Ack! Wireless failure!

I got on my laptop this morning and... the wireless wouldn't work. I had a Code 10 on the Intel Wireless Ac 9560 card. So I attempted to fix it by disabling it, then re-enabling it. Then uninstalling and reinstalling. Nothing. So I hooked up the ethernet to see if it was a complete network failure on the part of the computer. Ethernet worked fine. So, now that I had internet, I searched.

I found the answer in a Reddit thread, and would you believe I had to reset the BIOS to fix it? Apparently there's a Windows Update that made some sort of change somewhere that meant resetting the Wireless settings on the BIOS to Factory Defaults is the only way to get the wireless card to work again.

Of course, then I couldn't get into the BIOS thanks to Dell's overprotective system. You literally have a microsecond to hit F2. So I found this useful page which gives a method on Windows 10 computers to get to the BIOS that I never knew about. I didn't even know UEFI Firmware settings and BIOS were basically the same thing.

Anyway, my laptop is back in action after a half hour of stupidity. Thanks Microsoft for wasting my time.

Posted as a reminder if it happens again.

Security Cam Fun

I overdid it yesterday, Friday, by running around and doing too much, including some work in the heat that caused me to quickly run out of energy. I woke up this morning with a massive case of fibro, which fortunately eased rapidly into sheer exhaustion. So I didn't go on a walk today, which means I didn't get a Cameraphone Zen.

But that's ok, because I've got photos of/from my new security camera!

I was hoping to get it set up by Halloween so I could record the massive crowds we get. Well, I have it set up already! It's running and recording as I write.

I bought a SV3C HD 960P WiFi Wireless Security Camera, based on the reviews and the very low cost at Amazon. The camera arrived Thursday (as I mentioned when I wrote about Inkwell sauntering out the front door).

Set up wasn't exactly simple. It's definitely a do-it-yourself kind of camera that requires a bit of tech skill in a couple of areas to get it to work.

The first issue: It won't record or send images to FTP without a micro-SD card installed, but installing the card takes much more effort than is reasonable for a product meant for consumers. You have to take off the cowling (one tiny screw), remove the lens cover, remove a protective film, remove the entire camera from its housing (four tiny screws) and then you can reach the slot. And while the video on the manufacturer's website showing how to do this is ok, it doesn't show how to get those tiny screws BACK IN. I ended up using tweezers and some profanity as I failed multiple times. It took maybe three minutes to get the thing apart, but about ten to get it back together.

The second issue was more about networks. I didn't realize my router was using the 5 Ghz channel - and this camera doesn't work on that channel. So I had to figure out how to shut that off in my router, which was annoying. But hey, it worked. Eventually.

Setting up each of the features of the camera took some time as well. However, I thrive on that sort of problem and really enjoyed myself a bunch with the software aspects.

No, the biggest problem was punching a hole in our garage wall big enough to fit the power cord through. I had to go buy the drill bit, because we didn't have one quite big enough. Then I figured out I have serious difficulty holding my hands above my head to drill a hole while standing on a stepping stool in 90F weather. Fortunately, Eric helped me out, and by Friday evening I had the hole drilled and the camera itself mounted. Huzzah!

The hole is drilled, and the wire fits through!

The camera is safely in place! Huzzah!

Annoyingly, after mounting the camera, there are still some extra wires sticking out of the camera that need to be hidden. Especially since one of them is the reset button and another is obviously the power cord. So I needed to get a junction box to hide the wires in. However, all the junction boxes I found didn't have openings big enough for the ethernet connector to go through. Lucky for me, I found a little box that was just big enough.

That looks a little better.

With the wires all connected and the camera running, I had some fun setting the alarm sensitivity so I didn't get constant alerts from insects flying in front of the camera all night. I got a lot of alerts the first night, including a few that were apparently due to a lightning storm that passed through town. I also caught some interesting video of what appears to be a bat hunting down insects on our porch.

I'm pretty sure it's a bat.

The camera has excellent video, both during the day and at night. Here's a couple of screen shots to show you what I mean:

Day view from the security camera.

Night view from the security camera.

My current plan for Hallowe'en is to turn off the alarms and set up a website which will show snapshots of the walkway during the evening. I haven't yet decided if I want to make the URL public or something just among Facebook friends... I'll also save any good videos from the night to put on Facebook in the morning. It should be amusing at least, to see crowds of people on the walk up to the door.

