Mentioned at HotForWords! August 20, 2008
Posted by Mike C. in Media, Personal, Technology, TV.add a comment
The latest lesson at HotForWords – a website run by Marina Orlova, a Russian-born philologist – was partially inspired by yours truly, Mike Chimeri.
It all began in the comment thread – where my profile name is MCLIJazz (as it is nearly everywhere else) – for a blog post promoting her latest appearance on “The O’Reilly Factor”, the primetime opinion show on the Fox News Channel hosted by Bill O’Reilly. I am a big fan of “The Factor” and Bill himself. In the post, Marina reminded visitors to e-mail Bill to let him know how much they liked her appearance on the show:
Also.. after you watch it, please email Bill and thank him for having me on. Here is his email: …
So, I left the following comment:
Marina, your second appearance on “The Factor” rates as an A+. You were excellent.
And if anybody is going to write to Bill, include your name and location (”name and town”) in the signature, and write about one to three short, punchy paragraphs or sentences. Or as Bill would say, “keep it pithy.”
So, the latest video lesson is on the origin of the word “pithy”:
I get the “hat tip,” as we say in the blogosphere (typically abbreviated h/t), 40 seconds in:
MCLIJazz, mattym, annuddermale, prospero811, and mergatroidal have been using the word “pithy” all over my website. What exactly is “pithy” and where did it come from? HotForWords decided to investigate.
Watch the video for the investigation. (Warning: Scary image beginning at the 2:30 mark.)
2,000 views! August 7, 2008
Posted by Mike C. in Personal, Technology.add a comment
I’m late in annoucing this (because I wasn’t paying attention), but The Mike Chimeri Blog has now had its 2,000th view…and counting! As I post, we’re up to 2,044 views. As always, thank you to all that have visited my blog, even if only to view one post.
New old laptop back! July 26, 2008
Posted by Mike C. in Personal, Technology.add a comment
My Dad brought my laptop home last night and I used it this afternoon. Everything is finally back to normal on that front.
New old laptop to be fixed! July 23, 2008
Posted by Mike C. in Personal, Technology.add a comment
My dad told me yesterday (Tuesday) that my Panasonic Toughbook CF-29 laptop will be fixed by a friend of his. In fact, the friend already fixed it by putting the old memory DIMM in. When he did that, the laptop worked fine. The next step is for him to make sure what DIMM will fit in the extra memory slot. Then, my dad will order that DIMM, the friend will put it in, and I’ll have my “new old” laptop again without needing to buy a new one.
This is a very positive development.
Computer back to normal June 2, 2008
Posted by Mike C. in Personal, Technology.add a comment
It’s been a long day, but my computer is just about back to normal. Phew.
Computer still not working! May 30, 2008
Posted by Mike C. in Personal, Technology.add a comment
When I got the computer back today, I was unable to operate the keyboard and mouse. This is because a different keyboard and mouse were used when re-installing Vista. Luckily, I’m under a 30-day warranty. So, the pending repair on Monday will be free. That’s when another technician will come back for the computer tower, as well as the keyboard and mouse. Hopefully I will be back in business, so to speak, by Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the external hard drives are back in the guest room and I’ll continue to use the computer in there. It’s my only option.
Computer repair update May 30, 2008
Posted by Mike C. in Personal, Technology.add a comment
The technician came yesterday afternoon and decided to bring the computer tower back to the repair center along with the four 1 GB memory DIMMs, which will be put in after all. At the same time, Windows Vista will have to be re-installed and the internal hard drive reformatted. As a result, all essential software will have to be re-installed.
A different technician will return with the tower later today. Then, it will be my job to re-install all the other software I added to the computer in the one year I’ve had it. Hopefully, I’ll have it back to normal by Monday.
Desktop broken, too. May 29, 2008
Posted by Mike C. in Personal, Technology.add a comment
Today, my desktop computer was the latest to break on me. Early yesterday afternoon, Windows Vista Service Pack 1 was automatically downloaded and installed. At the same time, I installed two new 1 GB memory DIMMs. Then, the computer crashed on me with the Blue Screen of Death appearing followed by an automatic restart. Thinking that the new memory was the problem, I took the DIMMs out and put the old 512 MB ones back in. The crashing continued every time I tried to start up or a few minutes after start-up.
A computer technician is coming by later today (Thursday, which started 10 minutes ago as I write). Hopefully, they’ll fix the problem. Wish me luck.
Meanwhile, I moved my three external hard drives to the guest room computer, which I’m on right now. It’s a good thing I decided to rely primarily on external drives a few years ago and also good that we have a second computer in the house.
New old laptop broken May 24, 2008
Posted by Mike C. in Jazz, Personal, Technology.add a comment
I broke the Toughbook last night trying to put in the 1 GB memory card. Since then, the computer will turn on, but won’t boot and is stuck on until the battery runs out. It ran out some time this morning. I e-mailed Panasonic customer support for their help, but what is more likely to happen is I will buy a new laptop from Dell. That was my original plan before my dad gave me the Toughbook.
P.S. Al Turner’s “Movin'” sounds great.
Pre-order update May 17, 2008
Posted by Mike C. in Jazz, Personal, Technology.add a comment
For some reason, my copy of “The Jeff Lorber Fusion” was shipped early and I received it today. Having heard it, the audio quality is a big improvement over the LP. The bonus track, “Poppin’,” originally only available on a limited edition LP, was excellent.
My Al Turner and Yellowjackets CDs come out Tuesday and should be shipped right away.
5/20 UPDATE: The two CDs shipped today and will arrive tomorrow, as will that 7-port USB hub.
MikeChimeri.com 