Got the computer back!

Well, I finally got my computer back all fixed up. They put in a cheap 250 Watt Power Supply so I may have to go buy a new one of those. Since my computer is running two harddrives and an extra CD-RW I eat up more power and the 250W doesn’t cut it. I am thinking a 400W will do just fine, but we’ll see.

I’m just happy that I have it back…

Fixed!

Finally was able to get the database restored and it doesn’t look like anything was lost.

I am still waiting to get my computer back but I am drooling over the Asus S5Ne. I am torn between that computer and a 15″ Powerbook.

Both are really cool computers but you can’t beat the 2.2lb weight of the Asus and the Powerbook’s screen size is a big plus… Decisions, decisions… I guess it all comes down to what I want to do with it, which is simple, programming. Most of the programming I do can be done on either one but I would need to relearn the OS itself if I bought the Powerbook. I would also need to relearn the tools…

The tough choices life throws our way.

New virus on the loose

Keep on the lookout for anything suspicious when browsing websites because it looks like there is a new virus/trojan out that is causing havoc. This Yahoo! News story gives more insight to the virus and what it is doing. Another one focuses on the financial implications.

The way it looks now is that this virus is shutting sites down and installing malicious code on a users computer to get bank account numbers, credit card info, etc.

If you go to a site and are asked to download anything before continuing, do not do it. This thing is nasty and I haven’t seen any updates by Symantec as of yet.

work and Gmail

I still do not have my computer back, hopefully by the end of this week it will be back in my possession allowing me to actually get stuff done at home.

Work has been stressful lately because of deadlines and trying to meet close to impossible dates. The project we are working on isn’t huge, it just has some little quirks in it that make it a little more difficult than others. We are working fast and furious just to get most of it out on time.

I’ve been playing with my Gmail account a little and I’m still learning how it works. It doesn’t use folders so if you want to differentiate your messages you have to use these “labels” and apply them to a message then you can sort by label. It’s a neat concept but I don’t know if I like it or not. People have complained about ads in e-mail but to be honest I have only seen a couple of them and they weren’t intrusive or annoying so I don’t know what the problem is.

What a weekend…

So my computer is out of commission for a while. The power supply and motherboard both died on Friday night so the parts are being replaced and I have no idea when I’ll be back on line (I’m making this post from the BA computer lab).

Those of you who usually contact me using an instant messaging client should e-mail me if you really need something (ssegraves [at] alltel dot net). I will be able to check e-mail from work so that of course is good.

Just wanted to update everyone so that they didn’t think I dissappeared.

The things we do for clients

The obstacles that stand in the way when dealing with non-tech savvy clients who have taken a “dive-in” approach in the past is usually bigger than you expect them to be. In dealing with a recent client’s hosting needs we almost ended up smack dab in the middle of a legal confrontation between the client and their hosting provider. We took a step back, evaluated the situation and let the two sort it out themselves.

Since then the hosting company has been nothing but a thorn in our side. We have let our client know of this and there is still hope that we will move them off of this hosts servers and on to our own. I have learned a lesson though, you can never plan to the last detail. We were originally going to be stuck on a server that had an old, old version of ASP and Access when what we were planning to use was PHP and MySQL.

We were able to push the hosting company to move the sites over to a Linux server running the software we needed.

In other news, I came across the owner of Cilantro’s blog located here. Check it out. If you don’t already know Cilantro’s is a burrito grill with some similarities to Freebird’s but I would say the atmosphere at Cilantro’s is more inviting.

The Terminal

Tom Hanks’ new movie The Terminal comes out on Friday and I am definitely seeing it. I really enjoy Tom Hanks’ acting and I do not think there has been a single movie of his that I didn’t like.

If you haven’t heard, The Terminal is directed by Steven Spielberg and is about a man (Hanks) who gets stuck in an airport after there is a coup in his home country. The previews for it look very promising so we’ll see how it goes.

Oh, and if you are in Lubbock and want to go see it, call me.

Isolationism, that’s the answer

So the Democrats do not know what they want but they know the Republicans can’t give it to them. I think they want the U.S. to become an isolationist nation again, so let’s give it to them. Let’s pull out of Iraq completely, no soldiers, no contractors, no money. We’ll pull all of our outsourced jobs out of China and India. We’ll shutdown all of our military installations around the world and move them all back home. The last step would be to close the borders and limit immigration to the extreme. Sound like a plan?

What would the effects be? We’d basically shutdown the global economy and people wouldn’t be happy, probably the same people that aren’t happy now. So what’d we gain? Nothing.

There is no solution that will please everyone and since Kerry can’t decide what policies he should have (you would think he would have thought about this earlier) I will stick with Bush.