Tech update - Personal Computer

Labor Day Weekend I upgraded an old computer chassis with a new 500gig hard drive. Instead of only installing Windows and being done with it, I installed multiple operating systems. A dual boot machine is what I had in mind. I chatted with my friend Cameron online, and he assisted in my the steps by which I should embark upon this challenge.

Step 1: Install Windows XP but only on a 50gig partition of the 500gig hard drive.
Step 2: Install ubuntu linux but only on 80gig partition
Step 3: Allocate 1 Gig for a linux swap file for performance
Step 4: Allocate remaining disk in a FAT32 format to store pictures, videos, data files and music that is accessible by any operating system.
Step 5: Install vmware workstation within LINUX so virtual machines of Windows XP, Linux or Apple O/S could run simultaneously within Linux. This is helpful since iTunes isn't built to run directly in Linux, so I run it within a virtual machine of XP so I don't have to reboot.

My first partition of Windows XP will be used primarily for PC games. No web browsing, email, viruses, misc. programs will be installed or used on this partition which could corrupt the easily corruptible windows operating systems.

I will use ubuntu linux to operate my day to day personal computer which will include file management, web browsing, email, etc.

Thanks again to Cameron and Bo which guided me through rough spots and my mental challenges of completing this complex setup.

I'm going to resume this blog...

I never gave it a fair shot and want to resume it on an ongoing basis... I'll link it from my website and facebook... we'll see how it goes...

Our Friday night - trip to the ER VET!

late on Friday night... 1am roughly... I hear a muddled crash... I roll over and moments later I hear a big smash/crash... Sounds like one of my greyhounds downstairs knocked something over...

I go down the stairs and Cole is standing there head bleeding... and he can't stand up straight... 3" gash to the head... I can seek skull and blood... lots of blood...

Cole has obviously hit his head and given himself a concussion because he can't stand up without falling over... he's panting as he's scared and he keeps falling... and he's dripping blood down his face... I'm grab and hold a towel on his head, letting him lean on me as I wake up and get a plan together... its 1am on a friday night, I'm half naked, 80lb dog, split head open and has concussion... can't super glue this problem... this is a definitely run to the ER... I see glass in his hair... I look over and the entertainment center door that has about a foot of non-safety glass is in 4 pieces...

So he must have stood up and ran into the end table, giving him a concussion (the first bang/thud I heard) and then after losing his balance fell into the glass door, which cut his head (2nd crash that made me run downstairs)

I scream to Jen to get up b/c I'm gonna need help gettin' him to the ER... luckily his vet is at Alameda East, which is one of the profiled ER Vets on Animal Planet so I know they are open and I know they are good... only 15 miles away...

I take him outside so he can go to the restroom and see if he can gain his wits about him... he does pee as I prop him up against the street light... he spots a rabbit and seems back to normal but can only run in circles to the left and then falls over...

I load him in the wagon, Jen holds a towel over his head as we drive very quickly to the ER... we pass two massive wrecks on the way, 2am drunk drivers... great...

Get to the ER... We carry him in, lay him on the ICU floor... the Dr. gets the info, they put an IV in him for the pain, and I hold gauze on his head for an hour while we observe... We leave around 3:30am and they observe him the rest of the day...

I go home, clean the murder scene for the next hour... about 100 blood drops in the family room...

Later in the day the Vet calls and lets me know he's getting back to normal, they gave him some medicine that removes the fluid around the brain, swelling has gone down, he's eating food and water and they are going to stitch the inner skin and then staple the outer... should be ready to pick up that night...

We pick him up about 18 hours later and he seems normal to me except the cool scar and tough lookin' staples in his head... I say tough, b/c not once, not ONE time did this dog yelp, cry or wince... He turns 8 next week... what a champ... and I don't say that word lightly... he really was a racing champ {see link for history} winning 18 of his 90 races, 9 of those in the AA class...

anyways... he's on pain med for his head, and antibiotics to prevent infection... he gets staples out in two weeks...

He's running around and acting like normal... I now leave the light on for him at night so he won't wake up and be disoriented... and he gets lots of cheese now, which he inhales not realizing his meds are in there...

Conversation with Pig about Huey Lewis

[17:07] Pig: i have been playing DoD S with old friends since Friday
[17:07] Pig: allow me to retrieve a quote
[17:08] rocketjohn5: k
[17:08] Pig: Wooderson: That's what I love about these high school girls, man. I get older, they stay the same age.
[17:09] rocketjohn5: ha
[17:09] Pig: it's all in the delivery
[17:09] Pig: I was just at chuck e cheese and I realized something about life
[17:09] Pig: i realized that I have always gotten the lyrics to huey lewis Heart of ROck N Roll wrong
[17:09] Pig: i thought
[17:10] Pig: http://www.guntheranderson.com/v/data/heartofr.htm
[17:10] Pig: They say the heart of rock and roll is still beatin' And from what I've seen I believe 'em Now the old boy may be barely breathin' But the heart of rock and roll, heart of rock and roll is still beatin'
[17:10] Pig: Now the old boy may be barely breathin'
[17:10] Pig: I always thought that was 'Now the oboe may be fair in Cleveland'
[17:10] Pig: thought that for over two decades
[17:10] rocketjohn5: oh for fucks sake
[17:10] Pig: until 5 mins ago
[17:10] rocketjohn5: really?
[17:11] Pig: today is the first day of the rest of my life
[17:11] rocketjohn5: u've always been good at lyrics
[17:11] Pig: blog that shit
[17:11] rocketjohn5: will do

Colorado Rockies Update

Wednesday, the 24th, the World Series begins in Boston, with the Rockies on the road against the powerhouse Red Sox. This town is going crazy and all anyone wants is a ticket to one of the games (3, 4 and 5). The tickets were supposed to go on sale this morning at 10am but a computer malfunction due to 8+ million webhits shut the entire system down. It is undetermined when the tickets will go on sale.

I propose this system so that the fans of the Colorado Rockies can get tickets and not get taken advantage of by the scalpers:
1) Rent out the convention center for ticket processing
2) You can't buy more than 2 tickets and you must buy all three games
3) You must pay for them with a debit or credit card where your name matches your ID
4) You must have at least two articles of Rockies gear in your possession (hat, tshirt, pennant, etc)
5) Photo taken and then printed on tickets.

Simple, relatively fool proof...

You could always go down the "tattoo a barcode on the forehead" route... but that gets tacky.

setting up this blog for mobile updates

This is my first post in my soon to be world famous blog.

There...

I will try and write often.

Thanks,
RJ