Something strange is happening to my computer and I don't like it. I think we're edging towards a reformat in the near future.
I was doing a scan for adware and removing it when my computer decided to restart itself. When Windows came back up, there was no sound, no taskbar, and no start menu. Only thing there was, was the desktop. My wife and I tried going into Safe Mode and doing a System Restore, but that function couldn't be accessed. we wound up using the Windows XP CD to repair Windows and that seemed to fix the problem. However, my screen reading software was giving me Video intercept problems, so I had to uninstall it, then reinstall it again. Once that was done, things seemed to be all fixed. Only problem however, is with the screen reader. It will start automatically, but it won't start speaking until I load up something else. I have a backup speech package called NVDA. You can go to http://www.nvda-project.org to find out about it. I'm taking this week to back all my major programs up, and moving things to my external hard drive. I have created an MS-DOS startup diskette, which I will use to reformat my hard drive and then, use my Windows XP CD to reinstall Windows fresh. After that, it will be a tidious process of putting all my programs back on, registering all the programs I have licenses for, etc. Probably another week at best to get everything fully up and running. I know it's good to wipe everything off after a period of time. I haven't reformatted in over three years. It probably hasn't been that long, but it sure feels like it.
That's all I have to report on the computer issues right now.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Friday, April 3, 2009
in other news
In other news, two shows aired that are worth mentioning, one of them a new series starting on, you guessed it, the ABC network.
First, the new show is called Cupid. Here's a little synopsis on what the show is about.
From creator
Rob Thomas
(Veronica Mars)
comes Cupid, a remake of the 1998 cult favorite
of the same name. New York's new resident, Cupid (Bobby Cannavale),
must orchestrate 100 happily-ever-afters before he is allowed to return home to Mount Olympus, punishment from the Gods for the current sorry state of love. Sent without his trademark bow and arrow, Cupid must learn what really makes love work as he navigates the modern metropolis of New York City. There, living under the name of Trevor Pierce, meets famous psychologist and author Dr. Claire Allen (Sarah Paulson)
who too is dedicated to helping lonely souls find happiness though she has a very different view on love than Trevor. As they work together, Claire tries to figure out who Trevor really is. Is he Cupid, or just a man who has lost his mind?
The first episode opens like this:
It's New Year's Eve in Times Square. The ball has just lowered and lit up the sky with "Happy New Year," but our hero has helped changed it to read "Holly I'm Here" for a lovelorn street musician who hopes his message will reach his intended. Despite his good intentions, our hero, who claims he is Cupid, the Roman god of love, not unsurprisingly is placed in a mental institution. There he is placed under the care of Dr. Claire McCrae, an author of a book on love and relationships. After three months, claiming his real name is Trevor Pierce, he is released but placed directly under Dr. McCrae's care and responsibility. She requires him to attend her singles group therapy sessions on a regular basis so that she can monitor his progress. Trevor, who strongly believes in passion and chemistry, finds himself at direct odds with Claire's rather cold and clinical attitude towards love and relationships. Trevor meanwhile works towards attaining his first match.
Then, on the show In the Motherhood, which aired last night, episode two is called Vacation.
Jane feels like taking time off to be with her baby is as tough as being at work. Rosemary explains the need to unionize to Jane's nanny, Horatio. Emily and her husband decide to take a stay at home vacation this year, much to the disappointment of their children.
With that, you're all caught up to the recently events that are going on.
First, the new show is called Cupid. Here's a little synopsis on what the show is about.
From creator
Rob Thomas
(Veronica Mars)
comes Cupid, a remake of the 1998 cult favorite
of the same name. New York's new resident, Cupid (Bobby Cannavale),
must orchestrate 100 happily-ever-afters before he is allowed to return home to Mount Olympus, punishment from the Gods for the current sorry state of love. Sent without his trademark bow and arrow, Cupid must learn what really makes love work as he navigates the modern metropolis of New York City. There, living under the name of Trevor Pierce, meets famous psychologist and author Dr. Claire Allen (Sarah Paulson)
who too is dedicated to helping lonely souls find happiness though she has a very different view on love than Trevor. As they work together, Claire tries to figure out who Trevor really is. Is he Cupid, or just a man who has lost his mind?
