Author: Lee

Solving Error 46 For Good

Ever since I started working with Editor B on the ROX 2 DVD project, I have been using Apple’s QuickTime almost exclusively.  When my daughter and I got an iPod,  I started using iTunes.

Since I am a Windows user, there are some complications with using this software that many people like myself have encountered over the years.  I’m going to outline those problems, and how I fixed them here.

Apple includes an “update utility” with all of their products which will auto install updates for you, while this may sound nice – it’s a devil in disguise.

For some strange reason, while this update utility is supposedly updating your software, the first thing it does is actually remove your old versions.  It then removes all authorized users from the registry keys the programs require to run.   When the installation commences, it tells you various messages saying it cannot access this or that.  It then rolls back it’s actions and you are left without your software.

I was receiving QuickTime Error: 46 – Could Not Load ActiveX Control.  If you google it, you will find hundreds of listings regarding this issue.  99% of them will tell you to install a old Windows NT utility and then download a file named reset.cmd, you run the reset file which resets the security profiles for a few registry keys.  This works for some, but not all – including me.

I spent about 2 hours last night manually resetting all of the keys required, and finally fixed the issue.  While my case may be extreme, the only other option was to format and completely wipe my machine.  Not something I really wanted to do, as I don’t have a lot of free time, and I’m re-doing a video transfer job that went wrong.  I won’t go into much detail, but it’s the reason why I quit using dual layer DVDs.

The other error I was getting was preventing installation of QuickTime and iTunes.  A dialog box would pop up and say:  could not open key:
UNKNOWN\Components\9C4307835821FFF47864EE6DABC09AA9\E603EB826AD5C9F4DB0BBD3A8C6CFFDF.  After doing some exhaustive searching, I found the location of UNKNOWN\Components\.  The location is explained here.  It is located at HKEY_Local_Machine\Software\
Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Installer\UserData\S-1-5-18\Components.  The first string in your error is listed there, with the second string being a subkey of that.  Change your permissions and you’ll be able to install.  I have seen examples that have different key values, so please don’t use my particular example – yours could be different!

I have modified that reset.cmd file, and now it works for me.  The major flaw with the other version flying around the interwebs, is that it does not force a owner into the keys.  Without an owner, you cannot add users.

Here is that modified file in it’s entirety.  Please copy everything into a notepad and save it as *.cmd file.  It worked for me when nothing else out there would.  I hope this helps anyone out there who is fed up and frustrated, it will also give me a reference should I need to do this again.
Continue reading “Solving Error 46 For Good”

Draft Website

We are coming close to the end of the spring semester, and I have been working on my final project in CINS-102 at a fever pace.

As I noted in a previous post, I am rebuilding my web site via this class.  I lost the files from my original web site.  My old website was just a free template I had found and changed up a bit.  I must say it’s very fulfilling to say you created it yourself.

I have found through my studies thus far that I am really enjoying web design and programming.  They almost go hand in hand, as the skills I’ve learned in programming have transferred somewhat to web design.  Where that might take me I’m unsure of at this point.

The draft website is currently hosted at http://bob.ivytech.edu/~llawmaster/index.html please visit it!  Any suggestions you have, especially in the areas of CSS, would be greatly appreciated.  FYI, the “buy it now” buttons are only pictures – the site’s document type declaration is XHTML Strict, which doesn’t allow the syntax of the buttons to be used.

There are probably going to be some slight changes to it before the semester ends, but nothing dramatic.  I am having my co-worker Kasey utilize her skills with CSS to help transform this basic site into something professional and dramatic.  For her help, I’m going to give her credit for the styling of the website.  The version with her assistance will not appear on the Ivy Tech domain, as that is for academic purposes – and having someone else do the work would be wrong.

Hopefully by the end of the year, the final version of this website will be on it’s real domain again, and fully functional.  It’s exciting!

Making The Switch

Due to the economy and cutbacks in state funding to Indiana University, Technology Center Consulting has decided to strictly enforce a policy that hasn’t been enforced before.  Effective this fall, they will no longer employ persons who aren’t students at the university.

This has posed some hard and serious questions about what I want to do with my education, and my life.  My nerves got the best of me and I “fell off the wagon” and bought a pack of cigarettes.

While I enjoy many aspects of Ivy Tech, such as a laid back atmosphere, very cheap tuition and it’s proximity to my home, I don’t want to be out of work.  I have spent almost 4 years trying to find a full time position that suits me, and I have yet to find it.

