I received this in an email from one of the school techs and just had to share it:
"You are as handy to have around as a pocket on a shirt."
Words to live by... :-)
My head is full of random thoughts and generally useless tidbits of information. I figure I just as well share them with the rest of the world...
Aug 29, 2008
Chatting with Tech Support
(This is an article I posted on techblog.k12.ar.us, but wanted to share it here as well...)
Many of us have had the unfortunate experience of chatting live with a tech support person from one of the largest PC maker/distributors on the planet, I'm sure. I won't give any names, but it rhymes with a Mexican fast-food chain...
In any case, I had a system that would not boot. In fact, it wouldn't even power on at all. I opened the case, unplugged and replugged everything, noticed the motherboard 'green led' was lit, and tried again. Nothing. I had the forethought to take a working power supply from another Dell (oops, did I say that?) and try it out on the non-working machine. No change. It was time to chat.
Now, if you have ever called or chatted with Dell tech support, you are aware that they have a specific list of things you must do before they actually believe you know what you're doing on the inside of a computer. I braced myself for the onslaught of questions...
I started the chat with this:
"The computer will not power on at all. I opened up the case and disconnected/reconnected all power leads and the system still does not come on. The system board shows a little green light, but that's it. I even connected another Dell Power supply to the unit and got the same results. It appears to me to be a bad system board."
To my surprise, that jumped me forward in the line of questioning! I must have skipped over questions 1-999 and jumped right to number 1000! The support person on the other end had me do a couple of other things, which really would have little bearing on the problem, but I think helped that person decide just which parts to send out.
So, after swapping the power supply from the bad system to a working system (the opposite of what I had done before), we determined that the power supplies were fine (the tech opted to send another anyway, just in case). I also had to disconnect every lead (to CD, floppy, hard drive, etc) and remove the RAM and modem and try the power supply again. No change.
While the chat itself lasted a little longer than 40 minutes, most of that time was spent with me running back and forth between my computer and the broken one. This means that our actual chat time was (dare i say it??) FAST!
I have to say that I was very impressed with the tech I chatted with. He or she (I do not know if "Pawan" is male or female, though I could not help thinking of various Star Wars references as we chatted - I kept those to myself) recognized that I was not a newbie, and treated me like the computer professional I am. The replacement system board and power supply will be here next week.
Kudos to Dell!
Many of us have had the unfortunate experience of chatting live with a tech support person from one of the largest PC maker/distributors on the planet, I'm sure. I won't give any names, but it rhymes with a Mexican fast-food chain...
In any case, I had a system that would not boot. In fact, it wouldn't even power on at all. I opened the case, unplugged and replugged everything, noticed the motherboard 'green led' was lit, and tried again. Nothing. I had the forethought to take a working power supply from another Dell (oops, did I say that?) and try it out on the non-working machine. No change. It was time to chat.
Now, if you have ever called or chatted with Dell tech support, you are aware that they have a specific list of things you must do before they actually believe you know what you're doing on the inside of a computer. I braced myself for the onslaught of questions...
I started the chat with this:
"The computer will not power on at all. I opened up the case and disconnected/reconnected all power leads and the system still does not come on. The system board shows a little green light, but that's it. I even connected another Dell Power supply to the unit and got the same results. It appears to me to be a bad system board."
To my surprise, that jumped me forward in the line of questioning! I must have skipped over questions 1-999 and jumped right to number 1000! The support person on the other end had me do a couple of other things, which really would have little bearing on the problem, but I think helped that person decide just which parts to send out.
So, after swapping the power supply from the bad system to a working system (the opposite of what I had done before), we determined that the power supplies were fine (the tech opted to send another anyway, just in case). I also had to disconnect every lead (to CD, floppy, hard drive, etc) and remove the RAM and modem and try the power supply again. No change.
While the chat itself lasted a little longer than 40 minutes, most of that time was spent with me running back and forth between my computer and the broken one. This means that our actual chat time was (dare i say it??) FAST!
I have to say that I was very impressed with the tech I chatted with. He or she (I do not know if "Pawan" is male or female, though I could not help thinking of various Star Wars references as we chatted - I kept those to myself) recognized that I was not a newbie, and treated me like the computer professional I am. The replacement system board and power supply will be here next week.
Kudos to Dell!
Aug 28, 2008
All work and all play
On Wednesday, Emily was looking around the house for something to play and she came across the Whitman punchout books I bought last spring. She asked if we could build 'one of the puzzle books.' She picked out the 'Tiny Zoo' and we got to punching out. And punching out. And punching out. Then, there was assembly. I finally got the tape because these books are so old (some are from the year I was born!) that they did not stay together without some help.
After we put everything together, we played and played! I remember playing with the pop-out books and little people and houses etc as a kid, so to be playing with them now with MY child was great fun! Thursday night, Emily decided she wanted to make another town (or more specifically have ME make the town), so she chose the 'Tiny Shopping Mall' which has a billion pieces and parts!
After I put everything together, we played with both sets. It's funny that these are from the 70's because there is one character that is wearing bell bottoms with heart patches and purple and is holding a record (yes, as in LP) and Emily loves her, calling her the "Hip-hop girl." :-)
I spent all morning helping one of the area schools install computers in their computer lab. That is one of my favorite things to do. I love the lab environment, whether installing computers, setting up software, whatever. I guess I have some of Henry Ford in me, because it is the 'assembly line' feel of moving from one station to the next that I like so much. I had forgotten about setting up the computer lab at the co-op this summer, but before that one, it had been years since I set up a lab.
