much juicy Material. Just Sarah Palin ALONE.... But I digress.
Anyway...
You know I was JUST getting bloody accustomed to the generation and half generation ahead of Me dissolving. But now we're "talkin' 'bout My Generation...." Dangit. I still like to think of Myself as a "grown-up" as opposed to "old". But I am certainly NOT 23 any more! LOL. At least I am reasonably well preserved.
Looks like the Children's Book Illustration project is going to go away... the author's budget was about 1/3rd of my quote. Oh DEAR. Mind you, that's for a color cover illustration and six color interior pieces. $350? WHUT? Seriously, what are people THINKING out there. Do they have any IDEA how much work illustrating a Kid's book is. You have to have a consistent look and style, in all the pieces, consitient character designs, and innumerable sketches, work-in-progress approvals, research ... for EACH PIECE. I was getting over $350 for small trade Magazine Covers... in 1983! And that was considered below median, becuase I was a young newcomer in the field at the time.
EGAD.
Still, it's kind of a shame. The story was cute, and I would have liked to have enjoyed doing the project. But I have to somehow do this work without starving myself or my family. So, looks like it's back to the small business bread and butter work. Clients who can actually pay my fair, but non-trivial rates have to have slightly higher priority, fo-shizzle. And I do have other, more profitable, if more tedious work. Word.
The Camry checks out. After last weekend's excitement, got a "good news, bad news" call from the mechanic. Other than plucking out some grass and crud jammed up under the car, the undercarriage is fine other than some scratches and the alignment seems OK too. So YAY for Toyota's engineers for building stout vehicles. BOO for Toyota's engineers for designing the exhaust manifold braided connector to be INTEGRAL with the Catalytic Pre-Converter. So the piece has to be replaced as a single (expensive) unit. ** CHING ** BAD design decision, engineer-sama. This is, between cars and Padawan's Ones dental woes, latest–impacted wisdom tooth will interfere with new crown, has to go - becoming a very challenging "cash flow" summer. Mind you, Solstice was last Saturday. I hope the CC does not burst into flames. *cringe*
But still. No rocks. No Telephone Poles. No Fences. No OTHER VEHICLES or PEDESTRIANS. We WALKED AWAY, and after AAA rescued us, DROVE THE CAR HOME. So as accident's go, however exciting this one was a pfffft.
I REALLY WISH IT WOLD STOP RAINING EVERY 3-6 HOURS.. would like to get a LITTLE work done out on the yard, pool, lawn...
* muttergrumblecomplain *
Current Location: Home, Computer, Internet, Da Webz, Live Journal
Current Mood: thoughtful
Current Music: Native Radio.com via iTunes
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June 22nd, 2009
12:47 am - Update
Update on the road trip.. Home, safe in good order, if more tired that we usually are!
And my Medicine brother came off the Hill whole and did very well. Mitaquye Oyasin!
Current Location: Home - just chillin'
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/punquinheads/blue/happy.gif) thankful
Current Music: Lakota Ceremonial Songs - Willie Black Cat
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June 21st, 2009
09:29 am - Ouchie
Well, recuperating at our Medicine brother and sister's place in Frederick. On the trip down to drop the van at Four Quarters [Four Quarters Interfaith Sanctuary http://www/4qf.org ] we had a bit of a mishap on the next leg from there to the ceremony site. We spun out on a rain-slick country road and ended up perched up on an embankment at a 30-40 degree angle nose down into a drainage ditch. Thank the Tunkashilas that we hit nothing solid, big rocks, telephone poles, fences, other cars, etc... and we're all OK. And Hey, any landing you walk away from with your brainz and butt on the same stick... nothing but win.
And I do have to give credit to Toyota's engineers, the car was still road worthy after AAA pulled us off the bank. Try that in a Chevy Nova, be busted up in eight places. Will still want to have her looked at when we get home. Not to mention MUD city - the storm soggy access road into the ceremony site didn't help with that!
So we went about our day, and I had a good sweat. Turned out one of our Medicine Brothers was on the Hill on Hamblechiyapi so the group was essentially in ceremony all weekend. Too bad krazycrafter was moontime, so was kind of out of it and felt disconnected - and couldn't go into the lodge. Lodge was good, but we were still fried and pretty crispy, having been on the road since 2:30AM that morning, and that was after a regular working day for me. So we crashed over at our friends house.
Woke up this morning board stiff, and bruise achy all over. I'm thinking I feel like I've been in a car accident or something... wait wait wait. Oh... RIGHT. Never mind.
