And enlarging of the text on webpages (whoever thought that light grey text on white pages was a good idea needs to be FLOGGED!) I found out how to fix my NET Framework problem.
After I got it set up, I was finally able to install Chrome.
It loads up amazingly fast, and has a clean simple interface. It doesn't have all the bells and whistles (AdBlock, NoScript) that FireFox has, but I think it will be the browser of choice for my netbook, as it doesn't hog system resources.
Started off pretty good.
Meegan and I went to see "Julia & Julie". It was a fun movie. No deep politically statements (except the historically accurate depiction of Paul being hauled up before a McCarthy panel and interrogated), just good entertainment.
We headed to the shops for Meegan to pick something up, and while we were in the pedestrian right of way crosswalk, some asshat in a ute decided to try to back up over us. Anyone who knows me knows I can be heard. I yelled "OY! What the hell are you doing!!??"
Meegan and I continue along the pedestrian area, and the bozo gets out of his truck, and starts lipping off at me, about how what did we expect walking behind his truck , because I had whipped out my phone, and snapped a picture of his truck and license plate.
"We were in the pedestrian right of way area, you twit!" The people who saw the whole thing started laughing at him.
What he doesn't know, is the camera on the phone isn't all that great, and all I got was a blurry company logo, and that his truck is #5 in their fleet. If anyone local to me can puzzle out that logo on the left side of tailgate, let me know.
During an installation that crashed, I had all sorts of Windows errors, so I rebooted. And booted into a solid black screen, where explorer kept crashing, and Windoze "Live ID" kept failing. According to Network magic, the system was available, but not from the computer itself, but from other ones.
I tried System Restore: failed due to 'unspecified error'
I tried System Repair: also failed.
So, I rebooted without the Vista DVD in the drive, and it booted into desktop, with "System Restore didn't work" message, and then promptly reported what caused the crash to Micro$oft. Here's hoping they can figure it out and let me know how to prevent the blind panic.
Do you feel that? The world just got a lot less funny. Comedy icon and TV personality Soupy Sales (born Milton Supman) left us late yesterday at the age of 83, the Los Angeles Times reports. He'd spent the past week in a Bronx, NY hospital in steady decline after years of battling a variety of health issues. Sales leaves behind a great legacy and a large family, including Trudy Carson Sales, his wife of 29 years, two sons, a brother and four grandchildren. Our thoughts are with them all on this difficult day.
Sales was perhaps best known for his long-running sketch comedy TV series, which ran at varying times between 1959 and 1979. "The Soupy Sales Show" operated under several different names and locations during its on-again/off-again run, but it was always marked by a cast of wacky characters -- of both the human and puppet varieties -- notable guest celebrities (a varied list, from Frank Sinatra to Alice Cooper), short, punchy sketches, and thrown pies. There's no "official" tally, but Sales claimed that he'd been hit by more than 25,000 pies over the course of his lifetime. An impressive legacy for any comedian to leave behind, to say the least.
And it's a winner with all three!
Nigel from Catmax put in the zipper door, and it's large enough to tote the birds outside. Put up a second hammock, so no 'arguments', and trimmed off the hanging bits of mesh netting.
I cut a flap in the old screen door (which Aikidomayland finally agreed with me that it does need to replaced anyhow, and will do that next year with a proper pet door installed)
Ziggy can now also enjoy the great outdoors, but still remain safely 'indoors'.
Here's Ziggy to enjoying her time outside.
It came in handy last night, when we came home from late night grocery shopping. Keito and Loki wanted out, and we were too tired be bothered with harnesses and leashes, so just let them out into the enclosure. All three just meandered around, sniffing and watching.
Maybe next year we will have a small section of the front walkway enclosed too, but with a door on one end.*
Can't wait to see Ziggy roll around on sun warmed bricks. :)
*Nigel from CatMax will be back later today to put in the zipper door.
