Mike Berman's Random Thoughts and Opinions

H&R Block Taxcut Installation Failure

2012-01-30T11:46:00.000-08:00

I was trying to install H&R Block Taxcut 2011 software on a 64-bit Windows 7 system and got the following "Installation Failure" message:

If you get this message, it may be because you tried to run "tcauto.exe". Try running the file "/installers/HRBlock_Basic+Efile_2011_CD.exe" instead. This worked for me.

By the way, I had precisely this same issue last year. I guess the folks at H&R Block did not read this blog and try to fix the issue.

Astaro VPN Adapter Issue on Windows XP

2012-01-04T06:49:00.000-08:00

There is an issue with running the Astaro SSL VPN on Windows XP. I have seen that this has affected other people, and have not seen any solutions (short of the drastic step of running "netsh int ip reset logfile.txt" and "netsh winsock reset catalog" to wipe out the entire winsock configuration), so I thought I would post this combination of steps that seems to work for me.

The symptom is if you get the following error message when trying to log in to the SSL VPN:

"Warning: route gateway is not reachable on any active network" or

"route gateway is not reachable on any active network adapters"

You will not be able to access anything on the network, even though you are logged in to the VPN with a valid IP address.

These steps resolve the problem for me:

1. Make sure using wireless connection (not ethernet)

2. Log in to the VPN

3. Open Network Connections (Click Start, click Run, type ncpa.cpl , and then click OK.) and see which adapter is "Connected" (e.g. "Local Area Connection 5")

4. Right-click and select "Disable". This will log you out of the VPN

5. Go to the Device Manager (under Control Panel / System / Hardware) and under "Network Adapters" locate the Astaro SSL VPN network adapter and right-click to uninstall it

6. Run "C:\Program Files\Astaro\Astaro SSL VPN Client\bin\addtap.bat"

7. Observe a new adapter in the Network Connections panel. Under Advanced / Advanced Settings, make sure the new adapter is at the top of the list (use the arrows)

8. Try to log in to the VPN again.

This seems to work about 75% of the time. If not, repeating the steps a second time sometimes works.

Notes

In step 7 or 8, if the new adapter says "Connected, Firewalled" under "Status", right-click and go to Properties, select "Advanced", click "Settings" under "Windows Firewall" and turn off.
To delete an adapter from the registry (not sure if this works, but can try as last resort if step 5 above is not working), go to HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4D36E972-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002bE10318}. This didn't seem to be working, but may require a re-boot after deleting for the list to refresh.
If you get the message "All TAP-Win32 adapters on this system are currently in use", this means you need to do step 6 above to add an Astaro SSL VPN adapter.

New Years Resolutions

2012-01-01T00:01:00.000-08:00

2012: If you agree to do something for someone, do it right away

2011: Hear everything that people say

2009: Make use of the things I have

2008: Be mindful of daily goals list every night

2007: Watch a maximum of one sporting event per week (week runs Sun-Sat). There are two exemptions: watching with others in a social setting, or watching while exercising.

2006: (1) Do not watch the 11:00 local news (2) Finish reading the Sunday paper by Tuesday night

2005: Never place anything in a location where it could cause a problem if left there

2004: Perform any activity immediately if it will take less than 1 minute

My daily goals (which I update every morning on http://www.joesgoals.com/):
(1) 10 pushups
(2) Review Pete's school papers
(3) Be a good example for the kids at all times
(4) Perform one task on home "To Do" list
(5) post to petesammemories blog
(6) 20 min physical exercise
(7) Kids clean up all toys taken out that day
(8) Read two section of Washington Post

(9) Watch one saved item on DVR (if any)

(10) E-mail inbox completely to zero

(11) Review nightly list of discussion and small action items

(12) Chore on house clean-up list

(13) De-clutter one item

(14) Do not watch any sports on TV

(15) Be mindful of goals list before turning on computer

(16) Never turn on TV, other than to watch single a item on DVR

Retired resolutions:
(1) Maintain an even and calm temperament
(2) Think without deceit
(3) Tell the truth at all times
(4) Do right by others
(5) Temperance in food/drink
(6) Moderation in all things
(7) Tranquility

Golf Strategies

2011-12-28T23:38:00.000-08:00

One thing I've learned from Pete's baseball games is that you can't get a hit every time, but you can have a good at bat most of the time. This means, for example, that you batted aggressively and swung at the strikes and didn't swing at the balls. This seems obvious, but I see so many at bats where kids go up there unprepared and watch several good pitches go by and then strike out on a bad pitch.

This got me thinking about playing golf. I can think of some similar strategies that I can start to put in place.

Goals / Strategies For a Full Round

1. I will not let a bad shot affect my preparation for the next shot

2. I will maintain my composure and goodwill

Strategies For Each Shot

1. Things I Can Completely Control

- I will go through my routine on every shot

- I will consider and assess the various options for a shot

- I will know my specific plan for the shot before I swing the club

- I will try to accurately determine the necessary characteristics of each shot:

- Distance

- Lie / Slope

- Break of green (walking around the full green)

- I will select a shot that I can reliably execute (e.g. more than 50% of the time)

2. Things I Can Work To Improve

- Error of execution (e.g. did I start the putt with the correct speed and line. if not, how close was I to what I wanted)

The key observation is that category 2 errors are acceptable and should account for my score being over par. Category 1 errors are not acceptable and should be reduced as close as possible to zero.

iTouch Free App Download Without Credit Card

2011-12-27T06:10:00.000-08:00

I was setting up an Apple iTouch for my 7-year old son. I wanted to allow him to download free apps without a credit card. I created an Apple ID for him. But when trying to download a free app, the iTouch would insist that a credit card is required, even for a free app. There was no way to work around this.

Here is the solution I implemented for this:

1. Log in with my son's Apple ID

2. Enter my credit card information. This validated the account.

3. Download the free app

4. Connect the iTouch to the computer

5. In iTunes, log in to the Store with his Apple ID (select Store / Sign In)

6. Select Store / View My Account

7. Click "Edit" under Payment Type

8. Change Credit Card type to "None". The credit card information is deleted.

Now he can download free apps without a credit card.

Repair Garbage Disposal Hum

2011-11-23T22:19:00.000-08:00

My garbage disposal stopped turning. It was just making a faint humming sound.

To fix it, I took a 1/4" allen wrench and inserted it into the hole at the bottom of the unit (under the sink). I turned the wrench (either direction). It was hard to turn at first, then easy. It seems to have either unstuck the turning mechanism, or cleared whatever was stuck in there.

Now it is working fine.

Microsoft Outlook Problem

2011-11-21T06:45:00.000-08:00

I am running Microsoft Outlook 2007 on Windows XP.

I started getting the error message this morning: "Microsoft Office Outlook has encountered a problem and needs to close". Every time I re-started Outlook, I got the same message. So Outlook was completely un-usable.

I fixed the problem as follows:

1. Run SCANPST.EXE (located in C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office12)

2. Select my PST file and click Repair. It said errors were found.

When I re-started Outlook, the problem was fixed.

The Truth

2011-11-17T23:50:00.000-08:00

I saw a car at a stoplight today. It was one of these cars that is completely covered with a fancy paint job as an advertisement. In this case it was for "The Truth" 730 AM; a local conservative talk radio station.

I found a number of amusing things about this, but first and foremost is the concept of opinion radio that calls itself "The Truth", as if all other radio stations are just intentionally spilling out lies. I also think that just "Truth" would be a more reasonable term to use than "The Truth". One common definition of Truth is consistency with regard to a certain standard. So implying that there is only one Truth seems absurd. There are many truths you can adhere to. And the other meaning of Truth means adhering to the facts, but can one radio station honestly claim that they are getting more accurate facts than another? And if so, what new fact-finding secret have they discovered, and why are they the only ones who have discovered it? And how have they managed to keep this true-fact finding process all to themselves?

Firing of Joe Paterno

2011-11-10T23:52:00.000-08:00

I disagree with the decision made yesterday by the Penn State Board of Trustees to fire Joe Paterno.

Joe Paterno served Penn State tirelessly and honorably for 61 years. He is a paragon or virtue and is not only the all-time winningest Division-I football Coach, but did so year after year with high graduation rates and little or no recruiting violations. He is now stripped of the right to Coach his one final home game Saturday against Nebraska.

The allegations that he did not do enough to stop the abuse of children by his former assistant Coach are serious ones. If it is true that he knew the details of these crimes and only did the minimum that was required of him, without following up, then he should be ashamed of that behavior and dismissed from his position.

However, he has not been given any chance to defend himself or state what really happened. Someone of such high character should be given the benefit of the doubt, and should not be vilified in the media and then fired in a rush to judgment. People all across the country, who witnessed nothing and do not have all the facts, are calling for everyone to immediately resign in a bloodthirsty witch hunt.