The first episode opens like this:
It's New Year's Eve in Times Square. The ball has just lowered and lit up the sky with "Happy New Year," but our hero has helped changed it to read "Holly I'm Here" for a lovelorn street musician who hopes his message will reach his intended. Despite his good intentions, our hero, who claims he is Cupid, the Roman god of love, not unsurprisingly is placed in a mental institution. There he is placed under the care of Dr. Claire McCrae, an author of a book on love and relationships. After three months, claiming his real name is Trevor Pierce, he is released but placed directly under Dr. McCrae's care and responsibility. She requires him to attend her singles group therapy sessions on a regular basis so that she can monitor his progress. Trevor, who strongly believes in passion and chemistry, finds himself at direct odds with Claire's rather cold and clinical attitude towards love and relationships. Trevor meanwhile works towards attaining his first match.
Then, on the show In the Motherhood, which aired last night, episode two is called Vacation.
Jane feels like taking time off to be with her baby is as tough as being at work. Rosemary explains the need to unionize to Jane's nanny, Horatio. Emily and her husband decide to take a stay at home vacation this year, much to the disappointment of their children.
With that, you're all caught up to the recently events that are going on.
Brian's Pediatrician Appointment
Brian had his pediatrician's appointment today. He's doing fine. He's holding steady at 20 pounds and 7 ounces. That's only a four-ounce gain from the last visit, but he's eating well and he is more active with walking and running around, so that could have a bit to do with it. He'll be late getting his back teeth the doctor said.
Jeanne left about ten minutes after ten o'clock this morning and she got back home shortly after two o'clock. Brian did fine all the way up till Jeanne and her grandma pulled in the driveway, but Brian woke up, he threw up all over himself and his seat. Alex isn't one for long car rides either.
Jeanne left about ten minutes after ten o'clock this morning and she got back home shortly after two o'clock. Brian did fine all the way up till Jeanne and her grandma pulled in the driveway, but Brian woke up, he threw up all over himself and his seat. Alex isn't one for long car rides either.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Monday happenings
Several things happened today.
First, our friend Carole had a doctor's appointment today. She has an ongoing condition called Cellulitis, which is an acute inflammation of the connective tissue of the skin, caused by infection with staphylococcus, streptococcus or other bacteria.
Her lower left leg keeps swelling because of this and thus the reason for her doctor's visit today. She also has the possibility of developing clots in her lower legs, which the doctors are treating with heparin injections. Today she was shown how to inject herself. She'll have to do this on her own for about a week. Next week she'll go back in for another ultrasound scan to see if the clots have moved into her upper leg, or if they've been dispersed. One person that can sympathize with having to do injections is my wife. During her pregnancy with our second child, she developed gestational diabetes. She has to give herself daily injections of insulin.
Second, today was the day for our monthly grocery run. Since we don't have our own vehicle yet, we set up monthly trips to the store with Jeanne's grandma who is kind enough to help us with this. Alex got to go to the store with Jeanne, which he thoroughly enjoyed. He got some snacks out of the deal, including teddy grams, and several flavors of goldfish.
Jeanne now has more food options to choose from in her diet she's recently undertaken. She's doing this one-cup portions diet, which allows her to eat anything she wants, so long as it's in one-cup amounts. She eats every two hours, then, at the end of the day, she goes online to see how she did in terms of fat content, amount of calories consumed, number oc carbs, etc. She's lost about six pounds so far. It's hard because there's lots of times she still feels hungry after eating her one-cup allotment.
Third, dancing with the stars aired tonight. Sadly, there were a few couples who did not impress the judges with their dancing. One or two of those couples really did poorly. There will be a double-elimination tomorrow night. I think the show will soon be moving to just one hour installments, because as we swing into April, there are a few more new shows airing on ABC and I believe one of those new shows will air on Monday night after Dancing With The Stars.
