Toadfish Monastery

As many of you know, I lost my 17 year old Galileo a little more than a week ago.  I was grieving and headed into depression.  So, yesterday, I went down and got a new Kitty.  They called him the unimaginative "Smokey" but I'll come up with something more clever, as his personality comes out.

Here he is:

Edit:  .... meh... I cannot get this stupid SMF thing to accept a photo from my computer, for some odd reason, and I have totally forgot how I did it in the past...

If you want to see the new kitty's face?  You'll have to go to Facebook, where I have a couple.   Sorry about that.


Hmmm... how about a direct link to Facebook?

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10156678921703125&set=a.10151374550248125.533160.686733124&type=1&theater

Well, the other day, I had got busy, and let my cable bill lapse-- they shut it down.

Not a big deal, a phone call would have re-connected it in minutes, for a fee of course.

But I took that opportunity to just leave it off (I did reconnect my internet, obviously).

I looked around, and have decided to give Hulu Plus a try, $8 a month, for all but a very very few shows I normally watch.  (Mythbusters and Big Bang Theory are not available).

So far?  I've re-watched a show I like, Almost Human, on my Samsung 10" Note tablet-- the detail is stunning, better even than my 34" flatscreen TV (which is dated enough, that it does not possess the HuLu app inside...).   It's kind of cool, sitting there in my easy chair, with the "tv" on my lap, with better sound, better resolution, clearer picture than ever (this particular Samsung has better resolution than the best Apple, by the way... by quite a bit...).

Star Trek cool, in fact. 

I will be saving approximately $32.50 a month over my former cable (which isn't even as good-- I must adhere to their schedule, not mine).  I get advertising with either media, so that's the same.   But with TV-on-my-tablet, I can pause (as I have done to write this post), re-start, scroll back, jump forward, etc.  You *can* jump forward through the show, using the little progress bar.  But every so often, it pauses the show, and brings you 2 ads, at approximately 30 seconds long total.  A lovely count-down timer lets you know when your show's back. 

I'm not finding a down side, here-- except that my old, aging TV may not be of much use anymore.   

I've tried it on my PC, but the resolution there, is, frankly, crap.  About YouTubeish-- in spite of the fact I have a state-of-the-art HD monitor (3, actually).  So I doubt I'll be using the PC much.  I *may* see about connecting the Tablet directly to the TV-- I know there are ways of doing that very thing.

Or more likely, next summer, I'll shell out for a new TV-- a Samsung-- so I can "flick" the show from my tablet to the big screen.  Besides, my old one has a dead sound amp, so I had to use an external amp for sound anyway (fortunately, it had an audio line-out that still worked).   ((I told you it was old... heh..))

I'll write more, later.   Anyone else had experience with alternatives to Cable/Satellite/Antenna TV?

http://youtu.be/cU-eAzNp5Hw

[youtube=425,350]cU-eAzNp5Hw[/youtube]

On March 9, of this year, on Fox (yes... extreme irony is noted), Carl Sagan's beloved series is being rebooted.

With the charismatic Dr Neil Degrasse Tyson playing host.

Mark your calendars, if you are able, and hopefully, they'll allow internet viewing for those of you not in the USA.

http://www.upworthy.com/hes-speaking-shes-playing-and-im-just-over-here-trying-to-pick-my-jaw-up-off-the-floor?g=2&c=ufb2

I'd just embed the video, but I don't have that information.

This is well worth 6 minutes and 8 seconds of your life, IMO.

Well, I got me a brandy new crock pot under the tree this year.

I finally got around to washing it up, and trying it out-- it's running even now.

I decided to go with a tried-and-true on my first go, a pot of beans.

Years ago, I had purchased every kind of dried legume the local market carried, and mixed them all together in a bag, and stashed them in the freezer.

So I had my mixed beans already.

Today, I purchased some yellow onions, fresh garlic, a small pack of bacon and a jar of cherry peppers preserved in vinegar (my "secret ingredient").  Oh, and some fresh cilantro, for color at the end, and a pack of sliced mushrooms, also to add just before the end.

I have already learned that the pepper juice is best added at the end, too-- don't need as much, and it's brighter that way.

Anyway, dump in the dried beans, some long grain brown rice (which cooks up and thickens the whole), and let'em soak for a couple of hours, on low.

Next, coarsely chop the onions, smash & mince the garlic, cut the bacon into squares (more or less-- it cooks up pretty much all the way anyhow, due to being sliced thin), and dump that in, add enough water, and turn to high-- wait for the simmer, then switch back to low.

Salt, plenty of ground pepper to taste. 