Ignoring the abuse of children shows a lack of moral character. Another thing that shows a lack of moral character is tossing out an icon like a piece of garbage, without a careful review of the evidence.

I agree with my friend Lisa, who stated the whole situation about as well as any I have seen:

As much as I am utterly appalled by the ALLEGATIONS made, I find it equally upsetting that the Board of Trustees knuckled under in such a weak-kneed manner to the collective desire for blood of the court of common opinion and the court of the 24 hr "news" media. Joepa has been tried, convicted and crucified by the evidence of the prosecution only (that's all the Grand jury report is) w/o the opportunity to fully defend himself. It's sad that Joepa doesn't get the benefit of due process but Jerry Sandusky will.

The Vice Chairman of the BOT openly said they didn't have all the facts when making their decision and, when repeatedly pressed by the media, couldn't clearly define what the "best interests" of the University were that they were trying to consider. To me, this just shows a self-interested, ill-considered, pathetic rush to judgement in order to cover their collective derrieres in the eyes of corporate sponsors & donors. They should have just said that in the absence of any proven wrong-doing established through a full, fair and impartial investigation, they could not make a fully considered decision, but that in the interim they were in full agreement with Joepa's decision to retire at season's end.

Google Chrome Extension Error

2011-10-30T12:30:00.000-07:00

I recently started getting the following error message in Google Chrome on many web pages:

"An additional plugin is required to display some elements on this page"

Here is how to fix this:

1. Go to Options / Under the Hood and click "Content Settings"

2. Under "Plug-ins", click "disable individual plug-ins"

3. On the plug-ins screen, look for "Skype Toolbars" and under ""Skype Click to Call for Chrome" click "Disable"

Look for the Skype button in your Google Chrome address toolbar. Right-click it and select "Disable".

Kerntype

2011-10-19T20:54:00.000-07:00

Try Kerntype. It only takes about 5-10 minutes. See if you can beat my score:

I got 100/100 on three of the 10 trials:

Jewelanche

2011-10-15T15:00:00.000-07:00

Jewelanche was a fun game that took a few days to complete. This is a game I would actually go back and try again sometime.

Asleep Walking

2011-10-15T14:59:00.001-07:00

Asleep Walking was actually one of the easier flash games I have finished. Try it!

Uneasy Feelings

2011-10-12T06:46:00.001-07:00

You know that feeling you get at a traffic light, when the guy in front of you backs up a little bit and then forgets to shift out of reverse? He's sitting there with his reverse lights on, as the seconds tick away before the light turns green.

This is as close as I can describe to how it has felt to watch every Eagles game this year.

Favorite Song of the Moment

2011-09-20T07:11:00.000-07:00

Here is my favorite song at the moment:

09/20/11 Leaning On the Everlasting Arms (Iris DeMent)

06/01/10 You Lost Me (Christina Aguilera)

02/02/2010 Glitter in the Air (Pink)

07/18/09 Lions on the Astroturf (ZibraZibra)

09/02/08 Fix You (Coldplay)
05/15/07 Such Great Heights (Iron & Wine)
05/04/07 The Story (Brandi Carlile)
05/01/07 Antichrist Television Blues (Arcade Fire)
03/05/07 I'm Not Okay (My Chemical Romance)
09/25/06 I'm Lonely (But I Ain't That Lonely Yet) (The White Stripes)
07/29/06 Sometimes (My Bloody Valentine)
07/20/06 Do You Realize (Flaming Lips)
06/19/06 This Will Be Our Year (Zombies)
03/08/06 A Case of You (K.D. Lang version)
01/09/06 Goodbye My Lover (James Blunt)
12/01/05 All These Things That I Have Done (The Killers)
10/12/05 Gold Digger (Kanye West)

Michele Bachmann

2011-06-30T17:36:00.000-07:00

Michele Bachmann supports creationism. This means:

(1) she does not have the most basic level of scientific literacy, and

(2) she does not know how to consult experts in a field to get a working knowledge of an important issue

These are two things that disqualify someone from being a viable candidate for President.

Blogger Image Upload Freeze Workaround

2011-06-22T21:31:00.000-07:00

If you find that Blogger/Blogspot often freezes when you are trying to select photos to upload, try this workaround. Open the folder with your photo(s) in Windows Explorer. On the image selection selection screen, instead of clicking on the "Choose File" button, drag the image file from Windows Explorer right on to the "Choose File" button. It will put the filename there and then you can just click the "Upload Image" button.

Discovering this workaround has really saved me a lot of anguish that I had been having trying to upload photos.

This same solution works if your Outlook 2007 is freezing when you try to add attachments.

Unblock a Windows File

2011-06-16T12:37:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I downloaded a file and tried to install it on a Windows server. I got the cryptic error message "Windows cannot access the specified device path or file" when I tried to run the exe file. To solve this problem, I needed to right-click on the file and go to Properties. Near the bottom of the dialog, there was a button to "Unblock" the file. After I clicked "Unblock" and "Apply", I was able to run the file. Note, I assume you have to be logged on to the server as administrator in order to unblock a file.

Solution to FTP Problem with Windows Security Settings

2011-06-16T12:21:00.000-07:00

I was trying to FTP some files today on to a virtualized Windows 2003 server. First, it would not work in Filezilla. It kept dropping the connection. Then I tried just using the address bar in Windows Explorer (ftp://username:password@ftp.edge-technologies.com/folder/). This didn't work either, but I got a clue into the problem. The following error message would pop up: "Your current security settings do not allow you to download files from this location". The problem was the Internet Explorer download settings were set to a very high level.

I found a workaround, which was to add ftp.edge-technologies.com to my trusted sites and then instead of using Windows Explorer, use Internet Explorer to navigate to ftp://username:password@ftp.edge-technologies.com/. I could then right-click on the items in IE and select "Copy To Folder" which allowed me to them paste them (in Windows Explorer) into the desired folder, at which point it would download the files.

Seagate Replica

2011-06-15T22:34:00.000-07:00

I've been using a 2 TB Seagate Replica hard drive for about the last 6 months to back up my laptop. Overall, I am pretty happy with it. Below are a few issues I encountered for anyone who may be searching for solutions for the same issues:

1. A lot of the time it doesn't let me safely disconnect the drive. If I'm pretty sure it's done with the current backup, I unplug it anyway and it works the next time.

2. I only plug in my laptop about once a week to back it up. It would be nice if there was a simple way to disable the "Seagate Replica has not been plugged in for 7 days" nag that always pops up.

3. I was working on a project one day and encountered a file that got unexpectedly reverted to a state where a bunch of my work had been lost. I was able to recover my good version of the file from my Seagate Replica drive, saving me a lot of re-work. The Seagate actually gave me 5 dated versions of the old file to choose from. It was a bit of a pain-in-the-ass getting the file back (it seemed to get slower and slower as I dug deeper into my many sub-directories), but still it was nice to get the file back. So chalk one up to the good guys.

4. There is no documentation anywhere that details how the backups work. For example, what does it do when the drive gets full - delete your oldest versions of your files? And what if you delete a file locally - is it still in your backups? I understand that they don't include a big manual with the drive, but they should at least have this information in a PDF somewhere, or on their website. I guess we'll never know.

5. When I first installed the software, I ran the backup for 4 days, and then it said the backup was complete. But when I looked in the Replica folders, it only had the "My Documents" and "Desktop" folder and did not have back up files from any of the other folders in my c:

drive. I contacted support and they only suggested that I uninstall and reinstall everything. I kept letting it run over the next few days, and after a while it magically started working.

6. [biggest issue] I discovered that the folder C:\Program Files\Seagate Replica\db\ was taking up huge amounts of space on my laptop. And the more files I deleted to clear out space, the more space this folder would take up! The folder had a subfolder {4D9CAEFD-C90F-4E43-9837-14D9B75EA104}, which had many large files in it and was over 16 GB. I could see that each of these files corresponded to dates when I had plugged in the drive and run my backups. I deleted all of the files that were dated older than my current backup, and am still monitoring/testing to see what the effect will be of this.

How To Subscribe To a Twitter Feed via RSS

2011-05-19T14:37:00.000-07:00

It's almost impossible anymore to subscribe to an RSS feed of someone's Twitter feed. This is because Twitter wants you to go through their viewer. But, like me, you may want to have tweets come up in your RSS reader such as Google Reader.

How to subscribe to a Twitter feed in RSS:

1. Go to the URL https://api.twitter.com/1/users/show.json?screen_name=INSERTNAME

2. Change the URL, replacing INSERTNAME with the twitter user name for that user

3. In the string of garbled info, look near the bottom for "ID:" followed by a number of approximately 8 digits. Call this number ABCDEFGH

4. The RSS feed you want to subscribe to is: http://twitter.com/statuses/user_timeline/ABCDEFGH.rss

Good luck finding this anywhere else on the web.

A Riddle

2011-04-28T09:52:00.001-07:00

When is 90 the same as 130?