I still owe the Four Quarters folk some paperwork. While the DMV and IRS requires a pile of paperwork from me, and lining up the dominoes in precise order, expect it done promptly, and also snatch funds out of your bank accounts INSTANTLY. The great bureaucracies seem to feel no such obligation TOWARDS me. The replacement Title to the old van is still in the mail. Thanks LOADS, guys. Esp. considering that the old can will likely never see plates, or possibly asphalt ever again, living at Four Quarters as a Church Bus.
Anyway, we want to be on the road by noon. So I'm checking my email and getting it in gear...
Banzai... ouch...
Current Location: Frederick, MD
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/punquinheads/blue/tired.gif) tired
Current Music: Local hard noises
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June 16th, 2009
04:57 pm - WOOT!
Whoa... Illustration Assignment. WOOT!
And just weird enough to have some fun with, kind of a fantasy Children's book, a hero June Bug or something... kwel.
At frakkin' LAST... not another Small Business "look at me, buy my warez" Web Site.
** exctied dance **
Current Location: Home. Studio. Computer. Live Journal
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/punquinheads/blue/excited.gif) excited
Current Music: WRCR 1300 Radio Rockland
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June 14th, 2009
10:32 pm - Catching up...
Hoooaahh KAY!
So been a heck of a week. OF course getting back my primary machine on Monday, and still trying to fit life, family and work into the mix meant that the prep I was going to do for the Hudson Valley Business Edge Conference over the weekend I had to do the night before! So was up at 5:30 AM after about four hours sleep to hit the conference at 7:45... But my presentation went fairly well and I got good feedback from it. Paranoid me, I had literally twice as much material prepared than I was able to present, so I guess I have content for next year. The other workshops were totally fab, just like last year, and then dashed back to the RockMUG (Rockland County Macintosh User Group) and finally just got home and CRASHED.
So of course Friday I finally get some source art for a logo and web design project that the client wants to show roughs for that DAY. Wasn't gonna happen. Can't do the RESEARCH in four hours, much less first designs. And I just plain REFUSE to show a client work I think SUXXOR5. But will pull something together for Monday...
We did buy a car on Tuesday, or rather another used van, a 2001 Dodge 2500 Ram Wagon, similar to the one we're replacing. And here's a picture of "The Fleet" while they're both still here.
 The "Fleet" White: The new (used) 2001 Dodge 2500 Ram Wagon. Welcome to the clan.
Grey: Our aging 1995 3500, you were a good girl for us.
So yes, after discussing our ambivalent response to the minivans, including the largish Toyota Sienna and Honda Odyssey. We decided another van was the way to go, and this was about 1/2 to 2/3rds the cost of the desirable minis. Spotted it online, in quite better condition and with less mileage than the 3500 when we brought it in '98. So despite the budget hit... looks like a good deal. Feels like a win, anyway. And the old girl is not out to pasture just yet, will be donating the vehicle to Four Quarters next weekend, most likely for use as a local church bus. Those folk are consummate "make-do" folks and tinkerers, and will get some use out of her.
So spent part of today cleaning her out, transferring over the "car tools", lift jack, jumper cables, ice scraper... etc. Mind you, much of the red dust IN the thing came from Four Quarters, so sending some of it back home! We also put the Forth row seat back in the back, to complete it's full "bus" next life. Also, cleaning the polish or oil or whatever the dealer's detailers used on the rubber flooring of the new van, to make it happy-car-spiffy-pretty. All shiny, captain. But also a slippery bag of Bust-ASS... and SO has to GO. Even the work reluctant Padawans agreed that washing the floor was a good idea. Have a couple of other touches to do, like re-gluing a couple of of the rear section Heat/AC vents back onto the overhead, but real minor stuff. Need a case or something to put maps in..
Also did a little more tree and bush trimming, and replaced a DE vane in the pool filter, so now its running properly. And with a little industrial chemistry, looks a lot like a pool again. Still have to do a vacumn and backwash cycle before I can fine-tune the chemisty. Started cleaning out the junk and debris while the lads worked on the car. But it's probaly swimmable, other than the 65 or so degree water temperature. Hello, spring? What happened, eh?
In other random crazy... sometime in the last few weeks, someone nicked off the hub caps off the Toyota. We were missing one, thruway mishap... but HEY. When the FUK did that happen? Although when I found out what Toyota charges for a replacement set... NOT SO FRAKKIN' CRAZY. HJKHJKHJKLL!!! We may wait on this one, folks... but still.