Though I enjoyed my job as the Distance Learning Coordinator for the co-op, I heave the heart and soul of a Technology Coordinator - I'm a techie at heart and there's just no escaping it - not that I would want to! :-)
The other day, I had mentioned that I was an idiot and did not get a picture of Melissa Lawson singing the National Anthem at the Rangers game. Shortly after that message was posted, I received a VERY cool message from her husband!
You just never know who's out there checking things out!
If you missed the comments posted a bit ago, there was one in there from a member of the family that makes the US Gov't Skilcraft pens, too!! I need to see if there's a way to get some of those little black government pens... :-)
After we put everything together, we played and played! I remember playing with the pop-out books and little people and houses etc as a kid, so to be playing with them now with MY child was great fun! Thursday night, Emily decided she wanted to make another town (or more specifically have ME make the town), so she chose the 'Tiny Shopping Mall' which has a billion pieces and parts!
After I put everything together, we played with both sets. It's funny that these are from the 70's because there is one character that is wearing bell bottoms with heart patches and purple and is holding a record (yes, as in LP) and Emily loves her, calling her the "Hip-hop girl." :-)
I spent all morning helping one of the area schools install computers in their computer lab. That is one of my favorite things to do. I love the lab environment, whether installing computers, setting up software, whatever. I guess I have some of Henry Ford in me, because it is the 'assembly line' feel of moving from one station to the next that I like so much. I had forgotten about setting up the computer lab at the co-op this summer, but before that one, it had been years since I set up a lab.
Though I enjoyed my job as the Distance Learning Coordinator for the co-op, I heave the heart and soul of a Technology Coordinator - I'm a techie at heart and there's just no escaping it - not that I would want to! :-)
The other day, I had mentioned that I was an idiot and did not get a picture of Melissa Lawson singing the National Anthem at the Rangers game. Shortly after that message was posted, I received a VERY cool message from her husband!
You just never know who's out there checking things out!
If you missed the comments posted a bit ago, there was one in there from a member of the family that makes the US Gov't Skilcraft pens, too!! I need to see if there's a way to get some of those little black government pens... :-)
Aug 25, 2008
1st Tribe Game!
For Father's Day this past year, Shan and the kids got tickets to the Rangers-Indians game at Rangers Stadium! It feels like it took forever for the day to get here, but this past Saturday, it finally arrived!
We loaded up the van and headed out to our hotel. The drive is an easy one - get on I-30 and point the vehicle at Six Flags in Arlington. It is a LONG one, though. We stopped about halfway down for a break, then headed for the hotel.
We stayed at the Baymont Arlington-Six Flags. It was probably one of the smallest rooms we have ever stayed in. We were told it was non-smoking, but we knew right away people had smoked in it. We should have changed rooms, but we didn't.
After we arrived, we ran out to do some quick shopping then came back to the hotel because they offer a Free shuttle to the game. It leaves at 5:30, 6:00, 6:30, and 7:00, or so we were told. The first "trolley" (a bus made up to look like a trolley) came through at nearly 6:00. When 6:30 rolled around, I said we were walking to the game. The stadium was about a mile from the hotel. But, it was HOT and we'd already been standing for more than an hour. We started heading off anyway, and saw the trolley rolling up. We walked back and got on the trolley. I have to say, it was much nicer riding (though it was standing room only) than walking.
We arrived at the stadium and got off the trolley in front of the ballpark! It is a very nice stadium, but as far as ballparks go, I have to say there was nothing "ooo-aaah" about it. That's not a bad thing, just how it is. What did I care? I was going to see THE TRIBE!
We found our way to our seats, which was only up one flight of stairs. Someone was in our seats, but that's because it's a little confusing as to which side you are actually supposed to be on. We got it squared away though and plopped ourselves down. The players were taking the field to warm up as some preliminary events were taking place.
(Yes, the guy with is back to me is NOLAN RYAN!)
We sat and watched while I took pictures. Then Melissa Lawson (yes, from Arlington, from Nashville Star!) sang the National Anthem. Did I take a picture of her? No. Why not? I'm a ding-bat. After the Anthem, I went after food... I never would have guessed what was happening on field while I had been securing provisions....
Rain, rain, thunder, rain, thunder, rain, rain, rain....
That's okay, we entertained ourselves by taking pictures:
Oh, and while Shan had the camera and was distracted, the woman in front of me leaned over to the empty seat next to her and promptly threw her guts up. Shan never saw it, never heard it. How she did not SMELL it was beyond me. It was so bad that when her friends came back to sit down, the guy said, "I'm sorry, but I can't sit here. That smell is killing me." Tell me about bro... The woman and her (presumed) husband tried to wash it some and cover it with paper towels, but we all know how well THAT works... UGH... I distracted myself after that, and just kept watching the game, trying not to think about it.
Eventually, the rain slowed enough (then stopped) so that we could See some baseball action! Grady Sizemore stole at least THREE BASES that night! It was awesome! During one play, two runners (on first and second) stole at the same time!
Unfortunately, the Rangers got the jump on us and had a 7-1 lead at the bottom of the 4th inning. They scored six runs in the fourth. Ouch. But, the Tribe would not be outdone, and we came back and scored six of our own runs in the 5th! The score was tied 7-7! The Indians scored another run in the 8th, and would go on to WIN THE GAME!
We got back to the hotel, taking the trolley to keep from walking. Turns out there were almost ALL Indians fans on the trolley from all over the US! It was very cool!
On Sunday, the kids went for a swim before we headed back home. One of the best weekends ever!!
You can see all the pics from the Tribe game and swimming (plus a few surprises) here!
