Complaints about the graphics, how do I up the resolution, is this a Tandy or a high performance PC and so on were heard.

I had to laugh…Welcome to 1991 again. DOS. SVGA if you were lucky. VGA pixel based games. Command lines, dammit. No, it wasn’t friendly, but it was fast, and it was efficient. Welcome to bare-metal computing. Not your pretty picture based, pointing device driven, highly graphical idiot guide interface with the engaging colours and “wipe your arse” wizards, but the stripped out core of sheer power that was command line.

It was sleek, it was powerful, and it relied on a knowledge of the system and the effects of commands..not like the GUI systems now..it’s all got a bit “engineered by intelligent people, run by monkeys” in some respects.

What brought this on? We’ve been playing with Windows Server 2008 core, and Windows Powershell..and you know, I rather like it..command lines make a return! Reminds me of the DOS extenders of my teens. Kix32 was always my favourite..heh.

Mouse? Bum to that. Pictures? No. Wizards? No. Pure command line fun..something I feel I could get my teeth into. I like command lines. GUI are like web apps such as Dreamweaver..any monkey can use them and make them do things, but if it all goes a bit manky..they’re lost. Doing it is no longer understanding HOW it’s done. So what? You point and click this, and it works..where’s the issue?

The issue is a lot of people don’t understand the background processes of WHY it does what it does. How many times have I been asked questions about “why does my webpage do “x”?”, only to find that while the design view offers nothing, the code view is MUCH more useful to finding out a point of failure…

In servers and OS, “Administrators” have in my view got FAR too cushy with GUIs, Wizards and point and click…if it all goes wrong and you need to use commands in non-gui form..can you? More to the point, can you do it from memory, or do you have to go and fetch a book? I think command line driven servers are a great idea..less bloat, less crap, less idiots calling themselves “technical” even though they’re glorified point and click merchants..

Lets just say that Server08 and Powershell are on my “to play with in depth” list..I mean, I grew up with Vic20, BBC, IBM Model 5150s, PC1640s, PCWs…all command line. Some BASIC, Some DOS 1/2/3, some CP/M+ based…I worked on VAX/VMS, supervising 15 or so command line screens at once..I still used the command line extensively up to Windown NT4 in my server admin role at the time…and I’m sure the new generation of scripting languages can’t be that hard!

Oh no..mad system tray warnings!! Popups!! Popups!! Porn!! Argh. Should I panic? Swear and curse? Ah, the hell with it.

Machine off, restart into second hard disk running Vista. Start Antivirus, update, set it on the other (XP) drive. Let it twat any nasties on that while I start up my shared (Between both OS) Virtual PC running XP, and VPN into work to do some forgotten task on my work PC and mail it off.

It’s a marvel, isn’t it…10 years ago, I had..probably the K6/300. A good machine. Windows 98. 56k Modems. Now, what do I have?

An AMD Dual core CPU..effectively 2 PCs in 1 chip. Memory coming out of my ears. CAVERNOUS hard disks. Enough speed, power and space to even be able to use a hypervisor application to create a virtual PC in software only, and yet use it alongside my “real” machine as if it’s a seperate box without even noticing. I catch myself sometimes forgetting that it’s not a “real” PC, that has no tangible existence..no “arse to kick” if you will. It exists in the digital world, and there alone.

We have 8mb DSL..I can work on my work PC and any of the 200 PCs inside the building without even leaving my home desk here, and it’s all done as effortlessly and simply as a couple of mouse clicks.

And in the space of 10 years, this is accepted as “normal”??? 10 years ago, I’d have laughed and said “impossible.” Now..it scares the hell out of me. Hardware is losing out in innovation to software..virtual PCs, virtual servers, virtual applications, Virtual Learning Environments - excuse me…*spits*..sorry..;) We truly live in interesting times…

Ah, I appear to have contracted : Win32:Zlob-BVQ [Trojan]

Begone, oh piffling annoyance..get thee hence off my computer or I shall kick thy digital arse so hard, you’ll be seeing virtual stars..

and yet…even though my machine would 10 years ago have been doomed to lost time and probable reinstallation, and loss of productivity for several hours etc, what effect has this virus had on me today? Nothing except a reboot, and a minor embuggerance known as “Using Windows Vista”. Total productive time lost? About 2 minutes.

Frightening..isn’t it..

I roll it out to a machine..fingers crossed. It boots. Loads, logs in (quick, too). Excellent. Hibernate? Oh YES. Scheduled cleanup and hibernation? Oh yes. All working great? Oh yes.

Job done. Ah, it DOES have the full install of Studio MX on it..? Of course..well, let me check..Fireworks..check. Dreamweaver. Check. Flash…check. Freehand? Arse.

