My Mac Mini died a few days ago. A minor matter of a toppled glass of wine... It didn't seem to hit the computer, but when I picked it up to clean under it, it stopped sending to the monitor. I hoped it was the exposed adaptor cable (insulation loose at one end and split at the other - its old). I spent Friday trying to get a replacement adaptor cable, and by the time I did, and tried it out, it was too late to get the Mac Mini to a repair shop (they are few and far between around here).
Since the only "near" repair shop for Apples is closed weekends, it probably doesn't matter. I'll be delivering it Monday morning. It will probably take 2 days to clean and/or repair, so I am mostly off-line until then.
How am I online now, you ask? I still have my old Mac Deskpro. It can do a little bit of work still (like access my blog account). It's mostly an expensive doorstop these days, but I'm glad I kept it around.
It was great at it's time... TWO 2GB hard drives and whatever passed for serious RAM and processors in 2006.
I can't get email on it because both it is set up for an ISP I no longer use AND the memory is too little for my current system. When it failed in 2010, I COULD have seriously upgraded it after thorough cleaning and parts replacement. EXCEPT that the failure was due to cigarette smoke accumulation (causing overheating) and Apple repair shops will not clean a computer with that problem. "TOXIC ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARD", according to Apple policy. It would have been nice if they had advised me of that when I bought it. Yeah, I know, "serves me right for smoking"...
PC repair stores don't care about that. They used to just clean my old PCs and replace the overworked fan. If you smoke and are considering buying Apple products, be aware of that.
The Mac Minis don't work the same way as large desktop units. I don't know why. Maybe they use flash drives and no fan. All I know is that after 3 years, when I took the Mac Mini cover off (an adventure in itself) it looked sparkly-clean.
I'm not defending smoking, I'm ready to quit. But it IS interesting that PC repair shops are all independent and THEY will clean any smoker's PC while Apple stores (with a virtual monopoly on repairs) will not. Its their right to do so...
Forgive the minor rant. I'm conflicted between my desire to have a computer cleaned and repaired, and my understanding that smoke debris is probably not the best thing to have to clean out. I'm just annoyed all over again about the $3,500 Mac Deskpro doorstop that's been sitting around for years. But I AM glad I kept it around. Otherwise I wouldn't be able to even post this.
PS - If you are very anti-smoking and want to tell me how bad it is, please don't. I already agree with you. Seriously, I feel stupid enough about smoking as it is. And I am at the point where I really WILL stop.
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Thursday, January 24, 2013
I've Had Better Days
I don't mean anything serious went bad. No family problems, no accidents, no injuries. But you know how some days just go "off"...
Yesterday started well. I slept well after getting up at dawn for the tree removal crew the day before, and got up early enough to make Dad and myself an actual breakfast omelet (with sauted red and green bell peppers, onion, mushroom, and cheese), toasted english muffins, bacon, and cottage-fried potatoes. He usually eats cereal because I tend to sleep late. So when I'm up early, I try to give him a change of pace.
I knew I had a vet appointment for Marley to get a 2nd of 3 shots for "something". All the cats shots seem to have similiar initials. But I had other shopping to do and enough time, so off I went.
A foot-pedal compost can for Dad (to make it easier) and a wooden toast tong so Dad can get those small english muffins out - after I saw him get at one with a fork), kitty litter at Petsmart, an ATM visit, and then a trip through WalMart!
I was looking for camo jeans (no luck), rechargeable batteries (got them), calendars (got them), candy/tea/V8 (got them), locktite screw-holder (no luck), and aquarium fish (thereby hangs the tale)...
I'm not sure how to say this. I know some people are not as capable as others and have some difficulties in life. I understand that, and I am patient. I have had friends and relatives in my younger years like that. I was the kid who told the other kids to calm down (or back off) around other kids who had problems.
The local Walmart has this one guy who works in the pet department. He tries well, but he is slow to do things. Walmart does not make it easier for him. They put several kinds of fish in the same aquarium, they don't put pictures of the fish on the labels and its seems they don't provide any training at catching fish in aquariums.
