Tag: Pix

Spring Semester 2010

It’s a new year and a new decade (for those who believe).

I’m still taking classes at Ivy Tech and this semester will make me or break me.  I’m taking MATH-111, Intermediate Algebra and CINS-102, Information Systems Fundamentals.

I took the math course years ago, and failed miserably.  I don’t know why exactly, but I do know that I have much more desire and drive to succeed than I did back then.  My instructor seems like a really nice guy who is good at explaining concepts and ensuring everyone understands.  Something lacking in instructors at that school.

My CINS course seems to be another story however.  While I believe the content of the course shouldn’t be too hard, the instructor’s attitude clashes with me in a big way.  I won’t go into specifics, but I would change courses if I could.  This course focuses on XHTML, HTML and CSS.  The main focus of this class is to create a web site and to learn how to manage it on a Unix server.  Ivy Tech has one for student use, it’s name is Bob.

Little Amelia is growing and changing like never before.  At her last checkup, Dr. Laughlin said this would be a period of “social explosion.”  Boy was he right.  She loves using her voice, and discovering what new sounds she can make.  She also likes to support her own weight by “standing” with support from someone.

She has also learned how to grasp and hold objects.  Her rattle and yellow duck are her favorites at this point.  She tracks objects with her eyes, which are beautifully deep.

Rachel has been on maternity leave since the birth of our daughter.  However, all good things must come to an end.  She went back to work on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week.  Next week she goes back full time.  I’ve noticed it’s difficult on her, but it’s good for her to have time away and get a greater appreciation of our little miracle.  We found a stay at home mom who will be watching Amelia.  She has a 4 year old daughter, named Madison who adores Snow White.

Today I officially sent in my resignation to the CSR or what I would like to call “the window to hell.”  I wasn’t scheduled at all for last semester, which was really hard on our checkbook.  I looked and looked and in the end a co-worker at TS, Kasey became the connection to my new 2nd job, TCC or Technology Center Consulting.  It is a division of UITS which is Indiana University’s information technology department.  TCC’s primary objective is to staff the numerous computing labs around campus.  We also help students in the dorms with networking issues.  I have worked one week with them and it’s been interesting to say the least!

7

Microsoft has taken a lot of flack for it’s Vista operating system, due to it’s many issues.  While I didn’t have many, the ones I did have forced me to upgrade to Windows 7.

This is my non-technical review based on my jeers and cheers.

Since I am a staff member at Indiana University, I have access to vast amounts of software for free or very cheap.  This afforded me the opportunity to upgrade for $20.  That’s right.

I’ll start with the things I like about Windows 7…

First of all, my Nikon Coolpix 7600 and it’s accompanying software would not work with Vista, period.  Vista’s own picture transfer wizard would not even work.  I believe it was something to do with the horrible USB support Vista had.  With 7, my 4 year old camera, and it’s software work better than ever!  I can’t wait to see how my bluetooth dongle works!

Second, Vista loved RAM.  It loved it so much, that no matter how much you had it seemed like it wasn’t enough.  This isn’t the case with 7 – it’s more like the opposite.  Windows 7 actually uses half as much RAM at idle on my machine than Vista did.  Freeing up that memory makes the machine much more responsive, programs load instantly.

Third, UAC.  User Access Control, introduced with Vista was a major pain in the a**.  I disabled it, but by doing that I also disabled notification of any problems elsewhere that could have happened.  With 7, you can do the same with a slider without the potential repercussions.  Set it to where you want it right from the task bar.

Fourth, Media Center.  I started using media center with Vista’s version, and I thought it couldn’t get any better.  I was wrong.  7’s media center works better and is more reliable.  It also has CBS TV streaming built right in.  So now you can watch ANYTHING on TV if you have media center and Hulu Desktop.  Add Boxee to the mix and you have the ultimate home entertainment machine.  I also have My Movies3 and Heatwave integrated into WMC, I love it!

Now onto the not so nice things…

There are many compatibility issues with programs and 7.  While they will work, you may have to re-install.  While this isn’t a huge issue, it’s still bothersome.  I can happily report that I’ve only had one casualty of the upgrade, Quickbooks 2008.  I have to restart my computer any time I want to use it.  Intuit knows about this issue and is “working on a solution.”  I hope it is resolved soon, this program wasn’t cheap, even though it’s free now.

I haven’t been a fan of the “new” start menu since it was introduced with Windows XP.  Luckily Microsoft has always provided us with an alternative, the “classic” start menu, which has it’s origins with Windows 95.  It has gone the way of the 8-track.  While there are some registry hacks to get the old menu back, and even a guide on lifehacker, I’m adapting to this change and I’m starting to get on board with it.  Many of us “old timers” don’t like change.

