What the hell happened?
I got my Windows machine back from the computer shop today. I feel practically itching to get Linux on it! It has a dual-core processor that chews through audio. I had purchased a second drive, originally to use for Linux, but it turned out the first drive had started going bad, not surprisingly, so he cloned it. I felt initially glad, and at $299 I got a real deal, including a new hard drive, 2 gigs of memory, and as it turns out a new dvd burner. Very nice!
Problem: When I tried to go to a web site, nothing happened. At first, I just shrugged it off as Windows acting like a bad lover, but the problem continued. I noticed that it could see other machines on the network and on the Internet, but other machines could not see it. Nevertheless, it should have still ran Internet Explorer. I know it sucks, but it works best with JAWS, the piece of crap screen-reader which we will soon switch. I went to the command prompt (ah good old MSDOS) and looked in the directory, and weirdly, I could not find the iexplorer.exe file. The thing went! Gone! Vanished! Missing! With horror, I also discovered that AVG had gotten uninstalled.
What the hell happened? Did this happen before I took it in the shop? I kind of doubt it. It creeps me out a little to get a computer back from the shop and find two critical programs mysteriously uninstalled. I did have to give him my admin password to update stupid XP to the new hardware, and he did save me by making sure my screen-reader worked with the new video intercepts, so I commend him for that. I just wonder what happened. I will get the full story tomorrow I hope. Let me just say that I love Dual Core. The machine also sounds a lot quieter too, a real plus! Of course, only time will truly tell. It looks like my girlfriend and I will reinstall Windows on it shortly, or maybe I will just flip and install Linux, though sadly we do need Windows for some things. I will keep you all up to date.
liberty has failed!
Filed under: Behind the Curtain, Blind Rage, Technology
No, I don’t mean some melodramatic statement about our nation’s course, I mean that one of my machines, named liberty, has failed. It began amidst a sea of brutality, did the grunt-work for Ron Paul Radio, and helped start The Autonomous Broadcasting Company. Now, it has begun sporadically locking up at least once per day, obviously unsuitable for running a streaming server. I still await my Windows machine, and plan to get it back tomorrow or the day after. I now have one machine doing everything. It started life as a test machine, and has become one of my main ones.
Machines have karma, or a vibe. At first, this may sound metaphysical and abstract, and it does have that feel, but it also has a very real physical element. If a moron builds your machine, of course it will have a short life. It gets more complicated of course, as all things in life do. Some machines have a solid feel, and you can tell someone put their heart and skill into it. Other machines have an average feel – nothing special, but it works fine. Name-brand machines have a name-brand feel – mass-produced and not built to last, but they work for a time, as long as you don’t mind disposing of them and their data. Some machines, however, have a shoddy feel that makes you nervous. Liberty has this feel.
It started two and a half years or so ago. My Dad, who I usually avoid dealing with, met “this guy” as he often tends to do, probably in a bar somewhere. He said that the guy would build us all computers. “You’re getting a computer, whether you want one or not.” he said. With that attitude, I figured I may as well just accept the machine.
I made my situation clear to the guy, that I use a speech synthesizer, and need an RS232 serial port. “It is like your monitor. I cannot use the machine with out it.” I patiently explained. He said he understood. I received it in the mail, an amd64 with two SCSI drives, but… no RS232 port. Infuriated, I called back. “Oh sorry man, I didn’t realize that motherboard didn’t have an RS232 port… Boy, hard to find one these days.” No shit, SHerlock! I hung up, and decided to try installing a PCI port. That sort of didn’t work, and I took it to the local computer shop. They said “Well I don’t know anything about Linux, but this is definitely a Linux problem.” I decided not to point out their logical fallacy and left. I finally mailed the thing back to the guy, no doubt stressing the machine.
He got the machine, and we installed Slackware twice, over the phone, to try to make sure that this time it would work. When it didn’t, and I noticed that it didn’t even seem to probe the serial port, I got a bad feeling in my gut. “You did install that port, right?” “uhh…what? no?” I had to excuse myself and eat breakfast before I reached through the phone and strangled him with an RS232 cable! I finally got the machine back with the port, but three mailings took their toll. It has always produced a weird whirring noise, not good. Now, the time has come for it to undergo some maintenance. Goddess only knows what we will find! It will have to wait a little though, since I have this other machine to deal with. It doesn’t rain but it pours, as the saying goes.
