Friday, July 06, 2012

For those keeping track, while the heat wave continues, I have limited my Seti@home work to almost nothing.  Yeah, the heat sucks.  Yeah, I'm worried about my computer.  The family dog has been taking refuge in the relative relief of the computer room and since the relief is just that - relative, I've been turning off electronical devices as much as possible to lower the heat generated by them. 

The only exception is my air filter, which I just turned back on.  It doesn't create a lot of heat, nor use a lot of electricity, but since I still stay in here most of the day working, it helps with my allergies.  As I said, I worry about the dog, but I'm very allergic to her.  Sigh.

Uh anyway, while all that's going on, it's been harder to get anything done.  I've done what I can, but to be honest, it's not as much as I was doing just a week ago.  Stuff like this just takes more time out of the day.

- Jim

Tuesday, July 03, 2012

I got this message today:

Your browser is no longer supported by Blogger. Some parts of Blogger will not work and you may experience problems.
If you are having problems, try Google Chrome.

That's all well and good.  I mean, Microsoft does it to force people to use their programs.  Wouldn't it be better though to make a better browser that people would WANT to use instead of trying to trick or force them into using it?

For the record, I use Chrome.  Just not all the time, nor do I use it to post my blogs.  If that has to change, then I can just as easily take the blogs offline.  I've been meaning to do it for a while anyway.

It's still a win for you, Google, but not by much.

- Jim

Monday, July 02, 2012

I hope this won't become a regular occurrence, but my house, if I remember correctly, is something like 120 years old.  I know it's well more than a hundred years old.  I firmly believe that it was wired for electricity before they realized that electricity could do useful things.  Anyway, with the heat wave the area is experiencing, combined with the fact that the wiring could withstand no more than a single small piddly air conditioner, I have turned Seti@home off.  Well, mostly off.  It runs a bit in the night usually, but not much.

Honestly, I could withstand more heat, but the computer runs hot anyway, and the dog is not doing well.  Fur sounds like a great idea in the winter, but it's probably torture in weather like this.  I've been running Seti@home for years, but it's not worth a dog's life.

Anyway, I've been reading, doing a little writing, but mostly reading.  I finished A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin, and I'm working on a book I got from the library - The Midnight Disease.  Very interesting reading.  I've got the next three books in the A Song of Fire and Ice series, so I'll keep busy for a while.

- Jim