Those are my only complaints thus far.  Which isn’t that bad.  I believe 7 is what Vista was meant to be.

Amelia

Tuesday, October 13th 2009 at 8:30am.  An angel was sent to us via mommy’s tummy.  Her name:  Amelia Josephine!

After Rachel’s last OB appointment, it was decided that she was rather large and it would be best for her to come here via C-section.  Weighing 9 pounds, 9.8 ounces, she was rather large.  It seems that isn’t a bad thing as I haven’t heard anything otherwise from either the OB or her pediatrician, Dr. Laughlin.

There were minimal issues with her birth, she had some extra fluids in her lungs due to not being “squeezed” out of the birth canal.  Rachel was sutured, but a slight mishap occured with them and it created a small hole where one spot did not fuse together.  I have been treating it with Neosporin and it is healing greatly.

We spent 4 days in the hospital to ensure Rachel properly healed before venturing forth and becoming an active mom.  Then the real fun began.  The safety and security of the hospital created a fear of being on our own with this little one.

Since then we have been adjusting to fill her every need.  It’s been tiring, yet satisfying at the same time.  I wasn’t as involved in this crucial stage of my first daughter’s life, so I’ve learned a lot.

Now we spend most of our day eating, sleeping or changing diapers.

Big sister Taylor just loves her new sister to death.  She bought her a Minnie Mouse, which Amelia adores.  Minnie sits on her changing table and Amelia stares at Minnie as if she’s in deep thought about what she is exactly.

The kitties are still getting adjusted to the change.  They have both noticed the lack of attention they are receiving, and sometimes force their way into receiving some by jumping on us while we’re sitting.  I’d like to think they love her, but I’ll let time be the judge on that one.

My time thus far  has been taken up significantly by her care and needs.  Mommy does need a break!  Today I started back at work full-time.  I hope Rachel is doing fine today, I really do.

Crash and Freeze?

Over the past couple of weekends I’ve been working hard at getting ROX season one to the production phase.  I’ve authored all the DVD menus and have done most of the design of the case inserts.  I had all the episodes ready.  It was just a matter of rendering all of the discs and making sure I had all of the extras we wanted before it would be finished.

All of that work took an extreme turn for the worse the other day.  I had been having troubles rendering video.  I thought it was a Sony Vegas or Quick Timeissue, so I removed and reinstalled.  I then went on to think it was a codec issue, so I removed every media codec I had (quite a few), still didn’t fix it.  I had given up for the night out of pure frustration as to why my 2 month old computer wasn’t working properly.

The next day I woke to something I’ve never seen before.  A black screen with a message:  Cannot read disk on SATA 0 and Cannot read disc on SATA 3.  WTF!

I restarted the machine to hear a distinct “clicking” noise.  One of the hard drives was toast, so I removed the secondary one (the one with all the important data on it) and the computer would then boot into safe mode.  Apparently, my virus software which I get from Indiana University somehow became corrupt and became “Incompatible with my version of windows.”  So I wiped it and am still installing my programs.

My 1.5tb drive which has all of my personal, business and ROX data was clicking.  What do I do?  I could not initialize the disk.  My first thought was disk recovery, so I called the only computer service place I trust and they referred me to Drive Savers.  They gave me a code that cuts 10% off the price and gives you a no data – no cost guarantee.  I called them up and the estimate was quite shocking, $700 to $2700.  Anybody want a large Seagate drive on the cheap?

Is the data worth that?  It contains 3 years of blood, sweat and tears on this project.  I conferred with my partner in crime, Editor B.  He said he would help, which was a relief.  My homeowners insurance policy will cover anything over $1000.  After much thought and searching my other hard drives for data, I’ve decided to try something a little ‘home brewed’ to alleviate my situation.  Freezing the drive.

Not like this picture though.  The moisture from the ice will ruin it.  I scoured the interwebs looking for “freezer trick hard drive” and came across many posts about how this can help you retrieve the data you need.  Sometimes it works for just a few minutes and sometimes it works for a few hours.  There is no definitive amount of time, I think it’s limited to just how damaged the hard drive is.

I put my hard drive in the freezer last night about 6pm and I plan on taking out about the same time tonight.  I wrapped it with some paper towels and placed it in a vacuum bag.  This will help with any moisture issues that could result.  I plan on keeping the hard drive in the bag and placing it in a larger bag with ice.  When I connect the drive the computer, this will help keep it cooler longer.

I have about 500 gigs of data that I would like to get off of this drive.  But I have prioritized what I am retrieving.

Wish me luck.

UPDATE: This did not work in my circumstance.  However I’ve been told it does.

Half a Decade

Five years ago tomorrow, I became a husband.  While I didn’t really know what I was getting myself into back then, I actually appreciate it now.  Five years really doesn’t sound like much, but it’s an accomplishment in today’s world.

