Ziggy, DeMille is ready for your close up now!

Ziggy is well and truly part of the household. She doesn't duck away from everyone, and is now used to me getting close to her. I was able to get the camera about 6 inches from her face. And she didn't flinch at all!

Why is there all this Right Wing outrage?

Protesters, peacefully assembling wearing Anti-Bush Anti-War T-shirt, and holding banners with the same sentiments.. arrested and jailed. Right Wingers pretty much calling for their blood for being Un-American, and Unpatriotic for exercising their 1st amendment rights, and bringing their grievances about the government to the open.

Fast forward to yesterday: a poll as to whether Obama should be assassinated. The RWNJs that were answering Yes, and advocating the death of a duly and legally elected president, listing how to do it, and begging someone to do so, are being investigated, and now suddenly the RWNJs are insisting that 1st amendment rights are being trodden upon, but only *their* 1st amendment rights. They cheered when people wearing anti bush T shirts are arrested. Where were they when people were arrested when peacefully assembled. Where were they when someone speaking out against Bush at a PUBLIC rally was arrested for disorderly conduct? Wild claims and false accusations of "Thought Police" (although threatening to kill someone isn't THINKING, it's threatening which is very illegal), and Control Freak and Communist being tossed Obama's way.

Threatening to murder/assassinate anyone is a crime. Threatening to do so to a President is a federal crime. I remember reading the gleeful ramblings of RWNJs when someone was arrested for saying they would like to see Bush dead (note, like to SEE, didn't say he would kill him or have him killed) but when those same gleeful people threaten to murder a President, and then their mindless drones dare to cry foul when the ones advocating Obama's murder are being investigated by the Secret Service? How dare the ones who make the threats be investigated? Really?

They should, at the very least, be arrested and charged with inciting to murder, threatening.

How can your own hypocrisy not make you sick? You bunch of sanctimonious, self-righteous wastes of skin!

A yummy repast

With the help of Alan, tonight was one of the best dinners at home in a while. Not so much the gourmet/gourmand variety, but just something well prepared.

Grilled T-Bone steaks, one medium rare (for me), one medium well, fresh corn on the cob steamed until tender, and a noodle and mushroom side dish.

Perfection. *urp*

Attack of the cleaning bug

Part.. something or other.

Decided to tackle the bedroom. Not fun. You end up making it a worse mess than it was before it starts to look or get clean! The sneezing phase has well and truly commenced. Lots of dust kicked up, lots of things thrown away. Aikidomayland side of the room, not so much, as I don't know what is keepers, and what can be tossed. He will have to do that when he gets back.

Lent Un-son, Robin and his parents my mulcher. Best to use it when the trimmings are still green but it can handle dried up foliage and branches. Just won't be as 'fluffy' a mulch.

Tired now. Lack of sleep, and physical labor means glitchy sore back. Actually, the sore back kind of makes for the lack of sleep. *sigh* Either way, I am done for today. I have a fresh cup of coffee, and some 86% cocoa chocolate. Food of the gods and me!

I think I have hit 'the wall'

Here I am under warm blankets, with the furry alarm clock in snooze mode, before 9:30. This way, if said furry alarm clock wakes me up at the usual 6am, I will have rested enough (hopefully) My hands are so sore from using the weed trimmer, that using my electric toothbrush was not easy. I can't think straight. Time for rest.

G'night

More yardwork

My hands are very sore from the weed whacker, but decided to tackle some more weeds. (A weed is anything growing where you don't want it to). I yanked a goodly amount that was growing on top of the mulch. I also lugged my weed killer with spray wand around, and sprayed around the walk way.

The outdoor work is a twofold thing. To get rid of the weeds before their seed tops are 'plantable'. As AmunAten said, 'nipping it before it buds'.

The other reason: I want to be so exhausted, that Loki can Flamenco dance all over me and I won't wake up.

This is the sort of bull$hit that encourages piracy

I pre-ordered "Sanctuary, Season 1" dvd set. It was advertised to have: Audio commentaries on all 13 eps, the original webisodes, 3 Making of Featurettes, Bloopers, photo gallery, and Season 2 sneak peek.