Yes…build 0408v1 is incomplete. Lots of cursing..sod it, I’m going home. Now I’m sat here feeling a bit sick, got a headache, need some tunes and food..and I have this gnawing irritation that means I’m going to have to dial in from my desk at home and fix the sodding thing before I go demented…I hate being a perfectionist. I could just run the installer “post imaging”, but..dammit, no. Several hours work, scrapped.

TWB, I tell you. Also, I washed the car for the first time since…mid ‘07 yesterday. Came out tonight..2 big lots of bird crap on it. LOTS of TWB.

Can you tell I’m feeling a tad tetchy? :)

However, I was feeling a bit meh..so I let Jem go and do the tedious standing bit, and I went and stood out of the way. My eyes located the magazine area..hmm…

“Top Gear”..nah..”Motorcycles”..nah…”ooh, FHM”..tasty, but..nah..”Old Wrinkly and horny”….nah…..eh?..WHAT?!?!

Yes. That’s right..my eyes hadn’t betrayed me..top rack (almost)..some form of “older persons” porn mag..”Over 60’s” proudly proclaimed on the cover…and as for the cover girl, well..yes…the only reason I can’t say “tits round her ankles” is because they were resting on her Zimmer frame..seriously..

There are some REALLY worrying people out there…I wish I’d been less surprised and thought to grab a photo with my phone..

Wrinkly porn..all together now…”mmmmm”…What’s that? No, I said “mmmmmmm”. Not retching..!

No idea what I’ve got to do. I’ve cleaned in here, reshelved it all and got the room straight..needs a finishing bit of paint, but it can wait.

What news…um..first month of Plus.net usage has been excellent..can’t fault the speed, reliability or customer service at all..highly recommended. Not sorry to have left Tiscali.

Oh yes, we’ve gained a washing machine (Thankyou mum!)..an Indesit. Plumbed in by me, and I’ve even strung up a washing line! Go me.

Still can’t get my Ipaq 514 on VoIP..it’s being silly. Need to test my printer and make sure it survived the move..and I need to play Doom3 as well..but I need my speakers and sub for that, which I may grab this weekend.

Can we tell I’m stuck for news? Hex has been a bit ill, but you can read about that on Jem’s site. Lets just say the poor little bugger got probed by the vet..he wasn’t chuffed with that!

Um..yes..I think that’s it. I’ll now go and silicone the door downstairs, and consider a hot bath..but not too hot this time.

After a few days painting, and a day driving 40ish miles I decided on the eve of my returning to work to have a bath. I have accrued a lot of aches..some usual to me due to my disability, some doubtless down to the work I’ve done this last fortnight on the house, like my locking shoulder and arm I can’t lift much, and my knee that almost dislocated yesterday for the first time in a few years.

So, I ran a bath. Hot in, cold in. Hand in…too hot. Add cold, go away and diddle with a script on the PC, come back, swish water around. Hand in - temperature OK. So, taps off, and in I got.

I stood in the bath, and gradually (20 seconds or so) the heat rose from “mm..blissful” through “Ow..” to “screw me, I need to get out NOW”..at which point I was trying to get my legs to understand that they really needed to talk to my brain PROPERLY for once, and move out of the heat. That took another..10 seconds. ish.

That stung..and still is stinging a bit. More cold went in as I stood there and cursed my condition and all of hells shiny demons..and I tested with my elbow this time. Better.

So in I get…JUST on the threshold of “too hot”..but bearable, to me. Jem comes in, and tells me it’s probably too hot, as I’ve gone red…

She’s right…I’m out now, and overheating badly..I swear my body hates me sometimes. I don’t know if it’s a common side-effect of CP, or just “faulty wiring and body thermostat” as mum puts it, but my extremeties aren’t good on temperature sense..nor am I in general. My feet are damn near insensitive..they’ve had unknown drawing pins in while walking barefoot, they’ve had a car parked on them quite un-noticed until I tried to move, I’ve even set fire to my socks in the rayburn oven before without noticing (it was about the only thing that could warm them, or feel like it was)

The rest of me varies..sometimes I can be quite “normal”, sometimes everyone is complaining about how cold it is, and I’m in a cotton short-sleeved shirt, having driven into work with the window open..and sometimes people complain of rooms being hot, and yet everywhere feels the same to me. It’s quite tedious.

I think I may need to cook up/invest in some method of “non-perception based” water/surface temperature sensing device..that’s the first time in years I’ve burned myself in the bath..I feel quite foolish..

