Got my replacement case and motherboard today so I'm back in business. Yeah, $200 wasted, but I can now say that I've had 7 packages shipped to me over the course of a week from 4 different vendors... including an order so big amazon had to use four boxes. Yes... I always strive to achieve.
Thursday, May 19, 2005
Wednesday, May 18, 2005
20:45
I just ran this 5k that the fitness center at work organized. Despite the fact that I felt like crap for the last mile (something with the allergy meds wearing off and asthma in a blooming park?) I managed to finish 2nd at 20:45. I have no idea how this relates to other times I had, but I did find the time for the first 5k I did back in 2002. I think I finished a good 1:40 faster... then again, that was in Pittsburgh with it's crazy hills and stuff. Heh.
Anyway, I'm happy I did it and I'm happy with my time. I might even do another race before the end of the summer... not till after my trip though. My cash situation is pretty dismal with the broken computer, random purchases for my trip, and then some likely obscene travel expenses after I get there. Fun. Good thing I can cook and fix my own car...
Anyway, I'm happy I did it and I'm happy with my time. I might even do another race before the end of the summer... not till after my trip though. My cash situation is pretty dismal with the broken computer, random purchases for my trip, and then some likely obscene travel expenses after I get there. Fun. Good thing I can cook and fix my own car...
Sunday, May 15, 2005
coincedence?
You be the judge...
I have to say that I'm not totally anti-Rice. I guess the fact that she had a position at Stanford gives her some credibility. As for certain Yale-grads...
I have to say that I'm not totally anti-Rice. I guess the fact that she had a position at Stanford gives her some credibility. As for certain Yale-grads...
Saturday, May 14, 2005
fried
I managed to fry my motherboard today. As a result, don't expect to see me on AIM any time in the immediate future (since I only have my work laptop to use now).
Unfortunately, my warranty for the thing expired two weeks ago. In other words, no "free" slow service to fix it for me. Heck, shipping the thing already costs over $10...
Fortunately, I'm pretty sure that I know what's broken (since this is exactly what happened to it the last time it broke). Yeah, it's a known problem. Only thing is that I need to get a replacement part and I'm having some trouble finding it. If anyone out there could help me out, I'd greatly appreciate it.
Here's what I'm looking for...
I'm looking for a Phase Width Modulator (PWM), RT9202. Not sure if there is any other good drop in replacement. Not sure precisely what it does... all I know is that based on experience and what other people have observed, this is what's broken and needs replacement. Anyone???
Unfortunately, my warranty for the thing expired two weeks ago. In other words, no "free" slow service to fix it for me. Heck, shipping the thing already costs over $10...
Fortunately, I'm pretty sure that I know what's broken (since this is exactly what happened to it the last time it broke). Yeah, it's a known problem. Only thing is that I need to get a replacement part and I'm having some trouble finding it. If anyone out there could help me out, I'd greatly appreciate it.
Here's what I'm looking for...
I'm looking for a Phase Width Modulator (PWM), RT9202. Not sure if there is any other good drop in replacement. Not sure precisely what it does... all I know is that based on experience and what other people have observed, this is what's broken and needs replacement. Anyone???
toys
The latest... A 4GB MicroDrive for my digital camera.
Just a quick size comparison... Back in 1988, for our first computer, we had a 20MB hard drive that was about the size of a telephone book. Today, I can *affordably* get 4GB (4,048MB) packaged in about the size of a condom (no, I couldn't think of anything else that size).
Just a quick size comparison... Back in 1988, for our first computer, we had a 20MB hard drive that was about the size of a telephone book. Today, I can *affordably* get 4GB (4,048MB) packaged in about the size of a condom (no, I couldn't think of anything else that size).
Wednesday, May 11, 2005
random links
Random link #1
Some background on random link #2... Onterrio Smith was caught in MSP (Minneapolis St. Paul International Airport) with a few vials of what they thought was cocaine. Since Smith is an NFL running back, there's no way he would be travelling with cocaine! After all, he's already violated the drug policy twice and his next offense will land him a one year suspension. No, it wasn't cocaine. It was dehydrated urine. I always try to keep some in my carry on too... just in case?
Some background on random link #2... Onterrio Smith was caught in MSP (Minneapolis St. Paul International Airport) with a few vials of what they thought was cocaine. Since Smith is an NFL running back, there's no way he would be travelling with cocaine! After all, he's already violated the drug policy twice and his next offense will land him a one year suspension. No, it wasn't cocaine. It was dehydrated urine. I always try to keep some in my carry on too... just in case?
Monday, May 09, 2005
make up
To make up for going to bed at 5:30am Saturday (er... Sunday), I woke up at 5:30am today. Actually, the real reason is that I need to be at work at 3am tomorrow, so I might as well try to keep things messed up as much as possible. Hey, I get to leave really really really early that day. Heh.
