iTunes 9 DOESN'T HAVE to suck -here's a fix!

Are you like the millions of other iTunes users who have been brought to you knees by the latest iTunes upgrade? Does iTunes hang until you kill it in Task Manager? (or force quit, for Mac types?)

It seems there are two major issues for Windows users:

First, the install locks up your iTunes files, designating them as read only. To fix this, go to C:\ProgramFiles and right-click on the iTunes folder.  Select "properties", then uncheck "read-only" under Attributes, and apply.

The second issue is that iTunes 9 doesn't play well with previous iTunes Libraries.  Go here for step by step instructions for rebuilding your iTunes library. Once you rebuild the library, you will have to resync your iPod or iPhone.

Some relevant discussions on the Apple.com forums if this doesn't help:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2151196&start=0&tstart=0
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2151196&start=0&tstart=0

and there are dozens more.  Just search for "itunes" and "crash" etc. on the apple discussion boards.

Posted by: caltechgirl at 09:54 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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The Blue Screen of Death comes to us all in time

 But sometimes we win. I feel like my little Vaio has cheated death.

So my battery detached from my wonderful Sony VAIO laptop for 2 seconds and it died. DIED. And when I turned her back on, I got the dreaded BSOD (Blue Screen of Death). Except I couldn't see the son of a bitch. It flashed and reloaded.

I could tell from initial googling that the problem required a Windows XP boot disk. Problem 1: Where TF is the boot disk? The laptop didn't come with one, and although I'm sure I made one, I can't find it. And conveniently, MicroHELL only has a FLOPPY DISK download for XP recovery.

But I got one, courtesy of google. Here: http://www.download3000.com/download-xp-recovery-cd-maker-count-reg-17676.html

Just save the .ZIP file and extract the .ISO file to a CD. VOILA! Boot CD! (make sure you have plenty of blank CDs, I had to make about 4 copies since my laptop wouldn't recognize a CD again once I had popped it out to try to restart)

Ok, so once the boot CD is in the drive, start 'er up. Press any key to boot from CD. I didn't have a BIOS problem booting from CD, but it's possible others might. After the Recovery CD is running, then I loaded the Recovery Console.

I never realized just how much DOS I've forgotten in 15 years. The recovery console is a modified DOS shell.

Anyway, I tried a bunch of things and realized I wasn't loaded into the shell correctly. Crap. Must freeze BSOD. So I looked it up. To freeze the BSOD so you can read it and copy down the error codes, I had to open up the startup options menu (held down F8 at the VAIO logo) and select "Disable Automatic Restart on System Failure".

That was the easiest thing I had to do. Now that I had BSOD stopped, I could read it.

UNMOUNTABLE_BOOT_ DEVICE STOP: 0x000000ED (0x8A789030, 0xC0000006, 0x00000000, 0x00000000)

And back to google, which took me to three useful places.

First, here: http://msgoodies.blogspot.com/2007/08/fixing-unmountablebootvolume-on-windows.html, where the computer in question had an identical error,

and MicroHell: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;297185

and finally: http://www.smartcomputing.com/editorial/article.asp?article=articles%2F2006%2Fs1712%2F08s12%2F08s12.asp

The last is written for non-geeks. Probably the most useful link.

Based on all of the sites I visited between 9:30 when it fried and 2:30 when it got fixed, I decided to try a solution that was a hybrid of all three suggestions.

First, I ran chkdsk /r on the root directory (c . After that finished, I basically followed the steps in #3 above.

However, this left me with 3 possible boot choices. Annoying and a mess waiting to happen. So I edited the new and improved boot.ini through Windows once everything else was working.

See here for instructions: http://vlaurie.com/computers2/Articles/bootini.htm

And finally, 5 hours later it seems to be working again, no losses. Tomorrow, ASAP, I will be doing a backup session to prevent the heart attack that was imminent for about 3 of those 5 hours.

Posted by: caltechgirl at 02:17 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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GoogleVoice for military families

One of my most favorite new technologies (not that new really, but new to me) is Google Voice. If you haven't heard of Google Voice, it's a service that lets you 1) receive all your calls and texts from a single number (and rings whichever number you designate) and 2) transcribes voicemail to text or lets you listen to it online. You choose the number from a list they provide, and you may choose any area code or locality you like, so it can be a toll-free phone call for your family and friends.

