Yay, Steelers, Yay Mac G5 is Home
Well, the Mac G5 has returned home. The problem was with the memory modules. They went bad. Lifetime warranty meant free replacement (not counting the repair fee to run diagnostics on it to make sure everything else was OK, but it was pretty cheap so I am not complaining).
So the computer itself has passed muster hardware-wise and memory-wise. The issue now is that the software still won't launch due to shared library errors, meaning... I get to do that complete overhaul after all. One more round of archiving to make sure some stuff I missed last time gets on DVD, then... erase the entire hard drive, rebuild it from the ground up. I cannot tell you how queasy it makes me to think of doing that. It's like cleaning house. What if I throw away something that seems unimportant, then I find out I really needed it later?
Gah.
Now, for anyone who thinks the whole Mercury Retrograde thing is a myth, let me clear that up for you right now. Compiled from various sources:
In general, Mercury rules thinking and perception, processing and disseminating information and all means of communication, commerce, education and transportation, as well as people who work in these areas.
Mercury retrograde gives rise to personal misunderstandings; flawed, disrupted, or delayed communications, negotiations and trade; glitches and breakdowns with phones, computers, cars, buses, and trains. All of these problems usually arise because some crucial piece of information, or component, has gone astray or awry.
Avoid making important decisions while Mercury is retrograde, since such decisions will be clouded by misinformation, poor communication and careless thinking. Make sure you pay attention to the small print!
When Mercury goes retrograde, the past has a tendency to resurface. Old friends, ex-lovers and unresolved issues pop up out of nowhere. This is a perfect time to deal with the past and finish up old projects:
- Reconnect with old friends and family members.
- Revisit old wounds and resentments that need healing and releasing.
- Do follow-up paper work and tie up loose ends with past projects.
- Take extra time with travel and be extra clear in communications.
- De-clutter your home and office.
- Prepare last year’s taxes.
In other words, expect anything related to electronics, travel and communication to go haywire, don't make big decisions, and finish up old business rather than start anything new.
Mercury was Retrograde during most of December. For a calendar showing all the dates,
go here. (Apologies for the annoying light type on black background. Why? I mean, seriously, who can read that?)
The Mac G5 went all kablooey around the 5th of December 2010. I took it to the shop, against my better judgment, on December 20th. The first batch of memory (purchased during MR) failed. The second batch of memory, purchased in early January, worked.
HMMMM.
Because I'm that superstitious, I avoided upgrading or messing with the laptop until we were out of the grey area (January 5th). The upgrade went well. Somehow I knew if I got impatient, it wouldn't go well.
And I cannot tell you how many of my internet friends ran into massive travel issues, had computers, cars and phones blow up on them, and had old flames turn up out of the blue (I had one, too, not one I wanted to ever see again, mind you) AND my Christmas travel plans were delayed until January 15th.
Nope. Nothing to that Mercury Retrograde stuff. Not at all.
Oh, and Go Steelers.
Labels: computer
I Got Another Mention!
I got another mention in the Janet Reid Literary Contest, this time for
Outstanding Achievement in Minimalism. The words to be included in the 100-words-or-less missive were:
- dauntless
- abnegation
- amity
- candor
- erudite
The contest details are
here, my noted entry
here.
It always helps to know what the words actually mean. (I swear, these are from the GRE list, aren't they?)
Whoo-hoo!
Well, that's it for me today, I'm over the river and through the woods for the Christmas Makeup Visit. See you laters.
Labels: writing, Xmas
Oh Deer Oh Deer Oh Deer
I wish I could get a photo of this, but I fear that it wouldn't take in the dark, and the flash might scare them away. Right now, there are three deer nestled beneath the trees outside my window. They're napping. As if they were in the woods.
I live in the suburbs. Old-growth trees, yes, but it's the burbs. My neighbor's house is about five feet away.
And there are three deer sleeping between us, mere feet from my window in the snow.
