Where I now live, Tomball, is a fairly small town of about 12,000 souls. Well, make that bodies associated with the souls, as a town of souls only poses some issues. For example, souls don't eat, so heading out on Saturday night hoping to find a good steak would be rather futile. But anyway, the town was once much smaller. The original area is known appropriately as Old Town Tomball, and features a number of antique shops, (a staple of any self respecting Texas town), a restored rail depot, and my wife's favorite, the Lighthouse Chocolate Store. Yes, it is store that sells chocolate and is shaped like a lighthouse. That's the store with that shape, not the chocolate. Tomball is, however, about 50 miles from the coast, so why a lighthouse? Who knows? But it sure looks cute.
One store that caught my fancy is Bob's Wild West. It has an amazing collection of vintage firearms, knives, books, stuffed hunting trophies, (elk, wild boar, a stray Winnebego with Arkansas plates), all those things that made the Old West, well, wild. My only experience with firearms was skeet shooting with a now ex brother-in-law. I blasted three clay pigeons and scared the rest. Too bad my lousy aim didn't make my ex brother-in-law ex that day as he turned out to be a jerk, but details. But I'm still interested enough in firearms to tell say a musket from a machine gun.
This store caters to collectors, though many of the pieces for sale could be displayed in museums. The owner is an interesting sounding guy named Bob Platz who is an avid hunter, and a talented artist. He looks like the type of guy who could regale you for hours with Texas stories, some of them even true.
But back to the collection. One group is guns owned by actual Texas Rangers, and I don't mean the ones who pretend to pass as a baseball team. I asked if there were any used by Chuck Norris, and was politely told no. I've often wondered what real Rangers thought of Walker, Texas Ranger, and while the show portrayed the Rangers in a very positive light, they must wonder why Chuck never had to do any paperwork.
I would like to go back, and do some more perusing. I do wonder if any guns used at the Alamo have passed through the shop. It would be fascinating hearing what type of authentication could be done on a gun with such a claim. I assume walking in with a claim you just found Davy Crockett's rifle in your attic would be met with more than a taste of cynicism.
Friday, January 23, 2009
Friday, January 9, 2009
Vista Still Sucks
Time for a short technology rant. A little over a year ago, in other words long enough for the warranty to have run out, I bought a snazzy laptop from Hewlett Packard's website. I primarily used it for business trips while I was with the EPA, since the government issue machines I would have borrowed otherwise would have made any self respecting paperweight sneer in disdain. It came with plenty of speed, storage, memory, nice sound, graphics, even a built in card reader for a digital camera memory stick and a webcam. Unfortunately, it also was burdened with Microsoft Vista.
Vista is Microsoft's attempt to make a computer look like Mac's OS X. And while it does look nice, it lacks a couple key features of OS X, speed and stability. There's also the compatibility issue. In order to get some of my work software to... well... work, I had to download and install Virtual PC from Microsoft. To their credit, Virtual PC does work rather well. I was able to use it to set aside a part of the hard drive to accept Windows 2000. I could then install my older work software in the 2000 partition. Switching between 2000 and Vista was actually quite easy.
Alas, Vista was still a resource hog, though after some research, I found some tweaks that substantially improved the performance. So despite some lingering annoyances, I was able to treat Vista for what it is... an operating system.
Until two days ago.
A downloaded Vista update went badly, and I started getting the feared "Blue Screen Of Death". This is not a good thing, and has been known to make users perform acts of depraved violence on inanimate objects, like their computers. This phenomena has also lead to spikes in Mac sales, and wondering just what this Linux thing is all about.
Anyway, I tried restoring the computer to earlier dates when everything worked, tried deleting the errant Windows update that I'm sure was causing this disaster in the first place, then finally decided enough was enough, time to use the System Recovery files to restore the machine to its factory fresh configuration. Fortunately everything I had on the computer was backed up, so nothing was lost.
Except...
The System Recovery files were defective. The restoration would crash at certain point and refused to continue. Perusing some forums with my other computer revealed a number of angry to plaintive missives from other HP laptop owners with the same issue. So a couple of calls to HP were in order about my options. "Adolph", (kind of a strange help desk name for someone in India, where as with many other companies HP has there call center), was convinced it was the motherboard. I don't think so. A second call got "Rex", who deduced the original System Recovery files were at fault. He sent me a link to get a dvd with replacement files. Being impatient, I went with the Fed Ex overnight option for delivery.