It's actually quite convenient, and you can give people just one number and they can reach you anytime.  Especially if you're like me and drop the cell phone next to the front door and spend the rest of the evening in another room.... Or if you're like me and people don't want to call you because your cell is a different area code...

It's also a wonderful resource for anyone far from home with limited access to a phone, since you get voicemail directly over the internet, just like checking your email.  Especially for our overseas troops.

Which is why I was especially pleased to see this morning that Google is offering Google Voice subscriptions (free) to anyone with a .mil email address that activate in 24 hours. Army Live posted it this morning. In general, you have to request an "invite" to activate the service, and that can take several weeks.  This invitation would activate in 24 hours for military personnel.

For more information, the Google Voice info page is here and the invitation link for service members is here.

If you or someone you know can take advantage of this service, please do, and let Google know how much you appreciate what they're doing for our troops!

h/t Jeff Quinton (via twitter)

Posted by: caltechgirl at 07:42 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Hating dook is really all that matters

Even in the NY Times:

"At the University of North Carolina, there are many different types of people: frat boys and flamboyant gays, football players and math geniuses, evangelical Christians and newly converted Buddhists; but it is safe to assume that all of us agree about what's most important: hating Duke."

In this student essay about the community that is the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, sophomore Emily Banks spells it out. It doesn't matter who you are or where you're from or what you believe, as long as you hate dook. It's a feeling, an experience, a sense of community: the Carolina family.

And no, it's really not all about hating dook. That just comes with the territory. But I do have to say that having been a part of many university communities, the UNC family really is a family, with its own community and values and sense of belonging. Even as a yankee-Californian-grad-student-transplant, I have no qualms feeling an equal member of the Tar-Heel-born, Tar-Heel-bred set. And sure as hell, when I die, I'm planning on being a Tar Heel dead.

I can empathize with Emily.  I came from a school with no sports and a bunch of nerds too (Caltech, you know?) and entered this bizarro world with green trees and flowers and HUMIDITY and gods on the basketball courts.  I mean, have you ever seen the Dean Smith Center (click for the picture)?  If you didn't know what you were looking at you would think it was one of those Megachurches.  No kidding.  It didn't take long for Carolina to embrace me with both arms.  Probably the second best desicion of my life was to go to UNC.  The place and the people changed me in ways I am only now beginning to understand.  And like Emily, it's a place I love with my whole heart.  Something I never thought I'd find anywhere but here.

Posted by: caltechgirl at 11:28 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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Walking uphill in the snow both ways

At the risk of sounding like the proverbial old grandpa, kids these days have it too easy.  Case in point: a 13-year-old's review of the now THIRTY YEAR OLD Sony Walkman.

It took me three days to figure out that there was another side to the tape. That was not the only naive mistake that I made; I mistook the metal/normal switch on the Walkman for a genre-specific equaliser, but later I discovered that it was in fact used to switch between two different types of cassette.

Yeah, and the cell phones were the size of bricks and had batteries like the one in your mom's car.

Can you believe this kid?  Or his parents for that matter?  You mean to tell me that his mom and dad have never showed him a cassette tape?

Later, he whines about having to listen to the tape all the way through because there "is no shuffle,"and breaking the cassette"

Its a function that, on the face of it, the Walkman lacks. But I managed to create an impromptu shuffle feature simply by holding down "rewind" and releasing it randomly - effective, if a little laboured.

I told my dad about my clever idea. His words of warning brought home the difference between the portable music players of today, which don't have moving parts, and the mechanical playback of old. In his words, "Walkmans eat tapes". So my clumsy clicking could have ended up ruining my favourite tape, leaving me music-less for the rest of the day

HONESTLY!

The ignorance of this kid is breathtaking.  He's 13, meaning he was born in 1995 or 1996, depending on when his birthday is.  My 1995 car came with a tape deck in the top model stereo.  You could not GET a CD player in that car, and yet this kid acts as if the cassette is some kind of dinosaur.

And they gave HIM a platform?  If all 13-year-olds are like this, I am frankly scared.

Get a life, kid, and pull your selfish head out of your own ass and pay attention to the whole world around you.  Not just your easy little toys.

Posted by: caltechgirl at 12:45 PM | Comments (7) | Add Comment
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24 hours of Kindle

Well, folks, it's been 24 hours since the Kindle DX arrived, and I have to say, it is worth every stinkin' penny I paid for it.