We loaded up the van and headed out to our hotel. The drive is an easy one - get on I-30 and point the vehicle at Six Flags in Arlington. It is a LONG one, though. We stopped about halfway down for a break, then headed for the hotel.
We stayed at the Baymont Arlington-Six Flags. It was probably one of the smallest rooms we have ever stayed in. We were told it was non-smoking, but we knew right away people had smoked in it. We should have changed rooms, but we didn't.
After we arrived, we ran out to do some quick shopping then came back to the hotel because they offer a Free shuttle to the game. It leaves at 5:30, 6:00, 6:30, and 7:00, or so we were told. The first "trolley" (a bus made up to look like a trolley) came through at nearly 6:00. When 6:30 rolled around, I said we were walking to the game. The stadium was about a mile from the hotel. But, it was HOT and we'd already been standing for more than an hour. We started heading off anyway, and saw the trolley rolling up. We walked back and got on the trolley. I have to say, it was much nicer riding (though it was standing room only) than walking.
We arrived at the stadium and got off the trolley in front of the ballpark! It is a very nice stadium, but as far as ballparks go, I have to say there was nothing "ooo-aaah" about it. That's not a bad thing, just how it is. What did I care? I was going to see THE TRIBE!
We found our way to our seats, which was only up one flight of stairs. Someone was in our seats, but that's because it's a little confusing as to which side you are actually supposed to be on. We got it squared away though and plopped ourselves down. The players were taking the field to warm up as some preliminary events were taking place.
(Yes, the guy with is back to me is NOLAN RYAN!)
We sat and watched while I took pictures. Then Melissa Lawson (yes, from Arlington, from Nashville Star!) sang the National Anthem. Did I take a picture of her? No. Why not? I'm a ding-bat. After the Anthem, I went after food... I never would have guessed what was happening on field while I had been securing provisions....
Rain, rain, thunder, rain, thunder, rain, rain, rain....
That's okay, we entertained ourselves by taking pictures:
Oh, and while Shan had the camera and was distracted, the woman in front of me leaned over to the empty seat next to her and promptly threw her guts up. Shan never saw it, never heard it. How she did not SMELL it was beyond me. It was so bad that when her friends came back to sit down, the guy said, "I'm sorry, but I can't sit here. That smell is killing me." Tell me about bro... The woman and her (presumed) husband tried to wash it some and cover it with paper towels, but we all know how well THAT works... UGH... I distracted myself after that, and just kept watching the game, trying not to think about it.
Eventually, the rain slowed enough (then stopped) so that we could See some baseball action! Grady Sizemore stole at least THREE BASES that night! It was awesome! During one play, two runners (on first and second) stole at the same time!
Unfortunately, the Rangers got the jump on us and had a 7-1 lead at the bottom of the 4th inning. They scored six runs in the fourth. Ouch. But, the Tribe would not be outdone, and we came back and scored six of our own runs in the 5th! The score was tied 7-7! The Indians scored another run in the 8th, and would go on to WIN THE GAME!
We got back to the hotel, taking the trolley to keep from walking. Turns out there were almost ALL Indians fans on the trolley from all over the US! It was very cool!
On Sunday, the kids went for a swim before we headed back home. One of the best weekends ever!!
You can see all the pics from the Tribe game and swimming (plus a few surprises) here!
Aug 24, 2008
Let's Go Tribe!
Yes, it's nearly 11:00 Sunday night and yes, my eyelids are weighing heavier and heavier. But, I wanted to post a "preliminary" recap of a GREAT weekend! We took about 200 pictures that cover before the game, during the game, after the game and the next day. So, I thought, "If I could only pick FIVE pictures, which would I choose?" So, for tonight, I am picking five pictures. Then tomorrow, I will give you lowdown on on MY FIRST INDIANS BALLGAME! Without further adieu, our weekend in five pictures:
Aug 21, 2008
1st day of school pics!
Aug 20, 2008
eCon 6.0 "Goodie Bag"
eTopps holds a convention every year, and this year's was in Chi town. I did not get to go, but I made a contribution to the cause. In return, my name was put into the hat for prize drawings. I received my prize the other day: My 'home version' of the goodie bag!
How about a canvas print of the eTopps Superbowl Heroes card of Terry Bradshaw! The actual image part (that is, not including the white border) is about 16" by 20"! It looks fantastic when rolled out. I'll have to get that framed for sure!
There was also an eCon T-shirt, an eCon baseball cap, six eTopps National Allen&Ginter Yankee Stadium Tribute cards, a box of 2008 Topps Series 2 baseball cards, a Travis Wilson auto card and a Chris Davis Topps DPP Senior Bowl Game-Used card. VERY cool stuff in deed!
How about a canvas print of the eTopps Superbowl Heroes card of Terry Bradshaw! The actual image part (that is, not including the white border) is about 16" by 20"! It looks fantastic when rolled out. I'll have to get that framed for sure!
There was also an eCon T-shirt, an eCon baseball cap, six eTopps National Allen&Ginter Yankee Stadium Tribute cards, a box of 2008 Topps Series 2 baseball cards, a Travis Wilson auto card and a Chris Davis Topps DPP Senior Bowl Game-Used card. VERY cool stuff in deed!
Hump Day!
It feels like it should be Friday, and we're just halfway through the week. School started on Monday, and I have been running ever since. I do not, however, count that as a bad thing. Tiring, making me bone-weary, yes. But, not a bad thing at all.