Hopefully I'll be back to walking again tomorrow. I've got Pokemon to catch.

Computer Issues.... again.

I have fiddled with my laptop to the point where, with a generous helping of electrical tape and the occasional tap on the screen, I'm able to usually not have monitor problems, huzzah. I ended up having to take off the screen itself, which I was loathe to do. I managed, but it was annoying and I broke a few more little pieces of plastic and basically I just need a new computer.

Which isn't going to happen soon.

Still, my computer was working and the monitor is now mostly behaving. Then yesterday morning, after a three-hour power outage in the middle of the night, I noticed that the computer wasn't charging. I got the message "Plugged in, not charging" when I looked at the battery icon. Um. Ok.

I generally use the computer plugged in, although I frequently take it downstairs unplugged... so it's not a thing that would completely break the computer for me. But it's worrying. What if the battery has gone bad, or I somehow damaged it during my efforts to fix the screen? A visit to Google and I learned that Windows 10 laptops have this problem A LOT. Not just a little, but so frequently that there is a lot of information and misinformation out there about it.

I found the solution that finally worked for me on HP's website, after trying a number of different things and having every one of them fail. I had been using the HP diagnostic tools to see if the battery itself was failing, but got lots of green lights as far as it was concerned. It even started charging for a brief moment during the testing! To fix it "completely" (as far as I can tell), I ended up following these directions:

Perform the following steps to isolate the issue and arrive at a fix:

Power off the laptop.

Disconnect AC adapter from the laptop.

Press and hold the power button for 15 seconds.

Plug the AC adapter back in.

Power on the laptop.

Uninstall the battery drivers and then reinstall them:

Open the device manager.

Expand "Batteries". Right click on the ACPI drivers and select uninstall.

Close the device manager.

Restart the laptop. While restarting, Windows will reinstall the battery drivers.

Thank goodness, removing the ACPI drivers fixed it. I have no idea what ACPI drivers are or any interest in learning, but they apparently have something to do with battery charging. I was ready to do the next step, a BIOS flash, but was not looking forward to it since there are so many things that can go wrong when you get down to the firmware level.

As I was working through these steps, hubby-Eric told me about a lovely video promo for a Supernatural/Scooby-Doo crossover, so I of course had to watch it... and there was no sound. In fact, every single attempt I made to turn up the volume, it reset itself down to "2" and didn't move. Guess who had to reinstall sound drivers right after reinstalling battery drivers?

Doing all this with a nasty cold and barely any brain power was difficult as well. I suppose I thrive on it, though. I love troubleshooting. I just wish I didn't have to do it quite so often. And I wish I could run more things on my computer (like Fallout 4, which I could eventually get through Steam via Swagbucks). I want to buy myself a Dell gaming laptop, but the cheapest ones that will run what I want are $800 or more. First-world problems, I know. At least with my repairs I'm still able to play DC Universe Online, which I now have ALL the downloadable content from, thanks to Swagbucks, and enough left over to buy the Aquaman DLC when it comes out later this month.

Computer repair?

I have been using my laptop quite a lot the past couple of years, and some time ago it developed an annoying glitch. The screen would flicker, get slightly pixelated, and then change colors to an almost negative.

This was annoying, to put it mildly.

What was even more annoying was that any movement could trigger it. I could be typing furiously and suddenly the screen would flicker. I found that I could tap the side or top of the screen to "fix" it, but found I was hitting my poor computer more and more. In fact, recently, it would take five minutes of adjusting the angle the screen was at and tapping the side until it snapped into a clear resolution. Then, after a few minutes of computing, it would start flickering again. It was driving me crazy.

I used to build my own computers, but since I switched pretty much exclusively to laptops, I haven't opened a computer. I knew laptops are crammed together more tightly and thus considerably more difficult to put back together, so I didn't mess with them. Until now, I haven't had a good reason to try. But we're broke - more than broke - and so a new computer or a proper repair by a qualified tech are not really options.

So this afternoon I prepared myself for possible utter failure, watched several YouTube videos, and cracked open my laptop. Thanks to the videos, I knew there are more than a dozen screws on the bottom of this machine, holding the keyboard to the rest of the computer. However, this computer is really easy to open once those screws are removed. So I got to work, carefully pulling each one out. But I got to two of them that just would not cooperate. They seemed to be stripped already. The machine is refurbished, so I suspected I may have gotten it that way.