So this fall I will be enrolling in the continuing studies program at Indiana University.  I will still be pursuing an Associate’s degree, but in General Studies instead of Computer Information Systems.  Luckily most of my credits will transfer, so I will still be able to graduate in the same time frame.  I had thought about transferring to a Bachelor’s, but 7 more years of school is just too much for me right now.

My application is complete on my end as of now.  It’s in IU and Ivy Tech’s hands now.  IU’s website states the application process takes 10 to 12 weeks, so I hope I am admitted early enough to enroll in classes I want to take unlike my father who always waits until the last minute and almost had to take Yiddish Studies last semester.

Part of me is glad to leave Ivy Tech, as it’s become a place of non-learning as of late.  It seems as if most of the student body enrolls to get student loans or grants for some quick cash and leaves as soon as they can.  It’s very hard for someone like myself to be in the same space as these people.  I’ve learned that many of the classes I’m taking at Ivy Tech are “dumbed down.”  That very well could be the reason why I don’t feel pushed there.  I’ve had a long drawn out battle with education, and I’m finally enjoying education like I should have the first time.

I hope that IU leads me to more fulfilling educational opportunities and enlightens me.  While doing this, I can sleep at ease knowing that I also have a job.

Goodbye Gil

We happened upon Gillham (Gil for short) while at the Fun Frolic in 2007.  We decided to play the “win a bunny” game, only because it said you could win an alternate prize.

Over the almost 3 years we’ve had Gil, he’s earned a place in our hearts that no animal or person can replace.

We have came to a fork in the road of life that has forced us to make a hard decision.  We have too many responsibilities currently.  Between work, school, caring for an infant, constant home renovation projects and life we don’t have time to do anything else.

We have loved Gil since that erratic day he entered our lives, and hopes he brings that same joy into the many lives he will be friends with at his new home, Childs Elementary School here in Bloomington.

We didn’t want to take him to a shelter, or give him to another person, mainly because of what happened to Baby Tat.  We learned the guy we gave her to got rid of her within a few months.  Rachel had a bright idea and sent an email to every teacher she could find in the area.  She got several responses, mainly from kindergarten teachers.  In the end, it was a 6th grade teacher who decided he would make a happy addition to her classroom.  She’s very excited and will be picking him up Friday night.

We learned through him that rabbits are high maintenance pets.  Some owners decide to not let them out of their cages, but something about that just seemed cruel & unusual to us.  Rabbits by nature run and hop about, we didn’t want to change that.  So we regularly let him out every night for an hour or so, so he could stretch his legs.  He learned to love and emulate the behavior of his feline roommates.

After the birth of Amelia, that nightly routine has become very hard to follow.  With me at school 3 nights a week, and Rachel caring for Amelia while I’m away, we’re both exhausted by the time it comes to let him out.  Now Amelia is starting to learn to crawl, which has brought more thoughts to our attention.  While sitting in his cage, Gil kicks out some of his bedding and some of his feces.  It would be a full time job keeping that clean and away from a child who will be crawling very soon.

We will miss you Gil!  We hope you have a fun and happy life with all those 6th graders!

This That and the Other

I haven’t had a chance to post anything for a while as my life has became quite full lately.

This week is spring break at Ivy Tech and IU.  It’s been a nice break from the organized chaos that has become my life.  So I thought I would write about the goings on lately.

Backup, Backup, Backup!

I finally got a stable backup file server going.  My original one died and I’m in the process of parting it out.  If you’re looking for some cheap computer parts you can find ’em right here.  I finally gave up on linux and went with Windows Server 2003.  It’s essentially XP with additional goodies for server functions.  I only have one step left, and that is setting up the RAID configuration.  That’s for a safety net should a hard drive fail.

ROX Update

While I haven’t had much time to concentrate on ROX, I have started recording episodes that still play on CATS.  I have many of the episodes on VHS, but capturing them straight to a digital format makes things much easier.  Given the advanced development of my daughter I might be able to start working on ROX again and finally get season one released in a few months.

Amelia

Taylor & Amelia

She is growing and developing at an alarming rate!  She is now eating solid foods every night.  She is also starting to move around on her own, she isn’t crawling yet but very close.  She has learned that she has a voice and likes to use it often.  I would say her favorite activity is getting mommy and daddy wet when she’s taking a bath.  She’s a hoot and a very happy baby.  We couldn’t ask for more.

