The power adapter for the laptop is dead and I went looking at the Apple store. A replacement is £58 (!!) and the reviews are terrible for official Apple gear. Do I have any choices here or – as I suspect – does the Apple monopoly have me over the financial barrel?
Machine has felt slow at times and this morning the mds process went nuts taking up all the CPU it could get. 3 reboots later and it was okay. It still felt odd though so I decided to run Onyx. I’ve ran this many times and never had any issues. This time and somewhere around the Launch rebuild a popup with ‘System events got an error. Connection is invalid (-609)’ appears. Force quit Onyx, re-ran and got the same error. Rebooted, ran yet again and same error. Googling that gets nothing at all and even the Apple forums are unsure. I have Cocktail here so ran the pilot tab – all was good. Rebuilt launch services and that too was good. Quit that, ran Onyx and all was good there too. Cured.
I think I know what did it because of something I have been trying in the last 2-3 days. I’ll give it a couple of days then I’m going to test it – and if I’m right email a developer about their program.
It has been one week since I ate any chocolate, one week since I ate any cake and (bar a moment of weakness yesterday involving a few Hob Nobs) one week since I ate any biscuits. This is a major dietary event.
Partly through laziness, partly because J is never hungry so I never see the point of preparing food in the day for just me (which is still laziness but maybe sounds better) and partly because ‘food to go’ better suits me ( mood thing) I ate a lot of the above.
I gave up smoking pretty easily. I suppose like most ex-smokers there is a brief urge here and there to engage in the behaviour but that passes easily because I am not around smokers at all. And if we do go out the non-smokingness of everywhere is excellent. I gave up drinking – or to put it more accurately “I don’t want one right now” which means I can have a drink whenever I want and I won’t fail anything. ‘Never’ isn’t always a great word. But I did leave the glass on the table and it’s been there a few years.
Smoke? None in the house, nothing to resist. Alcohol? Quite a bit probably. If I want to get smashed on the bottle of Tia Maria I can. There is other but it’s probably D’s and drinking that would be too risky. Having it about is part of the giving up.
Like so many people I can resist unopened sweets / chocolates / cake / biscuits. But crack that packet and the one becomes two which becomes empty.
“I don’t want one drink, I want ten drinks, and I don’t understand how others can settle for just one.” Leo McGarry. West Wing.
It has irked me that I could quit the smoke and the booze but not Mars bars (for example). Partly it’s because if I quit the sugar I’ll have to make more effort to eat (but I don’t – cornflakes are good 24/7) and partly because I need those sugar bursts (it’s a mood thing). But the irk is winning right now.
“I’m going to walk through the kitchen and not take a biscuit. Not take. Oh, packet is open…. want, don’t want.. hunger is good, meal will taste better..” and everything else people say. It worked but for those oh so lovely Hob Nobs. I mean, if you are going to fail do it with a quality crunch. But I know it was a minor fail, a failette.
Weighing myself? No, why would I do that? It’s a part of the reason but other reasons are higher up that scale – it’s that mood thing again. But I’m up for another day and hopefully I can string 7 of those into a row.
This may be repeating myself, it may be a post I said I would not write but hey, who’s counting..
On the one hand I don’t want to write about Jacq’s MS because it’s personal. How it is actually affecting her physically is very private, how it affects her mentally is something I could not adequately convey and how it affects our relationship is our business not yours. But on the other hand …. I want to write about what is not covered above but the above covers everything. I do not think Jacq would mind me writing more but it makes it no less private for her saying that (if that makes sense).
“I don’t want to die but I don’t want to live like this”
That’s what she says. She said it not an hour ago and it has been said a few times in the last few weeks. She said earlier she was ill enough to go hospital but why bother, they can’t do anything – and that is true. She is stressed she cannot do anything at all around the house, stressed that I am doing it, stressed that she cannot be the person she wants. Not a great quality of life when all you can do is sit at a table. And we have no idea what to do but wait for it to get even worse. Because it is. The difference in the last few months is significant, we are firmly in secondary progressive. She probably has been for a long time but it’s kicked in big time since Christmas.
What do we do when she can’t manage the stairs? No idea. None. There is no help anywhere, no social services. But then we don’t really know what to do now, or if there is anything but wishes. That will be a big event, a very hard one to cope with.
The fact we have no answers just means we answer something as it arrives. Can’t plan, can’t decide what we will do tomorrow, most days we can’t even plan the afternoon – can’t know until then if she can move enough. Means we really do live day to day in so many ways. It’s pretty hard going. Hard going for me. It must be hell for her but words fail, it is beyond description. She’s crying a lot recently.
For some bizarre reason we still buy a lottery ticket. Actually, it’s not that bizarre – she wants to own a house. She wants to own the house she will die in. I suppose people say that when they are after the house for their dotage but J means it. We had a discussion about Switzerland recently. Wasn’t fun.
Just like everyone else in the world in bad situations not of their making all we can say is “It wasn’t meant to be like this” and wish that it were different.
Some people believe that seeing what books and films people have gives them more of an idea about that person. If you do, here is what you need …
Continue reading
The idea was – I thought – pretty good. Put the XBox and PS2 up here next to the computers and I could game here, take short breaks to put some SSX or Forza action in. But in practice this does not work because this is not the room to play games. I work here.
Years ago I would sit on the floor with beer and cigs to play games. I sat on the floor because (1) I couldn’t fall off it and (2) given how the room was arranged it was the most comfortable. So when I quit the drink and fags I couldn’t play games. The associations were very strong (still are). But moving to this house, getting a different TV and getting something else to sit on (It’s like a big L-shaped beanbag) meant I started again. But that is downstairs. And down there I am limited by noise from the family – I like the game to be the main noisy not girly chat about Dancing on Ice or whatever is on. So, move games up here, play more.