I've seen a lot of crappy reviews.  Whiny ones, too, complaining that the PDF support is minimal and that it's a pain to hold the bigger frame of the DX, and blah blah blah.  None of that is true.

After a full day of use, I can report that the only things I dislike about the Kindle DX are kind of minor.  First, there are no folders.  Yes you can organize your files by date, type, and author, but there is no true file structure to help you keep things organized.  This would really be helpful for those of us who carrying around a lot of PDF files.  They get overwhelming fast.  The other thing I am not a fan of is the robot voice of the text to speech feature.  Either of them, for that matter.  You get your choice of male or female. I'm not sure how it is with standard English texts, using only simple words, but you start throwing in complex sentence structure and foreign words, and the robot gets lost.  All in all, though, it's still smarter than I thoguht it would be.

The Kindle has a number of uses.  First and foremost, it's a LOT lighter to carry than some of the books I have already downloaded.  Second, it's useful for a lot of tasks that would otherwise require a lot of paper: PDFs, Cookbooks (just take care to keep the Kindle clean and dry inthe kitchen!), and sheet music to name a few.  You can also annotate any text file, so taking notes during rehearsal ought to be a SNAP with the Kindle DX.  Text to Speech also makes a great alternative to books on tape (CD?) in the car.

The e-ink is another awesome thing.  It's like a real page, so reading outside is totally possible, unlike working on most laptops.  In fact, I spent much of yesterday evening sitting on the patio with the Kindle DX until it got too breezy to stay out.  Long before the sun went down. Unfortunately.

My favorite feature, though, I think, is the free wireless internet access (thanks, Amazon!).  It's Sprint 3G (where available) and not only can you download books from Amazon (many are free!), but you can also surf the web.  I think the web browser on the Kindle, while clearly limited, is still MILES beyond the one on my Instinct.  Not as good as my trusty ol' Firefox, though.  Maybe on the next one.  Several popular sites are pre-bookmarked, and you can add any number of your own, too.  You can also download files.  Kindle compatible files are automatically displayed on your home page by type, title, and author.  There are a number of sites out there that offer free e-Books that display on the Kindle and are available for Text- to- Speech as well.

The only feature I haven't played with is the mp3 player.  I'd rather listen to the books for the nonce.  The speakers are better than I expected, though nothing fancy, so I assume sound quality isn't terrible.

It has been quite an experience so far, from the moment I laid eyes on the box.  Even the packaging says "this is something special."

This is what arrived:

yeah, and the junk mail, too. 

But it was soon apparent that this is no ordinary box:

the inside was pretty too:

And it's so awesome.  Even the screensavers are cool:

There's a couple more pictures of the Kindle on Flickr!, including a very smart sticker and also some new jam and garden shots.

Posted by: caltechgirl at 10:30 PM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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Reflections on the side of a van

So I was driving in to work this morning when I passed a van which looked, from a distance, like the windows had seen better days.  Driving closer, I realized the windows were covered in writing, white shoe polish spelling out "Congratulations, Edwin Class of 2009" on the back, and "Proud Parent of Edwin, Class of 2009" on each side.
My first thought was "wow, Edwin must be so embarrassed."  But then I realized how proud his parents must be, to be driving around with that message shining from their windows at least a week, maybe more, after graduation.  And I realized that I was proud of him too, whoever he is, and what an immense accomplishment it is to graduate from high school.  It's something took for granted.  Of course I would finish school.  And college.  And grad school.  Been there, done that.  And of course I can't leave.  Still at school, although they pay me here :-)
But making it through 12 years of school is actually a lot of work.  Especially here in LA where some kids routinely dodge bullets on the way to and from school, and fights on school grounds that are just as deadly.  And let's not forget peer pressure, to use drugs and alcohol, to have too much sex too soon, and all the rest.  Kinda makes it hard to stay on track.

So here's to Edwin, and all of the other Class of 2009 graduates.  Good Luck, and keep up the good work.

Posted by: caltechgirl at 11:31 AM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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Theme for June Gloom?

Shannon's latest post (and BTW, still so totally weird to call her Shannon in "public") speaks of the music of our lives, songs and moments that go together, pieces of time and melody that weave together to calm, cajole, soothe, or enchant the soul.

There are many songs that speak to me, too.  Songs for particular occasions, for soothing, for sleeping, for screaming along in the car in rotten LA rush hour.

