blog one another

Installing XP

Steps to install Windows XP:

1. Install XP itself.
2. Run Windows Update. I want to secure this system quickly to avoid attack, so let's initially go with the critical updates. What? There are 91 of them?
3. Done installing. Have to reboot.
4. Run Windows Update again. This time, get the recommended updates as well as any critical ones. Down to 15 of them.
5. Done installing. Have to reboot again.
6. Run Windows Update again. 10 updates this time.
7. Done installing. Have to reboot, for the third time!
8. Run Windows Update again. 1 update this time.
9. Done installing. Thank God, I don't have to reboot for this one.
10. Download and install anti-virus software. Run it.
11. Download and install anti-spyware software. Run it.

Um. How long have Windows users been putting up with this? I see Apple just issued a security update. It says, "Previous security updates have been incorporated into this security update." Fancy that.

C++ named operators

Can someone explain to me the rationale behind C++ named operators? Here I am, trying to define things that operate in boolean logic, and I can't use the names "and", "or", and "not". Thank you very much. Perhaps the C++ standards committee thought they weren't reserving enough keywords?

Blog milestone

Woah, I passed a milestone:

Thanks for coming by!

Prius mileage

I filled my tank this morning as soon as it went "ding" to warn me I was getting low: 531 miles on 10.272 gallons. It's been a while since I've done that well.

Technorati Tags: prius

Wiki Wiki

How long ago was it that I got turned on to the wiki way? Well, according to my entry in the original wiki, it was May 2001 -- six years ago. I distinctly remember talking about it with some excitement, and Jor said, "It'll never catch on. Maybe among a few geeks, but not in the corporate world."

Well, today I went to a presentation of the new company-wide wiki, intended to replace some thirty-odd wikis that have sprung up spontaneously (including the one I set up). The presenters encouraged everyone to "feel free to edit anything," even drafts of corporate policies!

So Jor, eat up! ;-)

Totally Tanakh

This morning, The Journey started a series exploring the Hebrew Scriptures called "I ♥ the BCs". And for the next 24 days, the challenge is to go "Totally Tanakh" by reading and responding to a specific chapter, like a cook's tour of 24 different tasty treats that will give us a flavor of the whole thing.

So! Today we started with Genesis 1. I don't know if I will blog the whole thing, but I plan to (most importantly) do it. If you'd like to participate, you can find each day's reading at a special blog, along with comments where you can respond if you want to share online.

Update: I have decided not to blog my responses here. I will instead add comments on the The Journey blog. And hey, I didn't know that WordPress.com offered free blog hosting! Hmm…

Repairing the Rio HT2030

A few years ago for Kay's birthday, I bought her an integrated 5.1 sound system and DVD player (and VCR), which is also able to decode the Dolby ProLogic II output from our GameCube and PlayStation 2 into a full surround-sound gaming experience. The whole family loved it. It was the Rio HT2030 from SonicBlue.

Then SonicBlue went bankrupt.

A few months ago, our gizmo started having trouble reading discs; it kept spitting them back. Finally the disc tray would not stay retracted even when it was empty. We continued playing games with the device sticking its tongue out at us.

I didn't know how to resolve the problem. Could a local electronics shop fix the disc tray? If they needed to replace a custom part that no longer exists, that wouldn't have worked. Besides, the device is the heart of our gaming center. If it disappeared, the family would rebel.

For her birthday yesterday, Kay wanted to go shopping for some kind of replacement. We found the Zenith ZHX-313 home theater system which looked remarkably like our dead Rio. In fact, when I compared the user manuals, the illustrations were the same! It seems Zenith bought the guts of the Rio HT2030 and gave it a fresh face. Not bad for $155—I figure it would have cost that much to get the old system repaired. Whew!

Before:

After:

Update: Nathan Stryker bought a similar system. So similar, in fact, that it looks like more than one company bought the HT2030 design. I've never heard of Insignia, but it looks like they offer several interesting home theater products for the budget-conscious.

Technorati Tags: home theater, budget

Pray your cell phone

I think I have discovered an exciting new way to pray: Pray your cell phone. Here's how:

1. You have your cell phone set up so you can see your phone book with a single push of a button, don't you? Do it.

2. Start with the person (or institution) at the top. Pray for God to bless them. Pray as long as you want. When you are ready to pray for the next person, just navigate down.

3. Try to finish up a single letter before you stop; that way, it's easier to continue next time. For example, if you pray for everyone in your phone book whose name starts with C, then next time you want to pray you just jump down to the Ds.

I have had fun praying for my friends and family in this way as I walk or drive. Give it a try, and let me know how it works for you!

(This is actually the second use of my cell phone for prayer. The first is described here.)

Finally full

It took 4 years and 4 months, but today, iTunes told me that it could not fit everything onto my "brick" first-generation 5G iPod (with real rotating wheel)!

Microsoft +/-

Microsoft is cool! (Fascinating technology for linking photos)
Microsoft is funny! (Dear aunt, let's set so double the killer delete select all)