Mistakes in Motherhood

iThink iHave an addiction to my iPod.

Today I spent hours uploading all my old music CDs onto my iPod and now have almost 1700 songs on there… as well as videos and Podcasts… almost 8GB total. I can listen to songs for over 5 days without hearing the same song twice.

I have a little bit of everything on there, from Alice Cooper, Disturbed, Tool, The Rolling Stones, Ani DiFranco, Zero Seven, Led Zeppelin, John Mayer, DMX, Nine Inch Nails, The Cure, Talking Heads, The Beatles, Shawn Mullins, ICP, Tori Amos… I think you get the point… my music is a little eclectic.

Anyways… My name is Heather and I have a problem.

2 Comments | In: A lot about nothing, Geek Speak | tags: A lot about nothing, Humor, Technology. | #

With all the buzz about online scammers, hackers, malicious programs, keylogging programs, etc., it is nice to know that there are ways to protect your files and increase your data security. One of these programs came from a surprising source, PKWARE, the makers of the program PKZIP that I used for a great number of years and is the only zip/unzip program that comes to mind.

The newest zip program, SecureZIP is a very simple download, and for a limited time can be downloaded for free; this is the full version, not a trial version. Secure Zip encrypts and compresses files for fast and secure transfer, this program is great for business projects, sensitive files that may have personal information like a social security number or banking information, or anything that you would not want to fall into the wrong hands. This data security program is also great for protecting your own personal files stored on your hard drives, portable media, or laptops. SecureZIP – The next generation of ZIP.

Within two minutes of submitting my email address, SecureZip was downloaded and two minutes later was registered and up and running. The program is easy to use and is also integrated into Outlook Express which makes it super simple to email encrypted files. You also want to check out SecureZIP’s impressive review over at PC Magazine.com, they made 4 1/2 marks out of five marks, and have great raves.

Check this program out, it is a great asset in total data security.

No Comments | In: A lot about nothing, Geek Speak | tags: Something Worth Mentioning, Sponsored, Technology. | #

This week’s theme is: Technology

Well, this may not be the most exciting picture but it is my Toshiba Satellite A105-S4094.

The processor is an Intel Core Duo T2250 / 1.73 GHz, 1 x 1 GB + 512 MB RAM, the Hard Drive. has 120 GB, and it has a double-layer DVD burner; a wide 15.4-inch display with a 1,280×800 native resolution, and various types of Wi-Fi cards.

Since I listen to so much music, I have a pair of USB powered external Logitech speakers, an external wireless mouse, and I put it on a cooling pad which includes 4 extra USB ports (for a total of 8).

The background image on the screen is the Queen Victoria Building, Sydney.

8 Comments | In: Geek Speak | tags: Meme, Photo Hunter, Photography. | #

Well, I did not lose my mind, the children’s game was never delivered.  So sorry mom, I won’t be joining you in your journey of memory loss.

So a couple days ago I got an email from Best Buy that says they have received my return and refunded the price.  I was pissed!  I called them up and they first tried to tell me that the post office said the address was unknown, which was bullshit..especially because I get stuff from Best Buy weekly, from Reward Zone offers, to our Best Buy credit card statements.  Then he told me it was “lost in the mail”, which I am not sure it right either.  So I had it re-sent and hopefully this time we won’t have a blizzard slowing our mail down.  Because of the holiday, it probably won’t be picked up by UPS until Tuesday or Wednesday, but this time I will know where it is and stay on top of it…

No Comments | In: A lot about nothing, Geek Speak | tags: Holidays, Insanity, Technology, Tirade, Updates. | #

We are all self proclaimed TiVo addicts. Each one of us has at least 1 show that we record and on any given day have about 2-3 pages of shows to watch. With the lull in new shows because of the holiday, we have been watching The Dog Whisperer, Acording to Jim and The Simpson re-runs that we have not previously seen.

Today, we have nothing to watch. Not-one-thing, unless of course you want us to watch Matthew’s Sesame Street, Signing Time, or Wiggles shows, or Christopher’s It Could Happen Tomorrow show he watches on the Weather Channel. We do have a recording of John Mayer, live in Concert that is really good, but after watching that a dozen times, and listening to his CD at least twice a week, I am sure Bobby would kill me if I suggested that.

So for the first time in weeks, we are actually watching Live TV. Ok, well I did watch the news last night, but that was to see what is being said about the upcoming blizzard we expect later this week. I would love just to turn off the TV and enjoy silence, but somehow I don’t see that happening.

No Comments | In: A lot about nothing, Geek Speak | tags: Ramblings, Technology, Television. | #

I am always on the lookout for inexpensive options for Bobby’s Networking career in addition to the degree he is working on. One of the things we are looking into is getting him IT certificates in addition to his degree. His goal is to eventually have a Master’s Degree in Network Administration. Today I ran across a website which offers a Comptia Network+ Training DVD, which is a video program at a fraction of the cost of attending a class at a community college or an online school.

The video is 12 hours long and not only allows you to see a network being built, but also covers troubleshooting, plus 120 CompTia Network+ Exam Questions to prepare for the exam, all taught by an instructor.

*This is a sponsored post.