Tealy and Orangey

2011-03-08T20:57:00.000-08:00

I had so much misery finishing Level 14 of Tealy and Orangey, I'm going to need a little time before I can go back and try to finish the last 6 levels.

In fact, I might have to wait until someone posts in the comments that they finished the game. I believe this would inspire me to go back and finish it.

H&R Block Taxcut Installation Failure

2011-02-19T10:11:00.000-08:00

I was trying to install H&R Block Taxcut 2010 software on a 64-bit Windows 7 system and got the following "Installation Failure" message:

If you get this message, it may be because you tried to run "tcauto.exe". Try running the file "/installers/HRBlock_Basic+Efile_2010_CD.exe" instead. This worked for me.

Time Savers

2010-12-30T21:01:00.000-08:00

Here are two things I started doing to save time:

1. When I sign my name, I don't dot the "i" anymore. I estimate that this saves me about 1 second per signature, which adds up to about 6 minutes per year.

2. When I write "ok" in a chat, now I just abbreviate it as "k". I estimate that this saves me about 0.1 seconds per occurrence, which adds up to about 4 minutes per year. My friends are the true losers in this transaction, since it takes them about 2 seconds to stop and remember that "k" means "ok".

Unfortunately, this post took me about 5 minutes to write, so it will take me about 6 months to catch up for the lost time.

Deal or No Deal

2010-12-21T23:51:00.000-08:00

Have you ever noticed a pattern on the game show Deal or No Deal? The first offer from the banker is pretty high, like $100K. The player turns it down. The deals get successively smaller, the player keeps turning them down, and the player ends up taking a deal for about $8K. He slouches off the stage as the host says "well, at least you got something".

It makes sense why this happens. The expected value for the player when the game starts is $111K. But the great majority of the cases are worth less than that. So the median value is much less than the mean. Unless the player really wants the million dollar case and nothing else, his best strategy is to quit the game as soon as possible.

To see this, look at this example. Suppose the game had 1,000 cases. 999 of them have $1 and one of them has $1 billion. The expected winnings at the start of the game are $1 million. But if the player keeps playing, he ultimately has a 99.9% chance of winning only $1! Most people would agree that he should open a few cases, and then take the initial offer of about $1 million.

The real game is essentially a similar situation - just the numbers are jumbled up a bit to confuse things.

So why does the player usually not do the above strategy?

1. The "House Money" effect - Studies have shown that if people are playing with money that is not theirs, they play more aggressively.

2. The "Win Back Your Losses" effect - After the million dollar case is lost (which will happen 95% time, if you play long enough) the player wants to win back what they lost, which means hoping against hope that they open all of the cases except the highest one that is left.

3. Bad Advice - The player is constantly urged by their friends and the audience to turn down almost any deal.

Machine Golf

2010-11-26T21:12:00.000-08:00

I was wondering today whether a machine would ever be able to beat a human in golf.

I think the machine should definitely be able to dominate the human in putting and off the tee.

With regard to the other shots, I think it would be extremely difficult for the machine to deal with all of the slight variations in stance, lie, and strategy. But maybe the advantages on the tee and green would be enough to make up for this.

Another challenge is how the machine would get from one shot to the next. I think a standard part of golf that is often overlooked is (a) finding the ball after the shot is played, and then (b) navigating to that spot.

Angular Momentum

2010-11-24T18:19:00.000-08:00

So I walk in the door coming home from work, and Sam shows me his cool top that he's been playing with. I explain to Sam that angular momentum is helping the top stay balanced. He says "I know that". Then after dinner he has a sudden desire to show me the Angular Momentum flash game. I am instantly hooked.

Although this game was maddening at times, we were able to finish it off in about an hour. Unlike some games, we were quite pleased when we got the "Congratulations" screen, knowing that we would not have to face any more of the levels in the Expert mode.

RSS Teases - GraphJam

2010-11-10T21:34:00.000-08:00

RSS feeds can often be a tease, like slot machines. They pay off just enough enough to keep you addicted for a little while longer.

Case in point - GraphJam.

About 19 out of 20 posts are garbage like this:

But then on the 20th you get a little gem like this:

And it's enough to keep you coming back for more.

I Knew It

2010-07-30T18:44:00.001-07:00

About a month ago, I posted here that I was getting creeped out lately about how personal those banner ads seem to be getting. I posted a few screen captures from dictionary-type sites as examples, since these sites seem pretty harmless when you are visiting them.

Now today I read this article in the Wall Street Journal. It exposes the burgeoning industry of harvesting secrets from our computers. The kicker is that the top culprit they mention is none other than Dictionary.com. "A visit to the online dictionary site resulted in 234 files or programs being downloaded onto the Journal's test computer, 223 of which were from companies that track Web users."

Morplee

2010-07-10T20:36:00.001-07:00

I challenge you to try to finish Morplee without putting in 20 minutes of hard work and getting a surprising sense of accomplishment.

Goldie's Revenge

2010-07-08T18:08:00.001-07:00

Goldie's Revenge.

Quite possibly the easiest flash game we have come across. But the kids still enjoyed completing it. Good for 15 minutes of fun.

Targeted Ads

2010-07-07T17:40:00.001-07:00

Ok, I'm starting to get a little creeped out by the targeted banner ads.

I bought a porch swing from porchswings.com. Now everywhere I go, I am seeing ads for porchswings.com in my browser. Not only that, it's the exact swing that I bought. And if you click through, it says that swing is no longer available. My dead swing is stalking me on the internet:

Notice on the above page, it's in two different places on the page!

Do they really think I'm going to go back and buy another porch swing? And how did all these other sites get a hold of my browsing history? Or even worse, my purchasing history!

Then I went to look at a platform bed, and now guess what keeps showing up in my banner ads?

Yep, same bed. When did these ads get so good?

AAAAAAAGGGGH!!

Literally

2010-06-30T23:02:00.000-07:00

I am easily amused by bad usage of the word "literally". I heard a good one the other day by Stacie Scott Turner:

"We need to teach these children that literally the world is their oyster."

Yes, I understand that you can use the word "literally" to mean "figuratively". But in cases like this why not just skip the word entirely? Plus, she was talking about why she is taking a group of children to Africa to see the World Cup. Oddly, the interview was here in DC and the World Cup is almost over. Anyhow, the more important question is probably why was I listening to this person talk in the first place?

That

2010-04-12T06:20:00.000-07:00

He said that that that that that student used is correct.

Dell Zino HD Memory Issues

2010-03-03T20:25:00.000-08:00

This note reviews some experiences I have had with a new Dell Zino HD Inspiron 400 desktop computer, in case it can be of assistance to others Googling for similar issues.

We ordered the Dell Zino HD because it is very small and would fit nicely on our kitchen desk. We already had a nice large monitor on the desk, so this was a more sensible purchase in our case than a Netbook or a Laptop.

Since it's just a kitchen system, I purchased the system with the baseline 2GB memory, rather than the "recommended" $79 upgrade to 4GB. After setting up the system, we got some "not enough memory" messages and the kids said that their Flash games were running slow. I went ahead and ordered a 2GB memory stick upgrade. I thought this would give me a total of 4GB, but it turned out that Dell had installed the 2GB of memory as 2 1GB sticks, so the best I could hope for on this upgrade was 3 GB.

Issue 1 - I followed the instructions in the Dell manuals for upgrading the memory. Due to the compact design of the Zino HD, I was not surprised that the manual had me essentially take apart the whole computer - removing the top cover, DVD drive, wireless anchors, entire hard drive assembly, and power button. After all this, I realized that the instructions were wrong. All I had to do was remove the bottom panel (2 screws) to access the memory. I replaced 1 of the 2 1GB sticks with my 2 GB stick and put the entire computer back together. The computer would not start up, it was giving a double beep. I read in the manual that double beep means a problem with the memory. I opened the panel again and re-seated the memory, after which the system was able to start. I'm still annoyed that the manual was wrong, and the top cover (that I did not actually need to remove) never quite sealed itself as nicely as it had before I opened it.

Issue 2 - Blue screen of death. Yes, it still exists in Windows 7. I wasn't able to get Windows to fully start (other than safe mode) with any combination of the 1GB and 2GB memory sticks in the 2 slots. Windows said it had 3GB of memory, so it was detecting both sticks, but I eventually got blue screens every time. On a happy note, the system starts up very quickly so I didn't have to wait too long for the blue screens. I finally got the system to start by seating only my new 2GB stick and leaving the other slot blank. I believe the 1 GB and 2 GB sticks did not want to behave with one another. I have now ordered another 2 GB stick, and if that works with no blue screen I will then be up to 4 GB. Incidentally, the system seems to be running faster with just the 2 GB stick than it did with the 2 factory original 1 GB sticks.