Monday began with a phone call to help a district that was having connectivity issues. Turns out, they had plugged a cable into the wrong port. It happens and is an easy fix. During lunch, we get a call from another campus of the same district, and THEY are having problems connecting. John and I head to the school to check things out. They had hooked up the equipment after the summer cleaning session, but forgot to plug in the wire that gets them to the rest of the world. Again, it happens and is an easy fix. The rest of Monday is a blur in my memory.
Tuesday starts off with me heading to a district 30 miles down the road. They had several problems with their computer, but after a bit, I was able to get them logged in to the district's network and get them onto the 'net so they could do their child testing and reporting. That was followed by a trip out to another district (about 20 miles or so from the first) because the district had misplaced the cables to the computer in the early childhood room. Which cables? How about power cables, USB cables, and I think even one of the network cables was missing. Fortunately, I had come prepared for this and had spares of everything they needed. The rest of the day was a blur of ordering equipment, installing equipment, and general taking care of business.
Today started off with a trip to the early childhood program that is about half a mile from the office. Nice! The problem? Well, for one, the battery backup didn't seem to work right. Secondly, the new hire could not log in to the computer. The first problem turned out to be one of 'lack of education.' That is, the teacher had not been educated in how the UPS worked. This UPS has a "Master" outlet, several standard outlets and then 3 or 4 "Controlled my Master" outlets. The general idea is that one could plug in a computer, say, to the Master outlet, then things like the monitor to the "Controlled by" outlets. When the computer shut down, so would the monitor. When the computer came on, so would the monitor. Nice idea in theory. The problem is that they did not have anything plugged into the master outlet. So when they plugged devices into the "controlled by" outlets, there was no power... I got 'em fixed up. The second issue was easy to fix, so I created an account for the teacher and she was good to go! The rest of the day flew by in a flurry of meetings and more general 'getting stuff done.'
At one point, a superintendent dropped off his EePC because he wanted to upgrade the web browser to Firefox 3. Well, that's not a s cut and dry as it should be and his local tech ran into trouble trying to get it done. Then, *I* ran into trouble trying to get it done. Turns out the online steps we found neglected to inform us that we could no SPACES in the folder names... That might be something they should TELL people... Eventually, though, I figured it out and then emailed the tech to let her know what I did to make it work in case this comes up again... :-) There were other techie things I did today, too, but as in the days gone by, they flew by in a blur.
Through all of this, I have enjoyed every single minute of it. This really is what I like to do, and what I do best so far in life's working side. I am a take-it-apart-rebuild-it-and-figure-out-how-to-make-it-work kind of person. I'm a troubleshooter and a fix-it man. I'm a techie guy, and changing jobs to get back in this role is one of the best job-related decisions (though, I'm not sure 'descision' is accurate here, since it came from the boss to change jobs) I've been a part of in a long time.
I wish I had stopped the truck this morning while taking Tyler to school. As we passed by a field, the fog was thick, but you could see a cool silhouette of a John Deere Tractor through it. It would have made for a VERY cool picture... Oh well, maybe next time. :-) So, why tell you at all? Because you can picture it in your mind's eye... A dark, green tractor parked in the field, barely visible through a dense fog. You can almost make out the trees behind it and the hay bales it left behind from the day before....
Monday began with a phone call to help a district that was having connectivity issues. Turns out, they had plugged a cable into the wrong port. It happens and is an easy fix. During lunch, we get a call from another campus of the same district, and THEY are having problems connecting. John and I head to the school to check things out. They had hooked up the equipment after the summer cleaning session, but forgot to plug in the wire that gets them to the rest of the world. Again, it happens and is an easy fix. The rest of Monday is a blur in my memory.
Tuesday starts off with me heading to a district 30 miles down the road. They had several problems with their computer, but after a bit, I was able to get them logged in to the district's network and get them onto the 'net so they could do their child testing and reporting. That was followed by a trip out to another district (about 20 miles or so from the first) because the district had misplaced the cables to the computer in the early childhood room. Which cables? How about power cables, USB cables, and I think even one of the network cables was missing. Fortunately, I had come prepared for this and had spares of everything they needed. The rest of the day was a blur of ordering equipment, installing equipment, and general taking care of business.
Today started off with a trip to the early childhood program that is about half a mile from the office. Nice! The problem? Well, for one, the battery backup didn't seem to work right. Secondly, the new hire could not log in to the computer. The first problem turned out to be one of 'lack of education.' That is, the teacher had not been educated in how the UPS worked. This UPS has a "Master" outlet, several standard outlets and then 3 or 4 "Controlled my Master" outlets. The general idea is that one could plug in a computer, say, to the Master outlet, then things like the monitor to the "Controlled by" outlets. When the computer shut down, so would the monitor. When the computer came on, so would the monitor. Nice idea in theory. The problem is that they did not have anything plugged into the master outlet. So when they plugged devices into the "controlled by" outlets, there was no power... I got 'em fixed up. The second issue was easy to fix, so I created an account for the teacher and she was good to go! The rest of the day flew by in a flurry of meetings and more general 'getting stuff done.'
At one point, a superintendent dropped off his EePC because he wanted to upgrade the web browser to Firefox 3. Well, that's not a s cut and dry as it should be and his local tech ran into trouble trying to get it done. Then, *I* ran into trouble trying to get it done. Turns out the online steps we found neglected to inform us that we could no SPACES in the folder names... That might be something they should TELL people... Eventually, though, I figured it out and then emailed the tech to let her know what I did to make it work in case this comes up again... :-) There were other techie things I did today, too, but as in the days gone by, they flew by in a blur.
