Thank you Jason!!

Jason - YOU'RE the MAN!!!!

Thanks for the help in getting my problems fixed!!

Now I can get back to the more important aspects of life.......

PC Update

Tap - tap - tap ....

Anyone there?

Testing...testing....

Okay - I took the advice of Jason & Heather, an extremely talented couple who have several GREAT blogs, and switched over to Firefox instead of IE 7.

In fact, when I first started having computer problems back in April several people suggested Firefox. So, I spent the day making the switch.

So far there have been no major hick-ups but something funny is going on with my blog!! I had to go in and reset some of my widgets, but for some reason my Project Tracker appears to be out of whack.

From where I sit, whether I'm logged on or not, my Project Tracker shows all my projects being 100% complete (oh how I wish)! Also, the color in the bars is a funky shade of sky blue.

I've had one reader tell me that that is not the case for her. Evidently it shows up the way it should on her PC.

WHAT IS GOING ON HERE!!!!

If anyone else out there uses Firefox, and has Project Tracker, PLEASE contact me via e-mail at correus at yahoo.com.

Jason & Heather, I know you two use this browser and widget - contact me - I have a few other questions for you as well.

Well...till next time...

Larry

BLAST!! DAMN YOU VILE MACHINE!!

Okay....here is another post that really has nothing to do with the house, but about the infernal machine I build this blog with.

Some time during the night of Monday the 3rd my machine was hacked and my e-mail hijacked. I was lucky that only my addresses/contacts were deleted.

So, for the past three days I have been in a somewhat 'Stewie-esque' mood. For those of you who know me, and might have picked up in other posts, I'm a big Stewie Griffin fan. I think the following pictures help illustrate the mood of the past few days.

Wednesday morning started out like normal until I checked my mail…

My PC was acting up and I was getting all kinds of e-mail from ticked of people and groups.

A huge portion of Wednesday was spent cleaning up the spam mess that MY name was attached to and working with Yahoo to deal with the perp and fix the problem.

Per the people at Yahoo I picked up a worm virus, from another e-mail and that it had infected my system.

The afternoon and early evening was spent trying to hunt down the bug that had invaded my system.














Nothing I did seemed to work....















BLAST!!

DAMN YOU VILE MACHINE!!


It was time to seek outside help.

I got on-line and talked to a few people and they hooked me with some helpful web site.



It was suggested that I check out the "Kim Komando" site and got to her ''Security Douwnload' page. I have been to her page before and paid it a visit.

However, the main piece of info led me to the CastleCopsWiki site and their 'Malware Removal and Prevention' page.

After following the instructions on the MR&P page I then surfed over to their 'Prevent Re-infection' instructions to figure out how to keep the nasties away.

It was also suggested that I cruise over to the McAfee SiteAdvisor site to get their Internet protection plug-in.

Here is what they claim to do:

McAfee SiteAdvisor™ is a security add-on for your Internet Explorer browser that helps you identify sites that are linked to spyware, adware, spam, viruses, browser-based attacks, phishing, or online fraud.

The McAfee SiteAdvisor service is based on a huge database with detailed test results for more than 100,000 pieces of software and covers more than 95% of the world's Web traffic.

The program integrates with search engine results from popular search engines and also adds an icon to the browser toolbar that indicates whether a site is safe to use, or should be used with caution.

If McAfee SiteAdvisor has negative information for a site, you can review a very detailed report that shows any spam received from that site, harmful downloads, and association with other sites.

With all this new info in hand I was ready to wage war against the infections.











After a LOT of time and effort, and TONS of moaning and groaning....

Victory is mine!!

OH YES!!






Now That I have successfully cleaned, purged, and reworked my computer system things seem to be going much faster and working as well as it did the day I got the contraption.

However...I have learned one thing...



Things will be different with this system for now on....

I have a plan and...

"Good Bye" for now & a Teaser

Well, this is it...the end of the road...at least for a few days.

Today it took 6 hours for my PC to boot-up and come on. It came on for a little bit this morning (about an hour) but then shut it's self off. Around 2ish I turned the poor thing on and left it alone. As I said, 6 hours later he finally came to life. So I took the opportunity to contact Hewlett-Packard and have them run an on-line diagnostic. I also decided to use this time to make this last post.

Anyway, the HP tech determined that there was a hardware problem and was most likely the motherboard. Before contacting HP directly I talked to the local, authorized repair company and they said it would cost $60 to have a diagnostic ran. I then found a brand new motherboard (just in case) for under $175 - normally around $300.

Get this...the HP tech has arranged for my PC to be shipped, priority, to the factory for a rebuild - ALL FOR FREE!!!

Yes...you heard that right....they will provide a shipping container, the shipping cost to them and back AND all the parts and labor for FREE!!!

I always knew I liked HP for a reason.

So, within 1 to 2 days I will receive the shipping container and send it off. They will then have it back to me within 7 business days after they receive it.

Thanks Ethan for helping out on this!

The only thing I have to do is prep it to go - back-up all files and remove anything, like pics and documents, I don't want erased. I'm a little leery of this because I know you can not completely remove info off of a PC unless you use certain software. So I'm skittish of them digging up my personnel and financial stuff. But then again, if someone wanted it that bad they would find a way to get it.

So, in about two weeks I will have a completely rebuilt PC as if it’s brand new.

