I can't get Firefox to open.

Grrrrr.

I don't like IE.

And now I have to dash off, dash it all. Why must computers confound me when I'm in a hurry?

I need some that give a real sense of "life just plain SUCKS."

I woke up yesterday morning with the honest intention of getting to work on a) my website, and b) my Writer's Link critiques. What I got was a Blue Screen of Death. My wonderful wife (the one thing I'm very grateful for this weekend) spent most of the day fixing it and trying to keep me from being the whiney, pathetic, spoiled brat I can be whenever I'm thwarted. We did a little shopping and I got cranky 'cause I "didn't get what I wanted," and so on and so forth. I really don't know why she puts up with me at all, much less fixes my computer for me.

So I'm behind in everything of course.

At least we watched The Music Man last night because framefolly had never seen it before. That movie ALWAYS make me happy. And so far, knock wood, this computer is working. Let's see if I can get something done today.

Last night I had hopes of getting started on writing down the frame of the interview, if not actually transcribing. First, though, I turned on the desktop so I could update my iPod.

Nothing. Motor turned on, but no drives, no nothing. No connection to anything computerly. Argh. So instead of writing, I spent the entire night moving iTunes and an old backup of my music files to the desktop – so I was able to sync (and discovered that if you have stuff you’ve bought from the iTunes store currently loaded on one’s iPod, and you plug it into a new computer, it WILL pull them off the iPod and put them into the iTunes directory. Now I wish I’d had all my bought music loaded) – but because I have only one USB port, of course, on the laptop, when I switched from the external drive to the iPod, everything “went away.” So I got the 4-port hub back from Barb and plugged everything back in… and instead of accepting the files as the ones already uploaded into iTunes, it duplicated them. So now I have thousands of “ghost” tracks I need to strip. Plus, it’s missing about a year’s worth of songs that are either backed up on the external drive or on the desktop's own hard drive, so I really need to pull the drive from the desktop and use THAT to sync. So I’m wondering if it would be easier to just strip EVERYTHING out of iTunes and start over…

*sigh* How technology enriches our lives.

At least I got my Dale pictures all uploaded and sent in, so there will be nice pics for the review & interview, when I finish them.

In the meantime, on Saturday we went to the zoo. I have those pictures, too. (I love our new camera.)

( This way to the aminals! )

It occurred to me the other day that if Americans still celebrated Christmas properly, instead of starting in August, today is the eleventh day of Christmas, and the Feast of Epiphany on Tuesday. One of the girls in my office is Eastern Orthodox, and she hasn't been able to eat anything with meat, milk, or any dairy the entire season, with the fast ending, of course, with said feast. Instead of being tired of Christmas and having boxed everything up and put it away already, it would just be winding down.

I didn't plan to, but I ended up spending today cleaning up in the office here, because it was turning more into an attic than anything else. I wish I could figure out how to make this computer fit in Willie's old case, because PART of what I don't like about this one is the case, which is snazzy looking but hard to open and because of the curved front it's hard to seat new drives (which is why I opted for the DVD drive instead of the CD burner, but I may have to salvage the CD burner from Willie, too, since it seems I need it). I need to also back up my music folders again to the external drive, since I've added a lot of files lately. I suppose what I ought to do is program iTunes to automatically use the external drive, 'cause then I could move it between computers easily (theoretically).

As I recall, the main reason I stopped using the desktop is because Tivo is in the living room, so most of my stuff from the last year is now on the laptop...

Anyway, I do wish cats would barf where it can be seen, so you don't discover quite so much of it when you move things you haven't moved in a while...

Now it's time for a new desk and filing cabinet in HERE.

Much junk has been cleared out and tossed, many things cleaned, two boxes ready for Goodwill. Because of Barb's new desk, we have recycling material for at least three weeks' worth of pickups (last week the smallest box went out; but the bin is full of regular stuff and the two BIG boxes are still out there).

