15 April 2008

Odds 'n Ends

We had a problem with flies in our vanity area. In the morning, there were 6 or 7 hanging around the skylight, which I disposed of via Hoover's cleaner. The next day, more of the same. So up on the roof I went to check the skylight. Surprise! It wasn't attached to the roof! I could lift it right off. Fortunately, Home Depot is right around the corner, so I drove over and bought a replacement unit. All OK except the replacement let in more light and was energy efficient. That's when Grandma decided we should replace the other 3 skylights. Now we have light, no flies and are more energy efficient. Turns out the others weren't fastened down very well either.

This political campaign season, unfortunately, is as devisive and uncivil as past campaigns. It would be nice if the candidates attacked the issues and not the people running against them. What many voters have lost sight of is that there will be change regardless of which candidate or which party wins. The large question is: Will the change you propose be for the better or will your change make things worse?

And don't forget that it is Congress that controls how our taxes are spent. If you don't like what happens to your money, go after your Congressmen/women. The President suggests and Congress spends.

Our neighbors are getting ready to leave this beautiful weather and head back to Omaha. Grandma and I can't even think of getting away from the Valley of the Sun. This is the right time of year to be using our evaporative cooler instead of the air conditioner. Unfortunately, it needs some work to repair or replace the water pan, which is all corroded. So the agenda for this week includes visiting a few shops to find what alternatives are available (low cost, we hope!).

I read an article recently that said the origin of the Olympics torch ceremony started in Germany under the Nazi regime. With all the problems with protests along the route it might be time to end another reminder of Hitler and his henchmen.

05 April 2008

More Computer Stuff

I don't know what kinds of problems you've had in setting up a new computer, but I've had a bunch over the past few days. I already wrote about the iTunes problem. Well, since then,I've experienced a strange phenomenon: the PC would suddenly shut down, then start up, then shut down, repeating the cycle every few seconds, until I turned off the main power. When I turned on the power an hour or so later, it started up normally, then about 5 minutes later, it started the on - off cycle again. Not knowing anything better to do, I restored the system to Day One. That meant re-installing all my programs, and re-copying files from my external hard drive. This time I kept a log listing each step of progress. And I've been selective in copying files. So far, so good.

The problem with the duplicate iTunes music was overcome as follows:
I went into the external hard drive and deleted the complete music file. Then I copied the music file from my laptop into the ext. hard drive, then copied it into the new PC. Problem solved! It turned out that the ext. hard drive had been storing earlier versions of the music file, including some duplicate items.

It seems as though I almost know what I'm doing.