Sunday, May 08, 2005
congrats, laz!
Congratulations, Laz, on completing law school. (This should definitely go into my design portfolio.)
the real reason i'm going to japan
I'll arrive in Osaka July 8th, and I leave July 17th. Coincedence?
Go CMU!
Go CMU!
Saturday, May 07, 2005
green day
For those who haven't seen Green Day in concert, I highly recommend it. Not only do they rock, but they do everything they can to make sure that the fans are into it. Also definitely worth going if you're into high school girls. I felt like we were the only people there old enough to drink. But overall, two thurnbs up!
Schedule for today:
Finish project - DONE
Compose a gift for Laz - DONE
Consult on making a food booth at an International Festival
Deliver project
Print out and complete gift for Laz
Laz's graduation party
P.S. If you noticed the deliberate spelling error and "got it," awesome. And cultual!
Schedule for today:
Finish project - DONE
Compose a gift for Laz - DONE
Consult on making a food booth at an International Festival
Deliver project
Print out and complete gift for Laz
Laz's graduation party
P.S. If you noticed the deliberate spelling error and "got it," awesome. And cultual!
Thursday, May 05, 2005
outdated... i mean... cleveland rocks
I was putzing around Continental Airlines' website, and I found some information about Cleveland.
Particularly interesting is the business section. For those who don't know, TRW has since been acquired and their HQ has been converted into an upscale mall and medical facility (yeah, makes perfect sense doesn't it...). OfficeMax has also been acquired. There goes two of the companied that defined Cleveland business. And no, most Clevelanders are not optimistic about the economy (not anymore at least).
The Entertainment section is entertaining too. The Flats are now dead. For sports, the Cleveland Lumberjacks (minor league hockey) team is gone. That's not too bad. The worst part is that they say that sales tax is still at 7%, instead of 8%. Fantastic.
Particularly interesting is the business section. For those who don't know, TRW has since been acquired and their HQ has been converted into an upscale mall and medical facility (yeah, makes perfect sense doesn't it...). OfficeMax has also been acquired. There goes two of the companied that defined Cleveland business. And no, most Clevelanders are not optimistic about the economy (not anymore at least).
The Entertainment section is entertaining too. The Flats are now dead. For sports, the Cleveland Lumberjacks (minor league hockey) team is gone. That's not too bad. The worst part is that they say that sales tax is still at 7%, instead of 8%. Fantastic.
Tuesday, May 03, 2005
i hate geagle
This isn't a new development, but I hate Giant Eagle. For those who aren't familiar with this, a quick recap:
Yesterday I went to Marc's and Sam's Club on my usual food run. Today I got Geagle junk mail/spam. Let's see...
Marc's regular prices vs. Geagle regular prices
Marc's Geagle
$0.98 $1.69 1 lb red delicious apples (and the Marc's ones are actually fresh!)
Marc's regular prices vs. Geagle sale prices
Marc's Geagle
$2.50 $2.50 1 package NutriGrain bars
Marc's sale prices vs. Geagle sale prices
$0.88 $0.89 2 liter soda
$2.98 $3.99 2 lbs strawberries
$0.25 $0.40 1 ear of corn
$4.98 $5.00 24 can cube o' Pepsi
$1.88 $3.99 1 Dole pineapple
$1.99 $2.00 1 can Reddiwip
$1.33 $1.59 1 package Thomas' English muffins
$1.50 $2.00 6 pack Musselman's apple sauce
Clearly, even a Giant Eagle sale doesn't make it any cheaper than a Marc's sale.
- The company is based in Pittsburgh. I'm from Cleveland, so that makes me anti-Pittsburgh.
- Their prices suck
- Their produce sucks. On more than one occassion I've thrown out produce in my fridge because it's been there for two weeks and looked like crap, only to find the produce at Geagle looked just like what I trashed.
Yesterday I went to Marc's and Sam's Club on my usual food run. Today I got Geagle junk mail/spam. Let's see...
Marc's regular prices vs. Geagle regular prices
Marc's Geagle
$0.98 $1.69 1 lb red delicious apples (and the Marc's ones are actually fresh!)
Marc's regular prices vs. Geagle sale prices
Marc's Geagle
$2.50 $2.50 1 package NutriGrain bars
Marc's sale prices vs. Geagle sale prices
$0.88 $0.89 2 liter soda
$2.98 $3.99 2 lbs strawberries
$0.25 $0.40 1 ear of corn
$4.98 $5.00 24 can cube o' Pepsi
$1.88 $3.99 1 Dole pineapple
$1.99 $2.00 1 can Reddiwip
$1.33 $1.59 1 package Thomas' English muffins
$1.50 $2.00 6 pack Musselman's apple sauce
Clearly, even a Giant Eagle sale doesn't make it any cheaper than a Marc's sale.