At least, that's how I did it using my old "hybrid" pot, which always seemed to leave a burnt-sludge on the bottom, no matter what I did.  (I was careful to not scrape that up when dishing it up)

This new one, though, is taking *much* longer to reach temp (I have a probe in, snuck under the cover, just to see).  I suppose that could be why my old kit burnt the bottom? 

We shall see.   It already is beginning to smell up the house something lovely.   And it's only about 150F...

[youtube=425,350]FGSo_I86_lQ[/youtube]

This'll give you a warm feeling, I expect.  

That dad's parenting level?  10.

I also love the bright colors-- from the video I expect the boy was engaged in the project, and got to choose for himself.

http://www.freedomtomarry.org/blog/entry/same-sex-couples-will-begin-marrying-in-australia-on-saturday

(excerpt from link)

Same-sex couples will begin marrying in Australia on Saturday

By Adam Polaski
Dec 03, 2013 at 05:00 pm

Today, the High Court in Australia announced that it will reserve judgment on a freedom to marry law passed earlier this year in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) for Thursday, December 12. Since the legislation declares that the freedom to marry will take effect in the ACT beginning December 7, the High Court's decision means that couples will be able to legally marry this Saturday.

The ACT is the first territory in Australia where same-sex couples will be able to marry.

How to talk about Obamacare with your TeaParty relatives this Thanksgiving:

Teapartier: "Obama's getting between me and my doctor."

the facts: Obama's getting between you and your unscrupulous insurance companies.  All new plans must cover 10 essential benefits like basic preventative care, maternity care and prescriptions. Now your insurance covers *actual* health care.


Teapartier: "Obamcare is canceling everyone's plans."

the facts: Actually, insurance companies are canceling plans, because they don't meet requirements for basic coverage - they're junk policies. Worse, the insurance companies are not informing customers about the affordable, quality insurance in the new available marketplace.


Teapartier: "Bureaucrats will decide who lives and who dies."

the facts: Before Obamacare, 25 million Americans with pre-existing conditions were uninsured. Now, insurance companies can't kick people off their plans just because they get sick.  That's going to *save* lives, ont end them.


Teapartier: "Michelle Bachmann said this would happen."

the facts: Please.  The website is being fixed. We can't go back to the dark days of insurance companies denying care or coverage and people going bankrupt to say healthy, just because of some temporarily glitchy website.

http://zipzac.com/

This thing is amazingly cool.  Spread this idea far and wide-- small kids with mobility issues so need one of these things.

Help this company reach them and vice-versa.

Thanks.

(and no-- I have no stock or interest in the company other than I think it's an amazing thing)

It's been more than a year, now, and I'm still playing DDO-- Dungeons & Dragons Online.

It was loosely based on the pen-and-paper game, version 3.5, but has evolved a great deal since then.

Anyhow, I sill play quite a bit.

I was wondering if anyone here also plays?

http://youtu.be/aSvwsforehU

[youtube=425,350]aSvwsforehU[/youtube]


Okay, to be fair, they are not really "bionic" in the Steve Austin sense, but they are quite sturdy-- his "official" hands were too fragile for anything beyond minutia.  Worth watching.

Adorable kitten and ukulele player too.

http://youtu.be/rkWy8nRWPGk

[youtube=425,350]rkWy8nRWPGk[/youtube]

http://www.physics.org/explorelink.asp?id=4061

Warning!  This thing can be mildly addictive.

Warning!  This thing requires shockwave flash... sorry.

But it's .... fun.... the basic concept is absurdly simple.... get your penguin to his space ship, via a giant slingshot. 

It's in the application of this simple task, that lies both the fun, and the challenge....



(you have been warned.... don't blame me if this consumes your time like a grass fire... )

This sh7t isn't oil-- it's tar that's been diluted with solvents so it could be pipelined...  it's worse, much-much worse than just crude.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3iIdWGGlBP8

[youtube=425,350]3iIdWGGlBP8[/youtube]

Today, I was killing some time before heading out, and stopped in at WallyWorld (okay, I know--it's evil, but hey, it's cheap, and wintertime, cash is short.  Sue me.)

And I saw this lovely red teakettle-- porcelain finish, inside and out--one of my favorite types to clean.   It was heavy, which meant even heating, and the finish was flawless, which meant it wouldn't rust for a long, long while.  Had a nice wide opening top, which snapped in (made of stainless steel), and a pouring spout with a whistle fitted in, and a nice "at remove" lever to pull it open without risk of burns from the invisible steam-vapor (something I've done more times than I care to document).

A nice sturdy plastic handle arcing over the top, meaning it was clear of the sides-- critical for gas stoves, which tend to spill excess heat up the sides of pots (spoiling side-handles that can't handle heat).