Fourth, a new episode of Castle aired tonight. This is the fourth episode in the series. I hope they continue to air new episodes because this is shaping up to be quite a good series, at least in this blogger's opinion.
Tonight's ep is titled, Hell Hath No Fury.
The body of a New York City Councilman up for reelection is found murdered and rolled up in a rug, sending Beckett and Castle deep in to the world of politics.
Meanwhile, Castle's final novel of the Derrick Storm series arrives at bookstores, sending his mother out looking for any sign of failure.
I hope you enjoyed reading this entry.
First, our friend Carole had a doctor's appointment today. She has an ongoing condition called Cellulitis, which is an acute inflammation of the connective tissue of the skin, caused by infection with staphylococcus, streptococcus or other bacteria.
Her lower left leg keeps swelling because of this and thus the reason for her doctor's visit today. She also has the possibility of developing clots in her lower legs, which the doctors are treating with heparin injections. Today she was shown how to inject herself. She'll have to do this on her own for about a week. Next week she'll go back in for another ultrasound scan to see if the clots have moved into her upper leg, or if they've been dispersed. One person that can sympathize with having to do injections is my wife. During her pregnancy with our second child, she developed gestational diabetes. She has to give herself daily injections of insulin.
Second, today was the day for our monthly grocery run. Since we don't have our own vehicle yet, we set up monthly trips to the store with Jeanne's grandma who is kind enough to help us with this. Alex got to go to the store with Jeanne, which he thoroughly enjoyed. He got some snacks out of the deal, including teddy grams, and several flavors of goldfish.
Jeanne now has more food options to choose from in her diet she's recently undertaken. She's doing this one-cup portions diet, which allows her to eat anything she wants, so long as it's in one-cup amounts. She eats every two hours, then, at the end of the day, she goes online to see how she did in terms of fat content, amount of calories consumed, number oc carbs, etc. She's lost about six pounds so far. It's hard because there's lots of times she still feels hungry after eating her one-cup allotment.
Third, dancing with the stars aired tonight. Sadly, there were a few couples who did not impress the judges with their dancing. One or two of those couples really did poorly. There will be a double-elimination tomorrow night. I think the show will soon be moving to just one hour installments, because as we swing into April, there are a few more new shows airing on ABC and I believe one of those new shows will air on Monday night after Dancing With The Stars.
Fourth, a new episode of Castle aired tonight. This is the fourth episode in the series. I hope they continue to air new episodes because this is shaping up to be quite a good series, at least in this blogger's opinion.
Tonight's ep is titled, Hell Hath No Fury.
The body of a New York City Councilman up for reelection is found murdered and rolled up in a rug, sending Beckett and Castle deep in to the world of politics.
Meanwhile, Castle's final novel of the Derrick Storm series arrives at bookstores, sending his mother out looking for any sign of failure.
I hope you enjoyed reading this entry.
Friday, March 27, 2009
bird in the house
We had something rather unusual happen to us this morning.
Jeanne came home from work, and went to bed for a short little nap as she does every Friday morning. I got up with the kids and got them dressed and I even had their breakfast out for them. As I was washing the dishes, Alex was saying something to me about a bird in our house. I heard some banging on the window in the kitchen, and what sounded like wings. I went and woke jeanne up and she varified that there was indeed, a bird, in the house. We opened up the windows in the bedroom and the bird thankfully flew out on his own. He left a little present for us in the laundry basket though. I think he came in when Jeanne first walked in from work, which means he's been in the house for at least an hour. I don't know how he went unnoticed until Alex saw him in the kitchen. I thought that was so different for us that it deserved to be written about.