And here I am back at the workstation, putting off working on that and other projects while putzing around in Live Journal. But you know... SUNDAY NIGHT, yo.
And True Blood was of course guilty pleasure fun. And love/hate HBO for the free weekend - was one of the packages we dropped from FIOS to save some scratch. And of course the free weekend is a blatant commercial come-on to get viewers to sign on.. they also showed The Dark Knight all weekend. Heh.
Anyway.. piece of the week. Till next time.
Banzai!
Current Location: Home, Computer, Live Journal
Current Mood: tired
Current Music: Ohhh.. should play something...
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June 9th, 2009
01:43 am - HEE!
...
IT'S ALIVEEEEEE!!!!
And seriously, there should be a grading system for "geniuses" at teh Apple Storz. Like "Tech Gohper" vs "L33T M4C Wi54RD" or something. Apparently the Apple Geniuses at Tice's Corner are of a better caliber than the ones at Palisades. Workstation #1 is back up and running, typing this note from the G5 again! After the numbnutz at Palisades putzed around for Five days hunting after a phantom hardware glitch; the guy essentially took another look, started over, and had it going in just about an hour. Huzzah!
And here come some thunderstorms... so time to bail before another "Power Incident"...
Current Location: Home, Studio, Chilling out...
Current Mood: busy
Current Music: Didn't restart iTunes after reinstalling some driver or other...
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June 7th, 2009
02:09 pm - Grrrrrrr....
[Submit] **Click**
Service Requested: 03-Jun-2009
Status: Status not Available
Right.
Oh, for F**K's sake, people...
This is getting more than tedious, need to go over there and bitch at those people. But certainly looks like I am doing tomorrow's demo on Workstation #2's Machine, a relatively ancient 2001-vintage Mac G4 tower... thankfully can still run most of my creative software. Glad I am not trying this on a nine year old Pentium II PC box... Aieeeeeeeee...
And what if we DIDN'T have more two working macs here?
* grumps and goes out to slash at hedges with the 'lectric *wochita-wochita* machine.... *
Follow up...
After some polite ... ah.. nudging... at the Apple Store, did get the call a bit later. "It's some sort of hardware component Issue" Um.. Okay... But they are remodeling this Apple Store next week, so they can't order parts, assuming they can hunt down which parts it IS. So tomorrow going to transfer the Machine and the project to another nearby Apple Store.
And I am absolutely doing the Business Conference Thursday on the G4... stone knifes and bearskins, folks. But at least that machine is WORKING...
banzai...
Current Location: G3 ibook
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/punquinheads/blue/gloomy.gif) discontent
Current Music: Lawn noises from outside...
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June 5th, 2009
05:28 pm - I NEED to goof on this crap....
Earlier this week.
Lights: **blink**
Wife: Hey, did the lights just blink?
UPS Box: MeepMeepMeepMeepMeep...
Me: Yup. Everybody shut down.
After closing all three workstations, resetting the circuit breaker and restarting the machines.
Mac G5: *Dong* .... Oh SNAP! KERNEL PANIC!
Me: Oh SNAP!
After running through my utilities and usual power user recovery tricks, the machine still exhibits wonky behavior. I make a back up of my Documents while booted into safe mode. But bizarrely, Single-user mode also Kernel Panics. Which is damn odd. And does so again sitting on the Genius Bar top at the Apple Store. These guys kind of fear me since by the time I show up, I’ve already done all the easy stuff, my problems are either weird, or hard... or BOTH.
Mac G5: KERNEL PANIC!
Mac G5: KERNEL PANIC! (Firewire Target Mode)
Genius: It’s not supposed to do that.
Me: Ya think? That’s kind of why I’m here.
Genius: There seems to be something odd going on
Me: Dude. Like, I could have told you that.
But you have to love that detailed, precise technical assessment. They’re still prodding at the beasite. Looking for a possible esoteric hardware failure. 48 hours in so far.. still looking. Was told it crashed while running a lengthy hardware diagnostic and had to start over. This is the sort of thing that makes me miss a drafting table, t-square and x-acto knifes. Of course I have a business conference next week where I am supposed to be demonstrating Web & Graphic Design Practices. A spare X-Acto knife costs a couple of bucks. A spare graphics workstation... oh.. about $5000 or so w software.
Just been the BEST week... Tick Tick Tick...
Banzai.
Current Location: Home, Studio, Mac G4 (dammit), Live Journal
Current Mood: weird
Current Music: Can't spare the *&&#^%$* RAM...