Throughout these years, Rachel and I have accomplished many things together.  We bought a house, she got her master’s degree, I lost my job and now our newest adventure, our first child.

Our lives before each other were as different as night and day, but our beliefs have kept us close in many ways.  I think it’s the core reason why our bond has lasted.  It’s a case of opposites attracting.  Our bond has done nothing but grow closer over time, something I hope doesn’t end anytime soon.

We will be celebrating our 5th anniversary with a trip down to French Lick.  We’re going to spend a night at the French Lick Springs Hotel and perhaps do a little gambling.  The traditional gift of the 5 year anniversary is wood.  While the trip is our gift to each other, I have to break the rules and buy a present.  While I can’t say what it is yet, I know she will be pleasantly surprised.

I hope to get a chance to relax, as I haven’t had much time to do that in a while.  School starts back up in 11 days, and I’m back to work at TS full time right now, but that will be scaled back to 24 hours a week at the end of the month.

Today is my father’s 58th birthday as well, I called and left him a message this morning.  I hope he got it.  I love you dad.

August is a very busy month for us.  My father’s birthday on the 13th, our anniversary on the 14th and Taylor’s birthday on the 26th.

So Far

So far I have mostly completed the office area of the basement, it just needs new paneling, paint and the floor coating.

I have begun on the other side of the basement, beginning with the removal of the hideous ceiling fan.  It worked, but did not fit the look or atmosphere we want in our home.  I had a fun time trying to wire the replacement light fixture we put in it’s place, as it had a remote switch wiring scheme.

I have not completed much work on the other side besides the removal of the paneling and replacing the one fixture.  From what I can tell, our walls are sound.  We did have a slight worry since we have a pine tree about 10 feet away from that corner of the house.

We recently had the corners of our gutters repaired, which I think may have been the root of our water leakage issues.

There is one issue that I’m still trying to wrap my brain around, and that’s how I’m going to run new cable, phone and LAN lines to the exterior wall in the living room.  I had believed that there was a line directly going to the corner of this room, as the label on it said “attic.”  I was wrong.  Access to this particular spot is difficult due to the placement of our fireplace.  This particular spot is almost just above the fireplace.  I’ve always wanted a fireplace, but for this particular instance I do not.

My concrete repair work started out slow, but is going much better now.

When I attempted this method of repairing, I came into many issues.  When my sander would contact the patch, the patch would fly out of the hole.  So I changed my game plan, and just filled the hole and not the surrounding areas as well.  This method has went so well that I would like to do the whole basement, but Rachel will have none of that.  She just wants the rooms done.

Our next few weeks are booked, so the time I have to dedicate to working on this is little at the moment.  I have basically the same things to do on this side as I did in the office.  The key difference is there is less wall area to renovate.  I guesstimate that with only 2 or 3 more weekends, I will be ready to put new paneling up.

Repairing the Floor

I have everything completed in the walls of my office.  I have one more thing to do before I can move on to the other area downstairs.

This is just a sample of what the perimeter of our basement floor looks like.  The floor originally was covered with carpet.  As a part of carpet installation, tack strips were put down on the perimeter of the floor.  Since the basement does get some water from time to time, we are not going to put a floor covering down that has the potential of being damaged due to water.  We have decided to either stain the concrete or apply an epoxy coating.

I want to repair all of these chips to make the floor visually appealing, and smooth.  I have no experience with masonry or concrete, so this will be an adventure.

With anything I have no experience with, I first search the internet for any available information to try to learn as much as possible before undergoing a project.  While there are many articles and how-to’s on how to repair a crack in a concrete sidewalk, or a missing corner from a concrete sidewalk, there is absolutely nothing on this particular issue.  I’ve searched endlessly as I don’t want to mess this up.  I hope my trial and error can help someone out in cyberspace.

I purchased some masonry crack filler that comes pre-mixed in a 1L bottle.  It seems like the proper patch tool for the job.  The first step was to remove all of the existing nails, and clean the area thoroughly.

I then poured the filler in to the holes, making sure to overfill each hole.

I tested it out to see if I could sand this filler to make the patch perfectly smooth and level with the rest of the floor.  It seems to sand very well.  There is a cancer warning for the dust particles that come from this, so I will be wearing a mask whenever sanding.

The patch is still drying and my Monday is booked.  I am planning on sanding this section down on Tuesday night.  I will update my progress then.

So It Begins…

We officially began remodeling our basement on Saturday.  Rachel and I removed the trim to all the paneling.  Sunday I got ancy and removed the paneling and installed a new light fixture.  What was waiting for us was shocking and interesting at the same time.

First surprise:  Ants!