---------------------

Update:

Got the new memory card, but when I insert the two identical 2GB memory cards it starts up Windows, detects the memory properly, and then I get a BSOD (blue failure screen). Following is my chat log with Dell. The summary is that it took the guy 52 minutes to ask me a few questions and conclude that "this is an Advance Software issue that will require the software queue Solution Station,which is a fee based Software Specialty Support Queue"

Time	Details
02/23/2010 07:39:45PM	System: "Thanks for choosing chat for your technical support needs. A chat agent will be with you shortly. Just so you know, you can also visit our website at support.dell.com to get technical help."
02/23/2010 07:41:45PM	System: "Thanks so much for your patience. Chat agents are eager to help you with your troubleshooting needs, so stay on line and the next available representative will assist you."
02/23/2010 07:55:53PM	Session Started with Agent (Mohammed_191709)
02/23/2010 07:55:59PM	Agent (Mohammed_191709): "Thank you for contacting Dell Technical Support. My name is Nawaz and my rep. ID number is 191709. How may I help you today?"
02/23/2010 07:56:19PM	Michael Berman: "Hi Nawaz."
02/23/2010 07:56:22PM	Michael Berman: "I followed the specifications in the setup guide and upgraded the memory in my Dell Zino HD to 4GB (2 modules, each 2GB). Windows recognized the 4GB of RAM in the Control Panel. However, I then get a blue screen in Windows every time. If I remove one o"
	f the memory modules to return to 2GB, I no longer get the blue screens.
02/23/2010 07:57:33PM	Agent (Mohammed_191709): "I apologize for the inconvenience caused. I assure you that I will try my best to assist you to resolve this issue."
02/23/2010 07:57:39PM	Agent (Mohammed_191709): "I will be glad to assist you in this regards."
02/23/2010 07:57:45PM	Agent (Mohammed_191709): "Please allow me 2 to 3 minutes to pull up your account information. In the meantime, may I have your alternate phone number(s) and the best time to contact you?"
02/23/2010 07:58:35PM	Michael Berman: "I don't have access to a phone right now"
02/23/2010 08:01:09PM	Agent (Mohammed_191709): "Okay."
02/23/2010 08:01:32PM	Agent (Mohammed_191709): "I see that you have I400 system with Windows 7. Is it the same system you are facing the issue with?"
02/23/2010 08:01:38PM	Michael Berman: "yes"
02/23/2010 08:03:28PM	Agent (Mohammed_191709): "Could you please tell me from where did you purchase the memory cards."
02/23/2010 08:03:44PM	Michael Berman: "from Amazon.com"
02/23/2010 08:04:08PM	Agent (Mohammed_191709): "Did you update the BIOS after installing the memory cards Michael ?"
02/23/2010 08:04:13PM	Michael Berman: "no"
02/23/2010 08:05:11PM	Michael Berman: "but I did see that in the F2 Setup it detected 4096 MB of memory"
02/23/2010 08:05:30PM	Agent (Mohammed_191709): "Okay."
02/23/2010 08:07:03PM	Agent (Mohammed_191709): "May I place this chat on hold for 2-3 minutes while i research on this issue to serve you in the best way?"
02/23/2010 08:07:10PM	Michael Berman: "ok"
02/23/2010 08:07:17PM	Agent (Mohammed_191709): "Thank you."
02/23/2010 08:14:10PM	Agent (Mohammed_191709): "Thank you for staying connected Michael."
02/23/2010 08:14:16PM	Agent (Mohammed_191709): "Sorry for the delay."
02/23/2010 08:14:44PM	Michael Berman: "no problem"
02/23/2010 08:15:15PM	Agent (Mohammed_191709): "How much memory did you purchase on the computer ?"
02/23/2010 08:15:32PM	Michael Berman: "2GB, which was installed in 2 modules of 1GB each"
02/23/2010 08:17:03PM	Agent (Mohammed_191709): "What is the speed of the new memory cards ?"
02/23/2010 08:17:31PM	Michael Berman: "800 MHz"
02/23/2010 08:18:08PM	Agent (Mohammed_191709): "Is that DDR2 SDRAM AT 800MHZ ?"
02/23/2010 08:18:31PM	Michael Berman: "200-pin SODIMM DDR2 PC2-6400"
02/23/2010 08:19:13PM	Agent (Mohammed_191709): "I would like to inform you that this is an Advance Software issue and I am a Dell Trained Hardware Technician. I will provide you the contact number of the software queue Solution station,which is a fee based Software Specialty Support Queue."
02/23/2010 08:23:14PM	Agent (Mohammed_191709): "Are we connected Michael ?"
02/23/2010 08:23:51PM	Michael Berman: "yes"
02/23/2010 08:24:12PM	Agent (Mohammed_191709): "May I transfer the chat to the software queue ?"
02/23/2010 08:25:25PM	Michael Berman: "will that require a fee?"
02/23/2010 08:25:38PM	Agent (Mohammed_191709): "Let me assure you that once the chat is transferred, the resolution expert will inform you about the different packages based on the issue. It is completely your call to accept them. Only once you agree to the fee, they will go ahead and troubleshoot the"
	issue. I recommend you have a word with them before deciding.
02/23/2010 08:25:57PM	Michael Berman: "ok, you can transfer"
02/23/2010 08:26:28PM	Agent (Mohammed_191709): "Sure."
02/23/2010 08:26:34PM	Agent (Mohammed_191709): "Is there anything else that I may help you with today?"
02/23/2010 08:27:04PM	Michael Berman: "no"
02/23/2010 08:28:33PM	Agent (Mohammed_191709): "Thank you for choosing Dell, you have a good day ahead."
02/23/2010 08:31:17PM	Session Ended

---------------------

Current Status:

I can only get the system to run with one memory module inserted in the lower memory slot. If I put a module in the upper slot, the system crashes. Note, I can use either 2 GB memory card in the lower slot, so I know they are both good memory sticks. Need to decide if I just want to run it with 2GB RAM, or go through the return process. Since I didn't buy the memory sticks from Dell, they will charge me a 15% re-stocking fee ($60) if I return the system.

---------------------

Update 2/27/10:

I decided to call the advanced support to see how much it would cost me. I called the hardware support line 800-624-9896. They were knowledgeable. We spend about an hour running diagnostics and they confirmed everything I had already concluded. They said a technician will come out on Tuesday to replace the motherboard.

---------------------

Update 3/3/10:

The hardware technician replaced the motherboard and put in my two 2GB memory sticks. The system had the same problem as before. This was confirmed when I ran the diagnostics (which takes about 10 minutes each time) and got the same error code as before, 2000-0123. This means there is a problem with the upper memory slot. There is no reason this problem should still be happening on the new motherboard.

---------------------

Final Update 3/10/10:

Dell sent a new 2GB memory stick to the hardware technician. This installed correctly. After the technician left, I also installed one of my 2GB sticks and the system now works properly. We sent my other 2GB memory stick back to Dell. Conclusion is that there are some compatibility issues with some kinds of memory sticks in some combination in the Zino HD.

One Button Bob

2010-02-10T17:38:00.000-08:00

One Button Bob

Recoil

2010-02-06T21:24:00.001-08:00

I just played and defeated the game Recoil. It meets all of my standard requirements - simple to learn, etc. I would describe it as delightfully agonizing, or something like that (add yes, addicting). No victory credits, so couldn't grab a winning screen shot other than the welcome screen above.

Abdication

2009-12-10T18:06:00.000-08:00

Above is the letter of abdication written by Prince Edward VIII, who gave up the throne of England (for himself and all of his descendants) so he could marry Wallis Simpson.

In the spirit of this level of self-sacrifice, I think Tiger Woods may want to consider abdicating the throne of golf.

Quizipedia

2009-11-11T10:18:00.001-08:00

See if you can beat my time on Quizipedia:

Emperor's New Clothes

2009-11-06T20:08:00.000-08:00

I remember reading the story of The Emperor's New Clothes to the kids about a year ago. They found it very difficult to understand. I even found it difficult to explain to them. Why would people not speak out about something obvious for fear of appearing ignorant?

The conclusion seems to be that this must be a learned behavior. I guess the author realized this, which is why it is ultimately a child who says something about the king's clothes.

Should we have a team of children review some of our policies as a nation? I can't imagine a group of children, for example, seeing any value in fighting an un-winnable war in Afghanistan because a small network of thugs lives there.

Voting

2009-11-02T08:39:00.000-08:00

Random thoughts about voting today:

1. There were 8 losers waiting in line for the ONE electronic voting machine, while I walked right up and finished my paper ballot in one of the TEN empty paper ballot booths.

2. I asked the guy who signed me in if I could use my own pen, and he had no clue. What happened to three days ago when everyone was camping overnight for their H1N1 flu vaccinations? I guess people are over that now, and have moved on. So they are all touching that one black pen, or (worse) the same spot on the touch screen. (By the way - yes, I used my own pen)

3. I can never decide whether to take the handouts from the annoying campaign workers who greet you as you walk in. I usually take them, because the papers will be recycled either way but at least it makes the people feel better for waking up early and taking their time to be out there. On the other hand, maybe this is just encouraging them to do this and waste all that paper in the first place. Ugh.

