Saturday, December 4, 2004
Woke up early—couldn't sleep. Installed various updates on Patrick's laptop: Windows, Office, ZoneAlarm. For the past few days I've been running into registry keys ending in 1004!=W=3 that Spybot S&D has found as bad DSO problems, but Spybot fails to remove them successfully. These reg keys also show up on computers at work and on our Windows XP computers. There are a lot of fora on the web giving advice like deleting the reg keys manually or changing the value from 1004 to 3, but the most complete answer I found was at nsclean.com in the Freebies section called DSOSTOP2. The dsostop2.exe file they provided seems to resolve the problem quickly and easily but upon restarting, I notice some of the same 1004!=W=3 registry keys still hanging around. Shall investigate further later. I notice this morning that a hooded down jacket at gap.com I've been manually tracking has dropped in price twice in the past couple of weeks. On November 26 the jacket was $88. When I checked this morning, it is $65. Patrick and I drop off the rackmount server case I sold on eBay at the local Mailboxes Etc type of place in West Portal shortly after 9:00 AM. Breakfast at Village Grill. Picked up toiletries at Walgreens. Left a message for Tina. Napped since I woke up too early. Patrick woke me because his mouse stopped working and he couldn't figure out the problem. He's particularly frustrated by this since he's working on final papers and studying for exams. [transition: 2 hours later] After battery reseating; battery replacing; dirty, then clean, driver reinstallation; checking for mouse driver conflicts; investigating an Unknown Device showing up in the hardware control panel; then finally testing the mouse on a different computer; I determine the problem is a hardware failure on the wireless mouse unit only. It's a Microsoft Wireless Optical mouse, just a few months after the warranty had expired. I unscrew the single screw and open it up—it's a rather tidy piece of work, but nothing unusual can be found. (Be careful when opening it—there's a black pole-shaped piece that can easily fall loose and disappear on the ground. This black piece is the reset button on the underside of the unit.) After much researching online for a replacement, I decide on a Microsoft Standard Wireless Optical in black and purchase for the first time from Amazon for local pickup at Circuit City in Daly City. I am surprised by how easy Amazon has made the process—anticipating questions, guiding me clearly through the process, and reinventing commerce along the way. Patrick and I attempt to have dinner. He has taken a variety of leftovers and Frankensteined a dish out of them—it's tomatoey rice with bits of vegetables and I can't remember what animal with sour cream—it's too rich-tasting for me, so I don't eat it. Patrick eats about a handful or two before giving up on it. I have an orange as a snack instead. Patrick takes a nap. Tina calls to chat. I ask her questions about cooking (Are 12 yolks too much for creme brulee? No, not for 4 cups of heavy cream. Is Cook's Illustrated a good magazine? Yes, but she doesn't agree with some of their decisions like the chocolate tasting. Is it true that most professional chefs choose KitchenAid for a home mixer? Yes, but she doesn't trust the sturdiness of attachments—they tend to unscrew themselves—and be careful about the wattage which varies from 250 to 525. If you want to mix heavier things like bread dough you need more power. What's a good brand of food processor? Either Cuisinart or Robot Coupe.) and she tells of her Thanksgiving (no turkey, then of getting ill on leftover pumpkin pie and recovering with salad) and of last night's Duran Duran concert and meeting the band backstage and if she had to do it all over again why she wouldn't (!). Patrick wakes, showers, then leaves to spend the evening with Aaron and Jamie. I plan to pick up the mouse at Circuit City and then get a bite to eat somewhere. I am nearly to the store when I realize that I've forgotten my wallet in another jacket, and I can't pick up the mouse without my ID and credit card, and the store closes soon so I can't pick it up and come right back, so I drive home dejected. Instead of getting a bite out, I eat ramen with egg after getting home. I do some dishwashing, vacuuming, then I cut my hair—the shortest haircut ever—using the #1 attachment all over. When I look in the mirror now, I am reminded of Shinehead O'Connor.