Computer Meltdown… again…

After two hours on the phone with Dell 24/7 service support it was determined that my Vista was corrupt. Of course since I’ve only had the laptop for two weeks I haven’t backed anything up. And all was lost. Darn. Another Saturday spent loading up the iTunes, Camedia, printer driver, internet, AVG (the McAfee was deleted first thing). I sure hope my computer karma improves. My horoscope today said to “wing it” all week and I will have success. We shall see what opportunities present themselves.

Read Full Post »

Skunked Again!

Some day Petey will get it that chasing the black and white cats that smell bad is a bad, bad idea… but not this week. The “fix-it” recipe is very effective at getting rid of the smell, but damages the soft tissues on the dog. (yck) For the record the recipe is 1qt. hydrogen peroxide, 1/4 cup baking soda, 1 teasp. dishwashing liquid. It works very, very well. But is does burn the soft tissues. And since Petey is very interested in the hind end of the “cat” the most damage from the spray and the “fix” is in the face (eyes, ears, nose and lips — ouch!) Just another lovely week in South Texas.

Read Full Post »

Fare Thee Well, Martin Medina

You reminded me of Dave DeHay today. And I like to be reminded of Dave on a regular basis. “And remember: before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in his shoes. Because then you’ll be a mile away, and you’ll have his shoes.”

Good luck in your future endeavors, Martin! A wealth of information walked out through USAA’s turnstiles today.

Read Full Post »

McAfee Strikes Again

Microsoft Windows went down on my new laptop — no ideas why. The Windows recovery function worked fine. My Microsoft Office products were wiped out, however. I immediately “googled” delete McAfee and found a utility offered by McAfee to perform the deed. More research led me to purchase AVG. So I am now McAfee free and AVG happy, happy, happy!

Read Full Post »

A Break Out in the Kitchen Composter!

This morning there were little white things all over the counter. A closer look revealed teeny, tiny worms. A break out from the kitchen composter! The kitchen composter went out on the back step until dumping in the mother composter could be accomplished. Success — no more little ones on the counters. Whew. And yuck!

Read Full Post »

Windows Open!

Each summer comes and I think it will never end. The endless summer with a black twist. And last night it was cool enough to turn off the ceiling fans and open the windows. The window sills are disgusting with dead bug bodies, but that is not my focus. My attention is sucked in, rolled around and relishing in the silence of it all. I forget every year how blissful the silence of no ceiling fans truly is.

All is well.

Read Full Post »

Hurricane Ike in San Antonio, TX

8:00 a.m. Sunday. No wind. No rain. No news from cousins.

11:30 a.m. Saturday. No big wind, no rain. Still hoping my cousins a faring well. No news from them so far.

7:30 a.m. Saturday. No big wind, no rain so far either. Hoping my cousins in Houston are doing ok.

Read Full Post »

New Computer, Hate McAfee Even More

I love my new Dell XPS laptop!!! It is more wonderful than I could have possibly imagined. However, my first crash occurred when McAfee tried to activate — it froze with no error message, only an empty inactive chrome.

The good news? It took less than an hour to get my internet, remote desktop and e-mail working. And the thinness and texture of the new laptop is marvelous. But, oh god, McAfee is hateful.

Top of my list is replacing it with something that really works and is user-friendly.

Read Full Post »

McAfee is hateful

If I needed another reason to dislike McAfee… well I won’t write about the hole in the head. But the scan software that the technician assured me was being e-mailed to me? When I checked my inbox? NO E-MAIL FROM MCAFEE. I can’t believe I paid them all these years for such pathetic service. Shame on them. And shame on me for not knowing better.

Read Full Post »