No Comments | In: A lot about nothing, Geek Speak | tags: Bobby, School, Sponsored, Technology. | #

Ever since I saw these neat Water Cooling computer cases in the electronics market in Seoul, Korea back in ’02. Now that we are thinking of upgrading Bobby’s PC we are seriously looking into unique cases and a water cooled computer case.
Some of the cases, cooling system, and equipment on this website are quite amazing. They are quite complex, yet beautiful and I can totally see it in our office. They are also functional, as Bobby is a serious gamer, and overheating can be a major factor in a game crashing, the chip set overheating and burning out, or permanently damage the hardware in your computer. Since a water cooling system can bring down the temperature faster than a fan, it is more efficient in keeping a computer cooler; and thus making it more efficient.

There are also really neat looking Power Supplies on Xioxide.com, the power supply pictured here is also on sale, so you are really not paying much more to “pimp your PC” so to say. This ULTRA X2 550 Watt Power Supply is not only beautiful, but functional. It is made of titanium for an elegant look, while being quiet, maximizing air flow with a 120mm fan, and safe with Thermal overload cutoff protection.

They also have some neat cases to fit any interest. From Aliens to clear cases, Dracula, transformer, fireball, etc. I also found a beautiful chrome case, and painted cases. With so many choices, it will really be a difficult choice. Somehow I think Bobby will chose something like this Nikao Dragonfire Gaming Case.

No Comments | In: A lot about nothing, Geek Speak | tags: Technology. | #

*If you have not read part one, do so now*

So, this morning I woke up and called my DSL company to ask them how much a new modem was. They said it was $99.99 plus $16.50 shipping & handling and they said it would take to get here with the holiday rush & weekend. So I asked them what the difference was between their modems and the ones at Best Buy. He said that Best Buy actually carries their modems, and he said that he agreed that it did sound like my issues were modem related.

So after dropping off a package at the post office (quick and easy, I LOVE the self service machine, I was finished in the time it took them to serve two people and there were at least 20 in line), I went to Best Buy and found the same modem for $89.99. While talking to a sales associate, they told me that the modem/router combos are crap and to get a regular modem and a wireless router.

So within a couple minutes I had a direct connection and was surfing the web, so I called my ISP to tell them to cancel the service call (external not internal) and get another ESL support person who did not understand me when I said “I called last night because I could not connect, I have a new modem and it is working fine now, please cancel my service call”; apparently she took it to mean “check when the guy will be here”. Ugh!

So as soon as I hung up with her I lost connectivity, so when I went to call my phone company and I had no dial tone! So now I am freaking out thinking that ESL-lady somehow got confused again and shut down my service.

About 5 minutes later I get a knock on my door and it is the serviceman from my ISP. He explained that he was the one who disconnected my phone (he was testing the line) and that if I had problems connecting the wireless to call back. Well, installing the router was a breeze, and once I was able to find out how to change my encryption password I was up and running.

So, did all this fix Bobby’s connectivity issues??? Yes! He has been online for 3h:20m longer than he has been in MONTHS! His normal connection time was closer to 3 minutes of Internet, and 2 minutes to reconnect.

Of course, now I am having issues with getting my hotmail in OE, but maybe they are just having issues today. Even if I have to go to the website to read my email, no biggie, I rarely use hotmail anyways.

So, there is my day, I am so glad everything is solved, now I just need to figure what I am going to cook for dinner!

No Comments | In: A lot about nothing, Geek Speak | tags: Technology. | #

Well, last night Bobby and I decided to get to the bottom of his “limited or no connectivity” issue he has been having for months with his laptop. We were trying to play Spades on Pogo and he kept getting dropped from the Internet and it was pissing us off. So, we went to the basement to do the typical reset button, unplug and wait, etc. So I was reading online that sometimes the problem can be solved by new drivers for the the wireless LAN card and the firmware for the modem. Well, each time we tried to update the firmware, the install would fail and be stuck in an endless cycle of turning on, failing, and restarting.

So I called our DSL tech support and got someone who spoke ESL (English as a second language) took me through the most simple of support (TS: Did you unplug it? ME: Yes, 3 times. TC: Well lets try it again.) durrr. By this time I was convinced I needed a new modem, mine was 2 years old after all. So he tries to tell me that tomorrow they will send someone out to fix it, and it will cost me $100 or less. I asked him “Isn’t it cheaper just to get a new modem?” and he said “I really don’t think it is your modem, but here is the number to call and ask about the price”. So I called and it said “we are closed, please log onto our .com to get all your questions answered”. Lame-o!

Stay tuned for part two….

1 Comment | In: A lot about nothing, Geek Speak | tags: Technology. | #

It seems like you can rent any kind of media through the mail, first movies, then games, and now audio books; this is incredible! I love the idea of books on tape, especially for long drives, but the library never carries the books I like, or ones my kids would enjoy like Harry Potter Audiobooks. I had a friend tell me to listen to audio books when I am working out and it is easy to get into the book and get distracted and work out longer, this is how she was able to loose the baby weight from her son and daughter.

1 Comment | In: A lot about nothing, Geek Speak | tags: Sponsored, Technology. | #