Magic.
Labels: musings
Crank It to ELEVEN!!!
HAPPY 2011 ONE AND ALL! Goodbye, 2010. Hello, twenty-eleven.
Finally. We've survived 2010, and the flyleaf on this year has just been turned. Bright, shiny, new. Rife with infinite possibility.
It's gotten off to an interesting start already. Yesterday, the temperature was in the 50s. At 2:30 AM, not long after the ball drop (or wig-drop, if you preferred Bravo's festivities as I did), the Weather Channel reported the outside temperature to be 53 degrees.
What's more is that we were having a full-on, rumbling
thunderstorm complete with lightning and pouring rain. On January 1st. In OHIO.
Odd, yes, but I'll gladly take this over below-zero wind chills, blinding snow, and icicles.
I figure, if the year got off to this weird of a start, it HAS to bode well for an interesting, out-of-the-ordinary (in a good way) year.
Not that last year was the worst of all possible years (that was 2006); it just wasn't... in motion. It was as stagnant as the last four. I didn't blog much because there wasn't much to blog about. Being that I practice non-whining as much as possible, well...
Anyway. Have you heard of Christine Kane's
Word of the Year exercise? I tried it last year. First, I typed up a long list of possible words, printed them out, cut them into strips, folded them, stuffed them in a hat, and after a glass of champagne at midnight, I reached into the hat and pulled. In typical over-achiever fashion, I chose two words as my focal points for 2010:
balance
and
clarity
Well, the Universe has quite a sense of humor. I've definitely experienced clarity in a lot of my more confusing areas; as for balance, I thought it would put ME in balance. Ha ha. No. The Universe showed me just how out of balance my life has been, and threw a few things out of balance just for fun, to prove the point. Lesson learned: be more careful about the words you choose. Always consider the negative connotations of the words as well as the positive.
Instead of being on point in the perfect middle, I found things swinging wildly all year, especially with my finances and emotions. It was also evident when I did NaNoWriMo. There is a much better way to approach it (by writing the suggested 1,667 words per day for 30 days to get to 50,000 by the 30th) than I did (procrastinate until November 20th, then pull all-nighters to cram it in during the last 10 days).
But it's all good. I've studied my lessons, and I've let go of those words.
Last night, I located the ziploc baggie of words (amazing in this mess). Since a year has passed, I'm not even sure what words are in there. Plenty to see me through the next 50 years of my life, that's for sure. I silently asked the Universe to guide me to the word that most needs to be my focus for 2011.
What would it be? Something like "magical"? "Gratitude"? "Abundance"? "Success"? Something that will motivate me to push forward in my life filled with courage and strength?
I shuffled and shuffled the strips. I thought about all the possibilities. I filled myself with excitement at the prospect of the new word. And then, finally, when it felt "right", I pulled out a single strip of paper and opened it eagerly.
The word?
Oh, you HAVE to be kidding me. Seriously?
But no. There it was, in delicate, bold script.
purge
Sigh.
Universe, you are SUCH a nag sometimes, you know that?
So there it is. My WOTY is "purge". My first thought of course leans toward purging the house of the chaos of left-behind possessions that I've been avoiding for the past four years. Of course, I'm sure it will come to mean more than just housework. These WOTY tend to reach into the heart of matters you weren't even aware needed attention.
Will I purge my old, out-moded belief systems? my soul? my digestive tract? Will I purge myself of the backlog of novels that have begged to be written for years? Will I cull my social network and purge those who no longer fit? Will I toss out dreams that should have died peacefully ages ago—dreams that belonged to a somebody I used to be but haven't been in decades—to make room for the newer, more precise dreams that align better with who I've become? What other sorts of things can be "purged"?It will be interesting to find out. I felt very let down initially by the choice, but I resolve to sally forth, and to crank my purge to eleven.
To think, purge-chance to dream...Labels: word-of-the-year, WOTY