In short?  It was just what I suddenly decided I needed.  To go with my French Press Coffee machine, which I've been using to make loose-leaf tea in.  One batch is about 20 ounces or so, perfect size to drink up while still warm.  By tearing open the bag, one bag is sufficient to make nice, medium-strong tea in the full 24 ounces.  And I can pre-load the scant teaspoon of honey, if I like.   

I had been boiling the water in a stainless steel skillet, but if I get distracted, I boil it dry-- kinda hard on the skillet...

So, I bought it.   Brought it home.  Cleaned it up nice and thoroughly, and rinsed even more so.   Filled it with hot tap water, and set it on the stove to heat up, trusting in the new whistle to alert me when it was ready.

And then proceeded to return to the computer, to catch up on today's gossip.   Which got me quite engrossed (facebook and all that).  I even added a new friend, who seems quite nice.   But I wondered why my FB had started playing "sounds of nature", a nice soundtrack of a babbling brook, with faint bird singing in the background.    Okay, nice enough--continue to read the new posts.

About 2/3 of the way down my page, I decided that "sounds of nature" was enough, and where was it coming from, anyway?  Hmmm... searching up and down the FB page, I saw no running videos/sound feeds.  Puzzled, I finally closed down the whole browser---

--- but the sound track persisted!  What was going on?  I even turned off my PC's speakers-- still hearing the "sounds of nature"---

---- when it finally hit me:  that was a steam whistle!   Almost too faint for my aging ears, but loud enough.   A glance back into the kitchen showed it had a nice fast-stream of steam-vapor coming out.   So fast, it had overwhelmed the whistle somewhat.... and the "babbling brook" was obviously the furiously boiling water inside....

... I had me a laugh, then a bit of a cry too-- that I was so old, I had already forgotten the new kettle, and my hearing so weak, that I couldn't pinpoint the source of those "sounds of nature" as coming from the kitchen, and not my PC's speakers...

.... 

On the other hand?  Now I know how it sounds, and I also know it's too faint to overcome the TV, so I'll resort to a kitchen timer when watching the tube.    But it did pour ever so nicely, far better than the skillet which always ends up spilling here and there. 

I've got me some nice SuperFruit tea steeping even now-- I'm going to have it over ice, later.   mmmmmmm! 

Well, I had about decided that my bad (old) hard drives were destined for the trash heap-- and not a minute too soon (and possibly too late for one).

So I have me two new 1tb drives, with pretty good specs:  64mb cache, 7200rpm, 6gigabits/sec, SATA 6 and so on.  I even got a really good price on the retail boxes, which included some nice perks.

Anyway, using my trusty Linux (more about that later... maybe), I finally got the disks sorted like I wanted.

I had me some problems with the old 500gb storage unit-- and that saga is still far from over-- I only rescued about 40%.  Once I figure out how to boot from a USB stick into a rescue Linux, I'll have another go.

But back to Windoze Nightmares.  

I really don't remember why I got started down this trail... but something or other made me look at the indexing service on my machine.  Now, from habit, I'd activated the built-in indexing, to speed up searches & stuff.

But something I read made me go look, and it wasn't running.  Trying to stop & restart had zero effect.  In digging, I found a dependency, Windows Search, which wasn't running either.  

But wait-- it's worse-- Windows Update was also down.  

... WTF?  Yep-- I was no longer getting updates.   Digging deeper, Windows Security Essentials was also hosed-- it could not update either.  

Curiouser and curiouser.. I almost wished I had some shrinking cake, so I could go deep inside that computer & scope it all out...

What to do?  Try Microsquish's hit-or-miss website.  Several lovely tools that would allegedly fix me right up, if I'd only let them-- all being pushed by Microsquish.   Why not?  I tried at least a dozen, many multiple times.  None had any effect.  

Dig deeper:  I found several manual processes, which I painstakingly copied & pasted into a BATCH file, to run in an elevated command prompt*.   I tried them all.

I felt like a medieval wizard casting complex and obscure spells, and invoking mysterious daemon-powers of the greater darkness.   I briefly considered donning a pointed hat...

... alas, none of that worked.

Okaaaay... the next thing to try, obviously, is the rescue CD I'd made earlier.  I let it do it's thang, but it was a waste of time too-- no joy.  Still had no indexing, no update, and by this time, no Security either-- I had uninstalled it, intending to re-install & hopefully fix what was ailing it.  Alas, it would happily uninstall, but failed to re-install, even from an elevated prompt...

So.  One page suggested an "in place update"... a complicated process whereby you use your original CD/DVD, and run setup, but choose "update from the latest whatsit from the intertubes" or words to that effect.

I tried that, with mild trepidation--even though it promised it'd preserve my stuff.  

