Archive for the ‘mom’ tag
Chuzzle on Ubuntu Update
Way back in this post,
I asked if you could run Chuzzle on the Ubuntu
computer that I set up for my mom.
I found a way to do it.
Virtual Box and Windows XP.
The Virtual Box install was relatively easy,
and the XP install went like any other XP installs.
I did select a 10GB HD size with the option to expand.
Once up, I just opened IE, went to Yahoo Games,
clicked on “Play web game” and I was good to go.
One more small step away from Microsoft…
(BTW, hoosgot info on a way to run Chuzzle or a similar game on a stock Ubuntu install?)
I took one more small step away from Microsoft today -
I installed Ubuntu on my mom’s computer.
I turned out that mom’s computer had blue screened for the umpteenth time on Sunday
just as I was about to try catching up on some sleep.
My mom’s approach to tech support is to read the blue screen’s contents aloud
until I come over and tell her to restart the computer.
Restarting didn’t work.
Live CD didn’t work.
Spent most of the night trying to find the AC adapter
to the Firewire External CD Burner for my aging, yet uncrashing PowerBook.
Found the AC adapter - burned a copy of the Ultimate Boot CD.
Ran the memory diagnostic - epic fail for the memory!
1 day and $70 later, I have a new working Kingston PC2700 1GB DIMM
and a system that boots - kind of…
2 spare hard drives later,
I have Ubuntu installed and ready to go.
While Mom is slightly let down that Chuzzle won’t work
(hence the BTW at the beginning)
she seems to be OK with it.
And I’m OK with having an almost Microsoft free house.
Tags: 1GB PC2700 DIMM, ac adapter, chuzzle, dimm, external cd burner, hard drives, Kingston DIMM, Kingston memory, kingston pc2700, live cd, microsoft, microsoft free, mom, PC2700 DIMM, PC2700 memory, sleep, tech support, ubuntu, ultimate boot cdFinally, a post having nothing whatsoever to do with tax rebates (i.e. my life)
As you can no doubt tell, my blogging as of these past weeks
have been centered upon 2 subjects:
Economic Stimulus Payments and Japanese Christian Music.
The reason being that I’m scoring pretty well on the SERPS
for variants of those terms and figured I’d flog it for as much
search engine hits (and Adsense goodness) as I can get.
BG is slowly receding - was 154 today.
I’ve become rather good at repair installs of Windows XP, as I had to do so 3 times today.
Bought Mom a new barebones AMD Sempron 3000++ with my tax return money -
moved over the HD and CD from the badly ailing (but free) P2 400.
well, it’s 0100 and I need to be in at work early - so I’ll be leaving now…
Tags: amd, barebones, blogging, christian music, mom, search engine hits, sempron 3000, windows xpa more subdued New Year’s Eve
01/01/2008
Spent NYE at home with Mom.
Decided to do that earlier in the day
around closing time at work.
Saw no point in wasting 4-5 hours
wandering around Center City waiting for
a church that I no longer attend to open
so that I can socialize (not my forte even in the best of times)
amidst people with whom I’m acquainted via my distant past.
Anyway, there’s a mereBreath gathering on the 5th,
so anyone from the cast or crew I can check in with there.
On the bus ride home, I sat near a guy who just came back
from his third tour in Iraq. A gentleman next to me drew him
into conversation, which I thought was intriguing.
Until it became an excuse for the gentleman to engage
in what I call compulsive value addition.
I learned that the gentleman had 29 members of his family
in military service and one member of the family was in the NFL.
The guy just coming back from Iraq had interesting things to say,
but few chances to say them.
I wished him a happy new year as I left the bus and headed home.
No resolutions this year.
Not that I don’t want certain things to happen,
it’s just that other things happen which make the wants
pale in comparison.
write or watch?
12/27/2007
my body and my iPod battery are both rundown
and in need of recharging.
I’m tired of the games.
To put a somatic exclamation point on this all,
my right ankle is bothering me again.
