I’m a geek

Hi, my name is Suzanne and I am a geek.

I made note of this fact in my previous post, but it has now been officially confirmed.

I downloaded the driver for my Wacom tablet,  which apparently turned on the built-in handwriting recognition software.  I wrote this entire post on my tablet with the pen. How cool is that??  It’s not perfect, but it is pretty darned good!

suzannethegeek Im a geek

I am trying to be a good girl and work,  not play, but I have taken a little bit of time to explore Vista and the capabilities of this new toy tool.

I did spend some time today working  on a page for the first ABC Round Robin altered book I’m participating in. I hope to finish it later and will post some pictures.

Supper tonight is fish at the Catholic church, better get a little more work done before it is time to go!

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Much happier camper today

Well, I thought the notebook was all better last night (it worked for several hours after I did a reinstall of WIndows XP).  But then it shut down again.

So today, after visiting a customer, I went to Best Buy and bought myself a new computer.  Oooo boy is it sweet.

I’m still going to get my notebook fixed, I still plan on using it for e-mail and other fun stuff, but the new computer will be more dedicated to the business.  Maybe….it will do a lot of fun tricks.

I justified this by the fact that after this book is finished, my next project is a DVD, and I’ll "need" the capabilities that this will one will provide.

This one does have Vista on it, and I was a little worried about the version of CorelDraw I’m using, but so far, so good — it seems to be doing what it is supposed to.  It also has a 19 inch widescreen monitor, so WOW.  I could see my drawings really good before — but now!  LOL

The new computer is a Hewlett Packard Media Center PC with 2GB of RAM, 500GB hard drive.  Wireless keyboard and mouse.  Did I mention the 19 inch monitor? 

Yes, I’m a geek.  But that’s part of why you all like me, right? LOL

Back to drawing and editing!

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Bad words, bad words, BAD WORDS

I’ve mentioned before that I’m having trouble with my HP Notebook computer.  During the first year I had it, I adored it. Huge screen, tons of memory, worked great.  Starting in December, though, I started having problems and they have gotten progressively worse.  It randomly shuts down without warning.  It’s over a year old, and I did not purchase an extended warranty.  I’ve been e-mailing with HP tech support, but it is taking them nearly a WEEK to respond to e-mails due to increased message volume (I’m assuming they are swamped with calls about problems with Vista??).    I tried to do online chat with them today, but after waiting 10 minutes for an online technician gave up.  I’m actually growing more and more concerned that I’m experiencing hardware failure, and am worried that it is only a matter of time before this stupid thing shuts down for good.

Bad words, bad words, BAD WORDS.

I’ve lost count of how many times it is shut down today.  10?  15? At one point the POWER went off.  I very nearly threw the computer out the window at that point.  (Yes it’s a notebook, but the battery isn’t working…).

I can’t even contemplate how much time I’m losing as I sit and watch my computer reboot.

Bad words, bad words, BAD WORDS.

I’m actually considering running up to Sam’s Club tonight and buying a new computer.  I do have other computers in the house, but none are fast enough (with enough RAM), or have a big enough monitor for me to comfortably work on them for long periods of time.

And unfortunately, even though you’ve had to listen to me rant, this hasn’t actually made me  feel any better, and I bet you are wishing you hadn’t bothered coming to visit my blog today.

Bad words, bad words, BAD WORDS.

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Working out the Kinks

The ones in my back and neck, I mean.  Someone has spent w-a-a-a-a-y too much time hunched over a computer, and the headache I had yesterday was proof. 

My new plan:  set the timer in the kitchen for 15 minutes.  I figure if I set the one in the kitchen, I’ll be forced to stand up and walk into the kitchen to silence it. A timer sitting here next to me, or something on the computer — those would be far too easy to silence and then ignore.

(I did go see the chiropractor and after having him pound me back into shape and the judicious use of ice packs, I should be feeling much better, as long as I can remember to sit straight, keep my shoulders back and not sit here hunched over for such long stretches…)  He also reminded me to try to stay hydrated.   Where is that water bottle, anyway?

Speaking of Water:

I think the temp today is in the 50s — lots of melting happening.  So much so, that this is the view from my back yard today:
dsc01587 Working out the Kinks

This is Wolf Creek out of its banks.  Ordinarily, we are unable to actually see any water…we just know it is over there somewhere. 

I’m glad it is warming up.  I’m not particularly fond of the mud that the melting creates, but I’m not going to complain too much. 

Speaking of mud:  or rather, the doggies that track mud in the house, guess who got a haircut yesterday:
dsc01614 Working out the Kinks

Katie does not like haircuts very much.  Toby, our older dog, pretty much goes to sleep while Mark shaves him, but Katie requires both of us to hang on the entire time while she struggles. She’s really strong for such a little thing.  (The blue thing around her neck is the collar that works with our invisible fence system. We love our invisible fence. Before her haircut, you could barely see the collar for all of the hair…)

Some day soon, I’ll have more quilt content.   Right now, though, it’s about time to stand up and stretch…..

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Fabulous News

For one thing:  the sun is shining and it is supposed to be a gorgeous day today (high of 52!!!).  My husband went and got his Mustang out of storage, but so that he’s ready to drive it this week when the temps hit the promised 60s (I hope we aren’t disappointed!)

I’ll have to peek out and enjoy the beautiful weather between sessions at the quilting machine and the computer.

I’m also excited today because my nephew Colin (who is what, 16 months?) has decided that he can finally walk on his own!  He’s still trying to figure it out, and it sounds like crawling is still more expedient at home, but I saw video of him walking unaided.  Too cute.  He also got his first haircut (finally…VBG) and looks very darling with his new ‘do.

But my biggest news today is that I’m going to be teaching a 4th class at Machine Quilters Exposition in New Hampshire in April!  They have added a second session of my Over the Top Feathers class on Saturday from 2-4!  It’s a drawing class, teaching machine quilters about the style of feather I love to quilt.  (The first session had already filled and been closed).  I’m also teaching 2 classes based on the Meandering Magic concept — those classes aren’t full, but are getting close!

I had a wonderful time in New Hampshire last year, and I’m getting excited to go back! 

pixel Fabulous News
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