24 hours

I've been offline for just over a week.  There was a power surge in the building where I live, and certainly in my apartment, so this resulted in the apartment lights flickering, the TV set going wonky, a pop in the laptop and the smoke dector sounding briefly.  This all resulted in the battery pack popping (that sound) and the fan being effected plus there may be other componants that have been effected.  Anyways, I do have a replacement laptop on order (same brand and model, just newer).  I am picking up a parcel from the local post office outlet near home whichm hopefully contains both the laptop and the router ordered.  If not, I'll be online once everything is back to normal.  There is a lot of work to be done retrieving files from the old hard drive, so this should keep me busy for some time after I get the new laptop computer.  

Have a look at the video above, and if you haven't seen it (the movie), check it out.   Have an awesome weekend, guys!

~ Volker

cameras, faces and other things

The rain we had yesterday, overnight and this morning has given way to occasional sunshine. I'm going to get some laundry out of the way shortly but I thought to get this post done first before doing that.

With my mind on cameras and various related equipment there's such a variety of cameras out there of one sort or another that its very handy to keep in touch with our friends and others, such as a fitness trainer, one our physical development (as you can see in the above image) or anything else that comes to mind. Its so easy to get up to date information from the internet and get feedback from others more or less immediately.

I've got two digital cameras, a camcorder, photo scanner and printers to my name, not to mention the laptop computer which is due to be replaced. The current laptop was bought in the spring of 2004 and has certainly seen better days. The new ones on the market now have larger hard drives and can handle the software available today. Mine originally had a small hard drive by today's standards but as I look, I should be able to find one that meets my needs today and for a few years to come. The plan is to buy a work station later and use the laptop when travelling about. That's the plan anyway!
Moving on to other matters, some faces grab my attention immediately. The eyes are the root to the soul and we must instinctively recognize others of like mind immediately. I know someone that looked similar to the person above when he was younger but when I last saw him, he had hair of the same colour and similar length but no white or grey in it. He's someone from my high school days. We met in high school when I was in grade 12 and he was in grade 11. The first time was like two deer caught in the headlights sort of thing which is the best way I can describe it. We met up a number of times over a period of years. His father was a United Church minister and his mother I'd never seen but briefly talked to on the phone when trying to contact John, my friend. We've long since parted ways and his parents have most likely passed on (but you never know). Wouldn't it be nice to meet up again and get caught up in what has happened in the intervening years? I do have a series of photos I took of John back in the 1970s which I'd certainly would want to share with him but who knows!

Friday evening on my way home from work I saw someone on the SkyTrain that looks a lot like Brad. The hair colour and length was the same, the shape of the ears and the stud in them was the same, and the height and age was similar (tall and handsome). There was one notable difference, he had a short dark beard, which would make sense. Brad said he had been in work camps in the Rockies and on the island (Vancouver). This guy was with an asian fellow of about the same age as him. If he is the one and the same, I would certainly want to meet up. Who knows?!?! Regardless, I hold no ill will and feel we should move forward and make a go of it. Friendship is a good start. The rest is up to Brad. All I can say at the moment is that I still have one of his photos as a wallpaper on the computer and I have the same image in my bedroom. That should say a lot!!!

Now I'm off to get the laundry out of the way. Hope all is well, guys!!! - V

smartphones and other stuff

For the last couple of weeks I've been researching smartphones and both netbooks and laptops before making a decision on adding another new element to what I have currently. As far as the smartphones are concerned, I love the Motorola Backflip but am not particularly thrilled about the only provider that goes with that phone. The Motorola Dext is one of my other choices and there's a different provider associated with it. I'll have to check it out in greater detail.

Another choice is a BlackBerry 8530 Smartphone, also with a QWERTY key board like the others, and the same provider that offers the second Motorola phone also offer this one. This BlackBerry is offered at $24.95 with a 3 year contract at $40 per month with a voice and data plan. There is the possibility of purchasing an older BlackBerry model for $25 but I would go for the newer model I mentioned since the price is the same if I plan to go for a BlackBerry.

I've also been looking at various model of netbooks and laptops, such as HP, Dell, Acer and other makes. There's a lot more research to be done there as well before deciding between a netbook (or other) and a smartphone. What I'm looking for is something easy and light to work with for easy communications, from voice to email and so on. Feel free to Google any of the above devices to find out more about them. If you've got some suggestions based on personal experience, I'm all ears!