Federer and Williams

2009-09-14T20:28:00.000-07:00

In the last two days, Roger Federer and Serena Williams had remarkably similar and uncharacteristic incidents.

Federer lost a critical point when his opponent was given way too much time to challenge a call, costing him his service game and his likely going up 2 sets to none. Serena was serving 5-6 15-30 in the second set, and was called for a foot fault. After berating the line judge, she was assessed a point penalty that ended the match.

They were both wrong to yell at the officials, which is out of character for them. What has been lost in the controversy is that I believe they were both robbed by bad calls of matches that they were probably going to win. Bad calls are an unfortunate part of all sports. It is just a shame when they affect the outcome of a tournament, especially when the players are setting records that will impact the history books.

The Right To Take Three Days Off From Work

2009-09-10T23:50:00.000-07:00

The 2nd amendment to our constitution guarantees "the right to bear arms". It seems that people often comment how easy it is to purchase and license a firearm. However, I have found that it actually is not easy at all.

In Pennsylvania, it was very simple to get a firearms permit. I filled out a form and brought it to the Sheriff's office with a small fee. I was fingerprinted and picked up the license a week later.

Ironically, it is much more difficult to get a permit in the "conservative, pro-gun" state of Virginia. First, make sure I don't meet any of the 20 categories that disqualify you from obtaining a permit. Next, I need to fill out a detailed form and get it notarized. As part of the form, I need to "demonstrate competence to handle a firearm". This requires taking a 4-hour course. (Having a license from another state is of no value for this requirement). The cheapest course I found after a moderate search is $80. Next, I need to submit the form in person with a $40 fee. After a background check, I need to submit the form again a week later to another office.

Grand Total: A minimum of $120 and I need to go to 3 separate places (2 of which are only open 9-5 on work days). In my opinion, only the most dedicated people would go through this process.

I understand the reasoning behind each of these requirements. My point is that it is certainly not a simple process.

Final note: even though I work within walking distance of NRA headquarterts, I have found this fact to be useless in finding courses or getting any of the above information. And their website does not help at all with finding rules or local training courses.

Lucky Break

2009-08-09T15:36:00.000-07:00

Below is the massive and jagged tree limb that fortunately only grazed my head and left arm as it plunged 20 feet after we extracted it from a tree on August 3, 2009.

Semantic Wars

2009-08-08T15:00:00.001-07:00

Semantic Wars is a new twist on the popular and awesome Age Of War flash game, which inexplicably incorporates a Hangman element. This reminds me a bit of our handheld electronic Merriam-Webster dictionary that for no good reason had a built in MP3 player.

Anyhow, the game was not too difficult to beat on our first attempt, as seen above.

One of these days, we need to organize a single post listing all of the Flash games that we have "boxed". This is an old term that harkens back to college. We found an NES system that one of our friends was no longer using, plus about 30 games. Every time we completely finished one of the games, we would place it into a box.

Milestones

2009-08-07T23:00:00.000-07:00

Here's the web 2.0 version of the odometer flipping over after 10,000 miles.

The photo below is my account summary on the sixtyone, moments before I became the 732nd person to reach 50,000 rep.

Ignore Typos

2009-08-01T19:05:00.000-07:00

I remember a few months ago, when I started seeing the "Sent from my i-phone" message at the bottom of e-mails. This statement had a wonderful sub-text that typically gave you a little bit of insight into the person sending the e-mail.

Even more amusing was when I recently started to see this at the bottom of e-mails:

I leave it to the reader to determine what traits they can infer about the person sending this.

Science Quiz

2009-07-15T23:08:00.000-07:00

I'm trying to decide what is the most disturbing result from this science quiz. I think I'll have to go with more than half of the respondents saying that a LASER is made of sound waves. This means that rats pushing random buttons would have scored better on that question.

Guess The Song

2009-06-19T06:27:00.000-07:00

The following lyrics come from a famous children's song, except I removed a few of the words. See if you can guess what song it is:

In a canyon

Dwelt his daughter

Dreadful sorry

She was like a fairy

Drove ducklings to the water

Hit her foot against a splinter

Fell into foaming brine

Ruby lips above water

Blowing bubbles

But alas, I was no swimmer

In my dreams she still doth haunt me

Robed in garments soaked

In life I used to hug her

Now she's dead

Hint: if you give up, you can google some of the words to get the answer.

Balloons in the Sky

2009-06-17T06:24:00.000-07:00

I just saw a bundle of balloons floating up in the sky outside my window, and had the following thought:

Google Wave

2009-05-28T21:38:00.000-07:00

I just spent about an hour watching the unveiling and first demo of Google Wave (from yesterday's I/O conference). I find Google Wave to be an amazing tool that incorporates many of the great concepts seen in recent years on the web - Twines, Forums, Instant Messaging, Wikis, just to name a few. The pivotal idea, of course, is primarily to bring traditional "e-mail" conversations into the 21st century.

However, I have a grave concern with Google Waves. I don't think the ordinary computer user is ready for it. I think it is too much for them to comprehend. I think this is the same problem facing a lot of great websites out there. There is a 1% minority that can embrace and properly use web collaboration tools. Everyone else is just now starting to grasp the concept of Facebook, and not ready for much more. I find myself wondering if I should invest the time gearing up on Waves, knowing how unlikely it will be that I can get my friends to do so. Unlike many web tools, such as delicious or Flickr, Waves will have limited benefit if I only use it by myself.

So I think Google has a long, tough road ahead with this one. And I'm not sure I'm ready to pull a Leeroy Jenkins and go head-first this time. Which is saying a lot, from someone who has been using Chrome as my primary browser since the day it was released.

Out of Bounds Rule

2009-04-28T19:33:00.000-07:00

I’ve noticed a lot of confusion, during casual rounds of golf, about the Out of Bounds / Lost Ball rule. It seems clear to me per rule 27 of The Rules of Golf that if you hit a ball out of bounds, or lose a ball, you must take a one stroke penalty and then play another shot from where the ball was last played. Obviously, you don’t want to walk all the way back to the tee during a Sunday round if you forgot to hit a provisional ball. But I believe the key point is that it is not proper to just take a drop at the place where a ball goes out of bounds, like you would for a ball going into a water hazard. This is like giving yourself a free advance of 200 yards, if I am interpreting the rule correctly.

Separated At Birth

2009-03-17T20:42:00.001-07:00

Impossible

2009-03-14T13:35:00.001-07:00

The website banner ads these days are getting bolder each day to try to grab our attention. Here is one I saw today:

I'm sorry, but there's no way I'm going to believe that those before and after pictures on the right are of the same person. The only exception would be if the picture on the right is the "before" and the one on the left is the "after.

How Old Am I

2009-02-06T22:28:00.000-08:00

Click here to see how old a random group of internet people thinks I am.

Phishing Fail

2009-01-26T23:14:00.000-08:00

Some people are just stuck in an inappropriate profession. Clumsy flight attendant. Claustraphobic elevator operator. You get the idea.

Today's sad victim is Mr. Spammer-with-bad-grammar, who sent me the following e-mail:

Good luck, Spammer-with-bad-grammar. I hope someday you find a life of crime that is more suited to your abilities.

Boomshine

2009-01-22T23:29:00.000-08:00

Boomshine is an interesting little flash game that meets my requirements of being simple to learn and quick to play.

It is oddly enticing, even though it is relatively easy to get all the way through and there does not seem to be a big correlation between performance and score.

Anyhow, I played a few times and I believe the above 270 was my best score.

Nonbelievers

2009-01-21T20:43:00.000-08:00

I would like to take this opportunity to personally thank President Obama for acknowledging atheists as part of our national heritage in his inauguration speech.

Lyrics

2009-01-01T10:01:00.000-08:00

There's no need to complicate, our time is short, I'm yours

I know, with the dawn, that you, will be gone, but tonight, you belong to me

Precious Lord, take my hand, Lead me on, let me stand, I'm tired, I’m weak, Lord I’m worn, Through the storm, through the night, Lead me on to the light, Take my hand, precious Lord, lead me home

When Im in your arms, nothing seems to matter, My whole world could shatter, I dont care

And through bad dreams I'll be right there baby telling you everything's going to be alright

When the shadows of this life have gone, I'll fly away

When did the day with all it's light turn into night?

House of Wing

2008-12-28T19:24:00.001-08:00

Christy and I met some friends tonight at a restaurant that used to be called "Buffalo Wing House", and is now called "House of Wings". The letters in the sign for the restaurant, however, simply said "HOUSE OF WING". Christy was able to figure out why there was no "S" on the word "WINGS" in the sign. See if you can figure it out.

