ergo my job is to hate PCs. 

 

Wait a second. But seriously, I didn't reach someone last night, but they called me when I was home today. Their machine was no longer displaying anything. Little did I know this would be my own personal nightmare. I tried the PCI card I had a bit of trouble with getting a boot signal through before and it didn't work. I almost expected this, but I admit I was a bit disappointed because I was sure it was that machine somehow. So I take the machine. I take it because this machine has PCI-Express, not AGP, (oh, and the video he was using is built in, thank you so very much gateway). So I head over to staples and see what they have. $100!!!! So I go over to the little shop down the street. $65. Well, that's better anyway. I come home and try said card. No luck. Great. So that's three different video paths and I'm not getting so much as a bios screen out of either of them. There's only one thing left to try- set up a screen sharing program (VNC) so I can look at the machine from my Mac and see what's going on. Try doing this with your eyes closed, as that's basically what I now have to work with. I take the HD out, attach it to my mac and put in the startup items folder the VNC installer. I boot the machine and hit return a billion times as I know that's how you install VNC. I hook the HD back up to my Mac and put the thing that launches the VNC program in the startup folder. This works! Sorta. It starts complaining about the password being wrong! There IS no password when you first set it up. So I mess about. I try different things. I hook it back up to the Mac, put the program that shows the settings, reboot, type "1111" and hit enter (I know what the screen looks like, and the password field is first selected), shut down, Mac again, VNC program, still "invalid password". I even try the view only option, figuring even if I can't control it from my Mac, I could use the mouse attached to the PC and at least see what I was pointing at. Nope! 

 

I'd like to take you back now, Dr Who style, to say.... mid 1990s. Macs were tower-y like PCs still are today, and guess what? I connected a new display card to a Mac, and switched the monitor cable over there, it became the main screen. Automatically. No work on my part apart from moving the cable. Done. Or say I added a second screen- both would show up without any work on my part. But here I am cursing out this piece of crap gateway made fifteen years later  that does not do this. Gateway- I salute you. I didn't think it was possible for me to hate PCs more, but by the Goddess you've managed it. Well done.

 

My morning one was a suck CD tray, but I just ended up replacing the unit. Installed printshop for her, showed her firefox, that sort of thing. Not quite so aggravating.  

 

Further back then that was shopping. I started one of Drew's movies capturing before I left, and it only took me an hour, so when I got back it was still going nicely so I now have two of them done.

 

Further back then that was Sunday night, watching episode 3 of this season's Dr. Who. I did another video before that and saw him to show him the rough cut of his weird Jason short filmy thing. Puttered about the house, nothing major. 

 

Further back then that was World Hoppers with Sean, but Neil hadn't unpacked his character sheet or even found it while we were doing stuff, so that was kind of short. Played some Halo too. I wanted to just borrow a Perfect Horizon book to get the specialized stuff out of it, but he gave me one. I guess he still has 90 left and no prospects of selling more. 

 

Mizzy made excellent meatloaf, which she shared.

 

Before that, more working on the character creator. I now have up to weapons complete, but will have to go back to add more screens for the PH stuff now that I have the book. Still happy with how it's going. 

 

Before that was Mom's on Friday. I was looking at something on Dad's computer, he really needs a new machine. Before that was of course Grandma. She's been trying to get me to stay for dinner so I did, she sent me for pizza. We ate pizza. 

 

Before that, I tried to reach Margret, didn't. Shoot, forgot to call her today. I did do one job on Friday, I think. Too long ago now.

 

Nothing for tomorrow (but further rage and hatred, anyway). My one call for today was yet another machine not using the monitor to, you know, show stuff, but he said it would be Wednesday afternoon at the earliest anyway.

 

Looking to be a great week!

 

Oh, here's two more garfield without comics for your amusement.

 

[[image:4-18gwg.png:two of them:center:0]]

 

And in all that vitriol before I almost forgot, I got out part 2 of "Make 5 Wishes". I kind of cheated because I had read the wiki page about it, so I already knew what was going to happen, much of which I anticipated anyway. But one thing stuck out in particular. Hana wishes her mother and father to be happy, and so they break up, because the little monster thing that's granting the wishes says they'll be happier apart. It goes like this:

 

[[image:whatyouwished.jpg:What you Wished For:center:0]]

 

Kind of a sad ending, but a good read.

 

Not in the right frame of mind to do work on the character generator (and it looks like I might have plenty time tomorrow) so maybe I'll play some Assassins' creed or something. Stabbing my knife through someone's neck is a sure fire way to feel better, right? Right?

 

Current Emotion: Seething