I have dealt with the guy before. I stay polite and patient. I know he is doing the best he can. I had an appointment to bring Marley to the Vet at 3 pm, but it was only 2 pm, and I had some other things to buy. I got him to write down the 3 fish I wanted. 6 tiger barbs, 6 serpa tetra, and one small plecostomus. I made sure he saw which fish they were.
He got the tiger barbs just fine, so I went to finish my shopping.
10 minutes later, he was struggling to get the serpa tetra. They are coralish-orangy-colored and were in a tank of several kinds of black fish. He kept taking black fish out of the tank. I suggested several easier ways of getting them, but he didn't understand what I suggested. My brain was screaming "just take the net and get them", but I waited. And waited. And waited. It took 35 minutes!!! I felt sorry for him, but I didn't know what to do. I could have netted all the fish in 3 minutes.
Exactly when he was done, another guy in the pet dept called out to him "you need some help?" and "hope you didn't kill any this time". I felt very bad. So after I got my fish, I went over to the guy and asked him why he didn't volunteer to help the other guy when he first saw he was having trouble. He said it was funny watching him. I said it wasn't funny to ME!
I'm not pure on this. I just wanted to get my cheap fish from Walmart and get the heck out of the store as fast as possible and put them in the quarantine tank to see if they are healthy after a week.
But the delay meant I was seriously behind schedule getting Marley to the vet. When I got home, I had to toss the bag of new fish into the main aquarium to stay warm. get out the cat carrier, and get Marley into it.
Naturally, he had to see me take out the cat carrier and he hid. I HATE sitting around the vet office. If you are late, you have to sit around through 2 more appointments. So I got after Marley aggressively. By the time I got ahold of him and him into the carrier, we were BOTH seriously aggravated. Marley clawed me good on the neck...
I gave Marley extra attention last night. But I wonder if that guy at Walmart will be getting any attention. He needs it.
*Sigh*
My new fish seem OK in the quarantine tank. Marley has calmed down and is back looking for scritchies and chin rubs. Dad is happily watching a replay of the golf tournament he watched this past weekend. I am managing my odd household...
Yesterday started well. I slept well after getting up at dawn for the tree removal crew the day before, and got up early enough to make Dad and myself an actual breakfast omelet (with sauted red and green bell peppers, onion, mushroom, and cheese), toasted english muffins, bacon, and cottage-fried potatoes. He usually eats cereal because I tend to sleep late. So when I'm up early, I try to give him a change of pace.
I knew I had a vet appointment for Marley to get a 2nd of 3 shots for "something". All the cats shots seem to have similiar initials. But I had other shopping to do and enough time, so off I went.
A foot-pedal compost can for Dad (to make it easier) and a wooden toast tong so Dad can get those small english muffins out - after I saw him get at one with a fork), kitty litter at Petsmart, an ATM visit, and then a trip through WalMart!
I was looking for camo jeans (no luck), rechargeable batteries (got them), calendars (got them), candy/tea/V8 (got them), locktite screw-holder (no luck), and aquarium fish (thereby hangs the tale)...
I'm not sure how to say this. I know some people are not as capable as others and have some difficulties in life. I understand that, and I am patient. I have had friends and relatives in my younger years like that. I was the kid who told the other kids to calm down (or back off) around other kids who had problems.
The local Walmart has this one guy who works in the pet department. He tries well, but he is slow to do things. Walmart does not make it easier for him. They put several kinds of fish in the same aquarium, they don't put pictures of the fish on the labels and its seems they don't provide any training at catching fish in aquariums.
I have dealt with the guy before. I stay polite and patient. I know he is doing the best he can. I had an appointment to bring Marley to the Vet at 3 pm, but it was only 2 pm, and I had some other things to buy. I got him to write down the 3 fish I wanted. 6 tiger barbs, 6 serpa tetra, and one small plecostomus. I made sure he saw which fish they were.
He got the tiger barbs just fine, so I went to finish my shopping.
10 minutes later, he was struggling to get the serpa tetra. They are coralish-orangy-colored and were in a tank of several kinds of black fish. He kept taking black fish out of the tank. I suggested several easier ways of getting them, but he didn't understand what I suggested. My brain was screaming "just take the net and get them", but I waited. And waited. And waited. It took 35 minutes!!! I felt sorry for him, but I didn't know what to do. I could have netted all the fish in 3 minutes.