Fortunately, the replacement files did the trick. My laptop lives again, though I now need to reload my software and files once again. And since there is a good chance I'll be traveling again with my future consulting business, I will need a functioning laptop.
And if they weren't so blasted expensive, a Macbook would be given serious consideration. Oh well, hopefully the HP will behave from now on. However, Vista still sucks.
Vista is Microsoft's attempt to make a computer look like Mac's OS X. And while it does look nice, it lacks a couple key features of OS X, speed and stability. There's also the compatibility issue. In order to get some of my work software to... well... work, I had to download and install Virtual PC from Microsoft. To their credit, Virtual PC does work rather well. I was able to use it to set aside a part of the hard drive to accept Windows 2000. I could then install my older work software in the 2000 partition. Switching between 2000 and Vista was actually quite easy.
Alas, Vista was still a resource hog, though after some research, I found some tweaks that substantially improved the performance. So despite some lingering annoyances, I was able to treat Vista for what it is... an operating system.
Until two days ago.
A downloaded Vista update went badly, and I started getting the feared "Blue Screen Of Death". This is not a good thing, and has been known to make users perform acts of depraved violence on inanimate objects, like their computers. This phenomena has also lead to spikes in Mac sales, and wondering just what this Linux thing is all about.
Anyway, I tried restoring the computer to earlier dates when everything worked, tried deleting the errant Windows update that I'm sure was causing this disaster in the first place, then finally decided enough was enough, time to use the System Recovery files to restore the machine to its factory fresh configuration. Fortunately everything I had on the computer was backed up, so nothing was lost.
Except...
The System Recovery files were defective. The restoration would crash at certain point and refused to continue. Perusing some forums with my other computer revealed a number of angry to plaintive missives from other HP laptop owners with the same issue. So a couple of calls to HP were in order about my options. "Adolph", (kind of a strange help desk name for someone in India, where as with many other companies HP has there call center), was convinced it was the motherboard. I don't think so. A second call got "Rex", who deduced the original System Recovery files were at fault. He sent me a link to get a dvd with replacement files. Being impatient, I went with the Fed Ex overnight option for delivery.
Fortunately, the replacement files did the trick. My laptop lives again, though I now need to reload my software and files once again. And since there is a good chance I'll be traveling again with my future consulting business, I will need a functioning laptop.
And if they weren't so blasted expensive, a Macbook would be given serious consideration. Oh well, hopefully the HP will behave from now on. However, Vista still sucks.
Friday, December 26, 2008
Why Are All The Good Scams Taken?
As part of my daily entertainment, I faithfully peruse the online edition of the San Francisco Comical... err Chronicle in hopes of finding some absurdity that makes me glad I'm no longer in California. And almost without fail something will pop up with the ease of oh say breathing. Usually this will involve the latest foibles of the envirowacko movement. The wide eyed members of this group being led by cynical manipulators who exploit them for publicity and above all, money.
But are these manipulators dangerous con artists or simply brilliant business people? I think a combination is more accurate. In this case, just pepper your speech with the latest buzz words, "climate change", "green", (I'm really starting to hate that color), and "carbon footprint", and the envirosheeple will not only bleat along with you, but will be more than willing to part with their hard earned cash to keep you in the lifestyle they claim to disdain.
Anyway, the latest is a plan by a company in San Francisco to set up kiosks in the SF Airport that first allows you to calculate the dollar amount of the carbon dioxide that will be emitted during your upcoming flight. You can then use a credit card to purchase a carbon offset that this company in theory uses to invest in various projects such as renewable energy ventures, (which means that oil well I was digging in back yard may as well be converted into a swimming pool), and methane capture, (though how you fit a catalytic converter to a cow is beyond me). And of course every cent earned by these kiosks will be used for noble causes like this, except for those earnings that will mysteriously vanish into Cayman Islands banks.
If all of this isn't an obvious scam then nothing is. So why is the San Francisco Airport going along? With air travel down they need to get revenue by any means, and the folks running these kiosks are of course going to give the airport a piece of the action in leasing costs.
My only real problem with all this is that I didn't think of it. And somehow trying to set up a franchise at the Houston Airport doesn't seem like the best idea. Texans have more common sense than that.
