Let it SNOW, doodlbg!

My truck in the snow...
I am in Conway, Arkansas, as I write this post. And there is snow all over the place! It did not snow on the way up here, but as the group I am with ate supper, the snow began to fall... When we came out from eating, cars and roads were covered. In fact, everything a bit slick, as was evidenced by the numerous vehicles we spied in ditches along the way back to the hotel...

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Since I knew the trip to Conway would be long, and at the time I thought I might run into some bad weather, I figured I would occupy my time. Much of it was spent flipping from one radio station to another... Whoopie! (That's sarcasm, for those who do not recognize it). At some point, however, I thought it would be different to jot down the web addresses I saw along the way. Most of them were on the backs or sides of 18-wheelers... Maersk was the first one I spotted. As it turns out, the next one I spotted said PONL.com, but that also took me to Maersk. So, we learned that Maersk and POLN are run by the same folks... Don't say I never taught you anything! :-) Next on the list was Hill-Rom. The name was familiar, but I couldn't place anything they did... Medical supplies, as it turns out... I passed a Bob Evans truck, and the jingle from my childhood instantly popped in my head: "Bob Evans....Down on the farm!" Hey, I never said it was a prize-winner.... Finally, the last address I wrote down (having grown both bored with the game and tired of driving) was Forbes-Hewlett. Part of the reason for ending the game came in the form of a license plate - DOODLBG. It was attached to a red (or perhaps orange) new-style VW Bug. Yes, in fact, it WAS a doodle-bug! :-)

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I debated whether or not to include this next item, and well, here it is, for what it's worth (nothing, really)... One of the trucks I passed (none of the ones mentioned above!), had a mudflap that read, "Be a flirt, lift yer shirt." Now, this was a new expression to me, so naturally, I looked it up online. I'm not an idiot, I know what it MEANS, but I was trying to understand just how anyone would think this was an effective means as a 'call to action.' Now, the truck's flap said "YER" but that got me nowhere. Changing the term to "YOUR shirt" brought up all kinds of sites. Some people sell hats, stickers, you name it, with that on it. But, one site that seemed intriguing had people asking other people if they actually DID IT. Now, for the record, this was/is a British site, but I was surprised at how many people said they had flashed a trucker... And some were doing much more than lifting their shirts, according to their own posts... My first question, upon seeing the phrase was "what kind of redneck would put such a thing on their truck?" But, after reading through more than my share of tales, I began to wonder, "What kind of woman would DO this?" Now, some of the women posting said they did it in college or when they were a teen... One woman even said she wished she hadn't done it, because of stupid and meaningless it was... I don't know. But, I *do* know that those are six words that will *NOT* be scrolling on my LED license frame..... :-)

CyberpowerPC...

During the Christmas break, as something of a 'surprise' for the family, I decided to upgrade my computer at home. I have been reading PC Gamer for a couple years, and thought I'd try some of the companies they feature in their ads. One in particular was CyberpowerPC. They have an incredible web site, as far as allowing you to customize EVERYTHING about your computer.

I put together a system (barebones, since I was going to use parts from my computer) and placed an order. Well, the address I wanted it shipped to was not 'valid' since I had not registered my home address with my credit card company. I cancelled the order and waited.

On January 4, I decided to try again, but use my credit card address as the shipping address. Now, one of the last options during checkout is how fast do you want the computer. I looked over the options, and the least expensive was 5-10 business days to build the machine, then 5-10 business days to get it in your hands. I'm an optimist, so I figure 5 days to build, 5 days to ship, I'd have it in about two weeks.

Wrong. Dead wrong.