But after almost 10 years of my keeping no contact with my mother, for reasons that some of my closest friends know why, I decided to bite the bullet and send her a bouquet of flowers in a vase for her 75th birthday, and a card that said "Happy 75th Birthday wishes from Perth, Western Australia! Stay warm! signed with all our names.
Now, I don't want anything from her. This was done for me, for me to let her know that I do forgive, but I won't forget. I can't. I know I wasn't the 'perfect' child, but what she and her choices did to me while I was growing up was just so wrong and had a lot to do why I wasn't 'perfect'.
I checked my email, and saw I had one from her, but was leery about opening it. But I did (as ShadoutCarver said, at least they don't tick). She thanked me for the flowers, they were beautiful, and she hopes we are all well. I'm ambivalent about answering it.
We are well. Part of me wants to answer her email with just "You're welcome, and we are." But I don't want this to seem an invitation to reinstating that toxic relationship that was our relationship for over 30 years.
I shipped my FZ30 to Authorized Panasonic Repair/Service center. The outcomes would be one of
1: The lens can be cleared of dust, camera re-conditioned and sent back. (About $250AUD)
2: The lens has to be replaced, camera re-conditioned and then sent back. (About $400AUD or more)
3: If #2, would I prefer to have an FZ50, ex-show model, that is still under warranty. FZ30 still returned.
Well, I now have an FZ30 and an FZ50. I have to admit, it is a step in many ways. I can still use the FZ30, but that dust makes auto-focus, especially for macros very dicey. It can be easily used for Non-macro shots (scenics, portraits etc) because I can edit the 'mote' out should it appear.
A few of the improvements: I can set the external flash settings to manual or have the camera manage it. (Manual, fershure) 10.1 megapixels. All the equipment I got for the FZ30 will work with the 50.
The first photo taken with the FZ50. This is a 1 meg file, 3600x2400
It hit a high of 35c today.
An ice cold home made strawberry daiquiri was just what it takes to cool things down!
It's not necessarily hot today, but after all the cold and rain, to have it jump to 35c after in the low 20s.. it feels hotter than it really is. *sip*
I have been having a problem with my Acer overheating and shutting down. Vents are clear, not blocked. I used canned air to make sure no dust or dander from our three cats and assorted flotsam was gumming up the works, and even have a small clip on desk fan circulating air to keep it cooled off, as core 2 duos can run a bit hot.
But after 3 shutdowns, I decided to hobble my machine. I set both CPUs to run at only 80%. Yes, it has slowed my system down a bit, but if you figure how much time I was losing because of the shutdowns (no warning, just faded to black and then off) and had to reboot and restart whatever I was doing, it's not that big a price to pay... I hope.
And of course, my XP laptop has decided to lock up when starting some programs. *sigh* Running NOD32 scan on it now.
Wow. This was an excellent movie, and I recommend it for several reasons.
SPOILER SPACE
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A small village boy, taken from his home by the Communist gov't, to become a dancer, a propaganda tool. He is inspired by one man, who wants him trained as a classical ballet dancer, instead of a political tool, and that man is 'disappeared', but his love of the dance is in Li's heart.
He is spotted by the director of the Houston Ballet Company as the only one of the Chinese dancers that felt the dance, and was alive with it. "The are more like athletes than dancers" was a pretty good description. Li is partnered with the female principal dancer during practice. She replaces his dancing partner, and they perform on stage in China.
Li gets to come over to the US, after being told by the Ministry that America is bad, evil, and not to be trusted. Most of that is blown out of the water in the first day. He visits the Chinese consulate, as require, and again is told that he can't trust Americans, especially the women, and that he would only be shown the good parts of Houston. (Considering the village he grew up in, just about every part of Houston was the good parts!) He finds more and more that what he has been told about the US isn't true. People are free to speak out against the president and he is shocked to see them not being arrested for it. Just this bit of freedom gets him thinking.
He makes one helluva name for himself in the Houston Ballet when he has to sub for an injured dancer only 3 hours before showtime. Perfection on stage would be the only way to describe it.