Jeanne came home from work, and went to bed for a short little nap as she does every Friday morning. I got up with the kids and got them dressed and I even had their breakfast out for them. As I was washing the dishes, Alex was saying something to me about a bird in our house. I heard some banging on the window in the kitchen, and what sounded like wings. I went and woke jeanne up and she varified that there was indeed, a bird, in the house. We opened up the windows in the bedroom and the bird thankfully flew out on his own. He left a little present for us in the laundry basket though. I think he came in when Jeanne first walked in from work, which means he's been in the house for at least an hour. I don't know how he went unnoticed until Alex saw him in the kitchen. I thought that was so different for us that it deserved to be written about.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
TV Viewing for this past Monday night
I've neglected to tell you all about the second and third episodes of Castle I watched on TV. The show airs on Monday nights at 10 o'clock, on the ABC network.
The second episode is titled, Nanny McDead.
When a body of a young woman is found inside the dryer at a laundry room, Castle and Beckett uncover that the young woman worked as a nanny in the upscale
building. Meanwhile, as Castle works on his "Nikki Heat" novel series he watches Beckett's actions as she works the murder case.
The third episode is titled, hedge Fund Homeboys.
When a teenaged boy whose family has recently fallen on hard times is found dead in a boat in Central Park, Castle and Beckett must piece together the mystery
behind the boy's final moments. Meanwhile, Castle mulls over leaving Martha home while he chaperones Alexis' trip to Washington, D.C.
This is turning out to be a very good series.
Dancing with the stars is moving right along as well, thought the first hour of it on Tuesday night was preempted by the President's televised press conference. We got to see the results show however. Like I said in a previous post about this show, I don't particularly care for it because I can't see the dances being performed. The music is good, but it's not enough to just sit there and listen to the music. If you can't get into a show, it's just boring. Two new dances will be practiced for next week's show though, so that will be interesting for the sighted viewers to watch.
The second episode is titled, Nanny McDead.
When a body of a young woman is found inside the dryer at a laundry room, Castle and Beckett uncover that the young woman worked as a nanny in the upscale
building. Meanwhile, as Castle works on his "Nikki Heat" novel series he watches Beckett's actions as she works the murder case.
The third episode is titled, hedge Fund Homeboys.
When a teenaged boy whose family has recently fallen on hard times is found dead in a boat in Central Park, Castle and Beckett must piece together the mystery
behind the boy's final moments. Meanwhile, Castle mulls over leaving Martha home while he chaperones Alexis' trip to Washington, D.C.
This is turning out to be a very good series.
Dancing with the stars is moving right along as well, thought the first hour of it on Tuesday night was preempted by the President's televised press conference. We got to see the results show however. Like I said in a previous post about this show, I don't particularly care for it because I can't see the dances being performed. The music is good, but it's not enough to just sit there and listen to the music. If you can't get into a show, it's just boring. Two new dances will be practiced for next week's show though, so that will be interesting for the sighted viewers to watch.
doc appointment
I had a doctor's appointment today. I was seen by a nurse practitioner because the doctor was up at the hospital doing "procedures", whatever that means.
I am on anti-anxiety medicine to help me with anxiety and they're working, so I can stay on it. This pill helps me to sleep better by easing my mind and helps me to relax. When I am close to running out, I just need to call the doctor's office and they'll in turn call the pharmacy to refill the prescription.
I also take two other medications. The first is Nexium, which I take for Acid Reflux. I take this pill once a day, every day. The second is Reglan. This one I take four times a day, preferably before meals to aid in my intestinal motility.
I have an appointment scheduled in June to see the doctor again, and by that time I'll need to have Nexium and Reglan refilled so they'll take care of that for me.
I am on anti-anxiety medicine to help me with anxiety and they're working, so I can stay on it. This pill helps me to sleep better by easing my mind and helps me to relax. When I am close to running out, I just need to call the doctor's office and they'll in turn call the pharmacy to refill the prescription.
I also take two other medications. The first is Nexium, which I take for Acid Reflux. I take this pill once a day, every day. The second is Reglan. This one I take four times a day, preferably before meals to aid in my intestinal motility.
I have an appointment scheduled in June to see the doctor again, and by that time I'll need to have Nexium and Reglan refilled so they'll take care of that for me.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
random thoughts
Hey there everyone. I'm just going to be spitting out random thoughts in this post.
