General Talk
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Computers and I have a love/hate relationship. I depend on them heavily for my day to day life. I communicate with them, almost exclusively (I am not a phone person really most of the time), I make all my money on or through them, I get my news and entertainment from them. I guess I am one big geek. I’ve been heavily in to computers since way back in the 80s when I stood around the store programming in basic code in the display computers just to draw a flag or something while my mom shopped. My first computer was a TI99/4a. I thought it was GREAT. My mom worked at TI at the time and got discounts at the employee store, so I had the whole setup.
Man I thought that was great. There were some games on cartridges, as well as some programs. I had a floppy disk drive, the BIG ones, the latest in home computer technology. I even had a cassette deck that you loaded and saved your programs from. It was awesome and the greatest thing I thought I would ever have then. I spent hours learning to program in BASIC, making some crude games and other such things. Looking back, I rarely did anything productive with it though. The coolest thing was I could put my phone receiver in a little cradle, and punch in some phone numbers to Compuserve and for something like $5.99 an hour I was in touch with the world through a touch screen. Man those were the days.
Fast forward a couple of decades, and I now have more computer power in my chase vehicle than NASA used in a spacecraft to send men to the moon! Dual and quad core processors, ungodly amounts of data storage and gigs upon gigs of memory, folks like me are completely spoiled these days. Now I plug in a little card not much bigger than a credit card and am connected to the entire world from the middle of nowhere, in touch with every piece of information known to man, for $60 a month. It’s incredible when you really think about it.
And of course along with MORE cool stuff, also comes MORE problems. Last month, the primary hard drive on my desktop decided to start making horrible grinding sounds and everything slowed down. For those less geeky readers among you, horrible grinding sounds coming from a hard drive to us geeks is equivalent to someone shoving toothpicks under your toenails. The first thing that shoots through your mind was when the last time you backed up your important files to another medium, and what are you about to loose. The next thing is you know your in for a few days of reinstalling windows and all your crap on a new hard drive.
Luckily I am fairly good about backups (not as good as I would like to be, considering my anal retentive nature), so I wasn’t too concerned. I got to thinking, while my desktop was still running everything I want it to fine, it was a bit old (in computer years I think it was around 40 years old). I build it 4 years ago and have only upgraded the RAM, video card, sound card and the secondary hard drive in the last 4 years. It’s an AMD 3000+, had 3 gigs of ram. The main hard drive was 120 gigs, and the secondary one I added later for video editing was 320 gigs. The motherboard has a feature you can see how many hours are on your computer. There was something like 34 thousand hours (I leave it on all the time, letting it go in to sleep mode at night). Holy cow!
Well I made the decision to move the secondary 320 gig hard to the primary, and do a clean install of Windows XP. Of course this came at a time when a regular project I do every 2 weeks was due in 3 days, so it was most inconvenient to say the least. So here I am, installing XP on the desktop, while I have the laptop sitting to the side working on the project while I wait for windows updates etc. I decided during this time, I would go ahead and plan to build a new desktop and worked out a wonderful plan for an AMD quad core based system. Problem is, heading in to chase season, I didn’t want to dump all the money on those parts at once, so I decided over the next few months I would gather the parts when they were on sale at Newegg, and get whatever I was lacking at the end of the primary chase season. I have a 500gig external drive I could use for video editing, so yeah, that would work. That was the plan anyway…
So fast forward to a few days ago. I am happily running on the 320 gig hard drive when my virus scanner updated it’s definitions and wanted to reboot. No problem, routine stuff. Click to reboot…. boot screen hangs on hard drive detection. WTH? Tried several times, same thing every time. After an entire day of troubleshooting that, I finally was able to get in and run a chkdsk from command prompt and got a return message that said “This drive is so screwed up, a team of crack nerds from MIT couldn’t get it to work again”. Ok, so maybe it didn’t say that, but the message was catastrophic and final. This drive would never work properly again. The boot sector is hosed. This drive is no more. It has ceased to be. It’s expired and gone to meet it’s maker. It’s a stiff. Bereft of life it rests in peace. Pushing up daises. It’s electronic processes are now history. It’s off it’s cable, kicked the bucket, shuffled off it’s mortal coil, run down the curtain and joined the choir. This is an EX-hard drive!
Ok so this is bad. I could buy a replacement drive, and considered that option. Internal disk drives are now apparently on the endangered species list in the retail stores now, but you can buy 6000 versions of external drives however. The issue is, my desktop requires EIDE, and all the newer drives are SATA. They aren’t interchangeable, and my motherboard doesn’t have the capability of running SATA drives. I hated to spend money on an aging EIDE format when the new drives I would buy for my planned computer would be SATA drives. Not to mention not having much of a selection in the retail stores. By not much of a selection, I mean 3 drives at each store! I had to have this up and running NOW. I had projects due and can’t be waiting around a week for UPS to deliver one from online retail.