My 'order status' showed the PC was to ship on 1/15, which I knew was a federal holiday, so I emailed the Saturday before that to make sure we were cool. No, we weren't cool. The expected ship date was pushed to the 18th because of assembly back-up and the holiday. I figured that was fair, since I had picked the cheapest shipping and all... They have an online status checker, so I checked... and checked... and checked. Finally, I emailed again and they said it should go out on the 19th. That is FIFTEEN days after I placed the order. Fine. I checked again... and again... On the 22nd, I emailed and called. The system was still in testing. TESTING? I waited for their email reason as to why the system was still in testing. I decided it was time to act. I sent them an email demanding next day, expedited shipping or else I would cancel my order and demand my money back.

Look, I am as easy-going as the next guy, but come on... I could have ordered the parts from eBay, built the thing myself and saved some money - all in less time to boot!

01/22/2007 - Received word that the network card on my motherboard was bad and that the folks in testing were going to replace the motherboard. Was told the system should ship 1/23 or 1/24. No answer on my demand for next day shipping. In my reply to CyberpowerPC, I told them that if I did not get upgraded shipping, I would be forced to cancel my order.

01/23/2007 - Initial response from Cyberpower was that they had bumped my computer to the front of the line and would be shipping the unit that night, but that they could not (or more accurately WOULD not) secure quick shipping. I let them know that I was not happy with that, given how long this was taking. Then came the response I had been hoping for: My computer would ship FedEx 2-day shipping (which given how late it went out, really, it is 3-day, but that's okay by me).

This post was originally going to be a word of warning to anyone thinking about buying a CyberpowerPC. We'll see how things go once I get the unit in hand...

01/26/2007 - Unit delivered! So, 22 days after I ordered my computer, it finally arrived! I couldn't decide between the yellow case or the blue one. I picked yellow, should have gone with blue. "Yellow" evidently means different things to different people. This is more like.... something I once saw in Tyler's diaper... Okay, not that bad, but not far from it.

I plugged it in and flipped the switch to the power supply, hit the main power button, and suddenly, it was a blue light show! The front has a clear plastic facing, and everywhere the facing attaches to the case, there is a blue LED. There are three fans in the case, and two of them (complete with alien-head covers) light up blue. VERY COOL stuff! :-)

My next step is to move my old components to the new case, and I'll work on that this weekend.

Overall, as of today (1/26/07), I would have to say that I recommend CyberpowerPC with a grain of salt... They did a very thorough job of testing (thus, discovering the bad net card), and also did a nice job of cable management, which they did not have to do. Communication could have been better, as I had to contact them instead of the other way around. The shipping delays are inexcusable. Period. Now, I admit, I picked the slowest method... If you are going to buy from them, pay the extra bucks to get faster build/delivery times. It will be worth it. They also included installation CDs for the motherboard, video cards, etc. I'll let you know how happy I am with everything in about a week as I put it through its paces and let Shan and the kids do the same...

Okay, I admit, seeing "Pentium D 2.8 MHz, 2 processors" pop up on the screen at boot up was very, very cool... :-)

01/31/07 - Update. I am going to tell on myself because I am the resident 'computer expert' around the house. I took apart the kids old Dell, stole various parts from it, and set it aside. I transferred various parts from my old computer into the new one. During the Windows XP install on the new computer (hereon referred to as "Ol Yeller"), I installed the parts into the kids' computer, booted it up, let Windows find all the "new" hardware, and made sure their stuff was in tact. Now, somewhere in one of my PC Gamer mags, I read an article about all the things you need to do to Windows before you swap motherboards and other major hardware. As I'm sure you guessed, I never looked at it once. I simply put the Dell's hard drive into my old case, and fired it up - let Windows do the walking, right?