With all but two of the screws out, and those two absolutely refusing to be removed, I decided to remove the keyboard and hope for the best. To my astonishment, it wasn't really hard at all. The only bit that didn't want to pull up is the area that my left hand rests on when I play my game. I guess being pushed down ALL the time made it more difficult to remove.

As I suspected, the two screws were stripped and would never have come out. I debated briefly on whether or not I wanted to remove them, and finally left them in. They aren't in the way. The keyboard itself had only three connectors to the motherboard - the keyboard, the touchpad and the keyboard lights. Easy to remove. I carefully noted where each one went, and removed the keyboard completely.

Whoa, everything is really packed tight in a laptop. However, there was a little bit of wasted space, and little baby dust bunnies had formed in some of that space. A blast from canned air removed the offenders.

I then spent the next few minutes attempting to figure out what was loose that was causing the flickering. I couldn't find anything. So I turned the computer on, crossing my fingers that I wouldn't damage it by doing so, and then messed with the cables, trying to duplicate the flickering. But it all seemed completely stable, so I finally shut the computer down, reattached the keyboard and sealed it back up.

Then I went upstairs to write a bit. And about five minutes into writing... the screen started to flicker again. Angry now, I took the thing apart again. Again, no obvious issues. All the cables are secure. All the connections are clean. Instead of sealing it this time, I snapped the keyboard back into place and decided to use it for awhile without all the screws in place. I'm hoping that if the problem occurs again, I can simply snap the keyboard out and troubleshoot.

Still, for the moment I've got a working machine, and I know what to do to temporarily fix it. I wonder if the cable itself is bad? And how do I determine which cable is the problem and how to fix it? *sigh*

And now...?

After Saturday's net test, I waited until this morning to text the Centurylink Tech who has been working on my problem. He said he'd be over as soon as he could make it to take another look - this time NOT inside my house. Adding urgency and worry to his life, the network tool he uses to see if an individual line was working apparently couldn't find my line at all.

Well, about 20 minutes ago he pried open the box that has the drop to my house - where the line splits off. He found a badly damaged wire inside and fixed it, then called me to ask if my net was working. As I'd given up on it, I had to open up my computers again and check, and we chatted about the damage while I ran a speed test and checked the modem's reporting.

My net is about as fast as it's ever been since we moved in here.

The modem shows all the various bits and bobs ActionTec told me to look at are within the perfect parameters.

And since he left, knock on wood, the net hasn't gone down. It was failing so much this morning I literally gave up on getting anything done on the computer.

The tech said the line "looked like it was hit by lightning" and was all blackened and burned. As the line itself is inside a box and the box is mostly underground, I'm not sure how that happened. But I'm SO glad we have an answer and I really hope this was the problem all along and it doesn't happen again.

I'm feeling giddy with relief now. Thank you Centurylink Tech who's name I won't mention here, but I shall definitely tell Centurylink that he's the best and needs a raise.

Update: About five hours later, and the net hasn't gone down at all in that time. I tweeted a message to Centurylink support with the tech's name and told them he needs a raise since he fixed a problem that we've been having since July. About four months of this - although due to the intermittent nature it was sometimes just fine.

Ongoing, Annoying Internet Problems

Since July, Hubby-Eric and I have been having problems with our Centurylink internet connection. It will "drop out" frequently, disconnecting us from whatever chatline, game, or website we are using. Most of the disconnects last about 90 seconds, then our ActionTec C1000A modem will reconnect and we can get on with it. For me, it means I can barely play my DCUO game, because it disconnects me each time.

After it started happening, I assumed the modem was dying and purchased a new one. An ActionTec GT784WN - because it was the most inexpensive that could handle the job and we are in financial straits. Right after it arrived, the 'net started to behave and we had a couple of weeks of peaceful bliss. Then the problems started again.

I switched out the modems, only to find the new problem happened on the new modem. Worse, the new modem couldn't recover itself from a drop out - I had to physically get up and turn the modem off then on again to get it to reset. I couldn't even reboot it from my computer, it would just freeze.