Still have a lot to do, though. The de-junking process is very hard...

Putting Die Hard with a Vengeance on television forces writers to be MUCH more creative with their insults than they were originally. I'm fairly certain Zeus did not just call John McClane a "melonhead."

Whew. Everyone else is so organized, posting awesome lists of stuff written, books read, things done in the past year, and I can barely remember what I did yesterday (mostly laze around once the Christmas decorations were down).

As usual, I have forgotten the deeply poignant and important thought I had earlier that I was going to post. *sigh* No wonder I don't know what I did this year.

I think my only significant accomplishment was not only finishing NaNoWriMo, but writing something I think is worthwhile, that I want to take a lot further. In preparing for same, I have been reading (and in some cases re-reading) a lot of my Billy the Kid books, including one I bought and never got around to reading, and the new one that carried me to Orlando and back (to read when my computer was out of reach). The only thing I'm not content with is the title, "The Long Way Home," which is sort of accurate to the story but it's also a Dwight Yoakam song and I do enough stealing of song titles for my titles...

Said books: The Endless Ride by Michael Wallis and Inventing Billy the Kid by Stephen Tatum. I've also read a number of the Doctor Who books (mostly the Doctor Ten/Martha ones, although some Doctor Eight novels, as well), finished the first three Unfortunate Events books (leading me to appreciate anew that, writing problems aside, at least adults were intelligent and competent in J.K. Rowling's world). Maybe this year I'll keep a list of books so I can see if there's any actual progress in the way of reading for me...

I also got married this year. Take that, state of Arizona (and all the rest of 'em). I has a marriage license.

I discovered that cruises are the Best Vacation Ever. (And then ask myself, would it have been quite as awesome if the cruise director hadn't been Sean Patrick in disguise? Yeah, I think so. That was just icing on the cake.)

I got my Certificate in General Insurance.

I actually gained back weight for the first time since I initially started losing, back in 2002. (Most of it has come in the last month, since... the cruise {see above}.)

Resolutions? Other than getting back to working out regularly, nothing much; just doing what I should be doing (eating right, working out, SUBMITTING MY MANUSCRIPT, etc.).

* * *


Things I ought to do immediately:

1) Oil/filter change -- I have been putting this off; the three-month deadline passed some time ago and I thought, "well, I have until 224,000 miles," but THAT passed several weeks ago. Oops.

2) Probably shocks and/or suspension. There is a strange and ominous creaking from the undercarriage when I slow down, speed up, or get out of the truck.

Things I want sooner or later:

1) Four-channel Tivo (and figure out if I can use Tivo in two rooms, and how much that would cost, moving the old one into the other room).

2) A new computer, one with all the stuff I want (including the brain behind the fingers operating it, argh) -- I miss old Willie, my previous desktop, which had all the things on it I needed all in one place, and I understood how to operate him, how to update my web page (which hasn't been done since Willie stopped working), and everything else. *sigh* Why must technology move so quickly?

3) A new iPod, to replace Iggy, who now only holds a charge for about three or four hours. I don't want a Shuffle or a Touch, I want an iPod classic, since they don't make the Mini any more.

And maybe someday a Blu-Ray player.

We are almost finished with the era of Bush, for which I humbly apologize to the rest of the world. May the next year -- and era -- be a danged sight better (it sure can't be worse!).

I still can't remember what I wanted to say, and that after piddling around here writing this post for an hour and a half (with a break for dinner). *sigh*

Finally saw Prince Caspian. Liked some of the changes. Was dubious about others (a large portion of the middle was basically re-written for the screen), but expected them to make it a more action-filled movie (because Prince Caspian does involve a lot of walking, arguing, and walking). And it was good enough that I am sorry Disney's decided to pull the plug on them and not make Voyage of the Dawn Treader, which, quite frankly, is probably the book in the series best suited to being made into a movie outside of The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe.

My, it's been a while since I was here.

