We had a serious thunderstorm Monday night. Next morning main computer, trusty old Blackbox, a Compaq, was no longer on the internet. Windows claimed the network cable was unplugged. It wasn't, but the little green LED that indicates connection was out. After some blundering around, I fired up trusty laptop, and lo and behold, he went right on line by wireless. So, that means cable modem is alive, and the router has enough life to do wireless. I'm using one to those wireless routers that puts out a wireless signal AND drives four RJ-45 jacks. Blackbox is connected to one of the RJ-45 jacks. Maybe the Ethernet cable failed, or Blackbox's network adapter got fried. Or the router got half fried, so the wireless still works but the RJ-45 jacks are toast.
So I pull out a PCI wireless adapter card and plug it in. But the install CD refuses to run. So I decide to blow away some of the antivirus software that has been bogging Blackbox down. After a bitter hand-to-hand struggle I get rid of Microsoft Security Essentials and ZoneAlarm. Neither went easily or quietly. But after killing them both, the install CD started to work, and the wireless card connected and Blackbox is back on line.
Joy. And, I knew that the antivirus stuff was slowing him down, but wow, now he is back in his old form, quick and silent. Love it. So I am gonna run barefoot for a while.
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Game of Thrones
Netflix delivered the first disc last night. Episodes 1 and 2 from season one. Highly enjoyable. It's a medieval swords and sorcery fantasy. George R.R. Martin wrote five books set in this universe (I have read them all so that makes me a fan). We have Sean Bean as Lord Eddart Stark. Sean has been gaining weight over the years. As Richard Sharpe, battling Napoleon he was lean and elegant especially in that well tailored rifleman's green uniform. Later as Boromir in Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings, he was a grown man, on the strong and muscular side. Now as Ned Stark he looks overweight. Both roles are set in similar fantasy worlds. Clearly Martin was influenced by Tolkien. Martin's world has a stronger flavor of the high middle ages than Tolkien, who is more into elves and Fairie.
"Production values" (sets, costumes, special effects and such) are really good especially for a TV mini series. Everything looks right, no anachronisms. The camera man knows enough to put the camera on a tripod. No arty "shake the camera" shots which I find annoying. The sound man does it right and the dialogue is understandable. The young Starks (Ayra, Brendan, Sansa) are appealing. The girls are really good looking and sometimes scantily clad.
If you haven't read the books you will need to pay close attention to understand what is happening. Some of the key scenes are glossed over pretty rapidly and if I hadn't read the book I would not have understood what is going on.
Anyhow I enjoyed the first two episodes, and Netflix ought to deliver more of them soon.
"Production values" (sets, costumes, special effects and such) are really good especially for a TV mini series. Everything looks right, no anachronisms. The camera man knows enough to put the camera on a tripod. No arty "shake the camera" shots which I find annoying. The sound man does it right and the dialogue is understandable. The young Starks (Ayra, Brendan, Sansa) are appealing. The girls are really good looking and sometimes scantily clad.
If you haven't read the books you will need to pay close attention to understand what is happening. Some of the key scenes are glossed over pretty rapidly and if I hadn't read the book I would not have understood what is going on.
Anyhow I enjoyed the first two episodes, and Netflix ought to deliver more of them soon.
Business
For today, I made a dump run, and then mowed the rest of the grass. Then I took a nap. Seemed like a full and productive day to me.
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Car ads
One the those fliers jammed into our mailbox from a Littleton car dealer. The cover plumps for a Jeep SUV, no price. Open 'er up, and we have a Dodge Challenger, 6.4 Liter Hemi (403 c.i.) manual transmission and 20 inch wheels for only $44,900. Nice car, Cadillac price. Is that manual transmission four on the floor or three on the tree? Same page we have a big Dodge crew cab pickup with Cummins diesel for $50,999. Fancy pickup costs more than luxury sedan. Inside we have real Jeep Jeeps for $20K and a Chrysler 200, V6 and a slush box for $17K.
Then we have Dodge Caravans for $17K and Chrysler Town & Countries (same thing) for $26K.
Damn, new cars cost a bundle.
Then we have Dodge Caravans for $17K and Chrysler Town & Countries (same thing) for $26K.
Damn, new cars cost a bundle.
Tools, new tools
The grass was on the warpath, stalks up to a foot high. Ancient hand mower just wasn't cutting it. Mowing had become a chore to be dreaded. I thought about just turning the whole job over to Ken King, my friendly local lawn care guy. But I have been cutting this little lawn,with a hand mower, for forty years. Going with lawncare is like admitting I'm getting too old to mow.
So, I set off to buy a new mower. Checked Sears, Home Depot and Lowe's. Come home with a brand new Husqvarna hand mower. $149. It fit in the trunk of the Mercury, lid closed. Got it home, read the instruction booklet, (solid boiler plate to repel liability lawyers) put it together and tried it out.