During the outages, I called Centurylink MANY times. A couple of times I got people who knew what they were talking about, mostly I got people who asked if I'd rebooted the modem in a bored voice and apologized when they couldn't help. Finally, I decided the cord to the modem might be the issue and bought a new cord.

Nope. Didn't help.

I started some ping logging so I could "see" the problem. Here's a typical outage:

Sun 09/24/2017 14:58:57.52 "Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=20ms TTL=58"
Sun 09/24/2017 14:59:02.66 "Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=21ms TTL=58"
Sun 09/24/2017 14:59:11.62 "Request timed out."
Sun 09/24/2017 14:59:20.62 "Request timed out."
Sun 09/24/2017 14:59:28.23 "Reply from 67.232.70.6: Destination host unreachable."
Sun 09/24/2017 14:59:37.12 "Request timed out."
Sun 09/24/2017 14:59:42.26 "Reply from 192.168.0.1: Destination net unreachable."
Sun 09/24/2017 14:59:47.40 "Reply from 192.168.0.1: Destination net unreachable."
Sun 09/24/2017 14:59:52.54 "Reply from 192.168.0.1: Destination net unreachable."
Sun 09/24/2017 14:59:57.69 "Reply from 192.168.0.1: Destination net unreachable."
Sun 09/24/2017 15:00:02.82 "Reply from 192.168.0.1: Destination net unreachable."
Sun 09/24/2017 15:00:07.95 "Reply from 192.168.0.1: Destination net unreachable."
Sun 09/24/2017 15:00:13.08 "Reply from 192.168.0.1: Destination net unreachable."
Sun 09/24/2017 15:00:18.22 "Reply from 192.168.0.1: Destination net unreachable."
Sun 09/24/2017 15:00:23.36 "Reply from 192.168.0.1: Destination net unreachable."
Sun 09/24/2017 15:00:28.51 "Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=28ms TTL=58"
Sun 09/24/2017 15:00:33.67 "Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=26ms TTL=58"

So I scheduled a tech to come out. He fiddled with the cords and the outlets and was unable to find a problem. Typically, the 'net behaved perfectly while he was there. He suggested an adjustment to help the cord fit more securely in a wall socket and declared the problem solved.

It wasn't.

He came out again after I attempted to escalate the problem to someone higher up at Centurylink. Again, we couldn't find a problem, but he believed me that there was one. He tried some things inside the house, but nothing helped. He did determine that my speeds were WAY lower than they ought to be, and figured out how to fix that problem. Of course, I care more about a steady connection than higher speeds, since higher speeds are useless with a crappy connection, but at least it's something, right?

I decided that there was a chance both the modems from ActionTec were crap, so I contacted Actiontec and asked them for help. I specifically said I wanted to know how to troubleshoot my line, and that I'd had my ISP out to my house a couple of times. Here's the response:

In your Address Bar, where you would normally type a website, erase everything. Then type in the numbers 192.168.0.1 and hit enter.

Log into your modem, click the status link and on your left, click on WAN status.

In the Broadband settings, check for Near and Far End CRC and Near and Far End RS-FEC Errors Interleave.

These should all have a ZERO to the right. If there are higher numbers here, you have a bad DSL connection and the modem is picking up errors on the line. The higher the error counts are, the more chance you will be disconnected.

Check the SNR margin too. This should be 11db to 29db for a good connection. Less than 6db and your modem WILL be disconnected.

Check the Attenuation. This should be 20db to 30db. Higher than 30db and your modem WILL be disconnected.

These all indicate issues with the DSL line or your phone wiring in your home.

Make sure you have no splitters or filters connected to your wall phone jack outlet to the modem.

Make sure your phone cord is between 6 and 12 feet long, no longer.

You may need to contact your ISP to have them check the lines at your house.

This has a little bit of new information in it. Of course, I already knew how to log into my modem, but most of the status information was meaningless to me. Heck, even with this advice, it still is meaningless, but at least I know what to look for. So, the Near End CRC Errors Interleave was not zero - it has a number. First sign that something is wrong. SNR Margin? 8 & 9 - but I need at least 11 for a good connection and if it drops to 6, I'm disconnected. Hmm. Attenuation? 33 - although I'm still connected.

I have no splitters or filters, the cord is the correct length.

I decided to check the older modem, and the results were exactly the same. So, that rules out the modem. I switched out the cords. Same problem.