Exactly when he was done, another guy in the pet dept called out to him "you need some help?" and "hope you didn't kill any this time". I felt very bad. So after I got my fish, I went over to the guy and asked him why he didn't volunteer to help the other guy when he first saw he was having trouble. He said it was funny watching him. I said it wasn't funny to ME!
I'm not pure on this. I just wanted to get my cheap fish from Walmart and get the heck out of the store as fast as possible and put them in the quarantine tank to see if they are healthy after a week.
But the delay meant I was seriously behind schedule getting Marley to the vet. When I got home, I had to toss the bag of new fish into the main aquarium to stay warm. get out the cat carrier, and get Marley into it.
Naturally, he had to see me take out the cat carrier and he hid. I HATE sitting around the vet office. If you are late, you have to sit around through 2 more appointments. So I got after Marley aggressively. By the time I got ahold of him and him into the carrier, we were BOTH seriously aggravated. Marley clawed me good on the neck...
I gave Marley extra attention last night. But I wonder if that guy at Walmart will be getting any attention. He needs it.
*Sigh*
My new fish seem OK in the quarantine tank. Marley has calmed down and is back looking for scritchies and chin rubs. Dad is happily watching a replay of the golf tournament he watched this past weekend. I am managing my odd household...
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Tree Removal
Well, the tree removal crew finally arrived this morning. Considering that the first scheduled day was about 50 degrees and the second scheduled day was 45, I think they regretted their delays. When they arrived, it was only 18 degrees and never got above 24! And some wind whipped up after a couple of hours.
It got off to a bad start! The plan was for them to drive the grinder machine into the back yard (which I have done with my car several times) to leave me the chips/sawdust in large piles in the corner of the yard and the the center near the pond. The first would decompose to compost after a couple of years and the second I would spread around about 4" deep to suppress grass. But the estimator failed to consider that their truck was 2 feet wider than my SUV!
So they went to back it onto the front lawn as far as possible. Damn that grinder machine is heavy! The wheels sank up to the rim and they had to pull it back to the street. The lawn is easily repairable, but the crew was sad. Instead of having to haul the pieces of 8 trees about 30 yards, they had to haul them 60 yards! It also meant I wouldn't have the chips, but the price was the same either way.
But they got going with the job and everything went fine after that.
I didn't take pictures of the trees falling (they don't come out well). But I did take some of the stump grinder they brought in for the fallen tree's stump. It doesn't LOOK all that impressive.
The stump DID look impressive, front
And back.
After they smoothed the pile it left, it looked like this. Like it was never there...
I had them leave the other stumps because the surrounding areas were covered with emerging daffodils and they would have been decimated. The stumps will rot (and they don't bother me).
I sure hope the additional sunlight will be worth it!
It got off to a bad start! The plan was for them to drive the grinder machine into the back yard (which I have done with my car several times) to leave me the chips/sawdust in large piles in the corner of the yard and the the center near the pond. The first would decompose to compost after a couple of years and the second I would spread around about 4" deep to suppress grass. But the estimator failed to consider that their truck was 2 feet wider than my SUV!
So they went to back it onto the front lawn as far as possible. Damn that grinder machine is heavy! The wheels sank up to the rim and they had to pull it back to the street. The lawn is easily repairable, but the crew was sad. Instead of having to haul the pieces of 8 trees about 30 yards, they had to haul them 60 yards! It also meant I wouldn't have the chips, but the price was the same either way.
But they got going with the job and everything went fine after that.
I didn't take pictures of the trees falling (they don't come out well). But I did take some of the stump grinder they brought in for the fallen tree's stump. It doesn't LOOK all that impressive.
And back.
But the grinder did the job. That wheel has teeth around it and edges on both sides. It swings back and forth and just pulverizes the wood and dirt a few inches at a time.
I had them leave the other stumps because the surrounding areas were covered with emerging daffodils and they would have been decimated. The stumps will rot (and they don't bother me).