Meanwhile, Ol Yeller, gets XP installed and I connect old drives, copy data, etc. When I'm pretty happy with things (meaning data is copied and I am ready to get off the floor and sit in a chair, thanks), I assemble Ol Yeller. The keyboard goes on the desk tray and the mouse goes on the desk. I boot 'er up, and the system is wigging out on me. I move the mouse, but it jerks and skips, like it can't get its bearings anymore. Hmm, must have something installed wrong.... So, I pull the computer out from inside the desk, check cables (yes, I had managed to unplug one of the slave hard drive cables at some point), put the computer back together, boot it up and...same thing... Well, dang. Okay, maybe a bad mouse. My brand new, Corvette-yellow mouse was already acting up?? I plugged in another mouse, and laid it on the keyboard drawer - everything worked fine. Hmm... Okay, so I unplugged that mouse and reconnected my yellow one (on the desk) - jerky. It hit me... The new mouse was more sensitive to the BLACK, TEXTURED desk than the other mouse was. When I moved the mouse to the keyboard drawer, it worked great! So, there ya go... Computer genius at work - so genius, I ran a gamut of tests and took apart my computer several times in order to discover the 'problem.....' OY...

All said and done, I really do like my new (upgraded) computer! Not only does it glow a cool blue color when it's running, but it also runs my games amazingly faster and better than my old computer!! The great thing is, the kids got the old, which runs all of their games just fine, so in a way, I got a two-fer! :-) Well, that's how I see it anyway....

Okay, you can stop laughing about the mouse now.....

Really..... You can stop.....

A quick clarification...

It turns out that both Tyler and Emily broke down at the news of Dad's not coming for their birthdays. When Emily came out to get in my lap, Tyler headed straight for bed. I guess he lets things out better than I realized! :-)

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Thanks for reading!

Poverty and Laziness are Brothers??

I should work on posting more often... Not because I know there are folks who quit dropping by since I haven't updated, and not because I have gobs of stuff to say. But, when I do finally post, I have so many things running around in my head that I either forget things, or my post becomes an 'epistle' (as I have been told.. LOL). Be all that as it may, buckle up... This could be a bumpy ride... :-)

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I had something of a brainstorm (or brain fart, perhaps) a while ago, and decided that I could upgrade my home computer and the kids' computer in one fell swoop. So, I ordered a computer (or, enough parts put together that I could use some of the parts from the existing computers). I couldn't decide between a yellow case or a blue one. The yellow one looked very cool (thought the blue would have probably matched my truck), so I got it along with (what I thought was) a matching keyboard and mouse. I'll post pictures, though pictures are deceiving. You see, in pictures, the keyboard and mouse are a bright yellow (what I call 'Corvette' yellow), and the case matches perfectly. In real life, however, the case is, umm... well... technically, it has yellow in it, though it's more like something one might find on the receiving end of a bad diaper change.... I couldn't believe I had made such a visual error. But, it turns out, when you take a PICTURE of the case with a flash, it *IS* Corvette yellow... It is truly one of the weirdest things...

None of that really matters because of two reasons: 1) The case sits in the 'tower' compartment of the desk, so you really can't see much of it, and 2) when you turn it on, the whole things lights up with blue LEDs! It is so cool! ("Wicked Sick" or "Tight" may also be substituted here) Like I said, I'll post pictures... There is also something of a saga behind the purchase, and it has been building as a 'draft' post. I haven't decided if sharing my story would help or hurt... By hurt, I mean "hurt" as is letting people see what can really go through this head of mine.. LOL

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We've been watching Idol, Nashville Star, and Apprentice... Emily and I also watch Cowboy U. I love that show! I thought it was pretty cool that Idol showed a couple folks from Arkansas. The guy from SAU (Southern Arkansas University) wasn't bad (or I didn't think so). We did not get to see the guy who made it through because that was during the 'black-out' version (see earlier post, if you forgot). On Nashville Star, Randy Owens keeps telling Zac Hackett to pick songs people know, but Zac is so good that you don't even realize he's singing something you've never heard! We were bopping along by the end of his "Memphis Women..." Of course, I have to say David St. Romain (DSR) is probably the best guy there, though the Tom Petty-looking dude is okay. Angela's voice is like Tanya Tuckers, if Tanya had smoked about 3 packs of cigs a day..raw, raspy, almost too much, really... And, off the top of my head, I don't remember the other women's names but tune in and you can learn 'em... LOL