That means the next step is to go outside and check the test line coming into the house. Sadly, I could not manage it alone. It's a simple enough procedure, but I needed Eric to pull it off. This morning we did the test, and here are the results:

I could be wrong, but those appear to be pretty much the same as the inside problems, which suggests the problem isn't inside my house, it's the line to my house.

Now, how on earth do I convince Centurylink of that?

Learning to Fly

I've wanted to try flying a drone for some time, but yesterday I got my first chance. Unfortunately, it didn't go as well as I'd hoped, but I did enjoy myself.

One of the local high school teachers said he'd get a photo with his very lightweight quadcopter of the new elementary school under construction. He didn't get the chance to get out and do it, so he offered to let me try. I jumped at the opportunity, and after a quick lesson in the controls, took the copter back to work to charge the battery. After it was charged, I tried it out in the press room, much to the amusement of the insert crew.

My first attempt was... disturbing. It responded far too quickly, and got a rotor tangled in some plastic wrapping. I was able to work out the absolute basics, but I couldn't figure out the camera. So I headed to Google, then went back to the press room for a second try.

My second flight was slightly better than the first. Thank goodness the thing is durable! I scuffed it up good, but I still couldn't get it to take photos. One more try on Google, and one more attempt in the press room... it took photos and video! But none of them worked... the computer couldn't read them. Argh. I emailed the teacher to let him know the problem, then got on with my real work.

He called to help me troubleshoot, and after erasing everything on the microSD card, it worked. The copter took photos correctly in the press room. I was a bit disappointed in the quality, so we made other arrangements for the photos at the school. Then, when I went to lunch, I took the quadcopter out and tried to get a photo of the school under construction from above.

I naively didn't think about wind in my first flight. I thought, "Oh, I'll just go straight up and and take the photos, then come back down." Ha. I went straight up, and up, and the copter started to fly away from the school at a rather disturbing pace, although I wasn't using the controls to turn it or move it at all. Alarmed, I stopped the rotors and it plummeted. Even more alarmed, I gave the rotors just a little power... and it floated into somebody's back yard.

D'oh!!!

I went and retrieved it, feeling idiotic, and walked back to the starting point, a quarter mile away. This time I was far more cautious. I got several shots, but couldn't check them until I got home, so I packed up and went home before I destroyed the thing.

Once at home, I took the copter into the house where Inkwell stared at it suspiciously, then checked the photos. I got a lovely shot of the sky as the copter was falling, another lovely shot of a bunch of houses, two great aerial shots of garbage bins at the construction site and one not very good shot of the construction site from above, missing most of the buildings. Blah.

Inkwell was about to really start checking out the copter, so I turned it on, which alarmed him due to the lights and beeps. Then I revved up the rotors and he ran to the other side of the house. Then came back, too curious to not check it out. So I tried to follow him around the house with it, having very little success at first, but slowly getting the hang of flying. Every time it stopped, Inkwell would come running out to check it out and see if it would take off again, so I obliged him. I got it to follow him up the stairs, then into the bedroom, where it gave him a scare when it started up on the other side of the bed and then floated over him.

I have GOT to get a mini copter for myself.

Anyway, the mission was not a success due to the wind, but I did have a great time with the copter, which I returned intact to the teacher later in the afternoon.

Linkdump

My cold has hit... thank goodness for Labor Day. Maybe I can recover enough by tomorrow that I won't be miserable at work! Here's some links to keep you busy:

Do you want to wear a book? Try a litograph. I'm sure my hubby would like this one or this one. Personally, I wish the tattoos were smaller and a bit less expensive, because I'd love to put some literary quotes on the back of my hand, where I usually put my temporary tattoos (one of these days I need to figure out a way to get the Aquaman "A" logo from the current books as a temporary tattoo for my hand).

If you'd like to watch the Hugo award ceremony, there are four videos of it here to watch the ceremony itself, skip the first video entirely, it's just the annoying pre-Hugo show (although the guests aren't too bad) and start at 1:07:15 into the second video.

Also, if you want something strange, H.P. Lovecraft explains the Sad Puppies.

The final attendance for Sasquan was 5,171 people actually there and a total membership of 11,648. Last year's Loncon 3 had 6,946 people in attendance and a total membership of 10,718. Sasquan's total membership broke records. The attending membership was high, but not the highest, with perhaps eight other Worldcons having more attendees.