After a day of searching I finally decided I would just hit the local rent to own shop and see what they got. I decided I would just rent it to the end of the chase season, and ramp up my efforts in the meantime to gather all my parts for my new system. The plus was I got to use a brand new HP machine in the meantime, with a dual core processor and 2 gigs of ram. Yeah, that would work, so I got it.
Quickly discovered the build in video card was CRAP for running most of my stuff however. So I thought I would stick in my old video card, which was halfway decent, and ATI x1650 with 512 megs or RAM on it. Not top of the line by any means, but still holds it’s own. Oh crap, another problem…it’s an AGP slot card, and the motherboard on the rental computer only has PCIe slots. Damn! Well, it is an older video card, what the heck, I’ll just get a newer PCIe based one, since that would fit my new system I am building later, and I can use it there. To my surprise Best Buy was having a terrific sale on ATI video cards last week, and I picked up a pretty decent one for half price! An ATI Radeon HD2600 Pro with 512 megs of ram onboard AND it supports CROSSFIRE (SLI) mode, so I can run two of them in tandem, and it even does dual monitors. Yeah that would work just fine! They also had one heck of a deal on the type of memory the rental computer took (which already had 2 gigs) so I bought a couple more gigs and now running at 4 gigs.
Well, the downside to the rental computer, it’s Windows Vista (aka Windows ME2). My first plan was to do a clean install of XP on it. I had made the restore disks (HP doesn’t give them to you any more, you have to make them when you first boot up the computer), so returning it to original condition before returning the machine later wasn’t an issue. Problem was, HP doesn’t list ANY XP drivers for this machine, and I didn’t have a lot of hours to fart around the net looking for them. I finally decided, everything is moving to Vista, I might as well make this a big turning point in my computer user history and move to Vista and learn it. I knew it had some issues, but they are getting worked out regularly and service packs are coming. I also have Vista on the laptop I use for chasing, and had decided to switch it to XP, but now I thought I would give it a run on Vista. So Vista here we go.
So far I haven’t really had much issue on the desktop with Vista. Some of my programs required updates or upgrades, but for the most part it was trouble free. The biggest issue was the the new “Windows Email”, the successor to Outlook Express, didn’t allow for multiple identities without you creating multiple logins on Vista. This was a big issue since I was an avid user of Outlook Express. The search for a solution brought me to Mozilla Thunderbird. I wish I had discovered this earlier. I was already a big fan of Firefox Browser, and so far I LOVE Thunderbird for email! That problem solved. Still have a few programs to get installed today before I can get back to work, but overall, things are going smoothly on my desktop.
I wish I could say the same for my laptop. A few days ago I started getting this server authentication error on my wireless network on it. But the network was working. Some other things were also affected as well. After some google research, I found a band-aid for the network problem, but this problem is more deeply rooted. I really discovered that Sunday when I was trying to install some more of my programs I use for chasing, namely my Canon software and Adobe Premier. After hours of attempting that with no success, I finally gave up. I decided that was going to HAVE to go back to XP I think. I can’t be having issues like that on the road when I depend on that machine heavily.
So out chasing yesterday (and yes a chase report post is coming with pics!) just as I pull up on a tornadic storm, Vista just out of the blue decides it needs to reboot itself. Of course that mean I had to get all my GPS and radar programs back up and running.
So it’s been a headache with the computers lately and I can only tell you that this would be a great time to buy some stock in Tylenol, because with the amount I need to get rid of these headaches, it’s bound to go up! Hopefully soon I can get things back to normal, whatever that is for me, and get back to regular work clearing out some projects. And here I was a couple of months ago, hoping to get everything cleared out so I could start the chase season stress-free for a change this time. The best laid plans of mice and men…
Written by David on March 18th, 2008 with 4 comments.
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May 22, 2008! I absolutely cannot wait! What ya wanna bet it’s going to be a chase day?
Any of you younger folks that have not had the pleasure of seeing Indiana Jones in action, go out and rent the first 3 movies NOW. It’s a timeless classic and some of the greatest adventure movies of all times that will have you on the edge of your seat most of the time with numerous close calls and seemingly unpossible escapes from impossible situatations. You won’t be disappointed!
Written by David on February 14th, 2008 with 7 comments.
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As the sun sets here on the final hours of 2007 (only 6 more to go here in the Southern Plains) the news and articles around the Internet are buzzing about everyone’s New Year’s Resolutions. Let’s face it, we all know we almost never keep them. Except the one I made last year to stop dating so many hot supermodels. I did keep that one this year. I digress…
For 2008, I am not making any resolutions. It really doesn’t matter what you did or didn’t do in years past. That’s the nice thing about a new year. It wipes out the old and gives a fresh start. 2007 is over and done. All of 2008 is ahead of you. That’s what is exciting! We have the power to make the changes we want!