Monday, May 02, 2005
still works!
Two things:
1 - NESticle works on Windows XP, at least version 0.42 does. For some reason I had some of the crappy music from the game "Shadowgate" in my head. That inspired me to go get the NES emulator and get the ROM. Totally legal. I have the game, it's just a backup copy!
2 - My new sound drivers? Clearly, if I can play some high tech Nintendo game on my computer with sound, then my sound drivers must be OK! Right???
To make up for this worthless post, you get a pic of something even more worthless...
1 - NESticle works on Windows XP, at least version 0.42 does. For some reason I had some of the crappy music from the game "Shadowgate" in my head. That inspired me to go get the NES emulator and get the ROM. Totally legal. I have the game, it's just a backup copy!
2 - My new sound drivers? Clearly, if I can play some high tech Nintendo game on my computer with sound, then my sound drivers must be OK! Right???
To make up for this worthless post, you get a pic of something even more worthless...
Sunday, May 01, 2005
more randomness
As if wielding a chainsaw and moving several thousand pounds of fallen trees over the weekend wasn't good enough, I've managed to get another random task. This time it's consulting on how to run a booth at a food festival. Yeah... exactly. Food service experience. Heck yeah!
On another note, I'd like to thank Microsoft for installing some new audio drivers that make my computer crash when I try to use WinAmp or iTunes. What a great feature!
On another note, I'd like to thank Microsoft for installing some new audio drivers that make my computer crash when I try to use WinAmp or iTunes. What a great feature!
still cost effective
So I've spent a good deal of money fixing my car this year. Is it still a good idea to have a 12 year old car when I can clearly afford something that costs 5 to 10 times as much? Let's do a quick cost assessment....
Since the beginning of the year, I've driven a little over 4,700 miles. Total cost -- including gas, toll, insurance, repairs, license, parking: ~$1,200. That's about 25 cents per mile... or $400 dollars a month. I think we're still ok.
Of that, about $480 is maintainance costs. The rest is mostly gas and insurance. A new car would have about the same gas mileage (21/28/23 city/hwy/avg) so gas would be the same. Insurance would probably cost more. That means that my car has an equivalent car payment of $120 / month. Not bad.
But yeah, I do have some maintenance coming up. Need to change the oil in a couple of weeks. That'll cost me about $10. Oh no...
But wait! I should be getting $80 in rebates to offset those maintainance costs (thanks, Monroe!). Awesome! But somehow this *still* doesn't justify me spending tons of money on camera stuff.... or does it???
Since the beginning of the year, I've driven a little over 4,700 miles. Total cost -- including gas, toll, insurance, repairs, license, parking: ~$1,200. That's about 25 cents per mile... or $400 dollars a month. I think we're still ok.
Of that, about $480 is maintainance costs. The rest is mostly gas and insurance. A new car would have about the same gas mileage (21/28/23 city/hwy/avg) so gas would be the same. Insurance would probably cost more. That means that my car has an equivalent car payment of $120 / month. Not bad.
But yeah, I do have some maintenance coming up. Need to change the oil in a couple of weeks. That'll cost me about $10. Oh no...
But wait! I should be getting $80 in rebates to offset those maintainance costs (thanks, Monroe!). Awesome! But somehow this *still* doesn't justify me spending tons of money on camera stuff.... or does it???
Saturday, April 30, 2005
only in dreams
You know you've been working on a project too much when you have a dream where a tester bitch-slaps another tester and angrily shouts, "All system test issues go through me!" when he finds out that the other tester opened a test issue herself.
In no particular order, other random selections from the crazy dream:
In no particular order, other random selections from the crazy dream:
- Me leaving to go on a three week vacation to Hong Kong with my parents, leaving May 6th, but really leaving May 7th... and me wondering how this snuck up on me without me remembering I was about to leave. After waking up, I realized it's because I don't leave for my three week trip till June 26.
- I noticed a second band on my Seiko Kinetic watch that had a number on it. The number moved every time I moved the watch. Neat, but that's not how the thing really works.
- I wanted to go back to "work" to grab my laptop for the trip. Yes, I keep my crazy pictures in mind even in my dreams. Gotta have the laptop in case I run out of space on my memory cards.
- I opened up my suitcase and it somehow expanded to hold a huge stack of blue jeans. How huge? About three and a half feet tall. They were all exactly the same too. Stylish.
- "Work" was in this random 2 or 3 story house that was really dark (like the Lava Lounge). Yes, Barnes, the Lava Lounge used to be a house. Hint: it's in a residential area, and it's a house.
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