Another fun stat to look at is how many of those members each year voted in the Hugo Awards. There were 5,950 this year, but only 3,587 last year. There were only 1,848 the year before that and 1,922 in the year 2012. It's impressive how fandom reacted when a small clique attempted to take over the Hugo Awards - like antibodies after a virus, fandom swarmed and prevented the clique's nominees from getting awards.

Nerds don't understand politics.

These Vintage Computers aren't so old. I remember using a lot of them. They aren't old!

I don't read Detective Comics right now, but this has to be my absolute favorite non-Aquaman variant cover in a long time:

Hole Quest with Ryan North

I'm sorry, this story is just too much to not post about: Ryan North's Thrilling Adventure in a Hole.

The internet comes to his rescue... you'll have to read at the link to find out what happens. You can also check out coverage of the incident on The Guardian.

Adventures with Windows 10

When I'm at home, my computer is generally near my chair and doesn't get turned off a lot. I mean, I use it then leave it sitting open... I don't tend to close the lid unless I'm moving it somewhere.

Early on in my "testing" of Windows 10, I got in the habit of never closing the lid unless I had to. I didn't really think about it, but I think I must have had a moment when I closed it and it went to sleep... then had to be rebooted to wake up. That would have put me off closing the lid, because I hate having to reboot every time I move my computer.

Well, carrying my computer around the convention means I really have to close the lid to carry it down the elevator or around the grounds. And, sure enough, every time I do it, the machine won't recover from sleep. Basically, I'm having to shut down the computer every single time I want to move it. At home, no biggie. Here at the convention? It quickly became unbearable. So I tried to figure out what's going on.

I'm still not really sure if this was my problem, but I Google'd it and found a possible solution that so far seems to have worked:

- Open Device Manager
- Click the arrow next to Display Adaptors to expand that category
- Right-click on Intel(R) HD Graphics Family and select Update Driver Software...
- Choose the option to Search Automatically for Updated Driver Software
- Your computer should find and automatically install the updated driver
- After the installation is complete, restart your computer

Since I did this and restarted my computer, sleep has been working as expected. However... I'm at the con and haven't had time to do any real testing of it. So my opinion and results might change in the next 24 hours. I'll update this post if they do. In the meantime, if you are having the same problem with a Windows 10 HP laptop, this is something to try.

Update: Nope. Didn't persist. It worked several times, but when I left it for more than an hour, it didn't recover from sleep. Back to the drawing board.

Mini Friday Linkdump

Bleeding Cool has more on the women in comics panel at Denver Comic Con that had no women.

But Denver overreached in their programming, clearly, because the checks weren’t in place to prevent this panel from happening. If Denver Comic Con is becoming a force to be reckoned with in the geek community (and they are), this was their youthful pratfall. One panel out of 300-400 went wrong. I think we can talk about it, use it as an example, but also forgive them and stop acting like this mishap was somehow intentionally organized by Denver Comic Con.

The people who wrote Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew.

I always wanted a complete set.

I think I want this USB charger.

I've been reading HP Lovecraft's works, fairly steadily now. I'm not even halfway done, but I have read enough to understand this reference:

I kind of want it on a t-shirt, to be honest.

Monday Linkdump

Cliff Mass has photos that explain why you shouldn't stand under a tree in a lightning storm. Better to get a little wet, yeah?

One of the nastiest pieces of malware out there is the ransomware... it locks your computer's files and won't free them unless you pay the criminals. Apparently, Kaspersky thinks they've cracked the encryption.

Savage Chickens looks at the Fourth Doctor's hair. Um. Ok.

It is slightly amazing to me how recently the theory of plate tectonics came onto the scene. But then I read this story and I'm just furious at men who say stupid things like "girl talk" about serious scientific discoveries. Argh. Seriously, all this misogyny is holding the world back.

I remember hearing about NetHack back in the day... this article makes me glad I didn't try it, because it sounds like I'd still be playing it.

The new look for the Joker? No, I'm not a fan. It just seems over-the-top silly in the wrong way. Joker is supposed to be scary and silly, but there's something just not scary about this version. The active portrayal will make the difference.

Yet another study finds no link between autism and vaccines. But anti-vaxxers are beyond logic, now.