Through all of this, I have enjoyed every single minute of it. This really is what I like to do, and what I do best so far in life's working side. I am a take-it-apart-rebuild-it-and-figure-out-how-to-make-it-work kind of person. I'm a troubleshooter and a fix-it man. I'm a techie guy, and changing jobs to get back in this role is one of the best job-related decisions (though, I'm not sure 'descision' is accurate here, since it came from the boss to change jobs) I've been a part of in a long time.
I wish I had stopped the truck this morning while taking Tyler to school. As we passed by a field, the fog was thick, but you could see a cool silhouette of a John Deere Tractor through it. It would have made for a VERY cool picture... Oh well, maybe next time. :-) So, why tell you at all? Because you can picture it in your mind's eye... A dark, green tractor parked in the field, barely visible through a dense fog. You can almost make out the trees behind it and the hay bales it left behind from the day before....
Aug 17, 2008
Random Thoughts, as usual
Tropical Storm Fay is heading toward the Florida "panhandle." Normally, this wouldn't affect me much. But, it hits a little closer to home this year, since we recently drove the panhandle on our way to and from Disney World.
As I gave this some thought, it occurred to me that with all the traveling we have done within the US for vacations, we have added quite a few 'relevant' places to our ever-growing list. We've spent time in San Antonio, Dallas, Nashville, Bowling Green, Memphis, St. Louis, Chicago, Orlando, New Orleans, Shreveport, plus other cities that we've been to like Washington DC, Pittsburgh, and Cleveland. In most cases, we have driven to our destinations, so included with the listed places are all the places along the way that become a part of who we are and what we seem to pay a little more attention to.
As Fay nears the Gulf Coast, we'll be watching to see how the storm affects the places we've been to just a few short weeks ago.
Okay, I'm saying it now: I hope the Jets get their butts kicked all season long, and I hope Favre is the ultimate reason. Why? Because of his teary-eyed, Hall-of-Fame-ending career and goodbye. Well, it's more than that. The fact that the 'comeback' was basically treated with disdain by his former team. That right there says it all. Go home. Be retired. Become an analyst. Don't give us a "I need to be with my family" send-off only to return to play for a team that is EONS from your family. Yes, people have the right to change their minds. But in this case, I think he should have just stayed home. If the seasons sucks, he will then decide that coming back was a mistake and his amazing career will forever be tarnished... I used to be a Favre fan. That's "USED TO BE..."
The US continues to kick some serious overall Olympic butt. But, Jamaica is running circles around everyone (literally) on the track. For whatever reason, I watched the Women's Eight rowing. Turns out, it was actually fun to watch the US grab an early lead and never look back. USA! USA! USA!
Did you know that Hulk Hogan has a line of frozen foods? He's got Hulkster cheeseburgers and chicken and who knows what else... Seriously...
School starts in about 8 hours here (it's 11:30pm as I type this), and yes I should be in bed. I'm heading there in just a minute. If you have kids going back to school this week (or no matter WHEN), remember to keep an eye out for little ones that might dart out into the road.... Let's be safe out there!
As I gave this some thought, it occurred to me that with all the traveling we have done within the US for vacations, we have added quite a few 'relevant' places to our ever-growing list. We've spent time in San Antonio, Dallas, Nashville, Bowling Green, Memphis, St. Louis, Chicago, Orlando, New Orleans, Shreveport, plus other cities that we've been to like Washington DC, Pittsburgh, and Cleveland. In most cases, we have driven to our destinations, so included with the listed places are all the places along the way that become a part of who we are and what we seem to pay a little more attention to.
As Fay nears the Gulf Coast, we'll be watching to see how the storm affects the places we've been to just a few short weeks ago.
Okay, I'm saying it now: I hope the Jets get their butts kicked all season long, and I hope Favre is the ultimate reason. Why? Because of his teary-eyed, Hall-of-Fame-ending career and goodbye. Well, it's more than that. The fact that the 'comeback' was basically treated with disdain by his former team. That right there says it all. Go home. Be retired. Become an analyst. Don't give us a "I need to be with my family" send-off only to return to play for a team that is EONS from your family. Yes, people have the right to change their minds. But in this case, I think he should have just stayed home. If the seasons sucks, he will then decide that coming back was a mistake and his amazing career will forever be tarnished... I used to be a Favre fan. That's "USED TO BE..."
The US continues to kick some serious overall Olympic butt. But, Jamaica is running circles around everyone (literally) on the track. For whatever reason, I watched the Women's Eight rowing. Turns out, it was actually fun to watch the US grab an early lead and never look back. USA! USA! USA!
Did you know that Hulk Hogan has a line of frozen foods? He's got Hulkster cheeseburgers and chicken and who knows what else... Seriously...
School starts in about 8 hours here (it's 11:30pm as I type this), and yes I should be in bed. I'm heading there in just a minute. If you have kids going back to school this week (or no matter WHEN), remember to keep an eye out for little ones that might dart out into the road.... Let's be safe out there!
Aug 16, 2008
Emily's Sleepover, HP Media Vault, School Starting
Emily spent the night at a friend's house last night. We fully expected to get that phone call which comes in at about two o'clock in the morning, but it never came. We woke up this morning in disbelief. After watching a couple episodes of "The Soup," and cleaning the house, Emily came home again.
She said they had a lot of fun at Sara's house! We are very proud of her overnight stay away from home at a friend's house. :-)
I recently acquired an HP Media Vault. The network storage device has a very slick interface, and most importanly allows us to back up our desktops and laptops, plus gives us a place to share documents, pictures, videos, music and more.
Once I have the software installed on all our computers, I am going to show Shan and the kids how to grab music from the share and save it to their MP3 players. They can also watch videos I have saved to the network.