But I work here. Okay so one monitor has iTunes or the news streaming but otherwise they both display the information I want – though I’d like a monitor just for Twittervision and one for Monitorr/Tweetdeck. I could do 4 monitors, easy :). I cannot concentrate on SSX combos and speed runs if I’m seeing things pop up in a feed I need to check. Or a help ticket. Or anything else work related. Or news even. This is the work room, it wins. Except for films. I like peace and quiet to watch films and that isn’t about to happen downstairs. I also find it speeds the time along to have a truly fantastic film on in the background, one that I know. Examples would be Independence Day, MIB, Armageddon, Layer Cake, The Departed, Lord of War, Crash, True Romance. I can work and watch and listen. Other films that needs more watching – Days of Glory or new films (new being ones I have just bought not new as in new) – I will work to get to the point where I allow myself to watch the film on one monitor while keeping a vague eye on work. One measure I have for the greatness of a film is ‘Does it make me switch the other monitor off’. American History X did. capote did. elephant did.
So I can work, work and watch a film and watch a film. But I can’t play games. Which is a bummer because I spend most of my time here. So many games, so little time. And yet work extends everywhere. I work downstairs and in bed with no problems. Must be concentration. Work can be done in tiny bursts of concentration whereas a game can absorb you – and if you don’t have the freedom to be pulled in you can’t play. (I ordered a Ultimate Megadrive Collection to play on the PS3. It’s partly for J because she liked one called Flicky and she thinks she can still use a joypad for left/right but also for one called Shining in the Darkness. I bought that before a late shift years ago. When I got back from that late shift I started playing and did not realise the time until 5am. Trying to get back out from some caves when your hit points are just above zero is tense stuff).
So, gaming and work do not mix. Oh well, I tried.
My email with you is mark@tamba2.org.uk
I need this changing to tamba2@gmail.com
I asked before and was told it cannot be done – if that is the case what do i do? I don’t want to lose my account for something as simple as an email change.
Hi Mark,
Thank you for your email.
Unfortunately, we are unable to change the email address that your online account is currently registered to. If you enter your account using your old e-mail address you can go to personal details and update this.
Your website is broken.
“Unfortunately, we are unable to change the email address that your online account is currently registered to. If you enter your account using your old e-mail address you can go to personal details and update this.”
This does not work.
I have tried it.
I have tried it more than once.
The new address does not work, the system just shows the old address
The new address is not active, it’s not there.
Your website offers me the choice to change my email but when I try it does not work.
This is the problem.
Hi Mark,
Thank you for your email.
Unfortunately, we are unable to change the email address that your online account is currently registered to. If you enter your account using your old e-mail address you can go to personal details and update this. If you have forgotten your password you will need to call our customer services team on 0871 200 1221.
I ring Customer Services.
I want to change the email address on my account and it is not working, it will not let me change it.
“You can’t do that, I tell people to register a new account”
So it’s broken then?
“Why would it be broken?”
Because it lets me change my email, tells me it is updated and then does not make the change.
“You can’t do that, I tell people to register a new account”
Can’t think?
Can’t listen?
Can’t help a customer?
If you said YES to all 3 then here at GAME we have the career for you!
Out with J earlier had 2 double espressos and had the wierdest floaty / high / ill / nauseous / tired sensations for quite some time after. Not had that with coffee before.
J is visibly getting worse. It used to be something that crept up slowly but just recently there has been a marked change. Stressful on every level.
I played again with Tweetdeck and as a result am filling a new twitter account (I deleted the old ones) mark_r2 (original eh?) with news and other info. I’m calling it my unpeople twitter. Tweetdeck there is useful in splitting things down.
Unexpected cash from the NHS arrived which was very welcome.
Trying to find a PS3 keypad because everywhere seems out of stock
Saw the ‘Am I bovvered?’ Tony Blair sketch for the first time earlier on the Comic Relief DVD. Made me laugh more than I thought. Certainly would not work with Gordon.
The people that heckled the soldiers the other day? Throw them in a boat and get rid. If they want to support the people the soldiers are being asked to fight then they can do it from that other country.
An inquiry has been submitted through the comics.com contact us form.
User’s Name: Mark
Hi, The Pearls before Swine RSS seems to have stopped in January. Do I need to be registered at your domain to be able to get the feed?
Dear Mark,
Thanks for writing in. To ensure the accuracy and current content your best bet is to register with us and get the RSS code.
Sincerely,
Comics.com Customer Service
You want me to register for a feed? No.
Burnout Paradise. Great game but:
- it is taking longer and longer to load. Even if you pull the network connection it takes a long time to load
- my internet connection is crap today but even so it tried to pull in the ‘news’ so the loading took even longer. I want a ‘skip this bit’ button.
- and then we have the new damn store.
“Hey, I know how we can sell more stuff! Let’s stick a store right in the middle of the menus. And just to be sure they won’t miss it we will not auto-detect what they already bought”
Which bloody idiot thought this up? I want to move through menus and not see upsell. I’ve got all the damn packs bar party and I’ll not buy that. Any intelligent system would know this. (But any intelligent system would also not pause while it waits for me to see a “Be careful when you see this ‘save’ logo..” at the start).
Criterion should (1) let us skip that news/twitter/omg-we-are-so-cool bit at the start and (2) remove the damn store. Let us turn it off. It is very very annoying. It’s bad enough with the idiots in the game who either head in the other direction when you start a challenge (kick them? I do.) or they insist on taking you or someone else down who is needed to complete the damn challenge and on top of this you make me swear when I see your store which AGAIN tries to load information from who knows where.
It’s saying something when I think the original no-expansion game is better because there is none of the crap there.