I was really shocked when I started downloading files, pics, &c. I had no idea I had that much on it! So far I have filled two large zip drives with photos and still have a third more to go.

I will have access to the blog and e-mail via SWMBO's company laptop but they frown on it being used for personal stuff. So I will probably not post anything else until my PC comes home - so be watching for lots of pics and such!

Speaking of which, here are some 'teasers' of how things are moving along in the kitchen.



Remember those nasty green walls?

GONE!

The skim coat system I'm going with is working well. The only screw-ups are due to me.

If you look real close you can see some lines on the walls. Those are the spots where I screwed up. They will be easy to fix and once the second coat is on the imperfections of the wall should be less noticeable.

Love the newspaper?

The plaster gets messy so I put the paper up to help protect the woodwork. What you are seeing here is the tattered remains after a psychotic cat had its way with it.

Here's the main wall, the one with all the patches. It isn't completely dry so you can still see some of the patches. Again, there are some screw-ups.

If you are going to be doing any skim coating you really need to get the Magic Trowel.

The first time SWMBO saw the results she said “WOW!” and I know she was skeptical of the tool.

Like I said before - it's messy.

All of those little white spots are splats of mud as I applied it.

If you look really hard you will see some of the bigger splats on the paper.

Thought I would throw in a couple shots of the 'prep work' involved.

The paper is primarily there to protect the wood from the plaster adhesive applied before the mud is put on. I’ll write more on that later.

I wonder how many people think we have put curtains up? The paper looks like cafe curtains from the road.


Anyway, I'll leave you all for now. I got this message out without the PC crashing on me so I'd better quit while I'm ahead.

Till next time....

Cheers!
Larry ~

Testing, Testing, 1 2 3

Testing, Testing, 1 2 3...

Okay, things seem to be up and running once again, keep your fingers crossed.

Not sure what the problem is, but Ethan, over at One Project Closer, has helped me out a lot on this.

Thanks Ethan!

We think there might be something wrong with the motherboard.

About two weeks ago I was working on the PC while lounging in bed. Then the cats started to fight and in my haste a moved and the PC slid off my lap and on to the floor. It only fell about 20” (if that), but dinged one of the corners. After that things started to get worse.

So, with Ethan’s help, and some research, I found out that the motherboards in these models are very fragile. Right now it seems to be working, but I am going to have a diagnostic ran on it. The good news is that I can get a new motherboard for less than $175.

So, I thought I would give you all this update and also do this as a test.

Anyway, a while back my old pair of safety goggles broke and I’m reduced to wearing a pair of nasty plastic ones (you know the kind). The week we had the garage sale I happened to catch an episode of Hammered with John and Jimmy DiResta on the DIY network. One of them was wearing a pair of vintage goggles that were very "steampunk" in style. When I saw those I thought ‘EUREKA!’ I could have a pair of steampunk safety goggles. SWMBO agreed.

I found this interesting pair of goggles on eBay, and they have that "it" quality I’m was looking for.




I was lucky, I had no idea how much these things go for!


Aren't they cool looking?

The strap is not in the best shape so I'll replace those.



The most interesting part of finding these was the 'hunt' and the whole new world it opened up for me. I have been a fan of VSF (Victorian Science Fiction) since I was a kid. Well, it turns out there is an entire culture centered around this and it's called 'Steampunk'.

I had no idea there was a name for the VSF fan base. The best part of all the exploration was what I found.

GADGETS!!

Lots and lots of gadgets!! I love gadgets and the kinds associated with Steampunk are right up my alley. As some of you know, I've been looking for various ideas for the attic. We have been planing on converting it attic into a hobby/game room with a safari/adventure theme, but it seemed to need more.

While looking through the steampunk sites it dawned on me - the style i've been looking for is a VSF/Steampunk theme!

So, keep this in mind and watch for idea updates as I throw them out at you.

One last thing...take some time and have a look at some of the Steampunk sites - here are a hand full to get you started. If you are like me, it might take a bit for you to get over some of those who are way over the weird meter, but they are really cool people!

Datamancer - be sure to check out the PC related items.

Steam, Brass and Fzz and Gothic Glow for lights and other items.

The Æther Emporium a onestop resource and archive for all things Steampunk.

And last, but not least Brass Goggles, the first site I found.

For those of you interested, the music I have playing is from a group named Abney Park - check them out!

Oh yeah...you can click on the "sticker" (thanks for the word Sandy!!!) and choose a song from the album.

Till next time....

Cheers!
Larry ~

"Danger, Will Robinson! Danger!"

"Danger, Will Robinson! Danger!"

Well...it has been one of those days for that past couple of days.

Last Friday we started having 'glitches' with our PC. It doesn’t want to turn on and is acting sluggish when it does. I have done everything I can think of to fix it, but nothing seems to help.

As of today - Monday morning - it just will not turn on (it turns one but will not engage). So, it will be going into the shop.

I wanted to drop you all a line to let you know I might not be able to post for a while until it gets fixed. I will be logging onto SWMBO's PC (her company owned PC she uses to work from home) to check e-mail, so you can still contact me. Just drop me a line at correus @ yahoo.com.

By the time the PC is up and running I should have a bunch if new pics and updates for you.

As for the house, the weather was SO nice we opted to work on the little red barn. We cleaned it out so I could start assembling the new woodshop.

Till next time.....

Cheers!
Larry ~