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Found out Dad is going to Iraq. He's been in Kuwait so far. He is going to a 'green zone,' and is apparently the most fortified 'green zone' in the area. Scary and adventurous all in one... The way the 'vacations' work, he won't be able to be here for the kids' birthdays, and he sent them a card (e-card) letting them know how much he misses them and that he hopes he never has to miss another of their birthdays. Emily came in and sat in my lap, crying. But after we talked about it for a bit, she was back up and running around. She is very resilient. Not sure how Tyler took it - he is a lot like his Daddy - keeps a lot of things inside... He'll talk when he's ready.. :-)

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"Poverty and Laziness are Brothers" This is on a church sign that I pass each day coming to work (they change the sign at least once a week, usually more often). I thought about that. Brothers?? Cousins maybe, but not brothers. There are very, very wealthy people in this world who never lift a finger for anything. They are lazy and have no motivation to do anything because they don't "have" to. There are very, very poor people in this world who bust their tails every single day, working 2 or 3 jobs just to scrape by in poverty, and who wouldn't be caught dead lounging around being waited on hand-and-foot. Yes, some people are both lazy and in poverty, but I wonder what that ratio really is... The ratio of lazy poor people to bust-their-ass poor people, the ratio of lazy poor people to lazy rich people.... The other thing I thought about was that this sign is not in an affluent area. I am not in poverty and (generally) I am not lazy, and I have to say I am pretty offended at the message (or the 'tone' maybe?).... So, what am I going to do about it? Probably nothing.... (that's the lazy part of me, I guess)

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The Sharepoint saga has been growing into something epic. And, to make matters worse (or better?), every time we call Microsoft, we spend so much time on hold that we eventually stumble on the answer we were looking for. Well, almost. If you ever have the need or inclination to install Sharepoint, I recommend reading a few of the online guides from Microsoft and others. And even then, be prepared to blow everything away and start over again at any given moment. The last time I had this much trouble setting up and configuring software, was about 5 years ago when I 'played' with a very young version of SuSe Linux... UGH... Installing Sharepoint is not for the feint of heart. As John said, "Our mistake was not contracting with someone to come set the (danged) thing up!" Amen, brother!

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See? I had some other things I was going to spew forth from the rattlings in my head, but I have forgotten them... I really need to post more often....

American Id.....uh...??

We decided we weren't going to watch Pres. Geo's address (LOL, decided, like we were ever going to watch it, that's funny...), and instead, we set the DVR to record American Idol while we did the Biggest Loser workout.

After the workout was over and we all time to recover (well, recover enough anyway), we began watching American Idol (Memphis). Almost exactly halfway through, in the middle of a commercial, the playback stops (freezes) and the screen goes blank... UUUUGGGHHH!!!! The timer still shows things progressing, but the screen is black... Strange things are afoot at the Circle K, Ted.... So, we saw all of day 1, but none of day 2... Tartar Sauce!

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So, the Steelers hired a defensive coach to head the team... A defensive coach whose previous team had the WORST defensive record in the NFL... Umm... Maybe it's just me, but WHAT THE BLANKETY-BLANK ARE THE ROONEYS THINKING!?!?!? As they say in Star Wars: I have a bad feeling about this..... Maybe I'll be proved wrong....

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Tyler came to me last night and said, "You know that Yahoo Answers thing you do? Well, if you want, I could help answer some Pokemon questions on there..." So, this morning before work/school, we did just that. We sat on the couch, I searched for open Pokemon questions, and we answered them - sometimes truly, sometimes with just a smart-alec remark (depending on the question and how many answers were already posted). It was one of those cool Father-Son bonding things... :-)

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We've been (TRYING) to set up the new Portal software for work... We're on the 4th or 5th attempt... What should be straightforward is more like installing software with the instructions written by Billy of the Family Circus - a lot of going here and there, not really sure that where you're going will take you to where you WANT to go.... :-)