You know what is wrong in your life and what you need to change. Why start the new year under tons of pressure from resolutions? Lose weight, stop smoking, be nicer, reduce debt, help out more, spend more time with family, make more money…HOLY COW! Is it any wonder people go out and get drunk on New Year’s Eve?
There is only one thing you need to do. Know you are powerful to make ANY change you want. Real changes take place gradually. This is known as the Law of Accumulation. Every single thing you do accumulates in one way or another. You didn’t get in debt, get overweight, or anything else overnight. You got their gradually. You worked at it. Now if you just realize you are powerful to make positive changes during 2008, you can make the changes you want. Cumulative and gradually and by this time next year either completed your goals or at least that much closer to them.
The New Year is an important time of the year if we use it right. Wipe the slate clean. The past is the past. You can’t change it no matter how much you dwell on it. Don’t make any BIG changes. Spend the first few days of the year making some reasonable plans to make the changes you want to achieve. Make small adjustments to your behavior that you can follow through all year. Not just tomorrow or next week. If you decide now that your are powerful and CAN make these changes, then 2008 will truly be the year of change for you. I believe in myself and all of you to do this!
Soon the air will warm and the signs of spring will arrive. The cold days will soon be replaced with that special early morning smell of a storm day brewing. Storm juice! Yes, the Gulf of Mexico will once again be open for business and that great conveyor belt of moisture will surge into the plains. We chasers will saddle up our mounts with our cameras and computers and radios and point them toward the dryline. Soon we will see those first puffy white cumulus clouds come to life. Yes, before we know it we will once again be pursuing that which does not wish to be caught. Condensed water vapor and swirling winds will drag us across the plains, hoping to catch that fleeting glimpse of beauty and power that only the skies can bring together in such a deceptively scenic, yet deadly combination.
Yes, we chasers will once again be there, capturing those fleeting moments forever in images for the world to see for themselves, that which those of us who are seemingly crazy enough to hunt down, are somehow allowed by mother nature to witness them in person time and again.
I sometimes wonder before the chase season just what the new year will bring. Will there be a drought with little storms? Will it be an incredibly active season? Will it stay out in the fields and not take lives and homes away, or will there be another Greensburg this year? I always hope for the best and not the latter. I always know there will be something awesome to see while storm chasing in the coming season. There always is.
Here is to you and yours for a Great 2008!
Written by David on December 31st, 2007 with 3 comments.
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This month has been the worst month of the year in so many ways. The biggest was being sick for nearly 4 weeks, which had a domino affect on getting anything done, which put me even farther behind than I was on just about EVERYTHING. So if you emailed me something or whatever, and didn’t get a reply, it’s just that I am so far behind responding to stuff. I have been trying to get caught up on emails the last couple of days. I hope I didn’t miss anyone. I wasn’t ignoring anyone. The short winter days are depressing and it’s been colder than normal here lately.
I always like the day after Christmas. The New Year’s Holiday really hasn’t been that much of a holiday for me since my old days of partying have long since passed. So the day after Christmas for all intents and purposes is the last of “the holiday period” for me, when I can start getting back and focused on things. It’s really my own new year.
With that in mind, it’s time to renew focus and clear some projects off the board, and start preparing for the 2008 storm chase season, which begins officially for me March 1st (doesn’t it ever really end?). Just 2 months from now. I can’t wait! Santa brought me a new digital SLR camera, a Canon Rebel XTI. This is a major piece of chase equipment upgrade! I am very excited to get this as I can now start taking some very high resolution images that I can use for other things, like prints and calendars, that plain old video grabs just don’t work for, and neither did my old 5 megapixal point and shoot. It will also open up the doors for me for some good lightning pics. Now THIS I am excited about! I haven’t seriously shot stills since I sold my old Canon AE1 film camera years ago. I love the flexibility of digital. Hopefully with some learned skill and some luck, I will have some really cool images to share soon.
With that in mind, I absolutely have to get the rest of the website finished in the next two months. This has been delayed due to paying website projects, and paying jobs always come first. But my stuff has to be done before March 1st. I also recently picked up a new HP laptop to upgrade the older one. I haven’t decided, but the other one might stay in service in the chase vehicle as well. I am still trying to decide if I want to use the Windows Vista that came on the new one, or set it back to Windows XP. Thanks to my chase partner Graham also for the new scanner to upgrade one of the ones in the chase vehicle. Looking forward to getting that installed. We have an identical one to put in his vehicle was well. We try to standardize equipment across the vehicles where possible, so we are very comfortable with the equipment in either vehicle.