It’s a plasticised wallpaper..steamer is no use. I have to rip it off, then use a wet sponge to soak the 2 layers of heavy backing paper under it, before scraping it off. Why the backing paper? To hide the wall state, I’m guessing.

So far I’ve found about 12 holes in the plaster, the largest about an inch across. Why they papered over it I have no idea..I’m using polyfilla, and it’s filled them up nicely. Muppets.

I found out who tried to take the wood…I stayed in all day on Wednesday, hid the car in the garage and closed the curtains, and waited. Gas man came, changed the meter, went…nothing. Then I got bored and ran a bath…just as I’ve washed my hair I hear an engine outside, and some banging..so I jump out the bath, wrap a towel around myself, grab Jems camera and take a LOVELY picture from this window of 2 workmen and their wagon.

They insisted that “Kirsty”, the previous tenant had told them to take the wooden thing down, and that they’d originally installed it as a dog run / playpen for the kiddies..yummy..dogs and children locked in a box at the bottom of the garden? Hmm.

Thing is, according to the landlord, it was news to her..so I told them to sling their hook, and the wood was with the landlord now (minor lie). They weren’t happy. I reckon they’d come back to nick it for their own needs, the sods.

1.3mb Pic of the culprits..

..I went into work at..1ish, came home at 4, and Hex was all wound up. I looked into the back garden thinking Mr Scruffy (neighbourhood cat) was back, and almost fell over in shock..

The end of our paved garden was dug up by previous tenants, and the dug-up area was “boxed in” with decent quality wooden panelling, and a big gate..we assume for a dog run. I’ve been gradually dismantling it, as it looks stupid and it’d make a much better lawn. However, 95% of it was still up.

When I looked out of our french windows at 4pm however, It had been flat-packed onto the patio, the posts dug up as well..I KNOW it was there when I went to work at 1ish..and it’s not a quick job.

So we called the landlord…he immediatly said “Ex-tenants..get their number for me..if they want the wood, they can redo the entire bloody paving, as they messed the garden up…and try to make sure they don’t get the wood, ok?”

Turns out they insist it’s not them, but they did say a mate could have the wood if he wanted it for a fee, a while back…but they heard nothing, got no money etc..

Looks like he’s turned up while I was at work (waiting much?) and decided to walk into the garden, and use the tools to help himself!! Shocked is not the word. He’s dug HUGE holes all over the place to get the posts out, flattened it all down and dumped it on our bloody patio, FFS!

I can only assume he’s coming back to get it…which is a shame, as it’s all been moved into the kitchen (bah to the mess). I’m SURE he waited until I went out..1ish is too odd for a “normal” workday, it’s only because I’m on holiday that I wasn’t out at 8.

We’ve reused some of it to remake and repair the “proper” garden fence, that was quite rotten..now it’s quite sturdy and the gate locks. hah. I’ll be beefing it up even more tomorrow as well. It’s MY bloody garden now - keep the hell out, scum.

Gasman is coming tomorrow to change the prepay meter..it’s dying, so it’ll be “up early, take Jem to work, come back, hide the car in the garage, come in, and wait with a camera for the git to show up”, then explain that if he doesn’t move bottom, the police will be called. Then deal with the gasman. If the gasman is there as well, I have a witness. Bonus.

Cheeky fucker. OK, didn’t want the damned thing really, but..strolling into the garden and helping yourself? I think NOT. Even with the previous tenants, I’d say not..but then, they had dogs..maybe a stroll into the garden wouldn’t have been clever..

I decided to see if changing my wifi card would help with the freezing issue. So I gave my mum the nice wireless-G card, and swapped if for our old faithful Wireless-B. Well, all hell broke loose.

After enduring too many sudden BSOD in both Vista and XP, all blaming “Vnet588x.sys” and giving a “STOP:0×0d” screen, I lost my temper..Neither XP or Vista would work, both were as shot as each other. My laptop yielded no clues..this card had worked fine for me, mum and Jem, for the last 2 years..

In desparation I was mooching around the BIOS again, and decided to turn off USB2 support, dropping it down to USB1.1. The problems all vanished! XP and vista all started, all worked fine with wifi etc…but I had no speed..after 480Mb, 12 is a big drop.

Aaanyway, yes..long story short, I have removed my little 4 port USB hub..if I plugged the wifi into it, BOOM! Instant BSOD when going on the net. If I plug it direct into the motherboard, it’s fine…and it remains fine even when having USB2 turned back on..

This hub IS a USB2 hub…but for some reason it’s really not happy all of a sudden. I’ve not had a freezeup tonight though..I’ll keep the 11mb card for a few days and watch for lockups, but if I find none, I’ll try the 54mb card again, direct into the board…

Honestly, all this for a stable PC..