Outstanding. Cuts it level, gets every stalk. It's feather light (lotta plastic). Before I knew it, the side lawn was all cut. Pressed on to the front lawn. That cut like lightning too. They did something good with the gearing so the reel spins faster than the old style mowers. They replaced the roller with real back wheels so the grass stays upright to be cut, rather than lying down flat and escaping its proper fate. Puts the honest self satisfaction of seeing a flat level mowed path slicing thru the shagginess back into the chore.
I could have gotten a power mower for only $30 more. The guy at Lowes assured me that it would start next spring if I put some miracle additive into the gas tank. But this baby is so light and pushes so easily and it makes me feel so environmentally sensitive, that its more satisfactory than a power job.
So, I set off to buy a new mower. Checked Sears, Home Depot and Lowe's. Come home with a brand new Husqvarna hand mower. $149. It fit in the trunk of the Mercury, lid closed. Got it home, read the instruction booklet, (solid boiler plate to repel liability lawyers) put it together and tried it out.
Outstanding. Cuts it level, gets every stalk. It's feather light (lotta plastic). Before I knew it, the side lawn was all cut. Pressed on to the front lawn. That cut like lightning too. They did something good with the gearing so the reel spins faster than the old style mowers. They replaced the roller with real back wheels so the grass stays upright to be cut, rather than lying down flat and escaping its proper fate. Puts the honest self satisfaction of seeing a flat level mowed path slicing thru the shagginess back into the chore.
I could have gotten a power mower for only $30 more. The guy at Lowes assured me that it would start next spring if I put some miracle additive into the gas tank. But this baby is so light and pushes so easily and it makes me feel so environmentally sensitive, that its more satisfactory than a power job.
Monday, May 28, 2012
Memorial Day Parade, Littleton, NH
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| Parade down Littleton NH Main St. |
Decent turnout, all things considered. We had our US Rep (Charlie Bass) our selectmen, some of our state reps, a state senate candidate (Debi Warner) and a lot of veterans.
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| ROTC Color guard |
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| Ninth Grader sings National Anthem |
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| John Starr (my brother) delivers memorial address |
Sunday, May 27, 2012
The Economist's plan to save the Euro
The Economist, for those of you unfamiliar with it, is a weekly news magazine based in London. It has good world wide coverage, tells it fairly straight, and thinks it knows all the answers. This week they opine upon a fix for the Euro crisis. Here is their solution.
1. Create an EU bank regulator that would operate an EU wide version of deposit insurance (like the American FDIC), along with setting regulation about bank capital, winding up the affairs of failed banks, and have the money to "recapitalize" (otherwise known as "bailout") shaky or broke banks. Give this new agency control of the existing European bank rescue funds. Hopefully the EU regulator would shield banks from national government pressure to lend to national government favored industries or buy national government bonds.
2. Create "Eurobonds" backed by all the Euro countries. Unsaid, but understood by bond buyers is that Germany pledges to make Eurobonds good. Use the proceeds from Eurobond sales to make loans to countries that no one else will loan money to, like Spain and Italy.
"All that is required is for over indebted countries to have access to money and for banks to have a 'safe' euro-wide class of assets that is not tied to the fortunes of one country."
As the Economist sees it, German backed Eurobonds would be as good as American T-bills. Dead broke governments would not have to clean up their acts so soon. Out of the goodness of their hearts the Germans extend their excellent credit rating to the rest of Europe. Angela Merkel is the only person standing in the way of this financial nirvana. Shame on her.
I got another plan. Let the stupid banks go bust. Let the dead broke counties reduce their spending now, rather than after they run out of other people's money.
1. Create an EU bank regulator that would operate an EU wide version of deposit insurance (like the American FDIC), along with setting regulation about bank capital, winding up the affairs of failed banks, and have the money to "recapitalize" (otherwise known as "bailout") shaky or broke banks. Give this new agency control of the existing European bank rescue funds. Hopefully the EU regulator would shield banks from national government pressure to lend to national government favored industries or buy national government bonds.
2. Create "Eurobonds" backed by all the Euro countries. Unsaid, but understood by bond buyers is that Germany pledges to make Eurobonds good. Use the proceeds from Eurobond sales to make loans to countries that no one else will loan money to, like Spain and Italy.
"All that is required is for over indebted countries to have access to money and for banks to have a 'safe' euro-wide class of assets that is not tied to the fortunes of one country."
As the Economist sees it, German backed Eurobonds would be as good as American T-bills. Dead broke governments would not have to clean up their acts so soon. Out of the goodness of their hearts the Germans extend their excellent credit rating to the rest of Europe. Angela Merkel is the only person standing in the way of this financial nirvana. Shame on her.
I got another plan. Let the stupid banks go bust. Let the dead broke counties reduce their spending now, rather than after they run out of other people's money.
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