We had pepperoni chicken tonight and it was very tasty. That's one of the recipes we got from Jeanne's friend Gen. I had one thigh and two legs. we had a rice side with it. Normally, we'd have a vegetable with it, but we decided not to tonight.
I call my Dad on Sunday nights. I usually do the calling once a week, so it will be good to talk to him. Can't wait to tell him our pipe problem's been fixed.
I'm so glad the pipes were just replaced. I'm pretty sure that the new pipes are bigger in width than the old pipes as well. That's a good thing because of the way the washer pumps the water through them, it would back up into the sink down in the bathroom and begin filling it up. Now it doesn't do that at all. Also, you can't control the amount of food that goes down the kitchen sink either, you need to have pipes that will accomodate that sort of thing.
Jeanne and I had a good night last night. We didn't end up watching a movie like we originally planned but we still had fun. Getting the kids off to bed was a bit weird though. One minute we were playing on the bed, all of us were, and I thoguht it was only 6:00PM. The next thing you know, it's after 8 o'clock, only we didn't realize that until it was ten minutes after the hour. We were going to have a drink, Jeanne and I, but we didn't have anything to mix them in, no coke, no orange juice made, so we were just going to have Raspberry schnapps and vodka. I drank all mine but Jeanne said hers was too strong lol.
I am thinking of putting music on for a bit but not sure what to listen too.
I think that's all the randomness I have for now. You all take care and happy reading.
We had pepperoni chicken tonight and it was very tasty. That's one of the recipes we got from Jeanne's friend Gen. I had one thigh and two legs. we had a rice side with it. Normally, we'd have a vegetable with it, but we decided not to tonight.
I call my Dad on Sunday nights. I usually do the calling once a week, so it will be good to talk to him. Can't wait to tell him our pipe problem's been fixed.
I'm so glad the pipes were just replaced. I'm pretty sure that the new pipes are bigger in width than the old pipes as well. That's a good thing because of the way the washer pumps the water through them, it would back up into the sink down in the bathroom and begin filling it up. Now it doesn't do that at all. Also, you can't control the amount of food that goes down the kitchen sink either, you need to have pipes that will accomodate that sort of thing.
Jeanne and I had a good night last night. We didn't end up watching a movie like we originally planned but we still had fun. Getting the kids off to bed was a bit weird though. One minute we were playing on the bed, all of us were, and I thoguht it was only 6:00PM. The next thing you know, it's after 8 o'clock, only we didn't realize that until it was ten minutes after the hour. We were going to have a drink, Jeanne and I, but we didn't have anything to mix them in, no coke, no orange juice made, so we were just going to have Raspberry schnapps and vodka. I drank all mine but Jeanne said hers was too strong lol.
I am thinking of putting music on for a bit but not sure what to listen too.
I think that's all the randomness I have for now. You all take care and happy reading.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
having fun
My wife's father is married to a young woman named Michelle. She's got a little boy named Brent. He's having a party today to celebrate his birthday. Alex and Jeanne went over there while I stayed home with Brian. While they're gone, I'll be getting dinner started. We're having cornish game hens, mashed potatoes and stuffing with gravy. My job is to get the hens ready. I'll clean them all off, then stuff them with one garlic clove and some onions. They'll go in a nine-by-thirteen pan and placed in the oven at 350F for about an hour and a half. Jeanne will be home after 4:30 maybe and will get the potatoes mashed after 5:30 or so. This should be exciting. Oh yes, I need to baste the chickens with a mixture of olive oil and some herbs.
Friday, March 20, 2009
The Shining
I just finished listening to a movie called The Shining, by Stephen King.
It's about a little boy named Danny and his family spending the winter at a hotel called The Overlook. Danny has a special gift, a psychic ability that allows him to see the future a bit, and he has an imaginary friend who is very real to Danny. Once at the hotel though, bad things start happening. By the end of the movie, the hotel has come to life, and it's up to Danny, his mother, and a friend named Dick to escape the evil hotel before the boiler explodes. Danny's father, an alcoholic, begins drinking at the hotel, which allows the hotel to take over his mind and turn him against his wife and son. The father perishes in the hotel, allowing his son and wife to escape. The movie is about 4 and a half hours long, but well worth the time. I really enjoyed it.