Li, after all he has seen, all he has learned and experienced wants to stay in the US longer. He knows he can't just go back to that confining life he had in China. So, on advise of attorney, he marries his US girlfriend in a bid to stay. When he does the right thing and report it to the consulate, they kidnap him, keep him locked in a small room, and try to brow beat him (You are all alone, your friends have already left, think of your family in China) into going back voluntarily. None of it works. He wants to stay.
After much publicity, he is told he can stay, but he no longer has a home or family, that he is a man without a country. He is released and allowed to stay in the US. But he is plagued by nightmares of his family being murdered for his choice.
I could go on and on, but don't want to do a synopsis. This was an excellent movie. Definitely worth seeing again.
And on a political side: Should I hear or read any more blather about Obama indoctrinating kids by telling them to "set goals, study hard and stay in school", I suggest they watch the first 20 minutes of this movie. That is indoctrinating children, not Obama encouraging kids.
Interracial couple denied marriage license in La.
A Louisiana justice of the peace said he refused to issue a marriage license to an interracial couple out of concern for any children the couple might have. Keith Bardwell, justice of the peace in Tangipahoa Parish, says it is his experience that most interracial marriages do not last long
When one or more of your favorite sellers has "No longer a registered user" under their names, and have 98 to 100% positive feedback.
Albano, 76, was "one of the company's most popular and charismatic legends," the company said in a statement.
Not only did I get a different GUI for my Treo, I have just finished setting up custom icons.
Oooh, ahhh, pretty.
This morning I was awoken by my alarm clock powered by electricity generated by the public power monopoly regulated by the US Department of Energy.
I then took a shower in the clean water provided by the municipal water utility.
After that, I turned on the TV to one of the FCC regulated channels to see what the National Weather Service of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration determined the weather was going to be like using satellites designed, built, and launched by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. I watched this while eating my breakfast of US Department of Agriculture inspected food and taking the drugs which have been determined as safe by the US Food and Drug Administration.
At the appropriate time as regulated by the US Congress and kept accurate by the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the US Naval Observatory, I get into my National Highway Traffic Safety Administration approved automobile and set out to work on the roads built by the local, state, and federal Departments of Transportation, possibly stopping to purchase additional fuel of a quality level determined by the Environmental Protection Agency, using legal tender issued by the Federal Reserve Bank. On the way out the door I deposit any mail I have to be sent out via the US Postal Service, and then drop the kids off at the public school.
After spending another day not being maimed or killed at work thanks to the workplace regulations imposed by the Department of Labor and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, enjoying another two meals which again do not kill me because of the USDA, I drive my NHTSA car back home on the DOT roads, to my house which has not burned down in my absence because of the state and local building codes and fire marshal’s inspection, and which has not been plundered of all it’s valuables thanks to the local police department.
I then log on to the internet which was developed by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Administration and post on FreeRepublic.com and Fox News forums about how SOCIALISM in medicine is BAD because the government can’t do anything right!!!
From the SomethingAwful forums, not sure who originally wrote it, as it's been posted all over the place now. Feel free to share!
The good is I just received latest edition of SciFi magazine.
The evil part is has "Edward" of twilight on the cover. bleh
The 7 day week proves that there is a God.
I'm currently leading a study on 'Dr.' Luke and tomorrow we are going to discuss Luke 6 & 14 about the Sabbath, 4th commandment vs Mark 2:27, sabboth vs Sunday, and also how Sunday came about.
During my study, I was curious as to what science says is the origin of our standard '7 day week'? So I did a Google search and there is no valid explanation outside of the 7 days of creation. God instituted the 7 day week.
Mankind can explain the 24 hr. day - the rotation of the earth
Mankind can explain the year - the earth's orbit aroung the sun
Mankind can explain the seasons - the tilt of the earths axis
but there are no systems, rotation, orbits, cycles that can explain the 7 day week measure of time. It is solely God based & established
cts racing, RR
I replied: "Hey bright eyes.. try dividing the lunar cycle by 4. There is a reason the lunar cycle is called 1st quarter, 2nd quarter, etc etc."
