An assemblage of petty things that have been getting on my nerves:
- Eddie Dingle, the computer at the centre of our home theatre, has been acting up a little. Specifically, one of the two Hauppauge video encoder cards has been recording misleading file lenths under Snapstream BeyondTV. All the video is there, but the player thinks the file is much shorter, leading to odd consequences. I've concluded that this is only happening with the PVR-150 card, not the older PVR-250 card. The 150 also has, to be absolutely technical, "crappier" video quality and muddier sound. It's still watchable, but it's pissing me off.
- The new version of Apple iTunes doesn't play nicely with BeyondTV. I don't know which to blame. I can't have BeyondTV up while playing music, 'cuz iTunes sounds like it's got audio diarrhea if I do. Pisses me off.
- Windows XP reboots my computers when it bloody well feels like it. Specifically, when it's downloaded an urgent security update. Thanks for downloading it, but if we're taping a TV show or doing something significant overnight, it's a pissoff to wake up to a freshly rebooted machine. I'm sure there's something to tweak to force XP to wait for my say-so to roll over, but damned if I'm going to do more than rant about it.
- Eddie Dingle can't keep track of time. I've told it to reset the clock by Internet Time once a day, but it still keeps drifting a minute or two. Battery? I dunno. I just don't like missing the last minute of a TV show.
- The TV is bleeding. That is, the reds are bleeding. I don't know if I tweaked something or what, but Amanda's TV picture looks a bit hot, and reds and oranges are bleeding. The convergence looks a bit off in the corners. Just gotta sit down and run THX test patterns or something. Slight piss-off.
- Shoes. I finally got into wearing sandals; now the weather has changed, and I have to wear shoes again. But every pair of shoes I buy breaks! I have wide feet with a high instep, so I have trouble buying shoes that fit. I end up getting shoes that are a bit too long in the toe. Perhaps that's why every pair of shoes that I buy, cheap or expensive, gets a big crack in the sole just behind the ball of my foot. I don't like wet feet.
- The weather sucks. Not always. We've had some gorgeous fall days. Today, for example, turned lovely this afternoon. But we had some of the nastiest rain and wind I've seen yesterday. It's a mood-sucker.
- The days are getting shorter and gloomier. I hate the way the change of the seasons can suck the life and energy and spirit right out of ya. You'd think that we, as a species, would have developed over the eons to accept that the seasons change, and adapt. Evolve, humans! I can't stop the passage of time, but I'd like to be able to keep people cheery and plugged-in as the summer slips away. Either that, or we should have hibernation camps, subsidized by private industry, to maximize productivity and worker enthusiasm.
- My cat is getting too lippy. She was really good about not bothering me in the mornings for a long time. But lately she's been yelling at me and getting in my face when Amanda leaves for work in the morning. Jee-zus, Kitty, I'll feed you in an hour! Chill out! Amanda's cat is very good about not being a pest in the ayem.
- Cats puke exactly where you don't want them to. You can give them a paper towel to ralf on, but they'll turn just slightly to the left and unload on the carpet.
- I'm looking for a web site to host Big Ass Superstar music. I have three albums that aren't posted here -- "Stick It In The Fridge", recorded at karaoke in the late 90s; "Mind The Gap", an unreleased compilation of tracks from the early part of this decade; and last December's double-album by Magic 8 Ball, "Decidedly So". I'd love to find an off-site site where I can post these as album collections. Free. For free download. One where I won't have to get signed releases from the various publishing companies representing the artists whose songs I covered. Not so much a piss-off but a "hey, do you know of one?"
- I'm interested in signing up for martial arts classes, but I hardly know how to start. I've always fancied myself more of a thrower than a puncher, but I'm not locked into that. Again, not so much pissing me off, but a little intimidating.
- I just ordered an iPod. Yes, I'm going to be one of those people. Anyway, I ordered it from Best Buy's web site, and they wouldn't process the order until I called them from home. Sure, I appreciate the extra measure to make sure someone isn't yanking my credit card number and ordering stuff, but when I'm ordering online, I want my stuff in the mail now! Now now now! Not now plus four hours.
Have you ever mentioned the foot thing to your doctorb? You probably have coverage for orthotics, if you get a doctorb's prescription. It's worth looking into. At the very least, the orthotics-maker can suggest to you what key things you need to look for in a shoe, like minimal torsion, or not too stiff a sole, etc.
ReplyDeletethe Discovery channel folks were in China recently, they looked at people doing Tai Chi. It looks like good stuff, sorta reminded me of my pilates and yoga where the emphasis is mostly on doing the move correctly than anything else. Don't be fooled, though, the guy that developed it apparently kicked ass all over the place, using it on thugs who hassled him on his way home from the temple or whatever.
ReplyDeleteI like the look of tai chi ... Appears like a slow-motion karate. Good for mind and body.. i think I'll expand my search to martial arts classes *and* tai chi ... I seem to recall one facility that offered both. thanks for the thought!
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