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 blog header May 26, 2008
Posted by Mike C. in Personal.add a comment
I’ve updated the header for this blog. I made it in Adobe Photoshop 7.0. It’s a mixture of the original header and a picture of me at my computer (with the opacity at 75%):
I’ll update this header whenever I take a new picture of myself. Let me know what you think of this one.
It’s based on the headers I’ve had at mikechimeri.com, which I refer to as “wallpaper.”
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 #2 May 22, 2008
Posted by Mike C. in Jazz, Personal.add a comment
The release date for Nick Colionne’s “Off Limits” album has been pushed to July 8.
David Benoit’s “Heroes” comes out Tuesday and I should get it Wednesday or Thursday.
Yellowjackets’ “Lifecycle” sounds good so far. I’ll listen to Al Turner’s “Movin'” once I complete “Lifecycle.”
Pre-order update May 17, 2008
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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.
New old laptop May 17, 2008
Posted by Mike C. in Personal, Technology.add a comment
I’m late in posting this information, but Tuesday night, my dad handed down his old laptop to me. I now own the Panasonic Toughbook CF-29. I’ve gradually been making it into my own ever since, getting rid of most of the software my dad had on there and installing software that I’m comfortable with and is up to date. I bought an additional 1 GB (gigabyte) of memory yesterday, which should arrive some time next week. I also bought a 7-port USB hub. (The laptop only comes with one USB port and no firewire port.) That way, I can plug in more gadgets if I bring the laptop on the road.
One month ago… May 15, 2008
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One month ago today, this blog was born. Let’s see what month two brings along.
Lots of pre-ordering today May 10, 2008
Posted by Mike C. in Jazz, Personal.add a comment
After browsing the Upcoming Jazz Releases page at allaboutjazz.com, I just pre-ordered a whole mess of CDs:
Al Turner, “Movin'” (5/20)
Yellowjackets, “Lifecycle” (featuring Mike Stern) (5/20)
Wayman Tisdale, “Rebound” (6/3)
The Jeff Lorber Fusion, “The Jeff Lorber Fusion” (re-issue) (6/10)
The Jeff Lorber Fusion, “Soft Space” (re-issue) (6/10)
Gerald Albright, “Sax For Stax” (6/24)
Nick Colionne, “No Limits” (6/24)
Eric Darius, “Goin’ All Out” (6/24)
Last April, I bought the original “Jeff Lorber Fusion” and “Soft Space” LPs on eBay, thinking it would be ages before those albums would ever be released on CD. When they came, I recorded the tracks on both from my turntable to my DAT (Digital Audio Tape) recorder. Then, I recorded what was on the DAT to my computer as WAVE files, which I also saved as high-quality MP3s. Now, they’re coming to CD on Wounded Bird Records. Go figure. At least the LP versions held me over for a year.
I pre-ordered David Benoit’s new album, “Heroes,” a week ago. That comes out May 27. Outside of that, I had no idea any of the other albums listed in this post were coming out. But I know now and look forward to hearing them.
P.S. Still bored and lonely.
A cable-less, music-less post May 8, 2008
Posted by Mike C. in Personal.add a comment
Life has been pretty boring and lonely for me over the past 48 hours. I don’t really have anything else to say other than that. I just wanted to post something that doesn’t have to do with cable or music.
My latest Cablevision update May 6, 2008
Posted by Mike C. in Media, Personal, TV.2 comments
I got a notice in the mail from Cablevision that said the following:
In conjunction with continuously making technological improvements to our services, the following is important to review:
… Digital cable boxes will be necessary by 6/3/08 for each television set in your home on which you wish to continue receiving TLC, A&E, E!, Sci-Fi Channel, truTV, Animal Planet, Travel Channel, C-SPAN2, QVC, and OTB/RAI (new channel location 74).
C-SPAN is now available to the Broadcast Basic level of service on channel 77.
I then called Cablevision to speak to another customer service rep. I asked if this change coincides with the addition of new channels. She said yes, but that won’t happen right away. Here’s where the feelings got mixed: I told her about what the rep I spoke to last Wednesday told me about Time Warner and Cablevision working together to have the same channels. She denied that. So much for that theory. However, she asked if there was a specific channel I was requesting. Of course, I told her Fox Business Network (FBN). She said hey were getting a lot of requests for FBN and BBC America. She suggested I go to Cablevision’s suggestion box to make any requests, adding that all suggestions are taken seriously.
Here’s hoping I finally get the channels I want without having to switch to another provider. Wish me and my fellow Cablevision subscribers luck.
UPDATE: I made my channel requests in the suggestion box. The list included FBN, FBN HD, and FNC (Fox News Channel) HD.
7/3 UPDATE: Yesterday, Cablevision announced they will be adding 15 HD channels at the end of this month. I posted about it here.
11/19/09 UPDATE: FBN has finally come to Cablevision!
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