For three weeks, I have been asking Aikidomayland to send my camera off to be repaired/cleaned/serviced. It has been packed in it's original box, and placed on the chair next to his gym/aikido gear bag. It sat there collecting dust.
I decided to take matter into my own hands. Suddenly he wonders why some money was spent, and I tell him. He said he was waiting for me to tell him to take it in. *headdesk*
I just looked at him and said "Why do you thinkI got it ready, and it was sitting next to the stuff you take out to the car very morning?"
Men!
So what happens? I get a phone call. Someone wants to hire me to do a family portrait... the day after.
I have the Canon, although I am nowhere near as familiar or comfortable using it.
And I haz a happy about it. Even the furkids seem to be enjoying the warm sunny weather. There has been a bit of pecking order matches between Loki and Ziggy, but she will figure it out that Keito is boss kitty, Loki is 2nd in command, and she is a minion. (laughs) Yeah, right.
I have been adding more and more fresh veggies to my diet. My usual lunch now has a bundle of blanched bok choy added to it. Two serves worth. I have been getting drowsy after lunch, so am thinking that with the thyroid problem, that just noodles with shrimp could be spiking my blood sugar (even though I am not diabetic). I decided to try this after that pass out session I had at Tai Chi a while back. Seems to be working very nicely.
Brining my Lumix in for servicing and cleaning. There is dust behind the lens, and with a non-detachable lens, it needs to go to the authorised Panasonic dealer to be cleaned.
*fingers twitching* Missing it already, and it hasn't even left yet!
Foo Gwai, the best dim sum restaurant we have been going to every Sunday for almost 6 years, will be closing forever. October 11th will be their last day.
We sadly sacrificed a pork bun to Akire-yta, and will do so again next week. Then, the search begins for Foo Gwai 'replacement'. *sad sigh*
As much as I love USAFood, they are often out of stock, and the shipping costs can be a bit off putting.
Luckily for me (and others) a new store opened up, local to me. Be prepared, because of import duties some of the items are very expensive. Ah, but it's not something I do every week, just once in a while. IF Store. International Food Store & Cafe. It's on Canning Highway, in East Fremantle. I managed to get a few things that might not be for everyone, but they sure as hell are for me! :D And they take requests.
ifstorefreo at gmail dot com!
Repair man came out to check the washing machine. It seems the action of the machine sucked a light weight plastic bag underneath it, and it jammed up the workings. Cleaned it out, and all is well. Small call out fee well worth it.
Aikidomayland has had a blow to his ego. He needs reading glasses. Optometrist said it was common for men his age. *giggle*
The washing machine has decided it doesn't want to spin the clothes after the water drains. My bet it's because of it being overloaded over and over again by Aikidomayland stuffing his gis in there.
Called where we bought it from, got the number of a repair man. He will be here tomorrow. I already have a ceiling limit on how much I will spend to repair it. If it's over that much, we will get a new washing machine.
*sigh*
Aikidomayland will be home this afternoon. I got a little over half of the repairs/replacements done that were on the "Priority" list.
Two corroded old light fixtures replaced. Still want to get the two track lights replace in the main area. They are also 25 if not 30 yrs old. Those are next.
Two outlet power point in the back lounge room. There was just a single power outlet in here, with an extension cord running behind the sofa and along the wall with power boards chained in. Not good. Now the room has 3 power outlets, both power boards are in their own outlet.
The one major indoor thing I want to have done (and this one anyone who has visited me knows why) is to have the kitchen counter moved about 50cms so it will be under the window, and that the small cubby is either available or put a cabinet in there. And maybe have it raised about 9 cms.
Outdoors: Next month, the Caboodle for Ziggy will be installed. The big thing out there needed is the pergola has to be torn down and replaced. It's old and rotting, and if it's not removed, it could collapse and pull down the gutters and more than likely damage the eaves. Aikidomayland is a bit pouty about that, but it will be less expensive to have it fixed before it collapsed, than wait for it to collapse, damaging the house.