The Semester From Hell

This semester I’m taking a class I’ve failed before (MATH-111) and a class that interests me (CINS-102).  My math class is great, as the instructor does his best to ensure everyone in class understands the concepts and can do the work.  85% of the final grade in this class is based upon test scores, something I’ve never had to deal with before.  Right now I’m earning a solid B, which makes me very happy.  I plan on thanking him at the end of the semester for being such a good instructor, all teachers should be reminded how much they’re appreciated when they do a good job!  My other class is a completely different story however.  While I’m learning some much needed skills in this class (XHTML & CSS) the instructor seems to use the class has her way to release frustrations she has.  There aren’t many people in this class, and many don’t seem to have the skills required or aren’t putting forth the effort required.  The class has opened my eyes to the world of web programming, but it’s almost impossible to swallow her totalitarian attitude.

Give Me The Fiber

If you live in Indiana, you might have heard about what Smithville Telephone is doing.  All of their customers are receiving fiber to the home.  It’s exciting to say the least.  Last year I rewired the phone lines in my house and installed a LAN in anticipation.  This week we were “pre-wired” for it.  This consisted of them installing a new network interface on the outside of my home, installing a battery backup system in my home, and installing a data jack.  My area, called the “Fullerton Remote” should be completed by the last quarter of this year.  With this upgrade broadband Internet download  speeds are rising from 1.5mbps to 20!  They are also adding television services which beat all it’s competitors, but that’s my opinion.  This upgrade is amazing to say the least.  Do  you know anyone who has access to 100mbps download speeds at home?  That will be their fastest rate, and I’ve seen it work.  It’s almost like comparing a 14.4 modem to a 56k, a world of difference.

Spring is in the Air

Spring is upon us here in Indiana.  The grass is becoming green again, and the temperatures are rising.  That means the honey do list starts back up again.  I listed what we want to get done around the house in an earlier post.  Now it’s time to get into gear and get those items checked off the list!

Save Our Children’s Future

With the “Great Recession” the economic outlook in Indiana has been downright bleak.  It’s so bleak that the state has been forced to cut funding to K-12 schools and all publicly funded post secondary schools.  This is primarily due to the cuts in property taxes passed several years ago, which is where our public schools get their money.  A decade ago, I didn’t really care, as my time in school was horrible at best.  I have a daughter in 4th grade now, and another who will be in school before I know it.  It’s important to me that they have the same opportunities to enrich their lives that I had.

While the post secondary schools can handle these cuts by many different means, our public (K-12) schools have very limited means to deal with the lack of funding.

Many are closing or consolidating schools, requiring payment to ride a bus, adding fees for extra-curricular activities.  This is almost all options our public schools have, and it really ticks me off.

While I’ve been hearing about school systems around Indianapolis having meetings and public forums to discuss how they are going to handle these shortfalls, it didn’t hit home until our local school system, MCCSC (Monroe County Community School Corporation) brought up the subject.  They are proposing to eliminate many of the programs and services that make our school system diverse and great.

There has been talk of a referendum that if passed, would help eliminate that shortfall.  I’m all for it, but I don’t know how much support it really has.  My property taxes are so low, that it wouldn’t bother me at all to pay a little extra to help my childrens education.  Property tax caps are the reason for this mess in the first place.  Thank you Mitch Daniels, you’ve done a wonderful job ruining the surplus our state had.

Here’s a list of the proposed cuts:

• Increase class-size ratio, generating approximately 45 certified staff (teaching) cuts.

• Eliminate elementary and middle school media specialists.

• Eliminate middle school foreign language.

• Eliminate middle school Family and Consumer Science.

• Eliminate one assistant, part-time athletic director at each high school.

• Reduce high school assistant coaches (no specific numbers or areas revealed)

• Possibly reduce extracurricular activities (brain game, spell bowl, etc.) at high schools and middle schools.

• Eliminate six elementary assistant principal positions for 2011-12.

• Eliminate the unfilled assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction job and the secretarial job for that post.

• Eliminate the healthy school coordinator position.

• Freeze all administrative salaries.

• Reduce school board salaries.

• Consolidate Aurora Alternative High School into an existing high school with some reduction to staff.

• Close the Teen Learning Center.

• Close Alternative to Suspension.

• Close Youth Outreach.

• Eliminate the Bradford Woods.

• Eliminate Honey Creek School.

• Eliminate elementary strings program.

• Drain the high school pools out of season.

• Eliminate Batchelor Middle School pool and fill it in.

• Eliminate substitutes for building secretaries.

• Eliminate summer school.