PETA Snowball Game

2008-12-28T19:22:00.001-08:00

My score in the PETA Snowball Fight Game:

Why Congress Does Nothing

2008-12-13T16:56:00.000-08:00

I have been thinking about why congress is at an all-time low approval rating and nothing ever gets done.

It is easy to see why the approval ratings are so low. The last few Presidents and Congresses have promised us legislation on immigration, Social Security, global warming, etc. But on each of these issues we all know that they spent many hours and days debating the issues and no significant legislation was ever passed. So they deserve their low approval ratings. But what are the underlying reasons that Congress passed major laws in the past, but has not been able to do so recently?

If you are a Congressman, these are the worst events, in order, for your future livelihood:

1. There is a crisis and you do nothing

2. You proactively pass something that is not agreeable to the base

3. You do nothing

So the incentive is: respond to any crisis, and then do nothing else. This is why you often see that we have "legislation by body count". For example, a bridge collapses and then Congress quickly passes the "Bridge Inspection Act". But Congress does nothing, for example, to prevent the gradual implosion of the economy, because additional regulation would anger the base. So how did we ever get to a point where #2 (taking visionary action) is worse than #3 (nothing)?

Gerrymandering is a way of defining Congressional districts which makes it almost impossible for incumbents to ever lose to the opposing party. This gets worse and worse over time, as those in power continue to further segregate the voting districts to magnify this advantage. Thus, it turns out that winning primaries has become more of a concern than winning the general election. This is because, as an incumbent, once you win your primary you are almost assured of staying in office. The problem with primaries is that the extremists who comprise 15% of the population are the people who decide the outcome in primary elections. So elected officials are extremely wary of ever reaching across the aisle to pass any legislation that would upset the extremists in their district, and jeopardize their chance in the next primary.

Conclusion: On any issue, if there is not a crisis Congress will remain hopelessly deadlocked

What are some solutions to this predicament?

1. Lifetime appointments would likely fix this problem. This is why, for example, Supreme Court justices are not as partisan as members of Congress. However, people do not support this option because they believe it is more likely to lead to corruption, and they also like blaming politicians for their problems and having the option of electing new ones (even though they almost never do).

2. Re-draw the districts to be more even. This would be an arduous process and of course the incumbents would fight strongly against this.

3. What are some other solutions you can think of?

Random Observations From Germany

2008-11-28T09:04:00.001-08:00

After spending a week in Germany earlier this month, I have the following random observations:

Trains and buses: Don't worry about the schedule, just go to the stop/station and the train or bus you need will come in 5 minutes. A lot of people ride bikes. No time wasted checking tickets - it is honor system, they assume you bought whatever ticket is required
Very paper conscious. Limited use of napkins, paper products.
The food is good, but anything called "American Cheeseburger has very little resemblance to an American Cheeseburger.
The computer keyboards are mostly normal, as long as you don't need the "y", "z", "@", or "\" keys
If you would like a bag with your purchase, in some stores it will set you back an additional 0.25 Euro
If you are taking pictures of food in the grocery store, and someone comes out yelling "nein photo", you need to stop taking pictures
In Germany, it is illegal to deny the Holocaust
Escalators start running as you get on them
Arrows on signs point down to indicate "straight" (in the US, up indicates straight)
Most people don't go to church anymore, but they still pay a National church tax
In France and Germany, even if you speak to people in French/German, somehow they still figure out that you are a foreigner and start talking back to you in English

Don't Shoot the Puppy

2008-11-28T08:59:00.000-08:00

I enjoyed playing the game Don't Shoot the Puppy. On one level it seems stupid, but as a Buddhist I found it to be meaningful and also a good exercise in letting things go.

Warning: Best case scenario, it takes about 15 minutes to play all the way through.

QWOP

2008-11-19T09:29:00.000-08:00

Sadly, this is the farthest I could get on QWOP:

Spam Humor

2008-10-24T10:33:00.001-07:00

I just received this series of four e-mails in my Yahoo inbox. Subject: "One Time E-mail". At least some spammers have a sense of humor.

Is Lack of Good Choices Really the Problem?

2008-09-24T23:00:00.000-07:00

I used to work with a guy who always ended up on the worst projects. He would complain bitterly about the type of work, lack of direction, etc. It seemed unfortunate that he always ended up with these bum assignments. But after a while, I ended up working on some projects with him and I noticed that they weren't that bad. But he continued complaining. This is when I realized that it wasn't the projects that were the problem - it was just that he had a poor outlook about everything.

Sometimes I feel the same way every four years when the Presidential campaign comes along. If you ask people which candidate they support, a lot of people you talk to have a bitter response. They say "I'm not even sure if I will vote. They all stink. This guy is too old. That guy just wants to raise taxes." And so on.

I see the same characteristics in these people as I did with my co-worker. If someone is always finding that they dislike the candidates, then maybe the problem is with them. I usually consider both candidates to be honorable and dedicated to improving the condition of the country. At least that is my starting outlook until I am convinced otherwise. When I spend a little time listening to their ideas, I can usually get past the shallow characterizations and find some areas where I like one better than the other.

For some people, I wonder if complaining about things is a defense mechanism that saves them the trouble of spending time to either work hard or become more informed.

Things I Would Do If I Were Tiger Woods

2008-09-23T23:50:00.000-07:00

Here are some random ideas I would like to try if I were Tiger Woods:

1. Go to small courses and set the course record

2. Go to a par 3 course and see how many greens I could hit from a spot in the middle of the course

3. Go to a par 3 course and play every hole from the 1st tee

Color Hue Test

2008-09-14T19:25:00.001-07:00

If you have the patience, see if you can go lower than my score of 24 on the Hue Test.

Fantastic Contraption

2008-08-27T21:23:00.001-07:00

Fantastic Contraption is easy to learn and hard to master. I am up to level 13 so far.

Ironic Google Ads

2008-08-27T19:13:00.000-07:00

I like finding ironic Google ads. Sometimes this happens in Gmail, such as when you are reading an e-mail about bringing a six-pack to a party, and it displays an ad for a gym that will give you six-pack abs.

But the best examples are when someone bashes a product and then you see an ad right next to it for that product. Here are two funny examples I saw the other day on GraphJam:

Coign of Vantage

2008-08-24T20:53:00.000-07:00

Coign of Vantage is a game where you align 3D pixles to create a 2D image. Sounds weird, but it was a bit more fun than I expected. Here is my score if you want to try to beat it:

Beginners Guide To Troubleshooting Your Home Wireless Network

2008-07-14T23:30:00.000-07:00

This post is to try to help anyone troubleshooting a problem with their home wireless network for the first time. I have done this several times now, with different routers, wireless cards, hardware, and security protocols. So I thought I might share some of my findings. You may have found this link by searching for text such as "limited or no connectivity" or "acquiring network address". These are messages that can become hauntingly familiar when things don't work on the first try.

Suggestions for troubleshooting problems with a home wireless network:(Note, these are all unofficial observations based only on my personal experience)

1. The Router

- Jot down on paper whatever changes you make to the router settings. This will save time if you need to hit the Reset button to go back to the factory defaults and start again.

- Start by setting up the network with security disabled (e.g. WEP, WPA). Once this is working and you can connect to the network on your laptop, then go back and add on the security settings.

- WPA is more secure than WEP. WEP is more secure than Open (no security). WPA is the hardest to get working, because some older wireless cards don't support it. Try to get Open working first, then WEP, then WPA.

- Some applications require that you open ports in the router. Get the basic network working first. Once this is working, Then go back and open the ports. If you have trouble opening ports for applications, make sure Windows Firewall, Windows Defender, or any other software firewall program is turned off. You can turn it back on later and add exceptions for particular applications.

- Try changing the name of the network. Sometimes the laptop will have the security key stored for your old network, and it is hard to remove. If you change the name of the network, the laptop should prompt you for the new security key. This will also confirm whether the laptop truly sees the network, because you know this if it shows the new name that you just created.

- If you have a cable modem, and there is a button on your router configuration page called "Clone MAC Address", try pressing it.

2. The Desktop

- Always connect directly from your cable modem to your desktop first before introducing the router. Make sure the network connection is working without the router. Once this is working, then you can start configuring the router.

- Your wireless connection may start working, but the settings may kill your desktop's internet connection. If this happens, disconnect the router and plug in directly through the cable modem to the desktop again. Re-set the router and start over.

3. The Laptop(s)

- Put the laptop close to the router when you are setting up the network. Once this is working, then you can move it across the house to test the range. This will avoid confusing issues with weak signals and issues with the network setup itself.

- Make sure your Operating System is up to date. For example, sometimes on Windows XP, upgrading to Service Pack 2 will make it easier for WPA security to work.