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June 4th, 2009
02:57 pm - Car
Well, our mechanic having given it a clean bill of health... i.e. nothing he needs to fix. – it looks like we're going to purchase...
THIS vehicle...
It's a newer Dodge Ram 2500 Wagon. Similar to the '95 we're retiring. Like I said, we're van people. We gotten a "Yep, we'l ltake it!" from the folks down at Four Quarters Farm, so we'll be donating the old one and they can tinker to their heart's content.
Now have to line up a carefully choreographed row of financial, insurance and legal dominoes that must fall neatly and precisely in the right order, not quite simultaneously. A task made a bit more complex by both my Fiancial Advisor and Insurance Rep being out of town this week!
And Main computer sill in the Apple hospital. OK, time to take Padawan One off to 2nd root canal!
NOT boring!
Banzai!!!!
Current Location: On the frakkin' BOUNCE!
Current Mood: busy
Current Music: Music? What?
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June 2nd, 2009
11:20 pm - Arrrrggghhhh....
Oh Frakkin YAY... typing this from the Old "#2" computer, the Quick Silver... a 2001 era G4 Mac tower.
The Primary work computer is sick. gorram frakkin' annoying. Kernel Paniced (Boot drive crashing) just at the end of work today with a major Flash project in progress. Have to visit The Apple Store tech dudes tomorrow, my usual power user tricks not cutting it this time. At least I was able to back up my Documents & Werk Stufz. (Reminder to self, move that Terabyte Network Drive up on the errand list...) Those guys fear me, since if they see me coming, they know its hard, I'll have done all the easy stuff... ("Yes the monitor was plugged in.. ")
Thankfully I got the email toss about the QED Hudson Valley Business Edge Conference out last night. Will be doing a Graphics and Web Design Demo and REALLY need to be up and running next week!
Going to be a busy day tomorrow. BNI meeting first thing... then we're off to the Car Dealer to pick up the new used Dodge 2500 Van we're looking at and take it to our mechanic for a once-over. Surprise, the registration on the broke one is due... so need to drop $70 for a 2-yr tag we'll use for a whole month. Then to the Apple Store to have my silicon beastie looked at, and hopefully restored to it's *cough* blazing glory. Then take the van back to the dealer and we'll chew it's relative merits... or verdict over dinner table.
And somehow get a bit of work done in the midst of it... nuthin' BUT fun! Endless joy! Think I may fill a Pipe for all this and cry for a little help... need all the backup we can get.
*sigh*
Banzai...
Current Location: Quick Silver Mac G4
Current Mood: aggravated
Current Music: Not in the frakkin' mood... would chill me out tho'...
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May 31st, 2009
05:57 pm - Geek Cred Restored.
Just back from Star Trek and shopping with Padawan One. My geek cred is restored. LOL. Was pretty rockin'... was enough flashy fun to get past some of the usual Trekkie criticisms. A good time. Fun. Oddly enough, my quibble is that the music could have been ...bigger. Was the right sort of thing, but seemed a bit generic heroic and was a bit overwhelmed by shiny and scene-chewin'. However, the younger versions of the classic characters felt pretty spot on, with enough quirks and surprises to freshen' things up. Not a serious spoiler, there's an Orion chick at Starfleet Academy... popular girl. Nice touch – the Classic Series Theme at the end. Let us know, that they didn't forget where they came from.
Took the lad out to lunch too, since the two of us don't get out enough just the two of us. Padawan Two had gone to see the film with his HS buddies Friday Night and stayed home. And krazycrafter demurred, not her thing. Even a promised shopping trip to Trader Joes' was not enough for her to put up with two hours of trekkie L33T G33K goodness. So be it. Still think she's cute.
And we got the pool uncovered and the safety cover put away this weekend at least. Pool's not running tho', the heater - that we don't use (heartless frakkin' energy pirates!) - has a spurtin' leak that prevents us from running the filter. That's a plumber visit, just past our level of expertise. So dumped two quarts of bleach in till we can charge and run the filter. Remind be to buy some algae control gunk, supposed to be a pool, not an ecosystem
And of course a client has a crisis, need to handle right now... putting back a price change she had me do this morning.
So yes Sunday, and back to work.... AGAIN. Coffee Now.
Banzai!
Current Location: Home, Studio, Chilling out...
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/punquinheads/blue/cheerful.gif) amused
Current Music: The washing machine on Spin cycle...
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