I'm typing this on the "new" computer. I put "new" in quotes because it's only new to me - it's a refurbished used computer, actually. But the nice fellow who gave it to me (you know who you are - smooches) set it up for me with Firefox and a security program and all. Now I have to move all my stuff from the old one. That will be a task. The old wired keyboard here is very dusty, but I'd forgotten how well it types (I replaced it mostly because all the letters have worn off, and while most of the time I touch-type, there are times I want to see what key I'm pressing). And the machine grinds somewhat noisy. I don't know if it's the fan or the hard drive. While it was running the virus check it was really freakin' loud. It just finished and it's better, but still very noisy.

I think I just quit slaving working for About.com - after yet another BS griping about my lack of correct links in an article (I'm sorry if I think the actual review is more important than the links selling the product, what a dope I am), I told her if I don't satisfy to just fire me. Of course, she might apologize, since I am the only one who reviews Americana, but we'll see. I'm feeling very pissy about it, anyway. I was just glad I was able to come up with ten albums for 2007, because it wasn't a year where I paid much attention to music (I've been busy).

For those interested, my Top Ten are:
1) Dale Watson - From the Cradle to the Grave
2) Various Artists - Anchored in Love
3) Travis Tritt - The Storm
4) Moot Davis - Already Moved On
5) Dwight Yoakam - Dwight Sings Buck
6) Roger Clyne & the Peacemakers - No More Beautiful World
7) Brad Paisley - 5th Gear
8) The Derailers - Under the Influence of Buck
9) John Mellencamp - Freedom's Road
10) West Side Winders - Snaken Not Stirred

One major gripe I get? That Anchored in Love is a compilation, and therefore does not qualify. Um... if that's the case, since it's all new recordings of old songs, then by rights, I reasoned, both the tribute albums to Buck should be disqualified, as well. No, those are okay. It's the "various artists" part. Huh? Why would an album of all new music released in the given year be disqualified because it's various artists???

I did not understand this logic. I was handed a guilt trip about how much work I made for her. I reminded her I am not paid, and my paying job thinks I do a bang-up job of understanding verbal and written instructions (in fact, my boss says so often), and if I don't satisfy, well, I probably should move on. We shall see.

On a happier note, things have really come together in the ol' house here. Most of the dining and living rooms are done, although we're decorated for Christmas now so not everything is in its permanent place. My office room in here, though, needs some serious work. Today we found an awesome wine rack for my bottles (both empty and not) - it has a wrought iron scroll-work look with grape vines and leaves, and was only $15. It's pretty!

Oops, there's an answer back. Let's see. Heh. Apology, more or less (at least an "oh, it's okay, you just missed something! No need to worry!"). I guess I haven't quit yet. I'm still feeling pissy. I won't answer it right away (I'm rather glad I didn't answer the first one right away - the first comments I wrote were of the "wait a few minutes and re-write them before you email them" sorts, and I guess I'm glad I thought first and emailed later). Deep breaths, deep breaths.

I wish there were a magic wand I could wave and get all my files from my old computer onto this one... files, iTunes, etc., etc. Speaking of iTunes, I have to log in to the old computer long enough to deactivate the stuff I've bought from iTunes so I can activate it on this computer... and I need to move my DVD drive and probably my big F drive over, as well. Why am I not a computer nerd? I just know how to type on them, and then the real basic fundamentals. Magic wand, where are you?!?

To get everything unpacked and in place so I can get my NEW TIVO hooked up!!! A week or so ago Big Lots got in some older model Tivos for $70, so I got the machine--I have put in the subscription yet, since everything's still a mess here, and I haven't even had Cox download all my stations properly (there are about 100 stations--including BBC America--I still can't get on the digital converter, but I don't want to have them fix it until I'm sure the power is going to be turned off again, and the cable and TV are finally set in their new homes).

