Category: tech

Tech Alert.

*tech post – you can skip it if you don’t like technical rants*

In unrelated drama, I finally broke down and bought a new phone/pda. My Ipaq 6315 has had some heavy wear n tear and is falling apart. I’m a tad ashamed of myself because it’s only a year old. I’m hard on my toys, what can I say. This particular model has been plagued w/hardware issues so I’m glad to be rid of it soon. The latest drama is the external speaker has started only working intermittently. So when it rings, I don’t always hear it. @#$%! grumble grumble grumble.

And being the tech geek I am, I can’t settle for just any old phone. Oh no, not even close. I’ve been chopping at the bit waiting for this one to be released in the US.

The New One!

It just 7 short days, I’ll have this baby in my hands. Besides having a faster chip, this one is loaded w/the new Windows Mobile 5 platform. Which is supposed to be much more robust.

One lesson learned from my previous model, is never buy one that someone else does the tech support on. My biggest complaint is having to constantly bounce between HP and Tmobile on issues. The previous hybrid was put out by Tmobile and they bent over backwards anytime I had issues. So I’m extremely happy Tmobile decided to slap their name on this one as well.

Oh and lest I forget, let me share my delight in the news that TV remotes have come a long way. I bought a new all in one remote from Radio Shack yesterday on a whim.

remote control from Hell!
This bad boy not only controls my TV/DVD/Stereo, it also controls my Tivo and my Cable box. You used to never be able to do that. Who knew? *giggle* I’m in heaven now. One simple remote for every freaking piece of electronics in my entertainment center. All for the bargain price of $20.00 bucks!

Yeah, I’m a geek, whatcha gonna do about it!?

Blog Updates

I’m tinkering w/adding a “new post notification” plug-in to the blog. This would allow people to sign up for email notifications of a new post on the blog or even receive the entire post by email.

While I am by no means popular in terms of heavy-weight bloggers, I am considering it as not everyone likes to load each and every blog page like I do. Many folks like to use notifications to save them the trouble of clicking each and every blog on their list to see if it has been updated recently.

So, I’m taking comments on how many people are interested in seeing such a feature here. Basically, you’d sign up w/your email address. Everytime I posted to the blog you would receive an email notification or an email of the post.

What say you all?

Email Burp

If you sent a comment that hasn’t posted yet or an email to my blog mail account, I’m not ignoring you. My website host is experiencing trouble w/their email servers. Naturally, all of my email is working except for the blog one. Actually, it’s working, I just can’t access it.

I can’t complain too much. I’ve had very little trouble w/my hosting company. Shit happens. And if this is the worst that ever happens, I’ll be sittin’ pretty.

*And while I was typing this it came back up – heeheee*

Technical Difficulties

I somehow managed to delete my sciber.net domain. Don’t ask me how cause I’m still clueless. However, logged on today and discovered it was gone. Along w/it the 11 email accounts based on the extension.

@#$%!

Luckily enough, I don’t really use the domain that much anymore. I’ve migrated everything over to mobius.name. I keep it only to maintain some email accounts that I don’t yet wish to cancel or migrate. My ex still uses two of the email addresses based on this domain so I had to send him a long-winded later explaining what happened. He probably could care less as long as they start working again.

Everything is setup again. I’m still not sure what happened. If you still use my old blog email account using sciber.net, now is a good time to switch over. (Look in the bottom right column for the accurate one.) I don’t think anyone uses it but just in case….

@#$! II

I’m not sure what key words I hit lately but I got a whopping 50 sp@m messages today in queue. All promptly deleted. That’s the most I’ve ever had in one day.

Ahh! The joys of WordPress.

Pretty Pretty / Cha Ching

My gym schedule has sucked lately. Mainly due to the demands on my time. I knew it would happen and it will only get worse before it gets better. If I’m lucky, I’ll only have a month between class ending and starting a part-time gig as an EMT. I’m planning on putting that month to good use by spending extra time in the gym. After I start working as an EMT, I’ll be lucky if I get two days in a week.

I’ve been feeling like a wet noodle lately. I finally got into the gym today before work. I went yesterday but they were closed. (Damn them to hell!)

Don’t ya just love that feeling after a good work-out? You look in the mirror and your muscles are all pumped and tight. Oh yeah!