While some of these cuts make sense to me both financially and logically others do not.  Here is a list of the programs/services that should be saved in my opinion.

  • Elementary and middle school media specialists (librarians).  This is a bad move, really bad.  As a child I loved books, and I believe librarians are the reason why.  Without librarians, our children won’t receive the proper knowledge, appreciation and enthusiasm about books.  This seems like a gateway to eliminate libraries altogether.
  • Reducing some extra-curricular activities.  Some kids aren’t athletic, some kids like to expand their minds through some of these activities.  Why punish those kids while leaving the ones who enjoy athletics alone?  Why some and not all?
  • Consolidation of Aurora.  I’m a little on the fence about this issue.  My generation was the first to  use this invaluable resource.  Some kids don’t learn well in normal learning environments.  Aurora allows these kids to learn on their terms.  In many cases these kids would simply drop out.  While consolidation may help the bottom line, it’s not beneficial if it hurts the education of it’s students.
  • Alternative to Suspension.  Is this “In-school suspension?”  That’s what the alternative was when I went.  It should be saved so those students don’t fall farther behind, this is essentially turning your back on the students who need help the most.
  • Eliminating Bradford Woods.  When I went, it was a week long event.  It’s now only a day or two I believe.  While I understand it’s not completely necessary it is a nice treat to get away and learn about nature and your surroundings.
  • Eliminating Honey Creek School.  This astounds me.  This school is a two room schoolhouse that is used as a learning lab for elementary students.  They get the opportunity to act as if they are living in the 19th century.  If you don’t appreciate your past, you’ll never appreciate what the future brings.
  • Eliminating the Elementary Strings Program.  This program is dear to my heart, as I was in this program in 4th and 5th grade.  Without this the only interaction children have with instruments is the recorder in 4th grade.  It’s really an eye opener to the world of music.  Without this program, I don’t think I would have played the violin in the school systems’ orchestra from 7th grade until I left high school.  I can’t wait for the day I can get my hands on another violin and start playing again.  Music is essential to creativity, something that doesn’t transmit on paper.
  • Eliminating Summer School.  Hello?  Seriously?  I don’t even think I need to explain this one.

I hope the community will rally behind our children.  They are our future!  If you want to voice your opinion, the MCCSC has a web page you can visit and let them know.  I’ll be sending them a link to this posting.  Do the same!  As Spock always said, “The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.”

The Invasion is On

Saturday morning, I awoke to a very vivid and bizarre dream.  One who’s details have still stuck with me.  I haven’t had a dream like this since I was taking Chantix to help quit smoking.  It was very similar to the movie Red Dawn.  That’s where it begins to get a little strange.

The dream starts with me enjoying my beautiful yard, the smell of fresh cut grass, the beautiful sky.  When a squad of large “bomber” type planes flying in formation whiz by at a low altitude.  They start dropping bombs!

But the bombs don’t explode on impact, no that would be too simple.  When the bombs struck the ground, they bounced.  Much like a basketball.  They bounced as if they were seeking something, something that would hurt worse than any explosion.  They were seeking water pipes.  When the bomb would find a water main, it would explode!

They dropped bombs all over the east coast, Midwest and the great plains with the same goal in mind, flood it.  Our defenses had been crippled by a hidden virus on all persons with Internet access in the US.  This virus used peoples computers collectively to hack into the DOD system and crash it.

With the water levels rising to where we were suddenly in a Katrina situation and everyone was on their roof trying to survive.  Normal citizens with boats were making the rounds in their neighborhoods trying to rescue as many people as possible.  We found safe places in the hills surrounding the areas.

Just who was attacking us?  I never figured that out exactly.  I knew is was two island nations that were vengeful against the US.  That’s where the trail ends.

I then woke up, wishing I could sleep for 12 more hours and live the battle in my mind.

Educating My Business

While I’m currently taking classes to earn an Associates of Applied Science in Programming at Ivy Tech Community College, I try to use my business as a resource from time to time.

This semester, I get to use it for something I’ve needed to do and spent countless hours doing.  Rebuilding my website.  While I was happy with what I had, I knew I could have a better designed one that might draw in some clients and some revenue.  Without some basic skills, what I had was the best that I could muster.  This semester I am taking CINS-102.  It is essentially a class that teaches you XHTML and CSS.

We haven’t done much in this class as of yet, but I can see the momentum starting to build.  We’ve mainly had tremendous amounts of reading each week with smaller projects in class.  Our project due this week is to find 5 url’s that we like and select one we want to use for a basis of a new website.  What a perfect opportunity for my website to be re-born!