What I got was a stripped down, bare-bones Episodes with audio commentaries only. It seems the braintrusts at Tricon Films decided to do this, not for any legal reasons (according to the producer/creator of the series) but for some unfathomable reason known only to the morons who decided this was a good marketing idea.

The Universe is conspiring against me

I haven't been sleeping well. Not news, I know. I finally got to sleep at a decent hour, only to be woken up in the middle of the night by 3 part disharmonic voices of our cats yowling at a stray cat in our back yard.

Cats should not be allowed to wander loose at night due to few reasons:

1) The native wildlife is mostly nocturnal, and has no defenses against imported kitty predator.
2) You're really pissing off the neighbors who do keep their pets indoors as they are waking said neighbors up at OMIGOD Hundred hours because your cat is wandering loose!

My blankie and pillow. I hear the siren song. Must................ stay ............. AWAKE

He seems to be having fun in Zambia

Aikidomayland has called a few times a day, and sent many text messages. He has told me there is a standing order for my mudbrownies at the office. All I can remember is a certain time he promised to help me bake a lot of cookies, and he vanished after the first batch came out of the oven.

A cat side effect of Aikidomayland being away. Ziggy isn't always running away or flinching when I pet her or go near her. I swear her brain fizzes when I brush her out.

Still feeling a bit 'swimmy headed'

And a touch of a headache again, so going to give Tai Chi a miss tonight. I will practice at home, but just not up to an hour + session.

Aikidomayland is doing ok in Zambia. And Part One of my plan of repairs has been done. Got the to 25+ yr old light fixtures, the ones with blown bulbs in sockets so corroded they can't be swapped out, replaced. They make the rooms look a lot larger, as they aren't making us duck. quack.

Computer quirks

Vista machine quirks:
Now you see me, now you don't: 'loses' one of the external drives on reboot for whatever reason.
Work around: Remove it from the device list before shut down, and it will 'find' it a restart.

Don't want to this time!: Audible Manager for audio books keeps freezing, or not loading up. Vista also refuses to sync with Sansa e280
Work around: Use the XP laptop, no problems. (note to self, if you are going to uninstall Audible Manager, make sure you have your audio books archived, as the uninstall will delete them. Am very happy I had "Recover My Files". All 5.8 gigs were recovered)

The price of not paying attention and over taxing oneself

I don't really get 'hungry'. It's a glitch due to thyroid. So to combat this, I keep on a daily regimen of caloric intake. It's boring, but when my hands are ice cold, even in the middle of summer, I know it's time for a bit of a nosh.

Well, yesterday, I had my usual breakfast. Was getting ready to have lunch around 1, and I got a phone call from Meegan. We went for a micro-pillage for India supplies (chick pea flower, clarified butter, amla, papadums and other items). Had a brief stop for coffee, and came home. I forgot that I hadn't had lunch, and just got ready for Tai Chi.

*sigh* I knew I was in trouble about halfway through the last set. My legs were wobbly, my arms started shaking, and vision started greying. I managed to finish the set, and started toddling over to the teacher. I slurred "i forgot to have lunch i think im going to faint not kidding could i have an apple please?" Two people put their hands under my arms just as I folded like a cheap lawn chair. Next thing I know, I am seated on a chair, with my head below my knees. I looked up and saw two of everyone. Joan (nurse, retired) knew what was happening, and was there with a small juicy orange, telling me to eat it. I actually had to have help with that. She went to the kitchen and fixed a glass of warm water with two teaspoons of sugar, and had me drink that. I was shaking all over. After some more orange bits, and a cup of tea, I was aware of my surroundings again. 15 minutes and 3 crackers later, I no longer sounded like I was drunk.

Note to self: before Tai Chi, have at least a slice of toast with cheese or fruit.

I'm still feeling the effects of last night.

A Question

I bought a copy of Adobe PhotoShop CS3 Extended. Been using it for quite a while.

After hearing much about CS4 version, I decided to give it a try. Because I installed the trial of CS4 it made CS3 license "Expire". *boggle* The pop up window says to uninstall and reinstall it to fix this problem. I really didn't want to uninstall and reinstall CS3 because it takes for freaking long! I went in search of a easier way to rectify this problem.