I'll have more on all this later. Meantime, there are a number of things that need doing, so I'll be off to get those done before returning to the computer this evening. Have a great day, guys!!! - V

Frustrations

I tried to post a reply to a message on Zorpia I received from a friend in eastern Canada but I keep getting a spam error each time I try to send the reply concerning the situation in Sri Lanka. Messages can be sent to my international friends without issues since I did try that. It seems this one in Canada is a problem. The message is as follows:

"This is a very complicated war brought on by differences in culture, language and religion. As long as the focus is on the differences people have from others rather than the similarities they have collectively, these type of conflicts will continue around the world. Nationalism has created many problems around the world since the mid-18th century and will likely continue with this wrong-headed focus. Then supplying militaries around the world with weapons that only make the weapon makers rich add fuel to the fire. Killing others solves nothing but love and understanding does heals all. That's my view anyway for what its worth."

Its frustrating trying to resolve this issue but resolved it must. Have a great Sunday!

Laptop issues

I ran into some issues with the new operating system (OS) and have decided to install the old OS (original) instead. This means starting from the beginning once again installing the OS followed by the rest of the needed software. This should take a few hours of work. I plan to contact my internet provider (IP) this evening to check on some issues with the account and then hope that all is running normally by Friday and ceertainly by weekend.

Once all is back to normal I plan to post some new photos. Others that I had planned to post are still on the old drive or saved on an external hard drive. Hopefully I can retrieve those and post them at some point. These are the challenges and frustations of owning a computer: great when they work and not so great when they don't! - Volker

New hard drive is working

The new hard drive that was installed on my laptop recently is now working properly. I spent last evening downloading much of the required software and have still a bit to finish up tonight. There is a minor issue to resolve as far as the software from the IP is concerned but I think I have the answer to that problem. It should be resolved this evening. So by the end of the week, if not sooner, all should be running as normal again. - Volker

New hard drive is working

The new hard drive is now properly installed and working. I am supposed to be getting a commercial OS on Sunday and then will proceed from there by downloading all the software I require to do the various tasks on the laptop. A tech at work had a look at the computer and was able to correct the problem.

I'm in at work on Sunday for fire training. Although I am a concierge, knowing what to do in the case of a fire or other emergency is part of the job. So, I'll be there at 8 am which means getting up early six days in a row. Oh well!

Have a great weekend! - Volker

home computer offline for a while

The new hard drive I bought recently to replace the one that died made no difference. My laptop still won't boot, so I am cancelling my internet at the current place (I'm moving at the end of the month anyway) and set up a new account with phone services at the new place. I'd rather use my funds to pay the rent and moving expenses rather than sinking them in a computer right now. A tech will look at the laptop when I bring it in to work next week but there is no rush on it. It will be looked at when he has time. Such is life!

So now with the move coming up, there is so much work to do such as finding the funds to pay the storage and moving expenses and such. The phone and internet issue is simple by comparison. That about sums up what this month will be. - Volker

New hard drive

Well, I bought a new hard drive on Saturday morning, so all I have to do is install it and download the software to get back to normal. The new HD is 100 GB as opposed to the old that was 40 GB. More memory and faster. I hope to be back to normal very soon. - Volker

Internal hard drive died

Well, last evening it finally happened, my internal hard drive on the laptop computer died. I was inquiring about a replacement today (Saturday) but likely won't find one until Monday when I go to HP in Richmond. So for now it's phone call and emails (I can read those at work) but msn chats are out for now until the hard drive has been replace and the programs restored.

So with all the stress and such, I went for a walk around the seawall at Stanley Park this afternoon (all the way around). Long walks seem to relieve the stress that has built up over time. It was overcast with the sun trying to reveal itself through the cloud cover. The temperature today was sitting at 12 degrees Celsius. Rain is expected tomorrow.

There are definitely signs of spring in the lower mainland. Azaleas, forsythia, cherry trees, some saucer magnolias and all sorts of spring flowers such as hyacinths, daffodils, pansies, english daisies and others are in full bloom. So while the rest of Canada is still deep in the throws of winter, we are enjoying warm weather that comes with spring. Enjoy yours when spring does come. - Volker