A New Laptop?

It's apparently not a good idea for hubby-Eric and I to go into a computer store together, especially one as comprehensive as Fry's Electronics...

We went in for a new power cord for Eric's computer because he forgot his cord at home. Neither of us wanted to drive three hours to get it and three hours back. I also wanted a power strip so I could plug in my various electronics in the single outlet available to me.

The power strip was easy. We found a PowerSquid and I talked Eric into it. So now I have a little squid with a single glowing eye. oooooh.

To get the power cord, we had to go to the section where they had laptops on display. I walked over and checked them out, and was approached by a nice sales rep named Anthony who glanced at my Doctor Who/Minions t-shirt and made the correct assumption that I probably know a bit about computers. I told him right out that I was just looking, held up my PowerSquid, and said I already got what I came for. He asked me what type of computer I was looking for and within 30 seconds we were looking at a handful of refurbs that I really liked the look of. At this point, anything on the market is more powerful than my old Inspiron 6000.

Anthony quickly figured out that I wanted a touchscreen, preferred the metal body, need at least a 15-inch screen and don't mind Windows 8 since the upgrade to 10 will be free for everyone. I also need Windows because that's what I have at work, and I want some continuity. He was a little surprised when I later told him the netbook I'm using is on Ubuntu.

While he was showing me a decent little Asus model, Eric came up with his new cord and heard the word "financing" and said, "You know, Laura, you really need a new computer." We decided to see if I qualified for financing. I was certain it would turn me down, but no, they gave me some credit. Enough to get the Asus. So Anthony went to the back to try to fetch it while his co-worker Righteous finished up the paperwork with us.

Unfortunately, they were already out of the Asus. Anthony apologized, clearly embarrassed, and said there were two open-box ones in the back. I'm not really inclined to go open-box, so Anthony took me around to see an HP model that was similar. In fact, it was slightly better and a bit more expensive. After some hemming and hawing, Eric and I went for it.

So I walked in to get a power cord and came out with a new laptop.

I came out to Seattle early to see my family, not to play with a new computer, so I decided to download Windows 8.1 on the new machine after making sure it worked. I plan to do a clean install as soon as I have time or get home, whichever comes first. I don't want all the crap HP already has installed on the machine.

In any case, I'm up early to head to Emerald City Comicon, and we're going to take off soon-ish. In the meantime, I thought I'd update everyone on how yesterday turned into an unexpectedly expensive day for me.

Morning Thoughts

I was sick yesterday... ended up coming home from work a little early and sleeping for a few hours... slept in this morning, wished I could sleep in longer. Getting ready for work is difficult. Here's some links I gathered up last night for everyone to enjoy.

Breaking Cat News Christmas Special: Part Seven. That's not a little happy tear in my eye, just dust or something.

Happy Holidays from Texts from Superheroes. I like the first one the most.

How to step on lava.

The Oatmeal learns about self-driving cars by taking a ride in one. And makes some important points about the use of having such a car, particularly for people with disabilities.

In the latest I Had That! #44: Doctor Who: The Game of Time and Space, Dave makes this game sound incredibly unappealing... but I like the additions.

Microsoft is actually going after the tech support scammers? Wow. I got a call from them that I answered. I asked the guy what it is like working for a company that lies to everyone they call. He hung up on me.

Yet another study determines that red light cameras don't improve safety. Often because scumbag cities shorten the time of yellow lights to get more money.

Now to get sadly serious. The vast majority of the protests have been peaceful... which unfortunately has had the knock-on effect of the media ignoring them. Some police departments and officers still need to be investigated... action needs to be taken at the local, state and federal levels to make sure justice is actually being served. But we also need to condemn violence of any sort. The murder of two officers in New York may or may not have been related to the last four months of protests, but it cannot be allowed to stop any progress towards justice that may be made. And it should be condemned by all, including the protesters.

I ... I won?!??

So I have this awesome phone company... I've mentioned it before a few (dozen) times, I'm sure. It's called Ting, and basically it's a really nice option if you can afford to buy a phone up-front and don't use a lot of data. You only get charged for what you use, and it's just a neat deal all around.

Ting often runs contests. When I saw their United States World Cup Goal contest, I decided to join in the fun, just because I could. I mean, it's a Sunday game, so Eric and I were sure to be watching it (on Univision) and the odds were good that the US would score at least one goal, right?