My financial plan this year is to save any money I make.  I plan on saving as much as possible.  I did the math last night and found out I have personally spent over $3000 on expenses for my business.  I hope to eventually repay that debt.

If things are good this year, I may put my new and improved website back up.

Being Productive

Since April of last year I haven’t worked more than 24 hours in a week.  While over the summer I was plenty busy with home remodeling projects and going to school full-time, I didn’t feel like a productive member of society.

While I’m not technically working full time, I am doing what I can, at 36 hours it’s not as bad as only 24.  I’ve discovered some things about myself that I find interesting.

I’m more productive.  I tend to try to accomplish more tasks and goals opposed to when I had more time, it seems strange but also interesting.

I have better self esteem.  While I am tired, both mentally and physically, I feel better about myself which helps my motivation for things above.

I am lucky in the fact that both of my positions allow for me to work on my homework while there.  I guess it’s an advantage of working in the world of academia.  I try to take advantage of this resource as much as possible.

I was thrown into the world of “work” at an early age, 14.  That’s when I got my first job cleaning tables and doing dishes at Gresham Dining Hall at IU.  I enjoyed the work, but didn’t enjoy the atmosphere.  Boys can be just as bad as girls at that age.

I guess age and maturity have changed my outlook since then.  I want to work, it’s just been impossible to find a job.  I hope that with time and with my blossoming skills, I will be able to find a position that pays me what I’m worth.

Down With the Sickness

Life lately in the Lawmaster household has been anything but fun as of recent.  We all came down with forms of the same sickness.  Fortunately we have all recovered.

Originally I thought it was a new recipe that Rachel had tried, Baked chicken thighs with brown sugar.  I think it really might have been part of a larger sickness going around our area.

Little Amelia saw the effects first.  She spit up ( or should I say threw up) almost half of a couple of her bottles, was warm and somewhat fussy for a day.  Some children’s Tylenol made her much better.

Rachel saw her effects span over a two day period.  It started with nausea and diahhrea on the first day and ended with body aches, fever and a general not feeling well on the second day.  She felt much better after a day of rest.

My case became overly complex and is becoming a nightmare in process.  I woke up on the same day that Rachel’s symptoms started feeling the same nausea and diahhrea, but with the addition of severe body aches.

I didn’t have to be at work until noon, so I thought I would sleep in the Kelley School of Business changing rooms – a place I often nap in during lunch.  The 3 hour nap helped me tremendously, but didn’t get rid of the severe body aches that made even walking a nightmare.

Due to the strict attendance policies in place at my job, I thought I would give working a go.  The lab that I work in on that day requires some physical stamina, as I have to cover this lab, this lab, this lab and this lab.  I tried my hardest to fulfill my duties, but was unable and thought it would be best for me to leave and see a doctor.

I went to my doctor’s walk-in clinic.  Where I was almost immediately seen.  They took my vital signs, asked me what I was having problems with and then had me give a urine specimen which I thought was quite odd.  Then the waiting began.  I waited an hour before I was seen by a nurse practitioner, who for some strange reason thinks my appendix was (and still is) about to burst.

I was then directed to take some blood tests and immediately go to the hospital for a CT scan.  I’ll never forget what the nurse told me, “you cannot pass go, you cannot collect $200 – go straight to the hospital.”

I get to the hospital, where I then went to pickup a contrast agent that I had to drink with Gatorade.  Thank god for the Gatorade.  I learned later that particular contrast is used to be able to see the digestive tract.  Then more waiting.  I waited for two and a half hours before I even got the scan!  I then had to wait almost two more hours to get the results, which I got from that same nurse practitioner via phone call!

She said that I had a large amount of lymph nodes that were swollen and my white blood cell count was up significantly but there were no signs that my appendix was in trouble.  In layman’s terms, my body is fighting a infection of some sort.  She then prescribed me 4 antibiotics, which I’m not taking.  I believe I have MRSA and I have read that antibiotics actually perpetuate the spreading of these potentially killer infections.

After finally getting home at almost 9pm, I drank a couple shots of my cure all, Nyquil and went to bed.  I woke up the next morning feeling like a brand new man!

Today I got a call from the walk-in clinic.  They want me to do another CT scan in 3 months to make sure I’m okay.  WTF?  This sounds like either a very inexperienced health care provider, or an organization that is trying to generate some revenue through services that are not needed.  I don’t think I’m going to go to that particular walk-in clinic again.