My question is this: is it technically piracy if you own the install disc and crack it anyhow to avoid the tedium of uninstall/reinstall? Even Wikipedia says "The distribution and use of cracked copies is illegal in almost every developed country.", but I am not distributing it. It's mine, bought and paid for and I am not handing it out to anyone, and there is little if anything about doing so for your own legally owned personal copy. (There is on reference to 'personal use' which I think I might be covered by)

I looked into my crystal ball..

And I see an early night for me. Too many pre-dawn awakenings, and now that Aikidomayland is winging his way to Zambia, I am going to play catch up on snooze time. Yay me.

Already have a list of things to get done while he is away. I have two very antiquated light fixtures that have blown bulbs in them that I can't remove. Since they are extremely old (probably original when the house was built about 25 yrs ago) they are probably well past their Use By date. Also want to see about getting a two outlet power point installed on the other side of this room. Mostly to get rid of the clot of wires sitting against the wall.

Ziggy is still upset, and will be for another few more days, until her eyes are completely cleared up. Eh.. she'll get over it... maybe.

More to do, more to do

Aikidomayland is heading out again, for another trip to Africa. He will fuss and worry about my wellbeing, just as his mother will fuss and worry about his. It's not as if I am going to melt while he is away.

Already planning on what to get fixed/repaired/reconditioned when he goes, as he tends to drag his heels when it comes to getting needed things around the house done. It's not as if the house is going to heal.

Ziggy is still peeved at me for the eye treatment, but she is less apt to stay hidden all day. And her eyes are much better.

Don't be drinking anything.

If Video Games were realistic

Aw dang. :(

Actor Henry Gibson dead at 73, spokesman says

LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Actor Henry Gibson, who played roles ranging from loopy poets to vengeful Illinois Nazis and cranky judges during a 40-year film and television career, has died at age 73, his representatives said Wednesday.

Mary Travers of the folk group Peter, Paul and Mary has died at age 72

DANBURY, Conn. (AP) — Mary Travers, one-third of the hugely popular 1960s folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary, has died.

The band's publicist, Heather Lylis, says Travers died at Danbury Hospital in Connecticut on Wednesday. She was 72 and had battled leukemia for several years.

Poor Ziggy

We noticed her left eye was a bit weepy, so took her to vet. She has very mild case of conjunctivitis. So, twice a day, we have to piss her off by putting ointment in her eyes for a week.

She isn't happy with us... not at all.

Patrick Swayze dies after cancer battle

LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Patrick Swayze, whose good looks and sympathetic performances in films such as "Dirty Dancing" and "Ghost" made him a romantic idol to millions, died Monday, his publicist said, according to CNN affiliate KTLA. Swayze was 57.

It's not the phase of the moon...

But something has people really wound up, and manners have gone to the wayside.

On a forum about Wrong Way Wilson (There is a right way and a wrong way to disagree with a President, and not during a presidential address. Guess which one he did.) the rancor towards President Obama is palpable. They are cheering the GOP who yelled out YOU LIE when Obama most certainly did not lie. If an Independent/Democrat/Green member of Congress had (rightfully) yelled YOU LIE to Bush, these same people would have demanded a resignation at least, and prosecution for treason and a trip to GITMO.

What these rubes just don't get is if US Government members show open disrespect for the President, and presidential office during an important address, how the hell do they expect other countries to show respect?

Moving on:

Someone on a different forum asked for help with something, but posted his questions entirely in capslock. I answered each of his questions in turn, showing examples with screen captures. On the very last line, as an aside, I mentioned that"Posting in all capslock meant he was YELLING at us. Please don't do it Thanks!"

Some snarky bitch decided to yell at me telling me YOU WERE RUDE! and Aggressive!

I took it private and told her I don't know what her problem was, but she should go back and read her nasty comment and then decide who was being rude. She then sent me an even bitchier reply, trying to justify her behavior.

I told her "as for being rude, publicly doing what you did was way out of line. Talk about rude? You owe ME an apology. But I see by your nitpicking and constant making excuses for your behavior, I won't get it.

And Netiquette has nothing to do with building computers. I didn't demand a durned thing. I added it as an aside. You read more into it then what was there.

As I said, I don't know what your problem was, but you, not me, you were way out of line.

And another thing.. I did not bold (she quoted my original message but made three words bold type) type it, as that would be a demand, and you supposedly knowing about Netiquette should be well aware of that.

