The days the universe failed

August 31st, 2013 at 5:49:40 AM permalink
Nareed
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 346
Posts: 12545
It all began to go wrong on Wednesday morning.

The day started with news that a new project was published. To spare you the details, I had to scramble around looking for it, which included getting a coworker in Toluca to move around looking for it as well (it's amazing what government agencies don't know about what they are doing). By late afternoon we had it, but I'd also have to go to Toluca the next day. Things then began to look up, as we left work at a reasonable hour.

To get home I have to cross a small area prone to very heavy traffic. I'd just done so, when I get a call to get back to the office. So back into the traffic again. Long story short, I finally was free to go home at 10 pm. When i got home, the PC wouldn't start. I checked all the cables and jiggled the voltage switch (the maid had moved it once before). It started. I downloaded some podcasts to my MP3 player.

The next day on the way to Toluca, the MP3 player insisted there were no files at all in it. That's ridiculous. Not only had I copied files there the previous evening, but I keep a few files in it at all time (about one third of The History of Rome, last week's Philosophy in Action, some of my favorite science podcasts, etc.) I tried resetting it, restarting it, and all else I could think of, but it wouldn't budge. Fortunately I have Audible on my cell phone.

After I returned from Toluca, I got word I had to drive to Guadalajara to deliver some samples. I couldn't fly because the mass of samples was too heavy for that. On the bright side, I got assigned a driver to take care of the driving. But we arrived there around 6 pm, waited until 7:45 for the idiot who knew we were coming to get his samples, then check in at a hotel rather late.

As luck would have it, I had my laptop at the office. So at east I could log in at the hotel and maybe finish trying out Start8 in Windows Hell.1 (you know). Well, for some reason my MS account password wasn't working (I know), so that didn't work. You cannot use Win8 without entering a password, which is ridiculous. More ridiculous, it tells you how to reset the password. Online, of course. So if you can go online with a computer that won't work, you're all set (brilliant!) So I gave that up and ran Vista (the one entity in the known universe grateful for the existence of Win8. I did check the MP3 player on the laptop, and all files were there, but the thing still refused to acknowledge it while not plugged in.

Next day after the long drive home, I got to work (<sigh> bur there was too much to do). Eventually we left at a decent hour gain, and there was little traffic that day. At work I got a chance to fix the MP3 by formatting it. Of course all files were lost, but I have them all in my home PC's hard drive.

When I got home, the PC again wouldn't start. I couldn't get it to start no matter what I did. I'll take one shot at getting it repaired (it may be a problem with the power source, which might be worth fixing if only to get all my data out of there). But it's clear I have to get a new one. I'd hoped to wait until Win8.1 was out, but that's not to be.

Of course, I left the laptop at the office. I needed to get online for various things (hey, half of everyone's life is online now). So eventually I drove back to the office to get it (still no traffic). I may wait a bit to get a new PC, so I'll be using the laptop in the meantime. Of course there were pending windows updates, and I had to get some things installed as well (BOINC, an image viewer, some utilities, etc). And of course the PC crashed twice while all this went on.

And today the cell phone again mysteriously lost its charge and started beeping at 6 am. It does that from time to time, I've no idea why. I'd left it fully charged on the night stand at 11 pm.

Right now, I wouldn't mind if the world decided to rewind back to 1998...
Donald Trump is a one-term LOSER
August 31st, 2013 at 8:38:14 AM permalink
chickenman
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 0
Posts: 368
I wouldn't either--Windows 98 with a Netscape browser and @Home for an ISP--things haven't really gotten much better since then except for fewer blue screens of death... :-)
He's everywhere, he's everywhere...!
August 31st, 2013 at 8:54:51 AM permalink
Nareed
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 346
Posts: 12545
Quote: chickenman
I wouldn't either--Windows 98 with a Netscape browser and @Home for an ISP--things haven't really gotten much better since then except for fewer blue screens of death... :-)


I'd have said 2001, for WinXp, but I'd rather not have some events since then...

I never did use Win7 much, therefore I really don't know much about it. As it turns out, the Win8 desktop is very similar (aside from being crippled by the lack of a start menu). I really don't like it much, certainly it's not as good as the Win XP or even Vista desktop was. And now I understand why with all the praise lavished on Win7, many of my coworkers who do use it pine for XP.
Donald Trump is a one-term LOSER
August 31st, 2013 at 11:29:34 AM permalink
s2dbaker
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 13
Posts: 241
Next time, avoid Toluca!!
August 31st, 2013 at 1:51:03 PM permalink
Nareed
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 346
Posts: 12545
Wouldn't you guess? The home PC rose from the dead.

I did nothing. I was using the laptop with Windows Hell.1 and I idly happened to press the power button on the dead machine. And then it started up as though nothing were wrong.

I'm taking the chance to export bookmarks, copy a few crucial install programs not easy to find on the web, and then I'll transfer all my important data to the laptop.
Donald Trump is a one-term LOSER
August 31st, 2013 at 1:58:57 PM permalink
rxwine
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 188
Posts: 18633
Quote: Nareed
Wouldn't you guess? The home PC rose from the dead.

I did nothing. I was using the laptop with Windows Hell.1 and I idly happened to press the power button on the dead machine. And then it started up as though nothing were wrong.



I woke up to my Internet broadband being out. I'm always cynically amused when I open my browser and after contacting nothing it generates a web page with a online web help address.
You believe in an invisible god, and dismiss people who say they are trans? Really?
August 31st, 2013 at 2:10:42 PM permalink
Nareed
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 346
Posts: 12545
Quote: rxwine
I woke up to my Internet broadband being out. I'm always cynically amused when I open my browser and after contacting nothing it generates a web page with a online web help address.


In the 1908s there were instruction tapes on how to hook up a VCR.

Ergo, there's been no progress in the past three decades.
Donald Trump is a one-term LOSER
September 2nd, 2013 at 9:55:23 AM permalink
Nareed
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 346
Posts: 12545
The Universe, it seems, wasn't done.

First, on Saturday afternoon I got a cramp in the lower adbominal region while working out. It hurt like hell, but then it subzided. But Sunday at 4 am it flared up, or I got another cramp in the same place from random sleep movements. I couldn't get back to sleep, naturally. And it kept bothering me well into the night, until it finally seemed to go away around midnight.

On better things, while I didn't work out on Sunday, I did manage to cook for the week (something exceedingly simple), and I got a decent deal on a Nexus 7 with 32 GB and Android 4.1. It should be delivered around Thursday. Naturally I expect I won't like Android. Call it a peculiarity of mine, but I don't get along well with touch devices. Still, theres no good substitute for mobile web browsing.
Donald Trump is a one-term LOSER