Friday, January 18, 2013
Getting Stuff Done
I try to do something useful around the house or yard every day. I don't mean routine house duties like daily/weekly cooking, cleaning, laundry. More like some specific project, and it doesn't have to be major; like cleaning out a whole closet, washing all the windows, organizing the basement workbench, inventorying my garden seeds to order replacements, weeding a section of the flowerbeds, etc.
Being retired tempts one into an "I'll do it tomorrow" attitude, and I found myself slipping into that 2 years ago. And I will admit then when I get a really major thing done, I may take the rest of the week off (like when I had a new roof put on one week and new siding the next week).
A good example is when I collected stem cuttings of my butterfly bush, my Catnip plant, and a Wave Petunia last month. Most of them are growing and I will have some great replacement plants this Spring.
So I was pleased to get projects done yesterday and today.
Yesterday, I managed my new seed order. I have a system for storing seeds. Years ago, I obtained plastic vials to store seeds in. I drilled holes in a piece of plywood to hold them, and wrote numbers on the vials with a marker. A sheet of paper identifies all the vials by number, seed, and year. I keep the tray of vials in a basement refrigerator (along with bulk foods and beer). So, yesterday, I took out the tray, added the new seeds to empty vials, and updated my list. I nearly lost my list one year, so now I print three copies. One goes in the seed tray, one in a looseleaf garden journal, and one in the index card box that has my planting/transplanting schedule by weeks from last frost date.
Today, I heard a weather report that suggested we would be getting 3-6" of snow tomorrow. Three Winters ago, we had 3 major snowstorms adding up to almost 4'. That Spring, I bought a good snowblower (on sale cheaper then). I assembled it, added gas/oil and tested it. It ran well. Then it sat. Never got any snow worth even removing since. But I left the little bit of gas in there...
So I was doubtful it would run today. I had to re-read the manual, added new gas, checked the oil, etc. It took a few tries, but it started. I ran it 5 minutes to make sure it was working well, turned it off, let it cool down, and set it in the garage ready for use.
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow... I'm ready (so I bet it doesn't snow, LOL!). But it was a good satisfying project for the day.
Tomorrow, the project is all errands. New fish for the aquarium, a few hardware supplies, pick up shortened pants from a tailor, bring unliked catfood to a donation center, etc. Friday will be a recycling day. I have 300 pounds of used kitty litter, boxes and newspapers, uncompostable trash, and bags of plastic.
I figure that getting one useful thing done each day adds up, and I intend to make this a productive year!
Being retired tempts one into an "I'll do it tomorrow" attitude, and I found myself slipping into that 2 years ago. And I will admit then when I get a really major thing done, I may take the rest of the week off (like when I had a new roof put on one week and new siding the next week).
A good example is when I collected stem cuttings of my butterfly bush, my Catnip plant, and a Wave Petunia last month. Most of them are growing and I will have some great replacement plants this Spring.
So I was pleased to get projects done yesterday and today.
Yesterday, I managed my new seed order. I have a system for storing seeds. Years ago, I obtained plastic vials to store seeds in. I drilled holes in a piece of plywood to hold them, and wrote numbers on the vials with a marker. A sheet of paper identifies all the vials by number, seed, and year. I keep the tray of vials in a basement refrigerator (along with bulk foods and beer). So, yesterday, I took out the tray, added the new seeds to empty vials, and updated my list. I nearly lost my list one year, so now I print three copies. One goes in the seed tray, one in a looseleaf garden journal, and one in the index card box that has my planting/transplanting schedule by weeks from last frost date.
Today, I heard a weather report that suggested we would be getting 3-6" of snow tomorrow. Three Winters ago, we had 3 major snowstorms adding up to almost 4'. That Spring, I bought a good snowblower (on sale cheaper then). I assembled it, added gas/oil and tested it. It ran well. Then it sat. Never got any snow worth even removing since. But I left the little bit of gas in there...
So I was doubtful it would run today. I had to re-read the manual, added new gas, checked the oil, etc. It took a few tries, but it started. I ran it 5 minutes to make sure it was working well, turned it off, let it cool down, and set it in the garage ready for use.
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow... I'm ready (so I bet it doesn't snow, LOL!). But it was a good satisfying project for the day.