I started my own list, every one of these songs has a meaning for me; a time, a place, a person, a feeling. I was going to follow Shannon's example, but then I realized most of the explanations are "you had to be there" kinds of things, so I thought I'd just write them out, and let you have the fun of guessing.

Or just listening.  It's kind of the soundtrack of my life.

In no particular order, then:

1. Sarah McLachlan: Angel (and bonus: The GooGoo Dolls: Iris)
2. Barenaked Ladies: Lovers in a Dangerous Time
3. Chess: One Night in Bangkok
4. Bonnie Raitt: Something to Talk About (and bonus: The Alan Parsons Project: Eye in the Sky)
5. Ace of Base: The Sign (and bonus: Jann Arden: Insensitive)
6. Nina Gordon: Tonight and the Rest of My Life
7. Johnny Preston: Running Bear (Double Bonus!! The Beatles: Maxwell's Silver Hammer and The Rolling Stones: Mother's Little Helper, I could add about 8 more here, as well)
8. Jo Dee Messina: Heads Carolina, Tails California
9. The Wallflowers: The Difference
10. Train: Meet Virginia
11. Semisonic: All About Chemistry
12. Barenaked Ladies: It's All Been Done (this is a great cover)
13. Clint Black and Lisa Hartman Black: Something that We Do
14. Spin Doctors: Little Miss Can't Be Wrong
15. Shawn Colvin: Sunny Came Home
16. The Indigo Girls: Galileo
17. James Taylor: Carolina on My Mind Sorry for the poor quality, I chose this clip for sentimental reasons.
18. Paul Simon: Graceland
19. Chris LeDoux and Garth Brooks: What'cha Gonna do with a Cowboy?
20. Mazzy Star: Fade Into You

Some of my favorites, some not so favorites, and several I didn't include.  I figured 20 was enough to keep you busy...

I apologize for the quality/ content of some of the videos, I was going for the music and some didn't have a lot of choices.

Extra Credit for anyone who can tell me why you'd never expect to see the songs from #7 double bonus on any of my song lists!

Posted by: caltechgirl at 09:51 AM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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Picture Pages!

Lots of new pics up at Flickr! Including from my recent zoo trip with my students.

Posted by: caltechgirl at 04:46 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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Picture Pages!

Lots of new pics up at Flickr! Including from my recent zoo trip with my students.

Posted by: caltechgirl at 04:46 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Happy Pi Day 2009!

3.14  Enjoy some pi(e)!



And Happy Birthday Albert Einstein!  Today would be # 130!

Posted by: caltechgirl at 11:18 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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May the Fleece be with You

Shamelessly ripped off from Jimbo of the Great Farookin' Hair™

Posted by: caltechgirl at 10:28 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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Unexpected Zen

I was hoping to post a video of Sunny Came Home for today's Zen.  So I went looking on YouTube.  Where I found this.  I love how the music fits with the video, and well, the song definitely applies to Hermione.  Don't fuck with her.

Pretty unexpectedly awesome, except the whole Hermione needs to get with Harry ending.  I always knew she'd end up with Ron....

Posted by: caltechgirl at 07:24 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Today's moment of Zen

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What do Klingons and Toilet Paper have in common?

Evidently you find both in a 7-11 in Colorado Springs.

Colorado Springs police are looking for a man who hit two 7-Eleven convenience stores early Wednesday, armed with a Klingon sword.

The first robbery was reported at 1:50 a.m., at 145 N Spruce St. The clerk told police a white man in his 20s, wearing a black jacket, blue jeans and wearing a black mask, entered the store with a weapon the clerk recognized from the Star Trek TV series.

That weapon was a Bat'leth, a crescent-shaped Klingon blade.

Now that's some serious Bij!

I'm not sure which is worse, using the bat'leth to rob the 7-11 or knowing its name, as both clerks evidently did.

Or maybe that I knew how to spell it and the reporter clearly doesn't.

Scroll down and check out the comments on the news article.  Pretty funny stuff, especially if you know some Klingon....

h/t Stacy (via twitter)

Posted by: caltechgirl at 08:09 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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Pictures and stuff

Lots of new pics on the Flickr page.  Including Flea performing with the Caltech Jazz bands (and our own Kjerstin, too!) and lots of glorious jam/marmalade food pRon.