4. The Wireless Card(s)

- Download the latest drivers for your wireless card from the company's website (should be free)

- Try to right click on the little icon with the signal bars and select "Disable radio" and then "Enable radio"

- If you have an external card, try unplugging it and plugging it back in again

- Sometimes the little green bars will show and it will say "Connected". I have found that this does not necessarily mean you are connected. Never assume you are truly connected unless you can open a browser and hit a fresh webpage and see that it loads the content.

Driving Mad

2008-07-10T20:46:00.000-07:00

See if you can beat my score in Driving Mad:

Music Catch

2008-07-08T20:22:00.001-07:00

Music Catch is a fun and relaxing game. Here is my score, if you want to try to beat it:

Also, if you know what the name of the song is, please let me know.

Rocket, Yeah

2008-07-07T23:35:00.000-07:00

I heard the Def Leppard song "Rocket" yesterday for the first time in maybe 20 years. I found the chorus to be wonderfully impossible to decipher. I guess we didn't care about understanding lyrics back then, since there was no easy way to download them?

Go to 1:15 in the song to hear the chorus. I'll be impressed if you can figure out the words after "Rocket, yeah, ..." (it's repeated three times, so you have a few chances).

Minor Changes in Circumstance

2008-06-23T23:14:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking lately about activities that can be strongly encouraged in one circumstance, but discouraged or illegal in others.

One example is burning the U.S. flag. This is considered by many to be an outrage when done in protest, and yet it is also the approved method for retiring an old flag. I find it intriguing that when asked why you are burning the flag, your answer can determine entirely how your action will be treated.

Another example would be jumping off a high cliff. This would be encouraged for recreation, but discouraged if attempting to kill oneself.

On a similar note, I was recently watching a charity golf event where one of the participants had what they repeatedly referred to as: "inoperable, non-smoking lung cancer". It was interesting how they always would include "non smoking". The fact that he developed the cancer randomly makes him a much more sympathetic character than if he had acquired it through a lifetime of smoking.

I guess the theme is that there are very few circumstances that can be fully digested without knowing the detailed motivation and history that led up to the event. Parents are familiar with this, since often you arrive on scene where some incident has occurred and no sound judgment can be rendered without carefully piecing together the events and motives that preceded it.

New (and Improved?) ebay Feedback Rules

2008-06-22T21:42:00.000-07:00

I was pleased when I saw recently that ebay had changed one of the rules for leaving feedback. The change was that sellers are no longer allowed to leave negative feedback for buyers. This was to address the age-old problem that you could never leave bad feedback for a seller, because the implicit threat was always that they would just retaliate with bad feedback for you, which would destroy your feedback rating.

So I liked the change, until my first winning bid after the change. I was considering a possible comment about the low quality of a product I received. Then I got an e-mail from the seller which said “once we receive your positive feedback, we will leave positive feedback for you”. So much for the idea of my being able to leave negative feedback. Once again, I was faced with a disincentive to leave negative feedback. Not as bad as before, but still imperfect.

I hate to complicate things, but I think what might work best is to give both parties 7 days to leave feedback, then reveal all of the permanent feedback at the same time. In addition, there could be some small incentive to “reward” leaving feedback, plus maybe something that shows how often you have left positive and negative feedback for others.

Third-Party Candidates and Restaurants

2008-06-19T23:24:00.000-07:00

Every election cycle, you hear people making the following lament:

“The Republican and Democratic candidates seem to have similar positions on many of the issues. Both want lower taxes on the middle class. Both want more funding for transportation. Both say they will protect Social Security. And so on. Neither candidate will take a tough stand on issues such as the looming funding crisis for entitlement programs. I wish there were a third-party candidate I could vote for who would not just represent politics as usual.”

Let’s look into this a bit further. First, let's consider the example where we are choosing a location for a Burger King franchise. Look at the picture below. There are three towns, and there is an existing McDonalds near town 2. Assume people are evenly distributed. Where is the best place along the road to put the Burger King?

If you think about it for a moment, you will see that you should put it right next to the McDonalds. You’ll be the closest to all of Town 3, plus half of Town 2. There is no better place. (By the way, this is one of the reasons why you often see a bunch of fast food places grouped together, then nothing for a while.)

Now suppose you have two candidates running for President:

Again, if the electorate is uniformly distributed you will see them both position their statements leading up to the election to be as close to each other as possible.

If they both succeed, they will ram together right in the center. This is what we have seen for many years, with a small number of undecided voters in a few moderate states deciding all of the recent Presidential elections.

A third party candidate has two options. One - he can go left or right of the candidates to go after that half of the vote. But in that case, by definition, he will not be a good representative of all of the people. Or he can attack the center, and try to be a better leader than the other candidates. But then we are back to the original problem of the candidate just taking the same moderate positions on the issues in order to win the election. Simply having a third-party candidate will not magically cure the system.

You can see that there is a natural incentive in debates and speeches for politicians to go as far to the center as they feel is reasonably possible. After the election, they can immediately revert back to their true beliefs. Because of all this, I believe that people waste too much time voting on where candidates say they stand on the issues. The best thing to do is vote for who will be the better leader and decision maker. If you just find the candidate that meets your checklist of litmus tests, you might end up electing someone who will do stupid things like nominate his personal attorney friend for the Supreme Court, or use his religious beliefs to prevent people from curing diseases.

Let's stop romanticizing the concept of a third party, put aside our litmus tests, and just vote for whomever we determine will be the best and most thoughtful leader.

Change Worth Making

2008-06-07T00:43:00.000-07:00

I occasionally watch a TV show on VH1 called "Best Week Ever". On the show, semi-celebrities make snarky comments about current events in the news and pop culture. It is not at all enriching, but can be enjoyable at times.

My favorite line that I heard one time on the show was from Christian Finnegan, regarding when internet spoilers were coming out before the release of the final Harry Potter book:

"I don't want to spoil anyone's fun, but if finding out the ending to a Harry Potter novel is going to radically change your life, maybe that's a change worth making."

Like most good humor, this has a deeper truth to it. When faced with a frenetic situation, I think many people use the relaxation technique of pretending it is a year later and realizing that in retrospect this "crisis" is likely to be of little or no significance in the scheme of things. I like the concept of the Harry Potter quote going even a step further - suggesting that you could in fact be better off with the dreaded outcome than with the desired outcome.

Reaction Times

2008-05-21T23:52:00.000-07:00

Try to beat my time in the sleepy sheep game.

Bad Headline

2008-05-18T19:36:00.000-07:00

I was intrigued by an article with the headline Warning: Using a mobile phone while pregnant can seriously damage your baby. I think this is a bad interpretation of the study. To me, a more appropriate headline would be Parents who frequently use mobile phones pay less attention to their children.

The implication of the "Warning" headline implies that the cell phone is causing a physical defect in the child. Of course, no one know the real cause of the study's finding. But certainly a behavioral cause is far more likely than some sort of physical effect.

Patience is Overrated?

2008-04-22T22:33:00.000-07:00

Waiting at a stoplight the other day, I glanced over at the Exxon station and saw an ad displayed there. I presume that it was for a new service to get you through the pump more quickly. In large bold letters, it said "Patience is Overrated".

What a horrible thing to see. As a Buddhist, I can't imagine something more blasphemous. Of course, the problem with our society is that patience is underrated.

Pumping gas provides a quintessential opportunity to experience the sublime value of patience. Here are some fantastic things you can do while pumping gas, instead of watching the numbers spin and thinking about how quickly you can get out of there:

- Nothing
- Meditate
- Strike up a conversation with someone you never met before
- Enjoy the weather
- Think about how much you like your car
- Think about how easy it is to buy gas and pump it
- Think about how many hours are left in the day, and some good things you can do with them
- Consider how content you are with your worldly possessions
- Wash your windows
- Think about something that is bothering you, and make the decision to let it go

Finger Frenzy

2008-02-28T13:37:00.000-08:00

If you have a few seconds to spare, try to beat my score on Finger Frenzy forwards (3.744) and backwards (8.728).

Guess The Spot

2008-02-15T19:50:00.000-08:00

Try Guess The Spot. I got 11 out of 16.

Is Today's Music Actually Good?

2008-01-19T21:05:00.000-08:00

Everyone loves to dump on popular music of today, claiming that it is garbage that does not hold a handle to the classics of the past. But I've noticed a trend in the last few years that may be changing things.

Years ago, there were the classic theme albums. Each song was an atomic element of the album as a whole. Songs typically had an opening, bridge, and chorus that were often thematically similar. The success model was to get enough songs from an album on the radio, such that the album would eventually hit a tipping point to become a "must-have" purchase. Looking at songs from my lifetime, for example, think of albums like "Thriller", "The Joshua Tree", or "Nevermind".

Theme albums seem to be a rarity these days. With the advent of iTunes and the iPod, it is all about the individual song. Although albums seem to be weaker in general, my argument is that individual songs are actually getting more varied. I believe this may be because a simple song may no longer be enough (sub-consciously) to merit our spending our hard-earned 99 cents. The new model is to get a song played on the radio enough that it's multiple themes can eventually convince the listener to purchase it, almost as if they are getting multiple songs-within-a-song for the price of one.