I like the automatic backups, in case things go wrong. :-)
School starts on Monday for our kiddos. The summer went by pretty fast for them! Tyler asked me the other day, "What happened to summer? It feels like we just got off school!" I remember those days....
Things are going very well over at the TribeCards Scratch-off Tournament on my Indians cards site. We've had some smack-talking between players, even between those in different matches! :-) Shan and I have been laughing at some of the banter going on over there.
She said they had a lot of fun at Sara's house! We are very proud of her overnight stay away from home at a friend's house. :-)
I recently acquired an HP Media Vault. The network storage device has a very slick interface, and most importanly allows us to back up our desktops and laptops, plus gives us a place to share documents, pictures, videos, music and more.
Once I have the software installed on all our computers, I am going to show Shan and the kids how to grab music from the share and save it to their MP3 players. They can also watch videos I have saved to the network.
I like the automatic backups, in case things go wrong. :-)
School starts on Monday for our kiddos. The summer went by pretty fast for them! Tyler asked me the other day, "What happened to summer? It feels like we just got off school!" I remember those days....
Things are going very well over at the TribeCards Scratch-off Tournament on my Indians cards site. We've had some smack-talking between players, even between those in different matches! :-) Shan and I have been laughing at some of the banter going on over there.
Aug 13, 2008
Henderson Attains National Board Certification
This is an article we wrote and the local paper published it:
Shannon Henderson was one of 250 teachers who were honored at a Governor’s luncheon on April 26, 2008. The 250 teachers and their guests attended the ceremony at the Robinson Center Exhibition Hall in Little Rock. Governor Beebe addressed the group, expressing his excitement and gratitude for the accomplishment.
“National Board Certification is the most prestigious credential a teacher can earn. Like board-certified doctors and accountants, teachers who achieve National Board Certification have met rigorous standards through intensive study, expert evaluation, self-assessment and peer review,” said National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) President and CEO Joseph A. Aguerrebere. “Research is consistently positive about the impact of National Board Certification on improvements in teacher practice and areas of school improvement critical to raising student achievement.”
“It was a lot of hard work. I am very proud of what I accomplished. It definitely made me more reflective about my teaching,” Henderson said. She also stated, “If a child is not learning, I can reflect on that and look at what I can do better or differently to help the student (and future students) gain that knowledge. I feel more prepared to handle a wide variety of skills and challenges students may present. I’ve gained more skills and have access to a lot more resources than I had before. Getting my Master’s degree gave me the background knowledge for teaching, but going through the Certification process helped me apply that knowledge to my everyday teaching.”
Though Henderson is the first teacher in the Prescott School District to receive NBCT status, there are several other teachers currently working toward certification.
As described by the NBPTS, National Board Certification is a voluntary assessment program designed to recognize and reward great teachers—and make them better. While state licensing systems set basic requirements to teach in each state, National Board Certified Teachers (NBCTs) have successfully demonstrated advanced teaching knowledge, skills and practices. Certification is achieved through a rigorous, performance-based assessment that typically takes one to three years to complete.
As part of the process, teachers build a portfolio that includes student work samples, assignments, videotapes and a thorough analysis of their classroom teaching. Additionally, teachers are assessed on their knowledge of the subjects they teach.
According to NBPTS, Arkansas ranked ninth in the nation for the number of new NBCTs in 2007. Arkansas also showed a 23 percent increase in the number of NBCTs overall versus the previous year.
###
Shannon Henderson was one of 250 teachers who were honored at a Governor’s luncheon on April 26, 2008. The 250 teachers and their guests attended the ceremony at the Robinson Center Exhibition Hall in Little Rock. Governor Beebe addressed the group, expressing his excitement and gratitude for the accomplishment.
“National Board Certification is the most prestigious credential a teacher can earn. Like board-certified doctors and accountants, teachers who achieve National Board Certification have met rigorous standards through intensive study, expert evaluation, self-assessment and peer review,” said National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) President and CEO Joseph A. Aguerrebere. “Research is consistently positive about the impact of National Board Certification on improvements in teacher practice and areas of school improvement critical to raising student achievement.”
“It was a lot of hard work. I am very proud of what I accomplished. It definitely made me more reflective about my teaching,” Henderson said. She also stated, “If a child is not learning, I can reflect on that and look at what I can do better or differently to help the student (and future students) gain that knowledge. I feel more prepared to handle a wide variety of skills and challenges students may present. I’ve gained more skills and have access to a lot more resources than I had before. Getting my Master’s degree gave me the background knowledge for teaching, but going through the Certification process helped me apply that knowledge to my everyday teaching.”
Though Henderson is the first teacher in the Prescott School District to receive NBCT status, there are several other teachers currently working toward certification.
As described by the NBPTS, National Board Certification is a voluntary assessment program designed to recognize and reward great teachers—and make them better. While state licensing systems set basic requirements to teach in each state, National Board Certified Teachers (NBCTs) have successfully demonstrated advanced teaching knowledge, skills and practices. Certification is achieved through a rigorous, performance-based assessment that typically takes one to three years to complete.
As part of the process, teachers build a portfolio that includes student work samples, assignments, videotapes and a thorough analysis of their classroom teaching. Additionally, teachers are assessed on their knowledge of the subjects they teach.
According to NBPTS, Arkansas ranked ninth in the nation for the number of new NBCTs in 2007. Arkansas also showed a 23 percent increase in the number of NBCTs overall versus the previous year.