Like this:

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I am not among the head-burying ostriches

Yes, I am going to watch the festivities tomorrow.

I am going to watch the O-bots cheer as their messiah of the new raises his right hand and takes the same oath George Washington did, using the bible of Abraham Lincoln.

Folks, like it or not this is our new President.  Hail the peaceful transition of power so rare elsewhere, and common enough here that we take it for granted, don't ignore it like it will go away.

It's not going away for four more years.   I for one can't hold my breath that long under the sand.

I am going to watch and rant and yell obscenities at the TV, at the idiots who don't remember the past as they bow down and worship The One.  I am also going to cheer the new President and enjoy the presentations of the Inaugural Parade.

Because really folks, this is it.  It's our history, like it or not, and we can be there for it, or we can pretend it didn't happen.  I'm of the opinion that the revolution WILL be televised.  And YouTubed.  And I'd prefer to be able to talk about it firsthand anyway.

I don't blame those of you on media blackout.  I get it.  I feel you.  But I just can't help but think it's another form of denial.  And I can't be in denial for 4 more years.

Posted by: caltechgirl at 12:22 AM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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So I was totally going to tweet this

But then I realized 140 characters just won't cut it.

Today has been busy.  I finally (after 10 days of snot bombs!) felt up to leaving the house.  Which I suppose is a good thing since I have to actually go to work again in about 30 hours.

I was shocked that Costco was nearly EMPTY.  I mean, there were PARKING PLACES in the lot.  We didn't have to stand in line at the checkout, either.  I mean, we walked right up and put our vast quantities of meat and some garbage bags and soda right on the belt. I'm still not sure what factors contributed to this.  It was 11:30 AM on a Saturday, normally MADHOUSE time at our Costco.  I'm guessing it was a combination of post-holiday malaise, hangovers, and too much holiday spending.  Whatever the reason, I was loving it.  Especially since Costco has been much more crowded in the last several months as people search for a deal. We even ordered our new eyeglasses at the optical department without more than a 5 minute wait for the dude.  The longest wait (not surprisingly) was at the gas station.

The dearth of shoppers was also in evidence at TJs, which was our next stop.  I was really surprised.  This is sort of a wake up and realign with reality weekend in Pasadena, with the Rose Festivities ending and people about to send their children back to school.  Again, I was glad to take advantage of the easy parking and short lines.

Later, we watched some of Serenity on SciFi and I realized I can never watch it again with the same appreciation I had before.  For two reasons.  1) I still harbor a grudge against Joss for killing Wash.  Seeing Penny's death in Dr. Horrible, and my non-reaction to it makes me even more pissed that he killed off Wash. and 2) Nathan Fillion is seriously Captain Hammer now and forever more.

Pathetically profound, no?

I have an awesome smelling pot roast (what little I can smell) going in the crockpot to use up some leftover Guinness and wine from Wednesday.

I had forgotten how much I love to cook.  It has been so long since I felt up to really cooking.  And yeah, I know the crockpot isn't really cooking, but considering that the best I've been up to for the last year or so, with notable exceptions, involves either the toaster or the microwave, it's a big step forward.  I even have some notion of making a few batches of jam tomorrow.  We'll see.

I have dozens of pictures to download off the camera and upload.  Stay tuned for updates on that, too.

Posted by: caltechgirl at 12:10 AM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
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I had a Bob and Tom moment

For Ben, who totally understands why:

I really need to get out those Planet Bob and Tom CDs. "The OJ Simpson Christmas Album" is appropriate for this Christmas, don't you think?

h/t GOC

Posted by: caltechgirl at 02:40 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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From the Why Me? file...

This morning I go out to the car to go to work, and what do I find?  An inch and a half of standing water in the driver's seat.

Either the seals around the sunroof are dead, or someone left it cracked.  Likely me.

Fuck.

One seat cover and two bath towels later, the seat was usable, and the headliner and flip-down sunshade on the driver's side were mostly dry.  Oh, and the carpet too.

It remains to be seen whether it was negligence or maintenance that caused my morning freak out.

Either way, definitely NOT the way to get my Christmas cheer going.

I had been doing pretty well, too.  Christmas cards going out, lights hung all over the house, wreaths, I was getting there.

So I treated myself to Peppermint Mocha #2 while I picked up a $tarbucks gift card for our gift exchange this afternoon.

That helped.

Posted by: caltechgirl at 03:44 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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