But are these manipulators dangerous con artists or simply brilliant business people? I think a combination is more accurate. In this case, just pepper your speech with the latest buzz words, "climate change", "green", (I'm really starting to hate that color), and "carbon footprint", and the envirosheeple will not only bleat along with you, but will be more than willing to part with their hard earned cash to keep you in the lifestyle they claim to disdain.
Anyway, the latest is a plan by a company in San Francisco to set up kiosks in the SF Airport that first allows you to calculate the dollar amount of the carbon dioxide that will be emitted during your upcoming flight. You can then use a credit card to purchase a carbon offset that this company in theory uses to invest in various projects such as renewable energy ventures, (which means that oil well I was digging in back yard may as well be converted into a swimming pool), and methane capture, (though how you fit a catalytic converter to a cow is beyond me). And of course every cent earned by these kiosks will be used for noble causes like this, except for those earnings that will mysteriously vanish into Cayman Islands banks.
If all of this isn't an obvious scam then nothing is. So why is the San Francisco Airport going along? With air travel down they need to get revenue by any means, and the folks running these kiosks are of course going to give the airport a piece of the action in leasing costs.
My only real problem with all this is that I didn't think of it. And somehow trying to set up a franchise at the Houston Airport doesn't seem like the best idea. Texans have more common sense than that.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Still Among The Living
After almost two months in Texas, I think I've settled down and adjusted pretty well for the most part. As expected, my consulting business has been slow getting off the ground. I have some good contacts from my previous job and from those some leads that are promising. But this being the holiday season people are going to have other priorities than water quality data management. I'll get serious about drumming up business after New Years.
Speaking of which, a slight digression to software. As a reward for using Earthlink, (sometimes referred to as Missing Link or Weakest Link, though overall as an ISP I can't complain), I was able to get Net Objects Fusion 8 for a pittance. It may be a version behind the newest and shiniest, but for features and ease of use it's light years ahead of any HTML generator I've used in the past.
Ok, back to miscellaneous ramblings. My wife is really into Christmas, and she's getting me more into the spirit this year. I imagine finally having my own home again, and a very nice one, plus living in a warm and cosy atmosphere does purge one of Grinch like qualities. We put some lights up outside, and at the risk of mass feline induced destruction, decorated inside.
For her present this year, I got her a complement to the house she got for Valentine's Day. My budget for the rest of my life is shot anyway because of that, so I did the logical thing and got her a better car. Her Ford Focus was becoming like an ice sculpture, nice to look at but fragile. We did some checking, and went to Carmax, (where ironically she had bought the Focus), and found a 2002 Toyota RAV4. It's a handy size with room for her saddle and other horse riding gear, decent on gas, rides and handles well, and best of all, isn't likely to have annoying and expensive mechanical issues for some time. At least that's the plan. My hope is it won't have anything go wrong for at least the five year loan.
As for me, I've put a little over 300 miles on my still trusty Corolla since getting here, so that isn't exactly wracking up the miles. And that's 300 miles of local driving. This is Texas after all, and even in this small town things are a little spread out. I still need to get the registration changed over, though I rather enjoy the perplexed looks of locals seeing my California license plates and then the Texas State Troopers stickers for supporting their charities.
Speaking of which, a slight digression to software. As a reward for using Earthlink, (sometimes referred to as Missing Link or Weakest Link, though overall as an ISP I can't complain), I was able to get Net Objects Fusion 8 for a pittance. It may be a version behind the newest and shiniest, but for features and ease of use it's light years ahead of any HTML generator I've used in the past.
Ok, back to miscellaneous ramblings. My wife is really into Christmas, and she's getting me more into the spirit this year. I imagine finally having my own home again, and a very nice one, plus living in a warm and cosy atmosphere does purge one of Grinch like qualities. We put some lights up outside, and at the risk of mass feline induced destruction, decorated inside.
For her present this year, I got her a complement to the house she got for Valentine's Day. My budget for the rest of my life is shot anyway because of that, so I did the logical thing and got her a better car. Her Ford Focus was becoming like an ice sculpture, nice to look at but fragile. We did some checking, and went to Carmax, (where ironically she had bought the Focus), and found a 2002 Toyota RAV4. It's a handy size with room for her saddle and other horse riding gear, decent on gas, rides and handles well, and best of all, isn't likely to have annoying and expensive mechanical issues for some time. At least that's the plan. My hope is it won't have anything go wrong for at least the five year loan.
