So it goes.

Another boring day here, and another day spent tweaking Vista. It's all I've done since Monday, except for a few hours at work yesterday. I spent some time with the dog, too, which makes me great in her eyes. That and Schmacko's, and she's set.

Did you hear about the guy here in Georgia who got ran over by his own steamroller? Yeah, yeah, I know it sounds like a setup, but it's for real. The guy got off it to check something, and left it running, and it ran over him. There was a guy working nearby who saw it, and they said he was beyond distraught. I can imagine so. So I told this to someone last night, and then said, "I bet his wife was crushed." I really didn't

mean it the way it came out. But even if she wasn't, he was. Oh, God, please forgive me.

I have another minor dilema now. I have this perfectly good HP keyboard hooked up right now. To load Vista, you have to disconnect everything USB, which includes wireless keyboards and mice. So I dragged out this one that came with the new computer. The mouse is no great shakes; it's a rollerball mouse, wired in. The problem is I really, really like typing on this keyboard. The keys just have a better feel to them than my almost-new Logitech Wireless Keyboard, which is shiny and fancy and stuff. So do I use the keyboard that came with the unit, or do I switch back to the one I spent about $50 bucks on not long back? I'd feel awfully guilty if I don't use it, you know. That would be a waste of money. But wouldn't this be a waste, also? And what if it inspires me to use it more? I know I can type faster on it than the other, already. Oh, well, let the keyboard wars begin.

Wheeee! I just installed Vista today. It took Hours. When I got the upgrade package, the instructions said to allow four hours. Bullhoggely. They meant four hours just for the discs to run, not four hours all together. That four hour time solution does not count time spent going to Microsoft for updates, both before and after the install, nor does it count the time spent at HP looking for new drivers and downloads, nor does it count the fact that if you're using Norton Internet Protection you must go there and download the program, since you had to uninstall it before the upgrade, not to mention that you have to run a system scan beforehand. When I said "discs" loading, I got my upgrade through Moduslink. Because Microsoft was late in delivering Vista, there were a lot of computers sold before Christmas without the new OS. To make up for it, Microsoft agreed to the updates, and the manufacturers had to handle the distribution of same. Moduslink was hired by HP to handle their upgrades. What a nightmare. I had to enter a certificate of authenticity number from the unit on the Moduslink site. I lost my connection right in the middle of it, and the COA wouldn't work. I kept getting the message that it was not valid. After a couple of phone calls to both Microsoft and HP, I finally sent an e-mail to customer service at Moduslink, and they got me validated again. I then went back through the order process, which took about eight weeks. I just found out yesterday that I was not the only customer with validation problems. It turns out that a lot of people dealing with Moduslink had the same problem, and a lot of them had problems with delivery. I guess I missed out on that one.

But you know what? This thing's prettty cool so far. I guess the working word at first is "smooth." It seems to be smooth. I haven't gotten into anything like Movie Maker, or even Media Center yet. The Aero graphics are slick. Or smooth. I couldn't wait to learn how to tile the windows. So far, no hardware problems, no compatibility probems with software, although HP pretty much removed all of that with their first upgrade disc. So I'm going to play now.

This is the result of a dog attack. These were taken about 24 hours after the attack. She had to wear the sattelite dish for about three days. She was so sore that she didn't grumble, or even attempt to take it off. Mostly, she slept.
Teeth marks and bruises. She turned deep purple in the next couple of days. It's now two weeks later, and she's still bruised, not to mention white scars all over her belly.












Okay, my Picasa program is acting up, so I'll just post these.

I'm so desperate for something to write about that I have been signing up on sites with forums, like home repairs or something that I know about, so that I can answer questions, using genuine real knowledge. Like, "I need to add a second drain pan to my a/c unit. Where do I mount it?" That kind of stuff. Man, that's desperate, but just maybe it will work, and nudge my brain into motion. Hey, it must be working sort-of, since this is the first time in forever that I've been here. And by the way, the correct answer is as close to the air-handling unit as you can get it, if ductwork isn't in the way.

It's been a really tough week here. Last week, Mabel was attacked by a pit bull. It nearly killed her. There's so much to say about it, about how I feel, how Linda feels, how the dog has healed over the course of a week. I'm going to try to do this one a piece at a time. However, now is not the time to start, since it's almost midnight here, and I have to work tomorrow. I'll post a photo, and we'll try to go from there.