So, if you look at my Twitter feed you'll see that right after the first goal I tweeted this:

Goal! I'm only watching the game because I want a free phone from @tingftw #USMNT

...and after the second goal I tweeted this

Goal! Univision is fun when there's a goal! @tingftw #USMNT

I'm not sure which tweet earned me the free device, but since I was listed first in the congrats tweet, I think it might have been the first one.

Thanks to everyone for participating! Congrats to @realtegan and @thoren13 - YOU WIN! Email sgeorges@ting.com with your device choice

Right after the game last night Eric and I went out to meet one of his old friends for dinner and by the time we got back I was so exhausted I just fell into bed and went to sleep. This morning I thought to check Twitter to see who won (since I was sure it wouldn't be me) and then spent the next half hour yelling and bouncing around the house, terrifying the cat. I e-mailed Ting about it, then looked at the list of devices and spent the morning considering.

Late in the morning I noticed that the fourth generation iPad was on the list. I wasn't sure whether it was a real option, or they were only offering a phone, so I emailed and asked. Short answer is, I'm going to be getting an iPad!

So, hey, consider Ting for your phone company. I knew I liked them before, now I like them even more.

Link Time

Mark Evanier on trucking laws.

Privacy doesn't really exist on the internet.

New Picasso found! Sort of!

I wonder what the discovery that a centuries old drug reverses autism symptoms in mice means for the future, if anything at all?

There's an interview with Eric Shanower about Little Nemo: Return to Slumberland.

A 12-year-old trespasses in an apparently unoccupied house and finds a mummified body. That's quite an adventure.

Will anyone notice? What's 12 cents when gasoline is $4 a gallon?

More accidental shootings: gunfail.

HEY! LINKS!

Southern Fried Science corrects sensational headlines about sharks.

Tesla motors recognizes that their competition is the combustion engine motor, not other car companies. As a result, they've released their patents so other companies can build electric cars.

Boing Boing posts a video that shows why you shouldn't throw sodium into water.

Ting, the phone company that makes sense, has a series on its blog about budgeting: Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V and Part VI.

Yet another list of GunFails. These aren't intention malice, just plain stupidity that results in harm or danger.

The U.S. Government has lifted a restriction on sharp satellite images so people can see things as small as 41 centimeters. Wow. The sky is watching us.

Did you know the Supreme Court quietly changes decisions? Usually to fix typos, but sometimes they do more. This Twitter feed shows what changes were made.

Linkdump

A collection of links that interested me in the last week or so...

Two boys hack into an ATM and there's a happy ending. But then, it's Winnipeg. I like that they turned the greeting message into a warning.

So, need to get healthy? Apparently two to four continuous days of fasting every six months is good for you. Now, this needs a bit more study, to say the least, but it's still fascinating. I'm not sure I could go for three full days without any food.

Another instance of goofy translation. Only this one really makes no sense whatsoever.

This is an awful lot of effort to go to in order to prove a theory about Vermeer. Wow.

How many of Neil DeGrasse Tyson's favorite sci-fi movies have you seen? There's a couple I haven't.

It's hard to be a good guy with a gun. The idea that you will be the hero because you carry a gun is ridiculous and worse than childish.

I'm not sure I agree that all the books on this list of 85 Young Adult books beloved by adults really are all that great, but some of them are certainly worth checking out.

A few links

Oh, hail... Seriously, go look at these pictures of what a hailstorm did to a town. The car dealership images are particularly amazing.

Google makes you forget.

How open data can save people money.

While I enjoy seeing "if you liked this book, try this other book" memes, I've only read four books from this one, and one of those (Serephina) is in the "try" column.

Mark Evanier's iPhone mystery.

Hitler's useless defenses.

Links... links... links

How computers work.

Fun with Google street view. If you consider faking a murder fun.

Can you tell how old a person is just by their name? To some extent, yes.

The Nerdist explores whether it is possible that an event that happened in the most recent episode of Game of Thrones could have happened.

Real life follows fiction in Thailand, where people are using a salute from "The Hunger Games" to protest.

The New York Times declined to publish a comic making fun of "baby-men" who feel hurt by the #YesAllWomen Twitter hashtag. So Bleeding Cool published it, along with a selection of tweets featuring that hashtag.