So, the theme for me is, clear out some projects (and quit taking on so many free ones), get this site finished, and get ready for chase season. One major thing I plan on doing over the next year is clear out sources of major stress in my life. It’s just something I need to do to stop burning out all the time, and just be happier in general. Part of that is working really hard to pay off some things I owe and get debt free. Compared to many people, I really don’t have all that much dept, but over the next 18 months I expect to be in a debt free position. That is a goal I can’t wait for!
I have a feeling this is going to be a great 2008!
Written by David on December 26th, 2007 with 4 comments.
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In my previous post, as some of you have learned, I am a supporter of Ron Paul for President in 2008.
On Sunday, the anniversary of the Boston Tea Party, Ron Paul supporters launched a Tea Party of their own, raising just over $6 million dollars in a 24 hour period, and another half a million the day afterwards. Yes, that is not a typo, SIX MILLION DOLLARS in ONE DAY! While that is HUGE what is even more huge about it is that this was raised by every day folks like you and I who are restricted by federal law from donating any more than $2300 per person. This was an all out record for ANY presidential candidate in one day earnings. This was a spontaneous event not run or orchestrated by the official Ron Paul campaign in any way.
You have to step back for a moment and really realize what this means. Over 50 THOUSAND regular every day people, half of which were first time donors, gave that money for a message that rang true to them. People like myself, who are sick and tired of politics as usual in this country. They are sick of just about everything government these days, and they want big change, and they want it now. People like me, who either have never voted, or had stopped voting because they were disgusted with having to choose between the lessor of two evils. Sick of being told one thing, and then something else happens when the one they supported gets in office.
Ron Paul is a 10 term congressman from Texas who has CONSISTENTLY shown with his speeches and voting record to be unwaivering. Something that is indeed a very rare commodity in a politician these days. He is the only candidate with the consistent voting record showing that he respects the Constitution of the United States. Something everyone that takes office vows to uphold against all enemies, foreign AND domestic. Who else on the Presidential Candidates stage can show a past record of consistently doing that? They can’t!
It’s this genuineness and message of peace, prosperity and non-intervention in foreign affairs (as recommended by our forefathers) that rings so good with us every day folks. I first learned about Ron Paul when I saw an interview of him on YouTube, in which the media person doing the interview asked him what was his goal in this campaign (which I thought was a dumb question anyway, what else would the goal be?), and of course Congressman Paul said, “To win.” and the interviewer had the audacity to say “That’s not going to happen.”
Being someone that works in and with media myself, I was floored that he said that. It was also the catalyst to get me to go and learn about Ron Paul. It didn’t take me too many YouTube videos watching him, and visiting his website to see what he was about for me to become one of those people that finally had my apathy cured. I wanted to know more about this Ron Paul Revolution.
The biggest problem with Ron Paul, as Steve Miller mentioned in the comments in the previous post, is the unfair shake he is getting by the mainstream media. Despite not one but TWO single day “money bomb”, record breaking fund raising efforts, the media still wants to depict him and his followers as a fridge candidate with kooks following him. But then you see video after video on youtube of these meetup groups (which are getting larger and larger) and events like the Tea Party on Sunday in Boston and Austin and Santa Monica. These are large groups of everyday people. Many of which have NEVER cared about politics or voted before in their life. They are getting bigger and bigger every day. The media would have you believe their are just a few people who know how to manipulate the internet that are supporting Ron Paul. Watch those videos and tell me what you think?
I digress though. As I was saying, the biggest problem has been the media’s treatment of him as a fringe candidate with no support, and give him very little air time. There are still MANY, MANY people who don’t know the first thing about Ron Paul. Many people, when they really learn what he stand for can’t help but get behind him. Just to summarize:
He has never voted to raise taxes.
He has never voted for an unbalanced budget.
He has never voted for a federal restriction on gun ownership.
He has never voted to raise congressional pay.
He has never taken a government-paid junket.
He has never voted to increase the power of the executive branch.
He voted against the Patriot Act.
He voted against regulating the Internet.
He voted against the Iraq war.
He does not participate in the lucrative congressional pension program.
He returns a portion of his annual congressional office budget to the U.S. treasury every year.
Congressman Paul introduces numerous pieces of substantive legislation each year, probably more than any single member of Congress.
While this is primarily my storm chasing blog, and a place to get to know me a little better, I wanted to take an opportunity to introduce to my readers to someone running for President that actually is HONEST and has INTEGRITY, and represents something we can all get behind, FREEDOM.
I simply ask that you do a little research on the man before making your mind up about him. You can start at http://ronpaul2008.com. There is also a good video that is about an hour long from a Google interview that gives you a good introduction here. Then seach YouTube for videos on Ron Paul and watch some more of those. This was how I came to know about him, and I am now firmly a supporter of the Ron Paul REVOLUTION!
Written by David on December 18th, 2007 with no comments.
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