March 28, 2007
It's supposed to be an easy changeover!!!!!
Today I got home at 5:30.
I decided to swap the components of my Sage TV computer from its current case to my old PC case.
You'd think this would be easy, wouldn't you? Well guess what, IT WASN'T!!!!
First, put the motherboard in the new case. (I'm just going to call my old PC case the new case.)
Nothing else was hooked up or put in, just the motherboard. Then I hooked up all the lights and buttons for the front panel.
I plugged the power supply to the MB, and then the power supply to the wall. Turned it on, and it shut off after 1 sec.
Well after an HOUR of screwing with it and talking to people on computer forums, it turns out I needed more thermal paste between the CPU and heat sink.
Why? I don't know! I never took it apart, but it f'n worked!
Now it's time to install the new fans. These fans originally I bought for the new Xion PC case. Never used them because the case came with two extra fans that I didn't know about.
Problem 1. Turns out these are 90mm fans, not 80 mm. It's OK though they come with an adapter.
Problem 2. The fans came with two different styles of screws. NONE OF WHICH FIT THE FAN OR THE ADAPTHER! The screws are too small. I had this problem with both the fans!
So I spent the next half an hour rummaging around through computer parts finding screws that fit the fans. Got them installed. Great!
Hooked them all up, they work fine.
Installed everything else. The capture card, the sound card, the network card, the video card, the disk drives, the RAM, the hard drive.
Boot it up, and it stops on the first screen, "Press DEL to enter setup."
I hit DEL, nothing. Hit it again, nothing. About 100 more times, still nothing.
Unplug the USB keyboard and plug in a regular keyboard. DEL, nothing. 100 more times, nothing.
Get another keyboard, same thing. Hit CTRL+ALT+DEL, reboots. Same screen, hit DEL, nothing.
Rip everything back out of the case, all the cards (except video), unplug all the drives, boot it up.
Same screen, hit DEL, goes to set up. Select to run fail-safe defaults. F10 (save and exit).
Reboots, looks for hard drive, doesn't find it. Shut off plug in hard drive. Boots to first screen exactly as before. Stops.
Hit DEL, nothing. DEL DEL DEL!!! NOTHING NOTHING FU! Kick machine.
Yank out power chord. Pull out hard drive; it is set to master w/slave. Whoops.
Set it to master only. Plug hard drive back in, plug computer back in, boots into Windows.
Great. Shutdown. Install all cards again hook disk drives back up. Remove PS2 keyboard and plug my USB keyboard and mouse back in.
Boot up.
Windows login, I type my password. Nothing. I type again, the blinking cueser is not moving. I move the mouse, nothing.
Reboot.
DEL and I enter setup. Find the USB settings and turn them back on.
Reboot.
Type in password, log in...hmmm...no sound.
Sage TV pops up...hmmm, no video capture card.
The remote didn't load, it also tells me.
I head for the internet, no internet......
What the? IE isn't closing. ALT+TAB to Sage TV, I can't move the selection. Alt+tab to windows explorer, I can't select any folders or move anything.
Basically all the programs locked up. I could bring up new programs, but I couldn't do anything or close them.
Ctrl+alt+del: CPU usage 0%. WTF?
Reboot.
Remote loads this time, video capture card is found. No sound, no network, everything locks up after 5 minutes again
Reboot.
Still no sound, still no network. Device manager says network card is disabled, and there is no sound card. Programs lock.
Reboot.
Enable network card in device manager. Locks up.
Reboot.
Network still doesn't work, still no sound card located. I can see it on the back of the computer.
I play around for like 10 minutes. Wait, it didn't lock up? WTF?
Reboot anyways, for safe measure.
Still not network, still not sound.
It was 10:30, I went to bed.
March 23, 2007
Co-Balt-ed
On Monday morning I took my truck into the body shop, finally! And I picked up my rental car. The biggest littlest car my insurance paid for, a Chevy Colbalt. this piece of crap is worthless! Power nothing. Daytime running lights, but you can turn them off! And when you do, big words show up on the display telling you the daytime running lights are off! It's small, I am practically sitting in the back seat. My hair still touches the ceiling. It's a 4 door. No arm rest, I'm lucky it has a radio. The ONLY good thing about it is the gas milage. 30.4 versus the 12.5 I am used too.
This is also the first "official" photo taken with my new camera. More on that later.