As I type, the cabinets are being set in. Oh, they ARE PRETTY!!!!!! Yesterday we selected our new appliances, doorknobs, general hardware, and paint colors (or, at least, got some idea of color).

In computer news, the activation codes I got (thank you, miertam! - and everyone else who helped!) worked, and I got my desktop up and working, and I got to my Eudora mailboxes, and I updated my iPod, and everything was fine... until the next morning, when it started switching itself off again. Dang. Still something in there not happy. But at least this time once I got it up again, I made sure everything got closed properly and I shut down, and I just haven't turned it back on. When I get my new computer set up, then I can move everything over without trauma, including deactivating old computer on iTunes before activating new computer.

When I have space again, too, I can change the battery in my iPod, which is now only holding a charge about five hours or so, if I'm lucky. I bought a kit to do it myself rather than shipping it off to Apple - it looks complicated, but doable.

Then one of these days, when there is money again, I need to get a Classic 80-Gig iPod. The Touch is lovely, but I want a classic, with the touch wheel rather than the screen.

In preparation for NaNoWriMo, I've been doing character sheets for my little gang. Some of the folks at the NaNo boards like Sean Patrick, which pleases me.

And I'm also very pleased Dumbledore is gay. The purple suit should have been a dead giveaway. *g*

( Some articles I wanted to keep )

And in closing, a tribute to mustangsally, one of my favorite LOL cats:

Last night I went to make some screencaps from a DVD. PowerDVD errored out, and I had to shut down the computer to re-set everything. Computer would not come back up. I fiddled with it a little and got a "please re-boot with former configuration" sort of deal. I did so. It came back. PowerDVD errored out again, and I got a message that it was likely due to any new software recently installed. So I un-installed both my iPod and all the stuff that came with it, and while I was doing so, I pulled off the DVD program that Disney installed on my computer when I put "The Emperor's New Groove" in my computer's DVD drive. Then I re-booted, and my computer refused to return.

rahirah fiddled with it. We tried everything, and it would not get past the "we're sorry" page, and finally we gave up and went to bed. This morning we went down to Fry's and got a new harddrive, which rahirah is installing now, with Windows 2000 instead of XP, to see how much of my old settings can be recovered from the old drive (which should be fine, of course, although I'll have to re-install all my software).

SIGH.

So I'm sitting out on the laptop. I tried to log into my country music boards, but it's one of those where they assigned a password instead of me choosing one, so that password is safe in my Eudora boxes with all my other weird assigned passwords, and I can't remember which one it is. I can, however, log onto LJ, so here I be. The friends page is all wonky again, though, so I'm guessing that one of LJ's servers is down again.

I cut my finger slicing a bagel this morning. The porch cat doesn't want just food anymore, he wants companionship while he eats, so I sat out on the porch with him while opening the mail. The new hard drive is larger than my old one (120 gig), and I only got one so, um, small because it was the cheapest one there. I am taking this opportunity to listen to a number of CDs that have been stacking up around here I haven't had the chance to listen to, though. Newcomer Todd Fritsch is pretty good--mainstream country with a traditional feel, like AJ or Strait. Nashville ordinary rather than Texas outlaw, but still good music.

ETA:

The No-Hassle Day Planner for the Clinically Insane by MilesToGo13
Username
This morning, you should...	set your bed on fire, to exorcise the evil demon spirits that made you dream about doing bad things, like setting your bed on fire.
Then, after lunch...	leap on random pedestrians and demand that your need for piggy back rides be sated, lest you kill again.
Dinner will consist of...	however many pigeons you managed to stun with your tazer.
Afterwards, you set off into the evening to...	have a drink at your local coffee shop, where you take great joy in unplugging people's laptops at random and giggling at their misery.
At the height of your madness, you will call	edge_dancer
And the two of you will proceed to...	do dozens of shots of that thick blue liquid usually used to clean combs, then spend the rest of the night alternating between vomiting and talking about how much you love each other.
Quiz created with MemeGen!