Friday, January 28, 2005

Happy Days are Here Again! Today, my Federal Income Tax Refund found its way to my bank account. My Maryland State Income Tax refund found its way there earlier this week. So, now that I am flush with cash, let's make a list of some things I need to acquire. Sofa Since moving into my new apartment in August, I have procrastinated mightily in acquiring a sofa. Part of this is because I have never quite needed one, as I am not a huge entertainer. Lately, though, my living room is quite pathetic without one. Besides, my floor is not what I would call the softest. I have a couple of options. I can go the route that I have maintained, and single-handedly keep the economy of Sweden afloat. There has been a loveseat from IKEA which is perfect for my living room:, the Klippan: Unless something else pops out at me, this will be the one. Digital Camera After some wonderful advice from seadragon, I am leaning heavily in the direction of the Canon PowerShot A95. I think that camera is the bomb! I just need to scour the Internets for some deals on this camera--or at least a deal on a CompactFlash card. Clothes I need to get a few clothing items. Nothing big, but I just need some stuff. Namely jeans, a new belt or two, and maybe a sweater and shirt. Pots and Pans I need some pots and pans. I hate using the microwave for everything. I do not cook a lot, but I must admit that I like to get some good cookware. I figure I buy the good stuff once, and it will last for a good long time. Any suggestions on what to buy and price? I seem partial to Kitchen Aid, but I am open to suggestions. More Cowbell Consider the shirt in the post from the other day purchased. I even got one for my friend who loves that sketch. He just has to make sure not to wear it when I do. Aside from that, I have no idea what else I will do with the windfall. Presumably, some will pay some bills, while some more will be put towards entertainment expenditures. 3:19:44 PM    comment []  trackback []

Work? Friday? Huh? One of the things that annoys me about my job is when I have to do work on a server at a remote location.  The problem is most of these remote locations are either in the office of the on-site technical support person or in some undesirable location.  The upgrade I had to do today was firmly in the latter: it was located in a closet in the basement of the Plant Sciences building here on campus.  Well, the upgrade should not have taken much more than two hours at the most, but I had scheduled for four hours.  Most of that time was trying to get the CD-ROM drive to work in NetWare.  For some reason, everything I did could not get it to work.  After reaching my wit's end, I decided to call Novell Technical Support.  I explain the problem, and the engineer I get on the other end mentions another way to perform the upgrade.  I follow those steps, and the upgrade goes smoothly.  The total time to completion: 5.5 hours, including the time I spent getting things squared away in my office.  The server needs to be restarted later tonight, but once that is done all should be well.  To quote the late Hannibal from the A-Team, "I love it when a plan comes together."  2:33:29 PM    comment []  trackback []