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Monthly ArchiveApril 2006



Technology by Spencer on April 13, 2006

Computer Rebuild Project

Ahhhh!!  So after my new printer woes (documented thoroughly in a previous post), I decided that it was time to rebuild our laptop… from scratch.  I’m going to get that printer installed properly, dammit!

I pondered this decision for quite a while weighing all the pros and cons (no need to detail those here and bore you even more) and finally made the leap this week.  On Tuesday I backed up all data files and programs to my MP3 player, which conveniently has the ability to store data files as well, which took a while, of course.  And yesterday, took the plunge and used HP’s nifty little quick restore to format and rebuild the computer to factory settings.

VICTORY!!! Everything came up nicely, got back connected to my wireless and after a few updates to Windows, tried to install the printer.  Bingo, bango, bongo, worked the first time.  Ahhhh… I feel better already.  Uninstalled some of the silly programs that came with the HP, got my and my wife’s profiles started back up and we’re off to the races.

Tonight, I just have to transfer back our data files, install Office and then we’ll be back in business fully as I can add programs I truly used at my own pace.

My thoughts now are that I should have done this long ago.  In college, I would generally rebuild once a year to extend the life of the computer (and often times, switch operating systems to my latest choice in Linux, remember I am a total geek!).  This laptop had been going on 3 years without a rebuild.  Now it can go another two or so before we really have to dump it for something new, hopefully; we’ll see how I feel after Windows Vista comes out.

Well, most of you have probably stopped reading by now.  I would have too if I were in your shoes.  Have a great day and keep on keeping on!

NCAA Tournament by Spencer on April 4, 2006

Tournament Recap

The NCAA Tournament is over.  After a wonderful first two weeks, the Final Four and championship games were all a vast disappointment.  Congratulations to Florida on a strong run through the field.

To follow-up from my previous post regarding the tournament, all of my complaints were valid.  None of the automatic bids from small conferences made it all that deep in the tournament, and Bradley was the only one that made it to the Sweet 16.  Even George Mason, while known by few people, was an at-large birth, proving my point that using only at-large picks can still yield Cinderella stories.

Of course, as always, a team from a large conference (SEC) won it all.  I would like to see a smaller school win it all sometime, of course given that they earned their way into the tournament.

Now I will be void of good basketball (the NBA is a show, not a sport, but that’s for another day if at all) for another 8 months give or take.  What will I do with my time?  I’ll find something.

Catch you all later.  Have a wonderful day!