If I read as angry, you're right. You were out of line. He didn't have a problem, I wasn't addressing you, you decided to play Judge Judy. And I guess even etiquette is missing for you, because publicly telling someone you consider them rude is.. well Rude! Or did you conveniently forget that part. "

I haven't heard back from her, and I really doubt I will.

Moving on again: Today at Foo Gwai, we had our usual (including proper pork bun sacrifice to
Akire-yta
). We put in an order for fried squid, aka Cthulu. It was being brought around to our table when one very imperious woman stopped the server, asked what was on the tray, and when given a description, boldly reached out and grabbed our plate of squid. Wait staff asked "Did you order this?" The woman lied, said yes, and took it.

It was just a petty, childish thing to do. Manager noticed we were still waiting, went to the kitchen, and the owner brought it out. I told him it wasn't the wait staffs fault, and explained what happened. Funnily enough, he looked right over at the woman who did it, and nodded. I think they have had dealings with her before.

Like I said, it's gotta be something, but I haven't a clue what.

Doors are fixed

The wheels/casters on the doors were worse than Aikidomayland, but not I, If we had waited any longer, we would have had to replace the door frames, the tracks, and get a mason out here to do brick work.

A few hundred dollars vs several thousand dollars. Yes, I know Aikidomayland is going to be miffed (seeing as today was when Nigel from CatMax came here to take measurements to build a Caboodle for Ziggy.) but it was a necessity.

The cat enclosure might not be a necessity, but it will keep Ziggy from escaping but give her some 'outdoor' time.

Home maintenance

The sliding glass doors are having their worn away to nothing wheels replaced. They original nylon wheels have been ground away to nothing, and the doors are grinding on the metal tracks. The good news is, the tracks don't need to be replaced, just the wheels.

The side door is so worn they need the slightly more expensive stainless steel wheels. The back door will be fixed with the compressed nylon wheels.

Aikidomayland was a bit whiny about it, but then I told him "$500 to fix the doors, or over $5000 to replace them." No contest.

Whining won't stop, but at least we won't need to sweep up broken glass and replace two large, heavy sliding glass doors.

Damned headache

It really wants to make an appearance. I have taken appropriate measures to prevent it from blossoming into a full blown migraine. Again, loud noises make head pound harder, which is why I have a strong antipathy towards the non-stop barker behind us. Of course, it's not the dogs' fault. The damned owner just dumps it outside before going to work every day.

After all of Microsoft protestations about piracy

I get an email back from the MS Tech support, the same guy that first said my copy was invalid, then said it wasn't but the license key was invalid, has now given me step by step instructions on how to hack and crack XP Pro, bypassing the "Windows Genuine Advantage" stranglehold.

Hi Sandra,

Thank you for your reply. I appreciate the time and effort you have invested.

Sandra, I would like to explain that the search result shows that thousands of people can use this key if they want or search the key. Actually, the genuine retail version of product key cannot be found on Internet. As mentioned in my previous mail, this key is volume license type. It is why many people are able to use this key in a long time. This type of key cannot be sold to home user. It was only sold to organization and the seller must provide an agreement to the user. If this type of key got out, the key will be blocked and the users will receive the message that the copy may be counterfeited. If we have the agreement, we can contact the channel manager who provided the agreement and she/he will provide another genuine key. I think the retailer has not the permission to sell the volume license key. I strongly suggest we contact the retailer and return this key or let them provide a new key.

I fully understand the inconvenience this issue brought. Therefore, if you want, I can help you disable the notification directly. After disabling the notification, we still can receive security updates for system.

Disable WGA Notifications
===================
1. Click "Start", click "Run", and type in "system32" (without the quotes) and press "Enter".
2. In the opened folder, look for the file named "WgaTray.exe".
3. Right-click on the file, select "Rename" and type "WgaTray.old" (without the quotes) to rename this file.
4. Please also locate the file “WgaLogon.dll” (without the quotes) in the same folder and rename it to “WgaLogon.old” (without the quotes).
5. Click "Start", click "Run", and type in "DLLCACHE" (without the quotes) and press "Enter".
6. In the opened folder, look for the file named "WgaTray.exe".
7. Right-click on the file, select Rename and type "WgaTray.old" (without the quotes) to rename this file.
8. Please also locate the file “WgaLogon.dll” (without the quotes) in the same folder and rename it to “WgaLogon.old” (without the quotes).
9. Then restart the computer and see if you still receive the notification.