For example, here are some sample classic songs I picked at random, along with the number of distinct thematic segments that you can clearly hear when listening to the song:

Old Songs:

Eleanor Rigby - The Beatles (3)

Desperado - The Eagles (2)

Comfortably Numb - Pink Floyd (2)

Smells Like Teen Spirit - Nirvana (3)

And now some "New" Songs:

Clumsy - Fergie (4)

No One - Alicia Keys (5)

Stronger - Kanye West (5)

Note that for the new songs, I just selected the songs that are currently 1-2-3 on the pop charts. I think these are the type of songs that people would typically call "garbage", but in fact you at least have to admit the ambition of how many distinct segments they include. And I am not ashamed to say that I actually enjoy listening to these songs.

I love The Beatles, and can still sing many of their songs by heart, but if a song like "Hey Jude" were released today, can you imagine anyone wanting to put that on their iPod?

===============

Update: A few months after I wrote this, No One and Stronger both won Grammy's. No love for Fergie, however. (But I still think that song is under-appreciated.)

Quick Observation Quiz

2008-01-19T20:24:00.001-08:00

Click here to see if you can match my score of 20 on the observation quiz.

Filler

2008-01-15T21:17:00.000-08:00

My only rule for whether I will try a new internet game is that it has to be immediate to learn and quick to play. So I decided to try the game Filler. This is the first such game that I was able to master where I could continue indefinitely at the highest level. It brings back fond memories of reaching the Tetris "zone" back in 1989, where one could get to level 9 and go for as long as our concentration would hold out. (Note: after doing this, the nice thing is that you never have the desire to play the game again)

If you want to try to go for my score, above is a screen capture after completing level 35. Note that I still have 34 lives left. I decided to just lose all of my lives and see where that would put me on the high score list:

TheSixtyOne

2007-12-24T13:50:00.000-08:00

The Sixty-one is a cool new website in the crowded streaming music genre.

The nice thing is that it has a very nice player, robust database, and is fun. The only downside is that it is a little more resource-intensive than some of the traditional sites like Pandora and Live365.

The unique thing about The 61 is that it combines successful elements from other types of sites:

- Points: Has a Yahoo!Answers type of points/level system.

- Free: Like Pandora, it plays free music. It isn't customized, but you can select genres.
- Rating: Like Digg, you can identify songs that you like. This is the key feature of the site.
- Investing: Like HSX, you can "invest" in songs you like and hope that others like them as well.

Despite the ambition of the above, in my trials it has been completely bug-free. So far I have invested in ("bumped") about 20 songs, and have about 1200 points:

Free Rice

2007-12-20T19:15:00.000-08:00

Free Rice is a trendy new website where you can (supposedly) give food to the needy while improving your vocabulary. Anyway, it is fun for a few minutes. Except the words get really hard and unfair at the higher levels.

Internet Polling

2007-12-15T19:34:00.000-08:00

I've been thinking more about internet polling lately - especially after seeing the following poll result about a week ago:

This poll is clearly flawed - Sean Taylor is not even in the top 20 defensive players, but he was just recently murdered and has been in all of the headlines.

The question this raises is whether the poll administrator has either (a) the right, or (b) the obligation to correct this type of result. The above example is a no brainer - i.e. I doubt many people would complain if the Sean Taylor's results were stricken from the totals.

Two related situations that come to mind are not quite as clear:

1. The Greenpeace poll where Mister Splashy Pants was voted as the top name for a whale. This was one of those internet campaigns where a large block of people conspired to skew the results of a poll. In this case, I think it is reasonable for them to throw out this name when choosing the winner. However, one could argue that in such case maybe they should not have chosen to use an internet poll in the first place.

2. The political polls where Ron Paul seems to show a much higher total than he would really have if any sort of election were held. This is likely because his supporters tend to be uncommonly fervent, organized, and internet-savvy. Several polls have been shown to have tinkered with his results, or removed him altogether, after he was voted into the lead. I think this is an example where it may be less appropriate for the poll administrator to be taking such an action.

This issue is of special personal interest to me, since we used an internet poll back in 2000 to help determine our son's middle name.

Name That Tune

2007-12-15T19:16:00.000-08:00

I've enjoyed following the progress the internet has made over the years in helping identify songs. A good site I found recently is Musipedia. Of highest value is the Contour Search, which uses the Parsons method for identifying songs. You just start with the first note, then identify if each successive note is higher, lower, or repeated. It then matches against a large database.

For example, I was trying to think of an Enya song the other day (which turned out to be "Marble Halls"). So I entered the Parsons code for the melody:

Sure enough, the following showed up in the results:

This was doubly helpful - it triggered the name of the song for me, and also helped me realize where the original song came from.

Meta-Jump

2007-12-10T09:30:00.000-08:00

I remember when the term "Jump The Shark" first came out a few years ago.

First, no one had heard of the term. It gradually became more common. Then it became trendy. Then it became hackneyed and overused. It seems that we've now reached the point where you can't read a review of the second season of a TV series without this term inevitably popping up.

So I am now claiming that the term "Jump The Shark" has ironically Jumped The Shark.

ebay Has Spoken

2007-12-07T13:28:00.000-08:00

One of the things I love about ebay is that it is such an efficient and transparent market. This means you can use it to gain an independent assessment of an item's true value.

For example, consider a short sleeve Donovan McNabb jersey, sold in December. This would only have value to most buyers if Donovan McNabb will be playing on the Eagles next season. There is much debate among the "experts" as to whether McNabb will be playing on the Eagles next year. But I think we have our answer. The jersey sold for $1.25.

McNabb is gone from the Eagles at the end of this season. You heard it here first.

Freezing Rates on Bad Loans

2007-12-05T12:55:00.001-08:00

To help deal with the current mortgage crisis, President Bush has announced a potential plan to freeze interest rates on some home mortgages. This is to help avoid foreclosures in cases where rates are scheduled to rise sharply in the next 2-3 years.

I think this is a bad idea for several reasons.

1. Since this will increase the losses to the banks and investors that backed the mortgages, the cost of future mortgages will therefore increase - either through higher interest rates or higher fees. This is because lenders will have to raise the future cost of borrowing to account for the possibility of losses being incurred by unpredictable government intervention.

2. This will reward individuals who took out loans they could not afford, while penalizing those who correctly calculated that they could not afford these loans. This type of perverse reward system will encourage people in the future to make investments they can not afford, with an expectation that the government will bail them out if problems arise.

3. Backers of the plan make the flawed argument "it is better for the lenders if the borrower can keep the house, than for there to be a foreclosure where the lender will incur much greater losses." Lets examine the two possible scenarios to see why this argument is flawed:

(Scenario a) If the lender is better off under the rate freeze plan:
If this is the case, then the lender will freeze the rate on their own, without being forced to do so by the government.

(Scenario b) The lender will suffer additional losses under the rate freeze plan:
In this scenario, the government is forcing losses upon the lender for a mistake that was made by the person who took out the mortgage.

I think this proposal will take a bad situation and make it worse.

Good Photos

2007-11-27T22:19:00.000-08:00

I love looking at winning pictures in photo contests. One thing I've noticed is that about half of the winners appear to be carefully planned and staged by the photographer. The other half appear to be accidental - with some element of greatness the photographer only noticed after taking the picture. Personally, I tend to prefer the accidental photos over the staged ones. Maybe this is because I feel like the accidental photo is one I could have taken, even with my limited equipment and experience.

But my favorite photographs usually fall somewhere in that undefined middle ground. You're not sure if the photographer realized exactly what they were getting when they took the photo. In that spirit, I think the following photo of Hillary Clinton is among the best political photographs I have seen:

Moving Up in the World

2007-10-22T18:12:00.000-07:00

Good news from this article.

By moving from Philadelphia to Washington, DC, I have gone from the city with the least attractive people to the second least attractive! Maybe it was my moving that tipped the scale. Looks like next we will have to move to Dallas - they are the third ugliest.

Best Stuff

2007-10-17T19:46:00.000-07:00

Here's my page on a fun little website called Best Stuff. It's a cool place to list your favorites in various categories. The site still seems new, and is a bit difficult to figure out, but a fun place to spend a few minutes.

Rotating Girl Illusion

2007-10-11T08:07:00.001-07:00

My friend Bill sent me this amazing image:

Look at the image and see which way the girl is rotating - clockwise or counter-clockwise. This is the amazing part, which you may find difficult to believe at first - you can actually get the girl to spin either way based on how you view and interpret the image.

When I first looked at the image, she was spinning clockwise. This supposedly means I am very "right-brained", which of course is true. Once she started spinning counter-clockwise, I found it very difficult to get her to start spinning clockwise again.

Now I am actually able to get her to spin either way at will. Try it - this is not a trick.