What you are seeing is not dirt, it’s ants.  They must have been living behind the paneling for years.  When I removed the corner pieces they just came flying out.  We hosed them down with some mean stuff that we have.  It was very surprising to me that they could live behind there without coming out.  There isn’t much behind the wall except for wood, insulation and concrete blocks.

Second Surprise:  Pepsi Bottle!

Behind the hollow wall that our utility room shares was this bottle.  We’ve traced it down to being made between 1960 and 1967.  The puzzling thing is that our house was built in 1974.  Not being alive during this time, I’m not sure how long glass bottles stayed in circulation.  My dad told me that it’s possible that this bottle was still in use during the construction of our home.  We cleaned it up and will give it to my father-in-law the next time we see him.  My dad collects these things, but I think it would be more special to Joe.

This is where my progress has ended as of now.  I haven’t removed the insulation on the walls yet, but from what I can tell thus far it is in good shape.  If there is no mold on it I will reuse it and add a vapor barrier.

We have split the downstairs into 2 seperate areas for remodeling purposes.  This makes for 2 smaller jobs versus 1 bigger one, thus making it more manageable.  I have some re-wiring work to do as our home was constructed “pre-cable.”  It has plenty of flat antenna cable, but not RG6 (what is used for cable and satellite TV).  I am also re-wiring all of our phone outlets, as right now they are shoddy at best.  I had to re-wire them to make our DSL connection work.

Once all the backend work is done, I’m going to put the paneling back up.  I’m hoping to save as much of this as possible, but much of it is rotted or has big holes in it from 30+ years of living.  I’m going to call my “daughter’s mother’s step-dad” to put the trim back up.  He’s a master carpenter – someone needed for some of the complex angles this has.

After that’s done twice, we will paint the paneling to lighten up the area.  There is only 1 window for the entire downstairs and it can be a little creepy down there.  Then onto the floor.  The first step is repairing the surface.  There was carpet in there originally, and after removal of the tack strips it has caused little chips to be removed.  Shouldn’t be a hard problem to solve.  Then onto the finish, we have been discussing 2 viable options, concrete stain or epoxy coating.  I’m a fan of concrete stain, as it gives a very nice appearance.  Rachel is a fan of epoxy coating as it’s a bit cheaper.

After all this is over I then have a bedroom to re-do.  This bedroom is where I’m writing this right now.  It has a shelving unit that was crudely attached which I’m removing.  After repairing the drywall there isn’t much work to do except paint and a new closet door.

Those are the plans, but I’m sure there will be some bumps in the road.  I’ll be writing as often as I can to document the first “real” remodel of our home.  I can’t wait to see my Home Office / Man Cave become a reality!

Pre-Occupied

Lately I have been pre-occupied with many things, which have diverted my attention away from accomplishing a single task.  So I’m going to merely list some updates as to what’s been going on since I last posted.

Hope is in sight:  My truck is still broken.  We got a deal on a complete fuel pump assembly on eBay.  It’s brand new and OEM, so I’m not too concerned about it working.  Last Saturday I tried to install it, but this job is meant for someone who either works on vehicles all the time, or has power tools.  Since I am neither, I couldn’t do the job.  My dad called last night and my step-uncle agreed to do it for me.  My dad is having it towed to his house today and I anticipate it being completed before any bad snowfalls occur.

Family Memories:  My mother-in-law gave us some priceless family photos to scan into the computer.  Some dating back to 1906!  I’m not sure if she knew it, but many of these “old” photos were actually scanned and printed out by someone already.  Who that is I don’t know.  Some of these pictures need some help, as they have cracks on them or have pieces ripped off.  I hope to sharpen up my photoshop skillz and fix ’em. 

There are several “cards” which I find quite moving.  They are what I would call “death memorial” cards.  They were given out (by the church?) when someone died.  My wifes’ family is from Dubois county, which is rich with German heritage.  This card is written in German and Latin.  I find the artwork on the back quite moving.  What do you think?

Music, Music, Music:  I finally caved and bought an iPod.  I refuse to pay retail for one, so I went second hand on eBay.  I got a nice 30gb model, which is big enough for what I need.  I didn’t buy this iPod for personal entertainment, but to convert all of our CD’s into electronic media.  This way we can get rid of the enormous space they take up.  Once everything is done, we’re going to put them into storage.

I have imported them all into iTunes and discovered one interesting thing.  CD’s over time, with scratches and other defects can sound like old LP’s.  Some of the tracks I have imported have that “scratchy” sound made infamous by LP’s.  Now I have a monumental task of going through roughly 2500 songs and re-importing the ones whose quality doesn’t meet my standards…ugh

Once all is complete, I won’t be lugging any CD’s on trips anymore.  Just an iPod and a FM transmitter/docking station.  It’s a dream come true.

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