If it's not one thing, it's another.
Just when I got the cars all running again, and starting to get caught up on the basement work, Deb's laptop decided to die.
Starts to boot up into Windows, then dies. Claims that the Windows boot-up files are missing or corrupted or something. Tried to run the "Repair" utility, but it didn't accomplish anything.
So I took the drive out of the laptop and hooked it up to my Linux box using a SATA to USB converter, essentially turning it into a pseudo-flash drive, and ran a virus checker on it.
Seven viruses. Oh, joy.
Removed the viruses, but the damage had already been done. The Windows files were gone. And I don't have the original DVD installation disk because I purchased the laptop second-hand at the PC Recycle shop. Supposedly there's a way to re-install Windows by going to some website -- it was on the paperwork they gave us when we bought the thing -- but I can't find any paperwork nowadays because everything has been stored away while the basement is being finished, and, besides, I'm too lazy.
I have a Linux Mint CD and I'm not afraid to use it.
So some time in the next couple days I'm going to install Linux on her laptop (after backing up all her files off the hard drive) and get it usable again.
After I start feeling better.
:::
I've felt lousy all day long. Probably because everyone else is getting sick with colds and flu and whatever else is floating around in the air. Deb took the day off school today, coughing and aching. A couple of guys at work have been hacking and coughing, too. Thanks for coming in to work and sharing, guys!
It was such a beautiful day today. Even if I had been feeling better, I might've taken the afternoon off anyway. There's a storm coming in tonight with forecasted winds of 50 mph and the temperature is going to plummet, so it might turn out to be the last few warm days before real winter, and who wants to spend all that time indoors? As it was, though, I was feeling very ill and just wanted to sleep, so I took off around 2 pm and napped until nearly 3:30,
James and Cheryl cooked up a fabulous dinner tonight, coming up with a very tasty sauce to go over some delicious spinach ravioli; and a spicy cucumber salad. Yum! Then they went to the grocery store after dinner to pick up a few things. Like chocolate donuts and ice cream. Because we here in Michigan have to pack on the extra fat during the fall in order to make it through the winter months.
Or at least that's what we tell ourselves.
:::
Got some new wheels and tires for Deb's car. So lately she's had a new radiator, new exhaust system, new wheels and new tires. Now all she needs is a new main seal and she's all set! But we're not going to do that unless we absolutely have to. Right now, the car is running very well and we wanted to make sure it had adequate traction for the winter. The old tires were OK for spring and summer driving, tread-wise, but they just weren't going to provide the safety we wanted, so I went to my good friend Kevin, one of the pit crew dads, and he set me up with a full set. Including wheels, because I'm going to take the old wheels and put them on Serenity, and put the snow tires & wheels (which are currently on Serenity) in the garage. So when the snow gets deep enough, we'll put the snow tires on Ruby.
Ka-ching! Ka-ching! -- is the soundtrack of our life lately.
Don't ask if we're spending too much money on an old car. We are. But I'd rather put money I have into a car I know than money I don't have into a car I don't know.
Next up (unless otherwise noted) is a new parking brake for my car. So the kids can drive it. And then I can get back to my original Serenity and get that engine working!
(After the basement is done, of course...)
Just when I got the cars all running again, and starting to get caught up on the basement work, Deb's laptop decided to die.
Starts to boot up into Windows, then dies. Claims that the Windows boot-up files are missing or corrupted or something. Tried to run the "Repair" utility, but it didn't accomplish anything.
So I took the drive out of the laptop and hooked it up to my Linux box using a SATA to USB converter, essentially turning it into a pseudo-flash drive, and ran a virus checker on it.
Seven viruses. Oh, joy.
Removed the viruses, but the damage had already been done. The Windows files were gone. And I don't have the original DVD installation disk because I purchased the laptop second-hand at the PC Recycle shop. Supposedly there's a way to re-install Windows by going to some website -- it was on the paperwork they gave us when we bought the thing -- but I can't find any paperwork nowadays because everything has been stored away while the basement is being finished, and, besides, I'm too lazy.
I have a Linux Mint CD and I'm not afraid to use it.
So some time in the next couple days I'm going to install Linux on her laptop (after backing up all her files off the hard drive) and get it usable again.
After I start feeling better.
:::
I've felt lousy all day long. Probably because everyone else is getting sick with colds and flu and whatever else is floating around in the air. Deb took the day off school today, coughing and aching. A couple of guys at work have been hacking and coughing, too. Thanks for coming in to work and sharing, guys!
It was such a beautiful day today. Even if I had been feeling better, I might've taken the afternoon off anyway. There's a storm coming in tonight with forecasted winds of 50 mph and the temperature is going to plummet, so it might turn out to be the last few warm days before real winter, and who wants to spend all that time indoors? As it was, though, I was feeling very ill and just wanted to sleep, so I took off around 2 pm and napped until nearly 3:30,
James and Cheryl cooked up a fabulous dinner tonight, coming up with a very tasty sauce to go over some delicious spinach ravioli; and a spicy cucumber salad. Yum! Then they went to the grocery store after dinner to pick up a few things. Like chocolate donuts and ice cream. Because we here in Michigan have to pack on the extra fat during the fall in order to make it through the winter months.
Or at least that's what we tell ourselves.
:::
Got some new wheels and tires for Deb's car. So lately she's had a new radiator, new exhaust system, new wheels and new tires. Now all she needs is a new main seal and she's all set! But we're not going to do that unless we absolutely have to. Right now, the car is running very well and we wanted to make sure it had adequate traction for the winter. The old tires were OK for spring and summer driving, tread-wise, but they just weren't going to provide the safety we wanted, so I went to my good friend Kevin, one of the pit crew dads, and he set me up with a full set. Including wheels, because I'm going to take the old wheels and put them on Serenity, and put the snow tires & wheels (which are currently on Serenity) in the garage. So when the snow gets deep enough, we'll put the snow tires on Ruby.
Ka-ching! Ka-ching! -- is the soundtrack of our life lately.
Don't ask if we're spending too much money on an old car. We are. But I'd rather put money I have into a car I know than money I don't have into a car I don't know.
Next up (unless otherwise noted) is a new parking brake for my car. So the kids can drive it. And then I can get back to my original Serenity and get that engine working!
(After the basement is done, of course...)
1 comment:
Ka-ching! A familiar sound. My old 'Yoda (the van formerly known as April) had to get the driver seat belt buckle replaced this week. The first car shop I called, the one closest to our house, gave me a crazy story about "it would be better if you order the replacement part yourself because there's so much info we need to know, like the VIN number, the exact car color, etc." Seriously? I don't care what color it is. I went online and Googled "1998 Toyota Sienna seat belt buckle" and found exactly the part I needed. (And I have never even seen a Sienna in any color other than mine.) Happily, our regular mechanic farther out in town was able to install it and do an oil change, and only charged me for the oil change.
Our ka-chinging lately has been trying to find ways of keeping Wally the Flying Dog from leaving the yard. :-/ It might be cheaper to pay someone to take the dog!
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