March 20, 2007
Split in Twain
Every day it is nice out, I go home and practice my archery. I have a bow and arrows, and a target set up in my yard where I can shoot up to 40 yards. I am a pretty descent shot, I would like to think. Last season I could keep my arrows grouped with a 2-3 inch circle at a 50 yard distance. Since last season though, I upgraded from aluminum arrows to carbon fiber (carbon fiber is stronger, fly straighter, and is lighter; aluminum arrows usually bend after a few uses), and I aslo upgraded my wisker biscuit (the think on the bow that holds the arrows while shooting them). Since I did that, I have to resight everything. Last night I was working on sighting in at 20 yards. I have it down pretty good, as I can keep a consistant grouping. Sometimes though, you can group then togehter too closely. As last night I split my first arrow. I was thrilled at this accomplishment, although it does suck, because the arrows are about $12 a piece.
You can click on the pictures for larger images:
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March 15, 2007
Beware the Ides of March
A certain seer warned Caesar to be on his guard against a great peril on the day of the month of March which the Romans call the Ides; and when the day had come and Caesar was on his way to the senate-house, he greeted the seer with a jest and said: "Well, the Ides of March are come," and the seer said to him softly: "Ay, they are come, but they are not gone."
March 12, 2007
Bountiful weekend
This weekend was the most productive weekend of the year, or so it seemed. Saturday cleaned all the tree crap out of the yard, made $60 from scrapping steel, and helped a friend cut up a tree in his backyard. And sunday, I got to play with my bow and new arrows. I was happy!
March 06, 2007
Ask Calvin's Dad
Ask Calvin's Dad
Calvin's dad answering questions, quoted from various Calvin and Hobbes books by Bill Watterson.
Q. Why does the sun set?
A. It's because hot air rises. The sun's hot in the middle of the day, so it rises high in the sky. In the evening then, it cools down and sets.
Q. Why does it go from east to west?
A. Solar wind.
Q. Why does the sky turn red as the sun sets?
A. That's all the oxygen in the atmosphere catching fire.
Q. Where does the sun go when it sets?
A. The sun sets in the west. In Arizona actually, near Flagstaff. That's why the rocks there are so red.
Q. Don't the people get burned up?
A. No, the sun goes out as it sets. That's why it's dark at night.
Q. Doesn't the sun crush the whole state as it lands?
A. Ha ha, of course not. Hold a quarter up. See, the sun's just about the same size.
Q. I thought I read that the sun was really big.
A. You can't believe everything you read, I'm afraid.
Q. How come old photographs are always black and white? Didn't they have color film back then?
A. Sure they did. In fact, those old photographs are in color. It's just that the world was black and white then. The world didn't turn color until sometime in the 1930s, and it was pretty grainy color for a while, too.
Q. But then why are old paintings in color?! If the world was black and white, wouldn't artists have painted it that way?
A. Not necessarily. A lot of great artists were insane.
Q. But... But how could they have painted in color anyway? Wouldn't their paints have been shades of gray back then?
A. Of course, but they turned colors like everything else did in the '30s.
Q. So why didn't old black and white photos turn color too?
A. Because they were color pictures of black and white, remember?
Q. Dad, will you explain the theory of relativity to me? I don't understand why time goes slower at great speed.
A. It's because you keep changing time zones. See, if you fly to California, you gain three hours on a five-hour flight, right? So if you go at the speed of light, you gain more time, because it doesn't take as long to get there. Of course, the theory of relativity only works if you're going west.
Q. Why do my eyes shut when I sneeze?
A. If your lids weren't closed, the force of the explosion would blow your eyeballs out and stretch the optic nerve, so your eyes would flop around and you'd have to point them with your hands to see anything.
Q. How do bank machines work?
A. Well, let's say you want 25 dollars. You punch in the amount and behind the machine there's a guy with a printing press who makes the money and sticks it out this slot.
Q. Sort of like the guy who lives up in our garage and opens the door?
A. Exactly.
Q. What causes the wind?
A. Trees sneezing.
Q. Why does ice float?
A. Because it's cold. Ice wants to get warm, so it goes to the top of liquids to be nearer to the sun.
Q. Is that true?
A. Look it up and find out.
Q. I should just look up stuff in the first place.
Q. How come you know so much?
A. It's all in the book you get when you become a father.
March 01, 2007
I'm trying
I'm trying not to be one of those people who blog like once a millenium, so here is a pointless post about nothing. Then again, if all I post are pointless posts, them you wouldn't be happy either. Hmmm.. We'll I'm screwed.
The estimated damage to the truck is $3800. Called the body shop yesterday. They were supposed to call back, but I never heard from them. So today I will call again. Since the truck is going to be in the shop, I am going to have them get rid of the rust on the door, and the dent in the rear bumper. Well, depending on cost, but it shouldn't be too much, as they are already going to have the paint mixed up for the whole other side.
My sisters truck was totalled by her insurance company. But they are buying it back, and getting money as well. They are doing this so they can trade Greg's truck in and get a new car.