###
My Little Helper
I showed a group of 45+ teachers in one district some very helpful and fun web sites related to Arkansas History. Emily came with me. She used my EeePC and watched "Toy Story 2" while I taught the workshop. Afterward, several teachers came up to talk to Emily and tell her what a VERY well-behaved child she is. Some were surprised to learn that she is already six. :-)
When we left there, I had to stop by another district to get their video system certified for use this school year on the state video network. The principal asked me if I was going to run the 'extra' network connection in one of the distance learning labs. Emily and I found the cabling and ends in the next room. I grabbed a ladder from maintenance, and Emily pulled wire from the box. As I climbed up and down the ladder, opening ceiling tiles, she fed the cabling to me. She made the job so much easier than had I been alone to do the job! After we pulled the cable, she helped me try to get the cable fed down the utility pole. After we got the wiring where it needed to be, Emily watched as I put the connectors on the ends of the cable. Then, she got up on my shoulders so that she could plug the one end into the switch on the wall. :-)
She was a GREAT helper today!
When we left there, I had to stop by another district to get their video system certified for use this school year on the state video network. The principal asked me if I was going to run the 'extra' network connection in one of the distance learning labs. Emily and I found the cabling and ends in the next room. I grabbed a ladder from maintenance, and Emily pulled wire from the box. As I climbed up and down the ladder, opening ceiling tiles, she fed the cabling to me. She made the job so much easier than had I been alone to do the job! After we pulled the cable, she helped me try to get the cable fed down the utility pole. After we got the wiring where it needed to be, Emily watched as I put the connectors on the ends of the cable. Then, she got up on my shoulders so that she could plug the one end into the switch on the wall. :-)
She was a GREAT helper today!
Aug 11, 2008
Pouring Down Rain - FINALLY!
It's Morton time again around these parts. We've had no rain to speak of for weeks, possibly months, then the heavens opened up and it hasn't quit raining since sometime Sunday. There are periods when the rains tapers off, but those are followed by torrential downpours.
I am sitting in my office, on a slightly extended lunch period, listening to the sound of rain pounding on the metal roof above, the metal walkway covering outside, and the patter on the window. These sounds are interrupted only every so often during a lull in which the sound of the server fans hums from the other side of my cubicle wall. There is, of course, the occasional phone ringing, but for the most part, the rain pounding on the structures around me dominates the airwaves.
This past weekend was the "last hurrah" - a yearly tradition in which we load up and head for a hotel for a last swim of the summer. And shopping, of course. We take the weekend and buy school supplies, new school clothes, and a few other things that hit our fancy. We like to stay at the Hampton Inns and Suites (we get a suite, of course) that happens to be located across the parking lot from a Krispy Kreme doughnut shop.
I am not a big fan of the KK variety of pastry, though I do like the cake donuts they have. Just about everyone else in the family, though, LOVES the KK donuts... So, we dropped by there twice over the weekend. Since my bad habit is baseball cards (hey, I'm not smoking or drinking, so there!), I snagged up a dozen or so "cheapie" packs at Target. In retrospect, I think I should have grabbed up some 2008 Allen&Ginter cards, but I'll just trade for the Indians cards I need/want with the folks on the card blogs. I digress.
Shan picked up several pants and some new shoes. I am not a browsing shopper. When I know what I'm looking for (say, shoes), I find a pair, and if I like them, I buy them. So, when Shan tried on a pair of shoes that felt good, looked good, and had a good price, I told her to buy them. She hesitated, but went along with my prodding to stop looking and buy them. Turns out, we got them cheaper than the sale price, AND she loves them AND we didn't have to walk all over 900 shoe stores only to return to buy these!
I think that is the crux of my shopping bane - the 'return.' Some people, in my experience it is only women but I'm sure some guys do this too, find what they like and then spend hours shopping other places to find 'a better deal' only to return to the FIRST place they looked and buy the first item they saw in the first place! UGH! If you find something you like, and you're happy with the price, BUY IT! As a matter of fact, YES, I do that with computer stuff. And, yes, I admit, sometimes I shop AFTER it's already bought to see if i really did get a good deal. But, for the most part, I just buy the item and I'm happy with it because it was what I wanted, at a price i wanted. Why make life more difficult?
Having said all that, I will say that if I have the mindset that I *KNOW* we'll be shopping for hours on end, then I am much more willing to go along with whatever happens. Seriously. If I know ahead of time that we are shopping all day, then going to 900 stores doen't bother me as much. Oh, I know, some of you will say, "Then just treat every shopping trip as if it were going to last all day..." Yeah, that ain't happenin... Thanks for playing... :-)
The kids got school supplies and some new clothes. Tyler bought himself a new light saber. He's addicted to those things - they are his habit of choice, I suppose.
Shan and My Mom also picked up items for their respective classrooms at the teacher store, and I bought some baseball display boxes at Hobby Lobby. I have two autographed balls and a Mickey baseball that I wanted to put in display boxes.
Aug 6, 2008
It's all coming back to me...
I thought the job change from Distance Learning Coordinator to Technology Coordinator would be easy as pie. After all, I was a Tech Coordinator for many years before switching hats. I was mistaken.
In the few weeks that I have been wearing the Technology Coordinator hat, I have found myself wrestling with troubleshooting scenarios that would have come to me with my eyes closed as a tech before. I have to tell you, there have been times that I wonder what I ever did to convince anyone that I actually knew what I was doing.
A prime example comes from something that happened just the other day. We'd been having trouble with system backups ever since our Systems Admin left. I called her up and asked if we could meet over lunch and have her walk me through the process. She said yes, of course, but she then asked if I was having trouble following her step-by-step instructions. I don't know why I had forgotten that she sent me an email telling me that there were said instructions. While we were trying to walk through some things, she had to guide me through "Backup." Now, honestly, that was crazy! I knew the program inside and out. Yet, I could not get my brain to kick into gear. I finally got things going after following her steps...
