Those of you who run the free version of AVG virus scan software may have received notices lately that the version you have is about to expire, and that you have to upgrade to a new version. If you follow their links, you are taken to a page where they offer to sell you the new version.
They don’t make it obvious, but you can still get a free copy of the new version here.
I have had to reinstall Windows on my computer twice in the last 3 days. Something slimy must have infested it, because important system files kept disappearing.
Hopefully I have it cleaned out this time so it will stay up, but if I become unresponsive again, you’ll know why!
As my brother Don noted in his blog, there is a new major release to the Firefox web browser; version 2.0.
I’ve been running it for a couple of days now and it seems fine. Most of my extensions (including my beloved AdBlock) work fine with it. It has a new spell check, so when you are writing something like this blog on a web form you can check all the spelling in the form before you submit. Just right click in the form, and make sure that “Spell check this field” is checked.
A few other minor changes, but I feel right at home with it; it looks and feels just about the same.
I just bought another TV.
If you remember, I bought the 60″ Sony SXRD rear projection LCOS last spring. After having it in my house for 3 weeks, I took it back. Since then I’ve been waiting for something better to come available in my price range.
Today I brought home a 65″ LCD TV. I think I like it a lot, but I have a month to make sure.
It’s sure big.
I’m testing putting a video clip into my blog.
I know there is text in the middle of the picture — it’s a trial version and I don’t know if I want to buy it yet.
What do you think? This was on our famous Peruvian bike ride.
If I buy it, would others be interested in using it?
When I walked into the house after spending the Labor Day weekend in Prescott, I heard a clicking noise coming from my office. Bad news — my computer’s hard drive had died.
Most of my important information and data was backed up, but I still had to reinstall Windows and reinstall all the programs I had been running.
Since I have to start over again, I have decided to try to live in the open source world as much as possible. Unfortunately, I can’t get along without Windows quite yet. But I don’t need MS Office; I’ll use Open Office exclusively instead.
I don’t need Outlook; Thunderbird is a better mail program.
And I don’t even have to synch my Palm phone with Outlook; I can use the Palm Desktop that came with the phone.
It’s kind of like moving Mom to a new apartment this weekend. It’s a lot of work, but it’s also an opportunity to get rid of stuff you don’t need and start fresh.
I’ve been getting a lot of “Image Spam” lately — usually stock tips telling me about a great new opportunity. The spam filter in Thunderbird can’t detect them, because there is no incriminating text to key on — just the image which could be anything, as far as the spam filter is concerned.
I’ve found a way in Thunderbird to catch these images and relegate them to the Junk folder. Here are the instructions.
It’s possible that it will catch valid messages, so you should check the junk folder before you empty it.
My kitchen has 7 recessed light bulbs in the ceiling. Since early 2000, I have been keeping track of how long the bulbs last. Here’s a graph of the results to date, showing bulb life in days. Click on the graph for a larger image.
You can see that Phillips incandescent bulbs are the least reliable; on average they only last 177 days. Of the incandescent type, GE, Sylvania and Feit are pretty comparable. Sylvania lasted 393 days on average, but since there were only two of them it’s not statistically significant. GE lasted 315 days on average, and Feit 360 days. There’s probably not really enough data to distinguish between these three bulb types.
Somewhere around 2002 I started using more and more compact flourescent bulbs. By now I have filled most of the sockets with this type, and many of them are still working. The flourescent bulbs that failed early show up on the graph, but shouldn’t be taken as representative of flourescent bulb life. Some of them are still in the sockets after 3, 4 and more years.
There’s the data; do with it what you like!
A very challenging but intriguing set of puzzles based on the Greek myth of Theseus stuck in the maze with the Minotaur.
There are other interesting puzzles here, but I seem to spend the most time on T and the M.
I solved the full Minotaur set over a year ago, but keep coming back to play them again.
Note: I like to turn the sound effects off (“S”). They are a little irritating after a while.
Which face is angry and which calm? Move several feet away from the computer and look again.
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