As for me, I've put a little over 300 miles on my still trusty Corolla since getting here, so that isn't exactly wracking up the miles. And that's 300 miles of local driving. This is Texas after all, and even in this small town things are a little spread out. I still need to get the registration changed over, though I rather enjoy the perplexed looks of locals seeing my California license plates and then the Texas State Troopers stickers for supporting their charities.
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Go Bears!!!!
Thanks to the wonders of technology, I was able to watch a live streaming broadcast of The Big Game. And if you have to ask what The Big Game is, may you be forever banished to the hinterlands of downtown Berkeley, to spend the rest of your life panhandling with the now former Treesitters. In their wisdom, ABC decided that the broadcast radius for the game would be a block or so surrounding Cal's stadium, since of course the rest of the country wanted to snooze through Penn State's beat down of Michigan State. However, our decision to go with AT&T as our Internet provider is turning out to be a better one all the time.
A little side benefit is free access to ESPN's 360 package, and one of the offerings was ... The Big Game. So my lovely wife barricaded me in my room for the duration. The game was exciting, and since Cal won, most satisfying. But it was kind of a bittersweet experience, since I had a ticket to the game but had to sell it since of course I would be long gone from California before game day. This is part of the adjustment to my new life, knowing there is much I had to give up.
I was also spoiled on being able to buy any computer components whenever I wished. Tomball has an Office Depot, but their offerings are pretty basic. Fortunately, my favorite place to shop, Central Computers, does mail order so all isn't lost. Still, I do miss browsing through their stores, and then talking myself out of building yet another computer just because I can.
But overall I'm quite content in Texas. I do need to get out more, explore more of the area, and then look into opportunities to meet and interact more with people, such as take a class or two at the community college, or start training at one of the martial arts schools in town. If a day comes when I find myself talking exclusively to the cats, and even worse, understand what they're saying in return, that will be the sign I really should get out of the house a bit more often.
A little side benefit is free access to ESPN's 360 package, and one of the offerings was ... The Big Game. So my lovely wife barricaded me in my room for the duration. The game was exciting, and since Cal won, most satisfying. But it was kind of a bittersweet experience, since I had a ticket to the game but had to sell it since of course I would be long gone from California before game day. This is part of the adjustment to my new life, knowing there is much I had to give up.
I was also spoiled on being able to buy any computer components whenever I wished. Tomball has an Office Depot, but their offerings are pretty basic. Fortunately, my favorite place to shop, Central Computers, does mail order so all isn't lost. Still, I do miss browsing through their stores, and then talking myself out of building yet another computer just because I can.
But overall I'm quite content in Texas. I do need to get out more, explore more of the area, and then look into opportunities to meet and interact more with people, such as take a class or two at the community college, or start training at one of the martial arts schools in town. If a day comes when I find myself talking exclusively to the cats, and even worse, understand what they're saying in return, that will be the sign I really should get out of the house a bit more often.
Friday, November 7, 2008
Settling In
This is my first entry from my new home in Texas. While that may not be as significant as say The Second Coming or even more important, Cal Is In The Rose Bowl!!!, it does mean I survived the long drive from California. Actually the drive was pretty relaxing, though tiring. Starbuck's Frappuccino (with the resulting need to navigate by distance between rest stops), kept me reasonably alert. Except for the area around Flagstaff, the scenery didn't exactly inspire the creative muse. But I encountered little traffic, which was the main rationale behind my route. Speaking of which, I really should take a cruise down old Route 66 sometime.
My car was pretty well loaded down, but it breezed through with only a few additional rattles and squeaks. Today UPS arrived with the last of my worldly posessions. Note for the future, if I ever need to ship anything, do NOT buy boxes from Office Depot. The ones I got barely made it intact, despite my using enough tape to prevent a respectably sized nuke from exploding.
It's still an odd feeling being in my new house. I keep thinking I'll need to start packing to head back to California soon, and if I start any household projects, that I need to rush them to completion. I guess that's normal after spending 50 years in the same area. Texas is my home now, my real home, and my house is my own, I'm no longer borrowing space in someone elses.
Speaking of which, as I expected my envirowacko ex landlady is trying to cheat me out of my security deposit. She's extremely vindictive, but I'm confident her nastiness will be her undoing. But she's insignificant. Right now I have the house of my dreams, (and SO much nicer in every possible way than the ex landlady's dump), and I'm living with the woman of my dreams. My annuity will easily cover my expenses, though I'm hopeful I'll soon be able to get my consulting business going.