Today, I ran into a situation where the previous System Admin's name was appearing in certain automatically-generated emails on our network. I opened Exchange (the mail program) and looked the places where I thought an email address and/or user name might be. But, I had already changed those to my own address. I called a local school tech for help. He walked me through the same places I had been already. Now, there were TWO stumped techs. Well, at least I hadn't been an idiot, I guess. Well, sorta...
I started thinking about what I was SEEING in the auto-email: the former Admin's NAME, not address. So, I started poking around the User Accounts and went tab-by-tab until I found it. Her account had the "postmaster" account assigned to it. I changed that to reflect my account, and the problem was solved! I immediately called the local tech, who felt as inept as I had, but we both agreed that it was something so obvious, we didn't see it...
So, little by little, I am dusting off the technology cobwebs and am beginning to feel like the Technology Coordinator that I know I am...
(Know the song/singer of the title?)
In the few weeks that I have been wearing the Technology Coordinator hat, I have found myself wrestling with troubleshooting scenarios that would have come to me with my eyes closed as a tech before. I have to tell you, there have been times that I wonder what I ever did to convince anyone that I actually knew what I was doing.
A prime example comes from something that happened just the other day. We'd been having trouble with system backups ever since our Systems Admin left. I called her up and asked if we could meet over lunch and have her walk me through the process. She said yes, of course, but she then asked if I was having trouble following her step-by-step instructions. I don't know why I had forgotten that she sent me an email telling me that there were said instructions. While we were trying to walk through some things, she had to guide me through "Backup." Now, honestly, that was crazy! I knew the program inside and out. Yet, I could not get my brain to kick into gear. I finally got things going after following her steps...
Today, I ran into a situation where the previous System Admin's name was appearing in certain automatically-generated emails on our network. I opened Exchange (the mail program) and looked the places where I thought an email address and/or user name might be. But, I had already changed those to my own address. I called a local school tech for help. He walked me through the same places I had been already. Now, there were TWO stumped techs. Well, at least I hadn't been an idiot, I guess. Well, sorta...
I started thinking about what I was SEEING in the auto-email: the former Admin's NAME, not address. So, I started poking around the User Accounts and went tab-by-tab until I found it. Her account had the "postmaster" account assigned to it. I changed that to reflect my account, and the problem was solved! I immediately called the local tech, who felt as inept as I had, but we both agreed that it was something so obvious, we didn't see it...
So, little by little, I am dusting off the technology cobwebs and am beginning to feel like the Technology Coordinator that I know I am...
(Know the song/singer of the title?)
Aug 5, 2008
gotMilk?
Got this in email today:
An airhead heard that milk baths would make her beautiful, so she left a note for her milkman to leave 20 gallons of milk. When the milkman read the note, he thought there must be a mistake… she probably meant 2 gallons. So he knocked on the door to clarify the point.
When the airhead came to the door the milkman said, 'I found your note for 20 gallons of milk. Didn't you mean 2 gallons?'
The airhead said, 'No, I want 20 gallons. I'm going to fill my bathtub so I can take a milkbath to look young and beautiful again.'
The milkman asked, 'Do you want it pasteurized?' The airhead said, 'No, No, just up to my boobs. I can splash it on my face.'
An airhead heard that milk baths would make her beautiful, so she left a note for her milkman to leave 20 gallons of milk. When the milkman read the note, he thought there must be a mistake… she probably meant 2 gallons. So he knocked on the door to clarify the point.
When the airhead came to the door the milkman said, 'I found your note for 20 gallons of milk. Didn't you mean 2 gallons?'
The airhead said, 'No, I want 20 gallons. I'm going to fill my bathtub so I can take a milkbath to look young and beautiful again.'
The milkman asked, 'Do you want it pasteurized?' The airhead said, 'No, No, just up to my boobs. I can splash it on my face.'
Aug 4, 2008
MyGig Update and "Updating Channels"
When we got the mail today, there was a package for Shan from Chrysler. Inside was a CD labeled "MyGIG Radio Software Update." So, here we are again. We have to upgrade our vehicle's software. I don't know why this bugs me as much as it does. After all, our vehicles have more electronics than the rocket that went to the moon! And, as the Internet and World Wide Web continue to mature, EVERYTHING will be connected. I digress.
I popped the CD into the media system (remember when it was called a radio?), and let the computer do the rest. After a few minutes, the system rebooted. Frankly, I don't know what got fixed. I haven't played around in the settings enough to see what differences there might be.
I mentioned in a previous post that we were having trouble with the rear satellite saying, "Updating Channels" and never actually UPDATING them. When I looked online before, there were several people with the problem, but no solutions. Tonight, there was one possible solution posted: unplug the battery, wait, plug the battery back in.
So, I tried it. I popped the hood, disconnected the battery, and waited about a minute or so. Then, I reconnected the battery and turned on the van. I set the front radio to FM then got in the back and set the rear system to SAT. Much to my dismay, it said, "Updating Channels." I was not happy. But, I waited to see if anything would change. After all, it might take a while to update the channels, right?
After a minute or two, the unit appeared to reset, and then the SAT popped up with channel 60 on the screen! Awesome! As a test, I switched to Channel 103, listened to it, then switched to a few others. It worked!
Being the computer guy that I am, you would think "rebooting" would have crossed my mind. I never would have tried disconnecting the battery though. Thank good ness for the Internet! :-) In fact, I think I'll submit that as a fix to the fine folks at Chrysler...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)