Thank you for your cooperation. Please try the steps shown above and let me know the results at your earliest convenience. If you have any questions or concerns regarding this issue, please don't hesitate to tell me. It is my pleasure to be of assistance.
I look forward to your reply.

Best Regards,

****** **
*****@mssupport.microsoft.com

That's right folks, Microsoft's best and brightest have told me how to bypass their own anti-piracy software!

Yeah, so, I already knew how, but that's not the point, now is it?

Ummm ouch

Woke up with pre-migraine. Am determined to not let it advance into full blown migraine.

Yelled at neighbor's dog, the one that starts barking at 7:45 every %#$$&%@ morning weekdays. She is quiet for now. Sounds are overly exaggerated, so quiet is what I need.

Slowly whittling it down

I had two credits on Audible dot com, and a growing 'Wish List'. I prefer to snag an entire series in one shot, if at all possible, but with all of the trilogies, and 5 book series, I really can't... well I could, but that's a bit pricey. So, I have taken to just slowly reducing my Wish List. Down to 22 audio books now, down from 24. Here's hoping it's a trend.

Storage Hoarding

I have to admit, I have become a hdd storage hoarder. I don't mean I keep each and every file or program I have ever made or installed. I mean getting larger hard drives to make images of the systems, and for storage of installation files, video files, photographs etc. I guess it has to do with having once had a complete loss of data because of a hard drive failure.

Burning things to DVDs helps to get a new system with the OS alreadly installed up and running in about 10 hours total set up, but rebuilding data, trying to remember what the BLEEP you had installed after a system crash..... too much stress, thankyousoverymuch.

Sunday, rainy Sunday

Headed to the archery range, and actually managed to get 6 rounds (or was it 8?) before the rain showed up. We came back, off loaded all the archery gear, and relaxed for a while.

Headed to Foo Gwai, whereupon we rededicated to Akire-yta with a proper pork bun sacrifice. *urp* and it was good.

Alan's 320 gig external hd has decided to die... again. This was supposedly an exchange for a faulty one. I have a feeling the tech just took it out of the first case, rigged it to work somehow, inserted it into another case, and shipped it back. Seeing as it's having the exact same problem that made me return it the first time, I think that is a fairly good bet.

The rain has returned, and the sleepies have followed closely behind. I will valiantly fight it off. heh

Off to the range

Here's hoping the rain holds off. Bringing laminated recurves, not horsebows, just in case.

A 2 year old and his teddy bear

Awww, iddums boo!

One bucketful at a time

Took advantage of the sun, and no rain to go do some weeding. Filled up the metal bucket, then dumped it into the composting bin. It's about 1/3 full now. The avocado tree is thriving, as is the Lilipilly. The lime tree has two more ripe limes about the size of a tennis ball, with 4 more growing.

Nigel from CatMax got back to me. He will be here next Friday, the 11th. We will be getting a "Cat Caboodle" so Ziggy can go outside, but still be enclosed. Can't have her getting loose again.

I can understand the need... but a little warning would be nice

After having my computer shut itself down a few times, I decided to do a wee bit of research. It seems that it's a safety 'feature'. If the computer is in danger of overheating, it will close current program and shut off. As much as I think this is a good thing, as a fried computer isn't something I want, a little warning would be nice.

So, as a preventative, since my laptop is on I have an Alto stand and one of the vents is covered, I put 1 empty SD card case under each corner of the laptop, and have a small clip on desk fan keeping the computer cool.

Tres nifty!

I have long hair

I'm not saying this because I want people to go Ooo Ahh. It's just a statement of fact. It's a finger width away from the backs of my knees.

The reason I mention this fact because for some odd reason, if I have it 'loose' (ie not braided or in a bun) why is it some people seem to think it's a toy for their amusement? Is there some sort of law out there, an unwritten rule that allows you to do this?

How would you like it if I suddenly walked up behind you, and started playing with your hair? Invading your personal space? Do not go grabbing my hair, parting it, separating it, and rolling it up in the palms of your hands, thereby tangling it. Next time I might not be so polite.