It preserved it all right-- 2 hours later?  Right at the last step, when I was kinda thinking, "this ought to be it", it stopped everything.  And then informed me it could not proceed, that my hardware was too impressive for it's puny brains to understand, and it would now proceed to unwind everything I just did... which took about 45 minutes... and I was back to... yep... no index, no search.. and more importantly?  NO UPDATES.  

... meh.  

I did get to finally watch the last episode of The Lost Girl, and was informed season 3 would start in January.  Yaaays!

Dig deeper-- I kept coming back to the only spell I had not cast yet-- on multiple threads, even.    And that was to install a driver from Intell, called a Rapid Drive Transit Authority Whatsit (or something like that).  

I had been ignoring it, because I did not have the hardware it was supposedly supposed to fix-- it was on an HP website, for HP drives & computers.   I had neither.  

But one post encouraged me to try it anyway:  one bloke also mentioned he was using a non-HP disk (mine are Segate), but figured he had nothing to lose at this point:  the next step was nuke from orbit & re-install on bare metal...

... a step I was coming to think I'd have to do, too... (several mentioned having cast this most destructive of spells, but with only mixed success...)..

So.  I activated "recovery" on my new C: drive-- for some reason, it was off.  I do not remember why or how that happened, but it's on now.

Next, I downloaded that from HP, and cast the spell--erm--installed the Rapid Train Transit Drive Thingy-whatsit.    It wanted a reboot.  By now, I could time those with my eyes closed...

.. but I did anyhow.  

.. and held my breath...

... and opened Windoze Update ... and....

.... I decided to go into the kitchen for a sandwich, and perhaps a movie...  

... ... no, I didn't.  The Windoze Update was green-- it was working!  Yaaays!  I then immediately went to my elevated command prompt & tried again to install Windoze Security Guard, replete with virtual shovels & rakes & other implements of destruction.   It installed!  Yaaays!   (and a sigh of relief-- I so did not want to go hunting for a replacement...)

I haven't yet looked at indexing & windoze search-- those will wait for another time.  I'm just happy my pc is now back on the update train.

The good news in all this, if there is any, is that I didn't miss any serious updates-- I was apparently only off the train since Friday.  

My Security Essentials (with virtual tools of viral destruction, and 24 8 by 10 color glossy pictures with arrows and such pointing to the ... nevermind) just completed it's scan.  All is clear--no bad guys invaded while I was fenceless.  

If there is a moral to this story, I have no idea what it might be.  

I have no idea why an obscure Intel driver would fix what was clearly broken on my pc, simply from putting (bit by bit-- that's a powerful Linux ability, which is why I did it that way) Windoze on a more roomy space.

-----------------

There was an amusing bit in all this-- Windoze decided I was now on hardware it didn't authorize, and had de-activated my Win7 install.  I was on a 5 day grace period.  But re-activation was quite painless--I'll give Microsquish that one-- I simply clicked on the little box what complained about me being unactive (Computer---> properties ---> near the bottom, under Windows Activation), and chose "activate using Al Gore's Intertubes", and it trundled a bit, and said I was just peachy-keen.   I suppose it had to update the Big Brother database somewhere deep in the bowels of Microsquish.  I'd like to think a little green gnome had to get up, and make an arcane note in a large, leather-bound book, in a deep dungeon, but I expect it was just some bytes on a server somewhere or other-- maybe in China.  Isn't everything in China nowadays?  But I'm good, now.


Next week or so, I'll try connecting that ailing 500gig to a USB thingy, and see if I can coax more files from it's innards.   Or perhaps, I'll let Linux have a go-- it has a lovely bit-by-bit recovery tool I might try....

....


Edit:  I ought to mention why I activated recovery-- if the new driver did not fix anything, it'd be simple to recover-back to before.



______

* no, it's not a command view from the top floor, it's the good old CMD.EXE program, a kind of pseudo-DOS, but run as an administrator.

Good News, Everybody-- it's the End of the World Day!

Yaaay!

Here's a little something to help you celebrate:  (R.E.M's It's the End of the World as we Know It (and I feel fine) in case the link is broken)

http://youtu.be/Z0GFRcFm-aY
[youtube=425,350]Z0GFRcFm-aY[/youtube]

Oh, and what End of the World celebration would be without fireworks?  Here ya go:

     

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZglgXeH1H8k

[youtube=425,350]ZglgXeH1H8k[/youtube]

('ware-- there's a NSFW word near the end... but listen anyway if you can)

This one will either make you hate it, or you'll go... wow.  I doubt there's any middle ground here.  Best to sit down first, though...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=M6wJl37N9C0

[youtube=425,350]M6wJl37N9C0[/youtube]