I’m listening to E.S. Posthumus,
trying to block out the episode of CSI Mom’s watching
and concentrate on this writing without the aid of my Leightning LOFs.
Visual fiction in any form is intensely distracting.
The problem is that too many people around me
view it as background noise.
It’s background noise that steals my imagination.
I can either watch fiction or I can write it.
I can’t do both.
Not now.
And so this is Christmas…
and what have I done?
I guess it’s time for my annual bout of self-recrimination,
although I don’t know why I’m so down on myself this year.
I’ve gone from being a perennial church attender (Christmas and Easter)
who thought “Sunday morning is another planet“
to serving as an usher on Sunday mornings.
Last year I was watching a service of lessons and carols on TV
in an overflow room in the basement of Tenth Presbyterian Church
which I’d been attending for almost two decades and realizing
that the only thing keeping me there was one ministry (mereBreath).
I had been not doing weekly church for 2 or 3 years before that service -
I’d only been around for rehearsals and Tech Week.
So when I saw Bethel’s website, I thought I’d check out Easter services.
My mom was pleased with my attending any church at this juncture.
I went. I was hooked.
Got involved 3 months later.
Which leads me to now - and the recrimination.
Last year it was not seeing anything ahead.
This year it’s seeing all the possibilities ahead,
and not knowing which will come to pass.
Like I said before - better than last year.
Tags: bethel, christmas, easter services, lessons and carols, mereBreath, mom, possibilities, recrimination, sunday morning, usherthis year’s a bit better than last…
About this time last year, I had my primary email account and secondary eBay account
hijacked by Nigerian scammers.
I weathered it well, since most of the sellers were smart enough not to ship to Africa.
Just realized that Mom’s had a cellphone for a year -
she’s only made 2-3 calls but at least she has a phone when she needs it.
BTW, got mom a leather seat pad
(was out fitting it to the car last night)
she loves that she can slide into the car much easier now.
Service at Bethel was great (and packed)
started up with a light show set to Trans-Siberian Orchestra’s Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24 and ended with singing Silent Night by the light of candles.
overall, much better than last year.
Tags: bethel, candles, cellphone, christmas, ebay, eve, leather seat, mom, nigerian scammers, sarajevo, silent night, trans siberian orchestramemories make for better stories..
Today was much better.
Got my medications shipped to the store.
We were busy today - lots of
“I’m leaving (tomorrow/this afternoon/now)
so I need this immediately” customers.
Later on, we got a transfer and all the staff
pitched in to help, which was cool.
The new iPod battery functioned quite well -
I was even able to leave it off the charger
last night, which was something I’d never do
with the old iPod.
All I need to do now is to get mom’s gifts,
as well as a housewarming gift for Sam.
which reminds me of a point I once made
of spending money on experiences and not things.
I guess memories make for better stories..
Tags: experiences, housewarming gift, ipod, ipod battery, medications, memories, moma trifecta of annoyances…
today sucked.
Beginning with a lack of needed meds in the morning,
due to an overnight shipment that didn’t quite make it overnight,
the day progressed from bad to worse.
People who would have normally just tried my patience
thoroughly aggravated me. Add to that no student workers
for the evening shift and you have a trifecta of annoyance.
got home and exploded, hitting inanimate objects,
cursing and venting my spleen.
Unfortunately, Mom was in the room at the time I did it.
Why is it that the people who don’t deserve wrath
the ones who always get it anyway?
This is wrong on so many levels…
Tags: annoyances, evening shift, inanimate objects, meds, mom, overnight shipment, patience, trifecta, wratha sunday of flat tires and general lite aggravation
Had the 9:30 service this morning -
was a baptism service with a message on gratitude
(which you’ll probably find here)
Gratitude continued at the Old Country Buffet,
where I indulged in scrambled egg, bacon and beef sausage goodness.
Mom was engaging in a quest for a certain set of bells
that she saw in a dollar store somewhere that had the
line from It’s a Wonderful Life about angels getting their
wings whenever a bell rings. This brought us back to Franklin Mills.