************

On a completely different note, my bank account is having a fit. I’ve been on a small shopping spree lately. Nothing frivilous, just the necessities. A new crock pot for the kitchen (I make a killer beans and rice dish). A new triple bin hamper for the laundry along with some wood hangers for the closet (CHRISTINA! NO WIRE HANGERS!) A new bluetooth adapter for the home pc. (The old one mysteriously broke when I dropped it 5 stories out the window). A new case for the pda/phone and an extra set of styli. Oh! And a new ergonomic keyboard for work. (Workers Comp. will reimburse me)

See, nothing frivilous or extravagant. . . uh….um. Ok, well there was that one thing. Remember, ages ago when I blogged about bluetooth stereo headsets? Well, I sorta bought a pair. Just one pair and I really needed them. (Yeah, NEEDED them!) Ok, I didn’t need them but I wanted’em really bad. And I get some credit, I waited till they came down to the $100.00 price mark! And all the stuff cost less than $400.00 total via Amazon, Overstock.com, and Ben’s Bargains.

That’s my story officer and I’m sticking to it!

Holy Plasma Weapons!

Ratchet: Deadlocked!

I just discovered they are releasing a new version of Ratchet & Clank! I’m ecstatic! R&C is one of my favorite playstation games. It has lots of action and skill levels and is more than worth the $40.00 bucks.

I just pre-ordered from Best Buy and I can’t wait! (The release dat isn’t until the 27th.)

This version seems to be heavily geared toward online game play which I’ve yet to venture into. Maybe this will be the spur.

I don’t like a lot of online games because they involve killing off other players as humans and that bothers me. I much prefer games where I’m dealing in complete fantasy and any killing involves monsters and gruesome bad guys. I could go on and on about my feelings on violent video games but lets save that for another day when I’m desperate for a topic.

Wouldn’t it be great if I get back from my vacation and there is a fantastic new video game in my mailbox just waiting for me?

Hello Mr. 115697522

Do you ever feel like a number when you have to call in for customer support? And what is it w/my phone/pda and vacations? Last time I went on a trip, I misplaced the damn thing. This time it just up and died.

Ok, died isn’t exactly the best term. Here I am sitting at work, dutifly working (uh yeah) and I get an email from HP about a new ROM update. I log on and dowload. Everything is going smooth as owl shit at this point. The software updates, reboots, powers up then it happens. It locks up on the startup screen. Soft reset, no luck. Hard reset, no luck.

@#$!

Forty-five minutes later after being thru an online chat w/HP and phone support w/Tmobile at the same freaking time, they decide to send me a replacement?

The irony is I was unhappy as of late w/the pda part of the phone. Tmobile’s phone service has been impeccable but they’ve put out some shoddy updates for the wireless & bluetooth services. This ROM update was supposed to fix all the previous bugs. Well, I guess my baby decided to give up the ghost and just quit.

And wanna hear something else? My warranty expires in just 7 days! I can’t believe how lucky I am. Normally, my shit breaks right AFTER the warranty expires. I have the old pocket pc at home so I have a substitute until the replacement arrives this week. I’m just hoping it arrives in time for the trip.

I can only imagine what hell this would have been were I not such a technophile! *g*

News Flash

In an attempt to be more of a “topical blogger”, I’m adding some random news stories that struck my interest. They may or may not be top stories (usually on the “may not” side).

In local news, our very own MUNI is apparently planning to offer free wifi to the masses. However, the mayor expects a lawsuit from SBC and Comcast. Wouldn’t surprise me if they did. Selfish stingy bastards that they are. People are always going to want to pay for dependable service. So the big fear of municipalities taking away revenue is nothing more than a shameless attempt at a monopoly. Let’s hope Muni wins.

In not so local news, The Wyoming State Board of Pharmacy has rejected a proposed rule that would have allowed pharmacists to not fill prescriptions based on their personal beliefs. Had the motion passed, it would have allowed a pharmacist to refuse to fill or refill any prescription based on personal beliefs. So in other words, “…I don’t like you because you are gay or lesbian. I decide I’m not going to fill your life saving prescription.” This was a no brainer folks. I can’t believe some yahoo had the balls to submit it for consideration.

Dipshit Alert! Dipshit Alert! Courtesy of Good As You, Mr. Dipshit (aka I’m a former gay) has his nickers in a knot over all those damn gays on the tele.

America better wake up; that’s all I say. I don’t mean to sound harsh or angry, but it’s gotten to the point right now where homosexuality is just so accepted now, it’s being promoted on every television show.

DUH!

For you pez fanatics out there, Pez has come out w/their new Pez MP3 player. How cool is that! It is MAC compatible but doesn’t mention itunes. Thought to ponder. It plays mp3’s wma/wmv files which is nice as you can play your existing collection as well as any “downloaded” music files as well. And the price is right at a low $99.00
Wahooo!

Scientists have discovered that black holes aren’t quite the super over-eaters as previoulsy expected. The discovery shows that stars can actually form near blackholes. Who knew?!