Gaia Herbs Valerian Capsules
I decided to take a trip to the local healthfood store, to see if it would save money. In the end, ordering online actually came out a little cheaper in some regards, but I got some great products.
Particularly, I want to talk about Gaia Herbs Valerian Root Capsules. The guy at the store said that he really likes them, and the caps contain the herb, as well as an extract done the way they do it in Europe. I recognized them as the ones described by my girlfriend. They come in a glass bottle. You can see the oil in the caps! They do cost around $25 for 60 caps or 30 doses, so you will pay more, but as they say in Pulp Fiction: You’ll know where that money went!
Two caps contain 1800mg of valerenic acid, which seemed like twice as much to me, but for some reason it feels like my other caps which have 900 mg. As soon as I held them in my mouth, I could sense their potency. The extract gives a very full feeling. It feels the most drug-like and recreational of the Valerian preparations I have tried. You will get your money’s worth. I really enjoy it! It has a nice dreamy feel, more like drinking a tea made from the root, but it has its own distinctive qualities as well. It rolls over you and you smile in bliss, then lie down as a herbal hammock cushions you. Then your friend on the phone starts talking, and things happen. Music plays while you dream while awake, and a feeling coalesces into a movement which coalesces into a voice. More people deserve to know about this legal and safe herb.
A New Computer for $300
Two days ago, a friend took my machine to the shop. I felt as I would if waiting to hear about a loved one in the hospital. I thought about sending flowers. Today, I called, and got the news.
The power surge fried the motherboard. I will have to get a new one. If the motherboard goes, then the machine does not power up. I told him to go ahead and put in a new power supply anyway, since as he said: we don’t want a bad power supply frying a brand new motherboard.
I will basically get a new computer. I got it seven or eight years ago, and it had a Pentium/III with 512mb of RAM. For around $300, I will get a new motherboard with a dual-core Pentium/IV, 2 gigs of RAM, and a second hard drive for my fantabulous Linux idea. This gives my old machine a new heart and brain.
I plan to install Slackware on the second 160mb drive in a dual-boot configuration, and this time install the X and Gnome applications, then install Orca to enable speech. I will then investigate the Linux GUI, something I have steered clear of because of my frustration at the Windows GUI. “A prisoner who escapes through the roof will think twice before entering again through the door.” to quote Gandalf, but hopefully I will have better experience. I would then like to run WINE, and try to run Windows applications, mainly sound editing and games for the blind. If it won’t work, no worries, I can boot back into the Windows half and agonize.
I feel pretty good, but Bec reminded me to call them back, and let them know that I do audio work, and need a quiet power supply. Hopefully they will give me a good one anyway, but never assume anything! I hope I have a good experience with these guys. Good hardware people have become hard to find.
‘Tis an ill wind that blows no minds.
We had a windstorm two days ago. It battered my outer door around, nearly ripping it off. Pieces fell off as it decayed. Suddenly, I heard a loud electrical hum, and lost power. It came on for a moment, then went out again with another crash. The crash it turned out came from a few trees falling at the end of my street. When they restored power five or so hours later, my Windows machine would not boot. You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone, as the song says, and now for all the bagging I do on Windows, now I don’t have it. I will get the machine serviced on Monday, and I have a plan to put in a second drive and get the machine up to speed, then install Linux in a dual-boot configuration with Gnome and begin researching Linux’s GUI accessibility. We’ll see how that goes. At the least I need a new power supply. I’ve had that machine for around seven years, so I’ve definitely gotten my money’s worth.
While ruminating about all this, I got news that a plane crashed in Buffalo, New York, leaving 48 dead. This saddened me, but did not shock me, since I knew they probably encountered the wind which surged my computer. That storm seemed guided by an ill purpose, like the Pass of Caradhrass! I wonder why it felt and acted thusly. Did some supernatural force command it, or perhaps more likely a technological one? I have no evidence save my human intuition, but I will certainly keep my eyes open and my doors tightly shut.
Yesterday, the day after the storm, I got my hair cut. She told me that across the street, a tree fell as well, cutting down a power line! This caused a phone pole to catch on fire. The flames reached up to the height of a man, just burning. Additionally, another business had to evacuate out the back, since the power line blocked their front entrance. This took place at the other end of the street from where the other trees fell.
I tell you, this storm had an ill vibe and an ill purpose driving it!