Tomorrow, the project is all errands. New fish for the aquarium, a few hardware supplies, pick up shortened pants from a tailor, bring unliked catfood to a donation center, etc. Friday will be a recycling day. I have 300 pounds of used kitty litter, boxes and newspapers, uncompostable trash, and bags of plastic.
I figure that getting one useful thing done each day adds up, and I intend to make this a productive year!
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Washed Out
Good Grief! The tree company called and cancelled the scheduled work for today. It's drizzling, and they don't climb up wet trees... We rescheduled for next Monday.
Yeah I know, it's a safety issue...
Yeah I know, it's a safety issue...
Monday, January 14, 2013
Yard Work
This will be a busy week (by my standards). I'm completely taking apart my existing aquarium and cleaning it to start new after giving away my 10" plecostomus catfish (see yesterday's post).
Tuesday, a tree removal company (that I have good past experience with) is coming to remove the huge fallen tree in the backyard and 7 others that are starting to shade my garden. I spent hours Sunday preparing a corner of the backyard and 2 other area to receive all the ground-up tree chips. It will take several years for them to decompose, but I will have year's worth of great compost after that.
Yes, the tree company would haul the tree-chips away for free to the landfill (or maybe for sale somewhere, but I hate to waste organic material. Eight trees will make several impressive piles and I expect that they will start to steam in the winter as they begin to break down. And, for sure, I won't have to buy any mulch for the flowerbeds for many years!
I sure got plenty of winter exercise! The corner of the backyard where most of the chips will go used to be where I stored firewood. It was so long ago that I had to push over old rotten wood and pry out cinder blocks buried in the ground from where I had upright P-T 2x4s to hold the firewood in place. Carrying 10 cinder blocks 50' each is serious exercise when you are 62. And then there were all the 12' 2x4s that supported the firewood across the cinder blocks
Plus, I moved stored hoses, removed hose supports, moved various planting buckets that have been sitting around for years, put boards over the pond runway so they wont puncture holes in it by walking on it or dropping tree parts on it (that liner is expensive), marked out areas where the tree removal crew shouldn't drag logs through (where plants were still underground but labels were above). LOL, I even found my old compost sifter box and pried it out of the vines.
You never realize how much clutter you have around the yard until someone else is coming over to do something in it...
Three hours of heavy work! I need them to move one bench that is too heavy for me to move alone, but other than that, I'm ready for them to arrive Tuesday at 7:30 am! I can hardly wait.
It will be worth it for the greater sunlight when it is done!
Tuesday, a tree removal company (that I have good past experience with) is coming to remove the huge fallen tree in the backyard and 7 others that are starting to shade my garden. I spent hours Sunday preparing a corner of the backyard and 2 other area to receive all the ground-up tree chips. It will take several years for them to decompose, but I will have year's worth of great compost after that.
Yes, the tree company would haul the tree-chips away for free to the landfill (or maybe for sale somewhere, but I hate to waste organic material. Eight trees will make several impressive piles and I expect that they will start to steam in the winter as they begin to break down. And, for sure, I won't have to buy any mulch for the flowerbeds for many years!
I sure got plenty of winter exercise! The corner of the backyard where most of the chips will go used to be where I stored firewood. It was so long ago that I had to push over old rotten wood and pry out cinder blocks buried in the ground from where I had upright P-T 2x4s to hold the firewood in place. Carrying 10 cinder blocks 50' each is serious exercise when you are 62. And then there were all the 12' 2x4s that supported the firewood across the cinder blocks
Plus, I moved stored hoses, removed hose supports, moved various planting buckets that have been sitting around for years, put boards over the pond runway so they wont puncture holes in it by walking on it or dropping tree parts on it (that liner is expensive), marked out areas where the tree removal crew shouldn't drag logs through (where plants were still underground but labels were above). LOL, I even found my old compost sifter box and pried it out of the vines.
You never realize how much clutter you have around the yard until someone else is coming over to do something in it...
Three hours of heavy work! I need them to move one bench that is too heavy for me to move alone, but other than that, I'm ready for them to arrive Tuesday at 7:30 am! I can hardly wait.
It will be worth it for the greater sunlight when it is done!
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