I think I'm going to love this place.
My car was pretty well loaded down, but it breezed through with only a few additional rattles and squeaks. Today UPS arrived with the last of my worldly posessions. Note for the future, if I ever need to ship anything, do NOT buy boxes from Office Depot. The ones I got barely made it intact, despite my using enough tape to prevent a respectably sized nuke from exploding.
It's still an odd feeling being in my new house. I keep thinking I'll need to start packing to head back to California soon, and if I start any household projects, that I need to rush them to completion. I guess that's normal after spending 50 years in the same area. Texas is my home now, my real home, and my house is my own, I'm no longer borrowing space in someone elses.
Speaking of which, as I expected my envirowacko ex landlady is trying to cheat me out of my security deposit. She's extremely vindictive, but I'm confident her nastiness will be her undoing. But she's insignificant. Right now I have the house of my dreams, (and SO much nicer in every possible way than the ex landlady's dump), and I'm living with the woman of my dreams. My annuity will easily cover my expenses, though I'm hopeful I'll soon be able to get my consulting business going.
I think I'm going to love this place.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Winding Down
The day is fast approaching when I'll be doing my final packing then starting the long drive to Texas. Since being a worrywart keeps me going, my latest paranoia is whether my car will make it without adventure, mostly of the mechanical kind. Long drives and plane flights are two areas where my sense of adventure takes a holiday. The duller the better.
In the meantime I'm finally realizing there are many places and activities I've seen the last of. Yesterday I went to the Cal - UCLA game, and between cheering my Bears on, I kept getting flashbacks of the moments I've witnessed in Memorial Stadium since my first game back in 1974. The great names, Steve Bartkowski, Chuck Muncie, the very courageous and talented Joe Roth, Wesley Walker, Russell White, Marshawn Lynch, Desean Jackson, and giving credit where it's due, great players of Cal's opponents, like Marcus Allen and Warren Moon. Then there's bands, Cal's is usually ... well, at the risk of sounding disloyal, ok. USC's is wonderfully pretentious and incredibly dull, UCLA's is honestly quite good, and Stanford's is consistently awful and a major embarrassment.
And the games! Despite Cal's sad record of long stretches of mediocrity interrupted by teasing moments of glory, there were many memorable ones. I must admit I missed "The Play" because of being bedridden with the flu, though I did listen live to Joe Starkey's immortal broadcast. There were the sadly rare but immensely satisfying wins over USC, including the triple overtime thriller from 2003, and the comeback against Oregon from 30 points down in 1993.
I'm definitely going to miss the atmosphere, raw emotion, and excitement of going to Cal games. Fortunately I ordered a sports package with my TV service in Texas that carries Cal whenever they're televised. Otherwise on Saturday I'd be calling AT&T and whining, "What is this nonsense? I want to watch Cal and all I can get are these teams from Texas?"
In the meantime I'm finally realizing there are many places and activities I've seen the last of. Yesterday I went to the Cal - UCLA game, and between cheering my Bears on, I kept getting flashbacks of the moments I've witnessed in Memorial Stadium since my first game back in 1974. The great names, Steve Bartkowski, Chuck Muncie, the very courageous and talented Joe Roth, Wesley Walker, Russell White, Marshawn Lynch, Desean Jackson, and giving credit where it's due, great players of Cal's opponents, like Marcus Allen and Warren Moon. Then there's bands, Cal's is usually ... well, at the risk of sounding disloyal, ok. USC's is wonderfully pretentious and incredibly dull, UCLA's is honestly quite good, and Stanford's is consistently awful and a major embarrassment.
And the games! Despite Cal's sad record of long stretches of mediocrity interrupted by teasing moments of glory, there were many memorable ones. I must admit I missed "The Play" because of being bedridden with the flu, though I did listen live to Joe Starkey's immortal broadcast. There were the sadly rare but immensely satisfying wins over USC, including the triple overtime thriller from 2003, and the comeback against Oregon from 30 points down in 1993.
I'm definitely going to miss the atmosphere, raw emotion, and excitement of going to Cal games. Fortunately I ordered a sports package with my TV service in Texas that carries Cal whenever they're televised. Otherwise on Saturday I'd be calling AT&T and whining, "What is this nonsense? I want to watch Cal and all I can get are these teams from Texas?"
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