It's about a little boy named Danny and his family spending the winter at a hotel called The Overlook. Danny has a special gift, a psychic ability that allows him to see the future a bit, and he has an imaginary friend who is very real to Danny. Once at the hotel though, bad things start happening. By the end of the movie, the hotel has come to life, and it's up to Danny, his mother, and a friend named Dick to escape the evil hotel before the boiler explodes. Danny's father, an alcoholic, begins drinking at the hotel, which allows the hotel to take over his mind and turn him against his wife and son. The father perishes in the hotel, allowing his son and wife to escape. The movie is about 4 and a half hours long, but well worth the time. I really enjoyed it.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Clog saga finally ends
The problem with the clog has finally been fixed. After several days of calling the landlords and their resident handyman (the handyman with no luck at all) a plumber was finally called out to deal with our continuing problem of a clog being in the drainpipe where the washer drains into. Basically what wound up happening is, all the piping was taken out, and new piping was put in. This project should have been done years ago, but it took something like this to finally make this solution happen. The pipes were full of yuck, and were corroded on the inside. We now have all new piping in the bathroom, as well as under the sink in the kitchen. Everything works find now, and hopefully it will be fine for years to come. I will be very careful what goes down the drain. We certainly do not need something like this happening again. It all started last week, on a Wednesday, and finally got resolved today. We had to wash out dishes in the bathtub for the past several days and let me tell you from that experience that it is not fun, and shouldn't have to be something to resort to. I have no idea why it took this long to be resolved, but I'm very thankful to the plumber for coming and fixing it.
Computer woes
Sunday the 15th, all of us went over to Gen's house around 5PM so I could help her son Josh with his computer. He has a virus on it of some sort, plus it's running slow, and it's locked the administrator out of several areas that I think are rather important. I'll have to do a little research to see if I can regain access to those areas. I installed a copy of my screen reading software (JAWS) onto his computer so I wouldn't have to have him read the screen all the time. One of the areas we were denied access, is the Registry Editor. This area is important because there's a few places I would have liked to go to keep several programs from loading at Windows startup. Another important area to which we were denied access, is the Task Manager. He says he's a System's Administrator, yet the error message says something like "such and such has been disabled by your system's administrator" and to contact them for assistance. Also, he has no My Computer, or Control Panel. We have to get to My Computer through the Recycle Bin. It is very strange. I also installed a copy of a spyware/AntiVirus program on there to remove all the trojans, adware, and other nasties that are residing on his system. He's got a free edition of AVG on there, but it detected nothing, while my program found lots of stuff. I will most likely have to go back over there to work on it more in the future. I could probably do with just taking his CPU to my house and hooking it up here to work on it. While I was upstairs with Josh's computer, Jeanne and the kids were downstairs hanging out with Gen.
Gen did feed us some dinner. We had leftover pizza from the party they'd had the night before. It was fun to get out and try to help someone with a problem they didn't have any idea of how to deal with. I'm glad I have the knowledge I do about computers.
Gen did feed us some dinner. We had leftover pizza from the party they'd had the night before. It was fun to get out and try to help someone with a problem they didn't have any idea of how to deal with. I'm glad I have the knowledge I do about computers.
Party Party
Jeanne went to gen's house Saturday night (the 14th) for a party. There were three birthdays being celebrated at the same time. Everyone there had a laugh and did things like play card games, do a little drinking, and generally just had a great time. Jeanne left about 6:30 that evening. I took care of the kids, getting them ready for bed, and then I had my own relaxing. I watched two movies, Ghostbusters being one, and Click being the other. It was a great night. Jeann got home just before midnight. I was feeling a bit tired by then mostly because of the sleeping pill I take at night. Jeanne wanted to spend some time with me, and I was too tired to do much. She was a little upset by that, but we got things straightened out.
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